Digital Commons Network^™

Within The Hour, Jacob Dowis

Theses

In our hyper-connected, present-day reality, many people think of solitude as a strange or lonely aspect of life. Over the last two years, I have been exploring themes of solitude by isolating individuals in composition. I first began the project primarily by photographing myself and the landscape around me, including both residential and public areas that I would find myself in. The concept grew from the isolation I felt when first moving here for school during the Covid pandemic. It was the first time I was living on my own, and in addition, I was moving to a new city …

Identifying Psychological Mental Disorders Through Machine Learning, Mohammad Al Abdooli

Theses

Psychology is the Study of Human Behavior and the various ways of thinking in it’s both consciousness and unconsciousness mind as this field is still growing to various fields such as Sports, Criminal and even Administrative Psychology through, Furthermore, This Study aims to shape and accommodate both fields of Sciences together, There are very few Scholars and Researches done on Medical Mental Health from a Data Analytics perspective, examining the datasets of the patients ICD-11 or DSM-5 scores and correlating it with the patients well-being, family medical history or any accident the patient have been through, so the current study …

Detection Of Hateful Comments On Social Media, Essa Alzarouni

Theses

Social media usage has grown tremendously in the contemporary communication landscape. Along with its numerous benefits, some users abuse the channels by spreading hatred, far from the intended purpose of building connections on a personal level. To date, an empirical method for detecting, quantifying, and categorizing hateful comments on social networks comprehensively and proactively is still lacking. Besides, majority of the cases remain unreported due to social confounders such as fear of victimization and the psychological implications of hateful comments, leading to a situation whereby, the detrimental effect of the situation is underestimated. The ill-defined situation in the growing online …

Gamification Of Education And Learning: Heuristic Elements, Player Types, And Learning Outcomes For Art History Games, James L. Hutson Jr.

Theses

The technology of virtual reality (VR) and the gamification of education and learning has had proven educational benefits, especially in secondary education. However, there remains little to no research on the heuristic elements and mechanics that contribute to learning at the postsecondary level of education. Most research conducted has been refined to science programs, but even in these instances, a study of the effects and interests of different demographics has yet to be considered. Given the visual nature of how the discipline of art history has traditionally been taught, there are a number of virtual reality (VR) applications to assist …

Creating Better Musicians Through Musicality: A Guide To Building An Instructional Unit, Shelby Leo

Theses

This project provides an in depth focus on how to strengthen an ensemble's approach to musicality through lesson plans, assessments, and activities. The primary focus group of this project is high school aged performance based classes including band and choir. The aim of the project is to provide a music educator with a detailed curriculum to teach musicality that is adjustable to any size ensemble and any score. Furthermore, this project is not a study but instead an explanation to the approach of developing the curriculum unit. The project consists of a four unit curriculum with two to three lessons …

Art Curriculum Lesson Plan: Horace Pippin’S World War I Journal, Tracie Dana Sykes

Theses

This report contains a detailed curriculum plan for a ninety-minute, eleventh grade Art class. The purpose is to provide the students with a thorough study of Horace Pippin’s World War I journal, while implementing two assignments to test their understanding of the areas which will be emphasized in the lesson. The students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of Pippin’s War journal by presenting a detailed slideshow about the artist and his journal. The students' foundational knowledge of Naive art will be recognized through the creation of his/her unique piece of art which will implement the mannerisms of Naive …

The Effects Of Therapeutic Arts On Black Mental Health, Alicia Newsome

Theses

This project focuses on black mental health that encompasses mental wellness education through social media and builds community connection by sharing stories. It reduces social exclusion and creates positive change in black communities. The final deliverable will be a short video poem compilation via YouTube that gives insight into what it is like living with depression and anxiety. It will include motion graphics, photo manipulation, and graphic art covers titled Misconceptions, Beautiful Temptations, Relentless, and Old Abuse. It is about implementing healthy coping mechanisms and bringing together a community that is often overlooked and/or stigmatized regarding mental health. It enhances …

Creating A Social Media Marketing Strategy For A Small Business, Kaila Trowbridge

Theses

As the world continues to digitalize, it has never been more crucial to use and understand social media when running a business of any size. Social media is where people share their ideas, experiences, and information with the world. People can reach a larger audience once they grow their profiles and understand who the audience truly is. From a business standpoint, social media should be used to display products, services, and develop an open relationship with the audience and customers.

