Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Signage And Suggestive Selling On Sales Of Healthy Food Options In A University Setting, Ashley Lynn Hoffman

Theses

Making healthy eating choices as a college student can be challenging and the transition from adolescence to adulthood can be associated with an increased likelihood of obesity. Studies have shown that college students have poor eating habits and frequent consumption of fast food meals. Studies have reported menu labeling to be effective in influencing college students' purchasing decisions. During the fall 2009 semester, the Saluki Select Healthy Eating Program was implemented in the Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) Student Center to aid college students and the public in general to make healthier menu choices. The purpose of this research study …

G (Alpha) 12 Is Required For Thromboxane A2 To Regulate Tumor Cell Motility, Babar Malik

Theses

Thromboxane (TX) A₂ is a prostaglandin produced by metabolism of arachidonic acid through cyclooxygenases and thromboxane synthase. TXA₂ is biologically active, mainly through activating its cognate, seven transmembrane, G protein coupled receptor. It was previously reported that thromboxane A₂ receptor (TP) was expressed in prostate cancer, and further activation of this receptor elicited cell contraction and modulated tumor cell motility through regulating small GTPase RhoA[1]. This study aims to identify G alpha protein(s) involved in thromboxane A₂ signaling in tumor cell motility. Methods: The expression of G alpha proteins in the PC3MM cells was studied by …

White Americans' Affect Toward African Americans: Predictive Power On Political Behavior And Measurement Problems, Paul Gerard Gottemoller

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact white affect toward African Americans has on whites' racial policy opinions. The study also identifies the difficulty of measuring affect in the traditional feeling thermometer. Moreover, the study introduces and tests a new method for measuring affect that improves interpersonal comparability of reported affect by anchoring the respondents' self-placements. The study investigates the changes in the relationship between white affect toward African Americans and racial policy opinions of presidential election years between 1964 and 2008. Furthermore, the study tests a new method for measuring affect by having respondents rate where …

Investigating Nitrate-Dependent Humic Substance Oxidation And In-Service K-12 Teachers' Understanding Of Microbiology, Nastassia N. Jones

Dissertations

Humic substances (HS) are the humified portions of totally decomposed soil organic matter that are ubiquitous in nature. Although these substances have been studied for more than 200 years, neither their metabolic capabilities nor a specific chemical structure has yet to be determined. HS have been studied as a carbon source in many environments where they are degraded; however, previous studies have shown that some microorganisms are capable of utilizing humic substances as electron acceptors and electron donors in anaerobic respiration. Even though there have been humic-reducing and humic-oxidizing microorganisms isolated and studied in recent years, the mechanism of humics …

Corporate Control: Assessing The Impact Of Changing Ownership On Newspaper Endorsements, Ruth Clarisse Moon

Theses

Current literature in the fields of political science and communication exhibit confusion over the existence and effect of corporate influence on a newspaper's daily transactions. Does newspaper ownership affect content? Previous research answers this question "yes," "no," and "maybe." I conduct a longitudinal, time series study across 1,366 newspapers and nearly 30 years to answer the question of whether newspaper ownership affects the papers' presidential campaign endorsements in election years. With demographics data and vote returns as well as newspaper ownership and endorsement information, this study looks at newspaper consolidation and the effect of ownership on endorsements. The results shed …

Performance Of Linear Decision Combiner For Primary User Detection In Cognitive Radio, Munawwar Mahmud Sohul

Theses

The successful implementation and employment of various cognitive radio services are largely dependent on the spectrum sensing performance of the cognitive radio terminals. Previous works on detection of cognitive radio have suggested the necessity of user cooperation in order to be able to detect at low signal-to-noise ratios experienced in practical situations. This report provides a brief overview of the impact of different fusion strategies on the spectrum hole detection performance of a fusion center in a distributed detection environment. Different decision or detection rule and fusion strategies, like single sensor scenario, counting rule, and linear decision metric, were used …

A Som+ Diagnostic System For Network Intrusion Detection, Chester Louis Langin

Dissertations

This research created a new theoretical Soft Computing (SC) hybridized network intrusion detection diagnostic system including complex hybridization of a 3D full color Self-Organizing Map (SOM), Artificial Immune System Danger Theory (AISDT), and a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS). This SOM+ diagnostic archetype includes newly defined intrusion types to facilitate diagnostic analysis, a descriptive computational model, and an Invisible Mobile Network Bridge (IMNB) to collect data, while maintaining compatibility with traditional packet analysis. This system is modular, multitaskable, scalable, intuitive, adaptable to quickly changing scenarios, and uses relatively few resources.

