Digital Commons Network^™

Decision Rule Induction For Service Sector Using Data Mining- A Rough Set Theory Approach, Zhonghua Hu

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Nowadays, data mining is more widely used than ever before; not only by the academic area, but also in the industry and business area. Apart from execution of business processes, the creation of knowledge base and its utilization for the benefit of the organization is becoming a strategy tool to compete. Despite of having ever growing data bases, the problem is that the finance company fails to fully capitalize the true benefits which can be gained from this great wealth of information. The data mining technology instead of classic statistical analysis is developed to help the people to discover the …

The Private Business Of Porfirio Dí­Az And The Early Modernization Of Mexico, 1876-1911, Jorge H. Jimenez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Porfirio Dí­az came to power in 1876 and ruled Mexico for over three decades. This period has been known as the Porfiriato. Mexico's economy became part of the modern global market and the country experienced a process of industrialization, the rise of foreign trade, the expansion of communications, and the emergence of new social classes. These series of economic and social transformations have been linked with the country's early modernization.

My dissertation contributes new insights into Mexico's process of modernization and shows how this transformation brought the rise of an entrepreneurial class under Porfirio Dí­az guidance and leadership. My dissertation …

Grain Size Distribution With Geomorphology On Gypsum Dunes In The White Sands Erg, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, Slade Jones

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In order to examine grain size distribution over dunes at the White Sands dune field, 1214 geolocated surficial samples were collected and analyzed by laser diffraction. Local variations in dunes such as neighboring interdune types and the presence of vegetation, deflation features, and granule ripples on the dunes were noted. This study indicates that recrystallization of gypsum and the generation of fresh sediments is occurring in significant quantities within interdunes, providing both high and low anomalies in grain size distribution through much of the central portion of the dune field. Other local variations as previously mentioned such as scour surfaces …

The Effects Of Extended Access To Methamphetamine Self-Administration On Dopaminergic Markers In The Striatum, Joe Luevano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Methamphetamine (METH) abuse is a persistent problem in the U.S. and abroad. Escalation of METH use among independent users occurs for a variety of physiological and psychological reasons. Methamphetamine dependence may be attributed to the rewarding effect of this drug via the dopaminergic systems of the central nervous system (CNS). The presence of METH in the CNS increases synaptic release of dopamine. This increase in dopaminergic neurotransmission is thought to be directly attributed to the rewarding effects of METH. Following METH use, compensatory changes have been found to occur in the dopaminergic system during various periods of abstinence. It is …

Assessing Cortical Electrophysiologic And Behavioral Activity In Individuals With Aphasia And Participants With No Brain Damage Responding To Spoken Sentence Length Messages, Patricia Lara

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this study, six individuals with aphasia and twelve participants with no brain damage responded to spoken sentence length messages using a modified version of the Revised Token Test (McNeil & Prescott, 1978) while cortical activation was recorded using event related potentials (ERP). ERP is a non-invasive imaging procedure that measures cortical activation reflected in the electrical activity that is produced at the level of the cortex in response to internal or external stimulus.

Participants were presented with a visual display that provided eight different token arrangements per trial that were displayed on the computer screen. Spoken messages that increased …

Analysis Of Differential Item Functioning On Selected Items Assessing Conceptual Knowledge Of Descriptive Statistics For Spanish-Speaking Ell And Non-Ell College Students, Angelica Amy Monarrez Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recently, there has been growing interest in promoting conceptual understanding of statistical concepts in the classroom. The Assessment Resource Tools for Improving Statistical Thinking (ARTIST) project is a resource for maintaining and developing scales useful for measuring statistical conceptual knowledge. The focus of this study is to investigate whether items assessing conceptual knowledge of measures of center and variation from the (ARTIST) database show evidence of differential item functioning when administered to English Language Learners (ELLs). This is pertinent topic since the population of English Language Learners (ELL) in the United States has been growing rapidly in the past few …

A Comparison Of The Basics Harm Reduction Approach And Personalized Normative Feedback For Reducing Alcohol-Related Behaviors Among Municipal Firefighters, Stormy Miracle Monks

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Firefighting is a hazardous occupation due to the nature of firefighting duties including frequent exposure to traumatic events. Firefighters have been shown to cope with stress by drinking alcohol (Bacharach, Bamberger, & Doveh, 2008). Indeed, studies of firefighters have found that roughly 30% report being problem drinkers (Boxer & Wild, 1993) and 47% of firefighters have a diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence (North, Tivis, McMillen, Pfefferbaum, Spitznagel et al., 2002). Despite high rates of alcohol use, most firefighters receive inadequate training regarding alcohol and other risky behaviors. Furthermore, fire departments rarely act proactively regarding problems like alcohol consumption.

