Digital Commons Network^™

The Benefits Of Immersion In Learning A Foreign Language, Cassidy Crouch

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to measure the linguistic benefits of learning a foreign language in a study abroad immersion program through Western Michigan University’s (WMU) Spanish department. The participants in this study were all participants of the Santander, Spain program of the Summer II semester of 2017. Nineteen students in total went to Spain and eleven of them agreed to participate in this study. During the Spring 2017 semester the eleven participants were given a pre-departure questionnaire and oral interview where they were asked demographic questions as well as program-specific information. During the last week in Santander, Spain …

State V. Fulton Respondent's Brief Dckt. 44688

Not Reported

No abstract provided.

State V. Rodriguez Appellant's Brief Dckt. 45233

Not Reported

No abstract provided.

State V. Calvillo Respondent's Brief Dckt. 45263

Not Reported

No abstract provided.

State V. Serna Respondent's Brief Dckt. 45121

Not Reported

No abstract provided.

State V. Holland Respondent's Brief Dckt. 45167

Not Reported

No abstract provided.

State V. Skidmore Respondent's Brief Dckt. 45178

Not Reported

No abstract provided.

Emergency Action Plan Policy Adoption In Secondary School Athletics, Samantha E. Scarneo

Doctoral Dissertations

Archival abstract submitted.

Cloudsat-Based Assessment Of Gpm Microwave Imager Snowfall Observation Capabilities, Giulia Panegrossi, Jean-François Rysman, Daniele Casella, Anna Cinzia Marra, Mark Kulie

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

The sensitivity of Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI) high-frequency channels to snowfall at higher latitudes (around 60^◦N/S) is investigated using coincident CloudSat observations. The 166 GHz channel is highlighted throughout the study due to its ice scattering sensitivity and polarization information. The analysis of three case studies evidences the important combined role of total precipitable water (TPW), supercooled cloud water,and background surface composition on the brightness temperature (TB) behavior for different snow-producing clouds. A regression tree statistical analysis applied to the entire GMI-CloudSat snowfall dataset indicates which variables influence the 166 GHz polarization difference (166∆TB)and its …

Validation Of Minimally-Invasive Sample Collection Methods For Measurement Of Telomere Length, Stephanie A. Stout, Jue Lin, Natalie Hernandez, Elysia Poggi Davis, Elizabeth Blackburn, Judith E. Carroll, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Objective: The discovery of telomere length (TL) as a biomarker of cellular aging and correlate of age-related disease has generated a new field of research in the biology of healthy aging. Although the most common method of sample collection for TL is venous blood draw, less-invasive DNA collection methods are becoming more widely used. However, how TL relates across tissues derived from these sample collection methods is poorly understood. The current study is the first to characterize the associations in TL across three sample collection methods: venous whole blood, finger prick dried blood spot and saliva.

Methods: TL …

Prenatal Opioid Exposure And Intermittent Hypoxemia In Preterm Infants: A Retrospective Assessment, Elie G. Abu Jawdeh, Philip M. Westgate, Amrita Pant, Audra L. Stacy, Divya Mamilla, Aayush Gabrani, Abhijit R. Patwardhan, Henrietta S. Bada, Peter J. Giannone

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Introduction: Intermittent hypoxemia (IH) is defined as episodic drops in oxygen saturation (SpO₂). Preterm infants are at increased risk for IH due to their immature respiratory control/apnea of prematurity. The clinical relevance of IH is a relatively new observation with rising evidence linking IH to neonatal morbidities and long-term impairment. Hence, assessing factors that influence IH in preterm infants is imperative. Given the epidemic of opioid misuse in the USA, there is an urgent need to understand the impact of prenatal opioid exposure on neonatal outcomes. Hence, we wanted to assess the relationship between isolated prenatal opioid exposure …

Scaling Up With Radically Embodied Cognition, Benjamin Aguda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Radically embodied cognitive science (REC) is typically concerned with basic cognition such as perception and action. However, complex cognition or higher-order cognition is difficult to explain for REC, as these theories eschew traditional representational explanations. This leaves REC with a scaling-up problem. In this dissertation I will explore options for REC to fix its scaling-up problem. I am specifically interested in autonoetic cognition, which is the ability to remember and imagine objects and events in the way they would be experienced if they were immediately present to be perceived. I contend that a simulationist account provides many of th necessary …

