Digital Commons Network^™

Best Practices For Internal Controls To Prevent Occupational Fraud In Small Businesses?, Stephanie Shao

University Honors Theses

Fraud is a growing issue that organizations face. In the 2016 Report to the Nations, the ACFE estimated that organizations typically lose 5% of revenues each year to fraud. This is an extremely large cut of revenues that most businesses cannot afford to lose.

The ACFE reports that 30% of fraud victims within their study was small businesses with less than 100 employees (2016). While the median loss per fraud case is the same at $150,000 for for-profit organizations of any size, the frequency of fraud at small businesses is much higher than at large businesses (ACFE, 2016).

Though $150,000 …

Fathering Interventions For Men Who Use Intimate Partner Violence And Child Maltreatment: Perceived Benefits And Risks, Aaron L. Brown

University Honors Theses

Intervention classes for fathers that use family violence are in the very early stages of development. The purpose of this paper is to better understand how fathering interventions are minimizing risks and maximizing benefits in working to address the service and knowledge gaps toward father’s that use IPV, CM, or both IPV and CM. Initially, the service and knowledge gaps are identified as well as the perceived benefits and risks of offering fathering interventions. Then, based on the analysis, several recommendations are made for the implementation of these interventions. Following this, I describe two widely available intervention curricula, and discuss …

The Implications Of Contract Manufacturing For A Company’S Brand Equity, Jeremy Riley

University Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to articulate the effects on brand equity for companies who have hired contract manufacturers. Focusing on the direct, tactical, and internal complications that arise when hiring a contract manufacturer, a theoretical framework was used to extend the complications and describe the impacts to brand equity. Research sources spanned peer-reviewed journals, case studies, interviews, and market research. In addition to fulfilling the honors thesis requirement, this paper also satisfies a University Studies Capstone requirement to aid an entrepreneur considering the use of contract manufacturing. Findings include positive and negative impacts to brand equity for companies …

Israeli Agency In The Iran-Contra Affair, Eugene Smith

University Honors Theses

In the global political scandal that became known as the Iran-Contra Affair, various American diplomats were caught secretly and illegally selling weapons to Iran and using those funds to support anti-communist militias in Nicaragua. This affair has largely been treated as an American domestic political scandal that was uncovered in the mid-1980s and then solved by the Congressional hearings of 1987. This perspective not only ignores the military and political ramifications of the affair in Nicaragua and Iran, but also omits one of the most important actors in this international arms trade: Israel.

The historical literature concerning Israel’s role in …

Determining The Relationship Between White Matter Volume And Processing Speed In Adolescence, Julius Laxamana

University Honors Theses

Neuroimaging techniques have recently been used to research and identify relationships between structure and function. Because adolescence is a critical period for development of the brain, the present study’s goal was to identify the possible relationships between white matter (WM) volume and processing speed during this period. White matter was of particular interest as it consists of the myelinated axons of some nerve cells which are essential for nervous system functioning. The WM volume of 157 adolescents (ages 12-17) were determined from T1-weighted images via FMRIB’s Automated Segmentation Tool (FAST), whereby the brain was separated into WM, gray matter (GM), …

From Protest To Press: An Examination Of Paradigmatic Changes In News Making And Their Effects On Social Movement Evolution, Melinda Guillen

University Honors Theses

In discussions of the expansion of the new media environment in journalistic endeavors, academics have begun focusing on how this expansion affects social protest movements' interaction and successful interaction with news making. The manner in which news is created and reaches the masses has adapted, sometimes reluctantly, to the explosion of new media communication technologies. One controversial issue has been the impact the contemporary media environment has made on social movements, specifically with protests. Researchers argue that the contemporary media environment has been a tool used by protests to partake in more effective information diffusion to the masses. This paper …

Self-Infantilizing Women: Paternalism In Abortion Lawmaking And Legislator Gender, Cherie H. Martin

