Digital Commons Network^™

Using Equivalence-Based Instruction And Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Social Skills, Alexander Orzeck

Theses

Social skills are an integral part of human life, so it stands to reason that teaching methodologies should be developed to instruct people in this complex topic. One method to teach social skills has been behavioral skills training, in which the four-step sequence of vocal and written instruction, modeling, roleplay, and feedback exposes learners to the social concepts until a mastery criterion is reached. Skills relevant to socialization have also been taught with equivalence-based instruction, in which the concept of stimulus equivalence is employed to generate novel relations between stimuli for the purpose of teaching some skill. No instance was …

Bridging Classical Rhetoric And Ai: A Systematic Framework For Developing Authorial Voice Through Large Language Models, Daniel Plate

Theses

This project addresses critical gaps in AI-assisted writing by developing the first systematic framework that integrates classical rhetorical principles with modern large language model capabilities for authorial voice development. The primary focus is on creating reliable methods for stylistic control through strategic AI collaboration rather than ad hoc prompting approaches. The project develops a comprehensive coding system for analyzing prose style, creates ten distinct authorial personas, and establishes a dual curation methodology that structures both stylistic analysis and content preparation. Implementation through the AI Writing Guide website provides practical tools including prompt templates, annotated examples, and instructional materials that demonstrate …

Connecting Children With Artists Through A Children's Art History Book, Katie Meyer

Theses

This project is a children’s art history book that is set in an art museum. The goal of the book is to help children connect with Contemporary artists and their art. A museum setting is utilized to introduce children to museums and as an appropriate environment for viewing art. The theme of the exhibit that will be presented in the book is titled the “Innovators Exhibit.” This exhibit features six Contemporary artists from different art styles/mediums. The artists come from diverse backgrounds to expose children to a variety of cultures. Thought provoking questions will also be asked throughout the book …

Utilizing Natural Language Processing To Optimize Business Processes, Olt Kondirolli

Theses

This Capstone project explores the potential of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques in optimizing decision-making and organizational workflows across various domains. The Capstone project uses three case studies to demonstrate how sentiment analysis, frequency analysis, and topic modeling can analyze unstructured textual data to provide insightful findings. The first case study evaluates employee satisfaction using sentiment analysis, uncovering trends across departments and roles to guide targeted organizational interventions. The second case study focuses on student feedback at a higher education institution, using sentiment and frequency analyses to identify key areas for improvement in academic programs and services. The third case …

Identifying Underspecifications In Security Requirements Using A Formal Reasoning Approach, Viktoria Koscinski

Theses

Within requirements engineering, software requirements specifications tend to prioritize functional needs, potentially failing to capture critical security aspects and adequate security requirements. Security requirements engineering is a manual and error-prone activity often neglected due to the knowledge gap between cybersecurity professionals and software requirements engineers. Consequently, security requirements are especially prone to being underspecified, a condition where they lack a complete set of feature-values and are thus open to multiple interpretations. Underspecified security requirements can lead to incorrect assumptions and missing security properties, often remaining undiscovered until system deployment, thereby leaving the system vulnerable to exploitation. Furthermore, even individually well-written …

Personifying The Goddess: Contrasting Representation Of The Deified Body In Feminist Art, Kelly Lorraine Phillips

Theses

Goddess imagery, the representation of a female deity or a concept of divine feminine power through various forms, symbols, and narratives, has been used by artists to communicate a multitude of sentiments, from spiritual reverence to political ideology. This study probes the evolution of representations of the deified female body from the 1970s to the current era to reveal contrasts in how these icons of female power have transformed over time. The artwork of second-wave feminist and self-identified “Goddess artist” Mary Beth Edelson is examined as a foundation for second-wave Goddess sentiment. Edelson’s collage work, which incorporates figures from a …

Hybrid Sentiment Analysis Of Police Social Media: Managing Big Data Impact On Youth, Alunood Yousuf Alamiri

