Digital Commons Network^™

Sex Differences In Competitiveness In Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (Mmorpgs), Robert O. Deaner, Lucretia C. Dunlap, April Bleske-Rechek

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

Sex differences in the use of competitive tactics have been well established. Although many factors may contribute to these sex differences, according to social role theory (SRT), stereotypes and expectations about men's and women's typical social roles are crucial. We addressed the potential impact of social roles by studying massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), a setting where individuals represent themselves with avatars and thus enjoy the opportunity to compete without regard to the typical expectations and behaviors associated with men's and women's roles. We surveyed players via MTurk (63 women, 191 men) and Reddit (166 women, 1,326 men) regarding …

Cold War Economic Ideology And Us Aid To Taiwan, 1950-1965, Wayne Robert Hugar

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This project examines the puzzle of the ideological contradiction for why the United States justified giving large amounts of economic aid intended to develop capitalism and private sector free enterprise for the authoritarian Republic of China (ROC) government’s socialist style public sector economy on the island of Taiwan during the cold war period 1950-1965. The $1.4 billion in US foreign economic aid to the Chinese Nationalist led ROC government in Taiwan during this 15-year period was a seemingly disproportionate amount compared to its small size and type of authoritarian regime compared to other aid recipients. This project appraises the extent …

Biblical Literacy: An Expositional Christ-Centered Approach To Bible Study, Paula K. Offutt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research aimed to examine biblical literacy from an expositional Christ-centered approach to Bible study. Using a triangular curriculum design focusing on scriptural theology, Bible study methodology, and a transformative approach to Christ-centered learning, the action research results revealed that an expositional Christ-centered approach increases biblical literacy. The researcher garnered data by hosting four bi-weekly Bible study sessions employing pre-and-post assessments to capture participants' current and post-state of biblical literacy. The validity and reliability of the pre-and-post assessments were determined by a focus group that reviewed the measurement tools and provided feedback confirming the trustworthiness and dependability of the …

The Influence Of The Mothers Of The Plaza De Mayo On Contemporary Feminist Movement In Argentina, Ni Una Menos, Alexandria Blackwill

University Honors Theses

This thesis aims to explore the development of Argentine feminism between the Madres Plaza de Mayo and Ni Una Menos movements. This study will examine the extent to which the Madres have established a permanent human rights framework that provides a structure for contemporary movements in Argentina. First, the socio-cultural and economic conditions in which the Madres emerged are dissected, including the results of Peronism and Eva Perón's influences on Argentine culture as explored through a feminist lens. Next, the tactics used by the Madres to subvert patriarchy and instead use oppression to their advantage are analyzed through their conceptions …

Crossing The Dark And Fearful River: Monsanto, Pcbs, And Emerging Tort Theories, Keith Dornan, Jamie Hearn

American Indian Law Journal

guide the discussion.

Tribal, state, and city authorities are currently pursuing or have settled product liability, public nuisance, and other common law and statutory tort claims brought against Monsanto[1] for PCB contamination.^[2] “Sovereign-led” litigation melds traditional plaintiff common law tort litigation with sovereign-led environmental suits and is an emerging trend in environmental law.^[3] Tort claims against the manufacturers of contaminants ubiquitous in the environment give sovereigns a new angle for pursuing damages separate from a traditional statutory environmental claim under federal or state regulatory schemes, such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

The Case For Banning (And Mandating) Ransomware Insurance, Kyle D. Logue, Adam B. Shniderman

Articles

Ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly pervasive and disruptive, resulting in ransom demands becoming more exorbitant. Payments for ransom costs are increasingly being covered by insurance, which may offer coverage for a variety of cyber-related losses. Some commentators have expressed concern over this market phenomenon. Specifically, the concern is that the presence of insurance is making the ransomware problem worse based on the following theory: because there is ransomware insurance that covers ransom payments, and because paying the ransom is often far cheaper than paying the restoration and business interruption costs covered under the policy, there is an increased tendency to …

Visibility, Jamie Valdez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

I am a woman, activist, artist, mother, and wife. My art practice questions the role of

institutions in disseminating outdated traditions and unfair rituals in relation to women. Bringing

visibility to what is ignored, I create works that are critical to the unfair expectations that society

fosters, expectations which ultimately oppress women vis- -vis the (art) institution. Through

different conceptual strategies, my work questions what society has taught us about gender

roles and explores the pedagogies that our institutionalized education has systematically

perpetuated for women and girls from early educational experiences.

