The emotion hypothesis of startle eyeblink modification posits that potentiated eyeblinks are observed in response to fear/disgust (aversive) pictures and eyeblink inhibition occurs in response to pleasant (appetitive) pictures due to the degree to which the stimuli match with the aversive startle probe. Stimuli high in arousal elicit exaggerated responses. Four studies sought to investigate the effect of angering pictures on the startle eyeblink response. Three potential hypotheses were posed: 1) given anger's high levels of arousal and negativity, eyeblinks will be potentiated like those to fear/disgust pictures; 2) given anger's arousing and appetitive qualities, eyeblinks will be inhibited like those to pleasant pictures; 3) anger's arousal, negativity, and approach qualities will balance each other out causing eyeblinks resembling those in response to neutral pictures. Study 1 supported the third hypothesis in that eyeblinks to angering and neutral pictures did not differ, despite angering pictures being rated higher on arousal and anger and lower in valence. These results replicated in Study 2 with a different set of angering pictures. Also, Study 2 demonstrated that dysphoric participants exhibited potentiated eyeblinks during angering pictures much like eyeblinks during fear/disgust stimuli, whereas non-dysphoric participants did not. Ratings of pictures on arousal, valence, and anger did not differ between groups. Constructive patriotism related to inhibited eyeblinks during angering pictures. Study 3 found that dysphoric participants rated angering pictures higher in fear than did non-dysophoric participants, suggesting that the potentiated eyeblinks observed in Study 2 were a result of greater perceived fear. Study 4 again showed that eyeblinks during angering and neutral pictures did not differ, and that constructive patriotism related to inhibited eyeblinks. Taken together, results are consistent with the third hypothesis and suggest that angering stimuli elicit eyeblinks much like those to neutral stimuli due to the competing influences of arousal, valence, and motivation on the startle eyeblink reflex.

Real-time wave forecasts are critical to a variety of coastal and offshore opera- tions. NOAA’s global wave forecasts, at present, do not extend into many coastal regions of interest. Even after more than two decades of the historical Exxon Valdez disaster, Cook Inlet (CI) and Prince William Sound (PWS) are regions that suffer from a lack of accurate wave forecast information. This dissertation develops high- resolution integrated wave forecasting schemes for these regions in order to meet the critical requirements associated with shipping, commercial and sport fishing vessel safety, and oil spill response. This dissertation also performs a detailed qualitative and quantitative assessment of the impact of various forcing functions on wave pre- dictions, and develops maps showing extreme variations in significant wave heights (SWHs). For instance, it is found that the SWH could vary by as much as 1 m in the northern CI region in the presence of currents (hence justifying the need for integration of the wave model with a circulation model). Such maps can be useful for several engineering operations, and could also serve as guidance tool as to what can be expected in certain regions. Aside from the system development, the issue of forecast reliability is also addressed for PWS region in the context of the associated uncertainty which confronts the manager of engineering operations or other planners. For this purpose, high-resolution 36-h daily forecasts of SWHs are compared with measurements from buoys and satellites for about a year. The results show that 70% of the peak SWHs in the range 5-8 m were predicted with an accuracy of 15% or less for a forecast lead time of 9 h. On average, results indicate 70% or greater likelihood of the prediction falling within a tolerance of ±(1*RMSE) for all lead times. This analysis could not be performed for CI due to lack of data sources.

