Digital Commons Network^™

A Study Of Best Practices For The Recruitment And Retention Of Resident Directors, Patricia L. Cendana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A resident director is an entry-level, student affairs professional staff member that resides within a college or university residence hall. The resident director provides developmental experiences for students who live in on-campus housing. The resident director interacts with students around the clock throughout the semester. Unlike other entry-level professional staff, who return to the sanctity of their home at the end of the work day, the resident director's responsibilities for the welfare of their students do not end until the semester is over and the students have moved out. Resident directors assume responsibility for insuring that all residential needs, in …

Cliff Ecology: Extent, Biota, And Recreation Of Cliff Environments In The New River Gorge, Wv, Peter W. Clark

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The New River Gorge National River (NERI) contains an extensive network of exposed cliff-forming sandstone units, the most extensive in West Virginia and possibly within the entire Appalachian range. These cliff resources are critical to NERI's national significance, and contain specialized and potentially rare plant communities (Vanderhorst 2001; Mahan 2004; Vanderhorst, Jeuck, and Gawler 2007). This project investigates the spatial distribution of cliffs, associated plant (vascular and non-vascular) and lichen communities, and the impacts to cliff environments caused by recreational rock climbing.;Using LiDAR in a GIS, we mapped all cliffs in the northern extent of NERI, from Keeney's Creek to …

Responses To Predator Recognition Odors In Marmorkrebs, Loren Samantha Beard

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Marmorkrebs is a parthenogenetic crayfish with no indigenous populations. They have been introduced in several countries and could become an invasive species. Individuals introduced in Germany had longer, sharper spines, suggesting an adaptation to predators via developmental plasticity. This was tested by exposing juveniles to the odor of a fish during development and comparing them to controls. Subsequent spine length or sharpness did not differ. Other crayfish detect predators via an alarm cue, hemolymph, and exhibit avoidant behavior in response. I hypothesized that Marmorkrebs would also treat hemolymph as an alarm cue. The behavior of adult crayfish exposed to food, …

Measuring The Impact Of Narrative On Player's Presence And Immersion In A First Person Game Environment, Raul Huerta

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In the virtual environments (VE) literature, presence has been described as the feeling whereby an individual feels as if he or she is actually in the VE. In the videogame literature, the related concept of immersion is viewed as an effect facilitating player engagement. This thesis examines how narrative and graphics quality influence presence and immersion in a first person game. Three levels of narrative and graphics quality are used in an empirical study: text narrative with high quality graphics, no text narrative with high quality graphics, and no text narrative with low quality graphics. Results showed that there is …

African Slavery In Colonial Veracruz: The Factors That Aided Its Creation And Expansion, Veronica Nohemi Duran

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The focal point of this study is to prove that it was the simultaneous presence of five factors during the 16th and 17th centuries that allowed African enslavement in Veracruz to expand. I built upon previous works and authors to support my claim that it was the decline in native population, economic profits, religious apathy on the subject, social acceptance and government support that pushed for the systems creation and expansion. By discussing each of these factors in a chapter of their own, I concluded that in an almost cause and effect manner these factors are responsible for the expansion …

Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Effectiveness Of Metallic Thin Films Deposited On High Density Polyethylene And Styrene Butadiene Copolymer Reinforced With Carbon Nanofibers, Horus Garcia

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Aluminum, Copper and Silver were deposited by thermal evaporation onto Vapor Grown Carbon Nanofiber (VGCNF) reinforced High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Styrene Butadiene Copolymer (SBC) composites. Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Effectiveness (EMI SE) was conducted on the structures to analyze the synergistic effect. Characterization was performed by Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray Diffraction, and Atomic Force Microscopy. Adhesion test and surface influence on SE were also performed. It was observed that a single layer metallic thin film on carbon nanofiber (CNF) polymer composite experienced a summation of shielding performance. The EMI SE increased with CNF content increase of 10, 15, and 20 …

Comparisons Of Emotional Reactivity In Two Variations Of Schedules Of Reinforcement, Mayra A. Aguillon

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which the frequency of behavior is affected by its consequences (Powell, Symbaluk & Honey 2009).The main focus of the study was to compare two different schedules of reinforcement: gradual group versus the abrupt group (FI-20 sec).Both groups were used to observe emotional reactivity in 8 Sprague Dawley female rats from the Behavioral Neuroscience lab at UTPA. The hypothesis presented was that animals will reveal less emotional reactivity in the gradual than in the abrupt. According to Skinner, behavior is affected more by the consequence that is followed. Results suggested that the abrupt …

