Urban cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning enhancement has been well documented for Atlanta, Georgia. This study builds on those investigations using modeling techniques. Numerous styles of analyses and regressions were conducted to establish patterns of CG lightning over the North Georgia region. CG lightning demonstrated clustering for all years of data: 1995-2008. However, the first strike of each day with lightning was randomly distributed according to a Poisson distribution, demonstrating the clustering is not due to permanent features. Attempts were unsuccessful to model CG lightning clusters as either a Matern or Thomas Poisson point process. Regressions of CG lightning with built environment covariates- FAA aviation obstacle locations and heights, population density, road length density, distance to the center of Atlanta, PM10 emissions data, distance to highways, and coal plant locations- as well as natural variables such as projected coordinate easting, northing, and NWS severe thunderstorm status were executed at resolutions of 1km, 2km, 4km, and 8km. Analyses demonstrated significantly higher flash frequency near FAA aviation obstacles. With an R2 value of 0.22, taller obstacles are struck more frequently than shorter obstacles. Regressions with road length density revealed little explanatory power (maximum R2=0.19), but demonstrated a positive correlation independent of scale. A multi-level visualization technique demonstrates the road length density correlation loses accuracy within dense urban corridors. Distance from Atlanta shows a negative correlation, but only at larger scales. Subsetting both regressions by direction reveals a significant difference on the Eastern and Western sides of Atlanta. Subsetting both regressions only to Gwinnett County, Georgia illustrates road length density has no correlation with flash frequency, and distance to Atlanta is still a scale dependent process. PM10 emissions analysis suggests that CG amplification is most likely to occur between 15 and 33µg/m3, but the data has significant flash frequency variability even within these PM10 levels. Immediate proximity to highways proves not to be a significant variable in modeling flash frequency at any resolution. Coal plant proximity has the potential to enhance CG flash frequency, but the inherent variability in frequency precludes a strong p-value compared to randomly generated areas. However, if the data is subset by flashes/day over 500, then the areas close to coal plants have significantly more lightning (p=2.19e-5). Using a subset of the twenty-five highest frequency flash days in three equal area study areas (Haralson and Polk Counties representing rural, Cobb County representing developed and upwind of Atlanta, and Gwinnett County representing downwind and developed) Mann-Whitney tests are completed to determine if NWS severe thunderstorm storms are significantly different in CG flash frequency. In each study area, the NWS severe thunderstorms are not significantly different in flash frequency than non-severe storms. This analysis also suggests spatial tendencies of high frequency storms in each area. This multi-scale analysis also suggests that when examining CG lightning, more than one scale of examination should be used. Some processes of lightning amplification appear to occur at very local scales (500m), whereas others are coarser (up to 8km). There appears to be no goldilocks scale of analysis for CG lightning. However, if only one resolution is to be used, 2km is recommended. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Geography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 20, 2012. / Atlanta, CG Lightning, ggplot, MAUP, NLDN, Urban Lightning / Includes bibliographical references. / James B. Elsner, Professor Directing Thesis; Victor Mesev, Committee Member; Tetsuo Kobayashi, Committee Member.

Over the course of the past few decades, the guitar works of J.K. Mertz have become popular amongst performing guitarists. In particular, Fantaisie Hongroise, Op. 65, No.1 has seen a meteoric rise both to the concert and competition stage. This music lies firmly within the musical idiom of style hongrois, alongside such other iconic works as Johannes Brahms's Hungarian Dances and Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies. To date, no scholarly research has been conducted regarding Mertz with the purpose of placing his contributions within the style hongrois, nor has there been any attempt to identify the particular stylistic devices that make it so. The aim of this document is threefold. First, to provide a brief overview of the style hongrois to provide historical perspective. Secondly, to illustrate key points of usage of the style hongrois by both Liszt and Brahms in order to form a comparative baseline. Lastly, to examine the Fantaisie Hongroise, identify stylistic elements, and provide some context for the piece based upon both technical considerations and musical input from a broader understanding of the style hongrois. / A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 26, 2012. / Fantaisie, Fantasy, Hongroise, Hungarian, Mertz / Includes bibliographical references. / Bruce Holzman, Professor Directing Treatise; James Mathes, Outside Committee Member; Melanie Punter, Committee Member.

