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The treatment of patients with severe eosinophilic asthma has been transformed with the arrival of biological drugs targeting the type 2 cytokine pathway. One of these drugs is mepolizumab, a humanised monoclonal antibody against the eosinophil activating cytokine, interleukin (IL)-5, has consistently been shown to lead to a 50% reduction in exacerbation rate, when compared with placebo, and facilitates the weaning of maintenance oral corticosteroids (OCS) in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. This works seeks to address two questions that arise from treatment with this novel monoclonal antibody: 1. What is the inflammatory phenotype and the physiological characteristics of the residual asthma exacerbations that occur in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma treated with anti-IL5 monoclonal antibodies? 2. To quantify toxicity associated with OCS treatment in severe eosinophilic asthmatics, and assess change in OCS-related toxicity after 1 year's treatment with mepolizumab and subsequent reduction in OCS, both through weaning of maintenance OCS and reduction in OCS for asthma exacerbations.

Amblyopia, a developmental disorder of the visual system, is widely known to cause a reduction in optotype acuity but it can also be associated with disrupted binocular vision, reduced contrast sensitivity and many other subtle high level visual processing deficits. The initial stages of the work presented in this thesis involved laboratory investigation of the functional visual deficit in global motion processing that has previously been reported abnormal in the presence of amblyopia. The key question is whether higher-levels of visual processing "inherit" abnormalities from lower levels, or whether additional developmental abnormalities arise in direct consequence of impoverished visual input. Overall, the results imply a far more complex perceptual change in amblyopia than would be predicted by the well -established losses in resolution and contrast sensitivity. The motivation behind Chapters 5 and 6 stems from the current observation that the recovery of visual function in amblyopia is contingent on even brief periods of correlated binocular vision, suggesting that amblyopia is intrinsically a binocular problem and that it is suppressive mechanisms that render the cortex, which is a structurally binocular system, functionally monocular. Research is now casting doubts on the idea that amblyopes do not possess cortical binocular connections, suggesting an active suppression rather than a deficit of cellular function. Interestingly, this is echoed in the clinical domain where, in cases of de-correlated visual input, strabismus clinical protocols have now established that the correction of refractive error alone can be sufficient to improve acuity, again implying incomplete inhibition mechanisms. The clinical investigations in this thesis have involved the validation of a series of psychophysical paradigms in cohorts of juvenile and adult amblyopes (as well as age-matched controls) to establish the degree of binocular interaction present and to explore the potential for treating amblyopia with prolonged viewing of a binocular stimulus adapted to correlate the visual imput from both eyes.

A current group GX is an infinite-dimensional Lie group of smooth maps from a smooth manifold X to a finite-dimensional Lie group G, endowed with pointwise multiplication. This thesis concerns current groups G§ for compact Riemann surfaces §. We extend some results in the literature to discuss the topology of G§ where G has non-trivial fundamental group, and use these results to discuss the theory of central extensions of G§. The second object of interest in the thesis is the Jacobi group, which we think of as being associated to a compact Riemann surface of genus one. A connection is made between the Jacobi group and a certain central extension of G§. Finally, we define a generalisation of the Jacobi group that may be thought of as being associated to a compact Riemann surface of genus g ≥ 1.

