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Great Plains Flora? Plant Geography Of Eastern Montana's Lower Elevation Shrub-Grass Dominated Vegetation, Matt Lavin, Catherine Seibert

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Montana plant geography at elevations below montane forests broadly includes open shrub-grass or ponderosa pine dominated dry sites and riparian-wetland systems. In contrast to conventional wisdom, the floristic composition of these settings in eastern Montana does not reflect a strong Great Plains influence. State and county geographical distribution patterns suggestive of an influence of the Great Plains flora on that of eastern Montana involve only 52 species of mostly uncommon and narrowly distributed species of dicot forbs that do not compose a common type of characteristic Great Plains plant community in the state. In addition, the floristic similarity of the …

Land-Use Legacies Of Cultivation In Shrublands: Ghosts In The Ecosystem, Lesley R. Morris

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Shrublands across the West are currently threatened by land uses such as urban sprawl, energy development, and agricultural development which impact ecosystem function through altered fire cycles, expansion of invasive species, modified hydrology, and intensified soil erosion. Historically, shrubland ecosystems have already been impacted by many of these same disturbances. Unlike our forested ecosystems, much of the land-use history in our shrublands has been forgotten or ignored. But our human endeavor can leave lasting changes on the landscape, referred to as “land-use legacies”, for decades to centuries. Looking for land-use legacies does not equate with looking for someone to blame. …

Potential Impacts Of Energy Development On Shrublands In Western North America, Amy Pocewicz, Holly Copeland, Joseph Kiesecker

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Impending rapid development of the abundant energy resources found in western North America may have dramatic consequences for its terrestrial ecosystems. We used lease and license data to provide an approximate estimate of direct and indirect potential impacts from renewable and non-renewable energy development on each of five major terrestrial ecosystems and completed more detailed analyses for shrubland ecosystems. We found that energy development could impact up to 21 percent (96 million ha) of the five major ecosystems in western North America. The highest overall predicted impacts as a percent of the ecosystem type are to boreal forest (23-32 percent), …

Valera’S Morsamor As Anti-Orientalist Fiction, Thomas R. Franz

Decimonónica

A recent study of Morsamor (1899) maintains that Valera’s last novel is anti-Muslim, anti- African, and anti-Hindu and contains a large quantity of trendy, negative “Orientalismo” calculated to justify a resurgence of Spanish imperialism over African and Eastern peoples (Torres-Pou 21–31). According to this interpretation, Morsamor is a “regenerationist” text intended to inspire a restoration of national pride through depiction of Spain’s military prowess during the Ages of Conquest and Exploration and the proposition that European cultural “superiority” was due to the alleged Hegelian-type accumulation of possibilities inherent, but lamentably truncated, in its Oriental origins (22–23). Thus Morsamor (Miguel de …

Respecting Language As Part Of Ethnicity: Title Vii And Language Discrimination At Work, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Faculty Scholarship

This article argues that, in the absence of a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason or a business necessity, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act can protect employees from language-based discrimination in the workplace. Language is a part of one’s ethnicity, which refers to one’s culture. Ethnicity, much as race already does, should receive protection under Title VII. Plaintiffs, however, have the burden of proof in litigation, and so a plaintiff who sues under a discrimination theory should have to make his or her case to the appropriate fact-finder. Drawing upon the insights of critical theory, particularly to explore concepts like …

Revitalizing Distressed Older Suburbs, Kathryn W. Hexter, Edward W. Hill, Brian A. Mikelbank, Benjamin Y. Clark, Charles Post

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Reconsidering Racial And Partisan Gerrymandering, Adam B. Cox, Richard T. Holden

Faculty Articles

In recent years, scholars have come to a general agreement about the relationship between partisan gerrymandering and racial redistricting. Drawing districts that contain a majority of minority voters, as is often required by the Voting Rights Act, is said to help minority voters in those districts but hurt the Democratic Party more broadly. This Article argues that this familiar claim is based on a mistaken assumption about how redistricters can best manipulate districts for partisan gain — an assumption grounded in the idea that all voters can be thought of as either Democrats or Republicans. Relaxing this assumption, and acknowledging …