The …

The Impact Of National Culture On Cost Of Equity Capital In Cross-Listed Firms, Kathy F. Otero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the GLOBE cultural dimensions of institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance to evaluate the impact of national culture on cost of equity capital for firms cross-listing on two stock exchanges. In addition to evaluating the direct effect of culture on cost of equity capital, the study examines the moderating effect of national culture on impact of the political/regulatory environment and disclosure on cost of equity capital. Limited support was found for both the direct effect and the moderating effect of national culture on cost of equity capital.

Coping As A Mediator Between Proximity To Violence In Juarez, And Ptsd Symptoms Among College Students Attending A University On The Texas - Mexico Border, Francis Javier Reyes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The present study directly examined whether proximity to ongoing violence might lead to symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a sample of students attending a border university less than a mile from the US Mexico border. Exposure to violence is a common cause of PTSD symptomology. Prior research in the region suggests that ongoing traumatic stress due to the violence in Juarez is associated with increased PTSD symptomology. Because coping skills are thought to protect individuals from PTSD the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) guided the study. The purpose of this study was to …

Spatial Ecology Of The Trans-Pecos Rat Snake (Bogertophis Subocularis) In The Chihuahuan Desert Of Trans-Pecos Texas, Arturo Rocha

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Trans-Pecos Rat Snake (Bogertophis subocularis) is a medium to large rat snake that occurs from south-central New Mexico, south-central Texas, down into the north-central and northeastern states of Mexico. There is paucity in the ecology of B. subocularis to date. Some North American colubrid snakes, such as Thamnophis sirtalis, are the most represented species in thermal ecology and life history studies in all reptiles. There is nothing known on the winter ecological aspects of this species, and very little information regarding its overall ecology. The goal of this study is to determine home range, movement patterns, habitats and utilization …

Professional Learning Communities As A Critical Structure For Ell Schooling, Miguel A. Serrano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Nationally, English language learners (ELLs) have underperformed in making the grade on standards set by the U.S. Department of Education. National data indicate that ELLs are performing lower (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). ELLs are likely to perform less well on state assessments and drop-out rates are higher than their English speaking peers (Ballantyne, Sanderman & Levy, 2008). Current school practices lack a comprehensive knowledge base as to how to prepare ELLs to be academically successful. With the advent of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), educators have to demonstrate annual language and academic gains for English Language Learners (ELLs) …

Phonological Memory Associations Of Language Impairment In Bilingual Children, Marcela Susa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Knowledge-based assessments of language impairments have been found to contain bias for assessing performance in bilingual children from diverse cultural backgrounds. As an alternative, measures related to performance of phonological working memory are becoming more popular for bilingual children. The purpose of the current study was to investigate how bilingual children with language impairment (BILI) would perform on nonword repetition and sentence repetition when compared to typically developing peers (BITD). Also, the current study investigated the extent to which the nonword repetition task and sentence repetition task were associated with each other in bilingual (English-Spanish) children. Results demonstrated that typically …

Vamonos Al Baile! Corridos, Regionalism, & Cultural Symbolism: An Expressive Narrative Approach To Los Tigres Del Norte, Jorge Luis Aguilar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study seeks to understand how qualities and characteristics of the study's participants are influenced not only by their families and humble roots, but also for how they are influenced specifically by corridos of Los Tigres Del Norte in which the theme of the songs speak of immigrant life, values, and experiences as bicultural citizens and naturalized citizens. In this study, these ideas are explored and examined using various methodological approaches, including in-depth interviews, open-ended questions, and participant observations. This study also demonstrates how corridos communicate with their listeners, how they are influenced by the corridos, and more importantly, how …

Vulnerability Of Intermodal Logistic Networks To Sea Port Disruption, Jana Cervinska

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Maritime trade is the backbone of international trade, specifically seaports which provide the gateway for the shipping and receiving of all international goods. Any disruption in operation can trickle down the global supply chain increasing costs and delay delivery of supplies. Hence, the objective of this work is the formulation of optimization models to study the vulnerability of intercontinental ports. Experiments are applied to container transportation between U.S. and Europe. The work differentiates itself from previous studies in that we analyze the vulnerability of the sea ports and compare how the closing of some ports or liner shipping lanes influence/impact …

Methodologies For The Analysis Of Checked Baggage Inspection Systems, Nela Blejcharova

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

To enhance the security of the aviation system it is necessary to have a Checked Baggage Inspection System (CBIS) that is effective (that is, the highest possible detection probability or minimum false clear probability) yet efficient (that is, minimize the false alarm probability that causes inconvenience to passengers).

