Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Daylight Saving Time Transitions On Domestic Violence Call Volume, Quynh-Nhu Pham

Master's Projects

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is a longstanding practice in many countries, involving the seasonal adjustment of clocks by one hour forward in the spring, and one hour backward in the fall. Although DST was initially introduced to promote energy conservation and maximize daylight hours, it has become a subject of debate, given its impact on physical and mental health, cognitive performance, and criminal behavior (Kountouris & Remoundou, 2014).

In 2022, Colorado enacted a law adopting year-round DST, contingent upon a federal law enabling states to maintain DST throughout the year as opposed to ST, like Hawaii and Arizona (Chasan, 2024). …

Domain Expert Bot, Amrutha Dondemadahalli Ramegowda

Master's Projects

The fast growth of artificial intelligence in human-computer interaction has been aided significantly by the introduction of conversational AI systems. This project presents a Domain Expert Bot, a multi-domain conversational bot built with advanced NLP techniques incorporated through Sentence-BERT and MapReduce to allow the bot to analyze and comprehend challenging user queries on various topics. The bot can converse on different subjects ranging from technology topics to healthcare, environment, politics, and casual discussions. It excels in understanding deep language contexts and efficiently processes large datasets, ensuring prompt and accurate responses. Furthermore, it uses advanced ranking algorithms to perform real- time …

Emulating Human Personality With Large Language Models Through Contextual Prompts And Fine-Tuning, Mrunal Zambre

Master's Projects

The quest for AI systems that can mirror the intricate aspects of human emotion and personality is crucial for enhancing their performance. This project delves into the capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs) to mimic the Big Five personality traits in human-written essays by utilizing contextual prompts and fine-tuning methods. Diverging from traditional research in this domain, this project explores smaller, open-source LLMs, including LLaMA 2 7B chat, LLaMA 2 13B chat, and Vicuna v.15 13B, to assess their potential in personality prediction tasks, thereby making high-level personality emulation more accessible and practical for application integration. Through meticulous prompt engineering, …

Distinguishing Chatbot From Human, Gauri Anil Godghase

Master's Projects

There have been many recent advances in the field of Generative Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models, with GPT 3 or ChatGPT model being one of the frontrunners in this field. These large language models have become so powerful that it has become difficult to differentiate between text written by humans and machine-generated text. This paper proposes a solution to the problem of classification of the origin of data (human or chatbot) by using Machine Learning. In addition, the proposed solution also helps us analyze the text generated by such Language Models and understand the underlying patterns present in the …

Exploring The Use And Misuse Of Large Language Models (Llms), Hezekiah Paul D. Valdez

Master's Projects

Large Language Models (LLMs) have quickly gone from simple rule-based systems to complex knowledge bases capable of tackling many different tasks across a variety of fields. What began as an exercise in human-computer interaction has become the basis for artificial intelligence in a variety of mediums. When attached to larger systems, LLMs become generative assistants that can perform highly on human proficiency assessments and other benchmark skill assessments. This increase in proficiency has led these systems to be deployed in fields such as cybersecurity, business, and programming to help improve productivity and efficiency. However, such a wide availability has allowed …

Enhancing Qwen2.5-Coder: A Deep Dive Into Fine-Tuning Using Peft For Superior Code Outputs, Lohith Nagaraja

Master's Projects

The main objective of this research is to improve the quality of software code that is produced by the Qwen2.5-Coder model specifically in terms of maintainability, complexity, and reliability. Our approach is going to be a more specific one that will involve the Parameter-Efficient Fine Tuning (PEFT) framework combined with quantization through Low-Rank Adaption (LoRA). This approach involves fine-tuning only some of the parameters of a model to make it suitable for software programming with the general structure of the model largely intact. In this paper, SonarQube is used as a tool to help quantify the improvements made to the …

Addressing Equity Gaps In Stem: A Self-Study, Prabhjeet Kaur Brar

Dissertations

The Hispanic/Latinx population is increasing nationwide and in the state of California; however, the Hispanic/Latinx population remains underrepresented in STEM professions contributing to a lack of diversity in STEM. To increase the academic success of the Hispanic/Latinx student population in STEM majors, high leverage research-based teaching strategies through the lens of historically responsive literacy were applied and examined throughout this research. The purpose of this mixed-methods self-study was to examine the impact of research-based effective strategies/high leverage practices on Latinx students’ success rates in my introductory biology classrooms. The study focused on two biology course sections with a laboratory. Each …

(Miss)Educated Latino Males: Academic Preparedness, Navigation, And Retention At 2-Year Colleges, Nannette Stephanie Regua

