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Avian Assemblages And Red-Eyed Vireo Nest Survival Within Mineland Forest, Jeremy Mizel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Since the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) in 1977, mined lands have generally been reclaimed to an environment characterized by severely compacted minesoils, a growth medium comprised largely of unweathered materials, and a predominance of aggressive groundcovers that inhibit native species colonization. Under these conditions, succession is arrested. Within landscapes that are fragmented by traditionally reclaimed surface mines, forest patches are smaller and forest cover on the landscape scale is reduced. As a result, forest songbirds that require large, continuous blocks of forest are negatively affected.;Some pre-SMCRA abandoned minelands contain areas of uncompacted minesoils on …

Issues In The Care Of Farm Animals: Current History Of The Movement In Selected States, Jennifer N. Dunn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Many animal care practices commonly accepted as a regular part of the agricultural industry are being questioned by organizations advocating for the care of farm and companion animals. The use of gestation crates for pregnant sows, veal crates for veal calves, and battery cages for egg-laying hens are being banned in some states in the United States. While appearing to be a modern phenomenon, animal rights/animal welfare issues actually can be found throughout history. The purpose of the study was to trace the history of the care of farm and companion animals movement in the United States. This included the …

Response Elimination, Reinforcement Rate And Resurgence Of Operant Behavior, Carlos Renato Xavier Cancado

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The effects of reinforcement rates of alternative responding on resurgence were studied in six experiments with pigeons. In Experiment 1A, key pecking was maintained on a multiple variable-interval (VI) VI schedule during the first, Training, phase. In the second, Response-Elimination, phase, variable differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior (DRO) schedules were in effect in each component and reinforcement rates were equal and then, higher in one (rich) component, and lower in the other (lean), than in the Training phase. In the third, Resurgence, phase, reinforcers were discontinued and more resurgence occurred in the lean than in the rich component. Differences in Training-phase response rates between …

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Methods For Prediction Of Brook Trout Salvelinus Fontinalis Percent Dry Weight, Andrew William Hafs

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Reliable fish condition estimates are valued by fisheries ecologists and managers. Fish condition is used as an indicator of ecosystem health or to assess the population status for a species of interest. In aquaculture, proximate composition estimates are often wanted because of their relationship to fillet quality. Past researchers have used bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to provide nonlethal mass based estimates of proximate composition for fish. Percent dry weight (PDW) of a fish is highly correlated to proximate composition values and energy density, therefore reliable predictions of PDW would eliminate the need for costly and laboratory analyses lethal to the …

Repression Of Phlpp By Mir-190 Contributes To Arsenic-Induced Akt Activation And Carcinogenesis, Kevin John Beezhold

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Arsenic is a well-studied human carcinogen. The mechanism by which arsenic induces cancer, however, is not fully understood. It is known that as a general stress inducer, arsenic can activate kinases, such as mitogen-activated protein kinases, leading to over activation of transcription factors. These transcription factors, including AP-1, NF-kB and Myc, are known to regulate the expression of early response genes, and likely to regulate miRNAs. The expression of miRNAs is often altered in cancer and other proliferative disorders. It is highly probable that miRNAs whose expressions are altered by arsenic will play a significant role in carcinogenesis. To test …

Efficient Design Of Biological Experiments For Dose-Response Modeling In Nanomaterial Toxicology Studies, Kai Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis is concerned with developing two-stage Bayesian optimum design procedure in nanotoxicology with simulation experiments. The proposed design method adopts suitable nonlinear dose response curve and non-constant variance model in experimental modeling, which more adequately represents the desirable properties of bioassay-experiment. A multiple objective genetic algorithm were used to select best set of non-dominated experiments on Pareto front. The proposed approach has been shown to provide better design than traditional experiment method in terms of D-optimum design and A-optimum design.

Nesting Biology Of Osmia Cornifrons: Implications For Population Management, Matthew Mckinney

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Japanese hornfaced bee, Osmia cornifrons (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) is a palearctic mason bee managed for the pollination of early season fruit crops such as apple and blueberry. Since its adoption as a managed pollinator in Japan during the 1940s, a large body of literature has amassed with the goal of enhancing O. cornifrons management practices. This research makes important contributions to that literature in two ways. First, the research describes the in-nest relationship of O. cornifrons and the cleptoparasitic mite pest Chaetodactylus krombeini. Distribution of male and female O. cornifrons and of C. krombeini was determined using linear and non-linear …

Gendered Violence And The Ethics Of Social Science Research, Sameena A. Mulla, Heather R. Hlavka

