Citizen science for cuneiform studies

This paper examines the potential applications of Citizen Science and Open Linked Data within a critical Web Science framework. Described here is a work-inprocess concerning an interdisciplinary, multiinstitutional project for the digitization, annotation and online dissemination of a large corpus of written material from ancient Mesopotamia. The paper includes an outline of the problems presented by a large, heterogeneous and incomplete dataset, as well as a discussion of the potential of Citizen Science as a potential solution, combining both technical and social aspects. Drawing inspiration from other successful Citizen Science projects, the current paper suggests a process for capturing and enriching the data in ways which can address not only the challenges of the current data set, but also similar issues arising elsewhere on the wider Web

Mating System Biology of the Florida Native Plant: Illicium parviflorum

Self-incompatibility is thought to have played a profound role in the evolution of the angiosperms. However, there is little evidence of self-incompatibility systems in early diverging lineages of flowering plants. Illicium parviflorum, one such early-divergent angiosperm, is an evergreen perennial species endemic to central Florida, particularly within the Ocala National Forest. Although locally abundant, I. parviflorum is currently listed as endangered at the state level due to being under constant threat of habitat disturbance and over-harvesting. Notably, this species had been described as self-incompatible due to its low seed-set. However, low seed set may also be a result of strong, early inbreeding depression. Using cross-pollinations, histology, and molecular analysis, I provide conclusive evidence that I. parviflorum possesses the ability to self-fertilize, while finding no evidence of a self-incompatibility system. Furthermore, cross-pollinations of individuals within and between populations revealed heterosis, while seeds collected from self-pollinations were smaller than those collected from out-crosses, suggesting that inbreeding may be reducing fitness within populations. An analysis used to estimate parental genotypes of individuals in a population using AFLP markers identified two out of 23 plants to be the result of natural self-pollination, while the mean (+ s.e.) pollen: ovule ratio of I. parviflorum was found to be 511 + 86, a ratio consistent with a species that relies primarily, but not exclusively, on outcrossing. Pollen/ovule ratios of I. parviflorum and other small flowered Illicium are lower than their larger flowered, derived relatives, suggesting that the ancestral floral type to the Illicium lineage was self-compatible. These results support the hypothesis that early angiosperm species had the ability to self-fertilize and that self-incompatibility systems did not arise until after the origin of the bisexual flower

Challenges of transnational Palestinian terrorism to the era of détente: 1970-1973, The

2010 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.United States Diplomatic historians have understood Henry Kissinger as the twentieth century's grandest statesmen. His realism and free reign over U.S. foreign policy during two presidential administrations was drawn from his life experiences and historical understandings of the limits of state power in the postcolonial world. He is understood to be an intellectual who drew his realist worldview from the history of nineteenth century concert of Europe and the grand statesmen of the period. His ability to draw lessons from history allowed him to achieve some of the most important foreign policy victories of the twentieth century. His realism recognized the limits of U.S. power in the Vietnam era, but he fell back on the nineteenth century model of interstate diplomacy as the way forward. However, his realist worldview drew exactly the wrong lessons from history in terms of his ability to address the new problem of Palestinian terrorism. In the postcolonial world, and the Middle East in particular, non-state actors such as the PLO and its militant factions became some of the most important elements in Cold War era diplomacy. The transnational terrorism by Palestinian nationalist organizations in the early-1970s (beginning in September of 1970 and ending in March 1973) challenged the Nixon administration's, and most importantly, Henry Kissinger's pursuit of détente in the region, which was based on détente between the U.S. and Soviet Union. Détente was sought for three reasons: in order to maintain the U.S.-Soviet balance of power in the region, to restrict Soviet influence on radical Arab governments, and to ensure important U.S.-Soviet cooperation in a peace process as outlined in "the Rogers Plan." This thesis argues that President Nixon and Kissinger's response to the terrorism proved unsuccessful because it was rooted in Kissinger's realism of interstate diplomacy and the limits of state power. Understanding how the administration did not (and could not) understand the transnational nature of Palestinian terrorism provides a window into how Kissinger's life experiences and historical knowledge shaped his realist worldview during the era of détente

The commuter rail circulator network design problem: formulation, solution methods, and applications

