Digital Commons Network^™

Relearning Language: A Meta-Analysis Of Syntactic Priming In Aphasia, Ally Miller, Willem Van Boxtel

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Background: Despite the importance of grammatical skills for participation
in daily life, treatments for sentence–level abilities in aphasia
are comparatively scarce. The psycholinguistic paradigm of syntactic
priming has recently been advanced as a potential assessment and
treatment for grammatical skills, and existing evidence on priming in
aphasia is highly promising. Nevertheless, a comprehensive analysis of
the strength of priming effects in aphasia, as well as treatment components
which might amplify these effects, has not been reported.
This meta–analysis synthesizes existing findings on syntactic priming
in aphasia, aiming to provide a comprehensive picture of priming
effects and their potential application for …

Towards Breach Hypothesis Based Predictive Autonomous Cyber Defense Ecosystem: Proactive Prevention Of Imminent Threats And Productivity Losses, Yogesh Chavarkar

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

As cyberattack tools and techniques get sophisticated and persistent, reactive cybersecurity has been unable to effectively prevent breaches and compromises. Organizations and institutions with large complex environments have wide vulnerable exposure with higher chances of a cyberattack. This also increases overall security and financial risk. Possibility of repetitive attacks from cyber threats increases, too, despite the use of standard defense measures. Security tools and system vulnerabilities often need manual patching and updates to keep the environment secure and functioning effectively. Productivity suffers from manual trade-offs in keeping the systems secure from adverse impact. Persistent high-severity cyberattacks, despite continued reactive defensive …

Comprehensive Analytical Investigation Of Tetrahydro-4h-Chromene And Dihydropyridine Derivatives, Ryan J. Burk

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

Novel calcium channel blockers (CCBs) with dihydropyridine (DHP) or tetrahydro-4H-chromene moieties are often chiral, so effective enantiomer separation methods are needed for continued drug development. The purpose of this dissertation is to outline a comprehensive method development model for the chiral separations of DHPs and tetrahydro-4H-chromene derivatives. The scope of this dissertation is to address analytical challenges during initial synthesis, chiral separations, and data analysis during post-processing for this class of chiral compounds. The first section focuses on the method development strategies for separations of DHPs in the sub/supercritical fluid (SFC) and normal phase modes with the 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin stationary phase. …

Novel Methods For Environmental Fluoride Measurement, Cable Warren

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

Fluoride analysis has been an important focus of analytical analysis for many years and will continue to be so going forward. Today, fluorinated compounds, specifically per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), better known as “forever chemicals” have captured the moment and are the subject of vast research and regulation. Under this context, I have researched new methods of fluoride separation and concentration in complex media as well as a novel method of PFAS destruction and total organic fluorine analysis for screening of PFAS in aqueous samples. Through research and work on micro-scale detection methods, an understanding of the state of the art and …

Algebraic Properties Of Farey Recursive Functions, Junwei Liao

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Stern-Brocot diagram is the graph whose vertices are the points (p/q, 1/q) where q > 0 and gcd(p, q) = 1, together with a point at infinity denoted by 1/0. Two vertices p/q and r/s are connected by an edge exactly when |ps - qr| = 1. A Farey recursive function assigns values in a commutative ring to these vertices so that, along any line formed by edges in the diagram, the values satisfy a second-order linear recurrence. Although these functions arise naturally in hyperbolic geometry, 2-bridge links, and Dehn filling constructions, …

Ghostly Grieving In Theatre’S Now Also The Dramaturgy Of Perception And The Body In Contemporary American Ghost Plays, Jacob Mann Christiansen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

“Ghostly Grieving in Theatre’s Now Also” explores how contemporary American plays and playwrights stage the dead as a way of understanding theatre’s unique language for dealing with the shared, complex human experience of grief. Focusing on theatrical ghosts and other “impossible” presences, I articulate how these figures function as dramaturgical devices. I also argue that theatre’s ghosts “set the stage” (as it were) for communicable meaning-making by inviting audiences into the tasks of creation and mourning.

