Dissertation Haiku
  • Welcome
  • About
  • Haiku
  • Post Your Haiku
  • Dissertation Haiku

Inorganic Chemistry

4/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Ca-C2 yields C2-H2
car-bide me-tal pro-du-ces 
hy-dro-gen and oil


Pavel Karen
University of chemical technology, Prague, Czechoslovakia, (1984)

Relation between the Structure of Carbides and Composition of their Hydrolysis Products
Salt-like carbides of electropositive sp-elements contain carbon as C4−, C22− or C34− anions. Accordingly, their hydrolysis yields the respective weak acid: CH4, C2H2, and C3H4. Carbides of d- or f-transition metals are typically metallic. Water or protic acids hydrolyze some of them, such as Mn7C3 containing single carbon atoms or YC2 and DyC2 of C2 groups. In such a surface reaction, the compositionally metallic portion of the carbide reduces the hydrated H+ while the neighboring carbon group is being protonated towards the corresponding hydrocarbon. The reduced H+ reacts with the, say, protohydrocarbon, forming hydrocarbon series C1n or C2n corresponding to the carbon group present in the crystal structure. The main product is a hydrocarbon gas, but significant amounts of liquid hydrocarbons are formed as well. If the d- or f-element carbide is not metallic, no hydrogen is produced and only the corresponding hydrocarbon is formed (as an example, Sc2OC and its rare-earth analogues yield CH4). The hydrolysis of carbides is therefore structurally consistent, keeping the carbon-carbon bonds present in the crystal structure, but polymerizing and hydrogenating these species if the stoichiometric composition suggests metallic character able to yield hydrogen in protic environments.
0 Comments

Education

4/1/2017

0 Comments

 
What are the factors
that encourage women to
persist in CS


Patricia Ruiz
Pepperdine University

Female Computer Science Undergraduates: Reflections on Participation in the Academic Computer Science Landscape
My dissertation is a phenomenological study designed to investigate the lived experience of women in undergraduate computer science programs to better understand the factors that might encourage or discourage their participation in the field.
0 Comments

Chemistry

3/11/2017

0 Comments

 
How does it kill you?
Depolarize cell membranes.
Batrachotoxin.

Tim MacKenzie

Stanford University

Synthetic Batrachotoxin Derivatives as Molecular Probes of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Function
Through de novo chemical synthesis, I prepare structural analogues of batrachotoxin, a steroidal neurotoxin found in Colombian poison dart frogs. After synthesis of the derivatives, I perform patch clamp electrophysiology using voltage-gated sodium channels to determine the effects of the toxin. By seeing how structural perturbations impact toxin effects, we can begin to build a molecular understanding of the workings of the protein involved in initiating electrical signalling in the body.

0 Comments

Chemical Engineering

3/8/2017

0 Comments

 
Single chain length SAM:
Feeling the gold underneath,
LCs lie planar


Bill Miller
UC Davis

Self-Assembled Monolayers Formed from Alkanethiols on Gold in Contact with Simple Fluids and Liquid Crystals
The orientation of the liquid crystal (LC) pentyl-cyanobiphenyl and other liquid crystals was found to be in the plane of the surface on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed from a single alkanethiol (alkyl chain length = 3-18 carbons) on gold and perpendicular to the surface on "mixed" SAMs formed from alkanethiols with two different alkyl chain lengths on gold. The planar orientation was shown to be caused by dispersion forces between the liquid crystal and the gold through the SAM.
0 Comments

Physical Chemistry

3/4/2017

0 Comments

 
Recoil Chemistry
Of Nuclear Reactions

Radiation-masked


Bodo Diehn
University of Kansas

The Reactions of Recoil Carbon Atoms in the Acetamide System

In nuclear reactions where a mass defect is observed, the corresponding
energy release manifests itself as radiation and/or as kinetic energy of
the resulting particles.  If these particles are atomic species, they are
called "Hot Atoms" and exhibit unique chemistry because of the usually
enormous recoil energy.  Hot atom chemistry is usually studied in nuclear
reactors, where ambient radiation impinges upon the primary products and
degrades them, making it difficult to discern the original hot atom
reaction products.  When nitrogen-14 captures a neutron, a proton is
ejected and a hot carbon-14 atom is formed, converting an acetamide
molecule into a highly excited acetone molecule which because of its energy
undergoes further reactions.  To study these, extremely low irradiation
times were used to minimize radiation damage, requiring novel assay and
purification methods.
0 Comments

Chemistry

3/3/2017

0 Comments

 
Water chemistry 
in the very first step of
photosynthesis.

