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Articles 1981 - 2010 of 3779

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Estimating Scale Effects Of Catchment Properties On Modeling Soil And Water Degradation In Benin (West Africa), A. Y. Bossa, B. Diekkrüger Jul 2012

Estimating Scale Effects Of Catchment Properties On Modeling Soil And Water Degradation In Benin (West Africa), A. Y. Bossa, B. Diekkrüger

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Distributed physically-based models require large amount of data,including detailed spatial information (e.g. geology, soil, vegetation). The relevanceof spatial information highly depends on the modeling scale and may control themodeling issue, mainly model parameters, which already depend on modelassumptions and target processes. In this study, scale dependent catchmentproperties were used to derive SWAT model parameters (for ungauged basins)using uncertainty thresholds and statistical approaches. Six individual sub-basinsof the Ouémé River (Benin) ranging from 586 to 10,072 km2 in size wereinvestigated, leading to the multi-scale modeling of discharge, sediment andnutrient dynamic. The Sequential Uncertainty Fitting approach was applied forcalibration and an uncertainty analysis. …

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Steady-State Soil Organic Matter Approximation Model: Application To The Pasture Simulation Model, Romain Lardy, Anne-Isabelle Graux, Bruno Bachelet, David R. C. Hill, Gianni Bellocchi Jul 2012

Steady-State Soil Organic Matter Approximation Model: Application To The Pasture Simulation Model, Romain Lardy, Anne-Isabelle Graux, Bruno Bachelet, David R. C. Hill, Gianni Bellocchi

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Spin-up runs usually used to initialize mechanistic biogeochemical models highly increase the time required to make simulations. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the use of linear and quadratic regression models, as an alternative way to initialize such models. This option is illustrated with the grassland ecosystem Pasture Simulation model (PaSim) under a range of climate, soil and management conditions. Coupled to the CENTURY model for the soil processes, PaSim simulates fluxes of C, N, water and energy at the soil-plant-animalatmosphere interface for managed grasslands at the plot scale. This study demonstrates the feasibility of approximating steady state …

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Uncertainty Analysis Of An Integrated Water System In Southern England: Exploring Physical And Socio-Economic Uncertainties, Lan Hoang, Suraje Dessai, Richard Brazier Jul 2012

Uncertainty Analysis Of An Integrated Water System In Southern England: Exploring Physical And Socio-Economic Uncertainties, Lan Hoang, Suraje Dessai, Richard Brazier

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Climate change risk assessment of water resources is fraught withuncertainty. Such uncertainty is not only the accumulation of individual uncertaintycomponents, but also the results of intricate interactions amongst the physicalenvironment and the socio-economic system. There is often a mismatch of modelrepresentation of these two systems: while uncertainty of physical factors has oftenbeen described using quantitative methods, socio-economic factors have largelybeen qualitative. In our drought assessment case study, we evaluate uncertainty inthe physical factors and demand responses in the context of climate change. Inparticular, we focus on structural uncertainty of the supply component and datauncertainty of the demand component. To explore …

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Using A Fuzzy-Logic Approach To Model A Reservoir And Transfer System Under Climate Change Conditions, Josef Schmid, Ralf Ludwig, Markus Muerth Jul 2012

Using A Fuzzy-Logic Approach To Model A Reservoir And Transfer System Under Climate Change Conditions, Josef Schmid, Ralf Ludwig, Markus Muerth

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Embedded in an international project, a management model is developed for assessing climate change impacts on the Water Transfer System in Franconia, Germany. Based on expert knowledge, standard rules operating this system are defined and implemented in a fuzzy-based modelling system. Demands of stakeholders are identified as being core functionalities in the model. First climate change impact assessments were done, driving the management model with outputs from a hydrological model forced by dynamical climate model data

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Impacts Of Human Settlements On A Coastal Landscape: The Case Of Rio Verde Basin, Mexico, Cuitlahuac Hernandez-Santiago, Martin Volk, Joerg A. Priess Jul 2012

