Digital Commons Network^™

Reading The Word And The World Through Graphic Novels: A Graphic Portrayal Of Young Adult Literacy Development In A Ninth Grade English Literature Classroom, Sandra Jane Greene

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study presents a view of reading instruction based on investigating motivation and engagement related to adolescent literacy practices through graphic novels. A case study utilizing the graphic novels grounded in the theoretical approach of critical literacy demonstrated increases in motivation toward reading from a more critical social lens. Participants in this case study were chosen from a set of ninth grade literature classes in a rural high school. The students were placed as a result of the random selection of heterogeneously mixed student abilities providing a rich mix of perspectives and motivational levels among the students. Allowing students to …

Reaping What You Sow: Southern Cultures, Black Traditions, And Black Women, Cynthia Mikell

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is an inquiry into Southern cultures, Black traditions, and Black women with a focus on the life of one Black woman educator. Drawing upon the works of Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning African American woman, novelist, and master storyteller, Toni Morrison (1970, 1973, 1976, 1987, 1988, 1993, 2003, & 2008); activist and Black feminist protest thinker and writer, bell hooks (1981, 1984, 1995, & 2000); the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, activist, and womanist, Alice Walker (1983); the Black feminist thinker and writer, Patricia Hills Collins (1998, 2000), and the critical race theorist and the first tenured African-American professor of Law …

A Delayed Birth Of Freedom? Public School Graduates' Perceptions Of School Choice Viewed Through The Pragmatic Lenses Of The American Ideal, Donald B. Porter

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study was conducted to identify public school graduates perceptions regarding school choice options and their preparedness for success after high school. This is accomplished by presenting a historical and contextual overview of education as it specifically relates to low socioeconomic and minority populations. It analyzes governmental controls that may serve to restrict access to a quality education. This study seeks to promote equity through education as viewed through a social justice perspective. While governmental mandates, societal changes, and legal remedies have evolved and shaped America's education history, it has yet to fully empower parents and guardians to freely choose …

Their Story, My Story, Our Story: Oral Histories Of African American Women Educators Paradoxical Navigation Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Vanessa Sims Tossie

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the lives of three generations of African American women teachers in my family, my mother, Carolyn T. Sims, my aunt, Natalie T. Woods, and myself. Using Critical Race Theory (e.g., Delgado & Stefancic; 2001; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Parker, Deyhle, & Villenas, 1999) as the theoretical framework and oral history (e.g., Armitage & Mercier, 2009; He, 2003; Jefferson, 2008; Scott-Simmons, 2008; Vaz, 1997) as the methodology, I explore the educational experience of my mother and my aunt during segregation, desegregation, and post segregation. I weave my experience of teaching as an African American teacher into the stories …

Buried Treasure? Excavating Active, Meaningful, And Worthwhile Learning From An Elementary Time Capsule, Michelle Martin Gowan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study explores active, meaningful, and worthwhile learning that was discovered through a time capsule that was buried by six elementary gifted students at Springdale Elementary School in Macon, Georgia in 1980. Dan, Trevette, Bryan, Lee Ann, Stephen and Rhonda are six adults who, in seventh grade, filled a trash can with time treasured relics and promised to return and unearth their treasure in 2000, but when they grew up and moved away, they lost touch with one another and their buried treasure. In 2009, Springdale's elementary gifted students located their treasure, studied its contents, compared popular culture then and …

An Examination Of The Influence Of Socioeconomic Status And Race On End-Of-Life Treatment Level Following A Palliative Intervention, Kathleen Benton

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in treatment level at the end of life according to race and socioeconomic status and the extent a palliative intervention may change the course and cost of care. The study population included patients from the Medical Center of Central Georgia (N=2,920). The data were examined as a secondary analysis retrospectively. Data from the medical record and a unique clinical database were coded into descriptive, predictor, and outcome variables to define the population, and the patient's treatment status before and after the intervention. McNemar's test of symmetry, Chi Square, and Logistic Regression …

Credit Rating And Assignment Of Naics Codes Using Lsi Method, Jerome Ouedraogo

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The objective here is first, to improve automatic assignment of industry codes using LSI (lexical processing) by increasing the algorithm efficiency (both computationally and in term of input requirements), then quantify the lender's risk as "distance to default" (higher distance to default indicates default is less likely to occur), estimate the distance to default for each company and combine the results to obtain an estimate of the distance to default for each NAICS code.

