Digital Commons Network^™

Translating Low-Level Features Into Student Friendly Explanations Using Xai, Ben Johnson, Keith Nolan

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

An alarming decline in Gaeilge proficiency has renewed education efforts, fueled by the rise of AI in recent years. This research presents the development of a deep learning framework designed to evaluate spoken Gaeilge (henceforth Irish) proficiency of learners by quantifying student voice sample similarity to everyday Irish speaker truth samples, combined with explainable AI (XAI) techniques used to generate proof-of-concept student-friendly feedback. While automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems for high-resource languages like English have access to large, detailed datasets, the Irish language relies on a limited availability of speech resources, that challenges traditional model development. We address these gaps …

An Explainable Ml Approach To Modeling Trust In Hri, Csenge Hubay, Musfira Jilani

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Recent years have seen a growing interest in industrial and social robots; however, their widespread adoption remains constrained due to a limited understanding of trust in human-robot interactions (HRI). Existing approaches to assessing trust in human-robot interactions primarily rely on post-hoc measurements, often collected through self-reports, which are not very effective and do not allow for real-time decision making, which is one of the main aspects of human-robot interactions. This research proposes a data-driven approach to measuring trust in HRI.

Towards A Framework For Bias Evaluation Of Ai Agents In Agentic Workflows, Gary Condon, Musfira Jilani

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Multi-agent AI systems, with minimal human oversight, are increasingly deployed in high-stakes domains like hiring, healthcare, and criminal justice. However, existing bias evaluation methodologies focus on isolated Large Language Model responses, failing to address sequential agent interactions where biases can propagate through decision chains undetected. Current approaches suffer from three limitations: absence of multi-stage bias tracking, inability to distinguish systematic discrimination from model non-determinism, and risk of contamination when agents infer bias evaluation intent. This study presents a novel evaluation framework incorporating demographic swapping methodology, contamination prevention architecture, and statistical analysis for multi-agent workflows. The framework employs dual presentation systems …

Contamination Prevention In Agentic Workflow Assessments, Gary Condon, Musfira Jilani

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Large Language Models (LLMs) may infer that they are being evaluated and strategically modify their responses to appear more aligned than they actually are; a phenomenon described as alignment faking or evaluation awareness. This presents a fundamental challenge for bias evaluation in AI systems, particularly in multi-agent workflows, where sequential decision-making steps occur with minimal human supervision. When LLMs infer that they are being evaluated, they may suppress or diminish discriminatory behaviours that could otherwise manifest in production AI Agent workflow environments, making traditional bias assessment techniques less effective.This work presents a contamination prevention architecture developed in response to observed …

An Explainable Multimodal Framework For Real-Time Bitcoin Forecasting, Dipesh Badal, Abdelsalam Busalim, Donghyeok Lee

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

High-frequency crypto forecasting requires systems that are accurate, explainable, and designed for human decision-making. Bitcoin presents a unique challenge for Human-Centred AI (HCAI) due to its volatility and sensitivity to heterogeneous technical, fundamental, and sentiment signals. This paper presents an explainable multimodal framework for Bitcoin forecasting at 15-minute resolution. We align five modalities - market data, on-chain metrics, the Fear & Greed Index (FGI), news, and Reddit - onto a unified, leakage-safe 15-minute grid. We evaluate tree-based, sequential, and Multimodal Fusion Block (MFB) models for next-interval log-return prediction using chronological splits. Results show that while short-horizon prediction remains challenging, multimodal …

Examining How The Strive+ Intervention Affects Caregivers' Comfort Levels And Behaviors: A Quantitative Study, Nastacia Taylor

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Support To Reunite, Involve, and Value Each Other (STRIVE) is a five-session manualized psycho-educational family intervention that incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy strategies to facilitate communication skill development, problem solving, and creating a positive family atmosphere. This strengths-based dyadic intervention has been shown to reduce delinquency, drug use, and high-risk sexual behaviors among disadvantaged adolescents aged 13 to 17 years with lived experience of homelessness.

