Digital Commons Network^™

The Color Of The Year: A Textual Analysis Of Pantone’S Color Communication Techniques Through The Application Of Barthes’ Semiotic, Kyung Lee

Masters Theses

This research analyzes the content of Pantone’s color of the year in 2000, 2002, 2009, 2014 and 2015 utilizing Barthes’ semiological system from a communication perspective. This study scrutinizes the announcement of Pantone’s color of the year as well as its color story to discover the purpose and the effectiveness of the verbalized nomination. The result reveals the significance of the semantic nature, which directs individuals’ viewpoint and creates a new connotation to alter their preconception. Also, Pantone’s color of 2014, Radiant Orchid, verified that the consolidation of the visual image and verbal content can maximize the influences that the …

The War On Drugs: An Analysis Of The Rhetoric According To Richard Weaver’S Theory Of Ultimate Terms, Cristina Peniche

Masters Theses

The language associated with President Nixon’s ‘war on drugs’ has sparked considerable debate in the political struggle against narcotics' abuse and crime, as well as within scholarly research. There is a language associated with the debate and it reflects the primary considerations of policy makers- economics, criminal behavior, and morality. The present study discusses these qualities as well as the rhetorical ideas of Richard Weaver, specifically his theory of ultimate terms. Then, discussions within research show the discontent that scholars bear towards narcotics'-related language. Specifically, there is concern that the rhetoric may stigmatize certain populations and hinder better outcomes. As …

How Is Academic Motivation In Children Influenced By Emotional Regulation?, Rosanna Pengelly

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Children’s academic achievement is influenced by motivation. Motivation, in turn, is affected by emotional regulation and children’s reactions to poor or high achievement. This study investigated academic motivation to gain an understanding of the attributions (effort, ability, difficulty and luck) made by children on their achievements in a maths test among 25 SEN children (i.e., children with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties) and 44 mainstream children. SEN children made more attributions to effort whereas mainstream children made more attributions to ability. Emotional regulation was measured using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Emotional reappraisal (i.e., reinterpreting the meaning of emotional stimuli) …

Characterising Cytotoxicity And Genotoxicity Of Chemotherapeutic Agents (Etoposide And Vincristine) On Tk6, A Human Lymphoblastoid Cell Line, Leanne Edermaniger

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The ability of the chemotherapeutic agents namely etoposide and vincristine to cause cytotoxic and genotoxic damage to the human lymphoblastoid cell line, TK6, was at the centre of this study. Four different cytotoxic assays were tested for their ability to assess the cytotoxicity of the agents as well as two genotoxic assays to examine their ability to induce DNA damage. The TK6 cell line was exposed to increasing doses of the chemotherapeutic agents and cytoxicity assessed by in vitro trypan blue, neutral red uptake, LDH leakage and the glucose oxidase assays. The trypan blue assay was deemed to be the …

Effects Of Storm-Induced Sand Scour On Patella Vulgata Off South-West Britain, Jake Jefford

The Plymouth Student Scientist

This study investigates the impacts of storm-induced sand-scour on common limpets (Patella vulgata) off south-west Britain, focussing particularly on the physical impacts of this process, as well as shore recovery. Unusually polished limpets were found living on a rocky shore (Westcombe Beach, South Devon) following a series of large storms that occurred from December 2013 to mid-February 2014. The extent of the storms was completely unprecedented, and it was one of the most exceptional periods of winter rainfall in Englandin at least 248 years when records began. It was clear that the limpets and surrounding epilithic communities at Westcombe Beach …

Exposure To Predator Kairomones Influences Egg Number And Size In Littorina Littorea, Jessica Raynor, Simon Rundle

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Predator kairomones play an important role in intertidal ecosystems, but knowledge on their potential role in influencing maternal effects is lacking. The aim of this study was to test whether egg production by female Littorina littorea was influenced by short-term exposure to predator kairomones before egg laying. Laboratory populations were exposed to predator cues from the intertidal crab Carcinus maenas for nine days, and egg number, egg size, and survivorship of the offspring were measured and compared with those from reference populations. Snails exposed to predator cues produced significantly more eggs, which were also significantly smaller than those produced from …

Plymouth Undergraduate Research In Mathematics, Tom Heinzl, Tom Mccourt

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Guest editorial from lectures in Physics and Pure Mathematics.

