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2013

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Survival, Habitat Use, And Spatiotemporal Use Of Wildlife Management Areas By Female Mallards In Mississippi's Alluvial Valley, Joseph David Lancaster Dec 2013

Survival, Habitat Use, And Spatiotemporal Use Of Wildlife Management Areas By Female Mallards In Mississippi's Alluvial Valley, Joseph David Lancaster

Theses and Dissertations

The Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) is an important region for wintering mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in North America, yet little is known about their spatiotemporal habitat use and related survival in Mississippi. I tracked 126 radio-marked female mallards to quantify survival, habitat use, and use of wildlife management areas (WMAs) with experimental hunt regimes in the south MAV of Mississippi during winters 2010-2012. Daily survival was greatest in agricultural (0.997) and moist-soil (0.999) habitats in winters 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, respectively. Overall interval survival across both winters was 0.60 (SE = 0.02). Forested (40-54%) and moist-soil wetlands (41-59%) received greatest use diurnally …

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System Dynamics Simulation Model Of Salmonella Contamination Of Broiler Carcasses In The Chill Tank Of A Poultry Processing Plant, Karen Dazo Galarneau Dec 2013

System Dynamics Simulation Model Of Salmonella Contamination Of Broiler Carcasses In The Chill Tank Of A Poultry Processing Plant, Karen Dazo Galarneau

Theses and Dissertations

Salmonella has been studied and researched for more than a hundred years and yet it remains a problem for human and animal health. The goal of this dissertation was to apply the systems thinking approach to Salmonella contamination and develop a System Dynamics (SD) simulation model for Salmonella contamination in the chill tank of a poultry processing plant. But first the appropriate carcass rinse sampling method that would not impact on the resulting Salmonella contamination status of the broiler carcass was studied. Kappa agreement analysis was used to evaluate three sampling methods. The adjacent rinse method was found to be …

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The Community College Baccalaureate: Assessing Student Perceptions At One Rural Mississippi Community College, Edana Leigh Nail Dec 2013

The Community College Baccalaureate: Assessing Student Perceptions At One Rural Mississippi Community College, Edana Leigh Nail

Theses and Dissertations

The demand for Community College Baccalaureate (CCB) degrees is rising due to increasing costs of educational obtainment resulting in decreased access. Also, universities are not always accessible geographically or academically to many students. Many students are limited in time and financial resources, and have family and job responsibilities, limiting their ability to relocate to a university. The focus of this study was to explore the perceptions of students regarding the need for the CCB, the effectiveness of the CCB, reasons why students would choose the CCB, and the fields of CCB degrees students would choose. Specifically, this study compared the …

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Mississippi Private Forest Owner Characteristics And Future Plans: Implications For Extension Forestry, Emily Fleming Vanderford Dec 2013

Mississippi Private Forest Owner Characteristics And Future Plans: Implications For Extension Forestry, Emily Fleming Vanderford

Theses and Dissertations

Extension professionals are faced with the challenge of effectively communicating relevant information to an evolving audience with diverse interests. This study utilized mixed methodologies to highlight specific educational programming needs of nonindustrial private forest landowners (NIPFs) in Mississippi. Ten landowner focus groups were conducted during January 2012, followed one year later by the mailing of 3,000 survey questionnaires to Mississippi NIPFs owning 20 or more acres of uncultivated land. Findings indicated NIPFs are more likely to adopt new ideas if educational programming is tailored to their specific needs, indicating the need to group the audience by their interests. In particular, …

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Molecular Basis Of Salmonella Enterica Serovar Kentucky Attachment To Broiler Skin, Sanaz Salehi Dec 2013

Molecular Basis Of Salmonella Enterica Serovar Kentucky Attachment To Broiler Skin, Sanaz Salehi

Theses and Dissertations

The presence of Salmonella enterica throughout the production and processing continuum is a concern in broiler industry. While federal regulations have lowered the acceptable level of Salmonella contamination on broiler carcasses, the mechanisms that contribute to pathogen attachment are not fully understood. Salmonella Kentucky has become the predominant Salmonella serovar isolated from broilers carcasses at the end of the immersion chill tank. In Europe and Africa this serovar has been shown to acquire antibiotic resistance genes that may lead this non-typhoidal serotype to become a potential public health concern. To investigate the genes that are involved in colonization of the …

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Gender Characteristics And Barriers To Community College Leadership, Joanna Mcclellan Dec 2013

Gender Characteristics And Barriers To Community College Leadership, Joanna Mcclellan

Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has determined that there are still gender barriers that women must overcome to reach administrative positions in many employment settings. Gender barriers to leadership positions have been and continue to be a sensitive matter that must be addressed by community college administrators. This exploratory quantitative research study examined rural community college administrators’ perceptions about gender barriers and explored administrators’ perceptions about management styles based on gender. The study population included 596 community college administrators in the United States. Of those, 128 community college administrators chose to participate in this study and completed a 42-item researcher designed survey instrument …

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Examining The Influence Of Nutritional Behaviors, Knowledge And Attitudes On Body Mass Index Of Adults In North Mississippi, Gloria Therese Broughan Dec 2013

Examining The Influence Of Nutritional Behaviors, Knowledge And Attitudes On Body Mass Index Of Adults In North Mississippi, Gloria Therese Broughan

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with weight statuses approaching obesity may be at risk for chronic health problems. Diet, weight, health behaviors, level of knowledge, and attitudes or perceptions have been identified as key factors influencing body weight. The purpose of this study was to determine which factors were related to BMI in adults in north Mississippi and to determine if there were relationships between those factors. A telephone survey was conducted with 500 participants (mean age 46.3 ± 18.5). The average BMI was 27.5 ± 6.2 kg/m2. Knowledge and attitude/perception-based data were associated with a higher BMI in the population more than dietary …

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Experimental Evaluation Of Error Bounds For The Stochastic Shortest Path Problem, Ibrahim Abdoulahi Dec 2013

Experimental Evaluation Of Error Bounds For The Stochastic Shortest Path Problem, Ibrahim Abdoulahi

Theses and Dissertations

A stochastic shortest path (SSP) problem is an undiscounted Markov decision process with an absorbing and zero-cost target state, where the objective is to reach the target state with minimum expected cost. This problem provides a foundation for algorithms for decision-theoretic planning and probabilistic model checking, among other applications. This thesis describes an implementation and evaluation of recently developed error bounds for SSP problems. The bounds can be used in a test for convergence of iterative dynamic programming algorithms for solving SSP problems, as well as in action elimination procedures that can accelerate convergence by excluding provably suboptimal actions that …

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How Creative Professional Service Firms Internationalize: A Business Model Portfolio Approach, Deirdre Mcquillan, Pamela Sharkey Scott, Vincent Mangematin Dec 2013

How Creative Professional Service Firms Internationalize: A Business Model Portfolio Approach, Deirdre Mcquillan, Pamela Sharkey Scott, Vincent Mangematin

Conference Papers

Traditional theory of firm internationalization assumes all firms are homogeneous in their approach to managing uncertainties and implementing business strategies when internationalizing. A business model portfolio approach articulates a more complex process and suggests that firms adopt a portfolio of business models to balance uncertainties. Combining these two perspectives, this multiple case study research design explores how creative professional service firms (creative PSFs) internationalize. Creative PSFs such as architects are embedded in their local cultures, operating at the intersection of business and art. Our study reveals the complexities of creative PSF internationalization, showing that in contrast to existing explanations, multiple …

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Integration And Mental Health Care, Rick Van Den Pol, Marilyn Zimmerman Dec 2013

Integration And Mental Health Care, Rick Van Den Pol, Marilyn Zimmerman

Rural Health Workshop

No abstract provided.

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Establishing Healthy Lifestyles In Rural Settings, Kathy Humphries Dec 2013

Establishing Healthy Lifestyles In Rural Settings, Kathy Humphries

Rural Health Workshop

No abstract provided.

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Muslim Parents At Crossroads: Choosing The Right School For Their Children, Ghazala E. Ahmed Dec 2013

Muslim Parents At Crossroads: Choosing The Right School For Their Children, Ghazala E. Ahmed

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This paper is based on a qualitative study that investigated reasons behind twelve Muslim parents’ decisions to send their children to either an Islamic or a public school in South-Western Ontario. Three major thematic reasons for parents’ choices emerged from the interviews: first, were the parents’ experiences with either the public or Islamic school environment; second, were the parents’ experiences and perceptions of the school’s dress codes; and, third, was the parents’ understanding of the school curriculum content. In addition to these themes, the paper also discusses parents’ views on the language of the school and that of the home …

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Cal Poly Engineering Announces Faculty And Staff Awards, Public Affairs Office Dec 2013

Cal Poly Engineering Announces Faculty And Staff Awards, Public Affairs Office

Press Releases

No abstract provided.

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Pg&E Provides Support For The Cal Poly Cybersecurity Center, Public Affairs Office Dec 2013

Pg&E Provides Support For The Cal Poly Cybersecurity Center, Public Affairs Office

Press Releases

No abstract provided.

