Digital Commons Network^™

War Crimes, Wristbands, And Web 2.0: Exploring Online Justice Advocacy, Colonialism And ‘Civilizing Missions’ Through Kony2012, Sarah Steele, Tyler Shores, Yvette Pollastrini

Journal of Hate Studies

On March 5, 2012, the advocacy organization Invisible Children released a short 30-minute film entitled Kony2012, on YouTube.com. Within days, the video had gone viral, gaining a mass global viewership. By December 2012, the video had received over 94 million views worldwide, attaining the unofficial status as “the most viral video of all time.” While Kony2012 raised awareness about the urgency of the manhunt for Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony and his exploitation of child soldiers in Uganda, the film generated much controversy. Commentators, both from within Uganda and beyond, raised serious questions about the oversimplified Colonial-style intervention …

Film Review: S. Leo Chiang’S Mr. Cao Goes To Washington, Jessica Maucione

Journal of Hate Studies

S. Leo Chiang’s documentary-biopic, Mr. Cao Goes to Washington, opens in New Orleans in 2010 as Joseph Cao closes out his two years in the U.S. House of Representatives and hopes desperately but doubtfully for re-election—a situation Cao likens to “waiting to see a dentist before you get your teeth pulled out.” Part character study and part exposé of the current state of partisan politics in Congress, the film tells the story of Cao’s 2008 victory—the biggest upset of the 2008 Congressional elections—and his two years of service. During his term, Congressman Cao goes from enthu- siastic idealist to a …

Novel Conducting Polymer Containing Composite Coatings For The Corrosion Protection Of Metal Alloys, Niteen Jadhav

Coatings and Polymeric Materials

Corrosion is a persistent problem faced by manmade structures made up of metal alloys. Aluminum 2024-T3 is high strength, light weight alloy used in aerospace applications. It suffers from the problem of corrosion due to its composition. Cold rolled steel is employed in structural applications but undergoes severe corrosion when exposed to corrosive conditions. Coatings are one of the best avenues to protect metal alloys from the corrosion. Traditional coating systems such as barrier type coatings, metal rich coatings, and inhibitor containing coatings have their own drawbacks. Conducting polymers (CPs), such as polypyrrole (PPy) can be used for the corrosion …

Determining The Essential Components Of State And Institution Dual Credit Program Policy In New Mexico: A Delphi Study With High School And College Experts, Gregory Dean Carlson

Education

The purpose of this Delphi study was to determine the essential components of dual credit in New Mexico. Dual credit experts from colleges and high schools in New Mexico were asked to participate in a three-round Delphi study to determine what the future policy of dual credit should be, and why it should be that way. Definitions of dual credit may vary significantly from one state or program to another. For the purpose of this study, dual credit program will be defined as “a program that allows high school students to enroll in college-level courses offered by a postsecondary institution …

Moving To The Other Side Of The Desk: Learning Experiences Of Preservice Teachers As They Transition To Becoming Professional Teachers, Sheri Lynn Okland

Education

This study sought to understand learning through the lifeworlds of preservice teachers who are in the last semester of their elementary education program at a Midwest University. The research was an explorative study into preservice teachers' understanding of how they learn, how they define learning, and how their own experiences as students will transfer, as they become professional educators. This study addressed the overarching question: What does it mean to learn and think about learning through the lens of 21st century senior standing elementary education preservice teachers as they transition to the other side of the desk? This study employed …

Defining Economic Success As It Pertains To Native American Owned Businesses Located On/Or Adjacent To North Dakota Reservations, Barbara Elise Schmitt

Education

Successful economic development is essential in building and sustaining a healthy community. The purpose of this study was to identify indicators of successful economic development as it pertained to Native American owned businesses located on/or adjacent to North Dakota reservations. More specifically this study sought to explore specific relationships between the perceived level of importance of knowledge, skills, and attitudes and sustainable Native American owned business ventures. Using a quantitative correlation research design, 194 Native American owned businesses located on/or adjacent to the four reservations in North Dakota: Spirit Lake, Standing Rock, Fort Berthold, and Turtle Mountain responded to a …