Tom Kuntzleman
University of Michigan

Redox Chemistry of the Calcium-Manganese Cluster of Photosystem II as Probed by Chemical Reducing Agents
Photosystem II (PSII) is an enzyme that catalyzes the splitting of water into protons, electrons and oxygen gas in the very first step of photosynthesis. I observed the reaction of PSII with a variety of different chemicals to learn about the chemistry of PSII.

​
0 Comments

Environmental Chemistry

3/3/2017

0 Comments

 
Summer signals more
Toxins and ammonia move
Sources discovered

Randolph Larsen
University of Maryland, College Park

Atmospheric Exchange of PAHs, PCBs and Ammonia with the Chesapeake Bay
My dissertation involved a multiyear study of the seasonal levels of PAHs, PCBs and Ammonia in the air and water of the Chesapeake Bay region. Comparing measured concentrations to predicted equilibrium concentrations we gained insight into the flux of pollutants across the air-water interface. Multivariate statistical analysis
0 Comments

Organic Chemistry

2/28/2017

0 Comments

 
Reducing metal
Lithium and thiophenes
Dihydro rings form


Walter Blenderman
University of Pennsylvania

Lithium / Ammonia Reductions of Thiophenecarboxylic Acids
Reducing metal reactions, commonly known as Birch reductions when the metal is sodium, are a standard method of reducing aromatic rings to the corresponding dihydro structures. Lithium / ammonia reductions of 2-thiophenecarboxylic acids in the absence of a proton source afforded mixtures of products. In the presence of methanol, acyclic mercapto carboxylic acids were the major products. Ring closure of these compounds to the corresponding thiolactones showed the double bonds in the mercapto acids to be of cis geometry. Attempts were made to prepare Z olefinic compounds derived from these mercapto carboxylic acids. Lithium 2-thiophenecarboxylate salts afforded good yields of the corresponding 2,5-dihydro-2-thiophenecarboxylic acids. The presence of substituents on the thiophene ring and the ratio of lithium to acid were significant factors in determining the nature of the products.
0 Comments

Computational Biology

1/12/2017

0 Comments

 
Some Algal Species
Became Heterotrophic
When Dinosaurs Died


Wolfgang Rumpf
The Ohio State University

“Two Studies in Evolutionary Loss of Function” 
Used the sequence of the nuclear small ribosomal subunit gene to determine the phylogenetic relationship between photosynthetic and non- photosynthetic algae. Determined the amount of sequence divergence among alleles of the TFIID gene to determine whether Acanthamoeba castellanii reproduced sexually or asexually.
0 Comments

Nanophysics

12/22/2016

0 Comments

 
Lovely MBE
Best oven for young atoms

Naked eye can’t see


Caroline Lim
CEA Grenoble - INAC
​

Title: GaN/Al(Ga)N heterostructures for infrared optoelectronics: polar vs nonpolar orientations
GaN/Al(Ga)N nanostructures have emerged as promising materials for intersubband (ISB) optoelectronics devices, with the potential to cover the whole infrared spectrum. The large conduction band offset and sub-ps ISB recovery times make III-nitrides particularly appealing for ultrafast devices in the short-wavelength infrared (1-3 µm) and mid-wavelength infrared (3-5 µm) regions. A variety of GaN-based ISB optoelectronic devices have already been demonstrated, including photodetectors, switches and electro-optical modulators. In addition to these applications, the large energy of GaN longitudinal-optical phonon (92 meV, 13 µm) opens prospect for room-temperature THz quantum cascade lasers and ISB devices covering the 5-10 THz band, inaccessible to GaAs. 

