Human interaction with groundwater systems : observing perturbations in one of our most important freshwater resources.

Groundwater has long been one of the primary sources of freshwater for humans. Most of Earth’s usable freshwater resources are partitioned into groundwater; however, most people do not have a realistic understanding of how groundwater systems function and therefore interact with them in ways that may be highly detrimental to our continued ability to utilize the resource. This dissertation examines multiple facets of human interactions with groundwater systems through three projects, each of which examines a small piece of the greater problems at play in groundwater systems. As the human population of Earth becomes larger and requires more and more water resources groundwater will have an even more integral role to play in providing water to a thirsty population. Understanding more about human interactions with groundwater systems will become increasingly necessary to see the resource protected and available for the future

Charter school secondary educator perceptions of neurodiverse learner engagement : a single case study.

Neurodiverse (ND) students often face challenges with school engagement and academic proficiency, contributing to higher dropout rates and mental health issues. Despite advancements in inclusive policies and the emergence of evidence-based practices informed by neuroscience and cognitive science, gaps persist in applying these practices in secondary core subject classrooms. Teachers need a background in inclusive pedagogy and evidence-based practices to feel adequately prepared to teach neurodiverse learners effectively. Despite advancements in laws and policies promoting school inclusion, educators have not consistently applied universal design principles or recent scientific findings on inclusive teaching in their classrooms, which has led to a disparity in addressing the varied needs of students. This qualitative single case study explored secondary charter school educators’ perceptions of utilizing the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to engage neurodiverse learners and identified perceived barriers to engagement. The UDL framework uses three elements: engagement (the why), representation (the what), and action and expression (the how) per the 3.0 guidelines. Each UDL element contains three subsets, which framed the data collection questions through a questionnaire, interview, and journal entries. Qualitative inquiry allowed exploration of secondary core subject teachers, perceptions of ND student engagement, and barriers to engagement within an inclusive setting. Findings revealed that core subject educators believed ND students were more engaged by using inclusive strategies from UDL that fostered a sense of belonging, offered choices, and optimized support. However, barriers such as student attitudes and systemic school factors persisted. The study has implications for teachers, teacher educators, K–12 school administrators, and districts. Suggestions for future studies include advancing research on student perspectives and academic outcomes. These findings contribute to the growing literature on inclusive pedagogy and its potential for engaging neurodiverse learners in secondary education

A computer system for computing invariants in general relativity.

Invariants are powerful tools to analyze and understand exact solutions to Einstein’s field equations. This work is an overview of computer code developed for the EUCOS group to compute invariants in classical gravity. Practical considerations are given for generic calculations of invariants in computer algebra systems and a detailed overview of the code developed is provided. This code is then used in several applications, such as surface identification, classification, and identification of special properties of solutions

Leveraging large language models for legal document understanding and software system analysis : addressing key challenges.

In the rapidly advancing field of software development, ensuring compliance with legal regulations and policies has become increasingly critical. The intricate separation between legal expertise and software engineering creates challenges that demand robust, automatic compliance and auditing methods. Thesis focuses on leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) to bridge this gap, particularly in two key areas: legal document question answering and classification and understanding complex software systems based on microservices architectures. By evaluating the capabilities of LLMs in these domains, this dissertation contributes essential insights into their potential role as auditors of legal compliance in software systems. Although this work covers only a portion of the broader vision of LLMs in full-spectrum compliance auditing, it lays the groundwork for a comprehensive approach by addressing the applications of LLMs in understanding legal documents and software systems. However, a crucial challenge in deploying LLMs for legal compliance lies in their tendency to hallucinate. This limitation affects their application in legal document analysis, software understanding, and the broader goal of ensuring automatic compliance with legal regulations, where accuracy and reliability are essential, and errors can have significant consequences. Given that hallucinations in LLMs are a significant barrier to achieving automatic legal compliance in software, this thesis also addresses the hallucination problem in LLMs, ultimately contributing to the development of more reliable LLM-based tools not only for the main goal of this thesis but also for any domain where LLMs are utilized

Te doy un consejo : the use of Spanish directives in two African Spanish films.

This study examines advice-giving and advice-taking in two African Spanish-language films: Treinta años ¿y qué? (from Ghana) and Limpiabotas (from Equatorial Guinea). Grounded in speech act theory (Searle, 1976) and Brown and Levinson’s Politeness theory (1987), the research analyzes how cultural and linguistic factors influence the use of directives in African Spanish. Given the multilingual backgrounds of both Ghanaian and Equatoguinean speakers, the study explores the speech acts, levels of directness, and politeness strategies employed by interlocutors in giving and responding to advice. The research provides a novel initial step towards understanding language, culture, and pragmatics in Spanish-speaking communities in Africa. It highlights the vibrancy of language use in multicultural and multilingual environments and calls for continued scholarly interest in the African Spanish as an expanding field

Single case study exploring the integrative model of person-organizational fit and retention among long-tenured H-E-B employees.

