Digital Commons Network^™

Spectral Analysis Of Randomly Generated Networks With Prescribed Degree Sequences, Clifford Davis Gaddy

Theses and Dissertations

Network science attempts to capture real-world phenomenon through mathematical models. The underlying model of a network relies on a mathematical structure called a graph. Having seen its early beginnings in the 1950's, the field has seen a surge of interest over the last two decades, attracting interest from a range of scientists including computer scientists, sociologists, biologists, physicists, and mathematicians. The field requires a delicate interplay between real-world modeling and theory, as it must develop accurate probabilistic models and then study these models from a mathematical perspective. In my thesis, we undertake a project involving computer programming in which we …

Aaron Gillette , Eugenics And The Nature Nurture Debate In The Twentieth Century, Garland E. Allen

Biology Faculty Research

Aaron Gillette, Eugenics and the Nature–Nurture Debate in the Twentieth Century, Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology [2007], digital reprint (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), pp. ix, 239, index, £18.99, paperback, ISBN: 9780230108455. This book treats an important subject – the history of the nature–nurture debate (focused on the US but with references to European players and movements) – and its implications for current theories of evolutionary psychology.

'We The Peoples': The Global Origins Of Constitutional Preambles, Tom Ginsburg, Nick Foti, Daniel Rockmore

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Ecotourism As A Tool For Conservation Of Coast Redwoods In Santa Cruz County, California, Chandana Rao

Master's Theses

According to the World Tourism Organization, ecotourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry, generating $300 billion in annual revenue. Ecotourism aims to control the damaging effects of conventional mass tourism and tries to overcome tourism's environmental and socio-cultural challenges. In an ideal situation, ecotourism can help conserve fragile biodiversity, build ties between parks and communities, and increase awareness of environmental issues; it also includes a profit impetus for businesses.

This research was conducted to evaluate the potential for developing ecotourism as a conservation tool in the four redwoods state parks of Santa Cruz County. The study assessed …

Libertarian Paternalism, Path Dependence, And Temporary Law, Tom Ginsburg, Jonathan Masur, Richard H. Mcadams

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Mentoring Programs On At-Risk Youth, Charlotte Emilie Steppling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the number of at-risk students' increases, challenges for teachers, administrators and policymakers increase too, including the need to develop productive programs to help reduce some of the negative outcomes to which at-risk youth are already predisposed. Mentoring programs offer opportunities for at-risk youth to socialize and learn in a safe environment that exposes them to other members of the community. This study explores some of the components that constitute "effective mentoring", with regards to mentoring programs for at-risk youth. It compares two mentoring organizations, Strong Women Strong Girls and The DREAM Program using several of the benchmark criteria for …

Gendered Divisions Of Fertility Work: Socioeconomic Predictors Of Female Versus Male Sterilization, Andrea Bertotti

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Research

Domestic labor researchers have examined a multitude of duties disproportionately performed by women, yet the responsibility associated with navigating a couple's fertility—fertility work—has been overlooked. Using data from the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (N = 1,415), the author examined how racial and socioeconomic factors affect the division of contraceptive fertility work among married and cohabiting women who rely on either their partners' vasectomies or their own sterilizations. Drawing theoretical connections between fertility work and housework, resource- and gender-based perspectives were used to assess whether women's or their partners' characteristics are stronger predictors of sterilization type, and whether women's …

Priceless Property, Kirsten Matoy Carlson

Law Faculty Research Publications

In 2011, the poorest American Indians in the United States refused to accept over one billion dollars from the United States government. They reiterated their long-held belief that money--even $1.3 billion--could not compensate them for the taking of their beloved Black Hills. A closer look at the formation of the Sioux claim to the Black Hills helps us to understand why the Sioux Nation has repeatedly rejected compensation for land taken by the United States over 100 years ago. This article seeks to understand why the Sioux view the Black Hills as priceless property by studying the formation of the …

The Roots Of Bloody Sunday, James Campbell

Wayne State University Theses

There has been much written on the Bloody Sunday Massacre and Northern Ireland during the late-1960s to early-1970s period. Many of the works focus on the role of the IRA in the struggle against Great Britain throughout the 20th century and argue that the events of Bloody Sunday marked an intensification of violence in the conflict, but treat the event as one of many in a long struggle. Some writers choose to focus on the armed struggle between the IRA and the British. Others examine the rise and fall of leaders and policies that helped shape the struggle in Northern …

