Digital Commons Network^™

What Factors Influence High Technology Entrepreneurial Activity On A Regional Basis: A Look At Utah And Colorado, Randall I. Bambrough

Student Scholarship

Regional economies, not only in the United States but throughout the world, are looking for ways to increase high-technology (high-tech) entrepreneurial activity so that they can be home to the next Microsoft, Yahoo or Google. Successful enterprises such as these have historically created jobs with wages that, according to one study, were 95% higher than the nation’s average private sector salary. In addition, tremendous individual wealth has been generated in the past by stock option grants to the “rank and file” employees of these companies. Since most highly successful high-tech companies had venture capital funding at some point, an analysis …

Religion And Spaces Of Technology: Constructing And Contesting Nation, Transnation, And Place, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper, I focus on one particular technological development that has come to influence religious practice in significant ways-religious broadcasting. Whereas computer-mediated communications now garner growing research attention, I have chosen to remember the influence of the older technology of broadcasting for its continued influence on myriad lives. In bringing this focus to bear on another major phenomenon, that of trans nationalism, I have come to understand how religious broadcasting does not contribute in a straightforward, linear fashion to perpetuating transnational identities and communities, but is instead implicated in the assertion of the national in the face of transnational …

Beyond The Hedonic Treadmill: Revising The Adaptation Theory Of Well-Being, Ed Diener, Richard E. Lucas, Christie N. Scollon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

According to the hedonic treadmill model, good and bad events temporarily affect happiness, but people quickly adapt back to hedonic neutrality. The theory, which has gained widespread acceptance in recent years, implies that individual and societal efforts to increase happiness are doomed to failure. The recent empirical work outlined here indicates that 5 important revisions to the treadmill model are needed. First, individuals' set points are not hedonically neutral. Second, people have different set points, which are partly dependent on their temperaments. Third, a single person may have multiple happiness set points: Different components of well-being such as pleasant emotions, …

Insights On Leadership: God’S Preparation And Selection Of The Southern Baptist Convention’S Conservative Resurgence Presidencies, Darrell P. Orman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current literature indicates that very little material analyzes the processes God used to prepare and then select the unique leadership group, within Evangelical Christianity, known as the Conservative Resurgence Presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention. Many writings have covered the history of the resurgence and some writings have analyzed the biographical history of these men. But none to date have integrated these two elements into a specific study of the leadership preparation of this group of leaders along with the office of the president. The primary source of gaining insights into their leadership preparation and abilities shall …

Perceptions Of Art Therapy As Portrayed Through The Media, Heidi Torres

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the perception of art therapy as portrayed through the media. Two studies were conducted with two facilitated via online surveys and one focus group. All participants were college students from Eastern Virginia Medical School and Old Dominion University. A sample of 14 volunteers participated. It was hypothesized that adolescents from both groups would use art as an effective and desirable means of personal communication and expression.

Results are based on qualitative analysis of data from two questionnaires, pre and post, which included perceptions toward art therapy prior to viewing media sources and …

Modern In St. Louis: 1930'S Architects And Their Clients, Mary Reid Brunstrom

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

The long decade between the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the entry of the US into World War 11 in 1941 is notable in the history of architecture in St. Louis because modernist trends first appeared during the period. This thesis examines these early appearances. Some three decades bad elapsed since the Viennese architect, Otto Wagner (1841-1918) in 1896 had coined the term "modern architecture" in his book of the same name, in which he argued for fresh architectural responses to the rapidly changing conditions of the machine age. 1 1n St. Louis, architectural works that even now appear …

Livestock And Dairy Producers' Knowledge Of Quality Assurance Issues, Andrea L. Flanagan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of knowledge and use of quality assurance practices by dairy and beef producers in West Virginia and to determine if differences in the level of use existed between D/BQA certified producers and non-certified producers. The population consisted of 125 West Virginia dairy producers identified on a Health Department list of regulated dairy farms within the state and 2,720 West Virginia beef producers from a database comprised of WV BQA certified producers and the South Branch and Buckhannon Stockyards mailing lists. A random sample of 92 dairy producers and 340 beef …

Summer Home Range, Habitat Use, Movements, And Activity Patterns Of River Otters (Lontra Canadensis) In The Killbuck Watershed, Northeastern Ohio, David A. Helon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