Establishing Cognitive Predictor Thresholds For Proficiency In Reading And Mathematics: Analysis Of The Woodcock-Johnson Iv Developmental-Age Norming Sample, Philip A. Norfolk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Assessment of specific learning disabilities (SLD) in educational settings is one important function of a school psychologist. The federal definition of SLD describes"underlying cognitive processing deficits" as part of the assessment criteria, that is also incorporated into several states' SLD eligibility criteria, that is difficult to directly evaluate using traditional assessment methods. Traditionally, use of norm-referenced scores have been used to compare an examinee's relative performance on assessment tests. Such a method does not provide direct evidence of underlying cognitive processing deficits associated with poor academic achievement. In an effort to directly inform this cognitive processing ability and academic proficiency …

Long-Term Neurocognitive, Behavior And Emotional Outcomes In Survivors Of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treated With Chemotherapy Only, Wei Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Contemporary chemotherapy results in a greater than 90% five-year survival rate from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, long-term survivors of childhood ALL still present with a higher prevalence of neurocognitive function problems, specifically executive function deficits, and behavior emotional problems compared to the general population. We conducted two epidemiologic studies of these issues and a Phase II clinical trial to improve executive deficits among long-term childhood ALL survivors. First, we evaluated the association between sustained attention and parent-rated behavioral inattention at the end of chemotherapy, and neurocognitive outcomes at long-term follow-up (LTFU). Patients demonstrated higher frequency of impairment in …

Genomic Reconstruction Of The Tree Of Life, Sambriddhi Mainali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

A new methodology is presented for molecular phylogenetic analysis addressing a fundamental problem in biology, name the reconstruction of the Tree of Life (TOL). Here, phylogenies are based on patterns of hybridization similarity in their DNA. Furthermore, phylogenies are based on a set of universal biomarkers (so-called nxh chips) chosen a priori, independently of the target group of organisms. Therefore, this methodology enables analyses of groups with biologically distant organisms, hence could be scaled to obtain a universal tree of life. Unlike conventional molecular methods, it produces a hypothesis in a single run, without optimizing across numerous hypotheses for consensus. …

Fiberblender: A Realistic Computer Model Of Nerve Bundles For Simulating And Validating The Acquisition Of Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Teddy Salan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is a powerful medical imaging technique that provides a unique method to investigate the structure and connectivity of neural pathways. DTI is a special magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modality that combines the principles of magnetic resonance with molecular diffusion to trace the motion of water molecules. In the central nervous system, where nerve fibers are packed in highly-directional bundles, these molecules diffuse along the orientation of the fibers. Hence, characterizing the motion of water with DTI delivers a non-invasive in vivo technique to capture the connectivity of nerves themselves. Despite its promises and successful clinical applications …

Examining Educators' Perceptions Of The Use Of Time, The Availability Of Resources And The Quality Of Parent/Community Relations At Schools With Very Low And Very High Percentages Of Learning Disabled Students, Chantal Hess Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Abstract Hess-Taylor, Chantal. Ed.D. The University of Memphis. December 2016. Examining Educators’ Perceptions of the Use of Time, the Availability of Resources and the Quality of Parent/Community Relations at Schools with Very Low and Very High Percentages of Learning Disabled: Charisse Gulosino, Ph.D The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences in how educators view the use of instructional time, the availability of instructional resources, and the quality of parent/community relations at schools with very low and very high percentages of students categorized as learning disabled (LD). Secondary data extracted from the 2013 administration of the …

Neutropenia At The Time Of Subcutaneous Port Insertion May Not Be A Risk Factor For Early Infectious Complications In Pediatric Oncology Patients., Lisa Taylor Vanhouwelingen , Md

