The present study evaluates the effects of incompatible verbal behavior when engaging in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The WCST is a complex task that requires participants to match stimulus cards based on self-generated rules. After a varying number of trials, the rule changes and the participant will have to self-generate a new rule. Verbal behavior, specifically joint control, is likely involved in rule-following. Seven participants took part in this study. Participants engaged in the WCST either silently or while performing a putatively incompatible behavior, counting backward from 100 to 0. Results suggest joint control might be involved as when participants engaged in the incompatible behavior their performance was affected in terms of lower accuracy and longer reaction times compared to the silent baseline.

This research expands the theoretical concept of human adjustment to floods established by Gilbert F. White and incorporates his adjustment concept to examine the range of adjustments in business operations adopted by Texas' natural and/or cultural resources sites during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This mixed-methods study consisted of an online survey with a follow-up semi-structured phone interview. The survey data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the interview data was inductively coded for thematic analysis as well as quantitative and qualitative content analyses. Specifically, this study identifies the adjustment measures undertaken by these entities to maintain business operations while reducing the virus spread; analyses the direct and indirect factors influencing adjustment measures; examines new business opportunities that emerged from these adjustments; and evaluates whether the impact of COVID-19 on these entities varied in terms of entity characteristics. Findings indicate that cultural and/or natural resource sites implemented adjustments to maintain their fiscal stability and/or to protect human health; these serve as direct underlying motivating factors for these entities. To support these direct measures, indirect factors influenced the operations thus required adjustments such as staffing, volunteers, technology, funding, and donations. Additionally, new opportunities in business practices emerged while implementing …

Chalcogen-rich transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) magnetron sputtering targets were custom manufactured via ball milling and sintering in the interest of depositing p-type chalcogen-rich films. Room temperature radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering produced ultra-thin amorphous precursor of WSx and MoSx (where x is between 2-3) on several different substrates. The influence of working pressure on the MoS3 content of the amorphous films was explored with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), while the physical and chemical effects of sputtering were investigated for the WSx target itself. The amorphous precursor films with higher chalcogenide content were chosen for laser annealing, and their subsequent laser annealing induced phase transformations were investigated for the synthesis of polycrystalline 2H-phase semiconducting thin films. The role of laser fluence and the number of laser pulses during annealing on phase transformation and film mobility was determined from Raman spectroscopy and Hall effect measurement, respectively. Hall effect measurements were used to identify carrier type and track mobility between amorphous precursors and crystalline films. The p-type 2H-TMD films demonstrates the ability to produce a scalable processing criterion for quality ultra-thin TMD films on various substrates and in a method which is also compatible for flexible, stretchable, transparent, and bendable substrates.

This project examined the effects of threat perceptions and group empathy on racial outgroup attitudes. The relationship between threat perception and increased racial prejudice has been well established within the literature, but the effect of group empathy within this dynamic has been largely undocumented. The following study utilizes data from the American National Election Study 2020 Time Series to analyze racial outgroup attitudes among subsamples of Blacks (n = 726), Hispanics (n = 762), and Whites (n = 5,962). Along with threat perception, group empathy was found to be a salient predictor of outgroup attitudes. These results suggest that an effective technique to reduce negative outgroup attitudes would aim to reduce perceptions of outgroups as threatening and increase group empathy.

In this study, I examine the relationship between national origin, nativity status, and favorability toward Donald Trump among Latinos in 2016. In particular, I examine the relationship between Cubans, Dominicans, and "other" Latinos to understand how differences in national origin and nativity status influence Trump favorability. The term "Latino" is a pan-ethnic term used to describe individuals with ancestry from Latin America who share a common language, religion and culture. However, studies have shown that Latinos are actually more diverse and political attitudes may differ based on factors like acculturation, national origin, and nativity status. Using data from the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey, I find that favorability for Trump differs by national origin and nativity status as immigrants of "other" national origins favor Trump than Cubans and Dominicans. This suggest that Latinos attitudes are not shaped by their pan-ethnic identity and are rather influenced by national origin and nativity status.

