Search

In 2013, the California legislature approved the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) as a new way to fund local school districts. The new formula aimed to increase educational equity for low-income, English learners, homeless and foster youth students. The policy established a way to increase funding for school districts with higher percentages of students from the aforementioned categories. As a part of the policy, school districts would now be required to create a Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) that outlines their plans to meet the needs of their students. This study identified the 10 most successful and the ten least successful school districts during the first five years of implementation of the LCFF from a group of 68 demographically similar unified school districts in California. Success was defined in terms of both the performance and the change of the performance gap for low-income students in the areas measured by the state and tracked on the California School Dashboard. The study then looked for ways to help explain the varying levels of success for the school districts. The study found that the input correlates with the strongest positive relationship to the performance of low-income students were the average salary of teachers and the percentage of low-income students in the school district. Next, the research analyzed the LCAPs of the 68 school districts from 2015 to understand their planned actions prior to their success. The school districts who ranked in the top 10 wrote significantly more actions in their LCAPs and more in particular categories than the bottom 10 school districts. In particular, the top 10 school districts focused more of their actions in the areas of teacher learning and student learning. The document analysis from this research provides examples of the planned actions of school districts who increased the overall performance of their low-income student population.

This thesis will examine Jung's concept of the Archetypal Shadow and its role in evil. Most Jungian work on evil has revolved around the Personal Shadow, those elements of the personality that are rejected for personal, familial, or cultural reasons. Those researchers who have dealt with the problem of evil and the Archetypal Self, including Jung himself, have tended to focus on the God image, as a projection of the Self, as dual in nature, possessing good and evil. This has dissatisfied a small group of Jungians, however, as the discussion of the dual God-image is then treated as a critique of orthodox religious theology, especially Christian theology. The most extreme examples of this came out of theological Jungians writing about Jung's fascination with Christian mystics. The German mystic Jacob Boehme is one of the most fascinating examples a complex image of God to discuss the Archetype of the Self. None of these writers have attempted to reach a universal definition of "evil" that could be accepted across a diversity of cultures. I use the latest theoretical research by Robert Moore on the different "Archetypes" of the Archetypal Self, particularly his differentiating of infantile and mature aspects of the King and the Warrior Archetypes. Moore's work on the Archetypal Shadow involves what he calls "infantile grandiosity" which means possession by an individual Archetype in its infantile form. Moore's infantile Archetypes are distinguished from their mature forms in that they are selfish, as opposed to social. Using evolutionary Biology I show that selfishness is the closest to a universal definition of "evil" as is currently possible. These evolutionary theories argue that selfishness is a form of individual natural selection, but when animals (including humans) form into groups, these selfish traits are either punished or sublimated into sociality. Finally, I will show that this is the true way to interpret the God-image of Jacob Boehme.

Intelligence collection must always evolve to meet technological developments. While the collection programs under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 have produced a great deal of valuable intelligence over the last decade, the U.S. must begin to think about foreseeable technological developments and strategically consider how to conduct signals intelligence (SIGINT) collection in the future. This article identifies four technological trends that could significantly impact the way the U.S. conducts SIGINT. Individuals now have access to sophisticated technologies that formerly only governments seemed capable of creating, and this decentralization of capabilities will likely only increase in the future. The increased prevalence of anonymity and location-spoofing technologies offer benefits to individual users, but may create significant difficulties for the Intelligence Community in determining the location of targets, which is a fundamental aspect of the current legal regime governing SIGINT activities. Also, the U.S.’s “home field” advantage is receding. This trend means that the U.S. will have a smaller share of the world’s communications traffic transit its physical infrastructure, which will reduce the Intelligence Community’s ability to acquire precise and intact communications by serving directives on U.S. companies. The push towards data localization laws may further reduce the U.S.’s home field advantage. Finally, technology companies have begun to innovate in a manner that reduces their capability to respond to lawful government orders. Technology companies are increasingly adopting encryption technologies and may shift data overseas to try to avoid complying with lawful surveillance orders. Decisions by major private sector technology companies have the ability to shift how SIGINT is collected. If a person’s true location becomes increasingly more difficult to ascertain, the law should adapt to the uncertainty of location. In addition to legislative reforms, it may be prudent to create more forward leaning procedures to ease some of the difficulties that could be caused by increased uncertainty of the location of targets. Finally, as Section 702 becomes less useful in the future, the Intelligence Community must improve collection under Executive Order 12333 to ensure that the government continues to acquire vital intelligence to protect U.S. national security interests