River otters (Lontra canadensis), one of the most aquatic Mustelids, are important components of riparian systems and are an important fur-bearing species. Several studies evaluating post-release survival and movements have been conducted; however, there have been deficient long-term studies to determine the status of these river otter populations once established. During 2002 and 2003m 16 river otters (7 female, 9 male) were trapped and radio-tagged. Overall, mean female home range size was 802.4 ha and mean male home range size was 1,101.7 ha. Mean home range size was similar between genders in 2002, but was greater for males than females …

Run, Chicano, Run: Efraín Gutiérrez, In Search Of The Individual Within Chicano Cinema, Fred Garcia

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Run, Chicano, Run (2006) is about Efraín Gutiérrez, the first Chicano to direct a feature-length film. Because he was active after the Chicano Movement and before the rise of Chicano Studies, his movies are difficult to interpret. His movies are personal, not adhering to ideological formulations. Gutiérrez ceased making movies in 1979 and was not present during the later years of Chicano filmmaking and the emergence of a body of literature dedicated to Chicano cinema.

This thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter One explores Gutiérrez's place within the literature dealing with Chicano cinema. Chapter Two tells the story behind …

Identity Theft And Routine Activities : A Test Of Victimization Using College Students., Brian Dean Fell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the link between routine activity theory and identity theft victimization using college students. Using data collected from 308 undergraduate students attending a southeastern university, this study seeks to present the likelihood that college students will become a victim to identity theft in the future. In doing so, the study also seeks to present the college student's perception that they could become a victim of identity theft in the future. Overall, this study has the main objective of determining if a link exists between college student's routine activities and the risk of them becoming victims of identity theft. …

Creating Virginia: The Role Of John Lederer In The Transition Of Western Virginia From A Wilderness Into A Colony, Richard Jason Burns

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis seeks to explore and explain the role of John Lederer, a German physician and expedition leader, in the creation of the colony of Virginia. Lederer led three expeditions into the western mountains of Virginia in the years 1670-71, and was the first European to document his expeditions in writing. Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia, commissioned him to explore the western frontier of Virginia in hopes of finding a short route to the East India Sea. The immense commodities, trade, and settlement possibilities within the western Virginia region eventually overshadowed this initial goal.;Following the three expeditions, Lederer's expedition …

The Mythical Speech Of Janine Antoni, Patrick L. Jones

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The confrontation of societal myths has been a major concern of many female artists since the 1960s. However, confronting the ideological construction of myth is not enough to discredit it. The semiology of myth, according to Roland Barthes (1915-1980), simply absorbs this confrontation by placing the artist in the position of a signifier of the myth itself. Paradoxically, in order to discredit myth the artist must "speak the myth," in order to empty the ideological content of the myth through the adoption of mythical speech. This produces a counter-myth. Language as a vehicle of feminist expression has been a permeating …

Developing A Purpose Driven Model For Today’S Korea Evangelical Holiness Church Pastors-Teachers, Seung Min Chang

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis is to develop a purpose driven model for the pastors-teachers of the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church. This project explains that being a purpose driven education ministry means following the biblical principles behind the movement rather than copying specific characteristics that are unique to the Saddleback Church. In that view, this paper discusses how to implement Rick Warren's paradigm in the educational setting of the KEHC that has its own theological and cultural distinctives. Two kinds of surveys show that the denominational educational needs can be effectively covered through the results of the implementation.

Restorative Justice For The Girl Child In Post-Conflict Rwanda, Clara Chapdelaine Feliciati

Journal of International Women's Studies

The girl child suffers from both sexism and “childism” for she is at the intersection of women’s rights and children’s rights. The question of her fate in post-conflict Rwanda is particularly crucial for during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, she suffered egregious sexual violence based on gender regardless of her age. Not only were two-year old girls raped, but there was a clear intention to make women and girls suffer differently from men and boys: while the latter were killed rapidly with a single shot or machete stroke, girl children and women were mutilated, tortured and left to die slowly. …

The Differential Impact On Gender Relations Of ‘Transformatory’ And ‘Instrumentalist’ Women’S Group Intermediation In Microfinance Schemes: A Case Study For Rural South India, Nathalie Holvoet