The Heroic Parallels Of Hercules And Lorenzo De Medici, Michael Putorti

Theses

During the late fifteenth century, a painting was displayed in the Palazzo Medici, home to one of Florence’s most influential families. The painting was commissioned by Lorenzo de’ Medici from one of his favorite artists, Antonio Pollaiuolo. The painting, entitled Hercules and Deianira, portrays a scene from the Herculean myth. The composition depicts the hero Hercules, who can be seen aiming an arrow at the centaur Nessus, who is carrying of Hercules’ new bride, Deianira. Throughout his life, Lorenzo admired the mythological hero and would often acquire compositions depicting him as a way of representing his own heroic qualities. However, …

Modernizing Handmade Crochet Lace, An Antiquated Craft, Through The Development Of A Blog, Livier Olson

Theses

This project investigates the degree of difficulty involved in initiating a web-based blog and growing its content with the intention to create craft-based entrepreneurship. With the advancement in technology and the help of the internet and social media, this project also aims to express how a vintage craft can be modernized and continue to thrive as a cottage industry. The final deliverable is a blog that intends to educate the public about the history of crochet and its ties to the lace and fashion industry, tutorials for crocheted lacemaking, and the continued use of crocheted lace in modern fashion.

Effects Of Prompting Via Automated Phone Calls On Documentation Completion, Erin Malinowski

Theses

This study attempted to determine if a low-cost, minimally time consuming intervention could increase document completion – specifically end of shift reports. Using a concurrent multiple baseline design, automated phone calls reminded staff to complete their end of shift reports. Participants were the staff members at 16 group homes. All participants were trained Direct Support Professionals. The dependent variable was completion of end of shift reports as a percent of opportunities. There was a measurable response to the intervention. Overall, the percent of completion increased from 4% in baseline to 22% during intervention. The agency desired a much higher response …

Reducing A Dog’S Problem Behavior Using Functional Communication Training: A Case Study, Audrey Blunt, Robbie Hanson

Theses

Many dogs are relinquished to animal shelters and subsequently euthanized each year due to problem behaviors, such as excessive barking (ASPCA, n.d.). Unfortunately, punishment-based procedures (e.g., bark collars) have been commonly used to reduce these behaviors, despite negative side-effects such as escape and aggression. Functional communication training (FCT) involves teaching a replacement behavior that is functionally equivalent to the problem behavior and is a documented strategy to reduce problem behaviors in humans (e.g., Carr & Durand, 1985). In the current study, one 11-month old dog who had a history of whining, mouthing, and pawing was taught to mand (request) for …

Falling Through The Cracks: Two Understudied Populations In The Criminal Justice System, Ashley Hum

Theses

This capstone project aims to identify gaps in the criminal justice literature by examining how the criminal justice system interacts with demographic groups that have been historically overlooked in traditional criminal justice studies, specifically Asian Americans as a racial/ethnic group and LGBTQIA+ individuals of any race or gender identity.

An overarching narrative and finding in the first two sections of the following project is how constructed identities construct narratives and policies. Importantly, the constructed identities are most often assigned by those in power to Asian Americans or LGBTQIA+ people, rather than created for themselves by in-group members, and then become …

(Un)Tethered, Morgan Sychtysz

Theses

(Un)Tethered is an exploration of my tendency to simultaneously build and deconstruct metaphorical structures throughout my life. This written thesis discusses visual metaphors implemented within the installation and prints, such as line and pattern, which represent my personal idiosyncrasies. These elements are realized as motifs such as step ladders, organic matter, and fibrous materials (crocheted, knotted, frayed, etc.) symbolizing my need for a thoroughly calculated life. Fibrous materials are ideal for representing my obsessive tendencies as they are continuous and malleable. One strand of torn fabric can be wrapped countless times around the crocheted form beneath, symbolizing a compulsion with …

