Digital Commons Network^™

Securing Distributed Energy Resources: A Secure Gateway For Modbus To Solid Communication Using A Raspberry Pi, Donna R. Thakadipuram

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

As distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage systems become more common, securing their communications has become increasingly important. Many of these systems still rely on legacy communication protocols such as Modbus, which were not designed with cybersecurity in mind. This project addresses this challenge by developing a secure communication gateway that allows Modbus RTU devices to interface with decentralized Solid pods, which are personal data storage units that give users control over their information. This system is built on a Raspberry Pi 4, and it translates telemetry data from Modbus into a Solid-compatible …

Evaluation Of Two Methods Of Automated Adversary Emulation, Norah J. Rogers

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for selecting between two methods of Automated Adversary Emulation (AAE). As IT systems become increasingly complex and interconnected, adopting a zero-trust mindset of cybersecurity is essential. This mindset extends to cybersecurity testing, where a combined offensive/defensive approach ("purple teaming") can utilize adversary emulation to uncover vulnerabilities efficiently and effectively. While AAE is rapidly gaining traction across various industries and applications, there is limited guidance in the current literature on how to choose the optimal method for different testing scenarios. This paper defines two common approaches to AAE and examines eight …

Analyzing Unmanned Aircraft System (Uas) Incidents From Nasa Asrs Data Using Unsupervised Machine Learning, Kacey Haws

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) assembles voluntarily submitted aviation safety incident reports in their database to act on the information provided. This database allows the government, companies, and citizens to submit incident or situational reports to its database to discern recurring issues in the National Aviation System (NAS) so that the proper officials can act [1]. The narratives provided in these reports are text-based, resulting in large amounts of data to process. Previous work in the University of Arkansas Aerospace Systems Engineering and Transportation Laboratory (ASYST) lab involved parsing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) incident reports manually. While these …

Defend: A 1m Dataset Foundation Model For Tobacco Analysis, Matthew J. Shepard

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The study of tobacco imagery and marketing is a complex challenge that involves extremely large datasets. It also demands a detailed analysis of the so- cial context and specific types of tobacco being marketed. Despite major recent advances in computer vision and foundation model technology, this still poses a substantial challenge. Through the DEFEND model, we aspire to address these obstacles by integrating features such as multimodal learning, hierarchical under- standing, and feature extraction to develop a foundation model designed to handle the unique challenges of tobacco image analysis. One of the core elements of DE- FEND is the Tobacco …

Construction And Characterization Of An Rf Anechoic Range, Logan Gentry

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Anechoic RF ranges are electromagnetically quiet spaces intended to provide conditions suitable for testing and classifying electronic equipment. Typically, ranges are constructed indoors, which presents a number of design challenges related to room geometry, cost, and material selection. This report describes the creation of an indoor anechoic range intended for characterization of antennas. Furthermore, the range is characterized for performance across a wide range of discrete frequencies in the UHF band according to CISPR standards, resulting in the determination of a lower frequency limit at which the room performance begins to degrade. The characterization of this range agrees with far-field …

Towards A Configurable Platform For The Design And Evaluation Of P4 Network Systems And Applications, Joseph B. Wilkin

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Due to the difficulties of running experiments on production networks, researchers often use platforms such as network emulators and testbeds to test their applications before applying them to the real world. There exists a need for a networking platform of this sort designed specifically for running P4 code and for evaluating P4-based experiments. In this work, we design and develop such a platform for use within our lab group based on the Mininet network emulator and its corresponding graphical user interface, MiniEdit. We have successfully integrated the BMv2 software switch into MiniEdit to allow users to build topologies for running …

May 1, 2025 Rebel Guide, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreak Preparedness In The United States: A Scoping Review, Emma J. Gurley

Honors Theses

In order to gauge preparedness for an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in the United States, a scoping review of the current literature was conducted. This process involved (1) identifying the research question, (2) identifying studies relevant to the topic, (3) selecting studies for inclusion (4) charting the data, and (5) analyzing and reporting the final data. Ultimately, seventeen studies were deemed appropriate for examination within this scoping review and several key themes were identified. The results emphasize the importance of adopting a One Health approach, the key role that vaccination may well play in preventing the spread …

Spanish Language Accessibility Within Mississippi Courts, Meredith Dudte

Honors Theses

As the Hispanic population continues to rise in Mississippi, Spanish language access in the public sector is of increasing importance. This thesis will specifically explore Spanish language access in Mississippi courts, identifying strengths and weaknesses and recommending policy solutions based on the results. To gain a better understanding of court interpretation in Mississippi, I interviewed ten Spanish language court interpreters and two court clerks either working in Mississippi courts or courts in similar southern states. Responses highlighted two themes as strengths: the federal court interpreter test and compensation, four themes as weaknesses: compensation, standards, omissions, and dialects, and four themes …

Hashtags, Handcuffs, And Hush Money: Inequitable Application Of The Fourth Amendment In Electronic Surveillance, Karina Devi Etminani

