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Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

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Hydroclimatic Assessment Of Changing Climate On Diarrheal Diseases With Reference To Cholera, Fariborz Nasr Azadani Jan 2016

Hydroclimatic Assessment Of Changing Climate On Diarrheal Diseases With Reference To Cholera, Fariborz Nasr Azadani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The association of cholera with the climatic processes is well documented. However the effects of changing climate on occurrence of cholera is not yet evaluated, perhaps due to unavailability of geophysical data and their quantitative linkages with cholera. Global climate models (GCMs) outputs are available at coarse resolution of 200-300km, but the diseases usually occur at 10-15 km, therefore, it is rather challenging to link any GCM outputs with a disease. The goal of this research is to develop algorithms that can link diarrheal diseases with changing climatic conditions. Within this context, cholera is used as a model disease due …

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How College Instructors Use Social Media For Instruction, Benson Njoroge Jan 2016

How College Instructors Use Social Media For Instruction, Benson Njoroge

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The use of social media has increased tremendously in recent years with many sectors using it for the purpose of communicating, sharing ideas, gathering information and stating opinions. The use of social media has trickled down into education with instructors using it for teaching and learning. This study used Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction as a framework to investigate the types of social media applications used, and how they are specifically used for instructional purpose in colleges. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze data. Results indicated that about 31% of instructors use different social media types …

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Towards Quantifying The Effects Of Resource Extraction On Land Cover And Topography Through Remote Sensing Analysis: Confronting Issues Of Scale And Data Scarcity, Jessica D. Dewitt Jan 2016

Towards Quantifying The Effects Of Resource Extraction On Land Cover And Topography Through Remote Sensing Analysis: Confronting Issues Of Scale And Data Scarcity, Jessica D. Dewitt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation focuses on the mapping and monitoring of mineral mining activity using remotely sensed data. More specifically, it explores the challenges and issues associated with remote sensing-based analysis of land use land cover (LULC) and topographic changes in the landscape associated with artisanal and industrial-scale mining. It explores broad themes of image analysis, including evaluation of error in digital elevation models (DEMs), integration of multiple scales and data sources, quantification of change, and remote sensing classification in data-scarce environments. The dissertation comprises three case studies.;The first case study examines the LULC change associated with two scales of mining activity …

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Imaging Ductal Carcinoma Using A Hyperspectral Imaging System, Yasser M. Khouj Jan 2016

Imaging Ductal Carcinoma Using A Hyperspectral Imaging System, Yasser M. Khouj

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) is a non-invasive optical imaging modality that shows the potential to aid pathologists in breast cancer diagnoses cases. In this study, breast cancer tissues from different patients were imaged by a hyperspectral system to detect spectral differences between normal and breast cancer tissues, as well as early and late stages of breast cancer. If the spectral differences in these tissue types can be measured, automated systems can be developed to help the pathologist identify suspect biopsy samples, which will improve sample throughput and assist in making critical treatment decisions. Tissue samples from ten different patients were provided …

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3d Seismic Interpretation, Mechanical Stratigraphy And Production Analysis Of The Marcellus Shale In Northern West Virginia, Mollie K. Kish Jan 2016

3d Seismic Interpretation, Mechanical Stratigraphy And Production Analysis Of The Marcellus Shale In Northern West Virginia, Mollie K. Kish

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Marcellus shale is one of the most developed unconventional shale gas reservoirs in the world with a calculated 84.5 trillion cubic feet in proved natural gas reserves in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. To better exploit this resource all geological aspects of the Marcellus shale are being studied. In this study, mechanical stratigraphy and interpreted seismic fracture zones within the Marcellus shale are examined. These geologic criteria are assessed for potential to impact gas production by analyzing the gas production of fourteen horizontal Marcellus shale wells within and around the study area.;Mechanical stratigraphy is evaluated from the top of the …

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Mesozoic History Of The Southeastern Tibetan Plateau: Sediment Provenance, Paleoclimate, And Surface Elevation History, Fei Shang Jan 2016

