Digital Commons Network^™

Social Media Influencer Motivation: Exploring What Drives Micro-Celebrities To Produce Content Using Social Exchange Theory, Jennie Giardino

Theses

Social media influencers are online celebrities who have the power to shape the opinions of audience members due to their relatable qualities. Influencer sponsorships have changed the nature of social media platforms and the strategy by which the content is posted. But besides the potential to be sponsored, why do influencers post content? The purpose of this study was to understand what motivates influencers to post content through the lens of social exchange theory by identifying resources exchanged between the social media influencer and the audience and explain how this affects their motivation to post content. I interviewed 15 lifestyle …

Everything That Glitters, Zichen Liang

Theses

This paper discusses the preparation and creative process of my thesis feature screenplay Everything That Glitters, including the inspiration, proposal, re-proposal, shooting, and revising of the script. It also documents the background story from aspects of Chinese culture and tradition. The script revolves around a young Chinese woman’s journey to America. Unable to accept the marriage her parents have arranged for her, she comes to the United States as an international student to live her life on her own terms. It doesn’t work out well. This story is largely based on my own life experiences, except the part about the …

If It Ain’T Here When I Get Back, Clara Riedlinger

Theses

If It Ain’t Here When I Get Back is a short film which explores themes of sibling rivalry, time and memory, our relationship to place, and the porous line between childhood and adulthood. It was produced between March 2020-April 2021 including pre-production to post-production. This paper describes and analyzes the filmmaking process for Clara Riedlinger, director. In this paper I will also attempt to put to words the intangibles of that process, including the social dynamics of filmmaking, and larger cultural happenings at the time of production.

Controls On Denitrification And Nitrous Oxide Flux In Created Wetlands, Sonia Huang

Theses

Freshwater wetlands are frequently created or restored with the goal of replicating valuable ecosystem functions lost elsewhere. However, studies in created wetlands have demonstrated production of greenhouse gases (GHG) may be enhanced during early establishment, potentially counteracting desirable ecosystem services such as nutrient removal. In this research, we investigated the impact of hydrology and carbon addition on denitrification and fluxes of N2O from two created wetlands that differ in antecedent land use and hydrology. Ten experimental zones were installed in both wetlands and compost (municipal leaf litter) was added to half of the zones as a soil amendment. Soil and …

Half A Heart, Maria Gesek

Theses

Half a Heart is a screenplay that follows a character’s journey to find happiness in her life and learn to be strong enough to stand on her own. Cara has spent a significant portion of her life in a relationship with Sal, and while this relationship has made her happy and could be considered true love, it is something she must learn to walk away from as it is not moving forward. Cara must learn to find other forms of happiness while also learning to stick up for herself. One of the most difficult struggles she needs to overcome is …

Personal Cognitive Assistive Robot For Alzheimer’S Disease Patients’ Practicing Of Covid-19 Hygiene Measures, Jeehoon Yu

Theses

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some home-based family caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients became full-time caregivers with little or no help from medical facilities and services due to the risk of viral infection. The challenge that the new full-time family caregivers experience is not only caring for their loved one's daily routines, they also have to protect them from the infection since the weakened health condition and the dementia-related behaviors make AD patients vulnerable to the infection (Alzheimer's Association, n.d.).

To help the new full-time family caregivers to reduce their burden of preventing their loved ones from the infection, this …

Assembly And Annotation Of The Genome Of An Invasive Bush Honeysuckle, Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera Maackii), Erin R. Kesel

Theses

Invasive species are a global problem that cause significant environmental and economic damage. It has been estimated that the cost of invasive species in the United States is at least 120 billion dollars annually. Lonicera maackii, commonly known as Amur honeysuckle, is an invasive shrub found in New York State. In invaded regions, L. maackii has caused decreased species richness of native plant and animal species. It has also negatively affected the native migratory bird populations that eat the plant’s berries. Currently, there is no available genomic sequence for any Lonicera species. With next generation sequencing, new information can be …

The Racked System: A Historically Based Interactive Roleplaying Experience, Will Truran

Theses

“History repeats itself” is a saying we are all too familiar with, but why is that true? As we look at our modern society we can see that pain persists and hate crimes are on the rise, particularly those of antisemitism and those holding anti-Asian ideologies. The Racked System aims to address this by introducing a new method of learning about our past so that we can apply its lessons to our future. Classroom settings require students to memorize dates and data that often capture hard to comprehend facts, like that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. It …

Port-All: Reproduction Of The Sense Of Companionship In A Long-Distance Relationship, Xincan Yang

Theses

The long-distance relationship is a common phenomenon in contemporary society. Nowadays with the development of the Internet, we have various instant messaging software which gives us an effective way to keep communication with distant others. But it also brings a series of new problems.

