Digital Commons Network^™

The Effectiveness Of Public-Private Partnerships In Addressing Residential Urban Development Challenges In Greater Cairo, Sara Nagy Abdelmessih

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the effectiveness of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in tackling the residential urban development challenges facing Cairo today. In the past two decades, PPPs have emerged as a dominant mode of housing production, positioned as collaborative ventures between state agencies and private developers. They have become integral to the expansion of Greater Cairo, producing vast new urban extensions under the promise of mobilizing private capital, technical expertise, and delivery capacity. Yet, questions remain about whether these arrangements genuinely address Egypt’s most urgent housing needs, or whether they reproduce market-driven logics that leave large segments of the population excluded.

The …

Global Public Health Feasibility: Digital Dentistry In Geriatric Population, Merna Amr Saleh

Theses and Dissertations

Oral health is a critical yet often overlooked determinant of well-being among older adults in Egypt, where mobility limitations, geographic barriers, and low awareness of preventive practices exacerbate dental disparities. DentalPal, a teledentistry-based mobile application, was developed to provide older adults with remote dental consultations, oral hygiene advice, and triage guidance. The platform enables users to submit oral photographs or radiographs for assessment, seek second opinions, and initiate follow-up chats directly with the healthcare provider. This flexible design allows users to access dental consultations on demand while ensuring continuity of care The question that guided this study was how older …

Facebook Interaction As A Potential Marker Of Cognitive Decline: Pilot Study, Esraa M. Qansuwa

Theses and Dissertations

One of the critical challenges in brain disorder research is the early identification of individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who may later develop Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or other dementias. MCI in older adults is frequently associated with diminished social engagement and observable behavioral changes. With the rapid expansion of social media platforms and advances in Machine Learning (ML), digital traces from online activity present a novel and scalable avenue for mental health screening. In particular, predictive ML approaches have demonstrated strong potential in building reliable classifiers for early detection of neurocognitive decline. This study introduces an innovative framework that …

Perceptions Of Healthcare Access Barriers Among Eritrean, Sudanese, And Somali Refugees And Asylum Seekers In Cairo., Ayan Musa Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

As the world witnesses an increase in different displacements of individuals for various reasons, ranging from wars, civil conflicts, human rights violations, and natural disasters, refugees and asylum seekers, who are among those forcibly displaced, continue to face challenges in access to health care services in host countries. The topic of barriers to health care has been widely researched, with a large body of literature on refugees' interactions with health care systems. However, there is limited literature on the perceptions of Eritrean, Sudanese, and Somali refugees and asylum seekers' experience with healthcare access in host countries. Therefore, this thesis aims …

Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices (Kap) Towards The One Health Approach In Governmental Officers In Egypt, Nour Elsersawy

Theses and Dissertations

Background: the one health (OH) approach emphasizes the interconnectedness among human, animal, and environmental health and requires multisectoral collaboration to address complex health challenges. Egypt faces significant threats at the human-animal-environment interface, including endemic and emerging zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), food safety challenges, and vector-borne diseases. Despite established coordination mechanisms and the launch of the One Health National strategic framework (2023-2027) of Egypt, the extent to which oh principles are understood, embraced, and practiced by governmental officers responsible for implementation remains incompletely understood. Objectives: this study assessed and evaluated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding the one health …

Proposed Modifications To The Egyptian Concrete Code Based On A Comprehensive Sustainability Assessment Of Portland Cement Alternatives For Climate Change Mitigation, Yasmin Elhakim

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is a major challenge facing planet earth today. This phenomenon is foreseen to continue to represent a major concern for decades to come. The construction industry is one of the most polluting sectors worldwide and is considered one of the top greenhouse gas emitters. Egypt, in particular, is one of the most vulnerable countries to the adverse effects of climate change. The construction sector plays a major role in Egypt’s economy, contributing significantly to the national GDP, yet it also represents one of the country’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. However, the Egyptian Concrete Code does not enforce the …

Uncovering Potential Therapeutic Targets For Spinal Cord Injury; Insights From Single-Cell And Cross-Species Transcriptomics, Sara Samy Abouzekry

Theses and Dissertations

Central nervous system (CNS) injury remains a devastating healthcare problem. Despite years of research, it remains almost impossible to achieve meaningful functional repair following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI). Spinal cord injury (SCI), a highly devastating subset of CNS trauma, is considered a challenge due to the extremely limited regenerative capacity of the nervous system in adult mammals. In contrast, certain species display remarkable repair abilities followed by moderate regenerative ability in neonatal mammals, indicating that regeneration is shaped by the evolutionary context as well as the developmental age.

