Digital Commons Network^™

Citizen Science Ecological Monitoring: For Whom?, Cameron Weber

Architecture and Planning ETDs

In ecosystems undergoing rapid change, habitat management and restoration present special challenges for land managers. To reduce uncertainty about such systems and, thereby, improve the success of their decisions, managers may consult ecological monitoring data. Limitations in time and resources for data collection have highlighted the role that citizen science can play in applied conservation science. One citizen science project, the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (or BEMP), supplies decision makers with ecological monitoring information about the historically dynamic Middle Rio Grande riparian forest corridor (or bosque) ecosystem through engaging nearby K-12 students in collecting ecological data over a large area. …

Disruptive Technology And Securities Regulation, Chris Brummer

Fordham Law Review

    Nowhere has disruptive technology had a more profound impact than in financial services—and yet nowhere do academics and policymakers lack a coherent theory of the phenomenon more, much less a coherent set of regulatory prescriptions. Part of the challenge lies in the varied channels through which innovation upends market practices. Problems also lurk in the popular assumption that securities regulation operates against the backdrop of stable market gatekeepers like exchanges, broker-dealers, and clearing systems—a fact scenario increasingly out of sync in twenty-first-century capital markets.

    This Article explains how technological innovation “disrupts” not only capital markets but also the exercise of …

Needs Assessment For The Topsfield Council On Aging, Jan E. Mutchler, Ceara Somerville

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

The Town of Topsfield’s older population grew substantially during the last decade. Increases are expected to continue as the number of seniors increase moving forward, as well as the share of the Topsfield population they represent. In response to these demographic changes, a study was undertaken to generate and organize information on the older residents of Topsfield and the community organizations supporting their well-being. Special focus was placed on needs of older residents along with the capacity of the Topsfield COA to meet those needs. Methods used included description of existing data, key informant interviews, and focus groups aimed at …

Fiscal Year 2015 Fhwa-536 Report For The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Steven Douglas Kreis, Candice Y. Wallace, Bryan Gibson, Sarah M. Mccormack

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires state transportation agencies to submit a biennial report on local highway finances. The purpose of these reports is to provide FHWA with the data it needs to capture the financing of highway activities at the local level. Based on this information, it can identify trends in revenue, expenditures, investments, and program development, and in turn make decisions about future investments. The report, FHWA-536, asks agencies to report on four areas of local highway finance: 1) disposition of highway-user revenues; 2) revenues used for roads and streets identified by source and funding type; 3) road …

After Obergefell V. Hodges: The Continuing Battle Over Equal Rights For Sexual Minorities In The United States, Simone Chriss, Danaya C. Wright

UF Law Faculty Publications

This article examines the pathbreaking U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that held same-sex marriage was a fundamental right that could not be denied by any state, despite the myriad same-sex marriage bans that had been passed in a majority of states. After explaining the constitutional jurisprudence of due process and equal protection, the article then examines the history of the same-sex marriage movement and the Obergefell decision. We conclude by discussing how the jurisprudential theory of the case, fundamental rights under the due process clause, narrows the scope of the case’s precedential value. Although gay rights activists …

Successive 1-Month Weight Increments In Infancy Can Be Used To Screen For Faltering Linear Growth, Adelheid W. Onyango, Elaine Borghi, Mercedes De Onis, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Cesar G. Victora, Kathryn G. Dewey, Anna Lartey, Nita Bhandari, Anne Baerug, Cutberto Garza

Faculty Publications

Background: Linear growth faltering in the first 2 y contributes greatly to a high stunting burden, and prevention is hampered by the limited capacity in primary health care for timely screening and intervention.

Objective: This study aimed to determine an approach to predicting long-term stunting from consecutive 1-mo weight increments in the first year of life.

