Digital Commons Network^™

Motives Of Corporate Political Donations: Industry Regulation, Subjective Judgement And The Origins Of Pragmatic And Ideological Corporations, Nicholas M. Harrigan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

What motivates corporate political action? Are corporations motivated by their own narrow economic self-interest; are they committed to pursuing larger class interests; or are corporations instruments for status groups to pursue their own agendas? Sociologists have been divided over this question for much of the last century. This paper introduces a novel case - that of Australia - and an extensive dataset of over 1,500 corporations and 7,500 directors. The paper attempts to understand the motives of corporate political action by examining patterns of corporate political donations. Using statistical modelling, supported by qualitative evidence, the paper argues that, in the …

Kiasu And Creativity In Singapore: An Empirical Test Of The Situated Dynamics Framework, Chi-Ying Cheng, Ying-Yi Hong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article investigates how Singaporeans' creativity is influenced by Kiasu, an indigenous construct corresponding to fear of losing out. We examine the impact of Kiasu on creativity, both as a personal value and a shared cultural norm in four studies. Study 1 showed that Singaporeans' Kiasu value endorsement predicts lower individual creativity. Study 2 demonstrated that this negative relationship is mediated by a self-regulatory focus on prevention. Study 3 further showed the impact of Kiasu as a personal value and a cultural norm by finding a significant three-way interaction effect of Kiasu prime, personal Kiasu value endorsement, and need for …

Asian Extremes: Experience And Exchange In The Development Of Meteorological Knowledge C. 1840-1930, Fiona Williamson, Clive Wilkinson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

On 29 July 1939, the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle was off the northern entrance of the Formosa Strait, approximately 25⁰N, 121⁰E. The ship’s meteorological officer was formulating the current synoptic weather situation, which included a typhoon to the south or south-east of Formosa with a second typhoon much further east in about 144⁰E. It might be expected that in 1939, the existence and position of a typhoon could be corroborated easily by contemporary ‘experts’ situated nearby. However ‘The utmost confusion prevailed’ noted the officer ‘among the experts at Zikawei, Manila & Hong Kong today …I think there is no doubt …

Comment On Brewer: Form And Content In Legal Proof (Or Why Everybody Wins - Or At Least Gets A Participation Trophy), Gary S. Lawson

Faculty Scholarship

In 1980, I was in a Contracts class taught by the incomparable Arthur Leff. It became very clear very quickly that one student in that class was (apart from Professor Leff) the smartest and most interesting person in the room. That person was Scott Brewer. More than three and a half decades later, when I thought about who I would most like to invite to comment on my book Evidence of the Law: Proving Legal Claims, one name immediately shot into my mind: Scott Brewer. He was, as the saying goes, at the very top of my draft board. He …

A Vatcoin Proposal Following On The 2017 Eu Vat Proposals - Mtic, Vatcoin, And Blockchain, Richard Thompson Ainsworth, Musaad Alwohaibi, Michael Cheetham, Camille Tirand

Faculty Scholarship

The following proposal for an EU VATCoin was presented at the Digital Tax Transformations Conference, December 18 & 19, 2017 in Vienna, Austria at WU Global Tax Policy Center (WU GTPC) at the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law of Vienna University of Business and Economics.

The EU Commission has proposed “far-reaching reforms” to solve some of the fraud in the EU VAT. It hopes to capture €50 billion lost annually to MTIC fraud in goods. It hopes to do this without addressing tradable services, a MTIC mutation which by all accounts is running strong.

Fortunately, the Commission is …

The Center Of The Earth In Ancient Thought, Jennifer Finn

History Faculty Research and Publications

Throughout the annals of history, many societies have imagined that places integral to their religious, political, or cultural life should be considered “centers.” These centers are often represented by symbolic constructions, mythologies, and ideological statements. In many cases, notions of centrality are accompanied by claims that a particular space should be considered the “center” or “middle” of the earth; in the Classical World, such a place may also be referred to as the “navel of the earth,” with the omphalos connected to the oracle at Delphi being the example par excellence. Yet Delphi did not hold a monopoly on …

Are Teacher Pensions "Hazardous" For Schools?, Patten Priestley Mahler

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

I use a detailed panel of data and a unique modeling specification to explore how public schoolteachers respond to the incentives embedded in North Carolina’s retirement system. Like most public-sector retirement plans, North Carolina’s teacher pension implicitly encourages teachers to continue working until they are eligible for their pension benefits, and then leave soon afterward. I find that teachers with higher levels of quality, as measured by a teacher’s value-added to her students’ achievement test scores, are more responsive to the “pull” of teacher pensions. Younger teachers, those with higher salaries, and nonwhite teachers are also more likely to stay …

Development Of An Innovative Observational Astronomy Class For High School Students In Collaboration With The University Of Texas/Rio Grande Valley, Alan W. Hendrick