Pain assessment in cats is difficult and although nociceptive testing is useful to compare analgesic drugs in a research setting, results may not equate to clinical efficacy. In addition, some traditional analgesic drugs may not be suitable for all animals. A new hand-held thermal nociceptive testing device was developed, tested in the laboratory and on human volunteers before preliminary developmental testing in cats. The use of the device was compared to an existing commercially available thermal nociceptive testing device in cats. Both devices were able to detect analgesia produced by buprenorphine. Using the new device, two doses of tramadol were compared to buprenorphine (as a positive control) and saline (a negative control) in a crossover designed study. Both doses of tramadol and buprenorphine produced anti-nociception with significant differences to the saline group. The two doses of tramadol were then used in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy, where they were compared to pethidine. Assessments included thermal and mechanical nociceptive threshold testing at two sites as well as clinical assessments. Cats receiving tramadol 2 mg/kg were significantly less likely to require rescue analgesia than those in the pethidine group. Maropitant, an NK-l antagonist, was studied in healthy cats using mechanical and thermal nociceptive thresholds. Of the ten cats studied, five showed elevations of thermal threshold compared to baseline, indicative of an analgesic effect, although there was no statistical difference between groups in threshold values obtained. Maropitant, two doses of buprenorphine and a combination maropitantlbuprenorphine treatment were also studied in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy. Thermal nociceptive thresholds at the wound edge were significantly higher in the group receiving maropitant, indicating the drug partially obtunds the development of thermal hypersensitivity. In conclusion, the new device performed effectively and enabled detection of differences in thermal hyperalgesia after surgery. Tramadol and maropitant may have utility as analgesics in cats.

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been proposed to be a therapeutic target for patients with type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. In skeletal muscle AMPK stimulates glucose uptake and fatty acid oxidation, whereas in liver it inhibits fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis. The Rab GTPase activating proteins Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS160) and tre-2/USP6, BUB2, cdc16 domain family member 1 (TBC1C1) have been identified as potential targets of both protein kinase B (PKB, also known as Akt) and AMPK which mediate glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) translocation to the plasma membrane in response to insulin and 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside (AICAR) respectively in muscle. Previous work in our laboratory has demonstrated that AICAR modestly stimulates basal glucose transport, yet inhibits insulin-stimulated glucose transport in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, which is in contrast to the effect of AICAR in skeletal muscle. Currently the role of AMPK in adipocytes remains poorly characterised despite the importance of fat tissue in energy homeostasis. To address this, the molecular mechanism of AMPK activation by known stimuli, the acute effect of various AMPK activators on glucose transport, the effect of AMPK inhibition and knockdown on AICAR mediated inhibition of insulin-stimulated glucose transport and the effect of acute AICAR treatment on PKB substrate phosphorylation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes was investigated. In addition the effect of sustained AMPK activation on glucose transport and insulin signaling in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, and the effect of sustained AMPK activation on insulin signaling in human adipose tissue was also investigated. The AMPK activators; sorbitol, metformin, rosiglitazone, arsenite, azide, hydrogen peroxide and isoproterenol were all shown to stimulate AMPK activity in the presence of the Ca2+/Calmodulin dependent protein kinase kinase (CaMKK) inhibitor STO-609, suggesting that these activators activate AMPK via a CaMKK-independent pathway in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. However, A23187-stimulated AMPK activity was abrogated in the presence of STO-609. Isoproterenol, sodium azide and rosiglitazone, were all shown to cause an increase in the ADP/ATP ratio in 3T3-L1 adipocytes compared to control as assessed by high performance liquid chromatography, suggesting that they stimulate AMPK activity in an LKB1-dependent manner. These results suggest a possible role for CaMKK as an upstream AMPK kinase in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, in addition to LKB1. There may also exist other upstream AMPK kinases in 3T3-L1 adipocytes that are both nucleotide and calcium independent since sorbitol, metformin, arsenite, hydrogen peroxide and leptin were found to activate AMPK independently of CaMKK and also showed no significant effect on adenine nucleotide ratios. Sorbitol, rosiglitazone, AICAR, isoproterenol and A769662 all significantly inhibited insulin-stimulated glucose transport. Furthermore, in the presence of the AMPK inhibitor, Compound C, the inhibitory effect of AICAR on insulin-stimulated glucose transport was no longer apparent. However, AICAR still displayed a tendency to inhibit insulin-stimulated glucose transport in 3T3-L1 adipocytes infected with adenoviruses expressing a dominant negative AMPK mutant.The effect of AICAR on basal and insulin-stimulated AS160/TBC1D1 phosphorylation at phospho-Akt substrate (PAS) sites, was assessed. AICAR did not alter AS160/TBC1D1 phosphorylation compared to basal levels, nor perturb insulin-stimulated AS160/TBC1D1 phosphorylation at PAS sites. In addition, AICAR did not appear to alter the phosphorylation of any other proteins at PAS sites. Prolonged AMPK activation by AICAR in 3T3-L1 adipocytes also significantly inhibited insulin-stimulated glucose transport and was not associated with altered PKB protein expression or insulin-stimulated PKB Ser473 phosphorylation. In addition, chronic AMPK activation by metformin in adipose tissue of type 2 diabetic subjects was not associated with altered expression of three key insulin signalling molecules; PKB, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) p85 subunit and insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1). Overall these results suggest a prominent role for LKB1 as an AMPK kinase and a potential role for CaMKK as an AMPK kinase in adipocytes. This study also suggests that both acute and prolonged AMPK activation in adipocytes inhibits insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, however the precise mechanism of inhibition has yet to be elucidated.

