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open access

Benthic Macroinvertebrates of Temperate, Sub-Antarctic Streams: The Effects of Altitudinal Zoning and Temperature on the Phenology of Aquatic Insects Associated to the Robalo River, Navarino Island (55°S), Chile

Description: The Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, within the remote Sub-Antarctic ecoregion is a reservoir of expressions of biological and cultural diversity. Although it is considered one of 24 wilderness areas remaining in the world, it is not free from local and global threats, such as invasive species, and climate change. Field biologists and philosophers associated to the Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program and the Omora Ethnobotanical Park, have worked to describe the region’s biocultural dive… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Contador Mejías, Tamara Andrea
open access

Biodegradable Poly(hydroxy Butyrate-co-valerate) Nanocomposites And Blends With Poly(butylene Adipate-co-terephthalate) For Sensor Applications

Description: The utilization of biodegradable polymers is critical for developing “cradle to cradle” mindset with ecological, social and economic consequences. Poly(hydroxy butyrate-co-valerate) (PHBV) shows significant potential for many applications with a polypropylene equivalent mechanical performance. However, it has limitations including high crystallinity, brittleness, small processing window, etc. which need to be overcome before converting them into useful products. Further the development of biode… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Vidhate, Shailesh
open access

Biodiversity Loss, the Motivation Problem, and the Future of Conservation Education in the United States

Description: The purpose of this dissertation is to make sense of two sets of reactions. On the one hand, Americans can barely lift a finger to help threatened and endangered species while on the other, they routinely come to the aid of human victims of disaster. I argue that in contrast to cases of human tragedy, for the biodiversity crisis conservationists are faced not only with the familiar yet arduous task of motivating the American public to care for living other-than-humans, but they are also saddl… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Grove-Fanning, William
open access

Can Social Disorganization and Social Capital Factors Help Explain the Incidences of Property Crimes in Turkey?

Description: Organized crime and terrorism taking place in the Turkish provinces get more attention in the public agenda than other type of crimes. Although property crimes receive less attention, they pose a serious threat to public order and the social welfare of Turkish society. Academic researchers have also paid little attention to the analysis of property crimes at the macro level in Turkey. For these reasons, this study focused on the analysis of property crimes for three years period, 2005, 2006 and… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Irmak, Fatih
open access

A Characterization Of Jackson Blue Spring, Jackson County, Florida

Description: Jackson Blue is a first magnitude spring in the karst terrane of northeast Florida. Previous studies have identified inorganic fertilizer as the source of high nitrate levels in the spring. Agricultural land use and karst vulnerability make Jackson Blue a good model for conservation concerns. This work offers an aggregation of studies relating to the springshed, providing a valuable tool for planning and conservation efforts in the region. An analysis of nitrate levels and other water quality p… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Reiser, Cora
open access

The Chopin Etudes: a Study Guide for Teaching and Learning Opus 10 and Opus 25

Description: The etudes of Chopin are masterworks of the piano literature and are designed to go beyond mere technical exercises; moreover, each etude represents not only a technical study but also has a distinct musical character. Alarmingly, the current trend seems to be to assign the Chopin etudes at an increasingly young age to students who are not yet equipped either technically or musically to handle them. As Chopin’s pupil, Carl Mikuli, commented in the preface to his Chopin edition, the etudes were … more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Kim, Min Joung
open access

Communication System over Gnu Radio and OSSIE

Description: GNU Radio and OSSIE (Open-Source SCA (Software communication architecture) Implementation-Embedded) are two open source software toolkits for SDR (Software Defined Radio) developments, both of them can be supported by USRP (Universal Software Radio Peripheral). In order to compare the performance of these two toolkits, an FM receiver over GNU Radio and OSSIE are tested in my thesis, test results are showed in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5. Results showed that the FM receiver over GNU Radio has better… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Cheng, Zizhi
open access

Comparative Analysis Of 105 Higher Education Doctoral Programs In The United States

Description: The mission types of 105 current doctoral programs in higher education and the extent to which their missions have changed since a similar study was conducted by Dressel and Mayhew in 1974 was studied. The curricula offerings of these programs by degree type (e.g., Ed.D. & Ph.D.) were compared with Fife’s 1991 findings. Finally, the study examined the various modes of instruction (e.g., classroom, online, cohort, blended) these programs utilize. The population was the 131 U.S. higher educati… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Valerin, Marcus P.
open access

