Digital Commons Network^™

Predictors Of Influenza Vaccination Compliance Among Union And Nonunion Workers In A Pennsylvania Health Care System, Ericka Lynne Kalp

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

To improve U.S. residents' health, advocates are focusing their efforts on workplace health. Researchers have found that unionization is a positive influence on workers' participation in health promotion programs relating to smoking and obesity prevention. However, the effect of union membership on other health promotion initiatives, such as influenza vaccination compliance among health care workers, has not been examined. The purpose of this quantitative study was to address this knowledge gap between a union and a nonunion health care facility in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The health belief model was used to determine if different domains of influenza vaccination …

Parents Perception Of Safety In Pennsylvania And Children's Activity And Weight, Linda C. Carr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Physical activity is associated with many health benefits to include weight management, lower risk for chronic diseases, and improved mental health and self esteem. The built environment has been linked to lower physical activity levels and overweight and obesity in children living in low income communities but the exact causes need further investigation. The purpose of this quantitative, cross sectional study was to examine the association between parents' perception of safety and body mass index (BMI) percentile and children's physical activity/ inactivity levels and children's BMI as measured by the National Survey of Children's Health (2011/12 NSCH). The sample consisted …

Predictors Of Stress Among Caribbean Community College Students, Jean Merle Da Silva

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research on North American and European students have reported moderate to severe levels of stress in more than 90% of students, which has been linked to negative health outcomes. However, there is a paucity of data on the stress of Caribbean students. Higher education in the Caribbean has undergone a transformation with wider access and higher enrollment; thus, it is important that the effects and characteristics of this transformation are researched and documented. Accordingly, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the experience of students in 2 year community colleges in the Caribbean. Using the theoretical foundation of …

Moving Evidence Into Practice: Early Sepsis Identification And Timely Intervention In The Emergency Department (Project Code Sepsis), Jonjon Macalintal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sepsis is the leading cause of death among hospitalized patients in the United States, is responsible for more than 200,000 deaths annually, and has as high as a 50% mortality rate. Sepsis requires prompt identification so that early goal-directed therapy can be instituted to lead to better outcomes. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine if implementing an evidence-based identification and intervention program, Project Code Sepsis, in the emergency department can increase the number of patients who receive antibiotics within the first hour of triage and decrease the length of hospital stay. Specifically, the primary project goals …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Experience Of Humanist, Spiritual, And Transpersonal Films On Positive Organizational Behaviors In The Workplace, Frederick Henry Keeve

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A solution is needed to counteract violent news, Internet, and other negative media images and management behaviors in the workplace, in order to boost engagement and prosocial behaviors at work. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the attitudes of working professionals toward prosocial behaviors and employee engagement in the workplace as affected by transpersonal Hollywood films. An organization's ability to survive is directly related to empowerment and innovation. Classic films provide a gateway for transpersonal experiences that could change behavior and thoughts. Peterson and Seligman's transformational typology involving 6 character virtues and 24 strengths was the basis …

Implementation Of International Financial Reporting Standards By Listed Companies In Nigeria, Emmanuel Inalegwu Ogbenjuwa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study is on implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by reporting entities in Nigeria. Since Nigeria adopted IFRS in 2010, managers of reporting entities have been confronted with organizational changes both in the structures and processes of financial reporting. Previous studies have not assessed the claims that adopting IFRS improves the quality of financial reports and managerial efficiency. This study evaluated the assertion that IFRS adoption impacts the quality of financial reports, operational costs, and operational efficiencies of management. The theoretical frameworks which undergirded the study were theories of organizational behaviors and attitudinal change. Data were collected via …

Experience With Social Support Systems Among Women Exposed To Intimate Partner Violence In Cameroon, Ahone Esther-Alice Ngujede

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The southwest and northwest regions of Cameroon have experienced high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). Limited information is available about IPV victims' experiences with social support systems. This phenomenological study was aimed at investigating IPV victims' lived experiences with social support systems in Cameroon. Some of these systems are the judicial system, police officers, hospitals and clinics, and domestic violence agencies. The Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) were used to understand how 8 self-identified victims of IPV were able to discuss their lived experiences with social support systems. The research questions addressed women's …