"There's So Many Fabulous Butts In Derby": The Skating Body In Women's Flat Track Roller Derby, Amanda Nicole Draft

Wayne State University Theses

Women's flat track roller derby is a growing niche sport that has gathered much attention from media and academics alike. Previous research has analyzed the sport from a gendered view with limited focus on bodies in the broader sense. I attempt to fill this gap in the literature by asking: How do derby skaters define the derby body? In what ways do skaters resist and/or accommodate conventional bodily norms and those within derby? Utilizing an ethnographic repertoire of observation, interviews, and autoethnography, I examine the experiences of women derby skaters for a local flat track league located in the Midwest. …

Regression Models For Readmission Prediction Using Electronic Medical Records, Yudi Niu

Wayne State University Theses

Hospital readmissions are not only expensive but are also potentially harmful, and most importantly, they are often preventable. Providing special care for a targeted group of patients who are at a high risk of readmission can significantly improve the chances of avoiding rehospitalization. Despite the significance of this problem, not many researchers have thoroughly investigated it due to the inherent complexities involved in analyzing and estimating the inherent predictive power of such complex hospitalization records. In this thesis, we propose using support vector machines and survival analysis methods to analyze data collected from Electronic Medical Records (EMR). We define the …

Human Capital In The Context Of Race, Gender And Geography: How Does It Really Help To Get A Good Job?, Ian Palmer

Wayne State University Theses

Human capital appears to be no longer adequate to explain why some people get good jobs and others get bad jobs. Increasingly, a person's race, gender, class and geographical location seem to be better predictors for the type of jobs people secure. The data that is used to explore the problem comes from a phone survey of Southeastern Michigan conducted during 2002 and 2003. Geographic space definitely affected demographic variables when looking at the makeup of the temporary workforce.

Community Violence, Ethnicity, Psychological Distress, And Externalizing Behaviors In Emerging Adulthood: The Moderating Effects Of Social Support, Holly Hannah Reid

Wayne State University Theses

Using hierarchical multiple regression, overall social support was found to moderate the relationship between exposure to community violence and psychological distress for European American and African-American at-risk emerging adults. For both ethnic groups, neither ISEL total nor SNI helping social support moderated the relation between community violence and the outcomes of substance abuse and conduct disorder/deviant behaviors. Ethnicity moderated the relationship between exposure to community violence and substance abuse behaviors within an SNI helping support regression, such that European Americans who reported greater violence exposure reported more substance abuse symptoms. SNI helping support moderated the relationship between exposure to community …

Filling The Gaps: Playing The Semiotic Network In The Extemporization Of Scores For Improvisational Theater, John Edwartowski

Wayne State University Theses

The Art of Scoring for Improvisational Theater draws on traditions whose origins are obscured by the fog of History and Myth. With no prior plan, a musician is tasked with providing accompaniment that creates or reinforces mood, era, location, or genre. Through such accompaniment, a musician reads and activates nodes in a semiotic network, to generate context, subtext, or both. Drawing from sources in Semiotics, Multimedia, Marketing, Sociology, Artificial Intelligence, Film Music History, Theater, Music Theory, and Musicology, as well as interviews with an array of Participants and the Author's personal experience, this paper seeks to articulate a framework of …

Stress And Substance Abuse In Homeless And Matched Housed Adolescents: A Longitudinal Model, Corissa Carlson

Wayne State University Theses

The relationship between stress and substance abuse within an at-risk adolescent population is an important topic to research. There are several models examining the relationship between stress and substance abuse; however, this study will look to longitudinal methods to examine if there is a temporal relationship between stress and substance abuse in a high risk population. Interviews were conducted at a baseline time point as well as follow-up time points at two, five, and seven years. Two hundred fifty-four participants were retained at the two year follow-up and their data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The two proposed models …

Black & White Running Bodies: Masculinity, Muscularity & Femininity, Jenny Lee Lendrum

Wayne State University Theses

Women as a population have been marathoning for less than thirty years, many are fresh and new to the sport, and are making such sacrifices by squeezing the sport into their full lives along with their career and familiar responsibilities. Many women, Black and White, some with family responsibilities, others with demanding careers, several with both, are running. By doing so, they are challenging male dominance and demand an equality on and off the road. Women have created meaning in their lives as a result of marathoning. Their lives, perceptions and experiences, and bodies have changed in the process.

