Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Risky Curves: On The Empirical Failure Of Expected Utility, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.

Perceived Barriers To Employment For Older Displaced Workers, Luther M. Maddy Iii, John C. Cannon

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Objective: This study attempted to determine if age was perceived as a barrier to employment for unemployed individuals above 40 years of age. Background: The social cognitive career theory, which posits individuals are less likely to pursue actions for which they do not expect positive results, formed the foundation of this study. Method: Job search self-efficacy was measured in 116 unemployed individuals in three states. Results: An independent samples t test was calculated to compare the mean job search self-efficacy scores of the participants above the age of 40 to the scores of the younger participants. No significant difference was …

The Impact Of Agriculture On African Civilization In The 21st Century, Andrew S. Targowski

International Conference on African Development

The purpose of this investigation is to define the impact of agriculture on African Civilization in the 21^st century. The methodology is based on an interdisciplinary big-picture view of the African Civilizations developments and interdependency. Among the findings are: Sub-Saharan Africa’s only every second individual has an access to clean and enough water and electricity therefore agriculture is not productive and cannot reduce poverty and provide living sustainable environment. Practical implication: To develop agriculture as an economic engine for 65 plus nationally employed in this activity, first one must develop Integrated Infrastructure of Agriculture (IIA) at the …

Governance And Economic Development, Daniel Teferra

International Conference on African Development

This study defines the concept of governance from the stand point of property relationship between state and people. This relationship is crucial in determining the nature of a state and its capacity to conduct the business of economic development. The Author will provide historical experiences of different countries to support the thesis.

Challenges Facing Women In Us Higher Education: The Case Of Faculty Of Color, Fredah Mainah

International Conference on African Development

Despite a myriad of challenges such as the slow pace of rising to the top, and the low compositional diversity in most university leadership, women of color are increasingly becoming visible in top positions in higher education. This paper investigated the phenomena of increasing numbers of women in top positions with the aim of debunking the myth of invisibility of black women in leadership positions in higher education. The findings indicate that although women in the US earn the majority of post-secondary degrees, with 26.4% of college presidents being women (4.5% of them being women of color), they still have …

3x3 Mēlene #3, Maira Bundza

Maira Bundza

This was the second of two newsletters published during the course of the Latvian Heritage Camp 3x3 in the Latvian Center Garezers in Three Rivers, MI. Bundza was the co-editor with Sams Knochs and wrote some of the articles.

Assessing The Shared Usage Of Collaboratively Acquired Ebooks Withing The Borrow Direct Network, Adriana Popescu, Douglas Mcgee

Library Scholarship

Established in 1999, Borrow Direct (BD) is a partnership of nine independent U.S. universities and the Center for Research Libraries providing expedited delivery of print materials. As such, it has facilitated the delivery of nearly two million items to patrons at these institutions. The rapid emergence of e-books has posed a challenge to this successful resource sharing venture as member institutions have expanded their acquisition of this type of content. How does one “borrow” an ebook from another institution and avoid the need to purchase one’s own copy? Different models are emerging to tackle this issue. Under the aegis of …

Sismos, Fernando Carrión Mena Arq.

Fernando Carrión Mena

Nuevamente la madre naturaleza nos muestra que está con vida; es decir, que se mueve, que llueve, que tiene calor y que se transforma, a pesar de que nos resistimos a creer que sea así. Muestra de ello tenemos que la llamada falla de Quito -que tiene más de 50 kilómetros de largo y una profundidad no mayor a 15 kilómetros- se activó el pasado martes cuando se sintió un sismo de 5.1 grados en la escala de Richter, que tuvo como epicentro la zona este de Calderón en el norte de la ciudad y una profundidad de 5.5 kilómetros. …

Oppl Agenda 8/16/2014, Orland Park Public Library

Orland Park Public Library (Illinois), 2013

No abstract provided.

Catalogers Unite! Creating Documentation Through Collaboration, Patricia K. Falk, Elizabeth Hertenstein, Stefanie Hunker

Libby Hertenstein

Recent changes have forced Bowling Green State University (BGSU) to reevaluate our documentation, workflows, and communication. There have been staff retirements, changes in staff responsibilities, and a new faculty cataloger. Additionally, BGSU is implementing a discovery layer, purchasing shelf-ready books, and adding more electronic resources. It has become apparent that documentation needs to be updated and, in many cases, created from scratch. Collaboration is critical as catalogers are currently few in number and are seeing the need to work with other departments in ways unheard of previously. The creation of a new cataloging manual is vital to the success of …

Breaking Social Confinement: An Analysis Of Eighteenth-Century Women In The French Economy, Meghan Turok

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

The study of single women in early modern Europe (1500-1800) has become a focus of scholarly examination during the past ten years. Historians have recognized that female singleness was often detested as it rejected the societal expectations of women that included domesticity and submission. But what they have yet to identify are the valuable economic contributions single women as a whole provided to society. In order to offer further research to this study, I examined 1795 census records from the Archives départementals de la Côte d’Or in Dijon, France that I translated from French to English. The census I examined …

