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Comparing Recreational Amenities Of University Towns And Non-University Towns, Timothy Allen Bisantz Aug 2012

Comparing Recreational Amenities Of University Towns And Non-University Towns, Timothy Allen Bisantz

Theses and Dissertations

Recreational amenities present great value for the community. Their existence provides an improved quality of life, offers a connection with the natural surroundings, and facilitates a healthy lifestyle. While communities continue to create and operate recreational facilities/areas, the presence of such facilities may have indirect effects on the general population. Specifically, this thesis will compare the presence of recreational amenities in metropolitan statistical areas that contain universities which are a part of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and metropolitan statistical areas with similar populations and geographic characteristics that don’t contain an AAU-member institution.

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Evaluation Of Field-Scale Soil Organic Carbon And Watershed-Scale Bioenergy Crop Production In Mississippi, Sarah Duffy Aug 2012

Evaluation Of Field-Scale Soil Organic Carbon And Watershed-Scale Bioenergy Crop Production In Mississippi, Sarah Duffy

Theses and Dissertations

To date only a limited number of studies have been done at the field level to observe the effects of agricultural management practices on carbon sequestration, water quality, and bioenergy crop yield in Mississippi. Therefore, the goals of this study were to monitor soil organic carbon (SOC) levels at the field scale and perform a comprehensive analysis of the potential environmental impacts at the watershed scale using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in two watersheds located in Mississippi. It was found that SOC levels generally are affected by depth, land use, and time. The SWAT models showed good …

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Biofacies Analysis Of Late Mississippian Ostracodes And Their Use As Paleoenvironmental Indicators In The Bluefield Formation, Mercer County, West Virginia, Benjamin T. Stencil Aug 2012

Biofacies Analysis Of Late Mississippian Ostracodes And Their Use As Paleoenvironmental Indicators In The Bluefield Formation, Mercer County, West Virginia, Benjamin T. Stencil

Theses and Dissertations

The Bluefield Formation (Chesterian, Upper Mississippian) of the Appalachian Basin is a lithologically variable unit, composed of mudstones lithofacies with subordinate amounts of sandstone and limestone. By analyzing sedimentology and the prominence of ostracodes, an ostracode biofacies model was generated that provides a large-scale paleoenvironmental framework for the Bluefield Formation. Three ostracode assemblages were defined in an effort to identify environmental conditions during deposition of the Bluefield: Assemblage I - Polytylites Assemblage; Assemblage II - Sansabella Assemblage; and Assemblage III - Whipplella Assemblage. The assemblage distributions indicate that nearshore transitional marine environments were common and normal open marine conditions were …

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Insights Into The Taxonomy And Evolution Within An Orchid, Platanthera Dilatata, Based On Orphometrics And Molecular Markers, Binaya Adhikari Aug 2012

Insights Into The Taxonomy And Evolution Within An Orchid, Platanthera Dilatata, Based On Orphometrics And Molecular Markers, Binaya Adhikari

Theses and Dissertations

Documenting biodiversity, at and below the species level, is a persistently challenging task for biologists. Poor understanding of biodiversity may lead to incorrect interpretations of observed variation. The underlying basis of variation can be understood by quantifying multiple sources of information. Nine morphometric characters and plastid DNA sequences (2511 bps) were quantified in a highly variable orchid species, Platanthera dilatata, to evaluate taxonomy of the three named varieties and to understand patterns of evolution. Three morphological groups, identified in a cluster analysis, were distinct in multiple floral traits. Additionally, the three clusters were consistently genetically divergent as indicated by infrequent …

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The Birth Of Radio In The American Sector (Rias)And Its Role During The Berlin Blockade, J. David Mecham Aug 2012

The Birth Of Radio In The American Sector (Rias)And Its Role During The Berlin Blockade, J. David Mecham

