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2017

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Articles 62161 - 62190 of 62843

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Solace: Intimately Remembered Places, Michele Francoeur Jan 2017

Solace: Intimately Remembered Places, Michele Francoeur

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The culmination of my graduate research and investigations is my thesis exhibition Solace; Intimately Remembered Places. This body of paintings is a visual representation of land, water and flora that focuses on my abstraction of nature to extract essential elements that expresses my deep connection to a specific time and place, layered with associated memories. By revisiting a landscape over a sustained period of time, I developed a personal visual vocabulary to communicate the essential abstract forms of nature and record the subtle nuances of color, light, shape, texture, positive and negative space to evoke a particular time and place. …

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Surrealism 2.0/Contemporary Games Analyzing Contemporary Games As A Re-Emergence Of Surrealism, Demetrius Dukes Jan 2017

Surrealism 2.0/Contemporary Games Analyzing Contemporary Games As A Re-Emergence Of Surrealism, Demetrius Dukes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Historically, Surrealism is defined as a literary and artistic movement which developed from Dadaism in the early twentieth century. Many artistic and literary historians assess that the lifespan of Surrealism did not persist beyond the 1960’s – that in fact, after notable surrealist such as René Magritte, Man Ray, Max Ernst and Salvador Dali challenged the limited cultural assumption of rationalism, the pursuit to explore and visualize the subconscious faded from artistic ambition. However, the purpose of this paper is to propose an alternative notion that suggests that digital interactive mediums – such as contemporary games and virtual technologies – …

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Survival By Any Means: Race And Gender, Passing And Performance In Octavia Butler’S Parable Of The Sower And Parable Of The Talents, Micah R. Moreno Jan 2017

Survival By Any Means: Race And Gender, Passing And Performance In Octavia Butler’S Parable Of The Sower And Parable Of The Talents, Micah R. Moreno

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This project focuses on race and gender in the works of author Octavia Butler. The primary texts analyzed are Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. In these novels, Butler alludes to slavery in antebellum America by drawing strong parallels between the roles race and gender played in the survival of the escaped slaves of America’s past and the role they play in the survival of the main character of Butler’s apocalyptic future. The themes of race and gender frequently intersect and maintain an important role throughout the novels. I argue that, by reading Butler’s novels within this …

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Teacher Perspectives On The Marzano Teacher Evaluation Model During Year One Of Implementation, Bryan L. Wilkins Jan 2017

Teacher Perspectives On The Marzano Teacher Evaluation Model During Year One Of Implementation, Bryan L. Wilkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This qualitative study described teachers’ perspectives of The Marzano Teacher Evaluation Model during the first year of its implementation. Further, this study examined the relationship between teachers and their administrators during implementation. The researcher’s goal was to examine how teachers changed their behavior as the result of the first year following the implementation of The Marzano Teacher Evaluation Model.

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The Comparison Of High-Intensity Interval Exercise Vs. Continuous Moderate Exercise On C1q/Tnf-Related Protein-9 Expression And Flow-Mediated Vasodilation, Brandon G. Fico Jan 2017

The Comparison Of High-Intensity Interval Exercise Vs. Continuous Moderate Exercise On C1q/Tnf-Related Protein-9 Expression And Flow-Mediated Vasodilation, Brandon G. Fico

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acute high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) vs. continuous moderate-intensity exercise (CME) on serum CTRP9 and brachial FMD responses in obese and normal-weight subjects. Sixteen participants (9 obese and 7 normal-weight) completed HIIE and CME in a randomized fashion. Our results showed a significant time effect for CTRP9 immediately following acute HIIE and CME in both groups. Furthermore, both significant treatment by time and group by time interactions for FMD were observed following both exercise protocols, with greater CME-induced FMD response in obese subjects than normal-weight subjects. Additionally, a positive …

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The Effect Of Fluid Flow On Human Sperm Fertility, Kari Rappa Jan 2017

The Effect Of Fluid Flow On Human Sperm Fertility, Kari Rappa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Current sperm processing methods used in assisted reproductive technologies can cause damage to the sperm cell. New ways that mimic the natural guidance mechanisms present in the female genital tract may offer ways to sort sperm with better fertility parameters. Sperm that respond to these cues may have better over sperm health. Human sperm exhibit positive rheotaxis by orienting and swimming against the fluid released by the female genital tract. At certain flow rates sperm can actively orient and swim against the flow. Sperm retrieved that exhibit positive rheotaxis have higher motility and better morphology than the original semen sample.