The emerging emphasis and benefits of distributed generation on smaller scale networks has prompted much attention and focus to research in this field. Much of the research that has grown in distributed generation has also stimulated the development of simulation software and techniques. Testing and verification of these distributed power networks is a complex task and real hardware testing is often desired. This is where simulation methods such as hardware-in-the-loop become important in which an actual hardware unit can be interfaced with a software simulated environment to verify proper functionality. In this thesis, a simulation technique is taken one step further by utilizing a hardware-in-the-loop technique to emulate the output voltage of a generator system interfaced to a scaled hardware distributed power system for testing. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate a new method of testing a virtually simulated generation system supplying a scaled distributed power system in hardware. This task is performed by using the Non-Linear Loads Test Bed developed by the Energy Conversion and Integration Thrust at the Center for Advanced Power Systems. This test bed consists of a series of real hardware developed converters consistent with the Navy's All-Electric-Ship proposed power system to perform various tests on controls and stability under the expected non-linear load environment of the Navy weaponry. This test bed can also explore other distributed power system research topics and serves as a flexible hardware unit for a variety of tests. In this thesis, the test bed will be utilized to perform and validate this newly developed method of generator system emulation. In this thesis, the dynamics of a high speed permanent magnet generator directly coupled with a micro turbine are virtually simulated on an FPGA in real-time. The calculated output stator voltage will then serve as a reference for a controllable three phase inverter at the input of the test bed that will emulate and reproduce these voltages on real hardware. The output of the inverter is then connected with the rest of the test bed and can consist of a variety of distributed system topologies for many testing scenarios. The idea is that the distributed power system under test in hardware can also integrate real generator system dynamics without physically involving an actual generator system. The benefits of successful generator system emulation are vast and lead to much more detailed system studies without the draw backs of needing physical generator units. Some of these advantages are safety, reduced costs, and the ability of scaling while still preserving the appropriate system dynamics. This thesis will introduce the ideas behind generator emulation and explain the process and necessary steps to obtaining such an objective. It will also demonstrate real results and verification of numerical values in real-time. The final goal of this thesis is to introduce this new idea and show that it is in fact obtainable and can prove to be a highly useful tool in the simulation and verification of distributed power systems. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 22, 2012. / FPGA, Generator Emulation, Hardware-in-the-Loop, Real-Time / Includes bibliographical references. / Chris S. Edrington, Professor Directing Thesis; Simon Y. Foo, Committee Member; Helen Li, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of recorded lullabies on infants undergoing phototherapy. Infants undergo phototherapy to treat hyperbilirubinemia, more commonly known as neonatal jaundice. This study was a pre-test post-test design with participants (N=24) randomized by gender into two groups (n=6 males, 6 females per group), experimental and control. The music intervention consisted of 20 minutes of recorded lullabies at a random time in the morning and afternoon. Dependent variables included bilirubin levels, days of hospitalization and phototherapy, behavioral observation on crying, a nurse survey on infant behavior state, and a post treatment parent survey on infant characteristics. A two-tailed Mann Whitney U test revealed that the experimental group had significantly greater scores for the average rating of behavior state as measured by nurse surveys. No significant differences were found on any of the other measures either by group or by gender. Implications for future research are discussed. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music. / Summer Semester, 2012. / July 2, 2012. / bilirubin, hyperbilirubinemia, jaundice, music therapy, newborn, phototherapy / Includes bibliographical references. / Jayne M. Standley, Professor Directing Thesis; Dianne Gregory, Committee Member; Alice-Ann Darrow, Committee Member.

