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The future of consumer mobility: A conceptual framework and empirical evidence from mobility innovations
No full textSubmission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01The student, Ruichun Liu, accepted the attached license on 2025-04-25 at 19:52.The student, Ruichun Liu, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-04-25 at 20:08.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-04-29 at 17:07.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #21999 on 2025-10-19 at 19:54:13Consumer mobility is undergoing a profound transformation due to technological developments and emerging business models. As new forms of transportation reshape how consumers move, it becomes critical to understand the implications of these changes. This dissertation examines consumer mobility from two perspectives: a conceptual framework for categorizing mobility models and an empirical investigation of the impact of shared e-scooters. Together, these chapters contribute to the growing literature on consumer mobility. The first chapter develops a typology of consumer mobility by classifying consumer mobility along two key dimensions: (1) Ownership Model (Shared vs. Owned) and (2) Automation Level (Autonomous vs. Traditional). Traditional modes of transportation, such as private car ownership and public transit, are no longer the default, as consumers increasingly adopt shared and automated mobility solutions. I propose a typology that categorizes consumer mobility along two key dimensions: ownership structure (shared vs. owned) and automation level (traditional vs. autonomous). Based on this framework, I identify four distinct types of consumer mobility. Each type of consumer mobility reflects different patterns of consumption and interaction with transportation services. Finally, I discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this typology and explore the relationship between consumers and transportation technologies. The second chapter empirically examines the impacts of shared e-scooters on shared mobility and consumer safety. While e-scooters can offer several benefits (e.g., higher mobility, equitable access), they can also have potential downsides (e.g., risk of injury, reckless behavior). Research on micromobility in marketing shows that e-scooters boost restaurant spending, but it does not examine their effects on important economic and societal outcomes beyond the food sector. Similarly, research on the sharing economy rarely focuses on micromobility services or on demand interactions between shared platforms. Therefore, this chapter examines the effects of the entry of e-scooters on other incumbent shared mobility services in the sharing economy (i.e., ridesharing and bikesharing) and on overall consumer safety (i.e., crimes and crashes). Using the entry of e-scooters in parts of Chicago in 2019 and a difference-in-differences analysis with propensity score matching, this chapter reveals a dual effect of e-scooters. First, the entry of e-scooters increases the number of short rideshare trips by 4.79\%, but decreases the number of bikeshare trips by 13.53\%. The results on the complementary effect for ridesharing and the substitution effect for bikesharing can be explained by e-scooters' relative advantages and disadvantages, depending on the timing and type of usage. Second, the entry of e-scooters increases the number of crimes (e.g., vehicle break-ins) by 9.78\% and crashes (e.g., bike crash) by 56.23\%. The increase in crimes and crashes is explained by street and vehicle crimes, and by crashes involving micromobility vehicles. Importantly, the effects are heterogeneous and asymmetric by the age and racial composition of a neighborhood. Overall, e-scooters contribute about \$4.7 million in ridesharing revenues but they also have an unintended negative environmental effect amounting to about 510 metric ton carbon emissions per year. This chapter offers key implications and includes an app companion for stakeholders. The third chapter concludes the first two chapters and extends the dissertation by identifying three forces shaping the future of consumer mobility: trust in automation, mobility platformization, and equity in access. The chapter also proposes a research agenda on how consumers engage with mobility systems and how these systems influence marketing and public policy. Together, three chapters offer a comprehensive perspective on the transformation of consumer mobility. This dissertation combines conceptual and empirical approaches to examine consumer mobility's economic, social, and policy implications. This dissertation contributes to a deeper understanding of how mobility innovations reshape the future of consumer mobility
Are we seeing the same thing? The association between political ideology and consensus of social judgments
