Digital Commons Network^™

Implementing Mechatronics Design Methodology In Mechanical Engineering Technology Senior Design Projects At The Old Dominion University, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Jennifer G. Michaeli, Otilia Popescu, Moustafa R. Moustafa, Mileta Tomovic, Alok K. Verma, Cheng Y. Lin

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

In recent years, the nature of engineering design has changed due to advances in embedded system design and computer technologies. It is rare to engineer a purely mechanical design that does not incorporate electrical and electronic components. Mechanical engineers and mechanical engineering technologists must possess a multi-disciplinary knowledge with the understanding of both mechanical and electrical systems. For this purpose, undergraduate programs in engineering technology have added mechatronics courses to their curriculum. Mechatronics is a design process that is multi-disciplinary in nature and integrates principles of many engineering disciplines including, but not limited to, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and controls …

The Cold Surrender Of Midnight's Passing, Dana Marie Roach

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Interactions Between Cyanobacteria And Vibrio Parahaemolyticus, Caroline E. Ward

Honors Theses and Capstones

One well-known pathogen that has been the topic of many recent studies is Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which causes thousands of foodborne illnesses a year, mostly from the ingestion of raw or undercooked oysters. It has been shown cyanobacteria can act as a long-term reservoir of Vibrio cholerae, another pathogenic Vibrio, by encasing the cells within mucilaginous sheaths during which Vibrios enter a viable but non-culturable state. In this study we investigated the interaction of V. parahaemolyticus with cyanobacteria to determine whether cyanobacteria aid in the longevity and survival of V. parahaemolyticus. We found that non-pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus …

Sexual Violence And Relationship Abuse Among College Students: The Bystander Intervention Process, Elizabeth J. Wible

Honors Theses and Capstones

This project investigated how college students describe bystander intervention in the context of sexual violence and relationship abuse compared to intervention in a general helping situation. The participants were 53 undergraduate students at a New England University. Prior to graduation, all of the participants were asked questions via audio controlled, face-to-face qualitative interviews that related to their helping behaviors during their time in college. The participant responses revealed that general helping is often a simple, one-time event if time permits it. However, helping in the context of sexual violence or relationship abuse revealed many serious barriers for the bystander due …

El Uso Del Quechua En El Perú: Una Investigación De Identidad Y Performance Cultural, Theresa A. Renker

Honors Theses and Capstones

Utilizando varias fuentes diversas de campos de estudio diferentes, este trabajo investiga temas de autenticidad y autoridad como son relacionados a los “performances” culturales que tantas personas indígenas son forzadas dar para evitar la discriminación cultural y sobrevivir económicamente. Este proyecto se enfoca en el doble siguiente: la sociedad peruana dominante rechaza el quechua por representar atraso, mientras a la vez frecuentemente idealizándolo como reliquia del imperio inca. Generalmente quechua-hablantes del Perú no tienen el espacio ni la autoridad cultural necesarios para establecer sus propias identidades distintas. Concepciones sociales de sus culturas y formas de hablar son construidas por una …

Animal-Assisted Therapy: Motives And Rewards, Kailee Victoria Collins

Honors Theses and Capstones

Animal-assisted therapy is a complimentary therapy utilized in health care to provide goal-directed therapy using dogs. The purpose of this study was to understand what motivates individuals to being animal-assisted volunteering and rewards that encourage and sustain animal-assisted volunteering. This mixed methods study employed quantitative methods, a demographic questionnaire and the Volunteer Motivation Index (VMI), which ranks motives most important to animal-assisted volunteers (N=15) and qualitative methods, a semi-structured interview (N=13). The participants ranked Values most important as a motive on the VMI. Social related variables were ranked low. Content analysis of the interviews yielded five themes: No Ordinary Dog, …

Investigating Geometric Representation In Rodents, Samantha Ann Arsenault

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Pile-Soil Interaction In Unsaturated Soil Conditions, Megan Hamilton

