Digital Commons Network^™

Overview Of Healthcare Quality: Hospitals And Public Health Trends: Rural Vs. Urban, Sandy S. Lee

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Commodity And Waste As National Allegory In Recent South African And Post-Soviet Fiction, Alla Ivanchikova

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Commodity and Waste as National Allegory in Recent South African and Post-Soviet Fiction" Alla Ivanchikova analyzes the issue of commodity in its relation to identity. The article contains a reading of two novels: The Quiet Violence of Dreams by K. Sello Duiker and Dukhless. Povest o nenastoiaschem cheloveke (Douh-Less: The Tale of an Unreal Person) by Sergey Minaev. Rapid political changes, both in South Africa and the former Soviet Bloc were accompanied both by rapid changes in the practices of consumption and also by often inconsistent cultural efforts to establish the meaning of these practices. Ivanchikova …

Shelton Davis – Indigenous Rights And The Environment In The Amazon, Stephen Schwartzman, Jennifer Andreassen

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

This article consists of two parts, the first being a brief discussion on Schwartzman’s work with Shelton Davis in Washington, D.C.; and the second a jointly authored news report by Schwartzman, with photo images by Jennifer Andreassen documenting the continued deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon, along with mention of the Belo Monte Hydro-electric Dam, already under construction. The current situation is grotesquely reminiscent of the 1970s about which Shelton Davis wrote in detail in Victims.

Este artigo consiste de duas partes: a primeira, sendo uma breve discussão sobre o trabalho de Schwarzmann e Shelton Davis juntos em Washington, D.C.; …

Teaching Arabic To Business Students, Amel Mili

Global Business Languages

It has become increasingly more critical for business students to be fluent in foreign languages and knowledgeable of foreign cultures. There is more to teaching a foreign language to a business student than teaching vocabulary and grammar. In order to prepare students to be successful businesspersons in the target geographic area, we must also introduce them to such topics as the local culture, local economic conditions, and local business ethics. In this article, I discuss my experience at Lauder with the Arabic language and culture program, by discussing in turn its requirements, premises, and lessons learned.

Sci-Tech Book News Reviews, Susan Fingerman

Sci-Tech News

No abstract provided.

The Challenge Of Transcultural Competence: Background Reading Of Target Culture Current Events Articles, Norbert Hedderich

Global Business Languages

At the lower and intermediate-levels of language instruction, students do not have sufficient language proficiency to inform themselves about current events in the target language. Knowledge of current events is an important part of cultural competence and should not be absent from instruction because of linguistic restrictions. This article proposes to remedy this problem, by creating out-of-class reading assignments of current events articles from US and international English language news sources. The article provides practical information on selection criteria for articles, suggests news sources, and gives examples of assignments.

From The Reference Desk, Tom Gilson

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews -- Monographic Musings, Debbie Vaughn

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Breathe Pure Chile: Teaching About The Cultural Differences In International Business, Orlando R. Kelm

Global Business Languages

In this article we present a brief case study entitled “Breathe Pure Chile” that illustrates some of the cultural issues that come up in international professional settings. The company exports fruits from Chile and uses new technologies to preserve the foods longer. More importantly, this case offers insights into the interaction between North American and Latin American professionals. The story is based on actual interviews that were conducted with employees of the company in Santiago, Chile; however, the names of the people and the company have been modifi ed. In order to analyze the various cultural issues, the contents of …

Factors Which Influence The Use Of Active Learning Strategies By Nursing Faculty, Deborah Lowell Shindell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nursing education is facing a crisis. Anachronistic teaching methods are no longer keeping up with the needs of new graduates entering practice. Despite a body of knowledge which supports the use of active learning in higher education, nursing faculty continue to rely on lecture as their primary pedagogical approach. Previous study of the use of research products in clinical nursing practice identified systematic factors such as characteristics of the communication of research findings and characteristics of the organization form the greatest barrier to use. This study discovers if these same barriers face nursing educators.

