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“None of Them are Black Like Me”: The Creation, Implementation, and Discrimination of Captain’s Masts in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War
No full textCaptain’s masts, also referred to as Article 15s or nonjudicial punishments, were the lowest form of discipline in the military. Entirely controlled by one man, typically their commanding officer, Black sailors across the Navy during the Vietnam War perceived racial discrimination in both their frequency and punishments. Compared to white sailors on the same ships or stationed on the same bases, African American men almost always received overblown punishments. Meanwhile, for the same offenses, white sailors typically only received minor reprimands or warnings.
An important clause in this history is that no nonjudicial punishment records from the Vietnam War still exist today. Thus, this monograph utilizes the underground GI press from 1965 to 1975, written by servicemen, to uncover examples of discrimination in nonjudicial proceedings.
Racial captain’s masts, however, did not occur in isolation. Through both the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement, servicemen began to resist their circumstances. Social movements distracted them from the war in Vietnam. At the same time, the military was similarly pulled away from the war to respond to discontent. As a result, military justice and nonjudicial punishments became unregulated. This research then explores all factors, including the origins of nonjudicial proceedings, to better understand the experiences and perspectives of Black sailors during the Vietnam War
Three Essays on Long-Term Care Insurance
No full textThe past several decades provided significant improvements in medical technology and healthcare enhancements for individuals in the United States. Improved health and longevity were positive outcomes that allowed individuals to live longer lives and enjoy more time in the retirement phase of the life cycle. This additional time is benefited families with possibilities for enjoyable activities. However, increased life duration carried additional risks and undetermined variables in the financial planning of stable consumption until the end of life. If not adequately analyzed and hedged with risk management strategies, these risks may breakdown consumption and drain lifetime savings. The most significant risk is uncertain healthcare events. An extended period of enhanced healthcare with the need for skilled practitioners and doctors can be expensive. The rate of inflation continues to compound these healthcare costs higher each year. A tool to mitigate uncertain healthcare costs is long-term care insurance (LTCI). At the inflection point and commencement of benefit periods, LTCI can provide financial benefits to pay for the care, costs, and indemnity protection to avoid a catastrophic economic burden.
This dissertation provided new insights into the relationships between LTCI, home equity, caregiving, and concerns about healthcare costs. The first essay examined the potential benefits of incorporating an LTCI as a part of a holistic retirement plan to reduce the negative effects of rising healthcare costs. The second essay examined the associations between respondents’ levels of retirement preparedness with the utilization of home equity tools and LTCI. The results illuminated the positive effects of marginal utility, including LTCI for retirement preparedness and growth potential for home equity usage. The third essay inspected the association between LTCI ownership and familial care options that indicated a complementary relationship instead of a substitution
Automated Code Generation from Flowcharts: A Multimodal Deep Learning Framework for Accurate Translation and Debugging
No full textFlowcharts serve as an intuitive means of representing algorithms, especially for early-stage design and education. However, the manual conversion of these diagrams into executable source code is both time-consuming and prone to human error. While several automated solutions have been developed to streamline this process, they often fall short—typically supporting only a single programming language and struggling to accurately interpret hand-drawn flowcharts under diverse real-world conditions. These limitations hinder rapid software prototyping, requiring developers to spend extensive time on debugging and adapting platform-specific implementations. The growing need for a robust, automated system capable of converting diverse flowchart representations into multilingual programming code with minimal user intervention remains an industry challenge.
To address these challenges, this thesis research introduces the Dynamic Flow-to-Code Generator (DFCG), a novel system designed to automate the process of converting flowcharts into structured code. The DFCG leverages multi-modal deep learning to analyze flowcharts and generate structured code across various programming languages. The key innovation of this system lies in its adaptive code generation engine, which constructs an intermediate logical representation of the flowchart before systematically transforming it into executable source code. By integrating advanced neural networks, the proposed DFCG system ensures high-fidelity pattern recognition, which enables accurate structural analysis and replicates complex algorithmic components.
Beyond code generation, the DFCG also incorporates an interactive online Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that allows users to compile and test the generated code in real time, providing instant feedback and validation. Experimental results demonstrate that the DFCG significantly reduces the need for manual postprocessing by improving translation accuracy across multiple flowchart structures. This research bridges the gap between visual algorithm design and automated code generation, offering practical applications for industrial automation, software engineering, and educational programming environments
Analyzing Consumer Purchasing Decisions of Animal Protein Sources and Their Nutritional Impact
No full textThe nutritional impact of consumer substitution patterns for animal protein sources is increasingly important amid rising food prices and rising health concerns in the United States. This study investigates how price, income, and household demographics influence household-level purchases of beef, pork, poultry, seafood, dairy, and eggs using NielsenIQ Homescan data from 2004 to 2022. Three consumer demand system models, the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS), the Linear Approximate AIDS (LA-AIDS), and the Exact Affine Stone Index (EASI), are estimated to generate own-price, cross-price, and expenditure elasticities across protein categories. The EASI model further incorporates nonlinear Engel curves and incorporating demographic effects such as household head age and presence of children. Results indicate that beef and pork are the most price elastic, while dairy and eggs are less sensitive to changes in income and price.
