Digital Commons Network^™

Analyzing Trust In Automation Using Large Language Models, Derek Koehl

Theses

This thesis explores the measurement of trust in the context of human interactions with automated systems. Trust is influenced by factors like perceived ability, benevolence, and integrity which presents a measurement challenge. Given the lack of a universally accepted model for trust, there is an abundance of trust measurement methods in the literature. This research aimed to ascertain the reliability of NLP-based measurements to determine whether such methods can shed light on the dimensionality of trust as a construct and to isolate a Linguistic Fingerprint™ of trust. The results lent support to trust as a unidimensional construct. There was little …

Application Of A Scale Resolving Turbulence Model To A Jet In Supersonic Crossflow, Noah Schwalb

Theses

The Partially-Averaged Navier-Stokes (PANS) methodology is applied to variable-density flow to derive the Blended PANS (BPANS) model. A supersonic jet-in-crossflow problem is numerically simulated using the BPANS model to show its capabilities in a variable-density flow with complex physics. The shock systems and vortex structures of this problem observed during experiments are numerically reproduced. The time-averaged Mach number and streamwise velocity contours show good agreement compared to LES and experimental data. The streamwise and wall-normal velocity profiles, wall pressure distribution along the flat plate, and trajectory of the jet are compared to LES and experimental data to show that BPANS …

Quasi-Static And Dynamic Tension Testing Of As-Built And Heat-Treated Additively Manufactured 316l Stainless Steel, Terrell Elias Marler

Theses

Additive manufacturing (AM) has several advantages over conventional subtractive manufacturing techniques, including the ability to create parts of highly complex geometries in one process thus reducing time and cost for each part. However, AM parts show different mechanical behavior compared to wrought parts due to the differences in the manufacturing processes. In particular, lack-of-fusion defects, voids, and keyhole defects can act as crack initiation sites leading to the possibility of more brittle behavior. This may be exacerbated by high rate loads, which tends to induce more brittle behavior, higher flow stress, and higher yield stress in materials. Therefore, it is …

The Effects Of Low-Temperature Pre-Cycling On High-Temperature Degradation Of Lithium-Ion Cells, Muriel Carter

Theses

Degradation is a big challenge for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in various applications, especially at extreme temperatures. Low and high temperature cycling can cause lithium plating and increased solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) growth, respectively. However, a previous work in our lab showed that pre-cycling Li-ion cells at low temperature reduced degradation during high temperature cycling. The previous work was based on small single-layer cells. This thesis intends to confirm this phenomenon for larger multi-layer cells and to further understanding of the mechanisms behind the reduced degradation for the low-temperature pre-cycled cells. Multi-layer commercial pouch cells were pre-cycled at 1C at low temperature …

Ambient Temperature Modelling With Ecostress And Private Weather Stations, Gaurav Khatri

Theses

This thesis explores the development and application of a novel data architecture for predicting ambient temperatures across US cities, focusing on integrating multi-source data i.e. ECOSTRESS land surface temperatures, urban surface properties, and crowdsourced weather data. The methodology is designed for scalability and adaptability across different urban regions, employing rigorous data quality control to enhance prediction accuracy. The validation of this model across diverse urban settings, demonstrated through rigorous RMSE comparisons and spatial mapping, validates its superiority over traditional models. Through experiments in diverse climatic conditions in Madison, Wisconsin, and Las Vegas, Nevada, the study assesses the model’s generalizability and …

Phylogeography, Speciation, And Cryptic Diversity In The Cave Springtail Pseudosinella Spinosa (Entomobryomorpha: Entomobryidae) From The Interior Low Plateau And Appalachian Valley & Ridge Karst Regions, Brendan Cramphorn