The Utility Of Health Care Performance Indicators In Evaluating Low Back Surgery, Pradeep K. Narotam

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low back syndrome affects 20% of people, and it is estimated that 30% of patients are unable to return to work after surgery. The monitoring of health care outcomes could improve the delivery of health services. The health performance conceptual framework, derived from the Donabedian model, was used to evaluate the functional outcome, clinical recovery, response to surgery, and physician performance of the surgical management of lumbar spine degeneration. A quantitative study (n=685) was undertaken using an administrative database in a repeated-measures design. The clinical and functional outcome improvements were analyzed using t tests. Surgical complexity on health outcome was …

There Is More To Gesture Than Meets The Eye: Visual Attention To Gesture’S Referents Cannot Account For Its Facilitative Effects During Math Instruction, Miriam A. Novack, Elizabeth M. Wakefield, Eliza L. Congdon, Steven Franconeri, Susan Goldin-Meadow

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Teaching a new concept with gestures – hand movements that accompany speech – facilitates learning above-and-beyond instruction through speech alone (e.g., Singer & GoldinMeadow, 2005). However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are still being explored. Here, we use eye tracking to explore one mechanism – gesture’s ability to direct visual attention. We examine how children allocate their visual attention during a mathematical equivalence lesson that either contains gesture or does not. We show that gesture instruction improves posttest performance, and additionally that gesture does change how children visually attend to instruction: children look more to the problem being explained, and …

"Bitch," Go Directly To Jail: Student Speech And Entry Into The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Catherine J. Ross

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article demonstrates the close connection between student speech that the First Amendment protects (even for students in grades K-12) and penalties school authorities impose on speech they find controversial or offensive. The penalties include deprivation of instructional time—suspension, expulsion and assignment to alternative school for troubled and disruptive youth. The link between the exercise of First Amendment rights and school discipline that starts young people on the school-to-prison pipeline is even more dramatic when on-site police officers arrest students or schools refer them to the juvenile justice system for violating a school speech code – rules imposed by the …

Taming The Wild West: Online Excesses, Reactions And Overreactions, Catherine J. Ross

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

A review essay discussing Danielle Keats Citron’s Hate Crimes in Cyberspace (Harvard University Press 2014) and Amy Adele Hasinoff’s, Sexting Panic: Rethinking Criminalization, Privacy and Consent (University of Illinois Press 2015). Both books consider the risks and harms in cyberspace, blaming of victims, and the interaction between law and online expression. Citron documents widespread hate speech, cyberstalking, revenge porn, and other speech that especially targets women online. Hasinoff, grounded in feminist and cultural studies, emphasizes the positive aspects of the agency girls who sext voluntarily display in exploring and displaying their sexuality, arguing that advising girls that control of their …

The Narrowing Of Federal Power By The American Political Capital, David Fontana

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Essay -- prepared for a symposium hosted by the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal on the future of the District of Columbia -- argues that American federal power can be better understood by considering the features of the metropolitan area that houses the most important parts of the American federal government. In other American metropolitan areas and in most capital metropolitan areas elsewhere in the world, local life features multiple and diverse industries. Washington is the metropolitan area that houses the most important parts of the American federal government, and Washington is dominated by the government and …

The Troublesome Inheritance Of Americans In Magna Carta And Trial By Jury, Renée Lettow Lerner

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Many Americans insisted on their traditional rights as Englishmen in the conflict with Britain before and after declaring independence. Magna Carta—particularly the provisions concerning the “law of the land” and “judgment of his peers”—embodied fundamental rights of Englishmen that American revolutionaries were willing to fight to protect. As Edward Coke had found more than a century before, American revolutionaries understood that invoking such an ancient document inspired resistance to authority.

