Dieudonné theory for Faltings' strict ϭ-modules

The theory of group schemes and their liftings to mixed characteristic valuation rings is well-developed. In [Fal02], a new equi-characteristic analogue of group schemes, known as group schemes with strict ๕-action, or strict ๕-modules, was proposed and developed, including Dieudonné theory. In [Abr04], their theory was studied over a complete discrete valuation ring. In this Thesis, a version of Dieudonné theory is developed for the strict ๕-modules of [Abr04] over a perfect field, using constructions of [Fon77], using very different methods from those deployed in [Fal02

Tennessee Tussle: The Struggle Over Tennessee\u27s Collective Bargaining Curtailment and Its Potential Future Impact

One representative referred to Tennessee\u27s teacher collective bargaining bill as ...the tail wagging the dog. Another said it signified a fight against socialistic bargaining. A lobbyist for the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) said it ...turn[ed] back the clock 35 years. The bill\u27s sponsor declared that the legislation would reverse the state teachers\u27 union\u27s strangle [on] the hope of education reform. Without a doubt, the Tennessee 107th General Assembly\u27s most contentious debate brought out hostile language from both sides. The final result, the Professional Educators Collaborative Conferencing Act of 2011 (PECCA), formalized collective bargaining\u27s replacement with collaborative conferencing, in which education employees and administrators discuss proposals through interest-based collaborative problem-solving. Opponents questioned the motives of the bill\u27s sponsors, viewing it as an attack on teachers and the unions\u27 previous political stances. Regardless of the truth of such convictions, detractors chafed while supporters hailed victory. This comment will explore the different versions of PECCA, how it became new law in Tennessee, and its possible impact on education in the state. It will also seek to demonstrate that although the bill\u27s passage revealed the sometimes unpleasant nature of making law, PECCA could bring a potentially meaningful and positive policy change on Tennessee\u27s education system

Debussy as Storyteller: Narrative Expansion in the Trois Chansons de Bilitis

Every song cycle presents its audience with a narrative. Such an idea is hardly new; indeed the idea of an unfolding plot or unifying concept (textual or musical) is central to the concept of the song cycle as opposed to a collection of songs, at least after the mid-nineteenth century. A great deal of musicological literature devoted to song cycles is aimed at demonstrating that they are cohesive wholes, often connected both musically by means of key relationships, motivic recall, and similar techniques , and textually, by means of the creation of an overarching plot or concept. One type of narrative results from a poetic unit being set to music in its complete state, without alteration. In an effort to demonstrate the internally cohesive qualities of these song cycles, typical analyses assume that the narrative is contained entirely with the musical cycle itself- that is, that it makes no external references

Modeling Content Lifespan in Online Social Networks Using Data Mining

Online Social Networks (OSNs) are integrated into business, entertainment, politics, and education; they are integrated into nearly every facet of our everyday lives. They have played essential roles in milestones for humanity, such as the social revolutions in certain countries, to more day-to-day activities, such as streaming entertaining or educational materials. Not surprisingly, social networks are the subject of study, not only for computer scientists, but also for economists, sociologists, political scientists, and psychologists, among others. In this dissertation, we build a model that is used to classify content on the OSNs of Reddit, 4chan, Flickr, and YouTube according the types of lifespan their content have and the popularity tiers that the content reaches. The proposed model is evaluated using 10-fold cross-validation, using data mining techniques of Sequential Minimal Optimization (SMO), which is a support vector machine algorithm, Decision Table, Naïve Bayes, and Random Forest. The run times and accuracies are compared across OSNs, models, and data mining algorithms. The peak/death category of Reddit content can be classified with 64% accuracy. The peak/death category of 4Chan content can be classified with 76% accuracy. The peak/death category of Flickr content can classified with 65% accuracy. We also used 10-fold cross-validation to measure the accuracy in which the popularity tier of content can be classified. The popularity tier of content on Reddit can be classified with 84% accuracy. The popularity tier of content on 4chan can be classified with 70% accuracy. The popularity tier of content on Flickr can be classified with 66% accuracy. The popularity tier of content on YouTube can be classified with only 48% accuracy. Our experiments compared the runtimes and accuracy of SMO, Naïve Bayes, Decision Table, and Random Forest to classify the lifespan of content on Reddit, 4chan, and Flickr as well as classify the popularity tier of content on Reddit, 4chan, Flickr, and YouTube. The experimental results indicate that SMO is capable of outperforming the other algorithms in runtime across all OSNs. Decision Table has the longest observed runtimes, failing to complete analysis before system crashes in some cases. The statistical analysis indicates, with 95% confidence, there is no statistically significant difference in accuracy between the algorithms across all OSNs. Reddit content was shown, with 95% confidence, to be the OSN least likely to be misclassified. All other OSNs, were shown to have no statistically significant difference in terms of their content being more or less likely to be misclassified when compared pairwise with each other