Interrupted Broadcasts? The Law Of Neutrality And Communications Satellites, Joshua J. Wolff

Journal of Space Law

No abstract provided.

From Goldeneye To Landsat-7: Combatting Cyber Intrusions To Space-Based Satellite Systems Utilizing International Law, Andrew Fois

Journal of Space Law

No abstract provided.

Glider Gladiators: American Transport Aviators And Glidermen In World War Ii, Gregory Franklin Withrow

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Examining the development and employment of gliderborne troops and paratroopers of World War II demonstrates marked differences between their inception and evolution among the Germans, British, and Americans. While Germany led in training and deploying such troops, their usage declined rapidly after the disastrous invasion of Crete. Early advancements in German-glider applications emanated primarily from post-World War I restrictions upon powered military aircraft development. This fact, juxtaposed with accelerated Allied soldier training and development of airborne troop doctrine while World War II progressed, proves a stark dichotomy of intra-war strategic evolution. Yet, among the Allies no total consensus in specifics …

Historical Memory And Feminist Consciousness In Almudena Grandes’ Episodios De Una Guerra Interminable, Alba Fernández-Fernández

Dissertations

General Francisco Franco’s brutal dictatorship (1939-1975) was one of the darkest periods in Spain’s recent history. During this dictatorial regime, political detractors were mercilessly persecuted, tortured and massacred. In 1975, Franco died leaving the legacy of nearly four decades of repression and over 150,000 victims on his back. Spain then cautiously headed into a process of democratization, with fear and horror still etched on the country’s memory. While politicians promised a smooth transition to democracy, their insistence to look ahead meant Spaniards were asked to neglect the country’s painful past. No legal action was taken against those responsible for mass …

"I Just Had To Do Most Everything": Gender, Settlement And American Empire In The Far West, Hannah Alexandra Reynolds

Dissertations and Theses

The field of settler colonial studies has made huge strides in recent years toward problematizing the establishment of the United States on stolen land and the nation's steady, violent expansion across the continent. Settler colonial framework provides a rich opportunity for historians of the American West to reframe white settlement on the frontier, especially that which was made possible through land grant legislation such as the Homestead Act of 1862. As the families who took up land grant property sought new opportunities for themselves, they also acted as drivers of U.S. territorial acquisition. This process was inherently gendered, in terms …

The Cult Fascist: Establishing Cultic Behavior In Proud Boys And Incels, Aj Ashland

University Honors Theses

Is the Alt-Right a cult? Certainly, we can see religious fervor intertwine with politics as we see in the far-right, with artwork of Trump being crucified like Jesus, pierced in his side by Nancy Pelosi analogous to Longinus (Cole, 2020), or in the golden statue of Trump at CPAC (Beauchamp, 2021). But, do we see similar, potentially cultic, behavior within Alt-Right groups? It turns out we do see this behavior. Within this study, I determine via the Advanced Bonewits' Cult Danger Evaluation Frame what level of cultic behavior exists within Incels and Proud Boys. In doing so, I intend to …

The Sack Of Rome, Sean M. Coloma

University Honors Theses

In 410, Goths under the command of Alaric sacked the ancient city of Rome. This event was significant in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. It may have been seen by some at this time as a massive shock that Rome could have been attacked like this, but in the previous decades, there were a host of warning signs that something like this lay in the near future for the empire. This sack could not have happened the way it did without the perfect conditions being established in the decades leading up to it. The Roman Empire had …

Through A Glass Darkly, Kathleen B. Ingersoll, Daniel Ingersoll

Proceedings of the annual meeting of the Southern Anthropological Society

No abstract provided.

The Many Guises Of Ethnocentrism, Marjorie M. Snipes

Proceedings of the annual meeting of the Southern Anthropological Society

No abstract provided.

