Digital Commons Network^™

Research Governance, Michael Burger, Justin Gundlach

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Forthcoming in Climate Engineering and the Law: Regulation and Liability for Solar Radiation Management and Carbon Dioxide Removal (Michael B. Gerrard & Tracy Hester, eds.), this chapter approaches the complex topic of climate engineering research governance in four Parts.

Part I describes the forms research has taken so far and those that are expected in the future. It also offers short summaries of five instances of climate engineering field research conducted since 2009. Part II considers the key issues and concerns that have prompted calls for governance and that have inspired sometimes heated debate of what it should involve. Part …

Climate Change And Sustainable Development In Brazilian Law, Gabriel Wedy

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This article aims to explain briefly how the National Policy for Climate Change (NPCC) in Brazil - established by Act 12.107/2009 – is structured. This Act will be critically analyzed according to what is being currently discussed on Climate Change Law, both globally and within the United States.

It will also seek to demonstrate the importance of the constitutional principle of sustainable development provided for in the Brazilian Federal Constitution in order to correct omissions and imperfections of the National Policy for Climate Change, whenever it is subject to interpretation and implementation by the Judiciary branch, the Executive branch and …

Searching For The Neural Basis Of Reserve Against Memory Decline: Intellectual Enrichment Linked To Larger Hippocampal Volume In Multiple Sclerosis, James F. Sumowski, M. A. Rocca, V. M. Leavitt, G. Riccitelli, Joshua Sandry, John Deluca, Giancarlo Comi, Massimo Filippi

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background and purpose: Active engagement in intellectually enriching activities (e.g. reading, hobbies) builds 'reserve' against memory decline in elders and persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), but the neural basis for this protective influence of enrichment is unknown. Herein the neuroanatomical basis of reserve against memory decline in MS patients is investigated. Methods: Relapse-onset MS patients (N = 187) underwent 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging of the brain to quantify T2 lesion volume (T2LV) and normalized volumes of total brain, total white, total grey (using SIENAX) and thalamus, caudate, putamen, pallidum, amygdala and hippocampus (using FIRST). Patients completed a survey quantifying …

Surviving Critical Illness: What Is Next? An Expert Consensus Statement On Physical Rehabilitation After Hospital Discharge, M Major, R Kwakman, M Kho, B Connolly, D Mcwilliams, L Denehy, S Hanekom, S Patman, R Gosselink, C Jones, F Nollett, D Needham, R Engelbert, M Van Der Schaaf

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Background: The study objective was to obtain consensus on physical therapy (PT) in the rehabilitation of critical illness survivors after hospital discharge. Research questions were: what are PT goals, what are recommended measurement tools, and what constitutes an optimal PT intervention for survivors of critical illness?

Methods: A Delphi consensus study was conducted. Panelists were included based on relevant fields of expertise, years of clinical experience, and publication record. A literature review determined five themes, forming the basis for Delphi round one, which was aimed at generating ideas. Statements were drafted and ranked on a 5-point Likert scale in two …

Mining Novel Knowledge From Biomedical Literature Using Statistical Measures And Domain Knowledge, Kishlay Jha

Computer Science

The problem of inferring novel knowledge from implicit facts by logically connecting independent fragments of literature is known as Literature Based Discovery (LBD). In LBD, to discover hidden links, it is important to determine the relevancy between concepts using appropriate information measures. In this study, to discover interesting and inherent links latent in large corpora, nine distinct methods, comprising variants of statistical information measures and derived semantic knowledge from domain ontology, are designed and compared. A series of experiments are performed and analyzed for those proposed methods. Also, a new strategy of effective preprocessing is proposed, which is capable of …

Recommendation Of Business Intelligence Tool, Ramneet Chhina

Computer Science

Business Intelligence (BI) is extremely vital for organizations for delivering useful information from the large volumes of data being collected. There are many BI tools available but no single tool is appropriate for every user’s need. Project needs can differ within and across organizations so a process is needed to determine the right tools to use. If companies end up with the wrong tool their needs and problems are not addressed. This research evaluates five tools from the Microsoft BI stack using an application that has been developed and recommends the best tool to use. The tool recommended depends on …

