Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Chemistry's Essential Tensions: Three Views Of A Science, Roald Hoffmann

IMSA Great Minds Program ®

In this generously illustrated lecture several views of chemistry will be presented, stressing its psychological dimension and its tie to the arts: First of all, chemistry is, as it has always been, the art, craft, business of substances and their transformations. It is now also the science of microscopic molecules, both simple and complex. And then there are people’s perceptions of chemistry - alternating between seeing the healing and the hurting aspects of this truly anthropic science. The underlying psychological tensions of this truly anthropic science will be explored.

Integrating Landscapes That Have Experienced Rural Depopulation And Ecological Homogenization Into Tropical Conservation Planning, Aerin L. Jacob, Ismael Vaccaro, Raja Sengupta, Joel N. Hartter, Colin A. Chapman

Geography

If current trends of declining fertility rates and increasing abandonment of rural land as a result of urbanization continue, this will signal a globally significant transformation with important consequences for policy makers interested in conservation planning. This transformation is presently evident in a number of countries and projections suggest it may occur in the future in many developing countries. We use rates of population growth and urbanization to project population trends in rural areas for 25 example countries. Our projections indicate a general decline in population density that has either occurred already (e.g., Mexico) or may occur in the future …

Water Quality Impacts From Agricultural Land-Use In The Karst Groundwater Basin Of Qingmuguan, Chongqing, China, Ted W. Baker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Karst regions are composed of soluble rock, often limestone, which leads to the formation of fissures, sinkholes and water flow conduits such as caves. Pollutants in karst waters tend to be quickly directed and concentrated into these subsurface conduits. As a result of this and other factors, water resources are especially sensitive to contamination and pollution in karst areas. Pollutant concentrations going into fluvial systems travelling through the subsurface in karst areas are often very similar to the concentrations arriving at outlets such as springs. Areas connected by karst conduit flows must be distinctly determined and special attention should be …

Simulation Modeling Of Karst Aquifer Conduit Evolution And Relations To Climate, John D. Broome

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

ABSTRACT Karst regions of the world that receive relatively similar amounts of precipitation display a wide variety of landscapes. It has been suggested (Groves and Meiman, 2005) that climates exhibiting larger discrete storm events have more dissolving power and consequently higher rates of conduit growth than climates with more uniform precipitation distributions. To study this concept, a computer program “Cave Growth” was developed that modeled the growth of a cross-section of a cave passage under dynamic flow and chemical conditions. A series of 46 simulation datasets were created to represent different climatic conditions. These simulations had the same total annual …

Growing Fields Of Interest: Using An Expand And Reduce Strategy For Domain Model Extraction, Christopher Thomas, Pankaj Mehra, Roger Brooks, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Domain hierarchies are widely used as models underlying information retrieval tasks. Formal ontologies and taxonomies enrich such hierarchies further with properties and relationships associated with concepts and categories but require manual effort; therefore they are costly to maintain, and often stale. Folksonomies and vocabularies lack rich category structure and are almost entirely devoid of properties and relationships. Classification and extraction require the coverage of vocabularies and the alterability of folksonomies and can largely benefit from category relationships and other properties. With Doozer, a program for building conceptual models of information domains, we want to bridge the gap between the vocabularies …

Friends Of The Library Mcnair Scholarship Awards, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Message From The Vice President For Research And Federal Relations, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Acknowledgements, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Mentor Profile, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Alagnak Wild River Visitor Use Project: Alagnak Wild River Resident User Study, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report represents a thematic summary of findings from the Alagnak Wild River Resident Users Study, the final project in a larger series of studies conducted for the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the Alagnak Wild River Visitor Use Project. The National Park service administers the 56 miles of designated Wild River along the Alagnak in collaboration with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages fish and wildlife populations along the river. The NPS is charged with managing the river’s natural and cultural resources, as well as preserving the river’s lands and resources for current and …

