Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Usability: Evaluating The Effect Of Changing Environmental Factors On Cognitive Load, Robin J. Deegan

Theses

Mobile devices are now truly ubiquitous. Their pervasiveness in all facets of our lives brings many advantages. Principle to these advantages is the notion that mobile devices can be used “Anytime, Anywhere”. The size, portability, battery life and computational power of mobile devices mean that they can be used for a diverse range of uses in an equally diverse range of environments.

Usability is primarily concerned with “ease of use” and “learnability”. Mobile devices are challenging this notion of Usability as they are used in new ways. Firstly mobile devices arc used in complex distracting environments and these distractions interfere …

Inconsistencies In The Tax Legislation In Kosovo, Rineta Hoxha

Theses

The objective of this work is to identify inconsistencies in the tax legislation in Kosovo and recommend solutions towards more comprehensive and user friendly laws for taxpayers, tax professionals and tax administrators. A crucial element of the tax legislation is its consistency. Tax laws need to be in accordance with each other as they are the building blocks of the same system – the tax system. Unfortunately, analysis on the tax laws in Kosovo resulted in identification of a number of inconsistencies that affect negatively the comprehensiveness, simplicity and the functionality of the laws. Moreover, interviews conducted with different stakeholders …

Circuit Solutions To Compensate For Device Degradation In Analog Design In Scaled Technologies, Mark Pude

Theses

The continued aggressive scaling of semiconductor devices has had detrimental effects on the performance of those devices as used in analog circuitry. Specifically, the maximum intrinsic gain (MIG) of the devices continues to degrade as the device channel lengths are reduced below 100 nm and beyond. MIG is shown to degrade from 21.6 dB in a 180 nm technology to 12.2 dB in a 65 nm technology despite the application of traditional design techniques including device size scaling and bias voltage increases. This reduction in MIG along with other process scaling effects significantly complicates the design of linear amplifiers in …

For The Absent, Jae Hyung Lee

Theses

When faced with trauma we often do not recognize the importance of taking time to heal. The purpose of my work is to heal myself from my past. The process of making pieces can ease agony and create hope in my mind. My design concept will be developed through the creation of my work, and I hope to begin healing from the trauma of my father's death. I have reflected on the post-traumatic feelings that are associated with my father's death eight years ago. I realize that I still feel anger, sadness and grief. To confront this reality and work …

The Use Of Celebrity Endorsements As A Public Relation, Kate Power

Theses

A huge part of public relations in todays world is based around celebrity and their endorsements of brands, products, services and causes. The use of celebrity endorsement has become such a vital and trusted public relation tactic by so many PR practitioners to create a communication vessel between brand and consumer. This type of engagement between brands and their target audiences has become increasingly important to the Public Relations world for building long lasting and enduring relationships with these consumers and targeted audiences.

The aim of this research is to discover if celebrity endorsement makes an impact within public relations …

The Death Of The Press Release And The Changing Media Relations Landscape: A Public Relations Perspective, Jenn Crotty

Theses

The public relations industry of today is a much different one to that of a decade ago. The changes that are taking place within the public relations industry are monumental and are not going unnoticed. In recent years the explosion of new media and social networks has led to a distorted media relations landscape. Many academics and public relations professionals have began to focus on the importance of incorporating new media and social networks into their occupation. It appears as though the traditional media landscape is being swept under the rug.

This study aims to challenge the perception that new …

Driving Employee Engagement Through Internal Communication; A Public Relations Perspective: A Case Study Of Cork Institute Of Technology, Ireland., Desmond P. Carroll

Theses

This study is concerned with the important role of internal communication (IC) as a driver of employee engagement and investigates how public relations (PR) might be best placed to advise on and oversee a system of managed or strategic communication within an organisation.

The literature reveals that a communications culture must pervade an organisation for effective communication to take place. Whilst early models leaned towards a predominant one-way transmission of communication, we are now witnessing a paradigm shift to a horizontal two-way system of communication and engagement.

