Digital Commons Network^™

Where Numbers Meet Narratives: An Examination Of Joint Displays In Mixed Methods Evaluation, Natalie D. Jones

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The use of Mixed Methods (MM) in evaluation has increasingly become a valuable asset in evaluators' methodological toolbox. Despite prolific research on various aspects of mixed methods, from typologies to ontological debates, there remains a dearth of empirically derived evidence on effectively communicating MM findings. This lack of empirical research is compounded by criticism regarding the integration in MM studies. A prominent means of addressing both integration of data strands and communicating findings in MM studies is through joint displays.This study presents a multiphase exploration into how evaluators communicate MM findings and the visual efficiency of joint displays compared to …

Exploring Loss Functions In Machine Learning, Yujie Wang

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The loss function plays a critical role in machine learning. It is fundamental in training, evaluating, and optimizing machine learning models, directly impacting their effectiveness and efficiency in solving specific tasks. We explore three new loss functions and their applications. Softmax Cross-Entropy Loss, stands as a prevalent choice in neural network classification tasks. It treats all misclassifications uniformly. However, multi-class classification problems often have many semantically similar classes. We should expect that these semantically similar classes will have similar parameter vectors. We introduce a weighted loss function, the tree loss as a drop-in replacement for the cross entropy loss. The …

Sacred A Cappella Composition In France From Pius X To Vatican Ii, John Curtis Browning

CGU Theses & Dissertations

During the early to mid-twentieth century, some of France’s finest composers produced a body of choral music which, although somewhat smaller than that of other European nations, proves proportionately larger in specifically sacred and liturgical a cappella composition. (Liturgical music uses the texts of the Eucharist and Office [canonical hours] of the Roman Catholic Church; whereas “sacred” music broadly contains not only the liturgy, but paraliturgical texts from the Bible and religious poetry as well.)

Although this repertory is modest in volume—containing fewer than three dozen motets and masses—it proves comparatively high in quality and individuality within the total body …

Empowering Voices: Perspectives And Experiences Of Latino And Black Men In Minority Serving Institutions’ Male Success Initiatives, Reginaldo Robles

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation investigates the experiences of men of color participating in Male Success Initiatives (MSIs) and examines the impact these initiatives have on their undergraduate experiences. Central to the study are two main research questions: How do MSIs influence and shape the experiences of men of color participants? And, how does participation in MSIs support or enhance their development in academics, leadership, and personal growth? This study is grounded in Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) model, which explored how various forms of capital—Aspirational, Familial, Linguistic, Navigational, Resistant, and Social—are utilized by participants to successfully navigate their college experiences. …

Perma+4 Building Blocks Of Well-Being: A Mixed-Methods Exploration Of Mechanisms & Conditions That Enable The Subjective Well-Being Of Workers, Victoria Cabrera

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the challenges many workers face regarding their well-being. Workers continue to report high levels of work-related stress and burnout and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic heightened the importance of this issue as declines in well-being were observed on a global scale. In 2022, the issue of worker well-being was brought to the forefront of public awareness when the U.S. Surgeon General raised the well-being and mental health of workers as an urgent public health priority. The critical need to better support worker well-being is further supported by research that …

Nurturing Inclusivity And Enhancing Learning Environments: Examining Teachers’ Perspectives On Culturally Responsive Social Emotional Learning, Andrea Perez

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs and curricula have emerged as a priority in schools over the past three decades, with greater urgency since the COVID-19 pandemic. While SEL programs may show promise in supporting students’ social and emotional needs generally, current SEL practices apply color-evasive approaches, leading to White-centered practices and norms that do not acknowledge the identities and needs of students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). In response, scholars have called for Culturally Responsive Social Emotional Learning (CRSEL) programs to support students in acknowledging their cultural strengths, recognizing their funds of knowledge, and feeling …

An Analysis Of The Association Between Foreign Investors Holdings And The Local Currency Sovereign Debt Yields, Yudistira Surjadi Slamet

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the association between foreign investors holdings of local currency sovereign debt on the corresponding debt yields. It includes a multi-country study encompassing 12 emerging markets and 17 advanced economies, as well as a single-country study focusing on Indonesia. By analyzing the association of foreign holdings on the corresponding 5- and 10-year debt yields on a combined data set of advanced economies and emerging markets, the multi-country study employing a quarterly data set from March 2011 to December 2019 accomplishes an analysis that was absent from previous literatures. Although previous literatures have found a negative association when using …

