Digital Commons Network^™

Examining Dissociation And Cannabis Use As Links In The Pathway Between Childhood Maltreatment And Schizotypy, Brittany A. Blose

Theses

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a risk factor for a number of psychiatric consequences, including many different mental disorders. Recent research has focused on the connection that CM has with schizotypy and how these adverse experiences during development contribute to symptomatology. Studies have demonstrated that peritraumatic dissociation experienced during CM and trait dissociative symptoms may indirectly affect the relationship between CM and schizotypic psychopathology, helping to elucidate this complex relationship. Moreover, research has indicated cannabis use, especially its use in adolescence, as a potential moderator in the CM-schizotypy relationship. That is, cannabis use further increases the risk that maltreated individuals will …

Limitations Of Artificial Intelligence, Sahar Sultan

Theses

Artificial Intelligence is a groundbreaking technology that is now an established field. It is being used to mimic human capabilities such as speaking, listening, learning, and planning by using different algorithms to process data and produce results depending on the information provided by the user. Artificial Intelligence has been used in several industries when it comes to data processing and decision making. Artificial Intelligence has been invented to help decision and solutionmaking processes using a problem-solving approach. The development of Artificial Intelligence software provides efficiency and acceleration on different kinds of workflows, which will help organizations increase their profit and …

Centering Black Trans Lives: Social Network Exploration Of #Blacktranslivesmatter Content On Twitter, Jordan Brooks

Theses

May 27, 2020 saw the fatal shooting of Tony McDade, a Black transgender man. McDade is one of many lives underlying the Black Lives Matter movement which, in 2020, became the largest movement in United States’ history. Although the Black Lives Matter movement has successfully brought the reality of systemic racism in the United States to the forefront of media, there remains a lack of visibility for and conversation surrounding the most vulnerable members: the Black transgender community. Through an intersectional lens, this thesis broadly examines the sentiment surrounding tweets utilizing the #blacktranslivesmatter hashtag, and how the intersection of race …

Leading A Horse To Water: Investigating The Semiotic Motif Of Water And Drowning In Bojack Horseman, Zachery A. Sherman

Theses

This semiotic analysis examines the affect that trauma, in the form of metaphor or semiotic motif involving water, has on the titular character of BoJack Horseman in Netflix’s BoJack Horseman (2014-2020) as well as how the use of water mirrors generational trauma passed down via historical associations. The impact that this trauma has upon these characters is frequently paired with water imagery and symbolism. The show’s use of water draws particular attention to how its characters perpetuate aspects of their traumatic pasts in their day-to-day life and reveals the nuanced psychological impact inherent to trauma while simultaneously hinting at its …

Cost Saving Proposal For Dubai Main Wastewater Pumping Stations, Mohammad Mansoor, Khaled Alhosani

Theses

A city that is free of hazardous chemical and pollution is a city with safe and healthy population. Keeping a city such as Dubai safe and healthy is a never ending task with too many stakeholders and too many variables. Examples are reducing carbon footprint, timely trash disposal, wastewater management, and the list goes on. Wastewater management is one of the most important and essential requirement for keeping the city and its people safe and healthy. There is an existing sewerage system that the emirate of Dubai continues to heavily rely on. The network includes the pipelines, the wastewater pump …

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 …

Intelligent Statcom Voltage Regulation Using Fuzzy Logic Control, Saleh Hussein

Theses

Reactive power compensation is a very important and challenging task in electrical power systems today. Future trends foreseen in power systems such as high interconnectivity and the integration of renewable energy resources produce even more issues related to power system control and stability. Flexible AC transmission systems are vastly used in power systems in order to mitigate several performance aspects found in typical power systems. One shunt connected device in particular, STATCOM, is very powerful and commonly used in voltage regulation at the power transmission level. STATCOM uses voltage sourced converters to inject or absorb reactive power from the power …

Unforeseen Connections, Miranda Mattson

Theses

Using floriography within my own work, I captured the essence of human emotion and used its familiarity to bring mental health issues to the foreground of conversation. The parallels of hidden emotion and social discordance between the Victorian era and the 21st Century inspired my introspective research into "invisible" illnesses: health issues that affect both the mind and the body, respectively. Utilizing knowledge in mixed media, as well as traditional metalsmithing techniques, these ideas manifested into a series of wearable art and sculpture with the intention of prompting in-depth discussions on mental health stigmas. Without compromising the ambiguity of floriography, …

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.

