Digital Commons Network^™

Military Spending And Natural Resources: Evidence From Global Data, Noha Ahmed Hassan

Theses and Dissertations

Most of the studies show a clear relation between the increase of Oil revenues and the rapid increases in the military expenditure and arms imports (Perlo-Freeman, et al, 2011, Ali 2013). According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI, 2010), rising prices and new Oil and Gas exploitation have given governments windfall revenues, some of which have found their way into military spending. Using global data from 1988 to 2013 for 119 countries, this research aim to study: To what extent does the rent from natural resources affect the military spending? Is the countries level of development vis-à-vis military …

Separation, Regulation, And Bio-Power In The West Bank, Farah Najjar

Theses and Dissertations

Since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1993 following the Oslo Accords, Israel supposedly handed its duties of safeguarding the economic and social interests of the West Bank’s Palestinian population to the Palestinian Authority. In doing so, it allegedly followed a separation strategy and granted the Palestinian people the right to self-determination by allowing them to govern themselves. This essay uses Foucault’s ideas on power and governmentality to investigate whether Israel has truly ceased governing the Palestinian population and whether the PA is properly equipped to serve as a state apparatus. The essay’s central thesis is that, despite the …

Power Politics And Sexual Harassment In Downtown Cairo, Cally Walker

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how the meaning and experience of space contributes to our understanding of sexual harassment in downtown Cairo. I argue that we cannot understand relationships on the street without acknowledging the various affective discourses concerning space. Experiences of the everyday social, political and economic affect men and women differently, and constitute visible contextual and temporal sites of tension. I argue that the development-esque term of sexual harassment envelopes a wide range of practices that depend entirely on the moment and context of utterance. According to a 2013 United Nations report on Egypt, 48.9% of women believe that harassment …

Transcriptomics Of Iron Limitation In Phaeocystis Antarctica, Mariam Reyad Rizkallah Issak

Theses and Dissertations

Phytoplankton, the hidden trees of the ocean, are responsible for nearly half of global oxygen production. Phytoplankton growth and productivity in high-nitrate low-chlorophyll (HNLC) regions have been demonstrated to be limited by iron availability. One of the most important HNLC regions is the Southern Ocean, as it regulates Earth system climate due to its unique hydrography and consequently its phytoplankton assemblage drives the global carbon cycle. Iron fertilization experiments were conducted to understand the response of its photosynthetic assemblage to iron addition, and the nanoflagellate Phaeocystis antarctica has been reported the first to bloom. P. antarctica is ecologically important due …

Amethyst, Apotropaia, And The Eye Of Re, Laurel Hackley

Theses and Dissertations

Two specific aspects of Middle Kingdom Egyptian apotropaia, amethyst amulets and inscribed ivory wands, are connected by their religious, magical, and mythological connotations. The shared significance of these objects is made clear by iconographic similarities and textual references. The wands in particular are shown to represent a particular mythological moment, the return of the Solar Eye of Re to Egypt. Both amethyst objects and ivory wands reference this important mythological event in ways that illustrate the multi-level importance of the myth in the cultural landscape of the Middle Kingdom Egyptians.  

Looking Back, Listening Forward: A New Transcription Of Leoš Janáček’S Suite For Strings For Double Wind Quintet In The Harmoniemusik Tradition, Bradley Jay Miedema

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

The Harmoniemusik tradition has provided the wind chamber repertoire with a tremendous wealth of literature. Spanning the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, these transcriptions of large-scale works had a formative influence on the creative activity of subsequent composers. Most notable are the transcriptions of operas. Some include more than twenty movements and capture much of the drama and intensity of the stage versions. While the Viennese wind octet with pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons and horns became the standard instrumentation for the properly defined Harmonie, many pieces were also arranged and composed for ensembles ranging from six to …

Development Of A Divorce Recovery Program For Korean American Women, Jua Grace Kim

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study is a needs assessment of first generation immigrant, separated and divorced Christian Korean-American women for the purpose of developing a divorce recovery program. A large number of divorced Korean-American women currently do not receive adequate support from their communities, whether from the church or from their social networks (Kim, B., Titterinton, Kim, Y., & Wells, 2010; Lee & Scott, 2009; Son, 2011). This inadequate support may in part be due to the lack of a research community investigating the issues that Korean-American women face during divorce (Lee & Scott, 2009). The complexity of the divorce recovery process for …

Book Review Mapping Mormonism: An Atlas Of Latter-Day Saint History, Devan Jensen

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

New York Fashion Industry Goes To The Fair, Luisina Silva

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

At the beginning of the twentieth century New York City was the garment manufacturing capital of the United States of America, but it was not considered a fashion reference for the world. This study examines the role of the New York World's Fair of 1939/1940 as the first event where the New York fashion industry presented itself as a consolidated enterprise. To capture this important moment in fashion history, I examine the overlooked New York World's Fair archives from the New York Public Library and engage them with secondary research on American fashion history. With the use of digital tools …