The research methodology employed in this study was a qualitative case study which …

Investigation On Solid-Phase Crystallization Techniques For Low Temperature Polysilicon Thin-Film Transistors, Qinglong Li

Theses

Low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) has emerged as a dominant technology for high performance thin-film transistors (TFTs) used in mobile liquid crystal display (LCD) and organic light emitting diode (OLED) display products. As users demand higher quality in flat panel displays with a larger viewing area and finer resolution, the improvement in carrier mobility of LTPS compared to that of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) makes it an excellent candidate as a channel material for TFT. Advantages include improvements in switching speed and the ability to incorporate peripheral scan and data driver circuitry onto a low cost display substrate. Solid-phase crystallization (SPC) is …

Metal Nanoridge Surface Plasmon Waveguides, Zeyu Pan

Theses

Propagating two-dimensional surface plasmon waveguide modes supported by silver nanoridges with flat-top, triangular, and elliptical cross sections are investigated. Mode profiles, dispersion relations, propagation distances, mode sizes, and figures-of-merit are calculated for these nanoridge waveguides. There is only one guided mode associated with the nanoridge, which is a quasi-TEM mode with longitudinal field components one order of magnitude smaller than transverse field components. The quasi-TEM nature of the mode reveals that free electron oscillations located at the top of the nanoridge is the main contributor to tightly confined nature of plasmon modes. When the height of a triangular nanoridge or …

The Future Of Lobbying For Advocacy Groups Under The Proposed Government Legislation 2013, Maureen Cournane

Theses

In common with most other nations, Ireland currently has no statutory regulation of lobbying activities. This paper considers the pervasive context of political lobbying and analyses various suggestions for lobbying regulation which have been proposed. Lobbying in Ireland has come to the fore of public policy debates given the catastrophic collapse of the Irish economy since late 2008 and the role played by lobbyists in contemporary Irish politics. Ireland prides itself on the ability of all its citizens to have access to their elected representatives. However, there are relatively few professional lobbyists and, for most, their engagement with politicians, officials …

An Investigation Of Soft Proof To Print Agreement Under Bright Surround, Vickrant J. Zunjarrao

Theses

Color quality is a vital concern in the printing industry. The ability of an LCD monitor to accurately and consistently predict the color of a printed work is often in doubt. According to Chung (2005), color reproduction technology is different for soft proofing and hard proofing which could lead a layman to believe that the two technologies may not produce the same result. Nevertheless, it is still possible for both reproduction technologies to achieve a metameric match which gives the same perceived color sensation between display and print.

ISO/CD 14681 provides guidelines for creating the conditions required to perform soft …

Towards The Control Of Electrophotographic-Based 3-Dimensional Printing: Image-Based Sensing And Modeling Of Surface Defects, Alvaro J. Rojas Arciniegas

Theses

Electro-Photography (EP) has been used for decades for fast, cheap, and reliable printing in offices and homes around the world. It has been shown that extending the use of EP for 3D printing is feasible; multiple layered prints are already commercially available (color laser printers) but only for a very limited number of layers. Many of the advantages of laser printing make EP 3D printing desirable including: speed, reliability, selective coloring, ability to print a thermoplastic, possibilities for multi-material printing, ability to print materials not amenable to liquid ink formulations. However, many challenges remain before EP-based 3D printing can be …

Sport Prism, Scott Howard

Theses

The Sport Prism explores the development and implementation of a cohesive brand identity metaphor for a sport complex across multiple media. The metaphor that significantly impacts the design of this brand is the geometric prism. The concept of geometric prisms is paired with sport imagery to create a unique and compelling brand experience. The Sport Prism frames relationships between the sport complex and the prism in intriguing ways, creating new meaning and ultimately a unique brand identity.

Characterization Of Phd Degradation By Clpxp, Nikki Mertz

Theses

Proteolysis of Phd is required for the addictive response. ClpXP recognizes and degrades the Phd protein of the P1 plasmid addiction operon, however its mechanism of degradation is currently unknown. The RssB and SspB proteins aid ClpXP in degrading other substrates, so these might also play a role in the proteolysis of Phd. A temperature sensitive plasmid was introduced with and without the P1 plasmid addiction operon to strains containing knockout mutants of the rssB and sspB genes. An addiction assay was performed using these constructs by incubating cells at restrictive and permissive temperatures for plasmid replication. Mutations in rssB …

Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Of Water Quality In Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, Africa Ixmucane Flores Cordova

Theses

Lake Atitlan in Guatemala is a vital source of drinking water. The deteriorating conditions of water quality in this lake threaten human and ecological health as well as the local and national economy. Given the sporadic and limited measurements available, it is impossible to determine the changing conditions of water quality. The goal of this thesis is to use Hyperion satellite images to measure water quality parameters in Lake Atitlan. For this purpose in situ measurements and satellite-derived reflectance data were analyzed to generate an algorithm that estimated Chlorophyll concentrations. This research provides for the first time a quantitative application …

Biochemical Characterization Of Peptidyl-Trna Hydrolase 1 From S. Aureus And B. Cereus, Kasey Taylor Creel

