Punk rock music has long been labeled sexist as copious media-generated accounts and reports of the genre concentrate on male artists, hyper-masculine performances, and lyrics considered to be aggressive, sexist, and misogynist. However, scholars have rarely examined punk rock music longitudinally, focusing heavily on 1980s and 1990s manifestations of the genre. Furthermore, few systematic content analyses of feminist themes in punk rock song lyrics have been conducted. The present research is a longitudinal content analysis of lyrics of 600 punk rock songs released for four decades between 1970 and 2009 to examine the prevalence of and longitudinal shifts in antiestablishment themes, the prevalence of and longitudinal shifts in sexist themes relative to feminist themes, the prevalence of and longitudinal shifts in specific feminist branches, and what factors are related to feminism. Using top-rated albums retrieved from Sputnik Music’s “Best Punk Albums” charts, systematic random sampling was applied to select 50 songs for each combination of three gender types and four decades. Sexism and feminism were then operationalized to construct a coding sheet to examine relevant dimensions. While the present study found no significant patterns of longitudinal increase or decrease in feminist or sexist themes, it revealed that feminist themes were …

Based on theoretical reasoning and empirical evidence, the present study examined the unique and shared effects of attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and acculturation on attitudes toward seeking professional help among Latino college students. The research participants included 149 bilingual Latino college students from a large, public southwestern university. Results of a multiple regression analysis indicated that attachment avoidance was positively associated with both the recognition of need for psychological help and stigma of seeking professional help. Acculturation to American society was found to be statistically insignificant in predicting help-seeking attitudes in this sample of the population. Findings from exploratory questions suggested that Latino individuals would most likely seek help from parents, close friends, and then professionals. This study suggested that Latino individuals with high attachment avoidance acknowledge the potential benefit of professional help-seeking but distrust the process of approaching others for help. Limitations, implications, and future research directions will be discussed.

In situations where information infrastructure is destroyed or not available, on-demand information infrastructure is pivotal for the success of rescue missions. In this paper, a drone-carried on demand information infrastructure for long-distance WiFi transmission system is developed. It can be used in the areas including emergency response, public event, and battlefield. The WiFi network can be connected to the Internet to extend WiFi access to areas where WiFi and other Internet infrastructures are not available. In order to establish a local area network to propagate WIFI service, directional antennas and wireless routers are used to create it. Due to unstable working condition on the flying drones, a precise heading turning stage is designed to maintain the two directional antennas facing to each other. Even if external interferences change the heading of the drones, the stages will automatically rotate back to where it should be to offset the bias. Also, to maintain the same flying altitude, a ground controller is designed to measure the height of the drones so that the directional antennas can communicate to each other successfully. To verify the design of the whole system, quite a few field experiments were performed. Experiments results indicates the design is reliable, …

For many years newspapers were locally owned by editors and publishers. However, today many are run by corporations from out of state. As a result, many communities have lost the personal relationship between the family owned publication and the community. Gene Howe, who served as editor, publisher and columnist of the Amarillo Globe-News from 1926 until his death in 1952, believed the community was where the focus should be and the newspaper should do all that it can to help their readers. Despite the fact that Howe was not born in Amarillo, Texas, his passion and love for the city and its inhabitants compensated for it. During the Dust Bowl and Great Depression Howe and the Globe-News helped Amarillo survive the dust and economic storms that blew through the Texas Panhandle, an area that has not been written as much as other parts of Texas. Through his “Tactless Texan” column, which served as a pulpit to the community, to the various contests and promotions the newspaper sprang up, including the creation of Mother in Law Day, Gene Howe gave the newspaper another dimension little has been studied about, the role of the editor and publisher in guiding a community through …

Beginning in the 1970s, and aided by the advancement and an increased prevalence of computers, spectral music emerged as an important development in twentieth century music. Spectral composers, as exemplified by Gérard Grisey and Tristan Murail, took the harmonic spectra of sounds as the fundamental materials of composition. The resulting music placed an emphasis on texture and gradually evolving forms. The generation of composers immediately following the spectralists assimilated their techniques into distinct and varying styles. Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho uses spectral techniques to create an aesthetic that generates form and progression from a sound/noise axis. In her piece Du cristal…à la fumée, a number of pendulum and half-pendulum gestures build up texture and form. The accompanying original composition Axiom Unearthed employs similar pendulum gestures and uses spectral techniques to generate melody and harmony in an aesthetic divergent from traditional spectral pieces.

