Digital Commons Network^™

Reactions Of The Transgender Community Regarding Media Representation, Chani Wellborn

Communication Theses - Archive

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues have increasingly been focused on in society and also in communication media research. However, academic studies focusing on transgender reactions to recent representation developments of their community in the media world have not been done. The researcher conducted one-on-one interviews with those identifying as male to female (MtF) transgender in order to study their reactions to media coverage of the transgender community. Cultural studies and communication theories, as well as transgender and trans-identity theories provided a theoretical structure and basis for developing the study and interview questions. Qualitative methodology using an inductive grounded …

Speaker Identification In Live Events Using Twitter, Minumol Joseph

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

The prevalence of social media has given rise to a new research area. Data from social media is now being used in research to gather deeper insights into many different fields. Twitter is one of the most popular microblogging websites. Users express themselves on a variety of different topics in 140 characters or less. Oftentimes, users “tweet” about issues and subjects that are gaining in popularity, a great example being politics. Any development in politics frequently results in a tweet of some form. The research which follows focuses on identifying a speaker’s name at a live event by collecting and …

Development Of A Methodology And Sample Preparation To Evaluate Reliability Of Oil Cooled Data Center, Venkata Naga Indu Sravani Kota

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Liquid immersion cooling is not a new concept which is slowly emerging as an alternative solution to conventional chilled air cooling systems for data centers. The main idea is to build a body of knowledge to help industry make more informed regarding mechanical reliability of IT equipment in mineral oil immersed systems. The goal is to develop a testing procedure for evaluating the reliability of electronic packages and components when immersed in mineral oil. PCB’s, chip packages, passive components like capacitors, inductors, resistors, diodes, cables and wiring form the most important parts of a server used in data centers. The …

Non Thermal Reliability Considerations For Oil Cooled Data Centers And Its Serviceability, Sahithi Reddy Nagilla

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

The interest in Oil immersion cooling is increasing day by day which can be attributed to the recent research that shows the potential of its performance when compared to other techniques that add a little more expenses to the organization. Even though the performance of oil immersion cooling has its own capabilities and advantages, this technique is not widely adopted and there is limited published information regarding the important aspects of the design of the system. This paper presents the non-thermal aspects of oil immersion cooling and explains the chemistry of mineral oil and the factors that affect its performance. …

Additive Manufacturing And Stress Analysis Of Naturally And Artificially Optimized Celullar Structures, Sachin Jose

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

The main objective of our research is to manufacture topology optimized cellular structures using 3D printing and polymer infusion and obtain their structural response. First, we have obtained topology optimized cellular structure of beam using an in-house topology optimization tool. The Solid Isotropic material with Penalization (SIMP) method of optimization is used for finding the optimal topology. Since we require a continuous structure where we can take advantage of additive manufacturing, a no-penalty approach was chosen. For 3D printing, first the optimized condition for manufacturing was determined. Important parameters on which manufacturing depend are Number of Shells, Infill percentage and …

Smart Bed And Contact Impact Of Flexible Bodies Using Energy Compensation Method, Pranav Parikh

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

This work investigates robotic means to prevent pressure ulcers in human bodies. The smart bed is intended to act as an intelligent assistant to a care-giver that relieves some of the physical and mental burden involved in preventing pressure ulcers. This type of device is needed because of a labor shortage in the nursing field. The smart bed distinguishes itself from the current available measures by redistributing pressure and minimizing shear forces acting on the skin in contact. This is done by using data from the sensor grid installed on the bed surface and actuating the degrees of freedom associated …

Enhancement Of Fog-Collection Efficiency Of A Raschel Mesh Using Surface Coatings And Geometric Changes, Mithun Rajaram

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

In a few countries, such as Chile, a Raschel mesh is widely used in the field to collect fog. In this work, we explored the possibility of enhancing fog-collection efficiency of a typical Raschel mesh through surface modification and geometric changes. We demonstrated about 100% enhancement in the fog-collection efficiency.

