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University of New Mexico

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2014

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Considering A Voice Of The Body For Adult Transformative Learning Theory, Elizabeth Boleyn Feb 2014

Considering A Voice Of The Body For Adult Transformative Learning Theory, Elizabeth Boleyn

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

Unknowingly, much of the population of the Western World are thinking machines who live and learn isolated from somatic experiences. They distrust their bodies in the learning process and are stuck living out unquestioned realities of embodied socioculturalism and rationalism which guide decision making, learning and ways of being. Considering a voice of the body involved delving into the physical dimension of somatic transformative learning from the bodily-lived experiences of seven women who were in a first-level experiential Nia® dancing and movement training program. Together, these women offered a voice of the body offering that phases of transformative learning was …

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Modeling The Mechanical Response Of Polycrystalline Thin Films, Pedro Joaquin Madrid Feb 2014

Modeling The Mechanical Response Of Polycrystalline Thin Films, Pedro Joaquin Madrid

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are part of every modern technological advance. Electrodeposited thin nickel (Ni) polycrystalline films in MEMS often show fiber texture resulting in transverse isotropic elastic properties. It is of interest to determine these elastic properties, in particular the in-plane Young's modulus, since it plays a fundamental role in device performance. The fabrication process of MEMS films introduces uncertainties in the microstructure geometry, crystallographic texture, the crystal elastic constants, the physical film dimensions and other parameters. In this thesis the numerical value of the in-plane Young's modulus of thin Ni polycrystalline films is predicted. The predicted values lie between …

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A Survey Of Lack-Of-Fit Tests Based On Sums Of Ordered Residuals, Mohammad Hattab Feb 2014

A Survey Of Lack-Of-Fit Tests Based On Sums Of Ordered Residuals, Mohammad Hattab

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Christensen and Lin (2014), henceforth C-L, suggested two lack-of-fit tests to assess the adequacy of a linear model based on partial sums of residuals. In particular, their tests evaluated the adequacy of the mean function. Their tests relied on asymptotic results without requiring small sample normality. We extend this research by proposing additional tests based on partial sums of residuals. The asymptotic distribution for each test statistic is found so that the $P$ value can be efficiently approximated. To assess their strengths and weaknesses, the C-L tests and the new tests are compared in different scenarios by simulation. We propose …

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Factors Contributing To Weight Gain In Children Who Take Atypical Antipsychotics, Martha Faulkner Feb 2014

Factors Contributing To Weight Gain In Children Who Take Atypical Antipsychotics, Martha Faulkner

Nursing ETDs

Children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance (SED) who take atypical antipsychotics (AAs) gain significant amounts of weight. The purpose of this retrospective chart review study was to determine if type of AA, diagnosis, ethnicity/race, age, gender or months in treatment contribute to BMI z change score (weight gain). The sample was 110 children with SED who took AAs for 1-36 months, M age=10.5 years (SD=3.4, range 5-17), 67% male, 53% Hispanic or Latino. The average weight gain in the study was 22 pounds (0.33 BMI z change score). The percent of children classifed as overwieght or obese increased from …

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Development Of Synthetic Polymers For Bone Tissue Engineering: Engineering The Degradation Rate, Kirsten Cicotte Feb 2014

Development Of Synthetic Polymers For Bone Tissue Engineering: Engineering The Degradation Rate, Kirsten Cicotte

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

In this work the development, synthesis, and characterization of biodegradable synthetic polymers, poly (butylene fumarate) (PBF) and the copolymer poly (butylene fumarate)-co-(butylene maleate) (PBFcBM) is described. The unsaturated linear polyesters were synthesized via two synthetic routes, including an acid catalyzed transesterification reaction of (Z)-4-((4-hydroxybutan-2-yl)oxy)-4-oxobut-2-enoic acid which was formed via a ring opening reaction of maleic anhydride with 1,3-butylene glycol (BG) and reacting the acid chlorides, maleoyl chloride (MCl) and fumaryl chloride (FCl) with BG. Both methods introduce the cis (maleate) functionality into the polymer backbone, however a controlled fumarate to maleate ratio was only obtained via the acid chloride starting …

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Investigating The Causes Of Repeated Presidential Failure In South America, Margaret Edwards Feb 2014

Investigating The Causes Of Repeated Presidential Failure In South America, Margaret Edwards