Theses and Dissertations

The ensuing chaos and power struggles between the East and West following the end of the Second World War in Germany set the stage for the creation of a unique radio station that would broadcast from behind the iron curtain for the duration of the cold war. RIAS, or Radio in the American Sector, would play a key role in the battle over ideology between the West and the Soviet Union. The story of RIAS' birth and development is a unique narrative of unintended consequences as the efforts of the Soviet Union to gain a monopoly over the airwaves of …

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A Study Towards Development Of An Automated Haptic User Interface (Ahui) For Individuals Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired, Ravi Rastogi Aug 2012

A Study Towards Development Of An Automated Haptic User Interface (Ahui) For Individuals Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired, Ravi Rastogi

Theses and Dissertations

An increasing amount of information content used in schools, work and everyday living is being presented in graphical form, creating accessibility challenges for individuals who are blind or visually impaired, especially in dynamic environments, such as over the internet. Refreshable haptic displays that can interact with computers can be used to access such information tactually. Main focus of this study was the development of specialized computer applications allowing users to actively compensate for the inherent issues of haptics when exploring visual diagrams as compared to vision, which we hypothesized, would improve the usability of such devices. An intuitive zooming algorithm …

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Neighborhood Inclusion And Quality In Richmond, Va: An Empirical Review Of Neighborhoods In The Richmond Region Based On Factors Of Racial And Economic Inclusion And Quality Of Life., Samuel Tuttle Aug 2012

Neighborhood Inclusion And Quality In Richmond, Va: An Empirical Review Of Neighborhoods In The Richmond Region Based On Factors Of Racial And Economic Inclusion And Quality Of Life., Samuel Tuttle

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an empirical review of neighborhoods in the Richmond Region based on factors of inclusion and quality of life. The research attempts to answer the question of whether or not healthy and inclusive neighborhoods exist in the Richmond Region, and if they do what factors they hold in common. Inclusion and quality of life are identified using census data, school assessment reports, HUD reports, and cause-of-death data applied at the neighborhood level (census tract). This data is used to identify neighborhoods within the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) that have a high quality of life and include racial …

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White, Black, And Blue: The Battle Over Black Police, Professionalization, And Police Brutality In Birmingham, Alabama, 1963-1979, Bryan Kessler Jul 2012

White, Black, And Blue: The Battle Over Black Police, Professionalization, And Police Brutality In Birmingham, Alabama, 1963-1979, Bryan Kessler

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the municipal politics and race relations in Birmingham, Alabama, from October 1963 to November 1979. While Birmingham is a centerpiece of the traditional Civil Rights Movement for its staging of the Bull Connor and Martin Luther King, Jr., confrontation in 1963, there has been little examination of the continuing struggles between the black and white communities in the years after the media spotlight. Of particular concern are the battles between the black community, white power structure, and the city’s police department over black policemen, professionalization and modernization, and police brutality. The changing role and tactics of black …

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The Frequency Of Harassment, Intimidation, And Bullying By General Education Students Compared To Special Education Students, And The Implications Of Early Intervention For At Risk Students; Are Special Education Students More Likely To Be Involved In Hib Incidents Than Regular Unclassified Students?, Peter Spezzano Jul 2012

The Frequency Of Harassment, Intimidation, And Bullying By General Education Students Compared To Special Education Students, And The Implications Of Early Intervention For At Risk Students; Are Special Education Students More Likely To Be Involved In Hib Incidents Than Regular Unclassified Students?, Peter Spezzano

Theses and Dissertations

This study intended to determine the pervasiveness of bullying among middle school students, and the relationship with special education classification. The sample population investigated was composed of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade middle school students. Archival data collected from four years of office disciplinary referrals provided the statistics to evaluate student classification and frequency of bullying. A two-way analysis of variance was conducted in order to examine the data. As hypothesized results revealed that there was a correlation between student special education classification and the rate of involvement in a bullying event. The research suggests that students classified as …

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Value Of Bundled Recreation Amenities In Southern Arizona Communities: A Hedonic Pricing Approach, Eliza Ann Hoffman Jul 2012

