Digital Commons Network^™

Hierarchical Log Bayesian Neural Network For Enhanced Aorta Segmentation, Delin An, Pan Du, Pengfei Gu, Jian-Xun Wang, Chaoli Wang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Accurate segmentation of the aorta and its associated arch branches is crucial for diagnosing aortic diseases. While deep learning techniques have significantly improved aorta segmentation, they remain challenging due to the intricate multiscale structure and the complexity of the surrounding tissues. This paper presents a novel approach for enhancing aorta segmentation using a Bayesian neural network-based hierarchical Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) model. Our model consists of a 3D U-Net stream and a hierarchical LoG stream: the former provides an initial aorta segmentation, and the latter enhances blood vessel detection across varying scales by learning suitable LoG kernels, enabling self-adaptive handling …

Accuracy Of Race And Ethnicity Data In The Pediatric Electronic Health Record: A Concordance And System Adequacy Study, John D. Cowden, Rachel Drake, Jessi Johnson, Katiana Kelty, Mehwish Ahmed

Student Publications

Introduction: Conventional race and ethnicity categories and analysis are reductive and prone to inaccuracy. Because race and ethnicity data validity is essential to health equity efforts, we measured the accuracy of race and ethnicity data in a pediatric electronic health record (EHR) to identify areas for improvement in data collection and use. Methods: Patients and their caregivers reported patient race and ethnicity via in-person survey in four pediatric settings (inpatient, emergency room, urgent care, and primary care). Race and ethnicity data from the EHR were compared with survey data to calculate four measures of EHR data accuracy. The U.S. Census …

"Just Keep Telling The Story": Wes Anderson's Carefully Crafted Vessels Of Loss, Claire Lewis

Honors College Theses

Wes Anderson’s 2023 feature film Asteroid City was met with a more polarized critical and audience response than any of his prior films. Evident in this response is an increasingly apparent distinction between the formal conventions of his films – encompassing elements such as visual aesthetic, filmmaking techniques, and storytelling structure – and the emotional and thematic content. In this paper, I examine the critical response to Asteroid City as well as the perceived dissonance between these two major aspects of his filmmaking in order to explore the relationship between the two, specifically as it pertains to the themes of …

Decoding Symbolic Influence On Youtube Engagement, Emotion Resonance And Trust In Information Campaigns, Diwash Poudel

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how symbolic images in YouTube videos influences viewers’ emotions, trust, and engagement with political content online. Approximately 2,000 videos were collected and analyzed, with a focus on both thumbnails and standout frames. The findings revealed that cultural symbols were particularly effective at capturing attention and evoking strong emotional reactions—especially anger and disgust. Notably, these same symbols also enhanced viewer trust, making audiences less susceptible to misinformation. Statistical tests confirmed that these effects were consistent and significant. To ensure the validity of these results, additional analyses were conducted to assess potential biases in YouTube’s recommendation algorithm, as well …

Method Development For The Analysis Of Drugs Of Abuse Using Solid Phase Extraction And High Pressure Liquid Chromatography, Sangeeta Kurre

Theses and Dissertations

The accurate detection and quantification of drugs of abuse and their metabolites for HPLC analysis is key in the medical, forensic, and environmental sectors. Additionally, the detection of compounds related to substance use disorders in clinical settings can play a crucial role in effective treatment decisions by healthcare practitioners. The ability to detect these compounds at trace levels in any given sample matrix is a known challenge. Coupling a reliable sample preparation method to HPLC analysis for matrix interference reduction and the preconcentration of species for enhanced detection limits may provide a preferred solution to the analysis of drugs of …

Narratives Or Not? Examining The Roles Of Message Format And Individuals' Stages Of Change In The Context Of Hpv Vaccination Promotion, Mengfei Guan, Shawn C. Chiang, Regan M. Murray, Wen-Juo Lo, Larry T. Hill, Ann C. Klassen, Jennifer A. Manganello, Amy E. Leader, Philip M. Massey

