These stories are representative of an idea that is repeatedly expressed both in the concrete details of Kipling's stories and in the way he uses language. It is possible to see that Kipling, the archetypical man of the empire, may not always have been the empire's man in his work; and causes for that may be found in the alluring, very non-English place he lived in for several years of his youth: India.

Night-stalking tiger beetles (Cicindelinae: Omus) are among the least studied members of the highly diverse Carabid sub-family Cicindelinae, the tiger beetles. Despite populations of Omus being common in the forest floor habitats of the west coast of North America and their conspicuous predatory role within terrestrial arthropod communities, little is known about the biology and ecology of Omus. Field studies showed that two species of Omus existed in the forested areas of Powell Butte Nature Park, Portland, Oregon, USA: Omus audouiniand O. dejeanii. The co-occurrence of sympatric, and likely syntopic, species allowed for a comparative approach in examining and analyzing previously unknown or unaddressed aspects of the biology of Omus. Both morphometric and behavioral analysis was used to address specific questions regarding niche partitioning and mating behaviors in the genus. On the basis of the competitive exclusion principle, I predicted that these closely related species with similar ecological requirements would experience selective pressure to minimize niche overlap and competitive pressures through morphological character displacement. In particular, the mandibles of male tiger beetles serve a dual role: one as tools for feeding-- including prey capture and prey processing--and another role as secondary sexual organs whereby the males use their mandibles to grasp the female and maintain amplexus. A geometric morphometric approach was used to evaluate and compare shape differences between the two species as well as identify trends of sexual dimorphism and species differences in context of prey base. Tiger beetles obligatorily engage in male-superior mounted mating behavior. Body size was used to first address trends of female-biased sexual size dimorphism within the Carabid subfamily Cicindelinae. Female tiger beetles may be expected to experience proportionally greater stress during mating among larger bodied than smaller bodied species and selection would favor increasingly pronounced female-biased sexual size dimorphism among larger-bodied species. The mating duration of Omuswas anecdotally reported as an order of magnitude greater than any other tiger beetle but has never been experimentally confirmed. I performed a series of pairings under laboratory setting to (1) establish a baseline of mating duration for the two species and test the effects of (2) time of day mating was initiated, (3) food deprivation and (4) operational sex ratio on mating duration. Morphometric analysis suggested niche partitioning existed between the two species due to an average body size scaling factor of x1.3 and an average mandible length scaling factor of x1.5, i.e. "Hutchinsonian Ratios"-- an observed minimum scaling threshold of niche differentiation seen in several natural predator populations. Similar minimum values were not seen between the sexes of either species suggesting an absence of sexual niche dimorphism. Geometric morphometric analysis of the mandibles revealed two distinct regions subject to selective adaptation: the distal region of the mandible (including the apical incisor) was consistently sexually dimorphic between the examined species while the proximal region involving the terebral teeth showed interspecific differences independent of sex and likely associated with prey processing, further supporting the hypothesis of niche partitioning between the two species but not necessarily between the sexes. The magnitude of sexual size dimorphism was found to be constant within Cicindelinae regardless of species body size. Behavioral analysis of mating established thatO. audouiniandO. dejeaniihave average (± SD) mating durations of 10.6 (± 1.8) and 29.4 (± 5.6) hours, respectively. Time of initiation of mating (whether morning or evening), food deprivation and operational sex ratio did not have any statistically significant effect on mating duration for either species. The absence of effect operational sex ratios on mating duration by suggests that mate guarding may not be a universal factor for all tiger beetles and, instead, syn- copulatory courtship, as opposed to pre- or post-copulatory courtship, as a female-choice reproductive mechanism may serve as a better explanation for the mating behaviors seen in Omus.

This thesis includes a full length play and a separate section describing the creation of this play. The play depicts family members struggling with the direct and indirect ramifications of alcoholism, depression, and suicide. The play is composed of two acts; act one contains eight scenes, and act two contains six scenes. It is set in the 1950s and 1960s and takes place in various areas of the family home, at a wedding reception, and at a funeral. The essay section includes a description of the process, a record of changes in the play's direction, notations of personal discoveries, and a self evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the play.