Light Weight Health Application For Low End Cell Phones, Peyman Emamian

Computer Science

Health applications are usually complicated and low end devices do not benefit from them. The focus of this thesis is on expandable health services platform for low end cell phones. Large number of mobile phones in the world are incapable using web or modern operating systems and pre-installed SMS application is the preferred communication medium. Moreover, SMS does not require a stable connection so text-based health information can still be available even during natural disasters. Although our platform is accessible through communication forms other than SMS. We propose a scalable platform for light weight health applications, providing novel and proactive …

Perceptions Of Genetically Modified Foods By Gender, Yang Lu

Computer Science

Twitter is one of the most popular worldwide social networking services. It has more than 320 million monthly active users around the world. So it’s a very good way to discover what’s happening in the world and we can even get people’s opinions of some topics through their posts. Genetically modified food is one of the hottest topics all over the world. For the work of this paper, our aim is to determine people’s opinions concerning GMOs, but also interested in whether there are differences by gender. To achieve the goal, the idea is to capture a large set of …

Systematic Approaches To Improve Test Case Prioritization Using Requirements And Risks, Charitha Sasika Hettiarachchi

Computer Science

The use of system requirements and their risks enables software testers to identify more important test cases that can reveal faults associated with risky components. Having identified important test cases, software testers can manage the testing schedule more effectively by running such test cases earlier so that they can detect then fix faults sooner, especially, in regression testing. Some work in this area has been done, but the previous approaches and studies have some limitations, such as an improper use of requirements risks in prioritization and an inadequate evaluation method. To address the limitations, we implemented a new requirements risk-based …

Analyses Of People’S Perceptions Toward Risks In Genetically Modified Organisms, Pranav Dass

Computer Science

This research aims to analyze people’s perceptions about the potential risks associated with the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products. We formulated research questions and hypotheses based on parameters, including age, gender, state of residence, and more to analyze these perceptions. We conducted an online nationwide survey across the United States and recruited participants from the general population to understand their perceptions about risks for GMOs and GM foods. We formulated a set of questions regarding the effects of GMOs on food products (including both the pre- and post-study questions) and investigated the changes in people’s perceptions …

Examining Aided Input Intervention In A Classroom Setting For Children Labeled With Significant Disabilities, Jennifer L. Flores

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this research was to examine aided input as an intervention strategy for teaching children language and communication skills through Augmentative and Alternative Communication. This study examined whether a coaching package is effective for enabling teachers to use aided input strategies and also examine the impact of the aided input strategies on children’s communication skills. Data was collected for six weeks using the AB alternating reversal design with the last two weeks being maintenance phases without coaching and support. There were three pieces of data collected; student pre and posttests of target words, daily observations of teacher instruction …

Dying To Live Forever Sophia Harris Journal 1860 To 1861, Shirley Ilene Davis

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Sophia Harris’s journal is a window into one woman’s experiences in an area that transformed from a frontier outpost to a market-oriented and increasingly urbanized society. It also sheds light on how she made sense of the meaning of these changes in her personal life: specifically how her religious understandings of death shaped her understanding of the world she lived in.

Female Athletes' Perceptions Towards Alcohol And Performance: A Psychological Approach, Stephanie Dalmacio

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Alcohol consumption amongst athletes has been a frequently debated topic with common beliefs being mostly negative. This study aimed to investigate former and active female athletes’ perceptions toward alcohol consumption prior to competition. The design used for this study was exploratory-descriptive in nature. A questionnaire was administered to 111 female athletes from 17 different countries. Since the majority of the respondents were tennis players (n = 85), results were presented for this more homogenous group. The questionnaire was comprised of 10 questions that examined demographics, perceptions regarding whether alcohol was more likely to help or hurt performance, and alcohol consumption. …

The Immediate Effects Of Thearapeutic Taping On Musculoskeletal Pain, Aaron Michael Krejci

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Context: Therapeutic taping is commonly used as a preventative intervention; however, its utilization as an immediate pain management intervention is still unknown. This study assesses the immediate effectiveness of therapeutic taping on musculoskeletal pain. Objective: Evaluate the immediate effects of three therapeutic taping interventions on musculoskeletal pain. Design: Experimental, single-group repeated measures design. Participants: 29 physically active volunteers (14 male, 15 female) with a mean age of 20.9 ± 1.98. Methods: Participants were induced with delayed onset muscle soreness to their elbow flexors of the non-dominant arm. Forty-eight hours after induction, participants’ baseline pain was measured using the Numeric Pain …

The Effect Of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression On The Management Of Pain Associated With Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, Ashley Kay Lindahl

