Digital Commons Network^™

Lost In The Labyrinth: Review Of I Think I Am: Philip K. Dick By Laurence A. Rickels, Gerry Canavan

English Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Lamb’S Blood And Goose Quills: Learning To Research The History Of Blood Transfusion Medicine, Jennifer Allen

Inquiry Journal 2013

No abstract provided.

Egypt's New Regime And The Future Of The U.S.-Egyptian Strategic Relationship, Gregory Aftandilian Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

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This monograph examines the strategic importance of Egypt for the United States by exploring Egypt's role in the Arab-Israeli peace process, its geographical role (providing air and naval access) for U.S. military assets heading to the Persian Gulf, and joint training programs. With so much at stake in the Middle East, the idea of "losing" Egypt as a strategic ally would be a significant setback for the United States. The Egyptian revolution of early 2011 was welcomed by U.S. officials because the protestors wanted democratic government which conformed to U.S. ideals, and the institution that would …

Making Strategic Sense Of Cyber Power: Why The Sky Is Not Falling, Colin S. Gray Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

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Cyber is now recognized as an operational domain, but the theory that should explain it strategically is, for the most part, missing. It is one thing to know how to digitize; it is quite another to understand what digitization means strategically. The author maintains that, although the technical and tactical literature on cyber is abundant, strategic theoretical treatment is poor. He offers four conclusions: (1) cyber power will prove useful as an enabler of joint military operationsl; (2) cyber offense is likely to achieve some success, and the harm we suffer is most unlikely to be …

Sharing Power? Prospects For A U.S. Concert-Balance Strategy, Patrick Porter Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

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The subject of U.S. grand strategy has been getting increasing attention from the policy and academic communities. However, too often the debate suffers from being too reductionist, limiting America’s choices to worldwide hegemony or narrow isolation. There is a wide spectrum of choices before Washington that lie “somewhere in the middle.” Frequently, not enough thought is given to how such alternative strategies should be designed and implemented. The future cannot be known, and earlier predictions of American decline have proven to be premature. However, there is a shift in wealth and power to the extent that …

Friendship, Education, And Justice Teaching: The Professional Development Of Two Teacher-Friends, Debbie Sonu

Publications and Research

This paper discusses the distinct nature of friendship between teachers. Using literature on both the philosophical study of friendship and that of professional development, I present data from a qualitative study with two elementary school teachers in New York City in order to explore how the benefits of friendship might deepen an understanding of one's work with students. While literature on professional development tends to focus on effectively designed and structured activity, this article highlights the importance of teacher amity in (a) staving off negative judgments about teacher work, (b) harnessing the freedom to create and err, and (c) cultivating …

Developing A Game-Theoritic Analysis Of Terrorism, Matthew A. Love

Masters Theses

My research demonstrates the applicability of game theory to analyzing terrorism through consideration of multiple examples. These examples provide a foundation upon which further research involving the application of game theory to terrorism can be explored.

My research contributes to a growing body of literature, especially since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, in which it has been argued that terrorists are rational agents and, because of that, game theory can be usefully applied to an analysis of terrorism. My research further supports this conclusion.

Disease, War, And Famine In The Sudan And Haiti: A Crisis Noticed And A Crisis Ignored, Melissa Whalen

Masters Theses

The media acts as a gatekeeper and decides what material to cover and what not to cover. In order to better understand why one disaster receives media coverage and another crisis is virtually unnoticed by the media, the motives behind covering one story over another is analyzed in this study. Three major American newspaper articles concerning the Haitian earthquake and the crisis in Darfur are examined in order to discover the media's motives for covering Haiti over Darfur.