Using Roger‟s Theory of Diffusion of …

Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model In Context, Geert Hofstede

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

This article describes briefly the Hofstede model of six dimensions of national cultures: Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, Long/Short Term Orientation, and Indulgence/Restraint. It shows the conceptual and research efforts that preceded it and led up to it, and once it had become a paradigm for comparing cultures, research efforts that followed and built on it. The article stresses that dimensions depend on the level of aggregation; it describes the six entirely different dimensions found in the Hofstede et al. (2010) research into organizational cultures. It warns against confusion with value differences at the individual level. It concludes …

Land Use Pressure And Climate Impacts On Fire Regimes And Forest Regeneration In The Upper Tuul River Watershed, Mongolia, Thomas M. Saladyga

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation is composed of three chapters addressing the broad issues of land use, climate variability, and wildfire in central Mongolia. The first chapter describes a GIS model developed to map human impacts in the Upper Tuul River watershed. Forest establishment data were used to validate the application of the model with results indicating a high level of correspondence with a field assessment of human disturbance. Chapter two is a tree-ring based reconstruction of Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for the central Khan Khentii Mountains from 1675-2000. Changes in moisture availability were more frequent during the 20th century than any …

Assessing Landscape Change In Western Honduras, 1957-2010, Eric Lenhardt Mcgregor

Master's Theses

Human impacts on environmental conditions have long concerned researchers investigating changing forest conditions in the world's tropical regions. This thesis uses repeat photography, satellite imagery, and quantitative spatial statistics to evaluate landscape change in western Honduras between 1957 and 2010, and specifically focuses on changes in tree cover. Results from repeat photography and satellite classification show an increase in tree cover. Spatial statistics indicate that increases in shade coffee production may also be related to much of the observed increases in tree cover. Forest transition theory is used as a framework to help explain the observed changes, such as dooryard …

A Study Of A Translocated Population Of Anguis Fragilis In Cornwall, Uk, Casey Fuke

The Plymouth Student Scientist

A population of slow-worms were monitored throughout August and September 2010 at a roadside location near Dobwalls, Cornwall. The population was released onto the site in 2009 and one of the aims of the study was to determine if the population was surviving in their new habitat. Follow up work post-translocation is rarely done in the UK. The vegetation was predominantly saplings, young shrubs and rough grassland and black roof felt was used as refugia to attract the slow-worms. The site was visited two to three times a week and the temperature, weather, invertebrates present, sex or age and location …

The Effect Of An Invasive Species On Predation Rates Upon Intertidal Barnacles, Rachel Linaker

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Non-indigenous species invasions are considered a large threat to native biota however the effects of which have been relatively understudied with respect to intertidal systems. Current literature surrounds the movement of species, however relatively little attempt has been made to quantify the effect. Using the invasive oyster drill Ocenebra erinacea and the native dogwhelk Nucella lapillus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of an invasive species‟ on predation rates over a one-week period feeding on the intertidal barnacle Chthamalus montagui. This was conducted by testing for the effects of increased conspecific density (abundance increase) and biodiversity (species number/identity) against …

Establishing Construct Validity Of The Biology I Subject Area Testing Program In Mississippi, Christy Michelle Hollis Philippoff

Dissertations

Science education has undergone many revisions since it was permanently embedded in the country's educational curriculum at the end of the 19th century. Some of these revisions occurred as a direct result of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This legislation placed more accountability on schools than ever before by requiring that all students pass a series of standardized tests (USDE, 2010). High schools in Mississippi require four areas of standardized testing: English II, Algebra I, U.S. History, and Biology I (Wroten, 2008). The focus of this study is the Biology I Subject Area Test.