The overpopulation of domestic animals has become an ongoing problem across the United States. Approximately 1.5 million animals are being euthanized in the United States every year. In fact, shelters euthanize about 23 % of the animals they take in. However, the euthanasia rate would be much greater without animal rescues, which are different than animal shelters. Animal rescues are unique from shelters because they are not government-funded, and they do not usually have a physical location. Because of these factors, animal rescues rely on volunteers to care for the animals they save and donors to fund their operations. Animal rescues heavily depend on social media to fulfill many of their needs, including fundraising and volunteer recruitment, which makes the nonprofits particularly vulnerable to failure without a social media following. This research combined a content analysis of animal rescues' Facebook posts with a survey of the rescues to determine which Facebook affordances and message frames animal rescues used online were positively related to online and offline success metrics. The content analysis focused on analyzing posts for message frames, and the survey provided information about annual success. The combination of a content analysis and a survey uncovered relationships between Facebook characteristics, …

One goal of this study was to evaluate the emergence of mands and intraverbals following tact acquisition for individuals with aphasia due to acquired brain injury. A second goal was to evaluate the transfer of shortened latencies as a function of tact training across untrained operants. In Study 1, the dependent measure was accuracy of responding and in Study 2, the dependent measures were rate and latency of responding. Participants for Study 1 were two uninjured adults (pilot) and two adults with brain injury (ABI). Both sets of participants were directly taught to tact up to 6 stimuli. Once tacts were acquired, the response forms were assessed under mand and intraverbal conditions. All pilot participants and one ABI participant showed mand transfer for all stimuli. Tact to intraverbal transfer varied across participants. One adult with brain injury served as a participant for Study 2. Fluency training was used to teach tacts for 15 stimuli. Response latencies were gathered for all operants before and after training. The participant met the designated aim (rate of responding) and showed a decrease in latencies for tacts and untrained intraverbals. Changes in mand latencies varied. Fluency gains showed partial retention. Results from Study 1 provide …

This thesis explores the use of English loanwords in French discourse found on seven France-based corporate websites and the website of one government ministry in France. The following overarching question guided this research project: To what extent are English loanwords used in French for marketing purposes or other reasons? As expected, the results varied greatly from website to website, but it is clear from my analysis of this relatively small corpus that the use of English is widespread in French discourse. In this thesis, I allowed myself to engage in some speculation based on my own background and experiences. I acknowledge that further research is needed in order to provide a more comprehensive analysis of English loanwords in French since this is a very complicated topic that can be approached from many different angles.

Access Points explores the different relationships that humans have to land, focusing on the various ways that the area known as the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is used, appreciated, and preserved by disparate groups. The natural beauty of this Wildlife Refuge and its striking appearance amidst encircling plains makes it a popular destination for many groups of people, including the local rock-climbing community and generations of indigenous peoples whose connection with this land is as deep as it is longstanding. While climbing organizations have long had to negotiate access and rules regarding climbing within the park, members of the Kiowa community negotiate a much different relationship to a natural area that is now managed by the United States government. These disparate voices, identities, and ways of thinking about land all impact the modern-day Wildlife Refuge in terms of its appearance, individuals' access to the land, and the conservation efforts happening there.

To design high pressure fuel system components that resist wear and scuffing failure when operated in low viscosity fuels, a comprehensive study on the tribological performance of various existing coating materials is necessary. This thesis aims to provide the relative performance of a variety of coating materials across different fuel environments by testing them in conditions that model those experienced in fuel pumps. The relative performance of these coatings are then indexed across a variety of material properties, including hardness, elastic modulus, wettability, and the interaction between the surface and the various types of fuel molecules.

Modern machine learning techniques focus on extremely deep and multi-pathed networks, resulting in large memory and computational requirements. This thesis explores techniques for designing efficient convolutional networks including pixel shuffling, depthwise convolutions, and various activation fucntions. These techniques are then applied to two image processing domains: single-image super-resolution and image compression. The super-resolution model, TinyPSSR, is one-third the size of the next smallest model in literature while performing similar to or better than other larger models on representative test sets. The efficient deep image compression model is significantly smaller than any other model in literature and performs similarly in both computational cost and reconstruction quality to the JPEG standard.

