Digital Commons Network^™

Guns N' Ganja: How Federalism Criminalizes The Lawful Use Of Marijuana, Ira P. Robbins

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Federalism is a vital tenet of our Republic. Although federal law is the supreme law of the land, our Constitution recognizes the integral role that state law plays in the national scheme. Like any pharmaceutical drug that withstands rounds of clinical testing, state law functions as a laboratory in which Congress can evaluate and potentially adopt novel policies on a nation-wide basis. Most of the time, federal and state law exist harmoniously, complementing one another; other times, however, the two systems clash, striking a dissonant chord.

In the United States, state marijuana laws are currently on a crash course with …

Equity In Contemporary Immigration Enforcement: Defining Contributions And Countering Criminalization, Jayesh Rathod, Alia Al-Khatib

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Since the 2016 Presidential election, discussions of immigration policy and enforcement have taken center stage in the public debate. In contrast to the Obama administration, which had articulated specific priorities for removal, the Trump administration has significantly expanded its enforcement targets. Indeed, high-level officials have confirmed that virtually anyone who is in the country without authorization is susceptible to removal. To make its case for enhanced immigration enforcement, the current administration has deployed familiar tropes regarding immigrant criminality and dangerousness. This rhetoric, operationalized through varied structures of criminalization, has shrunk the pool of individuals who can argue against removal, notwithstanding …

June 5, 2018 Finance And Facilities (F&F) Committee Meeting, Senior Vice President For Finance And Administration

Finance and Facilities Committee

Documents related to the June 5, 2018 Board of Regents' Finance and Facilities Committee Meeting. (Agenda, Minutes, eBook, Notice)

Hostos Community College Academic Bulletin 2018-2020, Hostos Community College

College Bulletins

This is the official college catalog for 2018-2020. It contains course descriptions as well as information on degree programs, college resources and services, financial aid, admissions, and the academic calendar.

Relationships Between Throwing Velocity And Selected Kinematics In Youth Baseball Players, Nick Hedgecock

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Research investigating baseball position players has been limited primarily to pitchers. The current study examined several kinematic variables and their relationship with ball velocity in middle and high school-aged baseball players using two-dimensional (2D) motion analysis. The purpose of this study was to investigate these relationships using 2D motion analysis and compare these results to those reported in the literature using 3D analysis. Thirteen baseball players (15.31 ± 1.25 yrs., 72.29 ± 10.79 kg and 177.09 ± 5.59 cm tall) participated in the study. A video camera was used to record three throwing trials for each participant. Four reflective markers …

Loss Of Trust: The Negative Effects Of Leader Discrimination And The Mitigating Effects Of Organizational Response, Andrew Wade Pepper

Masters Theses

"This thesis focuses on how perceptions of leader discriminatory behavior influence trust in the leader and, subsequently, attitudes about the organization which the leader represents. This study builds on previous research findings by creating a 2 (discriminatory interaction) X 2 (procedural response) X 2 (distributive response) experimental design model with vignettes that focused a leader's discriminatory or non-discriminatory behaviors and how the organization responds to accusations of such behavior. Participants (N = 293) were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and randomly assigned to read one of the two vignettes describing a supervisor's discriminatory or non-discriminatory behavior. After reporting perceptions shaped …

Impact Of Probable And Guaranteed Monetary Value On Cybersecurity Behavior Of Users, Santhosh Kumar Ravindran

Masters Theses

"This research examines the impact of probable and guaranteed monetary gains and losses on users' cybersecurity behavior. It also examines perceptual outcomes such as threat severity, trust, and fear that are associated with users' cybersecurity behavior. Drawing on Prospect Theory in the behavioral economics and decision-making literature, hypotheses were generated for the research. The hypotheses state that: (i) users are more willing to engage in risky computer security behavior to avoid a loss than to receive a gain, (ii) users exhibit a higher tipping point of expected monetary value to receive a gain than to avoid a loss for engaging …

The Effects Of Privacy Violation Abstractness On Privacy Attitudes And Behaviors, Delicia Anceisao Vaz

Masters Theses

"This research investigates new methods to present privacy policy information to consumers. It makes the argument that current privacy policies do not present consumers with information in a manner that helps align their privacy attitudes with their privacy behaviors. With the introduction of smart appliances to the market, it is critical that appropriate privacy policies are created to equip consumers with information that is easy to understand. Neutral Examples and Risk Examples were created along with the Traditional Content of a privacy policy. These three components were used in different combinations to provide privacy information about smart appliances. Additionally, it …

Is A Measure Of Observed Engagement As Valid As Self-Reported Engagement Measure?, Debarati Majumdar

