Digital Commons Network^™

High School Athletic Administration’S Policies And Rights To Sanction Student-Athlete’S Social Media Use, Eric S. Peterson

Leadership Education Capstones

This qualitative survey investigated how much authority high school athletic directors have when monitoring student-athletes’ social media accounts while also determining whether athletic directors believe it is necessary to implement social media policies for student-athletes. An in-depth literature review supports evidence of the legality of athletic code of conducts based on previous court cases and a theoretical framework. Twenty-five athletic directors from the state of North Dakota participated in the study via an online survey. The study obtained basic demographics and determined how the administrators have implemented current social media policies, along with understand their views on policies for student-athletes’ …

A Pilot Study On The Retention And Turnover Of Ncaa Division Ii Sports Information Directors, David Albrecht

Leadership Education Capstones

This study reports on sports information directors (SID) at the collegiate level limited to NCAA Division II athletic programs. An online survey was used for all participants, and select respondents completed follow-up interviews. Surveys were intended to determine the impact of work-life balance and overall workload of the SID role. Survey questions sought to find perceptions of SIDs by athletic administrators, including the athletic director (AD), and if their role provided opportunities for career advancement within collegiate athletic administration. The results of the study showed that institution/department culture, family, and professional growth factored heavily on retention. Adversely, turnover was linked …

Meridians Twentieth Anniversary Reader, Ginetta Candelario

Sociology: Faculty Books

This critical anthology consists of thirty of Meridians's most frequently cited, downloaded, and anthologized scholarly essays, activists reports, memoirs, and poems since its first issue was published in fall 2000. The forty authors featured are a virtual who's who of internationally renowned feminist women-of-color scholar-activists (such as Sara Ahmed, Angela Davis, Sonia Alvarez, Paula Giddings, and Sunera Thobani) and award-winning poets (such as Nikky Finney, Laurie Ann Guerrero, and Suheir Hammad). Ranging broadly across geographies (North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East), diasporas (Black, Asian, Indigenous), and disciplines, the collection beautifully exemplifies the best practices of …

Best Practices: The Relationship Between School Counselors' Self-Efficacy And Conducting Suicide Risk Assessments, Maisha Roneal Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental cross-sectional study is to investigate the self-efficacy of middle and high school counselors in the state of Louisiana as it relates to their ability to conduct youth suicide risk assessments. Broadly, the study compares the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP). CACREP accredited and non-accredited school counselors to determine if CACREP accreditation equips school counselors with higher self-efficacy. To this end, the study employs the Counselor Suicide Assessment Efficacy Survey (CSAES) scale to analyze degrees of self-efficacy in conjunction with a demographic survey of sample characteristics associated with educational preparation, …

Attendance Rates, Jamila Teal

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Absence is a normal part of childhood for kids going to school because sometimes life happens. Kids get sick, have family emergencies, the family might have to move, or lack consistent transportation to get to school. The Early Learning Program (ELP) is a non-profit organization that provides education for preschool aged children and focuses on making preschool easily accessible, primarily for low-income families. It is not uncommon for some families to take advantage of the ELP by not prioritizing taking their kids to school and getting them there on time. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the lives of …

Surviving Or Thriving? The Impact Community Collaborations Can Make During A Global Pandemic, Stephanie Hernandez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone Project is to determine the ways in which communities and schools can help support students and their families during the current global pandemic. This is an important issue for students and their families because due to differences in socioeconomic status, language, and/or time and availability, not all resources are available to everyone. It is argued that regardless of the presence of any of the factors listed above, all students and their families deserve equitable access to resources, especially in the midst of a global pandemic when resources are not as readily available as they normally …

Popular Music Genres: The Past 70 Years To Now, Natasha Lugo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Each decade is connected to specific music genres that are remembered years later. Artists who imprint in listeners’ minds, album collections or playlists stand out within certain decades from when they were the most successful. Awards, charts, album sales and performances are some of the accomplishments that help the growth of their careers through the public. With pop and rap being the favored genres, proven in the charts from the last twenty years, what is today’s music genre? Using a few artists as reference along with collecting data, starting from the 1950s and ending with the 2010s, this paper will …

Sustaining Patient Engagement: The Role Of Health Emotion And Personality Traits In Patient Portal Continuous Use Decision, Murad Moqbel, Mohammed Sajedur Rahman, Sunyoung Cho, Barbara Hewitt

