Digital Commons Network^™

Trademark Goodwill As A Public Good: Brands And Innovations In Corporate Social Responsibility, Margaret Chon

Faculty Articles

Powerful brands dominate our transnational landscapes. Brand value-referred to in law as trademark goodwill-is co-created by trademark owners and the consumers of their products and services. Commonly defined as all possible sources of consumer patronage, trademark goodwill is critically important not only for business ability to attract and retain customers, but also for its regulatory capacity to signal process characteristics such as environmental impact or labor standards. This Article focuses on the role of trademark goodwill in signaling sustainability standards as key informational components of corporate social responsibility. In this view of trademark goodwill, brands potentially provide highly public platforms …

Evaluating A Community-Based Program Within Multi-Ethnic Communities: Examining The Outreach And Engagement Program Of Mecca, Sheva Assar

Theses and Dissertations

The present study includes a program evaluation to assess the extent to which a community based multiethnic program, specifically the Outreach & Engagement (O&E) Program of the Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA) adhered to Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) principles as intended in its development and implementation. A post-reflection discussion, which included questions that were guided by the Community-Based Participatory Research Evidence-Based Curriculum, with the O&E Program Evaluator determined the extent to which each CBPR principle was fulfilled. Thematic findings from the post-reflection discussion highlighted many strengths, as well as areas of improvement within the research-community partnerships. MECCA’s O&E Program …

Success Strategies Of First-Generation Foreign-Born Leaders, Verzhine Julfayan-Gregorian

Theses and Dissertations

The United States of America is a country of immigrants, where people and groups representing different nationalities have immigrated in search of a better life and opportunities. Among those immigrants are the Armenian people, who immigrated to the United States fleeing wars and Genocide. This study explores the first-generation foreign-born leaders of Armenian descent who came to the United States in search of opportunities, education, happiness, and success. The study examines the success strategies employed by first-generation, foreign-born leaders. This phenomenological study concentrates on the common experiences of the selected 15 participants. To answer the four research questions, 15 foreign-born, …

Rubrics As A Method For Assessing & Improving Library Instruction, Megan Hodge, Laura W. Gariepy, Jenny Stout

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Taken together, our team of instruction librarians provides course-integrated instruction for 70-80 sections of a sophomore-level research and writing course each semester. In order for the department to assess our instruction of this course consistently across librarians without detracting valuable time from the sessions themselves, an authentic learning exercise and rubric for scoring that exercise were developed and an IRB-approved study of the assessment results undertaken.

Child Rights Trending: Accommodating Children With Disabilities In The Global Human Rights Framework And Us Foreign Policy, Janet E. Lord

Articles

This Article proceeds in three parts. Following the introduction, Part I analyzes the concept of child rights as applied to children with disabilities in instruments antecedent to the CRPD. It goes on to examine the treatment of children with disabilities in the CRC and in the text of the CRPD. In so doing, it exposes the significant conceptual shift in how children with disabilities are characterized as agents and holders of rights in the CRPD, in contrast to prior articulations. Part II explains how this new framework is used to expose and address major human rights issues that face children …

The Untapped Power Of Soda Taxes: Incentivizing Consumers, Generating Revenue, And Altering Corporate Behavior, Lawrence O. Gostin, Sarah A. Roache

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Globally, soda taxes are gaining momentum as powerful interventions to discourage sugar consumption and thereby reduce the growing burden of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Evidence from early adopters including Mexico and Berkeley, California, confirms that soda taxes can disincentivize consumption through price increases and raise revenue to support government programs. The United Kingdom’s new graduated levy on sweetened beverages is yielding yet another powerful impact: soda manufacturers are reformulating their beverages to significantly reduce the sugar content. Product reformulation – whether incentivized or mandatory – helps reduce overconsumption of sugars at the societal level, moving away from the long-standing …

From Elements To Function: Toward Unifying Ecological Stoichiometry And Trait-Based Ecology, Cedric L. Meunier, Maarten Boersma, Rana El-Sabaawi, Halvor M. Halvorson, Emily M. Herstoff, Dedmer B. Van De Waal, Richard J. Vogt, Elena Litchman

