Digital Commons Network^™

Differentiable Objectives For 3d Scene Relighting Via Gradient Descent On Olat Basis Coefficients, Anson Savage

Theses and Dissertations

Designing effective lighting is an iterative and often time-consuming process. This work contributes to automatic lighting design research by presenting a render-engine agnostic optimization routine: gradient descent on RGB multipliers of one-light-at-a-time (OLAT) basis images. We compare several objective functions to accomplish lighting tasks and show that our method is capable of quickly and effectively exploring different lighting styles using either text prompts or reference images. We also present several datasets specific to lighting tasks and show that fine-tuning on these datasets can improve performance.

Reemergence Of Street Planning In Yafo (Jaffa): The Late Ottoman Ha-Ẓorfim Compound, Yoav Arbel

'Atiqot

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Yafo (Jaffa) was a rapidly changing town, reemerging from centuries of stagnation. While the mound retained its unappealingly medieval character, new neighborhoods sprouted up around it, replacing the orchards and fortifications. Urban development demanded access and connections, which were ensured with the construction of broad new throughways, with stone paving and drainage systems not seen in Yafo since antiquity. All this development naturally lured traders, officials and diplomats to build their mansions and businesses along these thoroughfares. One of these was the presently named Ha-Ẓorfim (“The Jewelers”) Street, on the eastern outskirts …

Ex-04-142 Modeling Distress And Evaluating Chatbot Safety For Suicide-Related Social Media Texts, Rehma Razzak

C-Day Computing Showcase

This project addresses the urgent need for transparent chatbot safety evaluations amid rising concerns about AI-facilitated self-harm. Using public social media datasets, we simulate two tasks: (1) detecting suicidal ideation via emotion-based risk scoring, and (2) stress-testing a support-style chatbot against 888 high-risk prompts, including euphemisms and “for a story” framing. A multi-label classifier trained on GoEmotions feeds emotion profiles into a logistic regression model to generate suicidality risk scores. These scores guide a local chatbot built with Ollama’s llama3, which analyzes user messages and steers responses toward safe, empathetic behavior. Evaluation shows ~90% of replies were safe or supportive. …

Grp-07-163 Smishguard: An Ai-Powered Framework For Sms Phishing Detection And Alert System For Vulnerable Users, Jiban Krisna Das

C-Day Computing Showcase

This research introduces SMISH-GUARD, a multi-layer framework for adaptive SMS phishing (smishing) detection that integrates language-aware semantic modeling, graph-theoretic campaign reasoning, and cost-sensitive decision calibration within a unified architecture. The framework integrates dual transformer encoders for multilingual semantic understanding with a heterogeneous temporal graph layer that captures relational attack signals such as shared URLs, sender reuse, and campaign propagation patterns. A cost-sensitive decision optimization module is further incorporated to translate probabilistic model outputs into risk-aware alert policies that explicitly balance false-positive inconvenience against the higher societal and financial cost of missed smishing attacks. The study evaluates four integrated datasets comprising …

Didactic Aspects Of Education Of Primary Teachers With A Focus On Strengthening Their Media Literacy And Fighting Disinformation. Experience From The Czech Republic, Kamil Kopecký, Veronika Krejčí

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The paper describes specific experiences with educational activities aimed at strengthening media literacy in the field of combating disinformation among primary and secondary school teachers, which were implemented in 2022-2023 through the Central European Digital Media Observatory. A total of 3633 primary and secondary school teachers from all over the Czech Republic participated in the education and evaluated the educational events. The article presents examples of specific educational activities oriented to the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes of students through teaching in primary or secondary school.