Fluoride Varnish May Improve White Spot Lesions, Gary L. Stafford

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

Design

A randomised, parallel-group, controlled clinical trial.

Intervention

The test group had fluoride varnish applied onto the tooth surfaces with WSLs using a miniature cotton swab or brush and advised not to brush for four hours. The control group had saline solution applied.

Outcome measure

Status of the WSLs were assessed using a DIAGNOdent pen (KaVo, Biberach, Germany).

Results

Of the 110 participants recruited, 14 dropped out between the debonding and the six-month recall visit. There were statistically significant differences between the mean DIAGNOdent readings of the two groups at the three-month (P

Conclusions

A greater decrease in DIAGNOdent pen …

Digital Commons Statistics For December 2011, Liberty University

Digital Commons Statistics

No abstract provided.

Induction Of Cervical Relaxation For Artificial Insemination In Sheep, Sukanya Leethongdee

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

In general, artificial insemination (AI) in sheep using frozen-thawed (FT) semen in commercial scale islimited due to the fact that the FT semen of sheep needs to be deposited into the uterus to achieve an acceptablefertility rate. Laparoscopic insemination with FT semen gives commercially acceptable fertility rates, however it is noteconomical and animal friendly. An alternative method is trans-cervical AI (TCAI). However, the unusual anatomy ofthe sheep cervix is a major limitation to this technique. In ewe, the cervical lumen has a convoluted and tortuousstructure that looks like a corkscrew consisting of internal cervical rings. The internal folds of the …

Immune Response Of Lion’S Paw Scallop Nodipecten Subnodosus (Sowerby, 1835) Challenged With Vibrio Alginolyticus, Erick Ramses Ramírez–Castillo, Marcial Arellano-Martínez, Bertha Patricia Ceballos-Vázquez, Héctor Abelardo González-Ocampo, Gabriel Aguirre-Guzmán, Antonio Luna-González

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Immune response of Lion’s paw scallop Nodipecten subnodosus to the challenge of Vibrio alginolyticus strainAPSA2 was studied through the characterization of the activity of lysosomal enzymes and hemocyte size andnumber. Samples were obtained as hemocyte lysate supernatant (HLS) and plasma, after 6 and 24 hours, and 3, 6, and10 days after challenge. The enzymatic activity was tested by colorimetric and lysoplate assay techniques. Betweensampling times, significant differences in enzymatic activity determined by the colorimetric technique were found.The enzymatic activity was significantly higher in HLS than in plasma; in addition more enzymes were detected inHLS as compared with plasma. The enzymes …

A Study On The Association Between Number Of Impounded Days And Adoption Rate Of Stray Dogs At Public Animal Shelters In Changhua County, Taiwan, Meng-Chih Tung, Chang-Young Fei, Jeng-Tung Chiang, Kwong-Chung Tung

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

According to the adoption records of the animal shelter in Changhua county from 2004 to 2010, this studyinvestigated if there was a statistically advantageous length of shelter stay, from the time when dogs impounded untiltheir adoption. The adoption records during this period of time showed that a total of 1,533 dogs were adopted. Thenumber of days for dogs to be impounded was divided into different categories and the adoption rate (number ofdogs in each category divided by the total number of dogs being adopted) was calculated. Statistical analyses wereperformed to investigate the association between the number of days of impoundment …

The Use Of Commercial Soil Nucleic Acid Extraction Kit And Nested Pcr For Detection Of Leptospira In Farm Environment After Flooding In Taiwan, Ying-Bin Fuh, Wei-Yau Shia, Wei-Ming Lee, Ching-Lin Shyu, Chi-Young Wang, Chang-Young Fei

