Digital Commons Network^™

Dynamic Entropy Bounding: A Fluid-Dynamic Telemetry Framework For High-Velocity Transformer Alignment, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

The critical barrier to achieving a Type 1 civilization infrastructure is network fragmentation driven by localized, high-friction socio-political and linguistic tribalism. Contemporary Artificial Intelligence (AI) alignment strategies exacerbate this fragmentation by enforcing static, anthropomorphic reinforcement frameworks (RLHF) that degrade rapidly under multi-agent scaling. This technical disclosure introduces a fluid-dynamic alternative: Dynamic Entropy Bounding (DEB).

By framing a distributed communication network as a continuous, viscoelastic substrate experiencing real-time information pressure, we establish an automated operational channel—the Surfing Zone. This framework discards subjective linguistic filtering in favor of objective, real-time Shannon Entropy (\(H_{obs}\)) tracking at the pre-softmax layer.

Systemic polarization and stagnation …

Cnkg: Harnessing Large Language Models For Cognitive Neuroscience Knowledge Graph Construction, Ali Sarabadani, Kheirollah Rahsepar Fard, Hamid Dalvand

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Textual resources are among the most valuable sources of information in cognitive neuroscience (CN) for understanding and investigating brain activity and cognitive processes. Extracting and constructing knowledge graphs (KGs) from these texts can facilitate medical research by providing deeper insights into neurological diseases and brain function. In recent years, the use of large language models (LLMs) in natural language processing (NLP) has become increasingly widespread, significantly enhancing the extraction of meaningful information from large volumes of text. This study proposes a novel approach for constructing and evaluating a specialized knowledge graph, termed the cognitive neuroscience knowledge graph (CNKG), from scientific …

Integrative Data Inform The Taxonomy Of Salix: A Case Study Of S. Purpurea L. Subsp. Leucodermis Yalt. (Salicaceae) From Türkiye, Peli̇n Acar, Yasi̇n Kaya, Dudu Özlem Mavi̇ İdman, Irina V. Belyaeva

Turkish Journal of Botany

The study of endemic species provides valuable perspectives on evolutionary history and future targets for their conservation. Salix purpurea L. subsp. leucodermis Yalt., which is endemic to Sandras Mountain in Türkiye, was analysed using morphological, anatomical, and genomic methods. This study presents the first draft short-read sequence of S. purpurea subsp. leucodermis, providing preliminary genomic evidence of differentiation from related taxa. This study also revealed a specific combination of anatomical features (prominent calcium oxalate crystals and amphistomatous leaves) and morphological characteristics (striated wood, glabrous buds, absence of stipules) that differentiate the taxon in question from the closely related species S. …

Beyond Static Measures: The Predictive Validity And Classification Accuracy Of A Dynamic Assessment Of Decoding For Early Elementary, Bridgett Bakula

Theses and Dissertations

Early and accurate identification of children at risk for reading difficulty is essential to prevent long-term academic failure, yet traditional static assessments often struggle to distinguish between a true reading disorder and a lack of prior instruction. This is particularly evident in the early grades, where floor effects and cultural/linguistic biases limit the classification accuracy of traditional screeners. This study investigated the predictive validity and structural utility of the modifiability index of a dynamic assessment (DA) of decoding, administered in kindergarten. Unlike static measures that evaluate "already actualized" knowledge, DA measures a student's learning potential and modifiability, or the capacity …

Distributed Impressions: How Multiple Minds Come Together To Shape Person Perception, Lindsey J. Tepfer

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Moments after perceiving another person, we immediately infer a wealth of information about them. Despite the complexities within our social environments, we distill an incredible magnitude of details available to us into compressed representations of other people’s minds and mannerisms. Yet research has focused largely on mapping isolated stimuli—divorced from its messy context—to the spontaneous impressions they provoke. As a result, there are many unanswered questions about how our judgments are influenced by the rich and noisy social world we inhabit. Here, I’ve leveraged two paradigms to investigate how impression formation and updating may operate when the constraints of the …

Llm-As-A-Judge For Infection Prevention And Control And Antimicrobial Resistance Impact: Comparing Three Main Llms Vs. Human Experts' Assessment, Marcello Di Pumpo, Leonardo Villani, Maria Rosaria Gualano, Danilo Buonsenso, Francesca Raffaelli, Daniele Donà, Patrizia Laurenti, Vittorio Maio, Stefania Boccia, Walter Ricciardi

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used to generate health information, yet their reliability as evaluators remains unclear. This study investigated the feasibility of an LLM-as-a-judge methodology in the context of infection prevention and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), comparing automated ratings with human expert benchmarks.

METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of an expert-annotated dataset of health messages. Three leading LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) independently evaluated the same messages using an adapted DISCERN tool across five domains: information reliability, quality, AMR impact, persuasiveness, and overall score. We utilized descriptive statistics, intra-rater reliability tests, and mixed-effects ordinal regression to analyze divergence …

Beyond Preparation: Spiritual And Communal Formation For Urban Catholic School Teachers, Audrey A. Friedman, Myra Rosen-Reynoso, Charles T. Cownie Iii, Maria A. Moreno Vera, Cristina J. Hunter Phd

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

Urban Catholic schools face persistent challenges in teacher recruitment and retention, intensified by limited resources, demanding workloads, and structural inequities. Yet, many educators remain committed, sustained by spiritual identity, communal belonging, and mission‑driven work. This qualitative study examines how urban Catholic school teachers understand formation—intellectually, emotionally, socially, and spiritually—and the formative practices that support them. Drawing on interviews with sixteen urban Catholic school teachers, this study uses Palmer’s framework of holistic formation to analyze how faith-based practices, workplace spirituality, community, and solidarity shape teachers’ professional identities and well‑being. Findings reveal that teachers view formation as both professional preparation and …

What Works For Dyslexia Training? A Comparative Study Of Three Professional Development Approaches For Elementary General Education Teachers, Kayla Steltenkamp

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Teachers are the foundational component of the educational system, yet many enter the classroom without adequate knowledge of dyslexia -- a specific learning disability affecting up to 17.5% of the student population. Despite growing legislative mandates requiring teacher training on dyslexia, recent research confirms that misconceptions and knowledge gaps persist among both preservice and inservice teachers, and the question of which professional development models most effectively address those gaps remains largely unanswered. This study compared three two-hour professional development approaches -- simulation only, lecture only, and a mixed-method combining both -- using a quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test design with 58 elementary general …

Trustworthiness As Inferential Accountability In Qualitative Research, Aamir Rashid, Rizwana Rasheed

Publications and Research

Trustworthiness is a cornerstone of qualitative research rigor, yet it is frequently operationalized as a procedural checklist rather than as a coherent logic for justifying qualitative knowledge claims. As a result, qualitative studies often demonstrate methodological diligence without fully explicating how empirical materials warrant the interpretations advanced or how the scope of those interpretations should be bounded. The purpose of this paper is to reconceptualize trustworthiness as inferential accountability, understood as a governing evaluative principle for qualitative inquiry that provides a coherent and contemporary framework for the justification, evaluation, and delimitation of qualitative claims. The paper adopts a conceptual and …

Language Learner To Author: Ai-Assisted Children's Book And Theme Song Creation For Community Outreach, Hea Young Chun

Generative AI Teaching Activities

Students will use AI tools to create original children's storybooks, complete with accompanying theme songs, and subsequently present their finished works to students at local schools.

Genedit: A Context-Aware Equity, Diversity And Inclusion Principles Integration Tool For Software Engineering Education, Chetan Arora, Ajanie Kodagoda Bammanna Arachchige, Jinchun Du, Muhammad Aamir Cheema, Aster Cosmos, Antonette Shibani, Vasudha Malhotra, Naeem Janjua, Afaq Shah

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is widely acknowledged as essential in software engineering (SE), yet day-to-day integration into teaching remains uncommon due to time pressures, low instructor confidence, and fragmented resources. We present GenEDIt, a purpose-built, LLM-backed chatbot that helps educators weave EDI into SE education artefacts without altering intended learning outcomes. Unlike generic chat interfaces, GenEDIt provides a tailored UI and workflow, and embeds retrieval over a vetted EDI knowledge base. The tool supports five educator-centred modes - (1) methods for integrating EDI into current activities; (2) examples/datasets; (3) EDI-integrated assessments and rubrics; (4) reflective prompts; and (5) rapid …

Nurses’ Knowledge And Practices Regarding Perioperative Patient Safety Measures Provided For Cardiac Patients, Marwa G. Abouheiba

