Digital Commons Network^™

Longitudinal Examination Of Gender Differences In Engineering Self-Efficacy And The Impact Of Covid-19: A Six-Year Study, Lillian C. Jeznach, Maija A. Benitz

Engineering, Computing & Construction Management Faculty Publications

This paper presents a longitudinal analysis of gender differences in undergraduate engineering students’ feeling of self-efficacy across a six-year period, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Engineering self-efficacy was measured by the Longitudinal Assessment of Engineering Self-Efficacy (LAESE) instrument, while pandemic-related stress was measured with a COVID screener comprised of twenty Likert-type questions. Surveys were administered to engineering students at a small, primarily undergraduate university every semester from Fall 2018 through Spring 2024 and also included one summer survey following a move to online teaching in 2020. Results of long-term data collected over six years (thirteen timepoints) indicated no …

A Comprehensive Review Of The Application Of Cold Plasma Technology In Lignocellulosic Biomass Pretreatment, Rasaq S. Abolore, Swarna Jaiswal, Amit K. Jaiswal

Articles

Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is a promising feedstock for the sustainable production of biofuels and other biobased products, owing to its abundance, low cost, and minimal competition with food crops for resources. It is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, forming a complex biomass matrix. Its utilization is hindered by its complex structure and pretreatment is required to break down the chemical resistance caused by the strong association between the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin structures. Conventional methods such as acid and alkali pretreatment are used frequently but they require the use of high temperatures, high pressure, and corrosive chemicals. This …

Understanding Social Biases In Large Language Models, Ojasvi Gupta, Stefano Marrone, Francesco Gargiulo, Rajesh Jaiswal, Lidia Marassi

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Background/Objectives: Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, LLAMA, and Mistral are widely used for automating tasks such as content creation and data analysis. However, due to their training on publicly available internet data, they may inherit social biases. We aimed to investigate the social biases (i.e., ethnic, gender, and disability biases) in these models and evaluate how different model versions handle them. Methods: We instruction-tuned popular models (like Mistral, LLAMA, and Gemma), and for this we curated a dataset constructed by collecting and modifying diverse data from various public datasets. Prompts were run through a controlled pipeline, and responses were …

Development And Verification Of Testing Platform For Torque Vectoring Controller, Nicholas Petersen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A foremost concept in the automotive industry in recent years has been that of a vehicle “digital twin”. A digital twin is an accurate simulation of a dynamic system for the use of rapid development. These digital twins have a critical advantage over physical testing, which have dominated vehicle development up to now. As the cost of physical testing continues to rise, simulation can deliver rapid system development in a low-cost format. No simulation environment is a perfect representation of reality, however, and physical testing is still necessary to validate systems for use in the real world. This is especially …

Geospatial Analysis For Urban Resilience: Green Space, Flood Susceptibility, And Wetland Restoration Potential, Jessica Lareaux

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Through the integration of high-resolution geospatial data, hydrologic modeling, and spatial statistics, this research addresses three interrelated topics that are critical to sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient urban planning. The overall objective of this dissertation is to provide data-driven and machine learning-based geospatial analysis frameworks that enhance our understanding of environmental inequities, flood exposure, and the potential for wetland restoration, with a focus on urban contexts. The study presented in Chapter Two examines the distribution and accessibility of urban green spaces in Detroit, Michigan, using high-resolution geospatial data and geospatial analysis methods, including geographically weighted regression (GWR) and network-based analyses. This …

Atomistic Study Of Selenium Doping Effects On The Mechanical Properties Of Zinc-Blende And Wurtzite Cdte Nanowires, Sungwook Leo Hong, Nadeem Azad, Saifuddin Zafar, Abrar Faiyad, Hyung Sub Sim

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Works

CdSexTe1–x semiconductor materials, having potential to be used to design dependable and reproducible nanowire devices, require an extensive study of their mechanical behaviors. The uniaxial tensile deformation mechanism of CdSexTe1–x nanowires (NWs) with different Se dopant concentration are yet to be explored. By integrating theoretical analysis with computational simulation, this research demonstrated that Se doping in CdTe NWs influences the mechanical response and failure modes. Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elastic modulus (EM) were studied for both zinc-blende (ZB) and wurtzite (WZ) structures with different crystal orientations. The findings revealed that these mechanical properties increase linearly with increasing Se concentration …

