Digital Commons Network^™

The Shibboleth Of Discretion: The Discretion, Identity, And Persecution Paradigm In American And Australian Lgbt Asylum Claims, Heather Kolinsky

UF Law Faculty Publications

Part II of this paper will examine and compare how the LGBT asylum process has evolved—specifically vis-à-vis identity and discretion—in the United States and Australia, which can help highlight some of the issues driven by improper application of Western essentialist LGBT definitions on asylum claims. Part II will also analyze the concepts of refugee and asylum law internationally, as well as the concerns of the gay international community with respect to asylum law globally. Parts III and IV will review the asylum process for LGBT asylum applicants in the United States and Australia, respectively—with a focus on identity, discretion, and …

Geopolitical Implications Of The Sino-Japanese East China Sea Dispute For The U.S., Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Much analysis on Asian strategic challenges facing the U.S. has justifiably emphasized the South China Sea (SCS). This has also been reflected in 2016 presidential campaign debate on the SCS as an emerging area of U.S. foreign and national security policy concern. The East China Sea (ECS) is at least as important for the strategic interests of the U.S. and its allies given the tension between China and Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, potential energy resources in this body of water, increasing defense spending by adjacent geographic powers, the area’s importance as a maritime international trade route, and the possibility …

Agenda: Coping With Water Scarcity In River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned From Shared Experiences, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Water scarcity is increasingly dominating headlines throughout the world. In the southwestern USA, the looming water shortages on the Colorado River system and the unprecedented drought in California are garnering the greatest attention. Similar stories of scarcity and crisis can be found across the globe, suggesting an opportunity for sharing lessons and innovations. For example, the Colorado River and Australia's Murray-Darling Basin likely can share many lessons, as both systems were over-allocated, feature multiple jurisdictions, face similar climatic risks and drought stresses, and struggle to balance human demands with environmental needs. In this conference we cast our net broadly, exploring …

A Comparison Of Health Care Systems In The Western World, Katherine Regan Lawall

Senior Theses

This senior thesis evaluates the health care systems of the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Denmark, before looking at how their approaches could be adapted to the U.S. system. I picked these specific countries due to their similarity in geographic location, demographic, religious affiliations, and population size but have different styles of health care systems (public, mixed, and private) that are set up in varying ways. Additionally, these populations have similar health issues to one another, such as aging-populations, and to the U.S. as well like the top causes of death. However, these four western European countries have longer life expediencies …

U.S. Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity: An Analysis Of Threats, Methods, And Policy-Past, Present, And Future, Justan Phillip Dustan

Senior Theses

This senior thesis focuses on the growth and development of the US critical infrastructure cybersecurity program to better understand where we were, where we are, and where we're going... as well as how we can improve in the future.

Impacts Of Environmental Quality On The Demographics Of Three Nations, Emily Hummel

Honors Projects

This study will examine how the correlation between air and water quality and the population demographics of India, South Africa, and the United States. India is a country with a growing population, increasing income inequality, and gender roles that reflect its status as a developing nation. South Africa is much smaller in area and the population is beginning to level off, but South Africa’s income inequality is growing much faster than India’s and gender inequality is less of an issue in South Africa. The population of the United States is decreasing and gender roles are fairly equal, despite income inequality …

The Ciné “Never Sets…”: British Cinema As A Transatlantic Cultural Commodity, 1927-1938, Karen E. Beasley

History Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation exemplifies how the application of a transatlantic commodity approach can broaden understanding of film as a mass medium, its business, and its cultural influences. By employing a more inclusive national cinema framework, this study is able to investigate sites of interaction between the British and Hollywood film industries as a two-way exchange as well as engage those sites at their peripheries, including those between the cultural product and its consumer throughout the broader Atlantic community. This dissertation focuses on the diversity of British audiences throughout a “British world” and the distribution and exhibition methods used to reach them. …

The Irish Republican Army Through Film, (1935-2014), Colleen B. Gottfried

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will explore the evolving relationship between terrorism and its visual representations and what these representations say about the reception of terrorism by audiences all over the world. This study examines thirty movies produced in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland between 1935 and 2014. These films portray different versions of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), an association founded in 1917 with the intent to end British control in Ireland and establish the Republic of Ireland. This thesis examines how concurrent events may have shaped the way filmmakers chose to portray the organization. For instance, if earlier …

