Digital Commons Network^™

Spatial Discrimination In The Virtual Morris Water Task: The Influence Of View Similarity, Daniel Barto

Psychology ETDs

Previous research in the Morris Water Task (MWT) and Virtual Morris Water Task (VMWT) examined how distal cues, or cues placed outside the pool, enabled an organism to orient themselves to navigate towards the hidden platform (Kolb & Whishaw, 2009). Recently Cheng and colleagues (2008) have created a model that predicts navigational performance based upon the similarity of views of the distal cues encountered within an environment. This model has successfully predicted performance for rats and simulated agents within a rectangular environment. The present study evaluates the view based similarity model with human subjects in the context of the VMWT. …

The Psychology Of The Supreme Court: Modeling Judicial Semantics From Written Opinions, Anne Lippert

Psychology ETDs

The construction of knowledge networks from text is a novel way to study the cognitive organization of domain specific content. This dissertation evaluated the application of knowledge networks to legal text. Text analysis methods were used to transform text from 8,014 Supreme Court opinions into matrix data suitable for the construction of knowledge networks known as SCOD networks (Supreme Court Opinion Derived networks). Four specific hypotheses were then tested to better understand the meaningfulness and validity of SCOD networks. The first hypothesis considered differences between SCOD networks and random networks. The remaining hypotheses considered the ability of SCOD networks to …

Apocalyptic Expectations Among The Followers Of Pope Benedict Xiii (R. 1394—1423): Ms 940 Of The Trivulziana Library In Milan, Italy, Taylor Aaron

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

In 1420 an anonymous follower of Pope Benedict XIII (r. 1394—1423) compiled a group of forty prophecies regarding his belief in the imminent arrival of the Antichrist entitled Las señales que serán quando el Anticristo verná a reynar. Although most scholars of apocalyptic literature during the Great Western Schism (1378—1417) conclude their studies with the Council of Constance and the election of Pope Martin V in 1417, this study demonstrates that apocalyptic thought evolved quickly among the dwindling supporters of Pope Benedict XIII. By examining the social, historical and literary context of Las señales, this dissertation sheds light on the …

Una Perspectiva Del Despojo: Cuerpo, Lengua Y Espacio Desde El Discurso Lésbico/Queer En La Literatura Fronteriza/Chicana, Cynthia Meléndrez

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

Women writers on both sides of the US/Mexican border have rewritten Chicana-Fronteriza narratives by uncovering the individual memory of women and LGBTII communities along the US-Mexico Border. La tarima (2001) by Rosina Conde and Gulf Dreams (1996) by Emma Pérez reveal a consciousness of the social decay and domestic violence of urban border life. These authors deconstruct the identity of women and minorities by disassociating knowledge acquired through patriarchal structures. Moreover, Conde and Pérez break with established written patterns by mixing genres, and subverting traditional forms of language and notions of space. The dramatic and rapid changes on both sides …

The Value Of Wildlife Watching Recreation And Techniques For Addressing Nonresponse In Nonmarket Valuation Surveys, Jee Hwang

Economics ETDs

In this dissertation, the value of wildlife watching recreation is used as the context for exploring different modeling approaches available for combining data from nonmarket valuation surveys such as the travel cost method (TCM) and contingent valuation method (CVM). Another topic explored in this dissertation is the issue of nonresponse in nonmarket valuation surveys. The results of this dissertation are useful for wildlife and land managers interested in obtaining theoretically consistent values of wildlife watching recreation using a combination of TCM and CVM data. The practical solutions to nonresponse in nonmarket valuation surveys are useful for researchers who wish to …

Examining The Influence Of Landscape On Natural Resource Management In The American West: A Geospatial Approach, Robert Fonner

Economics ETDs

Landscapes can influence natural resource values and management in a variety of ways. These diverse influences can be generated by biophysical or social systems, or interactions between systems. This dissertation examines the landscape determinants of natural resource values and management. Chapter 2 examines moose habitat preferences with a spatial discrete-choice model. The study tests for spatial autocorrelation and compares the results to results from nonspatial models. The objective of this analysis is to explore the human-based and naturally occurring determinants of moose habitat selection while presenting a method and example for addressing spatial correlation between spatially positioned alternatives in a …

