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Fealty And Free Will: Catholicism And The Master/Servant Relationship In The Lord Of The Rings, Emily Bytheway Dec 2009

Fealty And Free Will: Catholicism And The Master/Servant Relationship In The Lord Of The Rings, Emily Bytheway

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis asserts that one aspect of The Lord of the Rings which has been previously overlooked is the hierarchical nature of the master/servant relationship, which mirrors in many ways the hierarchical nature of the Catholic church. Through the various master/servant relationships that Tolkien portrays, he reflects not only the ideal of master and servant working together for good, but also the ways in which this intimate relationship can go horribly wrong. Aragorn represents an ideal master, one who is wise and good, and his servants are either rewarded or punished according to their loyalty to him. In the stories …


Changes In Chinese Policy Toward North Korean Refugees Over The Last Two Decades, Shinhea Eom Dec 2009

Changes In Chinese Policy Toward North Korean Refugees Over The Last Two Decades, Shinhea Eom

Theses and Dissertations

China does not view North Koreans who are staying in its territory as refugees and routinely deports them to North Korea. However, in the early 21st century, there have been some cases in which China has allowed North Koreans to leave China instead of sending them back to North Korea. This thesis examines how China’s North Korean refugee policy has changed over the last two decades and whether international factors have influenced this policy. The results suggest that in the 1990’s China gave priority to the repatriation agreement with North Korea. However, in the 2000’s from its own experience with …


Analysis Of Expedient Field Decontamination Methods For The Xmx/2l-Mil High-Volume Aerosol Sampler, Brandon C. Laroche Dec 2009

Analysis Of Expedient Field Decontamination Methods For The Xmx/2l-Mil High-Volume Aerosol Sampler, Brandon C. Laroche

Theses and Dissertations

The XMX/2L-MIL is a high volume air sampler used by the Air Force Bioenvironmental Engineering community to collect biological aerosols. Without a verified decontamination technique, however, the XMX cannot be used effectively. The objective of this study was to evaluate several proposed methods for expedient field decontamination of the XMX. This study centered on the inactivation of Bacillus atrophaeus spores and vegetative Erwinia herbicola organisms from the XMX inner canister. The goals in this investigation were twofold: 1) to verify the antimicrobial efficacy of a 10% bleach solution and 2) to determine if wiping the components with a bleach-soaked paper …


Statistical Tools For Linking Engine-Generated Malware To Its Engine, Edna Chelangat Milgo Dec 2009

Statistical Tools For Linking Engine-Generated Malware To Its Engine, Edna Chelangat Milgo

Theses and Dissertations

Malware-generating engines challenge typical malware analysts by requiring them to quickly extract and upload to their customers' machines, a signature for each of a possibly vast number of never-before-seen malware instances that an engine can generate in a short amount of time In this thesis we propose and evaluate two methods for linking variants of engine-generated malware to its engine. The proposed methods use the w-gram frequency vector (NFV) of the opcode mnemonics of an engine-generated malware in- stance as a feature vector for the instance. An NFV is a tuple that maps «-grams with their frequencies. The in-formation contained …


Interdisciplinary Instruction In American Colleges Of Education: Rhetoric Or Reality?, G Boyd Chitwood Nov 2009

Interdisciplinary Instruction In American Colleges Of Education: Rhetoric Or Reality?, G Boyd Chitwood

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the status of training for interdisciplinary instruction of K-12 teachers in NCATE-accredited teacher education programs in the United States. Further, program leader beliefs about interdisciplinary instruction were surveyed, and consistency of those beliefs with the actual conduct of their programs was studied. Interdisciplinary instruction has received significant positive mention over the last 80 years with waves of increasing interest identified up to the present. Support for this pedagogy has come from claims about effectiveness, teacher efficacy, nature of human learning and increased complexity in the contemporary world. Studies are lacking, however, on models for and prevalence of …


Optimizing The Release And Methylation Of Bacterial Endospore Dipicolinic Acid, Aaron N. Nackos Nov 2009