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

Narrative persuasion has been widely used in health communication campaigns and persuasive message design. However, several meta-analyses showed that the relative effectiveness of narratives in promoting behavior change was not consistently observed in the existing literature. With the goal of exploring boundary conditions of narrative effects, this study investigates the interaction effects of narrative persuasion and stages of change on promoting behavior change in the context of encouraging parents to vaccinate their children against human papillomavirus (HPV). Findings from an online experiment (N = 593) showed that non-narrative messages were more effective in bolstering behavioral intention than narrative messages among …

Early Childhood Educators’ Experiences Facilitating Learning Of Noncognitive Skills, Amanda Taylor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed through this study is that early childhood educators need help supporting young children in learning noncognitive skills, such as socialization, perseverance, and self-efficacy. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore early childhood educators’ experiences facilitating the learning of noncognitive skills, specifically socialization, perseverance, and self-efficacy. The study was grounded in the conceptual frameworks Nagaoka et al.’s noncognitive framework and Stingher’s learning to learn in early childhood framework. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with eight local early childhood educators who teach 3- and 4-year-olds, who were contacted via email, word of mouth, …

Be Ready For What's Next: A Reflection On My Internship With Kpmg, Megan L. Bundren

Honors Theses

During my audit internship with KPMG in Dallas, I had the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge from the Patterson School of Accountancy to real-world client engagements across a variety of industries. I participated in substantive testing, financial statement tie-outs, depreciation analysis, and internal control evaluations, which deepened my understanding of audit standards and procedures. My training at KPMG’s Lakehouse in Orlando and use of tools like KPMG Clara Workflow and Microsoft Excel’s DataSnipper enhanced my technical skills and audit efficiency. I also gained insight into global collaboration through KPMG’s Global Delivery Center in India. Through engagements such as Seaport Entertainment …

Examining The Relationship Between Teacher Characteristics And African American Vernacular English (Aave): A Quantitative Study, Mary Michelle Porter

Theses & Dissertations

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a distinct linguistic variety characterized by unique grammatical and phonological features. Despite its linguistic legitimacy, AAVE is often subject to negative perceptions that can adversely affect the educational experiences of students who speak it. The purpose of this study is to examine elementary school teachers’ attitudes toward AAVE and how these are influenced by demographic factors. Forty-eight teachers from Suffolk, New York, and Houston, Texas, participated in a survey that included demographic questions and the Language Attitude Scale (LAS), a validated instrument for assessing attitudes toward AAVE. Demographic variables included age, race, years of …

Small Things / Bigger Picture: Foucault, Vygotsky And Exclusionary Practices In Schools, Elizabeth Done, Vicky Bamsey

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

This conceptual paper seeks to identify resonances between the theorising of Vygotsky and Foucault that can explain how events which may not be perceived to be exclusionary by educators may contribute to school exclusion or the self-exclusion of students through home education. We explore the subjective conditions of actions that deviate from the normative standards enshrined in school behaviour policies, drawing on Vygotsky’s concept of perezhivanie which, following Chisholm, we situate in an ars pathetica derived from Foucault. The small things of our title refers to incidents, interactions or micro-practices that may be perceived as insignificant by educators but which, …

Beyond Boundaries: A Comprehensive Survey Of Transferable Attacks On Ai Systems, Guangjing Wang, Ce Zhou, Yuanda Wang, Bocheng Chen, Hanqing Guo, Qiben Yan

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems increasingly underpin critical applications, from autonomous vehicles to biometric authentication, their vulnerability to transferable attacks presents a growing concern. These attacks, designed to generalize across instances, domains, models, tasks, modalities, or even hardware platforms, pose severe risks to security, privacy, and system integrity. This survey delivers the first comprehensive review of transferable attacks across seven major categories, including evasion, backdoor, data poisoning, model stealing, model inversion, membership inference, and side-channel attacks. We introduce a unified six-dimensional taxonomy: cross-instance, cross-domain, cross-modality, cross-model, cross-task, and cross-hardware, which systematically captures the diverse transfer pathways of adversarial strategies. Through …

