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Stability Of Methane-Ethane-Propane Mixed Gas Hydrates Under Deep Water Conditions, Srinath Chowdary Velaga May 2014

Stability Of Methane-Ethane-Propane Mixed Gas Hydrates Under Deep Water Conditions, Srinath Chowdary Velaga

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Methane hydrates are globally distributed in sediments along the continental margins and potentially contain more energy than all fossil fuel reserves. However, methane is also a potential greenhouse gas which could play a major role in global climate change. Understanding the stability of gas hydrates can help us to understand their role in the climate change. Three main factors affect the stability of hydrates: Temperature (T), Pressure (P) and composition. Hydrates become unstable when they are exposed to pressures and temperatures outside the hydrate stability zone (HSZ) in a process commonly called dissociation. However, hydrates can also become unstable even …

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Cafe Nudge Project: Choice Architecture For Eating And Nudging Healthy Behaviors, Shannon N. Ackerman May 2014

Cafe Nudge Project: Choice Architecture For Eating And Nudging Healthy Behaviors, Shannon N. Ackerman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of the Cafe Nudge Project was to assess the cafeteria environment and the flow of students through the lunch-line to determine characteristics that could be enhanced to encourage healthy food choices in three Appalachian high schools. The Center for Behavioral Economics and Child Nutrition Program (BEN Center) has collectively conducted prior research on this topic and has coined the term "Smarter Lunchrooms Movement" for improving cafeteria environments. These improvements included increased fresh fruit and vegetable consumption, increased consumption of low-fat white milk, and decreased consumption of high-fat and high-calorie foods. This study was a two-part observation. In the …

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Sampling The Radio Transient Universe: Studies Of Pulsars And The Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Jayanth Chennamangalam May 2014

Sampling The Radio Transient Universe: Studies Of Pulsars And The Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Jayanth Chennamangalam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The transient radio universe is a relatively unexplored area of astronomy, offering a variety of phenomena, from solar and Jovian bursts, to flare stars, pulsars, and bursts of Galactic and potentially even cosmological origin. Among these, perhaps the most widely studied radio transients, pulsars are fast-spinning neutron stars that emit radio beams from their magnetic poles. In spite of over 40 years of research on pulsars, we have more questions than answers on these exotic compact objects, chief among them the nature of their emission mechanism. Nevertheless, the wealth of phenomena exhibited by pulsars make them one of the most …

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Untangling Compact And Diffuse Ionized Emission Toward Galactic Hii Regions, Logan A. Hough May 2014

Untangling Compact And Diffuse Ionized Emission Toward Galactic Hii Regions, Logan A. Hough

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

HII regions are clouds of ionized hydrogen gas surrounding B0- and O-type stars. The ionized hydrogen in these regions emits both radio recombination line (RRL) and also thermal radio continuum. Diffuse ionized hydrogen, known as the 'Warm Ionized Medium' (WIM) also exists in the Galaxy. The WIM also emits RRLs and thermal radio continuum. Previous observation of compact \hii regions found two RRL components for many sources, one from the \hii region and the others from the WIM. By observing off-target positions sampling only the diffuse emission, we discerned the correct source velocities for 93 out of 116 HII regions …

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Identification And Genetic Diversity Of Lake Sturgeon Larvae On Artificial Reefs In The Huron-Erie Corridor, Jamie Marie Marranca May 2014

Identification And Genetic Diversity Of Lake Sturgeon Larvae On Artificial Reefs In The Huron-Erie Corridor, Jamie Marie Marranca

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There are 27 species of sturgeon worldwide and most are currently extinct, endangered or threatened. Lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, one of the oldest species on the planet, evolved about 136 million years ago, and have had little morphological change, and are endemic to the freshwater lakes and rivers created by receding glaciers of the Laurentian ice sheet. Lake sturgeon have seen immense habitat loss due to human development and industrialization has nearly decimated populations. Changes to water and habitat quality, along with overharvesting, have caused declines to nearly 1% of their original population size. The Huron-Erie Corridor (HEC), includes the …

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Political Sophistication: How Values And Social Capital Contribute To Political Knowledge And Cognition, Jonathan C. Young May 2014

Political Sophistication: How Values And Social Capital Contribute To Political Knowledge And Cognition, Jonathan C. Young

