Digital Commons Network^™

Impactful Interactivity Within Video Games, Luke Robert Maeser

Theses

Despite half a century of existence and dedicated academic programs educating next generations of game developers, conclusive evidence does not exist as to if video games are beneficial to learning or costly. Examining the notion of benefit versus cost, it is important to assess the value of video games when leveraged as tools for learning as traditional educational methodologies are not infallible. This paper explores how video games can generate psychological responses; and therefore, one must conclude learning has occurred. The following is encompassed: meaningful interactivity within video games (regarding narrative and gameplay), video games as educational tools, video game …

Maximising Captured Power And Battery Management For Heaving Wave Energy Converters, Omsalama Mubarak Mohamed

Dissertations

Sea waves are considered the most potent energy carriers among all sources of renewable energy. This research work is concerned with developingtechnologies to enhance performance and improve power capturing and conversion capabilities of a single heaving wave energy converter (WEC) actuated by a PMLG (Permanent Magnet Linear Generator). The objective of this dissertation is achieved by three techniques. The first one considers maximizing conversion between the mechanical and electrical powers. It is implemented by designing intrinsic resistance using a rapid procedure involving the mechanical and electrical models of the converter and considering its operating constraints. A robust PID (proportional – …

Perception Of Bias In Chatgpt: Analysis Of Social Media Data, Abdullah Wahbeh, Mohammad A. Al-Ramahi, Omar El-Gayar, Ahmed El Noshokaty, Tareq Nasralah

Computer Information Systems Faculty Publications (Archived)

In this study, we aim to analyze the public perception of Twitter users with respect to the use of ChatGPT and the potential bias in its responses. Sentiment and emotion analysis were also analyzed. Analysis of 5,962 English tweets showed that Twitter users were concerned about six main types of biases, namely: political, ideological, data & algorithmic, gender, racial, cultural, and confirmation biases. Sentiment analysis showed that most of the users reflected a neutral sentiment, followed by negative and positive sentiment. Emotion analysis mainly reflected anger, disgust, and sadness with respect to bias concerns with ChatGPT use.

Influence Of Pavement Conditions On Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes, Stephen Arhin, Babin Manandhar, Adam Gatiba

Mineta Transportation Institute

Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety is a major concern in the United States, including the District of Columbia (DC), where CMVs make up 15% of traffic. This research uses a comprehensive approach, combining statistical analysis and machine learning techniques, to investigate the impact of road pavement conditions on CMV accidents. The study integrates traffic crash data from the Traffic Accident Reporting and Analysis Systems Version 2.0 (TARAS2) database with pavement condition data provided by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). Data spanning from 2016 to 2020 was collected and analyzed, focusing on CMV routes in DC. The analysis employs binary …

Understanding The Effect Of Pervasive Events On Vehicle Travel Time Patterns, Chirag Akbari, Ninad Gore, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted daily activities and travel patterns, affecting personal and commercial trips. This study investigates the effect of different stages of the pandemic on travel time patterns. Eighty-six geographically distributed links (sections of road) in Mecklenburg County and Buncombe County, North Carolina, were selected for analysis. The selected links accounted for the variation in road geometry, land use, and speed limit. Travel time data for three years (i.e., 2019, 2020, and 2021) were extracted from a private data source at 5-min intervals. Travel time reliability (TTR) and travel time variability (TTV) are estimated for different phases of …

Trashed: A Review Of Anthropogenic Litter In An Urban Watershed, John D. Hamilton

Water Resources Science and Technology Theses and Graduate Research Reports (Archived)

Urban creeks, streams and rivers have become an unfortunate destination for trash pollution. Within an urban watershed trash pollution is harmful to fish, wildlife, public health, contributes to microplastic proliferation, and aesthetically tarnishes an otherwise unscathed ecosystem. With lots of attention focused on trash in marine and coastal ecosystems, this study aims to contribute to the growing research on inland urban watersheds and their involvement. This study highlights issues associated with trash pollution, and investigates the associated vectors, origins, behaviors, and contributing factors that create trash ladened urban watersheds. Datasets and site surveys from repeated trash cleanups in three creekside …

A Control Study Analysis Application Of Unoccupied Aerial Systems (Drones) To Monitor Eutrophication, Chrystal Mata

Water Resources Science and Technology Theses and Graduate Research Reports (Archived)

Unmanned Aircraft systems (UAS) can offer a valuable perspective for detecting and monitoring for eutrophication in bodies of water by providing high-resolution images and data assignments for algal blooms and nutrient levels. Eutrophication, the process by which water bodies become enriched with nutrients, has emerged as a critical factor in evaluating and maintaining water quality. In this study, we use DJI Inspire Pro 1 equipped with a Zenmuse X3 camera, attached with a Parrot Sequoia multispectral sensor was used to in conjunction with algorithms to retrieve Chlorophyll parameters for monitoring eutrophication. Although water quality parameters such as pH, nitrate, phosphate, …

