Digital Commons Network^™

Avoiding Collapse: Resilience And Sustainable Development In Vulnerable Small Islands, Matthew Paul Bunce

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Small islands dependent on reef fisheries, farming and tourism are vulnerable to rising human and natural pressures and may target "sustainable" development. Marine Protected Areas (MPA) have a proven ability to meet ecological goals, such as restoring fisheries and preserving ecosystem function across scales. However, there is a comparative lack of scientific baseline data and social research which may help local MPA to overcome failures in achieving mixed conservation and development goals in populated coastal areas facing intense pressure. This fieldwork-based case study researched in French and Creole languages in the sub-tropical, mid-Oceanic island of Rodrigues (Mauritius, Indian Ocean) addresses …

Productivity Management Of The Cacao Agro-Food System In Tabasco (Mexico): A Fitness Approach, Cesar Jesus Vazquez Navarrete

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

The farming industry and the agro-food system as a whole are now required to adapt to a challenging and more competitive environment. How the food industry can fit itself into such environment is the main question that is addressed in this study. The fitness approach, an exploratory framework, is applied in order to study the Cacao Agro-food System (CAPS) in Tabasco. Mexico. The final sample consisted of 356 farmers, 37 curing plants, 6 wholesaling firms, and 7 chocolate firms. An anatomical model using correspondence analysis was adopted to understand the main features of every industry in the CAPS. The Pitness …

Foundations In Wisconsin: A Directory [26th Ed. 2007], Marquette University - Funding Information Center, Mary Frenn, Jeremy Blackwood, Oana Deselnicu, Alexandria Innes, Sarah Martin, Katie Morrison, Vance Thomas

Foundations in Wisconsin: A Directory

The 2007 edition of Foundations in Wisconsin marks the 26th release of the print directory and the 7th year of the online version (www.wifoundations.org). The directory is designed as a research tool for grantseekers interested in locating information on private, corporate, and community foundations registered in Wisconsin. Each entry in this new edition has been updated or reviewed to provide the most current information available. Most of the data was drawn from IRS 990-PF tax returns filed by the foundations. However, additional information was obtained from surveys, foundation Web sites, annual reports, and newsletters.

Wisconsin foundations continue to grow in …

Microbially-Mediated Methyl Iodide Cycling In A Particle-Rich Estuary, Noble Kwame Asare

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

The dynamics of aquatic systems (e.g. estuarine systems) are known to facilitate the formation of particle aggregates. These nutrient-rich particulate matter provide suitable substrate for bacteria colonization. Although bacteria-aggregate association is known to result in the degradation of particulate organic matter (POM) in aquatic systems, it has never been attributed to the production of methyl iodide (CH3I) (an environmentally important biogas that has the potential to impact on atmospheric chemistry). From literature, there are evidences which suggest that, certain bacteria (methylotrophs) are capable of oxidizing methyl halides including CH3I. Therefore this study investigates microbial production and removal of CH3I in …

Geochronology Of Salt-Marsh Sediments, William Alderman Marshall

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Salt-marsh sediments can provide important achives of past sea levels if they can besecurely dated. This thesis investigates eight methods for dating salt-marsh sediments.These include traditional and established dating methods (¹⁴C dating and theradionuclides ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹ºPb) and more novel approaches to dating the deposition ofsalt-marsh sediments (palaeomagnetic dating, the use of' atmospheric stable leaddeposition, tephra chronologies, pollen markers, SCP analysis and the use ofatmospheric ¹⁴C 'bomb spike' and high-precision AMS ¹⁴C measurements). Sites wereselected to provide contrasting sediment sequences that differed both in lithology andaccumulation rates and included salt marshes from the Taf estuary (southwest Wales),the Arne Peninsula (southern …

Rehabilitation Or Revenge: Prosecuting Child Soldiers For Human Rights Violations, Nienke Grossman

All Faculty Scholarship

International law provides no explicit guidelines for whether or at what age child soldiers should be prosecuted for grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. This paper argues that the hundreds of thousands of children under age eighteen participating in armed conflicts around the globe should be treated primarily as victims, not perpetrators, of human rights violations and that international law may support this conclusion. In the case of children, the world community should choose rehabilitation and reintegration over criminal prosecution because of children's unique psychological and moral development, …

Child Support Harming Children: Subordinating The Best Interests Of Children To The Fiscal Interests Of The State, Daniel L. Hatcher

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the government policy of seeking reimbursement of welfare costs through child support enforcement. Under our welfare program, Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), custodial parents applying for benefits are required to establish child support obligations against the absent parents and to assign the resulting child support payments to the government. As a result, half of the $105 billion in national child support debt is owed to the government rather than to children. The government's fiscal interests are in direct conflict with the best interests of the children - the controlling legal standard in child support matters. The …

Using The "Consumer Choice" Approach To Antitrust Law, Neil W. Averitt, Robert H. Lande

All Faculty Scholarship

The current paradigms of antitrust law - price and efficiency - do not work well enough. They were an immense improvement over their predecessors, and they have served the field competently for a generation, producing reasonably accurate results in most circumstances. Accumulated experience has also revealed their shortcomings, however. They are hard to fully understand and are not particularly transparent in their application. Moreover, in a disturbingly large number of circumstances they are unable to handle the important issue of non-price competition.

