Digital Commons Network^™

Useful Global-Change Scenarios: Current Issues And Challenges, Edward A. Parson

Articles

Scenarios are increasingly used to inform global-change debates, but their connection to decisions has been weak and indirect. This reflects the greater number and variety of potential users and scenario needs, relative to other decision domains where scenario use is more established. Global-change scenario needs include common elements, e.g., model-generated projections of emissions and climate change, needed by many users but in different ways and with different assumptions. For these common elements, the limited ability to engage diverse global-change users in scenario development requires extreme transparency in communicating underlying reasoning and assumptions, including probability judgments. Other scenario needs are specific …

Towards Flow Cytometry Data Clustering On Graphics Processing Units, Jeremy Espenshade, Doug Roberts, James Cavenaugh

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Like many modern techniques for scientific analysis, flow cytometry produces massive amounts of data that must be analyzed and clustered intelligently to be useful. Current manual binning techniques are cumbersome and limited in both the quality and quantity of analyses produced. To address the quality of results, a new framework applying two different sets of clustering algorithms and inference methods are implemented. The two methods investigated are fuzzy c-means and minimum description length inference and k-medoids with BIC. These approaches lend themselves to large scale parallel processing. To address the computational demands, the Nvidia CUDA framework and Tesla architecture are …

History And Symptoms Of Psychology, Peter Hauser

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The History and Systems of Psychology course provides background to the development of current psychological perspectives. It examines beliefs, practices, achievements and limitations of various systems of psychology from Greek times through to the late 20th century.

Deriving A Taxonomy Of Its Transition Costs, Zhi Tang, Delmonize Smith, Joanne Hale

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Those charged with implementing information technology often face the daunting task of assessing the total organizational costs of such initiatives. Our study posits evaluating such expenditures as IT transition costs - organizational resource expenditures stemming from a positive IT investment decision. A content analytic review of academic, IT-related articles yielded 57 cases germane to the construct. Data produced a meaningful and comprehensive taxonomy that distinguished IT transition costs by two dimensions: goal (prescriptive, evaluative, adaptive, corrective) and target (human, structure, process, technology). The significance of the taxonomy as a useful guide to both practitioners and future research is discussed.

What Influences Salary: A Study Of Mis Faculty Job Offers, M. Pamela Neely, Thomas Tribunella, Zhi Tang, Clyde Eiríkur Hull

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What matters when you’re negotiating a job offer? We address this and other questions using data from the Association for Information Systems (AIS) Salary Surveys on compensation, rank, publication data, and similar data associated with MIS Faculty job offers. Our study has three primary findings. First, school and individual factors influence the position and salary offered, but individual factors have a stronger impact. Second, we find the position (i.e., associate/assistant professor and teaching load) offered by schools partially mediates the relationship between school and individual factors and the starting salary. Third, the direct impact of individual factors is also influenced …

Jagannath's Saligram: On Bruno Latour And Literary Critique After Postcoloniality, Amit Ray, Evan Selinger

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Bruno Latour has turned to Indian vernacular fiction to illustrate the limits of ideology critique. In examining the method of literary analysis that underlies his appropriation of postcolonial history and culture, we appeal to Edward Said's notion of "traveling theory" in order to discuss critically the aesthetic as well as political stakes of using the technology of the modern novel for the allegorical purposes that Latour has in mind. We argue that Latourian analysis fails to uphold its own rigorous aspirations when it reduces complex literary and cultural representation to universal allegory.

Reviewing The Author-Function In The Age Of Wikipedia, Amit Ray, Erhardt Graeff

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In "Reviewing the Author-Function in the Age of Wikipedia," Amit Ray and Erhardt Graeff examine how wiki technology challenges traditional concepts of authorship and authority in knowledge production. The authors build on poststructuralist theory, particularly Roland Barthes's "Death of the Author" and Michel Foucault's concept of the "author-function," to analyze how wikis destabilize individual authorship in favor of collaborative, community-driven content creation.

