Digital Commons Network^™

A Model Of Contaminant Transport, Saline Valley Aquifer, Gallatin County Illinois, Ryan William Cox

Theses

The Saline Valley Conservancy District (SVCD) formed in 1980 to provide a stable source of water to many communities in Southern Illinois. The SVCD well field located in the thickest, most productive region of the Saline Valley Aquifer lies directly adjacent to a reclaimed coal mine. Subsurface movement and surface discharge from the mine has been shown to be responsible for deterioration of water quality in the surrounding area, including the aquifer. Previous studies conducted in the region have addressed water supply issues and simulated contaminant transport from the reclaimed mine. The limited scope of these models did not extend …

A Lived-In Life, Sara Basher

Theses

A Lived-In Life documents the creation of my thesis work and accompanying discoveries. The movement of Fauvism and artists Vincent van Gogh, Alice Neel and Henry Darger are named as historical inspirations. Contemporaries named as influential include female figurative painters Jenny Saville, Xenia Hausner, Hung Liu, Elizabeth Peyton and Anna Bjerger.

I reflect on my position within contemporary art culture, placing myself between abstraction and photo realism. I discuss graduate school epiphanies on material, asserting my commitment to sustainable and safe practice. I address the historical use of photographic reference, as well as the role of photography in contemporary culture …

Persuasion In Antiquity: A Content Analysis Of Ptahhotep’S Maxims And Lao Tzŭ’S Tao Te Ching, Joel Skelton

Theses

This study investigated persuasive strategies used in ancient Egypt and ancient China. In an effort to attain a better understanding of the utilization of persuasive tools from these two ancient societies, this study was completed by examining Ptahhotep's Maxims from Egypt and Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching from China. A thematic analysis revealed the most common themes found in Ptahhotep's Maxims (e.g., humility) and Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching (e.g., comparison). A content analysis examined persuasive tactics within passages of both texts. It was found that Ptahhotep principally utilized negative expertise and loss-framed messages while Lao Tzu utilized positive expertise …

Investigation Of Water Droplet Dynamics In Pem Cell Gas Channels, Preethi Gopalan

Theses

Water management in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) has remained one of the most important issues that need to be addressed before its commercialization in automotive applications. Accumulation of water on the gas diffusion layer (GDL) surface in a PEMFC introduces a barrier for transport of reactant gases through the GDL to the catalyst layer. Despite the fact that the channel geometry is one of the key design parameters of a fluidic system, very limited research is available to study the effect of microchannel geometry on the two-phase flow structure. In this study, the droplet-wall dynamics and two-phase pressure …

A Forensic Comparison: Windows 7 And Windows 8, Peter J. Wilson

Theses

Whenever a new operating system or new version of an operating system is released, forensic investigators must re-examine the new operating system or new version. They do so to determine if there are significant differences that will impact and change the way they perform their investigations. With the release of Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 8, and its update, Windows 8.1, understanding the similarities and differences between Windows 8 and previous operating systems such as Windows 7 is critical. This paper forensically examines Windows 7 and Windows 8 to determine those similarities and differences.

User Preferences For Accessing Online Content Through Desktop, Laptop, And Handheld Devices, Abel B. Rondon Lopez

Theses

This study determined which devices, hand held or desktop and laptop computers, users preferred to access specific types of Internet content and why they chose mobile apps or mobile websites. Significant differences were found in favor of using handheld devices for social networking, looking up directions, programing reminders, global positioning systems, playing games, and listening to music. Activities showed a significant difference in favor of using desktop and laptop computers to investigate topics of interest, watch videos, and manage finances. Users preferred the way mobile apps are presented over mobile websites, but no significant differences between devices were found for …

Flap Stool Storage Furniture For Urban Nomads, Liu Yang

Theses

The purpose of this project was to make moving from one location to another an easier process by developing a creative furniture piece that can be used for storage.

Research on the actual moving process and existing moving solutions was done to gather information to begin this project. At the beginning of ideation, light-weight materials and folding structures were studied, and several new furniture solutions were explored. Concepts such as a storage stool, a transformable shelf, and bamboo roll furniture were created and tested.

A storage stool was selected for further development, because it provided the best fit for the …

I Am Pakistan, Shehzil Malik

Theses

I Am Pakistan is a project that aims to address the question of whether interaction design can be used to create human connections and foster the intrinsic motivation needed for becoming an agent of social change.

