Digital Commons Network^™

Toxic Trace Elements In Follicular Fluid, Oxidative Stress, And In Vitro Fertilization (Ivf) Outcomes, Celeste Danielle Butts

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Exposures to environmental contaminants, including non-essential toxic trace elements, may be associated with in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. Follicular fluid (FF) envelops the developing oocyte, offering a “snapshot” of the oocyte microenvironment. FF may better estimate trace element concentrations associated with IVF outcomes than more commonly employed blood and urine biomarkers of exposure. Hence, FF concentrations of four widespread non-essential toxic trace elements (arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and lead) were investigated in relation to a spectrum of IVF endpoints in n=56 women undergoing IVF. Antioxidant activity was explored as an intervening variable and dietary exposure sources of non-essential toxic trace elements …

Eyes Shut : Stories, Danielle Epting

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This story collection focuses on a range of characters and explores themes/ideas such as loss, self-awareness, and abuse. These ideas are explored through the use of specific literary elements to help heighten the themes. These elements include point of view, characterization, and plot. Other elements, such as speculative or more fantastical aspects, are also used in several stories. These stories and themes hope to highlight the complex dynamics of both human relationships and our own inner struggles that we all must navigate throughout our journey.

Aesthetic Education In The Anthropocene, Nathaniel Williams

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This big picture study wrestles with the environmental crisis and the digital revolution, two grand themes of our century. Their grand scale is evident in their global significance, which we can anticipate will only grow in coming decades. Will these collective developments be met in such a way that democracy and individuality can be expanded and preserved? This study contributes to this query, offering a new articulation of aesthetic education that draws on a discourse reaching back to Friedrich Schiller, while incorporating many contemporary theorists. The study suggests that the environmental crisis and the digital revolution are creating a perfect …

Swainson’S Hawk Nesting In Pinal County, Arizona, Doug Jenness

Arizona Birds

No abstract provided.

Proceedings Of Drs2020 International Conference, Vol. 1: Synergy, Situations, Stella Boess, Ming Cheung, Rebecca Cain

DRS Conference Volumes

The overall theme for DRS2020 is Synergy – the coming together of people and disciplines in design research to create a positive impact. On the one hand, design research champions the uniqueness of disciplinary knowledge and creativity, yet on the other hand, the complex world we now live in demands a more synergistic approach to creativity and problem- solving whereby different mindsets, backgrounds and perspectives come together to realise transformative visions of the future. DRS2020 celebrates these emerging synergistic approaches to design research and seeks to explore their exciting possibilities for addressing multi-faceted problems, supporting participation, and transforming problematic situations …

Proceedings Of Drs2020 International Conference, Vol. 2: Impacts, Stella Boess, Ming Cheung, Rebecca Cain

DRS Conference Volumes

The overall theme for DRS2020 is Synergy – the coming together of people and disciplines in design research to create a positive impact. On the one hand, design research champions the uniqueness of disciplinary knowledge and creativity, yet on the other hand, the complex world we now live in demands a more synergistic approach to creativity and problem- solving whereby different mindsets, backgrounds and perspectives come together to realise transformative visions of the future. DRS2020 celebrates these emerging synergistic approaches to design research and seeks to explore their exciting possibilities for addressing multi-faceted problems, supporting participation, and transforming problematic situations …

Proceedings Of Drs2020 International Conference, Vol. 4: Education, Stella Boess, Ming Cheung, Rebecca Cain

DRS Conference Volumes

The overall theme for DRS2020 is Synergy – the coming together of people and disciplines in design research to create a positive impact. On the one hand, design research champions the uniqueness of disciplinary knowledge and creativity, yet on the other hand, the complex world we now live in demands a more synergistic approach to creativity and problem- solving whereby different mindsets, backgrounds and perspectives come together to realise transformative visions of the future. DRS2020 celebrates these emerging synergistic approaches to design research and seeks to explore their exciting possibilities for addressing multi-faceted problems, supporting participation, and transforming problematic situations …

Proceedings Of Drs2020 International Conference, Vol. 3: Co-Creation, Stella Boess, Ming Cheung, Rebecca Cain

