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Global Optimization Of Mga-Dsm Problems Using The Interplanetary Gravity Assist Trajectory Optimizer (Igato), Jason M. Bryan

Master's Theses

Interplanetary multiple gravity assist (MGA) trajectory optimization has long been a field of interest to space scientists and engineers. Gravity assist maneuvers alter a spacecraft's velocity vector and potentially allow spacecraft to achieve changes in velocity which would otherwise be unfeasible given our current technological limitations. Unfortunately, designing MGA trajectories is difficult and in order to find good solutions, deep space maneuvers (DSM) are often required which further increase the complexity of the problem. In addition, despite the active research in the field over the last 50 years, software for MGA trajectory optimization is scarce. A few good commercial, and …

Residential Water Conservation: A Cross Comparative Analysis, Jeffrey M. Cook

Master's Theses

This thesis will explore different water conservation strategies and systems in the residential home, using the city of Irvine as a basis. The thesis will compare the financial implications between the different systems and as a return on investment. The analysis will also account for ecological and social implications on the occupants, in particular their standard of living and lifestyle changes. The thesis will explore the ability to conserve water in new residential construction and will provide a sustainable and conscientious schematic water design for the particular area of concern.

This thesis will act as a preliminary case study for …

Factors That Relate To Overweight And Obesity In Preschool Children: An Investigation Of Preschool Children In San Luis Obispo County, Kyla Tom

Master's Theses

In the United States the trend towards overweight and obesity has been a major health concern as it has been linked to a variety of health problems. A nation-wide initiative, “Let’s Move” created by Michelle Obama was launched in February 2010 with the goal that, in one generation; every child born will be at a healthy weight at the start of adulthood. Healthy People 2020 are national health objectives for the United States to obtain by 2020. In 2009, San Luis Obispo (SLO) County preschool children overweight and obesity rates mirrored national rates of 1 in 5 four-year-old children were …

The Study Of The Individual Alternative Minimum Tax: Past, Present, And Reform, David E. Droessler

Honors Program Theses

The individual Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) imposed on individuals was originally created to ensure that the wealthiest Americans do not avoid paying income tax by taking advantage of certain deductions and exemptions. AMT was not indexed for inflation and when coupled with other inequities, many more Americans are now subject to AMT than ever before. By studying the past and present tax laws surrounding individual AMT, I will present a reformed approach of the AMT tax system for individuals.

The Need For Specialized Programs For Lgbt Individuals In Substance Abuse Treatment, Erin E. Mooney

Research Papers

Specialized substance abuse treatment programs for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals are limited. Specialized treatment programs offer unique and tailored services to ‘special populations’ in order to provide effective treatment. The services offered in these programs are proven to be especially helpful and effective for LGBT individuals. Many researchers have suggested that LGBT-Specific substance abuse programs have better treatment outcomes for LGBT individuals than mainstream treatment programs. LGBT individuals have been said to have much higher rates of substance abuse than their heterosexual counterparts. They also face discrimination, prejudice, negative attitudes and behavior, and unique life experiences that …

The Redesign Of Mechanical Engineering 574: An Exploration In Deductive And Inductive Methods, Alyssa Janae Walker

Theses and Dissertations

Changes in the engineering industry have motivated the redesign of engineering curriculum in recent years. This report documents the redesign of Mechanical Engineering 574, a graduate course in engineering offered at Brigham Young University. The redesign was divided into four phases and used a design narrative to report the design process. Research conducted by the instructor and designer informed the main content of the course. Although the course originally used mainly deductive methods of instruction, by the final phase of the project, the instruction evolved to be primarily inductive in strategy.

Making An Impact On The Obesity Epidemic By Deploying A Mobile Fitness Suite On The Android Market, Chad Richards

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Mobile Fitness Suite aims to make an impact on the obesity epidemic by deploying a set of mobile fitness applications on the Android Market. The thesis details the health and financial issues with the obesity epidemic, along with its causes, and how a set of fitness applications can aid with the obesity epidemic. It also explains the reasons for releasing the program on the Android Market and details each step in the process of deploying a mobile application to the Android Market. Further, it discusses the design and architecture that went into the development of the Mobile Fitness Suite …

Cultural Psychology Of African Americans, James M. Jones, Santiba Campbell

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

The cultural psychology of African Americans involves the evolution of African patterns of thought, feeling and behavior and their utilization as adaptive mechanisms in a context of racism and oppression. Assumptions about cultural psychology as the intersection of psyche and culture, and African American psychology as the multidimensional response to dehumanization and psychic conflict are discussed. Time, Rhythm, Improvisation, Orality, and Spirituality (TRIOS) are proposed as psycho-cultural mechanisms of adaptation, innovation, and psychological control for African Americans. Sources of variability among African Americans (both psychological and societal) are a basis for black subcultures within Black Culture. TRIOS is offered as …