Political Science ETDs

This dissertation examines the issue of presidential failure — any instance in which a president fails to complete his/her term in office without a break in the democratic regime. South America stands as an anomaly for having faced an uncommonly high rate of presidential failure, as eleven elected presidents have failed to complete their terms in office since the third wave of democratization. This phenomenon presents an interesting puzzle for scholars because it allows for inquiries into governmental stability as well as executive accountability. I evaluate the causes of presidential failure in South America through a multi-method approach that looks …

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Wideband Autonomous Cognitive Radios: Spectrum Awareness And Phy/Mac Decision Making, Yang Li Feb 2014

Wideband Autonomous Cognitive Radios: Spectrum Awareness And Phy/Mac Decision Making, Yang Li

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The cognitive radios (CRs) have opened up new ways of better utilizing the scarce wireless spectrum resources. The CRs have been made feasible by recent advances in software-defined radios (SDRs), smart antennas, reconfigurable radio frequency (RF) front-ends, and full-duplex RF front-end architectures, to name a few. Generally, a CR is considered as a dynamically reconfigurable radio capable of adapting its operating parameters to the surrounding environment. Recent developments in spectrum policy and regulatory domains also allow more flexible and efficient utilization of wider RF spectrum range in the future. In line with the future directions of CRs, a new vision …

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Functional Interactions Between The Cannabinoid System And Memory Consolidation In The Hippocampus: A Synthesis Of Findings From Behavior, Morphology, Physiology, And Synaptic Signaling In The Rat, Felicha Candelaria-Cook Feb 2014

Functional Interactions Between The Cannabinoid System And Memory Consolidation In The Hippocampus: A Synthesis Of Findings From Behavior, Morphology, Physiology, And Synaptic Signaling In The Rat, Felicha Candelaria-Cook

Psychology ETDs

The hippocampus is essential for long-term memory storage and consolidation. The dentate gyrus acts as a gateway into the hippocampal formation, specifically with reference to medial and lateral perforant path projections from the entorhinal cortex. The dentate gyrus and the hippocampus contain a high density of cannabinoid receptors and may be a key location in which cannabinoids exert influence to disrupt memory. Administration of a cannabinoid agonist often leads to short-term and long-term memory deficits in a variety of tasks. Cannabinoids can impair memory acquisition, task performance, along with memory consolidation and retrieval mechanisms. Endogenous cannabinoids are retrograde messengers involved …

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Invention And Contention: Place, Identity And Memory Of The Spanish Past In The American Southwest, 1848-1940, Brian Luna Lucero Feb 2014

Invention And Contention: Place, Identity And Memory Of The Spanish Past In The American Southwest, 1848-1940, Brian Luna Lucero

History ETDs

As the twentieth century unfolded, American writers, critics, and boosters presented a narrative of the arid Southwest as an exotic place blessed with a romantic history that could inspire, captivate and renew the many new white citizens flocking to rapidly growing cities. The history of Spanish colonialism in the area became a precious and exclusive cultural and economic resource. This dissertation tells the story of the commemoration of the Spanish past from 1848 to 1940 in three Spanish towns that grew into prominent American cities: Tucson, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and San Antonio, Texas. In chapters centered on space, historic …

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Relating Client Change Language And Safer-Sex Outcomes In A Group-Delivered Motivational Enhancement Therapy (Gmet) Intervention For Detained Adolescents, Lisa Glynn Feb 2014

Relating Client Change Language And Safer-Sex Outcomes In A Group-Delivered Motivational Enhancement Therapy (Gmet) Intervention For Detained Adolescents, Lisa Glynn

Psychology ETDs

Change talk' refers to client statements in favor of changing a particular target behavior. In individual motivational interviewing (MI) psychotherapy sessions, change talk is a predictor of eventual change for a variety of target behaviors. Growing evidence points to change talk as a potential causal mechanism of that treatment, but it remains unclear whether it might underlie the efficacy of group-delivered MI as well. Group-delivered MI and its adaptations have been employed widely across treatment settings and target behaviors; however, such groups are relatively unstudied, they have varied considerably in their elements and delivery, and their outcomes have shown mixed …

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Developing A Measure Of Ambivalence About Drinking Less Alcohol: Psychometric Properties And Construct Validity, Samara Lloyd Rice Feb 2014

