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2009

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Quality Of Life And Affect Across The Adult Lifespan, Patrick Brown Jan 2009

Quality Of Life And Affect Across The Adult Lifespan, Patrick Brown

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The premise of this dissertation is based on the work of M. Powell Lawton, in particular his theories of Environmental Press: Lawton and Nahemow, 1973) and the Dual-Channel Hypothesis: Lawton, 1996; Lawton, Winter, Kleban, & Ruckdeschel, 1999). Study 1 used a correlational approach to test Lawton and colleagues: 1999) model in a community sample of people across the adult lifespan, thereby expanding previous findings to individuals under age 60. Study 2 used an experimental approach to determine if individuals are affectively susceptible to differing environmental conditions based on their performance on a cognitive task. Whereas Study 1 provided a naturalistic …

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Discovery Of Inactive E* Conformations In Thrombin And Other Vitamin K- Dependent Clotting Proteases, Alaji Bah Jan 2009

Discovery Of Inactive E* Conformations In Thrombin And Other Vitamin K- Dependent Clotting Proteases, Alaji Bah

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Serine proteases of the chymotrypsin family play important roles in the regulation and function of numerous biological processes including digestion, blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, development, fertilization, apoptosis and immunity. For many of these proteases, activity unfolds when a zymogen is activated by limited proteolysis and the associated conformational changes result in the formation of a proper active site and oxyanion hole, both of which are required for efficient hydrolysis of peptide bonds. The transition from zymogen to active enzyme, E, thus provides critical temporal and spatial regulatory mechanism of protease function. Catalytic activity of serine proteases belonging to Vitamin K-dependent clotting …

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Essays On The Role Of Law In Judicial Decision Making, Ryan Black Jan 2009

Essays On The Role Of Law In Judicial Decision Making, Ryan Black

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Forty years ago C. Herman Prichett: 1969) observed that "[P]olitical scientists who have done so much to put the `political' in `political jurisprudence' need to emphasize that it is still `jurisprudence.'" In this dissertation project I seek to help correct this imbalance by providing three fresh approaches to understanding how legal factors influence the choices judges and justices make. Essay 1 focuses on the U.S. Supreme Court's agenda setting decisions. Drawing from the archival papers of Justice Harry A. Blackmun, I analyze the extent to which considerations such as legal conflict among the circuit courts motivate justices to deviate from …

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John Locke On Obligation: Sensation, Reflection, And The Natural Duty To Consent, Emily Crookston Jan 2009

John Locke On Obligation: Sensation, Reflection, And The Natural Duty To Consent, Emily Crookston

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

DISSERTATION ABSTRACT: John Locke on Obligation: Sensation, Reflection, and the Natural Duty to Consent By Emily Marie Crookston Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy Washington University in St. Louis, 2009 Professor Larry May, Chairperson Locke's theories of moral and political obligation are instructive both in their successes and in their failures. Writing during a time in which previous assumptions were being widely challenged, Locke judiciously accepts the wisdom of his predecessors as a firm foundation upon which to build his own arguments. Of course, Locke also was not immune to criticism. On the moral obligation side, Locke faces the charge of …

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Mechanisms Of Feedback In The Visual System, Adam Eggebrecht Jan 2009

Mechanisms Of Feedback In The Visual System, Adam Eggebrecht

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Feedback is an ubiquitous feature of neural systems though there is little consensus on the roles of mechanisms involved with feedback. We set up an in vivo preparation to study and characterize an accessible and isolated feedback loop within the visual system of the leopard frog, Rana pipiens. We recorded extracellularly within the nucleus isthmi, a nucleus providing direct topographic feedback to the optic tectum, a nucleus that receives the vast majority of retinal output. The optic tectum and nucleus isthmi of the amphibian are homologous structures to the superior colliculus and parabigeminal nucleus in mammals, respectively. We formulated a …

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Mammalian Postcranial Evolution And Primate Extinction In The Middle Eocene Of North America, Rachel Dunn Jan 2009

Mammalian Postcranial Evolution And Primate Extinction In The Middle Eocene Of North America, Rachel Dunn

