Digital Commons Network^™

Human-Chatbot Interaction Patterns: A Topic Modeling Analysis Of 3,275 Conversations With Chatgpt, Hannah Sussman

IPHS 200: Programming Humanity

This research presents a topic modeling analysis of the WILDCHAT-FULL dataset, examining user interactions with ChatGPT across over one million conversations. The study focused specifically on extended conversations (five or more exchanges) between U.S.-based users and ChatGPT in English. Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), I identified 50 distinct conversational topics with coherence scores ranging from -1.5 to -14.92 (mean: -4.47). The analysis revealed diverse interaction patterns spanning creative writing, jailbreaking (attempting to get ChatGPT to do something against its guidelines), technical discussions, business applications, and educational queries. A particularly striking finding was that creative writing and role-play scenarios dominated the …

Park Inequality In Miami: How Income And Population Density Shape Access To Green Spaces, Andre Mccloud, Katherine Elkins

IPHS 200: Programming Humanity

This data analytics project explores the relationships between park distribution, income levels, and population in Miami, Florida. Data were collected from multiple sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Miami-Dade GIS, and other public databases. The data were then visualized using Tableau to identify trends and patterns related to parks. The visualizations revealed that low-income areas have fewer overall parks, a significant number of “mini parks,” and are underserved relative to their population density. The findings of this project highlight inequalities in park allocation and call for policymakers to leverage this information to create equity-driven investments in low-income, high-density communities, ensuring …

Intertextual Sentiments In Ulysses And The Odyssey, Aidan Jordan, Katherine Elkins

IPHS 200: Programming Humanity

James Joyce’s masterpiece novel Ulysses is a text built upon its relationship to other texts. The very title is a reference to the Greek hero Odysseus and the epic poem that contains his story. The form of Ulyssesrelies heavily on the structure of the Odyssey for its movement. With chapters taking key events from the Odyssey as inspiration for their themes, characters, and events. One chapter for example is based on the episode where Odysseus travels into the underworld and Joyce’s stand-in character Bloom goes to a funeral. These structural and tonal suggestions have lead me to ask if this …

Instagram's 2025 Terms Of Service: The Evolution Of Surveillance Capitalism And Ai Training Data, Marisol Hernandez Brito, Katherine Elkins

IPHS 200: Programming Humanity

This research examines how social media platforms like Instagram’s 2025 Terms of Services (TOS) updates reflect the increasing demand for AI training data, illustrating the critical concerns about user privacy and data rights. Technology companies like Meta progressively require vast amounts of user-generated content to develop competitive AI systems to generate financial gain. Forming their data collection practices has led to their updated terms and services. In particular, their expanded AI training rights and modified dispute resolution procedures reveal the complex tension between technological advancement and user privacy. AI training data raises urgent questions about consent, ownership, and the commodification …

The Ethics Of Pitch Correction: How Technology Is Changing Musical Expression, Rachel Ferrara, Katherine Elkins

IPHS 200: Programming Humanity

The music industry has undoubtedly undergone fundamental changes since the invention of pitch correction technology, and audiences' many long-established views of "authenticity" are now being questioned. In this study, I quantitatively assess pitch correction technology's ethical and cultural implications for artist performance, public perception, industry popularity standards, and authenticity using open-source data from Spotify and Chart Masters.

Unraveling The March Sisters: A Digital Network Analysis Of Little Women's Evolving Bonds, Jessica Daugherty, Katherine Elkins

IPHS 200: Programming Humanity

Little Women is one of the most female-focused novels of the 19th century. The book, being so popular, inspired numerous film and television adaptations. The three most recognized film adaptations are: 1933 directed by George Cukor, 1994 directed by Gillian Armstrong, and 2019 directed by Greta Gerwig. This project aims to analyze and compare the social networks in these three adaptations to assess how genuinely female-centric the films are. I am curious to see if there have been any changes in the social networks and if they have evolved in response to cultural context. Using AI for coding assistance and …

Leveraging Ai To Manage Your Money Better: How Financial Advisors Can Use Ai To Provide Better Service, Lewis Cropper, Katherine Elkins

IPHS 200: Programming Humanity

A financial advisor is someone who works with clients to build a comprehensive plan for what they should do with their money. The best financial advisors are the ones that clients can trust when they’re going through major life changes, because money is very personal and emotional. With this being said, the wealth management industry is currently going through a major disruption with the rise in generative artificial intelligence. More and more financial institutions are integrating artificial intelligence into their business, whether it be through new planning software, enhanced fraud detection, marketing automation, or even robo advisors. The focus of …

