Digital Commons Network^™

Recursion, Regurgitation, And Regeneration: Testing Limits And Revealing Biases Of Generative Ai Models Through Multimodal Feedback Loops, William Donnell-Lonon

Data Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Contemporary generative AI systems such as OpenAI's GPT-4o and DALL-E models embed complex priors about society, reality, and history shaped by training data distributions, social alignment procedures, legal constraints, and safety regulations. This study uses a "telephone game" methodology to investigate how embedded social, political, and visual biases propagate and reveal themselves through iterative multimodal generation loops, where image captioning and text-to-image models are chained in successive feedback cycles.

Using CLIP similarity metrics, facial recognition algorithms, semantic drift analysis, and qualitative content observations, I tested how image subject matter affects the rate and quality of semantic and visual shift, identity …

Escaping The Promotion Trap: A Machine Learning Framework For Brand Equity Preservation In Beverage Cpg, Lucas P. Jones

Data Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

When companies acquire beverage brands, they typically value them based on total sales revenue. This traditional approach treats all sales equally over time, whether they are driven by genuine consumer demand or temporary discounts. This is important because while promotions can boost short-term sales, they tend to erode brand value over long periods of time. The measurement problem extends to acquisitions, where buyers lack the tools to distinguish real consumer demand from artificial promotional inflation.

This thesis develops a framework to separate genuine baseline demand from promotional dependence using Nielsen scanner data covering 189 beverage brands across 188,304 weekly observations …

A Spatial Analysis Of Streetlights In The City Of Sugar Land, Samuel J. Trout

Data Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper is to analyze patterns between public safety and streetlighting for the City of Sugar Land, TX so that they may better protect their citizens.  The data involved come from the City of Sugar Land’s public works division and include type and location for all the attributes. The method of doing so involved visualizing the patterns of streetlights and their closest light readings to visualize which streetlights are underperforming using the Shiny package in R. Statistical tests were also used to quantify the association between lighting, crime occurrence, and crosswalks. From this, and the literature review, …

Developing And Mobilizing A Ttrpg Experience: Season D6, Jacob Woodrow Horne

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media Culminating Experience

Season D6 is a game that will be developed as an attempt to refine certain issues seen in popular games. These shared problems include allowing players to become self-sufficient in a way that clashes with a team-based mindset, and a lack of flexibility and accidental antagonism placed upon the storyteller. To remedy these issues, Season D6 will break up the statistics that players use to calculate their in-game abilities into three separate groups, employ an experience system used to purchase abilities at a controlled, exponential rate and to calculate encounters, and uses a “Dabble” system intended to specify the roles …

"It's A Book You Grab And Squeeze, And Blood Comes Out.” Modernization Of The Colombian Army's Training During U.S.- Funded Plan Colombia And Security Policies: Falsos Positivos And Bodies As Merchandise (2002–2008), Maria Isabel Palacio Cano

ELIN Graduate Theses

No abstract provided.

Queer Placemaking, Rebranding, And Place Attachment In Northalsted: A Sociological Analysis Of Neighborhood Identity, Inclusion, And Urban Change, Matthew Grydzuk

University Honors Program Senior Projects

This study examines how online discourse reflects public negotiation of neighborhood identity through a qualitative content analysis of Reddit discussions about the renaming of Chicago's Boystown neighborhood to Northalsted. Prior research on LGBTQ neighborhoods has emphasized gayborhoods as sites of safety, identity formation, political mobilization, commercialization, and uneven inclusion. This project builds on that scholarship by examining digital discourse as a site where place attachment, queer placemaking, and urban branding are debated in everyday language. The study asks why people continue to use the name Boystown after the official rebranding and how online participants interpret, resist, or reinterpret the name …

Using Non-Invasive Metal Detecting, Ground-Penetrating Radar, And Light Detection And Ranging Surveys To Locate Non-Extant Structures On A Plantation In Charleston County, South Carolina, Thompson Mccormick Teasdale