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The risk of infection associated with subcutaneous port (SQP) placement in patients with neutropenia remains unclear. We reviewed the rate of early infectious complications (<30 days) following SQP placement in pediatric oncology pateints with /without neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count (ANC) <500/mm3.Baseline characteristics and infectious complications were compared between groups using univariable and multivariable analysis.A total of 614 SQP were placed in 542 patients. Compared to non-neutropenic patients, those with neutropenia were more likely to have leukemia (94% vs 50%), pre-operative fever (22% vs 5%), pre-operative infection (19% vs 9%), and were younger (81 vs 109 months) (p values <0.01).After adjusting for fever and underlying-disease there was a non-significant association between neutropenia and early post operative infection (OR 2.41, 95% CI 0.82-7.18, p=0.116). Only pre-operative fever was a predictor of infection (OR 6.09, 95% CI 2.08-17.81, p=0.564).Neutropenia may not be a predictor of early postoperative infection following SQP placement.

Modeling And Implementation Of Hfo2-Based Ferroelectric Tunnel Junctions, Spencer Allen Pringle

Theses

HfO2-based ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) represent a unique opportunity as both a next-generation digital non-volatile memory and as synapse devices in braininspired logic systems, owing to their higher reliability compared to filamentary resistive random-access memory (ReRAM) and higher speed and lower power consumption compared to competing devices, including phase-change memory (PCM) and state-of-the-art FTJ. Ferroelectrics are often easier to deposit and have simpler material structure than films for magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). Ferroelectric HfO2 also enables complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility, since lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and BaTiO3-based FTJs often are not.

No other groups have yet demonstrated a HfO2-based FTJ …

The Infusion Length Of Material Filled Inside Hollow Core Fiber, Omkar Balasaheb Ugale

Theses

We have designed a MATLAB code to perform the simulations on the infusion length of fluid inside the capillary. Previous research work has shown few results but the equation used for plotting the graph of infusion length v/s time has a numerical error. The work we have done has shown the step-by-step procedure to derive the list of forces acting on the capillary getting filled with the material and has also plotted the graph of infusion length v/s time from the equation we get after proof of derivation. The significant changes can be seen in the overall infusion length from …

Validation Of Minimally-Invasive Sample Collection Methods For Measurement Of Telomere Length, Stephanie A. Stout, Jue Lin, Natalie Hernandez, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Judith E. Carroll, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: The discovery of telomere length (TL) as a biomarker of cellular aging and correlate of age-related disease has generated a new field of research in the biology of healthy aging. Although the most common method of sample collection for TL is venous blood draw, less-invasive DNA collection methods are becoming more widely used. However, how TL relates across tissues derived from these sample collection methods is poorly understood. The current study is the first to characterize the associations in TL across three sample collection methods: venous whole blood, finger prick dried blood spot and saliva.

Methods: TL …

Vincentian Social Justice: A Work In Progress, John E. Rybolt

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

St. Vincent de Paul has become a “universal” figure, a polymorph or shape-shifter, if you will. As a classic figure, somewhat like Jesus in certain circles, he is represented in various guises: founder, saint, simultaneously traditional and modern, even a revolutionary. Just like Vincent de Paul, the somewhat universal figure, his sons have attempted to follow Christ the evangelizer of the poor. Some have been more successful than others. But I am proud to be among their number: rich or poor in virtue, rich or poor in commitment, rich or poor in initiative or inventiveness.

Rethinking Moral Obligation As A Basis For Contract Recovery, Jean Fleming Powers

Maine Law Review

Contractual arrangements are private and consensual—the result of bargains made between parties—bargains that satisfy the consideration requirement for enforcement. While the consideration requirement has its detractors, as does the consensual nature of contract, the bargained-for consideration requirement remains a staple of contract law. Yet traditional consideration analysis seems to sometimes leave deserving claimants without a remedy. Thus, a limited group of exceptions has been developed to correct this perceived failing of the doctrine. For some situations, however, the deficiency is more perceived than real, and the solution adds confusion rather than clarity to the law. This is true for the …

Automatic Slide Progression During A Presentation, Emmanuel M. Arriaga

Defensive Publications Series

Advancing slides during a presentation requires human input, e.g., via a clicker, or other input device. Such input requires the presenter or a human assistant to take explicit action. This disclosure describes automatic slide-progression techniques to advance a presentation, e.g., presentation slides, to pages or slides that match a presenter’s current speech. With user permission, a machine learning model analyzes the presentation content. It matches the content with speech from the presenter and automatically presents an appropriate slide. The techniques enable the correct slide to be displayed without explicit input from the presenter.

