Digital Commons Network^™

School Policy And Practice To Tackle A Public Health Problem: Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Leigh Lynn Mcgown-Kauffman

Dissertations

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a leading cause of death in the United States. While the medical research has exhaustively documented that immediate response directly impacts survival rates in SCA and that schools could be the best catalyst for creating change by bystanders, there is little to no educational research addressing school policy or practices in regards to cardiac emergencies in schools. The purpose of this dissertation was to identify and describe characteristics of the Colorado schools that offer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and onsite automated external defibrillators (AED). Two research questions were answered, Of respondents, what are the characteristics …

The Meaning Of Physical Activity From The Perspective Of Indonesian Immigrant Youth, Caly Setiawan

Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine what constitutes the experience of physical activity for Indonesian immigrant youth. Fifteen Indonesian young people aged 13 to 18 participated in the study. Data were collected through two sets of interviews. During the first set of interviews, data were gathered about physical activity experiences and the meanings that the youth ascribed to their participation. A second set of interviews were conducted to collect information about the participants’ strategies for engaging Indonesian immigrants in physical activity. Seven purposefully selected participants were the respondents in these interviews. Data were analyzed using a three …

All Families Are Unique: Experiences Of Lesbian-Parented Families, Rachel Tova Gall

Dissertations

This study explored the experiences of families with lesbian mothers and elementary school-aged children residing in metropolitan areas of the United States. This phenomenology aimed to transcend comparative and binary research to include the voices of sexual minorities and children. Eight whole-family interviews were conducted in alignment with the study’s systemic-constructivist approach. A number of themes emerged from the data that were generally consistent with prior research. Mothers were intentional about the communities in which they surrounded themselves, the process of having children, and having discussions with children about potential discrimination. Participants saw themselves as advocates and were typically out …

Heterogeneous Sensor Signal Processing For Inference With Nonlinear Dependence, Hao He

Dissertations - ALL

Inferring events of interest by fusing data from multiple heterogeneous sources has been an interesting and important topic in recent years. Several issues related to inference using heterogeneous data with complex and nonlinear dependence are investigated in this dissertation. We apply copula theory to characterize the dependence among heterogeneous data.

In centralized detection, where sensor observations are available at the fusion center (FC), we study copula-based fusion. We design detection algorithms based on sample-wise copula selection and mixture of copulas model in different scenarios of the true dependence. The proposed approaches are theoretically justified and perform well when applied to …

Trying Times: Disability, Activism, And Education In Samoa, 1970-1980, Juliann Anesi

Dissertations - ALL

In the 1970s and 1980s, Samoan women organizers established Aoga Fiamalamalama and Loto Taumafai, which were educational institutions in Samoa, an island in the Pacific. Establishing these schools for students with intellectual and physical disabilities, excluded from attending formal schools based on the misconception that they were "uneducable". In this project, I seek to understand how parent advocates, allies, teachers, women organizers, women with disabilities, and former students of these schools understood disability, illness, inclusive education, and community organizing. Through interviews and analysis of archival documents, stories, cultural myths, legends related to people with disabilities, pamphlets, and newspaper media, I …

Policy Through Rhetoric: An Analysis Of Cyber Security And Privacy Policy, Alec Davis

Washington Semester Program

No abstract provided.

Identity-Based Assignments And Student Disinterest In Fyc, Benjamin F. Pearce

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

This project attempts to investigate the position of identity-based assignments in FYC and identify the student response to these assignments. If individuals teaching and studying FYC can determine that identity-based assignments raise first-year student interest in academic writing then we should intensify the study and use of these assignments.

