Digital Commons Network^™

Cyber Crime And Telecommunications Law, Robert Imhof

Theses

Cyber crime is a new and emerging area of concern for technology professionals, business leaders, and heads of government. This research takes a look at the individuals behind these crimes in order to develop a profile and determine emerging trends. Classical Sociological theory is detailed and its ability to apply to modern cyber crime is explained. Interviews were conducted with five professionals in the field in order to gain a wide range of differing experiences and emerging trends. The most important cyber crime laws in the United States Code were broken down into their elements and explained in a way …

Identifying A Weak Link In The Network Chain: Determining How Prepared Dominican It Administrators Are To Confront Today’S Security Issues, Héctor Henríquez Badía

Theses

Enterprises in Dominican Republic are growing in size; this means that sooner or later these enterprises will have the necessity to create an IT department to manage their systems and networks. This research studied how secure an enterprise can be with Network administrators from the mentioned country. This study used mixed methods to get more deep results about the mentioned problem. This research discovered that Dominican IT administrators are well versed in network security theory, but when it comes to apply this knowledge at work, according to the qualitative part of this research they are slothful, and take things lightly; …

Psychological Benefits And Educational Potential Of Physically Immersive Artificial Environment Pedagogy, Dean Ganskop

Theses

Over the last decade, physically immersive artificial environments (PIAEs) have proliferated. These environments afford greater interactivity, which has been shown to increase learner understanding, knowledge retention, and interest in the subject (Bonwell & Eison, 1991, p. 3; Prince, 2004). It would follow, then, that PIAEs would have similar educational benefits. However, little research has been done to prove that such benefits exist. Immersive environments include 2-demensional and 2.5-dimensional on-screen displays, semi-immersive screens, and physically immersive setups, such as CAVE and blue-c (Display Systems: 3D & Advanced, 2008; Gross, n.d.). There are many perceived benefits to immersive environments. At present, their …

Securing The It Acquisition Security Chain: Security Concerns And Human Factors In It Acquisition, Eric Goldman

Theses

This thesis research evaluates the extent to which IT decision makers consider security concerns and requirements while performing technology acquisition in small-to-medium sized organizations. The research sought to understand what factors influence decision maker attitudes on the role of security during acquisition and how these attitudes and decision strategies affect security throughout the system lifecycle. Through an interview based study, with fifteen IT decision makers from small-to-medium sized organizations, decision maker attitudes and organizational practices were evaluated. The findings suggest that security is not often considered during the acquisition process and is not a crucial element of acquisition decision and …

An Ontology-Based Assistant For Analyzing Agents' Activities, Roland Johnson

Theses

This thesis reports on work in progress on software that helps an analyst identify and analyze activities of actors (such as vehicles) in an intelligence-relevant scenario. A system is being developed to aid intelligence analysts, IAGOA ((Intelligence Analyst’s Geospatial and Ontological Assistant). Analysis may be accomplished by retrieving simulated satellite data of ground vehicles and interacting with software modules that allow the analyst to conjecture the activities in which the actor is engaged along with the (largely geospatial and temporal) features of the area of operation relevant to the natures of those activities. Activities are conceptualized by ontologies. The research …

Museum Education And Professional Development Partnerships: How The Educational Programs Of Museums Enhance Career Goals And Professional Development Skills In Adults, Victoria A. Jensen

Theses

No abstract provided.

Assessing Interpretability Of Visual Symbols Of Varied Colors Across Demographic Profiles, Brendan Parker

Theses

Visual symbols are often ambiguous. An icon is meant to convey a particular meaning, but viewers may interpret the image differently. This thesis shows how a viewer`s demographic background and icon color can affect their interpretation of a symbol. A website survey, featuring a library of icons, asked users of varied demographic profiles to interpret each figure presented randomly in one of five colors: black, blue, red, green, and orange. The qualitative text data from the participants` interpretations were compared to the quantitative data from icon and demographic information by means of multinomial logit analysis. The experiment found numerous noteworthy …

The Pathology Of Addiction, Janis Dougherty

Theses

The field of addiction has grown exponentially in the last 60 years with abundant research and results. Today we understand that addiction is less of a disease and more of a choice, however, it continues to be a perplexing disease. The focus of this thesis project is to condense the theories presented in Dr. Ronald Ruden's book The Craving Brain into a 7 minute animated film. The film illustrates three major topics outlined in the book: "Landscaping the Brain", stress, and neurotransmitters. The conclusion ties it all together showing how each individual piece contributes to the makeup of the addictive …

An Exploration Of The Study Abroad Experiences Of United States Students In Three Halls Of Residence At A Catholic University In Western Australia, Nicole Schiffer

Theses

The purpose of this research was to explore the ways United States students develop through studying abroad at a Catholic university in Western Australia. The significance of the research lies in the belief that host and home universities should be aware of the needs of these study abroad students. The needs of these students were understood through an exploration of the challenges faced, the support received, and the personal and professional development attained.

