Digital Commons Network^™

Beyond The Economic: The Freedoms, Capabilities, And Social Capital Of Latin American Women Entrepreneurs In San Francisco, Melia M. Vilain

Master's Theses

In light of the scholarly debate surrounding the goals and mixed effects of development programs, particularly in recent years in relation to microfinance, this study investigates the effects of economic development programs on Latin American women entrepreneurs in San Francisco’s Mission District. It demonstrates that microfinance, when combined with education, can provide important non-economic benefits that contribute to increased freedoms and capabilities for immigrant women entrepreneurs. Drawing on qualitative interviews with ten business owners, as well as a review of the existing literature surrounding development, immigration, and gender, this research argues that owning a business in the US can produce …

How Technology Interacts With Emerging Adulthood Psychosocial Developmental Tasks: An Examination Of Online Self-Presentation And Cell Phone Usage, Samantha Lynn Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation outlines three distinct, yet interrelated, projects aimed at understanding the role of technology in relation to emerging adulthood developmental tasks: individuation & identity development. The first paper provides a context for understanding the developmental tasks of emerging adulthood, and the role that technology may serve in relation to those developmental tasks. This brief review of the literature on emerging adulthood developmental tasks provides a solid theoretical background and history for the theoretical premises proposed for the respective studies included in this dissertation. The second project is an empirical investigation that seeks to understand how the task of identity …

Afro-Colombians And The Encroachment Of Paramilitaries On The African Palm Oil Sector, Stacie Hecht

Anthropology ETDs

The African palm oil industry in Colombia has burgeoned in the last decade, with state-sanctioned promotions and new developmental productions for the expansion of these plantations seeking to provide economic stability for the country. In addition, with the passing of the Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Colombia in 2011, as well as deals with several European countries for the exportation of the product, comes an even greater demand than previously known for the industry. However, the continuation of this endeavor will lead to the devastation of the bio-diverse lands being used for economic gains. Furthermore, palm oil …

A Suryey Of Music Therapists' Use Of Music To Facilitate Reading Development In Children, Cynthia Cross

Masters Theses

This study utilized Naturalistic Inquiry methods to investigate how music therapists use music elements to impact reading development in school-aged children. Eleven Board-Certified Music Therapists were interviewed providing information regarding music therapy interventions, reading skills targeted, theoretical influences, and professional influences. Transcripts of interviews were analyzedto determine themes, coÍtmon use of language related to the subject, common perceptions, and techniques and uses for music to impact reading development. In general subjects did not report specifically using music elements to target reading behavior. Rather, most subjects identified reading objectives determined by classroom teachers and developed music interventions to accommodate those objectives. …

Genetic And Chemical Dissection Of Bloodbrain Barrier Development In Zebrafish, Robyn Anne Umans

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) maintains a homeostatic environment as well as prohibits the entrance of xenobiotics into the brain. Because of these qualities, drug delivery is a fundamental challenge for the treatment of many diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Along with limiting the access of therapeutics into the brain, the BBB is also impaired in CNS pathologies. Understanding the molecular cues that are essential for healthy BBB development and integrity may reveal targets for drug delivery leading to decreased progression or possible treatment of many detrimental CNS diseases. While the central features of the BBB have been accepted, …

Why Don't They Give Back: Alumni Giving At Two Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Jasmine A. Pope

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the literature, HBCU alumni non-donors were perceived to possess the opposite characteristics of alumni that do give financially. In order to further examine the lack of alumni giving at HBCUs, this study evaluated previously identified characteristics of HBCU alumni that choose not to financially support their alma maters. The purpose of this study was to examine how income, student experience, religious charitable giving, alumni perceptions, and alumni engagement, relate to alumni giving at HBCUs. An explanatory correlational design was used to address the research questions posed in this study. The 4,500 person sample, which consisted of donors and non-donors, …

International Student Migration For Development: An Institutional Approach To The Norwegian Quota Scheme, Scott Eric Basford

Masters Theses

This paper addresses a call to acknowledge the varied actors that are involved in international student migration (ISM). In particular, this paper takes an institutional approach to investigate international education as a form of development aid. Research on ISM often omits non-student actors, which contributes to an incomplete understanding of the process. I study the Norwegian Quota Scheme to explore broader mechanisms of ISM. I first situate the Quota Scheme within literature on the internationalization of higher education and international education as development aid. I then use 26 interviews with 31 stakeholders at multiple scales of involvement in the Quota …

Pancreatic Beta Cell Plasticity And Involvement Of Insulin-Expressing Progenitor Cells, Christine A. Beamish

