Digital Commons Network^™

Assessment Of The Intake And Knowledge Of Folate/Folic Acid Among Unh Students, Jessica Lee Pelletier, Ruth Reilly, Sherman Bigornia

Honors Theses and Capstones

There are 3,000 U.S. pregnancies affected by spina bifida and anencephaly annually. If women consume adequate amounts of folic acid (400 mcg/day) one month before pregnancy and through the first trimester, then the risk of their infant developing a neural tube defect (NTD) is reduced by 50-70%. However, approximately 50% of pregnancies are unplanned, with some of the highest rates among 18-24 year olds. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge source, knowledge level, and intake of folic acid among college-aged students. Qualtrics surveys from 96 subjects (87.5% female, aged 18-24) were used for analysis. In the …

Women's Imprisonment And Recidivism: An Illustrative Analysis Of Boronia Women's Pre-Release Centre (Western Australia) And Progressive/Open Prison Systems In Norway And Sweden, Cheryl M. Botello

Theses

Boronia Women’s Pre-release Centre (Boronia) is a minimum-security level correctional facility located in Perth, Western Australia. Boronia has adopted a progressive/open imprisonment approach to incarceration that is fairly unique within the Southern Hemisphere. This thesis examines Boronia as a progressive/open prison via an illustrative case study analysis and investigates if it does produce a recidivism rate that is comparative to the international progressive/open prison sector. Boronia’s facilities, policies, programs and recidivism rates, are reviewed against two international progressive/open women’s prisons - “Ravneberget” in Norway, and “Ystad” in Sweden. Scandinavian prisons were chosen, as they are known for producing some of …

Writing Behaviors And Critical Thinking Styles: The Case Of Blended Learning, Zahra Ahmadpour, Reza Khaasteh

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The advent in technology has shown that the individual differences and cognitive styles influence the way the process of writing transpires . Setting up the quasi-experimental study, the researchers sought to explore the writing behaviors of EFL learners in a blended learning environment in the light of critical thinking styles. To this end, 30 advanced language students took part in the four weeks experiment of this study. They were asked to write texts based on the provided information presented by the online module, designed by the researchers. Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (CTA) was used to measure the students’ critical thinking …

Quality Of Human Resources In Europe Measured By Selected Indicators Of Human Potenti, Slavomir Bucher

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The paper deals with regional differentiation of human resources and its determinants identified by selected indicators of human potential. The selection of correct and relevant indicators has a key role in the identification and measurement of human potential. The aim of the study is to outline causal and determinant relationship (the relation and the level of dependence) in the spatial differentiation of human resources in Europe and approaches to their interpretation. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the link between human potential and quality or inequality of life and its effect on population from a demographic viewpoint. …

Assessment Of Training Needs For Teaching At The Elementary Schools In Saudi Arabia, Feras Mohammed Al-Madani

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The study aimed to identify Arabic language teachers' training needs in teaching my beautiful language Textbook with regards to lesson plan, its implementation and evaluation in investigating the statistically significant differences in training needs related to gender differences, years of experience, and number of training courses attendance at the primary level in Arar, Saudi Arabia. The study employed descriptive statistics to describe mean scores of the samples, standard deviation and ANCOVA to determine the statistically significant differences among the respondents. The study tool consisted of (46) item which was divided into three areas namely; planning, implementation and evaluation. The samples …

Fiscal Decentralization And Economic Growth: A Dilemma Between Theory And Empiricism, Azar Hasanli

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Abandoning fiscal decision-making, redistributing and dispersing authorities provided by central government in favor of local and regional-level governance bodies is one of the widely discussed issues across the world based on the theory of “fiscal decentralization”. Incumbent theoretical and empiric researches regarding to achieving economic growth in the light of global economic fragilities indicate that managerial allocation of public funds among central and local authorities casts significant attention in terms of optimizing economic efficiency. In the article, it is tried to introduce brief theoretical background and measurement techniques to depict empiric relationship between fiscal decentralization and economic growth. In addition …

The Adaption Of Grice’S Maxims In Wole Soyinka’S Discourse In The Strong Breed, Shahram Afrougheh, Atefeh Lieaghat

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This study tries to find the adoption of Grice’s Maxims in Soyinka's discourse in The Strong Breed (1962). In addition to, it seeks to find in which mutual conversations of all parts of drama the writer obeys Grice’s principles. Soyinka in this drama depicts how ritual and superstitious beliefs cover the social life.In Yoruba the village where the events occur; the villagers believe that before each New Year one strong and strange person should sacrify to purify the society for arriving in New Year.This idea conveys among the characters by reciprocal conversation. Since this play focuses on the real social …

