Text as Resistance in Holocaust Literature: Struggles for Personhood in Wiesel, Levi, and Delbo

This thesis is an examination of the memoirs of three core Holocaust writers, Elie Wiesel (Night and Day), Primo Levi (If This is A Man), and Charlotte Delbo (Auschwitz and After), exploring the ways in which each of the three authors uses his or her memoir to simultaneously document and resist the dehumanizing influence of the concentration camp experience.

Optimizing Performance of Conductive Nanoparticle-filled Membranes

Conductive membranes were prepared by magnetic alignment of graphite-coated iron nanoparticles (GCINs) in a polyisobutylene (PIB) matrix, which was cast onto an interdigitated surface electrode. Toluene and tetrahydrofuran (THF) were used as solvents for the casting solution. Different molecular weights of PIB and solutions with concentrations ranging from 0.05- to 50-wt% were explored to optimize the mechanical and physical properties of the membrane. The amount of GCINs used in the membranes ranged from 0.1- to 2.5-wt%, and a sonicator was used to disperse the particles in the membrane. Sedimentation and surfactant studies were conducted to investigate the dispersion of GCINs in solutions. Progresses were made to find an optimal combination of various parameters in order to attain thin homogenous membranes for fast response.

Contractual Difficulties in Environmental Management and the Protection of Biodiversity: The Case of Conservation and Mitigation Banking

This paper offers a principal-agent model of feasible private contracting in mitigation and conservation banking aimed at the protection of natural habitat and bio-diversity of US wetlands and uplands. It is shown that while it is straightforward to design an incentive contract, such a contract may not achieve the federally mandated objective of no net loss of habitat. This is because the minimum payment required as an economic incentive to private agents may be greater than what they should receive for the habitat values that they actually created in the field. This possible problem is shown to derive from nonconvexity in the production possibility set between the biological value of land as natural habitat and in non-habitat uses such as in urban development. The paper concludes with a consideration of several institutional devises that may promote the convergence of private contracting and the attainment of no net loss. These include the payment of subsidies, greater accuracy in the identification of actual quality by the principal, and the use of several incentive alignment devises.