Qasm-To-Hls: A Framework For Accelerating Quantum Circuit Emulation On High-Performance Reconfigurable Computers, Anshul Maurya

Theses and Dissertations

High-performance reconfigurable computers (HPRCs) make use of Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for efficient emulation of quantum algorithms. Generally, algorithm-specific architectures are implemented on the FPGAs and there is very little flexibility. Moreover, mapping a quantum algorithm onto its equivalent FPGA emulation architecture is challenging. In this work, we present an automation framework for converting quantum circuits to their equivalent FPGA emulation architectures. The framework processes quantum circuits represented in Quantum Assembly Language (QASM) and derives high-level descriptions of the hardware emulation architectures for High-Level Synthesis (HLS) on HPRCs. The framework generates the code for a heterogeneous architecture consisting of a …

Bridging The Gap: Analyzing The Relationship Between Environmental Justice Awareness On Twitter And Socio-Environmental Factors Using Remote Sensing And Big Data, Charles Knoble, Danlin Yu

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Mounting awareness of the discriminatory distribution of environmental factors has increasingly placed environmental justice at the forefront of discussions on sustainable development, but responses to these disparities are often too little, too late. Remote sensing has emerged as a potential solution to this problem, capitalizing on the ability to capture high-resolution, spatially explicit data in near-real time. However, a conventional reliance on physical measurements and surface-level analyses risks overlooking the experiences and perceptions of affected communities. It is against this backdrop that the potential integration of remote sensing imagery and socially sensed big data such as social media data assumes …

School Social Work 238 Exam Preparation: Resources And Handouts, Leticia Villarreal Sosa, Tiffany Nelson, Brenda Coble-Lindsey, Annette Johnson, Giesela Grumbach

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Bridge Newsletter Winter 2023, Missouri University Of Science And Technology

The Bridge Newsletter

-Gary White’s work on world water crisis

-Yan teams up for renewable infrastructure grant

-Sustainable futures: New life for unusable waste

-‘Engineering our Future’ by ASCE president, alumna

Chemical Investigation Of Dichloromethane Extract Of Aloe Vera Peels: An Agricultural Waste, Nazmul Huda

Theses and Dissertations

Aloe barbadensis Miller, commonly called Aloe Vera, is a widely popular succulent plant species cultivated across subtropical regions worldwide from India to the Tex-Mex border. Besides its historical uses, Aloe juice has garnered attention as a potential remedy for various ailments, particularly in treating various skin conditions and facilitating wound recovery, including obesity, diabetes, hepatitis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis. Regrettably, the agricultural practice following sap extraction involves discarding Aloe vera peels, constituting agricultural waste. As part of our continuous research on extraction, isolation, separation, and spectral characterization of value-added chemicals present in waste botanicals herein, …

Private Ethereum Blockchain Implementation And Its Security Features For Smart Home Iot, Hasibul Grande Alam

Theses and Dissertations

The security and privacy of IoT devices have become primary concerns as smart home networks are connected to the internet. Ethereum blockchain can be a solution to mitigate or prevent attacks – sniffing attacks, malware attacks, Eavesdropping, and Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks. Deploying Ethereum in resource constraint IoT devices is challenging due to resultant energy consumption, computational overhead, and delay. We adopted smart home as a case study to examine our methodology as a model for general IoT applications. This thesis work presents the implementation of private Ethereum blockchain that is optimized and installable on smart home IoT. …

Addressing Engagement: Student Perceptions Of Meaningful Gamification In Online Courses, Jessica M. Sanchez-Barrera

Theses and Dissertations

Although there is high enrollment in online college courses, there are concerns about student engagement (Martin & Bolliger, 2018; Dumford & Miller, 2018). Gamification has been shown to have the potential to improve student engagement. The purpose of the study was to describe how academic student engagement is impacted by Nicholson’s Meaningfully Gamified online course compared to traditionally taught online course. An embedded multiple case study research design was employed using self-determination theory as the theoretical framework to measure engagement. The theory constructs analyzed were autonomy, competence, relatedness, and student engagement. The research was conducted …

Experimental Analysis Of Nonlinear Wave Propagation In Bistable Mechanical Metamaterials With A Defect, Samuel R. Harre

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mechanical metamaterials built up of compliant units can support the propagation of linear and nonlinear waves. A popular architecture consists of a one-dimensional chain of bistable elements connected by linear springs. This type of chain can support nonlinear transition waves that switch each element from one stable state to the other as they propagate along the chain. One way to manipulate the propagation of such waves is via introduction of a local inhomogeneity, i.e., a defect in the otherwise periodic chain. Recent analytical and numerical work has shown that based on its initial velocity, a transition wave may be reflected, …

