Digital Commons Network^™

Antenna-Based Sensors For Dielectric Characterization Of Materials, Hilary Scott Nkimbeng Cho

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research introduces antenna-based sensors for dielectric characterization aimed at overcoming the limitations of conventional microwave sensors. Although traditional microwave sensors are widely used for their noncontact operation, high sensitivity, and ability to penetrate various materials, they often face challenges such as large size and high-power consumption. To address these issues, antenna-based sensors are explored for their compactness, ease of fabrication, and flexible design adaptability across diverse sensing applications. An in-depth analysis of multiple antenna sensor configurations is conducted, followed by the design and development of high-performance sensing structures. A saw-tooth slot antenna sensor is developed for highly sensitive liquid …

High-Performance Circuit Manufacturing And Testing Exercises, Benjamin S. Keppers

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

An advanced demonstrator Printed Circuit Board (PCB) has been designed and implemented providing a framework for advancing students’ knowledge in hands-on PCB design and manufacturing process through industry recognized test coupons, stack ups, and transmission lines. Students are guided through several key aspects of design and simulation relating to manufacturing and qualifications. Manufacturing allows students to refine process development and analyze performance data with respect to qualification tests specified by Global Electronics Association standards. Results are then used to build a stackup model, and complete a design activity for calculating expected test results for a series of controlled impedance electrical …

First-Principles Investigation Of Quasi-One-Dimensional Van Der Waals Magnets For Advancing Low-Dimensional Spintronics, Alyssa Horne

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Van der Waals (vdW) magnets have been of great interest for advancing low- dimensional spintronics. A notable example is the quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) vdW CrSbSe₃, as it is composed of individual one-dimensional units that are held together by the vdW forces. Finding other Q1D vdW magnets that exhibit non-metallic behavior together with long range ferromagnetic ordering is critical in developing next generation spintronics. Here in, using first-principles density functional theory (DFT), we investigate the compositional effects on electronic and magnetic behavior of Cr_1–xMn_xSbSe₃ (x = 0, 0.5, 1). When 50% of Cr is replaced …

Beyond Satisfaction: Developing A Data Storytelling Evaluation Protocol For Stem Equity Program Assessment, Karen Colbert

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Higher education institutions routinely evaluate equity initiatives using measures of participation, engagement, and satisfaction. While these approaches provide useful information about program delivery, they offer limited insight into whether interventions change how participants understand institutional inequities. As a result, important dimensions of organizational learning and awareness often remain difficult to detect, particularly within STEM higher education environments where evaluation systems frequently emphasize measurable outputs over deeper indicators of change.

This dissertation examines how awareness-related outcomes can be identified, measured, and communicated within equity intervention contexts. Using a three-study design, the research first presents a systematic review of equity intervention evaluation …

Enhancing Coastal Vulnerability Assessments And Policy Impacts On Socioeconomic And Environmental Equity In Michigan's Great Lakes Communities, Esther N. Acheampong

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Accelerating shoreline erosion, fluctuating lake levels, and climate-induced hazards are transforming the Great Lakes’ freshwater coasts, exposing the limitations of static and inequitable management frameworks. This dissertation investigates how Michigan’s coastal governance systems produce and manage vulnerability along the Lake Michigan shoreline by integrating geospatial modeling, institutional policy analysis, and environmental justice theory. It argues that both physical processes and institutional designs co-determine patterns of exposure, protection, and equity. The research begins by developing a refined Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) tailored for lacustrine environments, applying it to Muskegon County to assess how shoreline change, armoring, and seasonality influence localized risk. …

Hpv Vaccination Learning Project: Final Report, Zaldy Collado, Homer Yabut, Jerome Cleofas, Rowalt Alibudbud, Marites Tiongco, Pilar Ramos-Jimenez, Cecile Lantican, Maria Margareth Geluz, Bernard Daniel Esseo, Jheraldo Salmasan, Sean Rex Iii

SDRC Projects

The HPV Vaccination Learning Project examined the factors that influence HPV vaccination among adolescent girls in selected Philippine communities. The research team adapted the BeSD survey and interview tools through two rounds of field testing that incorporated cognitive interviews. From August to October 2025, the team conducted 400 caregiver surveys and 120 in-depth interviews across 10 sites in Ilocos Norte, Abra, Santiago City in Isabela, and Navotas City. Interview participants included 30 parents, 30 adolescent girls, 30 teachers, and 30 barangay health workers.

