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" ... To do credit to my nation, wherever I go" : West Indian and Cape Verdean immigrants in Southeastern New England, 1890-1940
Edwards, Janelle Marlena
This work is a community study that centers the experiences of black immigrants as an overlapping diaspora in multi-ethnic and transnational African-American history. It argues that, through the operationalization of their familial networks, ethnic organizations, and neighborhood enclaves, black immigrants in New England depart from traditional histories of assimilation and acculturation. Though much scholarship has been dedicated to the politically charged organizations and black immigrant...
Show moreThis work is a community study that centers the experiences of black immigrants as an overlapping diaspora in multi-ethnic and transnational African-American history. It argues that, through the operationalization of their familial networks, ethnic organizations, and neighborhood enclaves, black immigrants in New England depart from traditional histories of assimilation and acculturation. Though much scholarship has been dedicated to the politically charged organizations and black immigrant participation in New York, this microhistory of Southeastern New England's port cities -- Providence and New Bedford--demonstrates the commonplace, quotidian lives of West Indians and Cape Verdeans as neighbors, friends, and relatives who experienced and adapted to their diaspora condition differently. While West Indians altered their community landscape and eventually assimilated into the African-American community, Cape Verdeans retained a Cape Verdean ethnic identity, bolstered by their transnational shipping fleet and the constant flow of people, goods, and ideas from the homeland.
Toward zero delay video streaming
Al-Qassab, Hothaifa Tariq
Video streaming has been growing rapidly since the beginning of this century and it is expected to continue growing. With rapid growth of Internet traffic led by video traffic, the Internet busy hours on both mobile and fixed connection segments will double before the end of this decade. Meanwhile, transmission delay is a well-known problem in video streaming and it has been addressed by many prior works that demonstrated the feasibility of reducing packet delays over the Internet by...
Show moreVideo streaming has been growing rapidly since the beginning of this century and it is expected to continue growing. With rapid growth of Internet traffic led by video traffic, the Internet busy hours on both mobile and fixed connection segments will double before the end of this decade. Meanwhile, transmission delay is a well-known problem in video streaming and it has been addressed by many prior works that demonstrated the feasibility of reducing packet delays over the Internet by employing a variety of end-to-end techniques. This thesis consists of two parts that introduce new video streaming frameworks over the Internet and over connected-vehicle networks, respectively. Our objective in the first part of this thesis is to improve video streaming over the Internet. The emerging of new technology such as the HTTP-based Adaptive Streaming (HAS) approach has emerged as the dominant framework for video streaming mainly due to its simplicity, firewall friendliness, and ease of deployment. However, recent studies have shown that HAS solutions suffer from major shortcomings, including unfairness, significant bitrate oscillation under different conditions and significant delay. On the other hand, Quality-of-Service (QoS) based mechanisms, most notably multi-priority queue mechanisms such as DiffServ, can provide optimal video experience but at a major cost in complexity within the network. Our objective in this thesis is to design an efficient, low complexity and low delay video streaming framework.We call our proposed Internet streaming framework Erasable Packets within Internet Queues (EPIQ). Our proposed solution is based on a novel packetization of the video content in a way that exploits the inherent multi-priority nature of video. An important notion of our proposed framework is Partially Erasable Packet (PEP) that has two key attributes: (1) Each PEP packet carries multiple segments corresponding to multiple priority levels of the video content; and (2) High priority segments are placed next to the packet header while low-priority segments are placed toward the tail of the PEP packet. Furthermore, to evaluate our framework performance, we developed an analytical model for EPIQ that shows significant improvements when compared to the conventional and multi-priority queue video transmission models. Our proposed solution consists of a new Active Queue Management (AQM) that is similar to the RED algorithm. Under congestion, a best-effort AQM router can simply erase an arbitrary portion of a PEP packet starting from its tail where we denote this process as Partial Erasing (PE). To complement partial erasing in the AQM, a rate control protocol similar to TFRC is proposed to ensure fairness for video and non-video traffic. We demonstrate the viability of the proposed framework by simulating High Definition (HD) Video on Demand (VoD) streaming on the popular network simulator ns-2. Our results show that EPIQ provides improvements in video quality in terms of PSNR by at least 3dB over traditional video streaming formworks. In addition, packet loss ratio and delay jitter performance are comparable to the optimal video streaming mechanism that is offered by multi-priority systems such as DiffServ.The main objective of the second part of the thesis is to develop a vehicle active safety framework that utilizes video streaming and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication for driver warning. Most prior efforts for V2V safety applications have been limited to sharing vehicle status data between connected vehicles. On the other hand, video streaming has been mainly proposed for video contents sharing between vehicles or dashboard camera sharing.We propose a Cooperative Advanced Driver Assistance System (C-ADAS) where vehicles share visual information and fuse it with local visuals to improve the performance of driver assistance systems. In our proposed system, vehicles share detected objects (e.g., pedestrians, vehicles, cyclists, etc.) and important camera data using the DSRC technology. The vehicle receiving the data from an adjacent vehicle can then fuse the received visual data with its own camera views to create a much richer visual scene. The sharing of data is motivated by the fact that some critical visual views captured by one vehicle are not visible or captured by many other vehicles in the same environment. Sharing such data in real-time provides an invaluable new level of awareness that can significantly enhance a driver-assistance, connected vehicle, and/or autonomous vehicle's safety-system. The experimental results showed that our proposed system performed as intended and was able to warn drivers ahead of time, and consequently, it could mitigate major accidents and safe lives.
