Digital Commons Network^™

Yo Hablo Ingles: The Influence Of Motivation And Group Cohesion On Learning English In A Workplace Setting, Adam Henry Dehoek

Dissertations

Immigration reform is a current and controversial issue in the United States and around the globe. Although it is unlikely that comprehensive immigration reform is immediately forthcoming in the United States, plans proposed by both liberal and conservative law-makers require those applying for long-term residency to hold employment and demonstrate a working knowledge of the English language. Given that these goals are often difficult to achieve in tandem, enacted immigration reform may suggest that businesses offer English language courses on the job in order to facilitate the legalization process. Answering important questions regarding the process of successful language acquisition, particularly …

Mystery Motivator Calendar: An Interdependent Group Contingency, Variable Ratio, Classroom Intervention, Eva Aleksandra Kowalewicz

Dissertations

Classroom behavior management problems are often seen as one of the primary barriers to achieving an educational environment conducive for academic and social-emotional growth of students. The literature indicates there is a need for evidence-based, easy-to-implement classroom behavioral interventions that align with the positive behavioral support philosophy. This study examined the effectiveness of the Mystery Motivator Calendar, an interdependent group contingency, variable-ratio, classwide intervention as a tool for reducing disruptive classroom behavior in eight diverse, general-education elementary school classrooms across seven different schools. The study employed a single-case, ABAB (baseline, intervention, withdrawal, reinstatement and follow-up), changing criterion design. The effectiveness …

Crisis Preparedness, Charles Maida

Dissertations

School disaster planning is important because schools are places of frequent mass gathering. An estimated 53 million children in the United States attend public and private schools each day. As mass gathering places, schools are prone to mass injury in a natural disaster and unfortunately may serve as a terrorist target (Graham, 2007). Schools must prepare for the worst and hope for the best, because the worst disaster to occur is not preparing for disaster in the first place. Comprehensive crisis management plans must be in place, practiced, revisited, and altered to remain effective.

Community-based strategies have been successful in …

Neuropsychological Functioning, Parenting Behaviors, And Healthcare Behaviors Among Youth With Spina Bifida, Lauren Kelly O'Hara

Dissertations

Objective This study was designed to examine whether neurocognitive functioning (attention and executive functions) and parenting behaviors (acceptance, behavioral control and psychological control) are associated with medical adherence and autonomy among preadolescents and adolescents with spina bifida. Methods Questionnaire and observational data were collected from a sample of 8 to 15 year olds with spina bifida (n = 139) and their mothers, fathers, and teachers. Youth also completed neuropsychological testing. Results Youth with spina bifida demonstrated impairment on measures of attention and executive function, based on questionnaire and test data. Attention, executive function, and parenting behaviors were associated with medical …

Cruel Sorority, Or, Feminizing Enjoyment In American Romance, Carina Dionne Pasquesi

Dissertations

"Cruel Sorority, or, Feminizing Enjoyment in American Romance" analyzes the often-overlooked anti-social figures and affects found on the margins of American Romanticism. Symptomatically registering dissatisfaction and rage at the foreclosure of democratic possibility and public life, these feminized figures represent violent reactions against the dominant disciplinary institutions (e.g. marriage, motherhood, domesticity, slavery) that impoverish their lives. In keeping with the rich imaginative possibilities within the romance genre but often exceeding and redefining these conventions, these figures break with the reformist/inclusive logic that pervades works of the period. This project participates in recent critical discussions in American studies that deal with …

A Mediational Model Predicting Adjustment In Affluent Adolescents: The Role Of Parental Perfectionism, Perceived Parental Pressure, And Organized Activity Involvement, Edin Randall

Dissertations

The current cross-sectional study evaluated the relative contributions of parental perfectionism (i.e., self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed), perceived parental pressure, and organized activity involvement (i.e,. intensity) on depressive symptoms, anxiety, substance use, and life satisfaction in a sample of affluent adolescents. Findings indicated that parental perfectionism, and specifically other-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism, is an important contextual factor negatively influencing affluent adolescent adjustment. Additionally, perceived parental pressure was found to have robust associations with adolescent adjustment and to explain the link between parental perfectionism and adolescent adjustment. Furthermore, the current study revealed a synergistic association between intensity of organized activity …

Teachers' Concerns Regarding The Implementation Of Integrated Thematic Instruction: A Study Of Primary Grade Teachers In Kanisius Catholic Schools In Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Catur Rismiati

