Digital Commons Network^™

Watering With Words: Children And Nature In Puritan Educational Literature, Shoshana Friedman

Alison Scott Ricker Research Award

No abstract provided.

Validity Of The Boston Qualitative Scoring System As A Measure Of Executive Functioning In Pediatric Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Performance, Marlana Joyce Borgos

Open Access Dissertations

This study aimed to assess the Boston Qualitative Scoring System (BQSS; Stern et al., 1999) as a measure of executive functioning with a pediatric clinical sample (N = 157), replicating an earlier study with adult patients (Somerville, Tremont, & Stern, 2000). Male and female participants, representing diverse diagnostic categories, were examined across three age groups. Correlational analyses (to examine the convergent/divergent validity of the BQSS) revealed that median correlational coefficients were low across age groups. Relatively high correlations were not found between BQSS selected scores and convergent tasks, and low correlation coefficients were found between BQSS selected scores and divergent …

Type Ii Collagen Differentially Degraded Epitopes Can Be Used To Monitor In Vitro And In Vivo Cartilage Degradation, Brian Roland Felice

Open Access Dissertations

Articular cartilage is comprised of resident chondrocytes interspersed throughout a complicated network of molecules called the cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM). The major component of articular cartilage ECM is type II collagen, which supplies the matrix with its characteristic tensile strength. In some forms of arthritis such as osteoarthritis (OA), type II collagen is uncontrollably destroyed ultimately leading to joint dysfunction. Type II collagen, the major collagen type found in articular cartilage, may account for 95% of the total collagen content of articular cartilage. The molecules implicated in the destruction of the ECM are a family of enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases …

Prevalence And Risk Factors Associated With Substance Use And Abuse By Rhode Island Health Care Professionals, George Anthony Kenna

Open Access Dissertations

The major goals of this study were to address: (1) some of the key gaps in knowledge that can best be investigated by simultaneously examining the epidemiologic prevalence of alcohol, tobacco and other substance use by dentists, nurses, pharmacists and physicians; (2) methodological shortcomings of previous healthcare professional surveys. The method consisted of a seven page mail-survey sent to a random sample of 697 Rhode Island healthcare professionals (HCPs) during 2002. After three waves of surveys, 479 usable surveys were returned (68.7% response). The results of this study suggest HCPs are at slightly higher risk to use prescription drugs than …

Self-Organization, Hierarchy, And Task Structure In Workgroups: An Empirical Study Of Complexity Theory, Matthew G. Paldy

Open Access Dissertations

Complexity theorists argue that an optimal organizational form results from the interactions of individual agents in the absence of an imposed management hierarchy (Anderson, 1999; Begun, 1994; Berreby, 1998; Coveney & Highfield, 1995; Guastello, 2002). There have been few empirical studies to support this claim. This research investigated the effects of self-organization and task interdependence types on group effectiveness and member satisfaction. Results show that groups allowed to self-organize had greater member satisfaction in sequential and reciprocal task structures, shorter task completion times in sequential task structures, and lower satisfaction in pooled task structures versus comparable groups with hierarchy imposed. …

Parenting The Child With Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Sandra Ruth Mott

Open Access Dissertations

What is it like to parent a child born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)? Until recently these children did not live beyond infancy so the question was mute. With the advent of new technologies and care these infants are surviving and thriving. However, they require intense care during their first few years of life. A literature search revealed many publications related to the infant's physical care before, during and between surgeries but little that addressed parenting expectations or concerns. To discover what it was like to be the parent of a child, who was living with a reconstructed heart, …

Gilded Age Spaces, Actual And Imagined: Edith Wharton As A Spatial Activist And Analyst, Renee Dara Somers

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to alter the reductive classification of Edith Wharton as "the upper class, Old New York, author of fiction" by re-imagining her place in American literature and culture. Viewing Wharton as a spatial activist accomplishes this task; she devoted much of her life to exploring the relationships that exist between people and their built environments. Wharton's spatial activism can be found in her interior design, her architecture, her landscape artistry and her life in general as much as they can be located in her literary texts. Her theories of space are practiced and materially executed, in addition to …

Personalizing The School Environment: Teacher-Based Advisory Programs That Support Student Adjustment And Academic Outcomes, Caroline Johnson Caswell

Open Access Dissertations

This study attempts to look at middle school teacher-based advisory programs in sixteen states across the nation. Over 200 schools were surveyed with analyses from administrator, teacher, and student responses. Regression analyses were conducted on a hierarchical basis with respect to school location, advisory structure (length and duration of advisory programs), advisory practices (academic and career issues, parental contact, individual meetings with students, study hall projects, linkages to guidance and health, leadership, and adjustment and health issues), teacher attitudes (job role strain, job satisfaction, parental contact, burnout total, and school climate), and student experiences (anxiety, depression, recognition, school transition, teacher …

Attribute-Level Interactivity, Satisfaction, And Loyalty In The Online Environment, Miao Zhao

