of the
Meeting
Meeting Minds of the
of the
Meeting Minds
Meeting Minds of the
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
About
Meeting Minds of the
M
eeting of the Minds is an annual symposium at Carnegie Mellon University that gives students an opportunity to present their research and project work to a wide audience of faculty, fellow students, family members, industry representatives and the larger community.
Students use posters, videos and other visual aids to present their work in a manner that can be easily understood by both experts and non experts. Through this experience, the students learn how to bridge the gap between conducting research and presenting it to a wider audience. A review committee consisting of industry experts and faculty members from other universities will review the presentations and choose the best projects and posters. Awards and certificates will be presented to the winners.
A word from Charles E. Thorpe, Ph.D. Dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
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arnegie Mellon University is based on research - research on important issues of society, research on how well we teach, research on student outcomes, research on how well we do research. We encourage our undergraduates to get an early start on research in their classes, through independent studies and in projects funded by the Qatar National Research Fund. An important part of that research training is presenting the results to the world, so others can understand and build upon what our students do. Meeting of the Minds is a chance for students to showcase their work to their peers, to faculty and to the wider community. Thanks for participating in this important endeavor. Please feel free to peruse the posters, query the presenters and share ideas.
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Table of Contents COMPUTER SCIENCE POSTERS POSTER NUMBER TITLE Q3 Design - Code - Verification Q1 Assistive Technology for Learning to Write Braille Q4 Object Detection from a Bag of Image Features with Application to Robotics Q6 Educational Technology in Rural Cambodia Q10 Empirical Evaluation of MSR 2.0 Q8 Implementing Basic Math in the Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor Q14 Anti-Tamper Protection Based on Encrypting Jump Addresses Q11 Design of a High-Performance, Low-Cost, General Purpose, Superscalar Processor Q5 D* Lite for Navigating Dynamic Environments Q2 Improving the Process of Translating Books to Braille Q12 Video Feedback for Swimmers Q13 Using Low-Cost Technology to Increase and Manage Membership of Non-Profits Q9 Improving Accounting Efficiency at the Sri Lankan School, Doha, Qatar Q7 Defining Requirements for a Custom-Made CRM Software
PAGE 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES POSTERS POSTER NUMBER TITLE Q20 Low-Skilled Migrant Workers in Qatar: Burden or Blessing? Q32 Al Jazeera English: The Next Wave in TV News or the Same Old Story? Q25 Translating the Qatari Traffic Law – 2007 Q18 There is no MOUNTAIN HIGH: A Photo Essay about Immigrant Workers in Qatar Q19 Education City: A Multilingual City within a City Q23 To SUV or Not To SUV Q33 A Journey in Life: A Photo Essay about Immigrant Workers in Qatar Q27 The Hyphenated Palestinian Identity: Cultural Influences Q21 Losing the Qatari Identity in Exchange for Comfort: The Impact of Foreign Housemaids on Qatari Children Q26 Predicting Fuel Economy of Cars: Developing a model for eco-friendly, green cars in Qatar Q28 Learning Spanish through student-made films: Un estudiante de intercambio Q31 Lights, camera… Action!: Un día en la vida de los Gomez – A student-made film in Spanish Q29 “Where are you from?” : No longer an easy question. Multiculturalism and its effect on Identity
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PAGE 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56
Table of Contents LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES POSTERS (Continued) POSTER NUMBER TITLE Q30 More than words: Learning culture and history in Spanish class Q22 Wearing the Qatari mask: Non-Qataries’ Identity Lost in Search for Power Q24 Student-made films in the Spanish classroom: Dos chicas perdidas en Colombia
PAGE 58 60 62
INFORMATION SYSTEMS POSTERS POSTER NUMBER TITLE Q16 Ex-Speed System: An override system for vehicles Q15 Experiencing Global Project Management: Designing the Floor Plan for the IS Program Q17 Driving Craze
PAGE 64 66 68
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION POSTERS POSTER NUMBER TITLE Q35 Doha Virtual Stock Market
PAGE 70
VISITING AND GRADUATE STUDENT POSTERS POSTER NUMBER TITLE Q34 CLIP: Empowerment through Computer Literacy Q36 Designing for Education City: Maintaining the Formal, Encouraging the Informal Q37 The Wedding Hall Project Q38 Automatic Verification of Microprocessor Control Logic Q39 Real-Time Monitoring of a Diabetic during Ramadan
PAGE 72 74 76 78 80
Meeting of the Minds Organizing Committee Wafa Abu Fowl Brett Browning, Ph.D. M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D. Darlene Everhart Bob Gaus Erik Helin Starling Hunter, Ph.D. William Keech, Ph.D.
Gloria Khoury Selma Limam Mansar, Ph.D. Doru Meltei Joseph Mertz, Ph.D. Kara Nesimiuk Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. Majd Sakr, Ph.D. Andrea L. Zrimsek
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Design - Code - Verification Poster Q3 Author Amer Hasan Obeidah (CS 2008) Faculty advisor Lynn Carter, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
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n the business of software today, developers have a problem keeping design and code in synchronization. Addressing this issue, this thesis covers my research into this topic and describes an implementation of a tool that speeds up the resynchronization process of design and code. The resynchronization process requires a comparison process between code and design, but such comparison is too complex with too many unsolved problems to fully be covered in just one thesis. As a result, this thesis focuses on UML Class and Sequence diagrams, since they are the most widely and commonly used among the different design notations. We also restrict the study to just the Java programming language. This thesis highlights the different aspects of the synchronization (“in-sync”) problem, proposes an obvious solution, explains the issues that keep this obvious solution from working, and then introduces solutions that do work addressing important pieces of the problem. Additionally, this thesis proposes an extensible framework to support people struggling with the “insync” problem and populates that framework with an initial set of working analysis modules. The thesis then concludes with an analysis of the work and explains how others can extend it to cover more pieces of the problem.
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Assistive Technology for Learning to Write Braille Poster Q1 Author Noura Mohamed El-Moughny (CS 2008) Faculty advisor M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
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f they are to play a meaningful role in modern society, people who are visually impaired need to obtain information in an effective and timely manner. Accessing information requires the ability to read and write fluently. The Braille language provides a mechanism for the visually impaired to be fully literate participants in modern-day society. However, learning to write Braille is a non-trivial process that often takes long hours of tedious work. This research enhances the Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor developed by the TechBridgeWorld program at Carnegie Mellon University (www.techbridgeworld.org). Extensive conversations with the Al-Noor Institute, a school for blind children in Qatar, revealed the need for increasing the learning-efficiency and enthusiasm for blind children learning to write Braille. This research project combines research efforts in Assistive Technology, Automated Tutoring Systems, Artificial Intelligence and Educational Game Design. The result is the re-design of the software components of the Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor according to the Intelligent Tutoring Systems methodologies. We have also enhanced the tutor with the capability of tutoring Arabic alphabet characters and created an educational computer game that uses a computer and the Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor to motivate children’s enthusiasm for learning to write Braille. The outcome of this project increases the enthusiasm for learning to write Braille and enhances the state of art in educational technology for the visually impaired.
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Assistive Technology for Learning to Write Braille
Scope & Motivations Explore the role of computing technology in assisting blind children to learn the art of writing Braille in developing communities and Qatar. The main motivation of this project is devoting knowledge to enable the dif-ferently abled since 90% of the 161 million blind people in the world live in developing communities and below 3% are estimated to be literate [1].
Problem Description
Approach 1. Correct Answer
Enhance the Adaptive Braillewriting Tutor (ABT) developed by TechBridgeWorld to:
Quiz / Progress / Exercise
- Support Arabic Braille
Quiz / Progress / Exercise
- Be designed according to the Intelligent Tutoring Systems methodology - Design and implementation of an educational computer game that increases the motivation for learning to write Arabic Braille alphabets
2. Typo 3. Problems with Letter Mapping
Quiz / Progress / Exercise
4. Problems with Braille Cell (six dots)
Quiz / Progress / Exercise
Communication Model Student Model
Pedagogical Module
Domain Knowledge
Expert Model
Conclusion & Future Work Braille literacy is required for blind people to play a meaningful role in modern society. Our research on this project helped us to identify some of the challenges faced by visually-impaired people during the learning process for writing Braille. These challenges motivated us to improve the ABT which was designed to provide students with guided practice in writing Braille. The experience of working on this project has been tremendously rewarding in many ways and we hope to bring this experience to other students and researchers who can extend this work and
Noura El-Moughny Advisor: M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D. Carnegie Mellon University
Matching Braille Cell Game (MBCG)
6 points
ﻅ
ﻕ
4 points
ﺽ
Acknowledgements implement the five component design of the ITS. We also hope to extend the tutor’s capabilities to tutor Arabic words and sentences. Future work must also include systematically designed longitudinal studies in different parts of the world to investigate the long-term impact of the tutor on global Braille literacy.
Dr. M. Bernardine Dias my advisor Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) for sponsoring this project TechBridgeWorld Program especially Tom Stepleton PhD. Student at Carnegie Mellon University Administrators, teachers, staff, and students at the Al-Noor Institute, and especially Mr. Yasser Al-Shafay for the significant time and effort he devoted to providing feedback. Carnegie Mellon University Qatar faculty, staff and students.
[1] World Health Organization, Fact sheet 282: Magnitude and causes of visual impairment, World Health Or-ganization, November 2004.
Object Detection from a Bag of Image Features with Application to Robotics Poster Q4 Author Hatem Alismail (CS 2009) Faculty advisors Brett Browning, Ph.D. and Majd Sakr, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
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he dictionary of local image features, or Bag of Features (BoF), approach has shown impressive results in the field of object detection and classification. In this project we developed an object detection system using a BoF approach. Images in the system are encoded in the form of normalized histograms of feature occurrences extracted using a dictionary of features trained sample data. The count in bucket k of the histogram represents the number of features found in the image that belong to class k in the dictionary. These image descriptors are then classified using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) trained on hand labeled data. We develop an implementation of the BoF approach using two different types of dictionary and evaluate the object recognition performance of the approach on a range of data sets with different object types. Further, we explore relevant factors that directly influence the accuracy of the BoF, such as the size of the dictionary and the choice of training data set. Our results show that extracting sparse histograms from a dictionary of size 10K built using vocabulary trees provides better results than using smaller sizes. Finally, we show testing results on a face detection system trained on images from the Caltech face data set and PASCAL VOC 2007 database, where we achieve an accuracy of 97% on a sliding window test.
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Object Detection From a Bag of Image Features with Application to Robotics Hatem Alismail {hatem@cmu.edu} Brett Browning, PhD. and Majd Sakr, PhD. Computer Science Department
Problem Statement
Detect and locate objects of interest (e.g. cars, human face, butterfly, etc.) robustly
Challenges • Many objects are hard to detect because of high interclass variability (e.g. people)
Example Images
Example Detection
SIFT features
MSER features
• Slight Photometric and geometric changes in images makes naïve matching impossible • Image datasets are not always available • The algorithm should be able to handle general objects detection
Algorithm 1
4
Generating histograms from manually labelled images
3
Dictionary Images
Clustering to build the BoF using Vocabulary Trees
2 Extracting Features
Bag of Features (BoF) Dictionary
Training a binary 5 classifier from histogram SVM Outcome Classifier
6 Features
Experiments and Results
Testing
Test Image
Conclusions
Evaluation on different objects and datasets Compared dictionary size and type on detection accuracy
Achieved high detection rate
Input
Output
• Large dictionaries increase accuracy
Performance
Future Work
Prediction
True Positive
97%
5%
True Negative
3%
95%
Evaluating different feature detectors Integrating color and background information Dimensionality reduction (i.e. PCA) on feature descriptors
Educational Technology in Rural Cambodia Poster Q6 Author Aysha Siddique (CS 2010) Faculty advisors M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D. and Yonina Cooper, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
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ambodia has suffered a tragic history characterized by wars and political unrest, and hence the development process in Cambodia re-started as late as the 1990s. The government and several non-governmental and funding organizations are working in to enhance the development process in Cambodia; especially in rural communities. Reach Out To Asia (ROTA), a charity initiative in Qatar, has undertaken an educational development project aimed at addressing multiple educational needs in the Vihear Suork Commune in the Kandal Province of Cambodia. Education in Cambodia is characterized by low literacy rates, low enrollment rates, high dropout rates, high grade repetition rates, and preference for education of males over females, among other factors. Hence, ROTA’s aim is to increase the literacy level and provide vocational training and additional avenues for income generation to the youth in the region. This research, funded by the Qatar National Research Fund, is designing an educational technology strategy to enhance ROTA’s work in Cambodia. Educational Technology includes multiple tools and methodologies that facilitate learning and teaching. Therefore, a culturally relevant educational technology strategy must build on a thorough understanding of cultural traditions, challenges, and enablers specific to the user community. We are exploring factors influencing the current state of education in Cambodia to identify major challenges for successful education in the Kandal Province. Our work to date in this year-long project has produced a detailed report based on a significant literature review. The report details the history and culture of Cambodia and the current state of education and income generation in the Vihear Suork Commune and the surrounding region.
