Digital Commons Network^™

Can't You See The Sun's Settin' Down On Our Town?: Decline, Space, And Community In Frisco City, Alabama, Mary Amelia Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the physical and social decline of Frisco City, a small town in southwest Alabama, and its residents' associations with changing spaces and communities in the downtown area and the Frisco City school. It includes a rephotography project hosted on a website and a short documentary film that demonstrate the changes in the downtown physical environment and residents' ties to its spaces. The group of residents interviefor the study seemed to view the declining downtown area and school as signifiers of their declining community; the economic, social, and physical changes in the town's later history seemed to be …

Nose To Brain Delivery Of Therapeutic Agents, Siva Ram Kiran Vaka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The potential treatment approaches for various disorders associated with central nervous system are invasive and do not allow frequent administration. Brain targeting of drugs by intranasal route is a safe and noninvasive method of drug delivery which allows frequent administration and is certainly more patient compliant than the currently folloinvasive methods. In this study, the plausibility of delivering neurotrophins [nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)], neurotrophinogenic agents (ex: carnosic acid) and antibiotics (ex: cefotaxime) to brain via nose-brain pathway using chitosan as barrier modulating agent was investigated. In vitro permeation studies of fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FD40k) …

Corporal Punishment: Opinion Vs. Research, Margaret Williamson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Corporal punishment is a heated topic, especially in Mississippi. The use of corporal punishment is deeply rooted in culture and religion for many. Many people feel that it is an acceptable method of disciplining children at home and in school although research has disproved this idea. In many families in the south, corporal punishment has been a trusted type of discipline for children for generations. With such a volatile subject matter, where culture and religion clash with reliable scientific research, what are the opinions of the teachers entering the field regarding this topic? Current research provides little insight into the …

Professional Preparation Of Secondary Health Education Teachers In Mississippi, Ensley Howell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the professional preparation of secondary health education teachers in Mississippi. All four-year institutions of higher learning were contacted to determine the requirements for an approved program in order to obtain a supplemental endorsement in health, to compare the similarities and differences, and to determine the extent to which the approved programs reflect the ten content areas of the Mississippi Comprehensive Health Framework. This study also examined the status of secondary school health education programs in Mississippi by utilizing selected data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease …

Extending The Human Capital Theory Of Career Success: An Empirical Test In The Ecuadorian Context, Mario Joseph Hayek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human capital theory has traditionally been used as the primary explanation for objective career success. However, inconsistent results of the human capital-performance evaluation-objective career success relationships, as proposed in human capital theory, motivated this dissertation to further develop the theory by including economic, managerial, and institutional facets. These facets include not only an economic rational perspective, but also a managerial component that considers organizational policies and practices, as well as an institutional component that considers how environmental pressures influence objective career success. Also, boundary conditions for the proposed model are hypothesized explaining how the relationships between the constructs differ for …

Psychological Factors In Hiv-Related Headaches, Kale Edney Kirkland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Headache is one of the most commedical complaints reported by individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS, but conflicting data exist regarding their prevalence, prototypical characteristics, and relationship to HIV severity. A well-established field of research indicates a strong association between psychiatric comorbidities/psychological factors and headache disorders, but this association has not been explored frequently among HIV patients with headaches. Data on headache symptoms and psychological factors were collected on 200 HIV/AIDS patients from two outpatient clinics using structured interviews and self-report measures. Of these, 107 patients (53.5%) endorsed problematic headaches, most of which (n = 103; 51.5%) were consistent with characteristics of …

A Strange Union: Science And Politics In The Loyalty Of Cadwallader Colden, Katherine Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract: Cadwallader Colden remains one of the least-studied Crown officials. His reasons for remaining loyal to the Crown have not been investigated, nor has the interaction between his scientific interests and his politics. This thesis explores the relationship between Colden's loyalty and his science, primarily through study of Colden's published papers and letters, as well as the letters and papers of various other colonial officials and amateur scientists. Ultimately this thesis concludes that Colden formed his closest friendships with other amateur scientists, and that these relationships significantly affected his politics.

The Role Of Starlings In The Spread Of Salmonella Within Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, James C. Carlson, Alan B. Franklin, Doreene R. Hyatt, Susan E. Pettit, George M. Linz

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. Characterizing and mitigating the disease risks associated with wildlife use of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) can reduce the spread of micro-organisms throughout the environment while increasing agricultural productivity. To better understand the disease risks associated with bird use of CAFOs, we assessed the capacity of European starlings Sturnus vulgaris to spread Salmonella enterica to cattle, their feed and water.

