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Cenozoic Evolution Of The Gold Creek Basin, Western Montana: Mapping And Documenting The Geology Of The Rock Creek Lake 7.5' Usgs Quadrangle, Chelsea Mcraven Feeney

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis presents results from 1:24,000 scale surface mapping and related analysis of geology within the Rock Creek Lake 7.5’ USGS Quadrangle in western Montana. The purpose of this study is to 1) document the Cenozoic structural evolution and sedimentary fill record associated with tectonic development of the northern Flint Creek Range and, in particular, the Anaconda metamorphic core complex and 2) determine the existence and extent of Pleistocene glacial deposition in the study area. Gneissic mylonitic granodiorite along the southeastern contact of the Royal Stock intrusion indicates the Anaconda metamorphic core complex detachment zone trends through the center of …

Study On Regional Responses Of Pan-Arctic Terrestrial Ecosystems To Recent Climate Variability Using Satellite Remote Sensing, Ke Zhang

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

I applied a satellite remote sensing based production efficiency model (PEM) using an integrated AVHRR and MODIS FPAR/LAI time series with a regionally corrected NCEP/NCAR reanalysis surface meteorology and NASA/GEWEX shortwave solar radiation inputs to assess annual terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP) for the pan-Arctic basin and Alaska from 1983 to 2005. I developed a satellite remote sensing based evapotranspiration (ET) algorithm using GIMMS NDVI with the above meteorology inputs to assess spatial patterns and temporal trends in ET over the pan-Arctic region. I then analyzed associated changes in the regional water balance defined as the difference between precipitation (P) …

The Effects Of Federal Land On Rural Population, Employment, And Income In The Rocky Mountain West, Stephen Michael Cleverdon

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There is controversy over the role that federal land plays in shaping rural counties in the Western United States. Some argue that the restrictive policies imposed on federal lands harm rural economies because the extractive industry is not allowed to operate at its potential. Others believe that those restrictions benefit rural economies because households and firms are attracted to beautiful areas with minimal industry. A lagged adjusted model is used to estimate the effects of Bureau of Land Management (BLM), United States Forest Service (USFS), and National Parks Service (NPS) lands on population, employment, and income. The study focuses on …

Water Use And Natural Limits In The Las Vegas Valley: A History Of The Southern Nevada Water Authority, Christian Harrison

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis examines the history of the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) and how it has helped transform various aspects of southern Nevada's economy and environment. Prior to the establishment of the SNWA in 1991 the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area (LVMA) possessed several competing water providers whose opposition to one another adversely affected the management of water in the region. These water providers recognized this problem, came together, and negotiated the creation of a regional water agency, the SNWA. This organization, comprised of representatives from each of the LVMA's water providers has the power to institute policy across municipal boundaries. …

Relationships And Dropping Out: The Voice Of At-Risk Youth, Robert Thomas Henry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The practice of retaining students in grade has been studied, researched, discussed, criticized and yet it continues. Dropping out of school prior to graduation has been studied, researched, discussed, written about and continues to be practiced by our youth. Policymakers are often provided quantitative data to consider as they explore, evaluate, and deliberate issues such as the practice of retention-in-grade to assure adherence to standards, or in response to the social, political, and educational problems created by youth who have dropped out from school.

Current studies and research into retention and dropping out fail to include the issues from the …

Molecular Systematics And Phylogeography Of The Genus Richardsonius, Derek Dee Houston

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The complex geological and climatic events that significantly altered the landscape throughout the Cenozoic Era impacted the diversification of many North American taxa, including freshwater fishes. Here, I employ an array of phylogenetic analyses using a multiple gene tree approach to address several questions regarding the phylogenetic relationships of the North American cyprinid genus Richardsonius and two other closely related genera, Clinostomus and Iotichthys. I also use divergence time estimates generated using fossil calibrations to qualitatively assess the phylogeographic implications of evolution within and among these three genera. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences show a sister relationship between Iotichthys and …

A Palestinian State, Jennifer A. Hileman-Tabios

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Should an independent, sovereign state of Palestine have the right to exist? The establishment of an independent Palestinian state is important because it could possibly end an extended period of violence with Israel, where civilian casualties have been high, and it could help to solidify a foundation of political tolerance and acceptance in the Middle East. Under the proposed two-state solution, an independent Palestinian state is possible. However, to determine if a Palestinian state is viable, it will be necessary to examine internal political struggles, economic resources, systems of communication, political systems and internal and external political policies. This qualitative …

