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"Sociocultural Predictors Of Risky Sexual Behaviors: 1 The Role Of Nativity Status, Race, Ethnic Identity And Self-Construal", Elvine B. Andjembe Jan 2016

"Sociocultural Predictors Of Risky Sexual Behaviors: 1 The Role Of Nativity Status, Race, Ethnic Identity And Self-Construal", Elvine B. Andjembe

Dissertations and Theses

Recent national health reports have shown that despite a considerable increase in sexual health knowledge, risky sexual behaviors’ rates among the youth are on the rise. Minorities are disproportionately affected, which translates into strong racial disparities in health outcomes such as STI/STDs, and HIV prevalence. The literature examining ethnic differences in health behaviors has studied ethnic identity (self-identification with and commitment to the values of one’s ethnic group) as a protective factor against an array of maladaptive behaviors. In addition, self-construal, which refers to the extent to which one is individualistic or collectivistic has also been established as a positive …


Not Black Or White, Lori Balaban Jan 2016

Not Black Or White, Lori Balaban

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


Hedonia And Eudaimonia: Associations With Academic Success, Wellbeing, And Neuropsychological Functioning, Maria Kryza-Lacombe Jan 2016

Hedonia And Eudaimonia: Associations With Academic Success, Wellbeing, And Neuropsychological Functioning, Maria Kryza-Lacombe

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the relations between happiness and academic success and wellbeing in a diverse, urban college sample by viewing happiness through the lens of hedonia (seeking pleasure and relaxation) and eudaimonia (seeking meaning), and their neuropsychological correlates. Undergraduate students (n=76; 68.4% female; mean age [SD]=21.17 [3.12]) completed self-report measures of hedonia and eudaimonia, and depression, anxiety, and stress. They also completed objective measures of “cool” executive functioning (WAIS-IV Digit Span, Stroop Color-Word test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, and a Stop Signal task) and “hot” executive functioning (Iowa Gambling Task, Temporal Discounting Task). Semester GPA was collected from school records. …


The Influence Of Running Extreme Obstacle Courses On Positive Affect, Character Strengths, And Well-Being, Ewa Opala Jan 2016

The Influence Of Running Extreme Obstacle Courses On Positive Affect, Character Strengths, And Well-Being, Ewa Opala

Dissertations and Theses

A large body of research demonstrates the positive benefits of numerous types of physical activity. However, the outcomes of running extreme obstacle courses (EOCs) remain unexamined. The aim of the present study was to explore the influence of running EOCs on positive affect, character strengths and well-being. The study utilized a pre-existing sample of 21 participants who filled out an online survey at two time points (pre-and-post race). The findings showed that participating in an EOC was related to increased positive affect (PA) and psychological well-being. Running an EOC with a team was associated with increased post-race teamwork and the …


Successful Regional Integration In The European Union Through Vision And Planning, Joshua Berliner Jan 2016

Successful Regional Integration In The European Union Through Vision And Planning, Joshua Berliner

Dissertations and Theses

The community of Europe today is at a crossroads. Recent pressures, many of them external, are severely testing the integrity of the European Union, as well as the long-standing regional cooperation. Widespread inconsistencies in national policies across member states, especially with regards to economic culture and fiscal policy, have presented the EU with an existential crisis. My hypothesis is that successful regional integration in Europe, however gradual, was not a spontaneous reaction to acute external pressures. Instead, I argue that successful regional integration was the result of a shared vision and careful planning by policy makers and negotiators, who never …


Epistemic Communities And Proliferation: The Implications Of Nuclear Knowledge, David Ayar Roze Jan 2016

Epistemic Communities And Proliferation: The Implications Of Nuclear Knowledge, David Ayar Roze

Dissertations and Theses

How do epistemic communities facilitate nuclear proliferation? The nuclear nonproliferation regime contains numerous actors exerting varying levels of influence on policy outcomes and state behavior. Neoliberal institutional theory emphasizes the role of sub-national groups play in forming policy preferences; one under-researched group is epistemic communities. Existing literature tends to consider only the nonproliferation action of epistemic communities, however this study aims to examine how these communities can facilitate and lower the cost of undertaking nuclear weaponization, effectively encouraging proliferation. It is especially ironic that the literature has ignored the facilitation effect, given that America’s decision to investigate nuclear weapons began …