Methods: By using the reference sample of the WHO velocity standards, the analysis explored patterns of consecutive monthly weight increments among healthy infants. Four candidate screening thresholds of successive increments that could predict stunting were considered, and one was selected for …

Viscoelastic, Fatigue Damage, And Permanent Deformation Characterization Of High Rap Bituminous Mixtures Using Fine Aggregate Matrix (Fam), Hesamaddin Nabizadeh

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Performance characteristics of bituminous mixtures play the most influential role in designing flexible pavement. These asphaltic mixtures can be considered as heterogeneous mixtures which composed of two primary components: fine aggregate matrix (FAM) phase and aggregate phase. The FAM phase acts as a critical phase in evaluating the performance characteristics including viscoelastic, fatigue damage, and permanent deformation characteristics of entire asphalt mixtures. This study evaluates the viscoelastic, fatigue damage and permanent deformation characteristics of bituminous mixtures containing 65% reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) by performing oscillatory torsional shear tests of cylindrical bars of FAM using a dynamic mechanical analyzer. Moreover, this …

Addressing Security Risks For Mobile Devices: What Higher Education Leaders Should Know, Casey J. Gordon

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative study examined the topic of mobile device security at higher education institutions in the Midwestern United States. This study sought to answer the question of how higher education institutions have responded to threats to campus data security posed by mobile devices. It explored the questions of what institutions are doing currently, the policies and procedures they have in place, and what leaders should do in the future.

This research study consisted of four case studies, compiled through interviews with key Information Technology (IT) professionals and faculty at each of the four institutions studied as well as an examination …

Short-Term Effects Of A Western Diet On The Number Of Brainderived Neurotrophic Factor Immunoreactive Neurons In The Hypothalamic Arcuate, Ventromedial And Paraventricular Nuclei, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Gilland

Open Access Theses

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an important anorexogenic factor and has been shown to be involved in obesity. It is important to know when changes in BDNF expression occur to possibly prevent development of dietary obesity. BDNF mRNA decreases in response to long-term western diet (WD) exposure in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), yet no study has investigated the short-term effects of WD on BDNF expression in the hypothalamus. It was hypothesized BDNF protein would mirror a decrease in BDNF mRNA in the VMH when mice were fasted for 48-hours or fed WD for 6-hours, 48-hours, 1-week and 3-week and decrease …

Effects Of Preoxygenation And Positioning Of Obese Patients During Intubation, Brandon M. Vesel

Theses and Dissertations

Local anesthetic systemic toxicity, due to misapplication of local anesthetic in an otherwise routine procedure, can result in deleterious effects. Although improved regional anesthesia techniques, effective test-dosing, and availability of less toxic local anesthetics have resulted in a decline in local anesthetic toxicity rates, adverse events do occur. A comprehensive review of literature was conducted and current research findings and documented case studies were systematically reviewed. The "lipid sink" phenomenon is the most widely accepted theoretical framework surrounding intravenous lipid emulsion treatment for local anesthetic induced cardiovascular collapse (Rothschild, Bern, Oswald, & Weinberg, 2010). Current evidence suggests that immediate infusion …

Intrathecal Pain Pumps For The Treatment Of Neuropathic Pain: A Retrospective Review Of The Electronic Medical Record, Kathleen Lopez Reyes

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Most patients suffering from neuropathic pain will not obtain sufficient pain relief from current recommended therapy. The present study sought to compare patients with neuropathic pain treated with intrathecal drug delivery systems (IDDS) to those with oral opioid treatment alone via a retrospective analysis of electronic medical records. Pain scores and number and amount of adverse events were the primary endpoints of analysis. The most important finding of our study was that significantly fewer adverse events were found among patients treated with IDDS compared to patients treated with traditional oral medications. We examined the differences in recorded pain scores over …

Siu Alumni, Siu Alumni Association

SIU Alumni Magazine

No abstract provided.

Southeast South Dakota Experiment Farm Annual Progress Report: 2015, Agricultural Experiment Station

Agricultural Experiment Station and Research Farm Annual Reports

This document highlights 34 crop and livestock research and demonstration reports from projects conducted at Southeast Research Farm in 2015. It is published by the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service at South Dakota State University in cooperation with the Southeast South Dakota Experiment Farm Corporation. Reports in this document include information on: weather and climate data, corn production and performance, soybean research and planting, soil testing, alfalfa yield test, fertilizer testing, herbicide research, crop rotation, sorghum, small grains, swine research, and pest and weed control.