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Expansion of a secondary and primary school in the Vihear Suork commune of the Kshach Kandal district, Kandal province. Goals: - To raise the literacy level - To provide vocational training
.. Is characterized by.. low literacy rates among adults and youth low enrolment rates high dropout rates high repetition rates preference of education for male over female children.
Poverty, High cost of education, lack of resources, no teacher training, societal perception of the insignificance of education for girls, low government funding …
Research on history, life, culture, education, technology, potential partners, income generation, and challenges in Cambodia Report and presentation on this research prepared for ROTA Ongoing literature review on educational technology and relevant case studies
Conduct research on Cambodia Focus on information specific to Vihear Suork commune in the Kandal province. Understand ROTA’s mission and their project in Cambodia. Conduct research on Educational Technology Report capturing above research. Visit Cambodia to conduct Needs Assessment Propose a detailed design of a culturally appropriate educational technology strategy for ROTA’s work in Vihear Suork Prepare and present a final report to ROTA
Empirical Evaluation of MSR 2.0 Poster Q10 Author Rishav Bhowmick (CS 2010) Faculty advisor Iliano Cervesato, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
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his poster is about the research on Empirical Evaluation of protocol specification language MSR 2.0. In other words, the research work answers the question “How good is MSR (MultiSet Rewriting) in specifying protocols?� Protocols are needed everyday for secure information exchange, but, getting protocols right is hard. MSR is a simple language to design protocols and test them. The methodology to find this was to represent 40 protocols from the Clark-Jacob Library of Protocols. In the process of doing this, notes were made on the shortcomings and bugs while relying on MSR implementation. The findings are that the MSR language is good enough (succinct representation of protocols, easy to design simple and complicated protocols), but the MSR implementation needs improvement. Type reconstruction not always possible, unclear error messages and bugs prevented the MSR implementation from being good.
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⇒ ⇒ ∃
Implementing Basic Math in the Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor Poster Q8 Author Mohammed Kaleemur Rahman (CS 2010) Faculty advisor M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
B
raille is a language widely used by the visually impaired to read and write. This poster illustrates the work done on the Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor (ABT), developed at Carnegie Mellon University, to extend its capabilities to include writing mathematical characters. Over 97% of the world’s 161 million visually impaired people have been estimated to be illiterate. The ABT was successfully tested at the Mathru School for the Blind in Bangalore, India. It was shown to have great potential to enhance education for the blind in the developing world as it uses minimal resources and can be built at relatively low cost. This work builds on the prior effort by several Carnegie Mellon University students in Pittsburgh and in Doha. The Al Noor Institute for the Blind in Doha, Qatar uses the British Braille standard of writing Braille. Therefore this work focused on mapping mathematical characters in British Braille due to the regional significance. Consequently, audio feedback is also provided to enhance the learning experience. The tutor will be further enhanced over the summer in conjunction with Microsoft Research India.
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Anti-Tamper Protection Based on Encrypting Jump Addresses Poster Q14 Author Amal Badar Al-Barwani (IS 2010) Faculty advisor Iliano Cervesato, Ph.D Category Computer Science
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everse engineering is an ever growing threat to software developers. Reverse engineers use a number of techniques to analyze a piece code and decipher how it works. This poses a threat to software developers because this gives reverse engineers a chance to steal valuable intellectual property (that a considerable amount of money and time was spent on) found in the code and use it for their own benefit. This costs the software developing companies a great deal of profit. One example would be selling the functionality of the code developed by one company to a rival company. This would put the company that developed the code at a severe disadvantage. This research proposes a method that effectively combines code transformations (code obfuscation) with encryption. We target our encryption at the addresses of the jump instructions, and perform a transformation on the code. The addresses are the decrypted at runtime. The proposed encryption method involves the use of the XOR function as it is a very fast and very strong method of encryption.
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Design of a High-Performance, Low-Cost, General Purpose, Superscalar Processor Poster Q11 Author Noora Hamad Al-Saad (CS 2008) Faculty advisors Majd Sakr, Ph.D. and Zaher Andraus Category Computer Science
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he purpose of this work is to design a general purpose superscalar, out-of-order, pipelined processor which achieves the highest possible performance at the lowest die area cost. The SimpleScalar toolset was utilized to simulate the execution of a program on a specific design of a general purpose superscalar processor. To aid our design, we evaluated the impact of different processor parameters on performance and die area. Each design was evaluated using a performance/cost measure (PCM) which combines the effect of total execution time and die area cost. The processor designs were evaluated using three benchmark programs, audio (adpcm) encoding & decoding, and matrix manipulation. Maximizing the PCM requires us to achieve a good trade-off between performance and die area cost. We managed to achieve a processor design with a high PCM value of 12.51. Several design trade-offs were critical to achieve a high PCM. First, larger cache blocks help in increasing the hit rate by exploiting a program’s spatial locality. Second, higher cache associativity significantly helps in reducing conflict misses and improving performance at a small area cost. Third, making the fetch width, decode width, issue width of equal size takes advantage of the available parallelism and keeps the resources busy. Finally, a large number of ALU’s (> 3) does not improve the PCM since programs do not exhibit a high degree of parallelism to warrant the added area cost.
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D* Lite for Navigating Dynamic Environments Poster Q5 Author Hatem Alismail (CS 2009) Faculty advisors Brett Browning, Ph.D. and M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
D
* Lite, [Koenig and Likhachev, 2002] is a state-of-the-art algorithm that modifies the optimal and complete search algorithm A*, to find a solution to the goal directed path planning problem. The algorithm is based on the well-known dynamic planning algorithm D*, developed by Anthony Stentz in 1994. Some algorithms from the family of D* are being used on NASA’s Mars rover, Spirit, and on Carnegie Mellon’s autonomous vehicle BOSS, the winner of the DARPA Urban Grand Challenge 2007. The main challenge with planning algorithms is that they should be complete and optimal, meaning that the algorithm will find the least cost path if it exists. To be useful for robotics, the algorithm should be able to compute the path efficiently. As robots move in the world it is necessary to re-plan because new information is perceived, which changes the cost graph, or the robot may not execute the planned path exactly. The D* family of algorithms are optimal and complete, and efficiently solve the re-planning problem. This project presents an implementation of the algorithm in Java with an animated graphical user interface (GUI). The animation features a robot in a grid world with dynamically changing transition costs in which the robot is able to use the D* Lite algorithm to find the optimal path. The implementation provides a framework for testing other planning and search algorithms as well, and hence is a convenient illustrative tool.
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D* Lite for Navigating Dynamic Environments Hatem Alismail {hatem@cmu.edu} Brett Browning, PhD. and M. Bernardine Dias PhD. Computer Science Department
Overview
Algorithm
• D* Lite: A complete and optimal path planner designed for efficient replanning [Koenig, Likhachev, 02] [Stentz, 94]
procedure Main()
• Modifies optimal & complete A* to handle: • Robot motion • Changing path cost due to local perception
StateoftheArt
An optimized version of D* (Field D*) is currently running on the Mars rovers
procedure ComputeShortestPath()
Carnegie Mellon's autonomous car (BOSS) winner of the DARPA 2007 Urban Grand Challenge uses Anytime D* to navigate in parking lots
Example Start g: ∞ rhs: ∞ g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: rhs:
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
Goal g: ∞ rhs:0 g: rhs:
Start g: ∞ rhs: ∞ g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: rhs:
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
Goal g: ∞ rhs:0
Start g: ∞ rhs: ∞ g: ∞
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
rhs:2.4
g: ∞ g:1 rhs:1.4 rhs:1
g: ∞ g:1.4 rhs:2.4 rhs: ∞
g:1 rhs:1
g: ∞ rhs:2
g:1 rhs:1
g: ∞ rhs:2
Goal g: 0 rhs:0
Goal g: 0 rhs:0
rhs:2.8
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g:1 rhs:1
procedure CalculateKey(s)
On open list Free Obstacle
Legend
Start g: ∞
procedure UpdateVertex()
g: rhs:
Start g: ∞ rhs: ∞ g: ∞ rhs: ∞ g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: rhs:
g: ∞ rhs:1.4 g: ∞ rhs: 1
g: ∞ rhs: 1 Goal g: 0 rhs:0
Start g:2.8 rhs:2.8 g: ∞ rhs:2.4
g: ∞ rhs: ∞
g: rhs:
g: 1.4 g: 1 rhs:1.4 rhs:1
g: ∞ rhs:2
g:1 rhs: 1
Experiments • Nondynamic open environment • Nondynamic environment with many obstacles • Dynamic environment with minimal cost changes • Highly dynamic environment, with many edge cost updates at once
Conclusion
Goal g: ∞ rhs:0
• On average, D* Lite expands less nodes than a repeated application of A* • The choice of the heuristic function plays a key role in the algorithm performance
Implementation • Implemented in Java with a graphical user interface (GUI) animation • Includes both the basic D* Lite and the optimized version
• Designed to be extensible for use with other planning algorithms
Future Work
• Implementation using Fibonacci heaps for greater efficiency • Evaluation with respect to other planning algorithms in dynamic environment
Improving the Process of Translating Books to Braille Poster Q2 Author Noura Mohamed El-Moughny (CS 2008) Faculty advisors Joseph Mertz, Ph.D. and M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
T
his project established a professional relationship between Carnegie Mellon University’s student technology consultant Noura El-Moughny and the Al Noor Institute for the Blind in Qatar. Complex technical environments were assessed for a semester-long partnership with the Curriculum Department and Educational Services at the Al Noor Institute. The Curriculum Department at Al Noor is responsible for translating books to Braille. The translation process consists of six phases, and the Al Noor Institute faces a number of barriers during the production process. Keeping track of the production status of the books and losing data are two main barriers to efficiency in the Braille book production process. Through this technology consulting assignment, we designed a sustainable solution supported with a working plan which was then executed. This poster outlines the implementation of an Excel spreadsheet system for each phase of the Braille book production process that keeps track of the production status of the books. The outcomes and recommendations of this project were documented. A process consulting model was followed during the consulting period where the community partner and the consultant observe symptoms of a problem with possible solutions, investigate the underlying problem and finally, get to the real problem by a joint effort between the consultant and the community partner.
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Video Feedback for Swimmers Poster Q12 Author Shakir Hussain (CS 2010) Faculty advisors Joseph Mertz, Ph.D. and M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
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he poster is an overview of a consulting assignment carried out by Carnegie Mellon University student Shakir Hussain in the Technology Consulting in the Community course. Shakir worked as a consultant with Mr. Mike Pratley, the Director of Aquatics at the American School of Doha, and implemented a solution that helped Mike provide enhanced feedback to the swimmers to help improve their swimming technique. A video recording/editing system was set up to aid Mike in providing feedback. Mike is now able to record swimmers during training sessions, transfer the video to his computer, and edit the video on the Sony Motion Picture Browser application. The videos are then transferred to a video library from which Mike analyzes the videos. The feedback is given in subsequent sessions when Mike and the swimmer look at the videos together. Also, a copy of the video can be given to the student in DVD format. This consulting assignment also resulted in several recommendations on how to further use technology in improving the processes at the Aquatics Department. An example recommendation is providing students with videos of expert swimmers, both from classmates and professional swimmers. Also, similar systems can be implemented for use with other sports at the American School of Doha and in other similar organizations.
