Digital Commons Network^™

From Novice To Independent Researcher: A Content Analysis Of Phd Student Blogs, Sarah J. Cox

Dissertations

The work of completing a PhD is complex, requiring a student to make sense of many uncertain processes in multiple contexts as they move toward independent scholarship. A setting that provides support in learning the tasks of PhD-related work is the informal learning environment of the Internet. Social media sites, such as blogs and wikis, supply a vast number of resources related to PhD work. Of particular interest to this study, are blog sites maintained by students who are sharing practices related to PhD work. It is possible to use a qualitative method to explore what blogs show us about …

Advancing Evaluation In Community Colleges: A Mixed Methods Case Study Of Outcomes-Based Assessment Training In Student Affairs, Tammy L. Russell

Dissertations

Many student affairs departments struggle to contribute to an institution’s evidence base of student learning. In part, this results from student affairs personnel not having adequate training in how to assess learning outside the classroom. This is a particular challenge for small community colleges, in which individual units (e.g., admissions or financial aid) may have only one or two employees. Failure to assess co-curricular learning poses challenges to institutions in meeting accreditation standards, placing them at risk for increased scrutiny and loss of state funding under a performance-based system. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to use a …

An Investigation Of Perceived Principal Stress And Its Impact On Principals In Southwest Georgia, Dorothy Young Ingram

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine to what extent southwest Georgia principals perceive they are stressed, identify principal stressors and how the stressors impact the principals’ work. Principals are leaders of school building who are experiencing increased stress. Therefore; it is important to understand what causes principal stress as well as how the stressors impact principal work. Principals are expected to maintain building safety, student safety, student achievement, retention of quality teachers, as well as act as instructional leaders. The mixed method study of public elementary school principals was conducted in four southwest Georgia school districts. The researcher …

Ground-Penetrating Radar Water Content Mapping Of Golf Course Green Sand Layers, Barry J. Allred, Robert S. Freeland, Katherine R. Grote, Edward L. Mccoy, Luis R. Martinez, Debra L. Gamble

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Information on the spatial distribution of water content across the sand layer component of a golf course green can be important to golf course superintendents for evaluating drainage effectiveness and scheduling irrigation. To estimate the bulk volumetric water content of the sand layer at point locations across the green, a technique was developed that combined (1) depth (or thickness) of the sand layer measured with a steel shaft tile probe, (2) radar signal two-way travel time from the base of the sand layer obtained using a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system with 900 MHz antennas, and (3) an empirical equation relating …

“Hello…It’S Me. [Please Don’T Sue Me!]” Examining The Fcc’S Overbroad Calling Regulations Under The Tcpa, Marissa A. Potts

Brooklyn Law Review

Americans have received unwanted telemarketing calls for decades. In response to a rapid increase in pre-recorded calls made using autodialer devices, Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1992. The TCPA imposes restrictions on calls made to consumers’ residences and wireless phones using autodialer devices, even if they are not telemarketing calls. Congress appointed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prescribe rules and regulations to enforce the TCPA. In 2015, the FCC released an order that defined autodialer more broadly under the statute. Consequently, devices that have the potential to become autodialers in the future, even if they …

Dashboard Compliance: Benefit, Threat, Or Both?, James Fanto

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

This Article poses the basic question that is reflected in its title and that was the subject of the conference where the Article was initially presented: whether technology poses any threats to the mission of compliance and the position of compliance officers, whether it is just another useful tool for them, or whether it is something of both. It begins by explaining the origin of compliance in broker-dealers and investment advisers and its important current position in those firms. It then discusses why compliance officers have always been drawn to technology, particularly to keep up with the business sides of …

Mandatory Third Party Compliance Examinations For Investment Advisers: An Sec Waterloo?, Mercer Bullard

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) appears to be on the verge of requiring investment advisers to undergo third party examinations. One justification for the rulemaking is that the Commission lacks sufficient resources to examine advisers frequently enough. Another is to create indirectly a self-regulatory organization (SRO) for investments advisers. Both may leave a rulemaking particularly vulnerable to challenge as arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedures Act. This Article considers three novel grounds on which a rulemaking may be successfully challenged. Congress has repeatedly rejected SEC requests to provide additional funding for examinations or to create an …

The Question Concerning Technology In Compliance, Sean J. Griffith

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

In this symposium Essay, I apply insights from philosophy and psychology to argue that modes of achieving compliance that focus on technology undermine, and are undermined by, modes of achieving compliance that focus on culture. Insisting on both may mean succeeding at neither. How an organization resolves this apparent contradiction in program design, like the broader question of optimal corporate governance arrangements, is highly idiosyncratic. Firms should therefore be accorded maximum freedom in designing their compliance programs, rather than being forced by enforcement authorities into a set of de facto mandatory compliance structures.

