Digital Commons Network^™

Exploiting Chaotic Antenna Arrays For Rf Fingerprint Authentication And Physical Layer Security In Wireless Communications, Joshua K. Thomas Ranstrom

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modern wireless networks support a wide range of applications including consumer devices, healthcare monitoring, industrial automation, smart grids, and military platforms, in which transmitted information is often highly sensitive and subject to stringent confidentiality and integrity requirements. As wireless communication operates over an open broadcast medium it exposes systems to physical layer (PHY) threats such as eavesdropping, in which an adversary passively intercepts transmitted information, and spoofing, in which a forged transmission misleads the receiver about device identity. Cryptographic defenses address both threats but require computational assumptions and key management infrastructure that may not scale to dense or resource-constrained deployments. …

Implementing A Brief Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Informed Skills Group In A County Jail: A Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding Feasibility And Acceptability, Meaghan E. Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Correctional institutions unintentionally function as one of the largest mental health providers in the country. Short-term facilities, like jails, present an opportunity to provide mental health care to those who will quickly reenter our communities. Despite this, evidence-based practices and treatments in correctional settings have been implemented at slower rates compared to community settings and mental health institutions. Regulating emotions, refraining from impulsive maladaptive behavior, and communicating effectively are considered primary treatment needs among jail inmates. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993) can address these deficits and is commonly implemented in a skills training group format in correctional settings; however, …

It’S Not Me, It’S U(Niversity): A Longitudinal Study Of The First-Generation Graduate Student Experience Navigating Privacy And Identity During Socialization, Melissa L. Mccormick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This longitudinal study examines the experiences of first-generation graduate students (FGGS; students whose parent(s) do not hold a 4-year undergraduate degree). Specifically, it considers how FGGS manage their private information throughout the first year of their graduate program, and how the intersection of their FGGS status with other aspects of their identity may shape those experiences (e.g. the overlapping of FGGS status, race, and socioeconomic status). While there is substantial research on the first-generation student experience at an undergraduate level, FGGS have largely been left out of the conversation (exception: Levin, 2022). Guided by theories of organizational socialization (Jablin, 1985), …

Clickstream Behavioral Pattern Analysis For Employee Knowledge Gap Inference In Enterprise Software, Kenneth Davis

Defensive Publications Series

Field Computer-implemented systems for detecting employee knowledge deficits by analyzing clickstream and workflow interaction patterns within enterprise software applications, without processing any natural language communications or administering formal assessments. Background Employees who lack knowledge in a particular area exhibit distinctive behavioral patterns when interacting with enterprise software: they dwell longer on form fields they are uncertain about, access help documentation more frequently, avoid features they do not understand, and show higher randomness in their navigation. These patterns are observable from standard UI event telemetry. Technical Description The system captures UI events from instrumented enterprise applications. Each event contains: timestamp, employee_id, …

Implicit Task Performance Signal Analysis For Employee Knowledge Gap Inference, Kenneth Davis

Defensive Publications Series

Field Computer-implemented systems for detecting employee knowledge deficits from declining task-completion efficiency and elevated error rates in domain-specific workflows, without processing natural language communications or administering formal assessments. Background Employees who have knowledge gaps in a particular domain tend to complete tasks in that domain more slowly and with more errors over time. These implicit behavioral signals are available from standard enterprise system metrics but are not commonly used as inputs to knowledge management systems. The approach described here treats efficiency decline and error rate elevation as primary gap detection signals. Technical Description The system ingests task-completion metrics from enterprise …

Behavioral Feature Vector Drift Detection For Post-Remediation Knowledge Deficit Recurrence Monitoring, Kenneth Davis

Defensive Publications Series

Field Computer-implemented systems for detecting recurrence of previously remediated employee knowledge deficits. This publication describes an approach that uses behavioral feature vectors derived from user interaction patterns rather than semantic embeddings derived from natural language text. Background After an employee completes remediation for a knowledge deficit, organizations need to determine whether the same deficit comes back during subsequent work. One established approach compares dense semantic embeddings of text communications against stored vector fingerprints using cosine similarity. The approach described here operates on a fundamentally different input type: behavioral interaction patterns encoded as feature vectors, not semantic representations of language. Technical …

