Digital Commons Network^™

A Catchment-Scale Perspective Of Plastic Pollution, Fredric M. Windsor, Isabelle Durance, Alice A. Horton, Richard C. Thompson, Charles R. Tyler, Steve J. Ormerod

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Plastic pollution is distributed across the globe, but compared with marine environments, there is only rudimentary understanding of the distribution and effects of plastics in other ecosystems. Here, we review the transport and effects of plastics across terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. We focus on hydrological catchments as well-defined landscape units that provide an integrating scale at which plastic pollution can be investigated and managed. Diverse processes are responsible for the observed ubiquity of plastic pollution, but sources, fluxes and sinks in river catchments are poorly quantified. Early indications are that rivers are hotspots of plastic pollution, supporting some of …

I-Berlioz: Towards Interactive Computer-Aided Orchestration With Temporal Control, Er Miranda, A Antoine, J-M Celerier, M Desainte-Catherine

School of Art, Design and Architecture

This paper introduces i-Berlioz, a proof-of-concept interactive Computer Aided Orchestration (CAO) system that suggests combinations of musical instruments to produce timbres specified by the user by means of verbal descriptors. The system relies on machine learning for timbre classification and generative orchestration, and tools to write and execute interactive scenarios. The paper details the two main parts of i-Berlioz: its generative and exploratory engines, respectively, accompanied with examples. The authors discuss how i-Berlioz can aid the composition of musical form based on timbre.

Faith, Feminism, And Marriage: Institutions, Norms, And Relationship Quality, Jason S. Carroll, Spencer James, W. Bradford Wilcox, Richard Reeves, Laurie Derose

Faculty Publications

In this essay, we explore the links between religion and relationship quality for cohabiting and married couples. Our evidence from an 11-country sample suggests men and women in highly religious couples enjoy significantly higher levels of relationship quality and sexual satisfaction. Joint decision-making, however, is higher among men in shared secular relationships and women in highly religious relationships, compared to their peers in less/mixed religious couples. We also find a J-Curve in overall relationship quality for women such that women in shared secular, progressive relationships enjoy comparatively high levels of relationship quality, women in the ideological and religious middle report …

Africa Can Drum Up Large Infrastructure Deals With Food, Dunia P. Zongwe

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Time For The Creation Of A Standing U.N. Armed Peace Service And The Potential Employment Of Experienced U.S. Veterans As A Significant Component Of Such A Force, Ronald Sievert

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

The Enforcement Of Punitive Damages Awards Between United States And Europe: An Introduction For U.S. Practitioners

The International Lawyer

This article’s objective is to introduce U.S.-based practitioners to European civil-law perspectives on whether U.S. punitive damages awards are enforceable in their jurisdictions. After a brief review concerning the birth of punitive damages within common law, valuable to better understand their cultural and legal significance, this article will outline how the prominent European jurisdictions — France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland — have dealt with the enforcement of U.S. punitive damages awards. Through each jurisdiction’s policy principles and relevant law, this article aims to afford U.S.-based practitioners initial tips and litigation strategies about how to maximize their chances of enforcing …

Plastics, The Environment And Society: Current Consensus And Future Directions, Richard C. Thompson, Sabine Pahl

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

In less than 60 years, plastics have transformed our daily lives. Usage is increasing and now exceeds 330 million tonnes per annum. In this concluding chapter we summarise current understanding about the benefits and concerns of plastics usage and look to future priorities, challenges and opportunities. It is clear that plastics bring many societal benefits and offer the potential for further advances in medical and technological applications, as well as carbon reductions. However, it is also widely acknowledged that current production, use and disposal of plastics is not sustainable. Our understanding of the issues associated with end of life plastics …

Two- And Three-Year-Olds Consider Ownership When Selecting And Allocating Resources, M Petrowski, Patricia Kanngiesser, Ori Friedman