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

A wealthy executive buries misconduct behind corporate nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) and encrypted devices. Nearby, police wield geofence warrants to sweep the digital footprints of peaceful protesters demanding racial justice. Both scenarios hinge on the same Fourth Amendment but reveal a coin with two faces. For powerful abusers, privacy protections can conceal assault, intimidation, and corruption. For Black activists, rapidly emerging surveillance tools—including biometric scanners, phone “pings,” and social media mining—intensify a long legacy of racially targeted policing. As Jeannie Suk Gersen notes, two recent social movements– #MeToo and Black Lives Matter–reveal that “too much deference to privacy serves male entitlement, …

Critical Race Historical Examination Of Summer Programs: Impact On African American Youth, Megan Lee, June Hopps, Deryl Bailey

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Brand Ownership Structure On Favorability And Authenticity Perception Of Surf Athlete Sponsorships, Tayler K. Baldwin

Journalism

This study investigates whether the ownership form of a surf brand, i.e., public or private, affects consumer authenticity and brand favorability impressions when partnered with surf athletes. Following Aaker's Brand Equity Model and relevant literature on influencer marketing and subcultural branding, the study employs a mixed-methods approach with a structured questionnaire survey (n = 526) alongside qualitative analysis of open-ended responses. Quantitative results indicate minimal variation in mean brand favorability for public compared to private brands, while privately owned brands had more consistent perceptions of authenticity across combinations of athlete partnerships. Qualitative outcomes support the assumption that privately owned brands …

Linking Research To Action To Address Unintended Pregnancy In Refugee Settings In Ethiopia, Baobab Research Programme Consortium

Humanitarian Task Force

Humanitarian crises expose women and girls to the risk of unintended pregnancy due to disruptions in access to and provision of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Evidence available to support and shape improved family planning programming in refugee settings is sparse, and little is known about how to effectively deliver such programming to the most vulnerable, including women and girls. The Baobab Research Programme Consortium (RPC) is exploring how access to SRHR services can be expanded using existing, low-cost approaches, and how such approaches be communicated and scaled up in refugee settings. We propose harnessing existing food distribution and …

Final Project Report: Atmospheric Water Generation, Jessica Lloyd, Cora Lewis, Kevin Silva, Alejandra Sanchez De La Fuente Molino

Engineering Senior Design Reports

The Atmospheric Water Generation Team designed a system where a dehumidifier can extract moisture from the air and use the water for irrigation. This effort responds to the growing need for water conservation methods in South Texas, where there is a growing need to preserve freshwater sources. The final prototype will be powered using solar panels and a battery, and all water collected by the dehumidifier will be stored in an external tank. An Arduino microcontroller will manage when the system turns off and on under various conditions and times of day. The total budget for this project was $3200. …

Influence Of The Solicitors General On The Supreme Court: 2011-2023, Maxwell Tobin

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This project looks at the success rate of the OSG and how the data indicates that the government-more specifically between the executive and judicial- is not getting along. In doing so, this scholarship uses 337 Supreme Court cases where the OSG filed on these cases as an amicus brief. This project aims to fill the research gap since 2014. I argue the salience of this research is in 2020-2022 where SCOTUS has 3 new conservative members and the President during this time was leaning more progressive (even more than Obama). All of this works to explain the low success rate …

The Effects Of Climate Change On The Spread Of Mosquito-Borne Diseases, Lauren Provoncha, Sarah Franta, Portia Lawrence

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This paper examines the impact of climate change on the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, focusing on how rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events influence mosquito habitats and disease transmission. It explores the ecological and public health implications of these shifts and highlights the importance of understanding climate-disease dynamics to inform effective prevention and intervention strategies.

Ecological Consequences Of Variable Glacial Melting On Arctic Biodiversity: Trophic Shifts And Community Dynamics, Aislyn Malone, Audrey Swart

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Our project investigated the profound impacts of increasing glacial melting on various trophic levels, habitats, and other ecological processes.

Psychology Across The Spectrum: Self-Regulation And Emotional Control In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emily Oswald

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This paper explores the complex relationship between self-regulation, emotional control, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), emphasizing the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional challenges autistic individuals often face. Drawing on contemporary research, it highlights how self-regulation is linked to cognitive and language development, while difficulties in emotional control can result in increased behavioral problems and mental health issues. The paper examines the dual role of behaviors like stimming—both as coping mechanisms and as forms of authentic self-expression—and addresses the tension between traditional behavioral interventions such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and emerging neurodiversity-affirming practices. This paper also discusses the neurodiversity movement, noting …

Creating A Home Away From Home: Enhancing Student Well-Being And Persistence Through Student Programming In University Housing, Marissa J. Johnson

Honors Thesis

This honors thesis explores the impact that the University of South Dakota (USD) Housing Department sponsored Resident Assistant (RA) programming has on engagement. Programming has been proven by previous literature reviews as pivotal in building community-based environments on campus. This thesis will look at the way USD Housing has set up their programming to be implemented by student employees. This study aims to identify key components of programs that contribute to the success of the housing initiative, assess the cost and engagement in these activities, and provide recommendations for enhancing student programming within University Housing. Preliminary findings support the idea …

A Comparison Of Natural And Synthesized Speech In A Case Of Primary Progressive Apraxia Of Speech, Kaitlyn S. Tegethoff

Honors Thesis

Primary Progressive Apraxia of Speech (PPAoS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by deficits in motor planning abilities for speech. Individuals with PPAoS experience phonetic and prosodic differences in their speech, affecting intelligibility, naturalness, speaking rate, and fluency. When a person’s speech is disordered, communication breakdowns may occur. Some individuals with disordered speech choose to use a text-to-speech program that synthesizes speech to improve communication. The differences between natural speech and synthesized speech have seldom been studied in relation to PPAoS.