This dissertation presents and evaluates the use of geographic techniques for understanding the role of environmental variables as they relate to the odds of settlements being targeted for attack within a civil conflict. Geospatial technologies are demonstrated for their utility in deriving environmental variables that are entered into statistical models in order to explore relationships between the environmental landscape variables and conflict incidence. The methodologies presented offer novel approaches for the disaggregation of spatial as well as longitudinal variation in statistical relationships when applied to the sub-national analysis of conflict, for which most hypotheses do not account for the timing of when factors will be relevant or for describing geographical variation in the strength of these relationships. This dissertation contributes to research on the sub-national analysis of conflict by demonstrating techniques that foster deeper consideration of how spatial and temporal variation may impact otherwise static theory. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Geography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2011. / September 22, 2011. / Conflict, Counterinsurgency, Darfur, GIS, Remote Sensing, Subnational / Includes bibliographical references. / Tingting Zhao, Professor Directing Dissertation; William H. Moore, University Representative; Victor Mesev, Committee Member; James Elsner, Committee Member.

Natural organic matter (NOM) exists as a highly functionalized, polydisperse and complex mixture of organic compounds derived from decaying plan and animal detritus. NOM has been characterized by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) for approximately the past 10 years. Over that time advancements in transfer optics and ICR cell technology have resulted in improvements in sensitivity, dynamic range, mass accuracy, and signal-to-noise; however, ionization techniques for NOM characterization have not improved significantly. Typically, NOM is ionized by negative ion electrospray (ESI). ESI is amenable to NOM characterization because the majority of NOM is highly polar; however, important fractions of NOM are not ionizable by ESI and are therefore remain uncharacterized at the molecular level. The work presented is devoted to novel ionization methods for two of the most under characterized fractions of NOM by FT-ICR MS. Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) may be selectively ionized by positive ion atmospheric pressure photoionization. Typically, DON is not characterized by FT-ICR MS because ESI does not efficiently ionize DON relative to the C, H, and O component of NOM. Black carbon, including biochar may be ionized by desorption atmospheric pressure photoionization. Biochar has defied molecular level characterization by FT-ICR MS because, as temperature of thermal degradation increases, the solubility of char in common solvents decreases. Chapter 1 is a brief introduction to natural organic matter including a short overview of two major components of DOM that remain largely uncharacterized at the molecular level, dissolved organic nitrogen and black carbon. Chapter 2 is a brief introduction to FT-ICR MS principles and establishes why FT-ICR MS is necessary for characterization of complex mixtures such as DOM. In Chapter 3, positive ion APPI is established as a selective ionization method for DON. DON has an important role in biogeochemistry; however, it remains largely uncharacterized by FT-ICR MS due to inefficient ionization relative to dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Positive ion APPI dramatically increases S/N of DON ions compared with negative ion ESI. Extensive molecular characterization of DON may now be conducted, including tandem mass spectrometry to reveal structural information about DON ions of a single m/z. Chapter 4 and 5 are applications of positive ion FT-ICR MS for characterization of wastewater-derived DON before and after treatment by advanced oxidation processes and algal remediation, and characterization of DON treated by microbes. An important factor in the bioavailability of organic nitrogen is composition. Large, aromatic compounds that are not available to algae for uptake in the untreated sample are degraded to more labile compounds that are bioavailable. Furthermore, labile DON may be used by microbes and converted to refractory compounds. Chapter 6 focuses on biochar, an important natural product for the agricultural and fuel industries. Black carbon also represents a significant long-term sink for atmospheric carbon. Characterization of biochar is important for understanding how it interacts in the environment. Many questions are yet to be answered about how char is degraded after initial formation. To date, only the water-soluble fraction of char is characterized at the molecular level by FT-ICR MS. As the temperature of char formation increases, chars become insoluble in common solvents. In Chapter 5, the implementation of desorption atmospheric pressure photoionization (DAPPI) to characterize intact chars is described. DAPPI is an ambient ionization method that does not require sample preparation or separation. The elemental composition of a parent oak, oak combusted at 250 °C, and oak 400 °C are determined by DAPPI coupled to FT-ICR MS. The data show the parent material is mostly composed of lignin- and cellulose-like compounds. As the oak is thermally degraded, the compounds become more aromatic. At 400 °C the oak has lost all of its original identifiable components and is composed of mostly aromatic compounds. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2011. / August 11, 2011. / APPI, DOM, FT-ICR MS, Mass Spectrometry, NOM / Includes bibliographical references. / William T. Cooper, Professor Directing Dissertation; Markus Huettel, University Representative; Naresh Dalal, Committee Member; John G. Dorsey, Committee Member; Alan G. Marshall, Committee Member.

