Digital Commons Network^™

Robust Denoising And Densenet Classification Framework For Plant Disease Detection, Kevin Zhou, Dimah Dera

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Plant disease is one of many obstacles encountered in the field of agriculture. Machine learning models have been used to classify and detect diseases among plants by analyzing and extracting features from plant images. However, a common problem for many models is that they are trained on clean laboratory images and do not exemplify real conditions where noise can be present. In addition, the emergence of adversarial noise that can mislead models into wrong predictions poses a severe challenge to developing preserved models against noisy environments. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end robust plant disease detection framework that combines …

H-Nobs: Achieving Certified Fairness And Robustness In Distributed Learning On Heterogeneous Datasets, Guanqiang Zhou, Ping Xu, Yue Wang, Zhi Tian

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Fairness and robustness are two important goals in the design of modern distributed learning systems. Despite a few prior works attempting to achieve both fairness and robustness, some key aspects of this direction remain underexplored. In this paper, we try to answer three largely unnoticed and unaddressed questions that are of paramount significance to this topic: (i) What makes jointly satisfying fairness and robustness difficult? (ii) Is it possible to establish theoretical guarantee for the dual property of fairness and robustness? (iii) How much does fairness have to sacrifice at the expense of robustness being incorporated into the system? To …

Studying Ht-Mcss In Ieee 802.11n Networks Via Simulations, Jun Peng

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We study the High Throughput Modulation and Coding Schemes (HT-MCS) in IEEE 802.11n In networks in this paper. The HT-MCSs are designed to deal with various channel conditions in the networks. We used ns-3 simulations to study HT-MCS 0 to HT-MCS 31 under various radio propagation models. The simulation results are presented in this paper. In our simulations the HT-MCSs were tested in networks with Friis, Nakagami, and log-distance propagation models for studying their performance under various signal attenuation and fading effects. The HT-MCSs provided consistent performance under most channel conditions in our simulations. However, they showed significantly degraded performance …

Clearspeech: Improving Voice Quality Of Earbuds Using Both In-Ear And Out-Ear Microphones, Dong Ma, Ting Dang, Ming Ding, Rajesh Krishna Balan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Wireless earbuds have been gaining increasing popularity and using them to make phone calls or issue voice commands requires the earbud microphones to pick up human speech. When the speaker is in a noisy environment, speech quality degrades significantly and requires speech enhancement (SE). In this paper, we present ClearSpeech, a novel deep-learningbased SE system designed for wireless earbuds. Specifically, by jointly using the earbud’s in-ear and out-ear microphones, we devised a suite of techniques to effectively fuse the two signals and enhance the magnitude and phase of the speech spectrogram. We built an earbud prototype to evaluate ClearSpeech under …

Remote Multi-Person Heart Rate Monitoring With Smart Speakers: Overcoming Separation Constraint, Ngoc Doan Thu Tran, Dong Ma, Rajesh Krishna Balan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Heart rate is a key vital sign that can be used to understand an individual’s health condition. Recently, remote sensing techniques, especially acoustic-based sensing, have received increasing attention for their ability to non-invasively detect heart rate via commercial mobile devices such as smartphones and smart speakers. However, due to signal interference, existing methods have primarily focused on monitoring a single user and required a large separation between them when monitoring multiple people. These limitations hinder many common use cases such as couples sharing the same bed or two or more people located in close proximity. In this paper, we present …

Non-Invasive Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation For Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (Navsah): Protocol For A Prospective, Triple-Blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial, Anna Huguenard, Gansheng Tan, Gabrielle Johnson, Markus Adamek, Andrew Coxon, Terrance Kummer, Joshua Osbun, Ananth Vellimana, David Limbrick, Gregory Zipfel, Peter Brunner, Eric Leuthardt

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Inflammation has been implicated in driving the morbidity associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Despite understanding the important role of inflammation in morbidity following SAH, there is no current effective way to modulate this deleterious response. There is a critical need for a novel approach to immunomodulation that can be safely, rapidly, and effectively deployed in SAH patients. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) provides a non-pharmacologic approach to immunomodulation, with prior studies demonstrating VNS can reduce systemic inflammatory markers, and VNS has had early success treating inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, sepsis, and inflammatory bowel diseases. The aim of the Non-invasive …

Thomas Freeman Hudson Papers - Accession 790, Thomas Freeman Hudson

Manuscript Collection

The Reverend Thomas Freeman Hudson Papers document the ministerial career, scholarly interests, and ecclesiastical activities of Thomas Freeman Hudson, an Episcopal priest who served congregations in Ohio, South Carolina, and North Carolina and who played an active role in diocesan and national church affairs. The collection primarily reflects Hudson’s work within the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina as a parish priest, diocesan ecumenical leader, and participant in liturgical development during a period of significant change in the Episcopal Church.