The office of coroner has attracted little attention from academic historians. This thesis presents the first comprehensive study of the role across England and Wales between 1726 and 1888. It engages with, and throws new light on, some of the major themes that run through eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British history: popular politics, the rise of democracy, the growth of the state and the development of separate professional spheres. Petty rivalries were confronted, as the developing professions of law and medicine jostled to claim this office as their birthright, but the coroners were also minor players on a much larger stage. They had to bear some of the pain of the many conflicts that emerged as society tried to define the level and nature of services to be funded from taxation, and to strike a balance between local and central control, and between lay and professional involvement. This thesis explains how local structures of power and authority affected many aspects of the role, including the selection of the coroner, the types of death investigated and the nature and frequency of medical testimony admitted. It explains how a medieval system was adapted to suit changing needs, how the inquest could be used to challenge the actions of those who had a duty of care to the community and how financial impositions could restrict its utility. The thesis provides the first detailed geographic assessment of the role of county magistrates in defining when an inquest should be held, and identifies the startling possibility that some county magistrates may deliberately have sought to establish a system that would ensure that certain murders would never be discovered.

Despite mathematicians valuing the ability to visualise a problem and psychologists finding positive correlations of visual-spatial ability with success in mathematics, many educationists remain unconvinced about the benefits of visualisation for mathematical understanding. This study compared a „visual‟ to a „verbal‟ teaching approach by teaching a range of early secondary school mathematics topics to two classes using one or other approach. The two classes were compared by considering their scores on a post-intervention test of mathematical competency, on which the verbally taught class scored significantly higher. A major interest of the research was individual differences in underlying abilities or preferred learning styles, seen as underpinned by visual-spatial and verbal cognitive processes. A test was developed to measure participants‟ general tendency to process information visually or verbally and the mathematics test results were also considered from the perspective of cognitive style. No interactions were found between teaching style and the learners‟ preferred styles. The pupils identified as „visualisers‟ did tend to perform more poorly on the mathematics test. However, further examination of the classroom performance and approaches taken to mathematics by these and other students led to doubt about the validity of the visualiser-verbaliser test used and indeed about the underlying constructs of visualiser and verbaliser cognitive styles.

Many researchers of children's drawings have concentrated on assessing how drawing develops through several stages. Around eight years of age the child progresses from producing drawings based on internal stereotypes of objects (intellectually realistic stage), to producing drawings which reflect an external view of these objects (visually realistic stage). This research has highlighted numerous variables which affect this developmental sequence and has shown that children as young as four can produce visually realistic drawings under certain circumstances. The present study firstly conducted a series of cross-sectional experiments to assess two of the variables highlighted by previous research, i.e. instructions and the order of presentation of tasks. Children between four and eight years of age were asked to draw various cup and ball models while these variables were manipulated. By employing the novel procedure of measuring the amount of attention that the children paid towards the drawing models, it was possible to gain insight into underlying cognitive mechanisms. The research showed that intellectual and visual realism can be artificially induced by procedural changes that affect the amount of strategic attention that the child employs in a drawing task. Increased attention is associated with visual realism while reduced attention is associated with intellectual realism. This thesis therefore concludes that there are no distinct stages of development, but instead these are a by-product of strategic attentional processes. In order to place drawing in a broader cognitive context, a longitudinal study was then conducted which assessed drawing in relation to memory and selective attention. The developmental patterns of performance, strategy use and metacognitive awareness in the drawing task, were similar to those in the memory and selective attention tasks. This suggested that children have underlying abilities common to these three different cognitive areas. It was concluded that there is a need to assess drawing within the context of general cognitive development.