Prior research on line of business concentration has employed a number of measures, including the often used Hirschman-Herfindahl Index (HHI), which typically does not account for correlation across lines of business. In the first essay of the dissertation, based on the methodology used in modern portfolio theory, I develop a modified version of the HHI that accounts for potential line of business correlation. I test this more refined method using statutory insurance data, and find that the value of the modified HHI differs significantly from the value of the traditional HHI. This shift in concentration is non-linear, and provides greater detail on the diversification decision of firms. I also find that a number of firm characteristics, including size, premium growth, other forms of concentration, and organizational form, significantly affect the difference between the modified and traditional HHI values. Finally, I provide an initial test of the modified HHI using a prior study that employed the traditional HHI. The modified measure alters the results of this study. This dissertaiton has important implications for researchers studying firm concentration related to a variety of firm factors, as well as to insurers considering diversification decisions into independent versus related lines of insurance. Enterprise risk management (ERM) is being implemented more frequently by insurance firms, and regulators and ratings agencies are placing greater emphasis on the effectiveness of firm risk management. The second dissertation essay uses ERM ratings data from Standard and Poor's Ratings Direct combined with the NAIC property and casualty insurance annual statements to identify insurers that do and do not obtain ERM program ratings. I examine which firm characteristics are associated with obtaining an ERM rating, test if ERM rated firms jointly manage firm risk using multiple risk management techniques, and test if ERM rated firms are more resilient to shocks than non rated firms. I find that several firm characteristics are significantly related to an ERM rating, including larger and publicly traded firms. I find that the risk management techniques of ERM rated firms are jointly significant in explaining firm risk, while there is no finding of joint significance for non-ERM rated firms. Finally, I find that firms with an ERM rating experience on average fewer shocks and better performance in the variables that underlie shocks than non-ERM rated firms. I perform ERM tests on a larger sample than most prior research, develop testable hypotheses related to ERM, and provide a structure for future researchers to identify ERM behavior. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Risk Management/Insurance, Real Estate, and Legal Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 27, 2012. / correlation, enterprise, insurance, interrelated, management, risk / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathleen A. McCullough, Professor Directing Dissertation; Pamela Coats, University Representative; Patricia Born, Committee Member; Cassandra R. Cole, Committee Member.

Prior studies about preservice and inservice teachers have examined their beliefs in the context of pedagogy and teacher-student interactions. However, preservice and inservice teachers' occupational beliefs have been neglected in the research literature. Furthermore, studies comparing the occupational beliefs of preservice and inservice teachers are almost non-existent. Comparing the occupational beliefs of preservice and inservice teachers is important because both sets of such beliefs may ultimately affect teacher attrition. This study compared the beliefs of 206 preservice teachers with 165 inservice teachers. I examined beliefs about teaching as an occupation and professional commitment. Survey data were analyzed (e.g., frequencies, bivariate correlations, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis) regarding preservice teachers' perceptions of teacher training, socialization, and beliefs about unions. Seven major factors were hypothesized to be associated with preservice teacher's occupational beliefs: (a) control over instruction, (b) collaboration with colleagues, (c) commitment to the profession, (d) instructional preparedness, (e) occupational despair, (f) unions, and (g) professional development. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis was used to investigate factorial invariance between preservice and inservice teacher groups. Results of multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses indicated highly comparable factorial structures of teachers' occupational beliefs for the two groups, although the hypothesized structure fit preservice teachers better. Findings provide strong evidence that the occupational factors of teaching should be included into future preservice teacher training to possibly decrease attrition. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2011. / October 27, 2011. / Beliefs, Comparing Preservice and Inservice, Inservice, Occupational Beliefs, Preservice, Teacher Education / Includes bibliographical references. / Susan Losh, Professor Directing Dissertation; Patrice Iatarola, University Representative; Jeannine Turner, Committee Member; Beth Phillips, Committee Member.

