Digital Commons Network^™

The Best Defense: Why Elected Courts Should Lead Recusal Reform, Deborah Goldberg, James Sample, David E. Pozen

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

In recent years, we have seen an escalation of attacks on the independence of the judiciary. Government officials and citizens who have been upset by the substance of judicial decisions are increasingly seeking to rein in the courts by limiting their jurisdiction over controversial matters, soliciting pre-election commitments from judicial candidates, and drafting ballot initiatives with sanctions for judges who make unpopular rulings. Many of these efforts betray ignorance at best, or defiance at worst, of traditional principles of separation of powers and constitutional protections against tyranny of the majority.

The attacks are fueled in part by the growing influence …

A Default-Logic Paradigm For Legal Fact-Finding, Vern R. Walker

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

This paper presents a visual framework for modelling complex legal reasoning — reasoning that integrates legal rules and policies with expert and non-expert evidence. The framework is based on a many-valued, predicate, default logic. The paper first visualizes the two sides of the rule-evidence interface: rule-based deductions and evidence evaluation. It then explores ways to visualize several dynamics around that interface, including dynamics concerning evidentiary relevance, findings of fact, process decision making about motions, policy-based reasoning about rules and relevant-factor reasoning. The paper then concludes with visualizing dynamics across multiple cases and briefly discusses one pathway by which new legal …

Illinois State Alumni Magazine, Winter 2007-008, Illinois State University, University Marketing And Communications

State: The Magazine of Illinois State University (1999-present)

Illinois State University alumni magazine

Analysis Of E2f1 Target Genes Involved In Cell Cycle And Apoptosis, Scott N. Freeman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the main results of Rb-E2F pathway disruption is deregulation of the E2F family of transcription factors, which can lead to inappropriate proliferation, oncogenic transformation, or the induction of apoptosis. Given the potential negative biological effects associated with deregulated E2F activity, it is of great importance to study E2F targets that mediate these effects. In Part I of this manuscript, we identify the RhoBTB2 putative tumor suppressor gene as a direct physiological target of the E2F1 transcription factor. We find that RhoBTB2 is highly upregulated during mitosis due in part to E2F1, and that overexpression of RhoBTB2 increases the …

Regulation Of Foxo Stability And Activity By Mdm2 E3 Ligase, Wei Fu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Members of the forkhead class O (FOXO) transcription factors are tumor suppressors and key molecules that control aging and lifespan. The stability of mammalian FOXO proteins is controlled by proteasome-mediated degradation but general ubiquitin E3 ligases for FOXO factors remain to be defined. The current studies demonstrate that MDM2 bound to FOXO1 and FOXO3A and promoted their ubiquitination and subsequent degradation, a process apparently dependent on FOXO phopshorylation at PKB sites and on the E3 ligase activity of MDM2. The binding occurred between endogenous proteins and was involved the forkhead box of FOXO1 and the region of MDM2 that controls …

Philosophy Of New Jazz: Reconstructing Adorno, Dustin Bradley Garlitz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Theodor W. Adorno, the towering twentieth century German intellectual figure and distinctive musical thinker, was legendary for being over-critical of jazz music. Through a consideration at his admiration for avant-garde chamber and symphonic music, I plan to develop a position that, surprisingly, points towards a theory of unacknowledged acceptance of jazz. The style of jazz that will be the newly constructed musical idiom of admiration for Adorno will be of the heterodox variety. My method of reconstruction will be to interrogate the inconsistencies in Adorno's critical musical writings, and negate such negations with factual evidence of affirmation found in the …

Evaluation Of Scrap Tire-Derived Porous Rubber Tubing As A Green Membrane For Sustainable Water Filtration (Ecol-Mem Process), Ana Maria Garcia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing population and extensive urbanization have strained resources around the world, promoting water scarcity and solid waste accumulation. Addressing the issues of access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation in developing countries is challenging due to limited technological and financial resources. Therefore, it is imperative that durable, low-cost, and sustainable technologies are developed to help alleviate these problems. At the same time, the production of solid waste has increased and includes waste tires, which pose a health and environmental hazard. Although efforts have been made to develop new markets for recycled scrap tires, a vast majority are still being …

Do You See What I Mean? Measuring Consensus Of Agreement And Understanding Of A National Weather Service Informational Graphic, Lorna M. Geggis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Media use of hurricane graphics to apprise populations vulnerable to severe weather provides a persuasive demonstration of the importance and complexity of visual communication. Surprisingly little research, however, has explored how audiences interpret weather graphics. This study examined whether the general public and the National Weather Service share a common understanding of selected weather related terms and meaning of a NWS informational graphic. Using a coorientation model, general public responses to a questionnaire were compared to definitions prescribed by the NWS. Additionally, the public were asked questions to measure trust of the NWS as a credible and reliable source of …