The updated STRIVE+ was tested to investigate the possibility for lowering youth risk factors for commercial sexual exploitation. Adolescent behavioral family treatments are an effective strategy to intervene to prevent adverse developmental consequences. The STRIVE+ intervention …

Synthetic Blood Data Generation For Fair Machine Learning, Sahithi Makam Ramakrishna, Fernando Perez-Tellez

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Synthetic data generation is a promising solution to privacy concerns in healthcare analytics, particularly when working with sensitive patient information. This study evaluates the performance and fairness of generative models in creating realistic synthetic datasets derived from blood test and demographic data. Three distinct medical datasets are used, including anonymised clinical data from a public hospital in Ireland, a public UCI medical dataset, and a Korean National Health Insurance dataset from 2002. Seven generative models - CTGAN, TVAE, Gaussian Copula, CopulaGAN, MedGAN, DiscGAN, and FASTML - are applied to generate synthetic records. The quality of these records is assessed using …

Fostering Civility Between Nursing Faculty, Students, And Clinical Partners To Promote Positive Patient Outcomes, Breanne N. Wilburn, Kathryn A. Osteen, Christine J. Oliver, Courtney K. Brandt

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Nurse educators contribute to healthy practice environments and positive patient outcomes in part by educating students on civil practice in didactic and clinical environments (Foreman, 2023; Naseri et al., 2022). Incivility among students, nursing faculty, and clinical partners is a growing concern in the nursing profession (Foreman, 2023; Hajira et al., 2022). Nursing educators serve as examples for students through participating in culturally inclusive civil discourse (Meires, 2018). Further, student incivility in the academic setting could lead to future workplace incivility and is tied to unhealthy practice environments and negative patient outcomes (Park & Kang, 2020; Wei et al., 2018). …

“It Takes A Special Person” --Exploring Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Emotional Needs While Providing End-Of-Life Care, Kalei H. Kowalchik

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Navigating end-of-life (EOL) care as a nursing student can results in intense emotions such as grief and despair and there is limited research on undergraduate nursing students’ thoughts and experiences on the need for emotional support resources when caring for patients and families at the EOL.

Purpose: To explore undergraduate nursing students’ experiences and their perceived need for integrating emotional and psychological support services while caring for dying populations.

Theoretical Framework: The Nerstrom Transformative Learning Model was used to guide this research which identifies how adult learners interact in their environment with a limited worldview that is …

Quality Improvement Project: The Influence Of Education On Provider Self-Efficacy And Utilization Of The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-Ssrs), Doreen Nwaogwugwu

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, underscoring the critical need for consistent, evidence-based suicide risk screening in mental health facilities. Despite being a validated, evidence-based tool, the use of the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) is often hindered by inadequate provider training. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice quality improvement project was to evaluate the impact of provider education on self-efficacy and utilization of the C-SSRS in an outpatient mental health clinic. This quality improvement project used a quasi-experimental, one-group pretest-posttest design guided by the Health Belief Model, Lewin’s Change Theory, and the …

More Hours, More Work: Head Start Expansions Boost Maternal Employment, Chloe R. Gibbs, Esra Kose, Maria Rosales Rueda

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Women’s employment remains highly sensitive to childcare constraints, making childcare availability a critical lever for supporting mothers’ labor force attachment. We study the effects of expanded full-day programming in Head Start, using the 2016 federal funding initiative that targeted grantees with low full-day enrollment. Linking administrative program data, geo-coded center locations, and household data on employment, we estimate a difference-in-differences design by comparing mothers of young children in treated and untreated areas. The policy increased full-day enrollment by 19 percent and raised single mothers’ employment (1.9%), hours (2.5%), and earnings (6.5%). Results show that extending program duration meaningfully improves maternal …

Emotional Intelligence And Problem-Solving Correlations And Impact On Employability: A Case Study From The Uae, Ganka Ivanova, Rakan Alhrhasheh

All Works

In this study, we aim to address questions about how UAE Leadership Development Plans and Employability connect with current students in UAE classrooms by evaluating the correlation between the employability of UAE university students and their emotional intelligence (EI) and problem-solving skills. Moreover, we cover what must be considered in the curricula of UAE Universities to prepare future leaders to lead the workforce. To that end, we employed an employability test developed by AQR International UK and collected data from 310 undergraduate students aged 17 to 55. Both EI and problem-solving skills were strongly positively correlated with employability (p < .001). Even though male participants scored higher than female participants for EI and problem-solving skills, analysis of variance revealed nonsignificant gender differences (p > .05 …

