Digital Commons Network^™

Interaction Recognition In A Paired Egocentric Video, Ajeeta Rajkumar Khatri

Theses

Wearable devices and affective computing have gained popularity in the recent times. Egocentric videos recorded using these devices can be used to understand the emotions of the camera wearer and the person interacting with the camera wearer. Emotions affect the facial expression, head movement and various other physiological factors. In order to perform this study we collected dyadic conversations (dialogues between two people) data from two different groups; one where two individuals agree on certain topic and second where two individuals disagree on certain topics. This data was collected using a wearable smart glass for video collection and a smart …

E-Commerce: Kosovo As A Competitive Landscape For Online Shopping, Rina Bulliqi

Theses

This Honors project looks the opportunities for online business in Kosovo, specifically e-commerce. As Kosovo is the country with the highest number of internet users in the Balkans, online business is at a competitive advantage to thrive. This project analyzes the opportunities offered to businesses to thrive in online trade, both within Kosovo and in the region. Businesses of all sectors are quickly understanding the importance of online presence, especially given a handful of successful cases that have already established e-commerce platforms. This project considers the perspective of the customer and that of the business in terms of online shopping …

Start-Ups Through The Lens Of Marketing: The Importance Of Branding For Start-Ups And Brand Awareness, Melisa Uka

Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of branding among start-ups, with a specific focus on start-ups in Kosovo. The role of branding has been drastically increasing in the last decades, as branding is becoming one of the most valuable intangible assets that a company owns regardless of whether it is a matured company or a start-up, the high growth potential newly established companies. In an effort to better understand the role of branding for Kosovo’s start-ups, this study provides qualitative insight obtained directly from start-ups’ representatives to identify whether start-ups in Kosovo recognize branding as an …

Allocation Of Public Expenditures In The Post-War Kosovo: A Critical Analysis, Leonita Krasniqi

Theses

How public expenditures are allocated can have profound effects on the macro-fiscal environment of a country. This research project analyzes how the Government of Kosovo allocates its public expenditures. Two particular strategic documents are examined—the Economic Vision 2011-2014 and the National Development Strategy 2016-2021. It does so by analyzing whether or not the priorities set in these strategies are translated in Medium-Term Expenditure Frameworks and the Budget Laws. Finally, this research project examines how the allocated public expenditures are realized. The research concludes that despite the well-established written strategies, a wide gap exists between the priorities set and their actual …

Connecting Meaningful Moments: Exploring Empathy Through Storytelling, Samantha Maida

Theses

As individuals transition through life, it is growing more and more difficult for everyone to live in the same world when perceptions of situations are skewed. Each individuals’ perception is colored by their life’s experiences which give rise to a distorted view of the world, creating biases, and affirming that our perception is a product of our past that is pushing forward into our future. The more technology promotes isolation and damages in-person communication, the more individuals are growing less aware of those around them, and how their experiences, and life events affect the way they view and respond to …

Viral – Analyzing Those That Create And Consume Content On Youtube And Social Media, Devin King

Theses

Analyzing content that has become viral through intent or by accident shows the cultural norms of society, personal interests of individuals to better themselves, and how platform algorithms in the form of search engine optimization are being used. Viral content commonly uses popular modern trends or can start them but creating outline content can yield the best results. Through creating viral content, this may lead to a platform where information can spread, revenue can be generated from, and ideas can influence new audiences, which can be useful for any corporation or individual.

Painting And Prosody: Robert Browning's (Re)Presentation Of Fra Lippo Lippi And Andrea Del Sarto, Ana Schnellmann

Theses

This paper examines the ways in which all art interpretation is revising and re-presenting the art and artists in question. When Robert Browning wrote Fra Lippo Lippi and Andrea del Sarto as part of his collection Men and Women, he drew on the histories provided of them by Giorgio Vasari. Browning used Vasari’s stories as a base from which to personify the artists and use them in a sense as synecdoches representing the ways religious art is received and viewed. Religious art is meant to elevate the soul. That elevation may take place through the artist’s rendering religious figures as …

Primary School Space Design In The City Of Beijing: A Design Demonstration That Promotes The Physical Well-Being Of Children, Dan Wu

Theses

In recent years, obesity and health problems have increased among children in China because they participate in fewer physical activities than in previous years. The reasons for this change include academic overload, the increased number of students, and the limited amount of open space in cities. It has, therefore, become important to encourage students to engage in more outdoor exercise. Children aged 7 to 12 are considered primary school age in China. They spend most of the day at school, where physical activity opportunities should be provided. Architectural design can help improve the quality of spaces by laying them out …