The first objective of this thesis is to review passenger, carry-on and checked baggage inspection procedures at airports

The second objective of this thesis is to develop a methodology using the optimization approach to set the optimal values of the sensitivity of the screening devices to minimize the total cost of inspecting …

The Big Green Mama-Mind-Fuck Machine, Byron W. Cross

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

PREFACE

"so much depends upon

a red wheel barrow

glazed with rain water

beside the white chickens."

-W. C. Williams

The Big Green Mama-mind-fuck Machine was born in a debris field of violence, of conflict. I write mostly from an autobiographical place and a debris field is the perfect way to describe the careful stitching together of my experiences, taking a memory and extracting the emotional boom it left behind. I take the piece and spin it in zero gravity, carefully examining it. For this reason, writing an Ars Poetica without "I" would be an impossibility for me. So, after …

El Movimiento: A Brief Analysis Of The Role Of Core Activists In The Development Of A Unified Social Movement In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Luis Diaz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis attempts to solve the question of why, despite the efforts of many social activists, there is not a unified social movement in Ciudad Juárez, México. My hypothesis is that social activists who are able to distinguish between a collective project and a personal project are more likely to create a successful social movement than those who tie their public identity with their personal identity. The reason seems to be that individuals who do not make this distinction are not able or willing to create networks beyond their ideologies, as well as beyond their personal direct influence and control, …

This Is The Art Form: Examining Concept Albums' Methods Of Constructing Meaning In The Digital Age, Mario Alonzo Dozal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examined how the communicative characteristics of concept albums (music albums that center on a specific theme) have been adapted from a traditional physical form to exist in the digital age. Using three rock concept albums, this study examined how three different formats (vinyl, audio compact disc, and digital download) of the same concept album communicated the overall theme of the album to listeners, and also examined the advantages and disadvantages of each format. Additionally, using discursive analysis, this study sought to expand the academic literature on concept albums by examining the role that supplementary material plays in helping …

The Effects Of Defendant And Juror Language Use On Sentencing Recommendations, Victoria Christine Estrada

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Spanish-language testimony is an extra-legal variable not widely studied in the legal psychology field. More emphasis has been placed on the translation of the testimony as well as accent attitudes. The current study extended research conducted by Stephan and Stephan (1986) to investigate the impact of Spanish-speaking defendants and mock-juror's language use and proficiency on sentencing recommendations. Two hundred and seventy-seven participants from the University of Texas at El Paso read a case vignette of a first-degree aggravated assault and asked were asked to provide sentence recommendations for the defendant. The defendant's testimony was presented in English or Spanish with …

Readiness For College: A Case Study Of Three Hispanic Immigrant Students Who Overcame The Odds, Holly Fields

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study is about Hispanic, immigrant, low-income students who have graduated from high school college ready and the contexts from which they achieved such success. Few studies exist relative to immigrant, Hispanic student college readiness. This research hopes to provide insight into how institutional, peer and family culture helped to produce the success of the three students in this study.

The purpose of the study is to provide a deeper understanding of the ways in which immigrant, low-income, Hispanic students and the modern contexts of schools interact to produce distinct life experiences for the participating graduates. This study aims to …

Deaf Culture: The Creation Of Self And Socialization Through The Use Of Sign Language, Marisela Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

There is a strong perception of the physicality of disabilities. The review of literature in this project shows that there is a large number of disability related studies in the field of communication that focus primarily on physical and/or visible disabilities. The purpose of this study is to incorporate research on hidden and/or invisible disabilities, specifically deafness. The literature in the field of communication relating to hidden disabilities is limited and much more limited in deaf related research. There are an estimated two thousand deaf individuals in El Paso. Their participation and integration in the community is hindered by societal …

Getting The Message Across: Message Dissemination Through The Social Media Platform As A Public Relation Tool As A Media Richness Perspective, Ana Isabel Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Prior studies that evaluated social media recommended the use of social media in PR efforts. But they lacked the theoretical framework to fully evaluate the richness of the communication medium. Through Media Richness Theory, the investigator assessed the perceptions of 162 PR professionals to shed light on the richness of social media as a communication tool and, most importantly, as an effective tool for the purposes of PR. While this study revealed that social media is not a fully "rich" communication outlet, there are components that provide value to PR professionals. This study suggests that social media not simply be …

The Orientation Curriculum In A Community College: An Interpretive Approach, Patricia Anne Gutierrez-Hartell

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study focused on curriculum used in a community college orientation program classroom where most of the students were Hispanic. Curriculum for the purpose of student orientation has become an essential tool for increasing student retention rates at institutions of higher education (Hendel, 2007; National Research Council Publications, 2009). While the objectives of orientation courses and their curricula have been documented, not much is known about how these objectives unfold in classrooms, particularly in classrooms serving Hispanic students.

