Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of The Narrative In Values-Led Business, Dave F. Brauer, David B. Brauer

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

Many leaders of values-based organizations already possess the requisite passion for the core values of their respective organizations. The ability to have their organizations perform in a manner consistent with these values is critical to gain the authenticity necessary for their audiences in order to discern the value of what that particular organization offers. The inability to articulate this to all stakeholders — including the marketplace, investors, employees, and competitors — may increase the hazard of mortality for the organization.

One characteristic that human beings do not share with any other creature on earth is the ability to relate complex …

Expression Of Facultative Den Behavior In Ursidae, Nicholas Lee Fowler

Theses and Dissertations

Many ecological and evolutionary processes have been described underlying natural selection but supporting evidence in wild settings is often lacking and our understanding remains incomplete. Using a multi-scale approach, I investigated expression of facultative den behavior (denning) among and within ursid species. Among species, lack of denning behavior was supported by relaxation of selection pressures of seasonal food availability due to realization of two sources of ecological opportunity; colonization of new habitat and adaptation of key innovations. Of denning species, I found evidence of adaptive ecological plasticity in den chronology among and within populations consistent with relaxed selective pressures influencing …

Linking Individual Biological Outcomes To Resource Use, Christopher Ryan Ayers

Theses and Dissertations

Minimum resource requirements support population persistence; however, ecologists and conservationists often want to identify factors that improve biological outcomes of animals. The population-level approach common in wildlife-resource studies limits our ability to draw inferences about the importance of resources and other factors by failing to link them with individual fitness. Measuring individual-based biological outcomes and resource use helps determine variation in mechanistic relationships between animal fitness and behavior. I suggest using direct metrics of resource use such as food consumption and distance traveled, to avoid errors with estimating resource availability. I summarize these concepts in an analytical framework for modeling …

Conservation Of Bridle Shiner (Notropis Bifrenatus) In Connecticut: Issues In Detecting An Elusive Species, Kasey C. Pregler

Master's Theses

Bridle Shiner (Notropis bifrenatus) is apparently declining over most of its range and is currently listed as a species of concern in Connecticut. Using an occupancy modeling framework in program PRESENCE, my study compared seining and electrofishing backpack unit detection probabilities of Bridle Shiner. This research indicated the apparent decline of Bridle Shiner in the state was in part due to changes in sampling gear used for statewide surveys. Seining used 50 years ago was demonstrably more effective at capturing Bridle Shiner than the currently favored and more frequently used electrofishing gear. In light of this recent finding, …

Investigating Differences In Risk Behaviors Among Rural, Suburban, And Urban Adolescents, Heather Dubendris

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization, one-third of the disease morbidity and two-thirds of premature deaths among adults are associated with behaviors that can be traced back to adolescence. These include behaviors resulting in unintentional injury, violent behaviors, alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. The purpose of this research was to explore how differing levels of urbanicity affect youth’s engagement in risk behaviors.

Methods: Analysis was done using a nationally representative sample of 9th-12th graders in the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), the most recent year for which urbanicity is available. The main exposure was urbanicity (classified as urban, …

Quaternary Growth History Of Glover's Reef, Belize: Insights Into Reef Distribution, Ecological Change, And Pleistocene Sea Level, Noelle J. Van Ee

Open Access Dissertations

Glover’s Reef is a coral atoll located outside of the Belize Barrier Reef, 30 km from the coast of southern Belize. A single-channel seismic survey of approximately 111 km of grid lines reveals that almost 90% of the surveyed lagoon patch reefs sit on Pleistocene topographic highs. In contrast to previous theories that emphasize the role of karst processes during sea-level low stands in creating topography, records from ten rotary cores into modern reef deposits indicated that the Pleistocene topographic highs are comprised of in situ reef facies: “Reefs sit on reefs”. Although Pleistocene reef deposits formed the template for …

