Digital Commons Network^™

Agenda Building In Health Communication: How The Cdc Is Using Traditional And Social Media Tactics In Public Relations, Kristen Wishon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Emerging Internet technologies, such as social networking websites and blogs, are influencing how public relations practitioners choose to disseminate health content to their constituents. Using the agenda-building theory as a guide, this exploratory study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) social media and traditional media health messages, as well as to explore if these messages had any agenda-building effect on mainstream media placement (i.e., the Associated Press).;Personal interviews with CDC health communication specialists and three content analyses were conducted. Two significant correlations were found between the health topics in the …

Transportation Network Analysis For Bicycle Suitability In Lincoln Nebraska Using Geographic Information Systems (Gis), Andrew J. Pedley

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

With increasing fuel costs, concern over global climate change, and increasing obesity levels, cycling is being promoted as a healthy sustainable alternative to automobile transportation. In order to improve a city’s transportation network to accommodate cyclists, an assessment of the current system is needed. This project uses the Bicycle Compatibility Index (BCI) to rate the bikeability of streets in a subarea of Lincoln, Nebraska. In this study I assessed the feasibility of using the BCI rating method on a city-wide level and list suggestions to improve the method. The information created in this project can be used by planning officials …

The Role Of Human Awareness On The Spatial Patterns Of The Tick-Borne Disease Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis In Missouri., James Edward Nunn 1985-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), a tick-borne disease that has recently surfaced in the United States, exists in regions where the tick vector population is established. This study utilizes methods that look beyond identifying high-risk regions, and investigates disparate awareness, self-perceived threat, and seriousness of HME to further enhance existing spatial modeling. The Health Belief Model provides a theoretical framework that encompasses the disease ecology aspect of medical geography to understand the relationship between people and their environment by surveying participants in study regions of Missouri. Results are suggestive that awareness differs between high/low incidence regions. Furthermore, education and income were …

Vikings, Merchants, And Pirates At The Top Of The World : Y-Chromosomal Signatures Of Recent And Ancient Migrations In The Faroe Islands., Allison Mann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Faroe Islands are a small archipelago in the North Atlantic. With a current population of approximately 49,000 individuals and evidence of high levels of genetic drift, the Faroese are thought to have remained highly homogeneous since their settlement by Vikings around 825 CE. Despite their geographic isolation, however, there is historical evidence that the Faroese experienced sporadic contact with other populations since the time of founding. This study set out to distinguish the signal of the original founders from later migrants. Twelve Y-chromosomal STR markers were scored for 139 Faroese males. Median-joining networks were constructed to determine the phylogenetic …

Families Of Murder Victims' Perceptions Of Capital Punishment : A Content Analysis Of What Family Members Say Following Executions., Corey Daniel Burton 1984-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two common assumptions are that the family members of murder victims will achieve closure and perceive a sense of justice following the execution of their loved one's murderer. These assumptions, however, may be unfounded. Using family member statements from newspaper articles reporting on 138 executions in the United States from 2006-2011, the current study examines family member post-execution feelings and attitudes as reported in the media. Results indicate that family member closure and perceived justice following the execution, although the most preeminent themes that emerge, are still relatively uncommon. The results of the current study are discussed in the context …

Forest Fragmentation Mapping, Change Detection, And Gas Well Site Identification In Remotely Sensed Imagery: The Role Of Spatial Resolution, Benjamin A. Baker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research focuses on identifying optimal data and methods for detecting and quantifying land cover/land use change associated with natural gas drilling in Appalachia. Airborne and satellite remote sensing provides a tool for examining land cover changes. Although change detection has been used in many applications related to natural and anthropogenic land cover change, little research has investigated the spatial pattern of land cover change associated with the ongoing expansion of natural gas drilling, particularly within the Marcellus Shale formation found across much of the northern Appalachian Region. Mapping land cover/land use change facilitates research of other relevant topics that …

Eastern Promises: Poland's Role As A Regional Actor In The European Union's Eastern Policy-- The Example Of Belarus, Max David Reinke

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The present thesis will analyze Poland's current and potential role as an effective regional actor in mediating the European Union's (EU) relations with its easternmost neighbors. In order to most accurately assess this, this thesis will examine Poland's relationship with Belarus, specifically democratization efforts and forging a strong, resolute association with the European Union. Being a successful post-communist transition state and recent EU Member State, Poland has for some time seen itself to be the most-qualified country to bridge Eastern and Western Europe. Belarus in particular is a country of concern for the Polish government because it is a bordering …

