Digital Commons Network^™

The Thin Body, The Able Body, And The Student Of Color Athlete: Physical Capital In University Viewbooks, Grace Lavin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

University and college brochures and pamphlets provide high school students with the first images and insights into a prospective college. The images of the campus and the students portrayed within them help college-bound students decide whether the institution is a fit and if they can picture themselves on campus. In order to meet the current demand for diversity representation, institutions have capitalized on campus diversity as a marketing strategy to pull in both white students and students of color to their institutions. Previous literature has shown that there exists an overrepresentation of Black and Asian students, but studies have yet …

Deep Learning Method Vs. Hand-Crafted Features For Lung Cancer Diagnosis And Breast Cancer Risk Analysis, Wenqing Sun

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Breast cancer and lung cancer are two major leading causes of cancer deaths, and researchers have been developing computer aided diagnosis (CAD) system to automatically diagnose them for decades. In recent studies, we found that the techniques in CAD system can also be used for breast cancer risk analysis, like feature design and machine learning. Also we noticed that with the development of deep learning methods, the performance of CAD system can be improved by using computer automatically generated features. To explore these possibilities, we conducted a series of studies: the first two studies focused on transferring the original CAD …

Acculturation And Filial Piety As Mediators Of The Relationship Between Caregiver Burden And Gender-Role Expectations In Hispanic-American Rehabilitation Services Students, Roy K. Chen, Bryan Austin, Chien-Chun Lin

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications

Purpose: Hispanic-Americans are the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. The need to care for older Hispanics has become an important issue as they now enjoy longer life expectancies due to better access to healthcare and less labor participation in hazardous occupations. The present study examined whether the association between caregiver burden and gender-role expectations is mediated by acculturation and filial piety.

Method: The sample consisted of 93 Mexican-American rehabilitation services students enrolled at a large public university in Texas. The four instruments used in the study were the Zarit Burden Interview, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, the Acculturation …

Life Care Planning In A Country With For-Profit Medicine, Rigel Macarena Pinon, Irmo Marini

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Measuring The Perceived Effectiveness Of Five Selected Professional Courses Taken By Alumni Theology Majors And How They Are Related To Selective Demographics: A Mixed Methods Study, Barry J. Tryon

Dissertations

Problem

The study was prompted by the need for the evaluation of current theological educational programs for preparing students to meet the many challenges of pastoral ministry in a rapidly changing world. However, to date there has been little published research addressing the effectiveness of undergraduate theological education. Furthermore, changes implemented in the theological education program at Southern Adventist University (Southern) have not been evaluated for their effectiveness for ministerial job preparedness.

Method

This descriptive study measured the perceived effectiveness of five professional courses taught in the undergraduate theological educational program at Southern for ministerial job preparedness. A parallel mixed …

Ethical Analysis Of Abuses Of Power In Christian Leadership - A Case Study Of "Kingly Power" In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Zorislav Plantak

Dissertations

Problem and Purpose

Power is an integral aspect of all types of leadership. The term “abuse of power” describes an inappropriate and corrupt application of power. The exercise of power becomes an abuse of power when a person in a position of power acts in a manner that cannot be justified in terms of truth or morality (goodness, kindness, justice, or obedience). While abuses of power have always been a part of Christian leadership, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church leadership, no scholarly study on the moral dimensions of abuses of power in the Adventist Church has been done. Although such …

Mindset, Academic Motivation, And Academic Self-Efficacy As Correlates Of Academic Achievement Among Undergraduate Students In Communication Sciences And Disorders Programs, Heather Loraine Ferguson

Dissertations

Problem

Higher education serves many stakeholders including students, parents, faculty, staff, university administrators, and other contributors. Those stakeholders are all linked with one purpose: the success of the student. That success or failure is most commonly measured by achievement through grade point average (GPA). The academic demands within the college/university setting is high. Limited academic achievement can result in academic failure, being placed on academic probation, even losing scholarships and grants. Students enter college, progress through college, and often graduate without having a real understanding for what it truly takes to be academically successful and what factors may contribute to …