This study focused on the differences in intelligibility, naturalness, and listener workload between natural and synthesized speech. To gather information …

Under The Eyes Of The Oppressors: Exploring The Spatial Oppression Of African Nova Scotians, Lorenze L. Cromwell

Dalhousie Law Journal

Spatialization is a theoretical understanding of how space is used to enforce and replicate hierarchical power structures. Nova Scotia has used spatialized processes, such as enslavement, segregation, and panoptical power, to subjugate, oppress, and control African Nova Scotians for over 400 years. These practices of spatialization have been established and perpetuated by the law and legal mechanisms, creating a complex spatialized system of oppression against African Nova Scotians. This article defines spatialization, explores the historical and contemporary uses of spatialization, and analyzes the actuarial and symbolic effects created by spatialization. The author concludes by proposing remedial and reparative action that …

No Boys Allowed?: An Evaluation Of Masculinities Work Within Women's Centers, Kate J. Freeman, Zachary Slade Milko

Mather Center Research Briefs

A research brief exploring how masculinities work is being done in women's and gender equity centers, and how this advances work toward gender equity more broadly than an exclusive focus on women.

Guiding Principles For Successful Ai Integration & Agentic Ai: The Next Step In Ai Evolution, Andrew C.R. Nelson

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

AI has revolutionized various processes throughout the value chain. When taking a focused look at Marketing and Supply chain functions, however, the two largest retailers in the world, Walmart and Amazon, have led the charge towards AI modernity within implementation. With AI’s impact on business taking the forefront of the collective consciousness, innovations have seemed to emerge daily. Agentic AI is the newest “flavor of the month” that is promising to further optimize and provide value to businesses and their different needs. With this advancement in AI reasoning, the realm of innovative possibilities has expanded greatly. This in combination with …

Living In Essex: A Community Needs Assessment, Sue Berger, Ceara Somerville, Caitlin E. Coyle

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA) within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Town of Essex. The goals of this project were to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Essex residents age 18 or older by engaging the community regarding their experiences and needs relevant to the Council on Aging’s (COA’s) objective to identify and serve the needs of all Essex citizens 60 and older.

Utility And Democracy In Political Campaign Advertising: Toward A Rule-Utilitarian Ethic For Political Marketing And The Ethics Of Meddling In The Other Party's Primary, Joel Lansing Reed

Journalism Faculty Publications and Presentations

Political advertising ethics has long been dominated by an adherence to the norms of democratic idealism or the highly situational ethics of act utilitarianism. This article proposes an alternative system of political advertising ethics grounded in Brandt's ideal moral code theory, a form of rules-based utilitarianism. To illustrate the relative advantage of rule utilitarianism, the author investigates the ethics of advertising campaigns aimed at intervening in an opposing party's primary. The past decade has seen a dramatic resurgence in Democratic and Republican candidates in the United States meddling in the opposing party's primary through advertising campaigns designed to exploit tensions …

From Gender-Building To Sustainability: The Evolution Of Toy Advertising And Purchasing Decisions, Camille S. Hernandez

Whittier Scholars Program

For my Whittier Scholars Program senior project, I am exploring the psychological dynamics behind toy purchasing decisions. Specifically, what compels parents to buy certain toys and what drives children’s desires for specific products. As toy marketing continues to evolve, a growing emphasis on eco-friendly and non-toxic toys has emerged, appealing to both parents’ environmental concerns and children’s interest in aesthetics and play value. This shift has been heavily influenced by social media, where platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook play a key role in shaping consumer preferences. Through constant exposure to advertisements, parents and children alike are becoming more aware …

Comprehensive Analysis Of Application Of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods With Treesoft Set For Teaching Quality Improvement Of College English Learning Process, Yue Wang

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Estimating The Prevalence Of Delay In Comprehensive And Expressive Language Development In Preschool Children In Pichincha, Ecuador Based On Plithogenic Statistics, Andino-Acosta María Soledad, Guerrero-Olalla Mercy Paulina, Lima-Rosero Patricia Elizabeth, Moreno-Pramatárova Mila, Ruales-Paredes Salomé Shayana, Tapia-Tapia Sylvia Ibeth, Unda-Vargas Ivonne Cristina

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Risk Disclosure In Financial Management: A Neutrosophic Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach, Abdulaziz Ali Murayr

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Enhanced Federated Learning Framework Based On Deep Learning And Neutrosophic Set For Android Malware Classification, Mohamed Refaat Abdellah, Hasan H. Oudah, Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Badawy, Mohamed Abdelfattah Abdelfattah M Hassan, Shady Ahmed Bedier, Ahmed A. Metwaly, Mohamed Eassa, Ahmed Abdelhafeez

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.