Digital Commons Network^™

Students With Hidden Disabilities’ Perceptions Of Online Versus On-Campus Education, And Disability Support Services, Susan Young

Theses

A focus on widening access and participation in Higher Education has resulted in increased numbers of tertiary students with hidden disabilities in recent decades, globally. While academic supports at an institutional level are available for this student population, issues are reported with them consistently, which often leads to their non-utilisation. This is one possible explanation for why these students experience inequitable academic circumstances compared to their peers concerning lower grades and welfare levels, and higher withdrawal and failure rates. There is a paucity of research available on adequate accommodations that support the academic success of students with hidden disabilities in …

Deep Learning Methods To Automate Students’ Writing Evaluation For Improved Writing Outcomes, Temesgen Mikael

Theses

Writing is an essential skill for students to master. Nevertheless, it remains the most challenging of the four language skills for many due to various factors, including infrequent writing assignments and inadequate feedback tools. Consequently, there is a pressing need to develop more effective methods for supporting students' writing skill development. In this thesis, the aim is to apply deep learning techniques to automated essay scoring and improve the feedback provided by existing tools. To achieve this aim, this study’s main objective is to compare the predictions made by different deep learning models to identify the most effective approach for …

Improving Cervical Spine Fracture Detection In Ct Imaging With Yolov5 Data Augmentation Strategies, Salem Ghanem Ali Al-Ali

Theses

Cervical spine fractures are the most common type of spinal injury, with over 17,730 spinal cord injuries occurring annually in the United States alone. The prevalence of spinal fractures is highest among the elderly, and these fractures are often difficult to detect due to the possibility of coexisting degenerative illnesses and osteoporosis. Computed Tomography (CT) is increasingly being used for the imaging diagnosis of adult spine fractures, replacing traditional radiography. An accurate and timely diagnosis is critical to preventing neurological degeneration and paralysis following trauma. Machine learning algorithms, such as the YOLO series developed by Ultralytics, have emerged as valuable …

The Impact Of Big Data Analytics On The E-Commerce Businesses, Riham Mahmoud Saad

Theses

Big data technologies are fundamental to the transformation of the E-Commerce sector in today's information-driven environment. Web server logs, geolocation services, abandoned shopping carts, transaction receipts, social media activity, and other sources of data can be used by online businesses to gather information. A lot of the time, having so much information might be daunting. However, Big data analytics capabilities may provide E-Commerce businesses with insightful information that can be used to better attract and keep customers while also boosting profitability and reducing costs. Big Data Analytics is attracting increased investment from E-Commerce firms. They can not only learn more …

Case Study: The Adoption Of Power Bi Dashboard For Improved Credit Risk Management In The Uae, Reem Saeed Ali Hassan Alnajjar

Theses

Financial institutions will be under pressure to extend loans because of the need to act promptly on loan requests while upholding quality and compliance when servicing customers with competitive banks. In this new era, it is interesting to test existing theories and factors and whether new insights could emerge. Thus, the focus of this qualitative research is to understand factors influencing technology adoption and success and hence, improve credit risk analysis with the help of new advances in technology and dashboards tools such as Power BI and other intelligent systems. This is important to achieve optimal, more secure, and faster …

Ai Chatbots In Uae Government Entities: An Empirical Investigation Of User Adoption And Acceptance Factors, Amna Ali Ghanem Alremeithi

Theses

Artificial intelligence, particularly its chatbot application, has become widely used across diverse sectors, including healthcare, commerce, and banking. Thus, the high traction of these tools led the UAE’s strategic partners to recognize the need to embrace this technology and apply it across its various governmental institutions. As such, this research explores the factors influencing UAE government employees' acceptance and utilization of AI-based chatbots, providing insights into the drivers and barriers to embracing this technology. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) model was modified and used as the basis for this quantitative research methodology. The data …

Using Machine Learning To Analyze And Predict Crimes, And Their Impact On Society, Sally Samir Matter Isbaih

Theses

Criminal activity is on the rise everywhere and it refers to an illegal act that is subject to legal penalties. Crimes can range in severity from less serious offenses like traffic infractions and smalltime larceny to more serious ones like murder, robbery, and fraud. While those who have committed such crimes and been adjudged guilty by a court of law are known as criminals. They may lack education, be underprivileged, employed, or unemployed, or they may be wealthy. Add to this, crime may be committed differently depending on a number of variables, including family history, religion, gender, and so on. …

An Examination Of The Privacy Paradox Phenomenon In The Uae Context, Maitha Majdi Al Ahbabi

Theses

The proliferation of technology and the internet has led to the collection and sharing of personal information online. Privacy breaches and data breaches have become a growing concern, leading to the emergence of the "privacy paradox" phenomenon, where by individuals express concerns about privacy, but continue to engage in behaviors that compromise their privacy. Despite the importance of this issue, relatively little research has been conducted in the UAE on the topic of the privacy paradox. This study aimed to investigate the presence of the privacy paradox in the UAE and the factors that motivate individuals to use technologies that …