Mesozoic History Of The Southeastern Tibetan Plateau: Sediment Provenance, Paleoclimate, And Surface Elevation History, Fei Shang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation presents new results of a multi-disciplinary investigation of the linkages between erosion, uplift and regional climate change associated with the Mesozoic accretionary tectonism in southeastern Tibet. We studied sedimentary record preserved in a robust and strategically-located geologic archive---the Qamdo basin system. Since tectonics can greatly influence the geomorphic and stratigraphic development of sedimentary basins, studying evolution of the Qamdo basin could provide useful insights into the tectonic information of the adjacent areas. The following questions are addressed in the three chapters of this thesis: • What are the sediment sources for the Mesozoic Qamdo basin? • Is there …

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Hydrogel Tracer Beads As Potential Proxies For Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids In Karst: Development Of An Optical Quantification Method For Fluorescent Beads, Habib Bravo-Ruiz Jan 2015

Hydrogel Tracer Beads As Potential Proxies For Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids In Karst: Development Of An Optical Quantification Method For Fluorescent Beads, Habib Bravo-Ruiz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Sinkholes and sinking streams are examples of karst features that can serve as direct pathways for contaminants, including non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs), to quickly enter karst aquifers. Once NAPLs are in karst aquifers, their fate and transport is difficult to predict and is not well understood. In this study, floating hydrogel tracer beads (HTBs) are developed and tested to help gain a better understanding of the fate and transport of NAPLs. The HTBs are formed by cross-linked sodium alginate polymers that can be made with different fluorescent pigments and density-modifying additives. The focus of this research was on the development …

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The Environmental Effects Of Geologically Sequestered Carbon Dioxide Gas And The Enhanced Recovery Of Coal Bed Methane From An Unmineable Coal Seam, Brad David Hega Jan 2015

The Environmental Effects Of Geologically Sequestered Carbon Dioxide Gas And The Enhanced Recovery Of Coal Bed Methane From An Unmineable Coal Seam, Brad David Hega

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The need to mitigate the alleged effects of anthropogenic carbon dioxide gas (CO2(g)) generation has led to the exploring of specific subsurface environments to house the gas. The geology of the subsurface underlying Marshall County West Virginia makes the area an ideal setting for use as a CO 2(g) repository. A cooperative, pilot study was undertaken by CONSOL Energy Inc., which owns and operates the selected CO2(g) sequestration site, along with personnel from West Virginia University (WVU) and other agencies under the United States Department of Energy (DOE) funded Zero Emissions Research Technology or ZERT program. The repository is an …

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Determining The Efficacy Of Magnetic Susceptibility As An Analytical Tool In The Middle Devonian Gas Bearing Shale Of Taylor County, West Virginia, John Baird Jan 2015

Determining The Efficacy Of Magnetic Susceptibility As An Analytical Tool In The Middle Devonian Gas Bearing Shale Of Taylor County, West Virginia, John Baird

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The magnetic susceptibility of two Middle Devonian shale units, the Mahantango Formation and Marcellus Shale, was recorded in order to determine if magnetic susceptibility could be used to predict (1) transgressive and regressive cycles, (2) brittleness, and (3) total organic content (TOC). A core from Taylor County, West Virginia was selected for this purpose.;Transgressive and regressive cycles were detected through variations of magnetic susceptibility values with maximum flooding surfaces indicated by troughs in the data and maximum regressive surfaces indicated by peaks. A sequence stratigraphic framework based upon variations in gamma ray and density measurements was used to establish a …

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Evaluating And Prioritizing Stream Restoration In Mined Appalachian Watersheds., Eric Mitchell Miller Jan 2015

Evaluating And Prioritizing Stream Restoration In Mined Appalachian Watersheds., Eric Mitchell Miller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The state of West Virginia requires stream mitigation to offset anthropogenic impacts to streams; consequently there is a high concentration of mitigation projects in the mountaintop mining/valley fill region. Projects are typically outside mine boundaries and sites are selected at the discretion of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. This dissertation evaluated current in-stream, natural channel design (NCD) structures and prioritized future project locations. First, we assessed the Little Coal River, which is one of the largest physical restoration projects in the state. The Little Coal drains 994 km2 with extensive historic and contemporary coal mining. The objectives of …