The essay argues that wikis represent a fundamental shift from the Romantic notion of the solitary author-genius to what they term the "wiki writing process"—a dynamic system where traditional roles of reader, writer, and editor blur into a …

Principal Investigator Views Of The Irb System, Simon N. Whitney, Kirsten Alcser, Carl E. Schneider, Laurence B. Mccullough, Amy L. Mcguire, Robert J. Volk

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We undertook a qualitative e-mail survey of federally-funded principal investigators of their views of the US human subjects protection system, intended to identify the range of investigator attitudes. This was an exploratory study with a 14% response rate. Twenty-eight principal investigators responded; their comments were analyzed to show underlying themes, which are here presented along with supporting quotations. There was consensus that it is important to protect human subjects from research abuse, but disagreement over how well the IRB system is functioning. Some researchers felt that the system is effective and serves its purpose well. Of those who support the …

The Impact Of Traumatic Stress And Alcohol Exposure On Youth: Implications For Lawyers, Judges, And Courts, Frank E. Vandervort

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Since its inception in the late nineteenth century, the juvenile court has been concerned with the legal problems of children and their families. From the court’s earliest days, it has sought to address child abuse and neglect and juvenile delinquency as social problems that result from familial and community breakdown. Over the decades, researchers from various disciplines have provided varying explanations of how and why family systems break down, why some parents fail to nurture their children, why some physically or sexually abuse their children, and why some children become delinquent.

Discovering William Cook: Ten Sources For Reconstructing The Life Of A Lawyer, Margaret A. Leary

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Ms. Leary uses a case study to describe ten categories of resources for reconstructing a Manhattan lawyer's life. These resources answer questions about his law practice, scholarship, personal life, personality, values, and philanthropy. The case study uses today's resources to look far back into the details of the life of William W. Cook, who gave his fortune to the University of Michigan Law School.

Stoneridge Investment Partners V. Scientific-Atlanta: The Political Economy Of Securities Class Action Reform, Adam C. Pritchard

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I begin in Part II by explaining the wrong turn that the Court took in Basic. The Basic Court misunderstood the function of the reliance element and its relation to the question of damages. As a result, the securities class action regime established in Basic threatens draconian sanctions with limited deterrent benefit. Part III then summarizes the cases leading up to Stoneridge and analyzes the Court's reasoning in that case. In Stoneridge, like the decisions interpreting the reliance requirement of Rule 10b-5 that came before it, the Court emphasized policy implications. Sometimes policy implications are invoked to broaden the reach …

The Upc Authorizes Notarized Wills, Lawrence W. Waggoner

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This article reports on a 2008 amendment to the Uniform Probate Code that permits notarization as a method of will execution.

Do Different Iindustries Report Corporate Social Responsibility Differently?: An Investigation Through The Lens Of Stakeholder Theory, Lorraine Sweeney, Joseph Coughlan

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The social responsibility of business has become a major issue in recent years and the reporting of such activity is becoming more prevalent. Companies are attuning to the benefits of being seen as socially responsibly and many industries are jumping on the bandwagon of reporting CSR and using different media to communicate their activities in this arena to their stakeholders. This paper considers the content of one type of such communications, the annual report, and looks at how organisations are taking a focused stakeholder view of CSR rather than a wider view as would be expected from the ambiguity of …

Exploring Paradox In Marketing Strategy: Managing Ambiguity Towards Synthesis, Aidan O'Driscoll

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The objective of this paper is to explain a conceptual framework of paradox and marketing. The paper adopts a theoretical approach. It outlines marketing’s current and limited interest in the notion of paradox and highlights the difference between a classic paradox, the tension between transactional and relational marketing, and the Contemporary Marketing Practice (CMP) research program. A future research agenda for paradox and marketing is speculated on, addressing issues such as likely domains for exploration, methodology, as well as the type of organizational structures and marketing leadership required. Finally, there is reflection on how paradox engineers a strong bridge between …

Exploring Children's Understanding Of Television Advertising:Beyond The Advertiser's Perspective, Margaret-Anne Lawlor

Articles

Abstract Purpose - The aim of this article is to explore children's understanding of television advertising intent. Methodology- A different perspective on advertising intent is offered in this paper, as evidenced in an interpretive study of Irish children, aged between seven and nine years. A qualitative approach was employed, involving a series of focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with fifty-two children. Findings - The findings indicate that the participating children view advertising as serving interests including, but not limited to the advertiser. The existence of other interested parties is suggested by the children, namely the agendas of viewers and …