District Courts As Patent Laboratories, Jeanne C. Fromer

Faculty Articles

This symposium article engages with Dan Burk and Mark Lemley's recent book, "The Patent Crisis and How the Courts Can Solve It," in which they suggest that courts should and do tailor patent law to particular technologies or industries, with the aim of providing appropriate incentives to innovate under the specific circumstances. Their book understandably focuses on the Federal Circuit’s key role in this tailoring. I seek to enhance their contributions by arguing that federal district courts — which receive less attention in their book — are also particularly crucial for the development and application of technology- and industry-specific patent …

Passing Pains: Revenge, Retaliation, And Redirected Aggression In A New Light, Lixing Sun

Biology Faculty Scholarship

A review of David P. Barash and Judith Eve Lipton, Payback: Why We Retaliate, Redirect Aggression, and Take Revenge, Oxford University Press: New York, 2011, 209 pp., US$24.95, ISBN 019539514X (hardcover).

From Sound Bites To Sound Policy: Reclaiming The High Ground In Criminal Justice Policy-Making, Anthony C. Thompson

Faculty Articles

In this article, the author contemplates the way the criminal justice system is portrayed in the media and suggests how the media's emphasis on "sound bites" - which makes it difficult to separate fact from hype - has had significant policy ramifications. The author makes a point of exploring the many ways that conceptions of crime are formed and influenced, as well as how the media has shaped legislation. In the author's opinion, in order to curb the excessive influence of most mainstream representations of the criminal justice system, there must be some mechanism for oversight of both the media …

Social Disorganization And Sex Offenders In Minneapolis, Mn: A Socio-Spatial Analysis, Joseph Koncur

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Using a combination of techniques stemming from the spatial analysis approach of Geography, structural-functionalist theory in Sociology, and an ecological perspective of Criminology, this thesis addresses where sex offenders reside and why. Analyses were performed using the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota as a typical urban setting. The study fuses multiple disciplines work on the complex social problem of released risk level III sex offender management in a spatially-conscious, micro-scale analysis attempting to understand the distribution of released offenders and the relevance of social disorganization theory in explaining their distribution. Socio-economic status and family disruption are tested …

Somali Dialects In The United States: How Intelligible Is Af-Maay To Speakers Of Af-Maxaa?, Deqa Hassan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The objective of this study was to determine the degree of intelligibility of Af-Maay to Somali university student speakers (n=21) of Af-Maxaa in the United States by implementing a perceived intelligibility test. The investigator aimed to test whether time spent in the United States, language contact with Af-Maay speakers, native Somali dialect, or the region of origin in Somalia affected the intelligibility of Af-Maay. The one-sample t-test showed that Af-Maay is partially intelligible to speakers of Af-Maxaa; t(21)=4.623, p=.000. This appears to agree with Crystal's (1987) Type 5 language-dialect relationship category, where there is a partial intelligibility due to the …

Minnesota River Basin Flood Mapping And Impact Assessment, Willy J. Mekeel

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

South Central Minnesota has experienced frequent flooding in the past because of the relatively flat topography, low elevation, and large amounts of snow melt in the spring. When these events happen, there is a large economic impact and potential health hazards to residents of the area. Having up-to-date flood zone maps can help residents be better prepared for emergency situations. Using Geographic Information Science (GIS), flood zone maps can be updated frequently in a more time efficient and inexpensive manner. Using a 30-meter digital elevation model (DEM) Compound Topographic Index (CTI) and Stream Power Index (SPI) layers were calculated for …

Charter Schools, Market Capitalism, And Obama's Neo-Liberal Agenda, Richard Mora, Mary Christianakis

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The contributors to this special issue of The Journal of Inquiry and Action provide insight into why the Obama administration’s educational policies manifest the dominance of neoliberal ideology over most elements of social life. The articles presented herein build on the work originally presented in The Phenomenon of Obama and the agenda for Education: Can hope audaciously trump neoliberalism? (Carr & Porfilio, 2011).

