The interaction between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere continues to be a central research theme within climate, hydrology, and ecology communities. This interest is stimulated by research issues pertinent to both the fundamental laws and the hierarchy of scales. To further explorer such topics over various spatial and temporal domains, in this study, biosphere-atmosphere interactions are studied at two different scales, leaf-to-canopy and canopy-to-atmospheric boundary-layer (ABL) scales, by utilizing both models and long-term measurements collected from the Duke Forest AmeriFlux sites. For the leaf-to-canopy scale, two classical problems motivated by contemporary applications are considered: (1) ‘inverse problem’ – determination of nighttime ecosystem respiration, and (2) forward problem – estimation of two-way interactions between leaves and their microclimate ‘’. An Eulerian inverse approach was developed to separate aboveground respiration from forest floor efflux using mean CO2 concentration and air temperature profiles within the canopy using detailed turbulent transport theories. The forward approach started with the assumption that canopy physiological, drag, and radiative properties are known. The complexity in the turbulent transport model needed for resolving the two-way interactions was then explored. This analysis considered a detailed multi-layer ecophysiological and radiative model embedded in a hierarchy of Eulerian turbulent closure schemes ranging from well-mixed assumption to third order closure schemes with local thermal-stratification within the canopy. For the canopy-to-ABL scale, this study mainly explored problems pertinent to the impact of the ecophysiological controls on the regional environment. First, the possible combinations of water states (soil moisture and atmospheric humidity) that trigger convective rainfall were investigated, and a distinct ‘envelope’ of these combinations emerged from the measurements. Second, an analytical model as a function of atmospheric and ecophysiological properties was proposed to examine how the potential to trigger convective rainfall shifts over different land-covers. The results suggest that pine plantation, whose area is projected to dramatically increase in the Southeastern US (SE), has greater potential to trigger convective rainfall than the other two ecosystems. Finally, the interplay between ecophysiological and radiative attributes on surface temperature, in the context of regional cooling/warming, was investigated for projected land-use changes in the SE region. / Dissertation

<p>What are the meanings of "here" and "there" in a digital age? This dissertation explores how blogs reveal new meanings of being "here" in a political space, how blogs reveal new meanings of being (or not being) "here" in a textually-mediated universe, and how blogs reveal new ways of being seen to be "here" when most internet users are just looking and log on and off without saying a word. Beginning with a reflection on the possibilities of democracy in a world where the interface is drawn to the forefront, I argue that the internet presents a new (and imperfect) way for citizens to operate the machinery of government. Next, I consider the consequences of this interface being available to people regardless of their geographic locations or national origins. I argue that citizenship in a digital moment is more closely bound to participation than it is to blood or territory and construct a notion of virtual transnational citizenship.</p><p> Such a notion of transnational citizenship does not signal the end of place and the irrelevance of presence and absence. Instead, it reveals that these concepts must be rethought and refigured. Bloggers flicker between absence and presence: in the blogosphere, every post may be a blogger's last, but there may just be another one waiting for us if we'll click reload. With this ambiguity in mind, I outline a digital ethics of reading that is attentive to both of these possibilities. Finally, I turn to the vast majority of blog users: the "lurkers" who read silently but do not write. I untangle reading, writing, and inscription in order to produce an understanding of how reading works in the blogosphere and argue that the lurker is not so much the reader who does not write as the reader who has not yet written.</p><p> By tracing the meanings of "here" and "there" through the blogosphere, this dissertation contributes to our understanding of what it means to be -politically and metaphysically -in the age of the internet.</p> / Dissertation

