Digital Commons Network^™

Proactive Safety Reasoning In Human-Robot Collaboration In Disassembly Through Llm-Augmented Stpa And Fmea, Morteza Jalali Alenjareghi, Fardin Ghorbani, Samira Keivanpour, Yuvin Adnarain Chinniah, Sabrina Jocelyn

Études primaires

Disassembly tasks in human–robot collaboration (HRC) environments present safety challenges due to hazardous materials, control system variability, and physically demanding operator tasks. To address these challenges, we propose an AI-augmented risk assessment framework integrating System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This framework is implemented in four configurations: Term Frequency– Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF), Fine-tuned Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and RAG with a structured Knowledge Graph (KG) built from safety standards. The system supports real-time, standards-compliant safety reasoning by generating interpretable, context-specific recommendations. We evaluate these configurations across GPT-3.5 TURBO, GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, and …

Acceptability, Usability, And Clinical Integration Of A Clinic-Based Digital Game For Hpv Education: Qualitative Perspectives From Adolescents, Parents, And Healthcare Providers, Elizabeth Reifsnider, Satya Subedi, Nouran Ghonaim, Megan Whaley, Angela Chia-Chen Chen

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Background/Objectives: HPV vaccination is safe, effective, and recommended at ages 11–12, yet uptake remains suboptimal. Serious video games may offer an innovative strategy to deliver brief, engaging education during clinic visits. This qualitative paper, embedded within a mixed-methods study, examined adolescents’, parents’, and healthcare providers’ (HCPs’) perceptions of the acceptability, usability, and perceived clinical applicability of HPV Detective, a tablet-based digital game designed to provide HPV-related education to parent–child dyads during pediatric clinic wait times. Methods: Eight adolescent–parent dyads (N = 16) and three HCPs from university-affiliated pediatric clinics participated in 30–60-min semi-structured Zoom interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and …

Handwriting Recognition In Vr, Dominique Mosley

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Virtual Reality (VR) is slowly becoming more popular for more than just entertainment. VR can be found in educational, office, and even healthcare settings to help discover more intuitive ways to teach, collaborate, and treat patients. Outside of the virtual world, these environments typically rely on writing for communicating or note-taking. Currently, VR input forces users to rely on clunky on-screen keyboards which disrupts the user’s immersion and breaks the flow of natural interaction. This thesis explores the potential of VR as a learning platform by combining it with artificial intelligence (AI). It aims to develop a VR-enhanced handwriting practicing …

From Flexibility To Friction: Intended And Unintended Consequences Of Hot-Desking In Workplaces, Cheuk Hang Au, Lin Yue, Siqi Gao, Guanglei Cheng

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: This study aims to theorize the tensions of hot-desking. Moving beyond its surface-level effects, we explain its complex impact on employee well-being and organizational conflict.

Design/methodology/approach: Using a multi-platform netnographic approach, we analyzed unsolicited discussions from online communities to capture diverse, authentic experiences across Eastern and Western contexts.

Findings: Grounded in technology affordance and constraints theory (TACT), our central finding is that hot-desking's affordances and constraints are dynamically co-produced. The organizational affordance of space efficiency is directly experienced by employees as a constraint of spatial insecurity and resource deprivation. This core tension fuels emergent social conflicts, such as senior …

Unmasking Impression Management: Large Language Models For Detecting Socially Desirable Responding In Open-Ended Situational Judgment Tests, Barret Vermilion

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Socially desirable responding (SDR) — the tendency to present oneself in an overly favorable light — remains a persistent validity concern in industrial-organizational psychology. Contemporary theory frames SDR as multidimensional, distinguishing agentic impression management (AM; inflating competence, dominance, and achievement) from communal impression management (CM; inflating warmth, cooperation, and prosocial qualities). Existing measures of AM and CM rely on self-report, which captures these constructs only at the level of generalized trait-like tendencies rather than as they naturally unfold in applicants' own language. This dissertation proposes a text-based alternative: detecting AM and CM in open-ended situational judgment tests (SJTs) of Big …

