Digital Commons Network^™

Reinforcement Learning-Guided Large Language Model Fine-Tuning For Privacy-Preserving Text Rewriting, Zhan Shi, Yefeng Yuan, Liang Cheng, Yuhong Liu

Computer Science and Engineering

The advancement of machine learning systems depends on large-scale, high-quality datasets. However, corpora drawn from user-generated and proprietary domains are often laden with sensitive information, posing significant privacy, security, and compliance risks. Conventional anonymization methods, which focus on removing explicit identifiers, can degrade downstream performance and leave the more nuanced challenge of implicit privacy leakage unresolved. This form of leakage allows for sensitive attributes such as author identity, demographics, or personality to be inferred from writing style alone. To address this, we present a privacy-preserving text rewriting framework based on guided reinforcement learning. Our approach features a composite reward function …

How Does The Intersectionality Of Race, Gender, And Organizational Culture Influence The Utilization And Consequences Of Code-Switching Among Black Men In Executive-Level Positions Within Nonprofit Settings?, Lepra George

Dissertations (1934 -)

Black men in executive roles within U.S. nonprofit organizations lead under racialized and gendered expectations that shape when and how they are perceived as leader-like. This qualitative study examines how these leaders interpret their lived experiences of code-switching, across speech and broader self-presentation, within White-normed nonprofit cultures. Guided by intersectionality and informed by impression-management theory, the study employed an interpretivist, phenomenological design and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with six Black male executives. Four themes emerged: (1) Black Male Leaders Consciously Navigate Authentic Identity, balancing cultural self-expression with perceived professionalism; (2) Confronting the Race–Gender Double Bind in …

Elementary Reading Teachers’ Experiences Implementing Individualized Instruction, Laura E. Ellis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Second-grade through fourth-grade teachers face challenges associated with implementing individualized reading instruction to address learning differences. A deeper understanding of teachers’ experiences can help inform future educational policies targeting educators who instruct struggling readers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of elementary reading teachers who use individualized instruction to support diverse learners. The study was grounded in Tomlinson’s model of differentiated instruction, which served as the guiding conceptual framework. Using a basic qualitative design, this study’s central research question explored elementary teachers’ experiences with individualized instructional practices. Data were collected through open-ended semistructured interviews with …

Understanding Medical Information And Emotional Support Needs In Mental Health Questions With Large Language Models, Chen Liu, William Yu Chung Wang, Gohar Khan

All Works

Purpose – This study seeks to bridge the gap between users’ multidimensional needs and the single-task capabilities of existing Mental Health Question Answering (MHQA) systems by tackling the underexplored challenge of jointly understanding medical informational needs and emotional support needs within complex consumer mental health inquiries. Design/methodology/approach – Grounded in Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST), the proposed Multi-Needs and Context Recognition (MNCR) framework decomposes mental health question understanding task into four interrelated subtasks: Medical Needs Recognition (MNR), Medical Needs-related Context Extraction (MNCE), Emotional Needs Recognition (ENR) and Emotional Needs-related Context Extraction (ENCE). A new benchmark dataset, MHQ-MedEmo, was constructed through multi-layered …

A Curriculum For Teaching English-Speaking Fluency, Jue Xia

Master's Projects and Capstones

This field project intends to apply theories of second language acquisition to practical implementations. The purpose of this project is to design a curriculum that teaches speaking fluency to low level English literacy English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. The theoretical frameworks it uses are Stephen Krashen’s Input Hypothesis Theory (Brown 2014, p.288), Barry McLaughlin’s Attention-Processing Model (Brown 2014, p.292), Lev Vigotsky’s Sociocultural Theory (Brown 2014, p.295). Fink’s (2003) Integrated Course Design model gives important insights when designing the curriculum. In the project, the author developed three themed units to teach speaking skills. In each unit, three modules are …

Fall 2025 Student Scholar Symposium Abstract Volume, Chapman University Center For Undergraduate Excellence

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

No abstract provided.

Bridging Machine Learning And Islamic Scholarship: A Study In Hadith Translation And Similarity Analysis, Asiyah R. Speight

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Translation of Islamic religious texts poses unique challenges requiring both linguistic and theological expertise. This study explores the application of neural machine translation (NMT) models to Arabic-English hadith translation while analyzing semantic similarity patterns across different human translations. Using the complete Sahih Bukhari corpus (7,550 hadiths) as the primary dataset, we adopt a dual approach combining transfer learning and comprehensive neural network analysis to demonstrate the critical impact of corpus size on model performance.

