Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Testing Alphas In Conditional Time-Varying Factor Models With High Dimensional Assets, Shujie Ma, Wei Lan, Liangjun Su, Chih-Ling Tsai

Research Collection School Of Economics

For conditional time-varying factor models with high dimensional assets, this article proposes a high dimensional alpha (HDA) test to assess whether there exist abnormal returns on securities (or portfolios) over the theoretical expected returns. To employ this test effectively, a constant coefficient test is also introduced. It examines the validity of constant alphas and factor loadings. Simulation studies and an empirical example are presented to illustrate the finite sample performance and the usefulness of the proposed tests. Using the HDA test, the empirical example demonstrates that the FF three-factor model (Fama and French, 1993) is better than CAPM (Sharpe, 1964) …

Aateam: Achieving The Ad Hoc Teamwork By Employing The Attention Mechanism, Shuo Chen, Ewa Andrejczuk, Zhiguang Cao, Jie Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In the ad hoc teamwork setting, a team of agents needs to perform a task without prior coordination. The most advanced approach learns policies based on previous experiences and reuses one of the policies to interact with new teammates. However, the selected policy in many cases is sub-optimal. Switching between policies to adapt to new teammates' behaviour takes time, which threatens the successful performance of a task. In this paper, we propose AATEAM – a method that uses the attention-based neural networks to cope with new teammates' behaviour in real-time. We train one attention network per teammate type. The attention …

The Legal Recognition Of Electronic Bills Of Lading, Ali Abbas Khayoon Al-Naseri

World Maritime University Ph.D. Dissertations

The increasing use of electronic devices, new means of communication and Internet affects many areas of life, including trade and transportation. One effect is the dematerialization of bills of lading. Paper bills of lading have traditionally performed three main functions in maritime transportation: (1) as a receipt for the goods, (2) as containing or evidencing the contract of carriage of goods and (3) as a document of title. This legal research examines whether electronic bills of lading can legally perform these three functions as functional equivalents to paper bills of lading. It studies the recognition of electronic bills of lading …

Commemorative Insights: The Best Of Life, In Death, Martin Maccarthy, Ker Ni Heng Rigney

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study explores visitor experience at the National Anzac Centre in Western Australia using multiple qualitative methods. Initially, Nethnography is used to assemble a blend of lived experience and online non-dialogical commentary. Nethnography (an alternative to Netnography) is used here as a mechanism for data grooming. Three data sets inform this study: 500 Trip Advisor comments, 500 Visitors’ Book comments and four days of participant observation. The data are then analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis and Leximancer in the unsupervised mode. This methodological collage is designed to improve the veracity of interpretation through both lived experience and triangulation across data …

The Implications Of The Non-Linguistic Modes Of Meaning For Language Learners In Science: A Review, Melanie Williams

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In response to the globally escalating number of language learners tasked with learning science through a foreign language, this review seeks to bring new perspectives by reframing research findings, still dominated by historical language assumptions, through a contemporary language lens. We aim to unearth, amalgamate and expose the potentials of non-linguistic modes described by the theory of multiliteracies that appear sporadic and fragmentary within studies due to their linguistic focus, as we surmise they offer language learners alternative avenues for meaning-making. 40 peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 1995 and 2019 were systematically found and examined using theoretical thematic analysis to …

The Emotional Business Of Noongar Song, Clint Bracknell

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This article explores connections between history, emotion and Aboriginal song in the south of Western Australia. Songs performed in the Noongar language in the 19th and early 20th centuries provide insight into the emotional worlds of Western Australia’s past. Historical documentation reveals how Noongar sang to deal with rapid changes associated with colonisation, with song acting as a conduit for cultural resilience. Today, the Noongar language is endangered, and few people remember the old songs. Community aspirations to claim, consolidate and enhance cultural heritage have driven a collaborative process of translating, interpreting and revitalising some of this repertoire. Listening to …

Recent High School Graduates Support Mandatory Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Education In Australian High Schools, Tim Rankin, Lisa Holmes, Leanne Vance, Tom Crehan, Brennen Mills

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Objective:

To evaluate recent high school graduates' opinions on mandatory cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training in the high school curriculum as a solution to improving bystander CPR rates.

Methods:

Participants completed questionnaires assessing their CPR training history during their high school education, their willingness to learn CPR during their high school years and their opinion on making CPR training mandatory for high school curricula.

