Digital Commons Network^™

Planning Ahead - A Guide For Your Cropping Program, Janet Paterson

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

It is difficult to think logically and make rational choices when under extreme pressure.

The seasonal break between harvest and preparation for seeding is a good time to get some rest and take some time to consider the position of your enterprise.

This is your best opportunity to assess risks and make important decisions when the demands on your time are few.

Most people, farm managers included, struggle to make sound decisions if they are extremely stressed-this is only natural. If you feel that you are struggling to make decisions, counselling services are a valuable resource to help you plan …

Student English Achievement, Attitude And Behaviour In Bilingual And Monolingual Schools In Aceh, Indonesia, Khairiah Syahabuddin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Following the tsunami in 2004, the education system in Banda Aceh, Indonesia,was reconstructed and revitalised, and part of this involved foreign intervention in setting up bilingual schools alongside state-run monolingual schools. The purpose of this study is threefold. The first is to investigate the achievements of first year middle school students in Banda Aceh (Indonesia) in English essay writing, English reading comprehension, and attitude and behaviour with regard to learning English, as dependent variables, in the context of differences in gender and school types (bilingual and monolingual schools). The second is to investigate attitude and behaviour of students with regard …

An Investigation Into The Volatility And Cointegration Of Emerging European Stock Markets, Anna Golab

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This dissertation examines the interaction between European Emerging markets including cointegration, volatility, correlation and spillover effects. This study is also concerned with the process of the enlargement of the European Union and how this affects the emerging markets of newcomers. The twelve emerging markets studied are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungry, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, which are all progressing very rapidly in their reforms and domestic economic stability.

The majority of prior studies on stock market comovements and integration have concentrated on mature developed markets or the advanced emerging markets of the Czech Republic, …

Effects Of Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy On Symptoms Associated With Eccentric Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage, Henry Banyard

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Unaccustomed exercise consisting of eccentric contractions induces muscle damage that is characterised by muscle weakness, soreness, swelling and increased muscle stiffness. These symptoms affect daily activities and athletic performance; therefore, interventions to attenuate the symptoms and enhance recovery from muscle damage are necessary. Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMFT) is anecdotally reported to increase muscle blood flow and oxygenation to enhance tissue healing. One previous study showed that PEMFT was effective for alleviating muscle soreness and losses in range of motion after exercise. However, studies investigating the effect of PEMFT on recovery of muscle strength following eccentric exercise are lacking. The …

Pax3 Expression, Protein Modifications And Downstream Target Gene Profiling In Melanocytes And Melanoma Cells, Danielle Bartlett

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

PAX3 is a transcription factor. It plays a major role in the development of melanocytes in the embryo. As a result of alternative splicing, the gene gives rise to eight different transcripts which encode proteins that have differing structures and are therefore likely to activate different downstream target genes. The presence of post-translational modifications has also been shown to alter the functions of the proteins.

PAX3 regulates the maintenance of undifferentiated melanoblasts and mediates pathways involved in proliferation, migration and survival. It has been shown to be expressed in melanoblasts, adult melanocytes, naevi and in most melanoma cells. This implies …

Root Canal Treatment Of A Three-Rooted Maxillary Second Premolar, Chia-Shuo Yeh, Wen-Bing Wong, Wayne Yu-Wei Kan, Ming-Gene Tu

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Successful root canal treatment relies on correct access cavity preparation, sufficient cleaning, adequate shaping, and complete obturation. Prior to these, location of all existing canals in the tooth plays an important part in the initial treatment procedures. While most teeth have a normal morphology, we should recognize that variations do exist. Normal maxillary second premolars have one or two root canals. Maxillary second premolars are less likely to have three canals. To date, only a few cases of maxillary second premolars with three roots (and three canals) have been reported in the literature. This case presentation reports a 20-year-old …

Foreign Body Of Endodontic Origin In The Maxillary Sinus, Marta Tanasiewicz, Anna Bubilek-Bogacz, Henryk Twardawa, Małgorzata Skucha-Nowak, Tomasz Szklarski

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Foreign bodies found in the maxillary sinus include tooth roots, burs, dental impression material, root-filling materials, dental implants, and needles. The purpose of this paper was to present an unusual case of a large foreign body of endodontic origin (root-filling material) removed from the maxillary sinus. A 45-year-old generally healthy male patient reported to the Department of Conservative Dentistry with Endodontics of the Medical University of Silesia, because of orbital and buccal pain on the right side of his face and headaches in the preceding 6 months. Those symptoms were associated with the end of endodontic treatment of teeth …

