Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Processing Conditions In Narrative Interpretation: A Structural Account Of Cf/Ef Divergence In "The Clerk's Tale”, Griselda Poe

Publications and Research

This paper applies the framework established in Paper 19, "Cognition Is Not Content: A Structural Account of Processing Conditions," to re-describe Chaucer's "The Clerk's Tale" from The Canterbury Tales.

The same narrative produces two incompatible interpretations: a record of domestic violence, and a story of genuine love. This divergence does not arise from differences in ethical judgment or emotional response. It arises from structural differences in the conditions under which information is reconstructed.

This paper does three things. First, it analyzes the characters Walter and Griselda in terms of CF (Core-foregrounded) and EF (Modulation-foregrounded) processing conditions. Second, it describes …

Bioshock: An Objectivist Counter Discourse On Ayn Rand’S Atlas Shrugged, Tucker M. Hurst

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The aim for this thesis is to discuss the themes and story structure of Bioshock with respect to Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged by deconstructing the relationship between both pieces of media as Bioshock representing a counter discourse to Rand’s objectivism. This will be done by examining both stories under a philosophical and economic lens to determine the main pillars of objectivism presented in Atlas Shrugged, then moving on to Bioshock’s dissection of these ideals when enforced on a secluded society. In doing so, not only is a better understanding of Rand’s philosophy obtained by presenting a form of case study …

The Tones And Frequencies Of A Glockenspiel, Edward Czudak

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In this thesis, I will analyze the tones and frequencies of a glockenspiel based on the results of Warburton’s 1954 article, “The Vibration Of Rectangular Plates,” [12]. I will be measuring and modeling the frequencies of a glockenspiel and connect them with the analytical and expected numerical solutions. The solutions will be based on the plate equation along with the boundary conditions of a rectangle free on all edges. I will look at the high modes of vibration for the bars and their corresponding overtones in the acoustic spectrum.

Perseus Interim Evaluation Report, Data Innovation Project, University Of Southern Maine

Publications

The Data Innovation Project (DIP) from the University of Southern Maine’s Catherine Cutler Institute serves as the external evaluator for the USDA NIFA SAS-funded Promoting Economic Resilience and Sustainability of the Eastern U.S. Forests (PERSEUS) project. This project is a joint effort between Purdue University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Maine. The DIP supports the project in assessing its progress, implementation, and emerging impacts through data collection from project participants and systematic document review (i.e. annual USDA reports, personnel lists, and meeting notes). This includes synthesizing quantitative and qualitative data and incorporating these metrics into independent evaluation …

Augmented Reality In Fashion Retail: A Walmart Unlimited Study, Chloe A. Mcpherson

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

As technology continues to evolve, augmented reality (AR) has become increasingly common within the retail and fashion industries. This study explored Gen Z consumers’ perceptions of immersive AR shopping experiences through Walmart Unlimited, an interactive digital shopping platform. The purpose of this research was to better understand how younger consumers respond to AR-enhanced shopping environments and whether these technologies influence attitudes toward convenience, engagement, and sustainability in retail.

A quantitative research design was used for this study. Participants completed the Walmart Unlimited shopping experience and then responded to a Qualtrics survey measuring areas such as immersion, satisfaction, ease of use, …

The Space In Between, Cailyn Dawson

Theses and Dissertations

This paper asks the question: is it possible for our bodies to hold contradicting identities at the same time?  Through monochromatic self- portraits, the artist creates a link between quantum mechanics and painting, using the principle of superposition to depict these multiple unformed states of being.

Editorial: El Juego De Rol Como Instrucción Para La Inmortalidad, Romano Ponce Díaz

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

El presente número del Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM examina la convergencia entre las prácticas lúdicas, el diseño narrativo y los procesos de mediación sociocultural en la investigación contemporánea. Las contribuciones reunidas en este número abordan el juego de rol como un dispositivo de producción de conocimiento, intervención psicoeducativa y reelaboración de representaciones culturales. Nos podemos atrever a señalar que la educación es la convergencia entre la ludología, las ciencias sociales, los estudios visuales y el análisis cultural; entendiendo a la educación como la actividad consciente e intencionada de transmitir información y conocimientos a las siguientes generaciones.

Practicing Conflict Transformation Skills Through Role-Playing Games For Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Higher Education, Alexandra Schreiber, Kjell H. Hugaas, Sarah L. Bowman

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

No abstract provided.