Like A Bad Neighbor, Hackers Are There: The Need For Data Security Legislation And Cyber Insurance In Light Of Increasing Ftc Enforcement Actions, Jennifer Gordon

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Privacy has come to the forefront of the technology world as third party hackers are constantly attacking companies for their customers’ data. With increasing instances of compromised customer information, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been bringing suit against companies for inadequate data security procedures. The FTC’s newfound authority to bring suit regarding cybersecurity breaches, based on the Third Circuit’s decision in FTC v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp., is a result of inaction—Congress has been unable to pass sufficient cybersecurity legislation, causing the FTC to step in and fill the void in regulation. In the absence of congressional action, this self-proclaimed …

The Cybersecurity Threat: Compliance And The Role Of Whistleblowers, Jennifer M. Pacella

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

In today’s technologically dependent world, concerns about cybersecurity, data breaches, and compromised personal information infiltrate the news almost daily. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently emerged as a regulator that is keenly focused on cybersecurity, specifically with respect to encouraging disclosures in this arena by regulated entities. Although the SEC has issued non-binding “guidance” to help companies navigate their reporting obligations in this sector, the agency lacks binding cybersecurity disclosure regulations as they pertain generally to public companies. Given that the SEC has already relied on such guidance in threatening enforcement actions, reporting companies are increasingly pressured for …

Preserving Human Agency In Automated Compliance, Onnig H. Dombalagian

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

As technology transforms financial services, so too must it transform the regulation of financial markets and intermediaries. The imperative of real-time, prophylactic regulation increasingly compels reallocation of regulatory and compliance budgets to surveillance and enforcement technology. At the same time, in light of the well-known weaknesses of automated systems, securities firms (and their regulators) must temper investment in automation with efforts to augment the agency of compliance professionals. This symposium contribution considers how investment in the professional development of compliance personnel can better integrate automated tools within established compliance and supervisory structures and thereby advance regulatory and operational objectives.

Compliance, Technology, And Modern Finance, Tom C.W. Lin

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

An important transformation is happening in the financial industry. The rise of new technology and compliance has dramatically altered many of the key functions and functionaries of modern finance. Artificial intelligence, algorithmic programs, and supercomputers, instead of human actors, now constitute the core of many financial operations. Compliance officers have become just as critical to financial institutions as traders, bankers, and analysts. Finance as we knew it has changed and continues to change. This symposium Article offers a studied commentary on these unfolding changes, the crosscutting developments in compliance, technology, and modern finance. It examines the concurrent and intersecting ascents …

Maguk Scaffolds Organize A Key Synaptic Complex In Horizontal Cell Processes Contacting Photoreceptors, Alejandro Vila, Ph.D.

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Synaptic processes and plasticity of synapses are mediated by large suites of proteins. In most cases, many of these proteins are tethered together by synaptic scaffold proteins. Scaffold proteins have a large number and typically a variety of protein interaction domains that allow many different proteins to be assembled into functional complexes. As each scaffold protein has a different set of protein interaction domains and a unique set of interacting partners, the presence of synaptic scaffolds can provide insight into the molecular mechanisms that regulate synaptic processes. In studies of rabbit retina, we found SAP102 and Chapsyn110 selectively localized in …

The Role Of Phosphorylation In Pam2 Motif-Containing Proteins Mediated Messenger Rna Deadenylation, Kai-Lieh Huang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Phosphorylation regulates many cellular processes. However, its role in mRNA deadenylation, a process to remove poly adenosines from the mature mRNA 3’ end tail, is unclear. The length of poly(A) tail determines mRNA stability and translation efficiency. Poly(A)-binding protein (PABP), which binds to newly synthesized poly(A) tails homogeneously and is known as a scaffold protein for PAM2 motif-containing proteins, plays a pivotal role in the shortening of poly (A) tails. This study is to examine the role of phosphorylation of PAM2 motif–containing proteins in regulating their interactions with PABP and mRNA deadenylation function.

The PAM2 motif, a region required for …

Characterization Of Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 And Its Role In Parkinson's Disease Pathogenesis Using Drosophila, Antonio Joel Tito Jr., Sheng Zhang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by the selective loss of the dopaminergic neurons in the Substantia nigra pars compacta region of the brain. PD is also the most common neurodegenerative disorder and the second most common movement disorder. PD patients exhibit the cardinal symptoms, including tremor of the extremities, rigidity, slowness of movement, and postural instability, after 70-80% of DA neurons degenerate. It is, therefore, imperative to elucidate the underlying mechanisms involved in the selective degeneration of DA neurons. Although increasing numbers of PD genes have been identified, why these largely widely expressed genes induce …

Organ Specific Vascular Response To Fibrosis Affects Breast Cancer Metastatic Organotropism, Eliot S. Fletcher, Eliot S. Fletcher