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Using Low-Cost Technology to Increase and Manage Membership of Non-Profits Poster Q13 Author Anirban Lahiri (CS 2008) Faculty advisors Joseph Mertz, Ph.D. and M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
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ow cost technology solutions can be used to enhance the management of communication and membership information in non-profit organizations. As with most non-profits, The Qatar Natural History Group (QNHG) has limited funding. QNHG is a non-profit that unites people in the GCC with a common interest in natural history by organizing events and activities related to discovering nature. I worked with QNHG for four months to develop a seamless system that incorporates technological solutions to better manage membership records and enable efficient communication about upcoming events. This was achieved by creating a web site for the organization integrated with a customer relationship management system (CRM) to maintain member records.
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Improving Accounting Efficiency at the Sri Lankan School, Doha, Qatar Poster Q9 Author Mohammed Kaleemur Rahman (CS 2010) Faculty advisors Joseph Mertz, Ph.D. and M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
T
he Sri Lankan School in Doha, Qatar is an independent school endorsed by the Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The accountants at this school were using Microsoft Excel sheets to manage all of their financial information, and hence the school was looking to improve its accounting efficiency and correctness. This poster illustrates work done by Student Technology Consultant Mohammed Kaleemur Rahman in partnership with the accountants and administration of the Sri Lankan School in Doha. A Process Consulting model was used where the consultant helps clients to perceive, understand and act upon process events in the client’s environment. After performing a detailed analysis of accounting at the Sri Lankan School and researching various solutions, QuickBooks was determined to be the most feasible solution. As a result of this work, the school will start using QuickBooks to manage student fees from the new fiscal year, starting August 2008, and gradually manage all the sections of their financial model in QuickBooks.
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Defining Requirements for a custom-made CRM software Poster Q7 Author Aysha Siddique (CS 2010) Faculty advisors Joseph Mertz, Ph.D. and M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
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his poster reports on a technology consulting assignment carried out by Carnegie Mellon University student Aysha Siddique, as part of the Technology Consulting in the Community course. Aysha worked with Reach Out To Asia (ROTA), a charity initiative in Qatar, to improve their contact information management process. At ROTA, all staff members deal with many contacts on a daily basis, and management of this information can be a big hassle. ROTA did not have a systematic way of storing this information and were looking for a technology solution to store all of their contacts in one place in a robust and coordinated manner. The student technology consultant followed the process consulting model and worked together with the community partner to understand the difficulties of the current system and to define the needs of the staff members when dealing with their contact information. Together, the student consultant and the community partner, gathered requirements, analyzed various commercial software available in the market, and looked at solutions used by other organizations. The end-result was a decision to modify a custom-made software called FRS used by the Social Development Center (SDC) to fit ROTA’s needs. This decision led to a significant process of “defining requirements� and appropriately documenting needs and assessment methods in preparation for the customization of the FRS software tool.
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Low-Skilled Migrant Workers in Qatar: Burden or Blessing? Poster Q20 Authors Rooda Al Neama (Tepper 2008) Maha Al Shirrawi (Tepper 2008) Faculty advisor Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
S
ponsored by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), this poster reports on a study documenting the current situation of low-skilled immigrant workers in Qatar through an analysis of local newspaper articles and interviews with government officials, sponsors, and immigrant workers. Although low-skilled immigrant workers have contributed tremendously to the development of Qatar, numerous newspaper articles and anecdotal evidence indicate that immigrant workers experience various challenges. Despite their constant coverage in the news, these challenges have not been systematically documented. In order to provide an understanding of the current situation of immigrant workers, 542 articles from two local newspapers in Qatar were collected and analyzed and various interviews were conducted. The findings shows the various challenges experienced by the low-skilled migrant labor force in Qatar in regard to work documentation, exploitation from unscrupulous recruiting agencies in their home countries, poor working and living conditions, and accidents and fatalities experienced in the workplace. Although most of the articles in the corpus show the vulnerability of this population, the highest percentage of articles (18%) report on crimes in which migrant workers have been involved as perpetrators, highlighting some of the social problems that have recently emerged in Qatar as this population continues to increase. In conclusion, while the current situation of this population is quite alarming, the future looks promising as their concerns are beginning to come to the attention of community and governmental with the aim of improving the workers’ living and working conditions.
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Al Jazeera English: The Next Wave in TV News or the Same Old Story? Poster Q32 Authors Harold Huang (Tepper 2011) Shashank Jariwala (CS 2011) Urmila Rosario (Tepper 2011) Faculty advisor Darlene Everhart Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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aunched in November 2006, the 24-hour news channel Al Jazeera English made big claims for itself such as conducting “fearless journalism” and “setting the news agenda,” implying that they would break new ground in the reporting of world news. Our research seeks to test these claims by comparing Al Jazeera English to the old standard, CNN, established in 1980 as the first to deliver 24-hour world news. We collected data on the format, content, language, pictures, and non-linguistic symbols of both world news broadcasts over a period of six months, analyzing for political and commercial bias. Our findings show a clear and distinct difference in the reporting of world news on Al Jazeera English and CNN. Al Jazeera English has indeed distinguished itself from CNN (and thus much other world news) in several areas: 1) Al Jazeera English delivers the news in a crisp, professional, and serious tone; 2) they consistently go out of their way to cover areas of the world ignored by other TV news; 3) they consistently cover all sides of the story, often interviewing everyday people on the street in addition to officials. In comparison to Al Jazeera English, CNN shows a commercial bias, particularly with their pattern of “fluff” stories designed to keep the viewers’ attention.
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Translating the Qatari Traffic Law - 2007 Poster Q25 Authors Amna Al-Thani (Tepper 2008) Fatima Al-Rumaihi (Tepper 2009) Lulwah Al-Thani (Tepper 2008) Maha Obaidan (Tepper 2008) Noor Al-Athirah (Tepper 2008) Faculty advisor Amal Al-Malki, Ph.D. Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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s a course Project in /Bridging Civilizations/ (76-399), we have worked on translating the Qatari Traffic Law under the supervision of Professor Amal Al-Malki and with the knowledge and encouragement of Qatar Traffic and Patrol department. The law had previously been translated to English, as an unofficial document was shared with us; however, it was an unsuccessful attempt as it contained numerous syntactic and lexical errors. All tasks were accomplished through dividing the work amongst a group of five students. We decided on disregarding the English translated version and translated the whole document from the scratch, relying on the Arabic version as our source text. The first decision that had to be made concerned the version of English we intended to use. British English was chosen over American English simply because it is more commonplace in Qatar and it was the version used in previously translated Qatari laws. This meant that British spellings, jargon, and grammatical constructions were maintained in the entire document. A unified set of definitions for key were also compiled to ensure consistency. The translation process itself entailed rendering the Arabic laws into English while preserving meaning and consistency. We needed to preserve the legal content of the document, while reproducing it in an acceptable English form. We essentially had to be pragmatic on certain occasions, for example, when specific Arabic terms had no English equivalents; however, we made sure that all information was conveyed accurately and that meaning was not lost in the process.
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There is no MOUNTAIN HIGH: A Photo Essay about Immigrant Workers in Qatar Poster Q18 Authors Aeshah Anani (Tepper 2011) Lydia Assad (VCUQ) Hatem Salem (Tepper 2010) Faculty advisor Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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his poster showcases a photo essay project of low-skilled immigrant workers in Qatar. Immigrant workers constitute a large percentage of the population of Qatar, having contributed to the continuous development of Qatar since the 1940s. Despite the various contributions of this population, research indicates that they face many challenges in regard to their working, living, and social conditions. Despite these difficulties, the laborers continue to strive in their work in order to provide for their families in their home countries and hope for a better future for them. In order to honor the contributions of these workers and show our appreciation for their work, we created a photo essay that highlights the contributions, hopes, dreams, and determination of this population despite the hardships many endure daily. For these purposes, we embarked on a journey around Qatar capturing the life of these so-called “workers� in their places of work and residence, obtaining a first-hand perspective on the daily life of this population. Our photos show our respect to the workers, emphasizing their hopes and aspirations for a better future. It is the aim of this project to promote respect in the community toward the lives, struggles, and hopes of the people that are building Qatar.
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Education City: A multilingual City within a City Poster Q19 Authors Hadi Murtada (Tepper 2011) Laila Khan (Tepper 2011) Samya Sharab (Tepper 2011) Faculty advisor Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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his poster is based on a project that investigates the extent to which the diverse population in Qatar and the spread of English in education has an impact on Education City students’ cultures, languages, and identities. In the last ten years, the diversity of the population of Qatar and the international spread of English has led to the use of English in many areas, including education. Despite the benefits of diversity and knowledge of English, the presence of such a large expatriate population in Qatar coupled with the emphasis on western education in English may have a negative impact on the languages, cultures, and identities of Qatari and non-Qatari youth. In order to learn more about this phenomenon and the extent to which it may impact Education City students, we observed informal student interaction with a focus on the languages used and interviewed various students. In addition, in order to capture the essence of our project in a creative and audio-visual manner, we produced a video exhibiting the impact of studying in English in a diverse environment on the students. Our findings show that the students embrace the diversity of the population in Education City, and believe that the diversity and their constant exposure to and use of English do not have a significant effect on their cultures, languages, and identities. Rather, students believe that studying in an English-medium institution will broaden their future career and life opportunities. The study calls for further study on this important issue.
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To SUV or Not to SUV Poster Q23 Authors Wesam Said (Tepper 2009) Sara Al Asmakh (Tepper 2009) Alya Bawazir (Tepper 2008) Noor Al Jassim (Tepper 2009) Faculty advisor Alex Rojas, Ph.D. Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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n our research, we examined factors that influence the type of vehicle female students purchase. This report examines the factors that women in education city take into consideration before buying a car. Using a regression analysis, we examined and surveyed 80 female students to deduce the likely results that any sample of female college students in Doha would give results for. The tools we used for our analysis were Logistic Regression & Stepwise using both SSPS and Minitab software. The results of the analysis showed that 39 students own/prefer an SUV type car, and 41 students prefer otherwise. From our analysis, we deduced that the best regression model is: Logit (Choice) = -0.0923455 -1.85964 Car Price -2.62429 Brand Name + 0.0561289 Owned Car cost. Thus, the factors that mostly affect a female student’s car choice are: Car Price, Already Owned Car Cost, and Brand. Our project focuses mainly on how a car company can benefit from this information. Knowing that car price is important, the company should try to increase its price deals, or allow more for price negotiation. Although it is not always in the company’s power to change prices, they may use a car’s brand image, also an important deal to place more concentration on why their brand is worth the price. Other variables used in the study were not important to all the females taking the surveys. Thesevariables were “speed,” and “price of gas.”
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A Journey in Life: A Photo Essay about Immigrant Workers in Qatar Poster Q33 Authors Naif Al-Kaabi (IS 2010) Abdullah Al-Othman (Tepper 2010) Faculty advisor Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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his poster highlights a photo essay project of the immense migrant labor force in Qatar. While low-skilled immigrant workers have contributed tremendously to the continuous development of Qatar, research shows the poor living and working conditions of this population. In order to bring to light the challenges faced by this population and honor their contributions to Qatar, we created a photo essay that highlights the laborers’ life journey from their home countries to Qatar. The photo essay is divided into the following parts: the laborers’ arrival in Doha, their living and working conditions, their dedication to work, their free time, and their departure from Qatar. For these purposes, we photographed immigrant laborers around Qatar in their places of work, residence, and in public places to capture the different moments of their life journeys. Through the vivid images captured, this project aims to create awareness in the local community of migrant labor issues in Qatar.
