Digital Commons Network^™

Coast Guard Public Affairs Middle Management And The Excellence Study, Stephen Bailey Lehmann

Theses - ALL

As is the nature of any organization, the U.S. Coast Guard is constantly seeking to improve its functions, operations, policies and procedures. In terms of communications, the service’s Public Affairs Program has instituted a number of different competencies and qualifications to better prepare candidates as they approach the next rank. This study sought to provide an outline of the middle-management component as it exists within the public affairs element and compare the findings to those published in the Excellence Study to assist the service by providing a basis from which additional policy recommendations could be made.

The study was conducted …

Pack-Years Of Tobacco Cigarette Smoking As A Predictor Of Spontaneous Pain Reporting And Experimental Pain Reactivity, Martin Joseph De Vita

Theses - ALL

The pack-years formula is a widely used estimate of lifetime tobacco smoking exposure, and greater pack-years have been associated with greater risk of chronic pain development and poorer pain-related outcomes among smokers with chronic pain. The pathophysiology underlying these associations is poorly understood. Regular tobacco smoking exposure may dysregulate homeostatic pain processes, producing an allostatic state of pain facilitation. Maladaptive pain mechanisms, such as central and peripheral sensitization, are chronic pain risk factors. Yet, no published research has involved a determination of the relation between lifetime-smoking exposure and dysregulated pain processing. The current study used hierarchical linear regression analyses to …

International Differences In Support For Human Rights, Sam Mcfarland Phd

Societies Without Borders

International differences in support for human rights are reviewed. The first of two sections reviews variations in the strength of ratification of UN human rights treaties, followed by an examination of the commonalities and relative strengths among the five regional human rights systems. This review indicates that internationally the strongest human rights support is found in Europe and the Americas, with weaker support in Africa, followed by still weaker support in the Arab Union and Southeast Asia. The second section reviews variations in responses to public opinion polls on a number of civil and economic rights. A strong coherence in …

Rainbows For Rights: The Role Of Lgbt Activism In Gay Rights Promotion, Victor Asal Phd, Amanda Murdie Phd, Udi Sommer Phd

Societies Without Borders

Are advocacy efforts successful in improving the de jure rights of sexual minorities? In this paper, we argue that the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights NGO movement has been a powerful force in the struggle against sexual discrimination. However, the work of LGBT organizations is much harder in areas of the world where pre-existing public attitudes are not supportive of the rights in question. By focusing on the issue of sexual minority rights, we are able to see how underlying public attitude divergence on a human rights issue can influence advocacy success. We test the implications of our …

Who Says Human Rights Are Not Respected? Assessing Local And Third Party Ratings, Rob Clark Phd

Societies Without Borders

Country ratings of human rights conditions are now quite popular in macro comparative research. However, little is known as to whether (or to what extent) these scores correspond with mass sentiment in each country. Do local ratings issued by the public correspond with third party ratings, such as those produced by the Cingranelli-Richards index (CIRI), the Political Terror Scale (PTS), and Freedom House (FH)? In this study, I address this question, drawing from the most recent wave of the World Values Survey (2010 – 2014), in which respondents from 59 countries are asked to assess the level of respect for …

The Political Economy Of Resource Conflicts And Forced Migration: Why Afghanistan, Colombia And Sudan Are The World's Longest Forced Migration, Tarique Niazi Phd, Jeremy Hein Phd

Societies Without Borders

Afghanistan, Colombia, and Sudan are the world’s three longest producers of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Why? To answer this question, we evaluate the conventional and dominant geopolitical model of forced migration, as well as alternative models that focus on resource-based conflicts and political economy. We demonstrate that in each of the three cases, natural resources are at the heart of the conflicts that precede the involuntary movement of people both across international borders (refugees) and within national borders (IDPs). But the presence of resources by itself does not cause conflicts or forced migration. In Afghanistan, Colombia and Sudan, …

Notes From The Field: It’S Not About Love: Brazilian Social Work Celebrates 80 Years In The Fight For Social Rights, Jane Mcpherson Phd, Mph, Lcsw

Societies Without Borders

In 2016, Brazilian social work celebrated 80 years of existence. This writer, a U.S. social worker, traveled south to participate in the celebrations, and to observe—and reflect upon—the role of human rights activism in the practice of our shared profession. This article will discuss both Brazil’s history and its social work profession as they relate to human rights, and highlight ways that Brazilian social workers speak about human rights that challenge the author to become a better social worker and educator.

Review Of Silent Violence: Neoliberalism, Islamist Politics And The Akp Years In Turkey. Edited By Simten Coşar & Gamze Yücesan-Özdemir. Ottawa: Red Quill Press, 2012, Susan C. Pearce Phd

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

Senior Day December 2017, University Of Michigan Law School

Commencement and Honors Materials

Program for the December 22, 2017 University of Michigan Law School Senior Day.