No full textSubmission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01The student, Yarden Ashur, accepted the attached license on 2025-04-26 at 13:51.The student, Yarden Ashur, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-04-26 at 14:04.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-04-27 at 15:18.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22009 on 2025-10-19 at 19:54:14People regularly make social judgments such as judging others’ age, sexual orientation, and personality type based on minimal information. When observers judge characteristics of targets in similar ways, consensus is reached. I propose that observers’ political ideology might affect the magnitude of this consensus. As conservatives are more likely than liberals to believe that group memberships (e.g., gender, race) can be accurately gleaned from minimal information, I predicted that conservatives (versus liberals) would rely on visual cues more and thus have greater consensus when making social judgments. Across two studies (N = 3,521) and 20 judgment dimensions, I found that observers’ ideology was often associated with consensus. Contrary to hypotheses, however, judgments on different dimensions displayed different associations of ideology and consensus. Exploring possible explanations for the pattern of results, I investigated the role of epistemic motivation as a mechanism of the relation between political ideology and consensus. Additionally, I tested the role of social acceptability and association with cues as possible moderators. Overall, epistemic motivation did not explain the relation between ideology and consensus in the predicted manner. Interestingly, social acceptability moderated the effect of ideology on consensus: liberals had more consensus than conservatives when a dimension was more socially acceptable to judge, but conservatives achieved greater consensus than liberals when a dimension was less acceptable to judge. Another moderator, association of judgment with visual cues, showed mixed results. This research sheds light on how a person’s political ideology corresponds to basic forms of social cognition when forming judgments
Implementation of a high order Discontinuous Galerkin Spectral Element Method for the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations on unstructured grids
No full textSubmission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01The student, Farhad Hasanli, accepted the attached license on 2025-05-08 at 11:03.The student, Farhad Hasanli, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2025-05-08 at 11:23.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2025-05-08 at 17:02.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22014 on 2025-10-19 at 19:54:14High-order numerical methods for CFD applications have long been touted for their computational efficiency. New solvers based on such methods are continually developed to address specialized applications, improve accuracy and computational efficiency, and ensure robustness across diverse flow conditions. They are essential to advancing research and engineering innovation. This thesis presents Prandtl, a new high-order Discontinuous Galerkin Spectral Element Method (DGSEM) solver for the compressible Euler and Navier-Stokes equations on unstructured – possibly curvilinear – quadrilateral and hexahedral meshes. Built atop the robust backend of the MFEM Finite Element library, Prandtl couples MFEM’s lightweight data structures with an original DGSEM implementation written in modern C++. Split-form DGSEM with collocated Legendre-Gauss-Lobatto nodes constitutes the numerical core of the solver, delivering entropy-stable semi-discrete operators while retaining a simple dimension-by-dimension structure ideal for explicit time stepping. To mitigate aliasing in under-resolved simulations, Prandtl employs the split-form DGSEM, whose summation-by-parts structure helps ensure entropy stability. Gibbs-type oscillations near discontinuities are addressed through subcell blending with a low-order, entropy-consistent Finite Volume scheme, activated smoothly by the Persson–Peraire modal sensor. The resulting hybrid formulation preserves discrete entropy stability for any local blending coefficient and requires no additional MPI communication. Viscous terms are handled with the first method of Bassi and Rebay [1], which remains neutrally stable when paired with the entropy variables used for the auxiliary gradients. Comprehensive verification is provided. A suite of one- and two-dimensional Euler tests demonstrate the expected convergence rates and sharp shock resolution without spurious oscillations, with extreme cases confirming robustness under near-vacuum and strong-shock conditions. For the Navier-Stokes equations, two-dimensional lid-driven cavity simulations are able to reproduce benchmark features and attain convergence to a steady state, while three-dimensional Taylor-Green vortex runs exhibit good parallel efficiency. Together, these results verify that Prandtl delivers high-order accuracy on smooth solutions, shock-robust stability on challenging compressible flows, and good strong scaling on modern HPC platforms, establishing a flexible foundation for future extensions such as implicit time integration, adaptive mesh refinement, and GPU acceleration
Integrative analyses of the associations between diet, the human gastrointestinal microbiota, and metabolic health
No full textSubmission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01The student, Alexis Baldeon, accepted the attached license on 2025-04-28 at 15:38.The student, Alexis Baldeon, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-04-28 at 15:39.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-04-29 at 16:02.