Digital Commons Network^™

Learn Html: A Refreshingly Fun Way To Learn The Foundations Of Html, Brandon Capp

Theses

Learn HTML is an interactive website with the purpose of teaching foundations of HTML. The website was designed to appeal to a teenage audience, ages 15 - 19 years old.

The nature of the website diverges away from the typical text based approach utilized in similar applications by abandoning a dependency on the heavy use of text to communicate information. Learn HTML, instead, features a strong use of graphic elements, visual metaphors, and a heavy focus on interactivity, all of which offer the user a visual representation of information.

Through interaction with the provided graphic elements and visual metaphors, the …

Virtual 3d Environments: Implementations Of 3d Environments For Virtual Tours And Online Communication, Scott Bessey

Theses

Virtual tours can be found over the web in many different scenarios: touring a campus, displaying consumer products, documenting a trip. These tours provide information using images, movies and sound to provide users with navigation in such a way that they user feels they are experiencing the information in real time. These tours are usually driven by mouse clicks, whether it is clicking on an image gallery, movie gallery or panning around a panoramic image. While virtual tours are interactive in those examples, there is a lack of interaction be tween the users viewing the tour. Online communication has become …

Surface Modification Of A Proton Exchange Membrane And Hydrogen Storage In A Metal Hydride For Fuel Cells, Lisa Andrews

Theses

Interest in fuel cell technology is rising as a result of the need for more affordable and available fuel sources. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells involve the catalysis of a fuel to release protons and electrons. It requires the use of a polymer electrolyte membrane to transfer protons through the cell, while the electrons pass through an external circuit, producing electricity. The surface modification of the polymer, Nafion®, commonly researched as a proton exchange membrane, may improve efficiency of a fuel cell. Surface modification can change the chemistry of the surface of a polymer while maintaining bulk properties. Plasma modification …

Insider Threat Mitigation And Access Control In Healthcare Systems, Suhair Alshehri, Sumita Mishra, Rajendra Raj

Articles

Rapid and reliable information sharing of patient healthcare information has become critical for achieving better care with lower costs. However, such healthcare information sharing requires to be done securely with privacy guarantees, as required by law. Among its other requirements, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires the use of appropriate access control mechanisms to protect healthcare information. Despite these legal requirements, currently implemented access control models in the healthcare domain are typically inadequate as demonstrated by the large and increasing numbers of successful attacks on healthcare systems. In particular, current access control models do not provide sufficient …

Fault Analysis Using State-Of-The-Art Classifiers, Girish Chandrashekar

Theses

Fault Analysis is the detection and diagnosis of malfunction in machine operation or process control. Early fault analysis techniques were reserved for high critical plants such as nuclear or chemical industries where abnormal event prevention is given utmost importance. The techniques developed were a result of decades of technical research and models based on extensive characterization of equipment behavior. This requires in-depth knowledge of the system and expert analysis to apply these methods for the application at hand. Since machine learning algorithms depend on past process data for creating a system model, a generic autonomous diagnostic system can be developed …

Using Information Processing Techniques To Forecast, Schedule, And Deliver Sustainable Energy To Electric Vehicles, Praneeth Pulusani

Theses

As the number of electric vehicles on the road increases, current power grid infrastructure will not be able to handle the additional load. Some approaches in the area of Smart Grid research attempt to mitigate this, but those approaches alone will not be sufficient. Those approaches and traditional solution of increased power production can result in an insufficient and imbalanced power grid. It can lead to transformer blowouts, blackouts and blown fuses, etc. The proposed solution will supplement the ``Smart Grid'' to create a more sustainable power grid. To solve or mitigate the magnitude of the problem, measures can be …

Product System Implications At End-Of-Life: An Economic And Environmental Assessment, Mark Krystofik

Theses

While there are many opportunities to make adjustments in how products are produced and consumed to reduce environmental impact, this dissertation focuses on product reuse and proposes a framework to evaluate the economic and environmental effects of proposed interventions in the product system that encourage end-of-life product to be guided toward environmentally preferred reuse or recycling paths. A novel aspect of the approach requires characterizing the product system structure to distinguish between those interventions that maintain the interaction dynamics amongst product system actors (producers, consumers and government), and those that alter the product system structure, enabling unintended consequences. The consumer …