Intimate Gestures: Race, Photography, And Spectatorship In Tijuanas Dumps And Irregular Settlements, George Luna-Peña

American Studies ETDs

Through a sustained engagement with the theoretical work of Roland Barthes and Frantz Fanon, this thesis traces the complicated lines of connection linking photography, racial difference, spectatorship, and self-making in Tijuana's dumps and irregular settlements. Understanding photography as a space and form of life and social death, this thesis explores the photographic work of two photographers in Tijuana that pictures the lives of those living in poverty: John Leuders-Booth and Ingrid Hernandez. Of these photographic projects, the thesis asks: How does the spectatorial relationship that is triggered by a photograph also initiate a relationship of value, where one side of …

Aging And Energetics' 'Top 40' Future Research Opportunities 2010-2013, Steven N. Austad, David B. Allison, Lisa H. Antoine, Scott W. Ballinger, Marcas M. Bamman, Peggy Biga, Victor M. Darley-Usmar, Gordon Fisher, Julia M. Gohlke, Ganesh V. Halade, John L. Hartman, Gary R. Hunter, Joseph L. Messina, Tim R. Nagy, Eric P. Plaisance, Mickie L. Powell, Kevin A. Roth, Michael W. Sandel, Tonia S. Schwartz, Daniel L. Smith, J. David Sweatt, Trygve O. Tollefsbol, Stephen A. Watts, Yongbin Yang, Jianhua Zhang

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: As part of a coordinated effort to expand our research activity at the interface of Aging and Energetics a team of investigators at The University of Alabama at Birmingham systematically assayed and catalogued the top research priorities identified in leading publications in that domain, believing the result would be useful to the scientific community at large. Objective: To identify research priorities and opportunities in the domain of aging and energetics as advocated in the 40 most cited papers related to aging and energetics in the last 4 years. Design: The investigators conducted a search for papers on aging and …

Criminal Authorities And The State: Gangs, Organized Crime, And Police In Brazil, Michael Wolff

Political Science ETDs

Drug gangs and organized criminal groups rarely evolve into structured authorities governing their resident communities. Where this occurs, however, they may effectively replace the state in its most basic functions, and consequently exclude subject populations from the rights and protections supposedly guaranteed by the state. Employing qualitative research methods, this study compares criminal development and state public security policies in Rio de Janeiro and Recife, Brazil. The research is primarily concerned with the development of criminal authority structures, and asks when, where, why, and how they develop. Arguing that the extant literature on organized crime fails to adequately explain this …

Montana Kaimin, September 12, 2014, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

White Matter Integrity And Alcohol Use Disorders, Mollie Monnig

Psychology ETDs

Injury to the brains white matter is a signature injury of alcohol use disorders (AUD), yet research on its causes and correlates has yielded mixed findings. This study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test associations between clinical and demographic factors and variability in white matter integrity in heavy drinkers (mean age = 30.86 ± 9.08 years; 30% female; 62% treatment-na\xefve). Magnetic resonance imaging scans, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), were collected from 324 individuals who reported recent heavy drinking (at least 5 binge-drinking episodes in the past 30 days, or > 14 standard drinks/week for women and > 21 standard drinks/week …

A Geospatial Approach To Wildlife And Wilderness Management, Naresh Nepal

Economics ETDs

The populations in the western United States have increased significantly over the last few decades resulting in increased development pressures on undeveloped and pristine lands. Population growth and increased human activities have also changed the overall ecosystems more rapidly and extensively in recent years than in the past, emphasizing the need for protecting natural land and ecosystems. This dissertation conducts analyses to highlight the importance of protected areas and wildlife habitat. Chapter 1 explores the use of Poisson and negative binomial regression models to examine winter habitat use by mountain goats in the Kenai Mountains of South-Central Alaska. Using GPS …