Masters Theses

"The present study attempted to investigate a never explored research question, i.e., whether an observed engagement measure would be as valid as self-reported engagement measure. Data were collected from the employees of an academic institute. Minimum of 110 self-ratings from subordinate employees (i.e. the self-raters) and 110 observer-ratings from those subordinates' respective supervisor employees (i.e. the other raters) were supposed to be collected to robustly test the formulated hypotheses of the present study. However, due to some sudden structural changes within the organization (i.e. the academic institute from where data were collected), only 32 observer-ratings and 32 self-ratings (i.e. 32 …

Classification Of Eeg Signals Of User States In Gaming Using Machine Learning, Chandana Mallapragada

Masters Theses

"In this research, brain activity of user states was analyzed using machine learning algorithms. When a user interacts with a computer-based system including playing computer games like Tetris, he or she may experience user states such as boredom, flow, and anxiety. The purpose of this research is to apply machine learning models to Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals of three user states -- boredom, flow and anxiety -- to identify and classify the EEG correlates for these user states. We focus on three research questions: (i) How well do machine learning models like support vector machine, random forests, multinomial logistic regression, and …

The Thermal Effects Of Daylighting In An Energy Efficient Home, Thomas Glenn Yarbrough Ii

Masters Theses

"Current trends in building design and construction emphasize the use of natural daylighting to illuminate a building's interior. This study investigated the energy savings that could be obtained through the use of daylighting compared to additional heating and cooling loads attributed to the glazing required for daylighting. The study, through a combination of experimentation and computer model validation, aimed to determine energy saved from daylighting through illumination metering during a nine-month study period. Energy usage trends during this period were observed using circuit-level monitoring equipment. It was determined that, at select times of the year, energy used to account for …

Contemporary Chinese Living Aesthetics And Contemporary Chinese Art History, Liu Yuedi

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

Living aesthetics was understood by most Chinese scholars as a way to bridge the living world and aesthetic activity today. This article discusses contemporary Chinese art from the perspective of the new thinking of living aesthetics. We shall diachronically describe the historical relationship between aesthetics and art and also try to synchronically examine the theory connecting living aesthetics and contemporary Chinese art with each other.

Aesthetics Studies Of Chinese Leisure Culture, Liyong Pan

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

Given the present situation and problems of the research on contemporary China’s leisure culture and aesthetics, it is the highest priority of leisure studies to make leisure return to the nature of human self-creation and self-improvement; to learn to intelligently spend leisure time in the realm of aesthetics; to deeply examine and carry forward the national tradition and wisdom of Chinese leisure; and to establish a modern leisure culture and theory with Chinese characteristics and Chinese discourse.

Meanwhile, it is the highest priority of aesthetic research to transcend the tradition of discussing abstract concepts and focusing only on art; to …

International Validation Of The Eortc Qlq-Prt20 Module For Assessment Of Quality Of Life Symptoms Relating To Radiation Proctitis: A Phase Iv Study, Georgia K.B Halkett, Charles Adam Wigley, Samar M. Aoun, Maurizio Portaluri, Francesco Tramacere, Lorenzo Livi, Beatrice Detti, Stefano Arcangeli, Jo-Asmund Lund, Are Kristensen, Nathalie Mcfadden, Arne Grun, Sean Bydder, Irina Sackerer, Elfriede Greimel, Nigel Spry, Eortc Quality Of Life Group

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Although patients experience radiation proctitis post radiotherapy no internationally tested instruments exist to measure these symptoms. This Phase IV study tested the scale structure, reliability and validity and cross-cultural applicability of the EORTC proctitis module (QLQ-PRT23) in patients who were receiving pelvic radiotherapy.

Methods: Patients (n = 358) from six countries completed the EORTC QLQ-C30, QLQ-PRT23 and EORTC Quality of Life Group debriefing questions. Clinicians completed the EORTC Radiation Therapy Oncology Group scale. Questionnaires were completed at four time-points. The module’s scale structure was examined and validated using standard psychometric analysis techniques.

Results: Three items were dropped from the …

The Long Environmental Justice Movement, Jedediah S. Purdy

Faculty Scholarship

The standpoint of environmental justice has become integral to environmental law in the last thirty years. Environmental justice criticizes mainstream environmental law and advocacy institutions on three main fronts: for paying too little attention to the distributive effects of environmental policy; for emphasizing elite and professional advocacy over participation in decision making by affected communities; and for adhering to a woods-and-waters view of which problems count as “environmental” that disregards the importance of neighborhoods, workplaces, and cities. This Article highlights the existence of a “long environmental justice movement” that, like the long movements for racial equality and labor organizing, put …

The Empirical Turn In Family Law, Clare Huntington

Faculty Scholarship

Historically, the legal system justified family law’s rules and policies through morality, common sense, and prevailing cultural norms. In a sharp departure, and consistent with a broader trend across the legal system, empirical evidence increasingly dominates the regulation of families.