Leveraging Critical Social Media Literacy To Safeguard Youth Against Violent Radicalization And Extremism, Muhammad Akram, Adeela Arshad-Ayaz, Muhammad Ayaz Naseem

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Social media is inundated with radical and extreme propaganda. Such information is often left unfiltered due to platform algorithms that are economically driven and socially unethical in design. It puts social media users, mostly youth, in danger of becoming radicalized and vulnerable to supporting and engaging with extremist beliefs. When young people lack sufficient critical social media literacy (CSML), radical and extremist information impacts their perspectives, affecting behavior in the real world. A PRISMA-guided systematic review of the Web of Science core collections and the Scopus database was used to find peer-reviewed articles about how CSML skills can be used …

Promoting News Literacy With Epistemological Beliefs, Ifla Checklist And Ai: Insights From A Teacher Training Program In Italy, Flavio Manganello

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study examines the integration of epistemological beliefs, the IFLA checklist for evaluating news credibility, and the News Verifier, an AI tool powered by GPT-4, within a teacher training program aimed at enhancing news literacy. It explores the relationship between educators’ epistemological profiles and their ability to classify news using the IFLA checklist. The study also evaluates alignment between human classifications and those generated by the News Verifier, examining the potential of AI as a complementary resource for supporting practice and reflection in news literacy education. Results indicate that consistent application of the checklist improves alignment with AI outputs, although …

Spring 2026 Excellence In Research And Creative Inquiry And Incite Award Ceremony, Office Of Student Research, Longwood University

Spring Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

No abstract provided.

The Perceived Impact Of Gifs, Emojis, And Photo Comments On Digital Community Building, Katherine G. Hartman

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This study examines how GIFs, emojis, and photo comments influence users’ sense of belonging within digital communities. Drawing on theories of digital rhetoric and sociocultural relativism, it argues that these visual elements function as rhetorical tools that convey tone, emotion, and shared cultural knowledge. Using a qualitative, survey-based approach, data was collected from 51 participants aged 18–24 about their use, interpretation, and perception of digital texts across social media platforms. Findings indicate that recognition and shared interpretation of digital texts are strongly associated with increased feelings of inclusion, while unfamiliarity can lead to exclusion or confusion. Emojis were found to …

Strategies Case Managers Use To Communicate With Limited English Proficient Patients, Joel Cruz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) face ongoing communication barriers that heighten medical errors and health disparities because nurse leaders in acute care settings lack empirically informed guidance on leadership practices that effectively implement language services. Grounded in transformational leadership (TL) theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to explore how nurse leaders perceive, experience, and enact strategies to address the language access needs of LEP patients. The participants were six nurse leaders from across the Midwest region, who successfully led nursing teams to improve communication with LEP patients. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, government proactive …

Vamos A Chismear: The Intersection Of Social Media And Chisme Fostering Belonging Among Middle School Girls, Juana Yumeida Chavez Kawasaki

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Social media engagement among Latinx middle school girls has been increasingly associated with harmful trends, including declining mental health, negative body image, and engagement in risky behaviors. Latinx middle school girls, along with gender minority youth, have often represented a high percentage of users vulnerable to the seductive spell of digital platforms and the subsequent rewiring of childhood. The current study used a qualitative (Creswell et al., 2007) research design featuring pláticas, a method rooted in Chicana/Latina feminist (Delgado Bernal et al., 2023) epistemologies that prioritizes embodied knowledge and resistance. Drawing upon the building blocks of social media engagement framework, …

Robust And Interpretable Cross-Domain Arabic Readability Prediction Using Hybrid Modeling: Evidence On The Limitations Of Transformer-Based Classifiers, Sarah Alzu'bi

Theses and Dissertations

Automatic readability assessment aims to predict how difficult a text is for readers to understand. The concept of readability has been widely studied across languages due to its significant impact on reading comprehension, leading to the development of various methods and approaches. In this study, I addressed two key challenges in readability assessment. First, I examine the performance of statistical classifiers and transformer-based models, including CAMeLBERT(Inoue et al, 2021.) with a focus on their ability to generalize under domain, genre, and stylistic shifts. Second, I investigate the interpretability of transformer performance in readability task, which are often criticized for their …

Temperature-Induced Uncertainty In Fixed-Context Retrieval-Augmented Generation, Steven Zeng, Murat Kuzlu

