Digital Commons Network^™

Toward A New Framework For Presence Evaluation: A Representational Design Perspective, Yan Wu

Communications of the IIMA

Although researchers suggest that presence is a multi-dimensional concept, little research is available to explain the underlying relationships among the dimensions and variables. A new framework with four components for presence evaluation is introduced. It argues that investigating how media content affects presence is the solution to achieving a more complete understanding of presence and to taking individual characteristics and contexts as important factors in presence study.

Mobile Commerce: Assessing New Business Opportunities, Chan-Tseh Hsieh

Communications of the IIMA

Mobile commerce has become the latest topic for today. Business organizations have been restlessly evaluating the revenue potential of the m-commerce market and developing business models to exploit the huge profit potential of this new market. In this project we try to provide an overview of the fundamentals about m-commerce. This paper attempts to help business managers, particularly those without IT background, to understand the key elements and basic concepts of m-commerce and to assess the impact of m-commerce on current and future businesses as well as to identify new business opportunities.

The Influence Of Government Regulations On Content Management Systems: An Exploratory Study, Douglas A. Goings, Judy J. Johnson, Bryan Marshall, Tanya Goette

Communications of the IIMA

The primary focus of this study was to determine why and how small businesses implement content management and to clarify the relationship of content management to regulatory compliance issues presented by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability and Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Maple Syrup Value Systems And Value Chains - Considering Aboriginal And Non-Aboriginal Perspectives, Brenda Murphy, Annette Chrétien, Grant Morin

Contemporary Studies

Harvested from both intensive sugar maple stands and diverse mixed forest ecosystems across Ontario, maple syrup is an important rural and Aboriginal non-timber forest product that contributes to social, economic and environmental sustainability. This paper presents our ongoing work to map Ontario’s maple syrup value system from two different perspectives, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. In the economic sense, analyses of value systems are useful for members to identify the opportunities and challenges they are facing to advance industry growth and innovation. In the social and environmental sense, these analyses provide a window into how different worldviews and belief systems can lead …

A Pedestal Of Power: Analyzing Consciousness In Nonhuman Animals, Conner Lee Varnell

Senior Theses

Humans have an understanding of a concept called consciousness. This idea of consciousness has been the main separating factor between animals and humans regarding humankind's purported superiority of intelligence: humans are conscious and other animals are not. Specifically, it is self-consciousness, awareness of oneself as oneself, that is. Yet extensive research throughout the last few decades shows that this may not be the case. Animals and humans alike show a variety of forms of consciousness and self-consciousness based on the structure of their bodies, brains, habitats and other contributing factors of survival. Hence, I will argue that humans are not …

Why Don’T These Monkeys Grow Up?, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Marathon Runners And Their Nutrition Views, Practices, And Sources Of Nutrition Information, Lauren Flynn

Theses - ALL

Participation in marathons has been on the increase. However, research on the dietary and hydration practices of marathon runners is scarce and little is known about their views on the credibility of various sources of nutrition information. The purpose of this study was to investigate marathon runners' sources of nutrition information, practices surrounding nutrition, and perceived credibility of various sources of nutrition information. This study used an online, self-administered survey. Participants were recruited using email and social media outlets through the electronic mailing lists from two running stores and using the contact information for participants of two large marathon races. …

Interaction Effects Between The 5-Httlpr Genotype And Family Environments On Adolescent Alcohol Use And Misuse, Jueun Kim

Theses - ALL

Emerging evidence shows that the 5-HTTLPR genotype interacts with social environments and influences drinking behaviors. However, few studies have examined interaction effects between the 5-HTTLPR genotype and specific aspects of family environments on adolescent drinking. The present study investigated whether the effects of family conflict or parental monitoring on adolescent drinking differed as a function of the 5-HTTLPR genotype cross-sectionally and longitudinally. It was replicated in two independent samples consisting of 175 adolescents in the U.S. and 4,916 adolescents in the U.K. The results of path analyses and multi-group analyses showed that, in the two samples, the 5-HTTLPR low-activity allele …

