Kamala Harris made history on November 7, 2020, when she was elected as the first female Vice President of the United States. In addition to being the first woman, she became the first African-American and Indian-American to attain this position. As a result, the media had to grapple with how to cover her historic campaign from the moment she was announced as the vice-presidential selection. This qualitative thematic analysis examined The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal's coverage of her campaign with significant analysis on important events such as the initial buzz surrounding her selection, the convention speech, and the vice-presidential debate. Specifically, this study examines 70 news articles total from both newspapers from August 11-November 3, 2020 to determine the recurring themes from her coverage. Results indicated that although traditional media frames and themes were not a significant focus, Harris's intersectionality brought about a new set of frames to explore, with subtle differences between the two newspapers. Implications of these results and future considerations for the media are discussed. / Master of Arts / Kamala Harris made history on November 7, 2020, when she was elected as the first female Vice President of the United States. In addition to being the first woman, she became the first African-American and Indian-American to attain this position. Throughout her campaign, the media had to learn how to cover an historic candidate effectively, since this moment had no precedent. This thesis chose to explore The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal's coverage of her campaign because of their influence in shaping the news around the country and they both represent different sides of the political spectrum. Important events that are covered include the initial announcement, the convention speech, and the vice-presidential debate. This study looks to determine if the stereotypical frames that the media places on female candidates are still seen with Harris. Results indicated that although traditional media stereotypes were not a significant focus, Harris's identity brought about a new set of themes to analyze, with each paper focusing on different aspects. Implications of these results and future considerations for the media are discussed.

The Sustainable Water Interactive for Tomorrow (SWIFT) project in eastern Virginia is a Managed Aquifer Recharge project designed to alleviate the depletion of the Potomac Aquifer System due to unsustainable groundwater withdrawals. At the SWIFT Research Center (SWIFTRC) in Nansemond, VA, a pilot testing well (TW-1) has been implemented to help determine the feasibility of full-scale implementation. The pumping data from TW-1 and observation head data from surrounding monitoring wells (MW) at the SWIFTRC were used to calculate hydrogeological parameters (transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity, specific storage, and storage coefficient). Two sets of data were analyzed from before and after TW-1 was rehabilitated to account for the change in the flow distribution to each screen in TW-1. Comparing the results to past literature, the calculated (Theis and Cooper-Jacob methods) hydraulic conductivity/transmissivity values are within the same order of magnitude. Using borehole logs as well as apparent conductance and resistivity logs, multiple single and multi-layered models for both the upper and middle Potomac aquifers were produced with MODFLOW. Parameter estimation using MODFLOW and PEST and the two sets of observation data resulted in hydrogeological parameters similar to those calculated using Theis and Cooper-Jacob methods. The change in the hydraulic conductivity and specific storage between the pre and post rehabilitation flow distributions is proportional to that change in the flow distribution. For future modeling of the aquifer system, the hydrogeological parameters from the model using the 4/26/19 data set with the post rehabilitation flow distribution is recommended. Drawdown results from a multi-layered MODFLOW model were compared to results using the Theis method using both the Theis-calculated and MODFLOW-PEST modeled hydrogeological parameters. The results were nearly identical except for the Upper Potomac Aquifer (UPA) layer 1, as the model has a large change in aquifer thickness with distance from TW-1 that the Theis-based calculations do not consider. Travel times from the monitoring wells to TW-1 were calculated with the single and multi-layered models pumping 700 GPM from TW-1. Travel times from the SWIFT MW within the UPA sublayers ranged from 204 to 597 days depending on the sublayer, while travel times from the USGS MW within the UPA sublayers ranged from 2,395 to 7,859 days. For the single layer model of the UPA, the travel time from the SWIFT MW to TW-1 was 372 days while the travel time from the USGS MW was 4,839 days. Travel times from the SWIFT MW within the MPA sublayers were 416 and 1,195 days, while travel times from the USGS MW within the MPA sublayers were 4,339 and 11,245 days. For the single layer model of the MPA, the travel time from the SWIFT MW to TW-1 was 743 days while the travel time from the USGS MW was 7,545 days. / Master of Science / The Sustainable Water Interactive for Tomorrow (SWIFT) project