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An Investigation Of Kavilorai: A Hero Stone Site In The Nilgiri Mountains Of South India, Jacob Landon Bach

Masters Theses

This study explores the hero stones of the Nilgiri Mountains of South India. This project has focused on the site of Kavilorai for developing a stylistic base to compare other sites of the region with. After analysis it was determined that Kavilorai contained four separate, but connected stylistic expressions carved on the hero stones. The findings when compared with other upper elevation sites corresponded to a high quality/low quality theme, often incorporating the ritual suicide sati. When comparing the stylistic representation of the carved figures to the Badaga Lingayat temple of Seminatum there surfaced strong thematic and stylistic connections. The …

Morphological Analysis Of The Charlevoix-Antrim And Northport Drumlin Fields, Michigan Using Digital Elevation Models, Alan M. Lefever

Masters Theses

The Charlevoix-Antrim and Northport drumlin fields, located in northwest Lower Michigan, lie on opposite sides of Grand Traverse Bay. Morphological measurements were derived from topographic maps and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), combined with grain size analyses performed on collected drumlin sediments. Comparison of the morphological results demonstrates that statistical analysis of equal or better accuracy can be performed on drumlins using high resolution DEMs. The grain size analysis determined that the drumlins contain more gravel near the coast and become sandier to the south and east.

Spindle drumlins are the dominant drumlin form in both the Charlevoix-Antrim and Northport fields. …

Rural Tourism As An Alternative To Rural Development In The State Of Para, Brazil, Ana Christina Sawada Cutrim

Masters Theses

This research is based on the potential analysis of the rural tourism industry in the cities of Braganca, Mosqueiro, and Vigia, located in the State of Para, Brazil. The representative samples were the people who went to an excursion trip organized by an elderly people association to visit the city of Braganca, and the people who went to the farm hotels located in the cities of Mosqueiro and Vigia. Surveys were conducted among the tourists during the weekends of December 2007 to January 2008. The research focused on the strengths and weaknesses of tourism in these sites.

The demographic characteristics …

A Study Of Body Scent As A Social Identifier Among Members Of The Arabic Culture, Mia M. Wilson

Masters Theses

Body scent plays a major factor in how individuals interact with one another. While Americans have their own perception of what is "proper" body scent, they still remain uninformed about the various ways body scent is used to deliver social messages and form interpersonal relationships within other cultures. With many immigrants continuing to move to the United States (Frey, 2004), American societies need to become educated on other cultures' social aspects of body scent to avoid alienation of foreign communities. This qualitative research study explores how individuals of the Saudi Arabian culture use body scent as a social identifier to …

Too Little, Too Late: The Current Generation Of College Women And Sexual Health Education, Nicole C. Schumaker

Masters Theses

This research was conceived when I acknowledged the ways in which women of my generation have been educated about their bodies and about their sexuality. In a review of the literature on adolescent female sexuality, there is substantial evidence to suggest that in regards to early female sex education, adolescent sexuality is linked with danger, victimization, and passivity. Accordingly, it is asserted that these understandings of female sexuality disallow young girls to see themselves as initiators and decision-makers thus compromising their development of sexual subjectivity and responsibility in adulthood.

Data for this project were collected through ten semi-structured interviews with …

Prospects And Limitations For Ecocultural Tourism In The City: Developing An Urban Heritage Water Trail On The Portage Creek, Eric Mark Kerney

Masters Theses

The decline in Michigan's economy and rapid loss of manufacturing jobs has forced communications to look towards new possibilities. The state's abundant water resources have potential to enhance regional economies and improve the quality of life. The Michigan Heritage Water Trails Program was initiated in 2002 by Michigan Public Act 454 in response to a lack of established routes in the state. The Portage Creek is located within the Kalamazoo River Watershed, which is being explored as a pilot project for a connected system of regional water trails. The study area of the Portage Creek is located entirely within the …

Investigative Study On An Energy Theorem For Developing Testing Functions For Numerical Simulations Of Multibody Dynamic Systems, Kulasegaram Gugaratshan

Masters Theses

Multibody dynamic systems designers utilize computer software extensively to simulate the motion of mechanical systems. The governing differential equations of motion are formulated and solved numerically. The accuracy of the numerical solutions is always a concern to the analyst. There have been many investigations done around the world to check the accuracy of these simulations, and based on these investigations, many methods have been developed. These methods are usually based on energy balance equations and can be used to test the validity or the correctness of the numerical solutions. This thesis analyzes and compares these methods based on their formulation …

