Many of you are familiar with The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (The DREAM Act). This bill is a proposed federal legislation which, if ratified would provide a distinct selection of immigrant students—who graduated from US high schools, are of good moral character, arrived in the US as children, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years—the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency. Although The DREAM Act is no secret, the individuals whose lives and opportunities could be positively impacted by it arekept in the shadows. They are forced to remain anonymous due to their fear of prosecution by the current legal system. Consequently, this sector of society is not only faceless—but it has been reduced to a mere statistic. We fail to see individualsand faces for they are hidden behind numbers and vain speeches aimed at validating their American-ness and academic capabilities. I decided to write this story because no human being(documented or undocumented, foreign or citizen) should feel obliged to prove his or herworth and humanity. This thesis is astory—not a research paper filled with facts and citations from legitimized sources—a story. Its events and characters are weaved with unpretentious, colloquial and down-to-earth words. Its sentences are short, not grandiose rants designed to prove the writer is smarter than you—at least better at writing English than you. This story does not intend to make you cry or feel sympathy. This story will not scorn you or make you feel guilty. This story will not coerce you to run out into the streets, protest and fight the power. This story will not change the world. No! This story knows better than to undertake these conceited and nearsighted objectives. Its purpose is simple—to introduce my undocumented (illegal alien) friend to the world she knows and must withhold from. I wanted to give her a face with a story. I want to show the world who she is. I hope I’ve succeeded.

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1868), beloved by American girls who both identify with its heroines and confuse the main character with the author, has achieved preeminent status as a classic in children’s literature. However, because it has been successfully relegated to children’s literature, Little Women fails to receive much serious consideration as a great piece of American literature. In this thesis, I explore one of the reasons for this relegation to children’s literature. I argue that the continued power of Little Women is the result of successful marketing of what I call the Little Women franchise—the convergence of novel, film and biography of the author into a single marketing unit aimed at American girls. My argument is split into three phases. The first traces the multifaceted formation of the Little Women franchise by Louisa May Alcott, her publisher, Thomas Niles, and early readers of the novel who together succeeded in making the names and lives of Jo March and Louisa May Alcott interchangeable. The second phase follows the expansion of the franchise into the realm of theatre and film starting immediately after her death and continuing through the present day. In the final section, I examine the success of the franchise through its continued success and impact on readers’ lives to this day.

Both the first and second study explore the relationship between language and music in the context of familiar songs while examining the cross modal priming in comparison to same modal repetition priming. Vocal music lies at the center of the argument and provides a liaison between language and music. The first study used timed responses of musically primed words and non-primed words to determine if music can prime related words. This study also measured the response time of repeated primed words to make a comparison between same-modal and cross-modal priming. The second study used EEG to record neural reactions to melodic and dissonant notes in nursery songs and songs without words. This study also looked at music’s effect on the processing of sentences that were either correct, contained semantic errors, or contained syntactic errors. The first study found that people’s reaction times to musically primed words were slower than their reaction to unprimed and repeated primed words. A break down of the results by ethnicity showed that Asian Americans responded significantly faster to musically primed words than to unprimed words. Showing the possibility of cross modal priming between music and language. The second study found that the reactions to music (whether presented correctly or with a dissonant error) modulated the reactions to words (whether presented correctly or with a lexical error). The results support investigations of music and language sharing structural integration resources.

This report consists of a top-level aggregate analysis of the total potential for converting livestock manure into a domestic renewable fuel source (biogas) that could be used to help states meet renewable portfolio standard requirements, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and improve air quality. In the U.S. livestock produce over one billion tons of manure annually. Typical disposal methods for animal manure allow for the emission of ammonia, particulate matter, unpleasant odors, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and a variety of other criteria pollutants, which can damage the environment and pose risks to animal and human health. These disposal methods also allow for the uncontrolled emission of methane and nitrous oxide, two potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) with 21 and 310 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, respectively. Annually, 51 to 118 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide equivalent are emitted from livestock manure alone. Because air quality problems are on the rise, and trends show the contribution to GHG emissions from manure increasing from 1990 to 2005, limiting emissions from manure represents a valuable starting point for improving air quality and mitigating global climate change. Anaerobic digestion of animal manure is a well-known and time-tested alternative to traditional manure management techniques. Anaerobic digestion converts animal manure into methane rich biogas and avoids many emissions from common manure management practices. Biogas can be used in a variety of applications such as a coal substitute in electricity generation, which is the scenario considered in this analysis. Using values for the amount of biogas that can be produced per animal unit (defined as 1000 pounds of animal) per day and the number of animal units in the U.S., the author determined that the 95 million animal units in the country could produce nearly 1 quad of renewable energy per year, approximately 1% of the U.S. total energy consumption. Converting the biogas into electricity using standard microturbines could produce 88±20 billion kWh, or 2.4±0.6% of annual electricity consumption in the U.S. Such an approach replaces two relatively dirty energy sources—manure and coal combustion—with a relatively cleaner source, biogas combustion, thereby yielding a net potential GHG emissions reduction of 99±59 million metric tons or 3.9±2.3% of the annual GHG emissions from electricity generation in the U. S. In addition, this approach has the potential to eliminate 0.4±0.09 MMT of sulfur dioxide emissions, 0.1±0.03 MMT of NOx, 0.002 MMT of mercury, and 0.69±0.12 MMT of particulate matter from coal combustion. Despite the promise of biogas as a renewable, low-carbon source of energy, as of 2007 only 125 functioning biogas operations using manure exist in the US. These facilities produced 290 GWh (0.001 quad) of energy in 2007, which accounts for 0.001% of annual energy consumption in the United States and one thousandth of the nation’s biogas potential. In contrast, Sweden currently produces 0.3% of their annual energy usage from biogas, primarily from the wastewater treatment sector. This report also analyzes the policy incentives and barriers that exist for the production and utilization of biogas as well as the policy and institutional factors that have contributed to Sweden’s relative biogas success. Based on this analysis, the author makes recommendations for policy measures that would increase biogas production in the United States. These recommendations include R&D to promote technological advancement with digesters, state and national environmental objectives, state and national renewable energy quotas, financial support for biogas operations, state biogas education and support programs, and infrastructure improvements that facilitate biogas use. Such policy incentives would promote both biogas production and use, and thereby help increase the market penetration of a domestically-produced, renewable, low-carbon fuel.

James Joyce once said of his novel Ulysses (1922) that he wished to “give a picture of Dublin so complete that if the city one day suddenly disappeared from the earth it could be reconstructed out of [his] book.” Yet after almost a century of critical attempts to map Joyce’s Dublin, the novel continues to evade conventional modes of spatial representation. Drawing on the Situationist International’s concept of psychogeography, I interpret the urban environment of Ulysses as a shifting archive of subjective spatial experiences and memories rather than as a factual record of geographical reality. This fluid configuration of space allows individuals to reclaim the city through playfully subversive cognitive mapping techniques, liberating them from the sense of urban paralysis promulgated by an “objective” cartography.

In India you find opposites side-by-side in beautiful asymmetry. You find extreme poverty next to extreme wealth. You find filth next to cleanliness. You find sorrow next to the epitome of success. The women you will meet in this collection have stories of tragedy and joy, pain and recovery, restriction and freedom. These emotions and characteristics are sewn seamlessly in to the threads of these women’s lives, and the reader who will feel both pity and pride for the women will also find a seamlessness between two emotions once held apart. The women of these stories are true people; their stories are fictional narratives informed by their oral histories as they were relayed to me in Gujarat, India. In a culture where women are expected to marry, women who choose to stay single, or become single for other reasons, face an uphill battle. The single women I met in Gujarat, India are heroic and happy to have lives that provide them freedom that they feel could not have been achieved in marriage. Some of these women are divorced, some are victims of domestic violence, and others choose to stay single to better pursue their professional goals. Regardless of the reasons, these stories reveal the heroic lives of India’s single women and serve as a testimony to their struggles and successes as they stand on their own feet.

As disease spreads through a population, scientists want to know who gets sick, how best to prevent a large outbreak, and if an epidemic may occur. For many years, mathematicians used models to approximate answers to these questions; however, these older models used simplifying assumptions about the host population that drastically reduced the accuracy of the model’s predictions. Within the last ten years, however, graph theory was introduced to computational epidemiology so that we now have more realistic models of the contact patterns that facilitate the spread of disease. This thesis used these models in conjunction with probability generating functions to explore the effects of individuals changing contacts during the course of an epidemic on two different degree distributions, the Poisson and the power-law. We found that at all rates of swapping contacts, the total epidemic size for the Poisson distribution is larger than that of the power-law, but that the time to total epidemic size is lower for power-law than for Poisson.

This is a collection of stories and poems that I wrote in 2008 and cogitated upon, revised, chewed up, re-wrote, and spit out in 2009. I have used my memory, imagination, emotions, and visceral feelings to write, which has resulted in what may be a self-portrait in words. These pages document my thoughts and ideas at 22.

Sin-stock firms are defined as companies in the tobacco, alcohol, and gaming industries. Anecdotal evidence suggests that such firms outperform other, non-sin companies during a recession, perhaps due to the recession-proof behavior of sin-stock companies’ consumers. Specifically, these consumers continue to purchase the goods and services of sin-stock companies despite, and perhaps because of, an economic downturn. In this paper, I use one-way ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) and mean analyses of three financial ratios (return on equity, gross profit margin, and net profit margin) and gross revenue data to investigate two hypotheses related to the observations above: (1) whether a recession affects the performance of sin-stock firms; and (2) whether sin-stock firms outperform the market during a recession. I examine the behavior of the three aforementioned ratios and gross revenue data across the years 1997-2005 to encompass three time periods related to the March 2001 – November 2001 recession in the United States. These three time periods are pre-recession, during recession, and post-recession. Through my research I expect to find that while recessions negatively impact the performance of the market as a whole, they do not impact the performance of sin-stock companies. Thus, sin-stock firms will perform better during a recession than comparable non-sin firms. In summary, through my statistical analysis I find that alcohol firms are the only type of sin-stock firm whose performance appears to be unaffected by the recession. Gaming and tobacco firm performances, on the other hand, were negatively affected by the recession beginning in 2002. However, there is stronger evidence to support this claim for gaming firm performance than for tobacco firm performance. Non-sin firm performance, as predicted, was negatively affected by the recession beginning in 2001. Consequently, the only type of sin-stock firm to outperform non-sin firms during a recession is alcohol firms. The performance of tobacco firms is quite erratic and not significantly better or worse than that of non-sin firms during a recession. The performance of gaming firms is rather poor over all periods (pre-recession, during recession, and post- recession), at least when performance is measured by ROE, GPM, and NPM. Lastly, sales, a partial indicator of consumer purchasing behavior, for both sin and non-sin firms, was negatively affected beginning in 2002.

In 1991, Austin, Texas chose to market itself as the “Live Music Capital of the World” when the city discovered it had more live music venues per capita than any other city in the world. Austin has a very rich history in live music and updating the city slogan to promote the unique industry illustrates how important the live music industry is to the city. When the Internet was introduced to the music industry in the mid 1990s, it completely changed how music reached consumers thus also influencing how music was marketed to consumers. Music can now be listened and purchased online and live performances can now be viewed on the Internet. In an industry where geography no longer matters, how is Austin able to successfully market live music to consumers? This paper will examine how Austin’s live music history has influenced music marketing in Austin today. It will also look at what the city is doing to promote the future of the industry and how Austin’s unique market, which focuses on the entire experience of live music, will continue to remain successful in the future.

While someone may be considered great during their time in the spotlight, history has a much more selective memory. It remembers few, and in many cases, it has the tendency to temper legacies. Why should we care about the formation of a legacy, namely a presidential legacy? Most men share a common fear of death. Although scientists can now freeze or clone people, history has shown man that he cannot cheat death. The only way to gain immortality is to be remembered by history preferably positively. In the United States, the office that most naturally lends itself to awarding members a spot in history is that of the President. In order to better understand the formula for presidential legacy, I have created a model against which I will compare a president from each of four different levels of presidential greatness (great, near great, average, and poor). The base idea of my model is that a president’s reactive and proactive agendas will be the biggest determining factor of his legacy, but his character, relationship with the media, political party’s relationship with the country, and time elapsed after exiting office will moderate his legacy to some extent. While the way in which presidents handle their agendas has the largest effect on the formation of their legacies, these moderators help to temper some mistakes and cause others. Based on how each of my selected presidents fits the model, I have drawn general conclusions about what it takes to be a great/near great or an average/poor president.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pro‐inflammatory cytokine that regulates a portion of the immune response and that has been implicated in the inhibition of neuronal recovery following spinal cord injury.  My hypothesis is that MIF inhibits neuronal  recovery by increasing the inflammatory response as well as the buildup of scar tissue. To test  this hypothesis, MIF was inhibited in the lamprey after spinal cord transection via administration of the drug ISO1, a small protein that inhibits the enzymatic activity of MIF. The behavioral recovery was then measured over thirteen week period by scoring swimming  patterns. Axonal regeneration was measured through retrograde labeling of the somata of  giant reticulospinal axons. Results indicate that MIF inhibition led to a 60.6% increase in axon  regeneration, as well as more complete behavioral recovery. These results suggest the possibility of the MIF inhibition being a viable treatment for neural recovery following spinal  cord injury.    

NAFTA’s recent 15th anniversary and President Obama’s outspoken interest in the agreement have catapulted it to national attention and haveled many to reexamine NAFTA in earnest. The United States and Mexico share a closely-linked history marked by economic ups-and-downs, recently typified by the passage and implementation of NAFTA. This paper seeks to answer the questions: What has NAFTA done for Mexico? How should U.S. multinational corporations operatein Mexico in light of NAFTA? What is the future of U.S.-Mexican economic relations? The first task is to analyze the history of the U.S.-Mexican business relationship in an effort to understand how the relationship has evolved to what it is today. Second, I will pick apart the effects of NAFTA in Mexico and explore the veracity of myths that pervade common understanding of the agreement. Armed with this data, I will then propose a working framework for U.S. firms that desire to effectively do business in Mexico. Finally, I will speculate on the future of NAFTA and U.S. firms that have established themselves in Mexico since the agreement.

This work explores the future of Cajun culture by revealing the past through an array of oral histories collected from three generations of Cajuns in my family. It examines the cultural transformations reshaping Cajun culture over the past century through captivating narratives. Furthermore, it seeks to understand the implications of these transformations for personal and cultural identity of future generations. In the course of the work, I also address certain Cajun traditions that are rapidly becoming extinct. This is the first work to discuss the Saint Suaire, a rare, unauthorized devotional that has been passed down since the 17th century despite the Catholic Church’s attempts to suppress it.

Worldwide energy demand is predicted to increase drastically over the next half century. In order to increase electricity production without continuing to increase carbon emissions and global warming, clean sources of renewable energy can be harnessed as an alternative to fossil fuel-based production. Wind power is currently the most competitive form of clean renewable energy, and has proliferated as a viable source of electric generation in recent years. As the wind energy industry continues to expand, it will face certain obstacles which could potentially hinder its growth. Some of these obstacles are technical in nature, and may limit wind energy’s ability to contribute to the electric supply. Governments of the world should also explore new policy options which effectively promote the expansion of clean renewable energies and make them truly competitive with fossil fuels. Lastly, certain biological and societal concerns could potentially impede the growth of the wind energy industry. The amount that wind energy is ultimately able to contribute in the years to come will depend on the extent to which these obstacles are addressed. The U.S. Department of Energy’s goal of 20% wind power by 2030 will likely be feasible even without comprehensive solutions. In any case, wind energy will undoubtedly have a major role to play in the diversified energy spectrum of the future.

Ayurveda is a traditional form of Indian medicine that is often misunderstood and distrusted by Westerners. The distrust is due in part to the fact that many of the herbs used in Ayurvedic formulas are not fully understood. Their scientific properties have not always been proven, therefore, Westerners generally do not believe these herbs are effective medications. My goal in this thesis was to show Westerners that the efficacy of some of the herbal drugs used in alternative medicine such as Ayurveda has been proven. I delved into scientific databases to find medical articles that studied the effectiveness of five herbal drugs—turmeric, sandalwood, peppermint, Ginkgo biloba, and St. John’s wort. After doing extensive research, I came to conclusions about each drug. Considering all of my individual conclusions, I found issues that should be examined when herbal drugs are concerned. I also proposed a solution to the conflict between the different forms of medicine.

Aesthetic debate regarding the purpose and nature of classical music that flourishes today both in public and in academia continues a venerable philosophical tradition in Western thought facilitated by the intrinsic connection between music and ideas. Indeed, musical experience prescribes cognitive involvement, specifically, an association between ideas and the sensory aural elements present in music. The types of ideas associated with a musical experience fall into three main categories: narrative, emotional, and abstract aesthetic. Connections between sensory aural components of music and these categories are effected through imitation and abstract representation. Since the times of Plato, the philosophies that emerged in the Western world have described the nature of ordinary and ultimate reality, and these ontological definitions have affected the aesthetic common practices of artistic creation and reception. Historically, aesthetic norms have fluctuated, allowing the classification of music into distinct historical stylistic periods. Modernism represents one such distinct historical period that emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century, distinguished primarily by its rejection of traditional hierarchical organizations of tones and harmonies. Modernism also represents a different view of the traditional association between music and abstract aesthetic qualities, in particular, beauty. Thus the unprecedented musical changes represented by modernism incorporate important philosophical changes. This thesis traces the changes manifested by modernist music to equally momentous changes in philosophical ideas, metaphysical and aesthetic ideas in particular, that preceded musical modernism. Kant is identified as the philosopher whose ideas represent the primary antecedents of musical modernism, as well as Hegel and Schopenhauer, who incorporated many of Kant’s ideas. This thesis explains what the revolutionary philosophical ideas were, how they led up to and were incorporated into modernist ideas, and how they manifest themselves in modernist music. I have focused primarily on Arnold Schoenberg as the composer whose music epitomizes the tenets of modernism. The changes introduced in classical music by modernism during the twentieth century have repercussions on composers and audiences of classical music today.

Many Americans assume that because the United States is a melting pot of nationalities, they are somehowculturally enriched by default. But place an African American, an Italian American, and a stereotypical Caucasian American in a room to discuss a business proposition and you will witness a very different dynamic among the three business people than the dynamic between an African, Italian, and American discussing the same proposition. The latter interaction is becoming increasingly common as the world becomes more globalized. As Americans, we have some preparation (or catching up) to do. Historically, the United States has opted to remain isolated regarding various issues. The geographic location of the country alone keeps it somewhat detached from much of the rest of the world. However, the gap between the United States and the outside world is disappearing in all facets aside from its physical location. Americans are not used to this. They are accustomed to interacting with other Americans without a concern of outside cultures. Perhaps Americans should start being concerned. Tables are turning. The technological edge the United Statesused to enjoy is vanishing due to modern technology. Other nations, like those of Western Europe maybegin to realize an advantage over the United States due to their experience and ability to interact with other cultures. So, how do we prepare? Someargue that we start by educating the leaders of tomorrow: American youth. But the educational system in the United Statesis lagging behind the times. Nowhere in modern curriculum can one find cross-cultural education as a basic requirement despite its extreme relevance in today’s world. The best current option for American students to gain cross-cultural knowledge is through study abroad programs. But only 2% of American students (that’s 240,000 out of 17 million) take advantage of this opportunity. Study abroad is certainly not a requirement for an undergraduate degree. Students who participate in study abroad generally do so of their own accord. A student who is interested enough to take this initiative is arguably the type of student who alreadysees the importance of cross-cultural education and therefore seeks it out. While any student could benefit tremendously from studying abroad, students who do not realize the need to study abroad may benefit the most from the experience. Furthermore, there are many issues facing study abroad programs and their effectiveness. Study abroad programs have some major areas of improvement, yet it is still important for students togain cross-cultural knowledge. Study abroad is arguably the best available means within the educational systemin the United States to gain such knowledge. Despite the issues facing study abroad programs, immersion into another culture can always be beneficial.

My thesis focuses on the futures of the International Criminal Court and international tribunals, structures that are truly at the beginning of their histories. After providing background on the development of international criminal law, I analyze and compare tribunals and the ICC in an array of categories—jurisdiction, politicization, potential for fostering international cooperation, speed of response and financing. My conclusions highlight the need for widespread political support of international criminal law as well as the potential for a dynamic and cooperative relationship between the ICC and tribunals.

In recent years, the problem of hospital-associated infectious diseases has occupied an increasingly powerful and prominent place in the public imagination. Some laypeople are hesitant to visit hospitals for fear that they might contract one of these illnesses during their visit and thus become ensnared in a vicious cycle of never ending follow-up treatments. Perhaps the best-known example of this phenomenon is the case of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, abbreviated MRSA. As the title states, this thesis is primarily concerned with the origins of this problem as well as with the current strategies used to treat it. To achieve this goal, I have scoured the scientific literature and honed in on the key aspects of the topic. Although some sections of the paper rely on complex research, I have made special pains to not assume any biological, medical, or otherwise specialized training on the part of the reader. My hope is that the curious individual will be able to pick my thesis off the shelf, peruse its contents, and come away with a better understanding of the past, present and future of this important issue

Schizophreniais an illness that is poorly defined. Controversy has surrounded it in almost every domain: naming it, defining it, describing it, diagnosing it, and in effect, treating it. It has remained a mystery despite first being recognized over 100 years ago. Ever since the inception of the term in 1908, what actually constitutes schizophrenia has been debated. The etiology and treatment of schizophrenia is currently unclear because the concept of schizophrenia remains unclear. The heterogeneity of signs and symptoms, as well as the various brain structures implicated in its pathology suggest that schizophrenia may either be: 1) an illness that operates on a very fundamental process of the brain that can account for its diversity of symptoms or 2) not really a singular illness, but rather, a cluster of several other illnesses. Coming up with a clear definition and conception of schizophrenia is critical, for until then, progress in research and treatment will be handicapped. The goal of my research was to understand why schizophrenia, as both a concept and an illness, has remained a mystery.

William S. Gilbert and Arthur S. Sullivan, despite differences in background, personality, and ambitions, created some of the most enduring and popular operettas of all time and became one of Britain’s greatest musical contributions of the 19th century. However, their extremely disparate personalities caused problems that almost prematurely ended the working relationship multiple times. Gilbert’s blunt, logical, sarcastic personality did not always mesh well with Sullivan’s charming, romantic, sentimental approach to life. Interestingly, though, their partnership lasted nearly 25 years and produced such famous works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, and The Gondoliers, shows that are still popular to this day. What effect did these quarrels that punctuated their relationship play in their creative process then? How did their personalities help or hinder the outcome of the quarrels? What long-term effects did the quarrels have on the quality of the working relationship? These are the questions this paper seeks to answer. In this paper, I examine the role the extremely disparate personalities of these two men play into their working relationship. I look at their early biographies to see what factors went into the formation of those personalities. Then I analyze the major “quarrels” that occurred during their partnership, each one almost ending the incredibly productive collaboration that produced some of Britain’s most popular and enduring comic operas: the first quarrel resulting in the creation of The Mikado, the “Cipher Quarrel” resulting in the creation of The Gondoliers, and the “Carpet Quarrel” which led to the effective end of their partnership. Ultimately I find that such heated arguments and temporary estrangements actually prolonged their relationship and resulted in greater creativity and more prolific production. Therefore these quarrels that so infamously peppered their relationship were actually the lynch-pin holding them together.

Medium Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency (MCADD) is the most common inherited metabolic disorder, with a mortality rate of 20–25% in undiagnosed cases. Because MCADD is associated with elevated acyl carnitine levels in the blood, the disease can be diagnosed at birth via Tandem mass spectrometry (MS). However, in Texas it’s estimated that only 25–40 out of 400 specimens declared to be presumptively positive by Tandem MS actually have MCADD. This makes second tier genetic testing crucial for diagnosis of the disease. Eighty % of diagnosed MCADD cases are homozygous for the mutation A985G, while 7% of cases carry the mutation T199C, both located on Exon 11. Other mutations of the gene coding for the dehydrogenase enzyme may also cause this disease. The objective of this study was to develop and validate real-time PCR (RT-PCR) methods as a DNA confirmatory test for the A985G mutation and T199C mutations, and to use DNA sequencing on 29 clinically diagnosed specimens to identify other possible disease-causing mutations in clinically diagnosed cases. Second-tier tests for detection of the A985G and T199C mutations using RT-PCR assays were developed and accuracy was validated by comparing the RT-PCR results to DNA sequencing results. Out of 148 specimens tested, the frequency for homozygous or heterozygous A985G mutations in the presumptive positive specimens was about 67%. Less than 2% of presumptive positive specimens carried the T199C mutation. Approximately 65% of the tested presumptive-positive specimens were White, 25% Hispanic, 7% African American, and 3% other ethnicities. The A985G mutation was more prevalent in Caucasians. All 22 White MCAD-diagnosed newborns carried the A985G mutation, 14 homozygous and eight heterozygous. Of the seven Hispanic MCADD-diagnosed newborns, four were heterozygous A985G and three did not carry the A985G mutation. A total of 11 different mutations were identified in 29 MCADD cases. No diagnosed cases carried the 199T->C mutation. The A985G was the most frequent mutation, accounting for 69% (40/58) of the alleles. Other prevalent mutations were C250T (7%), G443A (7%), A580G (3%), and 430-432delAAG (3%). The G443A and A580G mutations were exclusively found in Hispanics. The A985G RT-PCR assay was demonstrated to be a useful second-tier testing tool for MCADD. Efforts may be made to increase the panel to include other prevalent MCADD-causing mutations identified in this study.

The last twenty years in American government has seen a significant shift in budgetary authority and power from the legislative branch of government to the executive branch. This thesis seeks to explain that shift, by observing its influence in five different case studies: the 1973 Impoundment Crisis, the 1995 Government Shutdown, the 2007 Budget Crisis, the 2006 New Jersey Government Shutdown and the 2009 California Budget Crisis. This thesis isolates three main factors as being key to the shift in authority from the legislative to the executive. The first factor is the increasing of partisan divisions in the legislature, diminishing its ability to work effectively. The second factor is the placement of increasingly restrictive budgetary rules upon legislative actions, which limit legislative options. The third factor is the ability of the executive to dissipate a unified message against the legislative branch’s message. This thesis predicts that these factors will continue to lead to an erosion of legislative authority. The executive branch will instead be challenged primarily by the judicial branch, this thesis predicts.

The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the diagnosis of autism, a behavioral spectrum disorder. Scientists are still working to determine whether the cause for the increase in cases of autism is biological, environmental, over-diagnosis, or otherwise. But regardless of the cause, autism is a puzzling and debilitating disorder that is now pervasive in our communities. While many studies focus on the scientific determinants and consequences of autism, this study examines the ways that this disorder impacts families and their lifestyles. The routines, daily activities, and emotional, economic, and physical states of these families are a few particularly relevant topics that this study entails. The primary research presented in this study examines the lives of five families who each have a child with autism. The data is presented through the lens of a sociological theory that highlights how individuals and families rebound from adversity, demonstrating resilience. The daily life of each family is exposed and scrutinized carefully to understand the role that autism plays, and the impacts that it has. As autism becomes more and more prevalent, understanding the impacts that it has on families is vital. When we understand the ways that families and their lives are changed by this disorder, we can develop a supporting environment for them.

Austin is changing. Although this is true of many cities, more recently, Austin has come onto the map as “one of the best places to live,” assuring in a building boom and an influx of a diverse concoction of people: young and old, immigrants and hipsters, singles and families. The demand for property and land has increased, instigating a widespread search for more affordable and cheaper housing. Although Austin has historically been a segregated city from at least 1928 when the City created the “Negro District,” the makeup of people in East Austin is changing. Once a vibrant African American and low-income neighborhood, East Austin is seeing a growth in income and changes in demographics, creating a rise in property values and taxes. This rise has become too high for some households and businesses to bear and has forced them to move from their homes to other areas. The need for healthcare facilities that served low-income, uninsured people has always been based in the urban core. Nevertheless, as demographics change, the need for such services may shift to other areas. As the picture of Austin is changing, is the picture of healthcare in Austin also changing? The following study will address the following questions: 1) What is gentrification? 2) What does gentrification look like in Austin? 3) What is healthcare access? 4) What does healthcare access for the uninsured look like in Austin? 5) Where do the issues of gentrification and healthcare in Austin intersect?

Molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) are polymer networks with binding sites for specific template molecules. MIPs can preferentially recognize the template molecule in solution even when in a mixture of similar molecules. This recognitive ability has brought MIPs to the forefront of biomedicial applications. They have been successfully used in applications ranging from molecular sensors to water purification. However, MIPs made with high molecular weight templates such as proteins have not achieved the same level of success. They are plagued with problems related to the nature of proteins such as size, solubility, complexity and conformation of the protein. However, the most important aspect of protein based MIPs is the complexes formed between the protein and the functional monomers before polymerization. In this study, analytical techniques were used to examine the interactions of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with the functional monomers of a polymer system. In this particular research, the polymer system consists of the functional monomers methacrylic acid (MAA), acrylamide (Aam), and 2- (dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) grafted with polyethylene glycol (400) dimethacrylate as the cross-linking agent and DI water as the solvent. UV spectroscopy and FTIR were used to examine the complexes in solutions of varying concentrations. Results from the FTIR displayed shifts in the spectra, indicating that pre-polymerization complexes were occurring. By using Job plot analysis, the optimal concentrations of monomer were determined to [MAA] = 5 mg/mL, [DMAEMA] = 5 mg/mL, [Aam] = 20 mg/mL, for a [BSA] = 13 mg/mL. Future studies will require investigation of the viability of a polymer system using the indicated concentrations.

Since the advent of the Internet, privacy is increasingly threatened: private facts about individuals are more accessible and permanent than they have ever been before. In response to new harms, the law must adjust to better protect privacy. In this paper, I will consider the conflicting values of privacy and speech in determining how a 21st century compromise between the two should look, in regard to the infringements by private parties on private facts. This paper will first consider the values of privacy and speech in Part I. Next, Part II will focus on the changes in the media and privacy resulting from the Internet. Part III reviews the legal standard for private facts formed by existing legal recourses and identifies some problems with the law. Finally, I will review potential solutions in Part IV and recommend that legislators and judges take a multifaceted approach to protecting privacy in the digital age, with a special focus on expanding confidentiality law. The breach of confidence tort is the best way to update the legal standard for privacy for the digital age.

When the United States military is involved in a war overseas, the American mass media has a unique responsibility to the public with the opportunity to relay information about the conflict via journalistic practices. However, the public does not always receive the complete truth about these events, because the goals of journalists often conflict with those of the military or government. Journalists and media outlets are attempting to tell stories while maintaining a profitable business model, the government and military are often seeking to protect American forces engaged in combat and ensure their continued success. It is the way in which these competing objectives create obstacles to the truth that this paper seeks to explore. First, I will define a framework within which this study can be undertaken—namely, one not seeking to place blame on any particular institution, but call attention to responsibilities that exist. Next, three chapters will examine several historical cases from the Korean War, Vietnam War, and Gulf War. In each case study, an event is first described in detail, followed by a discussion of its press coverage and reasons why the truth of the event was or was not told by American journalists. In the conclusion, I will look for any universal factors present within the obstacles found in each chapter, and seek to draw conclusions that are applicable to journalistic practices during contemporary wars. An analysis of the Iraq War within this framework is included in the close of the piece, investigating whether and how the aforementioned conclusions apply to U.S. journalists currently covering American activities in the Middle East. Finally, I will close with a discussion of why this topic as a whole is important to study, since it calls attention to an essential responsibility of the American public.

While there are currently theories about the effects of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) on wound healing, whether this protein affects spinal cord recovery and thus behavioral recovery after injury is presently unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to better understand the effect of MIF on behavioral recovery following spinal cord injury (SCI) using the lamprey as a model system. The lamprey is a particularly good model system for my experiments because the lamprey spinal cord consists of large straight axons with the ability to regenerate after a complete transection. In order to test the effects of MIF on behavioral recovery after SCI, I tracked the swimming behaviors of twelve recovering lampreys divided into two groups: six lampreys treated with IS0-1, an MIF inhibitor, and six control lampreys treated only with the drug vehicle (the controls). I qualitatively scored the lampreys’ movements for thirteen weeks after spinal cord transection, and I videotaped the lampreys at three specific time points during recovery, 1 week, 3 weeks, and 13 weeks, in order to perform a more quantitative kinematic analysis of locomotion. These time points were chosen because they represent times when the lampreys were paralyzed (1 week), halfway through regeneration (3 weeks), and after regeneration was complete (12 weeks). Both analyses revealed that lampreys treated with ISO-1 demonstrated more complete behavioral recovery than the control lampreys, recovering 21.25% more complete swimming behavior and swimming at a higher swimming velocity. Thus, MIF appears to play a negative role in behavioral recovery after SCI, suggesting that inhibiting its activity could improve functional recovery in other vertebrate models.

Many times the adage has been repeated: “It is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.” However, a woman’s true prerogative is to form and express her own opinion in the first place, a right that has not always been politically granted to women, and still is not, in many nations. Countries within the African continent in particular are often cited as lagging behind in reaching milestones of gender equality. This thesis will investigate the educational opportunities of African women and how education affects their political and cultural rights. Kenya, Liberia, and Sudan will serve as three case studies to demonstrate the relationship between education and social liberties. This thesis seeks to answer four central questions. First, for what historical reasons do African nations fail to reach gender milestones? Second, what is the role of education in obtaining gender equality? The third question is which must come first, access to education, or political leadership, in order to most effectively bridge the gender gap? And finally, what cultural obstacles stand in the way of equalizing educational opportunities? Originally, the thesis focused on the importance of educational opportunity in these countries and the role of education in attaining gender equality. Although equal access to education does contribute to increased female autonomy, ultimately research has led to the conclusion that this opportunity alone is not sufficient to ensure the protection of women's rights. Rather, a combination of education, political and economic support, and social reform is necessary to ensure the practical enforcement of gender equality. Therefore in addition to focusing on education, the thesis will also highlight the effects of war on women, noting the common lack of female input in many countries' postwar plans and the importance of addressing women's issues in the early stages of new nations' development.

The ancient Greek concept of justice took many forms between the development of the oral tradition and its transition to classical, written philosophy and literature. From Hesiod’s Works and Days through the philosophical developments of Plato and Aristotle, justice is a concept consistently explored. Reading and understanding the texts that make up the corpus of the Greek mindset lends itself to further discovery of the ancient Greek ideals. These Greek ideals are put forth in the characters and arguments of writers and philosophers. Justice, a core principle of society, is continually present in some form throughout Greek historical literature and when well understood presents further depth in knowledge of a people and a time. The brilliant minds and arduous work of the ancient Greek bards, scribes, and philosophers have had a lasting impact on the entire history of western society. There is scarcely a subject of current debate that had not been argued by our predecessors. Within the texts there are both simple, plainly put axioms of right and wrong, but there is also a depth of values that can come only from an understanding of the development and core themes of the ancient Greek genre. Discussions of justice inevitably bring to the surface many other compelling and important principles such as honor, violence, and truth. The correlating concepts that surround justice allow it to act as a stepping stone to knowledge of how and why the ancient Greeks held their specific set of beliefs. Following the path of justice through Greek history tells how the developing circumstances and thought processes transform the Greek conception of just rule.

Falling commodity prices, increasing consumption, andmigration of diasporahave brought about significant growthof khat production in Ethiopia, Kenyaand Yemenin the past century. As markets across the globe drive demand, an increasing number of communities and policy makers are debating the implications of increasingkhat consumption. However, policy prescriptionsfrom producers’ governments are most critical for developmental in the regionas the majority of consumption occurs domestically. This thesis explains how the khat trade has becomea regional trading network in the Horn of Africa, argues that the trade’s prohibition is undesirable,and recommends national regulationsfor encouraging economic growthwhile mitigating the trade’s harms.

Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, traditionally Catholic Latin America has played host to a noteworthy surge in evangelical Protestantism. Nowhere is this shift more pronounced than in Guatemala, where an estimated one third of the population now claims to be born-again Christians (mostly charismatic Pentecostals). But the effects of the rise of Protestantism in Guatemala go far beyond the cultural realm. This thesis aims to illustrate how conversion to Protestantism has nurtured socioeconomic growth for the rural Maya of Guatemala in a way that syncretistic- Catholicism and traditional indigenous beliefs have been unable to do so. First, I will examine the events leading up to the mass conversions that took place from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, including the history of missions in Guatemala, the devastating earthquake of 1976, and the civil war that lasted from 1960 to 1996. Then, I will discuss Max Weber’s theory of elective affinity and the different ways in which Protestantism aids socioeconomic development in Guatemala, namely: by creating an environment conducive to growing more profitable cash-crops instead of the traditional milpas; by nurturing the production of huipiles and other textiles for capital gain; by instilling the logic of suelo al cielo (rags to riches); by changing individual worldviews to be defined by self-fulfillment instead of obligatory (and financially draining) community support; by freeing converts from the “Catholic culture tax”; and by enforcing sobriety, which saves Guatemalans the expenses of alcohol and the treatment costs for alcohol-related illness. I will view this all within the framework of the recent academic focus on Protestantism as an agent of socioeconomic change in global third-world and developing communities and examine the town of Almolonga as a case study. Finally, I will not neglect the negative ways in which evangelical Protestantism has effected development in rural Guatemala. Here I will discuss the Cristo-pagan beliefs that self-oriented Protestantism is detrimental to community unity and is destroying the culture of Mayan heritage. I will also mention the tyrannical rule of the Protestant president, Efraín Ríos Montt and other possibly yet- to-be-seen negative effects of Protestantism.