Sexual Assault In Universities, Vanessa A. Gebka

Honors Capstones

In this study, the author investigates how and why rape culture continues to exist in our society today. Certain concepts such as gender roles, college experience, acquaintance rape, and victim blaming are discussed in order to elaborate on this ideology. Furthermore, the author looks at how rape culture effects outcomes and survivors of sexual assault, specifically within universities, and how institutions handle such cases. Using surveys and research, it is clear that victims of sexual assault are not being supported and more needs to be done to help them. The author argues that because college environments and institutions tolerate sexual …

Electromyography Exposes Heterogeneity In Muscle Co-Contraction Following Stroke, Caitlin L. Banks, Helen J. Huang, Virginia L. Little, Carolynn Patten

PT Faculty Publications

Walking after stroke is often described as requiring excessive muscle co-contraction, yet, evidence that co-contraction is a ubiquitous motor control strategy for this population remains inconclusive. Co-contraction, the simultaneous activation of agonist and antagonist muscles, can be assessed with electromyography (EMG) but is often described qualitatively. Here, our goal is to determine if co-contraction is associated with gait impairments following stroke. Fifteen individuals with chronic stroke and nine healthy controls walked on an instrumented treadmill at self-selected speed. Surface EMGs were collected from the medial gastrocnemius (MG), soleus (SOL), and tibialis anterior (TA) of each leg. EMG envelope amplitudes were …

From A Woman’S Right To Choose To ‘A Woman’S Right To Shoes’: The Commodification Of Feminism And The Politics Of Choice From Fear Of Flying To Bridget Jones’ Diary, Megan Behrent

Publications and Research

This essay looks at the transformation of the first-person fiction narratives from the feminist movement in the age of postfeminism. It explores the trajectory from feminism to postfeminism and the shift from a collective to a purely personal understanding of liberation as lifestyle politics, “power” feminism, and individualism gain ground. Central to this transformation is the commodification of the feminism itself as the politics of choice signal a broader shift to neoliberal ideology in which the rhetoric of choice is used to undermine radical demands for rights that emerged from the political movements of the 1960s and 70s. I argue …

Perchlorate-Coupled Carbon Monoxide (Co) Oxidation: Evidence For A Plausible Microbe-Mediated Reaction In Martian Brines, Marisa R. Myers, Gary M. King

Faculty Publications

© 2017 Myers and King. The presence of hydrated salts on Mars indicates that some regions of its surface might be habitable if suitable metabolizable substrates are available. However, several lines of evidence have shown that Mars' regolith contains only trace levels of the organic matter needed to support heterotrophic microbes. Due to the scarcity of organic carbon, carbon monoxide (CO) at a concentration of about 700 parts per million (about 0.4 Pa) might be the single most abundant readily available substrate that could support near-surface bacterial activity. Although a variety of electron acceptors can be coupled to CO oxidation, …

Ability Of Functional Performance Tests To Identify Individuals With Chronic Ankle Instability: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis, Adam B. Rosen, Alan R. Needle, Jupil Ko

Health and Kinesiology Faculty Publications

Objective:

The purpose of this systematic review with meta-analysis was to determine the effectiveness of functional performance tests (FPTs) in differentiating between individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI) and healthy controls.

Data Sources:

The National Library of Medicine Catalog (PubMed), the Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and the SPORTDiscus, from inception to June 2017 were searched. Search terms consisted of: “Functional Performance Test*” OR “Dynamic Balance Test*” OR “Postural Stability Test*” OR “Star Excursion Balance Test*” OR “Hop Test*” AND “Ankle Instability” OR “Ankle Sprain.” Included articles assessed differences in FPTs in patients with CAI compared …

Concise Review: Translating Regenerative Biology Into Clinically Relevant Therapies: Are We On The Right Path?, Jennifer Simkin, Ashley W. Seifert

Biology Faculty Publications

Despite approaches in regenerative medicine using stem cells, bio-engineered scaffolds, and targeted drug delivery to enhance human tissue repair, clinicians remain unable to regenerate large-scale, multi-tissue defects in situ. The study of regenerative biology using mammalian models of complex tissue regeneration offers an opportunity to discover key factors that stimulate a regenerative rather than fibrotic response to injury. For example, although primates and rodents can regenerate their distal digit tips, they heal more proximal amputations with scar tissue. Rabbits and African spiny mice re-grow tissue to fill large musculoskeletal defects through their ear pinna, while other mammals fail to regenerate …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Two Teaching Strategies On Nursing Students Knowledge Skills And Attitudes Of Quality Improvement And Safety, Karen Maxwell

