Digital Commons Network^™

End-To-End Systems Limitations In Hyperspectral Target Detection Using Parametric Modeling And Subpixel Lattice Targets For Validation, Chase Canas

Theses

Hyperspectral target detection applies algorithms to high-dimensional images to identify rare targets, or objects of interest, within cluttered scenes of diverse backgrounds. Computational demands of processing hyperspectral datasets, along with their limited availability in both public and private sectors, imposes challenges in assessing system-level limitations of detection. This research presents a methodology to quantify end-to-end sensitivities and limitations through statistical modeling across thousands of target detection scenarios. The objective is to identify specific parametric thresholds where detection begins to degrade, based on “knees” in detection curves derived from model outputs of various scenarios. The model considers subpixel targets, where an …

Beyond Barcodes, Ritul Chaudhary

Theses

Beyond Barcodes is a conceptual zine that investigates the narratives encoded within barcodes and reinterprets receipts as tools to examine the emotional layers of consumer behavior. Often dismissed as transactional byproducts, receipts in this project are reframed as carriers of memory, identity and self-worth—reflecting personal values shaped by frugality, guilt, and inherited beliefs about money. The zine unfolds through a series of illustrated vignettes, each centered around a category of spending: groceries, essentials, dining, vanity, and experiences. This arc traces a journey from survival to indulgence, ending on a bittersweet note—critiquing how consumer culture quietly shapes how we spend, what …

Access To Justice For Deaf Defendants, Anna Zieba

Theses

Deaf individuals face systemic accessibility within the criminal justice system, which emphasizes the importance of the gaps in accommodations by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Inconsistent legal protection, limited access to interpreters, inadequate training for legal professionals, and a lack of technology resources obstruct effective communication for Deaf individuals. As a result, it prohibits achieving an effective and equitable legal outcome. This research paper will examine case studies, legal frameworks, and academic literature to highlight the critical need for reform, including mandatory Deaf culture training, standardized interpreting qualifications, and more resources to enable equitable access to justice.

From Contact To Care: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Mental Health Practices Across The Criminal Justice Continuum, Violet Ameele

Theses

This capstone attempts to gain a further understanding of the state of mental health training, protocols, and practices across the continuum of the criminal justice system. The various sections of this paper will look at law enforcement, corrections, and court/community and their roles in mental crisis training and interaction. As the topic of mental health is something increasingly discussed in the present day, it is also something that is in need of more research, in order to create higher standards when it comes to individuals with mental health concerns and ensuring that they receive the proper levels of care that …

Police, Prisons, Communities, And Courts: An Examination Of Criminal Legal System Responses To Neurodivergence, Rhys Miller Evans

Theses

Mental health in the United States is largely stigmatized and overlooked as a factor of crime. This capstone project critically analyzes the response of actors in the criminal legal system to neurodivergence and identifies areas for improvement.

Part One focuses on how police respond to those with mental health conditions and community-based supports that can reduce harm during these interactions. This chapter provides an overview of the prevalence of neurodivergence in the United States and how police are, or are not, trained to protect and serve this subset of the population. It explains the Memphis Model of crisis intervention and …

Examining Food Choice Determinants In Ncaa Division Iii Athlete Participants Representing Multiple Sports, Olivia Towne

Theses

Objective: To examine determinants of food choice among NCAA Division III athletes using the Athlete Food Choice Questionnaire (AFCQ), focusing on gender, sport type, and seasonal status. Participants: 72 NCAA Division III athletes from 13 sports at a private northeastern university participated in an online survey during Fall 2024. Methods: Participants completed the 32-item AFCQ assessing nine food choice factors. Independent t-tests and Pearson’s correlations were used to compare factor scores by gender, sport type, seasonal status, and team success. Results: Performance, Sensory Appeal, and Food Values and Beliefs emerged as the most influential factors in food choice, while Weight …

Visualizing The Dynamics Of Neuroevolution With Genetic Distance Projections, Evan Patterson

Theses

Evolutionary algorithms have shown substantial progress in recent years, especially in neural architecture search and neuroevolution applications. Despite their effectiveness, analyzing and understanding the evolutionary paths these algorithms traverse to reach solutions remains challenging. These algorithms often involve distributed computing strategies, which can include subpopulations or islands, and they explore massive or even unbounded search spaces in both continuous and non-continuous domains. Manually examining individual solutions to understand the evolutionary dynamics is often infeasible due to large population sizes, large genome sizes, and high generation counts. This work introduces a new methodology for visualizing neuroevolution population dynamics called genetic distance …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Behavior Analysis In Psychiatric Inpatient Settings, Stephanie Henry, Robbie Hanson