Applying The Principles Of Spatial Modelling To The Management Of Biodiversity In The Fragmented Landscapes Of South-Western Australia, Shaun Molloy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Biodiversity conservation throughout the world is challenged by the impacts of a changing climate on fragmented landscapes. To mitigate these threats, conservation managers require models which can demonstrate the consequences of both negative impacts and management actions. This need can be addressed through spatial modelling applications. Unfortunately, throughout much of the world, spatial modelling is forgone, being seen as requiring skills and resources beyond the means of many conservation planners and managers. This thesis seeks to address this dilemma by delivering criteria for a successful modelling application and by providing case studies which demonstrate how appropriate modelling can be undertaken …

Creep-O-Meter: A Satirical Guide To Creepers, Alice Hallahan

Theses

The Creep-O-Meter app and book explore, and humorously exploit contemporary psychological and behavioral norms concerning the term "creeper." Together, the app and the book poke fun at people who practice awkward behavior, and humorously guide the user in the correct direction for both recognizing and handling potentially awkward social situations.

The end product is an interactive set of tools that can be used to educate, correct, or repel distasteful behavior.

Pagan Christian Spiritual Identity In Mainline Christian Denominations, Irene Grace Puckett La Torra

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Rhetorical Approach To 1 Thessalonians In Light Of Funeral Oration, Jae Kyung Cho

ATS Dissertations

The present dissertation is a study of the rhetorical approach to 1 Thessalonians, particularly funeral oration. Though many scholars have interpreted 1 Thessalonians in light of thematic perspective, mirror reading, and epistolary approach, this dissertation asserts that Paul employs elements of epideictic funerary oratory to persuade his audience in writing 1 Thessalonians. Moreover, the dissertation shows that Paul’s use of funerary language with some twists in meaning and purpose illustrates that Paul employs topoi and the purpose of funeral oration in 1 Thessalonians.

Encountering the growing persecution, sufferings, and even death of members, the believers of Thessalonica needed encouragement and …

Effectiveness Of Peer Mentoring In First-Year Program Classrooms, Katherine Casey

Master's Theses

First-year programs (FYPs) for college students offer extended orientation to campus resources and provide first-time freshmen with essential skills for academic success, and many believe that the effectiveness of FYPs increases with the presence of peer mentors. The present study measured the added effectiveness of peer mentoring in FYP classrooms with knowledge of campus resources as a dependent measure. Ninety one first-year students in nine sections of FYP classes participated in this quasi-experimental study. Seven of the classes had peer mentors (n = 70), and the two control classes (n = 21) did not have peer mentors in the classroom. …

Accent-Based Implicit Prejudice: A Novel Application Of The Implicit Association Test, Carolyn Chu

Master's Theses

In the present study, implicit attitudes toward accents were examined. The most common method used to study accent-based perceptions is by self-report questionnaires, which measure explicit attitudes. To my knowledge, no previous study has examined implicit accent-based attitudes. In the present investigation, auditory stimuli were used in a novel application of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measure implicit accent attitudes. Participants were randomly assigned to listen to a passage read in one of three foreign accents (Mexican, Chinese, or British) and the same passage in a Standard American accent. Participants also completed the Speech Dialect Attitudinal Scale, which measured …

Restoring Native Plants Following Invasive Malephora Crocea (Coppery Iceplant, Aizoaceae) Eradication On Anacapa Island, Nathan William Hale

Master's Theses

To avoid unintended complications of invasive species eradication, it is important to understand the potential implications of the techniques used in species eradication efforts. This study aimed to compare how different methods of removing Malephora crocea affect the survivorship of planted seedlings of native perennial plants on Anacapa Island. Employing a randomized complete block design in an M. crocea stand, three removal treatments were tested: 1) hand-pull; 2) spray with herbicide and leave skeletons; and 3) spray and then remove skeletons after 2.5 months. In each treatment, seedlings of three species (Leptosyne gigantea, Frankenia salina, and Grindelia …

This Could Be A Game!": Defining Gamification For The Classroom, Darcy Elaine Osheim

Master's Theses

Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-late 20th century and the experiences of students entering college in 2012/13. In the United States, the influx of almost universal access to technology has marked this generation in a way the previous generations must work to understand, and gamification is a strategy used in areas like marketing to gain participation from this age group. Gamification is a strategy that employs game mechanics, techniques, and theory in areas that traditionally are not set up to function like a game. The purpose of this study was to define gamification …