This thesis presents a brief history of education legislation from post-World War II through the present and traces the development of the No Child Left Behind Act, gives an overview of the No Child Left Behind Act, presents challenges of the mandates, and proposes changes to be made in the reauthorization of the Act. The challenges and reautho- rization sections focus on the legislation for the goal of 100% proficiency by the 2013-2014 school year, adequate yearly progress and student subgroups, English language learners and students with disabilities, and the repercussions for schools failing to make adequate yearly progress. The thesis explores the reasoning behind the rules, the practical pitfalls of the implementation of the rules, and ways to remedy these unintended consequences in order to make the No Child Left Behind Act more equitable, more accountable, more responsive to individual needs, and more likely to leave no child behind.

Rabies is a fatal disease with a global prevalence. Worldwide, the greatest risk of rabies transmission to humans is from uncontrolled rabies infections of canine populations. Control of the canine variant of rabies within the U.S. however, catalyzed a transition to wildlife becoming the major animal reservoir. In recent decades, a majority of human rabies cases in the U.S. have been transmitted by bats. Texas has been identified to be at high risk for both bat and skunk rabies. This study analyzed the ongoing bat and skunk rabies enzootics in Texas, as well as assessed the impact of bat and skunk rabies on the human population of the state. The prevalence of bat rabies was found to increase during the six year study largely due to an increasing number of cases of the Mexican free-tail bat variant. The Mexican free-tail bat variant was also associated with a majority of the human exposure cases. Monoclonal antibody typing data obtained on rabies positive specimens suggested spillover among bats. The highest combined risk factor for cases of human exposure to bat rabies was seen for males under the age of sixteen in a school setting. This highlights a need in primary and secondary school age children for education about bat rabies. Two epizootic centers of skunk rabies were identified and analyzed in the Denton County and Austin County focus areas. Prevalence of skunk rabies increased between epizootic peaks. The bimodal seasonal distribution of skunk rabies described in state data only held true for epizootic years, with the fall peak reduced or sometimes absent. Cases of human exposure to skunk rabies did not always correlate with high incidence of skunk rabies in an area, emphasizing the importance of statewide skunk rabies education programs.

Over time, as the field of linguistics has grown and developed, linguistic theories have changed accordingly. In particular, the sub-field of dialectology has been affected both by our increased knowledge and by changing political and social environments. My project examines the scholarly study of the dialect known as African American Vernacular English. Specifically, I focus on theories regarding the origins of this variety of English. Because so many such theories have been proposed, it can be difficult to sift through them to discover the most current state of the field. I will examine the major theories and their critical reception. Ultimately, by consolidating and comparing the research of many scholars, I will be able to determine which ideas have been invalidated by their successors and which accepted. This process will lead me to a complete picture and understanding of the state of the field on this issue, as well as the ways in which various scholars have contributed over time.

The United States faces what can only be declared adire energy crisis. U.S. dependence of foreign oil has placed our country in a vulnerable, defenseless position. Not only is our reliance on foreign oil forcing us to sendbillions of dollars out of our country, but the burning of fossil fuelsis alsoharming our environment and continues to contribute to global warming and the release of harmful gases into our atmosphere. What can we do about the devastating predicament in which we are finding ourselves? What energy alternatives are we exploring to reduce our dependence on foreign oil? Which alternatives are the most promising? These are the questions this paper seeks to answer. The first undertaking is to independently explore five energy alternatives currently being studied in America: wind energy, hydrogen energy, nuclear energy, pond-scum energy and ethanol biofuels. Second, I will compare these five alternatives in five different categories: safety, effect on environment, monetary cost, fuel vs. food tradeoff, and land requirements. Finally, I will attempt to determine the superiority of one alternative over the others.

Inarguably, the demand and audience for classical music is shrinking. To rectify this, audience developers in classical music today must acknowledge the history of classical music in the United States in addition to assessing current conditions. Young musicians hoping to reach a wide audience and wishing to make a living through their art must consider a few basic questions: (1) how do I reach out to audiences across socioeconomic, racial, and age lines? (2) How do I take my music out of a university context and still make it relevant? (3) How do I reconcile my music of mostly European roots with an American audience constantly searching for a unique American identity? And finally (4) how do I show that I recognize classical music is only one of a variety of musical arts that have influenced American culture? This study aims to answer these questions in the context of The University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music and the UT Performing Arts Center.

Why do performance enhancing substances cause such a big commotion in the world of sports? Specifically focusing on the professional level of baseball, the task of this thesis is to explore the role played by performance enhancers and whether they are the actual problem for baseball or if it is actually something much greater. The first task is to address is why these substances are considered bad. After a discussion of different opinions against doping, the ultimate argument made is that performance enhancers violate the rules of fair play. Secondly, I ask why do performance enhancers ruin the reputation of baseball more than other sports. Looking back on the history of the game and the history of America, there are correlating moments that tie the two together to make baseball America’s sport. Since many consider the game to define America, any tainting of the sport also casts a dark shadow of shame on the country. However, steroids are not the only source of taint on baseball. Rather, the structure and culture of the professional game has changed to promote steroid use, leading one to wonder if the organization is where the true problem lies on the grander scale. I discuss and evaluate the effectiveness of the current drug policy in the Collective Bargaining Agreement to argue that the solution still has not been found. Finally, I briefly discuss individual situations and assess how the actions of certain men have impacted their future.

Terminal sedation, physician assisted suicide, and euthanasia are very controversial topics in the medical arena. While the definitions may seem similar, there is a clear distinction between the three acts. Terminal sedation is a legal procedure used to help prevent suffering of people at the end of life. The intent is to comfort, not to kill. Euthanasia is the intentional killing of a patient by a doctor, usually through injection, and physician assisted suicide is the indirect killing of a patient by a doctor, often by means of barbiturates. Despite its legality, some doctors and health care professionals believe terminal sedation is a type of slow euthanasia that provides an easy out when other alternatives exist. And despite the illegal nature of physician assisted suicide and euthanasia, many doctors believe these procedures are appropriate under certain conditions. Are they appropriate in a hospice situation, where the patient is near death? Even though the concepts of euthanasia and physician assisted suicide do not align with the purpose of hospice, do they already happen in hospice settings? My thesis focuses on terminal sedation by exploring its origins and interrelationship with physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. After giving a thorough background of hospice goals and founding principles, I examine how terminal sedation fits into the hospice setting and determine whether it is appropriate or anathema to the hospice mission.


Since
 Argentina’s 
economic 
crisis 
in 
2001,
 worker‐recovered
 businesses 
have
 gained
 strength
 and 
coordination
 through
 the 
creation 
of 
networks.
Originally
 incited 
by 
necessity, worker‐recovered 
businesses 
are 
practicing
 an
 alternative
 business
model 
founded 
on 
the
 values 
of 
self‐management
and
 cooperation.

By
 prioritizing 
labor
 over 
capital,
workers 
are developing
 innovative 
tools 
to 
operate
 in 
the 
capitalist 
economic 
system.


 
 One
 of
 these
 innovations
 is 
network
building,
a 
tool
that 
is 
bringing 
worker‐recovered
 businesses 
out
 of
 isolation
 and
 allowing
 them
 to 
organize 
as
 actors 
in
an
 alternative economy. To study this phenomenon, I focus on the case of Hotel B.A.U.E.N., a center of activity for social movements and a leader in efforts to network worker-recovered businesses.

As a socialist country, China stressesthe importance of its working class population. During the struggle between the CCP and the KMT, Mao Zedong and his cadresempowered this group of people, believing that the future of the nation lay in their hands. Unfortunately, this optimism was short-lived. Once the People’s Republic of China was officially established in 1949, strict measures were imposed to regulate the flow of people from rural to urban areas through the Hukou system. Finally, in the 1970s and 1980s the government took a number of steps to relax the system, implementing policies that allowed formore mobility. Despitethe measures taken, the effects of the Hukou system, combined with the inconsistency of local and national policy, deprive many migrant workers of benefits like social security and healthcare. On top of that, this marginalized group has endured the prejudice fromthose living in big cities. While Chinese law strictly prohibits discrimination basedonsocial status, the fact is, it still occurs quite regularly, proving that there is a clear disconnect between policy and reinforcement. The national government does not have the agility of the local governments to ensure that its migrant working population receives equal benefits; and much of the time, this group tends to “fall through the cracks”. At the same time, with its increasing ability to exert more oversight, the local governmentcan alsouse this power to, like the national government, impose strict measures of control.Because of the lack of cooperation at the local and national level, it is imperative for China to build upon third party systems like NGOs that have the ability to act as liaisonsbetween local and national governments. This paper seeks to accomplish a number of different objectives. In it, the author will define marginalization by looking at four factors of “well-being”, 1) housing 2) wages 3) social security and 4) health care. It will then explore the ambiguity of national policies like the Hukou System and the Labor Law of 1994/1995 in comparison to specific, local level policies that appear to have more oversight. Additionally, the paper will display how the Hukou system interferes with migrant welfare. The author will then offer alternative solutions.

Throughout history, there have been certain individuals – social entrepreneurs – who have responded to the pressing social issues of their time with innovative solutions that catalyzed social transformation, shifted societal paradigms, and eventually led to the creation of sustainable new systems that represented a significant improvement from the original set of conditions. 2006 Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank may be the best known example of social entrepreneurship today, but people such as Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, Jean Monnet, the architect of post-WWII European unification, and Vinoba Bhave, the father of the“land-gift” movement that redistributed more than 7 million acres to India’s poor, are also examples of social entrepreneurs who have effected substantial social changes in other historical and geographical contexts. Who exactly are these remarkable individuals making such widespread, important impact and leading these social changes? The first part of my thesis sets the background for the discussion of this question, striving to define social entrepreneurship and describing certain characteristics of leading social entrepreneurs. However, these people have often already reached maturity and have already been identified as social entrepreneurs. What about the young, idealistic people out there who have yet to reach that stage? Can you tell which ones will become true social entrepreneurs and which will remain standard altruistic humanitarians? Thus, the second part of my thesis brings the topic closer to home, concentrating on social entrepreneurship in young people – specifically, undergraduate and graduate students who have demonstrated an interest in social impact by entering the RGK Social Innovation Competition. By performing a content analysis of the dream papers submitted to the competition in the past two years, I have examined and evaluated young people’s ideas for social change in the context of social entrepreneurship. Finally, the third part of my thesis focuses on identifying potential social entrepreneurs through developing a change agent profile. Based on the results of a survey of these past competition entrants, this portion investigates the connections between a person’s demographic and/or personal factors, and his/her commitment to altruism and social entrepreneurship in particular.

Increased concern over climate change and the threat of dwindling fossil fuel resources has led to a worldwide push for renewable energy development, in particular for electric generation. Texas leads the nation in installed wind capacity and has seen an increased development of other renewable energies, such as solar power and biomass. Texas’s success in renewable energy development is due to the unique policies that underlie the state’s electricity market. This paper first gives an overview of the deregulated electricity market in Texas in 2002, followed by a discussion of its effect on renewable development through the creation of competitive prices, customer choice and a renewable portfolio standard. Second, those policies regulating the transmission of power throughout the ERCOT grid and its interconnection to the rest of the nation are explored. Finally, Texas’s future in renewable energies development, specifically the predicted regional impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be introduced. Detailed research and interviews with industry experts regarding the Texas electricity market, explains the State’s past and expected future success in renewable energy development.

Economic models can be used to describe and predict a wide range of human behavior. This paper will construct a model that focuses on the tradeoff between work and leisure to provide a rational framework around the issue of procrastination. Given this tradeoff, a set of exogenous variables is defined that influences personal scheduling decisions. Procrastination is merely a scheduling preference that is often perceived as irrational and unproductive behavior. But is procrastination an unavoidable inefficiency or are there actually measurable benefits to procrastination? Through experiments on a set of exogenous factors, the model will highlight the causes and effects of procrastination and will reveal the incentives and resulting outcomes of this behavior on how individuals structure their time.

Rates 
of 
tuberculosis 
(TB) 
infection 
in
 the 
United
States
 have 
declined 
to 
the lowest
 levels
 seen
 since
1953.
 Unfortunately, 
certain 
groups
 remain
susceptible
 to infection. 
Migrant 
farm
 workers,
 a
population
 composed 
mostly
 of
 Mexican
 immigrants, 
are 
estimated 
as 
having
 six 
times 
the
national 
average 
risk 
for contracting 
TB. 
The 
high
rates
 of 
TB 
infection 
among
 migrant 
farm
 workers
worsen the 
overall 
health 
of 
this 
group 
and 
pose 
a
threat 
to 
national 
public 
health 
due 
to 
the possibility 
that 
the 
disease 
could 
spread 
from
 this
group 
to 
the 
greater 
population. To 
prevent 
a 
future 
pandemic, 
efforts 
must
 be 
made 
to implement 
more
 effective 
TB control 
measures.
 This 
paper
 will 
attempt
 to 
aid 
these 
efforts 
by
assessing
 the underlying 
causes
 of 
susceptibility 
to
TB
 infection,
 and
 by 
making 
recommendations
 on
 potential 
courses
 of 
action.
 
 First, 
I 
will 
assess
 the
 risk 
factors 
for 
TB 
affecting
migrant 
farm 
workers. Then 
I 
will 
examine 
the
barriers 
to 
health
 care 
access
 present 
for 
this 
group. Examining
 these 
will 
aid 
in 
understanding
 the 
causes 
of 
the 
high 
rates 
of 
TB infection 
among
migrant 
farm
 workers 
as 
well 
as 
the 
challenges 
for
public 
health 
in controlling
 TB 
in 
this 
group.
 With
these
 challenges
 in 
mind, 
I 
will 
make recommendations 
for
 public 
health
 stakeholders on the most effective and feasible ways
 to 
combat
 TB 
in
 this 
population.
 



This is a story, mostly true, of my attempt to open a frozen banana stand in Austin with my business partner, Anna. The story begins with the origin of the idea, and goes through the first phases of business development to the status of the business at the time of this writing. The story also approaches deeper issues through the story of the banana stand, including experiences in a foreign country, struggles with social anxiety, and spiritual confusion. The narrative takes place over the span of a year.

Plasmalemmal repair of damaged neurons requires Ca2+, vesicles, and isoforms of membrane fusion proteins. I now report that cAMP, as well as its downstream effectors PKA and Epac, effect plasmalemmal repair of damaged neurons by forming a dye barrier, which I interpret as a plasmalemmal seal. When the plasmalemma of a neuron is damaged, the first step in its repair is to seal the lesion. This plasmalemmal sealing occurs due to an accumulation of vesicles at the damage site. The cAMP pathway has previously been implicated in neuronal survival, and cAMP modulates the activity of membrane fusion proteins. I hypothesize that cAMP is activated in damaged neurons by calcium influx, and cAMP, acting through PKA and Epac, increases the activity of membrane fusion proteins required to form a plasmalemmal seal. I report that the addition of cAMP, PKA, and Epac analogs increased the overall percent and decreased the time course of dye exclusion, in transected B104 cells compared to the overall percent and time course of dye exclusion of damaged B104 cells transected without cAMP, PKA, or Epac-specific analogs. I also report that the addition of PKA inhibitors decreased the overall percent and increased the time course of dye exclusion in transected B104 cells compared to the overall percent and time course of dye exclusion of transected B104 cells with no inhibitors.

In the developed world, governments and citizens often agree on the significance of environmental issues and concerns. In the developing world, however, they may often stand at odds. Government-level environmental initiatives can often reflect different interests than the concerns of the ordinary citizens at the local level, or the grassroots. A traditional top-down approach can wane in effectiveness by the time it reaches the local population. Therefore, to influence environmental change, programs and policymakers may be more effective in examining the grassroots rather than the government, because the grassroots are most attuned to and affected by their natural surroundings. They are often the ones who adopt customs, in which natural resource conservation and improvement begin. While undeniably, the government must ultimately be influenced, the ordinary citizens represent a necessary step in change. This paper aims to understand the grassroots’ motivations and incentives. It finds that in developing nations, short-term, immediate benefits are crucial in defining grassroots’ interests as supported by the Environmental Kuznets Curve, Maslow’s need hierarchy, and income elasticity. While the grassroots may understand the long-term costs of their actions, their situations make it necessary for them to strive for short-term benefits. This key aspect in their behavior is evidenced through case regions of the grassroots in the Sahel region in Africa, the Amazon Basin in Brazil, and industrial China. Therefore, to enact programs that promote environmentalism among the local population, one must understand the grassroots’ short-term incentives and must incorporate this into policies, or else, previous attempts show, locals are not too keen to adopt them.

Tea plays a major role in Britain’s social culture. I am interested in what the role of tea is in Yorkshire, an expansive county in the North of England. How does tea demonstratethe unique aspects of Yorkshire’s identity? Yorkshire’s unique history makes it a region where new members brought in by industry coexist with the many families that have lived in Yorkshire for multiple generations. I call this dynamic the assimilation continuum, as new members must gradually become accepted members of the Yorkshire community. In this thesis, I outlineand explore Yorkshire’s unique identity and then look at how tea practices demonstrate the adoption and continuity of regionalism. I have four chapters that achieve my goals. First, I explain the hybrid methodology needed to approach this project. Second, I outline distinctive aspects of Yorkshire’s identity. The third chapter focuses on tea experiences in the area, both real life and abstract. Finally, my observations are combined to use tea as a lens through which regionalism and assimilation can be understood in Yorkshire.

The total is only thirty-eight dollars. To most this sum doesn’t size up to more than a pair of denim jeans or a meal out, but to the citizens of a small city in Bangladesh it is the amount necessary to break out of the poverty cycle that has plagued their families for generations. These small loans are part of the phenomena of microfinance. While there have been many reports of the successes of this economic model, there are still many aspects which have yet to be fully understood. In this thesis I evaluate the economic model and the cultural implications associated with microfinance as it relates to poverty alleviation. Breaking out of the poverty cycle, an immergence of women’s rights, and the impact on developed nations as well as developing nations are among the most significant cultural changes that result from microfinance loans. The question remains, however, how far and will this movement get in the fight against world poverty? While much of this is up to speculation, the growing sense of social responsibility and evolving capital market are good indicators that there is still a great deal of progress that will be made.

Economics struggles with the whims and fancies of the human mind and heart. Despite the unpredictability of its subject, it has strived to instill a sense of order into complex systems comprised of inherently unpredictable human beings. For inspiration, it turned to physics, the king of the sciences, at crucial junctions. The influence of the one on the other has been profound, and acknowledging this exchange between the natural science and the social science allows for a deeper understanding of the shortcomings faced by modern financial and economic theory. The paper is organized more or less chronologically, beginning with the development of neoclassical economic theory in the latter stages of the nineteenth century. The quantification of utility through an energy analogy begins the pattern of incorporating physical models that would continue into the next century. Over the course of the first half of the 1900’s, the physics influence would spread into financial economics in studying investment behavior in the markets, particularly the Brownian motion of stock prices. This would result in modern portfolio theory with an emphasis on risk management. One of the most important advances in this area was Black Scholes, an equation usedto price derivative securities that closely resembles the heat diffusion equation in physics. This created an entire industry designed to hedge and minimize risk, and the people as well as the ideas from physics moved to Wall Street. Unfortunately, the complex formulas divorced the securities from their fundamentals, and Globalism witnessed an asset bubble that would burst as the banking system collapsed in the autumnof 2008. The current global economic downturn wrought by the failure of the banking system serves as a foreboding example of the danger of relying on elegant and sophisticated formulas to accurately model risk. Unpredictable human behavior and incentives inherent to the system deny quantification; those shortcomings need to be acknowledged, or else we suffer the risk of instilling systemic risk in an ever more interconnected world economy. Bringing economics up to a level of rigor comparable to physics is a noble goal, but its subject is disobedient. Human behavior continues to amaze and surprise us, and it creates a wonderful and challenging world to live in. Attempts to control and predict uncertain events should be made, but one cannot help but wonder, is it all just a bad case of physics envy?

Four years ago, Larry Summer, former president of Harvard, made statements suggesting women were not genetically able to succeed at the highest levels of science, engineering and math fields. Additionally, he stated women did not want to put the work in required to obtain tenured positions at major research universities. He did admit universities might also be discriminating against women. During the fallout, there was much discussion of women and their presence in scientific fields. However, attracting and keeping women in science is not a new issue and has been a recognized problem since the 1970s. How can we attract and keep women interested in science at all levels? In order to understand the female perspective on science I began by examining brain differences in males and females. Next I explored treatment differences in the scientific community for men and women. Then, I argue how science has profited from the contributions of women as well as how science has cheated women. Finally, I make my own recommendations to increase participation of women in science at all levels of work and study.

Cryptosporidium parvum infects both humans and animals. In vivo, Cryptosporidium must attach and invade host cells using, thrombospondin related adhesive protein (TRAP), which is then translocated from the apical to the posterior surface, where the extracellular domain is cleaved, ultimately resulting in invasion (Kappe et al. 2004; Wetzel et al. 2005). The mechanism of TRAP release is currently unknown. We identify Rhomboid as the protease responsible for TRAP cleavage, which then leads to TRAP release. We determined the temporal expression profile of TRAP and the rhomboid protease in an in vitro model of C. parvum infection at different time points. TRAP and rhomboid followed a similar pattern of expression at earlier stages in the infection, which is important in establishing a temporal association between the rhomboid protease and its hypothesized substrate. Because of the complex nature of the life cycle of C. parvum, we then used the Cryptosporidium Oocyst Wall Protein-8 as a sexual stage marker. Identifying the protease necessary for Cryptosporidium attachment and invasion could provide a target for potential drug treatments for cryptosporidiosis.

The biophilia hypothesis states that humans have a natural affinity for nature that stems from the evolutionary progression of the human species. This affinity produces a positive response in humans that can manifest itself in reduced blood pressure, reduced stress levels, increased happiness, and enhanced health. The practice of biophilic design is to apply the biophilia hypothesis in the design of a building in order to elicit the positive response linked to humans’ natural affinity for the natural environment. Thisis achieved by bringing nature or something that resembles nature into the built environment. There are several benefits of biophilic design that are applicable in the context of business. Those benefits are increased employee productivity, increased employee wellbeing, improved learning potential, enhanced healing ability, and increased sales in retail spaces. Biophilic design is also easily paired with sustainable design, which has the benefit of reducing energy and utilities costs. I seek to prove that the benefits from sustainable design justify the use of sustainable design in business when sustainable design is unable to justify itself. For the combined incentives of biophilic design and sustainable design are substantial enough to add value to a company.

Animal cruelty is on the rise in America. Factory farms and animal testing facilities, the two main sites of animal exploitation, are expanding despite the efforts of progressive laws that are working against this trend such as California’s Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. The growth of these two industries has caused many people in the animal liberation movement to debate the efficacy of the tactics they use bring about change. These debates have produced three strategies for animal liberation activism that I call welfarism, abolition, and revolution. My goal in this paper is to determine which strategy is best able to advance the goals of the animal liberation movement. I begin by outlining the common goals amongst activists in order to know what each strategy has to accomplish to be considered effective. Next, I describe each strategy and the tactics they deploy to try to influence public opinion and help animals. I then argue for the benefits of welfarism and explain why it is most likely to bring about change. Finally, I consider the merits of the other strategies and respond to their criticisms of welfarism.

In 2003, the Texas legislature passed House Bill 4, which contained a controversial provision capping noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases at $250,000. There is still some dispute over whether or not caps on noneconomic damages are an effective method of containing physicians' liability and maintaining reasonable medical malpractice insurance rates. This paper examines the logic underlying a cap on noneconomic damages. I argue that the cap was an effective response to rising malpractice insurance rates, but that it has created a number of negative externalities. I conclude that the cap should be used as a platform for reform, with its stability serving as a jumping-off point from which we can try new strategies to balance victims' rights with providing reasonable insurance rates.

In line with the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, Uganda has taken great strides to reduce its maternal mortality. To its credit, from 1990 to 2005, Uganda has seen its maternal mortality rate decrease from 1,200 to 550 deaths per 100,000 live births. However, with less than half of mothers seeking trained birth assistance, further progress is needed for maternal health care, which can be improved in large part by improving the health care delivery system. The purpose of this study is to understand what factors constitute barriers to maternal health care delivery system in Mbale, Uganda. Factors were divided into three groups: (1) systems-level factors included organization, referrals, transportation, funding, and drug procurement; (2) provider characteristics included the workforce composition, further medical training, compensation, and social desirability issues; (3) practice characteristics included catchment, locale, poverty, and cultural beliefs about health care. To examine these factors, 19 semi-structured interviews were carried out with health care workers and medical administrators in Mbale district. This study finds that systems-level factors, provider characteristics, and practice characteristics represented barriers to the delivery of quality maternal health care, especially antenatal counseling, delivery assistance, and postnatal care. However, it was found that systems-level factors—especially organization and availability of care, funding, and drug availability—underlie barriers found in other aspects of health care. This study recommends further research on the interrelatedness of these barriers, specific cost-effective health care solutions mentioned in the interviews, and the viability of systems-level improvements (e.g., funding increases, etc.).

Medicare, a federally funded social insurance program, provides health coverage to virtually all American seniors over 65 and has been modified continually over its forty-three year history to ensure its coverage remains comparable to that offered by the private insurance industry. However, as the baby boomers reach the age of eligibility beginning two years from now (2011), Medicare’s current budget of $326 billion will be drained by 2019 unless reforms are initiated soon to account for the anticipated rise in program enrollment. The Federal Medicare Board of Trustees has recently urged that reform measures be initiated now to prevent future financial problems that might mean an end to Medicare as we know it. This project highlights the three leading propositions for reform—updated social insurance, premium support and a consumer-driven model—and evaluates their likelihood to promote access, coverage and satisfaction among future beneficiaries in Texas. Sixteen interviews with current beneficiaries in the area were conducted to gauge the expectations of future enrollees; this research leads to the conclusion that premium support is the option that will bring the greatest satisfaction among future beneficiaries in Texas.

Tuberculosis 
causes 
approximately 
two 
million
deaths 
per 
year, 
and
 about 
95% 
of those
 occur 
in
developing 
countries.
 TB
 flourishes
 in 
underserved,
third 
world communities 
that
 suffer 
from
 the
disadvantages 
of 
poverty—poor
 sanitation,
 overcrowding, 
malnutrition, 
and
 a 
lack 
of 
access
 to
medical 
care. For 
this 
project, 
I 
traveled 
to 
Peru, 
a 
developing
country 
that 
fits 
all 
of 
the 
criteria
 for 
having
 a
 high 
incidence
 of
 TB
 among
its
population—especially
 its
lower
 socioeconomic
 classes.
The 
poorer 
sectors 
of
the 
population 
are 
particularly 
vulnerable 
to 
TB 
due
to 
their extremely
 limited 
financial 
resources 
and
their 
lack 
of 
even 
the
 most
 basic
 knowledge
 concerning 
public 
health 
and 
disease
 transmission. 
I
 spent
 six 
weeks 
working
 in 
medical
 clinics 
in 
the
Andean
 city
 of
 Ayacucho, 
where
 I
 researched
 the
 TB
treatment
 facilities,
 the
 programs 
for
drug 
therapy,
and
 the 
effects 
of
 drug 
therapy 
on
 the
 patients. 
The
harsh
 side
 effects
of
the
antibiotics,
among
other
factors,
have
led
to
the
emergence
of
Multi‐Drug
 Resistant
strains
of
the
disease,
and
I
researched
the
availability
of
second‐line
drugs
in
 Ayacucho.
 In
my
thesis
I
discuss
the
financial
and
social
consequences
of
being
a
TB
victim,
 especially
for
the 
lower
 class
 individuals
 who
 rely
 upon
their
 weekly
 paycheck
 to
 feed
 their
 families 
and
 cannot
 work
 for
 months
 at 
a
 time 
during 
treatment.
 I
 also
 focus
 on
 the
 efforts
 made
 in
 Peru
 to
 provide
 universal
 treatment
 and 
contain
the 
spread 
of 
the 
disease. 
Among
 the 
most
 important
 efforts 
today
 are
 the 
educational
programs
 that 
community
 health
 centers 
sponsor
 in 
order 
to 
promote
 good
 health
 in
 their
neighborhoods.
 The
 purpose
 of
 this 
work
 is
 to
 give
 a
 personal
 account
 of
 the
 state
 of
 TB
 in 
Peru
 today 
and
 to
 discuss
 what
 efforts 
are
 necessary
 to
 accelerate 
movement
 toward 
complete
 TB
 control.
 In
 this 
project,
 I
 hope
 to
 promote
 TB 
awareness 
and 
inspire greater efforts toward humanitarian aid and disease
 control 
in
 the
 developing
 world.


After years of debate on bankruptcy reform, in 2005 Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA). The 2005 Act reformed the existingbankruptcy system ina number of ways, most notably by instituting a means-test which prohibits debtors earning above a certain income level from filing for bankruptcy under the more debtor-friendly Chapter 7. Instead, these debtors now must file under Chapter 13, which requires higher amounts of repayment to creditors. Supporters of the 2005 Act claimed it would have a positive effect on the economy by increasing repaymentsto creditors. They also claimed that it would make the bankruptcy system more equitable by preventing opportunistic debtors from abusing the system, while still protectingthe bankruptcy rights of overwhelmed debtors truly in need of financial relief. Using data gathered from bankruptcy cases filed in the Western District of Texas before and after BAPCPA was passed, this paper examineswhether the 2005 Act has succeeded in its goals of increasing paymentsto creditors and limiting the abuse of Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Italso examineswhether the declining number of total bankruptcy filings in the United States since the 2005 Acttook effectis evidence of BAPCPA’s success in eliminating abusive filings or evidence that BAPCPAhas madebankruptcy relief less attainable for honest debtors.

The global economy recently experienced widespread growth that created a strong demand for energy between 1998 and 2007. Average oil prices steadily rose from $12/bbl in 1998 to $72/bbl in 2007, but contrary to market expectations, daily production of crude oil declined by as much as 25% in Latin American countries with historically strong state-run oil companies. The Brazilian national oil company (NOC) Petrobras outperformed other Latin American NOCs in exploration and production (E&P) during this 10-year period by increasing average daily crude oil production 82%. Petrobras also played an instrumental role in helping Brazil become a net petroleum exporting country, an impressive feat considering Brazil has the 9th largest economy in the world and the second largest economy with net oil exports. This thesis will explore how Petrobras became an industry leader in E&P. After reviewing the history and current corporate structure of Petrobras, this study will focus on the innovations Petrobras developed to exploit some of the most technically challenging fields in the world. This report will then examine how Petrobras manages human capital and compare the performance and strategy of Petrobras with that of other NOCs around the world. Important aspects of Petrobras’ success will be summarized and applied to future policy considerations addressing oil production.

This
thesis
is
a
collection
of
short
stories
from
Tirthankara
Mahavira's
years
as
an
 as
chronicled
by
the
collection
of
Jain
scriptures
known
as
the
 Kalpasutra .
Each
 as
translated
from
the
Gujarati
version
of
the
 Kalpasutra ,
expanded
upon,
and
 fictionalized
to
reach
the
final
form
seen
within.

 The
five
stories
from
Mahavira's
life
that
I
decided
to
include
in
this
thesis
were
 selected
for
the
specific
values
they
represented.
The
tale
of
Chandrakaushika
shows
the
 results
of
excessive
anger,
and
the
downfall
that
comes
with
it.
Sangama's
attempts
to
 break
Mahavira's
concentration
and
his
subsequent
failures
show
the
effects
of
pride,
and
 the
way
they
can
blind
even
a
deity.
Chandanbala
was
chosen
because
she
is
the
perfect
 example
of
kindness
and
patience,
and
the
rewards
she
receives
are
an
inspiration
to
 follow
Jain
ideology.
The
cowherd's
tale
shows
the
repercussions
of
bad
karma
across
 lifetimes,
and
how
even
the
Lord
Mahavira
has
to
pay
off
his
karmic
debt
before
achieving
 spiritual
release.
The
story
of
Goshalaka
is
important
because
it
shows
the
consequences
of
 lying
and
being
greedy,
and
what
happens
to
a
man
when
he
misuses
the
powers
and
gifts
 he
has
earned.
 The
goal
of
this
thesis
is
for
a
middle‐school
student
without
any
background
Jainism 
to
be
able
to
read
through
the
material
and
walk
away
with
a
basic
idea
of
thcentral
tenets
of
the
religion,
as
embodied
by
the
five
stories
included
within.

This thesis examines the politics of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States. Three mergers and acquisitions case studies are used to explain when and why American politicians politicize Chinese investment. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis indicate that U.S. hostility towards Chinese investment is driven primarily by economic and ideological considerations. Lawmakers who are conservative on foreign policy and represent blue-collar districts are more likely to oppose Chinese investment in the United States. Party affiliation and national security concerns play a smaller, secondary role in determining congressional behavior on Chinese FDI. The analysis also reveals that the size of the proposed transaction is key to determining the level of political attention an acquisition will receive and its chances of success. In an era of increasing US-Chinese economic interdependence, understanding the political environment for Chinese investment is important to businesspeople and policymakers in both nations.

With a size approaching two and a half million, the Indian-American community in the United States is one of the fasting-growing and most successful demographics in the country. The origins of this group, however, are sparsely documented. Three main phases, the early Punjabi settlers of the 1900s, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, and the IT revolution of the late 1990s, characterize the Indian-American experience of the past century. In my thesis, I will explore the evolution of Indian immigration to the United States based around these events. I will also answer why Indians chose to immigrate to the US, what factors allowed them migrate, and what direction future immigration will take. This will include an examination of the political, economic, and social factors that facilitated the influx of Indians to the US.

The
ancient
Greek
historian
Thucydides
wrote
an
exhaustive
history
of
the
 eloponnesian
War,
which
was
fought
between
431
and
404
B.C.
The
 eloponnesian
War 
was
written
to
serve
as
a
lesson
for
future
generations.
 hucydides
weaves
a
narrative
that
combines
a
detailed
account
of
the
war
with
 extensive
ruminations
on
human
nature.
His
goal,
as
he
states
in
the
opening
 passages,
is
to
sift
through
the
confusion
of
his
time
and
understand
the
“truest
 reason”
for
the
cause
of
the
war.
 
 His
work
probes
the
ways
basic
elements
of
human
nature
drive
propel
the
 human
relations
on
the
global
stage.
He
seeks
primarily
to
understand,
and
for
this
 reason
his
work
remains
a
rich
resource
for
those
who
seek
to
comprehend
the
 world
today.
In
particular,
his
work
is
useful
in
understanding
how
the
Cold
War
 developed.
For
many
modern
Americans,
this
is
a
complicated
period
of
American
 history.
How
did
the
post‐war
promise
of
peace
and
posterity
turn
into
a
global
standoff?
But
with
an
understanding
of
how
the
global
struggle
for
power
isby
basic
human
impulses,
many
confusing
aspects
of
this
era
are
clarified.




How is it that salsa dance has come to be portrayed, perceived, and performed as explicitly sexual? I approach this question by drawing on the fields of dance ethnography and cultural studies. After providing an initial background on the state of dance studies in western academia and a brief introduction to salsa dance history and structure, I delve into the stereotypes most often associated with salsa in mainstream U.S. media representations: specifically, those located around the concepts of hypersexuality and Latinidad. I then analyze the historical conditions in which these stereotypes emerged and the socio-economic realities that informed them. Finally, I utilize Stewart Hall’s notions of encoding and decoding and draw upon my own personal experiences to discuss how these stereotypes affect everyday acts of salsa performance. In doing so, I address how these stereotypes are negotiated differently by individuals of diverse backgrounds and how these performances play into a larger process of identity production.