An Examination Of Educators' Perceptions Of The School's Role In The Prevention Of Childhood Obesity, Sharon Harris Johnson

Dissertations

Childhood obesity is a prevalent subject of research currently, and many researchers have studied the effectiveness of school programs in battling obesity among students. This case study, utilizing ethnographic tools of observation, interviews, and investigation of artifacts, examines educators' perceptions of the role of the school in the prevention of this epidemic, how perceptions affect practices, and the barriers to prevention efforts. The lens of caring theory, social justice, and critical theory frame the analysis of how educators in a medium-sized elementary school contend with the problem of childhood obesity. Educators in this setting perceived their role in the prevention …

Youth In Revolt. How Suburban Youth Of The 1950s Rejected The Contradictions Of An Affluent Society In Favor Of Apocalyptic Zombies And Chicken Runs, Michele Leigh Goostree

Theses

The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, I will examine the influences shaping the choices of teenagers living in an affluent society during the early days of the Cold War, specifically 1950 - 1955. I will discuss the contradictions about society, the family unit, and gender roles teenagers attempted to sort out as they moved through adolescence. Secondly, I will focus on two forms of mass media, specifically comic books and movies of the 1950s. Media has always had the power to change and shape the opinion of the youth culture who consumed it. I will discuss the lengths …

Virtual Civics - Digital Media In The Classroom, Shane Alexander Turnage

Theses

In an age where technology is advancing rapidly, young people are often the technology "natives" who understand and utilize its capabilities better than any other group in our society. Along with changing interaction models, youth are learning to "socialize" differently than any other generation has, absent face-to-face contact via digital interface. These types of connections are affecting America's political and social landscape by changing the way youth are orientated into our culture. Many adults complain about the "distractions" of texting, Facebook, and computer games. Yet, these "distractions" might also be a means to engage young people in civic life. Current …

Serious Play: Evaluating The Comedic, Political And Religious Relationships Between The Daily Show, The Colbert Report And South Park, Noah Jerome Springer

Theses

The goal of this paper is to create a framework through which the television programs The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and South Park can be evaluated collectively. The framework of "serious play" permits the analysis of the relationship between the three programs, specifically regarding their comedic, political and religious functions. This textual analysis proposes that when examined together through serious play, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and South Park are best visualized through a legal analogy which is supported by serious play.

Evaluating Skinner’S Verbal Operants: Application Within And Beyond The Published Literature, Meredith P. King

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Building Bridges From Incarceration To Community College: Personal And Professional Reflections On Young Black Men’S Journey From The ‘Inside’ Out, Jeff Mcgoy

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Online Communities: Influence On Members Brand Loyalty And Purchase Intent, Brian J. Wilimzig

Research Papers

With the emergence of new media technologies it is becoming easier for brands to interact and engage with consumers in an attempt to build brand loyalty. One trend gaining popularity is the use of online branded communities, purpose-built social networks with focus (direct or indirect) on a brand. Branded communities tend to give more specific value to the brand owner and the members, allowing for greater communication and collaboration around the brand. Using the uses and gratification as a theoretical framework this study set out to explore the influence online brand communities have on members brand loyalty and intent to …

Realizing The Benefits From Water Conservation, William O. Maddaus

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

No abstract provided.

Technology Development In Water Resource Management, Daniel J. Epstein, Larry E. Brazil, Gerald N. Day

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

In developed nations, technological advancements rapidly
are changing every aspect of our lives: how we work, how
we communicate with each other, and even how we are
entertained. The influence of technology is readily
apparent. The subtleties of technology and its less
apparent influences also are tremendous. Advances in
computer technology, communications, and manufacturing
are affecting all sectors, including engineering. In the
arena of water resources, technological advances have
helped to not only develop a better understanding of our
physical systems but have allowed improved operational
and institutional tools to be developed to support water
management. These advances have the …

The Application Of Environmental Management System (Ems) Principles To Watershed, Jack J. Schramm, Kenneth Rubin

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

No abstract provided.