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article starts from conflicting evidence regarding the impact of microfinance programs on women’s empowerment. It explores whether schemes that appear to be very similar on the surface may actually hide deeper differences that can help explain their diverging outcomes. The focus is on group intermediation, a feature that is overwhelmingly present in microfinance programs targeted at women. While group intermediation clearly has paid off in terms of individual programs’ financial profitability, it is also increasingly propagated on equity and empowerment grounds. This article argues that it is shortsighted to assume all forms of group intermediation will invariably achieve their …

Feminist Theory And The Right-Wing: Shiv Sena Women Mobilize Mumbai, Tarini Bedi

Journal of International Women's Studies

Feminist scholars engaged in the study of women and religion often grapple with the problem of how to theorize the phenomenon of women’s attraction to, and active involvement in politico-religious movements characterized by strongly “patriarchal” authority structures, and by ideologies that either seem to denigrate women or assign them to subordinate social and symbolic roles. This paper looks at some of the approaches that have been taken by feminist scholars to this issue. It reviews some key adaptations of feminist theory to the rising phenomena of women’s public participation in religious, right-wing agendas. It specifically explores the relevance of feminist …

Generations, Feminist Beliefs And Abortion Rights Support, Terri Susan Fine

Journal of International Women's Studies

Do forces that impacted feminist beliefs in the past, such as gender and generation, impact feminist beliefs today within the context of abortion policy support? While the abortion rights issue was framed during the feminist movement era as a feminist issue, it is now clearly framed along partisan and ideological lines. Public opinion on issues that percolated through the feminist movement and identified as feminist issues in the past may no longer be viewed as feminist issues today. The abortion rights issue was chosen because of the oft-held perception that it is solely a women’s issue. The strong association of …

On The Asphalt Frontier: American Women’S Road Narratives, Spatiality, And Transgression, Alexandra Ganser

Journal of International Women's Studies

In this article, I am going to analyze the concept of “gendered space” as it appears in select post-1970s US-American road narratives produced by women writers of various ethnic and social backgrounds. Drawing on recent re-mappings in cultural geography, I will cross disciplinary boundaries and argue that for female literary protagonists, the “open road” appears as a dangerous frontier—in which women’s physical and emotional well-being is always at perilous stake—rather than as an adventurous playground. In women’s road stories, the American highway does not maintain its mythical, iconic status, signifying freedom and the heroic quest for identity, which has been …

Surviving The Doctoral Dissertation Experience: The N.W. Sisters’ Study, Patricia J. Mcilveen, Monica R. George, Sharon L. Voss, Ada Laguardia

Journal of International Women's Studies

The purpose of this year-long study was to examine and describe both the individual and shared experiences of a group of four women as they went through their Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program. The main research question was: What do you perceive as the factors that were integral to your achieving success in the doctoral program? Data from this qualitative case study were gathered through group interview sessions. Subsequent analysis of interview transcripts revealed the following factors that were integral to achieving success: sense of humor, family values, empathy, perseverance, spirituality, accountability to the group, collaboration, good advisors, ability to …

The Influence Om Mentoring On Goal Attainment And Role Satisfaction For Registered Nurses In Acute Care., Christine Benz Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring has been suggested as a means to assist with role transition, career planning, and retention in the profession by providing opportunities for personal and professional growth lead to satisfaction. Satisfaction is especially crucial for the retention of Registered Nurses in a time when the profession has been experiencing a critical shortage. This quantitative study examined the influence of mentoring for RNs who have been employed in acute care facilities for the first time for less than 2 years. Using Bouquillon's mentoring instrument and based in the frameworks of King and Kram, the study suggests mentoring is occurring among new …

Examining The Relationship Between Student Support Services And Student Outcomes At A Four-Year Institution, Angela Williams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study identified and examined the service variable combination(s) provided by Student Support Services (SSS) TRIO program that had a statistically significant relationship with program participants’ academic performance and retention. SSS is a federally funded program designed to increase the retention and graduation rates of undergraduate first-generation, low-income, disabled college students. While SSS has played a significant role in the retention of disadvantaged students, scarce empirical research exist which examine the combination of SSS services that affect students’ academic performance and retention. Considering SSS programs will probably not experience large increases in federal support in the future and given the …