Texas is distinct as a wine region because of its unique climate. These conditions leave their influential mark on the wines made here in an influential way; this is known as terroir. Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are two of the most widely-grown varietals of wine grapes in the state, but are they well-suited to be grown to the best of their potential in Texas? I will perform a multi-disciplinary analysis of the issue of climate impacts on Texas wines. I will do a traditional literature review, conduct a series of interviews with influential members of the Texas wine industry, and will do a significant amount of data collection and analysis. I hope to answer a series of questions, including: Is Texas well-suited for growing wine grapes at all? Are Cabernet and Chardonnay the right grapes for the state? If not, what would be more suitable for the climate and soil conditions here?

The community health center movement began during President Johnson’s War on Poverty in 1965 and has grown ever since. The goal of the centers is to provide comprehensive primary care to all people through federal funds and support. Currently, there are nearly 1,200 funded centers in the United States serving 16 million patients. The Heart of Texas Community Health Center began in 1999. Born out of financial crisis, the sense of timing surrounding the center’s creation helped to make the program successful in Waco, Texas. The Federally Qualified Health Center in Waco, a type of community health center, was added to the existing Family Practice Residency Training Facility which had been around since 1970. Through the leadership of the CEO Dr. Roland Goertz and CFO Mr. Allen Patterson, the history of care that the Family Health Center had provided, the electronic medical records system which enables efficient care, the support of the community, and the spirit of community among the physicians in Waco, the community health center has been a success. While there are still areas for improvement, these qualities have helped to create a utopia of universal access to primary care for the residents of McLennan County.

In Hesiod’s tale of Pandora, hope is depicted as one of many contents in a jar of evils. Since then, many perspectives have debated the nature of hope, questioning if it truly evil. Modern science presents a transformation of this inquiry, asking not whether hope is good, but whether it could be efficacious in enhancing health and well-being. With support mounting regarding hope’s benefits to life quality, some research in evidence-based medicine has recently proposed the controversial claim that hopefulness could prolong survival in conditions of illness. To acquire an adequate understanding of the construct, various evaluations and definitions of hope will first be examined. This discussion will next review the effects of hope on both quality and quantity of life when health is compromised to ascertain if hopefulness could truly affect survival in life-threatening illnesses. Finally, this project seeks to understand the appropriate role of the physician in addressing patients with unfavorable prognoses. Specifically, it asks if and how patient hope should be maintained when death is probable.

Most people’s first reaction to trash is disgust. We do everything we can to distance ourselves from garbage. Yet we overlook the fact that separation itself is a relationship, and that our waste provides us with insight into our behavior and values. In this paper I examine the outcomes of three cases where individual, business, and communities have acknowledged, rather than ignored, their relationship with trash. The first case looks at how trash has inspired companies toredesign their products and product cycles. In thiscase waste is viewed as “food,”either literally to nature or figuratively to industry. The second case explores how companies are framing their waste as a material input for other companies and creating markets for their byproducts. By doing so, they are diverting garbage from landfills; decreasing pollution from air, soil, and water; and increasing their profits. Finally, I look at communities that have been consigned to live amongst trash, and how they have turned garbage into a resource through community-based waste-management micro- businesses. As a result, the lives of these community members have greatly improved.

Throughout the history of the world, women have struggled for equality: as members of society, academically, professionally, politically, and especially within the military. Women have persevered against incredible odds time and time again to serve their country during times of war. The road to equality in the United States Army was long and hard, but the women of the United States fought on and proved their worth to themselves and the nation. By capitalizing on times of need, women in the United States Army from the Revolutionary War until now overcame barriers such as a cult of masculinity within the military, media ridicule, and social stigmas through their unyielding love of country, steadfast personal example and a firm desire for equality. In an effort to make this information readily available to the public, the information was written into a script and performed. The performance includes video from interviews with female soldiers and veterans as well as photographs and still images of women in the Army since the Revolutionary War.

Mankind has been preoccupied with war for millennia, both as a form of politics and as a means of entertainment. Some of the very first board games were concerned with warfare and stratagem. This trend has continued into the modern age and become even stronger through the advent of video games, which seem to have much in common with their predecessors in terms of gameplay and how this gameplay is conducted. Numerous board game histories exist, as well as some video game histories, but the area between the two is comparatively devoid of a timeline. In order to establish such a timeline, I will first describe select board games and their characteristics in detail, and then follow these characteristics through the years and their translation into video game development. During the course of research, Dungeons & Dragons established itself as the perfect bridge between the two, being incredibly board-game-based, and yet, so much more than that. Focusing upon the sphere of war, I will start as far back as backgammon, fox and geese, checkers, and chess, moving up through the modern board game of Risk, through the tabletop role-playing game of Dungeons & Dragons, and into the world of video games. I will assess pieces, field of play, objective, placement, interaction and aspects of game play, along with the video game industry as a whole. I will describe the introduction of plot, creativity, customization, and changeability, researching what has changed and what has remained constant, as well as proposing how the transition came to be and where video games may go from here.

Effectively marketing an organization and communicating itsbrand identity to key constituentshavebecome criticalcomponentsto succeed in today’s world, even for non-profit organizations. In order to study nonprofit marketingand branding, I preformed a brand audit and marketing analysis of Esperanza Health Clinic, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable health care to an underprivilegedand underserved area of Philadelphia, PA. Esperanza is unique in that they are a Christian based organization and they provide holistic health care. The ultimate goal of this project is to clarify the brand image and improve marketing communications of the health center so that itcan be more successful and grow in the future. I began my research very generally by reading various branding and nonprofit books. Then, I read Esperanza’s documents including patient satisfaction surveys, annual reports, personal testimonies, and grant narratives to learn more about Esperanza’s brand, strengths and weaknesses. Using Esperanza’s materials and other outside sources, I preformed asituation analysisby looking at the external environment such as political, economic, cultural and industry trends. Finally, I spent one week in Philadelphia interviewing patients, employees and volunteers and conducting ethnographic research. I investigated the current perceptions of Esperanza’s key constituents, how information about Esperanza is currently disseminated, where likely candidates may be found, and how to effectively market and advertise Esperanza to the residents of northern Philadelphia. Based on the findings, I made recommendations for marketing communications for each of the key segments—patients, employees, and volunteers.

Conducting polymers have the potential to be used for biosensor applications because they can be made to exhibit a measurable change in their conductivity in response to the presence of biomolecules. The concentration of the biomolecule determines the extent of the change in conductivity, thereby providing the basis for a sensing mechanism. We have targeted polyaniline (PANI) because it has been shown to become conductive when doped with poly(2

The history of China until the 20th century is replete with customs that circumscribed socially acceptable behaviors for women and prescribed confined spaces of inhabitation. Because these prescriptions were propagated using ancient beliefs deeply embedded in the Chinese understanding of the universe and society, moreover, women were made to internalize their confinement. Despite attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to effect gender equality in the 1950s and 60s, most notably through Mao’s proclamation that “everything men can do, women can also do,” many deep-seated beliefs about femininity were not effectively eradicated. In recent decades, there has been an attempt by women writers to confront these conflicting ideologies regarding gender, revealing subtle criticism of both. Meanwhile, the image of confinement has been transformed into an apt vehicle through which these writers express both personal interpretations of their private, subjective concerns and political commentary on communist thought and the condition of China.

The following thesis will describe the technology behind the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) including its key components, its method of power generation, the chemical reactions integral to its operation, and the importance and character of its catalyst nanoparticles. The motivation behind the use of PEM fuel cells will be presented as a result of their efficiency, their environmentally safe operation, and their possible applications for use in motor vehicles. Furthermore, this thesis will also provide an overview of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), and also explore a relatively uninvestigated problem associated with current PEM fuel cells: the decrease in active catalyst surface area at the cathode with successive cycles of operation. The ramifications of this problem will be explained in regards to its negative effect on the PEMFC’s lifespan, power output, and efficiency. Additionally, the observation of catalyst nanoparticles and their role in the reduction of catalyst surface area at the cathode will both be presented. The nucleation of hard geometric Platinum (Pt) nanoparticles and a corresponding decrease in catalyst surface area will be analyzed by examining HRTEM simulations and actual TEM images in collateral. These HRTEM simulations will encompass a wide array of possible Pt nanoparticle shapes and include specific tilts in the particles as well as specific beam directions. Furthermore, the atomic models used to create the Pt nanoparticles will be utilized to provide formulas describing the bulk number of atoms and surface number of atoms as a function of edge length for nanoparticles corresponding to those geometries. From this analysis, the hypothesized formation mechanism behind the nucleation of the Pt catalyst nanoparticles will be justified and the significance of the particle simulations as well as some concluding remarks will be presented.

Happiness is an important topic to discuss because it touches every aspect of our lives. It is shown enhance health, mental abilities, work performance, relationships, and increase longevity. Although income in America has tripled over the last fifty years, our happiness level has not increased at all. This curious trend suggests that increased wealth may not be as important for happiness 78% of Americans believe it is. In the first part of my paper, I use scientific findings in the field of Positive Psychology to explain this puzzling American phenomenon. I argue that the American Dream, which promotes money, material prosperity, and status, may be to blame. The pursuit of these materialistic goals may distract us from the true path to happiness which involves fulfilling our three psychological needs of competence, relatedness, and autonomy. In the second part of my paper, I discuss strategies for increasing happiness at the societal level. I focus primarily on implementing Positive Psychology educational interventions into schools and I use my teaching experience as an example. First, I describe the Psychology of Happiness course I created and taught to middle school students last summer. Furthermore, I explain a positive reinforcement classroom management system that I designed and implemented in my class. I suggest that educational interventions such as these could improve the well-being and academic performance of students and, if applied on a broad scale, lead to greater happiness in society.

The goal of this thesis is to convince the reader that conservation is a viable and significant part of the “energy solution” because of its economic viability. There are a variety of factors that typically motivate conservation. Economic incentives have a broad public appeal and yield the best results over other factors. Another goal of this project is to empower consumers to consider conservation not only when making purchases but in the way they use the products they purchase. Mankind has several essentially limitless energy sources at our disposal: solar and its derivatives (wind, wave, solar thermal...etc), geothermal, tidal, and nuclear. We have managed many of our resources irresponsibly. To avoid potential catastrophe we must continue to research new energy technologies, develop and enforce new policy, and most importantly conserve our dwindling, nonrenewable, and polluting resources. A complete shift to the clean and abundant energy sources listed above must follow this short term plan of research, improved policy, and conservation. This thesis will focus on the economic viability of conservation. The potential topics available are far greater than the scope of this thesis allows. To limit the scope, much of the research and discussion focuses around glass beer bottle recycling and reuse. I propose a bottle cleaning and reuse company in order to help accomplish the above goals of increased conservation. Preliminary information and analysis show this business model to be economically viable. Successful businesses rooted in conservation promote the concept of conservation as a plausible business foundation. While I believe that profitable economics should not be necessary to justify conservation habits, economic incentives are stronger driving forces for change than environmentalism and sustainability have proven to be. While much of this thesis will focus on the specific topic of beer bottle recycling and reuse, the thought process that led to the proposed business is really the most important part of the thesis. Consumers generally make the best choice if they are presented with all of the facts in an understandable way. My intent is to demonstrate to the reader that they should be a more critical and thoughtful consumer and that their behaviors are significant. In addition, this thesis will attempt to inspire the reader to consider other ways that they can make responsible decisions both personally and commercially.

Residential summer camps are unique places. For much of the time they are sparsely populated, with some hosting groups for short periods, and others having no activity at all. Then, for a few months out of the year, they brim with life. Communities form, friendships coalesce, and memories are made. To enable such programs to run, though, camps use significant amounts of resources, from electricity and water to individual’s time and energy. Growing up at a summer camp as a camper and later as a staff member, I gained an understanding over time of how complex my simple camp really was, and what it took to run. As I progressed in my Architectural Engineering studies, I started to notice both how few people in the camping industry have an architectural or engineering background but also how concepts from those areas could directly apply to help improve camps. The goal of this work is to help designers, but mostly directors and other staff of summer camps widen their perspectives of building systems and design. Many suggestions are made of ways to improve camps: thinking about where buildings are placed in relation to each other to ease movement around camp, how camp relates to nature to improve camper attitudes, and methods of energy and water conservation to both save money and be more ecologically responsible. The greatest use of this work, though, comes not only from its specific suggestions, as each camp must chose what works best for them, but also from the discussion of why the suggestions are given. Hopefully, such discussion will generate in its audience ideas, conversations, and interest of their own to learn more about some of these concepts.

The roots of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict extend more than two thousand years into history, all the way to the days of Abraham. Today, the infighting continues amidst the backdrop of a globalized economy and the effects of climate change. In recent years, the problem of water scarcity has added a new dimension to this conflict, and average Palestinians currently live below the minimum water supply standards prescribed by the World Health Organization. Palestinians and Israelis, after years of vying for the same land, now also compete for water rights within a shared drainage basin. Meanwhile, faced with its own looming water deficits, Israel is poised to become a world leader in desalination technology over the next twenty to forty years. Across the fence, however – in the West Bank – Palestinians do not have the level of expertise or the salt water required to pursue desalination economically. Thus, a trade agreement of some kind is necessary if the Palestinians ever hope to meet their future water demand. What might a sustainable agreement look like? To answer this question, this paper seeks to examine current and past trade proposals, within the context of overarching physical and sociopolitical factors in the Middle East. It revisits the discussion of water rights, as defined by international water law and the Interim Agreement from 1995 Oslo negotiations. Finally, it creates a framework for future agreements, based upon the potential growth of Israel‘s desalination industry.

This paper shows how elements of popular culture(s) are used strategically in Francophone African films to criticize aspects of the status quo, to propose favorable alternatives to these problems, and to appeal more strongly to local and global audiences. The first section addresses the context of African filmmaking, including the difficulties African directors confront when attempting to finance, produce, and distribute films. The second section briefly turns to what is meant by popular culture, and acknowledges the ambiguities of that term when applied to Africa. The next two sections will analyze the presence of popular culture(s) in two Francophone African films, Quartier Mozart and Madame Brouette. These sections will identify the insertions of pop culture within each film and evaluate how the directors of the films use pop culture strategically. Finally, the conclusion will trace some of the parallels between the two films, and will argue that the use of popular culture reflects a (nearly paradoxical) resistance and embrace of the influence of global popular culture in Africa.

The human development sequence describes a trend leading to greater human autonomy and freedom. Small scale cooperative institutions may promote human development. The sequence, as proposed by Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel, is analyzed and compared with trends in student housing cooperatives. Examining survey responses indicating different value orientations present one means of measuring the effects of cooperative institutions on human development. The results are inconclusive of direct causation, but further analysis could present stronger conclusions.

The retirement of the 77 million members of the Baby Boom generation in the coming decades must drive corporate action planning. First, companies must strategically assess their exposure to this demographic risk since the mass Boomer exodus from the workforce will create gaping holes in the U.S. labor pool. Companies should try to slow or stagger the pace of retirement. This will give them more time to implement knowledge management programs that will combat the brain drain of corporate knowledge as workers retire. The shrinking labor pool also will expose weakness in our education system and immigration policies and force corporate leaders into action to maintain the size and competitiveness of their future labor pools. Ultimately, businesses will have to find ways to remain competitive with fewer employees. Companies must be proactive in dealing with this national aging phenomenon to preserve their competitive advantages and maintain a prosperous U.S. business environment.

The role of media in children’s lives has become increasingly prominent, and popular media’s influence on the socialization of children is frequently debated. In particular, the American Psychological Association’s Task Force Report on the Sexualization of Girls (2007) has singled out specific brand-name manufacturers (including clothing, toys, and other merchandise) for creating and marketing products for young girls that are characterized by adult female sexuality. One product, the Bratz fashion doll, is at the center of this debate. Some parents see it as a harmless doll that teaches girls about fashion and makeup, while others (including the APA) criticize the doll for having a harmful effect on young girls’ development of gendered identities and feelings of self worth. The current study examines these claims by addressing the mechanisms through which the Bratz dolls (and sexualization more generally) could exert such an effect. The mechanism of gender socialization is emphasized, specifically because Bratz dolls may influence how young girls conceptualize femininity and the female role in society. Doll play theories are also discussed because sex-stereotypical toys provide children with specific ways of experiencing the world, and these experiences can influence what children perceive is valued of them as adults. Given the interaction of these socializing forces in the development of the child’s identity, toy manufacturers’ (and other media companies’) overall shift toward the sexualization of young girls could be detrimental. To take the debate a step further, I conducted a pilot study to specifically address how the sexualized appearance of the Bratz dolls is influencing the way girls play with the dolls. I focus on the topics and themes that emerge throughout their play, and suggest that this may give critical insight into how the girls themselves perceive the Bratz appearance and message. Looking at the topics that repeatedly emerge, as well as the personality characteristics ascribed to the dolls, can provide clues as to the short-term impact sexualization may be having. Routes for future research are proposed.

Over 600,000 prisoners are released into society every year. According to the Department of Justice, 51% of those released will be reincarcerated within three years. The purpose of this study is first to determine why this happening, then to see what can be done to help returning prisoners transition successfully into community life. Objective: This study analyzes the employment, housing, and civil rights dimensions of prisoner reentry in three states. The goal is to determine what strategies are most popular in state reentry programming, and whether those strategies are adequately addressing the needs of prisoners reentering society. Because Black men are rearrested and reincarcerated at the highest rates of any race, this study gives special attention to their unique problems and needs. Method: This study is a review of the published literature on the topic. Only peer reviewed articles are included. I will first determine what successful reentry strategies are. Then I will compare the programming in three states to what the literature says are the most effective methods. Results: The states reviewed in this study are making efforts to help prisoners reenter society and thereby reduce recidivism rates. However, lack of funding, and low participation and success rates characterize the programming in all three states. Discussion: Rehabilitation and reentry should be the primary goal of correctional institutions. Certain reentry programming is proven to reduce recidivism rates, but correctional facilities and the general public dedicate far more resources to prison construction and maintenance than to rehabilitation.

American department stores have held a strong social and economic position in American history dating back to their inception in the late 19th century. The history of department stores can be divided into three distinct periods—their early form as dry goods stores, their height as institutions of service and style, and their position as anchors in suburban malls. Today department stores are at a crossroads and must define their new role. The beginning of a new period in department store history is the result of the increased use of the Internet, the polarization of consumer spending, and the approaching generational shift within young adults. With increased competition from discounters and specialty stores, department stores segmented into luxury, middle, and promotional tiers. Firms operating at the middle-tier have been most susceptible to pressure from all retail forms and have experienced the most problems. In order to examine the role of the mid-tier department store in the new period, Macy’s is used as it is the largest and most successful of its peers in the middle-tier. First, knowledge of the past periods of department stores is crucial to understand the potential face of the future. Next, a financial and operational analysis and comparison of Macy’s with the public traded firms in the industry highlights the strategies and degree of success in the last three years. Finally, the paper examine and critique Macy’s current strategy and offer recommendations for the company to position itself as a leading retailer in the 21st century.

Stephen Sondheim’s Company, with book by George Furth, became a critical success in 1970 with its realistic presentation of Manhattan urbanism and marital relationships. The cultural and societal changes at the time directly informed and were reflected in the musical. As such, critics began to question whether Company could successfully survive outside the time period for which it was initially written. When John Doyle successfully revived the musical in 2006, it became important to analyze the elements of musical theater that allow a piece to be successful in multiple time periods. I identify and analyze three key elements of a successful revival of a contemporary musical: 1) similarities in social and cultural contexts, 2) a relevant universal theme or message communicated through music, lyrics, and dialogue, and 3) creative allowances for production teams to update surface aspects of the musical to make it resonate with its present audience without changing the overall meaning of the show. I close by attempting to understand the overall message of Company through an analysis of the central character, Robert, who discovers that being alone is not being alive. Rather than viewing the present-day setting of Company as a problem, I propose the harsh reality presented in the musical promotes its central theme and adds to its timelessness.

Serving as the former President of Israel’s High Court of Justice, Aharon Barak’s judicial actions and legal writings provide great insight into the importance of proportionality in judicially managing terrorism in a democratic state. The legal ramifications of terrorism loom large against the foundational columns of democracy as a great tension arises in the laws between national security and human rights. This tension may already be present in Israel from its dual commitment to a Jewish and democratic state; however, it is intensified when legal proceedings are taken to prevent terrorist violence as human dignities are placed directly against measures of national security. Aharon Barak’s emphasis on proportionality in the realm of detention policy, however, is laced with undercurrents of a more nuanced definition of “security” than what is typically not thought of in other regions of the world. This comes from Israel’s unique commitment to both a Jewish and democratic state. For security in Israel is not only protecting human life, but also protecting the Jewish and democratic traditions of the state. Barak’s proportionality formula and Israel’s unique stance as a Jewish and democratic state creates certain limitations in his decisions on detention policy. These limitations will be examined in the course of this paper in the context of the 1999 Supreme Court cases on the legality of certain interrogation methods during the detention process.

I am writing my thesis on the effects that playing sports has on children and young adults. It is well known that there exist health benefits from the physical activity one experiences when exercising and playing sports, but I believe there are psychological benefits as well. Engaging in active competition with others can help a child gain confidence and reduce depression. In addition, participating in team sports in particular teaches a child to cooperate with others as he or she learns to work with his or her teammates toward a common goal. But there can also be negative effects, such as physical injury or stress. A high number of young males participate in sports; whether they are on organized teams or playing just for fun among friends. Not as many girls play sports as boys, and they encounter different obstacles in doing so, but it is my opinion that those that do are better qualified for a number of the challenges they may encounter later in life.

Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer in women, with more than 185,000 new cases diagnosed each year. With more than 40,000 deaths per year, breast cancer is the sixth leading cause of death among American women. When women are diagnosed with breast cancer, they usually get the report from an oncologist or surgeon. While physicians must undergo many years of medical training, they are often unprepared and uncomfortable communicating a cancer diagnosis to patients. Breast cancer patients as well report a breakdown in communication with their diagnosing physicians. In fact, the most common complaints from family members of deceased cancer patients are communication related. The factors that determine a patient’s satisfaction with their physician’s communication skills during a diagnosing interview are varied. Almost all patients want a physician who they view as an effective and compassionate communicator, but many disagree about the specific ways they want their physician to communicate. This study will examine in detail the stories of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer to see what words, phrases, and non-verbal communication patterns have been viewed as effective and compassionate communication. The interpersonal preferences of these women will form the basis of the results for this project. Based on the data collected, suggestions for effective interpersonal communication in a health care setting and recommendations for further research will be made.

When President Raúl Alfonsín took office in late 1983, he entered a very complex situation with a wide variety of demands and expectations. The previous government, a military dictatorship, had kidnapped, tortured, and murdered approximately fifteen thousand people. Alfonsín had run on a platform based on prosecuting war crimes perpetrated by the previous military dictatorship, but the military in Argentina had a long history of coups, and the military would admit no guilt. Evidence of the repression employed by the previous government was very difficult to find. Complicating this matter further was the dire economic situation. Inflation was soaring at over four hundred percent per year, and the national debt had risen upwards of fifty billion dollars. Alfonsín had to balance demands of potential foreign investors and creditors who sought conservative economic policy with powerful unions who violently protested austere policies imposed by the government. All military personnel were eventually pardoned for dirty war crimes soon after Alfonsín left office in 1989, and this thesis will describe why this result occurred. It focuses on the social, political, and economic circumstances that surrounded the trials of the military leaders and how they contributed to the pardoning of the military leaders.

By the turn of the 20th century, Henri Poincaré had established himself as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. Widely known as "the last universalist" – the last mathematician to specialize in everything – he made significant contributions to almost every branch of mathematics, from topology to chaos theory to analysis. Besides solving several age-old problems, he presented new problems—most famously “the Poincaré Conjecture”—that would puzzle mathematicians into the 21st century. About twenty years after Poincaré's death, however, a new mathematical authority appeared in France. Nicolas Bourbaki was born in 1935 – created, that is, by a group of preeminent French mathematicians who published under the name. Their goal was to rigorously rewrite the whole of mathematics. Mathematics had been expanding so quickly and in so many different directions that Bourbaki wanted to rein it in, rigorously re-prove its foundations, and find connections that would make the core of mathematics a more unified, interconnected whole. They largely ignored, even refuted, Poincaré’s legacy, objecting to his mathematical style and philosophy – “intuitionism” – and often his subject, when it was applied mathematics. In the first part of my thesis, I will examine the life and work of Poincaré. I will explore four of his major contributions to mathematics in detail, assuming knowledge of high school algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. In the second part of my thesis, I will use Poincaré as a lens through which to consider the birth and evolution of Nicolas Bourbaki, who was contrary to Poincaré on almost all fronts, and who for many decades took a cynical view of Poincaré's work. I will focus on five defining points of contrast between Poincaré and Bourbaki: mathematical philosophy and style, problems they merited important, interaction with the public, the level of collaboration in their work, and their interaction with students. Conclusively, I will consider if and how the two historical figures were reconciled in modern French mathematics.

According to health indicators such as the infant mortality rate and life expectancy, U.S. citizens don’t reap benefits proportional to the nation’s high health care spending. This low performance results, in part, from inefficiencies including, a low medical provider concentration in rural areas, time consuming patient referrals, and high transportation costs. Across the globe, India faces poor health indicators due to a doctor shortage that provides inadequate care for sprawling rural population. Telecommunications advances in both countries such as, phone lines, widespread internet access, computers, and video conferencing technology have created an opportunity to improve the health care system by reducing transportation costs and streamlining patient consultations. Telemedicine, or the provision of medical care across large distances using telecommunications technology, has brought distant doctors to isolated patients and allowed local doctors to consult specialists. To asses the effectiveness of telemedicine, I investigated its history and current applications in the U.S. and India. I found telemedicine has successfully reduced costs and provided adequate care in many applications. Technology no longer hinders the spread of telemedicine; however, legal, logistical, and ethical barriers still exist. After these problems are solved telemedicine will potentially improve and streamline the distribution of medical care.

The Nashville Agrarians wrote their manifesto, I’ll Take My Stand, in 1930 to protest the rise of industrialism in the American South—not only the growth of factories, but also the modern, progressive mindset that rose along with them. They believed the culture of the Old South, which they defined as “agrarian,” was diametrically opposed to the modern “isms” that had arisen in a scientific, industrial age. They wrote other books and essays, pleading with the next generation of Southerners to return to the land or, at least, to question their faith in industrial progress. By around 1937, however, Agrarianism as an intellectual movement was no more; several of the Agrarians had left the South altogether. Two of them, Allen Tate and John Crowe Ransom, who were influenced by the modern poetry of T. S. Eliot, went on to pioneer a school of literary criticism called the New Criticism. The New Critics reflected the emphasis on pure art, unromantic and concrete, that was characteristic of the Southern Renascence. I argue that this small contingent of Agrarians discovered the true end of Agrarianism in poetry, not in politics. What separated Tate and Ransom from die-hard political Agrarians like Donald Davidson was that they integrated the theme of defeat and loss (loss of culture, loss of agrarian innocence) into their understanding of the modern world. Because the acceptance of loss was the main theme of the Southern Renascence, Tate and Ransom arrived at an answer to modernity that was more in line with the realities of Southern history and the goals of the Renascence.

The Nashville Agrarians wrote their manifesto, I’ll Take My Stand, in 1930 to protest the rise of industrialism in the American South—not only the growth of factories, but also the modern, progressive mindset that rose along with them. They believed the culture of the Old South, which they defined as “agrarian,” was diametrically opposed to the modern “isms” that had arisen in a scientific, industrial age. They wrote other books and essays, pleading with the next generation of Southerners to return to the land or, at least, to question their faith in industrial progress. By around 1937, however, Agrarianism as an intellectual movement was no more; several of the Agrarians had left the South altogether. Two of them, Allen Tate and John Crowe Ransom, who were influenced by the modern poetry of T. S. Eliot, went on to pioneer a school of literary criticism called the New Criticism. The New Critics reflected the emphasis on pure art, unromantic and concrete, that was characteristic of the Southern Renascence. I argue that this small contingent of Agrarians discovered the true end of Agrarianism in poetry, not in politics. What separated Tate and Ransom from die-hard political Agrarians like Donald Davidson was that they integrated the theme of defeat and loss (loss of culture, loss of agrarian innocence) into their understanding of the modern world. Because the acceptance of loss was the main theme of the Southern Renascence, Tate and Ransom arrived at an answer to modernity that was more in line with the realities of Southern history and the goals of the Renascence.

One of the most basic axioms of war and conflict is, “Know your enemy.” Because the conventional wisdom regarding terrorism, and especially WMD terrorism, has been dominated by a “new terrorism” perspective, terrorism has largely been removed from its broader historic and strategic context. This removal has distorted official and scholarly analysis of the threat. A closer reading of history and a more thorough analysis of modern terrorist organizations reveals the threat of WMD terrorism is not significantly more dangerous or different than the threat posed by both state and non-state actors since the creation of the atom bomb. This paper examines how western security elites have framed the problem of WMD terrorism and analyzes the feasibility of deterrence as a counter-terrorism strategy. Using declassified Cold War documents, official statements, and a variety scholarly literature, I argue that we have failed to place WMD terrorism in this broader context and that we have overlooked strategies like deterrence that can and should be a more important part of our efforts to combat terrorism.

Institutional racism in today’s society is evident in corporate America. Confronting a background of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and other tacit forms of oppression, African Americans’ experiences in corporate America illuminate the ways that institutional racism operates. This analysis concentrates on the years after the Civil Rights Act was passed, because it was only after this time that African-Americans were legally entitled to enter the white corporate world. After looking at past studies, interviews, and scholarly articles from the 1970s to the present, I will show that institutional racism does in fact still exist – while African Americans are now allowed to enter the sphere of white corporate America, they do not move up as quickly as white people do, and they do not hold as many positions of power as white people do. They face several barriers incorporated into corporate culture. Once I show this, I will elaborate on why this form of racism has not been eliminated, what corporations are doing about it now, and what could possibly be done to change the actual system of institutional racism. I am a finance major right now, and I may work in the corporate world soon. I focus on the corporate sector in my thesis because I have found and will continue to find information that is relevant to me as a person of color working in the corporate world. Since African-Americans have such a long history of unjust treatment in the United States, I decided to specifically focus on them. However, I do feel that my argument is relevant to all people of color, since white people are currently the dominant group with the most privilege in corporate America.

Many people in the United States do not receive sufficient dental care, and the state of oral health in our country is an important issue that needs to be resolved. Many groups of people lack dental care, and one particularly important group is children receiving Medicaid. This thesis will outline what is wrong with oral health in America, and why Medicaid children have such a hard time receiving care. Review of the Surgeon General’s report on oral health and other important documents and statistics will show how bad the problem is. I will also list actions that have been taken to address this issue along with my own proposals of what should be done. A review of the effectiveness of water fluoridation and other programs proposed by government agencies in addition to private charity work will show what improvements have been made in the past. Furthermore, reimbursement rates for dentists accepting Medicaid and utilization rates for children on Medicaid receiving preventive dental care will illustrate how effective (or ineffective) our current system is. Lastly, I will propose a few ideas that I think could help improve the state of oral health in the United States. These ideas include improving dental education, raising Medicaid reimbursement rates, lowering Medicaid administrative requirements, and broadening the scope of practices that hygienists are allowed to perform.

Public debate over the issue of physician-assisted suicide was initiated by the actions of Dr. Jack Kevorkian in the 1990s. He became infamous for the invention of a “suicide machine” that ended an individual’s life when they initiated the flow of a lethal combination of chemical solutions. After ten years and more than one hundred assisted suicides, Kevorkian went to prison for the active euthanasia, or mercy killing, of a man with a degenerative motor neuron disease. Kevorkian’s actions are important because they are an example of the slippery slope argument: that legalizing physician-assisted suicide will lead to legalized murder. The question that my thesis addresses is whether patients should have the option of physician-assisted suicide as a legitimate medical treatment, and if so, how legislation can be safely implemented to prevent abuse of minority groups. Before examining the arguments of supporters and opponents of physician- assisted suicide, it is necessary to review a history of legal battles that have established a patient’s right to control their medical treatment, including end of life care. Next, I present the most significant religious, moral, and physician-specific arguments for and against the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. I then investigate the implementation of current legislation in Oregon that has successfully legalized physician- assisted suicide, and compare similar legislation that has been proposed in England and other states in the United States. Finally, I offer several potential solutions to the problem of safely legalizing physician-assisted suicide.

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine published a report titled “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System” which raised public awareness to the issue of frequency and remediation of medical errors in the health care field. As professionals and healers, physicians possess a sense of obligation to apologize for their mistakes. This paper examines the role of an apology dependent upon the specific circumstance within a hospital setting. With a spectrum of seven cases, I will explore the role of apology in the appropriate responses to medical errors based on the physician’s level of negligence, the type of error, the severity of the outcome resulting from the error, and the extent to which the anticipation regarding the adverse events is known and disclosed. From an analysis of these seven cases, it is clear that a physician’s role includes the difficult task of carefully assessing the specific situation and individual and responding accordingly. As a developing topic in the medical field today, evidence supporting apologies is widespread. Implications for the education of physicians in this area are also discussed.

The War on Terror has caused us to ask many questions of ourselves. The most important of which is how do we as a country balance security with our national character? We have realized over the past seven years that some of the actions we have had to take to prevent further attacks on our country have compromised some of our most closely held beliefs. The Patriot Act has compromised civil liberties, the detention of detainees at Guantanamo Bay has compromised the American citizens being held right to trial by jury, and the accusations of detainee abuse and the Abu Ghraib incident has shaken our belief in human rights. But we have not had another attack in seven years, so clearly some of the actions taken, despite their violations of our beliefs, have worked. The most important question we face in the war on terror and perhaps the most important question of our generation is how do we find a balance between these two things—security and our national identity, the rights and ideals that we have held so closely for over two hundred years now. In this paper I will seek to find the answer to this question by examining how we and other countries have found a balance between the two in similar situations. I will examine France’s experience in Algeria, Israel’s war against Arabs since 1948, and our experience in Vietnam. In each instance a different balance was found—the French public was unwilling to tolerate the use of torture, Israel, facing a great threat has compromised its belief and allowed torture and other unsavory means to insure their continued existence, and in Vietnam we as a country were unwilling to bear the burden of a war of choice. The balance we have found today combines all of these three, and plays a great role in the future security of the country.

Renewable energy is on the move. Increasingly, nations and states are recognizing the environmental and economic benefits of shifting their energy portfolio away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. Texas has firmly established itself as a national industry leader in wind energy, with nearly 5,000 megawatts of wind capacity installed since 1999. The success of wind in Texas has been largely attributable to the Renewable Portfolio Standard, a fixed-quantity policy that sets a renewable energy goal and uses tradable Renewable Energy Credits among utility companies to achieve it. Although Texas’ accomplishments shine in comparison to most other American states, the lone star state still lags far behind the renewable energy capacity of many European countries despite having greater renewable resource potential. Germany presents a case in point: by using a fixed-price mechanism, the feed- in tariff, a country with mediocre renewable potential has become one of the leading renewable energy producers in the world. Feed-in tariffs have been proven to provide a more stable economic environment for less mature technologies, like solar, to flourish. Under a feed-in tariff, the government sets a long-term price for each renewable technology, at which all generators are guaranteed access to the electricity grid. American skeptics frequently remind feed-in tariff proponents of the United States’ Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) debacle of the late 1970’s, in which utilities were required to purchase renewable energy at their avoided cost. PURPA’s inherent policy design flaws, along with inconsistent state-by-state implementation, contribute to continuing negative perceptions of fixed-price schemes. Although critics have long asserted that feed-in tariffs were less efficient than fixed-quantity policies, the more recent European experience has borne out a markedly more cost-effective outcome. By contrast, the United Kingdom has unsuccessfully pursued the fixed- quantity Renewables Obligation, similar in many ways to the Renewable Portfolio Standard adopted by Texas. The Renewables Obligation has been handicapped by soaring costs, resulting from obstacles that prevented new renewable facilities from being ready to actually generate electricity. Currently, the UK is falling far short of its renewable capacity goals, causing international observers to take note of the surprisingly poor performance of the fixed-quantity mechanism. Based on the evolution of renewable energy development policy among key international leaders, Texas should consider shifting its own renewable subsidies toward a modified feed-in tariff. Drawing on a policy proposal from Lesser and Su, this paper suggests using separate capacity payments and energy payments to encourage diverse renewable technologies toward market competitiveness. Using a second sealed bid auction among developers in each technology, capacity contracts would be awarded to the lowest-bidding facilities annually. Contracts would have guaranteed long-term capacity payments, while the actual energy generated at renewable facilities would be sold on the normal electricity market. Meanwhile, onshore wind facilities would remain on the policy system that has served them so well in the past, the Renewables Portfolio Standard. By including market based strategies like auctions and undistorted energy prices, the modified feed-in tariff can propel Texas toward a cleaner energy future.