Counting Coup With Western Education In A Post-Assimilated Paradigm: A Qualitative Research Study On American Indian Success, Lane Alan Azure

Education

“The beaver doesn’t try to be like the bear or the buffalo, he knows who he is . . . and he is proud of who he is” (Big Dog, 2012). The aforementioned quote depicts how this author interpreted the identities of his sample of ten purposefully selected Native Americans and exemplified their wish to remain who they are. These contemporary warriors illustrated the ability to transculturate in a non-Indigenous world and to accomplish what had been forced upon their ancestor’s centuries earlier. Despite the invasion on North American soil and the near extinction of the Indigenous American through attempted …

Understanding The Use Of Social Constructivst Moodle Activities Within The North Dakota University System, Randall John Wald

Education

Online learning is becoming an increasingly important aspect of higher education. Concerns about the effectiveness of online courses have prompted education administrators to look at how different learning theories can best be used to increase student learning. Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become one of the dominant technologies for delivering online education, and the North Dakota University System (NDUS) uses one of the most popular of these LMSs, Moodle. NDUS Moodle is designed and utilizes activities that are based on a learning theory called social constructivism. This research studies the usage of these activities, perceived instructor effectiveness, and the use …

Emerging Modifiable Risk Factors For Cardiovascular Disease In Women: Obesity, Physical Activity, And Sedentary Behavior, Ann Smith Barnes

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.

Components Of The Complete Blood Count As Risk Predictors For Coronary Heart Disease: In-Depth Review And Update, Mohammad Madjid, Omid Fatemi

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease, and several inflammatory biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein, have been used to predict the risk of coronary heart disease. High white blood cell count is a strong and independent predictor of coronary risk in patients of both sexes, with and without coronary heart disease. A high number of white blood cells and their subtypes (for example, neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, and eosinophils) are associated with the presence of coronary heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, and stroke. The coronary heart disease risk ratios associated with a high white blood cell count are comparable to those of other …

Preventing Sudden Cardiac Death In Athletes: In Search Of Evidence-Based, Cost-Effective Screening, Paolo Angelini, Mladen I Vidovich, Christine E Lawless, Macarthur A Elayda, J Alberto Lopez, Dwayne Wolf, James T Willerson

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Sudden cardiac death in athletes is a recurrent phenomenon at sporting events and during training. Recent studies have associated sudden cardiac death with such cardiovascular conditions as coronary artery anomalies, cardiomyopathies, and electrocardiographic abnormalities, most of which are screenable with modern imaging techniques. We recently inaugurated the Center for Coronary Artery Anomalies at the Texas Heart Institute, which is dedicated to preventing sudden cardiac death in the young and investigating coronary artery anomalies. There, we are conducting 2 cross-sectional studies intended to firmly establish and quantify, in a large group of individuals from a general population, risk factors for sudden …

Predicting Early Death After Cardiovascular Surgery By Using The Texas Heart Institute Risk Scoring Technique (Thirst), Saurabh Sanon, Vei-Vei Lee, Macarthur A Elayda, Sreedevi Gondi, James J Livesay, George J Reul, James M Wilson

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Preoperative risk-prediction models are an important tool in contemporary surgical practice. We developed a risk-scoring technique for predicting in-hospital death for cardiovascular surgery patients. From our institutional database, we obtained data on 21,120 patients admitted from 1995 through 2007. The outcome of interest was early death (in-hospital or within 30 days of surgery). To identify mortality predictors, multivariate logistic regression was performed on data from 14,030 patients from 1995 through 2002 and risk scores were computed to stratify patients (low-, medium-, and high-risk). A recalibrated model was then created from the original risk scores and validated on data from 7,090 …

Coronary Artery Diameter Related To Calcium Scores And Coronary Risk Factors As Measured With Multidetector Computed Tomography: A Substudy Of The Accuracy Trial, Yasmin S Hamirani, Khurram Nasir, Emil Avanes, Jigar Kadakia, Matthew J Budoff

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Arterial remodeling, an early change of atherosclerosis, can cause dilated arterial diameter. We measured coronary artery diameter with use of noncontrast 64-slice multidetector computed tomography (MDCT), and studied its association with coronary artery calcium levels and traditional coronary risk factors.