Due to the lack of physical contact, time difference, and high dependence on the Internet, people often experience negative emotions in long-distance relationships from delayed communication, suspicion, and misunderstanding of messages. Research shows that most couples feel tired and anxious for a long time in a long-distance relationship, and one of the core reasons is the …

Chek And Hava, Komal Ashfaq

Theses

Chek and Hava is an absurdist romantic comedy about using your boyfriend to rebel against your parents. While remaining light and easy to watch, it is additionally meant to have three intentionally designed layers:

1. The surface level story revolves around Hava bringing home her boyfriend Chek- an unemployed artist, that she knows her wealthy demigod parents will disapprove of. Her parents ultimately force Chek out of his carefree life and into a corporate career, accepting him and deflating Hava’s rebellion. She finally breaks free by exiting the system of their beliefs and trying to form her persona independently rather …

Evaluation Of Chili Pepper (Capsicum Annuum), Tiger Nuts (Cyperus Esculentus), And Turmeric (Curcuma Longa) As Sources Of Antioxidant Compounds For The Potential Of Antiaging-Like Activity, Chelsea Toyer

Theses

Aging is a natural process that living organisms go through as they become older. In humans and other animals, aging is accompanied by several morphological changes, including the formation of wrinkles. Wrinkles are also caused by various environmental factors such as excessive exposure to sun or pollution, and continuous sleep deprivation. These environmental factors cause oxidation of skin cells and the degradation of subcutaneous fatty acids, leading to the formation of wrinkles. Skin care and wrinkle treatment products are part of a multimillion-dollar industry. Plant-based products are an alternative method for treating wrinkles and premature aging. Several antioxidants naturally found …

What Is Depression?, Megan Wade

Theses

“What is Depression?” is a book design that investigates how simple graphical forms can be used to communicate a complex idea. It explores the principles and elements of design and how they can be abstracted to illustrate emotions, and it experiments with pushing the boundaries of what educational book pages can look like. Education regarding complicated subject matters such as depression are frequently overlooked or misunderstood within our society. People who are not affected by depression have a difficult time understanding what it feels like to suffer with the symptoms and emotions of the disease. This thesis investigates how to …

The Vascular Flora Of Cleburne County, Alabama, Melanie T. Spaulding

Theses

Cleburne County is located in Northeast Alabama and measures 145,298 hectares. Approximately one-third of the county lies within the Talladega National Forest, more than any other county covered by the Talladega National Forest. The county has two physiographic regions: Piedmont and Ridge and Valley. A floristic survey of Cleburne County, Alabama, was conducted on public and private lands from 2014– 2020. Sporadic field collections took place from March 2014 – April 2019, with extensive fieldwork conducted from May 2019 – October 2020. A total of 1,302 vascular plant taxa are reported, including 266 taxa not previously documented for the county. …

Augmented Reality Application ‘Finder’, Yiran Li

Theses

Children are always curious and excited about the world, but there are often accidents around them. According to some previous studies, each year in the United States, more than 2,200 children – or six kids a day – die from an injury at home. To deal with this situation, parents usually set simple life safety rules for their children and be consistent about enforcing them in a reasonable manner. At the same time, they try to reduce the possibility of psychological harm to children when correcting errors. As a result, parents desperately need a way to watch and improve their …

Seeking The Sublime, Gretchen Ettlie

Theses

This thesis examines a search for the sublime. Definitions of the sublime have transformed over the centuries. In the modern era, that has come to encompass an idea of the Technological Sublime. This thesis will examine a more nature-centric idea of the sublime, with a thoughtful examination of the current digital culture and it’s impact. As we continue to become more distant from our natural world, and more immersed in the digital landscape, we miss opportunities to connect with our true nature and gain-first hand knowledge of the sublime understandings that nature can impart to us. This thesis explores our …

Characterization Of Biochar Produced By Pyrolysis Of Biomass And Co-Pyrolysis Of Biomass And Agricultural Mulch Film, Ibrahim Cisse

Theses

Agricultural wastes can be valuable materials because they are generated in large quantities all over the world and contain a variety of feedstocks. These feedstocks include dairy manure, food wastes, solid wastes and plastics. Current waste management techniques include landfilling and incineration, both leading to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. However, alternative methods such as pyrolysis can present more sustainable pathways by transforming mixed wastes from the agricultural sector into value-added products such as biochar, bio-oil and syngas. Limited published literature has focused on producing biochar derived from co-pyrolysis of agricultural wastes with plastic wastes such as agricultural mulch …

