Reactor refueling is a computationally intensive
problem solving process that requires automation since
significant resources are expended upon the search for
an optimal core loading. Without imposing some
constraints upon the configurations investigated, an
extremely large number of prototype loadings may be
generated without discovery of an improved loading. As...
Gadolinium is an important element to the Nuclear Fuel Industry. Two
of the seven naturally occurring isotopes of gadolinium have very large
absorption cross sections for thermal neutrons. The isotopes of
¹⁵⁵
Gd
and
¹⁵⁷ Gd readily absorb thermal neutrons and transmute to
¹⁵⁶
Gd and
¹⁵⁸
Gd which are...
I studied developmental rates in a suite of temperate and tropical passerine bird species from the New World to test the hypothesis that tropical passerines exhibit slower patterns of growth and development than temperate birds. I also investigated how the expression of several developmental rates varied with life history traits...
A majority of eighteenth-century novels remain in regular print over two hundred years since their inception. Yet with the possible exception of Robinson Crusoe, they have largely fallen out of popularity, rarely appearing on "The Summer's Hottest Reading" lists or receiving celebrity endorsement. I consider Ian Watt's foundational study, The...
I assessed potential barriers to dispersal using homing tendency and investigated the movements and settlement site selection of pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) after short distance translocations in southeastern Oregon from June – December 2008. I captured, radio marked, and translocated 59 pygmy rabbits 1-2 km across landscapes with (1) continuous...
Ralph Ellison died without ever completing his second novel. After his death, the executor of his literary estate, John F. Callahan, edited Ellison's work into a novel published under the title Juneteenth. This thesis examines the problems posed by Ellison's posthumously released text, especially the issues of authorial intent and...
Developing accurate predictive distribution models requires adequately representing relevant spatial and temporal scales, as these scales are ultimately reflective of the relationships between distributions and influential environmental conditions. In this research, we considered both spatial and temporal scale and the influence each has on predicting broad-scale distributions of two disparate...
I investigated survival, movements, home range sizes, and habitat selection of pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) in southeastern Oregon and northwestern Nevada from June 2005 to June 2007. I trapped 298 rabbits on four sites and fitted each with radio transmitters. More than 13,000 locations of telemetered rabbits were recorded. I...
In this thesis, I examine some of the relationships between hierarchy and community that exist in institutions. Within institutions, individuals are separated from one another and organized hierarchically based on arbitrary inequalities. In general, I discusses inequalities based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, etc. Institutions organized based...
The Supreme Court Bar-the lawyers who argue before the US Supreme Court-has historically been an elite and exclusive group. This investigation examines the demographic make-up of the Supreme Court Bar in the Roberts Court and compares it to previous iterations of the Supreme Court Bar, as well as the national...