Digital Commons Network^™

Cross-Validation Of The El Paso Risk Assessment Of Juveniles At Intake Scale (El Paso Raji), Dilata Ranadive

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No published risk assessment instrument is designed for the specific purpose of identifying high risk first-time juvenile offenders at their first contact with the juvenile justice system. The El Paso Risk Assessment of Juveniles at Intake (El Paso RAJI) was developed by Valenzuela (2011) for this purpose. The current study had three aims: i) to assess the validity of the RAJI as a predictor of recidivism among first-time juvenile offenders, ii) to compare the predictive power of RAJI items with the predictive power of similar items from another risk assessment instrument, the Pre-Positive Achievement Change Tool (PrePACT), and iii) to …

Residential Electricity Demand In Arkansas, Ileana M. Resendez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study analyzes residential electricity demand in Arkansas. Explanatory variables utilized include real per capita income, residential electricity price, heating degree days, cooling degree days, and residential natural gas price. The results indicate that the income effect dominates the substitution effect given a real personal income increase and a decline in real electricity rates in the state of Arkansas during the period under study.

Design And Development Of Implantable And Remote Controlled Distraction Osteogenesis Device For Limb Lengthening Practice In Children, Mario Eduardo Rodriguez De La O

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recent technology improvements have been positively affecting medical industry in recent years since procedures and equipment are more precise and reliable. Nevertheless, there are still surgical procedures and medical devices that not fully address specific needs according to medical experts. One of those necessities is focused on options available for children patients when subjected to a surgical procedure named distraction osteogenesis. In general, distraction osteogenesis is performed when skeletal deformities need to be corrected or when bone lengthening is required, typically a mechanism is utilized to elongate bone at a controlled rate. The existing osteodistraction methods for limb lengthening and …

Effects Of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles In Cereals: Insights Into The Toxicity Mechanisms And Macromolecular Modifications, Cyren Mendoza Rico

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Despite the inundation of studies on the interaction of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) with plants, investigations involving complete life cycle (i.e from seedling establishment to full maturity) are still lacking. Assessments on the nutritional value of plants cultivated to full maturity in ENMs-treated soil are also missing. Cerium oxide nanoparticles (nCeO2) have significant interactions with plants; however, there are no life cycle studies yet on their implications in cereals like rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). These cereals are globally important crops that support the economic activity, and nutritional and health needs of billions …

Master's In Electrical Engineering, Ricardo Xavier Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This project is a focus on characterizing the process for actualizing three dimensional structures out of a carbon nanostructure composite via a direct print additive manufacturing process. Manufacturing parts additively enables for realization of geometrically complex shapes that often times cannot be manufactured any other way. The specificity of a material's properties have to be such, that the processing method can precisely place and bond material to itself in a highly repeatable manner. Commercial materials for additive manufacturing are have been optimized with these goals in mind and, therefore, often times lack the rigor and robustness for many applications.

The …

Effects Of East Los High, An Entertainment-Education Web Series, On Sexual Decision-Making Of Young Latino/A Couples, Anu Sachdev

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Involving multiple actors and critical decisions, the phenomenon of early, unintended pregnancies, single parenthood, and sexually transmitted infections have grave consequences for the life trajectory of a youth. In the U.S., the highest sexual risks are borne by Latino/a youth. Often their life, career, and well-being outcomes are a function of the quality of their sexual decision-making. This study was designed to investigate the process of sexual decision-making among Latino/a couples who were exposed to a web-based narrative called East Los High (ELH). The program, originally screened on the Hulu web-channel was designed specifically to promote sexual responsibility among Latino/a …

Modulation Of Vestibular Evoked Reflexes In Postural Muscles During Self-Motion Experiences In Virtual Environments, Fabricio Saucedo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND & AIM: Maintaining posture requires the input from three primary sensory systems. These systems include somatosensory, visual, and vestibular components. Of these three systems, the visual and vestibular systems work closest to maintain balance and posture due to visual-vestibular interactions that take place during static and dynamic activities. They are mainly responsible for identifying stimuli and using sensory information to orient the body in space. Thus, understanding how visual and vestibular components integrate may be critical to understand how visual and vestibular sensory information is weighted to control balance. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if visual …