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The Effect Of Stereoscopic Cues On Multiple Object Tracking In A 3d Virtual Environment, Steven Milanez Oliveira Jan 2017

The Effect Of Stereoscopic Cues On Multiple Object Tracking In A 3d Virtual Environment, Steven Milanez Oliveira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Research on Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) has typically involved 2D displays where stimuli move in a single depth plane. However, under natural conditions, objects move in 3D which adds complexity to tracking. According to the spatial interference model, tracked objects have an inhibitory surround that when crossed causes tracking errors. How do these inhibitory fields translate to 3D space? Does multiple object tracking operate on a 2D planar projection, or is it in fact 3D? To investigate this, we used a fully immersive virtual-reality environment where participants were required to track 1 to 4 moving objects. We compared performance to …

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The Multitude Speaks In Style: An Analysis Of Vernacular Agency Through Images Of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Haley Swartz Jan 2017

The Multitude Speaks In Style: An Analysis Of Vernacular Agency Through Images Of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Haley Swartz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The unexpected comparison of a Supreme Court Justice with a popular culture icon demonstrates how politics and popular culture become entwined in the contemporary context; moreover, network culture provides a conduit for vernacular discourse about politics, which circulates in the style of popular culture. Through analysis of images of Ruth Bader Ginsburg as created, shared, and circulated in network culture, this project explores the alternative levels of discourse generated in network culture, examines the ways the public represents politics, and explains the ability of political subjects to affect meaning. The aim of this project is to document a conjunctural moment; …

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The Relationship Between Sense Of Belonging And Instructor Self-Efficacy Among Online Adjunct Faculty In Higher Education, Jillian Wojcik Jan 2017

The Relationship Between Sense Of Belonging And Instructor Self-Efficacy Among Online Adjunct Faculty In Higher Education, Jillian Wojcik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Given the increased reliance on adjunct faculty and the increased demand for online courses, the online adjunct faculty member is an important figure to know and understand. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of research on this population, particularly in terms of how their feelings of connection to their colleagues, administration, and their institution affects their beliefs about their online teaching abilities. This non-experimental correlational study investigated the relationship between sense of belonging and instructor self-efficacy among online adjunct faculty in higher education. Additionally, this study sought to determine if there is a predictive element between these two variables. This study …

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Utilizing A Game Theoretical Approach To Prevent Collusion And Incentivize Cooperation In Cybersecurity Contexts, Arash Golchubian Jan 2017

Utilizing A Game Theoretical Approach To Prevent Collusion And Incentivize Cooperation In Cybersecurity Contexts, Arash Golchubian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In this research, a new reputation-based model is utilized to disincentivize collusion of defenders and attackers in Software Defined Networks (SDN), and also, to disincentivize dishonest mining strategies in Blockchain. In the context of SDN, the model uses the reputation values assigned to each entity to disincentivize collusion with an attacker. Our analysis shows that not-colluding actions become Nash Equilibrium using the reputationbased model within a repeated game setting. In the context of Blockchain and mining, we illustrate that by using the same socio-rational model, miners not only are incentivized to conduct honest mining but also disincentivized to commit to …

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Water And Soil Salinity Mapping For Southern Everglades Using Remote Sensing Techniques And In Situ Observations, Fahad Khan Khadim Jan 2017