Conflict Beyond Borders: The International Dimensions Of Nicaragua's Violent Twentieth-Century, 1909–1990, Andrew William Wilson

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this research is to identify the importance of Nicaraguan political contests in the global twentieth century. The goal is to demonstrate that, despite its relatively small size, Nicaragua significantly influenced the course of modern history. This has been done by examining the international contestations between Nicaragua’s revolutionary and counterrevolutionary currents from Augusto Sandino’s resistance to U.S. imperialism, to the machinations of the Somoza family, and the Contra War of the 1980s. Upon examination of these events, it becomes clear that Nicaraguans on both sides of the conflict proved adept at cultivating and utilizing transnational networks of material …

Amateur Paleontological Societies And Fossil Clubs, Interactions With Professional Paleontologists, And Social Paleontology In The United States, Bruce J. Macfadden, Lisa Lundgren, Kent J. Crippen, Betty A. Dunckel, Shari Ellis

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Considerable interest exists among lifelong learners in the USA about fossils and the science of paleontology. Unlike some other science-related groups, e.g., astronomy and ornithology, interest in fossils among amateur paleontologists is primarily focused within local clubs and societies with little national coordination. This paper presents the results of formative evaluation of the FOSSIL project, conducted after the project “Kickoff” meeting held at the NAPC (North American Paleontological Convention) in 2014. FOSSIL is developing a national networked community of practice that includes amateur and professional paleontologists. Our research indicates that more than 60 amateur fossil clubs and societies exist in …

Conceptions Of Authority And The Anglo-American Common Law Divide, Dan Priel

Articles & Book Chapters

This essay seeks to explain the puzzle of the divergence of American law from the rest of the common law world through the lens of legal theory. I argue that there are four competing ideal-type theories of the authority of the common law: reason, practice, custom, and will. The reason view explains the authority of the common law in terms of correspondence to the demands of pure practical reason; the practice view sees the authority of the common law as derived from the expertise of practitioners (especially judges and practice-oriented academics) who try to develop the common law as a …

Getches-Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Spring 2016, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2011-2015 Summary Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Christopher J. Davis

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Program and Fire Effects Program have been monitoring vegetation in Agate Fossil Beds National Monument for over 18 years. While methods have changed slightly, this report summarizes data from over 80 locations from 1998-2015. We use these data to explore status and trends in upland and riparian plant communities, the occurrence of rare plants, and the effects of the Fossil Hills trail installation on the surrounding vegetation. A summary of the current condition (2011-2015) and trends (based on 1998-2015) in plant communities at Agate Fossil Beds NM (AGFO) is found in …

Merger Of The Federal Home Loan Banks Of Des Moines And Seattle: Fhfa's Role And Approach For Overseeing The Continuing Fhlbank, United States: Federal Housing Finance Agency (Fhfa): Office Of The Inspector General

Documents

No abstract provided.

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2011-2015 Summary Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Christopher J. Davis

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Program and Fire Effects Program have been monitoring vegetation in Scotts Bluff National Monument for over 18 years. While methods have changed slightly, this report summarizes data from over 80 locations from 1998-2015. Below, we list the questions we asked using these data and provide a summarized answer. For more details see the full report. A summary of the current condition (2011-2015) and trends (based on 1988-2015) in plant communities at Scotts Bluff is found in Table ES-1.

1. What is the current status of plant community composition and structure of …

Air Quality Related Values (Aqrvs) For Northern Great Plains Network (Ngpn) Parks, Effects From Ozone; Visibility Reducing Particles; And Atmospheric Deposition Of Acids, Nutrients And Toxics, Timothy J. Sullivan

United States National Park Service: Publications

Summary

This report describes the Air Quality Related Values (AQRVs) of the Northern Great Plains Network (NGPN). AQRVs are those resources sensitive to air quality and include streams, lakes, soils, vegetation, fish and wildlife, and visibility. This report also describes air pollutant emissions and air quality in NGPN, and their effects on AQRVs. The primary pollutants likely to affect AQRVs include nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) compounds (nitrate [NO₃^-], ammonium [NH₄⁺], and sulfate [SO₄^2-]); ground-level ozone (O₃); haze-causing particles; and airborne toxics.

