Digital Commons Network^™

Holocene Sedimentology And Stratigraphy Of Coastal Sediments In An Arid Climate, Al Qahmah, Southern Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Ibrahim Nabhan

Doctoral Dissertations

"Holocene sedimentary deposits in Al Qahmah coast, southern Red Sea, in Saudi Arabia have been accumulated on an arid siliciclastic coast in a rift tectonic setting. This study provides a detail interpretation and analysis of sedimentary facies, stratigraphy, depositional environment, and major geological processes. Two studies have been undertaken. First, petrological study of composition and texture of modern sediments and facies mapping delineate facies distribution and mechanisms of sediment transport and deposition. A unique suite of complex riverine, wave, tidal, wind, and chemical and biological processes affect the composition, texture, and distribution of the facies. Second, the depositional environments of …

Analytical And Numerical Studies Of Photo-Injected Charge Transport In Molecularly-Doped Polymers, Amrita Roy Chowdhury

Doctoral Dissertations

"The mobility of photo-injected charge carriers in molecularly-doped polymers (MDPs) exhibits a commonly observed, and nearly universal Poole-Frenkel field dependence, µ ~ exp [square root (ß₀E)], that has been shown to arise from the correlated Gaussian energy distribution of transport sites encountered by charges undergoing hopping transport through the material. Analytical and numerical studies of photo-injected charge transport in these materials are presented here with an attempt to understand how specific features of the various models developed to describe these systems depend on the microscopic parameters that define them. Specifically, previously published time-of-flight mobility data for the molecularly …

Behavior Of Hollow-Core Fiber Reinforced Polymer-Concrete-Steel Bridge Columns Under Extreme Loading, Omar I. Abdelkarim

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study introduces an investigation of the behavior of innovative, resilient, and quickly-constructed hollow-core fiber reinforced polymer-concrete-steel (HC-FCS) bridge columns under extreme loading. The HC-FCS column consists of a concrete wall sandwiched between an outer fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and an inner steel tube. The steel tube was embedded into a reinforced concrete footing with an embedded length of 1.6-1.8 times the diameter of the steel tube. The FRP tube only confined the concrete wall and truncated at the top of the footing level. The hollow steel tube was the only reinforcement for shear and flexure inside the HC-FCS …

Iran As A Strategic Threat To The U.S. In The Middle East And Its Impact On U.S. Policy In The Region, Aaron Michael Craig Richards

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This essay will examine Iran's nuclear program and foreign and defense policy and how these threats shape U.S. defense and foreign policy in the region. Iran's advanced nuclear program is only one aspect of its goal to reaching regional hegemony in the Middle East. Iran looks to establish itself as a dominant power in the region by employing non-military tools such as promoting Shiism and Iranian ideology and supporting Arab and non-Arab political leaders and groups friendly toward Iran. Meanwhile, the United States and other world powers are concerned about Iran's enrichment program being diverted to develop nuclear weapons, which …

Microstructure And Geotechnical Properties Of St. Peter Sandstone In Clayton, Iowa, Amir Hossein Bagherieh

Doctoral Dissertations

"The St. Peter Sandstone is significantly different from the minerals and rocks which have been studied extensively in mining. It is brittle and characterized by an unusually high friction angle. On the other hand it is friable, and it is nearly cohesionless. The scarcity of the ground control techniques for this particular mining environment has created many difficulties for mine operators. This research aims to establish a fundamental understanding of the basic mechanical and strength properties of the St. Peter Sandstone for engineering design and scientific research. The specific objectives are 1) characterizing the strength of the St. Peter Sandstone, …

Archaeological And Historical Investigations Of The Robert Newsom Farmstead (23cy497), Callaway County, Missouri, James Adam Halpern

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Scholarly research on slavery in the U.S. has focused on large commercial plantations in the Old South. Yet a majority of slaveholders and nearly half of the enslaved lived in smaller slaveholding houses and family farms (Burke 2010:4). This study helps redress the dearth of research on small slaveholdings through study of the Robert Newsom Farmstead, or "Celia" Site (23CY497), located in Callaway County, Missouri. The research goal is to model the antebellum spatial organization of the landholding, thereby increasing our understanding of slavery at the Newsom site and on non-plantation slaveholdings generally. This was accomplished through collection and analysis …

The Essence Of English Identity: Gender's Role In The Stability Of The Nation In English Literature, From The Anglo-Saxons To The Victorians, Natalie Marie Whitaker

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis, using Jungian analysis, investigates how the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, William Shakespeare's Macbeth, and Charles Dickens's David Copperfield reflect the interdependent spheres of gender relationships that affected societal perceptions of English national identity and stability for over a thousand years. Historian Geoffrey Hindley writes, "the historical reality of an English identity grew out of the traditions of loyalty and lordship from the epic heritage of a pagan past embodied in the poem of Beowulf in a common vernacular tongue.” In the three periods examined here, men and women had responsibilities in marriage that were defined by the societal ideals …