Microwave-Induced Bismuth Nitrate-Catalyzed Multicomponent Reaction Toward Heterocycles, Ashwini Bobbala

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The microwave-induced reaction for the synthesis of nitrogen containing heterocyclesis very important in medicinal chemistry. The synthesis of various other valuable compounds is also done by employing this reaction. The aza Diels-Alder reaction is one of the most powerful synthetic tools for the synthesis of nitrogen containing heterocycles. The main goal of the research is to synthesize the nitrogen containing heterocycles using Bismuth nitrate as the catalyst in the presence of microwave irradiation. In the present study we explore the catalytic activity of bismuth nitrate and the role of microwave reactor in the synthesis of 2, 3-diaryl substituted bicyclic octanone …

Bmp Efficiency In An Institutional Area: Minimizing The Impacts Of Water Pollution Using A Stormceptor For Water Quality Improvement, Jameieka Price

Multidisciplinary Studies Theses

Urbanization can negatively impact water quality due to increasing impervious surfaces, which ultimately increases the hydrologic and contaminant load during rain events. Stormwater runoff contains high concentrations of contaminants that accumulate on the impervious surfaces and discharge into local water bodies, affecting aquatic life, recreational usages, aesthetic appearance, and possibly drinking water supply. Best Management Practices (BMPs) are important to minimizing and reducing the amount of water pollution that is found in stormwater runoff. Buffalo State Campus (BSC) is in an urbanized area and currently holds a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit to control stormwater runoff by implementing …

Tips For Beginning A Livestock Project: Market Hogs, Nicole Jensen, Paul Hill, Kevin Heaton, Alyssa O'Toole

All Current Publications

The 4-H junior livestock program develops life skills in thousands of youth across Utah.

Tips For Beginning A Livestock Project: Market Lambs, Kevin Heaton, Nicole Jensen

All Current Publications

The 4-H junior livestock program develops life skills in thousands of youth across Utah. Youth gain confidence and responsibility as they feed and care for quality animals in preparation for exhibition and marketing of their project.

Tips For Beginning A Livestock Project: Market Steers, Paul Hill, Alyssa O'Toole, Kevin Heaton

All Current Publications

The 4-H junior livestock program develops life skills in thousands of youth across Utah. Youth gain confidence and responsibility as they feed and care for quality animals in preparation for exhibition and marketing of their project.

Bones In The Landfill: A Zooarchaeological Study From Faneuil Hall, Linda M. Santoro

Graduate Masters Theses

Using data from recent archaeological excavations at Faneuil Hall in Boston, this thesis examines how an 18th-century urban landfill context can be used towards understanding the broader foodways of a city community. Much of today's urban landscape has been artificially created over time, often through the efforts of communities to fill land and dispose of their garbage, and it is important for archaeologists to utilize these contexts in meaningful ways. The Town Dock was gradually filled in with the daily trash of the merchants, shop-keepers, and other residents of the nearby community, and the faunal assemblage gives us a glimpse …

Independent Component Analysis Of Event-Related Electroencephalography During Speech And Non-Speech Discrimination: : Implications For The Sensorimotor ∆∞ Rhythm In Speech Processing, Andrew Lee Bowers

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Background: The functional significance of sensorimotor integration in acoustic speech processing is unclear despite more than three decades of neuroimaging research. Constructivist theories have long speculated that listeners make predictions about articulatory goals functioning to weight sensory analysis toward expected acoustic features (e.g. analysis-by-synthesis; internal models). Direct-realist accounts posit that sensorimotor integration is achieved via a direct match between incoming acoustic cues and articulatory gestures. A method capable of favoring one account over the other requires an ongoing, high-temporal resolution measure of sensorimotor cortical activity prior to and following acoustic input. Although scalp-recorded electroencephalography (EEG) provides a measure of cortical …

Gallium Containing Glass Polyalkenoate Anti-Cancerous Bone Cements: Glass Characterization And Physical Properties, A. W. Wren, A. Coughlan, L. Placek, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A gallium (Ga) glass series (0.48SiO₂-0.40ZnO-0.12CaO, with 0.08 mol% substitution for ZnO) was developed to formulate a Ga-containing Glass Polyalkenoate Cement (GPC) series. Network connectivity (NC) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was employed to investigate the role of Ga³⁺ in the glass, where it is assumed to act as a network modifier. Ga-GPC series was formulated with E9 and E11 polyacrylic acid (PAA) at 50, 55 and 60 wt% additions. E11 working times (T_w) ranged from 68 to 96 s (Lcon.) and 106 s for the Ga-GPCs (LGa-1 and LGa-2). Setting times (T_s) …

Reference In Udi Narrative Discourse, Catherine Macleod

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines concepts of reference assignment as seen in a written collection of narrative texts from Udi, a Caucasian language from the Lezgian family. This study explores the linguistic factors that affect reference assignment in Udi narrative in terms of participants, props and time and locative phrases.

