This thesis considers how the Black dancing body constitutes both Black history and dance history by reading the body in Pearl Primus' Hard time blues, The Negro speaks of rivers and Strange fruit as physical auto/biography, or what I shall herein refer to as auto/body/graphy. The Black dancing body, because it is a repository of the Black experience, actively engages in the act of self-naming, self-shaping, and self-recognition. As such, it may be considered an auto/body/graphy that is situated in Black history, an instrument through which histories of origin and migration, struggle against oppression and colonialization, and the forging of identities and self-definition are inscribed and communicated. This thesis examines Primus' early choreographies as a discourse through which to consider the impact of Black cultural consciousness and the emergence of a Black aesthetic and Black corpo-reality in dance and theatre on the development of American modern dance before mid-century, and upon later choreographers who followed Primus. / text

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

Hong Kong is an Asian metropolis with a population of approximately seven million. Previous studies on the region concentrate on its history that is marked by radical changes to conclude that the on-going makeovers in the physical environment leave people without a permanence of place. Researchers also say that this fluid history eradicates temporal identity because pre-modernism and post-modernism exist at the same time. This study investigates how to describe and explain the relationship between people and environment in Hong Kong. Six informants who are from Hong Kong and who live in Hong Kong help to portray an image of home that does not agree with earlier studies. By looking at physical and emotional boundaries, expressions, and temporal dimensions, this study shows that people cannot be separated from their environment as both parts constitute the unity of being home. This study therefore concludes that neither the sense of place nor the temporal identity is threatened by the region's history of instability. Rather, the informants express a strong sense of home because of the fast pace of life in Hong Kong.

Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of Pearl Millet in combination with different levels of flaxseed and natural pigment (Oro Glo 15RTM) on quantity of n-3 fatty acids in eggs, laying performance and yolk pigmentation. In the first experiment, six different diet treatments were used for six weeks, with 24 hens per treatment (three birds per cage, eight cage replicates). Control diet was a corn-soybean meal diet, and diets containing 0, 2, 4, 8 or 12% ground flaxseed in which all the corn was replaced by pearl millet. In the second experiment, the diet treatments consisted of pearl millet and three inclusion levels of ground flaxseed (4%, 6% and 8%) and two levels (0.1% and 0.2%) of natural pigment in a factorial arrangement. The experiment lasted for twelve weeks, with 18 hens per treatment (three birds per cage, six cage replicates). In each of the experiments, all the diets were formulated to be isocaloric and isonitrogenous and to meet or exceed NRC requirements. Body weight of the birds and feed consumption were recorded at weekly (first experiment) and biweekly (second experiment) intervals. Number of eggs and egg mass produced were measured and recorded on a daily basis. At the end of each of the experiments, all the hens were euthanized to determine liver integrity. In both of the experiments, flock performance parameters were not different among treatments. In regard to egg traits, in the second experiment after 8 week of the start of the experiment, birds fed with diets containing 8% flaxseed produced significantly ( P < 0.05) smaller eggs compared to hens fed 4% flaxseed. Yolk pigmentation was lower (P < 0.05) for the eggs produced by hens fed diets containing pearl millet compared with those produced by feeding corn-based diet. However, 0.1% or 0.2% inclusion of the pigment both proved to be suitable to restore yolk pigmentation to marketable levels. No difference was observed among diets in regard to liver haemorrhage. Evaluation of FA profiles indicated that birds fed a diet containing PM as the sole grain source, and low levels of flaxseed (6%) can produce eggs with more than 350 mg/egg of n-3 FA, which is the lower standard to market eggs as "n-3 FA enriched". / Keywords: laying hens, pearl millet, flaxseed, natural pigment, flock performance, eggs, liver haemorrhage.

Marker-Assisted Verification of Hybrids in Pearl Millet-Napiergrass (Pennisetum glaucum [L.] R. Br. x Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.). (December 2011) Charlie D. Dowling, III, B.S., College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Russell W. Jessup A high-biomass perennial grass that is directly seeded using existing farm equipment can reduce both planting and overall input costs. Three cytoplasmic male-sterile cms A-lines and four fertile genotypes of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum [L.] R. Br.) and one novel pearl millet selection from the Perennial Grass Breeding Program at Texas A&M University were selected to cross with napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.). The pearl millet parents were chosen based on characteristics such as basal tillering, plant height, and days to anthesis. Three napiergrass accessions from the Perennial Grass Breeding Program and the cultivar Merkeron were used as pollinators for these crosses. The cms and fertile pearl millet accessions produced full heads of seed when pollinated with napiergrass. There were a large range of seed sizes and weights for each hybrid family, and the seed were separated into four size classes. The weight differences from the largest to smallest class of seed varied by more than 30%. All of the seed classes germinated, and seed size, in this case, was completely unrelated to the ability to germinate. 100% germination was observed in five seed size classes for both PMN iv hybrids, and 90% germination was observed in three of the eight classes. Essentially all of the hybrid seed recovered from the original pearl millet x napiergrass crosses germinated, but all of the F 1 hybrids were sterile in that none of them produced viable seed. Flow cytometry could not be used to identify the hybrids because the DNA content of pearl millet and napiergrass were essentially the same even though distinct 2C and 4C peaks were seen from the diploid pearl millet. From the 58 EST-SSRs surveyed in the bulked segregate analysis, several were heterozygous dominant and many were homozygous dominant and hemizygous at its particular loci. Seven hemizygous EST-SSRs were identified for Merkeron, seven for PEPU09FL01, eight for PEPU09FL02, and six for PEPU09FL03. These markers are extremely valuable to any pearl millet x napiergrass hybridization program because they provide a means whereby the hybrids can be easily identified. Identification of hemizygous pearl millet markers will also assist in future DNA sequencing and also in a marker-assisted breeding program.