Comparing Latent Dirichlet Allocation and Latent Semantic Analysis as Classifiers

Description: In the Information Age, a proliferation of unstructured text electronic documents exists. Processing these documents by humans is a daunting task as humans have limited cognitive abilities for processing large volumes of documents that can often be extremely lengthy. To address this problem, text data computer algorithms are being developed. Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) are two text data computer algorithms that have received much attention individually… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Anaya, Leticia H.
open access

The Compositional Transformation and Musical Rebirth of Leo Ornstein

Description: This study focuses on the transformation of Leo Ornstein’s (1893-2002) musical language of his early years into the strikingly different approach found in his later years. Ornstein’s initial radical compositions from the mid-1910s were no doubt representative of the direction in which modern music was moving. Despite the intense fame and notoriety of his early works, Ornstein did not feel connected to the trends of modern music development, and by the end of the 1930s he withdrew from the pub… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Bonney, Michael
open access

The Concept Of “Unity” In Isang Yun’s Königliches Thema Fr Violine Solo

Description: A Korean-German composer Isang Yun.s life was evenly distributed between two different countries, and his music contains both elements of performance practices of Eastern Asian and Western music. This dissertation presents his ethnic and aesthetic musical roots by an analytic examination of his solo violin piece, K♠nigliches Thema (1976). The dissertation is divided into four chapters. The first chapter contains Isang Yuns biography and his works of the four periods. The second chapter studies … more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Kim, Songyoung
open access

Correlates Of Three Year Transfer Student Retention Rates With Race, Gender, Age, Credit Hours, And Place Of Residence At A Regional, Public University

Description: This dissertation examined the relationship between the three year academic success of transfer students and the variables of race, gender, age, number of transfer credit hours, and place of residence. The study was conducted at Midwestern State University, a public, regional four-year institution and followed the incoming transfer classes of the fall 2005 (N = 292), 2006 (N = 323), and 2007 (N = 286) semesters. The subjects included in this study were all new transfer students who met the uni… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Mills, Michael Thomas
open access

Critical Literacy Practices, Social Action Projects, and the Reader Who Struggles in School

Description: This study, conducted at an urban public school, explored the engagements of five, fourth grade, African American students who struggled with reading in school as they participated in critical literacy practices and social action projects with the assumption that critical analysis of written texts and concrete social actions were necessary for student empowerment. Using Discourse Analysis within a microethnographic framework, participants’ responses were analyzed. Early in the study, participan… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Bauer, Courtney Marie
open access

Criticism of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony in London and Boston, 1819-1874: A Forum for Public Discussion of Musical Topics

Description: Critics who discuss Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony often write about aspects that run counter to their conception of what a symphony should be, such as this symphony’s static nature and its programmatic elements. In nineteenth-century Boston and London, criticism of the Pastoral Symphony reflects the opinions of a wide range of listeners, as critics variably adopted the views of the intellectual elite and general audience members. As a group, these critics acted as intermediaries between various… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Cooper, Amy Nicole
open access

The Design Of A Benchmark For Geo-stream Management Systems

Description: The recent growth in sensor technology allows easier information gathering in real-time as sensors have grown smaller, more accurate, and less expensive. The resulting data is often in a geo-stream format continuously changing input with a spatial extent. Researchers developing geo-streaming management systems (GSMS) require a benchmark system for evaluation, which is currently lacking. This thesis presents GSMark, a benchmark for evaluating GSMSs. GSMark provides a data generator that creates … more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Shen, Chao
open access

Development Of A Testbed For Multimedia Environmental Monitoring

Description: Multimedia environmental monitoring involves capturing valuable visual and audio information from the field station. This will permit the environmentalists and researchers to analyze the habitat and vegetation of a region with respect to other environmental specifics like temperature, soil moisture, etc. This thesis deals with the development of a test bed for multimedia monitoring by capturing image information and making it available for the public. A USB camera and a Single board computer ar… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Kandula, Harsha
open access

