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Active Photonic Integrated Devices And Circuits On Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Platform, Ehsan Ordouie Jan 2023

Active Photonic Integrated Devices And Circuits On Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Platform, Ehsan Ordouie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis delves into innovative active photonic integrated devices and circuits on the thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) platform, focusing on their applications and potential future advancements. We introduce a new family of electrooptic modulators (EOMs), the Four-Phase Electrooptic Modulators (FEOMs), which are fabricated using the TFLN platform. These devices effectively mitigate bandwidth and dynamic-range constraints in optical communication systems by reducing dispersion penalties and common-mode noises. Their functionality is demonstrated in a photonic time-stretch system. A dual-polarization variant further exemplifies the mitigation of both dispersion penalties and common-mode noises in long-haul communication links, marking significant strides towards the practical implementation …

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An Investigation On The Procedural Rhetoric Of Curated Difficulty, Ismael Benjelloun Jan 2023

An Investigation On The Procedural Rhetoric Of Curated Difficulty, Ismael Benjelloun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The discussion of difficulty exists as a prominent topic within the realm of play. In terms of accessibility, the difficulty associated with any form of play becomes rather crucial. In video games, difficulty can both enhance the immersion and interactions between a player and the game; however, difficulty can also act as a barrier to entrance and "gatekeep" experiences from individuals with disabilities. Developers utilize difficulty as a tool to deliver different forms of narratives and rhetoric to their audience. The field of Ludic Rhetoric observes and studies how rhetoric can be implemented and facilitated within contexts of play and …

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Using Gis To Better Understand The Cracker Community Of Pat's Island In The Ocala National Forest, Florida, Nicholas Kopp Jan 2023

Using Gis To Better Understand The Cracker Community Of Pat's Island In The Ocala National Forest, Florida, Nicholas Kopp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This research uses GIS methods to contextualize a Florida Cracker community in the Ocala National Forest. My case study is drawn from two seasons of fieldwork and supporting desktop surveys associated with Pat's Island, the home of multiple Cracker families. Cracker culture is historically categorized by its efforts to avoid modernization and prevent the commercialization of traditional lifeways in the quickly shifting society of late-19th and early 20th-century Florida. The geospatial expressions of these Cracker values are an emphasis on semi-remote living, adaptations to a unique environmental context, and the development of a semi-self-sufficient community. This research evaluates how GIS …

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The Narratives Of Sexulization: The Perspectives Of Young Entertainers Around Their Own Public Sexulizaiton, Alexis Williams Jan 2023

The Narratives Of Sexulization: The Perspectives Of Young Entertainers Around Their Own Public Sexulizaiton, Alexis Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Sexualization happens when agency is taken away from the individual being sexualized, where one is seen, depicted, and treated like a sexual object rather than a person. This thesis aims to explore celebrities' reactions to their own public sexualization. To do this, an inductive approach was used when analyzing first-person narratives (written and video) and interviews (podcast, magazine and newspaper) by those whose sexualization is a notable feature of their career in the United States. I used a nonprobability sampling technique in order to cast a wide net to find the sample (prior knowledge, Google searches, and Google alerts). This …

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Clustering Of Diverse Multiplex Networks, Yaxuan Wang Jan 2023

Clustering Of Diverse Multiplex Networks, Yaxuan Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This dissertation introduces the DIverse MultiPLEx Generalized Dot Product Graph (DIMPLE-GDPG) network model where all layers of the network have the same collection of nodes and follow the Generalized Dot Product Graph (GDPG) model. In addition, all layers can be partitioned into groups such that the layers in the same group are embedded in the same ambient subspace but otherwise all matrices of connection probabilities can be different. In common particular cases, where layers of the network follow the Stochastic Block Model (SBM) and Degree Corrected Block Model (DCBM), this setting implies that the groups of layers have common community …

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Investigation Of Endothelial Mechanics On Primary Cell Functions: Endothelium Permeability And Wound Healing, Sean Beverung Jan 2023

Investigation Of Endothelial Mechanics On Primary Cell Functions: Endothelium Permeability And Wound Healing, Sean Beverung

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The endothelium composes the inner lining of blood vessels, the heart, and lymphatic vessels. Within the cardiovascular system, it is an extremely important structure, aiding in the regulation of blood pressure with the vascular tone, recruiting immune response, regulating the transfer of material in and out of the bloodstream, and the creation of new blood vessels through angiogenesis. The endothelium is composed entirely of endothelial cells. These cells lay in a flat squamous formation and are in direct contact with blood and aid in the regulation and transfer of material in and out of the bloodstream via active and passive …

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Inkling: An Exploration Of Visual Effects As A Character, Joshua Cooper Jan 2023

