Digital Commons Network^™

Young Adult Drinking And Depression: The Long-Term Consequences Of Poverty, Maternal Depression, And Childhood Behavioral Problems, Rachel Mckane, Molly K. Richard

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The objective of this research is to investigate the relationships among childhood poverty, maternal depressive symptoms, internalizing and externalizing childhood behavioral problems, and depressive symptoms and alcohol use in young adulthood. Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample and path analysis, a special case of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the results indicate that both childhood poverty and maternal depressive symptoms are associated with negative behavioral outcomes in childhood and young adulthood. This study also examines mediating effects of maternal depressive symptoms, and both externalizing and internalizing childhood behavioral problems. The findings indicate that the relationship between childhood poverty and …

Does Internet Access Create Or Destroy Social Capital? The Case Of West Java Province, Bayu Kharisma, Sutyastie Soemitro Remi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Bonding social capital is within a group or community, whereas bridging social capital is between social groups, social class, race, religion, or other important sociodemographic or socioeconomic characteristics. This paper aims to investigate the determinants of household involvement and the effect of internet access on bridging and bonding social capital in West Java, Indonesia. The data used in this study were sourced from the results of a survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) of West Java Province in 2014, The National Socio-Economic Survey (Survei Sosial Ekonomi Nasional) on Socio-Cultural and Educational Module (Modul Sosial Budaya dan Pendidikan) …

Review Of Shocks, States, And Sustainability: The Origins Of Radical Environmental Reforms By Thomas K. Rudel, Wolfe Padawer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Shocks, States, and Sustainability: The Origins of Radical Environmental Reforms.

When Public Participation Is Public Theatre: Misuse Of Public Comment Opportunities By Anti-Vaccine Activists, Dorit R. Reiss, Barbara S. Romzek

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Quantifying The Heterogeneity Of The Immunoglobulin G N-Glycome In An Ageing Australian Population: The Busselton Healthy Ageing Study, Alyce Russell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The use of immunoglobulin G N-glycomics to study chronic non-communicable disorders and other complex phenotypes emerged following the Human Genome Project. The consortium discovered that most phenotypes were too complex to be explained by genetics alone. Thus, the biological importance of epigenetics was recognised; heritable modifications to gene expression rather than the genome itself. Nglycosylation is a form of epigenetic regulation known as a post-translational modification. It stabilises the immunoglobulin G structure and alters downstream responses elicited by the antibody and is extensively studied as a candidate biomarker in the post-genomic era.

The N-glycosylation of immunoglobulin G itself is complex, …

Deriving Statistical Inference From The Application Of Artificial Neural Networks To Clinical Metabolomics Data, Kevin M. Mendez

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Metabolomics data are complex with a high degree of multicollinearity. As such, multivariate linear projection methods, such as partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) have become standard. Non-linear projections methods, typified by Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) may be more appropriate to model potential nonlinear latent covariance; however, they are not widely used due to difficulty in deriving statistical inference, and thus biological interpretation. Herein, we illustrate the utility of ANNs for clinical metabolomics using publicly available data sets and develop an open framework for deriving and visualising statistical inference from ANNs equivalent to standard PLS-DA methods.

Development, Assessment And Application Of A Novel Algorithm To Automatically Detect Change Of Direction Movement And Quantify Its Associated Mechanical Load In Elite Australian Football, Aaron Balloch

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The ability to change direction rapidly and efficiently is critical to team-sport performance, including Australian football (AF), where a player’s capacity to rapidly decelerate, move laterally and re-accelerate is critical when evading opponents, tackling, or reacting to the unpredictable bounce of the ball or movement of another player. The biomechanical loading requirements of change of direction (COD) movement are angle and velocity dependant. Cumulative COD movement can impart high levels of neuromuscular and metabolic fatigue which can adversely affect the efficiency of subsequent movement efforts. Despite widespread use of microtechnology devices (the vast majority containing a global navigation satellite system …

Digital Storytelling As An Astronomy Disciplinary Literacy Enhancement Approach For Adolescent Kyrgyzstani Efl Students, Nadezhda Chubko

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research explored the impact of a digital storytelling (DST) video-making intervention in an astronomy course (STEM-A) on EFL students’ STEM-A disciplinary literacy acquisition in English. The research was motivated by the increased significance of English as an international language of STEM instruction and addressed the transition between discourses encountered by students learning STEM in a foreign language.