3d: Dragones, Dados Y Deseos. Rituales En Las Comunidades Roleras De Bogotá, Francisco Gonzalez Buitrago

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

¿Qué ocurre cuando la ficción deja de ser solo entretenimiento y se transforma en refugio, ritual y espacio de transgresión? Este artículo analiza los hallazgos de una etnografía y un ejercicio de cartografía social en torno a comunidades roleras de Bogotá, mostrando cómo jóvenes y adultos reconfiguran sus vidas cotidianas a través del juego de rol.

Lejos de limitarse al escapismo, las partidas se convierten en escenarios simbólicos donde caben la negociación, la crítica y la catarsis. En una ciudad marcada por la incertidumbre generacional y las tensiones entre género, clase y territorio, las campañas de rol permiten reimaginarse a …

The Functions Of Role- Playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems And Explore Identity, De Sarah Lynne Bowman (2010) [Reseña De Libro], Cristo Leon

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

The Functions of Role-Playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems and Explore Identity, by Sarah Lynne Bowman, is an ambitious, wide-ranging, and still necessary work for role-playing game studies. Published in 2010, the book proposes that role-playing and roleplaying games fulfill three main social and psychological functions: creating community, facilitating problem solving, and enabling the exploration of identity. Bowman develops this thesis through a combination of theoretical review, cultural reflection, and participant-observer ethnography, based on interviews with players of tabletop role-playing games, live-action roleplaying games, and virtual environments. Organized into seven chapters, the book moves clearly from the …

Los Juegos De Rol Como Una Herramienta Psicoeducativa, Víctor E. Quintana Villarreal

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

Los juegos de rol han funcionado durante mucho tiempo como un medio para compartir y crear historias en conjunto con colegas y amigos. De ellos, se desprenden también habilidades y herramientas fundamentales para la vida, por lo que un método para sistematizar estos juegos de tablero y dados a funciones educativas es necesario para potenciarlos como herramientas psicoeducativas.

La siguiente, es una propuesta planteada desde el marco constructivista para generar espacios con los juegos de rol como eje central del aprendizaje, y se relatan a través de un marco teórico, seguido de una proposición metodológica, una serie de pasos para …

Journal Of Roleplaying Studies And Steam (Jrpssteam) Vol. 5 [2026], Número 1 (Issue 1), Romano Ponce-Díaz Phd, Cristo Leon, Ivan Avila, Sarah Lynne Bowman, Kjell Hedgard Hugaas, Alexandra Schreiber Ma, Jaime Eduardo García Maya, Víctor Emmanuel Quintana Villarreal Vic Emma, Francisco Gonzalez Ing., Daniel Romero Benguigui, Antonio Roda-Martínez

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

El presente número del Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM examina la convergencia entre las prácticas lúdicas, el diseño narrativo y los procesos de mediación sociocultural en la investigación contemporánea. Las contribuciones reunidas en este número abordan el juego de rol como un dispositivo de producción de conocimiento, intervención psicoeducativa y reelaboración de representaciones culturales. Nos podemos atrever a señalar que la educación es la convergencia entre la ludología, las ciencias sociales, los estudios visuales y el análisis cultural; entendiendo a la educación como la actividad consciente e intencionada de transmitir información y conocimientos a las siguientes generaciones.

Martin Heidegger …

Between Chronicle And Legend: A Two-Scene Environment And Visual Effects Examination Of Physical Accuracy And Emotional Exaggeration On The Honey Creek Bridge Collapse, Alison R. Gaddy

All Theses

This thesis explores how truth and dramatization intersect in digital storytelling by comparing realistic and stylized simulations of the Honey Creek bridge collapse within the context of the Kate Shelley animated short. At the core of storytelling lies a tension between factual accuracy and dramatic stylization. We investigate that tension by examining how narrative truth is conveyed, distorted, or enhanced through visual dramatization by focusing on the psychology of audience perception and the motivations behind creative embellishment. The practical contribution of this research is the development of two distinct digital scene setups depicting the same Honey Creek bridge collapse event. …

Analysis Of Volumetric Reconstruction Methods In Archaeology, Cade O'Fallon

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The use of Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry in archaeological projects is entering a period of transition; a method of producing 3D data that is traditionally embraced as tool for documentation is being explored for its analytic potential. One such way SfM photogrammetry can be used analytically is through the calculation of volumes using photogrammetric data. The tools exist for archaeologists to be able to create and quantify volumetric models; however, the discourse on these methods is still so new there is no consensus on the best method for conducting volumetric work. Different methods of creating and isolating volumetric space …

Taking A Deeper Look: Attributing Tonal Values Of Photolumens To Their Emulsions Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, Anna M. Moore

All Theses

This thesis examines whether tonal variation in photolumens made with historic silver gelatin photographic papers can be linked to differences in elemental composition. Photolumens are cameraless photographic images created by placing objects directly on light-sensitive paper and exposing them to ultraviolet light. Because expired and historic darkroom papers often produce unpredictable colors and tones, this study asks whether visually defined tonal groups also show measurable chemical differences.

