Digital Commons Network^™

Freedom Of Speech And Equality: Do We Have To Choose?, Nadine Strossen

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Current Issues In Therapeutic Jurisprudence, David Wexler

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Integration Of Building Information Modeling (Bim) And Prefarbication: A Boost To Lean Principle Envrionment, Manisha Goyal

Construction Management and Engineering

Lean construction, adapted from manufacturing, is focused on reducing waste, customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. However, its Last Planner System (LPS) lacks the automation needed to manage complex projects. On the other hand, Building Information Modeling (BIM) is capable of developing models that are compliant with LPS planning levels and faster visualization of errors. Prefabrication encourages just in time delivery while benefitting from BIM model capabilities. The objective of the study is to establish a framework to integrate Last Planner system with BIM and Prefabrication. Literature study and survey inferences were used to identify the potential to integrate. The framework …

Development Of Sustainable Construction Material From Fly Ash C, Monisha Shrestha

Construction Management and Engineering

Environmental issues caused by the production of Portland cement have necessitated its replacement by waste materials like fly ash which has been proven to be quite beneficial environmentally and economically. Therefore, this research project was focused on the development of sustainable construction materials using 100% of high-calcium fly ash with KOH based alkaline solution. Experimental work was conducted to determine concrete properties like compressive strength, flexural strength, setting time, and slump. In the phase I of the research, CNTs were also used to study its effect on geopolymer mortar. The results derived from the experiments show that mortar and concrete …

Curating Hatred: The Joe Mcwilliams's Controversy At The Ulster Museum, Tom Maguire

Journal of Hate Studies

Since heritage is a manifestation of how the past is used in the present,engagement with heritage is a critical indicator of how contemporaryhatreds play out, both feeding and feeding off traditions and legacies.Despite its ongoing peace process, Northern Ireland remains a site of dissonantheritages, where sectarian hatred continues to be expressed in societaldivisions, often resulting in outright violence. This relationship betweencurrent expressions of hatred and the uses of the past present particularissues for heritage professionals. This essay examines a recent example inwhich these tensions have been made manifest, the inclusion of a paintingby Belfast artist Joe McWilliams in the Annual …

Using Transition Teams To Support Middle Level Learners, Aaron Dean Nelson

Education

This study focuses on the learning characteristics of young adolescent children and their unique learning needs. The study evaluates the implementation of a transition team to develop interventions in reading and math to support students in transition from an elementary school setting to a junior high school setting. This analysis of the nature of the child in transition from elementary school to a middle level setting, will guide the re-design and improvements necessary to ensure every child is receiving a quality educational experience. The research found measurable improvements in student assessments, particularly math, when compared to previous classes as a …

Perceptions Of Emergency Managers On Vulnerability And Institutional Preparedness Of Colleges And Universities In The Red River Valley, Kent Douglas Theurer

Emergency Management

The present study examines emergency management related perceptions of campus officials who are responsible for overseeing the general disaster preparedness of at five diverse colleges and universities in the Red River Valley. This paper attempts to specifically examine in higher education what has been called the Thomas Theorem or “What is perceived real, is real in its consequences” (Thomas 1970). This further examination is accomplished through in-depth interviews using a survey tool based around three research questions: “How do the responsible campus officials perceive campus vulnerabilities?”, “How do the responsible campus officials perceive preparedness measures that have been undertaken by …

Evaluation Of Response Plans In Two Counties: Implications For Response Planning In North Dakota, Florija Adjari

Emergency Management

This comprehensive paper sought to evaluate two county emergency response plans to determine the implications of their plan quality for Central Plains Ag Services, a North Dakota agricultural business, that handles hazardous chemicals. The planning research literature was reviewed to identify what steps are taken in the planning process, the characteristics that impact plan quality, the importance of participation in planning, and the recommended plan content for all plans regardless of type and response plans specifically. The basic evaluation characteristics for plan quality were identified and these items, along with recommended content were put into an evaluation form. This evaluation …

Correlates Of Transfer-Student Persistence And Degree Completion In The College Of Health Professions, Amanda Groom

Education

Persistence and degree completion among transfer students are important concerns for colleges and universities. Transfer students may experience difficulties or barriers after transferring from one institution to another, preventing students from persisting and graduating. Additionally, health-profession programs often have selective admission requirements and competitive admission processes. Traditional transfer-student barriers and health-profession barriers can create a challenging atmosphere for undergraduate transfer students. The current study evaluates the relationships among transfer type, selective admission metrics, persistence, and degree completion. The results illustrate several bivariate relationships that indicate areas of concern. Directions for future research are discussed to further identify and resolve the …