Bargaining is a process to decide how to divide shared resources between two or more players. And axiomatic bargaining specifies desirable and simple properties the outcome of the bargaining should satisfy and identifies the solution that produces this outcome. This approach was first developed by John Nash in his seminal work(Nash 1950). Since then, numerous studies have been done on bargaining problems with convex feasible set or with non-convex but comprehensive feasible set. There is, however, little work on finite bargaining problems. In this dissertation, we study finite bargaining problems systematically by extending the standard bargaining model to the one consisting of all finite bargaining problems. For our bargaining problems, we first propose the Nash, Maximin, Leximin, Maxiproportionalmin, Lexiproportianlmin solutions, which are the counterparts of those that have been studied extensively in both convex and non-convex but comprehensive problems. We then axiomatically characterize these solutions in our context. We next introduce two new solutions, the maximin-utilitarian solution and the utilitarian-maximin solution, each of which combines the maximin solution and utilitarian solution in different ways. The maximin-utilitarian solution selects the alternatives from the maximin solution that have the greatest sum of individuals’ utilities, and the utilitarian-maximin solution selects the maximin alternatives from the utilitarian solution. These two solutions attempt to combine two important but very different ethical principles to produce compromised solutions to bargaining problems. Finally, we discuss several variants of the egalitarian solution. The egalitarian solution in finite bargaining problems is more complicated than its counterpart in either convex or non-convex but comprehensive bargaining problems. Given its complexity in our context, we start our inquiry by investigating two-person, finite bargaining problems, and then extend some of the analysis to n-person, finite bargaining problems. Our analysis of finite bargaining problems and axiomatic characterizations of the extensions of various standard solutions of convex/non-convex but comprehensive bargaining problems to finite bargaining problems will shed new light on the behavior of these solutions. Our new solutions will expand our understanding of the bargaining theory and distributive justice from a different perspective.

Oil sands mining results in significant disturbances to natural ecosystems when soil and overburden materials are removed and stockpiled to provide access to mined materials. The mining process must be followed by land reclamation, whereby disturbed landscapes are recovered with the intent to replicate the performance of natural watersheds. Modeling hydrological processes in reclaimed landscapes is essential to assess the hydrological performance of the reclamation strategies as well as their evolution over time, and requires a reliable and continuous source of input data. In pursuit of simulating the various hydrological processes, such as soil moisture and actual evapotranspiration, a lumped generic system dynamics watershed (GSDW) model has been developed. The validity of the proposed model has been assessed in terms of its capacity to reproduce the hydrological behaviour of both reconstructed and natural watersheds.<p> Data availability is a major challenge that constrains not only the type of models used but also their predictive ability and accuracy. This study evaluates the utility of precipitation and temperature data from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) versus conventional platform data (e.g., meteorological station) for the hydrological modeling. Results indicate NARR data is a suitable alternative to local weather station data for simulating soil moisture patterns and evapotranspiration fluxes despite the high complexity involved in simulating such processes. Initially, the calibrated GSDW model was used along with available historical meteorological records, from both Environment Canada and NARR, to estimate the maximum soil moisture deficit and annual evapotranspiration fluxes. A probabilistic framework was adopted, and frequency curves of the maximum annual moisture deficit values were consequently constructed and used to assess the probability that various reconstructed and natural watersheds would provide the desired moisture demands. The study shows a tendency for the reconstructed watersheds to provide less moisture for evapotranspiration than natural systems. The probabilistic framework could be implemented to integrate information gained from mature natural watersheds (e.g., the natural system canopy) and transfer the results to newly reconstructed systems.<p> Finally, this study provided some insight into the sensitivity of soil moisture patterns and evapotranspiration to possible changes in the projected precipitation and air temperature in the 21st century. Climate scenarios were generated using daily, statistically downscaled precipitation and air temperature outputs from global climate models (CGCM3), under A2 and B1 emission scenarios, to simulate the corresponding soil moisture and evapotranspiration using the GSDW model. Study results suggest a decrease in the maximum annual moisture deficit will occur due to the expected increase in annual precipitation and air temperature patterns, whereas actual evapotranspiration and runoff are more likely to increase.