Tbi Induced Rate Dependent Viscoelastic Response Of Axon: Predictions From A Mathematical Model, Manikanta Jonnalagadda

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts to almost one fifth of total fatal injuries. Even though there are various mechanisms hypothesized for the causes leading to TBI, diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is found to be the most observed criterion. The reason for axonal failure in DAI has been studied extensively using experimental and computational models. It was found that axons behave like viscoelastic materials, thus exhibiting rate dependent behavior under loading. This viscoelastic behavior of axons is believed to drive the failure of axons and its substructures. It was observed that axon failure is caused by failures and distortions in axonal …

Evaluating The Impact Of Sustainable Built Environment Commitments And Outcomes On Respiratory Health: A Longitudinal Case Study Of Two Texas Cities, Megan Topham

Planning Dissertations - Archive

As population continues to grow the need for creating efficient and effective built environments that balance the three pillars of sustainability, environment, economic and equity, becomes even more pertinent. This exploratory research assisted in bridging the gap between understanding sustainable policy development and resulting impact on the corresponding outcomes, including influences from political culture. Followed by an overarching view of the changes in sustainable built environment outcomes over the course of nine years and how these outcomes influenced air quality measurements and inpatient asthma discharges. The case study methodology, established by Yin (2014), was utilized to address the research questions …

Improving Water Quality Forecasting Using Data Assimilation, Hamideh Riazi

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Population growth increases agricultural, industrial and human activities which threaten the quality of water resources, especially water supply sources such as lakes and reservoirs. In potentially high-impact situations such as algal blooms, active measures such as controlled release from reservoirs may be necessary. To minimize release while meeting the water quality requirements, accurate short-range water quality forecast is necessary. Because watershed water quality models have a large number of state variables most of which are never observed, their initial conditions (IC) are subject to large uncertainties which may propagate into large forecast errors. In this research, a data assimilation (DA) …

Landfill Volume Gain From The Diversion Of Construction And Demolition Waste, Aayush Raj Tiwary

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste is one of the major components of the solid waste and is defined as a waste stream resulting from the construction, renovation and demolition of structures such as buildings, roads, and bridges. The amount of C&D waste has been in an upsurge with rapid growth in construction works and is expected to grow even more. As such, the effective waste management for C&D disposal has been a global issue owing to the increasing construction works worldwide. Although landfill disposal of C&D waste is not the preferred method of the C&D waste management, a significant portion …

The Role Of Platelets In The Successful Closure Of The Ductus Arteriosus In Premature Infants After Indomethacin Treatment, Joan Heilskov

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

Premature birth (birth before 37 weeks gestation) remain a global problem with negative consequences profundly affecting the infants, their families, and society. Persistent patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a significant complication seen in preterm infants. Premature infants with persistent PDAs are at increased risk for morbidity and mortality. Indomethacin is reported to successfully close the PDA in only 20-40 percent of infants whose birth weights are less than 1,000g. Common side effects of Indomethacin include renal dysfunction, gastric perforations, and decreased cerebral blood flow and perfusion. Several studies have shown thrombocytopenia is associated with persistent PDA in premature infants who …

Predictors Of Persistence In Online Graduate Nursing Students, Denise Cauble

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

Persistence is an important measure of success for individual students and institutions of higher learning. The purpose of this study was to explore personal and academic factors that influence persistence in online graduate nursing students. A predictive correlational study design was used. Data were extracted from existing student records in two online graduate programs within a large, urban college of nursing. A sample size of 197 graduate nursing students was selected, 94 who persisted to graduation from their program within 36 months and 103 who did not. Age, gender, race/ethnicity, undergraduate GPA, undergraduate education (BSN or RN-BSN level) were examined …

Characterization Of The Constituent Mineral Components Of North African Surface Dust Samples Utilizing Computer Controlled Scanning Electron Microscopy (Ccsem), Zakariah Edward Sabatka