This study sought to better understand the experiences of individuals with a chronic health condition utilizing telemedicine during the first twelve months of the COVID-19 pandemic. To do this, an online survey was advertised in two private Facebook support groups for individuals with adrenal insufficiency; a chronic health condition that requires frequent communication with healthcare providers. The survey consisted primarily of closed-response questions which examined the demographic data of respondents, their access to healthcare providers, their comfort levels accessing healthcare providers, and the number of times individuals sought healthcare during the first twelve months of the COVID-19 pandemic to try and predict their preference for telemedicine and in-person healthcare visits going forward. Additionally, the survey included open-response questions which allowed for respondents to describe their experience utilizing telemedicine during the first twelve months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most respondents described their use of telemedicine as being positive but have indicated there are some health circumstances in which telemedicine may not be the best option for them. Additionally, findings indicate that individual's comfort level in visiting their healthcare providers in-person during that first year of the COVID-19 pandemic is a significant predictor of an individual's preference for telehealth. This gives future …

Cultural landscape reports (CLR) are commonly utilized by the National Park Service to define the significance of cultural landscapes. This thesis explores the importance of documenting not only physical characteristics of cultural landscapes, but the cultural elements such as associated values, beliefs, ideas, and traditions. My applied research was conducted for Mammoth Cave National located in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky and focuses on the Crystal Cave District. Research explores data collected through archival research, a PPGIS exercise, and ethnographic interviews to examine the experiences and relationships between research participants and the Crystal Cave District. Research findings highlight the ways in which concepts such as place, history, identity, and tradition can act as significant factors in shaping environmental relationships today.

Novel tissue mimicking materials have been developed for cancer treatment research. In the present research work, the tissue mimicking material is printed using 3D bioprinting technology. The nanoparticles are homogeneously mixed with tissue mimicking materials to enhance the heating capacity. The thermal conductivity of tissue mimicking materials is measured using a micropipette thermal sensor (MTS). Further, the optimal value is identified based on optimization technique and incorporated into a theoretical model to predict the surface temperature of microsphere. The heat conduction governing equation with Lambert law is numerically solved using COMSOL Multiphysics software. To validate the present simulation results, the experiments are conducted using a continuous laser system.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death internationally. Efforts to decrease CVD death has been explored through stem cell technology, specifically organoid formation. Current cardiac organoid models lack the vascular networks for nutrient supply and maturation. In this study, pillar perfusion technology is used to fabricate cardiac organoids and induce vascularization via dynamic culturing and the addition of vascular promoting growth factors (GFs). In addition to this study, a millifluidic chip is engineered for shear stress application via flow simulations and experimental flow analysis. We successfully optimized the millifluidic chip to achieve fluid shear stress of 20mPa and validated through particle tracking velocimetry using 0.1um diameter beads under flow. The results of cardiac organoids displayed contraction and growth of endothelial cells (ECs) under dynamic flow with GFs. In addition, smooth muscle cells (SMCs) displayed growth via GFs in both dynamic and static culturing. Although vascular networks were not present in all conditions of this experiment, this thesis can serve a basis for searching other methods of inducing vascularization.

The Dido myth has evolved and been adapted by many cultures over the centuries. Each Dido was altered to fit the needs of its creator, their society and customs. Despite these variations, every Dido retelling is derived from the Virgilian Dido, historical Dido, or chaste Dido narrative, or a combination of these stories. The pasticcio opera, Ópera armónica al estilo italiano que se intitula Dido y Eneas draws on the general Virgilian plot but emphasizes the chaste Dido narrative. The changes in the plot of Dido y Eneas reflect societal gender norms, theatrical conventions, and historical figures, specifically Queen María Luisa Gabriela, from eighteenth-century Spain. The Dido of Dido y Eneas can be divided into two main personas: Dido the queen and Dido the lover. Her arias, which come from preexisting Italian operas, convey the dramatic text very well. However, no matter what persona Dido portrays, she never fully loses control nor lets her passions rule her actions. Even in the moments before her suicide, her aria, "Punta intrepida," lacks the overt emotionality found in the popular Dido lament made famous by Purcell. This thesis aims to situate Dido y Eneas within the history of the Dido narrative and gender …