Nursing

Abstract: Background: Perioperative patient safety is a fundamental component of high-quality surgical care, particularly for cardiac patients who are highly vulnerable to preventable adverse events throughout the surgical continuum. Nurses play a pivotal role in ensuring patient safety through the implementation of evidence-based perioperative safety measures. However, variations in nurses' knowledge and clinical practice may compromise the consistent delivery of safe perioperative care. Aim: This study aimed to assess nurses' knowledge and practices regarding perioperative patient safety measures provided to cardiac surgical patients. Methods: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenience sample of 89 nurses working in …

Perpetual Purgatory: Lamennais's Religious Influence On The Persona And Music Of Franz Liszt, Matthew Peter Wood

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

For generations, musicological consensus has treated Liszt’s signature technique of “thematic transformation” as musical form born out of structural and sonic experimentation. This study argues that the impetus for Liszt to create his signature compositional device of thematic transformation proceeds from the influence of the post-Revolutionary liberal Catholicism of the French Abbé Félicité de Lamennais. By exploring the historical, cultural, and artistic intersections between Lamennais’s texts and Liszt’s manuscripts, this dissertation builds on existing scholarship to replace a conventional analysis of thematic transformation with new religio-philosophical analytical lens through which to view Liszt’s most significant contribution to the historical trajectory …

Law And The Social Field, Rachid Filali Meknassi

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

Social law is arguably the legal discipline that most explicitly refers to society, yet this very designation is doubly misleading—first because of the nature of law's object, and second because of the plurality of meanings carried by the term "social." Jurists consistently stress that "social law" cannot designate a branch of law devoted to studying society, as commercial law studies merchants and commercial acts, since all law is defined by reference to the rules governing relations within society. Likewise, because "social" is commonly opposed to "economic," the term is often misused to denote moral or humanitarian action, evoking organized forms …

What I Brought With Me: Bilingualism, Resistance, And Identity In U.S. Doctoral Education, Xiao Hu

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

In U.S. higher education, the bilingualism of international doctoral students is often reduced to a measure of English deficiency rather than recognized as a linguistic and cultural resource. Drawing on Anzaldúa's borderlands theory, this autoethnographic study examines the lived experiences of a female Chinese international doctoral student negotiating bilingual identity in U.S. academia. Using personal journals, written correspondence, field notes, and memories of significant encounters as data, this inquiry explores three dimensions of experience: the ways bilingual identity is misread or appropriated in academic spaces; the relationships that offered recognition and belonging; and the cultural and pedagogical knowledge that bilingualism …

Multidimensional And Burgeoning Leadership: Literacy And Multilingualism, Emily Howell, Hazel Vega, Lindsey W. Rowe, Katie M. Crook, C.C. Bates, Kavita Mittapalli, Amlan Banerjee

Publications

This design-based research study worked with 25 teachers with specialized early literacy training. Researchers investigated the impact of professional development advancing their multilingual learner (ML), literacy, and leadership capacity, addressing gaps in the research merging the fields of literacy, multilingual instruction, and leadership. Spanning two years of both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis including teacher, student, and district surveys, teacher logs, research logs, and teacher interviews, the researchers capture the iterative nature of the needs of teacher professional development to serve MLs. The researchers describe the needs of teachers for professional development, the micro modifications made to adapt …

A Quantitative Content Analysis Of Media Framing Of Illegal Mining In Ghana, Ebenezer Ato Kwamena Aidoo, Patrick Ansah, Fredrick Daoyenikye, Maame Aba Afful

Faculty Scholarship

Illegal mining in Ghana has attracted considerable public and policy attention due to its far-reaching environmental, social, and health consequences. Our study examines how Ghanaian news media frame illegal mining, the tone of media coverage, and the stakeholders represented in news narratives. Using a quantitative content analysis, 800 news articles were sampled from six widely read media outlets, Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, TV3 Ghana, GTV, Joy FM, and Citi Newsroom. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was employed to examine differences in framing, tone, and stakeholder representation across outlets. Findings indicate that news organizations emphasize distinct frames, resulting in varied …

Feasibility Study Of An Artificial Intelligence Chatbot-Powered Cognitive-Behavioral Lifestyle Modification Program, Evans Forman, Charlotte Hagerman, Asher Hong, Zhuoran Huang, Hannah Mccausland, Jasmine Sun, Lauren Taylor, Meghan Butryn, Preetha Chatterjee, Ramtin Ehsani, Nawal Syed