Development of Indium Oxide Nanowires as Efficient Gas Sensors

Description: Crystalline indium oxide nanowires were synthesized following optimization of growth parameters. Oxygen vacancies were found to impact the optical and electronic properties of the as-grown nanowires. Photoluminescence measurements showed a strong U.V emission peak at 3.18 eV and defect peaks in the visible region at 2.85 eV, 2.66 eV and 2.5 eV. The defect peaks are attributed to neutral and charged states of oxygen vacancies. Post-growth annealing in oxygen environment and passivation with sulp… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Gali, Pradeep
open access

Development of Silicon Nanowire Field Effect Transistors

Description: An economically reliable technique for the synthesis of silicon nanowire was developed using silicon chloride as source material. The 30-40 micron long nanowires were found to have diameters ranging from 40 – 100 nm. An amorphous oxide shell covered the nanowires, post-growth. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the composition of the shell to be silicon-dioxide. Photoluminescence measurements of the as-grown nanowires showed green emission, attributed to the presence of the oxide shell. Etching of th… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Nukala, Prathyusha
open access

Diffusion Of Location Based Services And Targeting Us Hispanics: A Case Study

Description: This study reviews factors that identify U.S. Hispanics as being an ideal target market for adopting Location Based Services (LBS). By using the diffusion of innovation theory, an observed pattern of Hispanics’ adoption of technology, advertisements, smartphones and various smartphone value-added services reveals U.S. Hispanics to be more likely to adopt LBS than non-Hispanics. The study also identifies the top U.S. cell phone wireless providers and analyzes their marketing position towards U.S… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Yepez, Jennifer
open access

Directions Toward a “Happy Place”: Metaphor in Conversational Discourse

Description: This paper aims to show how people use and understand metaphorical language in conversational discourse. Specifically, I examine how metaphorical language has the potential to be either effective or ineffective in its usage, and how they are bound to the contextual environment of the conversation. This particular setting is a conversation between a researcher and a participant involved in a therapeutic program. Metaphorical language is shown to be helpful for understanding difficult subjects; h… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Edwards, Jonathan Ryan
open access

Dual-band Microwave Components And Their Applications

Description: In general, Dual-Band technology enables microwave components to work at two different frequencies. This thesis introduces novel dual-band microwave components and their applications. Chapter 2 presents a novel compact dual-band balun (converting unbalanced signals to balanced ones). The ratio between two working frequencies is analyzed. A novel compact microstrip crossover (letting two lines to cross each other with very high isolation) and its dual-band application is the subject of chapter 3… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Shao, Jin
open access

Dynamic Measurement of Intraoral Pressure and Sound Pressure With Laryngoscopic Characterization During Oboe Performance

Description: Measurements of intraoral pressure (IOP) and sound pressure level (SPL) were taken of four oboists as they performed two sets of musical exercises: (1) crescendo-decrescendo from pp to ff and back to pp on the pitches D4, G4, C5 and A5, and (2) straight and vibrato performances of the same four pitches at mf. Video images of the vocal tract were also made using flexible fiberoptic nasoendoscopy (FFN). IOP and SPL data were captured in real time by the WinDaq®/Lite software package, with the dB … more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Adduci, Michael Douglas
open access

Ecological Analysis of Physical Activity and Health-related Quality of Life in Female College Students.

Description: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a comprehensive construct including physical and psychosocial health functioning. Despite significant health benefits of regular physical activity (PA), over 40% of female college students do not meet recommended PA guidelines to improve their health. This study investigated the influences of individual, social, and physical environmental factors on students’ PA and HRQOL. Participants were 235 female university students who completed validated surveys … more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Dunn, Jacqueline
open access

Economic Mobility into the Planter Class in Texas, 1846-1860

Description: This study examines upward economic mobility into the planter class in Texas during the antebellum statehood period, 1846-1860. Using quantitative methods to analyze data from census and tax records, this study addresses several questions regarding the property owning experience of Texas planters. Did any of the 1860 planters, men or women, rise to that status from another class? If so, how many rose from small slaveholder or small planter origins, and how many advanced from plain folk origins?… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Nelson, Robert Nicholas
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