The Argentine Tango As A Discursive Instrument And Agent Of Social Empowerment: Buenos Aires, 1880-1955, Lorena Elizabeth Tabares

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As an indisputable central element of Argentine popular culture, the tango constitutes much more than an artistic expression or a recreational activity. It is the manifestation of a collective ideology and idiosyncrasy. The development of the tango as a song of the people and social history between the 1880's and the first half of the 20th century, was not merely the result of a matter of identification but more importantly, the fact that it, in its `tridimensionality' comprised of music, dance and lyrics, offered the milieu to the existence of the people that identified with it. In other words, the …

Characterization Of High-Purity Niobium Structures Fabricated Using The Electron Beam Melting Process, Cesar Adrian Terrazas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Additive Manufacturing (AM) refers to the varied set of technologies utilized for the fabrication of complex 3D components from digital data in a layer-by-layer fashion. The use of these technologies promises to revolutionize the manufacturing industry. The electron beam melting (EBM) process has been utilized for the fabrication of fully dense near-net-shape components from various metallic materials. This process, catalogued as a powder bed fusion technology, consists of the deposition of thin layers (50 - 120µm) of metallic powder particles which are fused by the use of a high energy electron beam and has been commercialized by Swedish company Arcam …

Permit Tool: Development Of An Algorithm To Determine Performance Life Of Hma Mixes In Texas, Luis Alberto Torres Escobedo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A number of hot mix asphalt (HMA) types, such as permeable friction course (PFC), stone mastic asphalt (SMA), performance design mixes and conventional dense graded mixes are currently used to construct or overlay Texas roads. One of the important inputs into current pavement design programs used by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is the performance lives of HMA mixes. To determine the best mix type for a particular job or to analyze the performance of a mix or a road, a new system can be developed to rationally quantify the HMA mix performance. This system must have access to …

The Spillover Effects Of Conflict On Economic Growth Along The U.S.-Mexico Border, Karen Elizabeth Trevino

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The violence and insecurity that Mexico has suffered since former President Calderon's war on drugs has come at a grave economic cost to the cities most affected. Businesses and citizens in counties that shared a border with the United States, however, have the ability to move their capital and businesses in search of regaining profits that had been lost due to the insecurity in their cities. These specific counties are considered to be interdependent borderlands, which signify that these borders are in a border region where one nation is symbiotically linked with the border region of an adjoining country. This …

An Experimental Investigation On Liquid Methane Convection And Boiling In Rocket Engine Cooling Channels, Abraham Trujillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the past decades, interest in developing hydrocarbon-fueled rocket engines for deep spaceflight missions has continued to grow. In particular, liquid methane (LCH4) has been of interest due to the weight efficiency, storage, and handling advantages it offers over several currently used propellants. Deep space exploration requires reusable, long life rocket engines. Due to the high temperatures reached during combustion, the life of an engine is significantly impacted by the cooling system's efficiency. Regenerative (regen) cooling is presented as a viable alternative to common cooling methods such as film and dump cooling since it provides improved engine efficiency. Due to …

Nanometric Structure-Property Relationship In Hafnium Oxide Thin Films Made By Sputter-Deposition, Mirella Vargas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hafnium oxide (HfO2) is technologically an important material, which exhibits a unique set of properties such as a high dielectric constant (k~25) and wide band gap (~5.7 eV) which make this material attractive in the fields of microelectronics and optoelectronics. HfO2 has become the leading candidate to replace SiO2 dielectrics in gate oxides due to a higher permittivity and reportedly lower electron tunneling effects. HfO2 exhibits various polymorphs; the thermodynamic stability and phase existence depends on the temperature and pressure conditions. In addition, the controlled growth and manipulation of specific HfO2 crystal structures at the nanoscale dimensions is the driving …

Slavocracy's Collective Atlantic: Utopian And Dystopian Discourse In Contemporary Narratives Of Slavery, Jalaine Nicole Weller

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A number of contemporary narratives of slavery speak to a collective experience of the transatlantic slave trade and engage that space as a narrative contact zone of heterogeneous interpretations of slavery. These interpretations emphasize the multiplicity of black and white subjectivity and the personal struggle to self-create utopian relational experience within and without the dystopian reality of enslavement. Overall, it is the Atlantic--as a physical space, temporal triangle, and personal experience--that facilitates this collective experience.