The Central Iberian Zone of Spain and Portugal contains numerous gold deposits of varying size, age and host lithology. Previous work has concentrated on single deposits, and as a result there was a need to apply a range of techniques to the region as a whole, in order to form a model for metallogenesis throughout the region. This work forms part of a EC-funded project (Contract MA2M-0032) studying integrated multidisciplinary exploration techniques for gold and precious metals in the Western Iberian peninsula. The Central Iberian Zone consists essentially of greenschist facies metasedimentary units intruded by Hercynian granitoids. Hercynian deformation occurred in three main stages, of which the earliest (D1) was the most intense. Quartz veining is common throughout the region, and a vein chronology was established relative to these deformation events. V1 veins are pre-Hercynian, and may predate the Precambrian Sardic deformation. V2 veins are syndeformational (D1), and associated with peak greenschist metamorphism. V3 veins are late-kinematic, syn- to post-D2. V4 veins are syn- to post-D3, occurring in the final stages of the Hercynian, and often associated with or postdating granites. Reactivation of vein sets by later fluids was common. Fluid chemistry studies of samples of known chronology indicate 3 main sources of fluid. The dominant fluid throughout the region from V2 to V4 is a dilute aqueo-carbonic fluid of varying composition. The combination of microthermometry, geochemical studies of wallrock alteration and stable isotope systematics indicates that the fluid was the result of devolatilisation and dehydration during prograde metamorphism at varying depths. The resulting aqueo-carbonic fluids flowed upwards, mixing with each other and with meteroric waters. Contact metamorphism associated with granite intrusions during the D3 deformation released further aqueo-carbonic fluids, which in some cases unmixed to form separate carbonic and aqueous inclusions.

This dissertation seeks to explore the nature of the occupation of Lower Nubia between the third and sixth centuries A.D. through a study of the material culture of the 'X-group', and the cultural influences exerted thereupon. It draws upon a detailed examination of artefactual evidence and particularly ceramics from published and unpublished sites throughout the study area, with especial reference to unpublished data from the citadel of Qasr Ibrim which both the archaeological and historical records indicate to have been of key importance at this time. The study concludes that the previously assumed homogeneity of 'X-group' material culture cannot be accepted for much of the period under consideration, and that separate cultural traditions can be identified which indicate the settlement of new groups within the area alongside the small pre-existing population. These can now be more successfully linked with historical sources than has previously proved possible, and also provide clear evidence of the mechanisms by which the late Roman administration in Egypt sought to maintain stability in the territory immediately beyond its southern frontier. Ceramics are used extensively in the study in the assessment of the cultural influences present in Lower Nubia, their effect on local production, and their significance. Particularly important is the definition of a previously unrecognised 'post-Meroitic' ceramic assemblage of limited distribution, which is clearly antecedent to the well-known 'X-group' ceramic tradition. Ceramics also provide evidence of dating, and were used in seriation analysis in order to investigate more closely the chronology and sequence of occupation of Lower Nubia.

