Digital Commons Network^™

Maternal Life Course Adversity: The Intersection Of Psychosocial And Biobehavioral Adaptive Response In Pregnancy, Crystal Modde Epstein

Theses & Dissertations

The link between life course adversity and adverse health outcomes is well established, particularly early life adversity (ELA). There is also evidence that the physiologic adaptations associated with stress, depression and ELA can be transmitted intergenerationally via long-term set-point changes within the maternal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). It is unknown how the type and timing of maternal stress and adversity influences HPA regulation during pregnancy and whether maternal coping attenuates this relationship. Manuscript 1 was an integrative review of studies examining the association between maternal ELA and HPA regulation during pregnancy. In manuscripts 2 and 3 the findings of the dissertation …

Network Structures As A Way To Build A Global Organization And The Role Of Modern It Tools, Jerzy Kisielnicki

European Management Studies

The subject of the article is an analysis of network organizational structures as part of the organizational management system. The considerations are illustrated in practical examples: System Information Science and Technology (design SYNAT) and the analysis of changes in the company Bayer CropScience (BCS). Changes in management systems are due to the need to transform hierarchical systems. The direction of change is the global creation of global organizations. In management, we observe the transition from centralized hierarchical structures to decentralized network structures. The paper argues that the construction of global organizations requires the use of network management structures in them, …

The Phenomenon Of Information Asymmetry Between The Supplier And The Client In It Projects, Bartosz Wachnik

European Management Studies

The phenomenon of information asymmetry between the supplier and the client in IT projects based on outsourcing is an important issue that affects the entire life cycle of an IT project. Information asymmetry is an inherent feature of transactions in the IT market, which should be considered while analysing IT project success. The aim of this article is to summarise my research concerning information asymmetry in IT projects. The conclusions may be interesting both for practitioners and theorists of business informatics.

Business Processes Improvement By Using Consumers’ Knowledge, Ewa Ziemba, Monika Eisenbardt

European Management Studies

Business and public organizations can improve their business processes by using the knowledge of consumers hereinafter referred to as prosumers. The purpose of this paper is to identify these processes. Thus, the APQC Business Process Classification Model as well as the conceptual model of prosumers participation in business processes were used. The outcomes show that prosumers are willing to share their knowledge in order to increase product functionality, reliability and usage convenience. Meanwhile, business organizations use prosumers’ knowledge mainly for designing products or their parts, improving the look of the products and their packaging, as well as selecting proper raw …

The Development Of P2p Lending Systems Determined By It User (Consumer) Needs, Dariusz T. Dziuba

European Management Studies

The paper presents a model of direct P2P lending systems launched in response to the IT users’ (consumers’) changing needs and determined by the technological progress and the growing role of social media and networking. Based on the methodology proposed by the author, the global P2P lending market segment is estimated and analysed, with a focus on a major subset of Chinese platforms. The size of this segment is measured so as to determine the extent of its influence on the processes of economic development, including in particular job creation. The main benefits and risks of the model are identified, …

The Users’ Needs As Determinants Of The Organization Model Of The Information Platform Activating Seniors. Conclusions From The Study, Maja Leszczyńska, Karol Łopaciński, Wiesława Gryncewicz, Robert Kutera

European Management Studies

Due to the aging of society, the authors have developed a concept of ICT platform aimed at increasing the activity of people at the retirement age. It is dedicated to members of local communities, can be used to support entrepreneurship, self-fulfillment and activation in the field of social life. In the article, based on quantitative and qualitative research, the key needs of users have been identified, and in their context, the concept of organization of the ICT platform for activating seniors has been presented.

User-Centered E-Guide Development Process: The Case Of The Balticmuseums: Love It! Project, Jakub Swacha

European Management Studies

The paper addresses the issue of design and development of mobile apps providing the functionality of interactive multimedia guides (e-guides) for tourist attractions. It proposes a new specification of the e-guide development process, designed within the framework of the BalticMuseums: Love IT! project aimed at designing and implementing e-guide-based tours in a number of diverse tourist attractions of the South Baltic area. Assuming that it is the visitors themselves that can help best in such design and development of e-guides that the final result meets the visitors’ expectations, the proposed process has been based on the user-centered design methodology. The …

Review Of Włodzimierz Szpringer's Book Nowe Technologie A Sektor Finansowy. Fintech Jako Szansa I Zagrożenie, Andrzej H. Jasiński

European Management Studies

No abstract provided.