Formulation And Development Of Herbal Sunscreen Gel From Leucas Zeylanica And Tagetes Erecta, P. K. Wanniarachchi, W. M. K. M. Ratnayake

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

Leucas zeylanica (Family: Lamiaceae) and Tagetes erecta (Family: Asteraceae) are annual herbs traditionally used in home remedies and Ayurvedic medicine. Although both plants have been individually studied for their pharmacological properties, their synergistic effects and combined use in cosmetic formulations for sun protection have not been previously reported. This study aimed to evaluate the synergistic antioxidant and photoprotective activities of 95% ethanol extracts of the aerial parts of L. zeylanica, flower heads of T. erecta, and their combinations (1:1, 1:2, and 2:1). Antioxidant activity was assessed using the DPPH radical scavenging assay, with ascorbic acid as the positive …

Formulation And Development Of Skincare Cream Using Pleurotus Djamor, K. A. E. Madushanka, W. V. P. M. Weligalla, K. D. K. P. Kumari, W. M. K. M. Ratnayake

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

Mushrooms have emerged as versatile and valuable resources in the cosmetic industry, offering a plethora of benefits that range from skincare to haircare formulations. As natural alternatives to synthetic ingredients, mushrooms not only cater to the growing consumer demand for sustainable and eco-friendly products but also offer unique properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and moisturizing effects. Hence, Pleurotus djamor, which is a grown mushroom in Sri Lanka was selected to prepare a new cream formulation for skincare. In the study, an aqueous extract of P. djamor (AEPD) was used and phytochemical screening was done to screen alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, …

Extension Of Imposter Detection During Online Tests To Detect Other Fraudulent Acts, Athula Seneviratne, Indika Perera, Shantha Fernando

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

With more and more institutions adopting online delivery of education, the accompanying need for assessing students online is increasing. However, the tendency of some candidates to engage in fraudulent acts to gain undue advantage over other candidates undermine the integrity of the online testing process. It is a major challenge faced by test administering institutions. The most widespread fraudulent act is impersonation. Existing studies primarily focus on the detection of this particular fraudulent act. However, there are other fraudulent acts as well, resorted to by cheating candidates. Methods of detecting these other acts have not been sufficiently studied. The objective …

Novel Technique For Enhancing The Therapeutic Efficacy Of Coenzyme Q10 In Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems For Skin Rejuvenation, L. M. Hettihewa, K. G. P. Wasana, Y. M. Imendra, G. P. C. Weerasooriya, W. M. K. M. Rathnayake

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a very imperative compound for electron transport chain in mitochondria and exerts its effects as cutaneous antioxidant. All human cells have CoQ10, and sometime deficiency had been identified due to genetic defects or with ageing. Supplements with COQ 10 are commonly used enteral and dermal application for the prevention and treatment of aging. Delivery of dermal CoQ10 is very limited due to its poor penetration and unstable compounds. systematic review was conducted by our research group through electronic databases using preclinical and randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and stability of improved delivery systems of …

Assessment Of Antioxidant Retention Of Boiled And Non-Boiled Aqueous Extracts Of Broccoli, Cabbage, Kohlrabi And Cauliflower In Sri Lanka, D. M. S. S. Dassanayake, B. C. K. Kumari, P. R. H. Perera, G. M. Yasasvi, L. M. Hettihewa, W. M. K. M. Ratnayake

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

The comparison of antioxidant activities between non-boiled and boiled aqueous extracts of selected vegetables from the Brassica oleracea L. species is an interesting study topic, particularly in a context like Sri Lanka, where traditional and modern medicinal practices often emphasize the role of dietary plants in health. Hence, this was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant potential of boiled and non-boiled aqueous extracts (BAE and NBAE respectively) of selected vegetables belonging to the Brassica oleracea L species, which are commonly consumed as a raw vegetable in fresh salads as well as a cooked vegetable in curry or fried form i.e. Brassica …