Sharps, Squares, And Scalpers: Gambling In The Urban Underground, Annemarie Cesario

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study was conducted to examine the role of bookmakers in urban communities. Although bookmaking dates to 1780 in London, there has been little academic research on the bookmaker, or "bookie," and his role in neighborhood life. Drawing on five years of ethnographic research across three U.S. cities, I sought to answer two questions: 1. What is the relationship between the bookie and the neighborhood he serves, and how is his deviant identity managed in the larger community; and 2. How is trust established and maintained among actors in illegal gambling transactions? Once established, does this strengthen social networks and …

Eyes On Casino Gaming In China: Residents' Attitudes Toward Casino Gaming Development In Sanya City, A Pre-Casino Establishment Analysis, Omar Moufakkir, Dallen Timothy

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

While Macau offers world class casinos, casino gaming is not legalized in Mainland China. Current media reports, however, indicate a growing interest by the Chinese government in establishing casinos in the Hainan Province. This study assesses the perceptions of residents about potential gaming development in their community. Resident attitude surveys have been used by planners and policymakers in order to gain local support for tourism projects and initiatives. A series of hypotheses were tested. In particular, the study evaluates the difference in perception between tourism workers and non-tourism workers, residents who live in the city center where the casino development …

Gravity Models And Casino Gaming: A Review, Critique, And Modification, Clyde W. Barrow, David R. Borges

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Gravity models have been widely used in expanded gaming debates to persuade investors that proposed casinos will be financially successful and to persuade state and local government officials, as well as a skeptical public, of the economic and fiscal benefits of casino gaming. However, most people involved in the decision-making process understand very little about the internal mechanics of these models and how they generate financial forecasts, estimates of customer visits, and projections of new job creation. In fact, the gravity models used in market feasibility studies for the casino industry are proprietary models that remain closely guarded secrets of …

Diffusion And Learning: Twenty Years Of Sports Betting Culture In Finland, Matias Karekallas, Pauliina Raento, Taina Renkonen

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

How did people learn to bet on sports and how did a sports betting culture develop in Finland? How has this setting evolved over space and time? The answers contribute to the growing understanding of learning, socialization, and contextualization in the study of gambling and may inspire service providers, regulators, and harm preventers alike. We argue that broad structural patterns and micro-cultural processes should be investigated jointly and qualitative information should complement quantitative monitoring of human behavior. We approach the spread of sports betting to, and within Finland, from the perspective of innovation diffusion. We rely on this theory’s space- …

Commencement Of The Class Of 2014, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Ceremony

No abstract provided.

Domestic Asset Protection Trusts: A Threat To Child Support?, Trent Maxwell

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Law And Resilience: Mapping The Literature, Tracy-Lynn Humby

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

No abstract provided.

Where Do Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest Visitors Go And Which Roads Do They Use To Get There? An Analysis Of The Spatial Data From The 2013 Sustainable Roads Workshops, Rebecca J. Mclain, David Banis, Alexa Todd, Mike Psaris

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report provides an overview of the key patterns that emerged from the spatial analyses of the destination and route data collected during the 2013 Sustainable Roads workshops on the Mount Baker Snoqualmie (MBS) National Forest. We excluded the pilot workshop data from the analyses because a somewhat different process was used to collect the mapped data. The data used in the analysis was collected from 262 participants in eight workshops (Bellingham, Sedro-Woolley, Darrington, Monroe, Everett, Seattle, Issaquah, Enumclaw). During the workshops, participants mapped up to eight destinations of importance to them, and in most cases, also mapped the routes …

Data Warehousing And Data Mining: A Course In Mba And Msis Program From Uses Perspective, Shamsul Chowdhury, Joseph O. Chan

Communications of the IIMA

Over the past years data warehousing and data mining tools have evolved from research into a unique and popular business application class for decision support and business intelligence. The paper presents and discusses the main components and contents of a course in data warehousing and data mining offered in the graduate business curriculum of an American university in the Midwest. Further, it also discusses how the course was delivered. The course has been designed from lessons learned in research and practice in the field. Key to the development and success of the course is an on-going collaboration between a large …

Developing An Ontario Maple Syrup Sector Profile: A Value Chain Analysis (Executive Summary), Grant Morin, Brenda Murphy

Contemporary Studies

Through a sectorial profile, this study identifies the maple syrup value chain’s key players, processes, activities and inter-intra industry relationships (social capital) providing baseline data on the current status of the industry and an overall picture of the maple syrup value chain for members and new entrants. The study found that a) technological advancements over the years have lead to great efficiencies and eased the labour requirement; b) that strong social connections have great impact on marketing and retail of syrup; c) that innovation is found not only through research and development sectors of large companies but also from a …

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 …

Developing An Ontario Maple Syrup Sector Profile: A Value Chain Analysis, Grant Morin