Theses

The pervasive influence of social media has reshaped public communication, particularly for institutions like law enforcement agencies that rely on these platforms to engage with the community. As police departments increasingly utilize social media to disseminate information, interact with the public, and manage public relations, the need for effective sentiment analysis becomes crucial. Understanding how police messages are received by the public, especially by the youth, who are among the most active and impressionable users of social media, is essential for maintaining public trust and ensuring effective communication. This thesis, seeks to develop a comprehensive solution for this challenge. The …

Future Of Inclusive Education In The Uae: Supporting Learning Disabilities In Higher Education, Christina Ayub

Theses

Inclusive education is a critical component of higher education, ensuring that students with learning disabilities (LDs) receive equitable access to academic opportunities and institutional support. While global advancements in inclusive education have been significant, the UAE’s higher education sector faces unique challenges in accommodating students with LDs, particularly as technological disruptions, demographic shifts, and evolving policies reshape the broader educational landscape. This research investigates how a higher education institution in the UAE, such as RIT Dubai, might adapt its support systems for students with LDs, such as ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and dyspraxia, under a range of plausible future conditions …

Access To Justice For Deaf Defendants, Anna Zieba

Theses

Deaf individuals face systemic accessibility within the criminal justice system, which emphasizes the importance of the gaps in accommodations by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Inconsistent legal protection, limited access to interpreters, inadequate training for legal professionals, and a lack of technology resources obstruct effective communication for Deaf individuals. As a result, it prohibits achieving an effective and equitable legal outcome. This research paper will examine case studies, legal frameworks, and academic literature to highlight the critical need for reform, including mandatory Deaf culture training, standardized interpreting qualifications, and more resources to enable equitable access to justice.

Evaluating Leatherback Turtle Conservation Using The Iucn Red List, Hannah Mcguiness-Piasecki

Theses

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is a key resource for assessing species extinction risks and serves as a framework for global conservation planning. This study focused on the Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), a species currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, evaluating the conservation policies and measures implemented by selected English-speaking countries. The study employed a policy analysis approach, reviewing national and international treaties relevant to leatherback conservation. The findings revealed that while many countries align their policies with global treaties, some gaps remain, particularly in addressing threats to adult leatherbacks …

Countering The Traditional Feminine: The Abject In The Works Of Johanna Hamann, María Evelia Marmolejo, And Regina José Galindo, Sierra Myers

Theses

This thesis explores the ways in which Contemporary Latin American feminist artists have been able to subvert the Western constructed ideas of gender that work to locate the feminine Other as subordinate and inferior. Focusing on the installations and performances by Johanna Hamann, María Evelia Marmolejo, and Regina José Galindo, there is an emphasis on the role of the abject which is used to defamiliarize our established concepts of the traditional feminine in order to allow space for a redefinition and portrayal that excludes a detrimental modern semiology rooted in a zero point epistemology. By analyzing these artists' works in …

Fake News Detection: Leveraging Natural Language Processing And Machine Learning For Reliable Information Verification, Roshni Rajendra Salve

Theses

This dissertation details the creation and assessment of a machine learning algorithm designed to identify fake news utilizing Natural Language Processing (NLP) methods. The research employs several machines learning models, including Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and other deep learning techniques, to detect and classify misleading information. Data is sourced from a variety of platforms, such as social media and online news outlets, to compile a thorough dataset. The data is pre-processed to eliminate noise, address missing values, and extract essential features through techniques like tokenization, stop-word removal, and lemmatization. The performance of the models is evaluated using key metrics such …

Effect Of Traumatic Brain Injury On Quality Of Life, Mohammad A. Al Rjoob

Theses

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results from external events, such as falls and motor vehicle accidents leading to brain damage. This study investigated quality of life (QoL) in individuals with TBI and its relation to demographic and clinical variables, including gender, age, educational level, time since TBI onset, fatigue, depression and cognitive function. Twelve individuals with TBI participated in this cross-sectional study. Quality of life was assessed using Quality of Life after Brain Injury and ASHA Quality of Communication Life Scale measures. Fatigue was measured using the Fatigue Severity Scale, depression was measured with the Geriatric Depression Scale, and cognitive function …

