Ribbed steel pipes made of Type 2 aluminized steel are commonly used for culvert pipes for highway drainage. Typically aluminized steel pipes have shown good durability and are expected to have long service life, e.g. 75 years; also, they are used in a wide variety of soil and water conditions. However, early corrosion of aluminized steel pipes has been recently observed in some inland locations. Initial observations showed severe corrosion in forms of pits, both along the ribs and at the nearby flat portions of the pipes. It is critical to determine the cause of early deterioration and establish methods of durability prediction. The possibility of unusual environmental conditions is being investigated elsewhere, but this research focuses on possible mechanical factors aggravating corrosion, since it is prevalent near pipe rib deformations. While forming the rib bends in the pipe, the outer bend surface is exposed to extreme tensile stresses which would cause small coating cracks (microfissures) exposing base metal. Those may lead to early corrosion as galvanic protection from the surrounding aluminum may not be sufficient under certain environments. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to measure corrosion rate of both formed and flat aluminized steel samples in simulated natural waters. Initial findings show that specimens formed by spherical indentation were susceptible to early corrosion development in moderately aggressive simulated natural water, but not in a more benign, precipitating simulated natural water solution.

Mazama, Washington is a small community, with a population of 230 residents, nestled in the Methow Valley near the North Cascades mountain range. Mazama is home to delicate ecosystems, thriving wildlife, a river integral to salmon recovery, and a local economy that is largely dependent on outdoor recreation. Also home to Mazama is an environmental campaign, brought forth by community-wide resistance to industrial mining proposals in the valley. The campaign, called the Methow Headwaters Campaign, is advocating for the protection of 340,079 acres of federal land from mineral withdraws. The campaign mobilized following an exploratory drilling proposal by a Canadian industrial-scale mining company, Blue River Resources Ltd, to mine on Flagg Mountain—a mountain located less than two miles from the town of Mazama. Because of the Mining Act of 1872, Blue River Resources Ltd. can earn one-hundred-percent interest from the Flagg Mountain project, while the Mazama community—largely based on a local recreational economy—bears the social, environmental, and economic burdens brought with these mining operations. This thesis examines how natural resource governance has been shaped in the Methow Valley at various scales, ultimately resulting in the social contestation of extractive development in Mazama in the early 21st century. This thesis argues that the community-led campaign to withdraw land from mineral withdraws attempts to “re-scale” environmental governance through a democratizing shift in political and ecological control.

Because there is a growing amount of contradictory evidence concerning the relationship of WISC-R subscale scores to hemispheric orientation, the present study examined the validity of the WISC-R subscale scores as indicators of individual hemispheric orientation. The present study hypothesized a significant relationship between Verbal-Performance scale score discrepancies and hemispheric orientation as assessed by conjugate lateral eye movements. This study also hypothesized that subjects with a right hemisphere orientation would score higher on t~ block design, picture completion, and object assembly subtests than would subjects with a left hemisphere orientation.

The main purpose of this study is to analyze a measurement instrument developed by Frost & Stahelski (1988) to measure French & Raven's (1959) bases of social power. The measurement instrument of a competing typology of social influence tactics (Kipnis, Schmidt, & Wilkinson, 1980) was also administered to the same managerial population (N=108). Confirmatory factor analyses using LISREL (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1986) were performed on each scale. Possible relationships between the two typologies were explored. Results include confirming a modified Frost & Stahelski scale and no confirmation of the Kipnis et al. scale. Canonical correlation yielded two dimensions where Coercive Power and Expert Power relate to Assertiveness and Rationality respectively. Exploratory factor analysis of the composite scores from both typologies yielded two factors called Positive Power and Negative Power. Implications and future research are briefly discussed.