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

This study examines how decoding temperature affects output uncertainty in a fixed-context retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system. We define uncertainty as the semantic dispersion among repeated answers under the same fixed retrieved context, with greater dispersion interpreted as higher uncertainty. To isolate this answer-generation variability from retrieval drift, each question was paired with a fixed retrieved context, and repeated generations differed only in temperature. The experiment used nine questions drawn from a machine-learning textbook corpus, with three questions each at easy, moderate, and hard difficulty. Each question was evaluated at five temperatures (0.0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0) over 30 iterations, …

Using Ai Tools Shifts The Cognitive Structures Of Creative Problem-Solving In A Prompt-Based, Free Response Task, Veronica Smith, Andra Geana

Psychology Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Digital Tools & Literacy Gains - Impact On Ells’ Reading Growth, Priscilla Pouliot

Education Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Nazi Germany And Humanities Education As Propaganda, Sam Marie Smith

Honors Theses

One of the Third Reich’s most significant actions in their pursuit of the consolidation of power was the Gleichschaltung, in which all cultural, social, political, and economic goals were subordinated to that of the goals of the Nazi party. One of the most dramatic shifts to take place in the process of Gleichschaltung was in the realm of academia, where legitimate pedagogical and educational imperatives were overshadowed by an emphasis on perpetuating the Nazi regime’s agenda, especially racial ideology, even with the youngest students. While educators in the Third Reich carried this out in all subject areas, this project focuses …

Crossing Borders: Ways To Address Oral Health Disparities In Guatemala And U.S. Latinx Communities, Yeimi Bartolon Perez

Honors Theses

Oral health disparities remain a significant global public health concern, particularly among economically and socially marginalized populations. This study investigates the structural, socioeconomic, and cultural determinants that influence access to dental care across these two populations. Guatemala represents a context where poverty, limited healthcare infrastructure, and geographic isolation restrict access to preventive dental services, often resulting in treatment-seeking only during advanced stages of disease. In contrast, Hispanic/Latinx communities in the United States encounter barriers shaped by language differences, lack of dental insurance, immigration-related concerns, and systemic inequities within the healthcare system. This research employs a mixed-methods approach that integrates secondary …

A Gamble On Gender: Perceptions Of The Singular “They” Pronoun Among College-Age Students, Sloane Cheesebrough

Global Insight

This paper discusses a study that was carried out with the aim of discovering the perceptions of the singular “they” pronoun (both general and specified) among college students with a focus on the interaction of the gender of the participant with their perceptions. The linguistic variables considered were the level of acceptability of different pronouns, pronouns used by participants, and direct perceptions of the singular “they,” while the social variables were gender, age, first language, and academic year. The hypotheses are as follows: men would find the singular “they” (both forms) less acceptable than women and nonbinary genders, and in …

Contributors, Global Insight Editorial Team

Global Insight

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Global Insight Editorial Team

Global Insight

No abstract provided.

The Misrepresentation Of American Sign Language And Deaf Culture In Mainstream Film Media A Call For Inclusive Representation, Katherine M. Hamilton, Dr. Lisalee Egbert

Global Insight

Mass film media has the power to shape popular culture and influence public opinions and perceptions; thus, properly portraying Deaf characters, the correct linguistic model of American Sign Language (ASL), and Deaf Culture in this powerful medium is crucial. This research examines the misrepresentation of Deaf Culture and ASL in film and its impact on realworld interactions between Deaf and hearing c/Communties. By analyzing historical film trends, bringing modern trends to light, and creating educational tools, this study aims to create measurable change in media practice. The study uses online questionnaires and interviews with ASL-fluent participants from the Deaf Community …

Full Issue, Global Insight Editorial Team

Global Insight

No abstract provided.

