Digital Commons Network^™

Car Damage Detection Using Deep Learning, Rahul Varma Indukuri Sr.

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Growing vehicle usage has resulted in a notable increase in road accidents, so it is imperative to have effective systems for identifying and evaluating vehicle damage. This work aims to create a computer vision and deep learning-based automated car damage detection system. This project's main goal is to develop a model that, using visual cues, can categorize car photos as either damaged or undamaged.

The algorithm operates in two steps: first, determining whether the picture features an automobile; then, it classifies the state of the car—damaged or undamaged. We thus employ the InceptionV3 model for damage classification and the MobileNet …

User-Centered Design Of A Weight Loss Mobile App, Sunaina Advani

Honors Scholar Theses

Obesity, the excessive accumulation of body fat, increases risk for chronic disease and affects 34% of U.S. adults (10). Lifestyle interventions are effective but heavily rely on calorie tracking, while adherence to this behavioral strategy is low (6). An alternative to calorie tracking is to simply track instances of overeating. In a pilot trial, obese individuals used Habit app, a mobile app that assists users in tracking overeating episodes. Users were asked to identify, record, and reflect on dietary slips, or deviations from the recommended diet. Following 6 months of use, in a focus group session, 20 participants were asked …

Reconstructing Art And Evidence: Forensic Architecture In Institutional Settings, Makenzie Smith

Honors Scholar Theses

Forensic Architecture (FA) is a London-based multidisciplinary research collective and human rights agency that uses digital modeling, architectural and spatial analysis, and open-sourced images to investigate and present visual evidence of human rights violations committed by state governments, militaries, and corporations. The team of architects, software developers, filmmakers, investigative journalists, scientists, and lawyers, collaborates with civil society groups, witnesses, and victims to establish a counternarrative in the service of human rights and social justice, exhibiting their investigations in institutional settings as varied as legal courts and parliamentary tribunals, citizen assemblies, mass media, universities, and art museums. My research focuses on …

The Politics Of The Black Womb: How Education And Power Reinforce The U.S. Black Maternal Health Crisis, Foluke Akinkunmi

Honors Scholar Theses

This study investigates the alarming maternal mortality rates among Black women in the U.S. today first by exploring the historical exploitation of Black maternal bodies during enslavement and with the rise of professionalized gynecology. It challenges the narrative that attributes these outcomes to individual choices or supposedly inherent biological factors, arguing instead that the devaluing of Black women’s well-being and authoritative knowledge have been constructed along with the United States itself. To advance a constructive response, the paper analyzes curriculum competencies for obstetric and midwifery healthcare providers, surveys of Black women's birthing experiences in the previous 20 years, and interviews …

Serological Evaluation For Leptospirosis On Samples Received By The Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (Cvmdl), Hayden R. Samuels

Honors Scholar Theses

Leptospirosis is a globally distributed zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic species of Leptospira, motile spirochetes capable of infecting humans and animals. Transmission typically occurs through contact with water or soil contaminated by the urine of reservoirs or infected animals. Although leptospirosis is considered a neglected tropical disease, its geographic range is expanding due to climate change and urbanization. Surveillance remains limited in many regions, especially in the United States. This study aimed to assess the seroprevalence and serovar diversity of Leptospira exposure in a variety of domestic and wild animals submitted to the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (CVMDL). …

Effects Of Tetrabenazine On Temporal Parameters Of High-Effort Behaviors In Male And Female Rats, Angela M. Jacdedt

Honors Scholar Theses

Motivational symptoms, such as fatigue and anergia, are common in various psychiatric and neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. These symptoms have been associated with dopamine (DA) levels in which DA depletion or antagonism has been linked to decreases in the selection of high-effort behaviors. For example, the DA-depleting agent tetrabenazine (TBZ) induces depressive symptoms in humans and depressive-like symptoms in rodents. To better understand the effects of TBZ on effortful behaviors, the current study examined the effects of TBZ on both the acquisition and the detailed temporal characterizations of high-effort behavior in male and female rats. During …