Determinants Of Traffic Fatalities In The U.S., Hanna Stapleton

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This paper investigates the determinants of motor vehicle fatalities in each of the 50 states in the U.S., along with the District of Columbia. Using a panel data set from 1994 to 2005, we analyze how the factors, such as safety belt laws, speed control, alcohol usage, fine, driving conditions and annual vehicle-miles of travel (VMT), affect the incidence of traffic fatalities. Econometric models are developed and the estimates are obtained from a general-to-specific specification search based upon all the diagnostic tests in order to increase the probability of selecting models which are statistically reliable. The empirical results show that …

Camper Council: A Meaningful Involvement Initiative, Amanda Penning

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

An increase in interest from youth and family practitioners, policy makers and researchers has given positive youth development the spotlight within this past decade. The focus for many of these individuals has been to develop a wide range of approaches to prevent youth problems and promote healthy youth development. Studies have shown success in prevention programs for youth that are focused on increasing community involvement and include four major components; safety, skill building, supportive relationships and meaningful involvement. Meaningful involvement has been identified as the most difficult component to achieve in programs for youth, specifically in resident and day camps. …

Narratives From The Former Soviet Union To The United States, Kimberly Maas

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This paper examines the impact of the transition of the Soviet Union on the experiences of citizens from the republics of the former Soviet Union and American tourists. It is an ongoing project that will, upon completion in fall 2008, include data collected from at least eight semi-structured interviews. So far, five semi-structured interviews have been conducted with individuals who are from the United States and who have traveled to the former USSR; or were natives of the former Soviet Union. The interviews have been transcribed and analyzed inductively with the goal of understanding (a) differences in life experiences across …

Relationship Between Athletes And Role Models, Kaytlin Lemier

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This study examines the relationship between athletes and their responsibility as role models to youth. The study was conducted due to the expressed debate over the expected roles of professional athletes. On one side of the debate are those who feel that athletes choose to be in the limelight, thus being an athlete requires a need to acknowledge that they are role models and it requires that they act accordingly. On the other side are those who feel that athletes may have chosen their profession, but they are entitled to have a "private life" regardless of the youth who may …

Systemic Racism Of The Unicef Germany's Ads Depicting Children In Blackface, April Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

In the summer of 2007, UNICEF Germany released four ads containing the use of Blackface. However, neither the German population, nor UNICEF Germany found the use of Blackface insulting or racist when in fact Americans, who have the history of Blackface Theater, were appalled at the display of white German children with mud on their faces, portraying Africans. Through the use of Joe R. Feagin's theory of systemic racism, this paper rhetorically analyzed whether the UNICEF ads should be considered racist outside the American experience of Blackfacing and Blackface Theater. The analysis revealed the UNICEF ads are racist under the …

Confidence In College Athletics, Kimberly Halpin

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

I researched the processes used by intercollegiate athletes to maintain confidence throughout their sports career, including how they prepared for games/competitions, how they dealt with pressures, and how other factors affected their performance and thought process during games. For this research, I created and administered an online survey to 70 college athletes across four sports. I found that many things gave the athletes confidence in themselves to play their sport such as family and preparation. However, some things also lowered the respondents’ confidence levels such as failing and negativity. Results imply that athletes, for the most part, seem confident and …

The Effect Of Online Training On Teams, Ariel Becker

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Many organizations recognize the importance of utilizing teams to accomplish work (Chuboda et al., 2005; Devine et al., 1999; Ilgen, 1999; Martins et al., 2004). As technology has advanced, many of these organizations have recently become more reliant on virtual project work, which allows work teams to communicate across geographical distances (Driskell et al., 2003). Considering the growing prevalence of virtual teams in organizations, more needs to be known about how to facilitate virtual team effectiveness. In addition, the increased use of teams in organizations has identified and created the need for team training (Ilgen, 1999). Creating a training environment …

Governance And Private Investment In Africa, Idrissa Ouedraogo, Pascal Kouman

International Conference on African Development

Africa is one of the world regions whose development potentials are particularly important. But despite this situation, Africa is one of the continents where poverty exists on a large scale. More than 44 % of the African population lives below the poverty line. Yet, various forms of development strategies have been designed and implemented in the African countries. In 1992, in its publication Governance and Development, the World Bank refers to the quality of government as the cause of the failure of several of these strategies. Attention is henceforth focused on how governments organize the management of state and govern …

Governance Of Land And Natural Resource For Sustainable Development In Botswana: Possible Lessons For The Agricultural And Tourism Sectors, David Sebudubudu, Patricia Makepe, Keratilwe Bodilenyane, Kgomotso Montsi