To uncover the core molecular mediators of …

Exploring Artificial Intelligence Governance In Higher Education: Policy Design, Implementation And Adaptability In Egypt, Rolane Eissa

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education (HE) underscores the need for effective governance frameworks that ensure ethical use and academic integrity. Despite increased policy attention, universities face significant challenges in translating AI governance (AIG) principles and policies into coherent, practical practices within complex organizational settings. Existing research on AIG remains conceptual and focused on the Global North. It offers limited empirical insight into how AI policies are interpreted and enacted at the institutional level, particularly in HE systems in the Global South. This study addresses these gaps by examining AIG in Egyptian universities, thereby providing empirically …

Metal-Free Nitrogen-Enriched Graphitic Carbon Nitride Architectures For Advanced Supercapacitor Energy Storage: Design, Synthesis, And Electrochemical Performance Optimization, Loujain Gamal Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This thesis addresses the urgent global requirement for efficient energy storage materials by developing and characterizing advanced graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)-based electrode materials for supercapacitors. A facile, low-cost thermal polymerization method produces 2D nitrogen-rich GCN nanosheets exhibiting excellent electrochemical stability and wide voltage windows, enabling symmetric devices with 19.33 Wh/kg energy density and remarkable cycling stability over 21,000 cycles. To overcome intrinsic limitations of pristine GCN, a 3D/2D metal free composite with bio-derived carbon (Bio-Cx) is synthesized, delivering high capacitance, wide potential windows, and ultrahigh energy density of 53.72 Wh/kg in asymmetric configurations paired with mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon (MPNDC). …

Dynamic Multi-Layered Hardware Obfuscation With Behavioral Drift Locking For Sat-Resistant Designs, Ahmed Yehia Salah Mohamed Emish

Theses and Dissertations

The globalization of the semiconductor supply chain has introduced critical vulnerabilities, including intellectual property (IP) piracy, reverse engineering, and hardware tampering. While traditional logic locking offers a baseline of defense, the emergence of powerful Boolean satisfiability (SAT) solvers has rendered many static obfuscation techniques ineffective. This work proposes a Dynamic Multi- Layered Hardware Obfuscation Framework that utilizes Behavioral Drift Locking (BDL) to provide a robust defense-in-depth against advanced adversarial models. The methodology integrates four synergistic layers: • Dynamic Key Management using a time-dependent rotation mechanism that updates keys every clock cycle to prevent static analysis. • Control Obfuscation through opcode …

A Study Of The Intellectual Property Rights Of Farmers With Special Reference To The Protection Of Plant Variety And The Farmers' Rights Act, 2001, Gomathi R Ms

Theses and Dissertations

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) confer exclusive rights on individuals over the creations of their minds. Intellectual property is protected through patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, geographical indications, and other legal rights, enabling inventors to obtain economic benefits and legal recognition from their innovations. These rights provide exclusive usage for a prescribed period and have evolved significantly over the years, sharing similarities with ownership rights over tangible property. As intangible rights, IPR primarily consist of the property element and the object to which that property relates. Among the various forms of IPR, Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights recognize the creativity and …

The Impact Of Supermarket Layouts On Female Shopping Behavior: A Spatial Configuration Analysis, Yara Fahmy

Theses and Dissertations

As supermarkets continue to evolve into hybrid spaces for both consumption and social interaction, understanding how spatial design shapes shopper experience has become increasingly essential. This study investigates the impact of supermarket layout—specifically free-flow configuration—on female shopping behavior within the New Cairo context. Recognizing women as primary decision-makers in household purchasing, the research adopts a gender-informed lens to uncover behavioral patterns, navigation preferences, and layout perceptions. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study integrates macro-scale online surveys (N = 173 female shoppers) with micro-scale data, including behavioral observation and path tracking of 65 female shoppers, post-shopper interviews, and spatial configuration analysis …

