Digital Commons Network^™

Hybridize Functions: A Tool For Automatically Refactoring Imperative Deep Learning Programs To Graph Execution, Raffi Khatchadourian, Tatiana Castro Vélez, Mehdi Bagherzadeh, Nan Jia, Anita Raja

Publications and Research

Efficiency is essential to support responsiveness w.r.t. ever-growing datasets, especially for Deep Learning (DL) systems. DL frameworks have traditionally embraced deferred execution-style DL code—supporting symbolic, graph-based Deep Neural Network (DNN) computation. While scalable, such development is error-prone, non-intuitive, and difficult to debug. Consequently, more natural, imperative DL frameworks encouraging eager execution have emerged but at the expense of run-time performance. Though hybrid approaches aim for the “best of both worlds,” using them effectively requires subtle considerations to make code amenable to safe, accurate, and efficient graph execution—avoiding performance bottlenecks and semantically inequivalent results. We discuss the engineering aspects of a …

First-Principles Studies Of Electrical Polarization Effects In Ferroelectrics, Antiferroelectrics And Defects, Louis Alaerts

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Over the last few decades, density functional theory (DFT) has emerged as a formidable tool in the field of computational material science. Not only has it become a complementary method approach to experiments by rationalizing the many complex properties of materials but its formidable predictive power can also be used to identify the most promising candidates for specific applications. Point defects in semiconductors have become an important platform for the development of quantum networks due to their ability to act as spin-photon interfaces. Spectral diffusion, the broadening of the optical emission line, can significantly impact the performance of these defect-based …

Grades 5–6 Mathematics Teachers’ Experiences Implementing Professional Learning Communities, Jamarc Rashad Crawford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed through this study was that in an urban Southeast Texas school district (SETSD), professional learning communities (PLCs) were implemented to provide support for mathematics teachers; however, Grades 5–6 teachers continued to struggle with providing mathematics instruction for their students in this Title I district. This ongoing challenge indicated a gap between the intended support mechanisms and their practical impact on teaching practices, necessitating a deeper investigation into the factors contributing to this persistent issue. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the SETSD Grades 5–6 teacher experiences with mathematics PLCs aimed at developing their …

Data-Driven Dynamic Decision-Making Using Discrete Optimization And Supervised Machine Learning, Navid Rashedi

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

In recent years, the operations research community has developed data-driven optimization techniques to solve complex combinatorial problems with the aid of machine learning. This thesis contributes to these efforts by combining machine learning with optimization to expedite online decision-making, with applications in transportation and healthcare.

In the domain of airline operations recovery, the focus is on the aircraft recovery process—repairing disrupted schedules by minimizing overall disruption costs. Traditional exact methods are too time-consuming, while heuristic approaches often yield poor solution quality and lack generalizability across varying formulations. To address these challenges, this research employs supervised machine learning to identify near-optimal …

Mitigating Supply Chain Disruptions In The Retail Warehousing Industry, Terricka Nichole Townsend

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retail warehousing stability is increasingly threatened by global uncertainties and supply chain disruptions, requiring urgent and innovative strategies. This issue is critical for retail warehousing managers and supply chain leaders, as their ability to respond impacts organizational resilience, business continuity, and customer satisfaction. The purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore strategies used by retail warehousing managers to mitigate the negative impacts of supply chain disruptions on business stability. The situational crisis communication theory and attribution theory provided the conceptual framework for understanding how retail warehousing managers communicate and respond to supply chain disruptions while maintaining stakeholder trust …

Hybridize Functions: A Tool For Automatically Refactoring Imperative Deep Learning Programs To Graph Execution, Raffi Khatchadourian, Tatiana Castro Vélez, Mehdi Bagherzadeh, Nan Jia, Anita Raja