Honors Theses and Capstones

The degree of saturation has been proven to significantly affect geotechnical engineering designs for foundations. The changes in water content will influence the way the soil behaves, including its strength and stiffness parameters. These characteristics were analyzed for a uniform silty sand by developing P-Y curves, which relate lateral loading to lateral deformations. These P-Y curves were input into FB-Multipier, a software developed by the Bridge Software Institute. The software is capable of generating deformations as a result of user-defined loading cases. The results indicated that the middle range of degrees of saturation produced the least amount of deformation. This …

From Subject To Citizen And From Slave To Freedman: Labor Contracts At Two Moments Of American Transition, Rose Julia Phipps

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Breaking The Mold: Four Asian American Women Define Beauty, Detail Identity, And Deconstruct Stereotypes, Allison Ginwala

Honors Theses and Capstones

The experiences of four women reveal how notions of outer beauty touch ideas of personal ethnic identity, racism, media-imposed pressure, and social stereotypes; shaping the lives of Chinese, Chinese American, and Asian American women.

Us Real Estate Investment Performance: 1983-2012, John F. Kerrigan

Honors Theses and Capstones

This study provides an overview of real estate investment performance over a 1983-2012 time period. The results show that although equity REITs outperformed all other assets on average annual return, on a risk-adjusted basis both private retail and apartment real estate outperformed all other assets. The study also found a recent trend in increased correlation between common stocks and REITs.

Impacts Of Gas And Oil Development On Sharp-Tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus Phasianellus) Nest Success And Predator Dynamics In Western North Dakota, Paul Curtis Burr

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advancements in extraction technologies are resulting in rapid increases of gas and oil development in western North Dakota. This expansion of energy development may have unknown effects on local wildlife populations and the ecological interactions within and among species. Sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) are a popular upland game bird species that rely on grassland habitat found throughout the state. Potential impacts of gas and oil development on the nest success of sharp-tailed grouse is an area of particular interest as it is an important factor in avian reproduction. Similarly, it is equally important to understand the impacts …

Regulation Of Proline-Directed Phosphorylation Site, Threonine 53 On Dopamine Transporter, Sathyavathi Challasivakanaka

Theses and Dissertations

The dopamine transporter (DAT) is a plasma membrane protein that clears extraneuronal dopamine (DA) and thus controls the spatio-temporal dynamics of dopaminergic neurotransmission. Also, DAT is the major target for psychostimulant substrates, amphetamine (AMPH) and methamphetamine (METH), and psychostimulant uptake blocker, cocaine (COC). DAT is a phosphoprotein with both the N- and C-termini facing toward the cytosol, with multiple phosphorylation sites on the N-terminus. DAT has a closely spaced 6-serine cluster on the distal N-terminus that is phosphorylated in a protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent manner and a recently identified proline-directed site, Thr (T) 53, that is phosphorylated in vitro by …

Does Religion Affect Attitudes Towards Same-Sex Marriage?, Marc Anthony Franczak

Theses and Dissertations

Previous scholarship suggests that religion tends to play a role in people's attitudes towards same-sex marriage. The purpose of this study is to examine whether four aspect of religion (church attendance, church affiliation, religiosity, and conflict between religious beliefs and homosexuality) play a role in shaping attitudes towards same-sex marriage. Data from the Pew Research Centers 2013 Political Survey were utilized (N = 1504), and OLS regressions were used to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that conflict between religious beliefs and homosexuality was the strongest predictor of unfavorable attitudes towards same-sex marriage. It was also found that compared to …

A Collapsar Model For Bright Linear Type Ii Supernovae And Numerical Simulations Of Multiple, Interacting Supernova Remnants, Dean D. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation includes two projects. Part one applies the collapsar model to Bright Linear Type II supernovae. The collapsar model is commonly used to explain gamma-ray bursts. In this model, a stellar core collapses to a black hole surrounded by an accretion disk. In addition to the supernova caused by the core collapse, the black hole powers a high energy jet. Shocks within the jet create the gamma ray burst while the jet's later interaction with circumstellar material creates an afterglow. In a Type II supernova, the hydrogen envelope of the star results in a lower energy jet that does …

The Long-Term Impact Of Educational And Health Spending On Unemployment Rates, Zafer Pirim, William A. Owings, Leslie S. Kaplan