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Primates constituted a dominant part of the mammalian faunas of North America during the early and middle parts of the Eocene: 55-46 ma). Beginning in the Uintan North American Land Mammal Age: 46-42 ma) primates declined in diversity and abundance in the Rocky Mountain region. This decline has been linked to the recession of tropical rain forests out of northern latitudes at that time. Climatic change of this magnitude would presumably have an impact on the contemporary mammalian faunas, with reduction or extinction of forest groups like primates, but perhaps radiation of mammals that preferred more open habitats such as …

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Mandeville's Intolerance: The Contest For Souls And Sacred Sites In The Travels Of Sir John Mandeville, Robert Patterson Jan 2009

Mandeville's Intolerance: The Contest For Souls And Sacred Sites In The Travels Of Sir John Mandeville, Robert Patterson

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

As the first medieval text to combine the matter of the East with the matter of the Holy Land, The Travels circulated widely in over 300 manuscripts, making it an important text when studying medieval Christian attitudes toward non-Christians. Although many scholars point to The Travels as a tolerant text ahead of its time, a historicized approach reveals that Mandeville's project is better understood in terms of his intolerant universalism. I argue that in casting non-Christians as proto-Christians who stand as evidence of Christianity's global spiritual hegemony, the author appropriates and consumes them in service of his universalist agenda. I …

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Feature Topography And Sound Intensity Level Encoding In Primary Auditory Cortex, Paul Watkins Jan 2009

Feature Topography And Sound Intensity Level Encoding In Primary Auditory Cortex, Paul Watkins

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The primary auditory cortex: A1) in mammals is one of the first areas in the neocortex that receives auditory related spiking activity from the thalamus. Because the neocortex is implicated in regulating high-level brain phenomena, such as attention and perception, it is therefore important in regards to these high-level behaviors to understand how sounds are represented and transformed by neuronal circuits in this area. The topographic organization of neuronal responses to auditory features in A1 provides evidence for potential mechanisms and functional roles of this neural circuitry. This dissertation presents results from models of topographic organization supporting the notion that …

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The Changing Face Of Arab-Islamic Terror: 1936 - 2008, Andrew Glauberg Jan 2009

The Changing Face Of Arab-Islamic Terror: 1936 - 2008, Andrew Glauberg

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

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An Analysis Of Sustainable Economic Development Initiatives: Why Aid Organizations Should Focus On Helping Women, Andrea Rooks Jan 2009

An Analysis Of Sustainable Economic Development Initiatives: Why Aid Organizations Should Focus On Helping Women, Andrea Rooks

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

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Role Of Ict In Revolutionary Movements Of The Former Soviet Union, And Why There Are No Roses, Oranges, Or Tulips, In Russia, Andrei Skurtu Jan 2009

Role Of Ict In Revolutionary Movements Of The Former Soviet Union, And Why There Are No Roses, Oranges, Or Tulips, In Russia, Andrei Skurtu

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

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The Applicability Of Simulated Network Attack Results On Small, Terrorist Networks, Stephanie Young Jan 2009

The Applicability Of Simulated Network Attack Results On Small, Terrorist Networks, Stephanie Young

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

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Placing Federal District Courts In The Judicial Hierarchy, Christina Boyd Jan 2009

Placing Federal District Courts In The Judicial Hierarchy, Christina Boyd

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Over forty years after Richardson and Vines: 1967) complained that federal courts have seldom been investigated as a system of interactions," the same problem continues to plague judicial scholarship, particularly concerning federal district courts. Viewed as the sum of its three essays, this dissertation project seeks to remedy this deficit. The project relies on the collection and coding of thousands of case dockets, opinions, and other court documents across multiple years: 2000-2006 for essay 1, 2000-2004 for essays 2 and 3), nearly 30 district courts, and numerous issues areas that together account for about 40 percent of federal district court …

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Accurate Docking Is Achieved By Decoupling Systematic Sampling From Scoring, Jianwen Feng Jan 2009

Accurate Docking Is Achieved By Decoupling Systematic Sampling From Scoring, Jianwen Feng