My work draws on performance theory (especially phenomenological accounts of theatrical storytelling), on dramaturgical analysis, and on grief studies. In this dissertation project, I …

The Forensic Implications Of Hydrochloric Acid (Hcl) Exposure On Dna Preservation In Human Teeth, Shaelyn Lee Zimmerman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Identity is a human right, and forensic anthropological methods are often aimed at returning identity to decedents. Three main pathways are used for the identification of human remains: fingerprints, dental records, and DNA analysis. Identification efforts may be hindered when perpetrators attempt to obscure the victim’s identity. In cases where corrosive substances, such as hydrochloric acid (HCl) are used, dental comparison and fingerprinting often fail and genetic analysis becomes the best chance of achieving personal identification.

Previous studies have shown teeth are an excellent source of DNA. Large, multi-rooted teeth, such as molars, are often preferred because they contain the …

Labor Savings From Mechanical Rice Transplanting In Bangladesh, India, Nepal, And The Philippines: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Rodrigo S. David

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Rice production in South and Southeast Asia faces serious challenges, including acute labor shortages and rising wages, which threaten regional food security. Mechanical rice transplanting offers a promising solution; however, evidence on labor savings, especially region-specific data, remains inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify labor savings from mechanical versus manual transplanting across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and the Philippines.

Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across four major scientific databases (2000–2026) using Boolean search terms for mechanical transplanting and labor outcomes. Of 284 initial records, 52 met eligibility …

Climate And Seasonal Influences On Indo-Pacific Sea Level: Insights From 30 Years Of Satellite And Tide Gauge Data, Karlina Triana

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

We analyze Indo-Pacific sea-level variability using monthly satellite altimetry (1993–2025) validated against records from 16 tide-gauge stations. Cross-comparisons show strong agreement, especially in the western Pacific, confirming the reliability of altimetry for regional assessments. Seasonal SLA variability is largest in the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea and reflects monsoonal forcing, whereas interannual fluctuations in the eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans are dominated by ENSO and modulated by PDO. Harmonic decomposition isolates annual and semi-annual cycles, and an EOF/PCA framework identifies the leading modes: EOF1 (30.8%) captures basin-scale interannual variability and EOF2 (20.9%) reflects the seasonal cycle. Spectral …

The Impact And Sustainability Of A School Improvement Grant On Student Outcomes In An Elementary Setting, Tiesha Denise Reed

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact and sustainability of the School Improvement Grant (SIG) Transformation Model and to determine its impact on a low-performing elementary school. The research study used a quantitative research design to investigate the effects of the SIG on student achievement and school annual reporting data across three time periods: pre-intervention (2014-2015), post-intervention (2016-2017), and six years after the grant ended (2022-2023). The research design was appropriate because it allowed the researcher to collect archival data and examine potential differences across time periods. The independent variable was the three time periods, and the …

The Returns On Educational Investment: Military Retention Among Mid-Grade Enlisted Soldiers After Army-Funded Degree Completion, Robert Kenneth Bandy Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. Army Tuition Assistance (TA) program represents a substantial investment in the education and professional development of enlisted soldiers, yet limited empirical research has examined retention outcomes among soldiers who complete degrees using TA. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between selected demographic and educational characteristics and time-to-separation among enlisted U.S. Army soldiers who completed a degree using TA between fiscal years 2023 and 2025. Guided by Human Capital Theory, the study used archival administrative data from the Army Continuing Education Division (ACED) and the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army (IPPS-A). A stratified …

Using Network Models To Understand Biological Signaling Architecture, Russ White, Emily Brown Reeves, Gerald L. Fudge

Faculty Publications

Engineers have developed abstract network models to better understand the recurring problems faced by communication systems. This paper argues that these models can be generalized to describe biological communications systems given that they share many requirements with human-designed systems, including functional requirements and physical constraints. Leveraging collaboration, biologists and engineers can work together to use well-understood communication systems, designed to carry data across a computer network, as a model for analyzing less well-understood biological communication systems in order to make predictions and uncover previously unknown functionalities. To illustrate this approach, we apply the Recursive Internet Network Architecture model (RINA) to …