Value Of Bundled Recreation Amenities In Southern Arizona Communities: A Hedonic Pricing Approach, Eliza Ann Hoffman

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of family-recreation amenities to home valuation in Southern Arizona communities. Although recreation amenities have become a frequent addition to housing developments, little research exists regarding the value these amenities contribute to home valuation. The sample consisted of 600 homes in master-planned communities and 600 homes in comparable traditional subdivisions. Using the hedonic pricing method, this study examined whether the inclusion of recreation amenities provides additional value to homes after structural and locational characteristics were controlled for. Blocked multiple regression analyses were used to determine the contribution of both individual …

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Stoneflies Of Unusual Size: Population Genetics And Systematics Within Pteronarcyidae (Plecoptera), John S. Sproul Jul 2012

Stoneflies Of Unusual Size: Population Genetics And Systematics Within Pteronarcyidae (Plecoptera), John S. Sproul

Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1. The family Pteronarcyidae (Plecoptera) is a highly studied group of stoneflies and very important to a wide variety of aquatic studies. Several phylogenies have been proposed for this group recent decades, however there is little congruence between the various topologies. The present study revises the phylogeny of the group by combining molecular data from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II, ribosomal subunit 12S, ribosomal subunit 16S, and nuclear loci ribosomal subinit 18S and Histone H3, with published morphological data in a parsimony-based total evidence analysis. The analysis produced a well-supported phylogeny with novel relationships within the genus Pteronarcys. …

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Horace's Ideal Italy: Sabines And Sabellians In Odes 1-3, Keith R. Fairbank Jul 2012

Horace's Ideal Italy: Sabines And Sabellians In Odes 1-3, Keith R. Fairbank

Theses and Dissertations

Within Odes 1-3 Horace consistently locates an idealized version of Rome in Sabinum and Italia. The former had long been a moral foil for Rome. The latter consisted of the regions of Italy that rebelled against Rome during the Social War and fought on the side of Marius in the civil wars that followed. Horace joins these two groups with the term Sabellians and places them together in moral opposition to the corruption and decadence of the late first century BC. Thus Horace elevates the formerly rebellious and still foreign Italici into Roman politics in the lofty position of …

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The Globalization Of Latter-Day Saint Education, Casey Paul Griffiths Jul 2012

The Globalization Of Latter-Day Saint Education, Casey Paul Griffiths

Theses and Dissertations

This work traces the development of the global educational system of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After a long period of providing schools for its membership in the Intermountain West of the United States, the Latter-day Saints ultimately settled on a system of supplementary religious education, designed to work in concert with public education systems. During the 1950s as the Church began to gain an international following, Church leaders moved to establish an international system of schools to meet their needs. These schools were largely supervised and directed by Americans personnel. Under the leadership of Church president …

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Agnes Von Lilien: A Translation By Kari Stolzenburg, Kari M. Stolzenburg Jul 2012

Agnes Von Lilien: A Translation By Kari Stolzenburg, Kari M. Stolzenburg

Theses and Dissertations

The novel Agnes von Lilien by Caroline von Wolzogen, although celebrated during the period of Weimar Classicism, was not generally well known to English-speaking readers and researchers until recently. This project aims to address this situation by creating an easily accessible English translation of the novel complete with critical annotations for the benefit of researchers and lay readers alike. The annotated translation presented in this work is an excerpt of the full translation of the work drawn in particular from the first third of the novel. This novel, first published in 1798, reflects many ideals of the Enlightenment, as well …

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Diversification And Conservation In The South American Dry Biomes: Distribution Modeling And Multilocus Lizard Phylogeography, Fernanda Werneck Jul 2012

Diversification And Conservation In The South American Dry Biomes: Distribution Modeling And Multilocus Lizard Phylogeography, Fernanda Werneck