in eastern Virginia is a project designed to help slow the depletion of the Potomac Aquifer System due to unsustainable groundwater withdrawals. At the SWIFT Research Center (SWIFTRC) in Nansemond, VA, a testing well (TW-1) has been implemented to help determine if the full-scale implementation of the SWIFT project is feasible. The pumping data from TW-1 and observation head data from surrounding monitoring wells (MW) at the SWIFTRC were used to calculate hydrogeological parameters (transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity, specific storage, and storage coefficients). These parameters help describe the behavior of the aquifer system. Two sets of data were analyzed from before and after TW-1 was rehabilitated to account for the change in the flow distribution within TW-1. Comparing the results to past literature, the calculated (using analytical methods, Theis and Cooper-Jacob methods) hydraulic conductivity/transmissivity values are within the same order of magnitude. Using data from the boreholes, multiple single and multi-layered models for both the upper and middle Potomac aquifers were produced with MODFLOW, a groundwater modeling software. Estimating parameters using observation data within MODFLOW resulted in hydrogeological parameters similar to those calculated using the Theis and Cooper-Jacob methods. The change in the hydraulic conductivity and specific storage between the pre and post rehabilitation flow distributions within TW-1 is proportional to that change in the flow distribution. For future modeling of the aquifer system, the hydrogeological parameters from the model using the 4/26/19 (most recent) data set with the post rehabilitation (more current) flow distribution is recommended. Drawdown (decrease in the water table) results from a multi-layered MODFLOW model were compared to results using the Theis method using both the Theis-calculated and MODFLOW modeled hydrogeological parameters. The results were nearly identical except for the Upper Potomac Aquifer (UPA) layer 1, as the model has a large change in aquifer thickness with distance from TW-1 that the Theis-based calculations do not consider. The time it took for a particle of water to travel from the monitoring wells to TW-1 were calculated with the single and multi-layered models pumping 700 GPM from TW-1. Travel times from the SWIFT MW within the UPA sublayers ranged from 204 to 597 days depending on the sublayer, while travel times from the USGS MW within the UPA sublayers ranged from 2,395 to 7,859 days. For the single layer model of the UPA, the travel time from the SWIFT MW to TW-1 was 372 days while the travel time from the USGS MW was 4,839 days. Travel times from the SWIFT MW within the MPA sublayers were 416 and 1,195 days, while travel times from the USGS MW within the MPA sublayers were 4,339 and 11,245 days. For the single layer model of the MPA, the travel time from the SWIFT MW to TW-1 was 743 days while the travel time from the USGS MW was 7,545 days.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo estudar o discurso político americano do período inicial da guerra na Síria, visto pela perspectiva do jornal The New York Times. A partir de uma abordagem discursiva baseada principalmente em Foucault (1971), procuramos compreender de que forma a narração da guerra no jornal é constituída por valores culturais americanos que se transformam em uma episteme de compreensão do mundo, dos homens e da realidade. Propomos um olhar para o corpus de análise que permita observar, primeiramente, como o sujeito que tem o direito à fala vai se constituindo e construindo seus objetos: a guerra e o inimigo. Em um segundo momento, baseado nas teorias sobre Império desenvolvidas por Hardt e Negri (2001) e nos estudos de Said (1993, 1999) sobre Orientalismo, observamos como o discurso sobre a guerra da Síria se constitui com base em um projeto ideológico expansionista americano, que se desenvolveu desde a constituição e consolidação da nação e que se encontra para além das fronteiras geográficas. Por fim, concentramos nossa análise no papel da mídia como produtora de um material simbólico, que, ao dar inteligibilidade à guerra, entra em consonância com o espírito americano, fortalecendo-o. Ao transitar entre dois mundos culturais diferentes, o americano e o sírio, a mídia estabelece dois lugares: o do eu e o do outro. Conflitos emergem desse contraste, ora em uma relação de subjugação do outro, colocando-o em posição de inferioridade, ora em uma espécie de ameaça à imagem americana. Concluímos que, ao observar a guerra por uma perspectiva americana, o jornal The New York Times, por refletir um projeto hegemônico em plena expansão, transforma-se, em certa medida, em um agente dessa ação. Acreditamos que reconhecer as estruturas discursivas constituintes desse discurso é posicionar-se criticamente com relação ao que é produzido pela mídia. / This thesis aims at studying the American discourse in the beginning of the Syrian war as seen by the perspective of The New York Times coverage. In a discursive approach, based mainly on Foucaults theories (1971), we focus on analyzing how the newspapers narrative of the war, which comprises American cultural values, builds itself as a kind of episteme that shapes the understanding of the world, men, and reality. We first propose a way of looking into our analytical corpus that allows for an observation of how the subject that is given the right to speak constitutes himself and his objects, namely the war and the enemy. Secondly, in accordance with theories developed by Hardt and Negri (2001) as well as Said (1993,1999), we intend to observe how the discourse about the Syrian war is constructed based on an ideological and expansionist American project, which has been shaped since the onset of colonization and it is far beyond the nations geographical borders. Lastly, we concentrate the analysis on the media as a producer of symbolic material which, in an attempt to give intelligibility to the war, tunes in with ideals that strengthen the American spirit. As the newspaper goes back and forth into the two different cultural worlds of America and Syria, the media establishes two distinct locations: one of the I and one of the other. Conflicts, as a consequence, emerge from this contrast, sometimes in a relation of subjugation of the other by depicting it as inferior, other times as a threat to the American image. We conclude that, by observing the war through an American perspective, the New York Times not only reflects a hegemonic project in full expansion but also functions to a certain extent as an agent of this process. We believe that to recognize the discursive structures present in this discourse is to engage critically in the observation and interpretation of what is produced by the media.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo estudar o discurso político americano do período inicial da guerra na Síria, visto pela perspectiva do jornal The New York Times. A partir de uma abordagem discursiva baseada principalmente em Foucault (1971), procuramos compreender de que forma a narração da guerra no jornal é constituída por valores culturais americanos que se transformam em uma episteme de compreensão do mundo, dos homens e da realidade. Propomos um olhar para o corpus de análise que permita observar, primeiramente, como o sujeito que tem o direito à fala vai se constituindo e construindo seus objetos: a guerra e o inimigo. Em um segundo momento, baseado nas teorias sobre Império desenvolvidas por Hardt e Negri (2001) e nos estudos de Said (1993, 1999) sobre Orientalismo, observamos como o discurso sobre a guerra da Síria se constitui com base em um projeto ideológico expansionista americano, que se desenvolveu desde a constituição e consolidação da nação e que se encontra para além das fronteiras geográficas. Por fim, concentramos nossa análise no papel da mídia como produtora de um material simbólico, que, ao dar inteligibilidade à guerra, entra em consonância com o espírito americano, fortalecendo-o. Ao transitar entre dois mundos culturais diferentes, o americano e o sírio, a mídia estabelece dois lugares: o do eu e o do outro. Conflitos emergem desse contraste, ora em uma relação de subjugação do outro, colocando-o em posição de inferioridade, ora em uma espécie de ameaça à imagem americana. Concluímos que, ao observar a guerra por uma perspectiva americana, o jornal The New York Times, por refletir um projeto hegemônico em plena expansão, transforma-se, em certa medida, em um agente dessa ação. Acreditamos que reconhecer as estruturas discursivas constituintes desse discurso é posicionar-se criticamente com relação ao que é produzido pela mídia. / This thesis aims at studying the American discourse in the beginning of the Syrian war as seen by the perspective of The New York Times coverage. In a discursive approach, based mainly on Foucaults theories (1971), we focus on analyzing how the newspapers narrative of the war, which comprises American cultural values, builds itself as a kind of episteme that shapes the understanding of the world, men, and reality. We first propose a way of looking into our analytical corpus that allows for an observation of how the subject that is given the right to speak constitutes himself and his objects, namely the war and the enemy. Secondly, in accordance with theories developed by Hardt and Negri (2001) as well as Said (1993,1999), we intend to observe how the discourse about the Syrian war is constructed based on an ideological and expansionist American project, which has been shaped since the onset of colonization and it is far beyond the nations geographical borders. Lastly, we concentrate the analysis on the media as a producer of symbolic material which, in an attempt to give intelligibility to the war, tunes in with ideals that strengthen the American spirit. As the newspaper goes back and forth into the two different cultural worlds of America and Syria, the media establishes two distinct locations: one of the I and one of the other. Conflicts, as a consequence, emerge from this contrast, sometimes in a relation of subjugation of the other by depicting it as inferior, other times as a threat to the American image. We conclude that, by observing the war through an American perspective, the New York Times not only reflects a hegemonic project in full expansion but also functions to a certain extent as an agent of this process. We believe that to recognize the discursive structures present in this discourse is to engage critically in the observation and interpretation of what is produced by the media.

