Digital Commons Network^™

Towards Efficient Lifelong Machine Learning In Deep Neural Networks, Tyler L. Hayes

Theses

Humans continually learn and adapt to new knowledge and environments throughout their lifetimes. Rarely does learning new information cause humans to catastrophically forget previous knowledge. While deep neural networks (DNNs) now rival human performance on several supervised machine perception tasks, when updated on changing data distributions, they catastrophically forget previous knowledge. Enabling DNNs to learn new information over time opens the door for new applications such as self-driving cars that adapt to seasonal changes or smartphones that adapt to changing user preferences. In this dissertation, we propose new methods and experimental paradigms for efficiently training continual DNNs without forgetting. We …

Lightness, Brightness, And Transparency In Optical See-Through Augmented Reality, Lili Zhang

Theses

Augmented reality (AR), as a key component of the future metaverse, has leaped from the research labs to the consumer and enterprise markets. AR optical see-through (OST) devices utilize transparent optical combiners to provide visibility of the real environment as well as superimpose virtual content on top of it. OST displays distinct from existing media because of their optical additivity, meaning the light reaching the eyes is composed of both virtual content and real background. The composition results in the intended virtual colors being distorted and perceived transparent. When the luminance of the virtual content decreases, the perceived lightness and …

Suffragettes For Cesareans: "Every Woman Should Have A Choice", Julia B. Imanoff

Theses

Patient choice for caesarean delivery (CD) is complex. This choice poses a challenge to Health Care Providers (HCPs) in terms of resource allocation, economics, and surgical risks. Yet, women's understanding of choice is poorly understood. This study answers the question: how HCPs might understand women's choice for CD? Four primiparous women who chose a CD were recruited. Semi-structured interviews were used to generate data. The interpretation followed a hermeneutic approach.

The Effect Of Patient Activation On Transition Clinic Adherence, Megan S. Mcgraw

Theses

Heart failure (HF) affects more than five million Americans and is one of the most commonly occurring reasons for admission to the hospital among adults aged 65 and over. Evidence is growing that the higher amount of patient engagement or activation, the better the health and cost outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between a higher patient activation score, as determined by the PAM-10, and completion in the heart failure transition clinic. The design for this study was a quantitative descriptive study. The patients were given the questionnaire prior to discharge from …

Functional Evolutionary Adaptation Of Binding Dynamics In The Sars-Cov-2/Ace2 Interface From Bats To Humans, Madhusudan Rajendran

Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the substantial public health, economic, and societal consequences of virus spillover from a wildlife reservoir. Widespread human transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) also presents a new set of challenges when considering viral spillover from people to naïve wildlife and other animal populations. Here, we used molecular dynamic (MD) simulations to understand the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from bats to humans and investigate the evolution of the various human variants. More specifically, we used MD simulations to understand the atomic fluctuation dampening at the receptor-binding domain (RBD)/ angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) interface …

Investigating The Presence Of Cladocera Species Within The Wetlands Of Uae, Shamma Eisa Salem Shahdad Alneyadi

Theses

The wetlands ecosystems found in the Arabian Peninsula have been poorly investigated. Moreover, the available information about the presence of freshwater communities have been rarely documented. Although there are scattered records about the presence of freshwater Cladocera organisms within the Arabian Gulf countries; few of them have received proper taxonomic identification. Cladocera populations in freshwater bodies are always characterizing its water quality and other living invertebrates’ community. United Arab Emirates wetlands are among the ecosystems belonging to Ramsar convention for its conservation. The presence of both temporary and permanent freshwater area has been developed after the great interest to collect …

The Correlation Between The Effects Of Strain And Stochiometric Coefficient On The Magnetic Properties Of Srsno₃ And Sr₃Sno, Amal Sameh Kashcoul

Theses

Perovskites (ABX₃) are one of the most prominent families of crystalline alloys have received excellent research attention globally because of their diverse multi-functionalities and the interesting physics underpinning them. On the other hand, antiperovskites (X₃BA) are electronically inverted perovskite derivates, yet they are not an insignificant class of functional materials. Antiperovskites, inheriting the flexible structural characteristics of perovskites and rich in cations at X sites, display unusual chemical and physical properties. The SrSnO₃ is a distinctive perovskite oxide in that it possesses a higher electron conductivity despite its sizeable optical band gap. This dissertation has …

Bandgap Tuning Of Mose2 And Wse2 Monolayers Through Alloying And Substitution: An Ab Initio Study, Shahida Maqsood

