Uncertainty of predicted change in precipitation frequency and intensity motivates the scientific community to better understand, quantify, and model the possible outcome of dryland ecosystems. In pulse dependent ecosystems (i.e. monsoon driven) soil moisture is tightly linked to atmospheric processes. Here, I analyze three overarching questions; Q1) How does soil moisture presence or absence in a shallow or deep layer influence the surface energy budget and planetary boundary layer characteristics?, Q2) What is the role of vegetation on ecosystem albedo in the presence or absence of deep soil moisture?, Q3) Can we develop empirical relationships between soil moisture and the planetary boundary layer height to help evaluate the role of future precipitation changes in land surface atmosphere interactions?. To address these questions I use a conceptual framework based on the presence or absence of soil moisture in a shallow or deep layer. I define these layers by using root profiles and establish soil moisture thresholds for each layer using four years of observations from the Santa Rita Creosote Ameriflux site. Soil moisture drydown curves were used to establish the shallow layer threshold in the shallow layer, while NEE (Net Ecosystem Exchange of carbon dioxide) was used to define the deep soil moisture threshold. Four cases were generated using these thresholds: Case 1, dry shallow layer and dry deep layer; Case 2, wet shallow layer and dry deep layer; Case 3, wet shallow layer and wet deep layer, and Case 4 dry shallow and wet deep layer. Using this framework, I related data from the Ameriflux site SRC (Santa Rita Creosote) from 2008 to 2012 and from atmospheric soundings from the nearby Tucson Airport; conducted field campaigns during 2011 and 2012 to measure albedo from individual bare and canopy patches that were then evaluated in a grid to estimate the influence of deep moisture on albedo via vegetation cover change; and evaluated the potential of using a two-layer bucket model and empirical relationships to evaluate the link between deep soil moisture and the planetary boundary layer height under changing precipitation regime. My results indicate that (1) the presence or absence of water in two layers plays a role in surface energy dynamics, (2) soil moisture presence in the deep layer is linked with decreased ecosystem albedo and planetary boundary layer height, (3) deep moisture sustains vegetation greenness and decreases albedo, and (4) empirical relationships are useful in modeling planetary boundary layer height from dryland ecosystems. Based on these results we argue that deep soil moisture plays an important role in land surface-atmosphere interactions.

This dissertation combines performance analysis, rhetorical criticism, and psychoanalytical theory to analyze three performance “texts” as sites of haunting in post-9/11 America: Tony Kushner’s 2001 U.S. debut of Homebody/Kabul, the Broadway musical Wicked, and ABC’s television drama Lost. It contributes a nuanced, theorized reading of the civil implications of post-9/11 popular American culture as “more than memory” by demonstrating how these performances suggested “what might be” in ways that subverted Bush’s responses to the attacks. The first chapter reads Homebody/Kabul against the national addresses delivered by Bush in the first weeks after the attacks and argue that the 2001 New York Theatre Workshop performance created a space for audiences to reconsider the version of “mourning” encouraged by the Bush administration. The type of mourning modeled/enabled by Homebody/Kabul, I assert, is different from that against which Derrida warns. Rather than “silencing ghosts” (Gunn 82) through the integration of loss, Homebody/Kabul makes a space for conversing with, and models living with, ghosts. The second chapter argues that the Wicked’s Ozians are stuck in a state of melancholia, refusing to speak to/with the ghost of Elphaba. Because they refuse to reckon with Elphaba, they literally finish exactly where they began—with “No One Mourn[ing] the Wicked.” By reading Wicked against the celebratory rhetoric of the Bush administration after declaring “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq, we can understand the way the United States as a nation was (and may still be, in 2010) haunted by the Bush administration's failure to lead the nation in mourning effectively and ethically and by its incessant rhetoric of evil. The third chapter advocates for Lost as a hauntological reckoning with 9/11 that models ethical witnessing as a potentially generative meeting of human beings across cultures at the site of trauma. An alternative to the fear that the Bush administration encouraged leading up to Lost’s premiere and through its final season, ethical witnessing as modeled on Lost suggests that civilization stands to thrive where difference is honored—and risks toppling into chaos where the alternative “us against them” mentality (Other anxiety) prevails. / text

Utilizando como herramienta principal los conceptos foucaultianos de liberalismo y de racismo, la tesis los adapta al plano mundial. De esta forma, realiza un análisis del discurso de la administración George W. Bush y plantea que, a fin de aniquilar al enemigo en la Guerra Global contra el Terror, el mismo fue construido a partir de prácticas racistas que tuvieron en el lenguaje religioso su eje articulador. La emergencia del racismo, afirma la tesis, fue posible en el marco de un gobierno liberal mundial como modo de ejercicio de poder contemporáneo en el ámbito global.

