Digital Commons Network^™

Hiding In Plain Sight? Timing And Transparency In The Administrative State, Anne Joseph O'Connell, Jacob Gersen

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

Anecdotal evidence of agencies burying bad news is rife in law and politics. The bureaucracy regularly is accused of announcing controversial policies on holidays and weekends when public attention is elsewhere. We show that this conventional wisdom is wrong, or at least significantly incomplete. The conventional wisdom is riddled with theoretical holes, and there is little systematic empirical evidence to support it. After critiquing the conventional account of agencies hiding bad news, we articulate and defend a revised theory of strategic timing in administrative law. We argue that timing decisions rarely affect the visibility of decisions but can drive up …

Predicting Systemic Confidence, Stephanie Inez Falke

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Using a mixed method approach, this study explored which educational factors predicted systemic confidence in master’s level marital and family therapy (MFT) students, and whether or not the impact of these factors was influenced by student beliefs and their perception of their supervisor’s beliefs about the value of systemic practice. One hundred and twenty graduate students in Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education-accredited (COAMFT) programs completed an online survey that assessed their training experiences, beliefs about systemic practice and perceptions of confidence. Quantitative findings revealed that students who reported greater research expectations in their program, obtained more …

Pulmonary Vasoconstrictor Reactivity Following Intermittent Hypoxia, Jessica Snow

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Sleep apnea (SA) affects as many as 20% of the adult population in the United States. It elicits intermittent hypoxia (IH) and causes pulmonary hypertension (PH), however the mechanisms of this PH have not been well studied. IH has been shown to cause polycythemia, pulmonary vascular remodeling and increases in vasoconstrictor reactivity. CO2 supplementation may be protective in the development of PH, therefore we assessed effects of IH with and without CO2 supplementation on indices of PH and pulmonary vasoconstrictor reactivity. IH with CO2 supplementation resulted in eucapnic IH (E-IH) and the lack of polycythemia or vascular remodeling. However, E-IH …

Decreased Functional Connectivity With Aging And Disease Duration In Schizophrenia, Christopher Abbott

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Objective: Progressive brain changes late in the disease course of schizophrenia may be detected with functional connectivity. This study compared functional connectivity between patients with schizophrenia late in the disease course with matched healthy controls.

Method: Subjects included 18 patients with schizophrenia with minimum 15 years disease duration and 28 matched healthy controls from the MIND Clinical Imaging Consortium database. The functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm was the auditory oddball task. We used independent components analysis to identify temporally cohesive but spatially distributed neural networks. We selected the executive control and default mode networks for additional analysis. The temporal course …

Adult Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells In Response To Their Microenvironment: Proliferation, Differentiation, And Migration, Basam Z. Barkho

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

The plasticity of adult neural stem/progenitor cells allows a differential response to a variety of environmental cues. Over the past decade, significant research efforts have been devoted into understanding the regulation of neural stem/progenitor cells due to their promising potential for cell replacement therapies in adult neurological diseases. It has been demonstrated that after brain injury both endogenous and grafted neural stem/progenitor cells have the ability to proliferate to expand their number, migrate long distances to the lesioned site and differentiate into new specific neurons to replace the ones that have been lost. All these procedure are regulated by extrinsic …

Molecular Dynamics Of Adenovirus Type 3 And 7 Infections In Military And Civilian Populations In The United States, Laura M. Dickson

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Human adenoviruses (HAdV) are major causative agents of acute respiratory disease (ARD) worldwide. Military recruits and children are two of the populations most susceptible to HAdV infection in the United States. Infections by species B serotypes, including HAdV-3 and HAdV-7, are often associated with some of the most severe clinical manifestations of respiratory disease. In 1996, the production of the HAdV vaccine that was administered to US military recruits was discontinued. Since then, HAdV-associated ARD has reemerged in military training facilities nationwide compromising readiness and deployability of troops and causing significant financial burden to the Department of Defense (DoD). The …

