The effects of serial correlation on the curve-of-factors growth model

Murphy, Daniel Lee The University of Texas at Austin 2009 해외박사(DDOD)

This simulation study examined the performance of the curve-of-factors growth model when serial correlation and growth processes were present in the first-level factor structure. As previous research has shown (Ferron, Dailey, & Yi, 2002; Kwok, West, & Green, 2007; Murphy & Pituch, 2009) estimates of the fixed effects and their standard errors were unbiased when serial correlation was present in the data but unmodeled. However, variance components were estimated poorly across the examined serial correlation conditions. Two new models were also examined: one curve-of-factors model was fitted with a first-order autoregressive serial correlation parameter, and a second curve-of-factors model was fitted with first-order autoregressive and moving average serial correlation parameters. The models were developed in an effort to measure growth and serial correlation processes within the same data set. Both models fitted with serial correlation parameters were able to accurately reproduce the serial correlation parameter and approximate the true growth trajectory. However, estimates of the variance components and the standard errors of the fixed effects were problematic. The two models also produced inadmissible solutions across all conditions. Of the three models, the curve-of-factors model had the best overall performance.

The material of Sikh history (India)

Murphy, Anne Columbia University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

This work seeks to explore how material forms of historical representation in the Sikh tradition---primarily as sacred object or "relic" and site---relate to the construction of the Sikh past as history in relation to shifting notions of the Sikh community as a cultural, religious and sometimes political entity. The practices and materials in question include: the collection, display, and interpretation of a set of objects---including clothing, texts, furniture, and weapons---and itihasik (historical) sites that are revered for their association with the ten Sikh gurus (teachers) and other heroes and martyrs. I consider these materials in relation to the production of Sikh textual historiography and other memorial practices since the eighteenth century, with attention to the social and ritual practices that are associated with them. The museological mode of representation, from colonial beginnings to contemporary transnational manifestations, provides a central context for understanding the relationship of ongoing memorial and historiographical practices to South Asian discourses of the modern.

Examining How Spatial-Temporal Interactions between Multiple Predators Influence the Distribution, Vigilance, and Survival of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Fawns

Murphy, Asia Jacqueline ProQuest Dissertations & Theses The Pennsylvania S 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

The metropolitan project: Leadership, policy, and development in St. Louis, Missouri, 1945--1980

Murphy, Maire Agnes University of Virginia 2004 해외박사(DDOD)

Through a case study of St. Louis between 1945 and 1980, this dissertation explores how a new group of urban leaders, working within the difficult context of metropolitan political fragmentation and Sunbelt competition, combined public and private policies in an effort to strengthen regional growth and, at the same time, to revitalize the urban core. By 1980, industrial-belt cities like St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Detroit had failed to regain their once vibrant industrial base. But it is not enough merely to record the decline of these cities and the tectonic regional shift in the American economy as northern manufacturing shifted to the Sunbelt. We must also analyze the process of political-economic change in these urban centers if we want fully to comprehend the transformations that occurred after WWII. The record of local leadership is a critical, but heretofore understudied, factor in the transformation of these cities after the war. We need to understand more clearly and at greater depth what local leaders did, how and why they made the choices that they made, what limitations they encountered, and how they interpreted the problems they faced, if we wish to understand both the record of local leadership and the patterns of economic change in these cities. Despite St. Louisans' impressive efforts at metropolitan restructuring, in the face of Sunbelt competition and hampered by metropolitan political fragmentation, their policies were unable to generate investment sufficient to reverse inner-city decline in St. Louis. By revealing how these urban leaders addressed local and national political-economic changes, this dissertation uncovers a crucial but missing link in explaining why the dynamics of urban development since 1945 proved successful at boosting suburban growth and the central business district yet failed to create the infrastructure, jobs, and investment needed for a fundamentally sound urban economy. These findings also have implications for our interpretation of northern urban liberalism in general. I find that northern urban liberalism was a pragmatic and creative partnership with Washington, D.C., that ultimately did not fail due to internal contradictions but against the formidable challenges posed by Republican pro-growth coalitions of the Sunbelt.

The role of the amygdalar circuit in adolescent antisocial behavior

Murphy, Jennifer Mary The University of Texas at Austin 2000 해외박사(DDOD)

