Digital Commons Network^™

Development And Standardization Of Teds Actuator Templates Under Ieee 1451 Framework, Jim Kang

Theses and Dissertations

The IEEE 1451 standard is a family of standards that defines a framework for smart transducers, including both sensors and actuators, to support consistent, interoperable, and cost-effective integration across diverse applications. However, the current IEEE 1451.4 standard templates only define the method for encoding Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) information for a broad range of sensor types and applications; they do not address actuator TEDS. Specific types of sensors and actuators are being developed to assess underground environmental conditions in cold regions with widespread permafrost. Evaluating subsurface conditions before construction can help prevent high construction expenses for structures built on …

The Experience Of Newly Formed Syrian Female-Headed Households Refugees In Egypt: Challenges And Opportunities, Wasim Dia

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the lived experience of Newly Formed Syrian Female-Headed Households in Egypt. It focuses on how the extended displacement reshapes gender roles, decision-making, and survival strategies. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, extensive family separation, death, disappearance, and male migration have occurred, leading to a significant rise in female-headed Syrian refugee households. As a result, displacement has intensified women’s vulnerability, generating new responsibilities and limited spaces for agency, especially within restrictive legal and socio-economic environments.

Based on in-depth qualitative interviews conducted in 2023, this research explores how Syrian refugee women navigate everyday life in Egypt …

“Between Cultural Norms And Economic Survival: Navigating Egyptian Lower And Middle Income Women’S Challenges In The Informal Versus The Formal Work: “A Case Study From Cairo”, Rowan Mahmoud Abdelnazer

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the ongoing gender inequities experienced by low and middle-income women in Egypt’s formal and informal labor economy, specifically it is based in Cairo. Although there are many advances made globally on women's rights, yet women still face great challenges such as discrepancies in salary, fewer leadership roles and cultural expectations which put child-bearing duties before professional growth. On the one hand, flexible work for women in developing countries is through informal sector, which makes them vulnerable and serves as a source of their exploitation and insecurity (e.g., lack of social security; workplace hazards), on the other hand, …

How Disability Inclusion Shapes Student Experiences In Egyptian Public Universities, Ramez Maher

Theses and Dissertations

The inclusion of students with disabilities in higher education is a critical aspect of equity, social justice, and human rights, particularly in Egypt, where systemic barriers continue to hinder access to education for this demographic. Despite the enrollment of approximately 19.4 million students in 2018, only 38,135 students with disabilities were admitted, highlighting the significant challenges they face in accessing higher education.   Through a qualitative approach employing reflexive thematic analysis, this study explores the interplay of institutional policies, cultural attitudes, and accessibility challenges that affect the educational experiences of students with disabilities in Egyptian public universities. The analysis of 21 …

Who Moderates? A Polycentric Framework For Allocating Regulatory Responsibility In Online Content Moderation, Farh A. El Wishi

Theses and Dissertations

The question of who is responsible for content moderation on the internet remains one of the key topics relating to internet governance. Legislation has been adopted, platforms have utilized self-regulation methods, and users have flagged and reported content, all often happening simultaneously, yet rarely according to any coherent principle for deciding which actor should bear primary responsibility for which aspect of the problem. This research argues that the absence of a principled allocative framework is the central governance failure of the internet's regulatory history, and that addressing it requires a structured distribution of regulatory responsibility across the three actors who …

Humanitarianism Through Alan Kurdi Photograph: A Discourse Of Governing Suffering, Nada Mahmoud

Theses and Dissertations

Humanitarianism has become one of the powerful languages of modern times, in which compassion, ethics, and moral obligations are mediated to alleviate suffering. This thesis investigates humanitarianism not exclusively on the basis of its moral sentiments but on its functioning as a system of power that governs people’s conduct. It examines how different technologies of power feed into the operationalization of humanitarianism to transform it into a system for governing suffering. By decoding the elements of its power, the thesis aims to understand humanitarian reason through the humanitarian loop, from generating knowledge, categorization and representation, to the legal and normative …

Integrative Assessment Of Body Composition And Micronutrient Status In An Adult Egyptian Population, Roua Aref Nouh

Theses and Dissertations

Integrative Assessment of Body Composition and Micronutrient Status in an Adult Egyptian Population: A Functional and Biochemical Approach