Three Sunsets For Soprano And Chamber Orchestra, Adam Matthew Reifsteck

Masters Theses

Published after his death in 1898, Lewis Carroll's poem Three Sunsets explores the deepest of human emotions-love and loss. These complex emotions are often difficult to describe in words, yet Carroll is able to draw the reader into this world and project the shared feelings of all humanity. Unlike romantic poetry of his time, this work by Carroll is written in third person as a retelling of the story between two star-crossed lovers. This perspective allows the reader to experience the emotions of both the woman and the man. While Carroll's poetry remains open to all explanations of meaning, the …

Three Moments And Change, Adam Schumaker

Masters Theses

There are times where one walks through life untouched, unaffected by their surroundings. This is not how the universe functions. Eventually, this comfortable sleep is disrupted, and we are given a choice: to change or to die. Life is not what we do, nor is it what happens to us. Our life is measured in how we react to what happens to us.

This composition loosely explores the changing self and asks the question: how much do we actually change? Though programmatic in nature, each movement and each section within movements does not represent an exact story. Instead, the titles …

Schedule Thinning Following Mand Training: Attempts To Enhance Signaled Delay To Reinforcement, Jamie M. Severtson

Masters Theses

Mand training, a common component of language training programs for children with autism, is associated with several clinical benefits (Sundberg & Michael, 2001), yet mand training sometimes results in high-rate responding that is difficult to maintain. One method of reducing high-rate mands to manageable rates is known as graduated signaled delay to reinforcement. The current investigation involved a series of three studies to evaluate the ability of three independent variables (a) highly preferred toys, (b) signal duration, and (c) schedule thinning methods to enhance signaled delay to reinforcement. The results of the three studies indicate that 7 of the 8 …

Iterative Design Of The Aeroship Through Flight Testing, Michael R. Schulte

Masters Theses

This research covers the design, construction, and testing of a hybrid flight platform called the Aeroship. The Aeroship is a combination of current aerodyne and aerostat technology that have been merged at an optimal ratio. In order to create an efficient design, flight testing was employed as a catalyst for design changes. The final design was then flight tested for performance validation using videogrammetry.

Fostering Democracy In Iraq, Tristam E. Niederer

Masters Theses

This thesis evaluates democracy in Iraq and determines if the current institutions are fostering democracy. When the institutions in place are not fostering democracy, I evaluate why they are not and how they could promote democracy. I employ a case study approach of Iraq by first looking at the region's history. I then analyze the works of leading experts of democracy in divided society theory to develop a democratic framework for Iraq. Finally, I focus on the Iraqi government's institutions and the Iraqi Constitution to evaluate their effectiveness.

The purpose of this thesis is two-fold. First, as a deeply divided …

Backstripping The Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure: Differentiating Regional Tectonics From Impact Effects, Travis Gary Hayden

Masters Theses

The Chesapeake Bay impact structure is a ca. 35.4 Ma old crater located on the coastal plain of Virginia along the eastern seaboard of North America. The impact generated a crater between 85 and 90 km in diameter, and over 2000 meters deep. Deposition returned to normal shortly after impact, resulting in a unique record of both the impact related and subsequent passive margin sedimentation. We use backstripping to show that the impact strongly affected sedimentation for 7 m.y. through a combination of impact derived crustal scale tectonics, dominated by the introduction and subsequent removal of a negative thermal anomaly, …

N-(Deoxyadenosine-8-Yl)-4-Aminobiphenyl Adduct Formation In Vitro On Tp53 Exon7 Genome: Quantitation By Lc-Esi-Ms/Ms, Paul René Knoll

Masters Theses

The p53 protein has been documented to be mutated in more than 50% of late stage bladder cancers and tobacco causes 50% of all bladder tumors. The 4- arninobiphenyl (ABP) carcinogen comprises 5 ng per cigarette in the smoke and is a known bladder carcinogen. The research goal in the present study was to compare the reactivity of rat liver S-9 fraction activated 4-arninobiphenyl with the 45-mer sense strand of the TP53 exon7 gene to the respective anti-sense strand. The specific and sensitive technique of LC-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used for quantitation. The authentic standard of N-(adenine-8yl-)-4-arninobiphenyl (A-ABP) …

Habitat Suitability Modeling For Lake Huron Tansy In Michigan, Cathryn Elizabeth Whately