Vascular Function In Trained Females, Jacqueline Aileen Augustine

Theses - ALL

ABSTRACT

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death in women. Early stages of subclinical atherosclerosis cause functional changes to the vasculature manifesting as endothelial dysfunction. These early functional changes give way to structural alterations to the vessel wall that can lead to increased arterial stiffness and irreversible vascular remodeling, (i.e. altered lumen diameter and increased intima media wall thickness (IMT)) which can ultimately lead to a cardiac event. Chronic exercise combined with energy deficiency may lead to a lack of menses or amenorrhea in premenopausal women. This state is associated with endothelial dysfunction and is believed to be …

Landscape Factors That Affect Acid-Base Chemistry Of Adirondack Long-Term Monitoring (Altm) Lakes, Zheng Dong

Theses - ALL

The Adirondack region has been affected by acid deposition for multiple decades. Atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen has decreased since the 1970s because of the 1970 and 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) as well as the NOX Budget Program. Previous studies have related the long-term changes in Adirondack lake water chemistry to decreases in atmospheric deposition and emission controls. However, relatively limited research has been conducted on the spatial patterns and the role of different landscape factors on the recovery of lake water chemistry in the Adirondacks. The objective of this study was to investigate the relations of …

Seasonal And Sex Differences In The Effects Of Melatonin On Brain Arginine Vasotocin In Green Treefrogs (Hyla Cinerea): Relationship To Melatonin Receptor 1a, Christina Marie Howard

Dissertations and Theses

Critical life history events such as breeding, migration and hibernation must take place in the correct environmental context to minimize deleterious consequences on survival and reproductive fitness. Neuroendocrine mechanisms synchronizing internal physiological states with extrinsic environmental cues are vital to timing life history events appropriately. Secretion of the pineal hormone melatonin is sensitive to light and temperature cues, which provides a physiological indicator of time of day and time of year for organisms. Melatonin influences seasonal reproduction in a variety of vertebrates, likely by altering the synthesis and/or release of reproductive neuropeptides in the brain. The neuropeptides arginine vasotocin and …

Not Not Real : Exercises In Styling, Sophie Mascatello

Masters Theses

As a generative process of visual form, styling and artifice are co-dependent. Styling mediates visual and sensorial elements for aesthetic benefit, and artifice produces a fantasy otherwise unattainable. Together they are a rebus — an orchestration of symbols and shifted realities — that impacts modes of representation and subsequent shifts in taste.

In Not Not Real, the logic of “real” life is moot. Relevance and subjectivity are the only fixed parameters that govern stylistic intuition. The image produced — however candid or authentic it may appear — is artificial. But this imagery supersedes reality in provoking aspiration, rendering the …

The Chinese New Mathematics Curriculum Reform At Two Elementary Schools: Two Cases Compared, Wei Gao

Dissertations - ALL

Based on a four-month fieldwork in two local schools, Pioneer School and Merits School, in China, the study explores how local schools and parents responded to the Chinese New Mathematics Curriculum Reform. The study found that the schools responded to the reform out of school people's practical concerns as well the established school cultures. Meanwhile, schools' implementation decisions were mediated by the interpretation powers of local educational authorities. Merits School arrived at the two-faces strategy to implement the reform. Pioneer School managed to maintain a balance between promoting reform pedagogies and employing examination-oriented approaches. Both schools marginally involved parents in …

The Communist Pure Land: The Legacy Of Buddhist Reforms In The Early Chinese Revolutionary Period, Kenneth J. Tymick

Constructing the Past

Prominent Buddhist Ju Zan, disciple of the venerable Taixu, saw an opportunity for Buddhism to thrive under the auspices of the Communist's period of New Democracy. However, as is usual in the retelling of history, many sides of a story are told. In the eyes of many modern historians, the treatment of Buddhism during the 1950s seemed to be an antagonistic crackdown to subject and politicize religion. Historian Ernst Benz has compared Chinese Buddhism to that of a "religious museum under state supervision," but that was hardly the case in the immediate post-war period. In the very least, New Democracy …

Electrochemical Control Of Bacterial Persister Cells, Tagbo Herman Roland Niepa

Dissertations - ALL

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has presented an increasing challenge to infection control. Conventional methods of antibacterial treatment involving high dose of antibiotics or surgical intervention have proven insufficient for eradicating persistent infections, such as those associated with medical implants. It is well recognized that bacterial populations commonly contain a small percentage of phenotypic variants, known as persister cells, which are metabolically inactive and extremely tolerant to antibiotics. When the antibiotic treatment is stopped, surviving persister cells can regenerate the bacterial population with a similar percentage of persister cells. Thus, persistence presents a great challenge to curing chronic infections.

