Digital Commons Network^™

Escape Rates For Coupled Particles In A Stochastic Environment, Gregory Slusarczyk

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

A particle placed in a deterministic, overdamped potential well will move towards an attractor located at the bottom of the well. Once the particle reaches the attractor, it remains there forever since no other forces are acting on the particle. However, if weak stochasticity is introduced, the particle will fluctuate around the attractor. As a rare event, the noise can organize itself in such a way that a large fluctuation is created that causes the particle to escape from the basin of attraction. The escape rates/escape times can be found both analytically and numerically. Furthermore, it is possible to predict …

Point Allocation History For Spring Semester 2011, Office Of Registrar

Semester Schedules and Information

No abstract provided.

Landscape And Wildlife Photographs, Frank Gorga

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

The "Strong Medicine" Of The Overbreadth Doctrine: When Statutory Exceptions Are No More Than A Placebo, Christopher A. Pierce

Federal Communications Law Journal

In United States v. Stevens, the United States Supreme Court invalidated a federal statute criminalizing the interstate sale and distribution of depictions of animal cruelty on First Amendment grounds. While Stevens demonstrates the Court's reluctance to create a new category of speech outside of First Amendment protection, Stevens also stands for the proposition that borrowing the exceptions clause from the Court's obscenity standard will not adequately protect a statute from invalidation as overbroad. This Note discusses the use of the obscenity standard's exceptions clause in nonobscenity statutes and the Court's treatment of the exceptions clause in Stevens. This Note concludes …

Cognitive Agendas And Legal Epistemology, Danny Marrero

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The domain of legal epistemology is defined from two alternative perspectives: individual epistemology and Social epistemology. Since these perspectives have different objects of evaluation, their judgments privilege and exclude different sets of information. While methodological individualism is concerned with justified beliefs of individual knowers, the Social angle focuses on the institutional conditions of knowledge. I will show that the information that is respectively excluded by both the individual and the Social concepts of legal epistemology weaken their respective evaluations. With this in mind, I will explore one new option of defining legal epistemology. This alternative is more comprehensive, in the …

Environmental Influences On Juvenile Fish Abundances In A River-Dominated Coastal System, Laure Carassou, Brian Dzwonkowski, Frank J. Hernandez, Jr., Sean P. Powers, William M. Graham, Kyeong Park, John Mareska

University Faculty and Staff Publications

We investigated the influence of climatic and environmental factors on variations in juvenile abundances of marine fishes in a river-dominated coastal system of the north-central Gulf of Mexico, where an elevated primary productivity sustains fisheries of high economic importance. Fish were collected monthly with an otter trawl at three stations near Mobile Bay from 1982 to 2007. Fish sizes were used to isolate juvenile stages within the data set, and monthly patterns in juvenile fish abundance and size were then used to identify seasonal peaks for each species. The average numbers of juvenile fish collected during these seasonal peaks in …

December 1, 2011 Grove Edition, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

In Context, Kate Felzien

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The present thesis seeks to show the influences to my artwork and describe the body of work found in my thesis exhibition, In Context. The role of family and childhood are discussed and related to the work. The feminist writers bell hooks, Jane Tompkins, and Hélène Cixous are cited as influential to the initial exploration of my content. Artists discussed include Louise Bourgeois, Kiki Smith, Annette Messager, and Robert Rauschenberg. It is further shown how poetry and prose evolve as the catalyst for content for my work and how this enforces my belief that only through examining the personal can …

Te Sequor: A Study Of Pope's Observations On The Iliad Of Homer, Drew Nathaniel Keane

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Although has been written on Pope's translation of the Iliad, little has been written directly on his commentary, which comprise more than half of Pope's work. This study seeks to correct this neglect and argues that Pope's commentary is a vital part of his Iliad. I examine Pope's place among English and French poets and commentators, the epic tradition, and Pope's understanding of the commentator's role.

