Digital Commons Network^™

The Rugged Action Hero And His Sexy Love Interest: Gender In Popular Movie Posters, Brandyn Paige Gabriel

Sociology & Anthropology Theses - Archive

As a social institution, the media exert a profound influence on people's lives and shape the way people conceive gender. Although a great deal of research exists analyzing gender in the media, the area of gendered portrayals of characters in movie posters remains largely unexplored. This study uses systematic and illustrative analysis of movie posters to examine this previously ignored topic. Furthermore, it seeks to situate these portrayals within larger societal trends by making connections between the themes that emerge from this sample and the media's status as a social institution, mainstream gender roles, conservative definitions of masculinity and femininity, …

Phylogenetic Systematics, Population Genetics, And The Evolution Of Color Pattern Polymorphism And Coralsnake Mimicry In The Snake Genus Sonora, Christian L. Cox

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Mimicry is a widespread biological phenomenon and is simply defined as the resemblance of one organism to another for some sort of protective purpose. Specifically, Batesian mimicry occurs when a harmless species imitates a noxious or harmful species. Neotropical coralsnakes and their colubrid snake mimics are a very diverse example of Batesian mimicry and coralsnake mimicry has been posited as a major factor underlying the diversity of Neotropical colubrids. One type of phenotypic diversity that is widespread among Neotropical coralsnake mimics is geographic variation in color and color pattern polymorphism. Color pattern polymorphism is the presence of multiple color pattern …

The Cchc Motif In Non-Ltr Retrotransposons Modulates Rna Associated Protein Conformational Changes, Athena Jagdish

Biology Theses - Archive

Non-LTR retrotransposons encode a conserved cysteine histidine motif of undetermined function. The spacing of the cysteines and histidine residues in the motif is CX₃CX₇HX4C. The site specific non-LTR retrotransposon R2Bm inserts into a specific site within the 28S ribosomal gene. Two subunits of the R2 protein, bound to distinct segments of the element RNA, are involved in the integration reaction. The subunit bound to the 5′ protein binding motif of the element RNA binds to target DNA downstream of the insertion site. The subunit bound to the 3′ protein binding motif of the element RNA binds to target DNA upstream …

A New Integrative Data Mining Framework For Analyzing The Cancer Genome Atlas Data, Dijun Luo

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Besides accuracy and efficiency, understandability is another key issue of predictive modeling in real-world applications, especially in biomedical and healthcare data analysis. We develop a new integrative framework to enhance the interpretability of data by sparsity-based learning. We proposed several novel sparsity-based learning models, emphasizing different understandable properties of data, such as explicit sparsity, low redundancy, and low rank, and apply to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data analysis. Results indicate that the proposed methods provide more insights from TCGA data while maintaining stable and competitive performances in predictive modeling. To further enhance the interpretability of biological processes and disease …

From Phenotype To Genotype: A Structured Sparse Learning Framework For Imaging Genetics Studies, Hua Wang

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Sparsity is one of the intrinsic properties of real-world data, thus sparse representation based learning models have been widely used to simplify data modeling and discover predictive patterns. By enforcing properly designed structured sparsity, one can unify specific data structures with the learning model. We proposed several novel structured sparsity learning models for multi-modal data fusion, heterogeneous tasks integration, and group structured feature selection. We applied our new structured sparse learning methods to the emerging imaging genetics studies by integrating phenotypes and genotypes to discover new biomarkers which are able to characterize neurodegenerative process in the progression of Alzheimer's disease …

What's In A Coauthor?: (Re)Locating Joseph Denney In Composition History, Ivan Davis

Faculty Publications

This article reassesses the Fred Newton Scott and Joseph Villiers Denney collaborative textbook authorship by emphasizing Denney’s generally overlooked contributions to that coauthorship and to the field of composition generally. Through an examination of Denney’s scholarly work and his personal correspondence with Scott during the period marking their collaborative textbook writing, this article asserts that Denney, like Scott, was an innovative theorist and practitioner in his own right, and that the effectiveness of the Scott-Denney textbooks owes much to Denney’s role as coauthor.

The Cape Town Convention's International Registry: Decoding The Secrets Of Success In Global Electronic Commerce, Jane K. Winn

Articles

The International Registry, established pursuant to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, is a new global electronic commerce system for recording and establishing the relative priority of interests in aircraft equipment. Other examples of global electronic commerce systems include the airline computer reservation system, the SWIFT financial network, and payment card networks.

