Linking Audiences to News: A Network Analysis of Chicago Websites

The mass media model, which sustained news and information in communities like Chicago for decades, is being replaced by a "new news ecosystem" consisting of hundreds of websites, podcasts, video streams and mobile applications. In 2009, The Chicago Community Trust set out to understand this ecosystem, assess its health and make investments in improving the flow of news and information in Chicagoland. The report you are reading is one of the products of the Trust's local information initiative, Community News Matters. "Linking Audiences to News: A Network Analysis of Chicago Websites" is one of the first -- perhaps the first -- research projects seeking to understand a local

Portrait of the Calvinist as a young killer : confessions, fanaticism, and satanic horror in Hogg's Justified Sinner

James Hogg's Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner innovated several important novel genres in the Romantic literary era. The novel centers around a young man, Robert Wringhim, who, along with his devilish double, Gil-Martin, goes on a religious-based killing spree in late 17th century and early 18th century Scotland. The chronicle of Wringhim's fall from righteousness, told by both an editor and in Robert's own words, is disturbing, ambiguous, and diabolically deceptive. I will first examine varying Scottish dialects as recorded in the book and how the interplay between them allows Hogg to represent the "many voices" of Scotland, and to challenge the notion that higher education equals virtue and goodness -- a study highly influenced by the aforementioned Bakhtinian theories. I will also examine several genres Justified Sinner both utilizes and satirizes: including gothic and horror fiction and confessions. Whereas many Romantic novels embraced the genres they found themselves in, Hogg's novel seems resistant to being confined a particular one. He plays with traits of genres to darkly humorous ends, and crafts a tale of suspense and terror that refuses to give readers closure of any tangible kinds. By manipulating what the novel should do with what it can do, Hogg asks uneasy questions about faith, spirituality, fanaticism, sin, guilt, confessing, the supernatural, and Scottish literary culture.Dr. Noah Heringman, Thesis Advisor.Includes bibliographical references (pages 60-61)

Physical and Chemical Defense Mechanisms in Aloe Barbadensis Against Insect Herbivores

Chapter 1: This chapter provides an overview of insect herbivore impacts on plants and plant defense mechanisms to combat them. I particularly focused on physical and chemical defenses in the broader sense. Chapter 2: This chapter describes the experiments that showed the effects of extracts from Aloe barbadensis on the growth and development of tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) and fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), model herbivores used to understand herbivore growth and plant defenses. This study shows that extracts from the Aloe differentially affected the growth and development of M. sexta and S. frugiperda. This chapter also gives insight on various growth and development traits used to accomplish these findings. Chapter 3: This chapter is focused on discussing the role of these Aloe extracts in the growth of fall army worm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) and wax content of A. barbadensis. In this study I show that the extracts, while had differential effects, on some extracts the caterpillars performed better during the larval and pupal stages, while others were neutral or inhibitory. I also shed light on the wax content and the effect it had on the feeding behaavior of S. frugiperda. This chapter will also show scanning electron microscopy images of Aloe barbadensis leaf surface and wax. Chapter 4: This chapter highlights conclusions and possible future works for identifying the Aloe barbadensis defense phenotype. Our results shed light into the possible reasons why Aloe barbadensis is not predated on much by insect herbivores and defenses that deter them. Secondary metabolites paired with surface wax possibly prevents Aloe barbadensis from sustaining heavy insect herbivore damage

Nixi: A Case Study of the Influences of China’s Economic Development on the Fringe of Tibet

On the eastern mountainside of Nixi cling several tall, red earthen houses, the winding road to Deqin cuts between; they face a swell in the middle of the valley where several more houses stand, and one in mid-construction. The two clusters of beautiful Tibetan houses are connected by a fairly recently added crushed stone road, walled in by rough stonework patched with cement. The village is surrounded by evergreens and blossoming mountain laurels. To the north the green mountains are staggered until they slowly fade into pale blue creases humbled by a high snowcapped range at the Tibetan border. To the east rises a bald mountain holy to the Nixi villagers and with a barren peak is appropriately called the grandfather and faces on the western side the grandmother peak where pines reach the summit. The city of Zhongdian lies only 15 miles to the south, hidden by a drastic snowcapped mountain daunted by black stone cliffs between the white snow-slides. There are only 11 families in Nixi, making up a population of 213 people, although on a typical day there are a couple dozen working elsewhere. The population of Nixi is of the Zang nationality, and dominantly Tibetan although several members have married outside their nationality. For as far back as the elders remember, Nixi has never been isolated; interregional relations, trade and outsourcing have always been a functional part of survival. But over the past decade a new change is coming with the introduction of new technologies, appealing job opportunities and an influential media. This paper will analyze recent history as how the villagers have adapted to survive, the villagers present fulfillment, and their hopes for the future. It is critical to remember throughout that cultural tradition, unique lifestyles and community organization go beyond profitability value but instead are valued because they are in existence as a fragment of a diverse whole

