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2012

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Effects Of Language Proficiency And Task Type On Executive Function And Working Memory Performance In Bilingual Adults, Laxmi N. Lalwani Jan 2012

Effects Of Language Proficiency And Task Type On Executive Function And Working Memory Performance In Bilingual Adults, Laxmi N. Lalwani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Research shows that bilingualism confers substantial cognitive benefits in children and the elderly. Bilingual advantages on nonverbal working memory, updating, shifting and inhibition tasks are widely reported. However, advantages are not always observed in young adults. These disparities may be due to varied proficiency levels and task types (verbal versus nonverbal) administered. This study sought to detect bilingual performance advantages on executive function and working memory tasks (verbal and nonverbal working memory, updating, shifting and inhibition tasks) between groups of 37 high and 37 low proficiency Spanish-English bilingual and 40 English monolingual young adults. ... Young adulthood may represent a …

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Experiences And Perceptions As Expressed By Adolescent Females At A Residential Treatment Center (Rtc), Krista D. Allison Jan 2012

Experiences And Perceptions As Expressed By Adolescent Females At A Residential Treatment Center (Rtc), Krista D. Allison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This is a qualitative study examining the experience of students currently enrolled in Steppin' Stone Farm, a residential treatment center in central Florida. In addition to building a more solid foundation of literature in this field, this study investigates at-risk teenage female residents' perceptions of educational experiences within a residential treatment environment. The relationship between formal, informal, and non-informal experiences, preferred learning strategies, and success patterns were explored. This phenomenological study utilized a lens of critical theory to understand the meaning of girls' educational experiences at a residential treatment center. The design includes studying 16 girls' formal, non-formal, and informal …

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Exploring Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Development In Virtual Learning Teams, Courtney Paschal Purnell Jan 2012

Exploring Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Development In Virtual Learning Teams, Courtney Paschal Purnell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The demand for virtual education is rapidly increasing due to the proliferation of legislation demanding class size limitations, funding cuts, and school choice across the United States. Virtual education leaders are discovering new ways to enhance and develop teachers to become more efficient and increase quality of learning online. Learning teams are one tool implemented by professional development departments in order to obtain a community of shared best practices and increase professional learning for teachers. ... The purpose of this exploratory case study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of the contribution of virtual learning teams to their professional development in …

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Extraction Optimization And Determination Of The Absolute Configuartion Of Clathric Acid, De Leon Rolando Rueda Jan 2012

Extraction Optimization And Determination Of The Absolute Configuartion Of Clathric Acid, De Leon Rolando Rueda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Current research in natural products has heavily focused on the identification of potent biologically active compounds, specifically for drug development. The project detailed in this thesis focuses on the extraction of compounds from marine invertebrates as well as defining the absolute configuration for a compound. Utilizing marine invertebrates, the sonications method developed in this thesis provides an alternative approach to rapidly extract compounds for primary screening. This method is viable compared to a traditional overnight extraction method, without suffering compound degredation... Previously, clathric acid was isolated from an unknown Clathria sp. This compound is a bibyblic C-21 terpenoid shown to …

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Family Resiliency, Family Needs And Community Re-Integration In Persons With Brain Injury, Julianne Agonis Jan 2012

Family Resiliency, Family Needs And Community Re-Integration In Persons With Brain Injury, Julianne Agonis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a disability resulting in functional impairments and heightened dependence on others. Family members of persons with TBI can assume added responsibilities during the adjustment to the disability and rehabilitation process, placing strain on the family system. Community re-integration is a primary goal of the rehabilitation process for persons with TBI as this is a step in developing autonomy and promoting independence and productive activity throughout different areas of the person's life (e.g., work, social networks, and home life). This study was designed to examine predictors of community re-integration outcomes of TBI survivors and empirically test …

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Fight For Education, Fight For Freedom, Samantha. Messinger Jan 2012

Fight For Education, Fight For Freedom, Samantha. Messinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The three novels examined in this thesis do not deal with the subject of slavery directly; however, I argue that, much like slave narratives, they all depict oppressive master/slave relationships and feature protagonists who fight for freedom through literacy and/or education. This thesis outlines three contemporary novels that take place during or after the Civil Rights Movement, what I call "freedom narratives," that not only signify on, but pay tribute to, the slave and neo-slave narrative tradition. These novels borrow from the tradition, not only in terms of structure, but also in terms of plot, point of view, theme, and …

