Digital Commons Network^™

Advances In Machine Learning For Pain Recognition: A Review Of Algorithms, Modalities, And Outcomes, Abdulrahman Alsharif

Theses

The emergence of machine learning (ML) in healthcare has unlocked the transformative potential of pain detection and assessment. By providing new ways to address the challenges associated with subjective and inconsistent pain assessment methods. This review synthesizes recent advancements in ML-based approaches for pain detection, focusing on algorithms, modalities, and datasets. Techniques such as neural networks, transformer models, and multimodal fusion frameworks have demonstrated significant promise in identifying pain from diverse sources, including facial expressions, physiological signals, and synthetic datasets. Key contributions include novel transformer-based architectres like PainAttnNet for analyzing electrodermal activity [1], multimodal datasets such as BioVid for advancing …

The Influence Of The Emerging Italian Instrumental Style Of The Early Seventeenth Century On Adam Jarzębski’S Canzoni E Concerti (1627), Ellen Bolger

Theses

Adam Jarzębski’s Canzoni e Concerti (1627) is an important source of instrumental chamber music from early seventeenth-century Poland. Jarzębski was a member of the royal musical establishment at the court of Sigismund III Vasa, where he worked alongside Italian musicians recruited by the court. The influence of the emerging Italian stile moderno can be seen in the 27 works of Canzoni e Concerti, which mirror the style and structure of instrumental works by Italian composers such as Dario Castello and Biagio Marini. The changing ideas on music theory and musical expression which originated in Italy are reflected in Jarzębski’s use …

Future Scenarios Of Adoption Sustainable Materials By Construction Firms In The United Arab Emirates, Mona Albeshr

Theses

The construction industry accounts for 39% of greenhouse gas emissions, and change is required, especially with the Net Zero initiative. UAE construction companies must evaluate their current positions and update their strategies to support government regulations. Building futuristic communities is crucial for expanding the built environment within the country; however, the types of materials used should account for two aspects: sustainability and climate resilience, and both must be considered whenever these construction companies formulate their strategic response. Hence, scenario planning significantly provides valuable insights to decision-makers in construction companies’ strategic departments to envision four plausible scenarios of the external environment …

Dubai’S Future Mobility: Systems Thinking & Scenarios, Mohammed Mazloum Hanafy

Theses

Transportation is one of the essential pillars of any smart city. The future of transportation in Dubai faces enormous hurdles in urban mobility, including a growing population density, congestion, and environmental issues. Without careful planning and policy actions, these problems would certainly worsen in the future. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the future of urban mobility in Dubai and to suggest solutions for constructing a sustainable, efficient, and equitable transportation system by employing future foresight tools. Dubai has emerged in recent years as a global center for technological innovation, altering its built environment and reevaluating its …

A Wayfarer, Roselyle Hang Zhao

Theses

This paper examines the making of A Wayfarer, a personal film that explores themes of identity, cultural belonging, and the experience of being a third-culture individual. The character Boaty represents the complexities of navigating multiple identities, as the film blends visual and sound design to convey the feeling of being "lost-in-culture." As part of my graduate thesis at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the film blends visual and sound design to convey the feeling of being "lost-in-culture." The paper discusses the creative choices behind the shift from humor to vulnerability, the challenges of depicting family dynamics, and the process of …

A Visual Instrument For Military Public Affairs, Rose Di Trolio

Theses

This directed project is a visual guidebook that assists Missouri National Guard Soldiers, Airmen, and civilians onboarding within the Public Affairs Office and 70th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. This guidebook serves as a tool for the creative-minded perspective to better understand materials such as the overall public affairs process, community relations, and social media creation and management. All the contents of this guidebook are directed from publicly-made information and labeled UNCLASSIFIED. This graphical guidebook uses vectors and images combined into one PDF file. Within the Military profession, it is typical and sometimes expected for members to relocate, deploy, or attend …

The Historical Role Of Westward Expansion Between American Museums And Indigenous Tribes, Erika Tenorio

Theses

Erika Tenorio’s thesis explores the intersection of Westward Expansion, American museums, and Indigenous communities, analyzing how 19th- and 20th-century expansionist policies shaped museum collections and Indigenous representation. The study examines how the ideology of Manifest Destiny, rooted in the Doctrine of Discovery, justified the forced removal of Native Americans and facilitated the collection of Indigenous artifacts by museums. Many of these institutions, influenced by Western colonial perspectives, portrayed Native cultures as relics of the past rather than as living traditions.