The need for sustainable, renewable energy production is growing as the impacts of human induced climate change are realized. Biomass is an abundant source of fixed carbon that can be converted to useful energy, and dedicated biomass crops such as shrub willow (Salix spp.) are expected to supply substantial amounts of biomass in the future. Shrub willow is a relatively new crop, however, and the genetic resources for improving yield and other biomass traits are only beginning to be explored. The variation in response to environment and management conditions have not been well characterized, especially for newly developed cultivars. The objectives of this research were 1) to identify shrub willow cultivars that display improved yield and biomass quality across two yield trial networks using current statistical methods, 2) to explore the variation in biomass composition among diverse cultivars and quantify the genetic and environmental contributions to variance, and 3) to test for differences in growth and physiological responses to nutrient additions. Using the Additive Main Effects and Multiplicative Interactions (AMMI) analysis, triploid hybrid cultivars were identified as having superior yields over diploid and tetraploid cultivars, and patterns of specific adaptability were identified using the AMMI mega-environment analysis. Subsequent use of mixed model versions of the AMMI analysis and other stability analyses confirmed superior performance in triploids for both older and recently developed cultivars from the US breeding program. Biomass samples from the above yield trial networks were analyzed using High-resolution Thermogravimetric Analysis (Hi-Res TGA) to determine variation in biomass composition. Ash and hemicellulose content were found to be largely under genetic control, whereas cellulose and lignin content and biomass yield were largely controlled by environmental factors. Desirable biomass quality traits were positively correlated with yield, meaning that cultivar selection based on yield may have positive impacts on energy conversion processes. A greenhouse fertilization study showed that the current suite of species and species hybrids that have been developed for biomass production exhibit widely varying responses to nutrient availability, which can be exploited to apply the most appropriate cultivars for a given biomass project. Future research should focus on expanding genotype-by-environment and gene-by-environment analyses more widely to include the vast genetic resources available and on developing nutrient recommendations to better support future shrub willow biomass producers.

During the 1820s, 30s, and 40s, national politics operated under the influence of Andrew Jackson’s political rise and enduring influence. The Jacksonian Era saw dramatic changes occur in the United States. Most importantly, the United States’s national borders expanded to reach the Pacific Coast of North America, encompassing an area that Mexico, Great Britain, Russia, and numerous Native American groups claimed. At the same time, American letters burgeoned into a vibrant and unique national literature, one that practitioners believed rivaled any European discourses of nationalism in passion and erudition. George Bancroft operated at the nexus of these developments. He wrote the first popularly acclaimed and professional history of the United States, while simultaneously participating in Democratic Party politics. Ultimately, Bancroft served in the Presidential administration of James Knox Polk, influencing national policy and international diplomacy. This dissertation articulates the ideological assumptions and functions of the first three volumes of Bancroft’s History of the United States, which covered the Colonial Era of American history, during the Age of Jackson, a period in which the United States ceased to operate on the periphery of European colonialism and became a colonial power in its own right.

The purpose of this thesis is to extend previous research on Out-of-Core column-store databases. Following use of the Asynchronous Out-of-Core update, which kept track of data using timestamps, an appendix is created which holds the newest timestamps and updated data by appending entries to the tables as new tuples. The appendix is naturally unsorted and unindexed by nature, causing need for a linear search that is not only slow, but causes ever-increasing query time as the volume of data within the appendix expands. Although measures exist to merge the appendix with the original body of the data, which is sorted and indexed, it only makes searching on the data swifter once the merging of tuples is complete. For this reason, the use of an offset B-Tree index to allow for more efficient searches on the appendix is proposed.

The study of the binding and recognition of anions has emerged as a significant branch of supramolecular chemistry over the past 20 years. Of particular interest is the binding in aqueous media of industrially or biologically relevant anions including fluoride, pyrophosphate, and terephthalate. To date, most anion recognition using synthetic systems has been accomplished with small molecule receptors operating in organic media. We believe the challenge of sensing and binding anionic species in aqueous media could be addressed through polymers. This is due to their solubility, which can be tuned by judicious selection of the appropriate polymer backbone. Further, polymers can be cross-linked (forming interchain bonds) to produce insoluble materials that are attractive for use as filter materials for liquids and gases. The polymer network can also act as a net to strip away the solvent shell of the anions, leading to increased sensitivity toward hydrated analytes. In addition, the multi-valency due to multiple binding sites in a polymer can lead to increased affinities for analytes. This dissertation details the author’s work focused on the preparation of anion receptor-containing polymers and their subsequent evaluation as both sensors for the fluoride anion and as extractants for bisanions under conditions of liquid-liquid extraction. Chapter 1 gives a brief review of the challenges of anion binding and a primer on the field of sensing and extracting anions using polymeric systems. Chapter 2 describes our work incorporating three quinoxaline-based anion receptors into poly(methyl methacrylate) polymers and their sensing of anionic targets. Chapter 3 describes our work incorporating calix[4]pyrrole anion receptors into poly(methyl methacrylate) polymers. These polymeric systems were found to undergo reversible crosslinking in organic media when combined with certain ditopic anions. Chapter 4 describes our work to investigate chemopreventives of prostate cancer based on the phytochemicals 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol. The mechanism of action was linked to the inhibition of inflammation pathways. Derivatives of 6-shogaol were synthesized and their ability to inhibit prostate cancer cell growth was evaluated. Chapter 5 details all the syntheses and characterization data of the compounds discussed in this dissertation, as well as spectra from titrations and extraction studies.