Efficacy Of Single Joystick-Operated Ride-On-Toy Navigation Training Program To Promote Increased Spontaneous Use And Motor Function In The Affected Arm In Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy, Neha Samuel

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this study is to assess the adjunctive effects of a home-based single joystick-operated ride-on-toy navigation program to conventional care on affected upper extremity (UE) use and motor function in children with hemiplegia. Wrist-worn accelerometers were worn by children on both their affected and unaffected extremities at baseline (i.e., prior to start of the training program) and during ride-on toy training sessions to measure affected and unaffected arm activity, resulting in measurements of percent duration of time in every session that children engaged in sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous activity (MVPA) using their affected and unaffected arms at baseline …

Fintech Companies Vs Traditional Lenders: Who Performed Better During Recent Rate Hikes?, Jordan Terry

Honors Scholar Theses

This research examines the performance of financial technology (fintech) lending companies, compared to traditional lenders, to assess whether a competitive advantage exists during periods of rising interest rates. A meta-analysis is conducted, linking historical lending behavior of banks and fintech lenders in relation to interest rate movements. Analysis of loan performance during the period 2013-2024 indicates that fintech lending does not reveal a significant advantage on a risk-adjusted basis during interest rate hikes. However, there is anecdotal evidence suggesting that the largest peer-to-peer lending platform experienced enhanced lending efficiency during a period of low interest rates. Overall, evidence suggests that …

Deadly Choices: Political, Legal, And Moral Understandings Of U.S. Supreme Court Death Penalty Decisions, Anabelle S. Bergstrom

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis explores the political, legal, and moral factors that influence Supreme Court justices when penning capital punishment decisions. It also examines the evolution of thinking toward the death penalty by former justices John Paul Stevens and Harry Blackmun throughout their tenure on the Court. Cases are analyzed through fact-pattern analysis and the jurisprudential regime theory, which quantitatively build upon existing literature detailing the theoretical background of judicial decision-making through the attitudinal model. An analysis of Justices Blackmun and Stevens’ papers at the Library of Congress focuses on rhetoric that reflects utilitarian and retributive theories of punishment. Findings show that …

Creation Of Tandem Mass Spectrometry Library Of Synthetic Porphyrins, Kortney Knudsen

Honors Scholar Theses

Porphyrins are essential in biological systems and beyond, with their functions ranging from photosynthesis to conducting electricity. Despite porphyrins' importance, their complexity is difficult to understand and appreciate. Organic laboratories are accumulating vast numbers of porphyrin structures with different properties, yet the variety of porphyrin structures is not captured within reference data. Using mass spectrophotometry, the wealth of information from porphyrins can be harvested. Exploring their chemistry via liquid chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (LC-MS) allows for improved understanding of porphyrin's overall structure and the differences between variants, ultimately, bridging the gap between porphyrin knowledge and published information. We used LC-MS to collect …

Exercise As An Intervention For Postpartum Depression (Ppd), Kylie P. Mistretta

Honors Scholar Theses

Objective: To illustrate the applications of exercise for preventing the development of postpartum depression (PPD) and addressing associated risk factors identified in the literature. Data Sources: PubMed and EBSCO: Academic Search Premier were accessed using the search terms exercise OR physical activity OR yoga AND postpartum depression OR postnatal depression. A secondary search of PubMed was conducted using the search terms exercise AND pregnancy AND depression OR gestational diabetes OR weight gain OR sleep quality.

Study Selection: Studies selected for inclusion were peer-reviewed, published after January 2012, written in English, and relevant to the PPD risk factors examined. Only clinical …

Analysis Of The Effects Of Septic Leach Field Failure On Groundwater Contamination, Catherine Peng

Honors Scholar Theses

On-site septic treatment systems can be considered as one of the largest potential sources of groundwater pollution and contamination in the world, due to their widespread proliferation and variety of contaminants in wastewater. This project aimed to investigate the hypothetical scenario of a septic leach field failure on groundwater contamination through the formation of a septic system plume. The , and the expected values for the septic system plume were calculated. A MODFLOW groundwater model of the septic system was developed, and the solute transport simulator, MT3D-USGS was used to solve the model. Comparing the model results to the calculated …

Understanding The Underrepresented: A Descriptive Deep-Dive Into The Impact Of Young Legislators, Eric T. Meade Jr.