Reference assignment incorporates reference forms such as nouns, noun phrases, proper names and pronouns. All of these features aid in building the mental representation of the texts in the mind of the reader. Surface-level linguistic factors, such as cohesion, coherence, backgrounding, foregrounding and focus also interact with reference forms.

This paper incorporates …

Propranolol Reduces Implicit Negative Racial Bias, S Terbeck, G Kahane, S Mctavish, Et Al

School of Psychology

Background Implicit negative attitudes towards other races are important in certain kinds of prejudicial social behaviour. Emotional mechanisms are thought to be involved in mediating implicit “outgroup” bias but there is little evidence concerning the underlying neurobiology. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of noradrenergic mechanisms in the generation of implicit racial attitudes. Methods Healthy volunteers (n = 36) of white ethnic origin, received a single oral dose of the β-adrenoceptor antagonist, propranolol (40 mg), in a randomised, double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled, design. Participants completed an explicit measure of prejudice and the racial implicit association …

Rancher Adoption Potential Of The Birdsfoot Trefoil Pasture Beef Production System In The Intermountain West, Kynda Curtis, Zhao Ma, Jennifer Macadam, Voravee Chakreeyarat

All Current Publications

Beef cattle raised in the western United States spend the majority of their life on rangeland or pasture, eating grasses and forbs, followed by three to four months in a feedlot eating a combination of grain and hay to reach target weight (Norwak 1991).

Gaming Your Mathematics Course: The Theory And Practice Of Games For Learning, Kathleen H. Offenholley

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Learning through play is fundamental to humans and to many other animals. Game Based Learning is an interactive pedagogy that has as its foundation the tenet that games, by their very nature, increase learning through positive emotional experience. This article introduces readers to what games in mathematics classes have the potential to do, including to decrease anxiety, increase motivation, and deepen learning through immersive gaming. The article then connects this theory to practice, providing examples of both computer and non-computer games in introductory middle school, high school and college mathematics. The article analyses how these games work, and makes the …

Victorian Sages, Kathy Alexis Psomiades

Criticism

Darwin and the Memory of the Human: Evolution, Savages, and South America by Cannon Schmitt. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Pp. 260, 5 illustrations.$90.00 cloth.)

Book Reviews, Criticism Editors

Criticism

The Political Vision of the "Divine Comedy" (Joan M. Ferrante) (Reviewed by Richard H. Lansing, Brandeis Univeresity)

Detours of Desire; Readings in the French Baroque (Mitchell Greenburg) (Reviewed by Michael Giordano, Wayne State University)

Subversive Genealogy: The Politics and Art of Herman Melville (Michael Paul Rogin) (Reviewed by John Franzosa, Wayne State University)

On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection (Susan Stewart) (Reviewed by Herman Rapaport, University of Iowa)

Erring: A Postmodern A/theology (Mark. C. Taylor) (Reviewed by Geoffrey Galt Harpham, Brandeis Univeresity)

Book Reviews, Criticism Editors

Criticism

Discourses of Desire: Gender, Genre, and Epistolary Fictions (Linda S. Kauffman) (Reviewed by Shari Benstock, University of Miami)

The Old French Fabliaux (Charles Muscatine) (Reviewed by Mary Jane Schenck, University of Tampa)

Imagining the Penitentiary: Fiction and the Architecture of Mind in Eighteenth Century England (John Bender) (Reviewed by Simon Varey, University of California, Los Angeles)

Book Reviews, Criticism Editors

Criticism

Derrida and the Economy of Différance (Irene Harvey) (Reviewed by Christopher Norris, University of Wales)

The City Staged: Jacobean Comedy, 1603-1613 (Theodore B. Leinwand) (Reviewed by Richard C. McCoy, Queens College, CUNY)