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study argues that value types defined by Shalom Schwartz should relate to social capital and political sophistication in particular ways. Individual value types that emphasize "other-orientation" should positively relate to social capital characteristics that increase information flows which in turn will relate to increased political sophistication. On the other hand, it is expected that individual value types that emphasize "self-orientation" will positively relate to social capital characteristics that decrease information flows which in turn would correlate to decreased political sophistication. Using post-materialism as a theoretical basis and a survey that measures political knowledge and ideology, value orientation, social network …

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Early School Leaving: A Narrative Inquiry Of The School Dropout, John E. Stallings Jr. May 2014

Early School Leaving: A Narrative Inquiry Of The School Dropout, John E. Stallings Jr.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the field of education, student performance has become an integral component when determining the effectiveness of schools, levels of student engagement, and a measure of the learning that is occurring in schools. In particular, certain criteria have been identified as appropriate measures for monitoring the effectiveness of school systems, individual school programs, and teacher merit. Included in these specific areas to be monitored are graduation and or dropout rates. While these have become a part of the major focus of those monitoring the effectiveness of schools across the country, it seems that little has been done to investigate what …

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Co2 Dissociation Using The Versatile Atmospheric Dielectric Barrier Discharge Experiment (Vader), Michael Allen Lindon May 2014

Co2 Dissociation Using The Versatile Atmospheric Dielectric Barrier Discharge Experiment (Vader), Michael Allen Lindon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As of 2013, the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) estimates that the world emits approximately 36 trillion metric tons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere every year. These large emissions have been correlated to global warming trends that have many consequences across the globe, including glacial retraction, ocean acidification and increased severity of weather events. With green technologies still in the infancy stage, it can be expected that CO2 emissions will stay this way for along time to come. Approximately 41% of the emissions are due to electricity production, which pump out condensed forms of CO2. This danger …

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Integrating The Lamodel And Armps Programs (Armps-Lam), Peng Zhang May 2014

Integrating The Lamodel And Armps Programs (Armps-Lam), Peng Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Over the years, the various versions of the ARMPS and the LaModel programs have been widely used in the U.S. coal fields. In a recent deep-cover database analysis, LaModel was found to more accurately classify a small deep-cover database than ARMPS. However, the LaModel analysis of each case study required several days to complete, as compared to a requirement of only several minutes for each ARMPS analysis. If the LaModel analysis of an ARMPS-type mine design, could be made as easily and quickly as an ARMPS analysis and calibrated against a large database, the potential exists to improve the quality …

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Creative Idea Generation: How To Incorporate Plussing Into Your Creative Thinking Sessions, Whitney Godwin May 2014

Creative Idea Generation: How To Incorporate Plussing Into Your Creative Thinking Sessions, Whitney Godwin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The goal of this master's thesis is to evaluate Disney's "plussing" as a form of idea-generation for every type of organization and business. This method was assessed through a case study of two nonprofit organizations in Morgantown, West Virginia after developing three original plussing methods. Both organizations participated in plussing sessions. Sessions were followed up with a survey of each participant. Findings suggest "plussing" has proven more beneficial to the organizations than traditional brainstorming methods. Several participants stated that plussing provides a more effective way for organizations to produce the best idea and product possible without the fear of criticism …

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Human Interaction Recognition With Audio And Visual Cues, Ranya Almohsen May 2014

Human Interaction Recognition With Audio And Visual Cues, Ranya Almohsen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The automated recognition of human activities from video is a fundamental problem with applications in several areas, ranging from video surveillance, and robotics, to smart healthcare, and multimedia indexing and retrieval, just to mention a few. However, the pervasive diffusion of cameras capable of recording audio also makes available to those applications a complementary modality. Despite the sizable progress made in the area of modeling and recognizing group activities, and actions performed by people in isolation from video, the availability of audio cues has rarely being leveraged. This is even more so in the area of modeling and recognizing binary …

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Effects Of Long-Term Phonological Knowledge On Learning New Words, Elizabeth S. Smith May 2014

Effects Of Long-Term Phonological Knowledge On Learning New Words, Elizabeth S. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Language learning has been attributed to multiple aspects of cognition; two primary components are phonological short-term memory and long-term knowledge. Short-term memory is responsible for the temporary storage and rehearsal of new information, and long-term knowledge is responsible for storing information gained throughout the lifetime. If one or both of these areas are found to be deficient, language impairments may be present. Although the role of short-term memory and long-term knowledge has been identified as important, their relative contributions to different language processes are not completely understood. This study used a novel within-subjects approach to examine the impact of long-term …

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Bending And Shear Behavior Of Pultruded Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Beams With Closed And Open Sections, Daniel Douglas Estep May 2014

