Digital Commons Network^™

No.38 - December 2016, Center Of Civil Law Studies

The Center of Civil Law Studies Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Prison Stories: A Qualitative Study Of Women’S Experiences In Prison, Lizeth Chapa

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study to provide a meaningful profile of women offenders that will deliver a comprehensive understanding on the problems women face while in prison so that treatment can address these issues. Qualitative methodology, specifically the use of an open-ended questionnaire is used to examine the lives and issues that women in prison face. The sample consists of females who have previously been incarcerated in the state of Texas. They completed a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire in order to assess their perceptions of: (a) factors that contributed to their criminal behaviors, (b) how being incarcerated has positively or negatively …

Possible Past Hybridization Among Desmognathus Ochrophaeus In Canadice Lake: An Ecological Survey Exploring Desmognathine Salamanders And The Competitive Exclusion Hypothesis In The Western Finger Lakes Of New York State, Aisha L. Gadson

Theses

Dusky Salamanders are a varied group of sister taxa found in Northeastern North America. Two species, Desmognathus fuscus and Desmognathus ochrophaeus, have geographically overlapping ranges. In addition, they are very morphologically similar, share many niche requirements, and are found in extremely similar or even the same salamander communities. These shared traits have been posited to arise from the influence of niche conservatism during their species’ evolutions. Also, despite their physical similarities they are historically found not to hybridize on a large scale, nor have ever had a full population merge recorded. Therefore, it appears that the community ecology of these …

Investigation Into The Ecological And Toxicological Constraints On A Population Of Lesser Flamingos (Phoeniconaias Minor) At Kamfers Dam In Kimberley, South Africa, Lindsay Hill

All Dissertations

This study investigates the threats to a breeding population of lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) at Kamfers Dam in Kimberley, South Africa. The main threats include water quality/quantity, algal food source abundance and exposure to contaminants accumulating in the dam. Water quality testing and analysis of historical water quality reports were used to analyze the effects of the physical and chemical parameters on the algal assemblage at Kamfers Dam and determine if changes in the water quality could predict changes in the algal assemblage. Arthrospira fusiformis, the flamingos preferred food, was positively correlated with conductivity, total dissolved salts …

Using Technology To Facilitate Modeling-Based Science Education: Lessons Learned From A Meta-Analysis Of Empirical Research, Jing Lei, Patrick Heng Luo, Qiu Wang, Ji Shen, Sunghye Lee, Ye Chen

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This study focused on the integration of technologies in regular science teaching within the pedagogical framework of modeling-based instruction (MBI), a well-established instructional method in science education, and aimed to identify new trends of technology integration in MBI, explore the particular features (Interactivity, Collaboration, and Scaffolding) and affordances of new technologies, and examine the effect of technology-supported MBI on students learning outcomes. By analyzing empirical MBI studies from 2000 to 2010 through a meta-analysis and qualitatively reviewing studies from 2011-2016, this study shared three major findings: (1) computer-based software was the most commonly used technology in MBI, with Internet and …

Behind The Curtain: Fetishism And The Production Of Virtual Reality Treatment For Ptsd, Janice Haaken, Mariel Stadick

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Virtual Iraq/Afghanistan, a virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy designed for the treatment of combat-related PTSD, has generated wide public interest in the wake of growing concerns over mental health problems among service members. Enlisting concepts from the fields of cultural studies and psychoanalytic film criticism, the paper interprets the VR therapy program as a form of technology fetishism within the expanding apparatus of military mental health operations. Even as the program seeks to expose the “invisible wounds of war,” the stories produced through this use of visual culture conform closely to hegemonic military accounts of the psychological effects of combat.

Teaching Science Vocabulary With Children’S Literature: The World Of Words Program, Asha M. Epp

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to investigate how to build academic vocabulary across the science content area. With the use of the children’s literature based program, World of Words by Dr. Susan B. Neuman, the study seeks to gain a better understanding and evaluate best practice in explicit vocabulary instruction. The program focuses on teaching science vocabulary through explicit direct instruction of terms and using literature as an application support. Students’ growth was evaluated by a pre and post assessment after the instructed unit.

