Digital Commons Network^™

Economic And Political Determinants Of State Spending, Chris Dunlap '98

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Policy in the American States, Erikson, Wright, and McIver (1993) study the effects of individual state partisanship and political ideology on state presidential voting. In general, they found that partisanship and ideology affected presidential voting independently of one another. In addition, from 1988 through 1992 (the last year of their study), they found that ideology became more important in explaining variation in presidential vote. Renner (1997) took this study further, and showed, using newer data, that since 1992, partisanship and ideology have become more equal in their explanation of tile variance in presidential voting.

Environmental Commitment Among The States, Nate Knuffman '98

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Over the last three decades, the environment has become established as a major issue on the American political agenda. Into the 1970s, rising public concern about threats to the environment resulted in changes in government policies at all levels. The US adopted an extensive number of major environmental and resource policies which imposed increasingly stringent standards on industry. New institutions, like the US Environmental Protection Agency, were created to manage environmental programs and spending was greatly increased for these programs. However, under the Reagan administration in the 1980s, a conservative policy agenda was implemented which accelerated devolution and resulted in …

Partisanship And Constituency Influences On Congressional Roll-Call Voting Behavior In The Us House, Greg Crowe '98, Elizabeth Ann Eberspacher '98

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This research examines the factors that influence how members of the US House of Representatives vote. Party affiliation of the legislator and constituency interests will be the two main independent variables. The district's constituency characteristics are represented by constituency ideology ('96 Presidential vote for Clinton), percent non-white, region, and the median household education. Three models are used to measure congressional voting behavior. The first of which is measured by the rating of the member's vote with the Christian Coalition. The second and third models are derived from the National Journal Ratings of social and economic liberalism of the member's vote.

Unheeded Advice, John Gutowski '98

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

In his book, On the Social Contract, Rousseau discusses some of the main pitfalls to the survival of a government. By focusing on one paragraph, it is possible to get an in-depth view of one of Rousseau's causes of the dissolution of government.

Parting Advice: Timelines For Applying To Graduate School, Law School, And Finding A Job

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Social Support In Mediating Stress And Illness, Valerie M. Stachour '98

Honors Projects

Social Support has been shown to be one important factor in the link between stress and illness. In this study, the role of social support is examined in light of the two different categorizations of social support: quality and quantity. High quality and high quantity social support groups were hypothesized to be correlated with lower illness levels. In an attempt to explore the relative merits of the main effect and the buffering hypotheses, the relative role of social support to stress and illness was examined. There was a significant correlation between quality of social support and illness levels. Quantity of …

Aggression, Relational Aggression, Sociometric Status And The Quality And Authenticity Of Children's Friendships, Carrie C. Finch '98

Honors Projects

The purpose of the present study is to assess how aggression, relational aggression, and sociometric status relate to the quality and authenticity of children's friendships. Relations between aggression, relational aggression, and sociometric status as well as between friendship quality and friendship authenticity were also explored. 136 fourth and fifth grade children (69 boys, 67 girls) completed several measures, including a sociometric measure, the aggression section of the Pupil Evaluation Inventory with a few items measuring relational aggression inserted, the Friendship Quality Questionnaire, and a questionnaire assessing friendship authenticity. Children's peer rated levels of aggression and their sociometric status did not …

Problem Based Learning And Its Use On The Automotive Engineering Design Course At Coventry University, Aj Robotham

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The Automotive Engineering Design course at Coventry University has been in operation since October 1989 and has earned a reputation for creating able engineers well prepared for industry. When originally conceived, a problem led approach to learning was adopted across the course. This approach best enables the course objectives to be satisfied. However, there is nothing new about problem-based learning for engineering design educators but for our engineering science colleagues a degree of novelty has been encountered by this approach. But is the success of the course purely down to this teaching and learning approach? This paper will discuss the …

Supporting The Management Of Electronic Engineering Design Teams Through A Dynamic Contingency Approach, Richard David Parsons

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The contribution to knowledge presented in this thesis is the dynamic contingency approach, supported through software, which supports the management of the early, conceptual stages of electronic engineering team design. 1he term contingency pertains to the design environment being in a contingent state, that is "dependent on uncertain issues" (Hayward & Sparkes, 1991). These issues are typically dynamic, that is ''pertaining to forces not in equilibrium, forces that produce motion" (Hayward & Sparkes, 1991). The concept for the dynamic contingency approach was developed through a soft systems analysis. This analysis drew upon an ethnographic study conducted in parallel with the …

Creating Practitioners Of Design For Quality Through Education, Aj Robotham

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The WDK Workshop in Pedagogics in Design Education provides an ideal opportunity to reflect upon my experiences of teaching engineering design at tertiary level and review some of the fundamental elements of design education practice. In particular, I will reflect upon the design experience provided at Coventry University where I taught until quite recently.

The Influence Of Belief Bias On Syllogistic Reasoning, Nicola-Jane Lambell

School of Psychology Theses

The syllogistic evaluation task paradigm requires participants to assess whether a conclusion is logically determined by its premises. The inability to ignore beliefs when attempting to comply with this requirement is the phenomenon known as ‘belief bias’. This research programme primarily examines this phenomenon and is motivated by conflicting accounts of how it arises. This research also examines the relative believability of the logical quantifiers which are used to construct the syllogistic task.

