abstract: This thesis looks at the 1842 Supreme Court ruling of Prigg v. Pennsylvania, the events leading up to this case, and the subsequent legislative fallout from the decision. The Supreme Court rendered this ruling in an effort to clear up confusion regarding the conflict between state and federal law with regard to fugitive slave recovery. Instead, the ambiguities contained within the ruling further complicated the issue of fugitive slave recovery. This complication commenced when certain state legislatures exploited an inadvertent loophole contained in the ruling. Thus, instead of mollifying sectional tension by generating a clear and concise process of fugitive slave recovery, the Supreme Court exacerbated sectional tension. Through an analysis of newspapers, journals, laws and other contemporary sources, this thesis demonstrates that Prigg v. Pennsylvania and the subsequent legislative reactions garnered much attention. Through a review of secondary literature covering this period, a lack of demonstrable coverage of this court case emerges, which shows that scant coverage has been paid to this important episode in antebellum America. Additionally, the lack of attention paid to this court case ignores a critical episode of rising sectional tension during the 1840s. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. History 2010

This dissertation presents the results of a comparison of human skeletons from two historic villages (the Larson site, 39WW2, and the Leavenworth site, 39CO9), which were inhabited by Great Plains Village Horticulturalists following the arrival of Europeans and Americans. The people living at these villages are suspected to have experienced changes to their cultural practices, with Larson occupied during the beginning of the Post-Contact period and Leavenworth occupied just before the complete abandonment of the Plains Village lifeway. This study examines whether observed differences in the strength of the bones of their limbs resulted from different activities performed at each village or if the introduction of new genes may have altered limb bone shape during the Post-Contact period. The analysis relies on the examination of limb bone strength (cross-sectional properties) to identify patterns related to activities, but unlike previous studies that examine cross-sectional properties, this analysis includes a measure of biological distance to determine if biological kin share limb bone shape. The results indicate some general trends in limb strength during the Post-Contact period including a reduction in male lower limb bone strength and increased asymmetry in the lower limbs of the women at the later village, and many variables indicate greater variation in limb bone strength among women from both villages. While it is difficult to draw any definitive conclusions about activity, the patterns seem to support accounts from the archaeological and historic records regarding the introduction of new cultural practices and a reduction in mobility, especially among males. The interpretation that these patterns may result from changing activities is bolstered by the analysis of biological distance. Mantel results comparing biodistance scores based on odontometry and distance scores based on limb geometry indicate that intragroup pairwise distance scores rarely correlate, with the left humeri being the most consistent exception to this pattern. The left humeri (and potentially the radius and ulna) may exhibit similarities among related individuals due to these non-dominant bones receiving relatively less biomechanical stress during activities. A seeming paradox developed in the analysis when groups (male and female samples from each site) were compared. Unlike biodistance between individuals, the groups exhibiting the greatest genetic similarities also exhibit the greatest similarity in the cross-sectional shape of their right and left femora, right humeri, and right radii, with the mid-section of the femur exhibiting the most consistent correlation regardless of the side used in the analyses. These bones seem to be the ones experiencing the greatest biomechanical stress during activities. At the group level, shape for those bones experiencing a relatively high degree of biomechanical stress during activity seem to mirror genetic relationships. These correlations may result from a convergence between genetic patterns and activity patterns. Despite greater univariate variation within each sample, females across the two sites exhibit closer biological distances than do the males. This result may be due to both matrilocality, which creates less variation within the female population over time, and continuity in female activity over time. By contrast, males exhibit a greater degree of divergence, suggesting that males from each site are more genetically dissimilar than females and that they may have experienced a greater degree of change to their activities.