Theses

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) may be best known for the treatment of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, such as those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, ABA also has a long history of effective outcomes with other populations, such as with individuals who are admitted to inpatient psychiatric facilities (Dougher, 2004; Harvey et al., 2009). In 2018, 187,877 individuals in the United States were reported as receiving treatment for mental health disorders (Lutterman, 2022). Given behavior analysis’ success implementing operant procedures with these populations, an updated review of the literature on the use of behavior analysis within these settings …

Mary Kay Reimagined, Allison Terveer

Theses

This project is taking the brand Mary Kay and turning it into a new brand that would be enticing to younger generations and become a staple in everyone and anyone’s routines. Mary Kay was a huge makeup brand in the 1990s and early 2000s, but the cosmetic industry has grown tremendously, and Mary Kay has fallen behind. They mostly target the older generations, the generations that were supporting them in the 1990s and 2000s. They need to expand their target range and get younger consumers to pay attention to them. With updated packaging, new marketing and a new way to …

From The Bleachers To The Browser: Redefining Fan Experience With Ar And Ai In Smaller Teams, Jennifer Lee Wunder

Theses

This project documents the creation and deployment of HootyHoo, an interactive augmented reality (AR) mascot experience designed for the O’Fallon Hoots, a small-scale collegiate summer baseball team. Built using accessible, open-source tools such as WebXR, Mixamo, Meshy, Botpress, Claude and ChatGPT, this prototype merges AI-driven conversation with animated 3D avatar interaction—redefining how fans engage with sports organizations digitally. Unlike enterprise-level applications used by professional franchises, HootyHoo is entirely browser-based, eliminating the need for app downloads and ensuring maximum accessibility for families and new fans with smartphones. The experience centers on Hooty, the team mascot, who answers questions about baseball and …

How The Industry Changed Video: Understanding The Shift In Video Content And Distribution, Erica Pellin

Theses

This project will investigate the way that digital video content is created and distributed with the creation of social media, and how it can be used for marketing. The final deliverable is a website broken down into many different topics to support the thesis statement. The website will include video content and photographs, in addition to written information, to provide readers with visual examples.

Horror Films And Why We Enjoy The Genre, Jessica Thomason

Theses

This project focuses on the research of horror films and why certain individuals enjoy the genre despite having taboo subjects. The primary focus is to find the answer to the research question “why do some individuals enjoy horror?”. The aim of this research was to identify a connection between why individuals enjoy horror through the content. The research then informed the creative process behind the painting series that accompanies this project.

Unveiling: The Exploration Of The Self And Ego Dissolution, Joseph Gonzales

Theses

This project explores self and ego dissolution through painting, engaging with Buddhist notions of no-self (Anatta), Christian Mystical union, and Jungian psychology to challenge the idea of a fixed identity. Through portraiture and figurative representation, the work visually explores impermanence and the tension between the individual and the collective consciousness, utilizing transparency, multiplicity, and symbolism. This research is grounded in a multidisciplinary approach, synthesizing visual art, philosophy, and psychology. By integrating Eastern and Western philosophies, this work expands the discourse on identity in contemporary art, contributing to broader conversations on the self and the ego within wisdom traditions and psychology. …

Nextgen Humanities: A Digital Art History Pedagogical Revolution, Analisa Soverns-Reed

Theses

In response to the urgent need for more accessible, inclusive, and technologically relevant humanities education, the NextGen Humanities project was conceived as a digital initiative to reimagine pedagogical practices within art history and the broader humanities. Traditional perceptions of humanities disciplines as elite and static have contributed to declining engagement, necessitating innovative solutions that integrate open-access resources, digital tools, and inclusive frameworks. This project developed a publicly accessible platform curating free, vetted resources grounded in artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and open educational resources (OER), emphasizing critical engagement, cultural inclusivity, and technological adaptability. Methodologically, NextGen Humanities combined extensive literature …

Presence Through Absence: The Ark Of The Covenant And The Aniconic Image Of God In Early Israelite Religious Art, Natalie Rivas

Theses

This thesis investigates the Ark of the Covenant as a paradoxical visual and theological artifact within early Israelite religious art. While the Israelite tradition has long been characterized as aniconic (eschewing anthropomorphic representations of the divine) the Ark occupied a central role in ritual, worship, and religious identity. Prior scholarship has focused either on the Ark’s narrative function in biblical texts or its formal attributes as a cultic object. However, limited attention has been given to how the Ark embodies divine presence through the visual strategy of absence. This study argues that the Ark does not merely avoid figural representation …