Gladys-On-The-Prairie: The Effect Of Social And Environmental Forces On The Identity And Life Of Dr. Gladys C. Galligar, Desiree M.E. King

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Twentieth century Americans recognized problems created by both the subjected status women held by society and the harmful impact humanity had on natural resources and domains. America’s search for realization and solutions for the inherent problems associated with the devaluation of women and nature did not come quickly or easily; it took a path that wound around both traditional concepts and progressive insights. I argue in this thesis that the biography of Dr. Gladys C. Galligar demonstrates, on an intimate level, America’s dawning awareness of the necessity of a healthier environment and a more egalitarian society. As a biology researcher …

Historical Demography And Dispersal Patterns In The Eastern Pipistrelle Bat (Perimyotis Subflavus), Alynn M. Martin

Masters Theses

The recent emergence of threats to North American bat conservation has prompted increased population genetics research on high risk species. The eastern pipistrelle bat is affected by both white-nose syndrome and wind turbine mortality. However, little work has been done regarding the population structure and effective population size of this species. Using the HVI region of the mitochondria and eight microsatellite loci, I analyzed male and female structure across the sample range of P. subflavus and estimated the effective population size of their populations. Pairwise F_ST values indicate that there is one panmictic population based on microsatellite data, while …

A Prospective Study Of Maternal, Fetal And Neonatal Deaths In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Sarah Saleem, Elizabeth M. Mcclure, Shivaprasad S. Goudar, Archana Patel, Fabian Esamai, Ana Garces, Elwyn Chomba, Fernando Althabe, Janet Moore, Bhalachandra Kodkany

Community Health Sciences

Objective: To quantify maternal, fetal and neonatal mortality in low- and middle-income countries, to identify when deaths occur and to identify relationships between maternal deaths and stillbirths and neonatal deaths.
Methods: A prospective study of pregnancy outcomes was performed in 106 communities at seven sites in Argentina, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Pakistan and Zambia. Pregnant women were enrolled and followed until six weeks postpartum.
Findings: Between 2010 and 2012, 214,070 of 220,235 enrolled women (97.2%) completed follow-up. The maternal mortality ratio was 168 per 100,000 live births, ranging from 69 per 100,000 in Argentina to 316 per 100,000 in Pakistan. Overall, …

Examining The Influence Of Farmers' Market Motivations On Access To Healthful Foods And Business Opportunities For Farms, Rachel K. Ward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Farmers’ markets are increasingly promoted as mechanisms for improving access to healthful foods for low-income households, as they are relatively inexpensive to establish and they can provide affordable food for low-income households by offering Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefit Transfer (SNAP/EBT). SNAP/EBT at markets also expands revenue opportunities for participating farmers. Market mangers provide a critical role in overseeing SNAP/EBT at markets and influencing business opportunities for farmers. Using a mixed-method approach, this study aimed to evaluate how managers’ motivations influence SNAP/EBT availability and participation at markets and business opportunities for small- and moderate- sized farms.

To develop a …

Analysis Of High Fat Diet Induced Genes During Mammary Gland Development: Identifying Role Players In Poor Prognosis Of Breast Cancer, Raquel C. Martinez-Chacin, Megan Keniry, Robert Dearth

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Background

Epidemiological studies have shown that consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) increases the risk of developing breast cancer (BC). Studies in rodents have shown HFD causes changes in the genetic programming of the maturing mammary gland (MG) increasing the susceptibility of developing the disease. Less is known about how HFD induced genes impact BC development. HFD exposure two weeks before conception to six weeks of age was previously shown to dramatically change MG gene expression in 10 week old mice. Therefore, we investigated these differentially expressed HFD-induced genes for their expression in BC using the NKI 295 breast tumor …

Effects Of Contaminated St. Lucie River Saltwater Sediments On An Amphipod (Ampelisca Abdita) And A Hard-Shell Clam (Mercenaria Mercenaria), Tham C. Hoang, Gary M. Rand