O aumento da prevalência do sobrepeso e da obesidade tem se revelado um problema de saúde pública mundial. O desenvolvimento da obesidade envolve múltiplos fatores, como padrão de atividade física, padrão de alimentação, variáveis sociais e ambientais, fatores biológicos e genéticos. O objetivo deste estudo, que está aninhado no Projeto de Pesquisa OBEDIARP, foi avaliar a prevalência do sobrepeso e da obesidade na população adulta residente no município de Ribeirão Preto, estado de São Paulo, no ano de 2006 e estimá-la segundo variáveis sóciodemográficas, padrão de atividade física, padrão alimentar e saúde auto-referida. O estudo teve um delineamento transversal e foi desenvolvido no período de março de 2006 a junho de 2009. O processo de amostragem foi desenvolvido em três estágios, sendo o setor censitário a unidade primária de amostragem. Utilizou-se amostra ponderada de 2197 participantes. As variáveis do estudo foram: estado nutricional, sexo, idade, nível educacional, padrão de atividade física, tempo sentado, escores de freqüência de consumo de alimentos e auto-percepção do estado de saúde. A coleta dos dados ocorreu mediante a aplicação de entrevistas estruturadas que foram aplicadas nos domicílios dos elegíveis por uma equipe de entrevistadores previamente treinada. A taxa de resposta foi de 78%. Médias e proporções foram estimadas por pontos e por intervalos, com 95% de confiança. Para a avaliação de associações globais utilizou-se a estatística \"F\", adotando-se nível de significância de 5%. Para avaliar as relações entre o Índice de Massa Corporal e variáveis relacionadas ao padrão alimentar, ao gasto metabólico em atividade física e ao tempo sentado, utilizou-se modelo de regressão linear, adotando-se nível de significância de 5%. Todas as análises foram desenvolvidas no software STATA para Windows, versão 8.2. As estimativas levaram em consideração o efeito de desenho. Do total dos participantes do estudo 69.96% eram do sexo feminino e 30.04% do sexo masculino, com média de idade de 48.52 anos. A prevalência do excesso de peso encontrada foi de 64.65%, sendo que 39,23% foram classificados como pré-obesos e 25.42% como obesos. Os indivíduos classificados como insuficientemente ativos foram 66.29% da amostra. As variáveis sexo, faixa etária, escolaridade, estado de saúde auto-referida e estado de saúde comparado aos amigos apresentaram associação com o estado nutricional. Foi possível identificar que o consumo de alimentos de alta densidade energética e a média diária de tempo sentado estiveram positivamente associados ao índice de massa corporal, embora apenas em alguns estratos das variáveis sóciodemográficas. Conclui-se que a elevada prevalência de excesso de peso e de inatividade física na população adulta de Ribeirão Preto, apontam para a necessidade de implementação de medidas específicas de promoção e prevenção em saúde. / The increased prevalence of overweight and obesity has revealed to be a global public health problem. The development of obesity involves multiple factors, such as physical activity pattern, eating pattern, social and environmental variables, biological and genetic factors This study, part of the OBEDIARP Research Project, aimed to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the adult population living in Ribeirão Preto, a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil in 2006 and to estimate it according to socio-demographic variables, physical activity pattern, eating pattern and self-referred health. The research, with a cross-sectional design, was developed between March 2006 and June 2009. The sampling process was developed in three stages, with the census sector serving as the primary sampling unit. A weighted sample of 2197 participants was used. The study variables were: nutritional state, gender, age, education level, physical activity pattern, sitting time, food consumption frequency scores and self-perception of health state. Data were collected through structured interviews, held at the eligible participants\' homes by a previously trained team of interviewers. The response rate was 78%. Means and proportions were estimated by points and intervals, at a 95% confidence level. \"F\" statistics were used to assess global associations, adopting a 5% significance level. To assess the relations between Body Mass Index and food pattern-related variables, metabolic rate in physical activity and sitting time, a linear regression model was used, adopting a 5% significance level. All analyses were developed in STATA for Windows software, version 8.2. The effect of design was taken into account in all estimates. Of all study participants, 69.96% were women and 30.04% men, with a mean age of 48.52 years. The prevalence rate of overweight was 64.65%, with 39.23% classified as pre-obese and 25.42% as obese. Individuals classified as insufficiently active corresponded to 66.29% of the sample. The variables gender, age range, education level, self-referred health state and health state compared to friends were associated with the nutritional state. It could be identified that consumption of high-energy foods and mean daily sitting time were positively associated with the body mass index, although in some socio-demographic layers only. It is concluded that the high prevalence of overweight and physical inactivity in the adult population of Ribeirão Preto point towards the need for specific health promotion and prevention measures.

Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Vincent R. Amanor-Boadu / The promulgation of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, a declining share of federal research expenditures to the university, and the enforcement of intellectual property rights have contributed to the evolution of university research missions. This thesis sought to understand how the intellectual property policies and commercialization initiatives at research universities affect their commercialization activities and intensity. The ability of universities to engage in commercialization activities is dependent on the willingness of the researchers to disclose their inventions. We used cross-sectional data from AUTM (Association of University Technology Managers) and other sources to evaluate the effect universities intellectual property policies and other factors on faculty willingness to disclose their inventions and discoveries. The research revealed that universities' commercialization efforts have been intensifying over the years and across the institution. Intellectual property policies were found to have insignificant effect on the number of disclosures. This supports earlier research that has shown many faculty members were ignorant about such policies. On the other hand, licensing revenue, which basically goes to fund future research, was a very significant factor in disclosures and hence commercialization initiatives at universities.

