Digital Commons Network^™

Reducing Global Demand On Conflict Minerals In Consumer Electronics And Lithium-Ion Batteries, Mosunmola Odulate

Theses

Advances in technology have led to increasing demand for more sophisticated electronic products, which, in turn, induces demand for raw materials essential for product performance. A class of such materials is mined in places in the world that are politically unstable – they are called Conflict Minerals (CMs) because profits from their mining and trade support human rights violations in their places of origin. They include Tantalum, Tin, Tungsten, and Gold (3TG). To reduce global reliance on 3TG, government policies from local and international communities are the only works in place, but what is still unclear is their efficacy towards …

You Know That Feeling You Get Right After You Vomit? Yeah, I Want To Feel That., Jin Chan

Theses

You Know that Feeling You Get Right After You Vomit? Yeah, I Want to Feel That is an ongoing collection of photographic and sculptural components existing as found object mixedmedia such as oranges, wood, flowers, and inkjet prints held by T-pins. Through a surrealistic indulgence of abjection and uncanniness, with an implied bodily violence, this series of work comes to an understanding of time, identity, and existing between social boundaries creating a push and pull to define “in-betweenness”. This contradiction causes a psychic dissonance, or a mental contradiction of belonging; to exist in-between is to exist uncannily. “In-betweenness” is represented …

Dog Days On The Chaparral, Hugo Teixeira

Theses

Dog Days on the Chaparral is an installation comprised of three photographic sculptures made in response to the question “where are you from?” Although I define myself as both Portuguese and American, as someone who immigrated as a child, my identification as either ebbs and flows. The work embodies this slipperiness—a complicated emotional geography—in fabricated sculptures which collage images of two landscapes, the California chaparral and Portuguese montado, as proxies for these two homes and identities. I employ vernacular building materials and tools, such as lumber, engineered wood, common fasteners, house paint and steel clamps to create a literal and …

Tiny Furious Circles, Ann M. Herrington

Theses

I have had time to live and time to reflect on that living. What I have found is that certain things present themselves, over and over, wearing different skins. And though they look different, there is a certain whiff of familiarity that activates the soul’s hindbrain and pulls you close. That’s how it has been for me. Because of this — my failure to learn the first time; my need to see a thing from all its sides; my constant picking at the half-healed — certain themes repeat. And because they have come to me at different times in many …

The Vulnerability Of Chronic Stress: Implications For Feeling Like Giving Up, Miranda Jany

Theses

The feeling of learned helplessness has been associated with prolonged stress and trauma. Additionally, many previous studies have examined the relationship between stress and decreased feelings of control, such as self-efficacy and locus of control. However, these forms of control have been primarily self-reported. The present study aimed to investigate the relationships among learned helplessness, chronic stressors, and self-agency using a computer-based task. We also measured heart rate variability (HRV) during the self-agency task to assess psychophysiological correlates of these variables. Seventy-four participants completed a series of questionnaires that were used to assess lifelong stressors (e.g., exposure to natural disasters, …

Influences Of Salvinorin A And Sex Differences On Depressive- And Anxiety-Like Behaviors In A Chronic Mild Stress Paradigm, Sarah Mitchell

Theses

Kappa opioid receptors are colocalized with dopamine receptors and are frequently associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and drug use and abuse. KOR antagonism has widely been considered anti-depressive and anxiolytic in animal models while agonism is pro-depressive and anxiogenic. However, recent findings suggest that SalvA, a natural kappa agonist derived from a plant in the mint family, can reduce depressive- and anxiety-like behavior in rats. The current study investigated the effects of chronic mild stress on behavior, attenuation by SalvA, and sex differences. 52 Long-Evans rats, 26 males and 26 females, were exposed to six weeks of CMS. Animals received …

Effects Of Prior Land Use, Carbon Availability, And Hydrology On Nitrogen Cycling In Created Freshwater Wetlands, Michael Mcgowan

