Digital Commons Network^™

A Comprehensive Survey Of Watermarking Techniques For Copyright Protection And Integrity Verification On Dnns And Generative Models, Xinyun Liu, Ronghua Xu

Michigan Tech Publications

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have made remarkable progress in recent years and are widely applied across many fields. Trained DNNs are valuable assets due to their dependence on large volumes of quality data, expensive computational resources, and the development of sophisticated architectures. However, their increasing vulnerability to intellectual property (IP) infringement, including unauthorized use, replication, and redistribution, underscores the critical need for adequate copyright protection and integrity verification. DNN model watermarking has emerged as a promising solution to these challenges by embedding imperceptible identifiers into models. This survey provides a concise yet comprehensive state-of-the-art review of watermarking techniques focusing on …

Who Gets To Be A Teacher? A Postqualitative Inquiry Into Teacher Attrition, Chloe Fann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This postqualitative dissertation challenges four decades of assumptions about who counts as a teacher and what it means to leave teaching. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari's (1987) concept of order-words (i.e., the restrictions and boundaries tied to words through presuppositions), I investigate how the teacher attrition literature has created and maintained teacher as an order-word that establishes specific boundaries around what it means to be a teacher. Through nearly 40 years of repetition across the Teacher Follow-up Survey, grey literature from federal agencies and think tanks, and empirical research, these boundaries have become naturalized, making them feel inevitable rather than …

Pseudonymetry: Real-Time Interference Management System For Accountable And Cooperative Spectrum Sharing Using Embedded Watermarks, Meles Gebreyesus Weldegebriel

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation presents the design, analysis, and experimental validation of Pseudonymetry, a real-time interference management framework that enables accountable and cooperative spectrum sharing. By embedding lightweight watermarks into secondary-user transmissions, the proposed approach allows devices to be aware of, identify, and respond to interference at the individual transmitter level. This makes it possible to achieve dynamic and safe coexistence between primary and secondary users (PUs & SUs) without requiring data demodulation or additional receiver infrastructure. In this way, the feedback-based mechanism helps close the gap between administrative spectrum coordination and real-time interference enforcement, enabling accountable and privacy-preserving coexistence among heterogeneous …

Exploiting Chaotic Antenna Arrays For Rf Fingerprint Authentication And Physical Layer Security In Wireless Communications, Joshua K. Thomas Ranstrom

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modern wireless networks support a wide range of applications including consumer devices, healthcare monitoring, industrial automation, smart grids, and military platforms, in which transmitted information is often highly sensitive and subject to stringent confidentiality and integrity requirements. As wireless communication operates over an open broadcast medium it exposes systems to physical layer (PHY) threats such as eavesdropping, in which an adversary passively intercepts transmitted information, and spoofing, in which a forged transmission misleads the receiver about device identity. Cryptographic defenses address both threats but require computational assumptions and key management infrastructure that may not scale to dense or resource-constrained deployments. …

Geospatial Understanding Of Foundation Models: Self-Supervision, Robustness, And Resource-Constrained Learning, Gilbert Kibet Rotich

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on large-scale geospatial understanding from satellite imagery remains relativelyunderexplored. Much of the field still relies on narrow, task-specific pipelines, and there is lim- ited work on developing true foundation models or on systematically evaluating how well these models generalize under domain shift, geographic variation, and real-world scene diversity. This dissertation advances foundation-model pretraining and evaluation for remote sensing along three complementary axes. First, we develop self-supervised multispectral pretrained models for satellite image classification by adapting BYOL, BarlowTwins, DINO, MoCo, and Simsiam to multispectral inputs, addressing the limited amount of curated satellite datasets relative to ImageNet. Pretraining on Eurosat and …

Examining Perceptions Of Minority Underrepresentation Among The United States Special Forces General Officers (O7-O10), Vincent X. Telfare

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While the broader Department of Defense (DoD) has implemented important initiatives to advance equitable representation, the United States Army Special Forces (SF) has historically had a different distribution of diversity among General Officers (O7 to O10). This study explored the perceptions underlying this disparity through a qualitative narrative inquiry, using semi-structured interviews with selected retired SF officers of O6 and higher ranks. By examining participants' career experiences and perspectives on the Army's promotion system, this study seeks to illuminate the structural and cultural underpinnings that affect minority promotions to General and senior leadership positions in the Special Forces. Of course, …