There is much to celebrate in this empirical turn. Properly used, empirical evidence in family law can help the state act more effectively and efficiently, unmask prejudice, and depoliticize contentious battles. But the empirical turn also presents substantial concerns. Beyond perennial issues of the quality of empirical evidence and the ability of legal actors to use it, there are more …

"Everything You Need Is In Here": Missing Elements In A Trauma-Sensitive, Multiracial Framework For Foster Parentig, Binny Miller, Maya Coleman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Proposed: Technical Communicators Collaborating With Educators To Develop A Better Efl Curriculum For Ecuadorian Universities, Daniel Jack Williamson

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This policy and action research in the form of a case study of language policy in Ecuador posits, with a pragmatic view, that students’ backgrounds, prior knowledge, and learning objectives should significantly impact curriculum development. Applying principles of information development, such as conducting usability studies and generating appropriate user profiles, technical communicators produce user-friendly documentation. Pairing technical communicators with educators to collaborate in the parallel processes of information development and curriculum development may yield instructional materials more useful to students than currently available materials are. An etic perspective is appropriate for this study for it does not presuppose what the …

Brand & Celebrity Associations: An Investigation Into Brand & Celebrity Trait Congruence And The Potential For Trait Transference, Pamela S. Merriman

Honors Theses and Capstones

In today’s marketplace, a significant amount of brands are utilizing celebrity endorsers as a marketing tool. Traits of the brand and the endorser are typically not congruent. As a result, trait transference between a brand and a celebrity can occur once the brand and celebrity endorser are linked in the consumer’s mind. Further, celebrity endorsers often endorse multiple brands at one time. Therefore, it may be possible for traits to transfer from one brand to another via a common celebrity endorser. Although research has shown that the traits of celebrity endorsers can influence br and perceptions and vice versa, no …

Sentience In Fishes: More On The Evidence, Michael L. Woodruff

Animal Sentience

In my target article, I argued that the brains of ray-finned fishes of the teleost subclass (Actinopterygii) are sufficiently complex to support sentience — that these fishes have subjective awareness of interoceptive and exteroceptive sense experience. Extending previous theories centered on the tectum, I focused on the organization of the fish pallium. In this Response to the commentaries, I clarify that I do not propose that the fish pallium is, or must be, homologous to the mammalian neocortex to play a role in sentience. Some form of a functionalist approach to explaining the neural basis of sentience across taxa is …

Competing Activities As Measures Of Fear And Vigilance, Ferenc Mónus

Animal Sentience

In animal behavioural research on vigilance, visual signs of alertness are usually used to estimate perceived risk (an internal “fear” state) of free-ranging animals. Different measures of vigilance and competing activities (e.g., predator vigilance, conspecific vigilance, feeding, food handling) provide clues for better understanding vigilance behaviour. How efficiently does an animal in a vigilant/non-vigilant posture devote attention to threats or invest in other activities, such as searching for or handling food? Several species regularly withdraw to a sheltered spot when feeding in an abundant food patch, spending short periods in complete safety. Frequencies of feeding interruptions or false-alarm flights provide …

The Impact Of Brexit On Cross-Border Trade By The Construction Sector In Ireland: An Exploratory Study, Tara Brooks, Duga Ewuga, Lloyd Scott, John Spillane

Conference papers

Cross-border co-operation can foster learning and contribute positively to business performance and social cohesion. This paper considers construction firms' economic motivation for co-operation around the Ireland - Northern Ireland border. This area, while impacted by the Brexit uncertainty, shares many of the economic and developmental characteristics of border areas throughout Europe. The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of Brexit on cross border trade by the construction sector in Ireland and investigate the current tensions and barriers to that sector. A qualitative methodology adopted a literature review and semi-structured interview strategy. Data was collected from purposively selected …

Registered Nurses' Experiences Of Passing The Nclex-Rn After More Than One Attempt, Tammy L. Kasprovich, Leona Vandevusse

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background:

In the past decade, little research has been conducted regarding individuals' stories about not initially being successful on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. An unsuccessful licensure examination attempt may affect the individual personally and profoundly in ways that could influence their future success.