On The Design And Analysis Of Compliant Mechanisms Using The Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model Concept, Sushrut Gangadhar Bapat

Doctoral Dissertations

"The pseudo-rigid-body model (PRBM) concept, developed for the analysis and design of large-deflection flexible members, has proved over time to be a simple, efficient and accurate tool for the synthesis, analysis and design of compliant mechanisms. This dissertation investigates a variety of compliant mechanism analysis and design problems using the PRBM concept and assists in further advancement of the implementation of the PRBMs. The dissertation begins with the development of a PRBM for a fixed-guided compliant beam with one inflection point in the deformed state. This research investigation advances the concept of characteristic deflection domain to a new synthesis framework …

A Novel Powder Factor Based Bench Blast Design Method For Large Surface Coal Mines, Andrew Clifford Blair

Doctoral Dissertations

"Large surface coal mines in Wyoming's Powder River Basin ship millions of tons of coal per annum, moving millions of cubic yards of overburden to mine the coal. Much of this volume is blasted in the form of benches, a common mining technique. Increases in production and scale of equipment in the past thirty-five years have created a paradigm shift for drill and blast personnel at these large surface mines, and the explosives industry has yet to create a blast design method specifically tailored for large surface coal mine bench blasting.

This research examines the typical scale of bench blasting …

Dissolution Of Borate Glasses And Precipitation Of Phosphate Compounds, Jaime Lynn George

Doctoral Dissertations

"Borate glasses have been developed for biomedical applications such as scaffolds for soft tissue and bone repair. The dissolution processes of borate glasses in phosphate-containing aqueous solutions were studied by µ-Raman spectroscopy which provided information about the types and concentrations of borate species released into the solution as a function of time and characterized the formation of calcium phosphate reaction products on the glass surface. Boric acid molecules (H₃BO₃) and borate anions (B(OH)₄^-) can be detected in solution and their relative concentrations depend on the solution pH.

Static and dynamic single-pass flow-through experiments …

Discrete Analogues Of Some Classical Special Functions, Thomas Joseph Cuchta

Doctoral Dissertations

"Analogues of special functions on time scales are studied with special focus on the time scale 𝕋 = hℤ. Functions investigated in particular include complex monomials, new trigonometric functions, Gaussian bell, Hermite and Laguerre polynomials, Bessel functions, and hypergeometric series"--Abstract, page iii.

Reliability And Security In Low Power Circuits And Systems, Hui Geng

Doctoral Dissertations

"With the massive deployment of mobile devices in sensitive areas such as healthcare and defense, hardware reliability and security have become hot research topics in recent years. These topics, although different in definition, are usually correlated. This dissertation offers an in-depth treatment on enhancing the reliability and security of low power circuits and systems. The first part of the dissertation deals with the reliability of sub-threshold designs, which use supply voltage lower than the threshold voltage (V_th) of transistors to reduce power. The exponential relationship between delay and V_th significantly jeopardizes their reliability due to process variation …

"Commercial Peacemaking"-The New Role Of The International Commercial Arbitration Legal Order, Tamar Meshel

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

International commercial arbitration (ICA) has risen to prominence over the past several decades as the most efficient and effective mechanism for resolving cross-border disputes between commercial entities, and has long been considered by the international business community as "the normal means of settling disputes arising from international transactions." ICA offers disputing parties an accessible, neutral, and private mechanism that is distinct from any specific national legal system; a "kind of social jurisdiction, opposed to State jurisdiction." It has thus been considered by some to constitute a specialized international regime, a form of "transnational" or "global" governance, or an autonomous legal …

Judges As Gatekeepers To Mediation: The Russian Case, Kathryn Hendley

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

In this Article, I investigate the role of judges in mediation in Russia. Using a mixed-methods approach that draws on my fieldwork in Russian courts as well as a 2013 survey of Russian judges, I explore their attitudes towards mediation and their willingness to recommend it to litigants. I use the survey data to inquire into the factors that tend to predict both their attitudes and behavior vis-avis mediation. The analysis reveals a remarkable division between judges' attitudes and their behavior. The surveyed judges are generally enthusiastic about the introduction of mediation, but this enthusiasm is not always reflected in …

Reorienting Restorative Justice: Initiating A New Dialogue Of Rights Consciousness, Community Empowerment And Politicization, Thalia González

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

For the last three decades scholars have explored the practice of restorative justice as a crime control mechanism in a multitude of settings. Much of the discourse has focused on restorative justice as an alternative to traditional punitive and retributive criminal justice processes. Whether restorative or punitive, criminal justice processes that seek to address harm are not apart, above, or outside social, cultural and political relations. This Article seeks to initiate a new dialogue of justice and argues that the ontology of restorative justice should to be viewed to include a liberatory moment of politicization focused on promoting equality and …