Death And Things: Toward A Theory Of Self-Holding Objects, Kirsten J. Lee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how material objects function as existential supports under conditions of cultural exclusion. Drawing on Terror Management Theory (TMT), minority stress theory, and José Muñoz’s concept of disidentification, it introduces the construct of self-holding objects: possessions imbued with identity-sustaining meaning that stabilize the self. Study 1 employed a qualitative photovoice design with 16 queer adults and identified five primary existential functions of meaningful objects: affirming worth, regulating the body, mirroring the self, authorizing possibility, and enabling worldmaking. These findings suggest that objects operate as material anchors within distributed systems of meaning. Study 2 experimentally tested whether imagining the …

Implementing A Brief Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Informed Skills Group In A County Jail: A Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding Feasibility And Acceptability, Meaghan E. Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Correctional institutions unintentionally function as one of the largest mental health providers in the country. Short-term facilities, like jails, present an opportunity to provide mental health care to those who will quickly reenter our communities. Despite this, evidence-based practices and treatments in correctional settings have been implemented at slower rates compared to community settings and mental health institutions. Regulating emotions, refraining from impulsive maladaptive behavior, and communicating effectively are considered primary treatment needs among jail inmates. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993) can address these deficits and is commonly implemented in a skills training group format in correctional settings; however, …

50 Years Of Inspiring Young Minds, Wade Rupard

Campus News Archive

No abstract provided.

Chiropractic Role In The Interdisciplinary Care Of A Patient With Low Back Pain Following Spinal Cord Infarction: A Case Report, Chloe Nilles, Joseph Mehring, Jessy Johnson, Venkateswara Gogineni, Eric Kirk

Aurora GME

No abstract provided.

Properties Of The Graph Modularity Matrix And Its Applications, Benjamin Quiring, Panayot S. Vassilevski

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We study the popular modularity matrix and respective functional ([20]) used in connection with graph clustering and derive some properties useful when performing vertex aggregation of the associated graph. These properties are employed in the derivation of a multilevel parallel pairwise aggregation algorithm. Comparative performance results of the studied algorithm applied to graph clustering tested against the popular Louvain algorithm [4], [3] are presented. Some illustrative examples show that the resulting aggregates if used in an adaptive algebraic multigrid (AMG) are able to follow strong direction of anisotropy in finite element problems. 1.

Bridge To Nowhere?: Reflecting On The Challenges Of Open Pedagogy And Renewable Assignments, Catherine Keohane, Justin Savage, Jennie Snow

University Libraries Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Towards Understanding Robust Neural Coding Through Representational Geometry, Zeyuan Ye

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Neural activity is high-dimensional and variable, yet animals represent information robustly. This thesis studies the origins of such robustness through the lens of representational geometry and deep neural network modeling. From a geometric perspective, population responses concentrate near smooth manifolds embedded in a high-dimensional state space. To infer these manifolds from noisy data and quantify their geometric properties, we develop a statistical method based on Gaussian processes and kernel regression (GKR). Applying GKR to simultaneously recorded grid-cell population activity during open-field navigation, we show that increasing running speed expands a torus-like representational manifold and improves spatial decodability. Thus, despite faster …

Rethinking How The United States And Mexico Share The Colorado River, Eric Kuhn, Anne Castle, Carlos De La Parra, John Fleck, Jack Schmidt, Kathryn Sorensen, Katherine Tara

The Traveling Wilburys of the Colorado River

Since 1945, the United States and Mexico have managed common interests on their two largest shared rivers systems, the Colorado and the Rio Bravo/Rio Grande, under the terms of the 1944 international treaty that was designed from the beginning with tools to adapt to changing hydrologic and societal conditions. A recent emergency agreement on the Rio Bravo/Rio Grande illustrates what is possible, and with old river management rules on the Colorado both within the United States and between the United States and Mexico about to expire, we are at a moment of opportunity for meaningful change. The core problem on …

Kenyon Collegian - March 26, 2026

The Kenyon Collegian

No abstract provided.