Theses

The critical need for new antibiotics and antibiotic targets is of great urgency to our society in order to combat drug resistance and ward off pathogenic bacteria. One new antibacterial target is the essential bacterial enzyme Peptidyl-tRNA Hydrolase I (Pth1). In the course of protein elongation, ribosomes stall and release peptidyl-tRNA. Peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase 1 releases the tRNA from the peptidyl-tRNA, allowing the tRNA to be recycled in the cell. Without Pthl hydrolysis, peptidyl-tRNAs will accumulate, slowing down and eventually stopping protein synthesis, leading to cell death. The fact that Pthl is an essential gene in E. coli suggests that its …

Performance And Energy Efficiency Of Common Compression/Decompression Utilities : An Experimental Study In Mobile And Workstation Computer Platforms, Armen A. Dzhagaryan

Theses

Lossless compression and decompression are routinely used in mobile and workstation computer systems to reduce the costs of communicating and storing data. This research presents the results of a measurement-based experimental evaluation of common compression and decompression utilities running on several plat-forms of varying hardware complexity representing current mobile and workstation systems. The evaluation involves characterization of the compression and decompression utilities in a multidimensional space encompassing the compression ratio, compression and decompression throughput, and energy efficiency. Different use scenarios and conditioning typical for modern mobile and workstation computing platforms are considered. The study observes a wide variety of energy …

Generation Of Radio Frequency Induced Metastable Xenon As A Gain Medium For Diode Pumped Rare Gas Laser Systems, Jacqueline Marie Andreozzi

Theses

The pursuit of novel, hybrid methods of achieving lasing from the rare gases has recently been a topic of interest in the field of high energy laser systems. This investigation presents the construction and execution of an experimental setup designed to generate metastable xenon (Xe*) to determine its potential to perform as a high power laser gain medium in a similar capacity as the alkali metals in Diode Pumped Alkali Lasers. A capacitively coupled radio frequency discharge was used to light plasma from naturally abundant xenon, thus exciting the 6s[3/2]₂ metastable state. The metastable xenon was probed with a …

How Has Social Media Impacted The Relationship Between Public Relations And Marketing Functions In Small Businesses., Lorraine Sheehan

Theses

This study is concerned with investigating the impact of social media on the relationship between public relations and marketing functions in small businesses in Ireland. The relationship between public relations and marketing has been debated in the literature and in organisations for many decades. Social media has an influence on the channels of communication which in turn influences public relations and marketing functions.

Both primary and secondary research methods on gathering findings of social media, public relations and marketing functions were carried out. Areas of conflict and tension between public relations and marketing were highlighted. The impact of social media …

Mothering Values : An Exploration Of Generational Differences In Values, Beliefs And Attitudes, Marguerita Walsh

Theses

Maternal employment has led to an increase in the need for childcare (Horgan, 2001). In 2005, the most valuable source of childcare for children of primary school age was unpaid relatives (Share & Kerrins, 2009). 33% of grandparents are involved in childcare on a weekly basis (Jones, 2011). Therefore, childrearing tasks are shared, and children may be exposed to a variety of childrearing values.

Given the key-role grandparents, and in particular grandmothers play in childcare, this research focuses on exploring the parenting values, beliefs and roles of maternal grandmothers and mothers of children under the age of ten and how …

The Potential For The Elimination Of Expansion Joints And Bridge Bearings From Existing Road Bridges In Ireland, Conor Keena

Theses

This research was focused on determining the feasibility of eliminating expansion joints and bridge bearings from existing short to medium span road bridges in Ireland. It is possible that this could provide a significant long-term economic benefit to bridge owners. A literature review was carried out as part of the research. This included investigations into research conducted in the areas of thermal movements of bridges, concrete creep and shrinkage, soil-structure interaction, lifetime costing, design standards and finite element analysis, and the elimination of bridge expansion joints in other countries.

Finite element analyses were carried out on two existing road bridges. …

How The Use Of Social Media As A Public Relations Tactic Has Aided Animal Rescue Organisations In Raising Awareness Of Their Cause, Carole Hennessy

Theses

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the non-profit sector, in particular animal welfare organisations and how social media can be used as a Public Relations tactic which in turn enables them to raise awareness of their cause.

A qualitative research design was deemed the most suitable by the researcher. Semi-structured interviews and a content analysis in the form of a netnographic analysis of the chosen non-profit organisations Facebook pages were used to collect the primary data. Interviewees were chosen on the basis they had knowledge, experience and exposure in their area.