Subsequently, this project intends to explore what I am calling the "Collective Atlantic," which is a concept that applies to the following contemporary narratives of …

Variable Selection For Cox Proportional Hazards Models Via Subtle Uprooting, Chalani S. Wijayasinghe

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Cox proportional hazards model (Cox PH model) is heavily used in survival analysis to assess the importance of various covariates on the survival times of individuals or objects through the hazard function. This study suggests a new variables selection method for Cox PH models, under the title 'Subtle uprooting', that does variable selection and model estimation for Cox proportional hazards (PH) models simultaneously.

There are subset selection methods and shrinkage selection methods suggested in the context of Cox PH model. However the subset selection methods become infeasible in higher dimensions and the available shrinkage methods need tuning of parameters making …

Perspectives On The Nature Of Science From A Group Of Students Attending Predominantly Hispanic West Texas High School, Cameron King Wilson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The United States is falling far behind the rest of the world in its ability to fulfill its needs for qualified workers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The Hispanic population is now the largest minority in the United States but is proportionally underrepresented in the STEM fields today. It is shown that students who have a good understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS) are far more likely to be interested in science which may lead to an interest in careers in STEM fields. There is very little if any research identifying Hispanic high school students' view …

Analyzing Health Education Training Of Human Services Students, Christine W. Thorpe

Publications and Research

Human services programs across the country are charged with training students to address social problems of individuals and families through delivering services that enhance the standard of living of all people. The coursework generally offered in accredited human services programs are within the framework of mental health and social work, yet human services workers play a critical role in health care delivery and need to convey good health practices to the clients they serve. Hence the need for human services students to have coursework in health education to develop their skills in addressing client health behavior. The purpose of this …

Stemming A Rising Tide: Why The Clean Air Act Following Massachusetts V. E.P.A. Provides A Sensible Vehicle Through Which To Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Zachary D. Ludens

University of Miami Law Review

Imagine ocean levels rising because of global ice melt. Imagine the next ice age beginning due to the increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Imagine global plant life dying as a result of rising global temperatures. Imagine afundamental shift in marine life as a direct consequence of the acidification of the world's waters. Finally, imagine increased greenhouse gases causing no impact on the world's biospheres at all. Scientists have predicted all of these possible results, and, while most reputable scientists agree that global climate change is real, there is far less agreement in the scientific …

Learning From The Past: Why Termination Of A Non-Citizen Parent's Rights Should Not Be Based On The Child's Best Interest, Stacy Byrd

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Keynote Address, John G. Browning

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Digital Death Conundrum: How Federal And State Laws Prevent Fiduciaries From Managing Digital Property, James D. Lamm, Christina L. Kunz, Damien A. Riehl, Peter John Rademacher

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Laying Your Online Self To Rest: Evaluating The Uniform Fiduciary Access To Digital Assets Act, Samantha D. Haworth

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Variable Stiffness Locally Adjustable And Repairable Low-Cost Energy Storage And Return Carbon Fiber Prosthetic Foot: A Feasibility Study, Joshua Scott Bowen

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Energy storage and return (ESAR) prosthetic feet were developed to improve the mobility and function of lower-limb amputees. Amputees in the Developing World amputees lack this technology. Most current Developing World prosthetic solutions do not adequately address the needs of active amputees and were not designed to pass international standard tests. Developing a low-cost, repairable, adjustable, energy storage and return prosthetic foot would close this technological gap and improve the mobility and function of active amputees. The goal of this research is to determine the feasibility of fabricating a low-cost, adjustable, ESAR, repairable prosthetic foot manufactured from carbon fiber …

Characterization Of The Disulfide In The Ectodomain Of Anthrax Toxin Receptor 2, Pedro Raymundo Jacquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Anthrax toxin receptors act as molecular clamps or switches that control anthrax toxin entry, pH-dependent pore formation, and translocation of enzymatic moieties across the endosomal membranes. The ectodomain of anthrax toxin receptor 2 (ANTXR2) is composed of a von Willebrand factor A (VWA) domain that binds to anthrax toxin protective antigen (PA) and a newly defined immunoglobulin-like (Ig) domain, in which the disulfide bonds are required for PA pore formation and for the folding of ANTXR2. While the VWA domain has been well characterized, the structure and function of the whole ectodomain (VWA-Ig) are poorly defined, this is mainly due …