Theses

Freshwater wetlands are a critical feature of the landscape, providing important ecosystem services such as nutrient removal. However, created wetlands often fail to meet functional performance criteria, frequently due to shortcomings in management of key functional drivers, especially hydrology and soil quality. In natural wetlands, hydrology, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) availability play an important role in nutrient cycling. However, controls on the relative importance of denitrification and N fixation, and release of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O ) are poorly understood in created wetlands. The tradeoff between these processes and the mechanisms for improved management are are imperative …

Meaning In The Noise: Neural Signal Variability In Major Depressive Disorder, Sally M. Pessin

Theses

Clinical research has revealed aberrant activity and connectivity in default mode (DMN), frontoparietal (FPN), and salience (SN) network regions in major depressive disorder (MDD). Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies suggest that variability in brain activity, or blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal variability, may be an important novel predictor of psychopathology. However, to our knowledge, no studies have yet determined the relationship between resting-state BOLD signal variability and MDD nor applied BOLD signal variability features to the classification of MDD history using machine learning (ML). Thus, the current study had three aims: (i) to investigate the differences …

Whispering Messengers: Everyone Has A Bunny, Tracy Shih-Tung Cheng

Theses

How can I connect people through my art? My research focuses on the “bonds” of relations. The intent is for my art to become a bond to connect people. Compared to just walking around and staring at the artwork, I believe that experience with touch and play can impact audiences more directly.

The idea of my work is based on the experience of passing notes to exchange messages When I was a student I wrote notes to friends, then folded the note to create an origami form before passing them to the recipient. The origami from transformed the note into …

Supererogation And Moral Reasons, Justin B. Yee

Theses

This paper is about the paradox of supererogation and why supererogation is morally optional. I argue that supererogation is morally optional because it is supported by both moral reasons and nonmoral reasons. I understand moral reasons to be agent-neutral reasons that apply to everybody while nonmoral reasons are agent-relative reasons that don’t apply to everybody. By understanding supererogation in this way, I have rejected the common assumption that what makes supererogation supererogatory is moral. Instead I argue that the source of supererogation is nonmoral. One important upshot to this is that unlike those who claim that the source of supererogation …

The Public’S Reaction, Over Time, To The Findings Of The Warren Report, Adam T. Fry

Theses

Abstract

From the moment President Kennedy was shot, the public had difficulty accepting Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone assassin, and spoke in terms of conspiracy. Polling data indicated that while Oswald may have participated in the plot, the majority believed others were also involved. Examining the public’s response to the vocal critics of the Warren Commission, the findings of both the Church Committee and the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), and the release of pertinent documents as a result of the Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, an image of an unconvinced public is seen. Evidence of this can …

Do Hardworking Role Models Lower Implicit Gender-Science Bias?, Christina Garasky

Theses

Prior research has demonstrated that implicit gender-science biases discourage women from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Gender-science biases promote the belief that women cannot be successful in STEM, which can affect women's sense of belonging and commitment to STEM. While women scientists serving as role models benefit women in STEM by decreasing implicit gender-science biases and increasing perceived belonging and performance in STEM, the influence of role model qualities on implicit bias has not been widely explored. The current study examined the influence role model qualities (hardworking, gifted) have on implicit gender-science bias. The research also …

For The Sensing Of Viral Dna: An Integrated Polydimethylsiloxane Accurate Crispr Detection (Impact) System, Kenneth N. Hass

Theses

Infectious disease outbreaks have become more frequent and extreme in recent years, and as populations continue to grow and the world becomes more interconnected, they show no signs of stopping. The current COVID-19 pandemic affecting the world and grinding economies to a halt was known about months ago but could not be contained. One of the largest issues facing the containment of infectious disease is a lack of real-time, point-of-care detection devices which can accurately and effectively identify those who are infected so they can be treated and quarantined. Here, an Integrated Micropillar Polydimethylsiloxane Accurate CRISPR Detection (IMPACT) system is …

Effects Of Heterogeneity, Technological Progress And Interaction On Carbon Mitigation Costs, Saptarshi Das