Translating The Book Of Mormon Into Spanish: A Case Study Of The Translation Of Sacred Texts, Gabriel González Núñez

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

The translation of sacred texts is one of the oldest forms of translation, one which has helped develop our understanding of what translation is. Even so, the question arises as to whether there is anything particularly distinctive about translating sacrality. On the one hand, it can be argued that translating sacred texts is just like translating any other historical or cultural texts (Naudé, 2010). On the other hand, it can be argued that the translation of sacred texts deserves its own category because, for some members of the population, these texts play a special role (Long, 2013). This study seeks …

Identity Restoration Theory: Reclaiming Cultural Identity As A Pathway To Reintegration, Sigifredo Castell Britton

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

This article introduces Identity Restoration Theory (IRT), a new theoretical framework that explains what formerly incarcerated individuals need to reconnect with disrupted cultural identities as a pathway to reintegration. Grounded in qualitative fieldwork with Raizal ex-offenders and community leaders on San Andrés Island, Colombia, IRT is designed to conceptualize reintegration, not as institutional resettlement, but as a culturally rooted process of re-embedding identity within community and place. The framework delineates five interdependent constructs—cultural memory, place reconnection, narrative repair, communal belonging, and agency activation—that emerged inductively from participant narratives. Anchored in the postcolonial context of an Afro-Caribbean island society, IRT provides …

Learning To Refine Gesture-Derived Voxel-To-Loop For Generative 3d Modeling In Vr, Kallen Lonbom, Trudi Di Qi

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

We present a generative modeling pipeline for refining and denoising coarse 3D shapes created through freehand interaction in virtual reality (VR). While recent loop-based generative models focus on shape synthesis from clean inputs, our work addresses the challenge of reconstructing coherent geometry from noisy, coarse volumetric data. To this end, we introduce a hybrid voxel-to-loop representation that captures the topology of rough voxel shapes and converts them into sequential cross-sectional loops for generative refinement. We develop two transformer architectures and evaluate their efficacy primarily on synthetically perturbed datasets with additional examples from VR. Our results demonstrate that this representation is …

Curriculum For A Two Semester Calculus Course Specializing In Life Science And Data Science, Patrick Mcclain

LSU Master's Theses

Traditionally, introductory calculus has been designed for engineering and physics students, often leaving students majoring in data science or life sciences with a curriculum that lacks professional relevance and is overly reliant on problems that focus on computational fluency. This thesis proposes a two-semester sequence, called MATH 153X and MATH 154X, specifically tailored for the Louisiana State University (LSU) Dual Enrollment program and university-level data science and life sciences majors. By integrating modern computational tools—such as symbolic calculators and artificial intelligence (AI) tools—the proposed curriculum shifts the pedagogical focus from procedural symbolic manipulation toward conceptual literacy.

Through a series …

Genome Wide Association Study (Gwas) On Different Economic Traits And Epigenetic Stability Of Sweetpotato In Louisiana, Ajay Dhungana

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] is a globally important food, feed, and industrial crop, yet its improvement is constrained by a complex hexaploid genome, clonal propagation, and susceptibility to multiple diseases. In Louisiana, production is threatened primarily by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. batatas (Fusarium wilt) and Ceratocystis fimbriata (Black rot). Furthermore, the in vitro propagation methods essential for disease-free planting material and germplasm conservation can introduce epigenetic instability that undermines clonal fidelity. This dissertation integrates genome-wide association studies (GWAS), genotype by environment interaction (GEI) and DNA methylation profiling to dissect resistance mechanisms and assess epigenetic stability in Louisiana sweetpotato …

Making The Right Decisions For Adaptive Radiotherapy, Chloe C.F. Ditusa

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Purpose: Daily anatomical changes can invalidate the geometric, dosimetric, and biological assumptions of reference radiotherapy plans, yet quantitative evidence describing fraction-level deviations across disease sites remains limited. This work developed and evaluated a metric-based framework for daily dose assessment to characterize temporal treatment behavior and inform adaptive decision-making in Head and Neck (H&N) radiotherapy and Prostate stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Methods: A web-based Dashboard was created to compute geometric, dosimetric, and radiobiological metrics from daily dose recalculations. Calculations were first verified against a commercial treatment-planning analysis platform. Daily dose on anatomy-of-the-day was reconstructed using CBCT-based pseudo-CTs for H&N and daily …

