Digital Commons Network^™

Psyche + Physique, Janet Winkie

Theses

Through this thesis I explore how human perceptions are made regarding masculinity and the impact that apparel and environment have on the male psyche and physique. I perceive the function of men's apparel as providing a hinge, or entry point into the male identity, ultimately examining themes such as gender roles, sexuality, social class and age. In this thesis exploration, I intend to examine the male physique and embody it using male and female byproducts, found objects and accessories.

Incorporating themes such as space and place, this practice of assemblage and installation offers the "staging" of male-themed spaces, providing dialogue …

Graduation Day, Isaac Holze

Theses

This paper covers the making of the film Graduation Day and the aesthetic choices made along the way. Its focus is on the steps of the process and the obstacles each step created. Graduation Day is the story of student who has rapped his way through his final oral exam and is in danger of not graduating. He meets with his academic advisor and, through a rhythmic beat and speech pattern, convinces the advisor to see the fun in rapping. He eventually "steals" the cap and gown and goes on to graduation.

Law's Expressive Value In Combating Cyber Gender Harassment, Danielle K. Citron

Faculty Scholarship

The online harassment of women exemplifies twenty-first century behavior that profoundly harms women yet too often remains overlooked and even trivialized. This harassment includes rape threats, doctored photographs portraying women being strangled, postings of women’s home addresses alongside suggestions that they should be sexually assaulted and technological attacks that shut down blogs and websites. It impedes women’s full participation in online life, often driving them offline, and undermines their autonomy, identity, dignity, and well-being. But the public and law enforcement routinely marginalize women’s experience, deeming it harmless teasing that women should expect, and tolerate, given the Internet’s Wild West norms …

Gain Guiding In Large-Core Bragg Fibers, Xianyu Ao, Tsing-Hua Her, Lee W. Casperson

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We theoretically analyze gain guiding in large-core Bragg fibers, to be used for large-mode-area laser amplifiers with single-transverse-mode operation. The signal is gain-guided in a low-index core, whereas the pump is guided by the photonic bandgap of the Bragg cladding to achieve good confinement. The high-index layers in the Bragg cladding are half-wave thick at the signal wavelength in order to eliminate Bragg reflection, reducing the Bragg fiber effectively to a step-index fiber for gain guiding.

(Re)Construct: Exploring Objecthood In A Digital Age, Patrick L. Jones

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The following paper describes the conceptual framework and several works in the exhibition: "(re)construct: exploring objecthood in a digital age," which was on view at the Laura Mesaros Gallery at the College of Creative Arts, West Virginia University. The exhibition ran from November 30th through December 11th, 2009. The exhibition consisted of both oil paintings on clear acrylic and ink jet photographs. The question which this paper and the exhibition attempts to address is: what are the ontology and the limits of hyperreality in contemporary society? The following paper and the exhibition is epistemologically based and asks the following questions: …

Determination Of Mixed Hydrate Thermodynamics For Reservoir Modeling, Nagasree Garapati

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Natural gas hydrates are likely to contain more carbon than in all other fossil fuel reserves combined worldwide. Most of the natural gas hydrate deposits contain CH4 along with other hydrocarbon gases like C2H 6, C3H8 and non-hydrocarbon gases like CO 2 and H2S. Thus, if CH4 stored in natural gas hydrates can be recovered, the hydrates would potentially become a clean energy resource for the next 10,000 years. The production of CH4 from natural gas hydrate reservoirs has been predicted by reservoir simulators that implement phase equilibria data to predict various production scenarios. Therefore, it is very important to …

Adsorptive Removal Of Nitrogen From Coal-Based Needle Coke Feedstocks Using Activated Carbon, Sreeja Madala

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A low percentage of nitrogen in needle coke feedstocks is desired for the reduction of puffing during the process of graphitization of needle coke. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the removal of nitrogen species from a coal-based needle coke feedstock, when treated with both commercial activated carbon, Nuchar SA 20 and "coal-derived" activated carbon, WVUAC 900-15. Koppers coal tar distillate (CTD), which has 1.1% wt starting nitrogen content, is selected as the needle coke feedstock. A series of experiments was performed to establish a standard procedure for the removal of nitrogen species. Using the established experimental …

Implementing Energy Release Rate Calculations Into The Lamodel Program, Morgan M. Sears

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mining activity at increasingly greater depths and the tragedy at Crandall Canyon that claimed the lives of nine miners have forced coal bump research to the forefront of mining engineering research. Near the end of the last century, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the former U.S. Bureau of Mines investigated the mechanics, conditions, and mitigation of coal bumps. Unfortunately, the exact mechanics of coal bumps is still not fully understood. Following this period, research into coal bumps in the United States has been limited.;The Energy Release Rate (ERR) calculation quantifies the dissipation ("release") of the …

