Digital Commons Network^™

The Sanctuary Of Prosecutorial Nullification, Zohra Ahmed

Scholarly Works

In the aftermath of the 2016 election, the shortcomings of existing sanctuary protections came sharply into focus.1 Historically, cities enacted sanctuary protections to extricate their law enforcement agencies from activities related to federal immigration enforcement. In sanctuary cities, local government agencies are typically restricted from sharing information with federal immigration authorities or from cooperating in apprehending individuals targeted for removal.2 After the White House issued an Executive Order (EO) in late January 2017, many immigrant rights advocates recognized that external facing policies that proscribed direct cooperation would not suffice.3 The EO announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would prioritize …

Covid-19 Risk Among Temporary Protected Status Beneficiaries, Diana Estefania Estrada Alamo

Public Health Theses

The current federal response of the United States to the COVID-19 pandemic has created conditions and resulted in unintended consequences that may be disproportionately increasing the risk of COVID-19 infection and sequelae for immigrant populations. This investigative thesis explores whether states with a greater percentage of Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries experience more COVID-19 related deaths as compared to the rest of the United States. Using a multiple linear regression model for statistical analysis, covariates under consideration include the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases, tests performed, hospitalizations reported, as well as the population density of each state and the proportion of …

Blood Dna Methylation As A Surrogate Epigenetic Biomarker In Study Of Night Shift Work And Breast Cancer, Yi Jin

Public Health Theses

Objectives: the objective was to explore the consistency of DNA methylation pattern between peripheral blood and breast tumor tissue, and discussed the potential of using blood as a surrogate epigenetic biomarker to study the relationship between breast cancer and shiftwork.

Methods: systematic review on studies analyzing the concordance or correlation of DNA methylation level between breast tumor tissue and peripheral blood was conducted. The results of eligible studies were summarized to find the specific genes that had consistent methylation pattern in both tumor tissues and blood. Then the blood samples from the well-established Danish cohort were used to perform epigenome-wide …

“You’Re Not Gonna Get Any Help, No Matter How Hard You Try” A Qualitative Analysis Of “Severity” As A Barrier To Mental Health Care, Krishna Naik

Public Health Theses

Abstract

Objectives: This qualitative analysis explores how severity of need influences how patients perceive, experience and navigate mental health care.

Methods: Participants are English-speaking adults aged 18-64 with private insurance who have severe mental illness (SMI). After gauging interest in participating in telephone interviews, the principle investigators sampled those that used an out-of-network mental health provider (n=8), in-network mental health provider (n=8) and oversampled those that tried to use a mental health provider but ultimately didn’t (n=14). The 30 participants were interviewed for ~30 minutes each using semi-structured interview guides. All coding took place within Dedoose version 8.2.32.

Findings: “Severity” …

Neighborhood And Environmental Factors And The Relationship To The Willingness To Use And Actual Uptake Of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) Uptake, A Rapid Scoping Review, Steven Susana-Castillo

Public Health Theses

PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis), which appeared on the market after FDA approval in 2012, is more than 90% effective against HIV transmission via sexual contact and more than 60% effective against HIV transmission via intravenous drug use. Current interventions focus on individual behavior or clinical guidelines, however, there has been little focus on the environmental factors affecting PrEP willingness and uptake. To investigate the relationship between neighborhood, environmental factors and PrEP willingness and uptake in the United States, a rapid scoping review was conducted with three electronic databases of articles (January 2012 – March 2020). Of the 2,016 citations screened, 11 …

You Win Some, You Lose Some: An Analysis Of Medicare For All’S Differential Impact On Hospital Finances, Leah Sussman

Public Health Theses

Background: High health care costs have led to an unprecedented number of policy proposals to reform the United States health care system. Proponents of Medicare For All (M4A) argue that a single-payer system would reduce costs by allowing the government to obtain better prices from providers. M4A would have varying effects on sources of hospital revenue, increasing some payment while decreasing others. This paper explores the differential effects of M4A on hospital income.

Methods: This paper uses data from CMS’s Healthcare Cost Report Information System (HCRIS) to create a baseline model reflecting hospital revenues and costs under current hospital payment …

Meteorological Determinants Of Mosquito Populations In Connecticut, Melpomene Vasiliou

Public Health Theses

As climate change continues at an alarming rate, it is important to quantify and characterize its wide-ranging impacts at both the global and more localized scales. This study aims to build on this body of evidence that details the local impacts of climate change that have already begun to and will increasingly harm human health. The study explores time trends in Connecticut’s mosquito abundance, as well as potential meteorological determinants of abundance for one key species. Secondary analysis using computational techniques was performed on mosquito abundance data provided by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES). Simple linear regression was performed …

Introduction To Zoom For Teaching, Sedar Ngoma

Mathematics

This document presents an introduction to the basic tools of teaching with Zoom.

