DSpace at NDU: Recent submissions

  • How Lebanese serious romantic relationships are affected by facebook : a social penetration approach 
    Geagea, Jessica Elie (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2017)
    An online survey was conducted to understand how Social Networking Sites such as Facebook can impact Lebanese serious romantic relationships (20-40 years old).196 participants through snowball sampling provided information about their significant other and replied to questions dealing with elements of relationship satisfaction, stage of relationship, Facebook usage, meeting new people, surveillance, and jealousy. ANOVA and independent T-test sample were used to measure whether there is an association between certain Facebook behaviors and feelings on romantic relationships. Referring back to ...
  • Applying data mining for predicting computer science students academic performance 
    Al Youssef, Jad (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    The aim of this thesis is to study the impact of a three-year-study of computer science at Notre Dame University on the students’ academic performances. For this reason, the GPAs of the students after their first year of study were compared with their GPAs upon graduation. To perform this, a Decision Tree, as well as Neural Networks were used. These algorithms helped us to predict the final GPA based on the first two semesters’ GPA. In addition, the most decisive courses on the student GPA were identified. For this reason, Relief algorithm was used to identify the three most important courses ...
  • Martingale Pricing Theory 
    Hajj Moussa, Nathaline (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05-15)
    From ages to ages there had been expectation of individuals on a specific predictions and future occurrences. So also in a game, different participant that involves in those specified game have their various expectations of the results or the output of the game they are involved in. That is why we need a mathematical theory that helps in prediction of the future expectations in our day to day activities. Therefore the Martingale Theory is a very good theory that explains and dissects the expectation of a gamer in a given game of chance. So in this thesis, we shall talk about the Martin-gale ...
  • Family solidarity revival : restructuring Lebanese central hall 
    Mikhael, Julia (Notre Dame University-Louaize., 2009-06)
    Social and political aspects in Lebanon were considered as an essential factor in Lebanese architecture style modification. The shift to modern architecture and design were the outcome of lifestyle’s commercial events and foreign rules. In this prospect, many Lebanese architecture elements and prototypes waned as a result of this shift to modern architecture and change of lifestyles. One essential element/prototype was the Central Hall house, which was the social core of the Lebanese family. Thus, Central Hall, valued as a national Lebanese heritage, faded progressively, eliminating the central ...
  • Perceived gratifications of online games : the case of “Candy Crush" 
    Tabet, Christelle (Notre Dame University-Louaize., 2019)
    The purpose of this thesis was to study how individual psychological factors, including perceived gratifications, loneliness, and boredom, have a correlation with mobile social game uses and addiction. Notably, the study laid emphasis on the case of Candy Crush in particular to assess the possible relationships between the mentioned above variables. The study covered high school students in the Maten region Lebanon. The sample size was 90 students, 30 students from three high schools based on purposive sampling, which is a non-probability sampling method. The findings of the study showed that ...
  • Validity, accountability and fairness of official exams in Lebanon : reflections of grades 9 and 12 public school students 
    Jaber, Diala George (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    My research examines the learners’ attitudes towards the validity, accountability, and fairness of the official examinations and the extent to which they influence the quality of learning in public schools in Lebanon. I chose learners of Grades 9 and 12 Humanities and Life Sciences Sections who were sitting the official examinations during 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 in a public high school in West Bekaa. They were 122 participants and data were collected from the learners through essay writing, open-ended-question survey, Diamond Ranking from Akar (2009), and open discussions. I also compared the ...
  • Volatility spillover effects among gold, crude oil and US dollar index: an analysis using EGARCH Model 
    Abi Loutfi, Joelle (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to empirically test the level of interdependence between three major assets: Gold, crude oil and USD index in terms of the return volatility spillover effects. This helps investors managing their portfolios and provides them with sense of direction on how to use these assets in portfolio diversification leading to a risk reduction benefits. Design/methodology/approach: Gold, oil and USD index volatilities are estimated using EGARCH (1, 1) model after detecting the stationarity and heteroskedasticity of the sample using the following diagnostic tests: Augmented ...
  • Machine learning based renewable energy solutions for smart grid technologies 
    Khoury, Danny (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    Smart grid engineering is the key for an optimized use of extensive energy resources which allows the hybrid renewable energy sources microgrid to be integrated and therefore dispatch their power generation to the grid over long distance DC transmission lines using the HDVC transmission technologies. However, the required number of generating units of wind-turbine generators and photovoltaic arrays, and the associated storage capacity for standalone and/or grid connected hybrid microgrid is determined using a sizing algorithm based on the observation that the state of charge of battery should ...
  • Citizen vs mainstream journalism : the clash between the Lebanese forces and the popular block on the elections in Zahle 
    El Hachem, Nancy (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    This research presents a study and a closer insight on the practice of citizen journalism and its effects on the profession in Lebanon. On Sunday May 6th 2018, a large dispute took place between two political parties running for the elections in Zahle- Lebanon: runner for the Popular Block, Mrs. Myriam Skaff and the Lebanese Forces. What triggers this study is the fact that the dispute was recorded by citizens while traditional media were absent. The videos were spread across social media, and afterwards, the Lebanese media interpreted the incident. The aim of this study is to stress on the ...