Information Systems Faculty Publications

Healthcare providers increasingly rely on technology, such as patient portals, for asynchronous communication with their patients. Even though clinicians have increasingly adopted patient portals to enhance healthcare quality and reduce cost, few patients continue to use this technology. In this paper, we investigate the effect that individuals’ health emotion and personality traits as measured using the five-factor model (FFM) have on patients’ intention to continually use patient portals through the lens of emotional dissonance theory. We collected survey data from 187 patients at a major medical center in the Midwestern United States. After we analyzed the data using structural equation …

Marks The Spot, Timothy Paul Crane

Masters Theses

This thesis is an investigation into the prtoblem of marketing for small businesses with little funds and means for advertisement. Past, present and predicted future methods of marketing prove there is room for improvement in affordability through existing advancements. Literature reviews and case studies explore the most lucrative ways forward. Research also indicates that large numbers of potential consumers are missed by small businesses due to their general lack of embracing newer communication technology such as store apps. This extra support measure provides users with notifications that highlight coupons and deals and has a proven record of success for larger …

Raising Consciousness: Challenging Diversity In Christian Publishing, Michael Omari Johnson

Masters Theses

The Christian publishing industry has overlooked the importance of diversity, particularly its impact on black American audiences. While studies show that diversity and inclusion can lead to more innovation through problem-solving, there persists a paradox where a lack of opportunities, disparities in wealth and employment and systemic prejudices can play a role in the ethnic and racial homogeneity of the Christian publishing industry. Thus, there are many barriers preventing people of color from emerging to the market, reflecting in the storytelling, content creation and audience of African-descent followers.

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2020 Report & Evaluation, Massachusetts Office Of Public Collaboration, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The Community Mediation Center Grant Program embodies the state’s commitment to achieving broad state-wide access to community mediation for the resolution of disputes. The Grant Program received $1,090,000 in state funding for its operation during Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, and a total of $848,000 in grants was awarded to 12 community mediation centers based on a performance-based application process. During the first two-thirds of the 2020 fiscal year, administration of the Grant Program and service delivery from participating centers functioned as expected. The emergence of the coronavirus pandemic and attendant restrictions in March 2020 complicated Grant Program administrative responsibilities and …

Developing Methods To Survey, Collect, Process, And Screen Endemic Entomopathogenic Fungi Against The Asian Citrus Psyllid In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Jonathan Cisneros

Theses and Dissertations

The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), vectors “Candidatus Liberibacter spp.”, the causative agent of Citrus Greening Disease. Managing ACP is imperative given the continuous increase in HLB positive trees. An aspect of integrated pest management (IPM) is the use of entomopathogenic fungi for the biological control of D. citri.

In order to identify endemic entomopathogenic fungi actively infecting D. citri, ACP were collected from local residential areas, surface sterilized, and plated on a semi-selective agar medium. Collection of over 9,300 samples from 278 sites throughout the LRGV led to the positive identification of …

Mexartivist As Resistance Against Media Representation Of Latinxs In The U.S., Jose Garcia Gilling

Theses and Dissertations

MexArtivist comes as a response of wanting to reflect our experiences as Mexicanxs, Latinxs, Chicanxs and Mexican Americans. I've merged my recent academic years, research and knowledge along with my over then years of experience in the film and audiovisual production industry to create the audiovisual group called MexArtivist. Based on research regarding the image, representation, misrepresentation and lack of representation of Latinxs in U.S. films, I present a tangible proposal to try and better this issue.

How Does Choosing Fitness Labeled Food Affect Consumer’S Intention To Forgo Exercise, Mei Han

Theses and Dissertations

As one of the most widely used marketing techniques, the role and effects of food labels have received significant attention from researchers. Different labels have very different influences and implications. This dissertation focuses on a unique persuasive language label: fitness label. This dissertation starts with a discussion on self-regulation mechanisms and research on goals, and their implications on how choosing fitness labeled food affects subsequent intention to forgo exercise.

This dissertation finds that the existence of response conflict in food choice, as well as the magnitude of the response conflict affect consumer’s reaction mechanisms, which in turn affect consumer’s exercise …

On Coupled Reaction Diffusion Equations And Their Applications, Juan J. Huerta

Theses and Dissertations

Reaction-diffusion equations are nonlinear partial differential equations that have been used extensively in mathematical modeling. An interesting case in this type of equation is the Fisher-Kolmogorov system, which has been used to study a low-grade glioma, a group of primary brain tumors. In the first part of this thesis, a stochastic version of the Fisher-Kolmogorov system will be studied, and exact and numerical solutions will be presented.