Criminal Activity Monitoring System: Targeting Africans And East Asian Communities In Dubai, Hamdan Kalantar

Theses

This dissertation investigates crime patterns among African and East Asian communities in Dubai, focusing on geographic hotspots, temporal trends, victim demographics, and the use of machine learning for predictive crime modeling. The research addresses the challenges faced by these communities, including labor exploitation, financial fraud, and human trafficking, within the socio-economic context of a rapidly growing urban city. Building on existing studies of urban crime, this research aimed to explore the spatial, temporal, and demographic dynamics of crimes and assess the potential of predictive models to assist law enforcement in crime prevention and resource allocation. A mixed-methods approach was employed, …

Predicting And Forecasting University Rankings In The Uae Using Machine Learning, Fatma Ibrahim Ahmad

Theses

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a vital role in advancing knowledge economies, and institutional rankings are increasingly used as global benchmarks of academic performance and reputation. In the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), enhancing institutional competitiveness in global rankings aligns with national strategies such as UAE Vision 2030 and the Centennial Plan 2071. This research applies machine learning (ML) techniques to develop predictive models that forecast institutional ranking outcomes, enabling data-driven planning and continuous academic improvement. The study utilizes a dataset compiled from the QS World University Rankings (2020–2024), cross- referenced against the institutional listings maintained by the …

Nietzschean Expressivism, Cameron Jackson

Theses

What is Nietzsche’s metaethical stance? Does he even have one? We can, I argue, reconstruct an interesting metaethical view from his writings. Rather than focusing narrowly on his claims about moral judgement, I explore Nietzsche’s philosophical psychology broadly in order to argue that he is best interpreted as holding an emotivist type of expressivism. The function of moral judgement lies within its affective and action-guiding nature, and its communal role of coordinating our evaluative attitudes with one another.

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 …

The Impact Of Rubric-Based Feedback On Efl Writing Proficiency: Exploring Revision Skills And Learning Transfer, Ahmed Abdelraheem Elyan

Theses

This study explores how rubric-based feedback influences the writing development of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, with a particular focus on their revision practices, learning transfer, and the challenges they face with cognitive overload. The research was carried out in a high school context in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), aiming to understand the real impact of structured feedback on students’ writing performance.

Twenty Arabic-speaking students participated in the study, completing four essay writing tasks over eight weeks. These included a pre-test, two feedback-supported drafts, and a post-test. Their essays were assessed using an analytic rubric designed to …

The Development Of Year One Students’ Reading Ability In A Curriculum Using Monster Phonics Scheme In The Uae, Sara Berrandjia

Theses

This study explores the impact of the Monster Phonics program on the reading development of Year 1 students in Al Ain, UAE. Reading proficiency is a fundamental skill in early education, and phonics instruction plays a crucial role in literacy acquisition. Monster Phonics, a color-coded synthetic phonics program, has been increasingly adopted in classrooms, yet its effectiveness in multilingual settings remains underexplored. This research aims to investigate how students' reading ability develops in the context of a curriculum using the Monster Phonics scheme. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative assessments pre- and post-tests on grapheme-phoneme correspondence, word reading, and …

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 …

Enhancement Of Firefighter Mental Performance: A Review, Nicole A. Ness

Theses

Background: The life-or-death nature of firefighting exposes those who respond to calls to an increased number of stressors that can impact performance and overall well-being. To combat this, the mental element of firefighting can be optimized through psychological skills training programs and mindfulness training. Other tactical populations, such as the police force, military, and emergency medicine units have found success in implementing these interventions, Literature suggests a similar effect may be observed in firefighters because of their similar demands; although, little research exists regarding the effects of mental performance programs on firefighter populations specifically.