Multiethnic Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis Of Ectopic Fat Depots Identifies Loci Associated With Adipocyte Development And Differentiation, Audrey Y. Chu, Xuan Deng, Virginia A. Fisher, Alexander Drong, Yang Zhang, Mary F. Feitosa, Ching-Ti Liu, Olivia Weeks, Audrey C. Choh, Qing Duan, Thomas D. Dyer

School of Medicine Publications

Variation in body fat distribution contributes to the metabolic sequelae of obesity. The genetic determinants of body fat distribution are poorly understood. The goal of this study was to gain new insights into the underlying genetics of body fat distribution by conducting sample-size weighted fixed-effects genome-wide association meta-analyses in up to 9,594 women and 8,738 men for six ectopic fat traits in European, African, Hispanic, and Chinese ancestry populations, with and without sex stratification. In total, 7 new loci were identified in association with ectopic fat traits (ATXN1, UBE2E2, EBF1, RREB1, GSDMB, GRAMD3 and ENSA; PATXN1 and UBE2E2 …

Underutilization Of Federal Benefits In Oregon: Programs And Strategies, Raúl Preciado Mendez

National Policy Consensus Center Publications

The report results demonstrate the dependence low-income Oregon families have on the six federal programs and the challenges families face when attempting to access federal resources. The barriers to access are often structural in that they are embedded in the procedures and structure of the program. Based on its analysis, the report presents a series of reforms and support activities that Oregon state agencies and nonprofits could adopt to improve family access for each program.

On Vs. Off Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: The Next Chapter, Nicola King

School of Biomedical Sciences

No abstract provided.

Kinetic Measurements Of Di- And Tripeptide And Peptidomimetic Drug Transport In Different Kidney Regions Using The Fluorescent Membrane Potential-Sensitive Dye, Dis-C3-(3)., Othman A. Alghamdi, Nicola King, Graham L. Jones, Pierre D.J. Moens

School of Biomedical Sciences

Tri- and dipeptides are transported in the kidney by PEPT1 and PEPT2 isoforms. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in transport kinetics between renal brush border (BBMV) and outer medulla (OMMV) membrane vesicles (where PEPT1 and PEPT2 are sequentially available) for a range of di- and tripeptides and peptidomimetic drugs. This was accomplished through the use of the potential-sensitive fluorescent dye 3,3'-dipropylthiacarbocyanine iodide [DiS-C3-(3)]. BBMV and OMMV were prepared from the rat kidney using standard techniques. The presence of PEPT1 in BBMV and PEPT2 in OMMV was confirmed using Western blotting. Fluorescence changes were measured when extravesicular …

Ab0115 Comparison Of The Bacterial Stool Microbiota In Established Psoriatic Arthritis (Psa) And Psoriasis (Psc) - Exploratory Analysis Of Pilot Data, M Castelino, M Tutino, J Moat, Uz Ijaz, R Parslew, A Al-Sharqi, Rb Warren, C Quince, P Ho, M Upton, S Eyre, A Barton

School of Biomedical Sciences

No abstract provided.

Decentralization, The Internal Revenue Allotment, And Shared Growth: An Examination Of Correlations, Ferdinand C. Maquito

Journal of Public Affairs and Development

This is a macro study on the role of internal revenue allotments in decentralization to help the Philippines achieve shared growth. The research attempted to answer two interrelated development policy questions: 1) has the Philippines achieved shared growth; and 2) does the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) have the potential of contributing to shared growth? Patterns of correlation were distilled from available provincial as well as national data on average income, poverty incidence, income distribution, and IRA. Correlation analysis for the second question was supplemented with an analysis of the IRA formula. Results showed that growth in the Philippines has been …

Sonic Affects And The Production Of Space: ‘Music By Handle’ And The Politics Of Street Music In Victorian London, Paul Simpson