DRS Conference Volumes

The overall theme for DRS2020 is Synergy – the coming together of people and disciplines in design research to create a positive impact. On the one hand, design research champions the uniqueness of disciplinary knowledge and creativity, yet on the other hand, the complex world we now live in demands a more synergistic approach to creativity and problem- solving whereby different mindsets, backgrounds and perspectives come together to realise transformative visions of the future. DRS2020 celebrates these emerging synergistic approaches to design research and seeks to explore their exciting possibilities for addressing multi-faceted problems, supporting participation, and transforming problematic situations …

Proceedings Of Pivot 2020: Designing A World Of Many Centers, Renata Marques LeitãO, Lesley-Ann Noel, Laura Murphy

DRS Conference Volumes

The virtual un-conference Pivot 2020 invited participants to consider how to design a ‘world of many centers and voices.’ In this forum, the aim was to pivot the discussion around decolonization from a critical perspective to a creative and generative one. The efforts to dismantle structures of oppression and hegemonic narratives have to be coupled with efforts to design otherwise and generate a different world. To refer to this world, the conference adopted the concept of the Pluriverse, proposed by Arturo Escobar (2018), which refers to a “world where many worlds fit”, in contrast to the “universal” single world generated …

The Bridge, Volume 17, 2020, Bridgewater State University

the bridge

Managing Editor:

Sam Cave, Literature

Kiana Govoni, Web

Mary Redman, Art and Design

Editors:

Jennifer Bérard

Gabi D’Amelio

Rilee Granger

Kelsey Long, Cover Artist

Ian Mello

Syllina Ramalho

Erin Ryan

Faculty Advisor: Professor Sarah Fawn Montgomery

Consultant: Professor Alain Blunt, Design

Matching Concepts, Transgressing Boundaries: Buddhist Transmission Strategies In The International Buddhist Women's Movement, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

One of the most striking features of the contemporary revitalization, transmission, and transformation of Buddhism is the prominent roles that women are playing, both locally and globally. Since 1987, Buddhist women from around the world have been uniting on a grassroots level and taking more active roles in working not only for the welfare of women, but for the welfare of human society writ large. Today, the Buddhist women’s movement has become a highly dynamic forum representing the interests of somewhere between 300 and 600 million women, depending on who is compiling the statistics. This movement is transgressive by its …

African-American Women Superintendents: Perceived Barriers And Challenges Experienced While Accessing And Serving In The Superintendency, Shelly Goines-Harris

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This research study was designed to add to the existing but limited literature that explores perceived barriers and challenges African-American women superintendents experienced while ascending and serving in the superintendency. According to the literature, African-American women are underrepresented in the role of public school superintendents. This study examined the impact of gender and racial discrimination on African-American women superintendent aspirants and those currently serving in the role. This study surveyed and interviewed African-American women superintendents serving in public school districts in North Carolina and South Carolina, examining their perceptions of barriers and challenges experienced while ascending and serving in the …

Acoustic Confinement And Characterization Of A Microwave Plasma, Seth Lee Pree '09

Doctoral Dissertations

High amplitude acoustic fields are used to confine, characterize, and manipulate collisional plasmas with temperatures of a few thousand Kelvin. This dissertation describes the theory, experimental techniques, and apparatus necessary both to generate high amplitude sound in a few thousand Kelvin plasma and to use that sound field to manipulate the plasma within a resonant acoustic cavity. The acoustic field in a spherically symmetric oscillating plasma has been measured to have a Mach number of .03, which is sufficient to cause acoustic radiation pressure effects to confine the plasma to the center of its container. This field also generates convection …

Programmes D’Assurance-Qualité Et De Bien-Être Animal : Quels Impacts Sur L’Organisation Du Travail Des Éleveurs De Porcs?, Nancy Beauregard, Alain Marchand, Pierre Durand, Philippe Fravalo, Marie Archambault, Pascal Thériault, Philippe Roy, Marie-Joëlle Brassard, Heather Burnett, Marie-Ève Blanc, Radu Calomfirescu

Affiches

No abstract provided.