Publications and Research

Efficiency is essential to support responsiveness w.r.t. ever-growing datasets, especially for Deep Learning (DL) systems. DL frameworks have traditionally embraced deferred execution-style DL code—supporting symbolic, graph-based Deep Neural Network (DNN) computation. While scalable, such development is error-prone, non-intuitive, and difficult to debug. Consequently, more natural, imperative DL frameworks encouraging eager execution have emerged but at the expense of run-time performance. Though hybrid approaches aim for the "best of both worlds," using them effectively requires subtle considerations to make code amenable to safe, accurate, and efficient graph execution—avoiding performance bottlenecks and semantically inequivalent results. We discuss the engineering aspects of a …

The Distribution Of Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic Rays Along The Supergalactic Plane Measured At The Pierre Auger Observatory, A. Abdul Halim, P. Abreu, M. Aglietta, I. Allekotte, K. Almeida Cheminant, A. Almela, B. Fick, K. Nguyen, D. Nitz, A. Puyleart, Et. Al

Michigan Tech Publications

Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays are known to be mainly of extragalactic origin, and their propagation is limited by energy losses, so their arrival directions are expected to correlate with the large-scale structure of the local Universe. In this work, we investigate the possible presence of intermediate-scale excesses in the flux of the most energetic cosmic rays from the direction of the supergalactic plane region using events with energies above 20 EeV recorded with the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory up to 2022 December 31, with a total exposure of 135,000 km2 sr yr. The strongest indication for an …

Noninvasive Assessment Of The Tumor Using Cfdna, Irfan Alahi

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Next-generation high-throughput sequencing, which is increasingly generating vast amounts of genomic data, offers opportunities for a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of cancer and, hence, better patient care. However, the inherently complex and heterogeneous nature of cancer and the significant challenges in the generated data demand advanced data-driven frameworks to decode the molecular underpinnings of cancer. Moreover, the undeniable need for non-invasive approaches presents additional technical challenges in this domain. This dissertation proposes novel frameworks addressing three key challenges in computational oncology. The first study of this dissertation develops a data-driven algorithm to identify stemness signatures in metastatic castration-resistant …

Three-Dimensional Learning Through Phenomenon-Based Science Education And Its Application Via The Collapsed Container Phenomenon, Maryam Saberi, Noushin Nouri

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

This research aims to investigate and explain three-dimensional (3D) learning through the phenomenon-based science education approach. The study employed documentary review research methodology to analyze sources that introduce phenomenon-based science education (including research articles, new science education standards, and Iran's national science curriculum guide). The findings indicate that three-dimensional learning, with its emphasis on disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices, provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and explaining natural phenomena. In this research, the six stages of phenomenon-based science education—including introducing the phenomenon, creating a questions-observations-interpretations table, developing an initial model, exploring the phenomenon, completing a …

On Metric Choice In Dimension Reduction For Fréchet Regression, Abdul Nasah Soale, Congli Ma, Siyu Chen

Faculty Scholarship

Fréchet regression is becoming a mainstay in modern data analysis for analysing non-traditional data types belonging to general metric spaces. This novel regression method is especially useful in the analysis of complex health data such as continuous monitoring and imaging data. Fréchet regression utilises the pairwise distances between the random objects, which makes the choice of metric crucial in the estimation. In this paper, existing dimension reduction methods for Fréchet regression are reviewed, and the effect of metric choice on the estimation of the dimension reduction subspace is explored for the regression between random responses and Euclidean predictors. An extensive …

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Butte Treatment Lagoons (Btl) Groundwater Treatment System Quarterly Operation And Maintenance Report – Quarter 4 2024 (Dated March 28, 2025), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Silicon Photonics For Quantum Information, Evan Manfreda-Schulz

Theses

Quantum information science and technology (QIST) combines principles of quantum mechanics and information theory to develop new approaches for processing, transmitting, and sensing information. Practical realization of applications in QIST requires generation and validation of a significant amount of entanglement, which is not only a property but a logical resource. Silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are an attractive platform for applications in QIST and for generating the entanglement resource because they are foundry-fabricated, are compatible with existing fiber optic infrastructure, have a small spatial footprint, and afford access to several high-dimensional (HD) degrees of freedom. This dissertation covers three projects …