Theses and Dissertations

The understanding of diversification of intraspecific lineages can shed light on speciation processes and ultimately biogeographic patterns across multiple spatial and temporal scales. In this dissertation I investigated the geographical and ecological factors promoting diversification across the South American dry diagonal biomes (i.e. Cerrado, Chaco, and Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests - SDTFs), through a coupled approach between multilocus phylogeographic and geospatial methods, in the larger context of interpreting the consequences of the resulting patterns for the conservation of biodiversity and evolutionary processes. In Chapter 1 I evaluate biogeographic hypotheses previously proposed and emphasize that the dry diagonal biomes are particularly …

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Obesity In The Geriatric Population, Kimberly A. Brown Jul 2012

Obesity In The Geriatric Population, Kimberly A. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity has been a focus of medical and public health attention for decades; however, a relative paucity of information exists regarding the management of obesity in the geriatric population. It is known that standard, young adult recommendations to manage weight cannot be applied directly to the older population due to the potential of adverse health outcomes, but the most effective strategies are controversial (Heintze et al., 20 l 0). The goal of weight management is unique for this population and poses a challenge for health care providers when managing, treating, and counseling patients. With the current trends of obesity and …

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Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Ozark Ant Ecology, Robin Michelle Verble Jun 2012

Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Ozark Ant Ecology, Robin Michelle Verble

Theses and Dissertations

Fires are among the most conspicuous disturbances affecting leaf litter communities, and are sources of both direct and indirect insect mortality. Fires historically occurred on the Ozark landscape at high frequencies, and modern forest managers utilize prescribed fire to restore and maintain those ecosystems. I examined fire effects at multiple scales, ranging from post-fire patterns in leaf litter arthropod community structure to responses of individual organisms to heat stress. This dissertation summarizes the history of fire occurrences in Ozark forests of Arkansas. It then unifies the results of four observational and experimental studies designed to assess how Ozark forest ant …

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Community Journalists And Personal Relationships With Sources And Community Organizations, Richard G. Johnson Jun 2012

Community Journalists And Personal Relationships With Sources And Community Organizations, Richard G. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Community journalists, most of whom work and live in small towns, are likely to create personal relationships with sources and local organizations because of their proximity and involvement in the community. Such relationships may raise ethical questions that explore how journalists manage personal ties in the community. Using a grounded theory approach, the researcher analyzed 15 qualitative, in-depth interviews, this research examined ways in which journalists in six Western communities weigh their personal relationships against traditional journalism norms such as objectivity and detachment. Analysis of these interviews found community journalists fear conflicts of interest, and many of the interview subjects …

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We Need To Talk: Persuasive Communication In Fireproof Ministries' Xxxchurch Anti-Pornography Campaign, Vauna L. Davis Jun 2012

We Need To Talk: Persuasive Communication In Fireproof Ministries' Xxxchurch Anti-Pornography Campaign, Vauna L. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

The growing evidence of harm caused by pornography calls for interventions to counteract the influence of explicit sexual media. Fireproof Ministries conducts a major Christian anti-pornography campaign called XXXchurch. This case analysis of the campaign evaluated if the messages were appropriately designed in light of what persuasion research has discovered about motivating attitudinal and behavioral change. Theories about agenda setting, attitude accessibility, exemplars, evidence, cognitive dissonance, guilt, reactance, fear appeals, and self-efficacy were the basis of identifying the themes of the campaign, evaluating the credibility of XXXchurch, and assessing the theoretical foundation of the campaign. The study found three dominant …

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The Viability Of Virtual Worlds In Higher Education: Can Creativity Thrive Outside The Traditional Classroom Environment?, Linda M. Bradford Jun 2012

The Viability Of Virtual Worlds In Higher Education: Can Creativity Thrive Outside The Traditional Classroom Environment?, Linda M. Bradford

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of the growing popularity of virtual worlds for gaming, recreation, and education, few studies have explored the efficacy of 3D immersive virtual worlds in post-secondary instruction; even fewer discuss the ability of virtual worlds to help young adults develop creative thinking. This study investigated the effect of virtual world education on creative thought for university level students. Over the course of two semesters, a total of 97 university students participated in this study. Forty-six of these participants (experimental group) spent time in a specially designed virtual world environment, the V.I.E.W., while 51 of the participants (control group) met …

