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Title: Vicarious interaction with politicians by identifying with surrogates on social media : a social identification mechanism based on multiple salient social categories
Creator: Dai, Yue (College teacher)
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: New media platforms display politicians’ interactions with people from a variety of social categories. Previous research shows that observers could vicariously experience parasocial intimacy toward a public figure by identifying with a surrogate—an individual who directly interacts with the public figure and who is considered an ingroup member by the observer based on a salient social category (Dai & Walther, 2018). Developments in the social identity literature call for further examination...
Show moreNew media platforms display politicians’ interactions with people from a variety of social categories. Previous research shows that observers could vicariously experience parasocial intimacy toward a public figure by identifying with a surrogate—an individual who directly interacts with the public figure and who is considered an ingroup member by the observer based on a salient social category (Dai & Walther, 2018). Developments in the social identity literature call for further examination of this surrogacy effect in contexts where multiple social categories are activated as bases upon which observers identify with surrogates. Through two experiments involving a total sample of 1,068 participants, this research demonstrates that when a surrogate’s identity is presented as different combinations of political affiliation (democratic or republican) and social status (ordinary voter or politician), the more categories observers share in common with the surrogate, the more they identify with the surrogate, and thereby experiences greater parasocial intimacy toward a politician who is seen replying to the surrogate on Twitter. These findings extend previous findings on a social identification-based mechanism of the surrogacy effect and inform online impression management practices of politician.
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Title: Poly(ethylene glycol) tailored polymers : nanomicelles with tunable lower critical solution temperature behavior
Creator: Lien, Yu-Ling
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Propargyl and 1,1-dimethyl propargyl substituted poly(ethyleneoxides) (propargyl substituted = poly(PGE), 1,1ʹ-dimethyl propargyl substituted = poly(MGE)) have been prepared by ring-opening polymerization of epoxides, which were synthesized from epichlorohydrin and propargyl or 1,1-dimethyl propargyl alcohol via Williamson ether synthesis. The resulting polymers were modified by Cu-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) of the polymer propargyl groups and organic azides. When these...
Show morePropargyl and 1,1-dimethyl propargyl substituted poly(ethyleneoxides) (propargyl substituted = poly(PGE), 1,1ʹ-dimethyl propargyl substituted = poly(MGE)) have been prepared by ring-opening polymerization of epoxides, which were synthesized from epichlorohydrin and propargyl or 1,1-dimethyl propargyl alcohol via Williamson ether synthesis. The resulting polymers were modified by Cu-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) of the polymer propargyl groups and organic azides. When these reactions were carried out with mixtures of azides, the ratios of azides incorporated in the polymer side chains were equal to the molar ratios of the organic azides reactants (± 2%). Mixtures of hydrophobic (decyl azide) and hydrophilic (mDEG azide) azides result in amphiphilic polymers that exhibited a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior. The polymer LCSTs scaled from 48 to 97 ± 2 °C (poly(PGE) derived amphiphiles) and 4 to 46 ± 1 °C (poly(MGE) derived amphiphiles) in a roughly linear fashion with the mole fraction of hydrophilic side chains in the polymer. When charged azides, COOH azide and aminium azide, were used, the physical property as well as the LCST behavior oh the polymers were changed. The LCSTs of polymers incorporating charged azides were increased and the LCSTs were decreased by adding salts in the solutions. The hydrodynamic radii (RH) obtained from DLS measurements indicate that polymers form unimolecular micelles in water (Mn = 52,000 g/mol, PDI = 1.19, RH = 6 ± 2 nm), and TEM data showed monodisperse domains (20 ± 4 nm, for Mn = 52,000) when water was evaporated at room temperature from solutions cast on TEM grids. This length scale is consistent with domains that consist of single polymer chains. When the TEM grid was heated during evaporation, the domain size increased to 74 ± 45 nm. In solution, the unimolecular micelles can solubilize hydrophobic small molecules, such as trans-azobenzene (trans-PhN=NPh) in water. DLS data suggested that polymer encapsulating trans-PhN=NPh (trans-PhN=NPh@poly(PGE) or poly(MGE)) derived amphiphiles) showed signs of aggregation in one case (RH = 12 ± 8 nm) and no signs of aggregation in another case (RH = 5 ± 2 nm). When the resulting solutions were raised above the polymer LCST the polymer and small molecule precipitated. When the mixture was cooled below the LCST, the polymer and hydrophobic small molecule re-dissolved. The unimolecular micelles were used to encapsulate a hydrophilic macromolecule, Subtilisin Carlsberg (SC), in aqueous solution and organic media. Poly(PGE) or poly(MGE) derived amphiphiles with COOH pendant group slowed down SC aggregation in aqueous environment. Also, the activity of SC@poly(MGE) derived amphiphiles with COOH pendant group was assayed and the half-life of SC was increased to 10 h from 2 h at 50 °C. Initial studies of SC@poly(PGE) or poly(MGE) derived amphiphiles in organic media showed enzymatic activity in toluene after 16 h at 37 °C.