The research incorporates postcolonial and decolonial methodologies to assess evolving narratives within museums, focusing on Indigenous sovereignty, repatriation efforts, and …

Under The Bay: Analysis Of Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia Mydas) Dive Behavior In The Urban San Diego Bay, Emily Carter

Theses

Sea turtles are air-breathing marine reptiles that spend their lives performing dives to travel, forage, and rest. Several dive types have been previously recorded for sea turtles, each type being associated with a different set of behaviors. U-dives, or Type 1 dives are widely characterized by extensive benthic periods preceded by and concluding with abrupt descent and ascent phases respectively (Minamikawa et al. 1997; Houghton et al. 2002; Seminoff et al. 2006). These dives are widely affiliated with turtle resting behavior though can be indicative of additional activities including benthic travel and foraging. Previous research of green turtle dive behavior …

Determining The Physiological And Behavioral Tolerance To Hypoxia In Two Species Of Rockfish (Sebastes Spp.), Makenna Chan

Theses

In the eastern North Pacific, the oxygen minimum zone naturally shoals seasonally and impacts demersal fish habitat along the continental margins and on offshore seamounts. This hypoxic layer has been shoaling in recent decades, likely affecting the habitat and distribution of commercially-important fish species such as rockfishes (genus Sebastes). Respirometry and shuttle box behavioral experiments were used to determine the hypoxia sensitivities of two rockfish species with contrasting movement patterns and habitat use: cowcod (Sebastes levis) and bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis). Although both species inhabit similar deep-water, rocky-reef habitat, they have different lifestyles, in which cowcod …

Understanding Vaccines: A 3d Animation And Print Materials For Clinical Trial Patients, Shannon Gregory

Theses

This project covers the importance of patient education, and the decisions that go into making patient facing materials. The topic of this piece is “Understanding Vaccines” and will explore several key aspects: what vaccines are, how they work, their important role in public health, and how to best communicate with patient audiences. Given the growing challenges in vaccine education, this piece will address common misconceptions and emphasize the importance of clear, accessible communication. The goal of this piece is to educate, but also to encourage individuals to make well-informed decisions regarding vaccination. The artwork created for this thesis was developed …

Fake News Detection On X (Twitter), Sultan Mayoof Almutaiwei

Theses

The most important innovation globally is the internet, which is used by a huge number of people all around the world. People use the internet for different purposes. By using different social media platforms people share content and news. Thus, some people use these internet platforms to share false news or fake news among people. Propaganda against a person, group, organization, or political party may be present in this news. For an individual, it is difficult to distinguish between false and true news over the internet. Therefore, machine learning is the smart solution that can identify fake news on the …

Enhancing Waste Management And Circular Economy Practices In Higher Education Institutions In Uae: A Study On Current Policies And Strategic Framework, Muna Ali

Theses

This study investigates the integration of Circular Economy (CE) principles within higher education institutions (HEIs) in UAE as a method to address waste challenges in UAE. Despite the announcement of UAE 2021-2031 Circular Economy Policy, and the nationwide continues promotion of sustainability initiatives, HEI’s lack the availability of tailored policies and procedures as well as guiding framework to address their waste challenges and adapt CE within their institutions. To assess this problem, a survey has been distributed to 45 CAA accredited public and private universities in UAE. A qualitative approach has been used to analyze the survey responses. The survey …

The Effect Of Biochar As Partial Cement Replacement On Mechanical, Durability, Thermal, And Microstructural Properties Of Concrete - Comparison With Biomass, Aysha Yousef Alsaadi

