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2011

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Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of Crime Hotspots By Trajectories And Self-Organizing Maps, Marco Helbich, Julian Hagenauer, Michael Leitner Jan 2011

Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of Crime Hotspots By Trajectories And Self-Organizing Maps, Marco Helbich, Julian Hagenauer, Michael Leitner

Faculty Publications

The exploration of spatial relationships between crime incidents, the socio-economic characteristics of neighborhoods, as well as physical and structural compositions of the urban landscape is an ongoing research issue in Geographic Information Science. Spatial data mining tools improve the ability to gain knowledge from geographic data and help to understand spatio-temporal processes that contribute to the presence or absence of criminal offenses. However, most of the currently available tools focus either on the spatial, the temporal, or a combination of both aspects. But crime has a spatial and temporal component in a multidimensional attribute space. Therefore, it is reasonable to …

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Crossing The Divide: Building Bridges Between Public Administration Practitioners And Scholars, Brenda K. Bushouse, Willow S. Jacobson, Kristina T. Lambright, Jared J. Llorens, Ricardo S. Morse, Ora Orn Poocharoen Jan 2011

Crossing The Divide: Building Bridges Between Public Administration Practitioners And Scholars, Brenda K. Bushouse, Willow S. Jacobson, Kristina T. Lambright, Jared J. Llorens, Ricardo S. Morse, Ora Orn Poocharoen

Faculty Publications

This article discusses the challenges of better connecting public administration (PA) scholarship to practice and recommends solutions to address those challenges in three areas - engaged scholarship, engaged teaching, and engaged faculty. To strengthen the connection between research and practice, strategies are proposed such as publishing summaries of research, creating open access online journals, establishing learning communities, and developing a new journal for cutting-edge PA research that is written in a practitioner accessible format. Strategies for linking our teaching to practice include emphasizing problem-based learning techniques, utilizing executive education programs to test the relevancy of our scholarship and incorporating additional …

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Fundraising Strategies Of Nonprofit Organizations: Measuring Roi And Success In A Time Of Economic Crisis, Leslie Jablonski, Jeff Beck Jan 2011

Fundraising Strategies Of Nonprofit Organizations: Measuring Roi And Success In A Time Of Economic Crisis, Leslie Jablonski, Jeff Beck

Great Lakes Hospitality & Tourism Educators Conference

The question being explored through this research is whether or not there are particular, newly developed, strategies that have aided organizations in continuing to raise funds during difficult economic times. Particularly, the research focuses on the differing events organizations have used in their attempts to raise money. In addition, it explores the existence of connections between the strategies the organizations in different sectors of the industry use to raise money when the public does not have much to give.

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Handwashing Behaviors In Food Service Establishment Restrooms: An Observational Study, Jaemin Cha Ph.D., Carl Borchgrevink Ph.D., Seunghyun Kim Ph.D. Jan 2011

Handwashing Behaviors In Food Service Establishment Restrooms: An Observational Study, Jaemin Cha Ph.D., Carl Borchgrevink Ph.D., Seunghyun Kim Ph.D.

Great Lakes Hospitality & Tourism Educators Conference

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified poor handwashing as a main factor in foodborne illness outbreaks (ServSafe, 2009). They suggested that failure to wash hands, or inadequate washing of hands, contributes to almost 50% of all foodborne illness outbreaks. We conducted an observational study of diners’ handwashing behaviors in restaurant restrooms in terms of gender, handwashing signage, sink cleanliness conditions, and time. Our goal was to explore predictors of proper handwashing behaviors to promote better handwashing compliance.

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In Vitro And In Vivo Pharmacodynamic Characterization Of The Novel Plasma Kallikrein Inhibitor Pf-04886847, Dhaval Sanjeev Kolte Jan 2011

In Vitro And In Vivo Pharmacodynamic Characterization Of The Novel Plasma Kallikrein Inhibitor Pf-04886847, Dhaval Sanjeev Kolte

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plasma kallikrein plays an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammation and thrombosis. Kallikrein cleaves high molecular weight kininogen (HK) to liberate the potent pro-inflammatory peptide bradykinin (BK). BK upon activation of its constitutive B2 receptors on endothelial cells leads to an increase in intracellular Ca2+ level and subsequent production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostacyclin (PGI2), ultimately leading to vasodilation, hypotension, increased vascular permeability and vascular leakage. Further, kallikrein activates the complement system and stimulates neutrophil chemotaxis, aggregation and elastase release. Furthermore, kallikrein mediates the conversion of factor XII (FXII) to activated factor XII (FXIIa) thereby potentiating the intrinsic …

