Digital Commons Network^™

Overcoming Barriers In Affordable Housing Cross-Sector Collaborations, Jennifer R. Madden

Student Scholarship

Cross-sector collaboration is a viable strategy for addressing complex social problems like the lack of affordable housing. However, the literature tells us collaboration is difficult, complicated and discouraged by some scholars. Qualitative research involving 31 leaders participating in affordable housing cross-sector collaborations revealed despite size, sector or success, most collaborations for affordable housing encounter a common set of obstacles: funding, partner, community and/or government barriers. Key findings also suggest leaders of successful collaborations exhibited heightened emotional and social competencies, took actions for creating a better future, remained mission focused, and collaborations continuously redesigned to meet ongoing challenges.

Survey Of Foreign Assets And Liabilities In Nigeria 2011 Report, Mohammed M, Tumala, Ajibola I. Olufemi, Babatunde S. Omotosho, Oladipupo A. Baruwa

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

No abstract provided.

Connecting Children To Nature: A Multiple Case Study Of Nature Center Preschools, Patti Ensel Bailie

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

Environmental degradation, childhood obesity, and aggression of youth are societal problems that appear unconnected. However, their cause (and possible solution) may be linked to a common experience – the amount and quality of time spent in the natural world. Environment based education, significant life experience research, and studies involving urban youth and green spaces have shown that children’s experiences in the natural world have a positive effect on their attitudes, behaviors, and environmental awareness. Nature center based preschools are one approach for connecting children and nature, but little is known about the quality and consistency of their practices. This study …

Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Descriptive Study, Erica Jex Gergely

Dissertations

The current study seeks to examine the program operations and treatment practices of individuals and organizations providing equine-assisted therapy services nationwide. Currently, there are several hundred programs across the United States that utilize equine-assisted therapy to treat common mental health problems in children, adolescents, and adults. Not all equine therapy programs function under the same theoretical model and therefore do not deliver treatment services using equivalent principles or techniques. In addition, program policies, procedures, and ethical guidelines of each provider vary. To date, there exists a paucity of research regarding equine-assisted therapy including both qualitative and quantitative data.

The present …

Does Understanding The Kalamazoo Promise Impact African American Participation?, J. Douglas Penn

Dissertations

Since 2006, all of the public school graduates in Kalamazoo Michigan have been entitled to have their tuition and fees paid for to any post-secondary institution in the state. The scholarship program is called the Kalamazoo Promise, and it utilizes scholarships as a means to stimulate region-wide economic vitality. The Kalamazoo public school district reflects many metropolitans in the U.S. by having a minority majority, in which African Americans make up the largest single ethnic group. This evaluation of the Kalamazoo Promise is unique in that it focuses specifically on perspectives from the African American community. 35 interviews were conducted …

Traditional And Market-Based Financial Intermediaries: Three Essays Examining Their Risk Behavior, Delisting Behavior, And Reactions To Economic Policy Uncertainty, Marc S. Schaffer

Dissertations

In the wake of our country’s greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, the need to better understand the risks and behaviors associated with financial intermediaries has become apparent. In particular, the literature distinguishes between traditional or depository-based financial intermediaries and their market-based or non-depository counterparts. This dissertation focuses on understanding the behavioral differences across these two groups by examining their equity-based risk differences, their stock market delisting differences, and lastly how these firms react to economic policy uncertainty.

The first essay uses an equity-based approach to quantify the average firm-level risk that is associated with these intermediary groups. While …

End Of The Line: Tracking The Commodity Chain Of The Electronic Waste Industry, Jacquelynn A. Doyon

Dissertations

This study examines the transfer of electronic waste (e-waste) from core to peripheral nations, specifically coastal nations in Africa. The theoretical perspective marries green criminology with world systems theory in examining the ways in which marginalized populations bear the burden of hazardous waste disposal across the globe. The study is comparative, looking at legislation in the United States as well as international legislation and enforcement, and also employs case study methodology, contrasting e-waste disposal in Nigeria and Ghana. The final intent of this research is to determine whether or not the violation of national and/or international legislation regarding the transfer …

The Voices, Views, And Experiences Of 13 Nonresident African American Fathers, David Asbery

Education Doctoral

This qualitative study focused on how nonresident African American fathers maintain their role as fathers while dealing with the stereotypes, myths, and ambiguities associated with nonresident fatherhood. In addition, this study explored some of the cultural challenges specific to the experience of the nonresident African American father. The qualitative inquiry research explored the nonresident African American father’s experience through interviews with 13 nonresident African American fathers to gain insight about their perspectives on being a nonresident African American father. For this study, six open-ended questions were selected from the research literature. The aim of this study was to fill a …