Fayetteville State University Spring Commencement May 9, 2025, Fayetteville St University

Graduation Exhibit

Program for Fayetteville State University Spring Commencement May 9, 2025

Keynote Speaker: Mayor Mitch Colvin, City of Fayetteville Mayor 2017-2025

How Much Should Consumers With Mild To Moderate Hearing Loss Spend On Hearing Devices?, Vinaya Manchaiah, Steve Taddei, Abram Bailey, De Wet Swanepoel, Hansapani Rodrigo, Andrew Sabin

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: This study examined the relationship between hearing device price and sound quality. Method: A novel consumer-centric metric of sound quality (“SoundScore”) was used to assess hearing devices’ audio performance. Each hearing device is tested with two fittings. The “Initial Fit” is designed to approximate the most likely fitting for an individual with a mild-to-moderate sloping sensorineural hearing loss. The “Tuned Fit” includes adjusting parameters optimized to hit prescriptive fitting targets (NAL NL2) on an acoustic manikin. Each fitting is evaluated across five dimensions. Both fittings are combined using a weighted average to create a single number from 0 to …

Dualprompt Gnn: Tackling Graph Heterogeneity Via Bi- Perspective Prompting

Defensive Publications Series

The challenges tied to unstructured graph data are manifold, primarily falling into node, edge, and graph-level problem categories. Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) serve as effective tools to tackle these issues. However, individual tasks often demand distinct model architectures, and training these models typically requires abundant labeled data, a luxury often unavailable in practical settings. Recently, various "prompt tuning" methodologies have emerged to empower GNNs to adapt to multitask learning with limited labels. The crux of these methods lies in bridging the gap between pretraining tasks and downstream objectives. Nonetheless, a prevalent oversight in existing studies is the homophily-centric nature of …

Volume 7 Complete Issue, James W. Gallagher

The Geographical Bulletin

Volume 7 Complete Issue

Spatial Ordering In Social Area Typology, Larry B. Bubacz

The Geographical Bulletin

The primary purpose of this paper is to provide tentative evaluation of the general applicability of two statistics, the weighted mean areal center and standard distance, to the question of spatial ordering in social area analysis. More specifically, does the use of these statistics identify whether social phenomena tends to conform to either a concentric (doughnut) ring or a sector (pie-shaped) pattern? The weighted mean areal center is defined as the "balancing point" or "center of gravity" for a population distributed in twodimensions (x-y coordinates) which is comparable to the arithmetic mean of the conventional linear frequency distribution.' The descriptive …

The American State Capital, A Twentieth Century Growth Pole, Frederick A. Hirsch

The Geographical Bulletin

A fall-out of our avoidance of " capes and bays" geography has been a " benign neglect" of political capitals. In addition to the mental block arising from past tedious memorizations of their existence has been a second factor of sparseness of cases. The United States with fifty state capitals has more than the number of capitals in most of the other federally organized sovereignties. The scientifically oriented among academic geographers have preferred to analyze phenomena in greater abundance such as central places or stream beds.

Birds Of A Feather: An Integrated Outdoor-Based Bird Study P-3 Curriculum Guide, Erin A. Buzza

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

In a post-pandemic world that places technology at the at the forefront, educators are searching for ways to help students connect with the natural world. This project aids teachers in tackling this challenge by using the study of birds as a motivation to engage students with the outdoors and local wildlife. To demonstrate how ornithology topics can be used as an integrated thematic unit, research regarding components of ecological literacy is presented. They include nature-based learning, outdoor learning, environmental education, and wildlife education. In addition to these pedagogies, the benefits of incorporating interdisciplinary learning within the classroom are also provided …

An Analysis On The Most Effective Parental Involvement Behavior(S), Katrina Viloria