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The issue of ethical conduct in research settings is important and complex. As tenure-track researchers who study gendered violence, we found Clark and Walker’s discussion provocative, thoughtful, and interesting. They urge researchers to attend both to the structural dynamics of research carried out under the pressures of tenure and promotion while advocating an ethical frame that draws attention to the limited definition of risk or harm that animates typical human subjects research. Victims of violence, they argue, should not be subjected to a standardized understanding of risk. A broader framework is needed, one that brings into conversation virtue ethics with …

The Use Of Virtual Reality To Demonstrate Trajectory Planning And Control Of A 3-Dof Underactuated Robot In A Horizontal Plane In Real-Time, Waladin K., Mohammed Y. Algailany

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Real-Time 3D animation and Real-Time Simulation results are reported for a 3R underactuated robot moving in a horizontal plane using Virtual Reality Toolbox™, Real-Time Windows Target™,Real-Time Workshop®, and interfaced to Simulink® under the MATLAB® environment. The reason behind Real-time 3D animation and Real-Time simulation is to provide animated real-time tools in a realistic fashion to demonstrate the effectiveness of the controllers in tracking the desired trajectory and to provide a tool for researchers to test their proposed controllers and observe their behavior using 3-DOF underactuated manipulator in real-time.

Aquatic Plant Surveys In The Bureau Of Land Management, Medford District, 2010-2011, Mark D. Sytsma, Rich Miller, Vanessa Morgan

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

The introduction of invasive aquatic plant species (IAPS) can cause significant ecological and economic harm. IAPS can displace native aquatic plant species, impair recreation, and degrade water quality. Early detection of new invasions can improve chances for successful eradication or containment to reduce the risk of IAPS spread. The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) lists the most egregious offenders as “Noxious Weeds” which are defined as plants classified by the Oregon State Weed Board that are injurious to public health, agriculture, recreation, wildlife, or any public or private property (ODA 2011).

Several IAPS classified as noxious have been detected within …

Lanthorn, Vol. 46, No. 28, December 1, 2011, Grand Valley State University

Volume 46, July 14, 2011 - June 18, 2012

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Common Crowd Dynamics: Shaping Behavioral Intention Models, Marcel Bouchard

Theses

As the human population grows, so too does the need to understand human behavior. One particularly important aspect of human behavior is how it changes within conglomerations of people, i.e. crowds. In this thesis, a method for modeling crowd behavior is proposed. This method draws inspiration from the concept of behavioral intention and the related forces of attitudes, influences, and social norms. These topics are first defined and detailed, followed by a survey of related research. Next, the model is presented and adapted to three common crowd dynamics, each stressing a different component of behavioral intention. Observations are made about …

Stimulation Of The Hypothalamic Ventromedial Nuclei By Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide Induces Hypophagia And Thermogenesis, Jon M. Resch, Joanne P. Boisvert, Allison E. Hourigan, Christopher R. Mueller, Sun Shin Yi, Sujean Choi

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Numerous studies have demonstrated that the hypothalamic ventromedial nuclei (VMN) regulate energy homeostasis by integrating and utilizing behavioral and metabolic mechanisms. The VMN heavily express pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide(PACAP) type I receptors (PAC1R). Despite the receptor distribution, most PACAP experiments investigating affects on feeding have focused on intracerebroventricular (icv) administration or global knockout mice. To identify the specific contribution of PACAP signaling in the VMN, we injected PACAP directly into the VMN and measured feeding behavior and indices of energy expenditure. Following an acute injection of PACAP, nocturnal food intake was significantly reduced for six hours after injections without evidence …

A Phenomenological Study Of “Organizational Development Targeting Diversity” In A Nonprofit Human Service Organization, Christopher Henry Hinesley

Education Doctoral

This study explores the experiences of non-profit human service staff members engaged in “organizational development targeting diversity” (ODTD) for two years or more. This term was adapted by combining concepts in workforce diversity management (Cox, 1993; Ely & Thomas, 1996) and intra-organizational oppression (Fine, 1996; Hyde, 1998). Drawing upon Crenshaw’s (1989) theory of intersecting oppressions stemming from race, class, and gender stratification, the experiences of staff members in a nonprofit human services organization provided a window into an organization attempting to address its use of power and how to model empowerment for a disempowered clientele. This study was conducted using …

The Diminishing Returns Of Incentive Pay In Executive Compensation Contracts, Gregg D. Polsky, Andrew Lund

Scholarly Works

For the past 30 years, the conventional wisdom has been that executive compensation packages should include very large proportions of incentive pay. This incentive pay orthodoxy has become so firmly entrenched that the current debates about executive compensation simply take it as a given. We argue, however, that in light of evolving corporate governance mechanisms, the marginal net benefit of incentive-laden pay packages is both smaller than appreciated and getting smaller over time. As a result, the assumption that higher proportions of incentive pay are beneficial is no longer warranted.

