Digital Commons Network^™

Health Care Fraud Across Time And Delivery Systems: Assessing The Legal Impact Of The Affordable Care Act, Dana K. Bonnell

Masters Theses

Health care fraud is a crime that costs the United States billions of dollars each year. Health insurance fraud against government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare make up the majority of false claims. Government health care programs are particularly susceptible to fraud for three reasons: (a) high volume of claims; (b) recipient characteristics; and (c) a favorable ratio of reward to risk. Modes of fraud commission change depending on the health care delivery and payment model in use. In part, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 sought to dramatically reduce health care fraud. The Affordable Care …

From Land To Lake: Contrasting Microbial Processes Across A Great Lakes Gradient Of Organic Carbon And Inorganic Nutrient Inventories, Deborah K. Dila

Masters Theses

Freshwater ecosystems have strong linkages to the terrestrial landscapes that surround them, and contributions of carbon and inorganic nutrients from soil, vegetation and anthropogenic sources subsidize autochthonous water body productivity to varying degrees. Abundant freshwater phytoplankton and bacterioplankton are key to linking the planet's geosphere and atmosphere to the food webs in the hydrosphere through their growth and respiration. Rich resources that move through land margin waterways make them active sites for cycling organic carbon and thus important, but understudied, contributors to global climate. During 2010-2011, we examined seasonal changes in carbon and nutrient inventories, plankton community composition and metabolism …

Green And Choking: Exploring The Dynamics Of Seasonal Productivity And Hypoxia In A Great Lakes Area Of Concern And Habitat Blueprint Estuary Using Time-Series Measurements, Anthony D. Weinke

Masters Theses

Although hypoxia (dissolved oxygen <4 mg L-1) in the bottom waters of lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries may be a natural product of stratification in eutrophic or mesotrophic systems, there is increasing concern because the occurrence of hypoxia is spreading in many areas where hypoxia did not previously exist. Part of this new knowledge can be attributed to time-series data from buoy observatories that monitor systems in good weather and in bad, and allowing insight into the inner workings of a lake where sampling only a few times per year would not. This study made use of a five-year time-series of meteorological and water quality data in order to examine the effect of episodic wind-events on stratification and hypoxia within Muskegon Lake, Michigan, as well as performing bi-weekly lake-wide monitoring to evaluate the effects of stratification, hypoxia, and wind-events on the lake. In the wind-event portion of the study, we found that events where wind speeds were above average for an extended period of time occurred fairly frequently on the lake, but that thermal stratification allowed only the strongest events to significantly mix the water column at the buoy location a few times per year. This provided infrequent relief of hypoxia in the bottom waters. The second portion of the study found extensive effects on the water quality and biology in the bottom of the lake due to hypoxia such as increased phosphorus concentrations, enhanced phycocyanin following a strong windevent, and decreased fish abundance, richness, and size. We also found that hypoxia occurred lake-wide at all four sample locations, but was most stable at the deepest point in the lake that was least influenced by wind-events. It is possible that the combination of hypoxia and strong episodic wind-events leads to entrainment of phosphorus-rich waters to the surface initiating or continuing an algal bloom. Hypoxia and wind-event mediated internal loading of phosphorus could be a positive feedback loop for cyanobacterial blooms and hypoxia in Muskegon Lake.

Examining The Effect Of Climate Change On The Upper Mesophotic Coral Montastrea Cavernosa (Linnaeus 1767), John Skutnik

Masters Theses

Coral reefs are under increasing pressure from global climate change. In particular, ocean warming is having a deleterious effect on many of the world’s shallow reefs. Some authors suggest that acute exposure is more detrimental than chronic, versus others who indicate the opposite. However, little knowledge exists regarding heat induced stress on deeper mesophotic reefs. Here, I examined the effect of acute (72 hrs.) and chronic (480 hrs.) heat stress using laboratory experiments on coral Montastraea cavernosa (Linnaeus 1767) collected from an upper mesophotic (~30 m) reef off Islamorada Florida. I examined a variety of putative immune and stress genes …

Trophic Transfer Of A Naturally Occurring Algal Toxin From A Freshwater Lake To Little Brown Bats, Devin Jones

