Digital Commons Network^™

The Locational Determinants Of Internet Usage In Asia And Nepal, Smriti Chand

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between internet development and various socio- economic factors that are assumed to affect internet infrastructure development decision. The data collected for 35 Asian countries is secondary data collected from various sources. This study tests six hypotheses about the impact of various socio-economic factors and economic freedom indicators on Internet Penetration Rate (IPR) and Internet Service Providers (ISP). The findings show that the IPR can be statistically explained by one independent variable: GDP (Gross Domestic Product). The study models also include Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), literacy rate, fertility rate, the percentage of urban population, the country's …

An Examination Of The Influence Of Religion On The Forgiveness Process, Gregory J. Johnson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to examine the religion-forgiveness hypothesis in the context of the forgiveness process in an attempt to better understand the basis of the relationship. Data was collected from 140 participants in an online survey that contained measures of religious behaviors, religious beliefs, religious fundamentalism, empathy, emotional intelligence, forgiveness, and social desirability. A hypothesized model specified that religious variables of religious belief, behavioral religiosity, religious fundamentalism would be predictive of forgiveness when mediated by emotional intelligence and fully mediated by empathy. Using structural equation modeling, it was found that religiosity was predictive of greater levels forgiveness when mediated by …

Effects Of Globalization On The Gas Engine Manufacturing And Parts Industry In Indiana As Experienced By Those Working In This Sector, Patricia Polastri

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Globalization has often been perceived as the culprit in the decline of employment in several manufacturing industries in the United States. The purpose of this research was to investigate how globalization affected the gas engine manufacturing and parts industry in Indiana during the period of 1998 – 2008, in order to assess the perception of industry professionals as to the characteristics that could, or have, led to globalization through offshoring and outsourcing. Additionally factors for the employment decline experienced in this industry were identified and assessed. For this study an anonymous online survey was conducted targeting individuals directly associated with …

Disclosure Involving A Third-Party: Reciprocity And Liking Outcomes, Keith Cotterell

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This investigation examines the function of third-party disclosures on reciprocal self-disclosures and liking. Sixty-eight college students engaged in a social interaction with one or two computers. In the experiment, one computer would disclose” information either about itself or about another computer (third-party). Each disclosure was followed by a question to the participant. Questions were asked either by the discloser or by third-party to assess reciprocation of disclosures. Afterwards, participants rated liking for the two computers-as-social-actors. Participants showed a tendency to disclose more (i.e., give longer responses) to an actor who disclosed to them, regardless of whether the disclosure was about …

Effects Of Monetary Incentives On Academic Performance Of Fourth-Grade Students From Low Socioeconomic Status, Sandra O. Dafiaghor

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Scientific investigations of monetary incentives on students' academic achievement have not explored effects on performance of students from low socioeconomic status (SES), nor has there been exploration of teachers' perceptions of how monetary incentives impact academic performance of students from low socioeconomic status. The present study explored how low SES students perceive their academic performances being impacted by extrinsic monetary incentives. The study also explored the fourth-grade teachers' beliefs about the impact of monetary incentive on students' academic performance. The study found that students believe monetary incentives will increase academic performance, depending on the size of the cash incentive. The …

Teacher Bullies: A Factorial Analysis Of Perceptions Of Teachers' Bullying Behaviors, Sally Walter Davies

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bullying in schools is a global phenomenon that can infringe upon the rights of students to learn and grow in a secure and fostering environment. Most of the past and current research on school bullying focuses on peer bullying, but there is a gap in the understanding of types and characteristics of bullying behaviors. This study centered on a type of abusive behavior that has received very limited attention: teachers bullying students. For the purpose of this study, the definition of teacher bullying behavior is a repeated pattern of conduct used to punish, manipulate, or disparage a student, rooted in …

The Relationship Between Caring School Community Program Implementation And Elementary School Attendance, Discipline, And Climate, Debra A. Kyle

