Digital Commons Network^™

Beyond The Page: Multimodal Lab-Based Research And Development In Creative Writing, Matthew Jacob Gordon

Theses

This collection acts as the supporting evidence of the hypothesis that, while acting as Graduate Director of SIU’s Digital Xpressions Lab, Matthew Gordon was able to successfully provide effective support for the digital expression of collaborator’s and client's domains of knowledge while forming innovative research partnerships with academics within the SIU system and beyond. A unique form for a MFA in Creative Writing’s thesis, this collection represents the multimodal creative work a contemporary narrative designer can undertake in a single academic year when given the ability to lead a facility like Southern Illinois University’s Digital Xpressions Lab. Qualitative evidence in …

Single-Mode Distributed-Feedback Lasing In Coupled Dissimilar Photonic Waveguides, Bryce A. Tennant

Theses

Distributed-feedback (DFB) lasers support a wide range of applications including fiber-optic and free-space optical communications, sensing and measurement, military warfare, and manufacturing and metrology. The desire for a reduction in size, weight, power, and cost (SWAP-C) for each of these applications continues to aggressively drive integrated- and silicon-photonic circuit development. Since DFB lasers based on uniform refractive-index diffraction gratings are naturally dual-mode, a variety of techniques have been introduced to impose single-mode operation, including the currently ubiquitous λ/4-grating phase-shift technique. This grating phase shift, however, creates an undesirable peaky-power profile within the laser cavity resulting in nonlinear behavior ultimately limiting …

College Students' Perceived Behavioral Expectancy Violations By Instructors In The Zoom Classroom, Kaleb Kronimus

Theses

As of the COVID-19 pandemic, video conferencing briefly usurped face-to-face as the primary medium of communication for education and professional settings. Even now in 2022 as the impact of the pandemic begins to be felt less, video conferencing remains an integrated part of educational settings, with Zoom being the most prominent video conferencing application in education. This study used expectancy violations theory to explore both the behavioral expectations students have of their instructors on Zoom, as well as what instructors themselves believe their students' expectations to be when on Zoom. This paper explores both the general expectations held by students, …

A Bit-Exact Hierarchical Systemc Model Of Ppim For Verification And Performance Modeling, Dhana Lavanya Balasubramanian

Theses

The semiconductor industry has seen tremendous advancement lately and is expected to continue to grow since multiple industries like automobile, health care, meteorology, etc are developing dedicated chips with advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI). These improvements also come with increased complexities. Engineers now require advanced ways to model the designs in addition to existing Hardware Description Languages (HDLs) such as Very High-Speed Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) and Verilog. One such way to model the designs is by using SystemC, which is a library of C++ classes and macros that can be used similar to an HDL for modeling …

An Examination Of The Effects Of The Cost Volume On Vision Transformer-Based Optical Flow Models, Andrew Thompson

Theses

The optical flow task is an active research domain in the machine learning community with numerous downstream applications such as autonomous driving and action recognition. Convolutional neural networks have often been the basis of design for these models. However, given the recent popularity of self-attention architectures, many optical flow models now utilize a vision transformer backbone. Despite the differing backbone architectures used, consistencies in model design, especially regarding auxiliary operations, have been observed. Perhaps most apparent is the calculation and use of the cost volume. While prior works have well documented the effects of the cost volume on models with …

Harnessing Crispr-Cas12a And Nanotechnology For The Rapid And Accurate Detection Of Dna Viruses, Mengdi Bao

Theses

In recent years, the world has faced numerous pandemics caused by viral diseases, leading to considerable morbidity, mortality, and economic disruptions. Developing vaccines for pandemics can be a challenging task due to the rapid mutation of viruses and the significant investment of time required for their development. While real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunoassay techniques are frequently utilized for viral diagnostics, they possess inherent limitations. Therefore, there is a pressing need to rapidly and accurately identify viral infections to manage diseases effectively. This work explores the use of nanotechnology and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated (Cas) proteins to …

Using Metal-Organic Frameworks (Mofs) In Producing Self-Curing Concrete, Lama Fathi Allan

Theses

Curing of concrete is the presence of adequate moisture content in concrete throughout its early stages to produce the desired properties, as it is significant in improving the concrete microstructure and pore structure and hence in developing its performance and durability. However, good curing is not always practical in several cases, such as in hot weather regions and areas of water inadequacy. For that reason, the need to develop self-curing concrete attracted several researchers. The use of self-curing agents minimizes the water evaporation from concrete and consequently increases its water retention capacity compared to conventional concrete. This thesis is concerned …

