Digital Commons Network^™

Community Crime Mapping: Increasing Predictive Policing With Dynamic Symbol Sets, Michael Chaszczewski

Theses

Crime prevention is an important area of study in our society that plays an integral role in the lives of citizens and the local police who enlist the aid of strategic counter crime plans to tackle the urgency created everyday when crimes are committed. This mode of counter acting crime is termed “problem oriented policing” and is a policing approach where individual pieces of police data are critically examined with the hope that the findings learned will lead to discovering a new and more effective counter crime strategy. Crime mapping is one of these analyzed tools allowing officers to understand …

Digital Museum Consortia: A Prototype For Interconnected And Accessible Database Design, Ben Heller

Theses

The evolution of the internet and devices allowing access to it indicate that users trend toward networking and interconnectivity in their daily lives. Museums have started to tread into this territory—that is, crafting, managing, and maintaining an effective internet presence and ancillary content tools—on their own. However, many museums still rely upon the earliest types of education and interpretation tools, such as audio tours and recordings that address content from one collection. Moving beyond a single institution’s holdings, a shared database of museum content including photos of artifacts and objects, historic documents, and videos would allow users to examine pieces …

Curating Deaf Spaces In Rochester: A Historical Self-Guided Mobile Application Tour, Allison Thompson

Theses

Rochester is widely considered by many to be one if, if not the most, Deaf-friendly city in the nation due to having the one of the largest Deaf populations per capita in the country.1 The research question focused on whether sufficient material could be assembled to provide a self-guided historical tour application (still in the planning stages) that will feature locations related to Rochester’s deaf community. The content that I curated was chosen based on the historical significance and accessibility of locations to visitors. The tour demonstrates how and why Rochester has achieved its reputation as the location of such …

Economic Figures, Fiona Eloisa Wilson

Theses

The title economic figures refer to both finances and the people (as figures) that are affected by monetary instability. People in two consumer locations are documented photographically through two projects that tell the story of the evolving sites of strip mall and main street shopping. In Displacing Main Street, photographs of people entering strip mall stores are installed on abandoned main street store sites. ‘the store’ are photographs that show the intimate story of my parents struggle to keep their main street small business open. The final exhibition combines these two works in a single gallery to give the viewer …

Leadership Cultural Values Of United Arab Emirates-The Case Of United Arab Emirates University, Ebtesam Ali Alteneiji

Theses

UAE is a young country with a young population that has witnessed tremendous changes over the past decades. There has not been much research about the cultural values of the UAE in generational perspectives, and there have been rapid changes. Therefore, this study aimed at exploring systematic changes in leadership cultural values among the older and the younger generations of the United Arab Emirates. The author utilized Hofstede’s (VSM08) instrument to survey undergraduate students, administrators and faculty at UAE University.

The study found no significant differences between the younger and older generations’ tolerance to unequal distribution of power (power distance), …

Utilizing Crime Analysis To Evaluate Criminal Justice Initiatives, Peter Tran

Theses

With a population of over 200,000 and an average homicide rate of 18 to 20 per 100,000, Rochester remains a focal location for determining the most effective method for combating crime. Housing, community outreach, and street corner crackdowns are examples of criminal justice initiatives used in Rochester with the goal to improve quality of life, establish community relationships, and decrease crime. The objective of this research is to identify the effectiveness of housing, community outreach, and street corner crackdowns as crime prevention tools. Strengths and weaknesses of each criminal justice initiative are evaluated through crime analysis, crime mapping, regression analysis, …

Landscapes From The Road, Darren B. Schroeder

Theses

LANDSCAPES FROM THE ROAD In this paper I will discuss the images from Landscapes From The Road and how they function within a canon of landscape. I will discuss these images in relation to traditional romantic and pastoral constructs of landscape as well as the ways in which the images formulate landscape as uniquely and materialistically contemporary. I will discuss landscape as a concept related to the contemplation of the Sublime, renewed individuality, and its contemporary treatment as a location of transactional and material interest. I will contextualize the images of Landscapes From the Road as representing a more inclusive …

