Digital Commons Network^™

Gender Quotas And Women's Substantive Representation In The National And Local Governments Of The Dominican Republic, Marcial Amaury Pineda Moquete

Dissertations

Although women's political representation has increased during the first part of the twenty-first century, the number of female politicians in legislative assemblies worldwide remains low. When well-designed and enforced, gender quota laws can increase women's representation. In tum, the election of female politicians brings about better outcomes for women. Further, female politicians elected by quota are likely to feel more committed to representing women than counterparts elected without quotas. This study tests whether and how quota-elected women can represent women's interests better than men and women elected without quotas. Using the rare natural experiment of the Dominican Republic's Congress and …

How Immigrant English Language Learners Used Internal Fortitude To Utilize Supports And Overcome Obstacles To Graduate From High School, Mark C. Peterson

Dissertations

Immigrants and English Language Learners (ELL) continue to receive attention in the research literature due in part to the continued immigration of families to the U.S. and the continued increasing number of students enrolled in U.S. schools under the ELL designation. The robust influx of immigrant’s school enrollment is reflected in schools across the country as classrooms are transformed from predominantly mono-cultural and mono-lingual environments to multi-cultural and multi-lingual ones. Unfortunately, the national average graduation rate for ELLs is a much lower than native-born students. The economic, social, and mental health ramifications for failing to graduate high school are dramatic; …

Refugee Social Relations: The Development Of Social Ties Among Burmese And Congolese Refugees In West Michigan, Diane M. Roushangar

Dissertations

Refugee resettlement has been studied extensively in the academic realm. Yet, an area that is less understood is among Burmese and Congolese refugees and their adaptation processes in the United States. This study focuses on the development of social relations within these two groups as they navigate interactions within their ethnic group and with the native-born community. Examining the process of how social relations are constructed, this study reveals the nuances of how Burmese and Congolese form close social ties by focusing on four distinct social domains. Illuminating how social relations are formed and maintained within the ethnic community, church …

Maintenance Of Cognitive Demand During Repeated Task Enactments Using A Teaching Practice That Builds On Student Thinking, Joshua M. Ruk

Dissertations

Maintaining high levels of cognitive demand during task enactments can improve student learning in classrooms. Influences such as teachers' beliefs about their students’ abilities, and the curriculum that a teacher uses can affect the factors that contribute to the maintenance of cognitive demand. My study adds to what we know about such influences by looking at how a teaching practice that builds on student thinking affects the factors that contribute to the maintenance of cognitive demand, by asking:

1. What does the maintenance of cognitive demand look like when teachers are attempting to attend to student thinking during task enactment?
2. How …

A Model For Evaluating Charitable Contributions In Nonprofit Organizations In Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Kristen Smith

Dissertations

Reported data suggest there has been an increase in charitable giving and the number of charitable organizations in communities nationwide over the last 20 years. It is widely believed that growth in nonprofit organizations would be a valuable asset for a community, but limited research evaluates the return on investment in these organizations. To ensure these organizations are good stewards of resources, various forms of accountability have been established, including websites like “Charity Navigator™,” which provide rankings and scores to charities nationwide. Data repositories like these make it possible to investigate variations in these organizations' funding, growth, and impact. This …

Centering Trans-Gender Experiences Of Marginalization, Precarity, And Representation: Developing A Theory Of Trans-Precarity, Christine E. Strayer

Dissertations

The LGBTQ+ community is commonly perceived as homogenous, affluent, and inclusive. Despite these perceptions, there is substantial evidence to suggest that trans* people, particularly those of color, experience greater levels of marginalization and precarity than gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to develop an understanding of how trans* people experience and navigate various forms of marginalization, precarity, and distorted public representation by implementing an intersectional framework and a transfeminist methodology. Semi-structured interviews were used to document the experiences of 34 trans* participants, ranging in age from 20-55 years. Constructed grounded theory analysis was used …

Essays On Bitcoin And Cryptocurrencies, Jiasong Wu

Dissertations

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, invented as potential digital international currencies, have gradually drawn more and more attention since their birth. The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies in the past decade and the recent acceptance of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador suggests that there is growing acceptance of these instruments and that cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Among these cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has a unique place being the first and most well-known cryptocurrency in terms of price, market capitalization, and trading volume.