Dissertations

This program evaluation of Caring School Community was conducted by two educators who studied the implementation of this character education program in an elementary school. In an effort to foster a culture of respect and kindness, where students, staff, and parents are treated as valued, contributing members of the school community, the school of study implemented a character education program called Caring School Community. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the success of the implementation of Caring School Community and its possible impact on student attendance, student discipline, and positive behavior referrals. The evaluation of this program involved …

Implementation Of Kosovo's Action Plan On Decentralization : [Presentation Given On September 6, 2011], Rozafa Ukimeraj

Theses

Kosovo is passing through a dramatic transitional phase of political, economic and social development. In these circumstances decentralization has taken primacy among political and institutional developments. This capstone project addressed the problem of the implementation of the Action Plan on Decentralization in Kosovo, used by the government as a “tool”, to implement the local reform in Kosovo. The capstone project examined the main issues through the process of decentralization, including the acceptance of the decentralization by the Albanians, being the ethnic majority in Kosovo, and the impact of implementation of decentralization on the integration of Serbs.

Manual Skills, Kevin Rowland

Theses

The process of manual material manipulation is disappearing from daily life. Why is it that we still have an educational and social environment that does not put the same priority on practical and theoretical knowledge as is does on virtual academics? This disconnect is particularly poignant in a field such as design that should demand the mastery of both. As a modern nation, we have repressed manual skill and incremental learning by fostering an educational climate geared solely towards the desire for white-collar status. We base the accreditation of our grade schools on the rate of their college placement and …

The Unresolved Legality Of Online Gambling In Singapore, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article addresses what appears to be a hitherto (legislatively and judicially) unresolved issue in a country where gambling is an established sub-culture – the legality of online gambling. The existing legislation does not provide direct answers, and as a result, the courts have not been given the opportunity to answer the question directly either. The police have previously made a few statements to the press and the media, but what should we make of them? While placing bets with unauthorised bookies (including those who operate their own website or use others’ websites) is clearly outlawed, leaving the offender with …

Missional Spirituality : Invitation To Listen, David Mullens

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Breaking The Culture Of Ethnic Hostility In Kenya, Geoffrey Kamau Njuguna

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

No Little Plans: Envisioning The Bay Area Rapid Transit System And The Renewal Of Rapid Transit In The United States, Jake Coolidge

Master's Theses

Cities across the United States and Canada in the years following the Second World War witnessed reinvigorated efforts to construct rapid transit systems despite a decades-long decline in transit patronage, and central to these efforts was the visionary plan for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District. The proponents of these new systems used their initial plans and feasibility studies to articulate a new vision for rapid transit, one that imagined rapid transit not merely as a practical transportation solution, but as a technologically advanced tool for reshaping urban regions. This evolving vision emerges in an examination of …

Protecting Information Privacy, Charles D. Raab, Benjamin J. Goold

All Faculty Publications

This report for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (the Commission) examines the threats to information privacy that have emerged in recent years, focusing on the activities of the state. It argues that current privacy laws and regulation do not adequately uphold human rights, and that fundamental reform is required. It identifies two principal areas of concern: the state’s handling of personal data, and the use of surveillance by public bodies. The central finding of this report is that the existing approach to the protection of information privacy in the UK is fundamentally flawed, and that there is a pressing …

Hadoopt - Breaking The Scalability Limits Of Hadoop, Anup Talwalkar

Theses

The increasing use of computing resources in our daily lives leads to data generation at an astonishing rate. The computing industry is being repeatedly questioned for its ability to accommodate the unpredictable growth rate of data. It has encouraged the development of cluster based storage systems. Hadoop is a popular open source framework known for its massive cluster based storage. Hadoop is widely used in the computer industry because of its scalability, reliability and low cost of implementation. The data storage of the Hadoop cluster is managed by a user level distributed file system. To provide a scalable storage on …

Hope-Fulfilling Or Effectively Chilling? Reconciling The Hate Crimes Prevention Act With The First Amendment, Carter T. Coker

