Digital Commons Network^™

Delay Discounting In Adolescent Substance Abuse And Juvenile Delinquency: A Comparison Of Measures Of Impulsive Behavior., Eric S. Grady

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Recent research in the areas of substance use and juvenile delinquency has revealed that impulsivity is a multi-dimensional construct. Additionally, researchers have expressed the need for more objective, behavioral measures of impulsive behavior. This study was conducted to examine how a delay-discounting procedure, continuous performance test and questionnaire-based measures of impulsivity relate to substance use and delinquent behavior. The sample was comprised of 42 adolescents (35 male) residing in an inpatient treatment facility for alcohol and substance use. The hyperbolic discounting function did not provide a good fit to the delay-discounting data. As such, the area under the curve (AUC) …

Class Iii Camouflage Treatment: A Retrospective Study., Nikia R. Burns

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The developing skeletal Class III malocclusion is one of the most challenging problems confronting the practicing orthodontist. Early orthopedic intervention can be effective in normalizing skeletal Class III malocclusions if patients are treated in a timely manner. However, there are a significant group of patients who either do not have the opportunity to receive early treatment or are corrected during childhood and relapse during the adolescent growth spurt. In addition, there are a large number of skeletal Class III patients that either decline or cannot afford surgical treatment. The only alternative is orthodontic camouflage through comprehensive treatment with fixed appliances. …

Achieving The Dream: An Actor's Journey And Creative Process Of Writing And Performing A Solo Performance Based Upon The Life Of Novelist And Civil Rights Activist, James Baldwin., Rodney A. Creech

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document explores the creative process involved in the development and writing of the one-man performance, focusing on the life and writings of essayist, novelist, playwright, and poet James Baldwin. This documentation will also cover research, journal excerpts, rehearsal, performance and self-evaluation of this thesis project.

A Comparison Of Bacterial Adherence On Standard Orthodontic Brackets And Titanium Miniscrew Implants: An In Vivo And In Vitro Study., Lindsay Jackfert

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fixed orthodontic appliances including standard brackets and titanium minscrews have the ability to introduce mechanical plaque (biofilm) traps. These orthodontic appliances impair plaque removal, proper oral hygiene, and gingival health11. The purpose of this study is to determine the bacterial accumulation and subsequent biofilm formation on miniscrews and compare it to that of metal orthodontic brackets, in vivo and in-vitro. Plaque samples were taken from the orthodontic brackets and miniscrews in-vivo. S. mutans, Lactobacillus casei, and P. gingivalis were cultured from these samples. In-vitro, a unique experimental set-up was created in the laboratory. Metal brackets and titanium miniscrew implants were …

Using Social Support And Theoretically Derived Messages To Increase Awareness And Use Of The C&O Canal National Historical Park For Walking: An Intervention Focused On Local Employees., Lydia H. Lawson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There have been a number of recent studies documenting the various physical, psychological, and social health benefits associated with participation in regular physical activity. In response to compelling evidence of the benefits associated with improving health and in an attempt to promote healthy lifestyles, the Bush Administration proposed the Healthier U.S. Initiative (Executive Order 13266) in 2002. The purpose of this initiative was to promote the use of public lands to improve personal health by encouraging their use for physical activity. Based on the recommendations of the National Park Service Advisory Board Subcommittee on Health & Recreation (2006), the C&O …

An Assessment Of Service Quality Indicators As Predictors Of Customer Satisfaction At Diamond Lake., Kevin R. Gaydos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of customer satisfaction as it applies to a person recreating at Diamond Lake. More specifically, this study explored satisfaction items across several socio-demographic and trip characteristic variables and attempted to determine which satisfaction items were associated with predicting an overall satisfaction rating. The study took place at Diamond Lake, which is located in south central Oregon, from May 25lh . 2007 to August 3^. 2007. A quantitative survey method was used, with a total of 405 surveys collected. There were three proposed customer satisfaction models in this study. The first …

Smooth Transitions: The Role Of Athletic Identity And Life Stress In The Freshman Student-Athlete And Non-Athlete Adjustment Process., Samantha J. Monda

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Research in higher education has suggested that adjustment to college is a developmental process in which first year students must attend to certain developmental tasks in order to properly adjust to their new environment (Chickering & Reisser, 1993; Medalie, 1981). However, studentathletes have been noted are a special population within the student body that have unique experiences and needs (Etzel, Ferrante, & Pinkney, 1996). The purpose of this study was to examine the adjustment to college process of first year student-athletes and non-athletes and explore the influence of athletic identity and life stress on student-athlete adjustment to college. Surveys assessing …

