Digital Commons Network^™

Faculty Orientations In Esl Professional Development, Jason T. Jay

Theses and Dissertations

The role of teacher educators is vital to education, but when the population of public-school students shifts, or progress and advances in knowledge of the field or knowledge for teaching emerge, teacher education faces challenges. One such challenge involves a continuing increase in the proportion of second language learners entering primary and secondary schools, English learners (ELs) in this case. In such situations, teacher educators often do not have deep knowledge of second language acquisition or how to integrate attention to ELs within their regular courses. One response to this challenge is to provide professional development (PD) for teacher education …

Tracking Multiple Vehicles Constrained To A Road Network Using One Uav With Sparse Visual Measurements, Jared Joseph Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Many multiple target tracking algorithms operate in the local frame of the sensor and have difficulty with track reallocation when targets move in and out of the sensor field of view. This poses a problem when an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is tracking multiple ground targets on a road network larger than its field of view. We propose a Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filter (RBPF) to maintain individual target tracks and to perform probabilistic data association when the targets are constrained to a road network. This is particularly useful when a target leaves then re-enters the UAV’s field of view. The RBPF …

Diagnosis And The Role Of Chemokine Receptors In Alzheimer's Disease, Josue David Gonzalez Murcia

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder and is the main cause of dementia in the elderly population. AD is pathologically characterized by the accumulation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that results in neurodegeneration and loss of memory function. However, diagnosis of AD and characterization of biological mechanisms that lead to pathology and modulate risk for disease has proven to be extremely difficult. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contains critical biomarkers for AD such as levels of amyloid beta (Aβ) phosphorylated-tau (p-tau), total-tau (t-tau), and neurofilament light chain (NfL). The CSF levels of these biomarkers are useful in determining …

Parsing An American Sign Language Corpus With Combinatory Categorial Grammar, Michael Albert Nix

Theses and Dissertations

Research into parsing sign language corpora is ongoing. Corpora for German Sign Language and Italian Sign Language have been parsed (Bungeroth et al., 2006; Mazzei, 2011, 2012, respectively). However, research into parsing a corpus of American Sign Language is non-existent. Examples of parsed ASL sentences in literature are typically isolated examples used to show a particular type of construction. Apparently no attempt has been made to parse an entire corpus of American Sign Language utterances. This thesis presents a method for constructing a grammar so that a parser implementing Combinatory Categorial Grammar can parse a corpus of American Sign Language. …

Symposium Of Laughter: Eighteenth-Century Masculinity And Sociability In George Knapton's Portraits Of The Society Of Dilettanti, Meredith Hanna

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Ideal masculine conduct for aristocratic and bourgeois circles of the British 18^th century entailed polite restraint, and much of the scholarly discussion on 18^th century British masculinity treats politeness and how it was taught and modeled. The Society of Dilettanti, a British antiquarian society whose early members met on the Grand Tour, seemed to flout polite ideals in their portraits by George Knapton, executed from 1740-1749. With consideration to expanding dialogue on the nature of ideal masculine conduct in the 18^th century, this paper asserts that the portraits create, through depictions of alcoholic ritual and interaction with …

The Effects Of Latent Infections And Atmospheric Pollutant Levels On Memory Search Reaction Times, Bowman Mccullough

Undergraduate Honors Theses

There are many regions where human population levels naturally create pollution by the processes by which everyday living occurs. This study views the effects on the reaction times of healthy individuals compared with individuals carrying latent infections Herpes Simplex 1, Toxoplasmosis Gondi, and Helicobacter Pylori, all residents of the Utah Valley region, known for poorer air quality due to the geographic landscape of the nearby mountains. College students were tested to see how high-pollutant air qualities (air pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 specifically) may have affected their reaction times when presented with stimuli from the Sternberg Memory Load and …