Honors Scholar Theses

This project explores youth members (thirty-five years old or younger) from the first Congress up until the present Congress by examining and analyzing the ideology, career trajectory, and accomplishments of these members. This project also analyzes the voting records of Congress members on topics that are highly salient to young voters to see how they align with young voters’ preferences and highlights multiple members of note to provide more detail on their backgrounds and unique circumstances. This study aims to demonstrate how young people have been represented historically and why it is so important for the U.S. to have youth …

Nurse-Physicians: From Nursing School To Practicing Physician, Tobias Fraedrich

Honors Scholar Theses

Nurse-physicians are healthcare professionals who have obtained both a nursing degree and a medical degree, transitioning from Registered Nurse (RN) or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) to a licensed physician, including Medical Doctor (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), or Naturopathic Doctor (ND). Research on this phenomenon conducted to date is limited to a single study. Some nonresearch sources indicate a small presence of this topic online. Yin’s (2018) descriptive, multiple-case study approach was employed to investigate the phenomenon using oral history interviews and a survey of the online platform YouTube as data sources. For the intention of pursuing this …

Climbing And Crossing Career Ladders: An Analysis Of Job Mobility Trends, Leon Nguyen

Honors Scholar Theses

As the job market experiences turbulence, understanding how different people progress in their career trajectories can aid in understanding why certain professional disparities exist between demographics. Studying job mobility in the United States is critical to understanding patterns that could be indicative of systemic behaviors. Prior literature has focused on job mobility based on income, industry, and/or older data. We focus on encoding job mobility patterns of Indian immigrants in the U.S. labor force using webscraped LinkedIn data from 2019 and measuring various job changes through mapping job titles to a five-point scale and comparing string values. We also utilize …

The Consequences Of Dobbs V. Jackson Women's Health Through The Eyes Of Nurses, Yana E. Tartakovskiy

Honors Scholar Theses

Abortion refers to the deliberate termination of a pregnancy, resulting in the removal or
expulsion of the embryo or fetus from the uterus, either spontaneously (miscarriage) or through medical procedures (O’Meara, 2023). Roe v. Wade (1973) is the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States followed by June 2022, when the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health (2022) decision marked the conclusion of the Roe v. Wade era, resulting in the prohibition of abortion in over a dozen states (Forouzan et al., 2023). Existing evidence suggests that providers practicing healthcare in states with abortion bans will exhibit …

Nudging Creativity In Typography With Font Pairing Prompts, Thomas Jockin

Masters Theses

Graphic designers face an overwhelming abundance of font choices in the digital marketplace, leading to difficulties in creating innovative typographic pairings and a tendency to rely on familiar options. Current industry practices and typography education lack effective methodologies to foster creative and diverse font use. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap by introducing Font Flow, a web application designed to enhance typography creativity through randomized font pairing prompts.

The proposed system leverages structured constraints to challenge designers, prompting them to work with unexpected font combinations that may initially appear incompatible. By engaging in this problem-solving process, designers develop a deeper …

The Cowl - V. 88 N. 20 - May 1, 2025

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 88 No. 20 - May 1, 2025. 24 pages.

