Digital Commons Network^™

Stratified Security Communities: Transatlantic Distrust And Identity Divergence, Afra Maike Herr

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

With mounting pressure by the United States directly and through their strategic shift and slow abdication of leadership towards Asia and away from the transatlantic community, European states have growing incentive to cooperate more strongly and integrate their defense and security efforts. The absence of such a trend of integration points to internal barriers to growing cooperation countering the external dynamic. Utilizing the theory of security communities, this thesis explores German, French, and British understanding of leadership, defense, and their respective public opinions. Focusing on the security identities of all three nations and their visions for the community as well …

Investigation Of Sulfur Cycling In Marine Sponge Cinachyrella Spp. From A South Florida Reef, Shelby K. Cain

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Symbionts within marine sponges are actively participating in the biogeochemical cycles. Among them, the role of symbiont microbes in the sulfur cycle remains a mystery. This study measured the abundance of microbes within the genus Cinachyrella before and after exposure to hydrogen sulfide. A four-part study was conducted: a) five-hour drop experiments, b) vertical distribution experiments, c) five-hour uptake experiments, and d) long-term exposure experiments. The five-hour drop experiment utilized a microsensor to measure sulfide levels, which was lowered 1.0 mm every thirty minutes for a total of 5 hours. Three trials were performed, each with one sponge and a …

Illinois State University, One Hundred And Sixty-First Annual Commencement, December 2020, Illinois State University

Commencement Programs

Illinois State University
One Hundred and Sixty-First Annual Commencement
December 2020

Development And Validation Of A Global Competency Framework For Preparing New Graduates For Early Career Professional Roles, Mark Strong, Gary J. Burkholder, Emily Solberg, Amy Stellmack, William Presson, Jean-Bernard Seitz

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: The current objectives include the development of a global competency model applicable across a wide range of jobs, industries, and geographies for university graduates entering the workplace.

Method: The competency model was developed utilizing a global panel of subject matter experts and a validation survey of over 25,000 students, faculty, staff, and employers across more than 30 countries.

Results: The results showed substantial consistency for the importance and criticality ratings of the competencies, with Achieving Objectives, Analyzing and Solving Problems, Adapting to Change, Communicating Orally, Learning and Self-Development, Making Decisions, Planning and Organizing, and Working Well with Others as …

How Does Convergence Influence Cluster-Based Economic Growth In Regions?, Jamie Meehan

Doctoral

This thesis is a novel study examining the influence of convergenceon cluster-based economicgrowth in regions. The goal of which isto provide exploratory insights frombothnational and international perspectives. This research study examines the relevant literature in thefieldsof convergence,clusters,and regions. It thenadoptsideologies from the most salient studies,to create a conceptual framework. There is limitedextantliterature currently available on the connection between convergence, cluster-based economicgrowth,and regions. AnOECD (2011) report identified the importance of regions as they are themost effective place to make economic decisions. The convergence approachof moving towards equality, bottom-up growth,and co-opetition can be regarded as being imperative to the successful augmentation of …

Extension's Role In Changing The Context Of Health, J. Dusti Linnell, Patty Case, Lauren Kraemer

Journal of Extension

The Cooperative Extension National Framework for Health and Wellness calls on Extension professionals to operate in new ways that will shape "the context in which people grow, learn, work, and play" and to practice multidisciplinary and collaborative approaches in communities. In this article, we present three cases in Oregon as examples of how Extension faculty at Oregon State University are working to improve population health in rural Oregon communities in alignment with the Cooperative Extension National Framework for Health and Wellness. These examples highlight the roles Extension faculty can play in such work as well as associated successes and challenges.

Urbanization Policy And Economic Development: A Quantitative Analysis Of China's Differential Hukou Reforms, Wen-Tai Hsu, Lin Ma

Research Collection School Of Economics

The household registration system (hukou system) in China has hampered rural-urban migration by posing large migration friction. The system has been gradually relaxed in the past few decades, but the reforms have been differential in city size and by the coastal-inland divide. We find a striking contrast in the migration patterns between years 2005 and 2015; rural people tended to move more to the coastal urban region in 2005, but more to the inland urban region in 2015. We calibrate a spatial quantitative model to the world economy in both years with China being divided into the rural, coastal urban, …

Density Of Demand And The Consumer Benefit From Uber, Matthew H. Shapiro

Research Collection School Of Economics

Uber has attracted the attention of economists and policy makers for its innovations in the taxicab market and its potential for significant consumer welfare gains. The size of this gain depends in part on whether these innovations permit transactions previously costly or infeasible. Using New York City — the largest taxi market in the country — as its context, this paper estimates the level of any technological advantage Uber has over hail taxis in matching to consumers. I combine publicly available transportation data with data scraped from Uber and traffic cameras to estimate a model of the demand for transportation …

