Digital Commons Network^™

Sex Ratio And Crime: A Cross-Cultural Investigation, Amanda R. Hitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

When one sex outnumbers the other in a society, what are the social consequences? Sex ratio, or the number of men per 100 women in a society, may affect many aspects of society such as crime rates. It was predicted that in countries with higher sex ratios, crime rates would be higher than in countries with lower sex ratios. It was also predicted that in countries with higher sex ratios, homicide and rape rates would be higher than in countries with lower sex ratios. Additionally, it was predicted that in countries with lower sex ratios, the incidence of female offending …

Pursuit Of Agency Profits: An Evaluation Of Community Redevelopment Agencies In Florida, Kimberly D. Delaney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The influence of public choice and economic theory in public administration has increased the pressure upon government to "act like a business." Accordingly, cities have become increasingly entrepreneurial, creating redevelopment agencies and venturing into public/private partnerships with mixed results. A key financial tool for redevelopment agencies is tax increment financing (TIF), which yields increased agency revenues from increased property values. As agency activities increase property values, agencies are rewarded with increased revenues, much like profits for a business. The cyclical nature of TIF encourages a self-perpetuating tendency towards economic activities among self-interested, opportunistic agency actors, namely agency staff, elected officials, …

Role Of Other-Regulation In Second Language Learners Of Beginning Spanish, Carolina M. Seiden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This qualitative study analyzes speech data from learner's interaction in small group and paired activities in the classroom. The analysis is framed in Vygotsky's theory of language. The findings suggest that peer-peer interaction alone does not increase the opportunities for students to understand, practice and incorporate new concepts into their developing second language. Other-regulation---collaborative dialogue---and scaffolding---the task preparation so the student is compelled to perform a task that appears to be within his/her reach---are compromised when the task lacks context and personal significance for the students.

School-Business Partnerships: Awareness, Attitudes, And Actions Of Secondary School Principals And Their Business Counterparts In Selected Florida School Districts, Dennis. Wechter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The role of the business partner in education has come into more prominence in the public school system, especially at the high school level. Shrinking budgets have prompted high school principals to explore the idea of business partnerships as a way to close the gap in academic achievement and provide direction for high schools struggling to meet the workforce development demands in today's society. In addition, financial support has provided opportunities for curriculum enhancement, staff development, and student support. However, as more emphasis is placed on the development of school business partnerships, the need to determine how these partnerships function …

Signature Whistle Stability In Wild Female Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, Stenella Frontalis, Jennifer. Burris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Previous qualitative assessment indicated that signature whistles of temporarily captured, free-ranging dolphins remain stable over periods of 2--12 years. This study reports on the stability of signature whistle parameters in wild female Atlantic spotted dolphins in the Bahamas over five or more years and between changes in age class. Signature whistles from seven female dolphins were pooled into blocks of 'early' and 'late' years for the time assessment. Signature whistles from five females were pooled by age class for the second analysis. Duration, minimum frequency, maximum frequency, and change in frequency were measured from spectrograms of whistles for statistical analysis. …

Spatial Analysis And Functional Gene Clustering Between Lens Epithelium And Fiber Cells, Tracy L. Cowell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Purpose. To identify genes important for maintaining the specialized functions of lens epithelial and fiber cells. Methods. The expression profiles of 22,215 genes between human lens epithelial and fiber cells were analyzed using oligonucleotide microarray hybridization and RT-PCR. Selected genes were functionally clustered using the EASE bioinformatics software package. Results. Analysis of microarray hybridizations revealed 1430 transcripts that were significantly increased and 901 transcripts that were significantly decreased. Microarray data was confirmed using RT-PCR on 11 randomly selected genes. Functional clustering of the identified gene expression patterns revealed altered gene expression in cellular pathways including oxidative stress, cell proliferation, and …

Therapeutic Potential Of Pomegranate And Genistein For Human Breast Cancer, Jeune Marie Adeline Louis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The therapeutic potential of pomegranate and genistein on growth inhibition of human breast cancer cells was investigated. Methods. Cells (MCF-7) were initially cultured for 48 hr to achieve 80% confluence; and then exposed to the agents in single and combination treatments. Post-treatment analysis was done by using a series of bioassays, including LDH, MTS, AcrO-EthBr, Annexin-FITC and TUNEL assays for growth inhibition and apoptosis detection; and Caspase-3 and NQO1 for molecular pathways of apoptosis. Results. Pomegranate and genistein showed significant dose- and time-dependent cytotoxic and growth inhibition effects as well as apoptosis induction in MCF-7 cancer cells, with significantly higher …

Time, Place, And Agency In "Richard Ii", Jennifer Sunshine Goddard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

In Richard II, Shakespeare left lessons for us on the effects of speech acts by leaders on the public stage. The "I" in Richard's speeches is always new: "Thus play I in one person many people" (5.5.31). Recent theories of pardons and promises made in the public sphere call attention to the layers of voices, heretofore hidden, in the first-person utterances of Richard as he attempts to interrupt the rush of history toward vengeance. Employing speech-act theory, we discover today that Shakespeare lets each utterance create a new voice and history for England. Shakespeare gives Richard time to begin to …