Optimizing The Release And Methylation Of Bacterial Endospore Dipicolinic Acid, Aaron N. Nackos

Theses and Dissertations

Rapid, portable detection of biological threat agents such as Bacillus anthracis endospores (“spores”) is extremely important given the real and perceived threats of bioterrorism. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is an excellent general means for chemical detection, although special sample preparation and specialized equipment are required to employ GC-MS for detecting biological agents such as spores in the field. A GC sample introduction probe consisting of a helical wire that can be retracted inside a syringe needle, called a coiled wire filament (CWF), was employed as a simple, passively-heated means to introduce the mixture of spores plus reagents for thermochemolysis methylation …


The Kenyan Woman: Her Historical Relationship With The State, Rosalia Wanja Ngugi Nov 2009

The Kenyan Woman: Her Historical Relationship With The State, Rosalia Wanja Ngugi

Theses and Dissertations

The historical relationship between the Kenyan state and women provides lessons and insight as to how women in a colonized state relate to the government and the gains, or lack thereof, that exist. Kenyan women were critical in the nationalist movement that intensified in the 1950s, culminating in independence in 1963. Some women fought in the forests and others were information and food distributors. Many women played a role in furthering the nationalist movement. Independence promised fruits that few women received. Through a historical analysis and an understanding of two women's organizations in Kenya, Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization and The …


Electronic Image Stabilization For Mobile Robotic Vision Systems, Michael John Smith Sep 2009

Electronic Image Stabilization For Mobile Robotic Vision Systems, Michael John Smith

Theses and Dissertations

When a camera is affixed on a dynamic mobile robot, image stabilization is the first step towards more complex analysis on the video feed. This thesis presents a novel electronic image stabilization (EIS) algorithm for small inexpensive highly dynamic mobile robotic platforms with onboard camera systems. The algorithm combines optical flow motion parameter estimation with angular rate data provided by a strapdown inertial measurement unit (IMU). A discrete Kalman filter in feedforward configuration is used for optimal fusion of the two data sources. Performance evaluations are conducted by a simulated video truth model (capturing the effects of image translation, rotation, …


Synthesis, Interdiction, And Protection Of Layered Networks, Kevin T. Kennedy Sep 2009

Synthesis, Interdiction, And Protection Of Layered Networks, Kevin T. Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations

This research developed the foundation, theory, and framework for a set of analysis techniques to assist decision makers in analyzing questions regarding the synthesis, interdiction, and protection of infrastructure networks. This includes extension of traditional network interdiction to directly model nodal interdiction; new techniques to identify potential targets in social networks based on extensions of shortest path network interdiction; extension of traditional network interdiction to include layered network formulations; and develops models/techniques to design robust layered networks while considering trade-offs with cost. These approaches identify the maximum protection/disruption possible across layered networks with limited resources, find the most robust layered …


Stable Carbon Isotope And Niche Breadth Analysis Of Animal Bone From Pocahontas Mounds (22hi500) And Lyon's Bluff, Robert Linder Mccain Aug 2009

Stable Carbon Isotope And Niche Breadth Analysis Of Animal Bone From Pocahontas Mounds (22hi500) And Lyon's Bluff, Robert Linder Mccain

Theses and Dissertations

Maize uses a photosynthetic pathway called C4 which produces a carbon signature in animal tissue that is different from most of the plants available to the inhabitants of the Southeastern United States. Faunal remains (deer, rodent, and turtle) from Pocahontas Mounds (22HI500) and Lyon’s Bluff (22OK520) were tested to determine whether the samples possessed a C4 signature. Maize has been found at both sites, but the extent of maize agriculture was not known. Rodent and turtle from both sites indicate partial to heavy consumption of C4 plants, while one deer sample from Pocahontas indicates moderate consumption of C4 plants. The …


Assay Of The Efficacy Of Novel Pyridinium Oximes For Potential Activity In The Central Nervous System For Reactivating Phosphorylated Acetylcholinesterase, Ashley Renee Harmon Aug 2009