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Fractal Analysis Applied To Ancient Egyptian Monumental Art, Jessica. Robkin Jan 2012

Fractal Analysis Applied To Ancient Egyptian Monumental Art, Jessica. Robkin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The study of ancient Egyptian monumental art is based on subjective and qualitative analyses by art historians and Egyptologists who use the change in stylistic trends as Dynastic chronological markers. The art of the ancient Egyptians is recognized the world over due to its specific and consistent style that lasted the whole of Dynastic Egypt. This artwork exhibits fractal qualities that support the applicability of applying fractal analysis as a quantitative and statistical tool to be used in this field. In this thesis, I show the fractality of ancient Egyptian monumental art by analyzing black and white line drawings of …

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Functional Constraints On Young Children's Object Problem Solving, Sarah Bidmead Jan 2012

Functional Constraints On Young Children's Object Problem Solving, Sarah Bidmead

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Although some research has suggested that very young children are "immune" to functional fixedness (FF), other work has shown that young children form robust associations between objects and their prescribed functions. Across two studies, I investigated (a) the developmental trajectory of FF and (b) its relationship with executive function components (inhibitory control and working memory) in 3- to 6-year old children. Both older and younger children experience FF, but older children use familiar tools more flexibly than younger children (3- and 4-year olds). Furthermore, inhibitory control was related to overcoming FF, indicating that it may be an important cognitive capacity …

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Gad 65 And Its Role In Pancreatic Tissue Survival, Neeta. Kumari Jan 2012

Gad 65 And Its Role In Pancreatic Tissue Survival, Neeta. Kumari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

We employed three genotypes of GAD 65, wildtype (GAD 65 +/+), heterozygous (GAD 65 +/-) and knockout (GAD 65 -/-) to investigate the role of GAD 65 in survival of pancreatic islets. We analyzed the mRNA expression of pro-survival proteins including Bcl2 and Bax in pancreas of wildtype, heterozygous and knockout using Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR). The level of expression of Bcl2 mRNA was down regulated in knockout mice pancreas and Bax to Bcl2 ratio was found higher in knockout mice pancreas suggesting higher cell death rate. However, further studies are required to recognize and understand the specific …

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Gaze To Discover, Tabitha. Pennekamp Jan 2012

Gaze To Discover, Tabitha. Pennekamp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Gaze to discover is the approach a viewer should take as s/he encounters the work within this exhibition. The main idea is that the work should be interactive. Developing this interaction is the objective of each piece. To engage viewers to interact with a piece of art coincides with the ability to acquire their undivided attention. The realization that it is difficult for a viewer to have a tangible interaction with artwork in a gallery setting leads to asking the viewer to interact visually, "to look fixedly" - to gaze (Webster's Dictionary). Gazing at the work will direct the viewer …

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Gendered Images Of Expertise, Leadership And Virture, Robin Lynn Larson Jan 2012

Gendered Images Of Expertise, Leadership And Virture, Robin Lynn Larson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In this dissertation, a theoretical framework is developed from Camilla Stivers' (2002) argument that images of expertise, leadership and virtue are used to defend public administration's legitimacy in the face of criticisms about the inefficiencies of government and the power wielded by bureaucrats. Stivers argues that these legitimizing and traditional images have historical and cultural roots in ideas associated with masculinity, and that this harms women in the public sector. The realm of policing faced similar criticisms and defended its legitimacy by altering practices, the day-to-day actions of police practitioners. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the possibility …

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Generating Narratives, Samuel. Greene Jan 2012

Generating Narratives, Samuel. Greene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In order to facilitate the development, discussion, and advancement of the relatively new subfield of Artificial Intelligence focused on generating narrative content, the author has developed a pattern language for generating narratives, along with a new categorization framework for narrative generation systems. An emphasis and focus is placed on generating the Fabula of the story (the ordered sequence of events that make up the plot). Approaches to narrative generation are classified into one of three categories, and a pattern is presented for each approach. Enhancement patterns that can be used in conjunction with one of the core patterns are also …

