Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of A Pzt Fiber Sensor Rosette For Structural Health Monitoring Using Lamb Wave Responses, Bao Chi Ha

Theses

Because of their electro-mechanical coupling property, Lead-Zirconate-Titanate (PZT) materials have been widely used for ultrasonic wave sensing and actuation in structural health monitoring applications. In this thesis, a PZT rosette sensor concept is proposed to conduct Lamb wave based damage detection in panel-like structures by exploring its best directional sensing capability. First, a directivity study was conducted to investigate sensing of flexural Lamb wave propagation using the d33 effect in a PZT fiber. Then, commercial off-the-shelf PZT fibers were polarized in-house in order to construct the PZT rosette in a rectangular configuration, in which three PZT fibers were oriented at …

Narratives Of Creativity Among Social Care Educators In Irish Higher Education, Louisa Goss

Theses

Research on creativity in the delivery of social care highlights growing evidence of its importance for the wellbeing and quality of life of those in receipt of care, as well as benefits for the workforce. However, what is less well understood and overlooked in the literature is how creativity is conceptualised and operationalised in practice and education. This thesis attends to this gap in research from the perspective of social care educators. With the aim of deepening understanding of higher education teachers’ construction of creativity, the study explores small stories about creativity from six educators teaching into an undergraduate degree …

A Study Of Food Safety Training And Associated Barriers To Effective Training Outcomes, Diane Fox

Theses

The safety of food is fundamental to public health, businesses and wider society and effective food safety training is an essential element to ensure safe food reaches our consumers. This is true for all food business operators in all sectors of the food industry including food service, retail and manufacturing facilities. Not complying with food safety obligations can have a serious impact on human health and serious consequences for the food business operator. In 2015 the World Health Organisation reported that almost 1 in 10 people fall ill every year from eating contaminated food and 420,000 die as a result. …

Investigation Of Consumer Attitudes Towards Emerging Novel Food Processing Technologies In The Republic Of Ireland, Emine Berna Cibik

Theses

Food industry and governmental organisations are continuously working on innovative food processing technologies in order to produce safe foods without causing undesirable changes in the food products. Food is a very sensitive area so consumers are conservative in accepting food products produced from novel technologies compared to other products. Food is basic needs of humans and it is becoming more and more globalized recently, but public perceptions are not same in different countries. The aim of this research was to investigate consumer attitudes toward novel food processing technologies in Republic of Ireland. A quantitative research was conducted and data was …

Effect Of 3d Printed Tablet Shape On Drug Release Profile, Christina Gedeon

Theses

There is a growing interest in utilizing additive manufacturing (AM) as a manufacturing tool to develop oral tablets for personalized medicine. This ultimate goal in mind, this study explores the feasibility of extrusion-based fused deposition modeling (FDM) to 3D print oral tablets with tunable design to control drug release profile. Tablets are printed using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) loaded with model drugs: acetaminophen and caffeine. Hot melt extrusion (HME) is used to fabricate PVA filaments loaded with acetaminophen and caffeine. These filaments are used to fabricate a range of tablets with varying designs to prepare immediate and delayed release tablets. Thermal …

Predictive Modeling Of Influenza In New England Using A Recurrent Deep Neural Network, Alfred Amendolara

Theses

Predicting seasonal variation in influenza epidemics is an ongoing challenge. To better predict seasonal influenza and provide early warning of pandemics, a novel approach to Influenza-Like-Illness (ILI) prediction was developed. This approach combined a deep neural network with ILI, climate, and population data. A predictive model was created using a deep neural network based on TensorFlow 2.0 Beta. The model used Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) nodes. Data was collected from the Center for Disease Control, the National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) and the United States Census Bureau. These parameters were temperature, precipitation, wind speed, population size, vaccination rate and …

Magnetic Field Effects On Lithium Ion Batteries, Kevin Mahon

Theses

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 was just recently awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino for the development of lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries have seen use in many different industries and applications such as in portable devices, power grids, and electric vehicles. As lithium-ion batteries become more commonplace they will need to be modeled more extensively. The magnetic field effect on lithium-ion batteries has not been studied significantly since they were first discovered.