The health care situation in India leaves women in an extremely vulnerable state. It is undeniable that health care access and acceptance has dramatically increased in the past ten years, but judging from the still high levels of maternal and child mortality, along with the prevalence of other reproductive and gynecological diseases, these women are far from equivalent with their middle class neighbors. The inherent gender inequality in the culture, especially in the more traditional culture of the slums, makes the women there even more at risk. This study investigates India as a whole, but special attention is giving to Andhra Pradesh, in the form of field research conducted in Hyderabad. It first analyzes the overcrowding issue in hospitals, which leads to unbelievably low doctor to patient ratios. It also deliberates the implications of the overcrowding phenomenon on other issues of maternal health. Looking at family planning and fertility in India, it is clear that there is a stark contrast in the problems that those in the lowest income bracket face, in comparison with that of those in the highest. This study also investigates common pregnancy-related diseases and reproductive problems that are far too common among the impoverished population. In particular, it looks at the HIV epidemic, which is quickly becoming a more widespread problem in India. Finally, the low levels of antenatal care, and the tremendous impact this has on women’s health are discussed. The women’s health crisis in India is on its way to change, but steps will be small until these major phenomena are corrected, which will require intense cultural modifications.

Millions of Americans receive daily injections of therapeutic drugs for chronic diseases like diabetes and osteoporosis. Injections produce redness, irritation, and pain around injection sights that lead to decreased patient compliance, and consequently decreased treatment efficacy. Designing alternative modes of drug delivery, such as oral drug delivery, is paramount. Intelligent, pH-responsive poly((methyl methacrylic acid) grafted to poly(ethylene glycol)) P(MAA-g-EG) hydrogels represent one of the most promising candidates for oral drug delivery of protein-based drugs [10,11] and bioconjugates [13, 15]. In this study, transferrin, a protein that naturally transports iron across the intestinal membrane, was conjugated to calcitonin, a hormone that inhibits bone resorption, with the hope of designing an efficacious treatment for osteoporosis. Transferrin has been extensively studied in the past as a transporter molecule for insulin [15,44]. Calcitonin-transferrin (calc-Tf) bioconjugates were synthesized and loaded in PMAA-based hydrogels with varying crosslinker length, type of comonomer, monomer to solvent weight ratio (M:S), and particle size. From loading efficiencies and release profiles determined by HPLC analysis, P(MAA-g-EG) hydrogels with PEGDMA-1000 crosslinkers and a 50:50 M:S, crushed to < 75um, were found to be the optimal carrier for calc-Tf conjugates—releasing over 92% of the loaded conjugate. Few, if any studies have utilized transferrin for increasing intestinal absorption of a drug other than insulin. Calc-Tf bioconjugates displayed better releasing behavior than insulin-Tf bioconjugates [not yet published]. Cell monolayer studies and in vivo animal models are required to confirm the role of transferrin in intestinal absorption of calcitonin.

Ayurveda, or the science of longevity, began as an Indian medical practice over two thousand years ago. With an emphasis on preventing illness, ayurveda focused on nutrition, activity, seasonal and environmental influences, psychological attitudes, and behavioral recommendations. Although ayurvedic interpretations of health and disease are vastly different from modern medical science. the preventive and therapeutic aspects of traditional Indian medicine are still taught today in ayurvedic colleges and hospitals across India. One of the more complex pathways discussed in these ancient medical texts is the concept of the "mind." Using scholarly translations and interpretations of ancient Sanskrit medical writings, this thesis will examine the nature of mental disorders as understood by ayurveda. It will explore concepts of anatomy and physiology, as well as ayurveda's focus on diet, hygiene, and morality as a means for achieving good mental health.

Enacted in 1975, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) supplements efforts to combat poverty within the United States. The National Center for Children in Poverty projects that approximately 22.2 million American filers will participate in the program this year costing the federal government $41.5 billion. This places the EITC among the nation’s largest anti- poverty tools. In addition to mitigating the tax burden on low-income filers, the refundable nature of the credit enhances income for certain individuals. This affects individuals’ incentives to work as measured by both participation (in the workforce) and intensity (hours worked). Largely, these incentives, both positive and negative, are shaped by an individual’s position within the structure of the credit: phase-in, plateau, or phase-out. On account of children amplifying the benefit of the credit and the phase-in portion of the credit’s structure, the greatest incentives should occur among single parents. Beginning with Rhode Island in 1986, states began to mimic the EITC. Today, 23 of the 42 states (including the District of Columbia) with income taxes have implemented an EITC with collective benefits exceeding $1.5 billion. Generally, these state EITCs emulate the federal calculation using a state-specific percentage of the federal credit to determine the relevant state credit. Theoretically, these credits should amplify the labor incentives created by the federal credit. This paper studies the labor force shock created by the enactment of New York EITC in 1994. Examining labor force participation rates both before and after enactment, there appears to be no significant observable effect that can be attributed to the state credit. This is consistent with existing research concluding that state EITCs do not generate positive labor force participation rates. However, this paper finds evidence that supports the labor supply incentives generated by the federal credit. This is consistent with other research that supports the existence of the federal EITC’s positive labor supply effects.

As the numberof immigrants of Hispanic originarriving in the United States increased over the past several decades, the federal government, as well as state and local governments, had to spend more American tax dollars to pay for the health care of the newest Americans. Over the same period, higher insurance costs have limited health care access for all Americans. By increasing the number of people living in the United States who cannot afford regular health care, immigration has exacerbated this problem. In response, federal policymakers have attempted to limit the health benefits available to immigrants. However, these policies have only worsened the burden on state and local governments, who are ultimately responsible for providing care to their residents, regardless of citizenship or legal status. In my thesis, I study in great detail how federal policy has limited health insurance coverage and health care access for immigrants, and forced state and local governments to take responsibility for them. To accomplish this, I will first review federal health care policy towards immigrants, including citizens and non-citizens. Then, I will review how policies implemented by state legislatures in California, Massachusetts, and Texas have attempted to fill the void in coverage left by the federal government. Then I will demonstrate how federal policy and the different state policies have affected health insurance coverage rates, health care access, and health status among immigrants in these three states. Finally, I will analyze the costs associated with immigrant health care. Hopefully, this project will help the reader to understand the types of federal and state policies that simultaneously improve immigrants’ access to health care and lower the associated costs to society.

Tuberculosis, an infectious disease caused most commonly by Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been in existence since the times of early Egyptians. Most commonly a disease of the lungs, tuberculosis can also affect other parts of the body such as the central nervous system, circulatory system, bones and joints. There currently exists a vaccine, a wide array of anti-tuberculosis drugs and proven treatment plans yet tuberculosis remains a significant public health care issue and crisis. In order to understand the intricacies of the modern problem of tuberculosis and how it continues to exist as a serious presence in the world of medicine despite knowledge of prevention and cure, it is important to explore the battle against tuberculosis throughout history. Furthermore, it is important to understand its past as well as current treatments, global hot spots and vulnerable populations. Finally, ethical and legal issues that arise from attempts to control infectious diseases such as tuberculosis must be addressed through the evaluation of two interesting tuberculosis cases: Andrew Speaker and Anna Ferguson. Exploring all the aspects of tuberculosis, past and present will create a picture of the modern problem of tuberculosis and the approaches needed in order to control it.

Today, the United Nations is the world’s foremost peacekeeping institution, and as an organization it has a long history of peacekeeping missions around the world. These range from traditional Chapter 6 peacekeeping missions, which operate to separate hostile forces after a treaty has been implemented, to Chapter 7 peace enforcement missions in which the peacekeepers deploy into a hostile environment where there is no peace agreement. Since the end of the Cold War, the UN has faced a number of chapter 7 missions, none of which were run efficiently or effectively as they should have been. The United Nations repeatedly ignores the lessons that have been learned in previous missions, and as a result the same errors and mistakes are made again and again. These range from failures to deploy rapidly, failures to assess situations on the ground, and failures reconciling ends and means. If the United Nations is to remain the world’s preeminent peacekeeping organization, it will have to be cognizant of its past peacekeeping missions, and apply the lessons learned therein. Due to the size of the institution and the broad political interests of the Security Council, UN peacekeeping may never be able to achieve maximum efficiency in its missions. This opens the door to regional organizations, which in the future may have a better skill set to run more efficient intrastate peacekeeping missions in their respective areas of the world.

On November 11th, 1755, on an oft-forgotten island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, one man brought forth a document that would prove to be the first concrete blow for the ideas of the Enlightenment against the autocratic rule that had long dominated the European world. The Corsican Constitution, written by the General Phillipe Antonio Pasquale de Paoli and ratified by Corsica’s Diet Generale, for the first time established a government that was steeped in the enlightened ideals of self- sovereignty, equality, and independence. Under Paoli’s administration, the principles first dreamed of by Europe’s philosophes and political theorists allowed Corsicans the potential for prosperity unknown to a people whose island had been dominated by foreign powers for millennia. Paoli’s success on Corsica had enormous consequences for the Western world. Corsica’s newfound prosperity caught the eye of many European observers. One man, the young lawyer James Boswell, traveled to the island and met with General Paoli. Boswell returned to England determined to publicize the Corsican cause to the rest of the world. Through his efforts, the Corsican Revolution became a cause celebre, and its progressive leaders saw for the first time a working model of enlightened republican government. Unfortunately, England’s rivals across the channel had also taken notice of the small island. France became concerned about Britain’s interest in Corsica, especially because the island was situated within a days sailing from Nice and Marseilles. Soon Versailles secured the sovereignty of the island from Genoa, and sent troops to secure their claim. Paoli and Boswell were unable to secure support from a divided British government, and in 1769 Corsica’s political experiment ended when French forces defeated Paoli at the battle of Ponte Nuovo. The Revolution lived on in other men, however, and soon revolutionaries from America to Ireland to France were crying “Remember Paoli” and his “brave Corsicans.” The list of Corsica’s proponents is impressive, Voltaire, Rousseau, Samuel Adams, Fredrick the Great, Catherine II and Benjamin Franklin were all admirers of Paoli. Notably, the revolution had an enormous influence on the formation of the young Corsican Napoleon Bonaparte, who would soon have an enormous role to play in bringing “revolution” to all of Europe.

Many of today’s most pressing issues come together the realm of intercity transit. Population growth congests the transit network leading to increased fuel consumption and carbon emissions from idling vehicles, economic consequences due to interference in intercity commerce, and national security concerns associated with the ability to safely and quickly evacuate an urban area should the need arise. Policy makers must make long-term infrastructure decisions for how to best address these needs. Infrastructure is slow to respond to the changing demands put on it, and so it behooves these policy makers to attempt to predict the future needs that their infrastructure decisions will have to address. This thesis offers a mathematical model to assist with that task. This model was developed to predict the number of travelers who will either fly or drive for trips between major cities in Texas, based on the cost of each of those options. First a justification of the assumptions that informed this model is presented. Next, the methodology by which the model was constructed is explained. An analysis comparing the predictions made by the model to real-world data is then performed. Finally, an example of how the model will be valuable for practical applications is constructed.

This thesis analyzes contemporary adoptions of the ideology of Tao Yuanming through research of original Chinese media materials, specifically non-academic newspaper articles in mainland China (People’s Republic of China) from the period of 2000 to 2007. Of particular significance are references to Tao Yuanming and the themes of utopia, harmony, bucolic living, and the drinking of wine, all of which are prevalent in his works. In addition, the thesis observes new trends of sociopolitical awareness regarding issues that have emerged with urgency in a climate of economic prosperity through the lens of viewing Tao Yuanming as a cultural icon. Analysis in this inquiry covers issues such as economic inequality, environmentalism and development, as well as concepts such as escapism, leisure and simplifying one’s life. In addition the thesis notes the pressures exerted by sociopolitical forces on Tao Yuanming’s works and how these forces shape the media’s presentation of this highly regarded literary figure. Grassroots urban and rural interactions with the ideology of Tao Yuanming are also examined.

How is the self is perceived from the outside? Friends, family members, and even strangers can pick up on personality cues an individual intentionally and unintentionally leaves behind. The way we dress, our music choices, the way we talk, and even our home and office environments can all serve as cues that express our personality to others. As modern technology changes the way we interact, personality researchers are beginning to look at how people express themselves in online environments. One such environment is in the popular game World of Warcraft. This massive, dynamic online environment provides players with a unique opportunity to communicate and interact with others. As the average Warcraft player spends over 20 hours a week in this environment, friendships exclusive to the game often form. The current study examines these online interactions to see if people convey an accurate sense of their personality through online gaming. Both online and real-life friends show high consensus for several personality characteristics, suggesting that players of online games present similar cues in different environments. Though not every personality characteristic is salient in an online setting, the results indicate that online in-game interactions do result in behavioral residues that can be used to make accurate personality assessments. Furthermore, overall online informant ratings correlate higher with self-reported idealized characteristics, suggesting that people engage in self-enhancing behaviors online.

The Wife of Bath's role in Chaucer's great work, The Canterbury Tales, has been much debated by scholars throughout the centuries - dialogue that often leads to a deadlock over her likeability. One of the major problems in this debate is the Wife of Bath's unusual rhetoric, which provokes some scholars to see her as immoral and irrational, and others to celebrate her exuberance. Though the Wife of Bath has been explained in feminist paradigms, her narrative has never been explored by looking beyond Western philosophy to the Eastern modes of thought that had infiltrated Chaucer's England. By re-interpreting the Wife of Bath in light of Chaucer's interest in Eastern science and philosophy, we find in her an adherence to experimentation and experience removed from common English philosophies of the time. In order to establish Chaucer's commitment to Arab science and philosophy, this paper examines both primary and secondary sources. The most important and convincing evidence for his enduring interest in the intellectual legacy of the Arabo-Islamic empire is the text of The Canterbury Tales itself, wherein he references Arab authorities on science and philosophy and puts forward opinions closely linked to Eastern thought. The philosophy of Boethius of Sweden, who was a great influence on Chaucer's writing, also provides key insight into the nature of Chaucer's philosophical leanings. The Disciplina Clericalis of Petrus Alfonsi, a 12th century writer working in Islamic Spain, is a touchstone Arabic work with which to compare "The Wife of Bath's Prologue," wherein one finds distinct similarities between the texts. In terms of secondary sources, Chaucer's biography and articles from authors concerned about his connection to the Arabic world helped to establish his acknowledgment of Arab science. The depths of Wife of Bath literary criticism proved essential to building an argument about the Wife of Bath's importance to Chaucer's philosophy, especially those papers focusing on perspectives of her rhetoric and her moral reception. Though this paper attempts a close reading of "The Wife of Bath's Prologue" that addresses past debates in Canterbury Tales criticism, it also enters into a larger discussion of Western interest (or the lack thereof) in Eastern influence. In recent years, scholars have begun to reevaluate the role of the Arabo-Islamic empire in the development of medieval Europe, and in turn on current Western society. Their work picks apart the Western-centric view of our history, religion, and philosophy, putting in its place more expansive notions of cultural interaction and abolishing the idea of a supreme Western culture. This analysis whole-heartedly joins this movement, offering a reading of "The Wife of Bath's Prologue" that tackles the relationship between the East and West on a micro-level.

In the history of the United States, forty-five women have served as America’s First Lady. While some have become activists during their time in the White House, others have preferred to play a more ceremonial role, exemplifying traditional roles such as hostess. Though this phenomena could be explained through presidential studies or a simple argument such as having children, I instead argue that family values, education, husband-wife relationship, and comfort in the public spotlight are causally related to first lady activism. I come to this conclusion based on a case study of four first ladies: Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, and Betty Ford. My analysis shows that first lady activism can be predicted and in general, is not influenced by presidential manipulation.

Since joining the European Union (EU) in 2004, countries in the EU-10 (Cyprus, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia), have experienced large differences in their rate of economic growth. This thesis analyzes two country pairs (Estonia and Lithuania; Hungary and Slovakia) from 1998-2006 and shows that, despite similar economic starting points, levels of growth within each pair diverged due to their ability of each country to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and to pursue prudent fiscal policies that led to a balanced budget.

Recent popular culture references to secret societies have thrown these peculiar organizations into focus. Books such as Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code, as well as popular movies The Skulls and The Good Shepherd, have presented secret societies in a not-so-glamorous light, as a diabolical underground force which seeks to include only the elite members of society in an organization bent on world domination. Although several organizations have been accused of that very purpose in the past, including the Knights Templar, Freemasonry, and the Illuminati, smaller, less sinister, secret societies have come to dominate to campuses of American universities over the last two centuries. My thesis will examine the development of secret societies at American universities by tracing, initially, how the secret society tradition evolved from its beginnings with the Templars through its maturation with the Freemasons and eventual manipulation by the Illuminati. Additionally, by applying previous analyses on international secret societies to those in a university setting, I will attempt to determine what their purpose for existence is (social, networking, service, etc.) and whether they are fulfilling that purpose. In coming to understand the different purposes for the existence of individual secret societies, I will better be able to determine, in a larger sense, their relevance to the culture and operations of American universities. In a culture that values diversity and experience over social status and family name, do secret societies exist to preserve a dying social hierarchy? Or, as the phrase “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” suggests, do secret societies help institutionalize the networks of the born leaders and the accomplished members of university communities to better position their members for success in the future? Or do they merely attempt to improve the universities they inhabit? I will look at societies from all across the country, including Skull and Bones at Yale, Order of Angell at Michigan, the Machine at Alabama, Sevens at Virginia, and the True Texans and the Stikas at Texas A&M. In my analysis, I will focus on the facts about secret societies while keeping in mind the conspiracy theories that have placed these organizations in the public eye. Conspiracies have shaped the evolution of secret societies and are the main reason they remain such an interesting topic in literature and film. To truly understand the nature of these societies, it is important to penetrate this fog surrounding them and access the truth underneath. But that very deception plays a major role in the public perception of secret societies, and, ultimately, in determining the power these societies hold over their respective domains and how effective they are at achieving their purposes.

Du Fu (712-770) was a great and famous Tang dynasty poet. He lived through the An Lu-shan rebellion of 755 and witnessed firsthand the warfare and instability that followed as the capitals of the dynasty fell into rebel hands. With this dramatic event unfolded a chain of events that led him to travel and settle in several parts of the empire. In the period from 760-765 he resided in the region of Shu (modern-day Sichuan) and from there began writing poetry that scholars consider to have a unique voice distinct from his poetry written while living in other areas. Du Fu always aspired to serve as an official, particularly with an advisory capacity, but unfortunate political circumstances prevented him from ever realizing this goal. Hence, prior to and even after his time in Shu, Du Fu’s poetry is largely focused on the tragedy of failure and lost opportunities, especially concerning imperial service and the realm of officialdom. However, in his Shu period Du Fu’s poetic persona begins to shift as he becomes fascinated with Zhuge Liang, a famous historical figure who served as the statesman of Shu during the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280). Du Fu writes a number of poems about Zhuge Liang and begins to identify with the statesman who, like Du Fu, lived during a time of war and was never able to succeed in his goal to unite the Three Kingdoms and re-establish the ruling house of Han. By Du Fu’s time the legend of Zhuge Liang was well-known and his abilities greatly exaggerated in his home region of Shu. During this period, Du Fu’s exposure to the tales of Zhuge Liang along with his personal regrets about his own failures allowed him to relate to the chancellor on a personal level. It is through this connection to Zhuge Liang that Du Fu comes to reassess his identity through the poetry he composed in Shu. In his initial poems is the familiar fatalistic lament over lost opportunities that gradually shifts into a realization of the nobility in failure and finally, in his later poems, morphs into a reverence for worldly failures and the ability to generate a lasting legacy through his literary works.

The research presented in this thesis is centered on the design and synthesis of molecules which are derived from benzimidazoles and their applications. The first chapter provides an introduction to benzimidazoles and N-heterocyclic carbenes, a unique class of molecules derived from benzimidazoles. The second chapter describes the use of benzobis(imidazolium) salts in the design and development of a new class of fluorescent materials demonstrated to be robust with strong photoluminescent properties as well as tunable electronic and physical characteristics. These materials have potential application as fluorophores, sensory materials, and models for photophysical studies. The final chapter describes the development of a mechanically-activated catalyst system with applications to stress-responsive and self-healing materials.

Nearly all the processes within a cell are mediated by proteins: metabolism, movement, growth, and even death. These proteins are generated by a type of intracellular machinery called the ribosome which translates the cell’s genetic code into a functional protein. But where and how are ribosomes generated? Current research indicates that ribosomes are first made into two separate parts near the genetic material stored in the cell’s nucleus. The new subunits are passed through a discriminating gateway called the Nuclear Pore Complex (NPC) that separates the nucleus from the remainder of the cell’s interior, or cytoplasm. The ribosomes are very large, however, and cannot pass through the NPC on their own. It has been found that some proteins function to “chaperone” the ribosomal subunits out of the nucleus by assisting interaction between the ribosome and the NPC. We suspect a certain protein in yeast, Ribosomal-like Protein 24 (Rlp24), is involved in this export pathway. Its specific function is not yet known, but it has been previously determined that it binds to the ribosome in the nucleus and then is unloaded in the cytoplasm. In order to determine if this protein has a role in ribosome export, several genetic and functional tests were performed. In the first experiment, an altered form of Rlp24 with a molecular tag was expressed in cells that are deficient in specific proteins that comprise the Nuclear Pore Complex. A change in growth with these mutations suggests a functional interaction between the two proteins. Next, a screen for a gene that would restore normal growth in these mutants was done, suggesting that any of the potential genes also interact in the pathway. Finally, a special screen called a Yeast Two-Hybrid assay was used to identify proteins that actually bind to and function with Rlp24. From this series of tests, it was determined that Rlp24 does in fact interact functionally with specific components of the Nuclear Pore Complex, several of which have previously been identified as interacting in known export pathways. Additionally, the other screens identified one novel genetic interaction as well as two functional interactors with Rlp24. Though one physical interactor, a protein called Nog1, has already been cited in literature, the role of the other interactors in export and their relationships with Rlp24 are not yet known. However, the information gathered highly suggests that Rlp24 has a role in export and provides a basis for further testing and characterization.

As globalization becomes more important to the competitiveness and success of nations, the push for more international trade and investments will be stronger than ever before. The creation of a single global currency serves as a catalyst in the progress of globalization. A single global currency would lower international transaction costs, encouraging more nations to overcome strong nationalistic sentiments to trade with each other, and only by trading with each other can economies become more integrated, forming a true global economy. However, the creation of a single global currency is a difficult task. There are three mainstream methods for achieving this end that are proposed by scholars and economists: gold, dollarization, and the creation of an entirely new currency unrelated to any existing currencies. After explaining the economic benefits of a single global currency, the latter portion of the paper focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of each of the three methods. The paper, then, concludes with an analysis deciding which of the three methods is the most beneficial to the long-term success of a global economy.

This thesis analyzes the benefits and setbacks resulting from electronic commerce and online shopping, particularly in regard to effects on the American consumer and consumer behavior. To discuss the rise of e-commerce, the history of online shopping is first paralleled with to the specific example of Amazon.com. This history is continued with an investigation of shopping and the American consumer since the birth of “consumerism,” the factors that influenced the rise of e-commerce, and an in-depth look at where online shopping is today in comparison to physical shopping. Following this general history, three social changes and hypotheses about the future American consumer are discussed. The first point deals with the altered concept and allocation of time for American consumers. This includes an investigation of the effects on transportation and convenience, new transaction costs, the ability and need to do more in a single day, and new forms of social interaction among Americans at large. Second is a look at the effects of e-commerce on American consumerism. This includes a look at the 24/7 access to products through online shopping, comparison shopping, changing economic classes and lifestyles, a lack of purchasing actualization, and online shopping in virtual worlds and social networking websites. Then the change in consumer expectations resulting from online shopping is discussed. An analysis follows of general consumer expectations, purchasing experience vs. price, and new challenges for companies. This will create increased competition for businesses in the online markets and in the minds of online consumers. Lastly, a forecast for the future of consumer behavior resulting from e-commerce is presented. Multiple hypotheses are offered for the future such as B2B and B2C commerce, technological innovations, legislative solutions, social values, and future business implications.

Phonological processes are present in the speech of children with typical language development, but usually disappear in their speech by the age of five. Phonological processes do persist in the speech of children with cochlear implants much longer, as discussed in this study. The purpose of the present study was to examine the speech production of 18 participants who had extended use of cochlear implants. Specifically, data at 7 and 10 years post-implant were utilized for this study. The participants’ use of five phonological processes was examined using a Hodson Phonological Processes Analysis. These processes included: syllable deletion, consonant cluster deletion, consonant cluster reduction, prevocalic consonant deletion (also known as initial consonant deletion), and postvocalic consonant deletion (also known as final consonant deletion). In addition, an overall Phonological Deviation Average was used to group high and low performing participants in order to identify whether the use of phonological processes differed qualitatively or quantitatively between the different groups of children. Results indicated that the most common phonological process was cluster reduction and final consonant deletion. Children with poorer speech performance also exhibited additional processes which were persistent. Additionally, children with prolonged CI experience continue to develop speech skills even after 7 to 10 years of device experience. These results suggest that speech skills will improve over time even into the teenage years.

Beginning in April of 1980, Fidel Castro, exasperated by the strong and clear desire of many Cubans to leave the island, opened the Mariel harbor to any person who wished to emigrate. These emigrants were of a different kind: they were not the upper class, political refugees of the 1960s, but people fleeing a struggling island plagued by its economic failures. Among the Mariel exiles, commonly known as Marielitos, were violent criminals and patients of Cuban mental institutions whom Castro and his government had released and placed on these boats. The Cuban leader knew exactly where these people were headed: within six months, 125,000 Cubans had reached the Miami shore. When Jimmy Carter became president, one of his goals was to normalize relations with Cuba. Castro was not unwilling. On several occasions, he and other high officials of the Cuban government praised Carter for being different than the past five U.S. presidents and expressed a desire for the reconstruction of the diplomatic bridges that had burnt in the early 1960s. Then Mariel happened, discrediting and embarrassing Carter and his administration and, by contributing to Carter’s loss of a second presidential term, putting a decisive end to talks of reconciliation. This paper explores why Castro and the Cuban government, if happy about re-establishing diplomatic relations with the U.S. government, allowed and even invited a sealift of thousands of Cuban émigrés to the U.S. American coastline, an action they knew would botch their chances to make peace with Washington. The Cuban leaders’ decision was neither random nor unprovoked: it was carefully calculated, its intentions complex and its consequences foreseen. This paper investigates the critical events that led to Mariel and analyzes the Carter administration’s responses to those events, paying particular attention to the way Cuban officials reacted to those responses. This thesis also examines the boatlift’s cultural and societal implications: how was Mariel represented and understood in popular culture? Who were the Marielitos? How did the South Florida community change after the boatlift? How did the pre-1980 Cuban-American community feel about that change?

Myself a student who struggles with motivation, I have a strong desire to understand what works as far as internally motivating students. In my own experience I feel a steep drop in my motivation whenever something is assigned or due. It seems that my enthusiasm for learning drains and is replaced with fear and stress of the looming deadline. But, of course, deadlines are a fundamental part of the formal academic experience. This seems to be typical of my generation, Generation Y. Through a project here at the University of Texas, I have explored a method with the potential to shed light on a new way to motivate students using virtual worlds. Through using the technology that Generation Y is so accustomed to, and motivated to use, I explored its effect on a class of students’ motivation to complete their freshman rhetoric assignments.

Undocumented immigrants in the United States are currently guaranteed a primary and secondary education as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe. However, undocumented students are not entitled to any post-secondary educational benefits due to their immigration status. The objective of this paper is to investigate the legal and social aspects of post-secondary education for undocumented students. A thorough review of the legislative and judicial history on this issue was conducted in order to establish the relevant points of argument moving forward. To investigate the social aspects, a ground level investigation was conducted in the Austin, Texas area. To investigate the social aspects, a qualitative interview study of students, counselors, administrators and activists in the Austin, Texas area was conducted. In conclusion, legislation such as the DREAM Act is recommended along with factors for individuals to consider when analyzing the issue.

2 When I was growing up, I read few books about Indian-Americans and none about Muslim Indian-Americans. In college I took a Plan II class entitled “Oral History, Identity, and Diversity” with Dr. Martha Norkunas. There I learned much about how people’s identities are developed. I began to question my own identity and to research the literature available for young Indian-American readers. Most books with Indian-American protagonists were written for an audience in late middle school or high school. None dealt with elementary school, which became my main interest. I wanted to trace how identity develops from early childhood. I decided to write about a Muslim, Indian-American girl who is born and raised in the U.S., but who isn’t exposed to American society until she goes to school. This book is not a memoir. It is a fiction piece about what I imagine an Indian girl may go through. My protagonist, Dania Ansari, has to learn how to develop her American and Indian identities and try to reconcile the two cultures. She also goes through many situations that every American child goes through. (For example, making a friend is something every person experiences during elementary school.) Dania Ansari, the protagonist, also has to address her Muslim identity. I want this book to be something that Muslim Indian- American girls could read and relate to. But I wrote it in a style accessible to any reader. I explore elementary school in the book. Each chapter is one school year. For research, I interviewed people of both Indian American descent and people of Asian American descent. I read about aspects of Asian society that may differ from white American society. For example, the emphasis on school and career success is more pronounced in Asian- American societies than in Anglo-American society. I also conducted observational research by watching children in schools and mosques and noting their behavior. I watched TV shows popular among elementary-aged children in order to better understand their thinking processes, and their likes and dislikes. I looked at various curriculums to see what students were learning and how they were being taught. My goal with this book is to create something that is relatable, engaging, and realistic. I feel that there is a need for books about different cultures because they help children from those cultures relate to someone like them. A book can provide a child with a sense of belonging— young readers learn that they are not the first person to experience a difficult emotion or situation. Dania’s education is not only academic. It also encompasses the religious aspects of her life, the social and moral aspects of two different cultures, and the difficult balance of behavior necessary to bridge a cultural divide.

Our world is a place of great complexity. Over the past century there have been endless technological and scientific advances that have seemingly contributed to the potential for a much higher standard of living worldwide. However, concurrent with such progress has been an observable decline in the standard of satisfaction individuals are experiencing within their own lives. In ever increasing numbers people are turning to psychologists and psychiatrists for help in escaping the confines of their own melancholy. How to find a meaning and a purpose in life have become some of the greatest obstacles to personal success and happiness that individuals today wrestle with, yet oftentimes the solutions presented in traditional psychotherapy practices prove themselves to be insufficient in an individual’s long-term quest for significance and substance. There is a constant pull for something more – something that will reach down into the depths and illuminate a more divine or supernatural sense of the true value in simply being alive. In this thesis I will first explore the benefits of such a spiritual approach to psychotherapy, and then I will continue on to investigate this approach specifically in terms of the Sufi belief system. For thousands of years, Sufism has guided believers down a path of spiritual enlightenment and personal fulfillment. I will look at this path and analyze the ways in which the ancient teachings of the Sufi masters can be applied in a more spiritually-based approach to psychotherapy so as bring true value into the lives of modern-day seekers.

In this paper, two genes are being closely investigated: phosphoribosylaminoimidazole carboxylase, phosphoribosylaminoribosylaminoimidazole, succinocarboxamide synthetase (paics) and phosphoribosylglycinamide formyltransferase (gart). Both are multicomplex enzymes that possess crucial roles in the de novo purine biosynthetic pathway in most organisms. A defect in either of these genes will force a deficiency in one the major products of this pathway: IMP. IMP is a precursor to the purines ATP and GTP, and a shortage of these purines will no doubt have an adverse effect upon cell metabolism and DNA and RNA synthesis throughout the body of the zebrafish. However, IMP is also a precursor to many of the major pigment molecules produced in zebrafish pigment cells, such as the black pigment melanin in melanocytes, the yellow pigment sepiapterin in xanthophores, and the iridescent pigments guanine and hypoxanthine in iridophores. The overall goal of this study was to characterize these two genes in order to verify experimentally that if either of these two genes is mutated, both eye development and pigment formation will be adversely affected. RT-PCR, in situ hybridization, and histology were performed in order to confirm and analyze the nature of the eye defects and their possible roots in mutant paics and gart. A melanin quantification assay was performed in order to quantitatively confirm a melanin deficiency in both paics and gart homozygous mutants. Sepiapterin, guanine, and hypoxanthine deficiencies could be observed visually, but only the yellow pigment sepiapterin provided convincing visual evidence. The results of this study indicate that both paics and gart are genes that are indeed responsible for proper eye development and pigment formation, but the extent of their roles in both is an area where more research may be needed.

My research focuses on the impact of Title IX here at the University of Texas at Austin. Though this institution was considered to be at the forefront of schools when it came to women’s athletics, it was fighting a lawsuit because of its lack of compliance as recently as 1993 (over 20 years after Title IX was enacted). I will explore the changing face of the women’s athletic department as it took on the imposing task of eliminating discrimination at a school where men’s sports play such a dominating role in the public persona of the entire university. Before jumping straight in to its application here at the University of Texas, I will address a short history of women in sport, the social changes that led to the enactment of Title IX, and the documents which define and regulate compliance of Title IX. I will also investigate how Title IX was conjured into legislation as a small part of a much larger education bill and how something that was not originally intended to apply to athletics came to be known as being synonymous with the growth of women’s sports. Finally I examine some of the common views in opposition of Title IX and the refutations of those arguments.

My creative thesis takes the form of a 15 minute animated film called “A Merry Cancer Brought.” The animation was produced using a technique involving the computerized manipulation and compositing of digital photographs. The resulting visual effect is akin to a fluidly moving photo-collage interspersed with sequences of traditional stop-motion animation. The goal of this technique is to evoke the work of Czech surrealist animator Jan Švankmajer. Along with taking aesthetic cues from Švankmajerʼs tendency towards the absurd and grotesque, my film strives for the same subversive effect that Švankmajerʼs films achieved by juxtaposing uncanny images with symbols of the common culture.

The use of poly-L-cysteine immobilized onto the surface of iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticles as a novel method for metal chelation was examined. The binding capacities and metal recoveries of the functionalized nanoparticles were determined by ICP-TOF-MS for As(III), Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) and compared to those found for unfunctionalized iron oxide nanoparticles. The ability to magnetically remove saturated chelating peptides attached to the surface of iron oxide nanoparticles is also examined. Furthermore, the initial steps and considerations of developing a combinatorial library for arsenic chelation are discussed.

The movement to end sex trafficking has ignited and fueled timeless debates about the politics of crime, the impacts of poverty, and the boundaries of gender. These three characterizations of sex trafficking have defined separate, yet interrelated components of an insidious, multi-billion dollar industry that exploits the most vulnerable of global citizens, predominately women and children. Within the contentious literature, however, there is unexplored common ground that informs more nuanced and effective anti- trafficking initiatives. By reconciling the competing viewpoints in each of the three major characterizations and drawing from a small collection of interviews with trafficking victims, this thesis deconstructs the conceptual barriers that threaten to impede the anti- trafficking movement and proposes some basic recommendations for policymakers, law enforcement officials, and activists who seek to embolden their efforts to curb sex trafficking.

This thesis will study, in detail, the eleven Sophoclean messenger-speeches in an effort to answer these two questions: what narratological purposes do the messenger-speeches serve, and what are their effects on the play as a whole? First, though, I will argue that the tools of narratology can be applied to a mimetic form of storytelling such as drama. Here I suggest, as de Jong does, that messenger-speeches are embedded diegetic narratives, and therefore the theories of arratology are relevant in their study. Also, in an effort to make my close-reading analysis more broadly applicable to storytelling within the play as a whole, I support Markantonatos’ argument that diegesis and mimesis should be considered “separate narrative modes.” In addition, I will note previous scholarly arguments that claim logistical or historical reasons for the existence of messenger-speeches in tragedy---most notably Bremer’s article, “Why Messenger-Speeches?”---and then show that while these are feasible arguments, that they are not the strongest arguments; that, instead, the Sophoclean messenger-speech exists primarily as an exciting and malleable narratological tool designed to enhance the story that the playwright tells. This thesis is divided into the following chapters: narrator, story and text, narratee, false narrative, and the absence of a messenger. Each chapter involves close-readings of different messenger-speeches and then applies the storytelling analysis of the messenger-speeches more broadly to the storytelling of the play as a whole.

Immunization with contraceptive vaccines shows great promise as a source of fertility control. These immunocontraceptives illicit an immune response targeting an antigen involved in some way with reproduction. These contraceptive vaccines provide a humane and effective alternative in controlling mammalian population sizes over other methods such as shooting, trapping, poisoning, etc. Initial work by Daniel Hirshhorn, a previous Ph.D candidate in the laboratory of Dr. G. Barrie Kitto at the University of Texas at Austin, using Lactase Dehydrogenase C (LDH-C) as the antigen target produced 65% infertility in mice. In order to try and boost these rates of infertility, the human sperm specific glycolytic protein Phosphoglycerate Kinase (hPGK2) was selected as a second antigen with hopes of creating a combination vaccine with LDH-C. If high enough infecundity could be produced, obvious implications, extending even beyond that of animal control, would exist for its use as a means for human birth control.

