Digital Commons Network^™

2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Program, University Of Northern Iowa. Summer Undergraduate Research Program.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium Programs

The program for the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium of the College of Humanities, Arts and Sciences.

Fisheries Research Report No. 361: 2024 Assessment Of The Status Of The Elasmobranch Resource Of Western Australia, Matias Braccini, Alex Hesp

Fisheries Research Reports

This document provides the 2024 risk-based weight of evidence stock assessment for the elasmobranch (sharks and rays) resource of Western Australia (WA). Gummy (Mustelus antarcticus), dusky (Carcharhinus obscurus), whiskery (Furgaleus macki), and sandbar (C. plumbeus) sharks are the most commonly captured species (~80% of the elasmobranch catch) and have been selected as indicator species for the status of the temperate elasmobranch ‘suite’. However, over 100 elasmobranch species have been caught in commercial and/or recreational fisheries in WA and, with the increasing number of elasmobranch species being listed in national and international protection lists, species-specific scientific advice on stock status at …

Research Update - August 2025, Office Of Research

Research Update

No abstract provided.

Town Of Pawleys Island, Ally Murphy

Goal 15: Life on Land

No abstract provided.

What Hinders Electric Vehicle Diffusion? Insights From A Neural Network Approach, Monica Bonacina, Mert Demir, Antonio Sileo, Angela Zanoni

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

The transition to a zero-emission vehicle fleet represents a pivotal element of Europe’s decarbonization strategy, with Italy’s participation being particularly significant given the size of its automotive market. This study investigates the potential for battery electric cars (BEVs) to drive decarbonization of Italy’s passenger vehicle fleet, focusing on the feasibility of targets set in the National Integrated Plan for Energy and Climate (PNIEC). Leveraging artificial neural networks, we integrate macroeconomic indicators, market-specific variables, and policy instruments to predict fleet dynamics and identify key factors influencing BEV adoption. We forecast that while BEV registrations will continue growing through 2030, the growth …

Clemson Commencement Program, August 2025, Clemson University

Clemson Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Quantifying Irreversible Climate Losses: Methods And Metrics For Non-Economic Loss And Damage, Mahmoud Elfeky

COP30

No abstract provided.

Schools As Hubs For Cultivating Climate Literacy And Action In Egypt, Kenzy Al Ruwaini

COP30

No abstract provided.

Later Wittgenstein’S Metaphysics, Jeremy Barris

Humanities Faculty Research

Introduction

Ludwig Wittgenstein, in different ways in his earlier and later work, famously denies the general meaningfulness and consequently the legitimacy of traditional philosophical questions. Accordingly, he also denies the meaningfulness and legitimacy of any metaphysics. I focus here on Wittgenstein’s later view. In that view, words and statements are given their meanings by their uses in specific contexts of everyday life. As a result, any attempt to use words to talk or think about anything outside of those contexts literally deprives those words of their meaning. But traditional philosophical questions, and metaphysical questions and statements in particular, are characterized …

Faq: Remote Work Racial Discrimination, Center For Racial And Economic Justice

Center for Racial and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

Predicting Miner Localization In Underground Mine Emergencies Using A Hybrid Cnn-Lstm Model With Data From Delay-Tolerant Network Databases, Patrick Nonguin, Samuel Frimpong, Sanjay Madria

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Underground mining environments are highly hazardous, often prone to gas explosions, cave-ins, and fires that may trap miners during emergencies. The accurate, real-time localization of miners is vital for effective self-escape and rescue operations. Although the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006 mandates communication and tracking systems, most current solutions rely on low-power devices and line-of-sight methods that are ineffective in GPS-denied, dynamic subsurface conditions. Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN) has emerged as a promising alternative by supporting message relay through intermittent links. In this work, we propose a deep learning framework that combines Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) …

Single-Valued Neutrosophic Multiple Sets And Its Application In Multi-Criteria Decision-Making, Sanjitha Radhakrishnan, Baiju Thankachan