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses - Archive

Analysis of the constituent mineral components of surface dusts/soils from Chad-Niger region, North Africa, was undertaken by computer controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSEM) to determine if differences in composition could be used for source attribution to distinguish windblown material from different contributing source areas. A total of 11 surficial samples were selected for analysis by computer controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSEM). These samples were from two different geographic locations in the Chad-Niger region. CCSEM analysis generates data on individual dust particles that includes: particle size, shape, and chemical composition. This type of particle characterization used a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) …

Enhancement Of Knowledge And Skills Of Community Midwives In Sindh, Pakistan, Sadia Abbas Ali, Arusa Lakhani, Rafat Jan, Shahnaz Shahid, Marina Baig, Farzana Adnan

Journal of Asian Midwives (JAM)

With a maternal mortality rate of 276 deaths per 100,000 live births, Pakistan is one of the countries with a large share in the percentage of world’s maternal mortality. As an intervention for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 4 and 5, the World Health Organization (WHO) strongly suggests that skilled care before, during, and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborn babies. One of the interventions to ensure care to mothers and babies by skilled care providers is the capacity building training of Community Midwives (CMWs) aiming to improve their midwifery competency.

One such training intervention was …

Another Year Over …., Rafat Jan, Edwin Van Teijlingen

Journal of Asian Midwives (JAM)

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Bereavement Counseling On Women With Psychological Problems Associated With Late Pregnancy Loss, Christy Simpson, Pramila Lee, Jessie Lionel

Journal of Asian Midwives (JAM)

Pregnancy is most often a joyful experience and a woman’s plans and dreams are shattered when the death of an unborn or newborn infant occurs. Studies have reported that these women experience psychological problems such as grief, depression, and anxiety which can be minimized by counselling. Hence, this study was undertaken to assess the effect of bereavement counseling on women with psychological problems associated with pregnancy, focusing on Roy’s adaptation theory. An experimental design, with pre-test and post-test, was used with randomly allocated experimental and control groups. Women were randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups with 45 women …

Is Low Civic Literacy A Wicked Problem?, Sheila S. Kennedy

eJournal of Public Affairs

In 1973, Horst W. J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber published an influential article on the nature of social problems. Titled “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning,” the article focused upon the difficulty of solving what the authors called “wicked problems,” and it triggered an ongoing scholarly discussion about the nature of such problems and the differences between efforts to craft social policies and the “tamer,” more linear approaches appropriate to the solution of scientific problems. Given the robust literature documenting U.S. citizens’ persistent deficit of civic knowledge, it is reasonable to ask whether low civic literacy should be …

Gme Graduate Retention Rates: A Single Institution Study, Tracy J. Frieswyk

Dissertations

Graduate medical education (GME) refers to the advanced instruction provided to clinicians who have previously received their MD (doctor of medicine) or DO (doctor of osteopathic medicine) degrees. GME education takes place in the clinical setting (e.g., hospitals, clinics), delivering the training necessary for physicians to become licensed to practice medicine, as well as to become board-certified in their specialty. GME training programs throughout the US are absolutely essential, as they are the primary source in this country for the physician workforce.

One of the major decisions in a physician’s life as they approach the end of GME training is …

Enterprise Risk Management (Erm) At U.S. Colleges And Universities: Administration Processes Regarding The Adoption, Implementation, And Integration Of Erm, Anne E. Lundquist

Dissertations

The variety, type and volume of risks affecting higher education are numerous and the consequences for unmanaged risks and missed opportunities are more significant than ever before. In response, many institutions of higher education are adopting an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) approach. External factors, as well as institutional culture, play a role in the decision to adopt ERM, as well as the path of implementation. Because higher education has unique characteristics that differentiate it from other organizations, particularly a shared governance structure, the adoption and implementation decisions, and resulting ERM frameworks, have aspects that make them unique to the higher …