Development Of Food Guide Pyramid For Individuals With Achondroplasia, Kathryn Elizabeth Lamb

Theses

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF KATHRYN E. LAMB, for the Master of Science degree in Food and Nutrition, presented on Tuesday, November 22, 2011, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale TITLE: DEVELOPMENT OF FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ACHONDROPLASIA MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Sara Long Roth Previous studies have developed food guide pyramids for different populations. However, no study has developed a food guide pyramid for individuals with achondroplasia. This study used the USDA's food guide pyramid, RDA/DRI, and 2010 Dietary Guidelines to develop a food guide pyramid for individuals with achondroplasia. Although food guide pyramids for different populations exist, …

Flow And Cooperative Learning In Civic Game Play, Chad Raphael, Christine Bachen, Pedro F. Hernández-Ramos

Communication

Flow theory offers an individualistic explanation of media enjoyment, while cooperative learning theory posits a social explanation for enhanced learning in groups. This classroom-based experimental study examines whether game players can experience both conditions and the influence of each on several types of civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions. We find that high quality cooperative learning contributed to acquiring civic knowledge and skills. In contrast, flow was more influential for developing dispositions to empathy and interest in learning more about the game topics. Thus, we conclude that players can experience flow while engaged in cooperative learning, but that these two conditions …

Not Really Bollywood A History Of Popular Hindi Films, Songs, And Dance With Pedagogical Applications For Understanding Indian History And Culture, Sanjana Nayee

HIM 1990-2015

Contemporary fascination with 'Bollywood' proliferates much of reality TV dance shows, media blurbs and other communicative outlets. These avenues homogenize India as 'Bollywood', while social and political outlets place Indians and people of South Asian descent into fitted stereotypes that are ridiculed and largely distorted. The intent of this thesis was to explore how the growing international intrigues of popular Hindi films exist beyond 'Bollywood'. This study is especially important because current U.S. demographics are undergoing a 'browning' effect yet a comprehensive method for understanding South Asian peoples and their cultures have been isolated to terrorist 'breeders', the model minority …

An Examination Of Technology And Its Influence On Reading In Struggling Students And An Autoethnography Of A Preservice Teacher, Megan Campanile

HIM 1990-2015

Educators have never had the possibility of incorporating technology into the classroom like they do today. Although technology can have its difficulties, it can truly help the development of reading for struggling students. Reading research is providing more and more clarity about how to use technology effectively within our school communities to support and enhance the academic performance of today's students (i.e. Gallagher, 2009; Isazadeh, 2004; Rice, 2011). A review of studies conducted by the CEO Forum (2001)emphasizes: "technology can have the greatest impact when integrated into the curriculum to achieve clear, measurable educational objectives." This meaning that with the …

The Process Of Keeping Creative Expression And Artistic Freedom Unencumbered And Uncensored: A Study Of Student Actors In The Musical [Title Of Show], Mathew B. Hagmeier

Master's Theses

Creativity and the ability to freely devise and express are human capacities recognized to be highly important in today’s world. Yet, while many champion these qualities, modern society continually makes achieving them a laborious process, riddled with the pressure of success and commercial marketability. Two years of researching and devising educational methodologies surrounding the use of theatre as a tool for the development of students’ unbridled creativity, expression, and self-efficacy have led me to ask the following questions of this process: Can students achieve authentic creative self-expression inside the confines of portraying a pre-written character? How does one freely express …

Evaluating E-Portfolio Using By Learning Stages: A Case Study In An Interdisciplinary Program, Ellis S.J. Fu, Jeff J.S. Huang, Stephen J.H. Yang, Anna Y.Q. Huang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This study conducts an investigation of posts in the e-portfolio platform of the program: “The interdisciplinary training program for talented college students in science.” Participants in this program were supposed to show their learning portfolios on this platform. Among the 2150 registered students, we randomly selected 126 students who have made at least 3 posts to become the target sample. By identifying the learning stages and posting styles shown by their posts, we find that students are mostly in the surface learning stages and weak in completing their learning portfolios. The results suggest that more strategies should be learned in …

Service Animals In Training And The Law: An Imperfect System., Darcie Magnuson

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not provide protection for service animals in training anywhere in public places, including workplaces and government buildings. Individual state statutes may or may not grant service animals in training access to places of public accommodations, public buildings, or places of employment. Similarly, neither the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) nor the Fair Housing Act (FHA) Amendments afford rights and privileges in air transportation and housing, respectively, to service animals in training. Without service animals, individuals with disabilities would not be able to equally access society or fully participate in many activities. However, without …

When It Rains, It Pours: The Violence Against Women Act's Failure To Provide Shelter From The Storm Of Domestic Violence., Alyse Faye Haugen