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Leptospirosis is a rapidly transmitted and flood-related disease. The number of cases usually increase in thecountries of Southeast Asia after flood damage during typhoon seasons. This disease also poses a potential threat toTaiwan due to its geographic characteristics. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a practical technique for anestimation of the distribution of Leptospira in natural environment, especially after flood damage. The aim of thisstudy was to demonstrate the use of commercial soil nucleic acid extraction kits with nested PCR in the detection ofLeptospira spp. in the farm environment. The detection limit for Leptospira DNA was 24.24 pg. A total …

Body Surface Potentials Generated By The Heart Of Normal Guinea Pigs, Anusak Kijtawornrat, Suwanakiet Sawangkoon, Orlando P. Simonetti, Robert L. Hamlin

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

The objectives of this study were to describe (1) the form of body surface potentials for P, QRS and ST-Tcomponents using semiorthogonal ECG leads and vectorcardiograms (VCGs), (2) the instability of the QT usingcoefficient of variation compared with 3 other published methods, and (3) the frequency-domain characteristics of theQRS complex. Electrocardiograms were recorded and VCGs of P, QRS and ST-T loops were generated in frontal (Xaxisversus Y-axis), sagittal (Y-axis versus Z-axis), and horizontal (X-axis versus Z-axis) planes. Frequency-domaincomponents of the QRS complex were calculated using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm. One of the 7 guineapigs was placed in sternal recumbency …

Toxicity Test Of Kameng (Eclipta Prostrate Linn.) And Kradhuawean (Spilanthes Acmella (Linn.) Murr.) To Early Life Stage Of Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Aranya, Aranya Ponpornpisit, Nopadon Pirarat, Wanwipa Suthikrai, Anong Binwihok

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

The toxicity of Kameng (Eclipta prostrate Linn.) and Kradhuawean (Spilanthes acmella (Linn.) Murr.) onzebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos was investigated. An aqueous crude extract of the leaves of each plant was tested withnewly spawned embryos in 96 well plates. The observed effect was based on the toxicity endpoint composed of lethal,sublethal and malformation effects appearing at 24, 48 and 144 hours post-fertilization (hpf). The results suggest thatthe lowest observed effect concentrations (LOEC) for a lethal and sublethal effect of Eclipta prostrate Linn. at 48 hpfwere 1% and 0.1% while the no observed effect concentrations (NOEC) for the lethal and sublethal effects …

Information Outlook, December 2011, Special Libraries Association

Information Outlook, 2011

Volume 15, Issue 8

Portraying The Role Of Ezra Chater In Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, Joshua David Kellman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In January of 2011 I began working on the role of Ezra Chater

in Tom Stoppard's 1993 masterpiece

Arcadia . The production was under the

direction of Mavourneen Dwyer. After a month and a half of

rehearsal we opened on February 25th, 2011, and began a run of

performances that lasted until March 6th. Ezra Chater appears twice

over the course of the play, first in Act 1 scene 1, then in Act 1 Scene

III, and his character is integral to the mystery that connects the past

and present scenes together. In this paper I will be detailing the …

Institutionalization, Investment Adviser Regulation, And The Hedge Fund Problem, Anita K. Krug

UC Law Journal

This Article contends that more effective regulation of investment advisers could be achieved by recognizing that the growth of hedge funds, private equity funds, and other private funds in recent decades is a manifestation of institutionalization in the investment advisory context. That is, investment advisers today commonly advise these “institutions,” which have supplanted other, smaller investors as advisory clients. However, the federal securities statute governing investment advisers, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, does not address the role of private funds as institutions that now intermediate those smaller investors’ relationships to investment advisers. Consistent with that failure, investment adviser regulation …

Crime Mapping And The Fourth Amendment: Redrawing “High-Crime Areas”, Andrew Guthrie Ferguson