Electrochemical Investigation Of Copperzirconium Based Metallic Glass Cu₅₁Zr₃₀Hf₁₄Ag₅, Tamim Mohammad Ahmad

Theses

This thesis is concerned with the electrochemical investigation of the copper-zirconium

based metallic glass Cu₅₁Zr₃₀Hf₁₄Ag₅. Studying the corrosion behavior of the novel melt-spun metallic glass ribbons contributes to further research on the possibility of building future bio-implants. The objectives of this thesis are to synthesize the metallic glass ribbons which are free from cytotoxic elements using melt spinning technique, verify their amorphous nature using X-ray diffraction method, study the corrosion behavior using Potentiodynamic polarization and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy in different acidic, neutral and basic solutions, and finally examine the surface morphology of …

Invariants Of 3-Braid And 4-Braid Links, Mark Essa Sukaiti

Theses

In this study, we established a connection between the Chebyshev polynomial of the first kind and the Jones polynomial of generalized weaving knots of type W(3,n,m).
Through our analysis, we demonstrated that the coefficients of the Jones polynomial of weaving knots are essentially the Whitney numbers of Lucas lattices which allowed us to find an explicit formula for the Alexander polynomial of weaving knots of typeW(3,n).
In addition to confirming Fox’s trapezoidal conjecture, we also discussed the zeroes of the Alexander Polynomial of weaving knots of type W(3,n) as they relate to Hoste’s conjecture. In addition, …

Heat Transfer In Microchannel Compact Heat Exchanger, Mohammed Al-Khateri

Theses

This study aims to investigate heat transfer in a miniaturized channel heat exchanger and effectiveness for given real-life design. The main objective of the study is to develop and build a high-performance heat exchanger for thermal management in automotive application using typical radiator manufacturing techniques. This research uses experimental and model-based investigation. It conceptualizes the Miniaturized Channel Heat Exchangers (MCHX) model-based study for demonstrating the design of miniaturized channel heat exchangers, manufacture, and study the heat exchanger effectiveness by validating the developed mathematical model experimentally. The proposed design of the MCHX is to use extruded tubes containing miniaturized channels as …

The Impact And Severity Of Non-Covid-19 Illnesses During Covid-19 Pandemic, Hanadi Alhammadi

Theses

The Covid-19 pandemic is a global crisis that occurred around the world and resulted in a large number of infections and deaths. As of September 2020, it was estimated that the Covid-19 pandemic had killed 976,000 people worldwide, healthcare facilities were burdened with containing this pandemic and made great efforts to treat and protect people, but in turn the focus on containing the pandemic led to many side effects, one of these effects is death from causes other than Covid-19. During the pandemic, people were afraid to visit hospitals to avoid contracting the COVID-19 virus, and hospitals were under great …

An Examination Of The Association Between Microaggression And Select Disordered Eating Behaviors Within The Transgender And Non-Binary Community, Dee Murray

Theses

Background: Microaggressions experienced by transgender and non-binary (TNB) individuals differ from those experienced by non-TNB individuals. Limited research has explored the association between TNB-focused microaggression and disordered eating behaviors. Methods: An online survey consisting of validated instruments was administered to respondents (N=194) over a 96-day period. The instruments included the Satter Eating Competence Inventory (ecSI 2.0TM), Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-18), Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14), and the Transgender Discrimination Scale (TDS-21). Associations between characteristics were assessed with the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Microaggression was positively associated with negative eating behaviors such as cognitive restraint (r= 0.41; p

Combating Systemic Racism With Truth Commissions, Katherine E. Miles

Theses

The main form of justice practiced in the United States when it comes to criminal proceedings and individual wrongdoings is a form of justice called Retributive Justice. Retributive justice is committed to following these three principles, 1: that those who commit certain kinds of wrongful acts, morally deserve to suffer an equivalent punishment; 2: that it is intrinsically morally good—good without reference to any other goods if some legitimate punisher gives them the punishment they deserve; and 3: that it is morally impermissible to punish the innocent intentionally or to inflict disproportionately large punishments on offenders. From the three principles …

A Graph-Based Approach To Studying The Spread Of Radical Online Sentiment, Le Nguyen

Theses

The spread of radicalization and extremism through the Internet is a growing problem. We are witnessing a rise in online hate groups, inspiring the impressionable and vulnerable population towards extreme actions in the real world. Though the body of research to address these issues is growing in kind, they lack a key understanding of the structure and behavior of online extremist com- munities. In this thesis, we study the structure and behavior of extremist online communities and the spread of hateful sentiments through them to address this gap in the research. We propose a novel Graph-Based Approach to Studying the …