A number of corporate governance mechanisms have evolved to duplicate …

Google’S China Problem: A Case Study On Trade, Technology And Human Rights Under The Gats, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Trade and human rights have long had a troubled relationship. The advent of new technologies such as internet further complicates the relationship. This article reviews the relationship between trade, technology and human rights in light of the recent dispute between Google and China from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Starting with an overview of the internet censorship regime in China, the article goes on to assess the legal merits of a WTO challenge in this case. First, the article discusses which service sector or subsectors might be at issue. Second, the article analyzes whether and to what extent China has …

The Metroburb: American Values In Facebook Culture, Heather Marie Carlson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Using critical discourse analysis, fantasy themes were extracted from user profiles and postings to examine American values found in Facebook culture.

Core values found on Facebook worked to create not only socially recognizable identities enacted and communicated through the participants, but also a particular culture to which participants both reflected and contributed in Facebook. Themes and values extracted from findings indicate that Facebook users should be casual, technologically-aware, social, respectful and fair to others, “good little copers,” financially savvy while at the same time valuing higher education, a healthy lifestyle, family and travel.

Because Facebook is an interestingly fluid cultural …

Middle Paleolithic Hominin Lake Environments In Saharan North Africa, Cynthia Anne Bradbury

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Contemporaneous with the transition to biologically modern humans was the episodic change from wetter to drier environments in the Egyptian Sahara. At Bir Tarfawi, White Lake sediments represent a wet phase occurring prior to the last interglacial in the now hyperarid Egyptian Western Desert. One hypothesis for the development of Western Desert Pleistocene lakes was that the northward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) provided a path for summer-constrained, Atlantic-sourced precipitation resulting in local precipitation. Oxygen and carbon stable isotope analysis of climate proxies such as the gastropod, Melanoides tuberculata, indicate precipitation and groundwater sources as well as the …

An Inertial Measurement System For Hand And Finger Tracking, Edward Nelson Henderson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The primary Human Computer Interfaces (HCI) today are the keyboard and mouse. These interfaces do not facilitate a fluid flow of thought and intent from the operator to the computer. A computer mouse provides only 2 Degrees of Freedom (2DOF). Touch interfaces also provide 2DOF, but with multiple points, making the touch interface far more expressive. The hand has 6 Degrees of Freedom (6DOF)by itself. Combined with the motion of the fingers, the hand has the potential to represent a vast array of differing gestures. Hand gestures must be captured before they can be used as a HCI. Fortunately, advances …

Homoploid Hybrid Speciation In A Rare Endemic Castilleja From Idaho (Castilleja Christii, Orobanchaceae), Danielle Leigh Clay

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Evidence to support the origins of a putative hybrid species with certainty must be determined using several lines of evidence: the presence of genetic additivity of parental marker alleles in a putative hybrid species, along with ecological or niche separation. Novel or transgressive morphological traits obtained through chromosomal rearrangements during hybridization may facilitate niche separation of the hybrid species from progenitor habitats. These evolutionary processes together enforce reproductive isolation and promote an independent evolutionary trajectory in hybrid species. By studying these evolutionary processes in putative hybrid species, researchers may identify hybrid species with confidence.

We employed multiple lines of evidence …

Spatial Distribution And Habitat Use Of The Bliss Rapids Snail, Barry M. Bean

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

I conducted a three-year field study to gather information about the Bliss Rapids snail, Taylorconcha serpenticola, a rare aquatic mollusk endemic to the Snake River drainage of southwestern Idaho. The goals of my study were to 1) gain an understanding of the species’ distribution and dispersion in the Snake River, 2) characterize habitat relationships, and 3) evaluate methods for monitoring the species’ abundance. When monitoring at-risk species, it is important to understand their spatial distribution and habitat requirements in order to design a study that will provide reliable data with good statistical power. My study suggests the species is …

Anxiety: An Evolutionary Approach, M Bateson, B Brilot, D Nettle

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental illnesses, with huge attendant suffering. Current treatments are not universally effective, suggesting that a deeper understanding of the causes of anxiety is needed. To understand anxiety disorders better, it is first necessary to understand the normal anxiety response. This entails considering its evolutionary function as well as the mechanisms underlying it. We argue that the function of the human anxiety response, and homologues in other species, is to prepare the individual to detect and deal with threats. We use a signal detection framework to show that the threshold for expressing the anxiety …

Magnesium, A Drug Of Diverse Use, Mohammad Irfan Akhtar, Hameed Ullah, Mohammad Hamid

Department of Anaesthesia

Magnesium has evolved as a drug with diverse clinical applications. Mg++ is an important caution and its homeostasis is very important for normal body functioning. The physiological role of Mg is due to its calcium channel blocking properties at smooth muscle, skeletal muscle and conduction system levels. The analgesic properties are due to NMDA receptor blocking action. Mg++ is beneficial in acute Myocardial Infarction, protection during open heart surgery and treatment and prevention of heart rhythm disturbances. Mg has an established role in the management of preeclampsia and eclampsia. Magnesium prevents or controls convulsions by blocking neuromuscular transmission and decreasing …