UC Law Journal

Crime-mapping technology has the potential to reshape Fourth Amendment protections in designated “high-crime areas.” In Illinois v. Wardlow the Supreme Court held that presence in a high-crime area is one of only two factors necessary for creating reasonable suspicion to stop an individual. Since Wardlow, thousands of federal and state cases have used the term “high-crime area,” yet only a handful of courts have considered how to define it. New crime-mapping technologies can now address that definitional problem. Crime-mapping technologies can collect and analyze crime statistics so that police districts can produce almost perfect information about the level, rate, and …

The Psychology Of Procedural Justice In The Federal Courts, Rebecca Hollander-Blumoff

UC Law Journal

This interdisciplinary Article examines our federal court system from the perspective of the psychology of procedural justice—that is, subjective perceptions about the fairness of process. The Article considers some of the central features of civil litigation from the standpoint of the psychology of procedural justice, highlighting some of the aspects of the system that are likely to increase perceptions of fair process, and exploring, conversely, rules and practices that may decrease those perceptions. The Article focuses on procedural justice in two contexts: basic rules and practices of civil procedure and more complex federal court doctrines that involve the allocation of …

Is There A Constitutional Right To Select The Genes Of One’S Offspring?, Andrew B. Coan

UC Law Journal

The Supreme Court has long recognized a due process right to make deeply personal decisions such as whether to bear or beget a child. Might this right extend to selecting the genes of one’s offspring? Perhaps more important, should courts interpret it to do so? Thus far, discussion of these questions has focused almost exclusively on the normative goals that a constitutional commitment to procreative liberty should be taken to embrace. That is undoubtedly an important issue, but it cannot tell us whether courts are the institution best suited to carry any particular goal into effect. This is a basic …

Career Changers As First-Year Teachers In Rural Schools, Sara Winstead Fry, Holly Anderson

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The challenges novice teachers face as they adjust to inservice teaching are well documented. However, relatively little attention has been given to beginning teachers in rural schools who have had previous careers in other professions. We used qualitative methods to examine the professional experiences and perceptions of four career-changing first-year teachers in rural schools, seeking to identify significant issues in their professional developmental processes. Three primary themes emerged: evidence of effectiveness as teachers; mentoring career changers, and; adjustment to rural school and community. We conclude with implications and recommendations for educators working to support this unique population of educators in …

Comparing The Understandability Of Alternative Data Warehouse Schemas: An Empirical Study, David Schuff, Karen Corral, Ozgur Turetken

IT and Supply Chain Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

An easily understood data warehouse model enables users to better identify and retrieve its data. It also makes it easier for users to suggest changes to its structure and content. Through an exploratory, empirical study, we compared the understandability of the star and traditional relational schemas. The results of our experiment contradict previous findings and show schema type did not lead to significant performance differences for a content identification task. Further, the relational schema actually led to slightly better results for a schema augmentation task. We discuss the implications of these findings for data warehouse design and future research.

Scotts Bluff National Monument Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring, 2011 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Michael Prowatzke, Michael R. Bynum, Tim Shepherd, Stephen K. Wilson, Kara Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) was established to develop and provide scientifically credible information on the current status and long-term trends of the composition, structure, and function of ecosystems in thirteen parks located in five northern Great Plains states. NGPN identified upland plant communities, exotic plant early detection, and riparian lowland communities as vital signs that can be used to better understand the condition of terrestrial park ecosystems (Gitzen et al. 2010). Upland and riparian ecosystems are important targets for vegetation monitoring because the status and trends in plant communities provide critical insights into …

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring, 2011 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Michael Prowatzke, Michael R. Bynum, Tim Shepherd, Stephen K. Wilson, Kara Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) was established to develop and provide scientifically credible information on the current status and long-term trends of the composition, structure, and function of ecosystems in thirteen parks located in five northern Great Plains states. NGPN identified upland plant communities, exotic plant early detection, and riparian lowland communities as vital signs that can be used to better understand the condition of terrestrial park ecosystems (Gitzen et al. 2010). Upland and riparian ecosystems are important targets for vegetation monitoring because the status and trends in plant communities provide critical insights into …