Theses

As many societal needs compete with sustainability for a finite pool of public resources, understanding the cost of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions has become a critical sustainability question. The Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) is a widely used approach to characterize mitigation costs. It is constructed by ordering technological and other interventions to mitigating an emission from lowest to highest cost, indicating the cumulative mitigation possible for each intervention. It is clearly a simplification of a complex techno-economic system and has been criticized for neglecting factors such as dynamics, consumer behavior, non-cost barriers to adoption, and interactions between technologies. However, …

Applying Systems Pharmacology To The Treatment Of Chronic Illness Using Novel Scoring And Translational Methods, Spencer Richman

Theses

Chronic illnesses are poorly understood diseases that are often highly resistant to treatment. The prevalence and severity of these illnesses necessitates new methods for treatment development that diverge from the paradigm of one drug, one illness. Instead, multidrug interventions that utilize repurposable, previously approved drugs could be far more advantageous. In order to support this, a novel scoring framework and accompanying set of tools, collectively termed DrugAble, have been developed. DrugAble scores proposed, model-based treatment target solutions by analyzing drug-target interaction data and addressing the network complexity of these solutions. Actionability scores that summarize the likelihood of a proposed target …

Visualization & Automation Of Shams Dubai Report, Noora Ibrahim Alblooshi

Theses

Dubai’s Smart Grid strategy includes the implementation of Distributed Energy Resources and Distribution Automation (DA) facilities to continuous monitoring and remote control from DEWA’s Distribution Control Center (DCC) , and, in some cases, automatic control of electric distribution assets operated at 33kV or lower. The increase level of telemetry and automation in the field imposes a greater challenge in monitoring and live data visualization for establishing a decision support system that empowers distribution system operators and enables optimal control of existing and planned assets. This challenge can be overcome through introducing data science tools in the sector of energy. Through …

High – Rise Housing And Social Interaction Study Under Current Chinese High-Rise Residential Situation, Yao Yao

Theses

High-rise residential buildings, accommodating the significant amount of Chinese population in urban areas, has been the most primary housing style in great cities of China today, due to the conflict between severe Chinese land use and huge population. However, after moving to high-rise housing, Chinese residents in high-rise buildings barely have social interaction with each other compared with the past decades. Additionally, less social interaction in residential housing could lead to a series of problems which have a negative influence on people’s daily lives.

Through a summary of previous research and a questionnaire, to investigate the current situation of social …

Exhibition Labels: Language, Accessibility And Inclusion, Brienna Johnson-Morris

Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between language and visitor experience as key facets of accessibility and inclusion by asking how museums use language to address visitor experience and facilitate engagement. When museums are sources of exclusion, a barrier exists between potential visitors and the collections on view, effectively gatekeeping cultural heritage, arts, and humanities. To examine the extent to which language contributes to this, I discuss power dynamics and language, specifically how language contributes to and supports social hierarchy. Then I relate this research to museum education and evaluate how discursive power dynamics operate within these institutions. Combining museum education …

Impact Analysis Of Electric Vehicle Demand On Demand Profile, Electricity Charges And System Emissions Of Rochester Institute Of Technology, Akshata Shanbhag

Theses

In view of growing concerns of greenhouse gas emissions, electrification in the transportation fleet is expected to increase globally. To accommodate the incoming increase in energy demand from vehicle charging, the existing electrical network should be managed in a way that the load is operated with no electrical instability. Peak demand occurrences which could be measured daily, annually, weekly, monthly or annually should be avoided in order to maintain the health of the electrical network and reduce demand charges billed to the end energy user. Moreover, depending on the emissions factor of the fuel mix used in a region for …

Animal Testing Sentimental Analysis Using Twitter, Afra Naji Saeed Almansoori

Theses

This research explores attitudes towards the testing of cosmetics on animals, as pressure is increasing all over the world to stop animal testing and different countries have introduced policies to ban it. It is estimated that more than 115 million animals worldwide are used in laboratory experiments every year. But because only a small proportion of countries collect and publish data concerning use of animals for testing and research, the precise numbers are unknown. This research was designed to investigate whether awareness of the issue impacts whether or not people support animal testing. The research hypothesis is that the reason …