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This article examines the affective capacities of sound and its role in the on-going production of social spaces. More specifically, the article seeks to understand the situated nature of sound’s affectivity within particular social-political-material contexts or circumstances. This is developed through a discussion of an empirical case study related to the history of street music: the ‘street music debates’ of Victorian London. The interrelation here of the sounds street musicians made, the broader urban soundscape of the time, who played street music and who it was that found themselves listening to this music demonstrate clearly the situated affective capacities of …

Assessing The Cellular And Adhesive Interactions In In Vitro Models Of Mantle Cell Lymphoma, David Tucker

Peninsula Medical School Theses

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) that has very poor survival. Like other LPDs, the neoplastic cells of MCL have an intimate dependence upon accessory cells within haematopoietic tissues. Understanding and exploiting the tissue-relationships of the mantle cells may therefore lead to further new approaches to treatment. This study work has set out to construct an in vitro system to model relevant aspects of the tissue-dependent behaviour of the neoplastic mantle cells, seeking to establish the link between in vitro behaviour and clinical phenotype, and establishing the feasibility of this system to study the effects of …

Playing In The Dark With Online Games For Girls, Rebecca Sinker, Mike Phillips, Victoria De Rijke

School of Art, Design and Architecture

Pregnant Rapunzel Emergency is part of a series of online free games aimed at young girls ( forhergames.com or babygirlgames.com ), where dozens of characters from fairy tales, children’s toys and media feature in recovery settings, such as ‘Barbie flu’. The range of games available to choose from includes not only dressing, varnishing nails or tidying messy rooms, but also rather more troubling options such as extreme makeovers, losing weight, or a plethora of baby showers, cravings, hospital pregnancy checks, births (including caesarean), postnatal ironing, washing and baby care. Taking the online game Pregnant Rapunzel Emergency as an exemplar of …

Androdialysis: Analysis Of Android Intent Effectiveness In Malware Detection, A Feizollah, Nb Anuar, R Salleh, G Suarez-Tangil, S Furnell

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The wide popularity of Android systems has been accompanied by increase in the number of malware targeting these systems. This is largely due to the open nature of the Android framework that facilitates the incorporation of third-party applications running on top of any Android device. Inter-process communication is one of the most notable features of the Android framework as it allows the reuse of components across process boundaries. This mechanism is used as gateway to access different sensitive services in the Android framework. In the Android platform, this communication system is usually driven by a late runtime binding messaging object …

Eco-Efficiency Of High-Yielding Variety Rice Cultivation After Accounting For On-Farm Environmental Damage As An Undesirable Output: An Empirical Analysis From Bangladesh, N-E Sabiha, R Salim, S Rahman

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This study computes the eco-efficiency of high-yielding variety (HYV) rice production by including an on-farm environmental damage index (OFEDI) as an undesirable output using data envelopment analysis. It then identifies its determinants by applying an interval regression procedure on a sample of 317 farmers from north-western Bangladesh. Results reveal that the mean level of the OFEDI-adjusted production efficiency (i.e. eco-efficiency) is 89 per cent, whereas ignoring OFEDI adjustment (i.e. with OFEDI = 0) reduces the mean level of efficiency to 69 per cent, implying that the production of undesirable output or on-farm environmental damage induces an efficiency loss of 20 …

High-Impact Practices In Anthropology: Creating A Bridge Between Liberal Arts And Neoliberal Values, Susan Kirkpatrick Smith, Brandon D. Lundy, Cheyenne Dahlmann

Faculty Articles

Neoliberal values are dramatically affecting higher education in the United States, with a focus on running these institutions as businesses and molding students into productive workers. This shift toward training and away from traditional liberal arts education at U.S. universities and colleges has occurred even as studies demonstrate that the ability to adapt in a rapidly evolving marketplace promotes long-term professional success. While neoliberalism and traditional liberal arts education are often seen as antithetical, we show how one anthropology program has combined these values into pedagogical practice through a select subset of high impact practices to improve academic outcomes for …

Internal Administrative Law Before And After The Apa, Gillian E. Metzger, Kevin M. Stack