The study was designed and implemented as a mixed methods four-cycle action research with multiple Case Study, multiple-probe quasi-experimental design. In the first cycle, the researcher transitioned from a teacher of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) to a teacher of …

Appraisal Of Free Online Symptom Checkers And Applications For Self-Diagnosis And Triage: An Australian Evaluation, Michella Gaye Hill

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The internet has impacted society and changed the way companies and individuals operate on a daily basis. Seeking information online via computer or mobile device is common practice. The phrase ‘Google it’ is now part of modern vernacular and is a resource increasingly utilised by young and old alike. Around 80% of Australian’s search health-related information online as it is convenient, cheap, and available 24/7. Symptom checkers are one tool used by consumers to investigate their health issues. Symptom checkers are automated online programs which use computerised algorithms, asking a series of questions to help determine a potential diagnosis and/or …

The Perceived ‘Classroom Readiness’ And Support Of Western Australian Primary Graduate Teachers, Samantha Jade Edwards

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Graduate teachers are expected to be ‘classroom ready’ upon graduation, yet research suggests they are not. The difficulties faced by graduate teachers in their first years of teaching often result in low self-efficacy and attrition, which in turn can affect the achievement of their students.

Since its establishment in 2010, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) have implemented a competency framework for both teachers and Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers, aimed at improving not only all teacher quality in Australia, but the quality of ITE, graduating teachers and the support structures provided to them. This research project …

Primary School Teachers’ Experience Of Mathematics Education: A Phenomenological Study, Sarah Jane Tamburri

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Researchers and policymakers agree that all children can learn mathematics, and research has shown that teaching practices have a significant impact on student learning and achievement. Therefore, it is important that teachers are supported in their development as professionals and mathematics educators. This research gives a voice to a small number of primary school mathematics teachers, providing insight into their experience of mathematics education, from their perspective. In-depth interviews form the basis of data collection and these have been analysed through a transcendental phenomenological approach. The insights gained into teachers’ experiences and perspectives provide a deeper understanding of their role …

Determining Ground-Level Composition And Concentration Of Particulate Matter Across Regional Areas Using The Himawari-8 Satellite, Miles Sowden

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Speciated ground-level aerosol concentrations are required to understand and mitigate health impacts from dust storms, wildfires and other aerosol emissions. Globally, surface monitoring is limited due to cost and infrastructure demands. While remote sensing can help estimate respirable (i.e. ground level) concentrations, current observations are restricted by inadequate spatiotemporal resolution, uncertainty in aerosol type, particle size, and vertical profile. One key issue with current remote sensing datasets is that they are derived from reflectances observed by polar orbiting imagers, which means that aerosol is only derived during the daytime, and only once or twice per day.

Sub-hourly, infrared (IR), geostationary …

The Effects Of Environmental Temperature On High-Intensity Interval Training, Jason R. Boynton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Endurance athletes typically spend the large majority of training (> 70%) at low intensities (i.e. below lactate threshold) coupled with short and intermittent bouts of high-intensity exercise or interval training (HIIT). Despite HIIT being a relatively small part of training in terms of duration, it has a substantial effect on the adaptations to endurance training. While it is well-established endurance exercise performance is affected in both hot and cold environmental conditions, the effect ambient temperature (TA; frequently referred to as environmental temperature) has on HIIT as performed by an endurance athlete population is not well understood. Therefore, the overall purpose …

A Study Into The Effects Of Spray And Jet Characteristics On Flash Evaporation System, Farshid Fathinia

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Low temperature flash evaporation desalination is a separation system that isolates liquids from other materials when seawater or any fluid undergoes evaporation. Extreme flash evaporation occurs when a low heated liquid is injected into the vacuum area, where the pressure is far below the saturated pressure of the liquid entering the area. This approach of flash evaporation is a key part of this type of system. It has a great potential to develop and improve the implementation of low thermal desalination plants but requires more specific study. Further analysis shows that previous investigations have not given a comprehensive insight into …

Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Understanding The Influence Of Psychosocial Risk Factors And Mothers’ Help-Seeking Behaviour On The Experience Of Depressive Symptoms, Rachel Gallagher

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Research has shown that adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at an increased risk for experiencing depressive symptoms (DS) resulting in poor quality of life and further vulnerability for the recurrence of DS in adulthood. Adolescence is a complex developmental period marked by dynamic social contexts that must be effectively navigated for the maturation processes associated with psychological wellbeing. This period is particularly challenging for individuals with ASD due to deficits in social communication skills leading to atypical social functioning. Consequently, psychosocial risk factors of DS for ASD adolescents are likely to be multiple and complex, and prominent risk …