Reaping What You Sow: Southern Cultures, Black Traditions, And Black Women, Cynthia Mikell

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is an inquiry into Southern cultures, Black traditions, and Black women with a focus on the life of one Black woman educator. Drawing upon the works of Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning African American woman, novelist, and master storyteller, Toni Morrison (1970, 1973, 1976, 1987, 1988, 1993, 2003, & 2008); activist and Black feminist protest thinker and writer, bell hooks (1981, 1984, 1995, & 2000); the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, activist, and womanist, Alice Walker (1983); the Black feminist thinker and writer, Patricia Hills Collins (1998, 2000), and the critical race theorist and the first tenured African-American professor of Law …

Induction Of Cervical Relaxation For Artificial Insemination In Sheep, Sukanya Leethongdee

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

In general, artificial insemination (AI) in sheep using frozen-thawed (FT) semen in commercial scale islimited due to the fact that the FT semen of sheep needs to be deposited into the uterus to achieve an acceptablefertility rate. Laparoscopic insemination with FT semen gives commercially acceptable fertility rates, however it is noteconomical and animal friendly. An alternative method is trans-cervical AI (TCAI). However, the unusual anatomy ofthe sheep cervix is a major limitation to this technique. In ewe, the cervical lumen has a convoluted and tortuousstructure that looks like a corkscrew consisting of internal cervical rings. The internal folds of the …

A Study On The Association Between Number Of Impounded Days And Adoption Rate Of Stray Dogs At Public Animal Shelters In Changhua County, Taiwan, Meng-Chih Tung, Chang-Young Fei, Jeng-Tung Chiang, Kwong-Chung Tung

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

According to the adoption records of the animal shelter in Changhua county from 2004 to 2010, this studyinvestigated if there was a statistically advantageous length of shelter stay, from the time when dogs impounded untiltheir adoption. The adoption records during this period of time showed that a total of 1,533 dogs were adopted. Thenumber of days for dogs to be impounded was divided into different categories and the adoption rate (number ofdogs in each category divided by the total number of dogs being adopted) was calculated. Statistical analyses wereperformed to investigate the association between the number of days of impoundment …

Scotts Bluff National Monument Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring, 2011 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Michael Prowatzke, Michael R. Bynum, Tim Shepherd, Stephen K. Wilson, Kara Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) was established to develop and provide scientifically credible information on the current status and long-term trends of the composition, structure, and function of ecosystems in thirteen parks located in five northern Great Plains states. NGPN identified upland plant communities, exotic plant early detection, and riparian lowland communities as vital signs that can be used to better understand the condition of terrestrial park ecosystems (Gitzen et al. 2010). Upland and riparian ecosystems are important targets for vegetation monitoring because the status and trends in plant communities provide critical insights into …

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring, 2011 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Michael Prowatzke, Michael R. Bynum, Tim Shepherd, Stephen K. Wilson, Kara Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) was established to develop and provide scientifically credible information on the current status and long-term trends of the composition, structure, and function of ecosystems in thirteen parks located in five northern Great Plains states. NGPN identified upland plant communities, exotic plant early detection, and riparian lowland communities as vital signs that can be used to better understand the condition of terrestrial park ecosystems (Gitzen et al. 2010). Upland and riparian ecosystems are important targets for vegetation monitoring because the status and trends in plant communities provide critical insights into …

Spring Migration Of Mallards From Arkansas As Determined By Satellite Telemetry, David George Krementz, Kwasi Asante, Luke W. Naylor

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We used satellite telemetry to document spring migration phenology, routes, stopover regions, and nesting sites of mallards Anas platyrhynchos marked in Arkansas during the winters of 2004–2007. Of the 143 marked mallards that migrated from Arkansas, they did so, on average, by mid-March. Mallards flew over the Missouri Ozarks and 42% made an initial stopover in Missouri, where they used areas that had larger rivers (Mississippi River, Missouri River) embedded in an agricultural landscape. From this stopover region they either migrated directly to the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) or they migrated north to Minnesota where they either moved next to …

Fungal Virulence And Development Is Regulated By Alternative Pre-Mrna 3′End Processing In Magnaporthe Oryzae, Marina Franceschetti, Emilio Bueno, Richard A. Wilson, Sara L. Tucker, Concepción Gómez-Mena, Grant Calder, Ane Sesma

