Digital Commons Network^™

Color Constancy In Virtual Environments With Head-Mounted And Flat-Panel Displays Across Different Illuminants And Lightness Levels, Andrea Avendano Martinez

Theses

Virtual reality (VR) is commonly used as a tool for enhancing immersion within virtual environments, with one of its primary goals being to approximate real-world perception as closely as possible. In everyday life, variations in lighting conditions significantly influence how colors are perceived across different times and settings. However, the human visual system compensates for these changes, maintaining relatively stable color perception; a phenomenon known as color constancy. This process is driven by chromatic adaptation, the visual system’s adjustment to changes in illumination. Despite the growing use of VR, little research has explored how color constancy operates in virtual environments …

Enhancing In-Car Interaction: Analyzing Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Drivers’ Usage, And Interaction With Voice-Controlled In-Car Infotainment System, Sanskriti Kumar

Theses

Voice Control Interface is a technology that allows users to use spoken language to interact with a system. The system is capable of speech recognition where the user can input a command, the system understands and executes the commands, and gives an output through text and/or speech. Voice Control Interfaces (VCIs) have become an ubiquitous technology, from public information kiosks to personal computer devices and intelligent virtual assistant devices. The technology is constantly evolving and improving with the intentions to make life easier, however, research has revealed unique challenges VCIs pose for Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) users due to reliance …

Detecting Compromised Hardware Integrity With Machine Learning In Multicore Processors, Alexander Beekman

Theses

Due to the globalization of the Integrated Circuits (IC) manufacturing process, the trust surrounding hardware reliability has become compromised through methods such as injection of malicious hardware (including hardware trojans), hardware backdoors, IP theft, and counterfeit hardware. This thesis will focus on the issue of counterfeit hardware. As the complexity of modern day hardware has increased, detecting counterfeits has become increasingly difficult. Current methods of physical and electrical inspection are limited in both depth and size limitations. Physical inspections are only useful for identifying counterfeits that manifest physically, while electrical testing requires expensive and extensive setups. Computational evaluation of all …

Implementation And Dissemination Of The 'About Eating' Program: Evaluating Participant Engagement, Usability, And Module Interest, Justin Konrad Walker

Theses

Abstract Background: Online nutrition education can improve food choices among underserved populations. The About Eating New York (AENY) program is a web-based, self-paced series of modules designed to enhance nutritional literacy, resource management, and confidence in healthy eating. Leveraging dissemination and implementation (D&I) science, AE partnered with community organizations across New York’s ten fiscal regions to extend its reach. Methods: This study analyzed secondary data from the AENY dissemination effort. Participants were recruited via social media and community organizations. Pre- and post-program surveys and end-of-lesson surveys assessed demographics, engagement, and perceptions of usability. Quantitative analyses included descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVAs, …

Adaptive Reuse Of Abandoned Schools, Dayana Williams

Theses

This thesis investigates the adaptive reuse of abandoned school buildings in economically declining communities, mainly focusing on how these transformations can contribute to sustainable community revitalization. The research highlights Columbus, Ohio, where school closures and grade realignments threaten to leave many school properties vacant, especially in minority neighborhoods. This adaptive reuse strategy presents an opportunity to address issues such as urban decay, resource efficiency, and social equity by repurposing these buildings into multifunctional community assets. The study adopts a multi-method approach, including literature reviews, case study analysis, and community needs assessments, to identify best practices and critical challenges in adaptive …

Bridging Human Expertise And Ai In Qualitative Research: Understanding Ownership, Trust And Bias In Ai-Assisted Coding, Anoushka Jagadeesh Puranik

Theses

Qualitative research is a multifaceted process involving data collection, transcription, organization, coding, and thematic analysis. As qualitative data analysis (QDA) tools gain popularity, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated to automate aspects of this workflow. This study investigates researchers’ QDA practices, their experiences with existing tools, and their perspectives on AI involvement in qualitative research. We introduce ChromaScribe, a prototype QDA tool, and gather feedback to assess whether it addresses the limitations of current tools. Through interviews with 16 qualitative researchers, we examine their preferences for traditional coding, AI-initiated coding, and human-initiated coding, exploring factors such as ownership, trust and …

Use And Benefits Of A Therapeutic Hypnosis Interactive Media Program For Chronic Pain Management: A Pilot Study, Mark P. Jensen, Joy F. Chan, Owen Gottlieb, Laurence I. Sugarman, Emily Stensland