Drawing The Line At Atkins And Roper: The Case Against Additional Categorical Exemptions From Capital Punishment For Offenders With Conditions Affecting Brain Function, Mark E. Coon

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Russian Gulag: Understanding The Dangers Of Marxism Combined With Totalitarianism, Mark C. Riley

Senior Honors Theses

This study examines the Soviet Gulag, the main prison camp administration implemented in the Soviet Union. The GULAG represents an institution that is not well known, and this paper will explain why it existed and why it remains in the shadows of history. Terror, propaganda, and belief in progress represent the three ideas that directed the Soviet totalitarian system. This thesis will accordingly explore the ideology behind totalitarian government and Marxist practice in order to understand why the Gulag was allowed to exist. Finally, it investigates the reasons why the Gulag has not taken a priority position in human knowledge …

The Software Life Cycle Applied To The Development Of The Avnul Rpg Character Creation Program, James C. Rogers Iii

Senior Honors Theses

This project will endeavor to replicate the "cradle-to-grave" software engineering life cycle development process. This process takes a software project through many stages of existence, from requirements gathering to software design, coding, testing, and maintenance. In this thesis we apply this process to a character creation program, which will be constructed for a client to facilitate the design of his tabletop roleplaying game.

Over the course of developing this software, contact was maintained with the client, but difficulties were encountered in the form of shifting requirements as he refined and modified his as-yet unfinished game rules. Without regular communication, these …

Egyptian Diasporas, Social Media, And The 2011 Egyptian Revolution: How Egyptians Living In Saudi Arabia Used Social Media During The Revolution, Maisoon O. Al-Sebaei

Masters Theses

In the last few years, the Arab world has been shifting to new technology, particularly social media, to create new connections and spaces for public engagement. This technology has opened new prospects in freedom of expression, especially in political reforms. Through the recent Arab Spring events, social media platforms have been helping cyberactivists for social changes. The 2011 Egyptian revolution is a prime example to show how social media platforms were used to ignite strikers and overthrow the autocratic regime. At the same time, the number and size of diasporas in the Middle East are increasing. Yet scholars have not …

Homegrown Pastors: Seven Timeless Reasons Why You Should Consider Starting A Church In Your Community, Joshua Turner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis is an investigation into the advantages of planting churches in the lead planter's hometown. According to Dr. Jim Slack, missiologist for the International Mission Board, "The only feasible and viable means of planting enough churches to gain on the yearly population gains and the primarily unchurched/unsaved basic population is to plant indigenous, generationally multiplying neighborhood, `house' churches initiated by neighborhood laymen who can pastor those new churches." This claim is reinforced by the understanding that the best person to reach a national is a national within that people group who already possesses valuable connecting resources through family and …

Professional Naval Chaplaincy: The Ministry Of The Navy Chaplain In A U.S. Navy Bureau Of Medicine And Surgery Hospital, Russell Hale

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Through a review of the literature and personal experiences, it was found that many U.S. Navy chaplains do not see the potential opportunities and value in ministering to personnel, dependents, and retirees in a U.S. Navy hospital setting. Based on the findings of a quantitative survey sent to clinical staff, ancillary staff, Marines, and Sailors serving at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Okinawa, this project reviews historical paradigms and present institutional perspectives and attitudes regarding the value of the chaplain ministering in a U.S. Navy hospital. Since the chaplain ministers as a member of the interdisciplinary care team, it then …

The Role Of The Pastor As The Primary Worship Leader In The Local Church, Roger Holliman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to encourage pastors to embrace their role as the principle worship leader, rather than to accept and believe "I am not the worship leader." This thesis project investigates and examines a senior pastor's theological duty and obligation as the worship leader of his or her church, and provides the biblical mandate and approaches for how to do this effectively and as a team leader. Through personal interviews of six pastors, plus current research on the topic of worship, this thesis provides instructions on how senior pastors may implement strategies to enhance their understanding of …

The Effect Of Online Collaborative Learning On Middle School Student Science Literacy And Sense Of Community, Jillian Wendt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examines the effects of online collaborative learning on middle school students' science literacy and sense of community. A quantitative, quasi-experimental pretest/posttest control group design was used. Following IRB approval and district superintendent approval, students at a public middle school in central Virginia completed a pretest consisting of the Misconceptions-Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resources for Teachers (MOSART) Physical Science assessment and the Classroom Community Scale. Students in the control group received in-class assignments that were completed collaboratively in a face-to-face manner. Students in the experimental group received in-class assignments that were completed online collaboratively through the Edmodo educational platform. Both …