Parasiter kan påverka sina värdar på många olika sätt. Flodpärlmusslans (Margaritifera margaritifera L.) glochidielarver lever inkapslade som parasiter på gälarna hos öring (Salmo trutta L.) i flera månader innan de blir frilevande. Genom experiment i ett strömakvarium har denna studie undersökt hypoteserna att öring med inkapslade gälparasiter tar färre byten, och simmar kortare avstånd när de födosöker än öring utan gälparasiter.   Resultaten visade att infekterad öring tog signifikant färre byten/minut än oinfekterad öring både i början och i slutet av en födosöksperiod under vilken individerna konfronterades med tvåhundra poteniella byten. Vilket visar att infekterad öring har en lägre furageringshastighet är oinfekterad öring. Däremot påvisades ingen skillnad mellan öring med och utan parasiter med avseende på antal byten tagna i förhållande till avstånd från bytet.    Den lägre furageringshastigheten som påvisades hos de infekterade öringarna tyder på att infektion av flodpärlmusslans larver kan ha negativa effekter på fiskarnas tillväxt, och därmed överlevnad. Detta kan bero på faktorer som minskad aktivitet, ökad ventilation och förändringar i beteende hos de infekterade fiskarna, som är en effekt av parasitinfektionen. / Parasites can impact their hosts in many different ways. The larval glochida of freshwater pearl mussels (Margaritifera Margaritifera L.) infect the gills of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.), where they spend several months before becoming free-living. Using stream aquarium experiments, this study investigated the hypotheses that infected trout would capture fewer prey, and would swim less distance to capture prey, than would uninfected trout.   The results showed that infected brown trout caught significantly fewer prey/minute both at the beginning and at the end of a foraging period during which individuals were fed two hundred potential prey. This suggests that infected brown trout have a lower foraging rate than uninfected brown trout. However, no significant difference between infected and uninfected fish was found in terms of the number of prey taken in relation to distance to the prey.   The lower foraging rate for infected brown trout suggests that infection of the freshwater pearl mussel’s glochidia may have negative effects on their growth rate, and consequently survival. This may be due to factors such as reduced activity, increased ventilation and changes in behavior, which are effects from the parasite infection.

Flodpärlmusslan (Margaritifera margaritifera. L) har en obligatorisk fas i sin komplexa livcykel där den lever som parasit på antingen öringens (Salmo trutta, L) eller laxens (Salmo salar, L) gälar. För värdfisken skulle detta kunna innebära en ökad energikostnad när den födosöker i rinnande vatten. Öringens furagering består i att den finner en utgångspunkt (eng. focal point) i strömmen utifrån vilken den fångar sina byten. I denna studie undersöks det om en infektion av flodpärlmusslans glochidielarver på öring påverkar öringens födointag och hantering av födan. Sextio årsungar av öring infekterades med glochidielarver av känd koncentration, och deras födosökning mättes över en 10-veckors period för att bedöma effekten av den växande mussellarven i jämförelse med en icke-infekterad (kontrollgrupp) grupp fiskar. Individuella födoförsök, tio försök per mätningstillfällena, utfördes i ett strömakvarium där en enskild öring matades med drivande föda i fem minuter. Bytet släpptes ned i strömmen med två sekunders intervall, antalet byten räknades och furageringsbeteendet observerades. Födoförsöken genomfördes med två veckors intervall. Vid försöken hittades inga signifikanta skillnader med avseende på: 1) antalet fångade byten, 2) proportionen av fångade byten av försökets första tre minuter, eller 3) de rumsliga aspekterna av öringens utgångspunkt. Vidare uppmättes ingen signifikant effekt av tid på furageringsframgången på den infekterade gruppen jämfört med kontrollgruppen. Däremot var det ett högre antal infekterade individer som spottade ut byten jämfört med kontrollgruppen. Skillnaden i utspottade byten pekar på att infektionen har en negativ påverkan på fiskarnas furageringsförmåga. Dock visade försöken inga resultat som stödjer tidigare studier där signifikant skillnad erhållits med avseende på födointag. Förklaring till detta kan finnas i metodskillnader mellan denna och tidigare studier, inklusive skillnad i typ av byte, strömakvarier, ursprungsström för musslorna och öringen och infektionsgrad hos de infekterade fiskarna samt kontrollgruppen. / The freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera, L) has a mandatory phase of its complex life cycle where it lives as a parasite on the gills of either trout (Salmo trutta, L) or salmon (Salmo salar, L). For the host fish this could mean an increased cost when it forages in running water. The trout´s foraging consists of finding a focal point in the stream from where it catches its prey. This study examines whether an infection of the freshwater pearl mussel´s glochidium larva on the gills of brown trout affect trout foraging. Sixty juvenile (0+) brown trout were infected with glochidium larva of a known concentration, and trout foraging behaviour was measured over a 10-week period to assess the effects of the growing mussel larvae of the fish compared to non-infected (control) fish.  Individual feeding trials, ten replicates for each session, were conducted in a stream aquarium where a single trout was fed drifting prey for five minutes. The prey were released into the stream every two seconds, the number of prey captured was counted, and the foraging behavior was characterized. Feeding trials were conducted at two-week intervals. No significant differences between the infected and control groups were found for: 1) the number of prey eaten, 2) the proportion of prey eaten during the first three minutes of the trial, or 3) location of the focal points. Furthermore, there was no significant effect of time on foraging success of the infected group compared to the control group. However, there was a higher number of infected individuals who spat out the prey compared with the control group. The difference in rejected prey suggests that the infection has a negative impact on the fish’s foraging ability. However, the results of this experiment do not support previous studies, where a significant difference was obtained with respect to food intake. This might be explained by differences in experimental protocol between this and previous studies, including differences in prey type, stream aquaria, stream origins of mussels and trout, and the infection status of infected and control fish.