Americans cherished Magna Carta most because of its association with jury trial. Juries had proved useful to Americans in their conflict with Britain. Colonial American juries had nullified the law …

Explaining Variations In Bailout Policies: A Review Of Cornelia Woll's The Power Of Inaction, Arthur E. Wilmarth Jr., Kelsey M. Barnes

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In The Power of Inaction: Bank Bailouts in Comparison (Cornell Univ. Press, 2014), Professor Cornelia Woll asks a question of fundamental importance: "What was the nature of power [that] finance wielded over the fate of the economy and the crisis management in 2008, which affected the lives of so many?" To measure the effective power that the financial industry wielded during the crisis, Woll compares the terms of bailout programs that governments adopted in six countries. She contends that financial institutions were more likely to receive larger amounts of public support, and to make minimal contributions to rescue plans, in …

Formal Versus Functional Method In Comparative Constitutional Law, Francesca Bignami

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In the field of comparative constitutional law, the dominant approach to concept formation and research design is formal. That is, comparative projects generally identify what counts as the supreme law that can be enforced against all other sources of law based on the “constitutional” label of the positive law (written constitutions and the jurisprudence of constitutional courts) and the law books. This formal method, however, has significant limitations when compared with the functional method used in the field of comparative law more generally speaking. After a brief exposition of the functional method, this article explores the advantages of the functional …

Protection Of Persons In The Event Of Disasters And Other Topics: The Sixty-Eighth Session Of The International Law Commission, Sean D. Murphy

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The International Law Commission held its sixty-eighth session in Geneva from May 2 to June 10, and from July 4 to August 12, 2016, under the chairmanship of Pedro Comissário Afonso (Mozambique). Notably, the Commission completed on second reading a full set of eighteen draft articles with commentary on the protection of persons in the event of disasters and recommended to the United Nations General Assembly that it elaborate a convention based on the draft articles.

Additionally, the Commission adopted on first reading a complete set of draft conclusions, with commentary, for two topics: identification of customary international law; and …

Gender And The Sharing Economy, Naomi Schoenbaum

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

While the sharing economy has been celebrated as a flexible alternative to traditional employment for those with family responsibilities, especially women, it presents challenges for gender equality. Many of the services that are “shared” take place in the context of intimacy, which can have substantial consequences for transacting, particularly by enhancing the importance of identity of both the worker and the customer. Expanding on previous research on intimate work — a critical area that exists largely in limbo between the law of the market and the law of the family — this Article, written for the Cooper-Walsh Colloquium, explores the …

Comparing Process-Based And Constraint-Based Approaches For Modeling Macroecological Patterns, Xiao Xiao

Biology Faculty Publications

Ecological patterns arise from the interplay of many different processes, and yet the emergence of consistent phenomena across a diverse range of ecological systems suggests that many patterns may in part be determined by statistical or numerical constraints. Differentiating the extent to which patterns in a given system are determined statistically, and where it requires explicit ecological processes, has been difficult. We tackled this challenge by directly comparing models from a constraint-based theory, the Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology (METE) and models from a process-based theory, the size-structured neutral theory (SSNT). Models from both theories were capable of characterizing the …

Diagnostic Doses And Times For Phlebotomus Papatasi And Lutzomiya Longipalpis Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phleboominae) Using The Cdc Bottle Bioassay To Assess Insecticide Resistance, David S. Denlinger, Joseph A. Creswell, J. Laine Anderson, Connor K. Reese, Scott A. Bernhardt

Biology Faculty Publications

Background: Insecticide resistance to synthetic chemical insecticides is a worldwide concern in phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae), the vectors of Leishmania spp. parasites. The CDC bottle bioassay assesses resistance by testing populations against verified diagnostic doses and diagnostic times for an insecticide, but the assay has been used limitedly with sand flies. The objective of this study was to determine diagnostic doses and diagnostic times for laboratory Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Nieva) and Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli) to ten insecticides, including pyrethroids, organophosphates, carbamates, and DDT, that are used worldwide to control vectors.

Methods: Bioassays were conducted in 1,000-ml …

Managing The Spread Of Alfalfa Stem Nematodes (Ditylenchus Dipsaci): The Relationship Between Crop Rotation Periods And Pest Re-Emergence, S. Jordan, Claudia Nischwitz, Ricardo A. Ramirez, L. Gordillo

Biology Faculty Publications

Alfalfa is a critical cash/rotation crop in the western region of the United States, where it is common to find crops affected by the alfalfa stem nematode (Ditylenchus dipsaci). Understanding the spread dynamics associated with this pest would allow end-users to design better management programs and farming practices. This is of particular importance given that there are no nematicides available against alfalfa stem nematode and control strategies largely rely on crop rotation to non-host crops or by planting resistant varieties. I present a basic host-parasite model that describes the spread of the alfalfa stem nematode on alfalfa crops. With this …