Accounting For Training Data Error In Machine Learning Applied To Earth Observations, Arthur Elmes, Hamed Alemohammad, Ryan Avery, Kelly Caylor, J. Ronald Eastman, Lewis Fishgold, Mark A. Friedl, Meha Jain, Divyani Kohli, Juan Carlos Laso Bayas, Dalton Lunga, Jessica L. Mccarty, Robert Gilmore Pontius, Andrew B. Reinmann, John Rogan, Lei Song, Hristiana Stoynova, Su Ye, Zhuang Fang Yi, Lyndon Estes

Geography

Remote sensing, or Earth Observation (EO), is increasingly used to understand Earth system dynamics and create continuous and categorical maps of biophysical properties and land cover, especially based on recent advances in machine learning (ML). ML models typically require large, spatially explicit training datasets to make accurate predictions. Training data (TD) are typically generated by digitizing polygons on high spatial-resolution imagery, by collecting in situ data, or by using pre-existing datasets. TD are often assumed to accurately represent the truth, but in practice almost always have error, stemming from (1) sample design, and (2) sample collection errors. The latter is …

Ice Algae Resource Utilization By Benthic Macro- And Megafaunal Communities On The Pacific Arctic Shelf Determined Through Lipid Biomarker Analysis, Chelsea Wegner Koch, Lee W. Cooper, Jacqueline M. Grebmeier, Karen Frey, Thomas A. Brown

Geography

We studied ice algae utilization by benthic fauna from the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas using highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) biomarkers. We assessed whether various food acquisition strategies influence the observed HBI signatures. The proportion of phytoplankton to ice algae-sourced HBIs was determined through the H-Print approach that is presumed to reflect the percentage of sea ice organic carbon (iPOC) incorporated into tissues, relative to phytoplankton organic carbon. Cluster analysis separated 3 groups based on location and feeding strategy that were significantly influenced by annual sea ice persistence. Ice algae utilization was most significant in the northeast Chukchi Sea, where …

The Cultural Dual Identity In Cristina Garcia's Dreaming In Cuban And Julia Alvarez's How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, Azahria John-Otway

Dissertations and Theses

Cristina Garcia's Dreaming in Cuban and Julia Alvarez's How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents are two novels that explore the effects immigration can have on the development of one's identity, respectively. Throughout both novels, it is understood that in order for an immigrant to have a sense of belonging, an exploratory journey of the self must be made. In making this journey, literally and figuratively, the immigrant person begins to appreciate their homeland and immigrated home, thus feeling a sense of belonging and accepting they are of a cultural dual identity.

From Neoliberalism To Socialism: Reimagining Socialism In Africa, Kiiru Gichuru

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract. For many scholars, pundits, policy makers, and citizens alike, Africa’s persistent maldevelopment has continued to defy the usual International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and foreign aid prescriptions that are, at times, peddled as silver bullets to the African conundrum. Beginning in the late 1970s, loans from the IMF and World Bank required African governments to implement certain conditions that were supposed to address public sector mismanagement, illiberal trade policies, low foreign investment, and state development. These austerity measures were designed to usher in an era of financial growth that would enable Africa to join the ranks of developed …

Emergent Women's Global Political Leadership: Progress Despite Constraints, Aoife Meehan

Dissertations and Theses

“Emergent Women’s Global Political Leadership: Progress Despite Constraints” seeks to trace why and how female political leaders emerge at the global level. Evidence points to certain cultural factors, often expressed by laws, constraining or supporting women as they seek political advancement. Data shows women leaders are emerging more and more, though slowly, as political leaders around the world. Reviewing women’s participation and representation regionally and nationally in parliaments, as ministers, and as heads of governments and states confirms that women can and do emerge as political leaders. Finally, learning about and examining women leaders themselves, their style and substance, proves …

Political Representation For Indigenous Peoples In The Andes, Jessica Yepez

Dissertations and Theses

For years, there has been a lack of representation for indigenous peoples in communities, and most importantly in parliament. This is a very common trait in the South American Andes, which houses the largest number of indigenous groups in the continent. This thesis focuses on Ecuador and Bolivia due to their indigenous population and their history, or lack thereof, with indigenous people in parliament. For my hypothesis, I argue that parliamentary representation of indigenous peoples, can help ensure that their rights are protected, and their unique interests are heard and translated into relevant policies, while at the same time preventing …

The Battle For The Battle Of Adwa: Collective Identity And Nation-Building, Joseph A. Steward

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

On March 1^st, 1896, an Ethiopian army lead by Emperor Menelik II dealt a shocking defeat to the invading Italian forces in the Battle of Adwa. In victory, Menelik was able to exert his authority over a vast territory which included both the historical, ancient kingdoms of the northern and central parts of Ethiopia, and also the vast, resource-rich territories in the west and south which he had earlier conquered. The egalitarian nature of the victory united the various peoples of Ethiopia against a common enemy, giving Menelik the opportunity to create a new Ethiopian nation.