The papers include correspondence, sermon notes, subject files, service bulletins, programs, liturgical materials, and published works that illustrate Hudson’s pastoral …

Lynn Mann Hornsby Papers - Accession 492, Lynn Mann Hornsby

Manuscript Collection

The Lynn Mann Hornsby Papers include materials collected by Mrs. Hornsby during her service as a delegate to the 1979 White House Conference on Library and Information Services, and her participation in related regional conferences. Lynn Mann Hornsby is a Winthrop graduate (Class of 1970) and won the 2020 Mary Mildred Sullivan Award from Winthrop “for selfless dedication of time, energy and talent in service to others.” Lynn has served on several boards and volunteered extensively in the community in different roles. The collection itself includes a wide variety of background papers relating to library and information services and issues …

New Treatment Modality For Metastatic Cancer By Targeting The Endothelin Type A Receptor (Etar), Elbara Fathelrahman Abdelmoula

Theses

Ambrisentan, an FDA-approved selective antagonist of the Endothelin Type A Receptor (ETAR) for pulmonary arterial hypertension, has shown potential in limiting cancer growth and metastasis. While effective treatment options for melanoma remain elusive, this study investigates the effects of Ambrisentan on invasive, metastatic B16F10 melanoma using a syngeneic mouse model, aiming to assess Ambrisentan’s impact on tumor growth, metastasis, and overall host survival in B16F10 melanoma, along with gaining mechanistic insights into ETAR antagonism. C57Bl/6 mice were divided into two groups, receiving either dH2O or Ambrisentan orally. Treatments commenced prior to tumor implantation and continued post-implantation. Luciferase-expressing B16F10 cells facilitated …

The Impact Of Hybrid Working On Employee Way Of Life And The Need To Reshape The Employee Value Proposition, Kanishka Chandanamali Athalage

Dissertations

This dissertation details a post-pandemic qualitative investigation conducted to understand the impact of hybrid working solutions on reshaping the employee value proposition (EVP) in the health insurance industry of the UAE. The research aims to evaluate how the introduction of modern hybrid working solutions impacts employees in a post-pandemic environment and, in turn, whether this creates a demand for human resources to refocus drivers of the EVP. Traditionally, EVP is referred to as the overall give-and-get in an employment deal; however, the pandemic was an eye-opener for organizations to redefine what it entails. Since hybrid working has become the new …

Photoexcited Charge Carrier Dynamics And Electronic Properties Of Two-Dimensional Mxene, Nb2ctx, Andrew M. Fitzgerald, Emily Sutherland, Tarek A. Elmelegy, Mary Qin Hassig, Julia Martin, Erika Colin-Ulloa, Ken Ngo, Ronald L. Grimm, Joshua R. Uzarski, Michel W. Barsoum, N. Aaron Deskins, Lyubov V. Titova, Kateryna Kushnir Friedman

Mechanical Engineering

Two-dimensional, 2D, niobium carbide MXene, Nb2CTx, has attracted attention due to its extraordinarily high photothermal conversion efficiency that has applications ranging from medicine, for tumor ablation, to solar energy conversion. Here, we characterize its electronic properties and investigate the ultrafast dynamics of its photoexcitations with a goal of shedding light onto the origins of its unique properties. Through density functional theory, DFT, calculations, we find that Nb2CTx is metallic, with a small but finite density of states at the Fermi level for all experimentally relevant terminations of Nb2CTx that can be achieved using HF or molten salt etching of the …

Curriculum Design And Assessment: The Development Of A Nonmajor Biology Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences And Its Effects On Students And Instructors, William Falkner

Biological Sciences

The goals of nonmajor science education are to improve scientific literacy and produce pro-science attitudes. Together, these goals are expected to improve an individual’s ability to make evidence-based decisions based on newer understandings of the natural world as well as developing technologies. In a post-COVID-19 world, public understanding of science was brought to the forefront for public health but were also challenged by a deluge of misinformation to obfuscate these goals. General education science courses represent the last formal experience for our populace. Following a learning-science-by-doing-science approach, this dissertation describes the development, implementation, and assessment of a course-based undergraduate research …

Components Of Effective After School Programs In Under Resourced Communities, Hector Salamanca Arroyo

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Draft Makerspace Optimization And Procedure For The University Of Northern Iowa And Cedar Falls, Andrew Nii Anang

Graduate Research Papers

The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Makcrspace is a dynamic, communal setting created to encourage members of the community at large to be creative, innovative and engage in hands-on learning. Access to a variety of hand and power tools as well as state-of-the-art technologies is available at this cutting-edge facility. The Makerspace promotes a culture of experimentation and entrepreneurship while offering assistance for multidisciplinary initiatives. The Makerspace incorporates real-world, project-based learning experience, greatly improving UNI's educational environment. It enhances the university's reputation for encouraging innovation and research by drawing in potential students and community members who are interested in cutting-edge …

Trust In E-Commerce And Its Impact On Digital Marketing Strategies, Akshay Tailor

Theses and Dissertations

Background: The rise of e-commerce has transformed consumer behavior, with trust playing a critical role in determining the success of online platforms. Prior research suggests that privacy and security concerns, as well as transparency and social proof, significantly affect consumer trust in e-commerce. This study aimed to investigate how strong security measures, privacy safeguards, and social media marketing initiatives influence consumer trust and purchasing decisions in e-commerce environments.

