Digital Commons Network^™

Are We All Together? : A Study Of Evacuation And Sheltering Of Public Safety Special Needs Populations In The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Anna M. Mcray

Master's Theses

Events thousands of miles away from Virginia have led to enhancements of the existing evacuation and emergency sheltering planning, highlighting the need to consider more than traditional special needs populations. Updated state-level plans specifically address the medical needs of evacuation populations. Pets were taken into consideration and inclusion of dogs, cats, and birds in traditional sheltering planning has begun. Planning began to address those with social needs such as low-income families who may not be able to evacuate until the final hours of an active evacuation. It became clear that there were specific populations that had not been included in …

Local Law Enforcement's Initial Role In Response To A Radiological Dispersion Device Attack, Andrew Robert Hoehl

Master's Theses

Today the potential exists for a terrorist organization to use a Radiological Dispersion Device or a dirty bomb within the United States. The results of such an attack could be catastrophic to the affected population. The response by law enforcement must be calculated and planned.

To properly analyze the law enforcement's role in a radioactive incident a qualitative approach was taken. A determination must be made prior to an attack to discern what kind of training will be necessary, what equipment will be required, and what response procedures need to be in place to ensure a safe and efficient response. …

P.I.: Poetry And The Imagination, Higino Francisco V. Penones Jr.

Master's Theses

The idea of a nation, a political concept spread during the Enlightenment with the invention of printing technology, has long been expressed through various representations. As a concept showing racial commonality and filiation, the notion of nation has been represented in various media, like printing and painting. Long before my country, the Philippines, became a sovereign state, it had been imagined and represented in various ways by early sea explorers, adventurers, writers, artists, cartographers, anthropologists, and its subsequent colonizers.

These representations, consistent with Benedict Anderson's definition of nation as an "imagined community," underlies this creative thesis project. My poems attempt …

Transition And Upheaval: Readers Switch From Newspapers To Web News Sites., James Detar

Master's Theses

This thesis provides an examination of the impact of the switch by news readers from print newspapers to news Web sites and other digital news media. The method is qualitative research in the form of a series of in-person interviews with top level editors at nine large national and regional U.S. newspapers. The consensus of the editors interviewed is that the rise of online news is a primary cause of the shrinkage of print news readership. Further, they agreed that print newspaper readership will continue to decline. Finally, most of the editors concluded that---although it presents opportunities---the impact of the …

"Firing The Pigskin Real Right": Media Representations Of Simpson And Romo., Lindsey M. Eliopulos

Master's Theses

The purpose of the study was to examine the media's representations of sport-celebrity couple singer-actress, Jessica Simpson and Dallas Cowboys Quarterback, Tony Romo. One hundred magazine and 100 newspaper articles published between December 17, 200, that coincided with the first publicized notion of the "Jessica Simpson jinx" and April 15, 2009, were qualitatively analyzed. The investigation revealed the prevailing dominant ideologies of patriarchal structures, traditional gender roles, hegemonic masculinity and deviance, while underscoring the mass media's ubiquitous characteristics. The literature emphasized the mass media's representation of the celebrity and the media's habitual employment of gossip and rumor linguistics to frame …

Avini's City: "Shahri Dar Aasemaan"., Mehrzad Karimabadi

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the documentary Shahri dar Aasemaan (i.e. A City in the Sky) by the late filmmaker Sayyed Morteza Avini's in order to establish its key elements and argue for Avini as an auteur with a unique cinematic style that includes strong personal and ideological ties. Shahri dar Aasemaan, which was Avini's last documentary, covers the initial forty-five-day battle leading to the Iraqi occupation of the Iranian city of Khorramshahr when the Iran-Iraq war broke out in October of 1980. In order to better comprehend Avini as an auteur and his work, this study begins with a brief introduction …

Offshoring Effectiveness: Measurement And Improvement With Optimization Approach., Dip Biswas