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The Role Of Policy And The Built Environment On Children's In-School Physical Activity In The Mississippi Delta, Abigail Gamble Jan 2011

The Role Of Policy And The Built Environment On Children's In-School Physical Activity In The Mississippi Delta, Abigail Gamble

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School environments provide an ideal setting for children to develop and adopt active living behaviors as a way of life. The primary purpose of this investigation was to describe state, district and school level policy regarding in-school physical activity, the school built environment and in-school physical activity of children ages 6 through 11 years in the Mississippi delta. A mixed-methods approach was used to garner a rich understanding of how current policy and the built environment influence in-school physical activity and weight status. Eleven public schools in three districts representing two counties in the Mississippi delta participated in this investigation. …

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The Gay Of The Land: Queer Ecology And The Literature Of The 1960s, Jill Elizabeth Anderson Jan 2011

The Gay Of The Land: Queer Ecology And The Literature Of The 1960s, Jill Elizabeth Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I argue not only that queer ecology is a legitimate and important next step for ecocritics and queer theorists but also that its literary application does a great amount of good in exploring and dismantling the natural/unnatural binary and exposing the ecological impact of the choices humans make everyday. I take as my method a combination of queer and environmental theory and literary criticism, as well as the foundational queer ecocritical works and include important historical and political perspectives influencing the emergence of the environmental and gay and lesbian movements. Through this dissertation, I legitimize more recent …

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Games That Will Pay: College Football And The Emergence Of The Modern South, Matthew Bailey Jan 2011

Games That Will Pay: College Football And The Emergence Of The Modern South, Matthew Bailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is often said the college football in the South is a religion. While it may be hyperbole to equate college football with religion, a visit to a southern campus on game day affirms that football is an important aspect of southern society. How did this happen? In other words, how did college football in the South become big-time? This dissertation seeks to answer that question. Focusing on the advent of football on campuses in the early 1890s until the construction of large capacity campus stadiums in the 1930s and 1940s, I argue that although football initially burst onto campuses …

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Searching For Success: Predictors Of Academic Adjustment Of International Students, Gilberte Bastien Jan 2011

Searching For Success: Predictors Of Academic Adjustment Of International Students, Gilberte Bastien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over recent decades, the number of international students enrolled in American universities has continued to increase. International students face a number of challenges in adapting to a new cultural milieu. The process of transitioning from one cultural environment to another is known as acculturation. Previous studies of acculturation have identified acculturative stress, English proficiency, and social support as key factors associated with the overall adjustment of international students (Mori, 2000; Pedersen, 1991; Sandhu, 1995, Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1998). Of particular significance for international students are the challenges stemming from pedagogical differences between foreign and U.S. institutions of higher learning. Despite …

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Statedata: The National Report On Employment Services And Outcomes, John Butterworth, Allison Cohen Hall, Frank Smith, Alberto Migliore, Jean Winsor, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Daria Domin Jan 2011

Statedata: The National Report On Employment Services And Outcomes, John Butterworth, Allison Cohen Hall, Frank Smith, Alberto Migliore, Jean Winsor, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Daria Domin

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Policy shifts over the past 20 years have created an agenda for sustained commitment to integrated employment for individuals with disabilities. But despite these clear intentions, unemployment of individuals with disabilities continues to be a major public policy issue. Labor force statistics for December 2010 indicate that 28 percent of working-age adults with disabilities are employed, compared with 70 percent of people without disabilities. Labor force data also indicate that workers with disabilities have experienced significantly higher levels of job loss and hardship during the recession of the late 2000s. For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), the disparity …

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State Agency Promising Practice: New Hampshire - Translating Research Into A Position Statement About Integrated Employment, Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2011

State Agency Promising Practice: New Hampshire - Translating Research Into A Position Statement About Integrated Employment, Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

New Hampshire’s Bureau of Developmental Services, Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, other state and local service providers, advocates, and families are committed to increasing the employment rate and the quality of employment outcomes for people with developmental disabilities. These stakeholders met to craft an employment position statement. They framed their discussions according to factors that research has found to be common to “high-performing” states in providing integrated employment opportunities. Then they developed an employment position statement that satisfied all the groups involved, and communicated their shared belief in the importance of integrated employment as a means toward community inclusion.

