Digital Commons Network^™

The Politics And Economics Of Health: A Cross-National Comparison Of Civic Engagement And Health Status, Suzanne J. Wood

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Over the past two decades, various structural modifications associated with the provision of national health and its systems have been undertaken. The preponderance of liberalization experiences have occurred in the absence of epidemiological, political, or social considerations associated with adoption and implementation. Often, financial and political manipulation by international organizations and powerful foreign governments has served as the impetus for fundamental shifts leading to an asymmetrical distribution of resources by population density, geography, and along various socio-cultural boundaries. Consequently, structural adjustments have resulted in unpredictable and divergent outcomes with regard to health status. The question of whether or not health …

An Examination Of Seasonal Growth And Survivorship Of Sigmodon Hispidus In Southeastern Virginia, Heather Alyssa Green

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

A reexamination of specific population dynamic aspects of Sigmodon hispidus, the hispid cotton rat, is necessary in order to gain additional knowledge and perspective on this species in its northernmost distribution on the east coast of the United States. Previous studies of Virginia cotton rats were based on data from necropsies, which do not allow for the determination of certain population characteristics, such as density, growth, and survival. General population trends and rates of growth and survival in males and females throughout the seasons in Virginia will also provide a basis for comparison with populations of cotton rats in …

The ²H(E, E'P)N Reaction At High Four-Momentum Transfer, Hassan F. Ibrahim

Physics Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation presents the highest four-momentum transfer, Q², quasielastic (x_Bj = 1) results from Experiment E01-020 which systematically explored the 2H(e, e'p)n reaction ("Electro-disintegration" of the deuteron) at three different four-momentum transfers, Q² = 0.8, 2.1, and 3.5 GeV² and missing momenta, p_miss = 0, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 GeV including separations of the longitudinal-transverse interference response function, R_LT, and extraction of the longitudinal-transverse asymmetry, A_LT. This systematic approach will help to understand the reaction mechanism and the deuteron structure down to the short …

Effects Of Elevated Atmospheric Co₂ On Scrub-Oak Root Carbon Pools And Soil Microbial Processes, Alisha Lea Pagel Brown

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The levels of atmospheric CO₂ are rising and this affects the growth of plants and the ecosystems in which they reside. Plants take up additional C from the atmosphere and have potential to sequester C in the soil. I investigated the sequestration of C belowground and the microbial processes that control C retention in the soil. This study was conducted in a Florida scrub-oak ecosystem, where CO₂ levels have been elevated to twice ambient since 1996 in open top chambers. There were eight replicates of ambient CO₂ chambers and eight replicates of twice-ambient CO₂ levels. The …

Stability Analysis Of Hybrid Jump Linear Systems With Markov Inputs, Arturo Tejada Ruiz

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In the past two decades, the number of applications that make use of supervisory algorithms to control complex continuous-time or discrete-time systems has increased steadily. Typical examples include air traffic management, digital control systems over networks, and flexible manufacturing systems. A common feature of these applications is the intermixing of the continuous dynamics of the controlled plant with the logical and discrete dynamics of the supervising algorithms. These so-called hybrid systems are the focus of much ongoing research. To improve the performance of these systems, it is important to analyze the interactions between the supervising algorithms and the plant. Few …

Development Of Single Nanoparticle Optical Assays For Imaging Single Living Cells, William John Brownlow

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Multi-drug resistance (MDR) has been reported in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes; the pathogenic gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa can extrude a variety of structurally and functionally diverse substrates via a number of membrane transport systems leading to MDR. We have developed a novel nanoparticle assay to characterize both the membrane transport system composed of the MexAB-OprM efflux pump and the membrane permeability induced by antibiotics. Gold (Au) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles were investigated for use as probes to explore membrane transport in P. aeruginosa.