Assessment Of Acculturation: Issues And Overview Of Measures, Ozgur Celenk, Fons J.R. Van De Vijver

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

Publicly available acculturation measures are systematically reviewed based on three criteria: scale descriptors (name of the scale, authors, year, target group, age group, subscales, and number of items), psychometric properties (reliabilities) and conceptual and theoretical structure (acculturation conditions, acculturation orientations, acculturation outcomes, acculturation attitudes, acculturation behaviors, conceptual model and life domains). Majority of the reviewed acculturation measures are short, single-scale instruments that are directed to specific target groups. Additionally, they mainly assess behavioral acculturation outcomes than acculturation conditions and orientations. Regarding the psychometric properties; most measures have an adequate internal consistency; yet cross-cultural validity of the instruments have not been …

Systematics Of Protosteloid Amoebae, Lora Lindley Shadwick

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because of their simple fruiting bodies consisting of one to a few spores atop a finely tapering stalk, protosteloid amoebae, previously called protostelids, were thought of as primitive members of the Eumycetozoa sensu Olive 1975. The studies presented here have precipitated a change in the way protosteloid amoebae are perceived in two ways: (1) by expanding their known habitat range and (2) by forcing us to think of them as amoebae that occasionally form fruiting bodies rather than as primitive fungus-like organisms. Prior to this work protosteloid amoebae were thought of as terrestrial organisms. Collection of substrates from aquatic habitats …

Crisis Communication Needs Assessment: A Delphi Study To Enhance Instruction For Agricultural Communicators And Other Stakeholders, Allyson Ceary Mcguire

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural communicators and industry stakeholders need to be able to develop, prepare and implement crisis communication plans to help assure the sustainability of the agriculture industry should a crisis event occur. A thorough exploration of possible options and needs for training crisis communicators is a needed study in the agriculture industry. Students learning to prepare for managing crises in real life situations are rarely taught in a hands-on, experiential manner. Students can read and analyze case studies pertaining to crises, but without having an actual crisis; little means exist for preparing students for real world situations. There is a need …

Integrated Planning For Rural Rail Transportation, Jeffrey Cohan Gwaltney

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Population growth in rural areas has led to new interest in rail transportation. Planning a passenger rail system involves numerous difficult decisions, most representing a trade-off between customer service and cost. In this work, we attempt to integrate many of these planning decisions. We consider strategic decisions such as station location and vehicle procurement, as well as tactical issues that include vehicle scheduling. Our integrated model exploits the linear network structure that best suits many rural American communities, including Northwest Arkansas. Due to the intractability of the integrated rail planning problem, we have developed a customized heuristic approach to solve …

The Effects Of Phosphorus Enrichment On Leaf Litter Stoichiometry In A Forested Stream, Bryant Baker

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The effects of nutrient (N and P) enrichment on leaf litter decomposition in streams have been investigated extensively, but few have explored how P addition alone affects leaf litter stoichiometry (namely the C:P ratio). This study examined how the P content, C:P ratio and decomposition of two types of leaf litter (the recalcitrant Quercus stellata and the more labile Acer saccharum) responded to P enrichment from nutrient diffusing substrata (NDS) which was either unenriched agar or agar enriched with a moderate or high level of P. Leaf litter was sealed in 0.05 mm mesh bags, which excluded invertebrates, housed with …

Mayas, Spirituality, And The Unfinished History Of Conflict In Guatemala [Los Mayas, La Espiritualidad Y La Historia Incompleta Del Conflicto En Guatemala], Servando Z. Hinojosa

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Maya spiritual practice in Guatemala has been actively challenged by mainstream religions and by pressures originating from other institutions. Many Maya ritualists have been directly reproached by religious leaders and have been targeted by a state apparatus that associates rural Maya life with insurgency. As a result, many Maya spiritual elements have been pushed to, and kept at, the margins of society. Focusing on the past two decades, this essay reviews how Mayas nevertheless maintain an active ritual life. They do this by engaging in a close relationship with the spirit-owners of the landscape, beings upon whom humans depend for …

Communication Crossroads: Assertiveness Pedagogy For College Writers With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Dev Bose

All Dissertations

This study seeks to explore the phenomenon of why some adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have difficulties in communicating in groups at school and work, despite the integration of collaboration within the curricula of college oral and written communication courses. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore a sample of college writers' with ADHD perceptions on difficulties with their writing, as well as to evaluate an intervention which utilized communication-based classroom scenarios. The research employed qualitative methods to investigate the phenomenon under study. Participants in the study consisted of a criterion-sampled group of 10 individuals from …