Articles

Chronic pain is a common condition that has significant negative effects on individuals and society. Opioids continue to be the primary treatment provided to the billions of individuals with chronic pain, despite their general lack of efficacy and significant negative side effects. A growing body of research supports the potential of therapeutic hypnosis for helping individuals better manage their chronic pain. However, access to this treatment is limited. The availability of a hypnosis digital therapeutic has the potential to address this access problem. The current study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of a digital therapeutic hypnosis prototype (not yet …

Enhancing The Immunogenicity Of Extracellular Vesicle-Based Vaccines Against Pathogenic Nthi Bacteria, Christina Ciko

Theses

Acute otitis media (AOM), or ear infections, are highly prevalent in children, with nearly 80% experiencing at least one AOM by the age of three. As such, there is an urgent need for a vaccine against Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), a main cause of AOM in the US. Most vaccines contain multiple antigens from the pathogen, inducing an immune response and antibodies to those antigens. Here, we describe a novel approach to creating a vaccine against NTHi, incorporating a unique recombinant trivalent protein (Tri) featuring three NTHi antigens (OMP26, P6, and protein F) in a single peptide chain with an …

Soundhapticsvr: Head-Based Spatial Haptic Feedback For Accessible Sounds In Virtual Reality For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Users, Pratheep Kumar Chelladurai

Theses

Virtual Reality (VR) systems use immersive spatial audio that provide more localized sound awareness to convey critical information. However, these audio cues are often inaccessible to individuals who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing (DHH). To address this, we developed, a head-based haptic system designed to enable localizing and convert- ing audio signals directly into haptic feedback using multi-channel acoustic haptic actuators. We evaluated through three studies. The preliminary study determined the maximum tactile frequency threshold perceivable on different regions of the head of DHH users when a VR headset is attached. This was followed by a study to deter- mine the …

Deepfake Image Detection Using Explainable Ai And Deep Learning, Abdallah Abdulfattah Mohammed Abdulrahman

Theses

Deepfake technology has grown exponentially, and it has changed our perspective of managing digital content. The technology has many applications, but its ease of access has brought many risks. These risks include identity theft, misinformation spread, development of non-consensual content, and a decrease in trust in media. To address these challenges, we propose a hybrid deep learning model combining Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks for deepfake image detection. We developed a CNN model and four hybrid CNN-LSTM models in our study. Our approach integrates the strengths of CNNs for spatial feature extraction and LSTMs for …

Teaching And Normalizing Digital Accessibility For Students In The Chemical Sciences, Stefano C G Biagini

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Digital accessibility is the inclusive practice of ensuring that all people can equally access digital information. However, this good practice has yet to be fully embraced by practitioners and educators in the chemical sciences. This article will describe and explain the key requirements of digital accessibility and how they apply to educators in the chemical sciences, with the emphasis on supporting visually impaired students; it will illustrate a case study of training students in adopting digital accessibility good practices in order to enable a culture change of greater inclusivity for the next generation; and finally illustrate low cost laboratory adaptations …

Flow Dynamics Of Agricultural Waste Nanofibers: Shear, Temperature, And Oscillatory Insights, Bilge N. Altay, Burak Aksoy, James Atkinson, Christopher Lewis, Carlos Diaz-Acosta, Raymond Francis

Articles

The rheology and fiber size of corn stover (CS) and cleaned cotton gin trash (CGT) cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) were studied including behaviors at both moderate and extremely high shear rates, to simulate industrial processes ranging from mixing and pumping to high-speed coating, printing, and extrusion. Particle size analyzer showed that 99% of CS fibers measured around 226 nm, while 85% of CGT fibers were approximately 143 nm. Both CS and CGT CNFs formed gel-like suspensions, and shear flow tests revealed that all samples exhibited shear-thinning behavior, allowing easy flow under shear forces. Gels with higher solid content (1%) demonstrated extended …

Systematic Evaluation Of Regression Models For The Prediction Of Influenza Cases, Mukul Kandwal

Theses

This study systematically evaluates machine learning models to forecast influenza outbreaks, aiming to enhance public health preparedness through accurate predictions. Laboratory-confirmed influenza case data from the New York State Department of Health (2009–2023) were used to train and test five regression models—XGBoost, Neural Network (MLP regressor), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Random Forest, and Support Vector Regression (SVR)—with preprocessing techniques including differencing and phasing. A leave-one-season-out cross-validation framework and Symmetric Mean Absolute Percentage Error (SMAPE) were employed to rigorously assess performance. Key findings reveal that the Neural Network (MLP regressor) outperformed other models, achieving the lowest SMAPE score (23.7), underscoring the critical …

