Digital Commons Network^™

Rethinking Transparency In U.S. Elections, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

Bush v. Gore catapulted this country into a crisis of confidence in the management of our elections. Despite reforms since 2000, public confidence in election administration continues to wane. Are dead people on the rolls? Are noncitizens voting? Are provisional ballots wrongly rejected? State election transparency statutes meant to reassure the public that elections are producing legitimate results are often conflicting, vague, and even nonexistent. Exacerbating the problem, the last two decades have witnessed huge changes that offset the transparency balance. Dramatic changes in how Americans vote, how elections are administered, and who scrutinizes the election process call for a …

Characterizing The Effect Of Vegetable Oil-Based Electron Donor Concentration On Complete Dechlorination Of Trichloroethene And Vinyl Chloride, Alex Haluska

All Theses

Chlorinated ethenes are known or suspected carcinogens. They are also among the most frequently detected organic groundwater contaminants because of wide use and poor disposal practices. Within anaerobic aquifer systems, Fe(III) reduction is a prevalent terminal electron accepting process and has often been reported as a competitive electron acceptor with respect to trichloroethene (TCE), cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE), and vinyl chloride (VC) reduction. Often, practitioners add excessive amounts of electron donor to compensate for this competition in an effort to avoid incomplete dechlorination or "cis-DCE and VC stall." Contaminated aquifer material incubations were setup to assess dechlorination rates and extent under Fe(III)-reducing …

Composite Panel Impact Testing For The Down-Selection Of Material For Use In The Outer Shell Of Football Helmets, Natalie Genevieve Patzin

All Theses

Each year, there are an estimated 3.8 million sports-related concussions that occur in the United States alone, the majority occurring during football collisions. These staggering numbers occur even with the use of mandated protective helmets, which are designed to decrease potential brain injuries. The outer shell of a football helmet acts as a shield for vulnerable areas of the cranium by providing the initial impact force dispersion to allow a more distributed load to be transferred to the inner foam padding. The current material standard for the exterior casing is a polycarbonate blend. Multiple studies demonstrate insufficiencies in current helmets …

A Study Of The Regularity Of Autocorrelation Of Manipulation Of Wrist Motion During Eating, Xueting Yu

All Theses

This thesis considers the problem of detecting the eating activities (e.g. meals, snacks) of people by tracking their wrist motion. Our goal is to automatically de- tect the start and end times of eating activities during free-living. It builds upon previous work done by our research group [6] [7] [8] [21]. The detection is done by segmenting data into segments then classifying the segments as EA (eating activity) and NonEA (non-eating activity) using a Bayesian classier. Previous features used in the classier developed by our group included the sum of acceleration, the amount of manipulation, the amount of wrist roll …

The Effects Of Reminder Distinctiveness And Anticipatory Interval On Prospective Memory, Natalee Baldwin

All Theses

Prospective memory failures (or failures to remember a future intention) can result in a wide range of negative consequences. The use of reminders has been shown to improve the rate of PM successes. The aim of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of reminders based on their type (text or picture) and their timing. We hypothesized that successful PM performance would be successfully maintained over longer anticipatory intervals when paired with picture reminders rather than with simple text reminders because of the inherent distinctiveness of pictures. We also expected that performance for younger adults would be better than …

Storm Water Damage Risk Assessment Along The South Carolina Heritage Trail, Charles Pellett

All Theses

This study was conducted to better predict and assess damage to high-value small-spatial scale landscapes from storm water. Storm water damage in the form of rill formation across the South Carolina Botanic Gardens (SCBG) Natural Heritage Garden Trail has been modelled as a function of contributing area using D8 and D-infinity flow direction algorithms on a preprocessed LiDAR-derived elevation raster. D8 and D-infinity algorithms were also applied over a set of stochastic Monte Carlo simulations (n=1,000) representing elevation error. The contributing area was calculated using each of the four methods for each 5'x5' cell along the trail. The output was …

Determining The Fate Of Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli In Dairy Compost During Storage Using The Optimized Detection Method, Hongye Wang

All Theses

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), a member of Enterobacteriaceae family, has been recognized as emerging pathogens. Dairy compost is commonly applied to farmland as a soil amendment. Despite the agricultural benefit of manure-based soil amendment, the inadequately treated compost can contribute to fresh produce contamination on the farm. Moreover, the epidemiological results showed that the non-O157 STEC cases have surpassed those of E. coli O157. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate the behavior of non-O157 STEC strains in the dairy manure-based compost. The objectives of this study were to: 1) optimize a culturing method for detecting non-O157 STEC from dairy …

Building Information Modeling: Beyond Design, Commissioning And Construction, Timothy Brooks

All Theses

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is continuing to grow in popularity among contractors and more recently among owners as the complexity and usefulness of models are improved. Many construction firms have used BIM or adopted it in their practices to some degree. However, while it is growing in popularity, its use in facility management by the owner is still lagging. This research examines how construction processes can be better organized to supply the owner a BIM that would be useful for facility management activities. The research was conducted to identify successful post-construction BIM implementation practices and the ways in which contractors …