Water And Soil Salinity Mapping For Southern Everglades Using Remote Sensing Techniques And In Situ Observations, Fahad Khan Khadim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Everglades National Park is a hydro-ecologically significant wetland experiencing salinity ingress over the years. This motivated our study to map water salinity using a spatially weighted optimization model (SWOM); and soil salinity using land cover classes and EC thresholds. SWOM was calibrated and validated at 3-km grids with actual salinity for 1998–2001, and yielded acceptable R2 (0.89-0.92) and RMSE (1.73-1.92 ppt). Afterwards, seasonal water salinity mapping for 1996–97, 2004–05, and 2016 was carried out. For soil salinity mapping, supervised land cover classification was firstly carried out for 1996, 2000, 2006, 2010 and 2015; with the first four providing average accuracies …

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Which Way Is It? Spatial Navigation And The Genetics Of Head Direction Cells, Joan C. Lora Jan 2017

Which Way Is It? Spatial Navigation And The Genetics Of Head Direction Cells, Joan C. Lora

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

From locating a secure home, foraging for food, running away from predators, spatial navigation is an integral part of everyday life. Multiple brain regions work together to form a three-dimensional representation of our environment; specifically, place cells, grid cells, border cells & head direction cells are thought to interact and influence one another to form this cognitive map. Head direction (HD) cells fire as the animal moves through space, according to directional orientation of the animal’s head with respect to the laboratory reference frame, and are therefore considered to represent the directional sense. Interestingly, inactivation of head direction cell-containing brain …

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Writing To Exist: Transformation And Translation Into Exile, Angela F. Martin Jan 2017

Writing To Exist: Transformation And Translation Into Exile, Angela F. Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Silenced for almost half a century, testimonies of those who lost the Spanish Civil War are now surfacing and being published. The origin of this dissertation was the chance discovery that Martín Herrera de Mendoza, a Spanish Civil War exile living in the United States, was truly a Catalonian anarchist named Antonio Vidal Arabí. This double identity was a cover for the political activist dedicated to the fight for change in the anarchist workers’ union CNT (National Confederation of Workers) and the FAI (Federation of Iberian Anarchists). He founded the FAI chapter in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and planned a …

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Prevalence Of Feral Swine Disturbance At Important Archaeological Sites Over A Large Landscape In Florida, Richard M. Engeman, Joseph S. Meyer, John B. Allen Jan 2017

Prevalence Of Feral Swine Disturbance At Important Archaeological Sites Over A Large Landscape In Florida, Richard M. Engeman, Joseph S. Meyer, John B. Allen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Feral swine are globally known as one of the most destructive invasive vertebrates, damaging native habitats, native plants and animals, agriculture, infrastructure, spreading diseases. There has been little quantification on their disturbance to archaeological sites across a broad landscape. Over 6 years we inspected 293 significant archaeological sites for swine disturbance across a vast area. We found a 42% prevalence of swine disturbance among all sites, with prevalence not distinguishable among prehistoric sites, historic sites, and sites with both components. The areas of disturbance mapped within three historic homestead sites showed 5–26% of total site surface area rooted. Disturbance was …

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Novel And Current Rodenticides For Pocket Gopher Thomomys Spp. Management In Vineyards: What Works?, Roger A. Baldwin, Ryan Meinerz, Gary W. Witmer Jan 2017

Novel And Current Rodenticides For Pocket Gopher Thomomys Spp. Management In Vineyards: What Works?, Roger A. Baldwin, Ryan Meinerz, Gary W. Witmer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

BACKGROUND: Rodenticides are often included as part of an integrated pest management approach for managing pocket gophers (Thomomys spp.) given that they are relatively quick and inexpensive to apply. Strychnine has historically been the most effective toxicant for pocket gophers, but its use is currently limited in the United States; alternative registered toxicants have not proven effective. Recent research with baits containing cholecalciferol plus anticoagulant toxicants proved effective against pocket gophers in a lab setting. Therefore, we established a field study to compare cholecalciferol plus anticoagulant combinations [0.03% cholecalciferol plus 0.005% diphacinone (C+D), 0.015% cholecalciferol plus 0.0025% brodifacoum (C+B1), …