University Honors Theses

Mainstream feminist political science discourse primarily focuses on abortion as an issue of male dominance over female individuals, and little research has been conducted to determine whether female lawmakers, too, are complicit in paternalism in anti-abortion rhetoric and lawmaking, and the implications of such self-infantilization. The present thesis surveys the existence of paternalistic language in state-level anti-abortion bills for the 2016 legislative session, and analyzes the results by legislator gender. The data conveys that both male and female legislators employ paternalistic language in anti-abortion legislation, which implies there is more to the abortion debate than gender differences. This paper explores …

Regarding The Treatment Of Women, Where Did Jesus Set The Bar?, Katerina Paetzhold

University Honors Theses

This thesis crafts an argument for greater female education, teaching, and leadership within modern day Christian churches. By examining three key interactions between Jesus and women as recorded in the four canonical gospels, a clear example for gender equality within Christianity emerges. The manner in which Jesus speaks with the Samaritan Woman, Mary of Bethany, and the women at the resurrection, as well as the roles and responsibilities he places on them demonstrates that Christ saw women as capable of learning, teaching, and leading. As the canon of Christianity, Jesus' life on earth is the template that sets the bar …

A Low-Cost Apparatus For Laboratory Exercises And Classroom Demonstrations Of Geometric Optics, William Vincent Tex Hahn

University Honors Theses

Current trends in research towards the teaching of geometric suggest a constructivist approach. Student experimentation dealing directly with student misconceptions through repetition of examples in many contexts to confront conflicting reasoning allow students to construct definitions with their experiences and observations. Developing the scientific method of observation, prediction/experimental design, conducting experiments and repeating is reinforced with these techniques. Cataloguing student misconceptions and redesigning course material and laboratory experiments in their context has only recently begun. Use of technology has also been shown to increase student interest in course material and 3D printers have recently become common tools in schools. Additionally, …

Characterization Of Photonic Waveguides Using Fourier Analysis, Sam Olson

University Honors Theses

In this work, several characteristics of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin-film waveguides are analyzed. The simulation software COMSOL Multiphysics is used to create two waveguide models, one with a single 400 nm diameter hole, and one with two 400 nm diameter holes. A 410 nm light source is incident upon the models at an angle of 60° from the normal. Fourier analysis performed upon the normalized electric field at the surface led to effective indices in the waveguide of about 1.76 and 2.05.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (Mbsr) As An Alternative Therapy For Chronic Pain, Kayla Ohlgren

University Honors Theses

This thesis discusses the possibility of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as an alternative therapy for chronic pain in contrast to traditional medical care. It examines 18 peer-reviewed scholarly articles and identifies benefits for chronic pain patients in terms of pain severity, quality of life, psychological distress, and duration of benefits. This thesis also identifies practical benefits of MBSR such as cost, implementation, no negative side effects, and the creation of life-long skills to be used after treatment has ended. In conclusion, there is a significant gap in the current academic literature pertaining to chronic pain patients who are minorities, men, …

Trust & Growth In The Workplace: An Analysis Of Leadership In Flat Organizations, Drake George

University Honors Theses

Management styles affect the overall performance of employees and the growth of a business. Intertwined with leadership are the concepts of trust and credibility in relation to the success of a business and the satisfaction of employees and customers. A leader’s ability to adapt their management style to forecast changes in their industry strengthens their command of the business, and can establish trust. The overall challenge of transparency is that it is multifaceted. Trust from employees to leadership, trust from leadership to employees and trust from consumer to business all play a large role in establishing honest business practices. Through …

Perceived Addiction To Pornography, Level Of Distress And Their Correlates, Paul Grimes

University Honors Theses

Negative psychological states such as distress, shame and depression have been linked to problematic porn use. This is a proposal for a study that seeks to identify if perceived addiction to pornography and stress are correlated. In addition to this perceived addiction to porn, other perceived addictions (food, sex, alcohol, marijuana and cigarettes) will be tested to determine the level of comorbidity of addictions in people. The hypothesis of this study is: People that perceive themselves as having pornography addiction will have higher rates of other perceived addictions than those who do perceive themselves to be addicted to pornography; in …

The Ethics And Evolution Of Library Information Sharing: Lessons From Interlibrary Loan Services For Library Open Access Publishing, Beth Posner

Publications and Research

One of the most essential missions of academic research libraries is to facilitate access to information. Librarians do this by sharing their print collections, as well as digital information, with members of their local communities. They also share this information, with each other, through interlibrary loan (ILL) services.