Labor Law Reforms: China’S Response To Challenges Of Globalization, Yunqiu Zhang

Peace and Conflict Studies

The post-Mao years witnessed vigorous labor law reform efforts in China, which can be partly understood in terms of globalization, economic and legal. In the economic globalization, China was increasingly integrated into the world economic system and exposed to international pressures to reform its traditional labor system and follow internationally-accepted labor rules. In other words, the economic globalization created the need for labor law reforms in China. In the legal globalization, China was apparently the recipient or borrower of foreign legal ideas including ideas about labor legislation. These ideas inspired the Chinese to build a new legal system concerning labor.

Front Matter, Journal Of Law Reform

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Front matter for Volume 42, Issue 2 of the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform.

The Acute Effects Of Whole Body Vibration On Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull Performance, W. Guy Hornsby, Mark A. South, Ashley Kavanaugh, Andrew S. Layne, G. Gregory Haff, William A. Sands, Marco Cardinale, Michael W. Ramsey, Michael H. Stone

ETSU Faculty Works

Acute exposure to vibration has been suggested to produce transient increases in muscular strength (1,2,8), vertical jump displacement (4,8), and power output (2,6,7) recorded while performing various tasks. It has been hypothesized that the reported acute vibration induced increases in performance occur as a result of alterations in neuromuscular stimulation (1,3,4). Specifically, most studies have ascribed the observed improvements to the likeliness of Whole Body Vibration (WBV) in producing a “tonic vibration reflex” (TVR) in which the primary nerve endings of the Ia afferents of the muscle spindle are activated. This is thought to result in the excitation of the …

Can We Get Nurses To Stay? A Qualitative Study To Evaluate The Effectiveness Of A Formal Mentoring Program In An Acute Care Health System, Eileen M. Willits

Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological case study was designed to investigate the affect that a formal mentoring program had on job satisfaction including a nurse's intent to stay with their current employer and their intent to stay in the nursing profession. The research was intended to determine whether mentoring programs could be used to help avoid the affect of the upcoming predicted nursing shortage in the acute care hospital.

The findings were based on the results of a sample of twelve nurses who had voluntarily signed up to take part in a formal mentoring program sponsored by the staff development department of …

Unifying America: The Use Of American Propaganda During World War I, Maxwell Riley Woodcock

Communication Studies

This project offers a historical look at the Committee on Public Information (CPI), its leader George Creel, and the uses of propaganda in America during the First World War. The paper discusses Creel's role in creating a propaganda machine that influenced the beliefs of millions of Americans. The last section analyzes what critics thought of the American government after they propagandized the American people.

Material Sustainability, Jessica Meadows, Natasha Morris

Architectural Engineering

This paper addresses the sustainability of the materials used to construct buildings today. Timber, concrete and steel are analyzed for carbon output, cost, and recyclable-ability.

Fighting Freestyle: The First Amendment, Fairness, And Corporate Reputation, Rebecca Tushnet

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

There are three distinct groups who might want to engage in speech about commercial entities or to constrain those commercial entities from making particular claims of their own. Competitors may sue each other for false advertising, consumers may sue businesses, and government regulators may impose requirements on what businesses must and may not say. In this context, this Article will evaluate a facially persuasive but ultimately misguided claim about corporate speech: that because consumers regularly get to say nasty things about corporations under the lax standards governing defamation of public figures, corporations must be free to make factual claims subject …

And They Lived Happily For All Eternity, Kyndra Price

Communication Studies

This paper focuses on the four novels of Twilight and what it is about it that has made it become so popular. Also looks into Stephenie Meyer's religion, Mormonism, and the influences and parallels from it in Twilight.

