Digital Commons Network^™

Pines For Progress: Empowering Rural Nicaraguan Villages, Paige Smith

Theses

In January 2023, I traveled with Linking Hands for Learning to live with host families and build a school in El Carrizo, Nicaragua, and spent time with the children in the village, even taking the same hikes through the mountain paths they traverse each day to attend school. Inspired by the resourcefulness and resilience of Nicaraguan culture, I returned to Rochester, NY focusing my MFA industrial design thesis project on addressing the pressing needs of these underprivileged communities. I aimed to develop a solution that could be manufactured locally (without electricity, running water, power tools, or modern-day shipping), utilizing materials …

Enhancing Pharmaceutical Waste Management: Insights From Pharmacists' Perspectives On The Drug Take-Back Program, Mona Daher

Theses

Pharmaceutical waste management is essential for mitigating environmental risks associated with improper medication disposal, with pharmacists playing a pivotal role in drug take-back programs (DTBPs). However, there is limited understanding of pharmacists' engagement, perceptions, and challenges within these initiatives. This study aimed to address this gap by investigating these aspects among licensed pharmacists in the United States. A mixed-methods survey was distributed to 2200 pharmacists, yielding 81 responses (3.7% response rate). The findings revealed that familiarity with DTBPs did not significantly differ by state or practice setting, but positively correlated with experience and perceived effectiveness. Interestingly, on-the-job learning emerged as …

Retreat Village Design In Letchworth State Park Region: An Architecture Development In A Highly Valued State Park Meets The Triple Bottom Line Of Sustainability, Jing Hua

Theses

Letchworth State Park, located in Livingston and Wyoming counties, New York, renowned as the “Grand Canyon of the East”, is one of the most scenically magnificent areas in the eastern United States. However, there are no well-developed leisure centers around or in the park. The lack of good accommodations, in contrast to the availability of restaurants with local character, leisure activities, and other supporting facilities in the area, fails to fully achieve the development potential of the natural scenery of the region. This thesis demonstrates that a retreat complex village that brings people closer to the natural landscape of Letchworth …

Enhancing Efficiency And Sustainability: Retrofitting Fluorescent Lights To Leds, Khalifa Alshaiba

Theses

This research work emphasizes the urgent need to implement energy-efficient lighting technologies, particularly the retrofit of fluorescent lights with LED alternatives, in order to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to that maintaining operational safety and sustainability, improving energy efficiency is essential in Dubai's industries, which are major consumers of electricity and economic drivers. The project's goal is to retrofit energy-efficient LED lighting into a well-known packaging company's current fluorescent lighting systems. In doing so, the project hopes to improve illumination quality and minimize maintenance needs while lowering energy consumption, operating expenses, and environmental impact. The goals …

The Implementation Of Trauma Informed Design In The United States Prison Campus: A Standardized Design Methodology, Quille A. Hughes

Theses

The concept of spaces for punishment has been a topic of conversation for centuries. Only now are members of the community touching the surface of concepts that rewrite the methodology behind the design of these spaces in the hopes of providing a different outcome: rehabilitation. Trauma-Informed Design as a concept is in its infancy, and therefore requires decades of research into the effects of its installation; there is no greater need for this consideration than in the United States criminal justice institution. This thesis will not attempt to cover the changes necessary to United States prison policy. It will instead …

Impact Of Digital Transformation On Achieving Sustainability In Utility Sector Of Uae, Abdulrahman Salem Alsaleh

Theses

The central focus of the current study is to understand the impact of digital technology on sustainable practices in a utility sector within the UAE. The research examined whether AI, blockchain, and big data can improve sustainability in the company to completely understand how digital technologies influences sustainable practices in the county’s utility sector. Data were gathered using the survey data collection method for a quantitative review. The reliability of the data was examined using Cronbach’s Alpha, and the strength of the relationships between the variables was investigated using correlation analysis. The extent to which the adoption of AI, big …

Design And Implementation Of Environmental Management System (Ems) Using Iso 14001:2015 Standard In A Medical/Healthcare Organization, Mohammed Rizwan Mirajkar

Theses

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) have been widely implemented by organizations across various industries since late 1980s. The system comprises of policies, procedures, processes, and various documents and formats that are essential not only to attain governance within organizations but also establish a robust management system. In the last decade, the need to enhance environmental performance and achieve sustainability objectives has become a business imperative for organizations across the world. Organizations are mandated to comply with environmental requirements and regulations through contractual agreements between customers and their business partners. Globally, the ISO 14001:2015 standard in its current version is the most …

