This work measured relative permittivity from 15.0 to 55.0 °C of aqueous solutions containing acetone or tetrahydrofuran using a BI 870 dielectric meter. A cubic polynomial fit resulted in coefficients for calculating permittivity as a function of temperature and mole fraction. Literature values for other co-solvent system resulted in similar polynomial coefficients. Using BI 870, permittivity measurements of ionic solutions were not possible because of high conductivity. A simple method using impedance spectroscopy measured these solutions. Impedance decreases with increasing temperature and decreases with increasing ionic strength. Due to the temperature dependence of impedance, all measurements were at 25.0 °C. Anions including bicarbonate, sulfate, acetate, and carbonate were determined using this method. Detection limits were at parts per trillion (ppt) levels. A simple sensor based on smaller stainless steel cylinders and a circuit to determine impedance is currently being developed in combination with an anion exchange column.

Since the first recorded theatrical events, theatre has been presented in a linear fashion. It is no surprise that the majority of American Musical Theatre also follows a linear plot conception. Musicals that blatantly defy linearity are often called "concept" musicals. However, there is a small portion of concept musicals that do not abandon their linear plot altogether, but instead choose to skew the line in order to give the audience a unique perspective of the story being told. This mass categorization does not accurately take into account the extreme difference in structure of the two types of concept musicals. For this purpose, I explored the notion of a new structural category, the Less Linear Concept Musical, in hopes of identifying the unique characteristics and challenges associated with this type of musical. Beginning with Aristotle's "The Poetics" and ending in modern day Musical Theatre, I examine key events in the shaping of this musical theatre form, as well as define the form itself. The application of this research culminated in a classroom presentation of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, which I directed. I pose the question, "Can sound direction conquer the pitfalls found within the Less Linear Concept Musical?"

Knowledge of the impacts of management and scale are important for improved understanding and prediction of turf chemical runoff in urban environments. This study addressed the effects of mowing height, warm-season turf species and plot size on runoff of water, bromide, dimethylamine salts of the herbicides 2, 4-D, MCPP and dicamba, flutolanil fungicide, and chlorpyrifos insecticide from a Brooksville silty clay soil. The runoff plots were sloped at 3 % and arranged as split-plot in a randomized complete block design. The pesticides were applied as a tank mix: 2, 4-D at 1.12 kg ai/ha, MCPP at 1.80 kg ai/ha, dicamba at 0.50 kg ai/ha, flutolanil at 2.24 kg ai/ha and chlorpyrifos at 2.24 kg ai/ha. Bromide was applied separately at 15 kg ai/ha. The pesticides and bromide were applied 24 h and 0.5 h respectively, prior to each rainfall simulation event. Rainfall simulated at 38 mm/h was applied to treated plots for 1.5 h to generate runoff which was collected at 5 minute intervals. Pesticide runoff concentrations were determined by reverse-phase HPLC using UV-Vis detection. The limit of quantification for each compound was approximately 5 µg/L. Bromide was analyzed for by an ion selective electrode following EPA method 9211 with the limit of detection at 200µg/L. Plot size, mowing height and/or grass species significantly affected different runoff aspects of the pesticides investigated at p< 0.05. Averaged across treatments, percentages of applied pesticide lost in runoff were 43.3 ± 12.7 for 2, 4-D, 29.5 ± 8.3 for MCPP, 24.6 ± 8.3 for dicamba, 6.8 ± 1.0 for flutolanil and 0.22 ± 0.04 for chlorpyrifos. Similarly, average peak pesticide concentrations were 3.7 ± 0.9 mg/L for 2, 4-D, 4.2 ± 1.1 mg/L for MCPP, 1.2 ± 0.3 mg/L for dicamba, 0.8 ± 0.3 mg/L for flutolanil and 0.04 ± 0.02 mg/L for chlorpyrifos. Results obtained for water and bromide runoff suggest that the treatment effects observed for the pesticides were due to differences in retention mechanism rather than turf hydrology. Linear relationships were obtained between plot area and chemical mass and total runoff indicating that runoff from bermudagrass turf is ‘scalable’.