Multiferroics are materials which exhibit at least two or all three of the ferroic (ferroelectric, ferromagnetic and ferroelastic) orders co-existing in them, and are of high current interest in both the fundamental research and in the discovery of new multifunctional materials. This dissertation presents thermomagnetic, dielectric and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies on some new multiferroics. The primary focus of this work is on these four compounds: [(CH3)2NH2]Mn(HCOO)3, K3Fe5F15, Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3, and MnV2O4. Chapter 3 discusses our discovery of multiferroic behavior of the metal-organic framework (MOF) compound dimethylammonium manganese formate, [(CH3)2NH2]Mn(HCOO)3, with the aid of single crystal heat capacity and EPR measurements on the compound. Simultaneous occurrence of ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic long-range orders in this compound established its multiferroic nature. Chapter 4 describes the multiferroic nature of the `tetragonal tungsten bronze'-type ferroelectric potassium iron fluoride, K3Fe5F15, studied by magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, dielectric and EPR characterization of single crystal and polycrystalline samples. A weak ferromagnetic (FM) ordering due to spin canting caused by the antisymmetric exchange interaction between the Fe ions, and its influence on the dielectric constant evident by the observation of an anomaly around the FM ordering temperature, together indicate an intrinsic magnetoelectric coupling present in this compound. Chapter 5 describes multiferroic behavior of the complex oxide perovskite lead iron niobate, Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 abbreviated as PFN. Systematic (9.4, 34, 381, 683 GHz) EPR and magnetic susceptibility measurements on polycrystalline PFN samples show an antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering, the presence of a small finite internal field well above the AFM ordering temperature, and the first observation of an anomaly in the susceptibility near the ferroelectric Curie point, together implying the presence of magnetoelectric effect. Chapter 6 presents ac and dc magnetic susceptibility experiments on the magnetoelastic spinel compound manganese vanadate, MnV2O4. The compound is shown to exhibit a re-entrant spin glass behavior. The results and perspectives presented here should contribute to the advancement and fundamental understanding of multiferroic materials. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2011. / October 14, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references. / Naresh Dalal, Professor Directing Dissertation; James Brooks, University Representative; Susan Latturner, Committee Member; Oliver Steinbock, Committee Member; Sir Harold Kroto, Committee Member.

The practice of music arranging has been in existence for centuries. With respect to percussion, transcriptions of classical works were the initial source of repertoire expansion during the 1930s, beginning with the marimba. Since that time percussion arrangements have evolved to encompass works from jazz, pop, and world musics, and have grown to include various instrumentations of differing sizes. However, it is not nearly as common to encounter a percussion arrangement of a living composer's music. This treatise seeks to propose three new percussion ensemble arrangements of classical works from living composers, with a focus on non-percussion chamber works by minimalist composers and the subsequent re-orchestrations of these works into the percussion ensemble medium using both small and large instrumentations. The works presented in the treatise areEight Linesby Steve Reich,Metamorphoses 1-5by Philip Glass, andPhrygian Gatesby John Adams. Initially, a brief historical perspective will be given on the history of minimalism along with a biographical sketch of each composer, the musical and cultural influences present in the aforementioned pieces, and finally how minimalist music transfers to percussion instruments. Compositional styles, instrumentation, performance ramifications, and issues with respect to transcription and orchestration will then be examined. In addition, logistics regarding stage setups involving the percussion instruments in each arrangement will be discussed, as they affect the performance of each work. Full scores of each arrangement conclude each chapter as evidence of research based upon musical analysis, rehearsals, performances, and personal recordings. / A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 14, 2012. / percussion arrangements, percussion ensemble / Includes bibliographical references. / John W. Parks, IV, Professor Directing Treatise; Michael B. Bakan, University Representative; John Drew, Committee Member; Deborah Bish, Committee Member.