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Home Is Always Calling: Determinants Of Civic Participation Among Zimbabwean Immigrants In Cape Town, South Africa, Rumbidzai R. Mufuka Dec 2013

Home Is Always Calling: Determinants Of Civic Participation Among Zimbabwean Immigrants In Cape Town, South Africa, Rumbidzai R. Mufuka

Open Access Dissertations

This research project examines factors that have influenced community engagement among immigrants from Zimbabwe living in Cape Town, South Africa. A case study of PASSOP (an immigrant rights organization in Cape Town) tests existing theories on civic participation through interviews with immigrants, knowledgeable informants and activists. The study identifies reasons for leaving Zimbabwe and legal status in South Africa as factors that influence why undocumented immigrants participate in or withdraw from civil society in Cape Town. The results indicate that the conditions of the country of origin and the related reasons for leaving—political and economic degradation in Zimbabwe—heavily influence the …

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A Study Of Internal Solitary Waves In Satellite Images Of The Mid-Atlantic Bight, Jingshuang Xue Dec 2013

A Study Of Internal Solitary Waves In Satellite Images Of The Mid-Atlantic Bight, Jingshuang Xue

Open Access Dissertations

Satellite imagery has been widely used to study internal solitary wave (ISW) generation mechanisms, evolution, and properties. The Nonlinear Internal Wave Initiative/Shallow Water 2006 (SW06) experiment in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) provided a unique dataset to study the vertical structure from their surface manifestation in the images, which can improve our understanding of ISW evolution, energy dissipation, and mixing processes. This thesis has two parts. First, the applicability of various weakly nonlinear theories including the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV), Intermediate Long Wave (ILW), Benjamin-Ono (BO), and higher-order KdV models is tested to describe large amplitude ISWs in the MAB. Based on …

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“We Found Ourselves”—Music And Identity Among The Chinese American Diaspora In Miami, Yiyu Zhang Dec 2013

“We Found Ourselves”—Music And Identity Among The Chinese American Diaspora In Miami, Yiyu Zhang

Open Access Theses

Chinese American communities have been part of the United States since the 19th century. Presently, their high rates of immigration have made them one of this country’s fastest growing communities. However, in Miami, only 0.3% of the population are Chinese Americans. In this local setting, music serves, in the words of Su Zheng, as an important “signifier that produces complex cultural meanings.” Because traditional music forms one of the most significant aspects of music in China, it is critical to explore the extent to which Chinese American musical culture has developed and changed. This thesis discusses the function of Chinese …

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An Exploratory Study: The Use Of Privately Owned Vessels As Mobile Research Platforms, Brittany L. Stockman Dec 2013

An Exploratory Study: The Use Of Privately Owned Vessels As Mobile Research Platforms, Brittany L. Stockman

Open Access Theses

Due to limited public funding for scientific studies and data collection, private sector entities increasingly fill the gap by facilitating research inquiries. Specifically, coastal, oceanic and marine conservation nonprofit organizations (NPOs) play a direct role in research by both funding and orchestrating research missions across the globe. Through the examination of existing organizations and vessels involved in such efforts, this study examined the practicality of a NPO managed program that provides marine scientists with suitable mobile research platforms and evaluated the overall benefits of such a program on the ocean research community. One such organization, the International SeaKeepers Society (SeaKeepers), …

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Mangrove Mitigation: A Case Study Of The Cocoplum Development, A History Of Land Use Changes And Trends In Mitigation Efforts, Stephanie J. Chaston Dec 2013

Mangrove Mitigation: A Case Study Of The Cocoplum Development, A History Of Land Use Changes And Trends In Mitigation Efforts, Stephanie J. Chaston

Open Access Theses

The residential community of the Islands of Cocoplum is located in Coral Gables, Florida along Biscayne Bay. It has served as a case study for mangrove mitigation techniques employed by Miami-Dade County's Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER) Coastal Resources division as a way of combating mangrove destruction. A database was created using Microsoft Excel and ArcGIS to identify and map all Class I coastal construction permits and mangrove violations since the onset of the Cocoplum Development in the 1980's through 2011. By identifying the mitigation strategies used by the County, it can be determined if mangrove mitigation effort has lessened, …

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Gospelfest Sets Spirits Soaring (Photos), Public Affairs, Roger Williams University Dec 2013

Gospelfest Sets Spirits Soaring (Photos), Public Affairs, Roger Williams University

Featured News Story

Gospel choir lends spiritual, personal touch to community performance.