Inkling: An Exploration Of Visual Effects As A Character, Joshua Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Inkling is an animated short film about a creature made of ink falling into a cycle of anxiety. This film explores the use of visual effects in character design. Inspiration for this film was drawn from Absurdist essays and stories and used abstract imagery and cinematic devices to manipulate the audience into feeling the character's anxiety. This thesis briefly examines the foundation of methods pioneered by visual effect artists. To produce this short film, critical decisions in software and animation were made to streamline the process to allow more time to focus on creating a method for the visual effect …

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With Silk, Sage, And Bones: Confronting Death And Dying Through Nature And Ritualistic Healing, Brittney Fucheck Jan 2023

With Silk, Sage, And Bones: Confronting Death And Dying Through Nature And Ritualistic Healing, Brittney Fucheck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis examines my fears of death and dying. Through my studio art practice, which includes observational representation, ceremonial and ritualistic performance, and installation, I seek to confront my own difficulty in accepting death's emotional weight. My motivation stems from my attachment to my mother's mortality and her relationship with dying animals. In researching cultural customs relating to death, I was inspired to explore non-archival materials and ritualistic processes reflecting my understanding of our bodies' temporal nature. This includes swaddling, etching, using materials such as branches, animal bones, copper, shells, and pine needles, and encasing materials in wax. My points …

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Nanostructured Alloy Thin Film Fabrication And Application For Zinc-Air Battery And Lithium-Ion Battery, Guanzhi Wang Jan 2023

Nanostructured Alloy Thin Film Fabrication And Application For Zinc-Air Battery And Lithium-Ion Battery, Guanzhi Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The depletion of unsustainable fossil fuels and growing environmental issues have given rise to scientific challenges and research interests in the development of renewable energy technologies to meet the rising global energy demand. Electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies (ESCTs), such as lithium-ion batteries, metal-air batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells, etc., offer a clean and sustainable strategy for utilizing energy. As the core components, the electrode materials, including anodes, cathodes, and catalysts, play a direct decisive role in the device's performance in practical application. Therefore, the development of high-performance and low-cost electrode materials is critical for the success of these …

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Electroanalytical Investigations Of Microrna-Conjugated Cerium Oxide Based Nanomaterials For Biomedical Applications, Chaimae El Ghzaoui Jan 2023

Electroanalytical Investigations Of Microrna-Conjugated Cerium Oxide Based Nanomaterials For Biomedical Applications, Chaimae El Ghzaoui

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Diabetes patients are increasingly suffering from wound-healing impairments coupled with other severe medical conditions. High levels of oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokines are predominant pathologic characteristics of diabetic wounds. Applying microRNA (miRNA) in gene therapy often successfully treats various disorders by generating highly specific bio-responses. Studies revealed that microRNA146a (miR146a), a regulator of inflammation, is downregulated in diabetic wounds. However, miR203 is found to be highly-expressed in diabetic foot ulcers in positive correlation with disease severity. We have synthesized Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CNPs) since they are used in various biomedical applications due to their high enzyme-mimetic activities and reactive oxygen …

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A Digitally Enhanced Virtual Cognitive Behavior Skill Building Intervention To Reduce Parent Stress And Family Obesogenic Behaviors, Sharlene Smith Jan 2023

A Digitally Enhanced Virtual Cognitive Behavior Skill Building Intervention To Reduce Parent Stress And Family Obesogenic Behaviors, Sharlene Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Parental stress is associated with increased obesogenic family lifestyle behaviors contributing to childhood obesity. Novel interventions are needed to reduce parental stress and improve healthy lifestyle behaviors for preschool-age children and families. The primary study aim was to analyze preliminary effects of a digitally enhanced evidence-based cognitive- behavior skill-building (CBSB) intervention on parental stress and healthy lifestyle behaviors (diet and physical activity) among parents of preschool-age children. A secondary aim was to evaluate feasibility/acceptability of this school-based virtual intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 12-week intervention involved text messaging and three pre-recorded CBSB educational video presentations accessed by parents of …

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Behavioral, Morphological And Genetic Differentiation Among Populations Of Enyaliopsis, Laura Macamo Jan 2023

Behavioral, Morphological And Genetic Differentiation Among Populations Of Enyaliopsis, Laura Macamo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The study of biodiversity is a fundamental part of the study of the ecosystem's function and stability and how changes in the habitat shape the interaction between species. In recent years, the classification of species benefited from the analysis of several types of data to aid the distinction of morphologically similar species. Enyaliopsis iaculator (Naskrecki and Guta, 2019) is a species endemic to central Mozambique. Different populations of E. iaculator were reported to exhibit differences in the time of the day the mating call is displayed, but no morphological differences were reported. Since call behavior tends to be species specific …