Common to other practice settings, standard in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in California strongly skews the multiple gestation/preterm birth rate upward to approximately 50% of all deliveries, while unassisted conceptions yield this outcome in only 3% of births. Preterm/multiple gestation babies from IVF are “super-utilisers” and consume a disproportionate share of healthcare resources, particularly during the first year of life. However, early experience with molecular cytogenetic techniques has shown that single embryo transfer (SET) with IVF can now lift pregnancy rates to an acceptable level while not altering the normal multiple gestation rate. This approach would effectively solve the preterm and multiple gestation problem historically associated with IVF. Building on the author’s previous research in medically assisted reproduction, the current proposal describes a new public health policy to incentivise SET by modifying the California Insurance Code (benchmark health plan), when it may next be revised in 2015. The proposal would partially cover IVF costs for qualified California residents with the proviso that only one embryo is transferred per procedure after comprehensive chromosomal screening of embryos with array comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH). This investigation considers the interconnected problems of preterm birth and multiple gestation in a demographic context, showing that although the contribution made by conventional IVF to these adverse outcomes in California is numerically minor, substantial costs can still be recovered by redirecting expenditures away from high-risk IVF deliveries when the increased multiple gestation/preterm birth rate from standard IVF is corrected. This analysis is the first to examine costs calculated for all delivery types in California as a function of antecedent IVF treatment vs. unassisted conception, based on 2009 birth records, and apply this to a new model of comprehensive embryo testing and mandatory SET. These data reveal that even if partially subsidised IVF with aCGH and SET were provided for every California IVF cycle initiated in 2009 (n=18,405), the state would still realise a net surplus of at least $20M per year by stabilising the IVF multiple birth rate at ~3.2%. Thus, California can avoid up to 4,810 iatrogenic preterm/multiple gestation births by shifting the prevailing approach to IVF away from multiple embryo transfers. The proposal is net revenue positive for California because although IVF with aCGH and SET is expensive, the price to obtain this technology is always lower than the cost for one high-risk preterm/multiple birth. While a compelling primary interest exists to lower the multiple birth rate with IVF, this proposal also yields a socially valuable secondary public health benefit by improving general access to this advanced reproductive treatment for all Californians.

Hydrologic Information Systems (HIS) have emerged as a means to organize, share, and synthesize water data. This work extends current HIS capabilities by providing additional capacity and flexibility for marine physical and chemical observations data and for freshwater and marine biological observations data. These goals are accomplished in two broad and disparate case studies – an HIS implementation for the oceanographic domain as applied to the offshore environment of the Chukchi Sea, a region of the Alaskan Arctic, and a separate HIS implementation for the aquatic biology and environmental flows domains as applied to Texas rivers. These case studies led to the development of a new four-dimensional data cube to accommodate biological observations data with axes of space, time, species, and trait, a new data model for biological observations, an expanded ontology and data dictionary for biological taxa and traits, and an expanded chain-of-custody approach for improved data source tracking. A large number of small studies across a wide range of disciplines comprise the “Long Tail” of science. This work builds upon the successes of the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) by applying HIS technologies to two new Long Tail disciplines: aquatic biology and oceanography. In this regard this research improves our understanding of how to deal with collections of biological data stored alongside sensor-based physical data. Based on the results of these case studies, a common framework for water information management for terrestrial and marine systems has emerged which consists of Hydrologic Information Systems for observations data, Geographic Information Systems for geographic data, and Digital Libraries for documents and other digital assets. It is envisioned that the next generation of HIS will be comprised of these three components and will thus actually be a Water Information System of Systems.

Recent advances in nanomaterials have demonstrated the potential applications of these agents for the improved detection and treatment of many forms of cancer. Nanomaterials have been shown to accumulate in tumors via a passive mechanism known as the enhanced permeability and retention effect. Tumor targeting with nanomaterials can be further improved by the addition of targeting ligands to the nanomaterial surface, which would selectively bind to cancerous cells. This work describes the development of several novel nanomaterials complexes with applications in tumor targeted imaging and therapy for improved cancer detection and treatment. We have introduced a new species of nanomaterials composed of Prussian blue. Prussian blue nanoparticles were shown to enhance T1-weighted MRI contrast, were found to be biocompatible in a series of in vitro toxicology studies, were taken up in high quantities by cancerous cell lines, and could be surface functionalized with small molecules for intracellular delivery. We also describe a one step synthetic method for the preparation of valproic acid coated gold nanoparticles with potential drug delivery applications. These materials possess high drug loading levels of the therapeutic agent valproic acid, and may serve as a future starting material for the preparation of nanoparticles loaded with multiple synergistic chemotherapeutic agents. Finally we describe the synthesis, assembly, and preliminary targeting efficiency results of a ternary nanoconjugate system for the targeted delivery of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin to CD44 overexpressing tumors.