Meditations, Jillian C. Miyagi

Theses

My early work was very much influenced by the energetic and emotional qualities found in Louise Fishman’s and Joan Mitchell’s paintings. I wanted my work to draw the viewer into the depths of the painting; however the sudden deaths of my grandfather and father within months of each other had an extremely profound effect on me and my artwork. I was no longer able to invite the viewer beyond the surface of my work, because I was too afraid to delve deeper into my own emotions. While pursuing my MFA at Rochester Institute of Technology, I was able to refine …

Business Intelligence And Geographic Information System Lifecycle Architecture Using Cloud Computing For Smart Community, Rawan Sendi

Theses

Business Intelligence (BI) is a technique and IT tool that supports business decision making. BI is considered a unique source of competitive advantage in the market place and it can combine data, multimedia, and transactions all in one application to address people's needs. Using BI applications can increase both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. In addition, BI improves planning that provides the foundation for top successful performances in the future. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) deliver productivity tools that are highly beneficial for businesses. These benefits include: visualization, business capacity, analysis, and interpreting data to understand relationships, patterns, and trends. Another …

Meeting In The Middle: Organizing Sustainability Goals To Redevelop Jacksonville, Florida Suburbs, James Robert Reynolds Ii

Theses

The United States is at a developmental turning point in how it grows, responds to the housing needs of its existing citizens, and utilizes its existing infrastructure. Since 1945, population has doubled, however land use has increased by nearly 400%. This indicates that we are developing at lower densities, which have been shown to increase the environmental, social, and economic costs of development due to infrastructure construction, operations and maintenance, transportation use, and lifestyle.

Jacksonville, Florida is spatially the largest city in the USA, and most populated in Florida. Due to the wide array of foreclosed and vacant houses in …

Psychology's Ontology As Antinomy, Kevin Rice

Theses

The field of psychology has historically been fragmented in terms of what the discipline takes to be the ontological makeup of psychological phenomena, resulting in an unsatisfactory disunity within the discipline’s intra/interdisciplinary cohesiveness as a science of mental health/illness.2 The present project argues that this disunity can framed within the implacable empirical debate between naturalists and non-naturalists concerning the metaphysical status of consciousness (the very thing that experiences such phenomena). In offering a way past this explanatory impasse, I contend that a path towards discerning a unified ontology for psychology can be discerned in understanding consciousness’s ontological status as a …

Stuff: The Abandoned Land An Interactive Sustainable Role-Playing Game, Chien-Ju Peng

Theses

Stuff: The Abandoned Land is an interactive role-playing game web application

designed to help teenagers and young adults understand environmental

destruction and the importance of recycling and reducing waste. We are part

of the production and consumption cycle but we can instead change our

consumptive behavior in order to create a better future. This web application

is designed for teenagers and young adults, ages 15 to 24. By developing

an engaging interactive game application, we intended to focus the target

audience's attention on serious environmental topics.

The story begins with the main character, Kevin, who questions the worth of

life …

Matural Exams In Kosovo: An Analysis On 2014 Test Results, Genta Agaj

Theses

The focus of this research project was to address some of the criticisms associated with Kosovo’s standardized tests - Matura Exams. The main goal of the project was to statistically analyze students’ test results using three statistical techniques. This problem was tackled by obtaining the 2014 results for the Municipality of Prishtina.

First, Prishtina’s Matura Exam test results were checked for normality. The results from this test suggested that even though Matura Exam is supposed to have normally-distributed results, it failed to do so. Its implications include students and universities not being able to compare individual results with the population …

Graphical Database Architecture For Clinical Trials, Aiman G. Baset

Theses

The general area of the research is Health Informatics. The research focuses on creating an innovative and novel solution to manage and analyze clinical trials data. It constructs a Graphical Database Architecture (GDA) for Clinical Trials (CT) using New Technology for Java (Neo4j) as a robust, a scalable and a high-performance database. The purpose of the research project is to develop concepts and techniques based on architecture to accelerate the processing time of clinical data navigation at lower cost. The research design uses a positivist approach to empirical research. The research is significant because it proposes a new approach of …

Multispectral Remote Sensing Of Archaeological Features In The Chicama Valley, Peru, Claire Christine Herdy

Theses

Around 100 A.D. a regional culture emerged on the north coast of Peru in the Moche Valley that lasted for several centuries. Today called the Moche or Mochica, it is considered on of the earliest states to emerge in the valleys of the Andes. The environment the Moche flourished in is one of extremes, from high deserts in the Andes to lush river valleys and an unforgiving coastline that overlooks the pacific Ocean, In this harsh environment the Moche grew and succeeded partly because of their achievement in advanced irrigation technology. How did the ancient Moche adapt to a desert …

Maritime Exposure And Economic Prosperity: Why Location Matters, Jesse M. Lane

Theses

No abstract provided.