The Effects Of A Value-Affirmation Writing Exercise On Stress And Craving For Nicotine In Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Users, Justin Bell

Theses

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) have become an increasingly popular choice to ingest nicotine, especially among adolescents. It is assumed that with a rise of ENDS usage, more people will be looking for strategies to help quit the devices. As previous research has revealed the efficacy of stress reduction interventions to aid in the cessation of nicotine, a stress reducing writing intervention based in self-affirmation, value affirmation, was evaluated for its ability to reduce anxiety and craving for nicotine in individuals using ENDS. Nicotine dependent participants (N = 92) using ENDS were randomly assigned to complete either a value affirmation …

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 …

Settling For Efficiency: Power And The People Left In Its Wake, Theodore D. Forsyth

Theses

This study examines claims data, prepared by an insurance carrier and obtained through an open records request, of police-involved incidents in Rochester, New York from 2001-2012. The dataset includes information about the incidents and financial outcomes accepted by claimants. Eighteen independent variables are broken up into three categories: claimant characteristics, claim characteristics, and situational characteristics. The research question guiding this study is: What, if any, claimant, claim, or situational characteristics impact final settlement amounts for claims stemming from police-involved incidents? Four theories are utilized to explain the phenomenon examined in this study: social capital, power differentials using Donald Black’s behavior …

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 …

Demonstration Of Automated Dna Assembly On A Digital Microfluidic Device, Hee Tae An

Theses

The rapid manufacturing of highly accurate synthetic DNA is crucial for its use as a molecular tool, the understanding and engineering of regulatory elements, protein engineering, genetic refactoring, engineered genetic networks and metabolic pathways, and whole-genome syntheses [1,2]. Recent efforts in the development of enzyme mediated oligonucleotide synthesis have shown much potential to benefit conventional DNA synthesis [3–5]. With its success in applications as chemical microreactors [6–10], biological assays [8–14], and clinical diagnostic tools [10,15–19], digital microfluidic (DMF) devices are an attractive platform to apply the promising benefits of enzymatic oligonucleotide synthesis to the manufacturing of synthetic DNA. This thesis …

Beneath The Bandage: The Impact Of Violence On Individuals And Communities, Jessica Burt

Theses

Violence is an issue nationally and locally within the City of Rochester. It is one of the most complex issues that society faces and attempts to resolve. However, despite many efforts to combat violence, it persists. Research shows that since the early 2000’s, there have been fluctuations in the number of homicides and shootings in Rochester, but long-term analyses on the level of violence show that it has remained relatively stable over time (Altheimer et al., 2017). Although stable, there is a concentration of violence and many individuals, communities, and institutions are affected by it. This paper will discuss violence …

Exploring The Impact Of Legalization Of Recreational Marijuana On Adolescent Drug Use, Camila Camps

Theses

This paper provides an overview of the history of America’s war against drugs and the impact that this figurative war has had on American society. It is clear that the war on drugs has disproportionately harmed racial/ethnic minorities. Punitive policies currently in place have diverted resources away from the social and economic growth of these communities. This is why there is a movement towards working to reform drug laws in order to address the country's drug crisis. The final section includes recommendations that can improve our current response against marijuana.

A Mobile App That Helps Asthmatic Patients Monitor Air Quality In Real Time, Jiani Su

Theses

Asthma is a chronic disease that cannot be cured. Every attack of asthma is a physical and mental destruction to patients, bringing pain and economic burden to patients, and seriously affecting the quality of life and happiness index of patients. But the vast majority of asthma cases can be completely controlled with appropriate treatment and intervention. Investigations at home and abroad have found that the self-health management level of asthma patients is still at a relatively low level, and more than half of asthma patients are in a state of out-of-control.