Developing A Measure Of Ambivalence About Drinking Less Alcohol: Psychometric Properties And Construct Validity, Samara Lloyd Rice

Psychology ETDs

The resolution of ambivalence is an appealing explanation of how at-risk drinkers make changes in their alcohol consumption; however, limited research about this potential mechanism of change exists due to the lack of a specific measure of ambivalence about drinking less alcohol. An initial item pool measuring ambivalence was assessed in two different samples of at-risk drinkers, undergraduate college students participating in the study for research participation credit (N1 = 129) and participants recruited from online sources (N2 = 128) using an online web survey. Three different methods of measuring ambivalence were tested: a double-barreled items method, a difference score …

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The Relationships Between The Process Of Acculturation Of Teachers And Beliefs About Student Learning, Gabriella Blakey Feb 2014

The Relationships Between The Process Of Acculturation Of Teachers And Beliefs About Student Learning, Gabriella Blakey

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

One of the most challenging aspects of being a school leader is the struggle to get the school staff to embark on school improvement initiatives. The culture of the school can be a powerful driver in or a resister to our ability to move a school forward to increase student learning. New teachers struggle to understand the culture of the school along with the unwritten norms, values, and customs. As they observe the school culture, beginning teachers try to understand their individual power and role in the school culture. A teachers belief in students can help students enhance their chances …

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Modeling Moisture-Induced Damage In Asphalt Concrete, Mohammad Hossain Feb 2014

Modeling Moisture-Induced Damage In Asphalt Concrete, Mohammad Hossain

Civil Engineering ETDs

Moisture damage in Asphalt Concrete (AC) is not new but an unsolved problem. For decades laboratory studies have been conducted on both loose and compacted mix to understand the effects of moisture on the AC damage. Adhesive and cohesive damages are the two major types of damages occur inside the AC. Adhesive damage is a separation between aggregate and coated mastic or matrix materials and cohesive damage is the degradation of strength of matrix materials within the AC samples. In this study, Finite Element Method (FEM) modeling technique is used to identify initiation and progression of adhesive and cohesive damage. …

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Mystics, Radicals, Sinners, And Saints: Freedom, Rebirth, And The American West, Brian King Feb 2014

Mystics, Radicals, Sinners, And Saints: Freedom, Rebirth, And The American West, Brian King

History ETDs

This dissertation explores the lives of John Muir, the Taos Society of Artists, Mabel Dodge Luhan, Everett Ruess, Edith Warner, and the Taos hippies who journeyed to the American West in search of freedom. In the Western setting, with its diverse yet distinctive and stunning terrain, these individuals felt that their mind or soul—not just their physical body—had been liberated. They felt reborn. In the grand Sierras, John Muir discovered that physical and spiritual freedoms were intertwined. The Taos Society of Artists and Mabel Dodge Luhan found their connection with the natural world in northern New Mexico where three cultures …

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The Early Time Course Of Autophagy In Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Following Endurance Exercise, Kathryn Lanphere Feb 2014

The Early Time Course Of Autophagy In Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Following Endurance Exercise, Kathryn Lanphere

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Exercise disrupts homeostasis and leads to the induction of an important catabolic system called autophagy. Autophagy is a beneficial cell survival process that is induced in periods of starvation. The purposes of this study are to (1) determine the time course of autophagy activation following endurance exercise at 70% of VO2max in a warm environment and (2) to determine if exercising at 50% of VO2max induces autophagy in a warm environment. Methods. Eight endurance trained subjects (2 females) participated in this study and completed a moderate intensity exercise (MIE) trial for 1h (50% of VO2max ), and a high intensity …

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Multinode Acoustic Systems For High Throughput Cellular Analysis, Pearlson Prashanth Austin Suthanthiraraj Feb 2014

Multinode Acoustic Systems For High Throughput Cellular Analysis, Pearlson Prashanth Austin Suthanthiraraj

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

For decades, flow cytometry is used as the gold standard for cellular analyses as it measures multiple properties of single cells. Traditional flow cytometry uses the hydrodynamic focusing technique where the sheath fluid focuses cells in the sample into a narrow stream. Although such precise focusing provides accurate optical measurements, high sheath fluid pressure and high linear velocities limit analysis rate to 50,000 particles/s. Such rates are too low for detecting rare events where one cell may have to be detected in a population of about a billion cells. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate the sheath fluid and improve …