An Investigation Into The Development Of Engineering Students' Conceptual Understanding Of Mathematics, Wendy Mary Maull

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Following widespread concern over an apparent decline in the mathematical skills of engineering students, this study employed survey and observation methods to investigate the ways in which engineering students understand mathematical concepts, and to compare these with the concepts held-by students of mathematics. It was found that the engineering students employ a different vocabulary from mathematics students in discussing mathematics, and that their understanding of mathematical concepts develops differently from mathematics students both in response to teaching (which appears to be a transitory effect) and as their experience gives meaning to the ideas in life outside study. These findings are …

The Bears Banter : Freshers Mag. Vol. 2 Ed. 1, 1998, Dit Bolton Street Students' Union

DIT Student Union

Freshers Mag. A magazine for students of DIT Bolton Street.

The Orientation Toward Domestic Labor Questionnaire: Exploring Dual-Earner Wives' Sense Of Fairness About Family Work, Alan J. Hawkins, Christina M. Marshall, Sarah M. Allen

Faculty Publications

This study explored the psychometric properties of the Orientation Toward Domestic Labor Questionnaire (ODL-Q) with a sample of 622 dual-earner wives. Adequate internal consistency reliability was obtained for most of the construct in the ODL-Q. In addition, construct validity for the ODL-Q was provided with multiple regression and discriminant analyses of the constructs' relationships to wives' sense of fairness about family work. The ODL-Q scales accounted for 57% of the variance in wives' sense of fairness. Effective communication about domestic labor (expressions of appreciation, sympathetic listening, mutual decision making) was by far the most powerful predictor and discriminator of fairness. …

Annual Report 1 September 1997 - 31 August, 1998, Dublin Institute Of Technology

DIT Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

The Dit Examiner : The Newspaper Of The Dublin Institute Of Technology Students' Union, January, 1998, Dit : Students' Union

DIT Student Union

The DIT Examiner : the Newspaper of the Dublin Institute of Technology Students' Union.

Personal Jurisdiction And The Internet Quagmire: Amputating Judicially Created Long-Arms

San Diego Law Review

This Comment will explore the expanding power courts have given the word “haled” and its relationship to computer communication: a relationship that is confusing, contradictory, and sometimes downright troubling. Personal jurisdiction via the internet is a rapidly expanding area of American jurisprudence that has developed, and is developing, in response to the explosive growth of computer communications. While the hypothetical internet disclaimer contained above could be viewed as little more than unsubstantiated fears of the legally paranoid, in the future it may be the disclaimer of the legally prudent.

Gagging Physicians: Is That What The Legislature Intended?

San Diego Law Review

In 1996, the California legislature took steps to modify existing contractual relationships between physicians and managed care organizations (“MCOs”).Legislative action was prompted by skyrocketing medical malpractice verdicts, cries from physicians about unfair treatment caused by new payment systems, and media hysteria. Regardless of which straw broke the proverbial camel’s back, the result was no fewer than four bills that promise to forever change health care in California.

Threshold Order: Bilateral Law Enforcement And Regional Public Safety On The U.S./Mexico Border, Alan D. Bersin

San Diego Law Review

The Mexican/United States border region presents a study in contrast and ambivalence in both countries as well as between them. The border marks the collision of international boundaries--the beginning and end of nations as well as a merger of them. It composes a binational corridor and channel where currents of free trade, family ties, migration, cultural exchange, illegal firearms, and drug trafficking boil most actively in tandem. Cross-border perspectives and organizations that promote and share a sense of regional identity are, therefore, increasingly essential to a satisfactory working relationship between the United States and Mexico.

Patient Advocates Or Patient Adversaries? Using Fiduciary Law To Compel Disclosure Of Managed Care Financial Incentives, Kim Johnston

San Diego Law Review

This Article advocates disclosure as a compromise between wholeheartedly embracing financial incentives and flatly prohibiting them, and suggests using fiduciary law to compel such disclosure. This Article also argues that courts should recognize a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty when a physician fails to disclose managed care financial incentives to her patients. Part I gives a brief overview of fiduciary law and fiduciary duties. Part II examines the fiduciary nature of the physician-patient relationship and looks at court cases that have characterized the physician-patient relationship as a fiduciary relationship. Part Ill discusses the only two published opinions …

Pretrial Detention In The Ninth Circuit, Thomas Bak

San Diego Law Review

In 1992, the Judicial Conference of the United States ("JCUS") adopted a resolution encouraging the examination of bias based on race, ethnicity, gender, age and disability in the federal judiciary. The Ninth Circuit responded to the JCUS resolution with a study of gender bias, completed in 1993.2 Subsequently, the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference authorized a second study, establishing the Task Force on Racial, Religious, and Ethnic Fairness in 1993.' This study of pretrial detention in the Ninth Circuit was undertaken as part of the research commissioned by the Task Force.

