etd @ Mason (Electronic Theses and Dissertations)
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An ETD is a dissertation or thesis that is submitted and archived electronically.
This collection contains dissertations, theses, and projects from various programs at George Mason University.
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Item //Capobianco, Edward Jesse; Capobianco, Edward Jesse; Keith, SallyThese poems are scripts for their own creation. They do not necessarily share a singular speaker or addressee, but together they create an I and a Thou that are sometimes explicit, sometimes implicit, and sometimes blurred with other self/other pairs in particular poems. The poems are interested in the death of the death of God, in the impossibility of memory, and in the possibility of a de-commodified communication. The poems are interested in the body as a birthed thing, in the spiral pattern of its growth, and in its memory. Associative dream-thinking and what Hannah Arendt calls the internal senses (here, in particular, the sense of taste) become a kind of logic by which the poems can proceed. These poems play with what can be covered up, what can be uncovered, and how the distance between the two can be collapsed into a flat field.Publication 12th Grade Academic Outcomes Associated with Middle- and High-School Music Enrollment Among Low-Income, Ethnically Minoritized Students(2024) Alegrado, Alenamie; Winsler, AdamResearchers have long studied the relationship between musical training and cognitive and academic outcomes using a variety of theories about why musical experiences might influence non-music outcomes. However, inconsistent findings leave some researchers questioning the existence of strong transfer effects. Because pre-existing socio-economic advantages support both academic performance and selection into music electives, it is challenging to disentangle the possible impact of music from a child’s natural and/or privileged trajectory. Researchers interested in the “effects” of in-school music participation who cannot employ random assignment must understand and control for pre-existing differences between music and non-music groups using longitudinal, quasi-experimental methods to examine outcomes. This was the goal of this dissertation. The current large-scale, 5-cohort, 14-year longitudinal study followed a large (n = 20,161) sample of mostly low-income (80% qualify for free/reduced-price lunch) and ethnically minoritized (59% Hispanic, 34% Black, 7% White/Other) students from preschool through middle and high school (6th-12th grade) in a large metropolitan, public school system. Information on student demographics, music course enrollment, and academic performance were collected from school records/transcripts, and cognitive school readiness was directly assessed at age four. I examined the relationship between in-school ensemble music elective enrollment (i.e., band, chorus, guitar, orchestra, keyboard, general music, and music theory) and student academic outcomes in 12th grade (non-arts GPA, days absent, suspension, diploma, and high school completion). Importantly, I controlled for selection effects of music enrollment (i.e., race/ethnicity, gender, poverty, special education status, English language learner status, English proficiency, and 8th grade GPA) and enrollment in other arts electives (i.e., dance, drama, & visual arts) to better compare music to non-music students. I used linear (overall GPA, academic GPA, days absent) and logistic (suspension, graduation) regression. The following research questions were be explored: 1) After controlling for selection factors (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, SES, disability status, early-ELL status, and 8th grade GPA) and enrollment in other arts electives in high school (9th-12th grade), are there differences in high school academic outcomes between music and non-music students? 2) Does earlier 8th grade GPA moderate the relationship between years of music enrollment (0-4 years for high school and 0-7 years for middle and high school combined) and 12th grade academic outcomes? 3) Does breadth/dosage of music enrollment (i.e., enrollment in multiple types of music vs. staying with the same type of music) matter in predicting high school outcomes related to music participation? Results show that controlling for selection factors, music enrollment, and more years of music throughout middle and high school, were related to significantly lower odds of school suspension in 12th grade, and higher odds of earning a diploma and completing high school. Music enrollment in some models was related to slightly lower 12th grade non-arts GPA. Results were the same regardless of the student’s initial 8th grade GPA. Taking multiple types of music courses in secondary school (breadth/dosage) was also related to positive 12th grade outcomes (better attendance, better school completion) both by itself and above and beyond being enrolled in music. It appears that the social experience of being in high school music electives supports positive engagement, persistence, and graduation outcomes in high school and taking multiple types of music further helps.Item 1866 Post Roads Act: Federal Preemption and Deregulation of the United States Telegraph Industry(2015) Honsowetz, Aaron Michael; Honsowetz, Aaron Michael; Nye, John V.C.The 1866 Post Roads Act benefited United States consumers by using federalItem 2-D and 3-D Layouts to Aid Human Cognition of Local Structure in Multivariate Data(2008-08-21T19:38:19Z) Sun, Ru; Sun, RuThis dissertation addresses the development of new 2-D and 3-D layout