Modeling these batteries is still difficult because of the many complexities of the operation of a battery. Lithium-ion batteries are commonly modeled …

Impact Of Stirrer Speed And Media Type-Loading On The Breakage Kinetics During Wet Stirred Media Milling Of Griseofulvin, Nathaniel Parker

Theses

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of stirrer speed (2000-4000 rpm) and bead loading (~20-60%) on the breakage kinetics-energy consumption during milling of griseofulvin, a poorly soluble drug, and compare the performance of crosslinked polystyrene (CPS) beads with that of yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) beads. Laser diffraction, SEM, viscometry, and XRPD were used for characterization. A microhydrodynamic model was used to interpret the breakage kinetics. An increase in stirrer speed led to faster breakage due to more frequent and forceful CPS bead-bead collisions. Despite causing slight decrease in maximum contact pressure, an increase in CPS bead loading …

Lithium As A Possible Therapeutic Drug In Posttraumatic Brain Injury, Tulika Das

Theses

Lithium, a popular drug for treating mental health disorder has shown promising effect in recent research on traumatic brain injury (TBI). The mechanism of lithium for treating bipolar mood disorder is still not properly understood, but recent studies showed that lithium is neuroprotective in TBI. In my thesis, the neuroprotective effects of lithium were examined in primary neuronal culture and mild blunt injury using rodent model of Lateral Fluid Percussion Injury (LFPI). At first determination of the neuroprotective/toxicity effects of lithium in neuronal culture was done and observed that 0.5 - 1.0 mM concentrations were found to be neuroprotective as …

Audience Engagement With The Marvel Studios’ Film Black Panther: Analyzing Fan Reactions Posted On An Online Forum, Jatin Vichare

Theses

This project examines audience response to the Black Panther movie by analyzing fan forums on SuperHeroHype website using a textual analysis approach. Grounded in film adaptation theory, (N = 200) comments posted by users were analyzed to identify fan reception of pre-release publicity of the film and post-release reactions. The results show that before the release of the movie, fans were excited about the adaptation of a comic book to a film. The analysis identified six themes in the comments posted on the website. Pre-release comments focused on a) casting, b) narrative arc, and c) music and locations. Post-release comments …

The Modular Approach To The Title Sequence, Nathan Sorrentino

Theses

Over the course of the past few decades, the role of opening title sequences has evolved from a simple objective to deliver top priority credits in the beginning of a film or show with basic to intermediate level branded graphics, to become a strong standing work of art within the feature itself. The old way of simply delivering a title has become something "anyone can do" on their home laptop computer with a consumer level NLE software. Today, it takes a high quality, intricately designed sequence to effectively hook and ensure the audience of the professional level of the film …

Widen People’S Career Opportunities With Ar Technology, Yuedan Shi

Theses

According to some existing research, a lot of people regret about their career selection due to the lack of sufficient knowledge and research when they made the decisions. By exploring the reasons, process, and factors that influence people’s decision-making, I designed an mobile application that help people find more career opportunities beyond their own living experience by leveraging AR recognition technology, and provided a platform for people to get sufficient information so that they could make a better choice for their future career.

Goldfish, Maryam Farahzadi

Theses

Goldfish is a film about Maryam, an 8- or 9-year-old girl whose dream is to pursue her artistic talent of painting. She encounters a problem due to the strict influence of her mother, who prevents her from fully pursuing her dreams. Each time Maryam is able to engage in painting, her world is filled with color, and her joy is clear. Maryam is however unable or unwilling to stand up for herself and make the autonomous decision to paint, until she observes the goldfish, who feels trapped and constrained in the bowl in which it is kept. Maryam falls asleep, …

Analysing Service Desk Incidents, Maryam Ali Salmin

Theses

The technical support department is one of the most crucial departments within an organization. Primarily, the role of this department is to provide technical assistance and maintenance to all computer systems and hardware. Besides, it undertakes other duties including installing, configuring, and updating hardware and software, as well as fixing any issue related to the equipment daily. The department can provide this service through onsite visits, remote actions or third-party assistance. Surveys have categorized the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affair in Dubai (GDRFA) as a silo organization because it has several departments with various sections and sub-sections. Therefore, …

Analyzing Sentiments To Improve Transportation Services Using Nlp, Abdulnasser Ahli

