Digital Commons Network^™

Will Legislation To Encourage Premarital Education Strengthen Marriage And Reduce Divorce?, Alan J. Hawkins

Faculty Publications

Many legislators are wondering whether there is a constructive role that government can play to strengthen marriages and reduce divorces. A handful of states have passed legislation providing incentives for couples to participate in formal premarital education. The purpose of this article is to examine the research that can help answer the question whether legislation to promote premarital education can strengthen marriages and reduce the divorce rate. Of course, there are numerous legal and policy issues related to marriage and divorce being discussed these days. The focus of this article however, is only on one. In the end, I conclude …

Evolution Of Prehension Ability In An Anthropomorphic Neurorobotic Arm, G Massera

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

In this paper, we show how a simulated anthropomorphic robotic arm controlled by an artificial neural network can develop effective reaching and grasping behaviour through a trial and error process in which the free parameters encode the control rules which regulate the fine-grained interaction between the robot and the environment and variations of the free parameters are retained or discarded on the basis of their effects at the level of the global behaviour exhibited by the robot situated in the environment. The obtained results demonstrate how the proposed methodology allows the robot to produce effective behaviours thanks to its ability …

The Geographies Of Policing, R Yarwood

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Final Report: Critical Media Literacy In Ireland, Cliona Barnes, Farrek Corcoran, Flanagan Brian, Brian O'Neill

Reports

Critical Media Literacy (CML) is a matter of major public importance. The skill-set of CML is increasingly recognised at national and European level as essential to citizenship and to a healthy democracy. Attempts to foster Media Literacy have been a feature of Irish education for over thirty years. Extensive curriculum reform has taken place to ensure that opportunities for studying the media are available across the primary and secondary curriculum.

However, in 2007 the subject retains a low profile and provision for Media Education is uneven. The subject has a low status within the educational system and media exploration is …

Diseases Affect Cold-Water Corals Too: Eunicella Verrucosa (Cnidaria : Gorgonacea) Necrosis In Sw England, Jm Hall-Spencer, J Pike, Cb Munn

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Risk Reduction Through Technological Control Of Personal Information, Shirley Atkinson

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Abuse and harm to individuals, through harassment and bullying, coexist with Identity Theft as criminal behaviours supported by the ready availability of personal information. Incorporating privacy protection measures into software design requires a thorough understanding about how an individual's privacy is affected by Internet technologies. This research set out to incorporate such an understanding by examining privacy risks for two groups of individuals, for whom privacy was an important issue, domestic abuse survivors and teenagers. The purpose was to examine the reality of the privacy risks for these two groups. This research combined a number of approaches underpinned by a …

Towards A Conceptual Framework Of Corporate Branding In Retailing, Edmund O'Callaghan

Conference proceedings

The view that corporate brand building in retailing is different to any other context (Burt and Sparks, 2002) is predicated in the belief that ‘goods’ retailers need to manage a range of corporate components, its multiple relationships with customers and its dependence on employees to personify and deliver much of the corporate identity. These differences in operations are perceived as adding a degree of complexity to an already challenging process of corporate brand development. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for the corporate brand building process within an SME retail context. It develops on the work of Hatch & Schultz’s …

Does Understanding National Business Cultures Help Build Regional Development?, Amanda Ratcliffe, Thomas Cooney Dr.