An Experimental Study of the Effects of Phonic Games in Reading

It was the purpose of this study to determine if games designed to teach phonics would improve phonetic skills as measured on the Lyons and Carnahan Developmental Reading Test. The null hypothesis investigated was that there would be no difference between groups receiving classroom game experience in phonic skills and groups receiving workbook experiences in phonic skills

Malpractice Actions without Expert Medical Testimony

Fear of malpractice actions against them is causing physicians to run scared. Some physicians now say that they feel that the threat of legal action has materially altered the practice of medicine. Defensively, some medical doctors say that they are ordering additional X-rays and lab tests, just to have them on record. Others say they are just plain afraid to try new techniques and diagnostic treatments because of the specter of a malpractice action. Innovative techniques carry additional risks, and some doctors admit that in some risky situations they merely do what will keep them out of trouble rather than do what is best for the patient. Some other, more candid physicians admit that some doctors are not recording everything in patients\u27 records for fear that the information some day will be used against them. To what extent is the fear of a malpractice action justified

Farm-scale Production of Fuel Ethanol and Distillers\u27 Wet Grains from Corn and Corn-whey Mixtures

Since the Arab oil embargo of 1973, we have become increasingly aware of the finite nature of our petroleum supplies. Current studies estimate that our supplies of petroleum will be depleted in the next 25 to 50 years. As supplies diminish and prices rise, we will need alternate forms of energy to take up the slack. One of the leading alternatives is the use of biomass in the production of liquid fuel that is, conversion of cellulose, starch, glucose, or other carbohydrates to ethanol. In the United States, the fuel ethanol industry is still in its infancy. Approximately a dozen large scale plants provide the bulk of the fuel ethanol currently used for octane enhancement and gasohol production. Numerous other large-scale plants are on the drawing board. These larger plants use ethanol production processes which have been extensively studied and characterized. On the other end of the spectrum are the smaller scale, farm or cooperative plants, which produce 0.7 to 4 million liters of ethanol per year. This size plant has only been in existence for 3 - 4 years and, consequently, there is a distinct lack of research information pertaining to them. While the overall process of ethanol production is similar for large and small scale plants, there exists many significant differences between the two scales. It is in these areas of difference where the process must be modernized and optimized before true technical and economical feasibility can be achieved for small scale plants. My research was based upon the small-scale-production of fuel ethanol from biomass. This size operation can be used by large farms, farm-based cooperatives, or community sized plants. The small plant size significantly reduces transportation costs, as the surrounding area supplies the raw materials and uses the products. thus, a community and the surrounding area could substantially reduce their dependence on foreign energy sources, provide a new and stable market for agricultural products, provide new jobs, and stimulate the local economy by adopting a locally based fuel alcohol production system. However, before this industry can be fully developed, the production of fuel ethanol must be modernized so that the process can be carried out more efficiently. It was the purpose of this study, then, to optimize the small-scale production of ethanol by incorporating new technologies into the basic process of fuel ethanol production from biomass. The primary emphasis of my research was to optimize the cooking, fermentation, and centrifugation processes involved in the production of fuel ethanol. This involved an initial study of existing plant procedures and operations for the purpose of collecting baseline data on plant performance. Utilizing this data, plant components, procedures, and feedstocks were then altered so that the process could be optimized in terms of time, temperature, energy, cost, yield, and other significant parameters