Digital Commons Network^™

Watering The Seed: A Model For Change In Jinotepe, Nicaragua And Beyond, Andy Douglas

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Family Strengths: A Long Tradition, Alvin Sallee, Angelo P. Giardino, Robert D. Sanborn

Journal of Family Strengths

Alvin Sallee, Angelo Giardino, and Robert Sanborn discuss the latest issue of Journal of Family Strengths, celebrating the centennial of the Children's Bureau.

Guardians Of Generations: African American Grandparent Caregivers For Children Of Hiv/Aids Infected Parents, Sandra Edmonds Crewe

Journal of Family Strengths

Grandparents, particularly, grandmothers in the African American community have historically provided needed care for their grandchildren (Crewe, 2003). Before there was a child welfare system that addressed the needs of African American children, there were grandmothers who served as the safety net for their biological, informally adopted grandchildren, and other minor relatives. They cared for grandchildren and others whose birth parents were unable or unwilling to care for them. For families of color, HIV/AIDS is an emerging issue that is contributing to the growing numbers of grandparent-headed households. And once again, many African American grandmothers have accepted the challenge of …

Dreams Deferred: Deferred Action, Prosecutorial Discretion, And The Vexing Case(S) Of Dream Act Students, Michael A. Olivas

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Fathering Behavior Within The Context Of Role Expectations And Marital Satisfaction: Framework For Studying Fathering Behavior, Mark Trahan, Monit Cheung

Journal of Family Strengths

A father’s participation in a child’s life has been regarded as a significant factor in the enhancement of a couple’s relationship. Although the investigations between paternal behavior and marital satisfaction come with mixed results, they clearly link the concepts of maternal and paternal role expectations to paternal behavior, which can be also moderated by earner status, child’s gender, and traditional versus contemporary role expectations. Research needs to focus on examining how individuals’ perceptions of role expectations relate to fathers’ actual parenting behavior. Therefore, a framework that outlines the interaction between and among these variables is developed, as supported by recent …

Professional Social Workers In The Child Welfare Workforce: Findings From Nasw, Tracy R. Whitaker

Journal of Family Strengths

The U.S. Children’s Bureau has historically recognized the significance of the child welfare workforce in improving the lives of children, youth and families, as well as the important role of social work within that workforce. Although the public may perceive the child welfare workforce as being predominantly comprised of social workers; in fact, fewer than half of child welfare workers have a social work degree. This discrepancy has been attributed to professional shortages, workplace conditions, caseload size and complexity, and low salaries. However, studies initiated by the National Association of Social Workers have found that the profession continues to successfully …

The Impact Of Title Iv-E Training On Case Outcomes For Children Serviced By Cps, Patrick Leung, Nicole Willis

Journal of Family Strengths

This study was designed to determine if the professional social work education provided by Title IV-E stipends leads to better case outcomes for children serviced by a southern state in the U.S. Desired case outcomes included lower levels of recurrence of child maltreatment, lower levels of foster care re-entries, greater stability of foster care placements, more reunifications with families within 12 months of placement in foster care, and more adoptions within 24 months of being placed in foster care. Data were obtained from the state’s case outcome records. The findings from the study indicate that Title IV-E stipend workers had …

Just Sing What You Want To Say: The Importance Of Linguistic Tone In Bai Songs, Lisa Andrews

Masters Theses

The Bai people, a minority group in the People's Republic of China numbering at least 1.6 million, live mostly in the Dali Autonomous Prefecture in northwest Yunnan. Historically, Bai from the central region would gather annually at the base of Shibaoshan Mountain to sing partner style love songs in search for a suitable marriage partner; today, this time is marked by a three-day festival officially titled "Shibaoshan." The annual song competition invites skilled singers to spontaneously compose melodies in response to their counterpart, crafting lyrics to flatter or tease their singing partner. The study quantifies the close relationship between Bai …

Full Issue, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Dialogue: December 2012, Staff And Writers Of Dialogue

Dialogue

Prose

05 Robert Vander Lugt, My Puny Sacrifice; 08 Joshua Epperly, Pain, Loneliness, and Mediteranean Food; 16 Abby Zwart, JiVhen the Time Comes; 34 Benjamin Rietema, The Damn Dishes; Simply Bread; 39 James Li, Charlie; 50 Katie Van Zanen, Volcano Country; 56 Will Montei, Long Breaths

