Digital Commons Network^™

The Revenge Of The Past: Ethnic Nationalism, Soviet Nationalities Policies, And The Collapse Of The Ussr, Steven Montgomery Wheat

Honors Theses

The Soviet Union was a vast empire that included scores of ethnic minority groups, From its earliest days, the Soviet government was compelled to find creative ways to address the concerns of these various groups while remaining true to its ideological rhetoric. This paper outlines many of the governmental programs that aimed to appease minority groups through cultural, linguistic, and in some cases, administrative autonomy. The numerous instances in Soviet history during which these privileges were curtailed are also included. In sum, this paper presents a chronological review of the various, often contradictory, nationalities policies adopted in the Soviet Union …

The Post-Cold War Security Dialogue, Melanie Collins

Honors Theses

This paper attempts to explore the relevance of new security concerns in the post Cold War security dialogue. This project is split in to two parts. The first part is a brief summary of what have been termed new security concerns. The second part is an empirical analysis of whether these security concerns have made it out of academic discussion and in to the mass media and political dialogue. This was determined via two sources: The New York Times and Presidential State of the Union Addresses from 1949 - 2007. Using The New York Times, the time periods 1980-1985, 1990-1995, …

The Bonds They Form: An Analysis Of Women's Relationships In Margaret Atwood's Lady Oracle, Cat's Eye, And The Robber Bride, Kimberly Elizabeth Debrock

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An Initial Evaluation Of Select Social Welfare Programs Instated By Hugo Chavez, Maria Catarina Gutierrez

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Rage, Remembrance, Redemption: The Poetic Response To Aids, Samuel Douglas Ray

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the works of three poets whose works offer a response to the AIDS epidemic: Thom Gunn, Paul Monette, and Mark Doty. With chapters dedicated to each poefs work individually, the thesis examines the works in terms of thematic content, formal characteristics, and sociopolitical relevance. The three central chapters are framed by personal essays that also explore general characteristics of AIDS poetry In the great tradition of the elegy and the lyric. While all three poets offer narratives alternative to the political discourse surrounding the disease, each poet's response is unique - just as each poet's relationship to …

Environment, Behavior, And Internal Consciousness: A Study Of Space And Time In Dostoevsky, Laura Claire Bagwell

Honors Theses

Individual and public space creates the reality of daily existence for a human being. The ideological perspectives a person maintains are direct products of individual space experience because the larger societal context of a region constructs the norms for behavior and belief Dostoevsky writes concentration narratives that focus on the urban and rural space surrounding a protagonist, and contrasts between these two settings to illustrate the impact of environment on the human psyche. This study examines the use of external conditions to describe literary characters and the ideologies and behaviors they maintain. In researching space and time in the literature …

Family Temporal Organization And Children's Affect Regulation: A Quantitative And Qualitative Study Of First Generation Dominican Families, Alba Cabral

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined the hypothesis that temporal organization of family life is associated with children's affect regulation in first generation Dominican families. Eighteen families with children between ages one and half and five participated in this study, completing questionnaires about family time and routines, children's affect regulation, and child behavior problems. The families participated in interviews that inquired into family routines, family time and children's affect regulation according to the parent. Four of these families were selected for qualitative analysis of themes that illuminated the hypotheses tested. Correlational analysis confirmed the main hypothesis tested, namely, the existence of a relationship …

Beyond "Vectors Of Transmission" Through Commercial Sex: Exploring Models Of Sexual Risk Taking With Clients And Casual Partners Among Internet Based Male Sex Workers, David S. Bimbi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Male sex workers (MSWs) have often been portrayed as vectors of disease although most published studies have reported high rates of condom use with clients in this population. Regardless, social psychological models of sexual behavior that have been widely utilized to examine sexual risk taking in the gay and bisexual male community have not been applied to research with MSWs. Further, sexual behaviors with casual sex partners among MSWs has been absent in most reported research. More recently, the rise of barebacking (unprotected anal sex) in the gay male community has challenged assumptions that most gay and bisexual men want …

Herbal Products And Dietary Supplements: A Survey Of Use, Attitudes, And Knowledge Among Older Adults, Jacqueline S. Marinac, Colleen L. Buchinger, Lincoln A. Godfrey, James M. Wooten, Chao Sun, Sandra K. Willsie

Faculty and Staff Publications

Context: Tens of millions of Americans use herbal products and/or dietary supplements, yet scant data are available regarding the purity, safety, or efficacy of these substances. A better understanding of usage trends and patient attitudes toward self-initiated supplementation is vital to obtaining accurate and complete medical history data.