Department of Family & Community Medicine Faculty Papers

Background: Approximately 2 billion adults seek lifestyle modification to improve their health and well-being. However, because of cost and access barriers, only a tiny fraction receive gold-standard lifestyle modification programs led by trained coaches. Digital programs without human coaches are more disseminable but have limited efficacy. Recent advances in large language model (LLM) AI chatbots have the potential to revolutionize digital programs by emulating human coaches, offering a safe, low-cost, and scalable lifestyle modification intervention. Yet, no studies have developed and tested such a program. Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and user engagement of a new …

Notes From The Field - Conference Proceedings, Summer Fellows 2025, Center For Latin American, Caribbean, And Latino Studies (Clacls)

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

CLACLS presents proceedings papers from the third CLACLS Summer Fellows Showcase Conference, held on November 12, 2025.

The daylong event showcased the research endeavors of fourteen Summer Fellows, who offered succinct presentations on their projects funded by the CLACLS Summer fellowship. The included three panels: “Feminist and Queer Critical Perspectives”, “Language, Archive and Power”, “Social Movements and Political Imaginations.”

General Education Primary Teachers’ Perspectives Of Inclusive Practices To Engage Students With Special Educational Needs, Zhen Rolle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed through this study was that general education primary teachers (GEPTs) struggled to engage students with special educational needs (SEN) in Bahamian primary inclusive classrooms (BPICs). The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate GEPTs’ perspectives on their successes, challenges, and additional training needed to engage students with SEN in BPICs. This study was guided by universal design for learning, pioneered by Rose and Meyer, which supported an inclusive academic environment that accommodated students with SEN. For this basic qualitative design, data were collected from semistructured interviews with 10 GEPTs. Through thematic analysis, the following five themes …

Sensing Freedom: Service User Perspectives Of Sensory Processing And Occupational Participation In A Forensic Mental Health Inpatient Setting – A Qualitative Study, Elana Moore, Rosi Raine, Alison Warren, Karen Beaulieu

School of Health Professions

Sensory processing shapes how people respond to environmental stimuli, influencing their ability to regulate themselves, make choices and participate in activities. Evidence indicates that people with mental health problems often experience sensory-processing difficulties that reduce rehabilitation participation. Secure forensic mental health settings are designed to manage behaviours that challenge; however, research indicates the physical environment not only limits opportunities for meaningful participation in rehabilitation activities but may also influence sensory experiences. Despite the interplay between the secure environment, sensory processing and participation, these concepts are seldom discussed in the literature. This qualitative study aimed to explore service users’ experience of …

Analisis Respon Siswa Berdasarkan Asesmen Berbasis Taksonomi Solo (Structure Of The Observed Learning Outcome) Pada Materi Perubahan Fisika Dan Kimia, Nurul Amaliyah, Imraatul Mufidah, Dyne Rizki Puspitasari, Siti Zubaidah

Journal of Innovation and Teacher Professionalism

This study aimed to describe the level of seventh-grade students' understanding of physical and chemical changes through the analysis of their responses using a SOLO taxonomy-based assessment. The study employed a qualitative descriptive approach, with lesson implementation conducted through the Lesson Study stages of plan, do, and see. The participants were 31 seventh-grade students of SMP Laboratorium Universitas Negeri Malang. Data were collected from students' written responses to four essay questions representing the unistructural, multistructural, relational, and extended abstract levels of the SOLO taxonomy and were analyzed descriptively. The results showed that most students were at the …

How Can Accessibility In Computing Education Be Improved Through Hci Research?, Dr David Santandreu Calonge, Linda Smail, Firuz Kamalov, Dima Yousef, Melody Sylvain

All Works

Accessibility - accommodation of diverse sensory, motor, cognitive, and linguistic needs - remains critically underrepresented in computing education despite broad societal acknowledgment of its importance. This position paper argues that systemic inequities and persistent barriers to integrating accessibility and inclusion - ranging from curricular inertia to limited faculty capacity - require new methodological approaches drawn from Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research. HCI provides tested frameworks that pair participatory design with inclusive pedagogy, guided by empirical evaluation to drive systemic change. We identify three key areas where HCI can advance accessibility education: (1) embedding accessibility within core curricula through design-based pedagogies, (2) …

Diplomacy Country Desk Updates, Susan Craig

Generative AI Teaching Activities

Students will use the gem/activity through the semester to stay up-to-date on their assigned country desk for a graduate level course on diplomacy.

