Digital Commons Network^™

Nonlinear Power Function Model Changepoint Detection., Jacob Steven Townson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Most work surrounding changepoint analysis focuses on linear models. This dissertation explores changepoint detection in nonlinear power function models, specifically focusing on models where the constant multiplier and power are the parameters to be estimated in addition to the changepoint parameter. The study assumes an asymptotic framework as the number of observations approaches infinity. The study explores various model fitting algorithms, and decides to employ the Newton-Raphson method for parameter estimation, with a custom implementation developed to optimize the process. The research first establishes the strong consistency of estimators for the model without a changepoint. Building on this result, consistency …

Finer Resolution Paleoclimatological Network Analysis Of Hydrological Extremes And Tree-Growth Response For Kentucky, U.S.A., Jordan Sharp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As climate change accelerates, southeastern states like Kentucky face increasing environmental and economic challenges. To improve future climate predictions, this study enhances paleoclimate reconstructions with a high-resolution tree-ring network for Kentucky, combining data from both living trees and dendroarchaeological sources. I evaluated the climate sensitivity of tree growth using superposed epoch analysis, static correlations, and spatial field correlations in KNMI Climate Explorer, along with moving correlations against seasonal temperature and moisture variables. Findings reveal that white oak and tulip poplar exhibit significant drought sensitivity across both live and archeological sites. However, I observed a weakening relationship between tree-ring growth and …

Bibliography Of Christianity And Mathematics Update, Calvin Jongsma

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This was a banquet talk given at the Twenty-fourth Biennial Conference of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences held at Dordt University on May 28-June 1, 2024.

It provides an update on the progress being made in the author’s project of producing a second edition of Bibliography of Christianity and Mathematics. This work is now being developed as a Zotero database with a slightly broader focus on Religious Faith and the Mathematical Sciences and with a much expanded list of books, articles, and blog posts on the topic. The author hopes to make the database public sometime …

Setting Up Students For Success: Analysis Of Effectiveness For Mathematics Placement, Jeff Carvell, Jason N.E. Ho, Dave Klanderman, Sarah Klanderman

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

How do we effectively and equitably place students into math classes in a way that provides them the best chance of success? As many higher education institutions veer away from placement based on standardized testing, many departments are seeking placement alternatives that will properly support students. Additionally, math placement determines not only a student’s mathematics courses but also influences their progress in related fields, including physics, chemistry, engineering, and more. This paper will describe three different existing placement systems at each of our liberal arts institutions as well as the affordances and constraints of each approach. Further, we analyze data …

Side Channel Analysis Of Modern Cryptographic Processors, Srinivas Nittala

Master’s Theses - College of Engineering

In an era of escalating cyber threats, hardware-level attacks have emerged as critical vectors for breaching cryptographic security. This thesis investigates two major classes of hardware-based attacks: firmware retrieval, key recovery and side-channel analysis. The first phase demonstrates practical firmware extraction from an embedded device using tools like CH341a, Binwalk, and Ghidra to reveal cryptographic vulnerabilities and recover encryption keys. The second phase explores power analysis attacks, specifically Differential Power Analysis (DPA), using the ChipWhisperer platform on STM32 and XMEGA microcontrollers to successfully extract AES encryption keys without physical tampering. These experiments underscore the limitations of relying solely on software-based …

The Effect Of Language On Student Achievement Across Countries, Ryotaro Hiraki

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

Does language matter in achieving higher scores in school? Do international standardized tests measure students speaking different languages equally? We study whether a language students speak affects their academic achievement. Understanding this research might also help construct a format for standardized testing. It might also help to build a curriculum for bilingual students and facilitate foreign language learning in schools. We analyze the role of institutional factors and the role of linguistics in student’s performance. To do so, we use PISA 2018 data and linear regression models for both the whole sample of students in each country and first and …

Marine Oil Snow Settling Rates In Cold Water Environments, Quinn Richard Wilkins

Master's Theses and Capstones

Naturally forming marine snow has long been studied as a primary transport mechanism of organic carbon from the surface of the ocean to the benthic environments. Before the Deep Water Horizon oil spill, marine snow was not considered a significant transport mechanism for oil spilled at the surface. Interactions between sediment and oil have been studied in the past, however the study of Marine Oil Snow (MOS) is an emerging research topic to better understand the fate of spilled oil. A previous UNH graduate student, Jesse Ross, investigated the potential for spilled oil to interact with marine snow via field …

Development And Functional Characterization Of Carbon Nanodot-Peptide Conjugates For The Treatment Of Bone Disease, Abigail Ali