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22026 on 2025-10-19 at 19:54:26Diet is an important modifiable lifestyle factor that regulates the risk of developing non-communicable diseases and modulates the human intestinal microbiome. Clinical and pre-clinical research has increasingly associated unique microbiota profiles with these diet-related diseases, suggesting a mediating role of these microbial communities between diet and health. Therefore, the dietary modulation of the human intestinal microbiome poses a safe, cost-effective mechanism to prevent, manage, and perhaps treat these diseases. To develop the microbiome-centered nutritional strategies and guidelines necessary to improve human health, clinical evidence is needed to outline the interrelationship between diet, the intestinal microbiome, and markers of metabolic health. To this end, this dissertation completed four studies in adult cohorts investigating the connections between dietary patterns and a whole-food intervention with the intestinal microbiome and further integrating these findings with metabolic health data. The first project was a cross-sectional analysis examining the differences in the fecal microbiota composition of adults based on diet quality. A final cohort of 432 adults from the American Gut Project was divided into tertiles based on their Healthy Eating Index-2015 scores, an assessment of compliance to key recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The differences in taxonomic abundances and diversity were compared between high and low scorers. Adults with greater compliance with the Dietary Guidelines demonstrated higher diversity in their fecal microbiota and a greater abundance of bacteria capable of metabolizing complex carbohydrates. These results provide evidence of how the Dietary Guidelines support the gut microbiota. The second study aimed to determine the unique contributions of fecal taxa and metabolites in predicting metabolic health markers across various dietary patterns. This cross-sectional analysis measured the adherence of 118 adults to the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH), Mediterranean diet, Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurocognitive delay (MIND), and the Healthy Eating Index-2020 (HEI-2020). Microbiota features that associated independently with these dietary patterns and with metabolic health markers were selected as predictor variables for hierarchical linear regression models. Integrating these select fecal taxa and metabolites alongside dietary indices in these regression models significantly improved metabolic health marker prediction. These results suggest that the intestinal microbiota potentially underpins physiological responses to diet and highlights potential microbial biomarkers of metabolic health. The third study was a secondary data analysis of a controlled-feeding, randomized control trial with a cross-over design evaluating the effect of almond consumption on the fecal microbiome and inflammatory and metabolic markers in a cohort of 15 adults. Participants consumed 42g (treatment) or 0g (control) of almonds daily for three weeks with washout periods in between. Results revealed a decrease in circulating total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in the almond group compared to control. There were no observed effects of almond consumption on the structure or function of the intestinal microbiome. These results reveal that eating 42g of almonds daily for three weeks in a controlled-feeding setting has a beneficial impact on the lipid profile of adults but no significant effect on the fecal microbiome. The objective of the last study was to determine the effect of daily almond consumption on the human intestinal microbiome and metabolic health in a cohort of 28 free-living adults. This study was a randomized, controlled, parallel-arm clinical trial where healthy adults consumed 56g or 0g of whole almonds for 12 weeks. Results revealed a marginal increase of Roseburia spp in the microbiota of adults who consumed almonds, accompanied by a significant increase in the relative concentration of butyrate. However, there was no effect of almond consumption on the taxonomic or functional diversity of the intestinal microbiome. A treatment-specific effect was observed on the postprandial responses of glucose, insulin, non-esterified fatty acids, inflammatory markers, and circulating bile acids. Further, exploratory analyses revealed inverse correlations between the postprandial response of circulating bile acids and glucose in response to almond consumption. Together, these results suggest that almond consumption impacts the structure and metabolism of the intestinal microbiome, and these changes are associated with glycemic control. In conclusion, our data supports the notion that long-term dietary habits and short-term whole-food interventions are effective strategies to modulate the intestinal microbiome. Further, these diet-induced changes in the structure and function of these microbial communities associated with markers of metabolic health across cohorts, adding to the existing evidence that points to a causal role of the microbiome in supporting host health. Future research integrating expanded multi-omics datasets with larger cohorts is warranted to continue to untangle the complex interrelationship between diet, the intestinal microbiome, and human health
Distinguishing the roles of rumination, worry, and executive function in predicting anxious arousal and dimensions of anhedonic depression