Állo (Neutral - “Other”), Alex Jarus

Theses

In a balancing act between fear and curiosity, I have created a series of wood-based artifacts to serve as vessels in which I may pose questions to myself. At the core of each artifact is a sphere primarily produced from a log allowed to dry and fracture naturally, capturing a snapshot of change in motion. Through the creation of these vessels, I attempted to better understand how I define what it means for me to be queer and non-binary. Although these artifacts are contemporary works, I have removed them from a particular known visual time in hopes of providing a …

Redesign A Pet Bottle: Creating Possibilities For Future Recycling, Shen Liu

Theses

As a case study, I evaluated the difficulties faced by millennials in recycling PET bottles and their potential expectations for recycling systems. My design includes a visually appealing, compressible PET bottle with a delicate appearance. It helps consumers save four-fifths of their storage space during recycling. That means consumers can easily carry it around until they are ready to recycle. This change is more likely to improve the storage efficiency of bottles and the possibility of bottle recycling. In addition, designing a brand is an important step in building customer trust in sustainable design, helping to connect consumers with their …

On Groundless Fears, Justin Aungst

Theses

I often have dreams in which I’m chased or followed. Sometimes there’s an urgent life-threatening pace where I’m running from a pursuer. Often, it’s slower and less immediate, and in some cases, I don’t turn around to see if someone is behind me. The feeling of being followed is enough to keep me moving. On Groundless Fears is a photographic series that focuses on subconscious anxieties where the root causes are not readily apparent to us. Untethered from reality, these fears loom and seep into the mundane. The setting of an American suburb is meant to be familiar and unsuspecting; …

A Study On The Design Of Public Speaking Preparation And Social Anxiety In Young People, Jacqueline Qiu

Theses

Modern society is demanding more and more from young people. Young people need expertise and speech skills to succeed professionally. These skills need to be good enough to be appreciated and recognized in public presentations. However, most young people need clarification when it comes to speaking. They must integrate their expertise, presentation slides efficiently, and other speech skills so that the audience or leaders can comprehend. The people who are the best at public speaking become the most successful. This paper concerns a study on speech experience, presentation skills, and presentation effectiveness as indicators to improve presentations. This project was …

Can You Escape Agency By Falling Asleep? Killing Two Constitutivists’ Problems With One Stone, Henrique Cassol Leal

Theses

In this paper, I present a new problem to constitutivism (the idea that agency grounds our practical norms) and argue that the solution to this problem also solves Enoch’s shmagency question. The problem I bring forth involves the fact that agency seems to be metaphysically escapable, such as when we fall asleep, or get hit by a truck. If this is correct, then we allow for perplexing cases in which a wrongdoing is done, but no agent is responsible, nor is any norm broken—for, what grounds responsibility and norms, our agency, has disappeared. I thus argue for a notion of …

Physiological Signals And The Effects On Prediction Of Future Blood Glucose Values In A Deep Learning Model, Andrew Rearson

Theses

Diabetes is a chronic disease that currently has no cure. However, in the last decade, life- changing technology for people with diabetes has advanced primarily due to new sensors that continuously measure glucose. Individuals with diabetes manually use this data for diabetes management, but the artificial intelligence community has seen the increase in data as an opportunity to work towards automating diabetes control. The project developed deep-learning neural networks incorporating blood glucose measurements measured by a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and physical activity data from a wearable health sensor (WHS) to predict future glucose values and compare how different configuration …

Intentional Passing And Closeted Agency, Logan Bohlinger

Theses

It is characteristic of closeted queer agents that they behave so as to pass as heterosexual, cisgender, or otherwise as non-queer. Thus, I take it that an action-theoretic account of the phenomenon of straight-passing is essential to developing an action-theoretic account of the practical disposition of being “in the closet.” To progress towards a broader account of closeted queer agency, I endeavor in this thesis to clarify the patterns of practical reasoning involved in straight-passing with an aim to demonstrate that straight-passing, in all its forms, is something that a queer agent can intentionally do. However, a queer agent often …

Ecomves: Enhancing Comves Using Data Piggybacking For Resource Discovery At The Network Edge, Sanzida Hoque

Theses

Over the past few years, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have emerged as highly popular technologies that demand rapid and efficient processing of data with low latency and high bandwidth, in order to enable seamless real-time interaction between users and the virtual environment. This presents challenges for network infrastructure design, which can be addressed through edge computing. However, edge computing also presents challenges, such as selecting the appropriate edge server for computing tasks in dynamic networks with rapidly changing resource availability. Named Data Networking (NDN) is a potential future Internet architecture that could provide a balanced distribution of …