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Using Species Distribution Models To Define Nesting Habitat Of The Eastern Metapopulation Of Double-Crested Cormorants, Kate L. Sheehan, Samuel T. Esswein, Brian S. Dorr, Greg K. Yarrow, Ron J. Johnson Jan 2017

Using Species Distribution Models To Define Nesting Habitat Of The Eastern Metapopulation Of Double-Crested Cormorants, Kate L. Sheehan, Samuel T. Esswein, Brian S. Dorr, Greg K. Yarrow, Ron J. Johnson

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

When organisms with similar phenotypes have conflicting management and conservation initiatives, approaches are needed to differentiate among subpopulations or discrete groups. For example, the eastern metapopulation of the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) has a migratory phenotype that is culled because they are viewed as a threat to commercial and natural resources, whereas resident birds are targeted for conservation. Understanding the distinct breeding habitats of resident versus migratory cormorants would aid in identification and management decisions. Here, we use species distribution models (SDM: Maxent) of cormorant nesting habitat to examine the eastern P. auritus metapopulation and the predicted breeding …

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Field-Based Evaluation Of A Male-Specific (F+) Rna Coliphage Concentration Method, J. C. Chandler, A. Pérez-Méndez, J. Paar Iii, M. M. Doolittle, B. Bisha, L. D. Goodridge Jan 2017

Field-Based Evaluation Of A Male-Specific (F+) Rna Coliphage Concentration Method, J. C. Chandler, A. Pérez-Méndez, J. Paar Iii, M. M. Doolittle, B. Bisha, L. D. Goodridge

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Fecal contamination of water poses a significant risk to public health due to the potential presence of pathogens, including enteric viruses. Therefore, sensitive, reliable and easy to use methods for the concentration, detection and quantification of microorganisms associated with the safety and quality of water are needed. In this study, we performed a field evaluation of an anion exchange resin-based method to concentrate male-specific (F + ) RNA coliphages (FRNA), fecal indicator organisms, from diverse environmental waters that were suspected to be contaminated with feces. In this system, FRNA coliphages are adsorbed to anion exchange resin and direct nucleic acid …

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Advances And Environmental Conditions Of Spring Migration Phenology Of American White Pelicans, D. Tommy King, Guiming Wang, Zhiqiang Yang, Justin W. Fischer Jan 2017

Advances And Environmental Conditions Of Spring Migration Phenology Of American White Pelicans, D. Tommy King, Guiming Wang, Zhiqiang Yang, Justin W. Fischer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Spring migration phenology of birds has advanced under warming climate. Migration timing of shortdistance migrants is believed to be responsive to environmental changes primarily under exogenous control. However, understanding the ecological causes of the advancement in avian spring migration phenology is still a challenge due to the lack of long-term precise location data. We used 11 years of Global Positioning System relocation data to determine four different migration dates of the annual migration cycle of the American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), a short-distance migrant. We also tested the hypothesis that increases in winter temperature and precipitation on the …

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Field-Based Evaluation Of A Male-Specific (F+) Rna Coliphage Concentration Method, J. C. Chandler, A. Pérez-Méndez, J. Paar Iii, M. M. Doolittle, B. Bisha, L. D. Goodridge Jan 2017

Field-Based Evaluation Of A Male-Specific (F+) Rna Coliphage Concentration Method, J. C. Chandler, A. Pérez-Méndez, J. Paar Iii, M. M. Doolittle, B. Bisha, L. D. Goodridge

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Fecal contamination of water poses a significant risk to public health due to the potential presence of pathogens, including enteric viruses. Therefore, sensitive, reliable and easy to use methods for the concentration, detection and quantification of microorganisms associated with the safety and quality of water are needed. In this study, we performed a field evaluation of an anion exchange resin-based method to concentrate male-specific (F + ) RNA coliphages (FRNA), fecal indicator organisms, from diverse environmental waters that were suspected to be contaminated with feces. In this system, FRNA coliphages are adsorbed to anion exchange resin and direct nucleic acid …