The federal government’s recent inability to adopt a comprehensive immigration reform bill has prompted many state and local governments to pass their own restrictive legislation. However, for over a century, the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently maintained that the federal government holds the exclusive power to regulate immigration. Although not expressly specified in the Constitution, the federal government’s authority over immigration policy is supported by enumerated and implied constitutional powers as well as the Supremacy Clause. This serves to directly challenge the legality of state and local immigration legislation. Nevertheless, municipalities and state governments in almost every state continue to pursue immigration regulation – be it through extending local police powers to include civil immigration enforcement, enacting state- based employment mandates, or limiting access to local services based on alienage. This anti- immigrant vehemence transpires regardless of the actual “threat” that immigrants pose on the local population, as evidenced in low-immigration states. Through an analysis of the state and local hostility toward immigrants in states across the U.S., this thesis explores the history of immigration authority; the pervasive anti-immigrant fervor that has recently reemerged at the state and local level as well as the specific laws and policies passed as a result of this fervor; the legal context of immigration regulation and what this relatively new effort at local control may portend for the future of immigration policy in the United States.

Humans have long pondered the nature of happiness. In Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle claims that happiness, what he called eudaimonia, is what all men seek in life. In this essay, I explore Aristotle‟s claims about happiness and argue that an active life of virtue guided by practical intelligence (phronesis) is the best life for humans. I begin with a discussion of Aristotle‟s views on good, the highest good, and they type of “thing” that eudaimonia must be to be the best life for man. Then I explain why Aristotle claimed that a life of contemplation (theoria) using theoretical wisdom (sophia) is the best life. Though Aristotle can support this claim with philosophical arguments, he fails to provide empirical support that humans who say they are happy life this way. Since the life of contemplation fails the test of how humans actually live, I propose the life of virtue guided by practical intelligence as an alternative best life. To support this claim, I explain how this kind of life is both philosophically and empirically sufficient to be the eudaimonia. I my arguments with references to modern psychological studies that provide empirical evidence that there are universal virtues in humans and the practical intelligence provides a directive function that applies these virtues to promote living well. I conclude that there is no one single type of happiness. Instead, humans use practical intelligence to determine their situation specific functions and the applications of the character virtues that will most promote their individual flourishing.

Ritual and shamanic language are discourse forms specific to the performance of rituals and are common in indigenous Amazonian societies.

Everyday we are reminded of our physical flaws by hundreds of images depicting beautiful men and women. However, these images depict highly unrealistic expectations of beauty for two reasons. First, these photographs have been edited to near perfection with image enhancing software. Second, these photos represent a small proportion of individuals that have been blessed with good looks. Despite this reality, people are still adversely affected by these images and the rates of body dissatisfaction are on the rise. Increased body dissatisfaction has led to a substantial increase in the prevalence of extreme forms of dieting such as eating disorders and cosmetic surgery among the population. In my thesis, I hope to explore this drastic increase in body dissatisfaction levels and correlate it with the increased use of edited images by the media. My thesis first begins with an exploration of the pressure to be beautiful in American society and the definition of beauty. Next, I will explore the relationship between the media and body image by examining the current standards of beauty and levels of body dissatisfaction in the United States. I will then investigate the correlation between these two topics using research studies to demonstrate the dangers of the current situation. Finally, I will explore the consequences of this increased body dissatisfaction by focusing on two dangerous methods that individuals employ to enhance their physical image, eating disorders and cosmetic surgery. The prevalence, nature, and consequences of each of these methods will be explored as well as their correlation with increased levels of body dissatisfaction.

Emotional well-being is a growing concern on college campuses around the globe. This paper will explore two cultures (Chinese and American) with distinctive, differing systems of higher education to compare purpose and result of the systems’ effects on student stress. Definitions and characterizations of emotional stress will be observed, and general emotional stressors identified within each education system. Finally, assessment of results and suggestions for improvement and healing for student mental health care will be outlined. Considerations for introducing greater cultural sensitivity and competency in campus settings will also be examined.

After the Meiji Revolution of 1868, the leaders of the factions loyal to the Emperor took power. In the Emperor‘s name they decided to modernize Japan in order to bring solidarity to the new Meiji union and to it strengthen against foreign and local threats. The ―Meiji oligarchy‖ constructed a system of modernization that allowed for progressive reform while maintaining social and political stability. The system involved a revival of the Imperial Institution at the head of the state, a new system of education, and the creation of a constitution and parliamentary system of government. In investigating the Meiji program for modernization, I will attempt to discover the original intentions of the oligarchy in implementing it. First, I will summarize the religious and philosophical environment relevant to the Meiji era to better understand the reasoning behind their decisions. Secondly, I will review the reforms in government made by the oligarchy between 1868 and 1890 that shed light on to how the oligarchy implemented their program for modernization, and I will consider Nishimura Shigeki‘s critique of those reforms. Finally, I will judge whether or not the oligarchs achieved their original goals.

The idea of a border culture existing on the edges of the United States geographically, economically, and culturally was compelling to me. My photography was influenced by the work of color photographers like Stephen Shore, William Eggleston, and Joel Sternfeld, as well as earlier photographers such as Robert Frank and Walker Evans. All of these photographers were preoccupied with creating a vision of America and Americans. Rather than taking an extended trip thought the interior of the country like some of these photographers, I wanted to investigate the countries edges, and through my photographs, push perceptions of what American looks like today. The border is a place where identity is in flux and controversial, questioned by those who live there, as well as by outsiders. By focusing on the border, and thus a small corner of America, I came to photograph the colonias outside of Rio Grande City. The resulting body of work is a collection of photographs that I made during the course of several trips to the colonias in this area, over an eight-month period in 2007 and 2008.

2 In a recent interview, Terry Thorn, a managing director at Enron, recalled a striking comment made by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Skilling: “I’ve thought about this a lot, and all that matters is money. You buy loyalty with money. This touchy-feely stuff isn’t as important as cash. That is what drives performance” (McLean and Elkind 55). Skilling’s words perfectly capture the problems inherent within Enron’s culture, which single-handedly brought the entire corporation crashing down in an instant. In the past several years, corporate scandals have been in the forefront of the business world; yet, it is baffling to many why executives around the country, who were held in high esteem for their intelligence, work ethic, and even their management skills, were able to cheat others, and, believing they were in the right, destroy a multi-billion dollar company and an entire nation’s trust in corporate culture. The answer to the question of “why” can be discovered by looking into mankind’s nature. For the purposes of this paper, I will explore Thomas Hobbes’ definition of the nature of man. I believe that a study of this nature combined with a study of our ancestry and genetic make-up will shed an important light on how Enron’s executives were able to take advantage of a flawed corporate system, devastating thousands of employees on their way to the “top” of the business world. Furthermore, I believe that this study will create an understanding of corporate decadence and assist in helping us to find a way to prevent this problem in the future. Thesis Structure I begin by explaining the recent demise in the standards held by the accounting industry as well by corporate America. During the great bull market of the 1980s, corporate greed led the accounting industry to lose sight of many of the principles it formerly held dear. With both internal and governemental regulations in shambles, businesses throughout the United States cheated the public in an effort to cash in on the myriad of money making opportunities presented to them. This lack of oversight culminated in the situation described in the next section, Part I, of my paper – the greed-filled rise and fall of Enron. Throughout the past two semesters, I have become fascinated with the story of Enron. It is astonishing how a seemingly perfect company, the shining star of Wall Street, could be built on so much deceit. Enron is the ultimate example of accounting and corporate governance gone awry. However, even more than that, Enron is the perfect example of an inherently avaricious human nature at work. Part II of my paper explores - in depth - this greedy aspect of human nature. I also analyze how and why we exhibit that nature, as well as investigate where it comes from. In addition, I examine man’s nature via our genetic predisposition and sociologic functioning. Based on these observations, I raise vital questions: Will we continue to repeat our destructive history or will we pull ourselves away from our inherent nature and build trust in the corporate world?

Set in a theoretical mirror of late Dark Age (Homeric) Greece, Kallipolis explores the perfect city that Plato proposes in The Republic. It is composed of three books, each representing a major era of development of the Kallipolis. The first book sets up the city in as clean and efficient a way as possible by allowing the children to begin the city unmolested by any adult preconceptions of government. The second book begins some seventy years later, observing the Kallipolis at its height; though some issues do become apparent, for the most part, the city is operating perfectly. Finally, the third book outlines the decline of the perfect city through the eyes of the cityís most unique citizen, Tavius (former Guardian, now a laborer). In the end, the Kallipolis falls as a result of both external and internal pressure, but mostly as a result of the voluntary exodus of its working class. There are several appendices at the end, including citations from The Republic and major deleted excerpts.

The religions practiced today among Afro-Brazilians are highly reflective of the cross-cultural exchange which occurred in Brazil. Both Brazilian Catholicism and Candomble, a Brazilian off-shoot of Yoruban beliefs, are heavily influenced by contrasting civilizations from across the world. The origins of both traditions lie with the European colonizers who ventured to the New World in the sixteenth century and the Africans brought across the Atlantic Ocean during the slave trade. The two disparate societies mixed and blended over time, drawing elements of belief and worship from one another and ultimately creating two syncretized schools of religious thought very different from the original traditions that arrived in Brazil. I present the religious syncretism which occurred in Afro-Brazil through a historical perspective. I analyze evidence of syncretism in Candomble and Catholic ideology, art and architecture, worship practices, and holidays in the periods of slavery, post-colonialism, and the modern day. I also study the various causes of the syncretism in Brazil as opposed to other examples of syncretism throughout the spread of Christianity. The immense significance of the evolution of religious syncretism in Afro- Brazil is apparent as my paper unfolds, and my conclusion about the inevitability of syncretism in today’s world credits this subject with the import it deserves.

This thesis investigates the effectiveness of institutional-based community organizing in affecting policies related to affordable housing. It provides an in-depth case study of the ways in which Austin Interfaith (AI), a faith-based community organization, has mobilized people within its member institutions around affordable housing issues in Austin. Community organizing has been a popular way to mobilize low-income people nationwide around various issues, including housing. Rising housing costs in Austin have inspired many local political and community groups to look for solutions. This study examines the ways in which AI has articulated the perceived need for affordable housing and the reasons the organization and its members have selected specific responses. While the organization discusses the lack of high-quality affordable housing issues in broad terms, it also moves primarily to improve conditions in specific housing complexes and neighborhoods, rather than focusing on more comprehensive affordable housing policy initiatives. These action sites are chosen based on the needs expressed by particular member institutions, in this study, local-area churches, or because of an opportunity that AI organizers and leaders see in the community. I examine the functions of AI through case studies of three actions AI has taken related to housing issues, which reflect the variety of actions that AI takes around affordable housing. AI generally focuses on the development of leaders in a given venue with housing problems. AI has had relative success in each of the projects it has undertaken, in part by choosing projects carefully based on how successful it predicts they will be. Parishioners of member institutions sometimes experienced disjuncture between their own concerns and AI’s actions. AI’s distinct way of organizing its members and taking action has a mixed response from AI leaders and other local organizations, and this range of responses will be explored in the conclusion of this study. AI considers its biggest successes the development of leaders in its member institutions and the increase in civic participation that results, which the organization does effectively.

This thesis uses the feminist art journal Heresies as a lens through which to examine how two feminist strategies, collectivity and Consciousness Raising, were used in the 1970s as a means of unifying the feminist movement. Many women who worked on Heresies had been in Consciousness Raising groups, and it was one of the primary ways of organizing the feminist movement. Similarly, collectivity represented an alternative to hierarchy and patriarchy and allowed feminists to experiment with new forms of group organization. The founders of Heresies chose to use two collectives, a foundational mother collective and individual issue collectives to publish the journal. The thesis also reflects on women's lives and the meaning of gender equality before and after the feminist movement by using the story of the author's grandmother and her struggle to get a divorce and raise five children in the 1960s. Finally, the thesis discusses how the feminist movement improved many aspects in the daily lives of all women in a society that continues to struggle for gender equality.

The study of indoor air has been neglected in the past while environmental regulations of outdoor air have been increasing, although there are many harmful pollutants indoors. Studies have found that humans have the most exposure to toxic pollutants in indoor environments that they frequent and usually consider safe. Today, Americans spend about 90% of their time indoors where they have greater exposure to harmful pollutants than they do outdoors. Sources of indoor pollutants include humans, combustion, building materials, cleaning supplies, and other indoor activities. These sources of indoor pollution led to the need for ventilation within shelters. In addition to causing a wide range of problems due to the materials and substances found indoors, indoor air quality can have a significant effect on airborne disease transmission. Diseases can be transmitted in a variety of ways, and the indoor environment is an excellent venue for viruses and bacteria to travel from person to person. Relatively little research has been done to study the transfer of diseases via the airborne route because such a wide variety of factors contribute to an infectious particle’s indoor travel. It is important to understand how a disease travels through the air and how a person becomes infected in order to create conditions that are unfavorable for transmission. Ventilation within a building also plays a vital role in the transmission of diseases indoors. Increased infection rates are positively associated with lower ventilation rates, so it is important to have an adequate amount of outdoor air entering buildings where there is a high concentration of people and potential diseases. The design of a building and its ventilation system will affect how a virus will be able to move and the distance it can travel. The direction and path of airflow within a building is important in containing and removing infectious particles from the indoor air. My study will use the Rudnick-Milton model to determine the probability of being infected with a disease that is carried by a fellow occupant of a building. I have monitored the carbon dioxide levels in a number of buildings that are commonly occupied by those living in the university setting including auditoriums, classrooms, fast food restaurants, and grocery stores. By measuring CO2 levels I can estimate the probability of contracting a disease given that one other occupant is carrying the virus. I will also be able to determine the ventilation rate that is required to prevent the spread of the disease to others. This information will help to determine which types of buildings are the most likely to spread infections as well as the ventilation rate that is required to make the buildings safer.

Game companies have enjoyed phenomenal success with the online game model and the constant revenue stream that comes with it. But one recurring criticism is that today’s online games still feel the same as they did ten years ago. While today’s games are visually superior to their predecessors, they continue to follow the traditional “EverQuest model” of never-ending character progression through the slaying of virtual monsters. Is this simply due to an unwillingness to deviate from a successful formula, or does the online game have inherent characteristics that shape the nature of its social interactions? This thesis explores these characteristics, which can be divided into four categories. The first category focuses on the technical details behind the Internet and the types of interactions that they lead to. The second category analyzes the current interface for online games and how it complicates the issue of ensuring fair interactions. The third category looks at the current state of social interactions within these online games and suggests possible social and psychological factors that continue to inhibit mass social interaction within the virtual space. Finally, the fourth category deals with the traditional structure of a video game and how it clashes with the goals that a successful online game needs to achieve. By examining these characteristics, we can learn how to work with them to create more interesting online experiences.

Sunni Islamist thought during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries developed in direct response—and active opposition – to the Muslim world’s experience with Westernized modernity (colonialism, secularization, and later, economic and cultural globalization). Islamist thinkers reinterpreted traditional religious concepts to create a modern Islamist political ideology, which they posited against Western political dominance. In particular, these thinkers recast traditional conceptions of tawhid, the Oneness or monotheism of God. In fact, though few Westerners have ever heard of tawhid and informed literature on the subject is scarce, I argue that this concept rests at the foundation of the Islamist socio-political vision. My thesis relies on reading and analysis of primary source documents. I study the treatment of tawhid and its role in the writings of three major modern radical thinkers: Sayyid Abul a’la Mawdudi, Sayyid Qutb, and Ayman al-Zawahiri. These influential intellectuals propose that tawhid requires the establishment of an Islamic state based in the shari’a, or Islamic law. Their conceptions of liberty, social justice, and the role of religion in human life are tied explicitly to tawhid. Moreover, tawhid in their thought becomes the philosophical basis for controversial concepts such as takfir (excommunication of fellow Muslims) and violent political jihad. These thinkers’ ideas have affected generations of Muslim intellectuals, inspired political opposition in the Muslim world and the Middle East, and fueled radical Islamist activity on a global scale. My thesis concludes with an analysis of the implications of the radical definition of tawhid both for politics in the Islamic world and for Islamic thought in the modern era.

Although performers will always have a degree of individuality to their playing, the performing styles of a certain era tend to have unifying characteristics that relate to performer and audience tastes. Elements of style such as the use of vibrato or portamento and the accuracy of rhythm and interpretation of note values all evolve with different generations of violinists. The difference between early 20th century practices (those which we first have recorded evidence of) and those of today are often quite pronounced. For instance, certain characteristics of the last century’s great violinists in regards to vibrato or portamento are often regarded as taboo today. Through analyzing the recorded history of the violin, one can see how these different elements of violin playing have changed through the influences of technology, scholarship, and cyclical tastes.

Corporations can and should do more than make profits. The term corporate social responsibility (CSR) has captured this belief that businesses have a responsibility not only to their shareholders but also to the communities that enable them, the employees that work for them, and the societies they impact. This thesis takes the momentum and persistence of CSR and argues that it should be applied to help address and solve major global problems, notably poverty. The first section will define, describe, and evaluate the continuing vitality and widespread acceptance of CSR. Subsequently, I will introduce sustainable development and demonstrate how CSR fits into its framework. The next section will then utilize the coupling of sustainable development and CSR to make the case for corporate involvement in global poverty reduction by arguing that governments and international organizations have failed where multinational corporations can succeed, because their size, power, and resources necessitates responsibility, and because poverty is bad for business. I will conclude by addressing the criticisms and barriers against the corporate role.

Salmon aquaculture has become a major industry over the past few decades, so much so that the majority of fresh salmon products currently available in the United States is farmed. This growth of aquaculture has resulted in lower salmon prices, as supply has increased, putting pressure on US salmon fisheries. Proposed federal legislation aims to open the US’s Exclusive Economic Zone (the waters extending 200 miles offshore and closed to foreign fishing fleets) to licensed aquaculture production, a large proportion of which shall presumably be claimed for salmon production off the northwest coast. Such a measure faces strong opposition from fishermen and environmentalists, who voice concerns over offshore aquaculture’s potential economic and environmental impacts. This thesis examines what effects such an increase in domestic salmon production might have on market prices, and thus upon wild salmon fisheries as well, by formulating a bioeconomic model. A stock-recruitment model based upon Ricker’s (1954) is developed, incorporating economic parameters to represent the relationships between stock size, yield, price, revenue and profits to the fishery. Supply is then manipulated to simulate a surge in domestic aquaculture, as might be expected from a sudden government initiative to encourage production. The effects on stock size, yield, price, revenue, and profits are recorded for each manipulation to determine the economic and ecological impacts of a given increase in market supply. Predictions and recommendations are then made regarding future US salmon aquaculture policy.

The nuclear energy industry in the U.S. has been put on hold since the late 70s. Recently there has been a boom in interest in building new nuclear reactors. This paper gives the non- technical reader an understanding of the basics of nuclear reactors, discusses and analyzes the pros and cons of nuclear power, overviews the current landscape of nuclear power in the U.S. and the outlook for the future, and compares nuclear to other options for energy production. Criticisms of nuclear power in regards to safety and waste management will be addressed. Further, the paper will discuss some of the political hurdles nuclear energy has faced, how these hurdles can be and have been minimized, and what problems remain to its successful wide-scale implementation. In the end, the reader should be able to competently discuss the basic political and technical issues of nuclear power. Also, it is hoped that the reader’s interest in nuclear energy will be sparked and they continue to follow the industry and U.S. energy politics.

In the summer of 2007, I embarked on an investigative trip to discover my mother's past. What started as a mere biographical account of her journey to the developed west turned into a deeply personal experience that cast my life into an entirely different context. The information I learned before, during, and after the trip will stay with me for the rest of my life. For this reason, I chose to tell the story as a personal memoir. Throughout the piece I tried illuminate differences in contemporary culture while still simultaneously delineating between the various relationships going on in the story: me with myself; my mother and I; my brother and I; and my mother's family and I. This was my first extended creative piece. It stretched my boundaries as a writer and tested my patience as a scholar. Despite the intensity of the project, I am forever thankful to have been given this special opportunity.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the medical liability environment and to evaluate the effectiveness of tort law as a remediation method for issues of medical malpractice. The research methodology did not entail primary research; however, a variety of secondary sources was collected and analyzed. The paper will first develop an understanding of the medical legal environment by identifying major players and the ramifications of current trends. Practitioners in the U.S. medical liability system faceescalating liability insurance premiums, and diminishing availability of malpractice coverage. These conditions ultimately implicate the entire health community, as cost shifting and declining availability of care negatively affect both patients and physicians. Longstanding attention has been dedicated to the ability of the tort system to address themedial liability environment, and reforms have been initiated to improve the legal process of addressing the malpractice situation. Historically, state initiatives dominated reform efforts, and the medical liability system has seen little federal reform. Sweeping federal reforms could benefit the medical legal environment by improving standardization; however, tort law has historically been preserved as a state prerogative. The medical malpractice issue has emerged as a divisive concern, short of bipartisan support at the federal leveland often at the state level as well.Reforming the medical liability environment through tort reform establishes a dialectic, pitting improvements in access and cost against possible reductions in compensations for negligently injured individuals.

The Gospel of Matthew’s genealogy of Christ includes four unusual women— Tamar, Ruth, Rahab, and Bathsheba—with undignified or even scandalous pasts. Tamar had a child by her father-in-law, Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth was a foreigner, and Bathsheba was an adulteress. Three of them were Gentiles by birth and one married a foreigner, so they were not descendants of the Jewish people. However unconventional Tamar, Ruth, Rahab, and Bathsheba’s place in Christ’s genealogy may be, the author of Matthew has reason for specifically including these women in the family line of Christ. My thesis will explore the different scholars’ theories for these women’s inclusion in the genealogy and lead me to deduce a theory of my own. This analysis will enable me to come to a conclusion about what these particular women imply or foreshadow about women in Matthew and other Gospels, specific themes in Matthew, the history of Israel and the image of Christ.

In 1983 the last military dictatorship in Argentina fell. Since then there have been various discussions and opinion about the most efficient and fair way to deal with the perpetrators of humans rights violations and state sponsored terror from the dictatorship. Transitional justice and various sanctions against members of the former dictatorship have affected not only the parties subject to justice but also their victims and the families of victims along with Argentine society at large. This paper discusses the various types of transitional justice and their implementation in Argentina along with their effects. I evaluate the hypothesis that Transitional Justice in Argentina has had normative effects on the majority of mainstream society, however there are still groups pressuring for further change and others who push from the other side. As well as the question: Has a paradigm shift occurred in the dominant discourse on the last military dictatorship as a result? The dominant social discourse is determined by an evaluation of various indicators, including: films and newspapers articles. Factors are evaluated over the course of the presidential policy periods since the return to democracy.

This paper asserts the necessity for adequate ethics education in business schools and suggests possible methods for integrating ethics into curricula as well as into the classroom. Recent events pertaining to the business world, including corporate scandals, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and the increased public interest in ethics, require that business schools produce students better equipped to critically analyze and address complex ethical issues. Currently, however, schools have failed to sufficiently address ethics education. Conflicting faculty views on ethics training and insufficient empirical evidence as to the efficacy of ethics education have impeded the development of ethics programs in many schools. However, despite these setbacks, schools must implement programs that focus on training students to identify ethical dilemmas and use critical thinking skills to reach viable solutions. As these programs become more developed, further studies can be conducted to help direct schools toward using methods that are the most adept in teaching ethics to students.

My thesis is a collection of poetry exploring six different aspects of life which are, to a large extent, universally shared: boyhood, music, philosophy, war, spirit, and life. These sections were further chosen for their many intersections with literature and everyday life. Each contains eight poems centered about the topic which examine multiple sides of it. These poems do not conform to any one style, rather they are an attempt on my part to explore various writing styles as I search to invest them with an added layer of meaning based on their appearance in the written word. Two other poems serve as prologue and epilogue. Additionally, I am writing a short introduction to the work which will attempt to document my writing process, several decisions I made about the volume, and explanations of individual poems.

This work is a memoir that explores the topics of loss, death, identity, and personal growth. This narrative focuses on the experience of losing my mother to cancer at a young age, of searching for the meaning and influence of my mother’s absence and of my own process of self-exploration. The events span well over 30 years but are presented in a non-linear narrative structure. The events are true, but the reader can only see through my own lens of experience, which ranges from early childhood to today, at the age of 21.

The advent of new “minimally invasive” interventional procedures that require less resources and recovery time have spurred greater interest in evidence-based medicine. Even though interventional procedures have broad advantages over traditional surgical procedures, it is unclear whether or not they really impart mortality advantages or better outcomes. The high costs of emerging medical technology are putting a strain on insurers and beneficiaries as well as the entire economy. Developing a more comprehensive evidence base for these types of procedures would provide information on the nature of the benefits attained versus the higher costs to society. The nature of both surgical procedures and their interventional counterparts involve greater inherent risks than pharmacotherapy alone. These risks make it difficult to design statistically rigorous clinical trials within the constraints of current practices in bioethics and human subject experimentation regulations. While the randomized controlled trial with a placebo control is the “gold standard” in pharmaceuticals research, placebos in surgery have traditionally been considered inherently unethical. Within the past decade, sham surgeries have successfully been used as placebo controls to prove the inefficacy of surgical and interventional procedures. The first issue is to comprehend the impact that new and developing technology has on U.S. spending. Next, the treatment of coronary artery disease will be used as a case study to demonstrate the inadequacies of evidence in the current evidence base and the difficulty of disseminating evidence and having it adhered to. Finally, sham surgery will be explored as a potential alternative to medical treatment or no treatment as a more rigorous control in surgical trials.

This paper is a multidisciplinary investigation of the set of bronze bells discovered in Hubei, China in a tomb dating to ca. 433 BCE, belonging to a nobleman by the name of Zeng Hou Yi. These bells are inscribed with notations detailing tone names and scale transposition, providing the first written evidence of a complex music theory in ancient China. This study focuses on the implications of the music theory inscribed on the bells, comparing it to the theory described in well-known pre-Qin texts. The relationship between the two music theories and the evolution of the nomenclature featured in the inscriptions is presented. An analysis of the tone distributions of the bells accompanies the interpretations of the inscriptions. These findings contribute to the effort toward understanding the historical place of the most unique archaeological discovery relating to Chinese musical traditions.

Within Northern Ireland and particularly Belfast, visual displays of identity are everywhere. Because of Belfast’s troubled history, two distinct communities have been created within the city – the Catholic community and the Protestant community. Through the Benedict Anderson model of an imagined community as well as considerations for the particularly prominent role of religion and emigration within Belfast, this paper shows how the social divide within Belfast society is visually evident through murals and football matches. The Catholic and Protestant communities identify with different histories and even different locations. Catholic loyalty to the Republic of Ireland and Protestant loyalty to the British crown is a common theme among the murals in Belfast. Football matches in Northern Ireland generally turn into sectarian conflicts between the communities. Therefore, these objects and events show the fundamental social differences between the two communities.

including , and , in addition to Greene’s autobiographies, articles, and letters, I will draw conclusions about the “Catholic conscience” of the great novelist. In analyzing Greene’s fictional works, I will offer my own perspective in the debate over Greene’s status as a “Catholic writer.” I will answer the questions: 1. Are the moral dilemmas in these three novels, though Catholic in nature, open to a wider, even secular audience? 2. How should the reader interpret the actions, emotions and thoughts of Greenian characters? Should they be taken as Greene’s own opinions of Catholic doctrine, or should they be assessed independently of Greene’s personal beliefs? 3. What exactly does Greene accomplish in the resolutions of the stories? Although he challenged the tenets of and often criticized his own faith, Catholicism was an inescapable influence on the works and, ultimately, the life of Graham Greene. By studying works that exhibit religious overtones, I will examine Greene’s portrayal of temptation, sin, guilt, and redemption, and will draw conclusions about Greene’s own struggle with faith. In the course of my thesis, I hope to prove that Greene was much more than a Catholic writer—that what many critics have labeled his uniquely “Catholic themes” are, in reality, universal. These themes resonate beyond the confines of a single and reflect a much broader human struggle with the forces of good and evil.

Chica (or Xica) da Silva is a major mythical figure—some might say an archetype—in modern Brazilian pop culture, but who was she really? A mulatto slave born in the 1730s in the mining region of colonial Brazil, she became the mistress of João Fernandes de Oliveira, a diamond contractor under the Portuguese crown, who eventually purchased her freedom. They lived together for 17 years and had 13 children. Because of this relationship, Chica’s life changed completely and she was able to insert herself at a much higher level of society than that into which she was born. This much is true. However, as depicted in Brazilian art and common lore, Chica is a revolutionary, a hypersexual seductress, a witch, and even proof of Brazil’s so-called democracia racial (racial democracy). First I outline the facts of the life and times of Chica da Silva, largely using what is essentially the only credible scholarly biography of her: Júnia Ferreira Furtado’s Chica da Silva e o contratador dos diamantes: o outro lado do mito. Next I explore the various incarnations of Chica as myth in Brazilian culture. I attempt to answer the following questions: Who is the mythical Xica and who was the real Xica? How and why have the facts been altered? Next I ask why the story of Chica da Silva has persisted and attained such widespread popularity. Then I briefly summarize the history of Brazilian race relations, emphasizing the lasting influence of democracia racial, the idea that Brazil is free of racism. Finally, I tie Chica da Silva to Brazilian race relations, asking how the myth built around her serves to promote certain racial agendas, and I speculate as to the future of the myth of Chica da Silva and of racism in Brazil.

This thesis examines the homeownership rates and housing quality of Mexican immigrants in the Austin, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Homeownership is widely regarded as the keystone to achieving American middle-class status and is often treated as an indicator of minority and immigrant groups’ levels of social integration and socioeconomic success. However, homes of low quality deny owners certain benefits associated with ownership. The first part of the thesis uses data from the 2000 U.S. Census to examine the quality of homes owned in the Austin MSA, in addition to homeownership rates, by racial/ethnic and immigrant group. Findings indicate that Mexican immigrants have the lowest homeownership rate in Austin. Further, homes owned by Mexican immigrants are of lower average quality than homes owned by any other population group in the metropolitan area. In the second section of the thesis, interview data gathered from Mexican immigrant homeowners highlights the need to critically evaluate traditional interpretations of data on housing quality. Interview subjects illustrate that while they experience frustration or negative consequences due to the aspects of their homes that are labeled low quality, their housing ideals and goals for the family lead them to understand their homeownership experiences in distinct ways that call into question whether quantitative standards, which are based on mainstream housing preferences, are reliable indicators of qualitative homeownership experiences for immigrants and other minority populations in our increasingly diverse society. Findings suggest that future research should focus on defining the roles of immigrants’ networks and cultural identities in shaping their understandings of housing quality, in order to influence housing policies to be more immigrant- friendly. Further, such research should utilize information from both quantitative and qualitative data, as each can provide unique information that enriches researchers’ understandings of the other.

This content analysis focuses on U.S. presidential candidates’ attempts to project their religiousness to the electorate through communicative strategy. The study concentrates on differences between parties and trends over time. The study spans the eight elections from 1976 to 2004. In each election, the speeches for comparison come from candidates’ addresses at their parties’ nominating conventions. The analysis of religious rhetoric involves quantifying total religious rhetoric, as well as classifying remarks into several categories. The comparison revealed three significant findings. First, Republicans used more religious rhetoric than Democrats overall, and also used speech more highly religious in nature. Second, the Democrats’ use of religious rhetoric increased steadily over time. Third, both parties employed more neutral religious rhetoric aimed at enhancing the candidate’s character instead of tying religious rhetoric to specific policy positions. Candidates essentially use enough “safe” religious rhetoric to seem upstanding without seeming fanatical or offensive.

Haiti’s 1987 constitution lists both French and Creole as official languages. Those two languages, however, do not have an equal status in society, and Haitians often consider French to be more prestigious. The growing influence of English due to immigration and globalization further complicates Haiti’s language situation. This thesis presents an ethnographic study of parents who sent their children to Sonlight Academy, an English immersion school on the north coast of Haiti. It focuses on their use of French, Creole, and English, as well as their attitudes concerning those three languages. This thesis first discusses the contexts in which Sonlight Academy parents used French and Creole. There was no clear distinction between the situations where Sonlight Academy parents used French and ones where they used Creole. The main difference between French and Creole had to do with language attitudes. The second section of the thesis considers the importance of English for Sonlight Academy parents and the extent to which immigration to the United States contributed to that importance. Finally, this thesis describes what the linguistic future of Haiti might look like and what socio-economic factors could change that future.

In 2004-2005 Niger faced a nutritional crisis. This paper tracks the context in Niger leading up to the famine, the international community’s response generally, and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) specifically, by examining newspapers from the time of the famine, MSF country reports, WHO and IMF reports, and multiple documents discussing dependency, food aid, and ties between famine and disease. MSF responded relatively quickly to the situation, stabilized it as other NGOs came in, and effectively treated over 60,000 Nigeriens who likely would have died without MSF’s expert medical help. MSF has stepped into a role of helping maintain the Nigerien health-care system, creating a dependency situation which could have been much worse. MSF’s work in Niger was admirable, efficient, effective, and above all, humanitarian. They have indeed put human dignity and life above all other considerations.

Since its development in the late 1950’s, growth hormone therapy has been used as an incredibly powerful drug. Originally, its use was highly restricted, reserved mainly for the most needy growth hormone deficient individuals. This is because of growth hormone’s expense and health risks. Growth hormone was originally harvested through the pituitary gland of cadavers, at times spreading diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and cancer. This made it both limited in supply and risky. However, in the 1980’s a new, synthetic growth hormone was developed. The new hormone is now more widely available and no longer transfers cancer and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This newer version of the drug has opened new avenues of research with growth hormone therapy. And some exciting new clinical uses have been discovered. The new growth hormone, however, has also provided for increased incidences of its use for enhancement rather than treatment. Three main enhancements have emerged with growth hormone therapy: height enhancement, anti-aging enhancement, and performance enhancement. I will discuss each and the impact they will have on the individual and society. Beginning with height enhancement, I will show how it is problematic due to the expense, risks, and social ramifications. I will also explain how there is no clinical need to treat most cases of short stature with growth hormone therapy. This is followed by my recommendation for a prescription regimen that will limit growth hormone’s availability for unnecessary enhancement uses in children. Following height enhancement I will investigate anti-aging enhancement use in adults. There is a blatant campaign of misinformation among anti-aging vendors. Illegal activities aside, they are placing unaware consumers at risk. I will support that, at the very least, consumers should be properly informed, necessitating more stringent regulations. Finally, I will discuss growth hormone as a performance-enhancing drug. The rationale for restricting performance-enhancing drugs is to protect the players, protect the public, and provide a level of legitimacy for the customers. Growth hormone, even though its efficacy is questionable, is being used to enhance performance. I will show that it is a dangerous drug that fulfills the rationale for restricting its use, meaning all sports leagues should ban it.

On December 26, 2004, the world learned of anearthquake whose epicenter in the Indian Ocean caused a Tsunami which devastated the region. Two and a half years after the Tsunami, affected areas struggle to recover. The United States alone committed $726.9 million to the Aceh region of Indonesia on behalf of the government (U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)), various Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and private donors. These entities spent only one third of committed aid as of February 2007. Examining the use of these donations is relevant to the individuals and corporations that donated and the public at large. In this thesis I have focused on evaluating the Tsunami relief provided by the U.S. to Aceh, Indonesia, one of the hardest hit regions. U.S. aid in Aceh is characterized by several large projects. One, the Aceh-Meulaboh Road Project, usesover 40% of U.S. aid. The top ten projects account for 60% of U.S. aid. Similarly few aid agencies performed the majority of reconstruction work. USAID provided just over 50% of all U.S. based aid. Together, USAID, the American Red Cross, Care International and World Vision International committed 80% of U.S. aid. Understanding these projects and major players is fundamental to understanding the U.S. Tsunami response. However, there are 388 other projects undertaken by the U.S. and fifty-seven U.S. organizations listed in a database maintained by the Indonesian Agency of the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for the Region and Community of Aceh and Nias (BRR). The BRR was established in 2005by the Indonesian government to record and monitor reconstruction activities. These smaller projects are best evaluated by sector, determined by the BRR. Over half the aid committed to the Health, Spatial Planning, Religious and Social Development sectors has been disbursed (spent or allocated). However, less than half of committed aid has been disbursed in critical areas such as Education, Infrastructure, Economic Development and Institutional Development. This highlights key gaps for aid distribution and illustrates room for improvement. Aid agencies can benefit from the lessons learned from the 2004 Tsunami. Suggestions for improving the international aid structure include increased communication and transparency. Formalizing the role of the military as way to administer immediate aid will increase effectiveness and ease the transition to NGOs and Government rebuilding efforts. The U.N. should be the official coordinating body and given appropriate enforcement mechanisms. Finally, NGOs must coordinate with each other as well as local governments to agree to development metrics and a timeline for aid. The most important goal of any disaster relief is to leave the government equipped to rebuild after NGOs have left. The people of Aceh can do the most good by helping themselves, once they are given the tools to do so.