The Scope Of Precedent, Randy J. Kozel

Journal Articles

The scope of Supreme Court precedent is capacious. Justices of the Court commonly defer to sweeping rationales and elaborate doctrinal frameworks articulated by their predecessors. This practice infuses judicial precedent with the prescriptive power of enacted constitutional and statutory text. The lower federal courts follow suit, regularly abiding by the Supreme Court's broad pronouncements. These phenomena cannot be explained by—and, indeed, oftentimes subvert—the classic distinction between binding holdings and dispensable dicta.

This Article connects the scope of precedent with recurring and foundational debates about the proper ends of judicial interpretation. A precedent's forward-looking effect should not depend on the superficial …

Novel Management Methods: Immunocontraception And Other Fertility Control Tools, Giovanna Massei, Dave Cowan, Douglas C. Eckery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Impacts of overabundant ungulate populations on human activities and conservation include crop and forestry losses, collisions with vehicles, disease transmission, nuisance behaviour, damage to infrastructures, predation on livestock and native species, and reduction of biodiversity in plant and animal communities (e.g. Curtis et ai., 2002; Massei et al., 2011; Reimoser and Putman, 2011; Ferroglio et ai., 2011; Langbein et al., 2011). Current trends in human population growth and landscape development indicate that human-ungulate conflicts in Europe, as well as in the United States, are likely to increase in parallel with increased expansion in numbers and range of many of these …

Invasive Rodent Ecology, Impacts, And Management With An Emphasis On The United States, Gary W. Witmer, William C. Pitt, Gregg Howald

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Many invasive rodent species have become established in the United States and its territories, both on the mainland and on islands. While most were introduced accidently, some were introduced for food or fur. These rodents have caused serious impacts to native flora and fauna, agriculture, and other resources. They have caused the extinction of many species of birds in insular ecosystems. Although many methods are used to control or eradicate introduced rodents, rodenticides and traps are the main tools. Since the early 1990s, agencies have been eradicating rodents from various islands, primarily for conservation purposes. There have been numerous eradication …

Use Of Dogs In The Mediation Of Conservation Conflicts, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Michael J. Lavelle, Jean-Marc Landry, Laurie Marker, Thomas M. Gehring

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Conflicts between wildlife and humans are of global importance and are increasing. These conflicts may negatively impact wildlife, humans, and other resources, primarily livestock. Human safety and economic well-being can be adversely impacted by depredation of livestock and perpetuation of wildlife-borne diseases in agricultural systems. Conversely, management approaches to mitigate these conflicts may employ primarily lethal control methods that can negatively impact wildlife populations of conservation importance. Dogs, principally livestock protection breeds, have been used for centuries in some cultures to protect livestock from predators. Dogs have also been used for a variety of other conservation-specific practices. Here we provide …

The Durability Of Private Claims To Public Property, Bruce R. Huber

Journal Articles

Property rights and resource use are closely related. Scholarly inquiry about their relation, however, tends to emphasize private property arrangements while ignoring public property — property formally owned by government. The well-known tragedies of the commons and anticommons, for example, are generally analyzed with reference to the optimal form and degree of private ownership. But what about property owned by the state? The federal government alone owns nearly one-third of the land area of the United States. One could well ask: is there a tragedy associated with public property, too? If there is, here is what it might look like: …

Accommodation, Establishment, And Freedom Of Religion, Richard W. Garnett

Journal Articles

This short essay engages the argument that it would violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause to exempt an ordinary, nonreligious, profit-seeking business – such as Hobby Lobby – from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive-coverage rules. In response to this argument, it is emphasized that the First Amendment not only permits but invites generous, religion-specific accommodations and exemptions and that the Court’s Smith decision does not teach otherwise. In addition, this essay proposes that laws and policies that promote and protect religious freedom should be seen as having a “secular purpose” and that because religious freedom, like clean air, is an …