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State Agency Promising Practice: Oregon’S Employment Support Website - Communicating The Employment First Policy, Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2011

State Agency Promising Practice: Oregon’S Employment Support Website - Communicating The Employment First Policy, Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In 2009, the state of Oregon adopted its Employment First policy. When Oregon’s Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS) decided to promote the implementation of this policy, it began by updating its existing employment website. The redesigned website (http:// www.dhs.state.or.us/dd/supp_emp/) emphasizes the value of integrated employment over other outcomes, and the importance of building community-wide conversations, with the goal of achieving integrated employment for people with developmental disabilities. The website shares the value of integrated employment with all targeted audiences by highlighting resources and illustrating employment successes. It was also designed to share information on the Oregon’s progress and concrete …

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State Agency Promising Practice: Iowa’S Governance Group: Facilitating Partnerships That Support Integrated Employment, Allison Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2011

State Agency Promising Practice: Iowa’S Governance Group: Facilitating Partnerships That Support Integrated Employment, Allison Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In 1998, five state agencies formed the Governance Group. Partner agencies included: Iowa Workforce Development, Department of Human Services, Department of Education, Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services and Department of Human Rights. The group was developed in response to a Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) request for proposals that included an advisory group for systems change efforts to expand employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities. By 2000, the five original partners had expanded their efforts by agreeing to provide oversight and consultation to a Department of Labor (DOL) Work Incentive Grant and brought on two additional partners, the Department for the Blind …

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State Agency Promising Practice: Nevada’S Regional Forums - Creating A Shared Responsibility For Improving Employment, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2011

State Agency Promising Practice: Nevada’S Regional Forums - Creating A Shared Responsibility For Improving Employment, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The Nevada Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities sought to engage community stakeholders and acquire knowledge to further the employment agenda by funding three regional summits. Using the State Employment Leadership Network’s (SELN)* selfassessment preliminary findings as a basis, the summit steering committee created a framework for summit participants. Through a rigorous planning process and comprehensive 2-day summits in three regions of the state, Nevada was able to create a shared, multistakeholder plan of action with the goal of improving the current employment support system for individuals with developmental disabilities.

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Large Margin Random Forests On Mixed Type Data, Sheng Liu Jan 2011

Large Margin Random Forests On Mixed Type Data, Sheng Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Incorporating various sources of biological information is important for biological discovery. For example, genes have a multi-view representation. They can be represented by features such as sequence length and physical-chemical properties. They can also be represented by pairwise similarities, gene expression levels, and phylogenetics position. Hence, the types vary from numerical features to categorical features. An efficient way of learning from observations with a multi-view representation of mixed type of data is thus important. We propose a large margin random forests classification approach based on random forests proximity. Random forests accommodate mixed data types naturally. Large margin classifiers are obtained …

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The Effectiveness Of The Response To Intervention Plan On Third Grade At-Risk Readers In A Rural School District Measured By The Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition (Mct2), Tamisha Estes Jan 2011

The Effectiveness Of The Response To Intervention Plan On Third Grade At-Risk Readers In A Rural School District Measured By The Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition (Mct2), Tamisha Estes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a response to intervention plan program on students' reading achievement scores on the Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition (MCT2). It explored gender differences in reading achievementto determine whether differences existed between males and females on the 2010–2011 MCT2 reading achievement tests.

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Midwives Of Mississippi, Lane Noel Jan 2011

Midwives Of Mississippi, Lane Noel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Across the United States as late as 1910, midwives delivered half of all babies. Their practice was primarily among women of white European descent and African American women of the South. The practice of midwifery was commonplace in Mississippi. Together, black midwives and white nurses would help to implement a new public healthcare structure in Mississippi during the 1920s. Records of the Mississippi State Board of Health together with letters from midwives and public health nurses' reports put midwives at the heart of the story of public health reform. Already held in high esteem by their own communities, midwives came …

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Improving Sample Collection Of Trace Particles Of Mock Explosive On Nano Coated Sensor, Daniel Woldemichael Yebo Jan 2011

Improving Sample Collection Of Trace Particles Of Mock Explosive On Nano Coated Sensor, Daniel Woldemichael Yebo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In protection against explosive-based terrorism, development and mass deployment of miniature sensors can play a tremendous role. In trace explosive detection, one of the challenges is bringing explosive vapor samples from the environment to the sensor element. Such collection of a selective and sufficient amount of air sample will enable the device detect the explosive at lower concentration. This can be done by adsorption of the explosive vapor on a substrate. This research implements the idea by developing a nano coated sensor on a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) substrate. The effects of varying the amount of polyethyleneimine in the nano …

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Differentiated Phonics Lessons Effect On Fluency And School Culture, Margaret Quinlan Boyd Jan 2011

Differentiated Phonics Lessons Effect On Fluency And School Culture, Margaret Quinlan Boyd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods study investigates the effect of differentiated phonics lessons on reading fluency and examines the effect of these lessons on student and teacher perceptions of school culture. The study examines quantitative data on the effectiveness of the skill lessons. The qualitative findings examine the impact of the lessons on the dynamics of school culture as perceived by students and teachers given the opportunity to interact with wider and varying school groups. The understandings gained from the combination of the quantitative and qualitative data interpret the effect of the structure of differentiated across grade-level lessons on school culture.