Open Access Dissertations

Websites are a composite of multiple attributes, each of which has certain characteristics. One such characteristic is interactivity. This dissertation research focused on the impacts of a website's attribute-level interactivity on users' satisfaction with and loyalty to the website. Although some researchers have addressed interactivity of overall websites, there is little research focusing on interactivity of attributes within a website and the consequences on users' satisfaction with and loyalty to the site. This dissertation research examined the impacts of website attribute-level interactivity on user satisfaction with and loyalty to the site from different perspectives. First, this research tested the effects …

The Relationships Between Metacomprehension Strategy Awareness, Student Reading Performance And Comprehension Strategy Instruction, Diane Elliott Kern

Open Access Dissertations

This study examined relationships between comprehension strategy instruction, reading comprehension, and metacomprehension awareness. The study occurred in four phases. In Phase 1, third grade teachers participating in the Rhode Island Reading Excellence program (REA) administered pre- and posttests of the Metacomprehension Strategy Index (MSI) (Schmitt, 1990). Teacher groups were determined as "high gains" or "less gains" based on MSI results. In Phase 2, teachers were observed. In Phase 3, "high gains" teachers completed structured interviews. In Phase 4, third grade students (N = 414) completed pre- and post testing of the MSI. Findings suggest the MSI may help to identify …

Instructional Leadership Characteristics Of Secondary Blue Ribbon School Principals, Dennis Copeland

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Corporate Governance And Sustainable Peace: An Insider's View, Marina N. Whitman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Author brings her 30 years of experience as a member of numerous corporate boards of directors to bear on the relationship between corporate governance and sustainable peace. In the Author's experience, over the last three decades corporate boards have become more diverse not only in terms of race and gender, but also through a greater focus on international participation. This diversity has led to concern for a broader set of stakeholders and, in many cases, these boards are presently conducting the affairs of their corporations in a more socially-responsible fashion. Despite these gains, however, the Author concedes that recent …

Anti-Circumvention: Has Technology's Child Turned Against Its Mother?, Terri B. Cohen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Because its function is to protect and support innovation, copyright has been deemed a child of technology. Yet, as copyright laws increase the scope of protection for copyrighted material, one may wonder when such protection will begin to stymie, rather than encourage, emerging technology. The global trend toward internationalizing copyright protection has resulted in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, which was intended, in part, to bring international copyright protection into the digital age. The treaty, however, extends traditional copyright protections by including a requirement that member nations implement anti-circumvention provisions into their laws.

Great debate has emerged …

Computerized Behavioral Observation: Implications For Improving Accuracy And Reducing Bias, Charles Sicotte

Open Access Dissertations

Direct observation of behavior is a form of behavioral assessment that maintains a low level of inference when applied to psychoeducational decision-making. The recent proliferation of computer behavior-observation systems has provided observers with an efficient means for collecting direct behavior observational data (Kahng & Iwata, 2000; Shapiro & Kratochwill, 2000a, 2000b). Although computerized methods are less cumbersome than other recording methods (e.g., partial-interval form, narrative recording), it is not clear if computerized methods offer improvement by enhancing observational accuracy or reducing judgment bias that is generally initiated in applied settings (e.g. referral information; Arkes & Harkness, 1980; O'Reilly, Northcraft, & …

Examples Of Population Pharmacokinetic Modeling In Drug Development Using Nonmem, Julie M. Jones

Open Access Dissertations

The population approach to pharmacokinetic analysis, and its application to the identification of patient characteristics that affect a drug's pharrnacokinetic parameters, is achieving greater prominence in the drug development process. Specifically, population analyses are a way to gather information that might be difficult to capture in some subpopulations. In the fall of 1997, the Food and Drug Administration proposed new legislation, commonly known as the ''Pediatric Rule". This new legislation required pharmaceutical companies to collect pediatric data for drugs with indications applicable to children before the compound would be approved. Other than conducting traditional pharrnacokinetic clinical trials, another way to …

Implementing A Strategic Alignment Plan, Carlos D. Reyes

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Chemical Vapor Deposited Diamond Films For Self-Referencing Fiber Optic Raman Probes, Sacharia Albin, Jianli Zheng, Bing Xiao, John B. Cooper, Robert B. Jeffers, Sonia Antony

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Diamond thin films grown by the microwave plasma enhances chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process have been investigated as an internal reference in fiber optic remote Raman sensing. The growth parameters have been optimized for diamond thin films on quarts substrates using a gas mixture of methane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen. The resulting films exhibit essentially no Raman spectral background while exhibiting a strong Raman peak at 1332 cm^-¹. The films are used as an internal reference in the quantitative measurement of chemical concentration using remote fiber optic Raman sensing. Internal referencing is accomplished by normalizing all spectral intensities …

Revised Policy On Continuous Enrollment For Thesis Students, Council On Graduate Studies

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Interdisciplinary Minor In Advertising, Eiu

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Resonance Two Photon Ionization Study Of Binary Clusters Of Styrene With Polar Molecules, Hatem Ahmed Mahmoud