The Queen Of Heaven: Evelyn De Morgan's Transcendence Of The Soul, Sarah Victoria Eller

Theses

This thesis examines the religious iconography in three key paintings by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Evelyn De Morgan, The Angel of Death, The Undiscovered Country, and Lux in Tenebris, and explores how they draw on Early Italian Renaissance visual traditions to depict themes of death and the soul’s transcendence. Recent scholarship has assessed De Morgan’s oeuvre through the feminist lens and emphasized her engagement with Spiritualism and the nineteenth-century revival of Swedenborgian philosophy. The Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli has also been recognized as an influential reference for De Morgan, particularly in her mythologically themed works. This study expands on that scope …

Realistic Symbolism, Bekah Renee Anderson

Theses

This project focuses on the tools and techniques of realistic oil painting. By analyzing historical artists like Audrey Flack and Johannes Vermeer, we learn new and innovative ways to enhance the production of oil paintings. The project is interpreted through the scope of metaphoric allegorical creations based on my interpretation of vanitas, dramatic lighting, and symbolic presence of family.

Between Sense And Nonsense, Holly Marie Hennessey

Theses

This project focuses on fiber art and its relationship to abject art, emotions, and the subconscious that are all evoked through sculpture. My project challenges ideas on societal norms, identity and ambiguity as I contribute to abject art and push the conversation forward within the contemporary world. I invite my audience to embrace the unfamiliar and to allow both beauty and oddity to coexist.

Framing Queenship: Gender, Power, And Political Representation In Holbein’S Portraits Of Jane Seymour And Anne Of Cleves, Kateryna Chernenko

Theses

This paper explores the intricate relationship between queenship, gender, and political representation as depicted in Hans Holbein’s portraits of Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves, two wives of Henry VIII. By analyzing these works within the framework of Tudor England's gender dynamics, we can better understand how Holbein’s portraits transcend mere artistic expression to serve as critical commentaries on the roles of women in a predominantly patriarchal society. Recent scholarly trends emphasize the significance of gender in the interpretation of historical art, revealing how these portraits reflect, challenge, and reinforce the societal constructs of their time. This study focuses on …

Beatrice Wanjiku: A Portrait Of Human Vulnerability, Suzanne R. Vuoncino

Theses

Abstract artist Beatrice Wanjiku uses an anatomical composition to illustrate a sense of vulnerability, an element of human identity, in relation to one’s social environment. Going beyond the skin, Untitled excavates the mental and emotional aspects of the human condition and gives expression to experience. By observing her figural composition, examining the foundation of identity theory, and interpreting her use of abstraction, I will describe how Untitled speaks to a message of connectivity through a portrait of human vulnerability. This thesis argues that one’s environment affects the individual and exemplifies how vulnerability is seen as a pervasive aspect of human …

Cultural Constraints Of Mental Illness Among Black Males, Sabrina R. Hinton-Campbell

Theses

This research explores historical trauma, systemic racism, inequity of mental health care, and lack of access to culturally and responsive mental healthcare for the Black community, particularly Black males, therefore creating a legitimate distrust of the medical profession among Black males, which inspired this project: Cultural Constraints of Mental Illness Among Black Males. For this project, the researcher visually and explicitly depicts the literal mental health struggles using oil pastels with intentional directional strokes applied by using the sides of her fingers to blend the colors and for control and a blow dryer to bring the oils to the surface …

Don’T Stop Game, The Effects Of A Demerit-Based System, David Buckles

Theses

Physical activity is an essential component of an overall healthy lifestyle. It has been shown that implementing weekly physical activities reduces the risk of non-communicative diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. There have been an increasing number of studies showing that the physical activity of those with learning disabilities is much lower than that of neurotypical individuals. More studies are needed to identify effective interventions to increase the physical activity of those with learning disabilities. The current study evaluated the effect of the Don’t Stop Game on the mean number of steps taken per minute with adults …

Effect Of Traumatic Brain Injury On Quality Of Life, Mohammad A. Al Rjoob

Theses

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results from external events, such as falls and motor vehicle accidents leading to brain damage. This study investigated quality of life (QoL) in individuals with TBI and its relation to demographic and clinical variables, including gender, age, educational level, time since TBI onset, fatigue, depression and cognitive function. Twelve individuals with TBI participated in this cross-sectional study. Quality of life was assessed using Quality of Life after Brain Injury and ASHA Quality of Communication Life Scale measures. Fatigue was measured using the Fatigue Severity Scale, depression was measured with the Geriatric Depression Scale, and cognitive function …

