Digital Commons Network^™

Differences In Effectiveness Of Intrinsic And Extrinsic Motivation-Based Incentives In Promoting Use, Acceptance, And Adoption Of Automated Systems, Hannah M. Barr

Theses

This study examines the effectiveness of incentive mechanisms manipulating extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Specifically, these incentives are used to promote use, acceptance, and adoption of an automated system in a simulated hostage-rescuing task. More frequent use of the automated system indicates increased acceptance and adoption. Participants are measured for how frequently they use the system. Participants also responded to questionnaires measuring their motivation, acceptance, and adoption. Bayesian ANOVAs are used to find differences in use, acceptance, and adoption between incentive mechanisms. It was expected that incentive mechanisms affecting intrinsic motivation will outperform incentive mechanisms affecting extrinsic motivation in promoting system …

Software Defined Radio (Sdr) With Applications In Radar Systems, Makenzie Fogle

Theses

This research tests the validity of using a cost-effective SDR to implement a pulsed radar system. This cost-effective system would enable students to build and utilize this system to learn more about radar engineering and possibly pursue a career in radar engineering. Also, this system would enable a university to build a teaching laboratory for university students learning Radar principles. An adalm-pluto SDR is used along with the MIT “cantennas”. The software used to implement the system is discussed. The results from both indoor and outdoor tests are shown and validated. This research could have applications in education, industry, and …

Solar Flare Forecasting : A Study Of Flare Coincidence, Christian W. Hall

Theses

Data mining techniques that can support the forecasting of solar flares are explored. The main focus is to investigate the effects of flare coincidence on the evaluation of forecasts. Coincident flares are solar flares in a region of the Sun in which another flare has occurred recently, whereas other flares are denoted as non-coincident flares. Dimensionality reduction and classification are two of the types of techniques examined, where binary classification is used to issue yes/no forecasts of major solar flares. Five algorithms are considered as binary classifiers: k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), logistic regression (LR), support vector machines (SVM), random forest classifiers …

An Investigation Of Mission Designs To The Outer Solar System Supported By Centrifugal Nuclear Thermal Propulsion, William Ziehm

Theses

Centrifugal nuclear thermal propulsion (CNTP) has potential for supporting scientific missions to the outer solar system, shown by investigation of mission and vehicle architectures to the outer planets and Kuiper belt. The patched conic method provided initial guesses for numerical simulation and relationships between parameters of interest for trade studies, recommending engine performance parameters for missions supported by CNTP. Results of the patched conic model were validated by comparison to numerical results, which were within the expected variance for transit time with identical propellant margins based on literature. The trade studies gave a range of performance required to close rendezvous …

Extended, Exactly Solvable Chaotic Oscillator, Micah Tseng

Theses

Although the study of chaotic systems is theoretically mature for abounding examples, few are readily applicable to engineering problems. One notable barrier is the lack of analytic solution to guide or validate an engineered intention. In this thesis, a small set of chaotic systems known for their analytic solutions is expanded. Specifically, a known solvable second order solvable chaotic oscillator with a simple matched filter is extended such that the data rate is decoupled from the natural oscillation frequency of the oscillator. This development allows for high frequency applications without the need for high frequency switching. An extended, exact analytic …

The Impact Of Mkp-2 Deficiency On Hematological Parameters In Diet Challenged Mice, Cassandra Secunda

Theses

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) regulate metabolic homeostasis and MAPK dysfunction promotes metabolic diseases. MAPK phosphatases (MKPs) regulate MAPKs and are implicated in obesity and platelet activation. To elucidate the role of MKP-2 in platelet function and NAFLD, tail bleed, platelet isolation, and western blot assays were performed. MKP-2 KO mice and control mice were fed either a chow or 12- 13 week high fat diet (HFD), a 10 week iron deficient (ID), or an iron supplement (IS) regimen. On the chow diet, the bleeding time was significantly reduced in female MKP-2 KO mice. Male MKP-2 KO IS mice showed significantly …

Analysis Of Interconnected Subreddits On The Reddit Social Network, Lance Lindner

Theses

This thesis analyzes the Reddit social network to identify two aspects of interactions on that platform: (1) implicit leader-follower relationships, which are obtained by mining patterns of user interactions on the network and (2) highly “interconnected” subreddits which are obtained by scoring each subreddit using a “interconnectedness” value derived from the interaction patterns of users across subreddits. The data were obtained from Reddit in 2022 using a custom-built scrapper. This work analyzed 125,000 subreddits. The results show that the most highly connected subreddits on the Reddit network are ones that discuss content considered to be “not suitable for work” (NSFW). …