2. We sampled starlings, cattle feed, cattle water and cattle faeces from 10 CAFOs in Texas, USA. Samples were screened for Salmonella enterica to investigate: (i) the prevalence of S. enterica in starlings using CAFOs, (ii) whether there was …

Rodents And Other Vertebrate Invaders In The United States, Michael W. Fall, Michael L. Avery, Tyler A. Campbell, Peter J. Egan, Richard M. Engeman, David Pimentel, William C. Pitt, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Gary W. Witmer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contents

Introduction

Assessing impacts of rodents and other vertebrate invaders

Accounts of some important vertebrate invaders
Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Roof rat (Rattus rattus)
Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans)
House mouse (Mus Musculus)
Nutria (Myocastor coypus)
Gambian giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus)
Feral swine (Sus scofa)
Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus)
Rock pigeon (Columba livia)
House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
European starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
Brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis)
Burmese python (Python …

Effects Of Management On Double-Crested Cormorant Nesting Colony Fidelity, Bronson K. Strickland, Brian S. Dorr, Fred E. Pogmore, Gary Nohrenberg, Scott C. Barras, John E. Mcconnell, John Gobeille

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The increase of double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus; hereafter, cormorant) populations during the last 2 decades has impacted many stakeholder groups. The negative effects of nesting cormorants on trees and other vegetation have motivated private organizations and government agencies to manage nesting colonies and reduce their impacts to private property and public resources. Management induced reproductive failure has been shown to influence cormorant inter-annual nesting colony fidelity, but not complete abandonment from a nesting colony site. We attached very high frequency (VHF) transmitters and Global Positioning System (GPS) transmitters to nesting cormorants to monitor their movement response on a …

Using Fences To Exclude Feral Hogs From Wildlife Feeding Stations, Jared Timmons, Justin Rattan, Tyler A. Campbell, David Long, Billy Higginbotham, Duane Campion, Mark L. Mcfarland, Nikki Dictson, James C. Cathey

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Research conducted in the South Texas Brush country has found that exclosure fences are an effective way to keep feral hogs from eating corn and supplemental feeds that are intended for other animals. These fences protect corn and protein pellets from feral hogs and though labor intensive, they will pay for themselves in feed savings. (Fig. 1A).

Wildlife managers and hunters manage many properties for whitetailed deer. They use corn as feed and as bait to attract them into hunting areas. They also provide supplemental feed such as protein pellets in order to increase antler scores, body weights, survival and …

Use Of Glyphosate For Managing Invasive Cattail (Typha Spp.) To Disperse Blackbird (Icteridae) Roosts, George M. Linz, H. Jeffrey Homan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Hybrid cattail (Typha × glauca Godr.) has become the dominant emergent vegetation in many wetlands of central North America’s Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). Hybrid cattail, an invasive species, can out-compete native emergents and form a dense canopy that alters the original physiognomy and ecological processes of the wetland. Blackbirds (Icteridae), which number in the millions in late summer in the PPR, use cattails for reproduction, loafing and roosting. Ripening crops, especially sunflower, planted near wetland roost sites can sustain considerable economic damage from blackbirds. Producers of sunflower in North Dakota and South Dakota can obtain assistance from the U.S. …

The Relative Abundance Of Deer Mice With Antibody To Sin Nombre Virus Corresponds To The Occurrence Of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome In Nearby Humans, Charles H. Calisher, James N. Mills, J. Jeffrey Root, Jeffrey B. Doty, Barry J. Beaty

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Sin Nombre virus (SNV) is the principal cause of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in the United States and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) are its principal rodent host, and thus the natural cycle of the virus is related to the occurrence of HPS. Prevalence of rodent infection appears to be associated with fluctuations in deer mouse populations and, indirectly, with timing and amount of precipitation, a complex of biologic events. Given that rodent population abundances fluctuate, often acutely, it is not unreasonable to assume a direct correlation between the numbers of infected rodents and the number of human infections, …

Movements Of White-Tailed Deer In Riparian Habitat: Implications For Infectious Diseases, Gregory M. Clements, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Jason M. Gilsdorf, David M. Baasch, Myndi J. Clements, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Movements of male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are of great concern with respect to spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) across landscapes because most yearlings males disperse and adult males have higher prevalence of CWD than do females and younger deer. We radio-collared and monitored 85 male white-tailed deer in the middle Missouri River Valley of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, USA from 2004 to 2008. Average size (±SE) of fixed-kernel annual home ranges (95%) and core areas (50%) for resident deer were 449 (±32) ha and 99 (±7) ha, respectively. Resident deer exhibited a high degree of …

Fifteen Years Of Urban Deer Management: The Fontenelle Forest Experience, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Gary W. Garabrandt, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Fontenelle Forest (FF) is a 16.5-km² serene natural area surrounded by a developed landscape, including Omaha and Bellevue, Nebraska, USA. An overabundant population of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) degraded the local forest. In January 1995, we estimated the density of deer at 27 deer/km² in FF and the adjacent Gifford Point Wildlife Management Area (GP) and Bellevue residential (BR) area. We engaged in a public process to establish a deer management program in this developed landscape and learned from 15 years of experience. Formation of the Bellevue Deer Task Force led to implementation of controlled deer-hunting …