Theses and Dissertations

The vision presented by the National Academy of Science Standards is for all students to spend more time ‘doing’ science in order to develop science literacy and be better prepared not only for college but also in understanding and participation in global current events. A course in observational Astronomy is just that, an opportunity for student to “do ‘science by collaborating with actual scientists in real research. The course follows a path in which students learn foundational knowledge and apply this knowledge to complete a successful celestial observation, interpreting the results by making inferences and predictions. This paper begins with …

Numerical Cognition In Action: Hand Trajectories Reveal Effects Of Early Musical Training On Numerical Processing In Spanish-English Bilingual Musicians, Daniel Arturo Pizaña

Theses and Dissertations

The mouse-tracking study examined whether early musical experience leads to changes of inhibitory control in numerical processing for bilingual speakers, as has not investigated in previous studies. Twenty-eight Spanish-English bilingual students completed two Stroop-like numerical and physical size judgment tasks via a mouse-tracking paradigm. Results showed that response times were slower during both incongruent and neutral trials for bilinguals who had received early musical training (before age 13) when compared to bilinguals who had received late musical training (after age 13) across tasks. Furthermore, hand trajectories revealed that a spatial attraction toward the incorrect response was more pronounced in bilinguals …

Variables Relevant To Self-Efficacy: Mexican-American High School Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Matilde Barrera Alaniz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to ascertain if a relationship exists between self-efficacy and grade point average (GPA), age, gender, language proficiency, socioeconomic status, and failed grade levels during school career among Mexican-American high school students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) residing along the southwestern state of the Mexican border. Moreover, to learn if a relationship exists between motivation and the above variables. This study also observed if a relationship between motivation as measured by the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-A) (i.e., external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, and intrinsic motivation) and GPA existed; it also observed the correlation between …

Measuring Eq Of Chinese Accounting Students, Michael D. Akers, Don E. Giacomino, Sin Li, Joseph Wall

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

While prior literature has examined the EQ of accounting students and Chinese business student limited research has examined both. This paper examines the self-reported emotional intelligence scores of accounting majors, undergraduate and graduate, at a Chinese university and compares these scores with their parents’ assessment. Our findings suggest that Chinese accounting students have high EQ. Further, the parents’ perceptions of EQ is significant in the determination of the EQ score. This finding is consistent with Goleman’s (1998) comments and has implications for any organization that uses an emotional intelligence instrument as part of the evaluation process.

Impact Of Natural Blind Spot Location On Perimetry., Mengyu Wang, Lucy Q. Shen, Michael V. Boland, Sarah R. Wellik, Carlos Gustavo De Moraes, Jonathan S. Myers, Peter J. Bex, Tobias Elze

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

We study the spatial distribution of natural blind spot location (NBSL) and its impact on perimetry. Pattern deviation (PD) values of 11,449 reliable visual fields (VFs) that are defined as clinically unaffected based on summary indices were extracted from 11,449 glaucoma patients. We modeled NBSL distribution using a two-dimensional non-linear regression approach and correlated NBSL with spherical equivalent (SE). Additionally, we compared PD values of groups with longer and shorter distances than median, and larger and smaller angles than median between NBSL and fixation. Mean and standard deviation of horizontal and vertical NBSL were 14.33° ± 1.37° and -2.06° ± …

A Risk-Based Method For Estimating The Carbon Sequestration Budget For A Mixed Hardwood Forest, Erin Cooper

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) levels in the atmosphere have risen from approximately 310 ppm in the 1950’s to over 400 ppm as of 2015. This rise in CO₂ has likely resulted in the observed warming trend of the earth’s atmosphere in the same time frame, causing significant concern in the scientific community. Several mitigation strategies have arisen to combat the upward trend of CO₂ emissions in recent decades, among them being carbon sequestration- the process of capturing CO₂ from the atmosphere and holding it for an extended period of time. This study used the U.S. Forest …

Coupling K-12 Music Education With Science, Technology, Engineering And Math (Stem) Curricula: Implementation Of A Stemusic Outreach Program, Mallory Maestri

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Many studies have investigated the effects of music on evoking human emotions and diverse types of brain responses. One study by Juslin and Vastfjall indicates that hearing music can stimulate brain stem reflexes, create emotional contagion, recall episodic memories and provoke visual imagery. Due to the influence music has on human brain waves, researchers have been studying the effect of music on enhancing the spatial abilities of young students. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) professions rely heavily on spatial skills. Research on the connection of music with spatial skills proposes that when the brain processes rhythm a “mental rotation” …

Habituation And Dishabituation In The Olfactory Bulb: From Neural Responses To Behavior, Mary Cameron Ogg