Masters Theses

Microcystis aeruginosa is a species of cyanobacteria capable of producing a hepatotoxin called microcystin. As toxic M. aeruginosa overwinters in the sediments of lakes, it is ingested by some mayfly larvae, such as those of Hexagenia spp., and thus

microcystin bioaccumulates in these insects. When Hexagenia emerge from lakes to

reproduce, they provide an abundant, albeit temporary, food source for many terrestrial

organisms such as bats. Little brown bats, Myotis lucifugus, likely feed opportunistically

on aquatic insects. To test if microcystin moves from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems via trophic transfer, we 1) tested bat feces for the presence of …

Variation In Alkaloid Defenses Of The Dendrobatid Poison Frog Oophaga Pumilio Lead To Differences In Avaoidance By Arhtropods, Sarah Bolton

Masters Theses

Conspicuously colored dendrobatid frogs sequester alkaloid-based defenses from dietary arthropods, resulting in considerable alkaloid variation among populations. Although alkaloids act as a defense against predation, relatively little is known about how alkaloid variation is perceived and functions as a defense against predators. Throughout its geographic range, previous studies have found the dendrobatid frog Oophaga pumilio to have particularly variable alkaloids, and that differences in these alkaloids are associated with differences in toxicity to laboratory mice. Although toxicity is one measure of alkaloid variation, predator avoidance of dendrobatids might simply be due to the bitter or unpalatable nature of alkaloid defenses. …

Sequestered Alkaloid Defenses In The Dendrobatid Poison Frog Oophaga Pumilio Provide Variable Protection From Microbial Pathogens, Kyle Hovey

Masters Theses

Amphibians produce the majority of their defensive chemicals, however alkaloid defenses in poison frogs are sequestered from dietary arthropods. Alkaloids function as a defense against predators, and certain types appear to inhibit microbial growth. However, alkaloid defenses vary considerably among populations of poison frogs, reflecting geographic differences in availability of dietary arthropods. Consequently, environmentally driven differences in poison frog alkaloid defenses may have significant implications regarding their protection against pathogens. While natural alkaloid mixtures in poison frogs have recently been shown to inhibit growth of non-pathogenic microbes, no studies have examined the effectiveness of alkaloids against microbes that infect frogs. …

The Agenda Setting Effects Of Cnn’S Twitter In The 2016 Super Tuesday Primaries, Joy Huertas

Masters Theses

Governmental fall downs, electoral outcomes, terrorism propaganda, and climate change awareness are just some of the commonly known results of the effects of news media coverage on the public opinion and society as a whole. For years, researchers have utilized the agenda setting theory as a basis for their studies on the effects of the news media coverage on the public opinion in countless of contexts. The purpose of this study was to analyze the agenda setting effects of a major broadcast news organization but from one of their most influential social media channels, Twitter. CNN’s daily Twitter mentions of …

Die Phantasie Gottes: An Analysis Of The Divine Ideas In Deity Theories And Brian Leftow, With A Proposed Synthesis, Nathaniel Dowell

Masters Theses

This thesis was on how God is related to the truth-values of propositions on possible worlds - specifically, those propositions that do not seem to be about Him and constitute His ideas for what to create. It opened with a survey of some historical positions with special emphasis on Aquinas, Leibniz, Spinoza and Kant. Next, some criticisms were given for these so-called deity theories (i.e., the belief that possibilities are dependent on God and God must, by nature, recognize the necessary truths He does) with the most space given to Brian Leftow’s critiques. The second chapter detailed Brian Leftow’s theological …

Junot Díaz’S The Brief, Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao And Its Punishment Of Failed Gender Performances, Bruno Yupanqui Tovar

Masters Theses

Junot Díaz’s renowned novel, The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Oscar Wao), presents the brief and wondrous life of its main character, Oscar Wao, but also describes the exceptional lives of Lola and Belicia, his sister and mother, respectively. While the story’s title asserts an enthusiastic tone to the lives of Oscar—and the females in his family—the story actually reveals the victimization and demise of these characters. Though Díaz offers the spell of Fukú americanus, a Dominican superstition, Feminist Theorist Judith Butler provides a more advantageous, concrete explanation for the subjugation of these characters. Butler argues that culture dictates …

"The Sickle Or The Cross": W.A. Criswell And Southern Baptists During The Early Cold War, Erin Yates

Masters Theses

W.A. Criswell served as the longtime pastor of First Baptist Dallas. The writings and ministry of W.A. Criswell demonstrate that the encompassing fear of the Cold War molded the sermons and actions of many Southern Baptists pastors. Southern Baptists during the Cold War exemplify how deeply the fear of the nuclear threat permeated the daily life of Americans. The Southern Baptist belief that the Soviet Union was the antagonist during the end times influenced their evangelism techniques, education techniques, and eschatology.