Module-level power converters for parallel connected photovoltaic arrays

A new solar technology with the capability to increase array-level power production is introduced by using simple integrated power converters that connect directly to photovoltaic (PV) panels is investigated. The power converters proposed here are full-bridge DC-DC converters with high voltage gain that operate with an open-loop control scheme. The outputs of these converters could then be directly connected to a grid-tie converter eliminating the need to connect panels in series to achieve the appropriate voltage. With a high-efficiency converter, the total system efficiency would increase even though one panel in the array may be compromised. The simulation results show that a highly-efficient converter is possible. To assist in experimentation, an auxilary [sic] circuit using a microcontroller was implemented to supply power and gate signals to the gate driver of the power converters. The design and construction of a transformer for use with the full-bridge converter is discussed. A novel transformer topology is utilized to increase converter efficiency. The converters were tested both in a laboratory environment and outdoors for solar data collection. Transient response, source regulation and load regulation analysis was performed. The maximum power points of the array were investigated for different insolation levels. Even when insolation differs substantially, the panel output power levels are within their individual maximum power levels when the total output is maximized even without independent power trackers. Analysis of both field data and random insolation indicate that the new approach does increase power generation and therefore system efficiency --Abstract, page iii

Reservation About Reservations: A Political History of Congress’ Regulation of the Native Tribes of Oklahoma

Congress did not correctly disestablish the Native American reservations in what is now the State of Oklahoma at the time of its rise to statehood according to the test created by the Supreme Court in Solem v. Bartlett (1984). This test requires that the Legislature include specific cession language in its enactments. This paper will examine the laws on the Oklahoma reservations. This examination will be used to argue that although Congress’ management of the First Nation peoples living in these enclaves may appear destructive by modern interpretations, none of the legislation formally terminated this area’s reservation status according to Supreme Court precedent

Remote Ocean Forcing on Interannual-to-Decadal Climate Variability through Inter-Basin Interactions

This dissertation explores the connection between ocean basins through the atmosphere by employing observational data analyses and a climate modeling approach. Sea surface temperature changes in the tropical Pacific, known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, can influence worldwide weather and sea surface temperatures in other ocean basins. For instance, tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures can impact the Atlantic and Indian Oceans through airflow changes along the equator. However, Atlantic and Indian Ocean sea surface temperature changes can also influence the tropical Pacific through similar processes. Therefore, it is challenging to identify the mechanisms of these remote connections between ocean basins due to two-way interconnections. To better understand how ocean basins are connected by the atmosphere, this dissertation uses climate models to simulate the climate response from ocean forcing. Results in this dissertation show that the three tropical oceans are more tightly connected than previously thought. After introducing the dissertation in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 shows how the Atlantic Ocean can cause long-lasting changes in Australia rainfall through teleconnections. Chapter 3 reveals that Atlantic sea surface temperatures can influence north Pacific sea surface temperatures through remote teleconnections. Lastly, Chapter 4 explores trends in rainfall in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean from the 1980s to the 2010s. The results in this dissertation provide a path for-ward to increase the forecasting capability of the El Niño Southern Oscillation and help the climate science community enhance our understanding of climate variability

Using Blended Learning to Improve the Mathematics Achievement of Students with High Incidence Disabilities in an Alternative Education School

Students with high incidence disabilities in the public school system often perform multiple grade levels below their typically-developing peers in mathematics achievement. These students exhibit lower levels of on-task behavior that limits their access to effective instruction, thus requiring instructional interventions that personalize learning, differentiate materials, and ultimately promote academic engagement. In recent years, the use of technology-mediated and computer-assisted instruction has shown to have positive results with students with disabilities. Blended learning, an intervention that combines face-to-face instruction with computer-based instruction, has been shown to improve the on-task behavior and achievement of students with disabilities. In Chapter One, a systematic review of the literature was conducted in an effort to locate blended learning math studies for secondary-level students with disabilities and to assess the scientific rigor of those studies. Twelve intervention studies were synthesized and categorized in three major areas: (a) online- and computer-based curricula for independent practice/instruction, (b) media-based interventions with video prompting, and (c) strategy instruction. Blended learning intervention studies that found positive results in math achievement and on-task behavior of students with disabilities utilized a station-rotation format. Additionally, studies that met the high standards of special education research (CEC, 2014) saw stronger gains for student math achievement. In Chapter Two, blended learning was implemented with three middle school students with emotional behavior disorders in a therapeutic setting. Using a multiple baseline across participants single case design, this study examined the relationship between blended learning mathematics instruction and student on-task behavior, teacher engagement, and mathematics achievement. Both student and teacher engagement increased with the use of station-rotation blended learning. Math achievement, measured through the AIMSweb curriculum-based math probes, improved for two of three student participants. Social validity questionnaires revealed that students and teacher enjoyed the blended learning intervention; however, continued use depended on properly functioning technology. Future research in the area of blended learning math instruction should strive to accurately measure on- and off-task behavior under the computer-based condition. Additionally, researchers should develop measurements of math achievement that accurately assess the content that is taught during instruction

ADAPTIVE BEAMSTEERING COGNITIVE RADAR WITH INTEGRATED SEARCH-AND-TRACK OF SWARM TARGETS

Unlike traditional radar systems, cognitive radars are designed to employ a perception-action cycle to continuously adapt to their environment. Adaptive beamsteering cognitive radar (AB-CRr) systems seek to improve detection and tracking performance by formulating a beam placement strategy adapted to their environment. Rather than employing traditional raster scanning in a search-scene, AB-CRr builds a probabilistic model of the target environment that enables it to more efficiently employ its limited resources to locate and track targets. In this thesis, we investigate methods for adapting the AB-CRr framework to detect and track large target swarms. This is achieved by integrating the properties of correlated-motion swarms into both the radar tracking model and AB-CRr’s underlying dynamic probability model. The results demonstrate that AB-CRr is capable of adapting its beamsteering strategy to efficiently perform resource balancing between search and tracking applications, while taking advantage of group structure and intra-swarm target correlation to resist large swarms overloading available resources.Ensign, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited