It is necessary to study the genesis of the Payson and Trenton polypedons in northern Utah to understand why the Payson polypedon is an Alfisol, while the Trenton polypedon is a Mollisol. Even though the soil-forming factors appear similar, the soils differ at the order level. Two pedons, one belonging to the Payson polypedons and the other belonging to the Trenton polypedon, have been described and sampled by genetic horizons. Both pedons have essentially the same climate, slope, age, elevation, and are developed on the parent material of Lake Bonneville sediments. The differences in physical, chemical and mineralogical properties among the horizons in the same pedon and between the Payson and Trenton pedons is due to differences in deposition as alluvium or lacustrine sediments during different periods. The high amount of exchangeable sodium in both pedons reflects the development of texture in natric horizons and helps the movement of fine clay and organic matter from the eluvial to the illuvial horizons. The light color of the surface of the Payson pedon is related to high amounts of calcium carbonate in the Al horizon, bleaching of soil particles within the structural units by sodium, and the presence of large amounts of light-colored minerals in the epipedon of the Payson soil.

A knowledge of the clay minerals in a particular soil series would aid in the characterization and classification of that soil. The physical and chemical properties of a soil are largely controlled by the properties of the clay minerals in the soil.

In the developing countries of Africa, development endeavors are hindered by larger and still increasing numbers of children who are susceptible and deprived of parents due to HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases and violent conflicts (UNICEF, 2005). Children growing up without adequate adult care and facing economic and psychosocial hardship may miss out the opportunity to attend school and some of them may develop long lasting psychosocial disorders and problem behaviors that continue into adulthood, compromising the security of next generations (Foster, Levine & Williamson, 2005; Thurman et al., 2008). Recent studies in developing countries showed that family-oriented community interventions can help improve the emotional wellbeing of children with problem behaviors and increase school enrollment and retention as well as academic performances in school (Desforges & Abouchaar, 2003; Grossman & Bulle, 2006; Huggings & Randell, 2007) This study uses secondary analysis of data from baseline and after-eighteen-months follow-up surveys of an operational study 'assessing the psychosocial benefits of a community-based mentoring program for orphans and vulnerable children' in the Southern Province of Rwanda. The purpose of this study was to extend current research to assess the effect of a community-based mentoring program on problem behaviors, depressive symptoms, and school attendance among children (6-12) and adolescents (13-18) living in youth-headed households in Rwanda The results highlight that problem behaviors and depressive symptoms in adolescents and children living in YHH are challenging not only for young caregivers but also for community adults willing to support them. The findings further demonstrate that despite their vulnerabilities, the school attendance is high and still increasing in school age children but many adolescents living in YHH are missing out the benefits of schooling. There is evidence that the mentoring program have positively improved depressive symptoms of adolescents living in YHH. However, there is no evidence of the program effect on problem behaviors or school attendance in either children or adolescents. Family-oriented interventions appear to be more appropriate to reduce and prevent serious psychosocial problems in both caregivers and other children and adolescents at high risk / acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

