Wild Sun Bears (Helarctos Malayanus) Exhibit Aseasonality In Parturition, Zachary A. David, Brian Crudge, Matt Hunt, Kirsty Officer, Vuthy Choun, Barbara Durrant, Megan A. Owen, Morokot Long, John P. Whiteman

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Seasonal reproduction can provide species with fitness advantages by allowing the birth of young to coincide with favorable environmental conditions, particularly in environments with high seasonal and intra-annual variation in these conditions. Seven of the eight species in the bear family (Ursidae) reproduce seasonally in both managed care and the wild; however, data for the eighth species, the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), is unclear. Sun bears have been observed to reproduce throughout the year in managed care, yet currently there are no clear data of birth timing for wild sun bear cubs. Here we investigate the seasonality of …

A Practical Framework For Component-Level Structural Health Monitoring Of The Gerald Desmond Bridge, Mehran Rahmani, Vesna Terzic, Andrea Calabrese, Brittany Cambell

Mineta Transportation Institute

Bridges serve as critical transportation infrastructure, but traditional maintenance inspection to ensure their safety is time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive, especially for larger and more complex structures. This study presents a practical framework for the instrumentation, data acquisition, and remote condition assessment of the Gerald Desmond Bridge, California’s largest cable-stayed bridge. The framework aims to establish a foundation for real-time or near real-time remote health monitoring of the bridge’s critical elements. The study highlights the advantages of remote monitoring in terms of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and early detection of damage.

Minor Parties In America: National Failure, Some Localized Success, Eman J. Mohammad

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Leaning primarily on Duverger's Law, which credits minor party votes as wasted momentum, current research on institutional obstacles to minor party voting largely overlooks the influence of constituency size. This research reexamines the electoral hindrances that minor parties face when competing against the two dominant political parties. Specifically, I hypothesize there is a negative relationship between constituency size and minor party vote share. This thesis adopts an institutional approach to explain the success of minor parties in constituencies of varying size. In the empirical models, I will control for minor party organizational strength, state ballot access laws and whether states …

Maternal Cumulative Trauma And Child Externalizing Behavior: Indirect Pathways Through Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms And Parenting Behaviors, Chynna Michelle Dubuclet

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The present study aimed to add to the literature by analyzing the relationships present within the connection between maternal cumulative trauma and child externalizing behaviors. Specifically, this study examined the indirect effects that posttraumatic stress symptoms and parenting behaviors exert on the relationship between maternal cumulative trauma and externalizing behaviors. This study used structural equation modeling to assess the relationship between maternal cumulative trauma and child externalizing behaviors (i.e., conduct and behaviors, hyperactivity/impulsivity, opposition/defiance) through maternal PTSS and parenting behaviors (i.e., acceptance, lax discipline, overreactive discipline). Data was collected from 308 mothers (Mage = 20.59, 70.0% White/Caucasian) between April 2020 …

(Agri)Cultural Activism: The Role Of Pgaz K’Nyau Karen Youth In Sustaining Rotational Farming In Thailand, Mitchell Rigert

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this thesis is to shed light on youth group activism in an Indigenous Pgaz k’Nyau Karen community in Thailand. These youth are seeking rights and recognition to sustain their subsistence-based practice of swidden agriculture in the context of state forest policy officially banning such practices. I draw on over two months of multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in Thailand. I argue that the youth use a variety of strategies to render swidden agriculture visible and legible to the state and public in the interest of sustaining the practice, which they see as an essential part of their communal identity. …

The Effects Of Bureaucratic Corruption On The Financial Constraints Of Nigerian Small Businesses, Obinna Franklin Ezeibekwe

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In this paper, I conduct the first empirical analysis to examine the impact of bureaucratic corruption on small business financial constraints in Nigeria. This study is also the first to compare the average treatment effect (ATE) with the local average treatment effect (LATE) framework to account for potential variations in treatment effects for small Nigerian firms with less than 100 employees. Using the bivariate probit method and two binary instruments, I find that corruption significantly increases the likelihood of financial constraints for a typical micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) by approximately 64 to 68 percentage points. When I use …

The Impact Of Political Content Consumption From Tiktok On Civic Engagement And Online Political Participation Among Gen Zs - A Case Study In Cambodia, Menghieng Ngov

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Background: TikTok has grown as the foremost platform for short-form videos in Cambodia, widely recognized for its entertainment and showing activities like dancing and singing. This study aims to explore the amount of political and civic content on TikTok, produced by general users, news outlets, or politicians, and examine its influence on Generation Z's online political participation and civic engagement. This research investigates how exposure to those contents affects these Gen Zs, specifically addressing two main questions: (1) "How does TikTok influence Gen Z's understanding and engagement in political and civic topics in Cambodia?" (2) “How does the level of …