Humorous Field - Field To Humour = 幽默地誌 - 地致幽默, Kwok Kin So

Artists-in-Residence Programme : Exhibition Catalogues

This is an experiment in spatial humour, and this assumption of humour can be applied to any urban space. Since this project starts with Lingnan University’s support of its Artist-in-Residence Program, it would seem appropriate to base the experiment around the university campus. Two straight lines were laid on the map of Tuen Mun. The lines extend to East-West through the ridge. The line to the South stretches across the valley and ends on the South coast. Two transects span a wide variety spaces and urban life in Tuen Mun. They would become the premises of this experiment. Exploring the …

Campaign 9 Of The K2 Mission: Observational Parameters, Scientific Drivers, And Community Involvement For A Simultaneous Space-And Ground-Based Microlensing Survey, Calen B. Henderson, Radosław Poleski, Matthew Penny, Rachel A. Street, David P. Bennett, David W. Hogg, B. Scott Gaudi, W. Zhu, T. Barclay, G. Barentsen, S. B. Howell, F. Mullally, A. Udalski, M. K. Szymański, J. Skowron, P. Mróz, S. Kozłowski, Wyrzykowski, P. Pietrukowicz, I. Soszyński, K. Ulaczyk, M. Pawlak, T. Sumi, F. Abe, Y. Asakura, R. K. Barry, A. Bhattacharya, I. A. Bond, M. Donachie, M. Freeman, A. Fukui, Y. Hirao, Y. Itow

Faculty Publications

K2ʼs Campaign 9 (K2C9) will conduct a ∼3.7 deg2 survey toward the Galactic bulge from 2016 April 22 through July 2 that will leverage the spatial separation between K2 and the Earth to facilitate measurement of the microlens parallax πE for ≳170 microlensing events. These will include several that are planetary in nature as well as many short-timescale microlensing events, which are potentially indicative of free-floating planets (FFPs). These satellite parallax measurements will in turn allow for the direct measurement of the masses of and distances to the lensing systems. In this article we provide an overview of the K2C9 …

Evolutionary Innovation And Diversification Of Carotenoid-Based Pigmentation In Finches, Russell A. Ligon, Richard K. Simpson, Nicholas A. Mason, Geoffrey E. Hill, Kevin J. Mcgraw

Faculty Publications

© 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution. The ornaments used by animals to mediate social interactions are diverse, and by reconstructing their evolutionary pathways we can gain new insights into the mechanisms underlying ornamental innovation and variability. Here, we examine variation in plumage carotenoids among the true finches (Aves: Fringillidae) using biochemical and comparative phylogenetic analyses to reconstruct the evolutionary history of carotenoid states and evaluate competing models of carotenoid evolution. Our comparative analyses reveal that the most likely ancestor of finches used dietary carotenoids as yellow plumage colorants, and that the ability …

Sequence Capture And Next-Generation Sequencing Of Ultraconserved Elements In A Large-Genome Salamander, Catherine E. Newman, Christopher C. Austin

Faculty Publications

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Amidst the rapid advancement in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology over the last few years, salamanders have been left behind. Salamanders have enormous genomes—up to 40 times the size of the human genome—and this poses challenges to generating NGS data sets of quality and quantity similar to those of other vertebrates. However, optimization of laboratory protocols is time-consuming and often cost prohibitive, and continued omission of salamanders from novel phylogeographic research is detrimental to species facing decline. Here, we use a salamander endemic to the southeastern United States, Plethodon serratus, to test the utility …

Habitat Use By Two Extremophile, Highly Endemic, And Critically Endangered Fish Species (Gambusia Eurystoma And Poecilia Sulphuraria; Poeciliidae), Zachary W. Culumber, Garrett W. Hopper, Nicholas Barts, Courtney N. Passow, Samuel Morgan, Anthony Brown, Lenin Arias-Rodriguez, Michael Tobler

