Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Reclaiming Healing Spaces: A Phenomenological Study On The Transformative Power Of Outdoor Therapy From The Lived Experiences Of Black Clinicians Working With Black Clients, Lynn Murphy

Dissertations

This phenomenological study involved assessing the experiences of Black therapists who engaged Black clients in outdoor therapeutic contexts. The study was founded on the existing literature that shows the quality of the therapeutic relationship is pivotal for client retention and the Western standards that have historically favored treatment within indoor environments. To contextualize this research, a comprehensive literature review was commenced, covering topics such as the decolonization of therapy, the historical and present-day relationship between Blacks and the outdoors in the United States, sedentary lifestyles, the psychological benefits of time spent in nature, various types of outdoor therapy, and the …

Context In Computer Vision: A Taxonomy, Multi-Stage Integration, And A General Framework, Xuan Wang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Contextual information has been widely used in many computer vision tasks, such as object detection, video action detection, image classification, etc. Recognizing a single object or action out of context could be sometimes very challenging, and context information may help improve the understanding of a scene or an event greatly. However, existing approaches design specific contextual information mechanisms for different detection tasks.

In this research, we first present a comprehensive survey of context understanding in computer vision, with a taxonomy to describe context in different types and levels. Then we proposed MultiCLU, a new multi-stage context learning and utilization framework, …

Three Essays Applying Dynamic Models In Economics, Finance, And Machine Learning, Lucas C. Dowiak

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a composition in three parts. Collectively, these essays investigate dynamic methods and their application in the fields of Economics, Finance, and Machine Learning. It pulls liberally from all three. In particular, this dissertation makes repeated use of multi-state modeling frameworks popular in Economics to bring a faceted view to the underlying data and detect its hidden heterogeneity. The challenge of modeling financial assets and estimating their dependence is another focus. For stimulus, concepts in the Machine Learning field are brought in to aid or compete with established econometric techniques.

Econometric Applications of the Hierarchical Mixture-of-Experts

In this …

Mending Trust In Ai: Trust Repair Policy Interventions For Large Language Models In Visual Data Journalism, Hangxiao Zhu

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Trust in Large Language Models (LLMs) emerged as a pivotal concern. This is because, despite the transformative potential of LLMs in enhancing the interpretability and interactivity of complex datasets, the opacity of these models and instances of inaccuracies or biases have led to a significant trust deficit among end-users. Moreover, there is a tendency for people to personify AI tools that utilize these LLMs, attributing abilities and sensibilities that they do not truly possess. This thesis exploits this personification and proposes a comprehensive framework of trust repair policies tailored to address the challenges inherent in LLM annotations within data journalism …

Companionship, Romance, And Self-Perception With Conversational Chatbots, Jonathan Windsor

Student Research Submissions

Serving as a metaphorical gateway transcending the communicative barriers of physical relationships in interpersonal dialogues, artificial imators of human behavior and speech, also known as conversational chatbots; a simulation of human knowledge and existence in a bi-directional conversation, functions as a rhetor of expression. Spanning from contexts of professional to romantic, I serve to dissect and critically analyze the nuances of human-machine relationships based on pre-established literature, inviting ethical considerations and biases in their design and marketing. Corporate influences spark pre-established servitude-esque relationships with conversational agents. Professional applications, both task-oriented and emotionally based alike, paint a mixed picture of …

Artificial Intelligence's Ability To Detect Online Predators, Olatilewa Osifeso

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Online child predators pose a danger to children who use the Internet. Children fall victim to online predators at an alarming rate, based on the data from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. When making online profiles and joining websites, you only need a name, an email and a password without identity verification. Studies have shown that online predators use a variety of methods and tools to manipulate and exploit children, such as blackmail, coercion, flattery, and deception. These issues have created an opportunity for skilled online predators to have fewer obstacles when it comes to contacting and …

Code For Care: Hypertension Prediction In Women Aged 18-39 Years, Kruti Sheth

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The longstanding prevalence of hypertension, often undiagnosed, poses significant risks of severe chronic and cardiovascular complications if left untreated. This study investigated the causes and underlying risks of hypertension in females aged between 18-39 years. The research questions were: (Q1.) What factors affect the occurrence of hypertension in females aged 18-39 years? (Q2.) What machine learning algorithms are suited for effectively predicting hypertension? (Q3.) How can SHAP values be leveraged to analyze the factors from model outputs? The findings are: (Q1.) Performing Feature selection using binary classification Logistic regression algorithm reveals an array of 30 most influential factors at an …

Traffic Analysis Of Cities In San Bernardino County, Sai Kalyan Ayyagari

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research offers an in-depth analysis of vehicular traffic within San Bernardino County, California, aiming to spotlight congestion areas and suggest improvements for more efficient and sustainable transportation. Leveraging 2021 data from StreetLight Data, traffic patterns in 15 key cities were examined based on their population sizes, covering various vehicle types to dissect dynamics and flow. The methodology focused on analyzing trip purposes and metrics to calculate Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and its influence on congestion and environmental factors.