Faculty Publications

The theories developed in ecological stoichiometry (ES) are fundamentally based on traits. Traits directly linked to cell/body stoichiometry, such as nutrient uptake and storage, as well as the associated trade-offs, have the potential to shape ecological interactions such as competition and predation within ecosystems. Further, traits that indirectly influence and are influenced by nutritional requirements, such as cell/body size and growth rate, are tightly linked to organismal stoichiometry. Despite their physiological and ecological relevance, traits are rarely explicitly integrated in the framework of ES and, currently, the major challenge is to more closely inter-connect ES with trait-based ecology (TBE). Here, …

Effect Of Fuel Deposition Rate On Departure Fuel Load Of Migratory Songbirds During Spring Stopover Along The Northern Coast Of The Gulf Of Mexico, Frank R. Moore, Kristen M. Covino, William B. Lewis, Theodore J. Zenzal Jr., Thomas J. Benson

Faculty Publications

Migrants are generally assumed to minimize their overall migration time by adjusting their departure fuel loads (DFL) in relation to anticipated and experienced fuel deposition rates (FDRs). We utilized a 21-yr long migration banding station dataset to examine the relationship between FDR and DFL during spring migration in six Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbird species during stopover along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) following trans-gulf flight. Estimates of fuel stores, stopover durations, and FDRs from our long term migration data set were combined to determine DFL. We expected and found that migrants across all six species adjust their …

Lactic Acid Bacteria As Bio-Preservatives In Bakery – Role Of Sourdough Systems In The Quality, Safety And Shelf Life Of Bread, Rebaz Koy

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Microbial contamination and survival during storage of bread are a cause of both health concerns and economic losses. Traditional fermentation systems were studied as sources of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with antagonistic potential against foodborne pathogens and spoilage organisms, with the aim to improve the safety and shelf life of bakery products. The antagonistic activity of four types of buttermilk (BM) products fermented with Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis was evaluated against a number of pathogenic bacteria to select the best fermented-BM for application as bio-preservatives in bread crumpets, showing up to 9 µg/ml of nisin equivalent antimicrobial activity. These food …

Calcification In Coccolithophores, Glenn Harper

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Abstract Coccolithophores are uni-cellular phytoplankton and they form an exceedingly diverse group in the phylum Haptophyta. They produce highly complex structures known as coccoliths by a biomineralisation process known as calcification. The first part of the work undertaken was to investigate the process of calcification in the coccolithophore Coccolithus pelagicus using a combination of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy techniques. This allowed better understanding of the formation, transit of the coccolith through the cell until its final placing in the coccosphere. The second part of the work looked at the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi which …

Authenticity And Quality Of Muscle Foods: Assessing Consumer Trust And Fraud Detection Approaches, Salih Mustafa Salih

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Authenticity issues and fraudulent practices regarding animal products are affecting consumer confidence. Verifying the description, composition, processing or origin of foods can be challenging. To explore British and Kurdish consumers’ perceptions of kebab meat products, focus groups and questionnaire surveys were applied. About 40% of participants in the UK tend to purchase fewer processed meats after the European horsemeat scandal. Issues raised by participants indicated their concerns about the declaration of species, meat content, and other ingredients incorporated in kebab and other meat products. Lack of consumer trust has been linked to authenticity issues. Reactions towards the addition of fat-replacing …

The Vulnerability Of Different Populations Of The Commercially-Important Shrimp Pandalus Borealis To Environmental Stress, Emilie Florence Hall

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The present study adopted an integrative approach to conduct a population comparison of vulnerability to environmental stress in a commercially important species of ectotherm. Specifically, I investigated how differing environmental conditions in native habitats may drive intra-species divergence and alter performance when conditions shift. This study used northern prawn (Pandalus borealis Krøyer 1838) populations with known morphological differences from two spatially proximate fjord sites differing in oxygen regime as a model system. The genetic population structure was analysed and whole organism, physiological, and metabolomic performance under hypoxia and thermal stress were assessed. Genetic analyses displayed no significant dissimilarities between P. …

The Microbiological Safety Of Fresh Produce In Lebanon- A Holistic “Farm-To-Fork Chain” Approach To Evaluate Food Safety, Compliance Levels And Underlying Risk Factors, Dima Faour-Klingbeil

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The consumption of unsafe fresh vegetables has been linked to an increasing number of outbreaks of human infections. In Lebanon, although raw vegetables are major constituents of the national cuisine, studies on the safety of fresh produce are scant. This research employed a holistic approach to identify the different stages of the food chain that contribute to the microbiological risks on fresh produce and the spreading of hazards. A thorough analysis of the institutional and regulatory framework and the socio-political environment showed that the safety of local fresh produce in Lebanon is at risk due to largely unregulated practices and …

Overview Of Australian Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Health Status 2016, Australian Indigenous Healthinfonet

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent indicators of the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Information focuses on:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations
• the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
• various measures of population health status
• selected health conditions
• health risk and protective factors.