Results:

Of the 178 participants in this study, 60% had undertaken CPR training during their high school education. Of those who had not undertaken CPR training, 75% reported that they would have been willing …

Visual Flight Into Instrument Meteorological Condition: A Post Accident Analysis, Ayiei Ayiei, John Murray, Graham Wild

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The phenomenon of encountering instrument meteorological conditions (IMCs) while operating an aircraft under visual flight rules (VFRs) remains a primary area of concern. Studies have established that pilots operating under VFRs that continue to operate under IMCs remains a significant cause of accidents in general aviation (GA), resulting in hundreds of fatalities. This research used the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) database, which contained a total of 196 VFR to IMC occurrences, from 2003 to 2019, with 26 having formal reports. An explanatory design was adopted, commencing with a qualitative study of the 26 occurrences with reports followed by a …

The Role Of Virtual Reality In Improving Health Outcomes For Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review, Gordana Dermody, Lisa Whitehead, Graham Wilson, Courtney Glass

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

Virtual reality (VR) delivered through immersive headsets creates an opportunity to deliver interventions to improve physical, mental, and psychosocial health outcomes. VR app studies with older adults have primarily focused on rehabilitation and physical function including gait, balance, fall prevention, pain management, and cognition. Several systematic reviews have previously been conducted, but much of the extant literature is focused on rehabilitation or other institutional settings, and little is known about the effectiveness of VR apps using immersive headsets to target health outcomes among community-dwelling older adults.

Objective:

The objective of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of VR …

Cross-Docking: A Systematic Literature Review, Reza Kiani Mavi, Mark Goh, Neda Kiani Mavi, Ferry Jie, Kerry Brown, Sharon Biermann, Ahmad A. Khanfar

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper identifies the major research concepts, techniques, and models covered in the cross-docking literature. A systematic literature review is conducted using the BibExcel bibliometric analysis and Gephi network analysis tools. A research focus parallelship network (RFPN) analysis and keyword co-occurrence network (KCON) analysis are used to identify the primary research themes. The RFPN results suggest that vehicle routing, inventory control, scheduling, warehousing, and distribution are most studied. Of the optimization and simulation techniques applied in cross-docking, linear and integer programming has received much attention. The paper informs researchers interested in investigating cross-docking through an integrated perspective of the research …

Finding The Familiar In The Strange: Transcultural Learning As Rihla رحلة At An Australian University, T. Dobinson, Maggie Mcalinden, P. Mercieca, T. Bogachenko

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Diverse university campuses present an ideal context for fostering transcultural learning. Despite the potential that this diversity presents, universities in Australia have yet to make use of this opportunity. The pilot study described here investigates an informal learning experience created by the hosting of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) funded Arab Film Festival Australia (AFFA) on an Australian university campus. By imagining and exploring new ways in which universities can encourage transcultural learning and bring students and academics together, this …

Prevalence Of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Among Primary School Children In Oforikrom, Ghana Based On The Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale, Reindolf Anokye, E. Acheampong, A. Edusei, I. Owusu, W. K. Mprah

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among primary school children in Oforikrom, Kumasi, Ghana. METHODS: 10 of 35 primary schools in Oforikrom were readily available. Of 2000 children aged 5 to 13 years selected, 1540 (77%) of their parents/guardians consented to participate. Their parents/guardians and six teachers from each school were asked to complete the Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale to screen children for the presence of ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, or conduct disorder. Children who displayed symptoms (pretty much or very much) in most related items as determined by parents and/or teachers were considered positive cases. …

Deciding To Enrol In A Cancer Trial: A Systematic Review Of Qualitative Studies, Bianca Viljoen, Suzanne K. Chambers, Jeff Dunn, Nicholas Ralph, Sonja March

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 Viljoen et al. Background: Clinical trials are essential for the advancement of cancer treatments; how-ever, participation by patients is suboptimal. Currently, there is a lack of synthesized qualitative review evidence on the patient experience of trial entry from which to further develop decision support. The aim of this review is to synthesise literature reporting experiences of participants when deciding to enrol in a cancer clinical trial in order to inform practice. Methods: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies were conducted to describe the experiences of adult cancer patients who decided to enrol in a clinical trial …

Psychological Symptoms In Chinese Nurses May Be Associated With Predisposition To Chronic Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study Of Suboptimal Health Status, Jinxiu Zhu, Wenjuan Ying, Li Zhang, Gangyi Peng, Weiju Chen, Enoch Odame Anto, Xueqing Wang, Nan Lu, Shanshan Gao, Guihai Wu, Jingyi Yan, Jianfeng Ye, Shenglin Wu, Chengzhi Yu, Minghui Yue, Xiru Huang, Nuo Xu, Pengxiang Ying, Yanhong Chen, Xuerui Tan, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). Background: Suboptimal health status (SHS) is a reversible state between ideal health and illness and it can be effectively reversed by risk prediction, disease prevention, and personalized medicine under the global background of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM) concepts. More and more Chinese nurses have been troubled by psychological symptoms (PS). The correlation between PS and SHS is unclear in nurses. The purpose of current study is to investigate the prevalence of SHS and PS in Chinese nurses and the relationship between SHS and PS along with predisposing factors as well as to discuss the …