Do Globalization And China’S Wto Accession Affect Social Spending In Its Eleven Neighboring Countries? An Empirical Study Of The China Shock, Jian Qing Xu

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates whether globalization and China’s WTO accession in 2001 have any impact on government expenditure to social security transfers and human capital of its eleven neighboring countries--Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. These countries have enjoyed economic growth from intra-regional trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). Due to Chinese liberalization of trade and FDI-led growth policies, China became the favorite destination for foreign investors because of the large population providing enormous potential markets for consumption of goods and services as well as having a huge pool of low-wage workers for lower …

Success-Oriented Corporate Accelerator Model: Mechanisms And Conditions That Amplify A Firm's Innovation Impacts, Felipe Eduardo Negritto

CGU Theses & Dissertations

My dissertation focuses on the Corporate Accelerator (CA) as a firm's organizational artifact that, configured correctly and with the accompanying enabling conditions, can significantly contribute to enhancing a firm’s long-term innovative capability. Using a Critical Realist approach with a mixed-methodology, I describe seven CA mechanisms, four in detail, that emerge from my data collection, from 13 large organizations across 3 continents, as generators of innovative results. I also describe more than 60 new micro foundations that will bolster existing firm dynamic capabilities to enable the amplification of the CA’s innovation benefits. The Full Stack CA emerges as the CA type …

Identity Complexity, Uncertainty, And Belongingness: Understanding The Appeal Of Extremist Groups, Michelle Blaya Burgo

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The exact factors that motivate people to join a radical group are not agreed upon in the literature. Incorporating social identity theory and uncertainty-identity theory, past studies in social psychology have investigated factors influencing individuals' involvement in such groups from different perspectives. However, the effects of uncertainty combined with identity complexity on an individual's sympathy for radical groups have not yet been explored. In the present study (N = 332), two independent variables, social identity complexity and self-uncertainty, were manipulated to examine their effects on attitudes toward and willingness to join a radical group, the multi-item dependent variables. Results revealed …

Attitude Formation & Persuasion Via Reactance: No, You Can't – Yes, I Can!, Daniel Alfred Palafox

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This study was designed to fill a significant gap in how psychological reactance theory (PRT; Brehm, 1966) is traditionally used in social psychological experiments. This study attempted to show that PRT can be used as a method to induce positive attitude formation. There is a need to understand how motivation to restore freedom (the driving force behind PRT) can be harnessed as a tool to persuade in a manner incongruent to typical persuasion techniques and form evaluations of attitude objects, and how the affective component of PRT can be used as a form of evaluative conditioning. The study consisted of …

Reviving The Sleeper Effect, Tehreem Riffat

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The present study was conducted to delve into the cognitive dynamics of the sleeper effect. The study investigated the role of persuasive message repetition (once, twice), the position of a discounting cue, which challenged the stated position of a communication, the cue’s credibility (high/low) and the timing of the cue (presented before or after the persuasive communication) on the outcome of a sleeper effect experiment. Analytically, the study was conceptualized as a 2 (Cue Credibility: high/low) x 2 (Cue presentation: before/after the persuasive message), (Elaboration: Communication was read once or twice) x 3 Test (pretest, posttest 1, posttest 2) design. …

Can The Giving Pledge Reduce Wealth Inequality In The United States?, Sarah Bianchi

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Utilizing Public Lands As An Incubator For Innovation In The Modern Consumer Economy, Brenton Villasenor

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Loyola Consumer Law Review

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Not Everything That Glistens Is Gold: The Ftc's Recently Proposed Rule On Fake Reviews, Rebecca Webber

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Role Of Occupational Therapy Assessment And Office Ergonomics To Support Students With Accommodations In Higher Learning: A Narrative Review, Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia, Christi Tam, Raabia Khan, Bushra Alam, Sujatha Alla