In …

Laboring Lesbians At Gas Stations: Pumping The "Good Life", Amy Jo Tweedy

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation project is an interdisciplinary exploration of laboring lesbian bodies within the context of U.S. gas stations. I begin with an investigation of the history of gas stations in connection with the oil industry and the company for which they work. In addition, I examine how institutions of class, gender and sexuality are imprinted onto laboring lesbian bodies within the workplace. I suggest that the work within U.S. gas stations is now primarily feminized labor as is typical of the service economy. I also highlight the ways in which sexuality matters in the workplace through an analysis of the …

The Ghost Of Olmsted: Nature, History & Urban Park Restoration In Boston's Emerald Necklace, Phil Birge-Liberman

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines the nineteenth-century production, the twentieth-century deterioration, and the twenty-first century restoration of Boston's Emerald Necklace, a 1,100-acre series of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. (1822-1903). Originally built to meet a particular set of aesthetic landscape tastes, over time this park system changed to meet the recreational needs of visitors. Throughout, the Emerald Necklace has served the interests of Boston's urban elite. It is, therefore, an appropriate case for examining the historical relationship between power and landscape. The parks of the Emerald Necklace did more than provide pretty views and space for play; they …

Bariatric Surgery Versus Lifestyle Interventions In Managing Obesity In Patients With Type Ii Diabetes: A Systematic Review, Leslie C. Nakaya, Mary Williams

Student Works

Obesity, with coexisting T2DM, is difficult to treat successfully for various reasons and carries enormous health risks and financial burdens. The purpose of this systematic review is to compare outcomes of conventional medical treatment to bariatric surgery for the treatment of T2DM, and determine which patients may be appropriate for referral. Data Sources: An electronic search of the literature was conducted to identify studies from 2008 to 2014 in the following databases: CINAHL, National Library of Medicine PubMed®/MEDLINE®, EBSCO, SciVerse®, Springer Link®, and the Cochrane library. Conclusions: Bariatric surgical options, even before weight loss occurs, positively affect glucose homeostasis and …

Effect Of Confinement And Temperature On The Behavior Of Eps Geofoam, Amsalu Birhan

Dissertations - ALL

EPS geofoam blocks underlying compacted soil and structural loads become subjected to multi-axial loading. Effects of confining pressure on the stress-strain behavior of EPS geofoam have been investigated in previous studies. Some studies found increases in confining stress lead to corresponding decreases in both modulus and compressive strength. Increasing confining stress has also been reported to result in higher compressive strength. Regardless of the sense and attributed significance of the effects of confinement on EPS geofoam behavior, the implied effects on performance are generally not considered in practice. A series of triaxial compression tests were conducted on EPS geofoams of …

Idaho Gag Law Hides Horrors Of Ag Industry, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

Acceptable Violence, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

There are times when marginally related events converge and raise questions about issues related to sport. Such a convergence occurred in my corner of sportsworld over the past week.

Pd2/Paf1 Depletion In Pancreatic Acinar Cells Promotes Acinar-To-Ductal Metaplasia., Parama Dey, Satyanarayana Rachagani, Arokia P. Vaz, Moorthy P. Ponnusamy, Surinder K. Batra

Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Pancreatic differentiation 2 (PD2), a PAF (RNA Polymerase II Associated Factor) complex subunit, is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer cells and has demonstrated potential oncogenic property. Here, we report that PD2/Paf1 expression was restricted to acinar cells in the normal murine pancreas, but its expression increased in the ductal cells of KrasG12D/Pdx1Cre (KC) mouse model of pancreatic cancer with increasing age, showing highest expression in neoplastic ductal cells of 50 weeks old mice. PD2/Paf1 was specifically expressed in amylase and CK19 double positive metaplastic ducts, representing intermediate structures during pancreatic acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM). Similar PD2/Paf1 expression was observed in murine pancreas …

When Heritage Preservation Meets Living Memory: Constructing The Medina Of Fez As A World Heritage Heterotopia, Matthew Houdek