The …

Impacts Of Vegetation Density And Distance From The High Tide Line On Raccoon Predation Of Diamondback Terrapin Nests In Jamaica Bay, Ny – A Preliminary Study, Zvi Teitelbaum

Dissertations and Theses

Diamondback terrapin turtles (Malaclemys terrapin) have been culturally and economically important since at least the nineteenth century. However, due to overharvesting, this became a species of conservation concern. While extensive data are available to describe its natural history, some conditions that impact nest predation are poorly understood. In this exploratory study, vegetation type and distance to the high tide line were examined to determine their potential impact on predation of diamondback terrapin nests by raccoons. For that, terrapin scented water was used to construct 50 artificial nests at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. These artificial nests were placed in …

Free-To-Play? An Examination Of Intrinsic Motivation And Gaming Behaviors In U.S. Female Mobile Gamers, Margot Goldblum

Dissertations and Theses

The prevalence of U.S. female gamers has skyrocketed in recent years, largely due to the popularity of mobile games; however, this population is underrepresented in academic research. The present study aimed to close this gap in the literature by focusing on the motivations and behaviors of adult female mobile gamers in the U.S. It also aimed to capture changes in gaming motivation and behavior resulting from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. An online sample of 354 American women 18 to 77 years of age (M = 36.79, SD = 12.38) were surveyed about their motivations for mobile gaming, …

Toward Closing The Urban Surface Energy Balance Using Satellite Remote Sensing, Joshua Hrisko

Dissertations and Theses

The energy exchanges at the Earth’s surface are responsible for many of the processes that govern weather, climate, human health, and energy use. This exchange, commonly known as the surface energy balance (SEB), determines the near-surface thermodynamic state by partitioning the available energy into surface fluxes. The net all-wave radiation is often the primary energy source, while the heat storage and sensible and latent heat fluxes account for the majority of energy distributed elsewhere. While the SEB of various natural environments(trees, crops, soils) has been well-observed and modeled, the urban surface energy balance remains elusive. This is due to the …

Contemporary Art And Food: An Examination Of Three Case Studies Using Anthropology And Diaspora As Key., Viridiana S. Mayagoitia

Dissertations and Theses

Food-related artworks are as crucial to understanding culture as other mediums in art like painting, installation, sculpture, and drawings. From Greek and Roman mosaics, Egyptian banquet scenes, to Renaissance frescoes and Flemish still-life paintings, the depiction of food and meals has had multiple meanings. Food as a medium in Western contemporary art was introduced in the 1930s by the Italian Futurists’ banquets, which celebrated modernity and technology underlying social and political commentary. It continued throughout the 1960s with performance art, conceptual art, and happenings, and in the 1970s with the Fluxus movement’s exploration of the boundaries between art and life. …

Hotspot Analysis Of Unregistered Voters In Columbus, Georgia, Jordan Brasher

Columbus Community Geography Center

Dr. Jordan Brasher created this map in partnership with the New Georgia Project (NGP) during the November 2020 election cycle. NGP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan voter education, registration, and advocacy organization. Dr. Brasher used address data provided by NGP to map hotspots of densely clustered address points representing households with one or more suspected unregistered voters. Red hotspots on the map represent statistically significant spatial clusters of suspected unregistered voters; blue coldspots represent places where the address data are more spread out (i.e., a lack of spatial clustering). Notable hotspots include downtown Columbus and several areas south and east of …

The Relation Between Demographics And Art Discipline As They Pertain To Success On Advanced Placement Exams, Terrance Michael Souder

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the relation between the demographics of student and the artistic discipline of which they study at a dedicated magnet school located in the Southeastern United States as it pertains to their success on Advanced Placement (AP) exams. The literature has continually focused on several demographic indicators such as, race, gender, and socioeconomic status to examine the success on AP exams. However, there is very little research on the role that an artistic education plays as in the successful completion of an AP exam. This study examines whether there is an increase in …

(Un)Common Law And The Female Body, Lolita Buckner Inniss

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

A dissonance frequently exists between explicit feminist approaches to law and the realities of a common law system that has often ignored and even at times exacerbated women’s legal disabilities. In The Common Law Inside the Female Body, Anita Bernstein mounts a challenge to this story of division. There is, and has long been, she asserts, a substantial interrelation between the common law and feminist jurisprudential approaches to law. But Bernstein’s central argument, far from disrupting broad understandings of the common law, is in keeping with a claim that other legal scholars have long asserted: decisions according to precedent, …