This project builds on existing literature which argues that schools, given their broad reaching influence, can serve as central institutions to help encourage and sustain civic engagement (Bixby & Pace, 2008; Branson, 2001; CIRCLE, 2003; Gutmann, 1987; Putnam, 2000; Flanagan & Faison, 2001; Galston, 2003; Atkins & Hart, 2002; Torney-Purta, 2002a). The experiences that youth have in their primary and secondary schooling, including participating in organizations with strong civic practices, can have lasting effects on students' civic identity (Youniss, McLellan, & Yates, 1997). If we hope to influence young people's civic engagement, schools are a potentially powerful part of the equation. There are schools that commit to civic education across the curriculum, quality civics instruction, opportunities for action, and authentic youth decision-making opportunities (Gordon, 2007; McQuillan, 2005; Berman, 2003; Smith, 2003; Wood, 2005; Mosher et al. 1994). My study considers promising theory about whole-school civic reform and investigates the student experience in one exemplar school. My study explores how students and alumni who attend(ed) a school that intentionally and deliberately fosters democratic citizenship describe their civic experiences, roles, identities, and responsibilities. In this qualitative study, I invite current and former students from an urban public charter school into a conversation about whole-school civic practices. Interviews suggest that when youth engage in political activity as part of a school program, they begin to develop a civic identity and learn skills and knowledge that help them to act as democratic citizens. Participants used newly learned political skills both inside and outside of school with varying degrees of success or influence. Ultimately, they believed citizenship was grounded in a commitment to community and an appreciation of basic constitutional rights and democratic principles. Participants defined public engagement as political action. They articulated a sense of efficacy and the belief that they can be politically active. The actions they took through school experiences and the beliefs those experiences gave them are likely to inspire them to be politically active in the future. Few schools focus on political action. This school does, and according to participants, has a curricula and structures in place that are successful. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This study examines the natural history of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Senegal, West Africa. This western form of chimpanzee is the least studied of the three geographical races. Ecological studies of chimpanzees have been neglected in favour of behavioural investigations. Those studies which have focussed on ecology have often been distorted by unnatural human intervention. Field studies of chimpanzees are reviewed in terms of their length, the extent of disturbance at the site, and the methods involved. The study area is described: its hot, arid climate and undisturbed state are emphasised. Methods were devised to gain knowledge of the chimpanzees' ecology without interfering with their behaviour or habitat. A detailed description of the types of vegetation is given, and their proportional distribution reveals that there is less forest and woodland at Mt. Assirik than at any other site where chimpanzees have been studied. Chimpanzees use the types of vegetation differentially and this shows seasonal variation. Forest is most used at the end of the dry season. At other times of the year, extensive use is made of woodland. Grassland is used during the wet season. Data from observations of chimpanzees and their nests is used to estimate the population size, range and density. The total number of chimpanzees at Mt. Assirik is estimated as about 25 to 30, density is reckoned as 0.1/km² and their home range as 250 to 300km². The chimpanzees appear to be healthy. Many features of social behaviour, described elsewhere, were confirmed for this subspecies. A high proportion of mixed parties was discovered. This is thought to be an adaptation to an area of open vegetation: its distribution of food, water, and the presence of large carnivores. The chimpanzees are omnivorous. Although mainly frugivorous, they also eat leaves, flowers, seeds, bark, honey, insects and meat. Two species of insect are eaten seasonally, and two types of tool are used to obtain termites and driver ants respectively. Chimpanzees appear to specialise in nocturnal prosimians as mammalian prey. Nests are examined in detail and found to be similar to those made elsewhere. Preferences, for certain species are demonstrated for the first time. Finally, the results of the study are compared with the cultural ecology of a human hunter-gatherer society, the !Kung San of Southern Africa. The comparison is used as a basis for speculation on the behaviour of the ancestral hominids.