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Adaptive Use Of Nonlethal Strategies For Minimizing Wolf–Sheep Conflict In Idaho, Suzanne A. Stone, Stewart W. Breck, Jesse Timberlake, Peter M. Haswell, Fernando Najera, Brian S. Bean, Daniel J. Thornhill Jan 2017

Adaptive Use Of Nonlethal Strategies For Minimizing Wolf–Sheep Conflict In Idaho, Suzanne A. Stone, Stewart W. Breck, Jesse Timberlake, Peter M. Haswell, Fernando Najera, Brian S. Bean, Daniel J. Thornhill

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Worldwide, native predators are killed to protect livestock, an action that can undermine wildlife conservation efforts and create conflicts among stakeholders. An ongoing example is occurring in the western United States, where wolves (Canis lupus) were eradicated by the 1930s but are again present in parts of their historic range. While livestock losses to wolves represent a small fraction of overall livestock mortality, the response to these depredations has resulted in widespread conflicts including significant efforts at lethal wolf control to reduce impacts on livestock producers, especially those with large-scale grazing operations on public lands. A variety of …

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A Method For The Improved Detection Of Aerosolized Influenza Viruses And The Male-Specific (F+) Rna Coliphage Ms2, J. C. Chandler, J. W. Schaeffer, M. Davidson, S. L. Magzamen, A. Pérez-Méndez, S. J. Reynolds, L. D. Goodridge, J. Volckens, A. B. Franklin, S. A. Shriner, B. Bisha Jan 2017

A Method For The Improved Detection Of Aerosolized Influenza Viruses And The Male-Specific (F+) Rna Coliphage Ms2, J. C. Chandler, J. W. Schaeffer, M. Davidson, S. L. Magzamen, A. Pérez-Méndez, S. J. Reynolds, L. D. Goodridge, J. Volckens, A. B. Franklin, S. A. Shriner, B. Bisha

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The detection of aerosolized viruses can serve as an important surveillance and control tool in agriculture, human health, and environmental settings. Here, we adapted an anion exchange resin-based method, initially developed to concentrate negatively charged viruses from water, to liquid impingement-based bioaerosol sampling. In this method, aerosolized viruses are collected in a 20 ml liquid sample contained within widely used impingers, BioSamplers (SKC Inc., Eighty Four, PA), and further concentrated via adsorption to an anion exchange resin that is suspended within this liquid. Viral nucleic acids are then extracted from the resin to facilitate molecular analyses through a reduction in …

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Ecological Potential For Rabies Virus Transmission Via Scavenging Of Dead Bats By Mesocarnivores, Tad C. Theimer, Annie C. Dyer, Brian W. Keeley, Amy T. Gilbert, David L. Bergman Jan 2017

Ecological Potential For Rabies Virus Transmission Via Scavenging Of Dead Bats By Mesocarnivores, Tad C. Theimer, Annie C. Dyer, Brian W. Keeley, Amy T. Gilbert, David L. Bergman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Multiple species of bats are reservoirs of rabies virus in the Americas and are occasionally the source of spillover infections into mesocarnivore species. Although rabies transmission generally is assumed to occur via bite, laboratory studies have demonstrated the potential for rabies transmission via ingestion of rabid animals. We investigated the ecological potential for this mode of transmission by assessing mesocarnivore scavenging behavior of dead bats in suburban habitats of Flagstaff, Arizona, US. In autumn 2013, summer 2014, and autumn 2015, we placed 104 rabies-negative bat carcasses either near buildings, in wildland areas, or in residential yards and then monitored them …

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Addressing The Gender Gap In Distinguished Speakers At Professional Ecology Conferences, Cooper M. Farr, Sara P. Bombaci, Travis Gallo, Anna M. Mangan, Hannah L. Riedl, Lani T. Stinson, Kate Wilkins, Drew E. Bennett, Theresa Nogeire-Mcrae, Liba Pejchar Jan 2017