First, we fine-tune a pre-trained MarianMT Arabic-English translation model on the full Sahih Bukhari corpus, comparing models trained on 40 hadiths versus 7,550 hadiths. Performance is …

Pathways To Possibility: A Multilingual Perspective In Community Colleges, Alex Matson

Master's Projects and Capstones

Community Colleges (CCs) play a vital role within both their local communities and the broader American educational system. This study examines the role of the community college, with particular attention to its English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs, and the structural dynamics of public funding. Despite the recognized significance of community colleges, the allocation of public funding, distinctly for ESOL programs, continues to reflect structural imbalances. Although research demonstrates the significance of community colleges in widening learning opportunities for marginalized students, critical pedagogy reminds us that educational access remains structurally unequal.

Emerging research indicates that the transformation of placement …

Manuscript And Technical Studies, Mary F. Wheaton

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Extract

Winter’s Middle English Texts Series (MET) published a single volume this year, containing a number of editions of related medieval texts. Hans Sauer and Alessia Bauer’s To Instruct and Entertain – Medieval Didactic Dialogues is the first parallel-text edition of the Old English Prose Solomon and Saturn (SolSatP) edited from London, British Library, MS Cotton Vitellius A.xv and two copies of the Middle English Master of Oxford’s Catechism (MOC), edited from London, British Library, MSS Harley 1304 and Lansdowne 762. In addition to presenting these texts side-by-side, the editors have daringly attempted to construct a …

Medicaid Funding And Health-Related Social Needs: A Policy Analysis, Passion Ilea

Dissertations and Theses

The U.S. has disproportionately high health care spending compared to other high-income nations and comparatively poor health outcomes. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have recently increased emphasis on addressing Medicaid member social needs. CMS believes addressing health-related social needs (HRSN) may reduce costs and improve health outcomes for Medicaid members. CMS has begun to test theories regarding the impact of member HRSN on health care by designing federal mechanisms to address HRSN, such as in lieu of services and settings-funded services, and by encouraging state Medicaid programs to develop their own approaches, such as Flexible Services. Information …

Strategies To Foster A Collaborative And Sustainable Transformation: A Vietnam Textile & Apparel Case, Hong Lan Lam, Donna Cleveland

IASDR Conference Series

This case study explores strategies to support the transformation of Vietnam’s textile and apparel industry, particularly large garment exporting enterprises, toward more sustainable and designed-led business models. In response to increasing socio-economic and environmental challenges, the study identifies closer collaboration with academic institutions as a key enabler for building relevant future- facing skills. Drawing on reflexive practice through structured journal writing, the paper analyses a multi-stakeholder workshop facilitated by the International Labour Organization and the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), highlighting tensions and opportunities in co-design approaches within hierarchical and culturally specific working environments. The concept of đồng- design, …

Unraveling Sociomaterial Trajectories: A Qualitative Network Analysis Of Material, Human, And Nonhuman Entanglement In The Diy Material Project, Kazzmasa Tsujimura, Yasuaki Kakehi

IASDR Conference Series

This paper investigates the sociomateriality of collective creation in a practice-led design project, addressing how entanglement occurs in material-centric processes where it often remains largely unarticulated. Adopting a sociomaterial ontology, we employ qualitative network analysis (QNA) to trace sociomaterial trajectories of the DIY Material project. Our analysis identified 12 diverse actors (e.g., humans, tools, knowledge…) in five clusters, and 22 sociomaterial entanglement 'events' classified into three types: Material Emergence, Social Intra-action, and Sociomaterial Assemblage. The resulting network visualizes these moments, explicating their role in instantiating inter subjective design ideas and contributing to project formation, offering a new methodological lens for …

Making In Metaphor: Critical Intersectional Outfitting Framework, Eduardo Féteira, Danika Van Kaathoven, Tomohide Mizuuchi, Daijiro Mizuno

IASDR Conference Series

Strategies that allow for an in-depth and multi-layered analysis and approach to wicked problems are increasingly crucial in today’s design education environment. Intersectionality presents itself as an articulated and analytical tool that effectively frames interconnected and mutually-reinforcing forces. But within design practices, it still lacks visual ising and making processes that allow for a more tangible understanding of its core principles and highlight its benefits in identifying inflexion points of action within problem spaces. This paper introduces the Critical Intersectional Outfitting (CIO) framework, an educational tool which aims to facilitate wider visualisation of problem spaces through a compartment ali sed …