Theses

This thesis paper examines the use of 1% cement replacement with date palm derived biochar and compares it to 1% replacement of biomass. The main aim of this idea is to reduce the carbon emissions from concrete production factories and utilize the abundant waste from date palm plants, which is prevalent in the UAE. Three samples of concrete were used: 1% biochar mix, 1% biomass mix, and a control mix. Mechanical tests, including compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths, were evaluated. Thermal conductivity, chloride penetration, water absorption, and characterization testing by XRD, TGA, SEM, and FTIR were conducted. As for compressive …

Space-Time Analysis Of The Sea Level Variability Of The Arabian Sea Using Satellite Altimetry Data, Saleha Saeed Binishaq

Theses

The ongoing effects of climate change are contributing to a gradual rise in sea levels, which has become a significant environmental concern. It creates a serious threat to coastal areas, especially in the Gulf Region, which includes various cities bordering the Arabian Gulf, the Red and the Arabian Sea. This phenomenon has the potential to significantly influence the socioeconomics of the region by altering coastal marine ecosystems and can pose serious infrastructure sustainability challenges. This research focuses on analyzing the sea-level variability in the Arabian Sea using satellite altimetry data from 1993 to 2023. The analysis was conducted along a …

A Comparative Analysis Of Machine Learning Models For Predictive Process Monitoring Using Objectcentric Event Logs, Buthaina Hasan Aidaros Alhebshi

Theses

The increasing complexity of business processes drives the need for advanced predictive monitoring solutions capable of handling multi-entity interactions. Traditional case-centric event logs fall short of capturing these complexities, leading to the emergence of Object-Centric Event Logs (OCEL). Despite the growing interest in OCELs, their structural complexity and impact on predictive performance remain unexplored. This thesis investigates how process complexity influences the performance of machine learning models in predictive process monitoring using OCEL. A framework combining Graph Neural Networks and graph embedding-based models is applied across three predictive tasks: next activity, next timestamp, and remaining time prediction. The evaluation covers …

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder And Metacognitive Awareness Of Learning, Kara R. Muscha

Theses

The present study examined knowledge updating abilities in individuals with and without ADHD when forced to metacognitively evaluate the effectiveness of different study strategies. Participants with and without ADHD were randomly assigned to either a spontaneous or a forced knowledge updating condition, with those in the latter condition being asked to keep track of encoding strategy-recall outcome results, but no additional instructions for those in the spontaneous condition. I expected that healthy control participants would show greater knowledge updating abilities than those with ADHD, the participants in the forced knowledge updating condition would show greater knowledge updating abilities than participants …

Evaluating Bias In Facial Recognition Datasets : A Study On Representation And Classification Fairness, Milyonta Williams

Theses

Facial recognition technology is widely used in security and identity verification but exhibits biases that disproportionately impact certain demographic groups. This thesis examines racial and skin tone biases in commonly used facial recognition datasets, assessing their influence on classification models. Using manual classification via the Fitzpatrick scale and numerical skin tone representations from LAB color values, we identified significant dataset imbalances, with lighter skin tones (Fitzpatrick Types 1 and 2) overrepresented and darker tones (Types 4-6) underrepresented. Model evaluation using Random Forest, SVM, and XGBoost showed an overall accuracy of 72\%, but classification for Asian individuals was notably weaker (0.45 …

Improving Satellite Needs Working Group Assessment Process Through Automation And Process Consolidation, Raj Dangol

Theses

The increasing complexity of modern software ecosystems, presents significant challenges to system resilience, maintainability and automation. This work presents a proof-of-concept implementation of an automation system to address these challenges for a large scale fragmented software systems. Succinctly we address these challenges in the context of Satellite Needs Working Group (SNWG), which is responsible for collecting and communicating federal agencies' Earth observation needs to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Multiple automation scripts and applications exist to support the SNWG's assessment cycle, encompassing the areas of data validation, visualization, report generation, and user management. However, the dispersion of these tools …

Experimental Evaluation Of Recent Theoretical Real-Time Signal Higher-Order Sliding Mode Differentiators On Noisy Sensors, Jessica Hamer

