Digital Commons Network^™

Circular Economy And System Thinking Framework In Design; Food System Design, Mehrafza Mirzazad Barijugh

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to bring the circular economy framework and system thinking into the process of design thinking. The traditional design process is made up of five steps: 1) Discover a challenge. 2) Interpret the challenge. 3) Create opportunities and ideas. 4) Develop a solution and experiment with it. 5) Evolve the idea. This project is structured upon a methodology generated to apply a circular system framework in design that begins with taking a holistic view of topic. This methodology structured into five phases. The first phase is referring to this approach as moving from Macrocosm to …

Daughters Of Basheera, Jessica Hayes

Theses

This collection of fictional writing is intended for young adults. Both works feature female protagonists encountering supernatural element and could be categorized as magical realism, in that they incorporate fantastic or mythical elements in otherwise realistic fiction. “Teeth” is a short story that covers an issue that is prevalent amongst young adults and has been heavily discussed in the media. A reimagining of the Greek mythological tale of Medusa, the protagonist undergoes a transformation after a brutal rape that leaves her physically changed and what some would consider a monster. Daughters of Basheera is the beginning of a coming-of-age novel …

A Review Of Evolution, Behavior, And Vision With An Experimental Evolution Study On Color Vision In Drosophila Melanogaster, Mellissa Ann Marcus

Theses

The first chapter of this thesis is to take a piece by piece look at the factors that contributed to the experimental evolution study that will be discussed in Chapter 2. Behavior, how that can affect experimental studies, and how biases can affect sensory systems and preference in subject species. Specifically visual sensory systems are described in detail, from the possible evolutionary histories, to major components that contribute to eye structure, form, and/or abilities. We discuss how to define color vision, and what are the prerequisites for color vision in species.

Ideal Patriots: The Boy Scouts Of America As Propaganda During The First World War, David W. Murphy

Theses

Boy Scouts of America were effective at selling the World War I both physically and emotionally on the American home front. This study reveals how the Boy Scouts’ achievements on the home front translate as a means of propaganda. Their actions and bodies demonstrate a new way of looking at propaganda. The federal government used this group of children as an acceptable means of propagating wartime service. Viewing these Scouts and their actions this study shows how the federal government put Scouts in a position to promote wartime expectations. Utilizing manly expectations to push Scouts and other men to serve …

Tribological Study Of Textured Surfaces Created Using Modulation Assisted Machining For Steel-Aluminum Contact, Paarth Mehta

Theses

One of the major problems the world faces currently is the loss of energy and mechanical efficiency in machine components due to friction. Also, surface damage due to friction and resulting part repairs and replacement has cost US industries a reportedly US $280 billion/year. Recent work in the field of surface modification and texturing has shown, that, artificially created micro textures significantly reduce friction and wear of lubricated surfaces. Micro-scale artificial textures in friction paring contacts acts as lubricant reservoirs and wear particle receptacles to boost hydrodynamic pressure, which influences the lubrication regimes. In this study, the Stribeck curve of …

Get Pretty, Hye Sook Choi

Theses

I want to investigate the concepts of modern beauty and how it has an influence on people, particularly women in their 20s and 30s in contemporary Korean society. As society changes, the standard of beauty changes and the social expectations for beauty grow. In general women are more concerned about their looks than men are, because beauty plays a major role in their life through first impression and social status. However, with a strong focus on consumerism and society’s standard of beauty, women have turned to materialistic goods, especially purses and high heels, to satisfy the artificial ideal beauty. It …

Challenges To The Governance Of Water Security In The Uae, Shaikha Saif Mohamed Alghafli

Theses

In the recent past, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has seen tremendous economic growth, which has put pressure on its existing natural resources. Hence, the government of the UAE is working extensively on developing a strategic framework for sustainable water management. This study is aimed at analyzing the challenges to the governance of water security in the UAE. Evidence was collected from nine semi-structured interviews with senior officials and academics from different government agencies in the UAE. Quantitative data was collected on water consumption in the UAE in various sectors from a range of authorities (FCSA, DSC, MOENR, ADWEA, DEWA, …

Series Solutions Of Multi-Layer Boundary Value Problems, Amr Saad Hassan Bolbol

Theses

It is well known that differential equations (DEs) play an important role in many sciences. They are mathematical representations of many physical systems. By studying such DEs, one gains many important insights about the physical system. Solutions of DEs provide information on the physical system behavior. As many physical systems are nonlinear in nature, this naturally gives rise to nonlinear differential equations (NLDEs). Such NLDEs are, in most cases, hard or sometimes impossible to solve analytically. In such situations, we resort to numerical techniques to approximate the solutions. The purpose of this thesis is to consider nonlinear multi-layer boundary value …