In Situ Measurement, Characterization, And Modeling Of Two-Phase Pressure Drop Incorporating Local Water Saturation In Pemfc Gas Channels, Evan See

Theses

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) have been an area of focus as an alternative for internal combustion engines in the transportation sector. Water and thermal management techniques remain as one of the key roadblocks in PEMFC development. The ability to model two-phase flow and pressure drop in PEMFCs is of significant importance to the performance and optimization of PEMFCs. This work provides a perspective on the numerous factors that affect the two-phase flow in the gas channels and presents a comprehensive pressure drop model through an extensive in situ fuel cell investigation. The study focused on low current density …

It's Hardly Noticeable, John Keedy

Theses

It's Hardly Noticeable attempts to make the abstract visually tangible and prompts a reconsideration of normalcy. Based both in academic research of psychology and personal experience with pathology, my photographs explore the world of a semi- autobiographical character who negotiates living with an unspecified mental illness and its impact on his thoughts and behaviors. As constructed tableaux, they exploit the relationship between fact and fiction, reality and perception, and truth and performance. The photographs question the legitimacy of applying the term `normal' in a societal context by prompting a reconsideration of what, if anything, is normal, or at least what …

Being Close To Far Away, Michailo Tulek

Theses

In 1948 my great-grandfather was imprisoned in a Russian forced labor camp known as the Gulag, an acronym for the title "Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps and Colonies" Surviving this life event pushed my great-grandfather beyond the limits of civil society, rationality, and empathy into a world that author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn called, "an unassimilable spiritual earthquake which not every person can cope with." Like millions of others, my great grandfather took a journey into the "Gulag country," a place beyond "vision" or "understanding." In the fall of 2012, I too traveled to the Gulag country, in order to trace …

It's Hard To Be Down When You're Up, Katherine Driscoll

Theses

IT'S HARD TO BE DOWN WHEN YOU'RE UP. by Katherine March Driscoll BFA, Photography, NYSCC School of Art and Design at Alfred University, 2008 MFA, Imaging Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology, 2013 In times of transition, the American dream must be evaluated in terms of a possible future rather than an impossible past. It's hard to be down when you're up pictures Rochester, NY as a model for the transition- al state of today's American cities using the color documentary style of 70's photographers like Stephen Shore. Photographs and installation cite the fragments of potential found within the urban landscape …

Evaluation Of Temperature-Performance Trade-Offs In Wireless Network-On-Chip Architectures, Nishad Nerurkar

Theses

Continued scaling of device geometries according to Moore's Law is enabling complete end-user systems on a single chip. Massive multicore processors are enablers for many information and communication technology (ICT) innovations spanning various domains, including healthcare, defense, and entertainment. In the design of high-performance massive multicore chips, power and heat are dominant constraints. Temperature hotspots witnessed in multicore systems exacerbate the problem of reliability in deep submicron technologies. Hence, there is a great need to explore holistic power and thermal optimization and management strategies for the massive multicore chips. High power consumption not only raises chip temperature and cooling cost, …

Assessment Of Bio-Fuel Options For Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Applications, Jiefeng Lin

Theses

Rising concerns of inadequate petroleum supply, volatile crude oil price, and adverse environmental impacts from using fossil fuels have spurred the United States to promote bio-fuel domestic production and develop advanced energy systems such as fuel cells. The present dissertation analyzed the bio-fuel applications in a solid oxide fuel cell-based auxiliary power unit from environmental, economic, and technological perspectives. Life cycle assessment integrated with thermodynamics was applied to evaluate the environmental impacts (e.g., greenhouse gas emission, fossil energy consumption) of producing bio-fuels from waste biomass. Landfill gas from municipal solid wastes and biodiesel from waste cooking oil are both suggested …