All-aluminum microchannel heat exchangers are designed to significantly reduce refrigerant charge requirements, weight, reduced brazed joints, and decreased potential for leakage by increasing reliability. Al 3003 alloy is corrosion resistant and can be formed, welded, and brazed but the issue with all-aluminum heat exchangers is localized corrosion (pitting) in corrosive environments. Currently, there is no universally accepted corrosion test that all coil manufacturers use to characterize their products. Electrochemical testing method of cyclic polarization was employed in this investigation and relevant parameters including electrolyte corrosive agent and its concentration, electrolyte pH, and applied potential scan rate was varied to find an optimal set of parameters. Results of cyclic polarization of Al 3003 in electrolytes containing various concentrations of NaCl were compared with those of the tests in Sea Water Acidified Accelerated Test (SWAAT) electrolyte and it is shown the SWAAT electrolyte (4.2% sea salt acidified to pH of 2.9) is by far stronger (in terms of corrosivity) than typical 3.5% NaCl solution used in most corrosion testing. Corrosion rates (g/m2yr) of Al 3003 measured in this investigation were comparable to those provided by ISO 9223 standard corresponding to C1 through CX categories. Duration of cyclic polarization test is much shorter …

Density functional theory is an efficient and useful method of solving single-reference computational chemistry problems, however it struggles with multi-reference systems. Modifications have been developed in order to improve the capabilities of density functional theory. In this work, density functional theory has been successfully applied to solve multi-reference systems with large amounts of non-dynamical correlation by use of modifications. It has also been successfully applied for geometry optimizations for lanthanide trifluorides.

The current study focuses on phase stability and evolution in the titanium-zinc titanium-copper and titanium-antimony systems. The study utilized the Laser Engineering Net Shaping (LENS™) processing technique to deposit compositionally graded samples of three binary system in order to allow the assessment of phase stability and evolution as a function of composition and temperature the material is subjected to. Through LENS™ processing it was possible to create graded samples from Ti-xSb (up to 13wt%) and Ti-xCu (up to 16wt%). The LENS™ deposited gradient were solutionized, and step quenched to specific aging temperature, and the resulting microstructures and phase were characterized utilizing XRD, EDS, SEM, FIB and TEM. The Ti-Zn system proved incapable of being LENS™ deposited due to the low vaporization temperature of Zn; however, a novel processing approach was developed to drip liquid Zn onto Ti powder at temperatures above β transus temperature of Ti (882 ◦C) and below the vaporization temperature of Zn (907 ◦C). The product of this processing technique was characterized in a similar way as the graded LENS™ depositions. From measurements performed on Ti-Sb it seems that Sb could be a potential α stabilizer in Ti due to the presence of a mostly homogeneous α …

Research has illustrated the interrelatedness of childhood physical fitness and psychological wellbeing, psychological wellbeing and academic achievement, as well as physical fitness and academic achievement. In this study, we proposed that psychological wellbeing (self-esteem and depression) serves as a mediator between physical fitness and academic achievement during adolescence. In a sample of middle school children (N = 1,530), significant correlations were found between all three variables (p.0001). A hierarchical regression analysis was performed to assess the associations between physical fitness, psychological wellbeing, and academic achievement. The regression analysis reported a significant partial mediation effect. The results of this study supported the proposed hypotheses, including a mechanism of psychological wellbeing partially mediating the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement. The findings of this study support the importance of encouraging activities to promote both physical fitness and psychological wellbeing in schools.

The Best Medicine is an animated documentary that explores the true stories behind the live performances of stand-up comedians. The film juxtaposes live stand-up performances with candid interview footage combined with animation and illustration. Three subjects– Michael Burd, Casey Stoddard, and Jacob Kubon– discuss alcoholism, childhood abuse, and sexual anxiety, respectively. Their candid, intimate interviews reveal personal information, creating a new context with which to understand live stand-up comedy performance. This illustrates themes of finding humor in dark or painful circumstances and the cathartic nature writing and performance.