Opportunities And Challenges Of Geospatial Analysis For Promoting Urban Livability In The Era Of Big Data And Machine Learning, Anna Kovacs-Györi, Alina Ristea, Clemens Havas, Michael Mehaffy, Hartwig H. Hochmair, Bernd Resch, Levente Juhasz, Arthur Lehner, Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Thomas Blaschke

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Urban systems involve a multitude of closely intertwined components, which are more measurable than before due to new sensors, data collection, and spatio-temporal analysis methods. Turning these data into knowledge to facilitate planning efforts in addressing current challenges of urban complex systems requires advanced interdisciplinary analysis methods, such as urban informatics or urban data science. Yet, by applying a purely data-driven approach, it is too easy to get lost in the ‘forest’ of data, and to miss the ‘trees’ of successful, livable cities that are the ultimate aim of urban planning. This paper assesses how geospatial data, and urban analysis, …

Iot Smart Parking, Anas Hamdan

Theses

A Smart City is designed to improve the quality of life of its residents by utilizing the forefront innovations. Embedded within the smart city is the fundamental innovation using the Internet of Things (IoT) to provide novel solutions to residents, prompting to the enhancement of everyday life while promoting sustainability. This project highlights smart parking management that is a key pillar of a smart city. It implements IoT, sensors, and software to track the availability of parking spaces, the number of vehicles parked in a parking lot, the time for which these vehicles have been parked, and the real-time pricing …

Wicked Problems, Foolish Decisions: Promoting Sustainability Through Urban Governance In A Complex World Symposium: Governing Wicked Problems, Scott D. Campbell, Moira Zellner

Vanderbilt Law Review

Why do wicked problems often give birth to bad policy choices? Put another way, why do people—in the face of complex social challenges—make misdiagnoses, ineffective decisions, or no decisions at all? Typical answers point to a plethora of suspects: impatience, myopia, political stalemate, narrow-mindedness, fear and risk aversion, hubris, greed, rational self-interest, ignorance, reliance on emotionally appealing but misleading anecdotal stories, misuse of evidence, and misunderstanding of uncertainty.

Amid these divergent explanations, two classes emerge: one lies in the shortcomings and mistakes of the problem solvers, and the other lies in the nature of the problem itself. One stance is …

The Wicked Problem Of Zoning, Christopher Serkin

Vanderbilt Law Review

Zoning is the quintessential wicked problem. Professors Rittel and Webber, writing in the 1970s, identified as “wicked” those problems that technocratic expertise cannot necessarily solve. Wicked problems arise when the very definition of the problem is contested and outcomes are not measured by “right and wrong” but rather by messier contests between winners and losers. This accurately characterizes the state of zoning and land use today.

Zoning is under vigorous and sustained attack from all sides. Conservatives have long decried regulatory interference with private development rights.More recently, progressive housing advocates have begun to criticize zoning for making thriving cities unaffordable …

Shared Volatile Organic Compounds Between Camel Metabolic Products Elicits Strong Stomoxys Calcitrans Attraction, Merid Negash Getahun, Peter Ahuya, John Ngiela, Abel Orone, Daniel Masiga, Baldwyn Torto

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The sources of animal odours are highly diverse, yet their ecological importance, in host–vector communication, remains unexplored. Here, using the camel (host)–Stomoxys calcitrans (vector) interaction, we collected and analyzed the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) of camels from four of its different odour sources: breath, body (skin), urine, and dung. On non-metric model multivariate analyses of VOCs we show that substantial chemo-diversity exists between metabolic products associated with an individual camel. VOCs from the four metabolic products were distinct and widely segregated. Next, we show electrophysiologically, that VOCs shared between metabolic products activated more Olfactory Sensory Neurons (OSNs) and elicited strong …

“White Skin By Color, French Canadian By Métissage: Heredity Knows No Color”, Paula Y. Wilson

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Abstract of the Thesis “White Skin by Color, French Canadian by Métissage: Heredity knows no color” Beta thalassemia (β-thalassemia) is one of the hereditary disorders unique to French Canadians (Braekeleer). This thesis argues for any correlations that may exist between the social and identity structures. These social and identity structures correspond with the close relationship between the French Canadians and β-thalassemia. The study reveals the specific cultural and linguistic isolation of these people and the principal cause of the distinguishing traits of this disorder as obscure amongst this ethnic group. French Canadians slowly but surely migrated from the French-speaking Providence …

Analysis Of Working From Home Vs Working At The Office, As A Construction Company In The Bay Area, Kyle M. Ruff