Honors Theses

Carbon nanodots (CDs) synthesized from carbon nanopowder under acid oxidative conditions have unique bone-bind properties that could be exploited for theranostic purposes. In the zebrafish vertebrate model system, CDs bind to bone with high affinity and specificity, they don’t appear to bind to other tissues and they do not affect the bone physiology or animal viability. Thus, carbon-derived CDs could be developed for the delivery of pharmacological agents to bones to treat diseases such as osteoporosis. Biologicals such as peptides, proteins and antibodies are a new and exciting class of pharmacological agents that have been successfully used in treating complex …

The Impact Of Corporate Profits On Gdi Estimates: Forecasting And Data Revisions, Peterson Haas

Honors Theses

The National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs) produced by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) provide key measures of U.S. economic activity, including gross domestic product (GDP) and gross domestic income (GDI). Although conceptually equivalent, GDP and GDI often diverge due to differences in source data and revision timing. This study focuses on corporate profits—a small but volatile component of GDI that is frequently revised, especially during the BEA’s annual (A1) and benchmark (C1) revisions. I examine how revisions to corporate profits influence GDI revisions and whether they can improve real-time estimates of GDI. First, I document the size …

Comparing Spatial Interfaces Of The Tower Of London Task, Paean Luby

Honors Theses

Executive functioning involves key mental skills like self-control and problem-solving, which are often impaired by brain injuries. The Tower of London (TOL) task is a problem set commonly used to assess planning, but both traditional and digital versions can lack consistency, and, in the case of digital versions, realism and physical engagement. Research shows that 3D tasks, such as a 3D version of the Tower of Hanoi, engage the brain in distinct and meaningful ways, likely due to increased spatial involvement. By merging immersive 3D environments with the consistency of digital tools, virtual reality (VR) has the potential to enhance …

Tracking The Evolution Of Crossings In Memristive Hysteresis Responses, Eric Neuhaus

Honors Theses

A memristive device has an internal resistance that depends on the history of the applied voltage signal. This dependence gives rise to a pinched hysteresis loop in its current-voltage (I-V) characteristic, a property of resistive switching.

Beyond the crossing at the origin, additional crossings can emerge throughout the loop.

Our computational model simulates the current-voltage response of a memristive device under a sinusoidal voltage. We apply techniques from catastrophe theory to perform parametric analysis, assessing how intrinsic parameters influence the emergence of additional crossings. From there, we introduce a voltage transformation parameter to continuously transition the signal to a symmetric …

Thermal Characterization Of Lithium-Ion Batteries Under Fast Charging Conditions Using Infrared Imaging., Gowthaman Punithakumar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used across various industries due to their long lifespan, high energy density, low self-discharge rate, and absence of memory effect. However, fast charging of Li-ion batteries can cause problems like lithium plating, mechanical damage, and overheating. Temperature plays a key role in battery performance. Measuring temperature accurately is important to improve battery life, efficiency, and safety. However, accurately measuring a battery's internal temperature remains challenging, and the appropriate measurement method depends on factors like range, accuracy, resolution, and cost. Choosing the right temperature measurement method depends on range, accuracy, resolution, and cost. In this study, we …

Can Exploring Before Instruction Improve Underrepresented Stem Students’ Learning Compared To Traditional Methods? Investigating Psychosocial Factors., Katherine G. Golway

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing evidence suggests that active learning benefits students’ learning outcomes, while also helping to reduce or eliminate grade differences between historically underrepresented (UR) and non-underrepresented (non-UR) students in STEM courses. This dissertation investigates if, and when, a specific active learning strategy – exploratory learning before instruction – can have these learning benefits and impact students’ fundamental needs (i.e., security, belonging, competence, and self-efficacy) and curiosity/interest. In five experimentally-controlled studies conducted within undergraduate STEM courses (physics, engineering, and chemistry), students were randomly assigned to exploratory learning conditions (explore-first) or traditional instruct-then-practice conditions (instruct-first). After completing both the learning activity and lecture-based …

Engineering Solutions For The Transplant Supply Gap: Social Network Analysis, Artificial Intelligence, And Optimization In Living Kidney Donation., Joshua Nielsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Kidney transplantation is the gold standard for treating end-stage renal disease, yet over 90,000 patients remain on the transplant waitlist. This dissertation introduces engineering-driven solutions to help reduce the transplant supply gap by addressing three challenges: illicit trafficking, donor recruitment, and evaluation inefficiencies. First, we model illicit organ trafficking networks using social network analysis. We demonstrate that targeting transplant clinics alone is insufficient to disrupt operations. Instead, disrupting the network requires detaining brokers who organize behind-the-scenes logistics—offering a more effective strategy for intervention. Second, we seek to identify a latent population of potential living donors who face barriers such as …

Finished!: How Newcomer Students Leveraged Family, Culture And Community To Complete A University Degree, Brenda Eliana Bocanegra

Theses and Dissertations

The transition from high school to college represents a pivotal time in the life of a student. For Latino/a students, this transition may be met with unique challenges shaped by their cultural, socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. This research aims to delve into the multifaceted experiences of newcomer Latino/a students as they navigate the transition from, high school to university, to educators, exploring the factors that influence their paths, the barriers they encounter, and the support systems that helped facilitate their success.