Shame In The Fabliaux, Scott Brown

Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs

In this thesis I highlight the literary techniques used in fabliaux to understand the power struggles traversed by the characters. This work focuses on methods of avoiding the shame emasculation in scenes from the fabliaux Berangier au lonc Cul, Du Prestre qui fu mis au lardier, Du Prestre crucefié and De la Saineresse. A fabliau is an amusing short story in poetic form, originally performed by troubadours and trouvères. This form is most present in manuscript examples from the 12th to the 14th century. The stories involve simple characters, word play and idiomatic expressions. I argue that literary mechanisms are …

The Effect Of 10 Days Of Heat Acclimation On Submaximal Exercise Economy And Efficiency At 1600 M And 4350 M, Roy Salgado

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Heat acclimation is known to increase exercise economy. Previous examinations suggest heat acclimation may preserve performance at altitude. This study examined the effect of using heat acclimation as a cross environmental stressor to improve exercise economy and efficiency during acute exercise at altitude. Eight trained males (VO2peak: 53.3 ± 6.7 ml/kg/min) performed maximal exercise tests, submaximal exercise bouts, and heat tolerance testing in a temperate environment (21°C) at 1600 m and 4350 m before and after a 10-day heat acclimation (40\uf0b0C and 20% RH) on a cycle ergometer (~43% peak power). To investigate heat stress mechanisms, C2C12 myocytes were heat …

The Effect Of Ten Days Of Heat Acclimation On Exercise Capacity During Acute Altitude Exposure (4350 M), Ailish White

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Acclimation to one environmental stressor may enhance adaptations to various other stressors in humans; this phenomenon has been described as cross-tolerance. Approaches to induce altitude acclimation in a relatively short time frame are needed, thus the purpose of our study was to examine the effect of heat acclimation on exercise capacity during acute altitude exposure (4350 m). Eight trained men residing at approximately 1600 m performed tests of maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max) at 1600 m and 4350 m, a 16 km time-trial (TT) (4350 m), and a heat tolerance test (1600 m) before and after a 10 d heat acclimation …

Volume Cxxxii, Number 1, September 12, 2014, Lawrence University

The Lawrentian

No abstract provided.

Material Embodiments, Queer Visualities: Presenting Disability In American Public History, Andrew B. Marcum

American Studies ETDs

This dissertation examines the presentation of disability at three of the most popular sites for the consumption of public history in the United States including the U.S. Capitol, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. I de-construct the cultural and historical narratives and discourses of disability circulating at these sites and offer a visual culture analysis of the images, artifacts, and statuary found at each of them. My study is informed principally by the theories and methods of queer disability studies, visual culture studies, and cultural studies critiques of neoliberalism. I consider how …

September 12, 2014, The Dakota Student

The Dakota Student

No abstract provided.

Showing The Unsayable: Trauma And Juxtaposition In Persepolis And A Child's Life And Other Stories, Lauranne Poharec

Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs

This thesis focuses on two comic books by women that interweave personal trauma with the trauma of historical events: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, which explores coming of age against the background of memory of the Iranian Revolution, and A Childs Life and Other Stories by Phoebe Gloeckner, which explores parent-child incest and coming of age in the wake of the American sexual revolution. It argues that Satrapi and Gloeckner, two women comic artists, push the limits of the comics medium and of memoir by using juxtaposition — of alternative illustration styles, of what is seen and what is not seen, …

Selections From Shadows Of Clouds On The Mountains, Mike Smith

English Language and Literature ETDs

The following essays are all chapters from a larger work, Shadows of Clouds on the Mountains, a sort of life-spanning nonfiction Ulysses, a literary mixtape in which every chapter takes a different form, and every chapter's form is dictated by its content. These essays, or chapters, will appear, basically as is, in my book, Shadows of Clouds on the Mountains. These are stories of family, memory, suicide, mental illness, the sibling bond, marriage, children, divorce, and adulthood. These are stories of a life devoted to art and exploration.