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An Exploration Of The Relationships Between Language, Culture, Safety, And Training In The Construction Workforce In New Mexico, Luis Guillermo Amezcua Feb 2014

An Exploration Of The Relationships Between Language, Culture, Safety, And Training In The Construction Workforce In New Mexico, Luis Guillermo Amezcua

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

The purpose of safety training is to avoid or at least decrease the number of work-related accidents and deaths. This study was concerned with the role that native language plays in effective training of adult construction workers in New Mexico. Specifically, this study examined workers and trainers' perceptions of the effectiveness of safety training as these perceptions relate to language and cultural considerations. Bilingual safety training is often ineffective because the trainers are limited in their use of the second language. In some cases, individuals without a true grasp of the second language become trainers due to the large demand …

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Quiet On The Set!: Writing Socially In An Elementary After-School Video Club, Charles Jurich Feb 2014

Quiet On The Set!: Writing Socially In An Elementary After-School Video Club, Charles Jurich

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The research presented is a qualitative case study of an after-school video club for elementary age students. The focus of the project revolved around one main question: how do students socially read and write videos? The broader goal of the question was to understand how students socially read and write multimodal texts with video as a subset. The study was approached from sociocultural approach to literacy that recognizes videomaking as a new literacies practice. As a literacy practice, videomaking incorporates multiple authors, multiple communicative modes (visual, spatial, aural, gestural, and linguistic), and involves complex and dynamic social interactions between both …

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Experiences Of Teachers Using An Iep Software Program For Students With Disabilities, Evan Borisinkoff Feb 2014

Experiences Of Teachers Using An Iep Software Program For Students With Disabilities, Evan Borisinkoff

Special Education ETDs

This study investigated the experiences of special education teachers who used IEP software programs to author their IEP documents for students with disabilities. The participants included 8 special education teachers enrolled in a special education graduate program at a Research 1 University. This qualitative investigation used semi-structured face to face interviews to examine issues related to the impacts and constraints of the IEP software when authoring IEP documents. Analysis of participant interviews revealed several benefits and challenges when using the IEP software. Participants stated that the software allowed them to develop a professional looking IEP document, free of errors and …

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Application Of Multiple Kernel Learning On Brain Imaging For Mental Illness Characterization, Eduardo Jose Castro Witting Feb 2014

Application Of Multiple Kernel Learning On Brain Imaging For Mental Illness Characterization, Eduardo Jose Castro Witting

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Mental disorders are diagnosed on the basis of reported symptoms and externally observed clinical signs. Nonetheless, these cannot be evaluated by means of clinical tests. This is the case for schizophrenia, a complex disease characterized by perturbations in language, perception, thinking, social relationships and will that affects about 1% of the U.S. population. Besides the absence of an objective assessment of symptoms to diagnose schizophrenia, not even a set of symptoms that uniquely characterize this disorder have been found. Given the absence of a biologically-based diagnosis of schizophrenia, several studies have used different brain imaging techniques in an attempt to …

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A Physical Unclonable Function Based On Inter-Metal Layer Resistance Variations And An Evaluation Of Its Temperature And Voltage Stability, Jing Ju Feb 2014

A Physical Unclonable Function Based On Inter-Metal Layer Resistance Variations And An Evaluation Of Its Temperature And Voltage Stability, Jing Ju

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Keying material for encryption is stored as digital bistrings in non-volatile memory (NVM) on FPGAs and ASICs in current technologies. However, secrets stored this way are not secure against a determined adversary, who can use probing attacks to steal the secret. Physical Unclonable functions (PUFs) have emerged as an alternative. PUFs leverage random manufacturing variations as the source of entropy for generating random bitstrings, and incorporate an on-chip infrastructure for measuring and digitizing the corresponding variations in key electrical parameters, such as delay or voltage. PUFs are designed to reproduce a bitstring on demand and therefore eliminate the need for …

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"Lesbianas Presente:" Lesbian Activism, Transnational Alliances, And The State In Mexico City, 1968-1991, Lucinda Grinnell Feb 2014

"Lesbianas Presente:" Lesbian Activism, Transnational Alliances, And The State In Mexico City, 1968-1991, Lucinda Grinnell

