Digital Commons Network^™

Bankruptcy Trusts, Transparency And The Future Of Asbestos Compensation, S. Todd Brown

Journal Articles

As we enter the fifth decade of asbestos personal injury litigation, much of the debate over its immediate future centers on the operations of bankruptcy trusts and their relationship to the tort system. Roughly 100 companies have entered bankruptcy as a result of their unsustainable asbestos liabilities, and, from these bankruptcies, approximately 60 trusts have been established or are in the process of being established. Some critics contend that the trust system is plagued by fraud and abuse; allowing plaintiffs' lawyers to obtain compensation from the trusts for fraudulent claims and to evade relevant discovery obligations under applicable state law. …

Activity Analysis And Detection Of Falling And Repetitive Motion, Clyde Carryl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis examines the use of motion detection and analysis systems to detect falls and repetitive motion patterns of at-risk individuals. Three classes of motion are examined: Activities of daily living (ADL), falls, and repetitive motion. This research exposes a simple relationship between ADL and non-ADL movement, and shows how to use Principal Component Analysis and a kNN classifier to tell the 2 classes of motion apart with 100% sensitivity and specificity. It also identifies a more complex relationship between falls and repetitive motion, which both produce bodily accelerations exceeding 3G but differ with regard to their periodicity. This simplifies …

Acoustic Tracking Of An Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Using A Passive Ultrashort Baseline Array And A Single Long Baseline Beacon, Kyle L. Seaton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis discusses a new approach to tracking the REMUS 100 AUV using a modified version of the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) ultrashort baseline (USBL) acoustic positioning system (APS). The REMUS 100 is designed to utilize a long baseline (LBL) acoustic positioning system to obtain positioning data in mid-mission. If the placement of one of the transponders of the LBL field is known, then tracking the position of the REMUS 100 AUV using a passive USBL array is possible. As part of the research for this thesis, the FAU USBL system was used to find a relative range between the …

Advanced Placement (Ap) Social Studies Teachers' Use Of Academic Course Blogs As A Supplemental Resource For Student Learning, Seth. Alper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This mixed-methods study investigated the relationship between Advanced Placement (AP) social studies teachers' utilization of academic course blogs and student achievement. Simultaneously, the study examined the participating teachers' perceptions on the use of course blogs and other social media as supplemental learning resources. The study further explored a possible moderating effect of the social studies subject on student achievement and a possible moderating effect of students' previous academic blog usage on student achievement within the study. Quantitative data were collected from students' pre-tests and unit tests scores and analyzed for statistical significance. Qualitative data were collected through teacher-generated notes during …

An Examination Of How Middle School Science Teachers Conduct Collaborative Inquiry And Reflection About Students’ Conceptual Understanding, Christine Todd-Gibson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This qualitative case study examined how middle school science teachers conducted collaborative inquiry and reflection about students’ conceptual understanding, and how individual teachers in the middle school science group acted and made reflections in response to their collaborative inquiry. It also examined external influences that affected the teachers’ ability to engage in collaborative inquiry. Observational, written, and interview data were collected from observations of teachers’ face-to-face meetings and reflections, individual interviews, a focus group interview, and online reflections. The results of this study revealed that collaborative inquiry is a form of professional development that includes answering curricular questions through observation, …

Any (Body) Who Will Listen, Gavin Feller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis explores how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has used media technology as part of its missionary communication strategy. Particular attention is paid to the Internet as a space for religious practice and how the LDS Church has sought to extend its media practices and missionary efforts online. By utilizing new media technology to find individuals interested in hearing its message, the LDS Church faces new challenges to its traditional face-to-face missionary program, its centralized hierarchy of control and its ongoing struggle for identity within American Christian culture. Throughout its history, the LDS Church's missionary …

Attitudes And Perspectives About Backyard Food Gardening, John G. Zahina-Ramos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

As cities grew throughout the past century, the availability of locally grown food declined, mostly because urban expansion occurred at the expense of adjacent agricultural land. As a result, city dwellers turned to commercial food market systems that import food from distant production areas. Private greenspace, which is one of the largest land cover types in cities, offers the potential for substantial agricultural production. Because urban food production on private land, such as backyards, requires the willing participation of landowners, resident's feelings about and experience with food growing are important to understand. The demographic groups that were most likely to …

Attitudes Towards Multilanguage Use Among Latino And Asian Immigrants In The United States, Cuong T. Le

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This study was designed to measure the relation of education and ethnic identity to attitudes towards bilingualism in two different ethnic groups, Asian and Latinos in the United States. In order to do this, an instrument was developed to measure attitudes towards bilingualism. No significant relations were found among education or ethnic identity and attitudes towards bilingualism in either group, but analyses revealed several other significant relationships. The two subscales of ethnic identity, MEIM-R Commitment and Exploration, were related to each other both within Asian and Latino groups and in all participants combined. In the combined sample, education levels of …