Vmo Exercises: A Systematic Review., Cassandra D. Offenberger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Objective: To evaluate the methodological quality of the studies in the current literature that focus on the exercises for the vastus medialis oblique. Data Sources: Pubmed (1950- 2008), MEDLINE(1976-2008), CINAHL (1982-2008), Cochrane (1999-2008), SPORTDiscus (1985-2008), Science Direct, PEDro (1999-2008), Scirius (1920-2008), and Google Scholar were searched using the terms quadriceps, vastus medialis, patellofemoral, EMG, and biofeedback. Second, the term quadriceps was combined with each of the following words: exercises, biofeedback, patellofemoral, and EMG. In addition the term vastus medialis were combined with each of the following words: exercises, patellofemoral, EMG, biofeedback, and vastus lateralis. Third, the citations were cross-referenced from …

The Effect Of Genotype, Choice-Feeding And Season On Organically-Reared Broilers Fed Diets Devoid Of Synthetic Methionine., Amanda L. Rack

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In light of the impending ban on synthetic methionine in organic poultry diets, researchers have focused on finding alternative strategies to supply this amino acid. The objectives of this study were to assess performance and carcass characteristics of broilers fed diets devoid of synthetic methionine using 1) a slow-growing and fast-growing genotype, 2) choice-feeding management, and 3) pasture access and seasonal variation. Inclusion of fish meal and high percentages of soybean meal enabled the specific genotype methionine requirement to be met. All diets were certified organic. Slowgrowing broilers (Gourmet Black) were raised from 1-84 days, and fast-growing broilers (Cobb 500) …

West Virginia Agricultural Education Teachers' Perceptions On Involving Students With Exceptionalities In Agricultural Classrooms And Laboratories., Ashley D. Watts

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to examine West Virginia Agricultural Education Teachers perceptions on involving students with exceptionalities in agricultural classrooms and laboratories. This study examined whether teachers felt confident, well-prepared, and if other students interact well with students with exceptionalities. This study also sought to determine if agricultural teachers felt they had adequate training to work with students with exceptionalities or if additional training was needed. The majority of teachers agreed that including students with exceptionalities in the classroom fosters understanding for diverse populations. A majority of teachers have seen an increase in students with exceptionalities in their …

A New Method For Detection And Classification Of Out-Of-Control Signals In Autocorrelated Multivariate Processes., Tao Zhao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Autocorrelation results in too many out-of-control false alarms when traditional T2 control charts are used in practice. In this research, a vector autoregressive (VAR) based T 2 control chart is built to improve the effectiveness of the traditional T2 control charts when variables are autocorrelated and cross-correlated. Datasets generated by a SAS program are used to test the performance of the proposed method. Computational results showed that the proposed method outperforms the ARIMA based residual T2 control chart with respect to identification accuracy and average run length. Also, the results showed that the proposed method with principal components analysis is …

Managing California's Fiscal Roller Coaster, David Gamage

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article analyzes the causes of California's budget crises and prescribes institutional mechanisms for improving California's budgetary management.

'Getting It Right': Three Essays In International Development., Claudia R. Williamson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation puts together a collection of essay examining issues that surround the age old question why some nations are rich and other nations poor. Within the international development field of economics there are several different topics of focus. These include ‘Getting the Policies Right,’ ‘Getting the Institutions Right,’ and ‘Getting the Culture Right.’ Each essay in my dissertation examines a specific question from one of these three areas. My dissertation is arranged in five chapters. Chapter 1 serves as introduction to the three essays, explains how each essay fits into the development literature, and presents some of the results …

Why Pedestrian-Friendly Street Design Is Not Negligent, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

In recent decades, American state and local highway officials have built wide streets and roads designed primarily to accommodate high-speed automobile traffic. However, such high-speed streets are more dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists than streets with slower traffic, and thus fail to adequately accommodate nondrivers. Government officials design streets for high-speed traffic partially because of their fear of tort liability. An influential street engineering manual, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Green Book, has generally favored the construction of such high-speed streets, and transportation planners fear that if they fail to follow the Green Book's recommendations, they …

The Genesis Of Rluipa And Federalism: Evaluating The Creation Of A Federal Statutory Right And Its Impact On Local Government, Patricia E. Salkin, Amy Lavine

Scholarly Works

In 2000, Congress passed, and President Clinton signed, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), designed to provide protection from discrimination for the exercise of religion for incarcerated individuals and for those in need of various municipal permits or approvals in order to exercise their religion. With seven years of experience in the courts, this article examines the impact of RLUIPA on local governments across the country through an analysis of how the courts have been interpreting and applying statutory ambiguities and creating inconsistent doctrine in an effort to define terms and implement RLUIPA's protections. Whether an appropriate …