Experiences Of Coping With Injury In Division I Athletes From Low-To-Middle Socioeconomic Status Backgrounds, Matthew Philip Bejar

Master's Theses

Injuries inevitably occur in any sport at any level. The integrated sport injury model is one of the most extensive frameworks to address the psychological responses to athletic injury. While this model posits that socioeconomic status (SES) influences how an athlete cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally responds to an injury, no research has substantiated this claim. Low SES individuals experience an exceptional amount of stress, which may complicate how they cope with a negative event. The coping strategies employed by an athlete can have major implications on rehabilitation adherence, recovery time, and psychosocial well-being. The purpose of this study was to …

An Examination Of American Sport For Development And Peace Interns' Program Experiences, Michael Sanh Dao

Master's Theses

Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) is an international development movement that uses sport to address international humanitarian issues, including education on preventing HIV/AIDS, peaceful resolutions in communities experiencing conflict, and establishing gender equality in male-dominated societies. The emergence of SDP as a branch of international development over the last decade has garnered much attention. National governments, non-governmental organizations, and scholars have involved themselves in the process of SDP. The attention that SDP has attracted by these parties has been both practical and theoretical. Scholarly studies by prior researchers on SDP have included suggestions on best practices, and how people …

Titan I Propulsion System Modeling And Possible Performance Improvements, Oreste Giusti

Master's Theses

This thesis features the Titan I propulsion systems and offers data-supported suggestions for improvements to increase performance. The original propulsion systems were modeled both graphically in CAD and via equations. Due to the limited availability of published information, it was necessary to create a more detailed, secondary set of models. Various engineering equations--pertinent to rocket engine design--were implemented in order to generate the desired extra detail. This study describes how these new models were then imported into the ESI CFD Suite. Various parameters are applied to these imported models as inputs that include, for example, bi-propellant combinations, pressure, temperatures, and …

The Effect Of Socioeconomic Status On Student Perceptions Of Instructional Communication Behaviors, Samuel A. Crecelius

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In spite of desegregation and efforts to provide equitable education for all students, minorities and students living in poverty continue to underperform their peers. Education theorists have attributed this achievement gap to a cultural mismatch between students and their teachers and schools. At the same time, instructional communication research has found that cultural differences may influence student perceptions of teacher communication behaviors and that these behaviors have an effect on learning outcomes. Interestingly, while race has received extensive study in the instructional communication literature, little research has examined the role of socioeconomic status on students' perceptions of instructor communication behaviors. …

Diurnal And Nocturnal Avian Antipredator Behavior In Thermally Challenging Conditions, Jennie M. Carr

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diurnal avian antipredator behavior has been the focus of much past research, yet the influence of the thermal environment on such behaviors is often overlooked. Far less is known about nocturnal avian antipredator behavior, including how these behaviors are influenced by challenging thermal environments. The first portion of my research focused on how the thermal environment influences the diurnal antipredator behavior of wintering birds while (i) exposed to high wind speeds, (ii) foraging in sunlit and shaded microhabitats, and (iii) when using thermoregulatory postures to conserve body heat. In addition to increasing convective heat loss, high wind speeds increase the …

Running On Fumes: The Destabilization Of The World's Interconnected Systems As A Result Of Unsustainable Human Proliferation On A Finite Planet, Eduardo Fradin

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the global interconnectivity of critical and complex societal systems. Today, if consumption patterns continue to rise to unsustainable levels in concert with a soaring global population, these social and technological systems may begin to buckle, which will threaten the advancement of modern human civilization in the 21st century and beyond. The first globally-stressed system that is addressed in this paper is the global economic system. The second system I discuss is the global energy system and how it directly impacts the global economy. The following chapter looks at unsustainable population growth, freshwater scarcity, and food stresses. In …

The Effects Of Mindfulness Meditation And Resonant Frequency Breath Training On Emotion Regulation And Physiological Responses, Timothy James Neary

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Efficient, integrative methods to foster greater emotion regulation that are applicable to diverse populations are needed. Mindfulness meditation and resonant frequency breath training are independently positively correlated with changes in emotion regulation. The acquisition of effective emotion regulation strategies may be amplified by the interaction of mindfulness meditation practice and resonant frequency breath training. A sample of 82 undergraduate novice meditators were randomized in a four group design utilizing a control, mindfulness only, resonance only, and combined mindfulness and resonance breath training conditions delivered in a three-week intervention. Self-report measures assessed the use of emotion regulation strategies (ERQ), changes in …