Conference proceedings

An EFER report in 1995 observed that little of the growth ofEurope’s top 500 companies came from existing products in existing markets, but almost two-thirds of the growth came from entering new markets. A large majority of Europe’s 500 are active in export markets, with exports accounting for 40% of their turnover as opposed to the 10% export share for SMEs overall. One of the critical reasons for the poor performance of SMEs within the international arena is their ignorance of local business cultures. Yet for a country – or a specific region – to achieve strong economic growth, it …

The Impact Of Business-To-Business E-Marketplaces As Extended Media In The Procurement Supply Chain Of Airlines, Claudia-Maria Wagner

Doctoral

In recent years, a growing number of companies in many industry sectors have decided to include e-Business as an integral part of their strategy to enhance competitive advantage. The airline industry, having always been a great instigator and guarantor for innovative changes, is one of the industries where developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in general have proven to be an inevitable factor of success. Among recent innovative developments are B2B e-Marketplaces, which have been hypothesised to optimise procurement processes and to add significant value in airlines’ supply chains. However, while e-Marketplaces have been analysed in more detail from …

Dynamic Adaptation Of Streamed Real-Time E-Learning Videos Over The Internet, Aruna Thakur

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Even though the e-learning is becoming increasingly popular in the academic environment, the quality of synchronous e-learning video is still substandard and significant work needs to be done to improve it. The improvements have to be brought about taking into considerations both: the network requirements and the psycho- physical aspects of the human visual system. One of the problems of the synchronous e-learning video is that the head-and-shoulder video of the instructor is mostly transmitted. This video presentation can be made more interesting by transmitting shots from different angles and zooms. Unfortunately, the transmission of such multi-shot videos will increase …

Information For The Authors

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

Announcements

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

Increasing Effectiveness Of Public Private Partnerships In The Irish Construction Industry, Louis Gunnigan

Doctoral

By 2003 the first Irish Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects had reached the operational stage. Media reports were emerging of significant differences in the effectiveness of these projects.

This research set out to find a means by which effectiveness of PPPs could be increased and to develop a model that would assist PPP practitioners with this task in the future. Through a literature review, the Irish PPP process was mapped, the changes encountered in the introduction of PPP were investigated and a conceptual model – based on a traditional process model - was proposed. The model was tested by examining …

Powers Of Perception, Christopher Miles '90, Tim Obermiller

Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, 2002-2017

Christopher Miles ’90 examines the visual impact of works by faculty of the School of Art.

South Hill Enterprise (Ireland), Thomas Cooney

Case studies

Billy Barrett was facing challenges as a consultant that he had never previously experienced. All of the goals that are expected in business practice were not amongst the main priorities here. Confused, he asked Maura Melia (Manager of South Hill Enterprise) if he could clarify the situation.

Guardian Angel (Ireland), Thomas Cooney

Case studies

It was the summer of 2006 and three friends of many years had come up with a business idea that they believed could be a money-spinner for all of them. Maria Harrison, Krystle Malone and Marie Lyons had all been students at the Technological University Dublin and had recently completed their degree in Marketing. As part of their programme, they had taken a course on Entrepreneurship by way of interest rather than any deep-rooted desire to start their own business. But now, they are about to meet a venture capital company to ask for €300,000 to get the business started. …

Daft.Ie (Ireland), Thomas Cooney

Case studies

Eamonn and Brian Fallon sat in their office at the Digital Hub near the Guinness Brewery in Dublin and reflected upon their success. It was a beautiful day outside and the sun shone warmly through the windows. About them on the walls was an array of awards that they had collected over the past two years. Indeed they had received a telephone call earlier that day informing them that the radio programme ‘Down To Business’ on NewsTalk 106 had selected them as a leading example of best business practice and wanted to interview them. It was yet further recognition that …

Perceived Impact Of Peer Observation Of Teaching In Higher Education, Roisin Donnelly

Journal Articles

This paper explores participant perceptions of the impact of a Peer Observation of Teaching scheme offered as part of an accredited Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching for academic staff/faculty in higher education. The Postgraduate Certificate Program has been designed to support the continuing professional development of academic staff/faculty through integration of peer learning. Inherent in the design and delivery of the Peer Observation of Teaching scheme is the belief by all involved that learning about teaching in higher education, and heightening a sense of professionalism, stems from a continuous process of transforming and constructing personal meaning in a variety of related …

Effects Of Mutations In The Helix G Region Of Horseradish Peroxidase, Barry Ryan, CiaráN Ó'FáGáIn