The end of cold war indicates the collapse of the bipolar system built by US and Soviet Union together. The international system at post-cold war era also has changed obviously following the trend of globalization, and international relation keeps varying and adjusting. First, global economy has accelerated towards globalization after releasing from the yokes of cold war. As a result, the interdependence of countries become closer and closer, the overall development and diversified trend of the word become more and more obvious. All these bring a strong influence on leading powers such as China, US and E. U, and consequently a significant adjustment on their strategies and relation. Based on geopolitics, these three parties own enormous economic, military and politic influence globally and also regionally, at the same time, China, US and E. U. all take a significant strategic role in America, Asia, and Europe respectively. Therefore, their interaction is an important foundation for observation of leading powers¡¦ relation under globalization background at post-cold war era. Therefore, the discussion on factors that affect relation of three parties, features and their development trend has quite significant meaning theoretically. It is also an innovative attempt in terms of study on the overall nature, especially at the post-cold war era and under the influence of globalization. For the cold war era, Lowell Dittmer¡¦s Strategy Triangle Theory was most frequently used to discuss the strategic relation of three parties in the international system. This study, on the other hand, tires to analyze the relation of these leading powers at post-cold war era under globalization background. From their interaction, it tries to understand how one party coordinates its strategic interests with the other two parties as they are all the most important bodies in international society. It benefits the understanding of internal drives and external pressure under globalization, and also the influence of leading powers¡¦ interaction on international system. This study starts from the ¡§corners¡¨, that is, to analyze three parties¡¦ positioning in the international system and based on one party¡¦s strategy view to the other two parties and strategy planning, to understand these three parties¡¦ strategy logistics and international behavior mode. Following that, it examines the structure of the ¡§sides¡¨ from the bilateral relation of three parties. Finally, it tries to understand the ¡§overall nature¡¨ of three parties based on an examination on the interaction of China, US and E.U. on significant international topics during the 21st century. Topics including events that have significant influence and special meaning on international strategies and national interests of three parties, such as the 911 event, US attack of Iraq, deregulation on shipping weapons to China, to find out the importance and influence of ¡§terrorism¡¨, ¡§regional conflict¡¨, ¡§weapon expansion¡¨, ¡§bilateral relation¡¨ etc. factors on interaction of three-party strategy. All in all, the purpose of this study is to make out the leading powers¡¦ political logistics and model under the globalization background at post-cold war era as well as its international influence.

This research would like to study the influence that US has on the global market by proving the global stock and commodity markets are correlated to the Fed's interest rate policy. Meanwhile, hope this research can help investors to evaluate the market trend and make appropriate investment decision. we look into detail by examining the correlation between the US stock market and different periods of rate hike, rate cut and neutral, respectively. The results are : (1) In rate hike period, normally, the US stock market performed well. It's the time with economy booming at high growth rate and strong domestic demand that the Fed needs to take action, hiking rate, to cool down the market. (2) In the rate cut period, the US stock market was not good. That is because the rate cut decision is normally adopted due to slowing down economy, weak domestic demand, and stock market underperformance. Thus, the accumulated performance won't be too exciting during the rate cut period. (3) In the neutral period, the stock market performed excellently. Especially at the time after Fed's rate cut period, the stock market is booming due to the high liquidity and low interest rate environment, stimulating consumers spending and enterprises investment. (4) In the rate hike period, the oil price and commodity index (comprised by Reuters by averaging19 different commodity future index) were at the best performance. Besides, it also benefited the energy related share price. However, in the rate cut or neutral period, they were up and down without clear trend. (5) At the last, we further study the unexpected rate cut will surprise the market in upside. Given the results of these examinations, it is a good timing to buy when it's approaching the end of rate cut period. If the rate cut is unexpected or the extent is over expectation, investors shouldn't be too pessimistic. Instead, they should believe the government will continuously introduce favorable policy to boost the economy and it is good timing to invest in stock market.

