The Promise of Mourning

This dissertation project offers a critique of the ethical turn within contemporary political theory through the Frankfurt School tradition of critical thought. While many contemporary political theorists rely upon Freud’s distinction between mourning and melancholia in order to argue for forms of democratic political action, I examine the relationship between loss, mourning, melancholy, and temporality in the works of Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Sheldon Wolin, and Theodor Adorno in order to think about the relationship between critical thinking and political action. Focusing on their different approaches to time, history, and loss in relationship to politics demonstrates how concepts like mourning and loss can be opened up in new and interesting ways. Chapter one focuses on the work of Hannah Arendt and offers an account of her writings and reflections on the emergence of totalitarianism and the relationship between thinking and action. In thinking about the future of political resistance, Arendt turns towards the works of Franz Kafka and the French poet René Char in order to conceptualize the spirit of resistance in what she terms the lost treasure of the revolution. Her reflections on resistance, time, and the loss of tradition in modernity turn us towards the breakdown between language and thought. Chapter two explores Benjamin’s conceptions of history and time through his discussion of Trauerspiel and sovereignty. Turning to Benjamin’s work in “Theses on The Philosophy of History”, The Origins of German Tragic Drama, and his reflections in Berlin Childhood Around 1900, I examine how he helps us to think about the relationship between our understanding of history, a critical temporality, and the politics of mourning. Chapter three explores Wolin’s conceptions of democracy, democratic time, and his move from vocation to invocation in order to think about the ethical turn in contemporary political theory. In “Political Theory: From Vocation to Invocation” Wolin offers a critique of what he calls the “systematization of loss” that illustrates how theorists have conformed to rhythmic cycles of capitalist production and consumption. Wolin’s turn towards Adorno in his essay on invocation is a rejection of demands for democratic political action. Wolin’s understanding of invocation is akin to Adorno’s understanding of melancholia in Minima Moralia, which refuses what he calls a “vain hope” for redemption

A Phenomenology of Teachers’ Experiences With School Leaders on Workplace Motivation

This transcendental qualitative phenomenological study examined how 10 teachers experienced workplace motivation from school leaders at one kindergarten – eighth-grade school in northern Virginia. The theory guiding this study was Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, as it explains the relationship between the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that influence workplace motivation. The motivation-hygiene theory provided the theoretical framework for this study to answer the central research question and sub-questions: (a) How do teachers who interact with school leaders experience workplace motivation; (b) What experiences, if any, with school leaders have promoted workplace motivation; (c) What experiences, if any, with school leaders have decreased workplace motivation? A transcendental phenomenology was used to understand the lived experiences of teacher motivation as a result of interactions with school leaders. Purposeful sampling was used to target teachers who were knowledgeable about the issues under investigation and met the inclusion criteria. Snowball sampling was used to recruit additional participants. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and a private journal entry of the participants. Upon completion of the interviews and focus groups, the accounts were transcribed. The researcher analyzed interviews, focus groups, and private journal entries for related themes. Five themes emerged during the study: effective communication, valuing staff, supporting staff, modeling leadership behaviors, and negative interactions with school staff. Results indicated that teachers experienced motivation when school leaders frequently interacted with staff in both formal and informal ways by demonstrating interpersonal behaviors that were professional, caring, supportive, and equitable

Cowpea Adaptability to Southeastern Organic Farming Systems: Forage Productivity and Charcoal Rot Susceptibility

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is a warm-season, multi-purpose legume that is well-adapted to the southeastern USA and has many traits that make it an attractive forage or cover crop for integration into organic production systems, including high rates of nitrogen (N) fixation, phosphorus (P) use efficiency, regrowth ability, and high digestibility. Eight cowpea varieties were evaluated under organic management at two locations in summer 2014 for stand establishment, forage yield and quality, and weed biomass. Charcoal rot [Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid.] is a fungal disease that is economically important to many host plant species. High temperatures and drought conditions favor disease development making it difficult to predict when disease outbreak will occur. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) is an important crop for many regions of the globe and is a host species for M. phaseolina. Efforts have been made to breed genetic lines that are resistant to M. phaseolina but little research has been done to screen many popular cowpea cultivars for resistance. This study includes an inoculated field trial and greenhouse seedling screening of twenty-six cowpea lines to identify resistance to charcoal rot

Master of Science

thesisThe stratocumulus topped boundary layers that tend to form off the west coast of major continents have been an important topic in cloud physics research due to their large impact on global climate, while uncertainty exists about their formation and behavior. This uncertainty is largely due to the substantial range of scales that govern the characteristics and evolution of these cloud decks. Specifically, small scale processes near cloud top have remained unexplored in the field due to limits in technology that inhibit the resolution necessary for these small scale processes to be investigated and studied. The entrainment interface layer (EIL), a region near cloud top where free tropospheric air is mixed with cloudy boundary layer air, is especially suspected to have an effect on these clouds. Three important processes occur in the EIL: mixing between free tropospheric air and cloudy mixed layer air, radiative heating and cooling, and heating and/or cooling due to phase changes of water, all of which may have an important effect on cloud properties and behavior. The Physics of Stratocumulus Top (POST) field campaign took place in July and August of 2008 off the coast of Monterey, California with the mission of gathering data from the stratocumulus topped boundary layers that regularly form there each summer. The POST mission was unique in that it employed the use of a small aircraft, which allowed for colocation of instrumentation during research flights. This colocated instrumentation, coupled with vertical flight paths specifically designed to sample the region near cloud top of these cloud capped boundary layers, produced a data set especially equipped to probe into the small scale processes that are so pivotal to the behavior of these clouds. Here, high rate data from POST are combined with a conserved variables analysis to define the location and extent of the EIL for five flights during the summer of 2008. Two daytime flights and three evening flights were selected for analysis. Overall, the existence of an EIL is detected and defined for all five of the flights analyzed. In addition, for each case, the EIL is found to be noticeably thicker than what was found in past studies, with a typical extent of several tens of meters. Further use of conserved variables to approximate virtual potential temperature changes within the EIL reveals the effects of radiation and phase changes to be of the same order as each other, on average, for most of the flights. In addition, radiative cooling occurs most frequently during evening flights while solar warming occurs most frequently for daytime flights. Finally, evaporative cooling occurs much more frequently than condensational warming within the EIL for all flights, regardless of whether the flight was during the daytime or during the evening