Characterization Of A Soil Bacterial Community And Biphenyl Dioxygenase Genes Involved In The Degradation Of Individual Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congeners, Paola Correa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are widespread, toxic, and persistent contaminants that threaten the environment and human health. PCBs represent a class of 209 congeners characterized by different degree of chlorination and substitution patterns. PCBs are known to be slowly degraded by the activity of soil microbes.;The general objective of this research was to investigate the effect of individual PCB congeners on the bacterial community and aerobic metabolism of PCBs in soil, for this reason three specific aims were pursuit.;The first specific aim was to test the hypothesis that exposure to individual PCB congeners results in different soil microbial community profiles, as …

Variation Among Phytophthora Cinnamomi Isolates From Oak Forest Soils In The Eastern United States, Jordan E. Eggers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Phytophthora cinnamomi isolates, collected from eastern US forest soils, were studied to determine the extent of phenotypic, genotypic, and pathogenic variation present. Four microsatellite loci were targeted for genetic analysis. Phenotypic characteristics measured were sporangia length, width, and length:width ratio; chlamydospore, oogonia, and oospore diameter; antheridia width, colony morphology on PDA; and colony growth rate on clarified V8 agar at 20°C, 24°C, 28°C, and 32°C. Red oak logs were inoculated with select isolates to determine relative pathogenicity. Microsatellite analysis showed that the genetic variability of the eastern US oak forest P. cinnamomi isolates was low. Isolates were grouped into two …

Cloning And Characterization Of A Novel Oocyte-Specific Gene Fbos Encoding An F-Box Protein In Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), Lei Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Oocyte-specific genes play critical roles in oogenesis, folliculogenesis and early embryonic development. Through analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from a rainbow trout oocyte cDNA library, we identified a novel transcript which is represented by multiple ESTs derived only from the oocyte cDNA library. Analysis of tissue distribution of the novel Fbos gene by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction revealed that the novel gene is only expressed in unfertilized oocytes but not in 10 somatic tissues examined. Northern blot analysis showed the transcript size is approximately 2.1 kb. The full-length cDNA sequence for the novel gene Fbos was obtained by …

In Situ Structural And Compositional Analysis Using Rheed Electrons Induced X-Rays, Sandeep Chandril

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The use of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) for in-situ chemical analysis of a sample surface using an electron gun for reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) analysis has been studied by many groups and the technique is usually referred to as RHEED-total-refection-angle x-ray spectroscopy (RHEED-TRAXS), as the angle for x-ray detection was set close to the angle of total internal reflection.;In the current work, RHEED-TRAXS was developed as a thin film structural characterization technique based on the principles similar to the analysis of a multilayered structure by angular-dependent total-reflection x-rays. Initial experiments utilizing the technique for relative compositional analysis have also …

Post-Transcriptional Regulation Of Rpos And Hema In Salmonella, Amy Madeline Jones

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The first part of this thesis is dedicated to translational regulation of rpoS mRNA by the small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs), DsrA and RprA, in two closely related enteric bacteria, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. The rpoS gene encodes a second vegetative sigma factor for RNA polymerase, which directs the cell's transcriptional response to general stress and entry into stationary phase. The rpoS gene is highly conserved among the gamma-branch of proteobacteria, and sRNAs are highly conserved in related species. In fact, sequence conservation is thought to have predictive value in sRNA discovery and functional conservation is largely assumed. …

Population Ecology, Residents' Attitudes, Hunter Success, Economic Impact, Modeling Management Options And Retention Time Of Telazol Of West Virginia Black Bears, Christopher W. Ryan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The West Virginia Black Bear Research Project (WVBBRP) was initiated in 1972 to investigate population parameters, growth rates, home ranges, and habitat uses of a declining American black bear (Ursus americanus ) population. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) continued to monitor the black bear population and increased monitoring efforts and sample sizes in the 1990's as the black bear population increased in size and expanded its range. As part of the WVBBRP, we investigated black bear population ecology. Our objectives were to estimate reproductive rates, estimate survival and cause-specific mortality rates, examine effects of special hunting seasons …

Chemical And Physical Properties Of Abandoned Underground Coal Mine Pools, Eric F. Perry

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Long term drainage quality of five closed underground coal mines in West Virginia and Pennsylvania was investigated for mineral reactions, chemical processes, and hydrogeologic controls. Three mines were flooded and had circumneutral water with dissolved iron and sulfate. Two unflooded mines had acidic water with high concentrations of iron, aluminum and sulfate. The monitoring record ranged from 12 to 35 years for the five mine-pools.;The two acidic mine-pools had large long term declines in chemical concentration and flux. Both mine-pools approached equilibrium for hydrous iron sulfate minerals of the jarosite series. One mine-pool also exhibited equilibrium for the hydrous aluminum …