Four dimensions of the context contributed to an understanding of this study. These four dimensions were the University of Notre Dame Australia Fremantle, the UNDA three halls …

‘Remember The Peasantry’: A Study Of Genocide, Famine, And The Stalinist Holodomor In Soviet Ukraine, 1932-33, As It Was Remembered By Post-War Immigrants In Western Australia Who Experienced It, Lesa Melnyczuk Morgan

Theses

In 1936 Joseph Stalin offered what he called ‘friendly advice’ to his Communist allies in war-torn Spain: ‘One should pay attention to the peasantry, which...is of great importance.’¹ So important, indeed, was the peasantry to the security of the Communist state that Stalin had adopted ruthless, widespread policies in the Soviet Union to ensure their compliance with the centralised regime in Moscow.

The devastating famine experienced in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 was an example of such ruthless policies of Stalin’s government. Some scholars argue that in the space of a year up to ten million people died …

Genetic And Evolutionary Feature Selection And Weighting For Face Recognition, Tamirat Abegaz

Theses

In this thesis, we have Investigated the hybridization of genetic-based feature selection (GEFeS), genetic-based feature weighting (GEFeW) and LBP-based face recognition techniques. The results indicate that feature selection and weighting enhances the overall performance of LBP-based face recognition techniques. In addition, the results show that GEFeS reduces the number of features needed by approximately 50% while obtaining significant improvement in the accuracy. GEFeS improves the accuracy from 70.36 to 96.62 (in the case of LBP-GEFeS) and from 70.71 to 96.43 (in the case of oLBP-GEFeS) respectively.

Learning To Fly: How We Finally Got Our Documentaries Off The Ground, Rehema Trimiew

Theses

This paper chronicles the four years that I worked on my thesis film "Learning To Fly," which I screened at the RIT May 2010 screenings. Much of this process included significant obstacles that I was thankfully able to overcome due to the support of friends and family. I have tried to include many of the details of this journey, however this has created a lengthy account. For me it's important to include many of the traumatic moments that I experienced so that I can move on and create more, hopefully less distressing productions. Because I retained so many emails and …

How Independent Irish Music Artists Are Practising Online Pr Techniques By Utilising Social Media Tools., Áine Cullen

Theses

This Dissertation explores how the evolution of social media is enabling Irish Independent music artists to publicise their music. It aims to explore the online public relations techniques that Independent Irish music artists are using and determine whether they are embracing it.

A qualitative research design was chosen and the primary method used to gather the data were in-depth interviews with PR professionals in the music industry, PR directors, major record labels. Independent record labels and Irish music artists that practice social media.

The research findings reveal how beneficial social media are for Independent music artists and show how social …

The Application Of Viral Marketing To The Irish Film Industry, Stephen O'Mahony

Theses

The research examines the concept of viral marketing and in particular, its application to the Irish film industry. It explores the merits of viral marketing as a promotional technique for Irish film and the associated online social media channels through which viral messages are disseminated. Further to this, the study identifies the extent to which viral marketing and online social media have been adopted by Irish consumers and enterprise. Given that viral marketing is still in its relative infancy, the research also takes a conceptual approach so that it contributes to the continued understanding of the practice in general.