International Conference on African Development

Realizing sustainable development is a major challenge for most African states. Economic development in most African countries is largely centered on the exploitation of natural resources, particularly minerals. Rather than facilitate development, the exploitation of natural resources in most countries, has been a source of adverse outcomes. That is, natural resources led to ‘the resource curse’, owing in part to bad leadership and governance. Through good leadership and governance, Botswana emerged differently. The country transformed itself to a middle income status through the prudent exploitation and management of mineral resources; making Botswana one of the few resource rich countries to …

Distance Support Services: Defining, Discussing, And Determining Future Roles, Carolyn Schubert, Margaret Hoogland

Carolyn F Schubert

Introduction: With over 6 million students now taking at least one course online, higher education is significantly shifting educational and outreach approaches (The Sloan Consortium, 2011). This trend is particularly strong in the medical field, as “fully online health sciences programs show higher growth than online programs in other disciplines” (The Sloan Consortium, 2011). To meet these emerging needs, library support must now occur via Learning Management Systems, Guides, Tutorials, and Websites. In parallel with the education trends, telemedicine consultations are becoming options more readily available to patients and practitioners making online learning and collaboration a professional skill. In early …

The Gap Between Science And Policy: Assessing The Use Of Nonmarket Valuation In Estuarine Management, Judith T. Kildow Dr, Jing Guo

Working Papers

Estuaries, which are among the most productive natural systems on earth, provide an array of human welfare benefits if well managed. Non-market valuation (NMV) is considered a powerful tool, which can contribute to informed policies for estuarine management. More than 30 year of research valuing estuaries around the world does not appear to have had a major impact on estuarine management. Published examples of policy applications using estimates from these studies, are rare, leading to the question whether the effort and money spent on this research has been useful and worth the cost.

Despite raising public awareness of the importance …

"The Bigger The Cake?": Puzzling Over Equality 20 Years Into Post-Apartheid South Africa, Jeremy P. Cronin

jeremy p cronin

No abstract provided.

Orland Library Told To Revote On Internet Access Policy, Dennis Sullivan

Orland Park Public Library (Illinois), 2013

No abstract provided.

Oppl Trustees To Vote Again On Controversial Policy, Bill Jones

Orland Park Public Library (Illinois), 2013

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of The Clark County Wetlands Park Volunteer Program, Stephanie Holguin, Riley Kelley, Aaron Manfredi, Michael Mcquatters

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background

Student evaluation team, M.A.R.S. Consulting Group (M.A.R.S.), conducted an evaluation of the Clark County Wetlands Park (CCWP) Volunteer Program from April 2014 through August 2014. The pre-assessment consisted of a qualitative analysis of the organization’s educational programs, tremendous growth in and establishment of facilities throughout 2013 and 2014, staff responsibilities, and volunteer programs. As a result of this pre-assessment, M.A.R.S. determined that an evaluation of the current volunteer program would have the most impact on the organization.

Purpose

The primary purpose of this evaluation is to provide Wetlands Park staff with suggestions and recommendations based on the identified needs …

Usft Institutional Repository Annual Report: Fy 2013-2014, Rebel Cummings-Sauls

Scholar Commons Publications

In fall 2011, the Academic Resources Unit of Tampa Library officially launched Scholar Commons, the University of South Florida’s (USF’s) institutional repository (IR), as a virtual showcase for research and creative energies. Scholar Commons, which can be accessed at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/, provides digital preservation and free, open access (OA) to all scholarly works produced by the USF Community. Our vision is to become a vehicle to drive research communication across disciplines and the globe. Through our dedication and outreach of scholarly communications we have created some positive outcomes. This report will look back on the progress of this initiative in …

Voinovich Archives Project Conference On Public Private Partnerships: Conference Reader, Stuart C. Mendel

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Informativeness In Text Using Natural Language Stylometry, Rushdi Shams

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this age of information overload, one experiences a rapidly growing over-abundance of written text. To assist with handling this bounty, this plethora of texts is now widely used to develop and optimize statistical natural language processing (NLP) systems. Surprisingly, the use of more fragments of text to train these statistical NLP systems may not necessarily lead to improved performance. We hypothesize that those fragments that help the most with training are those that contain the desired information. Therefore, determining informativeness in text has become a central issue in our view of NLP. Recent developments in this field have spawned …

Assessment Of Policies For Innovative Financing In Infrastructure Systems, Ali Mostafavi, Dulcy Abraham, Charlene Sullivan

Infrastructure System-of-Systems (I-SoS ) Research Group

Infrastructure systems are drivers of the economy in the nation. A dollar spent on infrastructure development yields roughly double the initial spending in ultimate economic output in the short term; and over a twenty-year period, and generalized ‘public investment’ produces an aggregated $3.21 of economic activity per $1.00 spent [1]. Thus, formulation of policies pertaining to infrastructure investment and development is of significance affecting the social and economic wellbeing of the nation. The aim of this policy brief is to evaluate innovative financing in infrastructure systems from two different perspectives: (1) through consideration of the current condition of infrastructure in …