The presence of internal electric fields in polar materials imposes an additional confinement which increases the energetic distance between the ISB electronic levels, and constitutes one of the main challenges to extend the GaN-ISB technology towards the far-infrared (FIR). Furthermore, the high piezoelectric constants and lattice mismatch in the GaN/AlN system results in piezoelectric polarization along the [0001] axis, which renders the ISB transition energies sensitive to the strain state, and hampers precise device design. This has motivated research on alternative crystallographic orientations with reduced or zero polarization fields.  

Plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy is the growth technique that has provided better results for the study of ISB transitions in III-nitride materials. The low growth temperature prevents interdiffusion and allows interface control at the atomic layer scale. In this presentation, we summarize recent progress in ISB studies of GaN/AlGaN heterostructures.

As a first approach, growing along the polar axis, we analyze multi-layer complex QW designs that create a pseudo-square potential profile. 
As an alternative, we use nonpolar orientations, which allows to suppress the internal electric field and enhance the ISB oscillator strength, at the price of increasing the lattice mismatch. 
0 Comments

Education

12/3/2016

0 Comments

 
Accept or reject
Concept clearer with hands on

Interactive lab


Sarah Inkpen
Walden University


Title: Effect of an interactive component on students conceptual understanding of hypothesis testing
First year statistics course especially inferential statistics, has many college students baffled. I created some hands on place based interactive components into the curriculum for the dissertation, only the hypothesis testing unit was used. The control group had hsyal lecture and home assignments while the experimental group participated in a collaborative interactive lab. Using Ancova, there was a statistical significant difference between the two groups based on the University of minnesota's Comprehemsive Assessmentment of Outcomes in Statistics
​
0 Comments

Marine Ecology

12/1/2016

0 Comments

 
Growth versus breakdown
climate change threatens balance

reefs of the future


Nyssa Silbiger
University of Hawaii at Manoa

Title: Environmental drivers of the coral reef accretion-erosion balance in present and future ocean conditions.
Worldwide, declines in coral cover and shifts in coral reef community composition have raised concerns about whether reef accretion (reef growth by coral and other calcifiers) will continue to exceed reef erosion (reef breakdown by borers and grazers). Reef persistence is influenced by global and local anthropogenic factors, such as ocean warming, acidification, eutrophication, and overfishing, as well as natural environmental variability. Predicting reef response to environmental stress requires an understanding of both natural and anthropogenic environmental drivers of reef accretion and erosion, and how these drivers interact at different spatiotemporal scales. For my dissertation, I measured variation in accretion and erosion along a natural gradient to determine the dominant environmental drivers of accretion-erosion rates at fine (tens of meters) and broad (1000s of kilometers) spatial scales. I also used a controlled mesocosm experiment to directly examine the effects of global anthropogenic stressors (i.e., temperature and ocean acidification) on the coral reef accretion-erosion balance. My results highlight the importance of spatial scale in interpreting accretion-erosion data on coral reefs and also indicate that increases in reef erosion, combined with expected decreases in calcification, could accelerate the shift of coral reefs to an erosion-dominated system in a high CO2 world.


0 Comments

Biogeochemistry

12/1/2016

0 Comments

 
Snow is coming soon
the mercury trapped reacts
goes around the world


Alexandre Poulain
University of Ottawa
​
Title: Mercury redox transformations in snow and surface waters from temperate and high Arctic regions
Mercury is a global pollutant distributed throughout the world travelling via the atmosphere. It is deposited onto aquatic and terrestrial environments where it can become a potent neurotoxin. Light and microbes can send mercury back to the atmosphere before the toxin forms. I studied photochemical and microbial processes leading to Hg evasion.
(PhD thesis completed at the Université de Montréal in 2007)
0 Comments

Public Policy and Public Administration

11/21/2016

0 Comments

 
Neighbors in the North
Read vastly different news
Human tragedy 

   
Janine Allwright
Public Policy & Public Administration @ Walden University.