Assessing Goal Intent And Achievement Of University Learning Community Students, Carole F. Pfeffer-Lachs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The purpose of this study was to assess the goal intent and achievement of university students, during the Fall 2011 semester, at Blue Wave University, a high research activity public institution in the southeast United States. This study merged theories of motivation to measure goal setting and goal attainment to examine if students who chose to participate in a learning community program set goals at different levels than the students who chose not to join a learning community program. This study investigated if there was a difference in motivation, by studying goal intent and goal achievement of Freshman Learning Community …

Automatic Parking Lot Occupancy Computation Using Motion Tracking, Torres Francisco Alberto Justo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Nowadays it is very hard to find available spots in public parking lots and even harder at facilities such as universities and sports venues. A system that provides drivers with parking availability and parking lot occupancy will allow users find a parking space much easier and faster. This thesis presents a system for automatic parking lot occupancy computation using motion tracking. The use of computer vision techniques and low cost video sensors makes it possible to have an accurate system that allows drivers to find a parking spot. Video bitrate and quality reduction and its impact on performance were studied. …

Development And Testing Of A Measure Of Alzheimer’S Disease Knowledge In A Rural Appalachian Community, Lisa K. Weise

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Rural West Virginia has a very high percentage of older adults. The age-related disease of Alzheimer’s threatens the health of older Appalachians, yet research on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in this population is scarce. In order to improve screening rates for cognitive impairment, Appalachians need to understand their vulnerability. The first step would be to assess their knowledge about AD but a suitable AD knowledge test has not been developed. The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of a new measure of knowledge about AD that is culturally congruent, and to examine factors that may predict …

Dropout Prevention, Christopher L. Simmons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This mixed methods study focused on the relationship between dropout prevention programs and graduation rates in one school district in Florida during the 2010-2011 school year. The dropout prevention program data analyzed included high school principals' perceptions in regard to perceived effectiveness, fidelity of implementation, cost efficacy, structure, and student-staff relationships within dropout prevention programs and their relationship to graduation rate. The data analysis investigated the relationship between the principals' perceptions of each dropout prevention program and graduation rate. Findings from this study showed principals' perceived that the level of fidelity for on-the-job training has a relationship to increased graduation …

How Did Rggi Do It? Political Economy And Emissions Auctions, Bruce R. Huber

Journal Articles

Among the major emissions trading schemes in operation around the world, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) stands alone: this CO₂ cap-and-trade program among nine northeastern states is the only such scheme to rely primarily on auctions to distribute emissions allowances. The standard practice - distributing allowances for free on the basis of historical emissions - elicits begrudging but politically crucial support from some regulated emitters. Like carbon taxation, allowance auctioning has long been considered economically superior to its alternatives but politically infeasible.

How did the RGGI states manage to defy conventional wisdom and institute a program so reliant …

Employability And Transferable Skills: Investigating Work Placements For Humanities Students, Sandra Barkhof, C Rockey

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

This project aims to enhance the employability of our graduates through an evaluative case study investigating subject-specific work placement and work experience opportunities in the local and regional community. The project will use a new work-facing module on ‘History and Heritage’ as a case study, although the aim of the project is to provide a sustainable model for a work-facing approach to teaching that can also be applied to other subjects.In the past, History as a course has offered no work placements or work experience either as part of the curriculum or as extra-curricular activities. Preliminary research has shown that …

A Role For Two‐Pore Potassium (K2p) Channels In Endometrial Epithelial Function, Sk Patel, L Jackson, Ay Warren, Et Al

School of Nursing and Midwifery

The human endometrial epithelium is pivotal to menstrual cycle progression, implantation and early pregnancy. Endometrial function is directly regulated by local factors that include pH, oxygen tension and ion concentrations to generate an environment conducive to fertilization. A superfamily of potassium channels characterized by two-pore domains (K2P) and encoded by KCNK genes is implicated in the control of the cell resting membrane potential through the generation of leak currents and modulation by various physicochemical stimuli. The aims of the study were to determine the expression and function of K2P channel subtypes in proliferative and secretory phase endometrium obtained from normo-ovulatory …

Evidence-Based Programs In Children's Services: A Critical Appraisal, Nick Axford, Louise Morpeth

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Pain Solutions In The Emergency Setting (Pasties); A Protocol For Two Open-Label Randomised Trials Of Patient-Controlled Analgesia (Pca) Versus Routine Care In The Emergency Department, Je Smith, M Rockett, R Squire, Cj Hayward, Et Al