Impacts Of Human Settlements On A Coastal Landscape: The Case Of Rio Verde Basin, Mexico, Cuitlahuac Hernandez-Santiago, Martin Volk, Joerg A. Priess

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Human settlements require natural resources to cover their needs for shelter, food, water, etc., which creates environmental impacts. This is particularly true for new rural settlements which obtain these resources from their nearby surroundings. Current analysis of land-use change has taken inhabited settlements as subject of study where population dynamics or socio-economic changes can be assessed. In the present study we analyse extent and patterns of land-use change found around four different types of settlements (permanent, intermittent, new and abandoned) in a coastal river basin in Mexico. The methodological steps of our investigation include analyses of a) multi-temporal land-use change, …

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A Eu27 Database Of Daily Weather Data Derived From Climate Change Scenarios For Use With Crop Simulation Models, Marcello Donatelli, Davide Fumagalli, A. Zucchini, G. Duveiller, R. L. Nelson, B. Baruth Jul 2012

A Eu27 Database Of Daily Weather Data Derived From Climate Change Scenarios For Use With Crop Simulation Models, Marcello Donatelli, Davide Fumagalli, A. Zucchini, G. Duveiller, R. L. Nelson, B. Baruth

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Global Circulation Models (GCM) estimate future climate under scenarios of greenhouse gases emissions. Such estimates include several meteorological parameters but the two direct outputs are air temperature at earth surface and precipitation. The estimates are spatially downscaled using different methodologies, but it is accepted that such data require further processing for use with simulation models. Daily values of solar radiation, wind, air humidity, and at times rainfall may have absolute values which are not realistic, and/or the daily record of data may prove not to be consistent across meteorological variables. The final problem is related to the fact that GCM …

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Adaptation Strategies For New Zealand Dairy Farms Under Climate Change Scenarios, Electra Kalaugher, Pierre Beukes, Anthony Clark, Janet F. Bornman Jul 2012

Adaptation Strategies For New Zealand Dairy Farms Under Climate Change Scenarios, Electra Kalaugher, Pierre Beukes, Anthony Clark, Janet F. Bornman

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Assessments of climate change for New Zealand indicate not only increasing average temperatures but also more climatic variability with moderate to high likelihood of increases in the frequency of extreme events such as droughts and floods. Detailed Whole Farm Model simulations of climate change impacts and potential adaptation options were undertaken for five representative, pasture based dairy farms located in the major dairying regions of New Zealand. First, tactical changes to current management practices were considered, followed by three strategic adaptations that introduced larger changes into the farming system: a reduction in intensity, the introduction of irrigation and an alternative …

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Interdependence Of Mitigation, Adaptation And Sustainable Development, D. E. Reusser, Tabea Lissner, Luis Costa, Flavio Augusto Pinto Siabatto, Anselmo Garcia Cantu Ros, Jürgen Kropp Jul 2012

Interdependence Of Mitigation, Adaptation And Sustainable Development, D. E. Reusser, Tabea Lissner, Luis Costa, Flavio Augusto Pinto Siabatto, Anselmo Garcia Cantu Ros, Jürgen Kropp

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Managing the interdependence of climate mitigation, adaptation and sustainable development requires a good understanding of the dominant sociotechnical and earth system processes that have determined the pathways in the past. Key variables include for example water and food availability which depend on climate and overall ecosystem services, as well as energy supply and social, political and economic conditions. Here we attempt an overview of existing model components and globally available data sources and look for gaps in existing approaches. This overview lies the foundation for building a model at the country level that integrates mitigation and adaptation with the ultimate …

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Land-Use Scenario Modelling Based On Human Decisions – Combining System Dynamics And Cellular Automata, Steffen Lauf, Dagmar Haase, Birgit Kleinschmit Jul 2012

Land-Use Scenario Modelling Based On Human Decisions – Combining System Dynamics And Cellular Automata, Steffen Lauf, Dagmar Haase, Birgit Kleinschmit