Reframing Everyday Accessibility Through Inclusive Micro-Design: Empirical Evaluation Of Braille Buttons As Socio-Cultural Interfaces, Yuhe Wei, Qiong Zhang, Yuanyuan Liu

IASDR Conference Series

Mainstream accessible design often prioritizes functional usability for people with disabilities, overlooking its social and symbolic dimensions. This study introduces an inclusive micro- design paradigm by exploring how braille-integrated buttons, a seemingly traditional tactile interface, serve as socio-cultural micro-signals that deliver tangible social impact. Usability trials with blind users confirmed error-free interaction, and follow-up studies showed enhanced certainty and comfort among sighted participants. Although the public perceived only moderate necessity, they widely acknowledged the symbolic and societal value of braille buttons. Thematic interviews further revealed how these tactile micro-signals foster shared visibility and everyday dignity. Grounded in low-cost, multi-sensory accessibility, …

Iris-Cem: An Ai-Enabled Toolkit For Visual–Verbal Collaboration And Semantic Reframing In Design, Jia-Rong Li, Teng-Wen Chang, Hsu-Feng Chang, Chia-Ying Lin

IASDR Conference Series

Early-stage cross-disciplinary design often encounters semantic gaps and fragmented problem framings. This study presents IRIS-CEM (Intelligent Reciprocal Interaction System for Co-Evolution Model), a design-driven system that combines AI-generated imagery with a structured semantic card mechanism to support negotiation and collaborative reframing. Deployed through a five-stage workshop process, IRIS-CEM enabled iterative visual–verbal exchanges that surfaced assumptions, bridged disciplinary language, and encouraged perspective shifts. Results show that visual ambiguity prompted abductive reasoning, while the reinterpretation of semantic cards helped teams co-construct shared problem definitions. Moreover, the iterative exchange of AI-generated images and keywords not only reframed the initial problem space but also …

The Impact Of The Visual Fidelity Of Externalized Ideas On Participants' Cognitive Actions And Co-Evolution: Focusing On Generative Ai-Supported Multidisciplinary Co-Design, Yeongsong Lim, Younjoon Lee

IASDR Conference Series

This study investigated the impact of the visual fidelity of externalized ideas, particularly when supported by generative artificial intelligence (GAI), on cognitive actions, co-evolution, and knowledge exchange in multidisciplinary co-design workshops. Although sketching has long served as a mediating artifact for collaboration, empirical validation is required to understand how GAI, as a visualization tool, reshapes design cognition and collaborative dynamics. A multidisciplinary co-design workshop was conducted, and data were collected through pre- and post-workshop surveys, video recordings, and post-interviews. A protocol analysis was conducted based on the participants’ verb aliz at ions during the workshop sessions, and the survey data …

Hypnotic Futuring: Superflex And The Aesthetic Of Induction In Speculative Design Research, Troels Degn Johansson

IASDR Conference Series

This paper investigates how the Danish art collective SUPERFLEX make use of actual or mediated hypnotic situations in five key artworks: Experience Climate Change as an Animal (2009), The Financial Crisis (Session I-IV) (2009), Hotline til udkanten (“Hotline for the Peripheries” (2010), The Working Life (2013), and Inter species Café (2021). Drawing on concepts from speculative design, psychoanalytic theory, and affect studies, the paper argues that SUPERFLEX uses hypnosis not only as a therapeutic tool but also as a speculative strategy. Through sound, narrative, and immersive experience, SUPERFLEX induces altered states of perception that de-center normative thinking and open imaginative …

Study On Active Health Service Design And Participation Willingness Of Older People: Types And Motivations, Yiming Song, Gengchen Cao, Ke Mu, Hongzhou Wang, Ziqi Cai, Yanlin Yin, Chao Zhao

IASDR Conference Series

The aging trend has brought unprecedented challenges to the social health security system, while active health services also offer opportunities and challenges for older people to maintain their health independently. This study focuses on designing active health services for older people and their level of participation. Through methods such as user journey mapping and potential grouping analysis, it reveals the differences in types and motivation mechanisms of older people's participation behavior in active health services. This study first identified three types of active health services based on interview data from 10 elderly users: prevention-oriented, disease management-oriented, and self-care-oriented. Then, it …

Triadic Co-Creation Model: Redefining Child Participation In Urban Planning In The Majority World, Himani Kanojia, Saurabh Tewari