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore primary grade teachers' stages of concern and their implementation of an educational reform initiative called Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) in Indonesia. The Indonesian minister of education mandated primary grade teachers to implement ITI in 2006. Using a convenience sampling method, 150 Kanisius primary grade teachers participated in the study. The data collection method used was a questionnaire that consisted of three parts: The Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ), the Integrated Curriculum Implementation Scale, and demographic questions. The data analysis employed in this research were descriptive, a one way ANOVA test and multiple …

Internet Support Groups For Parents Of Children With Add: An Examination Of The Characteristics Of Group Members And The Impact Of Social Support On Parent Functioning, Kriston B. Schellinger

Dissertations

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood psychiatric disorders and is associated with a variety of difficult behaviors. In addition, parents of children with ADHD experience significantly greater parenting stress and psychological distress than parents of children without ADHD. However, social support is a beneficial coping tool associated with increased mental and physical well-being in those experiencing stress. Although many turn to family and friends for social support, people sometimes go outside of their immediate support network and seek support groups. In recent years, Internet support groups have become a popular alternative to face-to-face support groups. However, …

Empirically Supported Treatment Interventions For Persons With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Comorbid Borderline Personality Disorder, Megan Seliga

Dissertations

The overall stigma- and gender-related controversies that surround the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) present a unique ethical mandate to the practitioner. The relationship between trauma and the BPD diagnosis strengthens the need for carefully designed treatment interventions in order to secure the benefits of trauma-focused work, while minimizing the risk of undue regression. The complexity and risk of harm introduced by a diagnosis of comorbid BPD and PTSD urges the need for clarification of optimal treatment interventions to guide practitioners. Trauma-focused therapies, particularly EMDR, tend to be the treatment of choice for PTSD; however, comorbid borderline pathology has …

Liturgical Celebrations With Emotional Expectations In Auxerre, 840-908, Thomas A. Greene

Dissertations

Scholars traditionally date the origin of "affective piety" to the late-eleventh century. The place of emotions in early medieval devotional activity, therefore, has yet to be properly acknowledged. Based on exegetical and homiletic material written at the monastery of Saint-Germain (Auxerre) between 840 and 908, I argue that liturgical celebrations were to take place in a context suffused with both the experience and expression of emotions.

Role Of Myosin Light Chain Kinase In Binge Ethanol And Burn Injury-Induced Intestinal Barrier Dysfunction, Anita Zahs

Dissertations

Ethanol is a common factor in traumatic injury, including burn injury. Previous studies from our laboratory indicate that ethanol increases both pulmonary and gastrointestinal inflammation as well as susceptibility to infection in burn-injured mice; however, the mechanisms of these responses are not entirely known. Moreover, after burn injury, bacteria and their products leak out of the intestinal lumen and into the bloodstream. These bacteria can disperse throughout the body leading to pulmonary damage, acute lung injury, sepsis, and death. Ethanol in combination with burn injury has been shown to decrease intestinal barrier function greater than either insult alone. Long (210 …

The Confluence Of Attachment Style, Perceived Social Support, And Role Attainment In Women Experiencing Postpartum Mood Disorders, Carrie Jennifer Feig

Dissertations

A purposive convenience sample was used in this mixed methods study. Fifteen postpartum women were given four questionnaires and participated in a brief oral interview. The questionnaires included the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the McPhee Scale, the Maternal Attitudes Questionnaire, and the Post-Partum Quality of Life. As determined by the questionnaires, a correlation was found between level of competence and level of depression such that the less competent a woman felt, the more depressed she felt. The hypothesis tested in this study was that postpartum depression occurs when complicated early attachments have not been modified by either a sense of …

Anterior Dental Microwear Texture Analysis Of The Krapina Neandertals, Kristin L. Krueger, Peter S. Ungar

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Some Neandertal anterior teeth show unusual and excessive gross wear, commonly explained by non-dietary anterior tooth use, or using the anterior dentition as a tool, clamp, or third hand. This alternate use is inferred from aboriginal arctic populations, who used their front teeth in this manner. Here we examine anterior dental microwear textures of the Krapina Neandertals to test this hypothesis and further analyze tooth use in these hominins.