Characterizing The Impacts Of Phasing, Environment, And Temporal Factors On Pedestrian Demand At Traffic Signals, Christopher M. Day, Hiromal Premachandra, Darcy M. Bullock

JTRP Affiliated Reports

There is a need for more and higher quality data on pedestrian demand patterns for a number of applications in planning, transportation engineering, public health, and other areas. It is particularly desirable to better characterize the influence of daily, weekly, and annual variations; the impact of weather and special events; and the effects of changes in pedestrian phasing. This paper proposes and demonstrates a methodology for quantifying the relative demand for pedestrian service at a signalized intersection by using the percent of signal cycles per hour in which the pedestrian phase was actuated. Although this performance measure does not by …

A Preliminary Study Of Negative Social Triggers Of Anger: Gender Differences Among Adolescents, Carrie Hastings

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to raise awareness regarding negative social triggers of anger among adolescents and examine how they compare between gender. A comprehensive literature review revealed 6 variables commonly known to stimulate anger among adolescents. These include the following: (a) racial differences and environmental influences, (b) stage of pubertal development, (c) social status, (d) gay harassment, (e) social rejection, and (f) school adjustment / academic structure. The researcher then created an Anger Assessment Questionnaire (AAQ), a survey which presented scenarios representing the aforementioned categories, excluding stage of pubertal development. Because literature emphasizes the school environment as a …

Listening To The Voices Of Preschool Aged Children Experiencing Homelessness: A Qualitative Approach, Maureen Turner

Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory, three phase qualitative research project gives a voice to preschool aged children experiencing homelessness to identify the significant relationships in their lives. Goals of this research included the exploration of: the central relationships of children experiencing homelessness, who children identify as important people in those relationships, how they describe those relationships, and how those relationships were formed. This research approach utilized a community participatory model in which the children's mothers contributed to the direction of the research project through group interviews. Children were observed for four months and then interviewed while completing three activities. The results suggested three …

Factors Related To Special Education Teacher Job Commitment: A Study Of One Large Metropolitan School District In Southern California, Joseph David Green

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have focused their attention on the subject of special education teacher attrition for many years. While these researchers have made valuable findings, the need to abate the staggering numbers of special education teachers who leave the field still exists. Districts desiring to retain their teachers must place greater emphasis on the development of evidence-based strategies to reduce teacher attrition (Billingsley, 2004). The purposes of this study were to: (a) provide an overview of the extent to which, if at all, perceptions of job commitment among current special education teachers in a large metropolitan school district in Southern California differ …

Citizen Journalism And Digital Voices: Instituting A Collaborative Process Between Global Youth, Technology And Media For Positive Social Change, Robin Worley

Theses and Dissertations

Millions of youths in developing countries are described by UNICEF as "invisible and excluded." They live at the margins of society, facing challenges to their daily existence, powerless to make positive changes. But the emergence of citizen journalism and digital storytelling may offer these youths a chance to share their voices and positively impact their lives. The Internet and mobile devices have allowed ordinary citizens to become citizen journalists by sharing news when and where it happens with a global audience. Digital storytelling is also growing as a means of sharing one's personal story with a larger audience than ever …

From Isolation To Collaboration: A New Perspective On School Leadership, Bois Paula Du

Theses and Dissertations

Challenging times demand a greater urgency than usual. Quite unexpectedly, No Child Left Behind has unleashed a powerful catalyst for change in the 21st century. It is within this era of increasing accountability and disparity that greater demands are being placed on school leaders to produce significant and positive student outcomes. The constantly changing educational landscape of today's schools along with the local, state and national legislation that mandates guidelines from which schools must conform necessitates a change in how school leaders are prepared. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to focus on a new perspective of school leadership …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Learning Communities In Public Schools On Saipan, Jessica Yumiko Sakairi Barcinas Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

School improvement in varying degrees and stages requires change. In order for schools to become successful, they must work toward building communities of learning and empowering teachers to lead this change. One way schools can build communities of learning is through the model of the professional learning community (PLC). The only way schools will improve is through the collaboration that takes place in learning communities. One of the purposes of this study was to explore the connections between schools functioning as PLCs and increases in student achievement, as recommended in Grider's (2008) work. The participating schools worked together as PLCs …

The Implementation Of Corporate Downsizing By Human Resource Managers, A Phenomenological Study, Denise Fazio

Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive study explored the phenomenon of corporate downsizing as experienced by Human Resource (HR) managers who were directly involved in its implementation. It was concerned with two primary questions: First, what is the essential structure of the phenomenon of downsizing as experienced by the Human Resource (HR) managers who have been directly involved in its implementation? Second, how does this phenomenon or experience take place? Through the detailed descriptions of four corporate Human Resource managers' downsizing experiences--gathered through in-depth, face-to-face interviews--and my analysis of that data, I explicated the structure (the relationship among the most invariant constituents of the …

Dying And Cultural Meaning: Recommendations For Psychological Support Of Korean Americans, Jung Yi

Theses and Dissertations

Death is a natural part of the life cycle that all humankind faces at some point. The American Psychological Association (2001) states that psychologists can make an important clinical contribution to patients who are dying and offer support to their families as they navigate this life event. What is absent from the current discussion is the relevance of culture to issues related to death, dying, and grief, which from the perspective of the researcher is a critical oversight, given the diverse cultures represented in the U.S. and the uniqueness of how many of these cultures conceptualize and memorialize death. This …

A Phenomenological Study On The Perceptions Of University Professors Regarding The Philosophical Orientations Underlying The Assessment-Driven Model Of Education, Stephen Pietrolungo

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study of the current education reform model concerns this central research question: What are the perceptions of five California university professors working within a school of education in terms of learning theory, curriculum perspectives, and philosophical orientations? Throughout the history and development of American education, concurrent political ideologies influenced reform. Interviewees were university professors preparing students to serve as teachers and administrators within the public school system. Findings revealed that the current reforms are at odds with the development skills like problem solving, global awareness, critical and creative thinking, independent learning, collaborative learning, communication, and reflection. Schools need …

Exploring The Timing And Depth Of Discussions Of Traumatic Material And The Stages Of Change In Psychotherapy: A Case Study, Lauren A. Desjardins

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, there is a lack of understanding of how the stages of change (SOC) relate to discussion of interpersonal trauma in therapy. This study aimed to explore the timing and depth of trauma discussion (TD) across the course of therapy in relation to SOC. The client in this single-case study was a 28-year-old African American female who recently moved to California and reported difficulties in relationships and work problems. The course of therapy lasted 21 sessions; of the 15 videotaped sessions, 6 contained discussions of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and workplace psychological harassment (WPH). Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC; …

Female Fortune 1000 Board Members: A Phenomenological Study, Margaret Moodian

Theses and Dissertations

The latest studies show that 51% of all managerial positions are held by women, but less than 20% of women hold Fortune 1000 board positions nationwide in the United States. Only 2% of women hold CEO positions in Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies. The purpose of this study was to understand what it is like to be a female Fortune 1000 board member in such a male-dominated arena. A 10-item questionnaire designed for this study was used to conduct the interviews. Common themes and key attributes were examined and described in detail. All 6 board members stated that their …

Intimate Partner Violence And Group Therapy: The Voices Of Latino Men, Rogelio Serrano

Theses and Dissertations

Efficacy of group treatment for intimate partner violence (IPV) has been the subject of ongoing debate and has limited research depth with respect to specific populations of Latino men. The increasing Latino population of the United States provides a challenge for mental health practitioners who wish to deliver culturally informed clinical interventions. This study attempts to understand the experiences of Spanish speaking Latino men of Mexican origin, who are participating in mandated group treatment for IPV to provide insight for clinicians working with this population. A qualitative phenomenological approach was utilized to gather data from 10 men who identified as …

Parental Substance Abuse And Adulthood Mortality In Treatment-Seeking Male Veterans With Combat-Related Ptsd, Kerri E. Schutz

Theses and Dissertations

Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at risk for negative health outcomes, including mortality and death. Recently, research has found that there are seven adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that are also associated with mortality. Further, these ACEs have been found to put Vietnam veterans with PTSD at increased risk of mortality. Although there is research to suggest a significant relationship between the ACEs as a group and health-related outcomes, there is limited research studying the relationship between health outcomes and individual ACEs. Specifically, there is no known research examining the relationship between Parental Substance Abuse (PSA) and these …

Baldrige System Reform In New Mexico: A Grounded Theory Study Of Elementary School Principals' Implementation Of The Strengthening Quality In Schools (Sqs) Initiative, George Schumpelt

Theses and Dissertations

In 1992, the New Mexico Governor's Business Executives for Education (GBEE) launched the Strengthening Quality in Schools (SQS) initiative and Baldrige Reform. In 2006, Dr. Peter Winograd, Director of Educational Accountability for the New Mexico Public Education Department, studied 48 Baldrige schools and discovered increased student achievement in only 63% of the schools. The purpose of this research was to gather state-wide data about the Baldrige Reform implementation process and develop a grounded hypotheses aimed at increasing the reliability of the implementation. The following questions served as a guide for the study: What barriers do New Mexico elementary principals at …