Digital Commons Network^™

Capital Punishment Reforms In Illinois: Comparing The Views Of Police, Prosecutors, And Public Defenders, Robert M. Lombardo, David Olson

Criminal Justice & Criminology: Faculty Publications & Other Works

On 9 March 2011, Governor Patrick Quinn abolished capital punishment in Illinois stating that the state’s system of imposing the death penalty was inherently flawed. Quinn’s announcement followed an eleven-year effort to end the death penalty that began with a 2000 moratorium on executions imposed by then Governor George Ryan. This moratorium was the direct result of the appellate reversal of a series of death-row convictions. Prompted by these reversals, Ryan also created the Governor’s Commission on Capital Punishment to study the use of the death penalty in Illinois. As a result of this effort, comprehensive legislation was enacted to …

Examine The Role Of Social Media And Volunteered Geographic Information In 2014’S California Drought, Ligang Zhang

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Abstract

Social media encompasses online communication platforms. Presently, it has been involved in the management and mitigation of crises and disasters. The paper discusses the use of social meida and Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) in the management of the 2014’s California drought. The significance of social media and volunteered geographic information is emphasized in the study. As well as factors that influence the suitability of the two, social media and voluntary geographic information in the whole process of managing the California drought are also explored. The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of one-way info-sharing, two-way info-sharing, rumor control, reconnection, …

Use Of Social Media By Indiana Principals And Superintendents, Robert Stephen Griffin Jr.

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of social media by Indiana K-12 principals and superintendents. The use of social media has become prevalent both as a social and professional tool. The social media movement has evolved quickly over the past five years; however, schools and school districts have been slow to effectively utilize this tool out of fear, apprehension, and ignorance. The opportunity to explore social media as a professional tool by educational leaders was opportune and timely as this tool becomes a multi-purpose tool in today’s society. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, and one-way …

Identification Of Root-Knot Nematodes (Meloidogyne Spp.) Of Arkansas Using Molecular Diagnostics, Churamani Khanal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are highly-adaptable, obligate plant parasites distributed worldwide. In addition, root-knot nematodes are an economically important genus of plant-parasitic nematodes. Meloidogyne incognita, M. arenaria, M. javanica, M. hapla and M. graminis have been reported from Arkansas during 1964 to 1994. Previous identifications were based primarily on morphological characters and host differentials. In this study, identification using molecular diagnostics methods was performed to identify Meloidogyne species present in Arkansas. A total of 106 soil and root samples from 36 of the 75 counties were collected and processed to obtain root-knot nematodes. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed …

Evaluation Of Medicago Truncatula Accessions For Triterpene Saponins And Their Potential Impacts On Plant Pests, Samantha Roberson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plants have developed numerous ways to protect themselves from microbes and insects, including producing secondary metabolites that negatively impact an invading pathogen or pest. Saponins are specialized metabolites found in many plant species and may play a role in protecting the plant. Though saponins are found in many plant species, triterpene saponins are found primarily in dicotyledons, including legumes. Medicago truncatula is a model system for studying legume biology and some accessions accumulate high concentrations of saponins. Accessions of M. truncatula known to have differing levels of saponins in both foliar and root tissues were tested for their suitability as …

The Phenotypic Effects And Transcript Response Of Salt Stress, The Impact Of Viral Infection On Salt Stress Symptoms, And The Effect Of Salt Stress On Soybean Virus Vector Activity In Soybean Varieties That Vary In Chloride Uptake, Alma Glenn Laney

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the increase in saline soils worldwide, understanding the mechanisms for salt tolerance in plants is important to reduce yield loss due to salt stress. Soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., genotypes differ in chloride uptake with genotypes that take up chloride into foliar tissues tending to be salt-sensitive whereas those that partially exclude chloride from the leaves are more salt-tolerant. Transcriptional and physiological responses were measured in two soybean cultivars, Clark and Manokin, which differ in chloride uptake in response to salt stress and in combination with Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) and its aphid vector, Aphis glycines . The interaction …

The Impact Of Explicit Instruction On Preservice Teachers’ Conceptions Of Randomness, Jonica H. Mcbride

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study considered the impact of explicit teaching of misconceptions regarding randomness on cognitive growth of preservice teachers. Specifically, the purpose was to compile and validate instructional materials that facilitate preservice teachers’ conceptual understandings of randomness. The quasiexperimental design compared the cognitive effects of the instructional materials. Hence, in addition to the instructional materials, assessment instruments were compiled and validated. These items were intended to illuminate the cognitive growth resulting from the treatment instruction. The convenience sample of 67 students represented approximately one third of the teacher-education students enrolled in a mathematics education content course at this institution. Three sections …

Impact Of The 3-D Model Strategy On Science Learning Of The Solar System, Mohammed Alharbi

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed method study, quantitative and descriptive, was to determine whether the first-middle grade (seventh grade) students at Saudi schools are able to learn and use the Autodesk Maya software to interact and create their own 3-D models and animations and whether their use of the software influences their study habits and their understanding of the school subject matter. The study revealed that there is value to the science students regarding the use of 3-D software to create 3-D models to complete science assignments. Also, this study aimed to address the middle-school students’ ability to learn 3-D …

