Digital Commons Network^™

Chain Of Preference Optimization: Improving Chain-Of-Thought Reasoning In Llms, Xuan Zhang, Chao Du, Tianyu Pang, Qian Liu, Wei Gao, Min Lin

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The recent development of chain-of-thought (CoT) decoding has enabled large language models (LLMs) to generate explicit logical reasoning paths for complex problem-solving. However, research indicates that these paths are not always deliberate and optimal. The tree-of-thought (ToT) method employs tree-searching to extensively explore the reasoning space and find better reasoning paths that CoT decoding might overlook. This deliberation, however, comes at the cost of significantly increased inference complexity. In this work, we demonstrate that fine-tuning LLMs leveraging the search tree constructed by ToT allows CoT to achieve similar or better performance, thereby avoiding the substantial inference burden. This is achieved …

User Acceptance Of Advice By Ai Agents: Expectation-System Fit Perspective, Jingyuan Cai, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Algorithms have increasing influence on our daily decisions, especially when the recommendations are presented by human-like AI agents. This study applies the Theory of Effective Use to investigate how the fit between the user’s role expectation for an AI agent and the agent’s interaction style impacts AI advice adoption. We proposed a new concept termed Perceived Expectation-System Fit (PESF) and empirically examined its impact on user perceptions and advice acceptance. We found that low PESF reduces advice acceptance by diminishing cognitive and affective trust in the AI agent. Furthermore, increased algorithm transparency increases PESF's impact on decision-making. Our findings provide …

Impacts Of Stream Bed Adjustment On Local Bridge Morphology At Highway 281, Molly G. Likins

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nebraska sand-bed rivers have long been a part of sediment transport studies and have been used in the development of numerous well-known empirical bedload equations. Some of these studies have shown how adjustments in streambed elevation led to changes in local stream morphology. The sand-bed rivers of Nebraska are highly susceptible to such changes due to their wide, shallow cross-sections and erodibility. The objective of our study is to synthesize a hydrodynamic model with high-resolution field data and improved methods of representing sediment transport to better predict both short and long-term channel adjustments for an aggraded sand-bed river.

The field …

Using Symbolic Execution To Analyze The Hardware Tcp Protocol, Nianhang Hu

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As the demand for high performance and flexible networking capabilities increases, the shift from software to hardware implementations of stateful networking functions (such as TCP) is becoming increasingly important. This transition not only enhances processing efficiency in modern networking environments where data transmission rates are rising, but it also reduces the inherent CPU overhead found in software implementations, allowing hardware devices to handle network traffic more efficiently. However, validating the correctness of these hardware designs poses significant challenges due to the complex timing requirements and the vast input space associated with packet-level properties.

The verification of packet-level properties requires coverage …

Leveraging Geo-Ai To Evaluate Conservation Land Conditions In Nebraska, Usa, Fnu Jahangeer

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Wetlands are among the most vital natural resources, offering extensive ecosystem services that benefit human societies. However, human activities and disturbances have led to widespread wetland degradation and loss worldwide. Key factors contributing to this degradation include pollution, exploitation of biological resources, modifications to natural systems, and agricultural and aquacultural practices. This study examines wetland conservation efforts in Nebraska, focusing on three main areas: (1) AI-Driven Applications in Google Earth Engine for Surface Water Monitoring, Assessment, and Management; (2) Assessing Wetland Hydrological Performance under Three Conservation Programs in Nebraska through AI-Driven Google Earth Engine Analysis; and (3) Identifying Potential Wetland …

Echo And Drag As Resistance: Coloniality, Queerness, And Practices Of Reading Student Texts, Joshua Barsczewski, Florianne Jimenez

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

In this article, a postcolonial theorist and a queer studies scholar reconsider the role of student resistance in Writing Studies’ social justice turn, arguing for a way of reading student texts that accounts for why students might choose to take up social justice or not in their own writing. Through examples from their ongoing research projects, the writers discuss how students’ resistance surfaced not as visible and explicit signs of a changed epistemological framework or political perspective, but as a series of normative rhetorical choices that made space for more transgressive or subversive possibilities.

Stealing Graceland And Evicting Aunt Mary Ann: Real Property, Erica L. Sullivan

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys developments in Georgia real property law between June 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024. This Article reviews several cases decided during the Survey period and highlights real estate trends and news both in Georgia and nationally.