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Rembrandt Van Rijn's Jewish Bride: Depicting Female Power In The Dutch Republic Through The Notion Of Nation Building, Nan T. Atwood Jun 2012

Rembrandt Van Rijn's Jewish Bride: Depicting Female Power In The Dutch Republic Through The Notion Of Nation Building, Nan T. Atwood

Theses and Dissertations

Many art historians have debated the identity of the couple in Rembrandt's the Jewish Bride (1667). The painting is most often identified as an Old Testament theme. This is due to the seventeenth-century Dutch practice of using biblical "types" as ideal models for the structuring of the new republic founded on the Israelite ideology of nation building. Three of these biblical female types that have been separately associated with the female figure in the Jewish Bride are, Rebecca, Ruth, and Esther. As these biblical women represented different notions of power through their respective narratives, this thesis argues that Rembrandt deliberately …

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The Occupy Wall Street Movement As A 'Space Of Profanation', Alberto Rinaldi Jun 2012

The Occupy Wall Street Movement As A 'Space Of Profanation', Alberto Rinaldi

Theses and Dissertations

Born in a crucial historical moment - the decennial of 9/11, and more than ten years after the anti-globalization movement of Seattle - the Occupy Wall Street movement (OWS) has awaken again protest and dissent, for the first time at the heart of the largest financial centre of world. More â mature' than its predecessor and also increasingly more encompassing, this movement is presently working as a sort of â sounding board' of protest and dissent, finding its inspiration in the Arab Spring, the Spanish indignados, and in all other forms of systemic protests that have flared around the world …

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Public Education In The United States In A Post-Brown Era: The Antinomies Of Equal Protection Doctrine, Sarah Rizk Jun 2012

Public Education In The United States In A Post-Brown Era: The Antinomies Of Equal Protection Doctrine, Sarah Rizk

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, public schools are primarily financed by local tax on property. This property-tax-based system of finance is advantageous for people living in wealthy districts, as they benefit from greater educational funding resources. Residents of poorer districts, however, have the disadvantage of higher taxation that is needed to balance the deficit created by the lower value of property in these areas in order to finance local services. Through the use of local exclusionary planning and zoning powers, local governments can ensure that residents contribute a minimum amount of taxation to fund local services and to zone out â …

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Education In The Syrian Golan Heights Under International Human Rights Law And International Humanitarian Law, Michelle Strucke Jun 2012

Education In The Syrian Golan Heights Under International Human Rights Law And International Humanitarian Law, Michelle Strucke

Theses and Dissertations

Compulsory education, in particular history and religious education, is often used by states as a critical tool of nation building, as states attempt to socialize and shape the attitudes and beliefs of citizens in line with their strategic aims. As a state that defines itself as "Jewish and democratic" and that has instituted special compulsory education curricula for students on the basis of ethnicity and religion, the state of Israel is no exception. The Syrian Golan despite being under occupation by Israel for the last forty-five years has been written about only sparingly compared to the overwhelming amount of research …

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The Church In The Square: Negotiations Of Religion And Revolution At An Evangelical Church In Cairo, Egypt, Anna Dowell Jun 2012

The Church In The Square: Negotiations Of Religion And Revolution At An Evangelical Church In Cairo, Egypt, Anna Dowell

Theses and Dissertations

In the wake of the Egyptian January 25, 2011 popular uprisings that deposed Hosni Mubarak from the presidency, youth and leaders from Kanisset Kasr el Dobara (KDEC) in Tahrir Square embarked on new and unpredictable political projects and activisms. This ethnographic study is an engagement with these new revolutionary negotiations on the part of the largest Protestant congregation in the Middle East. Using participant observation, focus groups, and interviews this research seeks to elucidate the ways that youth and leaders utilized institutionalized discourse, religious imagery, and relational networks in order to carve out a place in the Egyptian public sphere …