Faculty Publications

Effective conservation measures for endangered species require basic knowledge of habitat use and critical environmental variables influencing the species' occurrence. However, setting priorities may be difficult when multiple endangered species inhabit the same area and differ in habitat use. This study characterized the physical and chemical environment at 30 sites along a 2.5 km stretch of stream associated with the Baños del Azufre hydrogen sulphide spring complex, home to the only population of the widemouth gambusia (Gambusia eurystoma) in existence. Also present in the spring is Poecilia sulphuraria, a narrowly endemic and endangered species known from only a few populations. …

Tlr8 Couples Socs-1 And Restrains Tlr7-Mediated Antiviral Immunity, Exacerbating West Nile Virus Infection In Mice, Amber M. Paul, Dhiraj Acharya, Linda Le, Penghua Wang, Dobrivoje S. Stokic, A. Arturo Leis, Lena Alexopoulou, Terrence Town, Richard A. Flavell, Erol Fikrig, Fengwei Bai

Faculty Publications

West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic ssRNA flavivirus that can cause encephalitis, meningitis, and death in humans and mice. Human TLR7 and TLR8 and mouse TLR7 recognize viral ssRNA motifs and induce antiviral immunity. However, the role of mouse TLR8 in antiviral immunity is poorly understood. In this article, we report that TLR8-deficient (Tlr8−/−) mice were resistant to WNV infection compared with wild-type controls. Efficient WNV clearance and moderate susceptibility to WNV-mediated neuronal death in Tlr8−/− mice were attributed to overexpression of Tlr7and IFN-stimulated gene-56 expression, whereas reduced expression of the proapoptotic gene coding Bcl2-associated X protein was observed. …

Art Beyond The Object? Art Beyond Grad School? (A Kickstarter Fundraiser): Help Me Complete My Mfa And Kickstart My Life As An Artist., Hsini D. Leary

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this paper and Kickstarter project is to enable the production of my last semester’s work and thesis exhibition, and also to aid in the post-graduation transition to a sustainable art practice that does not rely on the current gallery structure.

Und Today: December 2016, University Of North Dakota

UND Today Archive

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of The Attributional Dimensions Of Emotional Differentiation On Attributional Dimensions Of Technology Readiness For Orthotic And Prosthetic Clinicians, Gerald E. Stark

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Some individuals and groups seem to adopt emerging ideas and innovations more readily than others. Since any emerging innovation or technology inherently comes with a higher degree of uncertainty and risk, the group or individual must deal with the anxiety created by innovative behavior. Individuals who are less anxious and risk averse may tend to adopt innovations more easily than others. Within any social group, individuals can be classified into adopter categories based on their rate of adoption and capacity for risk and anxiety. Individuals who are more susceptible to anxiety in general, may seek the emotional scaffolding of their …

The Spatial Ecology Of The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene Carolina Carolina) In A Fragmented Landscape In Southeast Tennessee, Hamilton County, Mark Dillard

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The landscape throughout the range of the Eastern Box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) has been altered significantly since the late 1880s by habitat fragmentation. In this study, the spatial ecology and seasonal movement patterns of the Eastern Box turtle in contrasting habitat types are investigated. Eastern Box turtles had home ranges that averaged (mean = 3.77 ± 2.82 ha, minimum convex polygon) in size among individuals. There was no significant difference between mean annual home range size and movement patterns between males and females; however, home range size for male turtles was larger during the summer versus spring activity season …

Chloroplast Dna Phylogenetics Of The North American Chestnuts And Chinquapins (Castanea Mill., Fagaceae), Matthew T. Perkins