Articles

Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) has long attracted intense research interest and is used in many biotechnological fields, including diagnostics, biosensors and biocatalysis. Enhancement of HRP catalytic activity and/or stability would further increase its usefulness. Based on prior art, we substituted solvent-exposed lysine and glutamic acid residues near the proximal helix G (Lys 232, 241; Glu 238, 239) and between helices F and F’ (Lys 174). Three single mutants (K232N, K232F, K241N) demonstrated increased stabilities against heat (up to two-fold) and solvents (up to four-fold). Stability gains are likely due to improved hydrogen bonding and space-fill characteristics introduced by the relevant substitution. …

Enterobacter Sakazakii: An Emerging Microbe With Implications For Infant Health, N. R. Mullane, B. Healy, Ciara Walsh, C. Iversen, P. Whyte, P. G. Wall, T. Quinn, Seamus Fanning

Articles

Enterobacter sakazakii (E. sakazakii) is an opportunistic pathogen and the aetiological agent in rare but life-threatening cases of meningitis, necrotizing enterocolitis, and sepsis in infants. Among infants, those at greatest risk are neonates (<28 >days), particularly those born prematurely or of low birth weight (g). Consumption of contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF) has been epidemiologically linked with cases of infection. Contamination can occur during the manufacturing process or during postmanufacture reconstitution of formula. Development of rapid, sensitive and specific detection methods will facilitate manufacturers efforts to reduce the occurrence of E. sakazakii in the final powdered product. Furthermore, since PIF …

Educating For Sustainability: Creating A Comprehensive, Coherent And Compelling Approach - Guidelines For Sustainability Standards And Resource Materials, Kevin Griffin

Reports / Surveys

In 2007, Fáilte Ireland's Environment Unit, in collaboration with the Education Policy Section,commissioned a review of sustainability content in tourism education and training programmes at NQAI levels 4-8 throughout the State with a view to recommending improvements where necessary.

The review, carried out on Fáilte Ireland's behalf by the Tourism Research Centre of the Technological University Dublin, was - in terms of breadth and depth - the first of its kind to be undertaken at a national level, not only in Ireland but in any of the other countries surveyed during the course of the review.

Using Gis To Assess Ireland's Knowledge Economy And Its Readiness For Knowledge Based Activity, Niall Mcguinness

Dissertations

The attractiveness of emerging low wages economics to primary industries such as manufacturing and production is forcing many western economies to transition to knowledge economies. In the absence of many forms of primary industry lost to low wage economies, the European Union and its members are fast realising the importance of attracting knowledge based enterprise in order to maintain Europe’s economic climate. Ireland too has a stated aim to become a knowledge economy by the year 2010. This can be achieved by investing in higher education and attracting knowledge industry to the country. Ireland has made some progress to achieving …

An Evaluation Of Appearance, Fitness, Health, Illness, And Body Satisfaction Levels Plus Overweight Preoccupation Of Female Fitness Instructors In Cedar Falls And Waterloo, Ia, Catherine M. Zubrod

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to compare the researcher's results to published norms. This study investigated appearance, fitness, health, illness, and body satisfaction levels plus overweight preoccupation of female fitness instructors in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, IA. The respondents for the study were 41 female group fitness instructors. They responded to the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (Godin & Shephard, 1985) to determine leisure-time activity levels, the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ; Cash, 2000) to determine appearance levels, fitness levels, health levels, illness levels, body satisfaction levels, and overweight preoccupation, and a self-developed questionnaire to acquire demographic data. The study …

The Influences Of Gender Identity On The Expectancies For Success And Perceived Task Value Of Three Different Activities, Chi Ching Chow