When Is Engagement ‘Good’? Values And Integrity In Community-Engaged Autism Research, Margaret Janse Van Rensburg

Faculty and Staff Publications

Community engagement (CE) in autism research has been promoted as “good practice,” and is described through approaches such as co-production, participatory action research, and community-based participatory research. Although CE can enhance relevance and trust, its potential burdens or harms are rarely examined or disclosed to community members, and it is often implemented without evaluating its processes or outcomes. Limited attention is also given to values: the axiological foundations of CE and whether engagement is conducted with integrity. This perspective introduces an axiological lens to CE in autism research by arguing that researchers’ value commitments shape not only why engagement occurs …

Language Barriers In The Healthcare System, Gulten Altunbulak, Rebecca King, Lee Ann Hoffman

Spring 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

Language barriers in healthcare negatively impact quality of care, patient satisfaction, and health equity, particularly among individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). This capstone program aimed to develop and implement an occupational therapy communication protocol to address language barriers in a skilled nursing facility. A mixed-methods approach was used, including a pre-survey of staff, post-implementation interviews, and observational feedback to evaluate communication practices, interpreter use, and staff confidence. A total of 25 staff members completed the pre-survey, with additional insights gathered through interviews and observations following implementation. Interventions included staff education on interpreter services and culturally responsive care, along with …

The Relational Good Life: Entrepreneurship Education And Grounded Sumak Kawsay In Otavalo, Ecuador, Vanessa I. Lozano Hardman

Theses and Dissertations

Indigenous Kichwa communities in Ecuador’s Otavalo region have long participated in local and transnational markets, historically as mindalaes, specialized traders of the northern Andes. Yet in recent years, international development-oriented NGOs have framed entrepreneurship education as newly necessary for economic development. These approaches emphasize individualized narratives of vision, self-reliance, and growth, often characterizing Indigenous peoples as lacking entrepreneurial skills or the appropriate mindset. Drawing on ethnographic research with youth, mothers, and teachers at Saminay–El Legado, an agro- technical, intercultural bilingual secondary school (UECIB) in the parish of San José de Quichinche, this article examines how entrepreneurship education intersects with grounded …

Independent English Teaching In Brazil: A Case Study, Jade G. Gunca

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study investigates the experiences and practices of successful independent English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Brazil who operate outside traditional schools and private language institutes. Rather than providing a broad descriptive profile, this study offers an in-depth examination of a small group of teachers. These educators frequently use social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to showcase communicative, personalized, and flexible instruction in response to growing learner demand. Although English is widely taught in Brazilian schools, persistent structural constraints often limit students’ development of communicative proficiency, prompting some learners to seek instruction from independent …

Constitutional Litigation After Trump V. Casa, Howard M. Wasserman

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

Trump v. CASA resolved a decade-old scholarly debate about whether federal courts can grant "universal" injunctions in constitutional cases—injunctions prohibiting the executive from enforcing the challenged law against all persons subject to the law, beyond the plaintiffs to the action. A 6-3 Court said federal courts could issue remedies necessary to accord "complete relief to the plaintiffs," without the power to protect non-parties.

The various opinions in CASA offer competing visions of litigation, adjudication, and judicial decisionmaking. The case plays and will continue to play an essential role in ongoing challenges to Trump Administration policies and regulations and all constitutional …

Spartan Daily, April 22, 2026, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2026

Volume 166, Issue 36

Domain-Specific Fine-Tuning Of Neural Machine Translation For Georgian Religious Texts, Jacob Brent Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates whether domain-specific fine-tuning of a large multilingual neural machine translation model improves translation quality for English-to-Georgian religious text, a low-resource pair underserved by existing systems. Using the 1.3-billion-parameter NLLB-200 model as a baseline, two LoRA-adapted variants were trained: General-FT, on 91,143 parallel segments of contemporary religious discourse drawn from the General Conference talks and other publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Scriptural-FT, on 33,229 segments from the scriptural canon of The Church. The three models were evaluated using automated metrics (BLEU, chrF, COMET) covering both domain-matched and cross-domain conditions, and on a …

The Great Depression And Canada's Major Originalist Decade, Preston Jordan Lim

Faculty Publications

Few periods of Canadian history have been as momentous or terrible as the Great Depression. The Dominion and provincial governments’ inability to combat financial and environmental catastrophe led many Canadians to openly question the appropriateness of their constitutional framework. As legal historians have since documented, many leading jurists of the time believed that a strong central government could, through the institution of national programs, contain the Great Depression; in the eyes of these 1930s jurists, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council—then Canada’s apex court—had sapped the federal government of its powers by misinterpreting the British North America Act, 1867 …