Narrative Structures In American History: Using Sentiment Analysis To Identify Trends In Historiography, Maisie Jane Brigham, Katherine Elkins

IPHS 200: Programming Humanity

This study uses sentiment analysis technology to examine six seminal comprehensive texts on American history. The texts range in publication dates from 1835 to 2018 and include notable authors such as the notorious Howard Zinn and former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Sentiment analysis creates quantitative data based on literature that rates each sentence on a sentiment scale that identifies the level of emotional intensity or neutrality, as well as if it is positive or negative emotional intensity. By using this technology, the study aims to identify and compare the story arcs and crux points of the six books, as well …

Cancer In Louisiana: 2017-2021, Volume 39, Louisiana Tumor Registry, Ingrid Wagner, Lauren Maniscalco, Mei-Chin Hsieh, Christina Lefante, Yong Yi, Lisa Pareti, Brent Mumphrey, Mary Anne Lynch, Xiao-Cheng Wu, Tommy Ngyuen

Policy & Position Papers

Mission:

To collect and report complete, high-quality, and timely population-based cancer data in Louisiana to support cancer research, control, and prevention.

Vision:

To reduce suffering and death from cancer using information collected by the Louisiana Tumor Registry.

History:

Cancer registration in Louisiana began in 1947 at the Charity Hospital Tumor Registry in New Orleans. In 1974, as part of its Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, the National Cancer Institute provided funds for a population-based cancer incidence and survival registry covering Jefferson, Orleans, and St. Bernard parishes. Five years later, the Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) was transferred to the …

Experiential Learning From Stakeholder Perspectives At A University Partnership Program, Maggie M. Shader

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative survey study was to determine the stakeholders' perspectives on experiential learning at Canvas College. Experiential learning has potential benefits for students as stakeholders, and internship can be a vehicle for experiential learning. Experiential learning can involve benefits such as employability, real-world experience, calling confirmation and spiritual growth, soft skills, and immediate application of learning. Stakeholders in an internship are not limited to students. Faculty and internship leaders are also stakeholders; however, a partnership program encompasses more stakeholders, including church staff, alumni, and host university staff. The survey was researcher developed and the Cronbach’s alpha …

An Evaluation Of Burnout As Perceived By Elementary Teachers In Title I School, Lisa C. Haynes

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This quantitative study aimed to evaluate the burnout level among elementary school teachers working in Title I schools. The research used a quantitative, non-experimental design, employing a survey research approach. In this study, teachers in Title I schools were the independent variable, while teacher burnout was the dependent variable. The results indicated that the participants perceived themselves as at a higher risk for burnout than the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) norm. The BAT, a self-report questionnaire measuring burnout through dimensions of exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive impairment, and emotional impairment, revealed higher mean scores for these dimensions among the study participants …

The Ordinary Questions Doctrine, Lisa S. Bressman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court overruled Chevron as inconsistent with the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), which requires courts to decide "all relevant questions of law" and therefore prohibits them from deferring to agency interpretations because the relevant statutory language is ambiguous. A different approach now governs judicial review of the countless routine, often specialized questions of statutory interpretation that agencies answer in the normal course of implementing their statutes-the "ordinary" questions. But Loper Bright did not provide direction on how courts should determine which of these questions are questions of law. This issue arises because many, …

The False Promise Of Rescheduling, Robert A. Mikos

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Over the past fifty years, marijuana advocates invested considerable effort trying to reschedule the drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Multiple times, they pe- titioned the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to take marijuana off the highly re- strictive Schedule I and move it to one of the statute's less tightly regulated Schedules (II- V) or even deschedule the drug altogether. Along the way, they waged protracted legal battles with the agency over the tests and processes it uses for scheduling decisions. How- ever, advocates had very little to show for all their efforts. The DEA rejected every petition to …

Gendered Capital Punishment, Sandra L. Babcock

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This Article, for the first time, grapples with the influence of gender on decision makers in women’s capital trials. Part I provides a brief overview of scholarship examining the experiences of women offenders in the criminal legal system. Part II explains how gender inflects the prosecutions of women charged with capital crimes, drawing on scholarly research as well as a data set comprised of the trial transcripts of every woman currently on death row in the United States. Part III explores how the gender of key decision makers could affect the quality of justice received by women capital defendants. I …

Psychological And Social Well-Being Of Bony Fishes In Zoos And Aquariums, Ronald G. Oldfield, Patrick Bonano