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This dissertation discusses two main projects from my thesis work. The first project focuses on the development of a small molecule docking program, SKATE, for drug discovery. The second project focuses on the critical analysis of the thermal stability of a mini-protein, FSD-1. SKATE is a novel approach to small molecule docking. It removes any inter-dependence between sampling and scoring to improve docking accuracy. SKATE systematically and exhaustively samples a ligand's conformational, rotational and translational degrees of freedom, as constrained by a receptor pocket, to find sterically allowed poses. A total of 266 ligands were re-docked to their respective receptors …

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Using Repeated Testing And Variable Encoding To Promote Transfer Of Learning, Andrew Butler Jan 2009

Using Repeated Testing And Variable Encoding To Promote Transfer Of Learning, Andrew Butler

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Within the literature on transfer of learning, relatively few studies have investigated how the conditions of initial learning can be arranged to increase the likelihood of successful transfer. The present research investigated whether test-enhanced learning can be used to promote transfer. More specifically, four experiments examined how repeated testing and repeated studying affected retention and transfer of facts and concepts. Subjects studied prose passages and then either repeatedly re-studied or took tests on the material. One week later, they took a final test that either had the same questions: Experiment 1), new inferential questions within the same knowledge domain: Experiments …

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Understanding Political Involvement Among Disadvantaged Adolescents, Suzanne Pritzker Jan 2009

Understanding Political Involvement Among Disadvantaged Adolescents, Suzanne Pritzker

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Understanding Political Involvement Among Disadvantaged Adolescents by Suzanne Pritzker Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work Washington University in St. Louis, 2009 Professor Amanda Moore McBride, Chairperson Following substantial concern in recent years about youth disengagement from the political arena, 2008 Presidential election data indicate that youth political participation is now on the rise. However, low-income and some ethnic minority youth are substantially less likely to participate and to hold positive attitudes about politics and government than their wealthier and/or White counterparts. This suggests a possible disconnect between ethnic minority or economically disadvantaged youth and the larger …

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An Oversampled Analog To Digital Converter For Acquiring Neural Signals, Grant Williams Jan 2009

An Oversampled Analog To Digital Converter For Acquiring Neural Signals, Grant Williams

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

A third order delta-sigma modulator and associated low-pass digital filter is designed for an analog to digital converter: ADC) for sensing bioelectric phenomena. The third order noise shaping reduces the quantization noise in the baseband and the digital lowpass filter greatly attenuates the out of band quantization noise, increasing the effective number of bits. As part of a neural signal acquisition system designed by The BrainScope Company to capture Electro-Encephalogram: EEG) and Automated Brainstem Response: ABR) signals, this paper describes the design of a third order Delta-Sigma modulator which meets or exceeds the low noise specifications mandated by previous BrainScope …

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In The Voices Of Men, Beasts, And Gods: Unmasking The Abject Persona In Postwar And Contemporary Japanese Women's Poetry, Lee Friederich Jan 2009

In The Voices Of Men, Beasts, And Gods: Unmasking The Abject Persona In Postwar And Contemporary Japanese Women's Poetry, Lee Friederich

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This dissertation examines the dramatic use of personae of abjection in the works of contemporary and postwar Japanese women poets Ishigaki Rin: 1920-2004), Tomioka Taeko: b. 1935), Yoshihara Sachiko: 1932-2002), It├┤ Hiromi: b. 1955), and Isaka Yok├┤: b. 1949). Recognizing the strong sense of abjection that permeates postwar and contemporary Japanese poetry in general, I explore the ways in which women poets embody the abject--the fantastically grotesque, the deviant and the mortally wounded--in their poetry. Turning away from the dictates of twentieth century critics that women poets write in a transparently autobiographical mode: primarily about their experiences as wives and …

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150 Years Of History And Preservation At Cahokia Mounds, Christa Wroblewski Jan 2009

150 Years Of History And Preservation At Cahokia Mounds, Christa Wroblewski

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

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Aerosol Filtration And Separation, Tachih Hsiao Jan 2009