Evaluation of passive UHF radio frequency identification transponder performance using different packaging materials
Zhang, Yuanchenxi
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology plays an important role in supply chains by providing possibilities of improved security, efficiency and visibility of item tracking and management. In order to achieve the expected functionality of RFID technology, it is critical to understand factors that influence RFID transponder performance.The objective of this research was to determine the effect of packaging materials on the performance of passive UHF RFID transponders in a simulated...
Show moreRadio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology plays an important role in supply chains by providing possibilities of improved security, efficiency and visibility of item tracking and management. In order to achieve the expected functionality of RFID technology, it is critical to understand factors that influence RFID transponder performance.The objective of this research was to determine the effect of packaging materials on the performance of passive UHF RFID transponders in a simulated manufacturing environment. Three general-purpose passive transponders were tested when they were attached to four packaging materials. Performance parameters of read range, which is the maximum distance the transponder can be detected by the interrogator, and orientation read rate, which is the percentage of orientations in which the transponder was read, out of the randomly chosen set of orientations evaluated based on rotation, tilt, or incline of the transponder within three-dimensional space, were quantified and analyzed. The results showed that packaging materials had a consistent effect on read range and orientation read rate across different antenna designs of passive dipole antenna transponders. Transponder antenna designs had a significant effect on read range and orientation read rate. Interrogator antenna polarizations had a significant effect on transponder read range but did not have a consistent effect on transponder orientation read rate.
The influence of low temperature treatments on the development of Tulipa Sp
Schwartz, John Frederick
Milk production and related factor response of dairy herds after enrollment on a production testing program
Schramski, Edward Alfred
Noradrenergic mechanisms of preclinical Alzheimer's disease
Kelly, Sarah Colette
Noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) neuron loss is a feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The LC is the primary source of norepinephrine (NE) in the forebrain, where it modulates attention and memory in vulnerable cognitive regions such as prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus. Furthermore, LC-mediated NE signaling is thought to play a role in blood-brain barrier (BBB) maintenance and neurovascular coupling, suggesting that LC degeneration may impact the high comorbidity of cerebrovascular...