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The Hyphenated Palestinian Identity: Cultural Influences Poster Q27 Authors Eatidal Al-Qatami (Tepper 2010) Fatima Al-Fakhri (Tepper 2010) Tarik Abou-Galala (Tepper 2010) Iyed Jouini (Tepper 2010) Faculty advisor Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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his project explores the history and the current status and situation of first, second, and third generation Palestinians living in Qatar, with a special focus on the identity formation of the younger generation. When Palestinians were displaced in 1948, many fled their land to seek shelter. Because of geographical proximity and cultural reasons, Palestinians favored to reside in the neighboring Arab countries. In Qatar and other countries, Palestinians started a new life as refugees with cultural affiliations to Palestine, to their country of birth, to the country from which their passport originates, or to the country where they lived most of their life. As a result, many Palestinians identify themselves with a hyphenated identity, resulting in identifications such as Palestinian-Jordanian, Palestinian-Egyptian, and in some cases Palestinian-Jordanian-Qatari. Through interviews with people who identify themselves as Palestinians in Qatar, we found out that despite their hyphenated identity, the younger generation of Palestinians growing up in Qatar feels very strong about their Palestinian identity and heritage. Their ethnic affiliation to Palestine was instilled in them by their families and the hope for a peaceful and stable Palestine in the future.
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The Hyphenated-Palestinian Identity: Cultural Influences Eatidal Al-Qatami (eqatami), Fatima Al-Fakhri (fafakhri) Tarik Abu Galalah (tna), & Iyed Jouini (ijouini@qatar.cmu.edu) Faculty Advisor: Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. English Department
Problem Statement: When Palestinians were displaced to other countries and were exposed to diverse cultures, some faced the challenge of retaining their identity.
Background Information: • In 1947-8, approximately 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from Palestine.
Findings: • Palestinian families have a great impact on the way their children define their identities as Palestinians.
• Having a hyphenated nationality
does not prevent Palestinians from having their own culture within the culture of the different countries they live in.
•
Palestinians were displaced because of the war which happened in the time of creating the state of Israel.
• Most Palestinians fled to the
neighboring Arabic and European countries.
• Identity for some is a spiritual
connection to a certain group, race or place. The Palestinian identity is a very complex one: a mixture of homesickness, hope and furiousness.
• The Palestinian identity is a genuine,
essential, and inherent characteristic; it is transmitted from fathers to children. The Zionist occupation and the dispersal of the Palestinian Arab people, through the disasters which befell them, do not make them lose their Palestinian identity. (Hammer, 2005)
The Study: We conducted 15 interviews with several Palestinian youths (ages 17-21) and parents (ages 50-80). Questions covered issues such as: 1. Their family heritag 2. Retaining Palestinian traditions 3. The Palestinian dream
Testimonies by young Palestinians: My family embraces Palestinian traditions, the Palestinian Arabic, and heritage until now. That is why I still consider myself a Palestinian. Palestinian-Jordanian-Qatari, 18 years old I consider myself Palestinian although I wasn t born there because I m proud of being Palestinian. One of the main reasons for this is that Palestine is at war. Although I was born and raised in Qatar, we speak Palestinian and kept many of the Palestinian traditions at home. Palestinian-Jordanian-Canadian, 17 years old
Losing the Qatari Identity in Exchange for Comfort: The Impact of Foreign Housemaids on Qatari Children Poster Q21 Author Mariam Al-Sayed (CS 2009) Faculty advisor Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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his project examines the impact of foreign housemaids on Qatari children. Within the last 15 years, Qatar has experienced major changes and progress in all aspects. As a result of this rapid development, the family structure in Qatar has also changed as many women work outside the home. These changes have led to the reliance on foreign housemaids or nannies to take care of the home and the children. As a result, some children spend more time with foreign domestic employees rather than with their parents, which may have a negative impact on their Arabic language and Muslim identity. In order to learn more about this phenomenon, interviews were conducted with children, parents, and college students who have been raised in households with housemaids. The findings indicate that housemaids have an impact on Qatari children as observed in the children’s Arabic language loss or development of non-standard Arabic. The children’s identity also seems to be impacted, as children show a preference for the culture of the foreign housemaid rather than their own. The informants blame parents for this situation for spending little time with their children and failing to instill Qatari values and traditions in them. In addition to spending more time with their children and educating them on the importance of preserving and embracing their cultural identity, the study concludes that parents should make every effort to hire domestic employees that share a similar background with the family, such as being Muslim and being able to speak Arabic.
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Predicting Fuel Economy of Cars: Developing a model for eco-friendly, green cars in Qatar Poster Q26 Authors Fatma Al-Fakhri (Tepper 2010) Amna Sultan (Tepper 2010) Eatidal Al-Qatami (Tepper 2010) Shuaa Khalifa Al Nasr (Tepper 2010) Faculty advisor Alex Rojas, Ph.D. Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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ur study is a regression analysis on a real world case. We had to collect data on several cars that are mostly used in Qatar to compute their fuel economy using characteristics such as the number of cylinders of a car and horsepower. We collected information of around 100 cars, of types sedan, sports, SUVs, pickups and coupes. Firstly, we explored the existing relationship between the variables. We found correlated variables and so we had to do some transformations for the variables that needed it. Moreover, we added some interaction variables that combine correlated ones. Some variables, such as the height of the car, turned out to be insignificant, so we dropped them out of the model. Since we are members of LiveGreen club, we thought that this project will be significant addition to our environmental-oriented activities.
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Predicting Fuel Economy of Cars: developing a model for eco-friendly, green cars in Qatar Fatma Al-Fakhri (fafakhri), Amna Sultan (amnas), Eatidal Al-Qatami (eqatami), Shuaa Al-Nasr (snasr)@qatar.cmu.edu Faculty Advisor: Alex Rojas, Ph.D. LAS Department
Problem:
Newcars.org is a website that provides visitors with information on car specifications and pricing. Newcars is asked to develop a model foreco-friendly, green cars for the widly used cars in Qatar. So, as the statistical consultancy team, we are asked to develop a model to predict fuel economy of cars*
Methodology: • Multiple regression was used to predict the Miles Per Gallon (MPG) of cars • Data was obtained from the website Newcars.org • 102 cars from 27 brands and 5 types were included in the sample • Eight predictors were investigated in the study: car type (sedan/ SUV/ sport/ coupe/ truck), curb weight, length, height, horsepower, number of cylinders, engine displace-ment, and car transmission
Results:
• We reached a final model to predict MPG with 5 variables: Car type, 1/ horsepower, 1/length, 1/engine displacement , and an interaction variable between Coupes and horsepower • The R-square adjusted of the model is 75% with a standard error of 1.79 • Multicollinearity between variables led weight and number of cylinders to be excluded from the model
Plotting the results:
Exploring relations and correlations in the model: Figure1 shows the boxplots of miles per gallon for each of the following five type of vehicles:Sedan, SUV, Coupe, Pickup and Sport car. As can be seen in this figure, Sedans seem to be the most fuel-efficient vehicle, whereas SUV is the least fuel-efficient. However, we need to consider other variables like weight and cc. Also, an interaction between Coupes and HP was found * The situation is hypothetical
Conclusion:
MPG = 1.77 -2.43 SUV -6.31 coupe +0.476 sedan -2.91 sport +84 1/horsepower +2639 1/length +13373 1/cc + 1193 interaction of horsepower and coupe Thus, cars from the most to the least ecofriendly suggested by the model are: Sedan
Truck
Sport
SUV
Coupe source of pictures: newcars.org
Learning Spanish through student-made films: Un estudiante de intercambio Poster Q28 Author Khaled Ziyaaeen (Tepper 2011) Faculty advisor Erik Helin Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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his project aims to demonstrate the process of how students in Elementary Spanish I & II put into practice the language skills learned and how to apply them in a student-made film. The assignment for this project was to make a creative movie including at least three of the topics covered in the textbook in which they communicated only in Spanish. The poster will show the entire process of creating the film starting with brainstorming, creating an outline, script writing, and ending with the filming and editing. The poster also illustrates with examples (snap-shots, script) the final product, Un estudiante de intercambio, that will also be shown on a laptop computer next to the poster. The film is about a design exchange student from Spain who decides to spend a semester at VCU-Q. To his surprise, he finds some Spanish speaking students and learns more about life here in Qatar.
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Lights, camera... Action!: Un día en la vida de los Gómez - A student-made film in Spanish Poster Q31 Authors Benazir Anis (Tepper 2011) Laila Khan (Tepper 2011) Urmila Rosario (Tepper 2011) Faculty advisor Erik Helin Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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ur poster is a showcase of the process involved in creating a movie using Windows MovieMaker. It also showcases the skills that we have gained in the Spanish classroom over the past academic year.
For the final project in the course, we were asked to make a creative movie or documentary based on the topics covered in the classroom. Our movie, Un día en la vida de los Gomez, (One day in the life of the Gomez’) follows a married couple, Juan and Isabela in their daily routine, which includes their lives at home, a doctor’s appointment, and a visit to the gym. The ability to direct and edit these movies gives us (the students) an excellent opportunity to improve our conversational abilities in the language as well as develop our technological skills. Moreover, it enhances creativity and team-work skills among members of the class.
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“Where are you from?”: No longer an easy question. Multiculturalism and its effect on Identity Poster Q29 Author Imran Karim (Tepper 2008) Faculty advisor Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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he purpose of this project is to investigate how today’s multicultural youth identify themselves having lived in countries different from their parents’ places of origin. In today’s globalized world, the question, “Where are you from?” is no longer an easy question to answer. For multicultural individuals, the answer may depend on various factors including, but not limited to, place of birth, ethnic origin, place of residency, cultural affiliation, and language abilities. In order to investigate this issue, I conducted three case studies of multilingual college students from different backgrounds. The findings show that being able to identify with various cultures in different ways makes it difficult for many youth to answer the question, “Where are you from?” Furthermore, language ability, cultural exposure, and affiliation to place of residency play an important role when identifying oneself as being part of a certain culture. Those who identify themselves with their ethnic origin and their place of residency embrace their multiculturalism and view it as an asset rather than as a generator of identity conflict. The study reflects on the importance of preserving original cultures and ways of life and embracing the increasing multiculturalism observed in today’s world.
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More than words: Learning culture and history in Spanish class Poster Q30 Authors Anas Abu Qamar (Tepper 2009) Hessa Al-Thani (VCUQ) Faculty advisor Erik Helin Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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he main objective of this poster is to demonstrate the ability of students in Intermediate Spanish to conduct research papers in a third language. The assignment for this project was to further investigate topics related to culture, politics, or history in the Spanish-speaking world.
The poster shows the results of two research papers. The topic of the first research paper deals with Cuba. It explores the possibilities of Cuba becoming a democratic country after Fidel Castro and investigates more on the changing current political and social situation taking into account its history. Moreover, the topic of the second research paper deals with Arab immigration to Latin America. It shows the circumstances that lead many Arabs to migrate to South America, the difficulties that they faced, and the positive impact they had on that part of the world. The final research report for both topics will be available upon request.
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Wearing the Qatari Mask: Non-Qataris’ Identity Lost in Search for Power Poster Q22 Author Hend Geddawy (CS 2009) Faculty advisor Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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his project addresses the reasons and motivations for some non-Qataris living in Qatar to adopt the Qatari identity. It has been observed that members of the large Arab expatriate population in Qatar, in particular children, pretend to be Qataris by speaking Arabic in Qatari dialect and dressing in Qatari traditional clothes, while at the same time hiding their own origin and identity. This phenomenon may be a result of the high status and inherited benefits of Qatari citizens who might be seen as superior by other non-Qataris. In order to learn more about this phenomenon, I conducted interviews with non-Qataris to address their motivations for adopting a new identity, and Qataris to examine their role in contributing to this situation. The findings show that the motivation for this practice among non-Qataris stems from their desire to avoid discrimination, as well as to gain respect, and social recognition. The findings also indicate that Qataris’ imposition of their national privileges has an impact on nonQataris’ identities, making the latter desire to be recognized as Qataris as well. Thus, the findings suggest that this phenomenon is not based on a majority vs. minority difference but rather on power struggles. The study calls on the role of parents and schools in instilling the importance of one’s heritage and identity on the non-Qatari youth that live in Qatar.