Electromagnetic Simulations For Vulnerable Road User Safety In 5g/6g Wireless Systems, Colin Mcnerny

Theses and Dissertations

Protecting vulnerable road users is imperative. As 5G wireless technology matures and 6G standards are established, new operational technology emerges to reduce traffic accidents. There is widespread evidence to support the need for pedestrian awareness in modern traffic ecosystems as a significant number of vulnerable road users are injured or killed every year due to observable traffic failures. Computational electromagnetic (CEM) solvers are used to model, simulate, and analyze the performance of antennas deployed to meet this challenge. Validation studies using the Altair FEKO CEM solver demonstrate scenarios where vulnerable road users are at risk. The simulation data in this …

Ethical Constraint-Based Mpc With Adaptive Weight Scheduling For Autonomous Vehicles In Diverse Scenarios, Hend Mohammed Aafia`

Theses and Dissertations

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are increasingly deployed in complex and safety-critical environments, raising fundamental questions about how ethical principles should be operationalized within real-time control systems. While existing research has extensively addressed ethical decision-making at the planning and behavioral layers, ethical intent is commonly translated into predefined trajectories and delegated to low-level controllers under the assumption of safe execution. This separation introduces a critical gap between ethical reasoning and physical feasibility, particularly in scenarios involving nonlinear vehicle dynamics, actuation limits, constrained perception horizons, and time-critical interactions with vulnerable road users. This thesis proposes an Ethical Model Predictive Control (E-MPC) framework that …

Utilization Of Plastic Waste In The Concrete Industry, Nancy Abdelmoneim Sakr

Theses and Dissertations

Plastic recycling has emerged as a crucial strategy that aligns with environmental, social and economic sustainability indicators. Currently, substantial volumes of plastic waste are either deposited in landfills or incinerated, neglecting the potential to harness its embodied energy and the energy consumed for producing virgin materials. A key advantage of plastic lies in its promising mechanical properties. Concrete mix design is fundamental to a wide range of construction applications, including brick walls, reinforced concrete slabs and concrete pavements. Despite the adoption of recycled plastic in construction materials in various countries, its widespread implementation remains limited. This is primarily due to …

Youth Development Programs Critical Analysis, Rethinking Real Sustainability Measures. Focus On Middle-Eastern And African Contexts., Rasha As Salem

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Using a systematic review of 18 research papers, policy documents, and evaluation reports, the study examines youth development programs sustainability through four aspects. First, the review explores how definitions of marginalized youth are applied in Middle East and African contexts. Furthermore, the review focuses on how programmatic suitability is discussed and implemented through the concepts of localization and contextualization. Additionally, the importance of locally grounded evidence as much as rigorous evidence and finally the implementation tactics. The review uses frameworks of ecological systems theory and empowering management approaches to analyze the data. The findings reveal significant variation in how …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of A Habit Recording Tool To Improve Mental Health Of University (Auc) Students, Noran Nounou

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: According to previous research, the mental health of university students has become an alarming public health concern worldwide. Most of the mental disorders begin among young adults, attributed to the transition to university and increased financial and societal pressure. Despite the important effect of daily habits on mental health, there still remain research gaps in Egypt in exploring their effect among university students and exploring the potential opportunities to support their well-being. Objectives: To assess depression rates among AUC students and to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly designed habit recording board, Make an Impact (MAI) to improve depression …

Women Representation In Higher Education Leadership In Egypt: A Qualitative Study, Eman Fouda

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to investigate women representation in higher education leadership in Egypt. Currently, the representation of women in leadership roles in higher education is not proportionate to the percentage of women in Egypt, or even to the percentage of women employed in education. The importance of this topic arises from the implications of gender inequality. This research explores the perceptions of women in higher education regarding the social and cultural barriers that hinder their advancement to leadership positions. The discussion is in light of the social dominance theory and the cultural and social issues that stand …

