Digital Commons Network^™

Decreasing Elevator Travel In Women With Sign Prompts Encouraging Stair Use, Matthew S. Mura

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if motivational signs encouraging stair use could decrease elevator travel in women. Observational data coded women using the elevator by direction of travel, ethnicity, and weight. After a 2-week baseline signs encouraging stair use were placed throughout the academic building. The signs were removed for a week of follow-up observations. An 8-question survey was also administered to 61 women. A trend towards significant decreases in elevator travel was found (p=.076). The greatest decreases occurred in African American, and overweight women. Eighty-eight percent of those surveyed, who were elevator users, reported the signs …

Newness, Imperialism, And International Legal Reform In Our Time: A Twail Perspective, Obiora Chinedu Okafor

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Notes: Law In A Market Economy, By Robin Paul Malloy, Jennifer Oosterbaan

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Education And Churchgoing Protestants' Views Of Highly Politicized Christianity, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Many churchgoing Protestants support a highly political role for the Christian religion, endorsing Christian ideals shaping public policy. Highly educated Protestants' emphasis on individualism and protecting civil liberties, however; can encourage a distrust of highly politicized Christianity. Specifically, college and graduate school educated Protestants often want to avoid forcing the Christian religion on secular society. Regression results from the 1996 Religious Identity and Influence Survey show that, among churchgoing Protestants, education is strongly and negatively correlated with supporting laws based on Christian doctrines. Highly educated Protestants are also less likely than high school educated Protestants to advocate Christians attempting to …

Testing Whiteness: No Child Or No School Left Behind?, Helen A. Moore

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

I began my study of schooling and critical pedagogy as a research assistant for a program called PRIME: Program Research in Multicultural Education. One of our challenges in the mid-1970s was to assist the Principal Investigator, Dr. Jane Mercer, in constructing educational materials for her role as an expert witness in Larry P. v. Riles. Through that project, I learned a great deal about testing issues as they relate to the whiteness of educational, political, legal and policy perspectives. Today, as a sociologist, I commit my research to an understanding of the processes and consequences of testing policy and the …

Dialogue On Diversity Teaching: Reflections On Research, Pedagogy, And Passion For Social Justice, Katherine M. Acosta, Helen A. Moore, Gary K. Perry, Crystal Edwards

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

A "diversity" requirement was added to the liberal arts undergraduate curriculum in most colleges a decade ago; at our large Research I campus it is called the "Area H" requirement of the comprehensive education program. As part of our sociological and pedagogical inquiries, we launched a research project to reflect on the experiences of faculty and graduate instructors who teach "Area H" diversity courses. Our goal in conducting and analyzing some sixty in-depth, face-to-face interviews is to understand how intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality intertwine with instructors' classroom teaching experiences.

As we teach multicultural elements that encourage educational …

Arrests Among Homeless And Runaway Youths: The Effects Of Race And Gender, Kevin A. Yoder, Ed A. Muñoz, Les B. Whitbeck, Dan R. Hoyt, Barbara J. Mcmorris

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study examined the contributions of race and gender to the likelihood of a first post-run arrest for a more serious and less serious offense in a sample of homeless and runaway youths from four Midwestern states. Event history analysis was used to test the hypothesis that race and gender would interact so that the likelihood of a first post-run arrest for a more serious and less serious offense would be highest for non-white males and non-white females, respectively. Potentially confounding factors—deviant subsistence strategies, substance use, gang involvement and membership, prior arrests, age, prior physical abuse, age on own, and …

"That Could Happen": Nature Writing, The Nature Fakers, And A Rhetoric Of Assent, David Thomas Sumner

Faculty Publications

Much has been made about the relationship between nature writing and science. The foundation of the genre is empirical observation of the more-than-human world. That’s not the whole of it, however. Because of the pairing of empiricism and other human experience, readers come to the genre with certain assumptions: they assume the text will tell them something independently verifiable about the object world--something they could see, hear, or touch if they were in the same location at the same time. They assume they are reading nonfiction, and for most readers, that distinction is important. Readers also come to nature writing …

Heterogeneous Electron Transfer Rate Constants Of Viologen At A Platinum Disk Electrode, Naheed Kaukab Bhatti, M. Sadiq Subhani, Ather Yaseen Khan, Rumana Qureshi, Abdur Rahman