The Overview shows that the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continues to improve slowly and there has been a decline in the death rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and also a significant closing of the gap in death rates …

The Application Of Mesenchymal Progenitor Stem Cells For The Reduction Of Oxidative Stress In Animals, Edyta Wojtas, Andrzej Zachwieja, Anna Zwyrzykowska, Robert Kupczynski, Krzysztof Marycz

Turkish Journal of Biology

Oxidative stress is the primary cause of lowering of the body's immune status. It arises as a result of intense metabolic processes in humans and animals that involve a decrease in antioxidant enzymes activity at the expense of increased production of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Consequently, this leads to oxidation of lipids, proteins, DNA, and RNA, causing cell proliferation reduction, faster cell aging, and subsequent degradation. Currently, there is a search for methods to maintain an oxidation-antioxidant balance. The results of many authors' research point to the effectiveness of the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in …

Measuring The Effects Of Recycled Water On The Growth Of Three Algal Species: Tisochrysis Lutea, Chaetcoeros Calcitrans, And C. Muelleri In A Commercial-Scale Oyster Hatchery, Lisa Marie Bourassa

LSU Master's Theses

Algal production is often the limiting factor in large-scale oyster hatcheries, and constant, reliable production is required to grow enough algae to support all oyster larvae and broodstock grown and conditioned in a hatchery. The algal rooms in the Michael C. Voisin Oyster Hatchery at Grand Isle, LA are temperature-controlled to maintain consistent temperature, but this hatchery is also unique in its ability to recycle natural seawater pumped from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Effects of recycling seawater on algal production in an oyster hatchery, however, are undocumented. In this study, Tisochrysis lutea, Chaetoceros calcitrans and C. muelleri were grown …

Human Centered Design Of An Open-Drum, Treadle Thresher For Quinoa Farmers In The Andes Of Northern Peru, Robert A. Hayes

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Growing international demand for quinoa in recent years has led to increased production throughout its South American range, including the Peruvian Andes. Small-scale farmers, who are among the poorest Peruvians, are increasingly growing quinoa for both food security and economic benefit; however, manual harvesting activities, such as threshing, are labor-intensive and time-consuming. This report documents the design, construction and operation of prototype quinoa thresher in a rural village in Northern Peru. In addition, an overview of the history and evolutionary approach to design for the developing world is presented. From this overview, a series of criteria is considered for the …

Neutral And Adaptive Genetic Variation In North American Hardwood Tree Species, Sudhir Khodwekar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

'Northern Hardwoods,’ are a characteristic composition of multiple tree species and a part of the rich and diverse northeastern forests. Hardwoods e.g. oaks (Quercus: Fagaceae and Sugar maple), serve as foundation species and offer ecological and economical gains to wildlife and humans. Most of the forest trees go through many biotic and abiotic stresses, for example climate change in their long life span. To overcome these threats and to adapt to changing conditions, tree species need to maintain variation especially in adaptive genes. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze genetic diversity within forest tree populations and take appropriate …

Impacts To Biodiversity And Ecosystem Services From Bioenergy Development: A Pan American Experience, Colin Phifer

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

As part of a broader project that evaluated the social and ecological sustainability of bioenergy, I studied the effects of bioenergy associated land-use change and management on native bees and birds in two bioenergy-producing countries, the United States and Argentina. In Argentina, I worked in Entre Ríos province where eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) plantations are being planted. These fast-growing trees are replacing pasture and annual crops, the current dominant land use. I surveyed for native bees and birds in pastures/annual crops and large-scale eucalyptus plantations, as well as mixed-use farms and native espinal savannas. Both birds and bees declined in …