Three-Dimensional Motion Analysis for Occupational Therapy Upper Extremity Assessment and Rehabilitation: A Scoping Review

Background: Three-dimensional (3D) human motion analysis provides objective, quantitative, and reliable kinematic data that are valuable in rehabilitation. Clinicians, including occupational therapists and other specialists, can apply this technology to quantify patients’ upper extremity (UE) motion during functional tasks. A better comprehension of altered body mechanics serves to guide clinical reasoning, develop evidence-based interventions, and monitor patients’ progress through follow-up. However, the scientific literature has yet to emphasize the practicality of using 3D motion analysis as a clinical measurement tool. Method: This scoping review appraised 20 articles that used 3D motion analysis to quantify UE movements for individuals with and without mechanical pathologies. The articles were evaluated based on their quality and clinically relevant applications of UE kinematics. Results: This scoping review revealed that 3D motion analysis has already been implemented in rehabilitation but the variability across protocols and facilities can complicate the comparison of results. Conclusion: To further expand clinical use of 3D motion analysis, an introduction of more accessible, inexpensive, and user-friendly kinematic systems is critical. Future research should also aim to establish a standardized protocol of 3D motion analysis in UE assessments to produce clinically relevant results and maximize patients’ independence when engaging in daily activities

Facile Si–H bond activation and hydrosilylation catalysis mediated by a nickel–borane complex

Metal–borane complexes are emerging as promising systems for study in the context of bifunctional catalysis. Herein we describe diphosphineborane nickel complexes that activate Si–H bonds and catalyze the hydrosilylation of aldehydes. Treatment of [^(Mes)DPB^(Ph)]Ni (1) ([^(Mes)DPB^Ph] = ^(Mes)B(o-Ph_2PC_6H_4)_2) with organosilanes affords the complexes [^(Mes)DPB^(Ph)](μ-H)NiE (E = SiH_2Ph (3), SiHPh_2 (4)). Complex 4 is in solution equilibrium with 1 and the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of their exchange have been characterized by NMR spectroscopy. Complex 1 is a catalyst for the hydrosilylation of a range of para-substituted benzaldehydes. Mechanistic studies on this reaction via multinuclear NMR spectroscopy are consistent with the intermediacy of a borohydrido-Ni-siloxyalkyl species

Fabrication and Performance of NiCuCoFeMn High Entropy Alloy Nanopastes for Brazing Inconel 718

Overview: High entropy alloys (HEAs) are a class of metallic alloys consisting of 5 plus elemental components and have four core effects - 1. High mixing entropy - 2. Sluggish diffusion kinetics - 3. High lattice distortion - 4. Cocktail effect; Boron-free, silicon-free brazing materials for nickel superalloys to avoid brittle intermetallic and eutectic phase formation; Size-dependent melting point depression can eliminate the need for boron, silicon and other melting point depressants; A Ni-Mn-Fe-Co-Cu HEA with low solidus and liquidus temperatures (1080 C and 1150 C) was developed; Low solidus and liquidus temperatures of the HEA combined with the nanoscale melting point depression in this study; Bulk HEA fabricated by induction melting of elemental powders; HEA nanoparticles (NPs) fabricated by ball milling of the HEA micropowder; Inconel 718 was laser brazed in air using the HEA and bulk and NP performances are compared

The social context of smoking: A qualitative study comparing smokers of high versus low socioeconomic position

Background: The reductions in smoking prevalence in a number of industrialised countries are accompanied by a strong social gap and associated health inequality. Groups such as the World Health Organisation emphasise the importance of exploring potential causal factors for smoking such as socio-economic context & position. There has been little effort to compare the social context of smoking for smokers of high versus lower socio-economic position (SEP) to consider how tobacco control efforts might reduce smoking-related health inequality. Method: Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants for eight focus groups. The groups were segregated by age, gender and SEP. Samples were selected from suburbs within the Sydney metropolitan area defined as either high or low SEP based on the Socio Economic Index for Areas. Emergent themes were analysed according to Poland's six dimensions of the social context of smoking. Differences according to SEP, age group and gender were explored. Results: While there was commonality in social experiences for smokers across groups, some important aspects of the social context of smoking varied. Smokers of high SEP appeared to be aware of particular social pressures not to smoke on five of the six social context dimensions (power, body, identity, consumption and place). Not only were some of those pressures absent for low SEP participants, there were additional influences within the social context which were pro-smoking. Conclusions: In order to narrow the health inequality gap associated with smoking, it is important to take account of the more pro-smoking social context experienced by low SEP smokers. Suggestions are made regarding social marketing campaigns, support for quit assistance and approaches to the regulation of smoking which may assist inminimising smoking-related health inequality