Haiku Contest Top 5

31 Katerina Parsons, Rivulets of rain; 31 Shen Leong, Your constant praising; 31 Jared Haverdink, Exuberant brook; 31 Carrie Field, I said I was lost; 31 Michael VanderMeer, A bottle of wine

Visual Art

18 Teressa Van Dam, Doorways; …

Teen Ambassador Leadership Kit (Talk), Donna R. Gillespie

Journal of Youth Development

Teen Ambassador Leadership Kit, (TALK), is an annual weekend retreat designed for teens interested in promoting and marketing 4-H in their communities. TALK organizers felt teens would benefit from an intensive weekend retreat focused on communication. TALK produces a network of educated and excited 4-H teens that are available to help with 4-H promotion and marketing. Participants arrive on Friday evening for team building activities, on Saturday they participate in one of the workshops offered and on Sunday morning each workshop group has the opportunity to share their completed projects and what they learned. At the conclusion of the retreat, …

Examining Pre-Service Teachers' Instructional Strategies For Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Via Video-Conferencing, Hsiu-Jen Cheng, Hong Zhan

Publications

This action research observes instructional strategies and appropriateness of the strategies that pre-service teachers have applied during their training based on the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) training model. Participants include 14 pre-service teachers who were enrolled in a Distance Education training course in Taiwan. During the course, pre-service teachers were trained to develop teaching skills based on the TPACK training model and applied their skills in video-conferencing teaching which involved 14 American students who were learning Mandarin Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) in an intermediate level course in the United States. Data were collected via screen recordings of …

A Qualitative Assessment Of The International Exposition Center To The Greater Cleveland Area, Claudette Robey, Kyle H. Johnson, Kyle Julien

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report describes the outcomes of discussions with IX Center customers and stakeholders as to how the IX Center qualitatively impacts the greater Cleveland area. The results suggest that while the IX Center is perceived to be an asset by customers and stakeholders, it’s likely that the IX Center will need to develop strategies to remain competitive with similar convention centers across the country.

Impact Of Victimization Of Bullying On Attitudes Of Middle School Students In Ncsa Schools In Arkansas, Bradley D. Gist

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to add to the limited research with regard to bullying in private schools in general and specifically to member schools of the National Christian School Association (NCSA). Middle school students in grades 6, 7, and 6 were given a survey concerning bullying and bullying behavior in their schools. The effects by grade level of students in rural school settings versus urban school settings were determined with regard to the responses of the survey in four areas: prevalence of bullying, willingness to seek help, aggressive attitudes about bullying, and the overall results of the survey. …

Asymmetric Retrospective Voting: A Theoretical Model And Empirical Evidence Of Negativity Effects In Voters' Response To The Economy, Roland Kappe

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Prospect theory tells us that humans pay more attention to losses than to comparable gains. My dissertation seeks to apply this insight to the field of retrospective voting and in particular economic voting.

First, I develop a formal model of asymmetric retrospective voting which allows for incorporating loss aversion. Then, the empirical implications of this theoretical model are tested using a variety of methodological approaches. First, the model's predictions about human behavior are tested directly in a laboratory experiment using a simplified version of the asymmetric retrospective voting model. In a second step, the analytical focus is widened, turning from …

Use Of Native Dna Binding Domains Tethered To The Fok1 Endonuclease To Target Nodal Related Genes Via The Activin Response Element, Jessica Lauren Minder

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Use of zinc finger nucleases is an established method for gene targeting in zebrafish. Such strategies are efficient in targeting a single gene of interest. Our study attempts to target many Nodal related genes by targeting the Activin Response Element (ARE) through the use of native DNA binding domains tethered to the Fok1 endonuclease. In this light, genes are targeted in a Nodal-dependent manner, and can retain transcript levels sustained by other signaling pathways. This technique holds the potential to be a high throughput means of generating mutations in the regulatory regions of various Nodal responsive genes with the use …

Smart Ladies Sit Still: Women, Modernism And Photography, Lauren M. Rosenblum

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This dissertation examines the relationship between modern women writers and photography. Modernism was long understood as being opposed to mass culture and mediums of mass production, but this project argues that the movement was in fact dependent upon women's engagement with mass cultural forms, like photographs and the magazines that presented the images. I argue that modern women writers thematically and stylistically integrated photography to critique a complicated and evolving visual culture, one in which a woman's mechanically copied appearance became an increasingly vital means for her to express her subjectivity. Jean Rhys, Nella Larsen, Gertrude Stein and Susan Sontag …

Novel Carbon Nanomaterial Coating For Dispersibility, Delivery And Sensing, Magdalena Swierczewska

