For several decades, a growing realization has evolved that a single entity often cannot address complex issues. Collaboration has been touted as an effective approach to addressing such issues and is generally defined as multiple parties jointly identifying problems, developing a shared vision for addressing those problems, and sharing resources and responsibilities for a determined solution. In spite of the growing literature regarding collaboration, the predominant focus has been on advocacy, leaving a void in the literature concerning the processes and behaviors involved in establishing community collaboration. In essence, the importance of collaboration is widely recognized; how to collaborate is not as noted. Therefore, it is essential to examine the experience of community collaboration. The purpose of this study was to investigate a collaborative community experience in the context of extension education for children, youth, and families at risk in four localities in Virginia. The following research questions were addressed: a) What has been the nature and experience of collaboration for Extension Leadership councils (ELCs) involved with children, youth, and families at risk (CYFAR) projects; b) What has contributed to successful collaboration in Extension education with the CYFAR projects; and c) What have been the challenges to collaboration for the CYFAR projects? The qualitative case study design utilized in-depth face-to-face interviews with seventeen community representatives in the selected localities involved in the experience. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcriptions were analyzed to determine themes, patterns, and common ways of thinking. Findings, which revealed that ELCs were primarily involved in situation analysis, illuminated the following perceived contributions to successful collaboration: having a process for involvement, addressing a need, commitment of those involved, leadership, and paid staff. Challenges to collaboration were identified as lack of time to commit, lack of understanding of collaboration, and pre-existing ways of thinking and acting. The results have implications for Cooperative Extension understanding how ELC involvement can occur in programming and the collaborative nature of their educational process with the community. The findings will also contribute to human service providers' understanding of contributions and challenges to collaboration and to the emerging body of knowledge on collaboration. / Ph. D.

Effective image compression requires a non-expansive discrete wavelet transform (DWT) be employed; consequently, image border extension is a critical issue. Ideally, the image border extension method should not introduce distortion under compression. It has been shown in literature that symmetric extension performs better than periodic extension. However, the non-expansive, symmetric extension using fast Fourier transform and circular convolution DWT methods require symmetric filters. This precludes orthogonal wavelets for image compression since they cannot simultaneously possess the desirable properties of orthogonality and symmetry. Thus, biorthogonal wavelets have been the de facto standard for image compression applications. The viability of symmetric extension with biorthogonal wavelets is the primary reason cited for their superior performance. Recent matrix-based techniques for computing a non-expansive DWT have suggested the possibility of implementing symmetric extension with orthogonal wavelets. For the first time, this thesis analyzes and compares orthogonal and biorthogonal wavelets with symmetric extension. Our results indicate a significant performance improvement for orthogonal wavelets when they employ symmetric extension. Furthermore, our analysis also identifies that linear (or near-linear) phase filters are critical to compression performance---an issue that has not been recognized to date. We also demonstrate that biorthogonal and orthogonal wavelets generate similar compression performance when they have similar filter properties and both employ symmetric extension. The biorthogonal wavelets indicate a slight performance advantage for low frequency images; however, this advantage is significantly smaller than recently published results and is explained in terms of wavelet properties not previously considered. / Master of Science

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No description available.

Let X be a Banach space and Y be a closed subspace of X. Given a bounded linear functional f on Y , the Hahn-Banach theorem guarantees that there exists a linear extension ˜ f 2 X of f which preserves the norm of f. But it does not state that such ˜ f is unique or not. If every f in Y does have a unique norm preserving extension ˜ f in X , we say that Y has the unique extension property, or, following P. R. Phelps, the property U in X. A. E. Taylor [17] and S. R. Foguel [7] had shown that every subspace Y of X has the unique norm-preserving extension property in X if and only if the dual space X is strictly convex. As known in [11], X is smooth if X is strictly convex. The converse does not hold in general unless X is reflexive. In this thesis, we show that if a subspace Y of a Banach space X has the unique extension property then the norm of Y is outward smooth in X. The converse holds when Y is reflexive. Note that our conditions are local, i.e., they depend on Y only, but not on X. Several related results are also derived. Our work extends and unifies recent results in literature.