Exploring Students Mental Behaviors Using Unsupervised Learning Algorithms And Graph Theory, Abdullah Hussein Mohsen

Theses

With the high amount of mentally seeking behaviors among students nationwide according to Healthy minds network survey (2019) and lack of related studies to students mental health in the Gulf region, a gap is created Fatima Al-Darmaki et al. (2015) this project is executed to fill the gap by utilizing data analytics techniques to generate insights that can be used to support future decisions. Students who suffer from mental disorders are most likely to disengage from university which can be translated into a dropout. Many organizations are conducting periodically to capture as many insights to tackle those behaviors. This project …

Toward Data-Driven Discovery Of Software Vulnerabilities, Nuthan Munaiah

Theses

Over the years, Software Engineering, as a discipline, has recognized the potential for engineers to make mistakes and has incorporated processes to prevent such mistakes from becoming exploitable vulnerabilities. These processes span the spectrum from using unit/integration/fuzz testing, static/dynamic/hybrid analysis, and (automatic) patching to discover instances of vulnerabilities to leveraging data mining and machine learning to collect metrics that characterize attributes indicative of vulnerabilities. Among these processes, metrics have the potential to uncover systemic problems in the product, process, or people that could lead to vulnerabilities being introduced, rather than identifying specific instances of vulnerabilities. The insights from metrics can …

The Impact Of Pocket Parks To Enhance Public Space And Realm In Ajman, Uae, Manal Abdalla Al Shamsi

Theses

Green spaces in urban life play an important role in maintaining healthy lifestyle and providing a calm and peaceful place for roaming around. Large new urban park projects are gradually decreasing in dense cities, and small green spaces like pocket parks are likely to become more important. However previous studies showed that multiple research studies on small urban green spaces have been conducted. On infill sites and other overlooked city corners, pocket parks are created. Apart from the obvious benefits of the ecosystem and the environment, they can be a small but important step towards a fair architecture. The project …

Faculty Perceptions Of The Implementation Of The United Arab Emirate’S Qualifications Framework (Qf Emirates) In Federal Higher Education Institutions, Ahmed Obaid Elhakim

Theses

The adoption of qualifications frameworks has been witnessing a growing interest across the globe in the past few decades. Despite widespread awareness and support, there are not enough studies exploring how qualifications frameworks resonate with different stakeholders. The main objective of this study is to examine faculty perceptions of the implementation of the United Arab Emirate’s Qualifications Framework (QF Emirates). In particular, the study explores faculty perceptions of: (a) the QF Emirates general purpose and structure; (b) the impact of implementing the QF Emirates on academic practices; and (c) some key factors that could facilitate effective implementation of the QF …

Effectiveness Of The Smart Government In Abu Dhabi Municipality: A Study Of The Customers’ Opinion, Hajar Saeed Alafreet Alkuwaiti

Theses

Smart government has become a new way of delivering services to the public that not only is efficient and quicker, but is also useful and convenient for the customers availing those services. By adopting advanced technologies government nowadays are transforming public services and offering enhanced experience to the customers. However, since these services are based on new technologies, people are often apprehensive of using them because of privacy security and other concerns and that creates challenges for smart government implementation. The current research that aims to understand if Abu Dhabi Municipality’s smart government initiatives are meeting customer service expectations and …

الخطأ المرفقي الموجب للمسؤولية الإدارية على ضوء أحكام القضائين الفرنسي والإماراتي, عائشة خلف محمد النقبي

Theses

تهدف هذه الرسالة إلى بيان فكرة الخطأ المرفقي كأساس للمسؤولية الإدارية وكيفية تقدير القضاء لهذا الخطأ، نظراً إلى أن هذه المسؤولية ستقع على عاتق المرفق العام فهو الذي يتحملها ويدفع التعويض المترتب عليها، المحكوم به من طرف القضاء صاحب الاختصاص. ولا يمكن مساءلة الإدارة - سواء في المسؤولية القائمة على أساس الخطأ أو بدون خطأ - إلا إذا ترتب على ذلك الخطأ أو النشاط ضرر معين، فإذا انتفى الضرر انتفى معه حق المطالبة بالتعويض، وإذا تحقق الضرر فإن المسؤولية لا تتحقق إلا بوجود علاقة سببية بين الفعل الضار الصادر من الإدارة وبين الضرر الذي لحق المضرور.

