This study uses a mixed methods approach to investigate how individuals perceive nature and engage with Texas state park (TSP) programs and resources while also identifying major barriers that visitors perceive/encounter when visiting TSPs. This study looks through the anthropological lens by using theoretical frameworks such as habitus, presentation of the social self, space and place, as well as communities of practice (CoP), to better understand the factors that influence the establishment and maintenance of an individual's relationship to nature and participation in related practices. This study illustrates how an individual's relationship to nature is influenced by experiences in early life that involve activities, landscape or bioregion, and social factors. Relationships with nature are strengthened through social support especially when CoPs are involved. By understanding park visitor experiences through motivations and limitations to participating in the outdoors, parks can expand engagement tactics, foster existing and create new CoP related to nature that aid in the introduction and adoption of outdoor learning and experiences creating lifelong stewards. The study offers recommendations on how TSPs can address visitor barriers and increase nature affinity with the use of targeted outreach and engagement methods through agency interpretive resources and programs with the goal of …

The potential of physiologically relevant in vitro cell culture models for studying physiological and pathophysiological phenomena has been widely recognized as replacements for animal and conventional in vitro models. To create models that accurately replicate the structure and function of tissues and organs, it is essential to comprehend the biophysical and mechanical features of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and incorporate them into the in vitro cell culture models. Therefore, we first aimed to investigate how nanotopography can modulate cell behaviors by studying cell behaviors on nanostructures of various aspect ratios on a cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloy surface. We also explored the impact of nanofibrous membranes on the formation of alveolar epithelium, which is critical for lung alveolar interstitium chips. In addition, we investigated the effect of mechanical stretch on cell behaviors and focused on how the dimensionality of the stretch affects cell behaviors. To create physiologically relevant in vitro models based on our findings, we engineered a stem cell niche using a combination of nanofibrous membranes, mechanical stretch, and a soft substrate, and evaluated its impact on stem cell behaviors. Finally, we created a biomimetic human lung interstitium chip for application in physiological and pathophysiological in vitro studies.

Supply chain transparency is principally focused on a company's efforts toward disclosing information about their products, and their supply chain operations to the public. Essay 1 is a conceptual paper that examines the risks of disclosing supply chain mapping information to consumers and proposes an approach to developing risk mitigation strategies. This essay also develops a set of supply chain mapping conventions that support the development of an agility-focused supply chain map. Essay 2 employs an experimental design methodology to examine the impact of disclosing the ethnicity of a supplier on consumers' behaviors, while also capturing the extent to which a consumers' ethnic identity and prosocial disposition influence their behaviors. Finally, also using an experimental design, Essay 3 analyzes consumer outcomes based on disclosing no, partial, and full supply chain transparency information, and accounts for heterogenous consumer traits such as the importance of information to a consumer and their perceived quality of information. Collectively, these essays advance the body of knowledge that seeks to understand the risks and benefits of supply chain transparency, by conceptually identifying risks and proposing an approach to minimize the risks associated with supply chain transparency, and by illuminating the conditions that prompt favorable consumer outcomes.

My Darling Boys is the story of a New Mexico farm family whose three sons were sent to fight in World War II. All flew combat aircraft in the Army Air Forces. In 1973 one of the boys, Oscar Allison, a B-24 top turret gunner and flight engineer, wrote a memoir of his World War II experiences. On a mission to Regensburg, Germany, his bomber, ravaged by German fighters, was shot down. He was captured and spent fifteen months in German stalag prisons. His memoir, the core of this unique book, details his training, combat, and prisoner-of-war experience in a truthful, introspective, and compelling manner. Fred H. Allison, the author and Oscar’s nephew, gained access to family letters that supplement Oscar’s story and bring to light the experiences of Oscar’s brothers. Harold Allison, the author’s father, was sidelined from combat as a bomber copilot due to a health condition. The letters also tell of the brother who did not come home, Wiley Grizzle Jr., a P-51 fighter pilot. Wiley’s last mission brought his squadron of Mustangs into a pitched battle with German fighters bound for the front to attack American troops. The letters also introduce the boys’ family, who fought …

We investigated the modifying effects of ultraviolet (UV) light and chemical dispersant (Corexit 9500A) on crude oil toxicity in juvenile mysids (≤ 24 h) (Americamysis bahia) and larval red drum (24-72 hpf) (Sciaenops ocellatus). These results demonstrate that crude oil toxicity significantly increases with co-exposure to environmentally relevant UV levels in both species, indicating photo-induced toxicity. This toxicity was further exacerbated by the application of chemical dispersants which increased the dissolution and concentration of oil-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in test solutions. To better understand the mechanisms and initiating events of this observed photo-induced toxicity, the incidence of apoptotic cell death and global transcriptomic changes were assessed in larval red drum (24-72 hpf) following co-exposure to crude oil and UV. These results showed that co-exposure to UV and low concentrations of crude oil (<1 µg/L ∑PAH50) induced apoptotic cell death in skin and eye tissue and altered transcriptomic pathways related to visual processing and dermatological disease. To link these cellular and molecular impacts of photo-induced toxicity to apical endpoints of ecological performance, sublethal impacts to growth, metabolic rate, and visually mediated behaviors were explored in larval red drum at 2 developmental stages. These results suggested that earlier life stages may …

During World War II the United States mobilized its industrial assets to become the great “Arsenal of Democracy” through the cooperation of the government and private firms. The Dallas Story examines a specific aviation factory, operated by the North American Aviation (NAA) company in Dallas, Texas. Terrance Furgerson explores the construction and opening of the factory, its operation, its relations with the local community, and the closure of the facility at the end of the war. Prior to the opening of the factory in 1941, the city of Dallas had practically no existing industrial base. Despite this deficiency, the residents quickly learned the craft of manufacturing airplanes, and by the time of the Pearl Harbor attack the NAA factory was mass-producing the AT-6 trainer aircraft. The entry of the United States into the war brought about an enlargement of the NAA factory, and the facility began production of the B-24 Liberator bomber and the famed P-51 Mustang fighter. By the end of the war the Texas division of NAA had manufactured nearly 19,000 airplanes, making it one of the most prolific U.S. factories.

This dissertation aims to discover the hidden pattern and rationales behind China's South China Sea policies over the last one hundred years from the perspective of Chinese strategic culture. A historical-cultural approach is a powerful tool in uncovering deeper understandings of the Chinese way of policy making and strategy on issues such as the South China Sea. The key research questions include: first, is there any historical legitimacy in China's sovereignty claim over the South China Sea islands? Second, do Beijing's South China Sea policies in various periods have any regularity or pattern, and how did they serve China's grand strategies at the time? By utilizing extensive Chinese and English primary sources and other sources, this study conducts a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the South China Sea issue from the framework of Chinese strategic culture.