The International Registry may be the most successful global electronic commerce system ever built in terms of the speed with which it was implemented, its adoption rate, and the dearth of controversy surrounding its operation. The real "driver" of its success is demand for …

Causality And Volatility Spillover Effects On Sub-Sector Energy Portfolios, N. Alper Gormus

Finance and Real Estate Dissertations - Archive

During a time of extensive crises related to energy sources, in particular fossil fuels, IPOs for alternative energy-related companies are a common occurrence. As new industries are created or old ones are revised, investors, who constantly are trying to update their portfolios for hedging their risk, face new challenges. The purpose of this study is to aid investors in market anticipation, forecasting, and portfolio diversification through shedding some light on the inner dynamics of the select asset markets versus sector-specific energy companies. Although energy companies related to fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas are previously studied, alternative …

The Best And The Brightest: The Overachievement Rhetoric During America's Polio Epidemics, Samantha Taryn Putman

English Theses - Archive

In 1985, Dr. Richard Bruno, a post polio syndrome specialist, conducted a study on the personality traits of polio survivors, ultimately concluding that polio survivors have a significantly higher incidence of reporting overachieving tendencies than both people who did not have polio and people who have other, even similar, disabilities. The idea that polio patients were overachievers, however, has been a common theme in a variety of works, from memoirs written by polio patients to medical journals, since the epidemic period. If polio survivors were more likely, as both Bruno's study and the great wealth of anecdotal evidence supports, to …

A Graduate English Major's Search For Meaning: Toward A Pedagogy Of Creative Rhetoric, Lindsey Gendke

English Theses - Archive

Building upon recent work by Gerald Graff, Tim Mayers, Douglas Hesse, and Graeme Harper and Jeri Kroll, I propose a pedagogical approach that integrates creative writing with rhetoric, much as the emerging "creative writing studies" is integrating creative writing with literature. As I demonstrate through a fusion of personal, academic, and creative writing, composition pedagogies that have ignored creative writing have alienated writing-disposed students such as myself, as well as failed to prepare them for basic and necessary writing and teaching tasks outside the university. As an antidote to these problems, I suggest Creative Rhetoric, a pedagogy that champions authentic …

Blood Path: An Original Screenplay Based On The Life And Works Of John Rollin Ridge, Jennifer Chamberlain

English Theses - Archive

Blood Path is an original, feature-length screenplay based on the life of John Rollin Ridge (1827-1867), a mixed-blood Cherokee whose work of sensational fiction, The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, is considered the first novel written in English by an American Indian author. A synopsis of the plot is as follows: After seeing his father murdered before his eyes at the age of 12, Ridge vows revenge on the rival faction responsible. As a young man, Ridge kills one of his rivals during an argument and is forced to flee to Gold Rush California, where he becomes obsessed with …

Fabrication Of Small Diameter Vascular Graft Using Stacked Collagen Films, Sandeep Shah

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Collagen I have been widely used in the field of vascular tissue engineering. They are characterized better for their interaction at the cellular level but are often limited as vascular graft due to their weak mechanical strength and thrombic property. The crosslinking chemicals or polymers support are used to overcome weak mechanical property. Crosslinking agents tend to have cytotoxic effects while blend with synthetic polymers have mismatch or compliancy issues inside the body. Here in this set of study, we used stacked collagen films and embedded drug delivery system within the film to construct small tubular conduits to meet the …

Knowledge Management In Higher Education In Thailand, Surat Chumjit

Business Administration Dissertations - Archive

This study examines how knowledge management (KM) is applied to higher education in Thailand, and it will also examine whether higher education in Thailand is ready to combine KM with their educational missions in terms of teaching, research, administration, and strategic planning. Knowledge creation and social networking frameworks are used to help understand approaches that higher education institutions in Thailand have used with KM in their day to day operations. The qualitative method is used to explore and understand KM applications within four autonomous universities in Thailand. In-depth interviews were used in this study and the narrative method is used …

Epigenetics Of Hoxc13 Endocrine Regulation And Its Role In Gene Expression And Tumorigenesis, Sahba Kasiri