David Andrew Bigger Papers - Accession 1721, David Andrew Bigger, Bigger Family, Johnston Family, Neel Family

Manuscript Collection

The David Andrew Bigger Papers consists of genealogical research conducted by Dr. David Andrew Bigger (1891-1952). His research included records related mainly to the Bigger family, Johnston Family, and Neel Family, but also includes allied families such as Adams, Darby, Dunlap, Henry, McCaw, and Spratt among a few others. Included in the collection is a notebook containing typescript copies of original marriage records, deeds, wills, and genealogical notes. The collection contains original surveys and deeds from 1797, 1799, 1842, 1854, 1877, 1896 and photocopies of original documents pertaining mostly to the Revolutionary War service of Robert Johnston (1730-1794), David Johnston …

Unidentified Photograph Collection - Accession 1727, Photographs, Unidentified

Manuscript Collection

This collection consists of the various unidentified photographs that are not part of a larger collection. These historically relevant photographs and images are unidentified with little to no provenance. Many of these images could be of local interest, but the location and the persons present are unknown.

Emmett Scott High School Collection - Accession 1729, Emmett Scott High School

Manuscript Collection

This collection consists of memorabilia, artifacts, and other material related to Emmett Scott High School that was collected by Dr. Sylvia Berry who worked for the Rock Hill School District. Emmett Scott opened in 1920 as the first public school for blacks in Rock Hill, SC. The school operated as a segregated educational institution from 1920 until Rock Hill Schools were fully desegregated in 1970. The material in this collections consists of yearbooks, photographs, commencement invitations and programs, graduation tassels, student handbook, football program, concert tickets, a class ring and a student pin, a program from the 50^th anniversary …

Patrick Peirce Papers- Accession 1406, Patrick Morey Peirce

Manuscript Collection

Consists of portraits, advertisements, theme park maps, illustrations, sketches, story boards, sample pages, and an illustrated family lineage which were all rendered by Patrick Peirce. Inclusive dates ca. 1970’s-1990’s. Maps of theme parks include King’s Dominion, King’s Island, Canada’s Wonderland, and Carowinds. Family lineage includes coat of arms and 2 handwritten bound volumes.

Rock Hill Printing And Finishing Company Records - Accession 368, Rock Hill Printing And Finishing Company, Bleachery

Manuscript Collection

This collection is a valuable source on the history of the textile industry in Rock Hill and particular the Rock Hill Printing and Finishing Company’s role in its development. Of particular interest is a scrapbook containing nearly a 100 photographs of the construction of the plant including aerial views. The scrapbook also contains many newspaper clippings from the period 1928-1935 that details the construction of the plant and its early operation. Also included in the collection are copies of the newsletters, Newsy Notes and Reporter, a 1943 publication picturing employees serving in the armed forces, and sixteen photographs taken …

York County Mental Health Association Records - Accession 1679, Mental Health Association, York County

Manuscript Collection

This collection consists of the records produced by the York County Mental Health Association and consists of the constitution and by-laws, meeting minutes, correspondence, membership lists and directories, and other records. In addition, there are records pertaining to the Mental Health Association in South Carolina and the National Mental Health Association. “The York County Mental Health Association was a volunteer organization, private and non-profit, dedicated to improving services for the mentally ill and removing the stigma of mental illness.” It was a local chapter of the Mental Health Association in South Carolina, a division of the National Mental Health Association.

Dr. David M. Lowry Papers - Accession 1421, David Michael Lowry, Winthrop Organ

Manuscript Collection

The Dr. David Lowry Papers consist of work papers, music, photographs, a list of concerts, and documents pertaining to the construction of the Gabriel Kney Organ in the Barnes Recital Hall At Winthrop University. The collection also includes papers pertaining to the restoration of the D.B. Johnson Memorial Organ, David Lowry’s “A Short History of the Pipe Organs at Winthrop”, and information regarding the Gabriel Kney Organ and Angerstein practice organ. Dr. Lowry was an organist, harpsichordist, and is a retired professor of music at Winthrop University from 1965-2012.