Sex, Drugs, And Secondary Confessions, Kylene Street

Theses

Jailhouse informant testimony in the form of secondary confessions is one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions in the United States. Often, informants receive incentives in exchange for their testimony. This is the first study to incorporate incentives other than reduced sentences. In two experiments, employing a multigroup comparison with 4 levels of the independent variable (Incentive: Legal, Illegal, No Incentive, No Informant), this study explored the influence the type of incentive received by the informant had on jury decision making. The results of Experiment 1 indicated neither perceptions of the informant nor verdict decision making were influenced by …

Extended, Exactly Solvable Chaotic Oscillator, Micah Tseng

Theses

Although the study of chaotic systems is theoretically mature for abounding examples, few are readily applicable to engineering problems. One notable barrier is the lack of analytic solution to guide or validate an engineered intention. In this thesis, a small set of chaotic systems known for their analytic solutions is expanded. Specifically, a known solvable second order solvable chaotic oscillator with a simple matched filter is extended such that the data rate is decoupled from the natural oscillation frequency of the oscillator. This development allows for high frequency applications without the need for high frequency switching. An extended, exact analytic …

Modelling The Relationship Between Personality Traits And Basic Emotions: A Multi-Modal And Affective Computing Approach, Brendan Ryan Donovan

Theses

In the field of Psychology, it has long been assumed that one’s personality traits are linked to one’s emotional states. Yet there is a scarce amount of research that has directly quantified the relationships between basic emotional states and Big Five personality traits. Most empirical research has investigated how attributes of emotional states map to a narrow selection of personality traits (Extraversion and Neuroticism) via a single modality (questionnaires). This narrow focus restricts the field’s understanding of the relationship between emotional states and personality traits.

In this research, the Personality Emotion Mapping (PEM) model was developed to map the relationships …

Characterisation Of Selected Microbes In Terrestrial And Simulated Extraterrestrial Habitats: Human Health And Environmental Applications, Daniel Joseph Keaney

Theses

The rapid development of the Space industry and associated technologies over the past decade is leading to the inevitable consideration of establishing human-based colonies on extra-terrestrial bodies such as the moon and Mars. With Mars being the focus of not only this body of work, but current New Space Age travel (NASA and SpaceX), a significant issue posed by Martian colonists includes establishing a safe and sustainable food source. Owing to its constantly evolving prehistoric landscape, the soils of Mars are contaminated with sodium perchlorate, a water-soluble salt that is toxic to humans, leftover from once inferred brine seeps that …

The Use Of Membrane Filtration To Increase Native Whey Protein In Infant Formula, And Effects On Bioaccessibility And Bioactivity, Yihong Chen

Theses

Breastfeeding is recognised as the gold standard for feeding newborns and infants. However, infants who cannot be breast-fed or for whom breast milk is not available, can be fed with bovine infant milk formula (IMF) as a substitute. Researchers and producers of IMF strive to continually improve or “humanise” the composition and functionality of IMF. During production of IMF it must undergo several heat treatment steps, e.g. heat-sterilisation or spray-drying, in order to provide a safe product to the infant. These heat treatments denature the globular whey proteins in IMF. In contrast, breast milk is by its nature unheated, so …

Isolation And Characterisation Of Soil-Derived Bacteria With Antimicrobial Activity Against Antibiotic Resistant Pathogens, Ellen Twomey

Theses

Bacteriocins are a diverse range of ribosomally synthesized bioactive peptides, recognised predominantly for their potent antimicrobial activity against other strains closely related to the producer. The focus of this thesis was to explore this activity and examine the potential of bacteriocins to inhibit the growth of clinically relevant pathogens. Although evidence exists in the literature to suggest that bacteriocins could be applied in a similar fashion to conventional antibiotics, to date they are only utilised as preservative in food to prevent the growth of foodborne illness causing organisms. Isolating and screening bacterial strains in order to identify bacteriocin producers has …

Closing The Modern Irish Municipal Wastewater Phosphorus Cycle, Ciaran O’Donnell

Theses

Phosphorus (P) is an essential life-supporting nutrient for which there is no substitute. P naturally cycles within nature. Modern farming practice and food production have altered the natural P cycle. Successive crop harvests remove P from the soil as crops and transport them to urban areas to feed the population. To replace P removed from the soil through these crop harvests, mineral P fertilisers are applied to the soil to sustain crop production. Mineral P fertilisers are derived from finite phosphate rock. The European Union does not have an indigenous supply of phosphorus rock, which poses a significant issue for …