We included 140 patients from the ACCURACY trial whose noncontrast MDCT images showed measurable coronary arteries. Using 3 measurements of left main coronary artery (LMCA) and right coronary artery (RCA) diameters within 3 mm of the ostium, we associated the results with traditional coronary risk factors and calcium scores.

The prevalence of LMCA and RCA calcium was 22% and 51%, …

Stab Wound Of The Heart With Unusual Sequelae, Peter I Praeger, Jonathan Praeger, Ahmed M Abdel-Razek, Elie M Elmann

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

A 31-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency department with a stab wound to the heart. She was initially stable but rapidly developed hypotension. While the operating room and staff were in preparation, she underwent pericardiocentesis. She was then rushed to the operating room by the general surgical trauma team, who performed a bilateral anterior thoracotomy to control the bleeding. In the recovery room, the patient was still hypotensive, so cardiothoracic surgery was consulted.

An echocardiogram revealed severe hypokinesis of both ventricles. The cardiothoracic surgeons returned her to the operating room and discovered that the anterior pericardium had been completely …

Carl Sagan's Cosmos: The Rhetorical Construction Of Popular Science Mythology, Karen Jane Sorensen

English

Using Carl Sagan's Cosmos as a case study, this dissertation explores the intersection of science with popular culture and builds a new framework for rhetorically analyzing popular science programming. The arguments and research focus on the ways in which popularizing scientific information for the masses can create a type of science fiction rather than merely being a transferal of information. This metamorphosis of fact into fiction occurs as a result of the convergence of three rhetorical concepts, kairos, ethos, and aethos. Kairos is the placement of Cosmos in time. Historical and political elements (including education and entertainment) contribute to a …

“It’S Not About Health; It’S About Sex, Pumpkin”: Reproductive Autonomy, Medicalization, And Contraceptive Rhetoric In The Wake Of The War On Women, Alyson Lise Guthrie

English

The purpose of this study is to better understand the ways in which contemporary women describe their contraceptive needs in the wake of the war on women, primarily in the context of the Sandra Fluke and Rush Limbaugh controversy. After surveying contemporary American women, this study aligns with previous research in finding that the majority of participants describe their contraceptive needs in a variety of ways, but primarily as a means for planning, preventing, or delaying pregnancy. However, women who were not in committed relationships were much more likely to cite medical reasons for their contraceptive use, and much less …

Never Just A Game: How The Interplay Of Video Games And The "Real" World Complicates Boundaries In Rushdie's Luka And The Fire Of Life, Matthew Bradley Warner

English

The purpose of this paper is to examine the interplay of games and reality as depicted in Salman Rushdie’s Luka and the Fire of Life. The convergence of several realities is a recurrent trope in Rushdie’s novels. The trope often explores falsely maintained boundaries between the two realities. Rushdie juxtaposes a video game world and the real world in order to explore the benefits of play and the dangers of realizing the close link between the activities of a world of play (the World of Magic) and a world of seriousness (Alifbay). After the establishing the dependence the two world …

Utopia, Desire, And Exigence: Re-Theorizing Utopia As Rhetorical Action, David Alessandro Lemke

English

In this paper, I seek to redefine Utopia as a literary genre. Specifically, I argue that Utopias and utopian literature should be read as socially situated actions that are interpreted through an exigence composed of the rhetorical and socio-political situation from which an author writes and a critic reads. In the first half of the paper, I argue that by reading Utopias as actions the inherent subjectivity in literary studies can be redirected in a more positive direction. Instead of arguing about the positive or negative aspects of a utopian work’s content, critics can focus on the effect such texts …

Representation For The Accused: Haiti's Thirst And A Role For Clinical Legal Education, Kate Bloch

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Society Of Jesus And The Eradication Of Hate, Michael W. Maher