Global Communication And Cross-Cultural Competence: Twenty-First Century Micro-Case Studies, Kimberley Barker, Christine R. Day, Deanna L. Day, Elizabeth R. Kujava, Juliette Otwori, Robert A. Ruscitto, Alex Smith, Tianjiao Xu

Global Advances in Business Communication

Sensitivity to diversity now demands a strategic understanding of the importance of cross-cultural communication competence in every action in organizations, communities, and nations throughout the world. This article contains seven micro-cases, each of which highlights a discussion of communication and cultural impact. The cases range from issues related to handshakes, communication with powerful people, collaborating in a divergent culture, unintended impact in meetings, and regional pronunciation differences. The cases include discussion questions, references for additional reading, and one unique feature: a “bumper sticker” summary. The article features a section on Approaching the Challenges. This discusses major communication and cultural theories, …

Challenging The Myth Of English As A Lingua Franca In International Business, Steven J. Sacco

Global Advances in Business Communication

The proposed paper features a case study that monitored and assessed workplace language use within a U.S. multinational company where English is the official language of business. The case study examined language use by Hispanic immigrant workers employed at a rice mill in a rural northwestern U.S. community. In the week-long needs assessment, the author interviewed 26 nonnative English speaking coworkers, 2 native English speaking coworkers, and 10 mid- and senior-level managers. The author also observed daily operations in all departments of the rice mill, participated in the safety training and testing, and shared his findings with senior officials at …

A Hierarchical Perspective Of Employees’ Knowledge Sharing Behaviors: A Two-Phase Study, Kuok Kei Law, Bertha Du-Babcock

Global Advances in Business Communication

This paper examines whether and how mid-level employees differ in their communication behaviors when sharing knowledge with targets from different hierarchical positions in an organization via a two-phase study design. The first phase of study involves semi-structured interviews with fifteen mid-level employees working in small- and medium-sized enterprises to explore how they behaved in different scenarios of knowledge sharing. Results showed that there are significant differences in their behaviors among different situations. A second-phase study was then conducted to statistically verify the effect of the three identified factors - efficiency concerns, compliance with social norms, and consideration of relationship – …

Instream Flow Regulation: Plugging The Holes In Maine's Water Law, Bradford R. Bowman

Maine Law Review

States East of the Mississippi River have long relied on the traditional common law of riparian rights to manage their water resources. Towards the end of the Twentieth Century, rising demand for consumptive water use due to population growth, modern agricultural practices and industrialization began to conflict with environmental concerns. Throughout the East, states recognized the riparian doctrine's failure to provide a reliable means for allocating water during times of scarcity. In response, most of these states replaced common law water rights with regulatory water management systems. Maine is the only state that has not followed this trend. It is …

More Of The Same: Elitism And Exclusion At The Aals Annual Meeting, David E. Steinberg

Maine Law Review

At the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) meetings and in materials published by the Association, probably no one word appears more frequently than “diversity.” For example, the theme of the 2000 AALS Annual Meeting was A Recommitment to Diversity. In a 1986 essay titled Collegial Diversity, AALS President Susan Westerberg Prager wrote: “The different perspectives of our colleagues can illuminate other areas of research to give us new classroom direction.” And, in a 1996 statement on diversity adopted by the AALS Executive Committee, the committee stated that an objective of diversity was “to create an educational community—and ultimately a …

Rectifying The Tilt: Equality Lessons From Religion, Disability, Sexual Orientation, And Transgender, Chai R. Feldblum

Maine Law Review

The joy and the challenge of being located in an academic setting is that I am also able to engage in forays (albeit intermittent forays) into scholarly analysis. Delivering this lecture, and publishing this piece, provides an excellent opportunity for me to engage in such a foray. This piece, then, is a scholarly reflection on my advocacy experiences. My goal is to use my experiences in advocacy as fertile soil from which to create, I hope, a lovely flower of theory and conceptual thought. Before setting out on this endeavor, however, I would like to offer two postulates. There are …