Vanderbilt Law Review

Living on a meager disability pension and without means of transportation, forty-nine-year-old African American James Byrd, Jr. of Jasper, Texas thought he had caught a break when three white men offered him a ride home on June 6, 1998. The following morning, police found Byrd's torso in the middle of the road, his head and arm in a ditch a mile away, and a three-mile trail of blood staining the road. That racial animus was the motivation for Byrd's torture, dragging, and death was hardly in dispute. Two of the three perpetrators were members of white supremacist organizations and bore …

Engaging The Legal Academy In Disaster Response, Davida Finger, Laila Hlass, Anne Sikes Hornsby, Susan S. Kuo, Rachel A. Van Cleave

Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses three models of law school engagement that have been used to respond to natural disasters. The three models discussed are a disaster law clinic, a course on disaster law, and a student-led initiative featuring non-credit, pro bono placements. Each model offers a conceptual approach for integrating community-based, justice-oriented initiatives into academic and clinical teaching. Taken as templates for a more permanent model of engagement in the area of post-disaster law and social justice, these models demonstrate that the legal academy can meet its service obligation to the community while training lawyers to better appreciate the central tenets …

Corporate Governance Reform For The 21st Century: A Critical Reassessment Of The Shareholder Primacy Model, Carol Liao

All Faculty Publications

This article questions the efficiency of the shareholder primacy model of corporate governance in light of the financial calamities that have plagued the first decade of the 21st century. Reform efforts following the global financial crisis have focused on failures in securities regulation, but that is only part of the story. Effective reform measures must also address the legal and normative prescriptions found within existing governance structures, and the collateral effect those prescriptions have on political and regulatory inaction.

There was strong ideological support for the shareholder primacy model at the start of the century. Following the corporate and accounting …

Indonesia's Law On Public Services: Changing State-Society Relations Or Continuing Politics As Usual?, Michael Buehler

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Institutional reforms introduced after the collapse of the New Order regime have brought state–society relations in Indonesia under increased scrutiny. This paper uses an evaluation of Law 25/2009 on Public Services as a means to assess whether the new political setting has increased the leverage of the citizenry over the state. Adopted in July 2009, the law introduced a range of regulations for public service providers. It also expanded the responsibilities of the Ombudsman's office and called for the establishment of citizen committees to monitor public service delivery. However, the legal quality of the law is poor and the broader …

Promoting Tobacco Cessation Via The Workplace: Opportunities For Improvement, M. Courtney Hughes, Emily M. Yette, Peggy A. Hannon, Jeffrey R. Harris, Nguyet M. Tran, Terry R. Reid

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Introduction: Little research exists on the prevalence of evidence-based tobacco cessation practices in workplaces, employer promotion of state-sponsored quitlines and predictors of these practices.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of the 2008 Healthy Worksite Survey, a telephone survey administered to Washington employers with 50 or more employees (n¼693). The objectives were to describe workplaces’ implementation of evidence-based tobacco cessation practices and identify key predictors of implementation in order to highlight opportunities for interventions.

Results: Among these employers, 38.6% promoted quitting tobacco, and 33.8% offered insurance coverage for cessation medications and counselling, 27.5% referred no-smoking violators to cessation services, and 5.7% included the …

Do They Get The Picture?: Visual Literacy And Low-Literacy Adult Esl Learners, Daniel J Bruski

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Teachers of low-literate adult English language learners often use visual materials to teach content, but little research has been conducted on how these visuals are interpreted. This research explores the relationship between first language (L1) literacy and visual literacy, specifically the ability of adult ESL learners to identify the functions of graphic devices used in educational materials. The literature review examines how literacy and visual literacy are defined and discusses visual communication using the framework of semiotics. Through think-aloud interview sessions, Somali participants of varying L1 literacy levels interpreted illustrations from ESL materials. Results show lower than expected ability to …

A Computer-Based Instructional Program To Teach Braille Reading To Sighted Individuals, Mindy Scheithauer

LSU Master's Theses

There is a need for efficient braille training methods for instructors of the visually impaired. This study evaluated the use of a computer-based program intended to train the relation of braille characters to English letters using a matching-to-sample procedure with 4 sighted college students. Each participant mastered matching visual depictions of the braille alphabet to their text counterparts. Further, each participant demonstrated the ability to read a braille passage following this exposure. These gains maintained at variable levels at a follow-up probe 2 to 4 weeks following training.