The Role Of Artificial Intelligence In Boosting Cybersecurity And Trusted Embedded Systems Performance: A Systematic Review On Current And Future Trends, Xiangyi Cheng, Ahmed Oun, Kaden Wince

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Works

As technology becomes increasingly interconnected, ensuring the security of cyber and embedded systems is critical due to escalating vulnerabilities and sophisticated cyber threats. Researchers are exploring artificial intelligence (AI) to improve security mechanisms, yet there is a lack of a comprehensive technical, AI-focused analysis detailing the integration of AI into existing security hardware and frameworks. To address this gap, this article systematically reviews 63 articles on AI in cybersecurity and trusted embedded systems. The reviewed articles are categorized into four application domains: 1) Intrusion Detection and Prevention (IDPS), 2) Malware Detection, 3) Industrial Control and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and 4) …

Understanding Trends In Zostera Research, Stressors, And Response Variables, Hannah R. Lyford, Emma Guerrini Romano, Shayna A. Sura, Sarah Joy Bittick

Biology Faculty Works

Background. Seagrass meadows are ecologically significant habitats that are globally threatened. Thus, there is increased interest in conservation of seagrasses as they face widespread decline. Biotic and abiotic factors that influence seagrass can be classified as stressors, such as rising temperature and eutrophication. Our study met an imminent need to consolidate data from previous studies to discern knowledge gaps and identify trends in studies, stressors, species, and geographic origination of research for the genus Zostera. For our systematic review, the objectives were to (A) qualitatively assess and summarize the current state of literature focused on seagrass species within the Zostera …

Nir Spectroscopy As A Tool For Identifying Additives In Foundry Green Sands, Maurice Kuubata

Graduate Research Papers

The main objective of this study is to investigate the potential of Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a rapid, non-destructive method for identifying key additives such as seacoal and red iron oxides in foundry green sand. Samples comprised of silica sand with bentonite (DC2), seacoal, and/or red iron oxide were prepared. NIR spectra were acquired using an Avantes spectrometer with an Avasphere attachment. To ensure robust results, high-repeatability data was obtained from twelve replicates of two control mixtures.

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the spectral data showed that the first principal component (PC1) explained 99.23 % of total variance for Seacoal …

Computational Analysis And Design Of High-Entropy Nanoparticles: Integrating Atomistic Simulations With Scientific Pedagogy In Materials Research, Sungwook Leo Hong, Priyanshu Luhar, Ricardo Ramirez, Jiwon Lexi Hwang

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Works

This study leverages reactive molecular dynamics simulations to enhance undergraduate education and research in materials science. Focusing on the oxidation processes of a variety of energetic metal nanoparticles, including Al, Cu, Mg, and Ti, two undergraduate students led the scientific inquiry. They conducted literature reviews, ran simulations, validated assumptions, and analyzed results, deepening their understanding of material behaviors and strengthening their STEM identity. Through these hands-on experiences, the students successfully investigated the energetic properties of these nanoparticles, demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach in promoting inquiry-based learning. This work underscores the transformative potential of computational simulations in advancing computational materials …

Magnetization Transfer Ratio In The Typically Developing Pediatric Spinal Cord: Normative Data And Age Correlation, Sara Naghizadeh Kashani, Iswarya Vel, Zahra Sadeghi Adl, Shiva Shahrampour, Devon Middleton, Mahdi Alizadeh, Laura Krisa, Scott Faro, Slimane Tounekti, Julien Cohen-Adad, Feroze Mohamed

Department of Radiology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study presents automated atlas-based magnetization transfer (MT) measurements of the typically developing pediatric cervical spinal cord (SC). We report normative MT ratio (MTR) values from the whole cervical cord white matter (WM) and WM tracts, examining variations with age, sex, height, and weight.