Bending And Shear Behavior Of Pultruded Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Beams With Closed And Open Sections, Daniel Douglas Estep

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Several advantages, such as high strength-to-weight ratio, high stiffness, superior corrosion resistance, and high fatigue and impact resistance, among others, make FRPs an attractive alternative to conventional construction materials for use in developing new structures as well as rehabilitating in-service infrastructure. As the number of infrastructure applications using FRPs grows, the need for the development of a uniform Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) approach, including design procedures and examples, has become paramount.;Step-by-step design procedures and easy-to-use design formulas are necessary to assure the quality and safety of FRP structural systems by reducing the possibility of design and construction errors. …

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Costume Design Process Of Cabaret, Candice Caldwell Day May 2014

Costume Design Process Of Cabaret, Candice Caldwell Day

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document is an account of my process as Costume Designer of West Virginia University's School of Theatre and Dance's Fall 2013 production of Cabaret on the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre stage. This thesis details the design's development from initial script interpretation, directorial and designer meetings through research, process of execution, performance productions, and evaluative conclusions. The document is supported by research images, renderings, production photographs, and other organizational paperwork.

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Examining Factors Associated With Faking-Good Responding On The Child Abuse Potential Inventory, Amanda H. Costello May 2014

Examining Factors Associated With Faking-Good Responding On The Child Abuse Potential Inventory, Amanda H. Costello

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Child maltreatment (e.g., physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect) remains a serious public health issue which affects an estimated 19% of victims in the United States (Fang, Brown, Florence, & Mercy, 2013; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010), and therefore, it remains important to continue to engage in quality control of the assessment, prevention, and treatment services for parents and children who have been involved in child maltreatment. Parenting capacity assessments (PCAs) are typically ordered in these cases to offer diagnostic impressions of and treatment recommendations for the referred parent (Budd, Connell, & Clark, 2011). The …

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Technology Use In The Treatment And Prevention Of Eating Disorders, Jessie T. Popelka May 2014

Technology Use In The Treatment And Prevention Of Eating Disorders, Jessie T. Popelka

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Technology is changing rapidly in this global world. A radically different delivery of nutrition information and counseling is technologically feasible in fewer than five years. With about half of girls and a quarter of boys being dissatisfied with their bodies during adolescence into young adulthood, some negative consequences including development of disordered eating, eating disorders (ED) and poor psychological well-being may increase. New methods of delivery, from social media to virtual worlds will allow health care providers (HCP) to reach and interact with patients in different cities or even countries. Simple "tweets" to online videos may have a place in …

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Effects Of Culverts On Brook Trout Genetic Diversity, Darren M. Wood May 2014

Effects Of Culverts On Brook Trout Genetic Diversity, Darren M. Wood

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are a species of concern within their native range due to a historical loss of habitat, overfishing, and stocking of non-native salmonids. Road culverts have been recognized as an additional impediment to population persistence as movement between diverse habitat types has been identified as an alternative life-history strategy to maximize spawning and growth. Brook trout were genetically analyzed using a suite of 13 microsatellite loci above 7 culverts with varying levels of passability classified through a physical protocol. While most sites were not found to have losses in genetic diversity, populations above culverts with a high …

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Immune Related Gene Expression Of Parasite-Resistant Sheep During A Haemonchus Contortus Infection, Karen Nicole Sommers May 2014

Immune Related Gene Expression Of Parasite-Resistant Sheep During A Haemonchus Contortus Infection, Karen Nicole Sommers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Gastrointestinal nematode parasitism is a top health concern for sheep producers worldwide as traditional means of treatment are becoming less effective. Haemonchus contortus is of particular interest because it feeds on blood, causing significant pathological problems in the host. Certain breeds of sheep, like St. Croix, are more naturally resistant to parasitism. However, the underlying mechanisms that result in resistance are not fully understood. The following two experiments evaluated qPCR differential gene expression during the first ten days of a challenge H. contortus infection from lymph node and abomasal tissues. Experiment 1 evaluated 24 St. Croix hair lambs and 24 …

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A Study Of Dynamical And Emission Variabilities In Pulsars, Andrew D. Seymour May 2014