Animal Sentience

Research on the behaviour of animals in zoos has been conducted for decades, and observations have provided information that has improved the psychological and social well-being of animals. However, research on fishes in zoos and aquariums seems to be lacking. Here, we assess the current state of research on fishes in zoos and aquariums by surveying the peer-reviewed literature. Our assessment differs from previous surveys in that we examine the taxonomic classes Chondrichthyes (sharks and rays) and Osteichthyes (bony fishes) separately. Our survey finds that bony fishes have been drastically underrepresented in zoo journals, more drastically than chondrichthyans, revealing an …

Implementing Age-Friendly Health Systems: A Call To Action From A Geriatric Resource Nurse Champion, Blaise B. Nieve

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

"Implementing Age-Friendly Health Systems: A Call to Action from a Geriatric Resource Nurse Champion" explores the critical components of Age-Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) and their application in everyday healthcare settings. It emphasizes the importance of addressing the unique needs of the rapidly growing older adult population through the implementation of the 4Ms framework - ”What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility.

Kansas Speaks Fall 2024 Statewide Public Opinion Survey: Addendum Included, Brett Zollinger Ph.D., Jian Sun Ph.D., Michael Walker M.S., Marisa M. Johnson M.B.A., Leslie Watson-Divittore M.S., Hannah Cross

Docking Institute of Public Affairs

In service to Kansans, the Docking Institute of Public Affairs conducts the Kansas Speaks survey and offers this report of the survey’s findings. The Institute is the primary sponsor of this survey, funding it with operating reserves made possible by the Institute’s applied research and organizational planning consulting work. This year the Wichita Journalism Collaborative joined the Institute by providing co-sponsorship.

REPORT ADDENDUM: Accounting for the Differential Between the Kansas 2024 Presidential Vote and the 2024 Kansas Speaks Survey Presidential Preference Findings.

Differential between the 2024 Kansas presidential vote and the Kansas Speaks survey presidential preference findings

(10/31/24 correction to …

Recent Developments: Gonzalez V. State, Iman Aziz

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

A Comprehensive Study On Long-Term Durability Of Protective Epoxy Coatings For Electrified Roadways, Md Tareq Hassan, Samiul Alam, Juhyeong Lee

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Underground wireless power transmission (WPT) systems are susceptible to environmental threats such as high temperatures, water ingress, and mechanical impact from above-ground objects. Typical WPT systems electronics are safeguarded with civil-grade epoxy coating, thus it is imperative to assess the coating's durability in these extreme conditions. Among various environmental threats, this study is primarily focused on both experimental and numerical investigations on long-term water diffusion characteristics of civil-grade epoxy materials at various temperatures. A series of water diffusion tests were performed on the specimens made from two commercially available electronics casting epoxy materials at room (23°C) and high (50°C) temperatures. …

Effects Of Social-Emotional Learning On Student Perceptions Of Themselves, Their Academics, And Their Behaviors, Tera Broderick

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Schools across the country are working with students who face numerous challenges in their daily lives, often leading to disengagement and a lack of readiness to learn. This study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) into the school day and its impact on students’ academic and social-emotional development. A literature review of existing literature on SEL’s influence on student well-being provided the foundation for this research. Based on this review a self-assessment was given to fourth grade students in a public school in Iowa. Analysis of the results, following the implementation of SEL, revealed that increased …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Restorative Practices In The Classroom, Susan Brown

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This inquiry-based research project evaluates the effectiveness of restorative practices in addressing student misbehavior and improving school culture within elementary classrooms. The study examines the impact of restorative practices, such as restorative circles and conferences, on reducing reported behaviors and exclusionary disciplinary measures such as suspensions, while fostering an inclusive and supportive school environment. The research was conducted at Libby Booth Elementary School, with a focus on two classrooms during the 2023- 2024 academic year. Using a mixed-methods approach, both quantitative data on student behavior and qualitative surveys from a teacher survey were collected and analyzed. The findings reveal that …

Improving Math Anxiety Through Math Intervention, Nicole Wimmer

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Do The Winners Really Get To Write History? The Use Of Perspective-Taking Journaling In Teaching Multiperspectivity, Rylie Stanton

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Understanding multiple perspectives is an essential skill students in a Social Studies classroom need to understand historical events. It is vital for students to understand how these different perspectives drive the cause-and-effect relationship of history. Research notes the importance of teaching multiperspectivity, however, multiperspectivity can be a difficult task for teachers to address and teach effectively. While there are some pedagogical methods to effectively teach multiperspectivity, more methods are needed. This study aims to examine if the use of perspective-taking journal activities can help students understand those multiple perspectives leading to a greater understanding of the causes and effects of …