Caregivers generally reported high awareness of the HPV vaccine and strong trust in health workers. Concerns about …

Conduct Of Formative Assessment Of T.E.E.N.Dig Kabataan! Kalusugan Ay Pahalagahan Project, And Development Of Manual Of Procedures (Mop): Final Report, Zaldy C. Collado, Axell M. Alterado, Czarina Labayo-Prieto, Anjo Benedict Fabellon, Rodolfo T. Anacan Jr.

SDRC Projects

This report presents the findings of an independent formative assessment of the T.E.E.N.Dig Kabataan! Kalusugan ay Pahalagahan Project, an adolescent health initiative of the Department of Health (DOH)–CALABARZON Center for Health Development. The assessment examined the project's relevance, implementation coherence, effectiveness, sustainability, and potential for expansion across the five provinces of CALABARZON. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combined policy and literature reviews, surveys involving 551 respondents, key informant interviews and focus group discussions with 93 participants, observations of 25 school- and community-based T.E.E.N.Dig Centers, and an analysis of adolescent health screening and referral records from 2023 to 2024.

Findings …

The Effects Of Physical Boundaries On The Complexity Of Resonance Processes In Finite-Size Dielectric Metasurfaces, Varsha Vijay Kumar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This work investigates dramatic effects produced by the presence of physical boundaries of finite-size metasurfaces, composed of identical cylindrical dielectric resonators without broken symmetry, on the complexity of their responses, observed at normal plane wave incidence, when constituent particles can support only dipolar Mie resonances. Owing to their periodicity, metasurfaces are conventionally analysed using their unit cells with periodic boundary conditions, so that their “finiteness” remains largely under-studied, even though all practical systems are finite.  We demonstrate the opportunities to excite in these finite structures extra high-quality resonance modes, quite distinct from the resonant modes in infinite structures and explain …

An Investigation Of The Motivations And Experiences Of Adults With Communication Disorders Attending A Student-Led Speech Pathology Clinic, Alana Filing

Theses : Honours

Introduction: Student-led clinics (SLCs) are recognised as a valuable initiative for developing student clinical competencies, expanding placement capacity, and delivering targeted health intervention within the community. Despite the recognised benefits of SLCs, there is a notable lack of research investigating adult clients’ motivations for engaging with these services and their experiences of attending SLCs, particularly within speech pathology (SP) contexts.

Objective: This study investigated factors influencing adult clients’ initial engagement with a SP SLC and explored their experience with the service.

Method: A qualitative descriptive design was employed to capture clients’ experiences. Data were collected through semi-structured, face-to-face (F2F) interviews …

Performing Speculations: Rehearsing Futures Through Speculative F(R)Ictions, Rumen Rachev

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

I call myself a performance-scholar. By this I mean that I research within the field of performance studies and enact performances as a creative practice. Often, when people hear the term ‘performance studies,’ they think that I study theatre on stage. Performance studies includes theatre but is a transdisciplinary field with roots in anthropology, cultural studies and ethnography to name a few. Emerging in the twentieth century from the intersections of these disciplines, it refused the rigidity of traditional academic boundaries and instead cultivated a dynamic, open-ended mode of engagement. Performance studies treats performance not only as an object of …

Media And Democracy, Claire Fitzpatrick, Kurt Sengul

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The relationship between media and democracy has become increasingly fractured in Australia. Foundational democratic ideals, once mutually reinforcing, such as freedom of information, transparency and accountability, pluralism and diversity of opinion, and public trust are showing signs of strain. Under mounting pressure from media commercialisation, information pollution, populism and polarisation, democracy faces what André Bächtiger and John Dryzek (2024) describe as ‘diabolical times.’ They argue that the current crisis of democracy is, at its core, a crisis of public communication.

The Holistic Healing Source Scholarly Anthology Volume 1 (2026), Kimberly Johnson

Psychology: Faculty Publications

• Breaking Generational Curses: The Struggle of Achieving Peace and Prosperity Coming from an Under-Resourced Family: Explores the biological and systemic barriers marginalized families face, offering strength-based frameworks for breaking cycles of poverty and trauma.