History ETDs

My dissertation examines the emergence of lesbian movements in Mexico City in the context of the Cold War and the onset of economic neo-liberalism. A transnational approach is crucial to understand the constitution of these movements because they responded and contributed to global sexuality rights movements as well as to the global Left. During this time, Mexican lesbians allied with the political Left offering support to socialist and anti-imperialist groups. In turn, the government treated lesbian activists as they did the Left, monitoring and harassing lesbians and their organizations in an effort to weaken the groups influence on civil society. …

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Teacher Efficacy Within Tier Ii Of The Rti Framework, Madelyn P. Serna Marmol Feb 2014

Teacher Efficacy Within Tier Ii Of The Rti Framework, Madelyn P. Serna Marmol

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This qualitative case study explores teacher efficacy in the decision making process within the Response to Intervention (RtI) Framework: from the initial Student Assistance Team (SAT) process through the Tier II interventions and the possible referral to Tier III. The study focuses on one elementary school of a rural northern New Mexico school district, collecting data from certified regular education teachers, the current principal, the former principal and the district Special Education Director. Teachers are categorized as either novice, intermediate, or veteran based on their years of experience. The Response to Intervention (RtI) process, if properly administered, may substantially reduce …

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Enhancement Of Saturation Boiling Of Pf-5060 Dielectric Liquid On Microporous Surfaces, Ali Amir Feb 2014

Enhancement Of Saturation Boiling Of Pf-5060 Dielectric Liquid On Microporous Surfaces, Ali Amir

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

This research experimentally investigated microporous Copper (MPC) surfaces for enhancing nucleate boiling and increasing the Critical Heat Flux (CHF) of PF-5060 dielectric liquid and the potential application of the results to immersion cooling of high power computer chips. MPC surfaces of different thicknesses (80—230 \uf06dm), fabricated using conventional electrochemical deposition at high current density, have different morphology and microstructure. The PF-5060 liquid is chemically inert, environmentally friendly, and has low enough saturation temperature (~ 54oC at 0.10 MPa). This helps maintain the chip junctions temperature below that recommended by the chip manufacturer (85-120 oC, depending on the application).'

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Microelectrode Array For Capacitive Transduction Of Retinal Responses, Brittany Branch Feb 2014

Microelectrode Array For Capacitive Transduction Of Retinal Responses, Brittany Branch

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

Neural degenerative diseases and traumatic injuries to the eye affect millions of people worldwide, motivating the development of neural prosthetic interfaces to restore sensory or motor function in affected individuals. Advances in neural sensing and stimulation interface technology will allow a more comprehensive understanding of neural function while leading to the development of hybrid biological-electronic sensor devices for robust, functioning neural prosthetic systems. Current techniques of neural activity sensing employ multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) that typically incorporate metal electrodes and measure currents via an electrochemical junction, leading to corrosion and charge transfer across the electrode-tissue interface. High-density neural interface technology will …

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Add+Vantagemr® Assessments: A Case Study Of Teacher And Student Gains, Cathy Briand Feb 2014

Add+Vantagemr® Assessments: A Case Study Of Teacher And Student Gains, Cathy Briand

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This case study analyzes the effect of the Add+VantageMR® (AVMR) program on a teachers pedagogy and on her students' progress in mathematics. AVMR, a professional development program in early mathematics, trains teachers to assess their students' progress and apply those insights to their teaching pedagogy. The AVMR assessment uses a progressive interview approach to determine a student's current level of mathematical proficiency as well as the student's level of sophistication in solving problems. The study centers on an elementary school teacher and three of her students at an Aspen County, New Mexico, elementary school over a nine-month period. For the …

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Parallel Independent Component Analysis With Reference For Imaging Genetics: A Semi-Blind Multivariate Approach, Jiayu Chen Feb 2014

Parallel Independent Component Analysis With Reference For Imaging Genetics: A Semi-Blind Multivariate Approach, Jiayu Chen

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Imaging genetics is an emerging field dedicated to the study of genetic underpinnings of brain structure and function. Over the last decade, brain imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been increasingly applied to measure morphometry, task-based function and connectivity in living brains. Meanwhile, high-throughput genotyping employing genome-wide techniques has made it feasible to sample the entire genome of a substantial number of individuals. While there is growing interest in image-wide and genome-wide approaches which allow unbiased searches over a large range of variants, one of the most challenging problems is the correction for the huge number of …

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