The Legends Of Bigfoot: Or How I Regained My Manhood, Blaine Mccarty

Master of Arts in American Studies Capstones

Masculinity is a culturally defined identity that exists with no single way to express it. However, the cultural politics police masculinity to appear natural and non-changing, but masculinity changes over history influenced by events and the culture from which it gets its definition. Because of this twofold influence on the identity, there is a constant struggle of the appropriate ways to express masculinity in its attempt to normalize itself by defining what is and is not masculine. This work examines how Bigfoot, the hairy fabled monster, embodies conversations about masculinity during a shift in the masculine identity in a constantly …

Investigation Of Quatitative Image Features From Pretreatment Ct And Fdg-Pet Scans In Stage Iii Nsclc Patients Undergoing Defintive Radiation Therapy, David Fried

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The purpose of this work was to determine if quantitative image features (QIFs) extracted from computed tomography (CT) and flourodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) could provide prognostic information to improve outcome models. Our goal for this work was to determine if it may one day be feasible to incorporate QIFs into personalized cancer care. QIFs were used to quantitatively characterize patient disease as seen on imaging. A leave-one-out cross-validation procedure was used to assess the prognostic ability of QIFs extracted from CT and PET in addition to conventional prognostic factors (CPFs). QIFs were found to improve model fit for …

Building A Community Of Practice For English-As-A-Foreign Language Tutors During Private Tutoring, Doaa S. Mahrous

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The creation of a community of practice of tutors--a shared practice among a group of people who share the same domain--enables second-language learners to facilitate their acquisition of English by embracing new learning strategies while they learn the target language. The community of tutors’ perspective allows for the incorporation of the individual’s particular second-language-acquisition needs and goals. This presentation presents a proposed study that took place at the Yasuda Center at California State University, San Bernardino in the summer of 2015. Students in the English Language Program housed in the College of Extended Learning were asked to participate in tutoring …

“God Hates Fags”—The Use Of Religion As Justification For Prejudice Towards Homosexuals, Michelle S. Fabros

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The Westboro Baptist Church and Phelps family are notorious for their signs proclaiming anti-homosexuality epithets such as “God Hates Fag,” and references to Biblical verses to revile homosexuality (e.g., Romans 1:24-27). Although the homonegativity bias that Westboro patrons and many traditional Christians express is often understood as being rooted in religion, I proposed the possibility that religion can be a justification rather than source of homonegativity. That is, although religion typically is seen as the source of prejudice towards LGBT+ people, I argued that this relationship might work in reverse. I examined under which conditions this “reverse” phenomena might occur …

Lethal And Legal? The Ethics Of Drone Strikes, Shima D. Keene Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

While supporters claim that drone warfare is not only legal but ethical and wise, others have suggested that drones are prohibited weapons under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) because they cause, or have the effect of causing, indiscriminate killings of civilians, such as those in the vicinity of a targeted person. The main legal justification made by the Barack Obama Administration for the use of armed drones is self-defense. However, there is ambiguity as to whether this argument can justify a number of recent attacks by the United States. In order to determine the legality of armed drone strikes, other factors …

Molecular Modeling And Mutational Mapping Of The Gpr119 Binding Site, Shane M. Askar

Theses and Dissertations

GPR119 receptor’s biological role in regulating glucose homeostasis has been studied extensively. Results in the scientific literature indicate that, when activated, GPR119 releases insulin in a glucose dependent manner. Currently the 3D structure of GPR119 has not been resolved.

The goal of this research is to use a combination of homology modeling and ligand docking studies to predict the binding mode of GPR119 ligands. Amino acids implicated to have direct interactions with docked ligands will further be assessed experimentally for their roll in binding and activation of GPR119. Our results indicate that residues W2656.48 and R813.28 are likely to be …

Decomposition And Nitrogen Dynamics Of Turtle Grass (Thalassia Testudinum) In A Subtropical Estuarine System, Monica Delgado

Theses and Dissertations

Seagrass beds are pivotal in the functioning of coastal ecosystems in terms of productivity, organic matter turnover and nutrient cycling. Aiming to document decay and nitrogen (N) dynamics of turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) in a subtropical estuarine system, decomposition patterns of leaves and rhizomes were characterized and compared. Nitrogen usage during decomposition of tissues, and of live tissues and epiphytes growing on live leaves, was also quantified and compared. Stable isotope ratios allowed tracing N within the seagrass bed, following N incorporation into seagrass tissues from the surrounding media (water, sediment). Leaves had a higher N content and decomposed at …

A Handcrafted Multi-Branch Nerve Scaffold For In Vivo Peripheral Nerve Regeneration, Ridwan Fayaz Hossain