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

HOX genes are a subgroup of homeobox containing gene superfamily and have crucial roles in cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and embryonic development. HOXC13, one of 39 identified human HOX genes, is involved in hair development and human leukemia. The regulatory mechanism that drives HOXC13 expression is mostly unknown. Our studies demonstrated that HOXC13 is transcriptionally activated by steroid hormone estrogen (17ß-estradiol; E2). The HOXC13 promoter contains several estrogen responsive elements (EREs), including ERE1 and ERE2, which are close to the transcription start site, and are associated with E2-mediated activation of HOXC13. Knockdown of estrogen receptors (ERs) ERɑ and ERß suppressed …

New Bonded Phase Materials For Separtions, Sirantha Perera

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Separations play an important role in day to day life as well as in science and technology. This dissertation focuses on novel and versatile techniques involving synthesizing new bonded chiral stationary phases (CSPs) and using existing CSPs for the separation of target chiral analytes in HPLC. It also includes development of new ionic liquid (IL) based silica bonded polymeric coatings for solid phase microextraction gas chromatography (SPME-GC) in headspace and direct immersion for polar analytes and finally, coupling new MALDI matrix bonded SPME fibers and laser desorption for rapid identification of biological materials. Enantiomerically pure Ru complexes were introduced as …

Photo-Driven One And Two-Electron Processes Of Tetraazatetrapyridopentacene And Substituted Dipyridophenazine Ligands In The Presence Or Absence Of Zinc And Ruthenium Complexation, Joseph M. Aslan

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Herein, we report the interaction of light with Zn(II) and Ru(II) adducts of the polypyridal ligands tetraazatetrapyridopentacene (tatpp) and dipyridophenazine (dppz). For examples where Zn(II) is coordinated to tatpp and dppz, we have established a kinetic isotope effect for photo-oxidation of alcohols using both metal-free and metal-bound complexes of tatpp and dppz. The data supports H-atom transfer mechanism in the absence of Zn(II), and a formal "hydride" transfer in the presence of Zn(II).We also report herein the synthesis and characterization of various [Ru(phen)2(dppzX2)]2+ complexes using analytical techniques such as NMR, ESI-MS, CHN, and UV/Vis. We have chemically and electrochemically generated …

Effective Construction Schedule Management: Construction Project Monitoring With Project Performance Indicators & The Project Status Report, Christopher Michael Totin

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

A thorough review of construction and engineering literature was conducted to discover and organize current best practices and standards for the purpose of monitoring a construction project. The status of a construction project is a measurement of its progress and performance in terms of time, cost, and scope. Awareness of a construction project's status improves decision-making on the part of owners, engineers, contractors, and other project stakeholders. Project Performance Indicators (PPI) are metrics generated by construction project schedules that define a project's status. Project personnel must monitor critical schedule and cost data, or PPI, in order to maintain control of …

Investigation Of Co-Pyrolysis Between Sargassum Macroalgae And Polystyrene, Ketwalee Kositkanawuth

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Biomass is one source of renewable energy which helps minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, specifically carbon dioxide (CO2), since biomass utilizes CO2 via photosynthesis. Various conversion processes are applied to utilize energy from biomass, including pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is a thermal route of decomposing biomass at high temperature without the presence of oxygen. The process generates three main products including bio-oil, residue, and non-condensable gases; however, the most promising product is the biomass oil, which is in liquid form and convenient for handle and transport. Numerous studies on pyrolysis of terrestrial biomass reveal that the crude bio-oil cannot be directly used …

Modeling Leachate Bod And Cod Using Lab-Scale Reactor Landfills And Multiple Linear Regression Analysis, Said Altouqi

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The increasing production of municipal solid waste is a direct consequence of the continuous growth of the world's population and economy. This fact makes protecting the environment against contamination by different kinds of waste a challenging job for engineers and decision makers. Conventional landfilling practices have sometimes failed to protect fresh water resources against leachate contamination as well as the atmosphere against greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Many developed countries have already taken serious steps toward moving to properly engineered, environmental friendly landfills.Landfill leachate contains organic and inorganic pollutants that have been extensively studied in the last …

Regency Rabble Rousers: The Impact And Legacy Of The Cato Street Conspiracy, Kathleen M. Beeson

History Theses - Archive

What were the reasons behind the virtual disappearance of the Cato Street Conspiracy from historical discussion and debate as well as from public consciences? This thesis poses the question: How could a group whose activities had been closely watched for several years by government officials and deemed dangerous enough for these government officials to plant spies within their ranks, not receive the same historical treatment as those who were responsible for the Gunpowder Plot of 1605? This study maintains that both the Cato Street Conspirators and the Gunpowder Plotters set out to do the same thing: they desired to create …

Nsu Center For Psychological Studies Basic Survival Skills Practicum – Ralph E. Cash, Nova Southeastern University

Video Collection of Nova University / NSU

No abstract provided.