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

The transfer of electrons to the dications of viologens including methyl viologen, diquat, benzyl viologen and n-butyl viologen was studied at the surface of a platinum disk electrode. The rate constants for the processes were determined and the effects of solvent, temperature and working electrode studied. The studies showed that the rate constants increase with temperature and the effect of solvent on the heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant is related to the polarity, dielectric constant and viscosity of the solvent and on the electrode material. Theoretical rate constants were calculated by considering the effects of barrier crossing probability and nuclear-frequency …

A Study Of The Applicability Of The Theory Of Inventive Problem Solving On Technology Management Of An E -Business Call Center, Aaron C. Goldsmith

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) is being used to solve technology and engineering problems. The goal of theDissertation was to conduct a study to determine the applicability of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) on the technology management for an e-business call center. The variables selected for the research were the Average Calls per 10,000 Subscribers (ACPS) and the Unburdened Billable Hours (UBH). The applicability was determined through the research hypotheses and research questions constructed for the study. The research null hypotheses were tested using a time-series quasi-experiment to determine if four TRIZ-based solutions introduced into the …

Adopter Characteristics And Teaching Styles Of Faculty Adopters And Nonadopters Of A Course Management System, Cheryl A. Dugas

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effects of innovativeness and teaching style on the decision by higherEducation faculty to adopt or not adopt a newEducational technology. The study attempts to determine a relationship between adoption or nonadoption of a course management system and either degree of innovativeness or teaching style. The study was influenced by Everett Rogers's Diffusion of Innovation theory and Anthony Grasha's Teaching Styles research. The research was undertaken on the campus of a small, private engineering institution in Indiana in the spring of 2005. A purposive sample of 30 faculty adopters and 31 faculty nonadopters of a course management …

Cognitive, Personality, And Demographic Attributes Of Student Change, Jeanne Marie Henry

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was an examination as to whether cognitive, personality, and demographic attributes of students have changed over time. Archival data for 10 cohorts of freshman students from a private Midwest engineering institution were used. Data consisted of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) results, Learning Environment Preferences (LEP) results, and demographics. ANOVAs were performed for all interval data and Chi-Square analyses for all nominal data. Statistical significance was found for MBTI Thinking-Perceiving and Sensing-Intuition scales, LEP Cognitive Complexity Index scores, and demographic variables including age, parentalEducation level, and SAT scores. Results are discussed in terms of practical significance, trends evidenced in …

Quality Costs And Enterprise Size In The Manufacturing Industry: A Survey Of American Society For Quality (Asq) Members, Suhansa Rodchua

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Companies can lose money because they fail to use significant opportunities to improve their costs of quality. Most cost accounting data are not revealed to the public and are rarely exchanged among businesses, and there is no known study testing the effect of organization size, i.e., small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large organizations, on quality costs. The study identified important factors and measures contributing to a successful quality cost program implementation and developed an empirically based model for quality costs in the manufacturing environment. The study used the Quality Cost Model, or PAF (prevention, appraisal, and failure costs) model …

Reliability Analyses And Predictive Modeling: Voltage Regulators On Electric Systems, Damon W. Holladay

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study performed reliability analyses and predictive modeling of voltage regulators at a midwestern electric transmission utility to improve its maintenance program. It determined the reliability of equipment in service by studying the number and types of failures occurring on the different types of voltage regulators. The research questions addressed in this study were: What type of voltage regulator had the most failures, what type of failures occurred most frequently, and what are the correlations between types of voltage regulators and failures? In addition, the study determined regression equations for the failures based on the operational variables of the voltage …

Religion, Spirituality And Motives For Drinking In An Adult Community Sample, Michelle Lynn Drerup

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Involvement in both spiritual and religious pursuits has been associated with lower rates of alcohol use and related problems, but the factors that underlie the protective effects of religion are not clearly understood. Motivational models specify that motives for drinking are proximal causes of alcohol use that mediate the effects of more distal predictors such as alcohol outcome expectancies and personality. Previous research by Johnson et al. (2003, 2004, 2005a) suggested that in a college student sample, motives for drinking might mediate the relationship between religiousness and alcohol use and problems. The current study tested a series of path models …

Student Involvement Effects On Civic Engagement In The Faith -Based College Setting: An Empirical Study, Timothy W. Herrmann