Strengthening Ocean Literacy: Marine Science Education And Training To Ensure Australia's Blue Future, Prue Francis, Rachel Kelly, Louise Swanson, Tanveer M. Adyel, Benjamin Arthur, Kirsten Benkendorff, Melanie J. Bishop, Helen Bostock, Marnie L. Campbell, Emma Church, Corrine Condie, Vaibhavi Dwivedi, Michelle Dyer, Matthew England, Liam Fullbrook, Charlie Huveneers, Malcolm Johnson, Brianna Le Busque, Rebecca R. Mcintosh, Amelie Meyer, Benjamin Mos, Jana Mrazova, Allyson O'Brien, Gretta T. Pecl, Amandine Schaeffer, Rebecca J. Shellock, Grant A. Smith, Scott Smithers, Ana Vila-Concejo, Graham Wood

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This white paper sets out a national vision for advancing ocean literacy in Australia and outlines the role of marine science in fostering an informed, engaged society capable of addressing the challenges and opportunities of our changing oceans. As environmental pressures intensify, and marine resource demands increase, Australians’ capacity to engage with ocean issues, understand risks and opportunities, and participate in marine decision-making has never been more urgent. Marine science will play a central role in building ocean literacy by delivering credible, actionable science, and strengthening education and training systems that enhance understanding of, and connection to, the ocean. Our …

The Case For Friction In Ai-Mediated Information Seeking And Learning, Susan G. Archambault, Priya Kizhakkethil

Librarian Publications & Presentations

Introduction. This paper challenges the assumption that frictionless AI-mediated information seeking represents progress. We argue that AI systems eliminating productive friction, such as uncertainty, exploration, and reflective processes, undermine intellectual virtues essential for critical thinking in an AI-saturated information environment.

Method. This conceptual article employs a theory synthesis approach, drawing on library information science (LIS) theories of information behaviour, experience, and literacy, virtue epistemology, and human–computer interaction (HCI) friction design literature.

Analysis. We map intellectual virtues such as curiosity, thoroughness, and intellectual humility onto the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, building …

The Desecration Of Sacred Spaces In The Dead Sea Scrolls And Pre-Nicene Latin Christianity: A History Of Interpretation Of The Eschatological Motif Of The Defiling Enemy In Apocalypticism, Rodrigo De Galiza Barbosa

Dissertations

Problem

The motif of the polluting enemy in the sanctuary is an important point of departure in the articulation of community boundaries in Hebraic-Christian culture. This particular motif has the potential to explain, at least in part, how Jewish and Christian communities would have understood the apocalyptic evil other and, from this understanding, set boundaries for their holy communities. Texts such as Dan 8 and 2 Thess 2 have been the locus classicus of the so-called antichrist, and ever since their interpretation has shaped how Christians and Jews have understood the enemy to their respective communities. In the history of …

Women Are Discriminated Against On The Basis Of Sex: Anti-Trans Epistemologies In Australian Universities, Emily M. Gray, Jacqueline Ullman, Mindy Blaise

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article offers an analysis of qualitative data from a multi-phased project entitled Understanding and Addressing Everyday Sexisms in Australian Universities. The project’s key aim was to improve the ways in which gender-based discrimination is understood and addressed in Australian universities. It achieved this aim through adopting a situated, intersectional, and creative approach to data generation and analysis. The authors examine data from phase three of the project, a large-scale survey that was distributed across 12 of Australia’s 39 public universities, yielding 1257 responses. The survey was designed to encourage academic staff of all genders to participate and aimed to …

Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges In Multicultural Hospitality Teams: A Case Study Of The Arlington Hotel, Dublin, Lorrana Rosendo Da Silva

Business ETD Collections

This study investigates intercultural communication challenges within multicultural teams in the hospitality sector in Dublin, focusing on how linguistic barriers, cultural expectations and the dynamics of subgroups influence staff collaboration and day-to-day coordination. The research employs a qualitative case study at the Arlington Hotel, utilizing four semi-structured interviews—two with managers and two with employees—analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that, particularly during periods of high operational pressure, differences in English proficiency and understanding of accents can affect the clarity of instructions and the confidence to seek clarification. Furthermore, subgroups based on language or nationalities were described as useful in …

Social Drivers Of Healthcare Access In Pediatric Autoimmune Disease: A U.S. Analysis (2022–2023), Kevin Okifo