This research used Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth as the framework to examine the factors that influenced and impacted …

Joint Modelling Of Longitudinal Egfr Trajectory And Time To Acute Kidney Injury In Lung Transplant Patients, Samiha Zakir

Theses and Dissertations

Progressive declines in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) often precede acute kidney injury (AKI), yet the relationship between eGFR trends and AKI risk remains unclear. This study investigates longitudinal eGFR changes and their association with AKI in 459 lung transplant patients followed for up to 7 years (n = 6419). We applied a piecewise linear mixed-effects model to evaluate eGFR trajectories and a Cox proportional hazards model to assess time to AKI. A joint model was used to explore the interplay between longitudinal and survival processes. Key covariates included gender, age at transplantation, antibody-mediated rejection (AMR), and pre-transplant eGFR. Males …

Pastoral Land Condition: Kimberley Land Condition Standards, Robert Sudmeyer, Rick Fletcher, Kathryn Ryan, Matthew Fletcher, Charles Martin, Philip Thomas, Karen Holmes, Karyn Reeves, Wayne Fletcher

Natural resources published reports

This report outlines the conceptual basis and quantitative land condition standards that define acceptable pastoral land condition for the Kimberley, Western Australia (WA), to meet the regulatory requirements of the Land Administration Act 1997 and the Soil and Land Conservation Act 1945.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) develops regional-level pastoral land condition standards for WA to implement the Framework for sustainable pastoral management – Revised edition, which is designed to address the Office of the Auditor General’s recommendations to improve the management of pastoral lands in WA. The application of these standards is expected to …

Shades Of Families: Exploring Intersectionalities Of Cross-Cultural Parenting Experiences In The U.S., Shu-Han Huang

Dissertations

As multiracial and multicultural families continue to grow across the United States, parents must navigate evolving cultural identities, systemic inequities, and increasing social and emotional pressures. These realities underscore the need for parenting resources that are both culturally responsive and emotionally supportive. This transcendental phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 11 cross-cultural parents raising children in the U.S., with a focus on how intersecting identities and systemic forces shape parenting practices.

Guided by Critical Multiracial Theory and Intersectionality Theory, this study investigated parenting at the personal, familial, societal, and structural levels. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed …

Securing Distributed Energy Resources: A Secure Gateway For Modbus To Solid Communication Using A Raspberry Pi, Donna R. Thakadipuram

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

As distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage systems become more common, securing their communications has become increasingly important. Many of these systems still rely on legacy communication protocols such as Modbus, which were not designed with cybersecurity in mind. This project addresses this challenge by developing a secure communication gateway that allows Modbus RTU devices to interface with decentralized Solid pods, which are personal data storage units that give users control over their information. This system is built on a Raspberry Pi 4, and it translates telemetry data from Modbus into a Solid-compatible …

Analyzing Unmanned Aircraft System (Uas) Incidents From Nasa Asrs Data Using Unsupervised Machine Learning, Kacey Haws

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) assembles voluntarily submitted aviation safety incident reports in their database to act on the information provided. This database allows the government, companies, and citizens to submit incident or situational reports to its database to discern recurring issues in the National Aviation System (NAS) so that the proper officials can act [1]. The narratives provided in these reports are text-based, resulting in large amounts of data to process. Previous work in the University of Arkansas Aerospace Systems Engineering and Transportation Laboratory (ASYST) lab involved parsing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) incident reports manually. While these …

Defend: A 1m Dataset Foundation Model For Tobacco Analysis, Matthew J. Shepard

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The study of tobacco imagery and marketing is a complex challenge that involves extremely large datasets. It also demands a detailed analysis of the so- cial context and specific types of tobacco being marketed. Despite major recent advances in computer vision and foundation model technology, this still poses a substantial challenge. Through the DEFEND model, we aspire to address these obstacles by integrating features such as multimodal learning, hierarchical under- standing, and feature extraction to develop a foundation model designed to handle the unique challenges of tobacco image analysis. One of the core elements of DE- FEND is the Tobacco …

Managing Graphical Fidelity With Stylized Shaders For Independent Game Development, Benjamin A. Edens

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper outlines work performed by the author within the Unity3D game engine to gain preliminary experience with technical art implementation and suggests design choices that could be useful to other students or independent game developers to manage complexity within their games while maintaining visual appeal. The final product of the discussed project is a small game consisting of an outdoor urban city environment as well as an interior aquarium environment. This paper begins with the author’s motivations and goals for the project before describing the implementation of specific aspects of technical art, including 3D modeling, rigging, animation, level design, …