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

The threat of abuse affects women of all socioeconomic levels, educations, and zip codes. For centuries, women were second-class citizens in the eyes of society and the government. Women could not access resources to prevent violence and subsequently were denied essential victim services. The passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994 expressed the government’s commitment to ending domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other gender-based violent crimes. Although VAWA exists, violence against women continues to be pervasive, devastating women’s lives daily. Victims of domestic violence face several issues. These include protecting children from abuse, finding and securing …

Nurturing The Seeds Of Food Justice: Unearthing The Impact Of Institutionalized Racism On Access To Healthy Food In Urban African-American Communities., Kate Meals

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Comprehensive change to our food systems must include a combination of community-based solutions and the elimination of racism from all structural levels. An anti-racist analysis of hunger is necessary to contextualize the power dynamics and structures responsible for food inequality. In recent decades, globalization and exponential population growth have pushed the boundaries of economic, social, and ecological sustainability, threatening global food security. Despite the fact that it is fundamental to human survival, adequate access to food is often viewed as a privilege, rather than a basic human right. These practices work to maintain a food system crisis that disproportionally impacts …

Expansion Of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells On Synthetic Substrate In Defined Medium, Huantong Yao

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have the potential to generate patient-specific cells to treat many incurable diseases by cell replacement therapy. However, so far the culture of hiPSCs depends greatly on feeder cells or Matrigel which has safety issues. Thus, chemically defined substrates that could provide niches necessary for cell attachment and proliferation are preferred for clinical application of hiPSCs. Recently, Corning Life Sciences has developed synthetic peptide-functionalized cell culture surface, referred to as Corning® Synthemax that support self-renewal and differentiation of human embryonic stem cell (hESC). In this work, we have collaborated with Corning to investigate the attachment, …

A Modified Method Of Information Hiding Based On Hybrid Encryption And Steganography, Baedaa H.

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

This paper produces a developed method based on steganography techniques to prevent intruders from obtaining the transmitted information. This work is based on a combination of steganography and cryptography techniques to increase the level of security and to make the system more complex to be defeated by attackers. The algorithm used for encryption is the RC6 algorithm. Two methods of hiding are used in this work: the first method is the Least Significant Bit (LSB) and the second is the proposed and modified method used to hide bits in LSB of iterated loop in brightness, red, green and blue of …

Information Hiding In Image Based On Random Locations, Mohsin H.

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Network Security for data transmission is the most vital Issue in modern communication systems. This paper discusses a new steganographic technique and the effectiveness of the proposed method is described through which the idea of enhanced security of data can be achieved. To hide data in a binary image, the proposed method focuses on the Least Significant Bit (LSB) technique in hiding messages in an image. The proposed method enhanced the LSB technique by randomly dispersing the bits of the message in the image and thus making it harder for unauthorized people to extract the original message easily.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Campaign 2012 And Beyond: Awareness And Participation For Behavioral Change, Ebony Chetto

Journalism

The following study investigates how to develop and maintain a health outreach program in order to make a behavior change in participating in the breast cancer movement. The number of women becoming affected by breast cancer is increasingly growing, and the students who developed the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Campaign saw the need to raise awareness of this disease on campus and in the community. The campaign’s focus was to create and publicize an outreach event called Rock the Tatas, a fundraising concert to support the fight against breast cancer. With scholarly research, the design of the campaign attempts …

Role Of Human Arylamine N-Acetyltransferase In Carcinogen Metabolism And Human Breast Cancer Progression., Carmine Simone Leggett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) is a phase II cytosolic enzyme that occurs as two isozymes, NAT1 and NAT2. This family of polymorphic enzymes catalyzes the detoxification and/or activation of many aromatic and heterocyclic amine drugs and carcinogens. These metabolism reactions can lead to detoxification of xenobiotics by N-acetylation, or bioactivation by O-acetylation which is preceded by cytochrome P450 (CYP) hydroxylation. This study evaluates the role of human arylamine N-acetyltransferase in carcinogen metabolism as it pertains to substrate selectivity, kinetic activity towards arylamine and alkylaniline substrates, and toxicological risk. Here we introduce the use of immortalized human fibroblasts (GM4429) to investigate …

Improved Fabrication And Modeling Of Piezoresistive Microcantilever Beams For Gas Detection And Sensing., Ni Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Symmetric piezoresistive microcantilever beams have been demonstrated in previous research to be capable of sensing the presence of surrounding gas. This occurs as the damping effect of the gas changes the beam resonance behavior. Device sensitivity has been increased dramatically after changing the symmetric beam base to an asymmetric beam base. This dissertation seeks to improve on beam fabrication and simplify the fabrication procedure compared to earlier approaches. By changing to a polymer mask and using new equipment, an entire wafer can be fabricated in far less time compared to the previous approach. While this new approach shows great promise, …