Shannon Entropy Workflow Analysis For Employee Knowledge Gap Inference, Kenneth Davis

Defensive Publications Series

Field Computer-implemented systems for detecting employee knowledge deficits by analyzing the entropy of user interface interaction patterns during enterprise software workflows. Background Employees who lack knowledge in a particular area tend to exhibit uncertainty when performing related tasks in enterprise software. This uncertainty shows up as non-linear navigation, backtracking, excessive pausing, and frequent help-documentation access. The approach described here quantifies this uncertainty using information-theoretic entropy measurement rather than analyzing what the employee says or how they score on assessments. Technical Description The system instruments enterprise UI workflows by injecting event listeners that capture a continuous stream of discrete UI events. …

Statistical Process Control With Cusum Charts For Post-Remediation Knowledge Deficit Recurrence Detection, Kenneth Davis

Defensive Publications Series

Field Computer-implemented systems for monitoring whether previously remediated employee knowledge deficits recur, using cumulative sum control charts applied to operational performance metrics rather than semantic embedding similarity. Background After remediation, organizations need to detect whether the same deficit returns. One approach stores vector embeddings and computes cosine similarity against incoming communications. The approach described here treats the employee's performance as a continuous signal and applies statistical process control methods borrowed from industrial quality management to detect shifts. Technical Description When a knowledge gap is marked as remediated, a snapshot service records the employee's relevant KPI baselines into a remediation_snapshot record …

Petri Net Conformance Checking For Knowledge Gap Detection From Enterprise Workflow Event Logs, Kenneth Davis

Defensive Publications Series

Field Computer-implemented systems for detecting employee knowledge deficits by analyzing conformance deviations between employee process execution patterns and expert-derived reference process models, using process mining algorithms on structured workflow event logs. Background Enterprise workflow systems generate detailed event logs recording every step an employee takes in a business process. When an employee repeatedly deviates from the expected process (skipping steps, adding unnecessary steps, executing steps out of order), this pattern can indicate a knowledge deficit in the underlying domain. The approach described here applies industrial process mining techniques to detect these deviations and attribute them to specific knowledge domains. Technical …

Graph Neural Network Structural Skill Gap Prediction Via Link Prediction On Employee-Skill-Task Graphs, Kenneth Davis

Defensive Publications Series

Field Computer-implemented systems for predicting employee knowledge deficits by analyzing the structural topology of an organizational skill dependency graph using graph neural networks. Background Traditional approaches to detecting employee knowledge gaps rely on analyzing what employees say (natural language processing) or how they score on assessments (threshold comparison). The approach described here predicts gaps from the structure of relationships between employees, skills, and tasks without processing any communications or administering any assessments. Technical Description The system constructs a multi-partite graph with three node types: employee nodes E, skill nodes S, and task nodes T. Edges connect employees to skills they …

Categorical Label Matching For Post-Remediation Knowledge Deficit Recurrence Monitoring, Kenneth Davis

Defensive Publications Series

Field

Computer-implemented systems for monitoring whether identified knowledge deficits recur after remediation. This publication describes an approach that uses categorical label comparison rather than dense vector embedding similarity computation.

Background

Once an employee completes remediation for a knowledge deficit, organizations want to know if the same deficit comes back. One way to do this is with embedding-based approaches that compute cosine similarity between dense vector representations of subsequent communications and stored gap fingerprints. The approach described here takes a different path: it compares classification labels rather than embedding vectors. The computational cost is much lower, though discrimination capability is reduced. …

Structured Assessment Score Gap Detection Without Natural Language Processing, Kenneth Davis

Defensive Publications Series

Field

Computer-implemented systems for detecting individual knowledge deficits in organizational workforces. This publication describes an approach based on structured assessment score analysis that does not require natural language processing of unstructured communications.

Background

Organizations routinely assess employee knowledge through structured instruments: multiple-choice quizzes, Likert-scale self-assessments, scored simulations, timed task completions. These instruments produce numerical score vectors. The scores can be analyzed computationally to surface knowledge deficits without ever touching a natural language processing pipeline.