One-Stage Blind Source Separation Via A Sparse Autoencoder Framework, Jason Anthony Dabin

Dissertations

Blind source separation (BSS) is the process of recovering individual source transmissions from a received mixture of co-channel signals without a priori knowledge of the channel mixing matrix or transmitted source signals. The received co-channel composite signal is considered to be captured across an antenna array or sensor network and is assumed to contain sparse transmissions, as users are active and inactive aperiodically over time. An unsupervised machine learning approach using an artificial feedforward neural network sparse autoencoder with one hidden layer is formulated for blindly recovering the channel matrix and source activity of co-channel transmissions. The BSS sparse autoencoder …

Repeated Low-Level Blast Induces Chronic Neuroinflammation And Neurobehavioral Changes In Rat Models, Arun Reddy Ravula

Dissertations

Blast-induced neurotrauma (bTBI) is a signature medical concern for military personnel when they are exposed to explosions in active combat zones. However, soldiers as well as law enforcement personnel are also repeatedly exposed to low-level blasts during training sessions with heavy weaponries as part of combat readiness. Service personnel who sustain brain injuries from repeated low-level blasts (rLLBs) do not display overt pathological symptoms immediately but rather develop cognitive impairments, attention deficits, anxiety, and sleep disturbances over time. An improved rat model of rLLB was developed in this thesis by applying controlled low-level blast pressures (10 psi) repeated five times …

Regional Conflict Management Of Ethnic Wars: The African Union’S Effectiveness In Cameroon’S Anglophone Crisis, Nanga Bicherine Salome

Graduate Masters Theses

Intrastate conflicts, many of which are caused by almost similar factors continue to wreak havoc across Africa. These conflict demand decisive action by the African Union (AU), the intergovernmental organization that presides over peace and security on the continent. The AU has by its own declaration, adopted the principle of non-indifference, taking upon itself to intervene through various means mostly diplomatic, into the internal affairs of member states who have failed or struggle to ensure domestic stability. The rationale for resorting to the use of diplomacy rather than military intervention is, the security complex and implementation of AU structures differ …

A Detailed Parameter Study Into The Dermal Absorption Of Chemical Warfare Agents And The Effects Of Pharmacokinetics, Koko Lear

Theses

Chemical warfare agents (CWAs) are substances of varying toxicity profiles. These chemicals exhibit complex dynamics and pose a serious health risk when released into the environment. A mathematical model based on Fick’s second law of diffusion was developed to comprehend how these compounds were absorbed into the skin. The analysis applied to both small and large doses and, successfully, predicted experimental results. This work also includes the effects of CWA physicochemical properties on evaporation and dermal absorption through the stratum corneum. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the impacts of small variations in the initial dose, environmental conditions, and …

Unconscious Bias In United States Marine Corps Leadership Doctrine: Examining Microaggressions Through Document Analysis, Patrick Butler

Dissertations

This dissertation employed a document analysis format to examine Marine Corps leadership education doctrine for microaggressions. The United States Marine Corps (Marine Corps or USMC) is the military service with the least diverse officer cadre in terms of sex, gender identity, and race. The study results show a pattern of repeating unconscious bias-related content within the Marine Corps’ documents. Such patterns can negatively affect minority members in terms of their health, acceptance, and performance within the organization. The results also document an overriding bias-culture which puts Marine Corps leadership in a dilemma of trying to encourage conformity to traditional organizational …

Noam Chomsky On The State Of The U.S. Empire, Chris Helali

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Electrochemical Voltammetric Behavior Of Sulfur Mustard On The Bare Pt Electrode, Yu-Lin Yang, Jie Sun, Tian Zhou, Ji-Gang Li, Shou-Ping Wei

Journal of Electrochemistry

The sulfur mustard (bis(2-chloroethyl) sulphide, HD), one of highly toxic chemical weapon agents, can damage the alive tissue cells (such as skin, lung, respiratory mucosa and so on), and cause carcinogenic and mutagenic effects for a long time exposure, which imposes a great threat not only to the human health, but also to the sustainable development of the society. With its convenience, high sensitivity and rapid response, electrochemical technology exhibits considerable potential in the field-deployed detection toward HD, but the related reports are rare. Herein, the electrochemical behavior of HD on the bare Pt electrode was investigated by electrochemical measurements, …