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Starved: Food Deserts In The Mississippi Delta, Novelette L. Brown Jan 2011

Starved: Food Deserts In The Mississippi Delta, Novelette L. Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the impact of food deserts on obesity, and builds a case for additional research on rural food deserts independent from urban ones. The Mississippi Delta consistently presents the highest obesity rates within the state, yet both the third unhealthiest county (Quitman) and the healthiest (DeSoto) are located in that region. One of the reasons there is such a large discrepancy between the health rankings of DeSoto and Quitman counties is that DeSoto is contained within the Greater Memphis Metropolitan Area, but Quitman is entirely rural. Previous research has focused on the prevalence of urban food deserts and …

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Fit Of The Tripartite Model With Residential Youth Referred For Externalizing Problems, Eu Gene Chin Jan 2011

Fit Of The Tripartite Model With Residential Youth Referred For Externalizing Problems, Eu Gene Chin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The tripartite model of anxiety and depression (Clark & Watson, 1991) has received strong support among adult, adolescent, and child populations. Clinical samples of children and adolescents in these studies, however, have usually been referred for treatment of anxiety and depression. This study investigated the fit of the tripartite model for children and adolescents in a large, inpatient facility who were referred primarily for externalizing problems. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the tripartite model relationship between negative affect, positive affect, and mood symptoms. Multiple fit indices were used to provide a reliable and conservative evaluation of the model. …

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The Influences Of Gender And Race On The Attachment Styles Within A Criminal Population, Morgan Litchfield Bryant Jan 2011

The Influences Of Gender And Race On The Attachment Styles Within A Criminal Population, Morgan Litchfield Bryant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study utilizes tenets of attachment theory to examine how patterns of relating to parental figures vary according to the race and gender of subjects residing in a correctional facility. The study can perhaps influence rehabilitation services within the prison system and modify anti-recidivism programs attended by individuals released from a correctional facility. Second year doctoral students originally collected the data. The participants in the study were given the Adult Scale of Parental Attachment (ASPA) and a general questionnaire in an effort to gather information regarding race, gender, and patterns of relating. The participants were above the age of 18, …

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Good Neighbors: Agents Of Change In The New Rural South, 1900 To 1940, Thomas Wayne Copeland Jan 2011

Good Neighbors: Agents Of Change In The New Rural South, 1900 To 1940, Thomas Wayne Copeland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work paints an intimate portrait of rural people who lived in the hill counties of northeast Mississippi and southwest Arkansas between 1900 and 1940. Howard County, Arkansas and Union County, Mississippi serve as the representative counties for each hill-country region. Howard County is located in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, and Union County is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. This study identifies who in the rural communities was most responsible for bringing positive changes to their communities, questions what motivated their efforts, and evaluates their successes and failures. To this end, the work first examines …

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Storm Spotting And Amateur Radio: A Field Guide For Volunteer Storm Spotters, Michael Patrick Corey Jan 2011

Storm Spotting And Amateur Radio: A Field Guide For Volunteer Storm Spotters, Michael Patrick Corey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Volunteers have played a critical part in relaying weather information since the middle 19th century. The effort of these volunteers has helped safeguard life and property when severe weather threatens. For almost 100 years Amateur Radio operators have played a critical part in severe weather preparedness and response. Amateur Radio operators not only bring a willingness to serve, but communications skills that provide an added benefit to any storm spotter program. The National Weather Service recognized this when developing the SKYWARN program during the 1960’s. Amateur Radio and the National Weather Service have developed over the last 40 years a …

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The French Chef And The Cold War: Julia Child And The Mask Of Contained Domesticity, Hillary Ann Hamblen Jan 2011