Technical Description

The system receives structured assessment results. Each result contains numerical scores across predefined dimensions (for example, product accuracy scored 1 to 5, procedural compliance …

Transformational Leadership In Higher Education, Dr. Jewel Hale, Jr., Kristi Apostel

Tapestry: Journal of Research in Education

A crisis can highlight the critical need for resilient leadership within higher educational settings. Educational leaders encounter extraordinary difficulties, ranging from different learning options to prioritizing the well-being of both staff and students, necessitating flexible and innovative methods. By exploring how school leaders apply transformational techniques in actual educational environments, this article addresses the impact of the four I’s of transformational leadership, idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration, on building educator resiliency, sustaining school effectiveness, and promoting student achievement in higher education.

Silent Detonations: Redirecting Focus, Preserving Identity, And Leading Under The Weight Of Microaggressions, Ray Lavan

Tapestry: Journal of Research in Education

African American educational leaders consistently navigate racial microaggressions that challenge their focus, identity, and well-being. This study explores how these leaders deploy attention to manage the emotional weight of microaggressions in K-12 public school settings. Using Gross’s emotion regulation theory and Sue’s taxonomy of racial microaggressions, this qualitative phenomenological study examines how attentional deployment serves as both a shield and constraint. Data from the African American leaders reveal that silence, background processing, selective focus, and redirection to professional goals are common strategies to sustain composure. These strategies protect leaders in the moment but create emotional strain, identity conflict, and cumulative …

Fierce Leadership-Perspectives Of Black Women Educational Leaders: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Janice Taylor, Dianne Reed

Tapestry: Journal of Research in Education

The authors of this transcendental phenomenological study aimed to describe the lived experiences of Black women based on their perceptions, values, and beliefs about the complexities of leadership and the kind of leadership required to succeed in their respective roles, as educational leaders. This study was framed by the adaptive leadership theory. Adaptive leadership recognizes the need for leaders to stay flexible and resilient in fast-paced environments (Nelson & Squires, 2017). The three Black women leaders in this study were fierce adaptive leaders. The information acquired from this study is significant and highlights how Black women educational leaders developed the …

Being-Their-Ship: A Presence-Based Model Of Human-Centered Leadership, Ricky J. Martinez

Tapestry: Journal of Research in Education

Being-Their-Ship describes a presence-based approach to leadership grounded in lived experience rather than positional status. Developed over years of service in rural education, the framework highlights leadership as a relational practice grounded in steadiness, quiet support, and a willingness to take responsibility for others. Drawing from autoethnography and narrative inquiry, the framework articulates four interconnected dimensions: Caring-Ship, Loving-Ship, Load-Ship, and Being-There-Ship, that define leadership not through authority but through consistent action and cultural trust. Each dimension reflects how leadership emerges when individuals become a stabilizing presence, absorb burdens that others would otherwise carry, and remain committed to a community through …

Tolkien's Joyful Sorrow, The "Gift Of Tears" Of Medieval Mysticism, And John Donne's Sermon "Jesus Wept", Giovanni Carmine Costabile

Journal of Tolkien Research

At the field of Cormallen, the emotion of joy felt by the victorious Hobbits is so great that Sam wonders whether everything sad will come untrue. At the same time, their joy is so great that it is described as "poignant as grief". Dimitra Fimi in 2017 pointed out Tolkien's probable indebtedness to Christian Orthodox tradition of "charmolype", or joyful sorrow. Another relevant parallel of the intermingling of joy and sorrow is the eleventh century Norman monk and abbot John of Fécamp's notion of the "Gift of Tears" (Gratia lacrymarum) from God, which brings true happiness. …

Meteorological Monitoring With Real-Time Data Processing Using Uas, Htoo Poe Sar, Cal Coopmans, Sierra Young

Spring Runoff Conference

Background and Motivation 

• Agricultural water management requires information about crop water use and water consumption 
• Remote sensing methods are used to model and estimate environmental processes – but they require weather data 

Utah Prototype For Visualizing Vulnerabilities Downstream Of Dams, Courtney Flint, Michael Englert, Nicolas Holden

Spring Runoff Conference

The climate question 

• Overtopping = 1/3^rd of all dam failures (ASDSO) 
• Drought concerns and supply uncertainty motivate keeping reservoirs full 
• Overtopping likelier if extreme storm when reservoir full 
• Over much of the country the probability of the annual daily maximum rainfall > 100-year event and the preceding 30-day rainfall >10-year event are going up (Hwang & Lall 2024) 

Pong Revised: Network-Based Competitions Through Secure Socket Services, Noah T. Jennings, Destiny D. Hale, Jared D. Williams, Michael J. Lively-Scholz

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

We aim to provide a safe, thrilling, locally hosted, and educational multiplayer experience that can be quickly replicated in modern Capture The Flag (CTF) events.