  • Design of a wideband probe for the measurement of the electrical parameters of materials 
    Nasrany, Christelle (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-03)
    The purpose of this thesis is to design and test a device that measures the electrical parameter sofa certain material. This device can have different applications, like assisting in land mines detection, agricultural or construction purposes. In order to measure the electrical parameters, this device or probe uses two wideband planar dipole antennas that operate in the frequency range between 3 and 6 GHz. The transmitted signal between the antennas, (S21), is measured and then compared to a database obtained by simulating different materials using the Finite Difference Time Domain Method. Based ...
  • Prevalence of antimicrobial resistant strains : Salmonella spp. and E. coli in meat products in Lebanon 
    Al Mourawed, Hala Saeed (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health and food security. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of the pathogenic bacteria Salmonella spp. and E. coli in fresh and frozen red meat and meat organs collected from different supermarkets and butcher shops across Mount Lebanon and further evaluate their antimicrobial resistance. A total of 80 beef meat samples were collected from butchers and supermarkets in Mount Lebanon between February 2017 and December 2018. Bacterial isolation and biochemical identification were conducted using the API method. Using the ...
  • Eating disorders and Vitamin D status : a cross sectional study conducted among Notre Dame University employees 
    Saade, Marianne (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    Introduction: Eating Disorders (ED) are currently among the most important mental disorders in adolescents and young adults. Contradictory results are observed when studying the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among people with ED. Moreover, this vitamin plays several important roles in the human body which makes its deficiency an additional concern. Objectives: To assess the prevalence and correlates (mainly vitamin D status) of a positive screen for ED among Notre Dame University (NDU) employees. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among 270 NDU employees working at the main, ...
  • Plant leaf classification using dual path convolutional neural networks 
    Rizk, Sara (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    Taxon identification is highly needed for a wide variety of research including ecology, agronomy and medicine. As of 1970, classification of plants was introduced into computer vision techniques. Most research conducted in this area focuses on leaves due to their availability as well as their ability to discretize. The most common features researchers base their work on are shape, texture and venation. This research study proposes a dual path, dual feature model for plant leaf identification. We weigh our research on shape and venation features. Sobel operators are used for primary and secondary ...
  • Transformative service design: shaping Lebanese magazine industries by design 
    El Khoury, Simona (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2018-05)
    Nowadays innovation in design is playing an important role in services, giving rise to new design disciplines, focused not only on objects but also on services and systems (Willets, 2013). Services are less discussed as design objects and more as means of supporting the emergence of more collaborating societies (Sangiorgi, 2011). This research aims to explore whether Lebanese magazine industries, via service design, can incorporate digital options into the conventional print production process to sustain and refine its current services and systems. And if it were the case, what would the procedures ...
  • Automatic recognition of captchas using neural networks 
    Geagea, Marybel (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    The Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) is a test used to differentiate between humans and machines. In this thesis, we have implemented a deep neural network architecture to automatically recognize CAPTCHAs. The main idea behind this thesis is to test the reliability of test-based CAPTCHAs in differentiating between humans and machines. We utilized convolutional neural networks instead of the conventional strategies of CAPTCHA breaking which, typically, use segmentation techniques. Our model is comprised of 8 layers to learn textbased images; ...
  • Virtual reality in education 
    Narch, Nabil (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-02)
    The term ‘Serious Games’ was coined to reflect the dual nature of games that exceeds entertainment purposes to provide some kind of educational value. Alternative terms have been used such as ‘Game-based Learning’ and ‘Gamification’. Educational children game apps in the Arab world are abundant, most of which are language learning apps. There seems to be an almost non-existent presence to the game apps that provide cultural context to the children beyond learning languages. In this thesis, we present a conceptual framework to gamifying Lebanese culture. We describe the process of gamification, ...
  • Branded environments : perception of a restaurant design for customers in Lebanon 
    Bondikian, Shaghig (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    Eating out of home is becoming more prevalent. The consumption habit, though traditional, is also related to the modernization and transformation of society. Nowadays, it is essential when examining eating out to consider not only the food but also the space and the situation under which consumption takes place. With the growing number of restaurants and competition in the market, the demand for more sophisticated, stimulating, and ambience-rich settings is also increasing. Multiple factors starting from the name, the food served, the service, the price, the atmosphere, and the physical ...
  • Maids room : architecture of servitude recognized by graphic arts 
    Yammine, Rouba (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    In a country of a population of over four million, Lebanon is home to roughly 200,000 or more domestic workers who migrate to work as live-in maids from across Asia and Africa. According to human rights organizations, a large number of housemaids are suffering from human trafficking, and some aspects of their living conditions remind us of slavery (Fernandez, 2015). In this Master project, the objective is to study the visual and conceptual tools mobilized by artists and designers in order to make visible and discernable aspects of human servitude in the Lebanese housemaids’ context. Design and ...
  • The relationship between Insulin resistance and vitamin D deficiency : a cross-sectional study among employees at a private university in Lebanon 
    Majdalani, Lea (Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2019-05)
    Insulin resistance plays a fundamental role in the pathophysiology of many chronic diseases including Type II diabetes, cardiovascular and metabolic abnormalities. There is an increasing interest in assessing the association between insulin resistance and vitamin D status. Vitamin D deficiency predominates in the Middle East where more than half of the population is deficient. This cross-sectional study aims to explore the association between vitamin D status and insulin resistance among university employees. In September 2016, an email was sent to all the employees of Notre Dame University (NDU) ...
  • Threats to digital rights in Lebanon 
    El Helou, Rouba (Notre Dame University PressFriedrich Naumann stiftung für die freiheit, 2017)
    PDF file (83 p.)