Predisposition Factors Of Career And Technical Education Transfer Students: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology Study, Warren Glen Hioki

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Various econometric, sociological, and combined research models (e.g., Hossler and Gallagher's preeminent Three-Phase Model on College Choice) provide help in understanding high school students in their decision-making stages and college experience. Many studies that utilize these models on college choice strongly substantiate and perpetuate the long-standing dichotomy between students who aspire to attend college in pursuit of upward mobility through the traditional baccalaureate pathway versus a community college Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathway. High school students' aspirations to attend a 4-year institution, and more recently, the community college, are a focal point.

A review of the literature as it …

Curriculum Improvement: The Teacher Perspective On Change In The Classroom, Heather C. Davis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study explored the curriculum change experiences of five social studies teachers, from three high schools within one school district located in a western Montana city, integrating an economics curriculum in their eleventh grade U.S. history classrooms for the first time. A review of the related literature on this topic revealed several areas of consideration regarding teachers' curriculum change experiences which guided the data collection and analysis process: commitment, workload, capacity, collaboration, and perception of the teaching profession. This qualitative, within case study was designed to add to the body of quantitative research on curriculum change. Data collection sources include: …

Satellite-Detected Fluorescence Reveals Global Physiology Of Ocean Phytoplankton, Michael J. Behrenfeld, T.K. Westberry, Emmanuel Boss, R.T. O'Malley, D.A. Siegel, Jerry D. Wiggert, B.A. Franz, G.C. Feldman, S.C. Doney, J.K. Moore, G. Dall'olmo, A.J. Milligan, I. Lima, N. Mahowald

Faculty Publications

Phytoplankton photosynthesis links global ocean biology and climate-driven fluctuations in the physical environment. These interactions are largely expressed through changes in phytoplankton physiology, but physiological status has proven extremely challenging to characterize globally. Phytoplankton fluorescence does provide a rich source of physiological information long exploited in laboratory and field studies, and is now observed from space. Here we evaluate the physiological underpinnings of global variations in satellite-based phytoplankton chlorophyll fluorescence. The three dominant factors influencing fluorescence distributions are chlorophyll concentration, pigment packaging effects on light absorption, and light-dependent energy-quenching processes. After accounting for these three factors, resultant global distributions of …

Variation Of Morphology And Elemental Concentrations In The California Nickel Hyperaccumulator Streptanthus Polygaloides (Brassicaceae), Robert S. Boyd, Michael A. Wall, Scott R. Santos, Michael A. Davis

Faculty Publications

The Ni hyperaccumulator Strepthanthus polygaloides (Brassicaceae) is one of a handful of Ni hyperaccumulators known from continental North America. Surveys have revealed four distinctive morphs of this species, relying primarily on floral traits (sepal color and shape): a purple sepal morph (P), a yellow sepal morph (Y), a morph in which sepals start yellow and mature to purple (Y/P), and a morph with light yellow undulate sepals (U). In this study, we raised plants from ten populations (five Y, three P, one Y/P, and one U) under uniform greenhouse conditions to determine if morphs varied in morphology and elemental concentrations …

An Analysis Of United Nations Security Council Resolutions: Are All Countries Treated Equally?, Justin S. Gruenberg

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Not "By All Means Necessary": A Comparative Framework For Post-9/11 Approaches To Counterterrorism, Amos N. Guiora

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Torture Memos: Perceptual Filters, Cultural Commitments, And Partisan Identity, Cassandra Burke Robertson

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

New Frontiers In Family Law: Introduction, Laura T. Kessler

Utah Law Review

A new discussion about families and care is unfolding in family law. Reproductive technologies, globalization, and left-of-center critiques of same-sex marriage offer an especially fertile environment for imagining sex, intimacy, care, and reproduction outside marriage and the nuclear family. These reconceptualizations continue the revisioning enabled by reproducti~e freedom, no-fault divorce, and women's entrance and integration into the workforce. The implications of these trends are significant. What happens to family law when a range of relationships and intimate practices .displace heterosexuaf marriage from the epicenter of thinking about the family? Although the full effects of this diffusion are not yet clear, …