Pakistan is a country riddled with crippling problems such as poverty, illiteracy, terrorism and injustice. There is a need to make young people aware of proactive measures they can take to help change this dire situation.

Figures show that around 55% of Pakistani nationals are under the age of 25 with over 30 million Internet users in the population. This indicates that there is …

Oh My Plant: A Creative Design For Building Emotional Relationships Between People And Plants, Boran Song

Theses

While speaking with plant owners, I realized that one of the main reasons why people's plants were dying was that people lacked emotional relationships with their plants. In creating Oh My Plant, I wanted to help busy people to easily improve their gardening skills and to create an emotional relationship between people and their houseplants.

When our lives become busy and stressful, it is easy to forget to take care of our own bodies, let alone our houseplants. Yet houseplants offer numerous benefits to people, beautifying the environment and purifying the air.

I believe that the design for Oh My …

Tax Competition For Fdi In Western Balkans, Nita Shala

Theses

The aim of this project is to study the application and effectiveness of tax incentives (TI) in the countries of Western Balkans (WB), more specifically in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Serbia. Based on the research made of the field of TI it was found that all these countries have applied certain forms of TI. The reasoning behind the decisions of the government officials to apply FI in these countries was the belief that the application of these incentives would increase the level of FDI inflow. By being able to increase the level of FDI inflow, countries would experience a faster …

The Role Of Municipalities In Developing Kosovo Mountain Villages, Blerina Halili

Theses

The mountainous villages of Kosovo are on a verge of development due to a substantial number of challenges hindering their progress. The role that municipalities have in developing these villages is crucial in terms of overcoming these challenges, and through it, ensuring future development. This study has investigated the role this role while placing particular focus upon the municipalities of Shtërpce and Dragash. The study which included 150 research participants has been carried out in eleven mountain villages surrounding these municipalities. Through it several areas have been investigated, such as the quality of the public services offered, current economic standing …

Establishing A Women's And Gender Studies Program At Auk, Teuta Avdimetaj

Theses

The aim of this research project is to serve as a guiding document towards the establishment of a taught Women’s and Gender Studies minor program at AUK which would offer students the opportunity to critically expand their views in the field of gender and actively promote the political, social and economic empowerment of women in Kosovo and the wider region through proactive gender equality initiatives and projects. The Gender Studies program will tackle the main theories that revolve around issues of gender, status of men and women in several spheres, analyze the discrepancies that can be found based on gender, …

Facebook And Relationships: A Study Of How Social Media Use Is Affecting Long-Term Relationships, Rianne C. Farrugia

Theses

An online survey was conducted where 255 respondents provided information about their significant other. Respondents answered questions dealing with elements of relationship satisfaction, Facebook usage, surveillance, and jealousy. Results indicate a correlation between Facebook usage and relationship satisfaction. Individuals with varying levels of Facebook usage were shown to have a positive correlation with jealousy levels in their relationship, meaning as Facebook use increased, jealousy also increased. Altman and Taylor's theory of social penetration (1973) was used to describe the stages in a relationship from orientation into a relationship of stable exchange. This developmental theory illustrated the growth in relationship phases. …

Rescue Breathing In Noisy Environments, Brianna Slutsky

Theses

This study considered rhythmic performance of rescue breathing by trained emergency responders and lay persons. Participants were asked to complete rescue breathing in 10 different scenarios. Such scenarios were intended to evaluate the effects of target rhythms and distractors on the responder's ability to administer rescue breathing ventilations at the appropriate rate and rhythm, in accordance with the standards established by the American Red Cross (2011). Current research concerning rhythmic performance with target and distractor rhythms suggests that auditory rhythms, whether target or distractor, have a greater influence on the motor behaviors of the human than visual rhythms. This research …

Framework For Near Real Time Feature Detection From The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly Images Of The Solar Dynamics Observatory, Santosh Suresh

Theses

The study of the variability of the solar corona and the monitoring of its traditional regions (Coronal Holes, Quiet Sun and Active Regions) are of great importance in astrophysics as well as in view of the Space Weather applications. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) provides high resolution images of the sun imaged at different wavelengths at a rate of approximately one every 10 seconds, a great resource for solar monitoring . Today, the process of identifying features and estimating their properties is applied manually in an iterative fashion to verify the detection results. We …