Methods: A survey was conducted with 232 students from Illinois State University, focusing on key factors such as privacy protection, security, transparency, and social proof. The survey used a Likert scale to …

Fashion Education And Training Prevalence In Fashion Career Success: An Analysis, Mankirat Kaur

Theses and Dissertations

Is the acquisition of fashion education and fashion training for career success a compulsion or a choice? Many designers came and left their legacies to inspire future generations, yet their journeys have often been overlooked in academic research. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of education and training through core facets of lifelong learning —formal, non-formal, and informal education —over the past century on achieving career success in the fashion industry. A mixed-method content analysis, utilizing triangulation, was conducted to understand the educational and training experiences of prominent designers. Two research questions guided the analysis: RQ1 …

The Impact Of Work Setting, Autonomy, And Belonging On Employees’ Job Satisfaction, Sydney May Risen

Theses and Dissertations

Job satisfaction is one of the most researched outcomes within Industrial/Organizational psychology. The goal of this study was to examine whether the relationship between work setting, specifically, the amount of time an employee works in an office or from home, and job satisfaction is mediated by autonomy and belonging. One hundred and thirty employees were surveyed on Prolific regarding their job satisfaction, work setting, autonomy, and belonging. There were no significant hypothesized relationships between the variables within this study, although there were some significant correlations. This indicates that the relationships between work setting and job satisfaction are not mediated by …

Enhancing Marketing Education Through Gamification: Learners’ Characteristics And Motivation In Gamification Strategies, Jagannath Kharel

Theses and Dissertations

The study investigates how the personality traits of marketing students influence their engagement with gamification elements and the resulting learning outcomes. Additionally, it explores how gamification, guided by Self-Determination Theory, enhances these outcomes, and motivates university marketing students. One hundred eleven respondents participated, testing eight hypotheses: seven examined the Big Five traits' influence on attitudes and engagement. At the same time, the final used the self-determination framework to analyze motivation in gamification. Respondents with openness and extraversion favored using gamified learning materials, with no gender differences observed. The study found that gamified learning elements, such as rewards, feedback, levels, challenges, …

A Disconnected School: Why Vertical Alignment Is Not Used To Better Transition Students From Middle To High School (A Qualitative Study), Timothy Revels

Theses and Dissertations

The project focuses on one school – The Carrie Anderson School (TCAS) in Medellin, Colombia which is a private bilingual school that has American accreditation and is one of the most popular and well-regarded schools in the country. The idea for this project started with observation of TCAS ninth grade students and how they struggled during the first half of their freshman year in high school. At that time the school did not have vertical alignment between their middle and high schools. Data was collected from the school using student grade data, faculty surveys, and faculty interviews. The data shows …

Examining The Identities Of Engineering Technology Students, Jeritt Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how undergraduate students in a 4-year engineering technology (ET) program perceived their development of ET professional identities. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was used. In the first phase, an online survey was administered to all students in the program (N =146). The response rate was 32% (N = 47). The survey instrument contained ET and professional identity measures, along with demographic items. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to examine the content validity of the measures of ET identity. Quantitative results indicated that students generally viewed themselves positively in terms of ET identity and professional identity. …

African American Administrators’ Experiences As They Pursue And Transition Into Higher Education Senior Administrative Roles At Four-Year Predominantly White Institutions, Andre Allen

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the experiences of African Americans as they pursued and transitioned into senior administrative roles at four-year predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Insights were drawn from eight participants who held or had held positions such as president, vice president, provost, assistant vice president/provost, and dean.

From in-depth interviews with participants, their experiences were categorized into the overarching themes of career navigation, racial adversity, professional development, and voices of experience, all of which were deeply interconnected through their respective subthemes. In career navigation, subthemes such as empowered by belief and purposeful positioning emphasized the importance of self-confidence, strategic timing, …

African American Administrators’ Experiences As They Pursue And Transition Into Higher Education Senior Administrative Roles At Four-Year Predominantly White Institutions, Andre Allen

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the experiences of African Americans as they pursued and transitioned into senior administrative roles at four-year predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Insights were drawn from eight participants who held or had held positions such as president, vice president, provost, assistant vice president/provost, and dean.