The medical condition called Alzheimer‟s disease represents an increasingly important condition in our society. The progressive onset of dementia in those individuals afflicted by Alzheimer‟s disease gives rise to a number of complex ethical questions regarding their care and leaves them vulnerable to mistreatment. In this paper I will examine, in detail, a few of the issues that arise in the presence of Alzheimer‟s disease towards the ends of patients‟ lives. Having examined the issues, I will consider how we as friends, family, caregivers, and society as a whole can work to insure that Alzheimer‟s patients are treated with the care, compassion, and dignity they deserve.

During my college career I have become fascinated with sound and the process by which music is made – in the sense of both capturing sounds onto a medium, and in delivering that medium from obscurity to mass production. The audio engineering field and the American music industry are both undergoing radical shifts of method due to the daily advent of new technologies. One development in the field, the 5.1 surround sound format, warrants attention. Since its inception in theatres in the late thirties, surround sound has become a widely accepted method both for delivering realistic recreations of concert presentations and for creating unique listening experiences that transcend the physical limitations of musical performance. My task is to examine the changing role of the recording engineer in a field that struggles to understand and outpace these innovations. I have prepared a surround sound “producer’s reel” – a diverse collection of surround sound recordings that demonstrate musical understanding and Audio Engineering proficiency in both classical and popular music settings. I recorded and mixed the portfolio at the University of Texas recording studios. A writing component accompanies the reel that examines the rapidly expanding role of surround sound in the music industry and its impact on the listener’s experience. This includes a discussion of the technical and theoretical details of the recordings, as well as the future of surround sound in the recording industry.

Few sports provide an attention to individual match ups and voluminous history to compare with Major League Baseball. These attributes allow baseball to be studied and evaluated using a multitude of statistical analyses, with much debate over the proper methods for measuring player performance and predicting future success. In my thesis, I chronicle the problems with traditional statistics used in baseball history and the development of the new school of statistics: sabermetrics. By comparing the different valuation methods, including modern numbers like Pythagorean statistics and Bill James’s Win Shares, illustrating their impact on management, and assessing their limits, I hope to derive a superior method for determining player worth and a better system for guiding everything from lineups to player transactions. To do this, I will analyze the advantages posed by modern statistics, illustrate the extent and variety with which sabermetrics can be applied to in-game strategy, and propose new studies and statistics to better understand players’ values, roles, and strengths as part of a larger statistical approach to team management.

Various ideologies are emerging for cost-effective, equitable health care. No sustainable health plan has been established that promotes access, equity, efficiency, high quality of care, and affordable cost. There seems to exist a tradeoff between the quality and efficiency of health services and equal accessibility of health services. This tradeoff is often seen through the dual system of health care in many countries as private providers deliver superior care to those who can afford it while public providers often attract high-risk patients and low-income users. This also corresponds directly with private and public health insurance plans. In this thesis, I will look at the role that market forces play in health care provision. In the drive to lower costs through free markets, choice, and competition, certain liberties are lost. Should governments look to the private sector for the effective delivery of health care? Is there a way to combine the universal coverage of some national health systems with the privatized methods of others? Countries that haplessly combine this two-tier system of health care will find that instead of the private and public providers becoming more integrated, the autonomy enjoyed in the private sector and the ability to set rates per service will draw in doctors and insurance providers away from the public sector where services are contracted at a low rate. Moral hazard and adverse selection abound in the unregulated, imperfect health care markets. The public system will be left for those who cannot afford private services. This dichotomy within the health-care system of a country will prove unsustainable, as health costs will exceed public expenditure. In this thesis, I will investigate the structure and mechanisms within the health systems of six countries in varying economic and political contexts. Market forces may provide the answer to an equitable provision of health services in the following six countries: Chile, China, Costa Rica, India, the UK, and the US.

This thesis analyzes and compares the public policies of the United States, Spain and Sweden on the issue of traumatic brain injury. Traumatic brain injury in the United States has long been overlooked as a problem and policies have lagged compared to the rest of the world. An infamous example of United States brain injury policy is the surprising lack of a helmet law for both motorcyclists and bicyclists in various states compared to mandatory helmet laws in Spain and Sweden. Injured people have to pay exorbitantly to receive the care they need to recover some of their previous livelihood. Without expensive insurance or wealth, traumatic brain injury becomes virtually a death sentence. Federal laws are needed in order to provide for better care of brain injury patients. In order to put the American case in perspective, a comparison with Sweden and Spain focuses on current laws and statistics on brain injury in these countries and to compare each country’s policy on brain treatment, brain injury prevention and brain research. The findings of this research indicate that the United States still has much work to attain parity with the policies of its Western European counterparts.

Growth hormone (GH) is an important protein that helps the body grow and plays an important role in metabolism. Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is a condition that affects children by causing them to grow at extremely slow rates. GHD affects an adult by lowering bone density and muscle mass and by raising the percentage of fat per unit mass in his or her body. GH treatment is not only targeted towards people with GHD, but it is also made available to people who suffer from growth failure that is a result of diseases such as Turner syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and chronic renal failure. High costs and inconvenient methods for administering the treatment make it necessary to find a system for delivery that is both cost effective and not burdensome. Oral protein delivery is an alternative way to administer GH treatment. An efficient system for oral protein delivery would be able to protect the protein while it is in the acidic environment of the stomach and allow the protein to diffuse out while it is in the small intestine. In this thesis, a system for delivering GH by means of a hydrogel carrier is explored. The experimental hydrogel carriers examined in this thesis were made from different formulations of a system of methacrylic acid and N-vinyl pyrrolidone crosslinked with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate. This system was chosen because the constructed hydrogel does not dissolve in food, and the components of the system have the ability to complex together in acidic environments due to hydrogen bonding and swell in environments where the pH is higher than the system’s pKa. In this thesis, experiments were conducted in order to determine whether the hydrogel carrier would protect GH in an acidic environment and to ascertain the release profile for GH out of the carrier in an environment with a pH higher than the pKa of the system.

The aim of this paper is to examine the role that economics plays in the progression or hindrance of peace processes between former adversaries. The paper encompasses three distinct regions: The Middle East (namely the Israel-Egypt, Israel-Jordan, and Israel-Palestinian cases), Europe (in the form of the Northern Ireland conflict), and Southeast Asia (represented by post-WWII Japan and ASEAN relations). The goal is to describe how economic factors such as third-party aid, foreign direct investment, trade relations, labor flows, etc. affect ongoing political conflict. In the Middle East, current economic trends, namely copious amounts of US foreign aid and isolated economies, have contributed to a deterioration of the peace process between nations in conflict. In Ireland, the business community, through its passive involvement in the peace process, has not done much to promulgate peace, but more importantly, has done nothing to deter it. In addition, the Northern Irish economy’s reliance on British aid has rendered its influence on conflict resolution practically non-existent. Finally, in Southeast Asia, Japan’s policy of rehabilitating its economy through cooperation with and development of ASEAN economies enabled economic factors to weigh heavily on the progression of the peace process. While overall conclusions maintain that most economic factors need to be assessed not individually, but within the context of the macroeconomic environment in the region; it appears as though in all three cases, military spending (especially when wrought by foreign aid) has a negative effect on peace.

This is a creative thesis involving an hour-long live showcase of the musicals Wicked, Les Miserables, and Rent. As director, I planned the performance from start to finish. This involved everything from casting voice parts and managing rehearsals to framing the context and structure of the performance and staging the performance. Wicked, Les Miserables, and Rent have protagonists that society unjustly considers vile. Mainstream society categorizes the characters in a one-dimensional manner. Mimi in Rent is labeled as a striper who cannot pay her rent; Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, an ex- convict; and Elphaba in Wicked, a woman with green skin. Society assumes these people are negative influences in society when, in reality, they more altruistic than the majority and certainly more multi-dimensional than their labels imply. Mimi is a loving individual who supports her friends; Jean Valjean, an altruistic man who takes an orphan child under his wing; and Elphaba, a caring woman attempts to save animals from losing their power of speech. In these musicals, each of the protagonists finds a path that enables him or her to break away from society. The three specific stages that comprise this journey are as follows: first, is the recognition that the values of a particular society conflict with the protagonist’s nature; second, is the protagonist’s association with people in society who offer love and support empowering the protagonist to maintain his view; and third, is the protagonist’s escape from society, the defiance of gravity. By analyzing the music, lyrics, characterizations, settings, and stories of these musicals, I discovered the relevance of all three musicals by this three-stage journey. Extensive psychology and sociology research on social influence, attitudes and behavior, good and evil, and love enabled me to understand the relationships between the protagonists and their societies in Wicked, Les Miserables, and Rent.

This project explores the ways Hispanic women are portrayed in mainstream media, and the effect those portrayals have on young Hispanic women seeking to enter the field of journalism as a career. Hispanic women are often portrayed using stereotypes in the mainstream press, when they are portrayed at all. At the same time, Hispanics, particularly Hispanic women, are under-represented in newsrooms relative to their presence in the population. This study shows that the poor coverage of Hispanics in the media is not the cause of their under- representation in the newsroom but rather serves as an impetus for Hispanic women to enter journalism and make improvements. The conclusion of this study is based on the results of a focus group held with three young Hispanic women, in which they discussed the issues that accompany being a Hispanic female in the newsroom and their goals in working in the media. The three women identified most strongly as women rather than as Hispanic, and they associated most challenges they face with their womanhood. However, they also felt that being female was an advantage in securing interviews and providing a sympathetic perspective. All three women expressed a desire to enter English-language mainstream media in order to make a positive difference. Ultimately, the focus group concluded that these particular young women find the current coverage of Hispanic women to be an inducement to enter journalism as a profession and that further research should be done in this area to further understanding of issues surrounding Hispanic females in journalism.

The Law of Popular Participation (LPP) of 1994 in Bolivia paved the way for the decentralization of the Bolivian government. A law that exemplified the synchronization of neoliberal and multicultural axia, the LPP created 314 municipalities, the majority in rural areas with indigenous majority population. This created a politically viable space for indigenous activists and politicians to become part of the governing body, moving from the subaltern counter-public space into the traditional public sphere. Combined with other political and social factors, this opening of the political system led to a dealignment with the traditional political parties in the late 1990s and to the success of anti-systemic parties, such as the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS).

Since the No Child Left Behind Act went into effect in 2002, controversy has surrounded all aspects of the law, particularly its accountability provisions. As the law comes up for renewal during the 110th Congress, lawmakers, researchers, and policy analysts are taking stock of the law’s achievements and its shortcomings. This paper offers a glimpse into the reauthorization debates by examining the history of the accountability movement up to the passage of NCLB as well as a look at 5-year history of the law to date. Though the politics surrounding the law are significant, the issues that have arisen during the implementation of the law, such as the quality of assessment, how to measure progress, and how to support schools who do not meet the laws standards, are the biggest obstacles facing the 2007 reauthorization. Once a foundational explanation of these issues has been given, this paper suggests and evaluates some potential policy directions. The policy initiatives range from relatively small tweaks in the law, such as reallocating or increasing funds, to the call for a national accountability program, which would represent a major overhaul to the law.

Cronkhite-Canada Syndrome (CCS) is a rare disease characterized by gastrointestinal polyposis, alopecia, onychodystrophy, hyperpigmentation, weight loss, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. No cure for this disease has been found and no genetic basis for the syndrome has been identified. Treatments for this disease have generally targeted nonspecific elements such as malnutrition and electrolyte imbalances. The current study aims to expand upon current literature by investigating the composition and expression of the structural protein keratin in affected CCS patient nails. Keratin is an important link in the disease as all afflicted tissues posses isoforms of the protein. METHODS: Nails from normal (n=2) and CCS (n=3) patient nails were ground and dissolved in solution. Subsequently, keratins were separated via gel electrophoresis. Upon completion, bands were excised, purified and stored. Proteins from each band were then sequenced and identified by using MALDI/TOF/TOF analysis. RESULTS: Preliminary findings indicate diffuse expression of KRTHB6 and KRTHA3B segments in diseased nails. Additionally, Kertain-5 (K5), a normal component of nails, was noticeably absent in initial spectroscopic readings of the diseased samples. CONCLUSION: The current study demonstrates keratin compositional imbalances in CCS patient nails. Diffuse protein expression in the spectroscopic results may be due to protein breakup because of an as yet unidentified mechanism. Furthermore, the dearth of detectable K5 levels suggests other regulatory processes may also be implicated. Further research is required to confirm and identify affected keratins, explain the source of these abnormalities, and examine the extent to which these irregularities may be managed using specific treatment regimens.

HIV is one of the fastest growing epidemics worldwide despite attempts to halt its spread. It is most often transmitted through sexual contact or among intravenous drug users through shared needles. When HIV was discovered in 1981, vaccines targeting the humoral immune system were created but proved ineffective. Later, vaccines targeting cellular immunity were developed but were still unable to provide protection. However, where science has failed, nature has not: individuals born without a functional CCR5 gene are almost entirely protected against infection. This paper aims to understand how natural resistance is achieved and explore ways in which our understanding of natural HIV resistance and HIV pathogenesis can be applied to the creation of a vaccine. Ultimately, a combination vaccine targeting multiple viral proteins and involving both arms of the immune system should prove viable.

My study is interested in the examination of how historical memory, defined as the way in which different groups remember their own history, influences power structures within a nation. Additionally, I will examine the relevance of re-remembering during a drastic change in those structures, as is occurring in post-apartheid South Africa. The formation of the present day beliefs within the diverse populations in South Africa is directly informed by the past. If the development of a collective memory diverges between different ethnic and racial groups within South Africa, the use of historical memory might impede critical communication, shared experiences, and understandings among these groups. These misunderstandings in turn lead to the legitimization of social orders and systemic power structures in South Africa today. Therefore, overcoming and rewriting the problematic history of South Africa is indeed the fundamental challenge of unifying the various ethnic and racial groups living in South Africa, which includeóthe Zulus, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, Venda, Ndebele, Swazi, English, Indians, Malays, Afrikaners, and Coloreds. It is not my intent to reconcile these many competing ideas of historical memory in this country; rather, it is my opinion that the healing process and reconciliation of the nation can only occur through this process of inclusion. In this way, no one group of people receives condemnation, but also no one group is excluded from holding a place of importance in South Africaís future growth. Thus far, this inclusion process has occurred most significantly through two specific mediums. The thesis opens with an in-depth examination of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to investigate its role in this process. In addition, the thesis examines the use of South African monuments and local artwork projects to create an inclusive national history. The final and lasting component of this thesis will explore how the creation of a collective identity among all South Africans through the reconstruction of a national memory supports the social and economic transformations in the nation.

Advancements in biotechnology and medicine have produced novel macromolecular drugs, such as proteins and DNA molecules, which have the potential to treat and cure diseases such as cancer and diabetes. These drugs are typically denatured by the harsh environment of the body and are impermeable to cell membranes. Thus, a novel mechanism for effective delivery of these agents must be designed. pH-Sensitive polycationic hydrogels may be a viable tool for the intracellular delivery of these compounds. This investigation involves the synthesis and characterization of pH-responsive polycationic nanoparticles composed of poly(diethylaminoethyl methacrylate) grafted with poly(ethylene glycol) [P(DEAEM-g-EG)]. The goal was to optimize a method for producing monodisperse P(DEAEM-g-EG) nanogels less than 200 nm using free radical initiated emulsion photopolymerization. Critical factors for controlling particle size were investigated and included the method of emulsification and choice of surfactants. Preliminary studies have shown that the use of an Ultrasonicator and non-ionic and ionic cosurfactants can successfully produce polycationic particles in the nanometer range.

This thesis examines three issues in secondary education that are detrimental to youth in contemporary Japan: examination hell, bullying, and school refusal. The continuation of these problems will compound the problem of Japan's low birthrate by producing increasing numbers of burnt out, uninspired, and troubled youth. As they are the workers and citizens of the future, the future of Japan looks uncertain. I explore the history and background of each phenomenon and identify the contributing factors. I then explain how measures taken to solve the problems have been successful or unsuccessful. In the concluding chapter, I offer my own solutions to the problems. To accomplish these tasks, I have relied on government documents, secondary literature (newspaper articles, books, journal articles), and survey and statistical analysis. In my thesis, I argue that examination hell is caused by meritocracy and the dull, unrelenting nature of entrance examinations and pedagogy. The root cause of bullying lies in the authoritarian structure of the school, and school refusal results from burnout, linked to examination stress, the tedium of school life, or bullying. The government has enacted measures in the name of educational reform, but many of them are ineffective or have created other unforeseen problems. These problems must be remedied for the sake of not only Japan’s future economic growth, but also for the well-being of Japanese youth.

Although Asian-Americans as a whole make up a small percentage of the population of the United States, they are disproportionately enrolled in universities across the nation. They also score higher on math and science tests, and their verbal scores are only slightly below the average of Caucasians. There are several theories explaining this phenomenon, mainly the impact of socioeconomic and cultural factors. First, I will examine the socioeconomic side to see the impact immigration laws have on the educational aspirations of East-Asian-Americans, particularly the Japanese and Chinese. Second, it is important to consider the role East-Asian culture plays in affecting the belief system of immigrants and their native-born children. Finally, I intend to analyze whether the combination of these two factors indeed influence the academic success of several generations of East-Asian-Americans, and if so, how they do so.

People around the globe spend significant amounts of time playing video and computer games. There is a level of immersion and captivation associated with these games that is hardly understood and rarely duplicated. The growing popularity of this form of interactive media suggests that the video game industry has a profound influence on the psyche of an ever- increasing society of gamers. It is not by mere chance that millions of gamers spend every morsel of free time in front of their television screen or computer monitor. This thesis attempts to illuminate the reasons behind the deep cognitive engagement with video games. I first researched the basic nature of gaming and strove to identify the primary differences between video games and other forms of entertainment media. Then, I looked for the various characteristics of games toward which players gravitate and the resulting states of consciousness generated by unique combinations of these game attributes. I also tried to take the viewpoint of the video game designer in order to determine specific game fundamentals that help establish and maintain the players’ engagement. Furthermore, I evaluated how the consequences of such a psychological attachment affected in- game performance. In the next section I endeavored to distinguish where along the continuous spectrum of engagement a video gamer ceases to voluntarily spend his or her time enjoying games and plunges forthright into the abyss of uncontrollable obsession. I also sought to discover which physiological factors predispose a casual gamer to become a full-blown addict. Finally, I discuss how engaging video games can possibly offer an advantageous approach to education. I wanted to find out if virtual, interactive environments could be adapted and incorporated into our current educational system in an effort to make learning more efficient and perhaps more enjoyable.

For many centuries, there has been intense debate between science and religion, and to this day, the debate continues unabated. One of the most significant recent aspects of the debate is a focus on Darwinian evolution, much of which has been strongly opposed by those of the Intelligent Design movement. My discussion first explores Intelligent Design and the ways in which it has been criticized by one of its most vocal opponents, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. It then investigates Dawkins’ and the evolutionists’ own ideas on religion and evolution, addressing such questions as how compatible are science and religion and whether the staunch evolutionist can also hold to supernatural beliefs. Finally, I synthesize all arguments and address intermediate positions, many of which appear to offer balanced, workable solutions to the ongoing debate between Darwinian evolution and Intelligent Design.

In recent years, methamphetamine has received growing attention as the United States’ newest drug epidemic. Researchers of drug abuse have traditionally focused on inner city substance abuse problems believing rural America to be immune to the lures of drug abuse. However, rural communities have recently experienced an increased “proneness” to drug abuse and increased “availability” of drugs. Both are results of the deterioration of social and physical barriers previously protecting these rural communities. The introduction of methamphetamine to these newly vulnerable communities has had significant financial, social, and environmental consequences for already struggling rural towns. From its very beginning, methamphetamine abuse has been overshadowed by the drug problems of inner city America. However, the social conditions of rural towns struggling with methamphetamine abuse have been increasingly compared to urban communities traditionally associated with substance abuse. Now that the methamphetamine ‘epidemic’ is receiving national attention, much of it is focused on the sensational consequences of abuse such as “meth orphans” and “meth mouth.” By focusing on the consequences of abuse, we are able to ignore the real source of concern, the causes of abuse.

Much to parents‘ chagrin, the idea of video games as a college major is coming closer to reality. But for some gamers, their games have become more than an idle activity or mere escapism. Gamers, in ever-increasing numbers, gather (both on the Internet and in person) to debate the finer points of the games they play – why this button does this, or why it was surprising when that giant monster appeared when it did. In essence, gamers talk about their activity with the same depth and intellect as film buffs. And yet young film buffs, compared to their video game counterparts, receive much greater encouragement for their interest. At virtually any major university, students have been able to major in film for decades. Only in the last decade, however, have video games boomed from a mere child‘s hobby into a full-blown independent industry with Hollywood-sized budgets and production teams (and revenues). Thanks to relentless advances in computing power and data storage space, games have massively expanded in complexity and length. Given the relative youth of video games, it may still come as a surprise that at a small number of schools, students can now study video games in the classroom. But herein lays a problem. Different schools define ―studying video games‖ in different ways. To some schools, video game departments are branches of computer science departments, and teach students how to program their own games. At others, video game faculties are drawn from film departments, and students observe games with special attention to their narratives, looking for cinematic qualities inside games. At still others, games are used as experimental tools for psychologists, sociologists, and other social scientists, to examine new ways in which people relate. Over the objections of the ―old guard‖ of more traditional arts, video games are gaining increasing acceptance as a new artistic medium. As such, they deserve analysis and criticism on a level consistent with more traditional arts. Today, however, many obstacles stand in the way of widespread serious analysis of games. In the same sense that science could not have been started without a standard system of measurement, games need a set of conventions to which critics can appeal. Part of the flawed perspectives of some existing university programs has been the application of the conventions of computer science or film to video games instead of a new, specialized set. This paper seeks to establish the ideal conventions for video game analysis in a new academic field. Using current discussion and articles among video game professionals as a guide, games can be broken down into nine component parts: gameplay, control, sound, art, pace, narrative, linearity, interaction between players, and psychology. By correctly identifying the component parts of a game, gamers and ―outsiders‖ alike can gain a greater appreciation for a unique new form of art.

What is the relationship between the humanbody and humanconsciousness? This question, central to the mind-body problem, commonly has two responses, reflected in two opposing ontological stances: materialism and dualism. Materialism claims that science has shown the entire reality of our universeto consist of physical matter. Therefore, the mind and components of experience (qualia) should be reduced to physical states of the brain. Property dualism, by contrast, states that consciousness is a non-physical property of the brain, and cannot be reduced to physical brain states, for explanatory, epistemic, and modal reasons. Though materialism is the view with the most following, I will argue for property dualism. I will begin by presentinga comprehensive neural theory of consciousness that outlines a neural system implicated in the existence of conscious sensory experiences. This model of what is called a “neural correlate of consciousness” (NCC), named the ERTAS model, is considered because it reflects a simple synthesis of many empirical findings in experiments with consciousness. Neural theories of consciousness are compatible with both physicalism and property dualism. Thus, in order to resolve the mind-body problem, one must consider the view that satisfies both scientific discoveries as well as the epistemic and explanatory constraints that consciousness poses by virtue of being a first-person phenomenon. After the ERTAS model is presented, the rest of the work will be devoted to resolving the mind-body problem from a philosophical stand-point. After considering two main arguments in favor of physicalism, the Argument from Causal Closure and the Argument from Simplicity, I will discuss three anti-materialist arguments: the Explanatory Argument, the Knowledge Argument, and the Conceivability Argument. Through these arguments, I will solidify the case for property dualism. Two major objections to the dualist view will also be confront and resolve. The first one relates to the epiphenomenalist consequence that results from dualism, and the second regards its supposed conflict with a scientific worldview.

Of all the changes in American society over the past sixty years, the changes in sex roles have been among the most dramatic. Initiated by women in response to men’s absence during World War II, these changes began simply with women filling in the gaps left in industry by the men who had been working there before heading off to war. These new positions brought conflict for women, many of whom found themselves no longer able to meet all the demands placed on them at home and by their children. This led to the adoption of various coping strategies, through which women came to identify with their new roles. The evolution of the sex role of women was not limited to just one aspect of life. Once women had established roles as working individuals, it moved into the bedroom. Traditional sex roles for women mandated that they be passive, receptive, and dedicated to their husbands. As traditional sex roles gave way to more egalitarian ones, the gap between attitudes regarding men and women in the bedroom narrowed to the point that women are now recognized as sexually autonomous beings independent from men. The present analysis examines data from a recent study on sexual attitudes and behaviors in light of several models of sexuality that have played critical parts in the evolution of sex roles. The two goals of this examination are to identify the extent to which sex roles in American society have changed over the past sixty years, and also to develop a further understanding of how the sex roles of men and women have changed relative to one another. Overall, American society is currently adopting more egalitarian sex roles, and the sex role of women has evolved more extensively than has the sex role of men.

Confronted with the demands of a far-reaching and strenuous war on terror, it becomes necessary to determine what type of actions, regarding national laws and human rights, the United States is willing to take. In an effort to better understand the position of this country and the legality of its actions, this paper examines the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian and Syrian citizen who was rendered to Syria from U.S. soil. He sued U.S. officials for their role in his capture and subsequent torture for suspected links to terrorism. The arguments presented by both Mr. Arar and the attorneys of the United States government, in their defense of former Attorney General Ashcroft and other officials, will be evaluated thoroughly, creating a comprehensive picture of the political and legal attitudes of the government. In order to analyze the legality of U.S. actions, the paper considers immigration laws, federal regulations, and the Constitution. The paper will assess the compatibility of United States’ actions with the ideals espoused by the nation’s laws and Constitutional underpinnings. Finally, the policies, actions, and attitudes promoted by the United States will be scrutinized and compared with those of other western countries, which offer an opportunity to reform the current U.S. system.

Sports, games, and recreational activities are prevalent in our modern society. However, we often do not consider what their origins may be, or, in a sense, where they have been. Ancient Egypt has long been a source of mystery, fascination, and obsession for many people and for a myriad of reasons. This particular civilization’s role in the history of many sports and games has often been overlooked while many of its other properties have been extensively studied. What Egyptologists, including notably Wolfgang Decker, have discovered is that Egypt possesses perhaps one of the oldest and most intriguing traditions of sports and games. It will be the goal of this paper to research the sports, games, and other recreational activities enjoyed in ancient Egypt. The work of Wolfgang Decker, the recognized authority in this area of study, will be prominently utilized. This paper will also investigate the particular social and political roles that royal sports fulfilled in Egypt. Where it is possible, parallels to Greek and Latin sport traditions, as well as ties to some modern sports will be noted. The final goal of the paper will be to survey some of the many sports and games common Egyptians engaged in, both as children and adults.

Microcredit is the extension of small loans to those poor or unemployed persons who lack the collateral and credit history to qualify otherwise for traditional loans or the basic services of the banking system. This system of credit favors females, as they traditionally have a family to feed, a willingness to provide for that family, and a marginalized role in their particular society. The “success” of early programs by Muhammad Yunus with the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh has legitimized microcredit in the eyes of some large multinational banks while producing results that many decry as profit over progress. To ensure repayment of loans, the bank relies on “solidarity groups” which are small informal groups of mostly females that meet weekly in their villages to conduct business with bank representatives, create informal community boards to reinforce the notion of personal responsibility for the loan, and support mechanisms that enforce payment through shame or threat of violence. Savings and investment are held to be preferable to traditional welfare-style aid by regional governments and international investors. Loan borrowers receive a sense of dignity and responsibility that empowers them and perform at higher levels when they feel a personal sense of risk. Poor entrepreneurs are considered to possess the same survival skills as the most affluent businessmen in such microcredit programs. They must repay debts on schedule to receive future loans. These indigent people are aggressive and a safe investment both in the short and long term because they are independently motivated and bound by the strictures of the loan itself (you must repay to receive). Despite the record of loan repayment, there is a larger critique by many that women are being subjected to communal violence, forced to hand over their loan to their husbands, unable to ascend into the hierarchy of the loan system despite their supermajority at the lowest levels of the organization. Many find that the inclusion of women in this manner of development scheme is an attempt to profit by utilizing women’s lowered social status. I hope to analyze the degree to which the Grameen Bank has actually impacted women and whether it creates new opportunities for women’s empowerment. I will first detail the historical progression of developmental theory that lead to the beginnings and large-scale adoption of microcredit lending around the world. Using the Grameen Bank as a model for microcredit institutions, I hope to develop a robust critique of many of the microlending industry’s standard procedures and policies. I would like to fully explain the reasons that many have abandoned the microcredit system and returned to more traditional and immediately impacting programs that center on women’s personal nutrition, political activism, or direct aid.

We varied target duration and temporaluncertainty in a reaction time visual detection task with macaque subjects. Psychometric detection thresholds decreased with longer target durations and increased with greater temporal uncertainty. Reaction times were unaffected by different target durations and increased under temporal uncertainty. These results recapitulate in monkeys visual behavioral effects previously identified in humans. The nonlinear facilitation observed in the target duration task appears to implicate temporal summation in vision, and the temporal uncertainty task may have isolated temporal attentional mechanisms. Monkeys make ideal subjects for neurophysiology, so these experiments lay the groundwork for the study of these behavioral effects’ neural bases.

With the events of September 11, 2001, the idea of terrorism took on a new and profound meaning in American culture. Before 9/11, terrorists were people who operated in other countries or were villains in films; they were never close to home. 9/11 brought terrorism onto our own soil, and our constant awareness of it has penetrated the core of our country’s psyche. Put simply, the United States is a country at war with the idea of terrorism. When at war, it is usually necessary, even desirable, to cast one’s enemies as evil and deserving of nothing less than death. We have done this with terrorists, and, in so doing, we claim the moral high ground. Presumably, this gives us the strength and wherewithal to sacrifice and kill for what we believe in, using the force of our morals to defeat the obvious evil that lies within all terrorists. But is this really the way to defeat terrorism? Aftermath is a play that seeks to explore this question. Aftermath is a play that attempts to explore the “human side” of terrorism, if there is such a thing. In branding all terrorists “evil,” we forget that terrorists are also humans, humans with mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers. We don’t seek to understand what drove these terrorists to use the violent means of terrorism to achieve their goals. Why do they resort to violence? What can be done to convince other potential terrorists that their grievances can be solved in a non- violent way? By looking through the eyes of an American character who chooses terrorism over peaceful means, Aftermath seeks to explore some of the possible roots of terrorism.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the connection between the Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel. Since the state of Israel was established in 1948, scholars have argued the extent to which the Holocaust affected or even caused the creation of the state. Of critical importance to this paper will be a discussion of the role that the surviving remnant of European Jewry played in the struggle for statehood. Without this remnant, it is improbable that the state of Israel would have been established in 1948. Following the Second World War, tens of thousands of Eastern European Jewish survivors were unable to return to their former homes as a result of the extreme anti-Semitism that still existed in those areas. Mobilized by the Zionists of Palestine and supported by the American Jewish community, these Jews allowed for a reversal in British policy and the subsequent creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.

Social realism is an important sensibility for Diasporic South Asian fiction. In the British context, two of chief concerns for this genre are majority racism and a newly emergent Islamic fundamentalism. To understand this trend, it is informative to examine three representative novels, Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, and Hanif Kureishi’s The Black Album. These novels seek to describe the racial situation in Britain and unpack the racial issues that infiltrate many social interactions, and in so doing find that religious fundamentalism in Britain is intimately connected to the racial dynamics experienced by its South Asian minority. Furthermore, the textual unity shared by these three works illustrates the ways in which competing culture demands interact with race, class, and canon.

The Age of Globalization has enabled the evolution of a macroeconomy well-diversified to absorb exogenous shocks through exposure to and integration with emerging markets. Moreover, the modern marketplace has encouraged appropriate economic frameworks to minimize risk. Focusing on political shocks, a pervasive threat, this thesis will evaluate the factors which enable emerging markets, both financial and real sectors, to insure economic resilience. A prime example of the paradox of disciplined, stable economic growth coupled with political instability is exemplified within the State of Israel (Israel). Unlike the BRIC and Next Eleven emerging markets, the Israeli market formed sixty years ago within the context of modern political warfare and since 1997, has been innovative in fiscal and monetary reform. With a total gross domestic product of $130 billion, Israel’s economy reflects growth and fortitude. To properly address the Israeli economy as a microcosm and indicator of emerging market potential, a tri-fold analysis has been implemented. First, a general analysis of traditional risk management defines economic shock resilience. Next, an evaluation of legal and institutional infrastructure includes discussion of governmental reform, global cooperation, and central bank autonomy. Since 2005 with the appointment of Governor of BOI Stanley Fischer, Israel has focused on hedging risk while emphasizing economic transparency. The last section concentrates on speculation and investor confidence in the context of interdependence in the Age of Globalization. Throughout the paper, analysis of political risk and economic performance enhances understanding of the potential of globalization as macro-insurance, with emphasis on emerging markets threatened by political shocks.

Recent neuroimaging and brain damage studies have suggested that a decrease in functional activity of the frontal cortex allows for certain aspects of human creativity. This decrease in frontal cortical activity is thought to be mediated by a reduction in dopamine concentration and activity in this region; an hypothesis supported in genetic linkage research. Both the symptoms and physiology of bipolar disorder have been associated with creativity as well. Bipolar disorder has been shown to involve similar structural and activational deficits in the frontal cortex (as well as other brain regions), which seems to confirm the importance of this region in creativity. Finally, the treatment of ADHD with Ritalin, especially in children, is considered detrimental to long term cognitive abilities, including the ability to think creatively. The mechanism of Ritalin action, though not completely understood, is thought to increase dopaminergic concentrations and response salience in the frontal cortex by inhibiting reuptake of the neurotransmitter into the synapse following processing of a stimulus. Together the current creativity research and the evidence regarding bipolar disorder and Ritalin treatment in ADHD emphasize a role for decreased frontal cortical activity in creative thought. These findings raise issues regarding directions for future research, the possibility that creativity bears a genetic predisposition, and the morality of psychopharmacology in general.

Mental health is not a priority in America. The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 narrowed the gap between mental and physical health benefits offered by insurers but did not require group health plans to provide mental health benefits if none had previously been offered (National Mental Health Information Center). Many issues contribute to mental illness’s not being recognized as a public health concern: lack of available treatment, the perceived high cost of mental health treatment, stigma, health insurance policies, and the uncertainty surrounding mental illness. I want to research why our government and health insurance companies do not fund mental health care on par with other medical treatments. The thesis will conclude with conclusions about the efficacy of parity legislation and policy proposal recommendations that can expand mental health coverage while managing and controlling costs. My primary target audience is policy-makers in government and the insurance industry, and my secondary audience is the general public.

Knowledge of how travelers respond to spikes in gas prices is key to planning for future instabilities in gas prices and offers insight into possible pricing strategies as mechanisms for reducing vehicle travel or improving efficiency of fuel use. A survey of over 500 residents in Austin, Texas capitalized on a severe spike in gas prices that transpired in September of 2005. This thesis examines how respondents' travel behavior changed during and following the spike. Basic findings are described using summary statistics while ordered probit and binarylogit models are used to determine which factors are responsible for behavioral changes in response to gas price spikes. Respondents indicated a strong tendency to reduce overall driving and/or chain together activities in more efficient tours as a way of coping with high prices, and nearl y every gas-saving behavior questioned exhibited a significant percentage of persons reporting an increase. The results suggest that urban form, more than demographics, di'Ictates the behavioral responses adopted by individual respondents. Finally, in the wake of the spike, respondents suggested many reasons for the price shifts and voiced support for policy measures that would encourage more efficient fuel use.