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Our paper introduces a combined model approach using system dynamics simulating regional drivers and cellular automaton representing local land-use dynamics. The model benefits from conclusive causal interrelations of detailed population dynamics, real household decision parameters, residential demand on prevailing residential land use types and residential supply as a result of dynamic housing parameters. Consequently, we can simulate growth and shrinkage processes to occur concurrently within an urban region. In this process, human decisions are covered in two ways, firstly, by bottom-up individual residential choice-making over different residential types and secondly by top-down decision making by planning authorities. The model is …

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Species Distribution Modelling And Open Source Gis: Why Are They Still So Loosely Connected?, Anne Ghisla, Duccio Rocchini, Markus Neteler, Michael Forster, Birgit Kleinschmit Jul 2012

Species Distribution Modelling And Open Source Gis: Why Are They Still So Loosely Connected?, Anne Ghisla, Duccio Rocchini, Markus Neteler, Michael Forster, Birgit Kleinschmit

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are correlative models that use environmental and/or geographical information to explain patterns of species occurrences. Those models are being used in various fields including climate change, invasive species research, evolutionary biology and epidemiology. Thanks to the availability of increasing computational resources, new methods continue to be developed. However, software packages that include the SDM algorithms usually focus on one or few methods, and have different degrees of integration with other geographical and statistical software. Specifically, SDM implementations are often standalone programs developed by university laboratories, either as extensions to statistical software. In few cases they are …

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Community Journalists And Personal Relationships With Sources And Community Organizations, Richard G. Johnson Jun 2012

Community Journalists And Personal Relationships With Sources And Community Organizations, Richard G. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Community journalists, most of whom work and live in small towns, are likely to create personal relationships with sources and local organizations because of their proximity and involvement in the community. Such relationships may raise ethical questions that explore how journalists manage personal ties in the community. Using a grounded theory approach, the researcher analyzed 15 qualitative, in-depth interviews, this research examined ways in which journalists in six Western communities weigh their personal relationships against traditional journalism norms such as objectivity and detachment. Analysis of these interviews found community journalists fear conflicts of interest, and many of the interview subjects …

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We Need To Talk: Persuasive Communication In Fireproof Ministries' Xxxchurch Anti-Pornography Campaign, Vauna L. Davis Jun 2012

We Need To Talk: Persuasive Communication In Fireproof Ministries' Xxxchurch Anti-Pornography Campaign, Vauna L. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

The growing evidence of harm caused by pornography calls for interventions to counteract the influence of explicit sexual media. Fireproof Ministries conducts a major Christian anti-pornography campaign called XXXchurch. This case analysis of the campaign evaluated if the messages were appropriately designed in light of what persuasion research has discovered about motivating attitudinal and behavioral change. Theories about agenda setting, attitude accessibility, exemplars, evidence, cognitive dissonance, guilt, reactance, fear appeals, and self-efficacy were the basis of identifying the themes of the campaign, evaluating the credibility of XXXchurch, and assessing the theoretical foundation of the campaign. The study found three dominant …

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The Viability Of Virtual Worlds In Higher Education: Can Creativity Thrive Outside The Traditional Classroom Environment?, Linda M. Bradford Jun 2012

The Viability Of Virtual Worlds In Higher Education: Can Creativity Thrive Outside The Traditional Classroom Environment?, Linda M. Bradford

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of the growing popularity of virtual worlds for gaming, recreation, and education, few studies have explored the efficacy of 3D immersive virtual worlds in post-secondary instruction; even fewer discuss the ability of virtual worlds to help young adults develop creative thinking. This study investigated the effect of virtual world education on creative thought for university level students. Over the course of two semesters, a total of 97 university students participated in this study. Forty-six of these participants (experimental group) spent time in a specially designed virtual world environment, the V.I.E.W., while 51 of the participants (control group) met …

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Rembrandt Van Rijn's Jewish Bride: Depicting Female Power In The Dutch Republic Through The Notion Of Nation Building, Nan T. Atwood Jun 2012

Rembrandt Van Rijn's Jewish Bride: Depicting Female Power In The Dutch Republic Through The Notion Of Nation Building, Nan T. Atwood