<p>The development and provision of equitable and acceptable standard of health services to all segments of the population has been the major objective of the 1993 Ethiopian National health policy. However, community based studies on satisfaction with public health care facilities reveal that the majority of the population are not satisfied with the services provided predominantly as a result of the long waiting times. Studies done on private health facilities on the contrary reveal that patients are satisfied with the service delivered within short waiting times in these clinics. Even though the speculated waiting time is thought to be long among the public health care facilities and short in private clinics, the actual waiting and service times have not been measured and compared. Aim: To determine the waiting and service times among the public and private health care facilities and measure the perceptions of &ldquo / acceptable&rdquo / waiting time among the providers and clients. Materials and methods: A cross sectional observational study using quantitative techniques was carried out amongst patients and staff at selected public and private health care facilities in Gondar District. Stratified sampling method was used to select facilities. All patients visiting the selected facilities and all staff who provided service to patients on the day of the study were included in the time-delimited sample. Data was collected by research assistants and health workers from all patients attending the health care facility by registering the arrival and departure time of each patient to the facility and to each service point on a patient flow card. Then data was cleaned and captured by a specific Waiting and Service Time database. Descriptive statistics was done on waiting and service times for each facility and this was summarized for each public and private health facility by using tables and graphs. Finally a comparison was made for private and public health facilities by using Wilcoxon-mann-whitney non parametric tests.</p>

<p>The development and provision of equitable and acceptable standard of health services to all segments of the population has been the major objective of the 1993 Ethiopian National health policy. However, community based studies on satisfaction with public health care facilities reveal that the majority of the population are not satisfied with the services provided predominantly as a result of the long waiting times. Studies done on private health facilities on the contrary reveal that patients are satisfied with the service delivered within short waiting times in these clinics. Even though the speculated waiting time is thought to be long among the public health care facilities and short in private clinics, the actual waiting and service times have not been measured and compared. Aim: To determine the waiting and service times among the public and private health care facilities and measure the perceptions of &ldquo / acceptable&rdquo / waiting time among the providers and clients. Materials and methods: A cross sectional observational study using quantitative techniques was carried out amongst patients and staff at selected public and private health care facilities in Gondar District. Stratified sampling method was used to select facilities. All patients visiting the selected facilities and all staff who provided service to patients on the day of the study were included in the time-delimited sample. Data was collected by research assistants and health workers from all patients attending the health care facility by registering the arrival and departure time of each patient to the facility and to each service point on a patient flow card. Then data was cleaned and captured by a specific Waiting and Service Time database. Descriptive statistics was done on waiting and service times for each facility and this was summarized for each public and private health facility by using tables and graphs. Finally a comparison was made for private and public health facilities by using Wilcoxon-mann-whitney non parametric tests.</p>

The aim of this thesis is to analyse Zibaldone di pensieri, the private diary of Italian poet, writer and philosopher Giacomo Leopardi. The first part of the thesis is dedicated to Leopardi's biography. We focus on his childhood, youth and on the events that had effect on his thinking. The crucial part of the thesis deals with the diary Zibaldone; with its structure, autobiographical features and with various ways in which we can look at this text. In the following part of the work we analyse some of the topics of Zibaldone. Observing the development of Leopardi's thinking, we deal with various phases of author's pessimism and with his perception of nature, reason, human destiny and ancient and modern world.