Identifying Optimal Cellulosic Biomass Feedstock Supply Areas For Potential Biorefineries In Arkansas, Mark Cooper

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In February 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the revised Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2), mandating at least 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be produced annually in America, and blended into all on/off road, locomotive, and marine gasoline and diesel by the year 2022. America's existing biorefineries fall significantly short of being able to meet this mandate, resulting in the need for rapid expansion in the near future if this goal is to be met. The state of Arkansas has abundant resources to offer the renewable energy industry, if properly utilized. The goal of this thesis is to …

Assessment Of Land Use Suitability Based On Water Erosion Susceptibility In Medium-Sized Urban Areas Of The Metropolitan Region Of Santiago, Central Chile, Roberto Fernandez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urban areas constitute complex spatial entities where biophysical and socioeconomic environments interact through processes that determine the distribution of land use in the territory. Given Chile's variety of landscapes, water erosion, and mass movement, and rapid expansion of its medium-sized cities, straightforward techniques for assessment of land use suitability are essential. Through evaluation of water erosion susceptibility, it is possible to efficiently determine suitability of land use in medium-sized cities and their adjacent environments. The adaptation and application of the Erosion Response Units (ERU) concept (Märker et al., 2001) in the cities of Colina and Melipilla, Metropolitan Region of …

An Alternate Approach To Ecosystem Mapping: Fusing Orthophotography With Landsat Etm+ Data For A Object-Based Classification, South Eastern Arkansas., David Mcfee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Maintaining representative sampling of biologically rich and rare ecosystems has become an important means to preventing biodiversity loss. A limitation in indentifying and quantifying ecosystems is the cost of obtaining high resolution imagery necessary for a high resolution land cover assessment. This research shows how free, different resolution imagery (orthoimages and LANDSAT ETM+) could be combined to produce a hybrid dataset with enhanced spectral, spectral and temporal properties, and processed to obtain a object-based classification of land cover of bottomland and pine hardwood forest in south eastern Arkansas. Three classification techniques were evaluated: 1) a human derived, rule based method, …

Experimental Simulations Of Dark Slope Streaks On Mars, Kelly Howe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Martian slope streaks were first observed in Viking images but their formation still remains ambiguous. Martian slope streaks are currently occurring geological phenomenon on Mars, which requires any formation theory to be in agreement with Mar's current temperature and pressure conditions. Planar morphology of martian slope streaks suggest a potential fluvial formation, but current conditions on Mars are not conducive to water remaining liquid long enough to erode the surface. Debris flows, fluid stains and dry dust avalanches have all been previously cited as a potential formation mechanism for martian slope streaks. Recent experimental simulations indicate that a fluvial source …

Arkansas Teacher Licensure Cut Scores, Do They Indicate Highly Qualified Teachers?, Karen K. Morton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The highly qualified provision of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act promoted licensure exams on a national level. The present study is an effort to explore the most commonly used Praxis licensure exams and their passing scores. Hypothesized was that passing scores are set at such a minimal level that they are ineffectual in identifying highly qualified teachers. More specifically, Arkansas's low passing scores are examined by comparing the distribution of University of Arkansas Praxis scores to national trends. Based on low passing scores, the question was posed - At what point in teachers' careers are expectations lessened? Academic …

An American In Paris: Musical Exoticism In The Solo Piano Works Of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Jonathan Edward Verbeten

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Louis Moreau Gottschalk was a nineteenth-century American piano virtuoso and composer. In 1841, at the age of twelve, Gottschalk left his native New Orleans to pursue a formal musical education in Paris. During his sojourn, Gottschalk gained fame for his piano music, in which he claimed to portray creole culture, more specifically the songs, dances, and rituals of Louisiana slaves. Nineteenth-century music critics were all too eager to crown Gottschalk as the first great American composer. In the present era, his music is still a source of national pride. I propose that Gottschalk's music is not necessarily an accurate representation …

Application Of Social Networks To Fundraising In The Presidential Nomination Process Of 2008, Scott Limbocker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Campaign donations are something that scholars have examined for some time, generally treating these donations as an aggregated explanatory variable. Through technological advances in computing, size is no longer a limitation that inhibits scholars from using this information in a robust manner. First, data aggregated at the state level, shows that donations made to the presidential nomination process in 2008 distributes across the many states in a way that is highly correlated to the population of the United States. From there, additional sorting methods select the donors that appear on multiple candidates' records. A network is then created to show …