Effective Literacy Instruction Across The Curriculum At The Secondary Level In Indiana, Paul Michael White

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to discover school- teacher- and student-level factors that describe effective literacy instruction at the secondary level of high-performing schools. A sub-question of the study focused on whether high-performing schools practiced “literacy across the curriculum.” National data suggest only about one-third of secondary-level students in the United States read at a proficient level. A recent trend to improve secondary-level student literacy has been to emphasize literacy development in all content areas. A mixed-method approach was used for this study. A linear regression was executed for all middle and high schools in Indiana for spring 2011, …

Plc Quarterly For December 2014, Office Of The President, Rollins College

PLC Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Clemson Commencement Program, December 2014, Clemson University

Clemson Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Judge Posner, Judge Wilkinson, And Judicial Critique Of Constitutional Theory, Marc O. Degirolami, Kevin C. Walsh

Notre Dame Law Review

Judge Richard Posner’s well-known view is that constitutional theory is useless. And Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III has lambasted constitutional theory for the way in which its “cosmic” aspirations threaten democratic self-governance. Many other judges hold similar views. And yet both Posner and Wilkinson—in the popular press, in law review articles, and in books—have advocated what appear to be their own theories of how to judge in constitutional cases. Judicial pragmatism for Posner and judicial restraint for Wilkinson seem to be substitutes for originalism, living constitutionalism, political process theory, and so on. But both Posner and Wilkinson also deny that …

Against Coherence In Statutory Interpretation, John David Ohlendorf

Notre Dame Law Review

A long tradition in legal theory views the judicial role as centrally including the duty to make the entire body of law “speak with one voice.” This coherence ideal permeates much of the law of statutory interpretation, but one body of doctrine that it has particularly influenced is the set of standards that federal courts use to determine when a newly enacted statute overrides preexisting legal rules. Determining whether Congress implicitly intends to preempt state law, repeal previous legislation, or displace federal common law is an increasingly important part of the “ordinary diet of the law.” And although, this Article …

A Performance Study Of Genetic Algorithm-Assisted Beamforming In Distributed Cognitive Radio Networks, Andrew Minturn

Department of Computer Electronics and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cognitive Radio (CR) is a technology that has gained much interest recently due to the increasing scarcity of the radio frequency spectrum. Large portions of the radio frequency spectrum are licensed to users who then have exclusive access to the bandwidth, and unlicensed bands can be a challenge to use due to interference from unlicensed users. Despite the seeming scarcity, tests of bands allocated by the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) to licensed and unlicensed user have shown that many are underutilized and often unoccupied by the user to whom they are licensed. CR aims to exploit this unused spectrum and …

A Study On Resource Efficient Digital Multimedia Security Measures In Mobile Devices, Prabhat Dahal

Department of Computer Electronics and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Advanced image and video processing abilities in smart phones and digital cameras make them popular means to capture multimedia. In addition, the integration of internet into such devices users seek to capture and easily share multimedia right from their smartphone while most steganography techniques are computer based. Hence, it is of utmost importance that the multimedia be processed for steganography right within the devices for multimedia authentication.

In this thesis, we first implement steganography into mobile smart devices that can capture multimedia. For devices such as smart phones, we propose a method to hide payload bits within video frames. The …

A Large-Scale, Rapid Public Health Response To Rabies In An Organ Recipient And The Previously Undiagnosed Organ Donor, R. M. Wallace, Danielle Stanek, S. Griese, D. Krulak, Neil M. Vora, Virginia Kan, +14 Additional Authors

Medicine Faculty Publications

This article describes and contrasts the public health response to two human rabies cases: one organ recipient diagnosed within days of symptom onset and the transplant donor who was diagnosed 18 months post-symptom onset. In response to an organ-transplant-related rabies case diagnosed in 2013, organ donor and recipient investigations were conducted by multiple public health agencies. Persons with potential exposure to infectious patient materials were assessed for rabies virus exposure. An exposure investigation was conducted to determine the source of the organ donor's infection. Over 100 persons from more than 20 agencies spent over 2700 h conducting contact investigations in …

Whole Exome Sequencing In Family Trios Reveals De Novo Mutations In Pura As A Cause Of Severe Neurodevelopmental Delay And Learning Disability, David Hunt, Richard J. Leventer, Cas Simons, Ryan J. Taft, Kathryn J. Swoboda, Mary Gawne-Cain, Alex C. Magee, Perter D. Turnpenny, Diana Baralle

Genomics and Precision Medicine Faculty Publications

Background De novo mutations are emerging as an important cause of neurocognitive impairment, and whole exome sequencing of case-parent trios is a powerful way of detecting them. Here, we report the findings in four such trios.

Methods The Deciphering Developmental Disorders study is using whole exome sequencing in family trios to investigate children with severe, sporadic, undiagnosed developmental delay. Three of our patients were ascertained from the first 1133 children to have been investigated through this large-scale study. Case 4 was a phenotypically isolated case recruited into an undiagnosed rare disorders sequencing study.