Theses

2D materials attracted considerable interest in the research community following the first report in 2004 on the preparation of graphene by simple micromechanical exfoliation of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. For example, single-layer Molybdenum Di selenide (MoSe₂) and Tungsten Di selenide (WSe₂) transistors with on/off ratios of 108 and ultra-low standby power dissipation were demonstrated. Graphene electrodes have been used to develop fully transparent resistive memories to suppress unwanted surface effects that occur in oxide memory devices. Photodetectors based on MoSe₂ with few layers have shown excellent photodetection properties. Phototransistors based on WSe₂ monolayers exhibit …

Sustainability In Design: The Exploration Of Using Digital Design As A Tool To Promote Environmental Conservation And Sustainable Practice, Kaitlyn Maxwell

Theses

The final website deliverable functions not only as a means of presentation, but as a jumping off point for digital designers to build off of, using the carefully curated resources and informational findings that are included in, and crafted specifically for, this project. By focusing on three main aspects of how to answer the research question 1) creating awareness, 2) making a case for caring, and 3) effective messaging methods, a framework has been created that the audience can expand upon without being overwhelmed by a question with many potential routes to travel down. A digital designer can promote sustainable …

Creating Engaging Online Curriculum In A Secondary Graphic Design Class, Berea Moss

Theses

This project focuses on how to improve online learning courses leading to increased student engagement. This project examines a variety of online tools and course structures such as Padlet, introductory videos, and prompt teacher feedback to engage a variety of learners throughout the online course. Prior research conducted on proper online course design was used in the development of an online unit of instruction. The unit created consists of four lessons with an emphasis on proper course layout, student-teacher interactions, and engaging online tools. The project studies the engagement of seventy-eight seventh and eighth grade graphic design students during the …

Application Of Natural Radioactivity For Hydrogeological And Environmental Assessment Of Groundwater In Ras Alkhaimah, Uae, Mohammed Nasser Abdullah Al-Saqri

Theses

Groundwater includes a certain concentration of natural radioactive isotopes of uranium (U) and its decay products (daughters) like radon (Rn). Defining the concentration levels, spatial distribution, and possible environmental impact of these isotopes in groundwater is vital for sustainable groundwater resources in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This dissertation focuses on documenting the distribution and determining the probable environmental impact and sources of Uranium-235 (²³⁵U), Uranium-238 (²³⁸U), and Radon-222 (²²²Rn) in groundwater in the Northern part of the UAE and specifically in the Wadi Al Bih aquifer in Ras Al Khaimah Emirate. The sampled …

Non-Adiabatic Perturbations And Non-Gaussianity During Inflation: Affine Gravity Approach, Isaac Bamwidhi

Theses

This thesis is concerned with providing a complete study of non-Gaussianity and entropy perturbations that are sourced by multiple fields nonminimally coupled to gravity. The study will be performed in the framework of the two important formulations of gravity, namely: purely metric (general relativity) and purely affine formulation – where the metrical structure results from the dynamics of the spacetime affine connection. We shall employ a covariant formalism in our framework and demonstrate that it leads to a curved field space which can produce a conspicuous departure from the purely metric gravity. This work is expected, not only to derive …

نظام التقاضي عن بعد وفقا لقانون الإجراءات المدنیة الإماراتي, مریم محمد الشامسي

Theses

تتناول ھذه الدراسة كیفیة قواعد التقاضي عن بعد وفقا لقانون الإجراءات المدنیة الإماراتي وتحدید ا التطبیق العملي للتقاض ي عن بعد في ضوء صدور القرار الوزاري رقم 260 لسنة 2019 في شأن الدلیل الإجرائي لتنظیم التقاضي باستخدام الوسائل الإلكترونیة والاتصال عن بعد في الإجراءات المدنیة الإماراتي، حیث بینت الدراسة ماھیة التقاضي عن بعد، ووضحت إجراءات التقاضي عن بعد، وتطرقت أیضا إلى خصوصیة التقاضي عن بعد في مرحلة التقاضي.

توصلت الباحثة من خلال الدراسة إلى عدة نتائج مھمة، أو لا:ً أن الإجراءات الورقیة والمواعید الإجرائیة الطویلة في نظام التقاضي التقلیدي تطیل أمد التقاض ي، وتسبب صعوبة الفصل ف ي المنازعات، كما …

The Impact Of Light Rail Transit On The Urban Development In Dubai, Uae, Dhabia Nasser Alhazmi Alefari

Theses

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has seen significant growth in urban development over the past two decades. To overcome the implication of this development, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has called for sustainable transport development at all levels, including the Light Rail Transit (LRT), which is a friendly mass transit system to satisfy the requirements of urban mobility, environmental sustainability, and green power efficiency. The shift towards sustainable mass transport systems has become the ideal choice to overcome the challenges accompanying the growth and development facing cities such as Dubai and to convert them into sustainable environmentally friendly places. …

Finitely Generated Modules Over A Principal Ideal Domain, Mariam Mutawa Meshaab Shemal Al-Dhaheri

Theses

This thesis covers the main theory of modules: modules, submodules, cosets, quotient modules, homomorphisms, ideals, direct sums, and some related topics. Using these notions, a theorem on the structure of finitely generated modules over domains of principal ideals is proved. As an application of this theorem, the theory of the structure of normal forms of matrices over various fields is presented.