Who Owns The Bard?: P. T. Barnum, Charles Dickens, And The Shakespeare Birthplace Showdown Of 1847, Abigail Clayton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the twenty-first century age of globalization, debates over global versus national ownership of cultural heritage remain at the forefront of public consciousness. The cultural ownership of William Shakespeare, who is idealized as both a distinctly British icon and a global literary influence, has become contested ground; but, in fact, as I argue, this tension first boiled to the surface in 1847. In the spring of that year, newspapers advertised that Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon would soon go up for public auction. Rumors immediately began circulating that the American showman P. T. Barnum, who had recently barnstormed through England with …

A Brief Overview Of Burst Suppression: Causes And Effects On Mortality In Critical Illness, Jake Hogan, Haoqi Sun, Hassan Aboul Nour, Stephen Piccolo, Jacob Crandall, Steven Peck, M Brandon Westover

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the effects of brain inactivation (burst suppression) on mortality in mechanically ventilated ICU patients. Past research has associated burst suppression with increased mortality. However, the effects of burst suppression on ICU patients while taking into account the relative contributions of propofol (a sedative), and critical illness to mortality, and whether preventing burst suppression might reduce mortality, has not yet been quantified. This thesis explores this relationship, and the effect of critical illness and propofol infusion on burst suppression to understand what drives burst suppression.

To measure the relationship between burst suppression, critical illness, propofol infusion, and mortality, …

Comparing Binge-Watching Motivations In South Korea And The United States: Westernization Of South Korean Entertainment Media, Sohyun Ribeiro

Theses and Dissertations

Asian cultures have been heavily influenced by Western culture due to globalization. Video on demand (VOD) services provide a means to quantify the westernization of Asian cultures, especially those within South Korea. As the majority of current binge-watching studies have been conducted utilizing U.S. samples, there is a need for comparative research between the two cultures, to see if westernization can be quantified via these means. The current study examined the relative levels of five Korean binge-watching motivations (enjoyment, efficiency, recommendation of others, perceived control, fandom) and eight American binge-watching motivations (escape, information, engagement, relaxation, passing time, hedonism, social, habit) …

Comparing Binge-Watching Motivations In South Korea And The United States: Westernization Of South Korean Entertainment, Sohyun Ribeiro

Theses and Dissertations

Asian cultures have been heavily influenced by Western culture due to globalization. Video on demand (VOD) services provide a means to quantify the westernization of Asian cultures, especially those within South Korea. As the majority of current binge-watching studies have been conducted utilizing U.S. samples, there is a need for comparative research between the two cultures, to see if westernization can be quantified via these means. The current study examined the relative levels of five Korean binge-watching motivations (enjoyment, efficiency, recommendation of others, perceived control, fandom) and eight American binge-watching motivations (escape, information, engagement, relaxation, passing time, hedonism, social, habit) …

What Role Should Philosophy Play In The Public Sphere? The Intrinsic Value Of Public Philosophy, Jonathan Engle

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Public philosophy is a relatively new area of meta-philosophy requiring further development. In this paper I seek to establish a clear definition of public philosophy and clarify what at times has become a muddled term. This is followed by laying a groundwork for how to view philosophical study and its consequences to the students. I primarily address Weinstein’s argument that public philosophy is primarily for entertainment. This is based on one of his points that public philosophy leads to self-knowledge (self-cultivation). Rather than peripheral to public philosophy, I will argue that this is central to public philosophy, establishing it as …

Forgetting The Mine Wars: Erasing Insurrection In West Virginia History, Samuel Heywood

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the concerted effort in the West Virginia school system to forget a massive labor movement in the early 20^th century. Business leaders and government leaders turned to the classroom to try and control the memory of future generations to ensure a positive perception of the coal industry and avoid any more violent confrontations. After a brief summary of the Mine Wars for context, this thesis uses textbooks to analyze how the authors omitted the conflict and instead used patriotic propaganda to create loyal citizens. Although the Mine Wars have since been included in state history textbooks, …

An Analysis Of Opiate Prescription For Chronic Degenerative Disease And Other Pain Syndromes, Catherine Sawyer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Utilizing the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) database, this thesis explores patterns of opiate prescribing during time period from 1993 to 2016, which includes the time period when the opiate crisis was recognized in the United States and efforts begun to combat it. We analyze these patterns particularly as they relate to patients who were prescribed opiates and who were simultaneously suffering from various chronic conditions, and interactions between prescription of opiates and diagnosis of chronic conditions. We examine which demographic groups were most likely to receive opiates, and considered opiate prescription trends among patients with any pain diagnosis …