In the vast field of signal processing, machine learning is rapidly expanding its domain into all realms. As a constituent of this expansion, this thesis presents contributive work on advancements in machine learning algorithms by building on the shoulder of giants. The first chapter of this thesis contains enhancements to a CNN (convolutional neural network) for better classification of heartbeat arrhythmia. The network goes through a two stage development, the first being augmentations to the network and the second being the implementation of dropout. Chapter 2 involves the combination of CNN and LSTM (long short term memory) networks for the task of short-term energy use data regression. Exploiting the benefits of two of the most powerful neural networks, a unique, novel neural network is created to effectually predict future energy use. The final section concludes this work with directions for future works.

Visceral Data is a short documentary formatted for 360-cinema (commonly referred to as virtual reality or VR) that explores the integration of art and science, and how aesthetically creative treatments of raw data are an engaging way to interpret complex information. With Roger Malina, executive editor of Leonardo, the world's foremost academic journal for the intersections of art, science, and technology, providing a narrative overview of the subject, six art-scientists/science-artists discuss specific pieces of their artistic output to provide examples. As Roger Malina asserts, civilization is "going through an epistemological revolution as deep as the Copernican Revolution," and as we progress further into the 21st century, we will need hybrid professionals working in the arts and sciences to help humanity navigate through the age of big data.

This thesis project investigates the configuration of an enclosed evaporation chamber with the intention of converting seawater into potable freshwater. The evaporation chamber's sole heat source is provided by a Fresnel lens, located above the chamber, which concentrates sunlight onto a 3-inch diameter focal plate built into the core of the chamber. The design of the evaporation chamber is modeled after a solar still and is coupled with a heat exchanger to boost efficiency of the system. The chamber was designed with the objectives of being portable, lightweight, low cost, corrosion resistant, interchangeable, and size convenient with the goal of producing 1 Liter of freshwater per hour of operation. The evaporation chamber consists of two primary components, a core and an attached arrangement of fins, all of which are heated via the Fresnel lens. A consistent intake of 2 grams/second of saltwater enters from the top of the chamber and is then gravity fed across the fins. Fin orientation has been designed to inhibit the flow rate of water within the chamber, maximizing the surface area of contact with the heated fins. The evaporation chamber was modeled through SOLIDWORKS and underwent a physical optimization study to reduce material usage while …

Despite the evidence that supports the benefits of a holistic, collaborative approach to autism intervention, but there is little training to teach those skills to professionals. Behavior analysts working in applied settings will often partner with different individuals from very different backgrounds and disciplines. Skilled Dialogue has been recommended as an approach to conversations that values everyone's contributions in fostering compassionate, collaborative, and culturally responsive care to benefit the children served. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a training workshop to teach the concept and strategies of skilled dialogue to behavior analysts in training. The participants were taught and practiced using the six strategies of Skilled Dialogue: welcoming, allowing, sense-making, appreciating, joining, and harmonizing through use of instructions, rationales, activities, simulations, and feedback. The success of the training was evaluated using a multiple baseline design across training components. Audio and video responses to role-play scenarios were recorded, transcribed, and scored to measure the results of the training workshop on communication skills. The results suggested that the training workshop was an effective method to teaching future behavior analysts how to engage in the strategies and components of skilled dialogue, increasingly the likelihood of collaborative, and children …