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Co-Creating Play:Utilizing Comics To Potentialize Participatory Self-Determination In Marginilized Young Adults, Marlin Mcknight

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Storytelling has long served as a vital mechanism for preserving cultural heritage, transmitting values, and fostering intergenerational connection (Moeshlin, 2024). Despite this significance, graphic narratives such as comics and graphic novels have been historically marginalized—dismissed as trivial “children’s media” or reduced to entertainment rather than recognized as culturally resonant tools (McCloud, 1993). This marginalization intensified as comics evolved to depict adult themes and, at times, harmful stereotypes, triggering social backlash that stigmatized their utility for younger audiences (Segran, 2020). Consequently, scholarly exploration of comics’ therapeutic potential has stagnated, hindered by the medium’s tumultuous history. This study bridges this gap by …

Engineered Interfaces For Enhanced Transient Liquid Phase Bonding In Electronics Assembly, John Russell Harris

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Growing applications in transportation make power density a key optimization target in the power electronics industry. More power in a shrinking environment leads to high heat flux and junction temperatures that damage silicon-based switching devices. Temperatures approaching 175℃ can result in false triggering of the device’s activated state, resulting in short circuits. Developing wide bandgap semi-conductors, such as gallium nitride and silicon carbide, are less susceptible to this complication as the energy from elevated temperature is a smaller fraction of what would be required to trigger the device. These devices are projected to function reliably in environments of up to …

It’S A Lightboard … And A Glassboard!, Craig Looney

Physics Faculty Publications

In this poster I present an innovative lightboard-glassboard design concept and prototype. The device, when not in use as a lightboard, is positioned against a wall in a low-profile configuration and used as an illuminable office glassboard. For video production, the device – supported and guided by a robust anti-tip rail system – is safely rolled away from the wall and used as a lightboard. This device has several advantages over traditional mobile lightboard designs including ease and reliability of setup, elimination of storage and transport issues, usability in modest-sized offices, and functionality as an illuminable glassboard when not in …

Farming With Data: Tracing Critical Tensions Using Data Science For Food Justice, Marc Sager, Maximilan Sherard, Anthony Petrosino

Publications

In this manuscript, we explore the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and equitable learning in higher education, focusing on data science as a subset of AI and social justice as the core theme of equity. Our investigation sheds light on the nuanced tensions inherent in employing data science for social justice. Rooted in situated perspectives of learning and consequential learning, our study employs an instrumental case-study methodology and analysis techniques from interaction and conversation analysis. Collaborating with three undergraduate students and an urban farm, the students used data science practices to highlight inequities surrounding food justice and access to food. …

Promoting Metacognitive Awareness Through Exploratory Learning., Ryan J. Patrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exploratory learning engages learners in novel problem solving before direct instruction. This process is designed to lead learners to experience productive failure. Productive failure, however, has been shown to benefit learners by improving the recognition of knowledge gaps, relevant problem features, and deep structures. This allows learners to better attend to relevant information during the subsequent instruction and improves conceptual understanding. This dissertation investigates the role of metacognitive awareness during exploratory learning, in attempt to identify additional metacognitive mechanisms that support exploratory learning. Two experiments tested the theory that exploratory learning promotes metacognitive awareness in exploratory learning. Groups in both …

Estimation Methods For Bayesian Exponential Random Graph Models Under The Horseshoe Prior., Pamela Linares

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Networks are powerful tools for modeling the complexity of social interactions, biological systems, and information spread. A leading statistical frameworks for analyzing network data are Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs), which provide a principled approach to capturing structural dependencies. However, ERGMs remain challenging to estimate, especially in sparse or high-dimensional settings where models suffer from degeneracy and unstable parameter inference. This paper proposes a penalized Bayesian approach to ERGMs that utilizes the horseshoe prior, a sparsity-inducing global-local shrinkage prior. This prior offers robust regularization while preserving important signals, improving estimation by shrinking irrelevant parameters and reducing the impact of extreme …