Environmental Evaluation Of A Quaternary Wastewater Treatment Wetland, Olivia Demeo, '09

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

Constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment have become a sustainable alternative to environmentally harmful traditional wastewater treatment methods. This case study evaluated the Schroeder Wildlife Sanctuary, a wetland area constructed for removal of nutrients from wastewater. An environmental evaluation of the wetland was completed that addressed three parameters: the water quality of wetland effluent, the avian biodiversity within the sanctuary, and an assessment of community outreach and education initiatives. Water quality testing was conducted using rudimentary LaMotte and Hach testing kits. The data was contrary to the literature and showed no nutrient removal occurring. However, the results were inconclusive because the …

Growing Food Justice In West Bloomington, Illinois, Daniel Burke, '09

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

In some places in the United States, guns are more accessible than tomatoes. In a nation where food is in relative abundance, how can this be? Food security is the ready availability of nutritious and safe food and the assured ability to obtain it through normal sources (Morris et al 1992). Food justice asserts that no one should live without enough food because of economic constraints or social inequities. In this way, food justice frames the lack of healthy food sources in poor communities as a human rights issue (People's Grocery 2008). However, in some communities, access to fresh, healthy …

"G" And "H" Control Charts And Risk Analysis In The Banking Industry, James L. Bossert

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the utilization of a new control chart in the Banking industry to minimize financial risk. There are processes in the banking industry that do not lend themselves to traditional control chart applications. These processes tend to be high volume. High volume meaning over a million transactions a day and a requirement for high levels of accuracy characterize these processes. The research has looked at these processes and applied the "g" control charts to determine if they provide timely feedback to the banking industry. The value of this research will give the banking industry an opportunity to react …

Notes From The Director, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Mcnair Scholars Program, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Graduate Scholar Profile, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

The Environmental And Economic Benefits Of Highway Access Management: A Multivariate Analysis Using System Dynamics, Dan Andersen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Better management of highway operations can be achieved, in part, by controlling vehicular access to adjacent properties and cross streets. This tactic, referred to as access management, has proven safety and operational benefits. However, doubts remain regarding its environmental and economic benefits.

I hypothesize that one environmental indicator, carbon emissions, will decrease with proper access management. Controlling access increases the speed at which vehicles travel, improving fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. My hypothesis relative to financial impacts is that access management will neither help nor harm businesses. Controlling access can reduce travel time which has the effect of increasing …

Maximizing Warfighter Capability Using Surveyed Necessity Measurement: Application To The Usaf F-15c Fleet, John M. Colombi, David R. Jacques, Dennis D. Strouble

Faculty Publications

Within the Department of Defense, with changing missions to counter dynamic and asymmetrical threats, the acquisition workforce strives to maximize capability for joint warfighting. How acquisition professionals measure and select capability improvements for the nation’s weapon systems is a perpetual challenge, made even more complex with constrained defense budgets. This study identifies a method for determining which upgrades should be purchased (production) for which aircraft in the F- 15C fleet by optimizing a capability proxy measure. Each upgrade’s “necessity” for a given mission area was obtained by conducting a survey of over 250 experienced F-15C pilots. The solution presented in …

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Michelle Mouton, Mamie Peers, Shane Bevell

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Lsuhsc Facilities Biweekly Update: December 2008, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates: 2008

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates from December 5 and 19, 2008.

These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Lsuhsc Facilities Daily Update: December 2008, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Daily Updates: 2008

LSUHSC Dailly Facilities Updates from December 2008. These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Factors Related To Success And Participants’ Psychological Ownership In Collaborative Wildlife Management: A Survey Of Sage-Grouse Local Working Groups, Lorien R. Belton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Declines of sage-grouse (Centrocercus spp.) across the western United States have prompted the formation of numerous collaborative stakeholder partnerships, known as local working groups. These voluntary groups create and implement local sage-grouse management plans and projects, often in the hopes that their efforts may help avert a federal Endangered Species designation for the bird. Using a mail survey of participants in 54 local working groups, I examined the importance of psychological ownership in working group dynamics. Psychological ownership is conceptualized as a latent, multidimensional variable consisting of responsibility, control, and caring elements. Multiple regression analysis showed early-stage group success, representative …