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The solid tumor microenvironment, pre-metastatic niche, and fibrotic environment are known to have significant biochemical and biomechanical similarities to the fibrotic environment. All have significantly increased levels of factors such as TGFβ, HIF1α, TNFα, PDGF, VEGF, FGF, interleukins and other growth factors that are known to be pro-tumorigenic. Clinical and basic science research has shown that fibrosis presents an environment that favors tumor growth, such as hepatocellular carcinoma being commonly preceded by liver cirrhosis, or bleomycin induced lung fibrosis enhancing pulmonary metastasis in mouse models of breast cancer. In addition to the evidence indicating that fibrosis enhances primary tumor growth …

Microenvironment-Induced Pten Loss By Exosomal Microrna Primes Brain Metastasis Outgrowth, Lin Zhang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Development of life-threatening cancer metastases at distant organs requires disseminated tumor cells’ adaptation to and co-evolution with the drastically different microenvironments of metastatic sites. Cancer cells of common origin manifest distinct gene expression patterns after metastasizing to different organs. Clearly, the dynamic interplay between metastatic tumor cells and extrinsic signals at individual metastatic organ sites critically impacts the subsequent metastatic outgrowth. Yet, it is unclear when and how disseminated tumor cells acquire the essential traits from the microenvironment of metastatic organs that prime their subsequent outgrowth. Here we show that primary tumor cells with normal expression of PTEN, an important …

Investigation Of Radiation Injury In The Esophagus From Definitive Chemoradiation Therapy Using Novel Imaging Biomarkers, Joshua S. Niedzielski

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Radiation injury in the esophagus occurs with high frequency from the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Radiation esophagitis is an acute normal tissue toxicity that negatively affects treatment efficacy by limiting dose and potentially interrupting radiation therapy. Clinical quantification of this toxicity is typically achieved by utilizing physician grading scales, assigning complication severity on an ordinal scale of symptom presentation and/or physician chosen interventions. These criteria are subjective in nature, both from the physician assigning the grade and the patient reporting the symptom. Furthermore, radiation therapy planning guidelines for the esophagus are derived from toxicity prediction models utilizing …

Cellular And Genetic Bases Of Cold Nociception And Nociceptive Sensitization In Drosophila Larvae, Heather N. Turner

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Organisms from flies to mammals utilize thermoreceptors to detect and respond to noxious thermal stimuli. Although much is understood about noxious heat avoidance, our understanding of the basic biology of noxious cold perception is gravely minimal. Numerous clinical conditions disrupt the sensory machinery, such as in patients suffering from tissue damage (from wound or sunburn), or injury to the peripheral nerves, as in patients with diabetes or undergoing chemotherapy. Our goal is to determine the genetic basis for noxious cold perception and injury-induced nociceptive sensitization using the genetically tractable Drosophila model. Using a novel "cold probe" tool and assay we …

Assessing The Potential Clinical Impact Of Variable Biological Effectiveness In Proton Radiotherapy, Christopher R. Peeler Ph.D.

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

It has long been known that proton radiotherapy has an increased biological effectiveness compared to traditional x-ray radiotherapy. This arises from the clustered nature of DNA damage produced by the energy deposition of protons along their tracks in medium. This effect is currently quantified in clinical settings by assigning protons a relative biological effectiveness (RBE) value of 1.1 corresponding to 10% increased effectiveness compared to photon radiation. Numerous studies have shown, however, that the RBE value of protons is variable and can deviate substantially from 1.1, but experimental data on RBE and clinical evidence of its variability remains limited.

The …

Policing As Administration, Christopher Slobogin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Police agencies should be governed by the same administrative principles that govern other agencies. This simple precept would have significant implications for regulation of police work, in particular the type of suspicionless, group searches and seizures that have been the subject of the Supreme Court's special needs jurisprudence (practices that this Article calls "panvasive"). Under administrative law principles, when police agencies create statute-like policies that are aimed at largely innocent categories of actors-as they do when administering roadblocks, inspection regimes, drug testing programs, DNA sampling programs, and data collection-they should have to engage in notice-and-comment rulemaking or a similar democratically …

The Invisible Revolution In Plea Bargaining: Managerial Judging And Judicial Participation In Negotiations, Nancy J. King, Ronald F. Wright

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This Article, the most comprehensive study ofjudicial participation in plea negotiations since the 1970s, reveals a stunning array of new procedures that involve judges routinely in the settlement of criminal cases. Interviewing nearly one hundred judges and attorneys in ten states, we found that what once were informal, disfavored interactions have quietly, without notice, transformed into highly structured best practices for docket management. We learned of grant-funded problem-solving sessions complete with risk assessments and real-time information on treatment options; multicase conferences where other lawyers chime in; settlement courts located at the jail; settlement dockets with retired judges; full-blown felony mediation …