In this article we suggest replacing the older paradigms with the somewhat broader approach of "consumer choice." The …

Educating Lawyers Now And Then: Two Carnegie Critiques Of The Common Law And The Case Method, James Maxeiner

All Faculty Scholarship

The 2007 Carnegie Foundation report on legal education, Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law, is eerily reminiscent of the Foundation's 1914 Report, The Common Law and the Case Method in American University Law School. This article compares the two reports. It commends the 1914 report for its broad comparative civil/common law perspective that is unsurpassed to this day. It shows how the two reports view the case method similarly, but with significantly different emphases. The 2007 report counts the case method as academic, while the 1914 report sees it as practical. It shows how the two reports, while …

A Comprehensive Approach To Truancy For Baltimore City: A Roundtable Discussion, Barbara A. Babb, Gloria Danziger

All Faculty Scholarship

The University of Baltimore School of Law Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC), one of three centers of excellence within the School of Law, is a national leader in promoting family justice system reform. CFCC’s mission is to create, foster and support local, state, and national movements to integrate communities, families, and the justice system in order to improve the lives of families and the health of the community. CFCC’s Truancy Court Program (TCP), created in 2004, exemplifies these goals through the operation of a court-school-CFCC partnership that leverages the stature, authority, and expertise of each of these …

Adoption, Elizabeth Samuels

All Faculty Scholarship

In historical terms, the legal institution of adoption in the United Slates is relatively new. It was between the mid-1800s and the 1920s that the states began to pass laws providing for the adoption of children. Before then children had been adopted informally and in some instances by individual legislative acts, or they had come to live with other families under indenture contracts or as a result of legislation authorizing charitable organizations to place children. Under these new adoption statutes, initially the court records of adoptions were not subject to confidentiality, and adopted children were not issued new birth certificates. …

You Take My Space, I Take Your Air: An Empirical Study Of Disabled Parking And Motor Vehicle Laws For Persons With Disabilities, Donald H. Stone

All Faculty Scholarship

Reserved parking and specialized treatment are necessary to permit individuals with disabilities access to goods, services, and employment opportunities on an equal basis with the general public. Why are disabled drivers entitled to disabled parking spots? What is the procedure for an individual with a disability to receive special disability registration license plates? What is the role of the Medical Advisory Board in reviewing the ability of disabled drivers to get behind the wheel? What, if any, obligation or responsibility does a physician treating a disabled driver have to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles of the patient's condition or …

Trace Determination Of The Flame Retardant Tetrabromobisphenol A In The Atmosphere By Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry, Zhiyong Xie, Ralf Ebinghaus, Rainer Lohmann, Olaf Heemken, Armando Caba, Wilhelm Püttmann

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

A simple and effective method has been developed for analysis of the flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) in environmental samples by using modified soxhlet extraction in combination with silica gel clean-up, derivatization with silylation reagent and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) in selected ion monitoring mode (SIM). Satisfactory recoveries were achieved for the large volume sampling, soxhlet extraction and silica gel clean-up. The overall recovery is 79 ± 1%. The derivatization procedure is simple and fast, and produces stable TBBPA derivative. GC–MS with electronic impact (EI) ionization mode shows better detection power than using negative chemical ionization (NCI) mode. EI gives …

Reconstruction Of Contaminant Trends In A Salt Wedge Estuary With Sediment Cores Dated Using A Multiple Proxy Approach, Mark G. Cantwell, John W. King, Robert M. Burgess, Peter G. Appleby

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The Taunton River is a partially mixed tidal estuary in southeastern Massachusetts (USA) which has received significant contaminant inputs, yet little information exists on the history of discharge and the subsequent fate of these contaminants. Three sediment cores taken along a transect were analyzed, reconstructing the spatial and temporal trends of pollution in the estuary. A combination of radiometric dating, contaminant markers, and storm layers from major hurricanes were used to establish age models and sedimentation rates. Age estimates obtained from the different dating methods compared well, establishing an accurate history of contaminant release to the estuary. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons …

J Am Coll Dent 2007 74 1

Journal of the American College of Dentists

The Journal of the American College of Dentists (JACD) publishes scholarly articles, editorials, essays, and reflections addressing the ethical, professional, and social dimensions of dentistry. The Journal serves as a forum for advancing ethics, professionalism, leadership, and excellence within the dental community. By fostering dialogue across disciplines and perspectives, JACD provides readers with insights that encourage ethical, professional practice, lifelong learning, and service to the public, reinforcing dentistry’s commitment to advancing oral healthcare and the common good.