Local Government, Jacob Stalvey O'Neal, Russell A. Britt, Mathis L. Gales, Jennifer Dorminey Herzog, Nicholas A. Kinsley, M.Blake Walker

Mercer Law Review

As usual, the Survey saw multiple published cases involving the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Georgia courts clarified multiple sovereign immunity waivers, including waivers for injunctive and declaratory relief claims, waivers for nuisance claims, and waivers for claims involving negligent uses of government vehicles. This Article attempts to summarize the highlights and noteworthy cases.

Wills, Trusts, Guardianships, And Fiduciary Administration, Mary F. Radford

Mercer Law Review

This Article discusses significant cases decided by the Georgia appellate courts during the period of June 1, 2023, through May 31, 2024, and significant Georgia legislation enacted in that same period that relate to Georgia probate and trust law, guardianship, and estate planning. The cases discussed fall under three categories: wills and the administration of decedents’ estates (including cases relating to testamentary capacity, inheritance by children born out of wedlock, undue influence, and the disposition of a decedent’s remains); trusts and trustees (specifically a trustee’s entitlement to have attorney fees paid from the trust when defending against charges of maladministration …

Under Observation: Wilson V. Inthachak Shows That Georgia’S Emergency Care Statute Still Lacks A Uniform Interpretation, Thomas S. Kiser

Mercer Law Review

This year, pro- and anti-tort reform forces met on the battleground of O.C.G.A. § 51-1-29.5(c), a statute that gives doctors increased protection from malpractice claims when they provide “emergency medical care in a hospital emergency department . . . .” When healthcare providers or hospitals are sued for negligence under these circumstances, the plaintiff must have clear and convincing evidence that the provider was grossly negligent, a greater hurdle than an ordinary medical malpractice plaintiff would need to overcome. While the statute is crystal clear in its purpose, Georgia courts have not reached a consensus regarding its application. Wilson v. …

Two Bites, Different Apples: The Georgia Supreme Court Revolutionizes Forty-Year Precedent On First-Offender Appeals In Howard V. State, Joshua R. Wright

Mercer Law Review

Since 1968, Georgia’s First Offender Act has provided for an alternative sentencing procedure for criminal defendants who have not previously been convicted of a felony. The Act allows trial courts to place a defendant on probation or sentence them to a term of confinement before a conviction and without entering a judgment. The significance of this procedure is that, if a defendant successfully completes the terms of their first-offender status, they are exonerated and the prosecution’s case is discharged by law. The former defendant receives no criminal conviction and their civil rights and liberties are preserved.

Lgbtq+ College Students’ Willingness To Access Campus Health Services At A Midsized, Urban Christian University: A Study On Disparities, Samual J. Piatt, Christian Williams, Frecia Gonzalez

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Introduction

LGBTQ+ college students face inequitable health outcomes in both mental health and physical health versus non-LGBTQ+ counterparts (The Trevor Project, 2023), (Brittain et Dinger, 2015). LGBTQ+ students experience higher unwillingness and disparities in care access due to negative perceptions of and experiences with UHS providers (Hood et al, 2019). Research indicates that better provider LGBTQ+ cultural awareness contributes to a more affirming space which in turn benefits LGBTQ+ healthcare (Parmenter et al, 2020), (Prasad et al, 2023).

Methods

A 2024 cross-sectional study assessed the comfort levels of LGBTQ+ college students in accessing student health services, explore how affirming healthcare …

Leveraging Within-Field Spatial Variability To Optimize Soybean Yield, Seed Quality, And Profitability, Marina Marly Dalla Betta

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Optimizing yield and seed quality in soybean production is critical for both profitability and meeting market demands. However, within-field variability in soil properties poses a challenge in determining optimal management strategies to maximize soybean yield, seed quality, and profitability. This work aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of soybean fields to optimize soybean seeding rates, seed quality, and profitability. Two case studies were used to carry over this research. The first study looked at the optimal economical site-specific soybean seeding rates using 11 on-farm precision experiments across Nebraska. The second study looked at the protein and oil variability within 22 …

Post-Emption And The Mayoral Toolbox: Levers And Limits Of City Resistance To State Preemption, Quinton D. Lucas, Gavriel Schreiber

University of Chicago Law Review

States increasingly deploy aggressive preemption measures against disfavored localities. Scholars have raised the alarm, but cities’ subordinate legal status leaves them disempowered. To push back, municipal advocates need to thoroughly under- stand the complex bilateral relationship between cities and their states.