Fluorescent Nanocomposite Of Embedded Ceria Nanoparticles In Crosslinked Pva Electrospun Nanofibers, Nader Shehata, Soha Gaballah, Effat Samir, Aya Hamed, Marwa Saad

Biology Faculty Publications

This paper introduces a new fluorescent nanocomposite of electrospun biodegradable nanofibers embedded with optical nanoparticles. In detail, this work introduces the fluorescence properties of PVA nanofibers generated by the electrospinning technique with embedded cerium oxide (ceria) nanoparticles. Under near-ultra violet excitation, the synthesized nanocomposite generates a visible fluorescent emission at 520 nm, varying its intensity peak according to the concentration of in situ embedded ceria nanoparticles. This is due to the fact that the embedded ceria nanoparticles have optical tri-valiant cerium ions, associated with formed oxygen vacancies, with a direct allowed bandgap around 3.5 eV. In addition, the impact of …

Association Of The Female Of Perdita (Xeromacrotera) Cephalotes (Cresson), And A Replacement Name For Perdita Bohartorum Parker (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zach Portman, Terry L. Griswold, James P. Pitts

Biology Faculty Publications

The monotypic Perdita subgenus Xeromacrotera Timberlake is currently known only from the male sex. Here, the female of Perdita (Xeromacrotera) cephalotes (Cresson, 1878) is associated, resulting in two new junior synonyms of P. (X.) cephalotes: Perdita (Procockerellia) excellens Timberlake, 1958, new synonym and Perdita (Cockerellia) autumnalis Timberlake, 1977, new synonym. The true number of maxillary palpi are reported, and updated subgeneric and species diagnoses are provided. In addition, Perdita boharti Portman & Griswold, new name, is designated as a replacement name for the primary junior homonym P. bohartorum Parker, 1983 …

The “Prudent Person” Standard In Esop Breach Of Duty Of Care Claims, Zien Halwani

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are a form of statutory pension program designed to invest employee retirement assets in the stock of the employer. Under the Employment Retirement and Income Securities Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), ESOP fiduciaries must discharge their duties “with the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances prevailing that a prudent man acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims.” This is to say that under ERISA, ESOP fiduciaries are liable for breaches of duty of care, …

Circulation Of Schmallenberg Virus In Turkey, 2013, Şükrü Tonbak, Ahmet Kürşat Azkur, Züleyha Pesti̇l, Emel Biyikli, Hasan Abayli, Ersoy Baydar, Wim H.M. Van Der Poel, Hakan Bulut

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Schmallenberg virus (SBV) infection emerged in European domestic and wild ruminants in 2011. There is very limited information about the characterization of SBV isolates and the epidemiology of its infections in the rest of world, except for in European countries. We investigated the circulation of SBV in cattle herds in Central Anatolia, Turkey, in 2013. A total of 180 whole-blood samples were analyzed using real-time RT-PCR. The presence of SBV RNA was detected in 6 (3.3%) samples. For phylogenetic analysis and confirmation of real-time RT-PCR results, the S gene segment was amplified, sequenced, and compared to other segments. In addition, …

Comparison Of The Development Of Mouse Embryos Manipulatedwith Different Biopsy Techniques, Ali̇ Ci̇han Taşkin, Tolga Akkoç, Hakan Sağirkaya, Haydar Bağiş, Sezen Arat

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis is the detection of inherited diseases and the sex of embryos before implantation in the practice of human medicine as well as in veterinary medicine. The introduction of experimental animal embryo biopsy techniques has been a milestone in the developmental process of preimplantation genetic diagnosis techniques. The aim of the present study was to evaluate in vivo and in vitro development of embryos after biopsy in an experimental mouse model and to perform comparisons across different biopsy techniques (blastomere biopsy and trophectoderm biopsy). At the end of the study, no significant difference was observed between the blastomere …

Estimation Of Stray Dog And Cat Populations In Metropolitan Ankara, Turkey, Doğukan Özen, Dankmar Böhning, İsmayi̇l Safa Gürcan