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Habituation and dishabituation modulate the neural resources and behavioral significance allocated to incoming stimuli across the sensory systems. The purpose of the research presented in this dissertation was to characterize these processes in the mouse olfactory bulb (OB) and to determine if OB acetylcholine (ACh) has a role in physiological and behavioral olfactory dishabituation. Calcium imaging was used to determine the timecourse and magnitude of habituation in different parts of the OB during and after a prolonged odor presentation. Widefield imaging of the dendritic, or glomerular, response of OB output cells demonstrated that prolonged odor input habituates glomerular responses during …

Assessing Neuronal Synchrony And Brain Function Through Local Field Potential And Spike Analysis, Samuel Stuart Mcafee

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Studies of neuronal network oscillations and rhythmic neuronal synchronization have led to a number of important insights in recent years, giving us a better understanding of the temporal organization of neuronal activity related to essential brain functions like sensory processing and cognition. Important principles and theories have emerged from these findings, including the communication through coherence hypothesis, which proposes that synchronous oscillations render neuronal communication effective, selective, and precise. The implications of such a theory may be universal for brain function, as the determinants of neuronal communication inextricably shape the neuronal representation of information in the brain. However, the study …

Revealing A Non-Canonical Role Of Anti-Apoptotic Mcl-1 In Early Embryonic Development, Xue Yang

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

MCL-1, a well-known pro-survival BCL-2 family member, is indispensable for the survival of various cellular lineages and is also among the most frequently amplified genes in a variety of human malignancies. Gene ablation studies previously revealed that Mcl-1 deficiency leads to embryonic lethality around E3.5 during peri-implantation stage. Strikingly, the study did not detect any increase in apoptotic cells of the blastocyst, indicating a function of MCL-1 beyond regulating apoptosis. Our previous studies revealed an unrecognized role of MCL-1 in promoting mitochondrial physiology, which is independent of its classical anti-apoptotic function and requires being imported into the mitochondrial matrix. In …

Towards Green Building: Energy Efficient Roof System For Buildings, Dhruv Sangal

Theses and Dissertations

The present work focusses on investigating the thermal performance of different energy efficient roof systems for buildings for different climates. Buildings constitutes about 40 percent of total energy consumed by United States, and previous research shows that 20 percent of the building cooling load comes through ceiling of a building. Thus, it is important to analyze different energy efficient roof systems which can help in reducing building cooling and heating load. The present study focusses on three technologies – green roof, radiant barriers and photovoltaics. To analyze the performance of these systems, a detailed energy based mathematical model were developed …

Multi-Spectral Remote Sensing Of Phytoplankton Pigment Absorption Properties In Cyanobacteria Bloom Waters: A Regional Example In The Western Basin Of Lake Erie, Guoqing Wang, Zhongping Lee, Colleen Mouw

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Phytoplankton pigments absorb sunlight for photosynthesis, protect the chloroplast from damage caused by excess light energy, and influence the color of the water. Some pigments act as bio-markers and are important for separation of phytoplankton functional types. Among many efforts that have been made to obtain information on phytoplankton pigments from bio-optical properties, Gaussian curves decomposed from phytoplankton absorption spectrum have been used to represent the light absorption of different pigments. We incorporated the Gaussian scheme into a semi-analytical model and obtained the Gaussian curves from remote sensing reflectance. In this study, a series of sensitivity tests were conducted to …

Methane From Lactating Dairy Cattle: Studies For Mitigation, Diurnal Variation, And Role In Energy Metabolism, Jared Vern Judy

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Reducing methane production in dairy cattle has received an increased interest due to environmental concerns associated with its potency as a greenhouse gas. Methane represents lost energy in cattle and reduction may increase animal efficiency and productivity. Experiment 1 evaluated strategies of mitigating methane production in lactating dairy cattle with inclusion of dried distillers grains and solubles (DDGS), DDGS with added corn oil, and DDGS with added calcium sulfate and effects on energy and nitrogen balance. Inclusion of DDGS, corn oil, and calcium sulfate, increased DMI and milk yield. Methane production was reduced with addition of corn oil …

Phylogeography Of An Estuarian Calanoid Copepod; Acartia Tonsa In The Texas Gulf Of Mexico, Nicole J. Figueroa

Theses and Dissertations

The calanoid copepod, Acartia tonsa is one of the most abundant and well-studied estuarian species. However, the idea that this cosmopolitan species has unrestricted dispersal and high gene flow has been challenged. In this study, a more holistic picture of the phylogeography of A. tonsa was developed using the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase one (mtCOI). Multiple new lineages were found in the Texas Gulf of Mexico that are basal to Northeastern Atlantic lineages. Connectivity was also observed between Brazil and the Texas Gulf of Mexico. The revised phylogeny shows a clear pattern of cryptic speciation as the species made a …

Stakeout From Space: Fourth Amendment Concerns Resulting From The Onset Of Satellite Video, Blake Knight

Journal of Space Law

No abstract provided.