Automated Loan Approval System For Banks, Abdulrahman Saeed Almheiri

Theses

Machine learning and deep learning have revolutionized industries. Businesses have seen a boost in revenue through the use of these techniques, including the multibillion-dollar loan and credit industry. This study aims to develop a machine learning model to approve or disapprove loan applications based on customer characteristics, using algorithms such as statistical models, tree- based models, boosting models, and voting/stacking models. An exploratory analysis was conducted to understand customer characteristics, and the decision tree model proved to have the best performance with high precision in loan approval prediction.

Identifying The Causes Of Heart Disease Using Classification Techniques, Wadeema Alshamsi

Theses

Heart disease is a global epidemic that affects millions of people and is responsible for a significant portion of annual deaths worldwide. Timely diagnosis and prediction of heart disease can save countless lives, and advancements in information technology have opened up new avenues for improving medical diagnosis. In this project, we aimed to explore the use of machine learning classification techniques for predicting the presence of heart disease in patients. We deployed five classification techniques: Logistic Regression, Decision Tree, Random Forest, K Nearest Neighbors, and Support Vector Machine. We used a dataset of 1025 observations with 13 features and one …

The Akastral Voyager, Christian Rego

Theses

This project looks to depict a realistic interpretation of a space colony that places a great focus upon pastoralism. This is done in order to provide a more optimistic counterpoint to the prevalence of dystopian pessimistic themes common throughout a majority of science fiction. In essence, rather than being a warning of what the future may hold, it is intended as a possible direction that could be aspired towards. How might we go about portraying a kinder, more optimistic future that we actively aspire towards in the long term rather than seek to avert? Moreover, what sort of design opportunities …

Modeling Of Quad-Station Module Cluster Tools Using Petri Nets, Aung Nay

Theses

The semiconductor industry is highly competitive, and with the recent chip shortage, the throughput of wafers has become more important than ever. One of the tools that the industry has deployed is to use of quad-station modules instead of the traditional single-station modules that allow for higher throughput and better wafer consistency by processing multiple wafers at the same time and distributing work. The industry trend is to use multiple transfer chamber robots to stack the quad-station modules in a series, particularly for etch products. In this work, the quad-station cluster tool wafer movement is modeled by using Petri net …

Enabling Autonomous Driving Using 5g And Beyond, Mahmoud Wadi

Theses

The number of road accidents reported last year in UAE was 3488 accidents resulted in the death of 381 people. The shift towards the need for an intelligent transport system (ITS) supported by the use of autonomous vehicles (AV) is needed. This paper discusses the evolution of autonomous driving supported with a 5G network mainly focusing on key enabler technologies such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). Autonomous driving (AD) is involved in safety applications so the communication system has to be reliable while exchanging communication in real-time with low …

Curating The Agenda: A Review Of The Tenement Museum’S Twitter, Taylor Carpenter

Theses

Most museums have established strong online presences, due in part to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. To stay relevant in the social media sphere, museums must keep up with the speed at which the internet operates. One way of doing this is to follow the current trends and events that are already piquing the interest of those on the internet. However, is it the museum account that follows the current events, or are current events influenced by the museum’s presence? By examining the Tenement Museum’s Twitter account through the agenda-setting and agenda-melding theories, this paper seeks to answer the …

Drawing From The Past, Pengpeng Chen

Theses

Drawing From the Past is a short, 3D animated film that portrays the different thoughts about drawing between two generations and is based on my personal experience. Some art students get less encouragement from their families than other students. In Asian traditional thinking, majoring in art was not the correct career direction, which is correct in that period， because of the economy. Majoring in art means students need to pay more money than other majors. In addition, art is not necessary for some people who worry about food. In the previous period, many people worry about their lives. That means …

Silent Love, Yuehui Zhu

Theses

Silent Love is a 3D animated short film about a family that faced the death of one of their family members. The story talks about the daughter struggling to tell her hard-of-hearing mom that her father has passed away in the hospice room. The film starts in the hospice room. The daughter sits next to the hospice bed, and the audience can see a body covered by a white sheet. The camera zooms into a family photo on the nightstand, with a lunch box full of food. Then with a montage editing, the scene cuts back to when the daughter …

F3rn.Org Defi, Nabeel Mohammed Basheer

Theses

Leadership is searching for strategies to assist geo-based communities, cities, large and small towns, and neighborhoods in achieving independent and more decentralized, sustainable environmental practices. By employing a paradigm that encourages peer-to-peer fund raising and rewards participants by actively encouraging more civic engagement, the F3rn platform responds to this demand and helps to build a stronger local circular economy.