The Influence Of Media Usage On The Outcome Of Social Movement Campaigns In Southeast Asia, Rothsethamony Seng

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Does the use of media strategies help social movements or mass protest movements in Southeast Asia achieve their goals? The prominent study in this area argues that social media, in particular, has done more harm than good for grassroots movements. Tufekci (2017) argues that social media provides little help compared to the regime. I argue that social media helps the movement through three important areas, including (1) amplifying the messages of the movements to shape public opinions and counter propaganda and misleading information from the government, (2) facilitating and mobilizing protestors to coordinate virtual or physical protests, sustaining the momentum, …

Re-Feminizing The Divine: Understanding The Cultural Constructs Of Gender And Sexuality In A Church-Based Christian Community, Cameron K. Thomas

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Historically, Christianity has sought to maintain rigid separation between men and women. Christianity often views women as secondary to men, particularly in relation to authority under Jesus Christ. These ideals have led to the restrictions of rights and roles of people who choose not to adhere to strictly defined or enforced gender roles. For this ethnography, I examined one church community; namely Barbwire Baptist Church in northern Illinois and how its members used scripture and doctrine beyond simply worship to reinforce norms and expectations of self and others regarding gender and sexuality. I draw on scholarship in gender studies, and …

How Saudi Undergraduate Students Perceive Teacher Support, Basic Psychological Needs, And Academic Motivation, Anas M. Alhudib

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the Saudi undergraduate educational environment, exploring relationships among teacher support, basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration, academic motivation, and GPA. The study investigates whether basic psychological needs mediate the relationship between teacher support and academic motivation, utilizing a structural equation model with 312 Saudi undergraduate students. The findings reveal a positive relationship between teacher support and basic psychological need satisfaction, influencing academic motivation. Interestingly, GPA did not correlate with other variables. Various models were tested, resulting in two sets of models that underscore the significant role of basic psychological needs as mediators in shaping the relationship between …

Investigating Teacher And Student Perceptions Of The Impact Of Chatgpt In The Classroom, Esther Abla Dorgbefu

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study was an initial attempt to investigate faculty and student perceptions of the impact of ChatGPT in the classroom. The primary purpose of this study was to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the opportunities and challenges of ChatGPT in education. The following research questions were investigated to achieve this goal: (a) What fears do faculty have about using ChatGPT in education? (b) What fears do students have about the use of ChatGPT in education? (c) What are the possible benefits and consequences of using ChatGPT from students’ perspectives? (d) What are the possible benefits and consequences of using ChatGPT …

Service Employees' Occupation-Based Metaperceptions And Coworker Support: A Self-Verification Perspective, Nicholas A. Smith

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Service occupations are often characterized by employees’ frequent interpersonal contact with customers and other employees. This study investigates the directional effect of self-esteem on two service-specific ‘feedback’ constructs—occupation-based metaperceptions and coworker support. Applying a self-verification perspective, this study tests a framework that aims to address questions on why individuals may respond more negatively or favorably to forms of feedback characteristic of their occupation. Results from my study (N = 385) provide mixed support for the self-verification perspective, identifying a marginally significant negative moderation effect of self-esteem on the relationship between occupation-based metaperceptions and work meaningfulness. A significant moderation effect opposite …

Why Terrorism Varies In Indonesia, Titik Firawati

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation studies when, why, and how local religious conflicts escalate to campaigns of terrorist violence. To do so, I examine two most-similar cases in Indonesia: Ambon and Poso. Each experienced significant local conflict between Christians and Muslims in the early 2000s. But while a peace treaty in Ambon in 2002 was largely successful, a similar treaty in Poso failed, and violence actually escalated into an organized campaign of terrorism against Christians. To understand why violence escalated to terrorism in one case, but not the other, I conducted six months of field research, including 98 interviews with original interviews with …

Housing Markets, Residential Preferences And Segregation: Unraveling Spatial Dynamics In Quito, Ecuador, Felipe Miguel Valdez Gomez De La Torre

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Housing issues in cities paradoxically manifest as growing inaccessibility and an oversupply with high prices. Urban public policies have been insufficient to reverse this pattern because they fail to address its root cause: the socio-spatial process resulting in uneven development. This dissertation starts with the premise that housing problems are not isolated but intricately linked to social dynamics and spatial configurations.Latin American cities represent a particular case study due to their high degree of urbanization combined with high inequality, leading to unique and highly segregated urban forms such as self-built settlements and gated communities in close proximity. We take the …

Designing For Everyone: Accessibility, Inclusion, And Equity In Online Instruction, Kimberly Shotick

Faculty Books & Book Chapters

This chapter introduces practices that promote equity and inclusion in online learning spaces through the lens of Universal Design for Learning.

