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A Statistical Study Of The Dependence Of The Integrated Wave Power Of Geomagnetic Pulsations Between 01 Hz And 10 Hz Upon The Solar Wind Dynamic Pressure, Cristian C. Cocheci

Doctoral Dissertations

We present a statistical study of the influence of the solar wind dynamic pressure on the power of geomagnetic pulsations in the frequency range of 0.1 to 1.0 Hz (around the superposition of the Pc1 and Pc1--2 frequency ranges). The solar wind parameters are calculated using data from the Solar Wind Experiment and from the Magnetic Field Instrument on board the WIND spacecraft. Using ground data from the Antarctic AGO arrays and northern hemisphere stations we have compared the integrated power of pulsations between 0.1 and 1.0 Hz with the variations of the solar wind dynamic pressure, on scales of …

X- And Gamma -Ray Observations Of The 15 November 1991 Solar Flare, Martina Belz Arndt

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation expands the current understanding of the 15 November 1991 X1.5 solar flare. This flare was a well observed event in radio to gamma-ray energies and is the first gamma-ray flare to be extensively studied with the benefit of detailed soft and hard X-ray images. In this work, we add data from all four instruments on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), spanning 20 keV--300 MeV. From these data we determined that the accelerated electron spectrum above 170 keV is best fit with a power law with a spectral index gamma ≈ -4.6. We determined that the accelerated proton …

An Image Of Enduring Plurality In Economic Theory: The Root -Metaphor Theory Of Stephen C Pepper, Michael C. Daley

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation establishes an image of enduring plurality in economic theory based on four stable and adequate world hypotheses identified by philosopher of science Stephen C. Pepper. According to Pepper's metaphilosophy---a theory of philosophy---a world hypothesis is a conceptual system founded on a root metaphor. A root metaphor serves as a cognitive focal point or image that guides in the transformation of uncriticized, commonsense, evidence into criticized evidence and thought. A description of a world hypothesis is developed using the root-metaphor method, which derives a unique set of structural categories identified with each root metaphor. In Pepper's system, four sets …

Reading For *Class: Virginia Woolf, Rebecca West, And Sylvia Townsend Warner, Laurie Ann Quinn

Doctoral Dissertations

Reading for Class is a feminist materialist study of three twentieth-century British writers: Virginia Woolf (1882--1941), Rebecca West (1892--1983), and Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893--1978). In triangulation, Woolf, West, and Warner provide the specific grounding for the project's more general exploration of the intersections between class issues and literature. The Introduction forges the eclectic critical method defined as reading for class, and articulates the historical-political purposes of the method and of the study itself. In Chapter One, analyses of two of Woolf's lesser-known texts, the "Introductory Letter" to the collection Life as We Have Known It (1931) and Nurse Lugton's Golden …

Finite Element Modeling Of Tidal Flow And Bed -Load Transport In The Great Bay Estuarine System, New Hampshire, Ata Bilgili

Doctoral Dissertations

Current, sea level and bed-load transport are investigated in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire---a shallow, well-mixed system with low freshwater input. Main channel tidal currents are over 2 m/sec, and its dynamic balance is dominated by the pressure gradient and bottom friction. Current and sea level forced by the M2, M4, M6 tides at the estuary mouth are simulated by two numerical models---a three-dimensional, harmonic model that solves the linearized shallow water equations (FUNDY5); and a vertically averaged, time stepping, non-linear model (ADAM). ADAM makes use of a kinematic assumption (that is, the local and advective accelerations are neglected) …

Carbon And Nitrogen Dynamics Of Northeastern United States Forests In Response To Environmental Stress: Measurements And Models At Local To Regional Scales, Scott V. Ollinger

Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis stems from several ongoing efforts to characterize patterns of productivity and nitrogen cycling in northeastern US forests and to address the effects of nitrogen deposition, tropospheric ozone and rising atmospheric CO2. The work reported on involves two related projects; (1) an ecosystem model analysis that integrates physiological and biogeochemical processes with important environmental variables across the northeast region and (2) a field and remote sensing analysis that examines landscape-level patterns of forest biogeochemistry in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Chapter 1 presents a regional analysis of forest productivity using the PnET forest ecosystem model and discusses the …

Exploring Other Worlds: Margaret Fox, Elisha Kane, And The Antebellum Culture Of Curiosity, David Alexander Chapin

Doctoral Dissertations

Antebellum Americans had a strong interest in the unknown, which manifested itself simultaneously in highbrow, middlebrow, and lowbrow culture. Venues such as scientific institutions, lyceums, lecture halls, the "penny-press," and the dime-museum all catered to American curiosity. Exploring Other Worlds examines this "culture of curiosity," arguing that curiosity was a defining trait of antebellum America, transcending many of the boundaries we often associate with the era. Curiosity promoted intellectual interest in science, but it also led to the sensationalism of modern commercial popular culture.