Commuter rail is increasingly popular as a means to introduce rail transportation to metropolitan transportation systems. The long-term benefits of commuter rail include the addition of capacity to the transportation system, providing a quality commute alternative, and shifting land use toward transit-oriented development patterns. The success of a commuter rail system depends upon cultivating a ridership base upon which to expand and improve the system. Cultivating this ridership is dependent upon offering a quality transportation option to commuters. Characteristics of commuter rail systems in the United States present challenges to offering quality service that must be overcome. Commuter rail has been implemented only on existing rail right-of-way (ROW) and infrastructure (depending upon condition) in the United States. Existing rail ROW does not often coincide with current commercial and residential demand centers and necessitates the use of a circulator system to expand the service boundary of commuter rail to reach these demand centers. The commuter rail circulator network design problem (CRCNDP) addresses a particular aspect of the commuter rail trip, seeking to improve the performance of the entire system through accurately modeling the portion of the trip from rail station to the final destination. This final leg includes both the trip on the circulator vehicle and the walking trip from the circulator stop to the final destination. This dissertation seeks to provide an innovative mathematical programming formulation and solution methodology for the CRCNDP and apply this method to a case study.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Empirical Investigations of Contracting in Intermediate Markets

Thesis advisor: Julie H. MortimerMy doctoral research focuses on empirical investigations of contracting in intermediate markets and its effects. I am currently pursuing two research projects that together constitute the chapters of this dissertation. The first chapter focuses on contracting between hospitals and insurers and a pricing practice in place in Maryland. In the second chapter, which is joint work with Julie Holland Mortimer and Sylvia Hristakeva, we instead investigate contracting practices in the national television advertising market. Chapter 1) In recent years researchers and policymakers have shown renewed interest in various types of health care reforms in the United States. In "Welfare Effects of Using Hospital Rate Setting as an Alternative to Bargaining" with Ayse Sera Diebel we investigate a potential health care reform. Prices paid by insurers to hospitals are determined by bilateral negotiations in all U.S. states except Maryland, where a unique all-payer rate setting health care regulation sets common prices for all insurers. Theory models of bilateral bargaining are unable to assign welfare effects when contracts are unobserved. We empirically analyze how a Maryland style regulation would affect overall welfare relative to bilateral bargaining, using the New Jersey health care market as an example. Using hospital-, insurer-, and patient-level data from 2010, we estimate a structural model of hospital and insurer demand, and simulate consumer and insurer responses to the new price regime. We find that replacing bargaining with all-payer rate setting increases total surplus in the market. However, not all agents benefit, and the effects depend on how the largest player in our market, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), sets premiums. If BCBS sets premiums a la Bertrand Nash, consumer surplus decreases, but joint hospital-insurer surplus increases by more. The number of uninsured increases by two percent. Surplus changes are robust to different pricing strategies of BCBS, that account for its non-profit status but, diminish the magnitude of surplus changes. Chapter 2) In "Contracts in the upfront market for national television advertising'' with Sylvia Hristakeva and Julie Holland Mortimer, we investigate unique pricing practices. We focus on advertising and treat it as an input to a firm's production process. The market of national television is of interest because it still commands the majority of advertising in the United States. Yet, firms face different costs when accessing the market for national television ads. Industry practices suggest that (legacy) firms with long histories of participation in the market benefit from favorable prices to reach the same audiences. We confirm empirically whether there are important differences in firms' costs to advertise nationally. Contracts between advertisers and networks are considered trade secrets, so we combine data on national ad placements and program viewership demographics with average ad prices in each program airing to perform our analysis. We find model-free evidence that firms who have longer relationships with broadcasters face lower prices in those networks. We use a structural model to quantify these price differentials, allowing for differences in firms' payoffs from advertising to different audiences. Preliminary results suggest that legacy firms obtain an 8\% discount relative to non-legacy firms. This discount translates into a $2 million efficiency that would be available to a non-legacy firm if it were to merge with a legacy firm.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Economics

A Dynamic Time Course of Cognitive Map Distortion

viii, 91 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.Distortion in cognitive maps has been examined by geographers and psychologists in order to understand the cognitive processes used when spatial knowledge is acquired from maps or images. This past research has lead to multiple, reasonable, descriptions of cognitive mapping. These studies have generally been based on cognitive maps formed at a single time point. This approach may ignore the dynamic nature of cognitive maps. How do cognitive maps change through time? How might an examination of temporal cognitive map distortion enhance our approach to cognitive mapping research? This thesis explores how we can observe the dynamic nature of cognitive maps through time and how the cognitive mapping process may vary depending on the map image and the location of a target. Results suggest a dual processing model of cognitive mapping dependent upon stimulus and task requirements. Two map retention tasks are presented which support the dual processing model.Advisers: Amy K. Lobben, Patrick J. Bartlei

Emotional mood and selective retention: A cognitive alternative

Thesis (B.S.) in Psychology--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1982.Bibliography: leaf 25.Microfiche of typescript. [Urbana, Ill.] : Photographic Services, University of Illinois, U of I Library, [1982]. 2 microfiches (48 frames) : negative ; 11 x 15 cm