Romanticism and Language (Arden Reed) (Reviewed by Michael Scrivner, Wayne State University)

American Incarnation: The Individual, the Nation, and the Continent (Myra Jehlen) (Reviewed by Michael Rogin, University of California, Berkeley)

Book Reviews, Criticism Editors

Criticism

Romanticism and Contemporary Criticism (Morris Eaves and Michael Fischer) (Reviewed by Marcel Cornis-Pop, University of Northern Iowa)

Contemporary Literary Criticism: Modernism Through Post-Structuralism (Robert Con Davis) (Reviewed by Thomas McLaughlin, Appalachian State University)

Therapeutic Effects Of Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily 25 (Tnfrsf25)-Mediated Expansion Of T-Regulatory Cells In Allergic Lung Inflammation And Airway Remodeling, Matthew Tsai

Open Access Dissertations

Chronic allergic lung inflammation results in airway remodeling and permanent structural changes. Here we show that administration of agonists to TNF receptor super family 25 (TNFRSF25) in vivo causes expansion of natural and allergen-specific CD4+FoxP3+ regulatory T-cells (Tregs), which can prevent allergic lung immunopathology in the acute setting, and if administered during chronic allergic lung inflammation, inhibits inflammation and reverses airway remodeling. TNFRSF25-expanded Tregs reduced eosinophilia in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, reduced expression of T-helper type-2 (Th2) cytokines and blunted allergen-specific Th2 effector responses. Previously established chronic airway remodeling, as measured by goblet cell hyperplasia and subepithelial collagen deposition, was …

Topographic Reconstruction Through A Wavy Interface Using A Structure Light Technique, Amin Sarafraz

Open Access Dissertations

Three dimensional (3D) surface imaging has been an active area of research for decades and has reached a stage of maturity, thanks to digital cameras and ever-increasing computational power. Its utilization in science and technology is rapidly growing due to its potentials in civil engineering, mapping, structural monitoring and inspection, archaeology, and cultural heritage documentation, to name a few. In this research we will focus on development of a 3D surface imaging technique for applications in a special environment in civil engineering, i.e. underwater. Some of the most important methods of 3D surface imaging are based on the use of …

Herbivore Pressure Increases Toward The Equator, Robert Marquis, Diego Salazar

Biology Department Faculty Works

Increases in species diversity and density from higher to lower latitudes are well documented. Nevertheless, the consequences of these changes in diversity for structuring ecological communities and influencing biotic evolution are largely unknown. It is widely believed that this increase in species diversity is associated with increased intensity of ecological interactions closer to the equator. For plant–herbivore interactions in particular, the predictions are that, at lower latitudes, plants will be attacked by more individual herbivores, more herbivore species, and more specialized herbivores and, therefore, will suffer greater damage. We used a large-scale latitudinal transect from Mexico to Bolivia to quantify …

Regulation Of Mirna Abundance By Rna Binding Protein Tough In Arabidopsis, Guodong Ren, Meng Xie, Yongchao Dou, Shuxin Zhang, Chi Zhang, Bin Yu

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regulators of gene expression in plants and animals. The biogenesis of miRNAs is precisely controlled to secure normal development of organisms. Here we report that TOUGH (TGH) is a component of the DCL1–HYL1–SERRATE complex that processes primary transcripts of miRNAs [i.e., primary miRNAs (pri-miRNAs)] into miRNAs in Arabidopsis. Lack of TGH impairs multiple DCL activities in vitro and reduces the accumulation of miRNAs and siRNAs in vivo. TGH is an RNA-binding protein, binds pri-miRNAs and precursor miRNAs in vivo, and contributes to pri-miRNA–HYL1 interaction. These results indicate that TGH might regulate abundance of miRNAs through promoting DCL1 …

Ulrich V. Bach Appellant's Brief Dckt. 39318

Idaho Supreme Court Records & Briefs, All

No abstract provided.

Channel Catfish Population Dynamics, Abundance Estimates, And Short-Term Trends In The Platte River, Nebraska, Aaron J. Blank

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Fishing for channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is popular in Nebraska and channel catfish are the most sought after fish species in the Platte River. Anglers on the Platte River are also harvest oriented. Little is known about the effects anglers have on channel catfish population dynamics in the lower Platte River. The goal of this study was to determine if there were effects of angling on channel catfish at two high use fishing areas in the lower Platte River. My first objective was to evaluate differences in relative abundance, size structure, condition, age structure, growth, and mortality between …