Time, Space, And Shakespeare: Temporal And Spatial Disturbances At The Point Of Cultural Contact, Jessica L. Murray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Cultural geographic theory uses dramatic language (place ballets , time-space routines, temporal rhythms , etc.) to describe how humans sense and dwell in places. Because the theory contemplates human behavior enacted upon a stage, it is applicable to theater studies. This thesis asserts that Hamlet's, Othello's, and Antony's treacherous lifeworlds undermine their spatiotemporal senses and initiate quests similar to those described by Anne Buttimer as searches "for order, predictability, and routine, as well as [...] for adventure and change" ("Grasping" 285). Hamlet's revenge plot is a pursuit of order and reclamation of his identity at Elsinore. Desdemona's murder is Othello's …

Value Of Worthless Lives: Italian Immigrant Autobiographies By "Ordinary People", Ilaria. Serra

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

"Immigrants left tears and sweat, but no memories." This dissertation tries to prove this assertion by the Italian critic Giuseppe Prezzolini wrong. Italian immigrants have sweated and cried, but many of them also left a trace of their "heroic" voyage between two continents, and two worlds, that took place in waves during the entire XX Century. With an oxymoron, I will speak about the value of worthless lives. These authors are no conquerors, saints or celebrities, but they believe that their life stories are worth being written and remembered. There are many direct ties between the experience of migration and …

Veil And The State: Debating The Unveiling And Re-Veiling Of Women In Twentieth-Century Iran, Masoud. Talachian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Hijab, the Islamic dress code, in Muslim communities is a sensitive and controversial issue. It embodies religious doctrine and patriarchal policies. However, in Iran this concept entails a more exclusive significance due to the strict nature of the Shiite faith, which is prevalent in Iran, along with a volatile political system and harsh practices of patriarchy and male domination that are legitimized by Iranian culture and traditions. The legacy of veiling in Iran is not a product of Islam and Islamic laws. Such a practice had existed in Iran centuries before the appearance of Islam in Mecca. The veil predates …

Values Underlying The Parental Selection Of Charter Schools: A Multi-Site Case Analysis, Patricia Ann Grimsley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This multi-site case analysis investigated the values underlying the parental selection of charter schools. The conceptual framework of this study was school choice within the public sector and more specifically charter schools. The research design employed in-depth interviews and data analysis. A purposeful sample with random selection was used to select the eighteen parent participants. The principals were serving as principals of the schools at the time of the study. All research questions were answered by the data analysis: How do the values of parents influence their selection of charter schools for their children? Parents were looking for alternatives to …

A Boundary Element Method For Thermo-Poroelasticity With Applications In Rock Mechanics, Qiang Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Coupled thermal and poromechanical processes play an important role in many geomechanics problems, such as borehole stability analysis and studies of initiation and propagation of hydraulic fractures. Thermal effects, as well as hydraulic effects, can greatly change the stresses and pore pressure fields around an underground opening. This is due to the fact that thermal loading induces a volumetric deformation because of thermal expansion/contraction of both the pore fluid and the rock solid. Volumetric expansion can result in significant pressurization of the pore fluid. In order to take into account the influence of temperature gradients on pore pressure and stresses, …

Predicting Dynamics Of Aggregate Loafing Behavior In Glaucous-Winged Gulls (Larus Glaucescens) At A Washington Colony, Shandelle M. Henson, James L. Hayward, Christina M. Burden, Clara J. Logan, Joseph G. Galusha

Faculty Publications

Seabirds move throughout the day in changing, patchy environments as they engage in various behaviors. We studied the diurnal abundance dynamics of Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) in a habitat patch dedicated to loafing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington. We constructed three differential equation models as alternative hypotheses and then used model selection techniques to choose the one that most accurately described the system. We validated the model on an independent data set, made a priori model predictions, and conducted a field test of the predictions. Clear dynamic patterns emerged in the abundance of loafing gulls, even though …

Remarks ("Beyond The Sosa V Alvarez-Machain Terms Of Debate: Conceptualizing International Human Rights Torts In Terms Of 'Transnational Law'"), Craig M. Scott

All Papers

No abstract provided.

Leaky Boundaries And The Decline Of The Autonomous Law School Library, James G. Milles

Journal Articles

Academic law librarians have long insisted on the value of autonomy from the university library system, usually basing their arguments on strict adherence to ABA standards. However, law librarians have failed to construct an explicit and consistent definition of autonomy. Lacking such a definition, they have tended to rely on an outmoded Langdellian view of the law as a closed system. This view has long been discredited, as approaches such as law and economics and sociolegal research have become mainstream, and courts increasingly resort to nonlegal sources of information. Blind attachment to autonomy as a goal rather than a means …

Solving The Nuisance-Value Settlement Problem: Manadatory Summary Judgment, David Rosenberg, Randy J. Kozel