The Intermountain West is comprised of impressive land formations, numerous ecoregions, and a unique biota. The area has many flora and fauna that have been investigated, but the region is generally considered undersampled when it comes to insects. However, I propose the matter to be a lack of shared experience in identifying key insect species and the underutilization of professional and personal collections. These impediments are highlighted by two insect groups in the Intermountain West: spongillaflies and tiger moths.Spongillaflies can be difficult to recognize for the general entomologist and have rarely been recorded in the Intermountain West. My colleagues and I recently discovered a large population of spongillaflies in Utah that we present as a substantial additional record. I also followed the population throughout the 2016 field season to make natural history observations. I identified the spongillaflies to be Climacia californica and their associated host to be Ephydatia fluviatilis. During the season, a total of 1,731 specimens were collected, light traps were the most effective sampling technique and the population had one mass emergence event. I hope my work and figures will help investigators as they continue to search the area for spongillaflies. Tiger moths on the other hand have largely been collected in the Intermountain West and are easily recognized, generally being brightly colored. Because of these bright colors, they attract collectors and have been sampled heavily throughout the Intermountain West. However, until now, these records have not been utilized and tucked away in collections. We took the vast amount of records and used them to create predicted models of biogeography for each tiger moth species in the area. We successfully created species level ecological niche models (ENM) analyzing environmental variables such as temperature, precipitation, elevation, and vegetation. Overall, I found tiger moths can be collected almost everywhere and during each month of the year with 93 different species scattered across the region. I anticipate our ENM models to help researchers locate tiger moths of interest to investigate within the Intermountain West.During my studies, I investigated in detail the lichen feeding tiger moths (Lithosiini). Many tiger moths eat toxic plants, but only a few in the area consume lichen, an unusual host because of their secondary defensive chemicals. I investigated how these chemicals impacted Cisthene angelus caterpillars host selection by simultaneously offering them various lichens with differing chemistries. I expected these caterpillars to avoid usnic acid as it deterred other lichen feeding tiger moths. However, these caterpillars surprised me by consistently consuming the acid and being largely polyphagous. Our future work will be directed at how caterpillars balance nutritional needs and the chemicals they sequester.

Most recently, I have been developing a series that takes place in one metaphysical realm. Small totemic clans have inhabited this world. They are divided by habitat, animality, anatomy, and belief systems. My focus is specifically on the intimate rituals they must perform and all the tools and garb that goes with them. I am interested in informing these fantastical peoples with my personal history of growing up in a Western Catholic environment combined with my new research into Eastern philosophy and faith structures. As the series progresses crossovers and inter-clan relationships seem inevitable.

This is an essay about Indian English and especially its presentaion in the novels The Inheritance of Loss and The White Tiger. The focus is on the lexical presentation in the novels. There is also a presentation of the concept Indian English.

The anxiety produced by the Celtic Tiger collapse created a cultural demand for cognitive frames that made the dramatically altered social circumstances and processes leading to the new economic conditions relatable. To understand the 2008 financial collapse's impact on Ireland, the nation's leading newspaper, the Irish Times, predictably employed tropes in service since the Great Depression, including human body and geological metaphors for the economic system, while rarely using metaphors such as the casino economy or the networked economy that more aptly described the level of speculation in an economic system structured by the realities of the information age. Ireland’s post-Celtic Tiger poets exemplify the reciprocity between journalistic discourse incorporating economic tropes and Irish and Northern Irish poets’ use of this discourse as a method of social critique invested in the political policy direction of their nation. Irish poetry, absorbed in a more intensive version of linguistic expression and experimentation than journalistic discourse and economic rhetoric, provides insight into the effect of economic metaphors on the socio-cultural circumstances of the nation.

Olfactory signals are an important means of social communication among felids. However, not much is known about how individual volatiles of body-borne odours influence behavioural responses. 2-acetyl-1pyrroline has recently been identified as a characteristic component of tiger marking fluid, while being absent from lion marking fluid. One pride each of captive Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) and African lions (Panthera leo) were presented with wooden logs impregnated with four different odours and their behaviour was observed. The tigers displayed significantly more interactions towards the marking fluid component (2-acetyl-1-pyrroline), the conspecific urine odour, and the fruity odour (iso-pentyl acetate) than towards the near odourless control (diethyl phthalate). The lions displayed significantly more behaviours towards conspecific urine than towards any of the other odours.  In general all lions interacted more with the logs than tigers. Hence, these results support the notion that 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline is a species-specific odorant for tiger olfactory communication. Furthermore, the results show that a single compound (2-acetyl-1pyrroline) can elicit behavioural responses to the same degree as a complex chemical mixture (tiger urine). The high number of interactions performed by both species towards the wooden logs impregnated with conspecific urine suggests that conspecific odours are suitable to use as olfactory enrichment for captive felids.