Diss.--Mathematik--Berlin--Technische Universität, 1999. / Notes bibliogr. Bibliogr. p. 139-142. Index.

Thèse doctorat : Sciences et techniques des activités physiques et sportives. Physiologie / Biomécanique : Nantes : 2007. / Bibliographie f. 172-182.

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The Basin and Range province of western North America is a broad region of irregular topographic expression characterized by various styles of Cenozoic extension. Recent reprocessing and interpretation of a regional suite of industry seismic reflection profiles in southern Arizona, in the southern Basin and Range province of southwestern North America, have illuminated subsurface features related to Cenozoic crustal extension and show a detailed view of extensional processes in the southern Basin and Range. Seismic stratigraphic investigations on these profiles suggest a two-phase model for the evolution of the Catalina-Rincon metamorphic core complex, with an initial stage of isostatic core complex emplacement during detachment faulting that resulted in little topographic expression. This was followed, after a significant tectonic hiatus, by late-stage exhumation and flexural uplift of the metamorphic core complex controlled by younger high-angle faulting. Along-strike, upper-plate deformation in response to core complex emplacement was accommodated by the Santa Rita fault, south of the Catalina-Rincon metamorphic core complex. Finite-element models predicts early mechanical failure of the upper-plate of the detachment system to the south of the Catalina core complex. These models suggest that the Santa Rita fault is the result of a perturbation in the regional stress field caused by the Catalina detachment and the associated brittle failure of the upper plate from the extreme crustal extension associated with core-complex emplacement. These profiles, coupled with geologic and well control, indicate that the southwest-dipping Catalina detachment, the northwest-dipping Santa Rita fault, the east dipping Altar Valley fault, and the highly dissected Sierrita Mountains are all aspects of the same extensional event in the middle-Tertiary. These features all appear to merge into a broad zone of middle-crustal deformation and likely represent heterogeneous upper-crustal deformation in response to middle-to-lower crustal homogeneous deformation.

The purpose of this study was to determine Texas AgriLife Extension agents' perceptions of organic agriculture (OA) and implications for training. Primary variables of interest included level of interest in OA in their respective counties, previous training received, interest in future training, perception of OA and Texas AgriLife Extension's involvement in OA. A random sample of agents was selected (n = 151) and a response rate of 81.5 percent was achieved. A majority of agents indicated interest in OA in their respective counties had increased over the past five years (n = 60), but noted demand was still low (n = 39) to moderate (n = 42). Agents from urban or suburban counties reported higher levels of interests in OA than did agents from rural counties. Agents were most interested in training on organic soil fertility, insect, weed, and disease management and least interested in training on organic certification and transitioning to OA. Agents indicated traditional information resources would be the most useful delivery methods for communicating information about organic farming, which included print publications, a website with organic information and extension workshops. Agents' perceptions of OA and their perceptions of Texas AgriLife Extension's involvement in OA were measured using attitudinal statements using a five point summated scale with reliability estimates r = 0.76 and 0.76 respectively. It was found that agents neither agreed nor disagreed with statements affirming the viability of OA (M = 2.80) and statements advocating Texas AgriLife Extension's involvement in OA (M = 3.38). A stepwise multiple regression was run on the primary variables of interest to determine which variables predicted agents' interest in training. Perceptions of Texas AgriLife Extension's involvement, perceptions of OA, and current level of interest in their county accounted for over 50 percent of the variability. This research concluded that due to agents' general ambivalent attitude toward OA, Texas AgriLife Extension administration will need to advocate more training and programming in OA if they wish to increase their role in OA. For there to be any significant change in the advancement of OA, though, it will require a paradigm shift in the land grant university system (LGUS).