The Effects Of Grameen-Model Microfinance Institutions And Self-Help Group Microfinance On Women’S Economic Empowerment In Rural India, Forrest Weaver Jan 2016

The Effects Of Grameen-Model Microfinance Institutions And Self-Help Group Microfinance On Women’S Economic Empowerment In Rural India, Forrest Weaver

Dissertations and Theses

Women in rural India suffer from pervasive gender inequality and disempowerment. One road to equality is economic empowerment through microfinance. Economic empowerment consists of an increase in savings, income, ownership of property or a microenterprise, and access to social services and training. I compile studies of two most common types of microfinance models used in India in order to determine if there is a general trend indicating that microfinance as a whole has a positive impact on women’s economic empowerment. The two types of microfinance examined are Grameen-model microfinance institutions (MFIs) and Self-Help groups (SHGs) through the SHG-Bank linkage model. …


"U.S. – China Competition In Asia-Pacific Region: The Aiib And The New Global Order?, Insill Park Jan 2016

"U.S. – China Competition In Asia-Pacific Region: The Aiib And The New Global Order?, Insill Park

Dissertations and Theses

China’s initiation of the New Silk Road plan in late 2013 has a potentially huge impact on global development. The purpose of this thesis is to understand, the impacts of the Chinaled on the global financial system. This paper highlights key issues related to finances and governance at the AIIB. The paper focuses on China’s Silk Road Economic Belt framework and on how China’s efforts to increase its economic integration in Asia Pacific Region. The “One Belt and One Road” program is China’s major strategic measure in response to the emerging trends in economic globalization, with the objectives of increasing …


Interest Groups And Exchange Rate Policy Choice In Brazil And Venezuela: Incorporating The Workers, James Suggett Jan 2016

Interest Groups And Exchange Rate Policy Choice In Brazil And Venezuela: Incorporating The Workers, James Suggett

Dissertations and Theses

Why did Brazil and Venezuela choose different exchange rate policies in 2003? Brazilian President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva chose to maintain the managed float established by his predecessor; Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez chose to switch to a fixed exchange rate. Economic explanations typically consider structural factors drawn from Optimum Currency Area (OCA) theory as well as macroeconomic indicators such as level of reserves and inflation. Political explanations examine regime type, parliamentary structure, and interest groups. This study further explores the role of interest groups in determining exchange rate policy choice. Existing research on interest groups focuses primarily on major …


The Incongruence Of Development Assistance: An Overview Of World Bank Policies, Elizabeth Garcia-Polanco Jan 2016

The Incongruence Of Development Assistance: An Overview Of World Bank Policies, Elizabeth Garcia-Polanco

Dissertations and Theses

In post-conflict countries were instability has intensified, it becomes apparent how inadequate development assistance can be and why even after large sum of investments development assistance has not been able to completely alleviate poverty. For agencies like the World Bank that provide first hand assistance, we question whether there are prerequisites needed in order for their policies to be effective and whether these policies are targeting the core reasons for the countries’ poverty dilemma. African countries continue to hold intricate predicaments that may at times be too complicated to be analyzed without sufficient resources provided by the international community. While …


The European Union At Stake? A Comparative Analysis On The Dimensions Of Eu Decisionmaking In Crisis Settings, Franziska Kipp Jan 2016

The European Union At Stake? A Comparative Analysis On The Dimensions Of Eu Decisionmaking In Crisis Settings, Franziska Kipp

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines how the EU as an international organization deals with international crisis situations by looking at its functions and imperfections in its decision-making process. Drawing from theoretical organization theory insights, particularly realism and constructivism, as well as empirical findings derived from two case studies, the goal if this study is to identify the dimensions of crises and find an answer to the question which factors influence decisions on crisis management. The Eurozone crisis and the Refugee crisis serve as case studies to investigate the narrative of crises in order to explain process outcomes. In both case studies I …