Twenty historic paper samples were exposed, documented, and sorted into five tonal groups based on visible image characteristics. Each sample was then analyzed using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) …

Investigation Of Curing And Degradation Mechanisms In Lead White Oil Paint Systems: Impact Of Methyl Linoleate On Paint Matrix Formation And Solvent Extractability, Andrea Serrano Trujillo

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Oil-based paints composed of drying oils and lead-containing pigments undergo complex chemical transformations during curing that influence long-term stability and degradation. Despite centuries of use, the molecular mechanisms governing oxidative polymerization and additive incorporation in lead white oil paint systems remain incompletely understood. This study investigates the role of methyl linoleate, a monoester analog of linoleic acid, in the curing and degradation pathways of lead carbonate and linseed oil paint films. A deep focus was placed on determining whether methyl linoleate becomes chemically integrated into the developing polymeric network or remains as an extractable and unbound component, as this distinction …

Fractsynth: Exploring Glitch Timbres With Chaos Theory, Aidan Roach

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

In this paper, I explore how chaos theory can be used to design a new kind of synthesizer with the primary focus of producing glitchy, unpredictable sounds. Glitch music embraces abstract sound design, malfunctioning electronics, and randomness as the main compositional elements. However, most synthesizers rely on stable, repetitive oscillators that often sound too controlled. To challenge this, I developed FractSynth, a real-time synthesizer that uses chaotic attractors–including the Logistic Map, Henon Map, and Lorenz System–as modulation sources for frequency, amplitude, and tone. The software also features real-time Lyapunov Exponent Tracking, which gives users a direct visual of how …

From Vibration To Visualization: Building An Real-Time Audio Visualization System For Learning And Exploration Using Pyqt5, Aidan Roach

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

This paper presents the design, development, and analysis of my real-time audio visualization system created entirely in Python using PyQt5, called WaveCatcher. The system captures live audio input from a microphone and provides simultaneous visual feedback through multiple signal representations: including a time-domain waveform, a frequency-domain FFT spectrum, a scrolling spectrogram, harmonic peak visualization, dynamic range, amplitude envelope, spectral centroid, and spectral bandwidth. These features offer insight not just into the raw structure of sound, but into how humans perceive its qualities–like timbre! This terminology may seem intimidating—it certainly was when I first began learning it—but I’ll explain all of …

Interactions Of Dance And Mathematics: A Closer Look At Mathematical Sequences As Scores For Choreography From A Choreographic Lens, Caroline Wolfe

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

This paper investigates the embodiment of infinite mathematical sequences through concert contemporary dance, examining how choreography can serve both as an artistic and analytical tool for exploring numerical patterns. Grounded in interdisciplinary literature on mathematical visualization in choreography, the study centers on two original choreographic works presented and performed at Missouri State University: Golden Ratio Sequence (Spring 2025), which maps the Fibonacci sequence and the natural applications of the Golden Ratio onto a spiral floor pattern, and Tetrahedral Numbers (Fall 2024), which employs an accumulation score to embody three-dimensional number growth through layered movement motifs and body created tetrahedra. The …

Dementia Detection In Low-Resource Languages: Evaluating Translation-Assisted Transfer Learning For Multilingual Clinical Assessment, Kylar A. Deloach

Honors Theses

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a growing global health concern, with millions of people affected worldwide and cases expected to rise significantly in the coming decades. Early detection is critical for patient treatment and care, and recent advances in natural language processing (NLP) have shown promise in identifying linguistic markers associated with AD. However, most existing work has focused on English, leaving speakers of other languages with limited access to such tools. This study investigates how effective AD detection models trained on English data are at transferring to Greek, a low-resource language with limited dementia-related speech data available. We propose a …

Redefining Certainty: Non-Euclidean Geometry And Theology Transformation Throughout The Intellectual Unrest Of The Early 1800s, Luke Bensinger

Honors Theses

To bridge the gap between mathematics and theology, it is necessary to explore their intersection and challenge the notion that these fields are incompatible. This study focuses on the 19th century, a period when non-Euclidean geometries emerged and disrupted mathematical certainty, while Protestant theologians such as Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell grappled with Calvinism and shifting theological perspectives. By analyzing mathematicians studying geometry, such as Gauss, Lobachevsky, and Riemann, this research examines how both disciplines balance change with enduring truths.