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The Attitude Of Egyptian Nubian University Students Towards Arabic And Nubian Languages, Sanaa Gamal Abou-Ras Jun 2012

The Attitude Of Egyptian Nubian University Students Towards Arabic And Nubian Languages, Sanaa Gamal Abou-Ras

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the attitude of Egyptian Nubian university students towards the Arabic and the two Nubian languages, Nobiin and Kenuzi-Dongola. The Nubian languages are called by Egyptian Nubians, Fadijja/Fadicca and Kenzi, respectively. Nubians are people who live in the Nubia area which lies between Egypt's southern borders with the northern part of Sudan. Nubia is divided into two parts - one under the Egyptian regime, and the other under the Sudanese regime. The number of participants used in the study was forty - half male and half female. Twenty of these participants live in the Nubian region and are …

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The Voice Of The Other: Representations Of The United States In Egyptian Popular Discourse, Sara Pulliam Jun 2012

The Voice Of The Other: Representations Of The United States In Egyptian Popular Discourse, Sara Pulliam

Theses and Dissertations

The Egyptian-American relationship is complex and problematic on many levels and, similar to Arab-American relations as a whole, often draws the attention of policy makers and academics within political science and its subfield of international relations. Previous analyses of this topic have focused on the dimensions surrounding US policies in the Middle East and the consequences of these policies on both the US and the Arab region. These studies range from being scathingly critical, such as Gregory's The Colonial Present, to advocating for a US foreign policy that is based in rational pursuit of interests that overlooks the discontent of …

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Muslim Brothers In Egypt: Politics Of Generational Gaps, Doha Samir Mostafa Abdelgawad Jun 2012

Muslim Brothers In Egypt: Politics Of Generational Gaps, Doha Samir Mostafa Abdelgawad

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an attempt to address the politics of generational gaps within Muslim Brotherhood Movement in Egypt since mid 1980s till 2011. It sheds light on patterns of generational interactions, issues of concern, and their impact on the future trajectory of the Movement. It conceptually employs the Generational Unit Model, drawn largely from the work of Karl Mannheim. In doing so, the study applies focused semi-structured interviews with the movement's affiliated members from antagonistic generational units. The study addresses the socioeconomic and political context that shape the consciousness of two generational waves within the movement. It descriptively addresses the …

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From Political Tool To Humanitarian Stalemate: A Critical Appraisal Of International Refugee Law As A Global Protection Mechanism, Emily Rose Mattheisen Jun 2012

From Political Tool To Humanitarian Stalemate: A Critical Appraisal Of International Refugee Law As A Global Protection Mechanism, Emily Rose Mattheisen

Theses and Dissertations

People migrate for a variety of reasons. Some choose to migrate and others are forced. To cross an international border, they need permission of the host state. The 1951 Refugee Convention creates the refugee as an exceptional category of international migrants that is entitled to international protection. This research seeks to explore whether international refugee law rationally protects vulnerable peoples in the contemporary world. This is done through examining the historical context through which the refugee was created as a legal subject in international law and evaluating the critiques of the current implementation of international refugee law. This thesis argues …

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Impact Of One-To-One Computing On Middle School Teaching And Learning, Hebba Haroun May 2012

Impact Of One-To-One Computing On Middle School Teaching And Learning, Hebba Haroun

Theses and Dissertations

The State of Maine was the first state in the U.S.A (and in the world) to implement One-to-One Computing in schools in 2001. Former Governor of Maine, King Angus believed that students needed to acquire 21st Century Skills to have a sustainable future in the working force. Many schools in the U.S.A. started taking on the initiative of One-to-One Computing after Maine. Also in third world countries, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) along with major computer corporations provided subsidized laptops for many students worldwide. In the wake of 21st Century Skills, attaining One-to-One Computing has been a goal for …

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