Digital Commons Network^™

Reforming Federal Personal Injury Litigation By Incorporation Of The Procedural Innovations Of Scotland And Ireland: An Analysis And Proposal, Daniel H. Erskine

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

Federal procedure has embraced the referral of civil cases outside the court system to alternative dispute resolution. This article argues that by utilizing courts to settle cases through civil procedure, courts realize their central role in ensuring the quality of settlements produced through the judicial administration of justice. The purpose of this article is to provide litigants with an optional procedure to expeditiously resolve federal personal injury cases. The system proposed in this article incorporates Scottish and Irish civil procedural reforms into a coherent method for judicial officers to declare the settlement value of a personal injury action without referring …

The Ctsa University Of Texas Health Science Center (Uthsc) Northeast—Tyler And Rio Grande Valley Success Story: How Rural, Underserved Academic Communities Rapidly Built A Robust Engine For Collaborative Covid-19 Clinical Research, Daisuke Shiomi, William Margolin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In Escherichia coli, the Min system, consisting of three proteins, MinC, MinD, and MinE, negatively regulates FtsZ assembly at the cell poles, helping to ensure that the Z ring will assemble only at midcell. Of the three Min proteins, MinC is sufficient to inhibit Z-ring assembly. By binding to MinD, which is mostly localized at the membrane near the cell poles, MinC is sequestered away from the cell midpoint, increasing the probability of Z-ring assembly there. Previously, it has been shown that the two halves of MinC have two distinct functions. The N-terminal half is sufficient for inhibition of FtsZ …

Genome Sequence Of Fusobacterium Nucleatum Subspecies Polymorphum — A Genetically Tractable Fusobacterium, Sandor E Karpathy, Xiang Qin, Jason Gioia, Huaiyang Jiang, Yamei Liu, Joseph F Petrosino, Shailaja Yerrapragada, George E Fox, Susan Kinder Haake, George M Weinstock, Sarah K Highlander

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Fusobacterium nucleatum is a prominent member of the oral microbiota and is a common cause of human infection. F. nucleatum includes five subspecies: polymorphum, nucleatum, vincentii, fusiforme, and animalis. F. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum ATCC 10953 has been well characterized phenotypically and, in contrast to previously sequenced strains, is amenable to gene transfer. We sequenced and annotated the 2,429,698 bp genome of F. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum ATCC 10953. Plasmid pFN3 from the strain was also sequenced and analyzed. When compared to the other two available fusobacterial genomes (F. nucleatum subsp. nucleatum, and F. nucleatum subsp. vincentii) 627 open reading frames unique …

Key Skills Framework: Enhancing Employability Within A Lifelong Learning Paradigm, Aidan Kenny, Ray English, Dave Kilmartin

Level 3

Employability (see note 1) has become an area of interest among the general public and policy makers alike, with an increasing number of reports in the general media regarding the need for workers in certain sectors to up-skill due to the possible threat of job ‘displacement’. In addition, there has been an increase in education and training policy documents emphasising that citizens should pursue Lifelong Learning (see note 2) /Life Wide Learning to address the increased job-related uncertainty attributed to the globalisation process and the concomitant competitive threats. Academics such as Barnett (2005) claim that we …

Camping In The Classroom: Ridiculous Theatre As Serious Drama, John Kenneth Deboer

Theses and Dissertations

My first semester pursuing my MFA in Voice and Speech Pedagogy I vocal-coached an openly gay student playing a straight character who would mask his sexual identity in such a manner that his performance became stiff and uninteresting. Rather than using his personal identity as an asset in the pursuit of a successful performance, his chosen vocal tactics removed any sense of theatricality from his performance. I confronted the student and suggested such extreme vocal suppression diminished the quality of his overall performance. He replied, "So you want me to get the gay out."His use of the phrase, "get the …

Llum: Light And Reflection, Kazue Taguchi

Theses and Dissertations

When I was nineteen years old, I traveled to ten countries in Europe. While there, I visited many museums and monuments, but it was in the solemn churches that I first saw stained glass and my aesthetic awakening occurred. My first impression was of a "living painting". By this I mean that a stained glass window is a non-static painting, as its appearance is dependant on the quality of light that shines though its panes. The same stained glass window looks different in the morning, evening and night. It has one color scheme on a sunny day and another on …

