Digital Commons Network^™

Semi-Automated Extraction Of Active Fire Edges From Tactical Infrared Observations Of Wildfires, Christopher C. Giesige, Eric Goldbeck-Dimon, Andrew Klofas, Mario Miguel Valero

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Highlights: What are the main findings? This article presents an image processing method to semi-automatically track wildfire progression. The algorithm was successfully applied to aerial infrared imagery acquired during tactical fire management operations. What are the implications of the main finding? These results illustrate how tactical data can be used in fire behavior studies. The proposed method may facilitate real-time analysis of tactical information during wildfire emergencies. Remote sensing of wildland fires has become an integral part of fire science. Airborne sensors provide high spatial resolution and can provide high temporal resolution, enabling fire behavior monitoring at fine scales. Fire …

Spartan Daily, October 23, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 27

Spartan Daily, October 22, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 26

Spartan Daily, October 21, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 25

High-Stakes Exams Inflate A Gender Gap And Contribute To Systematic Grading Errors In One Introductory Physics Series, David J. Webb, Cassandra Paul

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Previous research has suggested that changing the percentage of the course grade associated with exam grades in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses can change the gender gap in the course. It has also been shown that high-stakes assessments yield the lowest (relative) scores for female students. Previous research by the authors has shown that implementing retake exams can eliminate the gender gap in introductory physics courses. This paper explores several different hypotheses for why retake exams are associated with a zeroed gender gap. Two independent measurements comparing exams with different stakes are used in support of the argument that …

Contextualizing Introductory Computer Science: Insights From African Faculty, Ethel Tshukudu, Ismaila Temitayo Sanusi, Oluwakemi Ola, Sally Hamouda, Linda Marshall, Oluwatoyin Adelakun-Adeyemo, Emma R. Dodoo, G. Ayorkor Korsah, Sandani Luvhengo, Jack Parkinson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Contextualizing computer science education has been recognized as a key factor in enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes. This study investigates the initial perceptions of university computer science faculty in Africa regarding the benefits, adoption challenges, and institutional support required for the successful integration of contextually relevant materials into introductory computer science (CS1) courses. Faculty then assessed a set of previously developed contextually tailored materials, grounded in Banks' Additive Approach to curriculum reform and aligned to the CS curricula 2023. The research adopted qualitative methods, gathering data through open-ended surveys from 22 CS faculty across 9 African countries. Thematic analysis …

An Investigation Of Corrective Approaches For Uncertain Winds And Analysis Of Impacts On Smoke Model Performance, Zongrun Li, Susan M. O'Neill, Rime El Asmar, Yongtao Hu, Adam K. Kochanski, Angel Farguell, Jan Mandel, David J. Tanner, L. Gregory Huey, Armistead G. Russell, Rodney J. Weber, M. Talat Odman

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

In wildland fires, wind affects fire propagation, emission intensity, and smoke transport; therefore, uncertainties in wind simulations can critically impact PM2.5 concentration produced by coupled fire-atmosphere models or chemical transport models. These uncertainties must be addressed prior to assessing other parameters that may affect model-predicted PM2.5 concentrations through comparisons with observations. This study simulated prescribed fire events with accurate ignition pattern design and high spatial-temporal resolutions using the coupled fire-atmosphere model WRF-SFIRE. We designed, implemented, and evaluated various wind bias reduction and smoke model evaluation methods to quantitatively capture the impacts of wind uncertainty on simulated smoke concentrations. For the …

Phase Transitions In An Ising Model Of Agent Expectations In Financial Markets: Analytics And Numerical Results In One And Two-Dimensional Network Topologies, Marko Raseta, Steven D. Silver, Alina Bazarova

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

We cite correspondences between dynamics in competitive markets and information theory in the objective of recovering signal from noisy information sequences. In financial markets, this objective has been examined as recovering signal on phase transitions between ordered and disordered states of agents in the market. These transitions have been indicated to denote critical points in time series of market price. Although there is a noteworthy background in information theory in the study of the dynamics of the Ising model in this manuscript, we pursue a different modeling approach. Whereas phase transitions in a multicomponent model of market states have previously …