Assessment Of In-Vitro Anti-Diabetic And Antioxidant Activities Of Selected Edible Mushrooms, Agaricus Bisporus (Button Mushroom), Pleurotus Cystidiosus (Abalone) And Pleurotus Ostreatus (American Oyster) In Sri Lanka, E. J. Siriwardene, G. S. D. Nawaruwan, A. H. M. A. N. Abesinghe, H. D. Dedigama, K. H. E. Fernando, K. D. K. P. Kumari, W. M. K. M. Ratnayake

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

Mushrooms are a valuable source of proteins and vitamins as well as a food source with several pharmacological values. Hence, Higher mushroom consumption can lower the risk of certain diseases. However, a literature survey revealed that published scientific information on the therapeutic potential of some edible mushrooms is still being determined. Hence, this study evaluated and compared the antioxidant and α -amylase potential of some of the three commonly used mushroom varieties in Sri Lanka i.e. Agaricus bisporus (Button mushroom), Pleurotus cystidiosus (Abalone mushroom) and Pleurotus ostreatus (American oyster). The antioxidant activity of hot aqueous extracts of the above three …

Body Mass Index And Clinical Phenotypes Of Primary Dysmenorrhea In Female University Students: Evidence From Sri Lanka Using Walidd Scoring, H. K. A. N. Senanayake, K. L. A. S. I. Liyanarachchi, J. K. M. Jagoda, S. A. S. A. Maheepala, L. C. Mallawa, P. W. T. M. Dayarathne, Y. T. R. Somisena, L. M. Hettihewa

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

This research investigates the relationship between body weight and the severity and characteristics of primary dysmenorrhea among female undergraduates in Sri Lanka, using the WaLIDD Score as an evaluative tool. The study aims to assess the practicality of the WaLIDD Score in native settings, examining its correlation with pain intensity, pain location, and common medication patterns, while addressing gaps in previous research conducted in Sri Lanka. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 389 female university students aged 19–27 years from both state and non-state universities in Sri Lanka, selected through stratified random sampling. Participants with chronic or menstrual diseases, …

Conceptual Analysis Of Ārthavavaha Srotas (Female Reproductive System): A Review Of The Theories And Literature, Pushpa Kulanatha, H. L. M. G. Sajeewani

Journal of Innovation in Science, Engineering and Technology

The reproductive health of females during their fertile years is foundational for individual well-being and societal prosperity. The purpose of this study was to bridge the analytical and epistemological gaps currently existing in the literature regarding Ārthavavaha Srotas (ĀvS), the Ayurvedic concept of the female reproductive system. A comprehensive literature review was conducted using forward and backward searches to analyse authentic Ayurvedic texts (Caraka and Sushruta Samhitas) alongside contemporary research articles published between 2014 and 2024. The analysis identified ten specific aspects of the ĀvS where prior interpretations were superficial or unclear. The results of this study epistemologically validate ancient …

Understanding Perceptions Of A Peruvian Local Market Program: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis, Rosmery Ramos-Sandoval Dr., Jano Ramos-Diaz

The Qualitative Report

Despite growing global interest in short food supply chains (SFSCs), little is known about how consumers in developing countries perceive these models, especially through digital platforms like social media. This study investigates how Twitter users represent and perceive SFSCs in the context of the Peruvian government´s “De la Chacra a la Olla” program. The study analyzed 1,167 tweets from Peruvian Twitter users referencing the hashtag #DeLaChacraALaOlla between 2014 and 2020, using reflexive thematic analysis within an exploratory case study framework to examine consumer perceptions of SFSCs. The analysis revealed three key themes in consumer perceptions of SFSCs on Twitter: direct …

Implementation Of A Mindfulness Intervention Among Professional Firefighters And The Effect On Perceived Stress Levels, Rachel L. Mowry

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Problem Statement: Firefighters experience high levels of stress related to their occupation that negatively impacts their physical and mental health and can lead to loss of occupation, decreased work productivity, and suicide. Occupational stress in firefighters impacts firefighters as individuals, as well as their places of work and communities; therefore, this phenomenon should be investigated further. Mindfulness is a strategy which is shown to be effective in the reduction of occupational-related stress. Mindfulness-based strategies can be delivered through a variety of methods including mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, virtual mindfulness interventions, and other structured programs. Increased mindfulness has been …