This qualitative phenomenological dissertation explored The Departmental Work Lives of Full-Time Non-Tenure Track Faculty (FTNTT) at two public four-year universities located in the Southeastern region of the United States. This study is based on interviews with twelve (FTNTT) faculty members representing departments traditionally associated within the College of Arts and Sciences. This study found FTNTT faculty participants highly credentialed and reasonably satisfied in their positions. This study adds the descriptor heterogeneous to FTNTT faculty members’ job roles, work environments, daily engagements, and work experiences and contradicts existing literature that finds FTNTT faculty positions to be resource deficit and administratively non-supporting. Literature surrounding FTNTT faculty, Agency Theory, and the concepts of Agency of Perspective, Agency of Action, and Action of Avoidance informed this study. This study extended Agency of Action to include intentional, strategic behaviors of inaction (coined within this study as Action of Avoidance) toward the departmental contexts of policies and practices concerning discipline, employability, employment longevity, and personal FTNTT faculty career trajectories. Agency Theory, Agency of Perspective, Agency of Action, and Action of Avoidance, as identified by the researcher, emerged as strong frameworks used by FTNTT faculty to construct behaviors to successfully navigate long-term careers under short-term conditions. Based on FTNTT faculty responses, this study outlines policies and practices that are perceived as supportive or non-supportive. Policymakers may use this data to inform strategies for improving support among FTNTT faculty members.

Drawing on ten months of ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews, and secondary sources, this dissertation examines how everyday institutional practices shape the different trajectories of women victims of domestic violence who seek legal assistance in Nicaragua. Taking a transnational feminist analytical lens, this research reveals how gendered governance operates through global policy on violence against women, contentious local politics, and the everyday interactions that women have with bureaucratic actors. In so doing, this study demonstrates the limitations of state-centered solutions to violence against women, particularly the unintended consequences of legal-punitive strategies which fail to address women's economic dependence on men. The first chapter analyzes the political battle between feminist organizations and state actors over Nicaragua's new law against gender-based violence (Law 779), passed in 2012. The central question posed here is: why would a government pass a highly progressive law and then almost immediately proceed to dismantle it? The chapter offers a two-fold answer. First, I suggest that Law 779 was passed in order to keep pace with regional legal trends in Latin America. Second, I contend that the law's subsequent derailment resulted from (1) the president's alliance with conservative religious groups, and (2) the interest of particular state actors in preserving Nicaragua's reputation as the so-called “safest country in Central America.” The second chapter draws on feminist theories of the state to analyze how the routine practices of low-level state bureaucrats impact women's experiences navigating legal institutions in Nicaragua. Contrary to theories of representative bureaucracy, I show how the increased presence of women officials within state institutions does not improve most women's treatment by police or prosecutors. Rather, only when women victims have access to specific forms of social capital are their cases granted legitimacy by state actors. The third chapter focuses on why some women do not follow through on their legal cases. Drawing on Dorothy Smith’s concept of bifurcated consciousness and Merton's concept of sociological ambivalence, I identify the specific material, relational, and institutional factors that contribute to the ambivalence of some Nicaraguan women toward laws and legal solutions. Through this institutional ethnography, I demonstrate the linkages between the material, symbolic, and embodied dimensions of gendered governance in Nicaragua, including how gendered hierarchies are constructed within the state itself, and how these hierarchies may be disrupted. At the same time, I also argue that the increasingly homogenized global discourse on “violence against women” has not only erased the diverse array of women’s experiences that constitute such violence, it has also circumscribed the range of alternatives available to women.

Much attention has been paid to the increasingly important role of women as social and political actors in Latin America. Though recent scholarship has examined women's activism in primarily urban contexts, this paper focuses on the case of poor rural women in Nicaragua. Based on participant observation and interview data collected over five consecutive weeks, this paper traces the pathways by which women's activism emerged in a context where traditional gender roles still predominate. These women's forms of participation—often on the basis of their interests as mothers—constitute a "politics of immediate needs” that responds to concrete matters of survival while introducing new issues of direct concern to women into the public sphere. However, community participation has also generated additional burdens for women who now juggle productive, reproductive, and activist roles. By exploring the complexities of these dynamics, this paper provides an ethnographic account of the highly nuanced contestatory process by which women enter the public sphere, collectively organize, and begin to challenge various gendered aspects of their society.