A Comparison Study Of The Use Of Paper Versus Digital Textbooks By Undergraduate Students, James W. Johnson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Today's undergraduate student faces many challenges. The challenges include paying for tuition and textbooks and finding a job upon graduation. These students are tech-savvy and seeking better ways to learn and retain material they learn in their classes. In addition, the textbook market is trying to evolve by serving this tech-generation through offering digital textbooks and other media-rich materials. New digital textbooks coupled with tablet e-readers are being used to help undergraduate students learn and retain information just as well as traditional paper textbooks. Undergraduate students have strong opinions about the use of paper and digital textbooks including the physical …

“May You Live In Interesting Times”: Moral Philosophy And Empirical Psychology [Review Of The Moral Psychology Handbook], Nancy E. Snow

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

The Moral Psychology Handbook is a contribution to a relatively new genre of philosophical writing, the “handbook.” In the first section, I comment on an expectation about handbooks, namely that handbooks contain works representative of a field, and raise concerns about The Moral Psychology Handbook in this regard. In the rest of the article I comment in detail on two Handbook articles, “Moral Motivation” by Timothy Schroeder, Adina Roskies, and Shaun Nichols, and “Character” by Maria W. Merritt, John M. Doris, and Gilbert Harman. Both articles illustrate the perils as well as the promise of reliance on empirical studies for …

Foucault's Pendulum, A Classical Analog For The Electron Spin State, Rebecca Linck

Master's Theses

Spin has long been regarded as a fundamentally quantum phenomena that is incapable of being described classically. To bridge the gap and show that aspects of spin's quantum nature can be described classically, this work uses a classical Lagrangian based on the coupled oscillations of Foucault's pendulum as an analog for the electron spin state in an external magnetic field. With this analog it is possible to demonstrate that Foucault's pendulum not only serves as a basis for explaining geometric phase, but is also a basis for reproducing a broad range of behavior from Zeeman-like frequency splitting to precession of …

Farms On Campus: Strong Stakeholder Support For An Educational Garden At A Non-Land-Grant University, Gina M. Bacigalupi

Master's Theses

University farms and gardens are increasingly seen as effective tools for learning a variety of academic subjects and as resources that allow users to connect experientially to nature. Most existing university farms, however, are found at resource-rich land-grant universities. This research evaluated stakeholder interest and willingness-to-pay in money, time, and labor for a proposed educational farm at a public, urban, non-land-grant university through an online survey of over 400 members of the California State University East Bay, Concord Campus community. Overall, support for an educational farm at this site was high amongst all stakeholder groups. Students and stakeholders who hold …

Developing A Library Of Display Effects On Pilot Performance: Methods, Meta-Analyses, And Performance Estimates, Ellen Salud

Master's Theses

The design of NextGen and current-day cockpit displays are critical for efficient pilot performance and situation awareness on the flight deck. Before deployment of a design into the cockpit the costs and benefits that a display design imposes on performance and situation awareness should be considered. In this thesis, a design tool was developed to support the design of NextGen displays for situation awareness and performance. This design tool is a library of pilot performance estimates. Through literature reviews and meta-analyses of empirical data, the library was developed to provide display designers 1) qualitative distinctions of display properties that either …

Circular Justification And Explanation In Aristotle, Owen Goldin

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

Abstract Aristotle’s account of epistēmē is foundationalist. In contrast, the web of dialectical argumentation that constitutes justification for scientific principles is coherentist. Aristotle’s account of explanation is structurally parallel to the argument for a foundationalist account of justification. He accepts the first argument but his coherentist accounts of justification indicate that he would not accept the second. Where is the disanalogy? For Aristotle, the intelligibility of a demonstrative premise is the cause of the intelligibility of a demonstrated conclusion and causation is asymmetric. Within the Posterior Analytics itself, Aristotle does not account for this, but elsewhere he develops the resources …

Nunca Más: Truth Commissions, Prevention, And Human Rights Culture, Margaret Urban Walker

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Night Of The Living Dead Hand: The Individual Mandate And The Zombie Constitution, Gary S. Lawson

Faculty Scholarship

If someone had told me on June 27, 2012, that five Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court were about to hold in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius 1 (NFIB) that the individual mandate provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2 (PPACA) was not constitutionally authorized either by the Commerce Clause or the Necessary and Proper Clause, 3 I would have popped a cork. I don't even drink, but I would have popped the cork on principle just to hear the sound (and also to irritate my colleagues, most of whom revere the PPACA the way …