Dissertations

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine published a report To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, which found that 44,000-98,000 people die as a result of preventable medical errors each year. Following this report in 2005, the Quality and Safety for Nurses (QSEN) project was established which defined a set of six core competencies that all nursing students should possess at graduation. Since the IOM report and the establishment of QSEN, nurse educators have been challenged with discovering effective teaching strategies to infuse the QSEN competencies into the nursing curricula. The purpose of the quantitative, pretest/post-test control group …

Prevalence And Possible Factors Associated With Anaemia, And Vitamin B 12 And Folate Deficiencies In Women Of Reproductive Age In Pakistan: Analysis Of National-Level Secondary Survey Data, Sajid Bashir Soofi, Gul Nawaz Khan, Kamran Sadiq, Shabina Ariff, Atif Habib, Sumra Kureishy, Imtiaz Hussain, Muhammad Umer, Zamir Suhag, Arjumand Rizvi, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Objective: To determine the prevalence and possible factors associated with anaemia, and vitamin B12 and folate deficiencies in women of reproductive age (WRA) in Pakistan.
Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on data collected through the large-scale National Nutrition Survey in Pakistan in 2011. Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin levels <12 g/dL, vitamin B12 deficiency as serum vitamin B12 levels of <203 pg/mL (150 pmol/L) and folate deficiency as serum folate levels <4 ng/mL (10 nmol/L).
Results: A total of 11751 blood samples were collected and analysed. The prevalence of anaemia, vitamin B12 deficiency and folate deficiency was 50.4%, 52.4% and 50.8%, respectively. After adjustment, the following factors were positively associated with anaemia: living in Sindh province (RR 1.07; 95%CI 1.04 to 1.09)P<0.00, food insecure with moderate hunger (RR 1.03; 95%CI 1.00 to 1.06)P=0.02, four or more pregnancies (RR 1.03; 95%CI 1.01 to 1.05)P<0.00, being underweight (RR 1.03; 95%CI 1.00 to 1.05)P=0.02, being overweight or obese (RR 0.95; 95%CI 0.93 to 0.97)P<0.00 and weekly intake of leafy green vegetables (RR 0.98; 95%CI 0.95 to 1.00)P=0.04. For vitamin B12 deficiency, a positive association was observed with rural population (RR 0.81; 95%CI 0.66 to 1.00)P=0.04, living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (RR 1.25; 95%CI 1.11 to 1.43)P<0.00 and living in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (RR 1.50; 95%CI 1.08 to 2.08)P=0.01. Folate deficiency was negatively associated with daily and weekly intake of eggs (RR 0.89; 95%CI 0.81 to 0.98)P=0.02 and (RR 0.88; 95%CI 0.78 to 0.99)P=0.03.
Conclusions: In Pakistan, …

Facilitating Social Support Systems For Adults In Assisted Living Communities, Kathryn Marie Detwiler

Theses - ALL

This thesis project seeks to unpack how older adults living in assisted living facilities

maintain and deepen their social connections. According to established research, social support systems and active lifestyles are major factors in improving quality of life. By sitting down with residents in the assisted living division of Menorah Park in

Syracuse, and conducting a series of research activities, a better understanding of how older adults live in assisted living facilities.

One potential design solution currently being explored to keep older adults socially engaged could be the design of a social hub terminal that encourages residents to congregate daily …

State V. Coleman Appellant's Reply Brief Dckt. 45032

Idaho Supreme Court Records & Briefs, All

No abstract provided.

Cdc Grand Rounds: National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Als) Registry Impact, Challenges, And Future Directions, Paul Mehta, D. Kevin Horton, Edward J. Kasarskis, Ed Tessaro, M. Shira Eisenberg, Susan Laird, John Iskander

Neurology Faculty Publications

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rapidly progressive fatal neurologic disease. Currently, there is no cure for ALS and the available treatments only extend life by an average of a few months. The majority of ALS patients die within 2–5 years of diagnosis, though survival time varies depending on disease progression (1,2). For approximately 10% of patients, ALS is familial, meaning it and has a genetic component; the remaining 90% have sporadic ALS, where etiology is unknown, but might be linked to environmental factors such as chemical exposures (e.g., heavy …

The Public And Private Spirit Of Engagement, Darrell Hamlin

eJournal of Public Affairs

No abstract provided.

Developing A “Sense Of Community”: Exploring A Cognitive Component Of Civic Engagement, Tabitha Underwood

eJournal of Public Affairs

Civic engagement has become an important component of higher education practice that assists colleges and universities in fulfilling their civic mission and public purpose. This reflective essay outlines an oftentimes forgotten aspect of that work—how we integrate students into the life of a community and help them develop a sense of interdependence with it. The concept of “sense of community” allows this opportunity and should be incorporated in higher education professions as both a guiding principle and an outcome of engaged scholarship. The author outlines the idea of incorporating the sense of community concept into higher education civic engagement, including …

Book Review: Scientists, Experts, And Civic Engagement: Walking A Fine Line, Alexander Wait

eJournal of Public Affairs

No abstract provided.