Peninsula Medical School

Introduction Pain is the commonest reason that patients present to an emergency department (ED), but it is often not treated effectively. Patient controlled analgesia (PCA) is used in other hospital settings but there is little evidence to support its use in emergency patients. We describe two randomised trials aiming to compare PCA to nurse titrated analgesia (routine care) in adult patients who present to the ED requiring intravenous opioid analgesia for the treatment of moderate to severe pain and are subsequently admitted to hospital. Methods and analysis Two prospective multi-centre open-label randomised trials of PCA versus routine care in emergency …

Alcohol Consumption And Its Correlates Among Residents Of Mining Town, Kitwe, Zambia: 2011 Population Based Survey, Cosmas Zyaambo, Olesegun Babaniyi, Peter Songolo, Adamson S. Muula, Emmanuel Rudatsikira, Seter Siziya

Faculty Publications

Alcohol consumption is a risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, liver cirrhosis and cancers. It has also been associated with risky sexual behaviors, hence, attributed as a factor in the increase of HIV incidence and prevalence. A cross sectional study was conducted using a modified World Health Organizations Global Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) Surveillance Initiative NCD-STEPs 1and 2. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the determinants of alcohol consumption. A total of 1627 individuals participated in the survey, of which 42.3% were males. Some 22.3% (36.2% of male and 12.1% of female; p<0.001) participants reported to have consumed alcohol during the 30 days preceding the survey. The factors considered to be associated with alcohol consumption were age, sex and smoking. Compared to respondents age 25-34 years, respondents of age 35-44 years were 38% (AOR = 1.38, 95%CI [1.11, 1.70]) more likely to report having consumed alcohol and those aged 45 years or older were 26% (AOR = 0.74, 95%CI [0.60, 0.93]) less likely to report having consumed alcohol. Female respondents were 47% (AOR = 0.53, 95%CI [0.46, 0.60]) less likely to report consuming alcohol compared to male respondents. Compared to respondents who reported smoking cigarettes, those who did not smoke cigarettes were 51% (AOR = 0.49, 95%CI [0.40, 0.59]) less likely to consume alcohol. The rate of alcohol consumption is high in this mining town. Factors identified in this study as associated with alcohol consumption, i.e., male sex, age, cigarette smoking, should be considered in designing interventions to curtail the level of alcohol consumption.

The Armendárizes: A Transnational Family In New Mexico And Mexico, Samuel E. Sisneros

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Although the Armendáriz surname is uncommon in New Mexico today, the Armendáriz family was important in New Mexico during the early to mid-1800s, with key political, diplomatic, and social links to Texas; California; Washington, D.C.; and Mexico. The lives of the Armendárizes attest to the long and constant movement of people, trade, and politics along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the Royal Road of the Interior) and to theformation of a binational region. From Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the El Paso/Ciudad Juárez border and Chihuahua City to Mexico City, the Armendáriz family legacy demonstrates that New Mexico has …

Culture And Online Distance Learning, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Online distance learning (ODL) has become a global phenomenon transcending national, political, and geographical boundaries challenging distance educators to re-examine notions of teaching and learning and issues of culture inherent in cross-border delivery of online courses and programs. Rogers, Graham and Mayes (2007) note that the sheer amount of learning content being developed in the West (defined for this chapter as Eurocentric, North American, Australasian) and exported via the Internet to other countries, highlights the crucial need to explore questions of culture more thoroughly in our online course designs to provide a more equitable learning experience for all. Global universities …

Exploring The Third Culture Building Approach For Effective Cross-Cultural Interaction For Black American Professionals In Predominantly White Institutions, Tessa R. Sutton

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Professional interactions that are both functional and mutually beneficial are rare. The purpose of this study is to explore an application of a Third Culture Building (TCB) approach, a mutually constructed interpersonal process between two individuals, for Black American professionals (with advanced knowledge acquired from institutions of higher learning), to generate a new space in Predominantly White Institutions (PWis). These institutions include settings where the racial composition is becoming consistently more diverse (through past desegregation efforts). Although the U.S. has moved beyond integration and the monumental Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, racism and intercultural barriers that prevent functional cross-cultural …

The Effectiveness And Cost-Effectiveness Of Shared Care: Protocol For Realist Review, R Hardwick, M Pearson, R Anderson, R Byng

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Stakeholders Perspective On Sustainable Technology Selection To Achieve Zero Carbon Retail Buildings, Syeda Zainab, Wei Pan, Steve Goodhew, Alba Fuertes