<p>The United States is the single largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. Its engagement is therefore critical to the success of any international effort to prevent man-made global climate change. It was therefore a huge step-back for the international community when President Bush soon after taking office in 2001 rejected the Kyoto Protocol. Despite a strong opposition the international community did not convince the Bush administration to reconsider its decision and re-engage in the Kyoto Protocol process. The objective of this thesis is to investigate which central elements that will increase a US inclination to participate in international agreements after the first commitment period in the Kyoto Protocol. These elements were found through a literature study of four peer-reviewed articles and an empirical analysis of four international partnership agreements. The overall conclusion is that there are several central elements that could increase a US inclination to participate in international agreements after the first commitment period in the Kyoto Protocol. These elements cover a wide range of disciplines from technology over research and development to business interests.</p>

Adenoviruses, particularly types 4 and 7, are associated with febrile respiratory illness (FRI) outbreaks in US military basic trainees. Vaccines against these two serotypes controlled FRI in basic trainees until production ceased in the mid-1990s. After contracting a new manufacturer, adenovirus vaccination of military basic trainees resumed in 2011. The purpose of this dissertation was to assess the cost-effectiveness of using the new adenovirus type 4 and type 7 vaccines for the prevention of FRI in US military basic trainees from the perspective of each military branch. Two decision tree models comparing adenovirus vaccination to no adenovirus vaccination were used for this dissertation. The first model is similar to previous models used to assess the cost-effectiveness of the adenovirus vaccine in the military, where the outcome is number of FRI hospitalizations prevented. The second model created for this dissertation used information gathered from published literature and conversations with experts on the adenovirus vaccine. The outcome for the second model was number of training days lost (TDL) averted. Results from part I indicated that adenovirus vaccination of basic trainees was cost-effective as measured by FRI hospitalizations prevented in all US military service branches but the Coast Guard. The model showed that reintroducing the adenovirus vaccine to basic trainees saved the Army $5.8 million, the Navy, $1 million, the Marine Corps, $238,000, and the Air Force, $5.2 million, annually. In addition, adenovirus vaccination prevented 1,221, 543, 317, 677 cases of FRI hospitalization annually in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force respectively. In part II of this study, adenovirus vaccination of basic trainees was the dominant strategy as measured by TDL averted in all US military service branches but the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard. Results indicate that it would cost approximately $37.63 and $563.78 per TDL averted for the Marine Corps and Coast Guard respectively. Both models used for this dissertation provide evidence supporting the cost-effectiveness of using the adenovirus vaccine in US basic trainees in all services but the Coast Guard. / text

Antebellum abolitionist writing has long been revered by cultural historians and literary scholars for its social and political role in bringing about the end of slavery in the United States. But what happened to abolitionist texts, which originally urged a pointed and timely social agenda, after emancipation? Most critical conversations around major abolitionist texts focus on their original publications. This study, however, demonstrates the significance of the republication, adaptation, and reception of those texts years later, well after slavery had been abolished but when the many legacies of slavery still defined a rapidly evolving political culture. Drawing on archival research and the methodological tools of book history, “Beyond Obsolescence” traces and analyzes texts that were revised, adapted, and republished during Reconstruction (1863 to 1877)—a time during which linguistic and narrative revisions both reflected and helped to produce the dramatic shifts occurring across the social landscape of the United States. The dissertation investigates a series of case studies that propose a way to read such textual revision in relationship to the shifting political culture of Reconstruction and the changing identities of African Americans within that political culture. Through a consideration of the writings and revised texts of Harriet Jacobs, Lydia Maria Child, William Wells Brown, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and George Aiken, the project demonstrates how writers, editors, and playwrights reshaped their work in response to the demands of their audiences as well as public debates about the meaning of slavery, emancipation, and Constitutional change. These dynamic texts would keep alive a rich tradition of abolitionism even as they underwent revisions to meet the exigencies of a postbellum environment. Ultimately, “Beyond Obsolescence” provides a novel account of some of the most familiar anti-slavery texts and brings to light a crucial but overlooked history of US abolitionist literature. / text