Water Conservation's Role In California Water Transfers, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This paper describes various irrigation district water transfer projects. Water transfers have been of many types, including agriculture to agriculture, agriculture to urban, and agriculture to environment. In each case that will be described, the unique circumstances of each district will be described. Typical actions include developing a water balance to determine if “wet water” truly exists for conservation, then identifying the sources of that wet water. Subsequent actions include developing designs that will conserve the water, achieving board approval, and constructing and implementing the conservation measures.

Annual Pastoral Land Condition Report: 2008 / 2009 Financial Year, Paul E. Novelly, Philip Thomas

Natural resources published reports

This report to the Pastoral Lands Board of Western Australia presents information for the 2008/2009 financial year. The report also satisfies the Commissioner of Soil and Land Conservation’s obligation to provide the Pastoral Lands Board with a report on the current condition of land under pastoral leases in the State.

The report provides background information on pastoral leases, seasonal conditions and pastoral land condition, using information from the Bureau of Meteorology, the Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS) and the pastoral lease inspection program of the Department of Agriculture & Food Western Australia (DAFWA).

Pastoral leases cover 87.4 million hectares …

A Market Assessment Of Greenhouse Products And Associated Rural Development In Semi-Arid Regions Of Mexico, Edgar Arturo Quevedo-Martinez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Greenhouse products represent a feasible alternative for small producers compared to open-field production. Using a combination of enterprise budgeting, capital investment analysis and optimization, we found that under most of the conditions investigated the six different crops investigated are profitable. Greenhouse production has the added benefits of conserving scarce land and water resources, potentially reducing production and market risk, and offering consumers healthful products of good quality, that can contribute to the development of the local economy. One problem is that a larger up-front investment is often essential.;This study focused on three main areas: (1) A production and market assessment. …

Cryptic Subtelomeric Rearrangements And Studies Of Telomere Length, Jasen Lee Wise

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Study One. An estimated five percent of individuals with unexplained mental retardation (MR) have chromosomally unbalanced subtelomere regions. Around half of these individuals inherited the imbalance from a parent with a balanced rearrangement. The frequency of carriers for cryptic balanced translocations is unknown. To determine this frequency, blood samples received from 565 out of 978 phenotypically normal, unrelated individuals were examined using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) probes to analyze all subtelomere regions. No balanced subtelomeric rearrangements were identified. The frequency of balanced cryptic translocations in the general population was estimated to be 1/8,000 from the literature. However, three females …

Characteristics Of Subordinate Follicles Following Removal Of The Dominant Follicle: Induction Of Selection, Matthew Dean

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In mammals, ovarian follicles begin as primordial follicles. Over time these follicles are gradually activated and begin growth. As they proceed, granulosal and thecal cells are acquired. Eventually, the follicles become dependent on FSH for survival. Two or three times each cycle, a transient increase in FSH allows a cohort of follicles, including the follicle that will ovulate, to continue growing. However, these follicles secrete inhibin and estradiol, which suppress FSH secretion. Eventually, all the follicles of the cohort undergo atresia due to the declining concentrations of FSH, except for the follicle which has the potential to ovulate. This follicle …

Text Format, Text Comprehension, And Related Reader Variables, Jodi L. Nichols

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This investigation explored relationships between format of text (electronic or print-based) and reading comprehension of adolescent readers. Also in question were potential influences on comprehension from related measures including academic placement of participants, gender, prior knowledge of the content, and overall reading ability. Influences were measured through an unaided text retell and a constructed-response assessment with traditional questioning. Participants' reading preferences and self-reported reading behaviors were also explored.;Findings from regression analyses revealed that format of the text was not a significant predictor of reading comprehension for seventh grade students, despite participants' self-reported preference to reading electronic text. Conversely, participants' academic …

The Development, Implementation And Evaluation Of A System Based Physical Activity Promotion Program In A Free, Rural, Primary Care Clinic, Martha E. Summers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background. Despite the consequences of physical inactivity, it is under recognized and not addressed consistently in primary care. The Healthy People 2010 recommendations are that adults should engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week. Clinical practice guidelines advise that primary care practitioners take the opportunity whenever possible to advise, discuss, negotiate, or encourage physical activity in inactive adults. Objective. The primary objective was to identify beliefs about physical activity that act as barriers among providers and to educate them about the current recommendations for physical activity. An additional objective …

