Moving chronologically from the New Negro Renaissance into the contemporary era, my dissertation examines poetic representations of five blues artists: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly), and Robert Johnson. Despite extensive scholarship on the blues and these icons, blues tribute poems have remained un(der)studied. Filling in this critical gap, I draw attention to the valuable sociocultural work that poets perform by continuously breathing new life into the blues in general and these artists in particular. At the same time, I contend that poets transform readers' understandings of blues men and women by investing them with mythic and symbolic qualities that correspond with their own (and often the era's) aesthetic and ideological concerns. Blues tribute poems, I argue, constitute a distinct and influential subgenre of American poetry--one that combines the mythic and the historical, the oral blues tradition and the written poetic one and invites readers to imagine, listen, and ultimately to internalize the images and narratives that poets advance. <br> Although there have been numerous blues figures invoked as muses, I maintain that Rainey, Smith, Holiday, Leadbelly, and Johnson possess what Joseph Roach terms an "it" quality that makes them compelling to generations of poets, historians, and music fans alike. Poetry offers a medium through which artists during any era can put forward their own interpretations of what these icons symbolize. Since the poets in this study are typically invoking these artists posthumously, they are also able to utilize poetic license to a much greater extent than would have been possible if these men and women had still been alive and performing. Indeed, the poet-muse relationship is not a one-sided affair, for blues tribute poets both document and produce sociocultural histories. Ultimately then, my project demonstrates that twentieth- and twenty-first century poets not only engage popular culture and sociocultural history but play significant and often unacknowledged roles in shaping readers' understandings of them. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / English / PhD; / Dissertation;

Outstanding scientific results and statistical overview of the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research in 2008

The purpose of this study was to collect, describe, and interpret source materials pertaining to the history of the three area vocational centers and the three area vocational schools in Utah. The historical method of research was used, and the collection of data was from personal interviews, research of records, and publications of the six vocational institutions, the Utah State Board of Education, and the local school districts. The three area centers and the three area schools began as an outgrowth of the 1963 Vocational Education Act and the 1968 Vocational Amendments. These vocational institutions were established to meet the needs of local students and to meet the economical needs of the local school districts. Today, the three area centers and the three area schools are providing much needed services to the State of Utah.

This paper investigates the relationship between tourism and well being, or quality-of-life, within eighteen counties in Utah. To evaluate the relationship, comparisons of the counties' differing l evel s of tourism versus their levels of welfare are necessary. To make these comparisons, three basic steps were followed. First, a social ordering model was derived. The proposed social ordering model was based upon Maslow's theory of the hierarchy of human needs. By utilizing his theory, both economic and noneconomic indicators were identified, and a basis was provided upon which to judge the differing positions of well-being. Factor analysis was applied to this model in order to aggregate the indicators and derive a single quality-of-life index. Second, measurement of tourism was developed. A direct measurement of the level of tourist activity was not available. An indirect indicator of tourism was estimated by taking the proportion of total gross taxable revenue earned by eating and drinking establishments and taxable room sales. The derived indirect variable was more reflective of comparative tourism dependency levels than of the actual level of tourism. Therefore, the variable was renamed touri sm dependency. Third, the correlation between quality-of-life and tourism dependency was calculated. A Pearson correlation coefficient test was performed from which initial results sugge sted a potentially strong negative relationship between the particular qualifiers of well-being used here and tourism. It was apparent that thE two variables that could be defined by certain available indicators were not perfect measurements of the proposed variables, but aspects or components of the desired variables . Each reflected certain attributes of the proposed variables, but not the total concept. A possible explanation for the strong inverse relationship between the qualifiers of quality of life and tourism in this study may be each county's potential for economic diversification. Other studies have shown that areas that are dependent upon a single resource may experience higher levels of economic, demographic, and social instability as compared to those areas with a more diverse economic base. These factors, which in this model would lead to lower values for the calculated quality -of- life indicator in those counties, were estimated to be more tourist dependent .

This dissertation is a triangulated case study of a superintendent of a large southwest urban school district. The case study focused on how the urban school district superintendent could promote relationships with selected stakeholder groups. Document analysis, participant observation, and superintendent interviews comprised the components of the triangulated case study. Decentralization of decision making is vital for the urban school district superintendent to promote relationships with the selected stakeholder groups. The main point for additional research in this topic lies in the challenge of local school council empowerment without school and district leaders having their decision-making authority diminished.

No abstract available / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / am2013 / Genetics / unrestricted

Class of 2015 Abstract / Objectives: To assess the accuracy of the presenting signs and symptoms, diagnostic procedures, and treatments presented in the first 12 episodes of season one, the last 4 episodes of season four, and the last 7 episodes of season six of the television show, House, MD Methods: A descriptive retrospective evaluation of the accuracy of mentioned episodes and seasons of the television series House, MD was performed. The accuracy of the presenting signs and symptoms, diagnostic procedures, and treatment in each episode was rated on a score of 1 to 4. A score of 1 represented information that was correct and average/and or usual, 2 and 3 indicated less accuracy, and 4 represented information that was not correct. Each researcher individually scored the episodes, and a final accuracy score was determined by consensus of the three reviewers. The results for seasons 4 and 6 were combined with episodes previously evaluated in other students’ projects. Results: The ANOVA results showed no statistically significant differences among the variables in Season 1, however, the treatment was the most accurate. In both season 4 and 6, the ANOVA test did demonstrate a statistically significant difference with the treatment group being most accurate. Conclusions: For season 1, there were no differences in accuracy of the treatments and diagnoses when compared to the signs and symptoms of each episode, however, for season 4 and 6, the treatments were more accurate than the presenting signs and symptoms and the diagnoses.