Communications And 'Forestructures' At The Geological Intersection Of Caves And Subsurface Water Flow: Hermeneutics And Parochialism, Lee J. Florea, H. L. Vacher

Geology Faculty Publications

The direction of cave and karst science throughout its history has been partly determined by communication—or, more commonly, the lack of communication—between non-scientist cavers and non-caving physical geologists writing about karst. Within each community, advancement of ‘cave awareness’ occurred through a hermeneutic circle in which ‘forestructures’ guided progress. One result was regionalism of speleo-genetic theories developed within karst science because of the weight of evidence placed upon local or regional observations. Many speleogenetic theories of the mid-1900s suffer from this parochialism, failing to take into account findings from karst of different geologic settings. During the past half-century, the accumulated worldwide …

Internet Contracting And E-Commerce Disputes: International And U. S. Personal Jurisdiction , Anne Mccafferty

Global Business Law Review

In cases involving international defendants, a variety of bases have been deemed appropriate for a U.S. court to assert personal jurisdiction, including nationality, domicile, “purposeful availment,” and a number of federal statutes. With the explosion of the Internet and the resulting expansion of international business transactions via the Web, courts have struggled to adapt traditional modes of adjudication consistent with established common, statutory and international law. Internet transactions—now known as e-commerce—involve the “practice of buying and selling goods and services through online consumer services on the Internet.” In a sphere of commerce apparently limitless in its reach, this article explores …

Achilles' Heel: How The Ats And Nafta Have Combined To Create Substantial Tort Liability For Us Corporations Operating In Mexico, Travis Robert-Ritter

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Harmonizing Through Judicial Review: Statutory Interpretation And Participation In Sub-Arctic Resource Management, Sari M. Graben

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

This article describes how statutory interpretation by the courts can impact the effectiveness of co-management initiatives in Canada. Canada has recently undertaken a massive restructuring of the administrative regimes that license and permit resource development across the country to better incorporate Indigenous participation. These co-management boards now take part in governing resource use across Canada and most recognizably in parts of British Columbia, the Yukon Territories, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Nevertheless, the degree to which Indigenous participation may impact the regulatory output of co-management boards remains uncertain in law. This article uses one co-management statute in Canada, the Mackenzie …

International Arbitration: A New Mechanism To Settle Intra-State Territorial Disputes Between States And Secessionist Movements? - The Divorce Of Sudan And South Sudan And The Abyei Question, Cindy Daase

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

In 2008, the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) submitted an arbitration agreement with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. In a unique fast track procedure, an international arbitration tribunal had to determine in accordance with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005, in particular the Abyei Protocol and Abyei Appendix, the Interim National Constitution (INC) and general principles of law, whether the Abyei Border Commission (ABC) exceeded its mandate, which was to define and demarcate the area of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905. In case of …

English Priories And The Reign Of Edward Iii, Benjamin Peterson

Honors Capstones

This paper examines the seizing and treatment of the alien priories in England during the first phase of the Hundred Year's War (1337-1360). Using English contemporary government finance records called the Calendar of Fine Rolls, I argue that the Crown's interference with the priories during this time was necessitated by the needs of the war. The argument has three main points. The first looks at changes in priory tax rates, calledfarms, and the second examines the custodianship arrangements imposed on the priories by the crown. The third point takes the information from the previous points and places it in the …

2011 Commencement Program, Morehead State University. Registrar's Office.

Morehead State Commencement Programs

2011 commencement programs of Morehead State University.

"Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?" Technology Can Reduce Dispute Resolution Costs When Times Are Tough And Improve Outcomes, David Allen Larson

Faculty Scholarship

Cost reduction is one of the desirable results frequently attributed to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes. Although it is reasonable to assume that businesses always are interested in saving money, this goal takes on added importance when the economy is struggling. The cost savings inherent in ADR, which already are significant, can be increased substantially through the strategic adoption of technology. Although I generally do not urge caution when it comes to expanding the ways in which we use technology, we nonetheless must recognize not only technology’s potential benefits but also its possible pitfalls. It is relatively easy to identify …

Improving Cancer Outcomes Through Strong Networks And Regulatory Frameworks: Lessons From The United States And The European Union, Louise G. Trubek, Thomas R. Oliver, Chih-Ming Liang, Matt Mokrohisky

