In this paper, we explore the effect of critical events in shaping the responsiveness of elected officials to gender issues. In particular, we explore whether U.S. House Representatives discuss women’s issues more after the outing of Harvey Weinstein as a sexual harasser and the growth of the MeToo movement. To...
The topics in this dissertation are centered around the way that trees respond to environmental stress in the climates where they occur. Though forests across the planet are expected to experience change in local climate due to historic and ongoing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, the effects of climate change will...
In order to more effectively design large, complex systems, risk must be accounted for throughout the design process. A systematic way to account for risk is by using system model simulation. During the conceptual design phase, functional models can be drawn to help the engineer design their system's functional architecture....
Aaron Copland is known by many as the founder of American Music and is still considered one of the pre-eminent composers to come from the Americas, particularly North America. He composed from 1917-1973, with many of his most recognizable works composed in the early 1940s. Duo for Flute and Piano...
There are many uncertainties that complex engineered systems will face throughout their lifecycles due to changes in internal and external conditions. It is desirable for complex engineered systems to be resilient against various uncertainties. The ability to overcome such uncertainties should be embedded into the system from the beginning. However,...
When running for a political office, a candidate’s platform is important for the voter to understand what the that individual believes. Candidates do not always lay out a concrete platform and tend to stay away from salient issues, such as climate change and its effects, and run on platforms that...
Software maintenance tasks often require finding information within existing code, which is time-consuming and difficult even for professional programmers. For example, programmers may need to know what code implements certain functionality or what is the purpose of certain code. In response, researchers have developed tools to help programmers find information...
Due to age, original design that is deficient by modern standards, inadequate maintenance, environmental conditions, and increasing loads, large numbers of bridges in United States and elsewhere are classified as deficient and in need of rehabilitation or replacement. According to a national bridge inventory established by the Federal Highway Administration,...
While damages due to ponding are common and expensive, provisions for design and
construction of flat roof systems lack guidance regarding these loads. The goal of this research is
to present methods of designing or building flat roofs that are less vulnerable to this condition. An
investigation of the literature,...
Since the discovery of molecular chirality in 1848, this notion has had a substantial impact on medicine, biology, and chemistry. Extensive effort has been directed towards the construction of chiral molecules that contain sp³ hybridized stereogenic centers. In contrast, less effort has been dedicated to molecules that are chiral by...