Magister Public Health - MPH / The development and provision of equitable and acceptable standard of health services to all segments of the population has been the major objective of the 1993 Ethiopian National health policy. However, community based studies on satisfaction with public health care facilities reveal that the majority of the population are not satisfied with the services provided predominantly as a result of the long waiting times. Studies done on private health facilities on the contrary reveal that patients are satisfied with the service delivered within short waiting times in these clinics. Even though the speculated waiting time is thought to be long among the public health care facilities and short in private clinics, the actual waiting and service times have not been measured and compared. Aim: To determine the waiting and service times among the public and private health care facilities and measure the perceptions of 'acceptable' waiting time among the providers and clients. Materials and methods: A cross sectional observational study using quantitative techniques was carried out amongst patients and staff at selected public and private health care facilities in Gondar District. Stratified sampling method was used to select facilities. All patients visiting the selected facilities and all staff who provided service to patients on the day of the study were included in the time-delimited sample. Data was collected by research assistants and health workers from all patients attending the health care facility by registering the arrival and departure time of each patient to the facility and to each service point on a patient flow card. Then data was cleaned and captured by a specific Waiting and Service Time database. Descriptive statistics was done on waiting and service times for each facility and this was summarized for each public and private health facility by using tables and graphs. Finally a comparison was made for private and public health facilities by using Wilcoxon-mann-whitney non parametric tests. / South Africa

Magister Public Health - MPH / Aim: To determine the waiting and service times among the public and private health care facilities and measure the perceptions of “acceptable” waiting time among the providers and clients.

Dans le cadre des débats sur la transition énergétique, l'implémentation des Smart Grids est avancée comme une part de la solution pour répondre à la fois aux questions climatiques et aux enjeux énergétiques. Les modèles de prospective constituent des outils d'aide à la décision permettant d'orienter les trajectoires énergétiques afin de satisfaire aux futures demandes en tenant compte de contraintes environnementales et techniques. Ces modèles historiques, caractérisés principalement par l'adéquation de l'offre à la demande doivent désormais évoluer pour intégrer les développements futurs attendus du système électrique. Dans ce travail, nous avons implémenté dans une approche de long terme différentes fonctionnalités propres aux Smart Grids (gestion de la demande, stockage, énergies renouvelables). Cette approche nous permet d'évaluer les bénéfices liés à chacune d'entre elles séparément, ou bien conjointement au travers de bouquets de solutions, tenant ainsi compte des possibles interactions entre ces fonctionnalités. Nous avons également intégré un indicateur reflétant le niveau de fiabilité du système électrique dans notre modèle. Ce paramètre supplémentaire permet de contraindre les futurs systèmes électriques afin qu'ils garantissent un niveau de service en terme de fourniture électrique identique à celui des systèmes existants. Cette étude est illustrée par le cas de l'île de la Réunion, qui s'est donné pour objectif de produire d'ici 2030 son électricité à partir de sources uniquement renouvelables, et pour qui les fonctionnalités de Smart Grids pourraient constituer un levier intéressant. / In the context of discussions on the energy transition, the general consensus is that part of the solution could come from Smart Grids to deal both with climate and energy issues. Prospective energy systems models may be used to estimate the long-term development of the energy system in order to meet future energy demands while taking into account environmental and technical constraints. These historical models are demand driven and should from now on evolve to considerate future developments of the electricity system. In this study, we have implemented some functionalities related to the concept of Smart Grids in a long-term planning model (demand-side integration, storage, renewable energy). This approach makes it possible to evaluate their benefits separately or collectively, taking into account possible interactions between these functionalities. We have also implemented an indicator reflecting the level of reliability of the electricity system in our model. This additional parameter enables to constrain future electricity systems to ensure a level of reliability identical to the existing one. Our analysis is demonstrated by the case of the Reunion Island, which aims to produce electricity using 100% renewable sources by 2030, and for which Smart Grids functionalities are also potential solutions for reaching this objective.