Addressing The Gender Gap In Distinguished Speakers At Professional Ecology Conferences, Cooper M. Farr, Sara P. Bombaci, Travis Gallo, Anna M. Mangan, Hannah L. Riedl, Lani T. Stinson, Kate Wilkins, Drew E. Bennett, Theresa Nogeire-Mcrae, Liba Pejchar

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Keynote and plenary speakers at professional conferences serve as highly visible role models for early-career scientists and provide recognition of scientific excellence. This recognition may be particularly important for women, who are underrepresented in senior positions in the biological sciences. To evaluate whether conferences fulfill this potential, we examined distinguished speakers at North American ecology conferences between 2000 and 2015 and compared these data with the percentage of women ecologists at diverse career stages. We found that 15%–35% (x = 28%, n = 809) of the distinguished speakers were women, which is significantly lower than the percentage of female ecology …

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Fine-Scale Assessment Of Home Ranges And Activity Patterns For Resident Black Vultures (Coragyps Atratus) And Turkey Vultures (Cathartes Aura), Amanda E. Holland, Michael E. Byrne, A. Lawrence Bryan, Travis L. Devault, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., James C. Beasley Jan 2017

Fine-Scale Assessment Of Home Ranges And Activity Patterns For Resident Black Vultures (Coragyps Atratus) And Turkey Vultures (Cathartes Aura), Amanda E. Holland, Michael E. Byrne, A. Lawrence Bryan, Travis L. Devault, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., James C. Beasley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Knowledge of black vulture (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) spatial ecology is surprisingly limited despite their vital ecological roles. Fine-scale assessments of space use patterns and resource selection are particularly lacking, although development of tracking technologies has allowed data collection at finer temporal and spatial resolution. Objectives of this study were to conduct the first assessment of monthly home range and core area sizes of resident black and turkey vultures with consideration to sex, as well as elucidate differences in monthly, seasonal, and annual activity patterns based on fine-scale movement data analyses. We collected …

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Diversity And Phylogenetic Relationships Among Bartonella Strains From Thai Bats, Clifton D. Mckee, Michael Y. Kosoy, Ying Bai, Lynn M. Osikowicz, Richard Franka, Amy T. Gilbert, Sumalee Boonmar, Charles E. Rupprecht, Leonard Peruski Jan 2017

Diversity And Phylogenetic Relationships Among Bartonella Strains From Thai Bats, Clifton D. Mckee, Michael Y. Kosoy, Ying Bai, Lynn M. Osikowicz, Richard Franka, Amy T. Gilbert, Sumalee Boonmar, Charles E. Rupprecht, Leonard Peruski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bartonellae are phylogenetically diverse, intracellular bacteria commonly found in mammals. Previous studies have demonstrated that bats have a high prevalence and diversity of Bartonella infections globally. Isolates (n = 42) were obtained from five bat species in four provinces of Thailand and analyzed using sequences of the citrate synthase gene (gltA). Sequences clustered into seven distinct genogroups; four of these genogroups displayed similarity with Bartonella spp. sequences from other bats in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Thirty of the isolates representing these seven genogroups were further characterized by sequencing four additional loci (ftsZ, nuoG, rpoB, …

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Strength Testing Of Raccoons And Invasive Wild Pigs For A Species-Specific Bait Station, Nathan P. Snow, Michael J. Lavelle, Joseph M. Halseth, Chad R. Blass, Justin A. Foster, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2017

Strength Testing Of Raccoons And Invasive Wild Pigs For A Species-Specific Bait Station, Nathan P. Snow, Michael J. Lavelle, Joseph M. Halseth, Chad R. Blass, Justin A. Foster, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