Journal of Hate Studies

The reality of vendettas, and violent responses against real or supposed breaches of personal or familial honor, marked the landscape of Europe during the early modern period, from nautical expansion, which began in 1450, through the French Revolution in the 1790s. In particular, in cultures identified as Mediterranean, as described as a discrete cultural archetype by historian Fernand Braudel (1972), specific societies held codes of honor and “face,” the term used to designate a personal appearance that reflected a status of inner dignity and exterior relations. Subsequently, violent out- breaks resulted from attempts to return honor, good face, and the …

Book Review: Joseph G. Bock’S The Technology Of Nonviolence: Social Media And Violence Prevention, Tyler Branson

Journal of Hate Studies

In the wake of the 2009-2012 Arab Spring protests—the first large- scale wave of Arab demonstrations in the Internet age—many pondered the significance of the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the movement. While the actual impact of technology in the Arab Spring is contested (Morozov, 2012), we can nevertheless tentatively note that the examples of technology being used throughout the Arab Spring are at the very least compelling for the field of peacebuilding, including vio- lence prevention. In this unique cultural and technological contemporary moment, scholars who study violence should be asking themselves: in socially and politically …

Language Access Laws And Legal Issues: A Local Official's Guide, David Jung, Noemí O. Gallardo

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

State Courts And Transitory Torts In Transnational Human Rights Cases, Chimène Keitner

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Power Line Communication Channel Model Using Communication Techniques, Varinder Pal Singh

Electrical and Computer Engineering

With the advent of technology, human dependency on power (electricity) and communication has grown beyond leaps and bounds. Many efforts have been made to continuously improve and increase the efficiency in both areas. Power Line Communication (PLC) is a technology where power lines or transmission lines are being used for communication purposes along with transmitting electrical energy. Because the power grid is already in place, the PLC has the obvious advantage of reducing communication infrastructure cost. However, the power grid is designed optimally for power delivery (not the data). The power transmission line generally appears as a harsh environment for …

An Electrically Small, Wireless Sensor Platform Designed For Arbitrary Orientation, Layne Albert Berge

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Wireless sensors are currently used for data collection where it is either too dangerous and/or menial for a human to collect the data or impractical to use wired devices. Current wireless sensors are either too expensive or have too short of a battery life in order to be useful. The wireless sensor platform developed in this work solves these issues by using the RFID communications protocol. This allows for low-power communications while using inexpensive hardware. The sensor has been tested and shown to exhibit a near-isotropic radiation pattern, allowing the placement orientation to be uncontrolled. The antenna design exhibits two …

Provable Data Possession Using Sigma Protocols, Akshaya Mohan

Electrical and Computer Engineering

A Provable Data Possession (PDP) scheme allows a client which has stored data at an untrusted server to verify that the server possesses the original data that it stored without retrieving the entire file. In this thesis study, a new PDP scheme is built using the concept of sigma protocols. The client pre-processes a file and stores it on the server. At a later time, the client issues a challenge to the server requesting it to compute a Proof of Possession. The client verifies the response using its locally stored metadata. The challenge-response protocol that is derived from the sigma …

On Authentication Of Long Messages In Short Time For Resource Constrained Sensor Networks, Rucha Subodh Sule

Electrical and Computer Engineering

This thesis is a collection of three different research contributions targeted towards providing faster message authentication for long messages which have been recently accepted or submitted for publication. The first research work explores properties of Multiple Input Shift Register (MISR) as a universal hash function. We implemented a fixed length message authentication code (MAC) based on MISR in software. Signing or verification time of new MAC is two order less compared to existing MAC. The second contribution is a variable length MAC based on MISR for use in smart grid networks. We prove security of the MAC scheme and analyze …

Death Row Economics The Rise Of Fiscally Prudent Anti Death Penalty Activism, Hadar Aviram, Ryan Newby

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Representing The Poor Legal Advocacy And Welfare Reform During Reagan's Gubernatorial Years, Mark N. Aaronson

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Violence's Law Israel's Campaign To Transform International Legal Norms, George Bisharat

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.