Modification Of Cellular Dna By Synthetic Aziridinomitosenes, Chris M. Mallory, Ryan P. Carfi, Sangphil Moon, Kenneth A. Cornell, Don L. Warner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Two synthetic aziridinomitosenes (AZMs), Me-AZM and H-AZM, structurally related to mitomycin C (MC) were evaluated for their anticancer activity against six cancer cell lines (HeLa, Jurkat, T47D, HepG2, HL-60, and HuT-78) and tested for their DNA-modifying abilities in Jurkat cells. Cytotoxicity assays showed that Me-AZM is up to 72-fold and 520-fold more potent than MC and H-AZM, respectively. Me-AZM also demonstrated increased DNA modification over MC and H-AZM in alkaline COMET and Hoechst fluorescence assays that measured crosslinks in cellular DNA. Me-AZM and H-AZM treatment of Jurkat cells was found to sponsor significant DNA-protein crosslinks using …

Project Gate Self-Assurance Review Framework For Major Alaskan Oil And Gas Projects, Anca Bertus

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Major Alaska oil and gas capital projects can fail or have poor outcomes, including significant cost and schedule overruns if the projects are not ready to proceed into subsequent project stages. A comprehensive project gate assurance review ensures their readiness for the next project gate. Internal Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) should be leveraged in the review process to determine whether all design, construction, commissioning, and operational issues have been formally and properly addressed by the project team. A new project gate Self-Assurance Review Framework (SARF) applicable to major Alaskan oil and gas companies to improve project delivery is proposed in …

The Litigation Privilege: Its Place In Contemporary Jurisprudence, Louise Lark Hill

Hofstra Law Review

Historically, lawyers have been immune from civil liability for statements related to litigation which may injure or offend an opposing party during the litigation process. This protection is referred to as the “litigation privilege,” which originated in medieval English jurisprudence and continues to be recognized in the United States today. The rationale supporting the litigation privilege is that the integrity of the adversary system outweighs any monetary interest of a party injured by her adversary. Remedies other than lawsuits are available to parties who feel they have been damaged “by malicious statements or conduct during litigation.” For instance, misconduct in …

A No-Fault Remedy For Legal Malpractce?, Melissa Mortazavi

Hofstra Law Review

The last forty years have seen a marked rise in legal malpractice lawsuits. Recent numbers show that no abatement is in sight; instead the number of large legal malpractice claims is steadily increasing. Although lawyers have a personal interest in limiting liability, they also have a professional one in protecting clients from harm arising due to malpractice. But how can the legal profession curtail and manage malpractice liability while also providing relief to injured clients? Applying existing tort scholarship on no-fault alternative systems to professional legal services, this Article argues that no-fault may be a viable option in many common …

Dealing With Conflicts And Disqualification Risks Professionally, James B. Kobak Jr

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

Amending State Putative Father Registries: Affording More Rights And Protections To America’S Unwed Fathers, Ivy Waisbord

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

Childhood Trauma And Special Education: Why The "Idea" Is Failing Today's Impacted Youth, Felicia Winder

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

Interpreting Unique Colloidal Response Of Tio2 Nanomaterials To Controlled Sonication For Understanding Their Assembly Configuration, Siyang Wu

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses - Archive

It is important to determine the assembly configuration of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) particularly between aggregate or agglomerate because the assembly configuration greatly influences their fate and transport behavior in the aquatic environment. Aggregated particles are more subject to segregation upon changes of environmental conditions (vice versa) than agglomerated particles. As a strategic tool for investigating the time-resolved reversible segregating and assembling behavior of ENMs and thus estimating their assembly configuration, controlled sonication process was proposed. It was hypothesized the unique colloidal response of ENMs to sonication, with respect to changes in size, might be their intrinsic property associated with assembly …

Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, And Turnover Intention Of Online Teachers In The K-12 Setting, Ingle M. Larkin