The Effects Of The Arab Spring On Security Concerns In Yemen: An Analysis Of The Houthis, The Southern Movement, And Al Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula, Rachel Beard

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Native Vision Of Justice, Carole Goldberg

Michigan Law Review

Although largely unheralded in its time, D'Arcy McNickle's The Surrounded has become a classic of Native American literature. When the University of New Mexico Press reissued the book in 1978, a year after McNickle's death, the director of Chicago's Newberry Library, Lawrence W. Towner, predicted (correctly) that it would "reach a far wider audience." Within The Surrounded are early stirrings of a literary movement that took flight several decades after the novel's first publication in the writings of N. Scott Momaday, Louise Erdrich, James Welch, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Gerald Vizenor, among others. All of these Native American authors share …

A Time For Presidential Power? War Time And The Constrained Executive, David Levine

Michigan Law Review

Between 2002 and 2008 I served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force. Though I had been deployed overseas several times, my primary place of duty was in the United States. When I landed at Baghdad International Airport in June 2006, however, several things immediately changed for me as a result of military regulations. I had to carry my sidearm and dog tags at all times. I could not eat anywhere other than a U.S. military installation. I could not drink alcohol. My pay was a bit higher. Personally, I was more vigilant, more aware of my surroundings. …

Challenges To Compliance With International Humanitarian Law In The Context Of Contemporary Warfare, Morgan Kelley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The changing nature of warfare in the 21^st century poses a multitude of challenges to the perceived applicability of International Humanitarian Law for both State and non-State actors in contemporary conflicts. These issues, including but not limited to: ambiguity in the distinction of violent conflict, the changing type of actors involved, issues of asymmetric warfare, challenges of negative reciprocity, and an inhibited ability to engage with all parties to conflict, are detrimental to the overriding purpose of IHL. Still, the oftentimes inefficient nature of the international system, as well as lack of consensus regarding new legislation means that formal …

Lessons Learned From Pakistan: A Dissertation On The Bush-Obama Drone Doctrine, Michael A. Pipa

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The first use of the modern day attack drone by the United States was in Afghanistan in mid 2002, and for the past 11 years attack drones have been used by the United States in as many countries as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. When considering the alternatives to using drones, such as sending marines on the ground to complete a mission or flying a piloted jet over enemy territory to gather intelligence, as well as the military power that the use of these vehicles projects, the attack drone has become the weapon of choice in the war on terror for …

Motivations To Migrate: Migration From Morocco And The “Failure” Of Rural Development During The Eurozone Financial Crisis, Alexander Djaha

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

EU’s closing borders are impeding a fifty-year pattern of Moroccan migration to southern Europe to find work, prosper and provide for their families back home. Moroccan NGOs, as well as the Spanish and Italian governments, have recently invested in rural development initiatives aimed at increasing employment opportunities in Morocco and deterring workers from migrating. Yet Moroccans keep risking their lives and continue to migrate illegally every day as these initiatives are proving to be ineffective. This study examines the current conditions for Moroccan migrant workers amidst tightening European Union borders and a narrowing European frontier for employment. The Eurozone financial …

The Perrymander, Polarization, And Peyote V. Section 2 Of The Voting Rights Act, Rosemarie Unite

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 accomplished what the Fifteenth Amendment alone could not: safeguarding minority voting rights. One of the Act’s key enforcement provisions, Section 2, has helped protect not only minorities’ access to the polls but also their right to an undiluted vote against potentially discriminatory means such as legislative redistricting. By prohibiting minority vote dilution even when a legislative redistricting plan is drawn strictly for political gain, Section 2 has also become one of the only checks on partisan gerrymandering. Yet a certain confluence of circumstances puts Section 2 at risk of being either struck down by …

(Wp 2013-03) War And The Fiscal Capacity Of The State, Abdur Chowdhury, Syed M. Murshed