Threat Perception As A Determinant Of Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Public Involvement In Air Pollution Abatement In Cache Valley, Utah, Joshua D. Marquit

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Threat perception related to environmental issues such as air pollution may be a determinant of pro-environmental behaviors. Among the potential threats of air pollution, include the perceived impacts on the psychological, social, and economic wellbeing of a community. Because of rapid increases in population growth, urbanization, and the mountainous landscapes, the American West is extremely susceptible to the adverse impacts of air pollution.

A secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the Air Quality Perception Survey conducted in Cache County, Utah. The survey focused on the public perception of air pollution in Cache County and perceived impact on personal …

Modeling Natural Resources Scarcity And Proverty Effects On Fertility In Honduras, Nepal, And Tanzania, Ayoub Shaban Ayoub

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examines whether the vicious circle theory applies in three developing countries characterized by high population growth. According to the vicious circle theory, natural resource scarcity coupled with poverty leads to population growth via positive effects on fertility particularly in rural areas of developing countries. Population growth then leads to a further increase in natural resource scarcity, creating a "feedback loop." This is the first study to use micro-level data to test and control for endogeneity using a two-stage Probit model (IVPROBIT). The existing literature has largely failed to address endogeneity in the relationship between natural resource scarcity and …

Inaugural Conference Of The Mosakowski Institute For Public Enterprise- Program, Jim Gomes

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

Program for University Research and the American Agenda: Discovering Knowledge, Enabling Leadership. The Inaugural Conference of the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise.

Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis For Testing Measurement Invariance In Mixed Item Format Data, Kim H. Koh, Bruno D. Zumbo

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

This simulation study investigated the empirical Type I error rates of using the maximum likelihood estimation method and Pearson covariance matrix for multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) of full and strong measurement invariance hypotheses with mixed item format data that are ordinal in nature. The results indicate that mixed item formats and sample size combinations do not result in inflated empirical Type I error rates for rejecting the true measurement invariance hypotheses. Therefore, although the common methods are in a sense sub-optimal, they don’t lead to researchers claiming that measures are functioning differently across groups – i.e., a lack of …

Estimating Explanatory Power In A Simple Regression Model Via Smoothers, Rand R. Wilcox

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Consider the regression model Y = γ(X) + ε , where γ(X) is some conditional measure of location associated with Y , given X. Let Υ̂ be some estimate of Y, given X, and let τ² (Y) be some measure of variation. Explanatory power is η² = τ² (Υ̂) /τ²(Y) . When γ(X) = β₀ + β₁X and τ²(Y) is the variance of Y , η² = ρ² , …

Data Mining Ceo Compensation, Susan M. Adams, Atul Gupta, Dominique M. Haughton, John D. Leeth

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

The need to pre-specify expected interactions between variables is an issue in multiple regression. Theoretical and practical considerations make it impossible to pre-specify all possible interactions. The functional form of the dependent variable on the predictors is unknown in many cases. Two ways are described in which the data mining technique Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) can be utilized: first, to obtain possible improvements in model specification, and second, to test for the robustness of findings from a regression analysis. An empirical illustration is provided to show how MARS can be used for both purposes.

Least Squares Percentage Regression, Chris Tofallis

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

In prediction, the percentage error is often felt to be more meaningful than the absolute error. We therefore extend the method of least squares to deal with percentage errors, for both simple and multiple regression. Exact expressions are derived for the coefficients, and we show how such models can be estimated using standard software. When the relative error is normally distributed, least squares percentage regression is shown to provide maximum likelihood estimates. The multiplicative error model is linked to least squares percentage regression in the same way that the standard additive error model is linked to ordinary least squares regression.