Findings indicate considerable disparities in traffic volume, purposes, and timings across different urban areas, with population density and intercity connections significantly …

Truck Traffic Analysis In The Inland Empire, Bhavik Khatri

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study undertakes a meticulous examination of truck traffic within the Inland Empire, focusing on the distribution and dynamics of medium and heavy-duty vehicles, to advocate for the region's transition to electric trucks. Utilizing advanced spatial analysis and data from Streetlight Data, it segments the region into six subregions, revealing distinct traffic patterns and environmental impacts. Notably, the research uncovers that the North Center and West zones, integral to the logistics and warehousing sectors, exhibit the highest traffic volumes, significantly influencing air quality and infrastructure.

Quantitative results from 2021 illustrate a pronounced disparity in truck activity: medium-weight vehicles accounted for …

Roads And Corresponding Travel Time To Markets: Assessing Climate Vulnerability In Nepal, Kaitlyn Crowley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Roads exist as a physical and theoretical connection between people and places around the globe. In addition to providing a route from one point to another, roads are also an indicator of access to markets and of poverty. However, current road datasets, particularly the Global Roads Open Access Data Set, are out of date or incomplete, necessitating new sources of data for analyses involving road networks. This study explores the relationship between climate change and access to markets in Nepal. We seek to identify isolated communities that are likely to experience detrimental outcomes associated with environmental threats, such as increasing …

Navigating Murky Waters: State-Level Strategies For Wetland Preservation And Tile Drainage Regulation After Sackett V. Epa, Caleb M. Swanson

Honors Thesis

Wetlands are some of the world’s most valuable ecosystems, serving as provisioners of species habitat, carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, water quality purification, and other ecosystem services. Human development has resulted in substantial wetland loss the world over. In the 1970s, the United States Congress passed the Clean Water Act, giving the EPA broad authority over wetland protection. However, in the summer of 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided Sackett v. EPA, limiting the EPA’s jurisdiction over wetlands to those indistinguishably connected to generally recognized “Waters of the United States” and removing federal protection for millions of acres of wetlands, …

Unearthing The Past: A Comprehensive Study Of Natural And Anthropogenic Changes At An Archaeological Site Through Hydrogeologic Connectivity Utilizing Gis, Mehlich Ii Phosphorus Extractant, And Ph, Dana L. F. Herren

Theses

This thesis aims to thoroughly analyze the Mehlich II Phosphorus Extractant and pH levels at the Bains Gap Village Site in Anniston, AL., while examining the impact of various environmental factors and human activities on them. Phosphorus is often used in archaeology as an indicator of human activity. Soil core samples were collected to analyze anomalies in phosphorus levels.

To establish any relationships, phosphorus and pH levels from soil cores were correlated with findings from past excavation units and features. The potential effects of hydrogeologic connectivity on soil phosphorus and pH levels were investigated. Geospatial technologies were used to manage …

Lyraquist: Language Learning Via Music App, Vivian D'Souza, Siri Avula, Mahi Patel, Tanvi Singh, Ashley Bickham

Senior Theses

Lyraquist is a new language learning mobile app that encourages the practice of a foreign language through music. Language learners can connect their Spotify Premium account to Lyraquist to listen to music in their target languages and utilize tools such as translation and vocabulary lists to facilitate language practice. Through integration with Spotify, users can import and create Spotify playlists and search the service’s entire catalog. By combining daily listening habits with several tasks associated with language learning in one place, Lyraquist hopes to be a useful language learning tool.