Evaluation Of Biochar As A Feed Additive In Commercial Broiler Diets, Brandon Michael Cheron

LSU Master's Theses

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate sugarcane biochar as a feed ingredient in commercial broiler diets. Experiment 1 was conducted for 11 days using 300 male Ross 708 broilers. Broilers were allotted to one of five treatment diets containing 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 2%, or 4% biochar. Experiment 2 was conducted for 19 days using 450 male Ross 708 broilers. Chicks were allotted to one of 9 treatment diets containing 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 1%, 1.25%, 1.5%, 1.75% or 2% biochar. Broilers and feed were weighed at day 0 and 10 in experiment 1 and day 0, 10 and 18 in …

Feature And Decision Level Fusion Using Multiple Kernel Learning And Fuzzy Integrals, Anthony Pinar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The work collected in this dissertation addresses the problem of data fusion. In other words, this is the problem of making decisions (also known as the problem of classification in the machine learning and statistics communities) when data from multiple sources are available, or when decisions/confidence levels from a panel of decision-makers are accessible. This problem has become increasingly important in recent years, especially with the ever-increasing popularity of autonomous systems outfitted with suites of sensors and the dawn of the ``age of big data.'' While data fusion is a very broad topic, the work in this dissertation considers …

Structural Characteristics And Corrosion Behavior Of Bio-Degradable Zn-Li Alloys In Stent Application, Shan Zhao

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Zinc has begun to be studied as a bio-degradable material in recent years due to its excellent corrosion rate and optimal biocompatibility. Unfortunately, pure Zn’s intrinsic ultimate tensile strength (UTS; below 120 MPa) is lower than the benchmark (about 300 MPa) for cardiovascular stent materials, raising concerns about sufficient strength to support the blood vessel. Thus, modifying pure Zn to improve its mechanical properties is an important research topic.

In this dissertation project, a new Zn-Li alloy has been developed to retain the outstanding corrosion behavior from Zn while improving the mechanical characteristics and uniform biodegradation once it is implanted …

Parent-Child Interaction : How It Impacts Language And Literacy Skills, Angie Thurman

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this review is to examine the importance of parent-child interaction in children ages birth through five-years old. The review focuses on how these interactions impact literacy and language skills in young children. Parent interventions and strategies to help children grow in the areas of literacy and language are also highlighted. The conclusion of this review includes recommendations for parents and teachers as well as suggestions for future research.

Phenolic Compounds In Floral Infusions Of Various Sambucus Species And Their Interspecific Hybrids, Biljana Todorovic, Maja Mikulic Petkovsek, Franci Stampar, Anton Ivancic

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The main purpose of the present study was to evaluate the diversity and content of various phenolic compounds in floral infusions of 14 elderberry genotypes (3 species and 9 interspecific hybrids). Detailed phenolic analysis was performed using HPLC-MS. Hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs) were the major phenolic group identified and 3-, 4-, and 5-caffeoylquinic acids were detected in infusions prepared from all analyzed species and interspecific hybrids. Several flavonols were identified in elderberry floral infusions: 8 isorhamnetin derivatives, 6 quercetin derivatives, 2 flavanones, and 6 kaempferol derivatives. The main flavonols detected in all samples were isorhamnetin-3-rutinoside, isorhamnetin dihexoside, quercetin-3-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-rutinoside, and kaempferol …

Comparison Of Two Halophyte Species (Salsola Soda And Portulaca Oleracea)For Salt Removal Potential Under Different Soil Salinity Conditions, Sema Karakaş, Mehmet Ali̇ Çullu, Murat Di̇ki̇li̇taş

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Salt-induced land degradation has gradually increased in several major irrigation schemes within arid and semiarid regions. To maximize crop productivity under saline conditions, either salt tolerance crops should be cultivated or areas should be desalinated. One of the most promising and cost-effective ways to maximize crop productivity is to use salt tolerant plants to remove salt from the soil. For this study, four levels of saline soils were cultivated with the halophyte species Salsola soda L. and Portulaca oleracea L. in pots. The soils had the following salinity levels: 1) nonsaline soil (NSS, 0.9 dS m-1), 2) slightly saline soil …