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Habitat Location And Selection By The Sargassum Crab Portunus Sayi, Lorin E. West Jan 2012

Habitat Location And Selection By The Sargassum Crab Portunus Sayi, Lorin E. West

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The Sargassum community consists of a unique and idverse assemblage of fauna critical to pelagic food chains. Associated organisms presumably have adaptations to assist in finding Sargassum. This study investigated cues used for habitat location and selection by the Sargassum crab, Portunus sayi. Chemical detection trials were conducted with a two-chamber choice apparatus with Sargassum spp. and Thalassia testudinum as source odors. Visual detection trials (devoid of chemical cues) and habitat selection trials were conducted in which crabs were given a choice of habitats. Results showed that P. sayi respoded to chemical odors from Sargassum spp. Crabs visually located habitats …

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High Summer, Martinez Michelle Hasler Jan 2012

High Summer, Martinez Michelle Hasler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

High Summer is a manuscript-length compilation of narrative science essays that trace the relationship the narrator has with her father. These essays focus on the ongoing presence of drugs, their historical basis, and their pharmacological effects on the body.

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Historical And Analytical Overviews On Dmitri Shostakovich's Twenty-Four Preludes And Fugues, Jihong. Park Jan 2012

Historical And Analytical Overviews On Dmitri Shostakovich's Twenty-Four Preludes And Fugues, Jihong. Park

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The goal of this research is to discover Shostakovich's inspiration and motivation for writing the Twenty-Four Preludes and Fugues. Through the in-depth research of the cycle, this thesis will discuss the different aspects of the unique harmonic ambiguity of both the preludes and the fugue subjects so that readers understand Shostakovich's language of musical communication. Shostakovich lived during a transitional period in the history of Russia when totalitarianism was being challenged. The research will also explore how the political environment influenced his composition during those years.

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Home On The Range, Bethany. Augliere Jan 2012

Home On The Range, Bethany. Augliere

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

I examined summer home range use of Altantic spotted dolphins in the Bahamas from 1991-2004. Home ranges for 86 dolphins using the 95% Fixed Kernel Density (FKD) estimator averages 62.o km2+=22.96 km2 and ranged from 24.8 km2 to 148.4 km2. Older animals and males had the largest ranges. Home range size did not vary with female reproductive status. core areas were defined by the 50% FKD contour and averaged 10.32 km2 +=5.47 km2. Habitat use was different between reproductive states for females. Non-reproductively active (NRA) females used deeped habitat. Behavioral use of the home range varied spatially. The core area …

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Hominin Endocast Topography, Melissa. Boas Jan 2012

Hominin Endocast Topography, Melissa. Boas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This study examined the topography of prefrontal molds of human endocasts using three-dimensional laser scanning and geographic information systems (GIS) in order to carry out intra-species comparisons. Overall brain topography can indicate when major reorganizational shifts in brain structure happened in our evolutionalry history, and these shifts may indicate major shifts in cognition and behavior. Endocasts are one of the sole sources of information about extinct hominin brains ; they reproduce details of the brain's external morphology. Analysis of endocast morphology has never been done using GIS methodology. The use of GIS helps to overcome previous obstacles in regards to …

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Hope On The Horizon, Valorie. Ebert Jan 2012

Hope On The Horizon, Valorie. Ebert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This project considers the future, and the hope for humanity within three dystopian science fiction works : Mordecai Roshwald's Level 7, Cordwainer Smith's "The Dead Lady of Clown Town," and James Tiptree, Jr.,'s "The GIrl Who Was Plugged In". There are many aspects and different manifestations of hope in science fiction, even in authors who show readers the darkest side of human nature and what will become of humans, and by default earth, if an effort is not made to change the world's direction. Though some dystopian stories show horrible possible futures, there is an underlying hope within these stories …

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Housing Identity, Stephanie Derisi Jan 2012

Housing Identity, Stephanie Derisi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis represents a study of The Years by Virginia Woolf and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Both novels attempt to redefine the role of women in patriarchal society during the 1930s. The domestic role women had to fill within a masculine household constrained their ability to form an independent "self," apart from fathers and husbands. I argue that these novels articulate the possibility for women to access an independent self by examining the meaning behind domestic objects in and of the house. Lucy Irigaray asserts that women were, and still are, associated with being valued as a desirable "commodity". …