As mobile phones become increasingly ubiquitous in today’s world, academic and public audiences alike are curious about the interaction between mobile technologies and social norms. To investigate this phenomenon, I examined how individuals use technology to actively manage their communication behaviors. Through a three-month research project on usage patterns of Burner, a mobile application, this thesis explores the relationships among technology, culture, and privacy. Burner is a service that equips individuals with the means to create, maintain, and/or dissolve social ties by providing temporary, disposable numbers to customers. The application offers a way to communicate without relying on a user’s personal phone number. In other words, Burner acts as a “privacy layer” for mobile phones. It also provides a valuable platform to examine how customers use the application as a strategy for communication management. This thesis represents a marriage of practice and theory: (1) As an applied enterprise, the project was constructed as a customer needs assessment intending to examine how the service was situated in the lives of its users. The findings have successfully been applied to my client’s company strategy and have led to a more informed customer approach. (2) As an academic endeavor, this research contributes to …

The novel is one means by which writers can provide examples of the possibilities for women in patriarchal societies to seek greater independence. Sabina Berman (1955- ) and Silvia Molina (1946- ) are modern day Mexican novelists whose writings support the betterment of the female condition in this Latin American society. This study focuses on these two authors and describes and analyzes several of their female protagonists who can be characterized as being in search of their self-identity and self-realization. The novels of interest are La Bobe (2006) and La Mujer que Buceó Dentro del Corazón del Mundo (2010) by Sabina Berman and La Mañana Debe Seguir Gris (1977) and El Amor Que Me Juraste (1998) by Silvia Molina. The theoretical framework used to analyze these novels is based on The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir and on the writings of the Mexican author Rosario Castellanos. These novels provide examples of how women can challenge patriarchal social norms in order to seek their identity as an individual and their self-realization. However, to do this, women must be willing to accept the risks and costs that may accompany this self-searching. By seeking identity women can satisfy their longings and desires, …

We have a huge amount of video data from extensively available surveillance cameras and increasingly growing technology to record the motion of a moving object in the form of trajectory data. With proliferation of location-enabled devices and ongoing growth in smartphone penetration as well as advancements in exploiting image processing techniques, tracking moving objects is more flawlessly achievable. In this work, we explore some domain-independent qualitative and quantitative features in raw trajectory (spatio-temporal) data in videos captured by a fixed single wide-angle view camera sensor in outdoor areas. We study the efficacy of those features in classifying four basic high level actions by employing two supervised learning algorithms and show how each of the features affect the learning algorithms’ overall accuracy as a single factor or confounded with others.

The overall main goal of this research is to assist with the planning and creation of an ethnobotanical addition at the Heronswood Garden, a botanical garden located in northwest Washington state recently purchased by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe. Methods included a three month long ethnographic study of Heronswood Garden as an official intern, and conducting a needs assessment that primarily employed participant observation and semi-structured open-ended interviews with all garden employees. Information revealed through the research includes causal issues behind a lack of community participation at the garden, elaboration on the solutions to various issues facilitated by negotiating and combining the views and opinions of the garden’s employees, and author reflections on the needs assessment report and the project as a whole. This research connects itself with and utilizes the methodologies and theories from applied anthropology, environmental anthropology, and environmental science to provide contemporary perspective into the subject of preserving or preventing the loss of biodiversity, language diversity, and sociocultural diversity.

Mefloquine hydrochloride is an antimalarial agent that has been used for the past 40 years. Numerous reports of neurological side effects have recently led the FDA to issue a strong warning regarding long-term neurological effects. This warning lead to the U.S. Army’s Special Forces and other components to discontinue its use in July of 2013. Despite reported adverse side effects, mefloquine remains in circulation and is recommended to travelers going to specific Asian countries. Mefloquine has been used as a treatment for those already infected with the malaria parasite (blood concentrations ranging from 2.1 to 23 µM), and as prophylaxis (blood concentrations averaging 3.8 µM) (Dow 2003). The purpose of this study was to quantify Mefloquine’s toxicity using spontaneously active nerve cell networks growing on microelectrode arrays in vitro and to identify compounds that alleviate or reduce toxic effects. The current literature on mefloquine toxicity is lacking electrophysiological data. These data will contribute to research on the mechanism of adverse side effects associated with mefloquine use. Sequential titration experiments were performed by adding increasing concentrations of mefloquine solution to cultured neurons. Network responses were quantified and reversibility was examined. In each network, activity decreases were normalized as a percent of …