School of Art, Design and Architecture

In the design and construction of sustainable retail buildings, there are various stakeholders involved with the overall aim of selecting appropriate sustainable technologies to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Previous studies and literature review indicate there is no comprehensive selection process to assist stakeholders. This can be classified as a complex multi-criteria decision problem due to the high number of alternatives, potential solutions and variety of stakeholders (e.g. clients, professional advisors, end-users) with multiple, often conflicting, objectives leading in turn to the slow take-up of sustainable technologies. There is a demand for a systematic and effective evaluation tool for …

Online And Local Television Networks: A New Pedagogy For A Changing Media., Phil Ellis, John Fitzsimons, David Hilton, Allister Gall

School of Art, Design and Architecture

To investigate campus-based and local TV focused on innovative opportunities for students, employers and community groups to contribute to the design of learning pedagogies and course structures.To utilize the strong element of collaboration within and across creative courses in the UPC Partnership encouraging students to explore the medium of TV and establish new learning cultures that broaden the context of the student experience, encouraging creative work-based/related collaboration with local communities and employers.Research outcomes will enhance understanding of a fluid and dynamic growth area for a new media, new educational and employment possibilities and arts practice, which in turn will inform …

Financing Preferences And Capital Structure Among Successful Malaysian Smes, Shafie Mohamed Zabri

Plymouth Business School Theses

The increasing importance of economic contributions of small and medium-sized sized enterprises (SMEs) around the world, especially in developing countries, motivated a better understanding of financial practices among SMEs. Financial support is among the factors affecting the success of SMEs. However, studies on the financial practices among successful SMEs in Malaysia are still limited. An understanding of the financial practices of this particular group of SMEs is essential in developing a supportive financial framework to achieve national agenda for improving SMEs sustainability and increasing the overall SMEs’ contributions to the Malaysian economy. This research investigates the financial practices among successful …

The Mediating Role Of Entrepreneurial Leadership: An Investigation Of The Competitiveness Of Smes In The Uk South-West Food And Drink Manufacturing, Lise Hunter

Plymouth Business School Theses

ABSTRACT It has long been argued that Social Capital, a concept represented by the value embedded in the social relationships of individuals or collectives constitute strategic resources for individuals and organisations. Social networks are thus perceived by businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, as a means to access those resources, for example gaining privileged access to strategic information that could secure financial resources. In reality, and because of the inherent characteristics of Social Capital, entrepreneurs or business owner/managers who effectively use resources available within social networks are driven by a clear and compelling vision and sustained by a set of …

Fluid Fractals: Leadership At The Apex Of Local Authority In England, Smita Tripathi

Plymouth Business School Theses

Purpose: This thesis aims to explore the complex phenomenon of leadership at the apex of democratically elected local authority in England. It makes sense of the social construction of leadership as perceived and enacted by senior appointed officers (hereinafter officers), elected members (hereinafter members) and key stakeholders – the voices from the apex and their understandings and interpretations. Design/methodology/approach: The thesis examines leadership literature through the paradigm of constructivism-interpretivism, making sense of transcripts of the semi-structured interviews with officers, members and stakeholders engaged in local authority work. Dominant/mainstream theories of leadership offer limited help to understanding the relational, processual constructions …

Optimising Supply Chain Performance Via Information Sharing And Coordinated Management, Wei Xu

Plymouth Business School Theses

Supply chain management has attracted much attention in the last decade. There has been a noticeable shift from a traditional individual organisation-based management to an integrated management across the supply chain network since the end of the last century. The shift contributes to better decision making in the supply chain context, as it is necessary for a company to cooperate with other supply chain members by utilising relevant information such as inventory, demand and resource capacity. In other words, information sharing and coordinated management are essential mechanisms to improve supply chain performance. Supply chains may differ significantly in terms of …

Molecular Approaches For Studying Root Herbivores, Cm Benefer, Rp Blackshaw

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The use of molecular techniques in insect ecology has expanded rapidly, allowing ever more challenging questions to be addressed. Compared to their aboveground equivalents, root herbivore molecular ecology has received less attention, despite essentially the same ecological questions being of importance in both the above- and belowground ecosystems. Studies so far have concentrated on economically important taxa, using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequencing and a variety of markers to investigate the species identity and relationships, population dynamics and dispersal, distribution, feeding behaviour and interactions with other organisms. Although this has proved useful for elucidating these aspects of their ecology, there …

A Realist Review Of Interventions And Strategies To Promote Evidence-Informed Healthcare: A Focus On Change Agency, Brendan Mccormack, Joanne Rycroft-Malone, Kara Decorby, Alison M. Hutchinson, Tracey Bucknall, Bridie Kent, Alyce Schultz, Erna Snelgrove-Clarke, Cheyl Stetler, Marita Titler, Lars Wallin, Valerie Wilson

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.