algorithms for statistical visualization purposes. These layouts serve tasks that include placing near neighbors close together, showing group or cluster membership, allocating space for glyphs and images used to characterize objects (cases), and approximating distances between objects. These tasks serve goals that include conveying structure, facilitating pattern discovery and hypothesis generation, and providing access to detailed information. The layouts are for human use, so they include considerations of human perception, cognition, and organizational regularity. This dissertation targets applications involving the study of cases, variables, clusters, and other multivariate objects. In these applications the notion of distances/dissimilarities between objects is important. However, accurate distances can not be maintained in low dimensional views. Researchers have developed a variety of layout methods to represent multivariate objects (including data summaries) in low dimensions. Common layout algorithms include multidimensional scaling, Kohonen self-organizing maps, Treemaps and spring models. This dissertation compares and contrasts the new layout algorithms with previous methods, develops new star glyphs, and demonstrates the new algorithms using multivariate data produced by AIRS (Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder) and other datasets.Item 2D Cartoon Rigs From Uncorresponded Vector GraphicsMehmanesh, Nusha; Mehmanesh, Nusha; Gingold, YotamThis thesis introduces a novel algorithm that finds the correspondence between different poses of character(s) in two consecutive vectorized 2D key frames.This algorithm also derives a set of handles that allow the illustrator to animate the character to any desired pose. This is done in the hopes of reducing the time consuming manual work done by the animators in the process of in-betweening between key frames and to allow the animator to produce other frames by using the handles. The automated iterative approach described in this thesis finds the set of best possible transformations between two subsequent key frames by minimizing an energy function and performing a multi-label optimization. The resulting transformations are then used to calculate the blending weights that minimizes the displacement error. The final transformations can then either be interpolated to produce intermediate frames at a user specified rate or modified to animate the character.Item 3,000 Years of Skeletal Trauma: Analysis of Accidental and Interpersonal Injuries from the Development of Early Social Complexity to Spanish Colonization IN Lambayeque, Peru (2800 BCE-1750 CE)Snell, Lucy; Snell, Lucy; Klaus, HaagenThe results of all forms of skeletal trauma in a diachronic sequence of 3,100 skeletal individuals from Lambayeque, Peru present insight into social, political, ideological, and environmental changes in pre-Hispanic and postcontact era. These native peoples lived and died between 2800 BCE-1750CE – from the dawn of early social complexity to the rise of large-scale states and the era of Spanish colonization. Through analysis of skeletal trauma prevalence between pre-Hispanic and postcontact era along with analysis of sex differentiation and cut mark prevalence allows for the presentation of a holistic trauma study. This work quantified bone fractures, blunt force injuries, interpersonal trauma, activity based injuries, and sharp force trauma. Prevalence differences were evaluated using odds ratio analyses comparing trauma across the Formative era, development of pre-Hispanic states, and the Colonial period. Our results lead us to reject all but one of the hypotheses. The only exception involves evidence of large-scale late pre-Hispanic sacrificial violence. The near lack of accident-related injuries and other skeletal trauma likely reflects the minimally hazardous regional topography, influence of structural violence, and use of sacrifice in a social hierarchy. The rarity of interpersonal injuries speaks to mechanisms besides institutionalized violence to integrate peoples in the states of late prehistory. Following Spanish conquest, trauma declines in the Lambayeque skeletal record. While many lines of evidence describe embedded patterns of Colonial-era violence (labor extraction, structural violence, racism, coercive socioecoomic structures), these forces evidently only very rarely broke bones.Item 3D Model-Assisted Learning for Object Detection and Pose Estimation(2020) Georgios GeorgakisSupervised learning paradigm for training Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (DCNN) rests on the availability of large amounts of manually annotated images, which are necessary for training deep models with millions of parameters. In this thesis, we present novel techniques for mitigating the required manual annotation, by generating large object instance datasets through compositing textured 3D models onto commonly encountered background scenes to synthesize training images. The generated training data augmented with real world annotations outperforms models trained only on real data. Non-textured 3D models are subsequently used for keypoint learning and matching, and 3D object pose estimation from RGB images. The proposed methods showcase promising results with regards to generalization on new and standard benchmark datasets. In the final part of the thesis, we investigate how these perception capabilities can be leveraged and encoded in a spatial map, in order to enable an agent to successfully navigate towards a target object.Item 3d Road Surface Meshing with LIDARObert, Nathan; Obert, Nathan; Duric, ZoranThe primary goal of