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Old War, New Deal: Commemorative Landscapes, The National Park Service, And The 75th Anniversary Of The Civil War, Rebekah N. Oakes Jan 2015

Old War, New Deal: Commemorative Landscapes, The National Park Service, And The 75th Anniversary Of The Civil War, Rebekah N. Oakes

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The 75th Anniversary of the American Civil War was both the last major anniversary influenced by living Civil War veterans, and the first commemoration to occur with a number of key Civil War battlefields under the administrative control of the National Park Service. Although largely overlooked by historians, remembrance of the Civil War in the 1930s represented a key transition from commemoration primarily for the veterans of the conflict to a wider commemoration, finding from the Civil War a usable past and a landscape of national memorialization. Through this process, administrative and interpretive shifts changed the very purpose of Civil …

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An Assessment Of Recreational Use: The Wenaha Wild And Scenic River, Umatilla National Forest, Oregon, Ashley R. Popham Jan 2015

An Assessment Of Recreational Use: The Wenaha Wild And Scenic River, Umatilla National Forest, Oregon, Ashley R. Popham

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to provide data to the US Forest Service about summer recreational use of the Wenaha Wild and Scenic River in eastern Oregon, and to determine if use and use levels were appropriate according to relevant legislation and policies. The Umatilla National Forest is the administrative authority of the river and is required to complete a Comprehensive River Management Plan for this river. At the time of data collection this Draft Environmental Analysis (EA) was being developed. The Final EA was implemented July, 2015.;Recreation surveys were collected at trailheads and other developed and undeveloped recreation …

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Lithofacies And Sequence Stratigraphy Of The Middle Devonian Marcellus Formation For A Cored Well In Clearfield County, Pennsylvania Using Core Analysis Methods, Chloe S. Wonnell Jan 2015

Lithofacies And Sequence Stratigraphy Of The Middle Devonian Marcellus Formation For A Cored Well In Clearfield County, Pennsylvania Using Core Analysis Methods, Chloe S. Wonnell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Seven lithofacies were identified from visual descriptions and quantitative interpretations using traditional core analysis methods, such as core and thin-section description, x-ray diffraction (XRD), total organic carbon (TOC), and spectral core gamma-ray (GR). Ingrain's digital rock physics (DRP) color-coded CoreHDRTM lithofacies classification was successful at illustrating small-scale variations in the core based off high resolution bulk density (RHOB) and photoelectric factor (PEF) logs. A core-scale lithofacies log and spectral core GR aids in recognizing condensed sections and stacking patterns, which helps establish a sequence stratigraphic framework for the cored well that consists of six stratigraphic intervals. The sequence stratigraphic framework …

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How History Matters: Polish Memory Politics And Policies Toward Russia Since 1989, Richard Tyler Underwood Jan 2015

How History Matters: Polish Memory Politics And Policies Toward Russia Since 1989, Richard Tyler Underwood

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis examines how memory can affect international relations and vice versa. In order to examine how memory can affect international relations the relationship between Poland and the Russian Federation since 1989 is analyzed as well as how their pasts and the period of Soviet dominance affects this relationship. This thesis focuses on two specific modes of memory: the Katy? Forest Massacre and Soviet monuments and memorials in Poland, specifically the Polish-Russian Brothers in Arms monument. Looking at these modes of memory and specific cases through a constructivist perspective will exemplify how memory plays a role in international relations. At …

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Influence Of Mycorrhizal Fungi On Soil Geochemistry And Plant Uptake Of Cadmium And Zinc: Greenhouse And Soil Studies Of Palmerton Zinc Superfund Site, Pennsylvania, U.S.A, Christian X. Figueroa Jan 2015

Influence Of Mycorrhizal Fungi On Soil Geochemistry And Plant Uptake Of Cadmium And Zinc: Greenhouse And Soil Studies Of Palmerton Zinc Superfund Site, Pennsylvania, U.S.A, Christian X. Figueroa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The application of bioremediation as a means to ameliorate potentially toxic metals from contaminated soils has been on the forefront of sustainable technologies in the field of environmental studies. Conventional methods available for soil remediation are employed in both in situ or ex situ and these are: soil flushing, solidification/stabilization, vitrification, electrokinetics, chemical reduction/oxidation, soil washing, and excavation. In general, these technologies are limited by their applicability to small areas and the high costs to execute. The use of biota, in particular fungi and trees, has been an emerging low-cost and "environmentally-friendly" alternative to conventional technologies. In this study, I …