Touching Lives With Empathy And Assurance In Medicine (Team): An Experiential Palliative Care Medicine Program For Medical Students, Kevin A. Barnes, Simone K. Schumaecker, Madeline L. Dunstan, Marissa C. Galicia-Castillo

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Palliative Care Medicine (PCM) education presents unique challenges as core competencies like communication, response to grief, and engaging seriously ill patients are difficult to teach through classroom instruction. Despite didactics and modules, many medical students report feeling underprepared for end-of-life discussions. Emerging evidence suggests that experiential learning, particularly one-on-one interactions with patients, reduces learner insecurity and deepens understanding of serious illness. The Touching Lives with Empathy and Assurance in Medicine (TEAM) program at Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital was developed to address this gap through a structured, longitudinal PCM experience. This project analyzes the program’s design, implementation, and early participation …

Beyond Words: Supporting Nonverbal Autistic Preschoolers With Exceptional Cognitive Abilities, Dawn Timms

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

This project explores how caregivers can support autistic preschoolers who are nonverbal yet demonstrate advanced cognitive abilities. Grounded in communication theory and neurodiversity‑affirming practice, it reframes communication as a shared, relational process that extends beyond spoken language. Drawing from interdisciplinary research, I created a strengths‑based caregiver communication toolkit that translates complex theory into clear, practical strategies families can use in everyday routines. This work honors the intelligence of children whose thinking outpaces their speech and equips caregivers with tools that make communication more accessible, responsive, and affirming.

Initial Development Of Cooperative Aerial And Ground Vehicles Experimental Testbed, Javier S. Robinson, Morad Nazari

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

Heterogeneous multi-agent systems represents a growing area of research in autonomous vehicles, which involves the real-time cooperation of vehicles operating under different roles or dynamical mod- els. While there is plenty of theoretical work, the existing experimental research focuses on cooperation between physically identical vehicles. This is likely because testing heterogeneous vehicles naturally in- volves more complicated dynamics and communication frameworks to ensure compatibility. The goal of the Cooperative Aerial and Ground Vehicles Experimental (CAGE) testbed is to develop an experimen- tal testbed that involves cooperation of two distinct vehicle models: multiple Crazyflie 2.1 quadcopter drones and at least one …

Office Of Criminal Justice Programs 2025 Addendum To Ocjp 2022 Five Year Strategic Plan, Tennessee. Department Of Finance & Administration.

Office of Criminal Justice Programs

No abstract provided.

Wearer Speech Authentication Using Correlated Acoustic And Body-Vibration Data, Tyler Gore, Aaron Rudolph, Sharath Ananth

Defensive Publications Series

Continuously-operating microphones on wearable computing devices (e.g., a smartwatch, augmented reality glasses, smart ring, etc.) may present challenges related to power consumption and user privacy, as well as difficulty in distinguishing a wearer's speech from ambient sounds. A disclosed technique can address these challenges through a bimodal sensing approach that concurrently analyzes air-conducted acoustic signals from a microphone and body-conducted kinetic signals from a motion sensor, such as an accelerometer or gyroscope. A processing system may perform a correlation analysis between features extracted from the acoustic data and the kinetic data to determine if a detected sound originates from the …

Contributors To Issue 8

Music & Musical Performance: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

The Way Of The Moderns: Six Perspectives On Modernism In Music, Edited By Antoni Pizà, Rob Haskins

Music & Musical Performance: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Afterword: On Reinstating An Arts Agenda In Our Schools, Leonard Slatkin

Music & Musical Performance: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Interlude. A Colloquy On The Future Of Music, Music Education, And The American Orchestra, Robert S. Freeman

Music & Musical Performance: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Chapter 2. Music Education And How To Save The American Orchestra, Robert S. Freeman

Music & Musical Performance: An International Journal

No abstract provided.