Policy simulations using demand elasticities evaluate the nutritional consequences of hypothetical beef taxes (20% and 40%), revealing shifts toward poultry and dairy with certain model results, and reductions in key micronutrients such as protein, iron, and vitamin B-12. These findings highlight important nutritional trade-offs between different protein sources, and how overall nutrition is impacted by consumer substitution patterns when faced with increased food prices
Empowering Spanish Students with LDs: Challenges, Strategies and The Role of ChatGPT in L2 Writing
No full textThis study investigates how intermediate Spanish university students with diagnosed or self-identified learning disabilities (LDs)—particularly those with ADHD, dyslexia, autism, or anxiety—navigate Spanish L2 writing tasks, with a specific focus on their interaction with artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Framed within Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) and guided by a Narrative Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (NIPA), the study analyses in-depth qualitative data from four interviews with two focal participants. The analysis reveals how students’ writing development is shaped by nonlinear, context-sensitive interactions between cognitive traits, emotional regulation, learning modality, and tool usage. Results are organized around four key themes: (1) learning challenges and the emotions they elicit, (2) personal adjustment techniques, (3) AI as a writing assistance tool, and (4) students’ evaluative analysis of AI use for Spanish writing. Findings show that while participants experienced heightened anxiety, perfectionism, or sensory overload during writing tasks, they also demonstrated agency by developing tailored strategies and adapting their environments. Participants conditionally accepted AI tools such as ChatGPT when these tools provided metacognitive support—such as explanations for grammatical errors—but rejected them as substitutes for original thought. Ethical concerns around authorship and overreliance were prominent, highlighting the importance of pedagogically guided and reflective AI use. This research makes three primary contributions: (1) it centers the voices of an underrepresented student population in second language (L2) research, (2) it extends CDST through lived, ecologically valid data, and (3) it reframes AI as a context-sensitive attractor whose educational value depends on learner agency and institutional trust. The study calls for inclusive, flexible, and emotionally attuned pedagogies that empower neurodivergent learners in an age of technological change
Food waste in out-of-home dining: Integrated perspectives of Behavioral Reasoning Theory and Norm Activation Model
No full textWithin restaurant dining settings, consumers' irresponsible consumption behavior when ordering food has been recognized as a significant contributor to global food waste. For instance, diners tend to order impulsively at restaurants, which often results in plate waste. As a result, scholarly attention has been directed toward food waste caused by diners’ over-ordering behavior.
Although it is of great importance to identify the causes of over-ordering and take corrective actions to stop this irresponsible behavior as a measure to prevent food waste, to date only a few studies have explored this area by investigating the drivers of over-ordering in restaurant dining settings. Previous research on over-ordering has primarily focused on social dining contexts (e.g., family gatherings, business banquets, and friend gatherings). However, there is limited literature addressing the factors influencing over-ordering in personal out-of-home dining, despite the fact that the determinants of over-ordering can vary significantly depending on the dining purpose. Therefore, the present study aims to fill this research gap by proposing and testing a comprehensive research framework, utilizing the Behavior Reasoning Theory and the Norm Activation Model to examine the factors that influence diners to engage in over-ordering behavior.
This comprehensive research model was tested by surveying 499 diners in the United States who had experience dining at full-service restaurants. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings suggest that hedonic consumption motivation positively affects attitudes toward over-ordering and over-ordering intentions. Additionally, the results confirm that awareness of consequences, awareness of responsibility, and social norms activate diners' personal norms, which in turn negatively affect their attitude toward over-ordering. Furthermore, the results highlight the mediating role of attitude toward over-ordering in the relationship between personal norms and over-ordering intentions.
The present study offers a significant contributions to the literature and in practice. From the theoretical aspect, the current study addresses the underexplored issue of consumers' over-ordering behavior in full-service restaurants, which contributes to global food waste literature. From the practical perspective, restaurant managers can offer to-go boxes to reduce plate waste. Additionally, the study underscores the role of social norms in influencing diners' food waste behaviors, suggesting that restaurants and policymakers can use campaigns and educational tools to activate these norms
Deciphering crop-specific rhizobacteriome assembly in cotton, sorghum, and soybean under hot semi-arid field conditions in Texas
No full textBackground: Different crops may recruit specific rhizosphere microbiomes that support their survival under unfavorable conditions, including hot semi-arid climates. However, the processes driving microbiome assembly within different crops and their adaptation to such extreme environmental conditions remain poorly understood. This study investigates whether upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and soybean (Glycine max) recruit distinct or overlapping rhizospheric bacterial communities under hot semi-arid conditions in Lubbock, Texas, United States, with a focus on their potential role in enhancing crop resilience. By exploring rhizobacterial recruitment strategies and differential microbial associations in these crops, this study addresses critical gaps in plant-microbiome interactions and paves the way for practical applications in hot semi-arid agricultural systems.