METHODS: MT scans of 33 healthy females (mean age = 12.8) and 22 males (mean age = 13.09) were acquired from the cervical SC (C2-C7) using a 3.0 T MRI. Data were processed using the SC Toolbox, segmented, and registered to the PAM50 template. Affine and non-rigid transformations co-registered the PAM50 WM atlas …

A Review Of Climate Change And Its Financial Impact On The Transportation Sector, Ray Anthony L. Almonares

DLSU Business & Economics Review

In this paper, I review the existing literature on climate risks—both transition and physical—and their relationship with firm performance, with a specific focus on transportation finance. I find that the broad literature on carbon emissions and firm performance overlooks two critical characteristics of the global transportation sector: its heavy reliance on fossil fuels and the international scope of its operations. As a result, the conclusions drawn from this body of work may not be directly applicable to global transportation companies. Furthermore, I examine existing studies on extreme sea levels and the global maritime transportation sector, noting that these studies have …

The Alchemist, Ana Heredero Millán

Grado en Diseño de Interiores

La casa fue construida originalmente en la década de 1930 como residencia y clínica para un médico, ubicada en la planta baja con su propia puerta de entrada, separada de la entrada a la vivienda familiar. Según el arquitecto en la revista Nuevas Formas, la casa tuvo que resolver ciertas dificultades decisivas: la relación entre los servicios de la clínica y la vivienda; la forma del terreno, que era desproporcionada en anchura (15,30 metros) en comparación con su longitud (43 metros), y la pendiente longitudinal que presentaba. Debido a su reducida dimensión transversal y la necesidad de separar la …

Habitar El Vacío, Nur Puerta Bakour

Grado en Diseño de Interiores

The way of life that sculptor and writer Assem Al-Basha follows in his everyday routine is the foundation of the interior design of this residence and workshop, and what makes it so unique. His daily rhythm, from waking up at five in the morning to read and catch up on news, especially from the Middle East, to the long hours spent working in the studio (interrupted only by a short nap), and his deep fascination with the garden and the quiet observation of time passing; were the very first clues that made me understand how the space needed to be …

Reconciling Theory And Praxis. Defending Subjective Agency Against Althusser's Structuralism - Daniel Guerrero, Daniel Guerrero

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Louis Althusser labels Marx’s early works as humanist, pseudo-materialist, and self-contained within the ideology of German idealism. Therefore, all attempts to develop a Marxist theory based on these works are futile and ideological. Instead, Althusser proposes a ‘scientific’ reading of Marx developing a structuralist theory based on dialectical materialism. I argue that his interpretations deny individual agency and reduce social relations to mechanistic processes, which directly conflicts with fundamental Marxist ideas like alienation, production, and species-being. By discussing authors within the Marxist Humanist tradition, I argue that a theoretical framework based on Marx’s early works is not only possible, but …

Community Music, Counter-Stories, And Social Inequality In Central Florida's Music Spaces, Katia Destine

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Black working-class musicians have shaped American popular culture for centuries. Despite their contributions, they have faced decades of marginalization and exploitation by record companies, executives, and consumers. While systems of exploitation affect musicians of all backgrounds, Black working-class musicians are in a double bind, susceptible to both economic and social exploitation. Musicians who live within the subdominant groups of race, gender, and class frequently face obstacles that place them at a disadvantage. Through semi-structured interviews, the research draws on the lived experiences of Black working-class musicians in Central Florida. I argue that community music serves as a vital resource, offering …

Bayesian Networks For Safety-Critical Systems, Joseph Mietkiewicz

Theses

This thesis addresses a operational challenge in modern industrial operations: the increasing complexity of systems and the consequent cognitive burden on operators. As industrial technologies advance, the human-computer interface has become the primary conduit for information flow, playing a pivotal role in operational decision-making. However, the proliferation of data often leads to information overload, potentially compromising rather than enhancing operator performance. This research explores an approach to this pressing issue through the application of Bayesian networks as decision support systems in safety- critical scenarios. Our study employs a multi-faceted approach, combining theoretical modeling with empirical testing. Through collaboration with industry …

Ghosting The Crowd, Andrew A. Schwartz

Publications

Crowdfunded companies are legally bound to provide investors with an annual report--but most don't. This "ghosting of the crowd" violates federal securities laws and raises the risk of opportunism by entrepreneurs, who are more prone to misbehave if no one is watching. Most ominously, it threatens the very viability of the investment crowdfunding market, as investors who are ghosted by one company are less likely to invest in another.