Orientable Single-Distance Codes For Absolute Incremental Encoders, Kristian Brian Sims

Theses and Dissertations

Digital encoders are electro-mechanical sensors that measure linear or angular position using special binary patterns. The properties of these patterns influence the traits of the resulting encoders, such as their maximum speed, resolution, tolerance to error, or cost to manufacture. We describe a novel set of patterns that can be used in encoders that are simple and compact, but require some initial movement to register their position. Previous designs for such encoders, called absolute incremental encoders, tend to incorporate separate patterns for the functions of tracking incremental movement and determining the absolute position. The encoders in this work, however, use …

Blend Uniformity And Vitamin Stability In Dairy-Based Foods Fortified With Lipid-Encapsulated Ferrous Sulfate, Garth Anthony Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Homogeneity of powder blends is an important metric for industrial applications in fortified dairy foods including commercial pediatric nutrition products. Product development practices evaluating physical properties and nutrient stability performance are reliant on blending parameters that deliver a uniform powder at both the pilot and commercial scale. Quantities of individual micronutrients in finished products are particularly critical for formulated infant foods. The two preliminary phases of this study focused on developing a simple, efficient method, specifically for a pilot scale ribbon blender, in which maximum homogeneity in fortified dairy-based powder blends could be reached. In phase one, a red iron …

Becoming Faramir: Escapism As Responsibility And Hope Through Adaptation And J.R.R. Tolkien’S The Lord Of The Rings, Megan Kathryn Myers

Theses and Dissertations

When Peter Jackson sought to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to film, many fans worried about the changes that could be made to such a beloved story. Though the response to the films was generally positive, all three movies did have their detractors. Many of the complaints centered on his badly adapting the source material, specifically the characters. When Jackson released The Two Towers, fans were outraged further by how Jackson had handled Faramir. However, these interpretations of The Lord of the Rings and Faramir are a narrow evaluation of the larger problem facing fan and scholarly …

Guest Editor’S Note

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

End Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Human Rights, Those Who Are Governed And The Legitimacy Of Law Enforcement, Lynn Rhodes

Comparative Civilizations Review

Most everyone, if not all of us, wants to be happy. Peace is a common denominator frequently sought. It is human nature to seek security, another word for happiness. Human Rights, as we know, are basic rights and freedoms that inherently belong to every person.

Señor Jim Crow Still Roosts In Cuba: A Comparative Analysis Of Race And Resistance In The United States And Cuba, Leah P. Hollis

Comparative Civilizations Review

After touring Havana, Cuba, with a group of African American Scholars in the fall of 2019, I am inspired to identify the subtle and explicit racist experiences that we endured. A common message from those in the tourism industry is that Cubans love African Americans. This message was constant, yet it rang like a gong in our ears because the message did not match the treatment we received. In truth, this love was not for the African aspect of our identities but for the financial prosperity in the American part of our identities. The Cuban tour guide constantly announced the …

Lists Of Selected Full-Text Databases By Subscription In East Asian Studies, Vickie Fu Doll, Wen-Ling Liu, Dongyun Ni, Fabiano Takashi Tocha

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

The Manifestation Of Neighborhood Effects: A Pattern For Community Growth?, Michael R. Cope, Jorden E. Jackson, Scott R. Sanders, Lance D. Erickson, Tippe Morlan, Ralph B. Brown

Faculty Publications

Neighborhood effects, or the development of community by neighborhoods, are often studied in an urban context. Previous research has neglected to examine the influence of neighborhoods in nonurban settings. Our case study, however, contributes to the existing literature as it takes place in a small, rural-to-urban town at an important point in time where the town was urbanizing. We find that neighborhood effects also influence community satisfaction and attachment in Creekdale, an urbanizing town. Using survey data (N = 1006) drawn from the Creekdale Community Citizens Viewpoint Survey (CCVS), we find that, contrary to conventional wisdom, population size and density …