This thesis examined all references to George Bush in Time, U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek in the time periods before and after the 1988 Republican National Convention in order to determine if there was a difference in how these newsmagazines portrayed Bush in these time periods. The hypothesis of this study: George Bush was portrayed more positively in the total coverage of these newsmagazines after the convention than he was portrayed prior to the convention.In order to determine this, a coder chose news stories from before and after the convention from the newsmagazines if they dealt primarily with the man George Bush or the campaign in general.All references to Bush were highlighted in the articles along with all statements made by Bush. Then, sources of these sentences with these references were determined and placed into one of three categories: newsmagazine, Bush or "Other." Coders were asked to evaluate the references to Bush as to whether the references placed Bush in a positive light, negative light or did not reflect him positively or negatively, neutral.The findings of this study show there was no apparent difference in the coverage of Bush between the time periods. The hypothesis was not supported. Additionally, the overall coverage of Bush was neutral and the newsmagazines were the source of the largest amount of references. / Department of Journalism

The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze how four Southern Baptist scholars: E.Y. Mullins, John Newport, Richard Cunningham, and L. Russ Bush, understood--whether explicitly or implicitly--the nature of philosophy. Three issues will be explored as a result of their metaphilosophical views. First, what is the relationship between faith and reason? Second, is a Christian philosophy possible? And third, what role does philosophy serve in the life of the believer? Chapter 1 sets the historical context regarding the issue of metaphilosophy. Philosophy has been traditionally understood as the love of wisdom. However, since the Enlightenment and the dawning of modern Western philosophy, how thinkers understood the nature of philosophy changed dramatically. As the natural sciences progressed rapidly in the advancement of knowledge, thinkers increasingly viewed philosophy as being in need of change regarding its method and purpose. By the time of the twentieth century, philosophy's identity was in a state of confusion and uncertainty. Chapter 2 analyzes the metaphilosophy of E. Y. Mullins. For Mullins, philosophy investigated the foundational questions of human existence and operated autonomously from science and religion. The data of philosophy included all of life, including the findings of the various fields of knowledge, and sought to unify all truth into a cohesive unit. The value of philosophy is found in its ability to go beyond the descriptions of science in order to interpret the world in which one lives. Chapter 3 analyzes the metaphilosophy of John Newport. According to Newport, philosophy is identified with worldview--the structure of one's beliefs about the world. One's worldview affects how one lives and operates within the world. Philosophy includes not only the analytic task of critiquing and clarifying ideas and beliefs, but also the synthetic task of incorporating beliefs into a coherent structure. Philosophy also involves analyzing the key-principles that underlie one's belief structure--those principles that are basic to an individual. Philosophy, or worldview, is valuable to the individual by helping one to make sense of life and to avoid bad decisions. Chapter 4 focuses on the metaphilosophy of Richard Cunningham. Cunningham views philosophy as one's attempt to understand his experience in all its facets. It is a deliberate action on the part of the individual, one that leads to the development of his worldview. Philosophy involves the traditional tasks of analysis and synthesis, and its value is found in its ability to afford one to live more effectively. Chapter 5 presents the metaphilosophy of L. Russ Bush. Bush's definition of philosophy is methodological in nature as he views philosophy more as an activity than as a way of life. One employs the laws of logic and other philosophical tasks when analyzing one's own or competing worldviews in order to judge between their similarities or differences, and their strengths or weaknesses. In a day and age where many individuals lazily accept their beliefs without deep reflection, philosophy helps one to hold to beliefs that are more consistent and it helps one to better dialogue with others of differing worldviews. Chapter 6 concludes the dissertation by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the four thinkers presented in the preceding chapters. Suggestions are provided on how to strengthen a Baptist view of metaphilosophy in light of the weaknesses provided. Finally, the current state of philosophy in the Southern Baptist Convention is provided.

Kangaroo paw inflorescences stored dry at 0 to 1 Degrees Celsius for 14 days have been found previously to have substantially reduced post-storage vase life. In this project, experiments were conducted to quantify the vase life of dry, stored Kangaroo paw flowers following storage at either 0, 7.5 or 13 Degrees Celsius for up to four weeks. the aim of these experiments was to determine a dry storage temperature suitable for commercial use. experiments were carried out using two cultivars of Kangaroo paw, 'Bush Dawn' and 'Big Red'. For each cultivar, vase life was assessed by (1) determining the time taken for each flower to lose 20% of its initial fresh weight and (2) determining the time taken for 10% of the inflorescence to become to discoloured. Vase life studies were carried out a 22 Degrees Celsius prior to and following removal from low temperature storage and flowers were weighed, inflorescence colour determined and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters Fo, minimal fluorescence emission, and Fm, maximum fluorescence emission were determined.

Thesis (M.A.)--Baylor University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-108).

Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri State University, 2008. / "December 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-89). Also available online.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Texas, Dec., 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral) - Universität, Hannover, 2004. / Preface in German. Series designation and series numbering missing in the book. Includes bibliographical references (p. 145-161).