Future Scenarios Of Adoption Sustainable Materials By Construction Firms In The United Arab Emirates, Mona Albeshr

Theses

The construction industry accounts for 39% of greenhouse gas emissions, and change is required, especially with the Net Zero initiative. UAE construction companies must evaluate their current positions and update their strategies to support government regulations. Building futuristic communities is crucial for expanding the built environment within the country; however, the types of materials used should account for two aspects: sustainability and climate resilience, and both must be considered whenever these construction companies formulate their strategic response. Hence, scenario planning significantly provides valuable insights to decision-makers in construction companies’ strategic departments to envision four plausible scenarios of the external environment …

Dubai’S Future Mobility: Systems Thinking & Scenarios, Mohammed Mazloum Hanafy

Theses

Transportation is one of the essential pillars of any smart city. The future of transportation in Dubai faces enormous hurdles in urban mobility, including a growing population density, congestion, and environmental issues. Without careful planning and policy actions, these problems would certainly worsen in the future. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the future of urban mobility in Dubai and to suggest solutions for constructing a sustainable, efficient, and equitable transportation system by employing future foresight tools. Dubai has emerged in recent years as a global center for technological innovation, altering its built environment and reevaluating its …

Reusing Underutilized Warehouses: Impact Of Iot Integration On Water Conservation In Hydroponic Farming Within Mina Zayed Warehouses In Abu Dhabi, Aysha Benyas

Theses

Urban farming is seen as an essential approach to sustainable development, particularly in arid regions like Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where limited arable land and water resources pose significant challenges. With an emphasis on reusing underutilized urban spaces like the industrial warehouses in Mina Zayed, this thesis explores the transformative potential of shifting from conventional agricultural methods to advanced smart farming approaches. The main objective of this project is to optimize the effective use of urban areas and improve water conservation in agricultural operations by integrating Internet of Things (IoT) technology into hydroponic systems within these warehouses. The research …

A Wayfarer, Roselyle Hang Zhao

Theses

This paper examines the making of A Wayfarer, a personal film that explores themes of identity, cultural belonging, and the experience of being a third-culture individual. The character Boaty represents the complexities of navigating multiple identities, as the film blends visual and sound design to convey the feeling of being "lost-in-culture." As part of my graduate thesis at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the film blends visual and sound design to convey the feeling of being "lost-in-culture." The paper discusses the creative choices behind the shift from humor to vulnerability, the challenges of depicting family dynamics, and the process of …

Understanding Vaccines: A 3d Animation And Print Materials For Clinical Trial Patients, Shannon Gregory

Theses

This project covers the importance of patient education, and the decisions that go into making patient facing materials. The topic of this piece is “Understanding Vaccines” and will explore several key aspects: what vaccines are, how they work, their important role in public health, and how to best communicate with patient audiences. Given the growing challenges in vaccine education, this piece will address common misconceptions and emphasize the importance of clear, accessible communication. The goal of this piece is to educate, but also to encourage individuals to make well-informed decisions regarding vaccination. The artwork created for this thesis was developed …

Fake News Detection On X (Twitter), Sultan Mayoof Almutaiwei

Theses

The most important innovation globally is the internet, which is used by a huge number of people all around the world. People use the internet for different purposes. By using different social media platforms people share content and news. Thus, some people use these internet platforms to share false news or fake news among people. Propaganda against a person, group, organization, or political party may be present in this news. For an individual, it is difficult to distinguish between false and true news over the internet. Therefore, machine learning is the smart solution that can identify fake news on the …

Evaluation Of A Guide To Accessing Accommodations During Medical School Created By And For Students With Disabilities, Nora Newcomb, Emily Coughlin, Zainub Dhanani, Kie Fujii, Lily Upp, Harika Kottakota, Rahul Mhaskar, Andrew Galligan

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Medical students with disabilities constitute 7.6% of allopathic (MD) and 4.3% of osteopathic (DO) programs, and they are entitled to reasonable accommodation, per the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, research has demonstrated that disabled medical students often encounter barriers when accessing accommodations. In response to these barriers, Medical Students with Chronic Illness and Disability (MSDCI) National created the MSDCI Guide to Accessing Disability Accommodations During Undergraduate Medical Education (the Guide). We conducted a program evaluation to evaluate the efficacy of the Guide as a resource to the members of MSDCI, a program evaluation was conducted. A Qualtrics survey was distributed …

Femininsect, Natalie Martin

Student Work

No abstract provided.