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The St. Lucie estuary (SLE) ecosystem in South Florida has been shown to be contaminated with metals and pesticides. Our earlier studies also showed that aquatic organisms, especially benthic species in the SLE ecosystem, might be potentially at high risk from copper (Cu) exposure. The objectives of this study were to conduct studies with separate groups of organisms exposed to seven field-collected sediment samples from the St. Lucie River according to standard procedures to evaluate toxicity and tissue concentrations of Cu and zinc (Zn). Short term and longer term whole sediment acute toxicity studies were performed with Ampelisca abdita and …

North Versus South: The Effects Of Foreign Direct Investment And Historical Legacies On Poverty Reduction In Post-Đổi Mới Vietnam, Scott R. Sanders

Faculty Publications

This research examines the factors that account for variance in provincial poverty reduction rates between 2002 and 2008 in Vietnam. In particular, this paper uses spatial regression modeling to show that foreign direct investment (FDI) and the capitalist legacies of southern Vietnam significantly affected provincial poverty reduction during this time period. These findings suggest that although Vietnam as a whole has benefited from post-Đổi Mới economic reform and FDI, the historical capitalist legacies of the former Republic of Vietnam played a strong role in aiding provinces in the south in attracting FDI and subsequently reducing provincial poverty.

The Show Cave Of Diros Vs. Wild Caves Of Peloponnese, Greece - Distribution Patterns Of Cyanobacteria, Vasiliki Lamprinou, Daniel B. Danielidis, Adriani Pantazidou, Alexandra Oikonomou, Athena Economou-Amilli

International Journal of Speleology

The karst cave ‘Vlychada’of Diros, one of the oldest show caves in Peloponnese, sustains extended phototrophic biofilms on various substrata – on rocks inside the cave including speleothems, and especially near the artificial lighting installation (‘Lampenflora’). After a survey of the main abiotic parameters (Photosynthetically Active Radiation -PAR, Temperature -T, Relative Humidity -RH, Carbon Dioxide -CO₂) three clusters of sampling sites were revealed according to Principal Component Analysis (PCA): i) the water gallery section predominately influenced by CO₂, ii) the dry passages influenced by RH and PAR, and iii) the area by the cave exit at …

The Gps Craze: Six Questions To Address Before Deciding To Deploy Gps Technology On Wildlife, A. David M. Latham, M. Cecilia Latham, Dean P. Anderson, Jen Cruz, Dan Herries, Mark Hebblewhite

Wildlife Biology Faculty Publications

GPS and satellite technology for studies on wildlife have improved substantially over the past decade. It is now possible to collect fine-scale location data from migratory animals, animals that have previously been too small to deploy GPS devices on, and other difficult-to-study species. Often researchers and managers have formatted well-defined ecological or conservation questions prior to deploying GPS on animals, whereas other times it is arguably done simply because the technology is now available to do so. We review and discuss six important interrelated questions that should be addressed when planning a study requiring location data. Answers will clarify whether …

The Effect Of Economic And Social Conditions On The Use Of Clinical Preventive Services, Bisma Ali Sayed

Open Access Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between economic conditions and individuals’ use of clinical preventive (CP) services. CP services form the cornerstone of the national healthcare agenda, and are key in the fight to reduce morbidity and mortality in the United States. Despite this, low utilization rates remain concerning, with recent statistics indicating that rates of CP service use fall well below the targets outlined in Healthy People 2020. In the present study, I focus on individuals’ use of three CP services, influenza vaccinations, blood cholesterol screening, and endoscopic colorectal cancer screening. Broadly, I examine the effect of state-level unemployment and …

Spatial Analysis In Cancer Surveillance, Recinda Loraine Sherman

Open Access Dissertations

The burden of cancer is a significant physical, psychological, and financial toll on individuals and populations. Cancer is more common in older populations, so advances in other areas of medicine will inevitably increase the numbers of cancer patients. The development of cancer is prolonged over years which makes it difficult to identify etiologic causes. And the treatment of the disease can also be quite protracted. In the case of advanced or aggressive disease, medical treatment is sometimes reduced to a series of clinical interventions that do little to change the timeline to mortality. Currently, our most effective tool in cancer …