وقد تعددت وتنوعت صور …

Cognitive Reappraisal And Expressive Suppression: An Examination Of Their Associations With Seeking Social Support, Well-Being And Academic Performance, Khalid Abdulazem Mohamed Ahmed

Theses

This thesis examined individual differences regarding two prominent emotion regulation processes - cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression - and their associations with social functioning, psychological well-being, and academic performance. Six hypotheses were proposed. It was hypothesized that frequent use of cognitive reappraisal is positively correlated with seeking social support, psychological well-being, and academic performance, while the chronic use of expressive suppression is negatively associated with the three factors. Additionally, the differences between high reappraisers and low reappraisers, and between high suppressors and low suppressors, were investigated to confirm the results following the correlational analyses. An online survey was conducted …

الدّفع بعدم الدّستوريّة في دولة الامارات العربية المتحدة (دراسة مقارنة), حمد عبدالله علي عبدالله السّاعدي

Theses

إنه مما لا شك فيه أن الدفع الفرعى بعدم الدستورية باعتبارة صورة من صور الرقابة القضائية على دستورية القوانين واللوائح يعتبر أهم الطرق لتحريك تلك الرقابة، ويعد ضمانة هامة للأفراد ويكفل لهم أهم حقوقهم الدستورية مما يترتب عليه تحقيق قواعد العدالة والانصاف للمتقاضين.

ومن خلال دراسة هذا الجانب القانونى الذى يعد أهم النظم القانونية وأفضلها وأكثرها فى مجال الرقابة على دستورية القوانين، حيث تم الاهتمام والتركيز فى هذه الدراسة على الرقابة القضائية عن طريق الدفع الفرعى من الأفراد كوسيلة لتحريك الرقابة الدستورية من خلال بيان الاطار العام لموضوع الدفع الفرعى بعدم دستورية القوانين بتحديد مفهومه وطبيعته القانونية، مع توضيح نشأة …

حق الدفاع كأحد ضمانات التحقيق في مجال الوظيفة العامة على ضوء التشريع الاتحادي وبعض التشريعات المحلية بدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, شمه محمد مرزوق المزروعي

Theses

يعد النظام التأديبي جزء لا يتجزأ من النظام القانوني للوظيفة العامة وبهذا يتطور تطورا طرديا مع الوظيفة نفسها، وتغيرت الأوضاع والنظرة للوظيفة العامة حيث وجدت حاجة ملحة لبيان حقوق وواجبات الموظف العام، وأهمها أن يسلك الموظف في تصرفاته مسلك ا لا يخل باحترام الوظيفة وكرامتها والابتعاد عن أي عمل مخالف لواجباته الوظيفية، حتى لا يكون محل للتحقيق والتأديب، فجهة العمل حريصة على دوام سير المرفق العام بانتظام واطراد ومن أجل ذلك تملك محاسبة الموظف المخل بواجباته وتوقيع الجزاء التأديبي عليه.

وترى الباحثة بأن التشريع الاتحادي والتشريعات المحلية بدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة قد قررت ضمانات تأديبية للموظف عند إحالة للتحقيق والتأديب …

Prevalence, Antibiotic-Resistance And Growth Profile Of Vibrio Spp., Isolated From Imported Shellfish In The Local Markets, Hind Obaid Al Rumaithi

Theses

Seafood-related human illness caused by Vibrio species is a major problem. Seafood is prone to contamination by pathogenic Vibrio bacteria especially, Vibrio mimicus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Vibrio vulnificus. The study on the prevalence of this microorganism in seafood of the United Arab Emirates is vital due to the cultural background of the Emiratis as a coastal heritage. A study was conducted to assess the prevalence of Vibrio spp. in imported shellfish from local markets and to identify the Vibrio spp. examine the antimicrobial resistance and profile growth conditions of the isolated Vibrio. In the present study, …