Preparing Future Health Care Workers: An Assessment Of Undergraduate Student Integrative Pre-Health Education, Haley Bevza Brennan, Pamela Erickson

Undergraduate Papers

This paper analyzes the current state of, and demand for, integrative pre-health education in the undergraduate setting, specifically at the University of Connecticut. Students’ knowledge of, exposure to, and attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are assessed through a web-based survey and semi-structured interviews. This paper compares this research with surveys conducted in undergraduate, medical school, and medical professional settings to gauge current efforts to provide a more holistic approach to educating health care workers in subjects such as mind-body therapies, lifestyle contributors to health such as diet and exercise, culturally competent care, and therapeutic techniques outside of the …

Life History Variation In Migratory Salmonid Populations, Christopher Adams

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Over the last 150 years, many of the native migratory salmonid populations in North America have declined or been extirpated, and their native habitats have been significantly altered. Life history variation within and among migratory fish populations plays an important role in their persistence when faced with changing habitat conditions. One of the most extreme life history events in salmonids is the movement from lotic to lentic habitats, a migration that can span long distances and different habitat types. Understanding the factors affecting migratory life histories expressed by individuals within a population play an important role in dynamics and habitat …

Role Of Microrna-483 In Pancreatic Β-Cells, Jackson Waugh

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Insulin is an essential hormone produced by β-cells in the pancreas. The release of insulin is tightly regulated in healthy people in order to control blood sugar level in our body. However, people with Type 2 Diabetes have insufficient insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells, leaving to high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) and β-cell failure. microRNAs (miRNAs or miR) are newly discovered small regulatory molecules and have emerged as important regulator of cell growth, differentiation, and organ function. Altered miRNA function has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of human disease, including diabetes. In this report, we focus on dissecting …

Growth No. 19 (2020) - Full Issue

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

The full issue of the nineteenth edition of Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development.

Daily Energy Expenditure Of Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma Coerulescens) In Suburban And Wildland Landscapes, Hugh I. Ellis, Reed Bowman

Biology: Faculty Scholarship

Urbanization alters ecological systems, disturbance regimes, food webs, and a variety of other processes that can influence local flora and fauna. In birds, most studies have focused on behavioral or demographic responses to altered conditions; however, the physiological mechanisms associated with these responses have been understudied. We have previously documented shifts in foraging behavior because of the availability of human-provided food; we sought to see if this was driven by or associated with a change in field metabolic rates. We measured field metabolic rates (FMR), a measure of daily energy expenditure (DEE), of Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) in 2 habitats …

In The Business Of Learning: Faithful Consumerism, Jessica Martin

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

The landscape of higher education is rapidly evolving. The amenities arms race is in full swing as institutions vie for student attention, choice, and dollars. The very competition that wins institutions their best and brightest, and affords institutional survival, bolsters a consumer mindset amongst students that undermines the learner-centered values institutions exist to espouse. Current cultural and societal norms, along with the actions of institutions themselves—treating students as customers—have unsurprisingly left students and higher education professionals facing a new challenge: determining how to helpfully engage consumer-minded students to help them become better learners. This paper explores one approach—utilizing the language …

Self-Determination Theory And Pharmaceutical Salespeople: Does Motivational Orientation Of U.S.-Based Pharmaceutical Salespeople Influence Sales Performance?, Brandon Gilbert

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Utilizing self-determination theory as the foundational theory for this research, this study analyzes the potential relationship that exists between a U.S.-Based Pharmaceutical salesperson’s motivational orientation (intrinsic or extrinsic) and their sales performance. Sales performance in this study is defined by sales awards (President’s Club, sales rankings, 100% to goal, etc.). To build a foundation of understanding of motivational theory, various theories in addition to self-determination theory are explored in the literature review. The four motivational categories explored are: a) hedonic motivational theories, b) cognitive motivational theories, c) personal growth or actualization motivation theories, and d) self-determination theory. Self-determination theory is …

Intention From God: Midwives And Professional Physicians In Late Nineteenth-Century Alabama, Sheila Blair

Vulcan Historical Review

pp. 63-71

Do You Know? A Resilience Challenge Game For Native American Girls, Kelly Hallman, Kassel Franco Garibay, Stephanie Martinez, Lisa Polen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (IMAGEN) is an initiative within Indian Country seeking to strengthen the protection, safety, and resilience of girls in Native communities by reclaiming neighborhood spaces in which to rekindle matrilineal traditions. Housed within the Girl Innovation, Research, and Learning (GIRL) Center, IMAGEN’s evidence-based approach consists of a set of adaptable planning tools honed over 20 years in global settings that enables the establishment of neighborhood safe spaces for girls. IMAGEN's resilience Cards are an asset-building resource designed for program leaders who are planning to work with adolescent indigenous girls.