Theses

This thesis explores the performance of higher-order sliding mode differentiators applied to sensor signals under varying sampling rates and switching functions. Two differentiator designs are evaluated: a hybrid algorithm that combines a super-twisting algorithm with a linear observer, and a fixed-time higher-order sliding mode differentiator. Each was tested on a physical sensor testbed using position data from a servomotor and electronic compass. The differentiators were implemented in a ROS2 environment, and their estimates were evaluated by obtaining the minimum and maximum position and velocity values, as well as analyzing graphs to capture the nature of the algorithms' noise reduction. The …

Blockchain Poisoning Attacks In Federated Learning, Mohammad Raihan Uddin

Theses

Federated Learning (FL) enables collaborative model training across distributed clients without sharing raw data, thereby preserving privacy. However, conventional FL depends on a centralized aggregator, exposing it to poisoning and backdoor attacks that threaten model integrity. This thesis introduces B-ZkFed, a blockchain-based and zero-knowledge proof (ZKP)-enhanced FL framework designed to ensure verifiable trust, transparency, and robustness. The blockchain layer decentralizes aggregation through smart contracts, while the ZKP module allows clients to cryptographically prove the correctness of updates without revealing private data. A multi-layer adaptive defense combining gradient-norm filtering, model-similarity analysis, and robust aggregation mitigates poisoning threats under both IID and …

A Deep Learning Multi-Channel Framework For Indoor Image Retrieval, Vidhi M. Bhatia

Theses

Processing and analyzing multi-source image data is vital across a wide range of fields, including artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning, computer vision, geolocation, autonomous navigation, remote sensing, and forensic investigations. Although conventional image matching methods such as Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) and Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF) have proven effective in controlled setting, they often face challenges when applied to diverse datasets that exhibit substantial variations in viewpoint, scale, lighting conditions, and modality. Recent developments in deep learning, including convolutional neural networks (CNNs), transformers, generative adversarial networks (GANs), and self-supervised learning, have led to the creation of more efficient and precise …

Comparing Role Differences Among Systems Architects, Systems Designers, And Systems Engineers, Kelly X. Campo

Theses

The roles of a systems architect (SA), systems designer (SD), and systems engineer (SE) often work together to develop systems, especially as the scale and complexity of engineered systems increase. However, management of these roles can result in ambiguity of task assignments and may reduce accountability for deliverables. Furthermore, there are few published works examining the roles of SAs, SDs, and SEs collectively. This research explores perceptions of the similarities and differences between the roles of SAs, SDs, and SEs by conducting a systematic literature review of 57 sources containing 1064 quotes in addition to a thematic content analysis, analyzed …

Factors Affecting Freshwater Fish Communities In Two North Alabama Counties, Joshua Fitts

Theses

This study examined how physical habitat characteristics influence freshwater fish diversity in streams of Madison and Limestone Counties, Alabama. Ten 150-meter stream reaches were sampled using backpack electrofishing and seining, with habitat variables measured at fixed transects. Principal component analysis identified four main habitat gradients representing flow and substrate, channel size, gravel dominance, and canopy–bedrock conditions. Although overall species richness and Shannon diversity were not significantly related to these gradients, species-specific correlations revealed clear ecological preferences. Regression models showed that root wads, herbaceous vegetation, and riprap modestly increased richness, emphasizing the role of structural diversity. These findings highlight the importance …

The Perceptions Of Principals And Faith Leaders Regarding The Transmission Of Presentation Charism In Australian Presentation Schools, Gemma Louise Thomson

Theses

This purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions of Principals and Faith Leaders regarding the transmission of Presentation charism in Australian Presentation schools. In particular, the study investigated how Principals and Faith Leaders perceive the nature of Presentation charism, as well as how it is evidenced in their leadership approaches in Catholic schools in the Presentation tradition. Furthermore, the study explored the perceptions of Principals, Faith Leaders and Presentation Sisters of what is required to formally and informally transmit the Presentation charism in Australian Presentation schools. The study’s review of literature identified four areas of literature that formed …

