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Naval self sabotage: The failures of early American naval policy, 1775-1825
No full text“Naval Self Sabotage: The Failures of Early American Naval Policy, 1775-1825” examines the United States Navy during the Revolutionary War and Early Republic, and its role in the maritime conflicts that the nation encountered during this time period. This thesis argues that the Navy was never allowed to be developed as an institution which resulted in the Navy being unable to fulfill the demands being made of it. This state of affairs was the result of an inconsistent naval policy caused by turbulent political dynamics and poor leadership both within the government of the United States and the Navy. This project shows that instead of one singular factor being to blame, the struggles the Navy were the result of many variables that lasted for decades
Understanding disability by becoming disabled: An autoethnogrpahy of a stroke survior
No full textIn this autoethnographic study, I explore my personal journey as a 39-year-old stroke survivor, examining the intersection of disability, identity, and social interactions. Through my lived experience, I investigate how a sudden transition from a nondisabled to disabled status impacted my sense of self and daily life. My research reveals three key themes: loss of agency, identity transformation, and the intersectional role of disability in social assumptions and interactions. Drawing from disability studies and curriculum studies frameworks, I analyze my experiences in healthcare settings, public spaces, and social interactions to understand the complex interplay between disability, age, and social constructs. My findings highlight significant gaps in age-appropriate resources for young stroke survivors and demonstrate the need for enhanced cultural competency among healthcare providers. This study contributes to both disability studies and curriculum studies by offering insights into embodied learning experiences and challenging traditional notions of disability
The Effects of Interparental Marital Conflict on College Student Mental Health
No full textWhile marital conflict is a key factor in the quality of marriages and pertinent to child functioning, little research has been conducted on the potential continuing effects that interparental conflict may have on emerging adults. The current study examined the association between interparental marital conflict, parental marital satisfaction, and child mental health outcomes. The participants were 176 emerging adults and 163 of their parents. Children completed online questionnaires about their self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and their parents? marital conflict, while parents answered online surveys about their marital conflict, their marital satisfaction, and the conflict resolution strategies used by them and their partner. Results indicate that frequent interparental marital conflict negatively influences the mental health outcomes of emerging adult children, while cooperative interparental conflict has positive impacts on child mental health. Results also suggest that interparental marital conflict and strategy use are significant factors in parental marital satisfaction, and that no discrepancies exist between mother-father-child reports of interparental conflict and conflict strategy use in emerging adulthood
New Era of Cold War in Africa: Financial Aid Battles Between United States and China
No full textThe United States provides financial aid to a multitude of countries, but why does it provide money to some nations and not others? Over the last decade, the U.S. has increased its aid to Africa by almost three billion dollars, which leads to the question - What drove that increase? While a multitude of variables can account for such an increase, without doubt, one of those variables is increased Chinese presence. China has actively distributed funds to Africa through its Belt and Road initiative, and the U.S. did not hesitate to respond by increasing its aid. The data suggests that there is a quo-pro-quo dynamic in the distribution of aid. As China increases its aid, the U.S. follows, and in return, China increases its aid, which leads to the conclusion that an active aid battle is taking place between the two nations. Furthermore, Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) fluctuates relative to the aid that U.S provides. If the U.S. decreases its aid one year, the following year, Chinese FDI will decrease, and if the U.S. increases its aid, Chinese FDI will increase the following year. Hence, a conclusion can be drawn that there is an active rivalry between the two nations. As the study suggested, a nation's population does not meaningfully affect the amount of aid an African nation receives from either the U.S. or China. However, what affects the amount of aid that the United States distributes is whether China has distributed aid previously and whether China has increased/decreased its aid the year before. Similarly, Chinese aid distribution is affected in the same way; if the United States increases its aid, China does the same in response. Overall, there is a rivalry taking place between the U.S. and China through the aid in Africa
Factors associated with parent agreement about their child, relationship, and family: A latent profile analysis of parents of autistic children
No full textPrevious work has found that parents can disagree in their perception of their child. There is a paucity of research examining whether parents also disagree in perception of their own relationship and family environment. This study used latent profile analysis to examine discrepancies in parent ratings of their autistic child’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, their couple relationship satisfaction, and their perception of their family environment. This study also identified patterns of agreement across aspects of the family (i.e., child’s behavior, couple relationship satisfaction, or the family and identified correlates of agreement and disagreement. Results revealed different profiles of agreement/disagreement for each construct, but also for each construct, disagreement between parents occurred when ratings were more negative. Couples who disagreed about their relationship satisfaction also agreed about their family environment, but not necessarily their child’s internalizing or externalizing behaviors.