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Wearing the Qatari Mask:
Non-Qataris’ Identity Lost in Search for Power Hend Geddawy, hkg@qatar.cmu.edu Faculty Advisor: Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. English Department
Phenomenon
* Many non-Qataris living in Qatar adopt a Qatari identity by speaking Qatari Arabic, dressing in Qatari traditional clothes, and even hiding their origin. * Why does this phenomenon exist?
The Context:
* Qatar is a small country with a small population and a large expatriate population * Qataris have various social benefits that non-Qataris do not have * Because of their higher economic status and social benefits, Qataris are perceived as superior than others.
The Study
Purpose of the study:
To investigate the reasons and the motivation why non-Qataris hide their identity and embrace the Qatari cultural identity
Methodology:
Interviews with: * Non-Qataris: 5 Why do they pretend to be Qatari? * Qataris: 3 How much do Qataris contribute to this phenomenon? * A non-Qatari school teacher: How is this phenomenon observed in schools?
Conclusions
* The perceived lower status of foreigners and the discrimination against them negatively affects their identity and their self-esteem.
* Some Qataris negatively take
advantage of their national rights to practice power against immigrants.
* Qatari children should be raised and educated
to respect the foreign labor force in their country, and non-Qataris should learn to further appreciate their identity.
Specifications
Identity: describes an individual's comprehension of him or herself as a discrete, separate entity *”Our identity is not fixed, given or unitary. Identity is socially created and claimed through language, through an intentional negotiation of meanings and understandings.” Cultural Identity:
The (feeling of) identity of
a group or culture, or of an individuals as far as he or she is influenced by her belonging to a group or culture. *Struggles between powerful and powerless groups has an impact on the identity formation of less powerful individuals. (Baker, 2005)
Findings
Non-Qataris’ motivation to hide their identity: * To avoid discrimination and troubles
* “I pretend to be Qatari to avoid being the black
duck” (Egyptian child, 8 years old)
* “The more money you own and the
more fashionable you look, the less likely you get in trouble” (Egyptian/ Qatari teacher)
* To gain respect and social recognition
* “People respect me more when I am in ‘thobe’ ” (Palestinean adult, 25 years old).
* ”Mom, please do not speak Egyptian in front of my
friends. They do not know that I am Egyptian” (Egyptian child, 9 years old)
Qataris’ role in the phenomenon:
* Imposing their Qatari privilege: Negatively
taking the advantage of their given rights to practice authority over non-Qataris. * ”Who do you think you are? You are living in our country, eating from our food...”
Not a majority vs. minority issue but a power struggle issue: Despite being a minority, the Qatari population has a lot of power which places non-Qataris in a lower status.
Student-made films in the Spanish classroom: Dos chicas perdidas en Colombia Poster Q24 Authors Fatima Al-Rumaihi (Tepper 2009) Sara Al-Asmakh (Tepper 2009) Hend Geddawy (CS 2009) Fatima Al-Mansoori (CS 2008) Faculty advisor Erik Helin Category Liberal Arts and Sciences
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he principal objective of this poster is to illustrate the process of learning Spanish through student-made films. As part of our Elementary Spanish II course, we have made a creative film applying the language from class including a variety of topics, such as the hospital, city life, and technology. With the poster we want to convey the importance of applying Spanish from class in real-life type situations and also how we were able to improve our oral Spanish communication skills by working on our film. At the poster presentation we also will show the finished film so that the audience can enjoy our work. The film we created, Dos chicas perdidas en Colombia, shows the life of two Arab female students (Hend Geddawy & Sara Al-Asmakh) who go to Colombia to study. In Colombia, both students face various problems, such as accidents and getting terribly lost in the city.
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Ex-Speed System: An override system for vehicles Poster Q16 Authors Ramsey Massouh (Tepper 2011) Abdulla Ali Al-Kuwari (Tepper 2011) Omar Al-Zoheery (Tepper 2009) Faculty advisor Selma Limam Mansar, Ph.D. Category Information Systems
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his project was developed as part of an Innovation competition. This is an IT challenge that the freshmen students of the Concepts in Information Systems course students took. The project explored how information technology (IT) and innovative ideas can support organizational needs. The purpose was to create an IT solution to reduce the number of accidents on the roads in Doha. Using publicly available data and the literature review, the project established the main causes of car accidents in Doha, among which speeding. The suggested IT solution is a system that will restrict drivers from speeding above the legal speed limit so that the driver and the cars in his surroundings are safe. The system was called ex-speed system and it uses the concept of Over-Ride System. The solution consists of a built-in system to all vehicles, which is basically a combination of a GPS System working hand-in-hand with Cruise Control Features and Built-in cameras which are mounted on the body of the car. Some of these features are used on their own to help a driver have a more relaxing drive, but when combined together, they become a very effective safety feature that could possibly save many lives. This idea has various advantages since we attempted to track down the general locations where the accidents happen. The system makes it possible to restrict the drivers and their reckless behavior to ever take place and prevent it completely.
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EX-SPEED SYSTEM! Override System for vehicles ! Done By: (Ramsey Massouh, Abdulla Ali Al-Kuwari, Omar El Zoheery) Course: Concepts of Information System Faculty Advisor: Selma Limam Mansar, Phd
Problem
Causes
Solution
The number of accidents in Doha have drastically increased over the years. In 2001 there were 57,951 car accidents while in 2006 the figured almost doubled to 106,436.
Reckless Driving Speeding Underage/unauthorized Driving Bad Car maintenance Poor Knowledge of driving morals, ethics and regulations No Consideration to Traffic Laws
Statistics show that speeding is the major cause of car accidents. A car may be driven by several drivers and, therefore, the behavior may change from one driver to another. We therefore suggest a solution that targets the car itself by installing an override system that we name the “ExSpeed System” in it.
The Ex-Speed System Description The main application of this system is an Over-Ride System that will restrict drivers from speeding above the legal speed limit so that the driver and the cars in his surroundings are safe. Our solution consists of a built-in system to all vehicles, which is basically a combination of a GPS System working hand-in-hand with Cruise Control Features and Builtin cameras which are mounted on the body of the car. This is done through the following steps: 1. The GPS system stores the road speed limit and detects the car speed. 2. The Built-in cameras detect the position of nearby cars. 3. The Cruise Control ability will change the speed as needed. 4. A database system that keep the speed limits in the GPS updated. 5. An override application that will integrate the three components.
An Override System
The Built-in Cameras
The System Parts Car Navigation-GPS (Garmin) A GPS unit (GPS System) consists of a space segment, a control segment, and a user segment. The space segment is a constellation of 24 satellites orbiting the earth twice every 24 hours, at approximately 10,900 nautical miles above the earth’s surface. The control segment is a series of monitoring stations located at different sites on earth to update the system. The user segment is a receiver that receives radio waves from the satellites to determine how far away it is from each satellite.
Built-in Cameras The built in cameras will be mounted on both sides of the front car grill They will be able to detect other vehicles in the surrounding The cameras have to be at least of 5 mega pixels quality to be able to capture and identify photos while the car is in moving. It will also be able to move around 120 degrees and have a stabilizer in case of off-road driving or bad roads and road bumps.
Future Plans Developing the Override System Working the Ministry of Interior Testing the System Implementing the System with Feedback
Cruise Control The cruise control features include the sensors and the capability to set the speed of the car at a certain point. It also contains this very useful feature which is automated, which is if there is a fast car behind or a slow car in front of the vehicle then the car will slow down or speed up according to the situation. This is done through the cruise control feature that sets the speed. The sensors on the side of the car are helpful gadgets that automatically make the needed space between the particular car and other vehicles that surrounds it. The laser sensors measure the distance between the bumpers of the car and other cars.
Experiencing Global Project Management: Designing the Floor Plan for the IS Program Poster Q15 Authors Amal Al Barwani (IS 2010) Nasreen Zahan (IS 2010) Faiza Alsaeid (IS 2009) Faculty advisor Selma Limam Mansar, Ph.D. Category Information Systems
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his project was undertaken as part of the Global Project Management (GPM) course. The course gave students the opportunity to experience working with team members globally on a project. The project involved students based at Carnegie Mellon in Qatar and others in Pittsburgh. The aim was to experiment working across distance and reflecting on the challenges of GPM. The outcome of the project was a proposal for an Information Systems floor plan for the new Carnegie Mellon Campus in Qatar building. Indeed, the Information Systems major just started in Qatar and has requirements that are different from the Computer Science and Business Studies majors. The poster explains the drivers for this project, the approach and the results achieved. The proposed solution included designing six project rooms, for the IS students which would be well equipped to carry out projects, for a team of five. Besides the outcomes identified for the IS floor plan, further conclusions were achieved. They relate to the challenges of working across distance, across time zones and across cultural differences. The most important observation, is that a global team may need a significantly longer time to adapt and start being productive, but will produce results that exceed expectations. Finally, the efficacy of information technology to support global teams was tested: online collaboration tools, voice communication, chat rooms and videoconferencing were used as a working platform. Technology was not the issue; collaboration and self-discipline were the ones.
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Fig 2. Options looked at for placement of rooms
Explored department needs through meetings with IS professors Selected locations, rooms & resources needed
Fig 1. Pictures used to generate ideas for department needs
Worked as a global team: 3 students in Qatar; 2 students in Pittsburgh working remotely Used distance collaboration tools: Basecamp, Videoconferencing, Chat rooms Used project management techniques: (Estimation, Gantt charts, etc) Studied Pittsburg & Qatar campuses for possible IS department needs
• Global Project Management is effective if the team manages: • Time and time zone differences • Collaboration, communication • Cultural differences and various backgrounds • Technology constraints
Reflection
Fig3. Location and design of rooms
Results
Design Project Rooms: A thorough investigation led us to the conclusion that the most pressing need of the IS department were project rooms.
Information Systems is a new degree in CMU-Q. It calls for specific floor plan needs that CMU-Q currently doesn't cater to (students, faculty and courses)
Approach
Solution
The IS Predicament
Amal Al Barwani, Nasreen Zahan, Faiza Alsaeid abbarwan@qatar.cmu.edu, nzahan@qatar.cmu.edu, falsaied@qatar.cmu.edu Instructor: Selma Limam Mansar, PhD Information Systems
Designing the Floor Plan for the Information Systems Program
Experiencing Global Project Management:
Driving Craze Poster Q17 Authors Al-Johra Al-Obaidly (Tepper 2011) Fatima Hilal (Tepper 2011) Hira Ahmed (Tepper 2011) Maryam Al-Kuwari (Tepper 2011) Faculty advisor Selma Limam Mansar, Ph.D. Category Information Systems
T
his project was developed as part of an Innovation competition. This is an IT challenge that the freshmen students of the Concepts in Information Systems course students took. The project explored how information technology (IT) and innovative ideas can support organizational needs. The purpose was to create an IT solution to reduce the number of accidents on the roads in Doha. Using publicly available data and the literature review, the project established the main causes of car accidents in Doha, among which speeding. The suggested IT solution is a system that targets the male population in Qatar in the age group of 10 to 18 years old. The system was called driving craze and it aims at educating the younger generations to the dangers of bad driving using an online multiplayer game. This will ensure that the children will learn safe driving without realizing that they are being trained and this may impact on the behavior of their driving in the future. The game enables children to collect points based on how well they can drive around Doha without any accidents or mistakes. The game is based on the networks and roads of Doha. The game should be monitored and supported by appropriate authorities to enforce its use.