(Un)Corporate Crypto-Governance, Carla L. Reyes

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Public blockchain protocols face a serious governance crisis. Thus far, blockchain protocols have followed the path of early Internet governance. If the architects of blockchain protocols are not careful, they may suffer a similar fate — increasing governmental control, greater centralization, and decreasing privacy. As blockchain architects begin to consider better governance structures, there is a legal movement underway to impose a fiduciary framework upon open source software developers. If the movement succeeds, the consequences for open source software development could be dire. If arbitrarily imposed upon blockchain communities without consideration of variances among communities or the reality of how …

The Digital Transition From Textbooks To Tablets In Saudi Arabia, Nehaya Ali Alhamed

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Technology has greatly impacted education around the world, including in Saudi Arabia. Educational technology supports teaching and learning processes, and its integration into schools supports successful initiatives to improve learning in the classroom. Introducing a new technology resource, such as computer tablets, into learning settings is crucial in the delivery of more varied and more interactive instructional content at all student levels.

This qualitative research study concerns the digital transition from textbooks to tablets in Saudi Arabian schools. The goal of the study was to examine the use of tablets by current teachers and to investigate their perceptions of and …

Stone-Stacking As A Looming Threat To Rock-Dwelling Biodiversity, Ricardo Rocha, Paulo A. V. Borges, Pedro Cardoso, Mirza Dikari Kusrini, José Luis Martín-Esquivel, Dília Menezes, Mário Mota-Ferreira, Sara F. Nunes, Inês Órfão, Catarina Serra-Gonçalves, Manuela Sim-Sim, Pedro Sepúlveda, Dinarte Teixeira, Anna Traveset

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This letter to the editor describes the surge of “photo-friendly” stacks of stones as an emerging tourism-associated threat to rock-dwelling biodiversity.

Resident Perceptions Of Human–Beaver Conflict In A Rural Landscape In Alberta, Canada, Nicholas T. Yarmey, Glynnis A. Hood

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) plays a key ecological role in wetland systems, yet their activities can result in costly damage to human infrastructure. Although qualitative research on human perceptions of beavers is rare, studies on human–beaver conflict in the United States identified generally positive attitudes toward beavers and opposition to lethal management, yet in Alberta, Canada, 79% of municipalities that managed beavers reported using trapping and shooting to remove problem beavers. Given the important ecological contributions of beavers and their potential conflict with humans, qualitative research is needed to assess perspectives of stakeholders who directly experience …

Viewing Bornean Human–Elephant Conflicts Through An Environmental Justice Lens, Elena C. Rubino, Christopher Serenari, Nurzhafarina Othman, Marc Ancrenaz, Fauzie Sarjono, Eddie Ahmad

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Sabah, on the northeastern corner of Borneo, is concurrently Malaysia’s largest producer of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and home to the endangered Bornean elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis; elephants). Concomitantly, Sabah has been experiencing increasing and unsustainable human–elephant conflicts (HECs), which have not been thoroughly investigated from a human dimensions standpoint. To address this void, in March 2019, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 37 villagers located in the Sabah districts of Lahad Datu, Tawau, and Telupid to investigate villager cognitions regarding elephants, behaviors toward elephants, the formal and informal village institutions employed to mediate HECs, and the …

The Coloniality Of Disaster: Race, Empire, And The Temporal Logics Of Emergency In Puerto Rico, Usa, Yarimar Bonilla

Publications and Research

This essay uses the case of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico to discuss “the coloniality of disaster”: how catastrophic events like hurricanes, earthquakes, but also other forms political and economic crisis deepen the fault lines of long-existing racial and colonial histories. It argues that disaster capitalism needs to be understood as a form of racio-colonial capitalism and that this in turn requires us to question our understandings of both “resilience” and “recovery.” The article focuses on the “wait of disaster” as a temporal logic of state subjugation and on how Puerto Ricans responded to state abandonment through modes of autogesti� …

How Athletic Trainers Use Goal Setting With Injured Athletes, Jenna Wing

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to identify if current Certified Athletic Trainers (ATCs) understand the importance of consistent use of sport psychology, specifically goal setting, in the athletic training room with injured athletes. Participants (n = 77) were current ATCs who have been certified by the Board of Certification (BOC), who had proper licensure in their designated districts, and were members of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA). A questionnaire was created to assess the frequency with which they used goal setting, how important and effective they feel goal setting is, and how prepared they feel to use …

They Decided To Graduate: A Study Of Collegiate African American Men’S Transformational Experiences In College And Beyond, Kathy Marie Freeman

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This is a study of African American men alumni who were members of a Black Male Initiative (BMI) organization at a predominantly white institution (PWI) in the Midwest. The research explores the motivation and transformational experiences of BMI alumni and how their participation in the organization provided the support and motivation they needed to persist and graduate. Self-determination theory and transformational learning theory formed the theoretical frameworks that inform this study. This qualitative study obtained data from 10 African American men by using a 60-90 minute in-depth interview structure with 10 open-ended questions. This dissertation builds on the growing literature …