Digital Commons Network^™

Casa Renovations: Examining Social Responses To An Anthropomorphic Media Representative That Is Separate From The Core Technology Being Represented, Rabindra Ratan, Dayeoun Jang, Taenyun Kim, Kelsey Earle, Gabriel E. Hales, Yiming Skylar Lei, Chaeyun Lim, Andrew Gambino

Human-Machine Communication

To extend our understanding of CASA and account for changes in technological complexity and configuration, this research asks: Do increasing levels of social cues in a media representative that is separate from the core technology it represents lead to increased perceived anthropomorphism of the core technology? And does such perceived anthropomorphism predict positive treatment of the core technology? We conducted two complementary studies observing e-scooter use and treatment, an online experiment focused on responses to video stimuli and a field experiment focused on actual user behavior. Findings suggest that, indeed, social cues in a media representative (i.e., an e-scooter rental …

Transformations And Revelations: The Communicative Constitution Of Trustworthiness And Trust Through Ai Development Practices, Tessa Bruijne, Anouk Mols, Jason Pridmore

Human-Machine Communication

This study explores AI development practices to understand how trustworthiness is built into AI systems, and how this generates trust in AI. Through a multi-sited ethnography based methodology, we analyze observations, interviews, and documentation from AI developers working on trustworthy AI. Our analysis shows two key practices: transformation and revelation. Through transformational AI development practices trustworthiness is (re)constituted, though more or lesser degrees. Through revelation practices, AI developers communicatively engage with others to generate trust. This focus on developers adds to the user-centric perspective and shows the role nontechnical development practices have in shaping trust and trustworthy AI before it …

Collectives In Cases Of Human-Machine Interaction: A Pragmatic Defense Of Human-Machine Collectives, Niel H. Conradie, Hendrik Kempt, Nils Freyer, Saskia K. Nagel

Human-Machine Communication

Humanity’s future will include greater integration with different kinds of increasingly autonomous and interactive technological systems. Doing so is likely to confront us with reasons to adapt some of our currently accepted concepts and practices. We contend that among these is included a persuasive pragmatic reason to undertake just such an adaptation in our concept of collective responsibility and the practices attendant to it. The core of this pragmatic reason lies in how it allows us to respond to the issue of possible techno-responsibility gaps, which have been at the center of much of the attention and debate surrounding autonomous …

Socio-Technical Exchange With Machines: Worker Experiences With Complex Work Technologies, Cameron W. Piercy, Reaia Turner-Leatherman

Human-Machine Communication

Machines are now commonplace work partners and Human-Machine Communication (HMC) is part of modern work. Guided by the machine heuristic and Social Exchange Theory (SET) this paper uses interviews with 22 workers to explore the socio-technical relationships between humans and machines at work. Participants worked with complex machines across a wide variety of industries and roles and findings reveal participants see machines as part of the work ecosystem, develop everyday machine heuristics to guide repeated interactions with machines, and that elements of human uniqueness persist in evaluations of humans and machines. Discussion points emphasize situated and developing human-machine interaction scripts, …

Prompted By Me. Generated By Chatgpt, David J. Gunkel

Human-Machine Communication

This essay—which is not only about human-machine collaboration but is a performance in human-machine collaboration—interrogates the shifting terrain of authorship and creativity in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GAI). Challenging both the instrumentalist view of technology and the romantic myth of the singular genius, it argues for a reconceptualization of creative production as distributed, dialogical, and co-constituted. Drawing on both theoretical innovations in poststructuralism and the practices of pre- and post-modern content creators, the essay repositions the algorithm not as a mere tool but as an active participant in the generation of meaning. In doing so, it exposes and …

Being And Becoming In Human-Machine Communication: Core Commitments And Conceptual Foundations Of A Trans-Ontological Field, Autumn P. Edwards, Katrin Etzrodt