Cooperative Learning And The Effects On Knowledge Retention And Positive Peer Relationships, Cathy Ray

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Teachers have long utilized different classroom collaborative learning strategies such as think-pair-share, partner work, or group projects to enhance student engagement and learning. However, effective implementation remains a challenge, requiring teachers to balance collaborative efforts with individual accountability. Teachers need to balance effective group work while maintaining an expectation of individual work. This study investigates the impact of cooperative learning on knowledge retention and the development of positive peer relationships among students. Based on a literature review about the effectiveness of cooperative learning in education, research was done with two groups of fourth-grade students in a rural, public school in …

The Impact Of Identifying Early Intervention Needs In Infants And Toddlers, Jennifer L. Mcgregor

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Brain research conducted on infants and toddlers through the past 20 years has resulted in the widely held knowledge that most brain growth occurs in the first three years of a child’s life. That knowledge reinforces the importance of providing early interventions to children as early as possible in order to maximize the brain’s potential for learning. This study analyzes a set of data collected from an area of a midwestern state that encompasses both urban and rural populations as well as a diverse socio-economic population and aims to confirm whether it makes a difference in the learning trajectory if …

Problem-Based Learning Vs. Direct Instruction: A Case For Independence, Nicholas Heider

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This research study compares problem-based learning (PBL) and direct instruction, to determine which teaching method will increase fourth grade students’ learning independence and problem-solving ability. This quantitative study analyzed pre-test and post-test results, alongside survey responses from two separate fourth-grade classes. One class was taught a unit using problem-based learning, while the other received instruction on the same unit using a direct instruction approach. The statistical analysis revealed no major differences between the two teaching methods, suggesting that teachers should consider their students’ learning styles before selecting a teaching method for a given unit. Although the sample size was small, …

Enhancing 4th Grade Classroom Engagement Through Flexible Seating And Interactive Learning Strategies., Hannah Goetler

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This inquiry-based research study explores the impact of flexible seating and interactive learning strategies on student engagement and academic performance in a fourth-grade classroom. The study utilized a mixed-methods approach, using both pre- and post-surveys and classroom observations, over four weeks to assess changes in student comfort, focus, and collaboration. The findings showed significant improvements in engagement, with students self-reporting higher levels of comfort and collaboration, as well as reduced off-task behavior. Flexible seating options included wobble stools and floor cushions and fostered autonomy and enhanced focus during lessons. Additionally, interactive learning strategies complementing flexible seating setups, further promote active …

The Role Of Trauma And Social-Emotional Learning On Academic Achievement, Kayela Gearhart

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Trauma and social-emotional learning are important issues in today’s educational institutions. This study looked at the impact that childhood trauma and social-emotional learning have on academic achievement so that students who have experienced trauma will benefit. The following research question was explored: What impact does social-emotional learning instruction have on academic achievement? Thirty-two fourth-grade students in two classrooms in one school district in rural Northeast Iowa participated in this study. FAST reading, math, and mySAEBRS data from prior to the implementation of a schoolwide SEL curriculum were compared to data from the same assessments after the SEL curriculum was implemented. …

Restorative Justice For Classroom Management In A Middle School Classroom, Danielle Lyons

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research was to determine the impact of restorative justice practices on a middle school classroom. The researcher utilized restorative justice practices including daily observations, restorative circles, peer mediation, and conflict resolution strategies. Over the course of six weeks, the researcher monitored progress using behavior logs, student surveys, and behavioral reflections. The research was conducted to determine the effect that these practices have on classroom climate, student behavior and relationships between peers and teachers. The researcher is a 6th grade Science teacher in her sixth year of teaching. The findings revealed an increase in positive behaviors, …

Trauma-Informed School Improvement Plan, Amy Lundell

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Studies show that adopting trauma-responsive approaches in educational settings can lead to a significant decrease in behavioral problems. By responding to challenging behaviors with more empathy and support, school staff can increase their capacity to understand the “why” behind what children display. This school improvement plan will examine the cornerstones of implementing a trauma-informed practice in a K-5 elementary school. To begin with, adopting trauma-informed approaches requires a shift in the organization's culture, policies, and procedures to ensure that every aspect of the system is aligned with the principles of trauma-informed care. This will not only reduce concerning behaviors but …