Spatial Incidence Of Adult Obesity In The State Of Alabama, Mary G. Odhiambo

Theses

No abstract provided.

The Readiness Of Primary Trained Graduate Teachers To Effectively Manage Classrooms In Kimberley Schools In Western Australia, Amanda Mccubbin

Theses

This study is unique in that it investigates the nature of the relationship between classroom management strategies, neophyte teachers and Indigenous students, in remote area classrooms. Given that the student population and teaching conditions in remote schools is usually significantly different from the demography of the students encountered in pre-service practica, the purpose of this research is to determine the effectiveness of course-specific classroom management strategies with Indigenous students located in a specific remote region of Western Australia.

This study was undertaken in both Department of Education and Catholic Education Office schools within the Kimberley region of Western Australia. This …

Enhancing The Irish Adventure Tourism Product Through Networking, Philip Stallard

Theses

The adventure tourism industry is experiencing a period of accelerated growth (UNWTO, 2014) and is increasingly being recognised as a source of huge potential for Ireland (Failte Ireland, 2013). The adventure tourism industry in Ireland is highly fragmented, unregulated and mainly comprised of micro enterprises largely based in rural and isolated locations. These characteristics combine to enhance the uniqueness of the adventure product but also bring challenges for business development. Many challenges facing adventure tourism operators can be alleviated by strategic networking. The benefits of engaging in effective business networking range from aspects of learning and exchange, business activity and …

Antipodean Owenite Or Colonial Socialist: Charles Harper, Economic Development, And Agricultural Co-Operation In Western Australia, 1890 To 1910, David J. Gilchrist

Theses

Charles Harper (1842-1912) was a Western Australian pastoralist, newspaper proprietor and influential politician. The central hypothesis advanced in this thesis is that Harper was instrumental in establishing co-operatives in Western Australia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as a pragmatic means by which to overcome the economic constraints that normally confront a settler population in a frontier economy. Specifically, Harper believed that co-operatives were an important means by which to build the type of private and public physical capital that was needed to settle colonists on the large, low-yielding Western Australian landmass, and, further, to provide the required …

Planetary Boundary Layer Regimes Conducive To Dust Devil Formation On Mars, Bryce Robert Williams

Theses

Dust devils on Mars contribute to background atmospheric dust opacity and the resulting radiative forcing is an important modulator of Martian climate. In this context it is important to understand diurnal, seasonal, and geographical variation of dust devil occurrence on Mars. Boundary layer regimes conducive to dust devil formation on Earth are characterized by the ratio of convective to friction scaling velocities (w_*⁄u_* ) greater than 5. Boundary layer modeling, constrained using in situ observations from Mars lander and rover missions, is used to estimate w_*⁄u_* for dust devils events imaged or inferred during the missions. Analysis conducted for 261 …

Sustainable Packaging Design Visually Explained Guidebook Prototype, Sara Almudhaf

Theses

As the fields of graphic and packaging design continue to evolve, it is important to keep their applications sustainable and green. Unaware graphic and packaging designers need to have an easy-to-comprehend source of information about sustainability. Developing an educational information graphics guidebook prototype has potential to serve as a unique tool for understanding the need for sustainable packaging design. The purpose of it is to eases the understanding of a complex system and enables users to discover relationships and connections among design, economy, environment, and society.

This prototype project involved designing a comprehensive sustainability symbol set where no satisfactory symbol …

Restoring Fort Frontenac In 3d: Effective Usage Of 3d Technology For Heritage Visualization, Mitsuyoshi Yabe

Theses

My thesis is composed of three elements: 3D modeling, web design, and heritage visualization. My goal is to use computer graphics design to inform and create an interest in historical visualization by rebuilding Fort Frontenac using 3D modeling and interactive design. The final model will be integrated into an interactive website to learn more about the fort's historic importance. It is apparent that using computer graphics can save time and money when it comes to historical visualization. Visitors do not have to travel to the actual archaeological buildings. They can simply use the Web in their own home to learn …

Unfolding Thailand: Tourism Promoted By 3d Motion Graphics, Nonthawan Pisessith

Theses

Unfolding Thailand is a project that aims to bring a new approach in introducing the country as well as promoting the tourism. My specific scope of this project is to create a visual representation of popular destinations from the northern, central, and southern areas through the use of 3D motion graphics. These three of the six regions in Thailand are chosen because they vary in geography, have a very distinctive characteristic and most importantly, they are the most popular vacation destinations for locals and tourists alike.