No More Click? Click In Here: E-Mediation In Divorce Disputes-The Reality And The Desirable, Dafna Lavi

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This Article deals with the relatively innovative field of e-Mediation (also known as "online mediation" or "cyber mediation") as used for the resolution of divorce disputes. The first part of the Article surveys the framework and background of the development of eMediation, its implementation, its advantages and disadvantages, focusing on the field of divorce disputes. It includes insights regarding the proven need for the development of alternative dispute resolution processes for such disputes, and the great potential inherent in the model of e-Mediation to address many of the problems typically accompanying such disputes.

In view of the urgency of the …

Sleeping? Comatose? Only Mandatory Consideration Of Mediation Can Awake Sleeping Beauty In The European Union, Giuseppe De Palo, Romina Canessa

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

A 2014 European Parliament-commissioned study, "Rebooting the Mediation Directive: Assessing the Limited Impact of Its Implementation and Proposing Legislative and Non-Legislative Measures to Increase the Number of Mediations in the EU," ("Rebooting Study") has initiated a much needed review and debate on effective mediation policy. The Rebooting Study, which recommended mandatory mediation for EU litigants with an ability to opt-out and enforcement of the 2008 EU Mediation Directive's Balanced Relationship Target Number ("BRTN") concluded, among other findings, that despite increased awareness of mediation and numerous studies and assessments, which have proved its benefits, mediation still remains largely under-utilized as a …

Mediator Misunderstanding Of Bargaining Basics: Heading In An Ugly Direction, Joseph B. Stulberg

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

A mediator facilitates bargaining conduct among negotiating parties. She conducts the session in a way that is designed to improve everyone's understanding of the situation, promote thoughtful problem solving, and develop settlement terms acceptable to all. When performing her tasks, a mediator must prefer or promote a particular bargaining approach by and among the parties. The only question is: which bargaining theory and approach should she privilege?

Welcome To The Jungle, Where The Rent Is Too Damn High: Using Rent Regulation In New York City To Maintain An Affordable Housing Stock, Gabrielle Denaro

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

First, this Note describes and explains the difference between rent control and rent stabilization in New York City. Then, the history of rent control and rent stabilization laws is discussed, followed by an analysis of the arguments of those both for and against the preservation of rent regulation. Further, this Note discusses the issue of gentrification. Finally, this Note proposes an idea for an arbitration forum, and explains the logistics of how it would work and how it could benefit the system overall.

The Legitimacy Crisis And The Future Of Courts, Orna Rabinovich-Einy

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

There is an overall legitimacy crisis in courts. The sources of this crisis have, to a large extent, been misconstrued. While there has been significant writing depicting the diminished quality, effectiveness, and fairness of courts, these phenomena have, for the most part, been viewed as distinct problems that warrant discrete solutions. This article shows that these problems are all manifestations of an overall legitimacy crisis that stems from the blurring of the originally stark distinctions between courts and alternatives. Traditionally, formal and informal dispute resolution processes had their own sources of legitimacy, each grounded in their respective distinctive (often opposing) …

Fitting The Forum To The Pernicious Fuss: A Dispute System Design To Address Implicit Bias And 'Isms In The Workplace, Elayne E. Greenberg

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This paper proposes a dispute system design to address workplace discrimination caused by implicit biases so that employees and employers involved in such disputes can secure a more responsive justice than existing legal processes are able to provide. Workplace discrimination caused by implicit bias continues to contaminate our work environment despite our focused legal efforts to combat such overt "isms" as sexism, racism, ageism, and ableism. Although overt expressions of bias have significantly decreased in recent years, expressions of implicit bias, the primary cause of workplace discrimination, persist.

This discussion takes place in three parts. Part One describes implicit bias, …

Where Do We Fight?: A Way To Resolve The Conflict Between A Forum Selection Clause And Finra Arbitration Rule 12200, Suleman Malik

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

First, Section II summarizes the historical background of the dispute between Goldman Sachs & Co. ("Goldman Sachs") and Golden Empire Schools Financing Authority ("Golden Empire"). Second, Section II identifies the forum selection and merger clauses from the 2004 Broker-Dealer Agreement at issue in Golden Empire. Third, Section II provides a brief background of FINRA and its rules and regulations most pertinent to this dispute, mainly FINRA Rule 12200. Fourth, Section II discusses the emerging circuit split and explains the holdings from each of the circuits. As discussed more fully below, Golden Empire marks a growing circuit split over the availability …

After The Dust Settles: Experiences Of Haitian Earthquake Survivors And Implications For Psychosocial Support, Florence Saint-Jean