Role Of Vegetation And Environmental Characteristics On Slope Stability In Northwest Arkansas, Michael Maguigan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Slope failure continues to pose risks to society because knowledge of environmental factors and their interactions are unclear and possibly misunderstood. This misunderstanding leads to generalizations about slope failure susceptibility mapping, despite knowing that slope failures are likely the result of an extensively complex set of interactions among a number of environmental, edaphic, and geomorphic characteristics. Therefore a series of experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of slope, soil texture, vegetation cover, bedrock permeability, and compaction,. A wooden flume with a slope face 1 m wide by 1.5 m long with a 10 cm toe was constructed to contain …

Do The Social-Psychological Dimensions Of The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Over Nagorno-Karabakh Justify The Use Of Interactive Conflict Resolution?, Isabella A. Missakyan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Using Kelman’s framework of the nature of international intractable conflict, this thesis seeks to examine thoroughly the unrelenting hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The analysis will include the history of the primary parties in context, the root causes, the key issues, the needs, fears and other social-psychological factors driving and perpetuating the conflict. Special attention will be given to the secondary actors of the dispute since they play important roles in the conflict and have their own agendas. The secondary actors include Turkey, Russia, the Armenian Diaspora, the United States, the European Union, Iran, and …

The Role Of Self-Interest As A Determining Factor Of Environmental Concerns, Eleftherios Papaioannou

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

While it may be quite evident that people perform environmentally harmful acts, the psychological origin of environmentally destructive behaviors and attitudes has been largely avoided and set-aside. This research offers an insight claiming that environmental concerns only exist when there is no self-interest. Self-interest was narrowed down to the self and the focus placed on the T . The study conducted was aimed at bringing about a correlational relationship between selfism and environmental concerns, with the hypothesis stating that a negative correlation should exist.

Scientific research has devised environmental concern measurements according to various ideas of what it is that …

The Problem Of Moral Statements In Historical Writing, Alexandra Katherine Perry

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Bernard Williams (1985) begins his skeptical look at the history of ethical theory with a reminder of where it began, with Socrates’ question, "how should one live?" (pg. 1). This question is relevant to historians, who ask a similar question, “how did people live?” in their own work, To wonder “how one should live” or to make statements about the ways in which people have lived is to rely on the work of historians. The question of what historians can know about the past, however, is a very philosophical question, and it is dependent on our views about such things …

The Human Opportunity Index And Income Inequality In Brazil, Joseph Van Matre

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study calculates the Human Opportunity Index (HOI) proposed by de Barros et al. (2009) and a Gini Index of household income using nationally representative data from Brazil for the years 2001 to 2008. Macroregional HOIs and Gini Indexes were also calculated for the years 2001, 2005, and 2008. No statistically significant, linear trends were found over the eight year period for national HOIs. A statistically significant, linear, downward trend was found for the Gini Index of household incomes. Also, there was a statistically significant decrease in the macroregional variance of HOI scores, indicating a convergence of opportunity equity among …

Sports Economics - The Economic Impact Of The Nba's Thunder On Oklahoma City, David Noudaranouvong

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

What kind of significance do sports serve? This research project will investigate further into one of the many different answers to this broad question, specifically in the economic sense. Exactly what kind of impact can a single sports team have on a single city’s economy? I will investigate just what a sports team can mean for a city’s financial status as a result of its sports-stimulated economy. What is the best way to analyze this impact? For the purpose of this research project, I will take into account the economic state before and after the National Basketball Association’s incorporation into …

Variation And Organization In Social Behavior: Infectious Disease And Human Intergroup Conflict And Warfare; And The Organization Of Foraging Behavior In Harvester Ants, Kenneth Letendre

Biology ETDs

Social behavior is an important contributor to the success of widely distributed animal taxa, including such distantly related taxa as humans and ants. There is variation in the features and organization of social systems based on ecological constraints and goals, as these alter the costs and benefits of social behaviors, and select for different optimal behaviors for social groups in different environments. I present two bodies of research: an effort to explain geographic variation in the frequency and intensity of human civil conflict; and an effort to describe and model the foraging behavior of colonies of harvester ants of the …