Doctor of Education in Instructional Technology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure and explore factors influencing K-12 online teacher job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions K-12 online education. Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1954), Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Satisfaction (1959, 1968), Meyer and Allen’s measure of Organizational Commitment (1997), and Fishbein and Ajzen’s Theory of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior (1975), this mixed-methods study was conducted in public, private, charter, for-profit, and not-for-profit K-12 online schools in a single Southeastern state. The researcher used a sequential explanatory design by collecting and analyzing quantitative data and then qualitative data in two consecutive phases. Using …

Analysis Of Water Quality In New Jersey, Kaitlyn Scrudato

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Numerous diseases can occur when swimming or fishing in contaminated water. It is important that the quality of water is being monitored prior to recreational activities. To model the quality of the water at any given time with available predictors, data from bodies of water across New Jersey from 1999 to 2013 was collected from the database STORET. The water quality parameters studied were Escherichia coli (E. coli) and enterococcus with the predictors as Dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, Salinity, Temperature, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS). The data was broken down by habitat type. The habitat types …

James F. Barnard Endowment, Acquisitions Report, Fy 2015-2016, Heritage Research Center, Loma Linda University Libraries

James F. Barnard Endowment Acquisitions Reports

James F. Barnard Endowment funds usage report for fiscal year 2015-2016, quarters 1-2.

Delivering Green Streets: An Exploration Of Changing Perceptions And Behaviours Over Time Around Bioswales In Portland, Oregon, Glyn Everett, Jessica Lamond, Anita T. Morzillo, Annie Marissa Matsler, Faith Ka Shun Chan

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Green Infrastructure (GI) is an increasingly popular means of dealing with flooding and water quality issues worldwide. This study examines public perceptions of, and behaviour around, bioswales, which are a popular GI facility in the United States. Bioswales are highly visible interventions requiring support from residents and policy-makers to be implemented and maintained appropriately. To understand how the residents’ perceptions and attitudes might develop over time, we interviewed residents of Portland, Oregon, living near bioswales installed 1–2, 4–5 and 8–9 years ago, to determine awareness, understanding, and opinions about the devices. We found no consistent patterns across time periods, but …

Decimation, Rejuvenation, Motivation: How Disease And Murder Set The Stage At Saratoga, Nicolas Soto

History

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of Training For Correction Officers In The Performance Of Their Job, Victoria L. Farrell

Criminal Justice

No abstract provided.

Investigating Disparities In Behavior And Care Between Alaska Native And White Victims Of Sexual Violence: The Importance Of Culturally Competent Nursing Care, Elizabeth Danielle Koster

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Context: According to Alaska’s former governor the sexual violence issue in the state has become an epidemic. Four out of ten women in Alaska have been victims of sexual assault. The purpose of this research was to determine the existence of health care disparities in the treatment of Alaska Native women victims of sexual violence compared to white women victims and address the need for sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) to provide culturally competent nursing care. Objective: The specific research questions addressed in this study compared multiple variables between Alaska Native and white women victims of sexual violence: behaviors during …

Identifiable Risk Factors Associated With Congestive Heart Failure Hospital Readmissions, Kimberly M. Snyder

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

It is important to analyze patterns of risk factors associated with congestive heart failure (CHF) readmission rates. Today, if a CHF patient is readmitted within 30 days of their initial discharge the hospital will not be reimbursed for the stay. The aims of this study are to see if there is an association between patients readmitted within 30, 60, and 90 days of the initial discharge and to identify patterns of risk factors associated with CHF readmissions. A search of the CINAHL research database was conducted, using the key words “heart failure”, “signs and symptoms”, “readmission rates” and “comorbidities”. The …

Coping With Uncertainty: Cost-Benefit Analysis, The Precautionary Principle, And Climate Change, Daniel A. Farber

Washington Law Review

Climate scientists are confident that greenhouse gases are causing climate change, but it is difficult to predict the severity of future climate change or its local impacts. Unfortunately, we cannot wait for these uncertainties to be resolved before addressing the issue of climate change. Policymakers use two different strategies for setting climate policy in the face of this uncertainty: cost-benefit analysis and the precautionary principle. Although there has been much discussion of these strategies in the abstract, there has been less effort to assess them in operation. This Article analyzes these strategies and considers their application to climate risks in …