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This study used panel data regression analysis to evaluate the long-term effects of several measures of U.S. education expenditure on unemployment rates in 50 states and Washington D.C. over 25 years. The data included state-level statistics for fiscal effort, graduation rates, education spending per pupil, gross state product per capita, welfare spending, health spending, political party affiliation, union versus nonunion states, and unemployment rates. Results find that the best way to effectively reduce unemployment is investment in improving the quality of human capital through funding education. Findings specifically conclude that over the long term, investment in human capital through education …

On Creativity In Constitutional Interpretation, Pierre Schlag

Publications

In the present article a particular aspect of constitutional interpretation will be considered. This aspect is called "creative" and involves retrieving the meaning of an object of interpretation. It is with regard to this particular aspect or moment of interpretation that creativity is often viewed as something to be avoided, to be shunned. If the task at hand is to "retrieve" some meaning, then the idea that this meaning can be created, in whole or in part, seems quite simply antithetical to the enterprise at hand. It suffices to note that many jurists and legal thinkers believe that interpretation as …

The President And Congress: Separation Of Powers In The United States Of America, Harold H. Bruff

Publications

Although the framers of the Australian Constitution adopted many features of the United States Constitution, they rejected the separation of legislative and executive power in favour of responsible government in a parliamentary system like that of the United Kingdom. In doing so, Australians depended on existing conventions about the nature of responsible government instead of specification of its attributes in constitutional text. The United States Constitution contains detailed provisions about separation of powers, but unwritten conventions have produced some central features of American government. This article reviews conventions developed by Congress that constrain Presidents in the domestic sphere with regard …

Immigration And Cooperative Federalism: Toward A Doctrinal Framework, Ming H. Chen

Publications

What can the new federalism teach us about what is happening in immigration law? The changing relationship of federal-state government in the regulation of immigrants has led to the creation of “immigration federalism” as a field of scholarship. Most of this scholarly attention has been directed at resisting restrictionist legislation that encourages vigorous law enforcement against undocumented immigrants. The scholarly tilt is especially pronounced since the Supreme Court recently struck down several provisions of S.B. 1070, Arizona’s restrictive law enforcement legislation. However, law enforcement is only one type of regulation, and the overwhelming focus on it skews the broader debate …

Pragmatic Liberalism: The Outlook Of The Dead, Justin Deystone

Publications

At the turn of the twentieth century, the legal profession was rocked in a storm of reform. Among the sparks of change was the view that "law in the books" had drifted too far from the "law in action." This popular slogan reflected the broader postwar suspicion that the legal profession needed to be more realistic, more effective, and more in touch with the social needs of the time. A hundred years later, we face a similarly urgent demand for change. Across the blogs and journals stretches a thread of anxieties about the lack of fit between legal education and …

Missing The Forest For The Trees: Gender Pay Discrimination In Academia, Melissa Hart

Publications

Women in virtually every job category still make less than men. Academia is no exception. This Article will explore some of the structural explanations for this continued disparity and the continued resistance to seriously confronting those structural barriers to equality. Using the still-unfolding story of a charge of discrimination filed against a university, this Article examines the script that has become all-too-familiar in discussions about the gender pay gap, whether in academia or elsewhere. The basic storyline in pay discrimination litigation is this: Evidence is presented about the existence of a gap between men's earnings and women's earnings. The response …

Internships As Invisible Labor, Melissa Hart

Publications

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Domestic Violence, Rethinking Violence, Aya Gruber

Publications

No abstract provided.