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Intermittent pneumatic compression is used for the recovery of active individuals following intense exercise with little research to support its use. This study evaluates the effectiveness of intermittent pneumatic compression on musculoskeletal pain associated with DOMS among healthy college age population. Objective: Evaluate the efficacy of intermittent pneumatic compression, compared to a placebo, in the prevention of pain associated with delayed onset muscle soreness. Design: Experimental, Repeated Measure Design. Participants: Thirty healthy college-age volunteers (15 male: 21.5 ± 2.3 yrs, 179.3 ± 9.9 cm, 91.4 ± 26.4 kg; 15; female: 20.4 ± 1.5 yrs, 168.9 ± 6.9 cm, 69.1 ± …

Biomechanical Differences In The Weightlifting Snatch Between Successful And Unsuccessful Lifts, Jack Rummells

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to determine what differences exist between several kinematic variables between failed and successful attempts in the snatch lift. Six female Weightlifters at the 2015 American open were measured for kinematic variables via videotape during competition. The results show that differences existed in the angle of the shoulder at peak barbell height and the catch height, along with the amount of separation between the lifter and barbell at peak height. Significant differences were also found at the angle between the barbell and lifter center of mass. This study was a first step toward understanding the …

Belief And Practice: A Self-Study, Jamie Marie Nelson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this self-study was to critically examine whether or not my beliefs about literacy are reflected in my teaching practice. In addition, it was to determine if my teaching practice aligned with six instructional elements for literacy suggested by Allington and Gabriel (2012) in their article “Every Child, Every Day.”

There were three data sources in this study. I kept a time-log for one week with an instructional calendar about my schedule for literacy instruction. At the end of each day, I wrote a post-teaching reflection. The third data source was my personal, written responses to each of …

Differences In Landing Impulses Between The Traditional And Swing Blocking Style In Volleyball, Jana Geertruida Braakhuis

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Blocking is an important part in the game of volleyball. Previous research has shown that the swing blocking style leads to a greater jump height, penetration over the net and effective blocking area compared to the traditional blocking method. No available research has been found investigating the differences in landing. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in landing impulses, landing time and vertical ground reaction forces (vGRF) between the traditional and swing blocking style in volleyball. Therefore, eight female collegiate volleyball players were filmed in high definition at 60Hz performing successful trials of both blocking styles. …

Self-Management Of Cognitive Load In Children: Exploring Effective Strategies By Manipulating Informational Text, Marcus J. Hora

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study was designed to measure which reading comprehension strategies were most successful in allowing children to self-manage their cognitive load while reading electronic informational text. It built on previous research on cognitive load theory and teaching children self-management strategies. Participants were sixth grade students in a Midwestern suburban intermediate school.

A quantitative experiment was conducted with a control group and three experimental groups. Experimental groups were taught to highlight key words, draw arrows to show process on a diagram, or move text boxes nearer a corresponding illustration. The control group received equal time with the teacher but did not …

Saudi Arabian Mothers Of Children With Sickle Cell Disease As Givers Of Social Support, Fatimah Sameer Alrubh

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study is to understand the perceptions of mothers in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, in Qatif City when using four social support types (emotional support, instrumental support, informational support, and appraisal support) with their children who have Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). Also, this study aims to understand the mothers’ roles in providing social support to children with SCD, as well as asses the types of social support that mothers used to help their children with SCD. Lastly, this study assesses the factors that influence the mothers to provide social support. A qualitative design; semi-structured interview …

Corn Stover Biochar In Gypsum Board: Empirical Analysis Of Thermal Conductivity And Flexural Strength, Albena Yordanova

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Gypsum board, an economical and durable finish material for wall and ceiling construction in the United States and worldwide, is the component with the lowest thermal performance in a typical exterior wall assembly. It also constitutes a substantial portion of construction waste in landfills, potentially creating harmful environmental effects and dangerous gases. To minimize the negative effects of fast growing construction waste of gypsum in landfills and meet higher standards for energy efficiency in construction, there is a need to explore sustainable ways of improving thermal properties of gypsum board and recycling the material. Gypsum can be recycled and used …

An Examination Of The Perceptions Of The Iep Process As A Team Plans For The Potential Reintegration Of A Student From An Alternative Setting To The Resident District, Sarah J. Knudsen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 determined that students with disabilities are to learn in the least restrictive environment (LRE). The IEP team has the responsibility to determine placement that is as non-restrictive as possible and yet appropriate. For students with Emotional Disturbances (ED) the concept of LRE is contentious. The purpose of this research was to investigate the perceptions of IEP team members as to the factors on which decisions are made throughout the IEP process for students with ED as the team planned for reintegration from an alternative setting into the student’s home district. This …