A Qualitative Study Of 4-H State And Field Faculty Use Of Social Media To Communicate With Youth, Volunteers, And Stakeholders, Mary Christina Sorenson

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the type of social media technology utilized by 4-H field and state faculty to communicate with 4-H members, volunteers, and advisory board members. As youth increase their use of technology for communications it is critical for youth development agents to adapt to new communication methods Qualitative research methods were used to explore this topic. Guiding questions were developed from the empirical literature. Responsive interviewing technique was used to gather data. A purposeful sample was chosen for this study. The sample consisted of field and state 4-H Cooperative Extension Service faculty located in …

Why Judicial Disqualification Matters. Again., Charles G. Geyh

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Not-So-Sweet Side Of Sugars, Maximilian Klein

Quill & Scope

Refined sugar is becoming highly scrutinized as a possible explanation for the explosion of diabetes and obesity related health problems in our nation. We are often told by the media that added sugar, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in particular, is bad for our health and we should minimize our consumption of it, but scientists and health care providers rarely take the time to explain why the added sugar is detrimental to our health. The research behind sugar metabolism has been well elu-cidated, and I propose in this article that it is the high level of fructose in the average …

A Comparison Of Music As A Therapy Before And After The 20th Century In America, Chu-En Lin

Quill & Scope

This piece provides a historical overview of the use of music as a therapy in the Unites States, with an emphasis on the changes that have occurred over the past century.

Medical Science And The Serials Crisis: Is Open Access A Viable Solution?, Jim Shen

Quill & Scope

his work provides an overview on open access publishing.

Course Over Ground, Kyle James Bauer

LSU Master's Theses

This exhibition, Course Over Ground, cohesively combines a metaphorical reference to maritime navigation with sculptural forms that convey balance, tension, and control. My mixed media sculptures are conceived with an adherence to the formalist perspective of objects. Each sculpture exists as an honest form. The work, and my intention in making it, is evidence of the process of breaking down selective images or objects into what I understand to be their purest representational forms, such as a squares, cylinders, pyramids, and rectangles. I allude to themes and the metaphor of a journey, which coupled alongside my continual quest for self-discovery, …

Regulating Information Flows, Regulating Conflict: An Analysis Of United States Conflict Minerals Legislation, Christiana Ochoa, Patrick J. Keenan

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The connection between conflict and commercial activity is the focus of this paper. In particular, it focuses on the ongoing conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that is funded, in large part, by the sale of conflict commodities – minerals, metals and petroleum that fund violent groups at their source and then enters legitimate markets and products around the world. Recently, attention has turned to how to regulate conflict commerce as a tool for divesting from violent conflict. In the United States, for example, the recently-adopted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act include a provision …

Changes In Select Phenolic Compounds During Ethanol Fermentation And Acetification Of Raspberry, Blueberry And Persimmon, Yen-Ping Tan

LSU Master's Theses

Polyphenols are major dietary components in fruits and vegetables. Many research and epidemiological studies have reported that phenolic compounds, such as anthocyanins, may have a protective effect against various degenerative diseases. Phenolics in grape wine have been extensively studied but information on changes of phenolics in wine and vinegar made from other fruit crops is limited, however. This research started with the objective of determining the effect of proteases in preventing phenolic and, specifically, anthocyanin degradation in the ethanolic fermentation of black raspberries to reduce sugar content. The results of this study led to investigations of changes of other polyphenols …