How To Build A Black Girl Traphouse:A Meditation And Manual For Black Feminist Survival In And Beyond The Academy, Loren Cahill, Brandyn-Dior Mckinley, Arianne Napier-White, Janae Peters, Jalisa Williams

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

By design, the university is a colonizing, racializing, and classed space, built through unequal structures that perpetuate systemic violence (Peña, 2022). When many marginalized folks enter any university setting, they are marred by projections, judgments, assumptions, and assaults by those who question their worth, ability, and competence (y Muhs, Niemann, González, & Harris, 2012). Discriminatory actions and attitudes endured by Black women in academia often make us severely angry as well as mentally andphysically ill. Many of us are so traumatized that we choose to leave and/or are pushed out of our jobs. Those of us who choose to stay …

The Thing About Stuff: Exploring Consumerism Through Contemporary Print, Collage And Self-Reflection, Alexandra Lee Cox

Theses and Dissertations

The Thing about Stuff is an exhibition of editioned prints and book forms that pertain to personal and societal contradictions under capitalism. I use a combination of collage, design, print, traditional research and writing to form a better understanding of my place in capitalism by redefining my participation in it. Historical and contemporary research in combination with self-reflection and artmaking assists in my exploration of consumerism through the lens of human-object relationships. This body of work translates my own material desire for an audience through intentional composition, limited color pallets and intentional display. The accompanying supportive statement focuses on the …

Ai Systems For Physicians: A Review From Socio-Technical And Human-Computer Interaction Perspectives, Wu Jiaqi Young, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is accelerating, yet successful implementations of physician-facing AI systems remain limited and uneven. This paper presents a literature review of 40 peer-reviewed studies published between November 2022 and November 2024, spanning clinical, technical, and human-computer interaction (HCI) domains. Anchored in a socio-technical perspective, the review examines our existing understanding of how technical design, user expertise, and organizational factors shape the effectiveness of AI systems in real-world clinical settings. Our analysis identifies two meta-themes: (1) context as a dynamic, multi-level influence that actively reshapes AI system behavior, and (2) trust as an emergent …

Design Principles For Customer-Engaging Digital Service Systems: An Action Research Study, Keng Leng Siau, Xiaofeng Chen, Xin Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Digital services represent a business approach employed by organizations to operate in the digital environment. However, systematic development guidelines for developing quality digital service systems are lacking in the literature. The authors identified four general challenges for developing and implementing customer-engaging digital service systems (CEDSS). By employing the method of canonical action research in a digital service system project, they derived 10 design principles for developing high-quality CEDSS. They empirically evaluated the design principles in the development project and through follow-up focus group sessions. The design principles provide applicable and actionable guidelines for the development of CEDSS.

Analysis Theories On Artificial Intelligence, Chatgpt, Data Science, And Metaverse: The Case Of Digital Medicine, Yin Yang, Xingyun Liu, Jorge Luis Cuyubamba Dominguez, Yuan Fang, Wen Xie, Bairong Shen, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Healthcare organizations are increasingly adopting digital technologies, with Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, and the metaverse driving significant advancements in smart healthcare. Al facilitates personalized medicine and efficient drug development, while Data Science enables predictive analytics and big data management, enhancing patient outcomes and healthcare quality. The metaverse introduces immersive training and telemedicine platforms, revolutionizing patient engagement and healthcare research. This study conducts' a scoping review of 6,171 articles, analyzing the transformational impact of AI, ChatGPT, Data Science, and the metaverse on healthcare. It highlights the benefits and risks of these technologies, identifies research gaps in their application within the …

Towards Secure Program Partitioning For Smart Contracts With Llm’S In-Context Learning, Ye Liu, Yuqing Niu, Chengyan Ma, Ruidong Han, Wei Ma, Yi Li, Debin Gao, David Lo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Smart contracts are highly susceptible to manipulation attacks due to the leakage of sensitive information. Addressing manipulation vulnerabilities is particularly challenging because they stem from inherent data confidentiality issues rather than straightforward implementation bugs. To tackle this by preventing sensitive information leakage, we present PARTITIONGPT, the first LLM-driven approach that combines static analysis with the in-context learning capabilities of large language models (LLMs) to partition smart contracts into critical (privileged) and normal codebases, guided by a few annotated sensitive data variables. We evaluated PARTITIONGPT on 18 annotated smart contracts containing 99 sensitive functions. The results demonstrate that PARTITIONGPT successfully generates …