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Background: Prior studies in adults have demonstrated that social drivers of health contribute to disparities in disease burden, management, and healthcare access among individuals with autoimmune disease (AD). There is emerging pediatric evidence suggesting similar patterns, but national-level data describing how social and structural factors shape healthcare access for children with AD remain limited. The aim of this study is to identify the sociodemographic and structural factors associated with healthcare access among children and adolescents with AD in the United States. Understanding these factors can support meaningful advances that will optimize patient-centered care and wraparound services for pediatric AD.Study Design: …

Preoperative Patient Sentiment Is Associated With Postoperative Outcomes In Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery, Ross J. Gore, David Mazur-Hart, Mohan K. Sunkara, Aaqib Ali, Qizar Ali, Christopher J. Lynch, Christopher Ames

Center for Secure and Intelligent Critical Systems (CSICS) Publications

Study Design: Prospective observational pilot study of adult spinal deformity surgery patients.

Objective: To determine whether preoperative patient sentiment, quantified using a 21-class valence scale extending the CARP paradigm implemented through an offline Large Language Model, predicts postoperative outcomes.

Summary of Background Data: Predicting adult spinal deformity surgery outcomes remains challenging with traditional clinical and radiographic parameters alone. Although patient psychological factors and expectations significantly influence postoperative satisfaction and quality of life, systematic approaches to capture these factors are underdeveloped. Offline Large Language Models offer scalable, privacy-preserving psychological risk stratification.

Materials and Methods: We prospectively enrolled 18 patients undergoing adult …

Should Judicial Opinions Be Read Like Statutes?, Margaret H. Lemos

Faculty Scholarship

Should judicial opinions be interpreted with an eye to their purpose, context, or the intent of their authors, or should interpreters focus on the ordinary meaning of the text? Opinions present the same sorts of interpretive puzzles as other legal texts, and yet they have been omitted from the debates over interpretive methodology that dominate the fields of constitutional and statutory interpretation. The omission is no accident: the Supreme Court has stated repeatedly—and with increasing frequency in recent years—that judicial opinions are not to be read like statutes. Yet neither courts nor commentators have explained why the principles that ground …

Empirically Evaluating The Accessibility Of A Pon-Enable Feature Diagrams Notation By The Red-Green Colorblind Community, Mohamed El-Attar, Sarah Kohail, Rima Grati

All Works

In 2016, an enhanced version of a feature diagram notation developed using the Physics of Notations (PoN) framework was introduced. Empirical evidence demonstrated that this revised notation was more cognitively effective than the original. However, the new notation relies on color, specifically red, which poses accessibility challenges for individuals with red–green color vision deficiency, as they cannot perceive the notation as originally intended. Consequently, the cognitive effectiveness of a red–green–deficient (RGD) version of the new notation relative to the original notation remained unknown. Although the PoN framework specifies several principles that may be satisfied with or without the use of …

Mapping Multiclass-Targeted Hate Speech In Online Discourse: An Open Dataset, Sanaa Kaddoura, Sumaia Al-Kohlani

All Works

Online social networks have become central spaces for public discourse, where hostile and discriminatory language toward social groups can cause psychological and social consequences for marginalized communities. Although multiple public hate speech datasets are available, many rely on binary categorization practices that obscure linguistic, cultural, and contextual variation across targeted groups. As a result, minority and less visible forms of hate speech remain insufficiently documented and analyzed. This discussion paper examines methodological limitations in existing hate speech annotation schemes and presents a re-annotation framework applied to the HatEval2019 dataset. The proposed framework introduces target-specific multiclass labels that distinguish subcategories of …

Epistemic Edge: Subjective Logic Guardrails For Llm-Driven Iot Actuation, Muntaser Syed, Marius Silaghi

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Student Publications

Deploying large language models (LLMs) as decision-making agents in safety-critical Internet of Things (IoT) systems introduces risks that purely behavioral guardrails, such as action whitelists, cannot fully address. This paper presents Epistemic Edge, a four-tier neuro-symbolic pipeline that augments LLM-driven actuation with subjective logic (SL) uncertainty quantification, temporal decay, and dual guardrails combining epistemic threshold checks with behavioral whitelists. We evaluate seven locally-deployed models: three PrismML Bonsai 1-bit models (1.7B, 4B, 8B), three 4-bit quantized models (Qwen3-8B, Llama 3.2-3B, Phi-3.5-mini), and the DeepSeek-R18B reasoning model, across eight ablation conditions and five IoT actuation scenarios (2,800 controlled trials). We further validate …