Why Is Eyewitness Testimony So Inaccurate? An Investigation Into Event-Related Potentials And The Recognition Of Familiar And Unfamiliar Faces, Jack Evans

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Eyewitness-testimony is notoriously inaccurate and unreliable. In addition, a body of research has indicated that unfamiliar faces are poorly recognised in comparison to famous or familiar faces. Under the assumption that poor unfamiliar face recognition plays a role in the inaccuracy of eyewitness testimony, the present study sought to use the P300 ERP to provide evidence that unfamiliar face recognition is a factor in the inaccuracy of eyewitness testimony. After showing videos of either busy public places, mock-crime videos, or a film clip, this experiment recorded EEG data from 12 healthy undergraduates in their 20s attending Plymouth University whilst they …

The Acute Effect Of High-Intensity Interval Training Versus Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training On Postprandial Blood Glucose Regulation, Katharina Gross

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Blood glucose control is central to the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Regular physical activity can improve glucose tolerance but many people lack the time to exercise. High-intensity interval training requires much less time commitment and results in similar or superior physiological adaptations over prolonged endurance training. However, few studies have directly compared the effects of both training strategies and a control condition on postprandial blood glucose concentration in a standardized manner. This study aims to investigate the acute effect of a single session of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) compared to a single session of moderate-intensity continuous …

Energy Harvesting In A Diver's Rebreather System, Joseph Ely

The Plymouth Student Scientist

This report investigates the feasibility of energy harvesting using thermoelectric generators in a diver’s rebreather system. The report details research into documented experiments and theory, design and manufacture of an energy harvesting prototype and testing of the prototype to determine its feasibility. The prototype produced a maximum power of 2.5 (mW) which is more than the minimum 50 microwatts of power specified by Avon. It was therefore concluded that energy harvesting within a divers rebreather system is feasibility.

A Palaeoclimatic Reconstruction Of The Cadair Idris Area Of Snowdonia, Using Geomorphological Evidence From Younger Dryas Cirque Glaciers, Bethany Radbourne

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The importance of glacier reconstruction lies in the empirical relationship between glacier mass balance and climate. Small glaciers are particularly sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation, thus the reconstruction of small palaeoglaciers can provide an understanding of past climatic changes in an area. This study conducts glacier and palaeoclimatic reconstructions for four potential palaeoglaciers at Cadair Idris, southern Snowdonia. Three of these are assigned a Younger Dryas age by referring to published literature, and the fourth is assumed to have existed during an earlier glaciation, possibly reflecting deglaciation from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Schmidt Hammer relative age dating …

Are Children's False Memories Driven By Conceptual Or Perceptual Factors?, Alexandra Hodgson

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm we examined the effects of perceptual (distinctiveness) and conceptual (backward associative strength) factors on the generation of false memories in 5 and 7-year-old children. Participants were randomly assigned to either the perceptually similar (just black or white pictures) or dissimilar condition (alternating black and white with colour pictures). For both conditions, these pictures were also high or low in backward associative strength. We hypothesised that false memories would be influenced by age, perceptual similarity and conceptual factors interacting. Results showed that true memories increased with age. False memories in 5 year olds not only extended …

The Efficacy Of Levodopa+Ddc Inhibitor+Entacapone Versus Levodopa+Ddc Inhibitor+Placebo In Parkinson's Disease: An Intervention Review, Jennifer Harrison

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Parkinson's disease (PD) has many possible treatment options. The main therapy uses a drug called levodopa. However after prolonged use, this drug begins to wear off and becomes less effective. Therefore additional drugs are needed to help ensure the patient is comfortable and to aid the relief of symptoms that can often occur. The addition of the COMT inhibitor, entacapone, aims to reduce motor symptoms and smooth out fluctuations that can sometimes be experienced with levodopa therapy. These can include bradykinesia, which is slowness of movement and help to control the resting tremor that is often associated with PD. The …

The Association Of Microstructural Connectivity In The Brain And Auditory Modulation Of Representational Momentum, Emma Theobald

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Perceived displacement from an object’s forward trajectory results in a representational momentum (RM) effect. In a behavioural task, participants watched a video of an actor reaching for/withdrawing from an object after hearing ‘I’ll take it’ or ‘I’ll leave it’, which was either congruent or incongruent with the subsequent action witnessed. The knowledge of other people’s intentions through auditory cues and then the predictions of their actions have been found to create an effect on the strength of RM experienced. The degree to which this auditory information affects the RM effect differs for each individual. This variation could, at least partially, …

You Can't Tickle Yourself...Or Can You? The Effect Of A Hypnotic Suggestion On Sensory Attenuation Phenomenon, Shamsideen Yusuf