A Bim-Based Flexible Flow Shop Framework For Scheduling Linear Infrastructure Projects, Mahmoud Mohamed Elbassuony

Theses and Dissertations

Repetitive, multi-stage linear projects, such as pipelines or highways, are primarily impacted by spatial and resource constraints during their execution. Cost overruns, delays, and inefficient resource allocation make construction management for such projects complex. Traditional scheduling techniques, such as Critical Path Method (CPM) and Line of Balance (LOB), are less efficient for scheduling dynamic, complex, and multi-objective projects. There are more advanced scheduling methods that can be applied as a decision-making process to determine the optimal timing of activities and achieve other objectives. One of those techniques is the Flexible Flow Shop model (FFS), which can be effectively applied to …

Fly Ash Proppant Developed For Hydraulic Fracturing, Raz Rzgar Haydar

Theses and Dissertations

Proppants are critical components in hydraulic fracturing, used to maintain fracture conductivity and enhance reservoir stimulation. In high-pressure and harsh reservoir environments, the use of high-strength proppants is essential to ensure well performance. Conventional proppants, being sand, ceramic, and sintered bauxite can be expensive, and their use often requires costly fracture fluids. This study investigates the possibility of utalizing fly ash geopolymers as a sustainable alternative that is also cost-effective for proppants manufacturing. Fly ash, a by-product from the combustion of coal and other materials, was explored as a base material for proppants, utilizing an alkaline solution as an activator …

Harnessing Ml And Iiot For Traceability In Continuous Production Systems: A Conceptual Framework, Kholoud M. Abdelaal

Theses and Dissertations

In the era of rapid technological advancement, the manufacturing sector faces increasing pressure to leverage emerging technologies to enhance operational efficiency and minimize waste. In this context, traceability plays a pivotal role, as it provides complete visibility of processes and products throughout manufacturing systems, enabling them to identify areas for improvement and take corrective actions accordingly. Additionally, traceability ensures compliance, supports product recalls, provides a clear understanding of the system’s performance, and enables fact-driven decision-making in multiple aspects of the manufacturing system. Although the broad spectrum of traceability applications in batch production-based plants, traceability remains challenging to achieve in continuous …

Digital Replica For Trustworthy Cooperative Autonomous Vehicles, Hady Farahat

Theses and Dissertations

Trust in an automated system can be defined as confidence in a vehicle's reliability, safety, and predictability, which is essential for the acceptance and widespread adoption of fully autonomous vehicles (FAVs); without it, users might disengage from using autonomous vehicles or reject the technology altogether. Most of the previous research has focused on trust from an ego vehicle perspective.

However, next-generation vehicles are becoming more autonomous and connected, relying on vehicle-to-vehicle technology and vehicle-to-infrastructure technology with no human intervention. Hence, trust becomes more complex and fragile as multiple agents interact with each other, and it might become harder to establish …

Cognivault: Enabling Privacy-Aware Cognitive Distortion Detection In Intelligent Mental Health Applications, Mariam Dawoud

Theses and Dissertations

Mental health applications are increasingly leveraging intelligent systems to sup- port psychological well-being, yet preserving user privacy remains a major concern. This thesis presents CogniVault, a secure ecosystem for cognitive distortion data. The framework includes Cognify, a mobile journaling application that detects cog- nitive distortions in user-written journal entries using a locally deployed machine learning model. Cognitive distortions are maladaptive thought patterns such as catastrophizing or personalization, which the app identifies to provide therapeu- tic insights. To ensure privacy-preserving data analytics, CogniVault includes the design and implementation of a hybrid security architecture, PRISM-HDI, that combines Paillier Homomorphic Encryption (HE), Differential …

Targeting The Cd47/Calreticulin Axis In Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Ha Grafted Chitosan Nanoparticles Loaded With Doxorubicin And Polygodial, Hadir M. Emara

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is considered the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer. Although progress in cancer treatment has led to better results for different types of breast cancer, TNBC remains particularly challenging due to persistent resistance to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy. This resistance ultimately renders chemotherapy less effective and is frequently associated with substantial side effects. Immunosurveillance significantly impacts the onset of cancer, the rise of resistance to therapies, and the likelihood of tumor recurrence. In this immunomodulatory process, Cluster of Differentiation 47 (CD47) and Calreticulin (CALR) are two key regulators. CD47 expression is strongly linked to anti-phagocytic …