Qualitative inquiry was the basis for my study. I relied on an ethnographic approach to conduct research that involved gathering data by …

Three-Dimensional Structural Electronic Integration For Small Satellite Fabrication, Cassie Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The ability to realize truly three-dimensional electronic circuits is complicated if not impossible using traditional fabrication techniques. Such techniques are limited to the use of two dimensional printed circuit boards (PCBs), and require various dissonant processes which exhaust time, volume and cost. Due to the nature of Additive Manufacturing (AM) such problems are diminished and in some ways completely overcome. Additive Manufacturing allows for a higher range of design freedom along conformal surfaces, as well as unit level customization; it is the threshold for embedded electronics, allowing for three-dimensional circuitry in ways traditional fabrication is unfeasible. In such ways, additive …

A Comparison Of The Incremental Rehearsal Method, The Pocket Word Method, And Repeated Reading Instructional-Level Text On The Word Retention, Words Read Per Minute, And Comprehension Of First-Grade Students, Lara Lynne Macquarrie

Dissertations

As partial fulfillment of a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, a retrospective, multi-element study was performed. The study compared the Incremental Rehearsal method (IR) and the Pocket Word method (PW) to each other and to Repeated Reading (within Instructional Level [RR-IL] by individually teaching words from the Dolch Word List to first-grade students. The effects of IR, PW, and RR-IL on the word retention, reading accuracy, words read per minute, passage retell, and aided comprehension of seven first-grade students were compared. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (4th edition) and the Dolch Word List were administered prior to intervention. The three …

Environmental Literacy Of Seventh-Day Adventist Teachers In The Parochial Schools Of The Florida Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Michael Murdoch

Dissertations

Problem. In the United States, there is an environmental literacy problem. Americans possess limited knowledge about the environment and environmental issues, and they display limited positive action regarding the environment in which they live. Moreover, there is a debate whether a Christian’s interpretation of Gen 1:28 leads either to a lower or to a higher environmental literacy. Does the Seventh-day Adventist teaching community reflect these problems? These are the problems which this dissertation seeks to help solve.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to attempt to assess the environmental literacy of a group of teachers in Seventh-day …

The Concept Of Divine Love In The Context Of The God-World Relationship, John C. Peckham

Dissertations

The love of God is central to God's relationship to the world. This dissertation addresses the conflict of interpretation between the transcendent-voluntarist and immanent-experientialist models regarding divine love in the context of the God-world relationship by applying a canonical methodology. Chapter 1 introduces the background, purpose, problem, scope, and plan of study as well as the final-form canonical theological method employed in the investigation. Chapter 2 briefly surveys the historical theology of love, tracing the central conceptions of divine love and the God-world relationship by selected, highly influential thinkers. Chapter 3 presents and analyzes the irreconcilable interpretations of divine love …

"Clothes Make The (One Like A Son Of) Man": Dress Imagery In Revelation 1 As An Indicator Of High Priestly Status, Ross E. Winkle

Dissertations

Problem . The Epistle to the Hebrews is the only document in the New Testament that explicitly describes Jesus as a high priest. The purpose of this dissertation is to ascertain whether or not the book of Revelation, in particular, in John's description of the "one like a son of man" in his inaugural vision (1:12-16), implicitly presents Jesus as having a high priestly status.

Method . This study focuses on Revelation since it is the work closest to Hebrews in terms of its rich cultic imagery, and it analyzes Revelation's first chapter since that is the part of Revelation …

Key Factors Of Faith Development : The Relationship Between Family And Church Factors And Faith Development Of Adolescents And Young Adults In German-Speaking Europe, Alexander C. Schulze

Dissertations

Problem. The church is losing its children. Research revealed that more than two thirds of the next generation leave their congregations during their teens and early 20s. Without these adolescents and young adults the church has no viable future. While the youth are able to make their way without church, the church will definitely not make its way without the youth. The problem addressed in this study is the continuing challenge for church leaders, educators, and administrators to provide the best possible conditions for spiritual and organizational growth in order to retain the next generation.

Method. Observation and anecdotal evidence …

Scaling The Patent System, Christina Mulligan, Timothy B. Lee

Scholarly Works

Why do firms in some industries ignore patents when developing new products? This paper posits a simple but novel answer to this long-puzzling question: firms ignore patents because they are unable to discover the patents their activities might infringe. The costs of finding relevant patents, which we call discovery costs, are prohibitively high.

Not all industries face high patent discovery costs. Chemical patents are "indexable," meaning that relevant patents can be efficiently retrieved by chemical formula. As a result, discovery costs in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are low, and inadvertent infringement by firms in these industries is rare. But …