Understanding modern carbonate depositional systems gives valuable insights into the interpretation of ancient carbonate systems. Ancient carbonate strand plains have the potential to act as productive hydrocarbon reservoirs because of their relatively high porosity. Unfortunately, they are difficult to identify in the rock record because of the lack of work done on modern analogues. San Salvador Island in the Bahamas hosts a well-exposed and easily accessible Holocene strand plain, ideal as a modern analogue. Sandy Hook, located on the southeast part of the island, consists of approximately 35 ridge-swale features that show signs of four distinct zones of deposition. In this study, 20 sediment samples were collected from one meter in depth, and throughout each zone. The sediment analysis reveals remarkably consistent grain-size distributions across the four zones. Carbon-14 ages were taken from the sediment samples. They revealed ages decreasing from 2617 ± 188 YBP to modern moving seaward through zone 4. The ages reveal depositional rates of 0.08 to 0.29 meters of accretion per year. Four pseudo-3D GPR surveys were acquired in Zones B, C, and D, and a 2D GPR survey was acquired that spanned the three zones. The pseudo-3D surveys revealed consistent reflectors through the width of the survey indicating that the 2D surveys represent more than the single line. The 2D survey reveals semi-parallel seaward-dipping reflectors (representing fair-weather deposits) that are truncated by sigmoidal seaward-dipping reflectors (high-energy storm deposits). Indicating that Sandy Hook was built through both fair-weather deposits and high-energy storm events.

The United States dedicates greater than 17% of its gross national product to healthcare. This percentage is expected to go up to 20% by 2018. Despite the high cost of care, the health care system remains inefficient and ineffective. Barriers include reduced access to care related to low health literacy. Complicating low health literacy is the high readability score of patient education materials. The high readability score is in part due to tools that are not standardized and measure different aspects of education materials creating varying readability scores. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to adopt a tool, the Clear Communication Index, which is evidence-based and standardized using the federal Plain Language Guidelines, to assess the reading score of educational materials in a 62-bed acute long-term care facility. The plan, do, study, and act model was used as a translational framework to guide this project, and the theory of goal attainment served as the theoretical support for the project. The Clear Communication Index worksheet was used to assess the readability of documents given to patients at discharge. Any score below 90% was considered difficult to understand and required revision. One month after implementation, patient satisfaction scores on 2 metrics showed improvement. The score for 'When I left the hospital, I clearly understood the purpose for taking each of my medications?' increased from 58.2% to 90.7%. The 2nd patient satisfaction survey metric, 'During this hospital stay, did you get information in writing about what symptoms or health problems to look out for after you left the hospital?,' increased from 73.1% to 83.3%. The results may promote social change by providing equal care access to all through readable educational materials.

The Snake River Plain (SRP) is one of the best-preserved examples of continental hotspot volcanis, with a continuous record of volcanism that extends over 16 Ma to the present. Yellowstone-Snake River Plain records the migration of plume-tail volcanism from inception at the Bruneau-Jarbridge caldera complex at 12.6 Ma to its present locus, under the Yellowstone Plateau. Records kept by the Snake River Plain volcanic actions include rhyolite lavas and ignimbritesm minor coeval basalts, and an overlying veneer of younger basalts. The central SRP has received comparatively little attention in the past. The Kimama core hole was drilled as part of Project Hotspot, the Snake River Scientific Drilling Project, which seeks to understand the long-term volcanic and sediment logical history of the SRP volcanic province. The Kimama core hole is the only part of the SRP that has not been scientifically drilled and cored to a significant depth in the past. Investigations of subsurface stratigraphy in continental volcanic provinces such as the SRP-YP are limited by the by the relatively low depth and spatial distribution of cored wells. The study of the Kimama core provides us with a continuous record of basalt and minor sediment deposition. The long-term volcanic history of the SRP, documented by moving magma and its composition, demonstrates that magmatism is mantle plume-derived. Our investigation of the Kimama core, combined with new mantle tomography, provides evidence that refutes non-plume models for the origin of the Snake River Plain volcanic province.