Dissertations

This study centers Latino males, first generation, first year students at four 2-year colleges in the Silicon Valley by understanding their experiences in transferable English 1A Writing Composition course and looking at the acts of instilling a sense of belonging and mattering by institutional agents and support services that are invaluable to student retention and success. The purpose of this study is to determine Latino male students’ perceptions of academic preparation, navigation, and success in higher education after the implementation of California Assembly Bill 705. My findings revealed important themes that map onto conceptual frameworks, most notably the Community Cultural …

Gradual Typing For Information Flow Control In Typescript Using Es Lint, Ashish Agarwal

Master's Projects

Current state-of-the-art systems tackle data security threats by incorporating information flow control (IFC) to ensure that a piece of information reaches only its intended recipient. However, most IFC implementations introduce a custom language built on top of a well-known language. Adaptations of such languages are limited due to limited support and updates, along with difficulty in learning new syntaxes. Implementations without a custom language offer incomplete IFC support. We present a comprehensive framework by leveraging Typescript, in conjunction with ESLint and NodeJS, aiming to resolve some of the limitations of IFC and intending to facilitate acceptance by a wide range …

Sibelius’S Scaramouche: A Comparative Production History Of A Tragic Pantomime, 1913–1977, Karl E. Toepfer, Eija Kurki

Open Educational Resources

The book describes the historical context for the Scaramouche tragic pantomime created by Poul Knudsen and Jean Sibelius in 1913. The pantomime had numerous productions in various European countries between 1922 and 1977, and the book examines all of them according to all available evidence. The text explains the historical and cultural significance of the pantomime and how it uniquely explores a dark and complex intersection of female sexuality, marriage, and class control of erotic desire. The authors examine all productions of Scaramouche from the premiere production in Copenhagen in 1922 to the last major production in Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany …

Dispersal Limits Poleward Expansion Of Mangroves On The West Coast Of North America, Kyle C. Cavanaugh, Dustin Carroll, Rémi Bardou, Tom Van Der Stocken

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

While much attention has been paid to the climatic controls of species' range limits, other factors such as dispersal limitation are also important. Temperature is an important control of the distribution of coastal mangrove forests, and mangrove expansion at multiple poleward range limits has been linked to increasing temperatures. However, mangrove abundances at other poleward range limits have been surprisingly insensitive to climate change, indicating other drivers of range limitation. For example, along the west coast of North America, the poleward mangrove range limits are found on the Baja California and mainland coasts of Mexico, between 26°48ʹ and 30°18ʹN. Non-climatic …

A Comparative Multivariate Analysis Of Var And Deep Learning-Based Models For Forecasting Volatile Time Series Data, Saroj Gopali, Sima Siami-Namini, Faranak Abri, Akbar Siami Namin

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The existing literature on forecasting time series data is primarily based on univariate analysis and techniques such as Univariate Autoregressive (UAR), Univariate Moving Average (UMA), Simple Exponential Smoothing (SES), deep learning models, and, most notably, univariate Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) built based on univariate variable where the next lag of time series is leveraged for forecasting the next cycle of data. This paper takes this line of research to the next level by focusing on forecasting time series data based on “multivariate” modeling and analysis. To have a better insight of the performance of various deep learning-based models when multivariate …

Anti-Trafficking And Humanitarian Operations: Transferring Learnings For A Better World, Kezban Yagci Sokat, Maria Besiou

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose: The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to draw insights from the rich literature on humanitarian operations efforts to combat human trafficking; second, to inspire humanitarian operations researchers to work more on human anti-trafficking. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper inspired by recent relevant reports, the academic literature and the authors’ years of involvement in both humanitarian operations and anti-trafficking. Findings: Humanitarian supply chains and human trafficking supply chains very often operate in the same environments and hence face similar challenges. The paper highlights the overlaps between the two domains and demonstrates how two decades of learnings from …

The Role Of Paradata In Algorithmic Accountability, Ciaran B. Trace, James A. Hodges

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This chapter examines how the doings of the algorithm (instantiated through its operations, actions, and steps) and its accompanying algorithmic system are revealed and explored through an engagement with the paradata created as a part of this data-making effort. In doing so, the chapter explores how the concept of paradata helps us understand how information professionals and domain stakeholders conceptualize accountable algorithmic entities and how this influences how they emerge as documented and describable entities. Two complementary frameworks for capturing and preserving paradata for accountability purposes are examined in the process. The first is associated with diplomatic theory and archival …

Towards A Context-Contingent Stage Theory Of Entrepreneurial Opportunity: Introducing The Petii Model, Xiaohong Iris Quan