Gender Based Strategies For Increased Student Achievement, Mary Louise Bryant-Wilder

Graduate Research Papers

This paper will present information based on various instructional strategies used in the single gender classrooms. These strategies are researched based, and have been know to help support gender specific classrooms. Chapter two will discuss the history of traditional classroom setting and the introduction of the single gender learning classroom. Chapter three will discuss the results of the current research and findings of experts in the study of gender classrooms and the affect such classrooms have on boys. It will also compare the advantages and disadvantages of gender classrooms for boys. Chapter four is an analysis of the findings presenting …

Accountability And Collaborative Inquiry In A School-Based Early Childhood Program, Sherri Peterson

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of a professional learning community and the way in which an early childhood team can follow the developmentally appropriate practice guidelines and early learning standards to improve student outcomes.

The Relationship Between The Tectonic Setting Of The Lake İznik Basin And The Middle Strand Of The North Anatolian Fault, Kurultay Öztürk, Cenk Yaltirak, Bedri̇ Alpar

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The İznik Basin is an active depression created by a series of faults developed in relation to the Middle Strand of the North Anatolian Fault (NAFMS). The most important of these faults is the oblique Sölöz fault, which runs parallel to the NAFMS. It is interpreted as a releasing bend, and plays a crucial role in the evolution of the 75-m-deep ellipsoid-shaped depression in the southern part of the lake. The faults that limit the coastal alluvial plain on land, some of which developed during the early evolution of the NAFMS, are equally important in the development of the İznik …

“Atmosphere And Climate”: A Curricular Guide For High School Environmental Science A Creative Component, Kari M. Schmidt

Graduate Research Papers

The unit examines different facets of atmosphere and climate as part of the Environmental Science curriculum. In cooperative learning groups, the students work on group and independent hands-on activities with math connections. A culminating assessment project conducted in cooperative learning groups utilizes student technology skills. Information for this unit was taken from various books and classes that I have studied throughout this Master's program. My intent when creating this unit was to help students understand the importance of asking the correct questions and thinking for themselves to solve problems.

Moving Over Mountains: A Woman On The Appalachian Trail, Jessica Susan Matthews

LSU Master's Theses

This project examines the experience of a woman on the Appalachian Trail. It is my aim in undertaking this project to evaluate my own personal experiences in order to explore the way the Appalachian Trail is conceptualized as a space, and then experienced as a place. My own experiences will be connected to and contrasted by experiences I have with other hikers. It is through my own experiences and those of others that I hope to highlight the ways that spaces and mobilities are gendered in our society and the ways that those expectations are usurped. The wilderness might be …

From Sputnik To Minerva: Education And American National Security, Sean Kay

Defense Horizons

This paper examines how external challenges have prompted national investments in education to enhance American national security. Rather than focusing primarily on traditional professional military education, this analysis examines how education has been used as a tool of American power. Four major moments of transformation in the international system are surveyed to illustrate a link between strategic educational capacity, defined as the application of attained knowledge and skills, and national power. The study then assesses how education is used as a power asset in the contemporary security environment. Today, an important educational capacity is emerging in the new Minerva program …

Irrigating The Famished Fields: The Impact Of Labour-Led Struggles On Policy And Action In Nigeria (1999-2007), Obiora Chinedu Okafor

Articles & Book Chapters

Between 1999 and 2007, a broad-based labour-led movement which focused most of its energies on its struggle against unpopular fuel price hikes in Nigeria was able to exert considerable, though limited, influence on an Obasanjo-led executive arm of government that was at best quasidemocratic in its orientation. This article argues that, despite the very important roles played by other factors (notably the presence of more democratic space in Nigeria post-1999), the movement's adoption of a mass social movement approach facilitated its ability to exert such influence.

The Challenge Of Toleration: How A Minority Religion Adapted In The New Republic, Joseph Filous

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the early American Catholic Church and how its first bishop, John Carroll, guided it through the first years of the American republic. The struggles Carroll faced were the legacy of the English heritage of the colonies. English Catholics who shaped colonial Catholic life made the community private and personal in response to the religious atmosphere in the English world. The American Revolution brought toleration for Catholics and they struggled to adapt their hierarchal religion to new republican language. Some congregations went as far as to deny episcopal power, a theory known as trusteeism. Different interpretations struggled to …

Encyclopedic History Of Utah State University, Robert Parson

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

From "A-day" to "Women's Athletics", this encyclopedic history of Utah State University by USU University Archivist Robert Parson covers people, buildings, programs, events, organizations, songs, school colors, traditions, and more.