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Stray dogs and cats contribute to serious health problems in human societies around the world. Before any necessary interventions to control the stray dogs and cats, an accurate estimate of their populations should be attained. Yet, there is a very limited number of methods for an estimation. Some of them depend on the identification of marked or counted animals. However, problems arise when it is not possible to identify a previously captured animal. In this paper, we used a different approach to estimate the lower bound for the total number of dogs and cats in consecutively visited settlements that might …

Evaluation Of Renal And Hepatic Functions In Cattle With Subclinical And Clinical Ketosis, Mustafa İssi̇, Yusuf Gül, Onur Başbuğ

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The purpose of this study was to research the changes in renal and hepatic functions of high productive dairy cows diagnosed with subclinical and clinical ketosis. The material of the study consisted of 30 dairy cows of high milk production. Diagnosis of ketosis was made according to anamnesis, physical examination, urine ketone bodies, and serum β-hydroxybutyric acid levels. The animals were divided according to their serum β-hydroxybutyric acid levels into control, subclinical, and clinical ketosis groups, each of which included 10 cows. Serum glucose, urea, creatinine, total protein, aspartate amino transaminase (AST), and total bilirubin levels were determined with an …

The Effect Of Ovulatory Follicle Size At The Time Of Insemination Onpregnancy Rate In Lactating Dairy Cows, Abdulkadi̇r Keski̇n, Gülnaz Meci̇toğlu, Ebru Bi̇len, Bariş Güner, Abdülkadi̇r Orman, Hayretti̇n Okut, Ahmet Gümen

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The aims of this study were to determine the factors that affect follicle size at the time of artificial insemination (AI) and to detect the relationship between ovulatory follicle size at the time of AI and pregnancy rate in dairy cows. A total of 1428 follicle size measurements were obtained from Holstein-Friesian (HF) and Swedish Red (SR) cows that were inseminated with the fixed-timed AI protocols used in this study. Follicle size was affected by breed (P = 0.0001), milk production (P = 0.01), parity (P = 0.05), and season (P = 0.04). Follicle size was greater (P = 0.0001) …

Comparative Evaluation Of Factors Affecting Hemagglutinatingactivity Of Avian Influenza (H9) Virus, Asfa Rasool, Sameera Akhtar, Khushi Muhammad, Masood Rabbani, Aftab Ahmed Anjum, Javed Muhammad, Arfan Ahmad, Ali Ahmad Sheikh, Fakhra Liaqat, Fariha Akhtar, Rabia Tahir

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Influenza virus H9 was standardized for hemagglutination assay using different factors such as red blood cell (RBC) types, concentrations, diluent types, and storage times. Avian influenza virus H9 was grown in embryonated chicken eggs and confirmed by spot agglutination. A significant (P < 0.05) difference with the highest mean titer (9.00 ± 0.00) was observed using RBCs from different species. Nonsignificant differences (P > 0.05) were found between human blood type O, chicken, and dog RBCs, as well as among rabbit, pigeon, sheep, and parrot. The highest titer (9.00 ± 0.00) with a nonsignificant difference was found using virus stored at 4 °C and -20 °C while 37 °C showed the lowest significant mean hemagglutinin (HA) titer (11.08 ± 188.21). Nonsignificant differences …

Immunohistochemical Evaluation Of Canine And Felinemerkel Cell Tumors?A Report Of Two Cases, Mateusz Mikiewicz, Iwona Otrocka-Domagala, Katarzyna Pazdzior-Czapula, Michal Gesek, Anna Mikolajczyk, Agnieszka Blacha

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Merkel cell tumors, a type of cutaneous round-cell tumors, are rarely observed in dogs and cats. This tumor type originates from cutaneous neuroendocrine cells. In the present study, the morphology of canine and feline Merkel cell tumors and their immunoexpression of neuron-specific enolase, cytokeratin, chromogranin A, Ki67, and metallothionein were evaluated using histopathological and immunohistochemical methods. The canine Merkel cell tumor displayed a diffuse morphological pattern, whereas the feline tumor displayed a solid morphological pattern. Both tumors were positive for neuron-specific enolase and cytokeratin, but negative for chromogranin A. The Ki67 indexes in the canine and feline tumors were 7% …