Diversification To Mitigate Expropriation In The Tobacco Industry, Messod D. Beneish, Ivo Ph. Jansen, Melissa F. Lewis-Western, Nathan V. Stuart

Faculty Publications

While it is well established that diversifying acquisitions by large, cash-rich firms destroy shareholder wealth, we document positive abnormal returns to such acquisitions in the tobacco industry. We show that these abnormal returns are associated with proxies for lower expected expropriation costs. Specifically, we show that wealth creation increases in the degree of domestic geographic expansion afforded by the acquisition (increasing tobacco firms’ influence in more political districts) and in the liquidity of tobacco firms’ assets (converting cash to harder-to-expropriate operating assets). We also show that the threat of expropriation constrains payments to shareholders before expropriation becomes certain in 1998.

Immigration And Integration In Canada, Mary Liston, Joseph Carens

All Faculty Publications

Like Australia and the United States, Canada is usually considered a ‘traditional’ immigrant receiving country in contrast to many countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa where large-scale immigration is a relatively recent phenomenon. This chapter reviews past and current Canadian immigration policy. Section one provides a brief historical overview of Canadian immigration patterns. Section two outlines current immigration policy, including the changes introduced by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (2002). Section three discusses the relationship between immigration policy and the integration of immigrants in Canadian society. The chapter concludes with the proposition that, while Canada’s immigration policy converges with …

Vocal Tremor And Vibrato In The Same Person: Acoustic And Electromyographic Differences, Christopher Dromey, Marshall E. Smith

Faculty Publications

Summary. The goal of this case study was to measure and describe differences between vocal vibrato and essential tremor of the voice in one individual who exhibited both types of modulation. Recordings of spoken and sung vowels produced by the same individual at three effort levels were examined via analysis of acoustic and laryngeal electromyographic (LEMG) signals. Modulation rate, periodicity, and spectral measures of both audio and muscle activation signals revealed generally slower, more prominent, and more regular patterns in sung than in spoken conditions. There was not always a clear correspondence between LEMG and acoustic measures, but both showed …

First And Second Language Tongue Movements In Spanish And Korean Bilingual Speakers, Christopher Dromey, Shawn L. Nissen, Cynthia Wheeler

Faculty Publications

A number of previous studies have relied on perceptual judgments or acoustic analysis to examine second language (L2) production. However, few researchers have studied L2 performance by directly tracking the physical movements of the articulators. The purpose of the present study was to investigate intraspeaker differences in native (Korean or Spanish) and L2 (English) production through kinematic indices of tongue activity. This involved measurement of the speed, duration, and distance of tongue movements or strokes during speech. Findings indicated that the speakers had significantly slower stroke speeds and longer movement durations for L2 when compared to their native language (L1), …

The Effects Of Divided Attention On Speech Motor, Verbal Fluency, And Manual Task Performance, Christopher Dromey, Erin Shim

Faculty Publications

Purpose: The goal of this study was to evaluate aspects of the functional distance hypothesis, which predicts that tasks regulated by brain networks in closer anatomic proximity will interfere more with each other than tasks controlled by spatially distant regions. Speech, verbal fluency, and manual motor tasks were examined to ascertain whether right-handed activity would interfere more with speech and language performance because of the presumed greater demands on the left hemisphere. Method: Twenty young adults completed a speech task (repeating a sentence), a verbal fluency task (listing words beginning with the same letter), and right- and left-handed motor tasks …

Six Principles For Integrating Non-Governmental Environmental Standards Into Smart Regulation, Stepan Wood, Lynn Johannson

All Faculty Publications

Ontario recently introduced environmental penalties (EPs), the environmental equivalent of speeding tickets. EPs are widely understood as part of a move toward "smarter" environmental regulation. As part of the EPs regime, facilities with an environmental management system aligned with ISO 14001 or Responsible Care qualify for reduced penalties. The Ontario government’s attempt to incorporate voluntary standards - such as ISO 14001 - into its EPs regulations was not very smart, however, because it failed to observe six principles that, in our view, should guide the incorporation of standards into smart regulation. First, do not reinvent the wheel. If an existing …

Acoustic Characteristics Of English Lexical Stress Produced By Native Mandarin Speakers, Shawn L. Nissen, Yanhong Zhang, Alexander L. Francis