The Appeal Of The Underdog: Definition Of The Construct And Implications For The Self, Nadav Goldschmied

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

From politics to sports to business, people are quick to categorize those at a considerable competitive disadvantage as "underdogs." Moreover, there is ample support that most unattached observers do not hesitate to align themselves with underdogs, a phenomenon termed "the underdog effect." While most dictionary definitions state that underdogs are "especially expected to lose," the present investigation argues that people often attribute optimistic qualities to underdogs and the exceeding of expectations. A series of studies was conducted to examine the lay-person definition of what an underdog means, as well as what motivations may play a role in the underdog effect. …

Relationship Between Biofilm Removal And Membrane Performance Using Dunedin Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant As A Case Study, Joshua E. Goldman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Membrane biofouling is a common occurrence in water treatment plants that utilize reverse osmosis (RO). As bacteria and biofilm material build up on the membrane surface, it becomes more difficult for clean water to permeate through the membrane, and more pressure is required to produce the same amount of water. When pressures become critically high, membranes must be cleaned. This process is expensive in terms of chemical cost, labor, and downtime. Even after membranes have been cleaned, they can re-foul quickly if the cleaning did not effectively remove the biofilm. The water treatment plant in Dunedin, FL, which uses RO …

Nanoripples Formation In Calcite And Indium Phosphide (Inp) Single Crystals, Ramakrishna Gunda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this project we studied the formation of nanoripples in calcite and InP single crystals by continuous scanning using the nanoindenter in the ambient environment and by Argon ion irradiation under ultra high vacuum conditions, respectively. Formation of tip induced nanowear ripples is studied on a freshly cleaved calcite single crystal as a function of scanning frequency and contact load of the diamond tip. At lower loads, initiation of the ripples takes place at the bottom of the surface slope at 3 Hz scanning frequency, which continue to propagate as scanning progresses. The orientation of these ripple structures is perpendicular …

Long-Term Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Reptile And Amphibian Communities In Florida Sandhill, Neal Thomas Halstead

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I examined the effects of fire frequency on reptile and amphibian community composition in a periodically burned sandhill habitat in west-central Florida. Plots burned in 2003 had lower species richness, diversity, and evenness indices than plots that had not been burned during the previous six years. Community composition was different among plots burned at different times and followed a gradient of change that corresponded to the time since the last fire. Aspidoscelis sexlineata were the most abundant lizards in recently burned plots, while Scincella lateralis and Plestiodon inexpectatus were relatively more abundant in unburned plots. Gopherus polyphemus were least abundant …

The Relationships Between Students’ Perceptions Of School Climate, Attitudes Towards School, And Substance Use Among Early Adolescents, Jason D. Hangauer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the relationships between early adolescent substance use and perceptions of school climate and attitudes towards school using self-report data from a sample of 443 middle school students. The present study examined school climate and attitudes towards school comprehensively in order to identify important relationships between these classes of variables and multiple types of substance use in early adolescents. The results of the study include that the model of school climate consisting of six factors (fairness, order and discipline, parental involvement, sharing or resources, student interpersonal relations, and student-teacher relations) accurately predicted 11% of the variance in middle …

A Paradox Of Diversity: Billions Invested, But Women Still Leave, Rebekah S. Heppner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2005, women made up 46.4 percent of the United States labor force but only 1.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs (Catalyst 2006). Although gains have been made since the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, there is clearly something stopping women from equal representation at the top. Since the late 1980s, businesses have spent billions of dollars on initiatives designed to assist them in dealing with the anticipated increase in the "diversity" of their workplaces (Lubove 1997; Stodghill II 1996; Johnston and Packer 1987). Is there potential for diversity initiatives to help women conquer the "glass ceiling?" …

Mathematical Techniques For The Estimation Of The Diffusion Coefficient And Elimination Constant Of Agents In Subcutaneous Tissue, Lawrence T. Hersh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work was to develop methods to estimate the diffusion coefficient and elimination constant for dexamethasone in subcutaneous tissue. Solutions to the diffusion equation were found for different conditions relevant to implantation and injection. These solutions were then used as models for measured autoradiography data where the unknown model parameters were the diffusion coefficient and the elimination constant. The diffusion coefficient and elimination constant were then estimated by curve fitting the measured data to these models. Having these estimates would be of practical importance since inflammation surrounding implantable glucose sensors may be controlled through local release of …

Numerical Analysis Of Heat Transfer During Jet Impingement On Curved Surfaces, Cesar F. Hernandez-Ontiveros

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The flow structure and convective heat transfer behavior of a free liquid jet ejecting from a round nozzle impinging vertically on a hemispherical solid plate and a slot nozzle impinging vertically on a cylindrical curved plate have been studied using a numerical analysis approach. The simulation model incorporated the entire fluid region and the solid hemisphere or curved plate. Solution was done for both isothermal and constant heat flux boundary conditions at the inner surface of the hemispherical plate and the constant heat flux boundary condition at the inner surface of the cylindrical shaped plate. Computations for the round nozzle …

(Dis)Continuity Between Sikhism And Islam: The Development Of Hukam Across Religions, Mark Horowitz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to analyze the development of the Sikh concept of hukam, which is usually translated as a divine command or order. The concept is prominently featured in the Sikh sacred scripture (Guru Granth) and is an important aspect of daily ritual life for the Sikhs. The goal of this study is to provide initial insight into how the concept developed in the Sikh scriptural tradition, as well as the implications that the concept had for the Sikh community. This paper traces the development of hukam from the concepts origin in the Islamic tradition, the writings …

The Pedagogy And Politics Of Online Education In Anthropology, Linda J. Hose

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reports on the key findings of an exploratory study of online education in anthropology. The study was designed to collect information on the extent and types of online offerings at four-year and above degree-granting public institutions in the US. It was also designed to report on the teaching strategies and methods that anthropologists employ online, and to inquire into the conditions and institutional structures that encourage or discourage the development of online education in anthropology. Recent growth in online education has been explosive in many disciplines, but little is known about anthropology's participation in the trend, or lack …

What Are The Socio-Emotional Experiences And Perceptions Of Third Grade Students With High-Stakes Testing?, Anne Marie Juola-Rushton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of third grade students with high-stakes testing. The study was designed to address this issue from the perspective of the third grade student's experience and offer a venue for them to share their stories. The following research question guides this study: What are the socio-emotional experiences and perceptions of third grade students with high-stakes testing? Data analysis employed here falls under the rubric of qualitative approaches of symbolic interaction and phenomenology written in a narrative format with the provisions of portraiture. This study uses the analytical procedures set …

The Effects Of Organizational Structure On Faculty Job Performance, Job Satisfaction, And Counterproductive Work Behavior, Stacey R. Kessler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizational researchers focus on group level variables such as organizational climate and organizational structure. The purpose of the current meso-level study is to examine the effects of the structure of an academic department on faculty members' job performance, job satisfaction, and prevalence of counterproductive work behavior (CWB), or harmful behaviors while at work. The sample consisted of 1135 full time faculty members working in 229 academic departments throughout the United States and Canada. Results of the study suggested that faculty members working in a more organically structured department report higher levels of job satisfaction. Additionally, productive faculty members working in …

The Gothic As Counter-Discourse: Mark Twain, Charles Chesnutt And Toni Morrison, Hyejin, Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Revisiting the American Gothic via Julia Kristeva's theory of "the abject" demonstrates how Gothic strategies expose the historical contradictions of race in works by Mark Twain, Charles W. Chesnutt, and Toni Morrison. As theorized by Kristeva in Powers of Horror, the archaic process in which the subject attempts to constitute itself as homogeneous by casting off or "abjecting" all that cannot be assimilated to the self-same necessarily opens the way to repeated returns of the abject(ed) and the "horror" it provokes. Because the Gothic enacts the return of the abject, it was itself abjected from the literary canon until recently. …

The “Dark Side” Of Ocb: Examining The Relationship Between Citizenship Behavior And Work-To-Family Conflict, Rebecca H. Klein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) has focused on the positive aspects of the construct, neglecting the possibility that individuals who engage in OCB may suffer negative consequences. Thus, the present study expands the literature by examining the possibility that OCB is also related to negative individual-level factors, such as work-to-family conflict (WIF). In a replication and extension of Bolino and Turnley's (2005) research, the present study offers an in-depth analysis of the relationship between OCB and WIF, examining two potential mediators (work time and role overload) and two potential moderators (gender and perceptions of OCB as discretionary). Two hundred …

Responsibility And Practice In Notions Of Corporate Social Responsibility, Denise Kleinrichert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This treatise presents a transcendental argument for corporate social responsibility. The argument is that corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is best understood as a collective moral practice that is a precondition for sustainable business. There are a number of theories and definitions of CSR in the contemporary business literature. These theories include considerations of economic, legal, social, and environmental notions of what a corporation ought to take responsibility for based on either motives or concerns of accountability for corporate acts. This work focuses on economic theories. I analyze the distinction between the technical terms "responsibility" and "accountability" found in these …