Fort Drive: Reestablishing Its Significance Within Washington, D.C.'S Park System, Kathryn Kelly Finnigan

All Theses

This thesis is an in-depth examination of Fort Drive, a 20th century proposed parkway connecting the principal Union Army fortifications which encircled Washington, D.C. The goal of the work is to determine if the landscapes acquired for Fort Drive are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. This paper answers two questions: what role did Fort Drive play in establishing the Nation's Capital's park system; and are the remnants of the Fort Drive endeavor significant? These questions were answered through analysis of the National Capital Planning Commission's records, a comparison of the standards set by current National Register designations, …

Dendrochronology: A Status Report For The Eastern United States, Elyse Harvey

All Theses

Architectural historians and historic preservation practitioners have turned with increasing frequency to dendrochronology to determine dates of construction for houses and other timber structures for which the application of traditional dating techniques, chief among them historical documentation and stylistic analysis, failed. Since the advent of modern, statistically-driven tree-ring dating, analysis of the application of dendrochronology on the eastern region of the United States reveals that the use of this scientific technique has been unevenly applied and is most often used in New England and the Chesapeake. While the techniques used by American dendrochronologists are generally similar, practitioners have failed to …

Italy At Home And Abroad After 150 Years: The Legacy Of Emigration And The Future Of Italianità, Mark I. Choate

Faculty Publications

Shortly after unification in the Risorgimento, mass emigration stretched Italy in unforeseen ways, changing its culture, economics, and politics, and even its state, territory, language, and population. This enforced globalization polarized Italy and radically changed Italy as a nation-state and as a national culture. Controversies over emigration sharply divided Italian Liberals from the Nationalists and Fascists. The ideals of the nation-state, articulated by Mazzini, have been transformed by emigration in ways that have anticipated the twenty-first century global world. Today Italy faces similar challenges with rising immigration, together with the potential for constructive solutions.

Infilling The Aging: A Holistic Approach To Urban Care Environments, Peter Kuelbs

Architecture Theses

“Infilling the Aging: A Holistic Approach to Care Environments” adresses the need for an improved connection between family, community, and those in care-based living. It addresses this issue by questioning the difference between quality of life and quality of living condition. Furthermore, it calls into question the impact that family and community have in promoting an improved quality of life for those who need long-term care. Instead of creating a repository for the elderly, this project seeks to integrate the elderly back into society by defining a new typology that responds to the urban fabric of a community. This improved …

Filo's "Christian World Community And The Cold War: International Christian Conference In Bratislava On 5-8 September 2001" - Book Review, Paul Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Filo's "Christian World Community And The Cold War: International Christian Conference In Bratislava On 5-8 September 2001" - Book Review, Paul Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Mariguano, Juan Ochoa

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Mariguano is a fictional account of a young man growing up in a family in whose patriarch is a Mexican drug lord. The narrator, el Johnny, and his father, Don Julio, crisscross through Mexico with total disregard for distance or time bribing comandantes and stopping turf wars all in preparation for their next score. The novel culminates in Don Julio’s attempt to fix the 1988 Presidential election in Mexico. Don Julio’s son, El Johnny, lives to tell the tale of the rise and fall of his father’s drug smuggling empire and of the destruction of his family. The events in …

Fort Brown, Jeannie Marie Floyd

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This is a collection of four short stories and three essays with a critical introduction. The people in these stories, both fiction and non-fiction, are all on the fringes of society. They are experiencing financial ruin, emotional turmoil, sickness, mental instability and other struggles. This material is an examination of their lives and the alternately humorous and tragic attempts of coping with their circumstances. Some of the pieces are related to the shrimping industry in the Port of Brownsville, one is about prostitution in Mexico, still others are about social misfits in California and other parts of the country. But …

Se La Robaron (Elopement) In Central Mexico: An Ethnographic Case Study From Santiago Tlacotepec, Susana Pelaez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The social institution of marriage is found in almost all human societies. In the community of Santiago Tlacotepec, Toluca, Mexico, there are three types of marriages: elopement (el robo or se la robarron), which is the norm in the town; pedimento which is considered the ideal marriage; and rapto (bride theft), the least common. The focus of this thesis is elopement. This thesis investigates why elopement occurs in the community based on women’s narratives about life before, during and after eloping. There are three main reasons women elope: youth and inexperience, fear of parental rejection of the union, and a …