This Article reports on the embarrassing record of noncompliance with the annual report rule imposed by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups ("JOBS") Act of 2012 and Regulation Crowdfunding, and proposes a …

The Shifting Economic Allegiance Of Capital Gains, Amanda Parsons

Publications

No abstract provided.

An American's Guide To The Eu Ai Act, Margot Kaminski, Andrew D. Selbst

Publications

The EU AI Act entered into force in August 2024. The AI Act is long. It is complicated. It relies on a regulatory framework and institutions unfamiliar to many in the United States. But as the first omnibus AI regulation worldwide, it has the potential to have a vast influence on both practice and lawmaking.

In this Article, we provide the American's Guide to the EU AI Act. This Article breaks down the AI Act for a U.S. law audience, explaining the overall mechanisms, and how the Act interacts with background EU laws and institutions. At its core, the AI …

Dual-Mode Linear Phased Array Antennas For Monopulse Radars, Jonathan Waters

Theses

Phased array antennas are widely used around the world. Much research is focused on extending capabilities of modern wireless systems and radars. Dual-mode elements are researched for use in beamforming, monopulse radar and multi-frequency applications. Beamforming in itself is an extensively researched topic, aimed at canceling interference and/or finding signal angle-of-arrivals. The goals of this thesis are two-fold. Firstly, to take the monopulse capabilities of a dual-mode antenna element to allow for a linear phased array antenna to generate the sum, delta-azimuth, and delta-elevation channels whereas normal linear phased array antennas can only generate a single difference channel. Secondly, to …

Heat Transfer Of Additively Manufactured Turbine Alloy Blade Tips With Different Surface Enhancement Post-Processing Methods, Morgan Tatge

Theses

The investigation results presented here consider the heat transfer characteristics of seven different turbine blade tips. Six of the blades are additive manufactured with GRX-810, followed by different surface enhancement post processing techniques. Those techniques include as built, abrasive flow machining, chemical polishing with chemical mechanical polishing, micromachining, chemical polishing, and electropolishing. The seventh blade is machined with 1016 steel. These procedures give a different surface texture roughness for each blade. A transonic linear cascade within a transonic/supersonic wind tunnel is utilized. The impulse response method is employed to determine heat transfer coefficient distributions for the blades. The Tad/T0i temperature …

Design, Development, And Analysis Of A Pulsed Power System Using A Thyristor To Fire A Coaxial Plasma Gun, Neil P. Laya

Theses

A first of a kind fiber-optically controlled and thyristor switched coaxial plasma gun pulsed power system has been designed, built, and fired at up to 2 kV and 6.4 kA, with a 6.65 MW momentary peak power output from the capacitor. Total system firing jitter from initial digital signal to 90% peak current rise has been measured at 78.15 ns, representing 0.18% of the total pulse time of 44.10 µs. This includes both thyristor turn-on and coaxial plasma gun breakdown. Standard deviation of peak current over repeated firings has been measured to be 21.09 A (0.33%). The system has experienced …

Utilizing Ground-Based Radar Analyses To Investigate Ocean-To-Land Differences In The Tropical Cyclone Wind Profile And Their Impacts On Tornadogenesis, Elizabeth M. Seiler

Theses

On 20 August 2008, the MAX radar was deployed southeast of the Jacksonville, FL WSR-88D radar to monitor the boundary layer before, during, and after the landfall of TS Fay. During the 57-hour deployment, MAX sampled around a tornadic rainband that produced at least one confirmed tornado. To illustrate TCBL changes across a coastal zone, VAD profiles from MAX and KJAX are compared, and a dual- Doppler analysis is performed. One key finding from the DDA was the consistent presence of southeasterly background flow, vertical vorticity, enhanced cyclonic shear zones, and minisupercells throughout the 1650-1725 UTC analysis period. The primary …