I Walk To See, I Walk To Know: Walking To Wongawol. An Exhibition And I Walk To See, I Walk To Know: Walking To Wongawol. An Exegesis, Cim Sears

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The context of my embodied project, I Walk to See, I Walk to Know: Walking to Wongawol, is an exploration into 1) the absence of Western Desert Aboriginal narratives via the act of walking as knowing and 2) my recently discovered ancestral connections, which were historically erased by the state. The location of my project is Wongawol Station in the Western Desert, Western Australia, where my Indigenous ancestors lived, and whose lives I draw upon to make connections with the narratives and sensations of the desert landscape. I use the methodology of walking to investigate the interconnectivity between body and …

A Study On Performing The Hungarian Rhapsodies In The Liszt Tradition, Nicholas Mark Williams

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies (1851, 1853) have long been among the most popular collections of piano music. They have also long garnered a reputation for “superficial brilliance and effect” which seems to have influenced the way that famous pianists play the works in public. But would a performer immersed in the Liszt tradition have approached them differently? This dissertation aims to promote a re-evaluation of the Hungarian Rhapsodies from this perspective: considering Liszt’s own ideas on music and performance, the writings and recordings of his pupils, and Liszt’s book Des Bohémiens et de leur musique en Hongrie (1859).

Exercise And Nutrition Induced Weight Loss For Prostate Cancer Patients, Rebekah Louise Wilson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis encompasses six main chapters - two reviews and four experimental chapters, in addition to a general introduction and discussion.

Review 1 (Chapter 2) is a discussion of the negative impact of obesity on prostate cancer prognosis and common prostate cancer treatments.

Review 2 (Chapter 3) is an evaluation of the current literature examining prostate cancer patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and how exercise and nutrition interventions can be used to induce fat loss, while preserving or improving lean mass.

Study 1 (Chapter 4) is an examination of the efficacy of a weight loss program in altering body …

Generation 1.5 Learners: Using An Arts-Informed, Grounded Theory Approach To Understanding How These Students Managed Their Undergraduate Studies In A Perth-Based, Public University In Western Australia Over An Academic Year, Elizabeth Jane Charlotte Serventy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The International Organization for Migration’s World Migration Report (2020) estimates the number of migrants worldwide to be approximately 272 million. In an era of demographic scarcity and globalisation-driven uncertainties, asylum seeker, migration, and refugee re-settlement programs are now a worldwide phenomenon. Major English-speaking, immigrant-receiving countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America (USA) face associated educational, political, and social repercussions.

Rumbaut and Ima (1988) introduced the term ‘Generation 1.5’ in relation to a distinct cohort of immigrant youth, English as second language (L2) learners studying in San Diego, California in the USA. …

Heritability Enrichment Of Immunoglobulin G N-Glycosylation Relevant Genes In Specific Tissues, Xingang Li

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified over 60 genetic loci associated with IgG N-glycosylation; however, the causal genes and their abundance in relevant tissues are uncertain. In this study, firstly, I leveraged data from GWAS summary statistics for 8,090 Europeans, and large-scale expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) data from the genotype-tissue expression of 53 types of tissues (GTEx v7), to derive a linkage disequilibrium score for the specific expression of genes (LDSC-SEG) and conduct a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS). I identified 55 genes whose predicted levels of expression were significantly associated with IgG Nglycosylation in 14 tissues with regard to …

Barriers To Ghanaian Midwives’ Ability To Provide Quality Care: A Glaserian Grounded Theory Study, Yakubu Ismaila

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The midwifery model of care that promotes the employment of trained and regulated midwives for the provision of maternal and neonatal care has been found to be beneficial, especially in Low and Middle-Income Countries that have high maternal and neonatal mortalities. Midwives in those setting are however, facing a myriad of barriers which negatively affect their ability to provide optimal care. Although Ghana is implementing the midwifery model of care, maternal and neonatal mortality remains high in the country. Little is known from the point of view of midwives, who are the primary providers of maternal and neonatal care, about …

The Solo Piano Sonatas Of Cipriani Potter (1792-1871): An Analysis, Reappraisal, And Historical Performance, Jordan Proctor