Enhancing Energy Efficiency In Kosovo – Analyzing Behavioral Patterns, Vesa Recica

Theses

Energy efficiency is being considered as a highly important matter among the majority of countries due to its correlation to environmental protection, energy security, and industrial competitiveness. There are multiple factors contributing to efficient usage of energy, one of them being behavioral patterns. This project aimed at analyzing the effect of behavioral patterns in enhancing energy efficiency through looking at the relationship between level of education, level of income, age, gender, place of residence (urban vs rural) and household energy usage trends. The research was completed through four focus group discussions that were conducted in urban and rural areas in …

The Link Between Successful Implementation Of Managerial Practices And The Success Of Family Owned Businesses In Kosovo, Rrezearta Jahiu

Theses

This research project analyzes the link between the successful implementation of managerial practices of family owned businesses in Kosovo and the performance of these companies in terms of the increase in their sales and growth. The four main groups of managerial practices, namely operations, monitoring, targets and incentives, are analyzed. These four main groups of managerial practices are subdivided into sub-practices which enables to examine the different aspects of the business in more detail. This research project provides information regarding family owned businesses and what makes them different from other forms of business ownerships. The important factors for business growth …

Corporate Social Responsibility — Introducing A New Model For Improving The Financial Performance Of Large Enterprises: The Case Of Kosovo, Ibrahim Jetullahu

Theses

The purpose of this research project is to show the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on improving long-term corporate financial performance. In line with the literature review, the integration of CSR with Human Resources Management (HRM) and Marketing Strategies were used as the two components of achieving profitability because they were considered as complements of one another. The overall goal is to show how CSR strategies can have positive effects on workforce productivity, employee engagement, brand awareness, and differentiation of the organization in a developing country such as Kosovo. The research method included two primary research tools: (1) semi-structured …

Gender Based Social Expectations: An Analysis Of The Role Of Textbooks In Primary School, Gerta Ymeri

Theses

This project analyzes the presence of gender stereotypes in the textbooks used in elementary school, with a special focus on the literature used for children in the first up to the fifth grade. This study is mainly focused on gender stereotypical signs in texts and illustrations on areas such as family roles, physical appearance, generic nouns and pronouns, and professions. It further showcases the impact that these textbooks, specifically women and men representation have on children on their future endeavors. The study represents existing evidence in Kosovo, including information on Kosovar education, legal framework, and similar research to this project. …

Freelancing As A Tool Of Increasing Women’S Activity Rate In Kosovo, Ema Baraku

Theses

This research project explores the implications of freelancing in the activity rate of women in the labor market in Kosovo. It specifically analyzes the employment barriers that women encounter such as taking care of children/elders, lack of suitable and flexible jobs, and low wage. It further elaborates on the concept of freelancing and the opportunities for Kosovar youth in general and for women in particular. The research includes a review of secondary data, an online survey, and focus group discussions. Findings from the research confirm the potential of freelancing to impact the participation of women in the job market as …

School Violence Prevention In High Secondary Education In Kosovo And The Role Of School Psychologists, Edita Karavidaj

Theses

This present study explores the prevalence of school violence in the pre-university level of education in Kosovo. Despite the underreported cases, school violence is common and a distressing issue. Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MEST) in Kosovo has adopted prevention-based approach towards school violence since 2014 (with a revision in 2018) and regulated that each school must have at least one School Psychologist (SP). Despite the reform efforts, the implementation of such regulations is incomplete. The current study hypothesized that school violence rates are higher in urban schools thus prevention-based programs are more likely to be implemented in these …

Environmental Sustainability: Kosovo’S Waste Management And Its Road To Circular Economy, Diella Lulaj

Theses

The aim of this project is to evaluate environmental degradation in Kosovo, by concentrating on waste management, and to give recommendations on how to improve waste management in Kosovo, through implementing circular economy concepts. More specifically, the focus of the project will be circular economy in the cycle of waste management, the possibilities and obstacles to implement it in Kosovo. Case studies are used to explain the waste management in UK and India and their process of switching from a traditional economy to a circular economy; as well as an analysis of Western Balkans’ experiences with waste management to understand …

Women As Entrepreneurs: The Hardships Of Leading In A Patriarchal System. Case Of Kosovo, Aurora Bucaj

