Digital Commons Network^™

Behavioral Choices Of Apple Snails, Pomacea Maculata, Under Varied Chemical Landscapes, Andrea Adams

Theses

Habitat choice is a critical behavior for organisms to successfully survive and reproduce. These choices are dictated by available environmental information about potential predation risks or food patches that form the organism’s sensory landscape. This study specifically focused on the behavioral choices of two invasive apple snail (Pomacea maculata) populations exposed to varying predation threats. We collected snails from Florida and Alabama which were used in laboratory experiments with varied sensory landscapes. Trials consisted of controls with no cues (FL: n = 7, AL: n= 7), an attractive treatment with introduced food cues (FL: n = 4, AL: …

Birmingham's Infrastructure Pioneers: The Elyton Land Company And Its Waterworks, 1871-1899, John West Battle Cheney

Theses

This paper examines the founding and development of the city of Birmingham, Alabama, focusing on the establishment and growth of its earliest, most vital infrastructure: railroads and waterworks. Early chapters explain how and why the city came to be carved from the wilderness, while later chapters describe how railroads and waterworks facilities made it possible for a set of frontier farms and villages- isolated, with no nearby river- to rapidly grow into a booming industrial metropolis. Analyzing the actions of Birmingham’s founder- the Elyton Land Company- and those of its subsidiaries- the Birmingham Water Works Company and the Highland Avenue …

Molecular Evidence Of Cryptic Hybridization In The Japanese Nezasa Bamboos (Pleioblastus Section Nezasa), Ryan Long

Theses

The genus Pleioblastus is a complex group of Southeast Asian temperate bamboos with 7-21 species, depending on taxonomic authority. This study tests the hypothesis that taxonomic complexity in this group is due in part to hybridization and subsequent backcrossing in natural populations, resulting in a reticulate evolutionary history and a contemporary species assemblage that includes cryptic hybrids. This hypothesis is supported by recent research on the temperate bamboos that revealed intergeneric hybrids involving Pleioblastus and other genera of temperate bamboos (Triplett and Clark, 2021). The objective of the current study was to use data from Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) …

Disaster Site Structure Analysis: Examining Effective Remote Sensing Techniques In Blue Tarpaulin Inspection, Madeline G. Miles

Theses

This thesis aimed to evaluate three methods of analyzing blue roofing tarpaulin (tarp) placed on homes in post natural disaster zones with remote sensing techniques by assessing the different methods- image segmentation, machine learning (ML), and supervised classification. One can determine which is the most efficient and accurate way of detecting blue tarps. The concept here was that using the most efficient and accurate way to locate blue tarps can aid federal, state, and local emergency management (EM) operations and homeowners. In the wake of a natural disaster such as a tornado, hurricane, thunderstorm, or similar weather events, roofs are …

Text Analysis Of Airline Tweets, Essa Altamimi

Theses

By acting as a succinct summary, keywords and key phrases can be a useful tool for swiftly assessing enormous amounts of textual material. A "keyword" is defined as a "word that briefly and accurately characterises the subject, or an aspect of the subject, presented in a text," according to the International Encyclopaedia of Information and Library Science (Bolger et al., 1989) (Feather et al., 1996). People are more likely to complain when they are anxious, according to research (Bolger et al., 1989)(Meier et al., 2013), and moods are affected by time (Ryan et al., 2010). Due to this study, airlines …

Living, Breathing Data: Sharing And Interpreting Green Infrastructure Data To Promote Behavioral Change, Nick Stanek

Theses

Green infrastructure is a sustainable and climate resilient approach to urbanization that reduces the impact that we as humans have on our environment. Traditional impermeable infrastructure causes excessive stormwater runoff, which disrupts the nutrient balance and water properties of the surrounding watershed. Green infrastructure installments such as porous pavement, rain barrels, and green roofs provide various ecosystem services, and restore urban water quality. As communities shift to being more climate resilient, the responsibility to develop green infrastructure rests on individuals as well as institutions. The Rochester Museum & Science Center in Rochester, New York, has constructed a Green Infrastructure Showcase …

Exploration Of The Use Of Digital Micromirror Devices For Highly Multiplexed Spectroscopy Applications In Astronomy, Kathleen Oram

Theses

Highly multiplexed spectroscopic capabilities are critical to future astronomy space missions. Such capabilities enable large samples of spectral data to be collected in an efficient manner. The individual mirrors of a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) can serve as slits in a multi-object spectrograph (MOS). This work explores several areas vital to the inclusion of DMDs in future astronomy missions: space qualification, optical performance, and the implementation of Hadamard Transform Spectral Imaging (HTSI). While DMDs were not designed for space, this work reports on testing that demonstrates that the devices can withstand the environmental conditions of a space mission. The optical …