The commissioning and construction of new nuclear power plants in the United States has dwindled over the past 30 years despite significant innovation in reactor technology. This is partially due to the ever-increasing seismic hazard estimates, which increases the demand on and risk to nuclear power plant structures.Seismic base isolation is a mature technology which introduces a laterally-flexible and vertically-stiff layer between the foundation and superstructure to significantly reduce the seismic response of the structure, systems, and components therein. Such devices have also been noted to concentrate the displacement response in one plane, reduce higher-mode participation, and provide damping to protect against excessive displacements, all of which aid in increasing safety margins for seismically-isolated nuclear structures. Despite numerous studies analyzing the applicability of seismic base isolation to nuclear power plant structures, some of which are discussed herein, no seismically-isolated nuclear plant has been constructed in the United States.This study presents a time-domain procedure for analyzing the performance of seismically-isolated nuclear structures in response to design-basis earthquake events using ALE3D. The simulations serve as a parametric study to assess the effects of soil column type, seismic isolation model, superstructure mesh, and ground motion selection on global displacements, rotations, and accelerations, as well as internal floor accelerations. Explicit modeling of the soil columns and superstructures enables detailed analysis of soil-structure interaction. The soil columns analyzed have constant properties over the height of the finite element soil mesh and include rock, soft rock, and stiff soil sites, as well as a "no soil" case for comparison. Four separate 3-dimensional seismic isolation bearing models were coded into ALE3D and validated. These include models for friction pendulum, triple friction pendulum, simplified lead rubber, and robust lead rubber bearings. Lastly, two superstructure finite element meshes were considered: a cylindrical plant design meant to represent a typical conceptual design for advanced reactors, and a rectangular plant design meant to represent an advanced boiling water reactor. The ground motions considered include 30 three-component time history records scaled to meet the seismic hazard for the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. Every combination of soil column, isolator model, and superstructure were subjected to a subset of three of the harshest ground motions, termed the "basic motions", and the combinations which included the rectangular plant design atop the rock soil column were subjected to all 30 motions.The results of the various simulations including accelerations in the soil columns and superstructures as well as displacements and rotations in the isolators and superstructures are presented. The results suggest three possible effects: an isolator-type effect, a soil-type effect, and a slenderness effect. The isolator-type effect refers to significant increases in vertical soil acceleration amplifications, isolator uplift/tension, and global rotations including torsion and overturning for friction bearings in comparison to elastomeric bearings. Additionally it is noted that inclusion of lead plug softening has the effect of increasing peak lateral isolator deformations, especially for the ground motions that naturally induce high-amplitude deformations in the bearings. These results suggest that uplift/tension may be troublesome in high-seismic areas and the use of restrainers should be analyzed as a possible solution. Furthermore, these results reinforce the lateral design displacement estimate procedures for seismically-isolated nuclear structures in ASCE4-11. The results prove that explicit inclusion of the soil column is necessary for proper response characterization and the chosen soil properties greatly affect the efficacy of seismic isolation designs. The soil-type effect comes from observations of comparative simulations which show that, in general, peak isolator uplift/tension and deformation, as well as peak global displacements and rotations including torsion and overturning increase as the soil column becomes less-stiff, regardless of the isolator model or superstructure considered. These results suggest that although seismic isolation can be effective for structures atop a variety of soil columns, it is imperative that a single isolator design only be considered applicable to a corresponding soil column unless extensive analyses prove otherwise for a specific case. Differences in peak response parameters between the two superstructures point to a possible slenderness effect. Specifically, the isolator deformations as well as the global displacements and rotations are observed to increase for the cylindrical superstructure in comparison to the rectangular superstructure cases utilizing the same ground motion, soil column, and isolator model. Should further research reaffirm this effect, a practical limit could be set for superstructure slenderness.