In an effort to …

A Quantitative Study Of Learning In The School Cafeteria Using Educational Placemats, Keshia Lasha Gaines

Dissertations

This study investigated if there was a difference in student achievement after participants were exposed to educational placemats in a school cafeteria for four days each (four different placemats). Also, the student’s gender and ability grouping was considered in relation to achievement. This study included 49 ability grouped third grade students in an elementary school in south Mississippi. Students were pre-tested with researcher-made math instruments before the educational placemats were introduced and post-tested afterwards. For research purposes, some placemats served as a control and did not relate to the pre-test and post-test content. Statistical measurements of the differences were derived …

Barriers And Enablers Of Interdisciplinary Research At Academic Institutions, Leslie Suzanne Thornton Butler

Dissertations

This research study examines the factors that motivate and lead to the success of faculty members who conduct interdisciplinary research. Because a comprehensive study of the research patterns of interdisciplinary researchers has not been conducted, the main intent of this research project was to create an instrument that would measure research habits and attitudes. It is important that such research be conducted using individuals who are interdisciplinary researchers as well as disciplinary researchers. One intent of the research study was to provide comparisons between disciplinary researchers and interdisciplinary researchers. Another intent was to provide university administrators with a better understanding …

Factors Affecting Private School Choice, John Herman Hartsell Sr.

Dissertations

This study explored the underlying factors that influence parents’ choices of educational institution for their children in private schools in a southern United States coastal city. It also explored why parents chose the specific private school their child is currently enrolled in and their satisfaction level with teacher, parent and student relationships. Parental satisfaction with the overall instructional program and the services provided was also explored in this study. Data was collected from parents with students currently enrolled in one of two different private schools with input from 253 parents.

A central finding in this research is that parents who …

The Chicago Method Of Excavation At Kincaid, Jessica Ruth Howe

Theses

The creation of the University of Chicago archaeological field schools in 1934 at the Kincaid site in southern Illinois resulted in the dissemination of a standard excavation method, often referred to as the "Chicago Method", across the United States, primarily in the East. Before the field schools, there was no standard practice for excavating Eastern archaeological sites and little was written about the excavation methods that were used. During and after the field schools, archaeologists began to use similar excavation methods and also began to keep better records of their fieldwork. This thesis determines exactly what the "Chicago Method" of …

Fair Is Fair—Reshaping Alaska’S Unfair Trade Practices And Consumer Protection Act, Ryan P. O'Quinn, Thomas Watterson

Alaska Law Review

Few fields of law impact as wide a swath of population as consumer protection law. Alaska adopted its consumer protection statute, the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (UTPCPA), amid a national movement to strengthen consumer protection laws. The UTPCPA uses broad language to encompass a wide range of conduct. However, creative pleading and recent applications of the UTPCPA have expanded the law in ways that threaten Alaska businesses even in the absence of culpable conduct. This Note reviews the history of consumer protection, Alaska’s UTPCPA, and the incentives leading to an expanding application of the UTPCPA. The Note …

No Room For Squatters: Alaska’S Adverse Possession Law, Jennie Morawetz

Alaska Law Review

In 2003, the Alaska Legislature dramatically changed Alaska’s adverse possession law. Alaska’s new law curtails the application of adverse possession in a way that is more stringent than any other state’s law. This Note summarizes Alaska’s adverse possession law prior to 2003 and discusses how it was changed in 2003 by the passage of Senate Bill 93. The Note then explores some implications of the new law: the ability to extinguish but not create private easements by prescription, the importance of recording, and the potential for a “good faith squatter” to lose land she believes is hers.