Portraits Of Children Of Alcoholics: Stories That Add Hope To Hope, Meagan Lacy

Publications and Research

This literary analysis examines the emergence of children of alcoholics narratives and their growth from "resource" texts to literary subgenre. While early texts offer useful information about parental alcoholism, they are also limited. Namely, they do not adequately mirror the diversity of children, families, and problems associated with parental alcoholism nor do they offer alternatives for children whose parents do not, or cannot, seek treatment for their addiction. Literature, on the other hand, in inviting what philosopher Martha Nussbaum refers to as "narrative play," can help children learn to understand and empathize with others, nourish their inner curiosity, and, most …

The Banner - V. 150, No. 11 - (December 2015), Christian Reformed Church In North America

The Banner

No abstract provided.

Front Matter And Table Of Contents

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Where Law Meets Culture: The Legal Protection Of The Dead In China, Bing Shui

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Overcoming The Public-Private Divide In Privacy Analogies, Victoria Schwartz

UC Law Journal

When a photographer takes unauthorized aerial photographs of a company’s plant, the legal framework under which courts evaluate the case, as well as its likely outcome, depends on whether the photographer was hired by a private actor or the government. If a competitor hired the photographer, the aerial photography may constitute improper trade secret misappropriation. If, however, the government hired the photographer, the aerial photography would not violate the Fourth Amendment. This dichotomy illustrates a public-private divide in which privacy violations by the government are treated differently from privacy violations by the private sector. Despite this divide, some courts have …

The Problem Of Reverse Payments In The Pharmaceutical Industry Following Actavis, Traci Aoki

UC Law Journal

Reverse payments are payments that are made as a component of a patent infringement settlement, between a brand-name pharmaceutical company to a competitor who is attempting to market a generic version of the patented brand-name drug. The patentee not only drops its patent infringement suit against the generic manufacturer, but also compensates this alleged infringer. Reverse payment settlements raise antitrust concerns because they suggest that the generic manufacturer could have proved the brand-name’s patent either invalid or non-infringed, and thus entered the marketplace to provide consumers with lower priced generic drugs, if they had continued with the litigation. This also …

Uis Bulletin, Volume 57, No. 2, December 2015, Efraín Mercado

KIP Articles

Contents: Editorial: UIS 50th Anniversary: A Time to Celebrate -- Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the UIS in Postojna, Slovenia -- Launch of the book "Fifty years of the UIS: 1965-2015" -- UIS Proposes to Organize a UNESCO International Year of Caves in 2021 -- France Habe Prize 2015 -- Report of Commission on Cave Rescue -- Report of Commission on History of Speleology -- The Oldest Cave Map in the World -- Asian Transkarst 2015 / Born the Asian Speleological Union -- 33rd Brazilian Congress of Speleology -- Brazilian Speleological Community Supports the Initiative to the UNESCO International …

Creche Herald Vol. 19, No. 4, Rita B. Bocher

Creche Herald

The Winter 2015-16 publication features nativity sets and personal reflections from members in the organization; information about nativities and nativity exhibits; and information about the Friends of the Creche annual meeting.

An Examination Of Microbial Community Composition At Tba-Degrading Versus Non-Degrading Sites, Courtney Thompson

All Theses

Understanding how fuel oxygenates interact with microorganisms in the subsurface is important for the remediation of contaminated sites and designing and optimizing remedial strategies. The current understanding of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) degradation in the environment has been developed primarily through gas chromatography GC analysis and culture-based laboratory studies. Microbial communities can be very diverse, and while microcosm studies provide valuable data, few metagenomic studies have been performed. To elucidate the significant microorganisms and pathways involved in the breakdown of MTBE and TBA, the compositions of entire indigenous microbial populations must be investigated and …

Insurance, Race/Ethnicity, And Sex In The Search For A New Physician, Rajiv Sharma, Arnab Mitra, Miron Stano

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We employed simulated patient calls to a national random sample of primary care physicians to assess appointment availability for adults who differed by insurance, race/ethnicity, and sex. The disparities we found are much larger than those reported in previous assessments, highlighting the importance of including race/ethnicity and sex in such research