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a series of collegiate experience factors on the civic engagement of seniors in faith-based colleges and universities. The independent variables for this study included freshman level of civic engagement, academic major, participation in leadership, faculty interaction, service participation, diversity experiences, and spirituality and religious activity. The definition of civic engagement guiding this study implies morally motivated and informed, active, committed, and skillful participation in the processes necessary for the sustenance and promotion of social and civic welfare. The experiences examined in thisDissertation are understood in light of Astin's involvement …

Validation Of The Attention Battery Of The Woodcock Johnson: Third Edition Tests Of Cognitive Abilities (Wj-Iii, Cog) For Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Michelle Ann Poock

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated whether a brief assessment battery with psychometrically adequate properties could accurately screen children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) from a control group. A total of 39 participants (21 ADHD, 18 control) ages 6 to 12, were each administered six subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson - Third Edition Tests of Cognitive Abilities Attention Battery (WJ-III) and the Intermediate Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA). Parents and teachers completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF). Results indicated that, compared to the control group, the ADHD group scored differently on three WJ-III individual subtests (Concept Formation, Auditory Working …

The Influence Of Ethics And Social Responsibility On Grocery Shopping Behaviour In The Uk, Juliet Emma Memery

Plymouth Business School Theses

Consumption as an aspect of most people's lives in affluent societies is widely acknowledged as having become increasingly important (Newholm, 2005). We consume more, and consume more often, than previous generations (Durning, 1992) meaning the actions we make and the decisions we take have greater impact than ever before on the world we inhabit. For many their involvement with consumption goes beyond the act of purchase (Oilman, 1998) to include complex ethical dimensions. The relationship between ethics and social responsibility (E&SR) and consumption choices has received growing attention over recent years, resulting in the topic of 'sustainable consumption' becoming a …

International Freight Transport Multimodal Development In Developing Countries: The Case Of Bangladesh, Dewan Mohammad Zahurul Islam

Plymouth Business School Theses

An efficient transport system is essential for an efficient supply chain to facilitate international trade. To utilise all cheaper resources, such as labour in Bangladesh, companies receive supplies from one coxintry (e.g. in Hong Kong), produce the products in another country, and sell them in other countries (e.g. European countries). Thus the production and consumption has turned into a global activity with transport filling the gaps among them. To perform the transport function a carrier may require the use of more than one mode, the so-called multimodal transport. Multimodal transport, an integrated systems approach, can be defined as the most …

The Contributions Of Congressman John Joseph Moakley To Historical Preservation In Boston, Laura Muller

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

As a Democrat representing Massachusetts’ ninth congressional district, Congressman John Joseph Moakley is most often remembered for his dedicated constituent service, working tirelessly to help get “Mrs. O’Leary’s social security check” with hopes of getting, in return, the votes of his constituents. It is thanks to him, however, that, since the 1970s, many of Boston’s most significant historical sites have been preserved. Despite the fact that many of these structures have existed since the 18^th century, they were not properly maintained or renovated until Moakley, knowing that historical preservation is not an issue that normally draws in election votes, …

Copyright Norms And The Problem Of Private Censorship, Wendy J. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

Copyright policy must resolve intelligently the tension between upstream and downstream creators, between incentives to create and incentives to use. Downstream at1thors who copy and transform others' images or words as an input to new creativity have. obvious free speech concerns. So do simple copiers in those many instances where even non-creative copying is essential for expressing one's ideas or allegiances.

Part of the tension is economic. Because virtually every author :needs access to predecessor texts, a legislature that increases copyright protection for ·today's creators simultaneously increases tomorrow's costs of creation ¹ or use. But the issue goes far beyond …

Book Review: Peter H. Russell, Recognizing Aboriginal Title: The Mabo Case And Indigenous Resistance To English-Settler, W. Wesley Pue

All Faculty Publications

This provides a short review and commentary on Peter Russell's extraordinary new work on aboriginal peoples and settler-colony imperialism in Canada, the USA, Australian, and New Zealand.

The Application Of A System Of Systems Analysis To Assessments Of National Power, George T. Hodermarsky

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation proposes an approach and methodology for the utilization of the fundamentals of systems theory as an aid to national security decision-making. At its core is an examination of the elements of nations' or non-state actor's power resources. The product of the analysis is the compilation of a set of nodes, and the relationships between these, upon which actions may be taken to achieve desired effects. Since the boundaries between the subsystems of power resources are flexible and permeable, and there will be interactions between elements in different subsystems, a system of systems approach is essential so that the …

Telecommunications Technology And Sovereignty: Effects On States As Information Transfer Increased From The Speed Of Oxcart To The Speed Of Light, James H. Radford

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Sovereignty---the absolute and unlimited power of the state---provides independence of action. Information about actions or intentions of competitors, enemies, or even friends, arriving after extended periods of time, resulted in responses to fait accompli. When information travels nearly instantaneously, states must consider potentially rapid international reactions before the fact. This suggests that since a state's freedom of action has been abridged, the nature of their sovereignty has altered.