Faculty Scholarship

From his early work on social security to more recent scholarship excavating the first hundred years of administrative life in the United States, Professor Jerry L. Mashaw has forcefully argued for the centrality of “internal administrative law.” Internal administrative law, as Mashaw elaborates the term, is the set of practices, procedures, and pronouncements that administrative agencies adopt to structure their work. In his view, understanding administrative institutions and their promise for systemic legality depends upon recognizing their internal administrative law. Yet, as Mashaw observes, despite its importance, internal administrative law remains at the outskirts of the field of administrative law …

At Risk Of Being Risky: The Relationship Between “Brain Age” Under Emotional States And Risk Preference, Marc D. Rudolph, Oscar Miranda-Domínguez, Alexandra O. Cohen, Kaitlyn Breiner, Laurence Steinberg, Richard J. Bonnie, Elizabeth S. Scott, Jason Chein, Kim Taylor-Thompson, Karla C. Fettich, Jennifer A. Richeson, Danielle V. Dellarco, Adriana Galván, B.J. Casey, Damien A. Fair

Faculty Scholarship

Developmental differences regarding decision making are often reported in the absence of emotional stimuli and without context, failing to explain why some individuals are more likely to have a greater inclination toward risk. The current study (N = 212; 10–25y) examined the influence of emotional context on underlying functional brain connectivity over development and its impact on risk preference. Using functional imaging data in a neutral brain-state we first identify the “brain age” of a given individual then validate it with an independent measure of cortical thickness. We then show, on average, that “brain age” across the group during the …

Applying Krumbolt's Theory Of Career Decision Making (Cdm) To The Longevity Of Principals In The North American Division Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Sadrail Saint-Ulysse

Dissertations

Problem

Ledesma (2011) reports that principals’ average tenure in Adventist schools in North America “ranges from 2.5-4.0 years. Elementary principals remain in leadership for 2.5 years, day academy principals stay for 3.6 years, and boarding academy principals leave after 4.0 years” (p, 8). Ledesma also noted that the length of tenure of a school principal in the Adventist school system mirrors that of other school systems. In an attempt to understand more about the possible factors related to this seemingly high voluntary turnover, this research sought to explore the association between the four factors of Krumboltz’s career decision making model …

The Influence Of Cognitive And Psychological Well-Being Factors On Freshmen Community College Student Gpa: A Prediction Model, Barbara Karwacinski

Dissertations

Problem

One of the most significant issues for higher education in the early 21st century is student success. Research studies indicate that a large number of freshman community college students are unsuccessful in their academic endeavor. However, there is insufficient research conducted to determine the holistic causes of this problem. Current research focuses on two types of traditional predictors: cognitive (ability, academic factors) and non-cognitive (affective, non-academic factors). It seems, however, that traditional cognitive and non-cognitive predictors alone are inadequate measures for determining students’ full potential because they cannot account for the psychological processes that contribute to and influence a …

The Coping Strategies Of Nontraditional Female Students In Southwest Michigan And Northern Indiana, Desiree Davis

Dissertations

Problem

The purpose of this research study was to examine the coping strategies of nontraditional female students in a private university in Southwest Michigan, and a public university in Northern Indiana. According to Carney-Compton & Tan (2002), nontraditional female students characterize the leading emergent set of students beginning college. This study examined the reasons why they are in college, the problems they face while there, and the coping strategies they used to make the adjustment to school life.

Method

The Coping Scale for Adults survey was used to determine what coping strategies are utilized by nontraditional female students. The factor …

One Purpose, Multiple Realities: A Qualitative Study On Parental Involvement In Two Malawian Private Secondary Schools, Josephine Katenga

Dissertations

Problem

Studies of Parental Involvement at the secondary school level have consistently shown to improve student-learning outcomes. Parents who invest money in children’s education want to see their children matriculate to higher education. Unfortunately, many private schools offer poor quality education. Students’ achievement in Malawi secondary schools requires the participation of each stakeholder. The purpose of this study therefore was threefold: to explore the nature of Parental Involvement in children’s education, to determine types of involvement, and to examine parents’ and educators’ attitudes towards Parental Involvement. The study participants came from two Malawian private secondary schools in Africa.