Pullulan Production From Lignocellulosic Plant Biomass Or Starch-Containing Processing Coproduct Hydrolysates, Thomas P. West

Faculty Publications

The complex polysaccharide pullulan is characterized as a glucose-containing biopolymer that is both water-soluble and neutral in polarity. A variety of commercial applications exist for pullulan, including its utilization as a flocculant, a blood plasma substitute, a food additive, a dielectric material, an adhesive, or a packaging film. The fungus Aureobasidium pullulans has used several hydrolysates derived from plant biomass or starch-containing processing coproducts to support polysaccharide production. These include various plant biomass or processing coproduct streams such as lignocellulosic-containing peat, prairie grass, stalks, hulls, straw, shells, and pods or starch-containing coproducts from the processing of corn, rice, jackfruit seeds, …

Investigating Ui Based And Ai Based Interactions In Vr Environments For Human Anatomy Education, Siddharth Sondhi

Master's Projects

Traditional approaches to learning and simulation often struggle to convey the complexity of three dimensional structures. In anatomy education, methods such as textbooks, lectures, and cadaver based learning are used, but can make it difficult to understand the complex structure of organs within the human body. Virtual Reality (VR) offers a promising alternative by providing immersive and interactive 3D environments that allow users to explore and manipulate anatomical structures more intuitively. These environments can be further enhanced by integrating large language models (LLMs) as intelligent agents capable of guiding users through natural language interaction. This project presents a Unity-based VR …

Emotional Patterns In Conversational Social Media Using Graph-Based Context, Sai Sanjay Yerunkar

Master's Projects

Most social media datasets for emotion detection have not been constructed to account for conversational structure‚ so we investigate whether it carries signal for emotion prediction. Using Sentiment140 and GoEmotions Reddit threads‚ we construct their thread-based conversation graphs and compute the aggregated features of neighbors as well as the transformer and TF-IDF representations of comments. Connected comments are 4.5× more similar in emotions than expected by chance. Pairwise emotional similarity decays exponentially with geodesic distance (e.g.‚ after 2 hops). Pairs separated by a 30s timestamp difference have the highest emotional similarity. These results suggest that emotion is structured locally and …

Adaptive Real-Time Fraud Detection Using Online Learning And Explicit Concept-Drift Detection, Purva Govind Tugaonkar

Master's Projects

Real-time credit card fraud detection faces challenges such as extreme class imbalance, delayed feedback, and concept drift in transaction streams. This project implements and evaluates an adaptive streaming fraud detection framework based on three methodologies: (1) online learning with incremental updates, (2) explicit conceptdrift detection using statistical monitoring, and (3) separate models for immediate and delayed supervision, combined with cost-sensitive learning and anomaly detection. The system processes the credit card fraud dataset in a batched streaming fashion, uses multiple online learners and ensembles. Experiments show that online, driftaware models maintain high recall on frauds while controlling false positives under imbalanced …

Exploring Parents’ Perspective Of Outdoor Occupational Therapy Sessions, Harold Ho, Michelle Huynh, Christina Le, Amy Morrison

Master's Projects

Introduction: Outdoor play is recognized as critical for supporting children’s development across physical, cognitive, and social-emotional domains (Firby & Raine, 2022; Walker & Ray, 2024; Zhu et al., 2024). The current literature suggests that outdoor play strengthens executive functioning, early learning skills, and enhances social-emotional competency (Dinkel et al., 2019; Walker & Ray, 2024; Zhu et al., 2024). Furthermore, accessibility to outdoor play is shaped by contextual factors, including parental perceptions of safety, environmental barriers, and broader societal influences (Cox et al., 2025; Faulkner et al., 2025; Jelleyman et al., 2019). The research suggests that common parental concerns have emerged …