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Carbon nanomaterials have been cited to provide great potential in biomedical applications such as in vivo imaging, drug delivery, and biomarker detection. Yet poor dispersibility in physiological conditions greatly limits their biomedical promise. As with most nanoparticles, the surface interaction with biological systems is the driving force towards effective activity in vivo, namely exhibiting dispersion, low cytotoxicity, and molecular targetability. Therefore, by surface engineering carbon nanomaterials with a distinct biocompatible coating, their applications in imaging, drug delivery, biomarker detection, and therapy can be empowered. We render carbon nanomaterials useful for such in vivo biomedical applications by providing dispersibility, delivery and …

Postmetaphysical Reason And Postsecular Consciousness: Habermas' Analysis Of Religion In The Public Sphere, Javier Aguirre

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

My dissertation is an exegetical, reconstructive and critical project on J??rgen Habermas' recent account of the role of religion in the public sphere. It is an exegetical dissertation insofar as it interprets Habermas' account as presented in his article Religion in the Public Sphere. It is reconstructive since it develops an analysis of Habermas' previous works as well as his new thoughts related to the key concepts involved in his argument. Finally, it is critical because it offers as well, based on the previous exegesis and reconstruction, a critical perspective of some of the weakness and deficiencies of Habermas?? account. …

Gathering And Interpreting Components Of Diverse International Courts To Create A New Judicial Framework: A Case Study Of The Icty, Scsl, And Ist, Alexander Licznerski

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

When contemplating the issue of law, I like to compare any legal court to a musical orchestra. There are many similarities to a successful court and a successful orchestra. Yes, music and law might be two different matters, but their appeals and measures are one in the same. Music will tend to remind us of our past, our memories. We feel emotions to the patterns of the music, we understand that there is some meaning to the artist's work. This is the psychological appeal in which we, the audience, come into contact with. We know that many classical artists such …

Prism Vol. 4, No. 1, Center For Complex Operations

PRISM (Full PDF Issues)

This volume offers a comprehensive exploration of contemporary global security challenges, civil-military relations, and strategic responses to emerging threats. The Features section begins with Zoltan Barany’s examination of how to establish democratic armies, followed by Hans-Jürgen Kasselmann’s analysis of civil-military cooperation as a tool for managing complex crises. Christian Bayer Tygesen addresses the civil-military imbalance in Afghanistan and its implications for democratization, while Frank J. Cilluffo and Joseph R. Clark provide insights into understanding and countering strategic hybrid threats. R. Evan Ellis shifts the focus to transnational crime, detailing the rise of Chinese organized crime in Latin America, and Chiemi …

Përdorimi I Praktikave Të Prokurimit Elektronik Në Evropën Juglindore Për Kosovën, Naxhie Sadiku

Theses and Dissertations

Në temë shtrohen problemet në procesin e sistemit të prokurimit publik në Kosovë si dhe në përpjekjet e ndryshimit të sistemit nga prokurimi klasik në nisjen e aplikimit të prokurimit elektronik, duke u mbështetur nga ajo që pothuajse në gjitha vendet e tjera ky aplikacion është në përdorim. Përdorimi i platformës së prokurimit elektronik bën punën më të thjeshtë , më të shpjetë dhe më efikase. Të gjitha shtetet antare të BE-së aplikojnë sistemin sipas direktivave 2004/17 dhe 2004/18, poashtu edhe vendet e rajonit aplikojn proceset e prokurimit përmes platformës elektronike si rrugë më e shpejtë dhe më transparente. Prokurimi …

Acuta Enews December 2012 Vol. 41, No. 12

ACUTA Newsletters

In this issue...

Strategic Planning & Tampa in January

ACUTA Is Looking for a Few Good Coordinators

Wi-Fi Goes Gigabit-802.11 ac

Info Links

Preparing the Workplace for "Deep Diversity"

Get Your Logos Here!