Geography and Environmental Studies Major Research Papers

Through a sectorial profile, this study identifies the maple syrup value chain’s key players, processes, activities and inter-intra industry relationships (social capital) providing baseline data on the current status of the industry and an overall picture of the maple syrup value chain for members and new entrants. The study found that a) technological advancements over the years have lead to great efficiencies and eased the labour requirement; b) that strong social connections have great impact on marketing and retail of syrup; c) that innovation is found not only through research and development sectors of large companies but also from a …

Garden Of Eden: Software Packages For The Generation And Rendering Of Visually Realistic Trees And Forests, William B. Jackson

Computer Science Technical Reports

Garden of Eden is an exercise in procedural generation of lifelike worlds. It randomly generates a forest scene of realistically shaped and proportioned asymmetric trees on top of a simple topographical map. This map is then rendered in an HTML5 3D canvas, with support for user navigation. The end result of this project is a sort of game, though without any goal, narrative, or creative purpose. It is simply a static rendering of a natural environment, open for exploration, closed to manipulation, exploring how users find visual pleasure and meaning in virtual environments. The passive interaction of the user is …

Geographies Of Containment: Logics Of Enclosure In Aboriginal And Asylum Seeker Policies In Australia's Northern Territory, Kate Shipley Coddington

Dissertations - ALL

In this dissertation, I explore how logics of enclosure underscore policies about national identity, citizenship, and belonging in Australia. Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory, has become a central place for policy struggles over migration and Aboriginal communities over the past ten years. The city offers a lens through which to read geopolitical processes of migration and detention, sovereignty and citizenship, and settler colonialism and consider their consequences for people's everyday lives. Asylum seekers in Australia face policies of mandatory detention while they wait and hope for refugee status, and Darwin's many immigration detention centers have earned it the …

Agglomeration Economies, Investment In Education, And Regional Development, Shimeng Liu

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation consists of two essays that study the linkages among agglomeration economies, investment in education, and regional development. In the first essay, I study the impact of a federal educational investment on various aspects of local economies. In the second essay, I examine the spillover effects among workers with different skills, which are identified by their college majors.

The first essay presents evidence of direct spillovers from universities and examines the short- and long-run effects of university activities on geographic clustering of economic activity, labor market composition and local productivity. I treat the designation of land-grant universities as a …

Rummaging Through The Wreckage: Geographies Of Trauma, Memory, And Loss At The National September 11th Memorial & Museum At The World Trade Center, Jacquelyn Micieli-Voutsinas

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation traces the emergence of 9/11 memory as it is shaped in relation to the event's memorialization at nationally-dedicated landscapes of memory. Focusing on the National September 11th Memorial & Museum, The National Flight 93 Memorial, and the National Pentagon 9/11 Memorial, my research examines how cultural memory is mediated through the establishment of `places of memory' within the built-environment. Here, I argue, the preservation of place acts as a repository of national memory by safeguarding the history of 9/11 for future generations. Contextualizing these landscapes of memory within the global war on terrorism, my analytical framework engages the …

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 …

Powering The Future: Siting Guidelines For Renewable Wind Energy Development In Eastern Colorado, Zach Ancona

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energies around the world. The United States contains approximately 49,000 active wind turbines and Colorado accounts for less than 3 percent of that number, even though Colorado ranks 11^th in the nation for wind development potential. The siting process for wind development is lengthy, taking from 5 to 10 years, and many facilities that are proposed end up not being built due to complications from inadequate pre-siting techniques. The research in this report aims to identify high priority areas in eastern Colorado through the examination of key variables used in …

Using Gis To Predict Areas Of Cultural Resources Within The Walnut Canyon Study Area Near Flagstaff, Arizona, Laura Pernice

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Predicting locations of cultural resource in the Walnut Canyon Study Area near Flagstaff, Arizona was accomplished by using geostatistical and spatial analysis techniques of Directional Distribution, Kernel Density, and Average Nearest Neighbor. Known cultural resource sites within Walnut Canyon National Monument were analyzed to identify spatial patterns and densities to apply the results to the study area. Cultural resource sites are predicted to be highly clustered within 200 feet of fresh water sources as well as in woodland and shrub land vegetation types. Results can be used for land-use managers to identify areas to survey with high potential of containing …

Potential Impacts To Resident Populations, Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project, Megan Ross

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

In 2014, the Alaska Energy Authority is preparing to construct a hydropower dam on Alaska's Susitna River, known as the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project. Changes to water levels, sediment content, and flow rates are likely to affect the river itself and the salmon that are sustained by the Susitna ecosystem. The potential geomorphological and biological impacts of the dam as they could affect activity in the local communities are studied using currently available data. GIS tools are applied to identify areas of reservoir fill, risk of erosion, and endangerment of salmon habitat; then compare these impact areas to areas used by …