Technology Takeover And Transformation: Humans Vs. Technology, Mikayla Tjeerdsma

Theses

When looking at the history of the fashion industry up to the present day, technology can easily distinguish the progress of fashion throughout the ages. The direction of this research is to gain insight and a deeper realization of how technology is taking over and transforming those in and revolving around fashion by slowly taking over and replacing human involvement or presence. Statistics and research show due to the adverse effects of COVID-19, technological development within fashion has seen a significant increase. COVID-19 was either the final push towards making technological ideas a reality or was the birth of new …

Supporting Long Lifespan Products With Modularity, Zaheer M. Shujayee

Theses

When designing with a material as permanent as plastic, extending the product lifespan is vital. Modularity is a great tool for increasing product lifespan by supporting ease of repair and user attachment. This project concerns game controllers and explores sustainability by using the inherent long lifespan of the video game space to support sustainability efforts and extend the time plastic is not in a landfill. User research for this project discovered that gamers held onto their gaming devices and still purchased retro hardware and software in secondary markets. It is proposed that a modular device would have a longer lifespan …

Netzero Insight: The Role Of Data Analytics And Machine Learning In Combating Climate Change, Tariq Najar, Chrissie Aldo

Theses

Countries must act urgently to achieve the SDGs and make significant progress for the planet and people by 2030. But there are some key challenges that the world must address. Climate change is one of the most significant challenges of our time, and its impacts can undermine the ability of all countries to achieve sustainable development. However, countries committed to limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre- industrial levels in the Paris Agreement. Member nations pledge to take urgent action on climate change to save the planet from global warming.

Using data analysis techniques and methodologies, such as CRISP-DM, and …

The Importance Of Sustainability Within The Fashion Industry, Ashlee S. Hernandez

Theses

Blogging made its debut in 1993 and from that point on the internet would change forever. This project is a lifestyle blog that will highlight the diversity of the word sustainability, focus on the final product and the sustainable methods or practices to get to that final product and dive into the history of blogging and the history of fashion sustainability. This entire project will showcase specific items of women's clothing (the final product) and the sustainable methods or processes involved in creating those final products. This project specifically defines the similarities and differences between the terms eco-friendly, sustainable, green, …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture For Growing West Coast Venus Clams, Avery Wallace

Theses

With demand for sustainable sources of seafood on the rise, California is looking to expand aquaculture with a focus on innovative culturing methods and use of native or resident species. Therefore, this study examined the potential for culturing native North American west coast venus clams (Chione californiensis and Chione undatella) using integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). An ITMA approach was chosen because it is a culture method that uses species from different but functionally complementary trophic levels that have been found to reduce the potential negative effects of traditional monoculture. California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) and the seaweeds red ogo (Gracilaria …

Process Development In Facilities Management Sector, Mohammad Zaher Aldiek

Theses

This capstone project focuses on the enhancement and optimization of different aspects within the facilities management department of Dubai Developments, which is a leading real estate company in Dubai. Considering the huge number of buildings owned by the company and that the facilities management department was recently formed, there are still opportunities of improvement in terms of saving energy, growing productivity, improving operations processes and promoting sustainability. To do so, this capstone project focused on developing four main aspects within the FM department to ensure achieving the abovementioned objectives. Firstly, a retrofit project was implemented on the cooling system of …

Process Development In Facilities Management Sector, Mohammad Zaher Aldiek

Theses

This capstone project focuses on the enhancement and optimization of different aspects within the facilities management department of Dubai Developments, which is a leading real estate company in Dubai. Considering the huge number of buildings owned by the company and that the facilities management department was recently formed, there are still opportunities of improvement in terms of saving energy, growing productivity, improving operations processes and promoting sustainability. To do so, this capstone project focused on developing four main aspects within the FM department to ensure achieving the abovementioned objectives. Firstly, a retrofit project was implemented on the cooling system of …

Critical Regionalism- Integrating Traditional Chinese Architecture Into Contemporary High-Rise Residential Building, Yang Li

Theses

In the field of modern architecture, a clear path indicates architecture’s historical development, from the very beginning of ancient Egypt to the emergence of modernism in the first half of the twentieth century, and finally to the dominant architectural style of today. Compared with the Western world, the Chinese developed their unique architectural style thousands of years ago. The style can be summed up as the difference between wood and stone, which deeply influenced surrounding countries. Unfortunately, the evolution of the style was suddenly interrupted at the end of the 19th century, which was the emerging modernism in the West. …

“A Heart Felt Toy System”: How Can Materials, Structured, And Unstructured Play, Impact Toy Innovation, And Design, Mary Keenan Mcloughlin