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The solo piano sonatas (Op. 1, 3, and 4) of once eminent English pianist/composer Cipriani Potter (1792-1871) are a collection of works that have for the most part fallen into obscurity. Potter produced three such sonatas in his lifetime, each at approximately the same time during his educational trip to Vienna between 1817 and 1818. Potter was much celebrated in his own time as a virtuoso pianist, teacher, and eventual principal at the Royal Academy of Music, and as an editor of the works of Mozart and Beethoven amongst others. This study examines Potter’s sonatas in light of both modern …

The Legalization Of Restorative Justice: A 50-State Empirical Analysis, Thalia Gonzalez

Faculty Scholarship

his Article addresses the increasing formal legal nature of restorative justice in the United States. Over the last three decades, a substantial body of research has demonstrated the ways in which restorative justice offers an alternative societal response to crime and harm. It has also examined how restorative justice empowers individuals and groups to address violence, respond to social, political and economic injustice, and engage in resistance to existing structural inequities. Yet a prominent gap in the field exists: a comprehensive theoretical and empirical examination of the codification of restorative justice in state law. Studies of this nature are essential …

Severability As Deregulation: The Construction Of A New Doctrine Through Affordable Care Act Litigation, George Horvath

Faculty Scholarship

Scholars have sharply criticized the plaintiffs' severability argument in the ongoing challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), California v. Texas, as a flawed application of contemporary severability doctrine that would disrupt broad swaths of the U.S. healthcare system. This Article argues that the severability argument put forward by the Texas plaintiffs, as well as the District Court's severability analysis in that case, the Department of Justice's severability argument on appeal, and the severability argument made by the so-called "Joint Dissent" in National Federation of Business v. Sebelius together represent an emerging doctrinal alternative to the traditional, Alaska Airlines severability …

Sentenced To Surveillance: Fourth Amendment Limits On Electronic Monitoring, Kate Weisburd

Faculty Scholarship

As courts and legislatures increasingly recognize that “digital is different” and attempt to limit government surveillance of private data, one group is conspicuously excluded from this new privacy-protective discourse: the five million people in the United States on probation, parole, or other forms of community supervision. This Article is the first to explore how warrantless electronic surveillance is dramatically transforming community supervision and, as a result, amplifying a growing privacy-protection disparity: those in the criminal legal system are increasingly losing privacy protections even while those not in the system are increasingly gaining privacy protections. The quickly expanding use of GPS-equipped …

Flawed Assumptions Of Welfare Participation: A Comparative Analysis Of Ohio And North Carolina Counties, Kasey Ray

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Welfare participation has been a longstanding issue of public debate for 50 years but remains largely understudied in welfare literature. The purpose of this research is to challenge the flawed assumptions of welfare participation by examining the varying spatial inequalities that influence U.S. welfare participation rates among eligible poor. This comparative analysis uses spatial inequality theory to examine welfare-to-work participation rates in all North Carolina and Ohio counties. I find that Ohio county welfare-to-work participation rates are most affected by region, race and gender while North Carolina county rates are most affected by politics, industry and race.

No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos And Heartbreak Of Mental Health In America, By Ron Powers, Christopher Giesfield

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Ron Powers, No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America. Hachette Book Group (2018), 384 pages, $16.99 (paperback).

Daily Labors: Marketing Identity And Bodies On A New York City Street Corner, By Carolyn Pinedo-Turnovsky, Kimberly Hogan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Carolyn Pinedo-Turnovsky, Daily Labors: Marketing Identity and Bodies on a New York City Street Corner. Temple University Press (2019), 212 pages, $24.42 (softcover).

Special Issue On The Third Workshop On Biological Mentality, Kenneth A. Augustyn

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Third Workshop on Biological Mentality was held from September 23, 2019 to March 2, 2020 as a series of twenty-one Monday online conferencing sessions, each consisting of a talk followed by a Q&A discussion. Like the two previous workshops [1, 2], the objective of this workshop was to seek a deeper level of understanding the physical foundations of biological mentality (whether conscious or nonconscious).

Consciousness As A Factor In Evolution, Kenneth A. Augustyn

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

What I call the mind began as a non-conscious robotic biochemical process control system in the very earliest forms of life. As life evolved, problems in control became more difficult and exceeded the computational capabilities of the organisms. Nature discovered a means of transcending computable physical processes resulting in non-computational subjective mental capabilities that, while still not conscious, had a degree of genuine autonomy from the physical world. These autonomous subjective wants and goals now affected the course of (but not the mechanism of) evolution. The integrated amalgam of robotic and transrobotic unconscious capabilities eventually gave rise to consciousness, which …