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Rotorcraft Lander Fixed To A Descending Capsule Backshell, Corey Zucker Jan 2023

Rotorcraft Lander Fixed To A Descending Capsule Backshell, Corey Zucker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

NASA is financing a mission to study the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, to investigate the terrain, chemical compositions, and potential for existent life. This mission is an exciting advancement from Mars Ingenuity, because the quadrotor lander, Dragonfly, will be the first of its kind with four coaxial rotors. Upon entry into Titan, and at near surface atmospheric conditions, Dragonfly will exit a parachute supported backshell that has shed its protective heatshield. The aerodynamics of this state are significant in comprehending the dynamics of the overall system for successful deployment into powered flight. The studies presented here examine the …

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Hypersonic Aero-Optic Measurements In A High-Pressure Shock Tube, Jonathan P. Mcgaunn Jan 2023

Hypersonic Aero-Optic Measurements In A High-Pressure Shock Tube, Jonathan P. Mcgaunn

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The high-pressure shock tube facility (HiPER-STAR) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) is analyzed experimentally to demonstrate the practicality of hypersonic aero-optical testing in an impulse facility without the use of an expansion nozzle or acceleration tube. The investigation analyses driver gas blending with helium and hydrogen to raise the speed of sound ratio in an attempt to increase the Mach number for aero-optics testing. HiPER-STAR has a unique ability to withstand pressures up to 1000 atm and run in a double diaphragm configuration allowing for a significant pressure differential to be created between the driver and driven sections. …

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Anatomically-Guided Deep Learning For Left Ventricle Geometry Reconstruction And Cardiac Indices Analysis Using Mr Images, Andre Von Zuben Jan 2023

Anatomically-Guided Deep Learning For Left Ventricle Geometry Reconstruction And Cardiac Indices Analysis Using Mr Images, Andre Von Zuben

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Recent advances in deep learning have greatly improved the ability to generate analysis models from medical images. In particular, great attention is focused on quickly generating models of the left ventricle from cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of millions of patients. However, even state-of-the-art frameworks present challenges, such as discontinuities of the cardiac tissue and excessive jaggedness along the myocardial walls. These geometrical features are often anatomically incorrect and may lead to unrealistic results once the geometrical models are employed in computational analyses. In this research, we propose an end-to-end pipeline for a subject-specific …

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Investigating Shallow Neural Networks For Orbit Propagation Deployed On Spaceflight-Like Hardware, Hunter Quebedeaux Jan 2023

Investigating Shallow Neural Networks For Orbit Propagation Deployed On Spaceflight-Like Hardware, Hunter Quebedeaux

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Orbit propagation is the backbone of many problems in the space domain, such as uncertainty quantification, trajectory optimization, and guidance, navigation, and control of on orbit vehicles. Many of these techniques can rely on millions of orbit propagations, slowing computation, especially evident on low-powered satellite hardware. Past research has relied on the use of lookup tables or data streaming to enable on orbit solutions. These solutions prove inaccurate or ineffective when communication is interrupted. In this work, we introduce the use of physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) for orbit propagation to achieve fast and accurate on-board solutions, accelerated by GPU hardware …

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Temperature And H2o Species Measurements Via A Laser Spectroscopic Sensor In Harsh Reacting Environments, Marc B. Etienne Jan 2023

Temperature And H2o Species Measurements Via A Laser Spectroscopic Sensor In Harsh Reacting Environments, Marc B. Etienne

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Reactive material liners paired with high explosives can significantly increase blast effects. This research aims to study the properties that primarily control the interaction between reactive materials (RM) and high explosives (HE). This will facilitate blast performance optimization for the RM and HE combinations. A laser spectroscopic sensor will be utilized to measure the performance of these RM and HE combinations. Laser absorption spectroscopy (LAS) is a technique that measures the chemical concentration of a medium through the intensity change of the laser beam. The laser diagnostic instrument is composed of two tunable diode lasers, one centered at 2.48 μm …

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Thermal Management Strategies For Hypersonic Flight: Supercritical Co2 Jet Impingement Cooling Investigation For Leading Edge, Manoj Prabakar Sargunaraj Jan 2023

Thermal Management Strategies For Hypersonic Flight: Supercritical Co2 Jet Impingement Cooling Investigation For Leading Edge, Manoj Prabakar Sargunaraj

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This study addresses the critical need for effective thermal management in hypersonic vehicles facing intense heat at their leading edge due to high enthalpy flow. The objective is to propose an active impingement cooling system that ensures the structural stability and performance of these vehicles. This dissertation presents an in-depth exploration of the numerical simulations conducted on the hypersonic leading edge, focusing on a 3mm radius with active cooling utilizing supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as the coolant. The research incorporates conjugate simulations that merge external hypersonic flow and sCO2 active cooling. Utilizing a thermodynamic non-equilibrium two-temperature model and various chemical …

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A Novel Multi-Observer Orbit Determination And Estimation Framework For Cislunar Space Domain Awareness, James E. Hippelheuser Jr. Jan 2023

A Novel Multi-Observer Orbit Determination And Estimation Framework For Cislunar Space Domain Awareness, James E. Hippelheuser Jr.