Obesity and metabolic dysfunction are increasingly recognized as heterogeneous conditions that cannot be sufficiently characterized by body mass index (BMI) alone. Alterations in body composition, particularly central adiposity and skeletal muscle mass, may coexist with micronutrient imbalances even among individuals who fall outside conventional BMI-based obesity classifications. In clinical settings, such metabolic vulnerability is frequently accompanied by non-specific functional symptoms, highlighting the need for integrative assessment approaches that extend beyond weight-centered metrics. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the associations between micronutrient …

Mobilizing Social Capital In Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies, Networks, And Growth In The Egyptian Context, Doaa Alaa

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how social entrepreneurs in Egypt strategically mobilise social capital to access resources, legitimacy, and opportunities within a fragmented and institutionally ambiguous ecosystem. Drawing on qualitative case studies of eight legally registered, mission-driven for-profit enterprises, the study analyses how founders build and leverage offline and online networks through practices such as emotional bonding, community formation, knowledge sharing, symbolic positioning, ecosystem engagement, and digital presence. Through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and secondary data, the research identifies a set of relational strategies that function as core mechanisms for entrepreneurial growth in contexts where formal support structures and legal definitions …

Engineering Nanoelectrocatalytic Systems For Co2 And Nitrate Conversion Into Value-Added Chemicals, Abdelrahman Mohamed Abdelmohsen

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis addresses two major related environmental crises: nitrate pollution of water systems and the ever-increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Both challenges are closely linked to anthropogenic disturbance of nitrogen and carbon cycles and require sustainable, energy efficient mitigation techniques. In this study, we investigate electrochemical conversion routes as a unified approach to convert these pollutants into value-added compounds: ammonia (NH3) via nitrate reduction (NO3-RR) and ethylene (C2H4) via carbon dioxide reduction (CO2RR). The first half of this work deals with the design and engineering of Cu-Zn alloy electrocatalysts for efficient NO3-RR. Tuning the alloy composition and surface nanostructure …

Sense Of Belonging Among Undergraduate Students At The American University In Cairo: Demographic Trends, Barriers And Facilitators, Lamiaa M. Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

A sense of belonging is widely recognized as a key determinant of undergraduate students’ academic success, well-being, and persistence in higher education. However, existing research is largely grounded in Western contexts and often emphasizes institution-level measures, with limited attention to how belonging is experienced and constructed by students in non-Western settings. This study examines undergraduate students’ sense of belonging at the American University in Cairo, focusing on factors that shape belonging and institutional practices that may strengthen it. Using a sequential mixed-methods design, the study examined 87 responses from a quantitative survey adapted from the University Belonging Questionnaire, followed by …

The Informal Impact Of The Headscarf Ban On Veiled Students’ Everyday University Experiences In Paris, Farah K. Lotfy

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the informal impact of the 2004 headscarf ban on the everyday university experiences of veiled students in Paris. Although the ban applies formally to public schools rather than universities, the wider social climate surrounding laïcité and the veil continues to influence how veiled students experience visibility, belonging, and participation in higher education.

Using a qualitative approach based primarily on semi-structured interviews, supported by informal observations conducted within university spaces in Paris, the study explores how exclusion is experienced through stereotypes, scrutiny, social discomfort, self-monitoring, and anticipation of discrimination rather than through formal university policy. The research focuses …

Parental Gender Bias In Youth Employment Standards: Evidence From Upper Egypt, Mahmoud Saeed

Theses and Dissertations

Youth unemployment remains a critical challenge in Egypt, with female labor force participation among the lowest globally. While structural factors such as limited job creation and public sector contraction are well-documented, the role of family-level decision-making in constraining women's labor market entry has received limited quantitative attention. This thesis examines parental gender bias in employment standards in Upper Egypt, investigating whether and how parents impose systematically different job requirements for daughters compared to sons. Using primary survey data from 17,284 unemployed youth aged 18-35 across six governorates, paired with responses from their parents, this study analyzes parental preferences across six …

From Aspiration To Obligation: A Contractual Sustainability Framework For The Egyptian Construction Industry, Salma Ali