The F3rn Defi Platform has made it possible to create a global ecosystem for recycling plastic waste. This ecosystem uses Algorand blockchain technology to provide unbanked people with access to financial services, job opportunities for the extremely poor through financial incentives, …

Our Legacy, Kaishun Huang

Theses

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues. Plastic bottles take up to 450 years to decompose in landfill. The other issues caused by plastic waste such as incineration, microplastic and many more are equally terrifying. This project means to create more social awareness. A call for more people to take action and make a difference. Serious overproduction of plastic waste and other Non-Degradable Substance overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them. Uncontrolled waste production will cause great trouble for us and our children and grandchildren. This project is in three parts. An infographic introduces some …

Through Elijah’S Eyes, Zack Stone

Theses

Through Elijah’s Eyes is a feature-length script that is about an oral deaf teenager who is frustrated by his hearing family for not following his desire as a deaf person. He escapes from his uneasy home to the streets where he skates. To cope with his anger, Elijah turns to graffiti, an art form that allows him to express his feelings to the world in a loud voice. Elijah is a talented Artist, even though, being in homeschool doesn’t allow him to enjoy the exploration of his true colors; the exploration that the world has to offer, filled with opportunities …

Development Of A Bio-Inspired Computational Astrocyte Model For Spiking Neural Networks, Jacob Kiggins

Theses

The mammalian brain is the most capable and complex computing entity known today. For many years there has been research focused on reproducing the brain's processing capabilities. An early example of this endeavor was the perceptron which has become the core building block of neural network models in the deep learning era. Deep learning has had tremendous success in well-defined tasks like object detection, games like go and chess, and automatic speech recognition. In fact, some deep learning models can match and even outperform humans in specific situations. However, in general, they require much more training, have higher power consumption, …

Restaurant Branding Financial Analysis Using Data Analytics, Hamda Alwahedi, Khaled Aljaberi

Theses

Abu Dhabi's hospitality industry is a vibrant and dynamic sector that has established itself as a premier destination for tourists seeking luxury, comfort, and unparalleled entertainment experiences.This study serves as a contribution to Abu Dhabi hospitality industry and economy, as it serves as a data driven and artificial intelligence (AI) solution that utilizes the latest technology to meet increasing demands. A local UAE chain, abc restaurant, is the primary source of data, after applying machine learning and data analysis technologies and techniques extensive analysis the key drivers of profits decline were identified. Further examining causes and factors in the social …

F3rn.Org Defi, Nabeel Mohammed Basheer

Theses

Leadership is searching for strategies to assist geo-based communities, cities, large and small towns, and neighborhoods in achieving independent and more decentralized, sustainable environmental practices. By employing a paradigm that encourages peer-to-peer fund raising and rewards participants by actively encouraging more civic engagement, the F3rn platform responds to this demand and helps to build a stronger local circular economy. The F3rn Defi Platform has made it possible to create a global ecosystem for recycling plastic waste. This ecosystem uses Algorand blockchain technology to provide unbanked people with access to financial services, job opportunities for the extremely poor through financial incentives, …

Effect Of Plasma Treatment On Soil Degradation Of A Biodegradable Mulch Film, Swapnil Bhattacharya

Theses

Biodegradable Mulch Films (BMFs) offer a sustainable alternative to traditional non-degradable PE mulch films. However, their slow rate of biodegradation can lead to plastics accumulation in the soil. In this study, a commercially available BMF based on polybutylene adipate co-terephthalate (PBAT) and polylactic acid (PLA) is examined. Here the effects of gliding arc plasma treatment on the bulk and surface properties, as well as its soil degradation behavior, is studied. An increase in surface oxygen containing species and hydrophilicity was observed following plasma treatment. Only a small hydrophobic recovery was noted over 30 days. No changes in the bulk polymer …

Where Is Mr. Berg ?, Wen Tong

Theses

Where is Mr. Berg? is a narrative short film that contemplates the relationship between parents and their children. This paper documents the growth of the story, how the story gets shaped and blossomed from the seed, and how the film is produced with minimal compromise to the original idea during the pandemic. I, as the Director and Director of Photography in this film, will break down the tangible process from different mindsets and visions in this thesis from scene to screen.