An Examination Of Bilateral Skill Proficiency And The Impact Of A Coach Mentoring Intervention In A Gaelic Football Development Academy, Kevin Murray

Theses

This programme of research had two aims which organised the research into two distinct phases. Phase one examined differences in bilateral skill proficiency and frequency of use between selected and non-selected Under 17 inter-county male academy Gaelic footballers. Phase two explored the coaching practices of three youth Gaelic football coaches in the same youth Gaelic football academy. In phase one, quantitative data from a bilateral skills test and match play analysis from 82 players which were retrospectively grouped as selected (n=19) and non-selected (n=63) to an Under 17 inter-county team revealed that selected players scored significantly higher than non-selected in …

The Development Of A Framework For Training Design Thinking In Industry, Aidene O'Mahony

Theses

The motivation for this research was driven by the growing interest in design thinking. The increasing use of design thinking can be observed through large organisations such as Google and IBM adopting the discipline. Recognized as a driver for innovation, organisations are turning to design thinking education and training as an approach for increasing organisation innovation capabilities. Organisations are often dependent on analytical solutions to solve such problems, which leads to organisations having trouble implementing innovative tools and techniques (Christensen and Overdorf, 2000). Research has emerged that highlights the potential for design thinking as a mediatory between analytical problem solving …

An Investigation Into The Irish Bread Market With A Particular Focus On Sourdough Bread. Are Increased Numbers Of Consumers Purchasing Sourdough Bread? If So, Why And What Do They Know About It?, Aisling Kelly

Theses

Bread has a long-standing history in the Irish diet and remains a staple part of our calorie intake with an average consumption of 37.5 kg per person per annum (Jocelyn, 2020; Murtagh, 2009). While the traditional breads of oatcakes and soda bread have remained a favourite for many decades, Ireland’s bread market has also evolved to include baked items from all over the world. Most recently, consumers have altered their purchasing habits in relation to bread due to the enforced restrictions on the movement of people (and consequently goods) during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 to 2022. Evidence suggests that …

Affordability Culture In Organizations, Taylor Yeazitzis

Theses

Affordability has been a growing interest in organizations over the years. Though affordability is an ever-present issue within organizations, there is a lack of research surrounding affordability culture as an organizational subculture. The current study aims to close this research gap by identifying organizational aspects associated with affordability in which current organizational practices can be evaluated by organization members. To accomplish this goal, 346 participants from NASA, industry, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville were surveyed to understand the organizational aspects associated with affordability. Results indicated that students tended to evaluate affordability in terms of budgets and funding, whereas …

Estimating Irrigation Potential Index (Ipi) For Ungauged Hydrological Stations In Alabama, Gelayol Mohammadnazar

Theses

This research tackles the crucial challenge of estimating low flow statistics - the 90th percentile flow duration (Q90) and the minimum 7-day, 10-year average flow (7Q10), Irrigation Potential Index (IPI)- at ungauged hydrological stations in Alabama. Given the state's variable water availability for irrigation, and lack of sustainable water resource management and agricultural planning, these statistics are essential for defining realistic and applicable criteria for water quality and quantity. Central to our study is the calculation of the Irrigation Potential Index (IPI), a key determinant of the state's water resource management capabilities. Our methodology begins with calculating Q90 and 7Q10 …

The Effects Of Processing Environment On The Additive Manufacturing Of 316l Stainless Steel, Isaac Barnett

Theses

Metal additive manufacturing provides the ability to print near-net-shape parts through a layer-by-layer process, presenting a new approach to produce complicated assemblies in one manufacturing step. MAM processes are usually characterized by the heat source and feedstock used. Another area of interest is the purge gas that is utilized in these processes. Stainless steel 316L is an austenitic stainless steel derived from 304 stainless steel to include higher strength and better weldability. The objective of this research is to determine the effects of purge gas and cooling rate during heat treatment in the additive manufacturing of stainless steel 316L using …

Solar Flare Forecasting : A Study Of Flare Coincidence, Christian W. Hall

Theses

Data mining techniques that can support the forecasting of solar flares are explored. The main focus is to investigate the effects of flare coincidence on the evaluation of forecasts. Coincident flares are solar flares in a region of the Sun in which another flare has occurred recently, whereas other flares are denoted as non-coincident flares. Dimensionality reduction and classification are two of the types of techniques examined, where binary classification is used to issue yes/no forecasts of major solar flares. Five algorithms are considered as binary classifiers: k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), logistic regression (LR), support vector machines (SVM), random forest classifiers …

Total-Ionizing-Dose Effects On Commercial 3-D Nand Flash Memory Chips, Mondol Anik Kumar