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Art Education: The Learning Connections Derived From A Creative Artistic Experience, Pamela Ann Woods

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

ART EDUCATION: THE LEARNING CONNECTIONS DERIVED FROM A CREATIVE ARTISTIC EXPERIENCE

by

PAMELA ANN WOODS

May 2011

Advisor: Dr. Karen L. Tonso

Major: Curriculum and Instruction

Degree: Doctor of Education

This study investigated the school experiences of art students in a Commercial Art program. This qualitative study advances an argument for recognizing arts students' dismissed voices, as they seek an audience where their views, talents, and career choices are respected. This argument grows from 1) a critique of standards-based policy (when it goes too far), 2) a discussion of the importance of arts education for student success and, 3) …

Effects Of Single-Gender Classes On Student Literacy And Engagement, Jacqueline Button

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Empirical evidence substantiating the effectiveness of engagement programs to support at-risk students is virtually nonexistent. In an attempt to improve student engagement and literacy for Grade 9 students enrolled in a developmental curriculum known as the essential-level program, the staff at one school implemented single-gender classes during the 2010--2011 school year. This project study was designed as a summative, goals-based, quantitative program evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the first-year single-gender program based on its stated goals and objectives. A purposive sample of 45 students, 6 teachers, and 2 educational assistants in the essential-level program was used to collect pretest …

Relationships Between Political Competition And Socioeconomic Status In The United States, Trevor K. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the past 30 years there has been an increase in socioeconomic inequities between Black and White persons in the United States. Some research suggests that political ideology, which in turn impacts political competition levels, may at least partially explain these disparities, though the body of academic literature in this area is sparse. Little is known about how Black political ideology is formed by perceptions of inequality. The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of Black political ideology, political competition, and socioeconomic status to determine how political competition relates to social inequities between Blacks and Whites. The …

Information Withholding And The Management Of Productivity In Teams, Dolores Drumheller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The importance of good communications between team members has been well documented. Yet previous studies on communications between team members have neglected to focus on reasons for information withholding between people working on teams. The purpose of this case study of 16 engineers and 6 educators was to understand why team members withhold information when working together. A convenience sample was selected from a software engineering organization. Collective intelligence theory in a modern communications environment was used as the theoretical foundation. This theory posits that the synergy of full group collaboration results in enhanced performance and the spread of new …

Effect Of Clinical Laboratory Practitioner Licensing On Wages, Mary Hotaling

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Professional licensing directly affects about 29% of U.S. workers and is considered a primary means to establish and maintain health care practitioner competence. Clinical laboratory practitioner licensing was largely ignored in the literature with only 2 studies 30 years apart that provided conflicting conclusions regarding wage effects. This research provided the first study of clinical laboratory practitioner licensing effects on wages after controlling for human capital and individual characteristics wage determinants. This nonexperimental correlational study extended the literature on licensing effects on wages, including women's wages and professions not uniformly licensed across 50 states. The theoretical foundation relied on the …

The Role Of Leadership In Safety Performance And Results, Halina E. Caravello

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee injury rates in U.S. land-based operations in the energy industry are 2 to 3 times higher relative to other regions in the world. Although a rich literature exists on drivers of safety performance, no previous studies investigated factors influencing this elevated rate. Leadership has been identified as a key contributor to safety outcomes and this grounded theory study drew upon the full range leadership model, situational leadership, and leader-member exchange theories for the conceptual framework. Leadership aspects influencing safety performance were investigated through guided interviews of 27 study participants; data analyses included open and axial coding, and constant comparisons …

Predicting Breast Cancer Screening Among African American Lesbians And Bisexual Women, Cheryl B. Fields

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2009, 713,220 new cases of cancer were diagnosed for women in the United States with more than a quarter million deaths. African American women and lesbians exhibit behavioral risk factors as well as diminished access to and utilization of breast cancer screening that reduces opportunities for early detection. This secondary analysis of a national convenience-based study examined screening compliance among 647 African American lesbian and bisexual women. Barriers to accessing screening represented the theoretical framework for this study. Bivariate chi square analysis was used to assess the association between independent variables: sociodemographic characteristics; participation in wellness activities; sexual orientation/gender …