Evometric: An Interactive Framework For Scalable Visual Analytics Of Time Series Data With Dynamic Changes., Jiahang Huang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today's data-intensive landscape, rapid advances in digital sensing and recording technologies have enabled the acquisition of high-resolution multimodal time series data, capturing intricate real-world dynamics across various domains such as healthcare, behavioral science, and environmental monitoring. However, the complexity and scale of these datasets present significant analytical challenges, particularly in understanding dynamic changes at both individual and cohort levels. This dissertation introduces EvoMetric, a novel visual analytics framework designed to support scalable exploration and analysis of large-scale multimodal time series data with dynamic changes. EvoMetric seamlessly integrates individual-level temporal dynamics with population-level comparative insights, enabling users to visually …

A Deep Learning Approach For Semantic Segmentation And Its Application On Ctc., Samir Farag Harb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the modeling and analysis of medical images, focusing on the intricate task of colon segmentation and subsequent 3D reconstruction, which are critical steps in Computed Tomography Colonography (CTC) systems. The primary objective of this research is to develop precise segmentation approaches to enhance the accuracy of colon identification and reconstruction from abdominal CT scans. Three distinct segmentation approaches are proposed and evaluated: a Markov Random Field (MRF)-based approach, a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based deep learning (DL) approach, and a sequential episodic training with dual contrastive learning Approach (G-SET-DCL) that has a flavor of few-shot learning (FSL). To …

Recent Studies On The Reactions And Synthesis Of Nitrogen And Sulfur - Containing Heterocyclic Pharmacophores., Bernard Louis Adjei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen and sulfur-containing heterocycles remain significant classes of compounds in the field of medicinal and organic chemistry due to their unique structural features and diverse biological activities which make them of considerable interest for drug discovery and development. Notable examples of the nitrogen containing heterocycles include the phthalimide and glutarimide rings present in thalidomide. Thalidomide, a potent small-molecule therapeutic agent, precipitated a significant global drug crisis due to its teratogenicity, causing congenital malformations in phocomelia infants, which remains unrivaled over half a century ago. Currently, thalidomide derivatives are extensively utilized in the therapeutic management of various hematological malignancies. Recent investigations …

Opportunities For Mathematical Thinking (Omt) In Fourth Grade Mathematics Textbooks., Lucas Wayne Elliott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mathematical thinking is essential not only for students’ academic achievement but also for their ability to compete in a global workforce (Schoenfeld, 1992; Mullis & Martin, 2017). However, students in the United States continue to lag behind their international peers on assessments that measure mathematical thinking (Mullis et al., 2020; van Davier et al., 2024). These gaps emerge as early as elementary school, where the foundation for future academic success is established (Aunola et al., 2004; Locuniak & Jordan, 2008). Given the importance of mathematical thinking and the persistent disparities in student performance, this study examined how mathematical thinking is …

Optimization And Simulation Models For Integrating Social Determinants In Assessing And Optimizing The Accessibility And Efficiency Of Community Pharmacy Networks., Md Morshedul Alam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community pharmacies are essential components of the healthcare system, serving not only as points of medication access but also as providers of health consultations and preventive care. However, disparities in pharmacy access persist due to a combination of geographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors. This dissertation develops a comprehensive methodological framework to evaluate and improve accessibility to community pharmacies, integrating optimization, choice modeling, and discrete event simulation. First, we develop an Optimal Community-Pharmacy Assignment (OCPA) model to quantify geographic accessibility across a regional population network. The model minimizes risk-adjusted travel distances between population centers and pharmacies, incorporating social determinants of health …

Remotely-Sensed Urbanization And Local Perceptions Of Change From 1985-2024 In Southern Indiana., Marlea Ferber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is focused on the land cover change of non-built land cover being transformed into built land cover in two counties in Southern Indiana using mixed methods. Remote sensing was used to identify and quantify land cover change, and interviews were used to understand local perceptions of the physical land cover changes. The study area is situated along the rural-urban continuum with Louisville, Kentucky across the Ohio River. It is important to quantify the amount of land change conversion to built settlement as patterns and rate of urbanization help us to better manage transitions along the rural-urban continuum, but …