Title - Native Attitudes towards Refugees: A Comparison of Media Framing in the United States and Canada
My study compares the media framing of refugees between Canada and the United States. Both countries have very different approaches toward the Syrian refugee crisis: The United States shows resistance to allow Syrian refugees for resettlement and have not kept up with the UN’s desire to accept more refugees. However, Canada is showing an enthusiasm toward Syrian refugees that is unmatched by other Western countries. I am examining if a difference in media framing could possibly be a contributing factor to the difference in policy outcomes.
0 Comments

Public Health

10/30/2013

 
​structural violence
sex workers survive and thrive.
old laws kill and maim.

​

Marlise Richter
Ghent University
Thesis title: “Characteristics, sexual behaviour and access to health care services for sex workers in South Africa and Kenya”
My research focused on the impact of the 2010 Soccer World Cup on the sex industry in South Africa, and explored various factors that render sex workers vulnerable to HIV and other STIs.

Media and Communications

1/12/2012

 
​If I’m ABD
Does that mean that I cannot
Finish this poem

​
Sarah Kamens
European Graduate School

​Like many ABDs, I’m suspended in pre-dissertation limbo, convinced I’ll never finish.

History

12/15/2011

 
​Perón sent workers
to spread social change abroad
it did not work

​
Ernesto Semán
New York University

​Dissertation title: “Ambassadors of the Working Class: Peronist Worker Attachés, Cold War Liberalism and the struggle for the Americas’ Labor Movement (1945-1959)”
The dissertation studies the history of the worker attachés, union leaders and blue-collar workers appointed by Perón at Argentine embassies to propagate Peronism abroad. It focuses on their dispute with American labor diplomats in the Western Hemisphere and their competing notions of democracy, property rights and common good.

Computer Science

11/25/2011

 
​Ain’t a ‘puter safe,
And ain’t a bot can’t be caught,
Is network secure?

​
Chet Langin
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

​Dissertation title:  “A SOM+ Diagnostic System for Network Intrusion Detection”
My dissertation is about network intrusion detection theory and finding malicious computer network traffic such as botnets by using computationally intelligent algorithms including neural nets, fuzzy inference, and artificial immunity.

Marine Science

11/22/2011

 
​Who, What, When, Where, Why
and sometimes How. Answer these
for a Ph.D.

​
Jessica Luo
University of Miami

​A lot of my research is describing previously undescribed phenomenon or organisms using new instrumentation. I am working on describing the bloom dynamics of small, epipelagic jellyfish using a high resolution in situ imaging system. It seems like what we learned were the most important points in a story back in first grade still applies to cutting edge scientific research today.

Intelligence Studies

11/7/2011

 
​So, officially
Canada and the UK
Kept different secrets

​
Ann Rogers
Lancaster University

​Dissertation title: “Secretive states: a comparison of the Official Secrets Acts of Canada and Great Britain.”
When I worked on this topic, long before 9/11, I discovered that everyone else thought “intelligence studies” was creepy and super-boring and useless, so although I published my thesis, (well, the UK part), I never taught or wrote about intell again. On the upside, some of my peers were knee deep in Soviet strategic doctrine when the USSR collapsed, so I’d like to say to them: ha ha!

Educational Psychology

10/28/2011

 
​Sometimes learning hurts;
Employ some self-compassion,
Achievement improves.

​
Jaimie Krause
The University of Texas at Austin

​Dissertation title: “Everybody Fails Sometimes: Exploring Relations Between Self-Compassion for Poor Academic Performance, Generational Status, and the Learning Outcomes of College Students”
My dissertation is about college students coping with academic disappointment using self-compassion.

Political Science

10/22/2011

 
​I eat my popcorn
But do I taste sweet freedom?
Or Uncle Sam’s pit?

​
Eva Buzo
University of New South Wales

​My thesis looked at the relationship between Hollywood and Washington, and how film influences the image of the United States in Europe intentionally through collaboration between policy and content and unintentionally through the domination of American culture and ideas in the global film market.