Pedagogical Fusion, David Maurice White

Theses and Dissertations

During the five semesters that I have been at VCU I have learned a great deal from the courses that I have been enrolled in but I have learned the most through my experiences as a Teaching Assistant. These experiences have been so valuable because of the wide range of subject areas in which I have been involved and the diverse instructors that I have assisted. Although I hesitate to use the word "problem" I feel that there is a tendency in teacher training for a student to latch onto one professor and model their teaching practices after that one …

The Constant Wife Revisited: The Progression Of A Play From Conception To The Final Stage Production, Kimberly H. Parkin

Theses and Dissertations

For my thesis, I recorded the progression of my show, The Constant Wife. I discuss the conception of my original scene design as well as the changes that occurred while working with the director and other designers. Throughout the thesis, I address the problems that arose during the pre-production, what I did to rectify those situations, and what I might have done differently if given the opportunity. I have divided the thesis into the following sections – Process of the Pre-Production, Execution of the Design and Evaluation of the Design. The final section of my thesis details what I learned …

Work Hope As A Mediator Between Proactive Coping And Career Planfulness In Domestic And International University Students, Juan Juana Wu

Theses and Dissertations

This study applied proactive coping theory (E. R. Greenglass, 2002; R. Schwarzer, 2000) to the domain of career development in domestic and international student transition-to-university. Participants were recruited from a large southeastern state university. No significant between-group differences were identified in the present study. Within both groups, proactive coping, work hope, and career planfulness were positively correlated. The role of work hope as a mediator between proactive coping and career planfulness was tested in domestic and international students respectively. For domestic students, a partial mediation model was established with a direct effect of proactive coping on career planfulness and an …

Measuring Hispanic/Latino Satisfaction With Health Services In Chesterfield County, Virginia, Lynell H. Mcclinton

Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this study were to measure and describe the overall satisfaction of Hispanics/Latinos with services they receive from Chesterfield County's Health Department and compare it to that of African Americans and Caucasians. Also, the objectives were to analyze reasons for different levels of satisfaction, assess the nature and degree of satisfaction with particular services, and suggest implications of the Hispanic/Latino opinions for public policy. While the empirical literature revealed that Hispanics/Latinos experience lower levels of satisfaction with health care services, this study did not provide evidence to support this theory.This is a multi-method non-experimental research design combining a …

Professional Theatre In The Academic Theatre Setting, Hartwell Keith Hight

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to discuss the dynamic of continued employment for the theatre instructor. Surprisingly, very little is written about continued employment for the theatre instructor. In the present study, the terms instructor and teacher carry the same meaning. Because theatre builds successful human beings, a theatre program must allows students, graduates, and other interested candidates the opportunity to work closely with experienced professionals in their field.

Oral Health Services In A Medical Setting, Robert William Mansman Ii

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the baseline oral health status of infants and the level of their caregiver's oral health knowledge for families who received preventive oral health services in a medical setting. Methods: Using a prospective cohort study, children 0-3 years of age received an oral health screening, risk assessment, caregiver education, and a fluoride varnish treatment in an ambulatory pediatric medical clinic. A 16-item oral health knowledge and socio-demographic questionnaire was delivered to the caregiver of child. This questionnaire included knowledge, behavior and opinion items on risk factors for dental diseases, care of child's …

Blogging In The Writing Classroom: A Move Toward Dialogue, Design, And Citizenship, Meghan E. Foster

Theses and Dissertations

A bridge connecting student's new multi-modal abilities and schooling can be built. Students choose between school and other activities outside of the classroom walls (and sometimes even inside the classroom) and schoolwork seems to be losing ground in the battle of spare time more and more. Students could benefit from an electronic space that incorporates their media know-how, their studies, and others in the classroom. Blogs, or weblogs, provide just that type of space by relying on the user's insightful writing and creativity to retain a dynamic position in the Internet blogging community. Blogs have the ability to better the …

The Multiple Meanings Of Domestic Violence: A Constructivist Inquiry, Monica Rene' Leisey