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Title: Aerial photography
Creator: Schaeffer, Robert Owen
Date: 1938
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: The design, development, fabrication and testing of a 100 watt skutterudite thermoelectric generator
Creator: Lyle, Matthew
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Thermoelectric technology is a method of renewable, alternative energy that utilizes the Seebeck effect to convert some of the thermal energy in a temperature gradient to electricity. The optimal temperature range for skutterudite thermoelectric devices is around 650°C, making them ideal for high temperature applications. At this temperature range, the skutterudite thermoelectrics have a device-level conversion efficiency of about 9%. As these devices are still in the development stage,...
Show moreThermoelectric technology is a method of renewable, alternative energy that utilizes the Seebeck effect to convert some of the thermal energy in a temperature gradient to electricity. The optimal temperature range for skutterudite thermoelectric devices is around 650°C, making them ideal for high temperature applications. At this temperature range, the skutterudite thermoelectrics have a device-level conversion efficiency of about 9%. As these devices are still in the development stage, testing that simulates real-world conditions is necessary to assess the feasibility of implementing skutterudite thermoelectric technology with current processes. A standardized procedure to test the skutterudite thermoelectric devices has been established to reduce variability in device fabrication and generator assembly. This procedure includes a measurement and tracking system to aid in establishing relationships between component properties and thermoelectric performance. In addition, a technology has been developed to electrically bypass any failed devices to preserve overall power generation.Results indicate that additional efforts are needed to address the high level of thermal stresses the devices experience during operation. Several methods to reduce thermal stresses and investigate potential stressors are proposed. In addition, the successful performance of the electrical bypass technology suggests that it is indeed a viable method of bypassing individual devices for experimental tests. Additional testing and improvements can be made as necessary to implement this technology in the envisioned 1 kW skutterudite thermoelectric generator.
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Title: Pacific Standard Time : modernism and the making of West Coast jazz
Creator: Spencer, Michael Thomas
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: An interdisciplinary study of one of the most overlooked and understudied movements in the history of jazz, this dissertation draws from the fields of New Jazz Studies, Popular Culture Studies, and Art History in order to reconstruct the cultural history of West Coast jazz. Focusing on the critical texts and institutions that allowed this movement to germinate and expand, I explore the ways in which the music was represented through various types of media: on record, on radio, on screen, in...
Show moreAn interdisciplinary study of one of the most overlooked and understudied movements in the history of jazz, this dissertation draws from the fields of New Jazz Studies, Popular Culture Studies, and Art History in order to reconstruct the cultural history of West Coast jazz. Focusing on the critical texts and institutions that allowed this movement to germinate and expand, I explore the ways in which the music was represented through various types of media: on record, on radio, on screen, in concert, and in print (i.e., record labels, radio stations, jazz periodicals, etc.). As a result, this study recontextualizes the West Coast jazz movement within the milieu of California modernism around the middle 20th century as a way to observe the broader jazz community; one which included musicians as well as photographers, painters, architects, sculptors, filmmakers, and other modernists.
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Title: Matter and energy transformation : an investigation into secondary school students' arguments
Creator: Onyancha, Kennedy M.
Date: 2010
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Toward the development of a chemo-enzymatic process for the production of next-generation taxol analogs
Creator: Ondari, Mark Evans
Date: 2010
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Aspects of NAD biosynthesis in castor bean endosperm
Creator: Mann, Dorothy Boerner
Date: 1973
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Nutritional value of the velvet bean for milk production
Creator: Maldonado, Jose Fernando
Date: 1938
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Two thousand years of foraging ecology in the endangered Hawaiian petrel : insights from stable isotope analysis
Creator: Wiley, Anne E.
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Recent evidence indicates that over the last 150 years, humans may have impacted seabird populations through modification of their marine food resources. Unfortunately, the high mobility and large pelagic ranges of many seabirds has resulted in a dearth of information concerning even their basic feeding habits. Here, I use stable isotope analysis to investigate the modern and ancient foraging ecology of an endangered seabird, the Hawaiian petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis)....