This study pursues the research question: In what ways does telecommunications technology affect state sovereignty? The evolution of sovereignty is compared to development of telecommunications technology over four distinct eras, each …

An Income-Contingent Financing Program For Ontario, Benjamin Alarie, David G. Duff

All Faculty Publications

Although the positive externalities associated with higher education favour substantial government support, sound arguments also favour student contributions to the costs of post-secondary education, based on both the private benefits obtained and the regressive impact of general subsidies for higher education. At the same time, the central role that higher education performs as a vehicle for social mobility and the general reluctance of private lenders to finance individual investments in higher education suggest that governments also have an important role to play in the area of student assistance - ensuring that higher education is accessible to all students on the …

Is Obtaining An Arrestee's Dna A Valid Special Needs Search Under The Fourth Amendment? What Should (And Will) The Supreme Court Do?, Tracey Maclin

Faculty Scholarship

An increasing number of states are enacting laws authorizing the forcible taking and analysis of DNA from certain categories of arrestees. For example, California's Proposition 69 requires state law enforcement officials to obtain DNA samples from certain arrestees. By 2009, Proposition 69 will require a DNA sample from every adult arrested for or charged with a felony. This article addresses the constitutionality, under the Fourth Amendment, of taking DNA samples from persons subject to arrest. In particular, the article focuses on the statutes of Virginia and Louisiana, which have authorized DNA sampling of persons arrested for violent crimes and sex …

Sacred Visions Of Law, Robert L. Tsai

Faculty Scholarship

Around the time of the Bicentennial Celebration of the U.S. Constitution's framing, Professor Sanford Levinson called upon Americans to renew our constitutional faith. This article answers the call by examining how two legal symbols - Marbury v. Madison and Brown v. Board of Education - have been used by jurists over the years to tend the American community of faith. Blending constitutional theory and the study of religious form, the article argues that the decisions have become increasingly linked in the legal imagination even as they have come to signify very different sacred visions of law. One might think that …

Family Privacy And Death: Antigone, War, And Medical Research, George J. Annas

Faculty Scholarship

Death ends the doctor–patient relationship, and legally the patient's right of privacy dies with the patient. Other privacy interests survive, the most central of which are those of the patient's family to bury the body and to prevent the disclosure of some personal information, such as medical information, about the deceased relative. Just what privacy interests encompass and when they can be overridden by other interests — such as freedom of speech or the claims of public policy or medical research — are evolving.1 Family privacy concerning a family member who has died is at the forefront of a …

Even Non-Extremists Get The Blues: The Rhetoric Of Copyright, Wendy J. Gordon, Lois Wasoff

Faculty Scholarship

The participants in this dialogue are Wendy Gordon and Lois Wasoff. Each is an intellectual property expert who has immersed herself in copyright law and policy for over twenty years. Neither sits at an extreme end of the policy spectrum, yet the two disagree over a wide range of issues. The editors of this volume thought their discussions could prove useful to others struggling with copyright dilemmas. Accordingly, Gordon and Wasoff sat down with a tape recorder for us. In edited form, their dialogue follows here.

Same Sex Marriage And Its Implications For Employee Benefits: Proceedings Of The 2005 Meeting Of The Association Of American Law Schools Sections On Employee Benefits, And Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity Issues, Maria O'Brien, Constance Hiatt, Shannon Minter, Teresa S. Collett

Faculty Scholarship

Professor Maria O'Brien Hylton*: Welcome to this session on "Same Sex Marriage and its Implications for Employee Benefits." I'm Maria Hylton and I will introduce our speakers and moderate the program.

Our first speaker is Constance Hiatt, who is a partner with the Hanson Bridgett law firm here in San Francisco. She represents mostly large employers and large employee benefit plans, including the State of California's 401(k) and 457 plans as well as the University of California's benefits office. So, she has extensive experience in the employee benefits area and she came to us, to me really, through several …