On Dyadic Parity Check Codes And Their Generalizations, Meraiah Martinez

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In order to communicate information over a noisy channel, error-correcting codes can be used to ensure that small errors don’t prevent the transmission of a message. One family of codes that has been found to have good properties is low-density parity check (LDPC) codes. These are represented by sparse bipartite graphs and have low complexity graph-based decoding algorithms. Various graphical properties, such as the girth and stopping sets, influence when these algorithms might fail. Additionally, codes based on algebraically structured parity check matrices are desirable in applications due to their compact representations, practical implementation advantages, and tractable decoder performance analysis. …

Identifying Trauma Related Predictors Of Dissociation In Maltreated Youth, Amanda L. Mraz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Maltreated youth who experience traumatic dissociation are at an increased risk for various psychopathological difficulties. Much is still unknown about the machinations behind experiences of dissociation post-trauma. This study aimed to identify variables that place maltreated youth at risk for experiencing traumatic dissociation (e.g., dissociative amnesia, absorption and imaginative involvement, passive influence, depersonalization and derealization, and total adolescent dissociative experiences symptoms (A-DES)). Investigatory variables included demographic (e.g., age, gender, and racial identity), cognitive (e.g., resiliency and posttraumatic cognitions), and psychological (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD) and anxiety) factors. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was utilized to observe the …

Interaction Of Technetium (Iv) With Dibutyl Phosphate In N-Dodecane, Jonathan George

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

During the reprocessing of nuclear fuel, the degradation of tributylphosphate (TBP) occurs as a result of radiolytic and thermal processes. These processes lead to the formation of minor amounts of dibutyl phosphate (HDBP). However, the presence of DBP poses a challenge in the partitioning of uranium (U), plutonium (Pu), and technetium (Tc) due to its chelating effects. The chelation of these elements by HDBP can interfere with their intended separation and purification, thereby impacting the efficiency and effectiveness of the reprocessing process. In this study, X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) spectroscopy is employed to investigate the speciation of Tc following …

New Observations On The Age And Origin Of The Geologist Seamounts, South Hawaiian Seamount Province, Brandon Chester Scott

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Investigation into seamounts that stem from intraplate volcanism—that is volcanism occurring far from plate boundaries—presents an opportunity to deconvolve processes associated with mantle compositional heterogeneities and melting dynamics. Upwelling and decompression of thermochemically anomalous mantle plumes is the primary mechanism for significant intraplate volcanism; however, many seamounts dotted across the Pacific Plate do not correlate spatially, temporally, or geochemically with mantle plume volcanism. One region of enigmatic volcanism in the ocean basins that is not clearly attributable to plume-derived magmatism are the Geologist Seamounts and the wider South Hawaiian Seamount Province (∼19°N, 157°W). Here we present merged multibeam (<100 m) and satellite altimetry bathymetric maps of the Geologist Seamounts region, new ^{40 …}

Physiological And Biomechanical Response To Indoor Cycling With And Without The Ability To Sway, Alina P. Swafford

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction: Bicycles have been around since the early 19th century. Since the invention of the bicycle, it has taken on several purposes. People have used bicycles as a means of transportation, leisure, exercise, and sport. The number of individuals who participate in a cycling event per year has increased. With the increase in popularity, research related to cycling has also increased. Research related to the physiology and biomechanics of cycling are of particular areas of interest. Balance is a crucial component of understanding why we cycle a certain way. Some research has labeled balancing on a bicycle as cycling sway. …

An Exploratory And Descriptive Analysis Of The Utah Microcredentials Participant Population, Daron Kennett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This study examined the population of users of the Utah Microcredentials system, a professional learning resource available to all Utah teaching license holders. A microcredential verifies that an educator has successfully demonstrated competency with a specific skill, concept, or instructional tool, and is awarded upon submission of evidence meeting a predetermined set of rubric criteria. During the first stage of the study, quantitative methods such as regression analysis were used to determine the participation rates of educators based on a number of demographic variables, including age, number of years of service as an educator, the rurality of the educator's assigned …

Tropical Atlantic Temperature And Hydrologic Shifts During The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Chels Howard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is a geologic climate event that is studied heavily due to the similarities to anthropogenic climate change. This event occurred approximately 56 million years ago (Ma) and is characterized by a rapid release of carbon into the atmosphere, which resulted in an increase in temperature and a change in global climate events such as changes in patterns of evaporation and precipitation. We see this effect occurring in modern anthropogenic climate change due to the burning of fossil fuels releasing carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere. In this study I use elemental data of …

Fire And Flow: Assessing The Long-Term Effects Of Wildfires And Impact Of High Flow Events On Phosphorus Concentrations In Mountain Streams, Rachel Watts

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Climate change has led to significant shifts in the Earth’s weather patterns, often leading to longer, more intense droughts, irregular but extreme storms, and more severe wildfires with longer burn durations. These weather pattern changes have frequently led to shifts in ecosystem dynamics, impacting aspects such as nutrient flux, species diversity, and overall habitat health. Regarding nutrient flux specifically, changes in phosphorus (P) concentrations can negatively impact stream systems as elevated levels can lead to toxic algal blooms, which can cause habitat degradation, loss of usable recreational areas, and large fish kills. A common trigger of these P spikes is …

Exploring Social Hierarchy Computationally To Further Our Understanding Of Social Organizations Within Their Environments, Stanley L. Rhodes Jr.