Stand Up And Tell Them You're From Detroit:Belonging, Attachment, And Regional Identity Among Suburban Detroiters, Paul Curran

Wayne State University Theses

Research shows that communities with a broadly embraced regional identity provide residents with a more gratifying social experience. A regional identity often emerges when residents exhibit a sense of belonging and attachment to their community. Detroit provides an interesting canvas to explore these concepts given a long history of tension between the city of Detroit and its suburbs. Despite these challenges, anecdotal evidence of suburban solidarity with the city exists. Using in-depth interviews with long-time residents of suburban Detroit, I explore the meaning of being a "Detroiter." Why are some suburbanites eager - and others reluctant - to embrace a …

Developing Youth's Positive View Of Physical Activity, E. Whitney G. Moore

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Many youth start withdrawing from voluntary physical activity and physical education programs as they approach adolescence. Developmentally, this is also when youth can become more aware of their ability compared to others, and the amount of work it may take to improve their ability level. This focus on comparative performance standards can be affected by our coaching emphasis. This article highlights the characteristics and impacts of two coaching approaches. Particular emphasis is given to the specific behaviors adolescents have reported as fostering their effort, enjoyment, sportspersonship, and interest in continuing to be active.

The Significance Of Meister Eckhart's View Of The Self For Psychoanalytic Theories Of Subjectivity: A Radical Hermeneutic Study, Mark Kroll-Fratoni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This interdisciplinary, theoretical dissertation puts Meister Eckhart and psychoanalysis (in particular, the work of Jacques Lacan) in dialogue in order to examine the question of the self. It extends the success of recent Buddhist-psychoanalytic dialogues on the self into the neglected area of Christian mysticism. The author reviews the extant literature on psychoanalysis and mysticism, summarizes Freud and Lacan's psychoanalytic theories of subjectivity, and examines the existing literature on Meister Eckhart and the self. Then, the author undertakes a commentary of an especially significant passage in one of Eckhart's sermons using an interpretive method which brings together "radical hermeneutics," a …

Lived Experiences Of Indian International Students: Migration, Acculturation, And Resilience, Suguna Mukthyala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The student demographics in American universities have been changing in recent years and the result is a rapidly increasing enrollment of international students. In particular, the Indian international student population has grown to be the second largest, with over 100,000 students enrolling at post-secondary educational institutions across the nation each year (Institute of International Education, 2010). However, research on the effects of migration on international students is relatively devoid of critical explorations on the resilient responses by Indian international students to the effects of acculturation. This hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of eight Indian international graduate students at …

Advocacy Networks In The Marcellus Shale Area: A Study Of Environmental Organizations In Northeastern And Southwestern Pennsylvania, Erin Pischke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research identifies and analyzes the breadth and depth of the network of non-profit environmental organizations, sportsmen-oriented conservation groups, county conservation districts and state parks that advocate for or against Marcellus Shale drilling within northeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania where drilling occurs. The purpose of this study is to identify where resources are being mobilized and where environmental activities that focus on Marcellus Shale issues are underrepresented in the state. Results show that the counties with a higher number of gas wells do not necessarily have a higher level of environmental advocacy and that a lack of resources is a common …

Are Bribes The Only Way To Get Things Done? An Analysis Of Public Perception And Willingness To Pay Bribes In Armenia, Arpine Porsughyan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is widely recognized that corruption hinders the development of a country, negatively impacting its political, economic, social, and environmental spheres. Armenia is no exception; corruption tops the list of problems the country is currently facing. Armenia continues to rank poorly on corruption indices, despite the government's anti-corruption strategies, international community involvement, and ratification of various conventions. Existing research on corruption mostly focuses on institutional corruption, while little attention is paid to the perceptions of the Armenian population. Using the Caucasus Research Resource Center's (CRRC) Corruption in Armenia Survey 2010 data, the research explores the relationship between public belief in …