Human-Machine Communication

This introduction traces the emergence of Human-Machine Communication (HMC) as a distinct field centered on communication across ontological boundaries. Arguing that HMC is not merely about interacting with machines but about how communicative presence and legitimacy are constituted, the authors introduce the Act–Mean–Relate (AMR) paradigm to conceptualize how machines’ capacity for action, signification, and relation enable communication. HMC challenges human exceptionalism by shifting focus from internal states and categorical differences to symbolic and relational dynamics. It addresses the interpretive labor involved in making machine others intelligible and emphasizes communication as the co-construction of social reality. The article highlights tensions between …

Meeting Minutes 08-20-2025, Staff Advisory Council

Staff Advisory Council Meeting Documents

No abstract provided.

Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission Comment Tool For Proposed Changes To Trapping Regulations, Amy Donley, Jacquelyn Reiss

Institute for Social and Behavioral Science (ISBS)

No abstract provided.

Examining The Influence Of Multiple Mental Health Trainings On The Andragogical Practices Of Secondary English Language Arts Teachers: A Case Study, Sydney M. Smith

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The increasing prevalence of adolescent mental health issues has underscored the importance of examining how mental health training programs for teachers are implemented. This multiple-case, embedded study explored the impact of mental health trainings under states’ laws and Project AWARE on secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers’ andragogical and hebegogical instructional practices. The research was guided by two key questions: (1) How are mental health trainings under Project AWARE and state laws implemented in two southeastern states? and (2) How do high school English language arts (ELA) teachers in two southeastern states incorporate mental health trainings within their andragogical practices …

Revisiting Android Permission Evolution Through Temporal Analysis: A Data-Driven Study Of Behaviors And Implications, Ali Al Kinoon

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Malicious applications continue to pose significant privacy and security risks within the Android ecosystem, often exploiting user permissions and obscuring data collection practices behind opaque privacy policies. To address these challenges, this dissertation presents a comprehensive framework for enhancing Android app security through dataset construction, permission behavior analysis, and privacy policy classification. The framework systematically investigates key issues such as dataset fidelity, permission misuse, model performance, and the alignment between declared and actual data practices. Through a combination of empirical analysis and machine learning techniques, this work advances the development of more transparent and secure mobile applications. The first part …

Analyzing The Global Changes In The Seasonal Cycle Of Sea Level, Storm Surge, And Ocean Waves, Amanda Barroso

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Changes in the seasonal cycle of extreme sea level components can modulate the flooding risk along coastlines. This dissertation evaluates the changes in and potential co-occurrence of the seasonal cycles of mean sea level, storm surge, and ocean waves. Seasonal cycles characterize the generally expected climate conditions throughout the year with distinct high and low patterns. These regular and predictable cycles have shown non-stationarity in some locations across the globe. This means the timing of the expected peak may shift to occur earlier or later. Shifts in the timing of the maximum sea level impact coastlines with increased risk of …

Numerical Evaluation Of A Novel Transpiration Cooling Scheme For Use In Dynamic Control Of Atmospheric Entry System, Caroline J. Anderson

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Future space exploration missions require sustainable, efficient thermal protection systems for atmospheric entry, instead of disposable ablative shields. Transpiration cooling has interest as a long studied method but never used for missions to date, prompting further study to address concerns of flow transition downstream. In consideration of additional need for aerodynamic maneuvering for greater landing accuracy, a novel asymmetric scheme of transpiration cooling is presented as a method of using onboard coolant to meet entry trajectory maneuvering requirements. This numerical study creates a coupled model of vehicle-scale flow domain and material-scale thermal response to converge on accurate vehicle surface values.