The New International Law Scholarship, Eric A. Posner, Jack L. Goldsmith

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

The Limits of International Law sets forth a general theory of international law. The book rejects the traditional explanations of international law based on legality, morality, opinio juris, and related non-instrumental concepts. Using simple rational choice tools, the book seeks instead to provide an instrumental account of when and why nations use international law, when and why they comply with it, and when and why international law changes. The basic descriptive story is that international law emerges from and is sustained by nations acting rationally to maximize their interests (i.e., their preferences over international relations outcomes), given their perception of …

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church And The Holocaust: Addressing Common Misconceptions, Pavel Stefanov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Within And Beyond Communities Of Practice: Making Sense Of Learning Through Participation, Identity And Practice, Karen Handley, Andrew Sturdy, Robin Fincham, Timothy Adrian Robert Clark

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Situated learning theory offers a radical critique of cognitivisttheories of learning, emphasizing the relational aspects of learning withincommunities of practice in contrast to the individualist assumptions ofconventional theories. However, although many researchers have embraced thetheoretical strength of situated learning theory, conceptual issues remainundeveloped in the literature. Roberts, for example, argues in this issue thatthe notion of ‘communities of practice’– a core concept in situated learningtheory – is itself problematic. To complement her discussion, this paperexplores the communities of practice concept from several perspectives.Firstly, we consider the perspective of the individual learner, and examine theprocesses which constitute ‘situated learning’. Secondly, we …

Cohabitation In North Dakota: A Socio-Legal Examination Of The Congruence Of The Law And Attitudes Towards Living Arrangements Among College Students, James Lee Foster

Theses and Dissertations

The political wrangling over cohauitation law has been an ongoing ordeal in North Dakota politics in recent years. Even more so since there have been multiple failed attempts to have the State’s law panning cohabitation repealed. The purpose of this thesis is to determine attitudes toward cohabitation and its components from a sample of college students. There were a total of 945 participants who took part in the study which called for them to fill out a short survey. The survey consists of three parts.

Pari I includes such items as race, sex, gender, etc. basically demographic data. Part II …

Social Reality Versus Theatrical Portrayal: Puerto Rican Gangs In West Side Story, Rebecka Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

“Social Reality Versus Theatrical Portrayal: Puerto Rican Gangs in West Side Story” asks the question of whether or not the acclaimed Broadway musical West Side Story is more than just a museum piece. I hypothesize that its success can be linked to its continuing social relevance concerning Puerto Rican gangs in New York City. To evaluate the musical’s social relevance, the socioeconomic condition of Puerto Ricans in New York City is examined during three specific time periods and compared to the condition of the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks, as portrayed in the musical. The three periods are the 1950s, …

The Ineffectiveness Of Capped Damages In Cases Of Employment Discrimination: Solutions Toward Deterrence, Vanessa M. Ruggles

ExpressO

Although the Civil Rights Act of 1991 helped victims of employment discrimination in a variety of ways, including the authorization of jury trials and the accompanying possibility of compensatory and punitive damages, the caps Congress placed on damages do not serve the purpose of deterrence. Because the caps are based on the number of employees a defendant employer has, the goal of protecting small businesses from exorbitant damages is accomplished. However, because the top category of the caps is “500 or more” employees, giant corporations escape meaningful awards. This article identifies the problem citing specific examples, and proposes several solutions …

The Creativity And Aging Study: The Impact Of Professionally Conducted Cultural Programs On Older Adults, Gene D. Cohen, The Center On Aging, Health & Humanities, The George Washington University (Gw)

National Collaborative on Aging Faculty Publications

Executive Summary

In 2001, the National Endowment for the Arts developed a cooperative agreement with The George Washington University to conduct a multisite national study with the aim of measuring the impact of professionally conducted community based cultural programs on the general health, mental health, and social activities of older persons, age 65 and older. Referred to as the Creativity and Aging Study, the project’s formal title is “The Impact of Professionally Conducted Cultural Programs on Older Adults”. No previous study of this nature using an experimental design and a control group had been carried out. The study takes place …

April 30, 2006, Ifc, Guidance Notes For New E&S Performane Standards, Ifc

IFC E&S Performance Standards

No abstract provided.

Clark Memorandum: Spring 2006, J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Byu Law School Alumni Association, J. Reuben Clark Law School

The Clark Memorandum

• In Search of Atticus Finch (Lance B. Wickman)
• Reflections on the Lord's Legal Storehouse (Craig D. Galli)
• Lifting Others (Jon Huntsman, Sr.)