Theses

The pervasiveness of single use plastic for toy production has created the cultural consciousness that most things are disposable. The moment you’ve deposited something in the trash you are no longer responsible for it and for some, it no longer exists. A material’s lifespan, origin, and sensory experience can be positive factors in its inclusion for a design. I chose to study organic materials and how they can be used for toys and aspects of play. As a case study, I created a felt vehicle toy system that rethinks the way we use organic materials for toy applications. I then …

The Importance Of Shifting From Massive To Sustainable Tourism Model: The Case Study Of The City Of Dubrovnik, Niko Katusic

Theses

Tourism is currently one of the largest economical income generators for Croatia and especially for the city of Dubrovnik. Desired worldwide for its economic benefits tourism is going to double during the next 20 years. Considering mass tourism as the main definition for tourism in 21 century that cannot be neglected by current efforts to implement sustainable tourism, this paper draws attention to improved satisfaction that sustainable tourism can provide to locals and tourists operating in the city of Dubrovnik. The question of satisfaction level for stakeholders in tourism destinations is connected to the psychological characteristics and motivation of tourists …

Urban Farming Design In Los Angeles: An Adaptive Reuse Project In Response To Food Crisis And Housing Crisis, Pin-Han Su

Theses

As the world population is constantly growing and will reach 9 billion people by 2050, the current danger to the world's food supply system creates a severe challenge. By 2050, more populations will be living in the cities and creating higher demand on food supply, but the farmable lands on our planet could be much less because of climate change and urbanization. Agricultural leaders have argued that cities will need to produce food internally to respond to demand by increasing population and to avoid harmful pollution and unaffordable food prices. Architecture, as the most influential element affecting our daily life, …

Sustainable Packaging Design For Online Order Delivery, Fong-Yun Su

Theses

Due to the rising demands of package delivery, packaging for online orders has been produced rapidly in recent years. It includes plastic waste, paperboard waste, and energy waste. These wastes negatively impact the surrounding environment, natural creatures, and even human health. In this paper, a sustainable packaging design for online orders is explored that can not only help ecological systems on this planet, but also benefit the online retailers with a better package life cycle. This project is aimed to design a new packaging solution with adjustable and reusable features, which reduces packaging waste and provides a better package life …

The Fresh Fridge - Design To Enable Healthy Eating, Tatiana Ferrucio

Theses

A significant part of the population has adjusted life years (DALY’s) due to bad eating habits throughout their lives. This study explores the pain points to a healthier diet and proposes a design intervention for this problem.

The goal is to empower users to eat healthier and in a more sustainable way. As part of the discoveries throughout the research, healthy eating is the individual’s ability to achieve their nutritional values according to their physical structure and biotype.

The design process for this project considered potential strategies to engage people on healthy eating, using positive design methodologies to maintain people …

Conducting A Feasibility Study For Generating Power From Renewable Energy Resources And Utilizing High Voltage Direct Current For Interconnection In The Middle East And North Africa, Rashid Al Maazmi, Mahmood Broushan

Theses

Electricity consumption is on the rise as the global population is increasing. The need of energy has been discussed in length over the years. Oil and gas have been the primary resource for generators fuel. As oil and gas are a finite resource, an alternative resource that does not harm the environment is needed to generate energy. The Middle East and North Africa have a huge potential for using solar and wind energy to generate electricity as MENA region has one of the highest levels on solar irradiation. A new system of transferring the power through the MENA region is …

Studying The Impact Of Urban Densification On Social Sustainability: The Case Of Bida Bin Ammar Neighborhood In Al Ain, Uae, Lubna Mohammad Ghaffar Shekfa

Theses

As cities are under the influence of rapid development, industrialization, modernization, and globalization, a key task for local authorities, urban planners, and residents are to understand what makes a neighbourhood socially sustainable. In Al Ain City in the UAE, urban sprawl has been a persistent sustainability problem caused by low urban density and has led to the heavy reliance on private cars. To overcome this problem, urban densification as a sustainable planning approach is recommended. Al Ain 2030 Plan has adopted this approach for the redevelopment of the Asharej District. This research aims at studying the application of urban densification …

Determination Of The Cost Optimum Passive Cooling Design Solutions For Residential Buildings In Uae: The Case Study Of Sharjah Governmental Villas, Raghad Azzam Ghazal

Theses

على مدى العقود الثلاثة الماضية، شهدت الإمارات العربية المتحدة تطور ا حضري ا سريعا ، وتم تصنيفها كأعلى نشاط بناء في العالم لكل كيلومتر مربع. قطاع البناء هو أكبر مستهلك للطاقة وأكبر مساهم في انبعاثات ثاني أكسيد الكربون في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة، حيث يستخدم حوالي 60 ٪ من إجمالي الكهرباء. يستهلك القطاع السكني حوالي 30 ٪ من إجمالي استهلاك الكهرباء )هيئة كهرباء ومياه دبي، 2017 (. الهدف من هذه الأطروحة هو تحديد أفضل الحلول المستدامة من حيث التكلفة الإجمالية للفلل السكنية في الإمارات العربية المتحدة. المنهجية المتبعة في هذه الأطروحة ستأخذ في عين الاعتبار الجوانب البيئية والاقتصادية لمرحلتي الإنشاء …