Theses and Dissertations

Spurred by the work of the Battered Women's Movement, domestic violence has been responded to since it emerged as a problem in the 1970s. At first the response was providing places for victims to stay and recover from the violence while also providing opportunities for consciousness raising and empowerment work. As domestic violence became a more recognized problem, policies were created and enacted to end the problem. Through the 1980s and 1990s, changes in federal policies in regards to domestic violence were incorporated. The criminal justice system began incorporating such policies as mandatory arrest and no-drop prosecution policies as well …

Within And Without, Shane Robert Rocheleau

Theses and Dissertations

Within and Without is a document which illustrates my personal and artistic research into the nature of the postmodern conception of the self: that self is unfixed, multiple, and reactive. It explicates my myriad and explorative approaches to photographic portraiture. Furthermore, it indicates many of my theoretical and artistic references and how I have applied my lessons both as an artist and a researcher to maximize the effect of my concepts within the formal and aesthetic confines of my photographs. Finally, this document explains my own beliefs concerning the nature of self and how a synthesis of my influences has …

Social Support During The Academic Transition Of International Students In Ph.D. Programs, Deborah A. Westin

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and analyze the mechanisms of social support for international students in Ph.D. programs during an academic transition. Purposive sampling was used to identify participants, two each from the People's Republic of China, India, and Africa. This study employed a phenomenological research method to explore the social support networks that these six students established, the nature of their interactions with the host culture and the effect of social support on academic success. Data collection methods included individual interviews with international students and two staff members from the Office of International Education, one …

Renewing Manchester: A Supportive Life Skills Center For Manchester's Most Underprivileged Residents, Jennifer Lynne Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

In America today, many people have fallen into sub-standard housing situations. Domestic violence, drug abuse, and lack of educational and employment opportunities are a few of the myriad reasons for this. On average the number of homeless people in the greater Richmond area is 5,200 individuals.1 These are people specifically in need of a re-integration into society.This thesis examines the role that the built environment can play in this process, by providing a sustainable, affordable and flexible site for a program that encourages people to rise above their current state by "recycling" them into better more productive citizens. The intent …

Seeing It Straight, Heather Harvey

Theses and Dissertations

This Master of Fine Arts thesis is divided into four main sections:FAITH and DISBELIEF: In which I reckon with the implications of faith versus rationality as a secular nontheistic artist. IDEAS: The central locus of my work is a place of indeterminacy between what is known/familiar and what is just one step outside of that. This has nothing to do with mysticism, science fiction, or anything else unmoored from established fact. Section also touches on the particular vantage of a female artist with working class roots.THE WORK: Selection of work made during graduate school, and the the guiding thoughts behind …

Breadfruit Fantasies, Matthew Steven Spahr

Theses and Dissertations

Breadfuit is a strange thing. It's a starchy potato-like sustenance not particularly noteworthy by most accounts. But it's history is amazing, an epic journey. Relocated from the Samoan island of Upalu to Oahu, Hawaii in the 12th Century as well as transplanted from Tahiti, as an economical food source for slaves in the West Indies in 1780 the lowly breadfruit has been held in the hands of Fletcher Christian, Captain Bligh, James Cook, King Kamehameha and innumerous other nameless individuals including Matt Spahr. This fruit contains the weight of colonialism, capitalism, exploration and tropical fantasy under its skin. The collision …

Life In An Occupied City: Women In Winchester, Virginia During The Civil War, Laura Jane Ping

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the homefront experience of middle class, white women living in Winchester, Virginia during the Civil War. The experience of women in Winchester was unique because of Winchester's proximity to both the Union and Confederate capitals. Although the majority of Winchester's women were Confederate supporters a significant minority of the population remained loyal to the Union. Winchester citizens' divided status was further complicated by numerous occupations of the town by both armies. This thesis argues that in order to cope with wartime hardships women's concepts of patriotism changed as homefront morale waned. While early in the war women's …

The Emergence Of First Amendment Academic Freedom, R. George Wright

Nebraska Law Review

The idea of a constitutionally protected realm of academic freedom is controversial and judicially unsettled. With their most protective rhetoric, courts have referred to "the robust tradition of academic freedom in our nation's post-secondary schools." The Supreme Court has proclaimed that

of transcendent value to all of us and not merely to the teachers concerned. That freedom is therefore a special concern of the First Amendment, which does not tolerate laws that cast a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom.