Israelite Inscriptions From The Time Of Jeremiah And Lehi, Dana M. Pike

Faculty Publications

The greater the number of sources the better when investigating the history and culture of people in antiquity. Narrative and prophetic texts in the Bible and 1 Nephi have great value in helping us understand the milieu in which Jeremiah and Lehi received and fulfilled their prophetic missions, but these records are not our only documentary sources. A number of Israelite inscriptions dating to the period of 640–586 b.c., the general time of Jeremiah and Lehi, provide additional glimpses into this pivotal and primarily tragic period in Israelite history.

Disruptive Innovation: Impact For Practice, Policy, And Academia, Heather V. Nelson-Brantley, K. David Bailey, Joyce Batcheller, Laura Caramanica, Bret Lyman, Francine Snow

Faculty Publications

The 2019 Association for Leadership Science in Nursing International Conference, Disruptive Innovation, was held in Los Angeles, California, with attendees from 30 US States, Canada, Brazil, and China. Presenters discussed the need for nurse leaders to advocate for health equity, lead evidence-based innovation, how robots and other technology are generating disruptive innovations in healthcare, and building strong academic-practice partnerships to address nursing workforce challenges. This article will report on these important insights.

Bullying In The Wizarding World: Victim, Peer, And Adult Responses In Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone, Casey John Winters

Theses and Dissertations

Bullying is a phenomenon faced by students worldwide, and bibliotherapy is one viable classroom strategy to teach students how best to respond to bullying behavior. Although ample research exists on appropriate picture books with bullying themes, few studies have analyzed the content of middle-grade books for effective responses to bullying, despite the prevalence of bullying among middle school students. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was selected due to its accessibility, its instances of responses to bullying, and its reader demographics. Researchers created a coding instrument to document all textual instances of bullying, victim responses, peer responses, and adult responses. …

The Effects Of Inter-Industry Mergers And Acquisitions On The Long-Term Volatility Of Equity Returns, Collin Myers

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The objective of this research was to discover whether a significant relationship exists between the theoretically diversifying effects of inter-industry mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) and changes in the volatilities of acquisitive firms’ publicly-traded equity security returns (measured as the standard deviation of percentage changes in price) from pre-transaction announcement to post-transaction completion. My hypothesis is that a negative relationship should exist between changes in a firm’s equity return volatility over time and whether the firm completes a diversifying acquisition, which I define as one in which the target firm primarily operates in a different industry than the acquirer. 980 diversifying …

The Sparrow Hawk Castle - A Mostly Ignored Literary Motif Across The Cultures And The Centuries, Albrecht Classen

Quidditas

Johann Schiltberger included a curious episode about the ‘Sparrow Hawk Mountain’ in his famous travelogue Reisebericht from 1427. This episode can be traced back to John Mandeville’s Travels in the German translation by Michel Velser. This study examines the similarities between Mandeville’s text and Schiltberger’s account, but then also the use of this motif in the tradition of the Melusine novel (Jean d’Arras and Thüring von Ringoltingen). Further attempts are made to identify sources for this episode Mandeville might have drawn from, including an Armenian chronicle and even the love treatise De amore by Andreas Capellanus.

Explanations And Justifications Of War In The British Kingdoms In The Seventeenth Century, Roger B. Manning

Quidditas

The influence of Machiavelli on English and Scottish political discourse can be detected not just on politicians and military men, but also among clerics and the well educated elite– even when they do not cite him directly. In England and Scotland, as in mainland European countries, Machiavellian discourse placed war at the center of discussion. Some justified their bellicosity in the secularized language of Roman historians and Italian humanists and thought that since war was the main theme of history and could be regarded as an inevitable phenomenon, England might as well profit by it. This necessarily brought England into …

The Fatale Monstrum And The Nasty Woman: Public Portrayals Of Cleopatra Vii And Hillary Rodham Clinton, Emma Baker

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

No abstract provided.