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Islet transplants have been successfully used as treatment for diabetes, but are limited by shortages of cadaveric insulin-producing β-cells. An alternate source may be the dedifferentiation, expansion, and subsequent redifferentiation of pancreatic islets or β-cells using in vitro techniques prior to transplant. Based on protocols which described the dedifferentiation of human islets to ductal-like cells, we hypothesized that neonatal mouse islets could be similarly dedifferentiated in vitro. Dedifferentiation techniques produced significant duct-like cells, but redifferentiation to insulin-expressing cells was limited. RIPCre;Z/AP+/+ mice were consequently utilized to lineage trace β-cell fate during culture by a human placental alkaline phosphatase (HPAP) reporter. …

Transformational Leadership In Nursing: A Pilot Nurse Leader Development Program, Audria G. Denker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Current research reveals that staff nurses are routinely placed into front-line leadership roles with little formal preparation. The purpose of this project was the development, implementation, and evaluation of a pilot nurse leader development program for nurse leaders at a small community hospital located in Clarksville, Indiana. This study consisted of a quasi-experimental design, with the intervention consisting of a leadership course delivered to a convenience sample of nurses in managerial positions. Leadership attributes was quantified, both pre/post interventions, through the administration of the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), a Likert-scaled survey. The LPI was administered to the nurse leaders, their …

Cooperative Movement Impacts On Poverty Eradication In Indonesia: 2007-2011 Archival Research, Horohito Norhatan

Master's Theses

Global leaders and institutions expend considerable time, effort, and resources to eradicate poverty in the world. In spite of these efforts, poverty persists worldwide as a trap into which millions of people continue to fall. The cooperative contribution towards poverty eradication has advanced in recent years. Cooperatives can potentially increase the economic well-being, fostering sustainable economic development at the community level (Yusuf & Ijaiya, 2009). The present study is based on a quantitative archival data analysis of cooperatives’ movement progress and poverty eradication efforts in Indonesia. The purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between the Indonesian cooperative …

The Historic Inability Of The Haitian Education System To Create Human Development And Its Consequences, Patrick Michael Rea

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study aims to evaluate the role that a lack of literacy and education has played in Haiti's historic and presently low level of human development. The pedagogical philosophies of two educationists, Paolo Friere and Maurice Dartigue, are used throughout the study as lenses from which to read and interpret the history of Haitian education -its many failed attempts, and recurrent challenges- in creating a literate and educated population. The author concludes that mass literacy is prerequisite if the Haitian people are to achieve self-realization and actualization, which essentially equates to what the United Nations Development Program calls "Human Development". …

The Movement: A Performance Venue, Matthew J. Burke

Theses

The aim for the thesis project is to design a concert venue for the City of Saint Albans, Vermont. The venue will serve as an entertainment hotspot, an educational tool, a set of rehearsal spaces, and performance halls with recording capabilities. The goal is to create a welcoming entertainment and educational environment, open to use by all, to show that music is more than entertainment, but also a hobby, an educational medium, a skill-set, and a tool.

The driving theme behind the project is the concept of "movement." Its first representation is in music. Sound itself is movement; it is …

Attention Shapes Our Expectations And Perceptions: The Neural Mechanisms Of Top-Down Attention During Adulthood And Development, Snigdha Banerjee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Top-down attention is the focusing of attention at one's will through knowledge regarding a current task. There is evidence that top-down attention involves the modulation of sensory cortices by higher order regions. However, the mechanisms of top-down attention across sensory modalities, its influence on early sensory inputs, as well as interactions with motivational systems remain unclear. We performed the following set of electrophysiological experiments in typically developed adults and adolescents to examine these areas. 1) The supramodal attentional theory holds that parietally-based attentional mechanisms are shared across sensory modalities. We tested the supramodal theory by examining if lateralized parieto-occipital alpha-band …

Age-Related Aspects Of Mirror-Use By Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), Rachel A. Morrison

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Bottlenose dolphins are neuroanatomically different and evolutionarily divergent from primates yet they exhibit mirror self-recognition (MSR), a rare cognitive ability in non-human animals. This research investigated the developmental and age-related aspects of MSR in this species. During a longitudinal study, a social group of bottlenose dolphins at the National Aquarium, Baltimore, MD were exposed to a mirror and their behavioral responses were recorded to: 1) further confirm the presence of MSR in this species, 2) determine the age of emergence of MSR and 3) draw comparisons with data documenting the emergence of this ability in humans and great ape species. …

Biological Motion Processing In Typical Development And In The Autism Spectrum, Aaron Krakowski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Biological motion (BM) analysis and interpretation is a fundamental process of human neurocognition that has been only minimally explored neurophysiologically. In addition to its importance in understanding the underlying roots and development of social cognition, BM processing is a prime candidate domain for exploring the underlying etiology of social cognitive disorders such as the autism spectrum.