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Boyd Briefs - Dec. 13, 2013, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School Of Law Dec 2013

Boyd Briefs - Dec. 13, 2013, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School Of Law

Boyd Briefs / Road Scholars

Boyd Briefs provides weekly information regarding the activities and accomplishments of the faculty, students, and alumni of the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

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Privacy And Cloud Computing In Public Schools, Joel Reidenberg, N. Cameron Russell, Jordan Kovnot, Thomas B. Norton, Ryan Cloutier, Daniela Alvarado Dec 2013

Privacy And Cloud Computing In Public Schools, Joel Reidenberg, N. Cameron Russell, Jordan Kovnot, Thomas B. Norton, Ryan Cloutier, Daniela Alvarado

Center on Law and Information Policy

Today, data driven decision-making is at the center of educational policy debates in the United States. School districts are increasingly turning to rapidly evolving technologies and cloud computing to satisfy their educational objectives and take advantage of new opportunities for cost savings, flexibility, and always-available service among others. As public schools in the United States rapidly adopt cloud-computing services, and consequently transfer increasing quantities of student information to third-party providers, privacy issues become more salient and contentious. The protection of student privacy in the context of cloud computing is generally unknown both to the public and to policy-makers. This study …

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Insights Into Distinct Modulation Of α7 And α7β2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors By The Volatile Anesthetic, David D. Mowrey, Qiang Liu, Vasyl Bondarenko, Qiang Chen, Edom Seyoum, Yan Xu, Jie Wu, Pei Tang Dec 2013

Insights Into Distinct Modulation Of α7 And α7β2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors By The Volatile Anesthetic, David D. Mowrey, Qiang Liu, Vasyl Bondarenko, Qiang Chen, Edom Seyoum, Yan Xu, Jie Wu, Pei Tang

Translational Neuroscience

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are targets of general anesthetics, but functional sensitivity to anesthetic inhibition varies dramatically among different subtypes of nAChRs. Potential causes underlying different functional responses to anesthetics remain elusive. Here we show that in contrast to the α7 nAChR, the α7β2 nAChR is highly susceptible to inhibition by the volatile anesthetic isoflurane in electrophysiology measurements. Isoflurane-binding sites in β2 and α7 were found at the extracellular and intracellular end of their respective transmembrane domains using NMR. Functional relevance of the identified β2 site was validated via point mutations and subsequent functional measurements. Consistent with their functional responses …

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Volume 49 - Issue 10 - Friday, December 13, 2013, Rose Thorn Staff Dec 2013

Volume 49 - Issue 10 - Friday, December 13, 2013, Rose Thorn Staff

The Rose Thorn Archive

The Rose Thorn, Rose-Hulman's independent student newspaper.

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Strengthening Immigrants' Health Access: Current Opportunities, Leighton C. Ku Dec 2013

Strengthening Immigrants' Health Access: Current Opportunities, Leighton C. Ku

Health Policy and Management Issue Briefs

This brief summarizes key opportunities helping the nation’s newcomers in gaining health insurance coverage and health access that are possible under the current law. Provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will help millions of legal immigrants gain access to affordable health insurance coverage. At the same time, however, immigrants will also face new responsibilities. Like citizens, lawfully present immigrants will be responsible for having health insurance coverage or paying a tax penalty, although some are exempt. Rules about immigrants’ access to health insurance benefits are often complicated because they depend on specific immigration categories, as well as eligibility for …

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[2013-12-13] Meeting Of The Academic And Health Affairs Policy Committee, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors Dec 2013

[2013-12-13] Meeting Of The Academic And Health Affairs Policy Committee, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors

VCU Board of Visitors Minutes

Official minutes of the VCU Board of Visitors and its Executive Committee.

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[2013-12-13] Meeting Of The Audit And Compliance Committee, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors Dec 2013

[2013-12-13] Meeting Of The Audit And Compliance Committee, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors

VCU Board of Visitors Minutes

Official minutes of the VCU Board of Visitors and its Executive Committee.

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[2013-12-13] University Resources Committee Of The Board Of Visitors, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors Dec 2013

[2013-12-13] University Resources Committee Of The Board Of Visitors, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors

VCU Board of Visitors Minutes

Official minutes of the VCU Board of Visitors and its Executive Committee.

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[2013-12-13] Meeting Of The Board Of Visitors Of Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors Dec 2013

[2013-12-13] Meeting Of The Board Of Visitors Of Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors

VCU Board of Visitors Minutes

Official minutes of the VCU Board of Visitors and its Executive Committee.

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School Culture: A Survey Of Two Eastern Kentucky Middle Schools, John D. Goble Dec 2013

School Culture: A Survey Of Two Eastern Kentucky Middle Schools, John D. Goble

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

An applied project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Education Specialist at Morehead State University by John D. Goble on December 13, 2013.

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