Heterochrony Of Cranial Bones In Amniota And The Phylogenetic Placement Of Testudines, Kathleen Sagarin

Masters Theses

The study of developmental systems may help to resolve the disagreement between morphological data and molecular data when it comes to the placement of Testudines among Amniota. Among other unique morphological adaptations, turtles possess an anapsid (unfenestrated) condition of the temporal region of the skull. If turtles are descended from diapsids, as molecular data suggests, this implies a rapid transformation of the temporal region from the diapsid condition to the anapsid condition. This study specifically addressed temporal bone heterochony among amniotes using the methods of Continuous Analysis (Germain and Laurin 2009) and Parsimov-based Genetic Inference (Harrison and Larsson 2008) to …

Medium As King: Social Media & The Political Campaign, Isaac Shea

Masters Theses

There is a growing need for a greater understanding of the intersection between great content, effective targeting and proper media usage in mediated communication and especially in American politics. As more campaigns move their efforts online in an attempt to reach a rapidly growing digital constituency, more content will continue to be less visible. The major quest for this study will be to challenge the long-standing idea that “content is king” which Bill Gates termed at the inception of the internet. A theoretical background of Marshall McLuhan and Kathleen Hall Jamieson will not only allow us to answer this question, …

Old And New Gods In An Age Of Uncertainty: Mixed Content Tales In Lebor Na Huidre, Eric Patterson

Masters Theses

This thesis will demonstrate that the mixed pagan and Christian content of LU, as examined through two selected exemplar tales, provides evidence of the unique merger of politics and religion in the localized setting of late eleventh century Clonmacnoise. Further, and more specifically, we will see that the mBocht family, influenced by its 2 participation in the Céli Dé movement and seeking to protect the societal standing and holdings of themselves and their monastery, used portions of these tales to send subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, messages to the Irish Church, to chieftains and kings across Ireland, and specifically …

Peer Disagreement And Rationality: An Analysis Of Richard Feldman's Conciliatory View, John Molinari

Masters Theses

How should one's beliefs be affected by one's knowing that other people, who are equally well-informed, rational, and intelligent – in other words, persons who are epistemic, or intellectual, peers – believe differently? In this thesis I look at a certain answer to this question. Richard Feldman argues that when two persons who have (roughly) the same level of intelligence and who are (roughly) equally well-informed disagree, the only rational response is for both persons to give up their disputed beliefs and suspend judgment. I look at two objections to Feldman’s view, one from Ernest Sosa and the other from …

The Problem Of Evil And The Probity Of Theodicy From William Rowe's Evidential Evidential Of Evil, Olaoluwa Apata

Masters Theses

In this research, we discussed the types of evil: moral and natural, which are cited by atheistic philosophers as evidence against the existence of God. The so-called evidence from evil has been used by the atheistic and other non-theistic scholars to raise hypothesis on evaluating the possibility or likelihood that an omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good God exists in a world that is littered with evil. Moral evil is evil that arise from the misuse of free will by moral agents, while natural evils are natural disasters such as: earthquakes, famine, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes etc. We discussed moral evil and …

The Library Under The Sun: Knowledge And Vanity In Umberto Eco’S The Name Of The Rose, Elizabeth Lamont

Masters Theses

Umberto Eco’s debut novel The Name of the Rose is so saturated with theoretical conversations and allusions that it can be read as a work of critical theory almost as much as it can be read as the wonderful detective novel that so many people have enjoyed. This thesis approaches the novel accordingly, engaging with the theoretical questions and ideas presented in the novel and evaluating them based on a biblical worldview. The central theoretical questions in the novel revolve around what can be known and how. Many critics have argued that the novel answers these questions of epistemology in …

Understanding College Students’ Exam Process In A General Chemistry Course, Angela Willson

Masters Theses

The main way most college chemistry courses assess what a student has learned is through a summative exam. After introductory science courses, such as general chemistry, many students cite poor teaching and disappointing grades in these courses as a reason for dropping out of STEM programs. There has been a lack of qualitative research on students’ experiences of the complete process of taking an exam from start to finish, or the exam process, which includes preparing for an exam, taking an exam, receiving feedback, and responding to feedback after the exam has been graded.