Design And Development Of A Laser Diagnostic System For Ammonia And Nox Measurements In A Toroidal Jet Stirred Reactor At Atmospheric Pressure, Marzuqa Ahmed

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The need for more sustainable fuel alternatives in the modern aircraft industry is growing. SAF is the current sustainable fuel in use, but still produces harmful carbon emissions. A promising alternative to SAF is ammonia, which produces zero carbon emissions. By decomposing ammonia (NH₃) into its constituents of N₂ and H₂ using a chemical catalyst, a hydrogen-ammonia fuel mix is created. H₂/NH₃ mixtures still have the desired characteristic of burning without carbon emissions, but are less reactive than pure hydrogen. Additionally, ammonia is a widely used compound, so infrastructure already exists for production, …

Morphology, Evolution And Host-Driven Convergence In Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonoidea), Davide Dal Pos

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Understanding the functional and evolutionary significance of morphology is fundamental to interpreting the tree of life. In recent years, emerging tools have enabled broad-scale analysis of discrete morphological data and facilitated the study of entire phenomes, helping to re-establish morphology as a central component of evolutionary research. These advances allow us not only to examine individual traits in detail but also to compare them across taxa and explore their evolutionary trajectories. This approach is particularly critical when studying hyperdiverse groups that exhibit both high levels of morphological convergence and complex life cycles intricately tied to host use. A prime example …

Scalable Embedded Parallel System With Implementation Of Multi-Node Encryption, Binh Pham

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and other innovative technologies promote a demand for high-performance processing systems, underscoring the importance of parallel computing. As a result, the application of parallel systems has spread across various domains. Most of the existing parallel systems are implemented on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), which require complex designs and adjustments from the user and are often costly despite some performance benefits. This work explores an alternative approach by implementing a parallel system with a distributed memory protocol on affordable and commercially available microcontroller platforms to provide a scalable and cost-effective system. The proposed parallel system …

Marine Ecosystem Services Disruption And Social Violence, Rafael Hurtado-Valdivieso

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Over the past century, human activities have profoundly altered ocean and coastal ecosystems, significantly impacting communities whose livelihoods depend on these environments. This dissertation explores how disruptions in marine ecosystem services contribute to the emergence of social violence in coastal communities, with a specific focus on the Colombian Caribbean. While prior research suggests a potential link between environmental degradation and conflict, empirical evidence remains limited and inconclusive. This study addresses that gap through a multi-method, interdisciplinary approach that integrates environmental science, political science, and computational modeling to examine the mechanisms linking ecosystem disruption to social violence.

The research follows a …

Bridging Data Gaps And Forecasting Challenges In Water Quality Monitoring Using Deep Learning, Rohan Gudla

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Reliable water quality monitoring is critical for protecting public health and enabling sustainable environmental management. However, high rates of missing data often exceed 40% due to sensor failures and operational disruptions severely undermine the utility of environmental monitoring systems. To address this challenge, this thesis presents a three-stage deep learning framework designed to enhance the accuracy and resilience of water quality forecasting. First, a Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory model with Attention and Autoencoder Modules (BiLSTM-AAM) is introduced to impute long, irregular gaps in multivariate time series. Applied to real-world data from the St. Lucie River Basin, the model achieved a …

Enhancing Intelligent Transportation Systems: Scalability, Emulation, And Applications Of V2x Communication For Connected And Autonomous Vehicles, Ghayoor Shah

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The integration of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication is a key advancement for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), enhancing the safety, efficiency, and intelligence of modern Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). While Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) rely heavily on onboard sensor data for situational awareness, they remain limited in non-line-of-sight scenarios, which can lead to critical driver errors and accidents. V2X communication extends this awareness by enabling real-time exchange of information beyond sensor range, improving decision-making and reducing collisions.