Theses

In the 21st century, social media apps like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Waze, Instagram, etc. are used by people to post their activities, sentiments, and feedback. Likewise, people are posting their experiences either positive or negative feedback or recommendation to improve the existing services of public transportation such as Buses, Tram, Metro, Taxis, Marines. Moreover, people are also posting about traffic conditions and accidents on the social media. However, at present most of the authorities depend on surveys and customer complaints to improve to knew people sentiments. This has very limited information because they cannot reach to all customers. Therefore, in …

My Experience Manifesto, Xuechun Wu

Theses

In contemporary society, people tend to judge and evaluate the growth and development status of others to different degrees. Also, people are easily persuaded by others' judgments, gossip, and appraisement. However, people ignore the importance of both their backstories and those of others; thus, a person may make subjective and incomplete value judgments.

The first approach of my project included an illustration of a typical story of a Chinese woman at turning points of her life: childhood, puberty, teenage rebellion, marriage, and menopause. The purpose of this illustration is to make the audience imagine and resonate with the different turning …

A Framework For Firm-Level Critical Material Supply Management And Mitigation, Gillian A. Griffin

Theses

Organizations of all sizes are vulnerable to critical material supply disruptions. Although there is a significant body of literature that examines how large entities such as nations and governments can assess and mitigate criticality, there is very little work that addresses firm-level criticality in a way that is actionable for businesses. This work uses literature review and case study analysis to understand the impact of critical material supply risk at the firm level, and to determine salient internal indicators. A total of 42 criticality studies were reviewed and the findings were used to develop a framework to assess and monitor …

Note To Self, Chloe Renee Hayes

Theses

“note to self” is a 2D animated film completed as the thesis project for my MFA degree. This film uses experimental imagery and often abstract visual metaphor to tell a narrative story that discusses suicide, self-harm, depression, trauma, mental health, and the complicated issues surrounding these subjects.

“note to self” tells the story of a teenage girl fighting through her struggles and uncertainties in the metaphysical space of her own mind. Sienna, the protagonist, has resolved to kill herself and is working through her conflicted feelings to rationally explain why. Posed as a conversation with a part of her own …

The Terms, Logan Bicknell, Namhee Kim

Theses

Society as a whole isn’t aware of how their personal data on social media is being used and collected after clicking agree to the Terms and Conditions.

Although many Americans claim they care about protecting their personal and private information, many readily agree to the terms and conditions without realizing the implications of such actions. "A Deloitte survey of 2,000 consumers in the U.S found that 91% of people consent to legal terms and services conditions without reading them. For younger people, ages 18-34 the rate is even higher with 97% agreeing to conditions before reading," (Cakebread, 2017). In readily …

Adopt Me: An Interactive Video Game To Encourage People To Adopt Animals From Shelters, Ying Xing

Theses

People buy pets and use their imagination in envisioning how their pet will ideally be, not the reality of raising a pet. More and more pets are abandoned by their owners for various reasons and the stray animals often cause accidents. But people keep purchasing animals from puppy mill stores. That is the main reason why the number of animals taken into shelters is increasing, along with the rate of euthanization. These factors are of interest for people who care about animals.

To address this problem, research was focused on the reasons why people abandon their pet and the factors …

Protect Me: An Interactive Mobile Educational Tool For Children To Help And Prevent Sexual Abuse., Yushinan Shan

Theses

Recently, cases of child sexual abuse have drawn considerable attention in China. According to the data released by the China Children's Culture and Arts Foundation, the number of childhood sexual abuse cases reported by the media in 2018 was 318. However, the lagging sex education provides criminals with chances to escape prosecution. Many children who have been sexually abused do not understand what sexual behavior is, do not even know where they have been hurt, and can't tell which part of their body has been violated. In China, 90% of parents do not talk with their children about "sex". Less …

Origins, Zoey M. Perse

Theses

Origins are beginnings. Everyone has an origin, a point from which their path brought them to the person that they are today. Some origins are from birth and lead in winding lines to a person’s present. Some origins come after birth and may take the form of an event, person or place that touched a life and drastically affected their path, pushing or pulling them to become an entirely different person than would have otherwise come about.