Mineralogical And Micromorphological Characteristics Of Red Pineand Oak Root Zone Soils In Southern Turkey, Somayyeh Razzaghi, Nadia Vignozzi, Selim Kapur

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Plant species exert differential effects on soil mineralogical and micromorphological characteristics. The effect of red pine and oak tree roots on the mineralogical and micromorphological characteristics of rhizosphere soils in two sampling sites in the Göksu catchment was studied. The climate, topography, and bedrock conditions were kept consistent, whereas the plant factor was kept as the only variable in each site. Rhizosphere soils under the canopies of 100 years old and naturally occurring trees were compared via macromorphology, submicroscopy, mineralogy, and physical and chemical properties. The soils of red pine (RP1 and RP2 profiles) were determined to have higher porosity …

Qtls For Iron Concentration In Seeds Of The Cultivated Lentil (Lens Culinaris Medic.) Via Genotyping By Sequencing, Seçi̇l Aldemi̇r, Duygu Ateş, Hülya Yilmaz Temel, Bülent Yağmur, Ahmad Alsaleh, Abdullah Kahri̇man, Hakan Özkan, Albert Vandenberg, Muhammed Bahatti̇n Tanyolaç

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Lentil, Lens culinaris Medic., is an important cool season grain legume because of the high level of iron (Fe) in its seeds since Fe deficiency is widespread and causes anemia. Thus, identifying genes controlling Fe concentration in the seed was needed for mapping in the lentil genome. The objectives of this study were to (i) detect phenotypic variation in Fe concentration in the seeds of a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, (ii) construct a high-density linkage map using genotyping by sequencing (GBS), and (iii) identify localization of the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling genes for Fe concentration in lentil seeds. …

Selected Engineering Properties Of Tiger Nut As A Function Of Moisture Content And Variety, Ahmet İnce, Kubi̇lay Kazim Vursavuş, Yasemi̇n Vurarak, Pinar Çubukcu, Meli̇h Yavuz Çevi̇k

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Some physical and mechanical properties of two tiger nut varieties (Sarışeker and Balyumru) were determined at four moisture contents. Physical properties including length, width, thickness, geometric mean diameter, mass, 1000-tuber mass, bulk density, tuber density, surface area, terminal velocity, angle of repose, porosity, and friction coefficient were affected by moisture content at a 1% probability level, excluding sphericity. All parameters decreased with a decrease in moisture content except tuber density, porosity, and firmness. Variety only had a statistically significant effect on width, geometric mean diameter surface area, and terminal velocity at different probability levels. Force, deformation, firmness, energy absorbed, and …

Effect Of Pollenizers On Production And Fruit Characteristics Of Date Palm(Phoenix Dactylifera L.) Cultivar Medjool In Mexico, Ricardo Salomon-Torres, Noe Ortiz-Uribe, Rafael Villa-Angulo, Carlos Villa-Angulo, Susana Norzagaray-Plasencia, Cristian Garcia-Verdugo

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Pollen from four date palm cultivars (Medjool, Zahidi, Khadrawy, and Deglet Noor) was selected to study the effect of pollenizers on Medjool female production and fruit characteristics. The study was conducted during the 2016 season in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. Three bunches of each of the four selected female palms were pollinized by each source of pollen. Results were statistically analyzed using the ANOVA test. Set percentage and fruit characteristics showed a significant effect depending on the selected pollenizer. Bunches pollinized with the Zahidi cultivar had the highest fruit set percentage at 50.30%, while bunches pollinized with the Khadrawy …

Inoculation With Bacillus Licheniformis Mh48 To Improve Camellia Japonicaseedling Development In Coastal Lands, Hyun-Gyu Park, Min-Hae Jeong, Young-Sang Ahn

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

This study aimed to determine the promotion of the growth and nutrient uptake of Camellia japonica seedlings in coastal lands by bacterial inoculation. Soil salinity reduces plant growth and development in coastal areas due to the osmotic stress that perturbs nutrient uptake. The soil electrical conductivity at the sites of this study ranged from 1.02 to 1.89 dS m-1. Application of chemical fertilizer resulted in the limited uptake of nutrients in seedlings under saline conditions as well as a low nutrient content in the soil caused by leaching, with no significant influence on the growth of the seedlings. However, Bacillus …