In an initial experiment, typical adults observed BM point-light displays of a human actor (UM) as well as their spatially scrambled counterparts (SM), in both an unattended distractor task as well as an explicit attention task. Results showed a neurophysiological response manifested as three …

The Use Of Social Media As A Communication Tool By International Development Organizations: A Case Study Of The United Nations Children’S Fund (Unicef) In Egypt, Inas Taha Abbas Hamad

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates to understand how the United Nations development organizations in Egypt can manage social media as a communication tool to achieve their development objectives. A case study of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Egypt, is introduced. Using the Excellence Theory in Public Relations developed by Grunig (2002), this study examines how social media can contribute to the strategic management of the organization, rather than being a messaging, publicity, and media relations function. Through a content analysis of a number of social media pages of the UN organizations in Egypt, and in-depth interviews with four senior communication officers …

The Exploration Of Young Adults' Online And Offline Interpersonal Relationships, Josselyn B. Sheer

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The present study sought to learn about the ways in which young adults who are avid social networking site users (SNS) build and maintain interpersonal relationships given the ways in which social media shapes how young adults connect. This research explored how experiences via SNS such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tinder played a role in one's online and offline relationships. Inclusion criteria included being between the ages of 18 and 30, being an English speaker, logging onto SNS at least 10 times per day, and being able to speak in person or on the phone for one hour. With …

Essays On The Evolution Of Inequality, Cem Oyvat

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the evolution of inequality during the development process. Specifically, the study will focus on two factors that crucially in influence the evolution of distribution: 1) industrialization and urbanization, and 2) agrarian structures and land inequality. The dissertation consists of three essays: The first essay examines the impact of the initial conditions of agrarian structures on income inequality over the long run. It develops a model showing that at the same level of national income, countries with more unequal land distribution can be expected to experience greater agglomeration in the urban sector. The excess labor in the urban …

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …

Community Development In Emerging Cities: A Case For Lagos,Nigeria, Olaoluwa Olakunle Silva

Masters Theses

Urban spatial expansion resulting from urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is growing and will not stabilize in the near future. Sub-Saharan Africa’s urban growth rate is climbing faster than developing economies. Efforts should be concentrated on accommodating this phenomenon through the promotion of sustainable urban planning and development.

Relying on secondary data, this research examines models of indigenous Sub-Saharan African urban forms and residential architecture vernacular to understand these forms and their characteristics, and how these models and associated management, design, and planning principles can be adopted in a contemporary context. Also, studies of established indigenous building materials and technology, …

Exploring The Validity Of Established Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Stage Models Of Sexual Identity Development: A Grounded Theory Study Of Women And Ethnic Minority Men., Omar Ali Shabaaz Troutman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a foundational understanding of how women and ethnic minority men come to espouse a lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity in an effort to develop a coherent theory. While stage models of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identity currently exist, their validity with the female and ethnic minority male populations was called into question. A grounded theory approach was used with participants from the southeastern United States who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Three main patterns emerged: Recognition and Progression of Identity Endorsement; Barriers to Identity Endorsement; and Rejection of Categorical Labels. …

Characterization Of Ptls-Like Phenotypes In A Conditional Rai1 Transgenic Mouse Model And Study Of Rai1 Molecular Function, Lei Cao

Open Access Dissertations

Structural variants are abundant in the genomes of phenotypically normal populations. However, some rare structural variants are found to be disease causing. Potocki–Lupski syndrome (PTLS) is a genomic disorder associated with an 3 Mb duplication in 17p11.2. Clinical features include leanness, intellectual disability, autistic features and developmental deficits. RAI1 gene dosage is associated with the PTLS phenotypes. To understand where and when Rai1 overexpression is detrimental, we generated a mouse that over-expresses Rai1 conditionally in forebrain neurons (I-Rai1). Phenotypic characterization of I-Rai1 mice showed leanness, hyperactivity, and impaired learning and memory ability compared with wild-type littermates. Rai1 overexpression is controlled …

Expanding Human Capabilities Through The Adoption And Utilization Of Free, Libre, And Open Source Software, James D. Simpson

Theses & Dissertations

Free, libre, and open source software (FLOSS) is software that is collaboratively developed. FLOSS provides end-users with the source code and the freedom to adapt or modify a piece of software to fit their needs (Deek & McHugh, 2008; Stallman, 2010). FLOSS has a 30 year history that dates to the open hacker community at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where information and knowledge was freely shared among a community of programmers and end-users (Lessig, 2006; Stallman, 2010; Sullivan, 2011). The advent of a proprietary or closed software development model in the late 1970s and early 1980s prompted FLOSS …