Theses

Caves offer a unique opportunity to study the ecology and evolution of life in extreme environments, particularly with respect to understanding patterns of diversity. Most cave-obligate species are dispersal limited and have restricted ranges, often endemic to a single or a few cave systems. However, a few species have particularly broad distributions suggesting that they either are not dispersal limited or perhaps represent a species complex of morphological similar but genetically distinct species. In this thesis, I explore morphological variation, phylogeography, and possibly cryptic diversity in Pseudosinella spinosa, a cave collembolan (springtail) that inhabits the Interior Low Plateau and Appalachian …

Multilabel Defect Classification Using Graph Neural Networks For Autonomous Visual Inspections, Md Sazzad Hossen

Theses

Visual inspections of safety-critical systems are crucial in reducing the risk of equipment failures, downtime, and loss of life. This nondestructive testing (NDT) method uses a portable borescope or camera along with other sensors directly or mounted on robotic platforms to inspect difficult-to-access areas with ease, minimum time, and cost. Although state-of-the-art visual inspection platforms are equipped with sensors from multiple modalities, the inspection tasks still require human subject matter experts to identify defects and analyze them. This jeopardizes human safety in a hazardous work environment in energy industries, as well as the extended time for inspection and human error. …

Potential Mechanisms Maintaining A Conspicuous Polymorphism In Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia Holbrooki), Katelyn Giltner

Theses

Genetic variation often precedes adaptation, so the mechanisms that maintain this variation are a central topic in evolutionary biology. Gambusia holbrooki, or eastern mosquitofish, possesses a rare polymorphism for melanistic coloration. Melanics and typical silver males were examined for differences in behavioral and physiological traits that may impact the persistence of the melanism trait. No differences in standard metabolic rate were found via closed-chamber respirometry, but a detour task indicated that melanic males possess greater cognitive flexibility. Effects of the social environment on stress and reproductive traits were also evaluated by pairing males and comparing cortisol levels and sperm quality …

A Comparative Study Of Tin Anodes In Carbonate And Glyme Electrolytes, Ameya Tushar Khirwadkar

Theses

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are a focus of novel energy research as they present a sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the abundance of sodium and anode materials. Tin is a promising option for anodes in SIBs because of its ability to be used independently or with other metal alloys. The advantage of using styrene butadiene rubber in tin anodes is a source of intrigue for potentially improving the shelf life of anodes and reducing the electrical fatigue on the battery. The study of glyme electrolytes compared to widely used carbonate electrolytes can potentially improve cycling life and the …

Interlacing Unstructured Data With Deep Neural Nets For Predicting Pervious And Impervious Land Cover Types, Srivani Athmakur

Theses

This research delves into the intricate task of delineating land cover types in Tallahassee-Leon County and emphasizes the need for detailed granularity beyond existing classification systems. Utilizing cutting-edge GIS data, the study harnesses the power of deep learning algorithms, including U-net, UNetPlusPlus, FPNnet, and DeepLabV3Plus. A unique approach, ”Interlacing Unstructured Data with Deep Neural Nets,” integrates shapefiles and Tiff images to enhance classification metrics such as mean intersection over union, pixel accuracy, and loss functions. The research aspires to significantly improve the precision of land cover classification, holding implications for urban planning and environmental management. By innovatively integrating unstructured data, …

Goes-16 Glm Optical Energy In The Inner Core Of Hurricane Ian During Two Rapid Intensification Periods, Kiahna Mollette

Theses

Tropical cyclone (TC) rapid intensification (RI) is difficult to forecast but is a crucial element of TC forecasts and impacts. How lightning evolves prior to and during RI is of interest to better understanding TC RI. Results have not found a consensus in the flash rates within the inner core of rapidly intensifying TCs, indicating that there is not an understanding of these processes. Using the optical energy, measured by satellite imagery, the lightning behavior is investigated during Hurricane Ian's two RI periods, the first with almost no lightning and the second with nearly constant lightning. Radar measurements indicate that …

Constructing Other Worlds: An Intertextual Analysis Of Cow Eye Press, Adrian Jones Pearson And The Works Of A.J. Perry, James A. Galliher