This dissertation focuses on the study of coupling-dynamics in the mesosphere. Interesting airglow phenomena -- primarily internal bores occurring mid-latitude at mesospheric altitudes -- have been observed and studied in a multifaceted approach, combining the analysis of experimental data with modelling and theory. After the initial mesospheric bore sighting by the scientific community in 1993, the next recorded events were observed by Cornell University. To gain additional insight, this investigation effectively pursued more data by installing imaging equipment as part of a collaborative, multi-instrument campaign involving lidar. While coincident lidar data eluded us, we did expand our database allowing us to develop the first classification system to categorize mesospheric bore observations. We also verify for the first time that a mesospheric inversion layer would support bore formation as proposed. Some of the bore data exhibits features unexpected and new. Most intriguing is that the brightness relationship between airglow layers is reversed and accompanied by a lateral shift! This was the first such "inverse" event reported in the scientific community, and its seemingly contradictory nature fails to support the existing basic theory. Working with researchers at the Air Force Research Laboratory, we propose a new theory extending the original numerical model. We also compare the data to another non-linear theory and find both that: (1) neither theory explains all the observable features, and (2) each theory succeeds in explaining some characteristics not addressed by the competing theory. This theory development suggests that mesospheric bores likely are nonlinear structures propagating within upper atmospheric waveguides such as thermal-inversion layers or wind-shear ducts. Well into this thesis, we realized the critical and complicated role calibration plays in ensuring the condition of our data. Calibration reduces the discrepancies between the raw error-prone data and a true portrayal of the phenomena, facilitating the generation of congruent, accurate data for analysis. To address some of the calibration challenges and to alleviate some of the confusion for future graduate students, a portion of this dissertation is devoted to providing the first, comprehensive presentation of calibration -- detailing topics, techniques, methodologies, and results, as they pertain to airglow imagers.

Nonpoint source pollution is an environmental problem that is a concern among regulatory agencies and water quality professionals. A portion of this pollution is conveyed to receiving waters by stormwater drainage from highways, often via vegetated roadside shoulders, also called borrow ditches. Vegetated filter strips are recognized by many regulatory agencies as a Best Management Practice for the control and treatment of stormwater; however design parameters such as length, width, and vegetative cover are not specified. Therefore, it is important to evaluate and document the extent to which these vegetated areas may reduce pollutant loads in runoff and to mitigate the effects of discharging untreated highway runoff directly into receiving bodies of water. The primary objective of this study is the documentation of the stormwater quality benefits of these vegetated sideslopes typical of common rural highway cross sections in Texas. The scope of this project included the selection of three sampling sites in the Austin area that met a predetermined set of site criteria; the installation of 12 passive stormwater samplers and collection systems; monitoring of the sites and collection of runoff samples from storm events over a 14 month period; laboratory analyses of each of the runoff samples; compilation of the results into a database; statistical and graphical analyses of the results to determine differences between sites; and the evaluation of the performance of each of the vegetated filters and recommendations of site conditions conducive to maximum pollutant removal. Results from this study indicate that significant removal of some pollutants occurs over the width of vegetated filter strips, often within the first four meters of the edge of pavement. The results also indicate that vegetation density has a direct effect on the performance of vegetated filter strips. Dense vegetative cover within close proximity to the road surface and vegetative covers of at least 90% are recommended to allow for maximum pollutant removal. The effects of a permeable friction course on the quality of runoff leaving the road surface were also examined. These results indicate that the porous surface appears to have a substantial impact on the quality of runoff leaving a road surface. These improvements in water quality are as great, if not greater, than the improvements gained from the vegetated filter. Overall, the results from this study indicate that vegetated filter strips should be utilized by TxDOT as a best management practice for controlling and treating stormwater runoff from Texas’s highways. These filter strips demonstrate consistently high removal efficiencies for many of the pollutants of concern in stormwater runoff. In addition to providing water quality benefits, these vegetated areas are inexpensive and easy to implement, are easy to manage, and provide aesthetic benefits to the surrounding environment