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Comparing Diel Cycles Of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon To Diel Cycles Of Fe And Mn At A Coal Mine Drainage Site In Harrison Co., Wv, Jill L. Riddell Jan 2015

Comparing Diel Cycles Of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon To Diel Cycles Of Fe And Mn At A Coal Mine Drainage Site In Harrison Co., Wv, Jill L. Riddell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Diel (24 hour) cycles of dissolved inorganic carbon and dissolved metals have rarely been studied in concert in coal mine drainage systems containing high CO2. Diel samples were collected from two locations at a site with elevated CO2; the locations differed in their CO 2 concentrations and the amount of vegetation present. Field data and samples were collected from both locations during March, May, and July 2014. To determine if the parameters cycled in a diel fashion, the data were fit using a cosine model and the goodness of fit was determined using an f-test statistic. Overall, 15 of 20 …

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Against The Thalassocracy: Sacred Geography, Nationhood And Perennial Traditionalism In Alexander Dugin's Neo-Eurasianist Philosophy, Jonathan Rushbrook Jan 2015

Against The Thalassocracy: Sacred Geography, Nationhood And Perennial Traditionalism In Alexander Dugin's Neo-Eurasianist Philosophy, Jonathan Rushbrook

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis discusses the ideological makeup of the Russian right wing philosopher Alexander Dugin's and his conceptualization of race and nation in his Neo-Eurasianist imperial project. Tracing Dugin's ideological influences from early Eurasianism, the European New Right and esoteric religious beliefs such as Perennial Traditionalism, the thesis then goes on to place Dugin's body of thought within a larger debate on defining fascism and whether Dugin can be considered a fascist. Ultimately this thesis contests some scholars' interpretations of Dugin's worldview as a fundamentally ethnocentric or even racist Russian nationalism. Rather, by examining Dugin's writings on nation through an ethno-symbolist …

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Changing Vulnerabilities In A Changing Climate: Farming Opportunity And Constraint In Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania, Paul O'Keefe Jan 2015

Changing Vulnerabilities In A Changing Climate: Farming Opportunity And Constraint In Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania, Paul O'Keefe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation demonstrates that the vulnerability of households to both socioeconomic and environmental processes is found in unequal, differentiated ability to access the means of social production and reproduction. Place specific environmental and social factors co-produce specific manifestations of vulnerability, but the underlying causes and driving forces are to be found in the social formation and social relations of households in the case study area. The major finding of this dissertation is that changes in the social relations of production and reproduction are creating as much risk to livelihoods as climate change does, or is likely to do in the …

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3d Seismic, Mechanical Stratigraphy, And Petrophysical Analysis Of The Marcellus Shale In Taylor County, West Virginia, Derek Weicht Jan 2015

3d Seismic, Mechanical Stratigraphy, And Petrophysical Analysis Of The Marcellus Shale In Taylor County, West Virginia, Derek Weicht

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Marcellus Shale is a Devonian age black shale formed during the Acadian Orogeny along the eastern margin of North America. The Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale is an unconventional shale-gas reservoir that has been a major target of seismic exploration and gas extraction using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. This study focuses on analyses of seismic response, mechanical, and petrophysical properties of the Marcellus Shale and surrounding strata in Taylor County, West Virginia.;Spectral blueing was performed on the post stack migration seismic volume to enhance the resolution. The resolution of the volume was increased from 61 feet to 47 feet, …

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Maopewa Iati Bi: Takai Tonqyayun Monyton "To Abandon So Beautiful A Dwelling": Indians In The Kanawha-New River Valley, 1500-1755, Isaac J. Emrick Jan 2015

Maopewa Iati Bi: Takai Tonqyayun Monyton "To Abandon So Beautiful A Dwelling": Indians In The Kanawha-New River Valley, 1500-1755, Isaac J. Emrick