Crafting Effective Prompts: Leveraging Generative Ai In Libraries, April Sheppard, Kristin Flachsbart

Staff and Faculty Scholarship

Discover how strategic prompt design can help you harness the power of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in your library. Through a series of examples, the presenters will demonstrate the impact that well-crafted prompts can have on the quality and relevance of AI-generated outputs.

Transforming The Route 228 Corridor: A Safe And Connective Approach, Michael Boeh

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

This capstone plan centers around the Rt. 228/19 intersection and surrounding corridor located in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. In spite of recent projects, the intersection continues to convey feelings of danger and a lack of safety. This redesign project will utilize SketchUp to demonstrate how safety and connectivity can be prioritized and made a reality for the Rt. 228 corridor.

Revitalize Wakefield: Charting A Course For Growth, Bannon T. Luckert

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

This plan focuses on discovering the objectives and aspirations of residents and merchants to formulate a revitalization strategy comprising actionable steps that will contribute to the flourishing of a rural downtown. By leveraging Wakefield's rich history and existing assets, this plan aims to help realize the vision of revitalizing Wakefield.

Growth In Appalachia: Downtown Revitalization Strategies For Covington, Virginia, Tucker L. Keener

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

This plan was created for the City of Covington, Virginia which is located in the Western part of the state in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This plan aims to identify the goals and desires of local community members and business owners that prioritize economic growth in the downtown core. The City of Covington has many great assets, and the goal of this plan is to leverage these assets to assist with downtown revitalization. Recommendations in this plan relate to ideas of enhancing downtown, creating and strengthening anchor institutions, and create downtown as a tourist destination.

Health-Based Urban Design And Planning Interventions; Maximizing Harmony, Vitality, And Wellness In Hopewell, Virginia, Suzanne K. Yeats

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Urban planners as practitioners work to create a more progressive future while simultaneously redressing the past. This tension is found in many cities, including the City of Hopewell, Virginia where city planners, managers, economic developers work passionately for positive change. In Hopewell, there has been almost no population growth since 1970 and existing health outcomes are alarming. In every determinant of health category (medical, psychological, or social), this city falls below the state and national average. This health-based urban design and planning intervention capstone challenges the status quo by flipping the paradigm and placing the health of all residents first …

Social Invention For The Common Good: A Community Land Trust-Based Model For Affordable Accessory Dwelling Units, Adelaide Alexander

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Executive Summary

Vision: High-quality, affordable ADUs address the housing crisis and foster racial and economic justice for residents of the Richmond region

Key Research Findings

Of MWCLT’s 95 properties, 80 are suitable for the addition of ADUs and another 6 may be suitable, subject to property-specific analysis and permissions.

Richmond now allows ADUs by right in all residential districts, so ADUs could be developed as infill projects or as part of subdivisions in the City.

In Chesterfield and Henrico, developing ADUs as affordable rentals will be most feasible as part of subdivision, rather than infill, development.

Estimated rents for a …

The Misleading Successes Of Cost-Benefit Analysis In Environmental Policy, David E. Adelman, Amy Sinden

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

This Article critically examines the rise of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in environmental policy and the profound disconnect that has persisted between the actual practice of CBA and its normative grounding. Although CBA is now synonymous with rational decision-making in federal agencies, this has not always been the case. Views about CBA have evolved from bipartisan rejection in the 1970s, to partisan division (Republicans for, Democrats against) during the Reagan-Bush years, to a broad embrace of CBA in the mid-1990s, when centrist legal scholars were instrumental in crafting a new defense of CBA based on a mix of welfare economics and …

The Clean Water Act’S Nurdle-Shaped Gap: Using The Cwa To Address Primary Microplastic Pollution, Taylor Hopkins

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

The term “nurdles” may sound like a silly made-up word lifted from the pages of a children’s book, but unfortunately nurdles are all-too real, with trillions of these microplastics ending up in our oceans each year. Nurdles spill into the environment at every step along their supply chain, allowing them to end up in fish and on our plates. Despite the known danger nurdles pose to both wildlife and humans, they are virtually unregulated. In the absence of regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), some states and their citizens have begun trying to wrangle rogue nurdles, and hold nurdle …