Problematic Social Media Use In The Context Of Romantic Relationships: Relation To Attachment, Emotion Regulation, And Motivations For Use, Eleni Gogos

Theses

Social media is an increasingly popular form of connecting with others, especially among young adults, but problematic social media use (PSMU) has become a growing concern. Research has shown that people with anxious attachment styles and poor emotion regulation have a greater likelihood of having PSMU (Liu & Ma, 2019), but how social media usage might play a role in these relationships has not been well-studied. This research asked if the association between anxious attachment and PSMU will be affected by both emotion regulation and online social surveillance in romantic relationships as mediating influences. We utilized advanced mobile phone features …

I Like To Think You Can Still Hear Me, Sage Green

Theses

My work performs the act of mourning. In this body of photographs, I resurrect the items previously owned by my great-grandmother as I explore the new reality those who are living face after losing a loved one. I am curious about how we grieve and remember moments from the past. Asking myself the question, when we no longer can physically hold onto our loved ones, what are the ways that we can still find moments of connection? I use the ambiguity offered by the lumen print process to illuminate the trace of the past in the presence. I examine and …

Eye-Tracking Using Deep Learning, Sam Trenter

Theses

Eye-tracking can be valuable for researchers in many domains. Most eye-tracking technologies require an extra piece of costly hardware. Several other available eye-tracking solutions are usually not very accurate and require a costly subscription. Our project was oriented at creating a free and open-source alternative that does not require additional equipment. We developed a deep learning-based solution as a prototype for this project. Specifically, we developed a deep learning model to predict a user’s gaze position on the screen. We created our training data set using a commercially available eye-tracker to train the model. Each training sample consists of a …

Notifications, Ashraf Agili

Theses

The notification system is essential in our daily life. It grabs the user's attention to a specific situation that needs the user's action. Such as responding to an important message. However, the notification system can be less effective due to the limited features and frequently failing to display enough appropriate information. What if the notification system can allow users to respond, share and save notifications? The current notification system directs us to apps that divert our focus away, where there is no way to respond to all types of notifications within the notification. Long and unorganized notification pages created by …

Mindful: Practice Empathetic Design To Enhance The Digital User Experience For People With Mental Disorders., Olivia Zhu

Theses

The fast-growing prevalence of mental health disorders has become a global challenge in recent years and necessitates a greater focus on providing treatment and care to people in need. Consequently, a positive recognition of the promise of mental health digital applications to promote awareness, expand access, and speed up diagnosis has been established. However, very little attention has been given to the characteristics of vulnerable psychiatric patients and the influence on their cognitive functioning, making it challenging for them to comprehend the web content. As a matter of fact, the design of a mental health website often plays a significant …

Study Island, Xiran Wang

Theses

This thesis project is in providing a better distance learning experience for students. Distance learning can be considered a tangible and interactive learning experience. The disadvantage of distance learning is the lack of learning environment and interactivity, which may lead to problems such as inattentive students learning inefficiently. It follows the use of the Internet to create an interactive and interesting distance learning platform. Students experience a more real sense of effective learning efficiency, enhance communication between students, and better complete their learning plans with mutual help. Students also provide good contact information when they go home, enhancing communication between …

Immersive Virtual Reality Error Management Training For Cnc Machining Setup Procedures, Matthew Ryan

Theses

In order to address the expanding manufacturing talent gap for skilled machinists and limitations with existing machining training programs, this study introduces an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) computer numerical control (CNC) machining training environment CNC machine setup processes with a novel error management-based training curriculum. Current machinist training programs typically require active mentorship from skilled individuals over several years and consume a large amount of materials and tools. In addition, mistakes and errors made during the setup process can create safety risks, waste material, and break equipment, which have not been considered by the existing VR CNC milling training environments. …

What Is Assertiveness?, Mirjana Trifunovic

Theses

My main aim is to define assertiveness, to distinguish assertiveness from aggressiveness, and to raise the question of whether we should be assertive. Most articles on assertiveness are from the field of psychology. In psychology, assertiveness is defined as a healthy way of expressing oneself. But what does assertiveness mean? How should we define assertiveness and is assertiveness desirable, or is it closely connected to aggressiveness? Should we say that assertiveness is a part of our character, an innate quality, or an acquired skill? In this thesis, I will define assertiveness and show how to distinguish assertiveness from aggressiveness. Most …