The Nature And Role Of Temporary Help Work In The U.S. Economy, Susan N. Houseman, Carolyn J. Heinrich

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Environmental Justice In Remediation: Tools For Community Empowerment, Chihiro Tamefusa

Pomona Senior Theses

Exide Technologies finally closed its secondary lead-battery recycling plant on March 12, 2015. The community of primarily Hispanics around the facility had to fight many years to have the polluting facility shut down. Because government agencies, whose job is to protect citizens from polluters, were not regulating the facility properly, residents are not sure if they can trust the agencies to carry out remediation effectively and efficiently either. In this paper I explore the environmental justice issues associated with environmental remediation and what community members can do to make sure that their neighborhood is cleaned up properly. Through interviews with …

Ballot-Box Environmentalism Across The Golden State: How Geography Influences California Voters’ Demand For Environmental Public Goods, William Skyler Lewis

Pomona Senior Theses

In California, voters frequently face ballot propositions dealing directly or indirectly with environmental protection. Records of these votes provide powerful evidence of the character of voters’ demand and willingness-to-pay for environmental public goods (e.g., air quality, watershed ecosystem services, parks and recreation), and have been used in past environmental econometrics research to produce aggregated income and price effect estimates. Using neighborhood-level voting records on seven environmental-related ballot propositions in California between 2002 and 2010, this econometric study investigates the nature of voters’ demand for environmental public goods, focusing on the effect of household income on pro-environment voting. Unlike previous studies, …

E-Waste Recycling: The Dirty Trade Between The United States And China, Laura Edwards

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis explores the environmental and public health damages associated with the informal e-waste recycling industry in China and provides an overview of Chinese policies regulating e-waste. Furthermore, the thesis examines how the United States has contributed to these ecological and human health damages by exporting e-waste to China and failing to regulate the US e-waste recycling industry.

How Can We Have A Better Public Transportation System? –An Exploratory Agent Based Model, Boyu Liu

Pomona Senior Theses

Public transportation plays an integral part in a city's development, but transportation professionals disagree about whether it is feasible to increase the capacity of public transportation systems at a reasonable cost; and if it is, how. This study develops an agent based model that aims to answer this question and provide a framework to compare the effects of improvements in different aspects of the public transportation service. The results of this study show that it is possible to increase ridership enough to compensate for the increased operational cost, but only in certain circumstances. Interesting phenomenon that might have showed up …

Colombia, The Resilient Survivor: Ddr, Elusive Peace, And The Politics Of Post-Conflict, Laura Pico

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis aims to study Colombia’s post-conflict processes and peacemaking politics. Over the years, the numerous attempts at peace lacked solutions prioritizing a sustainable process for peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. Yet since 2003, the government has implemented and prioritized a three-pronged policy known as Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) in an attempt to bundle the disparate elements that appear to be necessary components for long-term peace.

Chapter one evaluates the turbulent history of peacemaking, focusing on the factors rendering peace elusive, examining the failed peace attempts, and chronologically arriving at DDR. Chapter two provides an in-depth analysis of the “R” …

Altruism, Alexander J. Field

Economics

Altruism is reflected in actions by one individual that benefit another, even when there is no expectation of reward. Altruism is often equated with selflessness and contrasted with selfishness, or alternatively, altruism is seen as other-regarding as opposed to self-regarding behavior. The latter usage is sometimes preferred because of difficulties in classifying behavior for which the individual acting altruistically receives a "warm glow" from helping others. The question raised in this instance is whether such an individual is actually selfish and, if so, whether there is any behavior that, after the fact, could not be interpreted as selfish.

The need …

State Promotion Of Local Public Goods: The Case Of Public Libraries, 1880-1929, Michael J. Kevane, William A. Sundstrom

Economics

The public library movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries led to a significant expansion of library services across the United States. We study the impact of state-level institutional development on the creation of local public goods. State library commissions were modestly funded state entities charged with helping localities establish libraries. State library associations were voluntary organizations with a similar mission, having as members the librarians of existing public libraries. Library-enabling legislation clarified the legality and taxation possibilities for local government entities such as towns, municipalities and counties to support libraries. Employing panel data drawn from a series …