Advances In Aquatic Target Localization With Passive Sonar, John Thomas Gebbie

Dissertations and Theses

New underwater passive sonar techniques are developed for enhancing target localization capabilities in shallow ocean environments. The ocean surface and the seabed act as acoustic mirrors that reflect sound created by boats or subsurface vehicles, which gives rise to echoes that can be heard by hydrophone receivers (underwater microphones). The goal of this work is to leverage this "multipath" phenomenon in new ways to determine the origin of the sound, and thus the location of the target. However, this is difficult for propeller driven vehicles because the noise they produce is both random and continuous in time, which complicates its …

A Multi-Scale Approach To Study Predator-Prey Interactions And Habitat Use Of Pinfish, Lagodon Rhomboids, Dinorah Helena Chacin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biological processes like species interactions and patterns such as abundance and distribution observed in nature can vary depending on the scale at which the subject of interest is evaluated. Knowing that there is no single natural scale at which systems should be studied, in this thesis, I conducted a series of basic and applied ecological approaches in order to examine the phenomena that can occur at different scales of space, time, and ecological organization.

Species abundances can vary over large spatial and temporal scales. By studying the habitat use of an abundant species, which uses a wide range of habitats, …

Borreliabase: A Phylogeny-Centered Browser Of Borrelia Genomes, Lia Di, Pedro E. Pagan, Daniel Packer, Che L. Martin, Saymon Akther, Girish Ramrattan, Emmanuel F. Mongodin, Claire M. Fraser, Steven E. Schutzer, Benjamin J. Luft, Sherwood R. Casjens, Wei-Gang Qiu

Publications and Research

Background The bacterial genus Borrelia (phylum Spirochaetes) consists of two groups of pathogens represented respectively by B. burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme borreliosis, and B. hermsii, the agent of tick-borne relapsing fever. The number of publicly available Borrelia genomic sequences is growing rapidly with the discovery and sequencing of Borrelia strains worldwide. There is however a lack of dedicated online databases to facilitate comparative analyses of Borrelia genomes. Description We have developed BorreliaBase, an online database for comparative browsing of Borrelia genomes. The database is currently populated with sequences from 35 genomes of eight Lyme-borreliosis (LB) group Borrelia species and …

Fact Or Fiction: Random Mating In Field Populations Of Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera Leconte) Emerging On Bt And Refuge Corn Plants, Steven Joel Smith

Open Access Theses

The western corn rootworm, or WCR, (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) is the most significant pest of field corn (Zea mays) in the United States, and has recently expanded its range into Europe. Since 2004, hybrid corn containing Bt toxins targeting the corn rootworm complex have been heavily adopted and are now the primary control measure for this pest in North American corn production. ^ The evolution of resistance is an ongoing concern, and to ensure Bt products will retain their usefulness, insect resistance management (IRM) tactics using various refuge structures have been adopted. One of the key …

Can Fire Atlas Data Improve Species Distribution Model Projections?, Shawn M. Crimmins, Solomon Z. Dobrowski, Alison R. Mynsberge, Hugh D. Safford

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Correlative species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used in studies of climate change impacts, yet are often criticized for failing to incorporate disturbance processes that can influence species distributions. Here we use two temporally independent data sets of vascular plant distributions, climate data, and fire atlas data to examine the influence of disturbance history on SDM projection accuracy through time in the mountain ranges of California, USA. We used hierarchical partitioning to examine the influence of fire occurrence on the distribution of 144 vascular plant species and built a suite of SDMs to examine how the inclusion of fire-related predictors …