Methods: A review of existing literature …

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 …

An Inclusive Learning Metaverse: A Virtual Reality Approach To Supporting Dyslexic Children, Reem Salem Mohammed Salem

Theses

Dyslexia is one of the most common learning difficulties worldwide, often requiring tailored interventions targeting phonological awareness, reading comprehension, and cognitive support. This study explores the design and evaluation of a metaverse-based virtual reality (VR) application to support dyslexic children in the UAE. Using a usercentered, explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach, the research involved three phases: a stakeholder survey with therapists, educators, and parents (N = 151), development of a multi-featured VR prototype, and evaluation by six dyslexia experts. The survey identified key priorities such as progress tracking, adaptive learning, accessibility, working memory, and attention, along with concerns about VR unfamiliarity, …

Gai Research - A Case Study On The Implications Of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gai) On Teaching Within An Irish Technological University., Moya Cronin

Theses

The rapid emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) has introduced a transformative age of technology, gaining prominent attention in higher education. This mixed-methods case study examined how GAI was understood, applied, and managed within an Irish Technological University at a time of turbulence when no official GAI policies were available as a point of reference. Lecturing and research staff were invited to participate in an online survey (𝑛 = 145) and semi-structured interviews (𝑛 = 8) to share their experiences with GAI technology within the case study university. Lack of guidance was seen to affect staff’s confidence and adoption, but …

Negotiating With-Ness: Midwives' Lived Experiences Of Gender, Inclusive Language, And Professional Identity., Kimberley-Ann De Wet

Theses

This research investigated midwives lived experiences of using gender-inclusive language in public maternity care, examining how linguistic practices intersect with professional identity, ethical commitment, and institutional constraint. Informed by feminist theory and guided by descriptive phenomenology with a constructivist paradigm, the study explored how midwives navigate the profession’s foundational ethos of being ‘with woman’ while responding to the ethical imperative to provide inclusive care in an increasingly diverse society. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight practising midwives in Western Australia, generating rich descriptions of how inclusive language is enacted, negotiated, and constrained in practice. Reflexive thematic analysis produced three overarching …

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, …

Exploring The Perceived Impact Of Hearing Impairment On The Mental Health And Well-Being Of Adults, Jacinta Ruth Marks

Theses

This thesis explores the perceived impact of hearing impairment on the mental health and well-being of Australian adults, responding to a growing need to understand how hearing challenges affect people beyond clinical or audiological measures. While hearing impairment is commonly framed through medical or functional models, its psychosocial effects remain underexplored, particularly in relation to stigma, identity, and mental well-being. This study addresses that gap by centring lived experience and examining how adults with hearing impairment navigate everyday life, social expectations, and systemic barriers. Grounded in a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm and informed by a disability studies lens, the research investigates the …

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 …

Automated Prioritization And Routing Of It Support Tickets Using Machine Learning, Mohamed Almarzooqi

Theses

The increasing complexity of IT service management underscores the need for efficient and scalable solutions to manage IT tickets. This thesis explores the application of machine learning techniques for automated prioritization & routing of IT tickets. So by leveraging publicly available dataset from Kaggle containing IT ticket the study aims to reduce manual intervention, improve resolution times, & optimize resource allocation within IT environments. The study will evaluate various machine learning algorithms, including SVM, Random Forest, & ensemble models, for their ability to classify and prioritize tickets accurately. to accurately classify and prioritize tickets. Advanced data preprocessing techniques like TF-IDF …

Domain-Specific Customization For Improving Speech To Text, Zubin Mario Tobias

Theses

The advent of transformer-based models has revolutionized natural language processing, bringing remarkable improvements in tasks like automatic speech recognition (ASR). Inspired by these advancements, this thesis explores the optimization of a transformer-based ASR model to improve transcription accuracy in educational settings, particularly for lecture content. The goal of this research is to provide real-time, high-accuracy captions that enhance accessibility for all students, while offering a cost-effective solution for educators. To assess the potential of domain-specific fine-tuning, Whisper-small underwent two phases of fine-tuning. In the first phase, it was finetuned on care- fully selected, publicly available datasets: SpeechColab’s Gigaspeech-XS [39], AMI …