The Effectiveness Of School Principal Communication On Teacher Job Satisfaction, Rim Kamal Ai Hajar

Theses

Teacher job satisfaction has been the subject of research, but little attention has been paid to the effect of principal-teacher communication on teacher job satisfaction in the United Arab Emirates. This research paper investigated the effect of principal communication on teacher job satisfaction, and provides suggestions to improve principal-teacher communication process in cycle 1 schools in Al Ain city. It answered questions about principals’ communication practices, teachers’ satisfaction levels, and the most effective principal-teacher communication practices, which lead to high teacher's job satisfaction, and differences based on the principals’ gender in communication with teachers. To achieve the goals of this …

Kindergarten English Teachers' Perceptions Of Teaching Listening Strategies, Assessment Strategies And The Obstacles They Face, Ghada Yahya Ai Kilani

Theses

Education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has received great interest withrespect to the best practices of twenty first century teaching and learning. The aim has been to adapt worldwide used methods in education. As a result Abu Dhabi Educational Council (ADEC) attracted English native speakers of language to support ADEC’s vision. The focus of this thesis is ADEC kindergarten English teachers’ perceptions of teaching listening strategies used to help English as foreign language (EFL) learners in practicing listening activities. The main purpose is to identify the tools and approaches involved in delivering these strategies and the forms of assessment …

Salt Gland Excretion Efficiency And Salinity Tolerance Of Sporobolus Species, Piumi Shrimani Weragodavidana

Theses

Halophytic C4 grasses, including Sporobolus species, have developed specific mechanisms to cope with salinity stress. Among these, “salt glands” which are bi- cellular leaf epidermal structures eliminating excess saline ions from shoots by excretion under salinity stress. Salt glands are morphologically visible and can potentially be used for salt tolerance breeding programs. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the leaf salt gland excretion rates of United Arab Emirates native halophytic chloridoid grass species, S. spicatus and S. arabicus; (2) to determine if leaf salt gland excretion rate and density can effectively predict salinity tolerance among Sporobolus genotypes, …

Sla Management In A Collaborative Network Of Federated Clouds: The Cloudland, Asma Obaid Subaih Ai Falasi

Theses

Cloud services have always promised to be available, flexible, and speedy. However, not a single Cloud provider can deliver such promises to their distinctly demanding customers. Cloud providers have a constrained geographical presence, and are willing to invest in infrastructure only when it is profitable to them. Cloud federation is a concept that collectively combines segregated Cloud services to create an extended pool of resources for Clouds to competently deliver their promised level of services. This dissertation is concerned with studying the governing aspects related to the federation of Clouds through collaborative networking. The main objective of this dissertation is …

The Prevalence Of Streptococcus Pyogenes And Its Emm Gene Types Among School Children In Ai Ain, Uae, Fatima Hammad Ali Al Shamisi

Theses

Streptococcus pyogenes, also known as Group a streptococcus (GAS), causes a wide variety of diseases in children and adults, and it frequently infects the pharynx and skin; pharyngitis and tonsillitis are one of the commonest diseases caused by this pathogen. GAS evaded by many virulence factors, however, the most significant part is the M protein, which plays a major role in its pathogenicity. Over 225 M protein types have been identified so far by the emm typing technique. Identification and emm typing of GAS is an essential part of epidemiological and pathogenic studies of streptococcal diseases, as different regions of …

The Biological Function Of Hammerhead Rana Ribozyme In Human Genome, Ibtehal M. A. Awad

Theses

Hammerhead RNA [HHR] sequence originally found in viroids is also detected in many species. HHR are often found in introns of different genes ranging from prokaryotes to

eukaryotes. HHR can form specific tertiary structure that make specific region susceptible to cleavage. However, the role of the HHR is not clear in other life forms. This study aims to

Investigate the role of HHR in the intron 6 of (RECK) gene. Our study shows that when blocking the HHR sequence in the intron6, the production of RECK protein declines which may be due to the effect of HHR in splicing and …

Zen Design: Applying Zen Principles To Brand Identity In Contemporary Graphic Design, Yun Zheng

Theses

Relaxing and finding inner balance is extremely important to those of us who live in a fast-paced, modern world. Zen has become more and more popular in different cultures and we can see the shadows of it in many of the products we interact with and use in daily life. It is being used in branding intentionally and unintentionally in some form but very few of these efforts are effective.