Currently, there is no online software that can effectively …

Development Of A Monolithically Integrated Gan Nanowire Memory Device, Vijay Gopal Thirupakuzi Vangipuram

Theses

Gallium nitride (GaN) devices are of particular interest for a variety of fields and application spaces. The materials properties of GaN make it an ideal semiconductor for electronics and optoelectronics. Within electronics, GaN is of great interest for high-power and high-frequency electronics. Within optoelectronics, GaN has enabled efficient lighting and continues to be scaled for augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) application spaces through the realization of micro-LEDs. In scaling such devices for incorporation into larger systems that span multiple fields, monolithically integrating other devices and components would provide greater flexibility and improve system-level performance. One such avenue for explored …

Robust Multiple Object Tracking Using Reid Features And Graph Convolutional Networks, Christian Lusardi

Theses

Deep Learning allows for great advancements in computer vision research and development. An area that is garnering attention is single object tracking and multi-object tracking. Object tracking continues to progress vastly in terms of detection and building re-identification features, but more effort needs to be dedicated to data association. In this thesis, the goal is to use a graph neural network to combine the information from both the bounding box interaction as well as the appearance feature information in a single association chain. This work is designed to explore the usage of graph neural networks and their message passing abilities …

Design For Wearable Panic Aid Device, Allison Treacy

Theses

Research shows that millions of people in the United States suffer from panic disorder and/or regular panic attacks each year. On average, women are twice as likely to suffer from panic attacks and anxiety than men are. Panic attacks can be frightening, intense, and uncontrollable, and the current solutions for panic attacks often involve extensive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or long-term medication. The market lacks discreet and tangible products that help diminish the symptoms of a panic attack, once it has already begun. By using an external wearable device, the user can quickly access the help they need to regain control …

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 …

Basic Police Officer Training In The U.S., Bryan Cammerino

Theses

Policing in America has grown to become a topic of paramount interest within society today. This interest has included increased attention to the role that the police play within local communities. Gaining a greater understanding of where policing started, how it has evolved, and where it is today can help us better understand the importance of police officer training. Focusing on Americas policing eras and various policing models will establish a precedent to explain why policing is the way it is today. This paper will then be able to pinpoint various current events that make the history of policing come …

Esports Game Skill Analysis & Prediction: League Of Legends, Abedalaziz Zandaki

Theses

Esports has been an explosive business especially with the current pandemic situation, it is rising to unparalleled levels of popularity as everything is going digital, Riot Games’ League of legends, which is considered one the most played video games right now with 27+ Million players per day and 115 Million over a month, checks many boxes where value can be obtained.[12] The general idea is that the game has a ranked ladder system, where players are evaluated by their win to lose ratio which is influenced by their skills in-game, each individual game performance counts towards the win or lose …

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 …

Facilitating Serendipitous Communication, Interaction And Collaborative Flow In Mixed Realities While Working Remote., George Deacon Theodore Harvey

Theses

Working remotely can often lead to fatigue and stress which in turn reduces productivity. The author will explore the concept that with proper communication, environments that promote serendipitous meeting and effective collaboration, can result in happier workers. The author will also explore how speculative design can improve remote work and provide vision for future work scenarios. This concept will focus on the development of interaction design for use with mixed realities, 3D capture systems and mid-air haptic technology to create a seamless and engaging remote working environment.

This paper will show how work culture and communication can affect mental health …

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 …

Examining The Associations Between Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status And The Potential Distribution Of Four Urban Ecosystem Services In Rochester, Ny, Joshua Greene

Theses

As populations and the total area of impervious surfaces continue to grow in cities, city planners and policymakers must consider how local ecological resources can be utilized to meet the needs and develop climate-resilient and sustainable cities. Urban green spaces (UGS) have been identified as critical resources in improving the climate resiliency of cities and the quality of life for residents through the urban ecosystem services (UES) that they provide. However, certain communities within cities do not have uniform access to these UGS, and this may be due to historical legacies (i.e. redlining) and/or contemporary practices (i.e. urban planning). Therefore, …

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 …

A Comprehensive Feasibility Study For A Wooden Plastic Composite Project, Rami Kamal Ibrahim Elgharouri

Theses

Millions of tons of wastage are produced every year ending up in landfills or burn and causing an environmental problem as they threaten the health of creatures and cause resources depletion. 44% of wastage is organic waste, which is biodegradable. However, 17% and 12% of wastage are paper and plastic respectively, and both are non-degradable. Thus, the comprehensive solution is to recycle them. A suggested solution is to recycle them into wood plastic composite. Up to 90% of WPC raw material is a recycled material, and the final product is 100% recyclable. WPC is comparatively less energy-consuming than other substitute …