Master's Theses

This study takes a refreshing look at IT outsourcing from a vendor's perspective and discusses best practices required to effectively manage offshore business needs and offshoring effectiveness. We have conducted a detailed investigation to learn why outsourcing ventures fail, how to effectively measure up to service provider capability, and how to deliver strategic value to the end customer. Extant literature does not talk about the vendor's issues and problems in outsourcing, and our investigation emphasized the vendor's perspective on offshoring strategy and offshore resource effectiveness as the two important differentiators in a make-or-buy decision. Measurement metrics for each of the …

Seafood Labeling And Consumer Behavior: A Fishwise Case Study, Sonoma County, Ca., Alicia Ushijima Elsholz

Master's Theses

Decades of unsustainable commercial fishing have resulted in depletion of fish stocks, destruction of ocean habitats, and unintended capture and death of fish and marine mammals. In addition, unsustainable aquaculture practices threaten wild species and pollute surrounding natural habitats. In an attempt to combat these adverse impacts, FishWise, a seafood labeling program, was created to encourage consumers at health food stores and gourmet markets in the US to purchase seafood caught or farm raised in a sustainable manner. This study evaluates FishWise to determine its effectiveness in educating consumers about sustainable fishery issues and in influencing purchases of sustainable seafood …

Examination Of The Factors That Predict Job Satisfaction., Amani Shoman

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors of job satisfaction among three departments within an organization. The study used five predictors: leadership/top management communication with subordinates, feedback received from one's supervisor, training opportunities for employees, career opportunities within the company, and teamwork or cooperation among employees. Using data from 608 participants, the present study examined the relationships between each of these five predictors and job satisfaction. Consistent with hypotheses, each of these predictors was significantly related to job satisfaction. Moreover, leadership/top management communication with subordinates (except for one department surveyed), career opportunities within the company, and teamwork …

Enhancing Spammer Detection In Online Social Networks With Trust-Based Metrics., Alexander J. Murmann

Master's Theses

As online social networks acquire larger user bases, they also become more interesting targets for spammers. Spam can take very different forms on social Web sites and cannot always be detected by analyzing textual content. However, the platform's social nature also offers new ways of approaching the spam problem. In this work the possibilities of analyzing a user's direct neighbors in the social graph to improve spammer detection are explored. Special features of social Web sites and their implicit trust relations are utilized to create an enhanced attribute set that categorizes users on the Twitter microblogging platform as spammers or …

Women In Sports Journalism., Sara Ellen Swanson

Master's Theses

This thesis is an exploration of women in sports journalism and the challenges they face when entering the locker room. It begins with an introduction focused on the history of women in sports journalism. Following the introduction, there will be a discussion in literature review format of the various challenges the women have faced.

Factors In Bmi Increase Among Multicultural Freshmen., Leah Haritan

Master's Theses

This observational research examines body mass index (BMI) changes in multicultural freshmen attending a large public urban university. It explores factors associated with BMI increase and investigates behavior changes and perceptions related to diet and body weight. The study utilizes an online survey distributed in November 2007 and again in April 2008. All 3,260 freshmen were eligible to participate. Initial response rate was 23%; 44% of initial respondents completed both surveys (N = 337). Results revealed a significant increase in BMI for on-campus residents, Caucasians, and males (P < 0.05). Decreased vegetable intake was associated with a BMI increase of less than one (P < 0.05). Fruits and vegetables were perceived by most as healthful; their high cost, and limited variety and availability on campus were deemed potential barriers to intake. Freshman weight gain may be a function of gender, residence, and ethnicity, and deserves further examination.

Portrayals Of Motherhood In Four Women's Magazines: 1985 And 2009., Kristen A. Sato

Master's Theses

This thesis concerns representations of women as mothers in women's magazines during 1985 and 2009. It analyzes the images, symbols, and textual messages within the advertisements of these magazines. Gender roles and gender scripts for women during the respective years are then considered with the collected data, in order to contrast portrayals of mothers in the advertisements against aspects of actual motherhood.