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Maopewa iati bi is a Tutelo translation of William Byrd's eighteenth century quote "To abandon so beautiful a Dwelling." The quotes sets the stage for this examination of the indigenous landscape history of the eastern half of the Middle Ohio River Valley. The region, or Okahok amai, was the homeland of Siouan speakers, but passed from Siouan control into Iroquoian and Algonquian hands around turn of the eighteenth century. Not long afterward Indians, pressured by British and French citizens and governments, were forced to again fight to maintain their hard won new homes. By the middle of the eighteenth century, …

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Remote Sensing For Monitoring The Mountaintop Mining Landscape: Applications For Land Cover Mapping At The Individual Mine Complex Scale, Aaron E. Maxwell Jan 2015

Remote Sensing For Monitoring The Mountaintop Mining Landscape: Applications For Land Cover Mapping At The Individual Mine Complex Scale, Aaron E. Maxwell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the potential for mapping land cover associated with mountaintop mining in Southern West Virginia using high spatial resolution aerial- and satellite-based multispectral imagery, as well as light detection and ranging (LiDAR) elevation data and terrain derivatives. The following research themes were explored: comparing aerial- and satellite-based imagery, combining data sets of multiple dates and types, incorporating measures of texture, using nonparametric, machine learning classification algorithms, and employing a geographical object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) framework. This research is presented as four interrelated manuscripts.;In a comparison of aerial National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) orthophotography …

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Performing Placeslessness: Early American Drama And The Liminal State, 1775-1859, James R. Holsinger Jan 2015

Performing Placeslessness: Early American Drama And The Liminal State, 1775-1859, James R. Holsinger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In Performing Placeslessness, I argue that the lack of a consistent attachment to place--the geopathology that manifests in the problem of placelessness---contributed to the incoherence of American identity from the Revolutionary War through the mid-nineteenth century. In making this argument, I bridge the critical gap between Martin Brueckner's description of the geographic revolution (late-seventeenth to mid-eighteenth century) and Una Chaudhuri's Staging Place, in which she characterizes place as a problem in modern realist drama. Examining dramatic publications and performances from 1775-1859, I treat drama as a key site of negotiating problematic conceptions of space and place in America. This period …

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Facilitating Dialogue Through Design To Create Positive Social Change In Rural Communities, Lauren B. Schiefelbein Jan 2015

Facilitating Dialogue Through Design To Create Positive Social Change In Rural Communities, Lauren B. Schiefelbein

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Social Design is a progressive field that continues to gain momentum across the nation and the world. Its value and validity is especially noteworthy when design is used as a vehicle to create positive change in today's society. Many rural communities lack the necessary infrastructures or resources to remain relevant in a 21st century world, and face unique sets of barriers to progress and creative problem-solving.;Effective communication, for example, is one area that design thinking can efficiently address, often generating collaborative solutions. Facilitating dialogue in the rural community requires special attention and planning. A carefully-tailored strategy of design interaction while …

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Perceptions Of Adult Learners' Readiness In Ghana For Online Instructions In Higher Education, Daniel Tetteh-Richter Jan 2015

Perceptions Of Adult Learners' Readiness In Ghana For Online Instructions In Higher Education, Daniel Tetteh-Richter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Online learning has become an integral component of higher education in the 21st century. Harnessing this potential has resulted in an increase in enrollment without the corresponding wear and tear on main campus infrastructure. Many institutions of higher education have incorporated online learning into their programs while recognizing that online learners are more likely to be adult students. As such, adult learners must have basic online skills that make them ready for online learning. Also, online programs should be guided by andragogy -- a unique approach to educating the adult learner. And the adult learner must want to stay in …

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Variations In Selenium Concentrations By Photochemical And Temperature-Controlled Iron Cycles, Kendi L. Waltemyer Jan 2015

Variations In Selenium Concentrations By Photochemical And Temperature-Controlled Iron Cycles, Kendi L. Waltemyer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Selenium (Se) concentrations in natural waters may vary over a 24-hour (diel) period in response to temperature changes. Diel cycles of Se have not been reported in coal mine drainage (CMD) waters, and understanding the mechanisms of Se concentration variations in CMD is important for predicting Se fate and mobility. Iron (Fe) is often associated with CMD, and diel cycles of dissolved Fe species concentrations and/or the formation of Fe oxyhydroxide minerals may impact Se mobility. Experiments were conducted in a laboratory setting between July 2014 and April 2015 to determine if selenite (SeIV) concentration changes could be detected in …