Assay Of The Efficacy Of Novel Pyridinium Oximes For Potential Activity In The Central Nervous System For Reactivating Phosphorylated Acetylcholinesterase, Ashley Renee Harmon

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this research was to determine whether a series of novel pyridinium oximes that were synthesized to incorporate phenoxyalkyl moieties to increase lipophilicity, and thereby increase their likelihood of crossing the blood-brain barrier, could effectively reactivate phosphorylated AChE in vitro. An experimental OP was synthesized as a surrogate for sarin to test the reactivation potential of the oximes, phthalimidyl isopropyl methylphosphonate (PIMP). The reactivation activities of the novel pyridinium oximes on PIMP exposed AChE and structure activity relationships were examined. Differences in reactivation potential in comparison to the widely used 2-PAM were also examined. All the novel oximes …


Mobility And Population Change In Northeast Mississippi: An Object-Based Seriation Of Projectile Points As A Relative Paleodemographic Indicator, Jason L. Edmonds Aug 2009

Mobility And Population Change In Northeast Mississippi: An Object-Based Seriation Of Projectile Points As A Relative Paleodemographic Indicator, Jason L. Edmonds

Theses and Dissertations

Archaeological considerations of mobility have primarily focused on the differences in and among the kinds or degrees of mobility itself, rather than addressing the underlying issue of why human settlement patterns were or are mobile. The focus of this study is to address such questions within Darwinian evolutionary theory. Using the concepts of bet-hedging, as used in biology, and waste, as used in archaeology, it is argued that mobility was selectively favored for its population limiting properties. Relative changes in the numbers of projectile points in each assigned class, ordered chronologically by seriation, were taken to indicate relative population change …


Age-Related Differences In In-Vitro Sensitivity To Inhibition Of Human Red Blood Cell Acetylcholinesterase And Plasma Butyrylcholinesterase By The Cholinesterase Inhibitors Physostigmine (Phys), Pyridostigmine (Pyr), Donepezil (Don) And Galantamine (Gal), David Lee Jul 2009

Age-Related Differences In In-Vitro Sensitivity To Inhibition Of Human Red Blood Cell Acetylcholinesterase And Plasma Butyrylcholinesterase By The Cholinesterase Inhibitors Physostigmine (Phys), Pyridostigmine (Pyr), Donepezil (Don) And Galantamine (Gal), David Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized clinically by a progressive loss of memory, cognitive function, ability to care for oneself and psychiatric symptoms. First-line agents for the treatment of AD are ChE inhibitors (DON, GAL), whose modest clinical efficacy and the high incidence of dose-limiting toxicities limit their clinical utility. In addition to AD, ChE inhibitors (PYR) are used for other medical conditions, such as myasthenia gravis (MG). Furthermore, ChE inhibitors (PYR) are used by military personnel prophylactically if impending exposure to chemical warfare agents, e.g., soman, is suspected. The purpose of this research project was …


Patterns Of Differential Involvement In Terrorist Activities: Evidence From Dhkp/C And Turkish Hezbollah, Ismail Yilmaz Jul 2009

Patterns Of Differential Involvement In Terrorist Activities: Evidence From Dhkp/C And Turkish Hezbollah, Ismail Yilmaz

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the patterns of involvement in terrorist activities for the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) and Turkish Hezbollah members. The study is based on the assumption that terrorists differ in terms of their involvement in terrorist activities. In this sense, there are full-time and part-time terrorists. Full-time terrorists act professionally and do the assignments given by their commanders. Part-time terrorists, on the other hand, act on a non-professional basis and have their own motivations to participate in terrorist activities. For part-timers, there are various factors that may have an effect on their degree of involvement in terrorist activities. …


The Production And Filtration Efficiency Testing Of Nonwoven Electrospun Fiber Mats, Jan Uecker Jul 2009