Genocide Studies: An Australian Perspective, Colin Tatz

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The burgeoning field of genocide studies is faced with several concerns. Foremost is the challenge of finding a space for encompassing and embracing the Holocaust with some comfort. The Judeocide is an ally, not an enemy, and not on the margins. Our maturing discipline needs to find a sense of collegiality, consensus on terminology, and yardsticks with which to measure scales, dimensions, and degrees of the crime. Several other themes also need attention: wider perspectives on the prerequisites of genocide, starvation as a genocidal weapon, a clear separa- tion between motive and intent, genocide by omission, the elusive concepts of …

Leaving The Parental Home: An Overview Of The Current State Of Genocide Studies, Daniel Feierstein

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article examines current developments in genocide studies, focusing specifi- cally on three main areas of conflict and debate between different perspectives: the question of how to define genocide, causal models and comparative studies, and prevention. Further, this article presents an analysis of Eurocentrism in the field, arguing that genocide studies needs a broader scope to include new and unique perspectives from all areas of the world. What is needed, in fact, is genuine intercultural dialogue, which can transform the field of genocide studies into a broad, culturally diverse field.

Three Essays On The Influence Of Formal Institutions On Entrepreneurship., Michael David Crum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is composed of three essays in which I examine the influence of formal institutions on entrepreneurs and new firms. In the first essay, "The Influence of Institutions on the Likelihood of Self-Employment: A Multilevel Analysis," I examine how institutions at the country-level are related to the likelihood that individuals in those country are self-employed. Country-level measures of formal institutions are paired with individual-level data on self-employment from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (Reynolds et al., 2005). Using the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World index and the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom separately as measures of institutions, …

Spatial Distribution Of Obesity Among West Virginia 5th Grade Children: Analysis Of The Socioeconomic, Physical, And Personal Environment, Sherry Roper

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Childhood obesity defined as a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex, is considered an epidemic in the United States. Biology and lifestyle behaviors have been identified as important factors in the development of childhood obesity; however, researchers are beginning to place more emphasis upon the impact that continual environmental exposures have upon obesity development. Environmental risk factors associated with obesity are distributed continuously over space, yet evidence suggests that burden of risk may not be evenly dispersed across a community. West Virginia (WV), a rural Appalachian community has …

Mapping Injustice: The World Is Witness, Place-Framing, And The Politics Of Viewing On Google Earth, Joshua P. Ewalt

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Working from assumptions that inequality is often spatially informed, a set of interactive cartographies has recently proliferated on Google Earth. In this essay, I analyze one of those interactive cartographies: The World is Witness produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). I read the map as an organizational rhetoric that frames place as "embedded injustice." I also argue that thorough analysis of the framing of local place on Google Earth must inherently question whether the map can create a disruption in the viewing subject. While the map presents vital information on excruciatingly despicable acts of injustice, and the …

Youth Mentoring: A Guide For Mentors With Practical Application Of Communication Principles To Facilitate Interpersonal Relationships And Youth Development, Erin Camille Wilson

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

As individuals, we believe we have the unique ability to choose our paths and carve out our destiny in America. As we sculpt our path, through a variety of decisions, our relationships often serve as a governing force developing our person along our journey. Due to their influential nature, this project explores the power of mentor mentee relationships as it relates to youth development. Grounded in the theory of transcendence, the social penetration theory and the uncertainty reduction theory, this project investigates youth mentoring and its positive influence on three basic parameters: social and emotional effect, cognitive effect, and identity …

Local Marketing: The Benefits And Drawbacks For Large Corporations With Respect To National Food Chains, Marisa Erin Bloch

Journalism

A majority of large corporations, with a special focus on national food chains, put all of their marketing on national and international levels. Most corporations tend to forget about the local aspect of business. The newsletter for California Pizza Kitchen San Luis Obispo was created in order to go against the normal ways of these large restaurant chains, in an attempt to reach out to the community. This paper addresses the need for large corporations, with respect to national food chains, to bring things to a local level. The focus of marketing on a local level is constantly overlooked because …

Lawyer: Winter 2011-2012, Seattle University School Of Law

Lawyer

• Lawmakers Leave Politics Out of the Classroom
• Freedom Restored: Professor and Students Help Transformed Man Win Clemency
• Law School’s Full-Tuition Scholars Work to Effect Societal Change
• Graduate Fights for the Rights of Accused War Criminal