From his early years as a young and debonair Member of Parliament fresh from Oxford, Anthony Eden appeared to those around him as a man destined for success in British politics. Yet, what makes Eden striking is not his charm or good looks or the duration of his service at the Foreign Office, but the degree to which he never fulfilled his projected destiny. His rise in the Government came at the inauspicious hour when England struggled to forge agreements with the fascist powers of the continent. His fall from power following the Suez Crisis of 1956rivals that of any Greek tragedy. These two eras of Anthony Eden's life, his rise and fall, are the subjects of this work. Their interconnectednesshas been documented by contemporary accounts and by numerous biographers. Myaim is to explore the threads that join Eden's rise and fall through a new medium, political cartoons. At the same time Eden remained on the stage of British politics, another man rose in prominence behind the scenes: cartoonist and commentator David Low. During his years atThe Evening Standard, Low's cartoons became important pieces of visual rhetoric that possessed a prophetic quality as the events of the1930s unfolded. Low captured the personalities and policies of Westminster in his brushwork for over thirty years, creating a niche for himself as both an artist and political commentator. By the end of his career, he had become a British institution. Low included Anthony Eden in a number of his best cartoons from 1936-1956 and depicted him as a man haunted by his time withappeasers, who, as Prime Minister, lashed out against this legacy by pushing Britain into unilateral action in Egypt. While their careers ran on paralleled tracks, they are, more obviously, connected through Low's works. Low accorded Eden significant attention, featuring him in both positive and negative representations. In over 300of his most famous cartoons that appeared inThe Evening Standardand theManchester Guardian, Low portrayed Eden prominently, both as a shining survivor from the World War I generation and as a weak- minded appeaser. Low's interest in Eden and "cartoon criticism" illustrates his conception of Eden as a man who fell short of expectations as a result of personal flaws. Anthony Eden was a man obsessed with his own reputation. This work argues that Low's cartoons represent the very reputation and legacy Eden ran from-and the same that led him into his actions in the Suez Crisis.

This paper presents a detailed account of several theorems of AG. flowson, Hanna Neumann. John R. Stallings, S.M. Cersten, and Walter Neumann, directed towards an open problem in geometric group theory, the Hanna Neumann Conjecture. Because of the mathematical sophistication of the main theorems, the paper includes a substantial number of definitions, propositions, lemmas, constructions, and conventions that give mathematical structure to the new ideas that arose to describe the problems at hand. In particular, the paper emphasizes the general theory of algebraic topology and geomet- ric group theory which provide foundation for the specialized advances accomplished by the mathematicians above. Research journals omit prerequisite material; however, this material is often challenging and left to the readers to decipher, Currently, there is no comprehensive introductory pamphlet or article dedicated to the Hanna Neumann Conjecture that is generally accessible below the level of research mathematics. The aim of this paper is to elucidate all relevant material in the hope that it may serve as an appropriate introduction for upper-level undergraduates interested in the topology of finite graphs and the Hanna Neumann Conjecture. In addition to mathematical content, the paper also provides a brief history of the conjecture, atimelineof germane publications, and several amusing anecdotes. This paper, intended as an honors project, was written in conjunction withNSF- /IGREfunded research on related topics involving the topology of finite graphs.

This thesis was envisioned as an opportunity to practice my favorite art - poetry. I attempted to wrestle language into the task of evoking experiences and ultimately, into a collection of poems. My goal was to feel comfortable sending any of these poems to a literary journal and half expecting a reply. In the course of cutting poems to pieces (sometimes literally), rearranging their fragments, merging them back together and editing again, I realized that the theme underlying this work is relationships. Whether about a spoon, global politics or sharing food with strangers, these poems are glimpses into the intersections among people and their world. Most of the poems include an "I" and many include a "you." I hope youenjoyCrashand Leave.

Between the end of the First World War in 1918 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. the nation-state of Poland underwent enormous ethnographic and geographic alterations. Events such as the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1921and the Nazi/Soviet occupations of the Second World War affected the likelihood of the emergence of aunifyingPolish identity in the latter half of the20thcentury. By a unifying Polish identity, I refer to an identity based on mass social cooperation among Poles that was powerful enough to counter communist oppression after five decades of political disenfranchisement and economic hardship. This thesis examines the various historical circumstances, including those mentioned above, that either strengthened or subverted the very foundations of early modem Polish identity, an identity traditionally based in an unswerving loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church, a belief in the superiority of the Polish language, an elitist notion of Polish hegemony in Eastern Europe, and a nostalgic fondness for Romantic nationalist literature. The analysis follows chronologically beginning with a description of Polish nationalism in the interwar period. The study then explains how the Nazi and Soviet occupation policies of the Second World War disrupted the consolidation of a unifyingnational identity after the war. Finally, it shows how Solidarity, a powerful Polish trade union federation, succeeded in winning the country's first partially-free elections in 1989.

The prevalence of obesity across the United States is increasing at an alarming rate. The increase in obesity brings many concerns for the future of this nation. Many financial losses are incurred due to the obesity through medical costs, lost of productivity, and escalating healthcare coverage costs. With an already burdened healthcare system, the U.S. may not be able to absorb the costs of obesity without going bankrupt . The first task on addressing this problem is to understand whether obesity is viewed as a lifestyle choice, a disability, or a disease. Once this categorization has been established, the effects and costs of obesity can be understood. This paper seeks to answer the question: Who will pay for obesity, and who is ultimately responsible for it?It also discusses the possible solutions to combat the rise of obesity.

In 1938 Ernest Hemingway published his only full-length play, The Fifth Column, in a collection of his short stories about the Spanish Civil War. The play was originally included at the back of the publication, appearing almost as an after thought. Two years after the play was published, The Theatre Guild, directed by Lee Strasberg, staged the play in the Alvin Theatre for a short, two month run. The production met with minimal success, and very little exists today as a record of the production. However, the play lends itself naturally towards a highly realistic portrayal of characters caught in the midst of the Spanish Civil War, and I was initially intrigued by Hemingway's ability to so vividly create such striking people. Looking to Lee Strasberg as inspiration, I directed the play using a style of actor training known as The Method to help the actors create a realistic portrayal ofThe Fifth Column. What follows is an understanding of The Method's basic tenets and how these tenets were implemented into the production ofThe Fifth Columnfrom rehearsal to performance. Included also is aDVD of the final night's performance, along with the soundtrack, and other documents from the production.

In this thesis I consider a specific international nongovernmental organization, Amigos de las Americas, in the context of current research about the nonprofit sector. I determine Amigos de las Americas has a strong identity, legitimacy, and accountability. Further examination of Amigos de las Americas' impact analysis tool, Participatory Evaluations, in the case study country, Paraguay, leads to the conclusion that Participatory Evaluations are effective but need to be better developed. I find that the theories to which Amigos de las Americas subscribes, Asset-Based Community Development arid Community-Based Initiatives, in conjunction with the project types Amigos de las Americas completes in Paraguay, Healthy Households/Healthy Communities and Youth-to-Youth Community Development, serve as strong foundations to promote sustainability of Amigos de las Americas' projects and presence in Paraguay.

In Ayurveda-the ancient Indian system of healing codified and developed more than 5,000 years ago-the appropriate balance of physical and mental humors is paramount to achieving health and living well. With its intricate and unique understanding of the body in terms of three humors; its reliance on purely natural remedies, thousands of which were documented several millennia ago; and its emphasis on treating the whole person, mind and body, Ayurvedahas captivated and attracted people since its early development. Because we as Westerners are so frequently exposed to inaccurate or exploitative variations of Ayurveda, and because we are armed at a very young age with an entirely Western understanding of science and discovery, it is often difficult for us to understand and reconcile Ayurvedicmedicine in terms of its mechanics, success, and coexistence with modem medicine. In this thesis, the author takes us on a journey of self-discovery and investigation into some of the issues aWestern-trained mind might face when confronting Ayurveda, all the while weaving in some of her personal narrative commentary based on her own experience at anAyurvedichospital in Kerala, India.

This thesis combines my love for biology and creative writing. I have used fictionalized nature writing, instead of classical, non-fiction nature writing, because I feel this medium will appeal to a broader audience. My summers spent at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma and then at Harvard Forest in Massachusetts, in addition to the numerous outdoors experiences I have had across Texas, have given me personal experience of various ecosystems. The people I have met in those places have shown me many different lifestylesand perspectives that can be found in the "wilderness." My stories touch on philosophical issues such as the "right" level of human involvement in nature or the moral issues involved in extirpatinginvasive species. Other stories describe very personal experiences of nature and biology as a job and the reasons why people would choose to work "in the field." Overall, these stories explore aspects of people's relationship with nature whether those people are just visitors to a National Park or a published research scientist. Using fictional story -telling as my medium, this thesis explores my own feelings about nature and the reasons why I have dedicated my life to ecology.

This paper examines the role of investigativejournalism as a watchdog in Argentina since 1983, when the government transitioned from a violent, repressive military dictatorship into a democracy. The press, once heavily censored, remained timid until 1987, with the creation of Página/12, an irreverent, leftist daily newspaper that specializes inexposésabout corruption in the government and about human rights abuses committed during the dictatorship. Página/12led the way for a freer, more vigilant press in Argentina. It also looks at the work of one particular journalist in this process, Mr. Horacio Verbitsky, a weekly columnist forPágina/12. Verbitsky, winner of the200llnternational Press Freedom Award, isknown for his daring investigations into human rights violations that took place during the military regime, during which thousands of Argentines were "disappeared," tortured, and murdered. He is the writer who shocked the world with his book El Vuelo(The Flight), which tells how bound victims were dropped from military helicopters into the ocean. He is also the journalist who first began investigations into the corrupt government of President Menem in the 1990's.

This paper presents a detailed account of several theorems of AG. Flowson, Hanna Neumann. John R. Stallings, S.M. Cersten, and Walter Neumann, directed towards an open problem in geometric group theory, the Hanna Neumann Conjecture. Because of the mathematical sophistication of the main theorems, the paper includes a substantial number of definitions, propositions, lemmas, constructions, and conventions that give mathematical structure to the new ideas that arose to describe the problems at hand. In particular, the paper emphasizes the general theory of algebraic topology and geometric group theory which provide foundation for the specialized advances accomplished by the mathematicians above. Research journals omit prerequisite material; however, this material is often challenging and left to the readers to decipher, Currently, there is no comprehensive introductory pamphlet or article dedicated to the Hanna Neumann Conjecture that is generally accessible below the level of research mathematics. The aim of this paper is to elucidate all relevant material in the hope that it may serve as an appropriate introduction for upper-level undergraduates interested in the topology of finite graphs and the Hanna Neumann Conjecture. In addition to mathematical content, the paper also provides a brief history of the conjecture, timeline of germane publications, and several amusing anecdotes. This paper, intended as an honors project, was written in conjunction with NSF- /IGRE funded research on related topics involving the topology of finite graphs.

Artists' use of the computer for visual art production has brought forth new visual art forms. Theseforms(such as digital imaging, digital art, and computer sculpture) challenge traditional notions of art, leading many people to view them as inferior to traditional visual art forms, such as painting and sculpture. This bias against computerized visual art is unfounded, but natural and expected. For thousands of years, visual art has been created using the same few physical tools, such as paintbrush, chalk, pencil, and chisel. All these tools physically connected artist to artwork, and good replication of a work was difficult-if not impossible-to achieve. The emergence of two revolutionary art technologies within 150 years, photography and the computer, profoundly altered the visual art landscape, requiring people to adjust their ideas about art. Further, popular notions of Renaissance master artists created the inaccurate image of the individual artistic genius: someone whose mastery of his or her medium is unmatched, and who does not resort to shortcuts when producing art. Many people still cling to this image of an artist, and therefore have a difficult time accepting as master artists people who use computer tools. I claim that the general public views computer art as inferior to traditional art for four main reasons: physical separation between artist and artwork during most or all of the work's creation; incorrect romanticized notions about Renaissance art production methods; the shill: towards reproducible artworks which destroy the notion of "original paintings"; and the manual ease with which computerart canbe built, as compared to traditional art. I address these reasons and argue that they are unfounded by incorporating ideas from modern art movements, research about Renaissance art production methods, the history of mass production in art, and the history of photography.

This thesis examines aspects of physicians' lives as represented in literature and personal interviews. Beginning with the stories of physician-authors William Carlos Williams and Richard Seizer, I analyze many of the issues that confront doctors during the course of their careers. Specifically, I explore how the stories represent the power of the physician, the doctor- patient relationship, and the art of a medical practice. I then examine these issues in the context of personal interviews conducted with physicians who currently practice or recently retired. The thesis studies the intersection of literature and medicine and aims to provide new insights into the opportunities, challenges, and satisfactions that a life in medicine can offer.

In this thesis, I argue that the Supreme Court's decision in the 1973 case, Rodriguez v. San Antonio AID, which validated inter-district disparities in per-pupil expenditures between public schools, marked a major missed opportunity for the Court to realize the goal it laid out in Brown v. Board of Education-equality of educational opportunity. I begin by placing Rodriguez in the context of the Court's school desegregation decisions afterBrown. Basically, after increasing its efforts to achieve integration in public schools from the mid-60s to the early 70s, the Court retreated from the equalizing promise of Brown, leaving public schools separate and unequal. I argue that Rodriguez truly undermined the spirit of Brown and use the dissents in the case to demonstrate how ensuing events have proved the majority wrong. I then track how the Court's decision pushed districts into the state courts, where they have also failed to achieve equality. I use the case of Texas's property-poor districts to demonstrate the difficulties such districts face in trying to equalize school finding. This subversion of Brown, and thus the Equal Protection Clause, provides enough justification of the need for federal action. But this need is compounded by the economic effects of the finding gap, which strongly reinforce the achievement gap between wealthy and poor students. The need for federal action is clear; finding must be equalized for both constitutional and economic reasons, and the State Legislatures are incapable of achieving it on their own.

For this project, I will research, design, and construct costumes for the Russian play performance class' Spring 2004 production of Zolushka (Cinderella) by Evgenii Shvarts. I will base my costuming designs on research into three main topics. First, how does Cinderella, a fairy tale borrowed from the Western tradition, fit into the body of distinctively Russian fairy tales that are central to Russian culture? How was the fairy tale changed, how did it stay the same, and how does this information represent Russia's relationship with the West? And finally, how does the author use the cultural significance of the tale to produce a screenplay that is both universally valid, as well as specific to his time and place? I will focus on answering these questions during the first half of the semester, and the conclusions I draw about the play will influence the final design scheme I create for the play, including time period, color scheme, and the overall style of the costumes. After drawing design sketches, I will construct the costumes, with the help of the cast and a technical crew.

In this thesis, I attempt to interpret and illuminate the lives of my maternal grandparents Chi ChuangChihand Hwang Shen CM. They were born in 1925 and lived during one of the most tumultuous periods in modern Chinese history, surviving war and revolution, and eventually landing on the shores of the United States in 1982, when they were both 57 years old. Their lives sit at the intersection of Chinese history, Asian American history, and the narratives of immigration and of diaspora. This thesis explores the many forces that have shaped their lives, from the Communist revolution in China to the 1965 Immigration Act in the United States. I wrote this to illuminate their lives as people whose stories add to the broad tapestry of what we enshrine as history, and as important history. As historian GaryOkihirowrites, "Asian American history is more than an assemblage of dates, acts, names; it is more than an accounting of the deeds of the famous and wealthy; it is more than an abstraction from the realm of the senses to the reaches of theory and discourse... Asian American history, like the histories of other people of color and of women, acquires substance from interpretation and explanation, aspires to speak in the vernacular by including the activities of the ordinary and lowly, and plunges apologetically into the teeming sea of human experience and daily life." There is a need, then, to tell the stories of people like my grandparents, for in the telling, history is fleshed out. This work incorporates history, immigration theory, Asian American studies theory, photographs, old documents, and oral history to flesh out the lives of my grandparents on both the macro and the micro levels.

America's reputation in the global arena has dropped to a historic low, particularly in the Middle East. In an effort to reverse this trend, the U.S. Department of State has launched a series of mass media efforts since 2002 to communicate American priorities of faith, family and learning. This four-prongedapproach, hereafter referred to as "Brand America," includes Radio Sawa, a radio station combining Western and Arabic music and news that targets young people concurrently living in both cultures: Hi, a Western-Muslimculture magazine that is sold at newsstands and via subscriptions; and Al Hurra, an American-funded cable news network that directly competes with Al Jazeeraand Al Arabiya. The State Department enlisted the help of the advertising industry in developing a fourth effort, the Shared Values Initiative. This unprecedented print and television campaign highlighted values common to both Arab Muslims and non-Muslim Americans. Although intended to spark a conversation between the masses, the campaign instead sparked controversy. This thesis investigates whether mass media, and specifically advertising, whose core competency is "branding," can plan an effective role in enhancing America's image in the Middle East. First, the history of public diplomacy is discussed. Then the concepts behind each "Brand America" effort are examined to see how they fit with the traditional perception of American journalism and public diplomacy. Additionally, advertising's unique role as a public diplomacy tool is evaluated. Finally, the paper discusses how mass media, public diplomacy and foreign policy are intertwined.

Bharata Natyamhas become one of the most widespread Indian dance forms in the world today. In almost every South Asian population, in India and in the Indian diaspora, this dance form is used as a means to keep traditional Indian culture alive. The use of the dance differs in the United States as compared to India, however, as dance practitioners in the South Asian diasporic population are exposed to other influences that affect their ideas about the dance. One of the ways in which the dance form is changing is in terms of the portrayal of the Nayikaroles, or the heroine roles, inBharataNatyam. In my thesis I suggest that many of the portrayals of theNayikaare outdated, and that contemporary women cannot relate to these portrayals of women on stage any longer. I interviewed dance practitioners in India and in the United States in an effort to learn how contemporary women relate to these traditional portrayals, and to ascertain whether there is a need to add to or change the present portrayals of Nayikas. I feel that the portrayal of a woman on stage is a reflection of her status in society, and that by exploring her stage persona, I am also able to analyze her status in real life. Hopefully this work will not only help to introduce new artistic ways to express the emotions of a woman in Bharalao 7/yam, but it will also serve to show how the portrayal of women on stage needs to change in order to be an accurate reflection of the changing roles of Indian and Indian-American women in society today.

From John Phillip Sousa to Kate Smith, from Bob Dylanto the Dixie Chicks or Lee Greenwood, musicians have consistently offered up their art during times of war. During the Vietnam War, both patriotic music and protest music have directed American thought in military conflict; there are certain musical characteristics that these artists use to make their works more effective in reaching the public. Some of these may include rhythm variances, key signatures and chord progressions, instrumentation, or even the lyrical interaction with the music. How do effective pieces of wartime music display these characteristics? What do the artists believe about the reciprocal relationship between music and war? The public may have long grown cynical about government-sponsoredpropaganda, but even independent popular music and its trends can greatly affect the individual and public psyche in wartime. In a time of considerable global distress, this study will hopefully prove to be a valuable light shown not only on the contributions of musicians to the wartime environment, but on the ways in which those contributions impact the public and politics.

When stars exhaust their nuclear fuel, they die. The lucky ones go out in style, in grand explosions called supernovae. A few others turn into black holes, neutron stars, pulsars, or various other exotic objects. But most stars will enjoy eternity as floating chunks of hot carbon and oxygen that will gradually cool to the ambient temperature of the Universe. These are called white dwarfs. No longer powered by nuclear fusion, white dwarfs typically pack about 60% of the mass of the Sun into a collapsed body roughly the size of the Earth, making them a million times denser than a living star. Several billion years from now, our own star will meet this very fate. Astronomers know how to determine the age of a star cluster by observing the color and luminosity properties of its white dwarfs, because the physics that govern the white dwarf cooling process are well understood. These stellar ages are useful for a number of goals: choosing between competing theoretical models of stellar evolution, recalibrating the stellar distance scale, and dating the origin of our Galaxy, among other things. But finding all the white dwarfs in a given cluster, and making full use of the information they provide, is a statistical conundrum that calls for sophisticated methods. My thesis project builds and implements aBayesianstatistical model to solve that problem.

The topic of abortion has dominated discussion in the realm of medical ethics for decades. The broad spectrum of opinion surrounding this issue is marked by pro-life advocates at one extreme, who condemn the practice of abortion in all circumstances, and advocates of "negative eugenics" at the other, who mandate abortion for the purposes of eliminating genetic diseases. Disagreement over abortion arises primarily because it contains at its core anirresolvabletension between conflicting values. Upholding a particular value as absolute to the exclusion of all other values undermines any attempt at reaching anaccommodatingresolution. Thus, the primary goal should be to establish a mediating position that includes as many competing values, rights, and situational factors as possible. Currently, abortion laws in the United States attempt to achieve this goal by granting the individual the power of choice. In 1973, the Supreme Court justices set the precedent in Roe v. Wade, unintentionally creating relatively loose standards governing the practice of abortion. The first task is to explore arguments opposed to the practice of prenatal testing and selective abortion and arguments in support of it, and then determine whether or not the tension between these opposing views is resolvable. If opposing views concerning selectiveabortioncannot be reconciled with one another, the second task is to seek an approach to ethical deliberations about abortion that accommodates the varying viewpointsandvalues represented by both its supporters and opponents.

The idea of building a civil society in the Middle East has gained popularity in the aid community over the past decade. President Bush has made a public commitment to building democracy in the region, and many in the United States Agency for International .Development view civil society aid as way to encourage democracy without interfering in local politics or offending regional allies. This paper examines the specific cases of U.S. aid to Egypt and Jordan, both countries with diverse civil societies developing under authoritarian regimes, and the difficulties faced by the U.S. in using civil society aid to achieve democratic reform. Scholars have noted that it is possible for civil society to develop under an authoritarian government without posing a serious threat to the regime. Egypt and Jordan have undergone significant periods of political liberalization during which civil associations thrived, but in reality, the public gained little influence in government. With this in mind, it is necessary to evaluate U.S. goals and determine how (or if) the U.S. expects its regional civil society development efforts lead to actual democracy. In any discussion of U.S. civil society promotion in the Arab world, there must be an understanding of the concept of civil society as it has developed in the West and the Middle East. It is impossible to fit the diverse views on civil society into a single definition, but there seems to be a general consensus among most scholars that civil society is an entity that providesa buffer and network of support between individuals and the powers of the state and themajority. The United States Agency for International Development uses a narrow definition of civil society, focusing almost entirely onNGOs. In Egypt and Jordan, however, and in much of the Arab world, civil society also includes extensive informal networks, kinship ties and tribal affiliation, and religious organizations-all areas in whichUSAID cannot or will not operate. This thesis examines whetherNGOsupport, when viewed in the context of Arab civil society as a whole, is really a promising route to democracy.

The American Southwest and particularly the mountains of southwestern Colorado have a rich history. From theUi:eIndians who once fiercely defended their homeland, to the Spanish explorers who tried to conquer the land for a distant king, to miners who searched the area high and low for the next motherlode, the region has now become a popular tourist destination due to it agreeable weather and stunning scenery. But beyond the glittering and glamorous history of mining or Spanish conquistadoreslies another history, one that is found not inth towns but out among the meadows and aspen groves of the mountains. Sheepherders onceshared this land with the miners, taking advantage of the green grasses and cool weather as perfect summer grazing grounds. The sheepherder is quite a unique character; he doesn't have access to many of the luxuries that you and I would call necessities -clean clothes, fresh food, a shower- but then again, he doesn't need them. He survives on little more than fresh air and time to think. He makes human contact only twice a year, once at lambing time and once at shearing time. His job is a twenty-four hour responsibility; he must always be on his toes, ready to protect a flock of 2000anirralsof meager intelligence from predators, weather, and all sorts of other troubles sheep are capable of getting themselves into. He doesn't receive much recognition for his work, and he makes only enough money to survive. The purpose of this study is an attempt to understand whysheepherdingstill represents a viable, though uncommon, way of life. Sheepherdingis truly a modern anachronism-it has existed for thousands of years, remaining essentially unchanged as the rest of the world passes it by. For many, sheepherdingmight pose a question, but for the sheepherder it is an answer.

For much of its existence, the European Union(EU)has maintained a relatively permissive antitrust policy. Firms could reasonably assume that if a proposed merger passed the scrutiny of the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission, then theEU's European Commission (EC) would approve the merger as well. The number of mergers blocked by the EC, however, has increased in recent years. Recently, theEUblocked a merger between General Electric and Honeywell -both American firms-on grounds that the merger would harm competition in Europe. As long as these firms did business in Europe, theEU argued, they fell under the jurisdiction of European regulatory policy. US regulatory officials, on the other hand, approved the merger. This case provides an excellent example of how regulatory agencies representing different economic interests can reach conflicting conclusions about the acceptability of a proposed merger. Currently, a prohibition by either relevant party in this case the US or theEU is sufficient to prevent a merger, as well as any harms and benefits that might have accompanied it. I propose, however, that this sort of unilateral approach to antitrust policy may be economically inefficient. A highly simplified example would be the following case of two proposed mergers: the first provides $100 million in benefits to the US and $50 million in damages to theEU. The second has the exact opposite effect; theEUgains $100 million and the US loses $50 million. Acting separately, theEUwould block the first merger and the US would block the second-neither merger would occur, so no one would gain or lose. If both were approved, however, each would gain $50 million. While this model is extremely simplified, it illustrates how the coordination of antitrust policy between regulatory agencies can provide economic gains. Needless to say, it is unlikely that the sort of first-best outcome described above could ever be obtained-at least not without the aid ofsupranational organizations, an elaborate system of transfer payments, or other politically infeasible means. Therefore, I want to investigate whether there are elements of merger policy that can be agreed upon, given political constraints, which would allow for a second-best outcome superior to a no-harmonization case. One candidate for coordination might be an agreement that those mergers, and only those mergers, that are net beneficial (i.e. the benefits to one party are as least as large as the costs to the other party) should be approved. I also consider how the EUand US might reach an understanding as to how an agency who is harmed by acting cooperatively could be compensated, or how an agency who deviates from an agreement should be punished. Taking into account the disparate economic incentives of the different antitrust regulatory agencies, I intend to evaluate what scope exists for harmonization of the merger policies of the two. In doing so, I hope to better understand both the source and extent of any economic inefficiencies resulting from the current system, as well as identify possible avenues for policy coordination that would result in mutually beneficial outcomes.

Before the 1830's treatment for disease often involved primitive, misguided methods such as bloodletting and emetics designed to purge antagonistic substances and balance the corporal fluids. The medical field was revolutionized during the European cholera epidemic of the mid l9th century when a few innovative physicians developed intravenous treatments that provided fluid to dehydrated patients rather than deprive them. At the same time, medicine in general underwent a revolution as physicians adopted scientific empirical methods in place of tradition to develop new therapies. Although public sanitation measures resolved the Western cholera problem and eliminated interest in its treatment, the efficacious fluid replacement therapies were not forgotten. In the late1800's, fluid therapy was revived as a means of replenishing blood loss during obstetrical surgery and then refined by the development of Ringer's physiological solution. Ringer's laboratory work also bolstered another movement in scientific medicine, later called "physiological therapeutics," that espoused the utility of scientific research to the practice of medicine. As a staple ingredient of the medical practitioner's repertoire, intravenous fluid therapy underwent several innovations in the early 20thcentury associated with ion replacement for infantile diarrhea and volume resuscitation during shock. Eventually fluid infusion evolved into its common, contemporary role with the development of the continuous intravenous drip. This thesis investigation will synthesize history, physiology, and medicine by exploring the major advancements in clinical fluid therapy. For each development, I will consider the pertinent research and experimentation, physiological reasoning of the investigators, and modern physiological explanation concerning the efficacy of the innovation. Lastly, I will analyze how the development of fluid therapy relates to the emergence of science in medicine and the shift from "traditional therapeutics" to "clinical empiricism" and "physiological therapeutics."

Through years of combative struggle against the American-owned Braden Copper Company, Chile's ElTenienteminers won the highest salaries among Chilean laborers, gained important influence among Chilean politicians, and earned the reputation of being the vanguard of Chilean labor struggles. By the 1950sEl Tenienteminers no longer merely sought to gain additional benefits from the American company, but advocated the government's expropriation and nationalization of the copper mines. Their tireless efforts to wrest control from foreign interests-which had the subsequent effect of radicalizingChileanpolitics-culminatedin the 1970 election of Socialist Salvador Allende to the presidency. Representing the leftist/Marxist political alliance known as Popular Unity, Allende won the three candidate election with a plurality of votes in what was just as much a victory for the copper miners as for the president-elect himself. Allende'splatform advocated the nationalization of the copper mines, and he carried out his electoral promise in one of his first acts following the presidential inauguration. Thereafter, the government operated the mines as a national enterprise, and the Marxist government became the employer of the copper miners.

The purpose of my paper is to gain a more comprehensive idea of the Chicano dropout situation in Texas. In order to do this, my paper will begin by discussing the rapid population growth ofChicanosin Texas arid the different ways of calculating the dropout rate by three prominent education agencies (National Center for Education Statistics, Intercultural Development Research Association, and the Texas Education Agency). Then, the paper will examine factors associated with dropping out, using three analytical frameworks. The first framework, created by Richard R. Valencia focuses on systemic school failure. The second looks at Russell K. Rumberger's two types of perspectives for dropouts. The final framework discussed is Angela Valenzuela's subtractive schooling model. Next, this paper will look at the social as well as economic consequences of dropping out, and possible prevention tactics through structural, curricular, and systematic approaches. In the conclusion of my paper, I will evaluate the costs of implementing school changes on multiple levels as well as the costs to the future if we do not change our current schooling tactics while the dropout rate remains the same.

The memoirs of George Nathaniel Nash consist of the diary, scrapbook, and photo album of a British Army Lieutenant/Captain stationed in Russia from 1917-1919. The Nash collection is housed at UT's Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, and has never previously been studied. Nash first journeyed to Russia as part of the Allied effort in World War I, but soon became embroiled in the Russian Revolution and Civil War. He spent the bulk of his time in Petrograd and Russia's southern Caucasus region, eventually imprisoned by Bolshevik forces before returning to England in 1919. In my treatment of Nash's memoirs, I will fulfill two basic objectives: first, the contextualizationof the diary historically; and second, the contextualization of Nash himself within his social and military rank as a foreigner in Russia during World War I and the Socialist Revolution. With the diary, I will anchor Nash's writing within its broader historical contexts of social and political turmoil, thus examining the relationship between an eyewitness account and a history constructed with the benefit of hindsight. With Nash himself, I will outline additional biographical information to set him firmly in a place and time. By working with both primary and secondary sources on the period, I will give special attention to the issues of British diplomacy, the social and political climate of Revolutionary Russia, the complexities of the Caucasus, and especially the interrelation of World War I and the Russian Civil War.

Immigrant women are particularly vulnerable to domestic abuse. Approximately 60% of married or divorce immigrant women face abuse at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, immigrant women are also much less likely than their citizen peers to receive protection from abuse. This trend is partly due to cultural, social, economic, and legal factors barriers that prevent them from seeking and finding assistance. This paper explores these barriers and introduces possible program initiatives to address such barriers. In addition, the paper explores the legal history related to domestic abuse against immigrants and the legal alternatives currently available to these victims. Next, it presents policy recommendations aimed at improving current legislation to better protect the rights of immigrant victims. The third section of the paper consists of two case studies on Austin areas agencies that provide outreach and legal services for battered immigrants. The case studies serve as successful examples of programs designed specifically to serve this unique population's needs. The success factors and challenges exposed by the two studies serve as useful insights for the creation of similar programs in the future. By analyzing the roots of the problem, recommending future programs and policy changes, and presenting insight into the implementation of such initiatives, this thesis hopes to provide a strong background for future activism of behalf of battered immigrants.

The period from 1972 to 1976 was important in the development of the Austin music scene as well as in the career of country-westernsinger Willie Nelson. Nelson's move from Nashville to Austin and his championing of the Austin scene at the national level in the early1970sare often attributed as critical to Austin's reputation as Live Music Capital of the World and as a musical counterpart to Nashville (Endres; Reid). Austin was strongly associated with the progressive country movement, in which artists such as Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Murphey, and Nelson were redefining country music and wresting artistic control from the Nashville-dominated genre . In this thesis, I will begin with an overview of the Austin music scene and Nelson's career during this period. I will consider the following questions: What role did Nelson play in the development of the Austin music scene? What role did Austin play in the development of Nelson's career? How did the progressive country movement develop in Austin, and how was this genre defined? What was the difference between progressive country and its successor, outlaw country? Finally, the growth of Austin's music scene from regionally renowned to nationally recognized will also be investigated. I will conclude by contending that theconfluenceof Austin, progressive country, and Nelson changed the city, the country music industry, and Nelson's career in such a way that would not have been possible without each of the three variables. The thesis will consist of a mixture of historical research and textual analysis.

The thought of the late-Ming philosopher Li Zhi (1527-1602) has long been controversial, and his discussions on a variety of topics including the Three Teachings (of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism), the path to sageliness, and the individual nature of enlightenment have been studied in a variety of political and intellectual contexts. These studies have presented Li Zhi as an intellectual rebel against the feudal order, a member of an incipient bourgeois class, an "individualist" struggling to findways of self-expression in an oppressive regime, or a "martyr" of the moribund Ming bureaucracy. These interpretations of Li Zhi are valuable to the (often limited) extent they are based in analysis of his writings. Insofar as they attempt to link Li Zhi to larger issues in intellectual or political history, however, they fail to present a complete picture of Li Zhi'sphilosophy ofsageliness. The construction of such a picture has been the aim of my study. It is my contention that for Li Zhi the achievement ofsagelinessis based in the individual's subscription to the dual principles of "fulfilling the [personal] nature" and "acting according to the times." After a brief examination of the genealogy of these principles in the history of Chinese philosophy, I examine the role these principles play in Li Zhi'sthought. I show how Confucian sagelinessis based in an individual's full fidelity to his personal nature and fulfilled in his willingness to act in accordance with the demands of his situation. I conclude the paper by demonstrating that Li Zhi's"syncretic" language, which is apparently unsystematic and has heretofore resisted analysis, is actually based in Li's prescription forsageliness. In order to give the reader some direct access to Li Zhi's writings, I have included translations of several pieces from one of Li Zhi'smajor works, ABook to be Burned, as an appendix.

Fullness is contained wholly and integrally in each of its crippled and fragmentary incarnations. That is the phenomenon of imagination and vicarious being," writes Polish author Bruno Schulz inSanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass (193 7,). For Schulz, the eye of the child is best at inhabiting the world of "vicarious being." Contemplative but sharp, sentient but creative, the child can see value in what is often dismissed and contradiction in what is often taken for granted. Israeli author David Grossman introduces us to child -protagonistsMomikand Aron inSee Under: Love (1989) andThe Book ofIntimateGrammar (1991) as a means to explore that which has been overlooked in his own country. Grossman questions the boundaries of the Zionist narrative by demonstrating the limits on its membership; he reveals the extent to which Zionist narrative represses and even excludes non-conformists within its midst. Section One examines the social and political climate of Israel in the years in which both these novels are set. Section Two concentrates on the way in which the experience and organization of time plays a vital role in the demystificationof the national narrative. This section delineates the strength of dominant demarcations of time and examines the two protagonists' efforts to maintain their individuality and imaginative capacity in spite of pervasive and constrictive social conventions. The third section considers the way in which Grossman's choice of the bildungsromangenre and the child- protagonist furthers his sustained investigation of notions of mythmakingand the construction of Israeli identity. This is a thesis about two keen, unique and courageous children who confront their immediate world in their own terms. Both children scrutinize their surroundings; they investigate the conventions to which their parents and peers have learned to adhere. Their observations incite larger questions about the configuration of history, the ordering of time, the imagining of nationhood, the construction of individual and communal identity, the signification of mythologies, and the definition of conscious or "full" living. Grossman invites his readers to see the world through the eyes of these children in order to remind them of what it was once like for them to encounter their social world for the first time. Aron andMomikact as Grossman's challenge to his readers to reevaluate the impact and limitations of the foundational mythology ofIsrael and more broadly any authoritative narrative that demands in any way the subordination of a person's individuality to a regulated system.

Most experts in thefieldof intelligence agree that some of the individual differences in intelligence are due to heredity. Every person is born with a range of achievable intellect and the environment in which they are reared helps to determine how much of that capacity they will reach. While there is much evidence for a substantial heritable component to intellectual performance, the degree of this influence is still a source of bitter dispute. Some argue that the heritability is high, while others argue that it is low. Which side of the debate is more accurate is the question that this paper seeks to answer. The first task is to define intelligence in a way that will permit objective evaluation. Many people have disagreed with the definition of intelligenc e throughout the last century so this is a very important piece of information. I will then look at the arguments of those who say that the heritability of intelligence is quite low; namely the writings of Stephen Jay Gould, and determine why these ideas are still accepted. I will then look at the literature of those opinions at the opposite end and look at some of their data. I will then offer my own opinion.