Through research and informational analysis, this thesis provides a simple way to understand Zen principles from psychological and aesthetic perspectives, and also identifies the similarities and differences between Modernism and …

Technological, Policy, And Organizational Issues In The Response To Biological Emergency Incidents In The Us Food Supply, Kristina J. Owens

Theses

Numerous emergency incidents in U.S. food supply occur each year. Incidents include invasive pests and diseases impacting agriculture crops and foodborne pathogens contaminating meat and poultry. An effective response is not just dependent on the technology that is being used, but also policy and organizational factors. This research is a cross-case analysis of two federal regulatory and emergency response agencies under the U.S. Department of Agriculture: Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). This research analyzes how each agency uses technology, policy and organizational factors to responds to their respective emergencies. This study also …

Growth Promotion Of Tomato By The Implementation Of Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria And Plant Growth Regulators -Producing Bacteria In Calcareous Saline Soil In The United Arab Emirates, Asma Hamad Alsedeeri

Theses

In the present thesis, the ability of different plant growth promoting actinomycetes to promote the growth of tomato plants under saline conditions was examined using phosphorus solubilizing actinomycetes and/or plant growth regulates producing actinomycetes compared to tomato plants grown in soil not amended with any actinomycetes isolates. The overall aim of the present project was to determine whether enhanced phosphorus solubilization, as a result of soil inoculation with either phosphorus-solubilizing actinomycetes and/or with the production of plant growth regulators by plant growth promoting actinomycetes or the combination of both characteristics will results in the promotion of tomato plant growth.

To …

A Zebra In The Infield, Nelson R. Robinson Iv

Theses

“A Zebra in the Infield” is a dark comedy about a young African American man named Rotavious from the inner-city. Rotavious is a recent college graduate and he is venturing into the suburbs to purchase a car. After catching a bus to the predominantly Caucasian side of town, he is profiled and harassed by police officer Colescott. Officer Colescott searches Rotavious and finds the money that Rotavious has allocated for his new car, he seizes it as drug money. During a struggle for the money Officer Colescott is shot and Rotavious flees in fear. In his haste to flee he …

Death With Dignity: The Legislative Wave Of The Future, Justin M. Downey

Theses

The objective of this paper is to determine whether the United States will experience a significant increase in the passage of Death with Dignity legislation. The methods used to predict future legislation was a comparative examination of the history of the legislation politically and socially within the United States. The historical trends of the legislation were compared with global trends as well as current societal factors that may influence legislation. The results will indicate that societal factors such as global influence, social media and the Baby Boom generation will have a dramatic affect in the rapid increase in Death with …

The Transverse Musculocutaneous Gracilis Flap For Breast Reconstruction Educational Illustration Series, Ryan Steenberg

Theses

Advancements in medicine have allowed surgeons a menu of options in post-mastectomy breast reconstruction. A conundrum exists, however, in flap selection when faced with varying patient body types. In the case of the athletic patient who does not have the appropriate amount of donor site tissue to warrant a Transverse Rectus Abdominus Musculocutaneuos Flap (TRAM) the Transverse Musculocutaneous Gracilis Flap (TMG) is an appropriate alternative due to its functional and aesthetic benefits. An intricate and timely process, the TMG procedure can be difficult to understand for the layperson. Therefore, a need for a condensed and standardized description exists. By breaking …

Libdetector: Version Identification Of Libraries In Android Applications, Zhihao Mike Chi

Theses

In the Android ecosystem today, code is often reused by developers in the form of software libraries. This practice not only saves time, but also reduces the complexity of software development. However, like all other software, software libraries are prone to bugs, design flaws, and security vulnerabilities. They too undergo incremental updates to not only add/change features, but also to address their flaws. Unfortunately, the knowledge gap between consumers and maintainers of software libraries presents a barrier to the timely adoption of important library updates.

Therefore we present LibDetector, a tool for identifying the specific version of Java libraries used …

Hyperspectral Vehicle Brdf Learning: An Exploration Of Vehicle Re Ectance Variation And Optimal Measures Of Spectral Similarity For Vehicle Reacquisition And Tracking Algorithms, Joseph Svejkosky

Theses

The spectral signatures of vehicles in hyperspectral imagery exhibit temporal variations due to the preponderance of surfaces with material properties that display non-Lambertian bi-directional reflectance distribution functions (BRDFs). These temporal variations are caused by changing illumination conditions, changing sun-target-sensor geometry, changing road surface properties, and changing vehicle orientations. To quantify these variations and determine their relative importance in a sub-pixel vehicle reacquisition and tracking scenario, a hyperspectral vehicle BRDF sampling experiment was conducted in which four vehicles were rotated at different orientations and imaged over a six-hour period. The hyperspectral imagery was calibrated using novel in-scene methods and converted to …

Development Of A Graduate Course On The Transition To Internet Protocol Version 6, Venu Gopal Kakarla

Theses

Internet and mobile connectivity has grown tremendously in the last few decades, creating an ever increasing demand for Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. The pool of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses, once assumed to be more than sufficient for every person on this planet, has reached its final stages of depletion. With The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority’s (IANA) global pools depleted, and four of the five Regional Internet Registries (RIR) pools down to the their last /8 block, the remaining addresses will not last very long.