The French Chef And The Cold War: Julia Child And The Mask Of Contained Domesticity, Hillary Ann Hamblen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Most scholarly studies and even general personal reflections about Julia Child portray her as a figure that changed the face of cooking, cookbooks, and cooking television for audiences of the late twentieth and twenty first centuries. While this is true, many of these studies and reflections do not acknowledge Child's ability to change mainstream ideas by conforming to some of them. While Child radicalized perceptions toward food and those who cook, she also represented a domestic woman and a wife. While Child's politics were indeed liberal, for the most part, her lifestyle was actually quite moderate. This project is an …

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The Heavy Hand Of Government: An Economic Study Of Obesity, Kanybek Imanakovich Sagynbekov Jan 2011

The Heavy Hand Of Government: An Economic Study Of Obesity, Kanybek Imanakovich Sagynbekov

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although there is extensive theoretical and empirical coverage of the incentive effect of an income tax on labor supply in the economics literature, there is no study of the secondary behavioral effects of an income tax. In this thesis, I explore the relationship among income, marginal income tax, and body weight. Namely, I show that under general conditions the Engel curve for the optimal weight is an inverted U-shaped function and the effect of the marginal income tax upon weight is non-linear. The empirical investigation uses two datasets: a panel dataset with 459 state-level observations for US states from 1992 …

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Pharmacy-Level Quality Measures And The Consumer: Preferences And Attitudes, Zainab S. Shahpurwala Jan 2011

Pharmacy-Level Quality Measures And The Consumer: Preferences And Attitudes, Zainab S. Shahpurwala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objectives. To determine the perceptions of consumers toward community pharmacy quality measures and compare their perceptions regarding their pharmacy's overall quality before and after exposure to these measures. To explore the use of evaluative criteria applied by consumers to determine their preference for information related to these measures. Methods. Focus groups were used to refine attributes and levels used in the quantitative phase of the study. An Internet-based survey was administered to a national, online, consumer panel of community pharmacy patrons using maintenance medications. Descriptive statistics, MANOVA and t-tests were used to determine and compare perceptions related to the community …

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Best Practices For Disaster Coverage: An Analysis Of How The Herald Newspaper And Wlox-Tv Covered Hurricane Katrina, Nicole R. Sheriff Jan 2011

Best Practices For Disaster Coverage: An Analysis Of How The Herald Newspaper And Wlox-Tv Covered Hurricane Katrina, Nicole R. Sheriff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A substantial amount of research has been done on Hurricane Katrina and its effects on New Orleans, Louisiana. However, few studies have focused on how the Mississippi Gulf Coast was affected by the hurricane. The purpose of this study is to bring attention to the reporting efforts of WLOX-TV and The Herald newspaper to cover Hurricane Katrina. This case study analyzes the practices WLOX and The Herald used to cover the hurricane and to explore which practices could be implemented in other newsrooms in the future. A total of four interviews were conducted with members from the newsrooms who had …

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The Impact Of Pre-K Programs On Student Achievement And Instructional Leadership In Rural Mississippi School Districts, Jeremy Eugene Stinson Jan 2011

The Impact Of Pre-K Programs On Student Achievement And Instructional Leadership In Rural Mississippi School Districts, Jeremy Eugene Stinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2011, Mississippi continues to be the only state in the southern region without a single state-funded pre-k program (NIEER, 2007), and all preschool funds in the state are currently allotted to Head Start. Witte and Trowbridge (2004) warned that the combination of pre-k programs could be the reason for highly fragmented systems of state funding, policies, and regulations. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate whether differences exist between preschool groups in three North Mississippi school districts and to determine the degree to which stakeholders in the programs practice instructional leadership. From a quantitative perspective, the …

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Pharmacokinetic Evaluation Of A Novel Compound, Sn79, A Putative Sigma-2 Receptor Antagonist, By Intravenous And Oral Administration In Rats, Harsha Vinnakota Jan 2011

Pharmacokinetic Evaluation Of A Novel Compound, Sn79, A Putative Sigma-2 Receptor Antagonist, By Intravenous And Oral Administration In Rats, Harsha Vinnakota

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Considering the alarming rates at which substance drug abuse, especially cocaine, is increasing in today's society, there is a lot of impetus on the development of medications that can effectively help alleviate its toxicity and addiction. The affinity of cocaine to sigma receptors (sigma-1 and sigma-2) rendered the hypothesis that blocking sigma receptors could be a possible mechanism to attenuate cocaine-induced toxicity and addiction. In this view, SN79, a synthetic compound with selectivity to both sigma-1 and sigma-2 receptors garnered our attraction for its use as an antagonist. This dissertation encompasses detailed investigation of SN79 from drug discovery and development …

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