68
Driving Craze
Al-Johra Al-Obaidly (aobaidli@qatar.cmu.edu) Fatima Hilal (fhilal@qatar.cmu.edu) Hira Ahmed (hahmed@qatar.cmu.edu) Maryam Al-Kuwari (mkuwari@qatar.cmu.edu) Advisor: Selma Limam Mansar (selmal@qatar.cmu.edu) IS Program
Solution
The Problem :
IT solution: •Designed an online multi-player game •Long-term solution Target: •The male population •Age group of 10 to 18 years old in Qatar
Reducing or limiting car accidents in Qatar using an information technology solution
Fact : 9“On average there were 300 accidents in Qatar in 2006; 9…97% of them were caused by men” (The Peninsula, 2007)
Survey: •Online survey •Participants: 20 CMU freshmen. •Purpose: Identify the causes of car accidents in Qatar.
Causes 37.5
Crossing speed limits
50 12.5 Yes
Using distracting factors while driving
No
Sometimes
43.8 56.3 0 Mobile phone
Indications of negative driving attitude
Future:
18.8
Radio, Music
other
6.3
75
High attention
Low attention
No attention
Develop the online game
User’s registration information would be sent to the Traffic Department
Doha Virtual Stock Market Poster Q35 Authors Saad Al-Matwi (Tepper 2009) Siddharth Arora (Tepper 2009) Faculty advisor J. Patrick McGinnis Category Business Administration
T
he Doha Virtual Market is a first-of-its-kind initiative by the members of the Carnegie Mellon Business Association to allow students to perform real-time trade transactions in the Doha market. It is the first collaboration between the Business and CS majors.
For the competition, students were split into teams of 3 and each team received QR 150,000 to invest into 42 listed stocks on the Doha Stock Market. They invested for a period from March 12 to April 16 (5 weeks) to attempt to maximize their net worth. A scoreboard was maintained for public viewing so that anyone could view how team net worths fluctuated each day. It was switched off for the last seven days so as to build up some excitement in deciding who the winners would be. The team that won amassed QR 26,000 rials more than they began with! The Doha Virtual Market software, designed by students from the Web Applications class, became the first platform for Carnegie Mellon students in Qatar to learn trading without investing a single rial of their own money. It was the event with the biggest participation ever, with 67 participants registered. It is planned to be made annual.
70
Doha Virtual Stock Market A first-of-its kind initiative by the Business and Computer Science students to create a powerful platform for students to trade virtually in the Doha Stock Market without losing a Rial.
22 TEAMS. 67 PARTICIPANTS. THE EVENT WITH THE BIGGEST PARTICIPATION IN THE HISTORY OF CARNEGIE MELLON QATAR.
Faculty Advisor: Students: Saad Al-Matwi J Patrick McGinnis Siddharth Arora
CLIP: Empowerment through Computer Literacy Poster Q34 Authors Evan Hoke (CS Teaching Assistant) Nayef Al-Kaabi (IS 2010) Faculty advisor Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D. Category Extracurricular
T
his poster reports on a computer literacy instruction program (CLIP) initiated at Carnegie Mellon Qatar by a group of students to facilitate computer literacy workshops to Education City service staff employees. Organized and run by NeoMotion, an Education City student organization, with the support of CM-Q student and academic affairs and 25 student volunteers, the program taught literacy skills to 60 clients, including security guards and food service staff. Classes were held weekly for six weeks. Despite the challenges of working with an adult diverse population in such a short time, the outcomes of the program were very successful. The clients improved their computer literacy skills in: a) comfort using computers, b) keyboarding, c) using the internet and e-mail, d) and creating and editing word documents. At a larger level, the program provided an opportunity for students to engage in service learning serving their community in a meaningful and useful way. Given its success, the program is expected to continue in the fall with the support of Reach Out to Asia (ROTA) and potential partnerships with other Education City universities and local companies.
72
Designing for Education City: Maintaining the Formal, Encouraging the Informal Poster Q36 Author Michelle Lopez (Architecture 2008) Faculty advisors Rami el Samahy and Kelly Hutzell Category Architecture
H
istorically, campus design has been directly influenced by the location, control, and appearance of the existing circulation systems that interact within and around the given site. In this situation, buildings do not exist as isolated entities but rather connected elements that participate and act as a collective whole. The campus planners of Education City have gone to great efforts to ensure that the individual university buildings are distinguished and unique from one another; however, the culminating act of connecting these elements in a way to guide and form the overall physical environment has yet to be fully realized. The lack of designed interstitial space has created physical boundaries that currently hinder the engagement of land and building and prevent the interlacing of circulation systems on the campus. As a result of this limitation, the atmosphere of cross-college collaboration originally envisioned for Education City is threatened, as the interactions between students of different universities are infrequent and isolated. Because of these conditions, the outdoor public realm is vastly underused. By locating specific interstitial spaces that have the potential to act as programmatic outdoor environments, I propose to highlight the current design potential that the Education City campus presents in terms of landscape urbanism intervention. It is my design intent that the designed spaces will begin to mend the seams between built environment and open space, creating meeting grounds for students and professors that exist beyond the confines of building interiors and extend into the outdoor realm.
74
Although successful as a grand ceremonious gesture, the green spine connecting east and west campus lacks the informal qualities necessary for daily student use. In an effort to create nodes of activity along the linear length, a series of pathways have been designed to allow for the most direct routes from one building to another. Each of the paths defines a new outdoor environment as the land is “pushed down” to create terraced seating areas alongside the walkway.
PROBLEM Lack of planned and designed links between the built environment and surrounding open space, thereby preventing the encouragement of outdoor interactions between students in Education City.
The relatively flat nature of Education City lends itself to vertical landmarks (as opposed to more low-lying, horizontal structures) as a means to guide and connect students across the campus. As such, I have designed a series of four towers along the procession from the Graduation Complex to the Convention Center that would create a strong visual presence and encourage nodes of activity. Each tower features sustainable elements in an effort to raise awareness on campus and promote a healthier built environment throughout Education City and the city of Doha. The outer facade of each of the towers consists of a patterned screen (similar to the ones designed for the interior of the LAS building) in a particular Islamic pattern that is embedded with thousands of LED/photovoltaic pieces that harness the solar energy during the day and then emit light at night. Three of the four towers also feature vertical axis wind turbines that will help to power the LEDs on the northern facades of the structures.
The first of the four towers will act as an observation tower for Education City, allowing students and visitors to climb (on foot or by elevator) to the top of the 24 meter high structure.
The second and third towers feature vertical axis wind turbines in their cores and also act as bicycle sharing points for the campus in which students can pick up/drop-off bikes at their convenience during the day.
The fourth tower will house a vertical gallery of public art that will change throughout the year. Art is clipped onto steel wires that are suspended from supports above and attached at the ground.
4 1
1
2,3
4
3 Scale 1:150
designing for EDUCATION CITY
maintaining the formal, encouraging the informal Michelle Lopez melopez@andrew.cmu.edu Faculty Advisors: Rami el Samahy + Kelly Hutzell CMU School of Architecture, College of Fine Arts
2
Green spaces in Education City
a Proposed path system for green spine
Scale 1:1000
b Due to its prestigious nature, the planning of Education City needs to maintain its formal spatial qualities; however, equal energy needs to be dedicated to meeting students’ needs
As the campus continues to grow, the central green spine will hold an even greater purpose in tying together the campus, making its ability to accommodate for both spatial qualities crucial to its success. Looking from the Graduation Complex
through more informal planning.
to the Convention Center (b), one is unaware of the terraced seating areas (a) and is solely presented with a seemingly continuous greenway, allowing for an uninterrupted ceremonious view. Conversely, when one views the spine looking from the Convention Center (c), they are aware of the cuts in the land and the seating and areas of activity that are created.
Major transportation routes on campus (including proposed People Mover)
c
The Wedding Hall Project Poster Q37 Author Stephanie Chu (Architecture Teaching Assistant) Faculty advisors Rami el Samahy and Kelly Hutzell Category Architecture
T
his research generates design elements and architectural considerations for wedding spaces in Doha through the examination of Qatari weddings today. By examining the Qatari wedding, I understand the social, economic, spatial structures and concerns people face when they are involved in a wedding. The wedding sequence studied in this research includes the process of the couple meeting, the preparation for the wedding, and finally the celebrations at the main wedding night. I used two main strategies in this study: (1) conducting interviews with experienced people, (2) observing the related physical environments. In addition, images photographed at various local sites and images collected over the internet act as supportive data to the research. The findings of the research point towards interesting contradictions that exist in the Qatari wedding traditions today, these become the spring board for my new wedding hall design solution.
76
THE PREMISE OF THIS STUDY IS TO INVESTIGATE THE NATURE OF WEDDINGS AND ITS DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS IN LIGHT OF DESIGNING NEW WEDDING SPACES IN QATAR . MARRIAGE TIMELINE
EARLY INVESTIGATIONS
from man and woman to husband and wife
4500 sqm
9p
9p
FOUR
COURTYARD OCCUPYING WALLS OF THE FORT
Stephanie
7pm
8p m
MAIN HALL
PRIVATE
BRIDE’S SUITE PERIPHERAL LOCKER SUITES ROOMS FOUR
SERVICE SPACE
KITCHEN
Doha
OCCUPYING WALLS OF THE FORT
ADMIN OFFICES
TEMP OFFICES
MEETING ROOMS
CAFETERIA WOOD SHOP
PERIPHERAL LOCKER SUITES ROOMS
Doha
DOWN
FIVE
COURTYARD
KITCHEN My design proposal and solution will tackle these three contradictions.
HALL
STORAGE
ADMIN OFFICES
KITCHEN
PROJECT TEMP OFFICES
MEETING ROOMS
STEPHANIE CHU | sfone@andrew.cmu.edu | CMUQ 2008 SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE| R. EL-SAMAHY |
FIVE
PROJECT
BRIDE’S SUITE
S08
FOOD HALL
PROJECT
S08
HALL
Chu
HALL 3) celebration vs bankruptcy: to MarryFOOD a woMen Means a Men have to splurg. it is expected for a Men to pay everything froM the brides dress, SECURITY LOUNGE / BAR bridal jewellery, car, house, wedding party and LOBBY honey WC Moon. the wedding night is reallySTORAGE when the girls celebrate and the boys are bleeding.
TWO
THREE
3) celebration vs bankruptcy: to Marry a woMen COURTYARD 18,170sqm Means a Men have to splurg. it is expected for a Men to pay everything froM the brides dress, bridal jewellery, car, house, wedding party and honey Moon. the wedding night is really when the girls celebrate and the boys are bleeding.
STORAGE
18,170sqm
WC Chu
CAFETERIA WOOD SHOP
STORAGE
WC
BUILDING ENVELOPE
STORAGE
K.
HUTZELL
WC
My design proposal and solution will tackle BUILDING ENVELOPE these three contradictions. ADMIN OFFICES
TEMP OFFICES
MEETING ROOMS
CAFETERIA WOOD SHOP
WC
STORAGE
Organize different spaces based on privacy, gender and functional differences.
Diversify patron profile and buidling facilities to generate surplus revenue to support free wedding services.