Navigating Accountability: The Role Of Paradata In Ai Documentation And Governance, Scott Cameron, Patricia C. Franks, Isto Huvila, Norman Mooradian

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose: The increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has prompted governments internationally to provide guidance and legislation to maximize the benefits of AI while minimizing the risks to humans and organizations. This paper explores how published requirements for documentation in a sampling of authoritative texts address the challenges of creating, capturing and preserving records of the design, implementation and use of AI tools for accountability and transparency, and how the analytical concept of paradata can help to meet the recordkeeping challenges presented by the design, development and implementation of AI systems. Design/methodology/approach: Inductive reading and conceptual analysis of a set …

Connections, Peter Froehlich

LSU Master's Theses

A definitive shift in American social interaction has been taking place far longer than most realize. It is easy to point the finger at the prevalence of technology and social media, this has been a trend that has been going on since the mid to late twentieth century. Stemming from changes in design, the breakdown of scheduled social outlets, and shifts in technology have led to what some writers and sociologists are calling “The Anti-Social Century.”

Working through a making practice to promote the building of connections through social interaction, three different types of spaces were targeted for the exploration …

Wrong Use Of Smcp In Marine Communication: A Review Study, Fahimeh Farjami

Seatific Journal

The Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP) are largely used on commerce ships to ensure safe navigation and to standardize communication between ships and between ships and shorelines. Therefore, it is crucial to raise training standards among important players in the sector: institutions for maritime education and training. This review study uses a theoretical and comprehensive systematic methodology and gathers data through analyzing SMCP previous papers in the context of onboard and external communication. The main objective of this research is to examine the improper usage of the SMCP, and marine safety to determine the needs and prospects for further future …

Adaptive Art Teaching Strategies: Empowering Students And Paraprofessionals In The Inclusive Art Classroom, Kameran Dostal

Art 895 Research Papers

In the art room, differentiation for students with exceptional disabilities presents unique challenges. Some art educators teach in self-contained settings (e.g. adaptive art classes), other art educators teach in inclusive art room settings (where students with disabilities are integrated into the art room), and others teach a combination of both. The research on adaptive art programs and adaptive teaching practices has the potential to impact students with disabilities as a piece of advocacy to showcase the impact of the visual arts on their IEP goals and fine motor skills. The intention is that this research re-examines best practices in teaching …

Developing Anti-Racist Teaching Practices To Represent A Diverse Student Population, Naomi Brumm

Art 895 Research Papers

The issue that this case study will address is the need for an anti-racist high school art curriculum. In order to better represent today’s diverse society, educators need to incorporate anti-racist teaching practices both within their curriculum and their classroom environments. I will examine how systemic racism as a society has led to lack of diversity within the field of art education and identify what anti-racist pedagogical practices can be put into place to combat it.

A Movement In Process: The Effects Of Post-Dictatorship Politics On The Legalization Of Abortion In Argentina, Corinne J. Robbins

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Access to abortion is an inherently critical aspect of sexual and reproductive rights. That is to say that access to safe abortions is of equal importance to guaranteeing a person’s right to safety during the pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum period. This research primarily focuses on the trajectory of the legalization of abortion in Argentina after the end of the last military Dictatorship (1976-1983), the factors that impacted the movement, and how the movement is received in Argentina today. Argentina’s current administration has been unsupportive of the current abortion law, but past successes demonstrate that abortion rights activists in Argentina are …

Globalization Of The Japanese Startup Ecosystem Through Transnational Entrepreneurship, Wonkyung Lee