Monstrosity In Religious Art: An Analysis Of Hieronymus Bosch’S Temptation Of Saint Anthony, Jennifer Beaudoin

Theses

This paper analyzes the artist Hieronymus Bosch and his triptych The Temptation of St Anthony in an attempt to elucidate the creative adoption of medieval tropes to invent new forms of monstrosity in his art and exciting imagery. Throughout this paper, I will review how historians have viewed Bosch’s art and an understanding of the ideas surrounding why Bosch chooses to take on the task of telling the stories of creation and St Anthony’s torment. The Middle Ages saw a spike of creative freedoms and visual interpretations of exotic, otherworldly beasts, from dragon-like beings to inhabitants of far-off lands. Bosch …

Mindful Consumption, Hind Ali Almualla

Theses

This study explores the impact of human behaviour on spaceship earth. It also explores the possibilities systems thinking offers to address complex problems such as climate change by influencing human behaviour. This study hypothesizes that the level of information the consumer knows about the ecological footprint of a product has an impact on his purchasing decisions in favour of the environment. The hypothesis was tested by running an experiment on an online shopping experience. Fourteen respondents completed the two phases of the experiment and answered two questionnaires. They were followed by 4 in-depth interviews. The analysis measured if there is …

Sustainable Packaging Design For Online Order Delivery, Fong-Yun Su

Theses

Due to the rising demands of package delivery, packaging for online orders has been produced rapidly in recent years. It includes plastic waste, paperboard waste, and energy waste. These wastes negatively impact the surrounding environment, natural creatures, and even human health. In this paper, a sustainable packaging design for online orders is explored that can not only help ecological systems on this planet, but also benefit the online retailers with a better package life cycle. This project is aimed to design a new packaging solution with adjustable and reusable features, which reduces packaging waste and provides a better package life …

Matching As Color Imaging: Thermal Feature Detection, Bhavesh Deshpande

Theses

Feature detection and extraction is considered to be one of the most important aspects when it comes to any computer vision application, especially the autonomous driving field that is highly dependent on it. Thermal imaging is less explored in the field of autonomous driving mainly due to the high cost of the cameras and inferior techniques available for detection. Due to advances in technology the former is not a major limitation and there lies tremendous scope for improvement in the latter. Autonomous driving relies heavily on multiple and sometimes redundant sensors, for which thermal sensors are a preferred addition. Thermal …

Controlling Artistic Identity—Artist V. Museum: A Case Study Of Kaws At The Brooklyn Museum, Courtney Barber

Theses

Through contemporary social media applications, non-traditional artists now hold the ability to curate their own artistic identities and associated brands. Accordingly, the constant use of social media platforms and consistent reinforcement of familiar artistic styles and characters, have become linked to the artist’s relationship with their public following. In the case of the street artist KAWS, the artist has strategically built the familiar foundations of his public persona upon the repeated use of the character Companion, frequent social media interactions, and consistent brand collaborations. In bringing an artist utilizing such contemporary methods into the traditional museum space, it can be …

Mechanistic Insights On The Role Of Ambrisentan, An Endothelin Type-A Receptor Antagonist, In Breast Cancer, Ruba Saleem Amer

Theses

The activation of the endothelin receptor type A (ETAR) by its ligand endothelin-1 (ET-1) is well known for its role in vasoconstriction. Interestingly, ET-1 and ETAR are over-expressed in various human tumors, including breast cancer. Several studies described an important role for ETAR in cancer progression and metastasis. The extensive network of interactions that exist between ET-1 axis and other signaling pathways can trigger an autocrine and paracrine signaling that modulates different tumorigenesis processes, such as cellular proliferation and survival, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and chemoresistance. The main objective of this study was to investigate the antitumor effects of Ambrisentan, a …

Evaluation Of Nutrient Solutions Produced From Aqueous Extracts And Decomposition Products Of Organic Waste Materials On The Plant Growth Performance In Hydroponics, Noura Said Al Nuaimi

Theses

Hydroponic plant production involves the cultivation of plants in absence of soil. In this system, the supply of the plant root with water and nutritional elements occurs via a nutrient solution made of inorganic salts. Hydroponic plant cultivation often achieves higher yields, water use efficiencies and quality of crops compared with soil production. In addition, it renders the farming system independent from soil properties. However, the currently available systems rely on the steady input of non-renewable inorganic salts. Unlike soil-based systems, hydroponics, so far, do not offer feasible opportunities for recycling nutritional elements from within crop residues or organic waste …