Use Of Unoccupied Aerial Vehicle (Drones) Based Remote Sensing To Model Platform Topography And Identify Human-Made Earthen Barriers In Salt Marshes, Joshua J. Ward

Masters Theses

Elevation is a foundational driver of salt marsh morphology. Elevation governs inundation and hydrological patterns, vegetation distribution, and soil health. Anthropogenic impacts at grand scales (e.g., rising sea levels) and local scales (e.g., infrastructure) have altered the elevation of the salt marsh surface, changing the topography and morphology of these ecosystems. This study establishes and assesses means to document and analyze these impacts using Unoccupied Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based remote sensing to model platform topography. This thesis’s first and primary study presents and compares methods of producing high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) with UAV-based Digital Aerial Photogrammetry (DAP) and Light …

Automated Identification And Mapping Of Interesting Mineral Spectra In Crism Images, Arun M. Saranathan

Doctoral Dissertations

The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) has proven to be an invaluable tool for the mineralogical analysis of the Martian surface. It has been crucial in identifying and mapping the spatial extents of various minerals. Primarily, the identification and mapping of these mineral spectral-shapes have been performed manually. Given the size of the CRISM image dataset, manual analysis of the full dataset would be arduous/infeasible. This dissertation attempts to address this issue by describing an (machine learning based) automated processing pipeline for CRISM data that can be used to identify and map the unique mineral signatures present in …

Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …

What Does One Billion Dollars Look Like?: Visualizing Extreme Wealth, William Mahoney Luckman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The word “billion” is a mathematical abstraction related to “big,” but it is difficult to understand the vast difference in value between one million and one billion; even harder to understand the vast difference in purchasing power between one billion dollars, and the average U.S. yearly income. Perhaps most difficult to conceive of is what that purchasing power and huge mass of capital translates to in terms of power. This project blends design, text, facts, and figures into an interactive narrative website that helps the user better understand their position in relation to extreme wealth: https://whatdoesonebilliondollarslooklike.website/

The site incorporates …

Making Sense Of Making Parole In New York, Alexandra Mcglinchy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

For many individuals incarcerated in New York, the initial step toward freedom begins with an interview with the Board of Parole. This process, however, is frequently a complex and challenging one, characterized by repeated denials and extended incarcerations. The disparity in outcomes – where one individual may receive over 20 denials and another is granted parole on their first attempt – highlights the ambiguity and inconsistency in the parole decision-making process. This project aims to clarify the factors that influence parole decisions by concentrating on measurable variables. These include age, race, duration of sentence served, proportion of sentence served, type …

Towards Sociobiogeochemistry: Critical Perspectives On Anthropogenic Alterations To Soil Nitrogen Chemistry Via U.S. Urban And Suburban Development, Christopher D. Ryan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The ecological impacts of changes to land use are relevant to concerns about climate change, eutrophication of waterbodies, and reductions in biodiversity. As a foundational component of ecosystem functioning, changes to soil biogeochemistry have significant effects on overall ecosystem health. With cities continuing to grow and develop in extent, the impacts of urbanization and suburbanization on soils are of particular concern. Despite a wide range of natural climatic and geologic conditions, several factors have driven similar patterns of land transformation and management across the United States. In particular, federal initiatives including the Home Owners Loan Corporation, the Federal Housing Administration, …

Literature Review Nature-Based Art Therapy Exploring Connections And Relationships, Janell Lopez-Curtis

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Art therapy is a modality used in clinical psychotherapy. It is supported through both quantitative and qualitative research. Branching out from art therapy is nature-based art therapy. This branch of expressive therapies holds the potential to be beneficial as art therapy due to the interconnected access to the scientific fields of ecology, ecopsychology, art therapy, expressive therapies, and other nature-based therapeutic activities; this includes intersectionality in ecological theories such as ecofeminism and deep ecology as well. Through an exploration of literature, this paper will provide definitions and theory-based support through reviewing clinical psychotherapy, evidence-based practices, and art therapy theories. The …

The Shifting Landscape Of Adolescent Wellness In Boarding Schools: Can Time Spent Off Screens And Outdoors Improve Adolescent Wellbeing?, Kristen H. Peterson

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

For nearly twenty years I have worked directly with adolescents as an independent school educator. Whether in the classroom, on the field, or in the dorm, I have observed and supported students through their middle and high school experiences. During this time, I have witnessed an alarming shift in adolescent physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. Concurrently, I have observed a dramatic increase in the amount of time students spend using screen-based devices, and a decrease in their time spent outdoors.