School of Psychology

In three experiments, we investigated whether 2- and 3-year-olds (N = 240) consider ownership when taking resources for themselves and allocating resources to another agent. When selecting resources for themselves, children generally avoided taking resources that belonged to another agent and instead favored their own resources (Experiments 1 and 2). However, they did not avoid taking the agent’s resources when the only other resources available were described as not belonging to the agent (Experiment 3). Children also selected fewer of the agent’s resources when taking for themselves than when giving to the agent (Experiments 2 and 3). In giving to …

The Contribution Of Family Leisure To Family Functioning And Family Satisfaction Among Urban Russian Families, Mikale Williamson, Ramon Zabriskie, Jasmine Townsend, Peter Ward, Gilbert Fellingham, Irina Kuznetsova

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine how both family leisure involvement and family leisure satisfaction contributed to the explanation of variance in family functioning and satisfaction with family life among urban Russian families (n = 597). As an initial examination of family leisure functioning in the Russian culture, mixed model analysis accounted for family-level and individual level variance, and indicated core family leisure satisfaction was the strongest predictor of all aspects of family functioning and satisfaction with family life, a pattern similar across other cultures. There were also positive relationships between balance family leisure and various aspects of …

The School-Based Family: Teachers As Parental Figures For Orphans And Vulnerable Children In Ugandan Schools, Stacy Taniguchi, Angela Warren, Steve Hite, Mark Widmer, Ramon B. Zabriskie, Yusef Nsubuga, Christopher Mugimu

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible formation of surrogate families within Ugandan schools, especially among orphans who lack positive development opportunities typically provided by parents. This qualitative study sample of 66 Ugandan secondary school students were selected from eight schools in the Mukono district of Uganda. Findings suggest a potentially widespread family formation pattern between students and their teachers. More than 75% of students interviewed self-identified their teacher as family. Some teachers were able to offer orphans and vulnerable children positive developmental assets and were, therefore, identified as family.

Moral Development In Business Ethics: An Examination And Critique, Kristen Bell Detienne, Carol Frogley Ellertson, Marc-Charles Ingerson, William R. Dudley

Faculty Publications

The field of behavioral ethics has seen considerable growth over the last few decades. One of the most significant concerns facing this interdisciplinary field of research is the moral judgment-action gap. The moral judgment-action gap is the inconsistency people display when they know what is right but do what they know is wrong. Much of the research in the field of behavioral ethics is based on (or in response to) early work in moral psychology and American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg’s foundational cognitive model of moral development. However, Kohlberg’s model of moral development lacks a compelling explanation for the judgment-action gap. …

Depression, Religiosity, And Parenting Styles Among Young Latter-Day Saint Adolescents, Mark D. Ogletree, W. Justin Dyer, Michael A. Goodman, Courtney Kinneard, Bradley W. Mccormick

Faculty Publications

This study examines depression among Latter-day Saint teens, particularly how religiosity and the parent–child relationship are associated with depressive symptomology. Although there is an abundance of research on adolescent depression and on adolescent religiosity, there is less research addressing the connection between the two. The research questions include: Does religiosity among Latter-day Saint teens reduce their rates of depression? What aspects of religiosity affect depression most significantly? How does religious coping influence depression? How does the parent–child relationship affect depression rates among Latter-day Saint teens? Being a sexual minority and living in Utah were related to higher levels of depression. …

The Fog Of Warnings: How Non-Essential Notifications Blur With Security Warnings, Anthony Vance, David Eargle, Jeffrey Jenkins, C. Brock Kirwan, Bonnie Brinton Anderson

Faculty Publications

Adherence to security warnings continues to be an important problem in information security. Although users may fail to heed a security warning for a variety of reasons, a major contributor is habituation, which is decreased response to repeated stimulation. However, the scope of this problem may actually be much broader than previously thought because of the neurobiological phenomenon of generalization. Whereas habituation describes a diminished response with repetitions of the same stimulus, generalization occurs when habituation to one stimulus carries over to other novel stimuli that are similar in appearance.