A strong association between addiction to nicotine and alcohol has been established; heavy drinkers tend to be heavy smokers. Two possible explanations for the link between drinking and smoking are that 1) either drug increases the rewarding effects of the other or 2) either drug decreases theaversiveeffects of the. other (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Addiction 1998). On a molecular level, this interaction is mostly likely a consequence of their actions onneuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors(nAChRs). Theneuronal nAChRis a ligand-gatedion channel composed of five individual subunits. Nicotine activates thenAChRs with high specificity, and ethanol potentiates the action of nicotine(Narahashi et al. 2001). An improved understanding of the mechanism of action of each of these drugs, both individually and in concert, would allow for the development of pharmacological therapies to treat addiction to alcohol and nicotine. The purpose of the present study was to identify the structural elements that determine ethanol sensitivity in two different subunits ofneuronal nAChRs. Whencoexpressedwith the 34 subunit, the rat nAChRcx2subunit shows a potentiation of acetylcholine (ACh) responses of approximately 80% with 200mMethanol, whereas thea4134combination exhibits a potentiation of about 20%. Receptors formed by chimeric cx subunits were used to evaluate whichregion(s) are responsible for this difference. A chimera is a protein that results from the exchange of various regions between two proteins that differ in a certain characteristic. The chimeras were made using either restriction enzyme sites or the two-step recombinant PCRmethod, and they were expressed along with thef34wild-type subunit to form functional receptors inXenopus laevisoocytes. Ethanol potentiation of half-maximal AChresponses was measured using the two-electrode voltage clamp technique. The results showed a significant change in ethanol potentiation, when compared to the wild-type receptors, in the chimeric receptors that exchanged the cytoplasmic domain sequences of the a subunits. This would suggest that sensitivity to ethanol is determined, at least in part, by theintracellular loop sequences of theu2andu4subunits. Growing evidence supports phosphorylationin the cytoplasmic domain as important in the regulation ofligand-gatedion channels, affecting a variety of channel properties. Consequently, the role of proteinkinase activity in the difference in ethanol effects in thea204and a4134neuronal nAChRswas studied. Thus far, based on experiments using the non-selective proteinkinaseinhibitor staurosporine, phosphorylationdoes not appear to play a role in the ethanol effect in thea24anda404wild- typeneuronal nAChRs. Studies designed to further assess the role of the cytoplasmic domain in the ethanol action on thect234and a4f34neuronal nAChRare in progress.

For the first eighteen years of my life, waking was not a transition. It is important for you to understand this, if I am to be able to explain to you my Syllabary. Before her jumping and bare feet and gravity I awoke indifferent to the process of waking. It was never an event to question or even to acknowledge. One moment I wasnot, and then I was. Alarm clock screaming and eyes like a newborn. The moment was past, and then there was the splash of water and the cold morning bathroom tiles. No mystery, no surprise. At tick, there was no me. At tock, there was. Waking was not a process before her singing and eyes, not a rebirth, not even a respiration. But then mySyLlabarycalls me at school, seventy, seventy-five, eighty miles away her voice came dancingover wires. From far away her syllables leap. The inconsistency shared between her linen voice and the musty, testosteronedsmell of the dormitory hall has become in the last few months a beloved dichotomy. I embrace it the same way one holds a friend with different-colored eyes, the same way one longs to kiss them each in turn. She is sick, she says, she is tired. Her tests, her predatory SATs and college applications, her music and her writing, it is too much tonight. Her fever runs at one hundred one point four Fahrenheit. I remember. She is coughing, and she is definitely tired, and she says she is lonely. She says she is lonely and wants me there with her in

Most Americans generally agree that the current public education system is failing. Some of the most common criticisms are that standards have dropped, current education is outdated, and schools across the board are unsafe. While such accusations have brought public education under intense scrutiny, they are by no means new to the education forum. Politicians and reformers have been questioning the education establishment for the past two centuries. However, in the last ten years, the education reform movement has gained incredible momentum. Politicians across party lines have built their platforms around sweeping education reform. They claim that the current problem with public education is systemic and suggest that the public education monopoly should be replaced with a free market education system. The driving force behind free market education is charter schools. Students are given the freedom to enroll in any charter school of their choice, regardless of where they live. Charter schools are free from the financial and pedagogical restrictions often imposed by state school districts. In return for these freedoms, charter schools are held accountable for their performance. In a free market environment, schools compete for enrollment, which leads to more funding. The schools which perform poorly lose students and funding, and are eventually shut down. While it appears that charter schools are the panacea to poor performing public schools, there are many drawbacks to free market education. Recent studies have shown that charter schools do not offer better instruction, provide little support for specia l education, and open the door for the privatization of education. Such studies show that charter schools are not an accountable, cost free experiment and they risk draining the resources from schools that are already struggling . The one place where public schools are truly failing is in the inner city. Charter schools claim to free poor students from failing schools by giving them choice. The idea that inner city children must find and choose their own education is quite insensitive to the struggles of low-income families. There are more straightforward solutions to the failureof inner city schools. Government teaching incentives and non -profit programs that recruit inspired graduates ensure that inner city children receive a good education and teachers that are deeply interested in their welfare. Under such an education strategy , avenues for equal opportunity and social mobility are bound to open up.

Understanding the process of perception heightens the aesthetic experience, and knowledge of technical jargon is not necessary in understanding the process. The aesthetic experience of audition, music, remains a field of study in which much has been learned, but in which there are still huge knowledge gaps. By tracing the path of a percept from the musical source through the ear and into the brain, I hope to convey the amazing complexity of such a system. The final section of my paper will cover the psychological theories of musical understanding. These do not make neurological hypotheses; they are beyond our current understanding of neural networks. The links between the physics of audition and the psychology of understanding are studies of people who suffer from certain anomalies. Physiological consequentialism, the idea that an injury to the brain may be the cause of some abnormality (not simply an "imbalance of the humors," to use a previous paradigm), has given us a wealth of knowledge. With modern imaging, we can correlate a person's neurological injury with the anomaly it causes, thereby slowly piecing together how we enjoy music. This transition, from the falsifiablephysics (of audition, in this case) to the philosophy and psychology (of meaning and aesthetics, in this case), has been a trend in many modern "scientific" ventures, including neurology, astronomy, and chemistry. Through this project, I hope to answer three questions: Is the emotional quality of the musical experience carried within the percept itself? What psychological or philosophical theories has physiological consequentialismvalidated? And how can a listener apply knowledge of auditory perception to their appreciation of the musical experience? The answer to this final question will be the culmination of the project: I will analyze a piece of music based on the ideas presented in all three sections of the paper .

The Medicaid program throughout the nation is under attack. Severe wounds to this multibillion dollar program are being inflicted by some unlikely assailants: some of our own health care professionals. A small percentage of the men and women within the health care industry who supposedly embody such virtues as honesty and integrity have been making tremendous profits by stealing from this program designed to benefit vulnerable segments of the population. Fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program remains an omnipresent concern despite attempts to remedy the recognized problems. Unfortunately, Texas is not exempt from the troubles that plague America's Medicaid program. Reports specific to the Texas dental program have appeared in the state's newspapers, and a nationally televised news magazine chronicled the excessive use of stainless steel crowns and hospitalization of Texas Medicaid children. Dentists in Texas place more stainless steel crowns on the teeth of children in the Medicaid program than dentists in California, New York, Florida, Illinois and Pennsylvania combined. Such shocking statistics should issue a salient warning that the Texas program faces challenges as serious as those afflicting the program nationally. It appears that the greed of the dentist has superseded the needs of the patient in many of these cases. Important questions still linger. Why does the Medicaid program in Texas still face serious fraud control difficulties despite the extraordinary attention and intense media scrutiny? What activities have governmental agencies developed to maintain program integrity? Are such activities sufficient? What roles have legislators played in developing legislation aimed directly at limiting losses accrued from fraud and abuse activities? I address these and other related matters in detail and provide a few suggestions that might improve fraud control efforts. Truthfully, Medicaid fraud and abuse hurts everyone. Fraudulent claims cost taxpayers billions of dollars annually. Children with stainless steel smiles suffer the greatest injuries by having to endure a painful procedure as well as incessant teasing from classmates. It is vitally important to pursue and eventually implement the most economical program possible: one that maximizes the benefits it can provide while minimizing the abuses it suffers.

Confraternities, religious organizations of lay people, were a vital component of Florentine society as they became increasingly important during the mid-thirteenth century and throughout the Renaissance. Providing corporate identity and collective spirituality to sizable segments of Florentine society, these groups broadly impacted the city. Confraternitiesdeveloped unique devotional and ritual practices which included religious plays and lavish public processions. TheCompagniade Magiand theCompagniadella Purjflcazione, adult and youth confraternitiesrespectively, both had quarters at the convent of San Marco and shared the same generous patron- the Medici- a wealthy Florentine banking family. In this comparative study, I will examine these two important confraternitiesin Renaissance Florence by discussing their history, statutes, devotional practices, and relationship to the Medici. Finally, this study will show how the Medici advertised their greatness, power, and influence not only through theconfraternities they supported and ultimately controlled, but also in the magnificent buildings and artworks they commissioned.

This thesis examines Christians' attempts to end racism by embracing or rejecting segregation. Their methods reveal ways that segregation can promote racial reconciliation. The introduction lists various definitions of racism commonly used in America and explains the unique perspectives that various American Christian groups have taken toward the morality of racism and segregation. The first chapter describes how members of the largest Pentecostal denomination dealt with racial problems from the 1910s to the 1960s by skirting the topic and focusing on Christian doctrine. This approach seemed expedient and appropriate at the time but indirectly victimized Black Americans within the Pentecostal movement. Chapter Two introduces a Christian attempt to solve racism by completely rejecting segregation. It follows the activities of Koinonia Farm, an interracial Christian farming commune established in rural Georgia. This group used social ties, activism, and mission work to bring Black and White Americans in the local community closer to the Biblical ideal of spiritual, racial, and economic equality. However, their methods eventually alienated them from the community and revealed the extreme difficulty of achieving integration through moral appeals.

In December 2000, Chile and the United States engaged in negotiations for a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This work analyzes the negotiation process from the Chilean perspective. It questions the ability of the Chilean state to accomplish its goals of international economic integration while at the same time representing the demands of Chilean citizens who both support and oppose such an agreement. This study examines the case of negotiations between a developing state, which aims to expand its economy and participate in the global market, and a stronger and larger economic power. This study also considers the simultaneous pressures of domestic and international forces on the Chilean government, giving this case multiple dimensions. Looking at the negotiations surrounding the Chilean-US FTAserves as a vehicle to investigate civil society participation in the Chilean state. That effort, in turn, leads to comments concerning the democratic nature of that state. Namely, this thesis questions the willingness or capacity of the Chilean state to represent the demands of its citizens. Certain domestic actors within Chile claim that they are not represented. In doing so, they believe themselves excluded from the negotiations, and therefore, the democratic process. This work explores these concerns within the historical and international context of the negotiations. To get at the conclusions, this paper sets forth a working definition of both democracy and civil society in hopes of understanding how civil society organizations can foster greater citizen participation in a democracy while the state negotiates with an external actor.

The pursuit of health and the treatment of illness has become a principle social activity in the Western world. The past several decasdes have witnessed the transition from a military-industrialized complex to a society dominated byaspendingon scientific research, health care, and their corresponding technologies. The United States, for example, now spends approximately 12 percent of its gross national product (about $1.0 trillion dollars) on healthcare-more time and money than ever before. These changes are statistically reflected in increased life expectancy, the decrease in infant mortality rates, better nutritional standards, and less poverty-related disease in most western societies. Western allopathic medicine has been viewed by many patients as omnipotent andGod-like: moribund individuals are literally brought back from the dead, premature infants with no reasonable hope of survival are today becoming normal teenagers and adults, lungs unable to inflate are replaced, blocked arteries are bypassed, cancer cells are dissolved by chemicals, and vision can be restored. No longer occupied with survival, western medicine today focuses on the realityof improving the quality and quantity of people's lives. Despite the staggering success ofallopathicmedicine, a well-documented 1998 article in the Journaloft/icAmerican Medical Associationreported in its national study that over 40% of Americans were seeking alternative methodsoftreatment. As surprising as these results may seem, the results reveal the nation's growing suspicionofthe complete efficacy and benefit of modern medicine. Western medicine's studyofdead tissue, components, and chemicals to understand life processes, and the quest to discover the "magical silver bullets"toeradicate disease have created areductioiiist, materialistic view of health and healing. While undoubtedly unrivaled in its care of many health problems, such as those related to trauma, emergency medicine, and terminal disease, the resulting biomedical system transcends the realm of clinical and personal experience, individuality, natural law, and human spirituality. It is less effective in preventing the development of disease, in altering the course of chronic illness, and in addressing the mental, emotional, experiential, and spiritual needs of the individual. It views health and the body through this tiny window, while record numbers are seeking other forms of holistic care. This study has investigated the nature of these alternative treatments, focusing on two of the oldest and most traditional healing systems on the planet: Ayurvedaand traditional Chinese medicine. While Western medicine views the body as a finely tuned machine that must be oiled or tuned whenever problems arise, Eastern medical philosophy views the body as a landscape, which must be maintained and always set into balance. Viewing the body as a unique product of its parts. Eastern medicine has achieved tremendous success in addressing the health issues that the West has recently encountered. While these systems are gaining rapid popularity in the West, the concept of integration and medical globalization poses yet another dilemma. This thesis documents the philosophical and scientific nature of Western and Eastern medical practice, explores the benefits of each system, and investigates the puzzling and complex question of medical integrationfromtwo three different perspectives: the contrast between modern and traditional worldviews, the modem consumer market, and the ideology of holism as embodied by today's alternative health practitioners and advocates. The question remains: whether Western medicine is going to exist as a dominate authority in Western health care, or whether alternative methods of healing are going to force it to rethink and relinquish its philosophical and theoretical foundation.

The unconventional estate tax repeal bill that Congress enacted in 2001 has not only inspired debate within the field of tax law; it has also captured the attention of a wider audience of media, politicians, and concerned Americans. Concurrent with this wide-scale debate is another within the field of estate taxation: how to value a certain kind of deduction. Since 1999, three cases addressing deductions for claims against an estate have reached the United States Courts of Appeal. In all three cases, the courts applied a valuation standard that they believed the United States Supreme Court announced inIthaca Trust Co. v. United States, decided in 1929. Yet, other Courts of Appeal had applied a different standard in earlier cases, concluding that theIthaca Trust standard applied only to charitable deductions, and did not apply to deductions for claims against an estate. As the matter now stands, if there is a valuation problem with respect to a claim when a person dies, that person's federal estate tax may well be very different depending on where he or she lived. A brief introduction into the federal estate tax is necessary in understanding the valuation problem itself, as well as understanding how different United States Courts of Appeal could have reached such different conclusions. With this foundation in place, Ithaca Trust, the three most recent cases, and two earlier conflicting decisions will be presented in detail. Finally, I will offer my opinion as to the correct interpretation of the Ithaca Trust standard.

Sixteen preschoolers aged 3-6 were given three different measures to assess their levels of gender stereotyping. First, preschoolerswere given a newly-created Implicit Attitude Measure (lAM), followed by a short form of the POAT(Preschoolers: Occupations, Activities, &Traits; Libenet al., 2006) which examined their explicit attitudes and personal interests. It was discovered that on the JAM, preschoolers were most likely to exhibit positional rather than sex-typed responding. On the POAT, boys showed higher levels of sex-typed attitudes than girls, and personally endorsed both male-& female-typed behaviors more than girls. The amount of overall sex-typing decreased with age, and the Traits subscalewas the least likely to be sex-typed. However, further research with these scales should be performed before reaching definitive conclusions, as the sample size was relatively small. Implications for future research as well as scale design improvements are discussed.

Michael Martin is one of the country's most well educated individuals on the topic of post-Marxist social theory. He spends in upwards of 50 hours a week reading and researching the most current and challenging writings of the world's foremost academics. His understanding of the subject easily rivals that of many college professors. But one thing sets Martin apart from his contemporaries. He's only sixteen years old. Dissatisfied with an educational system that caters to the lowest common denominator, Michael has become a participant in cross-examination debate, an academic competition that rewards independent thinking and fast-paced argumentation. Debate has evolved into a hyper- competitive sport, to which participants dedicate their entire lives. They attend month long summer preparation camps, and fervently research the most advanced philosophical and policy- related arguments in academia, before jetting off to Harvard, Northwestern, or Berkeley for weekend tournaments. Kritik, a 60-minute documentary shot on MiniDV, seeks to better understand the motivations and passions of intelligent adolescents, using competitive high school debate as its framework. The role of "the smart kid" has changed considerably in the past 30 years as public roles and social norms have become more fractured. No longer is intelligence relegated to ivory tower postulating. In select academic circles, traditional notions of intelligence are being attacked for their Eurocentrism, elitism, and inaccessibility. As a result, distinctions between highand low culture have been blurred considerably. Punk and rap music, experimental film and literature, and political protest have replaced Enlightenment rationality as the domain of the new intelligentsia.

There are many parallels between the Peloponnesian War, fought between Athens and Sparta in 431 to 404B.C.E., and the Cold War, fought between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. from 1944 to 1991. This was acknowledged when Secretary of State George Marshall remarked, "I doubt seriously whether a man can think with full wisdom and with deep convictions regarding certain of the basic international issues today who has not at least reviewed in his mind the period of the Peloponnesian War and the Fall of Athens." at a speech on the campus of Princeton University in 1947. There are many parallels between the socio-politicalcomposition, leaders, and motivations of those two ancient city-states and the two Cold War combatants. Athens is the ideal analogue of a U.S. at the height of its geopolitical power; both nation-states espoused democratic ideals, possessed powerful and advanced navies, and based their economies upon international trade. Similarly, the old U.S.S.R. can be viewed as a modern day Sparta, with a land based military presence, relatively totalitarian political system and predisposition towards isolationism. These striking similarities echoThucydides' comment in hisHistoriesthat he wrote his work about the past in order to understand the future because human nature is predictable and unchanging. It is this universalism that has made Thucydides' writing powerful and relevant thousands of years after it was written. However, in this particular instance, Thucydidesis not entirely correct in his prescience, because the Americans won their conflict while the Athenians lost and were forced to raze their own walls. Why did this occur? What parallels exist between the Cold War and the Peloponnesian War and what discontinuities can be found that account for the divergent results? These questions will be discussed in this paper. The first part of this paper will examine the origins of both wars in the context of political realism. The second part of the paper will discuss similarities and differences between Athenian and American foreign policy. The third part will explain why the Athenians lost to the Spartans while the Americans triumphed over the Soviets.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the health of the Russian population has dramatically declined. An excellent example reflecting how health has been affected in Russia since 1991 is the tuberculosis epidemic that has taken hold of the country in the past decade. A number of factors contribute to theTBepidemic in Russia, including the lack of a quality public health infrastructure, poor funding for health, and individual personal habits. An in-depth look at Russian health care will also be included in this analysis. Particular focus will be given toTuva, a Siberian republic with some of the highest rates ofTBin the world. Statistical data fromTuvawill be compared to the rest of Russia in order to evaluate which factors are playing a role in the unusually high rates ofTBin this region.

The use of animals by humans is as old as the human race itself. Yet the struggle over the treatment and moral standing of nonhuman animals still remains an unresolved debate among the scientific community and animal activists. The debate is often a choice betweentwo evils- the evil of depriving the sick and dying of a medical cure and the evil of harmingsentient animals. On the one hand, animals are subjected to pain and suffering during experiments in biomedical research. On the other hand, it's difficult to ignore or diminish the contributions these establishments have made toward mankind particularly medical advancements in diabetes, cancer and AIDS treatments. No one can doubt the benefits gained from research but are the lost lives and suffering of millions of animals a worthwhile price to pay? Can we achieve medical breakthroughs by other alternatives? Whose interests, humans or nonhuman animals, are more morally important? In my opinion, the most fundamental problem is whether animals in research have moral standing and, if so, how moral standing should bedetermined. My objective is to define the problem of moral standing possessed by animals and determine how moral standing effects our interactions with animals. The first step is to understand the historical background in order to define the traditional relationship between humans and animals. Secondly, an analysis of the philosophical and social discussion concerning the treatment and status of animals over the past 30 years will highlight the current proposals about our human obligations toward the animal realm. Thirdly, I will propose the best approach for defining the moral standing of animals. The conclusion will discuss my findings and comment on animal use in biomedical research. The paper will focus primarily on the philosophical and rational arguments behind the use of animals in biomedical research. A single theory may not be appropriate but I contend that by drawing from a variety of theories a reasonable protocol regarding the ethical treatment of animals can be found.

Female genital cuffing has become a heavily debated issue in the United States and other developed countries in recent years. United Nations agencies such as WHO and UNICEF and non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International have stepped up their anti-FGC efforts exponentially since the1970's. Court cases such as the 1996 battle over whether to give FauziyaKasinga, who fled the FGC-practicing country of Togo, refugee status in the U.S., high- profile opponents of the practice such as thesupermodel WarisDiri, who underwentFGCas a child, abounding literature in magazines, newspapers, and the internet, and even fiction, such as Alice Walker'sPossessing the Secret of Joy, have given the practice ofFGChigh publicity. Many people in developed countries argue that becauseFGCis medically dangerous and a human rights abuse as defined by the United Nations, it should be stopped. Furthermore, many argue that "we" (the U.S., the United Nations, private organizations, or simply those in cultures who do not practiceFGC) should intervene to stop it. However, well-intentioned people from rich, powerful countries have tried tointerveneIn social practices of far-away countries before, sometimes with the result of improvement and sometimes with the result of cultural damage, resentment, and conservative backlash. In order to determine how to avoid these possible negative consequences of foreign intervention, this thesis will examine three examples of intervention from the history of European imperialism and colonialism: British intervention insatiin India during the early nineteenth century, in footbindingin China during the late nineteenth century, and inFGCin Kenya during the early twentieth century. These examples will show how strategies of intervention that developed in different time periods and were applied in different cultures affected the targeted populations both in the short-term and the long-term. From these historical examples, trends of "what works" and "what does not work"will emerge. These apparent trends will then be compared to four small "successful"anti-FGC projects. In the end, this thesiswill outline trends ofsuccessful and unsuccessful intervention campaigns whichwillallow modem, developed -country case workers to avoid the pitfalls of the past and successfullycontribute to the end ofFGC.

In 1999, China's population reached 1.24 billion. Despite efforts to control population growth, which date back to the1970s, population remains a pressing issue for the Chinese government in terms of its economy, society, and environment. In addressing the population problem, China has both indirectly and directly interfered in the reproductive decisions of its people. Each of these alternatives has demonstrated unique limitations, which will impact future population policy decisions. China's current "one-couple, one-child" population policy is particularly well known. This policy has consistently elicited widespread popular resistance from China's people because it impinges on their reproductive freedom. In light of China's transformation to a market economy, China's future population policy must resolve this tension between reproductive freedoms and the necessity of controlling its population growth. In order to determine the most viable options for future population policy, an examination of past policy performances is first necessary in order to determine which measures were successful and which were not. An assessment of the impact of China's economic reforms on population behavior will follow, and the results of these two analyses will then be combined to ascertain China's future population policy situation.

Today, the sport of racing pigeons is virtually unknown to all but those who participate in the sport. Pigeon racing reached its pinnacle in the 1950s, and since that time, membership in the sport has gradually declined. To racers, the pigeon is a "racehorse of the sky"; among inhabitants of the average city, it is a "rat with wings". To keep pigeon racing alive for generations to come, national pigeon racing organizations, local clubs, and individual loft keepers must spread awareness about the sport and educate the general populace about the pigeon's prestigious history and its unique qualities. This thesis attempts to introduce the sport of pigeon racing to the uninitiated. In it, I hope to explain not only the basics about racing, but also address the pigeon's place in history. I also want to describe the social aspects of pigeon racing, including general demographics for the racers, what makes pigeons special, and how the sport is perpetuated. I do so in the following order. First, I will examine the wide variety of pigeons, including wild, domestic, and feral birds. Next, it is important to discuss the history of the homing pigeon and describe its early and modem uses for communication. Third, I will focus solely on the Racing Homer and explain the processes that shape the"ideal"racing pigeon. Fourth, the various types of racing organizations and their functions are discussed. Fifth, the race itself is described, including steps that lead up to the birds' release and steps taken after the birds have arrived at the loft. Next, I examine the racers themselves. After this I ask, and attempt to answer, the question "Whypigeons?" Ultimately, I discuss the ways in which information about the sport of pigeon racing is spread.

Bharata Natyamis an Indian classical dance form, originating in the temples of South India, and said to be over 2000 years old. It's age and authenticity are often considered some of its most definitive characteristics. Based firmly on ancient texts such as theNatyaShastraand AbhinayaDarpana, traditional Bharata Natyamfollows certain guidelines for both its interpretive devices and the stories it tells, enacting prayers to or depicting stories of Hindu mythology. Whether in the name of entertainment or artistic interpretation, a new side of this dance has emerged, which bridges an ancient Indian art form with distant cultures, dance styles, and more current social issues; allowing it to reach a wider audience. A recent phenomenon in Dance is the blending of Eastern and Western styles, in the emergence of a new genre called World Dance. BharataNatyamis usually well represented in such venues, and introduced as a Classical Indian art form. In my thesis, I hope to address the question of whether such modernization sacrifices any of the essential elements of "classical"Bharata Natyam?The essential difference between a folk and classical art form is an adherence to outlined rules and a codified structure, both in theory and presentation. However, in a medium that is inherently creative and interpretive, such as dance, this becomes a controversial distinction; and questions arise as to "what constitutes 'Classical' and 'authentic'?" I intend to explore this idea in the area of Indian Classical Dance, with a specific focus onBharata Natyam.

This thesis is intended to serve as a subjective, comparative analysis of the worship styles among Christian students at a public university, focusing exclusively on Protestant student groups at The University of Texas. Relying in large part on interviews, group visits, and other personal interaction, I sketch out many of the trends that unite and distinguish these different types of organizations. I begin the thesis by summarizing the psychological and social attractions of Christianity for young students, then move on to three case studies of different group types at UT: "mainstream" groups, charismatic groups, and stigmatized groups. (The latter is a study of a single organization, Christians on Campus, which is often labeled as cultist by UT students.) Then, in order, I break down the phenomena of evangelism, prayer, and dimensions of belief as they relate to this particular demographic. Among each Christian group I document problematic characteristics, as well as positive aspects, of their belief and worship patterns. I have made little attempt to evaluate or judge these patterns on a theological level, and so most of the difficulties I describe deal with their effects on college students in particular. This study is unique among other Christian surveys in three respects: the state of emotional and spiritual flux that most college students are in; the fascinating combination of diversity and proximity that characterizes groups on a college campus; and the inherent pressure that the larger secular culture of the university inflicts on Christianity. This is an area of religious studies that is surprisinglyunderrepresentedin mainstream research, and so I hope that my observations will survey many of the areas that need more rigorous investigation in the future.

This thesis explores students' conceptual understanding in the area of trigonometry. As we move into an increasingly technical society, it is important that people have an applicable understanding of mathematics. A test was designed to cover many of the basic areas of trigonometry such as periodicity, curve sketching, the unit circle, identities, trig functions, and radian measurement. The questions were designed to reveal conceptual difficulties and explore students' use of multiple representations. A team of researchers constructed a scoring rubric based upon the answers given on a trial test. Six students were interviewed while taking the test to explore their thinking processes. The interviews were audio taped and transcribed. Five of the students were female and one male. Three were juniors in high school taking pre-calculus, and three were enrolledincollege calculus. Two of the college students are prospective teachers. The analysis of the interviews reveals the processes students went through to solve each problem. The students' responses are coded as procedural or conceptual. Procedural knowledge is where the student does the problems using memorized techniques and definitions. Conceptual knowledge is where the student has a thorough understanding of the math behind the answer. A qualitative description of student solutions is also provided. The six interviews revealed that students generally have the necessary tools for doing advanced trigonometry, but they do not always know how to apply the tools ina given situation. They might know how to do a specific problem technically or get a correct answer, but when the problem is presented in an unusual way such as a "real world" application, they get flustered and cannot make the necessary connection between the procedure they know and the concept it represents.

In the court of public opinion, it is taken for granted that lawyers are on trial. The question remains, why do many Americans malign the legal profession? What have been the primary negative influences on public opinion? And, what contributions can the legal profession make to ameliorate their lugubrious public image? First, to provide a background to this investigation, recent public opinion polls and surveys methodically ascertain current public opinion about lawyers. To answer whether public opinion has been static or evolving over, historical literature and decades of Gallup Polls chart the trends in public opinion that may have lead to today's culture of lawyer bashing. The public's sentiments, both past and present, elucidate possible suspects that bear the responsibility for the low esteem in which lawyers are held. And the suspects are... the media, the justice system, the lawyers, and their billing practices To cross-examine these suspects, the following questions need to be posed: Does the media aggravate public opinion with despicable lawyer characters on television shows and high profile news cases? Does the nature of the justice system impose a morality on the legal profession that the public condemns? Or are lawyers prone to negative personality traits and murky ethics? Finally, do exorbitant legal fees and insufficient probonowork damage the public image of lawyers? With this testimony, the primary negative influences on public opinion, and the best way for lawyers to neutralize them, may be deduced.

The Internet has been a pervasive element of life in America for several years, but it wasn't until the 2000 Presidential campaign that it played a noticeable role in the nation's politics. The e-campaign, the structure that encompasses a candidate's web site, email outreach and other digital communication efforts, was for the first time given significant attention by each of the major candidates, as well as daily coverage in the mass media. As a result, the Internet had a substantial impact on campaignfundraising, grassroots organization and information management. Each of the candidates who successfully developed mechanisms for drawing and retaining traffic saw measurable increases in campaign participation (both physical and financial) as compared to traditional direct mail, television and print communications. Consequently, it is fair to say that the current transition to digital communications has the potential to be at least as revolutionary as the incorporation of television in the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy campaign. Though the medium may not have had a decisive impact in the most recent election, the precedents it set have created a fundamentally different approach to reaching the national electorate. The Internet now allows candidates to target small groups of individuals based upon location, demographic information or personal interests. The result is a far more personalizedcampaign-to-voterinteraction, with the capacity to deliver far more information than has ever been possible in prior races. By tracing the evolution of digital communications over the course of this one election cycle, we can create a handbook with which candidates of the future will better serve their online audience. Further, by learning from the mistakes and missteps of several e- campaign players, future candidates will be able to better prepare themselves for the evolution of the technology. The Internet will never replace newspapers or television advertising, but the supplement it provides has the potential to be in many ways superior to any other single mechanism of communicating with voters.

The aim of this paper is not to comprehensively explore how privacy affects our society. The objective, instead, is to focus more narrowly on the privacy concept known as "data protection". This European term refers to the collection, use, and dissemination of personal information. One major policy objective of data protection is the application of fair information practices, an organized set of values and standards about personal information defining the rights of record subjects and the responsibilities of record keepers. Regarding this subset of privacy law, I will begin with an examination of "data protection" legislation during the past thirty-five years. An analysis of the implications of online profiling, as well as a look at how businesses are attempting to avoid further privacy legislation through self-regulation, will follow. How do we protect the informational privacy of a consumer without forcing out of business those companies who depend on data mining for profit? More and more Web sites are collecting various bits of personal data each time a user surfs in and out. Some use this data for statistical purposes or to personalize the site for the consumer while others sell consumer data to another company who then uses this information to barrage the consumer with more junk e-mail and snail mail. Currently, we have data privacy laws that protect the personal information of children under thirteen, but what about the rest of America? Europe has implemented a data privacy directive which increasingly threatens business relations with America because of our more relaxed privacy laws. How can we use the European model and existing American models to draft a piece of legislation that effectively addresses privacy concerns without imposing substantial economic inefficiencies on business? What is the current situation in Congress regarding privacy legislation, and what is the likelihood of anything being passed in the reasonably near term?

For hundreds of years, American women have been making quilts. They have made them to keep their families warm, to preserve their memories, and to express themselves artistically. Because quilts are so familiar to our culture, however, they have had a tendency to be overlooked as a means of self -expression. Quilting was one of the few acceptable creative outlets available to many women in the early years of this country. Quilt makers-mostly women- who could not or chose not to write their life histories often expressed them through their quilts instead. Our quilts are more than just interesting amalgamations of history preserved in fabric; they are also an untapped source of autobiography. Women have expressed themselves through their quilts in countless ways. They have saved scraps from treasured dresses and suits to make pieced quilt tops; depicted stories from their lives in album quilts; memorialized friends and family in their friendship quilts; and voiced their political views in quilt designs with names ranging from "Clay's Choice" to "Whig Rose." Even at its most basic level, however, the act of creating a quilt could be autobiographica( Alone on the prairie or late at night in their slave cabins, women made quilts not only to ward off loneliness and desperation, but also simply toremember--to muse over their lives and make sense of them. Joining the pieces that made up her quilt top, a woman might also be gathering together and uniting the disparate themes of her life. My thesis has two parts. The first part, my paper, focuses on aspects of American cultural history supporting the theory that quilt making was often an autobiographical art. The second part of my project is purely creative: I made my own quilt, one that reflects my personal narrative. This project has involved a sizeable amount of self exploration and introspection as well as directed research and study. I wanted the finished quilt is a work of art, a coming -together of American quilting influences, and an expression of my own life.

This project began as an exploration of the dynamics associated with growing up bicultural--of skirting on the edge of two worlds, seemingly polar but actually intertwining in many respects. Drawing from personal experience and from those experiences of friends, family, wanderers and wonderers around me, it attempts to illustrate the challenge of reconciling the differences between worlds, hence the two rooms, the doorway being perspective: murky and elusive, yet very real. As the project unfolds itself, however, it quickly becomes clear the worlds are not just two. And so it becomes an exploration in the boundlessness of other. Of being other, both physically and conceptually. Of the many worlds we travel through, the colors we don and the voices we hear. I draw from my experience as an Arab-American woman living in America as well as my experiences traveling abroad, through the Middle East and through South Asia. The work exists in fragments that speak for themselves. But finally, when strung together, the fragments represent a whole.

This project began as an exploration of the dynamics associated with growing up bi- cultural--of skirting on the edge of two worlds, seemingly polar but actually intertwining in many respects. Drawing from personal experience and from those experiences of friends, family, wanderers and wonderers around me, it attempts to illustrate the challenge of reconciling the differences between worlds, hence the two rooms, the doorway being perspective: murky and elusive, yet very real. As the project unfolds itself, however, it quickly becomes clear the worlds are not just two. And so it becomes an exploration in the boundlessness of other. Of being other, both physically and conceptually. Of the many worlds we travel through, the colors we don and the voices we hear. I draw from my experience as an Arab-American woman living in America as well as my experiences traveling abroad, through the Middle East and through South Asia. The work exists in fragments that speak for themselves. But finally, when strung together, the fragments represent a whole.

The rural Texas landscape is littered with small towns and communities that individually exhibit a remarkable diversity of form and character. Within this variety, however, certain similarities can be seen to develop which allow towns to be classified into specific groups with distinct histories, physical characteristics and inhabitational qualities. This study attempts to identify these groups, or typologies, of small towns, and describe the forces which drove both their early development and their growth and change into the twenty-first century. For each town typology, an outline is given of the history of that type of settlement and of the political and technological events thateffectedits growth. Insights are provided which describe the social, economic and geographic forces that contributed to its pat- tern of development. A second section looks into specific examples of thesetypologies, providing detailed descriptions and histories of individual towns. This is done through written accounts, photographs and diagrams. A final section attempts to predict the challenges and opportunities that face these small towns in the future.

Every undergraduate physics curriculum faces the task of conveying to students a taste of scientific research. Most schools attempt to accomplish this task through laboratory classes. Nevertheless, during my two and a half years of research with Dr. Marderat the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics (UT Physics) I have come to understand that real experimental work is something quite different from what I saw in undergraduate labs. This report gives an account of my experiences as an undergraduate researcher. In it, I hope to convey some of the difficulties and frustrations involved in conducting research. I end by noting some essential points of real experimental work that have slipped the attention undergraduate laboratory classes. The goal of my research was to investigate tiny bursts of sound emitted by an unusual metal called Nickel-Titanium while that metal is being twisted. These bursts of sound- or acoustic emissions- are so faint that they are inaudible to the human ear. Nevertheless, I have succeeded in designing and building an experimental apparatus that simultaneously twists a Nickel-Titanium sample, detects acoustic emissions, and records data real-time to a personal computer. This report was written with a non-science audience in mind. Difficult technical terms have been either explained or omitted.

I will discuss trends in childbirth, mainly focusing on birth attendants through the times. Infusing my writing with stories and anecdotes of pregnancy and labor (mainly from mothers and birth attendants), I attempt to give life to these trends. My thesis will also present a broader picture of the way in which women in childbirth have been viewed and treated. Social trends, fears, and prejudices are all too often a part of every woman's birth experience. Iwill givea history of childbirth-starting with the primitive birth rituals of tribal societies, moving through the rise of technology and medicine, and finally examining the advantages and disadvantages of modern obstetrics. Iwill also focus on the "rediscovering" of the midwife in modern times, and present my study of midwives today (I administered a survey to midwives in both Europe and the U.S. concerning their personal opinions on the status of midwifery in society today).