R.M.P. Repetitive Multiple Progression, Nucharin Wangphongsawasd

Theses

In our daily life, we encounter repetitive patterns in many places, from the natural world to manmade objects. Interesting echoes emerge, such as the relationship between the spiral chambers in seashells and spiral staircases. Seashell chambers grow in spirals starting from the center, with each chamber increasing in size over time. Past craftspeople observed this pattern and applied the form to vertical staircases. The repeated step in vertical alignment forming a spiral pattern is a very effective method of construction for limited space, particularly in tall, narrow buildings such as lighthouses. Repetitive patterns create an infinite feeling of progressive movement. …

Optimization Of Inpatient Hemodialysis Scheduling Considering Efficiency And Treatment Delays To Minimize Length Of Stay, Manuel Tolentino Peña

Theses

Inpatient dialysis units face an uncertain daily demand of hemodialysis procedures for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients hospitalized for health conditions that may or may not be directly related to their renal disease. While hospitalized, these patients must receive hemodialysis in addition to any medical services needed for their primary diagnosis. As a result, when demand for inpatient dialysis is high, treatments and procedures required by these inpatients may be delayed increasing their length of stays (LOS). This research presents an optimization approach for daily scheduling of inpatient hemodialysis to maximize the efficiency of the dialysis unit while minimizing delays …

Recurring Side-Chain Triads In Monomeric Enzymatic Structures, Mikhail Osipovitch

Theses

An algorithm was developed to exhaustively screen monomeric enzymatic structures for recurring 3-residue side-chain arrangements. The algorithm was used in the screening of two datasets: 100 enzymatic structures with a recurring 3-residue active site, and 100 enzymatic structures with a unique 3-residue active site. In each structure, the algorithm considered all distinct side-chain triads that can be compiled from the entire complement of residues in a single isolated chain. Increasing chain length demonstrated a logarithmic growth in the number of recurring triads. The distribution of total distances in recurring triads adhered to normality while the distribution of unique triad distances …

An Optimization-Based Approach For Vaccine Prioritization, Timothy Schmoke

Theses

An effective vaccine prioritization process is essential to prevent the many issues that currently weaken global vaccination efforts. Identifying challenges associated with vaccine development is important when considering which initiatives will provide immunization that is effective, affordable, and easy to administer. The process of establishing priorities for vaccine development is complicated, though, by the conflicting interests of multiple stakeholders involved in the vaccine market. Additionally, uncertainties exist regarding: (1) the resources and time required for vaccine development, (2) the expected benefits of development, and (3) the anticipated demand for vaccination, further complicating the prioritization process. This study proposes a decision-support …

Optimization Modeling Approach To Facilitate Decision Making Process Of Energy Planning On College Campuses, Sourabh Jain

Theses

Increasing global environmental problems require a rapid response from universities (Sharp, 2002). Energy consumption of universities is increasing due to, for example, expansion in use of electronics and new building constructions (Levine, 2009; Sharp, 2002). There are increasing numbers of initiatives on university campuses to address climate change. The American College and University President's Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) is an effort by a group of colleges and universities that have pledged to eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their campus operations and become carbon neutral by a target date set by each university itself (ACUPCC, 2006).

This research presented an optimization …

Silence So Loud, Qian Li

Theses

In this thesis I will examine the relationship between dolls and human beings through a series of oil paintings and installations that involve the arrangement of canvases and small, three dimensional figures. The dolls that I paint are a metaphor for how humans interact. I also have incorporated language into the paintings. By lining up paintings of the dolls to "say" several short statements, each mouth on a doll's face is formed to represent part of a spoken word. Although the dolls attempt to say something, silence still remains. In the following document my childhood influence, and struggle of transforming …

Responsive Website Design For First Unitarian Church And Louis Kahn, Chen Zhang

Theses

Responsive Website Design for First Unitarian Church and Louis Kahn is a thesis project for Master Degree of Fine Arts in Computer Graphics Design program at the Rochester Institute of Technology. This thesis project is to design a responsive website for the First Unitarian Church, a website which has three user experiences: a desktop site, tablet site and a mobile site. The website audience is architecture or design students, professors, and enthusiasts. There are three objectives in this thesis project: first, to design a responsive website for cross-platform experience for users; second, to provide users a real digital visiting experience …

Homecoming, Posheng Chiang

Theses

A 30-minute narrative, based on a true story, Homecoming is about a journey of a family returning to Taiwan for father's funeral and disputing on the control with the uncle because of the cultural differences between Western (USA) and Eastern (Hakka). Through this event, Christian and Hakka conventions on death would be revealed, and reflects the spirits of life in two ways. However, the two generations would eventually find each other the common thing, the love of family. Pre-production of this overseas production happened in Rochester and Taiwan. The shoot was scheduled for 6 days in Taiwan only. The Budget …