The surface plasmon absorption (color) of Au nanoparticle solutions was found to change in the presence …

A Structural Model Of Relationships Between Employee Characteristics, Supervisory Mentoring Behaviors And Job Satisfaction, Florence R. Jinadu

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Organizational researchers have consistently found that developmental mentoring has a positive effect on employees professional and career success. Some of the benefits that have been cited include increased job satisfaction, increased organizational commitment, and increased self-esteem among mentored employees. In addition to these short-term benefits, developmental mentoring has also been found to positively impact long-term career outcomes in the form of increased compensation and career mobility for mentored employees as compared to non-mentored employees. Traditionally, mentors have been described as influential senior members of an organization who provide career support and developmental opportunities to less experienced employees, who are referred …

Understanding The Nature Of Surgical Excellence Using A Competency Modeling Approach, Hope S. Hanner-Bailey

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Currently, a thorough description of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other personal characteristics (KSAOs) that distinguish an exceptional surgeon does not exist. This knowledge is pertinent to the development of selection, training, and performance assessment methods that can be used to develop high performing surgeons. Expert surgeons from around the country were recruited to participate in an interview to discuss the KSAOs (i.e., the competencies) needed to be exceptional in the field. A smaller number of novice surgeons were also interviewed. The expert interview data were distilled into a competency model that consists of ten competencies and patterns within the …

Age Validation And Reproductive Biology Of Bluefish, Pomatomus Saltatrix, Along The East Coast Of United States, Eric Robillard

OES Theses and Dissertations

I describe a new preparation technique that increases readability of otoliths, along with criteria for the interpretation of otolith microstructure of bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, collected from Florida to New York during 2001-2003 (n = 2652). I validated annulus formation in otoliths for ages 1 to 8 using marginal increment analysis and thus extended validation by four years to include the preponderance of age classes in the catch. Although otoliths are typically superior for ageing, bluefish are routinely aged with scales; thus a side-by-side comparison of otoliths versus scales is necessary before otoliths can supplant scales. When compared, precision …

Gendering The City, Gendering The Nation: Contesting Urban Space In Fes, Morocco, Rachel Newcomb

Faculty Publications

An actor-centered approach to the gendering of urban spaces demonstrates how individuals respond to competing ideologies in determining the rules that surround women’s presence in urban, Muslim spaces. This article examines how women in the Ville Nouvelle of Fes, Morocco draw on local conceptualizations of hospitality, kinship, and shame as they debate the gendering of four urban areas: the street, the café, a cosmopolitan exercise club, and cyber space. Women’s tactics for occupying social space indicate the resilience of local culture in the face of ideologies that attempt to posit a specific vision of women in the Moroccan nation state.

My Story : Omar Alrikabi, Omar Alrikabi

ATS Chapel Services

No abstract provided.

Learning In Minimalism-Based Language Modeling, Deryle W. Lonsdale

Faculty Publications

The natural language version of the Soar cognitive modeling system (Newell, 1990) has enabled a number of language modeling applications from on-line parsing behavior (Lewis, 1993) to simultaneous interpretation (Lonsdale, 1997, 1998) to robotic control (Benjamin, Lonsdale, & Lyons, 2004). The system supports an integrated approach to incremental comprehension and generation. Learning mechanisms account for processes in language performance from deliberate, explicit reasoning to automatic, recognitional expertise.

Syntactic processing in prior versions of the system followed the Principles and Parameters approach to syntax.

The Paradox Of Omnipotence: Courts, Constitutions, And Commitments, David S. Law

Georgia Law Review

Sovereigns, like individuals, must sometimes make commitments that limit their freedom of action in order to accomplish their goals. Scholars have observed that constitutional arrangements can, by restricting a sovereign's power, enable the sovereign to make such commitments. The opposite, however, can also be true: constitutional arrangements can and do impede sovereign commitment by entrenching inalienable governmental powers and immunities. This Article explores the nature and origins of the commitment problems that sovereigns face, and the role of courts in solving such problems. It begins by setting forth an analytical distinction between effective and persuasive commitments. Effective commitments are made …

Climate Change Litigation: The Federal Common Law Of Interstate Nuisance And Federalism Concerns, Benjamin P. Harper