Bibliography Of Religious Faith And The Mathematical Sciences, Calvin Jongsma

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This Bibliography is offered as a helpful resource for anyone who wishes to thoughtfully explore the connections between religious faith and the mathematical sciences. Searching the database for a topic of interest will bring up items with that focus. An entry’s attached PDF (when publicly available) can be opened and read while in the database. Alternatively, each item contains a URL/web link to a location where one can either read the item or retrieve information about how to obtain a copy of it.

Volume 12 Full Text, Bjur Staff

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Exploring Gender As An Analytical Framework In The 2018-2019 Revolution And Ongoing Civil War: The Role Of Gendered Violence And Sudanese Women's Resistance, Ami John

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper will interrogate the intersection of gender, war, and political upheaval within Sudan while focusing on the role of women in both the 2019 resistance and the ongoing conflict and revolution. By the end of 2018, mass protests had called for the ousting of Omar al-Bashir, the long-standing Sudanese president. This event set off a chain reaction which led to events that fueled the long-standing rivalry between the two militant groups that were active in Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The tension caused by this rivalry created unforeseen circumstances for the local …

Wallflowers, Misfits, And Gender Nonconformists: Roller Derby As A Refuge, Kate Clement

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

This article explores how roller derby serves as a unique space for queer women and gender minorities to foster community and build “found families,” engage in activism, and practice self-expression, from its creation in 1935 to the present. This study will outline the unusual historical context that allowed the sport to evolve radically differently from other professional sports, twentieth-century feminine beauty standards and their role within the era’s roller derby, the inclusive nature of its modern bylaws, and the lived experiences of queer roller derby athletes. Utilizing a wide range of primary sources, including oral history interviews of current roller …

Front Matter And Table Of Contents, Bjur Staff

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Form And Fusion: The Art And Science Of Ceramics And Glass, Juniper J. Bauroth-Sherman, Kaleigh Evans

Interdivisional Studies Presentations

The first Ceramics & Art class (IDS-110-F: ST: Ceramics) has completed an immersive, interdisciplinary exploration of stained glass and we’re excited to showcase it now. Through hands-on studio work, experiments, and design projects, we combined artistic expression with the science of glass—learning how physics and chemistry shape everything from color to strength and light interaction. The students have developed practical skills in cutting, grinding, foiling, soldering, and assembling stained-glass pieces, while also experimenting with thermal stress, light transmission, and color chemistry. Glass is now understood as not just as an art form, but as a dynamic material grounded in scientific …

Rosenzweig's Elements And Universal History, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper uses Rosenzweig’s conception of the three elements of God, World, and Human from The Star of Redemption in a model of universal history. The model also has some relation to Rosenzweig’s geopolitical essay, Globus, which is very different from the meta-historical Star. Based on a systems-theoretic schema of events and processes, the model views human history in terms of three linked processes: a primary process labeled “World” – the origin and development of human society embedded in nature, a secondary process labeled “God” – the origin and development of the Axial religions and philosophies, and a …

Cognition Is Not Content: A Structural Account Of Processing Conditions, Griselda Poe

Publications and Research

Human cognition has been described in terms of content. This description becomes insufficient once artificial systems make output observable apart from subject attribution, intention, and relational context. Under this contrast condition, what becomes visible is a layered structure in which output, reconstruction, evaluation, and termination do not necessarily coincide. The same input may register as complete under one processing condition while remaining unresolved under another. This separability means that content-based description does not merely omit an additional variable: it can mislocate a processing difference as a difference in meaning, personality, intention, ability, or attitude. This is not a proposal for …

Solarvale: Exploring Australian Ecology And Culture Through Serious Game Design, Ping-I (Adam) Ho, Elliot Birch

Imaginings: creative practice and inquiry

This research examines how a serious game (Gee, 2007): Solarvale: Tale of the Sun Root (Birch et al., 2024), developed by students from SAE University College addresses the importance of ecological conservation and cultural awareness specifically in relation to the Australian landscape. While some Australian serious games, such as Catchment Detox (2008), Paperbark (2018), and Bleached Az (2019) engage with similar themes, few titles integrate storytelling with interactive ecological environments and cultural awareness in a way that encourages players to reflect on their own role and actions—which is the central focus of Solarvale. Drawing on the concepts from serious …