The Production And Filtration Efficiency Testing Of Nonwoven Electrospun Fiber Mats, Jan Uecker

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis the production and filtration performance of electrospun nylon-4,6 nanofiber mats was experimentally studied. The average fiber diameter of nylon-4,6 fibers is controlled by altering the polymer concentration in solution. Adding small amount of pyridine to the electrospinning solution controlled fiber beading and other defects. These fibers were then deposited onto a wide variety of conductive and dielectric substrate materials. A corona ion source was used to eliminate surface charging effects observed at the surface of all substrates. The resulting fiber mats, uniform in size and distribution as verified by SEM imaging, are tested for filtration efficiency and …


American Totalitarianism In Norman Mailer's The Naked And The Dead And The Armies Of The Night, Benjamin E. Onofrio Jul 2009

American Totalitarianism In Norman Mailer's The Naked And The Dead And The Armies Of The Night, Benjamin E. Onofrio

Theses and Dissertations

Norman Mailer's seminal works The Naked and the Dead and The Armies of the Night both outline Mailers distaste for oppression. The Naked and the Dead's bleak reprisal of oppressive leadership tactics offers little in the way of a solution to fight this power. However, twenty years later, The Armies of the Night names personal expression of political views as the answer to oppressive force within the American government. Mailer met the hypocrisy of fighting for freedom abroad while oppressing one's own citizens by encouraging personal expression and flaunting the "rules" of the novel. In the end, Mailer surmises …


In The Company Of Cheaters (16th-Century Aristocrats And 20th-Century Gangsters), Mark Cammeron Murdock Jun 2009

In The Company Of Cheaters (16th-Century Aristocrats And 20th-Century Gangsters), Mark Cammeron Murdock

Theses and Dissertations

This document contains a meta-commentary on the article that I co-authored with Dr. Corry Cropper entitled Breaking the Duel's Rules: Brantôme, Mérimée, and Melville, that will be published in the next issue of Essays in French Literature and Culture, and an annotated bibliography of primary and secondary sources featuring summaries and important quotes dealing with duels, honor, honor codes, cheating, historical causality, chance, and sexuality. Also, several examples of film noir are cited with brief summaries and key events noted. The article we wrote studies two instances of cheating in duels: one found in Brantôme's Discours sur les duels and …


Female Allegory As Anti-Nationalist Satire In "L'Attaque Du Moulin" And "Boule De Suif", Deborah Bailey Jun 2009

Female Allegory As Anti-Nationalist Satire In "L'Attaque Du Moulin" And "Boule De Suif", Deborah Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

The year 1880 was rife with nationalist fervor and a general glorification of the French nation through imagery, literature and legislation. However, at this same time, Les Soirées de Médan, a collection of stories concerning the Franco-Prussian war also appear, bringing with them a distinctly anti-nationalist, harsh, and unforgiving view of the war and France's role in it. This thesis will examine personifications of France within L'attaque du Moulin and Boule de suif, the first two texts of Les Soirées de Médan, and their definite lack of the nationalist enthusiasm that characterized the time of their creation. The study of …


Using Author Studies To Incorporate Multicultural Literature Across The New Jersey Core Curriculum, Carol Lynn Raines-Sapp May 2009

Using Author Studies To Incorporate Multicultural Literature Across The New Jersey Core Curriculum, Carol Lynn Raines-Sapp

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to incorporate one author's work of multicultural literature to determine its significance in other subject areas within the New Jersey Core Curriculum exclusive of Language Arts/Literacy curriculum. It was to provide media specialists and classroom teachers with integral skills, concepts and ideas found in multicultural literature. The study used one author study, Virginia Hamilton, and one culture, African American in its evaluation within the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. The study showed that readability level of the selected works by Virginia Hamilton was excellent for students in grades four through six. Also, it …


The Walter And Inger Rice Center For Environmental Through Time: A Study In Environmental Change, Human Land Use And Its Effects Along The Lower James River, Chris Egghart May 2009