“We Are Not Museum Animals Or Photography Trophies.” The Colonizing Gaze Of The Lens: Ethics In The Photographic Representation Of Indigenous Communities In Ecuador, Sebastian Arciniegas Perez

Student Work

Since its beginnings, photography has been presented as an objective recording tool; however, its history reveals that it has also been an instrument of power. (Sontag, 2003, p. 45) warned that photographing implies appropriating the other, an act that places the viewer in a position of dominance over the subject represented. In this sense, the lens not only captures an image: it constructs a gaze (Berger, 2008, p. 22) complements this idea by stating that the camera translates reality into a field of visual power where the observer exercises authority over the observed. When the photographed subject belongs to an …

Interview With A Goldfish, Galena Wurtzel

Student Work

No abstract provided.

What Single People Really Need: New Study Maps Essentials Vs. Luxuries, Saavan Tandon

Student Work

As singlehood rises around the world, a growing number of adults are asking an important question: What do single people actually need to live happy, satisfying lives? Popular stereotypes usually claim that singles are constantly searching for romance or that their lives are incomplete without a partner, but new research suggests something completely different. In fact, romance doesn’t even fall among the top three categories when it comes to priorities. So, what are singles really looking for, then?

2025-2026 Graduate Catalog And Course Descriptions, Rochester Institute Of Technology

Graduate Catalog and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog And Course Descriptions, Rochester Institute Of Technology

Undergraduate Catalog and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Surveillance Report​: Che-Wei Hsu​, Che-Wei Hsu

Theses

Face ID: A Surveil of Che-Wei Hsu is a lens based artistic investigation and experience into the nature of surveillance in modern society. Through performance, photography, and installation, my work explores the dynamics between being watched and watching, questioning how surveillance influences human behavior and identity. In my art practice, I think about the behavior that people would not do in front of other people or violate the social norm and perform in the public as a way to experience how surveillance influences how we act in the public, for example eating a sandwich on the ladder in front of …

Fake News Detection In Arabic Media Using Machine Learning And The Afnd Dataset, Hussain Ali Bahri

Theses

The proliferation of fake news in digital media poses a significant challenge to information credibility, particularly in linguistically diverse regions such as the Arab world. This study addresses the critical problem of detecting fake news in Arabic media by leveraging advanced natural language processing (NLP) techniques and the AFND dataset, which contains over 600,000 news articles categorized into "credible," "not credible," and "undecided" classes. The research focuses on developing a robust system using AraBERT, a transformer-based model specifically pre-trained for Arabic text. Key contributions of this work include a comprehensive preprocessing pipeline tailored to Arabic linguistic complexities, incorporating stopword removal, …

Hypnosis And Mindfulness Audio Recordings For Reducing Fatigue In Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Study, Mark P. Jensen, Susan Robles, Michael G. Nash, Susanne May, Dwan M. Ehde, Melissa A. Day, Owen Gottlieb, Laurence I. Sugarman, Kevin N. Alschuler

Articles

Background

Fatigue is a common problem in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective

The objective was to evaluate the effects on fatigue of having 4 weeks of

access to audio recordings of therapeutic hypnosis (HYP) and mindfulness meditation

(MM) practices.

Methods

A total of 333 individuals with MS and fatigue were randomly assigned to

one of the three treatment conditions for 28 weeks: (1) access to therapeutic HYP audio

recordings, (2) access to MM audio recordings, or (3) no access to recordings

(treatment as usual or TAU). Fatigue impact (primary outcome) and other outcomes

were assessed at 4, 16, and …

Leveraging Future Foresight And Planning In Human Resource Management: Preparing Organizations For The Workforce Of Tomorrow, Naser Althehli

Theses

As organizations face unprecedented uncertainty as they navigate a complicated and fast-changing world, the ability to anticipate and adapt to workforce shifts has become more crucial than ever. This thesis examines how future foresight and strategic planning in human resource management (HRM) can reinforce organizational adaptability and maintain a competitive edge. By analyzing key drivers of change—including technological advancements, demographic shifts, political dynamics, and socio-economic trends—the study identifies innovative HRM strategies that enable organizations to address emerging workforce challenges and opportunities proactively. Through a structured evaluation of foresight techniques, this research highlights best practices for cultivating a resilient and future-ready …