My own origin was the moment I was given into the arms of my adoptive parents. I was wrapped in layers of clothes, …

Additive Manufacturing Materials: Fabrication Of Aluminum Matrix Composites, Jakob Hamilton

Theses

This study aims to validate the ability of cryomilling for the production of high-quality aluminum matrix composite (AMC) powder for powder bed fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing (AM). The spectrum of aluminum-based materials available for AM remains limited due to complex melting and solidification dynamics inherent to the process. To overcome these problems, fillers are often added to aluminum matrices to create a class of materials called AMCs that combine the ductility of aluminum with the stiffness of ceramic reinforcements. However, producing particulate composite feedstock powder for PBF that promotes full densification and microstructural homogeneity is nontrivial. Traditional liquid-phase processing through …

Moral Outrage Is Elicited By Others’ Beliefs Just As Much As Their Actions: Implications For Workplace Ideological Discrimination, Emily Rose Galeza

Theses

Moral outrage is an emotional, cognitive, and behavioral response to moral violations, resulting in a desire to punish the transgressor. Previous research has examined moral outrage toward transgressive behaviors, but no studies have examined the potential for moral outrage to be roused by another’s beliefs alone. Do people experience moral outrage at one another’s thoughts? If so, how do they punish someone who has roused their outrage but has “done nothing wrong”? In Study 1 (n = 209), I examined moral outrage reactions at people’s unacceptable beliefs on three topics (pedophilia, sexual assault, fraud) by comparing moral outrage elicited by …

Social Discounting Of Clean Water And Environmental Sustainability, Ashley Katz

Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine choice-making as it relates to providing a source of clean water to those at varying social distances. A discounting survey was completed by 65 participants asking them to choose between spending a specified about of money on plastic water bottles that have a 100% chance of harming the environment or spending $1000 on a water filtration system that has a 0% chance of harming the environment. Results indicated that as social distance increased, responding became more impulsive as evident by a steeper amount of discounting. For “Person #1”, 27.69% of participants chose …

Leveraging Technology And Culturally Relevant Content To Enhance Student Engagement And Classroom Management, Andrea Wojciehowski

Theses

The project focuses upon the application of culturally relevant content, and implementing technology as a means to enhance student engagement, and classroom management. The purpose of the project was to research current classroom management strategies, and implement these strategies, using technology to enhance student engagement, and in turn, enhance student learning, while decreasing disruptive behaviors.

Introducing Digital Content To Kclc, Chad Briesacher

Theses

No abstract provided.

Methods And Algorithms For Cardiovascular Hemodynamics With Applications To Noninvasive Monitoring Of Proximal Blood Pressure And Cardiac Output Using Pulse Transit Time, Yashar Seyed Vahedein

Theses

Advanced health monitoring and diagnostics technology are essential to reduce the unrivaled number of human fatalities due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Traditionally, gold standard CVD diagnosis involves direct measurements of the aortic blood pressure (central BP) and flow by cardiac catheterization, which can lead to certain complications. Understanding the inner-workings of the cardiovascular system through patient-specific cardiovascular modeling can provide new means to CVD diagnosis and relating treatment. BP and flow waves propagate back and forth from heart to the peripheral sites, while carrying information about the properties of the arterial network. Their speed of propagation, magnitude and shape are …

Tracing The History Of Racial Injustice In Policing And Working Towards Justice Through Data Analysis, Emily Gollub

Theses

There is an extensive history of racial disparity in the criminal justice system that has influenced the issue of racial bias in policing which continues to be a prominent issue even up to this day. The Sentencing Project (2008) explains that racial disparity “exists when the proportion of a racial or ethnic group within the control of the system is greater than the proportion of such groups in the general population” (1). It is important to note that there is a difference between the modern use of “disparity” and the historic subjugation and control. Back in the 1600s to the …

User Preference In Detail-Enhancement Adjustments For Images Captured By Camera Phones, Pawan Khake

Theses

Most smartphones now come with an integrated camera. Such a smartphone is called a camera phone. Popularity of camera phones is rising and it is expected that 87.8% of United States population will possess camera phones by year 2020 (Euromonitor International, 2017). A camera phone’s workflow for capturing, editing, and sharing images on social media has become very efficient. Its ease of use, accessibility, and automatic exposure settings to capture an image has contributed to its popularity. Camera phones are more compact and convenient than professional DSLR cameras. The popularity of this technology has created a need to study and …