Translation. 1865 International Telegraph Convention, Harrison Parker

Journal of Space Law

No abstract provided.

Piercing The Corporate Veil By Tort Creditors, Christopher W. Peterson

Journal of Business & Technology Law

This Article reviews the corporate veil-piercing tests courts are increasingly using to grant leniency to tort creditors and the justifications that are most likely to predict veil piercing success by such creditors. This Article concludes that courts tend to use the same veil piercing test for both contract and tort creditors, but re-weigh the factors that are influential in predicting such veil-piercing outcomes.

Playpen, The Nit, And Rule 41(B): Electronic “Searches” For Those Who Do Not Wish To Be Found, Kurt C. Widenhouse

Journal of Business & Technology Law

In 2015, the FBI executed a massive online sting to catch users of child pornography websites using a special program, the Network Investigative Technique (NIT). One search warrant issued from a magistrate in Virginia allowed the FBI to deploy computer code on suspect computers across the nation. This article examines the differing federal circuit analysis regarding whether the Virginia magistrate had jurisdiction before and after the recent amendment to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and if using the NIT over the internet even counts as a "search" under the Fourth Amendment.

Deep Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam Observations Of Milky Way Satellites Columba I And Triangulum Ii*, Jeffrey Carlin, David Sand, Ricardo Muñoz, Kristine Spekkens, Beth Willman, Denija Crnojević, Duncan Forbes, Jonathan Hargis, Evan Kirby, Annika Peter, Aaron Romanowsky, Jay Strader

Faculty Publications

We present deep, wide-field Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam photometry of two recently discovered satellites of the Milky Way (MW): Columba I (Col I) and Triangulum II (Tri II). The color–magnitude diagrams of both objects point to exclusively old and metal-poor stellar populations. We re-derive structural parameters and luminosities of these satellites, and find  for Col I and  for Tri II, with corresponding half-light radii of  pc and  pc. The properties of both systems are consistent with observed scaling relations for MW dwarf galaxies. Based on archival data, we derive upper limits on the neutral gas content of these dwarfs, and find …

Autism And Research Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Norah L. Johnson, Nicole M.G. Salowitz, Michael Van Abel, Bridget Dolan, Amy V. Van Hecke, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

This qualitative study explored the experience of participating in a research study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), typically developing (TYP) children, and their parent. It also assessed the feasibility, efficacy, and acceptability of the Going to MRI for a Research Study© iPad application (app), developed by the primary author, available for use for MRI preparation. The app provides a description of the steps of the MRI procedure, from the child’s perspective, outlining expected behaviors and responses. Ten English-speaking parent/child dyads (n = 20) participated in an audiotaped question guide-facilitated telephone interview about …

Examination Of The Role Of Religious And Psychosocial Factors In Hiv Medication Adherence Rates, Safiya George Dalmida, Katryna Mccoy, Harold C. Koenig, Aretha Miller, Marcia Mcdonnell Holstad, Tami Thomas, Dora L. Clayton-Jones, Mary Margaret Grant, Terri Fleming, Menka Munira Wirani, George Mugoya

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Optimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is associated with favorable HIV outcomes, including higher CD4 cell counts, HIV virus suppression and a lower risk of HIV transmission. However, only 25% of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) in the USA are virally suppressed. Sub-optimal adherence (p< 0.05). Social support satisfaction was also significantly associated with ART adherence (OR = 1.52, 95% CI [1.11–2.08], p < 0.05) and energy/fatigue/vitality (OR = 1.03, 95% CI [1.00–1.05], p < 0.05).

The Positive Thinking Skills Scale: A Screening Measure For Early Identification Of Depressive Thoughts, Abir K. Bekhet, Mauricio Garnier-Villarreal

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Depression is currently considered the second leading cause of disability worldwide. Positive thinking is a cognitive process that helps individuals to deal with problems more effectively, and has been suggested as a useful strategy for coping with adversity, including depression. The Positive Thinking Skills Scale (PTSS) is a reliable and valid measure that captures the frequency of use of positive thinking skills that can help in the early identification of the possibility of developing depressive thoughts. However, no meaningful cutoff score has been established for the PTSS.

Aim

To establish a cutoff score for the PTSS for early identification …

Novel Statistical Models For Quantitative Shape-Gene Association Selection, Xiaotian Dai

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Other research reported that genetic mechanism plays a major role in the development process of biological shapes. The primary goal of this dissertation is to develop novel statistical models to investigate the quantitative relationships between biological shapes and genetic variants. However, these problems can be extremely challenging to traditional statistical models for a number of reasons: 1) the biological phenotypes cannot be effectively represented by single-valued traits, while traditional regression only handles one dependent variable; 2) in real-life genetic data, the number of candidate genes to be investigated is extremely large, and the signal-to-noise ratio of candidate genes is expected …