Self-Reliance Beyond Neoliberalism: Rethinking Autonomy At The Edges Of Empire, Karen Hébert, Diana Mincyte

Publications and Research

Across scholarly and popular accounts, self-reliance is often interpreted as either the embodiment of individual entrepreneurialism, as celebrated by neoliberal designs, or the basis for communitarian localism, increasingly imagined as central to environmental and social sustainability. In both cases, self-reliance is framed as an antidote to the failures of larger state institutions or market economies. This paper offers a different framework for understanding self-reliance by linking insights drawn from agrarian studies to current debates on alternative economies. Through an examination of the social worlds of semisubsistence producers in peripheral zones in the Global North, we show how everyday forms of …

A Feminist Perspective On Listening To Women: Birth Stories Of Vaginal Birth Following Previous Cesarean Delivery, Elizabeth Hill-Karbowski

Dissertations (1934 -)

Women's perspectives of their experiences are important, and worthy of study. However, there have been no qualitative comparative investigations of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) experiences of American women using their birth stories as data. Furthermore, there have been no studies where women's experiences of cesarean have been compared with their own subsequent VBAC.

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the comparative experience of VBAC and cesarean, valuing women and their experiences through the use of a feminist research perspective. By contributing new and valuable insight into an area of research that has been identified as …

Mechanism Of GabaB Receptor-Activated Increases In L-Type Calcium Current In The Neonatal Mammalian Hippocampus, Andrew S. Karls

Dissertations (1934 -)

Activation of the metabotropic GABA_B receptor has most commonly been demonstrated to produce inhibitory effects on neurons, including the attenuation of voltage-dependent calcium current. However, during the early neonatal period in mammalian development, activation of GABA_B receptors leads to an enhancement of calcium current through a specific class of calcium channels, termed L-type channels, (because they conduct Long-lasting current) . This response peaks at 7 days postnatal, and is only demonstrated in a subset of cells. In the work presented here, the signal transduction pathway of GABA_B receptor-mediated increase of L-type current is described.

GABA_B receptors …

Bioinformatics Systems And Mathematical Models For Improved Understanding Of Malaria Transmission, Control, And Elimination, Samson Sifael Kiware

Dissertations (1934 -)

The leading malaria vector control strategies (i.e., long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying) can reduce indoor transmission, but these tools alone are insufficient to eliminate it. Strategies that target adult mosquitoes when they feed on humans or animals outdoors or target mosquito immature stages are also needed to achieve malaria elimination. Improved data systems for integrating

diverse experimental observations and research groups, as well as process-explicit mathematical models for evaluating them are both essential to achieving these goals.

We have developed a generic schema and data repositories for the studies of malaria vectors that encompass a wide variety of …

Love For God And Earth: Ecospirituality In The Theologies Of Sallie Mcfague And Leonardo Boff, Rebecca A. Meier-Rao

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation examines the theologies of North American Ecofeminist Sallie McFague and Latin American liberation theologian Leonardo Boff in order to answer the question - What are the features of a Christian spirituality capable of helping people to clear vision, transformation and hope in this time of socio-ecological crisis? In the sixth chapter I also briefly engage the work of Carmelite contemplative Constance FitzGerald, as she both reinforces and deepens the theologians' answer to the above question.

The dissertation begins with a short explanation of the interlocking ecological and social crises, and offers a basic understanding of Christian spirituality as …

Receptive Ecumenism And Justification: Roman Catholic And Reformed Doctrine In Contemporary Context, Sarah Timmer

Dissertations (1934 -)

Receptive Ecumenism is a reassessment of the ecumenical process, in light of the remaining challenges and difficulties faced by ecumenists. It recognizes that ecumenism might need to adjust to the complex diversity of the Christian church today, especially amidst a culture that no longer sees diversity as a negative thing. The goal of traditional ecumenism, visible unity through theological and ecclesiological convergence, is put aside in favor of an ecumenism of mutual enrichment and self-examination. The Catholic-Lutheran Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification is an example of traditional ecumenism. This dissertation examines some strengths and weaknesses of the Joint …

Understanding And Building Resilience With Art: A Socio-Ecological Approach, Meagan Shand

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Resilience is a widely researched phenomenon, it means different things to different people and is perceived and measured according to the theoretical lens being applied. The following thesis reviews the theoretical development of resilience that has led to contemporary understandings, to establish a platform for the research topic - understanding and building resilience with Art. Narrative research methods are combined with art processes to illuminate the stories of eight culturally diverse women participating in a community based mental health art program, in Western Australia. Fifteen resilience themes emerged from the collective experience, and are presented in a socio-ecological framework to …