BUILDING ENVELOPE
2400
9p
9p
m
8p m
10
9p
3a
1 am
2a m
pm
3a
m
m 4a
8p m
2400
m
7p m
5am
7pm
FAMILY PREPARATION
6pm
6pm
m 4p
pm 3
9a
2p m
am
1pm
3
pm
9a
pm
8am
m 4p
8am
9a
m 4p
8a m
7a m
7a m
5pm
7a m
5pm
6am
6am
6am
6pm
7pm
5am
5pm
5am
8p m
m 4a
MEN’s CELEBRATION WOMEN’s CELEBRATION
SPATIAL ADJACENCY DIAGRAM
11pm
m 4a
MAKE UP WEDDING SERVICE
3a
2am
m
HAIR STYLIST
2am 1am
pm 10
m
BUILDING MANAGMENT DRIVERS & VALET
1am
2400
11pm
2p m
3
1pm
1200
2p m 1pm
1200
11pm
9p
3a
HAIR STYLIST
2400
SECURITY LOBBY
3a
7pm
5am
5am
6pm
6pm
7p m
6pm
7a m
m 4p
m 4p
8am
m 4p
m
3
9a
pm
pm
10
9a
m
2p m
am
11am
3
am 10
1200
1pm
2p m
11am
1200
1pm
210 sqm
210 sqm
Kitchen
Kitchen
375 sqm
375 sqm
Reception
60 sqm
60 sqm
Cafeteria
Cafeteria
200 sqm
200 sqm
Security
Security
64 sqm
64 sqm
Locker Rooms Locker Rooms
100 sqm
100 sqm
Boutique Hotel Suite Boutique Hotel Suite
Wood shop
Wood shop
500 sqm
500 sqm
Meeting Rooms Meeting Rooms
80 sqm
80 sqm
Spa & Salon
800 sqm
800 sqm
Admin Offices Admin Offices
200 sqm
200 sqm
565 sqm
565 sqm
Temporary Offices Temporary Offices
100 sqm
100 sqm
WC / Storage / WC / Storage / Service Spaces Service Spaces
440 sqm
440 sqm
1895 sqm
1895 sqm
5000 sqm
5000 sqm
4500 sqm
4500 sqm
TOTAL
2450 sqm
2450 sqm
30 sqm
30 sqm
WEDDING HALLS WEDDING HALLS Bride’s Suite
Peripheral SuitesPeripheral Suites Main Hall
WC / Storage / WC / Storage / Service Spaces Service Spaces
TOTAL
TOTAL
60 sqm
60 sqm
150 sqm
150 sqm
3500 sqm
3500 sqm
1000 sqm
1000 sqm
4740 sqm
4740 sqm
TOTAL
TOTAL
OTHER
OTHER
Landscape / Open spaces
Landscape / Open spaces
Parking
Parking
TOTAL
TOTAL
9500 sqm
9500 sqm
TOTAL
TOTAL
18,585 sqm
18,585 sqm
BUILDING MASSING ON SITE
250 sqm
Lounge / Bar
Spa & Salon
400 sqm
BUILDING ENVELOPE
400 sqm
250 sqm
Lounge / Bar
WC / Storage / WC / Storage / Service Spaces Service Spaces
KITCHEN
8am
9a
pm
8am
7a m
5pm
7a m
5pm
6am
6am
6am
ADMIN OFFICES
OFFICES / WORK PLACES OFFICES / WORK PLACES
Lobby
Food Hall
STORAGE
5am
LUXURY SERVICES LUXURY SERVICES
Main Hall
A
LOUNGE / BAR
WC
COURTYARD
Reception
Food Hall
PERIPHERAL SUITES FOOD HALL
2am
Lobby
TOTAL
BRIDE’S SUITE MAIN HALL
1am
pm
m
CONTEXTUAL APPROACH understanding traditional construcPROGRAMPROGRAM tion and the potentials of the site as main construction material.
Bride’s Suite
BOUTIQUE HOTEL SUITE
MEN’s CELEBRATION WOMEN’s CELEBRATION FAMILY PREPARATION
7p m
9p
NEWLY WED SUITE SERVICES HOTEL SERVICE & BUILDING MANAGMENT DRIVERS & VALET
2am
8p m
9p
10
1am
MAKE UP WEDDING SERVICE
MEN’s CELEBRATION WOMEN’s CELEBRATION FAMILY PREPARATION
m 4a
8p m
2400
pm 10
m
HAIR STYLIST MAKE UP WEDDING SERVICE
m 4a
3a
SPA & SALON
m 4a
2a m
m
MEN’s CELEBRATION WOMEN’s CELEBRATION FAMILY PREPARATION
NEWLY WED SUITE SERVICES HOTEL SERVICE & BUILDING MANAGMENT DRIVERS & VALET
1 am
BUILDING ENVELOPE
m
2400
m
m
11pm
pm 10
HAIR STYLIST MAKE UP WEDDING SERVICE
8p m
11pm
NEWLY WED SUITE SERVICES OFFICE & BUILDING MANAGMENT DRIVERS & VALET
PROGRAM SIZE REQUIREMENTS
11am
1200
am 10
11am
1pm
STUDY OF OLD Al WAKRA SETTLEMENT RUINS AND INDIGENOUS LANDSCAPES
BUILDING 24 HOUR IN SERVICE
pm
m
m
m
2p m
am
11pm 10 NEWLY WED SUITE SERVICES HOTEL SERVICE & OFFICE &
5pm
m 4p
6 pm 5pm
Stephanie
DOWN
TOTAL BUILT SPACE
WC
HALL
3
8p m
7pm
m 4p
5pm
8p m
9p m
8pm
7p m
6pm
7pm
m 4p
THREE SERVICE SPACE
LOUNGE / BAR
LOBBY
1200
BANKRUPTCY
CELEBRATION
FIVE
Security
11am
9p
m 4p
SECURITY
Take que from local architecture for spatial quality and materiality.
pm
9p
MAKING USE OF COURTYARD SPACES
5000 sqm
LOBBY
2p m
pm
4740 sqm
WEDDING UP
BOUTIQUE HOTEL SUITE
LOUNGE / BAR
WEDDING
4500 sqm
FOOD HALL
1pm
8p m
6pm
WEDDING
SECURITY
1200
6pm
8p m
PERIPHERAL LOCKER SUITES ROOMS
am 10
1pm
1200
OCCUPYING WALLS OF THE FORT
Maintanence
11am
7p m
5pm
BRIDE’S SUITE TWO
PRIVATE
Parking
3500 sqm MAIN HALL 1000 sqm UP
11am
3
10
UP
am
5pm
pm
BOUTIQUE HOTEL SUITE
11am
9p
7p m
Landscape / Open spaces
10
5pm
6pm
SEPERATE GENDER
am
m
DESIGN GUIDELINES
Facilities Managment
10
1pm
1200
60 sqm
150 sqm
m
11am
m
2pm
11am
6 pm
5pm
pm
1pm
1200
m
2p m
5pm
m 4p
11am
3p
a 10
3 am 10
m 4p
2p m
am
30 sqm
SPA & SALON
UP
OTHER
m
9p m
8pm
pm
m
pm
10
3
100 sqm 440 sqm 1895 sqm
m
BUILDING ENVELOPE
10
m
m 4p
1pm
1200
80 sqm
PUBLIC
DOWN
TOTAL BUILT SPACE
30 - 40%
- 15% 1) nostalgic behavior: a tendency8to installate traditional style and behavior in a Modern enviReception Entrance Parking Cafeteria ronMent. Main Displays Prayer Rooms Landscapes Administration
UP
100 sqm
BUILDING ENVELOPE 2)440 custoMs vs. personal Manifestation: this title sqm has been corrected froM SEPERATE Modesty to partyGENDER 1895 sqm by an arabic critic. the essence of this hardy SPA & SALON contradiction is the fact that woMen would wear their abayas on a regular basis covering up their body for social reasons- be it Modesty or for showing class; however, at the wedding celebration, they present theMselves lavishly , MAIN HALL hair set, bling-on, wearingMAKING oscar-dresses, dancUSE OF COURTYARD SPACES 5000 sqm ing, throwing Money at each other. they know how to party real hard.
ENCLOSURE ONE
TOTAL
200 sqm
ENCLOSURE ONE
PUBLIC
m
3p 2pm
11am
SERVICE SPACE
1pm
am
LATEST STUDIES 2450 sqm
400 sqm
FOUR
1200
10
THREE
11am
3 2p m
1pm
MAKING USE OF COURTYARD SPACES
4740 sqm
1200
FORT PRECEDENTS
1200
Parking
1000 sqm
18,170sqm
Temporary Offices
200 sqm
Cafeteria
INTERIM STUDIES
FIT EVERYTHING IN EXISTING FORT
BANKRUPTCY
TWO
Security
traditional style and behavior in a Modern envi80 sqm LATEST STUDIES ronMent. 200 sqm
INTERIM STUDIES
Admin Offices
CELEBRATION
PRIVATETOTAL
11am
WC / Storage / Service Spaces
PERSONALMANIFESTATION
SOCIAL CUSTOMS
150 sqm
3500 sqm
4500 sqm
am 10
Landscape / Open spaces
Stage Production
2) custoMs vs. personal Manifestation: this title has been corrected froM Modesty to partyhardy by an arabic critic. the essence of this contradiction is the fact that woMen would wear their abayas on a regular basis covering LATEST STUDIES up their body for social reasons- be it Modesty or for showing class; however, at the wedding BUILDING ENVELOPE celebration, they present theMselves lavishly , hair set, bling-on, wearing oscar-dresses, dancing, throwing Money at each other. they know SPA & SALON BOUTIQUE how to party real hard. HOTEL SUITE
8 - 15%
400 sqm
Meeting Rooms
Service Spaces
Peripheral Suites
OTHER SEPERATE GENDER
30 sqm 60 sqm
5000 sqm
m
100 sqm
1895 sqm
Decorator
Neighborhood
10 - 20%
30 - 40%
200 sqm
Main Hall
440 sqm
LS
Maintanence
3
Food UP Hall
Facilities Managment
2p m
Bride’s Suite
TOTAL
Catering Company
BANKRUPTCY
WC / Storage / Service Spaces
Entertainers Wedding gown couturier
PERSONALMANIFESTATION
200 sqm
2450 sqm
General Public
NOSTALGIC BEHAVIOUR
80 sqm
Administration
CELEBRATION
Temporary Offices
565 sqm
400 sqm
MANAGEMENT
COMMON AREA
Circulation
100 sqm
FIT EVERYTHING IN EXISTING FORT / WC / Storage
375 sqm
WEDDING HALLS
Rear Service Area
375 sqm
Cafeteria
Wood shop
565 sqm
ENCLOSURE ONE PUBLIC
Toilets
MANAGEMENT
8 - 20%
SOCIAL CUSTOMS
Admin Offices
Mechanical Sytems
Stage Production Tableware designer 9a
MeetingFORT Rooms FIT EVERYTHING IN EXISTING
800 sqm
Other Patrons
Friends
designer Make Up Artistled / StylistMeFlorist My investigation to exploreTableware specifically on three contradictions in the traditional 8 - 20% qatari wedding celebration. these are what i describe as:Toilets Mechanical Sytems Rear Service Area Circulation
BUILDING SERVICE SPACES
25 - 35% Decorator Florist
8am
500 sqm
Parking Landscapes
INITIAL STUDIES
800 sqm
100 sqm
Circulation
Locker Rooms
500 sqm
INTERIM TOTAL STUDIES
Wood shop
BUILDING SERVICE SPACES
PERSONALMANIFESTATION
Cafeteria
INITIAL STUDIESLocker Rooms
Kitchen
Main Entrance Cafeteria Prayer Rooms
SOCIAL CUSTOMS
100 sqm
64 sqm
Catering Company Make Up Artist / Stylist
7a m
210 sqm
Reception 60 sqm Displays
250 sqm
NOSTALGIC BEHAVIOUR
200 sqm
TRADITION
375 sqm
60 sqm 250 sqm
Entertainers Wedding gown couturier
WEDDING SERVICE PROVIDER
6am
Facilities Managment OFFICESMaintanence / WORK PLACES Security
Lounge / Bar
210 sqm
General Public
My investigation led Me toADJACENCY explore specifically on three contradictions DIAGRAM in the traditional COMMON Reception Main Entrance qatariAREA wedding celebration. these are whatParking i Displays Prayer Rooms Landscapes INITIAL STUDIES describe as:
NOSTALGIC BEHAVIOUR
Administration
Family
Groom
30 -to 40%discover three major contradictory wedding practices . My investigation led me - 20% 8 - 15% These are the contradictions we find between traditional10and contemporary life, between the ADJACENCY public image and finally female celebration and male brankruptcy. DIAGRAM and individuality 1) nostalgic behavior: a between tendency to installate 10 - 20% Rear Service Area
9a
9a
Boutique Hotel Suite
ADJACENCY OFFICES / WORK PLACES Spa & Salon WC / Storage / DIAGRAM Kitchen Service Spaces
8am
8am
MANAGEMENT
TRADITION
7a m
Toilets
64 sqm
Security
8 - 20%
Mechanical Sytems
Bride
25 - 35%
Neighborhood
5am
9a
6am
9a
Reception
Stage Production Tableware designer
BUILDING SERVICE SPACES
COMMON AREA
Lobby
Decorator Florist
7a m
5am
8a m
LUXURY SERVICES
Catering Company Make Up Artist / Stylist
TRADITION
8a m
m 4a
9a m
7a m
PROGRAM
KEY FINDINGS
Entertainers Wedding gown couturier
Travelling abroad for a week or two marks the end of the wedding celebration.