Effects Of St713 With Simultaneous Histamine H3 And Dopamine D2/D3 Receptor Antagonist Properties On Cognitive Impairments And Autism-Like Behaviors In Btbr T+Tf/J Mice, Mohammed Mustafa Alawad

Theses

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a multifactorial neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by two core symptoms which are impairments in social interaction and communication, repetitive and restricted behaviors. Dopamine (DA) and histamine (HA) are two neurotransmitters that are proposed to be involved in several brain disorders including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and narcolepsy, all of those disorders are comorbid with ASD. Thus, the palliative effects of the novel multiple-active histamine H3 receptor (H3R) antagonist and dopamine D2/D3 receptor (D2/D3R) antagonist ST-713 with its high H3R antagonist affinity and balanced inhibitory effects on both dopaminergic receptor subtypes D2R and D3R on ASD-like behaviors in …

Role Of Group Work In Promoting Student To Student Interaction And Motivation In The Efl Classroom, Iman Duw Suwassi

Theses

This thesis is concerned with group work and collaborative learning and teaching in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom in the UAE. This study aims to discover the role of group work and collaborative learning in promoting student to student interaction and motivation in the English Language Classroom. Three tools were used in this study to collect data. An online student questionnaire and an online student survey were conducted with 15 high school students during a distance learning lesson on Microsoft Teams. The third tool was an online interview conducted via Zoom with the high school English Teacher. …

Performance Assessment Of Existing Rc Bridges Equipped With Seismic Risk Mitigation Systems, Homam Mohamad Ghazal

Theses

Many bridges built before adopting current design standards may be at risk as they do not meet the latest seismic performance objectives. Bridges are vital infrastructure components required to be serviceable after earthquakes to avoid negative consequences on daily traffic. Previous seismic hazard studies considered the United Arab Emirates an earthquake-prone region subjected to two scenarios: (i) near-field events, and (ii) far-field earthquakes. Therefore, the vulnerability of pre-seismic code bridges in the UAE should be carefully assessed, and retrofit techniques should be proposed to mitigate possible earthquake losses. This study is thus devoted to assessing the seismic vulnerability of a …

Technology Assisted Review Of Legal Documents, Malik Umar Hassan

Theses

A legal prediction-based approach will help judges and solicitors to take judicial decisions on current cases, which are going on in courts, and make predictions on new cases on the basis of existing references and judgments. This model also helps law students learn about legal references. This application was developed specifically for the “Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP)” and the “Pakistan Bar Council (PBC)” to expedite their judgments and provide legal guidance to lawyers based on historical data and constitutions.

Scalable Probabilistic Model Selection For Network Representation Learning In Biological Network Inference, K C Kishan

Theses

A biological system is a complex network of heterogeneous molecular entities and their interactions contributing to various biological characteristics of the system. Although the biological networks not only provide an elegant theoretical framework but also offer a mathematical foundation to analyze, understand, and learn from complex biological systems, the reconstruction of biological networks is an important and unsolved problem. Current biological networks are noisy, sparse and incomplete, limiting the ability to create a holistic view of the biological reconstructions and thus fail to provide a system-level understanding of the biological phenomena. Experimental identification of missing interactions is both time-consuming and …

Predicting Energy Consumption During Expo 2020, Rashed Waleed Albishre

Theses

The art of the Expo event is the bloom in the economy of the country where it is hosted along with the collaboration among the various areas of the country. Dubai availed the privilege of hosting Expo 2020. Dubai being a center of attention for tourist attraction and the growth in its economy, took pride in hosting the event while working on themes and ways to make the event stand out. Expo is known to bring visitors from around the world to one country for a duration of six months where the visitors are provided with an opportunity to enjoy …

Loan Default Prediction System, Ali Abdullatif Ali Albastaki

Theses

Financial institutions have battled with handling and determining the creditworthiness of their clients in the recent past. The ever-increasing customer base makes it hard for financial institutions, especially banks to follow due process of determining if a customer qualifies for a loan or not depending on one's credit history manually. As a result, there have been delays in processing customer loans, making banks and other financial institutions inefficient. Automation of these tasks has come as a factor of necessity, to improve the speed, cost, and efficiency of processing loans. Thus, an AI web-based application that predicts the probability of borrowers’ …