Why I Am A Lawyer, Joseph L. Daly

San Diego Law Review

With so little honor associated with the law profession these days, one must wonder why any person aspiring to do something respectable with her or his life7 would choose to be a lawyer.8 To become a lawyer today, students must have a firm desire to be an attorney and a steadfast willingness to accept social opprobrium.9

Amalgam In The Americas: A Law School Curriculum For Free Markets And Open Borders, Mark A. Drumbl

San Diego Law Review

This Article addresses this lacuna by investigating ways in which the American and Canadian common law curriculum could become more responsive to the changing realities of legal practice under NAFTA.

Potentially the following modifications could be introduced on a gradual basis: 1. Introduction of a course to familiarize common law lawyers with the method, principles and practice of civil law, with a directed focus on Mexico; 2. Initiation of a broader NAFTA curriculum, potentially leading to a certificate or designation; and 3. Development of a new law degree, universally recognized in all three NAFTA jurisdictions as a prerequisite to bar …

Extraterritorial Application Of Antitrust Laws And The U.S.-Eu Dispute Over The Boeing And Mcdonnell Douglas Merger: From Comity To Conflict? An Argument For A Binding International Agreement On Antitrust Enforcement And Dispute Resolution

San Diego Law Review

Due to the increase of "mega-mergers" between corporations trying to compete in the global economy, cross-border regulation of mergers and acquisitions by both the United States and the European Union has become much more common. 5 Until recently, such reviews and regulatory acts by foreign regulators only rarely caused trade disputes or tensions in diplomatic relations.' In order to maintain cooperation and prevent serious disputes over regulation of each other's domestic corporations, the United States and the European Union entered into an agreement on the application of antitrust laws in 1991.

Automated Interpretation Of The Background Eeg Using Fuzzy Logic, Edward Peter Riddington

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

A new framework is described for managing uncertainty and for deahng with artefact corruption to introduce objectivity in the interpretation of the electroencephalogram (EEG). Conventionally, EEG interpretation is time consuming and subjective, and is known to show significant inter- and intra-personnel variation. A need thus exists to automate the interpretation of the EEG to provide a more consistent and efficient assessment. However, automated analysis of EEGs by computers is complicated by two major factors. The difficulty of adequately capturing in machine form, the skills and subjective expertise of the experienced electroencephalbgrapher, and the lack of a reliable means of dealing …

Image Analysis And Prenatal Screening, Jian'an Luan

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Information obtained from ultrasound images of fetal heads is often used to screen for various types of physical abnormality. In particular, at around 16 to 23 weeks' gestation two-dimensional cross-sections are examined to assess whether a fetus is affected by Neural Tube Defects, a class of disorders that includes Spina Bifida. Unfortunately, ultrasound images are of relatively poor quality and considerable expertise is required to extract meaningful information from them. Developing an ultrasound image recognition method that does not rely upon an experienced sonographer is of interest. In the course of this work we review standard statistical image analysis techniques, …

The Fatigue Properties Of Spring Steel, Daniel Gerhardus Hattingh

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The nature and scope of this thesis can be divided into three categories, namely stress distribution modelling in coil springs; fatigue and failure analysis, an investigation into measurement of residual stresses and the relation to fatigue life. The operation of springs is directly concerned with the theories of torsion and bending which makes the better understanding of these theories essential. The first part of the thesis is involved with a mathematical evaluation of these theories and a case study of an isolated loop of a coil spring. The mathematical modelling is verified by measuring the strain levels in a coil …

Latent Variable Generalized Linear Models, Jane Creagh-Osborne

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) (McCullagh and Nelder, 1989) provide a unified framework for fixed effect models where response data arise from exponential family distributions. Much recent research has attempted to extend the framework to include random effects in the linear predictors. Different methodologies have been employed to solve different motivating problems, for example Generalized Linear Mixed Models (Clayton, 1994) and Multilevel Models (Goldstein, 1995). A thorough review and classification of this and related material is presented. In Item Response Theory (IRT) subjects are tested using banks of pre-calibrated test items. A useful model is based on the logistic function with …

The Manufacture Of Marine Propellers In Moulded Anisotropic Polymer Composites, Timothy John Searle

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis examines the feasibility of manufacturing small marine propellers from continuous fibre reinforced polymer composite materials. An appraisal of some current applications of composite materials in the marine industry is given, together with the moves shown towards the use of composites in the area of propeller design. It has been shown that manufacturing propellers in composite materials is theoretically more cost effective than traditional materials. The manufacturing route investigated is Resin Transfer Moulding, where some detailed investigations have highlighted some of the critical processing parameters necessary for successful production of laminates suitable for propellers and other high performance marine …

Investigation Into The Materials And Manufacturing Of A New Thin Film Magnetoresistive Sensor, Yong Qing Ma

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

There is increasing interest in utilising very thin anisotropic magnetoresistive films (typically in the range of a few nano-metres) to make magnetic sensors which can be made very small and with a high signal-to-noise ratio. In this thesis, a new type of sensor is investigated which has a pair of thin film MR stripes whose magnetisation is switched alternately in opposite directions using bias fields from currents in overlay conductor films. The investigation considers in particular the Barkhausen noise in these sensors and its relationship with factors such as sensor film thickness. The effect of thickness and grain size on …