This thesis describes the effects of spin-orbit coupling on electron transport in Fe/InGaAs heterostructures. Spin-orbit coupling is a relativistic phenomenon that couples the spin of an electron to its momentum by means of a momentum-dependent effective magnetic field. The spin-orbit coupling in bulk InGaAs is determined by measuring the spin Hall effect. In the spin Hall effect, an applied charge current induces a spin current due to spin-orbit coupling. The spin current flows in a direction that is perpendicular to the charge current, with a spin orientation that is perpendicular to the flow direction of both the charge current and the spin current. The spin Hall effect leads to an out-of-plane spin accumulation that is opposite in sign at opposite edges of the channel. Lateral Fe/InGaAs devices are fabricated using standard semiconductor processing techniques. The interface between the Fe and InGaAs is a highly doped Schottky tunnel barrier for efficient electrical spin injection and detection. Measurements of the spin valve and Hanle effect are performed in the non-local geometry to confirm that the Fe electrodes are sensitive to spin polarization in the InGaAs channel and its dephasing by precession in an applied magnetic field. The spin accumulation due to the spin Hall effect is identified through the observation of a Hanle effect in the Hall voltage measured by pairs of ferromagnetic contacts at the channel edges. The data are fit using a model which includes spin diffusion, precession, and relaxation. We use the parameters determined from the fit to calculate the spin Hall conductivity. We find that the magnitude of the spin Hall conductivity is in agreement with models of the extrinsic SHE due to ionized impurity scattering. By analyzing the dependence of the spin Hall signal on channel conductivity we determine the contributions of both skew and side jump scattering to the total spin Hall conductivity. We calculate that the spin-orbit coupling parameter is larger than predicted by standard k · p perturbation theory.

Triple-bond metathesis is a useful methodology for the synthesis of new organic functionalities. Alkyne cross metathesis (ACM) has been employed in the synthesis of materials with unusual optical properties and in the construction of biologically relevant molecules. Installation of an alkyne functionality into a substrate is often more challenging than introduction of a nitrile group. Therefore nitrile-alkyne cross metathesis (NACM) is desirable to allow for greater flexibility in the construction of carbon-carbon triple bonds. Using NW(OC(CF3)2Me)3(DME) (1) as a catalyst, the utility of NACM is demonstrated in the synthesis of an arylene-ethynylene macrocycle via a shorter route than possible through ACM. Catalyst 1 was found to be sensitive to both polar and protic functional groups. Molybdenum NACM catalysts were designed in order to overcome the limited functional group tolerance of 1. The activation barrier for metalacycle formation is larger for Mo than W, therefore elevated temperatures are required to effect a complete NACM cycle with Mo complexes. Using the thermally robust triphenylsiloxide ligand, NMo(OSiPh3)3 (2) successfully catalyzed NACM at 185 °C. The triphenylsiloxide ligand was found to have a proper electron donor strength, as other Mo complexes did not catalyze NACM under similar conditions. Trianionic (XXX) pincer ligands were designed in order to lower the activation barrier required for Mo-catalyzed NACM. The compound 1,3-bis(4,5-(3,5-dimethylphenyl)-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzene (3) was synthesized as an XXX pincer ligand precursor. While 3 proved challenging to install onto Mo complexes as desired, 3 was facilely activated by Zr(NMe2)4. Subsequent investigations of the Zr-XXX complexes revealed an unusual charge-switching feature in which the XXX ligand could be converted into a monoanionic (LXL) ligand. The XXX-LXL transformation could be effected through methylation, borylation, and silylation, with reversibility being possible through silyl group cleavage. Computational studies revealed differing electron donating strengths of the XXX and LXL ligands, suggesting that the pincer ligand charge could be used to alter the reactivity patterns of metal complexes. In order to realize the goal of using an XXX ligand for Mo catalysts, 1,8-bis(4,5-bis(3,5-dimethylphenyl)-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-3,6-di-tert-butyl-9H-carbazole was synthesized as a new XXX ligand precursor. Future studies will explore the application of the new ligand in catalysis of NACM.

There is a recent trend in the United States toward considering, protecting, and restoring environmental (or instream) flows in river systems. A current challenge is the development of methods to quantitatively establish environmental flow needs based on an understanding of the linkages between flow and biota and the development of integrated, multidisciplinary stream classification systems as a means to extrapolate results from reach-scale studies. An assessment of hydrologic alteration tools was performed along with the characterization of the flow regime at select gages and an evaluation of spatial and temporal patterns in hydrology and hydroclimatology within and between basins in Texas. In addition, an integrated stream classification system was developed and tested for Texas based on quantitative data for 18 distinguishing parameters encompassing watershed and stream channel processes and functions from four disciplines: (1) Hydrology & Hydraulics, (2) Water Quality, (3) Geomorphology & Physical Processes, and (4) Climatology. The State of Texas was partitioned into five regions: East Texas, South-Central Texas, Lower Rio Grande Basin, West Texas, and North-Central Texas by 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) basins.