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Commercial Real Estate Investment And Economic Development In The Northeast Region Of The United States, Tizita Wasihun Jan 2015

Commercial Real Estate Investment And Economic Development In The Northeast Region Of The United States, Tizita Wasihun

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The U.S. commercial real estate (CRE, henceforth) market was pummeled during the great recession. As the economy sees gradual improvements, investment continues to forge ahead from its worst slump, with fresh opportunities as construction rebounds. The debate on the relationship between real estate investment and economic growth has a long history in the economic development literature. Frequently asked questions are, should real estate investment be part of economic development strategies? Does real estate investment have more economic benefits than other investments? Should real estate investment wait until economic growth is achieved? Does real estate investment spur economic growth or, vice …

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Uneven Development And Peri-Urbanization In South Africa: Exploring Landscape Change In Polokwane, South Africa, Jennifer L. Smith Jan 2015

Uneven Development And Peri-Urbanization In South Africa: Exploring Landscape Change In Polokwane, South Africa, Jennifer L. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Changes in local landscapes of South Africa are tied to changing social and economic structures of the post-apartheid era. Though there have been significant shifts in land and labor laws, as well as economic policies, between the apartheid era and current times, significant inequalities between communities remain a defining characteristic of the post-apartheid landscape. This research contends that through a combination of social processes occurring between the local, national, and global scales, local landscape is produced unevenly as a manifestation of the coproduction of space. Using a structuralist approach, the research examines local change through the theoretical lenses of uneven …

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Word Play: Modernist Women And Performative Writing, Kathryn Ridinger Smorul Jan 2015

Word Play: Modernist Women And Performative Writing, Kathryn Ridinger Smorul

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In Word Play: Modernist Women and Performative Writing I read modernist literary texts informed by theories about theatre, performance, and art. Exploring lesser-known works of Djuna Barnes, Gwendolyn Bennett, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Mina Loy, I combine literary analysis and performance studies to discover how modernist texts "talk back" to performance theories.;Performance studies, of course, is an inter-discipline that includes anthropology, sociology, performing arts, and literary theory. Modernist authors, influenced as they often are by art, performance, and ritual, incorporate these interdisciplinary interests into a writing practice, specifically performative writing. Performative writing is not so much a matter of …

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Impacts Of Multiple Stressors On Dryland Vulnerability And Land Conflict Among Border Communities, Alvin Maingi Solomon Jan 2015

Impacts Of Multiple Stressors On Dryland Vulnerability And Land Conflict Among Border Communities, Alvin Maingi Solomon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examines how individuals and groups respond to prevailing politico-economic and biophysical changes and how the adjustments they make influence and are influenced by their social relations and material condition in spatial and temporal terms. This dissertation comprises of three parts: The first part is a critique of the climate-conflict relationship debate and the problems associated with studies pushing for a causal relationship between climate variables and conflict. I argue that scholars lack of attention on varying institutional capacities and the focus solely on environmental factors as trigger mechanisms for conflict leads to misleading arguments about conflict distribution and …

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3d Seismic Attribute-Assisted Analysis Of Microseismic Events In The Marcellus Shale, Ariel Kelton Hart Jan 2015

3d Seismic Attribute-Assisted Analysis Of Microseismic Events In The Marcellus Shale, Ariel Kelton Hart

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Microseismic monitoring is often used during the process of oil and gas exploitation to monitor seismicity that may be triggered by hydraulic fracturing, a common practice in the Appalachian Basin. Anthropogenically-induced minor upward fracture growth is not uncommon in the Marcellus shale; however, in the area of study, significant microseismic activity was registered above the target zone. In order to ascertain whether out-of-zone growth might have been predictable and identify which areas are more likely to experience brittle failure first, 3D seismic and microseismic data were analyzed with a focus on better understanding variations in the acoustic properties associated with …

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