Theses and Dissertations

Arm and leg peripheral nerve injuries contribute largely to functional disability. These injuries seldom affect a single-line nerve; rather the injury goes beyond and disrupts the nerve tissue across multiple nerve paths. Here we investigate handcrafted PDMS based multi-branch nerve guidance conduit, which addresses this crucial branching from the sciatic nerve to aid with the regeneration to their appropriate distal targets. The design concept of the developed multiple branch nerve scaffolds is not specific for the sciatic nerve but can be modified for general use of all peripheral nerves and additional applications. Microchannels are also fabricated into a device in …

An Exploratory Investigation Of Tele-Counseling: Looking At The Power Of Therapeutic Alliance In Improving Wellness, Jorge Rostro

Theses and Dissertations

The present study explored the power of one tele-counseling session to elicit change within post wellness ratings scores and the relationship between clients’ perceptions of relationship, goals and topics, approach and method, and overall session with clients’ wellness ratings. Results indicated that the mean for post-session wellness was significantly greater than pre-test wellness ratings. The standardized effect size, d, was .43, indicative of a moderate effect size. No difference was found between client’s perceptions of predictor variables with post-wellness rating scores. This study adds support for the use of tele-counseling services as one session might have the power to elicit …

My True Father, David Rice

Theses and Dissertations

My True Father is novel about a Mexican American family in South Texas going through a divorce.

Mack Thomas: The Total Beat, James B. Welton

Theses and Dissertations

Mack Thomas enjoyed both an audience seat and a role in the Beat Generation. He lives the life that fits one of his mottos, “if at first you don’t succeed, quit”. Thomas was the author of two autobiographical novels Gumbo and The Total Beast, a jazz and literature columnist for Grove Press in the 1950s and 1960s. Thomas was also a jazz musician worthy to share the stage with Miles Davis, inventor, and entrepreneur among numerous other interests. His friendship with William S. Burroughs was forged by their Texas ties while they were neighbors living in Paris, France and offered …

Higher Education Governance Structures And Operational Efficiency And Effectiveness Of 4 -Year Public Institutions, Angela H. Claxton-Freeman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study benchmarks 4-year public institutions in the Southern Regional Education Board to determine if there are significant differences between the institutions based on efficiency and effectiveness scores within the types of governance structures in operation among the states. Efficiency and effectiveness scores are also used to determine if there are significant differences between institutions based on state appropriation levels. In this quantitative study, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to collapse selected institutional data reported to IPEDS into effectiveness and efficiency scores which were then used as the dependent variables. The variable returns to scale (VRS) model was used …

Institutional Budget Function Allocations As Predictors Of Performance Outcomes Of Tennessee Public Community Colleges And Universities, Dearl D. Lampley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the increased use of performance funding in Tennessee and many other states, it is imperative that administrators strategically budget to meet performance outcome goals. The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between the budget function allocations of Instruction, Academic Support, and Student Services and performance outcome measures involving student success factors defined as completion of credit hours, awards of technical certificates, and awards of undergraduate degrees through the academic years of 2006-07 and 2013-14. The population included the 13 public community colleges and 9 public universities in Tennessee within the Tennessee Board of Regents and the …

Determining If Custodial Grandparents Of Pre-K - Third Grade Students Perceive Delivery Of Information And Services Offered As Effective In Decreasing Early Chronic Absence, Kimberly S. Cassidy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the delivery of information and services offered to grandparents who had become the primary caregivers of pre-k through third grade students to determine if the information and services were effective in decreasing chronic early absence as defined by Chang and Romero (2008). This mixed-method, multi-case study focused on the perceived needs of custodial grandparents and examined if the school system was meeting their needs through delivery of information and services. The researcher sought participation from 5 custodial grandparents who had grandchildren in pre-k, kindergarten, first, second, or third grades in a Northeast Tennessee school system and whose …

Perceptions Of Acceptable Behavior With Social Networking Among Teachers, Parents, And Students In A Northeast Tennessee Middle School: An Exploratory Study, Lisa L. Raper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of acceptable use of social media among teachers, students, and parents. In doing so the researcher touched on generational factors, communication, instructional practice with social networking and the perceptions of what was acceptable among these 3 groups within a middle school setting.