Barriers To Mitigation: Incentives And The Influence Of Social Networks., Crystal Paul

Master's Theses

This study is an expansion of previous research and a pilot study conducted on the barriers to hazard mitigation. Using a sample of 235 American Red Cross staff members and volunteers, factors such as the barriers and incentives around earthquake mitigation were assessed. Demographic characteristics and threat perceptions were also measured and compared to respondents' mitigation activities. While few demographic characteristics could be related to mitigation activity overall, findings were consistent with information found in the literature review and the pilot study. Barriers to mitigation were generally cost, time required, lack of information, and a feeling that it was unnecessary …

Host Majority Group Members' Acculturation Attitudes Towards Immigrant Groups., Kanako Miwa

Master's Theses

One out of every four individuals residing in the U.S. lived in another country before moving to the U.S. Such an individual has to face acculturation. Research has consistently shown that immigrants differ in how they go about their acculturation. However, little is known about what acculturation strategies the majority group members believe immigrants should adopt in the host country. Therefore, the present study examines the host majority group members' (Euro-Americans) acculturation orientations toward two immigrant groups (Mexican and Japanese) on different life domains and identifies individual difference factors (e.g., social dominance orientation, social distance, and self-efficacy) that are related …

Programming And Conceptual Design Using Building Information Modeling, Mary-Alice Avila

Master's Theses

This thesis explores the benefits of using Building Information Modeling (BIM) during the programming and conceptual design phase of a project. The research was based on a case study undertaken dealing with the decisions and assumptions made during the design phases of the Center for Science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The project team used a traditional approach to project plan development. The finding of this study was that the project process would have greatly benefited utilizing BIM tools and a collaborative team approach in the programming and conceptual design phase. Because decisions made early in the project have …

Joshua And The Education Of A Nation: Jamaica Educational Reform In The Manley-Era, 1972-1980, Dionne Dean

Master's Theses

Former Jamaican Prime Minister, Michael Manley and the Peoples National Party were concerned with the future manpower needs of the developing nation. They were also concerned with what education meant for the political process in Jamaica. World financial organizations such as the IMF and World Bank loaned the country millions of dollars to aid in the development of educational programs. However, they also expected a return on investment in the form of an educated labor force to be utilized by foreign investors. Foreign aid organizations such as CIDA and UNESCO also contributed greatly to educational advancement on the island. They …

Twenty-One Countries, Millions Of Native Speakers, And One Semester To Teach It All: Linguistic Variation In Entry Level College Textbooks For Spanish, Nicole Joanne Gilmore

Master's Theses

There is a great deal of linguistic variety in the Spanish that is spoken throughout the world. Differences such as the use of vosotros, voseo, and seseo, are steadily employed in some areas, while other people groups express themselves in a totally different manner. Because such a wide range of linguistic nuances exist, textbook authors are faced with the difficult task of choosing which elements to include and which to exclude from their writings. In this study, I have examined 17 different beginning level textbooks for college students of Spanish with a particular focus on the teaching of the following …

Female Stereotypes In 21st Century News And Business Magazines, Gosia Gizycki

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Interpreting Quantum Nonlocality As Platonic Information, James C. Emerson

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Uses And Adoption Of Web 2.0 : A Study Of The Next Generation Of The Internet, Caitlin Rives

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Event Based Propagation Approach To Constraint Configuration Problems, Rajhdeep Jandir

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Uses And Gratifications Of The Food Network, Cori Lynn Hemmah

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Alk2 Bmp Receptor Domains In Developing Chick Heart : Immunohistochemical Mapping, Ricardo LeitãO

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Rxbot, Esha Patil

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Functional Study Of Disproportionating Enzyme 2 In The Arabidopsis Cold Response, Sunita Patil

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Box Office Effects Of Casting Celebrities As Replacement Actors On Broadway, Douglas Santana

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Use Of Novel Assays To Measure In Vivo Base Excision Dna Repair, Preethi Sundaresakumar

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Trickle-Down Paternalism : Mayor Angelo Rossi's Embrace Of New Deal Style, Ronald R. Rossi

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Dinb In Uv Survival And Uv-Induced Mutagenesis In Escherichia Coli, Mei-Chong Wendy Lee

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.