With the development of a toxic bait (HOGGONE®) for the control of invasive wild pig (IWP; Sus scrofa) populations in the United States, there is a need to develop a bait station to mitigate potential effects on nontarget species. Our objective was to identify characteristics of a bait station that can successfully exclude raccoons (Procyon lotor)—a ubiquitous and dexterous nontarget species—while facilitating bait consumption by IWPs that exhibit group-feeding behaviors. We evaluated abilities of captive raccoons (n = 19) and IWPs (n = 41) to open the lids of prototype resistance assessment bait stations (RABS) …

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Assessing The Applicability Of Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions For Global 500 Corporations' Facebook Profiles And Content, Kevin D. Lo, Richard D. Waters, N. Christensen Jan 2017

Assessing The Applicability Of Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions For Global 500 Corporations' Facebook Profiles And Content, Kevin D. Lo, Richard D. Waters, N. Christensen

Organization, Leadership, and Communication

This research examines how Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions are reflected on the official corporate Facebook pages from 259 organizations on Fortune magazine’s Global 500 list. This research is grounded in original indices to measure the six dimensions across Facebook’s “About Us” section, the textual updates provided by the companies, as well as the media that they share (photographs and videos). This is the first attempt to create a conceptualization of Hofstede’s dimensions for organizational social media use. The results paint a mixed picture indicating that the global nature of these corporations is echoed in a somewhat similar overall presence on …

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Comparison Of A Micro-Neutralization Test With The Rapid Fluorescent Focus Inhibition Test For Measuring Rabies Virus Neutralizing Antibodies, Todd G. Smith, Amy T. Gilbert Jan 2017

Comparison Of A Micro-Neutralization Test With The Rapid Fluorescent Focus Inhibition Test For Measuring Rabies Virus Neutralizing Antibodies, Todd G. Smith, Amy T. Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT) is routinely used in the United States to measure rabies virus neutralizing antibodies (rVNA). RFFIT has a long history of reproducible and reliable results. The test has been modified over the years to use smaller volumes of reagents and samples, but requires a 50 μL minimum volume of test serum. To conduct pathogenesis studies, small laboratory animals such as mice are regularly tested for rVNA, but the minimum volume for a standard RFFIT may be impossible to obtain, particularly in scenarios of repeated sampling. To address this problem, a micro-neutralization test was developed …

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Ontogenetic And Ecological Variation In Invasion Risk Of Brown Treesnakes (Boiga Irregularis) On Guam, Shane R. Siers, Julie A. Savidge, Robert N. Reed Jan 2017

Ontogenetic And Ecological Variation In Invasion Risk Of Brown Treesnakes (Boiga Irregularis) On Guam, Shane R. Siers, Julie A. Savidge, Robert N. Reed

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Size structure within populations of invasive species may have consequences for relative risk at all stages of the invasion process, with implications for management interventions such as interdiction, suppression, and eradication. To assess relative distributions of invasive Brown Treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) among demographic categories of management interest, we undertook the most comprehensive and controlled sampling in > 25 years of research into this ecologically and economically destructive introduced predator. We collected a seasonally-balanced sample of 100 snakes from each of 18 sites, stratified by six habitat types, encompassing the species’ entire extralimital range. Samples indicated significant differences in distributions …

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History Of Regulations, Policy, And Research Related To Conflicts Between Blackbirds And People, George M. Linz, Michael L. Avery, Richard A. Dolbeer Jan 2017

History Of Regulations, Policy, And Research Related To Conflicts Between Blackbirds And People, George M. Linz, Michael L. Avery, Richard A. Dolbeer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The United States and Canada have invested substantial resources over the past 60 years for developing methods to reduce blackbird (Icteridae) damage to agricultural crops, to manage large winter roosts that create nuisance and public health problems, and to mitigate conflicts with endangered species. It is an indication of the challenging nature of the conflicts with these abundant, highly mobile birds that we are still attempting to improve existing methods and develop new approaches to mitigate the problems. Scientists have tested chemical frightening agents and repellents, mechanical scare devices, bird-resistant sunflowers, decoy crops, habitat management, population management, and cultural modifications …

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