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2016

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Do Anxious Applicants Become Lower Performing Employees?, Elora C. Voyles Jan 2016

Do Anxious Applicants Become Lower Performing Employees?, Elora C. Voyles

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Numerous studies have found that anxious applicants perform less well in interviews and subsequently receive lower ratings and are less likely to be hired compared to non-anxious applicants. However, no studies have yet examined if applicants who are anxious during the interview subsequently perform less well on the job compared to non-anxious applicants. In this laboratory study, work task performances of participants who appear anxious and/or report anxiety during simulated interviews were compared to those who did not appear anxious and/or did not report anxiety. The results of this study showed that interview anxiety was negatively related to interview performance; …

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Do Folivores Deplete Patches? : Foraging Behavior And The Dynamics Of Resource Use In The Costa Rican Mantled Howler (Alouatta Palliata), Jessica Ritsche Jan 2016

Do Folivores Deplete Patches? : Foraging Behavior And The Dynamics Of Resource Use In The Costa Rican Mantled Howler (Alouatta Palliata), Jessica Ritsche

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Two general assumptions have often been made about folivorous primates: first, that feeding competition is low or absent because leaves are a superabundant and evenly dispersed resource, and as a result, that feeding competition does not constrain the size of folivorous groups. However, many folivorous primates maintain smaller group sizes. In this study, I aimed to examine this 'folivore paradox' by testing the hypothesis that mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) deplete localized patches of young leaves and therefore experience feeding competition. One group of 8 adult individuals was studied July and August 2015 at Piro Research Station in the Osa …

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Does Inflated Responsibility Moderate The Relationship Between Thought-Action Fusion Beliefs And Neutralizing Behaviors?, Brenda Ellen Bailey Jan 2016

Does Inflated Responsibility Moderate The Relationship Between Thought-Action Fusion Beliefs And Neutralizing Behaviors?, Brenda Ellen Bailey

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study sought to empirically assess the theoretically suggested relationship---according to the cognitive-behavioral model---among cognitive beliefs in producing obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Two beliefs were identified: the belief that one is responsible for negative effects of thoughts and behaviors by either failing to prevent or acting to cause harm (inflated responsibility) and the belief that thoughts about negative events happening to others can increase their likelihood of occurring (thought-action fusion likelihood-others [TAF-LO]). A sample of N = 102 students participated in a manipulation of inflated responsibility by completing a linguistically altered measure of responsibility that either encouraged (high responsibility [HR]) or discouraged …

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Domestic Violence Counselors' Supervision Experiences : A Qualitative Inquiry, Ann Friesema Jan 2016

Domestic Violence Counselors' Supervision Experiences : A Qualitative Inquiry, Ann Friesema

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study provided understanding into how domestic violence counselors experience clinical supervision. Domestic violence counselors' supervision experiences, the relationship in supervision, and the ways in which counselors utilize supervision to meet their developmental and self-care needs were explored. Seven participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. All seven participants were employed as full-time domestic violence counselors in non-profit agency settings in which counseling services were provided to victims of domestic violence and their children free of charge. Participants were required to hold a master's degree in counseling, or related field, receive weekly clinical supervision, and provide free counseling …

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Dreamkeepers At The Gate : Culturally Relevant And Responsive Pedagogy In The Community College Classroom, Stephanie A. Whalen Jan 2016

Dreamkeepers At The Gate : Culturally Relevant And Responsive Pedagogy In The Community College Classroom, Stephanie A. Whalen

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study was inspired by Gloria Ladson-Billings's work on culturally relevant pedagogy, which examined the common conceptions and shared aims of "Dreamkeepers" who were identified as particularly effective instructors of African American students. In addition to exploring the dispositions of Dreamkeeper faculty at the community college, the instructional practices of these faculty members were analyzed using the descriptive characteristics of culturally responsive pedagogy according to Geneva Gay. The implications of the study include deeper understanding of a culturally relevant pedagogy and cultural integrity as foundations for cultural responsiveness in the community college classroom. These concepts are clarified through qualitative analyses …

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Elephant On A Stepladder : An Exploration Of Pre-Service English Teacher Assessment Literacy, Amy M. Howerton Jan 2016

Elephant On A Stepladder : An Exploration Of Pre-Service English Teacher Assessment Literacy, Amy M. Howerton

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to examine pre-service high school English teachers' instructional experiences with formative assessment while student teaching. Participants were gathered using a web-based questionnaire, the Pre-Service Teacher Assessment Literacy Questionnaire, regarding assessment literacy skills. The study focused on five pre-service teachers enrolled in Midwestern universities who participated in five one-hour interviews and two 45-minute non-evaluative observations during the student teaching experience. Data from the questionnaire, interview, and observation data collection tools were analyzed using qualitative methods and through the theoretical lens of adult learning theory, theories of human development, and hermeneutic theory. Three key …