The Status Of Implementation Of Radio Frequency Identification (Rfid) Technology And Its Awareness Among Library Users And Professionals: A Study Of Central Library Of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, Soma Tanti, Anubhaw Kumar Suman, Dr. Madhu Patel

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The main aim of this study is to determine the status of implementing the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in the central library of Jadavpur University, Kolkata; the other purpose is to increase awareness of RFID technology among library professionals and users of the library. RFID technology occurs in many areas of society, such as healthcare, marketing, libraries, etc. For this study, the users and library professionals of Jadavpur University have been selected. This study adopted the descriptive analytical research method, and quantitative and qualitative data were collected to achieve its objectives. The survey method has been used with the …

School Culture: Identifying The Barriers To Belonging At Boarding Schools And Shifting The Culture, Kyle Connolly

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

School Culture: Identifying the Barriers to Belonging at Boarding Schools and Shifting the Culture is a theoretical application of sociological concepts to boarding school social spaces. The social environment in schools is a venue where students are subjected to endless influences that play a major role in shaping their social realities. Though much debate in education focuses on the curriculum in public school settings, there is far less attention given to small boarding school communities and even less attention on the culture of belonging, or the obstacles to belonging that exist within it. As American society grows more diverse, economically …

Fp-24-14 Cohabitation In Middle And Later Life, 2022, Jaden Loo

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

The popularity of cohabitation for US adults of all ages has continued to grow in recent years. For older men and women (aged 50+) in 2000, the number of cohabitors was about 1.2 million, or 1.6% of adults in that group (Brown, Bulanda, & Lee 2005). As of 2022, this number has almost quadrupled to 4,205,505. We find that among older adults more men (2,216,977) are cohabiting than women (1,988,528). This sex difference is especially pronounced when comparing cohabitation rates (number of cohabitors per 1,000 unmarried and separated). The cohabitation rate is higher among older men at 118.2 than women …

Fp-24-13 Recently Divorced Adults With Resident Minor Children, 2022, Corrine E. Wiborg

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

After reaching a 40-year low for two consecutive years (2020 and 2021 at 14.0 divorces per 1,000 married women), divorce rates have risen slightly in 2022 to 14.6 divorces per 1,000 married women (FP-23-24). Among recently divorced individuals, many may be parents with resident children. Using the American Community Survey (ACS) data from 2022, we estimate whether minor children (either biological, stepchildren, or adopted) are present in the household among recently divorced (within the last year) parents aged 18-55. Currently, the ACS does not capture divorced individuals with nonresident children and thus these figures underestimate the percentage of recently divorced …

Fp-24-15 Women Who Gave Birth Within The Past 12 Months, 2022, Corrine E. Wiborg

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

In 2024, the CDC issued a report indicating the United States’ general fertility rate (i.e., the total number of births in the year divided by the female population ages 15-44) has decreased for a second year in a row to 54.4 births per 1,000 women aged 15-44 in 2023, which is a decline of 3% from 2022 (Hamilton et al., 2024). Although the fertility rate has declined in the United States, it remains important to explore the marital status of mothers who are giving birth as the share of births to unmarried women accounted for nearly one-third (31%) of all …

The Unconstitutional Backlog In The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Criminal Justice System: A Three Step Plan To Decrease The Delay, Cassidy Louise Elliott

Honors Theses

Currently, within the Massachusetts Criminal Justice System, defendants are forced to wait up to 12 months for a trial. These pre-trial delays have significantly detrimental effects on defendants. For example, there are economic implications, strains on personal relationships, and physical and mental health risks associated with incarceration. There are several other criminal justice systems that can provide criminal defendants trials in a timelier manner than Massachusetts. This thesis explores the right to a speedy and fair trial under the U.S. Constitution, the reasons for the potentially unconstitutional delays in Massachusetts, and proposes reforms to ensure individuals accused of a crime …

Fp-24-16 Young Adults Living Alone, With Siblings, Or With Roommates, 2022, Krista K. Westrick-Payne

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

In the United States, moving out of the parental home to establish an independent household is a key milestone in the transition to adulthood. However, today's young adults are less likely to be married or have children compared to those in the early 1990s (Minkin, Parker, Horowitz, & Aragão, 2024). Consequently, the past decade has seen a continued rise in the number of young adults living with their parents (Loo, 2024) alongside an increase in those who are cohabiting (Manning & Loo, 2024). There has been comparatively less focus on single young adults who live independently, whether alone, with siblings, …