While many investigations have been performed to establish a better understanding of the effects that magnetic fields and nanoparticles have on cells, the fundamental mechanisms behind the interactions are still yet unknown, and investigations on concurrent exposure are quite limited in scope. This study was therefore established to investigate the biological impact of concurrent exposure to magnetic nanoparticles and extremely-low frequency magnetic fields using an in-vitro CHO-K1 cell line model, in an easily reproducible manner to establish grounds for further in-depth mechanistic, proteomic, and genomic studies. Cells were cultured and exposed to 10nm Fe3O4 nanoparticles, and DC or low frequency (0Hz, 50Hz, and 100Hz) 2.0mT magnetic fields produced by a Helmholtz coil pair. The cells were then observed under confocal fluorescence microscopy, and subject to MTT biological assay to determine the synergistic effects of these concurrent exposures. No effects were observed on cell morphology or microtubule network; however, cell viability was observed to decrease more drastically under the combined effects of magnetic field and nanoparticle exposures, as compared to independent exposures alone. It was concluded that no significant difference was observed between the types of magnetic fields, and their effects on the nanoparticle exposed cells, but quite clearly there are …

The archaeology of the Northern Rio Grande region of New Mexico has recently received an increased amount scholarly attention. In particular, understanding past trends in demographics, agricultural productivity, violence, and social networks have been primary goals of archaeological research. Understanding patterns in animal exploitation has, however, received far less attention due to a small yet growing regional zooarchaeological database. Through the identification of animal remains from a site called Ponsipa (occupied ca. A.D. 1300 to 1600), this thesis adds one large dataset to this growing database. In addition, this thesis expands on the pre-impoundment distribution of an endangered native freshwater fish species in the state of New Mexico called the blue sucker (Cycleptus elongatus). The blue sucker is a unique fish that is currently experiencing range reduction across all of its known North American distribution due to anthropogenic habitat fragmentation and degradation. Skeletal remains that were identified from Ponsipa represent the farthest known northern record of its occurrence in the state of New Mexico and highlight the extent of range restriction of the species in the area. The data concerning the historical biogeography of the blue sucker from Ponsipa have implications for the effective conservation and restoration of blue sucker …

Multi band technology helps in getting multiple operating frequencies using a single microwave device. This thesis presents the design of dual and tri band microwave devices using coupled transmission line structures. Chapter 2 presents the design of a novel dual band transmission line structure using coupled lines. In chapter 3, Design of a dual band branch line coupler and a dual band Wilkinson power divider are proposed using the novel dual band transmission line structure presented in the previous chapter. In chapter 4, Design of a tri band transmission line structure by extending the dual band structure is presented. The Conclusion and future work are presented in chapter 5.

Data is everywhere. The current Technological advancements in Digital, Social media and the ease at which the availability of different application services to interact with variety of systems are causing to generate tremendous volumes of data. Due to such varied services, Data format is now not restricted to only structure type like text but can generate unstructured content like social media data, videos and images etc. The generated Data is of no use unless been stored and analyzed to derive some Value. Traditional Database systems comes with limitations on the type of data format schema, access rates and storage sizes etc. Hadoop is an Apache open source distributed framework that support storing huge datasets of different formatted data reliably on its file system named Hadoop File System (HDFS) and to process the data stored on HDFS using MapReduce programming model. This thesis study is about building a Data Architecture using Hadoop and its related open source distributed frameworks to support a Data flow pipeline on a low commodity hardware. The Data flow components are, sourcing data, storage management on HDFS and data access layer. This study also discuss about a use case to utilize the architecture components. Sqoop, a framework …

The thesis represents the design for dual-band quarter wavelength and half wavelength microstrip transmission line. Chapter 2 proposed the design of a novel dual-band asymmetric pi-shaped short-circuited quarter wavelength microstrip transmission line working at frequencies 1GHz and 1.55 GHz for 50Ω transmission line and at frequencies 1GHz and 1.43GHz for 60Ω transmission line. Chapter 3 proposed the design of a novel dual-band quarter wavelength microstrip transmission line with asymmetrically allocated open stubs and short-circuited stubs working at frequencies 1GHz and 1.32GHz. Chapter 4 proposed the design of dual-band pi-shaped open stub half wavelength microstrip transmission line working at frequencies 1GHz and 2.07GHz. Numerical simulations are performed both in HyperLynx 3D EM and in circuit simulator ADS for all of the proposed designs to measure the return loss (S11) and insertion loss (S12) in dB and phase response for S12 in degree.