Den 7 december 1941 genomförde japanska flygstridskrafter ett massivt bombanfall mot Pearl Harbor. Intentionen med anfallet var att slå ut den amerikanska Stillahavsflottan och därmed erhålla större inflytanade i Stillahavsområdet. Anfallen riktades huvudsakligen mot amerikanska fartyg som låg vid Pearl Harbors hamn men även flygfält i dess närområde drabbades hårt av den japanska offensiven. Syftet med detta arbete är att, med utgångpunkt från John. A Warden III centrala teorier; tyngdpunkter, fienden som ett system och parallell attack, analysera Japans agerande under attacken mot Pearl Harbor för att därigenom urskilja i vilken utsträckning dessa teorier kan tillämpas på de japanska flygstridskrafterna vid anfallet. Undersökningen syftar även till att utröna om de utvalda teorierna är applicerbara på taktisk nivå. Arbetet genomförs som en teoriprövande fallstudie där Wardens teorier prövas mot det autentiska fallet. Undersökningens slutsatser åskådliggör att de japanska flygstridskrafterna använde Wardens teorier till viss del. Teorierna tyngdpunkter och parallell attack går tydligt att återfinna i Japans agerande, dock tillämpades teorin fienden som ett system enbart i mindre utsträckning. Undersökningen visar även att det är möjligt att tillämpa utvalda teorier på taktisk nivå.

This thesis traces the origins of a colonized and militarized Hawai`i, ultimately leading to the years of military rule, 1941-1945. It examines the ways in which the Hawaiian Islands differed from the United States mainland prior to and throughout the war years, and demonstrates that Hawai`i's history is much richer than the "Remember Pearl Harbor" framework acknowledges. Focusing on long time residents (Islanders or locals), rather than on the large population of migrant Americans also in the archipelago during the war, it addresses ways in which military rule controlled and Americanized the people of Hawai`i. Finally, it illuminates the ways in which local stories challenge national ones: How were America and Hawai`i different places in 1941? / Graduate

China inspired and fascinated the Western early-20th-century author. Some, like Pearl S. Buck, writing about a China where she grew up and lived for many years, offered careful, portraits of the Chinese people she loved. Others, such as Fu Manchu creator Sax Rohmer, depicted China as an evil empire and the Chinese as cruel and dangerous criminal masterminds. French author Victor Segalen saw China as the last crumbling frontier of an elusive exotic world that existed in stark contrast to the suffocating modernity and alienation of Europe. This thesis project examines three specific examples of Western literature about China from the early twentieth century: British author Sax Rohmer, whose depictions of exaggeratedly evil Oriental vilains reinforced Western fears of the Chinese Other; French writer Victor Segalen whose mystical portraits of a magnificent Chinese Empire served as the basis for his artistic manifesto on exoticism, and Pearl S. Buck, whose portrayals of sympathetic Chinese peasants helped shift American popular opinion and foreign policy. These three authors, though their styles, approaches and motives varied greatly, all feature the intersecting themes of exoticism, modernity and imperialism. The tensions between these three elements play out in different ways in each chapter of this thesis, and yet all three are examples of exotic writing about China at a time when exoticism was a lost cause, or as Chris Bongie describes it, “an idea with no future” (15). In these examples, imperialism still coloured perceptions of a racially distinct other, and modernity’s inevitability made imagining the exotic a depressing, frightening or naïvely hopeful exercise. In all three examples, this results in an exoticism that seeks to extend the boundaries of what had become a shrinking frontier. Some of the authors succeed in balancing the tensions between exoticism, imperialism and modernity, but in general most do not, and the texts remain deeply conflicted. / Graduate / 0295 / 0332