The initial hypothesis of this dissertation was that Afghan insurgents' attacks on Afghan civilians have lowered popular confidence in the Afghan government and its institutions. The goal of the insurgents has been to convince Afghans that their local, provincial, and national governments and security forces cannot protect them. Insurgents harm and kill civilians as part of their strategy of intimidation. Conversely, counterinsurgents try to convince the Afghan people that their government is responsive, that the economy is promising, that the rule of law is strong, and that Armed Forces of Afghanistan are viable. For the counterinsurgency to have been successful, the level of national confidence would need to have been high. National confidence is intangible, often fleeting, and sometimes difficult to gauge. There are standard measurements of human development, such as economic growth; longevity; access to medicine and health clinics, levels of literacy, potable water, security, and others. However, measuring confidence presents unique challenges for the researcher. The Taliban were, by far, the most powerful and largest of the insurgent groups, but there were others. The strategy of the insurgents to break confidence in the Afghan local, provincial and national governments was based on three basic principles: crippling the economy, terrorizing their domestic enemies; and destroying the will of foreign states to continue their support for Kabul. All these tactics were predicated on violence. In this dissertation, quantitative methods associated the impact of violent incidents, which were the independent variables, to various indicators of national morale, which are the dependent variables. The results confirmed some elements of the hypothesis and disproved others. Several components of national confidence declined from 2008 and 2010, but only marginally. For the scales that were measured, there was a decline of national confidence in four scales, but an increase in one scale. There were decreases in the confidence of economic prosperity in villages and neighborhoods where citizens live, and a decline in the confidence of citizens in national and provincial governments. In security, there was a very slight decline. However, there was an increase in the confidence of citizens in institutions, organizations, and officials. The findings suggest that the overarching counterinsurgency strategy of building national confidence through sustained human development was successful in the years analyzed in this dissertation. Despite a spike in insurgent attacks during 2009, national confidence in 2010 was not significantly eroded. The author of this dissertation is a military analyst for the Department of Defense. All material in this work - its observations, conclusions, recommendations, and opinions - are those of the author and his alone. No element of this dissertation, officially or unofficially, reflects the policy of the Department of Defense or any element or agency of the United States government. / acase@tulane.edu

While immigration detention and the use of detention transfers are necessary components of the US immigration enforcement system, there are several human rights principles that may be violated during detention and deportation processes. This study highlights the utility of record linkage methodologies of data analysis in illuminating the reality of immigration enforcement for millions of non-citizens and developing evidence of potential rights violations. It is hoped that this study provides a direction and exemplifies a course of action for how ICE data can be explored to produce a greater understanding of the realities of US immigration enforcement practices US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) frequently releases immigration enforcement data to researchers via Freedom of Information Act requests. These datasets often contain unique variables attributable to the same detainees or may contain detention actions absent of the identification variables necessary to group actions to individual detainees. This report demonstrates the utility of record linkage in analyzing such datasets. It examines linked records through a human rights lens and provides quantitative estimates of several potential human rights violations Intra-system record linkage was used to successfully link over 95 percent of records in an ICE database of 5,061,411 detention actions. The methodology supplies data on detention transfers by determining who was transferred where, thus providing aggregate evidence of detentions transfers which arguably violate several human rights principles concerning the right to defend against deportation Inter-system record linkage was utilized to successfully match 33 percent of the records from a second database to corresponding records in the main database, thus increasing the number of variables per matched individual as well as ascertaining the immigration outcomes of matched detainees. I utilize the crime variable gained via record linkage, along with detention facility variables, to provide additional evidence of immigration detention potentially violating the principle of proportionality in sentencing / acase@tulane.edu

This study is based on the assumption that seasonal influenza in tropical region correlates with climatic, geographical, and socio-economic factors. There are very few studies addressing seasonality and geographical distribution of influenza epidemic in Thailand, not to mention, study on association between influenza incidence and its contributing factors. The main objectives of this study are to 1) identify seasonality, spatial dependency, and spatiotemporal correlation of seasonal influenza in Thailand, 2) identify climatic, geographical, and socio-economic factors associated with influenza incidence in Thailand, and 3) develop comprehensive prediction models of influenza incidence in Thailand. The results of the study suggest that there is obvious seasonal pattern of influenza incidence in Thailand. The peak of the epidemic occurs in rainy season (June-July). The bottom of the epidemic happens in the middle of summer (April) and in winter (December). ArcGIS, geographical information system software, was used in this study to identify spatial dependency. The epidemic displays spatial dependency as there were 127 districts out of 928 districts having significantly higher incidence of influenza than neighboring districts, while 21 districts showing significantly lower incidence than neighboring districts. Rainfall, temperature, humidity, altitude, population, and household incomes showed significant correlations with influenza incidence in Thailand. Population is the most important contributing factor. However, correlations of all factors are weak to very weak. A GWR model was developed to predict influenza incidence. The variables included in the model are accumulated rainfall, and district population. The correlation coefficient of the model was 0.369. And a series of GWR models for each month of the year were also developed. The correlation coefficients of the models suggested that the monthly GWR models predict the incidence better than the general GWR model only in the months with high incidence of influenza (June-August). According to the finding of this study, we know that when and where influenza vaccination should be provide in order to control annual spread of seasonal influenza in Thailand. Although, the GWR model developed in this study is not a good prediction model, but it provides common ground for further study on seasonal influenza in Thailand and the region. / acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