Hundreds of wetland bird species use ricelands annually in the Gulf Coast Prairie region of Louisiana and Texas. Much of the original ecosystem was transformed for rice and other crops, cattle ranching, flood control, and other human uses. Flooded production and idled ricelands provide critical foraging habitat for breeding, migrating, and wintering wetland birds. Ricelands in coastal Louisiana and Texas provide approximately 42% of the estimated habitat carrying capacity for wintering waterfowl in this region. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico prompted enactment of the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI) by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The MBHI provided avian habitat, including flooded ricelands, inland from oil impacted areas. My objectives were to: 1) estimate and model variation in biomass of waste rice and natural seeds as potential waterfowl forage in Gulf Coast Prairie ricelands, 2) estimate and model variation in wetland bird use of ricelands, and 3) conduct sensitivity analyses of bioenergetics models by varying foraging thresholds and true metabolizable energy (TME) values. A growing season of ~270 days allows Gulf Coast rice producers to grow two rice crops (i.e., the second termed ratoon). Waste rice was greatest in production fields with harvested and standing ratoon crops, and natural seed biomass was greatest in idled fields with standing vegetation. Wetland bird species richness and waterbird abundance were greatest in shallowly flooded (1–15 cm) ricelands with sparse vertical vegetation (1–20 cm), and duck abundance was greatest in shallow–intermediately (1–30 cm) flooded ricelands with short vegetation (1–15 cm). Shallowly flooded rice fields containing harvested or standing ratoon crops, and shallowly flooded idled fields with standing vegetation provided abundant potential foods for waterfowl and waterbirds. Bioenergetics models indicated that planners in the Gulf Coast Prairie region may be underestimating riceland habitat requirements for waterfowl by 10,000 ha. Models were most sensitive to changes in seed biomass estimates, and less sensitive to changes in foraging thresholds and TME values. Collectively, these results will facilitate conservation partners to refine models for conserving habitats for waterfowl and other waterbirds in the Gulf Coast Prairie.

Rice not collected by harvesters and natural seeds are important foods for waterfowl. Estimation of abundance of these seeds is necessary for calculating waterfowl habitat conservation needs in the Louisiana Chenier Plain (LCP) and Texas Mid-Coast (TMC). My objectives were to quantify dry mass of rice and other seeds from August-November 2010, and estimate waterbird abundances on farmed and idle ricelands in these regions from December 2010-March 2011. Rice abundance in farmed ricelands ranged from 159.7 kg/ha (CV = 66.6%) to 1,014.0 kg/ha (CV = 8.3%). Natural seed abundance in idle ricelands ranged from 99.7 kg/ha (CV = 32.9%) to 957.4 kg/ha (CV = 17.2%). Greatest waterbird densities occurred in shallowly flooded (i.e., ¡Ü30 cm) disked ricelands (mean = 7.35 waterbirds/ha, 90%; CI = 2.37-19.70). Ratoon, disked, and shallowly flooded ricelands are important habitat for non-breeding waterbirds but variable estimates of seed and waterbird abundances warrant continuation of this study.

This study numerically examines the heat transfer and pressure drop performance of finned tube heat exchangers with staggered and inline tube layout for a range of tube pitch. The first part of the thesis considers the case where the heat exchanger is placed in fully ducted airflow. The simulations indicate that the performance reduced considerably for the staggered tube layout with an increase in the tube pitch, but a minimal difference for the inline tube arrangement. The effects of other geometrical parameters like fin pitch and the number of tube rows are then presented. Finally, a correlation for fin and tube heat exchangers with inline tube layout is proposed based on 280 simulations for 70 different configurations. The proposed heat transfer correlation can describe the database within ±8% discrepancy while the friction factor correlation can correlate the dataset within a ±10% discrepancy. The mean deviations for heat transfer and friction factor correlations are 4.3% and 5.4%. An important factor that influences the performance of flat plate and finned tube heat exchangers is when there is bypass flow around the heat exchanger. The next section of this thesis numerically investigates the partially ducted inline fin and tube heat exchanger with side bypass. The effects of the side clearance and the Reynolds number on the heat transfer and the pressure drop performance of the heat exchanger are presented. The simulations indicate that the heat transfer performance depreciates by more than 25% for infinite side clearance. The study then compares the pressure difference observed for entry, exit and the friction pressure drop with the various correlations available in the literature. Finally, the heat transfer and pressure drop performance for staggered and inline tube layouts are compared. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