Spring Migration Of Mallards From Arkansas As Determined By Satellite Telemetry, David George Krementz, Kwasi Asante, Luke W. Naylor

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We used satellite telemetry to document spring migration phenology, routes, stopover regions, and nesting sites of mallards Anas platyrhynchos marked in Arkansas during the winters of 2004–2007. Of the 143 marked mallards that migrated from Arkansas, they did so, on average, by mid-March. Mallards flew over the Missouri Ozarks and 42% made an initial stopover in Missouri, where they used areas that had larger rivers (Mississippi River, Missouri River) embedded in an agricultural landscape. From this stopover region they either migrated directly to the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) or they migrated north to Minnesota where they either moved next to …

Cellular Poly(C) Binding Proteins 1 And 2 Interact With Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Nonstructural Protein 1Β And Support Viral Replication, Lalit Beura, Phat X. Dinh, Fernando A. Osorio, Asit K. Pattnaik

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection of swine results in substantial economic losses to the swine industry worldwide. Identification of cellular factors involved in PRRSV life cycle not only will enable a better understanding of virus biology but also has the potential for the development of antiviral therapeutics. The PRRSV nonstructural protein 1 (nsp1) has been shown to be involved in at least two important functions in the infected hosts: (i) mediation of viral subgenomic (sg) mRNA transcription and (ii) suppression of the host’s innate immune response mechanisms. To further our understanding of the role of the viral …

Nanoparticle Necklace Network Arrays Exhibiting Room Temperature Single-Electron Switching, Jennifer L. Kane

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A single nanoparticle is one of the most sensitive electronic devices for sensing chemicals in a gas or liquid. The conductivity of a single Au nanoparticle is significantly modulated by the binding of a molecule that alters charge by just one electron. However, the single-electron sensitivity requires cryogenic temperatures and interconnection is not easy. A patterned two-dimensional network of one-dimensional nanoparticle necklaces made up of 10 nm Au particles are fabricated and shown to exhibit similar single-electron effect at room temperature. Furthermore, the long range conductivity of over 10’s of microns makes the structure easy to self-assemble onto conventional microelectronics …

Strength Of Polycrystalline Ceramics Under Shock Compression, Jianbin Zhu

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Determinations of Some polycrystalline ceramics’ strength properties and inelastic deformation mechanisms in the shocked state are critically important to the design and optimization of armor structures involving these materials. In this work, multiscale modeling and simulations have been carried out to study strength of the effects of polycrystalline microstructure, crystal anisotropy, porosity, and their interactions with microscopic deformation/damage mechanisms on the responses of several polycrystalline ceramics under shock compression and to extract their shock strengths from the wave profiles measured in the related plate impact shock wave experiments.

With a mesoscopic computational model, the roles of intragranular microplasticity and deformation …

Fungal Virulence And Development Is Regulated By Alternative Pre-Mrna 3′End Processing In Magnaporthe Oryzae, Marina Franceschetti, Emilio Bueno, Richard A. Wilson, Sara L. Tucker, Concepción Gómez-Mena, Grant Calder, Ane Sesma

Fungal Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

RNA-binding proteins play a central role in post-transcriptional mechanisms that control gene expression. Identification of novel RNA-binding proteins in fungi is essential to unravel post-transcriptional networks and cellular processes that confer identity to the fungal kingdom. Here, we carried out the functional characterisation of the filamentous fungus-specific RNAbinding protein RBP35 required for full virulence and development in the rice blast fungus. RBP35 contains an N-terminal RNA recognition motif (RRM) and six Arg-Gly-Gly tripeptide repeats. Immunoblots identified two RBP35 protein isoforms that show a steady-state nuclear localisation and bind RNA in vitro. RBP35 coimmunoprecipitates in vivo with Cleavage Factor I (CFI) …