Generation Of True Random Numbers With Actively Stabilized, Low Dimensional Chaos, Aidan Barton

Theses

True Random Number Generators (TRNGs) are heavily used and their design often relies on empirical validation from statistical test suites. Reliance solely on empirical observations to estimate entropy rates for cryptographic applications introduces risk, as accurately inferring long-term correlations demands prohibitively large datasets. Empirical validation of TRNGs must be supplemented by strong theoretical backing to justify estimated information theoretic quantities. We present an electronic, hardware TRNG scheme that produces a maximally random output guaranteed from first principles. This TRNG uses a pulse-width based hardware realization of an iterated map that produces physical entropy via low-dimensional chaotic dynamics. The simple dynamics …

A Comprehensive Study On Explainable Artificial Intelligence : A User-Centric, Cognitive Workload, And Feasibility-Driven Analysis, Josiah Taylor

Theses

Explainable Artificial Intelligence aims to open up the “black box” of artificial intelligence, thereby improving user trust, decreasing cognitive load, and improving task performance. As the number of machine learning models has grown, so has the number of explanation methods, making it necessary to select the most suitable explanation method for a given context. However, current selection methods often fail to account for all the factors that contribute significantly to an explanation method’s suitability. This thesis proposes a novel methodology for selecting and evaluating explanation methods. Subjective workload, objective performance, and feasibility are considered. This three-pronged “pitchfork” methodology is put …

Chaos-Based Thumbnail-Preserving Image Encryption, Sara Mog

Theses

As the landscape of image data usage continues to change, cloud services need to store data securely, reliably, and at times maintain a reasonable level of human usability. Thumbnail-preserving encryption (TPE) is a niche area of image encryption research that provides a balance between security and privacy. A TPE scheme encrypts an image in such a way that the thumbnail of the encrypted image is the same as or similar to the thumbnail of the original image. This work presented a chaos-based TPE scheme and explored potential pitfalls encountered when using chaos for encryption. The TPE scheme used a chaos-based …

Development Of A Constitutive Model Free Method To Determine Full-Field Stresses Based Upon Fundamental Physics Principles, Joel David Barnes

Theses

Advances in imaging techniques allow for the determination of full-field displacements and strains during materials testing. However, most analysis techniques rely on strain gages and virtual extensometers instead of utilizing all available full-field data. Those methods that do utilize the full-field strain and displacement measurements, such as Finite Element Model Updating and the Virtual Fields Method, must also rely on a user-defined constitutive material models to relate the stresses and strains. While these methods can provide accurate full-field stresses and insights into complex material behavior in some cases, they are constrained by the fact that they require a pre-selected constitutive …

Copyright And Artificial Intelligence, Part 2: Copyrightability

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

This report by the United States Copyright Office addresses the legal and policy issues related to artificial intelligence (AI) and copyright as outlined in the Office’s August 2023 Notice of Inquiry (NOI).

The report will be published in several parts each one addressing a different topic. This part addresses the copyrightability of works created using generative AI. The first part, published in 2024, addresses the topic of digital replicas—the use of digital technology to realistically replicate an individual’s voice or appearance. A subsequent part will turn to the training of AI models on copyrighted works, licensing considerations, and allocation of …

Use Of Augmented Reality For Mosquito Breeding Sites Identification, Venant Niyonkuru, Sylla Sekou, Jimmy J. Sinzinkayo

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

An augmented reality app is used for detecting the possible breeding locations of mosquitoes in different settings precisely. With the aid of the advanced augmented vision technology, the AR system recognizes water-containing containers that are frequent breeding places for mosquitoes according to the visual information obtained through a head-mounted display. It then overlays visual highlights and labels directly onto these containers within the user's field of view, allowing one to instantly identify and spot breeding sites in real time. By combining state-of-the-art AR functionality with powerful computer vision algorithms, the method provides real-time visual feedback for identifying and tagging mosquito …