My goal in this exploratory study …

Verifying Automated Prestressed Concrete Design Software For Mdot Bridge Design Standards, Hussein Kadhim Abood Khalaf

Masters Theses

The design and analysis of bridges is a very critical and time consuming process. The automation of bridges design can save us time and effort, but the designer must have enough background with structural design of bridges in order to be able to analyze and understand the output of the automated design. This research shows the design and analysis of the superstructure of the US-27 Interchange Bridge at M-57 in Gratiot County of Washington Township, Michigan. The main purpose of this research is to establish a comprehensive design example following AAHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications and Michigan Bridge Design Manual. …

Sources Of Dignity For Persons: Capacities, Friendship, Love And Subjectivity, Matthew Nevius

Masters Theses

Many people seem to understand the term 'dignity' as applying to all human persons regardless of their race, creed, sex, or religious beliefs. As to what the concept 'dignity' means is a difficult and complex problem. Is the concept 'dignity' an empty concept, void of meaning? What does it mean when we say that this or that person has dignity? Most of the current philosophical literature has very little to say as to what dignity is. I will argue that what we need to find is a concept of dignity that accounts for both the infinite and the irreplaceable value …

Peer Disagreement And Rationality: An Analysis Of Richard Feldman's Conciliatory View, John Molinari

Masters Theses

How should one's beliefs be affected by one's knowing that other people, who are equally well-informed, rational, and intelligent – in other words, persons who are epistemic, or intellectual, peers – believe differently? In this thesis I look at a certain answer to this question. Richard Feldman argues that when two persons who have (roughly) the same level of intelligence and who are (roughly) equally well-informed disagree, the only rational response is for both persons to give up their disputed beliefs and suspend judgment. I look at two objections to Feldman’s view, one from Ernest Sosa and the other from …

The Effects Of Electronic Data Collection, Immediate Graphic Feedback, And Automated Scheduled Prompts On Data Collection Adherence, Cody Morris

Masters Theses

While data are essential to behavior analysis, collecting the type of data that behavior analysts often require can be a labor-intensive and time-consuming task. There have been many attempts to reduce the amount of time and effort required to collect behavioral data; most research in this area has been focused on computerized or electronic ways to do this (Dixon, 2003). While electronic data collection seems to be gaining popularity within applied behavior analysis, many obstacles still exist. The purpose of this project was to design a data collection system that is cost-efficient, adaptable, easy to use, and effective at increasing …

An Exploration Of Cubesat Propulsion, Andrew Davis Hine

Masters Theses

The development of new primary propulsion systems for CubeSats with the capability to complete orbital maneuvers has become a principal focus of many within the CubeSat community. One such propulsion device is the 1 cm Busek RF Ion Thruster (BIT-1). For systems such as the BIT-1 to become mission ready and implementable on spacecraft, preliminary testing must be completed to understand how these propulsion devices will perform when placed onboard. The research and testing performed and presented was used to understand how the BIT-1 propulsion device and others like it will interact with small spacecraft. This was accomplished by means …

Comparison Of Safety And Operational Performances For Three Engineering Countermeasures, Ali Hamzah Hussein Alzuhairi

Masters Theses

While there have been many studies on engineering treatments for reducing traffic crashes or for improving intersection efficiency, few studies have been simultaneously taking both impacts into consideration. This thesis analyzed impacts of engineering countermeasures and determines when these countermeasures are cost effective with respect to the amount of traffic and the number of crashes. Both crash reduction and operational costs were compared for analysis. This study specifically investigated three countermeasures: changing from permitted to protected for a left-turn on minor approaches, leading pedestrian interval (LPI), and exclusive pedestrian phase (Barnes Dance). The general Safety Performance Functions (SPFs) from the …

Development Of Strain And Pressure Sensors On Flexible And Stretchable Platforms, Mohammed Mudher Mohammed Ali

Masters Theses

The capability of the human brain to operate in conjunction with human senses and muscles enables us to become powerful autonomous beings. By using these organs, humans can interact with the surrounding environment. Similarly, the combination of sensors with the signal processing of modern electronics enables the interaction with the non-electrical environment.