Tempo: Training-Time Equilibration Of Modalities For Per-Sample Optimization In Multimodal Sentiment, Yi Zhao, Erik Cambria, Xiaosong E, Xianxun Zhu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Multimodal sentiment models often become over-reliant on the “easiest” modality (typically text), leading to three coupled sub-problems: (i) representation-level dominance, where weaker modalities contribute little to the fused representation; (ii) optimization-level dominance, where the strongest modality drives most gradient updates and suppresses learning in others; and (iii) robustness degradation, where audio or vision fail under noise or missing inputs at test time. We present TEMPO, a plug-and-play training framework that mitigates these issues by rebalancing learning pressure across modalities while leaving inference unchanged. For each mini-batch, TEMPO estimates relative modality strength and applies two synchronized, training-only controls: selective forward attenuation …

Purified Zero-Shot Sketch-Based Image Retrieval, Yang Zhou, Jingru Yang, Jin Wang, Kaixiang Huang, Guodong Lu, Shengfeng He

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Sketches, as a new solution in multimedia systems that can replace natural language, are characterized by sparse visual cues such as simple strokes that differ significantly from natural images containing complex elements such as background, foreground, and texture. This misalignment poses substantial challenges for zero-shot sketch-based image retrieval (ZS-SBIR). Prior approaches match sketches to full images and tend to overlook redundant elements in natural images, leading to model distraction and semantic ambiguity. To address this issue, we introduce a distraction-agnostic framework, purified cross-domain matching (PuXIM), which operates on a straightforward principle: masking and matching. We devise a visual-cross-linguistic (VxL) sampler …

Potent But Stealthy: Rethink Profile Pollution Against Sequential Recommendation Via Bi-Level Constrained Reinforcement Paradigm, Jiajie Su, Zihan Nan, Yunshan Ma, Xiaobo Xia, Xiaohua Feng, Weiming Liu, Xiang Chen, Xiaolin Zheng, Chaochao Chen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Sequential Recommenders, which exploit dynamic user intents through interaction sequences, are vulnerable to adversarial attacks. While existing attacks primarily rely on data poisoning, they require large-scale user access or fake profiles, thus lacking practicality. In this paper, we focus on the Profile Pollution Attack that subtly contaminates partial user interactions to induce targeted mispredictions. Previous PPA methods suffer from two limitations, i.e., i) overreliance on sequence horizon impact restricts fine-grained perturbations on item transitions, and ii) holistic modifications cause detectable distribution shifts. To address these challenges, we propose a constrained reinforcement driven attack CREAT that synergizes a bi-level optimization framework …

Bridging Synthetic And Real Routing Problems Via Llm-Guided Instance Generation And Progressive Adaptation, Jianghan Zhu, Yaoxin Wu, Zhuoyi Lin, Zhengyuan Zhang, Haiyan Yin, Zhiguang Cao, Senthilnath Jayavelu, Xiaoli Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Recent advances in Neural Combinatorial Optimization (NCO) methods have significantly improved the capability of neural solvers to handle synthetic routing instances. Nonetheless, existing neural solvers typically struggle to generalize effectively from synthetic, uniformly-distributed training data to real-world VRP scenarios, including widely recognized benchmark instances from TSPLib and CVRPLib. To bridge this generalization gap, we present Evolutionary Realistic Instance Synthesis (EvoReal), which leverages an evolutionary module guided by large language models (LLMs) to generate synthetic instances characterized by diverse and realistic structural patterns. Specifically, the evolutionary module produces synthetic instances whose structural attributes statistically mimics those observed in authentic real-world instances. …

Navigating School Re-Entry For Teen Mothers In Arua District, Uganda, Flavia Mane Eriku, Mweru Mwingi

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Uganda's 2020 Education Re-entry Policy supports teenage mothers to resume schooling after pregnancy, yet re-enrollment remains low. In a qualitative case study in two public secondary schools in Arua District, we identified key barriers to be inadequate guidance, stigma, discrimination, irregular attendance, limited knowledge and resources, and forced marriage. We recommend boosting teen mothers’ self-esteem through personalized counseling, mental health support, and community awareness of the value of education. Strengthening these areas can enhance policy implementation and help policymakers and practitioners improve monitoring and educational reintegration for teenage mothers.