Finally, child autism severity, parent depressive symptoms, and parent broad autism phenotype differed across agreement and disagreement profiles. Results have clinical implications for families with autistic children
Catherine Crowe: The freethinking nineteenth-century "medium" of science, fiction, and reform
No full textCatherine Crowe was a nineteenth-century British woman writing bestselling sensational fiction featuring amateur female detectives at the same moment as Edgar Allan Poe. However, her contributions to the establishment of detective fiction and other genres and movements has, until recent decades, been largely forgotten. This dissertation uses actor-network theory to investigate facets of Crowe’s unconventional life, career, influences, and legacy which have hitherto been obscured due to archival limitations and the attempts of several powerful journal editors to silence her public promotion of unorthodox egalitarian beliefs about women and science. Specifically, this study seeks to help restore Crowe to the historical record in the following ways. Chapter one explores some early influences whose intellectual and practical support helped launch her career and shape the ideas about women’s intellectual and economic independence she espouses in her fiction. Chapter two considers the ways Crowe and another woman in her science-minded reformist network, Harriet Martineau, sought to use their fiction as learning technologies to bring scientific instruction to readers otherwise excluded from scientific education. Chapter three explores Crowe’s role in fanning the flames of the British Spiritualist and American abolition movements and the ways she was punished by Charles Dickens, John Elliotson, and other men with scientific investments and literary connections for promoting her egalitarian scientific beliefs. Chapter four revises the persistent misconception that Crowe’s career effectively ended in 1854 and explores the ways her network aided her in returning to publishing: this final chapter considers the ways she responded to her detractors and continued boldly espousing her freethinking scientific beliefs in several late-career works which, I argue, are some of her most important. Ultimately, this study seeks to demonstrate the role Catherine Crowe played within her network to help shape several important nineteenth-century literary, reform, and scientific movements
The Associations Among Existential Isolation, Shared Reality, and Veterans’ Health
No full textMilitary veterans face elevated risks of mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and suicide. While previous research has identified loneliness and social isolation as major contributors to these outcomes, less is known about existential isolation (EI), the sense that others cannot understand one's personal experiences. Shared reality, defined as a perceived commonality of inner states with others, may help reduce EI and improve health outcomes. This study examined whether experiences of generalized shared reality (SR-G) in close relationships were associated with reduced EI, and in turn, whether lower EI predicted better mental and physical health outcomes in veterans. The two hypotheses for this study were (1) higher levels of EI will be associated with greater symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD, and with lower levels of physical health and (2) greater shared reality will be associated with lower levels of EI, which, in turn, will be related to reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and increased physical well-being. A sample of 464 U.S. veterans completed measures of SR-G, EI, loneliness, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and physical well-being. Results showed that SR-G was significantly negatively associated with EI, loneliness, and depression, and positively associated with physical health. Mediation analyses showed that EI partially mediated the relationship between SR-G and both depression and physical health, even when controlling for loneliness. These findings suggest that fostering shared reality in close relationships may serve as a protective factor against EI and its associated negative health outcomes in military veterans. Implications for clinical interventions and veteran reintegration support programs are discussed
DESIGN OF AN AUTOMATIC INTERVAL FEEDER TO ENCOURAGE THE FORAGING BEHAVIOR OF AMERICAN BLACK BEARS
No full textThis project focuses on the design and development of an automatic interval feeder to encourage more natural foraging behavior of American black bears at the Fort Worth Zoo. The goal was to create a device that dispenses food at randomized intervals, stimulating searching behaviour equivalent to that seen in the wild, thereby enriching the bear's environment. The project underwent multiple design iterations, starting with a motor-driven rotational chamber mechanism and evolving through different models to address various mechanical and electrical challenges. Key issues included power and load distribution, the feasibility of manufacturing within a limited timeframe, and ensuring the device could dispense 2.5 lbs of food. The final model incorporated an external motor and a funnel-based release system to reduce the load on the motor and meet the required food-dispensing capacity. Although the design successfully met its functional objectives, it raised longevity concerns, particularly the exposure of external components to outdoor conditions. The iterative design process highlighted the importance of balancing complexity with manufacturability, emphasizing the need for practicality and timeline analysis throughout load testing. This project demonstrates engineering solutions to improve animal enrichment while offering insights into the challenges of mechanical and electrical system design under time and resource constraints
Perceptions of school counselors and administrators on leading multitiered systems of support
No full textThis qualitative study explored the perceptions of secondary school counselors and administrators regarding their roles in leading multitiered system of supports (MTSS). Framed through the lens of sensemaking theory, this study investigated how key stakeholders interpret, implement, and navigate the complexities of MTSS within a large suburban school district. As secondary schools adopt MTSS to address students’ academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs, the success of this framework hinges on the clarity of roles, collaborative leadership, and alignment with district and schoolwide goals. Semistructured interviews with counselors and campus leaders occurred to understand their experiences, beliefs, and the organizational dynamics that influence MTSS implementation. Thematic analysis indicated several key findings: role ambiguity between counselors and administrators, inconsistent campus processes, and a lack of formal training and communication structures. Despite these challenges, participants demonstrated a shared commitment to student success and recognized MTSS as a proactive, student-centered approach
Measurement Error in Count Data: A Case Study in Oral Reading Accuracy
No full textOral Reading Accuracy (ORA) measures how accurately students read aloud and plays
a key role in assessing reading proficiency. This study investigates the use of speech
recognition systems for ORA scoring, focusing on the statistical estimation of misclas-
sification rates when both human and AI scores may contain errors. Using data from
507 elementary school students across ten passages of varying lengths and difficulties,
we evaluate classification accuracy in terms of true positive (correct words identified as
correct) and true negative (incorrect words misclassified as correct) rates. We develop
estimation procedures for these misclassification rates using the Method of Moments
(MOM) and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), accounting for scenarios
with two contaminated data sources. This work considers both the scenario where true
counts are observed and the more realistic case where only contaminated scores are
available, demonstrating that reliable performance metrics can still be recovered and
supporting the scalability of automated ORA assessments