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Emotion Intolerance And Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms, Stephanie Renee Orbon Jan 2016

Emotion Intolerance And Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms, Stephanie Renee Orbon

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Cognitive theories of OCD emphasize the role of dysfunctional interpretations of one's thoughts in the etiology and maintenance of OC symptoms. However, high levels of dysfunctional obsessive beliefs are not found to be characteristic of all individuals with OCD. The current study sought to investigate the possibility that an alternative process for symptom development may need to be considered. Specifically, it was hypothesized that low tolerance to various emotional experiences may be an important factor contributing to OC symptoms. Due to the heterogeneity of OCD, the "intolerable" emotional experience was thought to vary among individuals based on their specific symptoms. …

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Energy Expenditure Of Collegiate Golfers In A Competitive Setting, Kaela May Hierholzer Jan 2016

Energy Expenditure Of Collegiate Golfers In A Competitive Setting, Kaela May Hierholzer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Collegiate golf is a physically demanding sport, however, little research has been done to establish the amount of energy expenditure and metabolic demand that is placed on a golfer in a competitive tournament. With the advances in wearable technology, it has become more accessible to gain knowledge on physical activities taking place in the field. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy of the Garmin VivoactiveHR(TM) activity tracker in the lab, in order to establish the amount of energy expenditure a collegiate golfer experiences during a competitive golf tournament. METHODS: Eight NCAA caliber golfers (4 males …

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Engineering And Chromosomal Integration Of A Functional Butanol Pathway In Escherichia Coli For Butanol Fermentation, Erin Garza Jan 2016

Engineering And Chromosomal Integration Of A Functional Butanol Pathway In Escherichia Coli For Butanol Fermentation, Erin Garza

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

A butanol fermentation pathway was engineered in Escherichia coli through cloning and chromosomal integration of the butanol genes (thiL, CA_C2873, hbd, crt, bcd, etfA, etfB, adhe1, adhe2, bdhAB) from Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC824. Initially, a minimal set of butanol pathway genes (thiL, hbd, crt, bcd, etfAB, adhe2) was transcriptionally fused with a pflBp6 promoter and were integrated into the chromosome of E. coli EG10, a strain lacking endogenous competing fermentation pathways, resulting in strain EG60. Anaerobic fermentations showed that EG60 was able to produce 100 muM butanol, suggesting that the butanol pathway genes were effectively expressed for butanol production. Although the …

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Early Pliocene Ross Sea Paleoclimate And A New Application Of The Diatom Oxygen Isotope Proxy, Hal W. Hackett Jan 2016

Early Pliocene Ross Sea Paleoclimate And A New Application Of The Diatom Oxygen Isotope Proxy, Hal W. Hackett

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Oxygen isotope measurements (δ¹⁸O) provide valuable insight into climate conditions. These data are advantageous as paleoclimate proxies, but records are sparse in high latitude waters, where calcareous microfossils are poorly preserved in marine sediments. Over glacial timescales, high latitude regions likely have the widest variability in terms of the δ¹⁸O values of marine waters; therefore, the paucity of data in these regions greatly hinders our ability to reconstruct global climatic and environmental change. This research is motivated to investigate Southern Ocean diatoms as a way to begin filling the gap in our knowledge. Diatoms are a cosmopolitan group of siliceous …

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Economics Of Network, Gender, And Ceo Compensation, Herman Sahni Jan 2016

Economics Of Network, Gender, And Ceo Compensation, Herman Sahni

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

One of the most perplexing phenomenons in economics is the existence of differences in average wages between the sexes for the same job, despite far less gender dispersion in educational investments, credentials, career commitment, motivation, and training. The pay gap explanations till date are too restrictive in their approach and application, which prompts the following question: Are we missing something here? This collection of works irrefutably show that under some circumstances, social capital, which is defined as the reciprocal obligations that result from business relationships, becomes a viable candidate in explaining differential earnings between men and women. Social capital is …

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Edge States In Single-Layer Graphene, Harsh Deshpande Jan 2016

Edge States In Single-Layer Graphene, Harsh Deshpande

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

We study, analytically, the edge states in monolayer graphene. We use the Hamiltonian based on the nearest neighbour tight binding approximation. We proceed to Taylor expand the Hamiltonian about the time-reversal invariant M point. Working with this Hamiltonian, we demonstrate the presence of dispersionless edge states for graphene ribbons with zigzag edges. Taking a purely analytical approach to the problem avails us not only a better qualitative understanding, but also gives us a finer control over the system.