IASDR Conference Series

In the Majority World, traditional approaches to urban planning are being challenged by emerging policy initiatives that recognise children as legitimate participants equal to adults in shaping their urban environments. However, the participation often remains tokenistic, due to a slow-evolving social and political mindset. Another wicked problem in the participatory planning process with children in the Majority World is that their primary focus is on what they produce and not on how they wish to produce. This paper shifts the lens. Drawing on the “Designing Delhi City Together” workshop conducted with 120 children from a publicly funded Central School in …

Enhancing Self-Awareness Through Guided Self-Talk: Designing A Chatbot To Support Mental Health And Counselor Communication, Yuan-Chi Tseng, Yu-Hsuan Liao

IASDR Conference Series

Mental health challenges are increasingly common among university students, yet many face barriers to accessing care, including limited emotional self-awareness. This paper explores the design and evaluation of Your Mobile Therapist, a LINE-integrated chatbot that guides users through structured self-talk to enhance emotional clarity and support communication with counselors. Grounded in theories of inner speech and reflective practice, the chatbot was developed through participatory design and deployed in a comparative user study involving twelve participants. We evaluated the effects of chatbot-guided reflection against a static control condition using qualitative interviews and counselor feedback. Results show that the chatbot facilitated deeper …

Design Thinking Beyond The Hype: Organisational Barriers And Implementation Challenges, Gianluca Carella, Cabirio Cautela, Michele Melazzini, Francesco Zurlo

IASDR Conference Series

Despite the growing popularity of Design Thinking (DT) as a catalyst for organisational innovation, agility, and user-centred transformation, its actual adoption often remains superficial, fragmented, or symbolic. This study presents a systematic literature review of 64 peer-reviewed publications, aiming to identify, categorise, and interpret the key barriers to DT implementation in organisational contexts. Findings reveal that resistance to DT is rooted not merely in technical or procedural limitations, but in deeper organisational structures, cultures, and mental models. Through thematic synthesis, four recurring macro-barriers are identified: (1) uncertainty induced by change, (2) leadership-related constraints, (3) incompatibility of approaches and languages, and …

From Jugaad To Generative Ai: A Framework For Culturally Responsive Human-Centered Ai, Nidhi Singh Rathore, Shreya Thakkar

IASDR Conference Series

Contemporary generative AI tools exhibit systematic biases rooted in their Anglo-American development context and training data, prioritizing Global North perspectives in design and implementation. Drawing on jugaad—an Indian approach to resourceful problem-solving—this paper critically evaluates how AI solutions disconnected from local contexts perpetuate technological Through a mixed-methods study involving 52 participants across workshops, systematic AI testing with over 300 images, and expert discussions, the authors compare human and AI responses to identical problem-solving scenarios. Our findings reveal stark differences: 100% of human solutions considered environmental and cultural contexts while 90% of AI solutions ignored these factors. Human participants demonstrated contextual …

Ai As A Healing Companion: Exploring Chatbot Design Strategies For In Nurturing Adolescent Emotional Well-Being, Jiajing Yu

IASDR Conference Series

China Northeast Forestry University Emerging research indicates that chatbot-human interaction may psychologically heal adolescents, yet the ongoing healing processes and mechanisms remain under explored. This study investigates how healing effects evolve in sustained chatbot use and how interaction design can enhance outcomes for adolescents. Using the “Mood Talker” chatbot, an AI chatbot system featuring a consistent anthropomorphic character, we recruited 12 adolescents to conduct semi-structured interviews. Guided by social penetration theory, and thematic analysis revealed a stage-dependent model of healing impacts and interaction frequency patterns, informing design strategies to mitigate negative effects. This study advances understanding of digital companionship and …

The Emergence Of Cultural Signals In Typographic Systems, César Arturo Puertas, Juan Alfonso De La Ros

IASDR Conference Series

This paper explores how through visual analysis of contemporary design of typographic systems in Colombia, it is possible to create a custom framework for clustering and analysis to help recognize the possible emergence of cultural signals of colonised communities and cultural groups. Based on that framework we described these signals in four categories: Abstracted indigenous heritage (cultural revival); hybrid graphic vernacular (vernacular typography); Indigenous linguistic forms (direct linguistic revival); and hybrid cultural abstraction (indirect linguistic revival). We argue that local/regional type design and typography are increasingly serving as a medium of cultural resistance (intentional or unintentional), where designers engage with …

Hauntological Speculation Device: Designing Lost Futures With Design Students And Generative Ai To Explore Alternative Socio-Technological Scenarios, Pedro Álvarez, José Tomás Labbé