Honors Capstones

Parental involvement is the parent participation in the learning and educational process of their children (Myers-Young, 2018). Within parental involvement, there are home-based, school-based, and home-school communication forms of involvement. Previous research indicated that even after accounting for diverse background characteristics and risk factors, parent involvement in school was consistent in positive association with academic achievement, lower rates of high school dropout, increased on-time high school completion, and highest grade completed (Desforges & Abouchaar, 2003). The current study investigated which of the various parental involvement behaviors are the most strongly associated with childrens’ academic achievement as well as how these …

Subjective Evaluation Of Place Environmental Quality In Conference And Exhibition Buildings In Small- And Medium-Sized Cities: An Empirical Case Study, Yuchen Xie, Jianhe Luo, Peng Du

College of Architecture and the Built Environment Faculty Papers

The environmental quality of conference and exhibition places in small- and medium-sized cities plays a crucial role in attracting exhibitors, fostering the growth of the conference and exhibition industry and enhancing the market competitiveness of these places. However, past decision makers have often adopted planning models from large cities, neglecting the interaction between conference and exhibition places in smaller cities and local lifestyles as well as urban environments. From an “environment-behavior” per- spective, this study reveals the unique interaction mechanisms between exhibitors and the built environment within such venues. Moving beyond the limitations of traditional research that focused solely on …

Globelly: The Travel App, Diana S. Alvarez

Honors Capstones

My honors capstone project, Globelly: The Travel App, began as a feature-rich Android application designed to simplify travel planning, enhance global exploration, and foster community-driven sharing among travelers. The app was envisioned to integrate real-time suggestions using APIs like Yelp and TripAdvisor, incorporate a badge-based gamification system, and support advanced customization and privacy controls. While not all of these features were implemented in the final version, the project achieved a solid and functional foundation focused on core travel-sharing experiences.

Developed using Java, XML, and the MVC architecture in Android Studio, the completed app allows users to pin locations they’ve …

Voice Interaction With Conversational Ai Could Facilitate Thoughtful Reflection And Substantive Revision In Writing, Jiho Kim, Philippe Laban, Xiang 'Anthony' Chen, Kenneth C. Arnold

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Writing well requires not only expressing ideas but also refining them through revision, a process facilitated by reflection. Prior research suggests that feedback delivered through dialogues, such as those in writing center tutoring sessions, can help writers reflect more thoughtfully on their work compared to static feedback. Recent advancements in multi-modal large language models (LLMs) now offer new possibilities for supporting interactive and expressive voice-based reflection in writing. In particular, we propose that LLM-generated static feedback can be repurposed as conversation starters, allowing writers to seek clarification, request examples, and ask follow-up questions, thereby fostering deeper reflection on their writing. …

Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of Human-Carnivore Conflict In The Tarangire-Manyara Ecosystem, Tanzania, Sophie Carpenter

Environmental Studies Honors Projects

Livestock depredation by large carnivores significantly threatens human livelihoods across the globe, with severe ecological and socioeconomic implications. Economic costs of livestock depredation impact the tolerance for carnivores among communities living alongside wildlife, often straining human-carnivore coexistence. Using geographic and temporal attributes from livestock depredation records (n=406) collected between 2004 and 2023, we identified spatiotemporal patterns of depredation by African lions, leopards, and spotted hyenas in the Tarangire-Manyara Ecosystem in northern Tanzania. We found significant interactive relationships between the number of attacks reported and the season, time, and site of attack; with these interactions differing between the carnivores. To better …

Correlates Of Processing Speed Change With Combined Cognitive Rehabilitation And Exercise In Progressive Ms: Secondary Analysis Of The Cogex Trial, Brian M. Sandroff, Robert W. Motl, Roberto S. Hernandez, Maria Pia Amato, Giampaolo Brichetto, Jeremy Chataway, Nancy D. Chiaravalloti, Gary R. Cutter, Ulrik Dalgas, John Deluca, Rachel Farrell, Peter Feys, Massimo Filippi, Jennifer Freeman, Matilde Inglese, Cecilia Meza, Maria A. Rocca, Amber Salter, Anthony Feinstein