Diversity Training In Public Organizations: Issues And Challenges For Implementation, Rodrico A. Jackson Jr

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Tuning Jammed Frictionless Disk Packings From Isostatic To Hyperstatic, Carl F. Schreck, Corey S. Hern, Leo Silbert

Publications

We perform extensive computational studies of two-dimensional static bidisperse disk packings using two distinct packing-generation protocols. The first involves thermally quenching equilibrated liquid configurations to zero temperature over a range of thermal quench rates r and initial packing fractions followed by compression and decompression in small steps to reach packing fractions phi(J) at jamming onset. For the second, we seed the system with initial configurations that promote micro-and macrophase-separated packings followed by compression and decompression to phi(J). Using these protocols, we generate more than 10(4) static packings over a wide range of packing fraction, contact number, and compositional and positional …

Disagreeing About Disagreement: How Conflict In Social Networks Affects Political Behavior, Casey A. Klofstad, Anand Sokhey, Scott D. Mcclurg

Working Papers

At the center of debates on deliberative democracy is the issue of how much real deliberation citizens experience in their core social networks.  These “disagreements about disagreement” come in a variety of forms, with scholars advocating significantly different empirical approaches (e.g., Huckfeldt et al. 2004; Mutz 2006), and coming to significantly different substantive conclusions.  We tackle these discrepancies by investigating the effect of conceptual and measurement differences on key findings relating interpersonal political disagreement to political attitudes and behaviors. Drawing on the 2008-2009 ANES panel study, we find evidence that different measures of disagreement have distinct effects when it comes …

Labor Of Love: Examining Audience Labor On Vh1.Com Through The Blindspot Debate, Jamie Jones

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Scholarships And Academic Performance: Benefits Of Athletic Scholarships At Siu - Carbondale, Alicia N. Woods

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Whatever Happened To Benefit-Cost Analysis?, Allen V. Kneese

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

No abstract provided.

Evolution Of Water Resources “Management” In The 20th Century In The U.S., Blair T. Bower

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

No abstract provided.

From Scientific Knowledge To Policy About Climate Change In The Great Lakes: An Analysis Of Two-Mode Networks Of Co-Authored Documents, I-Chien Chen, Ken Frank, Youngmi Lee, Maria Lemos, Tingqiao Chen, Scott Everett Kalafatis, Henry Renee

2011

Recent work on the knowledge formation of climate change suggests that the set of ideas one holds to be true is influenced by the group of people who interacts with the same social contexts and by the views of authorities recognized by the group. From knowledge formation to political action, the mechanism not only depends upon participators' ability to integrate, but to cooperate with the public interests, policy makers, and other scientists of the verity of these claims.

This study explores how stakeholders in Great Lakes climate change access environmental knowledge in their networks and how that affects their decision-making. …

Social Network Hierarchy And Rational Group Decision Making: An, Sean Richey

2011

No abstract provided.

Is Influence Mightier Than Selection? Forging Agreement In Discussion Networks During A Campaign, Meredith Rolfe, Jason Bello

2011

To what extent do social networks shape a person's vote choice? Using data on political networks gathered during a novel, multi-wave panel study conducted during the 2010 election cycle in the UK, we argue that although people may choose to discuss politics more often with those who hold similar political views, remaining disagreements in political discussion networks can still have a substantial impact on vote choice. Our study is the first large scale, general population sample survey to track changes in an individual's named political discussion partners over the course of an election campaign, and thus provides a unique opportunity …

Southern Alumni, Siu Alumni Association

SIU Alumni Magazine

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Democratization With A Social Network Approach, Steffen Mohrenberg

Working Papers

External factors of democratization are variables on the international level which are assumed to influence democratization within countries. It is plausible to describe some of these factors as relational concepts. From this relational perspective, methods of social network analysis can contribute to the understanding of changes in the level of democracy in countries around the globe.

First, the terms regime, democracy, and democratization are clarified. Second, explanations of democratization are presented as internal and external factors. Third, the basic ideas and principles behind the quantitative analysis of social networks are sketched. Fourth, a list of external factors of democratization with …

The Structure Of Federal Egovernment: Using Hyperlinks To Analyze The .Gov Domain, Ryan Whalen

2011

This paper uses the hyperlink structure of federal web sites within the .gov domain to answer two research questions: to what degree does the online structure of the federal government mirror its offline hierarchy, and to what degree does the .gov web graph mirror the greater WWW graph.  Findings of subgraph link analysis and Krackhardt’s graph theoretical dimensions of hierarchy analysis demonstrate clear hierarchy within the .gov domain, but also suggest great discrepancies in the linking patterns of different government departments.  Structural analysis suggests that the .gov web graph is indeed a fractal leaf of the greater WWW graph.