This qualitative study examined how students, parents, and teachers perceived the use of social networking. 30 subjects were randomly chosen and interviewed: 10 students, 10 parents and 10 teachers. There were 4 emerging themes: (a) types of social networking preferred and the reason, (b) relationships and acceptable usage, …

Influence Of Lactobacillus Rhamnosus Isolated From “Amabere Amaruranu” Cultured Milk On Adipogenesis, Justin E. Kotala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was performed to test the in vitro effects of a Lactobacillus rhamnosus isolate from “amabere amaruranu”, a traditional Kenyan cultured milk, on 3T3-L1 and Caco-2 cell lines. Cultures of fully mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes were treated with bacterial isolate cell extract (CE), filtered spent broth (FSB) from overnight bacterial culture, or with a PBS control. Expression levels of PPAR³1 and 2, C/EBP±, and ATGL proteins in 3T3-L1 cells were upregulated by FSB treatment. CE treatment did not affect protein expression levels. Expression of MTTP and SREBP-1c proteins in Caco-2 cells showed no change with either treatment. Optical density measurements …

The Human Gut Mycobiome: Pitfalls And Potentials — A Mycologist's Perspective, Mallory J. Suhr, Heather E. Hallen-Adams

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

We have entered the Age of the Microbiome, with new studies appearing constantly and whole journals devoted to the human microbiome. While bacteria outnumber other gut microbes by orders of magnitude, eukaryotes are consistently found in the human gut, and are represented primarily by the fungi. Compiling 36 studies spanning from 1917 to 2015, we found at least 267 distinct fungal taxa have been reported from the human gut, and seemingly every new study includes one or more fungi not previously described from this niche. This diversity, while impressive, is illusory. If we examine gut fungi, we will quickly observe …

Good Enough To Be Getting On With? The State Of Federal Sentencing Legislation, December 2015, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Faculty Publications

This article traces the evolution of the sentencing reform debate in Congress in 2015. It summarizes and compares the six major pieces of sentencing legislation introduced in 2015. It describes the progression from con­ceptually simple, broadly applicable reforms of mandatory minimum sentences to the regime of complex and highly restrictive rules relaxing mandatory minimum sentences for a modest subset of federal defendants found in the bills that passed the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. The article summarizes some of the concerns voiced about he sentencing provisions of the various bills. Finally, it discusses the three pending bills relating to back-end …

Essays On Managing Intuition For Strategic Option Generation, Tejpavan Singh Gandhok

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation comprises of two essays. The first essay seeks to examine the issue of 'slow' (i.e. gestation periods over hours, weeks and months) forms of intuition and their complex interactions with analytic thinking, especially in the context of breakthrough ideation/ complex problem solving. This exploratory study with qualitative observations with a small set of experienced practitioners supports the sparse academic literature in this area that managers do rely on long gestation forms of sub-conscious processing and that these forms of thinking manifest themselves in different forms with varying degrees of confidence and positive emotion/ affect (popularly referred to as …

String Quartet, Brut, Bernie Walasavage

Masters Theses

l’Art Brut , also commonly referred to as “outsider art,” is comprised of a variety of visual media by untrained or mentally ill artists. The string quartet is subtitled this because it takes inspiration from the work of these artists; with its jagged edges, vibrant colors, and horrid scenes, there is an organic beauty inherent in such eclectic and divergent art. Another factor which drew me to the artwork of the mentally ill was the commonality of Kenophobia: an abnormal fear of empty spaces. Schizophrenic, Swiss artists, Adolf Wölfli (18641930) and Aloïse Corbaz (18861964) were noted for suffering this phobia …

The Problem Of Masculinity For Male Health, Kieran Geary, Maurice Murphy

Dept. of Management & Enterprise Publications

Men’s health has historically received little attention in terms of consultation, planning, strategy development or project implementation, but in recent years there has been an increased focus on gender in the context of men’s health. Whilst in the past the focus on gender and health in Ireland has tended to be synonymous with women’s health, the significance of gendered health practices (particularly gendered patterns of help-seeking) have more recently come to the forefront in the context of men. Men’s reluctance to seek help and use health services is a concern across most Western cultures. Some commentary has suggested that men …

America's All Volunteer Force: A Success?, Louis G. Yuengert

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The 'War' In Russia's 'Hybrid Warfare', Andrew Monaghan

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.