Theses

Cow Eye Press, A.J. Perry, and the pseudonymous Adrian Jones Pearson have largely been ignored by academics. Between 2001 and 2021, Perry composed a collection of texts which this study calls the Cow Eye Project. The project received brief attention when critics and journalists began comparing Pearson to Thomas Pynchon. However, the online spectacle overshadowed engagement with the texts themselves. This thesis exists to document the project and foreground Perry’s works on their own merits to examine their value and position within contemporary American literature. Previous scholars have treated the texts individually. This thesis argues that the central texts of …

A Multi-Decadal Analysis Of Urban Heat And Pollution Islands In New Delhi, India, Saumya Omala Yamineni

Theses

New Delhi, India's capital, is a mega-city with complex urban environments and significant Urban Heat Island (UHI) and Urban Pollution Island (UPI) footprints. Over the past two decades, the city has experienced steady urban growth, increased land cover and green spaces, and rising pollution from local and interstate sources. Currently, a comprehensive multi-decadal analysis of the co-evolution of UHI and UPI in New Delhi is lacking. Such an analysis was conducted using a fusion of in situ data, NASA satellite products, and MERRA-2 reanalysis, reveals: 1) Significant trends of daytime cooling (decreasing by ~ 0.16 ∘C), nighttime warming (increasing by …

Development Of A High Speed Differential Temperature Sensor For In Situ Estimations Of Cn2 In The Planetary Boundary Layer, Michael C. Yurovchak

Theses

The propagation of electromagnetic energy through the Earth’s atmosphere is significantly modulated by spatial variability of the refractive index structure function (Cn2). In situ estimates of vertical profiles of Cn2 in the boundary layer are critical for evaluating model predictions and ground-based remote sensing retrievals of Cn2. This thesis describes the development of a sensor system that produces high frequency measurements of differential temperature between two points in space separated by a distance of 0.3m using two 5 𝜇𝑚 diameter platinum resistance temperature sensors with 10-4K resolution. The platinum wire sensors are connected to two legs of a Wheatstone Bridge …

Grating Lobe Suppression Techniques In Sparse Linear And Planar Phased Array Antennas With Reconfigurable Phasor Elements, William M. Current

Theses

With the continual increase in the need for wireless communications, there comes a desire to decrease fabrication costs. One of the primary drivers for the cost of an antenna array is the actual number of antennas used. This number, however, can only be decreased so far for a fixed aperture area without causing undesired secondary main beams, grating lobes, to appear in the radiation pattern. This work aims to analyze the results of two methods for reducing these grating lobes in sparse, scanning phased array antennas. Both of these methods are based upon dual-mode antenna elements, as opposed to single-mode …

Modeling The Impacts Of Land Use/Land Cover Change On Hydrological Dynamics In The Belize River Watershed Using The Soil And Water Assessment Tool, Nina Copeland

Theses

Forest cover loss from land cover/land use (LCLU) change (LCLUC) can alter watershed hydrology. The primary goal of this study was to understand how LCLUC in the Belize River Watershed (BRW) impacted streamflow and related hydrological dynamics from 2000 to 2020 using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The main objectives were to (1) calibrate and improve the accuracy of the SWAT model using in-situ streamflow data, (2) investigate the predominant LCLUCs leading to forest cover loss in the BRW, and (3) examine changes in streamflow and related hydrological dynamics in the BRW comparing four LCLU scenarios. Findings showed …

Characterization And Analytical Prediction Of The Effective Elastic Modulus In Additively Manufactured Body-Centered Cubic Lattice Structures, Peyton Hall

Theses

Advancements in metal additive manufacturing have enabled the production of metal lattice structures. The customizability of the lattice topology offers the potential to yield lightweight materials with highly tailored thermal and mechanical properties. By building on well-established models of other cellular solids such as metal foams, the intricate structural behavior of these lattices is simplified to effective values for key mechanical properties which are given as a function of the relative density of the lattice as well as certain material and lattice parameters. It is intended that these effective values will be used to represent the lattice at a macroscopic …