Toxicological Responses To Sublethal Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure In Free‑Flying Hawks, Nimish B. Vyas, Barnett A. Rattner, J. Michael Lockhart, Craig S. Hulse, Clifford P. Rice, Frank Kuncir, Kevin Kritz

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

An important component of assessing the hazards of anticoagulant rodenticides to non-target wildlife is observations in exposed free-ranging individuals. The objective of this study was to determine whether environmentally realistic, sublethal first-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (FGAR) exposures via prey can result in direct or indirect adverse effects to free-flying raptors. We offered black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) that had fed on Rozol® Prairie Dog Bait (Rozol, 0.005% active ingredient chlorophacinone, CPN) to six wild-caught red-tailed hawks (RTHA, Buteo jamaicensis), and also offered black-tailed prairie dogs that were not exposed to Rozol to another two wild-caught RTHAs for 7 …

Research In Native American Communities In The Genetics Age: Can The Federal Data Sharing Statute Of General Applicability And Tribal Control Of Research Be Reconciled, Ron J. Whitener

Journal of Technology Law & Policy

This article will examine several case studies highlighting the history of research conflicts to provide a context for Native American concerns with free researcher access to tribal members and their data. It will look at the federal law related to sharing data collected with federal funding and NIH’s implementation of that law, including specific data sharing policies related to genetic research. Finally it will discuss potential strategies to preempt the data sharing laws through judicial exceptions application of federal laws of general applicability by creating tribal frameworks for research conducted under tribal regulatory authority and for sharing of tribal data, …

Misappropriation Of Shuar Traditional Knowledge (Tk) And Trade Secrets: A Case Study On Biopiracy In The Amazon, Winston P. Nagan, Eduardo J. Mordujovich, Judit K. Otvos, Jason Taylor

Journal of Technology Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Folkloric Figurations Of The Green Man In Trauma And Fear, Alexandria (Allie) Remm

English Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

The ideas surrounding the Green Man and Green Woman narrative provide different cultural functions depending on the historical perspective. A critical examination of the Green Man and Green Woman tradition relying on Freudian, eco-critical, gothic, and trauma terms reveals how the ideas about the Green Man’s purpose coincides with how people use these ideas in reaction to trauma and fear. Lady Raglan was the first folklorist to coin the name “The Green Man” in 1939 during her studies to understand its function in medieval Christianity and paganism. Other scholars like Christine Vogt-Williams studied the Green Man as a racialized cultural …

Blockchain For Governments: The Case Of The Dubai Government, Shafaq Khan, Mohammed Shael, Munir Majdalawieh, Nishara Nizamuddin, Mathew Nicho

All Works

Blockchain technology is an innovative technology with the potential of transforming cities by augmenting the building of resilient societies and enabling the emergence of more transparent and accountable governments. To understand the capabilities of blockchain, as well as its impact on the public sector, this study conducted a review of blockchain technology and its implementations by various governments around the globe. E-government evolution is analyzed, based on empirical evidence from a Dubai government entity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has utilized blockchain technology for developing end-user services, relevant to the public sector. Benefits achieved and challenges to overcome …

Phased Array Radar Doa Estimation Simulation System Designed With Interactive Control, Fan Yu, Dongqi Luo, Binqiang Si, Jihong Zhu

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: For the problem of simulation, evaluation and verification of phased array radar the direction of arrival (DOA) estimation of phased array radar, the modeling and evaluation of phased array radar DOA estimation is discussed. A real-time simulation system based on interactive control is designed. The simulation system can be used to model and simulate the interactive target & environment, phased array and target detection efficiency evaluation model. The signal generation, free space propagation, echo signal acquisition, signal processing and other processes can be simulated during the detection of real-time flying target, and the effect of DOA estimation can be …

Practice-Based Learning Of Product Lifecycle Data Reuse, Rosemary L. Astheimer

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

Model-Based Definition (MBD) is an emerging methodology that plays a central role in transforming traditional manual industry practices to automation through machine-to-machine communication. MBD captures and re-uses the data used by these new practices in a digital format that seamlessly transfers information to enterprise stakeholders involved in all stages of the product lifecycle. Practice-based learning with the tools and processes that manage this data gives graduates the skills to have a competitive advantage for the new jobs resulting from these technological changes.

Students gain experiential learning by going through the steps of a product throughout its life, from conception through …