This study evaluates the construct validity of the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) Scale by testing the predictions made by the motivational hierarchy hypothesis. The respondents were one hundred fifty-nine supervisors and managers. The LPC determined leadership style as either relationship-oriented or task-oriented. Situational control was measured by the Leader-Member Relations scale, Task Structure scale, and Position Power scale. Consideration behavior, measured by the adapted LBDQ, reflected a need for interpersonal success. Initiation of structure behaviors, measured by the adapted LBDQ, reflected a need for task success. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) High LPC leaders in high control situations engage in more task-oriented behaviors than high LPC leaders in low control situations. Low LPC leaders' task-oriented behaviors are consistent across situational control. (2) Low LPC leaders in high control situations engage in more consideration behaviors than low LPC leaders in low control situations. High LPC leaders' consideration behaviors are consistent across situational control. The results of this study supplements previous research (Green, Nebeker & Boni, 1976; Michaelson, 1973) supportive of the motivational hierarchy inteipretation of the LPC. Hypothesis 1 was not supported. However, a significant interaction effect supported Hypothesis 2. Criticisms concerning the construct validity of the LPC, the motivational hierarchy inteipretation of the LPC, and the Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness are discussed. Several recommendations for future research are suggested.

Ecosystems are highly variable in space and time. Understanding how spatial and temporal scales influence the patterns and processes occurring across watersheds presents a fundamental challenge to aquatic ecologists. The goal of this research was to elucidate the importance of spatial scale on stream structure and function within the Oksrukuyik Creek, an Arctic watershed located on the North Slope of Alaska (68°36’N, 149°12’W). The studies that comprise this dissertation address issues of scale that affect our ability to assess ecosystem function, such as: methodologies used to scale ecosystem measurements, multiple interacting scales, translation between scales, and scale-dependencies. The first methodological study examined approaches used to evaluate chlorophyll a in ethanol extracts of aquatic biofilms. Quantification of chlorophyll a is essential to the study of aquatic ecosystems, yet differences in methodology may introduce significant errors to its determination that can lead to issues of comparability between studies. A refined analytical procedure for the determination of chlorophyll a was developed under common acidification concentrations at multiple common reaction times. The refined procedure was used to develop a series of predictive equations that could be used to correct and normalize previously evaluated chlorophyll a data. The predictive equations were validated using benthic periphyton samples from northern Alaska and northwestern Vermont, U.S.A. The second study examined interaction and translation between scales by examining how normalization approaches affect measurements of metabolism and nutrient uptake in stream sediment biofilms. The effect of particle size and heterogeneity on rates of biofilm metabolism and nutrient uptake was evaluated in colonized and native sediments normalized using two different scaling approaches. Functional rates were normalized by projected surface area and sediment surface area scaling approaches, which account for the surface area in plan view (looking top-down) and the total surface area of all sediment particles, respectively. Findings from this study indicated that rates of biogeochemical function in heterogeneous habitats were directly related to the total sediment surface area available for biofilm colonization. The significant interactions between sediment surface area and rates of respiration and nutrient uptake suggest that information about the size and distribution of sediment particles could substantially improve our ability to predict and scale measurements of important biogeochemical functions in streams. The final study examined how stream nutrient dynamics are influenced by the presence or absence of lakes across a variety of discharge conditions and how catchment characteristics can be used to predict stream nutrients. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and other inorganic nutrients were significantly greater in streams without lakes than in streams in with lakes and DOC, total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), and soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations increased as a function of discharge. Catchment characteristic models explained between 20% and 76% of the variance of the nutrients measured. Organic nutrient models were driven by antecedent precipitation and watershed vegetation cover type while inorganic nutrients were driven by antecedent precipitation, landscape characteristics and reach vegetation cover types. The developed models contribute to existing and future understanding of the changing Arctic and lend new confidence to the prediction of nutrient dynamics in streams where lakes are present.

USE OF EMOJI IN PAIN LEVEL ASSESSMENT IN PEDIATRIC DENTAL PATIENTS Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of a pain scale with Emoji images in comparison to the commonly used Wong-Baker FACES® pain scale. Methods: Healthy, English-speaking patients aged 4-17 presenting to the VCU Pediatric Dental clinic and the operating room and presenting to the MCV Pediatric Emergency Room were asked to rate their pain using the Wong-Baker FACES® and Emoji scales. These patients were then asked to select which pain scale they preferred. Results: A total of 151 children were enrolled in the study. The proposed Emoji scale was preferred by 86% of enrolled children (n=151). Children rated their pain the same on the two scales 78% of the time indicating a weak overall agreement between the two scales as defined by Cohen’s Kappa (k=0.5863, 95% CI: 0.47-0.70). In the instances of disagreement, 82% were within one image on the pain scale. There was a roughly even split between which scale corresponded to the higher pain level (56% Wong-Baker was higher and 44% Emoji was rated higher). Conclusions: A majority of the patients surveyed presented with no pain. The Emoji scale showed moderate agreement with the Wong-Baker FACES scale. A majority of the patients preferred the Emoji scale demonstrating the strong communicative utility of Emoji.