Catalytic Hydropyrolysis Of Beetle Killed Trees For The Production Of Transportation Biofuels, Oluwanisola Makinde, Fernando L.P. Resende, Michael Asama, Demian F. Gomez

Jasper Department of Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We conducted catalytic hydropyrolysis of beetle-killed trees: Pine, Ash tree, and Redbay in a micro-pyrolyzer (Py/GC–MS) and investigated the performance of heterogeneous catalysts like HZSM-5, NiMo-HZSM- 5, and NiRe-HZSM- 5. We also investigated the effects of temperature, catalyst-to- biomass ratio, and hydrogen pressure on product yield. Our findings reveal that aromatic yields increase with temperature and catalyst-to- biomass ratio but decline at higher hydrogen pressures; additionally, higher catalyst acidity enhances both total hydrocarbon production and selectivity toward C7–C8 aromatics, with each feedstock exhibiting distinct optimal conditions. The type of metal doped on the HZSM-5 zeolite plays an important role in …

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Reclaiming Sophia In The Age Of Ai: Theological And Ethical Reflections On Consecrated Technology And Human Dignity, Matthew H. Sauber

Faculty Scholarship 2026

The cultural emergence of artificial intelligence systems named after figures of divine wisdom—most notably the Hanson Robotics humanoid Sophia, granted Saudi citizenship in 2017—reveals a gap between the language of the wisdom traditions and that of contemporary technology. This paper treats that gap as the occasion for theological and ethical reflection on AI. Drawing on the Sophia tradition across its Hebrew, Hellenistic-Patristic, Gnostic, Russian Sophiological, perennialist, and Sufi articulations—especially Sergei Bulgakov’s account of Sophia as mediation between divine wisdom and created order—it develops a framework termed Consecrated Technology. The argument unfolds in three moves: (1) a structural critique showing how …

A Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Multi-Tiered System Of Supports For Emergent Bilingual Students With And Without Disabilities, Ben Christensen

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

The Pure Yang-Mills Field: I: Fixed Time Existence, James Glimm, James Glimm

Department of Applied Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

The convergence of renormalized perturbation theory to all finite orders is defined and shown to be valid for the fixed time perturbation theory of a pure Yang-Mills field.

Two pure Yang-Mills quantum gauge field theories are constructed, one based on short distance asymptotics and the other based on long distance asymptotics.

The construction depends on an assumed principle of a maximum rate of entropy production.

Infimum Dimension Nash Embeddings For 2d Projective Shape Analysis, Robert L. Paige, Vic Patrangenaru

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Vector embeddings make complicated data extracted from networks, words and images, more amendable to data science applications. At the present time, the Veronese-Whitney (VW) matrix embedding of the real projective space is the state of the art for making inference about digital images from an uncalibrated camera, such as a cell phone or security camera. In this work we consider vector embeddings for the projective shape data and in particular determine the minimum dimension isometric (distance-preserving or Nash) vector embedding for a projective space. We determine such an embedding for the projective plane in closed-form. From this embedding we determine …

A Fully Discrete Semi-Implicit Numerical Scheme And Its Optimal Error Estimates For Cahn-Hilliard-Mhd Model With Variable Density, Dongmei Duan, Fuzheng Gao, Xiaoming He, Yanping Lin

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes and analyzes a fully discrete semi-implicit unconditionally energy stable numerical scheme to solve the Cahn-Hilliard Magnetohydrodynamics (Cahn-Hilliard-MHD) model with variable density. The unconditional energy stability and optimal L² error estimates are established for the fully discrete scheme. Major challenges in error estimation arise from the variable density, the strong nonlinearities, and the multi-physics coupling of the model. Under the mathematical induction framework, the Ritz quasi-projection and the Stokes quasi-projection, proposed in [SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 61(3):1218-1245, 2023], are utilized to avoid the gradient terms of the projection errors. The H⁻¹ superconvergence error estimates of Ritz …