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources / Jeffrey Skibins / Amid rapidly increasing anthropogenically caused wildlife extinctions, zoos are often expected to embrace the role of proactive conservation organizations. Many are leading the way through innovations in the development of engaging visitor experiences. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the new and cutting-edge immersive interpretation within the TigerTrek Exhibit at Taronga Zoo (Sydney, Australia), for its ability to influence visitors to engage in pro-conservation behaviors related to certified sustainable palm oil advocacy and consumerism. Survey data were collected from zoo visitors prior to entering the Sumatran Tiger Trek exhibit (n = 514), upon exiting the exhibit (n = 509), and by email at six-week (n = 106) and six-month (n = 18) intervals post-visit to investigate the immediate and long-term impacts of the exhibit on visitors’ pro-conservation behavioral intentions and actual behaviors. Results indicate an increase in post-visit respondents’ levels of awareness (χ2 = 65.26 (1), p < .001), motivation (t = -6.976 (1029), p < .000) and behavior intentions (t = -5.256 (1042), p < .000), however, post-visit respondents also reported increased levels of concern that all palm oil is grown unsustainably (χ2 = 9.09 (1), p < .01), which runs contrary to interpretive messaging. Follow up surveys revealed after both six-weeks and six-months post-visit; 29.2% of respondents purchased a product because it contained Certified Sustainable Palm Oil, however, 50% of six-week respondents had actively avoided buying a product because it contained palm oil. By understanding how visitors perceive the interpretive messaging within an exhibit and appreciating the types of conservation behaviors visitors are willing and able to engage in, zoos can more effectively achieve their conservation campaign goals.

The Intermountain West is comprised of impressive land formations, numerous ecoregions, and a unique biota. The area has many flora and fauna that have been investigated, but the region is generally considered undersampled when it comes to insects. However, I propose the matter to be a lack of shared experience in identifying key insect species and the underutilization of professional and personal collections. These impediments are highlighted by two insect groups in the Intermountain West: spongillaflies and tiger moths. Spongillaflies can be difficult to recognize for the general entomologist and have rarely been recorded in the Intermountain West. My colleagues and I recently discovered a large population of spongillaflies in Utah that we present as a substantial additional record. I also followed the population throughout the 2016 field season to make natural history observations. I identified the spongillaflies to be Climacia californica and their associated host to be Ephydatia fluviatilis. During the season, a total of 1,731 specimens were collected, light traps were the most effective sampling technique and the population had one mass emergence event. I hope my work and figures will help investigators as they continue to search the area for spongillaflies. Tiger moths on the other hand have largely been collected in the Intermountain West and are easily recognized, generally being brightly colored. Because of these bright colors, they attract collectors and have been sampled heavily throughout the Intermountain West. However, until now, these records have not been utilized and tucked away in collections. We took the vast amount of records and used them to create predicted models of biogeography for each tiger moth species in the area. We successfully created species level ecological niche models (ENM) analyzing environmental variables such as temperature, precipitation, elevation, and vegetation. Overall, I found tiger moths can be collected almost everywhere and during each month of the year with 93 different species scattered across the region. I anticipate our ENM models to help researchers locate tiger moths of interest to investigate within the Intermountain West. During my studies, I investigated in detail the lichen feeding tiger moths (Lithosiini). Many tiger moths eat toxic plants, but only a few in the area consume lichen, an unusual host because of their secondary defensive chemicals. I investigated how these chemicals impacted Cisthene angelus caterpillars host selection by simultaneously offering them various lichens with differing chemistries. I expected these caterpillars to avoid usnic acid as it deterred other lichen feeding tiger moths. However, these caterpillars surprised me by consistently consuming the acid and being largely polyphagous. Our future work will be directed at how caterpillars balance nutritional needs and the chemicals they sequester.