Expect Resistance, Shane Burley

Theses

The documentary process is one that puts experimentation above structure, almost to the antithesis of conventional narrative storytelling. With the documentary thesis project Expect Resistance, Shane Burley took on a complex set of political ideas and experiences and attempted to thread them together into a common narrative. This made the project evolve over time, taking on new forms, and adapting to the conditions of the actual filmmaking process. Here he discusses the changes in the project, the challenges that were implicit with this type of film, and how the final film attempted to challenge perception about political involvement and the …

Modeling And Condition Monitoring Of Fully Floating Reciprocating Compressor Main Bearings Using Data Driven Classification, Markus Holzenkamp

Theses

Condition monitoring reduces maintenance costs on industrial machinery by reducing downtime and allowing for need-based maintenance instead of schedule-based maintenance. Currently, condition monitoring is not as widely applied on reciprocating compressors as compared to rotating compressors. However, research for monitoring various components of reciprocating compressors such as inlet and outlet valves and piston rings is conducted. There is industry interest into expanding this research to the main bearings of the compressor. Previous research on bearings focuses on either rolling element bearings or traditional journal bearings with not much information available on low speed applications of fully floating ring journal bearings …

Christianity In Egypt, Nevine Isaak

Theses

Christianity in Egypt is an interactive kiosk application focusing on Christian Holy Places since the Journey of the Holy Family into Egypt to the Present Day. It covers four main topics: * Places visited by the Holy Family * Places of famous Saints * Churches * Monasteries In my design, I used a map of Egypt and a timeline to visualize the spatial and temporal coverage of Christianity in Egypt from the first century and till now. For each Holy Place, the user can learn the following: * Description: information to describe the place. * Construction: information about the construction …

Life Is Good, Namdoo Kim

Theses

I want to investigate contemporary Korean society and its effect on people, particularly children as they represent the future of the Korean culture and society. Today, humans have entered into a contemporary society that values a marked individuality, but the parent's generation, which controls the society, is still conservative. Parents want to get satisfaction from their children by infusing their values. The children meanwhile are in chaos, confused between a rapidly changing society and the conservative values of their parents.

Toys represent the purity and innocence of childhood and it is through this purity and innocence of toys that people …

Reporter - April 26th 2013, Rit Reporter Staff

University Publications

No abstract provided.

A Case Study Of Religious Engagement Online: How Malaysian Muslim Students Access Islamic Information, Mohd Mahadi

Theses

The spread of digital technology has expanded how people engage with religious information. Religious activities are no longer restricted to physical spaces as the Internet allows users to customize their religious experiences. This study, grounded in the uses and gratifications theory, explores how Malaysian Muslim students access religious information across two mediums: print and electronic media; as well as investigating the relationship between the preferred medium for accessing information and religious engagement. Malaysian Muslim students studying in Malaysia and the United States were recruited online for preliminary and in-depth interviews. The results show that access to the Internet, availability of …

Folding Space, Karen Mahardy

Theses

I am interested in the place where an object is in a state of becoming and contains action, as if movement were frozen in time. I believe that an object can have both two-dimensional and three-dimensional qualities within it that cause perception to be manipulated. What our perception tells us when it is challenged, and the lines between two-dimensional and three-dimensional space are blurred, offers an opportunity for the viewer to be still, contemplate, and appreciate a moment away from the mundane. I intended to create a body of work that explored this and asks the viewer to pay attention …

Determining A Substitution Matrix For The Alignment Of Disordered Proteins, Dong Kim

Theses

As the research of disordered proteins progresses and more disordered protein sequences are discovered, an optimal substitution matrix for the alignment of these sequences must be elucidated. The currently used substitution matrices, PAM and BLOSUM, are ideal for the alignment of general protein sequences. But it is discovered that this set of matrices is not adequate for the specific alignment of disordered protein sequences. By implementing genetic algorithms, a substitution matrix improved for the alignment of disordered proteins has been achieved. The genetic algorithm determined matrix performed two times better when compared to BLOSUM62 and PAM250.