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 wide magnitude earthquake hit Haiti and thousands of Haitians were left to cope with the aftermath, and many mental health concerns began to surface (Amnesty International, 2011; Cénat & Derivois, 2014). The main purpose of this study is to understand post-earthquake psychosocial issues in the Haitian context by studying the experiences of Natives in Haiti. This study provides implications for counseling support from international emergency response workers, counselors, counselor educators interested in providing mental health training in Haiti or other developing countries, and researcher's interested in increasing knowledge that has real impact on mental …

Inheriting Nietzsche: The Frankfurt School And Foucault On The Foundation Of Critique, George Shea

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation examines the theoretical ramifications that rejecting a metaphysical foundation has for providing critical and normative resources. While commentators often dismiss post-metaphysical philosophies as contradictory variants of anti-metaphysics, I demonstrate using the work of Nietzsche that they proceed from a deliberate "methodological decision" to suspend metaphysical assumptions. For this reason, while the methodological commitments of post-metaphysical critical social theories establish a theoretical orientation for their inquiries, they must forgo analyses that attribute domination to the distorting effects of illusion, error, or illegitimacy, and would thus cast liberation from domination as a return to a metaphysical foundation. In this light, …

Role Of Greenhouse Gas Inventories In Climate Change Mitigation At Institutions Of Higher Education, Sadaf Tehmina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite hundreds of Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) pledging action against climate change, there is little research on how to effectively enable these initiatives. This study utilizes a survey to analyze the role of greenhouse gas inventories (GHGI) in climate change mitigation within IHE. Among 62 responses, 46 indicated GHGI was helpful in decisions regarding emission reduction measures; 54 reported having a climate action plan (CAP) or sustainability policy (SP); 49 used GHGI in forming the CAP/SP. 95% of the respondents signed the ACUPCC pledge. When GHGI was used the IHE was more likely to have higher emission reductions (above …

Women’S Health Priorities And Interventions, Marleen Temmerman, Rajat Khosla, Laura Laski, Zoe Mathews, Lale Say

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Over the past decades, governments have taken steps towards improving women’s health in line with commitments made in key international summits. Progress has been made in reducing maternal mortality,1 which accelerated with the launch of the United Nations secretary general’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health in 2010. Use of maternal healthcare and family planning has increased in some countries.2 Progress has also been seen on two determinants of women’s health—school enrolment rates for girls and political participation of women—but not for others such as gender based violence.3

However, societies are still failing women in relation to health, especially …

Navigating A Paradoxical Identity : The Experiences Of Mixed Race Individuals Who Are Perceived As White, Marcella Emily Galvez Wagner

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative exploratory study examines the experiences of mixed race individuals who are perceived as White by others based on physical appearance. Literature on the mixed race population has only more recently focused on the phenomenon of racial misrecognition, or the incongruence between racial identity and racial perception by others. This study seeks to advance this literature by exploring the experiences of individuals who have a particular form of racial misrecognition where they hold a non-dominant racial identity and yet are perceived as White by others. The study explored racial identity, racial markers, disclosure and passing, family context, experiences of …

Art As A Clinical Tool In The Treatment Of Complex Ptsd : A Theoretical Study, Emma T. Brenner-Malin

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This theoretical thesis explores how art-making can be used as a clinical tool in social worker’s psychodynamic treatment of complex post-traumatic stress disorder. A theoretical thesis was chosen in order to address the gap in the social work literature discussing the integration of creative action into trauma-informed care. D.W. Winnicott’s object relations theory and Trauma-informed art therapy theory are the two theoretical lenses applied and discussed. A review of the literature indicates that art created during therapy can function as a transitional object, facilitating the client’s ability to learn how to regulate their affect, recall dissociated affect and memories, bolster …

A Seminar For Building Strong Marriages And Healthy Relationships In South Bend Hispanic Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Ronald Rojas

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Despite the high biblical ideals for marriage and the divine power that is available to enable marital commitments to endure, the Seventh-day Adventist church recognizes the possibility that some individuals will not survive in marriage. Over the past 35 years (1974-2009) there has been a decline in the percentage of couples still in their first marriage (from 81% in 1974 to 58% in 2009) among Adventists in North America, which is very similar to the decline in percentage of married couples (from 82% in 1970 to 48% in 2010) in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). As a …

Contextualized Biblical Preaching Program For Young Adult Lay Preachers In Kenya, Fenades Obinchu

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kenya has the highest membership in the East Central African Division (ECD) with an average of one pastor for 1,136 members. Not only is the membership high and increasing, but each pastor has an average of seven churches (as of 2013) (General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2003-2013). The majority of the membership is comprised of youth (13-17 years) and young adults (18-30 years). Even though youth and young adults comprise the majority of the membership, there is minimal level of active participation and low commitments from them in the life of the church, especially …