That is where I come in. As mayor of a progressive city in a conservative state, I swim in the hostile symbiosis that characterizes city-state relations. By drawing on real-life examples, closed-door conversations, and previously private documents, my coauthor and I demonstrate the potence of multipronged city power. We synthesize our stories into a thicker account of state motivation …

Viewing The Unseen: Requesting Accommodation For Non-Visible Disabilities Under The Ada After Kelly V. Town Of Abingdon, Jason Naulty

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Disability Discrimination By Clinical Algorithm, Elizabeth Pendo, Jennifer D. Oliva

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Case Brief: In Re R.A.F.–Beware Of The "Haunting Specter", Sam W. Scheipers

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Virtual Production In Unreal Engine 5: Tools For The Game And Film Industry, Hannah Hogan

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media Culminating Experience

Virtual Production (VP) blends both the game and film industries with the use of Unreal Engine. This thesis explores how Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) bridges the gap between these fields, providing powerful tools for both film projects and immersive experiences. The research examines UE5's capabilities, including real-time rendering, photorealistic environments, and immersive set design, and demonstrates how game and film production workflows intersect. This study focuses on three case studies highlighting how VP tools can be used in district ways: immersive gameplay, film production, and creating engaging video game trailers. Finally, this research explores the advantages of the diverse ways …

Prison Social Climate, Chloe Upton

Honors Projects

This literature synthesis proposes an examination of what social climate is most effective for establishing positive prison culture for inmates. By looking into various research based on various authors, readers are able to learn about what is the most effective methodology for a positive prison climate.

Basic Safety Message Generation Through A Video-Based Analytics For Potential Safety Application, Abyad Enan

All Theses

With the advancement of modern artificial intelligence techniques, computer vision can play a vital role in enhancing roadway safety by reducing the risk of imminent collisions. To do so, a vision-based safety application is required, where a roadside camera can monitor the roadway traffic and predict potential risks of crashes in real-time. If any risky situation or behavior is observed that may lead to a crash, then a safety application can send warnings to the vehicles at risk. For vision-based safety applications on a roadway section, it is important to accurately monitor each vehicle’s location, speed, acceleration, heading direction, etc. …

Prediction Of Dislocation Density During Casting Of 316 Stainless Steel Based Alloys As A Function Of Chromium And Nickel Composition, Abhishek Chitradurga Ranganath

All Theses

By the 1990s, computational methods were beginning to be used to study dislocation density in mental casting. Prior to that time research was based heavily on laboratory studies. This move was encouraged by the need to overcome limitations that experimental approaches had, including high costs and time-consuming processes, and needs of researchers to understand atomic-scale phenomena. Computational techniques allow complex materials to be simulated in cost effective way and can provide insight into behaviour that could never be determined through experimental methods alone.

This work utilized molecular dynamics (MD) simulations along with machine learning approaches to examine the dislocation density …

Hardware Applications Of High-Speed Fault Detection Algorithms, Daniel Zintsmaster

All Theses

The growing need for a sustainable electric energy infrastructure has driven research into control, protection, and optimization of power systems. A key challenge is that the changing grid must operate at increasingly higher speeds, but many current hardware devices cannot meet these demands. This thesis focuses on power system protection, aiming to design a hardware solution that can detect and isolate faults in microseconds, ensuring faster, more reliable grid operations. The first hardware developed was for a low-voltage direct current (LVdc) microgrid, which faces challenges due to a lack of protection schemes and novel speed requirements. This thesis presents protection …

Exploiting Randomness In Secret Sharing, Cailyn Bass

All Theses

Shamir's (k,n)-threshold scheme is a method for sharing a secret among n participants such that any group of k or more participants can recover the secret. Additionally, any group of participants with size less than k should learn nothing about the secret. The scheme works by distributing a share to each participant, where each share is a linear combination of the secret and k-1 random symbols. This allows any group of k or more participants to solve a linear system to compute the secret. Any group of less than k participants does not have enough to determine anything about the …

Application Of Lossy And Lossless Compression To Dicom Files, Yizhe Yang

All Theses

The Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard is widely utilized for the management, storage, and transfer of medical images. However, the substantial file sizes associated with DICOM data present challenges in terms of storage and data transmission. Data reduction techniques help address these challenges by minimizing the size of the data while preserving its integrity. This thesis examines various compression methods aimed at reducing the size of DICOM files. We evaluate five lossless compressors and four lossy compressors on DICOM data to compare and assess their performance. Through an analysis of each compressor’s compression efficiency and resulting image …