Adsorption Of Antibiotics By Vermiculite, Mosa J. Ferdous Jan 2016

Adsorption Of Antibiotics By Vermiculite, Mosa J. Ferdous

Dissertations and Theses

The occurrence of residual antibiotics in the environment has been a worldwide issue and warrants the development of inexpensive yet effective methods for antibiotics removal from contaminated water. In this thesis work, the adsorption of four antibiotics, namely chlorotetracycline (CTC), oxytetracycline (OTC), ofloxacin (OFL), and enrofloxacin (ENR), onto natural vermiculite has been studied using batch (static) and column (dynamic) adsorption techniques. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were initially used to explain the adsorption processes. The separation factor (RL) values derived from the Langmuir model and the 1/n values derived from Freundlich model in the present investigation were less than …


Expression And Function Of A Putative Cox-Like Gene In D. Melanogaster, Michelle S. Batchu Jan 2016

Expression And Function Of A Putative Cox-Like Gene In D. Melanogaster, Michelle S. Batchu

Dissertations and Theses

Cyclooxygenases (COX) are the enzymes that catalyze the conversion of arachidonic acid into prostaglandins. In mammals, isoform COX-1 is constitutively expressed, whereas the isoform COX-2 gene expression is induced, primarily at sites of inflammation. While eicosanoids play a major role in inflammation in insects, their existence in fruit flies has not been reported. Recent computational analyses by Qi and Singh (2014) have identified putative COX-like enzymes in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Here we compare the expression patterns of these enzymes and the effects of their knockdown in immune cells of D. melanogaster third instar larvae. Because of high genetic …


Globalization, Tourism And Sustainable Development: The Multifaceted Impact Of Tourism On Development And Poverty Alleviation In Brazil, Gaëlle Lopes Saraiva Jan 2016

Globalization, Tourism And Sustainable Development: The Multifaceted Impact Of Tourism On Development And Poverty Alleviation In Brazil, Gaëlle Lopes Saraiva

Dissertations and Theses

Globalization is a popular concept deeply embedded in our era that represents the widespread intensification of transnational connections emblematic of this century. In general, this study aims to clarify the contradictory effects globalization exerts on development by specifically analyzing the particular impact of tourism in the emerging economy of Brazil. It is argued that the unequal distribution of tourism activities between urban and rural areas, and the prevalence of specific sizes and types of tourism are the main factors involved in sustaining unequal patterns of development across the country. The study concludes that public-private partnerships in tourism should prioritize the …


Modern Foraminiferal Assemblages Of The Denmark Strait, Laura Larocca Jan 2016

Modern Foraminiferal Assemblages Of The Denmark Strait, Laura Larocca

Dissertations and Theses

Foraminifera occupy a geological range from the early Cambrian to the present day. Their well preserved shells, high relative abundance, and short response time to changing environmental conditions make foraminifera ideal proxies for environmental change. Benthic foraminifera are a valuable but poorly understood paleobiological proxy for the reconstruction of environmental conditions on continental shelves occupied by arctic and subarctic waters. This study identifies, examines, and quantifies calcareous benthic foraminiferal faunas from a sediment core taken from the Denmark Strait. Our analysis of three-thousand individuals from ten discrete samples aim to provide a better understanding of the modern patterns of foraminiferal …


Analyzing Evapotranspiration In The Tropical Montane Cloud Forest At Sierra De Bahoruco, Dominican Republic, Emmanuel Rodriguez-Gonzalez Jan 2016

Analyzing Evapotranspiration In The Tropical Montane Cloud Forest At Sierra De Bahoruco, Dominican Republic, Emmanuel Rodriguez-Gonzalez