Civic Intentions And Actions: Exploring Civic Engagement Among College Students In Mainland China, Jonathan F. Zaff, Jingtong Pan, Wei Zhang, Shuangju Zhen

eJournal of Public Affairs

For the study discussed in this article, the authors developed a survey instrument to assess civic engagement among college students in China. Derived from focus-group interviews and extant literature on civic engagement, the survey was administered to 587 students from three universities in Southern China. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on a randomly split-half sample, and a subsequent confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the other split-half sample to evaluate measurement structure and measurement invariance of the survey. A total of 22 items were included in the final measurement model. The authors identified five first-order factors from the survey (i.e., …

Rethinking Service-Learning: Bridging The Gapbetween Academic And Student Affairs, Tamara J. Lynn

eJournal of Public Affairs

Although the service-learning literature has clearly demonstrated the importance of reflection in connecting service to learning, this is often a difficult task for faculty. As colleges and universities continue to promote civic engagement through a wide array of service activities, in the classroom, and increasingly through co-curricular projects, greater emphasis needs to be placed on reflecting well. This study evaluated changes in perceptions of poverty by undergraduate students engaged in a co-curricular service project. Poverty was selected as one indicator for understanding concepts of justice. Pre- and post-project surveys were conducted by the student participants, who were members of an …

The Preemptive Paradox: The Rise Of Great Powers & Management Of The International System, Jeffrey Treistman

Dissertations - ALL

Since the beginning of the modern state system only a few select nations have achieved great power status. But what can account for their rise? The presence of existing great powers would suggest that aspiring states should encounter formidable obstacles that would render their success implausible. In some cases extant great powers sought to counter the rise of a new peer, but the historical record also reveals that incumbents sometimes did not contest the rise of potential competitors. Thus, great powers have pursued two divergent strategies: contestation and nonintervention. How then do great powers decide on which policy to implement? …

Wifely Figures: Gender, Marriage, And Biblical Typology In Early Modern England, Melissa Welshans

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation illuminates how the hermeneutic of biblical typology influenced the conception of the female life cycle in early modern English literature, especially the social roles of maid, wife, and widow. Reading texts from a variety of genres and by both male and female authors, this dissertation argues that a typological understanding of marriage gave additional, spiritual import to those social roles, thus further upholding ideologies that defined women by their proximity to marriage. However, this dissertation also demonstrates how a typological understanding of marriage and the female life cycle could also be used to critique gender norms. After providing …

Adsorption Of Iodine And Water On Silver-Exchanged Mordenite, Yue Nan

Dissertations - ALL

The reprocessing of used nuclear fuel to recover the fissile materials generates off gases including radioactive nuclides namely 3H (tritiated water, H3HO), 129I, 85Kr, 135Xe, and 14C. Due to its high quantity in off-gas streams and long half-life (1.59 million years), 129I removal from the off-gas streams is a significant objective of off-gas treatment.

129I retention by solid adsorbents was recognized a better strategy in comparison to liquid scrubbers due to the simplicity of system design and low cost. Among the studied adsorbents, reduced silver-exchanged mordenite (Ag0Z) was widely recognized as the state-of-art adsorbent for iodine removal. It has been …

Catalytic Synthesis Of Biodiesel Fuel Under Sub/Supercritical Conditions: Kinetics And Phase Behavior, Jiuxu Liu

Dissertations - ALL

In this thesis, transesterification of triglycerides and esterification of free fatty acids were executed under subcritical and supercritical alcohol conditions, and discussed in Chapter 2-5. The project was initiated by studying the phase behavior and kinetics of transesterification reactions under severe reaction conditions (T: 300-400 oC, P=200 bar), since those conditions were suggested and commonly used in the literature. At these conditions, triglycerides reacted with alcohol within minutes, and the oil-alcohol mixture formed a homogeneous phase which minimized the boundary mass transfer resistance. The composition change of the reaction mixture made the critical point of the system approach supercritical region …

The Post-Neoliberal Citizen: Immigrant Identity As The New Service Learning Center, Michael Lasley

Dissertations - ALL

In my dissertation, The Post-Neoliberal Citizen: Immigrant Identity as the New Service Learning Center, I analyze the language of service-learning initiatives, particularly the language these initiatives use regarding global citizenship, through the lens of the rhetorics of neoliberalism. Much of service-learning scholarship has, I argue, taken for granted the idea of citizenship; that is, the political subjectivity of participants in these programs has been articulated from the perspective of American citizenship. I begin the dissertation by tracing the early conversations about citizenship within service-learning scholarship, and I then note how these conversations shift when second-wave service-learning scholars reframed service-learning to …