Gendered Impacts Of Community-Based Conservation Initiatives In Kimana/Tikondo Group Ranch Outside Of Amboseli National Park, Megan Clemens

Master's Theses

Community-based conservation has become a common solution to addressing local communities needs and concerns when it comes to conservation initiatives associated with, or outside the boundaries of national parks. Community-based initiatives associated with Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya mark one of the first attempts to include local communities in conservation initiatives and management as well as establish systems of benefit sharing between conservation and local communities. However, a critique of community-based conservation initiatives points out they often assume community homogeneity. Assumption of community homogeneity leads to inequities in benefits sharing, exclusion of subgroups (women, ethnic minorities) or even exacerbate …

The Resisters: Contemporary Ethiopia Through A Feminist Lens, Eldana Mathias Temesgen

Master's Theses

Based on the recent mass protests in Ethiopia, there is a strong indication that the Oromo people of Ethiopia, who are at the forefront of these protests, have been placed in a position of marginal importance, influence and power in their society. Due to the power and agency wielded by the government, some ethnic groups in Ethiopia, including the Oromo ethnic group, claim to be underrepresented on a political, economic, and social scale, which has led to conflict.

The nuances of ethnic based conflict, such as the situation in Ethiopia, have been tackled through several disciplines and examined through different …

Falling Up: Building Language Use And Cultural Awareness Through The Implementation Of Humor In The Esl Classroom, Glen Kovar

Master's Theses

This study examined the importance of explicitly teaching humor to upper-intermediate and advanced adult English language learners (ELLs), and filled in the gap that exists in studies and literature by examining the use, and implementation of humor in English as a second language/foreign language (ESL/EFL) curricula. Humor is an important human behavior, playing a crucial role in communication, social interactions, and comprehension of a second language (L2) culture. High-level ELLs often lack the linguistic and cultural awareness necessary to effectively communicate. Language courses often accentuate test-taking and language strategies, and courses that explicitly engage with and teach humor to students …

How Patriotic Are Albanians? The Comparative Study Of Patriotic Attitudes In Albania And The Albanian Diaspora, Anxhela Spahiu

Master's Theses

In today’s post-modern digital world, patriotism may not be as prevalent as in the past. In this thesis, my principal aim is to investigate to what extent Albanians, a nationality to which I belong, identify with a patriotic attitude toward Albania. I chose to focus not only on Albanians who live in the diaspora, like myself, but also on Albanians who live in Albania. I believe that to understand national pride to its fullest, you must study the attitudes of those who live in the country of origin as well as of those who live in the diaspora. Many people …

Dadaab’S Hidden Ties: How Colonial Legacies And Informal Economies Contribute To Protracted Refugee Situations, Katherine Landberg

Master's Theses

Protracted Refugee Situations (PRS) persist despite the founding intentions of the international refugee regime. Explanations behind PRS typically focus on international law, human rights, and security concerns, while the conventional media narrative presents an oversimplification that erases complex contextual nuances. Using the case of the Dadaab refugee camp, I explore (1) historical colonial legacies of social control and domination in Kenya, and (2) Dadaab as an informal economic power center, as two ‘hidden ties’ that contribute to Dadaab’s persistence. By identifying and exploring hidden ties that contribute to PRS, policy-makers and power brokers gain a deeper understanding of the realities …

Undocumented Students’ Access To Higher Education In San Francisco, Bay Area, Sandra Miklosic

Master's Theses

This paper will explore the question: “in what ways does DACA status influence undocumented students’ ability to access higher education in San Francisco and Bay Area, California?” Even though DACA does not encompass any direct policies regarding access to education, there is a very strong correlation between having DACA status and accessing higher education for the undocumented students. In this research, I highlight the voices of undocumented students through the method of testimonio. Each participant reflects on their personal experiences with DACA while accessing postsecondary education. In this research, I explore how testimonio, as a methodology and a theoretical framework, …

Articulated Indigeneity And Tourism In HawaiʻI, Erika Nielsen

Master's Theses

The guiding research question for this thesis asks how Hawaiian indigeneity and self-determination are articulated within tourism spaces in Hawaiʻi. This thesis research works to uncover the nuanced ways that Hawaiian indigeneity is employed to manage and regulate tourism activities in Hawaiʻi. I seek to question the narrative that Hawaiians consent to, and prosper from, the largely unregulated mass tourism complex that has become a focal point of the post-colonial state. Native Hawaiians have actively resisted the erosion of their culture, lands, and nation through strategies that employ multiple understandings of indigeneity. We should not assume that the tourism industry …