An Assessment Of Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene Carolina Carolina) In North Alabama With A Focus On Ranavirus Prevalence And Urbanization, Emma M. Jordan

Theses

Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) are susceptible to many threats, including development, urbanization, and disease. A novel Ranavirus has been attributed to mortality in both captive and wild box turtles, including one known occurrence in a captive box turtle in Alabama, but no further assessment has been made. The aims of this study were to assess if Frog Virus 3-like Ranavirus infects wild box turtles and if its prevalence is related to urbanization in North Alabama, USA. I conducted visual encounter surveys in eight survey areas in North Alabama that occur across a gradient of urbanization and development. Twenty-six …

A Comparative Study Of Methods For Modeling Python Source Code Semantic Similarity, Binita Gyawali

Theses

In this thesis, we did comparative study of various methods for generating Python source code embeddings and evaluated their effectiveness using semantic labels. We used both word embedding models, such as Word2Vec and GloVe, and document embedding models to capture the semantic meaning of Python source code. In terms of word embedding evaluation, Word2Vec, combined with cosine distance, achieved the highest nearest neighbor precision of 0.5790. For evaluation of Python source code (or document) embeddings, our analysis across two datasets showed that Doc2Vec, paired with cosine distance, outperformed other methods in semantic code similarity detection, achieving an AUROC between 0.80 …

The Uae’S Readiness For Technology Export: The Case Of Ai, Reem Tamer Aldandashi

Theses

Export diversification is one way for the UAE to sustain and flourish its economy. Although UAE is an oil-rich country, it needs to search for and incubate future exports besides the existing ones to keep the wheel of the economy moving, increase the employment rate, and strengthen the country from any future economic strokes. While looking at the technology spread and Artificial Intelligence (AI) focus and efforts in UAE, much research investigated the outcomes of digitization on the UAE economy and its technological strength and competitiveness. At the same time, no one has searched for the possibility of having one …

Ownership Topology Of Vertically-Scaled Agile, William Dabney

Theses

Much as Scrum, Kanban, and XP are used to structure team-level agility, those wishing to take agility beyond the team level often turn to proven solutions. The most popular, which aim to scale development by adding teams under a shared collective ownership rather than separating them into discrete units, are the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Large Scale Scrum (LeSS), and Nexus. These frameworks advocate for aligning ownership subdivisions along features rather than code, which allows teams working on the same product to do so autonomously. While the benefits of this have been researched, the topology of ownership in these frameworks …

Emergence Of Preferential Flow Paths And Intermittent Dynamics In Emulsion Transport In Porous Media, Michael Izaguirre

Theses

This dissertation aims to study the underlying physics of anomalous transport of emulsions in porous media and quantify the role of droplet-pore and droplet-droplet interactions in transport in porous media experimentally. The complexities of this problem arise from the network heterogeneity, correlations between the pores across the medium, interfacial properties of the fluids, and the correlations between the pore scale dynamics and system-level transport. This dissertation presents significant advancements in the study of emulsion dynamics within two-dimensional porous media through the development of innovative image analysis and tracking methods. These advancements include precise detection and tracking of deformable objects, which …

Optimizing Neural Networks For Iiot Attack Detection, Hamad Alblooshi

Theses

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) stands as a revolutionary force, intertwining physical devices, sensors, and industrial systems to usher in advanced automation and data-driven decision-making across various sectors. However, this increased connectivity has exposed these systems to a growing array of cyber threats. Safeguarding IIoT environments becomes crucial to maintain the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of critical industrial processes. In response, this research explores the optimization of neural network parameters using Genetic Algorithms (GA). The application of GA has led to achieve a remarkable accuracy of 95% across various attack types. The results demonstrate a high performance in identifying …

Machine Learning Based Solutions For Detecting Social Media Spam And Phishing Incidents, Ahmed Al Shehhi