On Explaining The Sentiments In Prediction Of Stock Movement: An Xai-Based Analysis, D. J. Ranade, Sarthak Bhaya, Siddhanth Bhimakari, Moe Aye Chan, Keith Quille, Rajesh Jaiswal

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Empirical evidence shows that short-horizon equity returns are not fully random; there is a degree of predictability, especially when traditional financial data is combined with public sentiment measures. Sentiment-based features have been used to improve prediction tasks, but there is limited explanation of their contribution. In addition, the impact of news on investor sentiment, and how that impact decays over time, has rarely been investigated. To bridge this gap, we integrate sentiment scores extracted from financial news headlines using HKUST FinBERT with daily market-based indicators to predict the next-day price direction. We evaluated two aggregation strategies: the most confident news …

Environmental And Social Strategies, And Sustainable Performance: The Mediating Role Of Management Control Systems, Zheng Siqi

Student Works (2020-2029)

This study investigates how environmental and social (E&S) strategies influence enterprise sustainability performance (SP), with a focus on the mediating roles of Environmental Management Control Systems (EMCS) and Social Management Control Systems (SMCS). Anchored in the Resource-Based View (RBV), the study conceptualizes E&S strategies, EMCS, and SMCS as internal organizational resources that support the implementation of sustainability-related strategic intent. Although Chinese manufacturing enterprises face increasing regulatory and societal expectations regarding environmental and social responsibilities, prior research has primarily examined the direct association between sustainability strategies and performance outcomes or has treated sustainability control systems as aggregated constructs, providing comparatively less …

Weather As A Weapon Of War: The Legality Of Cloud Seeding Under International Humanitarian Law, Fatemah Albader

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

The Double-Edged Sword Of Ai In Elections: Navigating Risks And Opportunities In Washington State, Payvand Khastkhodaei

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

Deepfake Danger: The Urgent Need For Federal Protections Against Ai-Generated Pornography, Benjamin Comfort

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

Qualitative Methods For Health Research, 5th Edition: A Review, Rikki Mangrum

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative Methods for Health Research (5^th ed.; Green et al., 2025) is an introductory textbook that provides an overview of qualitative methodology as it is used in health-related fields, including public health, healthcare delivery, and medical science. It provides instruction on theoretical principles, core methods and their implementation, and related topics such as developing research proposals and publishing study results. This new addition includes updated content and new content pertinent to recent developments that have affected health research practices, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and broader awareness of the impact of colonialism and racial discrimination.

On The Automatic Image Captioning Task In Italian: A Human-Centric Approach, Valentina De Amicis, Rajesh Jaiswal, Fernando Perez-Tellez

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Automatic Image Captioning (AIC) combines two distinct machine learning disciplines, Computer Vision (CV) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), forming a challenging research landscape. Much research has been carried out for AIC in the English language facilitated by the availability of English language datasets. However, this is not true for other languages. The aim of this work is to investigate existing AIC models' compatibility for the Italian language. The scope of this research will be aimed to reduced complexity, improved efficiency, and readily trainable models on smaller datasets while maintaining an acceptable level of caption quality. The popular Show and Tell …

Right-To-Be-Forgotten By Design In Adapter-Tuned Transformers, D. J. Ranade, Rajesh Jaiswal

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Enforcing the Right-to-be-Forgotten (RtBF) in transformer models remains challenging: full retraining is costly, while post-hoc unlearning often leaves residual signal without guarantees. We propose an RtBF-by-design protocol for adapter-tuned models that combines differential privacy (DP) applied to Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) adapters with a matched-control Deletion Sufficiency Certificate (DSC). A DP-trained model on the full dataset is evaluated against an identically configured and trained redacted-control model using three complementary criteria - prediction agreement, membership-inference separability, and calibrated confidence exposure - to assess deletion sufficiency. The DSC offers an operational go/no-go decision for RtBF without requiring full retraining. Experiments on a text …