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This work presents a measurement model designed for multiple observers (space-based and/or ground-based) for cislunar orbit determination and estimation for space domain awareness (SDA). The measurement model is able to rely solely on angles-only measurements by defining the line between the observer and the target object as the intersection of two non-parallel planes. There are two primary applications for the measurement model related to cislunar SDA: (1) It provides a new initial orbit determination (IOD) technique that does not require any knowledge of the dynamical environment, and (2) It is adopted into a sequential estimation scheme to provide continuous orbit …

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Modeling And Experimental Validation Of Mission-Specific Prognosis Of Li-Ion Batteries With Hybrid Physics-Informed Neural Networks, Kajetan Fricke Jan 2023

Modeling And Experimental Validation Of Mission-Specific Prognosis Of Li-Ion Batteries With Hybrid Physics-Informed Neural Networks, Kajetan Fricke

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

While the second part of the 20th century was dominated by combustion engine powered vehicles, climate change and limited oil resources has been forcing car manufacturers and other companies in the mobility sector to switch to renewable energy sources. Electric engines supplied by Li-ion battery cells are on the forefront of this revolution in the mobility sector. A challenging but very important task hereby is the precise forecasting of the degradation of battery state-of-health and state-of-charge. Hence, there is a high demand in models that can predict the SOH and SOC and consider the specifics of a certain kind of …

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Control Of The Spar-Buoy Based Wind Turbine Floating Platform Through Mooring Line Actuation, Tajnuba Hasan Jan 2023

Control Of The Spar-Buoy Based Wind Turbine Floating Platform Through Mooring Line Actuation, Tajnuba Hasan

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This thesis presents an innovative approach to enhance the stability of floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) platform through mooring actuation. First, an OC3- Hywind spar-buoy floating platform is modeled utilizing the Control-oriented, Reconfigurable, and Acausal Floating Turbine Simulator (CRAFTS) with a specific focus on predicting hydrodynamic and mooring line loads while intentionally excluding consideration of aerodynamic forces. The accuracy of this model is validated against the industry standard OpenFAST simulator through various test cases. The central objective of this study revolves around achieving robust stabilization of the spar buoy platform, primarily focusing on X-Z symmetric planar motions, including surge, pitch, …

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Foreign Constellations, Steven Archer Jan 2023

Foreign Constellations, Steven Archer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Foreign Constellations is a magical realist collection that centers queer people of color in states of displacement. Facing disconnect from their own tribes along axes of faith, cultural tradition, sexuality, race, geography, and more, the Black and Hispanic characters in these eight stories chafe against the capacity of intersectionality to stratify rather than unite. They are, however, all Floridians, challenging the constraints of national perception with the breadth of their lived experiences. Set across Florida and beyond, each piece sees its protagonists venture into unfamiliar surroundings, or else return to old homes they no longer know how to navigate. A …

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Predicting Heart Disease Using Tree-Based Model, Emil Agbemade Jan 2023

Predicting Heart Disease Using Tree-Based Model, Emil Agbemade

Data Science and Data Mining

The paper presents a study on the use of machine learning algorithms for the prediction of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death worldwide. The study focuses on the use of decision tree algorithms, which have the advantage of considering a large number of risk factors. The heart disease data set was obtained from the UCI Machine Learning Repository and was analyzed using a decision tree classifier. The data set had 6 missing data points, which were deleted, leaving 279 instances for analysis. One-hot-encoding was performed on categorical variables with more than two responses. The decision tree classifier …

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Developing A Data-Driven Statistical Model For Accurately Predicting The Superconducting Critical Temperature Of Materials Using Multiple Regression And Gradient-Boosted Methods, Emil Agbemade Jan 2023

Developing A Data-Driven Statistical Model For Accurately Predicting The Superconducting Critical Temperature Of Materials Using Multiple Regression And Gradient-Boosted Methods, Emil Agbemade