Theses

The growing digital interactions across various social media platforms increases the risks of phishing schemes and spam messages that compromise personal and organisational security. This thesis tackles such threats with the aid of machine learning and natural processing techniques that are utilized for detecting malicious communications with high accuracy. A total of three datasets were used in this study, two for phishing and one for spam. The research aims to explore the performance of classification models, including Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine, Naïve Bayes, and Linear Discriminant Analysis, as well as a hybrid model combining Logistic Regression and Naïve Bayes. …

A Clinical Review Of Adult Obesity And Weight Management In The United States, Megan Helf

Theses

The standard of care for obesity has been lifestyle modifications, dietary changes and the use of some anti-obesity medications, however, given the increased rate of growth of obesity in not only the United States but globally, new drug therapies are needed. This paper aims to summarize and compare the current safety and efficacy evidence of new United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved weight loss drugs and to discuss the availability, cost-effectiveness, and use of these drugs in combating the obesity epidemic.

Web of Science and PubMed searches of obesity revealed primary sources and review articles on the topic …

The Efficacy Of Robotic-Assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty Compared To Manual Total Knee Arthroplasty In Regards To Accuracy, Operative Time, And Patient Outcome, Chris Ewell

Theses

Objectives: This review evaluates the literature comparing Robotic-assisted and Conventional Knee Arthroplasty based on accuracy, operative time, and patient outcomes. It aims to determine the potential of robotic-assisted surgeries in orthopedics and other surgical fields to provide guidance to medical professionals on best practices in Knee Arthroplasty. Methods / Evidence Acquisition: This study conducted a search for evidence primarily on two databases: PubMed and Web of Science, with two additional articles found in the National Library of Medicine. The search utilized the term “Robotic Assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty” matched with various Mesh terms. Only articles published between 2018 and the …

Emerging Treatment And Prevention Options In Diet Through The Gut-Brain Axis, And Its Impact On Patients With Alzheimer’S Disease, Jewel Amrich

Theses

Objectives:

To outline the most recent data regarding diet in the role in moderating prevention and progression of Alzheimer’s disease using the relationship between the gut microbiome and central nervous system. In addition, the Mediterranean diet and the components that make up the diet, and those alike will be thoroughly discussed.

Evidence Acquisition:

Using key terms “Alzheimer’s Disease” and “Diet”, Web of Science searched for papers that were published between 2012 and 2023, which yielded 807 results. Refining the search to “Neurodegenerative Diseases” returned 292 results. Adding “Gut-brain axis”, “gut microbiome”, and “Mediterranean diet” to separate search inputs yielded 25 …

Reconstruct, Jenna Deal

Theses

This thesis explores how construction materials can be used in sculpture, pushing artistic boundaries and challenging traditional perceptions. It examines the potential of materials like mortar, PVC, HVAC duct, carpet, and asphalt roofing, aiming to redefine the relationship between labor, materials, and artistic expression. By breaking free from construction norms and engaging with materials in unexpected ways, the study aims to foster a deeper understanding of the value and creative possibilities inherent in the materials of our built environment.

The Thought Of Getting Lost In Space, James Keffer

Theses

"The Thought of Getting Lost in Space" is a poetry collection that explores nostalgic memories and connections of relationships, whether they are new or old and forgotten, and attempts to weave them together in hopes of forming constellations. There are hesitations and fears, such as rejection, failing, or even doubting oneself, when reaching out to other people. Sometimes we even get lost within ourselves and forget how to self-love our own bodies. Constellations are these amazing and beautiful wonders in the night sky that depict stories of old, yet stories that still teach lessons. The most influential people are storytellers. …

Across The Pond, Lisa Larrabee

Theses

"A collection of stories inspired by the author's father; from his earlier childhood in Italy, to his emigration to the US around age 10 and to his adjustment in finding a balance as an Italian-American teen in the 50s, it includes his meeting / falling in love with the author's American mother and the ensuing circumstances of the culture clash from their relationship. This collection includes 5 historical fiction stories that are based heavily on factual stories, which are chronologically connected by 9 non-fiction pieces."