The Symbiotic Harm Of A Criminal Record, Ericka B. Adams, Elsa Y. Chen, Sarah E. Lageson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Having a criminal record significantly alters a person’s life chances, decreasing their opportunities for employment, housing, student loans, voting, public benefits, and more. The collateral consequences of criminal convictions, or the civil restrictions that follow criminal convictions, are well documented. However, because individuals are connected to families and communities, it is impossible to isolate the effects of punishment to only the persons holding criminal records. Instead, the effects of criminal records might be best understood as a set of symbiotic harms, marked by relational and interdependent effects. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 59 expungement-eligible persons and 69 community representatives, this …

Spartan Daily, October 16, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 24

Spartan Daily, October 15, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 23

Spartan Daily, October 14, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 22

Integration Of Uav And Remote Sensing Data For Early Diagnosis And Severity Mapping Of Diseases In Maize Crop Through Deep Learning And Reinforcement Learning, Jerry Gao, Krinal Gujarati, Meghana Hegde, Padmini Arra, Sejal Gupta, Neeraja Buch

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Highlights: What are the main findings? A framework combining UAV, satellite, and weather data to detect crop diseases. Ensemble deep learning and reinforcement learning improve classification and severity mapping. What is the implication of the main finding? Enables near real-time, scalable crop disease management to reduce yield losses. Early detection and hotspot mapping optimize water and pesticide use for sustainability. Accurate and timely prediction of diseases in water-intensive crops is critical for sustainable agriculture and food security. AI-based crop disease management tools are essential for an optimized approach, as they offer significant potential for enhancing yield and sustainability. This study …

Spartan Daily, October 9, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 21

Trajectory Of Tinnitus Distress Across The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of Self-Reported Symptoms, Anusha Yellamsetty, Mika Shin

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate retrospectively self-reported changes in tinnitus severity and distress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination using validated self-report instruments. It further explored patient-reported onset of tinnitus following vaccination, gender differences in symptom severity, and associations with psychological distress. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 189 adults between December 2023 and April 2024. Participants retrospectively self-reported tinnitus onset and severity before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and the Tinnitus Reaction Questionnaire (TRQ). Additional items assessed COVID-19 vaccination history, infection status, and adverse vaccine reactions. Repeated measures …

Cosmopolitan Spirits: Islam And The Experimental Cosmologies Of Egypt's Spiritualist Movement, 1947–1960, Arthur Shiwa Zárate

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This article considers the history of Egypt’s mid-twentieth-century Spiritualist movement through an examination of its periodical, a monthly Arabic magazine called Alam al-Ruh (The World of the Spirit) (1947–1960). As it shows, Egyptian Spiritualists defended and promoted their project by crafting an experimental cosmology, one that blended claims about empirical verification with elements of Islamic and Spiritualist cosmologies. It further shows how this combination of scientism and cosmology reflects a core dynamic within the history of scientific exploration in the Islamic world. Like spiritual seekers and occult practitioners in Muslim societies elsewhere, Egyptian Spiritualists positioned their project as one of …

Book Review: Starry Field: A Memoir Of Lost History By Margaret Juhae Lee, Brook Mcclurg

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

No abstract provided.

Without Them, There Is No You: The Role Of Personal Choice And History In Resisting Political Control, Heidi Turner

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

In 2011, Korean-American journalist Suki Kim went undercover as an English teacher at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, working to teach her students while simultaneously recording everything she could about the workings of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). In 2014, her book Without You, There is No Us was published as a memoir, in part due to the inclusion of personal details considered less relevant to the story, thereby undercutting her journalistic credentials.

Here, using C. S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man as a theoretical framework for understanding oppressive regimes and the ways that they control …

Full Circle, Full Century: An Interview With Mitsuye Yamada, Noelle Brada-Williams, Elizabeth J. Asborno

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Volume Thirteen: Teaching In Dangerous Times, Noelle Brada-Williams

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

No abstract provided.