Data Science and Data Mining

This study focuses on developing a statistical model for estimating the superconducting critical temperature (Tc) of materials using a data-driven strategy. The study analyzed 21,263 superconductors and used a combination of multiple regression and gradient-boosted models to make predictions. The analysis included a descriptive analysis of the distribution of Tc, feature selection using the Backwards selection method, and model diagnostics. The results showed that the gradient-boosted method outperformed the multiple linear regression method with an RMSE of 12.01 and an R2 value of 88.23 after fine-tuning its hyperparameters. The study concludes that the gradient-boosted method is an effective approach …

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Classification Of Adult Income Using Decision Tree, Roland Fiagbe Jan 2023

Classification Of Adult Income Using Decision Tree, Roland Fiagbe

Data Science and Data Mining

Decision tree is a commonly used data mining methodology for performing classification tasks. It is a tree-based supervised machine learning algorithm that is used to classify or make predictions in a path of how previous questions are answered. Generally, the decision tree algorithm categorizes data into branch-like segments that develop into a tree that contains a root, nodes, and leaves. This project seeks to explore the decision tree methodology and apply it to the Adult Income dataset from the UCI Machine Learning Repository, to determine whether a person makes over 50K per year and determine the necessary factors that improve …

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Variable Selection Using Lasso And Elastic Net Regression On High Dimensional Genetic Architecture Data Of Maize Flowering Time, Pradip Dhakal Jan 2023

Variable Selection Using Lasso And Elastic Net Regression On High Dimensional Genetic Architecture Data Of Maize Flowering Time, Pradip Dhakal

Data Science and Data Mining

Variable selection is one of the key components in the machine learning area. This method reduces the unwanted and redundant predictors in the model, which prevents the overfitting situation. Since the model contains few significant predictors, the model is less likely to learn the trend from the noise. Further, the time to train the model reduces when we have only a few valuable variables.

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A Linear Regression Model To Predict The Critical Temperature Of A Superconductor, Amir Alipour Yengejeh Jan 2023

A Linear Regression Model To Predict The Critical Temperature Of A Superconductor, Amir Alipour Yengejeh

Data Science and Data Mining

Since the superconductivity has been introduced, almost all studies in this area have been striving to predict the critical temperature ($T_{c}$) through the features extracted from the superconductor's chemical formula. In this study, thus, we are interested in exploring the linear association between $T_{c}$ and the related features.

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Variable Selection And Regression Analysis, Emil Agbemade Jan 2023

Variable Selection And Regression Analysis, Emil Agbemade

Data Science and Data Mining

One of the most valuable crop species, maize, has been the subject of genetic study and experimentation for more than a century. However, species that share similarities and differences across a wide spectrum have developed astonishing adaptations as a result of small changes throughout time. Because it is usual practice to determine the genotypes of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for thousands of patients, the data set we are dealing with has an issue with small n and large p. The result of this is that there are noticeably more predictor factors than responder variables. The original data …

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Silent Agony: Automated Detection Of Ethnic And Religious Cyberbullying Using Machine Learning, Emil Agbemade Jan 2023

Silent Agony: Automated Detection Of Ethnic And Religious Cyberbullying Using Machine Learning, Emil Agbemade

Data Science and Data Mining

The use of electronic mobile devices, social media, and networking websites has increased tremendously in recent years. Despite the advantages of these systems, such as exchanging ideas and information, being sociable, and providing entertainment, users may encounter adverse behaviors like toxicity, bullying, extremism, and cruelty. The prevalence of such behaviors has grown significantly in cyberspace, posing a threat to individuals and communities. To address this issue, there is a high demand for automated cyberbullying detection systems. Machine learning algorithms have been widely used to build such systems by classifying and detecting cyberbullying. In this study, we employed popular machine learning …

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Analyzing The Impact Of Health, Economic, And Demographic Factors On Life Expectancy: A Comparative Study Of Developed And Developing Countries, Mahyar Alinejad Jan 2023

Analyzing The Impact Of Health, Economic, And Demographic Factors On Life Expectancy: A Comparative Study Of Developed And Developing Countries, Mahyar Alinejad

Data Science and Data Mining

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of three prominent machine learning regression models—Random Forest, XGBoost, and Support Vector Machine (SVM)—in the context of predictive analysis. Leveraging a carefully curated dataset, we explore the impact of various hyperparameters on model performance through an exhaustive tuning process. The Random Forest and XGBoost models exhibit robust predictive capabilities, with the former revealing notable insights through feature importance visualization. Additionally, SVM, optimized via GridSearchCV, demonstrates competitive performance. Evaluation metrics, including Mean Squared Error and R-squared, facilitate a thorough comparison of model efficacy. Results highlight nuanced strengths and weaknesses, informing practitioners on the suitability of …

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