Spartan Daily, March 26, 2026, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2026

Volume 166, Issue 28

Integrated Aperiodic Geometric Stabilization For Soft-Robotic Actuation And Kinetic Damping Lattices., Daniel Schramm

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure establishes the foundational math for high-precision, low-energy soft robotics and protective apparel. By utilizing the Golden Ratio (\phi) as a rotational and structural constant, we eliminate the "Pinch Factor" (mechanical resonance) and enable near-total energy recovery (92%+) in dynamic systems.

Core Technical Pillars:

1. Aperiodic Joint Articulation: Robotic joints and suit hinges are tuned to a non-integer frequency (f_1 = \omega, f_2 = \omega \cdot \phi). This prevents constructive wave interference, ensuring fluid motion without "dead zones" or "locking."

2. Kinetic Waste Harvesting: Using the Tractor Gradient Identity F = \nabla (\mathbf{m} \cdot \mathbf{B}), the system converts deceleration …

Integrated Active Dimming Assembly In Compression-Molded Optical Lens

Defensive Publications Series

The present disclosure generally relates to optical lenses, and more particularly, to integrated active dimming assembly in compression-molded optical lens.

Silent Detonations: Redirecting Focus, Preserving Identity, And Leading Under The Weight Of Microaggressions, Ray Lavan

Tapestry: Journal of Research in Education

African American educational leaders consistently navigate racial microaggressions that challenge their focus, identity, and well-being. This study explores how these leaders deploy attention to manage the emotional weight of microaggressions in K-12 public school settings. Using Gross’s emotion regulation theory and Sue’s taxonomy of racial microaggressions, this qualitative phenomenological study examines how attentional deployment serves as both a shield and constraint. Data from the African American leaders reveal that silence, background processing, selective focus, and redirection to professional goals are common strategies to sustain composure. These strategies protect leaders in the moment but create emotional strain, identity conflict, and cumulative …

Tolkien's Joyful Sorrow, The "Gift Of Tears" Of Medieval Mysticism, And John Donne's Sermon "Jesus Wept", Giovanni Carmine Costabile

Journal of Tolkien Research

At the field of Cormallen, the emotion of joy felt by the victorious Hobbits is so great that Sam wonders whether everything sad will come untrue. At the same time, their joy is so great that it is described as "poignant as grief". Dimitra Fimi in 2017 pointed out Tolkien's probable indebtedness to Christian Orthodox tradition of "charmolype", or joyful sorrow. Another relevant parallel of the intermingling of joy and sorrow is the eleventh century Norman monk and abbot John of Fécamp's notion of the "Gift of Tears" (Gratia lacrymarum) from God, which brings true happiness. …

Sprinkler Package Runoff Risk Tool For Center Pivot Irrigation Systems, Will Bowers

Spring Runoff Conference

Center pivots in Utah 

• 403,524 acres = 67% of sprinkler irrigated fields in the open in Utah 
• Considered one of the most effective sprinkler systems available with technological advancements over the years

Evaluating Alternative Water Conservation Scenarios For Alfalfa In The Great Salt Lake Basin Using Integrated Climate Model Projections, Saddy Pineda-Castellanos, Masoumeh Hashemi

Spring Runoff Conference

Elevation of Great Salt Lake North and South Arms (1903-2026)

An Estimation Of Crop Evapotranspiration Using Soil Water Balance In Vineyards, Tarique Aziz, Burdette Barker, Michael Caron, Michael Pace

Spring Runoff Conference

Breakout Session presentation given at the 2026 Spring Runoff Conference

Immersive Modeling To Generate Holistic Strategies To Get More Water To Great Salt Lake, Hadia Akbar

Spring Runoff Conference

How to get more water to GSL?

Must Address

• Complex water rights
• Competing water needs
• Historical legacies
• Variable and arid hydrology
• Infrastructure limitations and opportunities
• Lack of trust