This thesis examines how gender influences the perceptions of men and women toward different social, economic and political issues in Liberia's post-conflict reconstruction process. While the focus of the thesis is women, a gender framework is utilized and considers the situation of men to have a more comprehensive perspective on sustainable peace and reconstruction in post-conflict Liberia. Previous research has demonstrated that the condition of women and gender inequality must be accurately understood and addressed to ensure sustainable and equitable reconstruction in post-conflict societies. This dissertation seeks to answer the following research questions: To what degree do women perceive the post-conflict reconstruction process differently than do men, and what is the nature of such differences? And, to what degree have women's issues been incorporated in public discourse and reconstruction policy? This study seeks an in-depth understanding of how ideas about women's and men's social participation and responsibilities may be evolving in a time of social reordering and how such changes may shape efforts to positively influence socio-political processes and ultimately, long-term peace. This dissertation examines the actions taken by the reconstruction government to consider the effects of gender on policy and design policy accordingly, in an effort to eliminate gender-based inequalities. Using a country case study methodology, focus groups and key informant interviews were conducted in rural and urban Liberia. Focus groups stratified by ethnicity, gender, urban/rural residence and age were used to help determine how women and men and differing groups of Liberians view and discuss the post-conflict reconstruction process and the different socio-economic issues associated with this process; and what the differences and similarities in these experiences indicate for the success of the reconstruction process as a whole. The findings of this dissertation suggest that this initial post-conflict period has been instrumental to the restructuring of gender roles. Participants perceived that women have entered the political spectrum with a gender-balanced agenda that attempts to correct gender inequalities, although women and men have differing perceptions of the benefit of such agenda. Both men and women perceived that education is being used as a tool for addressing gender inequality and that gender roles in Liberia are changing in part to violent conflict. The information generated by this study will make a useful contribution to the effectiveness of policies and strategies of sustainable peace and reconstruction of Liberia, the West African region and post-conflict societies as a whole / acase@tulane.edu

Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by complex transitions. The wellbeing of this population, currently the largest in human history, is important, as adolescents are the future world leaders, citizens, workers, mothers and fathers. Subjective wellbeing research has become popular in recent years, but there are important gaps in the literature. Cross-cultural examinations and comparisons of subjective wellbeing have focused on developed countries. Less is known about subjective wellbeing in developing countries. There are gaps in research on special populations or groups and in the comparison of sub-groups within a population This analysis assesses the subjective wellbeing of adolescents in Cote d'Ivoire, a developing country in sub-Saharan Africa. Multiple measures are used to evaluate adolescent wellbeing from an overall perspective and to explore satisfaction with specific life domains. Potential adolescent risk factors and protective factors are examined to explore if and how they may influence individual assessments of wellbeing. Gender and age-related differences in self-reported wellbeing are examined to explore if and how these groups experience adolescence differently. The Personal Wellbeing Index for School Children is tested as valid a cross-cultural measure of subjective wellbeing Findings suggest that Ivorian adolescents overall report high satisfaction with life. Evidence for gender and age-related differences in subjective wellbeing produced mixed results, which warrants further investigation. The findings also indicate that the experience of different risk and protective factors effects adolescents' perceptions of wellbeing. The results indicate there are gender and age-related differences in the effects of these factors on subjective wellbeing In addition, the evidence suggests that the PWI-SC is a moderately valid and reliable tool for assessing subjective wellbeing in Ivorian adolescents. Ultimately, additional research with adolescent populations in other developing countries is needed to further assess the validity of the PWI-SC as a cross-cultural measure of subjective wellbeing The findings may be used to inform policy on programs targeting adolescents in developing countries. This research could provide guidance to policy makers and program planners about specific factors and domains that could be incorporated into the design of policies and programs intended to protect and/or improve the wellbeing of adolescents / acase@tulane.edu