Theses and Dissertations

The construction industry is responsible for approximately 40% of global energy consumption and 35% of total waste generation, making it one of the most significant contributors to the global sustainability challenge. In Egypt, that challenge takes a specific contractual form. Egypt’s construction sector contributes approximately 23% of national energy consumption, yet the survey findings reveal that 63.5% of construction professionals report that sustainability clauses rarely or never appear in contracts, and only 11.5% confirm the presence of enforceable provisions with measurable targets. This gap is structural rather than attitudinal. Competitive procurement penalises voluntary sustainability investment, and without contractual obligation, awareness …

The Human Side Of Humanitarian Work: Well-Being And Performance Among Aid Workers In Egypt, Mai Osama Kenawy

Theses and Dissertations

Well-being and productivity are widely recognized as central to the work performance of humanitarian aid workers. Despite increasing attention to staff well-being, performance within the humanitarian sector in Egypt remains stagnant or, in some cases, declining. This study examines why expanded well-being initiatives have not yielded sustained performance improvements by examining how actors' external roles, organizational factors, and individual factors affect humanitarian workers’ well-being and work performance. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining ten in-depth interviews with humanitarian workers from international organizations, INGOs, and local NGOs, as well as a survey of eighty workers operating in the same context. The …

Work Precarity, Mental Health, And Performance Among Humanitarian Aid Workers In Egypt Post-2025 U.S. Funding Reduction, Mariam Allam

Theses and Dissertations

The humanitarian sector is increasingly characterized by precarious employment conditions and work precarity, including short-term contracts, unclear renewal terms, inadequate compensation, heavy workloads, and job insecurity, exacerbated by volatile donor funding. The 2025 U.S. funding cuts have intensified these vulnerabilities, particularly in countries like Egypt, with massive humanitarian operations because of being a significant destination for asylum applications and one of the largest refugee host countries. Despite the prevalence of precarious work in the humanitarian sector, limited research examines its effects on workers' mental health and work performance, especially during funding crises. This qualitative study explores the perceived effect of …

Global Health Governance Or Global Governance For Health? Navigating The Path For Pandemic Preparedness, Kadria Abdelmotaal

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic constituted a systemic stress test for global health governance, exposing structural and institutional weaknesses in national and international response systems. Although health system financing and income levels influenced baseline capacity, this dissertation demonstrates that governance performance was a decisive determinant of pandemic outcomes, shaping intervention timing, vaccine equity, and preventable mortality.

Drawing on governance theory, empirical analysis, and policy-oriented legal evaluation, this research examines whether pandemic preparedness can be achieved through strengthening Global Health Governance (GHG) alone, or whether a broader paradigm of Global Governance for Health (GGFH) is required. GGFH reconceptualizes preparedness as embedded within …

The Tagamo3 Accent: Linguistic Stylization, Enregisterment, And Social Meaning In Egyptian Digital Discourse, Jannah M. Abdelaziz

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the Tagamo3 Accent (TA), a socially recognizable speech style associated with elite urban Egyptian identity, through a qualitative multimodal discourse analysis of twelve Egyptian TikTok videos, including both naturally occurring lifestyle and influencer content as well as parody and commentary videos that explicitly imitate, discuss, or evaluate the accent. Drawing on theories of enregisterment (Agha, 2003), stylization (Coupland, 2007), and indexicality (Silverstein, 2003; Eckert, 2008), the study examines how TA is linguistically performed, socially recognized, and ideologically circulated within Egyptian digital spaces. The findings suggest that TA does not function as a structurally bounded dialect or geographically …

Readiness Before Adoption: Exploring Ai Integration In Egyptian Nonprofit Fundraising, Marwa Y. Zayed

Theses and Dissertations

 Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been transforming fundraising through data-driven decision-making, automation, and personalized donor engagement. Existing research focuses on AI applications and outcomes in the nonprofit sector in western context, with little known information in the Global South, particularly Egypt. This gap makes understanding the organizational conditions that shape AI difficult and limited. This thesis examines how organizational, cultural, ethical, and resource-related factors shape Egyptian nonprofit organizations’ readiness to adopt AI in fundraising. Through a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 fundraising directors, CEOs, a governmental representative, and technology professionals working in Egyptian nonprofits based in Cairo …