The inter-related lives of Elisha Kane and Margaret Fox demonstrate this thesis. Kane was America's first …

Improvements Of X-Band And Q-Band Epr /Endor Spectrometers Studies Of Ferritin Iron Nitrosyl And Copper Cis, Cis-1,3,5-Triaminocyclohexane Chloride Complexes, And The Application Of Q -Band Epr To The Dating Of Fossil Teeth, Junlong Shao

Doctoral Dissertations

Several modifications were made on a Varian Q-band EPR/ENDOR spectrometer, including the installation of a microwave amplifier in the E110 bridge, design and assembly of a new cavity coupler, addition of frequency counting capability, as well as other useful minor changes. The performance of the spectrometer was improved in signal-to-noise ratio, convenience of tuning and operation and accuracy of g-value and hyperfine coupling measurements. The signal-to-noise ratio was increased by a factor of six.

Improvements were also achieved with our X-band EPR/ENDOR spectrometer by design and assembly of a new printed ENDOR coil for use in a TE104 rectangular cavity. …

The Perceived Effects Of State -Mandated Testing In New Hampshire, Stephen A. Kossakoski

Doctoral Dissertations

The purposes of this study were: (1) to examine the perceptions of third grade teachers in the state of New Hampshire concerning the state's mandated testing program, and (2) to determine if there was a relationship between teachers' perceptions and their schools' socioeconomic status. The survey instrument designed for this study contained 61 closed response Likert scale items that measured teachers' perceptions regarding changes in curriculum and instruction, sources of pressure to improve test scores, and attitude toward the third grade test. A stratified random sample of 310 third grade teachers was selected to participate in this study. The percentage …

Source, Production And Export Of Dissolved Organic Carbon And Nitrogen, Jacqueline A. Aitkenhead-Peterson

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to quantify the major sources of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) in forest soils and ascertain mechanisms for their production and export to surface waters. To quantify the source of DOC we made use of the on-going litter manipulation study (DIRT) at Harvard Forest, Massachusetts. The organic horizon supplies 74% of DOC to bulk soil solution, 12% is supplied by leaf litter, and 13% from root exudate and decay. In plots with no inputs, DON concentrations were 9% higher than the control plots. When either roots or litter were excluded, DON concentrations …

Diels -Alder Reactions Between Fullerene[60] And Various Pentacenes, James Mack Ii.

Doctoral Dissertations

The reaction of fullerene[60] with pentacene and various 6,13-disubstituted pentacenes has been studied and the formation of cis-bisfullerene[60] adducts has been achieved. The reaction of fullerene[60] with pentacene was studied with the goal of preparing cis-1 and trans-2 bisfullerene[60] adducts. Instead, the solution phase Diels-Alder reaction between fullerene[60] and pentacene yields a C 2v symmetric monoadduct, 3, in 59% yield.*.

Semi-empirical PM3 calculations suggest that fullerene[60] should react favorably with 6,13-disubstituted pentacenes such that molecules similar to 1 and 2 would form. Several 6,13-disubstituted pentacenes were synthesized and subsequently reacted with fullerene[60] resulting in the formation of various cis-bisfullerene[60] adducts …

Shelley And The Nature Of Nonviolence, William James Stroup

Doctoral Dissertations

This is a study of the English Romantic poet and essayist Percy Bysshe Shelley's conception of the role and function of humans in the natural world, and of his influence on later reformers. Shelley's long poems Queen Mab, Laon and Cythna, and Prometheus Unbound are discussed as a trilogy where his themes of political nonviolence and protoecological awareness became integrated; also discussed at length are Mont Blanc, The Mask of Anarchy, and The Triumph of Life. The legacy of Shelley's poetry and ideas is discussed through two key figures who met in the 1880s: the now obscure Shelleyan and animal …