Georgia Law Review

After political efforts have failed to deal with the problem of global climate change, some scholars have encouraged litigation as a possible solution to the problem. The case of Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co. represents one attempt to use the federal courts to combat greenhouse gas emissions. In American Electric eight state attorneys general and New York City sued five large out-of-state power companies for carbon dioxide emissions, basing the case on the federal common law theory of interstate public nuisance. This Note discusses the appropriateness of the interstate public nuisance theory and the obstacles to climate change litigation. …

The Swift, Silent Sword Hiding In The (Defense) Attorney's Arsenal: The Inefficacy Of Georgia's New Offer Of Judgment Statute As Procedural Tort Reform, Merritt E. Mcalister

Georgia Law Review

Offer of judgment provisions, initially creatures of state law but codified in 1938 as Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, are neither widely used nor widely understood. Both federal and state offer of judgment rules operate to penalize a plaintiff who fails to accept, in light of the ultimate judgment, a reasonable settlement offer. Scholars have often criticized the federal rule's minimal impact as a tool to encourage settlement, and several states, including Georgia in a recent enactment, have made efforts to create offer of judgment provisions that provide severe penalties-attorney's fees and costs-for an offeree who …

Waging War Against Terror: An Essay For Sandy Levinson, Philip Chase Bobbitt

Faculty Scholarship

Wars are acts of State, and therefore there has never been a "war on terror." Of course states have fought terrorism, in many guises, for centuries. But a war on terror had to await the development of states – including virtual states like al Qaeda's global ummah – whose constitutional order was not confined to a particular territory or national group and for whom terror could therefore be a permanent state of international affairs, either sought in order to prevent persons within a state's control from resisting oppression by accessing global, empowering resources and networks, or suffered because other states …

The Bankruptcy Abuse Creation Act?: Curing Unintended Consequences Of Bankruptcy Reform, Tedra Hobson

Georgia Law Review

Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 to reduce what many viewed as widespread abuse of the bankruptcy system. The legislation also contained some "consumer friendly" provisions, including two that exclude and exempt certain tax-exempt retirement savings from the bankruptcy estate and from the calculation of disposable income. These sections of the Act may, however, have created new opportunities for abuse. This Note discusses the possibilities for abuse that arise from the change in treatment of retirement savings in bankruptcy and argues that in certain cases, a debtor's use of these exemptions and exclusions violates …

The City Of God And The Cities Of Men: A Response To Jason Carter, Randy Beck

Georgia Law Review

Jason initially considers and rejects philosophical positions that call for citizens to put aside their religious beliefs when they participate in the political sphere.' He advocates, instead, the freedom to live a "religiously integrated existence" in all areas of life, including political life. Here, Jason reminds me of another Carter-Professor Stephen L. Carter of the Yale Law School. In The Culture of Disbelief, Professor Carter contends that "[in our sensible zeal to keep religion from dominating our politics, we have created a political and legal culture that presses the religiously faithful to be other than themselves, to act publicly, and …

A Theoretical Model And Empirical Results Linking Website Interactivity And Usability Satisfaction, Paul Benjamin Lowry, Trent Spaulding, Taylor Wells, Greg Moody, Kevin Moffit, Sebastian Madariaga

Faculty Publications

Usability is a key component of websites that are commercially successful. Interactivity has been inconclusively linked to website usability. This study strengthens the theoretical understanding of how interactivity affects usability by measuring user satisfaction—a subconstruct of usability—across bookstore and e-card websites. We build on theoretical models from Liu and Shrum [17] and Khalifa and Liu [15]. Users were asked to perform tasks of varying levels of interactivity at bookstore and e-card websites. Measures were obtained for the user’s expectations of, desires for, and satisfaction with the websites. Results indicate that interactivity is successfully able to increase website satisfaction. Finally, implications …

Blended Learning Systems Definition, Current Trends, And Future Directions, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