Empathy, the ability to feel and/or understand another’s emotional state, plays a significant role in interpersonal interactions, mitigating hostility and enhancing affiliation and helping. However, empathy also biases interpersonal reactions. For example, at the group level empathy can become amplified towards members of their ingroup and blunted towards individuals in outgroups, a term called parochial empathy. Currently, no validated measures of parochial empathy at the dispositional level exist, and development of such a scale would be important to understanding the role of group-based emotions in prejudice and discrimination against outgroups. I conducted five studies to develop and validate a self-report Trait Parochial Empathy Scale (TPES) that could measure tendencies to respond with parochial empathy across any set of group membership categories. Study 1 assessed the factor structure of the TPES through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses while Study 2 attempted to replicate the Study 1 factor structure and assess concurrent and divergent validity of the TPES using attitudinal measures. Study 3 assessed the temporal consistency of the TPES. Study 4 examined whether the TPES could be flexibly used across a variety of groups by assessing its relation to various outcomes across different ingroup and outgroup combinations. Finally, Study 5 assessed the ability of the TPES to predict in vivo behavior.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / Small-scale farmers in the land reform programme are faced with many challenges which affect their operations adversely that they cannot maintain a sustainable farming momentum and grow into competitive farming enterprises. Instead they are failing and recently some are already selling the land back. Some of the challenges facing them include lack of access to the markets, lack of finance, poor business planning and lack of business know-how. This study assesses the business management competencies among the small-scale farmers on the land reform programme. The central desire of this study is to establish whether or not small scale farmers have the necessary business management competencies to drive and grow their farms into competitive commercial farms that can contribute to employment creation, rural poverty alleviation, rural food security and economic growth. Outcomes from this study reflect that small-scale farmers do not have capacity on the critical functional areas of business management and as a result their business operations are on the brink of collapsing, and thus directly failing the intentions of land reform programme. With all other factors held constant, this study has revealed that business management competency is a huge vacuum amongst the small-scale farmers, and if business oriented training is not prioritized as a post-settlement support, the land reform’s small-scale farming performance is heading towards a complete collapse.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2011 / Agricultural development programs under the former apartheid homeland system which was dissolved in 1994 could not successfully achieve their objectives. The current democratic government reviewed the policies and programs put in place during apartheid era which eventually led to the implementation of the Revitalisation of Smallholder irrigation Schemes (RESIS) in line with the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) and Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) programs. It was anticipated that RESIS would among others improve agricultural productivity, play a role in local economic development, improve food security, provide improved benefits and the livelihoods of the rural communities where the schemes are situated. The aim of the study is to assess whether the RESIS program has had an impact so as to make recommendations for future similar programs. The objective of the study is to assess the impact of RESIS program on the livelihoods of the participants and to shed light on whether such programs can be used for poverty reduction, which is a key objective in the programs of LDA. Tšwelopele irrigation scheme in Greater Tubatse Municipality within Sekhukhune District Municipality was selected as the area at which the study was conducted. A random sample of 50 beneficiaries was selected from a total of 75 RESIS beneficiaries and divided into two strata, namely, full-time farmers (both male and female) and part-time farmers (male and female) farmers. Interviews were conducted through completion of questionnaires responded to by the selected participants and key informants in the scheme. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to obtain the responses from the scheme participants and the data processed using SPSS. Based on the analysis of respondents‟ perceptions of the farmers, the study concludes that RESIS is perceived to have had a positive impact on the livelihoods of the beneficiaries. Gross margin analysis supports the farmers‟ perceptions.