Abstract Background: There is insufficient research about the health information seeking, access, and usage among immigrants to the United States, who, face health disparities associated with their immigrant status. Health-information seeking behaviors and attitudes, unique to immigrants, need to be considered as one set of factors contributing to health disparities. Objective: This thesis focused on identifying differences in information seeking behaviors and attitudes between natal and immigrant US residents and the subset who had either themselves had been diagnosed with cancer or who had a family member diagnosed with cancer. Methods/Analyses: Nationally representative Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) data (HINTS4Cycle 3), collected from a sample of respondents (N=3185) by mail between September and December 2013, was used for these analyses. Sample weights were applied during SAS data analysis to account for the complex survey design. Analyses assessed the frequencies of health information seeking behaviors and attitudes of natal versus immigrant US residents. Results: Both natal and immigrant US residents indicated that the Internet was the most popular choice for seeking health or medical information (69.9% and 69.8%, respectively), with the next highest being doctor, healthcare provider, or cancer organization combined (14.3% and 17.1%, respectively). These differences in use of information sources were not significant. Both natal and immigrant US residents “strongly agreed” or “agreed” that they were frustrated (68.1% and 65.8%, respectively) and were concerned about the quality of the information (52.9% and 54.8%, respectively) during the last time they searched for health information. Again, these differences in attitudes toward information were not significant. On the other hand, compared to natal US residents, immigrant US residents were more likely to state that their most recent search took a lot of effort (35.2% and 46.1%, respectively, p=.01). There were also moderate and significant differences between natal and immigrant respondents’ trust toward information from government health agencies (69.3% and 81.3%, respectively, p About one-third (30.2%) of immigrant US residents reported that they spoke English “not well” or “not well at all.” Among the immigrant US residents, the Internet was the source most commonly chosen by both groups (Speak English “very well,” or “well” and speak English “not well” or “not at all”) as the source they went to first during their most recent search for health or medical information (78.1% and 45.8%, respectively, p Conclusions: There are important differences between Internet-related health information seeking behaviors and attitudes of natal US residents and immigrant US residents.

My dissertation consists of four chapters that are motivated by understanding the intended and unintended economic outcomes of public policy in the labor market. My particular focus is studying how individuals respond to incentives created by policy and welfare reform. The first chapter explores the effect of expanding dependent health insurance coverage to young adults. I study both the outcomes from state policies and the recent Affordable Care Act (ACA). In the second chapter I analyze the unintended consequences of a New Deal policy that paid farmers to reduce production. As a result, I find significant displacement of croppers and tenants in the Cotton South. The third chapter ties together the micro-foundations of the labor supply to the firm with the macroeconomic areas of on-the-job search theory and the business cycle. By using employee level data from two US manufacturing firms in the volatile inter-war period, I show that these two firms had significantly more wage setting power during recessions than expansions. My final chapter addresses the question of how does reduced immigration restrictions affect the composition of immigrants in the US.

The demand for a rapid response to constant business developments turns existing corporate legislations and Directives into an obstacle to innovation and progress. Company law’s need for continuously updated and flexible solutions can be accomplished with a model act. In 1950 the US presented its MBCA and there is currently a European working group involved in a voluntary and private project trying to develop a similar model for the EU. An EMCA should cooperate with the competition between Member States and their corporate legislation to further the practice of converging rules within EU company law. The working group needs to study the structure, comprehension, composition and general process of the MBCA project in detail and let the established US project have a greater influence on the EMCA. Concrete examples of what the EMCA group can change in their approach to the project are: 1 Procedure: Make the finished drafted chapters and proposed provisions available for the public. Add more steps to the model act’s development procedure and do not rush the publication and the consulting stages with interested parties. Furthermore, put one reporter in charge of the entire project and its development. 2 Committee: Appoint more corporate law practitioners and professors within closely related areas to corporate law, to members of the Group. Furthermore the “experts” of issues that might occur with the EMCA should be involved during the initial development of the provisions. 3 Material: Reinstate the original objective of initially only providing rules for public companies. Preferably present provisions for private companies in a distinct and separated form at a later stage. If the Working Group were to imitate several of the US procedures for the MBCA project, the EMCA might result in advantageous for the convergence of corporate law within the EU.