Fungal Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

RNA-binding proteins play a central role in post-transcriptional mechanisms that control gene expression. Identification of novel RNA-binding proteins in fungi is essential to unravel post-transcriptional networks and cellular processes that confer identity to the fungal kingdom. Here, we carried out the functional characterisation of the filamentous fungus-specific RNAbinding protein RBP35 required for full virulence and development in the rice blast fungus. RBP35 contains an N-terminal RNA recognition motif (RRM) and six Arg-Gly-Gly tripeptide repeats. Immunoblots identified two RBP35 protein isoforms that show a steady-state nuclear localisation and bind RNA in vitro. RBP35 coimmunoprecipitates in vivo with Cleavage Factor I (CFI) …

Sacrifice And Sacred Honor: Why The Constitution Is A "Suicide Pact", Peter Brandon Bayer

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Most legal scholars and elected officials embrace the popular cliché that “the Constitution is not a suicide pact.” Typically, those commentators extol the “Constitution of necessity,” the supposition that Government, essentially the Executive, may take any action—may abridge or deny any fundamental right—to alleviate a sufficiently serious national security threat. The “Constitution of necessity” is wrong. This Article explains that strict devotion to the “fundamental fairness” principles of the Constitution’s Due Process Clauses is America’s utmost legal and moral duty, surpassing all other considerations, even safety, security and survival.

The analysis begins with the most basic premises: the definition of …

Here Comes The Sun: Solar Power Parity With Fossil Fuels, Nathan Mee, Marc Miller

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

There is wide agreement across the political spectrum that the United States should develop domestic, renewable sources of energy. There are many ways to describe the challenges of a transition from a fossil fuel economy to one fueled by atoms, the sun, or the wind, but in a nutshell, the problem is said to be cost: the basic reason the United States continues overwhelmingly to rely on fossil fuels is that they are comparatively cheap, and alternative energy is relatively expensive.

Or so it seems. This Article is intended to encourage more open discussion about real energy costs. To keep …

Why Gays Should Not Serve In The United States Armed Forces: A Gay Liberationist Statement Of Principle, Shannon Gilreath

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Prototype Automated Flow-Through Sensor For Measuring Waterborne Microbial Concentrations Using Bulk Fluorescence, Susan M. Savill

Graduate Masters Theses

Timely and inexpensive monitoring of microbial ecology in the world's water supplies is crucial to the study of environmental and human impact on water quality and the prevention of disease outbreaks. Current technology is lacking in its ability to accurately measure and predict the presence of possible disease pathogens in a timely and cost effective manner. This paper describes the construction and initial testing of an automated prototype water sensor intended to detect fluctuations in microbial density in real-time by using bulk fluorescence of SYBR Gold stained bacteria. The sensor is comprised of off-the-shelf hardware and an in-house designed and …

The Marketplace Of Boston: Macrobotanical Remains From Faneuil Hall, Ciana Faye Meyers

Graduate Masters Theses

Residents of Boston in the eighteenth century utilized a wide range of botanical materials in their daily lives, navigating complex urban marketing systems and utilizing their own individual ingenuity to procure botanical resources. The one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three botanical remains recovered from a "community midden" underneath the present-day Faneuil Hall represents a diverse collection of taxa which encodes information not only about the localized dietary practices of colonial urban residents, but also helps to illuminate the more subtle ramifications of Boston's participation in the Atlantic economy on the lives of its residents. These botanical remains represent taxa from …

Multicomponent Reactions For The Preparation Of Fluorous Taged Pyrimidines And Thiopyrimidines And Their Derivatisation To Obtain Biaryl-Substituted Heterocycles, Bruno Piqani

Graduate Masters Theses

This thesis presents a work in the field of multicomponent reactions (MCRs), one-step condensation between a fluorous tagged aldehyde, β-keto ester and urea derivatives. This process in literature is known as "Biginelli Reaction". This dissertation describes a new Biginelli reaction element, using fluorous component as a limiting agent.

Chapter one is an introduction of MCRs. A brief historical review, key principles as well as applications in different fields such as academic research, synthetic organic chemistry, and medicinal applications are presented.