Reliability Of Micro Mechanical Low Frequency Energy Harvesters For Implanted Cardiac Pacemakers, Sunny Jay

Theses

The aim of this project was to develop methods to assess the suitability and reliability of silicon-based piezoelectric micro-electro-mechanicai systems (MEMS) energy harvesters to capture the kinetic energy of the heartbeat in an implanted cardiac pacemaker. The major challenges of the work were that harvesters for vibration frequencies below 100 Hz have not been widely reported and the system requires reliable operation over a long lifetime. In this work device modelling was used for harvester design assessment. Experimental test methods and equipment were developed to produce data to validate the device models and to assess device reliability. A 2D analytical …

Farm Deaths And Injuries: Changing Farmer Attitudes And Behaviour On Farm Safety, Kieran O'Connell

Theses

While the Irish agricultural sector accounts for just 6% of the working population of Ireland, it consistently has the highest proportion of fatal incidents of any sector - generally ranging from between 35% and 45% of all workplace fatalities in any given year (Health and Safety Authority, 2015). This was again evident in 2014 where 55% (30 of the 56) of the fatal workplace incidents were in the agricultural sector (Health and Safety Authority, 2015). Agriculture has an ageing workforce with the average age of an Irish farmer now standing at fifty-seven and farmers are eight times more likely to …

Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam: The Jesuits In Albania, Ines A. Murzaku

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

When Pope Francis addressed students, teachers, and parents of the Jesuit schools of Italy and Albania in 2013, he discussed the core and the value of a Jesuit-Catholic education, which in essence follows St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises and the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits in all multifarious activities and apostolates put Jesus in the center, thereby making him the prototype. It was Jesus who had trodden a novel way for the Society of Jesus to follow and that meant to live a meaningful life, live well, and live joyfully among the people they were serving. …

Optimisation Of The Isolation And Identification Of Circulating Melanoma Cells, Anda-Gabriela Marsavela

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Although melanoma is largely curable when detected in its earliest stages, it can metastasise to other tissues, drastically reducing survival rates. The most recent therapies used to treat metastatic melanoma are effective long-term in only 11 to 33% of patients. Our ability to monitor treatment failure is limited. New prognostic markers are urgently required to allow monitoring of treatment response and disease progression.

Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) are released into the bloodstream by the tumours within a patient, this being a key step in melanoma spread. Since CTCs can be detected in the blood of metastatic melanoma patients, these cells …

Academic Capitalism In Architecture Schools: A Feminist Critique Of Employability, 24/7 Work And Entrepreneurship, I Troiani

School of Art, Design and Architecture

This chapter examines the current situation that many universities worldwide are facing due to globalisation, which is of transitioning from institutions for education (Foucault’s ‘premodern or medieval university’) toentrepreneurial businesses (the ‘modern university’). The modern university is governed by a neoliberal system of production and consumption of students, staff, knowledge and research for the purpose of improving nation economies. Looking particularly at schools of architecture, it discusses employability, 24-hour work and entrepreneurship in relation to marketisation and economisation. It tracks the inequalities that arise from the neoliberalisation of public universities on teaching content, an administrative-directed work, workloads, wellbeing and gender. …

Bowled Over By Cricket: Impact Of Tape-Ball Injuries On The Eyes, Salman Naveed Sadiq, Azam Ali, Bushra Usmani, Khabir Ahmed

Department of Surgery Docs

Abstract

PURPOSE:

The aim of this study was to describe the type and severity of tape-ball cricket-related eye injuries seen at a tertiary care hospital.

DESIGN:

A descriptive case series.

METHODS:

This study included all cases of tape-ball cricket-related eye injuries presenting to the Section of Ophthalmology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2014 to January 2015.

RESULTS:

A total of 20 patients with tape-ball cricket-related eye injuries were treated during this period. The right eye was involved in most (14/20) of the cases. The commonest presenting symptoms included reduced/blurred vision, ocular pain, redness, and floaters. Sixty percent (12/20) …

The Determinants Of Audit Fees And Report Lag: A Comparative Study Of Egypt And The Uk, Donia Abdelrazik

Plymouth Business School Theses

The determinants of audit fees and report lag: A comparative study of Egypt and the UK Despite the occurrence of recent economic and political events such as the global financial crisis and Arab spring in the Middle East, researchers have not addressed the effects of such events on the auditing profession. That is has given a motive to this study to explore this point of research. This study has three main objectives. The first objective is to investigate the determinants of audit fees and audit report timeliness in the Egyptian and UK contexts. The second objective is to point out …

Real Earnings Management Activities, Meeting Earnings Benchmarks And Future Performance: Uk Evidence, Basiem Al-Shattarat