The Walter And Inger Rice Center For Environmental Through Time: A Study In Environmental Change, Human Land Use And Its Effects Along The Lower James River, Chris Egghart

Theses and Dissertations

Historic cartographic sources, historical accounts, and ethnographic and archaeological data are used help reconstruct past settlement patterns and land uses that together acted to shape the changing cultural landscape of the Virginia Commonwealth University Walter and Inger Rice for Environmental Studies (Rice Center). The Rice Center is located in Charles City County along the north bank of the James River between Richmond and Williamsburg. Presented is a baseline description of the present day condition of the Rice Center property. This is followed by a detailed account of the physiographic and ecological changes that occurred along the Lower James River since …


The Imagination And The Real, Thomas Ryan Gothrup Apr 2009

The Imagination And The Real, Thomas Ryan Gothrup

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis challenges the sedentary nature of living vicariously through the television, whether it be watching sports or playing video games. Since the advent of professional sports spectators have become accustomed to stadiums stuffed with people cheering on their favorite teams. The television substitutes for this visceral experience and allows viewers to live surrogate lives without leaving the living room. Ultimately, I see this thesis as a social commentary on the impact of sports and media in our society. This project highlights the sociological implications of the loss of interpersonal contact perpetuated by media.


Distribution, Function, And Value Of Parowan Valley Projectile Points, Aaron R. Woods Apr 2009

Distribution, Function, And Value Of Parowan Valley Projectile Points, Aaron R. Woods

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis primarily addresses the quantities and distributions of Fremont projectile points in the Parowan Valley. First, I review previous research performed in Parowan Valley and outline currently accepted projectile point analysis and typology methods. I also review ethnographic data surrounding the function and value of projectile points. Then, I provide the results of an analysis of all projectile points in the Parowan Valley Archaeological Project collection. I note the large amount of projectile points in this collection and compare it to projectile point counts from other large Fremont sites.I also note chronological patterns in Parowan Valley using projectile points …


Value-Driven Enterprise Architecture Evaluation For The Joint Force Protection Advanced Security System, Craig E. Mills Mar 2009

Value-Driven Enterprise Architecture Evaluation For The Joint Force Protection Advanced Security System, Craig E. Mills

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. military has placed a strong focus on the importance of operating in a joint environment, where capabilities and missions are shared between service components. Protecting U.S. forces is a major consideration in the joint environment. The Joint Force Protection Advanced Security System (JFPASS) architecture has been created to fill a critical gap in Joint Force Protection guidance for systems acquisition. The systems engineering (SE) field has made wide use of system architectures to represent complex systems. As fundamental SE principles become more widespread, analysis tools provide an objective method for the evaluation of the resulting architectural products. This …


Determining The Orbit Locations Of Turkish Airborne Early Warning And Control Aircraft Over The Turkish Air Space, Nebi Sarikaya Mar 2009

Determining The Orbit Locations Of Turkish Airborne Early Warning And Control Aircraft Over The Turkish Air Space, Nebi Sarikaya

Theses and Dissertations

The technology improvement affects the military needs of individual countries. The new doctrine of defense for many countries emphasizes detecting threats as far away as you can from your homeland. Today, the military uses both ground RADAR and Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) Aircraft. AEW&C aircraft has become vital to detect low altitude threats that a ground RADAR cannot detect because of obstacles on the earth. Turkey has ordered four AEW&C aircraft for her air defense system because of the lack of complete coverage by ground RADAR. This research provides optimal orbit locations that can be updated according to …


Methodology For Value-Driven Enterprise Architecture Development Goals: Application To Dodaf Framework, Justin W. Osgood Mar 2009

Methodology For Value-Driven Enterprise Architecture Development Goals: Application To Dodaf Framework, Justin W. Osgood