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Understanding opportunity is a crucial aspect of entrepreneurship research. Existing studies have extensively examined individual factors in facilitating entrepreneurial activities such as new venture creation. Although there are some discussions on contextual factors, few connect context with the origin of entrepreneurship—opportunity. Recognising the objectivity of entrepreneurial opportunity, this theoretical article first proposes two types of opportunities—innovative opportunity and imitative opportunity—to understand the nature of opportunity. It then proposes a systematic framework—the PETII (Population, Economic status, Technological advancement, Industry life cycle, Institutions) model—to analyse the role of context in the distribution of opportunity. Furthermore, it examines how both objective contextual factors …

Clots Reveal Anomalous Elastic Behavior Of Fiber Networks, Andrei Zakharov, Myra Awan, Terrence Cheng, Arvind Gopinath, Sang Joon John Lee, Anand K. Ramasubramanian, Kinjal Dasbiswas

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The adaptive mechanical properties of soft and fibrous biological materials are relevant to their functionality. The emergence of the macroscopic response of these materials to external stress and intrinsic cell traction from local deformations of their structural components is not well understood. Here, we investigate the nonlinear elastic behavior of blood clots by combining microscopy, rheology, and an elastic network model that incorporates the stretching, bending, and buckling of constituent fibrin fibers. By inhibiting fibrin cross-linking in blood clots, we observe an anomalous softening regime in the macroscopic shear response as well as a reduction in platelet-induced clot contractility. Our …

Review Of Beyond The Icon: Asian American Graphic Narratives By Eleanor Ty, Maite Urcaregui

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

No abstract provided.

Re-Visions: Examining Narratives Of Asian American Mental Health, Kenji Aoki

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

This paper examines the intersection between Asian American mental health and resilience tropes. While research has acknowledged that Asian Americans have disparate mental health gaps regarding mental health stigma and how Asian American young adults are the only racial group in which suicide is their leading cause of death, there has been limited study that attempts to directly convey Asian American voices beyond broad statistical or cultural generalizations. To supplement ongoing research and Asian American livelihoods, this essay conjectures and attempts to illuminate the histories, mental illness, and health narratives of Asian Americans, the good, the bad, the ugly, the …

Memory, Politics, And Literary Imagination In Viet Thanh Nguyen’S The Refugees, Jian Zhu

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

Despite the official conclusion of the Vietnam War, the struggle for remembrance and recollection endures. Within the pages of The Refugees, Viet Thanh Nguyen offers a transnational lens through which to examine the formation and contestation of collective memories between the United States and Vietnam. Despite its military defeat, the United States appropriated anti-communist ideology during the Cold War era to assimilate the refugee community, leveraging a discourse of “freedom and democracy” as a means to reshape historical narratives. In stark contrast, Vietnam commemorated its revolutionary struggle against imperialism through the establishment of museums, statues, and public cemeteries within …

The Modular Fiction Of Ken Liu, Elizabeth Lawrence

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

Ken Liu is an influential translator of Chinese-language science fiction and an award winning author of original speculative fiction as well. His readers routinely observe that Liu draws on his Chinese heritage for world building and plot development. Less remarked upon are parallels between Liu’s creative process and modular production within Chinese literary and material culture. In this article, I explore these parallels through Liu’s wide-ranging fiction. The intent is not to pigeonhole Liu as a distinctly Chinese or Chinese American author – he has rejected such labels himself – but to universalize models of Chinese creative expression.

Course Design As Critical Creativity: Intersectional, Regional, And Demographic Approaches To Teaching Asian American Literatures, Thomas X. Sarmiento

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

This essay offers a theoretical and reflective exploration of critically informed acts of creativity expressed in my course design for and teaching of Asian American literatures at a predominantly white, public land-grant, Midwestern university. I argue that teaching is both a creative and critical activity as it generates new ways of knowing and being through an assessment and curation of extant literary texts and scholarly discourses. Given my geographic, scholarly, and personal orientations, my course features intersectional, regional, and ethnically diverse perspectives that aim to queer what “Asian America/n” signifies. I hope my situated pedagogical insights inspire other scholar-teachers to …

"Loving You No Matter What You Do": Ai's Dramatic Monologues, 1970s Asian American Feminisms, And Reproductive Justice, Catherine Irwin

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

This essay makes visible the 1970s involvement of Asian American and Women of Color feminists in reproductive justice. Grounded in the Asian American feminist praxis of remembering, this essay analyzes how three dramatic monologues by the Asian American mixed-race poet Ai engage with the discourses of reproduce justice set forth by Asian American and Women of Color activists leading up to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Using an Asian American feminist lens, this paper argues that the speakers in Ai’s monologues utilize these discourses circulating about abortion and women’s health care to construct images of the treatment of dispossessed …

“Big Data” Revitalizing Librarianship: Impact On Librarians, Alice A. Bamigbola Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Advanced technologies undeniably developed in the 4th Industrial Revolution era, and led to incessantly growing volumes of information daily. “Big Data” is simply information surplus due to the volume, velocity, variety, variability and veracity of the data that need to be processed to get value and better visualisation. Big Data helps libraries understand the ever-changing users’ needs, consequently reshaping their services and procedures. However, it offers several information challenges concerning its capturing, storage, searching, structuring, and visualization. This paper, explores the concept of Big Data in a library environment, how to introduce Big Data, its benefits in the library, roles …

The Contemporary Tax Journal Volume 12, No. 2 – Winter 2023

The Contemporary Tax Journal

No abstract provided.