Vascular Flora Of Bark Camp Barrens Wma, Coffee County, Tennessee, Quinn Towery

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

A vascular plant inventory of Bark Camp Barrens Wildlife Management Area, Coffee County, Tennessee was performed over the 2023 and 2024 growing seasons. The site is a 1,395-ha area located 10km east of Manchester, Tennessee in the Barrens region of the Eastern Highland Rim. A total of 698 species and lower taxa from 349 genera and 127 families were inventoried. Two species were G1 or G2, 35 species were listed on the Tennessee Rare Plant List, and 209 species were S1 or S2. Additionally, all known digitized herbarium specimens from the nearby May Prairie State Natural Area were cataloged, creating …

The Influence Of Social Identity On Psychological Safety, Organizational Performance, And Employee Learning, Antonio Meeks

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Organizations struggle to recruit and retain top talent. The challenge to keep employee talent was exacerbated by COVID-19. However, there has been a downward trend of employees in the workplace and a continued struggle to fill key roles with eligible workers since 1999. Filling key roles is only one issue impacting organizational success. Another concern is keeping employees engaged to do the work. Research suggests that over 65% of employees are disengaged or actively disengaged at work (Burke, 2019; Iqbal, Shabbir, Zameer, Khan, & Sandhu, 2017; Motyka, 2018). Disengaged and actively disengaged workers do not help the organization meet its …

Understanding The Positive And Negative Aspects Of Different Calling Intensities, Sally Hoffman

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the relationships among occupational calling intensity (OCI), personal calling intensity (PCI), occupational engagement (OE), personal engagement (PE), and need for resource recovery (NFRR). OCI, an all-consuming desire to have a significant positive impact through employment, is often associated with high OE but may also be linked to high NFRR, suggesting that OE mediates the relationship between OCI and NFRR. This study also explored whether PCI, which refers to a calling outside of employment, exhibits the same relationships with PE and NFRR as OCI. Data from 193 participants were analyzed using correlational and regression techniques. The findings revealed …

The State Of Herbaria In Tennessee, Meredith Woodward

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The herbaria of Tennessee were the focus of substantial efforts to digitize southeastern plant specimens in the United States between 2014-2019. Because of that work, 13 of the 14 herbaria were digitized to varying degrees, producing approximately 894,000 digital vascular plant records. For the first time, the content of these collections could be elucidated and analyzed for bias. Defining their content demonstrates their disposition as a resource for Southeastern botany, and understanding biases can aid in intentionally allocating resources for future work regarding deeper digitization or on-the-ground documentation. However, in order to confidently prescribe work aimed at addressing bias, the …

Modeling Natureserve Subnational Conservation Status Ranks For Tennessee Vascular Plants, Julia H. Prins

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Conservation status ranks measure the potential risk of extinction for species at the global, national, and subnational levels, taking into account rarity, threats, and population trends. This study used the NatureServe system to generate provisionary subnational conservation status ranks (s-ranks) for the vascular flora of Tennessee using five methods: (1) assigning an s-rank based on surrounding state s-ranks, (2) assigning an s-rank based on the percentage of counties with an occurrence record, (3) using FME to calculate criteria and assign an s-rank, (4) using RareCat to calculate criteria and assign an s-rank, and (5) using ArcGIS Pro to calculate criteria …

Differences In Experiences Among Lgbtq+ And Non-Lgbtq+ Faculty On University Campuses, John M. Diclementi

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers have found LGBTQ+ college students report discrimination based on their sexuality (Kosciw et al., 2022; Tetreault et al., 2013); however, there is little research into how discrimination on campus impacts LGBTQ+ faculty and staff. I addressed this gap through a survey that analyzes differences in LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ faculty and staff on perceived organizational support, burnout, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Through conducting a series of Independent Samples t-tests, I found that LGBTQ+ faculty and staff report significantly lower perceived organizational support, higher levels of burnout, lower levels of job satisfaction, lower levels of organizational commitment, and …

Advancing Approaches To Multi-Target Multi-Camera Tracking: Graph-Based Features, Language Integration, Privacy Preservation, And Large Language Agent Frameworks, Tuan Thanh Nguyen Mr