Results: We found that the abundances and structures of rhizospheric bacterial communities differed among sorghum, soybean, and cotton, with the differences being closely linked to their predicted functional roles in stress adaptation and nutrient assimilation. Alpha and beta diversity analyses revealed that soybean rhizosphere exhibited the highest bacterial richness and diversity followed by cotton. In contrast, sorghum rhizobacteriome showed the lowest richness and less even distribution of rhizobacterial taxa compared with the other two crops, emphasizing crop-specific rhizobacterial associations. Actinobacteriota and Firmicutes phyla were significantly enriched in sorghum rhizosphere, whereas Pseudomonadota, Bacteroidota, and Acidobacteriota phyla were significantly enriched in soybean and cotton rhizospeheres under hot semi-arid conditions. Functional prediction analysis demonstrated that sorghum-associated rhizobacteriome was significantly enriched in pathways related to stress adaptation, while soybean and cotton rhizobacteriomes exhibited more diverse pathways, primarily associated with nitrogen and sulfur assimilation.
Conclusions: These findings underscore the influence of crop-specific factors in shaping rhizobacteriome composition and function to ensure their behavior and performance under hot semi-arid conditions in Lubbock, Texas, United States, with sorghum favoring stress adaptation, soybean being linked to nitrogen and sulfur assimilation, and cotton displaying intermediate traits. Our results highlight the potential for leveraging rhizobacteriome in developing innovative cultivation strategies to enhance crop resilience and productivity under challenging environmental conditions
The Intersection of Geography and Healthcare: Exploring Geographical Factors that Affect Access to Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pills Among Uninsured Women in Texas
No full textAs of 2018, Texas had the highest rate of uninsured women of reproductive
age in the country, with approximately one-third lacking health coverage. This study investigates the accessibility of the newly approved over-the-counter (OTC) birth control pill, Opill®, in Texas. Using a mystery caller methodology, female researchers conducted calls to 500 retail pharmacies across Texas between April and May 2024, posing as customers seeking information about Opill®. The probability-proportion-to- size selection was used to generate a sample of 500 retail pharmacies to cover community’s representative of Texas. The research also includes qualitative analysis of pharmacy worker responses. Findings suggest that OTC birth control may help address contraceptive needs for uninsured populations, potentially mitigating some of the impacts of recent policy changes and healthcare access limitations. This research
contributes to our understanding of reproductive healthcare access in the changing landscape of U.S. contraceptive policy and emphasizes the urgent need to address barriers preventing Texans, especially women of childbearing age, from obtaining comprehensive medical coverage
Box 4, Folder 9, MGN Transcriptions on French Literature
No full textThe Boyd Carter Papers represent a significant archival collection housed in the Hispanic Studies Collection in Texas Tech University's CMLL building. Dr. Boyd Carter was a distinguished scholar of Latin American literature who was active from the 1940s to his death in 1980. He held professorships at the University of Nebraska, Southern Illinois University, and the University of Missouri before concluding his career at Texas Tech University (1978-1980). Upon joining TTU, Carter donated his extensive archive to the university, including rare books, microfilm collections, bibliographical notes, and periodicals focusing on Latin American literature from 1850-1950, with particular emphasis on the famed Mexican writer Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera
Columbus Engineering Activities for NASA OCAD 124967 Implementation
No full textGaetana Bufano, Thales Alenia Space, ItalySavino De Palo, Thales Alenia Space, ItalyAndrea Ferrero, Thales Alenia Space, ItalyCristian Granata, Thales Alenia Space, ItalyKristiaan De Vriendt, European Space Agency (ESA), NetherlandsICES206: Crewed Orbiting Infrastructures, Habitats, Space
Station and Payload Thermal ControlThe 54th International Conference on Environmental Systems was held in Prague, Czechia, on 13 July 2025 through 17 July 2025.This paper describes the activities performed to implement
the new operational hazard control issued by NASA for the
International Space Station, namely OCAD 126182, to be
executed during a startup of the external active thermal
control system from a previous failure or a planned
activity. The OCAD aims to prevent a failure of the
Interface Heat Exchanger (IFHX) due to water freezing in
the IFHX core with consequent release of hazardous ammonia
concentrations into the habitable volume. Basically the
OCAD requires that the water flow provided by Columbus to
the IFHX under such contingency conditions is at least 1700
lbm/hr: NASA thermal analysis verified that a water flow of
1700 lbm/hr is enough to prevent freezing. This specific
flow requires setting Columbus in an off nominal
configuration that was never tested before, neither on
orbit nor on ground. The first implementation of this OCAD
should occur during the EATCS restart of loops A and B as
part of the loops refill currently scheduled in January
2025.
These activities consisted, first, in identifying the
proper Columbus configuration while satisfying the OCAD
request, still taking into account all possible drawbacks
and payload science needs; then in thermal analysis runs
and in an on orbit test definition and execution. As a
conclusion the selected configuration has been included in
the relevant procedures and flight rules to support the
planned EATCS loop refill.
The tasks have been conducted in the frame of the Columbus
Engineering Support Team (EST) Off-Site responsibilities