Show moreRecent evidence indicates that over the last 150 years, humans may have impacted seabird populations through modification of their marine food resources. Unfortunately, the high mobility and large pelagic ranges of many seabirds has resulted in a dearth of information concerning even their basic feeding habits. Here, I use stable isotope analysis to investigate the modern and ancient foraging ecology of an endangered seabird, the Hawaiian petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis). Stable isotopic composition of Hawaiian petrel tissues (δ13C and δ15N values) reflects trophic level and foraging location and can therefore be used to describe patterns of foraging segregation or long-term temporal variation within the species. Chapter 1 investigates isotopic variation within individual flight feathers, with the goal of designing minimally-invasive and ecologically informative sampling strategies. δ13C values increased from tip to base in all 52 feathers within the study, including 42 remiges from the Hawaiian petrel and 10 from the Newell's Shearwater (Puffinus auricularis newelli). Such a consistent trend, observable among different species and age classes, is unlikely to result from shifts in diet or foraging location during feather synthesis. Considerable variation of δ15N values was also present within feathers (average range of 1.3 / within Hawaiian petrel remiges). A sampling protocol is proposed that requires only 1.0 mg of feather and minimal preparation time. Because it leaves the feather nearly intact, this protocol will likely facilitate obtaining isotope values from remiges of live birds and museum specimens. Chapter 2 explores ecological variability among modern Hawaiian petrel populations. δ13C and δ 15N values of feathers demonstrate segregation in foraging location during both the breeding and non-breeding seasons for petrels nesting on Kauai and Hawaii. Genetic analyses based on the mitochondrial Cytochrome b gene also reveal strong differentiation: coalescent-based analyses estimate < 1 migration event per 1,000 generations. Finally, feathers from multiple age groups and islands show unexpected divergences in δD that cannot be related to variation in source water. Overall, these data demonstrate foraging and genetic divergence between proximately nesting seabird populations. This divergence occurs despite high species mobility and a lack of physical barriers between nesting sites.Chapter 3 investigates Hawaiian petrel foraging habits and inter-colony segregation over the course of approximately 2,000 years. The most pervasive temporal trend is a 1.4-2.6 / decrease in average δ15N values, which likely reflects declining trophic level over the past 300-1,000 years. Isotopic chronologies also document ca. 2,000 years of foraging segregation between Hawaiian petrel colonies, observed as a long-standing divergence in average δ15N values. The degree of foraging segregation between petrel colonies diminishes through time and correlates well with genetic population structure. Shifting foraging habits of the Hawaiian petrel may reflect relatively widespread trophic alterations in the pelagic realm of the North Pacific. Such changes in foraging are concerning, given their implications for reproductive success and genetic diversity.
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Title: Studies on experimental histomoniasis in turkeys
Creator: Marcarian, Victoria, 1937-
Date: 1966
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: An investigation of the retailing of frozen foods
Creator: Bostic, Walter Herman
Date: 1951
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Effects of melengestrol acetate on rabbit uterine protein secretion
Creator: Bostwick, Eileen Frances
Date: 1976
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Some common sawfly larvae attacking conifers in northeastern North America
Creator: Bradley, George Arthur
Date: 1939
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Creating the moderate income housing investment under section 221(d)4 of the National Housing Act
Creator: Bradley, Thomas Erroll
Date: 1974
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Effect of light on the ascorbic acid content of tomatoes ripened artificially
Creator: Boloorforooshan, Mojtaba, 1948-
Date: 1974
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Nucleic acid metabolism in yeast
Creator: Bradford, Stuart William
Date: 1961
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Effect of 6-azauricil riboside and puromycin on the time course of biochemical events in the replication cycle of avian infectious bronchitis virus
Creator: Moore, Charles Woodrow
Date: 1971
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Rater effects in ITA testing : ESL teachers' versus American undergraduates' judgments of accentedness, comprehensibility, and oral proficiency
Creator: Hsieh, Ching-Ni
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Second language (L2) oral performance assessment always involves raters' subjective judgments and is thus subject to rater variability. The variability due to rater characteristics has important consequential impacts on decision-making processes, particularly in high-stakes testing situations (Bachman, Lynch, & Mason, 1995; A. Brown, 1995; Engelhard & Myford, 2003; Lumley & McNamara, 1995; McNamara, 1996). The purposes of this dissertation study were twofold. First, I wanted to examine rater...