The Experience Of Obesity, Its Treatment And Weight Loss: A Qualitative Study Of Overweight Couples, Brenda Potz Kieffer

Other Faculty of Health Theses

This study utilized a qualitative, phenomenological methodology to study obesity. The purpose was to better understand the experiences of obesity, treatment and weight loss from the perspectives of formerly obese individuals, their partners and as couples. The participants consisted of six couples mostly from rural communities. In each couple, at least one the partners had experienced weight fluctuations into the obese range and had achieved at least 50% of his or her weight loss goal. The couples participated in two semi-structured interviews, both individually and as couples. A genogram was constructed with each couple to help identify family of origin …

Managing Community: A Philosophical Analysis Of Praxis, Alan Sanderson

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

If communities are to become a viable means of implementing social policy then community practitioners must individually examine their personal praxis. Therefore, in discovering a community's aims and objectives, a management model is needed that offers every practitioner a reflexive means of understanding peoples' beliefs, values, and attitudes. This proposition is critically examined through a philosophical framework that explores individuals' diverse perspectives on community, derived from their adherence to contending ontological and epistemological propositions about the social world, and its related ethical and motivational dimensions. Following a philosophical analysis, the taxonomy of social reality perspectives, developed by Dixon (2003) and …

Shared Habitats: The Moverwitness Paradigm, Eila Goldhahn

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This practice-led research thesis analyses and visualises central components of Authentic Movement, with particular reference to the work of Dr Janet Adler. By contextualising and comparing this improvisation method with modern, post-modern and contemporary movement practices the author describes the emergence of Authentic Movement and distinguishes it from other practices. A new and original viewpoint is adopted and the practice's aesthetic, visual and empathetic characteristics are explored in relationship to and through visual art. The author, a learned Authentic Movement practitioner, critiques, deconstructs and reframes the practice from a visual arts- and performance-based, phenomenological perspective renaming it 'the MoverWitness exchange'. …

William Andrews Nesfield [1794-1881] Artist And Landscape Gardener, Shirley Rose Evans

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Contrary to past opinions William Andrews Nesfield's garden layouts were not solely designed to provide appropriate accompaniments to the Elizabethan and Jacobean revival architecture of his brother-in-law Anthony Salvin (1799-1881). Nor were they conceived chiefly to provide his wealthy patrons with a variation on the French seventeenth-century parterre-de-broderie. Undoubtedly, this device helped to forge a sympathetic bond between Nesfield and his patrons, for it had been a symbol of power and status in seventeenth-century France when it was associated with the upper echelons of French society. It therefore represented to the aristocracy and upper gentry of nineteenth-century Britain, during the …

William Andrews Nesfield (1794-1881) Artist And Landscape Gardener, Shirley Rose Evans

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Contrary to past opinions William Andrews Nesfield's garden layouts were not solely designedt o provide appropriatea ccompanimentsto the Elizabethana nd Jacobean revival architecture of his brother-in-law Anthony Salvin (1799-1881). Nor were they conceived chiefly to provide his wealthy patrons with a variation on the French seventeenth-centuryparterre-de-broderieU. ndoubtedly,t his device helpedt o forge a sympathetic bond between Nesfield and his patrons, for it had been a symbol of power and statusi n seventeenth-centurFy rancew hen it was associatedw ith the upper echelonso f Frenchs ociety. It thereforer epresentedto the aristocracya nd upper gentry of nineteenthcenturyB ritain, during the time Nesfield was …

The Lived Experiences Of Four Overweight Hispanic Adolescent Females, Wanda Lee Rhodes

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of four overweight/obese Hispanic adolescents as individuals by utilizing Social Cognitive Theory’s (SCT) (Bandura, 1977, 1986, & 1989) reciprocal interaction of the environment, personal factors and behaviors of the participants in order to investigate the health risk behaviors of the participants as they related to overweight and obesity. Additionally, the commonalities and differences across participants were examined. Four female Hispanic adolescents whose BMI measured at the 99th percentiles for age and gender were randomly chosen from students enrolled in a junior high school physical education intervention class. Experiences of …

The Challenge Of Interagency Information Sharing: A Systemic Analysis Of Two Sure Start Children's Centres, Susan Moira Richardson