Show moreNoradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) neuron loss is a feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The LC is the primary source of norepinephrine (NE) in the forebrain, where it modulates attention and memory in vulnerable cognitive regions such as prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus. Furthermore, LC-mediated NE signaling is thought to play a role in blood-brain barrier (BBB) maintenance and neurovascular coupling, suggesting that LC degeneration may impact the high comorbidity of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and AD. However, the extent to which LC projection system degeneration occurs in the earliest stages of AD and the physiological consequences of this phenomenon is not fully characterized to date. To address these issues, we analyzed LC tissue samples from University of Kentucky AD Center (UKADC) subjects who died with a premortem diagnosis of no cognitive impairment (NCI) and Braak stages 0-II at autopsy, NCI subjects with Braak stages III-V thought to be in a preclinical AD (PCAD) stage, and subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild AD. Paraffin-embedded pontine tissue blocks containing the LC were cut at 20μm, immunostained with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH, a marker for NE synthesis), and analyzed to estimate total TH-positive LC neuron number. We measured a significant ~40-55% loss of LC neuron numbers in MCI and AD compared to NCI, whereas the mild ~25% LC neuron loss observed in PCAD did not reach significance. However, the topographical, rostrocaudal extent of LC cell loss in PCAD was significantly different from NCI and MCI. Moreover, LC cell loss correlated with premortem global cognition across the diagnostic groups. Studies were also performed to compare additional LC neuronal pathologies (phospho-tau and DNA/RNA oxidative damage markers) across the diagnostic groups. A significant ~15-30% increase in phospho-tau was observed in PCAD and MCI compared to NCI. DNA/RNA oxidative damage was significantly increased by ~25-40% in MCI and AD compared to NCI and PCAD. LC phospho-tau pathology correlated with Braak stage, whereas LC oxidative damage correlated with premortem global cognitive performance . Finally, while LC neuron number did not correlate with scores of global arteriosclerosis or microinfarcts, pontine arteriosclerosis severity was increased by two-fold in MCI and AD. To model the relationship between LC projection system degeneration and forebrain neuronal and vascular pathology in vivo, we stereotactically lesioned LC projection neurons innervating the PFC of the TgF344-19 rat model of AD (aged 6 months) using the noradrenergic immunotoxin, dopamine-β-hydroxylase IgG-saporin (DBH-sap), or an untargeted control IgG saporin (IgG-sap). DBH-sap lesioned animals performed significantly worse on the Barnes maze task and displayed increased amyloid and inflammatory pathology, as well as evidence for vessel remodeling and BBB leakage, compared to IgG-sap control animals. Taken together, these data compiled in my dissertation shed light on the multifactorial noradrenergic pathways contributing to neuronal and vascular pathologies during the onset of AD.
Investigation of racial and socioeconomic disparities in asthma hospitalizations in metropolitan Detroit, Michigan
Barnes, Lonnie
Racial health disparities are a consistent problem in the United States. Compared to whites, African Americans experience worse health outcomes both in terms of morbidity and mortality from various forms of chronic and infectious disease and continue to have lower life expectancy at birth. The causes of these disparities are not always immediately apparent, but previous literature on the topic indicates that they are rooted in larger structures of inequality which render disadvantaged...
Show moreRacial health disparities are a consistent problem in the United States. Compared to whites, African Americans experience worse health outcomes both in terms of morbidity and mortality from various forms of chronic and infectious disease and continue to have lower life expectancy at birth. The causes of these disparities are not always immediately apparent, but previous literature on the topic indicates that they are rooted in larger structures of inequality which render disadvantaged populations more exposed and susceptible to disease. This study investigates the racial and socioeconomic dimensions of morbidity due to asthma, an increasingly-common chronic condition of poorly-understood etiology in metropolitan Detroit, an urban area marked by high levels of racial segregation and economic inequality. Data on asthma hospitalizations from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project were used, along with socioeconomic indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, to (a) ascertain the magnitude of racial disparities in asthma hospitalization, (b) identify risk factors for hospitalization, and (c) determine the extent to which these risk factors explain any racial disparities. Descriptive statistics indicate that even after controlling for ZIP code socioeconomic position, black hospitalization rates for asthma were considerably higher than white rates at all levels of the socioeconomic hierarchy. Results of logistic regression models indicate that factors such as type of insurance and having other conditions in addition to asthma affect the risk of hospitalization for the condition but are able to account for only a small portion of the increased odds of hospitalization in the study area's African American population. The findings highlighted in this study are important, but also demonstrate the necessity for further research on this topic.
Methodology towards accessing small molecule heterocycles for h20S and TB proteasome modulation
Bethel, Travis Kordero
"This dissertation focused on the development and advancement of methodology for accessing imidazoline scaffolds and other small heterocyclic molecules for biological evaluation. Past research within the Tepe group has correlated functionalized 2-imidazolines to proteasome modulation. Further diversification of the methodology for accessing these 2-imidazoline scaffolds, has allowed for the synthesis of a small library of analogs for SAR evaluation with the h20S proteasome. These finding were...
Show more"This dissertation focused on the development and advancement of methodology for accessing imidazoline scaffolds and other small heterocyclic molecules for biological evaluation. Past research within the Tepe group has correlated functionalized 2-imidazolines to proteasome modulation. Further diversification of the methodology for accessing these 2-imidazoline scaffolds, has allowed for the synthesis of a small library of analogs for SAR evaluation with the h20S proteasome. These finding were used to further experimentally model and synthesize more efficacious 2-imidazoline derivates for proteasome modulation. The proteasome is responsible for the degradation of polyubiquitinated proteins in the cell, producing amino acids that can then be used for alternative cellular functions. The introducition of small heterocyclic molecules like 2- imidazolines, bind to the proteasome and lower is efficacy for protein digestion through modulation of its activity."--Page ii.