Why Is Community Entrepreneurship Worth Debating?, Thomas M. Cooney

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In early 2008, the author was asked to speak at a conference in an economically disadvantaged area of Ireland. The conference was part of a series of events aimed at boosting enterprise in the region. Frequently, at such events, the ire of the speakers is targeted at government or European policies for not doing enough to help build economic success locally. In terms of who is to blame and who is responsible for changing the current situation, the finger is usually being pointed at someone else. However, the author spoke at length about the qualities of entrepreneurship involving positive, proactive, …

Contextualising Nanotechnology In Chemistry Education, Christine O'Connor, Hugh Hayden

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This paper will give an example of a pedagogical approach taken in integrating nanotechnology into a chemistry degree course. In recent years nanotechnology has widely become part of the course content for undergraduate chemistry and physics degree curriculum. How contextualised the delivery of the subject matter may vary. The role of contextualisation of nanotechnology in the delivery of the content is the main focus of this paper, as to date in Ireland and many other countries nanotechnology has not been integrated into many chemistry degree courses but is slowly becoming the case. An evaluative methodology of the pedagogical approach for …

Disability, Equipment Barriers And Women’S Health: Using The Ada To Provide Meaningful Access, Elizabeth Pendo

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It is well-known that people with disabilities face multiple barriers to adequate health care, including lower average incomes, disproportionate poverty, and issues with insurance coverage. This article focuses on a more fundamental barrier-one that has not been discussed in the legal literature-inaccessible medical equipment and its effect on the delivery of women's health care to millions of women with disabilities .

Stifling The Potential Of Grutter V. Bollinger: Parents Involved In Community Schools V. Seattle School District No. 1, Michelle Adams

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No abstract provided.

Sudoku: A Little Lesson In Oop, Axel-Tobias Schreiner, James Heliotis

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Paying only lip service to the principles of object-oriented programming rarely results in the expected benefits. This paper presents a series of designs for a Sudoku application that will lead introductory students through the allimportant process of trial and error. They will see examples of design analysis, criticism, and improvement. The paper concludes with some general pointers why and how the initial mistakes could have been avoided.

Hearts, Minds, Hands: A Dream Team For Mental Health, Julianne Gold Brunson, Judy Molner, Miriam Nathan Lerner

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Interpreting in a mental health setting with hearing staff members and deaf clientele, the ethical situations fly fast and furious, providing the interpreter with a wealth of war stories with which to regale neophyte students of this dynamic profession. Much has been written to improve the many and varied mental health services being extended to deaf populations. The most commonly described dyads are that of hearing therapist and deaf patient. However, consider the case of a deaf psychologist treating hearing clients. In this instance, the interpreter becomes the liaison between the deaf professional and the hearing patient. When an interpreter …

Illusory Consent: When An Incapacitated Patient Agrees To Treatment, Fredrick E. Vars

Articles

Medical treatment requires informed consent which in turn requires decision making capacity When a patient with questionable capacity does not resist treatment these requirements are often neglected treatment is administered with no assessment of capacity and no consideration of alternative decision making A variety of ethical and legal forces contribute to this neglect The practical effect is that patients are treated when if they had capacity they would refuse treatment This subverts the dominant interest in health care decision making patient autonomy After surveying current law and practice this article addresses the following issues 1 when to test patients for …

Session 1: Public Health Nutrition Breast-Feeding Practices In Ireland, Roslyn Tarrant, John Kearney

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Breast-feeding is the superior infant feeding method from birth, with research consistently demonstrating its numerous short- and long-term health benefits for both mother and infant. As a global recommendation the WHO advises that mothers should exclusively breast-feed for the first 6-months of life, thus delaying the introduction of solids during this time. Historically, Irish breast-feeding initiation rates have remained strikingly low in comparison with international data and there has been little improvement in breast-feeding duration rates. There is wide geographical variation in terms of breast-feeding initiation both internationally and in Ireland. Some of these differences in breast-feeding rates may be …

First Amendment Decisions From The October 2006 Term, Erwin Chemerinsky, Marci A. Hamilton

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No abstract provided.