Microwear textures from 17 Krapina Dental People were collected by white-light confocal profilometry using a 100x objective lens. Four adjacent scans were generated, totaling an area of 204x276 μm, and were …

Ethnographic Methods, Kathleen M. Adams

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Although ethnographic methods derive from the discipline of sociocultural anthropology, because of their potential for producing insights into human actions and behaviors they have come to be embraced by sociologists, psychologists, and other social scientists interested in gaining insights into human behavior. Ethnographic methods fall into the broader category of qualitative methodologies and are aimed at nnderstanding cultural practices, human beliefs and behaviors, and sociocultural changes over time. As such, ethnographic methods are particularly apt for tourism-related research and for tourism policy planning, as noted by a number of recent tourism scholars (Cole, 2005; Grabum, 2002; Nash, 2000; Palmer, 2001, …

Miip: The Monomer Identification And Isolation Program, Christopher Bun, William Ziccardi, Jeffrey Doering, Catherine Putonti

Bioinformatics Faculty Publications

Repetitive elements within genomic DNA are both functionally and evolutionarily informative. Discovering these sequences ab initio is computationally challenging, compounded by the fact that selection on these repeats is often relaxed; thus sequence identity between repetitive elements can vary significantly. Here we present a new application, the Monomer Identification and Isolation Program (MiIP), which provides functionality to both search for a particular repeat as well as discover repetitive elements within a larger genomic sequence. To compare MiIP’s performance with other repeat detection tools, analysis was conducted for synthetic sequences as well as several α21-II clones and HC21 BAC sequences. The …

Urspelerpes Brucei, Carlos D. Campbell, Trip Lamb, Joseph Milanovich

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Do Species Distribution Models Predict Species Richness In Urban And Natural Green Space? A Case Study Using Amphibians, Joseph Milanovich, William E. Peterman, Kyle Barrett, Matthew Hopton

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Computational And Experimental Analyses Of Retrotransposon-Associated Minisatellite Dnas In The Soybean Genome, Lauren S. Mogil, Kamil Slowikowski, Howard M. Laten

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

BACKGROUND:

Retrotransposons are mobile DNA elements that spread through genomes via the action of element-encoded reverse transcriptases. They are ubiquitous constituents of most eukaryotic genomes, especially those of higher plants. The pericentromeric regions of soybean (Glycine max) chromosomes contain >3,200 intact copies of the Gmr9/GmOgre retrotransposon. Between the 3' end of the coding region and the long terminal repeat, this retrotransposon family contains a polymorphic minisatellite region composed of five distinct, interleaved minisatellite families. To better understand the possible role and origin of retrotransposon-associated minisatellites, a computational project to map and physically characterize all members of these families in the …

Fluid Elasticity Can Enable Propulsion At Low Reynolds Number, Nathan C. Keim, Mike Garcia, Paulo E. Arratia

Physics

Conventionally, a microscopic particle that performs a reciprocal stroke cannot move through its environment. This is because at small scales, the response of simple Newtonian fluids is purely viscous and flows are time-reversible. We show that by contrast, fluid elasticity enables propulsion by reciprocal forcing that is otherwise impossible. We present experiments on rigid objects actuated reciprocally in viscous fluids, demonstrating for the first time a purely elastic propulsion set by the object’s shape and boundary conditions. We describe two different artificial “swimmers” that experimentally realize this principle.

A Participatory Action Research Study With Bi-Ethnic Children In South Korea On Bi-Ethnic Identity Development, Jeong Min Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to explore how bi-ethnic children in South Korea understand their identity using a participatory action research (PAR) method. The number of bi-ethnic/multicultural families and children is increasing in South Korea, matched with a rising xenophobia towards these groups. Thus, the need for research that captured the inner thoughts and feelings of children, through their own voices, seems of paramount importance for a more secure and authentic identity development. The findings from this research provided evidence through their own storybooks that bi-ethnic Korean children had individual identity experiences in different contexts through diverse development processes. …

The Role Of Cortisol In Modern Society: Linking Psychosocial Stress And Health, Logan Dwayne Fair

Honors Theses

Glucocorticoids are a class of steroid hormones, which can act on almost all cells in vertebrate tissue through binding to glucocorticoid receptor. Cortisol, which falls into this class, is released in response to stress and provides our bodies with the necessary energy to cope with a wide variety of stressors. This function of cortisol is brought about through its action on numerous metabolic and immunological pathways. However, when cortisol levels remain elevated for extended periods of time, many of these acute effects of cortisol can bring about long-term health problems, including many associated with metabolic S5mdrome, such as obesity and …

Dit-Larkin Community College Tutoring Project, Julie Dunne

Posters

Over a 10 week period DIT 1st. year Pharmacy Technician students tutor Larkin Community College Students in Leaving Certificate Biology.