The purpose of this study was to determine the difference, if any, between the levels of role conflict and role ambiguity as perceived by full-time faculty at two types of community and technical colleges in West Virginia. Full-time faculty from two freestanding and seven component institutions participated. Demographic characteristics were also compared with role conflict and role ambiguity by institutional type. Two survey instruments were mailed to the total population of 332 faculty. A return rate of 61% was attained. Role variables were measured with the Role Perception Questionnaire (Rizzo, House, & Lirtzman, 1970). A Faculty Demographic Questionnaire was used to collect (a) personal factors, (b) professional qualifications, (c) work conditions, and (d) the intent to leave or stay the current position. A faculty profile emerged of a male or female who is at least 50 years old, holds a master's degree and academic rank of professor, was not part-time before becoming full-time faculty, with more than 10 years of teaching experience, more than 10 years of teaching experience at the present site, required to teach 12 or more credit hours per semester, and did not intend to leave the position within the following year. Several parallels existed between the survey participants and their counterparts as discussed in the literature. The results of the correlation analysis comparing role conflict by institutional type were not statistically significant. Role ambiguity was statistically significant at freestanding institutions. The scale scores for faculty role ambiguity and role conflict coefficients were negatively correlated and statistically significant. The use of role conflict and role ambiguity as separate constructs was supported by the findings. Recommendations were made for future research to assist policymakers and administrators in developing strategies to manage faculty role conflict and role ambiguity and its negative impact on organizations and employees.

The influence of interviewer performance variability when gathering survey data is a problem in survey research. The objectives of this research were: to st and ardize survey interviewer performance, thereby controlling one element of variability, interviewer accuracy; to do so through the development and use of carefully designed training materials; and to apply principles of evaluation to the resulting materials. The work was carried out at the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research. A four-step instructional design and evaluation model was followed to create and evaluate interviewer training materials. At Deficit Analysis, old training methods were examined, a task analysis of survey interviewing was carried out, performance goals were set and an instructional approach was chosen. At Program Formulation, a preliminary program was written, incorporating mechanisms to enable summative and formative evaluation of student learning and effectiveness of materials. During the third step, Program Engineering, the training program was pretested and revised. Nine different lterations were tested. During the final stage, Maintanence/Incorporation, long-term maintainence of specified interviewing techniques by interviewers was examined. Broad dissemination of the training materials is appropriate. The following conclusions can be drawn: (1) Interviewer accuracy can be influenced by training interviewers to apply uniform interviewing techniques currently accepted by survey methodology researchers and practitioners. (2) Principles of instructional design and engineering can be applied successfully to interviewer training. (3) Principles of evaluation can be merged successfully with the instructional engineering process to evaluate the resulting instructional program. (4) The program was institutionalized by using appropriate embedding content, such as agendas designed to meet the institution's needs, and by building staff commitment through participation in the design process.

The effectiveness of a social skills training workshop was assessed by comparing the rated competence of participants in an Interpersonal Skills Training Program (a 2-session, 12-hour workshop) to the rated competence of nonparticipants. This comparison was operationalized through a study design of the pre- and posttesting of 12 experimental and 22 control subjects. The assessment instruments used were Spitzberg's Conversational Skills Rating Scale (CSRS) and Curran's Simulated Social Interaction Test (SSIT). Two rating judges were utilized. Results, although modest, are in the expected direction. Measured competence on the CSRS failed to show significant improvement in the rated competence of the experimental group as compared to the rated competence of the control group. However, the SSIT did reveal significant improvement of the rated skill and anxiety of experimental subjects while the control group showed no significant improvement. In addition to assessing the effectiveness of the workshop, this study sought to find a positive correlation of the CSRS instrument to the SSIT instrument. As expected, the CSRS showed a positive correlation to the SSIT.