An Evaluation of Georgia HOPE Scholarship Program: Effects of HOPE on Grade Inflation, Academic Performance and College Enrollment

Abstract pending

An Evaluation of Georgia's Post-Secondary Options/Joint Enrollment Programs

Abstract pending

Ridesharing\u27s House of Cards: \u3ci\u3eO\u27Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc.\u3c/i\u3e and the Viability of Uber\u27s Labor Model in Washington

Ridesharing companies, namely Uber and Lyft, have taken the transportation market by storm. These companies offer a competitive alternative to taxis through using smartphone apps and more efficient service offerings. As part of their business model, ridesharing companies treat their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees to minimize labor costs. However, drivers do not benefit from remedial labor statutes and thus (1) must pay for operating costs, (2) are not guaranteed a minimum wage, and (3) do not receive overtime pay. In O’Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc., a class of California Uber drivers are challenging their independent contractor status under California law. The test used by California courts to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee differs slightly from the test that Washington courts apply. In 2012, the Washington State Supreme Court adopted a worker-friendly “economic realities” test for determining whether workers are in fact independent contractors. Applying the lessons from O’Connor to Washington independent contractor law, this Comment calls into question the viability of Uber’s labor model in Washington

Effect of stress concentrations on fatigue of composite and metallic structures

The complex shapes of hydrokinetic turbine blades can include part features such as a fillet, step, or hole. Situations can arise where two part features, such as a hole and a fillet, may be in close proximity which can introduce stress concentrations within the blade structure, adversely affecting the structure\u27s life. Because the interaction between the part features isn\u27t well known, fatigue data is needed to determine the proper analysis. In this thesis, two separate topics are discussed and investigated. The first topic deals with stress concentrations in hydrokinetic turbine blades. Several blade designs were tested and improved upon to increase blade strength and stiffness, insuring that the blade failed due to material limits. These test results were then compared with those from a finite element (FE) model replicating the physical test. Fatigue performance was also tested with an accompanying unloading stiffness test to determine the loss of stiffness within the blade. There was a good agreement between the failure loads determined from the tests and the FE model. The associated strain values had major discrepancies but followed similar trends, suggesting a strain gauge calibration error. For the associated blade geometry, the results indicate that fatigue does not play a significant role in the degradation of the blade life cycle. The second topic deals with a unique interaction between a hole and a fillet in a flat aluminum alloy specimen. The interaction between the two part features was analyzed to determine the stress concentration modification factor. For the associated geometry, the stress concentration modification factors increased as the distance between the hole and fillet decreased. For fatigue analysis of a hole interacting with a fillet, a conservative modification factor of 1.15 is recommended. --Abstract, page iii

Earthen Monuments and Social Movements in Eastern North America: Adena-Hopewell Enclosures on Kentucky’s Bluegrass Landscape

Geometric earthen enclosures are some of the best known pre-Columbian monuments in North America. Across the Eastern Woodlands, many have been preserved as state and national parks. However, their chronological placement is poorly understood as they relate to the rise of complex social behaviors associated with the Adena-Hopewell florescence (500 BC–AD 500) in the Middle Ohio Valley. This is especially true for communities who built smaller enclosures referred to by archaeologists as ‘scared circles’. To better understand the timing, tempo, and nature of their construction I examined the Bluegrass Region in Central Kentucky using aerial and terrestrial remote sensing methods to learn if more enclosures were built than previously known. My results indicate the remnants of many sites exist but have been greatly damaged by modern agricultural activities and development. I then excavated a series of seven sites, examining their embankments, ditches, and internal use-areas. I found the communities who built these monuments did so in ways unique to their local histories of participation in the Adena-Hopewell social movement. Chronological modeling suggests the construction of all earthen enclosures in the Bluegrass region likely occurred in 170 years or less and the spread came from the north, possibly Central Ohio. Burial mounds, however, were built as early as 400 BC and the switch to building enclosures signals a major social change in the need for ritual space. From the sum of these results I argue that the traditional definition of Adena is indeed earlier than the major Hopewell climax in Ohio. However, I argue that this may indicate the material evidence for Hopewell ritual cycles, of which local populations in Kentucky were likely active participants in, do not represent a separate culture but instead a different context and situation for interregional integration