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) morphometry of brain structure and neuropsychological tests of emotional processing were used to test the hypothesis that antisocial adolescents possess a neuroanatomically-based, developmental deficit in emotional processing. It was hypothesized that an amygdalar volume anomaly would result in a somatic marker deficit that prevents these boys from experiencing the empathy, remorse, and anxiety necessary for prosocial behavior. Thirty adolescent male participants were recruited from a locked-residential treatment facility, each possessing traits of adolescent psychopathy, and an additional fifteen adolescents were recruited as a non-clinical comparison group. Each participant was screened with Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised Youth Version and a diagnostic interview. Volumetric MRI, four neuropsychological tests, and a physiological measure were used to provide convergent measures of the study hypothesis. Regression analyses with appropriate controls revealed that psychopathic traits were indeed associated with deficits in processing of sad affect in others and in processing an aversive learning task. Emotional processing measures were associated with limbic structural volume, suggesting that these brain areas are indeed involved in affective functioning. Specifically, emotional memory, aversive learning, speed of affective processing, and perception of affect in faces were each found to be correlated with amygdala volume, hippocampus volume, or structural asymmetry of these structures. Psychopathic traits were not, however, found to be associated with amygdalar structural volume. These findings suggest that antisocial boys do possess some emotional processing deficits and that emotional processing is in fact associated with limbic structures, but that one cannot draw a simple connection between these boys' behavior and their brain anatomy. Instead, it is likely that a more complex set of variables interact with the boys' behavior, mediating their neuropsychological functioning and brain anatomy.

Exploring Conceptual Structures in Numerical Knowledge

Murphy, April Dawn ProQuest Dissertations & Theses The University of 2018 해외박사(DDOD)

How are conceptual structures learned and mapped onto the appropriate symbolic expressions in mathematical knowledge? Can children's difficulty in understanding fractions be explained and helped by focusing on reshaping knowledge structures, rat.

Employment experiences of Black and White Veterans with service-connected disabilities

Murphy, Sharon Y Wayne State University 2014 해외박사(DDOD)

The study examined the association between race and employment experiences among Veterans with disability to determine if employment experience differed for White and Black Veterans in the labor market. The research revealed typical characteristics of employment experiences, which suggest that work is completed at multiple levels, based on multiple factors and it is shaped by maintenance of historical discrimination and challenges, demographic and socioeconomic factors often beyond the control of the minority Veteran. For instance, this research found that historically Black Veterans with disabilities reported different employment experiences in the labor market. They reported that they received limited healthcare, have higher rates PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) diagnoses, experienced higher poverty, illness and injuries, which affected their civilian labor market participation (Kuzy, 2004). These Black Veterans with disabilities reported lower employment when compared to their non-Black counterparts. Data from the 2007 Veterans Employability Research Survey (VERS) assessed the experiences of Black Veterans with disabilities compared to the employment experiences of non-Black Veterans with service-connected disabilities to understand their employment experiences. Finally, using the segmentation market theories to explain the different experiences of White and Black Veterans with service-connected disabilities in the labor market this study determined that many veterans with service-connected disabilities, primarily minority and African American Veterans traditionally have employment experiences within the lower-tiers of the labor market. Despite social demographics patterns, educational history and military rank, branch and time in the service, which might have exposed Black Veterans to training and opportunities, race continued to influence the overall employment experiences of Black Veterans with service-connected disabilities when compared to White Veterans with service-connected disabilities.

Changing landscapes: Effects of varying refuge structure on the behavioral ecology and resistance management of western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte

Murphy, Alexzandra Faith Purdue University 2011 해외박사(DDOD)

The western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) is a notorious, long-term pest of corn in the Midwest, having developed resistance to many pesticides as well as the cultural control practice of crop rotation. After nearly a century of research, the western corn rootworm is still abundant and difficult to control; resulting in millions of dollars in losses and some of the highest per acre pesticide use in the United States. Transgenic, or Bt corn, which contains a Bt toxin originally isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis, provides effective rootworm control and reduces pesticide use. However, due to the adaptable nature of the pest, resistance management is necessary in order to extend the durability of this management tactic. Resistance management is currently accomplished, according to the guidelines established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), using the refuge strategy. A refuge, or section of corn plants that are not resistant to rootworm larvae, is planted with the Bt corn in one of several approved patterns. In order for this strategy to be effective, the refuge must provide a large reservoir of susceptible insects that mate with any potentially resistant insects surviving on Bt corn. To optimize refuge design and performance, a strong understanding of western corn rootworm biology and mating behavior in the Bt corn cropping system is crucial. This research examined: (1) the impact of refuge structure on western corn rootworm emergence timing and root damage, (2) the influence of natal host plants on adult head capsule width, (3) the composition and fate of the spermatophore, and (4) differences in the cuticular hydrocarbons of western corn rootworm based on several factors, including mating status and natal host (i.e., refuge or Bt corn). Three refuge structures (i.e., block, strip or seed mix) at two different sizes (10 or 20%) were evaluated, using rootworm emergence rates, in field plots over two seasons. The results indicated that western corn rootworm emergence from refuge and Bt corn plants was more synchronous in a seed mix refuge compared to the structured refuge treatments. This synchrony was best explained by larval movement between refuge and Bt corn plants, which was evidenced by an increase in root damage on Bt corn roots, and a decrease in root damage on refuge plants when refuge and Bt corn plants were in close proximity to each other. When the head capsule widths of beetles emerging from different host plants were compared, males emerging from Bt corn had significantly smaller head capsules. Western corn rootworm spermatophores, analyzed using a Bradford assay for proteins and an anthrone assay for sugar content, were found to contain relatively high levels of protein as well as minor amounts of sugar. The proteins were traced using the stable isotope, 15N, and the results indicated that the nitrogen received from males in the spermatophore is incorporated into the eggs by the female. Male head capsule width, pronotum width, and elytral length were found to have a significant positive relationship with spermatophore size. Cuticular hydrocarbons of western corn rootworms were sampled using solid-phase microextraction and were then analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Hydrocarbon profiles were compared on the basis of mating status, natal host (i.e., refuge or Bt corn) and sex. Some significant quantitative differences were identified between males that developed on different host plants, as well as between males and females. The synchrony of western corn rootworm emergence from refuge and Bt corn in seed mix refuge structures is advantageous for resistance management because it promotes mating between beetles emerging from refuge and Bt corn plants. Nevertheless, the larval movement between refuge and Bt corn, inferred from root damage data, is concerning because it could result in sublethal exposure to Bt toxins (as evidenced by the reduced head capsule width of males emerging from Bt corn), which may partially offset resistance management efforts. However, the diminished head capsule width of males from Bt corn may actually assist resistance management if males with larger head capsules (i.e., those from the refuge) have greater mating success and provide females with larger spermatophores. Overall, these results are favorable for the adoption of seed mix refuge structures as a resistance management strategy for western corn rootworm.