All Theses

Many historic sites across the United States including plantations such as those in the South Carolina Lowcountry are increasingly at risk of development pressures, environmental changes, and the general loss of more ephemeral buildings associated with these sites. There is a growing preservation need to understand these more ephemeral buildings, especially their connection to enslaved individuals. However, with so many having been lost already or in the process of deteriorating, this area of study is increasingly becoming the purview of archaeologists who can study non-extant examples. Traditional methods of archaeological survey such as open-area excavations and shovel tests are not …

Abigail Sarai: A Neuroaesthetic Approach To Fashion Brand Development, Abby Martos

Theses

This thesis project presents a comprehensive direct-to-consumer business plan for an independent women’s fashion brand, Abigail Sarai, strategically positioned around the commercial value of aesthetic design. The project is grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical framework integrating neuroaesthetics and consumer behavior research. Existing literature demonstrates that visual principles such as symmetry, harmony, and proportion activate neural reward systems associated with pleasure, while consumer research identifies happiness and emotional well-being as central drivers of purchasing behavior. Building upon these findings, this project proposes that aesthetic beauty can function as a deliberate and measurable value proposition within fashion entrepreneurship. By aligning brand design …

Estimating Body Size And Biogeography In The Genus Alligator, Madelyn M. Turala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Several studies have examined correlations between total body length (TL) and skeletal measurements in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), with some measurements serving as stronger predictors of TL than others. Femur length (FL) has been found to be tightly correlated with TL in A. mississippiensis, and this relationship has been used to estimate body size of extinct crocodilians. This thesis demonstrates that the humerus, radius, ulna, and tibia are also strongly correlated with TL and useful for body size estimation in A. mississippiensis, and thus, can be applied to related extinct crocodilians. Additionally, species distribution modeling …

Adsorption Of Pfas On Bridged Functionalized Organosilica Materials, Elisha Lawerh Kabutey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

PFAS are hazardous contaminants that have a devastating impact on human health and the environment. Their hazardous nature has led to the development of various adsorption methods for removing these contaminants from water sources. In this study, functionalized organosilica materials were synthesized from bis[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl] amine using the sol-gel method. The surface amino groups of the organosilica were converted into amine hydrochloride groups. Their adsorption properties were evaluated using salts of perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, and perfluorobutanesulfonic acid. Results showed excellent adsorption capacity of the materials. Adsorption of PFAS leads to particle agglomeration and flotation of the spent material. A column …

Decomposition In Urban Forest Patches Across A New York-New Jersey Urbanization Gradient, Cailee Sprouse

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

"Urbanization causes habitat fragmentation, pollution, homogenization of soil profiles, and replacement of native flora and fauna, which can alter vital ecological processes like decomposition. It is essential to investigate the impacts urbanization may have on ecosystem functioning to better inform urban land management. Studies have shown conflicting results on the impacts of urbanization on soil decomposition rates, with some showing higher, lower, or similar decomposition rates in urban soils compared to rural soils. This study aims to investigate the effects of urbanization and soil characteristics on decomposition rates in three urban forest patches in New Jersey and New York using …

Does Self-Compassion Buffer Against The Potential Effects Of Perfectionism And Psychopathology On Non-Suicidal Self-Injury?, Natasha Bourgoin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

University students with increased rates of reported perfectionism, anxiety, and depression, are vulnerable to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). However, not all students with psychological distress engage in NSSI, suggesting protective factors may help to mitigate this risk. The present study examined the relation between perfectionism and NSSI, via the mediating effects of anxiety and depression, and the moderating role of self-compassion. Participants were 338 university students (67% female; 87% White) who completed several self-report measures. Students with greater perfectionism reported higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms and, in turn, more NSSI engagement. Self-compassion and several self-compassionate domains attenuated connections between …

Analyzing Professional Development To Foster Agency And Professional Growth Among Educators, Kameron Kimbrough