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Postsecondary students with disabilities (SWDs) face significant challenges to their academic and personal well-being. There is a demand for more supportive strategies to facilitate fulfilling and equitable academic experiences for SWDs. This review aimed to (1) determine the effectiveness of various interventions, programs, and accommodations for enhancing the overall well-being of postsecondary SWDs and (2) evaluate the implications of these support strategies for disability service providers at postsecondary institutions. A narrative review was conducted, examining 13 studies aimed at enhancing the well-being of postsecondary SWDs. Studies were classified using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Model. Ergonomics, …

Data Driven Trade-Off Analysis For Cybersecurity, Goskel Kucukkaya, Murat Ozer, Murat Balci, Emrah Ugurlu

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Trade-off analysis, a specialization of systems engineering, addresses design criteria like security, cost, performance, and compliance. Monte Carlo simulations are commonly employed to generate impact scenarios for trade-off analysis combined with solution alternatives that accommodate industry-specific considerations and uncertainties. In the cyber domain, this paper proposes a methodology for data-driven trade-off analysis in cybersecurity, leveraging industry reports as primary data sources using confidentiality, integrity, and availability as trade-off analysis objectives. Distribution functions are derived to manage and model uncertainties for various industries. The approach given in this study aims to facilitate informed choices and to enhance cybersecurity decision making and …

System Of Systems Engineering: A Literature Review And Research Frontiers, Charles B. Keating, Polinpapilinho F. Katina, James C. Pyne

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

System of Systems Engineering (SoSE) has existed and been developing for well over 2 decades. The time is appropriate to take a reflective look at the past and examine the future evolution of this nascent field. To address this challenge, this paper is focused on two primary objectives. First, a literature review of the SoSE field is conducted. This literature review (1) organizes the SoSE body of knowledge and provides a synthesis of major crosscutting themes, and (2) provides a scholarly critique and identifies gaps in the current state of the SoSE field. The second objective is focused on providing …

The Conundrum Of The Essential Security Exception: Can The Wto Resolve The Gatt Article Xxi Crisis And Save The Dispute Settlement Mechanism?, Stephen Kho, Yujin Mcnamara, Sarah Kirwin, Brooke Davies

American University International Law Review

The continued blocking of Appellate Body members to the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement mechanism has thrown the multilateral trading system’s most important governing body into an existential crisis. As a precondition for resuming the WTO’s dispute settlement functions, the United States has insisted that WTO Members agree that the “essential security exception” under Article XXI(b) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994 is wholly self- judging and thus nonjusticiable. This article argues that the U.S. position is unsupported by the text, context, object and purpose, and negotiating history of Article XXI. Moreover, the U.S. position poses …

2024 State Of The Undergraduate Class, Office Of Health Promotion, Gonzaga University

Office of Health Promotion Publications

This document shares some of the information that was gathered in the Spring 2024 Wellbeing Survey. There were approximately 1,600 student responses from undergraduates at Gonzaga. The survey asked about General Well-being, Basic Needs, Mental Health and Well-being, and Substance Use. The information is not meant to indicate or predict exactly what students will encounter this academic year.

Adopting The Benefit-Of-The Doubt Rule In Veterans' Affairs Adjudication That Congress Intended, Christopher L. Galarza

American University Law Review

This Comment examines the Federal Circuit’s interpretation of 38 U.S.C § 5107(b), more commonly known as the “benefit-of-the-doubt” rule as it applies to the adjudication of claims by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The benefit-of-the-doubt rule is a unique standard of proof in American jurisprudence in that, by its own text, purports to instruct the Department of Veterans Affairs to give claimants the benefit of the doubt in situations where the available evidence does clearly support a case for benefits. This Comment proceeds by reviewing the history of veteran benefits adjudication in the United States and the regulatory history …

Algorithmic Financial Regulation: Limits Of Computing Complex Adaptive Systems, Shuping Li

American University Business Law Review

This article examines the potential of and limits to the use of machine learning for financial regulation. Ideally, if we could fully understand the financial system and agree on long- and short-term regulatory goals, we would be able to write code that carries out the computation that extracts proper representations from the data and makes correct regulatory decisions. We cannot do this yet because of limited sources of data, the bias brought by human beings and algorithmic models, and the difficulty of improving uninterpretable models. Furthermore, since law is a combination of merits and facts, there are difficulties in establishing …

The Secret's Out: The Role Of Restrictive Covenants In Trade Secret Law, Magdalene Eallonardo

American University Business Law Review

Trade secrets derive economic value from their classified nature, which leads companies to implement legal measures to prevent the spread of their confidential company information to the public. Restrictive covenants within employment agreements are a common form of these legal measures. However, because of employers’ restrictive terms, states are placing regulations on the scope of these agreements. With limited ability to contract their employees away from sharing their confidential information with direct competitors, companies utilize alternate methods to protect their trade secrets.