Sensitivity Of Hazus-Mh Flood Loss Estimates To Selection Of Building Parameters: Two Illinois Case Studies, Samir Shrestha

Theses

In this study, Hazus-MH (v 2.1 SP 2) flood-loss estimation tools were assessed for their sensitivity to an array of different building and model parameters. The purpose of this study is to help guide users of the Hazus-MH flood-loss modeling tool in the selection of most appropriate model parameters. Six model parameters (square footage of the building, building age, construction types, foundation types, first floor heights, and the number of stories in the building) were assessed for their impacts on flood losses using the Hazus-MH user defined and aggregate flood-loss models. Building stock databases for these analyses were developed using …

Study The Quality Of Groundwater Of Al-Zoroup Area In Mahdah State, The Sultanate Of Oman, Fahad Khalifa Rashid Al-Shidi

Theses

The groundwater is the most important source of water in the Sultanate of Oman. Accordingly, the Oman Government has paid great attention commensurate with the importance of water resource in terms of their sources, quality, and ways to rationalize consumption to remain under the term of sustainability and validity of present and future generations. This study was conducted in Al Buraymi at Mahdah State in Al-Zoroub area targete a groundwater quality for 20 wells in private farms. The water samples were taken from these wells and subjected to analysis for microbial and geochemical aspects. For this analysis, the assorted devices …

Extending The Sensing Of Online Social Networks – A Healthcare Perspective, Asma’ Wasfi Fayez Mustafa

Theses

Obesity is a rising health concern in the United Arab Emirates. Obesity leads to health risks such as diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions. It may also lead to eating disorders, depression, and low self-esteem. Regular exercising helps to protect from obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and better manage stress. Despite all the benefits of exercising, people are doing less of it. In this research, an effort is made to encourage people to exercise by extending the prevalent sensing abilities of Online Social Networks (OSNs). Sensors are used to collect and generate data to be processed, clustered and …

Axe-Heads And Mississippian Political Economy: A St. Francois Provenance Study, Rosanna Yvonne Crow

Theses

Axe-heads made of a distinctive raw material are found at Mississippian sites across southern Illinois and the Ohio-Mississippi confluence region, yet little research has been done to determine their geological provenance. In this thesis, I use geochemical methods to analyze ground stone tools and debitage from across the Confluence Region in order to prove their origins in the St. Francois Mountains of Missouri. I also compare patterns of axe-head production, consumption, and deposition to Charles Cobb's (2000) model of Mill Creek chert hoes, so as to gain a greater understanding of the political economy of these objects.

An Empirical Analysis Of The Role Of Geography In Sustainability Education, Makayla Jane Bonney

Theses

Many within and outside of the discipline of geography see it as a highly appropriate home for sustainability studies. Despite a history of human-environment education within geography and support from professional research or education organizations, some studies show that geography has not developed a lead role in sustainability education. This study examines the role of geography in offering "Sustainability Focused" courses as reported by AASHE STARS institutions with geography programs. The results show that although geography departments are highly utilized when available at an institution -offering the highest proportion of sustainability courses, averaging 14% of "Sustainability Focused" curriculum- there is …

Monitoring Drought Intensity In Illinois With A Combined Index, Guanling Feng

Theses

Many traditional drought assessments are conducted based on climate and hydrologic data. The availability and precision of data limit the spatial and temporal resolution and accuracy of derived drought indices. In this study, Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and Temperature Condition Index (TCI) were generated from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products. The VCI was derived from Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) that was calculated with near infrared and visible red band reflectance from MOD09Q1. The TCI was derived from land surface temperature (LST) product MOD11A2. The VCI and TCI were then combined with reference to the vegetation coverage information from …