Combining Modified Atmosphere Packaging And Nisin To Extend The Shelf Life Of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar), Dong Han

All Theses

Atlantic salmon is often used in laboratory experiments to represent marine fishes. Many researchers try to optimize the levels and dosage of preservatives to maintain the freshness and extend the shelf-life of Atlantic salmon. Little information has been provided about the effectiveness of combined method between MAP and nisin, especially on the preservation of Atlantic salmon. Strong evidences suggest that MAP associated with nisin may have a potential to improve Atlantic salmon storage quality. Preservation effectiveness of combining modified atmosphere package (MAP) and nisin on fresh Atlantic salmon was determined using various methods. Six groups of farmed Atlantic salmon were …

Pilot Study Of A Budget-Tailored Culinary Nutrition Education Program For Undergraduate Food Science Students, Dorothy Kerrison

All Theses

The primary objective of this pilot study is to provide evidence that a budget-tailored culinary nutrition program is both appropriate and applicable to undergraduate food science students both in everyday life as well as their future health careers. Two validated programs were combined into one program in order to evaluate their combined effects: Cooking With a Chef and Cooking Matters at the Store. The secondary objective of this pilot study is to evaluate the components and reliability of a questionnaire created specifically for this pilot study. A review of past literature was written, which included culinary nutrition as a source …

Hand Hygiene Promotion: An Essential Strategy For Preventing Foodborne Disease In Elementary Schools, Zhangqi Wang

All Theses

Student absenteeism is a pervasive problem in the United States, causing a number of educational, economic, and institutional problems. Hand-hygiene interventions have been reported to be a method for reducing illness-associated student absenteeism. As an increasing number of schools offer self-service, including salad bars and bowls of whole fresh fruit, opportunities for the transmission of foodborne pathogens via hands could possibly increase illness-associated student absenteeism. To address this problem, we conducted a two-phase study. First, we conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate peer-reviewed studies (N=24) that reported an association between hand hygiene interventions and illness-associated absenteeism reduction in elementary …

The Determinants Of The Salary In Nba And The Overpayment In The Year Of Signing A New Contract, Nuoya Li

All Theses

Based on lots of previous research, the salary in National Basketball Association is determined by both personal characteristics and on-court performance. However, which kind of performance seems more important? Furthermore, does signing a new contract have any incentive or effect on the player's performance which makes the player be overpaid or underpaid in the year of signing the contract? And which kind of contracts and what kind of players tend to be overpaid? In my paper I introduce the on-court performance, personal characteristics and salary. Then I build a connection between them and run 2 regressions to analyze the determinants …

Diffusion Of The Lnternet And Its Effect On Gender Attitudes: A Cross-National Approach, Robert Roznowski

Masters Theses

The rapid diffusion of the Internet worldwide generates discussion about the social implications of the Internet. To explore the effect of Internet diffusion worldwide, this study examines changes in reported gender attitudes since the introduction of the Internet. I propose that the diffusion of the Internet fosters egalitarian changes in gender attitudes. Using cross-national data from forty countries over a time span of nearly twenty years, I successfully implement an alternative analysis technique, the slope-slope model, to examine the relationship between rates of Internet diffusion and changes in gender attitudes in the economic, political, and education domains. Internet diffusion affects …

Dynamic Surveillance: Evolving Procedures In Metadata And Foreign Content Collection After Snowden, Peter Margulies

UC Law Journal

This Article outlines a dynamic conception of national security surveillance that justifies programs disclosed by Edward Snowden but calls for greater transparency and accountability in the wake of Snowden’s revelations. The dynamic conception supports the legality of section 215 of the USA Patriot Act and section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA”), programs that received informed input from all three branches of government. Each program is part of a long democratic experiment in the integration of secrecy, deliberation, and strategic advantage that dates to the Constitution’s framing. Both programs reflect Congress’s concern that intelligence collection be sufficiently agile …

Contractual Innovation In Venture Capital, John F. Coyle

UC Law Journal

Scholars agree that contractual innovation, though sometimes slow to occur, can and will take place if certain conditions are met. This Article argues that the evolution of certain venture finance contracts over the past decade constitutes a prime example of such innovation. Drawing upon interviews with some of the leading venture capital attorneys in the United States, this Article chronicles how two types of venture finance securities—the convertible note and convertible preferred stock—and related contracts evolved in response to technological advances that greatly reduced the cost of launching a start-up technology company. Prior to 2005, individuals who invested in early-stage …

Triggerfish, Stingrays, And Fourth Amendment Fishing Expeditions, Brian L. Owsley

UC Law Journal

Cell site simulators are an electronic surveillance device that mimics a cell tower causing all nearby cell phones to register their data and information with the cell site simulator. Law enforcement increasingly relies on these devices during the course of routine criminal investigations. The use of cell site simulators raises several concerns. First, the federal government seeks judicial authorization to use such devices via a pen register application. This approach is problematic because a cell site simulator is different than a pen register. Moreover, the standard for issuance of a pen register is very low. Instead, this Article proposes that …