Objective: To survey Americans aged approximately 60 years and older regarding their use of herbal products and dietary supplements and their attitudes and knowledge regarding the safety of these popular substances.

Methods: A face-to-face, 35-item survey was administered to 267 men and women residing in the Kansas City, Mo-metropolitan area. Researchers documented …

Phthalate-Induced Liver Protection Against Deleterious Effects Of The Th1 Response: A Potentially Serious Health Hazard, Mostafa Z. Badr, Alexander A. Shnyra, Mikhail Zoubine, Maxim Norkin, Betty Herndon, Tim Quinn, Roberto N. Miranda, Michael L. Cunningham, Agostino Molteni

Faculty and Staff Publications

Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) induces pulmonary immunopathology mediated by classical Th1 type of acquired immunity with hepatic involvement in up to 80% of disseminated cases. Since PPAR agonists cause immune responses characterized by a decrease in the secretion of Th1 cytokines, we investigated the impact of activating these receptors on hepatic pathology associated with a well-characterized model of Th1-type pulmonary response. Male Fischer 344 rats were either maintained on a drug-free diet (groups I and II), or a diet containing diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP), a compound transformed in vivo to metabolites known to activate PPARs, for 21 days (groups III and …

The Effect Of Teacher Confirmation On Student Communication And Learning Outcomes., Alan K. Goodboy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Teacher confirmation research has suggested that students form positive perceptions of confirming instructors and report increases in learning (Ellis, 2000, 2004). However, actual student communication behaviors resulting from teacher confirmation in the college classroom has received little attention. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the effects of teacher confirmation on both student communication behavior and learning outcomes in the college classroom. A live lecture experiment was conducted where teacher confirmation was manipulated (i.e., not confirming, somewhat confirming, confirming) across three college courses. After the live lecture, students completed a post test assessing both positive (i.e., student communication motives, …

A Curriculum To Prepare Pastors For Tribal Ministry In India, Calvin N. Joshua

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The dissertation project establishes the existence of nearly one hundred million tribal people who are forgotten but continue to live in human isolation from the main stream of Indian society. They have their own culture and history. How can the Adventist Church make a difference in reaching them? There is a need for trained pastors in tribal ministry who are culture sensitive and knowledgeable in missiological perspectives.

Method

Through historical, cultural, religious, and political analysis, tribal peoples and their challenges are identified. The contribution of Christianity to India, particularly, the impact of the Adventist Church among tribals is reviewed. …

A Comparative Study Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church And The United Methodist Church With A Strategy For Enhanced Adventist Membership Growth In Cote D'Ivoire, Elie Weick-Dido

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Seventh-day Adventists first reached the French colony of Cote d’Ivoire around 1920. In 1946 the Church was organized with only 17 members. By 1985, the membership was 2,057 and in 2000, there were 7,215 members. By comparison, the Methodist Church of Cote d’Ivoire was established in 1924 and in 2000 had 1,350,000 members. Both Seventh-day Adventists and Methodists have conducted with mission in the same context where 20.8 percent of the population was Roman Catholic in 2000, Muslims represented 38.7 percent, and the French cultural influence was strong. Yet, Seventh-day Adventists have experienced a much slower church growth than …

Principios Y Estrategias Para El Crecimiento De La Iglesia Adventista Del Séptimo Día Hispana De Baltimore, Maryland, Ronald Lizeth Costa Estades

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The objective of the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) includes growth. Throughout Christian history, the church has grown. At the same time, qualitative growth enhances quantitative growth. Both are needed in response to the Great Commission. The Seventh-day Adventist Church would benefit from adopting a philosophy that promotes a wholistic growth of the church. This thesis studied such growth and elaborated a strategy for the Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church in Baltimore to reach well-rounded growth.