Aligning Public Health, Health Care, Law And Policy: Medical-Legal Partnership As A Multilevel Response To The Social Determinants Of Health, Elizabeth Tobin Tyler

Pro Bono Collaborative Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

State And Local Responses To Climate Change Through Hazard Adaptation Measures: White Paper Synthesizing Innovative State And Local Climate Change Adaptation Strategies, Marine Affairs Institute, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Sea Grant Law Fellow Publications

No abstract provided.

Unols Vessels And U.S. Exports Regulations: Seeking A Coherent Solution, Sea Grant Law Fellows

Sea Grant Law Fellow Publications

No abstract provided.

Optimizing Reservoir-Stream-Aquifer Interactions For Conjunctive Use And Hydropower Production, Hala Fayad, Richard C. Peralta, Ali Forghani

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Conjunctive management of water resources involves coordinating use of surface water and groundwater resources. Very few simulation/optimization (S-O) models for stream-aquifer system management have included detailed interactions between groundwater, streams, and reservoir storage. This paper presents an S-O model doing that via artificial neural network simulators and genetic algorithm optimizer for multiobjective conjunctive water use problems. The model simultaneously addresses all significant flows including reservoir-stream-diversion-aquifer interactions in a more detailed manner than previous models. The model simultaneously maximizes total water provided and hydropower production. A penalty function implicitly poses constraints on state variables. The model effectively finds feasible optimal solutions …

Extinction And Recovery Dynamics Of Triassic-Jurassic Macro-Invertebrate Communities, Luis Felipe Opazo Mella

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

This work is focused on characterising and evaluating the intensity and selectivity of the marine fauna during the Tr/J mass extinction and recovery of the ecosystem in different localities throughout Pangaea. To address this, four localities were studied: St. Audrie’s Bay, Larne and Pinhay Bay in the UK, and Portezuelo Providencia in Chile. From each locality, samples were taken at approximately 1m intervals throughout the Tr/J sections. Species abundance per sample was estimated and each species was classified according to autoecological information derived from the literature. In order to assess changes in the structure and composition of the assemblages, NMDS …

The Governance Of Security In The Revanchist City- The Case Of Cape Town, South Africa, Till Frederik Paasche

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

The governance of security in the revanchist city- The case of Cape Town, South Africa Much has been written on the revanchist city (for example Smith, 1996; MacLeod, 2002; Belina and Helms, 2003) and the reclaiming of space from so-called ‘undesirables‘ through the means of the police. Here, the guiding ideas are policing strategies such as the ‘broken windows syndrome‘ (Kelling and Wilson, 1982) and ‘zero tolerance policing‘ (Giuliani and Bratton, 1994; Beckett and Herbert, 2008; Herbert and Beckett, 2010). However, the role of private security companies in the reclaiming of public space remains under-researched. Using a case study in …

Sex On The Bench: Do Women Judges Matter To The Legitimacy Of International Courts?, Nienke Grossman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article seeks to advance our understanding of international courts' legitimacy and its relationship to who sits on the bench. It asks whether we should care that few women sit on international court benches. After providing statistics on women's participation on eleven of the world's most important courts and tribunals, the article argues that under-representation of one sex affects normative legitimacy because it endangers impartiality and introduces bias when men and women approach judging differently. Even if men and women do not think differently, a sex un-representative bench harms sociological legitimacy for constituencies who believe they do nonetheless. For groups …

Don't Forget Dad: Addressing Women's Poverty By Rethinking Forced And Outdated Child Support Policies, Daniel L. Hatcher

All Faculty Scholarship

In the dialogues regarding reducing poverty among women, especially mothers, the inextricably linked issues surrounding low-income men must be simultaneously considered. In social policy addressing women’s poverty, poor fathers have too often been considered primarily as an enemy to be pursued rather than a fellow victim of poverty’s wrath, and potential partner towards the cure. We want someone to blame, and many assume that poor single mothers are best served by always being encouraged — and even forced — to pursue the noncustodial fathers for financial support through adversarial means. Mothers applying for public assistance are forced to sue the …