Aerosol Filtration And Separation, Tachih Hsiao

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Aerosol Filtration and Separation by Ta-Chih Hsiao Doctor of Philosophy in Energy, Environmental, & Chemical Engineering Washington University in St. Louis, 2009 Professor Da-Ren Chen, Advisor Particle control technologies are essential in many manufacturing industries: chemical, electronic, mineral, and food and beverages) as well as in pollution abatement and environmental control: for example, clean rooms and post processing of power plant emissions). A variety of particle control technologies using different physical forces and various collection substrates have been developed over the last 100 or so years. Among these technologies, filtration is known as the most economical …

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French Accompanied Keyboard Music (1738-1760): A Study Of Texture And Style Mixture, Nga-Hean Ong Jan 2009

French Accompanied Keyboard Music (1738-1760): A Study Of Texture And Style Mixture, Nga-Hean Ong

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

French accompanied keyboard music published between the late 1730s and early 1760s generally contains a written-out keyboard part with one or more accompanying instruments. In this genre we find, for the first time, that the keyboard plays an equal, if not the more dominant, role in ensemble chamber music. This repertory has been largely misunderstood and underappreciated because it has frequently been evaluated, not on its own terms, but in terms of accompanied collections from other regions and also in terms of the substantial and substantially different repertories of keyboard music with optional accompanying instrument(s) that flooded the market during …

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Contributions To The Methodology Of Electrocardiographic Imaging (Ecgi) And Application Of Ecgi To Study Mechanisms Of Atrial Arrhythmia, Post Myocardial Infarction Electrophysiological Substrate, And Ventricular Tachycardia In Patients, Yong Wang Jan 2009

Contributions To The Methodology Of Electrocardiographic Imaging (Ecgi) And Application Of Ecgi To Study Mechanisms Of Atrial Arrhythmia, Post Myocardial Infarction Electrophysiological Substrate, And Ventricular Tachycardia In Patients, Yong Wang

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Contributions to the Methodology of Electrocardiographic Imaging: ECGI) and Application of ECGI to Study Mechanisms of Atrial Arrhythmia, Post Myocardial Infarction Electrophysiological Substrate, and Ventricular Tachycardia in Patients by Yong Wang Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering Washington University in St. Louis, 2009 Professor Yoram Rudy, Chair Electrocardiographic Imaging: ECGI) is a noninvasive imaging modality for cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmia. ECGI reconstructs epicardial potentials, electrograms and isochrones from body-surface electrocardiograms combined with heart-torso geometry from computed tomography: CT). The application of a new meshless method, the Method of Fundamental Solutions: MFS) is introduced to ECGI with …

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Health Service Utilization Among Chinese, Filipino, And Asian Indian Older Adults In The United States, Jing Tan Jan 2009

Health Service Utilization Among Chinese, Filipino, And Asian Indian Older Adults In The United States, Jing Tan

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The United States is becoming more ethnically diverse, with a rapidly growing Asian population. At the same time, the graying of America brings with it special consideration for America's ethnic minorities. The current research on service utilization among Asian American older adults is very limited. The purposes of this study are:: 1) to describe and compare health service needs and health insurance coverage among Chinese, Filipino, and Asian Indian older adults;: 2) to use modified Andersen's behavior model to identify what predisposing factors, enabling factors, need factors, and immigrant-related factors are associated with health service utilization; and: 3) to test …

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Examining The Longitudinal Impact Of Assets And Income On Immigrant Health Behaviors, Jacqueline Kagotho Jan 2009

Examining The Longitudinal Impact Of Assets And Income On Immigrant Health Behaviors, Jacqueline Kagotho

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The foreign born population is an integral part of U.S. society and continues to experience a steady numerical increase. This study uses longitudinal data to determine the effects of culture and acculturation on the health behaviors of the foreign born. Drawing from the behavioral model of health service utilization for vulnerable populations: Gelberg, Andersen, & Leake, 2000), the assets effects model: Schreiner & Sherraden, 2007; Sherraden, 1991), and acculturation models and using generalized linear, latent, and mixed models: GLLAMM), the study constructs longitudinal models to establish the determinants of health behaviors: recreational physical activity, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking) through …