The Impact Of Regulating Social Science Research With Biomedical Regulations, Brenda Braxton Durosinmi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Impact of Regulating Social Science Research with Biomedical Regulations Since 1974 Federal regulations have governed the use of human subjects in biomedical and social science research. The regulations are known as the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, and often referred to as the "Common Rule" because 18 Federal agencies follow some form of the policy. The Common Rule defines basic policies for conducting biomedical and social science research. Almost from the inception of the Common Rule social scientists have expressed concerns of the policy's medical framework of regulations having its applicability also to human research in …

The Watchmaker Series, Christopher Michael Seelie

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Watchmaker Series celebrates and inquires into time as a biproduct of consciousness and practices the application of this notion in poetry. The series begins with the numeral poems, all of which relate directly to the theoretical and polemical aspects. Along the way, other poems with individual titles are interspersed to reflect or redirect the abstract considerations to more concrete subjects. Gradually, as the series progresses, the interacting and recurring associations meld theory and practice into a compositional whole.

The central notion that contemporary poetry is not a machine made of words but rather, like the watch that gives itself …

Visual Attention To Erotic Stimuli In Androphilic Male-To-Female Transsexuals, Sarah A. Akhter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study investigated sex differences in visual attention to erotic stimuli by comparing three groups of individuals: heterosexual men, heterosexual women, and androphilic MtF transsexuals. Twenty men, 20 women and 13 MtF transsexuals were shown 10 split-screen slides, each featuring one nude erotic photo of a man shown on half of the screen and one nude erotic photo of a woman shown on the other half of the screen. Eye movements were tracked as participants viewed the slides. All participants were heterosexual (Kinsey 0-1) relative to gender identity, thus erotic targets for natal men were nude women in the …

Ni Electroless Plating Of Abs Polymer By Palladium And Tin-Free Process, P Dechasit, W Trakarnpruk

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

A palladium and tin-free process for the Ni electroless plating of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymer has been developed. The ABS was first etched then activated with Ni (or Co) ions. Ni or Co adsorbed was quantified by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Sodium borohydride solution was found to be effective in reduction of Ni (or Co) ions. By immersing in a Ni plating bath the Co (or Ni) can then auto-catalytically deposit a Ni film on the ABS. The amount and thickness of Ni film determined by SEM-EDX were the highest when using 3 g/L of nickel acetate solution, 0.5 M sodium borohydride …

Land Use Pressure And Climate Impacts On Fire Regimes And Forest Regeneration In The Upper Tuul River Watershed, Mongolia, Thomas M. Saladyga

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation is composed of three chapters addressing the broad issues of land use, climate variability, and wildfire in central Mongolia. The first chapter describes a GIS model developed to map human impacts in the Upper Tuul River watershed. Forest establishment data were used to validate the application of the model with results indicating a high level of correspondence with a field assessment of human disturbance. Chapter two is a tree-ring based reconstruction of Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for the central Khan Khentii Mountains from 1675-2000. Changes in moisture availability were more frequent during the 20th century than any …

Behavior That Hurts: Theoretical Orientation, Terminology, And Diagnosis Of Self-Injury, Susannah C. Rowan Flamm

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Self-injurious behavior prevalence continues to rise in both adolescent and adult non-clinical populations and within adolescent and adult clinical populations. Despite a large volume of literature regarding the antecedents and functions of self-injury, exploration of clinician factors in regard to these clients is sparse. This study examined the associations among 346 doctoral level clinicians' theoretical orientations, preferred terminology to describe self-injurious behaviors, and preferred diagnoses for clients who engage in self-injury. Therapist variables such as age, years in practice, and gender were examined for their association with terminology and diagnostic preferences. Chi-square analyses were conducted for the two-way interactions and …

Cultivating Readiness For Professional Learning Community Through Learning Teams In A Restructuring High School, Cassandra H. Hyacinthe

Education Doctoral

The traditional organizational structure of large comprehensive high schools: departmental divisions, teacher isolation, fragmented subcultures, student alienation, and competing group interests have undermined student and adult learning and have thwarted attempts at school reform. Professional learning communities (PLCs) are a promising strategy for advancing student achievement and school reform. Schools with strong PLCs foster a collaborative culture, focus on learning, promote shared responsibility, and pursue results-oriented goals and assessments to ensure student academic gains. The study investigated the use of learning teams as a preliminary strategy for PLC and to inform school-wide PLC implementation in a restructuring high school. Wenger’s …