No full textSubmission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01The student, Chinmayi Tengshe, accepted the attached license on 2025-04-28 at 13:00.The student, Chinmayi Tengshe, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-04-28 at 13:10.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-04-28 at 15:58.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22036 on 2025-10-19 at 19:54:27Rumination and worry, two forms of repetitive negative thought (RNT) both predict anxiety and depression, and recent work has led to conceptualizing the two constructs in terms of common and unique features of RNT. The broad construct of executive function (EF) is also associated with anxiety and depression, and research suggests that EF may interact with rumination and worry to influence the trajectory of these internalizing forms of psychopathology. However, lack of agreement on EF organization has led to inconsistent findings. Recent work has fractionated EF components of inhibition, shifting, and updating of working memory into common and unique factors of EF. Research has yet to explore whether these common and unique aspects of EF interact differentially with the common and unique aspects of RNT to predict anxiety and depression. Further, many studies have operationalized anxiety and depression as unitary constructs despite evidence that anxious arousal is a distinct dimension within anxiety and loss of interest and (low) positive affect are two distinct anhedonic depression dimensions. It is likely that common and unique aspects of RNT and EF foster risk through different pathways for anxious arousal and the two dimensions of anhedonic depression. A cross-sectional study was undertaken to explore this question. Utilizing self-report data from a large unselected sample of undergraduate college students, this study applied a latent variable approach to obtain the factors of RNT and EF and examine their interactive effect on anxious arousal, loss of interest, and (low) positive affect. Consistent with previous studies, a bi-factor model with a general RNT factor and rumination-specific and worry-specific factors fit well to the rumination-worry data, although the rumination-specific factor had low construct replicability and reliability. Similarly, a bi-factor model with a general EF factor (that captured all variance from inhibition in addition to common variance) and shifting-specific and updating-specific factors fit well to the EF data, although the specific EF factors had low construct replicability and reliability. Hierarchical linear regression analyses conducted to examine associations among the factors showed that general RNT predicted the two anhedonic depression dimensions but not anxious arousal. The worry-specific factor predicted only anxious arousal, whereas the rumination-specific factor did not predict any of the outcome measures. Moreover, none of the three EF factors moderated the associations of the rumination-worry factors with anxious arousal and the two anhedonic depression dimensions. These findings indicate that common and unique features of RNT as examined in this work using self-report measures confer differential risk for anxious arousal and anhedonic depression. However, the common and specific features as captured by EF factors in this study appear not to contribute to that risk. These findings have important implications for defining and operationalizing risk factors associated with internalizing psychopathology
Effects of soluble corn fiber on cognition in older adults: Integrating clinical, in vitro, and bioinformatics approaches to explore gut-brain interactions
No full textSubmission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01The student, David Alvarado, accepted the attached license on 2025-04-29 at 12:44.The student, David Alvarado, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-04-29 at 12:49.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-05-01 at 06:35.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22085 on 2025-10-19 at 19:54:39The gut microbiome is a critical mediator in the optimization of human health through diet. Although robust evidence links dietary fiber consumption to improvements in gastrointestinal and metabolic outcomes, its potential to enhance cognitive function via gut–brain axis pathways remain underexplored. To address this gap, we integrated data from a human clinical trial, in vitro experiments, and multi-omics analyses to elucidate the interconnections among dietary fiber intake, gut microbial dynamics, and cognitive health. For our investigation (Chapter 2), we conducted a randomized crossover clinical trial to evaluate the effects of daily consumption of soluble corn fiber (SCF) for 4 weeks on cognitive function in older adults (45-75 years) and to assess the mediating and moderating influence of the microbiota using 16S rRNA gene-sequenced fecal data on these cognitive outcomes. Next, we sought to further understand if gut bacterium differentially enriched by the intervention could metabolize the SCF in isolation or if the enrichment observed in the clinical trial stems from cross-feeding interactions within the colon. Finally, we examined the microbiome profiles on a subset of participants, categorized as responders and non-responders, using shotgun metagenomic sequencing on their fecal samples to capture snapshots of their microbial functional capacity before and after the intervention, thereby reinforcing the concept of nutrition as a personalized intervention. We discovered that daily consumption of SCF numerically increased fecal acetate, improved attentional inhibition measured by their reaction time, and induced an enrichment of Parabacteroides that exerted a moderating effect. Furthermore, we observed that Parabacteroides distasonis was capable of metabolizing SCF when provided as its sole substrate for growth following an adaptation period, as evidenced by its diauxic growth pattern. In addition, the predicted imputed metagenome of the full cohort suggested increased functional capacity resulting from SCF consumption, and the quantified metagenome demonstrated distinct profiles between responders and non-responders. Together, this integrative approach not only deepens our understanding of the multifaceted roles of SCF but also underscores the importance of incorporating dietary fibers into the diet of older adults as a strategy for harnessing their potential cognitive benefits within personalized nutritional interventions