A Non-Derivatization Approach To Hplc Fluorescence Detection For Some Important Amino Group-Containing Compounds Based On A Ligand Displacement Reaction, Min Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

Detection of some important amino group-containing compounds such as amino acids, aliphatic biogenic amines and aminoglycosides can present difficulties since these compounds do not possess strong fluorophores or chromophores. A novel indirect fluorescence detection method for these compounds has been developed, taking advantage of the fact they form complexes with Cu 2+ ions. The reaction between these compounds and a Cu(II)-L-tryptophan complex (Cu(L-Trp)2) in solution results in the displacement of L-Trp from the complex and an increase in L-Trp fluorescence, since the fluorescence of L-Trp is quenched in the Cu(II) complex. The increase in L-Trp fluorescence is taken as the …

On The Quest For Economic *Growth And Development: The Developing World, The Failures Based On Physical Capital Accumulation And International Rescuers, And The Emergence Of A New Perspective, Augusto Marcos Carvalho De. Sena

Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis critically reviews the literature on economic growth and development focusing on the interconnections, strengthens and weaknesses of both branches. Questions arise if growth and development models have been of any relevance to developing countries. The experience with International Financial Institutions (IFIs), such as the World Bank and the IMF, is also focused on to corroborate the assertion that the alternative answer based on stabilization-structural adjustments, sponsored by these agencies, has not been useful as a reasonable way to solve the most prominent problems of developing countries. It is concluded that both the World Bank and the IMF recipes …

Piety, Politeness, And Power: Formation Of A Newtonian Culture In New England, 1727--1779, Frances Herman Lord

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores how men and women deployed the mathematical and experimental science of Isaac Newton and the new science based upon his work as the framework for a "Newtonian culture" in New England between 1727 and 1779, which established our modern view of the natural world and the authority of science. Their endeavors often involved co-opting the authority, and the cachet, of Newton's name and redirecting it toward new ends that involved both the affirmation and challenge of prevalent cultural, religious, and social values. This study examines the uses of Newtonian natural philosophy within the context of the cultural …

Biogeochemical Cycling Of Methyl Bromide In Soils, Ruth Kerwin Varner

Doctoral Dissertations

Tropospheric methyl bromide (CH3Br) is a significant source of ozone (O3) destroying bromine to the stratosphere. Due to this threat, the cessation of the production and use of fumigant CH3Br has been slated for 2005 by the Montreal Protocol nations. This decision was based on CH3Br's relatively long atmospheric lifetime which is estimated from the current understanding of its natural and anthropogenic sources and sinks. The research presented in this dissertation has focused on determining the magnitude and characteristics of the biogeochemical exchange of atmospheric CH3Br with upland and wetland soils to attain a better understanding of these portions of …

Rational Design And Syntheses Of 4-Phosphino-Catechol Hybrid Ligands For Mixed -Metal Clusters, Xiankai Sun

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on the concepts of Incommensurate Symmetry-Driven Cluster Formation, an approach to mixed-metal cluster formation has been proposed and realized by using the incommensurate symmetry requirements at two different metal centers bridged by a hybrid ligand. Critical to this strategy is the proper design and synthesis of hybrid ligands with coordination sites selective towards each metal. 4-Phosphino-Catechol hybrid ligands with both hard catecholate and soft phosphine donor sites have been shown to serve such a role. Three new ligands; 4-PPh2-Catechol (H2L), 4-PH2-Catechol (H2 2) and 4-P(CH2OH)2-Catechol (H23) as well as their precursors 4-PPh2-Veratrole and 4-PH2-Veratrole have been synthesized and characterized. …

Multipoint Measurements Of Large Electric Fields And Shears In The Auroral Zone, David Pietrowski

Doctoral Dissertations

This work presents results from the Auroral Turbulence II (AT II) sounding rocket launched from the Poker Flat Research Range, near Fairbanks, Alaska, on February 11, 1997. The rocket consisted of three identically instrumented payloads that reached an apogee of 550 km and flew through several arc structures in a pre-midnight auroral breakup. Three payload measurements were desired to separate the temporal from spatial aspects of auroral forms, and to investigate three dimensional flows and fields that cannot be resolved using traditional single point measurements. The focus of this study has been in the structure and changes in the dc …