Masters Theses

Little scientific research has been published that addresses the habitat requirement of the Lake Huron tansy, a Michigan threatened species. Adequate protection of the tansy, location of new populations, and identification of potential restoration sites all depend on defining suitable habitat. Mahalanobis distance and partitioned Mahalanobis distance were combined with geographic information systems (GIS) to spatially model habitat suitability for Lake Huron tansy in Michigan. Several models were created for shoreline areas within the 14 counties in northern Michigan where the tansy is found. Results suggested elevation, distance to shore, slope, direction to shore and aspect were important variables for …

Watch Out For The Freshman 15: An Investigation And Interpretation Of Memorable Health Messages Received By College Students, Lindsey Marie Rose

Masters Theses

Using the memorable messages framework as a guide (Knapp, Stohl & Reardon, 1981), this thesis examines the memorable health messages that college students are able to recall. The survey design queried respondents about the structure and form of the message, circumstances surrounding the message, the source of the message, and the content of the message. The data was assessed quantitatively through use of one-sample chi-square tests, and qualitatively utilizing grounded theory. The results of the study were generally supported by previous memorable message studies. The research findings are discussed based on the memorable messages framework and the implications for future …

Using Composite Sampling Techniques To Monitor Bathing Beach Water Quality In Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Jeffrey David Reicherts

Masters Theses

The Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department conducts water quality monitoring at public bathing beaches to determine public health risks and compliance with Michigan water quality standards. These standards require local health departments to collect and analyze a minimum of three water samples during each sampling event. Water samples are analyzed for Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, an organism that indicates the presence of fecal contamination. During the 2007 sampling season, nine bathing beaches were monitored once each week. Three individual point samples (n = 486) and a composite sample (n = 144) were analyzed for each sampling …

Real-Time Analysis And Investigation Of The Mechanism Of The Palladium On Carbon Catalyzed Isomerization Of Megestrolacetate, Charlene K. Wiglesworth

Masters Theses

Megestrol Acetate is a semi-synthetic steroid hormone of the progestin family and currently used as a drug therapy in many areas including treatments of cancers and AIDS. The final step to form the bulk drug is an isomerization using palladium on carbon with cyclohexene as an activator. This step is sensitive to catalyst quality and is hazardous to sample because of the reactivity of the catalyst. Physical and catalytic properties of the catalyst were evaluated, as were the effects of solid support and different washing strategies. Response of the reaction mixture to catalyst poisons was studied as a function of …

Generalization Of Mands For Information Across Establishing Operations, Sarah A. Lechago

Masters Theses

This study sought to extend the developing literature on teaching mands for information by systematically assessing whether they generalize across different EOs. Three children with autism were taught to perform multiple behavior chains, three of which included a common response topography (e.g., "Where is the spoon?") used for different purposes. An interrupted-behavior-chain procedure was used to contrive the EO for each mand. After a mand for information was taught under one EO, the remaining chains were interrupted to determine whether the mand had generalized across EOs. For all three participants, mands for information generalized across EOs. For one participants, a …

A Study On The Impact Of Information Technology Use On Nonprofit Organizations, Ashima Saigal

Masters Theses

The benefits of Information Technology (IT) in for-profits have been studied since the early 1970’s. These benefits, including increases in productivity, necessitate investments in resources, human capital and strategic plans. This triangle of investments is crucial to the success of IT implementation and its correlation to a positive fiscal bottom line. The impact on nonprofits has only been studied since the late 1980’s. This study has evaluated what makes an IT project successful for nonprofits and why. The methodology used is triangulation, which blends three types of data to provide multiple viewpoints: face-to-face interviews, surveys and research. This will ascertain …

The Aesthetic Visage Of Nature: A Teleological Argument From Beauty In The Natural World, Derek Bartlow

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Application Of Artificial Neural Networks And Colored Petri Nets On Earthquake Resilient Water Distribution Systems, Nandini Kavanal Balakrishnan

Masters Theses

"Water distribution systems are important lifelines and a critical and complex infrastructure of a country. The performance of this system during unexpected rare events is important as it is one of the lifelines that people directly depend on and other factors indirectly impact the economy of a nation. In this thesis a couple of methods that can be used to predict damage and simulate the restoration process of a water distribution system are presented. Contributing to the effort of applying computational tools to infrastructure systems, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is used to predict the rate of damage in the pipe …

The Bearded Man, Scott Lutz

Masters Theses

The Bearded Man is a collection of poems conceived around the theme of mythmaking. Mythmaking in these poems manifests itself as a means of translating or filtering the outside world through a fantasist lens that creates an alternate interpretation of the natural world. However, the project quickly grew beyond myth and evolved into tall-tale-like poems. My purpose in writing or constructing these modem-day tall-tales or fabricated takes on reality, is to enable the reader to reacquaint themselves with the impossible, and to remind the reader that not everything needs to be explained through logic or science. But I suppose ultimately …