Mechanisms Of Thermal And Photochemical Reactions Of Organoplatinum Complexes

This thesis describes investigations into a variety of thermal and photochemical reactions of organoplatinum complexes.;The mechanism and energetics of the reaction of tertiary phosphine ligands, L, with {lcub}Pt(,2)H(,n)Me(,3-n)((mu)-dppm)(,2){rcub}(\u27+), (n = 2,1) (dppm = bis(diphenylphosphino)methane), have been determined. The reaction was found to occur through coordination of L followed by reductive elimination. In each case H(,2) was found to be eliminated and the platinum(I) products formed were {lcub}Pt(,2)HL((mu)-dppm)(,2){rcub}(\u27+) and {lcub}Pt(,2)MeL((mu)-dppm)(,2){rcub}(\u27+). The rate constants and equilibrium constants were determined at a variety of temperatures, allowing construction of a reaction coordinate energy level diagram.;The photochemically induced reductive elimination reactions of the complexes {lcub}Pt(,2)H(,3-n)Me(,n)((mu)-dppm)(,2){rcub}(\u27+), (n = 0,1,2,3), were also studied. The reactions were found to involve initial reductive elimination of H(,2)(n = 0,1), CH(,4)(n = 2) and C(,2)H(,6)(n = 3) followed by trapping by solvent, S, giving rise to the platinum containing products {lcub}Pt(,2)HS((mu)-dppm)(,2){rcub}(\u27+) (n = 0) and {lcub}Pt(,2)MeS((mu)-dppm)(,2){rcub}(\u27+) (n = 1,2,3).;The photochemically induced (beta)-elimination reactions from {lcub}Pt(,2)Et(,3)((mu)-dppm)(,2){rcub}(\u27+) and {lcub}Pt(,2)Et(dppm)((mu)-dppm)(,2){rcub}(\u27+) were also studied. In each case ethylene was eliminated. The observed chemistry of each was consistent with the primary photochemical step being loss of the Pt-Pt bond. The thermally induced (beta)-elimination reaction of {lcub}Pt(,2)Et(dppm)((mu)-dppm)(,2){rcub}(\u27+) was also studied. The reaction followed first order kinetics and the rate was independent of deuterium substitution of the ethyl group, or of added free dppm.;The mechanism of photochemically induced oxidative addition of isopropyl iodide to {lcub}PtMe(,2)(phen){rcub} (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) was investigated. The reaction was found to occur by a free radical chain mechanism, initiated by a (\u273)(d(---\u3e)(pi)*) excited state of the platinum complex. The overall mechanism and the associated rate constants have been determined.;A study of the catalysis of the water gas shift reaction by {lcub}Pt(,2)H(,2)((mu)-H)((mu)-dppm)(,2){rcub}(\u27+) is also described

Placuisse apibus mirabere morem: Understanding Inconsistency and Thematic Shifts in Vergil's Fourth Georgic

As David Ross and others have pointed out, the amount of attention Vergil devotes to bees and beekeeping in his Georgics is uncharacteristic of ancient agricultural works. Bees and beekeeping occupy the first half of Book 4, and two descriptions of the rebirth of bees from the carcass of a cow frame the stories of Orpheus and Aristaeus in the second half of the book. Vergil’s bee passages have therefore received much attention, much of it focusing on how the passages refer in various ways to the first three books of the poem, to the Eclogues and (forward to) the Aeneid, and to Vergil’s ancient sources. There is a risk, however, in reading Vergil’s account of the bees as a collage of these references, as older scholarship has tended to do. Such a reading permits inconsistencies in Vergil’s treatment of the bees to be attributed to, say, thematic or stylistic differences between Hesiod and Homer, or to Vergil’s interest in juxtaposing Hesiod and Homer. This study instead will explore variation in the bee passages as a technique used by Vergil to interweave different themes and narrative perspectives that are primarily Vergilian creations. Without doubt, as part of this technique, Vergil draws occasionally and selectively from other authors. It will be necessary, however, to examine points at which Vergil distinguishes his apian elements from— rather than connects them to—the literary tradition.Bachelor of Art

Mach number effects on transonic aeroelastic forces and flutter characteristics

Transonic aeroelastic stability analysis and flutter calculations are presented for a generic transport-type wing based on the use of the CAP-TSD (Computational Aeroelasticity Program - Transonic Small Disturbance) finite-difference code. The CAP-TSD code was recently developed for transonic unsteady aerodynamic and aeroelastic analysis of complete aircraft configurations. A binary aeroelastic system consisting of simple bending and torsion modes was used to study aeroelastic behavior at transonic speeds. Generalized aerodynamic forces are presented for a wide range of Mach number and reduced frequency. Aeroelastic characteristics are presented for variations in freestream Mach number, mass ratio, and bending-torsion frequency ratio. Flutter boundaries are presented which have two transonic dips in flutter speed. The first dip is the usual transonic dip involving a bending-dominated flutter mode. The second dip is characterized by a single degree-of-freedom torsion oscillation. These aeroelastic results are physically interpreted and shown to be related to the steady state shock location and changes in generalized aerodynamic forces due to freestream Mach number