The Changing Nature Of Outdoor Play Spaces In West Australian Primary Schools: An Exploratory Case Study. Exploring Play Opportunities, Design And Utilisation Of An Intentionally Designed Nature Play Space (Idnps)., Catherine Fitzhardinge

Theses

The development, wellbeing and learning of children is of global importance; opportunities that promote healthy childhood development have long lasting social and economic impacts. Play is the primary occupation through which children develop; nature play provides opportunities for physical, cognitive, social and emotional skill development. West Australian (WA) schools are installing intentionally designed nature play spaces (IDNPS) to support outdoor play opportunities and connection to nature. However, there is little contextual evidence regarding how these spaces are designed and utilised to support child development, wellbeing and learning.

This exploratory, mixed methods case study examined how children aged 4-7 years old …

Ink And Internment: The Wartime Artistry Of Japanese Americans And Spaniards During World War Ii, Avery Calvert

Theses

World War II displaced millions of people around the world. “Ink and Internment: The Wartime Artistry of Japanese Americans and Spaniards During World War II” evaluates the internment experiences of Japanese Americans and Spaniards through the lens of art with a special focus on two artists: Miné Okubo and Josep Bartolí. Okubo, a Japanese American artist born in 1927, experienced internment in the United States as a young adult. Her artwork reveals her personal experience as well as that of her fellow internees. Okubo created her art memoir, Citizen 13600, to share the internment experience of Japanese Americans with others. …

Inclusive Design Archive, Roblyn Powley

Theses

The Inclusive Design Archive (IDA) is a conceptual research and design project that responds to the ongoing reliance on Eurocentric, male-dominated narratives in design education. Many art and design curricula continue to exclude underrepresented creators, movements, and methodologies, limiting students’ exposure to the full scope of global design practice. Even well-intentioned educators often lack accessible tools to bring diverse perspectives into the classroom in a structured, research-supported way. IDA offers a solution in the form of a contextual search application that helps educators and students explore topics through three intersecting lenses: Broader Perspectives, Intersectional Approaches and Alternate Narratives, and Concepts, …

How Smart City Growth Principles Can Be Adopted In The Uae To Solve The Local Housing Problems?, Shaima Abdulla Alblooki

Theses

Shaikh Zayed Housing Program “SZHP” is the governmental program that is responsible for local housing in the UAE. The program’s main aim is to offer a variety of housing services such as loans, grants, and ready-to-move houses. However, both the continuously growing urban population and liveability challenges are impeding the program to meet its goal. As mentioned on SZHP’s official website “We should continue to explore new ways to establish informed dialogue with different groups of society and to ensure adequate housing for national families, in achieving stability and community development by meeting future needs” (SZHP, 2022 ). Accordingly, this …

Leveraging Future Foresight And Planning In Human Resource Management: Preparing Organizations For The Workforce Of Tomorrow, Naser Althehli

Theses

As organizations face unprecedented uncertainty as they navigate a complicated and fast-changing world, the ability to anticipate and adapt to workforce shifts has become more crucial than ever. This thesis examines how future foresight and strategic planning in human resource management (HRM) can reinforce organizational adaptability and maintain a competitive edge. By analyzing key drivers of change—including technological advancements, demographic shifts, political dynamics, and socio-economic trends—the study identifies innovative HRM strategies that enable organizations to address emerging workforce challenges and opportunities proactively. Through a structured evaluation of foresight techniques, this research highlights best practices for cultivating a resilient and future-ready …

Internet Of Things (Iot) In Developing Smart City Traffic Management Systems In Dubai, Ayesha Ahmed Alnuaimi

Theses

Traffic congestion is an ever-present problem affecting most cities, negatively affecting the economy, the environment, and people’s quality of life. Dubai is one of the rapidly growing cities in terms of urbanization and the usage of technologies, and it is aware of the ability of IoT to design intelligent city traffic control systems to resolve this problem. Consequently, this study sought to assess the implication of IoT in improving traffic management systems within the Emirate of Dubai, gleaning data concerning the factors that have a direct impact on the implementation of the IoT, the challenges, and barriers met during the …