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Humdrum Aha!, Dana Odwazny Pell Jan 2012

Humdrum Aha!, Dana Odwazny Pell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Following the work of Sara Houghton-Walker and Edward Strickland, this thesis theorizes the "mundane sublime" as encountered in romanticist John Clare's poetry. Instead of being oriented upward, as with Longinus's elevatory sublime, Clare's mundane sublime brings the subject downward to earth. While the sublime of the Burkean tradition begins with terror, I claim that the mundane sublime emerges out of love for that which is commonplace. Still revelatory, it may be further characterized by an engagement with ecosystems, eternity, divinity, and nature as a whole. Clare's style scaffolds images resulting in a profusion of detail that arrests the mind and …

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Hybrid Model For Optimization Of Cost Operations For A University Transit Service, Palomo Alicia Benazir Portal Jan 2012

Hybrid Model For Optimization Of Cost Operations For A University Transit Service, Palomo Alicia Benazir Portal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The demand on transportation infrastructure is dramatically increasing due to population growth causing the transportation systems to be pushed to their limits. With the projected population growth, not only for the U.S. but especially for the higher education field, university campuses are of great importance for transportation engineers. Urban univeristy campuses are considered major trip generators and with the population forecast many challenges are bound to arise. The implementation of an improved transit system provides a lower-cost solution to the continuously increasing congestion problems in university campus road networks and surrounding areas. This paper presents a methodology focused on the …

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Hypoxia-Regulated Glial Cell-Specific Gene Therapy To Treat Retinal Neovascularization, Manas Ranjan Biswal Jan 2012

Hypoxia-Regulated Glial Cell-Specific Gene Therapy To Treat Retinal Neovascularization, Manas Ranjan Biswal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Diabetic retinopathy is an ischemic retinal neovascular disease causing vision loss among adults. The studies presented involve the design and testing of a gene therapy vector to inhibit retinal revascularization, similar to that found in diabetic retinopathy. Gene therapy has proven to be an effective method to introduce therapeutic proteins to treat retinal diseases. Targeting a specific cell type and expression of therapeutic proteins according to the tissue microenvironment should have an advantage over traditional gene therapy by avoiding unwanted transgene expression. Hypoxia plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of many retinal ischemic diseases. Retinal Mèuller cells provide structural …

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Impact Of Satisfaction With Care And Empowerment On Glycemic Control Among Older African American Adults With Diabetes, Bridgette M. Johnson Jan 2012

Impact Of Satisfaction With Care And Empowerment On Glycemic Control Among Older African American Adults With Diabetes, Bridgette M. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

atisfaction with diabetes care, perceived feelings of empowerment to participate in self-care management, and glycemic control in a sample of older African American men and women with diabetes. A descriptive correlational quantitative design was used. The participants in this study were 73 men and women of African descent who were at least 50 years, English speaking, and diagnosed with diabetes for at least one year. The participants were asked to complete three survey instruments: the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire-18 (PSQ-18), which measured how satisfied the participants were with their medical care; the Diabetes Empowerment Scale-Short Form (DES-SF), which measured attitudes towards …

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Impacts Of Queue Jumpers And Transit Signal Priority On Bus Rapid Transit, R.M. Zahid Reza Jan 2012

Impacts Of Queue Jumpers And Transit Signal Priority On Bus Rapid Transit, R.M. Zahid Reza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Exclusive bus lanes and the Transit Signal Priority are often not effective in saturated peak-traffic conditions. An alternative way of providing priority for transit can be queue jumpers, which allows buses to bypass and then cut out in front of waiting queue by getting an early green signal. Utah Transit authority deployed Bus Rapid Transit system at Salt Lake County, Utah along W 3500 S. This research evaluates the impacts of queue jumpers with TSP on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and private vehicular traffic. Four VISSIM models were developed for analysis : Basic scenario, no TSP with queue jumpers, TSP …

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Information-Theoretics Based Technoeconomic Growth Models, Raef Rashad Yassin Jan 2012