this research is to create 3d maps of George Mason Fairfax roads. These maps will be used in the 3d driving simulator. Towards this goal I have decided to use Google Cartographer, which uses Lidar and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data. The Cartographer has been developed and applied for slam inside buildings. In the original application Lidar and IMU units were worn in a backpack. Because of that Cartographer is adjusted for abundance of vertical features and relatively slow moving speeds. I have collected Lidar, IMU, HD video, and GPS data for the major GMU campus roads and several parking structures and lots over four days. I have used two different Lidars (VLP-16 and VLP-64) mounted on two different vehicles. I have written the needed drivers to integrate GPS data collection with VLP-16 data. I have fabricated mounts for VLP-16 and reconfigured VLP-64 mounts for these collections. I have processed the data using Cartographer in Robot Operating System (ROS). The collected data was archived on GMU servers for future teaching and research uses. In our application the Lidar and units were placed on a moving vehicle which travels at several times the speed of a walking person. In addition, the vertical features were more struct accurate point clouds for some roads and parking lots and structures, while in several cases more parameter tuning may be needed to make it work.Item 3D Stress Estimation Using Adapted Finite Element Model Updating TechniquesKhan, Affan Danish; Khan, Affan Danish; Lattanzi, DavidAccording to a 2016 study by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) one bridge in every ten is structurally deficient. Two major contributors of structural deficiency are corrosion, which causes material loss and thinning of cross sections, and permanent plastic deformations. Currently, there are no standard methods for understanding how measurements of these damages impact stress and capacity analysis. The research presented in this thesis focuses on the use of 3D images to create “point clouds” for such structural capacity analysis. Using a set of previously developed techniques that measure both section loss and deformations in point clouds, two studies were performed to analyze the effectiveness of using these techniques to update corresponding finite element models. The first study was a sensitivity analysis to quantify the effect of image noise on stress concentration estimates, and to better understand the limits of the updating approach. In the second study, point cloud xi deflection measurements from three-point bending tests were used to induce translations and stresses in a finite element model. The results of the first study showed that increasing image noise resulted in a higher likelihood that artifacts would form in the finite element model, leading to a localized increase in stress; however, it was also found that subsurface stresses matched the values expected from elastic theory and methods of analyzing the data with these anomalies are discussed. The findings of the second study showed that applying localized displacements in the 3D finite element model created localized stress concentrations that do not represent the expected stress profiles. While both studies provide important insight into this relatively new technology, future work to be performed might include creating methods to better differentiate between artificial stress anomalies and actual states of stress, as well as experimental validation.Item 43.16Boss, Christopher; Boss, Christopher; Brkic, CourtneyClive Fischer-Kersey is an elite runner who qualifies for the Olympic Games in the 400m sprint. This novel explores the psychological and social pressures that contribute to the life of a world-class athlete.Item “#7 I Will Follow On:” Tracing Cultural Continuity through the Oneida Hymn Singing TraditionCarmi, Marissa; Carmi, Marissa; Anderson, EricThis thesis analyzes the long-standing tradition of Christian hymn singing by the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin as a form of “everyday resistance.” A term used by James C. Scott in Weapons of the Weak to describe small-scale, informal, and covert acts initiated by lower classes in opposition to an established authority, “everyday resistance” is applied, here, for the preservation of Oneida values and culture that Christian hymn singing enabled. Although this effect might appear paradoxical, the overall goal of this thesis is to dismantle the binary that distinguishes Native Americans from Christianity and to suggest that the Christianity practiced by Oneida people, in particular, can be understood as a promise and commitment to the Oneida community and its well-being. This thesis positions itself, then, within the larger project to depict the Native American identity as a dynamic one through its emphasis on Native adaptability as a strategy of Native resistance.Item A (Hair) Work of Memory: Mattanna Fairchild’s Decorative Memorial Works in the Post War SouthClark, Lauren; Clark, Lauren; Van Horn, JenniferIn the latter half of the 1860s Mattanna Fairchild created a large memorial hair wreath, composed of the hair of those Confederate soldiers who fell during the Battle of Raymond, Mississippi, which happened on her family property. A large decorative piece, which remained in the familial home until 2014, the wreath is densely laden with symbolism. Mattanna's fancy work served to showcase the ideals of the Old South and her beloved Confederacy, the passing of which she mourned alongside the dead. This thesis will argue that memorial handiworks, such as Mattanna Fairchild's massive hair wreath, were