Plymouth Business School Theses

This thesis presents two essays on real earnings management and future performance. The first essay draws on empirical studies that examine the three types of real earnings management activities in the United Kingdom (UK) for firms that are more likely to manipulate their earnings to avoid missing earnings targets. These targets include the zero earnings, and last year’s earnings. Also drawing from empirical studies, the second essay investigates the impact of real earnings management on firms’ future operating performance in the UK. In the first essay, I examine earnings management through real activities manipulation by using a sample of UK …

“Am I Also Going To Die, Doctor?” A Systematic Review Of The Impact Of In-Hospital Patients Witnessing A Resuscitation Of Another Patient, Martina Fiori, Jos M. Latour, Férenc Los

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.

A New Methodology For The Selective Measurement Of Building Performance And Safety, Jr Littlewood, M Alam, S Goodhew

School of Art, Design and Architecture

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Risks And Barriers To Participation In Tourism For The Disabled, David M. A. Fraser

Plymouth Business School Theses

There has been much research on the physical barriers that those with disabilities experience. This research investigates the level of participation of disabled people in tourism and explores the perceptions of risks and barriers to participation in tourism for people with a disability. The barriers that were explored included information, economic, social, physical barriers and the perceptions of risks these barriers cause, within the concept of the 'Social Model‘ of disability (Shaw and Coles, 2004). Data was gathered from a sample group of 149 disabled people through an online survey and through face-to-face survey using paper questionnaires. Analysis of the …

Success And Failure Factors Of Foreign Direct Investment In Transnational Education, Ben Siu

Plymouth Business School Theses

This study identifies the success and failure factors of foreign direct investment in transnational education. With western tertiary education markets becoming more saturated, it becomes essential for higher education institutions (HEI) to pursue new and lucrative opportunities internationally. One approach to internationalisation is the establishment of international branch campuses (IBC). This method provides the highest level of control but incurs the most risk, and failure can result in irrecoverable damage to reputation and substantial loss of resources. A review of the literature shows that numerous facets should be considered when establishing an IBC, but there are limited studies that holistically …

Hernia Of Morgagni Presenting As Constipation In A 65-Year-Old Male, Hamza A Khan, Adeel Samad, Omar A Khan, Farida K Chagan, Jamal K Khan, Saulat H. Fatimi

Department of Surgery Docs

Hernia of Morgagni is congenital defects in the diaphragm. They are mostly asymptomatic and present with vague symptoms when they do so. A high index of suspicion is required for timely diagnose of this condition. Here we present the case of a 65-year-old male patient presented to our institute with constipation for the past six months. Chest radiology raised the suspicion of a hernia which was further confirmed by contrast studies. Laparotomy was done and the hernia sac identified, colon and greater omentum reduced and defect repaired. He was discharged in stable condition and was doing well on follow-up.

Autonomous Driving With A Simulation Trained Convolutional Neural Network, Cameron Franke

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Autonomous vehicles will help society if they can easily support a broad range of driving environments, conditions, and vehicles.

Achieving this requires reducing the complexity of the algorithmic system, easing the collection of training data, and verifying operation using real-world experiments. Our work addresses these issues by utilizing a reflexive neural network that translates images into steering and throttle commands. This network is trained using simulation data from Grand Theft Auto V~\cite{gtav}, which we augment to reduce the number of simulation hours driven. We then validate our work using a RC car system through numerous tests. Our system successfully drive …

Fragment-Based Excitonic Coupled-Cluster Theory For Large Chemical Systems, Yuhong Liu

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Accurate energetic modeling of large molecular systems is always desired by chemists. For example, ligand-protein binding simulations and enzymatic catalysis studies all involve with a small energy difference. The energetic accuracy depends largely on a proper handling of electronic correlations. Molecular mechanics (MM) methods deliver a parameterized Newtonian treatment to these problems. They show great capability in handling large calculations but give only qualitatively good results. Quantum mechanics (QM) methods solve Schrödinger equations and exhibit much better energy accuracy, though the computational cost can be prohibitive if directly applied to very large systems.

Fragment-based methods have been developed to decompose …

Using The Medication Cabinet To Predict Fall Risk In Elderly Adults, Jessica Lopez

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Background: In the United States, 30-60% of older adults fall each year; 10-20% of these falls result in injury, hospitalization, or even death. Better prevention of falls in this population may be facilitated by broader identification of risk factors. The use of statins has emerged as a potential risk factor, but the data provide conflicted results.