Congressional election patterns : party trends and district rank order relationships, 1942-1956
Miller, Richard Lester
Empowerment and critical consciousness : an investigation of women's beliefs about wife-beating in Kenya
Bur, Alaina Marie
This study investigates the role of culture in women's empowerment in Kenya. Kenya serves as an ideal case study because it has strong ethnic and cultural diversity and a high proportion of men and women who justify the patriarchal practice of wife-beating. This investigation employs the women's surveys from the 2014 round of the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Kenya to perform logistic regressions of factors shaping a woman's justification of wife-beating across five hypothetical...
Show moreThis study investigates the role of culture in women's empowerment in Kenya. Kenya serves as an ideal case study because it has strong ethnic and cultural diversity and a high proportion of men and women who justify the patriarchal practice of wife-beating. This investigation employs the women's surveys from the 2014 round of the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Kenya to perform logistic regressions of factors shaping a woman's justification of wife-beating across five hypothetical scenarios that can occur between a husband and wife. Results reveal that there are significant differences in women's beliefs about wife-beating across ethnic groups, educational categories, and experience migrating. I draw on Swidler's theory of culture to draw two conclusions from these findings. First, Kenyan ethnic groups are a source of culture that women draw on to form their repertoire of patterned action and belief during periods of settled life. Second, education and migration represent Kenyan women's encounters with new gender ideology and experiences with resocialization during periods of unsettled life. These experiences offer opportunities for women to gain critical consciousness, or a reflexive vantage point from which they can assess whether their culture's gender beliefs about wife-beating are, indeed, unjust.
Three Essays in the Economics of Education
Kho, Kevin
Chapter 1: School Cellphone Bans and Student Substance Abuse: Evidence From California Public High SchoolsFollowing high profile school shootings and the September 11th terrorist attacks, public concern over school emergency preparedness prompted the California State Legislature in 2003 to overturn a statewide ban against student possession of cellphones on campuses. After the repeal of the prohibition, which had been established in 1988 to curb drug dealing, school districts were allowed...
Show moreChapter 1: School Cellphone Bans and Student Substance Abuse: Evidence From California Public High SchoolsFollowing high profile school shootings and the September 11th terrorist attacks, public concern over school emergency preparedness prompted the California State Legislature in 2003 to overturn a statewide ban against student possession of cellphones on campuses. After the repeal of the prohibition, which had been established in 1988 to curb drug dealing, school districts were allowed individually to either continue banning phones or modify their device policies; most opted over time to accommodate usage during certain hours of the day. Using fixed effects regression analysis clustered at the district level, I exploit variation in the timing of district policies to estimate the impact on substance abuse from lifting school cellphone bans. Results provide evidence that allowing students to use cellphones at school increases opportunities to obtain and abuse controlled substances; this effect is particularly pronounced in the incidence of marijuana smoking among 9th graders, who exhibit a 1.3 percentage point higher chance of reporting past-month marijuana use in the year a ban is lifted.Factors involved may include the capability that the technology provides to negotiate high risk interactions in private and to seek out and contact a relatively small number of drug suppliers; as is thus to be expected, no impact is found on the consumption of cigarettes, which can be obtained legally by a large proportion of high schoolers.Chapter 2: Impact of Internet Access on Student Learning in Peruvian Schools (with Leah Lakdawala and Eduardo Nakasone)We investigate the impacts of school-based internet access on pupil achievement in Peru, using a large panel of 5,903 public primary schools that gained internet connections during 2007-2014. We employ an event study approach and a trend break analysis that exploit variation in the timing of internet roll-out up to 5 years after installation. We find that internet access has a moderate, positive short-run impact on school-average standardized math scores, but importantly that this effect grows over time. We provide evidence that schools require time to adapt to internet access by hiring teachers with computer training and that this process is not immediate. These dynamics highlight the need for complementary investments to fully exploit new technological inputs and underscores the importance of using an extended evaluation window to allow the effects of school-based internet on learning to materialize.Chapter 3: Discretionary School Discipline Policies and Demographic DisparitiesIn 2014, California passed the law AB 420, becoming the first state to limit the use of school suspensions and expulsions as punishment for "willful defiance" - a subjectively determined offense thought by state lawmakers to lead to racial disparities in discipline. In this paper, I overview the state's recent (from 2012-2017) progress in reducing exclusionary discipline and note effects on disproportionality, here characterized as the difference between a given group's proportion of discipline and its proportion of enrollment. Using identification by treatment intensity, based on schools' pre AB 420 proportion of discipline attributable to willful defiance, I also attempt to gauge the effectiveness of reducing punishment of defiance in mitigating disproportionality. School level administrative data from elementary schools (spanning kindergarten through 5th grade) indicate that exclusionary discipline has considerably declined throughout the period. On the other hand, it does not appear that AB 420, along with lower willful defiance related discipline, has reduced disproportionality.