The Apical Polarity Complex Protein, Pals1, Regulates Cell Fate In The Development Of Cerebellum And Neocortex, Jun Young Park

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Through their biased localization and function within the cell, polarity complex proteins are necessary to establish the cellular asymmetry required for tissue organization. Well-characterized germinal zones, mitogenic signals, and cell types make the cerebellum and neocortex excellent models to address the critical function of polarity complex proteins in the generation and organization of neural tissues. Here we report a focal distribution of Pals1, a central component of the apical complex, in progenitors. Our genetic analyses revealed that Pals1 deletion in the brain developed a remarkably undersized and disrupted layer structure of cerebral cortex and cerebellum. Furthermore we demonstrated that Pals1 …

Developmental Cis-Regulatory Analysis Of The Cyclin D Gene In The Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus Purpuratus, Christopher Michael Mccarty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Proper execution of animal development requires that it be integrated with cell division. In part, this is made possible due to cell cycle regulatory genes becoming dependent upon developmental signaling pathways that regulate their transcription. Cyclin D genes are important bridges linking the regulation of the cell cycle to development because these genes regulate the cell cycle, growth and differentiation in response to intercellular signaling. In this dissertation, a cis-regulatory analysis of a cyclin D gene, Sp-CycD, in the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, is presented. While the promoters of vertebrate cyclin D genes have been analyzed, the cis-regulatory sequences across …

The Ontogeny Of Whistle Production In Infant Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) During The First Thirty Days Of Life, Brittany Leigh Jones

Master's Theses

The manner in which dolphin calves acquire their whistle repertoire is largely unknown. This paper focuses on whistle development in four bottlenose dolphin calves during the first thirty days of life in order to increase our understanding of the early emergence of whistles and whistle-like vocalizations. The acoustic parameters of whistle-type vocalizations (i.e., whistles and whistlesquawks) that coincided with a bubblestream emission from the focal calf and/or its mother were analyzed, as were the behavioral states of the mother-calf pair during the emission of such vocals. Mother and calf whistle rates are inversely related, with the mother whistling more often …

Early Predictors Of Executive Function Abilities In School-Aged Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Kelley Knoch

Doctoral Dissertations

Executive Functions (EF) are a set of cognitive processes that direct and regulate behavior for the purpose of future goal attainment. These processes include working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, planning, and fluency. Previous research has delineated impairments in individual processes of EF that may be related to the core social and communicative deficits typically found in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). This line of research thus far has yielded mixed results, and further clarification is needed to determine if EF are directly related to clinical measures of ASD symptoms. Understanding the development of EF is critical, as …

Syndrome Specific And Non-Syndrome Specific Predictors Of Developmental Change In Higher Functioning Children With Autism, Kim E. Ono

Open Access Dissertations

There is a wide range of variability in symptoms and comorbid behaviors among individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Variability is seen both between individuals at a given point in time and in patterns of change within individuals over time. The goals of the current study were to examine (1) initial levels and rates of change in social reciprocity and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and (2) the effects of initial temperament, verbal IQ, and symptom severity on mean initial levels and rates of change in social reciprocity and comorbid internalizing and externalizing behaviors. The sample consisted of higher functioning …

Tempering The Resource Curse In Sub-Saharan Africa: An Explanatory Analysis Of The Variance Of The Resource Curse In Nigeria And Botswana, Jody-Ann Suzette Jones

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The issue of the resource curse has been central to the academic debate since the 1990s. In recent years, we have witnessed a resurgence of the importance of this topic because of the discoveries of oil, natural gas, and other point source resources in several developing countries such as Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is important to note that while the resource curse is not solely limited to developing states, the main observation is that the majority of negative effects associated with the resource curse primarily afflicts poorer countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is reported that sub-Saharan Africa …

Perceptions, Beliefs And Practices About Technology Among Teachers In A Jamaican Infant School, Suzette Anissia Kelly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interview study was to describe and explain perceptions, beliefs, and practices about technology among four teachers at a Jamaican infant school, by answering: What are teachers' perceptions and beliefs about the role of technology in young children's learning? What are the practices regarding technology among Jamaican infant school teachers? I used criterion sampling to identify participants for my inquiry. For data collection, I used semi-structured interviews, teachers' lesson plans, and my reflective journal. I applied a socio-cultural approach (Rogoff, 1990) for the data analysis to make sense of the teachers' perceptions and articulated practices. The findings …