Towards Parallel Intelligence Of City 5.0: An Ontological Perspective Of Digital Twin Ecosystem, Hafiz Muhammad Arfan Qalamkar

Theses

Through the construction of a city-level digital twin (CDT) prototype that integrates data, models, and insights from many disciplines and sectors of the UAE, the project investigates the potential benefits of dynamic knowledge graph and data-driven models to design national level digital twin. Three work packages are included in the study: Developing a digital twin ontological depiction for simulating national digital twin for UAE and testing Digital scenarios, engaging with local authorities like ADDA and Digital Dubai, modelling experts, and other key stakeholders to collect feedback on the application and future development of DT; and developing a digital twin prototype …

Petsi: A App That Helps People Look After & Monitor Their Pets, Ruoyun Gao

Theses

When the pandemic first hit China in full force, almost everyone was forced to quarantine where they were at the time. But there were many people who were on business trips, visiting relatives and traveling in cities far from home. So a few months after the quarantine began. News spread that some pets died of starvation or depression at home alone because their owners were quarantined in other cities and could not return home. There were some enthusiastic people who helped neighbors feed their cats through the balcony, and volunteers who tried to enter the home to take care of …

Examining Case Clearance Through A Quantitative Approach, Libnah Rodriguez

Theses

The police force bears a fundamental responsibility to bring about justice for crime victims. To best fulfill this role, police officers must hold offenders accountable, beginning with their swift apprehension. Given this expectation, police agencies, and the public alike, have used clearance rates as a direct measure of police performance. However, despite its significance to victims, communities, and society at large, the complexities inherent to case clearance are rarely understood. Indeed, their definition, theoretical importance, and current figures are seldom examined among citizens and police agencies. This working paper will attempt to address this gap in knowledge by discussing the …

To Be Captured, Suien Ma

Theses

To Be Captured, a 3D animated short, utilizes some toys as the film’s main characters to increase the sense of artificiality, while trying to animate their movements as closely to the forces of the real world as possible. It tells a story of a group of stuffed animals enclosed in a doll claw machine waiting to be captured. The main character, one of the smarter toys, is a seahorse who plays tricks to be captured when a little girl starts to play the game. Once out of the box, he despairs realizing that the girl is a fanatic who only …

Device-Free Sensing And Modeling Of Wireless Channels In Dynamic Indoor Environments, Benjamin J. Haag

Theses

Sensing human activity and/or location using wireless channel received signal strength, aka channel response, has been extensively investigated for a variety of applications. To this end, modeling of wireless channels in dynamic indoor environments typically relies on stochastic channel distributions with constant distribution parameters coupled with site-specific calibration. The Rician distribution with a constant Rician factor is a prominent example. In this paper, we propose and investigate a calibration-less stochastic channel model based on the Rician distribution with a time varying Rician factor, where the variation in time is set to reflect specific dynamic scenarios. We apply this model to …

Electrostatic Behavior Of Dielectric Elastomer Actuators With Discrete Electrodes, Adam Foster

Theses

Over the past couple of years, the field of soft robotics has seen tremendous expansion. As humans are looking towards a more collaborative, symbiotic relationship robots, actuators that are compliant and that do not employ a rigid frame are essential. One type of actuator that is currently being proposed is the Dielectric Elastomer Actuator (DEA), which use Coulomb force of attraction between two electrodes to generate motion. DEAs are often referred to as artificial biological muscle because they share many of the properties of biological muscle (high energy density, compliance, natural damper). However, they do have some severe limitations that …

The Little Boy Who Became A Cow, Haemi Mimi Hong

Theses

The Little Boy Who Became a Cow is a retelling of an age-old Korean folktale. My adaptation tells the story of a stubbornly selfish boy who lacks respect for his mother. One morning his mother breaks a jar of milk after she is unable to open the lid. They argue after he overtly ignores his mother’s request for help cleaning up the mess. She forces him to head to the nearby farm to get some fresh milk where his selfish ways lead him to steal a magical mask that turns him into a cow. He, in his bovine form, is …