Rooted In Ogdensburg: A Creative Exhibition From Classroom To Gallery, Finn Bishop-Duford

Theses

Picture this: you are an elementary student- wandering around an art exhibition. On the wall hangs artwork you dedicated your time to. How does it make you feel? Art exhibitions of student work are a display practice implemented at the James F. Montpelier Gallery located at Ogdensburg Free Academy in Ogdensburg, New York. Such student-focused art exhibitions, historically, create a wonderful, inspirational, and impactful environment for students to display their finest works. Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world by storm in 2020, the thematic shows shifted to assemblages of students’ best work. This is due to the limited time …

A Bert-Resnet Cross-Attention Fusion Network And Modality Utilization Assessment For Multimodal Sentiment Classification, Ronen G. Gold

Theses

This study explores the growing field of Multimodal Sentiment Analysis (MSA), focusing on understanding how advanced fusion techniques can improve sentiment prediction in social media contexts. As platforms like X and TikTok continue to expand and facilitate sharing sentiment through digital media, there is an increasing need for neural network architectures that can accurately interpret sentiment across modalities. We implement a model using BERT for textual features and ResNet for visual features. A cross-attention fusion module aligns the modalities for joint representation. We conduct experiments on the MVSA-Single and MVSA-Multiple datasets, which contain over 5,000 and 17,000 labeled text-image pairs. …

Beyond The Badge: Predicting Military Employee Attrition In The Police Force, Alia Abdulla Alhajji

Theses

This study explores the issue of employee attrition within the military police force, with a focus on predicting which employees are at risk of leaving. Attrition in law enforcement is costly and disruptive, especially in roles that require long training periods and operational readiness. The research specifically targets the internal organizational factors influencing turnover in military police environments and aims to leverage machine learning models to support the early identification of high-risk individuals. Guided by the CRISP-DM framework, the study followed a structured process across six stages: business understanding, data exploration, preparation, modeling, evaluation, and insight generation. A simulated dataset …

Under The Mask: Labeling And Self-Perception In Augmented Reality, Ruiyuan Guo

Theses

Under the Mask is a speculative AR experience that critically explores how social labels shape both perception and self-perception in everyday life. The project reimagines augmented reality not as a technological novelty, but as a conceptual mirror—a way to visualize how identity is continuously negotiated in social space. Users interact with two distinct labeling functions: when they assign a tag to themselves, it becomes visible to everyone, symbolizing the ways in which self-identification enters public discourse. In contrast, when users label others, those tags remain private—visible only to the individual user—highlighting how our assumptions primarily influence our own vision, not …

Bodies Unseen: Hysteria’S Stain On Women’S Healthcare, Layla Dehrab

Theses

Bodies Unseen is a 5-minute motion graphics piece accompanied by a 12-page zine that explores the historical and ongoing dismissal of women’s pain within the medical system, rooted in the legacy of hysteria. Through the fictionalized stories of Ada, Rosa, and Mabel-women from different time periods who face misdiagnosis and neglect, the project illustrates the persistent gender bias in healthcare. Drawing from historical records, feminist theory, and contemporary research on medical inequity, this work connects past injustices to modern-day disparities in diagnosis and treatment. The animation and zine work in tandem to educate viewers and encourage dialogue about the systemic …

What’S Coco Eating Today: Using Fragmented Time To Reduce Stress, Yaxuan Wang

Theses

In modern society, electronic mobile devices have become an integral part of life and entertainment. From a developmental perspective, the abundance of virtual content has brought significant changes in emotional, cognitive, and social aspects. On this background, the rise of the gaming industry has made 'digital games' a common form of entertainment. As games become a normalized part of daily life, the variety of game types has expanded greatly. This led me to consider: through interaction design and using games as a medium, is it possible to reduce users' stress in a short time and provide positive emotional feedback? Based …

Ai Emotional Companion App, Ruyi Liu

Theses

"Lumi" is an AI emotional companion app designed to provide personalized, immersive, and emotionally supportive experiences. The project explores how customizable virtual characters can fulfill the growing emotional and social needs of users through multimodal interaction, intimacy-building systems, and gamified engagement. By combining user interviews, competitive analysis, and iterative prototyping, this thesis investigates how design strategies can strengthen the user’s emotional bond with an AI character. The final product presents a flexible platform where users can create unique AI companions, interact in diverse ways, and develop lasting emotional connections. This work contributes to the field of emotional UX and digital …