The Slippery Slope Of Material Support Prosecutions: Social Media Support To Terrorists, Emily Goldberg Knox

UC Law Journal

On September 21, 2013, a group of al-Shabaab gunmen attacked the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing nearly seventy civilians. In conjunction with this attack, al-Shabaab’s media wing, HSM Press, launched a public relations campaign on Twitter claiming responsibility for the attack, posting live information and pictures, and taunting Kenyan and global security forces with threats of future action. More recently, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s social media campaign has drawn much international attention. This Note discusses whether the U.S. government could successfully pursue material support to terrorist charges against social media companies for allowing designated …

Price Fixing The Priceless? Discouraging Collusion In The Secondary Art Market, Nicole Dornbusch Horowitz

UC Law Journal

In the 1920s and 1930s, major oil companies took advantage of market conditions to raise gasoline prices. They sold a limited amount of gasoline on smaller submarkets and the remainder of their gasoline by other methods. Despite the fact that the submarkets only represented a small portion of the overall gasoline market, pricing in the greater market was based on them. Thus, through collusive agreements, major oil companies were able to raise prices in the overall market by inflating prices in the smaller markets. In United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., the U.S. Supreme Court held that these agreements constituted …

Relationship Between Age And Pre-End Stage Renal Disease Care In Elderly Hemodialysis Patients, Rubette Harford Phd, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

Purpose: The primary purpose of this dissertation was to examine the relationship between age and receipt of three components of pre-end stage renal disease care prior to first initiation of hemodialysis, and to explore the implications of differences in interpretation of funding policies for dialysis services in Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland. Background: The growing burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a national public health concern, particularly within the aged population. It is estimated that more than 25 million Americans are living with some level of kidney disease, with an increasing prevalence noted with increasing age (Coresh et …

A Study Of The Teaching Beliefs Of The Modern Post Secondary Science Instructor And Implications They May Hold For The Future Of Science Education, Michael Charles Howard

Dissertations

It was the purpose of this study to examine the teaching beliefs of community college science instructors and discover whether their teaching beliefs were student oriented or instructor oriented. In addition, this study sought to examine demographic factors and find their relation, if any, to these teaching beliefs, as well as explore topics that may be useful in the future to helping community colleges science instructors’ curricula and beliefs come together and work in unison. To do this, the study built on the foundation laid by Sampson et al., in their creation of the Beliefs about Reformed Science Teaching and …

Working Memory, Emotion Regulation, And Effortful Control Levels In Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder., James Rush

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Hand In Hand, Winter 2014

Hand in Hand

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Milwaukee, WI

Hand in Hand Finding Aid

Making Agricultural Investments Work For Land Users & Communities, Kaitlin Y. Cordes

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Earlier this year, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made an unexpected commitment related to foreign investment in land and community land rights. In a meeting with communities who had raised concerns regarding a British company’s attempts to expand its palm oil production onto their customary land, the President effectively told those communities that they would have the right to say yes or no to further expansion, noting that the company could expand only with the affected communities’ approval.

Newsletter Catholic Deaf Of Detroit, December 2014

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Detroit, MI

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit Finding Aid

Uno Code Of Professional Ethics, Uno Compliance Office

Employee-Related

The UNO Code of Professional Ethics, updated December 2014.

Philanthropically Funded Heroism Awards For Kidney Donors?, Muriel Niederle, Alvin E. Roth

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.

Reciprocal Altruism—The Impact Of Resurrecting An Old Moral Imperative On The National Organ Donation Rate In Israel, Jacob Lavee, Avraham Stoler

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.

Journal Staff

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.

Tiget Heart : A Short Story, Wai Yin, Catriona O'Neil

Artists-in-Residence Programme : Exhibition Catalogues

As an illustrator, Cat O'Neil's work resolves around telling stories through metaphorical imagery. Tiger Heart is an exhibition of one of these stories, which centres on the topic of street harassment.

[More Information about the exhibition with supplementary video]

All the works shown in this book is under the copyright of Cat O'Neil. Do not copy or reproduce the work without prior consent (except for review purpose).

Is Race A Factor In Disparate Health Problems Associated With Violence Against Women?, Marny Rivera, Gabriel Garcia

Journal Articles

Research studies examining the health correlates of violence against women have consistently demonstrated associations between violence and poor health outcomes, but have not examined a disparate impact on racial minorities. Alaska Victimization Survey data (2010) were used to examine whether a disparate relationship between victimization and health problems exists for minority women relative to White women. The Alaska Victimization Survey (AVS) is a cross-sectional survey designed to provide baseline estimates of intimate partner and sexual violence for Alaskan women. Logistic regression was used to assess the odds of experiencing various health problems given race and exposure to violence status while …