Generalization has important implications for the domains of usable security …

The Relationship Between Academic Stress And Adolescents’ Problematic Smartphone Usage, Ting-Ting Xu, Hai-Zhen Wang, Winny Fonseca, Marc A. Zimmerman, Detlef H. Rost, James Gaskin, Jin-Liang Wang

Faculty Publications

Background: Problematic smartphone usage among adolescents and young adults is a growing concern.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether depressive symptoms mediate the relationship between academic stress and problematic smartphone usage, and, more importantly, whether problem-focused coping moderates the association between academic stress and depressive symptoms.

Method: The sample comprised of 316 middle school students (46.8% males, M¼13.74 years old, SD¼0.87) in Southwest China. The results showed that depressive symptoms mediated the association between academic stress and problematic smartphone usage.

Results: This indirect relationship was conditioned by the degree of problem-focused coping. Specifically, those with lower …

How Online Patient–Physician Interaction Influences Service Satisfaction, Yi Wu, Joseph S. Valacich, Jeffrey L. Jenkins, Kai Li

Faculty Publications

Online health interaction (OHI) is an effective and increasingly popular method for patients to access health information. Extant literature overlooks such service users’ satisfaction derived from online interactions and the measurement of OHI processes. Based on the relational communication literature and the features of OHI, the present study proposes three dimensions to conceptualize the success of OHI processes (i.e., interaction depth, information intensity, and time breadth) and explores the association between these interaction processes and service satisfaction. Further, two characteristics of OHI, namely information richness and indirect interaction, are identified as contingent factors on those proposed linkages. The research model …

An Fmri Exploration Of Information Processing In Electronic Networks Of Practice, Thomas O. Meservy, Kelly J. Fadel, C. Brock Kirwan, Rayman D. Meservy

Faculty Publications

Online forums sponsored by electronic networks of practice have become an important source of information for individuals seeking solutions to problems online. However, not all information available in a forum is helpful or accurate, requiring knowledge seekers to evaluate and filter the solutions they encounter. Most forums offer contextual cues to help knowledge seekers make evaluation decisions, yet little is understood about the cognitive processes and neural mechanisms that underlie how information on these forums is filtered and evaluated. This paper draws on literature in cognitive neuroscience and NeuroIS to develop exploratory research questions about the role of both content …

Redmond (2002) Revisited: Have Standardized Behavioral Rating Scales Gotten Better At Accommodating For Overlapping Symptoms With Language Impairment?, Kirsten M. Hannig, Sean M. Redmond, Amy Wilder

Faculty Publications

Seventeen years ago, Redmond ¹ reviewed five standardized behavioral rating scales and identified several aspects of their design that made them prone to mischaracterize language impairments as socioemotional behavioral disorders. The purpose of this report is to provide an update and extension of the original audit. We consulted test manuals to evaluate: (1) representation of children with language impairments in their standardization samples; (2) presence of language, or academic items within their inventories; (3) accommodations for administering the measure to children with language impairments; and (4) procedures for identifying inordinately punitive ratings. Overlapping language and academic symptoms continued to be …

Automated Speech Recognition In Adult Stroke Survivors: Comparing Human And Computer Transcriptions, Tyson G. Harmon, Adam Jacks, Katarina L. Haley, Gary Bishop

Faculty Publications

Objective: Speech sound errors are common in people with a variety of communication disorders and can result in impaired message transmission to listeners. Valid and reliable metrics exist to quantify this problem, but they are rarely used in clinical settings due to the time-intensive nature of speech transcription by humans. Automated speech recognition (ASR) technologies have advanced substantially in recent years, enabling them to serve as realistic proxies for human listeners. This study aimed to determine how closely transcription scores from human listeners correspond to scores from an ASR system. Patients and Methods: Sentence recordings from 10 stroke survivors with …

Bidirectional Interference Between Simulated Driving And Speaking, Christopher Dromey, Kelsey Simmons

Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study relied on acoustic measures of connected speech and several indices of driving performance to quantify interference between speaking and simulated driving. Method: Three groups of 20 younger (ages 20–30 years), middle-age (ages 40–50 years), and older (ages 60–71 years) adults produced monologues and completed a simulated driving task, which involved maintaining a constant speed and lane position on a freeway. Both tasks were completed separately and concurrently. Results: There were significant divided attention effects, with a reduced speaking time ratio, and increases in vocal intensity, speed variability, and steering wheel adjustments. There was a significant between-subjects age …

Listeners’ Ability To Identify The Gender Of Preadolescent Children In Different Linguistic Contexts, Christopher Dromey, Shawn Nissen, Sharalee Blunck, Anita Dromey

Faculty Publications

This study evaluated listeners’ ability to identify the gender of preadolescent children from speech samples of varying length and linguistic context. The listeners were presented with a total of 190 speech samples in four different categories of linguistic context: segments, words, sentences, and discourse. The listeners were instructed to evaluate each speech sample and decide whether the speaker was a male or female and rate their level of confidence in their decision. Results showed listeners identified the gender of the speakers with a high degree of accuracy, ranging from 86% to 95%. Significant differences in listener judgments were found across …

Interaction, Student Satisfaction, And Teacher Time Investment In Online High School Courses, Chad Turley, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

This case study explores differences between two online course models by investigating the results of a student end-of-course evaluation survey and teacher communication logs in two online high school courses. The two course models were designed with different types and levels of interaction, one with high levels of student-content interaction, the second with high levels of student-content and student-teacher interaction. The majority of research on interaction in online learning has been conducted with adult learners at the university level. There is far less literature focusing on K-12 online learning while investigating interaction, student satisfaction, and teacher time investment. This case …

Robotic Process Automation In Public Accounting, Lauren A. Cooper, D. Kip Holderness, Trevor L. Sorensen, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

This study investigates the adoption and use of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software— often referred to as bots—in the public accounting industry. Accounting firms use RPA software to automate the input, processing, and output of data across computer applications in order to streamline repetitive and mundane business processes. We conducted individual, semi-structured interviews with 14 accounting professionals including at least two RPA leaders at each of the Big 4 accounting firms to gain insights into how RPA software is currently being used. Interviewees note that bots are implemented in all areas of the firm but have gained the most traction …

Reward Type And Performance: An Examination Of Organizational Wellness Programs, William G. Heninger, Steven D. Smith, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

We examine organizational control in the context of wellness programs—organizational initiatives designed to improve the physical and mental health of employees. In a field study setting, we examine the associations of three different types of incentives (cash, gift cards, and tangible rewards) with wellness program performance. We find that employees who successfully complete program challenges are associated with greater weight loss. We also find participants choosing gift cards are associated with the greatest program success, even though cash rewards are selected more than twice as often as gift cards. Tangible rewards are the least frequently selected reward and are associated …

Drivers Of International Variation In Prevalence Of Disabling Low Back Pain: Findings From The Cultural And Psychosocial Influences On Disability Study, David Coggon, Georgia Ntani, Keith T. Palmer, Vanda E. Felli, Florencia Harari, Leonardo A. Quintana, Sarah A. Felknor, Marianela Rojas, Anna Cattrell, Muhammad Masood Kadir

Community Health Sciences

Background: Wide international variation in the prevalence of disabling low back pain (LBP) among working populations is not explained by known risk factors. It would be useful to know whether the drivers of this variation are specific to the spine or factors that predispose to musculoskeletal pain more generally.
Methods: Baseline information about musculoskeletal pain and risk factors was elicited from 11 710 participants aged 20-59 years, who were sampled from 45 occupational groups in 18 countries. Wider propensity to pain was characterized by the number of anatomical sites outside the low back that had been painful in …

Needs Assessment Regarding Occupational Health And Safety Interventions Among Textile Workers: A Qualitative Case Study In Karachi, Pakistan, Numan Hussain, Muhammad Masood Kadir, Asaad Ahmed Nafees, Rozina Karmaliani, Tanzil Jamali