Action and interaction in the social dyad : temporal measures of verbal behavior
Yamanaka, Kathleen Takako
Constellating cultural rhetorics, first year writing, and service-learning : a story of teaching and learning
Prielipp, Sarah E.
This dissertation examines the relationships among cultural rhetorics theory and methods, first year writing, and service-learning by showing the ways these theories and pedagogies constellate, or build, new things from their intersections and relationality. The author argues that "story is theory is practice" and demonstrates how this can work in first year writing through a cultural rhetorics-informed service-learning pedagogy. The author explains that this story of teaching and learning –...
Show moreThis dissertation examines the relationships among cultural rhetorics theory and methods, first year writing, and service-learning by showing the ways these theories and pedagogies constellate, or build, new things from their intersections and relationality. The author argues that "story is theory is practice" and demonstrates how this can work in first year writing through a cultural rhetorics-informed service-learning pedagogy. The author explains that this story of teaching and learning – both hers and her students – builds theory through sharing their stories of practice in their writing classroom. This theory/story/practice shows us how relationality, accountability, and reciprocity help develop habits of mind that may transfer to other situations to become active, engaged citizens for social justice.Chapter one develops Wilson's Indigenous research paradigm as a theoretical framework for the author's teaching and research by explaining her research paradigm for this project and discussing the literature that she draws on throughout this project. Chapter two further explains how she defines and uses service-learning by providing two case studies from the FYW courses she taught at Michigan State University in the 2016-2017 academic year. Chapter three begins to constellate cultural rhetorics theory and methods, first year writing, and service-learning using Wilson's Indigenous research paradigm as a framework. The "half" chapters are her students' voices, their stories in their words; these student selections help to show how they are practicing habits of mind throughout the course in their writing.
Controlling the surface processes of X- and Z-type ligands to tailor the photophysics of II-VI semiconductor nanocrystals
Saniepay, Mersedeh
II−VI colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs),
such as CdSe NCs, are often plagued by efficient nonradiative
recombination processes that severely limit their use in energy-conversion schemes. While these processes are now well-known to
occur at the surface, a full understanding of the exact nature of
surface defects and of their role in deactivating the excited states of
NCs has yet to be established, which is partly due to challenges
associated with the direct probing of the complex and...
Show moreII−VI colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs),
such as CdSe NCs, are often plagued by efficient nonradiative
recombination processes that severely limit their use in energy-conversion schemes. While these processes are now well-known to
occur at the surface, a full understanding of the exact nature of
surface defects and of their role in deactivating the excited states of
NCs has yet to be established, which is partly due to challenges
associated with the direct probing of the complex and dynamic surface of colloidal NCs. In this dissertation, we report a detailed study of the
surface of cadmium-rich zinc-blende CdSe NCs. The surfaces of
these cadmium-richspecies are characterized by the presence of
cadmium carboxylate complexes (CdX2) that act as Lewis acid (Z-
type) ligands that passivate under-coordinated selenide surface
species. The systematic displacement of CdX2 from the surface by N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylene-1,2-diamine (TMEDA) has been studied using a combination of 1H NMR and photoluminescence spectroscopies. We demonstrate the existence of two independent surface sites that differ strikingly in the binding affinity for CdX2 and that are under dynamic equilibrium with each other. A model involving coupled dual equilibria allows a full characterization of the thermodynamics of surface binding (free energy, as well as enthalpic and entropic terms), showing that entropic contributions are responsible for the difference between the two surface sites. Importantly, we demonstrate that cadmium vacancies only lead to important photoluminescence quenching when created on one of the two sites, allowing a complete picture of the surface composition to be drawn where each site is assigned to specific NC facet locale, with CdX2 binding affinity and nonradiative recombinationefficiencies that differ by up to two orders of magnitude.To understand the effect of steric hindrance and types of functional groups in different ligands on X-type ligand exchanges, using NMR, PL and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, we studied X-type exchanges on CdSe NCs capped with native carboxylates, with oleic acid, oleyl thiol, benzoic acid and benzenethiol ligands. We discussed the results and occurrence of undesired pathways including displacement of Z-type ligands, and suggested ligand exchange strategies that most likely lead to 100% X-type exchange.The structural complexity of surface of CdS NCs is also discussed in this dissertation. We demonstrate presence of two different sulfur surface defects on CdS NCs with ligand binding equilibrium constants that are two orders of magnitude apart and 20-60% smaller than those of selenium on similar size CdSe NCs. We also correlated the different surface defects to the PL quenching efficiency of CdS NCs.