Systematic Analysis Of Adoption Of Innovative Technologies In The Provision Of Electronic Information Services In Public University Libraries In Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, Chukwudi P. Mensa Phd, Inemesit Udom Udoh Mr., Priscilla Odeyovwi Osiebe Mrs.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study systematically analysed the adoption of innovative technologies in the provision of electronic information services in public university libraries in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. It adopted the descriptive survey design with three specific objectives. The population of the study consisted of eighty-nine (89) librarians and library officers from Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) and University of Uyo (UNIUYO) libraries. The census sampling technique was adopted in the study. Data for the study were collected using structured questionnaire with a reliability index of 0.79 using Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of percentage counts, …

Influence Of Pavement Conditions On Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes, Stephen Arhin, Babin Manandhar, Adam Gatiba

Mineta Transportation Institute

Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety is a major concern in the United States, including the District of Columbia (DC), where CMVs make up 15% of traffic. This research uses a comprehensive approach, combining statistical analysis and machine learning techniques, to investigate the impact of road pavement conditions on CMV accidents. The study integrates traffic crash data from the Traffic Accident Reporting and Analysis Systems Version 2.0 (TARAS2) database with pavement condition data provided by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). Data spanning from 2016 to 2020 was collected and analyzed, focusing on CMV routes in DC. The analysis employs binary …

Cycling Past 50: A Closer Look Into The World Of Older Cyclists, Year 4 Survey, Carol Kachadoorian

Mineta Transportation Institute

This document reports on approximately 5,000 responses to a North American survey of older adults who cycle. The survey, open from August 2021 through March 2022, included questions that captured a person’s cycling over their life course, as well as their current cycling styles, habits, and preferences. Responses reflect the impact of various factors on an older adult’s cycling habits with respect to their ability and agility and their expectation to continue cycling. The survey asked about falls and near misses in the past-year coding fall descriptions into six categories and sorting them by the respondent’s gender and age. The …

Understanding The Effect Of Pervasive Events On Vehicle Travel Time Patterns, Chirag Akbari, Ninad Gore, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted daily activities and travel patterns, affecting personal and commercial trips. This study investigates the effect of different stages of the pandemic on travel time patterns. Eighty-six geographically distributed links (sections of road) in Mecklenburg County and Buncombe County, North Carolina, were selected for analysis. The selected links accounted for the variation in road geometry, land use, and speed limit. Travel time data for three years (i.e., 2019, 2020, and 2021) were extracted from a private data source at 5-min intervals. Travel time reliability (TTR) and travel time variability (TTV) are estimated for different phases of …

Evaluating Benefits From Transportation Investments Aligned With The Climate Action Plan For Transportation Infrastructure (Capti), Serena Alexander, Shams Tanvir, T. William Lester

Mineta Transportation Institute

Building upon two executive orders targeting the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in California, the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) offers a comprehensive plan to work toward a more unified vision for transportation that prioritizes climate, health, and social equity. The purpose of this project was to help evaluate the benefits from transportation investments across the State of California. With support from Caltrans, the research team provided a holistic evaluation framework that involved an analysis of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and emissions impacts, an economic impact analysis, and an equity analysis of transportation investments in California. Findings …

Should State Land In Southern California Be Allocated To Warehousing Goods Or Housing People? Analyzing Transportation, Climate, And Unintended Consequences Of Supply Chain Solutions, Tianjun Lu, Jian-Yu Ke, Azure Fisher, Mahmoud Salari, Patricia Valladolid, Fynnwin Prager

Mineta Transportation Institute

In response to COVID-19 pandemic supply chain issues, the State of California issued Executive Order (EO) N-19-21 to use state land to increase warehousing capacity. This highlights a land-use paradox between economic and environmental goals: adding warehouse capacity increases climate pollution and traffic congestion around the ports and warehouses, while there is a deficit of affordable housing and high homeless rates in port-adjacent underserved communities. This study aims to inform regional policymakers and community stakeholders about these trade-offs by identifying current and future supply of and demand for warehousing and housing in Southern California through 2040. The study uses statistical …