Dissertations

This study explores how professional development (PD) and leadership systems influence teacher agency and instructional coherence at a high-poverty, predominantly Black K–8 school in Chicago. Midwest Elementary Academy has faced persistent achievement gaps and systemic instability that hinder collaboration and teacher growth. Guided by three research questions, this exploratory case study used a mixed-methods design to examine educator perceptions of PD quality, instructional autonomy, and leadership structures. Data were collected through anonymous surveys, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document reviews with four educator participants. Qualitative data were coded using open and in vivo methods, and survey responses were analyzed descriptively …

Construction Workers Noise Exposure And Hearing Conservation Program Needs, Quinn Noelle Overlin

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

Noise exposure among construction workers is a pervasive occupational hazard with serious implications for long-term hearing health and overall well-being. This literature review examines the extent of noise exposures in the construction industry and the long-standing need for implementation of effective hearing conservation programs (HCPs). It synthesizes current evidence on exposure levels, health outcomes, and the effectiveness of existing interventions. Findings reveal that construction workers are routinely exposed to noise levels that exceed occupational safety standards, resulting in a heightened risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and associated health consequences. Despite regulatory frameworks and available intervention strategies, substantial gaps persist …

How To Start A Clarinet Choir: A Guide For Educators And Enthusiasts, Kornel Juhasz

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

Despite more than a century of performance history, the clarinet choir remains an underrepresented ensemble in scholarly literature, with few comprehensive resources available to guide educators in starting and maintaining successful ensembles. This project addresses that gap by developing an evidence-based guide for starting and sustaining a clarinet choir. The study combines a review of existing literature on clarinet choir history, and repertoire, as well as relevant topics such as the history of the clarinet, wind conducting, and chamber music techniques. To supplement the limited published resources on clarinet choir, interviews were conducted with experienced clarinet choir directors from universities …

Extracting California's Land Grant History: A Comparative Study Of Rule-Based And Llm Methods For Historical Document Processing, Anthony Colin Herrera, Anthony Colin Herrera

Master's Theses

This thesis explores methods to extract structured data from historical documents, making them more accessible for analysis and visualization. The goal is to provide historians and Digital Humanities scholars with tools that save time and reduce the manual effort required for this kind of research. We work with census records and historical texts from the Early California Population Project and Spanish Colonial census, covering California's 18th-19th century transition from Spanish and Mexican control to U.S. statehood. The system has three components: person matching across records, family tree generation, and land grant extraction. For person matching, we use a modified Levenshtein …

The Southampton Plot: The Case For Innocence (1415), Haley Buckles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the "Southampton Plot" of 1415, a famous conspiracy to overthrow King Henry V of England. While history often portrays the plotters as simple traitors against the government, this study reexamines original records to show a more complex story. By looking closely at how the English government handled the trials, the research reveals that the English Crown may have exaggerated the threat to strengthen the King’s political power before he invaded France. This study shows that what we call "treason" was often shaped by the government’s need to control its public image and hold on to power. Ultimately, …

Artificial Intelligence Adoption Among Community College Faculty: A Comparative Analysis Of Rural And Urban Institutions, Morgan A. Saunders

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has created new opportunities and challenges for higher education institutions. Community colleges, which serve diverse student populations and play a significant role in workforce development, must determine. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate differences in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, usage patterns, and perceptions of importance among faculty at two rural community colleges and two urban community colleges in the United States. Specifically, the study investigated whether statistically significant differences existed in the perceived importance of AI and in the number of AI tools used by faculty across institutional contexts. In …

Aged 539 Graduate Internship Report – Bakersfield Del Oro High School, Xena M. Millan

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This AGED 539 portfolio documents the comprehensive development, management, and continuous improvement of the Bakersfield–Del Oro High School Agricultural Education Program. The portfolio demonstrates alignment with California Agricultural Education Quality Criteria through evidence of curriculum planning, Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) implementation, FFA leadership development, program management, recruitment strategies, advisory committee collaboration, professional development, and long-term program planning. As a newly established agricultural education program, emphasis is placed on creating sustainable systems, increasing student access to experiential learning opportunities, and building a strong foundation for future growth.