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Hierarchy is ever-present across countless human societies, a seemingly inescapable reality of small organizations and national governments. However, there is a lot about hierarchy we don’t understand, and if we want to make better organizations and better society, it is crucial we learn more about it. This dissertation investigates three questions: 1) “What is hierarchy?” 2) “How is hierarchy useful?” 3) “How does hierarchy vary?” I find that social scientists do not all mean the same thing by hierarchy, even within the same fields; yet, they do consistently write of hierarchy as control (like boss-employee relations), hierarchy as rank (like …

Analysis Of Student Behavior And Score Prediction In Assistments Online Learning, Aswani Yaramala

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Understanding and analyzing student behavior is paramount in enhancing online learning, and this thesis delves into the subject by presenting an in-depth analysis of student behavior and score prediction in the ASSISTments online learning platform. We used data from the EDM Cup 2023 Kaggle Competition to answer four key questions. First, we explored how students seeking hints and explanations affect their performance in assignments, shedding light on the role of guidance in learning. Second, we looked at the connection between students mastering specific skills and their performance in related assignments, giving insights into the effectiveness of curriculum alignment. Third, we …

An Integrated Neutrosophic Approach For The Urban Energy Internet Assessment Under Sustainability Dimensions, Walaa M. Sabry

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

The urgent issue of climate change has resulted in an increasing preoccupation with the transition to low-carbon energy. The urban energy internet (UEI) enables the efficient utilization of renewable energy via the integration of contemporary energy grids, smart energy services, and cyber-physical systems. Consequently, the assessment of urban energy is vital for the construction of low-carbon cities. This study intends to provide an integrated decision-making approach for addressing assessment challenges related to UEI, with a focus on sustainability. The introduced approach adopts the opinions of three experts to express their opinions through semantic terms in evaluating sustainability factors and evaluating …

An Exhaustive Review Of Neutrosophic Logic In Addressing Image Processing Issues, Samia Mandour

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

Since the importance of images in our lives and the advancements in computer data gathering methods, anyone can collect a large number of images, but most of them cannot be processed manually. Image processing therefore becomes appealing since various types of data may be represented and processed digitally. Image processing has become the most popular processing method, employed in security camera films, healthcare images, images from remote sensors, and naturalistic image/videos because of fast computers and processors. In order to raise cognitive function and speed up decision-making, image processing is crucial to many information access systems. Since ambiguity now permeates …

Natural Walking Interfaces To Improve Immersive Training In Virtual Reality, Niall L. Williams

Link Foundation Modeling, Simulation and Training Fellowship Reports

Virtual reality (VR) allows users to be placed in a computer-generated environment and provides realistic visual feedback through motion tracking, high refresh rates, and a stereoscopic display [16]. VR presents a new opportunity to provide immersive experiences with applications to job training, entertainment, social interactions, and therapy and rehabilitation. One important aspect of providing users with a comfortable, immersive virtual experience is granting users the ability to freely explore the virtual environment (VE) [5, 6, 30]. Due to the importance of exploration for virtual experiences, it is crucial that we develop locomotion interfaces that provide the best user experience.

Parameterized Complexity Of Feature Selection For Categorical Data Clustering, Sayan Bandyapadhyay, Fedor V. Fomin, Petr A. Golovach, Kirill Simonov

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

We develop new algorithmic methods with provable guarantees for feature selection in regard to categorical data clustering. While feature selection is one of the most common approaches to reduce dimensionality in practice, most of the known feature selection methods are heuristics. We study the following mathematical model. We assume that there are some inadvertent (or undesirable) features of the input data that unnecessarily increase the cost of clustering. Consequently, we want to select a subset of the original features from the data such that there is a small-cost clustering on the selected features. More precisely, for given integers ℓ (the …

An Evaluation Using Universal Design For Learning, Lilah Nye

Honors Projects

This research was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of an Educational framework known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in a set of lesson plans published by a nationally recognized organization. The intention of this focus was to push major professional organizations in mathematics education to produce inclusive resources for all students. UDL is an opportunity to increase accessibility of curriculum for students by reducing barriers to learning that play a role in educational inequity, and generally the goal of UDL is that lessons are made accessible preemptively to benefit all students rather than for individual students as the …