Information-Theoretics Based Technoeconomic Growth Models, Raef Rashad Yassin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This research is concerned with algorithmic representation of technoeconomic growth concerning modern and next-generation telecommunications including the Internet service. The goal of this study thereof is to emphasize efforts to establish the associated forecasting and, the envisioned tasks thereof include : (i) Reviewing the technoeconomic considerations prevailing in telecommunication (telco) service industry and their implicating features; (ii) studying relevant aspects of underlying complex system evolution (akin to biological systems), (iii) pursuant co-evolution modeling of competitive business structures using dichotomous (flip-flop) states as seen in predator evolutions ; (iv) conceiving a novel algorithm based on information-theoretic principles toward technoeconomic forecasting on …

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Interpretation Of Forced And Unforced Choice Behavior, Brian. Vail Jan 2012

Interpretation Of Forced And Unforced Choice Behavior, Brian. Vail

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The current study investigated the interpretation of an agent's actions under the influence of external forces. Participants viewed a series of videos of an agent making a varying series of decisions and forced behaviors and were asked to predict future behavior. Firstly, we found evidence that suggests that perceivers make inferences about an agent that once they have shown a preference toward an object, they will persist with those initial desires, despite, external forces leading them to a different object. Secondly, we found evidence that suggests that submitting to a coerced choice will be perceived as reflecting a conflicting combination …

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Patterns For Secure Interactions In Social Networks In Web 2.0, Carolina Marin Jan 2012

Patterns For Secure Interactions In Social Networks In Web 2.0, Carolina Marin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

A social network is a structure of individuals and organizations, which are connected by one or more types of interdependency, such as friendship, affinity, common interests or knowledge. Social networks use Web 2.0 technology, which is mostly based on a service-oriented architecture. We are studying patterns for social networks in this environment. A pattern is an encapsulated solution to a software problem in a given context, secure threats are possible in this context. We present a collection of patterns associated with the most important aspects of social networks, with emphasis on controlling the actions of the users of these networks.

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Psychophysiological Measures Of Aggression And Victimization In Early Adolescence, Christopher D. Aults Jan 2012

Psychophysiological Measures Of Aggression And Victimization In Early Adolescence, Christopher D. Aults

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Many cardiovascular psychophysiological studies have found evidence of lower arousal states in aggressive individuals and hyper-arousal states in individuals exposed to chronic stress. However, most of these studies have relied on clinical diagnoses or self-reports to identify aggressive and victimized individuals. The present study used peer nominations to identify aggressive, victimized, and non-aggressive or victimized adolescents (mean age = 12.09 yrs.) to examine if any psychophysiological differences exist during resting and startle conditions. ANOVAs revealed that high aggressive/low victimized adolescents had a lower resting heart period/rate compared to high victimized/low aggressive adolescents. Further analyses revealed a statistical trend of lower …

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Principals' Knowledge Of Special Education Policies And Procedures, Lindsay. Jesteadt Jan 2012

Principals' Knowledge Of Special Education Policies And Procedures, Lindsay. Jesteadt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Research has shown that most school leaders lack the knowledge necessary to deal with the many different aspects and issues that special education programs encompass. This lack of knowledge ultimately places special education teachers, programs, and students with disabilities at a clear disadvantage. With The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 and the reauthorization of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) in 2004, schools and school leaders are being held accountable for the learning gains of all students, including students with disabilities. This study sought to assess the knowledge of Florida school principals in the area …

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Preliminary Typology Of Aztec Formal Chipped Stone Tools, Timothy J. Guyah Jan 2012

Preliminary Typology Of Aztec Formal Chipped Stone Tools, Timothy J. Guyah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This preliminary typology of Aztec formal chipped stone tools was created taking into account the context in which the lithics were recovered, their morphology, and manufacturing processes. The typology defines six categories of stone tools: ornately decorated bifaces (this includes ceremonial lithic artifacts), projectile points, scrapers, perforators, denticulates, and other. The thesis also includes an analysis of 10 previously unanalyzed Aztec lithic assemblages. When taken together the typology and lithic analysis provide a summary description of the Aztec lithic industry.

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