Copper Metal Organic Framework-Based Nanomaterial For Non-Enzymatic Glucose Electrochemical Sensor, Sameha Mohamed Sadek

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the development of non-enzymatic glucose sensors by engineering advanced electrode materials based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Conventional enzymatic glucose sensors, although widely used, suffer from inherent limitations, including poor long-term stability, narrow operating conditions, and sensitivity to environmental factors, due to their reliance on biological enzymes. Non-enzymatic sensors offer a more robust alternative by enabling direct electrochemical oxidation of glucose on engineered electrode surfaces. MOFs represent a highly tunable class of hybrid materials with structural and chemical features that are ideal for sensor applications, including a high surface area, tailored porosity, and excellent thermal and chemical stability. …

The Philosophy Of Selling Community: Developer Narratives And Resident Experiences Of Privacy And Community In Gated Communities In Cairo, Yosr Samir Raghib

Theses and Dissertations

Gated communities have become a global urban form with diverse impacts on their inhabitants. In recent years, Cairo has been expanding to the edges, and land that has always been a desert is now rapidly transforming into new cities that people are leaving their homes in the center of the city to move to seeking seclusion, security, privacy, and sense of community. Despite the tension proven between privacy and community, developers attempted to sell both concepts to coexist in gated communities in different manners to express their unique brand. Both concepts are defined differently by each developer, resulting in different …

Design Of Novel Formwork System And Development Of Numerical Model For Comparison Between Formwork Systems, Ahmed Yehia Abdel Aziz El Sayed

Theses and Dissertations

The formwork industry has witnessed major breakthroughs in the last decades. However, they required huge amount of materials leading to negative environmental impacts. Also, the commercially available systems have big number of accessories and requires the extensive use of units to cover the areas to be poured. There was an attempt to target all these disadvantages by introducing the Funicular Arched Steel Truss (FAST) system. However, this system had its own drawbacks, and this is why the researcher introduced an extendable version named the “Extendable Funicular Arched Steel Truss (EAST) system.”

To reach the final version of the EAST design, …

Managing Capacity Development For Administrative Staff In Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study Of The American University In Cairo, Amal Gamal Kaldas

Theses and Dissertations

Capacity development (CD) is a fundamental factor in the success of an organization, particularly in the initiation of higher education (HEIs) where administrative staff have a significant role in operational functions. This thesis presents several aspects that shape the capacity development for administrative staff in higher education institutions and the foundation of theories that relate to CD. Focusing on The American University in Cairo (AUC) as a case study to explore the current CD programs, how the administrative staff perceive the CD programs, and the challenges that hinder AUC in implementing these programs, and how AUC manages these programs. A …

Egypt’S Strategic Hedging In Economics With The United States And China From 2014-2024, Abigail Flynn

Theses and Dissertations

This research aims to explain how Egypt is able to engage economically with two internationally competitive powers, the United States and China, using the theoretical framework of strategic hedging in the period of 2014-2024. While existing literature on strategic hedging is primarily focused on Southeast Asia and broadly deals with political hedging, this study applies the framework specifically to Egypt and is limited to economic relations. This research is significant because it identifies how Egypt is able to increase its economic engagement with the U.S. and China despite their competitive status and offers a novel argument which can be tested …

Assessing School Readiness For Social And Emotional Learning: A Study Of School Leadership Perceptions And Attitudes, Nahla Elharati

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the integration of social and emotional learning (SEL) in a number of British schools across Egypt, focusing on how school leaders defined and perceived its importance in student development. Through in-depth interviews with twelve school leaders, this study found that school leaders’ definitions of SEL emphasized self- awareness, self-regulation, and relationship-building, alongside a strong focus on the real-life applicability of SEL both within school settings and in students’ future lives. School leaders also expressed positive attitudes toward the benefits of SEL, particularly its role in enhancing academic performance, promoting student well-being, improving peer relationships, and reducing bullying, …