From in-depth interviews with participants, their experiences were categorized into the overarching themes of career navigation, racial adversity, professional development, and voices of experience, all of which were deeply interconnected through their respective subthemes. In career navigation, subthemes such as empowered by belief and purposeful positioning emphasized the importance of self-confidence, strategic timing, …

Research And Graduate Studies Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2024, Office Of Research And Graduate Studies, Illinois State University

Research and Graduate Studies Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Access To Digital Finance: Equity Crowdfunding Across Countries And Platforms, Saul Estrin, Susanna Khavul, Alexander S. Kritikos, Jonas Löher

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Financing entrepreneurship spurs innovation and economic growth. Digital financial platforms that crowdfund equity for entrepreneurs have emerged globally, yet they remain poorly understood. We model equity crowdfunding in terms of the relationship between the number of investors and the amount of money raised per pitch. We examine heterogeneity in the average amount raised per pitch that is associated with differences across three countries and seven platforms. Using a novel dataset of successful fundraising on the most prominent platforms in the UK, Germany, and the USA, we find the underlying relationship between the number of investors and the amount of money …

Milner Library Annual Report, 2024, Milner Library

Reports and White Papers - Milner Library

Annual report for Milner Library, Illinois State University.

(Re)Producing Orientalism: Industry Logic Of Chinese Mobile Game Re-Skins In The Global App Empire, Yizhou Xu

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Through the case study of the mobile title Game of Sultans, this article examines the proliferation of iterative and copycat games through the practice of reskins in the mobile game industry. Based on year-long autoethnographic fieldwork working in a Chinese mobile game company, I provide an on-the-ground perspective of how Orientalist representations in reskinned games are instrumentalized through the roles of “cultural brokers” and the work of localization for Western markets. By taking a theoretical and technological understanding of reskins, I argue that reskinned games, as a form of industrial mimicry, while an important aspect of standardized game production, …

Age Of Sensing Empowered Holographic Isac Framework For Nextg Wireless Networks: A Vae And Drl Approach, Apurba Adhikary, Avi Deb Raha, Yu Qiao, Md. Shirajum Munir, Monishanker Halder, Choong Seon Hong

School of Cybersecurity Faculty Publications

This paper proposes an artificial intelligence (AI) framework that leverages integrated sensing and communication (ISAC), aided by the age of sensing (AoS) to ensure the timely location updates of the users for a holographic MIMO (HMIMO)- enabled wireless network. The AI-driven framework guarantees optimal power allocation for efficient beamforming by activating the minimal number of grids from the HMIMO base station. An optimization problem is formulated to maximize the sensing utility function, aiming to maximize the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the received signal, beam-pattern gains to improve the sensing SINR of reflected echo signals and maximizing the evidence lower bound …

Evaluating The Performance Of 5g Nr In Indoor Environments: An Experimental Study, Bikash Chandra Singh, Rafael Diaz, Sachin Shetty

School of Cybersecurity Faculty Publications

The 5G wireless standard has emerged as a trans-formative technology with the potential to revolutionize various industries by providing enhanced connectivity and communication capabilities. This advanced standard offers a diverse range of applications, including Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), and Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC). In this Scientific research paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of the performance and capabilities of a deployed indoor 5G network in a controlled laboratory environment. The experimental setup comprises an Amarisoft Callbox, serving as the 5G core, along with a Remote Radio Head (RRH) and user equipment (UEs). Our primary objective …

Reverse-Engineering Of Disinformation Campaigns During The War In Ukraine, Lora Pitman, Ava Baratz, Kelly Morgan, Marcy Alvarado

School of Cybersecurity Faculty Publications

Information operations have long been a part of warfare. Disinformation campaigns, in particular, are usually launched by states in order to mislead and confuse populations in adversarial countries, but also to obtain support for their actions from domestic audiences. These campaigns threaten human security, at the individual level, but also state- and even international security. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia came with a new wave of disinformation not only in Ukraine itself, but also in countries from various other continents. This paper studies the characteristics of the spread of disinformation from the first day of the war in February …

Sample Sizes For 10 Types Of Qualitative Data Analysis: An Integrative Review, Empirical Guidance, And Next Steps, Amber Wutich, Melissa Beresford, H. Russell Bernard

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

There has been a recent explosion of articles on minimum sample sizes needed for analyzing qualitative data. The purpose of this integrated review is to examine this literature for 10 types of qualitative data analysis (5 types of saturation and 5 common methods). Building on established reviews and expanding to new methods, our findings extract the following sample size guidelines: theme saturation (9 interviews; 4 focus groups), meaning saturation (24 interviews; 8 focus groups), theoretical saturation (20–30+ interviews), metatheme saturation (20–40 interviews per site), and saturation in salience (10 exhaustive free lists); two methods where power analysis determines sample size: …