Improving Primary Initial Teacher Training (Itt) Trainees’ Confidence In Mathematics Teaching, Pinar Gumus

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

This research aimed to investigate how primary ITT trainees’ confidence in teaching mathematics could be improved through the curriculum coherence approach. A convergent mixed-method case study design was employed, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data from undergraduate trainees over three years via questionnaires. University mathematics tutors and selected school-based mentors were also interviewed using a semi-structured format.Following the analysis of the first year’s questionnaires, a new mathematics curriculum was designed for the second year of the study. As required by DfE and Ofsted, teaching plans and resources incorporated conceptual mathematics techniques, theory-practice links, and the Core Content Framework (CCF). The …

Legal Semiotics, Political Ontology, & Merging Chronotopes Of Identity Through The Federation Of Aboriginal Nations Of The Americas, Kevin T. Inglesby

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This dissertation studies the concept of self-determination related to a confederation known as the Federation of Aboriginal Nations of the Americas. It addresses three main questions: How does FANA represent an institution of legal cooperation? In what ways does cultural capital become reproduced? And what are key principles for the Federations’ code of unity? Self-determination is a core principle of international law and may be identified through treaties and social conventions like Wunnandry. The study explores an interdisciplinary approach to American Indian selfdetermination through a focus on applied anthropology, cultural heritage, and Peircean legal semiotics to problematize some historical approaches …

Searching For Nooks And Crannies: Geometric And Mechanistic Perspectives On Transformer Language Model Interpretability, Anna Marbut

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable linguistic capabilities, but the internal mechanisms driving their performance and behavior remain poorly understood. This dissertation investigates the interpretability of transformer-based language models from two complementary perspectives: the geometric organization of model internals in encoder-only models, and the mechanisms underlying safety behavior in decoder-only generative models.

In Part I, we address the challenge of measuring geometric properties in high-dimensional latent spaces, proposing and evaluating alternative measures of data spread that improve upon commonly used metrics. We then apply these measures alongside quantization-based metrics to examine the relationship between latent space geometry and downstream …

The Birth Of Afghanistan: From Ancient Persia To A Modern-Day Multiethnic And Linguistic Country, Tyler A. Worm

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis offers a comprehensive historical analysis of the formation and evolution of Afghan identity from antiquity through the early medieval period, emphasizing the region’s role as a dynamic crossroads of civilizations. It traces the origins of Afghan populations to Indo-Iranian pastoralist migrations and examines the successive influence of major imperial formations, including the Median and Achaemenid Persian empires, the conquests of Alexander and the Seleucid period, and the rise of the Kushan, Parthian, and Sasanian states. Through this longue durée approach, the study demonstrates how Afghanistan’s geographic position facilitated continuous cultural interaction, economic exchange, and political contestation, producing a …

My Negotiation Chatbot Toby And Pedagogical Governance, Renee Henson

Faculty Publications

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots is exploding. Adolescents increasingly prefer interactions with AI companions over peers. Adults rely on these systems for health planning, therapy, administrative assistance, nutrition guidance, and even simulated “romantic relationships.” Individuals and institutions are adopting AI tools at a pace that far exceeds the development of governance frameworks.

I developed Toby for use in my first-year Lawyering: Problem-Solving and Dispute Resolution (“Lawyering”) course to expose students to the dynamics of negotiating against an opposing counsel with a difficult personality—a type of adversary all too common in legal practice, yet difficult to prepare for. Toby …

Therapeutic Landscape Of Early Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease Translated Into Everyday Practice For Geriatric Providers., Melissa J Bailey-Taylor, Paula Morrow, James Hendrix, Katherine E. Galluzzi, Golnosh Sharafsaleh

PCOM Scholarly Works

Alzheimer's disease (AD) accounts for 60-80% of all dementia cases. Recent advances in diagnostic biomarkers of early symptomatic AD (ie, mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia due to AD) and amyloid-targeting therapies (ATTs) have the potential to improve outcomes for patients with AD. Two ATTs (donanemab and lecanemab) are currently approved and available for use in the US. Both ATTs can slow disease progression as well as cognitive and functional decline in patients with early symptomatic AD. Treatment with ATTs is associated with specific safety concerns such as amyloid-related imaging abnormalities. Therefore, the benefit versus risk profile needs to be …