The first step was to study church growth in the Bible. A careful study of the Great Commission throws light on discipleship, a key to church …

Strengthening Young Adult Chinese Adventists In Malaysia In Christian Living, Yat Yau Ang

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Progress of the gospel work among the Chinese in Malaysia has been slow. Church growth is insignificant. An important asset of the church—the young people— could be a driving force for church growth. Church leaders need to start a pilot training program catered to the needs of young people, especially helping them to grow in various aspects of their lives, and equipping them to do God’s work.

Method

An ethnographic approach will be used to review current literature including books, articles, interviews, and questionnaires. For the benefit of the Project Director, the Malaysian culture and the needs of young …

Secularism In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Korea: A Program Of Church Revival And Community Involvement, Kyu-Young John Jeong

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The evidence of secularism, such as ethical relativism, spiritual alienation, and materialism, are appearing among Korean Seventh-day Adventists. Consequently, they are removing God from the center of their lives. Seventh-day Adventist church leaders must develop and conduct a program of church revival through community involvement to ignite the original passion for Jesus and His soon return in the hearts of the Seventh- day Adventists in Korea and train them to witness in their communities.

Method

Library research, a personal and theological analysis, a contextual analysis of South Korea and the Korean Adventist members and churches, development of a Logical …

Uncovering Identity, Paul Horowitz

Michigan Law Review

This Review raises several questions about Yoshino's treatment of identity, authenticity, and the "true self' in Covering. Part I summarizes Yoshino's book and offers some practical criticisms. Section II.A argues that Yoshino's treatment of authenticity and identity leaves much to be desired. Section II.B argues that Yoshino's focus on covering as an act of coerced assimilation fails to fully capture the extent to which one's identity, and one's uses of identity, may be fluid and deliberate. Section II.C focuses on another identity trait that runs through Yoshino's book, always present but never remarked upon: those aspects of identity and …

When Courts Shouldn't Take The Initiative: Section 2 Of The Voting Rights Act, Initiative Petitions, And Operation King's Dream, Francesca Ambrosio

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that interpreting section 2 to exclude initiative proposals during their circulation phase is the only way to avoid insurmountable statutory construction problems and constitutional objections. It grounds the theoretical discussion of the VRA in an analysis of how the court applied section 2 in Operation King's Dream. Part I provides the legal landscape of a section 2 claim, including relevant legislative history and the essential elements of a successful claim. Part II contends that because no voting takes place during the petition phase of a proposal, petition circulation can neither deny nor abridge the right to …

Of Pirates And Puffy Shirts: A Comment On ‘The Piracy Paradox: Innovation And Intellectual Property In Fashion Design, Randal C. Picker

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Willingness To Pay Versus Welfare, Cass R. Sunstein

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

Economists often analyze questions of law and policy by reference to the criterion of private willingness to pay (WTP), with the belief that people's WTP for a good is an accurate proxy for the welfare that they would obtain from that good. For two reasons, the proxy is crude. The first problem is that people may not pay for all of the benefits they receive, and in such cases, use of WTP may lead in unfortunate directions, even or especially if welfare is our lodestar. Inefficient results may nonetheless increase welfare. The second and more fundamental problem is that people …

The How's And Why's Of Fashion-Costume Design Process For "A Flea In Her Ear"., Trevor Bowen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document describes and analyzes the design and construction process for the 2006 production of A Flea in Her Ear by the West Virginia University Division of Theatre and Dance. This document is written in partial fulfillment of a Master of Fine Arts degree in Costume Design. This document will break down the research, design work, construction process and paperwork needed to create the costumes seen onstage.

Effects Of Fluoride Varnishes And Adhesives On Bond Strength And Preventing Enamel Decalcification Around Orthodontic Appliances: An In Vitro And In Vivo Study., Glenn A. Boyles

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the fluoride released from the APC-Plus adhesive or application of a fluoride varnish, Duraflor, had any effect on reducing the demineralization around orthodontic appliances in vivo. Duraflor was also tested to determine if it had an effect on shear bond strength when applying it before bonding orthodontic appliances in vitro. The in vivo portion consisted of twenty patients in which Duraflor, a fluoride varnish, was applied around orthodontic brackets utilizing a split arch technique. Variables included the APC-Plus adhesive, which contains fluoride, and Transbond XT adhesive without fluoride. Plaque scores and …