GUESTS
m
Friends
WEDDING SERVICE PROVIDER
6am
8a m
6a m
WEDDING SERVICE PROVIDER
PART I: INTERESTS OF INVESTIGATION
ES
25 - 35%
m
m
Neighborhood
Honey Moon
feast given by the groom’s side of the maly to celebrate the welcoming of the bride to the family. Held on the earliest possible day after consummation.
3a
Groom
3a
General Public
Day 3: Walima
main wedding day, huge event Bride wears most elaborate outfit.
2a m
Other Patrons
2a m
Other Patrons
Day 2: Nikah
noise, color, dancing. Bride has wet mehendi (henna paint) applied on her hand.
1am
Family
1am
m
7a m
3a
Bride
Day 1: Mehendi
sing and dancing on the drum. Bride and groom have seperate celebration.
OCCUPANCY
m 4a
11pm
2400
11pm
pm 10
OCCUPANCY
5am
2a m
outfit.
HOTEL OFFICES CONFERENCE ROOMS BUILDING MANAGMENT TEMPORARY OFFICES
9a
1am
pm 10
Travelling abroad for a week or two marks the end of the wedding celebration.
m 4a
2400
Friends
Travelling abroad for a week or two marks the end of the wedding celebration.
m
11pm
Family
Groom
Honey Moon
feast given by the groom’s side of the maly to celebrate the welcoming of the bride to the family. Held on the earliest possible day after consummation.
PART I: INTERESTS OF INVESTIGATION 2400
9a m
7a m
5am
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE INVOLVED?
Bride
Day 3: Walima
main wedding day,
GUESTS
pm 10
6a m
6am
m 4a
GUESTS
Day 2: Nikah
noise, color, dancing. Bride has wet mehendi (henna paint) applied on her hand.
8a m
OCCUPANCY
Day 1: Mehendi
sing and dancing on the 3drum. Bride a and groom have seperate celebration.
huge event Bride OFFICEwears TIMELINE most elaborate
1 - 2 weeks before ceremony: Dholk
PART I: INTERESTS OF INVESTIGATION
1 - 2 weeks before ceremony: Dholk
7a m
8a m
5am
m
HOTEL OFFICES CONFERENCE ROOMS BUILDING MANAGMENT TEMPORARY OFFICES
2am
6a m
7a m
HOTEL OFFICES CONFERENCE ROOMS BUILDING MANAGMENT TEMPORARY OFFICES
5am
OFFICE TIMELINE
3a
feast given by the groom’s side of the maly to celebrate the welcoming of the bride to the family. Held on the earliest possible day after consummation.
OFFICE TIMELINE
3a
m
main wedding day, huge event Bride wears most elaborate outfit.
noise, color, dancing. Bride has wet mehendi (henna paint) applied on her hand.
1am
am
2am
Families take up to several months or years preparing for the wedding ceremony.
10
1am
sing and dancing on the drum. Bride and groom have seperate celebration.
m 4a
m 4a
2am
2400
11pm
pm 10
1 - 2 weeks before ceremony: Dholk
6a m
3a m
1am
Families take up to several months or years preparing for the wedding ceremony.
m
HAIR STYLIST MAKE UP WEDDING SERIVCE
2am
pm
Bride continues to live with her own family until wedding day. The wedding does not commence until both parties are fit for sexual relationship.
Bride continues to live with her own family until wedding day. The wedding does not commence until both parties are fit for sexual relationship.
m
1am
Father of the Bride, her wali (guardian) meets groom at civil court. After an agreement on the mahr is met, the HOTEL SERVICE Qadhi regiesters DRIVERS the marriage.
Bride continues Families1take 1pm up to to live with her several months or pm own family until 10 years preparing for wedding day. The the wedding ceremony. wedding does not m commence until both parties are fit for sexual relationship. Honey Moon
5am
Couple agrees to pursue marriage or part ways. Islam had given this freedom of choice to both young men and women.
Father of the Bride, her wali (guardian) meets groom at civil court. After an agreement on the mahr is met, the Qadhi regiesters the marriage.
m 4a
WHAT IS THE WEDDING TIME SERVICE TIMELINE FRAME?
pm
m
10
2400
Couple agrees to Father of the Bride, pursue marriage her wali (guardian) HOTEL SERVICE or part ways. meets groom at DRIVERS Islam had given civil court. After an HAIR STYLIST this freedom of agreement on the MAKE UP choice to both mahr is met, the 3a WEDDING SERIVCE m young men and Qadhi regiesters women. the marriage. Day 1: Mehendi Day 2: Nikah Day 3: Walima
m 11p
Couple agrees to pursue marriage or part ways. Islam had given this freedom of choice to both young men and women.
time span: 1 - 3 Days
SERVICE TIMELINE
FamilyWEDDING investigates CELEBRATION further. Couple prays time span: for guidance to seek - 2340in0 Days 1am Allah’s1help making a decision. 2am
Couple agrees to meet in chaperoned,
MEN’s CELEBRATION group environment. WOMEN’s CELEBRATION FAMILY
5am
2400
time span: weeks, months, years
Family investigates further. Couple prays for guidance to seek Allah’s help in making a decision. WEDDING CELEBRATION
Couple agrees to meet in chaperoned, group environment.
m 4a
Family investigates further. Couple prays for guidance to seek Allah’s help in making a decision.
m 11p
The family enquires, disucsses and suggests candidates. Father or mother approaches the other family to suggest a meeting.
LEGAL REGISTRATION
WEDDING TIMELINE The family enquires, disucsses and suggests candidates. Father or mother approaches the other family to suggest a meeting.
time span: weeks, months, years
10
time span: 1 - 3 Days
WHAT ARE QATARI WEDDING CUSTOMS? LEGAL REGISTRATION
2400
WEDDING CELEBRATION
time span: weeks, months, years
Young person makes du’a for Allah to help him or her find the right person.
man to husband and wife
MELINE
LEGAL REGISTRATION
time span: months & years
m
MELINE
COURTSHIP
1 :1000 Main Wedding Site Plan
TEMP OFFICES
MEETING ROOMS
CAFETERIA WOOD SHOP
STORAGE
WC
LOCKER ROOMS
D
J
A
Automatic Verification of Microprocessor Control Logic Poster Q38 Author Zaher Andraus (ECE Ph.D. Student) Faculty advisor Karem Sakallah, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
M
odern microprocessors have to comply with an increasing set of functionality requirements, making their design quite challenging. More importantly, verifying these requirements is even harder and more complex. Abstracting the design is typically done in a laborious and error-prone manual process that, nonetheless, is necessary to tackle the enormous complexity inherent in designs with tens of thousands or even millions of state elements. It is not unusual for this manual effort to consume hundreds of man-hours to re-generate the verification model from the design and to keep them consistent as the design undergoes the inevitable changes to correct bugs or to modify features. Besides being cumbersome, this process is prone to the introduction of subtle bugs that either mask real design errors or that cause false error reports that need to be filtered. In this work we present an approach for abstraction-based formal verification of the complex control logic of modern microprocessors that is applied directly on the Register Transfer Level (RTL) description of the design. An RTL model of the original design, which captures various control optimizations, such as pipelining and re-timing, is formally verified against a specification model that represents the basic functionality of that design. This equivalence scheme is implemented in a tool called Reveal, which integrates various techniques to cope with the complexity of the RTL model, by applying automatic abstraction and refinement. This verification scheme is fully automatic, highly scalable, and is able to verify pipelined microprocessors and memory systems whose RTL Verilog descriptions have tens of thousands of source lines, thousands of signals, and hundreds of thousands of state bits.
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Real-Time Monitoring of a Diabetic during Ramadan Poster Q39 Author David L. Duke (Robotics, Ph.D. Candidate) Faculty advisor Charles E. Thorpe, Ph.D. Category Computer Science
D
iabetics manage their blood glucose by adjusting carbohydrate intake, exercise, and medication. The scheduling and dietary changes associated with Ramadan make the optimization process more difficult. Sleep and exercise patterns change, and the carbohydrate content in traditional meals often exceeds the amount in pre-Ramadan meals. In this project we used the Intelligent Diabetes Assistant (IDA) to collect data from a patient a week before Ramadan and the first week of Ramadan. IDA helps patients manage diabetes by simplifying data collection, sharing the data with the care team, and analyzing data for patterns. It can be used to track nutritional content, medication doses, blood glucose, and exercise. The data is instantly transmitted using mobile networks, so it can be shared with the care team. The care team accesses the data from a web front-end where they can analyze nutritional content of the patient’s meals. IDA uses the data to create patient-specific models to predict the impact behaviors have on blood glucose. The models are then used to suggest behavior modifications to improve blood glucose control.
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Real-time Monitoring of a Diabetic during Ramadan using the Intelligent Diabetes Assistant (IDA) David L. Duke and Chuck Thorpe, PhD Carnegie Mellon Qatar
Intelligent Diabetes Assistant (IDA): Problem Statement
Monitoring Diabetes Management During Ramadan
“The management plan [for diabetes] should be formulated as an individualized therapeutic alliance among the patient and family, the physician, and other members of the health care team.” -ADA Standards of Care
During Ramadan the estimated number of carbohydrates consumed per meal increased. The figure below displays the estimated quantity of carbohydrates in 22 meals pre-Ramadan and 9 meals in Ramadan.
IDA improves the management of diabetes by simplifying data measurement. ●sharing the data between patient and care team. ●using machine learning to build individual models to predict blood glucose. ●allowing frequent feedback and communication. ●
Ramadan Meals
Diabetes Management Pattern with IDA
Ramadan Meals
Before Ramadan the patient's caloric expenditure exceeded caloric intake, resulting in weight loss. During Ramadan the caloric intake increased. The figure on the left graphs the burned and consumed calories before and during Ramadan.
Suggested Behaviors
Mobile Phone and Web Interfaces for IDA The mobile phone application allows the patient to easily enter blood glucose measurements, meal images, medication doses, and text messages. The data is instantly available to the patients care team.
The meal interface to the right lets a dietitian enter nutritional information about each meal. The dietitian can search a food database and then enter a portion size.
The images on the left are the first nine meals in Ramadan. The graph displays the suggested patient specific carbohydrate/exercise behavior space. The blue side represents better outcomes. The circle marks the action chosen by the patient and its outcome. o – resulted in bg > 160 o – resulted in bg < 160 Future Work
About Diabetes Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when the body fails to properly regulate blood glucose. ●Diabetes is treated by adjusting medication, diet, and exercise to control blood glucose. ●There is a 16% incidence rate of diabetes in Qatar. ●There are 246 000 000 diabetics worldwide. ●
A multivariate linear regression model was trained on the patient to predict postprandial blood glucose using premeal blood glucose, pre-meal exercise, and meal carbohydrates. The model can be used to identify and suggest a behavior space that increases the probability of maintaining good control of blood glucose.
In the future we will continue to work on improving our models for predicting blood glucose. We will use the data to learn patient specific physiological models to simulate the effect behaviors have on blood glucose. Then, the models will be used automatically suggest actions improve the patients management diabetes.
to to of
Meeting Minds of the
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar P.O.Box 24866 Doha, Qatar +974 454 8400 Fax: +974 454 8410 www.qatar.cmu.edu