Conceptualizing Integration: Resettlement Experiences Of Bhutanese Refugees In Pittsburgh, Pa, Andrew J. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to understand the extent to which prevailing conceptual frameworks can explain the experience of integration for refugees. It also seeks to incorporate the perspectives of refugees and resettlement professionals, as well as provide recommendations for policy and further research. I pursue these objectives with guidance from the Indicators of Integration Framework (Ager and Strang, 2004), a model that incorporates key dimensions of integration, and through interviews with Bhutanese refugees and resettlement professionals. Results characterize integration as a largely social phenomenon, although self-sufficiency and basic functional considerations emerge as major priorities for refugees. I also offer implications regarding …

North Dakota’S Oil Boom And Its Effect On North Dakota Politics, Nick "Nick" Nelson

Political Science Theses and Capstones

North Dakota’s oil boom is causing some of its countries to experience significant population increases. I study the effect this is having on the politics of North Dakota. To assess the effect of increased oil production on the population of counties and its effect on the politics of those counties I gathered statistics at the county level in the areas of oil production, populations including total, black, Hispanic, white, and male populations, and voting behavior (Republican or Democrat) from the United State Census, the North Dakota Secretary of State, and the North Dakota Industrial Commission, Department of Natural Resources. My …

Latino Party Id: Inherited Or Learned?, Dylan Davison

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this research is to find out whether political party identification is learned or inherited in Latino voters in the United States. Latino voters are the largest growing minority group in the United States. Understanding this growing block of voters will yield dividends in elections to come. I utilized a 2008 dataset from a post‐election survey by Pew Research group on Latino voters. I hypothesize that recent immigrants learn their party identification while more established Latino voters are more likely to have inherited their political views. If Latino party identification is learned it is more likely that they …

Protective Factors For Emerging Adults With Subclinical Adhd, Olivia Allison Mcgarragle

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

PROTECTIVE FACTORS FOR EMERGING ADULTS WITH SUBCLINICAL ADHD

by

OLIVIA A. McGARRAGLE

May 2013

Advisor: Dr. Stephen Hillman

Major: Educational Psychology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

This study investigated the understudied and significant problem of subclinical ADHD in emerging adult college students. Limited literature had estimated a significant prevalence of 10-15% in this age group (Bussing et al., 2010). Studies have established that although individuals with subclinical ADHD do not meet full DSM-IV criteria for ADHD, they experience significant academic impairment nonetheless (Kats-Gold, Besser & Priel, 2007). ADHD experts have demonstrated that subclinical ADHD individuals need to be identified in …

Mission As Ministry Of Reconciliation, Robert Schreiter, Knud Jorgensen

Edinburgh Centenary Series

The primary reason is that we view “reconciliation” as a new paradigm of mission. Related to this is a second reason, namely, that some of our major Christian traditions in recent years have dealt with and lifted up this focus on reconciliation.

Review Of Comrades At Odds: The United States And India, 1947–1964, Ron Leonhardt

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Ron Leonhardt is double-majoring in History and International Relations with a minor in Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University. His academic interests are Marxism-Leninism in the Global South, Cold War diplomacy, Post-WWII genocide studies, and 20th-century conflict in Southeast Asia. He is planning to attend graduate school to pursue a PhD in History after graduation.

A Study Of Religiosity And Conservatismin Relation To Social Value Orientation And Philanthropy, Jessica Collins

Modern Psychological Studies

The purpose of this study was to examine the potential interdependent relationships between religiosity, conservatism, social value orientation and philanthropy. Participants included members of four religious institutions. A non-experimental survey design was used gather information. Subjects were given a hypothetical task related to social value orientation, two scales of measurement related to religiosity and philanthropy and asked to self-identify their political orientation. Chi Square analysis identified a significant relationship between political orientation and social value orientation. A correlation was found between religiosity and philanthropy within the liberal sample, rather than in the suspected conservative sample. Additionally, a one-way analysis of …

Review Of They Say Cut Back, We Say Fight Back! Welfare Activism In An Era Of Retrenchment, By Ellen Reese, Sanford F. Schram

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.