part of the same movement among Southern women of the late nineteenth century that saw the erection of Confederate monuments across the nation. These works helped to construct social concepts of race and gender as they related to being “Southern” and aided in making those ideals more palatable to the North, by showcasing white southerners’ gentility and Southern women’s domestic piety.Publication A Behavioral Approach to Worm Detection(2006-08) Ellis, Daniel R.; Ammann, PaulThis dissertation presents a novel approach to the automatic detection of worms using behavioral signatures. A behavioral signature describes aspects of any worm’s behavior that are common across manifestations of the worm and that span its nodes in temporal order. Characteristic patterns of worm behaviors in network traffic include 1) engaging in similar network behaviors from one target machine to the next, 2) tree-like propagation, and 3) changing a server into a client. These behavioral signatures are presented within the context of a general worm model. The most significant contribution of this dissertation is the demonstration th at an accurate and fast worm detection system can be built using the above patterns. Further, I show that the class of worms detectable using these patterns exceeds what has been claimed in the literature and covers a significant portion of the classes of worms. Another contribution is the introduction of a novel paradigm—Network Application Architecture (NAA), which concerns possible ways to distribute network application functionality across a network. Three NAAs are discussed. As an NAA becomes more constrained, worm detection gets easier. It is shown that for some NAAs certain classes of worms can be detected with only one packet. The third significant contribution of this dissertation is the capability to evaluate worm detection systems in an operational environment. This capability can be used by other researchers to evaluate their own or others’ worm detection systems. The claim is that the capability can emulate practically all worms and that it can do so safely, even in an operational enterprise environment.Item A Behavioral Investigation of the Thermal Solar Niche(2015-01-29) Boyer, Emma Gerald; Boyer, Emma Gerald; Luther, David A.The means by which a species survives in different environmental conditions is central to thoroughly understanding its ecology, evolution, and conservation. As we face a warming climate, developing a more comprehensive picture of an animals’ energetic (specifically, thermal) limitations is critical. Although temperature is often considered the primary parameter governing an animal’s thermal state, water availability, wind, and solar energy are also important. The thermal effect of solar energy is often assumed but is rarely measured. Because behavioral adaptation can be a critical tool for survival in changing and highly variable climates, behavioral patterns in relation to environmental conditions such as solar energy serve as a central way to assess animal responses to climate change. To investigate this fundamental yet overlooked aspect of environmental stress on animals, I conducted a shade manipulation experiment to control the amount of solar energy exposure to free ranging house sparrows, Passer domesticus, and better understand the effects of solar energy, particularly at high summer temperatures, on animal behavior. As predicted, bird attendance increased with increasing shade relative to the surrounding exposed areas. In contrast to my predictions bird attendance also increased with increasing temperature. An interaction between temperature and the amount of shade was also an explanatory variable for house sparrow attendance, which demonstrates the complexity of thermal pressures on animals. This study shows that as we continue to assess and predict how animals respond to climate change, we should incorporate behavior and quantify additive thermal pressures such as solar energy.Item A Behavioral Study of Face Symmetry and TrustworthinessDupuis, Lauren; Dupuis, Lauren; Thompson, JamesFirst impressions can play an important role in how we judge and interact with other people. Humans often rely on rapid judgments of personality traits and qualities, such as trustworthiness, based on physical features such as someone’s face. Similarly, perceptions of the attractiveness are often made quickly and based on facial features. A common contributor to ratings of trustworthiness and attractiveness is facial symmetry: we tend to find faces that are more symmetrical to be both attractive and trustworthy. There is also evidence of differences between males and females in the use of cues such as symmetry in judgments of faces. This thesis aimed to describe the interactions between face symmetry and the perception of trustworthiness and attractiveness, as well as possible contributions of sex differences in the use of these cues. In this study I created a task to determine the contribution of symmetry to judgments of trustworthiness and attractiveness. The study utilized an online experiment environment, Millisecond. The experiment assessed trustworthiness and attractiveness among faces in a judgment task. Due to technical difficulties we could not collect data from the trustworthiness ratings. However, I did find evidence for differences in the reliance on face symmetry for judgments of attractiveness between males and females. This behavioral research contributes to our understanding of human perception and could potentially be applied to jury selection, among other uses.Item A Behavioral Study of Friendship and Social