A Dynamic Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Mri) Phantom Based On Electric Field Induced Residual Dipolar Couplings, Yujie Qiu

Theses

Multi-center functional MRI (fMRI) research studies are advantageous but unavoidably introduce variations in the results due to differences in imager vendor, magnetic field strength, imaging pulse sequences, and many other aspects. These variations make combining data from different MRI centers risky. Even for a single MRI center, temporal variations over the course of a study can make combining data problematic. Therefore, it is necessary in both situations to perform quality assurance (QA) measurements on a regular basis. Unfortunately, there are no dynamic standards or phantoms as they are called in the MRI community, which can mimic the small, rapidly changing …

Approximate Nearest Neighbors For Recognition Of Foreground And Background In Images And Video, Josh Allmann

Theses

Problems in image matching, saliency detection in images, and background detection in video are studied. Algorithms based on approximate nearest-neighbor matching are proposed to solve problems in these related domains. Image patches are quantized into features using a special Walsh-Hadamard transform, and put into a propagation-assisted kd-tree for indexing and search. Image saliency and background-detection algorithms are then derived by looking at patch similarity over time and space.

An Assessment Of Worldview-2 Imagery For The Classification Of A Mixed Deciduous Forest, Nahid Carter

Theses

Remote sensing provides a variety of methods for classifying forest communities and can be a valuable tool for the impact assessment of invasive species. The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) infestation of ash trees (Fraxinus) in the United States has resulted in the mortality of large stands of ash throughout the Northeast. This study assessed the suitability of multi-temporal Worldview-2 multispectral satellite imagery for classifying a mixed deciduous forest in Upstate New York. Training sites were collected using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, with each training site consisting of a single tree of a corresponding class. Six classes were …

Whole-Transciptome Analysis Of [Psi+] Budding Yeast Via Cdna Microarrays, Jared Carter

Theses

Introduction: Prions of yeast present a novel analytical challenge in terms of both initial characterization and in vitro manipulation as models for human disease research. Presently, few robust analysis strategies have been successfully implemented which enable the efficient study of prion behavior in vivo. This study sought to evaluate the utilization of conventional dual-channel cDNA microarrays for the surveillance of transcriptomic regulation patterns by the [PSI+] yeast prion relative to an identical prion deficient yeast variant, [psi-]. Methods: A data analysis and normalization workflow strategy was developed and applied to cDNA array images, yielded quality-regulated expression ratios for a subset …

Current State Of Chinese Direct Mail Industry, Jinkai Qian

Theses

Indicated by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), direct mail marketing expenditures in the USA were nearly $61.3 billion USD in 2008, which was much higher than that of China's $1.57 billion USD in the same time period (Chinese Graphic Arts Net). Direct mail products---as defined by DMA---include catalogs, letters, brochures, pamphlets, circulars and preprinted inserts, video and audiotapes, diskettes, promotional items and communications sent through the mail or other delivery services. In order to better understand the state of direct mail in China, the researcher conducted six detailed interviews with five Chinese printers and one advertising agency. The result showed …

Volunteer Communication And Media Richness: Recruiting, Communicating With, And Retaining Volunteers, Elizabeth Roach

Theses

With the advancement of online and Internet-based communication, including email and social networking sites, the way in which organizations recruit, communicate with, and retain volunteers is ever evolving. The not-for-profit sector relies heavily on volunteers to help with daily functions, supplementing the need for additional paid staff with volunteers. With the continued growth of Internet use across all generations, leaner media have become the preferred means of communication among volunteers and Volunteer Coordinators. An email survey of more than 100 current volunteers at the Seneca Park Zoo Society was conducted to determine which media channels are used and preferred. Although …

Assessment And Viability For An It Concentration Expansion At Auk, Lumbardh Sokoli

Theses

The research on the topic “Assessment and Viability of IT Concentration Extension at AUK” has been conducted in order to produce a full report on IT concentration by analyzing it from different perspectives. The report assesses the strength and weaknesses of the current IT concentration at AUK and analyzes the enrollment trend over the past years since the concentration initiation. The end purpose of the report is to provide recommendations and guidelines for effective and successful extension of the current IT concentration at AUK but also provide valuable insights in this concentration. AUK is the only higher institution in Kosovo …