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Evolutionary relationships and genetic structure of the North American Castanea were investigated using chloroplast DNA sequence data. Six plastome loci were PCR-amplified and sequenced in 77 accessions representing the three currently recognized North American Castanea species. Diagnostic morphological character states and a unique haplotype were shared among C. pumila and a plant tentatively identified as C. dentata in one sympatric site, suggesting past hybridization and chloroplast capture. Surprisingly, the cpDNA phylogeny did not agree with previous taxonomic treatments. The inability to distinguish between deep coalescence and interspecific hybridization as the causes of haplotype sharing makes phylogenetic reconstruction of the North …

The Crisis At Fort Sumter: The Symbolic Monument That Transformed Northern And Southern Opinions During The Start Of The Civil War, Olivia C. Cabanban

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Understanding the complexity of the Battle at Fort Sumter and the changing opinions of Northerners and Southerners acts as means of delving into the deeper roots of slavery, secession, and national discourse that laced our nation’s undeniable history. The first firings at Fort Sumter were the flashpoint of the entirety of the Civil War, triggering the four years of battle, death, destruction, and competing nationalisms that ensued between the North and South. Because the histories of the war—more specifically the battle of Fort Sumter—are biased because they are written from points of views laced with Confederate and Unionist undertones, comprehending …

Today - November / December 2016, Loma Linda University Health

TODAY

Inside this issue:

-- LLU Children's Hospital to open pediatric specialty clinic in Indio
-- Wil Alexander remembered: A trailblazer in whole person care
-- Surgical Hospital earns prestigious national award for excellence
-- School of Medicine receives top national ranking for graduates entering family medicine residencies
-- Community event focuses on healing
-- ‘San Bernardino Strong’ kicks off third season of ‘Life on the Line’
-- Allied Health students learn true meaning of service-learning
-- Law enforcement visits campus for a good cause
-- A heartfelt return to Loma Linda Former
-- Regional economist says Loma Linda University Health …

Multimedia Techniques For Construction Education And Training, Wayne A. Bunnell

Open Access Theses

The current profession of civil engineering often focuses education and training on code compliance rather than constructability and construction techniques. Also, it is well accepted that it takes a decade or more for engineers to develop a high-level project construction understanding and many state departments of transportation rely on in-field training for entry-level inspectors, with little or no education provisions for contractors. This research investigated the use of time-lapse photography to develop training and education material that will improve the understanding of project construction and crucial quality control specifications of an entry-level engineer, contractor, or inspector. Overall, the project team …

Prevalence And Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns Of Salmonella Isolated From Poultry Farms, Carmen G. Velasquez Moreno

Open Access Theses

Antimicrobial agents are used in human medicine to treat infections by inhibiting the growth of bacteria. The same or similar drugs are used in in food-producing animals for therapeutic and sub-therapeutic purposes. Antimicrobial resistant bacteria that develop on farms are a public health risk as these organisms may contribute to treatment failures in infected humans. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Salmonella isolated from poultry farms in two different seasons to evaluate the effect of recommended biosecurity practices. Specifically, we identified Salmonella serotypes, measured antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and characterized AMR patterns. We hypothesized that …

Antibacterial Activity Of Essential Oil Encapsulated Sodium Iota-Carrageenan Fibers, Carlos D. Carter

Open Access Theses

Spoilage microorganisms cause food waste and loss of quality. While the foodborne pathogen outbreaks lead to thousands of hospitalizations and deaths. Essential oils (EOs), plant extracts, possess the required antimicrobial activities and thus their usage stands out as a feasible approach for controlling the undesirable bacterial growth in food systems. However, EOs are highly volatile and lose their activity upon exposure to environmental conditions. In this regard, their encapsulation in Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) matrices such as food grade polysaccharides especially iota-carrageenan could be one of the viable alternatives. Iota-carrageenan, sulfated polysaccharide from marine algae, is being used in …

Investigation Of Ambient Seismic Noise Using Seismic Interferometry In The Midwestern United States, Joshua Dakota Boschelli