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Runx1 In Primitive Hematopoiesis And Characterization Of Hematopoietic Stem Cells In A Mouse Chronic Inflammatory Arthritis Model, Yunglin Ma Jan 2009

Runx1 In Primitive Hematopoiesis And Characterization Of Hematopoietic Stem Cells In A Mouse Chronic Inflammatory Arthritis Model, Yunglin Ma

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Hematopoietic cells are essential for growth and survival throughout adult life. Two different aspects of hematopoiesis are addressed in this dissertation. I. The regulation of primitive hematopoiesis by Runx1 and TGF-beta signaling. Primitive hematopoiesis, occurring exclusively in the yolk sac, is characterized by its transient nature. As the primitive hematopoiesis declines in the yolk sac, definitive hematopoietic progenitors generated in the yolk sac and/or embryo take over in blood cell production. Whether the transition from primitive to definitive hematopoietic program reflects a mere shift in hematopoietic sites or whether it is an actively regulated process is currently unknown. Runx1 is …

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Women's Labor Markets In Costa Rica, Kelsey Rinehart Jan 2009

Women's Labor Markets In Costa Rica, Kelsey Rinehart

Honors Program Theses

In this paper I explore the factors affecting women's labor force participation and wages in Costa Rica. First, I will investigate the role of education in women's labor markets. Second, I address the impact of dual labor markets and government policies on the participation and earnings of women. Finally, I recommend possible policy changes for Costa Rican labor law to benefit women.

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Indigent Defense In America: Racially Or Geographically Unjust?, Lisa Karen Akre Jan 2009

Indigent Defense In America: Racially Or Geographically Unjust?, Lisa Karen Akre

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of my research is to investigate the link between indigent defense funding and race. First, I explain the various approaches that states have implemented to deliver legal defense to the indigent. Second, I describe the current lack of funding and its consequences. Third, I examine what effect race has on the indigent defense system. Finally, based on the conclusions drawn from examining both race and funding for indigent defense, I evaluate the effectiveness of the delivery of indigent defense to individual states and regions within the United States.

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The Relationship Between Employment And Alcohol Consumption Among College Students, Justin Michael Sprung Jan 2009

The Relationship Between Employment And Alcohol Consumption Among College Students, Justin Michael Sprung

Honors Program Theses

This study examines the relationship between employment and alcohol consumption among college students in order to determine whether one variable influences the other. A survey was utilized to investigate this relationship. A total of 687 students from the University of Northern Iowa, 226 males and 461 femal.es, participated in the study. The results indicated no significant relationship between student employment and alcohol consumption. However, it was found that alcohol consumption was significantly related to residency and gender. The findings of this study suggest that factors other than employment may play a more important role in determining the level of alcohol …

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Reading Is For Girls: Examining Gender Differences In Reading Attitudes, Molly Jo Mcallister Jan 2009

Reading Is For Girls: Examining Gender Differences In Reading Attitudes, Molly Jo Mcallister

Honors Program Theses

Recent research across the nation suggests that boys across the country view reading more negatively than girls. To investigate these trends on a more local level, a reading attitudes survey was conducted at two Eastern Iowa high schools to determine whether boys in this area do in fact view reading more pessimistically than girls. This survey was performed in ninth grade English classrooms at the two schools asking students to respond to various belief statements about reading. Students then rated their own feelings on a scale from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree," and designated whether they were male or female …

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Telos: An Interactive Platform For Broadcast Management, Andrew L. Knight Jan 2009

Telos: An Interactive Platform For Broadcast Management, Andrew L. Knight

Honors Program Theses

The following thesis project is an attempt to consolidate a number of media management tools under a single interface, allowing for a streamlined, yet powerful, approach to the organization and distribution of multimedia content. The Total Electronic Listing Operations Suite, or Telos, is the main component of the thesis and the result of over a year of research and development. The two adjunct components are this review article (a commentary on the process, design, and implementation of the software), and the product overview, available at http://www.uni.edu/unitv/guide.html

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