The Changes In Pitching Mechanics And Pitch Velocity During A Seven-Inning Simulated Game In High School Baseball Pitchers: A Prospective Descriptive Study., Jeremy J. Erkel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Context: Past studies have described the pitching motion of youth, collegiate, or professional baseball pitchers, as well as the relationship between shoulder mechanics, extended play, and pitch velocity. However, there is little research that has described the changes in the pitching motion and pitch velocity as a result of increasing pitch counts in high school baseball pitchers. Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe how pitching mechanics change, when these changes occur, and the extent of which pitch velocities decline in high school baseball pitchers during a seven-inning simulated game. Design: This study was a prospective descriptive analysis …

The Effects Of Diesel Fuel Density On Fuel Consumption Measurements Of Portable In-Use Emissions Measurement Systems., Micah Arter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Emissions produced by heavy duty diesel engines (HDDE) have been a constant source of pollution to air, water, and soil. In October 1998, a court settlement between the US Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, US Department of Justice, and the major diesel engine manufacturers was reached on the issue of high NOx emissions during certain in-use operation of HDDE used in on-road vehicles. A requirement of this court settlement was the implementation of an in-use emission measurement program that obligated the HDDE manufactures to measure emissions from their engines during actual vehicle operation using on-board, portable emissions measurement …

Sex Differences In Cardiovascular Reactivity: Influence Of The Gender Relevance Of A Social Task., Matthew C. Whited

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study investigated sex differences in cardiovascular response to interpersonal stressors in an attempt to determine whether the match or mismatch between sex of participant and genderorientation of the interpersonal stressor resulted in greater cardiovascular reactivity. Twenty-six men and 31 women engaged in two tasks, a masculine oriented task previously used in investigations of cardiovascular reactivity that involved interpersonal conflict and a feminine task, a newly developed interpersonal task that required comforting of another. Results did not support either the match or the mismatch hypothesis. Instead, women exhibited greater heart rate reactions across both tasks than men. In addition, the …

A Snomed Annotator For Uima Framework., Deepthi Vl Yellapragada

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Paper based health records has proved to be not only costly but also has many disadvantages. Such records are difficult to organize and are hard to manage. This has led to the adoption of computerized electronic health records (EHR). To facilitate interoperability and consistency in exchange of information between various computerized clinical applications standard medical terminologies plays a vital role. These standard terminologies are based on controlled medical vocabularies like SNOMED, ICD9, and LOINC etc. Coding clinical documents with controlled medical vocabularies benefits the health care system in a wide range of applications like laboratory reporting, clinical research, computerized patient …

Climate Change And Animals, Cass R. Sunstein, Wayne Hsiung

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

Climate change is already having adverse effects on animal life, and those effects are likely to prove devastating in the future. Nonetheless, the relevant harms to animals have yet to become a serious part of the analysis of climate change policy. Even if animals and species are valued solely by reference to human preferences, inclusion of their welfare dramatically increases the argument for aggressive responses to climate change. We estimate that, even under conservative assumptions about valuation, losses to nonhuman life might run into the hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Whatever the precise figure, the general conclusion is clear: …

Completely Theorized Agreements In Constitutional Law, Cass R. Sunstein

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

How is constitutionalism possible, when people disagree on so many questions about what is good and what is right? This essay, written for a special issue of Social Research on Difficult Decisions, explores the role of two kinds of incompletely theorized agreements amidst sharp disagreements about the largest issues in social life. The first consist of agreements on abstract formulations (freedom of speech, equality under the law); these agreements are crucial to constitution-making as a social practice. The second consist of agreements on particular doctrines and practices; these agreements are crucial to life and law under existing constitutions. Incompletely theorized …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Without Analyzing Costs Or Benefits: Reasonable Accommodation, Balancing, And Stigmatic Harms, Cass R. Sunstein

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

Is an accommodation "reasonable," under the Americans with Disabilities Act, if and only if the benefits are roughly proportional to the costs? How should benefits and costs be assessed? Should courts asks about how much disabled employees are willing to pay to obtain the accommodation, or instead how much they would have to be paid not to have the accommodation? How should stigmatic or expressive harms be valued? This essay, written for a symposium on the work of Judge Richard A. Posner, engages these questions in a discussion of an important opinion in which Judge Posner denied accommodations involving the …

Design And Analysis Of Ultra Wide Band Cmos Lna, Janmejay Adhyaru

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.