Higher Education As A Development Tool: An Impact Assessment In Dzaleka Malawi, Emily Golike

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of accredited online diploma programs within refugee camps. When individuals are confined to camps and unable to work and travel in search of economic opportunity, does completing an accredited diploma program improve their quality of life and contribute to their human capital? Can higher education in refugee camps produce sustainable social service projects that benefit residents? There is a demonstrated value in a liberal arts education, but which aspects of this learning schema are most beneficial in the refugee camp context have yet to be explored.

The study conducted in …

The Chinese Cultural Influence On Filipino Cuisine, Brandon Chase Lantrip

Master's Theses

This paper illustrates the impact of the Chinese cultural influence upon the Philippines with the primary focus being on Filipino cuisine. It examines how the Chinese cultural influence not only contributed to the development of Filipino cuisine, but how Chinese culture has also influenced the everyday life and culture of the Philippines through language and customary practices for over a millennium. The first section of the paper analyzes the cultural connection between China and the Philippines. The second section illustrates the Chinese language influence and it’s effect upon Filipino cuisine and culture. The third section explores the contested origins of …

Migrant Ridesharing Drivers In San Francisco: A Case Of Blocked Mobility?, Shireen Tofig

Master's Theses

Migrants have long turned to self-employment in host country labor markets due to not only racial and ethnic prejudices, but also issues of local language proficiency and lack of recognition of the academic degree from the sending country. The taxi industry, one particular occupational niche dominated by migrants, has long been studied by scholars. However, the industry has evolved into a newer and understudied form of transportation: ridesharing. This study argues that in the case of the ridesharing industry, drivers did indeed turn to the occupation because of factors such as insufficient English language level and foreign academic degrees, but …

Planning Cities, Economically Or Communally: A Comparative Study Of Amsterdam And San Francisco, Raina Dawn Whittekiend

Master's Theses

Globalization has spun “community” off its axis. What once defined community is no longer the current state of the community. Increased economic transactions have led to the instability of communities that once depended on one another at the local level. These communities are now dependent on systems that do not know nor understand their actors. This lack of relationship between development and subject is witnessed and highly scrutinized in developing countries all over the world and has been intensely researched in academic literature. This thesis intends to better understand why in modernized global cities these same processes of development and …

Japan's Employment 'Catch-22': The Impact Of Working Conditions For Women In Japan On Japan's Demographic Population Crisis, Mary Perkins

Master's Theses

This thesis examines Japan’s aging population crisis and gender inequalities in the workplace. This topic presents an interesting and challenging phenomenon for Japan, as Japan’s economy and technology have developed more rapidly than almost any other country, establishing Japan as one of the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Yet Japan still significantly lags behind other industrialized nations when it comes to women’s rights and opportunities for advancement in the workplace. This is in turn hampering efforts for Japan to address a population crisis, with an older population growth rate far outpacing the growth of demographic groups that would support the …

Life Being An International Student In The United States: Acculturation, Culture Shock, And Identity Transformation, Lai Yan Vivyan Lam

Master's Theses

The population of international students at community colleges in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade. International students play a big role in building the cultural diversity on campus by bringing over different cultures and sharing their global perspective to the local community. However, they often face challenges adapting into American culture due to cultural differences in education system, language, lifestyle, etc. By looking into the acculturation process of international students to analyze the culture shock and cultural identity changes they experienced, this paper intends to seek ways to help this group of students to ease their …

Afro-Latinx Transnational Identities: Adults In The San Francisco Bay And Los Angeles Area, Koby Heramil

Master's Theses

This paper examines the identity construction of Afro-Latinas/os/x in the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles Area. Marginalized communities predominately Black and Latina/ o/x concentrated are at the epicenter of disenfranchisement caused by the globalization of neoliberalism. Neoliberal reforms to education restrain the various nuances of pluralistic teaching, focusing only on the performance of standardized tests thus pressuring schools to center their interest in securing funding. This has greater implications for low-income communities of color where multicultural pedagogy is limited. More importantly, this association of neoliberalism reforms to education affects Afro-Latinx individuals, because they are maligned in the conversation about …