The statistical trend toward an increasing number of early marriages in the United states is causing concern for parents and community officials (21) . The average age of marriage has been declining since 1890. Half of the girls are now married by the time they are twenty and half of the men by the time they are twenty- three (13) . In a study made by Landis (20) of marriages in California high schools, 90 percent of the senior high schools reported one or more student marriages. Similar statistics have been retorted in New Mexico (16) and Oregon (18) . Research has pointed an accusing finger at youthful marriage as a primary factor in the rampant divorce situation, and there is little question but that lack of the competencies which come with the maturing process are a source of marital friction and breakdown.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Tolerance is a diagnostic criterion for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and dependence and is often measured metabolically or behaviorally by comparing blood ethanol concentrations (BEC) or locomotor performance to an ethanol (EtOH) challenge before and after a drinking history, respectively. To explore another aspect of chronic behavioral tolerance in a family history positive (FH+) model of AUD, crossed High Alcohol Preferring (cHAP) mice were allowed to respond instrumentally for an EtOH reinforcer after either a five-week history of continuous home cage two-bottle choice (2BC) drinking or a concurrent five-week water-drinking period. Additionally, some of these animals were placed back into the operant box after home cage drinking histories to respond in extinction, allowing for the quantification of alcohol-motivated seeking alone in the absence of EtOH taking and its intoxicating effects. The results demonstrate that an alcohol history does not lead to a subsequent increase in active lever responding or inactive lever responding when compared to water-drinking controls. However, female cHAP mice with an EtOH-drinking history respond more on the inactive lever in extinction compared to water controls, suggesting that home cage EtOH history potentiates variation in responding in extinction. Overall, female mice responded more on the active lever and drank more alcohol in the reinforced condition, but again, there was not an effect of drinking history on this sex-specific effect. Together these results suggest that while female cHAPs, regardless of drinking history, are more motivated to work to drink EtOH, reinforced and non-reinforced instrumental responding are not reliable readouts for tolerance in cHAP mice compared to other endpoints such as drinking in the dark (DID) assays.

Kinetic data is presented for a variety of ion-neutral reactions which are relevant to the atmosphere of Titan and to the chemistry occurring in interstellar clouds. The data were recorded with a Selected Ion Flow Tube (SIFT) operating at room temperature (294 ± 4 K) and at a pressure of 0.46 Torr. Results of the recent Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan have identified several species in the atmosphere of Titan not predicted by pre-Cassini models of the atmosphere. In order to determine the fate of three of these species (methylenimine, propionitrile and cyanodiacetylene) in Titan's ionosphere, their reactivity with the principal ions in Titan's upper ionosphere has been examined. As expected, collision rate proton transfer reactions dominate the chemistry with association channels also observed with many of the hydrocarbon ions. The results of the Cassini mission also identified several individual reactions as being of potential importance to models of Titan's atmosphere and this chemistry has also been examined. The above studies are also relevant to the interstellar medium where each of the neutral reactants have also been detected. The results of some proton transfer equilibrium studies are also presented. The gas phase basicities of propyne and acetylene have been determined to be 681 kJ mol⁻¹ and 617.4 kJ mol⁻¹ respectively. Their relative proton affinities can be estimated from these values. A combined experimental/theoretical study of the proton affinity of cyanodiacetylene (HC₅N) has enabled this value to be estimated at 770 ± 20 kJ mol⁻¹. Details of an attempt to complete the first laboratory measurement of the crucial reaction between H₃⁺ and atomic carbon are presented. The generation of atomic carbon in sufficient quantities for reaction in the SIFT was not possible with the microwave discharge source used. Other generation methods have also been explored with the laser photolysis of carbon suboxide expected to provide a possible solution to the problems encountered. The results of an investigation into the applicability of lithium ions (Li⁺) to SIFT-MS are presented. The lithium ions associated with each of the twenty-one neutral analytes examined to form pseudo-molecular ions. The association reactions were rapid (k ~ 10⁻⁹ cm³ s⁻¹) for large hydrocarbons but were much slower for smaller analytes (k < 10⁻¹¹ cm³ s⁻¹). In order to clarify some unusual experimental observations, the effect of water molecules on the observed chemistry has been examined in detail. The measured chemistry has important consequences for the applicability of Li⁺ to SIFT-MS where the presence and detection of an identifiable ion of the analyte is essential. Details of new SIFT operating software which can be run on a modern computer are given. Mass spectra and kinetic data recorded with the new software are also presented.