In order to ensure continuous growth of the internet in the foreseeable future, we …

The Opportunity: A 3d Animation About Karma, Mark J. Reisch

Theses

The Opportunity is a three dimensional animation that illustrates the idea that by helping others you can inadvertently help yourself. The story is told using an animated sunflower, bees, tulip, and farmer. In a sunflower garden, a sunflower tries to entice a bee to pollinate it, but a tulip (that is not supposed to be in the sunflower garden) attracts all of the bees. The tulip sees the farmer coming to weed out any unwanted plants. Seeing the fear in the tulip’s eyes, the sunflower helps disguise the tulip. The farmer is tricked and the tulip is saved. With the …

Bayesian Inference With Combined Dynamic And Sparsity Models: Application In 3d Electrophysiological Imaging, Jingjia Xu

Theses

Data-driven inference is widely encountered in various scientific domains to convert the observed measurements into information that cannot be directly observed about a system. Despite the quickly-developing sensor and imaging technologies, in many domains, data collection remains an expensive endeavor due to financial and physical constraints. To overcome the limits in data and to reduce the demand on expensive data collection, it is important to incorporate prior information in order to place the data-driven inference in a domain-relevant context and to improve its accuracy.

Two sources of assumptions have been used successfully in many inverse problem applications. One is the …

Moovy: Sensorial Communication Device, Mariana Pinheiro

Theses

Over time humans evolved and perfected their communication tools. The world today is more connected than ever, and we are able to reach people all over the world using handheld technology such as smartphones, computers, and tablets. Society is living in a digital era and many negative side effects are being identified. The excess of digital immersion can lead to physical harm, such as neck injuries caused by poor postural habits, as well as psychological and social consequences.

Inspired by the historical evolution of communication and concerned about the impacts in social behaviors, this thesis proposes a new language of …

Modelling Of Information Flow And Resource Utilization In The Edge Distributed Web System, Bryan Thomas Meyers

Theses

The adoption of Distributed Web Systems (DWS) into modern engineering design process has dramatically increased in recent years. The Engineering Design Guide and Environment (EDGE) is one such DWS, intended to provide an integrated set of tools for use in the development of new products and services. Previous attempts to improve the efficiency and scalability of DWS focused largely on hardware utilization (i.e. multithreading and virtualization) and software scalability (i.e. load balancing and cloud services). However, these techniques are often limited to analysis of the computational complexity of the algorithms implemented.

This work seeks to improve the understanding of efficiency …

Deadly Pleasure, Chunhui Bao

Theses

In this work, a girl’s father is one of the victims in the mass political persecution by Emperor Yongzheng, 18 A.D., and he is killed in front of his family. The Emperor is present during his murder and he notices the girl and her gorgeous, long hair. Because of this the girl survives the massacre of her entire family and is sent away and trained to become a concubine. It becomes the goal of the girl to work hard to become a chosen concubine by the Emperor so she can avenge the murder of her family with her gorgeous, magical …

Candelaria Hot Dog, Alexander Montoya

Theses

Candelaria Hotdog is a short animated film that attempts to show a personal perspective of a city’s landscape and culture. It’s a journey through the eyes of a person who treasures a simple memory and wants to make the best out of it by sharing it in a unique and comprehensible way.

La Candelaria is a historic neighborhood in Bogota Colombia, characterized by a constant display of a variety of street artists, musicians and beautiful locations that portray many of the local traditions and artistic styles of Colombia. The architecture from La Candelaria is primarily distinctive of the Spanish colonial …

Close Your Legs, Dear, Narin Shech

Theses

close your legs, dear examines the notion of an internal gaze, or self-regulation, through the subjective experience of the pursuit of a feminine ideal and the underlying emotional disquietude that accompanies that pursuit. This body of work primarily utilizes self-portraiture through time-based moving images to examine the a-priori fragmentation of the body in the subject. This fragmentation of the body is also a metaphorical fragmentation of the ego, which becomes a host to obsessive, self-observation and self-regulation vis-à-vis the feminine ideal.

Each moving image exhibits varying degrees of subtle motion, primarily gestures that the female subject performs in repetition, which …