Exploring Employment Equity: Diversity & Inclusion In Canada’S Legislation & Policy, Vanessa Toussaint Miller

Master's Theses

Multiculturalism is considered very much a part of Canada’s national heritage and identity, becoming the first nation to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy in 1971. Over the last 40 years, the Canadian population has undergone significant changes bringing in immigrants with different cultures, ideologies, religions and ways of life. Despite the various changes in society, the multiculturalism policies have remained the same. This thesis examines Canada’s Employment Equity-a policy intended to eliminate systemic discrimination in the workplace-and its effectivity at creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. The main research question is, in the past five years, has Employment Equity …

Small Arms: An Applied Approach To Children In Armed Conflict Prevention Initiatives In Africa, Tristan Burger

Master's Theses

For centuries, children have been used in times of war—serving as porters, cooks, spies, sex slaves, and soldiers. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is still pervasive today with an estimated 300,000 children involved in armed conflict as of 2015. This applied project examines a possible method for preventing the illegal practice of using children in combat by employing a new technology centered on community-based early warning theories. I seek to understand if implementing a text-based, mobile crowdsourcing platform in remote communities in Sub-Saharan Africa will be successful in predicting Lord’s Resistance Army raids, thereby reducing the number of children abducted and/or forcibly …

Urbanization, Land Rights And Development: A Case Study Of Waterfront Communities In Lagos, Nigeria., Gideon Olaniyi Omoniyi

Master's Theses

The aim of this study is to examine the root causes of forced evictions and displacement through the current urbanization process in Lagos, Nigeria. My particular attention is devoted to the legal complexities and how ethnolinguistic identities shape land laws, influence land tenure, and construct urban citizenship. Through this process, competing claims to land ownership provide fertile ground for forced evictions and displacement. Existing scholars suggest that poor urban residents lack rights to stay in their neighborhoods, while a powerful capitalist class has emerged and dispossessed the poor from their lands. Yet these existing approaches derived from the neoclassical and …

Boulder Distribution Analysis Of Impact Craters In The Tharsis Region And Elysium Planitia, Mars, Nicole Button

LSU Master's Theses

Crater counting is an accepted method for dating the surface of a planetary body. An older landscape will have a higher areal density of craters due to exposure of impacts occurring over a longer time period. Since each initial impact only forms one primary crater, secondary craters need to be excluded in the crater counting method to appropriately catalog only distinct impact events. However, small primary craters may be difficult to distinguish from secondary craters. Understanding physical features of impact craters, such as the ejecta blanket, would improve the planetary community’s ability to differentiate between the two types of craters. …

Formation Of One-Part-Mixing Geopolymers And Geopolymer Ceramics From Geopolymer Powder, Yun Ming Liew, Cheng Yong Heah, Long Yuan Li, Nur Ain Jaya, Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri Abdullah, Soo Jin Tan, Kamarudin Hussin

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

When Your Spouse Is Addicted: How To Avoid Enabling And Get To Reality, Jason B. Whiting

Faculty Publications

Addiction manifests in a variety of ways, from the most severe heroin junkie, to the compulsive spender. It can include drug or alcohol dependence, compulsive pornography use, gambling, obsessive eating, lying, toxic relationships, or even Netflix. When does a habit become an addiction? Any behavior can begin as pleasure or escape, but in the case of addiction, the actions become demands. Addictions are secretive habits the person has unsuccessfully tried to stop, and that have disrupted work and home. An addiction takes an outsized role in the addict’s life and affects those they love.

Assessing The Presence Of Marine Toxins In Bivalve Molluscs From Southwest India, Ad Turner, Monika Dhanji-Rapkova, Stephanie Rowland-Pilgrim, Lm Turner, Ashwin Rai, Moleyur N. Venugopal, Indrani Karunasagar, Anna Godhe

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Transfer Student Experiences At Stanford University And The University Of California, Berkeley, Rachael Madison

Master's Theses

Elite institutions have a long history of serving students from high socioeconomic status families. Transfer students who begin their college career at community colleges are typically from low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented minority status families. This population of students has historically been underrepresented at elite colleges. The purpose of this study was to examine the community college transfer student experience at two elite universities, one public and one private, and how institutional programs and structures affect the transfer student experience. The study gathered information from eight community college transfer students, four from each elite university, interviewed in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Four …