Deep Feature Learning And Adaptation For Computer Vision, Abu Md Niamul Taufique

Theses

We are living in times when a revolution of deep learning is taking place. In general, deep learning models have a backbone that extracts features from the input data followed by task-specific layers, e.g. for classification. This dissertation proposes various deep feature extraction and adaptation methods to improve task-specific learning, such as visual re-identification, tracking, and domain adaptation. The vehicle re-identification (VRID) task requires identifying a given vehicle among a set of vehicles under variations in viewpoint, illumination, partial occlusion, and background clutter. We propose a novel local graph aggregation module for feature extraction to improve VRID performance. We also …

Learning Multi-Step Robotic Manipulation Tasks Through Visual Planning, Sulabh Kumra

Theses

Multi-step manipulation tasks in unstructured environments are extremely challenging for a robot to learn. Such tasks interlace high-level reasoning that consists of the expected states that can be attained to achieve an overall task and low-level reasoning that decides what actions will yield these states. A model-free deep reinforcement learning method is proposed to learn multi-step manipulation tasks. This work introduces a novel Generative Residual Convolutional Neural Network (GR-ConvNet) model that can generate robust antipodal grasps from n-channel image input at real-time speeds (20ms). The proposed model architecture achieved a state-of-the-art accuracy on three standard grasping datasets. The adaptability of …

Using Machine Learning In Disaster Tweets Classification, Humaid Alhammadi

Theses

People share real-time updates on social media platforms (i.e. Twitter) when disaster occurs, this information is very valuable for disaster relief and response teams as it can alert them immediately in order to prioritize tasks. Text mining and Machine learning algorithm can scan the huge generated unstructured data on social media platforms such as Twitter, to spot such information through keywords and phrases that refers to disasters. One challenge that the algorithm might face is whether a tweet text is talking about a real disaster or uses those keywords as a metaphor, which can lead to huge mislabeling of tweets. …

Molecular Cloud Properties In High-Mass Star Forming Regions, Mohammed Essa Abdulla Ali Ahli

Theses

Using high spatial resolution observation of ¹²CO (2−1) and ¹³CO (2−1) emissions, I present the molecular cloud properties of N42 in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The observations were taken using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array observations. I conducted a thorough analysis of molecular gas properties to understand how the cloud properties of N42 differ from those of Galactic clouds. My analysis shows that, in N42, the majority of CO emission appears clumpy, while molecular cores with YSOs exhibit greater linewidths and masses. Massive clump cores are associated with YSOs. Virial analysis of the ¹²CO and ¹³CO …

Elucidation Of The Interaction Between Hemorphins And Targets In The Renin-Angiotensin System, Amie Jobe

Theses

Hemorphins, short bioactive peptides produced by the enzymatic cleavage of the hemoglobin β-chain, exhibit anti-hypertensive effects via the inhibition of the angiotensin-1 converting enzyme (ACE1), a key component of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) that governs blood pressure regulation. ACE1 and its homolog ACE2, which is also involved in the RAS, share significant similarity in their catalytic domains. The main objective of this work was to identify and compare the molecular mechanisms that underlie the interaction of hemorphins of camels and that of other mammals with ACE1 and ACE2. In silico docking and molecular dynamics simulations were employed, and in vitro …

Assessment Of High School Students’ Attitudes Towards Chemistry, Aya Hosameldeen Mostafa

Theses

The main purpose of this study is to assess the scientific attitudes of students towards Chemistry as one of the branches of science, in the context of the UAE. These attitudes are measured using three dimensions of scientific attitudes namely; social implications, the students’ Chemistry-related inquiries and their leisure interest in the subject. Additionally, this study examines the influence of categorical variables such as gender and students’ grade level on the development of the students’ attitudes towards the subject. An exploratory descriptive design is employed using a quantitative survey, to collect data from 192 high school students studying Chemistry in …

Numerical And Theoretical Investigations Of Fractional Differential Equations, Sara Rafiq Al Fahel

Theses

Fractional calculus has been recently received huge attention from Mathematicians and engineers due to its importance in many real-life applications such as: fluid mechanics, electromagnetic, acoustics, chemistry, biology, physics and material sciences. In this thesis, we present numerical algorithms for solving fractional IVPs and system of fractional IVPs where two types of fractional derivatives are used: Caputo-Fabrizio, and Atangana-Baleanu-Caputo derivatives. These algorithms are developed based on modified Adams-Bashforth method. In addition, we discuss the theoretical solution of special class of fractional IVPs. Several examples are discussed to illustrate the efficiency and accuracy of the present schemes.