Invisible Pain, Hairuo Ding

Theses

My thesis work was the exploration and thinking of the outbursts that can occur out of hiding emotions in people's minds, and the prejudice against mental illness. It was based on a question in my mind: Is psychological injury a real injury? If so, why do people always advocate gratitude for suffering? Why is it that when someone is experiencing frustration and pain, it's just seen as an obstacle to become a better person? What about the scars that these extreme emotions create, the ones that are hidden deep within people's hearts, under the polite and cheerful appearance that they …

Hear You, Chenyang Mu

Theses

"Hear You" is a thesis that explores how my relationship with glass is used to discuss the connection and interaction between sound, shape, material, and surrounding things. I trace the origins of these interests related to my sensitive and introverted character since I was a child and how it has influenced my interests in communicating in unique visual and audible ways. This thesis links personal experience to scholarly research into sensory processing, high sensitivity personality traits, the concept of quiet, and the power of sound. "Hear You" concludes with an assessment of a body of work that merges interests in …

Bullying: How Feelings Of Fatalism May Influence Youth Choices To Offend, Tammy Shartzer

Theses

School age bullying continues to be a source of intense research as it is commonly linked to increased levels of delinquency in adolescents. In an effort to understand the process through which bullying victimization is linked to increased levels of delinquency, researchers continue to explore environmental and psychological components. This study used both OLS regression and negative binomial regression to examine the relationship between traditional and cyberbullying victimization and delinquency to assesses if fatalism mediates or moderates this relationship. An individual with fatalism often feels they are stuck within a revolving cycle of bad happenings and are powerless to change …

Nursing Documentation Environment In The Hospital Setting, Alice E. Cavin

Theses

Nurses often document in open nurses' stations exposed to frequent interruptions. Much has been written on the need to limit distractions while collecting and administering medications but little has been published on the effects interruptions have on nursing documentation. The purpose of this study was to examine the environment in which nurses chart and to gather their perceptions of the documentation environment. Marilyn Ray's Theory of Bureaucratic Caring was the guiding framework for this study. A review of the literature revealed the effects open work spaces, noise, and interruptions can have on work performance. This study, a focus group discussion, …

The Role And Responsibility Of The Nurse In Caring For The Dying Patient, Julia M. Robinson

Theses

The problem undertaken in this study was to learn the specific nursing functions a selected sample of registered nurses performed in an effort to meet the needs of the dying patient and how adequate they felt in performing these functions.

Toys Are For Adults, John Wippler

Theses

This paper explores the concept of toys, what they are and for whom they are made. The paper also provides a brief history of designer toys and pop culture, and how pop culture helped fuel the designer toy industry. The psychology of collecting is also referenced, and a direct correlation is made between the act of collecting toys and toy popularity.

The book I wrote is also mentioned and is a vital part of the purpose for the thesis. The book is an introductory guide to resin toymaking and is integral to the expansion of the designer toy community.

Text Analysis Of Airline Tweets, Essa Altamimi

Theses

By acting as a succinct summary, keywords and key phrases can be a useful tool for swiftly assessing enormous amounts of textual material. A "keyword" is defined as a "word that briefly and accurately characterises the subject, or an aspect of the subject, presented in a text," according to the International Encyclopaedia of Information and Library Science (Bolger et al., 1989) (Feather et al., 1996). People are more likely to complain when they are anxious, according to research (Bolger et al., 1989)(Meier et al., 2013), and moods are affected by time (Ryan et al., 2010). Due to this study, airlines …

The Role Of Physical Geographic Features In Video Games, Dexter Ferguson

Theses

This thesis examines how physical geographic features affect individuals when interacting with video game environments. There are very few studies on the geography of video games. I aim to bridge the gap between game studies and geography, a naturally occurring link. The observation of elements such as the geography of an area is critical when exploring an individual’s perception of a video game environment. Individuals interact with the geography of their location on a day-to-day basis, whether it be physical or human geography; how they can relate a video game’s geography to the real world dramatically affects their immersion. An …