The term blended learning is being used with increased frequency in both academic and corporate circles. In 2003, the American Society for Training and Development identified blended learning as one of the top ten trends to emerge in the knowledge delivery industry (Rooney, 2003). In 2002, the Chronicle of Higher Education quoted the president of Pennsylvania State University as saying that the convergence between online and residential instruction was “the single-greatest unrecognized trend in higher education today” (Young, 2002, p. A33). Also quoted in that article was the editor of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, who predicted a dramatic …

Information Pursuit In Financial-Statement Analysis: Effects Of Choice, Effort, And Disaggregation, Mark W. Nelson, William B. Tayler

Faculty Publications

Prior research provides evidence that financial-statement users weight information less heavily in judgment when that information is provided in a less accessible format (e.g., information disclosed in a footnote or less important financial statement rather than being recognized on the income statement (Maines and McDaniel 2000)). We provide evidence that, conditional on users performing the analysis necessary to transform the financial statements to appear as if disclosed information had been recognized, users may weight that information more heavily than it would have been if it had been recognized. Our experiments are set in the context of constructive capitalization of operating …

Why Do Reits Repurchase Stock? Extricating The Effect Of Managerial Signaling In Open Market Share Repurchase Announcements, James C. Brau, Andrew Holmes

Faculty Publications

This paper explores the effect of stock repurchase announcements on equity returns for publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs). In addition to providing analysis of the corporate decision to repurchase shares, the study of share repurchases in the context of REITs provides a novel opportunity to disentangle the impact of competing theories for the abnormal returns observed around repurchase announcements. Prior literature advances six hypotheses to explain the stock price reaction associated with repurchases. Given that the theories all predict the same stock price reaction, existing studies are unable to disentangle the competing hypotheses. The intent of this research …

Evidence On What Cfos Think About The Ipo Process: Practice, Theory, And Managerial Implications, James C. Brau, Stanley E. Fawcett

Faculty Publications

Many privately held companies aspire to go public through an initial public offering. But the IPO process is time-consuming, expensive, and fraught with uncertainty. With the aim of shedding light on the process and reducing at least some of the uncertainty, the authors asked several hundred CFOs to share their experiences and perceptions with regard to six specific aspects of the IPO process: (1) motives for going public; (2) the timing of IPOs; (3) criteria for choosing an underwriter; (4) cause of IPO underpricing; (5) IPO signaling; and (6) reasons to stay private.

Million Dollar Medical Malpractice Cases In Florida: Post-Verdict And Pre-Suit Settlements, Neil Vidmar, Kara Mackillop, Paul Lee

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Who’S Afraid Of The Apa? What The Patent System Can Learn From Administrative Law, Stuart M. Benjamin, Arti K. Rai

Faculty Scholarship

In recent years, widespread dissatisfaction with the perceived poor quality of issued patents has spurred a diverse range of groups to call for reform of administrative procedures. Strikingly, however, most calls for reform pay little attention to principles of administrative law. Similarly, judges (in particular the judges of the Federal Circuit) have treated patent law as an exception to the Administrative Procedure Act, and to administrative law more generally. In this Article, Professors Benjamin and Rai contend that this treatment is doctrinally incorrect and normatively undesirable. Standard principles of administrative law provide the appropriate approach for judicial review in the …

Brief Amici Curiae In Support Of Respondent, Phillip Morris, Usa, Neil Vidmar

Faculty Scholarship

Brief of Neil Vidmar, et al. Amici Curiae in support of Respondent, Phillip Morris, USA v. Williams, No. 15-1256 (U.S. Supreme Court, September 15, 2006) In Williams v. Philip Morris (1999) an Oregon jury awarded the plaintiff $800,000 in compensatory damages and $79.5 million in punitive damages, a verdict upheld by the Oregon Supreme Court, but appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court (oral argument set for Oct 31, 2006). Critics of punitive damages argue that (a) juries are incompetent, irrational or biased in awarding punitive damages and (b) judges and appellate courts fail to police excessive verdicts. This amicus brief …

Ecosystem Services And The Public Trust Doctrine: Working Change From Within, James Salzman, J.B. Ruhl

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Executive And The Avoidance Canon, H. Jefferson Powell

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.