Changes in freshwater inputs due to water diversions and increased urbanization may alter the function and properties of estuarine ecosystems in South Texas. Freshwater and nitrogen inputs from the Mission and Aransas rivers to the federally designated Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve (Mission-Aransas NERR) have received considerable attention in the past few years. However, freshwater inputs from two rivers (the San Antonio and Guadalupe rivers) that combine and drain into a neighboring bay (San Antonio Bay) may also provide a substantial nitrogen source to Aransas Bay, which is within the boundaries of the Mission-Aransas NERR. In order to study the influence of the San Antonio and Guadalupe rivers, an oyster species, Crassostrea virginica, was chosen to provide time-integrated information about freshwater contribution as a nitrogen source within the bays. Chapter One addresses variations in isotope values ([delta]¹⁵N and [delta]¹³C) in oyster adductor muscle tissue from 2009-2011 along a sampling transect from the head of San Antonio Bay through Aransas Bay. Stable carbon isotope values increased linearly from approximately -25 % to -17 %, while stable nitrogen isotope values decreased from approximately +16 % to +10 % along this transect. The patterns in stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values are consistent with substantial mixing of river-supplied water and nitrogen from San Antonio Bay into Aransas Bay. Variations in nitrogen isotopic signature between periods of sustained drought and flood conditions were relatively small, suggesting that riverine nitrogen contributions were similar regardless of the amount of freshwater inflow observed during the time frame of this study. Chapter Two addresses the isotopic equilibration time for adult oyster adductor muscle tissue using a year-long transplant experiment (November 2010-November 2011). Full representation of ambient water isotopic composition in oyster adductor muscle tissues was determined to occur roughly a year after transplant. Oyster adductor muscle could therefore be useful for long-term monitoring of nitrogen contribution from freshwater sources, and would be valuable to include in concert with water sampling and analysis of other tissues that have shorter integration rates for a comprehensive view of an estuarine system. / text

How did the Daughters of the Republic of Texas use historic preservation to help create and perpetuate Texas nationalism? Historic sites are an important part of creating and maintaining a nation-state’s national identity, but even more so when the nation no longer exists. The DRT preserved and created a common Texas national history with the preservation and interpretation of the Alamo and the French Legation Museum. The Alamo is the principal symbol of the Texas identity. Before the Alamo was a place of state and national reverence, before it was a battle site, before it was the Alamo, it was a Spanish mission, San Antonio de Valero. Yet, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas reconstructed the history of the mission so as to include only the thirteen days (February 23- March 6, 1836) when it was the site of one of the most important and well-known battles in the War for Texas Independence. This interpretation decision has shaped the way the Alamo is viewed through our collective memory. The French Legation Museum in Austin is important to the story of nationalism in Texas. Although it is not as recognized as the Alamo, the French Legation Museum is a crucial component in the story of Texas as an independent republic. The French Legation gives Texans a physical history of the Republic of Texas, thus strengthening and perpetuating the Texas national identity. The DRT’s preservation decisions at Alamo and the French Legation perpetuate the memory of Texas as an independent republic, and thus preserve the Texas national identity. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas, 2007. / "December 2007." Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-132) and appendices.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas, 2007. / "December 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 281-301) and appendices.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas, 2007. / "October 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-85) and appendices.

Ingeniero Civil Industrial / El objetivo general de la presente memoria es la evaluación económica, a nivel de pre-factibilidad, del proyecto minero San Antonio Óxidos perteneciente a la División Salvador de Codelco. Él que consiste en la elaboración de cátodos de cobre a partir de minerales oxidados presentes en la Mina Vieja de Potrerillos. Este yacimiento cuenta con reservas de 172,740 kt de cobre con una ley de 0,52% y una tasa de recuperación de 62,5%, las que serán extraídas durante 23 años a un ritmo de 30 kt anuales a partir del año 2015. Se considera adicionalmente el aporte desde la Fundición y Refinería de Potrerillos de polvo de fundición, de ácido tipo C y de electrolito de descarte ricos en cobre. Para ello, se estimó la inversión del proyecto, sus ingresos y sus costos de operación empleando como base la información provista por la empresa, la que consistía en los estudios de ingeniería conceptual de la mina y de la planta de procesamiento, el estudio de pre-factibilidad del proyecto año 2009 y las estudios de orientación comercial de la empresa. La operación de la mina considera 3 alternativas: la operación propia y mantención de equipos propia (OPMP), la operación propia y la mantención de equipos por terceros mediante convenio MARC (OPMT) y la externalización de la operación de la mina mediante el convenio Servicio Integral por Terceros (SIT). El VAN del proyecto para cada una de dichas alternativas es de 142,5 MUS$, 175,7 MUS$ y 187,7 MUS$ con inversiones totales de 401,6 MUS$, 401,6 MUS$ y 314,9 MUS$ y con un cash cost de 1,35 US$/lb, 1,25 US$/lb y 1,28 US$/lb respectivamente. Por otra parte se generaron 2 escenarios adicionales para evaluar la alternativa OPMT, uno optimista y uno pesimista. Los resultados de la evaluación económica del proyecto en estos escenarios son un VAN de 716,5 MUS$ y de -420,6 MUS$ y un cash cost de 0,80 US$/lb y de 2,78 US$/lb respectivamente. El escenario optimista cuenta con una TIR de 34,9%. El contexto del proyecto, los aspectos estratégicos de este, junto a una evaluación económica positiva fundamentan la recomendación de llevar a cabo el proyecto. Dada la estrategia de explotación de la DSAL se desarrollará la modalidad OPMT. El siguiente paso en el desarrollo del proyecto es la etapa de factibilidad.

The work presented in this dissertation discusses large scale flow and transport in river networks and investigates advantages and disadvantages of grid-based and vector-based river networks. This research uses the Mississippi River basin as a continental-case study and the Guadalupe and San Antonio rivers and Seine basin in France as regional-case studies. The first component of this research presents an extension of regional river flow modeling to the continental scale by using high resolution river data from NHDPlus dataset. This research discovers obstacles of flow computations for river a network with hundreds of thousands river segments in continental scales. An upscaling process is developed based on the vector-based river network to decrease the computational effort, and to reduce input file size. This research identifies drainage area as a key factor in the flow simulation, especially in a wet climate. The second component of this research presents an enhanced GIS framework for a steady-state riverine nitrogen transport modeling in the San Antonio and Guadalupe river network. Results show that the GIS framework can be applied to represent a spatial distribution of flow and total nitrogen in a large river network with thousands of connected river segment. However, time features of the GIS environment limit its applicability to large scale time-varied modeling. The third component shows a modeling regional flow and transport with consideration of stream-aquifer interactions at a regional scale at high resolution. The STICS- Eau-Dyssée combined system is implemented for entire seine basin to compute daily nitrate flux in the Seine grid river network. Results show that river-aquifer exchange has a significant impact on river flow and transport modeling in larger river networks. / text

The purpose of the investigation was two-fold: (1) to develop an educational design for consciousness-raising in social justice education using Paulo Freire's literacy method, and (2) to investigate its effect on the Incarnate Word sisters' attitude toward the economically poor, Workshop sessions examined social justice concepts of the economically poor as stated in the Acts of the Congregation's General Chapter and applied Freire's method of consciousness-raising outlined in his Pedagogy of the Oppressed and his Education for Critical Consciousness.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-200).

Not available / text