Journal Articles

The nuisance-value settlement problem arises whenever a litigant can profitably initiate a meritless claim or defense and offer to settle it for less than it would cost the opposing litigant to have a court dismiss the claim or defense on a standard motion for merits review like summary judgment. The opposing litigant confronted with such a nuisance-value claim or defense rationally would agree to settle for any amount up to the cost of litigating to have it dismissed. These settlement payoffs skew litigation outcomes away from socially appropriate levels, undermining the deterrence and compensation objectives of civil liability. Yet current …

The Trial Court's Gatekeeper Role Under Frye, Daubert, And Kumho: A Special Look At Children's Cases, John Eric Smithburn

Journal Articles

The typical requisites for receiving testimony from an expert witness are that the expert be qualified in a particular subject or area of expertise, that the expert testify in opinion form or otherwise, which will help the fact finder, and that there be a proper basis for the expert's testimony. This article examines the changing meaning in the law of evidence of the expert's subject area in cases involving children. During most of the last century, where the expert witness proposed to testify concerning a new or novel scientific system, process or technique, the court applied the rule of Frye …

Battalion Leadership In The Essex Scottish Regiment And The 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade During The Second World War, John James Maker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis project began with the general idea of examining leadership at the battalion level in the Canadian Army during the First World War. After having been brought to my attention some time later, the Essex Scottish Regiment during the Second World War piqued my interest. This unit received the highest number of casualties of any Canadian unit throughout the Second World War, yet I had not heard or read anything significant about it. I had read gallant histories of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry and the Black Watch, of the Regina Rifles and the Calgary Highlanders; none of these …

Media Studies And The Dialogue Of Democracy, John J. Pauly

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Neural Network Based Classification Of Road Pavement Structures, V. Venayagamoorthy, D. Allopi, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Roads have formed the basic infrastructure of commerce since flints and other tools and artifacts were first exchanged along the trade routes of prehistory. Roadways are very large, in volume, in extent, and in value. They also wear out, and their useful life is directly proportional to their initial strength and inversely proportional to the number of heavy goods vehicles using them. Therefore, the increasing complexity of road transportation needs advanced techniques for effective design of pavements. This paper proposes an intelligent technique using neural networks to classify different types of road pavement structures, which is essential in estimating bearing …

Modeling The Wave Propagation Properties Of Power Cables Using Numerical Simulations, R. Papazyan, David Pommerenke, R. Eriksson

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The high frequency properties of coaxial power cables are modeled using time- and frequency-domain numerical simulations. This is required due to the complex helical structure of the outer metallic screen. It is established that this screen design causes a dependence of the cable characteristics on the surrounding medium

The Case Of The Missing Discipline: Finding Buddhist Legal Studies, Rebecca Redwood French

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Putting "Protection" Back In The Equal Protection Clause: Lessons From Nineteenth Century Women's Rights Activists' Understandings Of Equality, Lucinda M. Finley

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

The Hidden Victims Of Tort Reform: Women, Children, And The Elderly, Lucinda M. Finley

Journal Articles

I have conducted empirical research from several states on how juries in medical malpractice and other tort suits allocate their damage awards between economic loss damages and noneconomic loss damages. I then compared cases in which men are the victims and cases in which women are the victims. This research demonstrates that while overall men tend to recover greater total damages, juries consistently award women more in noneconomic loss damages than men, and that the noneconomic portion of women's total damage awards is significantly greater than the percentage of men's tort recoveries attributable to noneconomic damages. Consequently, any cap on …

African Human Rights Organizations: Questions Of Context And Legitimacy, Makau Wa Mutua

Contributions to Books

Published as Chapter 13 in Human Rights, the Rule of Law, and Development in Africa, Gaby Oré Aguilar & Felipe Gómez Isa, eds.

The human rights movement is largely the product of the horrors of World War II. The development of its normative content and structure is the direct result of the abominations committed by the Third Reich during that war. Drawing on the Western liberal tradition, the human rights movement arose primarily to control and contain state action against the individual. It is ironic that it was the victors of the war, most of whom held colonies in Africa, …

Exploring The Feasibility Of Removal Of Hydrogen Sulfide From Gaseous Streams By Anaerobic Photosynthetic Bacteria, Pushkaraj Sardesai

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Meaning Of Tribal Sovereighty Among Members Of A South Dakota Sioux Tribe, Rae Ann Red Owl

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Analysis And Prediction Of West Nile Virus Distribution In North America Using General Unary Hypothesis Automation, Bharath Panyadahundi

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Theology Of The Blaine Amendments, Richard W. Garnett

Journal Articles

The Supreme Court affirmed, in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, that the Constitution permits us to experiment with school-choice programs and, in particular, with programs that include religious schools. However, the constitutions of nearly forty States contain provisions - generically called Blaine Amendments - that speak more directly and, in many cases, more restrictively, than does the First Amendment to the flow of once-public funds to religious schools. This Article is a series of reflections, prompted by the Blaine Amendments, on education, citizenship, political liberalism, and religious freedom.

First, the Article considers what might be called the federalism defense of the provisions. …