Catawba Indian Land Claim Dispute Records - Accession 841, Catawba Indian Land Claim

Manuscript Collection

This collection consists of the records used by the defense attorney in the Catawba Indian land claim trial. Included in the collection are correspondence, memoranda, appendices, reports, financial references, legal brief, newspaper clippings, and other records concerning the land dispute. South Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc., 476 U.S. 498 1986 was an important case regarding aboriginal title in the United States. A settlement was eventually reached where the Catawba Indian Nation’s aboriginal title was revoked in exchange for $50,000,000 in 1993. This collection would prove invaluable to anyone researching the Catawba Indian Nation, its history, and relation …

Use, Adoption, And Effectiveness Of Tippy-Tap Handwashing Station In Promoting Hand Hygiene Practices In Resource-Limited Settings: A Systematic Review, Balwani C. Mbakaya, Fatch W. Kalembo, Maggie Zgambo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

Tippy-taps are locally made devices for washing hands with running water. They are simple and low-cost, enabling technology that provides adequate water sources, handwashing stations and motivation for people to prioritise handwashing. This systematic review aimed to establish the use, benefits, adoption and effectiveness of enabling technology; tippy-tap handwashing station, in resource-limited settings.

Methods:

We systematically searched for articles in the PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, AMED, CINAHL, DOAJ and Google Scholar databases guided by the acceptable best practice developed by the PROSPERO and COCHRANE for systematic search and selection of articles. Search terms such as tippy-taps, enabling technology, hand-washing station, …

Effect Of Mptp On Α-Synuclein Spreading, Accumulation And Toxicity In Mice With Intrastriatal Innoculation Of Human Α-Synuclein Preformed Fibril, Madiha Mohieldin Merghani

Theses

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by abnormal accumulation of interneuronal inclusions of α-synuclein (α-syn) known as Lewy bodies (LBs) and Lewy neurites (LNs), and significant loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) region of the brain. Recent evidence suggests that intrastriatal inoculation of α-syn Preformed Fibril (PFF) into mice induces PD-like LBs and LNs pathology formed by aggregated α-syn in anatomically interconnected brain regions which needs several months of incubation to develop the pathology. In the present study, we have evaluated the effect of different doses of 1-methyl, 4-phenyl, …

The Constitutional Logic Of The Common Law, Douglas E. Edlin

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article uses two concepts from philosophical logic, the transitive property and syllogistic reasoning, to examine the history and theory of the common law. More specifically, the Article uses the transitive property to challenge the claims of sovereignty theorists that parliamentary supremacy is truly the most fundamental historical and theoretical basis of the British constitution. Instead, the transitive property helps show that the history and theory of the common law tradition has long provided a role for independent courts in maintaining the rule of law as a foundational principle of the British constitution. The Article then closely analyzes the reasoning …

Why China Should Unsign The International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights, Margaret K. Lewis

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In March 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council finalized its periodic review of China's human rights record just as human rights in China were under intensified attack. As during prior reviews, China was criticized for its human rights practices. And, once again, China was urged to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which China signed over twenty years ago. It is time to reevaluate this approach.

This Article argues that the international community should change tack and instead call on China to remove its signature from this foundational human rights treaty. While this would be …

Artificial States And The Remapping Of The Middle East, Ash U. Bali

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article critically examines arguments tracing contemporary crises in the Arab world to the making of the Arab state system a century ago. A series of popular and scholarly articles occasioned by the recent spate of World War I-related centenaries suggest that new boundaries be drawn in the Middle East to produce more stable nation-states. More specifically, a set of authors has advocated for different borders that would avoid ethno-sectarian conflict by designing relatively homogenous smaller states to replace multiethnic, multisectarian states like Iraq and Syria. Such proposals are significant for the underlying presumptions they reflect concerning the relationship between …

Hold The High-Water Line: A Transnationally Informed Coastline Protection Scheme In The United States, Charlie Spencer-Davis

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Climate change and sea level rise degrade the environment, infrastructure, and private property along US coastlines. The magnitude of these harms will only accelerate unless the United States improves its coastal protection scheme. Informed by approaches in Israel, the United Kingdom, and China, this Note offers a dynamic solution to coastline protection by way of a federal Rolling Coastal Conservation Easements Act. The act would authorize states to develop and implement rolling easements on private coastal properties. This flexible scheme would include compensation for those landowners who grant easements to their localities, while giving private property owners the option to …

Judging Judicial Appointment Procedures, S. I. Strong

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Over the last several years, judicial appointment procedures in the United States have become increasingly intractable. Members of both parties are seen to engage in political gamesmanship, calling the legitimacy of the appointment process into question and decreasing public confidence in both the legislature and the judiciary. Questions are even beginning to arise about whether and to what extent the United States is complying with the rule of law.

Although numerous solutions have been proposed, one alternative has not yet been considered: international law. As paradoxical as it may seem, the best and perhaps only feasible solution to quintessentially domestic …