Using A Record Player Inspired Probe System To Investigate Adhesion And Friction Of Tire Rubber At Micrometer Length Scales, Kyle J. Galigher, Brendan Schmitt

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

We will be using the principles behind how a record player turns physical grooves into electrical signals to develop a device that can be used to measure the surface of tires. The device will be capable of measuring the surface roughness of rubber samples from both new and worn tires, in order to compare the differences between them. It will be operable at varying speeds, and will produce electrical signals that correspond to the bumps along the surface of the rubber. The design will be carried out and optimized with the use of SolidWorks modeling, finite element analysis, motion analysis, …

The Impact Of Congenital Heart Disease On The Timing Of Alzheimer's Disease In Down Syndrome, Julianne G. Clina, Brian C. Helsel, Sigan L. Hartley, David A. White, Victoria L. Fleming-Batayneh, Benjamin Handen, Bradley Christian, Elizabeth Head, Mark Mapstone, Christy L. Hom, Beau Ances, Jeffrey Burns, H. Diana Rosas, Florence Lai, Sharon Krinsky Mchale, Joseph H. Lee, Frederick A. Schmitt, Jordan Harp, Ira T. Lott, Shahid Zaman, Lauren T. Ptomey

Neurology Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Down syndrome (DS) exceeds 90%. Approximately 50% of people with DS have congenital heart disease (CHD). Having CHD increases risk for early-onset AD in populations without DS, but it is unclear if CHD influences AD in DS. METHODS: Data from the Alzheimer Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) were used. Participants with CHD (n = 82, mean age = 39.9 ± 8.5 years, 97.6% White race) were age- and sex-matched to participants without CHD (n = 82, mean age = 40.5 ± 8.1 years, 98.8% White race). Cognitive assessments and Centiloid load (CL) (positron …

A 1d Symmetric Interior Penalty Discontinuous Galerkin Solver In Rust, William Aey

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This honors project will build a 1D Symmetric Interior Discontinuous Galerkin (SIPDG) solver in Rust for Stum-Liouville type problems such as the Poisson equation, with Robin, Dirichlet, and Neumann boundary conditions. The work will cover the full pipeline: starting from the strong form of the PDE, deriving the DG weak form, implementing element and interface operators, and assembling or apply the discrete operator. Rust's safety and concurrency (e.g, via Rayon) will be used to explore serial and parallel performance. A test-driven development approach will be used to maintain a strong suite of tests. The project will result in a documented …

From Curiosity To Code: Using Ai As A Tool For Phenomenon-Based Chemistry Teaching, Allie M. Chambers

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on integrating phenomena-based learning into science classrooms. This instructional approach engages students with real-world events that make scientific concepts more understandable and gives the students a personal connection to their education. However, implementing phenomena-based instruction proves to be a challenge to novice and veteran educators alike.

This project explores, through the lens of an education student, the struggle of implementing phenomena events. Starting with reflections on how lessons can be revised/ constructed to involve a phenomena event and a personal comparison of the difficulty of integrating these events without and with …

Printer For Music Box, Chad Lewis, Caleb Murawski, Zion Smith, Bryan Tibbs

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The traditional method of creating music box sheet music involves manually punching holes into a paper strip using a hand-operated hole punch. This process involves precise knowledge of each note’s location and the ability to achieve perfect accuracy for hours.

The goal of this system is to automate this process, significantly reducing the time required while greatly improving the accuracy of the resulting music box playback. The user simply uploads a MIDI file of their choice into a user-friendly application. Here, the file is modified based on the user’s needs and sent to an automated hole-punching system to punch the …

An Investigation Into The Potential Role Of Thioester Bonds In Prebiotic Atp Synthesis, Adam J. Ruf

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In this project I will attempt to show a potential prebiotic pathway for the synthesis of ATP. This pathway involves the use of thioester bond containing molecules, as derivatives of these bonds have been shown to exhibit enzyme-like catalytic properties. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy will be utilized to characterize each step of the pathway to ensure it is successful.