Faculty Publications

Native speakers of Mandarin Chinese have difficulty producing native-like English stress contrasts. Acoustically, English lexical stress is multidimensional, involving manipulation of fundamental frequency F0, duration, intensity and vowel quality. Errors in any or all of these correlates could interfere with perception of the stress contrast, but it is unknown which correlates are most problematic for Mandarin speakers. This study compares the use of these correlates in the production of lexical stress contrasts by 10 Mandarin and 10 native English speakers. Results showed that Mandarin speakers produced significantly less native-like stress patterns, although they did use all four acoustic correlates to …

A Leontief Model Of Municipal Budgeting, Phillip J. Bryson

Faculty Publications

Local budgeting in transition countries is an important process because it can reveal the extent to which fiscal decentralization has occurred. Because central planning regimes were highly centralized, adopting a market/democratic approach requires a devolution of power from the central government to regions and municipalities. A Leontief model is presented as a simple theoretical approach to local budgeting. Local revenues are considered as financial inputs and local expenditures as financial outputs. A method of measuring the degree of local autonomy as a part of the budgeting process is a part of this model.

Enhancing Special Educators' Knowledge And Understanding Of Hiv/Aids, Mary Anne Prater, Nancy M. Sileo, Thomas W. Sileo

Faculty Publications

HIV/AIDS continues to spread among children, youth, and young adults across all racial, ethnic, and cultural populations, including those with disabilities. This article considers information on HIV/AIDS such as individuals' health-risk behaviors, environmental circumstances, and perceptions that may contribute to HIV-infection; how disability characteristics, and cultural traits and values impact school-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs; and, culturally competent instructional considerations that acknowledge these variables.

The Online Journal Of Distance Education Reaches The 10-Year Mark: A Look Back Using Social Network Theory To Examine Its Collaboration Network, Steven J. Hite, Julie M. Hite, Scott L. Howell, Lenae Crandall

Faculty Publications

Happy 10th birthday to the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration! Who would have ever imagined that this online journal situated on the Web site of a smaller university in Carrollton, Georgia, U.S.A., (population about 20,000 and listed in 2002 as one of the 50 best small southern towns in the United States), and without the financial backing of a large national association, would emerge 10 years later as one of the field's premier journals? Not even the founding editor, Dr. Melanie Clay, quite envisioned the number of contributors and readers who would seek out her journal from all over …

Utilizing Phrase-Similarity Measures For Detecting And Clustering Informative Rss News Articles, Yiu-Kai D. Ng, Maria Soledad Pera

Faculty Publications

As the number of RSS news feeds continue to increase over the Internet, it becomes necessary to minimize the workload of the user who is otherwise required to scan through huge numbers of news articles to find related articles of interest, which is a tedious and often an impossible task. In order to solve this problem, we present a novel approach, called InFRSS, which consists of a correlation-based phrase matching (CPM) model and a fuzzy compatibility clustering (FCC) model. CPM can detect RSS news articles containing phrases that are the same as well as semantically alike, and dictate the degrees …

Health And Wellness: Issues For Latino Immigrants, The Effects Of Social Isolation, And Its Consequences, Gil Villagran

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Gil Villagran was a 2006 Salzburg Fellow. This presentation stemmed from his involvement in the program.

Design With Benefits : Combining Healthcare Step Programs And Design Tools To Make A Difference In Community Health, Emily E. Frye

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

I am aware that there is increasing emphasis being placed on designers pro actively designing services as opposed to simply creating artifacts. Looking past “selling” and moving toward enabling solutions that are for the greater good, this paper makes use of ethnographic contexts of communities involved to guide design. My thesis project designs a service plan and a program with artifacts. It is aimed at helping rural West Virginia Clinics intervene with unhealthy patients to help them prepare for a pro-active lifestyle. This program, named BeneFIT, was designed with user-centered methods and incorporates the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) developed by James …

The Effects Of Divided Attention On Speech Motor, Verbal Fluency, And Manual Task Performance, Christopher Dromey, Erin Shim

Faculty Publications

Purpose: The goal of this study was to evaluate aspects of the functional distance hypothesis, which predicts that tasks regulated by brain networks in closer anatomic proximity will interfere more with each other than tasks controlled by spatially distant regions. Speech, verbal fluency, and manual motor tasks were examined to ascertain whether right-handed activity would interfere more with speech and language performance, because of the presumed greater demands on the left hemisphere.

Method: Twenty young adults completed a speech task (repeating a sentence), a verbal fluency task (listing words beginning with the same letter), and right- and left-handed motor tasks …

Donald Harman Akenson. Some Family: The Mormons And How Humanity Keeps Track Of Itself, J. Michael Hunter

Faculty Publications

Review by J. Michael Hunter of Donald Harman Akenson’s Some Family: The Mormons and How Humanity Keeps Track of Itself (Montreal: McGill University / Kingston, Ontario: Queen’s University Press, 2007).