A fundamental belief in the mission of information access and the value of sharing information is why so many librarians also support the open access movement. In addition to this shared mission and value, there are also lessons the open access movement can learn by exploring how traditional ILL services – and …

Teaching Music History With Your Mouth Shut, Anne Stone

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Cryptography With Right-Angled Artin Groups, Ramon Flores, Delaram Kahrobaei

Publications and Research

In this paper we propose right-angled Artin groups as a platform for secret sharing schemes based on the efficiency (linear time) of the word problem. Inspired by previous work of Grigoriev-Shpilrain in the context of graphs, we define two new problems: Subgroup Isomorphism Problem and Group Homomorphism Problem. Based on them, we also propose two new authentication schemes. For right-angled Artin groups, the Group Homomorphism and Graph Homomorphism problems are equivalent, and the later is known to be NP-complete. In the case of the Subgroup Isomorphism problem, we bring some results due to Bridson who shows there are right-angled Artin …

The Conflict Resolution Case Study In Urban Life: Bull Run Watershed Case, Chang-Yu Hong

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

The City of Portland and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service are working together, along with citizens, to formulate a comprehensive new policy to guide joint management of the Bull Run watershed at Mt. Hood National Forest. This process has brought about four decades of conflict, resulting from differences between the federal view of multiple use and the local view of exclusive use for producing high quality water. The new policy is being formulated by the City of Portland and the Forest Service through negotiation of a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding that structures the parties’ roles, responsibilities, …

Hedging Default And Price Risks In Commodity Trading, Norifumi Kimura

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

Many risk factors exist in the commodity markets, especially those related to price and quantity. Recently, the risk of counterparty default has been increasing. The purpose of this study is to develop a portfolio-hedging model to hedge both price and default risks using exchange traded commodity futures and option contracts. Two approaches are taken to determine the optimal hedge ratios (HR) using futures and options: an analytical approach that mathematically derives closed-form mean-variance (E-V) maximizing solutions, and an empirical approach that uses stochastic optimization and Monte Carlo simulation under mean-value-at-risk (E-VaR) framework. Based on the analytical approach, we proved that …

A Single Dose Tmv-Ha Vaccine Protects Mice From H5n1 Influenza Challenge, Jyothi K. Mallajosyula, Trushar Jeevan, Rachel Chikwamba, Richard J. Webby, Alison A. Mccormick

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Pharmacy

Recombinant subunit vaccines are an efficient strategy to meet the demands of a possible influenza pandemic, because of rapid and scalable production. However, vaccines made from recombinant Hemagglutinin (HA) subunit protein are often of low potency, requiring repeated boosting to generate a sustained immune response. Previously, we demonstrated improved immunogenicity of a plant-made H1 Hemagglutinin (HA) vaccine by chemical conjugation to the surface of the Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) which is non infectious in mammals. Antigen coated TMV is taken up by mammalian dendritic cells and is a highly effective antigen carrier for subunit protein vaccines. In this work, we …

Evolutionary Escalation: The Bat–Moth Arms Race, John M. Ratcliffe

Dartmouth Scholarship

Echolocation in bats and high-frequency hearing in their insect prey make bats and insects an ideal system for studying the sensory ecology and neuroethology of predator–prey interactions. Here, we review the evolutionary history of bats and eared insects, focusing on the insect order Lepidoptera, and consider the evidence for antipredator adaptations and predator counter-adaptations. Ears evolved in a remarkable number of body locations across insects, with the original selection pressure for ears differing between groups. Although cause and effect are difficult to determine, correlations between hearing and life history strategies in moths provide evidence for how these two variables influence …

Chinese Love Stories From Ch'ing-Shih, Hua-Yuan Li Mowry, Menglong Feng

Dartmouth Scholarship

About the Book

Ch'ing-shih is a lovingly made anthology of love stories, provided we push the limits of definition of "love story" just a little wider than they are usually set. The stories are classified into twenty-four major categories, each further divided into subsections and concluded with a paragraph of commentary. Professor Mowry provides a sampling of the contents of each category but not of each subsection, though the headings themselves are enough to pique our curiosity: shall we turn next to "incomplete resurrections," or "unusual degenerates"? The stories were collected in the early seventeenth century, just a decade or …