The Boundaries Of Social Entrepreneurship In Higher Education: A New Framework, Michele Mcfadden Reid

Education

Social entrepreneurship (SE) incorporates the more ethical dimensions of innovative business practices in the pursuit of financial sustainability in the advancement of societal goals, and is intended to empower all participants while bringing about positive changes in communities and society at large. An increasing number of colleges and universities are now embracing SE to stay competitive in the higher education market, find new sources of income in times of fiscal constraint, and align with their public service missions. However, despite the interest in SE on the part of the academic community, there is no broad or consistent understanding regarding what …

Student Perceptions Of Soft Skills And Career Decision Self-Efficacy Attained Through Participation In Sae Programs, Rebekah J. Haddad

Education

This study sought to assess student perceptions of soft skills and career decision self-efficacy attained through participation in Supervised Agriculture Experience programs. This study attempted to describe the demographics of the selected sample, describe the career decision self-efficacy and perceived soft skill attainment of high school agricultural education students, and describe the relationship between SAE and career decision self-efficacy and perceived soft skill development. This study found no significant difference in career decision self-efficacy or perceived soft skill attainment between those who participated in SAE and those who did not. A positive significant impact was noted for career decision self-efficacy …

Do Victim Impact Panels Reduce Dui Recidivism?, Sarah Leigh Joyce

Criminal Justice and Political Science

This study looks at Victim Impact Panels as an effective program for reducing recidivism of convicted drunk drivers. Researchers collected data on a group of DUI offenders who were sentenced to attend a Victim Impact Panel (VIP) after being convicted of a DUI (410 cases) and a group of DUI offenders who were sentenced by a judge who did not order them to attend a VIP (373 cases). Using logistic regression, researchers found those offenders who were sentenced to attend a Victim Impact Panel were significantly less [likely] to reoffend, both in terms of subsequent DUI convictions, and criminal offenses …

Environmental Information Modeling: An Integration Of Building Information Modeling And Geographic Information Systems For Lean And Green Developments, Kenechukwu Chigozie Ezekwem

Construction Management and Engineering

Building Information Modeling (BIM), used by many for building design and construction, and Geographic Information GIS System (GIS), used for city planning, contain large spatial and attribute data which could be used for Lean and green city planning and development. However, there exist a systematic gap and interoperability challenge between BIM and GIS that creates a disjointed workflow between city planning data in GIS and building data in BIM. This hinders the seamless analysis of data between BIM and GIS for lean and green developments. This study targets the creation of a system which integrates BIM and GIS system data. …

Magnesium Rich Primer For The Corrosion Protection Of Aluminum Alloys: Investigation, Improvement And Application, Junren Lin

Coatings and Polymeric Materials

The goals of this research are to develop deeper understanding of the corrosion protection mechanism of Mg-rich primer (MgRPs), improve corrosion protection performance of MgRPs, and extend the application of MgRPs. To address these research goals, the following studies were performed: 1. Early blistering problems encountered during constant immersion or ASTM B117 exposure of top-coated MgRPs over AA2024-T3 substrate were investigated. The results suggest that hydrogen entrapment by topcoat, instead of Al corrosion, contributes significantly to the formation of early blistering. Meanwhile, simultaneous real-time hydrogen collection and open circuit potential measurement was demonstrated as a new method for studying the …

Learning Commons Reference Collections In Arl Libraries, Cindy Pierard, Sever Bordeianu

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Many academic libraries have developed or partnered in the development of learning commons over the last two decades. Although the nature of these environments may vary, learning commons are characterized here as adaptable spaces in which services, programming, and specialized resources are brought together to support and enact specific learning and research activities.The development of learning commons spaces has resulted in significant changes in traditional library collections, including decisions to weed or relocate physical collections, to transition from print to electronic collections, and to develop collections to support new learning services, programs, and collaborations (Brown et al., 2014; Detmering …

American Indian Women In Academic Libraries: Progress And Challenges., Sarah R. Kostelecky

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Social Construction Of Knowledge Online By Employing Interaction Analysis, Learning Analytics, And Social Network Analysis, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Nick V. Flor, David Gomez, Damien Sanchez