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense Architectural Framework (DoDAF) describes 29 distinct views but offers limited guidance on view selection to meet system needs. This research extends the Value-Driven Enterprise Architecture Score (VDEA-Score) from a descriptive, evaluation protocol toward a prescriptive one by evaluating each DoDAF view and its contribution to the overall objective of the completed architecture. This extension of VDEA is referred to as VDEA-Development Goals (VDEA-DG). The program manager or other decision-makers may use this insight to justify the allocation of resources to the development of specific architecture views considered to provide maximum value. This research provides insight into …


Exploitation Of Geographic Information Systems For Vehicular Destination Prediction, Richard T. Muster Mar 2009

Exploitation Of Geographic Information Systems For Vehicular Destination Prediction, Richard T. Muster

Theses and Dissertations

Much of the recent successes in the Iraqi theater have been achieved with the aid of technology so advanced that celebrated journalist Bob Woodward recently compared it to the Manhattan Project of WWII. Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms have emerged as the rising star of Air Force operational capabilities as they are enablers in the quest to track and disrupt terrorist and insurgent forces. This thesis argues that ISR systems have been severely under-exploited. The proposals herein seek to improve the machine-human interface of current ISR systems such that a predictive battle-space awareness may be achieved, leading to shorter …


Theatrical Ideology: Toward A Rhetoric Theatricality, Jacob L. Robertson Mar 2009

Theatrical Ideology: Toward A Rhetoric Theatricality, Jacob L. Robertson

Theses and Dissertations

When used in common vernacular, the terminology of the medium of theatre—"theatricality," "drama," "performance," "acting," "scene," etc."”form a vocabulary of "ideographs" as defined by Michael Calvin McGee. My analysis reveals that common usage of theatrical terms is more than merely metaphorical; the "theatre," rather, is a fundamental orienting concept for defining lived experience—it is ideology. By viewing the use of theatrical language as ideological, and analyzing how such terms define situations rhetorically, we begin to reveal the underlying ideology upon which the medium of theatre operates, and which it unconsciously conveys. I demonstrate this claim by analyzing the argument made …


The Effect Of Values On System Development Project Outcomes, Daniel B. Ward Mar 2009

The Effect Of Values On System Development Project Outcomes, Daniel B. Ward

Theses and Dissertations

In order to understand why organizations make certain decisions and target certain outcomes, it is useful to understand their priorities and preferences, commonly referred to as “values.” This research explores the relationship between the technical values held by system development teams and the operational effectiveness of the systems those teams produce. Specifically, it examines the impact of a value set called FIST (Fast, Inexpensive, Simple, Tiny) on DoD and NASA system development projects, and investigates the correlation between the FIST values and operational outcomes. The findings show that the FIST value set enhances project stability, increases the project leader’s control …


Dynamic Network Formation Using Ant Colony Optimization, Steven C. Oimoen Mar 2009

Dynamic Network Formation Using Ant Colony Optimization, Steven C. Oimoen

Theses and Dissertations

Military and industry are moving toward every device being network enabled and connected for reliable availability of communication and information. To make this type of system a reality, the devices must be capable of forming a network topology on their own in a dynamic environment to ensure that the correct information reaches a desired location and on-time. This research presents three contributions for solving highly dynamic (i.e. drastic change within the network) Multi-commodity Capacitated Network Design Problems (MCNDPs) resulting in a distributed multi-agent network design algorithm. The first contribution incorporates an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm Ant Colony System (ACS) …


Two Dimensional Scattering Analysis Of Data-Linked Support Strings For Bistatic Measurement Systems, William Keichel Mar 2009

Two Dimensional Scattering Analysis Of Data-Linked Support Strings For Bistatic Measurement Systems, William Keichel

Theses and Dissertations

Use of data-linked strings to support a bistatic antenna is being considered as a possible improvement to indoor bistatic radar cross section measurement systems. Analysis of candidate data-linked strings is required to understand the potential clutter contribution posed by such a system. The main objective of this research is to determine the scattering properties of four data-linked support string samples. An- other goal is to determine the material properties of the string material through nondestructive means if possible. The final goal is to model the samples as a single wire coated with a dielectric material and determine the validity of …