Chapter two discusses the general features of the Biginelli reaction, microwave, and fluorous chemistry with a distinctive look from the …

Captain Pierce's Fight: An Investigation Into A King Philip's War Battle And Its Remembrance And Memorialization, Lawrence K. Lacroix

Graduate Masters Theses

On March 26, 1676 Native Americans from southern New England overran a company of Plymouth Colony militia, handing the English one of their worst defeats during King Philip's War. This study was concerned with the reconstruction of the Pierce Battle, as it has come to be known, and its eventual memorialization. The study's two main research questions were: First, to what extent did a complete and critical examination of the primary and secondary sources change, support, or add to the commonly accepted battle perspective? Second, in what ways did a contextual analysis of King Philip's War monuments in Rhode Island …

The Food Waste Management System In A Southeastern Hospital, Amal Habadi

All Theses

Effective waste management has always posed a challenge to those in food service operations. This study investigated the amount of food waste from Bon Secours St. Francis Health System foodservice operations using the Trim Trax¨ program. Trim Trax¨ is a food waste management program in which employees measure the volume of waste produced in pre-production and post-production areas. The objectives of this study were to collect the amount of waste produced during meal preparations and compare it with three weeks of retrospective data kept by employees in the salad/baking pre-production area, the cooking/grilling pre-production area and post-production area. Results showed …

Building Preliminary Guideline For Earthquake Evacuation, Guang Miao

All Theses

Disaster frequency appears to be increasing. The impact of those disasters has increased substantially in terms of mortality and economic losses. Evacuation, as an inevitable part of disaster management systems, plays a critical role in disaster mitigation. The efficiency of all-hazard disaster evacuation could be increased by making appropriate decisions on policies and practices for planning, preparedness and response, and taking certain traffic operations, management and control. Common principles for large disaster evacuation have been established, mostly based on the experience of hurricane events. However, earthquakes have a series of special characteristics, which are different from other disasters, such as …

Printing Carbon Nanotube Based Supercapacitors For Packaging, Alexandra Hartman

All Theses

Living in a world full of portable electronics, there is great need for energy storage devices. Currently, limitations for storage involve power inefficiencies as well as bulkiness. This is why printable charge storage devices that display good electrochemical performance are needed. It is for this reason that research into the production and packaging of carbon nanotube based super capacitors was carried out.
A super capacitor can be built by using high surface area multi-walled carbon nanotubes suspended in an ionic liquid. The two active electrodes are made from a combination of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes and an ionic liquid, ground …

The Design Of A Haptic Device For Training And Evaluating Surgeon And Novice Laparoscopic Movement Skills, Ryan Bontreger

All Theses

As proper levels of force application are necessary to ensure patient safety, and training hours with an expert on live subjects are difficult, enhanced computer-based training is needed to teach the next generation of surgeons. Considering the role of touch in surgery, there is a need for a device capable of discerning the haptic ability of surgical trainees. This need is amplified by minimally invasive surgical techniques where a surgeon's sense of tissue properties comes not directly through their own hands but indirectly through the tools. A haptic device capable of producing a realistic range of forces and motions that …

Revised Remarks To The Symposium On Innovative Approaches To Immigrant Representation At The Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law, John Paul Stevens

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Restoration Potential Of An Endangered Legume, Baptisia Arachnifera: Shade & Litter Effects On Early Life Stages, Timothy John Estep

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Baptisia arachnifera, hairy rattleweed, is a federally endangered, herbaceous, legume endemic to Wayne and Brantley Counties in Georgia. The species has declined by 89% in the past 20 years. Therefore I examined the early life stages of the species for weevil predation, fungus infection, and germination; information used to help prevent the species extinction. Seed pods of Baptisia arachnifera from six sites were examined for weevil predation and fungal infestation. Germination was examined under greenhouse conditions. One site had intense weevil predation, fungal infection, and reduced germination compared to other sites. Over 62% of seeds germinated within the greenhouse. To …

Job Satisfaction And The Internship In State Level Law Enforcement, Catherine J. Sapp

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

It was the hypothesis of the researcher that exposing criminal justice students to the career field through the completion of a criminal justice internship will increase job satisfaction for the individual in state level investigative law enforcement and the field as a whole. Increased job satisfaction, in turn, produces higher retention rates which may lead to making the state level investigative law enforcement field a more stable environment. Therefore, the purpose of this correlational study was to discover if there was a difference in the score on Spector's Job Satisfaction Survey between state level investigative law enforcement personnel who completed …