The aim of this thesis is to advance the field of solid lubrication science by developing coatings that provide reliable performance in ambient conditions, work on rough surfaces, and are amenable to industrial size and design complexities. Two different coating systems, Ti3C2Tx-MoS2 and Ti3C2Tx-Graphene Oxide blends, were studied in this work. The Ti3C2Tx-MoS2 nanocomposites were spray-coated onto rough 52100-grade steel surfaces, and their tribological performance was evaluated in a ball-on-disk configuration in a unidirectional sliding mode. The test results indicate that Ti3C2Tx-MoS2 coatings achieved superlubricity, which has not been previously reported for either pristine material under macroscale sliding conditions. The observed synergistic mechanism enabled the superlative performance, which was explained by the in-situ formation of a robust tribolayer responsible for sustained lubricity even at high contact pressures (>1.1 GPa) and sliding speeds (0.1 m/s). Processing, structure, and property correlation studies were conducted to understand the underlying phenomena. Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to reveal the formation of the tribolayer. The Ti3C2Tx-Graphene Oxide blends were also spray-coated onto rough-bearing steel surfaces, and their tribological assessment was carried out in ambient environmental conditions and high contact pressures in a ball-on-disc experimental setup. The coatings led to …

This exploratory study investigated the relationship between attachment style and offense types of juvenile offenders to determine whether there were commonalities among the cohort and their attachment style. Much of the peer-reviewed literature focuses on adult sex offenders and attachment style but neglects the juvenile population. The present study utilized secondary data from the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) which included adjudicated juveniles with Positive Achievement Change Tool (PACT) data (n = 4,521) from 2009 to 2013. Juveniles were grouped into three attachment groups (secure, anxious-avoidant, or other) based on attachment correlates found in their PACT data. Logistic regression analyses were then used to investigate the relationship between attachment styles and offense types among the adjudicated juveniles. Results indicated that attachment style does not have an overwhelming influence on offense type of juvenile offenders. However, juveniles with an attachment style other than secure or anxious-avoidant were more likely to be adjudicated for assault/aggravated assault, sexual assault/aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, and other offenses not captured. Whereas juveniles with an anxious-avoidant attachment are at increased odds of being adjudicated for drug offenses. However, it should be noted that juveniles adjudicated for sexual assault/aggravated sexual assault with an anxious-avoidant attachment style reflected a …

This study aimed to broaden the understanding of young South Asian women's experiences/relationships and participation in leisure physical activities at universities in the United States. Using a phenomenological design, semi-structured interviews of 20-30 minutes duration were conducted with 5 South Asian women about their relationships and experiences when participating or attempting to participate in physical activity while attending university in the US. The following criteria were set for participants to be included in this study: they should be between the ages of 18 and 24, non-US citizens from a South Asian country, attend a university in the US, and engage in other physical activities. The interviews were audio recorded via Zoom and then the audio data were transcribed verbatim and then coded to identify the major barriers commonly experienced by participants. Results indicated that many girls and women perceived the US as a "safer" place with excellent infrastructure, ample opportunities to engage in physical activities, and convenient access to gyms, which encourage them (women) to remain active. Most participants were hesitant to participate in physical activities because of the culturally non-responsiveness of the system. This research study was done in a shorter time span with a small sample size. Further …

Interfacial mechanical properties of adhesive joints are very crucial in board applications, including composites, multilayer structures, and biomedical devices. Establishing traction-separation (T-S) relations for interfacial adhesion can evaluate mechanical and structural reliability, robustness, and failure criteria. Due to the short range of interfacial adhesion such as micro to nanoscale, accurate measurements of T-S relations remain challenging. The advent of machine learning (ML) became a promising tool to predict materials behaviors and establish data-driven mechanical models. In this study, we integrated a state-of-the-art ML method, finite element analysis (FEA), and standard experiments to develop data-driven models for characterizing the interfacial mechanical properties precisely. Macroscale force-displacement curves are derived from FEA with incorporation of double cantilever beam tests to generate the dataset for ML model. The eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) multi-output regressions and classifier models are used to determine T-S relations with R2 score of 98.8% and locate imperfections at the interface with accuracy of around 80.8%. The outcome of the XGBoost models demonstrated accurate predictions and fast calculation speed, outperforming several other ML methods. Using 3D printed double cantilever beam specimens, the performance of the ML models is validated experimentally for different materials. Furthermore, a XGBoost model-based package is designed to …