Samuel Johnson Dictionary, 1755 Edition, Beth Rapp Young

Research Data and Datasets

This dataset contains digitized page images from the 1755 first edition of A Dictionary of the English Language, contributed by the University of Florida and Indiana University as part of a digital humanities project led by Beth Rapp Young. The collection provides foundational primary source material for the study of 18th-century English lexicography and supports research in textual analysis, transcription, and historical linguistics.

Play-Based Learning In Private International Preschools In Cairo: Teachers' Perspectives, Kesha L. Stovall

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how play-based learning is practiced and contextualized in private, international preschools in Cairo, Egypt through the perspective of teachers. It calls upon both historical and contemporary theories of play and play pedagogies ranging from the times of Plato and Al-Farabi to the 21st century with Montessori and Dewey. Using a contemporary theory of play presented by Stuart Lester and Wendy Russell as a guiding framework, it examines how play and play-based learning are implemented, shaped and even challenged in a Cairene context. These contexts include sociocultural factors such as parents’ expectations and aspirations, institutional barriers, teacher development …

Generative Ai For Born-Digital Collections: A Case Study For Metadata Management In An Institutional Repository, Tang (Cindy) Tian

Journal Articles

This case study examines the application of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, specifically ChatGPT-4o, ChatGPT-5, and Google Gemini 2.5 Flash, to streamline metadata extraction and creation for a born-digital collection within a digital repository environment. Testing four descriptive metadata elements—titles, abstracts, keywords, and full-text URLs—the study shows that AI improves efficiency in structured tasks but remains limited in semantic ones such as keyword matching. Results demonstrate that AI can streamline metadata workflows for small or resource-constrained institutions while emphasizing the continuing importance of human oversight and ethical responsibility in AI-assisted metadata workflows.

Constitutional Colonialism And Decolonization: Moving Toward A Decolonial African Constitutional Future, Luwam Dirar

Faculty Scholarship

This Article is an attempt at theorizing Africa's colonial constitutional legacies and post-colonial constitutionalism. The central argument of this Article is that constitutional law in Africa is a colonial tool that was used to legalize the subjugation of Africans and Africa, and a post-colonial necessity for the "self-determination and statehood" of newly-minted African states, while at the same time, it remains a decolonial battlefield of epistemic colonization. This Article adopts a broader conception of colonialism that extends beyond the 19th-century understanding of European colonialism and interrogates constitutional law as both a colonial tool and an act of self-determination in the …

Scholars Called: Ten Years Of Doctorates In Biblical Studies At Asbury Theological Seminary, David B. Schreiner, Jason A. Myers

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Tone Perception Differences Of Native English Speakers Between Beijing And Taiwan Accented Mandarin Chinese, Tehya Banach , '26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

No abstract provided.

A Quest For Food In Bedford-Stuyvesant And Brooklyn Heights: Residential Interactions With Neighborhood Food Resources, Aidan Carroll , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

This thesis examines urban inequalities situated across Brooklyn, New York by speculating residential interactions with food resources in their neighborhood such as gardens, grocery stores, restaurants, and food pantries. With a specific focus on the areas Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Heights of Brooklyn, New York, the study utilized qualitative data such as interviews and dietary food logs during ethnographic fieldwork in order to assess the ways in which experiences with accessing food can reveal a deeper message about systemic inequalities along the lines of racism and class if we are to consider food apartheid. That said, I found that food apartheid …

Apportioned Direct Taxes, Conor Clarke, Ari Glogower

Scholarship@WashULaw

The Constitution requires that Congress apportion any “direct” tax among the states by population. This once-dormant provision is now the most important constitutional limitation on Congress’s taxing power. Last year, in Moore v. United States, the Supreme Court seriously considered, for the first time in decades, whether to invalidate an Act of Congress as an unapportioned direct tax. While the law survived, Moore has opened a new era in which scholars and policymakers must again take apportionment seriously. Yet the apportionment requirement remains poorly understood.

This Article provides a new perspective on apportionment by examining how Congress and Treasury …