Female Freedom Fighters: The Impact Of Kate Chopin's The Awakening And Edith Wharton's The House Of Mirth On The American Suicide Discourse From 1870-1900, Jenny Cortez

Masters Theses

Chapter one traces the discussion of suicide that was taking place in America between the years 1870-1900. Some psychologists attributed suicide to insanity and imitation, while others ascribed the act of suicide to those individuals with an intelligent disposition. Other theorists, however, saw the act itself as being in direct connection with social consciousness and the plight of women. Chapter two takes up Kate Chopin's The Awakening, published in 1899, as a response to this conversation over women who take their own lives, contending that a woman commits the act of suicide not because, as American society suggested between 1870 …

Cyber Tribe: The Rhetorical Implications Of The Daily Kos Political Filter Blog Community, Rachel Lutz

Masters Theses

My thesis analyzes the ways in which blogs are changing the accumulation and exchange of knowledge both within and outside of the blogosphere. To this end, I closely examine the features and activities of the blog site Daily Kos and use these observations to extend the orality-vs.-literacy theories of Walter Ong and the media theories (particularly that of de- and retribalization) of Marshall McLuhan. My application of ideas presented by these rhetoricians, together with more recent Internet research that has addressed blog analysis in terms of knowledge-formation and intellectual authority, helps bring greater clarity to a dynamic and complex phenomenon: …

The Grim Word: 'Home' In Fiction By Graham Greene, Geoff Cowgill

Masters Theses

Graham Greene's treatment of the subject of home in his writings is remarkably negative. Focusing on nine of his major novels (England Made Me, A Gun for Sale, Brighton Rock, The Heart of the Matter, The Quiet American, The Comedians, Travels with My Aunt, The Honorary Consul, and The Human Factor), this study explicates the ways in which home fails his characters. In this thesis, 'home' has been split into three facets: family, domicile and homeland. Each facet seems to promise benefits for the characters that don't materialize. The way in which Greene's writing promotes a betrayal of home reflects …

A Song And A Slogan: Regional Influences On Carl Sandburg And Edgar Lee Masters, Amanda Dunlavey

Masters Theses

The works of Carl Sandburg and Edgar Lee Masters have been largely overlooked by critics in spite of their initial popular success .• However, these authors dt serve further study, especially· in light of the growing popularity of regional writing. When studied in a biographical context, the works of Sandburg and Masters illustrate that thJ. most profound influence on their lives and works was that of their early lives in entral Illinois. It was there that they found their most fertile subject matter, developed their political beliefs, and established their connection to nature. Studying the 4 in tandem can form …

Warriors, Lovers, Mothers: Women's Physical Powers In The Irish Sagas, Jessica L. Powell-Pickering

Masters Theses

This thesis is an examination of four primary female characters from the 8t-century Irish sagas and the powers that they exhibit through their physical actions. By placing primary emphasis on body language rather than, or in conjunction with, the words spoken by each character, a reader may gain a more comprehensive sense of the true nature of that character. These women are not simply standing in the background; they are performing actions imperative to their individual narratives that aid in story development and larger contextual plots found in the sagas as a whole. Each of these women-Grainne, Deirdre, Medb, and …

Textual Selves, Tasha Dunaway

Masters Theses

Through an examination of the texts of William Byrd II and Thomas Jefferson, I consider appetite as an instrument of self-construction in relation to two poles of male identity: the patriarch and the libertine. Byrd and Jefferson's public images as patriarchs are complicated by an examination of their private texts which reveal a decidedly libertine tendency. These two men compose texts (and personae) relative to socially accepted notions of appetite.

Chapter One discusses the composition of works written for introspective purposes, arguably private works--commonplace books, scrapbooks, diaries, and letters-in an effort to distinguish the ways in which appetite operates in …

Effect Of Living Arrangement And Meals Eaten Alone On The Nutrition Status Of Older Adults, Kelly L. Boeger

Masters Theses

The purpose of the study was to determine if older adults who live alone are at greater nutritional risk than those who do not live alone and to determine if eating with -'others increases nutritional status in older adults. A questionnaire, adapted from the "Determine Your Nutritional Health Checklist" developed by the Nutrition Screening Initiative, was administered to 100 older adults 65 years of age or older. Ninety-four survey participants were included in the study.

Nutrition scores from the nutrition assessment portion were compiled for each subject by categorizing each questionnaire as low, moderate, or high~ depending on level of …