Atomic-scale engineering of 2D materials via scanning tunneling microscopy: Bridging synthesis, characterization, and device integration for post-silicon electronics
No full textSubmission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01The student, Hanfei Wang, accepted the attached license on 2025-05-01 at 09:38.The student, Hanfei Wang, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-05-01 at 09:51.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-05-02 at 10:19.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22147 on 2025-10-19 at 19:55:34The semiconductor industry faces fundamental limitations as silicon-based technologies approach their physical and economic thresholds. Two-dimensional (2D) materials, including graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), coronoids, and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), offer transformative potential for next-generation electronics due to their atomically thin nature, and tunable electronic and optical properties. This dissertation investigates the synthesis, atomic-scale characterization, and device integration of these materials using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS) techniques. Graphene nanoribbons are engineered via various liquid phase synthesis methods to attempt precise control over width and edge structure for desirable electronic properties. STM/STS studies reveal that defects are a major issue in standard liquid phase synthesis of GNRs, while integrated iterative strategies demonstrate potential for structural uniformity for scalable device integration. GNR stacks of ribbons with randomly alternating widths and nitrogen endcaps provide an alternative device structure based on 2D materials. Coronoids, cyclic nanographenes with various cavity sizes, are synthesized via programmable head-to-tail cyclization. STM imaging highlights their strain-dependent bandgap modulation and emergent phenomena such as locallized metallic edges and lateral p-n junctions. In a move towards mixed-dimensional systems, the charge density wave (CDW) was observed in the 2D materials 1T-TaS2 was observed and studied at room temperature. Central to this work is the use of STM not only as a characterization tool but as a bridge between atomic scale understanding of 2D materials and functional device engineering based on these materials. The findings provide a roadmap for leveraging STM supported insights to the optimization of material preparation, correlation between structural and electronic properties, and the potential of 2D materials in post-silicon electronics
Searching for specificity in teen dating violence and distress: A network analytic approach
No full textSubmission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01The student, Theemeshni Govender, accepted the attached license on 2025-05-06 at 12:32.The student, Theemeshni Govender, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2025-05-06 at 12:39.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2025-05-07 at 07:35.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22230 on 2025-10-19 at 19:55:45Methodological norms inhibit our ability to understand the nature and correlates of teen dating violence. This includes examining teen dating violence subtypes, such as physical and psychological perpetration and victimization, and mental health correlates in isolation. Further, continued reliance on latent conceptualizations may obscure patterns of specificity within teen dating violence and between violent acts and mental health sequelae. In response, we leveraged a network analytic approach to explore how experiences of physical and psychological teen dating violence victimization and perpetration relate to different forms of psychopathology in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of adolescents. A sample of 584 adolescents (Mage=15; 51.03% male; 32.08% Hispanic; 28.47% Black; 19.90% White; 15.27% Multiracial) from southeast Texas (n=507) and a midwestern state (n=77) completed surveys at baseline and 1-year follow up assessing teen dating violence, posttraumatic stress, depressive symptoms, and substance use. Network features, including edge strength, centrality, and stability were investigated. Acts of teen dating violence were largely bidirectional, as opposed to reflecting distinct patterns of perpetration and victimization. There was little evidence that specific teen dating violence acts were uniquely related to distinct forms of psychopathology. Networks, which were stable over time, generalized across gender and racial/ethnic identity. Highlighting the bidirectional nature of teen dating violence, our findings outline specific acts for prevention programs to target and reinforce potential issues of distinguishing between perpetrators and victims when working with adolescents
The Catalyst: UIS Research Review, Issue 8
No full textThe Catalyst is a publication by the Research Society at UIS that highlights student research at the university. This issue includes Nicole Girard and her research with Dr. Noah Reynolds, Introducing Mutations into the Yeast tyrosyl-tRNA Synthetase to Examine the Effects of Altered Protein Synthesis on the General Stress Response