Psychology

10/22/2011

 
​Black or white faces
MJ says it don’t matter
But it does matter

​
Shannon Elliott
University of Western Sydney

​My thesis focused on facial recognition of African American and Anglo-Saxon faces. Research has shown a significant difference in recognition accuracy in favour of faces that were the same ethnicity of participants. Our experiment tried to find support for current major theories, in particular, if the difference is due to familiarity with skin tone or facial features (ie. brow width, shape of the nose and lips). By presenting participants with photos of both African Americans and Anglo-Saxon faces in colour, black and white and inverted configurations we found tentative support for the facial features theory.

Civil Engineering

10/22/2011

 
Engineers Design
Students, they don’t understand
Grading helps them learn

​
Thomas F.C. Woodhall
Queen’s University at Kingston

​Dissertation title: Redesigning Assessment: The design and implementation of a rubric-based assessment system to improve engineering design education.
Creating a grading system for an engineering design course that helped drive home to students the skills and competencies they were intended to learn.

Education

10/19/2011

 
​Training lacks vision
Young Marines require more
Ignorance is bliss

​
Jennifer Stephens
Walden University

​Dissertation Title: The Adult Student Learning Experience: A Mixed-Methods Investigation in a Marine Corps Program From a Knowledge Management Perspective. (Ed.D., 2010).
<<Previous

    Publisher/Editor

    Picture
    Janine Allwright
    ​Graduate Student
    Walden University
    ​Public Policy and
    ​Public Administration
     

    Archives

    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2013
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    March 2008

    Disciplines

    All
    Aerospace Engineering
    Agricultural Engineering
    Agriculture
    American Studies
    Anthropology
    Archaeology
    Art History
    Asian American Studies
    Astronomy
    Biochemistry
    Biogeochemistry
    Biology
    Biomedical Engineering
    Biophysics
    Biostatistics
    Business
    Chemistry
    Cinema & Media Studies
    Classics
    Communication
    Comparative Literature
    Computer Science
    Creative Writing
    Cryptography
    Design
    Drama
    Earth Sciences
    Ecology
    Economics
    Education
    Educational Psychology
    Electrical Engineering
    Engineering
    English
    Environmental Engineering
    Environmental Policy
    Epidemiology
    Film Making
    French
    Genetics
    Geography
    Geometry
    Health Science
    History
    Human Rights
    Immunology
    Inspirational
    Intelligence Studies
    International Relations
    International Studies
    Law
    Linguistics
    Marine Ecology
    Masters Thesis
    Mathematics
    Microbiology
    Music
    Neurobiology
    Neuroscience
    Oceanography
    Organizational Behavior
    Paleontology
    Performance Studies
    Philosophy
    Physics
    Physiology
    Political Science
    Process
    Psychology
    Public Health
    Public Policy
    Publishing
    Religion
    Rhetoric
    Sciences
    Sociology
    Statistics
    Systems Engineering
    Theatre
    Toxicology
    Translation
    Urban Planning
    Water Resources Engineering
    Women's Studies
    Zoology

    RSS Feed

    ​© Copyright 2016
    All Rights Reserved
Picture
         Copyright ©2016
​         All Rights Reserved

Dissertation Haiku in the News!

​​​           Doctoral Dissertations in Haiku
“One of my old professors liked to say that a poem isn’t any good unless you can explain it to a three-year-old. I never would have thought one could apply that same standard to a doctoral dissertation, but then I came across a brilliant little website called Dissertation Haiku.” 
Full Article in Huffington Post 
John Lundberg Writer, Poetry Teacher
09/30/2009 05:12 am ET | Updated Nov 17, 2011
        Dissertations are Long and Boring​
"This indisputable fact is the impetus behind the genius blog Dissertation Haiku, which explains itself thus: Dissertations are long and boring. By contrast everyone likes haiku. So why not write your dissertation as a haiku?
Full Article in The New Yorker 

Macy Halford  Contributor
09/23/2009

     Contact

Picture
Picture
Email Contact
  • Welcome
  • About
  • Haiku
  • Post Your Haiku
  • Dissertation Haiku