A Study Of Dynamical And Emission Variabilities In Pulsars, Andrew D. Seymour

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Pulsars are rapidly rotating highly magnetized neutron stars thought to have been formed in the core-collapse supernova of massive stars. Ever since their discovery, pulsars have shown complex behaviors. This is certainly true for their emission mechanism, which is still not fully understood. This is primarily because of the abrupt changes that appear in the pulse profile. Recent discoveries have shown that these emission changes effect the spin dynamics, particularly the spin-down rate. This indicates that pulsar emissions are even more complex than previously thought. The goal of this thesis is to apply new analysis techniques to help shed light …

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Stem Cell Matrix And Cartilage Regeneration, Jingting Li May 2014

Stem Cell Matrix And Cartilage Regeneration, Jingting Li

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cartilage defects caused by injuries of the knee affect about 900,000 Americans annually, resulting in more than 200,000 surgical procedures. Cartilage repair remains a major challenge due to its limited healing capacity. Current cell-based therapy using autologous chondrocyte implantation has been developed for decades and promising results have been observed in clinic. However, the shortage of autologous chondrocytes and their uncertain long-term effectiveness have led researchers to find alternative solutions. Stem cells from various tissues have been shown to be potential sources of chondrocytes. Among them, synovium-derived stem cells (SDSCs) have been suggested as tissue-specific stem cells for chondrogenesis. However, …

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Teaching Students To “Do” Public Choice In An Undergraduate Public Sector Course, Joshua C. Hall, Kaitlyn R. Harger May 2014

Teaching Students To “Do” Public Choice In An Undergraduate Public Sector Course, Joshua C. Hall, Kaitlyn R. Harger

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

This paper discusses one approach to using writing assignments in an undergraduate public economics to get students actively involved in doing public choice. Our goal is to provide an overview of the course and its writing assignments with an emphasis on how the scaffolding of assignments helps contribute to the development of interesting and publishable ideas in public choice. A course in public economics provides a good opportunity for an instructor to develop student interest in applied public choice.

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Essays On Industrial Agglomeration And Input-Output Linkages, Zheng Tian May 2014

Essays On Industrial Agglomeration And Input-Output Linkages, Zheng Tian

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Industrial agglomeration is an important subject in the field of regional economics. It is an economic phenomenon with two dimensions---space and industry. These two dimensions call for research that can take both spatial and industry factors into consideration regarding industrial agglomeration. Despite the advance of economic theories on agglomeration, empirical studies that satisfactorily incorporate spatial and industrial dimensions are very few. My research aims to enrich the existing methodology for empirical studies by combining spatial econometrics and the input-output model to investigate the effects of input-output linkages on industrial agglomeration.;In this research I propose two methods to integrate spatial econometrics …

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Police Officers Talking About Gun Control: A Case Study Of A Rural Sheriff's Department, Angela Sycafoose May 2014

Police Officers Talking About Gun Control: A Case Study Of A Rural Sheriff's Department, Angela Sycafoose

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research examines how members of a rural police department view gun control, and the degree to which they think that gun control laws protect police officers and the public. Drawing on conclusions from interviews with twenty police officers within one local sheriff's department, three themes emerged: 1) the officers rejected gun control laws and deemed them ineffective for controlling criminal behavior; 2) the officers showed support for specific gun control measures such as, citizens obtaining concealed carry permits and expanding gun background checks; 3) the officers deemed guns to be an essential part of rural upbringing and identity. We …

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A Streptozotocin-Induced Model Of Alzheimer's Disease In Mice With Wild-Type Human Tau, Carolyn C. Rudy May 2014

A Streptozotocin-Induced Model Of Alzheimer's Disease In Mice With Wild-Type Human Tau, Carolyn C. Rudy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) accounts for 60 to 80% of all dementias, affects over 5 million Americans, and incurs annual healthcare costs of over {dollar}200 billion (Alzheimer's Association, 2012). Hyperphosphorylation of tau, the main component of neurofibrillary tangles observed in AD, leads to deficits in cell structure and function. Because recent data suggest impairments in cerebral glucose utilization and energy metabolism play a prominent role in the pathogenesis of AD, we sought to create a mouse model that emulates the metabolic changes using intracerebroventricular infusions of streptozotocin (ICV-STZ) in transgenic mice expressing human tau. The Barnes maze, a test of spatial …

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Flipping The Classroom In College Algebra: A Design And Development Study, Lori Ogden May 2014

Flipping The Classroom In College Algebra: A Design And Development Study, Lori Ogden