A …

Self Fish, Douglas E. Rogers

Theses

Without the pursuit of love and happiness, breath is simply the sand of an hourglass pouring away to our time of passing. Love is the reason we are alive. To spend even a moment in misery is a moment wasted. Love is the goal of humanity. Everyone has or will experience love in its many forms over the course of a lifetime. Many, out of ignorance, habit, or sheer desperation, will fall in love with the wrong person. Most of us have or will have that one failed relationship, the one we reflect on as the relationship that taught us …

Necessity Of Implementing Electronic Personal Health Information Privacy Regulation In Dominican Republic, Miguel Molina

Theses

The use of technology has increased considerably in the Dominican Republic in the past years. All public and private organizations have started a process of digitize all information they manage. The health area is not away from this process and hence they have started to use personal health records in a digital format. However, the management given to this information is not regulated by any law in the DR. Doctors, medical centers, health assurance companies and patients treat this data as they want without any control which represents a huge privacy risk for patients in the country. During our investigation …

The Book Of Job: Navigating Between The Two Jobs From The Perspective Of Ritual, Lawrence Pang

Theses

The overarching problem concerning the unity of the book of Job is its conflicting juxtaposition of Job’s character. In the prose frame, Job does not charge God with any wrongdoing despite the afflictions against him and is acknowledged by God for his piety whereas in the dialogue, Job responses with words of accusation against God for his trouble and for mismanaging the affairs of the world according to the orthodoxy of reward and punishment. Various methodological approaches, ranging from the synchronic to the diachronic, have been advanced to account for the dissonance, however, to date, no attempt has been made …

Utilising A Combined Exercise And Counselling Program To Examine The Relationship Between Emotional Self-Efficacy And Physiological Improvements In Breast Cancer Survivors, Jena K. Buchan

Theses

Breast cancer diagnosis in women has increased in recent years, though medical progress has helped more patients become survivors rather than victims. With cancer diagnosis and treatment, however, comes a host of psychological and physical side effects that must be addressed. Research has found exercise and counselling may decrease the detrimental effects of breast cancer, but programs have typically utilised these modalities separately. As psychosocial issues appear correlated with physical health, it is imperative to examine the mind-body connection and explore the benefits of a combination exercise and counselling program. One psychological variable of interest is emotional self-efficacy, which relates …

The Role Of The Imagination In The Religious Conversion Of Adolescents Attending Catholic Secondary Schools, Richard Patrick Branson

Theses

The mission of the Catholic Church is evangelisation, the purpose of which is conversion. At a diocesan level, the mission is carried out through the agencies of family, parish and school. Every Catholic school is mandated to carry out its part in the Church’s mission through its curriculum that incorporates both Religious Education and planned catechetical experiences. This study was devised to find out some students’ perceptions of their faith, the influences that they perceive on changes to their faith, and to describe how the imagination assisted their faith development and religious conversion. Fifteen Catholic secondary school students from four …

The Resettlement Process In The Lignite Mining Areas Of Kosovo : [Presentation Given February 23, 2010], Besnik Haziri

Theses

The resettlement process for the purposes of exploiting natural resources often causes problems for governments and the people concerned. This is the case in most countries. In fact, the use of private agricultural land or the construction of industrial buildings for the purpose of exploiting natural resources can be relatively easily compensated with money or other benefits. Industrial buildings can be rebuilt at another location, and agricultural land can be exchanged for other land owned by the company. However, when it comes to the requirement to demolish and/or relocate houses, then the question is much more complex than just compensation …

Proposed Standards And Best Practices For Technological Infrastructure At Contact Centers In The Dominican Republic, Patricia Ortiz Suárez

Theses

The Contact Center industry in the Dominican Republic has experienced a considerable and fast growth in the last years. The main focus of this industry has been offering services to companies located outside the country. One notorious problem is the lack of written documentation in regards to general requirements needed to set up a Contact Center in the territory. The objective of this research is the presentation of a set of proposed standards and best practices for requirements of Technological Infrastructure for Contact Centers located in the Dominican Republic. These standards and best practices have been developed considering the needs …

Security Practices: A Mixed Approach, Sourabh Dass

Theses

Consistency of information is ideally maintained by adhering to the best practices and policies. However, statistics show trends of rising threats in information security in global landscape. It leads us to believe that there may be scope for improvement in transforming a good policy on paper into a better practice. This thesis research identifies various points of failure that arise out of improper implementation of a good policy. This research provides basic guidelines for implementation of usable security policies.