The second part of this thesis will show how the speed of information propagation affects disease spread and vaccination uptake through networks in epidemics. In this model, the information reaches different people at …

Examining The Indoctrination Of Mexican American Criminal Justice Students, Noe Leal Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Mexican American Criminal Justice students (MACJS) sometimes select a career in Department of Homeland Security, which has a history of systemic racism and oppression. The purpose of this thesis is to examine MACJS conformity to U.S. ideological hegemony and examine the differences in their understanding of human rights/ethics. A questionnaire was administered to MACJS (n = 156) wishing to pursue a career in DHS. The survey instrument used is based on the concepts of Social Identification: Mexican versus U.S. American; Support for Nationalist Racist Policies, Internal Colonialism, Followership by engaging in policies/orders by the government; and Human Rights: Knowledge of …

Hija Del Sol, Cecilia Maria Martinez Tijerina

Theses and Dissertations

In this fantasy novel themes such as patriarchy, magic, female empowerment, and fresh and new mythology are tackled. This novel consists of 10 chapters, each chapter covers different themes from the creation of the earth, the creation of the protagonist, her experiences on Earth and her challenging journey against her father’s raze. Everything concludes with an ending exposed to numerous possibilities and with a protagonist aware of who she is.

Alternate abstract:

En esta novela fantástica se leen temas como el patriarcado, la magia, el empoderamiento femenino y una mitología fresca y nueva. Esta novela consta de 10 capítulos, cada …

Traffic Time Headway Prediction And Analysis: A Deep Learning Approach, Saumik Sakib Bin Masud

Theses and Dissertations

In the modern world of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), time headway is a key traffic flow parameter affecting ITS operations and planning. Defined as “the time difference between any two successive vehicles when they cross a given point”, time headway is used in various traffic and transportation engineering research domains, such as capacity analysis, safety studies, car-following, and lane-changing behavior modeling, and level of service evaluation describing stochastic features of traffic flow. Advanced travel and headway information can also help road users avoid traffic congestion through dynamic route planning, for instance. Hence, it is crucial to accurately model headway distribution …

Thermal And Spectroscopic Investigations On Polymer-Based Nanofibers, Omosola Oriretan

Theses and Dissertations

Nanofibers of Poly (ethylene oxide), PEO, Poly (vinylpyrrolidone) PVP, Co-nanofiber of PEO-PVP and PEO nanocomposite of various Fullerene compositions were prepared by dissolving PEO, PVP and Fullerene in water. The Fullerene nanoparticles were added to the PEO solutions, the mixtures were homogenized under high power sonication. The PEO solutions, PVP solutions, the co-polymer solutions of PEO-PVP and the PEO -Fullerene solutions were centrifugally spun using Force spinning™ machine. The obtained nanofibers and the nanocomposites were subjected to FTIR analysis, Raman analysis and various heating and cooling cycles with heating and cooling rates ranging from 10C/min to 600C/min using differential scanning …

College Students' And Educators' Attitudes Toward Offenders With Mental Illness, Sulema Perales

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine college students’ and college educators’ attitudes toward offenders with mental illness (MI). A non-experimental, exploratory research design was used to measure the following variables: demographics characteristics, academic major/teaching discipline, and personal relationships with offenders. Correlational and regression analyses and a one-way analysis of variance were used to analyze the data for 349 college students and 35 college educator participants. The results of the study showed there was a significant relationship between college students’ attitudes toward offenders with MI and students’ academic major. The results also showed significant relationships between college students’ …

Bivariate Markov Chain Model Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (Ibs) Subtypes And Abdominal Pain, Ricardo Reyna Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers use stochastic models like continuous-time Markov chains (CTMC) to model progression of morbidities of public health impact, like HIV and Hepatitis C. Most of the research in that area is done for a single disease. In this research, we use a bivariate continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) to model progression of co-morbidities. In particular, we use a bivariate CTMC to model the joint progression of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and abdominal pain. Symptoms of IBS are known to change throughout the duration of the disorder. Hence, patients are normally asked to make a journal of the stool type, symptoms, and …

Fabrication And Flow Dynamics Analysis Of Micromixer For Lab-On-A-Chip Devices, Md Fazlay Rubby

Theses and Dissertations

The miniaturized systems designed for lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technologies are generally implemented with a micro-scale mixer to provide intimate contact between the reagent molecules for interactions and chemical reactions. The exponential increase of research in microfabrication and microfluidic applications highlights the importance of understanding the theory and mechanism that governs mixing at the microscale level. In this study, the fabrication of an active and passive micromixer was discussed. The optimized state of art soft lithography and 3D printing was used as a microfabrication technique. The challenges at different fabrication steps were presented along with the modifications. Microelectrodes were integrated with the …

Artificial Intelligence In A Main Warehouse In Panasonic: Los Indios, Texas, Edison Antonio Trejo Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

The Panasonic Company warehouse is located in Los Indios Texas. The warehouse presents the limitation of the great distances between its headquarters and the Main Warehouse for supplying the branches and main customers, which requires a considerable amount of time to maintain effective communication in the inventory area. In addition, during an online review, it can be confirmed that the website is disabled, contradicting its corporate policy.