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The internal motor simulation mechanism is widely believed to generate anticipatory sensory outcomes on the basis of the efferent copy of the motor commands. What is currently unknown is whether the motor prediction mechanism can integrate non-motor inputs such as a hypnotic suggestion in generating sensory predictions. Seventy-two undergraduate students (M=12, F=60) were recruited via Plymouth University participation pool, to undergo a randomised hypnotic suggestion (IV) of either an alien- hand or an alien-foot. The participants were asked to apply tactile stimulation to their left palm (DV) before and after the suggestion and report the tickling sensations. The results revealed …

Building An Aging Advocacy Network: Findings From The New Hampshire Senior Leadership Series, Susan Fox, Laura K. Davie, Alison C. Rataj

Institute on Disability

Public policy related to senior issues has not kept pace with the changes called for by an aging population. Advocacy is an important part of the policy landscape as it promotes a united effort to create change and encourage legislative action. Effective advocacy helps inform and educate policy makers, allows individuals to have their voices heard, builds stronger communities, and allows people to live more fulfilling lives. However, policy makers are inundated with causes to support, and it is easy for certain populations or causes to be lost in this process. This has been especially true for advocacy efforts around …

Sports Information And Sports Media In High Schools, Meredith R. Shaul

Masters Essays

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Judaism On Social Reform, Meghan Conner

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

Judaism marked the beginning of a revolutionary idea that laid the groundwork for social reform: humans have the ability and therefore the responsibility to stop injustices in the world. The Jews were the first to decide that it was their responsibility as the Chosen People to fight against inequality in the world. This mentality revolutionized social reform and brought it into existence as a way for human beings to positively shape their world. The ideas laid by the Jews continued to impact people for centuries and are especially relevant …

Direct Adaptive Control For Stability And Command Augmentation System Of An Air-Breathing Hypersonic Vehicle, Ron Aditya

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In this paper we explore a Direct Adaptive Control scheme for stabilizing a non-linear, physics based model of the longitudinal dynamics for an air breathing hypersonic vehicle. The model, derived from first principles, captures the complex interactions between the propulsion system, aerodynamics, and structural dynamics. The linearized aircraft dynamics show unstable and non-minimum phase behavior. It also shows a strong short period coupling with the fuselage-bending mode. The value added by direct adaptive control and the theoretical requirements for stable convergent operation is displayed. One of the main benefits of the Directive Adaptive Control is that it can be implemented …

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2015 Report & Evaluation, Massachusetts Office Of Public Collaboration, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC, originally known as the Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution), the statutory state dispute resolution agency and an applied research center of the McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Boston, has administered the Community Mediation Center Grant Program (the CMC Grant Program or grant program) under G.L. Ch. 75, §47 since July 2012. The grant program provides state operational funding to qualified community mediation centers. The program goal is to advance the mission of community mediation as a cost-effective public service that increases access to justice for Massachusetts citizens, particularly for low …

Bimetallic-Waveguide Coupled Sensors For Tunable Plasmonic Devices, Kunal K. Tiwari

Physics Dissertations - Archive

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been a widely used optical technique for the real time and label free sensing applications in biomedicine, homeland security, food safety, environmental monitoring, etc. Surface plasmons (SPs) being extremely sensitive to the surrounding media, their characteristics can be modulated by tuning their dielectric environment. The unique property of the nematic liquid crystalline materials that their dielectric constant can be tuned by externally applied electric fields formed the basis for development of tunable plasmonic sensor for monitoring changes at metal/dielectric interfaces. Even though sensors with high sensitivity are available, it remains highly desirable to enhance sensor …

Validation Of The Global Distribution Of Co2 Volume Mixing Ratio In The Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere From Saber, L. Rezac, Y. Jian, J. Yue, J. M. Russell Iii, A. Kutepov, R. Garcia, K. Walker, P. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument on board the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics satellite has been measuring the limb radiance in 10 broadband infrared channels over the altitude range from ~ 400 km to the Earth's surface since 2002. The kinetic temperatures and CO₂ volume mixing ratios (VMRs) in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere have been simultaneously retrieved using SABER limb radiances at 15 and 4.3 μm under nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) conditions. This paper presents results of a validation study of the SABER CO₂ VMRs obtained with a two-channel, self-consistent …

Racism At Home And Abroad: Thoughts From A Christian Ethicist, Michael Jones

Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this article Christian ethicist Michael S. Jones introduces the work of Princeton University ethicist Thomas Pogge on the areas of global poverty and global justice. He then applies Pogge’s ideas to an ethical issue of continuing importance: racism. He discusses the history of racism in the United States and Romania, pointing out numerous parallels both historical and contemporary. He then discusses the appropriate attitude for Christians to adopt on the issue, arguing that while Christian sources are not univocal on the subject, there is an egalitarianism at the heart of Christianity that rules out racism as a Christian attitude. …

Fyla Newsletter, Issue 4, December 2015, Oberlin College Libraries

Notes from your First Year Library Advisor

No abstract provided.