NetworksWebster, Alexia; Webster, Alexia; Thompson, JimThis current study aimed to explore the association between friendship and social networks by analyzing the possible linkage of two well-known phenomenons, Homophily and Triadic Closure. Previous research supports social networks being learned through triadic closures. Humans are more inclined to associate a stronger bond between novel individuals (B and C) if we are aware of a common friend both share (A). Research also suggests that humans tend to strongly associate those who look similar to them as being closer in social networks – homophily. This two-part study examined the linkage of these theories by creating a triadic closure task involving a paradigm designed with similar and non-similar face shape(s). The study utilized an online experiment environment, Millisecond. Part one assessed similarity and non-similarity among face in a judgement task. In part two, participants were randomly assigned to either a control or rating triadic closure task. The results of these tests were analyzed using a series of ANOVAs, and trends compared. The results of this study are hypothesized to support that humans associate a closer social network among individuals that possess similar face shapes. This research contributes to our understanding of homophilic characteristics as a determinate for social networks.Item A Brief Peer Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention Training: Preliminary Examination and Individual Factors that Influence Outcomes(2017) Rallis, Bethany; Rallis, Bethany; Esposito-Smythers, ChristianneSuicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. Despite the availability of mental health resources on college campuses, less than half of college students who are contemplating suicide seek professional help. Suicidal students are more likely to reach out to their peers for help but peers are generally not equipped with the skills needed to provide appropriate assistance. Thus, training students to serve as peer gatekeepers (i.e., recognize suicide warning signs, appropriately respond to concerns, refer suicidal youth to appropriate care) in suicide prevention efforts on college campuses holds great promise. The purpose of this dissertation project, funded by the GMU Center for the Advancement of Well-Being, was to: test the preliminary efficacy of a brief peer suicide gatekeeper training program (Mason Cares) through a joint collaboration between the Psychology Department and Counseling and Psychological Services (Aim1); and examine characteristics that predict effective peer gatekeeping behavior (Aim 2).Item A Bringing ForthIrvin, Sarah; Irvin, Sarah; Crawford, PaulaMy thesis is a selection of actions, objects, and texts made as a response to my experience of pregnancy, giving birth, and caring for my daughter. The actions themselves were time-based performance pieces derived from every day routines of caretaking. This document contains images of my thesis exhibition, A Bringing Forth, depicting the drawings, sculptures, and video made in conjunction with, and as a response to, this lived experience. An annotated prose poem accompanies the images and functions as another descriptive system of the work.Item A Case Study Analysis of the Fiesta Bowl Youth Football Clinic and Kaboom Playground BuildRiley, Haley; Riley, Haley; Atwater, ChristopherThis project served as a case study of community programs currently hosted by the Fiesta Bowl Organization, in Phoenix, Arizona. The first program studied was the Youth Football Clinic, which is a collaborative effort hosted annually in October alongside Positive Coaching Alliance, Boys and Girls Club of Metro Phoenix and Special Olympics. The second program studied was the Kaboom! Playground Build, which takes place annually through a local partnership with the City of Phoenix and a corporate partner who underwrites a portion of the project, and is subject to change year to year. In the process of researching this topic and conducting the case study, the author visited each of the programs, participated as a volunteer and surveyed local participants. This project was designed to serve as a resource for the Fiesta Bowl organization, as well as other non-profits that seek community partnerships to fund similar programs.Item A Case Study Analysis: How Sweet Briar College Prevailed Over Institutional ClosureEnnis, Amanda Ray; Ennis, Amanda Ray; Arminio, JanThis qualitative case study was conducted in order to better understand how grassroots efforts and campus culture influenced the decision to reverse the closing of Sweet Briar College in 2015. This study allowed for an in-depth analysis of how Sweet Briar College was saved, provided data for other small institutions that face the potential of closing, and offered examples of successful grassroots efforts. Using interviews and document review as data sources, four categories emerged from the findings: a culture of empowerment and responsibility, wide social network, sustained activism, and legal influences. The culture of empowerment and responsibility, together with the wide social network of Sweet Briar College’s alumnae are the categories that revealed and supported the influence that grassroots efforts and campus culture had on the saving of Sweet Briar College. This study suggests that the campus culture before the closing announcement at Sweet Briar College created an atmosphere among students and alumnae that supported grassroots efforts and sustained activism, which when paired with the legal proceedings surrounding this case were the ultimate contributors in the decision to reverse Sweet Briar College’s closing.