Investigating Attributes - From Technologist To Business Leader, Christopher Kronenthal

Theses

As technology matures, its proliferation within an organization is ever more evident, providing a myriad of opportunities for career advancement and visibility for those specialized in the field. Taking advantage of this environment requires certain skill sets and personality traits. This thesis attempts to synthesize two disparate categories of professional aptitude (technologist and executive/business leader) by utilizing the common psychological profile platform known as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and then, apply that synthesis to an analysis of whether or not a correlation exists between the two groups. The key denoting factor amongst the two demographics in the supporting studies …

An Analytic Investigation Into Self Organizing Maps And Their Network Topologies, Renee Baltimore

Theses

This paper details master's thesis work involving research and investigation into the approach of self-organizing maps for clustering of data, more specifically, clustering of image data, and how this can be used in understanding image composition. This work will build upon ideas which have previously been explored, such as using self organizing maps for identifying and grouping different regions of an image which may possess similar features. A large part of this research is based upon experimentation with a variety of topological models of the self-organizing map network and investigation into what advantages these different topologies afford the network in …

Does Dual Task Interference Affect Concurrent Duration Production?, Mary Merlau

Theses

Time perception has been cited as a good measure of workload because it seldom interferes with performance of tasks that do not require time estimation, is easy to implement, and is sensitive to task difficulty (Hart, 1975a; Zakay & Shub, 1998). It was hypothesized that duration productions could be used to measure workload caused by two word tasks that would interfere with one another as outlined by Wickens' (1980) multiple resource theory. To test this hypothesis participants estimated a 15 second duration while performing a visual animal name detection task, along with an auditory animal name detection task, or a …

The Application Of Social Marketing In Increasing Blood Donation Among Donors And Non Donors: The Case Of Third Level Students., John Healy

Theses

In today’s society, blood donation is dependent on the goodwill of people to voluntarily donate blood without financial reward. There is a continuous need for new blood donors, because the demand for donor blood is increasing, whereas the supply of blood is declining. Three thousand blood donations are needed in Ireland every week. Maintaining an adequate supply is the biggest challenge. Only 3.6% of the population in the Republic of Ireland donate blood. This leaves an enormous potential blood donor base, which if tapped into and maintained could lead to an adequate reserve of donations to meet the transfusion needs …

The Piano Laboratory As An Interlinking Resource In The Development Of Keyboard Skills For Young Pianists, Elaine Gordon

Theses

This study presents an account of practice-based educational research that was conducted during three half-year cycles between 2008 and 2010 in the CIT Cork School of Music (CSM) piano laboratories with Junior piano pupils and their teachers as participants. The study sought to explore teaching approaches in the PianoLab classes and to evaluate interlinking resources for young pianists in the context of their wider music education.

In line with action-oriented qualitative methods, the first cycle involved preliminary data gathering, through questionnaires and interviews, from musicianship and piano teachers on topics related to teaching materials. Subsequently, a Focus Group was set …

An Empirical Investigation Across Second-Level, Third-Level And Adult-Level Career Guidance Services In Ireland, Tara Conlon

Theses

This study is an investigation across second-level, third-level and adult-level career guidance services in Ireland. This study particularly focuses on the different career guidance services available to the Irish population and how people use these services to help them in making academic and professional decisions. Many difficulties are encountered by people making critical choices on course and career options in order to progress.

The recent downturn in the Irish economy has had a significant effect on educational and career paths of the Irish population. Job losses and redundancies have led to an increase in unemployment rates. A significant amount of …

Politics 2.0 : The Emergence Of New Media And Its Impact On Political Communication In Ireland: A Public Relations Perspective, Gerald Counihan

Theses

Political communication occurs as a by-product of any political action. It can either be managed or not. The traditional methods of communication are still very prevalent in Irish political communication. The party maintains a strong role in communicating, but it does not infringe overly much on is national and local representatives.

The traditional mass media are play a crucial role in facilitating communication but the emergence of web 2.0 applications in social media is slowly beginning to revolutionise political communication in Ireland.

The evolution of communications tools over the past number of years has revolutionised the PR industry, and therefore …

Exploring Aspects Of Social Change In A Newly Multi-Cultural Community, Mary Hopkins

Theses

This research explored aspect of the social changes attached to the arrival of immigrants in a smaller-type rural community. It was particularly concerned with how this newly multicultural community was adapting to and accepting of a new social identity.

This study may have provided the first opportunity for locals and new-comers to engage with the nature of changes happening in the community and to speak out on what they had to say.

Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 5 local population members, 5 adult immigrants and 2 support service staff. This research examined levels of cultural nationalism among local respondents, …