Theses and Dissertations

Many art historians have debated the identity of the couple in Rembrandt's the Jewish Bride (1667). The painting is most often identified as an Old Testament theme. This is due to the seventeenth-century Dutch practice of using biblical "types" as ideal models for the structuring of the new republic founded on the Israelite ideology of nation building. Three of these biblical female types that have been separately associated with the female figure in the Jewish Bride are, Rebecca, Ruth, and Esther. As these biblical women represented different notions of power through their respective narratives, this thesis argues that Rembrandt deliberately …

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Italy At Home And Abroad After 150 Years: The Legacy Of Emigration And The Future Of Italianità, Mark I. Choate May 2012

Italy At Home And Abroad After 150 Years: The Legacy Of Emigration And The Future Of Italianità, Mark I. Choate

Faculty Publications

Shortly after unification in the Risorgimento, mass emigration stretched Italy in unforeseen ways, changing its culture, economics, and politics, and even its state, territory, language, and population. This enforced globalization polarized Italy and radically changed Italy as a nation-state and as a national culture. Controversies over emigration sharply divided Italian Liberals from the Nationalists and Fascists. The ideals of the nation-state, articulated by Mazzini, have been transformed by emigration in ways that have anticipated the twenty-first century global world. Today Italy faces similar challenges with rising immigration, together with the potential for constructive solutions.

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The Validity Of The Group Questionnaire: Construct Clarity Or Construct Drift?, Stephen D. Thayer Apr 2012

The Validity Of The Group Questionnaire: Construct Clarity Or Construct Drift?, Stephen D. Thayer

Theses and Dissertations

The Group Questionnaire (GQ) is a recently developed measure of the quality of the therapeutic relationship in group treatment. Its 3 subscales-Positive Bonding Relationship, Positive Working Relationship, and Negative Relationship-are taken from a 3-factor conceptualization of the group therapeutic relationship (Johnson et al., 2005). The purpose of the present study was to estimate the GQ's construct and criterion-related validity by 1) replicating the aforementioned factor structure with a similar sample and by 2) correlating the GQ with the measures from which is was derived (i.e., Working Alliance Inventory, Burns Empathy Scale, Therapeutic Factors Inventory, Group Climate Questionnaire) and to 3) …

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German Nationalism And The Allegorical Female In Karl Friedrich Schinkel's The Hall Of Stars, Allison Slingting Apr 2012

German Nationalism And The Allegorical Female In Karl Friedrich Schinkel's The Hall Of Stars, Allison Slingting

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I consider Karl Friedrich Schinkel's The Hall of Stars in the Palace of the Queen of the Night (1813), a set design of Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), in relation to female audiences during a time of Germanic nationalism. Although Schinkel is customarily known as the great modern architect of Germany, his work as a set designer is exceedingly telling of his feelings toward the political and geographical unification of the Germanic regions. Through his set designs, Schinkel successfully used the influential space of the theatre to articulate not only nationalism, but positive female empowerment …

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The Effects Of Previous Exposure To Independent Study Courses And Open Courseware On Withdrawal From Subsequent Independent Study Courses, Mary Margaret Dickson Stevens Apr 2012

The Effects Of Previous Exposure To Independent Study Courses And Open Courseware On Withdrawal From Subsequent Independent Study Courses, Mary Margaret Dickson Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined factors affecting withdrawal rates using a selection of high school and college-level courses from BYU Independent Study (BYU IS). Exposure to BYU Open Courseware (OCW) curriculum prior to registration had no significant effect on withdrawal rates. Prior enrollment in a BYU IS course had a statistically significant positive effect on withdrawal rates, a surprising result. Further HLM analysis of 83,707 students indicated that at least some of the variability in student withdrawal behavior at the high school level was influenced by prior enrollment, the online course format, and courses offered in the fine arts. For both high …

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Community In A Liquid Modern Era, Jeremy S. Flaherty Apr 2012