The 13 parks that are included in …

Factors Associated With Anaplasma Spp. Seroprevalence Among Dogs In The United States, Christopher S. Mcmahan, Dongmei Wang, Melissa J. Beall, Dwight D. Bowman, Susan E. Little, Patrick O. Pithua, Julia L. Sharp, Roger W. Stich, Michael J. Yabsley, Robert B. Lund

Publications

Background

Dogs in the United States are hosts to a diverse range of ticks and tick-borne pathogens, including A. phagocytophilum, an important emerging canine and human pathogen. Previously, a Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC)-sponsored workshop proposed factors purported to be associated with the infection risk for tick-transmitted pathogens in dogs in the United States, including climate conditions, socioeconomic characteristics, local topography, and vector distribution.

Methods

Approximately four million test results from routine veterinary diagnostic tests from 2011–2013, which were collected on a county level across the contiguous United States, are statistically analyzed with the proposed factors via logistic regression …

A Uniform Database Of Teleseismic Shear-Wave Splitting Measurements For The Western And Central United States: December 2014 Update, Bin B. Yang, Kelly H. Liu, Haider H. Dahm, Stephen S. Gao

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We present a new version of a shear-wave splitting (SWS) database for the western and central United States (WCUS) using broadband seismic data recorded up to the end of 2014 to update a previous version that used data recorded prior to the end of 2012, when the USArray Transportable Array stations were still recording in the easternmost region of theWCUS. A total of 7452 pairs of additional measurements recorded by 1202 digital broadband seismic stations are obtained, and all the measurements in the previous database are rechecked. The resulting uniform SWS database contains a total of 23,448 pairs of well-defined …

The Grass Is Not Always Greener: Congressional Dysfunction, Executive Action, And Climate Change In Comparative Perspective, Hari M. Osofsky, Jacqueline Peel

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Partisan climate change politics, paired with a legislative branch that is often deeply divided between two parties, has led to congressional gridlock in the United States. Numerous efforts at passing comprehensive climate change legislation have failed, and little prospect exists for such legislation in the foreseeable future. As a result, executive action under existing federal environmental statutes—often in interaction with litigation—has become the primary mechanism for national-level regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles and power plants.

Although many observers critique this state of affairs and wish for a legislature more able to act, this essay argues that more …

Supermarket Proximity And Price: Food Insecurity And Obesity In The United States, Janelle Downing, Barbara Laraia

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Where we live matters for our health. The social, economic, and physical features of neighborhoods can play a powerful role in health and longevity. Neighborhood concentration of poverty and poor health have been shown to be linked. Residing in low-income neighborhoods has been associated with diet related chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

Interview With Janet Talbot, 2001, Columbia College Chicago

An Oral History of Columbia College Chicago, 1998 -2004

At the time of the interview, Janet Talbot was director of Academic Advising.

Social Disparities In Exposure To Point-Of-Sale Cigarette Marketing, Mohammad Siahpush, Evi A. Farazi, Jungyoon Kim, Tzeyu L. Michaud, Aaron Yoder, Ghada Soliman, Melissa Tibbits, Minh N. Nguyen, Raees A. Shaikh

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

While most ecological studies have shown that higher levels of point-of-sale (POS) cigarette marketing are associated with larger proportions of residents from lower socioeconomic and minority backgrounds in neighborhoods, there are no studies that examine individual-level social disparities in exposure to POS cigarette marketing among smokers in the United States. Our aim was to examine these disparities in a Midwestern metropolitan area in the United States. We conducted a telephone survey to collect data on 999 smokers. Cigarette marketing was measured by asking respondents three questions about noticing advertisements, promotions, and displays of cigarettes within their respective neighborhoods. The questions …

El Español En Los Estados Unidos: Panorama De Estudios Sociolingüísticos, Lotfi Sayahi, Juanita Reyes, Cecily Corbett

Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Scholarship

The aim of this paper is to present the principal areas of sociolinguistic research concerning Spanish spoken in the United States. In doing so, we focus on a variety of topics ranging from macro-sociolinguistic issues, such as the sociology of language, to micro-sociolinguistic features having more to do with language variation and change. In our discussion of bilingualism and sociology of language, we explore the situation faced by Spanish speakers in the United States, including discussions of language policies and bilingual education. We also examine cases of contact between various dialects of Spanish in the United States, and some variable …

Quantifying The Impact Of Human Visitation In Two Cave Chambers On Mona Island (Puerto Rico): Implications For Archaeological Site Conservation, R. M. Vieten, A. Winter, Alice V.M. Samson

KIP Articles

Recent archaeological research has discovered well preserved historic and pre-Columbian art covering numerous walls inside caves on Mona Island. Human visits can pose a serious threat to the long term conservation of these fragile engravings and paintings by increasing condensation corrosion rates. The quantification of environmental changes to caves related to human visitation is relevant for prediction of condensation corrosion processes and cave site management policies. This study addresses the threat of increased condensation corrosion to cave art. Data collected in two caves show changes in cave air temperature (T), relative humidity (RH) and CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) caused by …

Forgetting Nature: The Importance Of Including Environmental Flows In International Water Agreements, Amy Hardberger

Faculty Articles

From the moment States created political boundaries to define their territory, they have shared water. There are 263 transboundary lake and river basins worldwide and 300 known transboundary aquifer systems. Whenever sharing is present, the opportunity for conflict is too. Climate change and increasing population are only two factors that may lead to increasing conflict if attention is not given to these situations. Thankfully, sharing water also creates an opportunity for cooperation. Throughout the world, there are increasing examples of conflict and cooperation regarding shared water resources. International water agreements can promote regional peace and security and encourage economic growth. …

County-Level Patterns Of Voter Turnout : The Case Of 2012, Derek Labrie

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

The United States, Russia, And Missile Defense: Why They Do Not Agree On Approach, Policy, And Implications, Nathaniel Taylor Green

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Missile defense has long played a key role in the national defense posture of the United States, despite longstanding objections from the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. To gain insights into why these objections continue, this thesis looks at three key factors: threat assessments, geopolitics, and technology (to include specific capabilities) and the impact they have on the decision-making calculus of both the United States and Russia regarding missile defense. It is believed that geopolitical considerations, stemming from the Cold War and the different values, culture, background, and experiences between the United States and Russia, are key to understanding …

Water, Water, Everywhere: Surface Water Liability, Jill M. Fraley

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

By 2030 the U.S. will lose around $520 billion annually from its gross domestic product due to flooding. New risks resulting from climate change arise not only from swelling rivers and lakes, but also from stormwater runoff. According to the World Bank, coastal cities risk flooding more from their poor management of surface water than they do from rising sea levels. Surface water liability governs when a landowner is responsible for diverting the flow of water to a neighboring parcel of land. Steep increases in urban flooding will make surface water an enormous source of litigation in the coming decades. …

Racial Disparities In Intravenous Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator Use Persist At Primary Stroke Centers., Hugo J. Aparicio, Brendan G. Carr, Scott E. Kasner, Michael J. Kallan, Karen C. Albright, Dawn O. Kleindorfer, Michael T. Mullen

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Primary stroke centers (PSCs) utilize more recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) than non-PSCs. The impact of PSCs on racial disparities in rt-PA use is unknown.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We used data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2004 to 2010, limited to states that publicly reported hospital identity and race. Hospitals certified as PSCs by The Joint Commission were identified. Adults with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke were analyzed. Rt-PA use was defined by the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision procedure code 99.10. Discharges (304 152 patients) from 26 states met eligibility criteria, and of these 71.5% were …

Droughtscape, Fall 2015, Kelly Smith

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Director’s column.

NDMC 20th anniversary 2

Employment opportunity

Third quarter 2015 climate summary

Third quarter 2015 impacts summary

Workshop in Ethiopia

San Antonio multi-hazard tournament

Healthy soil is drought buffer

U2U Award

Cost-benefit analysis for utilities managing drought

NDMC helps with rural poll questions on climate

Introducing our post-docs

South Korean visitors