Dissertations and Theses

Lake Enriquillo is located in the southwestern extreme of Dominican Republic and has been experiencing a rapid expansion in surface area, along with other water bodies in the same region, since 2004 causing major flooding to the surrounding agricultural and cattle-raising lands, infrastructure and communities. Understanding why the lake is expanding at such rapid rate and accurately forecast how they will behave in the future is the main goal of The Hispaniola Lakes Project. The purpose of this project is to investigate the effects that hydrometeorological drivers are having on the forested areas located in Sierra de Bahoruco, which is …


"Molecular Analysis Of Virulence Factors Unique To Leptopilina Heterotoma-A Parasitic Wasp Of Drosophila Spp.", Noelle Dziedzic Jan 2016

"Molecular Analysis Of Virulence Factors Unique To Leptopilina Heterotoma-A Parasitic Wasp Of Drosophila Spp.", Noelle Dziedzic

Dissertations and Theses

Endoparasitioid wasps of Drosophila spp. frequently avoid or overcome the immune defense mechanisms of their fly hosts. Leptopilina heterotoma (Lh) is a generalist wasp species, successful on many Drosophila spp. world-wide. During oviposition, the female wasp introduces venom proteins and virus-like particles (VLPs) into developing fly larvae. VLPs are endocytosed by plasmatocytes, a macrophage-like blood cell that is the most abundant hemocyte present in the circulating hemolymph. Once internalized, VLPs destroy plasmatocytes by programmed cell death. To understand the contributions of VLP proteins in VLP trafficking within host cells, we took advantage of proteomic data from purified Lh VLPs. Two …


3d Structural And Stratigraphic Architecture Of The Northwest Santa Barbara Basin And Implications For Submarine Landslide Generation, Alexis Wright Jan 2016

3d Structural And Stratigraphic Architecture Of The Northwest Santa Barbara Basin And Implications For Submarine Landslide Generation, Alexis Wright

Dissertations and Theses

Multiple submarine landslides have been previously documented on the north flank of the Santa Barbara Channel, and such failures are considered to be capable of generating local tsunamis hazards to the Santa Barbara region. 2D seismic-reflection datasets provide a general view of regional framework geology, including faulting and folding associated with north-south compression. However, better understanding of the relationships between faults, folds, stratigraphic architecture, and submarine landslides can be obtained with 3D seismic datasets. In this study we use an industry 3D seismic-reflection volume that encompasses the slope and shelfbreak surrounding the Gaviota submarine landslide (3.8 km2) to investigate structural …


Revised Distributional Estimates For The Recently Discovered Olinguito (Bassaricyon Neblina), Using Museum And Science Records, Beth E. Gerstner Jan 2016

Revised Distributional Estimates For The Recently Discovered Olinguito (Bassaricyon Neblina), Using Museum And Science Records, Beth E. Gerstner

Dissertations and Theses

In the context of global change, a necessary first step for the conservation of species is gaining a good understanding of their distributional limits. This is especially important for biodiversity hotspots with high endemism such as the Northern Andes. The olinguito (Procyonidae: Bassaricyon neblina) is a recently described, medium-sized carnivoran found in Northern Andean cloud forests. A preliminary distributional model was published along with the original description, and I here provide revised distributional estimates using updated locality records and more current ENM methods. I build ecological niche models in Maxent using occurrence data (georeferenced museum records and citizen science-derived photo-vouchers) …


Julia-Kocienski Approach To 4-Substituted 1- Alkenyl-1h-1,2,3-Triazoles, Kunga Tsetan Jan 2016

Julia-Kocienski Approach To 4-Substituted 1- Alkenyl-1h-1,2,3-Triazoles, Kunga Tsetan

Dissertations and Theses

A modular approach to the synthesis of 4-substituted N-vinyltriazoles was
developed. The triazole cores were assembled by copper-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar
cycloaddition of 1-phenyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl (PT) azidomethyl sulfide with: pmethoxyphenyl, 2-pyridyl, and triisopropylsilyl alkynes. Subsequent oxidation of the sulfides furnished 4-substituted triazoles with a Julia-Kocienski olefination handle attached at the N1 atom of the triazole. Olefination reactions of triazole-derived Julia-Kocienski reagents with paraformaldehyde gave 1-ethenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazoles. Heck reactions of these products with phenyl or p-methoxyphenyl iodide led to further functionalization of the terminal carbon, with E/Z-olefin ratios ≥ 92%. Heck reaction with p-cyanophenyl iodide gave low conversion, and that with 2-thienyl iodide did not …


