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INScription: Department of International Studies (INS) Issue #7 (April 28, 2022, Issue 7)
Get PDFCollege of Arts and SciencesDepartment of International Studie
Saving Which Children How? The Importance of Cultural Capital in Youth-Focused International Aid and Development
No full textThis review discusses the book Saving the Children: Humanitarianism, Internationalism, and Empire by Emily Baughan. In the book, Baughan documents and discusses the first 100 years of the Save the Children Fund, which was established in the United Kingdom in 1919. In this article, I review the book in the context of the Community Capitals Framework, paying particular attention to the importance of cultural capital. I argue that one of the major shortcomings of Save the Children was the willful ignorance of and, at times, the purposeful destruction and elimination of the cultural capital of the communities, families, and children they were serving. I discuss the consequences of ignoring and damaging cultural capital and provide examples of how, rather than being only a historical problem of large and complex organizations such as Save the Children, some current scholars and practitioners continue to neglect and harm cultural capital in their own community development work
The ‘green’ start-up: environmental commitment and its impact on start-up success
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Finance by Wafa Bardaa entitled, “The ‘green’ start-up: environmental commitment and its impact on start-up success”, submitted in December 2022. Thesis advisor is Dr. Christian Rauch. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Approval Signatures, Completion Certificate, and AUS Archives Consent Form).This thesis analyzes the impact of environmental commitment and industry greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of start-ups on start-up success. I study environmental commitment along with GHG emission and funding data for 911 start-ups based in the United States. The results show that start-ups’ greenness, measured by greenhouse gas emissions of the main industry in which the start-up operates in and by start-ups’ environmental responsibility, has a significant effect on the amount of Venture Capital funds invested in the start-up. The results of my study provide important implications for entrepreneurs, investors, and regulators, highlighting the impact of environmental commitment of start-ups on the venture capital funding they receive.School of Business AdministrationDepartment of FinanceMaster of Science in Finance (MSF
Shear Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete T-Beams using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Anchored with CFRP Spikes
No full textReinforced Concrete (RC) structures deteriorate over years due to many reasons including corrosion of reinforcing steel, carbonation of concrete, overload on structural members, among others. This may result in flexural or shear deficiency in RC beams. The failure of shear-deficient RC beams is usually brittle, sudden and with little warning, if any. Diagonal shear cracks will form due to load increase that may result in complete fracture of the RC beam. Therefore, deteriorated and shear-deficient RC beams need to be strengthened to avoid such undesirable shear failure. This paper investigates shear strengthening of RC T-Beams using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates anchored with spike anchors. The beams have been strengthened in flexure to avoid flexural failure and then strengthened in shear using CFRP sheets that were anchored with CFRP spikes. Six beams were strengthened with CFRP laminates at 45o and at 90o inclination angles and anchored with embedded CFRP spikes with different depths (50 mm and 75 mm) and different diameters (10 mm and 12 mm). Wrapping (U-Wrapped) was also used for anchoring the flexural CFRP laminates. The beams are tested to failure and their capacity were compared with that of an unstrengthen control beam. It is observed that the capacity of the strengthened beams is increased up to 45% compared to that of the control beam. Anchoring with U-wraps enhanced the beam capacity further. The inclination of the CFRP sheets, dowel diameter, and the embedment depth of the spike anchors influenced shear and deformation capacity of the tested RC T-Beams.Riad Sadek Endowed Chair in Civil Engineering at the American University of SharjahStructural Technologie
Electrical Characterization of Conductive Concrete Mixtures for Industrial Applications
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Electrical Engineering by Shereen Farhana entitled, “Electrical Characterization of Conductive Concrete Mixtures for Industrial Applications”, submitted in June 2022. Thesis advisor is Dr. Nasser Qaddoumi and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Sherif Yehia. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).In today’s world, with the increasing use of electronic devices such as television and radio, mobile phones, Wi-Fi hot spots, and a variety of other technologies, electromagnetic field radiation transmitters have become very common. High-power microwave technology has progressed to the point that actual E-bombs are becoming theoretically possible, with novel uses in strategic and tactical information warfare. Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) bomb is a non-lethal, but highly destructive, weapon that emits an electromagnetic pulse that disables all electrical circuitry within a certain radius. Moreover, many technologies operate in the same or similar frequency bands, making the frequency spectrum densely packed. As the level of interference increases, some form of shielding is highly required. Over the majority of recorded study, conductive concrete which is developed as a result of the addition of conductive components to conventional concrete has been widely used for crack detection, deicing, efficient grounding, anti-static flooring and cathodic protection of reinforced concrete structures. Conductive concrete has also exhibited excellent shielding properties along with improved electrical properties, hence extending its application from civil engineering to electrical engineering. The objective of this thesis is to discuss the feasibility of using conductive concrete mixture for electromagnetic shielding applications by performing several tests to analyze their electrical properties to eliminate the effect of electromagnetic waves and pulses. Conductive and conventional concrete mixtures with corrugations of varying compositions and thicknesses are assessed. The relative complex permittivity of the concrete is also estimated by measuring the scattering parameters of the concrete samples using a rectangular waveguide in the c-band frequency range. Moreover, a dielectric mixing model is developed for determining the relative complex permittivity of the heterogeneous concrete mixture based on the volume percentage and the dielectric constant of individual constituents in the concrete mixtures. Finally, the thickness of the concrete sample is estimated using the relative complex permittivity obtained from the mixing model for any required level of attenuation at frequencies of concern.College of EngineeringDepartment of Electrical EngineeringMaster of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE
It’s Not You, It’s Us: Relationship-Based Factors That Predict Infidelity
No full textInfidelity is often defined as perceived as a violation of relationship exclusivity rules, and many view infidelities as immoral. Thus, one can imagine the importance of understanding why up to a fifth of research samples report cheating in their current relationships. There is considerable literature regarding what factors predict infidelity. Although individual characteristics associated with infidelity do exist, relationship-based variables tend to be the most consistent and robust factors. This chapter will discuss various theories and research findings that suggested different relationship-based factors and frameworks with which to consider and predict why some people engage in infidelity. This chapter reviews some major ideas and research through the lens of the investment model of commitment (i.e., satisfaction, investment, quality of alternatives, commitment), as well as other relationship-based variables (e.g., opportunities and boredom, relationship type and length) that have received empirical support. Finally, the chapter ends with a nod to future directions in this area, and a notion of what researchers should expect from the literature in the future
Design and Analysis of Secure Digital Twin Architecture
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Computer Engineering by Eman Shaikh entitled, “Design and Analysis of Secure Digital Twin Architecture”, submitted in June 2022. Thesis advisor is Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Ali and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Nazeeruddin Mohammad. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).In recent years, Digital Twin has been gaining popularity in various smart city applications like smart manufacturing, smart energy, smart mobility, and smart healthcare. Digital Twin in simple term, can be described as a virtual replica of a given physical product, system, or process. It comprises of three major components: the object entity, data acquisition unit and the virtual counterpart. The virtual entity is a cloud-based layer that performs data analytic and visualization. The data analytic utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) algorithms that help in predictive maintenance, optimization, and improved productivity. While the collected data from the physical domain layer is transmitted, exchanged, and processed at the virtual domain and application layers, it will be exposed to several security attacks. Nevertheless, just like any emerging technology, several research studies have been conducted over the implementation of Digital Twin in many smart city applications without paying enough attention in developing a model that comprises of the security attacks, analysis, and remedies. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to propose a secure Digital Twin multi-layer architecture for the attacks that can occur in each layer. It also proposes and implements a Probabilistic Model Checking (PMC) based approach to assess the Digital Twin security. The proposed model will be used to analyse the probability of success, as well as the cost for a variety of potential attacks that can occur in the Digital Twin architecture. To assess the proposed solution, a case study on an application of Digital Twin in healthcare will be considered.College of EngineeringDepartment of Computer Science and EngineeringMaster of Science in Computer Engineering (MSCoE
Characterization of Dust Accumulation and Its Effect on the Performance of Photovoltaic Cells
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Mechanical Engineering by Alaa Moh’d Qaisieh entitled, “Characterization of Dust Accumulation and Its Effect on the Performance of Photovoltaic Cells”, submitted in November 2022. Thesis advisor is Dr. Bassam A. Abu-Nabah and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Mohamed Hamdan. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).College of EngineeringDepartment of Mechanical EngineeringMaster of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME
Hybrid liposome/metal–organic framework as a promising dual-responsive nanocarriers for anticancer drug delivery
No full textIn this work, liposome-coated iron (III) benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate (Fe-BTC) metal–organic framework is examined as a promising pH/Ultrasound dual-responsive nanocarriers for doxorubicin (DOX) delivery. The successful coating of the MOF particles (Lip-Fe-BTC) with the phospholipid bilayer (PBL) was established by direct fusion into the synthesized liposomes. The liposome coating was verified using several techniques, including dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The DLS measurements showed an increase in the average particle diameter of liposomes from 150 nm to 163.1 nm for Lip-Fe-BTC particles. The Fe-BTC particles had the highest average particle diameter (287.3 nm). These results demonstrated that the PBL reduced the aggregation of the particles and improved their dispersity in the release medium. The TGA results demonstrated the MOF’s excellent thermal stability. Furthermore, the nanocarrier’s loading efficiency and capacity were determined to be ~90% and ~13.5 wt%, respectively. The in-vitro DOX release experiments demonstrated that the DOX-loaded Fe-BTC and liposome-coated Fe-BTC particles showed good pH and US dual-responsive capability, making them promising nanocarriers for drug delivery. The application of US enhanced DOX release from both Fe-BTC and liposome-coated Fe-BTC. In the case of Fe-BTC-DOX particles, the application of US enhanced the DOX release to around 38% and 67%, at pH levels of 7.4 and 5.3, respectively. Similarly, DOX release from the Lip-Fe-BTC-DOX particles reached ~35% and ~53%, at pH levels of 7.4 and 5.3, respectively. The MTT assay showed the biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity of these nanocarriers below 100 µg/ml.American University of Sharja