Insights into the pace and paleoceanography of early Eocene events of global warning

Murphy, Brandon H University of California, Santa Cruz 2011 해외박사(DDOD)

The hyperthermals of the early Eocene are the best examples in recent earth history of the climate systems' response to massive increases in green house gases on a scale or pace comparable to realistic scenarios of continued fossil fuel burning. In this dissertation geochemical and stable isotopic techniques are applied to deep-sea sediment cores for the purpose of constraining the chronology and character of two of these events, the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM: ∼55.5Ma) and the Second Eocene Thermal Maximum (ETM2; ∼53.6 Ma). Focusing on the pace of perturbations to the marine carbonate system provides constraints on the amount and source of carbon associated with each event, ultimately to constrain climate sensitivity in a high CO 2 world. The set of experiments presented herein first tests and refines the use of helium isotopes for reconstructing sub-orbital resolution mass accumulation rates and age models for the PETM, then pairs these methods with the more established paleoceanographic techniques to advance the characterization of subsequent smaller warming events including the ETM2. Chapter One presents a 3He based chronology for the PETM and discusses the discrepancies between it, similar work from another site and the leading alternative age model based on orbital cycle counts. Chapter Two presents additional He records from two nearby sites that bracket the first in water depth. This depth transect provides additional constraint on one of the largest sources of uncertainty in He based chronologies, variability in the extraterrestrial flux. Here the three chronologies and an unexpected signal in 4He are discussed. Chapter Three extends documentation of the ETM2 carbon isotope excursion and patterns of carbonate dissolution into the critically underrepresented Pacific basin. Bulk carbonate delta13C records are presented from three sites from Shatsky Rise in which ETM2 and subsequent minor hyperthermals are identified. Helium and benthic isotopic records from the shallowest site are also presented and their implications for the magnitude of the ETM2 CIE, warming and patterns of carbonate accumulation are discussed.

In season, out of season: Explaining the decline of ecclesial political influence in Quebec

Murphy, Isaac The University of Chicago 2008 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation examines variations in the political influence wielded by a religious hierocracy. Specifically, the case of the Roman Catholic Church in the Canadian Province of Quebec is studied. Why did the religious practice and political influence of this church decline so precipitously following the events of the 1960s ("the Quiet Revolution")? This decline is concomitant with the great international event of the Catholic Church, namely, the Second Vatican Council. The Council is seen positively by many as a time of great reform for the church, yet for Quebec and many other locales the internal religious practice and external socio-political influence of the church declined. Using Quebec as an especially apt example, this study focuses on the event of Vatican II, and whether the reforms of the Council unintentionally generated these changes in Quebec, or whether the Council was exemplary of reforms already occurring in the province. In addition to taking advantage of William Sewell, Jr.'s theorizing of events, the study is situated between two competing schools of thought in the sociology of religion, the secularization thesis and the approach of the rational choice school. Focusing on Roman Catholic cadres, I show that the reforms of the Council diminished the distinctiveness of Roman Catholic cadres, and thus hurt recruitment prospects for the religious orders and the priesthood. The church in Quebec because of this and other political factors, including the effect of the rise of linguistic nationalism on the party system, ceased to be a strong well disciplined institution capable of wielding significant political influence.