Cryptic Subtelomeric Rearrangements And Studies Of Telomere Length, Jasen Lee Wise

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Study One. An estimated five percent of individuals with unexplained mental retardation (MR) have chromosomally unbalanced subtelomere regions. Around half of these individuals inherited the imbalance from a parent with a balanced rearrangement. The frequency of carriers for cryptic balanced translocations is unknown. To determine this frequency, blood samples received from 565 out of 978 phenotypically normal, unrelated individuals were examined using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) probes to analyze all subtelomere regions. No balanced subtelomeric rearrangements were identified. The frequency of balanced cryptic translocations in the general population was estimated to be 1/8,000 from the literature. However, three females …

Capturing The Essence And The Coalescence Of Presence Within The Community Of Inquiry Of An Online Graduate Course In Multicultural Diversity, Katherina C. Muller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this study, students who are preservice and inservice teachers participated in an asynchronous online graduate course in multicultural diversity during the fall of 2008. Their emails, threaded discussions, cross-cultural community interactions, and final reflections were examined and analyzed revealing their perceptions of their experiences in this course. The main relevance of the study was to provide insight and new understandings of learning online.;The Community of Inquiry provided the framework within which these insights and understandings were drawn. Four archived course components were analyzed: emails, threaded discussions, cross-cultural community interactions, and final reflections. A coalescence of presence was found throughout. …

The Development, Implementation And Evaluation Of A System Based Physical Activity Promotion Program In A Free, Rural, Primary Care Clinic, Martha E. Summers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background. Despite the consequences of physical inactivity, it is under recognized and not addressed consistently in primary care. The Healthy People 2010 recommendations are that adults should engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week. Clinical practice guidelines advise that primary care practitioners take the opportunity whenever possible to advise, discuss, negotiate, or encourage physical activity in inactive adults. Objective. The primary objective was to identify beliefs about physical activity that act as barriers among providers and to educate them about the current recommendations for physical activity. An additional objective …

Soldiers And Stereotypes: Mountaineers, Cultural Identity, And World War Ii, C. Belmont Keeney

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

To what extent are Appalachian stereotypes true and how much is pure fabrication? This study seeks to answer this question by examining the experiences of West Virginia soldiers during World War II. Appalachian hillbillies, believed to be culturally backward, uncivilized, isolated, and prone to violence, were often sent straight to the infantry because it was believed that their wild mountain heritage made them inherently better fighters. Using interviews, letters, and a collection of over 1,200 firsthand written accounts of Appalachian veterans collected by West Virginia University in 1946, this study traces the evolution of the cultural and individual identities of …

Properties Of A Dehydroalanine Analog Of Glutathione: A Reactive Electrophilic Busulfan Metabolite, Cody J. Peer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Gamma-Glutamyldehydroalanylglycine (EdAG) is a dethiolated, electrophilic metabolite of glutathione (GSH) derived from the Phase II conjugation of GSH with busulfan catalyzed by glutathione S-transferase (GST). It was demonstrated in this dissertation that EdAG could be successfully synthesized and shown to be a metabolite of busulfan from in vitro metabolism by enzymes in human liver cytosol. The electrophilic EdAG was reactive toward the cellular thiols cysteine and glutathione (GSH), and toward cysteine residues in reduced bovine insulin B-chain and bovine serum albumin in vitro , as well. EdAG was demonstrated to be a reversible noncompetitive inhibitor of GSTs, specifically GSTA1-1 at …

Interaction Of Nickel-Based Sofc Anodes With Trace Contaminants From Coal-Derived Synthesis Gas, Gregory Allen Hackett

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

New and efficient methods of producing electrical energy from natural resources have become an important topic for researchers. Integrated gasification and fuel cell (IGFC) systems offer a fuel-flexible, high-efficiency method of energy generation. Specifically, in coal gasification processes, coal can be changed into a high-quality gaseous fuel suitable for feeding solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). However, trace species found in coal synthesis gas (syngas) may have a deleterious effect on the performance of nickel-based SOFC anodes. Generally, the cost of removing these species down to parts per million (ppm) levels is high.;The purpose of this research is to determine the …

The Vision And The Blueprint: High Speed Rail In The United States And Launching High-Speed Rail In The U.S.: High-Speed Rail Sessions From Apta´S Annual Meeting, October 6, 2009 , Mti Report S-09-03, Mineta Transportation Institute

Mineta Transportation Institute

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) held its annual meeting in Orlando, Florida on October 4–7, 2009, including special sessions on high-speed rail. This e-book is the edited proceedings of two sessions, "The Vision and the Blueprint: High Speed Rail in the United States," and "Launching High-Speed Rail in the U.S.," which were held on October 6. Introducing the first session, "The Vision and the Blueprint: High Speed Rail in the United States," was Dale Muellerleile, senior vice president and national director for transit engineering for HDR Engineering. Moderator for this session was Rod Diridon, Sr., chair, APTA High Speed …