End Of Ages: The End Of The Middle Ages And The Problem Of Periodization, Daniel Buck

Theses

Abstract

Consumer And Business Barriers To Household Food Waste Solutions, Jessica Oehman

Theses

An estimated 35.3 million tons of food waste are landfilled each year in the United States, causing negative environmental, economic, and social impacts and almost half of that waste is from households (US EPA, 2017). To meet EPA goals for landfill diversion of food waste, the material can be captured as a resource and re-used through methods such as composting. However, participation in household food waste collection programs is lacking; there is a need to understand the interplay between the individuals’ responsible for providing the waste stream and the pickup services providing the infrastructure to collect and manage the separated …

A Deep Learning-Based Pipeline To Generate Patient-Specific Anatomical Models Of The Heart Using Cardiac Mri, Roshan Reddy Upendra

Theses

Image-based patient-specific anatomical models of the heart have the potential to be used in a variety of clinical scenarios such as diagnosis and prognosis of various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), ablation therapy, risk stratification, and minimally invasive cardiac interventions. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides images with high-resolution and superior soft tissue contrast, rendering it as the gold standard modality for imaging cardiac anatomy. To obtain meaningful information from such image-based personalized anatomical models of the heart, it is crucial to combine the geometric models of the cardiac chambers extracted from cine cardiac MRI and the …

Tourism, Mapping, Retail And Recreational Trails: A Case Study Of Connectivity Between Trails And Adjacent Downtowns In Anniston, Alabama, Usa, Jennifer Green

Theses

This study examines the estimated increase in economic impact on a geography’s local economy by creating cross-marketing efforts between expanding an established outdoor recreation trail to a closely located city downtown commerce district. This research will analyze the resulting potential rise in sales/lodging tax revenues for that city by mapping the trail and downtown district, and cross-marketing the other to users of both or either venue. Potential increase in economic impact will be estimated utilizing IMPLAN methodology by assessing the economic impact on the local economy that a percentage range of increased spending resulting from this cross-marketing effort could generate.

Escaping Tradition: An Exploration Of Optimized Learning Environments, Mak W. Friery

Theses

This undergraduate interior design capstone research focuses on understanding how forward-thinking design approaches can improve student success and teacher effectiveness in the classroom environment. Addressing the ever-changing needs of students, this research investigates variables of classroom environments such as the impact of color, lighting, acoustics, technology, space planning, furniture, and biophilia. Understanding these factors in the classroom environment can inspire new approaches to design and class flexibility whilst positively impacting student learning outcomes, teacher effectiveness, and overall well-being.

This capstone research is conducted at a time of change within educational design approaches as they continually aim to determine which factors …

Investigating The Importance Of Non-Textual Caption Properties From Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Viewers' Perspective, Akhter Al Amin

Theses

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) viewers rely on captioning to perceive auditory information while watching live television programming. Captioning ensures that viewers can receive textual and non-textual information that is crucial to comprehend the content of the video. However, no research has investigated how non-textual properties of captioning, such as caption placement and the presentation of current speakers, influence DHH viewers’ ability to comprehend video content and their judgement of a captioned video’s quality. Thus, this work aims to understand the effect of non-textual properties of captioning on DHH viewers’ live captioned video watching experiences; these findings can inform a better …

Transmuting Tragedy: The Political Martyrdom Of The Executed Leaders Of The 1916 Easter Rising In Irish Visual Arts, Megan Howard

Theses

The Easter Rising of 1916 marked a defining moment in Irish history, as a group of Irish nationalists sought to overthrow British rule and establish an independent Irish Republic. While the rebellion was initially unsuccessful, it was a pivotal moment in Irish history that sparked a wave of national mourning and resistance following the execution of its leaders by the British government. Such a transition occurred with the careful and deliberate shaping of their legacy by their families with the aid of the Irish Catholic Church. This thesis explores the depiction of the executed leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising …

Automatic Text Simplification Tools To Provide Reading Assistance For Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Individuals, Oliver Alonzo

Theses

Automatic Text Simplification (ATS) consists of computing techniques to rewrite text to make it simpler to read and understand, and prior research has explored its use to provide reading assistance to various user groups who may benefit from reading support. Prior literacy research has identified great diversity in literacy skills among DHH adults, and prior computing accessibility research has identified benefits from providing ATS-based reading assistance to other user groups. Thus, while ATS holds promise to benefit DHH adults, little research has investigated the benefits from, interests in and preferences for such technologies among DHH adults. Thus, this work aims …