Determining A Substitution Matrix For The Alignment Of Disordered Proteins, Dong Kim

Theses

As the research of disordered proteins progresses and more disordered protein sequences are discovered, an optimal substitution matrix for the alignment of these sequences must be elucidated. The currently used substitution matrices, PAM and BLOSUM, are ideal for the alignment of general protein sequences. But it is discovered that this set of matrices is not adequate for the specific alignment of disordered protein sequences. By implementing genetic algorithms, a substitution matrix improved for the alignment of disordered proteins has been achieved. The genetic algorithm determined matrix performed two times better when compared to BLOSUM62 and PAM250.

Within The Walls, Nina Ramadan

Theses

Within the Walls looks at the way in which nature is collected and represented within the domestic space. The images employ a quiet and introspective gaze, carefully examining our relationship to these environments. As the home expanded from a simple shelter to escape the elements into a farther removed, more complex and personalized space, we continuously found methods to stay connected to nature. The work explores this connection, as well as the relationship between written and visual language, by using photography and text gleaned from travel postcards.

Analysis And Optimization Of Patient Bed Assignments Within A Hospital Unit While Considering Isolation Requirements, Christina Cignarale

Theses

Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) are infections acquired by patients admitted in healthcare facilities. These infections can be contagious or even worse, fatal, which has prompted the medical community to put guidelines in place to isolate patients who may pose a risk of spreading or be susceptible to an infection(s). These isolation practices also have the unwanted consequence of constraining the options for inpatient bed assignments since infected patients cannot be assigned to a room where uninfected patients reside. Historically, hospitals in the United States have been built with single and double bedrooms to provide inpatient care. As long as demand …

Reporter - April 19th 2013, Rit Reporter Staff

University Publications

No abstract provided.

Using Multimedia To Promote Environmental Protection, Min-Wan Chiu

Theses

This interactive project allows users to explore what causes and affects environmental problems on Earth using papervision 3D. The purpose of this project is to provide a simple platform for users to be aware of the environmental issues and know how to improve the environment. Moreover, these environmental issues are discussed by scientists and environmental protection agencies. The environmental issues discussed are global warming, acid rain, and air pollution, which impact the quality of human life. Reading helps us learn so much truth that we may not be aware of. The traditional pop-up books give readers a deeper impression of …

Multiple-Target Tracking Using Spectropolarimetric Imagery, Tingfang Zhang

Theses

Detection and tracking methods are two hot research topics in the field of multiple target tracking. Often change detection and motion tracking are used to detect and track moving vehicles, but in this thesis new approaches are provided to improve these two aspects. In the detection aspect, a combined detection method is presented to improve target detection techniques. The method of combining RX (Reed-Xiaoli) with change detection has demonstrated good performance in highly cluttered, dynamic ground-based scenes. In the tracking aspect, Kalman filter and Global Nearest Neighbor are applied in motion tracking to predict the location and implement data association …

Pattern Changing Clothing, Yong Kwon

Theses

People's styles and characters are changed by their environment and their relationship throughout their lifetime. However, the garment that we wear has just one look without accessories because once we wear clothing its appearance doesn't change, even though it is an essential medium to express ourselves. This thesis project's main goal is to make a piece of responsive clothing and to provide users the pleasure of creating their own style. When the clothing is an active medium through interactive communication between a wearer and a garment, it will be a responsive living object for a user. By the use of …

Joint Optimization Of Manifold Learning And Sparse Representations For Face And Gesture Analysis, Raymond Ptucha

Theses

Face and gesture understanding algorithms are powerful enablers in intelligent vision systems for surveillance, security, entertainment, and smart spaces. In the future, complex networks of sensors and cameras may disperse directions to lost tourists, perform directory lookups in the office lobby, or contact the proper authorities in case of an emergency. To be effective, these systems will need to embrace human subtleties while interacting with people in their natural conditions. Computer vision and machine learning techniques have recently become adept at solving face and gesture tasks using posed datasets in controlled conditions. However, spontaneous human behavior under unconstrained conditions, or …

Reporter - April 12th 2013, Rit Reporter Staff

University Publications

No abstract provided.