Construction Management

In 2020, working from home has become an increasingly popular trend amongst construction offices across the Bay Area to combat the spread of COVID-19. This meant that employees who used to commute were now able to work from home. This paper analyzes the impacts working from home has on the productivity, work-life-balance, and overall well-being of a Bay Area construction office employees . A survey was issued to the estimating department of a large general contractor in the Bay Area, with the intent of finding the impact working from home had on the three aspects of working life, as previous …

Mementomap: A Web Archive Profiling Framework For Efficient Memento Routing, Sawood Alam

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

With the proliferation of public web archives, it is becoming more important to better profile their contents, both to understand their immense holdings as well as to support routing of requests in Memento aggregators. A memento is a past version of a web page and a Memento aggregator is a tool or service that aggregates mementos from many different web archives. To save resources, the Memento aggregator should only poll the archives that are likely to have a copy of the requested Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). Using the Crawler Index (CDX), we generate profiles of the archives that summarize their …

Shifting Sources Of Humanitarian Aid: The Importance Of Network Resiliency And Donor Diversification, Mackenzie Marie Clark

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

As instances of forced displacement arise and become increasingly large and prolonged around the world, large influxes of humanitarian aid have become critical in assisting host countries with crisis response. The funding required to meet the immediate, emergency needs presented by a refugee situation is filled primarily by governmental humanitarian contributions, and more specifically, by the United States. Typically, the U.S. is integral to the structure of the networks of humanitarian aid being directed towards a humanitarian response as it is the largest donor, in most cases. However, what does this reliance on U.S. funding mean for the structural integrity …

The Path To Victory: A Comparative Analysis Of Mena Region Countries, Negar Moayed

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

During the “Arab Spring” the Arab world witnessed a wave of uprisings. As a result of these anti-government movements, four governments of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen were overthrown, three governments of Bahrain, Jordan, and to some points Saudi Arabia were faced with critical difficulties, and one government ,Syria, experienced domestic war. All these happened while some other Middle Eastern countries remained stable. Yet, the remaining questions are: how did these protests emerge? How was the collective identity which is essential for the social movements created? Why were some of these movements successful in overthrowing the regime while the others …

Wicked Ideas For Wicked Problems: Marine Debris And The Complexity Of Governance, Dawn Helene Driesbach

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Myriad challenges regarding earth's common spaces, those unregulated by sovereign state authorities, mount and intensify as resources diminish and competition for commercial, scientific and security advantages increases; the pollution and degradation of those spaces simultaneously expands. Threats to the global commons complicate efforts to achieve international consensus which impedes attempts to develop effective governance. As an example, marine debris is a growing problem and is an existential threat to the global commons.

This dissertation aims to characterize marine debris as a wicked problem and explores the complexity of governance in the global ocean commons by answering two fundamental questions. Under …

Air Pollution And Outdoor Recreation On Urban Trails: A Case Study Of The Elizabeth River Trail, Norfolk, Va, James E. Mccann

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Poor air quality represents a significant health risk, especially when recreating outdoors in urban parks and trails. It is important for managers of urban parks and trail to understand how potential visitors’ perceptions of air quality and health risks and benefits may affect visitation. The goal of this study was to investigate temporal variance in air quality along the Elizabeth River Trail, an urban trail located in Norfolk, Virginia, as well as trail users’ perceptions of air quality and of health benefits in relation to trail use. The researcher rode a bicycle with a Dylos DC1700-PM mobile air quality monitor …

Analysis Of Capital Distribution Among Ohio’S Publicly Funded Higher Education Institutions, John D. O’Brien

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In 2012, Governor Kasich instituted a call-to-action, “Campus leaders throughout Ohio must work together to rethink how the state allocates its investment in our public higher educational facilities.” (Ohio Higher Education Capital Funding Commission, 2016). The intent of Governor Kasich was to drive more equitable outcomes and opportunities in higher education, including capital allocation (2016). However, despite the changes in processes over time, there continues to be disproportion in allocation of capital funding (Maiden & Stearns, 2007; Manns, 2004; Tandberg 2010).

A deeper understanding of the historical and current trends of capital allocation to postsecondary public institutions in Ohio is …

Any Is Too Many: Impaired Driving In Santa Cruz County, Karena Brewington

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Too many people operate vehicles under the influence in Santa Cruz County (SCC) because of recidivism. DUIs cost dearly in human and financial terms. Financial difficulties and stigma pose barriers to providing DUI services. Community Prevention Partners (CPP) resides under the Public Health umbrella of SCC’s Health Services Agency. This Capstone Project represents an integrated effort to increase CPP’s DUI secondary prevention efforts through its Alcohol Initiative workgroup. Through the Alcohol Initiative, CPP administers the DUI Resource Center (DUIRC), a community space to support DUI offenders around completion of their sentencing components. This project proposes to decrease the recidivism of …