Charter Schools And Emos: Who's In Charge, Brendan Glynn

American University Business Law Review

Charter schools are a popular sight in the educational field today. For the IRS to consider a charter school a 501(c)(3) organization, nonprofit charter schools must be organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes, meaning purposes relating to the instruction of individuals to improve their capabilities. To be organized for educational purposes, the articles of the organization must limit the entity to educational purposes while also preventing the organization from engaging in substantial noneducational activities. To operate exclusively for educational purposes, an organization’s activities must be substantially in furtherance of educational purposes while also not substantially benefitting a private individual. …

Constructing Solutions: Addressing Liability And Ownership Risks Associated With Business Information Modeling, Connor Sheehy

American University Business Law Review

This Comment will first discuss the background of BIM, including its technological characteristics and implementation into a complex construction project, as well as the potential benefits that incentivize parties to utilize BIM in a project. Next, this Comment will discuss the legal risks and uncertainty associated with BIM, particularly regarding ownership and liability. Specifically, this Comment will focus on ownership of the intellectual property and designs within an overall model and will contrast liability in traditional construction projects with liability in a construction project utilizing BIM. Lastly, this Comment will discuss potential solutions to these risks and uncertainties. The analysis …

Finding Rights In The Fine Print: How Terms Of Services Agreements Can Turn Consumer Search History Into Digital Property, Dalia Wrocherinsky

American University Business Law Review

On October 16, 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court handed down the country’s first court opinion on the constitutionality of reverse keyword warrants. It found that Google’s Terms of Service created a Fourth Amendment property interest in a user’s search history such that police copying this data constituted a seizure. This was a completely novel contention that implicates basic, yet increasingly relevant and unsettled principles of property, contracts, and Fourth Amendment law.

This Comment will argue that fundamental principles of property, contracts, and Fourth Amendment law support the Colorado Supreme Court’s theory. It will explore how property rights are created and …

Are The Mdbs Accountable? Reflecting On The Independent Accountability Mechanisms Of The Multilateral Development Banks, Susan Park

Perspectives

The International Accountability Mechanisms of the Multilateral Development Banks provide important insights into how to hold intergovernmental organizations to account for their environmental and social impacts. This perspective identifies how the IAMs hold the Banks to account according to the six standard questions of accountability: who is accountable, to whom, for what are they accountable, and what are the standards, processes, and sanctions employed to demonstrate that the MDBs are accountable. This highlights what the IAMs can and cannot hold the MDBs to account for, and how this might shape further international grievance mechanisms for people seeking to defend their …

The River Of Accountability Mechanisms: Then And Now, Suresh Nanwani

Perspectives

In 1993, the river of international accountability mechanisms (IAMs) commenced from its source – the World Bank Inspection Panel (The Panel). In its journey the river was fed by the tributaries of similar accountability mechanisms from other development institutions, including four regional development banks – the Inter-American Development Bank in 1994, the Asian Development Bank in 1995, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 2003, and the African Development Bank in 2006. It also welcomed other entities – bilateral institutions like Japan Bank for International Cooperation (2003) and Proparco (2018), United Nations Development Program (2014) and other organizations like …

Unacceptable Means: The Inspection Panel Actions On World Bank Forcible Resettlement, Lori Udall

Perspectives

This essay reviews the World Bank’s Inspection Panel’s work on cases involving involuntary resettlement. Since its Inception, the Panel has received 89 requests involving resettlement (over half of all cases) and has investigated 32. It traces Panel cases, lessons learned, and advisory reports on resettlement and livelihood restoration. Despite the growing evidence through the years of resettlement failures, the World Bank continues to violate its own safeguard policies and repeat the same omissions and mistakes in projects. The essay concludes with recommendations for empowering the Inspection Panel and for the Bank to move towards bottom-up community development that better addresses …