Show moreSecond language (L2) oral performance assessment always involves raters' subjective judgments and is thus subject to rater variability. The variability due to rater characteristics has important consequential impacts on decision-making processes, particularly in high-stakes testing situations (Bachman, Lynch, & Mason, 1995; A. Brown, 1995; Engelhard & Myford, 2003; Lumley & McNamara, 1995; McNamara, 1996). The purposes of this dissertation study were twofold. First, I wanted to examine rater severity effects across two groups of raters, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers and American undergraduate students, when raters evaluated international teaching assistants' (ITAs) oral proficiency, accentedness, and comprehensibility. Second, I wanted to identify and compare rater orientations, that is, factors that drew raters' attention when judging the examinees' oral performances. I employed both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to address these issues concerning rater effects and rater orientations in the performance testing of ITAs at a large Midwestern university. Thirteen ESL teachers and 32 American undergraduate students participated in this study. They evaluated 28 potential ITAs' oral responses to the Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK). Raters evaluated the examinees' oral proficiency, accentedness, and comprehensibility, using three separate holistic rating scales. Raters also provided concurrent written comments regarding their rating criteria and participated in one-on-one interviews that explored raters' rating orientations. I employed a many-facet Rasch measurement analysis to examine and compare rater severity across rater groups using the computer program FACETS. I compared the written comments across groups to identify major rating criteria employed by the ESL teachers and the undergraduates. I analyzed the interview data to explore the reasons for rating discrepancies across groups. Results of the study suggested that the ESL teachers and the undergraduate raters did not differ in severity with respect to their ratings of oral proficiency. However, the comparisons of ratings in accentedness and comprehensibility were both statistically significant. The undergraduate raters were harsher than the teacher raters in their evaluations of examinees' accentedness and comprehensibility. Additionally, the analysis of the written comments identified six major rating criteria: linguistic resources, phonology, fluency, content, global assessment, and nonlinguistic factors. Cross-group comparisons of the rating criteria indicated that the undergraduate raters tended to evaluate the examinees' oral performances more globally than the ESL teachers did. In contrast, the ESL teachers tended to use a wider variety of rating criteria and commented more frequently on specific linguistic features. The interview protocols revealed that raters' experience with accented speech, perceptions of accent as an important rating criterion, and approaches to rating (i.e. analytical or global), had important bearings on raters' judgments of ITA speech.
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Title: Hydraulic evaluation of lysimeters versus actual evapotranspirative caps
Creator: Mijares, Ramil Garcia
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The ability to quantify percolation through a soil profile is one of the important considerations for geoenvironmental systems. Reliable estimates of percolation through natural soil deposits help in determining local groundwater recharge rates. For landfills, accurate measurement of percolation through the cap is necessary for permitting earthen final covers. Even though percolation is generally the smallest component among water balance parameters, quantifying its magnitude is...
Show moreThe ability to quantify percolation through a soil profile is one of the important considerations for geoenvironmental systems. Reliable estimates of percolation through natural soil deposits help in determining local groundwater recharge rates. For landfills, accurate measurement of percolation through the cap is necessary for permitting earthen final covers. Even though percolation is generally the smallest component among water balance parameters, quantifying its magnitude is environmentally critical and key in evaluating the overall hydraulic performance of final covers. Direct estimation of percolation through a soil cover is typically achieved using pan lysimeters which consist of a drainage layer underlain by an impermeable geomembrane liner. The presence of this hydraulic barrier in lysimeter, which is used to facilitate the collection and measurement of percolation, alters the hydraulics of the system. This dissertation aimed to evaluate the difference in hydraulic performance of a lysimeter versus actual earthen cap with underlying landfilled waste. Two uncompacted and one compacted field-scale earthen cap test sections were built and instrumented at a landfill near Detroit, Michigan to investigate the hydraulic difference between an actual cap (underlain by waste) and corresponding lysimeter which was used to directly measure percolation. Lysimeter pans were installed in the middle of each test sections and the instrumented area was expanded upslope and downslope of the lysimeter to monitor the soil water storages within and beyond the lysimeter footprint. About 35 sensors were installed in each of the test sections to monitor water contents, water potentials, soil temperatures, water levels, and gas pressures. The field results show soil water storage values for the uncompacted test sections that were underlain by waste were typically greater than those for the corresponding lysimeters. For the compacted test section, there was no significant difference between the soil water storage for the actual cap and the lysimeter. Using the single porosity numerical models UNSAT-H and Vadose/W, the field measured percolation in the lysimeter as well as the variation in soil water storages were predicted with an acceptable accuracy for the compacted test section. The presence of macropore flow through large clods in uncompacted test sections is not accounted for in these single porosity models. A numerical analysis showed that when a lysimeter underestimates the soil water storage of an actual earthen cap, it corresponds to greater actual percolation across the interface between the soil cover and the underlying waste. A lysimeter overestimates percolation because the infiltrated water drained into the lysimeter is immediately removed and is therefore not available for removal by evapotranspiration. Field-scale simulations also showed that the magnitude of capillary barrier effect introduced by the drainage layer in the lysimeters is negligible when the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil cover is equal to or less than 10^-5 cm/s.
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