Social Determinants And Policy Implications Of Lived Experiences Of Multidimensional Poverty In Nigeria, Oluwatayo David Aduloju

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Poverty disproportionately affects rural populations, women, and children and is shaped by structural inequalities in access to resources and opportunities, reinforcing cycles of disadvantage. Although existing literature provides extensive quantitative evidence on multidimensional poverty, there remains a limited qualitative understanding of how these deprivations are experienced at the household level. This generic qualitative study addressed this gap by examining the lived experiences of heads of households in Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Nigeria, where poverty incidence and intensity are among the highest nationally. Drawing on Sen’s capability theory, Atkinson’s multidimensional poverty framework, and the social determinants of health model, this study …

Technical Disclosure: A Multi-Variable, Object-Oriented Database Schema And Api Protocol For Ai-Guided, Performance-Based Curriculum Routing, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This technical disclosure details the architecture for an automated, multi-variable, object-oriented data schema and Application Programming Interface (API) designed to execute performance-based curriculum routing without age-segregated grade boundaries. The system structures diverse academic, kinetic, and technical disciplines into standardized, interoperable data objects called Discipline Blueprints. Each blueprint enforces a non-linear advancement pipeline governed by two immutable checkpoints: a zero-assist algorithmic velocity sprint and a physical/systemic product generation milestone. A localized machine learning agent parses real-time telemetry from user interactions, dynamically matching individual cognitive profiles against localized workforce shortages and trade vectors to prevent network drop-out. Crucially, the architecture incorporates an …

From Ai To Alien(S): Universal Alignment Principles And The Architecture Of Inter-Species Communication Metrics, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

The critical bottleneck in both contemporary Artificial Intelligence (AI) alignment and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is anthropomorphic bias. Modern AI alignment models rely heavily on human linguistic structures, reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), and qualitative ethical frameworks. These models degrade rapidly when scaled to non-human or multi-agent networks. Similarly, traditional SETI protocols look for messages encoded in cultural or linguistic formats that assume shared biological or social evolutionary tracks.

This paper introduces a foundational framework for AI-Alien Alignment Principles (AAAP). By treating communication as a problem of non-linear dynamical systems integration, this model establishes Topology, Vector Calculus, …

Negotiating Poetic And Musical Structure: The Adaptation Of Pupuh Sinom In Tembang Sunda Cianjuran, Mustika Iman Zakaria Sudrajat, Yosep Nurdjaman Alamsyah

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

In the context of Sundanese culture, pupuh is a literary form that has static rules. As a literary form, pupuh is often used as a guide for composing song lyrics in Sundanese traditional vocal art, thereby leading to interactions with musical elements. In this case, this interaction happens to the pupuh Sinom, as mentioned in the lyrics of the tembang Sunda cianjuran song entitled Sinom Degung and Gawil Tarik. In this context, a negotiation occurs between the conventions of the pupuh Sinom and the song's melody, ultimately leading to the pupuh Sinom's adaptation. Using a descriptive analysis approach, …

Risk, Trust, And Medical Decision-Making: Perinatal Care Among Patients And Providers In South Florida, Isabella Viera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This thesis examines how structural inequality shapes the experience of perinatal care among pregnant individuals and healthcare providers in South Florida, with particular attention to how risk is perceived and communicated, how trust between patients and providers is built or eroded, and how medical decision-making unfolds under conditions of structural vulnerability. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork conducted between October 2025 and April 2026, supplemented by a quantitative analysis of low-birth-weight rates across all 67 Florida counties, the project analyzes how risk is defined, communicated, and lived across community-based prenatal organizations, online educational platforms, and in-depth provider and patient interviews. The …

Um–Protoshare: Unet-Guided, Multi-Scale Shared Prototypes For Interpretable Brain Tumour Classification Using Multi-Sequence 3d Mri, Ali Golbaf, Vivek Singh, Swen Gaudl, Emmanuel Ifeachor

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Deep learning shows strong promise in brain tumour classification using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), although limited interpretability constrains clinical translation. Most interpretability methods are post-hoc and yield visual attribution maps that are only weakly connected to the decision process. Clinicians prefer decisions built from evidence they can recognise and verify on MRI, rather than post-hoc explanations. Case-based models embed reasoning by comparing image evidence with learned prototypes, yielding “this looks like that” rationales at decision time and mirroring clinical reasoning. Building on this paradigm, we introduce UM–ProtoShare, which compares the input multi-sequence 3D brain MRI with a bank of shared, …