Two primary V2X technologies are Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) and Cellular-V2X (C-V2X). While DSRC, based on IEEE 802.11p, was initially prominent in research, C-V2X, standardized …

Accurate And Efficient Orbit Probability Approximation Framework For Space Situational Awareness, Pugazhenthi Sivasankar

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Uncertainty Propagation in astrodynamics has gained importance in space situational awareness (SSA) problems such as space debris tracking, collision avoidance, and Cislunar operations. In this dissertation, the technique of Orbit Probability Approximation (OPA) is developed. OPA propagates orbital uncertainty using Liouville’s theorem with different functional approximations. First, OPA is formulated with Chebyshev polynomials to propagate the uncertainty on a geocentric planar orbit problem and then validated using two sources of satellite data: GRACE navigation data from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) database, and FireOPAL ground-based observer provided by Lockheed Martin. In this validation process, OPA propagates uncertainty without using any …

Computational Approaches For Rna Structural Motif Analysis: Similarities, Variations, And Spatial Relationships, Md Mahfuzur Rahaman

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The three-dimensional structures of RNA play a critical role in understanding their functions. One way to study the RNA 3D structure is by analyzing recurrent segments within the loop regions of RNAs, known as RNA structural motifs. These motifs can be grouped into families based on their structural features. However, the inherent structural diversity presents challenges in characterizing the similarities, variations, and spatial relationships within RNA motif families. This dissertation presents three computational methods that together provide a comprehensive framework for RNA structural motif analysis. First, RNAMotifComp establishes and visualizes relational networks among structural motif families. By analyzing instances of …

From Failure To Fidelity: Enabling Scalable Sim2real Lidar Perception Through Realistic Digital Twins, Muhammad Shahbaz

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

LiDAR technology plays a key role in enabling intelligent perception across urban systems. Its ability to capture accurate 3D data regardless of lighting conditions makes it well-suited for applications in autonomous vehicles, traffic monitoring, security, and privacy-aware smart city infrastructure, offering advantages over camera-based systems in depth, precision, and reliability. However, scaling deployment faces substantial challenges due to the time, effort, and cost of gathering and labeling LiDAR data used to train and test perception algorithms. This dissertation addresses these challenges by tracing a comprehensive research trajectory from early failures to a successful, fidelity-driven solution. Initially, (1) it explores transfer …

American Muslim Women’S Experiences With Pregnancy And Childbirth In The United States Healthcare System, Salema Mohamed

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Muslim women adhere to specific religious beliefs and practices, which can inform their healthcare decisions and requirements during pregnancy and childbirth. Despite an increase in the Muslim population in the U.S., there is currently limited research on Muslim women's maternity care and experiences. To address the gaps in knowledge, this study explored Muslim women’s experiences with pregnancy and childbirth in the U.S. Data consists of interviews from 20 Muslim women who had pregnancy and childbirth in the U.S. A thematic analysis was used to analyze and report the findings. The findings revealed that modesty was a significant concern during pregnancy …

“Rights Not Rescue”: How Stigma Influences Harmful Legislation Toward Sex Workers In The Deep South, Abigail Mckenzie Conover

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

In the United States, while prostitution or sex work is not explicitly illegal at a federal level, certain characteristics have been criminalized, mainly in indirect ways. This is significant when considering the different ways that sex work is regarded (both positively and negatively) at an institutional level. The current study examines the potential correlation between structural/institutional stigma regarding sex work/sex workers and legislation meant to directly or indirectly harm sex workers. The overall goal of this research was to answer the following question: How does structural/institutional stigma against sex workers present itself in legislation? To accomplish this, I conducted a …

The Association Between The Social Determinants Of Health And Shared Decision Making: An Investigation Of The National Survey Of Children's Health, Vernon T. Headley

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Objective: Shared decision-making (SDM) is defined as a clinical approach that allows both physicians and patients to communicate on the best treatment options that will improve the patient's overall health outcomes. Shared decision-making plays a vital role in how parents engage with their physicians regarding the healthcare needs of their children. This dissertation assessed the association between the social determinants of health and shared decision-making regarding children’s health-related issues.