Health Beliefs And Socio-Cultural Factors That Predict Cervical Cancer Screening Behaviors Among Hispanic Women In Seven Cities In The Upstate Of South Carolina, Arelis Moore De Peralta

All Dissertations

Cervical cancer is one of the most common reproductive cancers among women in the United States. The incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer among Hispanic women in the U.S. are almost two times higher than non-Hispanic Whites. Cervical cancer screening is associated with early cervical cancer detection and, thus, with reductions in cancer morbidity and mortality. In Hispanic populations, where cancer rates are disproportionately high, it is important to conduct research that accounts for the influence of culture in health-seeking behaviors. The purpose of this study was to use the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a theoretical framework to …

An Examination Of Variables Which Influence High School Students To Enroll In An Undergraduate Engineering Or Physical Science Major, Christopher Porter

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the variables which influence a high school student to enroll in an engineering discipline versus a physical science discipline. Data was collected utilizing the High School Activities, Characteristics, and Influences Survey, which was administered to students who were freshmen in an engineering or physical science major at an institution in the Southeastern United States. A total of 413 students participated in the survey.
Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, two-sample Wilcoxon tests, and binomial logistic regression techniques. A total of 29 variables were deemed significant between the general engineering and physical …

Quantitative Analysis And Structural Characterization Of Carbonaceous Pitches, Sourabh Kulkarni

All Dissertations

Both petroleum pitches and pitches derived from pure polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are oligomeric materials that can serve as precursors for a wide variety of advanced carbon materials. The goal of this study was the structural characterization and quantitative analysis of the dominant constituent oligomers and species present in these pitches.
A key requirement for such work is the ability to fractionate these complex mixtures into samples of narrow molecular weight distribution (mol wt; MWD) that can be used as standards. To this end, semicontinuous (or semibatch) dense-gas/supercritical extraction (DGE/SCE) was used to produce monomer, dimer, and trimer fractions of …

Restoring Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris) In Loblolly Pine (P. Taeda) Stands On The Coastal Plain Of North Carolina, Huifeng Hu

All Dissertations

To support the development of silvicultural protocols for restoring longleaf pine (LLP; Pinus palustris Mill.) and its characteristic herbaceous understory in loblolly pine (LBP; P. taeda L.) stands, a three-year study was conducted on moderately well- and well-drained soils in Onslow County, North Carolina. A replicated field experiment was conducted to test the effects of selected silvicultural treatments on planted LLP seedlings, understory vegetation, and plant resources. Seven canopy treatments included four uniform canopy density treatments defined by target residual basal area [Control, MedBA (9 m2/ha), LowBA (4.5 m2/ha), and Clearcut] and three circular gap treatments defined by area [LG …

Composition And Ecophysiological Proficiency Of Tidal Freshwater Forested Wetlands: Investigating Basin, Landscape, And Microtopographic Scales, Jamie Duberstein

All Dissertations

A hierarchical approach to forest community assessment was conducted by first focusing on landscape associations to edaphic factors among major tidal freshwater forested wetland basins in the Southeast. Four general tree communities exist along coastal rivers in the southeastern United States, based on the most prominent species in each: Water Tupelo, Swamp Tupelo, Dwarf Palmetto, and Cabbage Palm. Microhabitat usage and preference by trees were then examined, both across all species and within species, as related to such factors as coast, presence on rivers with dams, tree community assemblage, relative distance from the river, specific river basin, and microsite availability. …

Community College Faculty Job Satisfaction: A Network Approach, Bonnie Smith

All Dissertations

This study addresses the question, 'how do network dynamics and leadership behavior influence community college faculty job satisfaction?' Using ORA's dynamic network analysis (DNA) tools, this study investigates how network interactions relate to faculty job satisfaction, how beliefs about leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships relate to network interactions, and how beliefs about LMX relationships relate to job satisfaction. A faculty network is analyzed as a whole, then clusters are identified and analyzed using standard network measurements and a belief propagation algorithms.
Results indicate that job satisfaction and perceptions of relationship with leaders are co-created within networks. Cluster which have high network …

Arsenic Represses Myogenesis And Neurogenesis Through Epigenetic Mechanisms, Repressed Transcription Factors, And Altered Wnt Signaling Pathway, Gia-Ming Hong

All Dissertations

Arsenic is a toxicant commonly found in water systems around the world. Evidence from epidemiological studies indicates that chronic arsenic exposure can result in cancer, central nervous system and sensory deficits, effects on development, and neuromuscular deficits. However, the molecular mechanism of arsenic's toxicity remains largely unclear. In this study, both C2C12 mouse myoblast cells and mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) were used as models of arsenic mediated developmental toxicity in humans to investigate the effects of sodium arsenite on cellular differentiation.
Results from our first and second studies indicate that exposure of 20nM sodium arsenite to C2C12 mouse myocyte …