Oil sands mining results in significant disturbances to natural ecosystems when soil and overburden materials are removed and stockpiled to provide access to mined materials. The mining process must be followed by land reclamation, whereby disturbed landscapes are recovered with the intent to replicate the performance of natural watersheds. Modeling hydrological processes in reclaimed landscapes is essential to assess the hydrological performance of the reclamation strategies as well as their evolution over time, and requires a reliable and continuous source of input data. In pursuit of simulating the various hydrological processes, such as soil moisture and actual evapotranspiration, a lumped generic system dynamics watershed (GSDW) model has been developed. The validity of the proposed model has been assessed in terms of its capacity to reproduce the hydrological behaviour of both reconstructed and natural watersheds.<p> Data availability is a major challenge that constrains not only the type of models used but also their predictive ability and accuracy. This study evaluates the utility of precipitation and temperature data from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) versus conventional platform data (e.g., meteorological station) for the hydrological modeling. Results indicate NARR data is a suitable alternative to local weather station data for simulating soil moisture patterns and evapotranspiration fluxes despite the high complexity involved in simulating such processes. Initially, the calibrated GSDW model was used along with available historical meteorological records, from both Environment Canada and NARR, to estimate the maximum soil moisture deficit and annual evapotranspiration fluxes. A probabilistic framework was adopted, and frequency curves of the maximum annual moisture deficit values were consequently constructed and used to assess the probability that various reconstructed and natural watersheds would provide the desired moisture demands. The study shows a tendency for the reconstructed watersheds to provide less moisture for evapotranspiration than natural systems. The probabilistic framework could be implemented to integrate information gained from mature natural watersheds (e.g., the natural system canopy) and transfer the results to newly reconstructed systems.<p> Finally, this study provided some insight into the sensitivity of soil moisture patterns and evapotranspiration to possible changes in the projected precipitation and air temperature in the 21st century. Climate scenarios were generated using daily, statistically downscaled precipitation and air temperature outputs from global climate models (CGCM3), under A2 and B1 emission scenarios, to simulate the corresponding soil moisture and evapotranspiration using the GSDW model. Study results suggest a decrease in the maximum annual moisture deficit will occur due to the expected increase in annual precipitation and air temperature patterns, whereas actual evapotranspiration and runoff are more likely to increase.

The aim of the study was to investigate how a community motivates and ensures the implementation of its values and how this document affected personnel of meaning, vision and daily operations. The study was based on semi-structured interviews, in which nine respondents were interviewed in a city in southern Sweden. Interviews dealt with three different themes, all concerned organization or set of values. The analysis was based partly on how organizations and institutions build up and maintain their legitimacy. The analysis was also explained by the new institutional theory and its concepts isomorphism. In conclusion, the study shows that the concept of value system is very subjective and means different things depending on which profession you belong to. The study also showed that officials of the municipality indicate that the values discussed continuously in operation. This picture did not fit at all agree with the care assistants who considered values almost never discussed. The study also showed that the implementation was not as successful as desired, then no time for reflection was. The study showed that the reason that there was an opportunity to reflect due to the time and resources were too scarce. Throughout officials related concepts in the study more to an organizational plan, when care assistants instead relate everything to the actual meeting with the care recipient. Instead of using values as a benchmark they instead used of the "inner compass" that consists of subjective norms and values.

Weather data are huge. Traditional visualization techniques are limited to show temperature trends. Pixel-based approaches could be used to visualize the huge amount of weather data and in process show the temperature trends. A prototype using this approach is built to make temperature data more understandable in changing trends. It is implemented using a 2D representation and many popular interaction techniques. It is a lightweight and reusable tool to visualize temperatures.

The undesirable expansion of concrete because of a reaction between alkalis and certain type of reactive siliceous aggregates, known as alkali-silica reactivity (ASR), continues to be a major problem across the entire world. The renewed interest to minimize distress resulting from ASR has emphasized the need to develop predictable modeling of concrete ASR behavior under field conditions. Current test methods are either incapable or need long testing periods in which to only offer rather limited predictive estimates of ASR behavior in a narrow and impractical band of field conditions. Therefore, an attempt has been made to formulate a robust performance approach based upon basic properties of aggregate and concrete ASR materials derived from dilatometry and a kinetic-based mathematical expressions for ASR behavior. Because ASR is largely an alkali as well as a thermally activated process, the use of rate theory (an Arrhenius relationship between temperature and the alkali solution concentration) on the dilatometer time-expansion relationship, provides a fundamental aggregate ASR material property known as “activation energy.” Activation energy is an indicator of aggregate reactivity which is a function of alkalinity, particle size, crystallinity, calcium concentration, and others. The studied concrete ASR material properties represent a combined effects of mixture related properties (e.g., water-cementitious ratio, porosity, presence of supplementary cementitious materials, etc.) and maturity. Therefore, the proposed performance-based approach provides a direct accountability for a variety of factors that affect ASR, such as aggregate reactivity (activation energy), temperature, moisture, calcium concentration, solution alkalinity, and water-cementitious material ratio. Based on the experimental results, the following conclusion can be drawn concerning the performance-based approach to evaluate ASR potential of aggregate and concrete using dilatometer method; (i) the concept of activation energy can be used to represent the reactivity of aggregate subjected to ASR, (ii) the activation energy depends on the reactivity of aggregate and phenomenological alkalinity of test solution, and (iii) The proposed performance-based model provides a means to predict ASR expansion development in concrete.