Using research to ground my anecdotal accounts in empirical understanding, my thesis examines whether or not screen use might help …

The Sudden Escalation In Average Fastball Velocity: A Biomechanical And Cost-Benefit Analysis, Jacob Meiners

Capstone Projects

Average fastball velocity throughout Major League Baseball has increased dramatically over the previous 15 years. This research examines the factors leading to this increase and provides a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether throwing consistently at high velocities is worth the injury risks, compared to financial benefits, from the player perspective. Additionally, this analysis examines if paying hard-throwing pitchers is worth the monetary risk from a team executive’s perspective, due to increases in leaguewide throwing injury rates. The production of advanced motion capture technology to obtain real-time biomechanical data has given way to the optimization of pitchers’ biomechanics, with the goals …

(Meta-)Physical Artworks: Digital Augmentation In Art Observation, Macy A. Toppan

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Augmented art— the subgenre of art that incorporates physical and digital artwork— is a rapidly growing field driven by advancing technology and a new generation for whom that tech is a given. Yet the presence of media like augmented and virtual reality in exhibition remains a controversial subject. Rather than focusing on the many theoretical debates about whether digital pieces can qualify as "good" art, we study it in practice through the eyes of the casual art observer. This paper highlights the audience in a within-participant study that asked viewers to take in a physical sculpture intentionally built with virtual …

Towards Algorithmic Justice: Human Centered Approaches To Artificial Intelligence Design To Support Fairness And Mitigate Bias In The Financial Services Sector, Jihyun Kim

CMC Senior Theses

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has positively transformed the Financial services sector but also introduced AI biases against protected groups, amplifying existing prejudices against marginalized communities. The financial decisions made by biased algorithms could cause life-changing ramifications in applications such as lending and credit scoring. Human Centered AI (HCAI) is an emerging concept where AI systems seek to augment, not replace human abilities while preserving human control to ensure transparency, equity and privacy. The evolving field of HCAI shares a common ground with and can be enhanced by the Human Centered Design principles in that they both put humans, the user, at …

Unraveling Public Evacuation Likelihood: Structural Equation Models And The Extended Parallel Process Model In Focus, Molly Margaret Myers

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This study explores the intricate relationships between risk perception, efficacy appraisal, and evacuation likelihood in the context of flooding among the United States public. The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) developed by Witte (1992) serves as the theoretical framework for this study, emphasizing the two-pronged appraisal process of threat and efficacy, influencing individual responses to risk messaging. Analysis of the data delves into the relationships between risk perception and evacuation likelihood, offering insights into the public's understanding of flood risk and readiness for impending flood events. This study used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to discern the impact of threat and …

Economic Entanglement: The Quantum Race Between The United States And China, Isabella Willhite

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The United States and China are both currently home to the strongest economies and militaries in the world. Despite their interdependence, trade wars have escalated between the two countries in the past few years. While past trade wars have been focused on purely economic protectionism or ideological stances, the trade wars of today signify a shift towards protecting critical emerging technologies. The important emerging technology of today is quantum computing, which will forever change the way that computers encrypt, process, and decode information. The United States and China are on the eve of the “quantum race,” in which they will …

Attitudes And Perceptions Towards Privacy And Surveillance In Australia, Aleatha J. Shanley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Understanding attitudes towards privacy and surveillance technologies used to enhance security objectives is a complex, but crucial aspect for policy makers to consider. Historically, terrorism-related incidents justified the uptake of surveillance practices. More recently however, biosecurity concerns have motivated nation-states to adopt more intrusive surveillance measures. There is a growing body of literature that supports the public’s desire to maintain privacy despite fears of biological or physical threats.

This research set out to explore attitudes towards privacy and surveillance in an Australian context. Throughout the course of this endeavour, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged bringing with it a variety of track …

A Road Map For Place Based Collaboration For Conflict Reduction, Joseph L. Zecher

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

Modern Colonialism: The Case Of Costa Rica And The United Fruit Company, Micah X. Perez

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

This academic paper systematically investigates the intricate historical relationship between the United Fruit Company (UFC) and the socio-economic landscape of Costa Rica during the Liberal period from 1870 to 1940. By examining the direct relationship between the UFC's presence and the simultaneous growth of the tourism industry, coastal land development, and the consequential rise of the sex trade, this research elucidates the adverse impacts of foreign monopolies on the privatization of land. The study underscores the enduring repercussions of this phenomenon in contemporary Costa Rican society. Through historical analysis, this thesis argues that the UFC's actions in Costa Rica during …

Integrating Arcgis And Redux Using Middleware, Vishnu Vardhan Reddy Rapuru

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The integration of ArcGIS with Redux through middleware presents a novel approach to managing state in geospatial applications. This report outlines the process and benefits of combining ArcGIS’s robust mapping and analytics capabilities with Redux’s predictable state container for JavaScript apps. It begins with an introduction to both technologies, followed by a detailed discussion on the architecture design, focusing on the role of middleware as the linchpin in this integration[1]. The paper highlights the benefits, such as improved state management and application performance, and addresses the challenges encountered during the integration process. Implementation details are provided, including the setup of …