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Educational Videogame Design Strategies Used To Improve Motivation In Engineering Students, Thomas Abdul Rasheed Jan 2016

Educational Videogame Design Strategies Used To Improve Motivation In Engineering Students, Thomas Abdul Rasheed

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The use of traditional textbooks in engineering education is uninspiring and unrewarding for engineering students, resulting in many such students' low motivation and lack of interest in their schoolwork. In contrast, the American culture's ubiquitous factor of computer technology devices contributes to effective communication and entertainment. Today, computer videogames are owned and played by 80% of American children between the ages of 8 and 18. Plus, research studies have proven that computer videogame technology can motivate students in learning environments. The use of videogames in education is therefore a user-centered strategy because most youth today are familiar with the technology …

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Effect Of Geometrical Size And Unit Cell Capacity On High Performance Lithium-Ion Battery, Dharani Thej Reddy Eswarawaka Jan 2016

Effect Of Geometrical Size And Unit Cell Capacity On High Performance Lithium-Ion Battery, Dharani Thej Reddy Eswarawaka

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Electric Vehicles (EV) have a promising solution to the current greenhouse gas emission problems and escalating prices of the fossil fuels. One considerable factor contributing to the drawbacks of EVs is safety of the battery. Lithium ion batteries are known for their higher energy densities and potential for higher capacities thus considered one of the most important electrochemical energy storage system. Thermal run-away is critical for EVs as they have a wide range of charge and discharge rates. So effective heat transfer and protection against high operating temperatures are crucial. This study focuses on the effect of geometrical size and …

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Experiencing Recovery At Work : Energetic Benefits Of Social Media Micro-Breaks, Pamela R. Waltz Jan 2016

Experiencing Recovery At Work : Energetic Benefits Of Social Media Micro-Breaks, Pamela R. Waltz

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examined the impact of social media micro-breaks during the workday on worker energy. Social media micro-breaks (SMMBs) are discretionary, nonwork breaks that employees insert throughout the workday to engage with social media. Although it is well documented that employees use social media for personal purposes during the workday, little is known about the impact of SMMBs on employee well-being. Drawing on the frameworks proposed by the Job Demands-Resources model of job stress and the Stressor-Detachment model, two studies were conducted to examine 1) whether the frequency and duration of SMMBs positively impacted worker energy by reducing workday fatigue …

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Cfd And Aero-Acoustic Analysis Of Flush Toilet In Airplanes, Dheeraj Kamthamneni Jan 2016

Cfd And Aero-Acoustic Analysis Of Flush Toilet In Airplanes, Dheeraj Kamthamneni

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

With the global expansion of air travel and increase in the fleet size of the aircraft with modern technology, the demand for the reduction of sound levels in the airplane toilet is increasing, as it causes discomfort to the passengers. During the cleansing process by air (vacuum), high level of acoustic noise is produced due to the turbulent vortex flow and boundary layer flow separation in the bowl. This study involves investigation of noise generation in a vacuum toilet during the evacuation of bowl in a flush cycle and to identify means to reduce the noise below a target level. …

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Changes In The U.S. Hurricane Disaster Landscape : The Relationship Between Risk And Exposure, Ashley Irizarry Jan 2016

Changes In The U.S. Hurricane Disaster Landscape : The Relationship Between Risk And Exposure, Ashley Irizarry

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This research appraises how residential built-environment growth influences coastal exposure and how this fundamental component of societal vulnerability contributes to tropical cyclone impact and disaster potential. Historical and future demographic projections from a high-resolution, spatial allocation model illustrate that the area within 50 km of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coastlines has the greatest housing unit density of any physiographic region in the U.S., with residential development in this particular region outpacing non-coastal areas. The growing development footprint and residential densification in a region that has a very high risk to tropical cyclone hazards suggests intensifying disaster potential for U.S. …

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Changes In The U.S. Tornado Disaster Landscape, Stephen M. Strader Jan 2016

Changes In The U.S. Tornado Disaster Landscape, Stephen M. Strader

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Weather disaster severity and frequency are a function of both hazard risk as well as the underlying socioeconomic settings exposed to the hazard. In general, previous studies have concentrated on how risk or vulnerability influence disaster potential, but not on the important interaction of these two disaster constituents. This dissertation examines a single hazard---the tornado---and evaluates how this hazard's evolving risk interrelates with the important human vulnerability component of residential built-environment exposure. The research assesses these interactions across the high tornado risk areas of the central and eastern U.S. from 1940 to 2100 using fine-scale demographic data and a Monte …