Functional Mechanisms Underlying Pleiotropic Risk Alleles At The 19p13.1 Breast–Ovarian Cancer Susceptibility Locus, Kate Lawrenson, Siddhartha Kar, Karen Mccue, Karoline Kuchenbaeker, Kyriaki Michailidou, Jonathan Tyrer, Jonathan Beesley, Susan J. Ramus, Qiyuan Li, Melissa K. Delgado, Janet M. Lee, Kristiina Aittomäki, Irene L. Andrulis, Hoda Anton-Culver, Volker Arndt, Banu K. Arun, Brita Arver, Elisa V. Bandera, Monica Barile, Rosa B. Barkardottir, Daniel Barrowdale, Matthias W. Beckmann, Javier Benitez, Andrew Berchuck, Maria Bisogna, Line Bjorge, Carl Blomqvist, William Blot, Natalie Bogdanova, Anders Bojesen, Stig E. Bojesen, Manjeet K. Bolla, Bernardo Bonanni, Anne-Lise Børresen-Dale, Hiltrud Brauch, Paul Brennan, Hermann Brenner, Fionna Bruinsma, Joan Brunet, Shaik Ahmad Buhari, Barbara Burwinkel, Ralf Butzow, Sandra S. Buys, Qiuyin Cai, Trinidad Caldes, Ian Campbell, Rikki Canniotto, Jenny Chang-Claude, Jocelyne Chiquette, Ji-Yeob Choi, Kathleen B.M Claes, Gemo Study Collaborators, Linda S. Cook, Angela Cox, Daniel W. Cramer, Simon S. Cross, Cezary Cybulski, Kamila Czene, Mary B. Daly, Francesca Damiola, Agnieszka Dansonka-Mieszkowska, Hatef Darabi, Joe Dennis, Peter Devilee, Orland Diaz, Jennifer A. Doherty

Dartmouth Scholarship

A locus at 19p13 is associated with breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) risk. Here we analyse 438 SNPs in this region in 46,451 BC and 15,438 OC cases, 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers and 73,444 controls and identify 13 candidate causal SNPs associated with serous OC (P = 9.2 X 10^-20), ER-negative BC (P = 1.1 X 10^-13), BRCA1 -associated BC (P = 7.7 X 10^-16) and triple negative BC (P-diff = 2 X 10^-5). Genotype-gene expression associations are identified for candidate target genes ANKLE1 (P = 2 X 10^{-3 …}

Effects Of Maternal Nutrition On Fructose, Glucose, And Cationic Amino Acid Transporter Expression In Bovine Utero-Placental Tissues From Days 16 To 50 Of Gestation, Matthew Scott Pennell Crouse

Animal Sciences

Poor Maternal nutrition has been implicated to reduce nutrient transport to the conceptus. Therefore, we hypothesized that maternal nutrition and day of gestation would impact mRNA expression of nutrient transporters GLUT1, GLUT3, GLUT5, GLUT14, CAT-1, CAT-2, and CAT-3 in beef heifers. Crossbred Angus heifers (n = 49) were bred via AI, assigned to nutritional treatment (CON = 100% of requirements for 0.45 kg/d gain and RES = 60% of CON) and ovariohysterectomized on d 16, 34, or 50 of gestation. Expression of CAT-2 was the only gene in any tissue to demonstrate a day × treatment interaction. Expression of nutrient …

Pharmacology Of Dextromethorphan: Relevance To Dextromethorphan/Quinidine (Nuedexta®) Clinical Use, Charles P. Taylor, Stephen F. Traynelis, Joao Siffert, Laura E. Pope, Rae Reiko Matsumoto

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Pharmacy

Dextromethorphan (DM) has been used for more than 50 years as an over-the-counter antitussive. Studies have revealed a complex pharmacology of DM with mechanisms beyond blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and inhibition of glutamate excitotoxicity, likely contributing to its pharmacological activity and clinical potential.