The first two essays of this dissertation focus on Bitcoin and the third essay focuses on the cryptocurrency market in …

Three Essays On Us Phd Education And Applications Of Machine Learning Methods, Qing Zang

Dissertations

This study mainly talks about U.S. PhD education and applications of machine learning methods. On one hand, PhD education, as a way to cultivate future researchers, attracts a lot of attention. On the other hand, machine learning methods are utilized more and more often in academic research. This study, as an attempt, would like to contribute to these two fields. The first essay discusses whether education can reduce and eliminate discrimination. By using the data of PhD recipients’ earning in the U.S., we investigate if PhD education can shrink the earning gaps in three groups: Female vs male, disabled vs …

Connected And Automated Vehicles: Their Implication On Capacity Of A Basic Freeway Section And Impacts On Walkway Safety, Sia Macmillan Lyimo

Dissertations

Autonomous vehicles have recently gained the attention of researchers due to their expected potential benefits on highway traffic streams, such as improving roadway capacity, among others. It is imperative to investigate how these expected benefits can be leveraged in the transportation sector. Understanding the safety and operational benefits helps the concerned transportation agencies and other key stakeholders to make necessary infrastructural and policy adjustments to accommodate such future traffic operation changes. The main goal of this dissertation is to study the impact of connected and automated vehicles on freeway capacity. The simulated environment was created to emulate autonomous vehicle behaviors, …

Development Of Sensor, Sensory System And Signal Processing Algorithm For Intelligent Sensing Applications, Xingzhe Zhang

Dissertations

Sensors have been receiving significant attention in the last decade and the demand for sensory systems has increased in recent years due to the rapid growth in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Sensors can improve people’s awareness by providing them with real-time information on the environment and their immediate health conditions. This dissertation presents the fulfilment of three main projects and focuses on the development of a sensor, a sensory system, and a sensor signal recognition system for AI applications by employing printed electronics, analog circuit design, and digital signal processing techniques.

In the first project, a multi-channel stethograph …

Essays On The Impacts Of Extreme Natural Events On Health, Moumita Ghorai

Dissertations

This dissertation comprises three chapters that examine how extreme events impact health outcomes such as short-term illness, body mass index, probability of pre-term birth, and mortality. The study reveals the severe consequences of these events and shows that certain groups within a particular country are affected disproportionately.

The first chapter examines whether National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), India’s flagship workfare program, mitigates adverse health outcomes of a drought. This paper contributes to a growing area of research on adaptations to climate change. Using Indian Human Development Survey (2004-2005 and 2010-2011), a nationally representative panel data set, and high resolution …

Impact Of Exposure On Thin Epoxy Overlay Performance, Abul Fazal Mazumder

Dissertations

Thin epoxy overlays are used for improving the condition and extending the service life of bridge decks. The tensile bond pull-off strength, evaluated as per the ASTM C1583, is used as the performance indicator. A failure in the substrate with a tensile strength of 250 psi or greater is considered acceptable. However, the performance evaluated on in-service bridge decks shows inconsistent results. Laboratory studies by several researchers documented a distinct performance difference when the overlays are exposed to room temperatures in comparison to elevated temperatures. However, the most influential parameters such as concrete surface profile, thermal compatibility between overlay and …

Estimation Of Odds Ratio In 2 X 2 Contingency Tables With Small Cell Counts, Guohao Zhu

Dissertations

This study is focusing on properties of estimators of odds ratio or its logarithm in case of 2x2 tables with small counts. The odds ratio represents the odds that an outcome of interest will occur given a particular exposure, compared to the odds of the outcome occurring in the absence of that exposure. Both parameters are often used to quantify the strength of association of two binary variables and are common measurements reported in case-control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies.

Because of their wide applicability, both parameters, odds ratio, and its logarithm, have been intensively studied in the literature. However, most …

Contingent Reinforcement And Instructed Generalization In A Laboratory Analog Of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: A Mixed Within-Group, Between-Group Design, Rebecca Rausch

Dissertations

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy emphasizes using social interactions in the therapeutic relationship to enhance interpersonal outcomes. The proposed mechanism of action in FAP is reinforcement provided by the therapist responding contingently to client improvements as they occur in session. The result is a stronger therapeutic relationship and improved social relating in daily life. Generalization is expected due to functional similarities inherent in interpersonal interactions and explicit attempts to link in-session learning to clients’ life via verbal descriptions and homework. The present study was a laboratory-based analog of the proposed processes occurring in FAP.

Using a modified fast friends’ procedure (FFP) and …

To Write Or Type? A Comparison Of Flashcard Creation Methods On College Students’ Exam Scores, Sally Weigandt

Dissertations

College students frequently use flashcard-based study methods to prepare for exams and other course-related activities (Kornell & Bjork, 2007; Kornell & Bjork, 2008; Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012, Wissman et al., 2012). Despite the popularity of flashcards, there has been little research evaluating the various methods used by students to create the flashcards and how those methods effect learning outcomes (Sage et al., 2016; Sage et al., 2019). The rise in popularity of web-based flashcard applications such as Quizlet (https://www.quizlet.com) and Cram (https://www.cram.com), combined with an increase in online learning, has produced a need for formal evaluation of handwriting versus typing …

The Impacts Of Aging, Sedentarism, And Exercise On Neurotrophic Factor Expression And Innervation In The Heart And The Effects Of Treatment With Α-Cgrp On Heart Function, Gabriel Almeida Alves