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Characterization And Inhibitor Evaluation Of Ispd And Ispe Enzymes From The Non-Mevalonate Pathway, Brian E. Hartnett Jan 2016

Characterization And Inhibitor Evaluation Of Ispd And Ispe Enzymes From The Non-Mevalonate Pathway, Brian E. Hartnett

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

There is an immediate need for new antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance is rising at an alarming rate. In addition, certain select agents are a risk for bioterrorism that necessitate the discovery of new antibiotics. The methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway is a metabolic pathway that produces the isoprenoid precursors, isopentyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP). Notably, the MEP pathway is present in most bacteria and not mammals, which makes the enzymes of the MEP pathway attractive targets for discovering new anti-infective agents due to reduced chances of off-target interactions leading to side effects. Currently, there are very few known inhibitors of …

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Characterization Of Potential Anti-Infective Agents Of Burkholderia Pseudomallei Targeting Ispf, Joy Michelle Blain Jan 2016

Characterization Of Potential Anti-Infective Agents Of Burkholderia Pseudomallei Targeting Ispf, Joy Michelle Blain

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

There is an urgent need for new anti-infective agents. Pathogenic organisms continue to develop resistance to modern-day antibiotics, while there has been a significant decline in the development of antibiotics over the last 30 years. One particular pathway of interest in the development of new antibiotics is the biosynthesis of isoprenoids. These compounds are essential chemical building blocks in pathogenic organisms such as Plasmodium falciparum, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Burkholderia pseudomallei. Notably, there are two distinct pathways in the biosynthesis of isoprenoids called the Mevalonate (MVA) pathway and the 2C-methyl-D-erythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway. The MEP pathway enzymes are attractive targets in …

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Enhancement Of Vicarious Stress Through Prior Established Bond : Determining The Role Of The Arginine Vasopressin 1a Receptor, Joshua Jonathan Wardwell Jan 2016

Enhancement Of Vicarious Stress Through Prior Established Bond : Determining The Role Of The Arginine Vasopressin 1a Receptor, Joshua Jonathan Wardwell

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The experience of stress can have profoundly negative effects on overall psychological and physiological health. It is also true that in social species, interactions with others can have the power to either ameliorate or potentiate these effects. As both stress levels and social interconnectedness rise within our world, it becomes imperative for science to better understand the interactions between stress and the social environment. In support of this goal, the purpose of the current study was to investigate whether a prior established bond between two social animals enhances the physiological and behavioral response to stress in a bonded partner that …

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Enhancing The Ethanol Pathway In Escherichia Coli Rm10 For Improved Ethanol Production From Xylose, Ryan Allan Manow Jan 2016

Enhancing The Ethanol Pathway In Escherichia Coli Rm10 For Improved Ethanol Production From Xylose, Ryan Allan Manow

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Due to its capability to ferment biomass-derived pentose and hexose, Escherichia coli is considered a potential biocatalyst for production of bioethanol. Gene deletions and promoter replacements were previously employed to engineer a non-transgenic homoethanol pathway in E. coli [glucose (or 1.2 xylose) => (glycolysis) => 2 pyruvate + 2 NADH => (pyruvate dehydrogenase, aceEF-lpd operon) => 2 acetyl-CoA + 4 NADH => (alcohol dehydrogenase, adhE) => 2 acetaldehyde + 2 NADH => (alcohol dehydrogenase) => 2 ethanol]. The resulting strain, RM10, is able to produce ethanol from xylose and glucose, with a yield greater than 90% theoretical (one mole of …

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Erosion Boundary Effects Due To Fill Fraction Variation : A Study Of Quasi 2d Tumblers Of Granular Systems, Adam N. Spitulnik Jan 2016

Erosion Boundary Effects Due To Fill Fraction Variation : A Study Of Quasi 2d Tumblers Of Granular Systems, Adam N. Spitulnik

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Simulations of granular flow assume a consistent flowing layer profile observed in circular tumblers that were half full. While the constant shear rate model predicts mixing kinematics adequately, the model has not been empirically tested in systems where the erosion from the solid body has velocity components along the dynamic angle of repose. This thesis explores experiments that analyze the relationship be- tween tumbler fill fraction and the kinematics of the erosion boundary transition into the flowing layer. Tumblers greater than 50% full have inertial velocity along the angle of repose; fill conditions less than 50% enter with velocity opposite …

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Essays In Business Cycles, Ningru Zhao Jan 2016