Theses and Dissertations

One-color resonance two-photo ionization (R2PI) spectra of mixed clusters of styrene molecule (S) with polar molecules [water (W), methanol (M), ethanol (E), and trifuoroethanol (T)] were measured through the S1←S0 transition of the styrene molecule. The spectra reveal a rapid increase in complexity with the number of polar molecules in the cluster, associated with van der Waal modes and isomeric forms. The spectral shifts of the cluster origins from the S1-S0 transition of the bare styrene molecule reflect the nature of the intermolecular interactions within the binary clusters. The obtained R2PI spectra xv were compared with the spectra of the …

Torts, Tax Reporting, And Preemption: Is There Tort Liability For Incorrect Information Reports?, Jacob L. Todres

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

This Article explores the answer to what seems to be a simple and straightforward question, a question one would expect to have a relatively simple answer. The question is whether damages may be recovered from a negligent issuer of an incorrect federal tax information return? If one receives a form W-2 that overstates the wages received, or if one receives a form 1099 that overstates the amount of interest or dividends received and the recipient is damaged as a result, assuming negligence by the issuer, does a suit for damages lie under state law? While at first blush the …

Capturing The Essential Dynamics Of The Emergent Hispanic Health Care Market, Kathleen R. Castore

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

A Future Foretold: Neo-Aristotelian Praise Of Postmodern Legal Theory, Francis J. Mootz Iii

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Teaching Law Students To Be Self- Regulated Learners, Michael Hunter Schwartz

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Conference Report On Cosmopolitan Alexandria: A Symposium, Cornell University, October 20-21, 2002, Caroline T. Schroeder

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Increased Receptor-Mediated Gene Delivery To The Liver By Protamine-Enhanced-Asialofetuin-Lipoplexes, M. A. Arangoa, Nejat Düzgüneş, C. Tros De Ilarduya

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

A novel lipidic vector composed of DOTAP/Chol liposomes, asialofetuin (AF), protamine sulfate and DNA has been developed. The resulting protamine-AF-lipoplexes improved significantly the levels of gene expression in cultured cells and in the liver upon i.v. administration. Lipoplexes containing the optimal amount of AF (1 μg/μg DNA) showed a 16-fold higher transfection activity in HepG2 cells than non-targeted (plain) complexes. The uptake by cells having asialoglycoprotein receptors (ASGPr) on their plasma membrane was decreased by the addition of free AF, indicating that AF-lipoplexes were taken up specifically by cells via ASGPr-mediated endocytosis. Results from transfections performed in cells defective in …

Return Distributions And Improved Tests Of Asset Pricing Models, Keith Vorkink

Faculty Publications

We compare and contrast some existing ordinary least squares (OLS)- and generalized method of moments (GMM)-based tests of asset pricing models with a new more general test. This new test is valid under the assumption that returns are elliptically distributed, a necessary and sufficient assumption of the linear capital asset pricing model (CAPM). This new test fails to reject the CAPM on a dataset of stocks sorted by market valuations, whereas similar tests constructed from OLS and GMM estimation methods reject the linear CAPM. We also find that outliers reduce the OLSestimated mispricing of the linear CAPM on monthly returns …

Shallow-Water Reefs In Transition: Examples From Belize And The Bahamas, H. Allen Curran, Benjamin J. Greenstein

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

The plight of coral reefs throughout the Caribbean region has been widely reported by reef scientists. A variety of causes has lead to reefal decline, particularly in shallow waters. This study compares the responses of shallow-water reefs in Belize and the Bahamas to outbreaks of white­ band disease (WBD) and traces changes on these reefs to the early 2000s.

Prior to the mid-1980s, reef ridges of the Pelican Cays of Belize were constructed of luxu­ riant stands of Acropora cervicomis. As else­ where, this species suffered massive mortality in mid-1980s owing to WBD, and dead A. cervicor­ nis substrates were …

Distinguishing The Concept Of Strict Liability In Tort From Strict Products Liability: Medusa Unveiled, Charles E. Cantú

Faculty Articles

The justifications for strict products liability and other cases of strict liability in torts are different and distinct. The United States judiciary has limited strict liability in tort law to seven distinct scenarios: (1) animals that are trespassing, are domesticated but vicious, or are wild by nature; (2) fact situations involving ultra-hazardous activities; (3) nuisance; (4) misrepresentation; (5) vicarious liability; (6) defamation; or (7) a workman’s compensation statute.

Strict liability is imposed for harm caused by animals capable of inflicting extensive harm. It also justifies liability for ultra-hazardous activities on the basis that an individual undertakes an activity that is …

Erisa: A Co-Fiduciary Has No Right To Contribution And Indemnity, George Lee Flint Jr, Philip W. Moore Jr

Faculty Articles

Because retirement plans involve large amounts of money, large numbers of people, and fiduciaries with conflicts of interests, Congress designed ERISA to differ from traditional trust law to meet these specific needs and important policy concerns. Before ERISA, fiduciaries and employers often manipulated lack of oversight and conflict of interests to the detriment of the beneficiaries. ERISA raised the standards owed by fiduciaries and established a policing system that required professional fiduciaries to monitor non-professional fiduciaries, thereby forcing non-professional fiduciaries to leave the field or seek expert advice. These provisions created co-fiduciary liability by imputing the liability of the co-fiduciary …