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This article examines research methods for analyzing social construction of knowledge in online discussion forums. We begin with an examination of the Interaction Analysis Model (Gunawardena, Lowe, & Anderson, 1997) and its applicability to analyzing social construction of knowledge. Next, employing a dataset from an online discussion, we demonstrate how interaction analysis can be supplemented by employing other research techniques such as learning analytics and Social Network Analysis that shed light on the social dynamics that support knowledge construction. Learning analytics is the application of quantitative techniques for analyzing large volumes of distributed data ("big data") in order to discover …

Personalized Health Insurance Services Using Big Data, Ylli Sadikaj

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Cloud computing paradigm has significantly affected the healthcare sector like various other business domains. Persistently growing healthcare data over the Internet has called for the development of methodologies to efficiently handle the health big data. This study presents a framework that utilizes the cloud computing services to offer personalized recommendations about the most apposite health insurance plans. The users are offered implicit and explicit recommendations. A standard ontology is presented to offer a unified representation to the health insurance plans. The plans are ranked based on: (a) similarities between the users’ coverage requirements and the plans (b) priority of the …

Cloud Based Recommendation Services For Healthcare, Assad Abbas

Electrical and Computer Engineering

With the inception of portable computing devices, enormous growth in the healthcare data over the Internet has been observed. Consequently, the Web based systems come across several challenges, such as storage, availability, reliability, and scalability. By employing the cloud computing to offer healthcare services helps in overcoming the aforementioned challenges. Besides the healthcare organizations, cloud computing services are also equally beneficial for general public in devising patient-centric or user-centric methodologies that involve users in managing health related activities. This dissertation proposes methodologies to: (a) make risk assessment about diseases and to identify health experts through social media using cloud based …

The Interaction Of Radio Frequency And Lambda Dna, Mary Elizabeth Pearson

Electrical and Computer Engineering

By exposing an aqueous DNA solution to a spectrum of radio frequency (RF) energy this research identifies frequencies, if any, where DNA interacts with RF energy. Interaction is determined by the amount of RF energy either absorbed or reflected by the DNA solution. Previous studies have shown that RF energy at high power levels causes destruction of DNA. The method outlined in this thesis will radiate a DNA solution at a low power level of non-ionizing RF energy. This will determine if DNA behavioral changes can be induced without heating the DNA solution. Any frequencies interacting with DNA within the …

Wheat Dockage Content: Analysis Of Dockage And Its Relation To Fusarium Head Blight, Taghrid Saleh Alhumaid

Food Safety

Hard red spring wheat crop grown in different locations in the US were surveyed for the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). DON is often found in wheat that is infected with the plant fungal disease Fusarium head blight. The contamination of wheat by DON is a major wheat industry concern since it affects human and livestock health. Furthermore, DON reduces wheat grain yield and quality. In this study, DON was measured using gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD) in 1353 HRS wheat samples collected from 2013-2015. Results indicate that there was positive significant correlation (P<0.001) between DON content and damaged kernels (0.635) and total defects (0.445). However, for the three-year average, DON content had a weak positive significant correlation (P<0.001) with the percentage of wheat dockage (0.111). Overall, DON production had an effect on kernel damage and total defects, but DON production was not impacted by the percentage of wheat dockage.

Relationships Between Winter Social Dominance Hierarchies And Immune Function In The Black-Capped Chickadee, Emily Claire Stewart

Environmental and Conservation Sciences

social species, dominance rank has implications for an individual’s health and fitness. Dominant individuals often receive greater access to resources, protection from predators, higher quality territories, and increased reproductive success. Because of these advantages, dominance rank could affect physiological systems such as immunity. In this thesis, I discuss two studies that examine the relationship between social dominance and innate immune function using black-­‐ capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus). In the field, we found that in males, a high dominance score was correlated with low immune function in the fall. In captivity, we gave an immune challenge in the form of a …

Morphological Differences And Diversity Of Small Mammal Species, Jeffrey David Berens

Environmental and Conservation Sciences

Small mammals play important roles in ecosystems, but are often overlooked due to their small size and plentiful abundance. Two studies evaluated the morphological differences and diversity of small mammal species based on how they react to different environmental conditions. The first study analyzed the morphological differences of skulls between and within two species of Peromyscus species due to differences in shape, size, and geographic position. This study also determined if landmark-based geometric morphometrics could reliably discriminate between the two species. The second study analyzed small mammal diversity and abundance due to differences in microhabitat conditions in an endangered ecosystem: …

The Effects Of Salinity On Herbivorous Pests Of Corn And Soybean, Jaclyn Lee Eichele