Research findings indicate that social media …

How Social Media Networking Is Supporting Customer Engagement And Brand Awareness: A Pr Perspective In An Irish Context., Miriam O'Regan

Theses

The primary purpose of this thesis is to investigate the phenomenon of social media networking in the Irish organisational context. The study examines how Irish organisations are utilising social media networking as a communication platform. The research assesses the aspects of phenomenon that provide organisational advantages in Public Relations. Therefore, aim of the study is to identify how social media networking is influencing customer engagement and brand awareness.

The first research phase comprises of an extensive literature review of key academic sources of secondary research including reports, articles and publications. This review cultivates a range of sources with insight into …

The Use Of Online And Offline Communication In Public Information Campaigns: A Case Study Of The Health Service Executive “Quit” Campaign, Rachel O'Sullivan

Theses

To understand the role of offline and online communication in public information campaigns, research of the Health Service Executive (HSE) “Quit” Campaign was conducted. Through document analysis of campaign materials and interviews, an in-depth examination of the campaign communication platform is presented. Discussion of these elements reveals the strengths of both communication tools in current public messaging. The research concludes with a set of recommendations for future public information campaigns and describes how this modem day campaign is an excellent model that other organisations can emulate.

Calligraphy Inspires Furniture, Chen Li

Theses

The seal script, a form of Chinese calligraphy used mostly on seals, inspires my thesis work. In both East and West, the seal is a personal signature for letter correspondence as a communication. Written communication is an excellent process in which there is an exchange and progression of thoughts and feelings towards a mutually accepted goal or direction. Through this source of inspiration, I will attempt to create a dialogue about cultural differences between my Chinese heritage and the new experiences in America. Sometimes, this relationship is easy and straightforward, but sometimes it creates conflicts. For my Thesis body of …

Online Book-Buying Behavior, Carolina Ziegler

Theses

Generally speaking, the Internet is directly influencing the buying decision-making process of the consumer. More than ask relatives and friends' opinions, current customers tend now to acquire information about products on search engines, social networks, blogs, or websites. Therefore, this research was set to develop a better overall understanding about online buying behavior.

The e-commerce is growing every year and the number of consumers willing to spend money on virtual transactions follows this tendency. In order to better understand this trend, the market for academic books was chosen as a reference to appreciate how consumers behave when buying a specific …

Factors That Determine Satisfaction Of Corporate Customers Of A Major Third Party Logistics (3pl) Company: A Case Study Of Unyson Logistics Usa, Claudia A. Rojas

Theses

The study of the service offered in 2010 by Unyson Logistics was consolidated within one customer survey as a need to promote organizational success by reaching customer satisfaction. The interest in satisfaction is due to the several advantages and benefits that offer the philosophy of excellence, among other things, increase the number of loyal customers, increasing the attraction of new clients, new opportunities to help development, improve the policy of reducing costs and optimize the company's image, and reach a higher level of satisfaction regarding the overall experience. This research will determine the main factors that will help Unyson Logistics …

Using Option Prices And Open Interest To Forecast Future Volatility Of A Small Cap Biotech Security Facing A Binary Event, Chris Abbott

Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy of price targets set by options traders for small cap biotech companies approaching a Food and Drug (FDA) event. The study also highlights whether or not an increase in open interest improves the accuracy of options traders target price estimates. The thesis for this paper states that the options estimates of future price movement are accurate predictors of the future price one day before the FDA event. This thesis studies small cap biotech stocks with an approaching FDA approval or advisory committee meeting for the time period of December 2007 …

Contemplative Reflections, Amy Vena

Theses

The collection of artworks encapsulated in the series of paintings, Contemplative Reflections, was completed for the M.F.A. thesis in the Fine Arts Studio program at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The artworks were influenced by similar concerns voiced by many of the romantic thinkers. Two essential components of this document are an investigation of theoretical consciousness, and the application of contemporary visual expression. Derived from romantic ideologies, the Hudson River school and the tonalist movement are often referred to in this document. Artists like Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole and Ralph Albert Blakelock are acknowledged for their representation and admiration …

Facebook Policy And User Knowledge: Self-Inflicted Totalitarianism, Richard Rockelmann Jr

Theses

Facebook has become an integral part of digital natives lives. As the technology is used more often, trust in the service increases. The unfortunate reality: people misinterpret trust by assuming anything can be said and done on this popular social media outlet. The problem of course is the fact that Facebook is a business that is fueled by sharing information to both third parties and other people. Their business scheme, combined with users misunderstanding of what power the policies have over them has the potential to incriminate and destroy students future they are working so hard to obtain. Are people …