It’S On Us: A Case Study Of Academic Integrity In A Mid-Western Community College, Ceceilia Parnther

Dissertations

Academic ethics and integrity are necessary elements of a quality education. The need for academic integrity education on campuses has been well documented (Bertram Gallant, 2008, 2016; Bertram Gallant & Drinan, 2006; Liebler, 2009; McCabe, Butterfield, & Trevino, 2004). Academic integrity is a cornerstone of the learning process (Bretag et al., 2014; Harp & Taietz, 1966). Higher education institutions have the opportunity to promote academic integrity and prevent academic misconduct on campus by providing clear guidelines, equitable resolutions, and student and faculty engagement. While researchers have examined four-year institutions approaches to academic integrity education, differences exist that are unique to …

Dynamic Effects Of Fiscal Policy On Output And Unemployment In Nigeria: An Econometric Investigation, Attahir B. Abubakar

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

This study investigates the effect of fiscal policy shocks on output and unemployment in Nigeria under the Keynesian framework by employing the Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) methodology to analyse annual series on the relevant variables for the period 1981-2015. Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test for unit root result shows all variables to be integrated of order one and Johansen Cointegration test confirms the presence of long run association among the variables. Findings of the SVAR model shows shock in public expenditure as having a positive long- lasting effect on output. Revenue shock was found to exert a positive effect (lower …

Mutual Fund Of The Minds: A Correlational Study On Education And The Economy At The State Level, Aaron Jay Bredenkamp

Student Work

During his tenure, President Barak Obama promoted education as a key to economic prosperity. However, in the post recession economy, many states reduced school funding. In Nebraska, the Governor attempted to reduce taxes for voters, while the Legislature examined how to balance the budget with a school funding formula that continually called for increased funding. Chapter One outlines this ongoing conflict between state and federal policy. Chapter Two provides a historical context of school finance policy with the state of Nebraska’s school finance history being provided in even greater detail. The indicators used to measure the economic impact of education …

Effective Physical Education Professional Development, Caleb Van Otterloo

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This literature review explores how to create an effective professional development (PD) system for Physical Education (PE) teachers. The review begins by discussing Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), and the impact that they have on professional development. PLNs provide teachers with an opportunity to completely personalize their PD through Twitter, Facebook, and various other blogs. PD in schools is a huge aspect of the professional development process. Allowing time for content specific PD means teachers can analyze strategies and ideas that work for their content areas. Workshops provide teachers with the opportunity to learn from experts and continue to strive to …

Social Interaction In Preschool Children With Special Needs: An Action Research Project, Dawn M. Kramer

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research was to discover if the amount of social interaction happening in an inclusive preschool setting between students with special needs and typically developing peers could be increased by adding simple interventions into daily classroom routines. Participants included four children, one girl and three boys, being served by an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) in a regular preschool classroom. Identified needs include communication, behavior, social skills, and academics. After initial data collection, social interaction interventions were implemented during routine daily activities. The results concluded that social interaction between students with special needs and typical peers can be …

Myth Or Reality? Crowdsourcing As A Complex Problemsolving Model: Evidence From Software Developed By The Crowd And Professionals, Abhishek Tripathi

Student Work

Crowdsourcing is a problem-solving model. Conventional theory suggests that solving complex problems is a province of professionals, people with sufficient knowledge about the domain. Prior literature indicated that the crowd is also a great source for solving complex problems. However, there is a lack of experimental research to support that crowdsourcing is a useful model for complex problem-solving (CPS), especially in the software development context. The broad goal of this dissertation is to address this research gap and improve understanding of crowdsourcing as a viable and effective CPS model. This research proposed and tested a research model of perceived quality …

Building Background To Improve Understanding Among English Language Learners, Sara Burmakow

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Over the past several years, there has been an increase in the number of English Language Learners (ELL) within the regular classroom setting. Often times, these students know little to no English before walking into the classroom and are expected to learn the same as other students in the classroom. As students learn, they connect new information to previous information naturally. When students lack this background knowledge they have a difficult time making those connections. One way to prevent this from happening is helping build background with the students in the regular classroom setting. Throughout the study, ELLs were worked …

Human And Asinine Postures In Apuleius’ Golden Ass, Timothy M. O'Sullivan

Classical Studies Faculty Research

This article examines the ways in which Apuleius’ Metamorphoses thematizes the contrast between the prone posture of the ass and the upright posture of the human. A long philosophical tradition, starting with Plato and Xenophon, argued that the human body was especially constructed for celestial contemplation, while the quadruped body was more suited for baser activities such as eating and sex. Physical posture thus becomes another way for Apuleius to emphasize the “unphilosophical” nature of Lucius-as-ass. Moreover, in Book 11, numerous references to celestial contemplation give the theme an ironic climax. Apuleius uses these celestial allusions, I argue, as further …