There are four distinguishable groundwater systems in the Boise area, Idaho, U.S.A., identified as modern batholith, thermal batholith, Boise frontal fault, and Nampa-Caldwell systems (Figure 1). Modern batholith and thermal batholith groundwaters are located in Tertiary to Cretaceous aged granites and granodiorites of the Atlanta lobe of the Idaho Batholith. The frontal fault system near Boise, ID defines the southeastern edge of the Idaho Batholith, and divides the batholith from the western Snake River Plain. The Nampa-Caldwell system is in the volcanic, fluvial and pluvial sediments of the western Snake River Plain. Groundwater ages for these systems are modern, 5-15 ka, 10-20 ka, and 20-40 ka respectively. Local meteoric water lines (LMWL) using the delta 2H and delta 18O composition of the groundwater were defined for each system using linear regression techniques. LMWL had variable and defined single slopes of 6.94 and 8. Deuterium excess values (d) were found for each system for each linear regression method. Relative differences of the deuterium excess value assuming the two single slope methods were similar. Changes in moisture source humidity and temperature, and Boise area recharge temperatures calculated from stable isotopic data and the deuterium excess factor agree with other published data. At the moisture source there was a 9% humidity increase and a 7-6 °C decrease of sea surface temperature between the present and the last glacial maximum (LGM). The local temperature decreased 4-5 °C from the present to the LGM for the Boise area.

This thesis discusses the benefits of using plain language in legal documents and the role technical communicators can play to help implement plain language. Although many definitions for plain language exist, it is best described as reader-focused communication that presents information in a manner that makes it easy for a reader to find, understand, and use the information. Plain language facilitates comprehension by using shorter, less complex sentences; active voice; and common words. All these elements aid in processing and understanding information, especially unfamiliar concepts. Laypeople, unversed in the law, frequently have difficulty understanding traditional legal writing. The complex sentences, wordiness, and redundancy that characterize traditional legal writing often inhibit comprehension and become barriers to understanding. To demonstrate how plain language can improve legal writing, this thesis reviews before-and-after versions of documents that were revised to incorporate plain language as well as common documents that laypeople might encounter. The studies and research discussed in this thesis demonstrate that readers achieve greater comprehension with plain language documents. Technical communicators, the language experts, can work with legal professionals, the content experts, to help encourage plain language use in legal writing. By emphasizing plain language use in legal formbooks, law school courses, and continuing legal education courses, plain language will become more dominant. Technical communicators can work with governments and law firms to develop and run in-house writing programs. When organizations realize how plain language can benefit them, both economically as well as in improved consumer relations, they will be motivated to adopt plain language into their legal writing.

This thesis seeks to investigate the influence and applicability of three technical writing principles across electronic maintenance manuals in the aerospace defense industry: military standard (MIL-STD) guidelines, plain language, and audience scope. Aerospace defense technical writers are liaisons tasked with coherent communication on advanced technological developments for technicians maintaining equipment. Their primary responsibility involves synthesizing specialized content from subject matter experts to draft comprehensive instructions for personnel safety and product sustainment during critical military operations. Current literature insufficiently examines the significance between aerospace defense technical documents and product performance following routine maintenance. Poorly composed manuals contribute to technician misinterpretation or disregard due to convoluted procedures and disorganized appearances increasing malfunction probabilities. Writing-based MIL-STDs and Simplified English emerged as efforts to mitigate understanding obstructs amongst domestic and international novice technicians. Maintenance manuals must conform to governmental guidelines including product liability laws, cultural variables, and audience expectations. Interview findings with two practitioners each from a different aerospace defense company supports the prediction that technical writing theories considerably impacts maintenance manual quality and recipience throughout the aerospace defense industry.

This case study uses a reading comprehension test and interviews to investigate how readers with and readers without reading or writing difficulties understand and perceive a decision on building permission in two versions: an original version and a version revised in accordance with the recommendations in a guide to plain language, Klarspråk­stestet för beslut. The aim is to contribute to usage guidance on adjusting texts for people with reading and writing difficulties and to study how comprehension and perception differ between those who have reading and writing difficulties and a control group. The study includes twelve participants, half of them with reading and writing difficulties. The theoretical framework of the study is plain language based on adequate simplifications and explanations for the intended recipient.   The result shows that there were differences between the groups’ mean scores on comprehension questions when they have read the decision in the original form, but there were no longer any differences between the groups when they had read the version in plain language. Just two people answered all the questions on the reading comprehension test correctly. One of the reasons for this may be that decisions on building permission are a type of decision that can be difficult to understand. Revising such decisions in accordance with the recommendations of the Swedish Language Council can facilitate reading comprehension, but does not automatically mean that the content is correctly understood or that the decision is perceived as being sufficiently adapted to the reader’s perspective. The result of the reading perception test shows that most participants were more positively disposed towards the plain language version of the decision. Another result is that there is a tendency for the last text the informants read to be perceived as better. All the informants’ responses to the questions on perception show that they want to find answers to their questions early in the text. The participants with reading and writing difficulties think that the technical terms should be explained in detail, while the informants without reading and writing difficulties think that these words are sufficiently well explained. The viewpoints expressed about the content show that the informants have different reading goals.