Synthetic And Pharmacological Diversity Of Nitrogen-Containing Heterocycles., Shramana Ghosh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen-containing heterocycles are a foundational class of compounds in organic chemistry, playing critical roles in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and natural products due to their structural diversity and biological relevance. Among them, isoindolinones are notable for their wide range of pharmacological activities. Structurally, isoindolinones possess a benzylic methylene group adjacent to the nitrogen atom, which allows for selective oxidative transformations to yield phthalimide derivatives, well-known intermediates in synthetic, pharmaceutical, and materials chemistry. Although phthalimide is traditionally employed as a protecting group for amines via the Gabriel synthesis, isoindolinone offers a valuable alternative. Through a modified Gabriel-like approach, isoindolinones can serve as more …

Dust Observations Of Occulting Galaxy Pair Vv 191., Clayton Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The presence of dust grains as part of the the interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies is an all-impactful entity in astronomy due its influence on light, and therefore observations. Unlike a true blackbody, dust absorbs, reflects, reddens, and scatters light within a line of sight. We quantify this phenomena with attenuation: the difference between the observed and true magnitudes of an astronomical object due to dust. Therefore, to map dust attenuation, one needs a known background source of light. In the serendipitous case of partially overlapping –occulting– galaxies, the background galaxy serves as the known light source and the transmission …

Predictor-Informed Bayesian Nonparametric Clustering., Md Yasin Ali Parh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we performed clustering of observations such that the cluster membership is influenced by a set of predictors. To that end, we employ the Bayesian nonparametric Common Atom Model (CAM), which is a nested clustering algorithm that utilizes a (fixed) group membership for each observation to encourage more similar clustering of members of the same group. CAM operates by assuming each group has its own vector of cluster probabilities, which are themselves clustered to allow similar clustering for some groups. We extend this approach by treating the group membership as an unknown latent variable determined as a flexible …

Bleeding Out From The Redlining: An Autoethnographic Study Of Racial Equity Policy Enactment In A Large, Urban School District., Anderson Aven Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This autoethnographic study investigates the enactment and impact of racial equity policies within Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), a large urban school district in Louisville, Kentucky. The research is motivated by the ongoing challenges of achieving true educational equity for Black and Brown students, a struggle rooted in historical injustices such as redlining. Despite over seven years of policy implementation aimed at promoting racial equity, academic and behavioral disparities between Black and Brown students and their White counterparts have shown little improvement. Utilizing a qualitative methodology, this study employs autoethnography to intertwine personal narrative with scholarly analysis, exploring the lived …

Polymathy: The Foundational Source Of Creativity And Innovation., Michael Araki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an era of mounting complexity and a growing need to transcend siloed thinking, this dissertation advances polymathy as a critical yet underexplored construct in the management and behavioral sciences. Polymathy is framed as an expansive approach to the pursuit, development, and application of knowledge, marked by the conjunction of breadth, depth, and integration. Building on a thought lineage that stretches from Ancient Greece through the Renaissance to the present day, this work shows that polymathy is neither a relic of the past nor an achievement reserved for a few—but a mode of being, thinking, and acting in the world …

Effects Of A Speech-To-Text Assistive Technology Writing Accommodation For Students With Cerebral Palsy, Kirstin Franklin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a motor disability characterized by impairments in movement, muscle tone, or posture that can also include intellectual, executive functioning, language and memory skills, and academic achievement deficits in children with CP (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022; Levitt & Addison, 2019). These neurological consequences and motor impairments can impact written expression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a speech-to-text assistive technology (AT) accommodation that was applied to circumvent the impaired spelling and handwriting (i.e., transcription) skills resulting from CP. Three male students (Grades ranged from 6-10) with CP participated …