Methods: The data for the current research were the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), combined 2017-2020. The dependent variable was shared decision-making and included discussing treatment options, raising concerns regarding …

Podcast Narratives Of Cybercrime Perpetration, Rebeka Rocco

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The growth of the internet and cybertechnology has created the opportunity for new types of crime. Given the recency of these developments, little is known about cybercrime perpetration and there is scant existing data gathered from those who have perpetrated cybercrime. This project applied thematic analysis to 30 episodes of a popular podcast focused on cybercrime to explore pathways men take to committing and continuing to commit cybercrimes against networks and information, financial cybercrime, and sales of products on illegal online marketplaces. Findings suggest that podcast narratives of perpetration reveal shifting motivations, gradual immersion in online deviant and criminal communities, …

Advancing Anomaly Detection With Robust And Graph-Based Learning Methods: From Support Vector Data Description To Graph Neural Networks., Emil Agbemade

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Anomaly detection is crucial across various domains, particularly in handling highly skewed datasets where only normal operating conditions are available for training. To effectively identify abnormal events, specialized one-class classifiers have been developed. This dissertation explores robust and scalable anomaly detection methods, focusing on enhancing support vector techniques to accommodate complex data structures like graphs. The first study introduces the Robust Support Vector Data Description (RSVDD) model, which improves standard SVDD by incorporating a rescaled hinge loss function, making it more resistant to outliers. Using a half-quadratic optimization method, RSVDD dynamically adjusts the influence of each data point, leading to …

Supervised Topic Modeling For Scientific Texts: Bayesian Shrinkage Methods And Domain-Specific Applications In Forensics And Online Aggression Sciences, Amir Alipour Yengejeh

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Topic modeling has become a powerful tool for analyzing large-scale textual corpora across scientific domains. However, traditional unsupervised approaches like Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) often produce redundant or weakly informative topics, limiting their interpretability and predictive utility. This dissertation presents a dual-track study that advances the field of interpretable topic modeling and domain-specific text analysis by (1) quantitatively analyzing research trends in Cyber Aggression and Abuse (CAA), and (2) developing a supervised topic selection framework for forensic science literature.

In the first part, we apply LDA to a corpus of 2,309 journal abstracts on CAA sourced from the Web of …

The Relationship Between Academic Advising And The Academic Success Of First-Generation, First Time In College Students, Nina Leonard

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Students navigate a variety of challenges that impact their success. As of 2024, Florida uses a myriad of metrics to predict retention rates. Studies have highlighted a relationship between students’ Year 2 retention and 4-year graduation rates. Recently, a large, urban university made significant investments in academic advising. The increased funding was influenced by a shift to gain a preeminent designation in the state. This study sought to determine what relationship, if any, academic advising had on student academic success. Quantitative analysis concluded that academic advising was connected to increased institutional grade point averages, retention to the second year, and …

Achievement In Performing Arts At Title I Schools In Florida: A Case Study On The Impact Of Administrative Leadership And Financial Decisions On Student Performance, Mario L. Ford

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Researchers have established that the leadership strategies of a principal can directly impact student achievement, though it has not been clearly stated how that occurs (Cox & Mullen, 2023). This single-case instrumental study investigates the financial and administrative priorities of a principal at a Title I high school in Florida and the impact they have on the Music Performance Assessment (MPA) ratings of band, chorus, and orchestra programs at the district level. Additionally, the purpose of this case study is to provide insight into how the principal at a Title I high school whose performing arts programs have a trend …

Pilot Fatigue And Required Rest Period For Korean Air Force Pilots Flying High-Performance Aircraft, Mijin Hong

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Over the years, significant advancements have been made in aircraft technology and in understanding the detrimental effects of fatigue on flight performance. However, integrating these advancements into crew rest regulations, particularly for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) operating high-performance jets, requires further review. This study employs a systematic review with thematic analysis to assess whether ROKAF’s current rest regulations are sufficient. Relevant studies were identified from English-language databases (e.g., FAA, ICAO, Google Scholar) and Korean-language databases (e.g., RISS, KCI). Titles and abstracts were initially reviewed, followed by full-text assessments based on inclusion and exclusion criteria focusing on military …