High turnover in the grocery retail industry presents a significant challenge to organizational sustainability, profitability, and community well-being. The financial burden of recruiting, training, and replacing employees undermines operational efficiency and long-term workforce development. Turnover disrupts service quality, customer satisfaction, and team morale, weakening organizational culture. With the retail trade turnover rate surpassing the national average, companies face a cycle of costly attrition and limited return on training investments. These challenges extend beyond the organization, as store closures due to high operational costs disproportionately impact underserved communities, increasing socioeconomic inequalities and reducing access to essential goods. The purpose of this single case study was to explore long-tenured H-E-B employees’ perceptions of the elements of the integrative model of person-organizational fit have contributed to their retention. The model’s elements include values, personality, and work environment congruence, and attitude, which include job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The data collection included a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and a structured open-ended statement exercise that yielded rich, thick participant data. Studying H-E-B’s environment can identify practices contributing to a positive work environment and high retention rates. The following research question guided my study. How do H-E-B employees with over 30 years of tenure perceive values congruence, personality congruence, and work environment congruence influence their attitudes and intent to stay with the organization? The findings of my study have implications for H-E-B leaders, such as executives, human resources professionals, and operations leaders, aiming to reduce turnover. By revealing how values congruence, personality fit, work environment alignment, and job satisfaction contribute to long-term organizational commitment, my study offers a framework for workforce retention rooted in the integrative model of person-organization fit. The results support adopting values-driven hiring practices, leadership development, and compensation models that enhance employee engagement and reduce attrition. This research provides strategies for practitioners to align HR and practices with employee-centered values, fostering organizational stability, customer satisfaction, and profitability. For scholars, the study extends the application of person-organization fit theory to frontline service roles. It lays a foundation for future inquiry into leadership, culture, and workforce management in similarly volatile labor markets

Writing and directing the short film, How to Format : Ctrl Shift Forest.

The following thesis outlines the script and methodological approach to the short film, Format, including an examination of theoretical and filmic influences that have inspired the director's creative approach. Additionally, outlined in this thesis is the filmmaker's goals and metaphorical content as well as a full script with an analysis of its content

Moral worth, virtue, and accidentally right action : towards a virtue first approach.

The contemporary notion of a morally worthy action—a right action done for the right reasons—is widely recognized as something distinct from but importantly related to acting virtuously. It is somewhat surprising, then, that the relationship between morally worthy action and action from virtue has remained largely unexplored and undeveloped. In this dissertation, I first argue against a way of thinking about the relationship that is often assumed, however implicitly. The Standard View—the thesis that virtue is the stable disposition to perform morally worthy actions—suffers from a host of issues which result from defining virtue in terms of moral worth. Chiefly, the Standard View fails to adequately describe the sense in which doing the right thing for the right reasons is doing the right thing non-accidentally. A Virtue First paradigm, however, reverses this order of dependence, defining moral worth in terms of its resemblance to virtuous activity. I defend a Virtue First view in the final chapter

Maybe less is more : congregation size and social embeddedness in the age of the megachurch.

A growing body of research documents the rise of large congregations, their success in appealing to younger, more diverse demographics, and what these patterns say about the religious landscape more broadly. A commonly assumed, yet underdeveloped, aspect of this literature is the relationship between congregation size and social embeddedness. Using multilevel data from the 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey (USCLS), I analyze the relationship between weekly church attendance and congregational belonging and friendship, and how these relationships vary across religious traditions. Results indicate a negative relationship between congregation size and social embeddedness for all traditions except Black Protestants, who display the opposite pattern. For other traditions, meanwhile, in the largest congregations, the negative relationship attenuates for belonging, but not for friendship. These findings suggest some limitations to prevailing narratives about church growth and highlight the importance of accounting for religious tradition in future studies on congregation size and social dynamics

Exploring multi-impacted nontraditional undergraduate students’ perceptions of the factors that influence their motivation to learn in their courses : a single case study.

Despite high motivation to learn, nontraditional students experience barriers that affect their persistence. Barriers such as limited time, resources, and inconsistent support systems make it difficult to balance different needs and form social connections. Some university personnel also fail to fully acknowledge nontraditional student needs, which increases their feelings of isolation and insecurity. This single case study explored how multi-impacted nontraditional undergraduate students at a university in the western United States perceived that personal, behavioral, and environmental factors influenced their motivation to learn in their courses. I used Bandura’s (1977, 1986) social cognitive theory of reciprocal determinism to explore three multi-impacted nontraditional students’ experiences. I collected questionnaires, open-ended one-on-one interviews, and reflection journal responses. I then analyzed the data using the data analysis spiral and conducted a within-case analysis. Six themes emerged aligned with the theoretical framework. First, participants perceived physical characteristics and cognitive traits—such as mental health, learning abilities, and disorders—influenced the development of their coping strategies to attend class on time, pay attention in courses, and balance their schedules. Second, participants perceived personal attitudes and beliefs of anxiety and embarrassment increased when others questioned their capabilities as learners. Third, participants perceived that habits of discipline, time management, open communication, utilizing schedules, giving rewards, and developing effective study environments developed over time and helped students complete their coursework. Fourth, participants perceived their behaviors and habits varied by course type, exhibiting positive study habits and classroom behaviors in major-based courses and avoidance behaviors and distraction-type habits in general courses, which decreased motivation without intervention. Fifth, participants perceived inconsistencies in access to network-building environments created a sense of isolation, and that consistent, deliberate engagement within the social environment could increase a sense of belonging on campus if they could secure mutual interest to interact with others. Sixth, participants perceived inconsistencies in familial, peer, and academic support, which they described as isolating, making it harder to attend and engage in class. This study has implications for students, faculty, and administrators