Blood Culture And The Problem Of Decadence, Jeffrey P. Cain

English Faculty Publications

This paper examines the commodification of hunting practices via the deterritorializing function of capitalism described by Deleuze and Guattari. It also studies counter trends-- predicted by or consistent with Deleuzean theory--that indicate a subtending authenticity displayed by certain hunting practices apparently resistant to commercial exploitation. "Blood culture" is my term for inauthentic hunting activity--a distinction drawn directly by Deleuze in his televised interviews with Claire Parnet. Aspects of "becoming-animal" and other transversal and cross-disciplinary flows of thought are also of course in play. As in some of my former work, I again argue for a Deleuzean cultural mechanics of the …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Link Between Entrepreneurship And Economic Growth In West Virginia, Maribel N. Mojica, Tesfa Gebremedhin, Peter V. Schaeffer

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

Entrepreneurship variables constructed from county-level proprietorship and firm birth data were included in an endogenous growth model to determine the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth in West Virginia. The empirical estimates using weighted least squares (WLS) and 2-stage least squares (2SLS) regressions generally show empirical evidence regarding the positive contribution of entrepreneurial activity to economic growth. Counties with more proprietors and business start ups exhibited higher growths in population and employment growth compared to less entrepreneurial counties. However, none of the entrepreneurship variables used in the study is statistically significant in determining per capita income growth.

A County-Level Assessment Of Entrepreneurship And Economic Growth In Appalachia Using Simultaneous Equations, Maribel N. Mojica, Tesfa Gebremedhin, Peter V. Schaeffer

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

This study provides evidence of the contribution of entrepreneurship to economic development in Appalachia. Using data on Appalachian counties, a system of simultaneous equations is empirically estimated to measure the effects of entrepreneurship on economic growth and development. We present an expanded Carlino-Mills growth model using changes in population, employment, and per capita income to represent growth. The goal of the investigation is to increase the understanding of entrepreneurship’s contributions to economic growth, and its potential as a development strategy for a region, such as Appalachia, that is characterized by poverty and underdevelopment. The results show that start-up businesses contribute …

Constructing A Baseline Input-Output Model With Environmental Accounts (Ioea), Taelim Choi, Randall Jackson, Nancey Green Leigh

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

This paper reports our efforts to construct a baseline input-output model with environmental accounts for use in modeling geographically specific e-waste recycling systems. We address conceptual and practical issues that arise when recyclable end-of-life commodities and related activities are incorporated in the traditional input-output model including: 1) shortcomings of existing industry and commodity accounts that do not represent recycling activities and recyclable end-of-life products explicitly; 2) accounting challenges related to flows of end-of-life products observed mainly in physical volumes; and 3) valuing end-of-life products whose transactions prices vary widely. These three issues complicate the incorporation of end-of-life commodities within the …

Theoretical And Practical Utility Of Gene Sequences In Phylogenetic And Phylogeographic Analysis, Robert Aaron Makowsky

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Phylogenetics, or the study of evolutionary relationships among organisms, is a rapidly changing field due primarily to the dramatic increase in available molecular characters and increasingly sophisticated theoretical and computational methods. Current phylogenetic methods, though, poorly handle such large datasets due to the extremely large number of calculations required. In this dissertation, I focus on a method that can reduce datasets with a large number of molecular characters and at the same time optimize the performance of phylogenetic methods. Chapter 1 provides background information about phylogenetic methods, with a specific emphasis on Bayesian phylogenetic methods. MrBayes is the most common …

The Claremont Foodshed: A Historical Analysis, Allie Comet

Pomona Senior Theses

On the southeast corner of the Pomona College campus a small community farm and lush oasis is nestled in the suburban jungle of Claremont, California. ‘The Farm’ is a two-acre food forest that produces a wide variety of annual vegetable crops, fruits, and perennial herbs and berries in a landscape otherwise covered largely in asphalt and lawn.From my experiences on the Farm and in the classroom studying environmental analysis , I have developed a great interest in sustainable food and farming. The failures of the modern food system, destructive to the natural environment and inadequate in providing the world’s population …