Dissertations

Neurotrophic factors (NFs) are important molecules responsible for development, differentiation, regeneration, and maintenance of new and mature neurons. Neurotrophic factors act as neurocytokines and may assist with the regulation of axonal and dendritic arrangements and synaptic plasticity between neurons themselves or with other non-neural target tissues. In this study, we analyze the levels of two NFs: glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF). Cardiomyocytes produce these neurotrophic factors which assist with the innervation pattern of the heart. The heart is innervated by the two branches of the autonomic nervous system; namely the sympathetic nervous system and …

The Asymmetric Effect Of Sentiment On Equity Returns, Mishal Ahmed

Dissertations

In the first chapter titled “The Asymmetric Effect of Sentiment on U.S. Equity Returns”, we test the asymmetric impact of investor sentiment, proxied by the Baker-Wurgler (2007) investor sentiment index, on expected stock returns in the U.S. We regress sentiment on market and economy-wide fundamentals, use the residuals as a measure of excess sentiment and estimate long-horizon return regressions using positive and negative components of excess sentiment as predictors. We hypothesize that excessive optimism leads investors to make significant portfolio changes whereas excessive pessimism makes investors more cautious about investing, due to loss aversion. Primary results confirm our hypothesis with …

Understanding The Experience Of Mid-Level Community College Change Leaders, Kelley L. Conrad

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates the phenomenon of leading major change as a midlevel administrator or faculty member at a Michigan community college. Specifically, this study explores how three leaders experienced their roles in implementing the guided pathways strategic change initiative, how they describe the emotional aspects of leading change, and how they made sense of their experiences. One overarching research question guided this study: How do guided pathways leaders at Michigan community colleges experience their roles in the strategic change process?

The results of multiple, in-depth interviews are presented as three profiles, one per participant, using their own words to …

Asian International Students In U.S. Higher Education: A Secondary Data Analysis Of Satisfaction Levels And Willingness To Recommend Their Institution, Soongmin Chow

Dissertations

International students are integral to U.S. higher education. They bring talent and cultural diversity to U.S. campuses, contribute immensely to the U.S. economy, and create long-lasting political and academic links that aid public diplomacy in the long run (NAFSA, 2003). The U.S. has traditionally been the largest market for international students seeking quality higher education (Institute of International Education, 2018). However, reports show that the U.S. is slowly losing its market share of international students, and the number of new international students coming to the U.S. has been on the decline since 2016/17. Higher education institutions are most concerned over …

Young Adults With Disabilities Acquire Vocational Skills With Video Modeling, Carly Schroeder-Mackay

Dissertations

Students with disabilities often require substantial support to acquire the skills needed to secure work experience and paid employment. Special education transition programs have an obligation to utilize evidence-based practices to facilitate the acquisition of such skills. In the present project, three studies were conducted to examine the effects of video modeling on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of job-related tasks taught in a classroom setting to young adults with developmental disabilities. In Study 1, a multiple baseline across behaviors experimental design with four participants was used to assess the effects of video prompts on the percentage of correctly completed …

"Not In My Town": A Community's Response To Water And Soil Pollution, Karolina Staros

Dissertations

At the core of this dissertation is the acknowledgment that social movements are complex networks of people who face many obstacles in their efforts to achieve social change. One critique of social movements is that their goals and mission are limited to short term ideas and not long-term, systemic transformation. The lack of long term, systemic change can be observed when social movement groups mobilize for the same cause over and over again with what appears to be little progress over a period of time. The exact blueprint for a social movement’s success does not exist, but it is posited …

Cities Leading The Way: Municipal Climate Policy In The Us, Naomi Bick

Dissertations

Understanding cities is a key feature for understanding responses (or lack thereof) to a collective action problem like climate change. In the absence of federal climate change policies in the United States, many city and state governments have adopted and implemented policies to mitigate and adapt to climate change. As mayors, city managers, and city councils increasingly become central actors, scholars have shifted their studies to focus on city climate change policy (Yi et al. 2017a, Hughes 2017). Descriptive case studies have identified a broad range of factors; however, the causal mechanisms of whether cities adopt and implement climate change …

Understanding Potential Climate Change Impacts On Water Resources Within A Fractured Rock Watershed In Northern Togo, Mahawa-Essa Mabossani Akara

Dissertations

More than 72% of sub-Saharan Africa land surface is comprised of hard rock with fractured rock aquifers supplying water to an estimated 25% of the rural population. Given low porosity and storativity, fractured rock aquifers are particularly vulnerable to stresses such as projected population growth and climate variability. General circulation models of sub-Saharan Africa predict increases in temperature and in occurrences of extreme precipitation trends, such as flooding and drought. Adaptation strategies that promote optimal uses of water resources have emerged, although, most focus exclusively on surface water resources. This project investigates the potential impact of climate change on surface …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Novel Organic Ligands With Their Complexes Of Platinum, Copper And Uranium, Mustafa Adnan Yasin Aldulaimi