Pattern And Rate Of Decline Of A Population Of Carolina Hemlock (Tsuga Caroliniana Engelm.) In North Carolina, Foster Levy, Elaine S. Walker

ETSU Faculty Works

We monitored a population of Carolina Hemlocks in northwestern North Carolina for four years to examine the rate and pattern of decline in response to infestation by Adelges tsugae (Hemlock Woolly Adelgid). Our yearly census of hemlock condition and severity of the adelgid infestation included trees of all sizes. We estimated declines in condition as the portions of the leaf canopy that were lost. Initially, infestation occurred throughout the population but was severe in only a small cluster of individuals. Within 1 year, the area of severe infestation increased in size to encompass 48% of the population. In another region …

Hispanic Residential Ethnic Density And Depression In Post-Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients: Re-Thinking The Role Of Social Support, Ellen-Ge Denton, Jonathan A. Shaffer, Carmela Alcantra, Lynn Clemow, Elizabeth Denton

Publications and Research

Background: The ethnic density hypothesis suggests that ethnic density confers greater social support and consequently protects against depressive symptoms in ethnic minority individuals. However, the potential benefits of ethnic density have not been examined in individuals who are facing a specific and salient life stressor.

Aims: We examined the degree to which the effects of Hispanic ethnic density on depressive symptoms are explained by socioeconomic resources and social support.

Methods: Patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS, N = 472) completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and measures of demographics, ACS clinical factors and perceived social support. Neighborhood characteristics, including median …

Self-Identity Of Biracial Children: What Role Do Parents Play?, Patreese D. Ingram, Anil Kumar Chaudhary

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

One of the fastest growing student groups today is the biracial student population. This study is part of a larger exploratory descriptive study on biracial college students with a focus on the extent to which parents socialized their biracial children in the cultures of both parents while growing up and how these students chose to self-identify. Biracial students at a large, predominantly white, research university in the northeastern United States completed an online survey. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that most students had adopted a “border” identity. The majority of parents …

Full Issue, Volume 2, Number 2, Donna J. Peterson

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

No abstract provided.

The Marine Microbial Eukaryote Transcriptome Sequencing Project (Mmetsp): Illuminating The Functional Diversity Of Eukaryotic Life In The Oceans Through Transcriptome Sequencing, Patrick J. Keeling, Bethany D. Jenkins, Susanne Menden-Deuer, Et Al

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Funding: This project was funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF; Grants GBMF2637 and GBMF3111) to the National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) and the National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Authors apart from NCGR and NCMA affiliates, FB and HMW (who performed 18S rRNA gene analyses), are community members who submitted samples for sequencing, including members of the advisory committee, but did not receive GBMF funds directly in support of these efforts.

Alum López Publish Article On Chronic Kidney Disease In El Salvador, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Pre-Processing Techniques Applied To Automatic Taxon Identification On Fish Otoliths, Ramon Reig-Bolaño, Pere Marti-Puig

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper analyzes the characteristics of a rotation-invariant Feature space to be used in a classifier of fish otoliths, it is compared to two other Feature spaces, one with raw data and another with transformed data (using the Elliptic Fourier Descriptors EFD). Otoliths are found in the inner ear of fish. Their shape can be analyzed to determine sex, age, populations and species, and thus they can provide necessary and relevant information for ecological studies. The Automatic Taxon Identifier (ATI) is used to classify fish otoliths directly from a query image and is implemented on-line in a Public Database. This …

What Can Urbanism Be? Problematizing The Design Of Cities, Aseem Inam

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In this paper, I highlight a number of different ways of defining and describing the field conventionally known as urban design, which I problematize by broadening, deepening, and calling urbanism and which I re-define as city-design-and-building processes and their spatial products. These ways include morphological definitions, as a default focus, as the keeper of the public realm, through lists of categories, as a map of bodies of knowledge, as a field of research, as different modes of practice, via models for understanding and making cities, and practical “how-to” approaches such as best practices. I describe and critique each of these …