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

In 2022, Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled a “new form of capitalism,” aimed at boosting investment in startups. When people think of major Japanese firms, they often envision corporations like Honda and Sony. However, Kishida highlights that these giants were once startups founded by young entrepreneurs, and emphasized the necessity of cultivating such innovation in Japan today. Furthermore, the introduction of a startup visa in 2015 has made it easier for transnational entrepreneurs to establish businesses in Japan. However, there are significant key issues within the Japanese startup ecosystem that make it difficult for foreign entrepreneurs to launch …

Walking In Town: A Study Of Walkability And Its Impacts On Students At Eku, Emma Garland

Honors Theses

This project explores the current state of walkability in Richmond, Kentucky, with a specific focus on connectivity between Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) and essential services in the surrounding community. Utilizing the PRECEDE-PROCEED model as a planning framework, the study combines secondary demographic health data as well as

primary data collection—including student surveys and a walkability audit using a modified Delaware Walkability Assessment Tool—to assess pedestrian infrastructure, access to amenities, and safety concerns. Findings reveal a lack of continuous, safe, and accessible walking routes, limiting physical activity and contributing to broader health disparities. Based on these findings, two primary evidence-based interventions …

Southern Adventist University Commencement Program Spring 2025, Southern Adventist University

Commencement Programs

Program for Southern Adventist University Spring 2025 graduation. The commencement service took place on May 1, 2025 at 9 am and 1 pm in Iles Physical Education Center.

Navigating Transparency In The Digital Age: An In-Depth Study Of Disclosure Practices In Influencer Marketing On Social Media., Devan Klarisa Grey

Dissertations - ALL

This study examines the disclosure practices of nano and micro-influencers on TikTok, focusing on their adherence to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines and the impact on transparency in sponsored messaging and regulatory enforcement. With the increasing use of influencer marketing, sponsored content with disclosures has become a critical issue. Regulatory bodies emphasize the need for clear and concise disclosures, yet influencers' compliance varies despite existing guidelines. This inconsistency raises concerns about consumer deception and ethical issues within digital marketing. This research examines influencers' disclosure practices on TikTok through a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative content analysis. The quantitative analysis …

Evidence Of The Evolution Of Interdisciplinarity: A Study Of Boundary Objects In Information Science, Susan Berrigan Corieri

Dissertations - ALL

This research investigates interdisciplinarity within the field of information science through the lens of boundary objects, addressing the primary research question: How does an examination of academic boundary objects provide evidence of the evolution of interdisciplinarity? By analyzing four boundary objects, (1) a peer-reviewed journal, Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (JASIS&T) (2) an academic conference, the iConference, (3) university organizational structures of U.S. iSchools, and (4) the nomenclature used to refer to U.S. iSchool academic units, the study explores how these artifacts document the collaboration and evolution of academic communities in information science. Motivated by the …

From Male Gaze To Feminist Vision: Exploration Of Women’S Roles In Film, Yuping Zeng

Theses - ALL

Every era has its own form of female consciousness awakening. As early as the 1970s, under the influence of feminist movements, a wave of outstanding female-centered films emerged. Simone de Beauvoir stated in The Second Sex: “The representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with absolute truth.” (166) Perhaps as a direct challenge to this so-called “absolute truth” created from the male perspective, female directors often crafted female characters who sharply contrasted with the popular portrayals of women in mainstream cinema. For …

Back Then, Long From Now, Joseph Henry Troxler

Theses - ALL

There is a disruption occurring in our homes, causing a dissociation from the now. Troxler examines the power of objects and spaces of our homes through his works, in the hope to create experiences that mirror a dissociative phenomenon of being pulled between past and future. Here, he provides context to his artistic process - establishing methods for his traditional painting practice, sculptures, and digital works. Through an interdisciplinary artistic practice, he asserts connections to his personal memory and experiences. Within this thesis, Troxler approaches a shared phenomenon of temporal dissociation by establishing our dwelling spaces as incubators for loaded …

Avatars In Virtual Live Streaming: Identity, Authenticity And Interaction, Yifan Wu