The effect of friction stir processing (FSP) on the mechanical wear behavior was investigated for Ti-1Al-8V-5Fe (Ti-185) and stainless steel (Incoloy® A-286) alloys. The Ti-185 and A-286 alloys were tested in different processing conditions, including as rolled (AR), AR+FSP, and AR+FSP+aged. A high frequency reciprocating rig was used to simulate fretting-type wear of these alloys at room temperature. The Vickers micro-hardness and wear rates were calculated and compared for each processing condition. It was determined that along with increasing hardness in the stir zones, FSP resulted in improved wear resistance for both alloys. Specifically, wear rates in the stir zones were reduced to lowest values of 1.6 x 10-5 and 5.8 x 10-7 mm3/N·m for the AR+FSP+aged Ti-185 and A-286 alloys, respectively, despite lower hardness for A-286 alloy. Mechanistic studies were conducted to determine the reason behind these improvements in wear resistance and the effect of FSP on the microstructural evolution during wear. For the Ti-185 alloy, x-ray diffraction revealed that there was a phase transformation from β-Ti (AR+FSP) to α-Ti (AR+FSP+aged). This phase decomposition resulted in the harder and stiffer Ti phase responsible for lowering of wear rate in Ti-185. While x-ray diffraction confirmed the A-286 alloy retains its …

A positive psychosocial intervention comprised of high autonomy support, task-involvement, and caring was implemented in physical activity classes to examine its effects on college women’s basic psychological needs (i.e. autonomy, competence, relatedness), exercise regulations (i.e. external, introjected, identified, integrated, intrinsic) and social physique anxiety (SPA). We hypothesized that at the end of the semester, participants in the intervention group (N = 73) would report greater need satisfaction, more self-determined regulations and less SPA than participants in the non-intervention group (N = 60). At T1 and T2, both the intervention and non-intervention participants reported “agreeing” with experiencing an autonomy supportive, task-involving, and caring environment. Furthermore, both groups at T1 and T2 reported moderate SPA. No significant group differences were found at T1. At T2, significant group differences were observed in the intervention and non-intervention groups’ report of external regulation and intrinsic regulation. The results suggests that group exercise instructors are capable of creating a positive psychosocial environment to enhance students’ intrinsic motivation.

The Barnett shale basin, the largest onshore gas field in the state of Texas, mainly produces natural gas. The basin’s oil and gas productions have dramatically increased over the past two decades with the enhancement via shale fracturing (fracking) technology. However, recent studies suggest that air emissions from shale fracking have significantly contributed to the growing air pollution problem in North Texas. In this study, air emissions from the Barnett shale basin during the production phase of the oil and gas activities (once the product is collected from the wells) are quantified. Oil and gas production data were acquired from the Texas Railroad Commission for the baseline years of 2010 through 2013. Methodology from prior studies on shale basins approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was employed in this study and the emission inventories from the production phase sources were quantified. Accordingly, the counties with the most gas operations in the basin, Tarrant, Johnson, Denton and Wise, were found to be the highest emitters of air pollutants. Tarrant County was responsible for the highest emitted NOx (42,566 tons) and CO (17,698 tons) in the basin, while Montague County released the maximum VOC emissions (87,601 tons) during the study …

Matrix training techniques arrange instruction for stimulus relations that facilitate emergent responding to novel stimulus arrangements, which is a phenomenon known as recombinative generalization. The current study compared two common matrix training approaches, an overlapping (OV) design and a non-overlapping (NOV) design, with respect to arranging relations targeted for training. Two, typically-developing toddlers were taught compound action-object labels in either an OV or NOV matrix training design. Results suggest that an OV matrix design facilitates recombinative generalization more effectively than a NOV design.