Dissertations

Transition metal complexes of symmetrical and asymmetrical Schiff bases have played a significant role in the field of coordination, inorganic, and bioinorganic chemistry as models for biological, analytical, industrial, and pharmaceutical applications. Over recent years a great deal of interest has developed in new transition metal complexes of Schiff base ligand. The preparation of novel organic ligands is the most important step in the development of metal complexes that exhibit unique properties and novel reactivity. To highlight the presentation of this dissertation and to provide more detailed investigations, the dissertation was separated into six chapters according to the sequence of …

Intelligent System For Laparoscopic Surgery Suturing Skill Assessment, Mohammed Yasser Al-Gailani

Dissertations

In laparoscopic surgery, which is also referred to as minimally invasive surgery (MIS), surgeons carry out surgical procedures with the assistance of a video camera and several surgical instruments. Laparoscopic surgeons should possess excellent eye-hand coordination capabilities, strong cognitive knowledge, case and problem management, and manual dexterity skills. Such skills can be acquired through simulation using a basic, low-fidelity setup, such as the surgical box-trainer. General surgeons must pass a set of tests on a Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) Trainer device.

One pivotal skill for a successful operation is developing a sense of the applied forces on the tissue …

Non-Affirmation As A Moderator Between Social Support And Quality Of Life For Transgender Populations, Michael Evitts

Dissertations

This research builds upon scholarship exploring the quality of life of transgender populations. Knowledge on quality-of-life (QOL) for transgender populations has been limited due to the fact that most studies have focused on gender affirming medical procedures as interventions (Nobili et al., 2018). Other protective factors, such as social support, have been identified in the literature but have been defined in broad terms. The purpose of the study was to better understand additional factors that promote QOL and psychological well-being, specifically social support. It is unclear how non-affirmation of gender identity affects the protective effects of social support for QOL. …

Performance Evaluation Of Transportation Systems For Sustainability And Smart-Growth Of Cities: An Integrated Assessment Of Health Impacts, Ahmad Feizi

Dissertations

The performance of transportation systems is a significant component that influences the quality of life. The performance evaluation refers to a process of determining how well transportation systems perform regarding their intended goals and objectives. The advancement of information and communication technology and the integration between transportation systems and advanced technologies have directed more attention to the concept of smart cities. Smart cities are constituted of several interrelated components. Therefore, this offers comprehensive and integrated frameworks to evaluate the transportation performance and understanding of multifaceted interactions between the components from a transportation engineering perspective in four sections.

In the first …

Exploring Generational Difference Of Acculturation, Ethnic Identity And Racial Identity In Liberian Immigrants And Their Children Living In The United States, Breezie J. Gibson

Dissertations

Prior literature on immigrants has focused on the impact of acculturation for groups such as Asians and Hispanic or Latinx immigrants (Orjiako & So, 2014; Sall, 2019). Compared to these two groups, the literature on Black immigrants’ experience of acculturation is scarce. In addition to the minimum visibility of Black immigrants in the acculturation literature, there is also limited knowledge relating to differences in the ethnic identity and racial identity of Black immigrants because these immigrants are often grouped monolithically with minimum attention to their diverse countries of origin. Understanding the influence of acculturation, ethnicity, and race is important because …

Racial Identity, Masculinity, And Academic Help-Seeking Behaviors In African American Male College Students, Walter T. Malone

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of Black racial identity attitudes, as measured by the Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS), and masculine norms, as measured by the Conformity to Masculinity Norms Index -46 (CMNI-46), in relation to men's academic helpseeking behavior. Participants were 120 African American undergraduate males at a historically White university in the Midwest region of the United States. Four hypotheses were designed to help guide the measure's influences on two academic help-seeking variables, avoidance and perceived benefits. The first and second hypotheses both focused on the effects of Black college men's racial attitudes. …

Journey To The Professoriate: Exploring The Career Development Of African American Male Faculty In Counselor Education, Lacretisha Danielle Mcdole

Dissertations

Much of the existing literature on African American faculty in counselor education and supervision programs focuses on the challenges that confront them as racial minorities (Bradley & Holcomb-McCoy, 2004; Holcomb-McCoy & Addison-Bradley, 2005; Thompson, 2008; Turner & Myers, 2000). Findings from recent research studies have offered ways to support and guide African American faculty in combating racial discrimination and oppression within the academy (Jones-Boyd, 2016; Robinson, 2018). However, there are gaps in the literature about the personal and environmental factors that shape African Americans’ decisions to pursue the professoriate in counselor education and supervision, and factors that contribute to their …