Theses

Commercial NAND flash memories are very attractive for space applications, characterized by their compact form factor, low weight, high bit density, and energy efficient performance. Nevertheless, the vulnerability of NAND flash memories to ionizing radiation-induced data corruption through threshold voltage shifts has been a significant concern. This thesis presents a comprehensive examination of total-ionizing-dose (TID) effects on commercial 3-D NAND flash memory through irradiation experiments conducted using a Co-60 source. One of the most intriguing findings of this study is the remarkable resilience displayed by a specific fraction of memory cells to the TID effects. To shed light on this …

The Effectiveness Of System-Wide Trust Repair Strategies, J. Andrew Atchley

Theses

This study considered whether contagion effects for trust extend to an interactive task that includes tasks that are visually incongruent and perform dissimilar task functions, and if trust repair strategies operate on a system-wide basis. Participants supervised three automated tasks over three blocks. The animal task decreased in reliability in block 2, and a trust repair strategy was issued prior to block 3. The findings indicated that there was a decrease in trust for the animal task only. The trust repair strategies were also ineffective for restoring trust. This study supported the idea that contagion effects do not extend to …

Graph Neural Networks For Ethereum Fraud Detection, Charity Mwanza

Theses

Detecting fraudulent transactions on the Ethereum network can help cryptocurrency companies that operate on the Ethereum platform protect their users from exposure to fraudsters. The most common fraudulent activities in the cryptocurrency network include phishing and smart Ponzi schemes. Since cryptocurrency technology is still young, most investors lack knowledge of how the smart contacts used in the Ethereum platform operate; hence, they cannot evaluate the risks they are exposed to when carrying out cryptocurrency transactions. The key role that this paper looks at is the application of graph neural networks in the extraction of features of users in the Ethereum …

An Airborne Multi-Band Microwave Analysis Of Precipitation Within Two Winter Cyclones, Amanda Richter

Theses

When precipitation becomes organized into bands, it can result in great differences in precipitation accumulation across a geographic area with disruptions to daily life and economic activity. While investigations have been conducted to discern microphysical details within banded precipitation environments, such details remain very uncertain across and within storms. It is the goal of the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) to gather data using satellite-simulating and in situ aircraft to study banded storms. This study focuses on the Conical-Scanning Millimeter-wave Imaging Radiometer (CoSMIR), The Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR), and The High Altitude Imaging Wind …

Unsupervised Image Segmentation In Satellite Imagery Using Deep Learning, Suraj Regmi

Theses

Image segmentation is typically done through supervised learning. Supervised learning requires labeled data, which is costly and time-consuming to acquire. However, unlabeled data is abundant. This research presents an application of the state-of-the-art unsupervised instance segmentation method FreeSOLO in satellite images and benchmarks the method in iSAID, CrowdAI, and PASTIS datasets. The method achieved 0.9%AP₅₀ in the iSAID dataset, 3.1%AP₅₀ on the CrowdAI dataset, and 1.1%AP₅₀ on the PASTIS dataset. On large objects, it achieved 1.2%AP₅₀ in the iSAID dataset and 3.5%AP₅₀ in the CrowdAI dataset. The method was also tested in the UAH periphery …

Software Defined Radio (Sdr) With Applications In Radar Systems, Makenzie Fogle

Theses

This research tests the validity of using a cost-effective SDR to implement a pulsed radar system. This cost-effective system would enable students to build and utilize this system to learn more about radar engineering and possibly pursue a career in radar engineering. Also, this system would enable a university to build a teaching laboratory for university students learning Radar principles. An adalm-pluto SDR is used along with the MIT “cantennas”. The software used to implement the system is discussed. The results from both indoor and outdoor tests are shown and validated. This research could have applications in education, industry, and …

Adaptive Boundary Layer Sliding Mode Control For Multi-Input-Multi-Output Systems, Tiffany Lodge

Theses

When a nonlinear system is controlled using the conventional sliding mode control, the system input will create a high-frequency chatter, which can damage the system's actuators. The most common method used to prevent chattering is the introduction of a constant boundary layer, but if the disturbance is high, then chattering can still happen in the system input. In this thesis, a sliding mode controller with an adaptive boundary layer is proposed for multi-input-multi-output systems that prevent chattering, even if the disturbance is high. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in suppressing chatter, a robotic arm was modeled in …

The Role Of The Anthropogenic Fire Regime In Protected Areas In Kenya : A Case Study In The Mau Forest Region, Stefanie Mehlich

Theses

Kenya is frequently subject to fire activity. Natural fire occurrence is part of and beneficial to most of the country’s ecosystems. However, anthropogenic activities associated with agricultural practices increasingly introduce fire activity to ecosystems that are not fire adapted, such as forest systems. Registration of small-size burned areas below an extent of 1 square kilometer, especially from fires in mixed agricultural-forest interfaces, is a substantial gap in currently available products. Addressing this issue, an improved spatial resolution fire burned area product was generated, based on VIIRS Active Fire Detections and Landsat Surface Reflectance data products, and used to characterize fire …