The structure of the thesis proposal is arranged in four chapters from the Introduction, Statement of the Problem and Purposes; Previous Studies and Definition of the literature; the Research Methodology and the resources …

The United States And Cuba: A Study Of The Us’S First Military Occupation And State Building Efforts, James Guillard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the US-Cuban relationship during the first military occupation of Cuba from 1898 to 1902, to show the role of high modernist state building in the occupation and the scope of Cuban participation in this endeavor. This is evidenced by heavily examining the annual reports of the US Military Governor General of Cuba and the US appointed civil secretaries of the Cuban government. This research differs from previous studies in the field by introducing James C. Scott’s concepts of legibility and high modernist state building, as well as suggesting that the Cuban civil secretaries participated within a limited …

Pledging Intellectual Property For Covid-19, Jorge L. Contreras

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

COVID-19 differs from other recent public health crises with respect to its sudden onset, its rapid spread, the lack of any known vaccine or cure and resulting shortages of critical medical equipment. The convergence of these factors has prompted both governments and IPR holders around the world to seek ways to increase the availability of IPR necessary to combat the pandemic. Governmental compulsory licensing, IPR pools and voluntary IPR pledges have all been used in the past, though in situations that differ in important respects from the COVID-19 pandemic. Each is designed to result, to a greater or lesser degree, …

First Sale And Exhaustion, Jorge L. Contreras

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This chapter in the forthcoming case book "Intellectual Property Licensing and Transactions: Theory and Practice" addresses issues of first sale and exhaustion for licensing transactions involving patents, copyrights and trademarks. Among the issues considered are licensing versus sale of software, patent exhaustion, post-sale restrictions, international exhaustion and gray market imports.

Will China's New Anti-Suit Injunctions Shift The Balance Of Global Frand Litigation?, Jorge L. Contreras

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

By issuing anti-suit injunctions (ASIs) in Conversant v. Huawei and InterDigital v. Xiaomi in late 2020, Chinese courts have signaled a new willingness to vie for jurisdictional authority in global battles over standard-essential patents and FRAND licensing. While the Supreme People’s Court in Conversant largely followed the pattern of US and UK courts that have issued ASIs in similar cases, the ruling of the Wuhan court in InterDigital is far broader in two major respects. First, its geographic scope is not limited to the country in which InterDigital sought injunctive relief (India), but extends to all jurisdictions in the world. …

Nepa At 50: An Empirical Analysis Of Nepa In The Courts, John C. Ruple, Heather Tanana

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the groundbreaking 1970 statute that requires federal agencies to take a “hard look” at the environmental impacts of their actions, turned 50 this year. In this anniversary year, and with NEPA revision efforts a hot topic in environmental law, we begin by quantifying the burden imposed by NEPA compliance. We then look back on approximately 1,500 court decisions to quantify the rate at which NEPA decisions are challenged, assess how those cases are resolved, and compare NEPA cases to other environmental litigation. We then discuss efforts to “streamline” NEPA and why we believe those …

A Functional Three-Dimensional Microphysiological Model Of Myeloma Bone Disease, Richard Visconti

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic cancer caused by a mature B cell neoplasm, or plasmacytoma, that infiltrates the skeleton at several sites. The disease is characterized by uninhibited transformed plasma cell proliferation that disrupts skeletal homeostasis leading to decreased bone modeling and increased bone resorption. Osteolytic lesions (OL) or voids left in the bone, remain long after the treatment of the cancer and indicate disease progression to myeloma bone disease (MBD). Current combinatorial MM therapies inhibit malignant plasma cell proliferation, slow the progression towards MBD, and increase the mean five-year survival rate, but do little to improve osteoblastic function …

The Impact Of High School Career Academies On Student Academic Achievement And Engagement, Daisy Rodriguez

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of high school career academies in comparison to the traditional, comprehensive high school educational program with respect to student academic achievement and student engagement in one large urban high school in Central New Jersey. It is the intent of this researcher to determine if either of the educational structures and approaches significantly impacts the achievement and engagement levels of students in the high school under investigation.

Student math and ELA state test scores and student engagement scores were analyzed using quantitative methods. To ascertain the degree of effectiveness this reform …