Method

This …

The Impact Of Student Self-Discipline And Parental Involvement In Students' Academic Activities On Student Academic Performance, Susan N. Mbaluka

Dissertations

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of student’s self-discipline and parental involvement on academic performance. The study sought to determine whether student’s self-discipline and parental involvement in student’s academic activities have any impact on student’s Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) scores or on their GPA.

Method

This is a quantitative, cross-sectional study in which multiple regressions were used to investigate the relationship(s) between student self-discipline and parental involvement with student’s ITBS scores and GPA. Due to challenges of collecting sufficient data, the study was done in two phases: a preliminary study involving 16 students …

Higher Measured Than Modeled Ozone Production At Increased NoX Levels In The Colorado Front Range, Bianca C. Baier, William H. Brune, David O. Miller, Donald Blake, Russell Long, Armin Wisthaler, Christopher Cantrell, Alan Fried, Brian G. Heikes, Steve Brown, Erin Mcduffie, Frank Flocke, Eric Apel, Lisa Kaser, Andrew Weinheimer

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Chemical models must correctly calculate the ozone formation rate, P(O₃), to accurately predict ozone levels and to test mitigation strategies. However, air quality models can have large uncertainties in P(O₃) calculations, which can create uncertainties in ozone forecasts, especially during the summertime when P(O₃) is high. One way to test mechanisms is to compare modeled P(O₃) to direct measurements. During summer 2014, the Measurement of Ozone Production Sensor (MOPS) directly measured net P(O₃) in Golden, CO, approximately 25 km west of Denver along the Colorado Front Range. Net P(O_{3 …}

Expanding Understanding Of Optical Variability In Lake Superior With A 4-Year Dataset, Colleen B. Mouw, Audrey B. Ciochetto

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Lake Superior is one of the largest freshwater lakes on our planet, but few optical observations have been made to allow for the development and validation of visible spectral satellite remote sensing products. The dataset described here focuses on coincidently observing inherent and apparent optical properties along with biogeochemical parameters. Specifically, we observe remote sensing reflectance, absorption, scattering, backscattering, attenuation, chlorophyll concentration, and suspended particulate matter over the ice-free months of 2013–2016. The dataset substantially increases the optical knowledge of the lake. In addition to visible spectral satellite algorithm development, the dataset is valuable for characterizing the variable light field, …

Correctional Mental Health Providers’ Experiences Of Forced Termination On The Working Alliance, Karin Gepp

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This is a study of the experiences of forced terminations in correctional facilities, particularly their impact on the working alliance between mental health service providers and incarcerated patients. The study includes an introduction to the research problem and its context, followed by a discussion of the literature on the working alliance in psychotherapy, conditions of forced terminations in the treatment of the incarcerated, the problem of forced termination and the working alliance in the correctional settings, and the study’s research methodology. The research methodology is qualitative and includes semi-structured interviews of providers in correctional settings and an analysis of these …

The Florence Statement On Triclosan And Triclocarban, Rolf U. Halden, Avery E. Lindeman, Allison E. Aiello, David Andrews, William A. Arnold, Patricia Fair, Rebecca E. Fuoco, Laura A. Geer, Paula I. Johnson, Rainer Lohmann, Kristopher Mcneill, Victoria P. Sacks, Ted Schettler, Roland Weber, R. Thomas Zoeller, Arlene Blum

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The Florence Statement on Triclosan and Triclocarban documents a consensus of more than 200 scientists and medical professionals on the hazards of and lack of demonstrated benefit from common uses of triclosan and triclocarban. These chemicals may be used in thousands of personal care and consumer products as well as in building materials. Based on extensive peer-reviewed research, this statement concludes that triclosan and triclocarban are environmentally persistent endocrine disruptors that bioaccumulate in and are toxic to aquatic and other organisms. Evidence of other hazards to humans and ecosystems from triclosan and triclocarban is presented along with recommendations intended to …