Open Access Theses

The portion of the North American craton occupied by the Midwestern United States is a cratonic platform, where a veneer of Phanerozoic sedimentary strata buries the Precambrian basement up to 7 km. Due to the sediment cover and low topographic relief, the at depth structure of the region remains poorly understood. This region is of particular interest because over the past half-billion years tectonic forces have resulted in the formation of epeirogenic provinces in a stable cratonic interior. Using the OIINK flexible seismic array and the Earthscope Transportable Array, Ambient Seismic Noise Tomography was applied to investigate the crustal structure …

Lightcraft Previzion In Distance Education, Perry L. Cox

Open Access Theses

Visual Effects has continued to progress at an astonishing rate and green screen technology can be seen in all aspects of the video industry from Hollywood blockbusters down to training videos and distance education.

As video technology has increased, so has the quality and capability of distance education. Purdue University has set itself to be at the forefront of distance education. This study looked to evaluate Purdue's investment in the Lightcraft Technology's Previzion system and its impact on distance education at Purdue. There were 65 initial participants and this study compared the impact of two separate videos on their learning. …

Tangible Interaction As An Aid For Object Navigation In 3d Modeling, Sanmathi Dangeti

Open Access Theses

This study introduced an interaction technique that used tangible interaction for 3D modeling. A hybrid interaction technique using a Kinect camera and a smartphone with a gyroscope was developed for the navigating objects in a 3D modeling software. It was then tested on 20 participants categorized as amateurs who had basic 3D/ CAD modeling experience and 20 participants categorized as the experts who had extensive experience working with the modeling software. This research study presents the need for existence of such interaction technique, gaps from the related previous studies, statistical findings from the current study and possible reasons for the …

Mitigating Conflict: A Human Dimensions Analysis Of Mesopredators And Their Management, Zoe Elizabeth Glas

Open Access Theses

Recent research on species that are both uncommon and unfamiliar to the public has shown that wildlife value theory may not be applicable to the management of all species. This stands in contrast to studies on charismatic megafauna like deer, bear and elk, in which wildlife value orientations could be used to predict the acceptability of various management actions. To further evaluate this phenomena, this study presents the findings of a survey of Indiana residents evaluating 1) the applicability of wildlife value theory to mesopredators, which are common and well known, but not charismatic megafauna, and 2) factors that may …

Design And Plan Of A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container For Research, John A. Houtman

Open Access Theses

As the world’s population continues to increase, food production will need to increase in order to meet the predicted rise in food demand. However, with increased pressure on cropland available from environmental effects and urbanization, new innovative methods of crop production need to be researched in order to increase agricultural production with limited land. This research focuses on the design of a single form of urban agriculture that is considered Zfarming and has the potential to produce quality urban agricultural produce through ground-based measures. This project produced detailed step-by-step analysis of the design process, develop variability within the modified hydroponic …

Improving A Mesh Segmentation Algorithm Based On Non-Negative Matrix Factorization, Jisun Kang

Open Access Theses

3D Mesh segmentation is used in various applications such as object recognition, reconstruction, and analyzing structure of meshes. The method for 3D mesh segmentation based on sparse non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) was previously proposed. It represents a novel, and conceptually simpler, method than other comparable algorithms. However, this method still has potential to improve performance, results could have better consistency and uniqueness with faster computation time than the prior proposed algorithm. This study introduced several approaches to enhance the performance of the algorithm comprehensively: applying dierent update rule and initialization of factor matrices, and imposing sparseness to the factor matrices …

The Impact Of Tickling Rats On Human-Animal Interactions And Rat Welfare, Megan Renee Lafollette

Open Access Theses

Rats initially fear humans which can lead to negative affect, poor welfare, and difficult handling. Also, modeling and measuring positive affect states in rats can pose an additional challenge. Heterospecific play, or “tickling,” is a handling habituation technique that mimics rat rough-and-tumble play that is being used to study positive affect. It can also be used to reduce fear of human, improve welfare, and elicit a positive affect state. However, current studies implementing the technique in laboratory rats use a wide variety of protocols to achieve differential results. Unlike in laboratory environment, pet store rats experience high levels of novelty …