Analysis of a method of training the mentally retarded
Yascolt, Marjorie Ann
A search for resonant Z' production in high-mass dielectron final states with the ATLAS detector in Run-2 of the Large Hadron Collider
Willis, Christopher G.
A search is performed for new resonant high-mass phenomena in the dielectron final state. The search uses 36.1 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data, collected at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider during its 2015 and 2016 data-taking runs. The dielectron invariant mass is used as the search variable. No significant deviations from the Standard Model prediction are observed. Upper limits at the 95\% credibility level are set on the cross...
Show moreA search is performed for new resonant high-mass phenomena in the dielectron final state. The search uses 36.1 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data, collected at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider during its 2015 and 2016 data-taking runs. The dielectron invariant mass is used as the search variable. No significant deviations from the Standard Model prediction are observed. Upper limits at the 95\% credibility level are set on the cross section times branching fraction to dielectron pairs for resonant $Z^{\prime}$ models considered in the search. Lower limits on the resonance pole mass are also presented. For the $Z^{\prime}_{\mathrm{SSM}}$, masses are excluded up to 4.5 TeV, while masses up to 4.1 TeV are excluded in the $E_{6}$-motivated $Z^{\prime}_{\chi}$ model. Limits are also derived in the Minimal $Z^{\prime}$ Model on the relative coupling strength $\gamma^{\prime}$. In addition, a series of studies are conducted in order to assess and reduce the dominant systematic uncertainty of this analysis, which arises from the imprecise knowledge of the Parton Distribution Functions in regions of very high parton $x$. While this uncertainty does not limit the discovery potential of the analysis presented here, it has the potential to do so in future searches. A novel approach is developed, and is shown to significantly reduce this systematic uncertainty in the high-mass search region of interest, thereby improving the discovery potential of future analyses.
An empirical investigation comparing the effectiveness of four scoring strategies for the Kuder Occupational Interest Survey form DD
Olejnik, Stephen Francis, 1950-
Farm mechanization of the small holdings in Surinam
Olf, Marius Eugene G.
"Flooding oil" : investigating poor health in vulnerable communities in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria
Barry, Fatoumata Binta
The Niger Delta region in Nigeria has been exploited for decades due to extensive oil and gas deposits that have led to devastating livelihood and health consequences. In addition to oil and gas industry impacts, floods are intensifying in Niger Delta communities that have annual flooding during the rainy season (April to October). In 2012, Nigeria experienced a severe flooding event that damaged infrastructure and livelihoods with virtually no studies completed about the health consequences....
Show moreThe Niger Delta region in Nigeria has been exploited for decades due to extensive oil and gas deposits that have led to devastating livelihood and health consequences. In addition to oil and gas industry impacts, floods are intensifying in Niger Delta communities that have annual flooding during the rainy season (April to October). In 2012, Nigeria experienced a severe flooding event that damaged infrastructure and livelihoods with virtually no studies completed about the health consequences. This dissertation research study aims to fill this scholarly gap by disentangling the emerging health concerns in Niger Delta oil communities with particular attention to women and children as they are sensitive indicators of population health. It utilizes a mixed-methods approach with the inclusion of Eco-Syndemics and African womanism theoretical perspectives. It was found that the Niger Delta has multiple pre-existing vulnerabilities that put the population at more risk during flooding events. Also, through an evaluation of airborne concentrations of chemicals released by gas flares and a retrospective, cross-sectional comparison, women and children in Uzere (oil community) have greater exposure levels to toxic chemicals released and more health concerns than similar women and children in Aviara (non-oil community), even though both communities are located in flood-prone areas in the Niger Delta. Overall, this dissertation research advances our understanding of the complexity of health hazards in communities close to oil and gas activities in the midst of more severe flooding. It also enriches scholarly and policy debates by providing an initial assessment of the link between climate variability and health in vulnerable communities. -- Abstract.
Electromagnetic radiation from automotive ignition circuits
Schallhorn, Thomas Lee