Method:

Individual in-depth interviews were conducted once with 15 RNs who were initially unsuccessful on the licensure examination and subsequently passed. Data analyses were conducted using both manual and electronic coding through thematic identification. Rigor was ensured by meeting quality criteria for qualitative research.

Results:

Four themes were identified: (a) Pressures all Around, …

The Development Of Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Pedagogical Identities In The Social Context Of Classroom Interactions, Hyung Won Kim

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Research demonstrates a disjuncture between the practices encouraged by teacher education programs and what teachers actually do in the classroom. It also informs us that the cognitive and social characteristics of individual teachers such as their attitudes, beliefs and knowledge contribute to their classroom practices. This qualitative study investigates how the teacher identity of mathematics teachers – the person’s sense of who he/she is as a mathematics teacher – is related to the disjuncture between encouraged and actual classroom practices. Specifically, the study looks into how mathematics teachers form their teaching practices in the social context of their classroom interactions, …

The Effects Of Risky Alcohol Use And Type Of Hook Up Behaviors On The Relationship Between Hooking Up To Cope And Negative Affect, Leah E. Stevens

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Hook up behaviors are sexual behaviors that participants engage in consensually without the expectation of a romantic commitment, and occur frequently in the college context and often co-occur with binge drinking. Research indicates several factors (i.e., alcohol intoxication, type of sexual behavior, specific motives for hooking up, gender) are predictors of negative emotions associated with hook up experiences, such as regret, shame, confusion, and disappointment. Using hooking up as a coping mechanism coupled with experiencing negative emotions due to hook up experiences are associated with aspects of poor mental health such as depression and anxiety. Therefore, the present sought: (1) …

Predictors Of Medical Students’ Attitudes Towards Abortion And Their Changes Overtime, Rebecca Elizabeth Morales

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

As new legislation is regularly being introduced to minimize Roe v. Wade’s protection of women’s right to choose in a medical setting, it is imperative to study what predictors may have an impact on abortion attitudes within the demographic of medical students, as well as how these predictors impact one’s willingness to provide the service in the future. The current study then, uses data collected in 2000 and 2015 from a medical school located in Virginia, and in collaboration with a research university in the state to examine what factors are associated with a willingness to provide an abortion, as …

Delay Discounting And Cannabinoid Enzyme Inhibitors, Devin Andrew Galdieri

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Delay discounting is a measure of impulsive choice that is correlated with maladaptive behavior and psychological disorders. Disruptions to serotonin and dopamine pathways can cause changes in delay discounting, as can lesions to the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. The endocannabinoid system modulates other neurotransmitter systems, including dopamine and serotonin pathways. Cannabinoid receptors type 1 are found in relatively high concentrations in the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex. These receptors are activated by endogenous cannabinoids, which are synthesized on demand and broken down by catabolic enzymes. The action of these enzymes can be inhibited by a class of drugs …

Factors Related To The Career Intentions Of Senior Athletic Training Students Approaching Graduation, Rae Lee Emrick

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research inquiry examined the factors that influence soon-to-be graduating senior athletic training major’s decisions on their career intentions. Two research questions guided this study: What are the factors, experiences, and/or circumstances that contribute to senior athletic training students approaching graduation planning to persist in or pursue the athletic training profession? and What are the factors, experiences, and circumstances that contribute to senior athletic training students approaching graduation leading to displacement and students not planning to seek employment in the athletic training profession? Qualitative research methods employed a multiple case approach examining four different CAATE accredited athletic training programs …

Effects Of Reinforcement Rate On The Aversive Function Of Timeout From Positive Reinforcement, Cory Whirtley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Although the use of timeout from positive reinforcement is widespread and has been shown to be an effective punisher in clinical settings, the factors responsible for its effectiveness are not fully understood. The present experiment was designed to evaluate one of these factors, the reinforcement rate underway during periods of time-in. Rats’ lever pressing was maintained on variable-interval schedules of food reinforcement in a multiple schedule with two components. In one component, no timeouts were delivered. In the other component, when a variable-ratio schedule was met, lever presses were followed by a 30-s timeout during which a tone sounded, the …

Con El Nopal En La Frente, Tessa Lee Martinez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This MFA thesis addresses work completed and presented in a thesis exhibition at West Virginia University as well as significant influences and events that relate to process and concept. Con el Nopal en la Frente consists of several ceramic sculptures that reference elements of a landscape typical in southwest Texas. Using symbols and phrases that are common along the Texas-Mexico border, this thesis and supporting exhibition investigates contemporary expressions of xenophobia. During my years away from home, the presence of microaggressions and racist remarks, said both intentionally and unintentionally, was common. This was new to me. Often times, those saying …