The Early-Modernization Of The Classical Muse, Bruce Carroll

English Language and Literature ETDs

The Early-Modernization of the Classical Muse juxtaposes ancient and Renaissance uses of the Muse to retrieve her from the status of mere literary convention. I draw on Hans Blumenbergs 'reoccupation' (Umbesetzung) thesis, which locates in philosophy concerns originally raised in myth, to argue that the poet's relationship with his Muse, as the perceived source of his art form, was always somehow ontological (ontology: the theory of human being). In the pre-literate, pre-philosophical invocations of archaic figures like Homer and Hesiod, I locate the 'ontological stirrings' in which the poet identifies his self through his at times troublesome and combative dependence …

Animal People, Sabrina Golmassian

English Language and Literature ETDs

Billions of animals are killed every year based on this ethical premise: Animals are lower than humans on some abstract moral scale, and they can therefore be considered property. However, a growing percentage of compassionate and educated animal lovers and advocates reject that premise. Its now possible to live comfortably and happily without subjecting animals to fear, pain, and stress for non-essential products. Whether it be food, clothing, scientific experiment, or entertainment, alternatives now exist to take their place. A broad range of investigative journalism and scholarship have exposed the detrimental effects of the use of animals for industry. An …

Lawyers As Leaders, William & Mary Law School

One-Time Conferences: Programs

Held on September 12, 2014 at William & Mary Law School.

Sponsored by William & Mary Law School:

• Office of the Dean
• Office of Development & Alumni Affairs
• Office of Career Services
• The William & Mary Journal of Women & the Law
• The William & Mary Business Law Review
• William & Mary Women’s Law Society
• William & Mary Business Law Society
• Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship Legal Society (ViCE)
• George Wythe Society

Topological Code Architectures For Quantum Computation, Christopher Cesare

Physics & Astronomy ETDs

This dissertation is concerned with quantum computation using many-body quantum systems encoded in topological codes. The interest in these topological systems has increased in recent years as devices in the lab begin to reach the fidelities required for performing arbitrarily long quantum algorithms. The most well-studied system, Kitaev's toric code, provides both a physical substrate for performing universal fault-tolerant quantum computations and a useful pedagogical tool for explaining the way other topological codes work. In this dissertation, I first review the necessary formalism for quantum information and quantum stabilizer codes, and then I introduce two families of topological codes: Kitaev's …

Gpgpu-Enabled Physics Based Deformed Model Simulation, Alejandro Enedino Hernandez Samaniego

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Computer simulation techniques are widely adopted nowadays in many areas like manufacturing, engineering, graphics, animation, virtual reality and so on. However, the standard finite element based simulation is notorious for its expensive computation. To address this challenge, I present a GPU-based parallel implementation for simulating large elastic deformation. Classic modal analysis provides a set of orthonormal bases vectors, which span a spectral space encoding the dynamics of the elastic body. As each basis vector is orthogonal to each other, the computation is completely decoupled and can be well-fit into the modern GPGPU platform. We further explore the latest feature of …

Reach, Kayla Parker, Stuart Moore

School of Art, Design and Architecture

The imagery is created by burying 16mm filmstrips in the mud of the banks of the Tamar, allowing the river to ‘make the film’ through the movements of its tidal waters and the action of biota - the filmstrips’ organic emulsion changed by the tides’ ebb and flow, by physical abrasion and the organisms living in the alluvial mud. Accompanied by the soundtrack developed from recordings taken from both above and below the surface of the water, the audience is immersed in the audiovisual flow of the river.The people who live along the Tamar form a close relationship with the …

Evading Promises: The Promise Of Equality Under U.S. Disability Law And How The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities Can Help, Rachel H. Hinckley

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

No Worldwide Consensus: The United Nations Declaration On Human Cloning, Channah Jarrell

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Sad Stories: Trafficking In Children - Unique Situations Requiring New Solutions, Virginia Garrard

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Shame, Rage And Freedom Of Speech: Should The United States Adopt European "Mobbing" Laws?, Brady Coleman

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.