It has been proven by J.C.Criscione that constitutive relations(mixed approach) based on a set of five strain invariants (Beta-1, Beta-2, Beta-3, Beta-4, Beta-5) are useful and stable for experimentally determining response terms for transversely isotropic material. On the other hand, Rivlin’s classical model is an unsuitable choice for determining response terms due to the co-alignment of the five invariants (I1, I2, I3, I4, I5). Despite this, however, a mixed (Lagrangian and Eulerian) approach causes unnecessary computational time and requires intricate calculation in the constitutive relation. Through changing the way to approach the derivation of a constitutive relation, we have verified that using an Eulerian approach causes shorter computational time and simpler calculation than using a mixed approach does. We applied this approach to a boundary value problem under specific deformation, i.e. finite extension and torsion to a fiber reinforced circular cylinder. The results under this deformation show that the computational time by Eulerian is less than half of the time by mixed. The main reason for the difference is that we have to determine two unit vectors on the cross fiber direction from the right Cauchy Green deformation tensor at every radius of the cylinder when we use a mixed approach. On the contrary, we directly use the left Cauchy Green deformation tensor in the constitutive relation by the Eulerian approach without defining the two cross fiber vectors. Moreover, the computational time by the Eulerian approach is not influenced by the degree of deformation even in the case of computational time by the Eulerian approach, possibly becoming the same as the computational time by the mixed approach. This is from the theoretical thought that the mixed approach is almost the same as the Eulerian approach under small deformation. This new constitutive relation by Eulerian approach will have more advantages with regard to saving computational time as the deformation gets more complicated. Therefore, since the Eulerain approach effectively shortens computational time, this may enhance the computational tools required to approach the problems with greater degrees of anisotropy and viscoelasticity.

Results of spin density functional theory (SDFT) calculations were used to construct and check features of a generally applicable semi-quantitative approach to understanding magnetic coupling in gadolinium-containing molecules, clusters, and solids. Using fragments based on structures of metal-rich lanthanide compounds, we have investigated molecular and low-dimensional extended structures, and have shown that open-d-shell clusters facilitate strong ferromagnetic coupling whereas closed-d-shell systems prefer antiferromagnetic coupling. The qualitative features can be interpreted using a perturbative molecular orbital (PMO) model that focuses the influence of the 4f 7- d exchange interaction on the d-based molecular orbitals. The f-d exchange interaction, mediated by spin polarization of both filled and partially-filled metal-metal bonding orbitals, is described for the model system Gd3I6(OPH3)12 n+ using basic perturbation methods. This approach is successful for predicting the magnetic ground state for Gd2Cl3, a semiconducting system for which calculations predict antiferromagnetic ordering of the 4f 7 moments in a pattern consistent with published neutron diffraction data. An attempt to account for the calculated magnetic energies of spin patterns using an Ising model was unsuccessful, indicating that the Ising model is inappropriate. Instead, the d-electron mediated f-f exchange interaction was interpreted using our basic perturbation theory approach. Computed density of states and spin polarization information was used to support the perturbation-theoretic analysis. This method has also been successful evaluating the ground state for Gd[Gd6FeI12]. Using the model [Gd6CoI12](OPH3)6, which has three unpaired electrons in the HOMO, the 4f moments prefer spin alignment with the unpaired electrons in the system and the ferromagnetic 4f 7 spin arrangement is the ground state. We have extended our analysis of R6X12 clusters to include nonmetal interstitial atoms, the bioctahedral cluster compounds Gd10Cl17C4 and Gd10I16C4, and Gd5(O)(OPri)5. Finally, we have shown that we can successfully predict the ground state magnetic structures of several metallic and semiconducting Gd-containing compounds, Gd2Cl3, GdB2C2,alpha-Gd2S3, Gd5Si4, and Gd5Ge4, using semi-empirical calculations which closely simulates the exchange effects exerted by the 4f electrons. In a more speculative vein, ideas concerning the incorporation of anisotropic rare-earth metal atoms to the cluster framework are touched upon.