Results Protein-altering de novo mutations in PURA …

Integrative Therapy Use For Management Of Side Effects And Toxicities Experienced By Pediatric Oncology Patients, Shana Jacobs

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Integrative Therapies (IT), otherwise known as Complementary and Alternative Medicine, are widely used among pediatric oncology patients, despite a paucity of available evidence. This review summarizes surveys that describe the prevalence of IT use by pediatric oncology patients, both during therapy and in survivorship, as well as the modalities being used. Additionally, the evidence that exists for specific treatments that appear to be efficacious in controlling specific symptoms is described. Finally, there are recommendations for practitioners on how to best counsel patients about IT use.

Stem Stories, December 2014, #1, Stefani Keller

STEM Stories

Student Profile - Britney Bockstahler

Haunted Time, Still Photography And Cinema As Memory : The Dream Sequence In Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives = 鬼魅時代，靜物攝影與作為記憶的電影 : 論《波米叔叔的前世今生》中的夢境段落, Natalie Boehler

Journal of Modern Literature in Chinese 現代中文文學學報

No abstract provided.

University Magazine Winter 2014, University News Service, Office Of Alumni Relations

University Publications

This is the official magazine for RIT Alumni. Issued thrice a year in spring, fall and winter. Printing began in 1999.

Incentivizing Employees Through Benefits And Recognition Programs At Pace University, Diana Dumitru

Master in Public Administration Theses

The nonprofit sector has seen a 20% increase in the number of higher education institutions over a period of 10 years, from 2000-2010, (Blackwood et al. 2012), which had a big impact on the public charity revenues and expenses. In this fast-paced growing environment, employees working in higher education are directly influenced by the changes and increase in the number of students. Motivating employees in such an environment can be challenging, therefore finding a comprehensive package that includes fair compensation levels, benefits, awards and recognition ceremonies and other incentives such as promotions and opportunities for growth are important for the …

Graduate Intership Report In Agriculture Education- Frontier High School; Bakersfield, Emily A. Benson

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship report includes documents of the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture education of the Kern High School District. The following documents are used in the agriculture department on the Frontier High School Campus for CTE Education. The internship report also includes the development of a national chapter, program of activities, department requirements, curriculum standards, and professional development for the Agriculture Sciences in the State of California.

Ag Ed 539 Teacher Internship, Katie M. Porto

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship/project report includes validation documents required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Pierce High School, conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The internship included the development of a comprehensive program plan for Pierce High School. The plan includes information to receive state/local funding, an outline of the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of Pierce High School, the agriculture program and community.

Relationship Between Relative Hive Entrance Position And Dance Floor Location, Chelsea E. Corrigan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

It has been observed that returning honey bee foragers congregate with unemployed foragers and food receiver bees in a localized region of the hive known as the dance floor. Here, the returning foragers advertise food sources via the waggle dance. It was hypothesized that the close proximity of the dance floor to the hive entrance was related to foragers minimizing time and travel inside the hive. The hive entrance is conventionally located at the bottom of the hive. It was suggested that this location was ideal for easy removal of debris. This correlation between dance floor location and hive entrance …

On Getting Dressed, Sharon L. Stephenson

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

I lean against the chalkboard and wait for the young woman to speak. I feel especially put together because I am wearing an outfit; I bought all three pieces at the same time, indicating my financial stability and dedication to appearance.

It is a Friday, and this introductory physics student is casual in her sorority letter jersey, jeans and sneakers. Her hair is long, her skin porcelain; these traits do not distinguish her from her sorority sisters. She is exceptional, however, in her habit of obsessively leaning forward in her front-row desk, as if preparing to dive over the top. …

Book Review - Wild Connection: What Animal Courtship And Mating Tell Us About Human Relationships, J. Matthew Hoch

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Extended Necessary Condition For Local Operations And Classical Communication: Tight Bound For All Measurements, Scott M. Cohen

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We give a necessary condition that a separable measurement can be implemented by local quantum operations and classical communication (LOCC) in any finite number of rounds of communication, generalizing and strengthening a result obtained previously. That earlier result involved a bound that is tight when the number of measurement operators defining the measurement is relatively small. The present results generalize that bound to one that is tight for any finite number of measurement operators, and we also provide an extension which holds when that number is infinite. We apply these results to the famous example on a 3 × 3 …

News From Hope College, Volume 46.3: December, 2014, Hope College

News from Hope College

No abstract provided.

Scaling Group Analysis On Mhd Free Convective Heat And Mass Transfer Over A Stretching Surface With Suction / Injection, Heat Source/Sink Considering Viscous Dissipation And Chemical Reaction Effects, Hunegnaw Dessie, Naikoti Kishan

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

This paper concerns with scaling group analysis on MHD free convective heat and mass transfer over stretching surface considering effects of thermal-diffusion and diffusion-thermo with suction /injection, heat source/sink and chemical reaction by taking into account viscous dissipation. Scaling group transformations are used to convert the partial differential equations of governing equations into ordinary differential equation and are solved numerically by Keller Box Method. Numerical results obtained for different parameters are drawn graphically and their effects on velocity, temperature and concentration profiles are discussed and shown graphically. Skin-friction coefficient, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are presented in table. It is …