Entomology

Many environmental factors, including soil characteristics, are critically important for plants, herbivorous arthropods, and their interactions. Despite increasing evidence that soil salinity can drastically impact plants, little is known about how salinity affects the herbivorous arthropod pests feeding on those plants we investigated how soil salinity affects two major crop pests: the two spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) feeding on corn and soybean and the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) on soybean. We quantified the impact of salinity by measuring demographic characteristics and behavior of pests on plants grown in soil with various levels of salinity. Overall, both crop pests performed …

The Expansion Of Gender Roles In The Legend Of Zelda Series, Rachel Elyce Jones

English

This study asked how the existing roles in video games may or may not change over time. The study used The Legend of Zelda series for a content analysis of the actions performed by all characters that appear in a segment of the game and all actions were recorded as data. The study used Judith Butler’s concept of gender being a performative act as a critical lens. Results showed that the possibilities for performing different character roles for male, female, and ungendered characters expanded across the study. The majority of females were found to be the Healer, Non-Profit Gifter and …

Resisting Rape Myths In Young Adult Fiction: An Analysis Of Young Adult Novels Speak And Crank, Kaylee Blanche Jangula Mootz

English

Introducing young people to fiction that depicts rape is important in that reading this type of fiction can be a more effective strategy for reducing rape-myth acceptance in young people than lecture-based prevention programs. To be fully effective, literature used for lowering rapemyth acceptance must fully resist rape myths. This paper analyzes Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and CRANK by Ellen Hopkins to find the ways in which each novel resists and conforms to rape myths, to determine whether these texts would be suitable for reducing rapemyth acceptance, and to identify ways in which future texts that aim to reduce …

Catering To Our Aging Population: Increasing The Overall Usability Of Financial Information Through Personalization, Alison Ruth Driscoll

English

Older adults are increasing in numbers nationwide at a higher rate than any other age group because of longer life expectancies. As a result, older populations, or those individuals aged 65 and above, have to make increasingly more difficult financial decisions. The purpose of this study was to determine attitudes regarding financial information among a sample of older adults when compared to a younger group. Findings included that older populations prefer to research financial information on their own rather than seek professional help. Thus, technical communicators must begin working closely with the financial and technology sectors to improve usability of …

(Re)Writing Sexual Consent: Affirmative Consent Culture In Sexual Misconduct Policies Of Higher Education Institutions, Jessica Jean Hatti Piek

English

This study primarily seeks to determine what policy language best reflects affirmative consent culture in the sexual misconduct policies of higher education institutions. It considers such policies to be important and influential documents which reflect institutional values, and as such, have the capacity to transform campus cultures. Coding categories based off of the concerns of Feminist Critical Policy Analysis were developed and applied to a corpus of eight policies, and the results of the coding were further analyzed rhetorically. The study found that policies are already reflective of affirmative consent culture, using similar language, content and structure. However, the study …

Top 10 Research Questions To Promote Physical Activity In Bipolar Disorders: A Consensus Statement From The International Organization Of Physical Therapists In Mental Health, D Vancampfort, S Rosenbaum, M Probst, J Connaughton, C Du Plessis, T Yamamoto, B Stubbs

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Research has only recently started to consider the importance and applicability of physical activity (PA) for people with bipolar disorder (BD). The aim of the current study is to highlight 10 pertinent PA research questions in people with BD.

Methods: The International Organization of Physical Therapy in Mental Health executed a consultation with all National organizations (n=13) to identify the most salient questions to guide future research on PA in BD.

Results: We identified the following 10 questions: (1) What are the benefits of PA for people with BD? (2) What are the most prominent safety issues for PA …

'It Promoted A Positive Culture Around Falls Prevention': Staff Response To A Patient Education Programme—A Qualitative Evaluation, A Hill, N Waldron, J Francis-Coad, T Haines, C Etherton-Beer, L Flicker, K Ingram, S Mcphail

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to understand how staff responded to individualized patient falls prevention education delivered as part of a cluster randomised trial, including how they perceived the education contributed to falls prevention on their wards.

Design: A qualitative explanatory study.

Methods: 5 focus groups were conducted at participatory hospital sites. The purposive sample of clinical staff (including nurses, physiotherapists and quality improvement staff ) worked on aged care rehabilitation wards when a cluster randomised trial evaluating a patient education programme was conducted. During the intervention period, an educator, who was a trained health professional and not …