A central component of the portfolio is the Quality Criteria Improvement Project, which focused …

An Lstm-Based Framework For Predictive Power Quality Monitoring, Ian Aiken

Theses

Rapid integration of photovoltaic (PV) systems introduces significant power quality challenges, including voltage sags and harmonic distortion, yet existing approaches either perform post-hoc classification or rely on computationally expensive meteorological forecasting unsuitable for real-time edge deployment. In this paper, a resource-efficient framework is developed for short-term power factor sag prediction using only on-line electrical measurements via a dual-track methodology. A regression model is first established to define the predictive limits of direct value estimation. The analysis of drop-event-specific metrics reveals that sensor features are lagging indicators incapable of regressing immediate drop magnitude, motivating a classification re- framing. A binary Long …

Mathematical Models Of The Kinetic Release Of Therapeutics From Contact Lenses And Their Effects On The Ocular Immune System Response To Allergic Conjunctivitis, Narshini D. Gunputh

Theses

Seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC) is one of the most common ocular disorders caused by exposure to airborne allergens such as pollen. It is typically treated with eye drops, but only about 5% of the drug in an eye drop reaches the target tissue. Drug-eluting soft contact lenses have been proposed as an alternative delivery method, but one limitation of a contact lens is the burst-release. In this thesis, we develop multiple mathematical models to support the design and evaluation of drug-eluting contact-lenses for the treatment of SAC. In the first part of the thesis, we build a diffusion-based model to …

Predicting Customer Churn In Telecommunication Companies: A Predictive Analytics Case Study Inspired By E&, Nadia Almheiri

Theses

Customer churn is a significant challenge in the telecommunications industry, particularly in competitive markets such as the United Arab Emirates, where customers can easily switch between providers such as e& and du. Telecommunications companies must move beyond reactive approaches and adopt data-driven strategies that enable early identification of churn risk and support proactive retention. This study develops an interpretable churn prediction framework using logistic regression and decision tree models within IBM SPSS. Following the CRISP-DM methodology, the research identifies key demographic, behavioural, and service-related factors that influence churn, and evaluates model performance using accuracy, precision, recall, and ROC-AUC. The findings …

Subject. Object. Thing., Cristin Hand

Theses

Subject. Object. Thing. is part of an accumulating record of self-construction and self-reflection. The work considers the complications of visibility through self-portraiture, how the desire to be seen exists alongside the impulse to withhold, obscure, and substitute. Working across photography, performance, collage, and sculptural constructions made for the camera, I fragment, disassemble, and reconfigure my body as photographic subject and material. This exploration is structured around a series of oppositions; concealment/exposure, anonymity/specificity, subject/object, naked/nude, and destruction/reconstruction. I do not attempt to resolve these oppositions. Instead, I consider where these categories blur, contradict themselves, and become unstable. Central to this inquiry …

Development Of A Compartmental Metabolism Rate Model For Digestive Oligosaccharides Transformation To Glucose In The Human Proximal Small Intestine, Edesiri Albert Ukusajuya

All Theses

Excess postprandial glucose remains a significant metabolic concern, particularly for individuals with impaired glucose regulation. In the proximal small intestine (PSI), dietary oligosaccharides are enzymatically hydrolyzed to glucose, which is subsequently absorbed into the bloodstream. However, direct measurement of these coupled digestion-absorption processes in vivo is limited, making in silico mechanistic modeling a practical approach for analyzing system behavior under controlled conditions.