Theses - ALL

With the advancement and development of technology, people now have more and more choices for entertainment. Virtual live streaming, as a rapidly growing form of entertainment, is receiving increasing attention. As an intersection of emerging technology and traditional entertainment modes, virtual live streamers interact with audiences through virtual avatars, bringing a new entertainment experience while also raising many interesting research questions. This thesis focuses on virtual avatars, discussing how virtual live streamers and audiences perceive virtual avatars and how these avatars influence both streamers and the audience. More importantly, this thesis explores the role that virtual avatars play in the …

The Media Coverage Of The Israel And Gaza War: A Comparative Study Of Cnn And Al Jazeera, Fuhaid Alajmi

Theses - ALL

The Israel-Gaza War, which officially started on October 7, 2023, caused immense loss in the Middle East and attracted the international media's eyes. This study discusses the media’s framing in its reporting on the Israel-Gaza War, particularly as disseminated on two prominent global news providers’ online websites: CNN and Al Jazeera. The research explores the differences and similarities in framing the war using framing theory. The study examines how these news outlets covered these current events online in a period ranging from October 7, 2023, to April 7, 2024, using quantitative content analysis. It investigates the main framing of news …

Express Yourself! Biculturalism, Ethnic Identity & Expression Through Instagram, Zanira Ghulamhussain

Theses - ALL

This qualitative study examines the relationship between biculturalism, ethnic identity, and Instagram use among second-generation Pakistani-Americans. To answer the research questions for this cross-sectional study, the method of virtual, semi structured in-depth interviews was utilized to collect data. Through interviews with second-generation Pakistani-Americans, the researcher explored how Instagram use intersects with ethnic identity and bicultural experiences. Interview data was collected, transcribed, analyzed, and categorized into various themes. Results suggest that Instagram plays a significant role in shaping and expressing ethnic identity, providing a platform for connection, cultural exchange, and personal exploration. This study contributes to understanding the role of social …

Encrypted Eroticism: Encoding And Decoding Strategies Against Censorship In Chinese Slash Fandom, Xiyin Li

Theses - ALL

This study examines how Chinese slash fans circumvent censorship through coding and decoding strategies (Hall, 1980). Based on online ethnography and participant observation of a 20-year slash fandom of a popular online novel, DMBJ, I find that fans employ linguistic wordplay across morphological, phonetic, and semantic dimensions with their linguistic literacy in Chinese. Fans actively extract scenes or descriptions from the original novel that align with erotic contexts and collage them into new slash fiction. This form of creation is not entirely original but involves poaching and recombining canonical texts to assign new sexual meanings. At the same time, fans …

Strategies For Integrating Teaching For Artistic Behavior (Tab) In A High School Ceramics Classroom, Joanna Gurney

Art 895 Research Papers

This research study reveals strategies for the integration of Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) in a high school Ceramics classroom. The primary objective is to identify potential, effective strategies for implementing TAB approaches within a single-media environment. Using a Case Study approach, this study examines and synthesizes existing theories with student outcomes, researcher field notes, teacher observations of a TAB classroom, and teacher reflections to understand how TAB-based pedagogical shifts can be used to effectively promote artistic behavior, while balancing student autonomy with the need for structured skill development in a single-media. Findings from this research will contribute to the …

Waste In The Food Industry: How Farm-To-Table Restaurants Reduce Food Waste And Promote A Circular Economy, Maia J. Werner

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the issue of food waste and how farm-to-table restaurants use minimal waste through their promotion of a circular economy. Using quantitative and qualitative data, Chapter 1 describes the current issue of wasteful human habits, diving into the causes and effects of food waste and how excessive waste affects our ecosystem. Chapter 2 explores the environmental history of farm-to-table restaurants and how we went from living on farms to living in cities, where there is a demand for more local produce. Chapter 3 delves into the environmental economic aspects of farm-to-table restaurants and their monetary versus non-monetary costs …