Automated Solar Pv Analysis With Machine Learning And Computer Vision: Dataset And Methodology, Malachi Massey

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Solar power is a vital resource in a world being threatened with the ever-evolving impacts of climate change. A combination of new and developing technologies have allowed solar photovoltaic installation to increase at an exponential rate. With this rapid and unprecedented growth comes the task of maintaining tens of thousands of square miles of solar photovoltaic panels. Manually observing and testing solar PV panels for defects or obstructions is costly and time-consuming, distracting valuable resources from the continued installation of new units. This research aims to (i) firstly, introduce a novel dataset on solar PV obstruction, named De-Solar dataset; (ii) …

Multimodal Learning For Visual Perception And Robotic Action, Taisei Hanyu

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Multimodal learning aims to weave information from images, language, depth, and other sensors into one coherent representation, much as people naturally combine sight, speech, and sound. Progress toward that goal is slowed by three gaps: vision encoders that cannot balance crisp object boundaries with global context, 3-D semantic maps that are computationally prohibitive for real-time, open-vocabulary queries, and vision-language-action pipelines that depend on large token pools with weak relational grounding.

We first introduce AerialFormer, a lightweight hybrid of convolutional and Transformer layers that captures long-range structure without sacrificing fine detail. On the large-scale iSAID benchmark it reaches 69.3% mean IoU, …

Insight And Illumination In Mathematical Learning: Exemplars Of Transitions To Understanding In The Classroom From Elementary To Graduate School, David Klanderman, Sarah Klanderman, James Turner

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Jacques Hadamard describes a four-stage epistemological process: preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. Hadamard developed this scheme based upon Henri Poincaré’s reflections on the process that led to his discovery of Fuchsian functions (i.e., automorphic functions) which he described in his wonderful paper La Genese de la Creation Mathematique (Mathematical Discovery in English). Philosopher and theologian Bernard Lonergan builds on the writings of Aquinas to develop his theory of insight which elaborates the transition from incubation to illumination. Insight and illumination provide an analytical lens for transitional moments as students learn ever more abstract mathematical concepts. We offer exemplars of these …

Decoding The Algorithm: The Mathematics Behind Tiktok’S Short-Form Content Success, Ashley N. Lynch

Honors Scholar Theses

Within the realm of social networks, TikTok has become the central hub for short-form video content. The network’s unique ability to capture individual preferences using predictive analytics has greatly contributed to its massive success, allowing the company to optimize its performance and content personalization. In an age where digital media have such a significant influence on society, it is essential that users develop an understanding of how social network algorithms function to make more informed online decisions. Although TikTok’s technological system is primarily undisclosed, the platform certifiably leverages several key mathematical principles within its algorithm to achieve its core goals …

Critical Race Historical Examination Of Summer Programs: Impact On African American Youth, Megan Lee, June Hopps, Deryl Bailey

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Small Scale Magnetohydrodynamic Thruster, Samuel Rabaey

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This paper explores the performance of a self-constructed, small-scale magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) thruster using saltwater as the conductive fluid. The MHD drive generates propulsion through Lorentz force by applying an electric current across electrodes in the presence of an orthogonal magnetic field. Two experiments were conducted: one measuring static water displacement to determine force output, and another using fluid velocity in a closed loop to evaluate both force and efficiency at varying magnetic field strengths. Theoretical predictions based on MHD and fluid dynamics principles were compared with experimental results. While the measured outputs were consistently lower than theoretical approximations, likely due …

The Effects Of Climate Change On The Spread Of Mosquito-Borne Diseases, Lauren Provoncha, Sarah Franta, Portia Lawrence

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This paper examines the impact of climate change on the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, focusing on how rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events influence mosquito habitats and disease transmission. It explores the ecological and public health implications of these shifts and highlights the importance of understanding climate-disease dynamics to inform effective prevention and intervention strategies.

Fluorescence Lifetime Of Bulk Cadmium Sulfide Excited By Two-Photon Absorption, Grady Schierts

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

An attempt was made to measure the fluorescence lifetime of bulk cadmium sulfide excited by two-photon absorption. The excitation source was an 800-nm unamplified Ti:sapphire laser that produced 50-fs pulses at a repetition rate of 82 MHz. An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) driven by a waveform generator was used as a pulse-picking device. A sufficiently fast AOM could pick a single pulse from the pulse train to excite the cadmium sulfide. Due to limitations on the speed of the available AOM, it was not possible to pick a single pulse. Instead, packets with a minimum of three pulses could be picked …