College Students' Knowledge About Sexually Transmitted Diseases In Relation To Sexual Self-Efficacy, Mychael Brooke Masters

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Resources associated with learning about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) were investigated in relation to college students' sexual knowledge and sexual self-efficacy. Participants included 50 male and 67 female students ages 18, 19, and 20 at West Virginia University. Self-report surveys included the Sexually Transmitted Disease Knowledge Questionnaire (STD-KQ; Jaworski & Carey, 2007), the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Cecil & Pinkerton, 1998), and a measure developed by the investigator on resources used by college students to learn about STDs. No relationship was identified between resources used to learn about STDs and college students' sexual knowledge. However, sexual knowledge was a significant predictor of …

Lenna Lowe Yost, Temperance, And The Ratification Of The Woman Suffrage Amendment By West Virginia, Karina G. Thurston

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis is a biography of West Virginia native Lenna Lowe Yost and her role in two important reform causes---temperance and woman suffrage. It explores Yost's life and political accomplishments in both regional and national venues, progressing from her childhood, through her early activism, and culminating with the passage of the national woman suffrage amendment. During the Progressive Era, as Yost reached the apex of her career as an indispensable state leader, she had to navigate between divisions in the suffrage movement as well as local conflicts between prohibitionists and suffragists. In these movements Lenna Yost proved herself to be …

Structured P2p Technologies For Distributed Command And Control, Daniel R. Karrels, Gilbert L. Peterson, Barry E. Mullins

Faculty Publications

The utility of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems extends far beyond traditional file sharing. This paper provides an overview of how P2P systems are capable of providing robust command and control for Distributed Multi-Agent Systems (DMASs). Specifically, this article presents the evolution of P2P architectures to date by discussing supporting technologies and applicability of each generation of P2P systems. It provides a detailed survey of fundamental design approaches found in modern large-scale P2P systems highlighting design considerations for building and deploying scalable P2P applications. The survey includes unstructured P2P systems, content retrieval systems, communications structured P2P systems, flat structured P2P systems and …

Richmond Public Schools: Post-Court Mandated School Desegregation (1986-2006), Joshua Cole

Theses and Dissertations

In 1970, cross-town busing was court mandated to enforce school desegregation in Richmond, Virginia. Unitary status was declared in Richmond when cross-town busing ended in 1986. Richmond Public Schools (RPS) no longer operated as a dual school system for blacks and whites after 1986. Class and racial segregation continued to exist in the City of Richmond. RPS remained predominately black and poor. Socio-economic conditions of the city continued to impact the school district. Controversies, mismanagement and low academic achievement stigmatized RPS until state and federal performance measures forced the district to improve. By 2006, RPS was still segregated; however, as …

Ethnobotanical Study In Casma, Peru: The Important Knowledge Of Ethnobotanicals From Local People, Rebecca L. Reyes

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

I began to investigate how local people use medicinal plants in Peru in the summer of 2007. It soon became apparent that many of the citizens of the small coastal town of Casma have an extensive knowledge of how to identify, prepare, and use these plants. During the summer of 2008, I did extensive research on the subject; however, focused more on the local knowledge of medicinal plants. To put my work in context, I researched ethnobotany more generally and became more aware of the worldwide implications, local background traditions and life, and local knowledge that impact the use and …

The Reevaluation Of Dwight Eisenhower And Bernard Law Montgomery, David Allen Warden

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Dwight Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery were the two generals that coordinated and implemented the military strategy to invade North Africa to Europe. The two generals combined the militaries of Great Britain and the United States to defeat the Axis powers of Germany and Italy. By May 1945, the Allied forces had succeeded in finishing the war in Europe. Historians soon began to look at the two men and evaluated their ability to work together. This thesis provides a study of the reasons why the two generals were different. The study also evaluates how the two generals were able to work …

A Quest For Understanding Finding My Way Back, Juan Saenz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

My work reflects my place in nature and how through its documentation I have been given the opportunity to mend family ties. In my paintings I capture the essence of those things that bring me peace of mind and good health. The aim of my work is not solely for the purpose of self reflection but also an attempt to bring my viewers back to a different time in their lives. The following works are an example of my direction and experimentation.

An Inventory And Assessment Of Farmington's Arts And Cultural Assets, Jeffrey Mitchell, Molly J. Bleecker, Scott Maddux, Adam Barber

BBER Publications

This report assesses the potential for arts and cultural industries of Farmington, New Mexico. The study was done in three parts: an inventory of the "creative" economy of the Farmington area, including all of San Juan County; followed by a community-based survey of artists, retailers, and others engaged in the area's arts industries; concluding with an analysis of the economic impact of the local creative economy. Includes tables, charts, references, and a sample survey.