Theses

The business sector in Kosovo is dominated by men, while women are seen as an outsider if deciding to be part of it. The number of women business owners is low compared to men business owners. This research paper will present the many factors that affect the low number of women business owners, how they correlate with one another, and how one can move passed those. A number of these factors relate to the mentality of Kosovo’s society, low financial stability of women, low education of women, and the low number of day-care facilities, and the lack of affordable private …

The Challenges Of Collecting The Immovable Property Tax: The Case Of The Republic Of Kosovo, Agnesa Jashari

Theses

Property tax is the only tax in Kosovo which can be collected by municipalities as a result of fiscal decentralization. Key services at the local level are expected to be delivered by the revenues collected from the Property Tax, thus, delay or no payment of it impedes the delivery of these key services. The purpose of this project was to analyze the property tax collection in Kosovo and the factors that influence it. The analysis has been carried out through a triangular method of a legal overview, descriptive analysis of property tax collection rates, and qualitative analysis of the sources …

Towards Energy Transformational Policy In Kosovo: Dissecting The Inconsistencies Between Energy Regulation And Implementation, Ardian Kacaniku

Theses

The main purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the inconsistencies between the energy regulation and energy strategies in place, and the current patterns of energy production and consumption in Kosovo. That is, this current research looks at the existing discrepancies between the energy regulations and their implementation in Kosovo and provides recommendations on how to address these discrepancies. In doing so, the existing strategies and EU directives such as Kosovo Energy Strategies and Acquis Community Directives by the Energy Community Secretariat were reviewed and analyzed. The answer is represented and alternative methods pertaining to Kosovo’s energy industry …

All Too Well, Yingying Tang

Theses

All Too Well is a 2D animation graduate thesis film, with a length of 6 minutes and 49 seconds. The production phase went from September 2018 to January 2020.

A father who lost his son in a car accident recreates the family by bringing an artificial intelligence boy into the home to replace the lost son. Not only does their relationship fail to heal the father's broken heart, but it also often brings back painful memories of his real boy. This only makes him realize that the robot son cannot replace his real son. So, he turns the power off …

Nanoscale Carbon-Based Electrochemical And Temperature Sensors, Olivia Viola Scheibel

Theses

Nanoscale sensors are required to study the interesting and complex physical, chemical, and biological phenomenon which occurs in microdomains. Carbon-based nanostructures (CNS) have been utilized in nanosensors with applications in many fields due to their versatility and unique properties. Several manufacturing processes can be used to produce CNSs though they often are expensive and require time-consuming purification and micro-assembly processes to integrate them into larger structures.

Here, novel silica-based structures are explored as unique templates on which to form CNSs that are easily integrated into sensors which can directly interface with standard laboratory equipment. The high electrical conductivity of CNSs …

Gaze Estimation Based On Multi-View Geometric Neural Networks, Devarth Parikh

Theses

Gaze and head pose estimation can play essential roles in various applications, such as human attention recognition and behavior analysis. Most of the deep neural network-based gaze estimation techniques use supervised regression techniques where features are extracted from eye images by neural networks and regress 3D gaze vectors. I plan to apply the geometric features of the eyes to determine the gaze vectors of observers relying on the concepts of 3D multiple view geometry. We develop an end to-end CNN framework for gaze estimation using 3D geometric constraints under semi-supervised and unsupervised settings and compare the results. We explore the …

A Patient-Specific Infrared Imaging Technique For Adjunctive Breast Cancer Screening: A Clinical And Simulation - Based Approach, Alyssa Owens

Theses

Breast cancer is currently the most prevalent form of cancer in women with over 266,000 new diagnoses every year. The various methods used for breast cancer screening range in accuracy and cost, however there is no easily reproducible, reliable, low-cost screening method currently available for detecting cancer in breasts, especially with dense tissue. Steady-state Infrared Imaging (IRI) is unaffected by tissue density and has the potential to detect tumors in the breast by measuring and capturing the thermal profile on the breast surface induced by increased blood perfusion and metabolic activity in a rapidly growing malignant tumor. The current work …

Using Photoplethysmography For Simple Hand Gesture Recognition, Karthik Subramanian

Theses

A new wearable band is developed which uses three Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors for the purpose of hand gesture recognition (HGR). These sensors are typically used for heart rate estimation and detection of cardiovascular diseases. Heart rate estimates obtained from these sensors are disregarded when the arm is in motion on account of artifacts. This research suggests and demonstrates that these artifacts are repeatable in nature based on the gestures performed. A comparative study is made between the developed band and the Myo Armband which uses surface-Electromyography (s-EMG) for gesture recognition. Based on the results of this paper which employs supervised …