Nitrated Poly(4 -Hydroxystyrene) Microspheres For Optical Ph And Potassium Ion Sensing Based On Turbidity Changes Accompanying Polymer Sweller, Hongming Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

Porous poly(4-acetoxystyrene) swellable microspheres with diameters approximately 1∼2 mum were prepared by seeded emulsion polymerization. Toluene was used as the porogenic solvent and divinylbenzene was used as the crosslinker. The seed particles with diameters approximately 0.5∼1 mum were prepared by dispersion polymerization without adding porogenic solvent and crosslinker. Functionality was introduced by two derivatization reactions, hydrolysis and nitration, to form nitrated poly(4-hydroxystyrene). These polymer microspheres swell at high pH due to the deprotonation of the hydroxyl group on the polymer backbone. Swelling is accompanied by an increase in water content which causes the polymer refractive index to decrease. These microspheres, …

Transition Metal Complexes Of Novel Ligands Derived From The Cis,Cis-1,3,5-Triaminocyclohexane (Tach) Framework: Structural And Biological Studies, Gyungse Park

Doctoral Dissertations

Transition and Group IIB metal complexes of novel ligands derived from cis,cis-1,3,5-triaminocyclohexane (tach) were prepared for structural and biological activity study. Copper(II) complexes of N,N ',N″-trialkylated derivatives of tach [Cu(tach-R3)Cl2] (R = Me, Et, Pr, furanyl, and thiophenyl) were prepared from CuCl2 in MeOH or MeOH/Et2O solvent. The structures of [Cu(tach-R3)Cl2] in the solid and solution (aqueous and methanolic) states were extensively studied by UV-vis and EPR spectroscopies and were consistent to X-ray structure of [Cu(tach-Et 3)Br0.8Cl1.2] which reveals a slightly distorted square-based pyramidal geometry. Displacement of halide ions with water molecules in aqueous media was observed by the band …

Biodiversity And Phytogeography Of Bolivia's Wetland Flora, Nur Paul Ritter

Doctoral Dissertations

The composition, diversity, and phytogeographic affinities of the vascular flora of Bolivia's wetlands were examined and compared with wetland floras from the other Neotropical countries and the New World Temperate region. Forty-six wetlands distributed throughout Bolivia and ranging in elevation from 90 in to >4400 m were established as study sites. Regional and national wetland floras were compiled from field research, the literature, herbarium specimens, and available databases.

Two thousand and sixty species in 149 families and 666 genera were identified as associated with wetlands in Mesoamerica and tropical and subtropical South America. Of these, 1026 species in 126 families …

Swellable Polymer Substrates For Use In Magnetochemical And Optical Chemical Sensing, Stephen Arnold Doherty

Doctoral Dissertations

Lightly cross-linked, animated polymers that swell and shrink with changing pH were prepared and evaluated. At low pHs amine sites protonate causing charge to accumulate along the polymer backbone. The polymer then swells to maximize the charge separation. The swelling of the polymer causes a change in a magnetic or optical property that can be measured and related to pH.

Animated hydrogel membranes were prepared by copolymerizing dimethyl amino ethyl methacrylate(DMAEMA) with various comonomer hydrogels. Experiments were conducted to examine the effect of formulation on the ability of the hydrogel membrane to swell. Factors examined included cross-linker type, cross-linker concentration, …

Sustainable Living: A Case Study Of Nuns And Their Beliefs, Attitudes And Practices, Mary Catherine Clipson

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a case study of monastic nuns in the context of sustainable living. The essential core question is: How has the way of life of nuns in a monastic community been a sustaining one. There are six chapters: Introduction, Historical Context and Overview, Methodology, The Context and People of The Priory of Our Lady of Peace, Analysis of Data, and Synthesis and Interpretation.

The methodology used to get at the case study is, primarily, participant observation and individual interviews with twelve (of the eighteen) nuns; and secondarily, an ecological assessment of the community and buildings, and a questionnaire …

Remote Sensing Of Forest Damage In The Czech Republic Using Hyperspectral Methods, Petya K. Entcheva

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study assesses the potential of hyperspectral data for monitoring the initial stages of damage in Norway spruce forests characterized by subtle changes in foliar chlorophyll and chemistry. Both field and airborne high spectral resolution reflectance measurements were obtained for selected study sites in the Krusne hory, Czech Republic.