Trap or trove: understanding the community-level impacts of agricultural practices and land-use change on prairie restoration ecosystems
Get PDFSubmission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2025-10-20 without embargo termsThe student, Jonathan Tetlie, accepted the attached license on 2025-06-05 at 13:27.The student, Jonathan Tetlie, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-06-05 at 13:34.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-06-10 at 11:02.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22323 on 2025-10-20 at 16:57:05Anthropogenic land-use change and degradation are significant drivers of biodiversity loss. In the Midwestern United states, land-use change and degradation are driven primarily by agricultural intensification, which can eliminate or fragment natural habitats and generate spillover contamination of agricultural chemicals such as neonicotinoids, which have been associated with biodiversity loss. The research reported in this dissertation was aimed at characterizing impacts of conventional agricultural practices, such as pervasive habitat replacement and neonicotinoid contamination, on beneficial organisms and habitat restorations designed to protect and foster biodiversity. Bumble bees comprise a charismatic and ecologically significant group of native pollinators that provide critical ecosystem services, such as pollination, to a wide variety of flowering plants, including native species and agricultural crops. Over the past few decades, marked declines in bumble bee populations have occurred globally. However, these declines are not uniform, as the distribution and abundance of some species have dropped precipitously while others have remained stable or increased their range. In Chapter 1, I present an assessment of local and landscape-level factors that could be driving bumble bee population trends, with a specific focus on common and at-risk species. Over this three-year study, I found that local habitat quality, as measured with the Floristic Quality Index (FQI), had significant positive effects on broad bumble bee metrics such as abundance and richness and the abundance of common and at-risk species. On a landscape scale, land use surrounding my sample sites had a far less uniform effect on bumble bee metrics. Common bumble bee species showed a strong positive association with varying degrees of human development, while the abundance of at-risk species was strongly associated with natural areas. These findings indicate that not all bumble bee species respond to land-use composition and that restoration efforts for species of greatest concern should not follow broad population trends such as overall bumble bee abundance, which can be skewed by common species that are not declining. Despite this disparity, abundance of common and at-risk species was negatively correlated with row crop agriculture, particularly corn and soybean acreage, which reduce the amount of potential natural habitat and introduce contaminants, such as neonicotinoid insecticides, to surrounding natural areas. Neonicotinoid insecticides are the most widely used class of insecticides globally and can linger in the environment long after their initial application. Their use has been identified as a prominent driver of insect declines. In Chapter 2, I investigate the multitrophic effects of the neonicotinoid clothianidin on arthropod community structure and plant fitness in a common garden experiment designed to mirror an early prairie restoration. Using structural equation modeling, I assessed how clothianidin exposure influences arthropod abundances across different feeding guilds, alters interspecific interactions, and affects plant fitness metrics, including aboveground biomass and seed set. I found that clothianidin contamination positively affected pollinator visitation and negatively affected omnivore abundance. However, it did not induce any interspecific interactions in terms of abundance. Instead, plant species and inflorescence abundance had significantly greater effects on arthropod feeding guilds and community structure. This research highlights the importance of plant community composition in prairie restoration ecosystems and suggests that the benefits of increasing restored habitats outweigh the potential risks of increased neonicotinoid exposure to non-target organisms. Most neonicotinoid research centers around aboveground non-target arthropods such as pollinators. Much less emphasis is placed on belowground organisms, such as soil microbes, which are often more exposed to neonicotinoid contamination. In Chapter 3, I present my findings on the impact of clothianidin on soil microbial community structure and potential multitrophic effects on plant phenotypes and pollinator visitation based on the same experimental design described in Chapter 2. Analysis of microbial community structure revealed that plant species was the most significant driver of microbial community structure. Furthermore, clothianidin directly and indirectly altered the diversity of certain microbial functional groups on a plant-specific basis. In some cases, these functional group alterations led to multitrophic consequences on plant phenotypes and pollinators. Findings from this chapter highlight the importance of considering microbial interactions in restoration efforts, as neonicotinoid contamination can potentially disrupt multitrophic interactions and could alter microbial conditions to favor certain plants and, therefore, influence habitat establishment and biodiversity