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation documents the development of a flipped classroom teaching model for teaching college algebra. The model supports the use of multiple teaching strategies including video lectures for students to view as homework, outside of class. A design and development framework is used to describe the design decisions, model implementation, and evaluation of the model across three deliveries, or case studies, of a college algebra course from fall of 2012 through fall of 2013. Design decisions included course sequence and instructional materials. Model implementation described the teaching and assessment strategies throughout each unit of material taught in the course and …

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The Use Of Joint Mobilization On Mechanical Instability Deficits For A Lateral Ankle Sprain: A Systematic Review, Kathleen M. Kerecman May 2014

The Use Of Joint Mobilization On Mechanical Instability Deficits For A Lateral Ankle Sprain: A Systematic Review, Kathleen M. Kerecman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Context: The use of manual therapy in the athletic training setting is becoming more common place. While there is information on joint mobilizations, there are few systematic reviews that examine the use of joint mobilizations on mechanical deficits in chronic ankle instability and lateral ankle sprain. Objective: To understand the benefits of joint mobilization in the lateral ankle sprain (chronic and acute) and determine common parameters/techniques used in practice. Data Sources: Pub Med (1950-2013), CINAHL with full text (1982-2013), MEDLINE (1950-2013), SPORTDiscus with full text (1800- 2013), Science Direct(1950-2013), Google Scholar (1950-2013), and PEDro (1929-2013) were searched using the terms …

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Modeling Of Outer Radiation Belt Electron Scattering Due To Spatial And Spectral Properties Of Ulf Waves, Mattias Tornquist May 2014

Modeling Of Outer Radiation Belt Electron Scattering Due To Spatial And Spectral Properties Of Ulf Waves, Mattias Tornquist

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The research presented in this thesis covers wave-particle interactions for relativistic (0.5-10 MeV) electrons in Earth's outer radiation belt (r = 3-7 RE, or L-shells: L = 3-7) interacting with magnetospheric Pc-5 (ULF) waves. This dissertation focuses on ideal models for short and long term electron energy and radial position scattering caused by interactions with ULF waves.;We use test particle simulations to investigate these wave-particle interactions with ideal wave and magnetic dipole fields. We demonstrate that the wave-particle phase can cause various patterns in phase space trajectories, i.e. local acceleration, and that for a global electron population, for all initial …

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Modeling And Analysis Of Distribution System With Demand Response And Electric Vehicles In Personal And Public Transportation, Venkata Satish Kasani May 2014

Modeling And Analysis Of Distribution System With Demand Response And Electric Vehicles In Personal And Public Transportation, Venkata Satish Kasani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The government policies and cost benefits led to the surge in penetration of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) into both public and private sectors, challenging the electric grid's potential to maintain its stability and efficiently serve the purpose. The penetration of PHEVs brings technological advancements and environmental benefits to the traditional transportation and electrical power systems. Designing of appropriate charging methods to satisfy PHEV owners helps to improve system performance and avoid transmission and distribution system expansion.;The primary objective of this thesis is to model a coordinated charging algorithm to charge maximum number of PHEVs …

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Evaluation Of Asphalt Pavements Construction Practice In West Virginia, Masoud Seyed Mohammad Ghavami May 2014

Evaluation Of Asphalt Pavements Construction Practice In West Virginia, Masoud Seyed Mohammad Ghavami

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Construction practice is a key factor in building high quality pavement. Unfortunately failure and distresses frequently develop shortly after construction. These distresses may be due to the contractors failing to follow the guidelines and specifications. Monitoring pavement construction provides information for evaluating contractors' practices relative to the best practices as documented in various training courses. Accordingly, the West Virginia Department of Highways (WVDOH) decided to review construction practices. The WVDOH hired 4 co-ops during summer 2012 and 2 co-ops during summer 2013 to document asphalt pavement construction projects. The co-ops were assigned to observe and record pavement construction practices. Observations …

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The Effect Of Hegemonic Masculinity In The Proportion Of Women In Post-Communist Parliaments: A Case Study Of Estonia And Poland, Anne Moreland May 2014

The Effect Of Hegemonic Masculinity In The Proportion Of Women In Post-Communist Parliaments: A Case Study Of Estonia And Poland, Anne Moreland

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The under representation of women in national parliaments is a phenomenon that plagues much of the world, with the Baltic Sea Region being no exception. Two countries, Estonia and Poland, are chosen for comparative analysis in this paper, as they possess different cultures and histories, but have similar proportion of female representation at the national level. The comparison provides insight into the situation women face in politics in two post-communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. This paper will examine the trends in the proportion of female representatives in Poland and Estonia's national parliaments in the transition from communism to …

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