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of gender identity on expectancies for success and perceived task value. The Short form of the Bern Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI-SF) was used to identify four gender identities, androgynous, feminine, masculine, and undifferentiated. The Self- and Task- Perception Questionnaire measured expectancies and task values on three physical activities. One hundred thirty-three students (62 males and 71 females) at the University of Northern Iowa who were enrolled in the aerobic training session of the personal wellness class participated. The mean age of the participants was 20.2 years (SD= 1.9). AN OVA results …

The Use Of Aflp To Create A Genetic Linkage Map For Fusarium Graminearum, Eric Von Berns

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat and barley has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. FHB in the United States is mainly caused by Fusarium graminearum within the Fusarium species complex. Current methods such as crop rotation and the use of fungicides to control outbreaks have been poor at best. Knowledge of the organism's genome could focus and further research for new methods to control this pathogenic fungus. This study seeks to create a genetic linkage map from an intraspecific cross of the isolates Z-3939 and Z-4243, both isolated from the fields of Kansas. Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLP) …

Effects Of Identity On Public-Organization Relationships: A Case Study Of Student-University Relations, Nadezhda Olegovna Bocharova

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The study tested the applicability of identification theory for diagnosing relationship quality between organizations and their publics in PR. A survey was posted on-line in a mid-Western university; 377 students of all classifications filled out the questionnaire. Factor analysis produced one-dimensional identification scale and three-dimensional relationship scale: reciprocity, commitment, and exchange. There were significant positive correlations between identity, reciprocity, and commitment, whereas exchange part of relationship negatively related to the above dimensions. Discussion of student publics was developed along with analysis of factors related to university life. Analysis of variance revealed that identity, reciprocity, and commitment decline with tenure in …

Neo Romance: Gender Renegotiation In Harlequin Romance Novels, Amanda L. Breeden

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Mass-market romance novels remain top sellers among popular fiction and paperback in the American market; however, academic scholarship examining the popular romance novel is dated. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the gender roles of the heroine and hero characters within the novels. This thesis is a content analysis that examines seventy-two Harlequin romance novels, publication dates 1971-2006. The findings in this thesis suggest that the gender roles of the heroine and hero deviate drastically from those analyzed in the 1980's and 1990's, specifically regarding sexuality and gender performance. Neo Romance emerges, characterized by a sexually aggressive, autonomous …

Bomb Media 1951-1964, Tristan Edward Abbott

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis looks at nuclear films, commercial and governmental, that were released between 1951 and 1964. Special attention is paid to the recursivity that existed between the propagandic, often outrageously inaccurate Civil Defense films made by the United States government and the subversive popular films made by visionary dissidents.

The films are divided into three periods. The earliest period focuses on Samuel Fuller's Pickup on South Street and the Robert Aldrich 's Kiss Me Deadly (based on the novel by Mickey Spillane), along with some of the earliest Civil Defense films. Special attention is paid to the politically minded creation …

The Effects Of The Nutriactive Healthy Experience Intervention On Nutrition Knowledge In Kindergarten And First Grade Students, Jennifer Marie Bruss

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Over the past 30 years obesity in elementary school age children has gone from almost non-existence to common place. With obesity on the rise, the occurrence of diseases associated with it such as Type II diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia have also risen for children. These diseases are often carried into adulthood since overweight children are more likely to become overweight or obese adults. This will create another generation of obese children, continue to strain a failing health system, and add additional problems to our economy as the current obese generation heads into retirement.

Poor eating habits and insufficient physical activity …

An Analysis Of Intuitive Eating Among College Students, Danielle Marie Vsetecka

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In response to the world's increasing obesity rates, the use of traditional dieting and weight loss techniques is at an all time high. Although dieting rates have rapidly increased, the world's rising obesity rates show no sign of slowing and the effectiveness and effects of dieting have long been questioned. As an alternative to dieting and exercise, a non-dieting approach to weight regulation has emerged. Intuitive eating is one of its main tenants and is defined by allowing individuals to listen to internal body cues to determine hunger and fullness levels to meet nutritional and physical needs. However, few studies …