How Mental Health, Sojourner Adjustment, And Drinking Motives Impact Alcohol-Related Consequences For College Students Studying Abroad, Laura Kay Thompson

Dissertations - ALL

The topic of college student drinking has been widely addressed in the literature. Traditional-aged college students are considered to be an at-risk population in terms of the problematic use of alcohol, putting them at risk for a wide range of negative consequences. College students who study abroad are a sub-group of students who may be vulnerable to increased alcohol-related consequences due to variables associated with being in an unfamiliar environment where alcohol is often more accessible. While previous studies have explored the impact that a range of factors has on alcohol-related consequences for students abroad, none has examined the impact …

Genetic Dissection Of Disease Resistance To The Blue Mold Pathogen, Peronospora Tabacina, In Tobacco, Xia Wu, Dandan Li, Yinguang Bao, David Zaitlin, Robert D. Miller, Shengming Yang

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Tobacco blue mold, caused by the obligately biotrophic oomycete pathogen Peronospora tabacina D.B. Adam, is a major foliar disease that results in significant losses in tobacco-growing areas. Natural resistance to P. tabacina has not been identified in any variety of common tobacco. Complete resistance, conferred by RBM1, was found in N. debneyi and was transferred into cultivated tobacco by crossing. In the present study, we characterized the RBM1-mediated resistance to blue mold in tobacco and show that the hypersensitive response (HR) plays an important role in the host defense reactions. Genetic mapping indicated that the disease resistance …

The Effects Of “Handwriting Without Tears®” On The Handwriting Skills Of Appropriate Size, Form, And Tool For A Four Year-Old Boy With A Developmental Delay, Colleen Meyers, T.F. Mclaughlin, Mark Derby, Kimberly P. Weber, Milena Robison

The Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship

The ability to write one’s own name legibly is a critical lifelong skill for academic success. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of the Handwriting Without Tears® program on teaching a four year-old how to write his first name using proper size, form, and tool. The participant was a four year-old boy in a self-contained preschool setting. A multiple baseline design across letters was employed. The overall outcomes indicated improvement through the use of Handwriting without Tears® materials. The participant enjoyed the procedure and improved his academic skills.

Choosing Progress: Evaluating The "Salesmanship" Of The Vietnam War In 1967, Gregory A. Daddis

History Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"As the president and his war managers increasingly saw Vietnam as a 'race between accomplishment and patience,' publicizing progress became an integral part of the war. Yet far from a unique case of bureaucratic dishonesty, the 1967 salesmanship campaign demonstrates the reality, even necessity, of conversation gaps when one is assessing progress in wars where the military struggle abroad matters less than the political one at home."

Data In Support Of Ubsrd: The Ubiquitin Structural Relational Database, Joseph S. Harrison, Tim M. Jacobs, Kevin Houlihan, Koenraad Van Doorslaer, Brian Kuhlman

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

This article provides information to support the database article titled "UbSRD: The Ubiquitin Structural Relational Database" (Harrison et al., 2015) [1] . The ubiquitin-like homology fold (UBL) represents a large family that encompasses both post-translational modifications, like ubiquitin (UBQ) and SUMO, and functional domains on many biologically important proteins like Parkin, UHRF1 (ubiquitin-like with PDB and RING finger domains-1), and Usp7 (ubiquitin-specific protease-7) (Zhang et al., 2015; Rothbart et al., 2013; Burroughs et al., 2012; Wauer et al., 2015) [2], [3], [4], [5]. The UBL domain can participate in several unique protein-protein interactions (PPI) since protein adducts can be attached …

Nanoparticle Conversion To Biofilms: In Vitro Demonstration Using Serum-Derived Mineralo-Organic Nanoparticles, Tsui-Yin Wong, Hsin-Hsin Peng, Cheng-Yeu Wu, Jan Martel, David M. Ojcius, Fu-Yung Hsu, John Ding-E. Young

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Aims: Mineralo-organic nanoparticles (NPs) detected in biological fluids have been described as precursors of physiological and pathological calcifications in the body. Our main objective was to examine the early stages of mineral NP formation in body fluids. Materials & methods: A nanomaterial approach based on atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering, electron microscopy and spectroscopy was used. Results: The mineral particles, which contain the serum proteins albumin and fetuin-A, initially precipitate in the form of round amorphous NPs that gradually grow in size, aggregate and coalesce to form crystalline mineral films similar to the structures observed in calcified human arteries. …