Short Story Long: Towards A Poetics Of The Novel Stories, Sarah Meyer Jan 2016

Short Story Long: Towards A Poetics Of The Novel Stories, Sarah Meyer

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


Health, Education And Children’S Rights: A Comparability Analysis Of Kenya And Brazil, Charlette Lopez Jan 2016

Health, Education And Children’S Rights: A Comparability Analysis Of Kenya And Brazil, Charlette Lopez

Dissertations and Theses

Developing adequate health care and education systems has been an ongoing struggle for the governments of both Kenya and Brazil. Despite moderate improvements in health and education statistics for both of these countries, there is clear evidence that these states will have to be actively engaged in order to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. Kenya and Brazil may differ in geographical location, history, culture, and socioeconomic status, but both countries are congruent in the challenges they face to provide sufficient access to quality health care and educational resources to the upcoming generations of children who are being failed by …


What Accounts For The Success Of New Ethnically Based Parties In Latin America And The Rise Of Ethnopopulism: – A Comparative Study Between Ecuador, Bolivia And Peru, Monica M. Orellana Jan 2016

What Accounts For The Success Of New Ethnically Based Parties In Latin America And The Rise Of Ethnopopulism: – A Comparative Study Between Ecuador, Bolivia And Peru, Monica M. Orellana

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


Assessing The Utility Of Imaging Radar For Identifying White Sand Vegetation Structure, Jessica Rosenqvist Jan 2016

Assessing The Utility Of Imaging Radar For Identifying White Sand Vegetation Structure, Jessica Rosenqvist

Dissertations and Theses

White sand vegetation communities are wide spread across South America; found in Peru, Venezuela, Brazilian Amazon and Guyana. They are distributed in patches ranging from <1 km2 to greater than tens of square kilometers and their origins and locations are still not well understood. The communities are related to a variety of factors (soil type, flooding, nutrient content and fire); hence a precise definition for the ecosystem is still not fully defined. Nevertheless, the result of these variations creates a unique environment for endemic plant and animal species to thrive. Furthermore, analysis of these areas has been very scattered and identification of local white sand areas (<1 km2) have not been accomplished. In addition, identification of these locations has currently only used optical satellite imagery (Landsat, MODIS). Hence, in this project, we have attempted to use synthetic aperture radar to create a classification system to locate the white sand vegetation systems. The goal is to be able to apply this method to identify white sand vegetation distribution across South America. The region of focus for this thesis has been in Aracá, a large white sand area located in Brazil in the State of Amazonas. Due to the lack of ground reference data, a classified map by Capurucho et al. (2013), generated using Landsat data, was used as a comparison and reference. JAXA’s ALOS-1 PALSAR (L-band), ESA’s Sentinel-1A (C-band) and NASA’s SRTM sensors were used for land classification. As microwave signals penetrate clouds and haze, the advantage of using sensors with this wavelength allows for an unobstructed coverage of the landscape all year round. Different combinations of polarizations and wavelengths were used during the analysis to try and separate the white sand vegetation from water and terra firme forest. The resulting classification images showed a 30% agreement with the classification map by Capurucho et al. It is important to note, that this number is in fact an agreement percentage as the map used was a classification image and coarse in resolution (due to the lack of reference data). Therefore, this value does not imply a bad classification. Future work will include time-series data, precise ground reference points and data from other sensors such as ALOS-2 PALSAR, to improve the classification accuracy.