Christianity In Insular Artwork From The Seventh To Tenth Centuries, Alexandria White

Theses

With the birth and spread of Christianity to the British Isles, there was a fusion between the different cultures that existed on these islands that resulted in a style known as Insular Art. These cultures are the Scottish Picts, the Irish Celts, the Anglo-Saxons, the Welsh, and the Vikings. In examining several works of art from these different cultures in this paper, the syncretism of Insular Art will be explored. Their traditionally Pagan symbols were given new meanings from Christianity as it spread. Through the study of various symbols and iconography employed in this art style, the author will establish …

The Mindful App: Usability Report, Jocelyn Sands

Theses

Methodology

The primary focus of this research is looking at the effects of qualitative & quantitative methodologies during the creation of a user-centered designed application. Through this process, I conducted product research on applications currently on the market. I also conducted user interviews and surveys to understand user needs.

Research Process

Throughout this process, I have used qualitative and quantitative information to gain knowledge of what users may need while using this app. I used qualitative and quantitative methodology to screen participants by conducting testing in a variety of ways. This ensures users are able to effectively discuss their thoughts …

Never A Complete Success, Never A Complete Failure: Thomas Hirschhorn’S Commemoration Of Antonio Gramsci, Ryan March

Theses

This paper will analyze Thomas Hirschhorn’s Gramsci Monument, examining the level of collaboration which took place among the participating community members. The Gramsci Monument is an artwork that took place in 2013 in the Forest Houses projects in the Bronx, New York. It was an artwork that functioned as a temporary community center, providing different facilities such as a library, radio station, computer lab, newspaper center, and art studio to local residents. Hirschhorn hired a team of residents to build this monument, which was made of everyday materials like plywood, recycled wood pallets, packing tape, and cardboard. While the artwork …

Alexander Calder And Studio Jewelry: Rethinking The Role Of The Decorative, Mandy Clark-Russell

Theses

Alexander Calder is best known for his monumental mobile sculptures. Firmly ensconced in mid-century modernism, Calder was highly influential for a number of other artists and movements between wars, especially Surrealism. Less known is that Calder was not only a sculptor, but also a jeweler. In fact, Calder’s work expanded from mobiles, stabiles, and sculptures into the world of studio jewelry as early as the 1930s. The recent revival of studio jewelry, coupled with increased attention of the artist due to record auction numbers, have begged a reconsideration of the role played by the “decorative” digressions of his oeuvre. Previously …

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 …

It’S Not That Serious, Drew M. Slickmeyer

Theses

This writing is intended to analyze, document, and examine the success of my efforts to develop and execute concepts that incorporate humor utilizing furniture, sculpture, painting, arrangement, found objects, repetition, tromp-lœil, itemization, numerals, transposition, and written word. These efforts are done within a gallery setting established as the main presentation method. Goals, intentions, origins, inspiration and execution of each specific piece, as well as the body of work as a whole will be discussed. The language used throughout this document is intended to be concise and direct, as to dictate concepts and analysis as clearly as possible in order to …

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 …

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 …

The Effect Of Marine Snow Particle Distribution On The Foraging Behavior Of Calanus Pacificus, Elena Beckhaus

Theses

Marine snow is a major component of the biological pump, through which carbon is exported to the deep ocean. The sinking of marine snow can be disrupted by organisms, including many species of zooplankton that ingest or break up aggregates. These processes can have important impacts on planktonic food web dynamics and carbon export. Marine snow can have vertically patchy distributions, occurring in thin layers, which may further affect interactions with zooplankton. In this lab-based study, we examined how the presence of a marine snow layer affects copepod behavior and ingestion.

We conducted a series of experiments in which copepods …

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 …

Optimization Of Parameters For The Welding Ss 304 Using Gtaw And Taguchi Grey Relational Analysis (Tgra), Ahmed Majdi Hasan

Theses

Welding is one of the most popular methods of metal joining processes. The joining of the materials by welding provides a permanent joint of the components. The objective of this research is to determine the influence of various welding parameters on the weld bead of SS 304 welded joint. Welding technique of Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) was involved in this research work and the influence of the welding speed, current, electrode, root gap on the strength of the material was analysed. The result showed that speed is most influencing factor to have highest bend strength and current that is …

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 …