Webinar: Universal Service & Royalty Payments Due

Using Social Media to Connect

Thanks to Our 2012 Exhibitors

Number 10 on a List of 10 Hard Things IT Must Learn to Accepts

Welcome New Members

Check It Out

Omaha, Nebraska's Costly Signaling At The Trans-Mississippi And International Exposition Of 1898, Courtney L. Cope Ziska

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

At the close of the nineteenth-century, Omaha, Nebraska hosted the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition of 1898. Despite financial depression, drought, and war, the city chose to allocate its limited financial, time, and energy resources to the Exposition effort with no guarantee of success and little potential for profit. This thesis aims to make sense of this seemingly wasteful or irrational event by exploring its possible function as a costly social signal of Omaha’s qualities to potential residents, businesses, and city partners. Utilizing data from historical, geophysical, and demographic resources, this thesis assesses the Exposition as a costly signal and the …

Using Player Profiling To Enhance Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment In Video Games, Aaron Burke

Computer Engineering

Video games have certainly come a long way since the days of pong. From humble beginnings of the first arcade machines they have bloomed into a multi-billion dollar industry and a global force to be reckoned with. Just like with movies there are enough genres out there to fit any demographic of gamer, and that’s not even just the game’s content but also the gameplay.

Unlike other types of media though, games are meant to be interacted with and played, which brings up new issues with accessibility and keeping things interesting for different levels of skill. Dynamic game difficulty adjustment …

The 2008 Us Presidential Election And New Digital Technologies: Political Campaigns As Social Movements And The Significance Of Collective Identity, Stephanie Takaragawa, Victoria Carty

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

The growing role of the Internet social networking sites (SNS) has served as a flash point for debate about the democratization of information, particularly in light of their perceived roles in the 2008 presidential election. This horizontal sharing of information undoubtedly facilitated the revival of the youth vote and volunteerism in many ways mimicking traditional grassroots approaches. While the role of the Internet SNS in mobilization efforts and information-sharing cannot be overstated, its effectiveness in creating a new “public sphere,” or transforming traditional electoral campaign strategies and communicative practices must be closely examined before generalizations about the democratization of media …

Identification Of Functional Glycosylation Of Adamtsl2, Andrew Taibi

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

ADAMTSL2 has been shown to play a role in regulation of Transforming Growth Factor β (TGFβ) signaling through binding Latent TGFβ Binding Protein 1 (LTBP1) and Fibrillin 1 (FBN1) in the extracellular matrix. A genetic screen revealed mutations to Adamtsl2 cause a rare growth disorder called Geleophysic Dysplasia (GD). Multiple GD mutations fall within ADAMTSL2's seven Thrombospondin Type 1 Repeats (TSRs). TSRs often undergo a form of glycosylation called O-fucosylation. The addition of a fucose sugar to TSRs has been shown to be a necessary process in the secretion of related proteins. Among several mutations to ADAMTSL2 within TSRs which …

Empathy And Belief In Documentary Theatre: A Cognitive Perspective On Mike Daisey's The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Steve Jobs, Kristin Vieira

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

In the spring of 2012, celebrated monologuist Mike Daisey was accused of embellishing the truth and misleading fact checkers on the Public Radio International program This American Life. Daisey had performed an excerpt of his theatrical monologue The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs on This American Life in January of 2012. Three months later, This American Life aired a retraction episode, claiming that Daisey had lied about many of his eyewitness experiences. Following the retraction, a heated debate ensued about the blurring of lines between entertainment and journalism and about the implied contract between documentary theatre artists and …

Design, Synthesis And Biological Evaluation Of Novel Curcumin Analogues As Inhibitors Of Matrix Metalloproteinases And Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines, Yu Zhang

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

There are two principal reasons why we age: 1) the toxicity of oxygen species; 2) the continuous degradation of collagen by groups of enzymes such as the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). The MMPs are a group of more than 25 structurally zinc-containing enzymes that are involved in the degradation of numerous extracellular, pericellular and non-matrix proteins. In many disease conditions their levels and proteinase activity rise, producing pathological and serious structural damage. Tetracyclines (TCs) are known inhibitors of mammalian-derived MMPs, and non-antibiotic formulations of doxycycline are FDA-approved to treat periodontitis and the chronic inflammatory skin disease, rosacea. However, a significant limitation …

Mitigation Of Bone Loss And Augment Of Anabolic Adaptation By Physiological Dynamic Fluid Flow Stimulation, Minyi Hu

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Novel modalities with strong translational potential to prevent osteoporosis are urgently called for, as osteoporosis strikes the society with high incidences of disease-related fractures and excessive medical costs. While bone fluid flow (BFF) regulates bone adaptation, intramedullary pressure (ImP) can initiate BFF and influence osteogenic signals. To establish the translational potential, a non-invasive intervention with direct ImP-coupled BFF can help develop new non-pharmaceutical treatments for osteopenia/osteoporosis. The overall objective of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of a novel, non-invasive dynamic hydraulic stimulation (DHS) on skeletal regulatory responses at the tissue, cellular, and molecular levels. The global hypothesis was …