Informing Management Of American Shad (Alosa Sapidissima) In The Carolinas: Evaluating Novel Fish Passage Approaches And Acoustic Tracking Methods, Margaret Gaither

All Theses

Acoustic telemetry is a valuable tool for fisheries scientists to study the movements and migratory behaviors of aquatic organisms. A critical assumption of this method is that tagged fish exhibit similar behaviors and survival rates as their untagged counterparts. To investigate this, we conducted a 12-week laboratory study on adult American Shad (Alosa sapidissima) using gastroesophageal insertion of acoustic transmitters. We implanted 80 fish with dummy transmitters and monitored tag retention and survival. Our analysis, employing a mixed effects Cox’s proportional hazards model, revealed no significant differences in survival between tagged and control fish, regardless of sex. Additionally, …

Optimizing Sublimation Transfer Printing: Influence Of Temperature And Dwell Time On Different Synthetic Fabrics With A Focus On Color Metrics And Delta E Evaluation, Ramya Potnis

All Theses

Various techniques are employed to create images on textile fabrics. This study utilized a dye sublimation transfer process to print onto synthetic textile fabrics. Sublimation transfer printing is a widely used method for applying designs onto fabrics. However, achieving consistent and accurate color reproduction remains a significant challenge. Factors such as temperature and dwell time can heavily influence the color accuracy and overall quality of the prints, making it essential to study their effects.

The study focuses on the influence of temperature and dwell time to evaluate the color quality of the sublimation transfer prints across different synthetic fabrics. The …

The Effect Of Packaging On The Acceptance Of Natural Peanut Butter, Perian M. Reese

All Theses

The aim was to determine the effect of packaging on the acceptance of natural peanut butter, especially concerning the acceptance of the undesirable oil layer. The jars of peanut butter differed by color, label size, and inclusion of qualifying statements. 119 participants across two groups completed this study. Both groups completed an eye-tracking study in a mock grocery setting. The first group rated all five jars in appearance, expected quality, and overall rating. They were given one sample cup of peanut butter and gave hedonic liking values for color, oiliness, peanut flavor, smoothness, sweetness, and overall liking. The second group …

Investigation Of Chondrogenesis, Myogenesis, And Osteogenesis After 2,4-Dtbp, 2-Bp, 4-Bp, 3,5-Dtbc Exposure In Zebrafish, Haley Brashears

All Theses

Synthetic phenolic antioxidants (SPAs) are used in personal care products, food packaging, and water pipes, common SPAs include 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (2,4-DTBP), 2-tert-butyl phenol (2-BP), and 4-tert-butyl phenol (4-BP). These compounds are detected in the environment and in human biological samples. 2,4-DTBP has been detected in cord plasma, placenta, and breast milk samples. This drives the concern regarding developmental toxicity. In human iPS cells 2,4-DTBP impairs differentiation into somites and osteoblasts. Other SPAs, like 2,6-di-tert-butyl-hydroxytoluene caused increased rates of malformations including yolk and pericardial edema, and spinal curvature in 5-day post fertilization (dpf) zebrafish. …

Influence Of Hygrothermal Conditions Of The Bistability Of Asymmetric Carbon Fiber Laminate Composites, Celia Hill

All Theses

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates have widespread use in many industries because of their exceptional strength-to-weight ratio. Carbon fiber laminates following an asymmetric layup orientation can exhibit bistability meaning the laminate can exist at two stable geometric configurations. The morphing characteristics of bistable CRFP has a growing level of interest because of its potential in various applications including space aircraft structures for easy repair, automotive structures for energy dissipation and ergonomics, robotics for flexible motion and energy harvesting. Existing research shows that both moisture and temperature affect the material properties and behavior of CFRP laminates, however, the influence of moisture …

Bounding The Convex Hull Relaxation Of The Unit Commitment Problem With The Shapley-Folkman Theorem, Lauren Henderson

All Theses

The Unit Commitment (UC) problem finds an optimal schedule for a set of generators by minimizing the total operation cost subject to demand and operational constraints. The UC problem is often modeled with a mixed-integer linear program (MILP). We employ the Shapley-Folkman Theorem to provide a bound on the size of fractional solutions of its convex hull relaxation. This result is used to obtain a bound on the optimality gap between the MILP and the convex hull relaxation, which is further tightened using several problem-specific properties of UC. We conduct extensive numerical experiments to study the tightness of this threshold, …