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Multi-target multi-camera tracking (MTMCT) is a cornerstone of intelligent transportation systems (ITS), enabling comprehensive monitoring and analysis of vehicle movements across distributed camera networks. Although significant progress has been made, fundamental challenges persist in data association, real-time processing, preservation of privacy, and natural-language user interaction. First, we propose a graph-based model that leverages similarity algorithms to enhance cross-camera object association. Our framework achieves state-of-the-art performance with an IDF1 score of 0.8166 on the CityFlow dataset for offline tracking while maintaining real-time capability at 14 FPS for online scenarios. Next, we present LaMMOn, an end-to-end framework integrating language models with graph …

Whose Line Is It Anyway: Exploring How To Utilize Narrative Voice In Nonfiction, Brandalyn Joy Shropshire

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The craft paper explores the functionality of narrative voice in nonfiction and examines how to utilize voice to master sculpting storytelling to resonate with readers. The paper seeks to view narrative voice in terms of a vessel for the reader to explore, to drive the scene, and to guide the action and how each one works within the narrative. Through original work, I examine my relationship with my mother and grandmother, tracing how societal expectations and racialized pressures shaped their lives and, ultimately, my own. As an African American woman, I navigate themes of racism, the significance of appearance, and …

Increasing Accessibility And Enhancing Value Of Two University Small Vertebrate Collections Through Digitization And Online Database Publication, Chloe Smotherman

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Natural history collections (NHCs) are widely considered to be an exceptionally valuable resource and a critical foundation for research. Of the thousands of collections maintained today, the majority are considered small with a local or taxonomic focus. Collaboration among smaller NHCs through online publication contributes a largely underutilized resource for collections-based research. Past digitization efforts have resulted in the mobilization of collections data that enhance their preexisting value without significant additional costs. With this project I digitized and published the mammal collection (2,525 records) and, separately, the ornithology collection (403 records). Upon publication these records are the only mammal and …

Ai-Driven Smart Cities: Digital Twin Simulation, V2x Communication, And Ev Infrastructure Optimization, Seyedmehdi Khaleghian

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

As urbanization accelerates, cities face mounting challenges in transportation efficiency, safety, and sustainability. This dissertation explores the integration of Digital Twin (DT) technology, Connected Vehicle Communication (C-V2X), and Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure optimization to advance smart city mobility solutions. The research presents a comprehensive framework leveraging real-time data analytics, machine learning, and simulation technologies to enhance urban transportation systems. The first component focuses on Digital Twin-driven traffic simulation, which enables scenario testing, predictive modeling, and real-time decision-making. A key contribution is the calibration of traffic simulation models using real-world speed data, facilitating optimized traffic management, transit planning, and road safety …

Exploring Community Violence, Anxiety And Substance Use Among Black Adults, Berri Rawls

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The impact of community violence on Black individuals, remains a concern. Despite statistics showing the disproportionate rates of violence among Black individuals, there is a gap in understanding its effects on Black adults. This current study examined how the perception of community violence influences anxiety levels among Black adults. It is suggested that heightened anxiety, stemming from exposure to violence, contributes to maladaptive coping, such as substance use, as individuals attempt to alleviate distress. Among a sample of 202 black adults, we found that higher exposure to community violence (ECV) had a relationship with increased substance use (SU) and anxiety. …

Mathematical Model For Tripledemic Disease (Covid-19, Rsv, And Influenza), Foster Opoku

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The concurrent circulation of COVID-19, Influenza (Flu), and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), collectively termed the ”Tripledemic,” poses substantial public health challenges due to their overlapping transmission patterns and compounded healthcare demands. The discovery of COVID-19 vaccines such as Moderna (mRNA-1273, Spikevax) and Johnson & Johnson’s, among other vaccines, has reduced COVID-19 cases but has not completely eradicated the disease. In the 2022-2023 season, the world witnessed a ”tripledemic” of Flu, COVID-19, and RSV. We propose Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) and SusceptibleExposed-Infectious-Recovered (SEIR) mathematical models to estimate transmission rates, compute the basic reproduction number, forecast infections, and analyze seasonal variations and comparative transmission …