Avoiding Engagement With 'Invisibles:' Religious Issues And The Field Of English Education, Robert Bruce

All Dissertations

This study used content analysis of selected documents representing the three dimensions of the field of English Education (curriculum, teacher preparation and development, and research) to ascertain how the field was responding to the larger societal problem that religious intolerance and ignorance pose, especially given the growing religious diversity of American society. Data from the documents were classified into four categories derived from various proposals for the incorporation of religious issues into the public school curriculum: religious literacy, religious concerns related to personal development, religious aspects of multiculturalism, and religious issues related to improved civic engagement.
The documents related to …

ú`ÒIng: From Globalization To Glocalization---What The Impacts Of Globalization On Chinese Document Design Tell Us About International Professional Communication (Note: The First Two Chinese Characters Are Not Displayed Correctly. Please See The Actual Document.), Xiaoli Li

All Dissertations

How people from different cultural backgrounds represent themselves and communicate with each other is an intriguing topic in the age of globalization. Using a grounded theory approach, this work investigates how Chinese individuals and companies introduce themselves to a global audience via resumes and annual reports.
To better understand the features of professional communication practices in China today, this work compares and contrasts current resume writing and annual report writing with those in the past, especially before Chinafs entry into the WTO, in order to understand the changes as well as the cultural contexts and cultural motives of these features. …

Development Of Novel Organic Nitrogen Nutrient Solutions With Unique Bioreactors For Precision Nutrient Fertigation, Brian Ward

All Dissertations

A fertility study conducted comparing organic nitrogen versus synthetic nitrogen on yield, quality, mineral and phyto-nutrient content of sweet corn under conventional cultural practices.

The Political Economy Of Agriculture And Food Policies In Argentina During The Xxi Century: An Empirical Estimation Of The Electoral Response At The National, Provincial, And Local Level, And Its Conceptual Relationship With Lobbying, Advocacy, And Demons, Matias Nardi

All Dissertations

The political economy of Argentina in the XX and early XXI century has been characterized by the difficulty of establishing a sustainable path of balanced and integrated development due to the social, economic, and political conflict between rural and urban, agriculture and industry, high class versus low class, Radical or Justicialist party supporters which generated stop and go cycles. This dissertation analyzes the political economy of agriculture and food policies in Argentina during the first decade of the XXI century through a conceptual framework that takes into account politics, policies, economics and social responses through voting, lobbying, advocacy and demonstrations …

Song Cycles For Soprano By Richard Pearson Thomas, Laura Faith Bateman

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Theoretical Approach To Legitimizing Collaboratively Constructed Knowledge: A Content Analysis Of Wikipedia Science Articles Based On Accidental Collaboration, James Patrick Hutchinson

Dissertations

This study involved an analysis of 147 Wikipedia science articles using content and social network analysis to explore authorial relationships between articles and test a theoretical approach to using accidental collaboration as a tool to legitimize collaboratively constructed knowledge. Contrary to Wikipedia’s tagline of “anyone can edit,” this study found that articles had a small number of prolific contributors and that these contributors had educational background and edit history suggesting they were knowledgeable about the topics to which they contributed. Results also showed that articles found via accidental collaboration tended to be scientific in nature and often had direct subject …

An Ethnography Of Early Childhood Temperament And Goodness Of Fit In The Classroom, Tiffani Sue Martin

Dissertations

A number of researchers have examined temperament as it relates to goodness of fit. Limited qualitative research however, has been conducted in this area. This study is a type of qualitative research called an ethnography with prolonged engagement occurring over a full cycle, one school year in a Kindergarten/1st grade combined classroom. The participants included the teacher and 15 of her students. The researcher’s role in the classroom was that of a participant observer as she conducted observations in the natural setting and gathered information from a number of sources including researcher field notes, teacher field notes, three teacher interviews, …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of Social Class On Career Expectations And Likelihood Of Compromise In An Adolescent Sample, Sarah Wilson

Dissertations

The current study investigated the application of classic attainment models, both direct and indirect effects, in the predication of career expectations and likelihood of compromise. The results indicated that among high school students (N=200) in grades 10-12 there is no direct effect of socio economic status (SES; as measured by parent education and occupation) on career compromise (aspirations exceeding expectations). Similarly, educational expectations are not directly related to the compromise of occupational expectations. Results of exploratory analysis suggest that career compromise is best explained by academic achievement and parent expectations. In an analysis of the process by which social class …