School of Health Professions

Background: Cognitive rehabilitation and exercise training are promising approaches for improving cognition in persons with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Identifying heterogeneity of change and factors that influence the effects of cognitive rehabilitation and/or exercise training on cognitive outcomes at the individual level have direct relevance for developing tailored and optimized rehabilitation interventions for improving cognition in progressive MS. Objective: This study involved a secondary data analysis from the CogEx trial in progressive MS. This study first described heterogeneity of change in cognitive processing speed (CPS) across the intervention conditions and then identified possible adherence/compliance, baseline performance, and demographic/clinical variables as …

Commencement 2025 (Program And Video), Illinois Wesleyan University

Commencement Ceremonies

No abstract provided.

Interaction-Required Suggestions For Control, Ownership, And Awareness In Human-Ai Co-Writing, Kenneth C. Arnold, Jiho Kim, Jason G. Chew, Jooha Yoo, Juyeong Kim, Ray Flanagan, Heonjae Kwon

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

This paper explores interaction designs for gen-
erative AI interfaces that necessitate human in-
volvement throughout the generation process.
We argue that such interfaces can promote
cognitive engagement, agency, and thoughtful
decision-making. Through a case study in text
revision, we present and analyze two interac-
tion techniques: (1) using a predictive-text in-
teraction to type the assistant’s response to a
revision request, and (2) highlighting potential
edit opportunities in a document. Our imple-
mentations demonstrate how these approaches
reveal the landscape of writing possibilities and
enable fine-grained control. We discuss impli-
cations for human-AI writing partnerships and
future interaction design …

Effect Of The Multi-Elements On The Aerodynamic Performance Of Airfoil, Shereen Sibie, Tayeb Brahimi

Effat Undergraduate Research Journal

The design of an airfoil in the wind turbine and optimizing the blades is fundamental in a wind turbine aerodynamic performance. In this paper, the effect of the multiple multi-elements on the aerodynamic performance of airfoil is investigated. These multi-element configurations are expected to offer better performance of the wind turbine by maximizing the lift and drag coefficients. Based on the case studies analysis, the multi-elements have shown that the modified design results in high values of the power coefficient at low-speed ratios. This effect is attributed to the cancelation of the negative torque on the turbine rotor observed at …

Calculating The Radius Of The Earth Using Sunset Method: Comparison With Al-BīRūNi Method, Jana Kamal, Tayeb Brahimi

Effat Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper attempts to compare the earth's radius calculation based on the sunset or sunrise (moonset or moonrise) with the Method developed by the scientist Al-Bīrūni. The sunset sunrise method is used to calculate the earth radius by standing in front of a flat horizontal plane. In addition, the authors have use Al-Bīrūni's rule to calculate the radius. Furthermore, the error percent of both Al-Bīrūni and the sunset sunrise method were calculated as well. The results showed that the earth actual radius is 6371 km. Eratosthenes radius which is 6366 km is the closest to the actual earth radius, then …

Fundus Retinal Images And Glaucoma Detection, Lama Alsabban, Malak Alnahdi, Nema Salem

Effat Undergraduate Research Journal

Abstract. Glaucoma is a severe eye disease that has no symptoms and, globally, it is the second cause of blindness. Glaucoma causes structural changes in the retina that make ophthalmologists detecting the disease in early stage and thus provide the suitable treatment. Fundus camera is an imaging technique that provides the fundus image showing the internal structure of retina. Our project provides an automated system for early detection of Glaucoma. The proposed system based MATLAB starts by acquiring the fundus image, followed by preprocessing stage, going through noise removal, enhancement, segmentation, feature extraction and ends up by the classification stage. …