In this thesis, I examine the following three temporal influences on the cross-section of stock returns: disclosure and analyst regulations, the subprime credit crisis, and time-varying investor sentiment. The thesis consists of three essays. The first essay deals with the influence of regulation. Between 2000 and 2003 a series of disclosure and analyst regulations curbing abusive financial reporting and analyst behavior were enacted to strengthen the information environment of U.S. capital markets. I investigate whether these regulations benefited investors by increasing stock market efficiency. After the regulations, I find a significant reduction in short-term stock price continuation following analyst forecast revisions and past stock returns. The effect was more pronounced among higher information uncertainty firms, where I expect security valuation to be most sensitive to the regulations. Further analysis shows that analyst forecast accuracy improved in these firms, consistent with reduced mispricing being due to an improved corporate information environment following the regulations. My findings are robust to controlling for time trends, trading activity, the recent financial crisis, and changes in firms’ analyst coverage status and delistings. In the second essay, I examine whether the value premium survived the recent subprime credit crisis. I find that value stocks underperformed growth stocks during the crisis, resulting in a value discount, while the value premium was significantly positive before the crisis. This is consistent with value stocks being riskier than growth stocks because they are more vulnerable during bad times. The value premium reversal during the crisis worked primarily through financially constrained firms, suggesting that the effect was due to the adverse influence of the crisis rather than confounding effects. The results are robust to controlling for common risk factors and alternative financial constraint proxies. The third essay is related to time-varying investor sentiment. Recent literature in financial economics has examined whether investor sentiment affects asset pricing. An open question is whether an investor sentiment effect reflects mispricing or risk compensation. Currently, the literature supports the former view by documenting that investor sentiment predicts realized stock returns beyond the explanatory power of state-of-the-art factor models. But, despite its popularity, estimating expected returns from realized returns has limitations. I re-examine the evidence on investor sentiment using accounting-based implied costs of capital (ICCs). I find that ICCs cannot explain the sentiment effect on stock returns. If ICCs are reliable expected return proxies, this suggests that the investor sentiment effect does not exist ex ante and confirms previous evidence that mispricing is the driving force behind the investor sentiment effect on stock returns.

Physiological performance has been commonly scaled for body size using various methods to scale anthropometrics, but a paucity of data exists on scaling muscle size. The aim of this thesis was to elucidate the optimal method to scale height (HT), body mass (BM), lean body mass (LBM), and muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) when scaling weightlifting performance for body size. 26 weightlifters (13 male, 13 female) participated in this study. The measurements collected were the snatch (SN), clean and jerk (CJ), isometric peak force (IPF), and countermovement jump height (CMJH). HT, LBM, BM, and vastus lateralis CSA were scaled using the ratio standard and allometry. Competition performance scaled for allometrically scaled CSA possessed greater relationships to CMJH (r = 0.60 – 0.78) than the ratio standard (r = 0.56 – 0.58). These findings suggest that allometrically scaling CSA may be superior when scaling weightlifting performance for CSA.

This study set out to determine the extent to which educational psychologists in South Africa are familiar with and use dynamic assessment. The study also covered issues such as the dynamic assessment training that educational psychologists receive as well as their attitudes towards dynamic assessment. A review of the literature revealed that only international studies have been done on the use of dynamic assessment by school psychologists. The findings of international studies can, however, not summarily be generalised to the South African context. The only national study that has been done on the use of dynamic assessment by educational psychologists was a qualitative study. The present study endeavoured to address this research hiatus by conducting a national cross-sectional online survey that was sent to all educational psychologists in South Africa. The study sought to find an answer to the following primary research question: "To what extent are South African educational psychologists familiar with and use dynamic assessment?" The sample was selected initially through purposive sampling and later through snowball sampling. The study found that of the 173 respondents who responded to the survey, 69,90% were familiar with dynamic assessment. However, this picture changed dramatically when they were asked to what extent they were familiar with dynamic assessment. A total of only 25,40% of the respondents indicated that they were quite familiar with dynamic assessment, and only 20,80% reported that they used dynamic assessment. Furthermore, only 8,10% had used dynamic assessment once a week during the past six months. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

In active portfolio management, fund managers seek to follow an investment strategy with the objective of outperforming an investment benchmark index. Opportunities to outperform a benchmark in active fund management is made possible through crosssectional dispersion of returns in the market. It is cross-sectional volatility of returns that allows fund managers to identify changing trends in market relationships and to take advantage of market opportunities.Quarterly active share and active return data of Domestic General Equity funds was used to determine whether the level of active share and active return has a correlation with volatility measures such as cross-sectional variance of returns or the South African Volatility Index (SAVI). The actively-managed funds’ outperformance of the benchmark index during periods of differing cross-sectional variance was also looked at. Lastly, the possibility of whether market volatility can be used to inform fund investment decisions was also examined.The findings in this study are that there is no significant relationship between the crosssectional variance of returns, active share and active returns. In measuring fund performance in times of differing cross-sectional dispersion and breaking the analysis period into such intervals rather than as a continuous time series, active funds outperform the benchmark index during periods of low and moderate cross-sectional variance. The SAVI can be used as a fairly accurate and readily available approximation of cross-sectional variance. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Urbanisation and storm water input in the Kuils River catchment changed the flow of the river from ephemeral to perennial. This led to flooding problems in the Kuilsrivier central business district. The river was channelised in 2000 to increase the carrying capacity of the channel and thus to reduce the flood risk. This study aims to monitor the impacts of channelisation on the geomorphology and ecology of the Kuils River. This was done by selecting representative study sites upstream, within and downstream of the channelised reach. The geomorphological and ecological characteristics of the river were recorded in detail with changes tracked over a year period incorporating channelisation activities and winter floods.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(社会健康医学) / 甲第20626号 / 社医博第84号 / 社新制||医||9(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科社会健康医学系専攻 / (主査)教授 佐藤 俊哉, 教授 木村 剛, 教授 川村 孝 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Public Health / Kyoto University / DFAM