IASDR Conference Series

This paper explores haunt ological speculation as an innovative approach to Speculative Design in undergraduate design education. While Speculative Design methodologies have gained prominence in design curricula, they often struggle to imagine future scenarios beyond apocalyptic narratives, leading to a form of "imaginative paralysis." To address this challenge, we integrate "hauntology" into Design epi stem ologies. Hauntology expands ontological frameworks by incorporating "the presence of absences"—events that could have occurred but did not materialize—as factors shaping the present, thereby broadening possibilities for imagining and designing futures beyond dominant contemporary logics. We present two case studies of "haunt ological speculation exercises" …

Integrating Ar And Concept Mapping In A User-Centered Vocabulary Learning App: Design And Usability Evaluation, Shou-Fang Liu, An Yu Su, Sheng Fei Chien, Yi Chieh Wu

IASDR Conference Series

This study aims to enhance English vocabulary learning effectiveness and learner motivation by integrating user experience design methods with educational technology strategies. Using the User Journey Map, the study explored learners’ pain points and needs during the English learning process. These insights were translated into concrete design requirements through the Quality Function Deployment, leading to the development of a prototype incorporating Augmented Reality (AR) interaction and Concept Mapping Method (CMM). The User Usability Scale revealed that users rated the system as moderately high in intuitive ness and fluency. The Concept Mapping Learning Attitude Scale further indicated that learners perceived the …

Aigc+ Design Empowerment For Value Reconstruction And Production-Factor Reconfiguration In Rural Handicrafts: The Case Of "Prosperous Yongning, Meijun Liu, Lisi You, Qiang Liu

IASDR Conference Series

Against the backdrop of rapid industrialization, urbanization, and shifting consumer preferences, traditional rural handicrafts in China are undergoing a profound crisis of value. Although design interventions and digital integration have brought new opportunities to rural handicrafts, their sustainable revitalization still faces fundamental challenges. This study employs a first-principles analytical approach to deconstruct these challenges into two core dimensions: perceived value (aesthetic, emotional, and utilitarian) and production factors (labor, capital, and technology). Using the feather painting craft of Sheng shi ying Village in Yanqing District, Beijing, as a case study, we conducted an empowerment experiment that integrates Generative Artificial Intelligence (AIGC) …

Beyond Abstraction: How Cultural Metaphors Ground Participatory Futures In Bandung's Grassroots And Academia, Muhammad Fajrur Rahmat, Prananda Luffiansyah Malasan, Chihiro Sato, Masa Inakage

IASDR Conference Series

This study explores how cultural metaphors move participatory futures beyond abstraction, proposing the Resonance Framework to ground community-based policy design in Bandung’s community. By integrating metaphors of tradition, everyday ness, and urban ecology, the framework empowers grassroots communities and academic stakeholders to translate intangible futures into concrete, culturally resonant policies. Structured around five elements—Metaphors of Cultural Heritage, Interaction Levels, Interconnection Layers, Diegetic Prototyping, and Tactile Prototyping—the approach operational izes futures thinking through workshops using asset mapping, horizon framing, futures card games, and everyday-object prototyping. Findings from higher education settings demonstrate how metaphors bridge speculative futures and actionable policies, offering a …

Cognitive-Affective Dynamics In Ai Ehmi: Adaptive Language Strategy For Emotion And Attention Modulation, Yujie Hu, Qiyue Cao, Youle Liu, Shanhao Fang, Hanling Zhang

IASDR Conference Series

In the interactions between human and AI agents, the language strategies of the agent play a crucial role in shaping user perception and overall user experience. While language strategies have been shown to influence users’ emotions in various application domains, limited research has examined their effects in driving contexts, particularly in interactions based on external human–machine interfaces (eHMIs). In practical traffic environments, eHMIs serve as a key communication channel through which autonomous vehicle agents convey information to other road users. This study introduces an eHMI language strategy framework based on text and emoji that enables autonomous agents to express distinct …

Social Support-Informed Inclusive Design: Research On Assistive System Design For Individuals With Social Anxiety Disorder, Xuefei Lu, Ming Cao

IASDR Conference Series

This research presents an intelligent approach to designing an inclusive social assistance systemy. The study employs a combination of literature analysis, in-depth interviews, and quantitative surveys to explore user needs. First, the KANO model was used to identify three attributes—essential, expected, and delightful—which are mapped onto five dimensions of social support: contextual and subjective, emotional and cultural, tools, information, and evaluation support. Second, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to quantify and rank these needs, thereby leading to the development of a social support system architecture informed by social support theory and generating design strategies. This study proposes a …