A Novel Design-For-Test Flow Using Librelane, Mohamed E. Gaber

Theses and Dissertations

Design-for-testing is a crucial element of application-specific integrated circuit design, yet, in the nascent open-source electronic design automation scene, the solutions for it are sorely limited. Design-for-test-enabled chips allow defects to be caught early on in the manufacturing process, avoiding incurring huge costs if hardware with defective chips is shipped to equipment manufacturers or, worse, end-users. Yet, the current open-source solutions rely on a brute-force utility that does not scale and negatively impacts the design by holding design-for-testing features as co-equal with the design’s regular operation, and a nominally layout-aware solution that does not holistically integrate into a larger flow. …

Media Literacy Education In Hadhramout Governorate, Case Study: Hadhramout University, Amal Omar Ba Qatyan

Theses and Dissertations

Media literacy is an essential skill in today’s digital environment (Khoirunnisa, Udiana, & Zahra, 2025), especially in conflict-affected societies where misinformation and propaganda spread rapidly through social media platforms (Uzochukwu et al., 2025). In Yemen, the ongoing conflict has weakened the education system and reduced access to reliable information, which increases university students’ vulnerability to misleading, biased, and inaccurate media content (Moharram, 2026). Despite the recognized importance of media literacy education, academic research on this topic remains very limited in Yemen, particularly in Hadhramout Governorate.

This study addresses this research gap by examining the current state of media literacy education …

Educational Governance And Policy Implementation In Conflict-Affected Contexts: The Case Of Hadhramout, Yemen, Naa'ma M. Al-Hendi

Theses and Dissertations

Education remains a vital component of societal resilience and development in a world increasingly defined by conflict and instability. Education during conflict is crucial for academic learning and providing essential life skills and psychosocial support to children affected by war. Yemen is being plagued by political upheaval and a lack of economic flow to keep education running efficiently. Although Hadhramout, a governorate in Yemen, remains relatively stable, its education sector continues to face persistent challenges that hinder the quality and effectiveness of education. This study investigates the key challenges facing K-12 education in Hadhramout and examines the extent to which …

Creating Public Value Through Public-Private Partnerships In Technical And Vocational Education And Training In Egypt, Aseel Amr Tajuddin

Theses and Dissertations

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has emerged in the last decade as a foundational pillar for Egypt’s workforce and economic development vision. More recently, the Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MoETE) has scaled industry driven and Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) TVET models, industry affiliated dual education programs and Applied Technology Schools (ATS), seeking to strengthen alignment with the labor market and improving TVET graduates employability. Yet, TVET in Egypt continues to suffer from persistent social stigma, limited social legitimacy and low social ranking, despite the state led reform efforts. Existing TVET literature remains limited to examining …

Instagram Influencers And Egyptian Women: Links To Self- Perception And Behavior, Fatma El Sayad

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid rise of Instagram influencers has transformed the ways young women engage with media, shaping perceptions of appearance, lifestyle, success, and everyday behavior. This study examines how frequent exposure to Instagram influencers affects self-esteem, internalization of beauty and lifestyle ideals, perceived realism of influencer content, and behavioral and consumption habits among young Egyptian females. The study explores participants’ lived experiences, interpretations, and coping strategies in relation to influencer culture. Perceived influencer credibility emerged as a key factor for females to follow them, influencers viewed as relatable, specialized, and transparent were more likely to inspire adaptive behaviors, whereas those promoting …

Between Reform And Dependency: Ifi Influence On Egyptian Food Sovereignty, Nayera Ayman Abouelfarh

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how international financial institutions (IFIs), particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, have influenced Egyptian food sovereignty between 2016 and 2024. It asks how IFI-backed structural adjustment programs, policy influence, and ideational influence reshaped Egyptian public policy and affected the state’s capacity to autonomously manage its food system. The thesis argues that IFI-driven reform agendas prioritized macroeconomic stabilization, fiscal discipline, and export-oriented growth over food sovereignty, increasing Egypt’s external dependence and vulnerability to global market shocks. Methodologically, the study employs a qualitative comparative case study design combining process tracing and thematic document analysis using …