Cultural Study Of Attributions Of Sports Fans, John C. Park

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Cultural differences in the attributions of sports fans in the US have not been sufficiently explored. Studies have shown that individualists have the tendency to make more internal attributions compared to collectivists (Kashima & Triandis, 1986; Al-Zahrani & Kaplowitz, 1993; Cha & Nam, 1985; Hallahan et al., 1997). Furthermore, in sports setting, individualists have the tendency to engage in the self-serving bias, whereas collectivists may not engage in this process (Schuster et, al, 1989; Lee et. al, 1996; Hallahan et. al, 1997; Crittendon, 1991). Undergraduate students at La Sierra University, California, participated in an experiment where cultural differences in fans' …

Development And Validation Of A Process Focused Measure Of Childhood Depression, Ida Babakhanyan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this research was to develop a measure of childhood depression and test its psychometric properties with depressed and non-depressed children. First, an overview of our current understanding of childhood depression and the measures used in assessment is reviewed. Following, the problems with our diagnostic classification are presented, providing justification for the development of a new measure for childhood depression. A bottom-up approach is used in this study to develop a theory driven measure for identifying depression in children which focuses on the process. Thus, varying from the primarily symptom based assessment tools that are currently used in …

The Rna Binding Protein Ksrp Destabilizes Gap-43 Mrna To Limit Axonal Elongation In Cultured Hippocampal Neurons, Clark W. Bird

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

The KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KSRP) promotes the decay of AU-rich element (ARE) containing mRNAs. Although KSRP is expressed in the developing and mature nervous system, very little is known about its role in regulating gene expression in the brain. In this study, we utilized in vitro binding and decay studies to examine whether KSRP regulates the stability of the GAP-43 transcript, an ARE-containing neuronal mRNA whose protein product plays a role in axonal growth and synaptic plasticity. We found KSRP destabilizes GAP-43 mRNA by binding to the GAP-43 ARE, a process that depends on the presence of the fourth …

Individual And Social Network Sexual Behavior Norms Of Homeless Youth At High Risk For Hiv Infection, Kimberly A. Tyler, Lisa A. Melander

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although previous research shows that homeless youth engage in numerous risky sexual behaviors, little is known about whether or not specific rules govern this conduct within their social networks and how group norms influence subsequent sexual actions. The current study utilizes 19 in-depth interviews with homeless youth to investigate different elements of their sexual behavior. Findings reveal that their decision to have sex generally depends on chemistry and physical appearance whereas a potential partner’s risky sexual history and heavy substance use discourages youth from engaging in sex. Both males and females discuss condom usage as it relates to unknown sexual …

Interpersonal Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Distinguishing Between Person-Focused Versus Task-Focused Behaviors And Their Antecedents, Violet Ho

Management Faculty Publications

Purpose – This study proposes a nuanced perspective for conceptualizing interpersonal counterproductive work behaviors (ICWBs) by distinguishing them into behaviors that hinder other workers’ task performance (task-focused ICWBs), and those that are personal in nature (person-focused ICWBs). A relational stress perspective is adopted to examine work-based dependence relational stressor and negative-affect relational stressor as predictors of each category of behavior, with trait competitiveness as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach – Deductive and inductive approaches were used to generate items measuring each type of ICWBs, and the two-factor ICWB structure was validated using data from 136 respondents. Data from a different sample of …

Novel Engineered Nanostructured Complex Oxide For High Temperature Thermoelectric Power Generation, Diego F. Palacio

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Thermoelectric power generators are a promising technology that can produce electrical power directly from waste heat emitted in energy production and consumption systems. The essential component of thermoelectric generators is the thermoelectric material which performs the energy conversion process. In order to make thermoelectric devices to be considered a significant contributor to US energy infrastructure, it is essential first to foster improvements in high performance thermoelectric materials. They must possess not only a high conversion efficiency, but also need be composed of nontoxic and abundantly available elemental materials having high chemical stability in air up to 800-1000 K. In comparison …

The Antitrust Analysis Of Multi-Sided Platform Businesses, David S. Evans, Richard Schmalensee

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

This Chapter provides a survey of the economics literature on multi-sided platforms with particular focus on competition policy issues, including market definition, mergers, monopolization, and coordinated behavior. It provides a survey of the general industrial organization theory of multi-sided platforms and then considers various issues concerning the application of antitrust analysis to multi-sided platform businesses. It shows that it is not possible to know whether standard economic models, often relied on for antitrust analysis, apply to multi-sided platforms without explicitly considering the existence of multiple customer groups with interdependent demand. It summarizes many theoretical and empirical papers that demonstrate that …