Copa4569measurements, Agustin Jimenez-Ruiz

Zoology Data Sets

Includes measurements of individual worms used in the species description and relates their final repository.

Acronyms used include:

CNHE (Colección Nacional de Helmintos, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México)

HWML (Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska)

Includes the URL for genes isolated and amplified from individuals of the type locality and host. Link directs the user to a page in GenBank.

2012 Und Hlc Assurance Argument, University Of North Dakota

Higher Learning Commission Assurance Documents

This ZIP file contains the documents used to to craft UND's 2012 assurance argument for the Higher Learning Commission.

Book Review, When International Law Works: Realistic Idealism After 9/11 And The Global Recession , Deborah Schander

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.

Contributor, Cassady V. Brewer

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.

New Results In Finite Geometries Pertaining To Albert-Like Semifields, Angela Michelle Brown

Mathematics Dissertations - Archive

One of the most widely studied class of semifields are the generalized twisted fields defined by Albert in the 50s and 60s. The collineation groups of generalized twisted field planes have been completely described. In a series of papers Cordero and Figueroa studied semifields with an autotopism that acts transitively on one side of the autotopism triangle, equivalently the plane admits an autotopism which induces a permutation on a side of the autotopism triangle of order a p-primitive divisor of pr - 1. They showed that with some minor exceptions the plane is a generalized twisted field plane. These planes …

Transforming Potential Into Performance: Essays On Optimizing Organization Success Through The Establishment And Control Of Marketing Climate, David Catlett

Marketing Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation consists of three essays investigating the existence, definition and potential impact of a marketing climate within organizations and the ability of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) to effectively use a marketing climate to optimize the performance of their organizations. The first essay is a conceptual work and focuses on the structure, composition and integration of organizational culture and climate. A comprehensive analysis is completed of the substantial recent research of a wide variety of internal organizational factors that contribute to or influence organizational culture and climate, including the existing measures of market orientation, learning orientation, creativity, innovation, organizational structure, …

Mosquito Species Abundance And Diversity In Malindi, Kenya And Their Potential Implication In Pathogen Transmission, Joseph M. Mwangangi, Janet Midega, Samuel Kahindi, Laban Njoroge, Joseph Nzovu, John Githure, Charles M. Mbogo, John C. Beier

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are important vectors of human disease-causing pathogens. Mosquitoes are found both in rural and urban areas. Deteriorating infrastructure, poor access to health, water and sanitation services, increasing population density, and widespread poverty contribute to conditions that modify the environment, which directly influences the risk of disease within the urban and peri-urban ecosystem. The objective of this study was to evaluate the mosquito vector abundance and diversity in urban, peri-urban, and rural strata inMalindi along the Kenya coast. The study was conducted in the coastal district of Malindi between January and December 2005. Three strata were selected which …

The Variations Of Geomagnetic Energy And Solar Irradiance And Their Impacts On Earth's Upper Atmosphere, Yanshi Huang

Physics Dissertations - Archive

The primary energy sources of Earth's upper atmosphere are the solar irradiance and geomagnetic energy including Joule heating and particle precipitation. Various data and models are utilized to investigate the variations of energy inputs and their influences on the coupled thermosphere-ionosphere system. First, the Flare Irradiance Spectral Model (FISM) has been used and the data show that the solar irradiance enhancement has wavelength dependence during flare events, and it increased largest in the XUV range. NCAR Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIE-GCM) simulations for the X17.2-class flare event on October 28th, 2003 (X17.2) show that the impact of solar irradiance enhancement …

Multi Person Tracking And Querying With Heterogeneous Sensors, Shahina Ferdous

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Tracking the location of a user is considered to be the most fundamental step for creating a context aware application, such as activity monitoring in an assistive environment. This problem becomes very challenging if there are multiple people involved in this scenario. The reason is that any multi-person environment, such as a hospital, demands simultaneous identification and localization mechanisms, thus making the system very complex. In this dissertation, we present a novel, less-intrusive system that uses RFIDs and sensors deployed at various locations of an assistive apartment to continuously track and identify every person in a multi-person assistive environment. Our …