Spartan Daily, October 8, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 20

Spartan Daily, October 7, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 19

Ainr: Automated Intrinsic Non-Rigid Registration For Accuracy Qualification Of Complex Freeform Products In 3d Printing, Weizhi Lin, Qiang Huang

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Non-rigid shape registration identifies the optimal non-rigid transformation between an actual product and its intended design to characterize their geometric dissimilarities. This transformation is usually determined by iteratively minimizing point-wise distances to match points with point-wise rigid motion. However, freeform products may exhibit complex spatial patterns of shape deviation, leading to premature iteration termination due to tradeoffs among local regions. One solution is to segment the complex design into semantic features and perform segment-wise rigid registration. Segment boundaries are typically placed along high-curvature regions, where deviations are more likely occur in 3D printing. However, since boundaries are generally more prone …

Introduction To Analysis: Theorems And Examples, Hidefumi Katsuura

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This book focuses on the theoretical aspects of calculus. The book begins with a chapter on set theory before thoroughly discussing real numbers, then moves onto sequences, series, and their convergence. The author explains why an understanding of real numbers is essential in order to create a foundation for studying analysis. Since the Cantor set is elusive to many, a section is devoted to binary/ternary numbers and the Cantor set. The book then moves on to continuous functions, differentiations, integrations, and uniform convergence of sequences of functions. An example of a nontrivial uniformly Cauchy sequence of functions is given. The …

Discriminative Regions And Adversarial Sensitivity In Cnn-Based Malware Image Classification, Anish Roy, Fabio Di Troia

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The escalating prevalence of malware poses a significant threat to digital infrastructure, demanding robust yet efficient detection methods. In this study, we evaluate multiple Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures, including basic CNN, LeNet, AlexNet, GoogLeNet, and DenseNet, on a dataset of 11,000 malware images spanning 452 families. Our experiments demonstrate that CNN models can achieve reliable classification performance across both multiclass and binary tasks. However, we also uncover a critical weakness in that even minimal image perturbations, such as pixel modification lower than 1% of the total image pixels, drastically degrade accuracy and reveal CNNs’ fragility in adversarial settings. A …

Spartan Daily, October 2, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 18

Spartan Daily, October 1, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 17

Robust Hashing For Improved Cnn Performance In Image-Based Malware Detection, Sanket Shekhar Kulkarni, Fabio Di Troia

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This paper presents a comparative study on the impact of robust hashing in enhancing image-based malware classification. While Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have shown promise when working with image-based malware samples, their performance degrades significantly when obfuscation techniques are taken into consideration to hamper the malware classification or detection. To address this, we apply a robust hashing technique that generates invariant visual representations of malware samples, enabling improved generalization under obfuscation implemented as image salting. Using a custom obfuscation method to simulate polymorphic variants, we evaluate MobileNet, ResNet, and DenseNet architectures across five salting conditions (0% to 40%). The results …

Machine Learning For Dissolved Oxygen Prediction In The Manawatu River Catchment, New Zealand, Imokhai T. Tenebe, Eunice O. Babatunde, Nkpa M. Ogarekpe, Egbe Etu Etu, Joshua Emakhu, Kindness E. Etu, Obiora B. Ezeudu, Oluwarotimi S. Oladele

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Uncontrolled anthropogenic activities have increased river pollution, resulting in poor water quality and a growing need for continuous monitoring, which is time-consuming and costly. This study evaluated the accuracy of machine learning (ML) models in predicting dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, aiming to reduce field monitoring efforts and minimize the number of measured parameters. Regression models (Huber, Linear, Ridge), Bagging methods (Extra Trees, Random Forest, Decision Trees), and Boosting techniques (Gradient Boosting, Light Gradient Boosting, AdaBoost) were tested using data from three sites in the Manawatu Catchment, New Zealand. Data spanning 1989–2014 included 12 water quality variables and was split into …

Spartan Daily, September 30, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 16