English Language Teachers’ Perceptions Of Implementing Digital Game-Based Learning In The Uae Middle Schools, Israa Mohammed Abbas

Theses

This study investigates how English teachers perceive the use and implementation of DGBL in middle schools in the United Arab Emirates. Digital game-based learning is a relatively new method that is being integrated into the classroom. This method requires ICT skills in line with pedagogy to be practiced in a meaningful way. The main objective of this study is to highlight the positive aspects and the obstacles that teachers may face when using DGBL in the classroom. The study used a mix of methods to answer the research questions. The first phase used the quantitative method through a questionnaire distributed …

Climate Change Awareness In The United Arab Emirates, Mariam Matar Abdulla Mohammed Almheiri

Theses

Climate change has focused public attention in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the role of society in environmental protection. The objective of this study was to determine the level of public awareness of climate change in the seven emirates of the UAE. The study also aimed to determine the spatial and geographical distribution and gender differences, as well as to investigate the possible influence of human activities on climate change impacts. In a cross-sectional survey, the researcher used a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 4000 participants to answer the research questions. The drop-off pick-up (DOPU) method …

Reproducing Kernel Method For Solving Fuzzy Initial Value Problems, Qamar Kamel Dallashi

Theses

In this thesis, numerical solution of the fuzzy initial value problem will be investigated based on the reproducing kernel method. Problems of this type are either difficult to solve or impossible, in some cases, since they will produce a complicated optimized problem. To overcome this challenge, reproducing kernel method will be modified to solve this type of problems. Theoretical and numerical results will be presented to show the efficiency of the proposed method.

Supply Chain Resilience By Strategic Sourcing: A Case Study, Abel Mathews

Theses

Purpose- To briefly explore the topic of improving supply chain resilience using strategic sourcing and its benefits to businesses when adopted. The project also develops a framework for the implementation of the principles of strategic sourcing for an HVAC manufacturer and supplier in the UAE, considering the pandemic and its impact on market requirements. Approach- Define the need for strategic sourcing to meet the current market condition in the UAE. Develop a strategic sourcing framework tailor-made to the company based on the requirement of the case study to offer an advantage in the current market. Develop methodologies to implement strategic …

Preparing Prelicensure Nursing Students For Workplace Violence: A Limit Setting Education Module, Maychao Michelle Yang

Theses

In the hospital setting, de-escalation training has become a very important method of preventing workplace violence against nurses and other healthcare workers. While nurses are now required to complete workplace violence prevention training, there is no guarantee that nurses who complete the training have the communication skills needed during the de-escalation process with disruptive or aggressive patients. In prelicensure nursing programs, key skills in deescalation training such as limit setting could form a solid foundation for any further training provided in the hospital setting. An online educational module on the topic of limit setting with patients and visitors was created …

Organizational Excellence And Agility - Correlation Model, Karam Yousef Al-Assaf

Theses

The strive to sustain excellence within organizations has increased with the constant change in customer demands and toughening of competition. With these rapid changes occurring, the need for organizations to be agile has become a significant element in their operation schemes to sustain the excellence and be future-ready. This need raises the question of the relationship between organizational excellence and agility. Various models and frameworks have been developed to achieve excellence and agility in organizations. However, limited studies have correlated the two. This research investigates the relationship between excellence and agility within organizations and develops an assessment correlation index matrix …

Crassostrea Gigas Invasion In Southern California: Macrofaunal Diversity And Local Community Impacts Of Ecosystem Engineers On Estuarine Habitats, Noah Jansen-Yee

Theses

Many marine ecosystems are facing the growing threat of biological invasions. These invasions can have a variety of different impacts on ecosystems and their inhabitants. The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, is currently in the relatively early stages of invasion in San Diego estuaries. Crassostrea gigas is a large, filter-feeding bivalve that forms dense oyster beds on hard substrate. These oysters are known to outcompete native counterparts and drastically alter habitats where they are present. Crassostrea gigas is an ecosystem engineer that, through shell creation and formation of a dense oyster matrix, impacts ecosystems in a variety of direct and indirect …

Towards Sustainable Cities: E-Waste Collecting Machine: A Conceptual Design, Marwah Al Ramsi, Alia Al Helali

Theses

Continuous development, keeping up with technology and increasing the production of multi-feature electronic devices are all factors that have increased the use of electronic devices all over the world. The accumulation of E-devices by individuals increases the amount of electronic waste that causes environmental pollution problems. Therefore, an innovative solution must be found that encourages people to give up old or damaged electronic items for recycling and benefit from their contents. An electronic waste collecting scheme that grants reward points to contributors and link the waste to recycling companies is suggested as an appropriate solution to attract people's attention. The …