Theses - ALL

This project engages the UNESCO World Heritage program's international place-making and heritage preservation campaign, and the processes that are carried out to transform an everyday cultural place into a World Heritage site. I consider what effects these preservation projects and the tourists they attract have on communities of living memory, while also engaging non-Western conceptions of heritage and the local processes for how it is preserved or produced in such contexts. To these ends, I look at one of the first non-Western urban sites to be inscribed on the World Heritage list-- the Medina of Fez, Morocco. The Medina offers …

20 Weeks, 13 Hours, 140 Characters: The Abortion Controversy In The Texas State Senate And Online, Elyse Nicole Janish

Theses - ALL

The abortion controversy in America has long been characterized by problematic discourse in which neither prolife nor prochoice groups make headway in persuading the other side. This thesis examines the discourse of the abortion controversy as it played out in and around the Texas State Senate on June 25th, 2013, during a filibuster of a restrictive abortion bill known as Senate Bill 5 (SB5), by Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth). The analysis focuses on three sets of data: first, the testimonies authored by citizen protestors and animated by Senator Davis; second, the question-and-answer period between Senator Davis and Republican Senator …

An Epidemiology Of Big Data, John Mark Young

Dissertations - ALL

Federal legislation designed to transform the U.S. healthcare system and the emergence of mobile technology are among the common drivers that have contributed to a data explosion, with industry analysts and stakeholders proclaiming this decade the big data decade in healthcare (Horowitz, 2012). But a precise definition of big data is hazy (Dumbill, 2013). Instead, the healthcare industry mainly relies on metaphors, buzzwords, and slogans that fail to provide information about big data's content, value, or purposes for existence (Burns, 2011). Bollier and Firestone (2010) even suggests "big data does not really exist in healthcare" (p. 29). While federal policymakers …

The Effect Of Maternal Separation And Postnatal Oxytocin Administration On Social Recognition In Adolescent Female Mice, Nathaniel Richard Thomas

Dissertations - ALL

A vast body of literature indicates that exposing rodents to maternal separation during infancy results in long - term developmental changes in physiological, behavioral, and psychological domains. Because several previous studies have indicated that maternal separation may be detrimental to the processing and discrimination of social cues, the primary aim of this dissertation was to determine whether separating female infant mouse pups from their mother, but not siblings, for 3 hrs daily, during the first two weeks of life, influences social recognition during adolescence (Experiment 1). This dissertation also sought to evaluate whether postnatal administration of the oxytocin would influence …

Azd8931, An Equipotent, Reversible Inhibitor Of Signaling By Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (Egfr), Her2, And Her3: Preclinical Activity In Her2 Non-Amplified Inflammatory Breast Cancer Models., Zhaomei Mu, Teresa Klinowska, Xiaoshen Dong, Emily Foster, Chris Womack, Sandra V Fernandez, Massimo Cristofanilli

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpression has been associated with prognostic and predictive value in inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression is observed at a higher rate in IBC compared with noninflammatory breast cancer. Current clinically available anti-HER2 therapies are effective only in patients with HER2 amplified breast cancer, including IBC. AZD8931 is a novel small-molecule equipotent inhibitor of EGFR, HER2, and HER3 signaling. In this study, we investigated the antitumor activity of AZD8931 alone or in combination with paclitaxel using preclinical models of EGFR-overexpressed and HER2 non-amplified IBC cells.

METHODS: Two IBC cell …

Let Them Eat Carbon: The End Of The Kyoto Protocol, Aiten J. Musaeva Mcpherson

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

A Day In The Life Of A Hero: The Three Unities In C.S. Lewis's Neo-Classical Romance, Joe R. Christopher

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

C.S. Lewis's "The Nameless Isle" is, if one ignores the first fifty-seven lines as an introduction, curiously shaped to meet the requirements of the Three Unities as the Renaissance and as Neo-classicism understood Aristotle's Poetics. Or at least two of them. The Unity of Place is obvious: all the action is set on the same isle. The Unity of Plot may be debatable since the dwarf has more to do with the resolution of the conflict than the hero does, but at least there is only one basic conflict. And, most impressive of the Three, all the action occurs on …

The Artistry Of C.S. Lewis: An Examination Of The Illustrations For Boxen And The Chronicles Of Narnia, Kathryne Hall

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.