Community In A Liquid Modern Era, Jeremy S. Flaherty

Theses and Dissertations

The predominant theorists of community in American sociology define community as either geographically confined local solidarities or as networks or relatively close primary ties. These definitions fail to recognize the realities of modern life, let alone life in the context of a global economy. Community according to the earliest community sociologists was a way of organizing society wherein all the social interactions necessary to the reproduction of daily life were embedded in moral relationships, which were historically primary ties located within local solidary communities. With modernity, most of these social interactions have been removed from those moral relationships, and now …

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Do Populations Of An Invasive Weed Differ Greatly In Their Per-Gram Competitive Effects?, James E. Sowerwine, Matthew J. Rinella, Matthew L. Carlson Apr 2012

Do Populations Of An Invasive Weed Differ Greatly In Their Per-Gram Competitive Effects?, James E. Sowerwine, Matthew J. Rinella, Matthew L. Carlson

Western North American Naturalist

Quantifying an invasive species’ negative impacts across its introduced range will be quite challenging if the impacts vary unpredictably from site to site or from population to population. Little emphasis, however, has been placed on quantifying such interpopulation variation in the impacts of individual invasive species. We studied the response of a native grass (Festuca rubra) to competition from 4 geographically dispersed invasive plant (Melilotus albus) populations in order to determine if some populations of this invader have greater competitive impacts than others. Despite the relatively large number of experimental units in our greenhouse study, we …

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Response Of An Intermountain Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystem To Water Table Drawdown, Daniel Pritchett, Sara J. Manning Apr 2012

Response Of An Intermountain Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystem To Water Table Drawdown, Daniel Pritchett, Sara J. Manning

Western North American Naturalist

Groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) that do not meet the legal definition of wetlands are important for sustaining regional biodiversity, livestock grazing, and outdoor recreation in the Intermountain West. Such GDEs in Owens Valley, California, are also used to produce 11,225 hectare meters (91,000 acre-feet) of water annually from about 100 water wells. We used 21 years of Landsat data and 18 years of field monitoring data to analyze responses of 2 adjacent-meadow GDEs to different groundwater management practices. The northern meadow, which was subject to continuous water table drawdown below the rooting zone of phreatophytic grasses, experienced decline in total live …

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First Record Of The Cicada Tibicen Pruinosus In Colorado, With A Key To Colorado Species Of Tibicen (Hemiptera: Cicadidae), Brian Stucky Apr 2012

First Record Of The Cicada Tibicen Pruinosus In Colorado, With A Key To Colorado Species Of Tibicen (Hemiptera: Cicadidae), Brian Stucky

Western North American Naturalist

Tibicen pruinosus (Say)—a large, arboreal cicada typically found in the central United States—is reported for the first time from Colorado. This new state record represents a significant western extension of this cicada’s known range. Also reported are new records from Kansas that link the Colorado population to the previously known distribution of T. pruinosus. These results suggest that T. pruinosus has expanded its range westward, likely facilitated by human-induced changes in vegetation on the Great Plains. They also indicate the effectiveness of acoustic surveys as a tool for studying cicada distributions. Finally, an updated key including all 7 species of …

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World Trade And Biological Exchanges Before 1492, Eric N. Jellen, John L. Sorenson, Carl L. Johannessen Apr 2012

World Trade And Biological Exchanges Before 1492, Eric N. Jellen, John L. Sorenson, Carl L. Johannessen

BYU Studies

This book by John L. Sorenson (emeritus professor of anthropology at Brigham Young University) and Carl L. Johannessen (emeritus professor of geography at the University of Oregon) presents a comprehensive, well-referenced, and intriguing overview of historical and archeological evidence for pre-Columbian exchange of plants, microfauna, and animals between the Old and New Worlds. Its style is more encyclopedic than narrative, resembling an expanded, annotated bibliography. I read with interest the sections dealing with the crops that I have researched genetically--Amaranthus and Chenopodium--as well as several other crops that I am very familiar with, such as cotton.