Signal integrity has become a major problem in digital IC design. One cause of this problem is device scaling which results in a sharp reduction of supply voltage, creating stringent noise margin requirements to ensure functionality. Reductions in feature size also result in increased clock speeds leading to many different high frequency noise producing components. As on-chip area increases to allow for more computational capability, so does the amount of digital logic to be placed, magnifying the effects of noisy interconnect structures. Supply noise, modeled as AV = Ldi/dt , is caused by rapid current spikes during a rise or fall time. Decoupling capacitors often fill empty on-chip space for the purpose of limiting this noise. This work introduces a novel methodology that attempts to quantify and locate decoupling capacitors within a power distribution network. The bondwire attached on the periphery of the face of the die is taken to be the dominant source of inductance. It is shown that distributing capacitance closer to the switching elements is most effective at reducing supply noise. A chip has been designed using TSMC 90 nm technology that implements the ideas presented in this work. Simulation results show that noise fluctuations are high enough such that random placement of decoupling capacitance is not effective for large digital structures. The amount of interconnect generated on-chip noise increases with area, resulting in the need for an optimal decoupling scheme. As scaling continues, supply voltages and noise margins will decrease, creating the need for a robust decoupling capacitance methodology.

In many cases, computer models provide design engineers with an effective tool to simulate various criteria of physical systems. The output of such models can be formatted and displayed in a graphical manner to communicate information to the user more effectively. Images of scattering centers can provide greater insight into the meaning of electromagnetic field solutions. This work will provide an application that will process the solution of a three dimensional (3-D) finite element solver and provide the user with a graphical interface to view images of scattering centers in 3-D. The primary focus of this work is to expand upon the methods employed by Schaffer 1 where an analytical technique was employed to take a numerical solution for the current distribution on a surface and produce a two dimensional image of the scattering centers. An existing finite element model (FEM) will supply the numerical solution of the current distribution for 3-D surfaces. A software routine will be developed to analyze the FEM solution to create results for scattering centers about the surface. The results will then be formatted in such a way that a 2-D image of the scattering centers will be displayed on a plane of incidence bisecting a 3-D object as the final output. 1. NASA Technical Paper 3569 Bistatic k-Space Imaging for Electromagnetic Prediction Codes for Scattering and Antennas John F. Shaeffer, Kam W. Hom, R. Craig Baucke, Brett A. Cooper, Noel A. Talcott, Jr.

This dissertation examines several issues at the semantics-pragmatics interface in Japanese and English: modal subordination, particles and adverbials. Chapter 2 presents the framework that will be used throughout, and applies it to English modal subordination. In Chapter 3, the realization of modal subordination is shown to be quite different in Japanese than in European languages; in particular, the construction of discourse structure plays a much greater role. This chapter discusses the semantics of the Japanese modals and the realization of evidentiality within them. Modal subordination in Japanese can be licensed by certain discourse particles. In Chapter 4, I turn to these particles, showing that the dynamic system developed in Chapter 1 can be extended to their analysis, although extensions involving deontic modality, underspecification and revision of information states are required. After making the necessary extensions, a semantics is formulated that accounts not only for the particles’ ability to license modal subordination but also for other aspects of their meaning that have been noted in the literature: insistence, restriction to new information, and others. Chapter 5 continues the discussion of particles, concentrating on English man. Man exhibits quite different properties when it appears sentence-initially and sentence-finally; sentence-final man is semantically much like the Japanese yo, even licensing modal subordination in certain contexts. Sentence-initial particles and expletives are shown to exhibit semantic restrictions on their distribution and also clear truth-conditional effects on the sentences they appear in. Their interpretation is shown to depend a great deal on intonational factors in two senses. The semantics of degree constructions are also shown to be affected by the particles in certain circumstances. Chapter 6, the final chapter, steps away from particles to consider several complex adverbials in Japanese, each of which has an emotive component to its meaning. First, a pair of related adverbials, yoku and yokumo, are considered; they exhibit clear interactions with interpreter knowledge and the common ground. The final part of the dissertation turns to another adverbial, sekkaku, which is very context-dependent in that certain aspects of its meaning depend on world knowledge.

Understanding the carbon cycle is one of the most difficult challenges facing scientists studying the global environment.A series of studies were undertaken to explore a number of current issues that contribute to our inability to model SOC on a regional or landscape scale. Investigation into the spatial distribution of SOC occurred on a 32,500 ha forest ecosystem located entirely within the bounds of Hofmann Forest. LiDAR evaluations indicated that data reduction was possible while still maintaining DEM quality. Spatial modeling efforts proved troublesome for flat landscapes.

The first section of the dissertation examines Kim's views on the nature of physical reality, causation, physical causal closure, and experience. For example, I find that Kim's views of experience are limited by his inheritance from classical empiricism. Instead, a radical empiricism in the tradition of James and Whitehead is the proper philosophical position. Because Kim lacks this radical empiricism, he locates the source of his mental realism not in direct experience, as I do, but in practical reason. During my critique it becomes clear that Kim's mental realism functions as one of many a priori commitments. Because his mental realism is not a matter of direct experience but is an a priori commitment, Kim does not have the means of avoiding his own dilemma.