Purpose: To examine the relationship between statin use and falls among community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: We evaluated the patient registry of a Level 1 trauma center. All patients aged > 50 years who were admitted for falls in 2015 were included (n=615). Many of these …

The Effect Of Token Reinforcement On Moderate-To-Vigorous Physical Activity Exhibited By Young Children, Rutvi R. Patel

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

We used a multiple-baseline across participants and combined reversal and multielement design to assess the effects of contingent-token-reinforcement, compared to noncontingent-token-reinforcement, on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) exhibited by four preschool-aged children. Three children engaged in higher levels of MVPA when tokens were delivered contingent on MVPA compared to baseline (no token) and noncontingent-token conditions. Although MVPA was differentiated across contingent-token sessions and corresponding baseline (no token) control probes for three of the four participants, some variability was apparent. The present study demonstrated that the delivery of tokens contingent on MVPA can increase and maintain MVPA exhibited by preschool-aged children, resulting …

The Rational Investigation Of Anti-Cancer Peptide Specificity Using The Knob-Socket Model, Shivarni Patel

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Cancer has been a pervasive and deadly problem for many years. No treatments have been developed that effectively destroy cancer cells while also keeping healthy cells safe. In this work, the knob-socket construct is used to analyze two systems involved in cancer pathways, the PDZ domain and the Bcl-BH3 complex. Application of the knob-socket model in mapping the packing surface topology (PST) allows a direct analysis of the residue groups important for peptide specificity and affinity in both of these systems. PDZ domains are regulatory proteins that bind the C-terminus of peptides involved in the signaling pathway of cancer progression. …

Clinical Factors Associated With Hepatitis C Treatment Selection In A Veterans Affairs Population, Carly Anne Ranson

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Background: Hepatitis C virus is currently the most common chronic blood borne pathogen in the United States, with only half of those infected aware of their condition. The cost for treatment is higher with Harvoni® (ledipasvir/sofosbuvir) than Viekira Pak® (ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir and dasabuvir). With finite resources available to treat patients, it is important to understand which clinical factors may influence treatment selection decisions.

Methods: The study is a 12-month medical record review within the Veterans Affairs (VA) system to evaluate significant relationships between selected clinical and sociodemographic factors and HCV treatment selection with either Harvoni® or Viekira Pak®. Clinical and demographic …

Authority And Meaning In A Brave New World: Postconservative Evangelical Theological Method After The Cultural-Linguistic Turn, Jeffrey Halsted

CTS PhD Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation fills a gap in the current scholarship by describing Stanley Grenz’s and Kevin Vanhoozer’s postconservative evangelical understandings of authority, meaning, and truth as they are related to Scripture and the community of faith. Acknowledging the postliberal influence of George Lindbeck, scholarship is further needed to describe whether theological authority ultimately rests in Scripture or the community of faith. Furthermore, scholarship needs to address the manner in which we seek, participate in, or determine meaning and truth within postconservative evangelical theological method. This dissertation provides this scholarship for Grenz’s and Vanhoozer’s thought while also providing a more extensive description …

The Political Personality Of Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, Aubrey Immelman, Joseph V. Trenzeluk

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of an indirect assessment of the personality of Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data regarding President Putin were extracted from open-source intelligence and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with Axis II of DSM-IV.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed on the basis of interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality Styles manuals. Putin’s primary personality patterns were found …

Comparison Of Two Bpt Models And Their Effects On Parental Skill Acquisition, Leah E. Ward

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of two behavioral parent-training teaching models on the acquisition of six parenting skills (play, praise, tangible rewards, effective commands, ignoring, and time-out). One method focused more on didactic instruction with video modeling using the Incredible Years manualized treatment, while the other method focused more exclusively on rehearsal and structured feedback. Participants were 32 parents with children aged between I month and 20 years from the Central Valley region of California that participated in a group parent-training program. Structured role-plays with corresponding task analyses were used to assess parent skill integrity. Baseline scores were compared to …

Psychometric Properties Of The Behavioural Outcomes Of Anxiety Questionnaire In Stroke Patients With Aphasia, Alicia Eccles, Reg Morris, Ian Kneebone

School of Psychology

Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of an observational, carer-completed anxiety screen for aphasic stroke patients. Design: Phase 1: A cross-sectional questionnaire design to establish psychometric properties. Phase 2: A randomized longitudinal design with treatment and control to evaluate sensitivity to change and repeatability/reliability. Subjects: Phase 1: 111 patient-carer dyads were recruited through stroke charities: patient mean age 69.7(10. 7), 6.2(5. 2) years since stroke, 76 male; carer mean age 64.7(12. 2), 27 male. Phase 2. A subsample of 50 dyads (29 completed). Measures: All patients completed the Tension Rating Circles and the Frenchay Aphasia Screening Test. Carers completed the …