In this work, a time-dependent compartmental model was developed to describe oligosaccharide/starch hydrolysis and glucose absorption in the PSI. The intestine is represented as a series of continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) segments, where each segment captured temporal concentration …

Hydrologic Performance Evaluation Of Geogrid- Geotextiles Integrated Expansive Clayey Slopes, Robi Sonkor Mozumder

All Theses

Expansive clay embankment slopes are highly susceptible to climate-driven wetting-drying cycles that reduce matric suction, weaken shear strength, and increase the risk of surficial failure. While geosynthetics are widely used for mechanical stabilization, their field-scale hydraulic performance under seasonal climatic conditions remains insufficiently understood. This study evaluates the dual hydraulic-mechanical behavior of a geogrid-integrated geotextile geocomposite in expansive clay embankments under natural environmental exposure. Two field-scale embankment slopes (1.83 m × 1.07 m × 1.22 m, 1H:1V) were constructed using high-plasticity clay (CH, PI = 47.7–51.2). One slope was reinforced with three horizontal layers of geogrid-integrated geotextile, while the other …

Belowground Consequences Of Herbivory In Tomatoes And Cucumbers And Its Lasting Effects, Anthony Ignacio Barrera

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Plants recruit soil microorganisms to help mediate biotic stressors such as herbivory, forming dynamic communities in the rhizosphere known as the root microbiome. This study investigated whether artificial herbivory could induce shifts in the root microbiome of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and whether those shifts could be transferred to subsequent plants as a soil legacy effect. Plants were grown in sterilized or non-sterilized soil with or without simulated herbivory across two experimental phases, with Phase 2 plants receiving inoculum conditioned by Phase 1 plants. Bacterial community composition was assessed via 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and analyzed using …

A Computational And Experimental Study Of Energy Extraction From Vertical Axis Wind Turbines In Realistic Environments, Kevin Vargas

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis presents preliminary analyses on the performance of small scale vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) conducted through both experimental and computational methods. Laboratory experiments were carried out in the Complex Fluids Laboratory at Montclair State University to evaluate turbine behavior under controlled conditions. The key focus of this work was to investigate the impact of inlet blockage on turbine performance, simulating real-world environmental constraints such as flow obstruction and urban interference and measuring power generated via laboratory tools. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations were performed to further analyze flow characteristics and validate experimental observations and trends. Turbine geometries were …

Stromal Interaction Molecule (Stim) Proteins In Microglia And The Impact On Store-Operated Calcium Entry (Soce) And Spinal Cord Injury Recovery, Norah G. Hill

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

In spinal cord injury (SCI), worsening functional outcomes are largely because of secondary injury processes and prolonged chronic inflammation. A major contributor of secondary injury is overload of intracellular calcium, causing neuronal overexcitation and persistent inflammatory responses. One of the primary mediators of calcium entry into the cell is store-operated calcium entry (SOCE). In SOCE, sensors detecting calcium depletion from the endoplasmic reticulum stores are called STIM proteins (1-2). When calcium is low in the cell, STIM proteins will activate Orai channels to open, allowing for the influx of calcium into the cell. The purpose of this study was to …

Efficacy Of Tick Sampling Methods In Urban Parks., Emma Staples

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Amblyomma americanum (Lone star ticks) are parasites and vectors of diseases, including Ehrlichiosis. Questions remain about how an urban environment affects the host-seeking behavior of A. americanum across different life stages and thus the efficacy of different sampling methods. We sought to compare the efficacy of different sampling methods on A. americanum ticks in urban parks during the fall season and explore how the urban heat island (UHI) effect may impact each method’s efficacy. We hypothesized that, where the UHI effect is weaker near the city’s periphery, the CO₂ trapping method would collect more A. americanum adults and nymphs …

The Influence Of Valence On Action Control: A Comparison Of Simon Effects In The Extrinsic Affective Simon Task (East) And The Spatial Simon Task, Yaara Aleissa

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

People adjust their thoughts and actions in response to a changing environment every day and emotions may influence these actions. Understanding how emotion impacts action control in situations where emotion is central to the action (task-relevant) compared to when it is present in the environment as distracting information (task-irrelevant) is essential. Currently it is unclear when emotion most significantly modulates action control. This study seeks to compare how valence (positive versus negative emotion) impacts action control performance when valence is task-relevant and task-irrelevant by using two modified versions of the Simon conflict task.

The Simon task is a paradigm to …