In this thesis, the work focuses on the design and fabrication of flexible and stretchable sensors which have been receiving an increased interest for applications such as human body movement, tracking in the biomedical industry, object detection, fingerprint sensor as well as for monitoring deformations or structural changes …

Trailblazer: The Legacy Of Bishop Henry M. Turner During The Civil War, Reconstruction, And Jim Crowism, Jordan Alexander

Masters Theses

Henry McNeal Turner (1834–1915), a black wartime chaplain, an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) pastor, and occasional Republican politician, was a beacon of hope for thousands of freedmen following the American Civil War. The late nineteenth century marked a watershed in civil rights in the United States. The Civil War (1861–1865) ushered in emancipation for black slaves, while Reconstruction (1865–1877) provided tremendous opportunities for freedmen, including black male suffrage, equal protection under the law, and election to public office. Of course, African–Americans faced serious challenges. Many white southerners resisted Reconstruction, and the Ku Klux Klan (and other hate groups) soon emerged …

Spatial, Temporal Variability And Trends Within The Tributaries Of The Huron River: Effects On The Frequency Of Flooding, Cheyenne India Stewart

Masters Theses

The Huron River, located in the Great Lakes Region, Michigan, USA is a symbol of success, wealth and prosperity to the residents of Southeast Michigan. In the last 20 years, the river has been subject to degradation due to high growth rates of urban cities and often experience the cumulative effects of channelization, pollution from point and nonpoint sources, as well as a decline in wetland area and quality. Urbanization in watersheds of stream channels has intensified many incidences of flooding in metropolitan areas over the past few decades. Causes for the decrease in the capacity of the Huron River …

Descriptive Analysis Of Activity Transition Data In An Intensive Autism Treatment Center, Ashley Marie Kotsiris

Masters Theses

Children with autism often display challenging behaviors (e.g., tantrums, aggression, etc.) when transitioning between activities. Most of the current literature focuses on antecedent interventions for increasing compliance during transitions (e.g., visual schedules, two minute transition warnings, etc.). There is a minimal number of studies examining how environmental variables may affect transitions. This study was a descriptive analysis that examined different environmental variables and their effects on transitions. Observations were conducted with four children diagnosed with autism. A transition-tracking sheet was used to gather specific descriptive data during transitions. Results suggest that two-minute warnings were not correlated with more successful transitions, …

Redistribution Of The Chicago’S Divvy Bike-Share Stations Using Linear Optimization Model: An Equity Perspective, Md Mehedi Hasan

Masters Theses

Public bike-share infrastructure has the potential to play an important role in sustainable transport systems by enhancing environmental, public health and economic outcomes. In this research, the temporal distributive equity of bike-share infrastructure was examined for initial (300) and expanded (477) bike-share stations across the city of Chicago using eleven accessibility indices. The eleven accessibility indices were calculated using counts of bike share stations within neighborhood boundaries, buffered catchment areas and network distances. By examining the accessibility indices, it was recommended to re-distribute the bike share stations for optimal allocation across the different economic hardship categories. In this study, Linear …

A General Code To Simulate The Effect Of Indirect Lightning On Overhead Lines Using Emtp-Type Programs, Hasan Jameel Hasan

Masters Theses

In this thesis, a general code is obtained to allow the simulation of the transient response of transmission lines excited by a nearby lightning stroke using EMTP–type programs, namely PSCAD and ATP.

Initially, the frequency domain modeling of single phase and multiconductor transmission lines is described and assessed by means of several application examples. As a second stage, the transmission line model is used to implement an illuminated transmission line model (line excited by an electromagnetic field excitation) using Taylor’s formulation. Then, a general code is developed in MATLAB to obtain the response of a field excited line; this effect …