Humanity’S Best Friend: A Dog-Centric Approach To Addressing Global Challenges, Eric Strauss

Biology Faculty Works

No other animal has a closer mutualistic relationship with humans than the dog (Canis familiaris). Domesticated from the Eurasian grey wolf (Canis lupus), dogs have evolved alongside humans over millennia in a relationship that has transformed dogs and the environments in which humans and dogs have co-inhabited. The story of the dog is the story of recent humanity, in all its biological and cultural complexity. By exploring human-dog-environment interactions throughout time and space, it is possible not only to understand vital elements of global history, but also to critically assess our present-day relationship with the natural world, and to begin …

Seasonally Specific Changes In Migration Phenology Across 50 Years In The Black-Throated Blue Warbler, Kristen M. Covino, Kyle G. Horton, Sara R. Morris

Biology Faculty Works

The availability of detailed information that encompasses the geographic range of a species, spans a long-term temporal range, and yields individual information (e.g., age and sex), is a principle challenge in ecology. To this end, the North American Bird Banding Laboratory maintains a unique and underutilized dataset that can be used to address core questions of phenological change in migratory birds. We used records from 1966 to 2015 to quantify how the timing of migration has shifted in a long-distance migrant, the Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens). Additionally, we examined age and sex differences in the timing of migratory movements. …

An Evaluation Of Praise As A Reinforcer For Preschoolers' Behavior, Laura Perry Senn, Makenzie W. Bayles, Jennifer L. Bruzek

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Behavior analysts and educators often recommend using praise, particularly descriptive praise, despite mixed empirical findings to support this recommendation. We evaluated the effectiveness of praise as a reinforcer during a reinforcer assessment using known tasks with preschoolers in Study 1. Praise functioned as a reinforcer for 2 of 6 participants; the remaining 4 participants required additional reinforcers (edibles) to show a reinforcement effect. We then compared the effectiveness of descriptive versus general praise for acquisition of unknown tacts and assessed participants’ preference for the different types of praise for 4 participants from Study 1. Results showed the efficacy of and …

An Algorithm Based On Vanet Technology To Count Vehicles Stopped At A Traffic Light, Manuel Contreras, Eric Gamess

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) have gained considerable attention in the past few years due to their promising applicability in relation to the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs). This emerging new technology will provide timely information to develop adaptive traffic light control systems that will allow a significant optimization of the vehicular traffic flow. In this paper, we introduce a novel algorithm for counting vehicles stopped at a traffic light using VANET technology. The algorithm is based on the idea of the propagation of a count request message from the RSU (originating unit) toward the vehicles that are at the end …

The Mercury 2020

The Mercury

No abstract provided.

The Public School As The Preeminent Site Of Constitutional Law, Justin Driver

Nebraska Law Review

This speech, delivered as the Lane Lecture in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Friday, November 8, 2019, is drawn from the book The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind, which Pantheon Books published in 2018. This book examines the intersection of two distinctively American institutions: the public school and the Supreme Court. The United States has long exhibited an uncommonly strong belief in the importance of public education and its centrality to national identity. As Adlai Stevenson once remarked, “The free common school system is the most American thing about America.” But many …

Job Training Mythologies: Stitching Up Labor Markets, Henry H. Perritt Jr.

Nebraska Law Review

I. Introduction

II. Creative Destruction

III. The Failure of Government “Adjustment Assistance” ... A. Components of Training ... 1. Elements of Training ... 2. Tools for Training ... 3. Economics of Training ... 4. Institutions for Training ... 5. Barriers to Private Sector Skills Training ... B. Weaknesses of Existing Programs ... 1. Janesville, WI: A Case Study ... 2. Registered Apprenticeships Are Not the Answer ... C. Labor Department Proposed Rule for Industry-Recognized Apprenticeships

IV. Textile Industry: A Case Study ... A. Mechanizing the Basics: Teaching in Surrogate Families (1800–1840) … B. The Speedup and Stretchout—Rings and Draper Looms: …