Community Health Sciences

Objective: To determine the perceived health and safety needs identified by textile workers, managers and experts as well as direct observation of the prevailing health and safety practices in the textile industry.
Methods: The qualitative study using the needs assessment conceptual framework was conducted in July-August 2015 in Karachi, and comprised focus group discussions with textile workers, in-depth interviews with factory managers and health and safety officers, and key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders and experts. A walk-through survey was also conducted in selected mills for which the Checklist of hazards in textiles was used.
Results: A total of 6focus …

Increasing English Learners’ Positive Emotional Response To Learning Through Dance, Grant Eckstein, Elizabeth Hanks

Faculty Publications

This study investigates dance as an English Second Language (ESL) curriculum enhancement. The curriculum utilizes kinesthetic learning, which is a method seldom incorporated in formal academic classrooms (Pourhosein Gilakjani, 2011) despite evidence suggesting that it benefits all students, including those without kinesthetic learning preferences (Schumann, 1997). Supporters believe that the benefits of incorporating movement in the classroom include increased student enjoyment, motivation, and confidence in learning. However, these beliefs are merely anecdotal at present. This study analyzes quantitative questionnaires and qualitative feedback from 26 students who participated in a 4-week long Dance ESL curriculum to determine whether dance-based learning can …

[Introduction To] Collateral Values: The Natural Capital Created By Landscapes Of War., Todd R. Lookingbill, Peter D. Smallwood

Bookshelf

This book explores the unanticipated benefits that may arise after wars and conflicts, showing how the preservation of battlefields and the establishment of borderlands can create natural capital in the former landscapes of war. The editors call this Collateral Value, in contrast to the collateral damage that war inflicts upon infrastructure, natural capital, and human capital. The book includes case studies recounting successes and failures, opportunities and risks, and ambitious proposals.

The book is organized in two sections. The first visits U.S., English, and French battlefield sites dating from medieval England to World War I. The second explores borderlands located …

The Evolution Of Cognitive Load Theory And The Measurement Of Its Intrinsic, Extraneous And Germane Loads: A Review, Giuliana Orru, Luca Longo

Conference papers

Cognitive Load Theory has been conceived for supporting instructional design through the use of the construct of cognitive load. This is believed to be built upon three types of load: intrinsic, extraneous and germane. Although Cognitive Load Theory and its assumptions are clear and well-known, its three types of load have been going through a continuous investigation and re-definition. Additionally, it is still not clear whether these are independent and can be added to each other towards an overall measure of load. The purpose of this research is to inform the reader about the theoretical evolution of Cognitive Load Theory …

Message Factors That Favourably Drive Consumer’S Attitudes And Behavioural Intentions Towards Social Network And Media Platforms, Sarhang Majid

Plymouth Business School Theses

As consumers are increasingly utilising social network and media platforms for pre-purchase information, managers are confronted with producing effective social network and media platform (SNMP) messages that can favourably influence buyers’ attitudes and behavioural intentions towards brands and products. To ensure a thorough investigation of this research realm, and to develop awareness of the factors influencing the effectiveness of social media marketing, this study adopted a mixed methods approach involving a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research. An exploratory sequential research design was followed, starting with an in-depth, elite interview investigation with social media marketing experts. Adopting a thematic …

The Holistic Exploration Of The Multifaceted Relationship Between Healthcare Professionals’ Job Satisfaction And Quality Of Care., Moya Lerigo-Sampson

Plymouth Business School Theses

Problem definition: Healthcare is a professional field, which most individuals will encounter at some point in their life, directly or indirectly. In the UK, healthcare organisations are facing significant challenges, including financial pressures, shortages in staffing levels, and changes in the way healthcare is delivered. In addition, patient demand for such healthcare systems has been increasing dramatically year on year, in part, due to societal changes towards unhealthier lifestyles. Consequently, amid such adversities, it is important to understand how these issues are affecting both the providers and receivers of healthcare. Therefore, the current study will explore how healthcare professionals’ job …