Economics Working Papers

We examine the role of war in retarding state fiscal capacity in developing countries, measured by tax revenue ratios to GDP. This in contrast to the European experience from the Renaissance to the 20th century, where it is believed that war and state-building were inseparable, enhancing the fiscal capacity of the state; in turn enlarging the scope and magnitude of government expenditure. We build a simple theoretical model of a factionalized state, where patronage substitutes for common interest public goods, along with the possibility of violent contestation over a rent or prize, typically in the form of natural resource revenues. …

Phoebe: Was She An Early Church Leader?, Darius Jankiewicz

Faculty Publications

The role of Phoebe in early Christianity has been hotly debated throughout the centuries, ranging from views suggesting that her ministry was nothing more than that of a helper (or patron) of the apostolic task, to those ascribing to her a significant ministerial role. As we shall see, this debate often influenced the biblical translations of the Greek words used by Paul to describe the ministry of this remarkable woman. In this article, I will focus on three aspects of Phoebe’s ministry that flow from the text of Romans 16:1, 2: her ministry as a diakonos; her role …

Building A House Of Peace: The Origins Of The Imperial Presidency And The Framework For Executive Power, 1933-1960, Katherine Elizabeth Ellison

Dissertations

This project offers a fundamental rethinking of the origins of the imperial presidency, taking an interdisciplinary approach as perceived through the interactions of the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of government during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. In light of the end of the Cold War and twenty-first century recurrence of the imperial presidency after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the original thesis proposed by historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. in The Imperial Presidency and other works based on the periodization of the Cold War is in need of updating.

By utilizing legal theories, political science models, and historical analysis, …

An Epistemological Inquiry Into The Incorporation Of Emergency Management Concept In The Homeland Security With A Post-Disaster Security Centric Focus, Mehmet Secilmis

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The historical roots of the Emergency Management concept in the U.S. date back to 19th century. As disasters occurred, policies relating to disaster response have been developed, and many statuary provisions, including several Federal Disaster Relief Acts, conceptually established the framework of Emergency Management. In 1979, with the foundation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), disaster relief efforts were finally institutionalized, and the federal government acknowledged that Emergency Management included mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery activities as abbreviated 'MPRR.'

However, after 2000, the U.S. experienced two milestone events - the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina …

Field Experience As The Centerpiece Of An Integrated Model For Stem Teacher Preparation, Leigh A. Van Den Kieboom, Jill Mcnew-Birren, Ellen Eckman, M. Barbara Silver-Thorn

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive account of one pathway for preparing high-quality STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teachers for work in high-need urban schools. In this account, we discuss the supports that STEM majors need in learning how to think about the content that they know well, through an educational perspective that focuses on teaching and learning. We also describe the approach that we use that integrates content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and three extensive teaching co-op experiences to facilitate the transition from successful STEM undergraduate students to effective teachers of STEM content. We …

Love In The Time Of Sts, K. Heintzman

Working Papers on Science in a Changing World

I seek to read Gary Werskey’s essay “The Marxist Critique of Capitalist Science: A History in Three Movements,” (2007) as a love story, and one that can be paralleled by another such love story in Science and Technology Studies. By reading Werskey’s narrative of Bob Young beside a piece written by Dorothy Smith (1990) on Sally Hacker, I want to draw attention to what is both jarring and gripping about such deeply personal projects. I seek to locate both of these essays as projects in memory, in what it means to try to hold onto a story – to preserve …

An Advanced Computational Approach To System Of Systems Analysis & Architecting Using Agent-Based Behavioral Model, Cihan H. Dagli, Nil Ergin, David Lee Enke, Abhijit Gosavi, Ruwen Qin, John Colombi, George Rebovich, Kristin Giammarco, Paulette Acheson, Khaled Haris, Louis Pape Ii

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A major challenge to the successful planning and evolution of an acknowledged System of Systems (SoS) is the current lack of understanding of the impact that the presence or absence of a set of constituent systems has on the overall SoS capability. Since the candidate elements of a SoS are fully functioning, stand-alone Systems in their own right, they have goals and objectives of their own to satisfy, some of which may compete with those of the overarching SoS. These system-level concerns drive decisions to participate (or not) in the SoS. Individual systems typically must be requested to join the …