Beyond the strands of supportive rhetoric, however, lies much current controversy and uncertainty. One court has observed that "'[a]cademic freedom' …

Plea-Bargaining, Negotiating Confessions And Consensual Resolution Of Criminal Cases, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

This report explores the various types of consensual procedures that make up the procedural arsenals of modern criminal justice systems and if and how they have contributed to procedural economy in the respective country. It discusses whether or not important procedural principles have been compromised, undermining the legitimacy of the criminal justice system.

Manuscript, The Lopez Family Of Roberts City, Tampa, Florida, By George Lopez, 2007, George Lopez

Roberts City Collection - Records

Manuscript for George Lopez's "The Lopez Family of Roberts City, Tampa Florida" book.

Study Of Reinforced Concrete Building Demolition Methods And Code Requirements, Haibin Huang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The life cycle of reinforced concrete buildings is usually 40 to 90 years. However, during this life cycle, buildings will often meet some circumstances, such as disasters, changing functions, city reconstruction, or higher demand for the residence etc.; all of these circumstances will lead to demolition or reconstruction of buildings. Moreover, many of Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings in Asia or Europe built after World War II have been used for about 50 years or more, and now need to be rebuilt or demolished. But the current demolition methods are not safe enough, and the traditional building demolition project managing methods …

Jose De Acosta, John Donnelly

History Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Demodulation Of Fiber-Optic Sensors For Frequency Response Measurement, Abdeq M. Abdi, Steve Eugene Watkins

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The neural-network-based processing of extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric (EFPI) strain sensors was investigated for the special case of sinusoidal strain. The application area is modal or cyclic testing of structures in which the frequency response to periodic actuation must be demodulated. The nonlinear modulation characteristic of EFPI sensors produces well-defined harmonics of the actuation frequency. Relationships between peak strain and harmonic content were analyzed theoretically. A two-stage demodulator was implemented with a Fourier series neural network to separate the harmonic components of an EFPI signal and a backpropagation neural network to predict the peak-to-peak strain from the harmonics. The system performance …

Analysis Of Radiated Emissions From A Printed Circuit Board Using Expert System Algorithms, Yan Fu, Todd H. Hubing

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Three algorithms developed for expert system electromagnetic compatibility tools are used to evaluate a printed circuit board design. The maximum radiated emissions estimated by the algorithms are compared to the measured data for various board configurations. The algorithms identify the most important electromagnetic interference source mechanisms, drawing attention to the design parameters that have the most significant effect on the radiated emissions.

Teachers' Stories Of Change: Stress, Care And Economic Rationality, Chris Easthope, Gary Easthope

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The impact of economic rationalism on teachers’ working lives has been documented extensively, particularly in the UK. This article provides a case study of its impact in the early 1990s in a small Australian state, Tasmania, to illustrate that although the particular institutional forms through which it is expressed may differ its impact is similar. We do this by focusing on teachers' stories of change that have stress as a major theme. Stress is partially explained by increased workloads, teachers teaching outside their specialist areas and a changing student population. However, the ideology of economic rationalism has heightened stress because …

Students' Observations And Perceptions Of Teacher "Performances" In The Classroom, Leanne Dalley-Trim

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper documents students’ observations and perceptions of their respective teachers’ “performance” within the context of four year nine English classrooms. Drawing upon student interview data – and signalling researcher observations on occasion – it identifies key themes pertaining to the performances of the teachers. Specifically, it addresses the students’ perceptions of the qualities or characteristics of their teachers, and the sets of practices employed by the teachers; and the students’ views of the types of learning activities with which – and the classroom contexts within which – they were expected to engage. The paper identifies those teacher performances deemed …

Maximising Parent Involvement In The Pedestrian Safety Of 4 To 6 Year Old Children: Final Report, Child Health Promotion Research Centre

Research outputs pre 2011

In Australia pedestrian injury is the leading specific cause of death among 5-9 year old children, and pedestrian injuries among 0-14 year old children in 1999-20000 were the second highest cause of hospitalisation. This mortality and morbidity can be attributed largely to unsafe road environments and under 10 year old children's significant deficits in cognitive and perceptual abilities when crossing roads. For all children under 10 years learning to cross the road needs to be taught by parents in the same way that children learn to swim i.e. under close adult supervision and in the 'real' environment where the skills …