Studying The Impact Of Urban Densification On Social Sustainability: The Case Of Bida Bin Ammar Neighborhood In Al Ain, Uae, Lubna Mohammad Ghaffar Shekfa

Theses

As cities under the influence of rapid development, industrialization, modernization, and globalization, a key task for local authorities, urban planners, and residents is to understand what makes a neighborhood socially sustainable. In Al Ain City in the UAE, urban sprawl has been a persistent sustainability problem caused by low urban density and has led to the heavy reliance on private cars. To overcome this problem, urban densification as a sustainable planning approach is recommended. Al Ain 2030 Plan has adopted this approach for redevelopment of Asharej District. This research aims at studying the application of urban densification tools and their …

Framework To A Design Solution For Downtown Buffalo, Ny, Robert J. Sulli

Theses

Downtown Buffalo, New York is on the verge of a design recovery. Despite once being celebrated for its architectural and engineering achievements of the 1800s, Buffalo spent the near century that followed in a downward trend. Contemporarily considered a forgotten city of the industrial era, it now sits at the precipice of a new beginning. Around the 1980s, a series of investment studies produced reports outlining the different ways downtown Buffalo was struggling. Whether it was measured by loss of residential population, corporate headquarters leaving town, or just general urban decay, Buffalo had been exhibiting all the symptoms of a …

Design For Optimizing Food Waste, Maitrayee Sohni

Theses

Having a sustainable food system, which compliments the food production today is a global need. This paper aims to answer what can be done to make the system and products, not just sustainable but how to create a behavioral change towards a sustainable lifestyle and conscious consumption. This paper was initiated to research a solution for food waste in the current system. At the beginning itself, it shows how elaborate the problem is, and needs to be narrowed down. Thus it has been focused on an American household of young adults.

By understanding their behavior, habit, and lifestyle, it leads …

The U.S. Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement: Towards A Justice-Based Paradigm Of Sustainability At Higher Education Institutions, Dylan John Gibson

Theses

In the last ten years, the fossil fuel divestment movement at higher education institutions has emerged as a key component of the global climate movement. It has also posed a challenge to the dominant paradigm of sustainability in higher education by calling on institutions to help incite outward systemic change to ensure justice for those most impacted by environmental problems, rather than simple efforts to green the campus. As the movement sees a resurgent escalation in the U.S., this study uses data from active and inactive campaigns across the country to assess the key characteristics of institutions and campaigns that …

A Framework For Firm-Level Critical Material Supply Management And Mitigation, Gillian A. Griffin

Theses

Organizations of all sizes are vulnerable to critical material supply disruptions. Although there is a significant body of literature that examines how large entities such as nations and governments can assess and mitigate criticality, there is very little work that addresses firm-level criticality in a way that is actionable for businesses. This work uses literature review and case study analysis to understand the impact of critical material supply risk at the firm level, and to determine salient internal indicators. A total of 42 criticality studies were reviewed and the findings were used to develop a framework to assess and monitor …

Food Waste Management Networks: Novel Methods For Overcoming Emerging Logistics Challenges, William R. Armington

Theses

The U.S. produces an estimated 63 million tons of food waste per year. Interest from state and local governments in diverting unused food from landfills to alternative treatment facilities is growing. However, this emerging food waste (FW) stream will face logistics challenges as diversion networks expand. Current methods for evaluating challenges are insufficient for providing solutions for network development because they do not explore the impacts of variability in the food waste management system. This dissertation aims to fill this knowledge gap by exploring three key research areas.

First, variability in FW generation from different types of commercial generators is …

System-Level Eco-Driving (Sled): Algorithms For Connected And Autonomous Vehicles, Hrishikesh Barad

Theses

One of the main reasons for increasing carbon emissions by the transportation sector is the frequent congestion caused in a traffic network. Congestion in transportation occurs when demand for commuting resources exceeds their capacity and with the increasing use of road vehicles, congestion and thereby emissions will continue to rise if proper actions are not taken. Adoption of intelligent transportation systems like autonomous vehicle technology can help in increasing the efficiency of transportation in terms of time, fuel and carbon footprint. This research proposes a System Level Eco-Driving (SLED) algorithm and compares the results, produced by performing microscopic simulations, with …