Shaping Egypt’S Transition To Sustainable Electric Transport: Current Policies And Future Directions, Noha A. Ragab

Theses and Dissertations

Egypt has enacted policies to promote the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in order to reduce their overall carbon footprint. However, the pace of transition remains limited, so the research aims to answer the following question: “How do current policies shape Egypt’s transition towards sustainable electric transport, and what additional measures can support this transition?" The study employs a qualitative analysis methodology, based on diffusion of innovation theory and conceptual framework, to analyze current policies in Egypt and identify challenges and gaps in their implementation. It also analyzes responses from 23 interviews with experts in the field, manufacturers, dealers, EV …

Beyond Emergency: Charting Pathways To Sustainable Development In Fragile And Conflict-Affected Settings: A Case Study Of Yemen, Sharif Abdurabu Salem Farid Alsahbool

Theses and Dissertations

For nearly a decade, Yemen's eastern governorates of Hadramawt, Shabwah, and Al‑Mahrah have been relatively stable, yet the international aid system has kept delivering short‑term humanitarian relief like food baskets and water trucking instead of shifting to sustainable development that could rebuild people's lives, create jobs, fix infrastructure, and strengthen local government. This thesis investigates why this transition has taken so long. Based on 21 interviews with government officials, international NGO staff, and local NGO managers in these three governorates, the study develops a new way of understanding the problem. It introduces three ideas: the 'emergency mentality', which is a …

Mapping The Neuroexposome: Integrative Analysis Of Dementia Risk Factors Through Multi-Omics And Environmental Profiling In The Egyptian Population., Mai Ahmed Saadzaghloul Othman

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Dementia represents one of the most pressing public health challenges of the twenty-first century, with the global burden projected to reach 153 million cases by 2050. Egypt, as the most populous Arab nation, faces a corresponding rise in age-related diseases, yet comprehensive data from low- and middle-income countries remain severely limited. The neuroexposome framework, integrating genetic susceptibility, environmental exposures, and metabolic alterations, offers a powerful strategy to characterize the complex interplay between internal and external risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Alzheimer's disease Related Dementias (ADRD).

Objectives: This thesis aimed to: (1) examine the distribution of APOE alleles …

Modeling Volatility Dynamics In The U.S. Public Real Estate Stock Market: Evidence From Conditional Volatility Decomposition And Sector Benchmarking, Mariam Mohamed El Naghi

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines volatility dynamics between the U.S. public real estate stock market and the broader equity market, with a focus on sectoral conditional volatility sensitivity to market conditional volatility across different volatility regimes. Using daily stock price data from  to , conditional volatilities of real estate stocks and the market index are estimated through a GARCH-framework that incorporates Monday and Friday dummy variables in both the conditional mean and conditional variance equations as controls for calendar-based anomalies. The estimated conditional volatilities are used to estimate volatility-to-volatility elasticities at the firm and aggregate levels and are benchmarked against other equity …

The Paradox Of Palestinian Exile: Unrwa, Structural Limbo, And The Manufactured Crisis Of The Right To Return, Laila Ibrahim Hassan Elkassas

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that the temporariness of Palestinian exile has been turned into a manufactured limbo that is sustained by international law, humanitarian governance and host- country regimes. It uses General Assembly Resolution 194 and the broader human rights regime to show how the right to return is constantly reaffirmed but structurally postponed, resulting in a gap between legal promise and political reality. Drawing on Edward Said’s notion of exile as an unhealable rift, Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus and Didier Fassin’s thinking on humanitarian reason, the thesis constructs a multi-scalar framework that conceptualizes limbo as existential experience, embodied practice …

An Integrated Sensor-Fusion Framework For Performance-Based Compensation In Construction, Aly Ayman El-Ashry

Theses and Dissertations

Construction productivity has historically stagnated due to a reliance on subjective labor monitoring and “lagging” performance indicators. This research proposes a novel compensation model with the use of Total Energy Management System (TEMS) to translate labor effort and efficiency into payment incentives with the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) wearables and Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts.

This research addresses the systemic problem of declining construction productivity caused by industry’s inability to objectively quantify human effort. While traditional models rely on post-facto production tallies, a significant research gap exists in real-time physiological labor monitoring. To bridge this, the proposed TEMS …