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This study investigates a problem facing professionals working in public service agencies, in the current policy context of partnership working. This is the question of how to share personal service user information across agency boundaries, so that there is minimal risk of important information being ‘lost down the cracks' between agencies, while at the same time avoiding the risk of breaching confidentiality. This study aims to understand better the day to day difficulties faced by those grappling with this problem. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of this challenge by proposing a new model of information sharing behaviour and …

Art Ecology And Planning: Strategic Concepts And Creativity Within The Post Industrial Public Realm, Timothy Martin Collins

School of Art, Design and Architecture Theses

The intent of this thesis and its attendant body of practical work was to examine and test ideas and practices that can inform and expand the artists' role in the post-industrial public realm and its environmental context. The general focus was on transformative approaches to contemporary public art. The specific interest (and area of practice) is defined by artwork that takes an interdisciplinary approach to new forms of social creativity in the context of post-industrial environmental change. This dissertation begins with a broad literature review to understand public art and its relationship to: the public realm, ecology, nature and the …

Retirement [Encyclopedia Entry], Gary A. Adams, Kenneth S. Shultz

Management Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Competitive Advantage Of Small And Medium Size Enterprises In Palestine, Younis Hammad

Plymouth Business School Theses

The main core of this study is to assess the current state of the Palestinian Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) sector and determine its potential and opportunities open to this sector for playing a central role in the development process, as well as to examine the reasons behind the limited presence of SMEs' in the Palestinian territory. This thesis explores and examines via qualitative and quantitative research methods, the competitive advantages and distinctive competencies that determine success in firms established in Palestine before and after the Oslo Agreement. The study embraces two case analyses, indepth interviews of successful and …

Skill Mix In Primary Care : Patient, Professional And Management Perpectives, Christine Branson

Plymouth Business School Theses

Aim: This research is a study into the organisation and management of health services in Torbay Care Trust. It takes an overview of skill mix in primary care, considering the topic from the perspective of service recipients (patients), providers (professionals) and shapers and resourcers (management). The topic focuses on delegation and service diversification involving general practitioners, their directly employed team and community nurses attached to practices. Between and within the groups there are areas of agreement but also divergence of opinions and the key issues to be explored emerge from the literature. Approach: The study takes a combined case study, …

Environmental And Biological Consequences Of Microplastic Within Marine Habitats, Mark Anthony Browne

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Large pieces of plastic greater than a millimetre in diameter contaminate marine habitats worldwide and the associated environmental problems are well documented. In addition tiny fragments of plastic debris less than a millimetre in size have recently been reported. This thesis examines the distribution and environmental consequences of microscopic particles of plastic within marine habitats. To quantify the relative influence of wind and depositional environment on the accumulation of plastic debris, a mensurative experiment was conducted in a macrotidal Estuary. The overall trend was that material accumulated in down-wind sites. However, the relative importance of wind as a transport agent …

Towards A Phenomenological Theory Of The Visceral In The Interactive Arts, Diane J. Gromala

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

This thesis explores the ways in which certain forms of interactive art may and do elicit visceral responses. The term "visceral" refers to the cardiovascular, respiratory, uro-genital and especially excretory systems that affect mind and body on a continuum of awareness. The "visceral" is mentioned in the field of interactive arts, but it remains systematically unexplored and undefined. Further, interactive artworks predominantly focus on the exteroceptive (stimuli from outside) rather than the interoceptive (stimuli arising within the body, especially the viscera) senses. The existentialist phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty forms the basis for explorations of the visceral dimension of mind/body. New …

The Design And Implementation Of An Automated Security Compliance Toolkit: A Pedagogical Exercise, Guillermo Francia, Brian Estes, Rahjima Francia, Vu Nguyen, Alex Scroggins

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The demand, through government regulations, for the preservation of the security, integrity, and privacy of corporate and customer information is increasing at an unprecedented pace. Government and private entities struggle to comply with these regulations through various means—both automated and manual controls. This paper presents an automated security compliance toolkit that is designed and developed using mostly open source tools to demonstrate that 1) meeting regulatory compliance does not need to be a very expensive proposition and 2) an undertaking of this magnitude could be served as a pedagogical exercise for students in the areas of collaboration, project management, software …

An Exploratory Analysis Of Computer Mediated Communications On Cyberstalking Severity, Stephen D. Barnes, David P. Biros

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The interaction between disjunctive interpersonal relationships, those where the parties to the relationship disagree on the goals of the relationship, and the use of computer mediated communications channels is a relatively unexplored domain. Bargh (2002) suggests that CMC channels can amplify the development of interpersonal relationships, and notes that the effect is not constant across communications activities. This proposal suggests a line of research that explores the interaction between computer mediated communications (CMC) and stalking, which is a common form of disjunctive relationships. Field data from cyberstalking cases will be used to look at the effects of CMC channels on …