A Rivalry Of Necessity: An Analysis Of Mechanisms Of Contention Between The Islamic Republic Of Iran And The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Aras Syahmanssuri

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution that extremely concerned the Saudis leaders culminated after the overthrow of a monarchical regime of the Iranian Shah and the power rise of a theocratic Shia government led by Ayatollah Khomeini. From the early days of this revolution, Khomeini raised a unique slogan, which was “exporting the revolution” to neighboring countries. Through targeting the Shia minority in neighboring countries, this slogan highly concerned the Gulf countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Examining four decades of hostility, which starts from the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran, this study indicates that the rivalry between the Islamic …

Estimates Of Throughput And Utilization At Freestanding Compared To Low-Volume Hospital-Based Emergency Departments, Cedric Dark, Maureen Canellas, Caroline Mangira, Nick Jouriles, Erin L Simon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: Our investigation compared throughput metrics and utilization measures for freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) versus hospital-based emergency departments (HBEDs) of similar volumes in the United States.

METHODS: This study is a cross sectional survey of 183 FSEDs and 317 HBEDs located across the United States using the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance (EDBA) Database. We measured common emergency department (ED) throughput metrics. Primary outcomes included overall length of stay, length of stay for admitted, and length of stay for treated and released patients. Outcomes were weighted based on the proportion of ED volume per facility as per a prior pilot study. …

The Role Of Traditional Knowledge In Coastal Adaptation Priorities: The Pamunkey Indian Reservation, Nicole S. Hutton, Thomas R. Allen

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Coastal reservations are increasingly vulnerable to hazards exacerbated by climate change. Resources for restoration projects are limited. Storm surge, storms, tidal flooding, and erosion endanger artifacts and limit livelihoods of tribes in coastal Virginia. GIS offers a platform to increase communication between scientists, planners, and indigenous groups. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe engaged in a participatory mapping exercise to assess the role of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in coastal management decision-making and its capacity to address flooding. Priorities and strategies were spatially referenced using maps of potential sea level rise for 2040, 2060, and 2080, input into a resilience matrix to …

Ignatian Leadership And Place-Based Learning, Rebecca Murray

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

In An Ignatian Method of City Dwelling (2011) John M. Staudenmaier, SJ notes that “Ignatius teaches that prayer is geographical at its core.” On his own journey of leadership, Ignatius himself learned much about the lives of others, and of himself, through the particular places he visited (often for much longer than he intended). By focusing on a specific geography, place-based community engagement can foster Ignatian leadership as it encourages faculty, staff and students to journey with a community in their own home. Because this unique way of engaging the community emphasizes depth of engagement over breadth, it is …

Education In Florida, 1821-1829, James O. Knauss

Florida Historical Quarterly

Writers on the history of education in Florida have usually passed over the period between 1821 and 1830 with only casual mention. During this decade no public schools were established in the territory and the records relating to private schools and libraries are meagre. However, since the educational activities in these years form the background of the later cultural development, it seems advisable to gather all available material on the subject and to attempt to draw a picture as accurate as possible under the circumstances.

Home Life Of The Florida Indians, Benjamin Harrison

Florida Historical Quarterly

Every family of mankind refers fondly to a Golden Age, when peace and innocence reigned on earth. The lost paradise is no monopoly of the Christian, of the Greek or even of the Old World, since the Inca and the Aztec were equally confident in the truth of his traditions describing it. When Columbus compared the happy conditions he observed in the islands to which he came, with those of Europe, he declared the inhabitants were close to the angels in disposition as well as in geography, and he confidently looked for his Blessed Mountain in all his wanderings. When …

The Effect Of Active Learning On Achievement And Attitude In Vocational English Course, Selda Özer

i.e.: inquiry in education

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of active learning techniques applied in Vocational English Course on students’ achievement and attitude. In the research, quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test control group model was used. The participants included the students majoring Tourism Management at a state university in Turkey and taking Vocational English Course in fall semester in 2017-2018 academic year. In the experimental group, instruction was carried out using active learning techniques, while in the control group, instruction was conducted in conventional lecture method. The techniques used in the study were writing poetry, concept mapping, simulation, …

Exploring Efl Student Teachers’ Perceptions Of Student-Led Seminars, Majid Al-Amri

i.e.: inquiry in education

Abstract

Student-led seminars have not been widely researched from the student perspective despite their prevalence in different streams of education literature. Based on four focus group interviews involving 24 students from a university in Saudi Arabia, this study evaluated student-led seminar sessions from the perspective of EFL student teachers, to generate relevant themes and categories. The themes identified comprised: preparing for seminar sessions, implementing seminar sessions, and receiving feedback after seminar sessions. Results found that students acknowledged the advantages of student-led seminars, but were worried about engaging in student-led seminars. Others preferred to receive guidance from the instructor, and some …