Essays In Business Cycles, Ningru Zhao

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to explain several phenomena in business cycles. The first chapter serves to introduce the aims and methods of the subsequent chapters. Chapter 2 incorporates empirical methodology and a proposed dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model with Epstein-Zin preferences and several real rigidities to investigate and explain the differing effects of surprise and anticipated government spending shocks. Chapter 3 studies the implication of asset pricing under news-driven business cycles. This chapter achieves a desirable equity premium and risk-free rate under news-driven business cycles with a lower relative risk aversion (RRA) and an intertemporal elasticity of …

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Essays In Financial Economics, Mohammadjavad Pakdel Jan 2016

Essays In Financial Economics, Mohammadjavad Pakdel

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two self-contained essays. The first essay compares out-of-sample performance of asset allocation using forward-looking information and backward-looking information. The existing literature processes forward-looking and backward-looking information using different models and consequently different sets of assumptions. Therefore, one might wonder if superior performance of portfolios using these two sources of information should be attributed to superiority of sources of information or superiority of models underlying them. In contrast, this study uses the identical stochastic volatility model to process both forward-looking and backward-looking information. The empirical results of this study show that the investor will be significantly better …

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Enhanced Convective Air Cooling Of Electronics With Multiple Printed Circuit Boards (Pcbs) Using Turbulance Generators, Kyle Jackson Jan 2016

Enhanced Convective Air Cooling Of Electronics With Multiple Printed Circuit Boards (Pcbs) Using Turbulance Generators, Kyle Jackson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this research is to perform experimental and computational simulation analysis of a turbulence generator method of increasing convective heat transfer of electronic chips in an electronic device with multiple Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). With this achieved, higher power levels can be used and/or the air flow needed to maintain a given operating temperature can be reduced. The air flow is deflected or disturbed by deflectors or vortex generator elements placed in strategic locations in the air stream. The models are simulated in Star CCM+ CFD software, and experimentally validated using a customized test facility with computer data …

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Essays In Public Economics, Xiandeng Jiang Jan 2016

Essays In Public Economics, Xiandeng Jiang

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation contains two self-contained chapters. Although each essay examines a different question and each contributes to several distinct bodies of literatures, the essays are linked by findings and implications related to public economics. The first chapter contributes to dynamic contest theory by examining the effects of a relative performance based-prize scheme on the expected effort and the final results in best-of-N contests. The second chapter investigates the relation between a sitting governor's popularity and the incumbent's tax policy choices. Chapter 1 contributes to existing literature on contest and tournament. It examines the effects of a relative performance prize scheme …

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Essays In Minimum Wage, School Enrollment And Employment, Zheng Pan Jan 2016

Essays In Minimum Wage, School Enrollment And Employment, Zheng Pan

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the effects of minimum wages on school enrollment and employment in the United States. A traditional two-way fixed-effects approach may not fully control for unobserved spatial heterogeneity, which potentially explains conflicting results for the impacts of the minimum wage on school enrollment and employment. I develop two research designs that address the spatial heterogeneity issue by using county pairs and commuting zones (CZs). The identification strategy of the first essay is based on a simple idea: In a contiguous county pair with different minimum wages across a state border, school districts in …

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Bystander Action Or Inaction During Bullying : An Investigation Into The Role Of Gender, Empathy, Attitudes Toward Aggression, And Social Support, Trevor Bixler Jan 2016

Bystander Action Or Inaction During Bullying : An Investigation Into The Role Of Gender, Empathy, Attitudes Toward Aggression, And Social Support, Trevor Bixler

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis is constructed to delineate mechanisms that influence bystander behavior in the presence of bullying phenomena. Purpose for this study is derived from the shallow empirical history of differentiation between passive outsiders and intervening defenders, particularly when concerned with student populations within the United States. This study included child participants in grades four and five from the Midwestern region. These participants were administered a series of survey measures, in addition being read aloud a vignette depicting bullying. Role orientation, defender or outsider, were examined as an outcome to be related with the social-cognitive predictor variables of empathy, attitudes toward …

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Carbon Assimilation Of Oak Seedlings In Response To Canopy Thinning Treatments At The Morton Arboretum In Lisle, Illinois, Usa, Mary Rebecca Moses Jan 2016

Carbon Assimilation Of Oak Seedlings In Response To Canopy Thinning Treatments At The Morton Arboretum In Lisle, Illinois, Usa, Mary Rebecca Moses

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

White and bur oak savanna was once the dominant vegetation type in the Midwestern United States prior to European settlement. Within the oak savanna biome were pockets of oak-hickory closed forested sites, usually occurring in mesic areas and on the east side of rivers. Restoration efforts to restore the land back to savanna and closed canopy oak dominated forests are met with varying success. There is a need for understanding canopy openness requirements, and ideal forest floor light levels for successful oak regeneration. The purpose of this study is to determine success of oak seedlings growing under varying canopy treatments. …

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