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The classic view of narrative since the time of Aristotle is that plot structure is prioritized over characters in defining the nature of stories. According to this view, plot is an abstract structure external to the protagonist, and the protagonist’s actions are determined by the thematic goals of the plot. The current analysis calls for a reversal in the prioritization of these elements in creating a story. We present an Embodied Plot model in which character not only drives plot, but embodies plot as well. According to this model, the dramatic arc of plots is attributable to psychological processes occurring in the protagonist’s mind. Plot structure is thus isomorphic with the psychological and problem-solving experience of the protagonist inside the storyworld. We apply this model to a number of fairy tales to demonstrate how the dramatic arc of these stories can be explained in each case by the protagonist’s experientiality. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

In this thesis, we develop algorithms to estimate crop heights as well as to detect plots infarms. Plant height estimation is needed in precision agriculture to monitor plant health andgrowth cycles. We use a 3D LiDAR mounted on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) anduse the LiDAR data for height and plot estimation. We present a general methodology forextracting plant heights from 3D LiDAR with two specific variants for the two environments:row-crops and pasture. The main algorithm is based on ground plane estimation from 3DLiDAR scans, which is then used to determine the height of plants in the scans. For rowcrops, the plot detection uses a K-means clustering algorithm to find the bounding boxes ofthese clusters, and a voting scheme to determine the best-fit width, height, and orientationof the clusters/plots. This best-fit box is then used to create a grid over the LiDAR dataand the plots are extracted. For pasture, relative heights are estimated using data collectedweekly. Both algorithms we evaluated using data collected from actual farms and pasture.The accuracy in plot height estimation was +/- 5.36 % and that for growth estimates was+/- 7.91 %. / Master of Science / Plant height estimation and measurement is a vital task when it comes to farming. Knowing these characteristics help determine whether the plants are growing healthy and when to harvest them. On similar lines, accurate estimates of the plant heights can be used to prevent overgrazing and undergrazing of pastures. However, as farm and plot size increases, getting consistent and accurate measurements becomes a more time-consuming and manually intensive task. Using robots can help solve this problem because they can be used to estimate the height. With sensors that are already available, such as the 3D LiDAR that we use, we can use aerial robots to fly over the farm and collect plant data. This data can then be processed to estimate the plant height, eliminating the need to go out and manually measure every single plant. This thesis discusses a methodology of doing exactly this, as well as detecting plots within a farm. The algorithms are evaluated using data collected from actual farms and pasture.

In the present study, the author builds upon the single degree of freedom ice-structure interaction model initially proposed by Matlock, et al. (1969, 1971). The model created by Matlock, et al. (1969, 1971), assumed that the primary response of the structure would be in its fundamental mode of vibration. In order to glean a greater physical understanding of ice-structure interaction phenomena, it was critical that this study set out to develop a multi-mode forced response for the pier when a moving ice floe makes contact at a specific vertical pier location. Modal analysis is used in which the response of each mode is superposed to find the full modal response of the entire length of a pier subject to incremental ice loading. This incremental ice loading includes ice fracture points as well as loss of contact between ice and structure. In this model, the physical system is a bottom supported pier modeled as a cantilever beam. The frequencies at which vibration naturally occurs, and the mode shapes which the vibrating pier assumes, are properties which can be determined analytically and thus a more precise picture of pier vibration under ice loading is presented. Realistic conditions such as ice accumulation on the pier modeled as a point mass and uncertainties in the ice characteristics are introduced in order to provide a stochastic response. The impact of number of modes in modeling is studied as well as dynamics due to fluctuations of ice impact height as a result of typical tidal fluctuations. A Poincaré based analysis following on the research of Karr, et al. (1992) is employed to identify any periodic behavior of the system response. Recurrence plotting is also utilized to further define any existing structure of the ice-structure interaction time series for low and high speed floes. The intention of this work is to provide a foundation for future research coupling multiple piers and connecting structure for a comprehensive ice-wind-structural dynamics model. / Master of Science

This thesis, then, has evolved out of the need for such study and will deal specifically with the novels of the first two series of the Episodios Nacionales. It will be an attempt to present a preliminary survey of the most important characters, both major and minor, to present a composite picture of the story and plots within the two series of novels, and to indicate the relation of the influences pointed out in the preceding pages.

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