DM is rapidly metabolized to dextrorphan, which has hampered the exploration of DM therapy separate from its metabolites. Coadministration of DM with a low dose of quinidine inhibits DM metabolism, yields greater bioavailability and enables more specific testing of the therapeutic properties of DM apart from its metabolites. The development of the drug combination DM hydrobromide …

Convergence Of Excitatory And Inhibitory Projections In The Mouse Medial Geniculate Body, Blaise Andre Clarke

LSU Master's Theses

The medial geniculate body (MGB) is the target of excitatory and inhibitory inputs from several neural sources. Among these, the inferior colliculus (IC) is an important nucleus in the midbrain that acts as a nexus for many auditory pathways and projections, ascending and descending, throughout the rest of the central auditory system and provides both excitatory and inhibitory projections to the MGB. In addition, the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) is a major source of inhibition to the MGB, particularly in rodents. Finally, the auditory cortex (AC) is a major source of descending input to the MGB, providing direct excitation and …

Development Of Single-Well Gas Assisted Gravity Drainage Process For Enhanced Oil Recovery, Bikash Deep Saikia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

EOR application in prolific deepwater Gulf of Mexico (DGOM) reservoirs has remained a challenge. Exorbitant well cost (>200M$) precludes having extensive injection patterns and very characteristics of the reservoirs themselves are partly to blame for negligible EOR activity in DGOM. We have been able to develop and demonstrate a novel design in the form of Single Well – Gas Assisted Gravity Drainage (SW-GAGD) process, which is potentially cost effective, at the same time ensuring very high oil recoveries. In this design, a single well acts as an injector as well as a producer, thereby minimizing well cost. The efficacy …

Re-Envisioning Macro Social Work Practice, Bowen Mcbeath

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article presents 10 recommendations supporting a re-envisioning of macro practice for the 21^st century. These strategies are needed to counter a generational trend of disinvestment in macro social work practice and to support the historic vision of the social work profession as equally responsive to the needs of at-risk, disadvantaged populations and the organizational, community, and policy roots of social injustice. Before describing these recommendations and discussing their implications for the social work profession, I first briefly review the challenges facing macro practice and current initiatives promoting its renewal. The goal of this analysis is to define the …

Language Rich Early Childhood Classroom: Simple But Powerful Beginnings, Erin E. Flynn

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article highlights research exploring the benefits of small group storytelling as a way to promote rich language in early childhood classrooms. Using the storytelling of children from a preschool classroom serving lower SES children, the collaborative affordances of story circles are explored. Results show that small group storytelling engages children in ways of using language associated with literacy learning. When storytelling, children use language in extended, multi-clause turns, relaying what happened in another context. Story requires children to communicate what happened as well as the interpersonal significance of events. Small group storytelling also gives children a chance to practice …

Adjustment To College In The United States: Perceptions Of Qatari Students, Janet S. Walker, Jennifer E. Blakeslee, Batoul Khalifa, Ramzi Nasser, Atmane Ikhlef

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This qualitative study is part of a collaborative research effort undertaken by investigators based in the United States and Qatar to better understand Qatari student perspectives on their post-secondary adjustment and success. Here, we report findings from structured interviews with Qatari nationals studying abroad in the US, all of whom were males who were, or had recently been, undergraduates at state universities and/or community colleges in Oregon (n=21). Approximately two-thirds were in business or economics programs and about a third in STEM programs (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics). Most of the interviews were conducted in Arabic and translated into English …

Autism, Tara Crapnell, Lynette Lau, Christopher D. Hanks, Christina Nicolaidis, Alice Kuo

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex, lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that is marked by deficits in social communication and interaction, and repetitive or restrictive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. These symptoms can create challenges for individuals on the autism spectrum and their parents during the transition to adulthood, which may interfere with their ability to access and receive adequate and appropriate health care. Awareness of how the challenges associated with ASD may translate to healthcare barriers can help primary care providers address the complex needs of individuals who are on the autism spectrum and mitigate the risks of additional …