Marx maintained that individuals realize their distinctive potential as humans through consciously directed productive activity. At the same time he also championed the value of the communist community through his belief that an individual’s potential is most fully “realized” or “expressed” when her activity is carried out within and for a community. Recent philosophical work has been sharply divided as to whether or not the principles that underpin these two values, as Marx sets them up, would complement or contradict each other when taken together. Considering the diversity among individuals in their capabilities and the freedom Marx appears to grant in choosing how one best feels they can realize their abilities, the potential for a conflict among individuals within a community is obviously high. The objective of Section I will be to understand what Marx has in mind when he speaks of individuals ‘expressing’, “realizing”, or “confirming” their distinctive human potential through consciously directed productive activity. It will be shown that Marx understood individuality as the development of an individual’s unique needs and capacities, and their subsequent realization through active engagement in conscious, purposive, productive activity. Section II examines the importance he ascribes to social productive activity and why this should be understood as activity that occurs within and for a community. The social relations that develop under communist organization will be explicated and it will be shown that individuating productive activity “expresses” and “confirms” an individual’s social nature. From here we will be in a better position to judge his comments concerning the emergence of the communist individual who realizes her potential through activity that Marx characterizes as both self-activity and social activity. The scholarship for and against this puzzling description will be examined in Section III. It will be argued that the alleged tension, which critics argue is irreconcilable in this synthesis, arises from a misunderstanding regarding what Marx meant by individuality and community. Lastly, it will be shown that this confusion is the result of a larger mistake. To wit, a failure to appreciate the changes that occur in the social relations between communist individuals and in individuals themselves.

This paper describes how to construct gestural interfaces from building blocks derived from field computation. Field computational building blocks are combined to produce recognizers of oriented gestures in a plane. The topics discussed include a unification of pull-down menus with the desktop using a branch cut type topology and an investigation of ways to automate drop and drag methods via the flow fields of autonomous differential equations. This paper also discusses how to measure primitive qualities of gestures such as encirclement in a mathematically consistent way using path integrals. When these building blocks are combined, gestural interfaces and methods of visual programming result.

Novel, high molecular weight, high glass transition temperature, photocrosslinkable polyimide and poly(imide siloxane) homo- and segmented copolymers were prepared and characterized. The polyimides were synthesized by the classical two step method of first preparing soluble poly(amic acid) prepolymers by the reaction of various aromatic dianhydrides with aromatic diamines. The siloxane modified copolymers were synthesized by reacting single or mixed components of the aromatic dianhydrides with a mixture of aromatic amine and bis(3-aminopropyl) end blocked polydimethyl siloxane oligomers in a cosolvent system of tetrahydrofuran and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone. These dysfunctional aminopropyl terminated siloxane oligomers were prepared through an anionic ring opening equilibration polymerization of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane with bis(3—aminopropyl) tetramethyldisiloxane in the presence of siloxanolate catalyst. Soluble fully imidized polyimides were obtained by use of a solution imidization procedure which utilized a cosolvent system of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone and N-cyclohexyl-2-pyrrolidone at temperatures of approximately 170°C. The fully imidized polyimides were soluble in a variety of solvents. The homo- and copolymers have been characterized for compositional analysis by FT-IR and proton NMR spectroscopy. All polymers were characterized for their thermal properties by differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. All homoand copolymers possessed excellent thermal characteristics and good mechanical properties. The photosensitive properties of the polyimide and poly(imide siloxane) homo- and copolymers were investigated at the UV wavelengths of 313nm and 365nm. The photosensitivities were found to depend on both the amount of benzylic methyl substituted diamine incorporated into the polyimide backbone, and the amount of aromatic ketone concentration. High concentrations of fluorinated (6F) dianhydride were also desirable. Incorporation of the polydimethylsiloxane segments into the polyimide decreased the optical density without decreasing the photosensitivity and therefore desirably allowed thicker films to be crosslinked at lower exposure doses. The adhesion of the siloxane modified polyimides to the silicon wafers was increased with significantly increasing siloxane content and at 20 weight percent, eliminated the need for conventional coupling agents.