Performance Of Ultrasound-Assisted Forward Osmosis Membrane Process In Desalination Of Seawater, Bara Awwad Al-Sakaji

Theses

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using ultrasound on water flux through forward osmosis membrane when applied for seawater desalination. A synthetically prepared solution simulating seawater characteristics was used. Parameters considered in the investigation included membrane cross-flow velocity (0.25 and 1.0 cm/s), flow configuration (co-current versus counter-current), direction of ultrasound waves relative to the membrane side (active layer versus support layer), and type of draw solution (NaCl versus MgCl₂). Furthermore, a two-level factorial design was considered in the analysis of the results obtained from the experimental work. This study revealed that applying a …

The Effect Of Roadside Mowing And Road Traffic On Bumble Bee Abundance And Pollinating Insect Habitat Quality In New York Highway Rights-Of-Way., Alyssa Schoenfeldt

Theses

Many insect pollinators, including native pollinators such as bumble bees (Bombus spp.), are facing population declines globally due to loss of natural habitats and other anthropogenic factors. The mandated grassy areas alongside roads, known as roadside rights-of-way (ROWs), are potential habitats for insect pollinators. Yet, roadsides ROWs are highly susceptible to disturbances including on-road traffic and roadside management practices, such as mowing, that may impede their performance as suitable habitat. My research objective was thus to examine if and how road traffic levels and roadside mowing interact to influence pollinating insect habitat quality and bumblebee abundance in highway roadside ROWs …

The Best Snowboarding Buddy: Snowpes System, Peiwen He

Theses

The mountain ski resorts are huge places, while the maps are difficult to read and remember. Due to the difference of languages and map signs across countries, it's difficult for people to locate themselves on a map. In addition, it can be difficult for a snowboarder to keep contact with their crew. It also makes asking for rescue take longer. For the snowboarders whose ears are occupied, it's dangerous when there's someone behind them closely. For novice snowboarders who snowboard alone, it is not easy for them to learn new tricks so that they may give up. The Snowpes system …

Smuggling Life, Mahmoud Alkurd

Theses

I was mentally prepared to accept the inevitable reality shock before I moved to Rochester from my home country, Palestine. A place like the Gaza Strip, where I grew up, has its own unique reality that mixes the norms of a contemporary life with the abnormalities. As I thought that I overcame the reality shock after spending almost two years in Rochester, I became aware of the fact that I became able to look back at my Gazan identity from a new and fresh angle. Smuggling Life is a multimedia art project that highlights the phenomenon of sperm smuggling by …

Modeling The Mechanistic Behavioral Logic Supporting Adherence To Hormone Therapy In Breast Cancer Patients, Gina Kersey

Theses

This project proposed that given a basic model of the decisional logic driving stable adherence it might be possible to reliably anticipate increased vulnerability to discontinuation and use such a mode to design behavioral interventions that are specifically tailored to deliver course corrections that are temporally and contextually optimal. A logistic regression was coded and run using the core model predicted by the experts as a base for how the variables interact to make predictions. Then a logistic regression with stepwise selection was coded and run using the core model as a base for how the variables interact and to …

Who Do They Think We Are? Analyzing Misrepresentation Of Races In Netflix Original Films Using Critical Race Theory And Social Identity Theory, Jacob Osseck

Theses

In a society like today’s, racial misrepresentation can be found across a vast number of different forms of media. Racial misrepresentation has been found in television portrayals of characters within series and programs during primetime television. This sort of misrepresentation creates obstacles for certain minorities to overcome prejudice, racism, and bigotry that oppresses their ingroup. A content analysis of 20 Netflix Original films which were chosen through random purposive sampling, to include comedy and drama genres, was conducted for the research. The analysis produced results that helped explain that Netflix’s representation of minorities through inclusion has improved for Blacks, yet …

The Impulse Of Destruction, Chenyue Yang

Theses

Driven by the impulse to destroy, I use glass as a proxy for my own body and identity. Through a series of destructive experiments, provocations, dialogues, and games with materials, this body of work addresses this complex human mechanism of self-destruction by creating empathy with materials. Based on the introduction of my personal experience and cultural background, this work puts forward my obsession with the paradoxical aspect of human nature. I verify the self-destructive tendency of myself through the study of psychology and historically similar art movements. I discuss, the reflection that the research content brought to my creation. I …