Acquiring Innovation, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine

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In recent years, the innovation market has witnessed a new business model involving companies that are mere patent holding shells and not operating entities. They have no customers or products to offer, but they do have an aggressive tactic of using patent portfolios to threaten other operating companies with potential infringement litigation. The strategy is executed with the end goal of extracting handsome settlements. Acquisitions of patents for offensive use have become a major concern to operating companies because such acquisitions pose the threats of patent injunction, interrupting the business and crippling further innovation.

While many operating companies today know …

Effect Of Uva Fluence Rate On Indicators Of Oxidative Stress In Human Dermal Fibroblasts, James D. Hoerter, Christopher S. Ward, Kyle D. Bale, Admasu N. Gizachew, Rachelle Graham Rachelle Graham, Jaclyn Reynolds, Melanie E. Ward Melanie E. Ward, Chesca Choi, Jean-Leonard Kagabo, Michael Sauer, Tara Kuipers, Timothy Hotchkiss Timothy Hotchkiss, Nate Banner, Renee A. Chellson, Theresa Ohaeri, Langston Gant, Leah Vanderhill

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During the course of a day human skin is exposed to solar UV radiation that fluctuates in fluence rate within the UVA (290-315 nm) and UVB (315-400 nm) spectrum. Variables affecting the fluence rate reaching skin cells include differences in UVA and UVB penetrating ability, presence or absence of sunscreens, atmospheric conditions, and season and geographical location where the exposure occurs. Our study determined the effect of UVA fluence rate in solar-simulated (SSR) and tanning-bed radiation (TBR) on four indicators of oxidative stress---protein oxidation, glutathione, heme oxygenase-1, and reactive oxygen species--in human dermal fibroblasts after receiving equivalent UVA and UVB …

Covert Encryption And Document Authentication Using Texture Coding, Jonathan Blackledge, Mary Hallot

Articles

With the improvements in the quality of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) printing and scanning devices, the ability to counterfeit documents has become a widespread problem. Consequently, there has been an increasing demand to develop digital watermarking techniques which can be applied to both electronic and printed images (and documents) that can be authenticated, prevent unauthorized copying and withstand abuse and degradation. In this paper , a new approach to digital watermarking is presented and a range of possible applications are considered. The process is defined by using concepts and techniques borrowed from Cryptography. It is based on computing a 'scramble image' by …

Multi-Algorithmic Cryptography Using Deterministic Chaos With Applications To Mobile Communications, Jonathan Blackledge

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In this extended paper, we present an overview of the principal issues associated with cryptography, providing historically significant examples for illustrative purposes as part of a short tutorial for readers that are not familiar with the subject matter. This is used to introduce the role that nonlinear dynamics and chaos play in the design of encryption engines which utilize different types of Iteration Function Systems (IFS). The design of such encryption engines requires that they conform to the principles associated with diffusion and confusion for generating ciphers that are of a maximum entropy type. For this reason, the role of …

Audio Data Verification And Authentication Using Frequency Modulation Based Watermarking, Jonathan Blackledge, Omar Farooq

Articles

An approach to watermarking digital signals using frequency modulation - ‘Chirp Coding’ - is considered. The principles underlying this approach are based on the use of a matched filter to reconstruct a ‘chirp stream’ code that is uniquely robust. The method is generic in the sense that it can, in principle, be used for a variety of different signal (the authentication of speech and biomedical signals, for example). Further, by generating a bit stream that is signal dependent, chirp coding provides a method of self-authentication, which has a wide range of applications including copyright protection and digital rights management. However, …

Proposal For Using A Studio Format To Enhance Institutional Advancement, Shannon Chance

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Universities today need to become quicker on their toes. They must continually scan the environment and seize emerging opportunities – and institutional advancement must lead this effort. An unfortunate number of institutional advancement operations are ill equipped for the task at hand. Many suffer from high staff turnover and overly hierarchical systems that refl ect excessive fragmentation and compartmentalization. They inadvertently perpetuate stifl ing and unnecessary bureaucracy. Organizing advancement efforts around the metaphor of the design studio or creative workshop promises to (a) pool talent, (b) cultivate collaboration, and (c) align diverse but related interests in order to promote fruitful …