Meaning Makers Make It: Ambivalence About Ambiguity In Academic Discourse, David Haldane Lee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a broad survey of the uses of ambiguity in academic discourse. I note the uses of ambiguity in literary criticism, linking ambiguity with epistemic relativism. Then I pose the question, is the notion of "reframing" in psychotherapy analogous to the concept of "spin" in propaganda, advertising and public relations? In a consideration of theories that posit the social construction of reality, I examine articles by Judith Butler and Ian Hacking, noting the ambiguous reception of performativity and nominalism, respectively, within academia. In 1996 a physicist named Alan Sokal published an article which argued that reality is a …

Comparative Effects Of The Toxic Dinoflagellate, Karenia Brevis, On Bivalve Molluscs From Florida, James R. Leverone

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effects of the toxic dinoflagellate, karenia brevis (Wilson clone), on larval survival and development of the northern quahog (=hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria), eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) were studied in the laboratory. The effects of K. brevis on feeding activities of juveniles from these species plus the green mussel (Perna viridis) were also examined. Finally, adult bay scallops were exposed to K. brevis for two weeks to investigate possible cytotoxic effects. Survival of 3-day-old larvae was generally > 85% for all shellfish species at Karenia brevis densities of 100 cells . ml-1 or less, and not …

A Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model For Spherical Mechanisms: The Kinematics And Elasticity Of A Curved Compliant Beam, Alejandro Leã³N

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis improves a previous kinematic analysis and develops the elastic portion of the analysis of a curved compliant beam. This analysis is used to develop a Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model for the curved compliant beam. The Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model consist of kinematic and elastic parameters which can be used to simplify the computation of the large deflections of the beam as it undergoes spherical motion. The kinematic parameters that are developed are the characteristic radius, Gamma*length, the parametric angle coefficient, c_theta, and the kinematic parametrization limit, Capital_theta_max(Gamma). The elastic parameters developed are the stiffness coefficient, K_theta, and the elastic parameterization limit, Capital_theta_max(K). …

The Effects Of Alcohol And Nicotine Pretreatment During Adolescence On Adulthood Responsivity To Alcohol, Antoniette M. Maldonado

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a period of development that is associated with increased risk taking behaviors and experimenting with drugs of abuse, including alcohol and nicotine. Early onset of use of these agents may be associated with long-term changes in behavior and enhanced sensitivity to the subsequent effects of alcohol in adulthood. The present experiment was designed to assess the long-term behavioral alterations that occur due to adolescent exposure to ethanol and nicotine, either alone or in combination, on adulthood responsivity to the rewarding properties of environmental cues paired with ethanol. It was hypothesized that adolescent rats exposed to the combination of …

Transient Fluorescence Spectroscopy And Laser Induced Fluorescence Lifetimes Of Terbium Doped Dipicolinic Acid, Anali Makoui

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We have investigated the use of deep UV laser induced fluorescence for the sensitive detection and spectroscopic lifetime studies of terbium doped dipicolinic acid (DPA-Tb) and used this to study the optical characteristics of DPA which is a chemical surrounding most bacterial spores. Background absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, and Excitation Emission Matrix (EEM) spectra were made of the DPA-Tb complex, using both fixed 266 nm wavelength and tunable (220 nm --

280 nm) UV laser excitations. Of importance, the fluorescence lifetimes of the four main fluorescence peaks (488 nm, 543 nm, 581 nm, and 618 nm) of the DPA-Tb complex …

Using In Situ Click Chemistry To Modulate Protein-Protein Interactions: Bcl-XL As A Case, Lisa M. Malmgren

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Protein-protein interactions are central to most biological processes. Although in the field of drug discovery there is a great interest in targeting protein-protein interactions, the discovery and development of small-molecules, which effect these interactions has been challenging. The purpose of this project is to determine if in situ click chemistry is a practical approach towards testing whether Bcl-XL is capable of assembling it's own inhibitory compounds. Abbott laboratories developed compound ABT-737, which binds with high affinity (Ki < 1 nM) to the binding sites of Bcl-XL.³⁶. Based on ABT-737, two acetylene anchor molecules AM3 and AM4 have been synthesized. These anchor molecules are distinguished by the reactivity …

Venturesome Women: Nineteenth-Century British Women Travel Writers And Sport, Precious Mckenzie-Stearns

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the travel writings of Isabella Bird Bishop, Mary Kingsley, Florence Douglas Dixie, and Isabel Savory. While away from England, these women writers participated in cultural exchanges which led to reevaluations of British womanhood. British women travel writers operated not only within the power structures of gender but also within the structures of empire, class, and race. Women travel writers blazed the trail for the New Woman of the end of the century. Before cycling and cigarette smoking were allowed, daring women such as Isabella Bird Bishop and Mary Kingsley crisscrossed the globe in defiance of patriarchal tradition …