Effect Of Laser Texturing And Varying Dimple Density On Tribological Properties Of Titanium-Ceramic Contact, Akshay Gaikwad

Theses

The loss of energy due to friction is one of the major problems industries are facing nowadays. Friction reduces the mechanical efficiency of the machine components. It is estimated that an average of 40% energy is lost to overcome the friction. In recent years, surface modification and surface texturing have shown tremendous ability to reduce friction and wear. Microstructures generated on the surface act as a secondary reservoir for lubricants and wear particle receptacles to reduce further abrasion. In addition, surface texturing boost hydrodynamic pressure which increases the elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication regime of the Stribeck curve, reducing friction and wear. There …

Framework To A Design Solution For Downtown Buffalo, Ny, Robert J. Sulli

Theses

Downtown Buffalo, New York is on the verge of a design recovery. Despite once being celebrated for its architectural and engineering achievements of the 1800s, Buffalo spent the near century that followed in a downward trend. Contemporarily considered a forgotten city of the industrial era, it now sits at the precipice of a new beginning. Around the 1980s, a series of investment studies produced reports outlining the different ways downtown Buffalo was struggling. Whether it was measured by loss of residential population, corporate headquarters leaving town, or just general urban decay, Buffalo had been exhibiting all the symptoms of a …

Rift’Ing The Waves: Developing And Applying An Algorithm To Infer Properties Of Gravitational Wave Sources, Jacob Lange

Theses

With the Advanced LIGO and Virgo ground-based detectors consistently identifying more compact binary coalesces, the need for fast, reliable, and unbiased parameter inference is ever more vital. To that end, we introduce RIFT: an algorithm to perform Rapid parameter inference on gravitational wave sources via Iterative FiTting. To demonstrate RIFT can recover the correct parameters of coalescing compact binary systems, we compare results to the well-tested LALInference parameter inference software. We provide several examples where the unique speed and flexibility of RIFT enables otherwise intractable or awkward parameter inference analyses, such as (a) adopting costly and novel models for outgoing …

Developing A New Formula For Predicting Oil Recovery Factor In Water Flooded-Heterogeneous Reservoirs, Mohamed Khaled Aljifri

Theses

In this work, two sets of empirical correlations were developed for predicting the recovery factor (RF) in water-flooded layered oil reservoirs. The first set of these correlations encompasses four key parameters believed to have a significant impact on waterflooding performance, namely, reservoir heterogeneity (permeability variation coefficient), injected water viscosity, permeability anisotropy (ratio of vertical permeability to horizontal permeability), and water injection rate. This first set consists of two expanded forms, one for predicting the RF at water breakthrough time (BT) and the other for predicting the RF at the end of the project (EOP). Out of the aforementioned four key …

Hardware Intellectual Property Protection Through Obfuscation Methods, Jason Blocklove

Theses

Security is a growing concern in the hardware design world. At all stages of the Integrated Circuit (IC) lifecycle there are attacks which threaten to compromise the integrity of the design through piracy, reverse engineering, hardware Trojan insertion, physical attacks, and other side channel attacks — among other threats. Some of the most notable challenges in this field deal specifically with Intellectual Property (IP) theft and reverse engineering attacks. The IP being attacked can be ICs themselves, circuit designs making up those larger ICs, or configuration information for the devices like Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Custom or proprietary cryptographic …

Cultural Differences And Conceptualizing Creativity, Rima Musa Ashour

Theses

Culture has been shown to impact the way people understand and evaluate creativity. Every day people encounter products, services, and processes; some are considered creative, and others are not. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between culture and implicit theories of creativity of products and processes. The study was conducted on UAE professional citizens who have at least three years of work experience and live in UAE. Surveys were used as the data collection method, and were applied on a final sample of 98 Emiratis. The study surveyed 26 creativity cues as the dependent variables. Results …

Vaccine Procurement In A Time-Indexed Model With Quantity-Based Discounts, Joseph N. Yeiter

Theses

Vaccination is hailed as one of the greatest scientific achievements of the past century. However, affordability and accessibility prevent low-income countries from realizing the full benefit of immunization. This study applies operations research methods to a hypothetically coordinated global vaccine market with quantity-based discounts to minimize procurement and holding costs while ensuring investment recovery of manufacturers. The effects on affordability of fixed-costs, holding costs, cold-chain capacity, and tender length (i.e. the maximum number of years ahead markets are willing to order supply from producers) are analyzed for each income-based segment of the global market. Experimental results show that increases in …