This dissertation investigates modeling and control in a Bayesian setting. The methodology assumes that the state of knowledge of the model parameters is characterized by a probability density function, which is updated off-line using experimental input-output data. For given performance specifications and candidate controllers, this naturally leads to such notions as probability of stability and probability of performance, which are then used for controller selection. In the first part of the dissertation, this approach is applied to the area of run-to-run control in semiconductor manufacturing. Analytic formulas for the probability of stability are given for the well-known exponentially weighted moving average run-to-run controller. When considering a more general notion of performance, the Monte Carlo method is used to approximate the probability of performance to a high degree of confidence. This approach to run-to-run control is then illustrated on a virtual plasma etching reactor. Next, the following questions regarding this methodology are investigated. Are scalar measures of identification quality always good predictors of probability of performance? Does improving a scalar measure of deterministic robustness necessarily imply improving the probability of performance? And, is the probability of performance always correct in its ranking of candidate controllers? It turns out that the answer to all three questions is no. The first two answers show that our approach is distinct from classical identification and deterministic robust control. In answering the third question, we show that the probability of misclassification can be made small using both experimental and controller design. In all cases, we illustrate the counterintuitive phenomenon, analyze the underlying mechanism, and a provide general theory to predict their occurrence. A missile autopilot example is used to illustrate these results. Finally, design of experiments for increasing confidence in a predictive claim of control performance is explored. The idea is to select inputs that shape a preposterior distribution of the model parameters such that a certain region in the model parameter space containing a pre-specified percentage of the preposterior density, denoted as an HPD region, is a subset of the region for closed-loop performance. Necessary and sufficient conditions for an HPD region to be a subset of the performance region are given. Using these conditions, a semi-heuristic experimental design algorithm based on the well-known Bayes c-optimal design criterion is then constructed. Roughly speaking, the result of the algorithm is to select inputs that reduce model parameter variance in directions orthogonal to the performance set boundary. To illustrate the results, we revisit the missile autopilot example.

This work describes the development, implementation and assessment of a new model for nonequilibrium mixing-chemistry coupling in nonpremixed and partially premixed turbulent combustion. This model, termed the Strained Dissipation and Reaction Layer (SDRL) formulation, is a direct consequence of the layer-like fine scale structure of conserved scalar mixing in turbulent flows and provides a canonical physical picture of molecular mixing and nonequilibrium chemistry in turbulent combustion. Consistent with observations of passive scalar mixing in nonreacting turbulent flows, it has been determined that layer-like scalar dissipation structures are established and maintained in reacting turbulent flows as well. Furthermore, an investigation of classical laminar flamelet model universality has demonstrated the ability of a mixture fraction variable and its associated dissipation to uniquely describe the local state of combustion for small equilibrium chemistry departures only, suggesting that detailed local scalar mixing information is essential to making improved predictions of nonequilibrium chemistry in nonpremixed and partially premixed turbulent combustion. A DNS validation study of the SDRL formulation, classical laminar flamelet model, and equilibrium chemistry approximation clearly demonstrates the potential of the SDRL model to not only accurately predict species concentrations in the near equilibrium, large Damkohler number limit, but to also make substantially improved predictions over these more traditional approaches to turbulence-chemistry coupling for conditions involving significant equilibrium chemistry departures. Analyses of the SDRL formulation when applied to turbulent jet mixing measurements reveal thin (flamelet-like) concentration fields at relatively far upstream locations in turbulent jet diffusion flames and under conditions of relatively weak chemical nonequilibrium and the natural emergence and dominance of broad (distributed) reaction zones for increasing equilibrium departures and at farther downstream locations, in strong qualitative agreement with OH PLIF measurements. Results for combustion temperature and OH radical predictions by the SDRL model in turbulent jet diffusion flames via an assumed-shape pdf implementation reveal the SDRL model's ability to accurately capture both near equilibrium and significant nonequilibrium reaction chemistry present within turbulent jet diffusion flames. SDRL model predictions of NO concentration in turbulent jet diffusion flames are presented, and limitations of the SDRL model within the context of these results are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to predict VO2pak using ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate (HR), and percent fat (PFAT). Subjects were males (n= 60) (PFAT, M SD = 14.4 6.1) and females (n= 67) (PFAT, M SD = 23.4 4.9) with ages ranging from 18 to 33 years. Subjects performed an incremental cycle ergometer protocol and RPE, HR and Vo2 were measured at each stage until VO2 ak was achieved. Mean RPE and HR at the submaximal workload of 100 watts were, (RPE100) M= 12.7 2.6 and (HR100) M= 146.924.7 respectively. Correlations (p< .001) with VO2p. were -.75 (PFAT), -.66 (HR100), -.67 (FIPE100). The multiple correlation using PFAT, HR100, and RPE100 as predictors of VO2pak was .83 (SEE= 5.28 ml-kg BW'smin"). Each predictor contributed to the correlation (p

The evaluation of irrigated corn production requires crop water production functions which are time and location specific. This analysis evaluated irrigated and dryland corn production from 1984-1993 in Brookings County. The CERES-Maize crop simulation model generated agronomic data which was representative of Brookings County. Crop budgets were created to establish production costs associated with the study area. Net returns for each of the production methods were compared.