High spectral resolution airborne canopy data and field foliar samples were acquired simultaneously in August 1998 for a total of 51 study sites within the Krusne hory. The sites were selected to represent a full range of damage conditions in even-aged Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) stands located between …

Tuned In: Television And The Teaching Of Writing, Bronwyn Thomas Williams

Doctoral Dissertations

College writing teachers often consider the reading and writing experiences students have had in elementary and high school classes as their only relevant discursive influences. When they do so they risk ignoring what is perhaps the most powerful and ubiquitous form of public discourse and communication in our society: television. This dissertation explores how the pervasive discourse of popular culture on television influences the ways in which incoming college students perceive and engage in writing and reading when they enter a first-year composition course. Through interviews with students and observations of them watching television, I have studied the skills students …

Conservation And Ecology Of Fringing Salt Marshes Along The Southern Maine/New Hampshire Coast, Pamela Ann Morgan

Doctoral Dissertations

The small, fringing salt marshes that line the edges of estuaries in southern Maine and New Hampshire were the focus of this research. Although larger meadow marshes in New England have been studied extensively, little is known about the ecology of fringing marshes. Not only are fringing marshes much more numerous than meadow marshes in northern New England, they are often restored or created as mitigation for marsh impacts. Five ecological functions (primary production, soil organic matter accumulation, sediment trapping and binding, wave dampening and maintenance of plant diversity) were compared in meadow marsh and fringing marsh sites, and sometimes …

Number, Please: New Hampshire Telephone Operators In The Predial Era, 1877--1973, Judith N. Moyer

Doctoral Dissertations

The predial telephone era in New Hampshire stretched from about 1877 to 1973. This dissertation examines predial telephone operating in the state as a category of women's work. While growing out of and responding to technical invention and development, telephone operating had deep roots in women's social roles; gender defined occupational options, the work environment, the rules of employment, wages, and expectations. As the telephone system developed, differences between telephone operating in large and small exchanges developed; the urban operator eventually worked under conditions of traffic volume, supervision, and control that the rural operator often did not. To uncover the …

Mathematics And Socio -Cultural Behavior: A Case Study Of The Enculturation Of A New Mathematician, Timothy Byron Gutmann

Doctoral Dissertations

Research has shown that mathematics as we know it is a product of the socio-cultural climate in which it was developed. This research attempts to address the related question of how being involved in mathematics influences the socio-cultural lives of mathematicians. A new Ph.D. mathematician hired in his first faculty position was observed for a period of 13 weeks, most during his first semester. Analysis of this long-term, in depth case study followed ethnographic methods and drew on theories of rites of passage, organizational socialization, self-identity, and evolution. The role of mathematics in the departmental culture and in the newcomer's …

Disturbance Indicators For Time Series Reconstruction And Marine Ecosystem Health Impact Assessment, Benjamin Harrison Sherman

Doctoral Dissertations

A systematic reconstruction of Multiple Marine Ecological Disturbances (MMEDs) involving disease occurrence, morbidity and mortality events has been undertaken so that a taxonomy of globally distributed marine disturbance types can be better quantified and common forcing factors identified. Combined disturbance data include indices of morbidity, mortality and disease events affecting humans, marine invertebrates, flora and wildlife populations. In the search for the best disturbance indicators of ecosystem change, the unifying solution for joining data from disparate fields is to organize data into space/time/topic hierarchies that permit convergence of data due to shared and appropriate scaling. The scale of the data …

Impacts Of Wildlife Viewing: A Case Study Of Dixville Notch Wildlife Viewing Area, Judith Kay Anderson Silverberg

Doctoral Dissertations

Major objectives of this study were to examine the motivations, knowledge level and attitudes of wildlife viewers as well as the response of moose to observation and other human caused stimuli at a designated wildlife viewing site. Moose and other wildlife are attracted to areas where road salt runoffs and pools in low areas around culverts and ditches creating wildlife viewing opportunities.

This study examined whether moose behaviors such as visitation time and rate of use of the salt lick changed from preconstruction (1996) of a wildlife blind to wildlife viewing establishment (1999). Trailmaster monitors strategically located on trails entering …