A Web-Based System For Course Instruction And Student Advising, Praveen Danda

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Academic advising plays an important role in student success in college, freshman students who join the universities with certain goals may face difficulties in course selection, whom to contact, and where to get course information. Considering this, each student in the university is assigned an advisor from his/her department who can address student's problems during their academic years in the college. The advisors spend considerable amount of time in analyzing student performance during the semester by viewing the student's grades and transcripts. The rise in student enrollment in engineering majors at West Virginia University is making it increasingly difficult for …

Improved Inter-Rater Reliability For Sah Ct Grading Scales Through Application Of A Formal Definition Of Clot Thickness, William Mcbride, Md, Valerie Dechant, Md, Michael Moussouttas, Md

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Various scales have been devised for the prediction of vasospasm following aneurysmal rupture.

Especially prominent in these scales is their reliance upon a subjective assessment of clot thickness which introduces variability in grading across raters.

The current study seeks to compare the inter-rater reliability of the traditional Fisher and newer "Frontera" scale (Modified Fisher) when a rigid definition of thick clot is employed.

Fdg Pet-Positive, Mri-Negative Patients With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: Etiology And Outcomes Compared To Patients With Hippocampal Sclerosis, C. Lopinto Khoury, M. Sperling, C. Skidmore, M. Nei, A. Zangaladze, J. Evans, A. Sharan, S. Mintzer

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

FDG PET hypometabolism is important for surgical planning in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), but its significance remains unclear in patients who do not have evidence of Hippocampal Sclerosis (HS) on MRI.

China’S Exports And The Oil Price, João Ricardo Faria, Andre V. Mollick, Pedro H. Albuquerque, Miguel A. Leon-Ledesma

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

The increase in oil prices in recent years has occurred concurrently with a rapid expansion of Chinese exports in the world markets, despite China being an oil importing country. In this paper we develop a theoretical model that explains the positive correlation between Chinese exports and the oil price. The model shows that Chinese growth can lead to an increase in oil prices that has a stronger impact on its export competitors. This is due to the large labor force surplus of China. We then examine this hypothesis by estimating a reduced form equation for Chinese exports using Rodrik (2006)’s …

Impermissible Ratemaking In Health-Insurance Reform: Why The Reid Bill Is Unconstitutional, Richard A. Epstein

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

No abstract provided.

The Relationshiop Between Gender Inequality And Hiv/Aids In Africa, Nayree L. Sheldon

Social Sciences

This paper discusses the developmental and health issues of Eastern Africa in regards to the relationship between gender inequality and HIV/AIDS.

A Tri-Disciplinary Analysis Of Religion, Alicia Wallace

Social Sciences

This paper analyzes religion using a multi-disciplinary approach. Studying the Social Sciences exposes one to an opportunity not just to learn a single discipline, but three, and this unique learning experience can teach one to look at the world’s phenomena with a multi-perspective view. Using a tri-disciplinary approach when exploring topics can broaden ones outlook on how there are many ways to explore and investigate a topic in greater detail. By using Anthropological, Sociological and Geographical theoretical perspectives one can understand a topic more fully by using a multi-perspective approach when exploring this diverse world culturally, socially and physically.

Clean Water For Developing Countries, Hilary Wighton

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Educational Inequity, Erica Jade Lyons

Social Sciences

Our society’s public school education system is reproducing, if not enhancing, social stratification and inequality. The United States spends less on the schools that have the largest population of low-income and minority children than on schools with children from the more affluent families, typically White children. We are only further widening the gap between rich and poor when we give the children who come from the bottom end of class structure and give them even less when they leave their homes to come to class. In the United States, we spend approximately $900 less per year on each student from …