The Relationship Between Childhood Trauma And Paranoid Personality Disorder Symptoms, Ayse Arikan Jan 2016

The Relationship Between Childhood Trauma And Paranoid Personality Disorder Symptoms, Ayse Arikan

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Recent literature consistently shows a relationship between childhood trauma (CT) and personality pathology. History of childhood abuse leads to severe loss of trust. This loss of trust in early years is a strong predictor of the majority of personality disorders and is related to several problems in adulthood such as insecure attachment and distrust in interpersonal relationships. Although distrust is the key diagnostic component of Paranoid PD (PPD), empirical research mostly focused on borderline personality disorder (BPD) yielding limited information about PPD regarding its development and potential risk factors. This study has two aims. First is to examine the …


An Approach To Automatic Detection Of Suspicious Individuals In A Crowd, Satabdi Mukherjee Jan 2016

An Approach To Automatic Detection Of Suspicious Individuals In A Crowd, Satabdi Mukherjee

Dissertations and Theses

This paper describes an approach to identify individuals with suspicious objects in a crowd. It is based on a well-known image retrieval problem as applied to mobile visual search. In many cases, the process of building a hierarchical tree uses k-means clustering followed by geometric verification. However, the number of clusters is not known in advance, and sometimes it is randomly generated. This may lead to a congested clustering which can cause problems in grouping large real-time data. To overcome this problem we have applied the Indian Buffet stochastic process approach in this paper to the clustering problem. We present …


Technetium: Productivity Tracking For Version Control Systems, David Leonard Jan 2016

Technetium: Productivity Tracking For Version Control Systems, David Leonard

Dissertations and Theses

In recent years, the City College of New York has seen its Computer Science program grow immensely, to the point of overcrowding. This has negative implications for both students and professors, particularly in introductory computer science courses in which constant feedback, iteration and collaboration with others is key to success. In this paper we propose various models for collaboration among students in all course levels using distributed version control systems and implement a secure and efficient tool for visualizing collaborative efforts by observing past work [5]. Lastly, we lay the foundation for future work around additional collaborative metrics, features and …


Discrete Model For Cancer Tumor Growth And Effect Of Chemotherapy, Karim Virani Jan 2016

Discrete Model For Cancer Tumor Growth And Effect Of Chemotherapy, Karim Virani

Dissertations and Theses

Many mathematical models have focused on growth of a single tumor with their spreading rate with some have included its metastasis. Some of the earlier models focus on exponential growth and its shift with time on to a linear model. The Gompertzian model involves a quadratic terms and that limit growth. We looked into Iwata et al paper it discusses a different model and takes into account the growth and metastasis of a tumor population but does not look into tumor shrinking or chemotherapy. Our new model focuses on the extending Iwata et al model to take into account tumor …


Direct Current Stimulation Modulates Ltp And Ltd: Activity-Dependence And Dendritic Effects, Gregory Kronberg Jan 2016

Direct Current Stimulation Modulates Ltp And Ltd: Activity-Dependence And Dendritic Effects, Gregory Kronberg

Dissertations and Theses

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been reported to improve various forms of learning in humans. Stimulation is often applied during training, producing lasting enhancements that are specific to the learned task. These learning effects are thought be mediated by altered synaptic plasticity. However, the effects of DCS during the induction of endogenous synaptic plasticity remain largely unexplored. To model endogenous plasticity I induced long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD) at Schaffer collateral synapses in CA1 of rat hippocampal slices. When induction was paired with concurrent DCS, the resulting plasticity was biased towards potentiation, such that LTP was enhanced and …


Ultrahigh Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging – Technical Development And Translational Applications, Judy Alper Jan 2016

Ultrahigh Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging – Technical Development And Translational Applications, Judy Alper

Dissertations and Theses

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be used to provide detailed images of the human body with excellent soft tissue contrast. Alongside its current widespread clinical applications for diagnosis and treatment, MRI allows researchers to measure structure and function of different tissue types in order to advance our understanding of human biology and enable new medical applications of MRI. In particular, diseases affecting nerves and vessels, such as trigeminal neuralgia, with uncertain etiology can be studied using multiple MRI modalities so that treatment planning can we more effective and patient outcomes can be improved. Ultrahigh field MRI scanners, such as those …