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The 1961 Conference Of The Iscsc: Notes And Summaries, Michael Palencia-Roth Apr 2012

The 1961 Conference Of The Iscsc: Notes And Summaries, Michael Palencia-Roth

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

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Pyburn, K. Anne, Editor. Ungendering Civilization., Connie Lamb Apr 2012

Pyburn, K. Anne, Editor. Ungendering Civilization., Connie Lamb

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

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To The Peripheries Of Mormondom: The Apostolic Around-The-World Journey Of David O. Mckay, 1920–1921, Kaitlyn S. Hedge, Hugh J. Cannon, Reid L. Neilson Apr 2012

To The Peripheries Of Mormondom: The Apostolic Around-The-World Journey Of David O. Mckay, 1920–1921, Kaitlyn S. Hedge, Hugh J. Cannon, Reid L. Neilson

BYU Studies

An around-the-world journey made by an Apostle may not be something extraordinary today, but in 1920 it was monumental. Hugh J. Cannon's To the Peripheries of Mormondom details the historic trip of Elder David O. McKay--the first Apostle to make a journey of this magnitude and to visit most of the places he did. He and Hugh J. Cannon were called on a one-year fact-finding mission to visit the Church's non-North American congregations and to study the customs and needs of the people at each place. This mission was the beginning of a major push toward the globalization of the …

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Geo-Civilization, Ruan Wei Apr 2012

Geo-Civilization, Ruan Wei

Comparative Civilizations Review

"Geo-civilization" is a new concept proposed by the author. It means a macro-geo-continuum in which two or more civilizations share a common geographical locus and similar religions and cultural values. In contrast, civilization in the traditional sense refers to a large historico-cultural entity sharing a common set of values. Within a geo-civilization, each of the traditional political entities in interlocked with another, not only geo-historically, but culturally, economically, and politically. A geo-civilization generates a situation in which the cost of association among the peoples or even civilizations concerned is reduced and the effectiveness of association is raised. This implies a …

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A History Of Nahom, Warren P. Aston Apr 2012

A History Of Nahom, Warren P. Aston

BYU Studies

Around 700 BC, a wealthy man in southern Arabia donated three limestone altars to a temple dedicated to Ilmaqah, the moon god. Inscribed on each altar was a text identifying him as the grandson of Naw'um of the Nihm tribe. The three altars were unearthed in 1988 by German archaeologists amid the ruins of the Bar'an temple near Marib, in modern Yemen. They provide the earliest known reference to the Nihm, who today, nearly three millennia later, retain the name and are one of Yemen's largest tribes.

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The Phylogeography Of The Mountain Sucker [Catostomus (Pantosteus) Platyrhynchus], Nina Johanna Laitnen Mar 2012

The Phylogeography Of The Mountain Sucker [Catostomus (Pantosteus) Platyrhynchus], Nina Johanna Laitnen

Theses and Dissertations

Pantosteus, a subgenus of Catostomus, includes the mountain sucker (Catostomus playthyrnchus), whose speculated older origins in the Miocene/Pliocene can provide insight into the ancient geographical events of western North America. We believe that major geologic events influencing the diversification of mountain suckers include the rise of the Colorado Plateau, the connections between the ancient Snake River system and the Lahontan system and subsequently the connection of the Snake River system to the Columbia Basin, dispersal of mountain suckers across the continental divide, as well as the Pleistocene Bonneville flood. If this is true, we should see …

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The Efficacy Of Small Multiples In The Visual Language Of Instructional Designs, Douglas B. Stringham Mar 2012

The Efficacy Of Small Multiples In The Visual Language Of Instructional Designs, Douglas B. Stringham

Theses and Dissertations

The visualization strategy of small multiples (Tufte, 1983, 1990, 1997) is not merely the clever or ordered arrangement of similar and personable images; small multiples—purposeful compositions of similarly sized, repeated illustrations—contain a great deal more than the sum of their respective parts. The purpose of this study is to define a set of objectives and guiding tactics for using small multiples in the visual language of instructional designs. This study aims to (1) compile a targeted literature review cataloging the historical treatment of small multiples and their pedagogical and cognitive virtues and (2) analyze examples of small multiples usage in …

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