Honors Projects
Showing 161 - 170 of 298 Items
Bubbles & Bought-Ins: Reevaluating Price Movements in the Art Market
Date: 2020-01-01
Creator: Silas Wuerth
Access: Open access
- Employs two tests for bubbles in the art market. First, a right-hand forward recursive augmented Dickey-Fuller test to identify explosive price movements. Second, a test for the statistical significance of hedonic regression price index coefficients after controlling for equity market performance. Finds strong evidence for a speculative bubble in the pre-Great Recession "Post-War & Contemporary" market. Evidence for this bubble diminishes but does not dissipate after accounting for the effect of failed sales on index returns.
A Bayesian hierarchical mixture model with continuous-time Markov chains to capture bumblebee foraging behavior
Date: 2021-01-01
Creator: Max Thrush Hukill
Access: Open access
- The standard statistical methodology for analyzing complex case-control studies in ethology is often limited by approaches that force researchers to model distinct aspects of biological processes in a piecemeal, disjointed fashion. By developing a hierarchical Bayesian model, this work demonstrates that statistical inference in this context can be done using a single coherent framework. To do this, we construct a continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) to model bumblebee foraging behavior. To connect the experimental design with the CTMC, we employ a mixture model controlled by a logistic regression on the two-factor design matrix. We then show how to infer these model parameters from experimental data using Markov chain Monte Carlo and interpret the results from a motivating experiment.
White Southerners Respond to Brown v. Board of Education: Why Crisis Erupted When Little Rock, Arkansas, Desegregated Central High School
Date: 2017-05-01
Creator: Abby Elizabeth Motycka
Access: Open access
- What was the impact of Brown v. Board of Education on the United States and how did pro-segregationists in the South respond? In order to answer this question, I argue three key arguments over the course of three chronological chapters. In chapter one, I argue that segregationists from southern states responded to Brown by fighting to preserve segregation in order to protect a racial hierarchy they believed was essential. This racial hierarchy is magnified in the southern capital of Little Rock, Arkansas, which I argue in chapter two exposed segregationists’ political defiance and poor organization around racial integration of public schools. After a year of integration, analyzed in chapter three, I conclude my chapters by arguing the first year slowed down the segregationist organizations, but did not persuade them that racial integration would improve the “southern way of life.”
Mitochondrial adaptation in the green crab hybrid zone of the Gulf of Maine
Date: 2024-01-01
Creator: Jared Lynch
Access: Open access
- The mitochondrial genome has historically been relegated to a neutral genetic marker, but new evidence suggests mitochondrial DNA to be a target for adaptation to environmental stress. The invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) exemplifies this in the Gulf of Maine’s hybrid zone, where interbreeding populations exhibit thermal tolerances influenced by mitochondrial genotype. To better understand the mechanism behind this phenomenon, the effect of mitochondrial genotype on mitochondrial activity was tested by measuring mtDNA copy number (mtCN) and the activity of complex I, II, and IV of the electron transport system via high-resolution respirometry. Mitochondria isolated from frozen heart tissue were measured at three temperature points—5°C, 25°C, and 37°C—to represent thermal stresses and a control. It was predicted that cold-adapted haplogroups would exhibit both higher mtCN and increased activity for each complex, either across all temperatures or exclusively at 5°C compared to a warm-adapted haplogroup. Initial comparisons of mitochondria from fresh and frozen tissue at 25°C found lower activity for complex II and IV in frozen extracts, but they continued to be used for convenience. No differences were observed across haplogroups for mtCN or high-resolution respirometry, suggesting that mitochondrial activity does not underlie differences in thermal tolerance. However, temperature greatly influenced activity measurements with complex II and IV exhibiting the highest rates at 37°C while complex I exhibited optimal activity at 25°C. This study represents the first of its kind for C. maenas, providing a foundation for future experiments to continue exploring mitochondria in the context of adaptive evolution.
Characterizing the Roles of Toll7 in the Gryllus Bimaculatus Peripheral Nervous System Development
Date: 2023-01-01
Creator: Rowland Luo
Access: Open access
- The study of neuronal development could provide foundational information on neurogenesis and neuroplasticity. The small size and relatively simple nervous system of Orthoptera make them ideal models for neurodevelopmental studies. The peripheral nervous system development is an intricate and precise process that each sensory neurons are able to reach their central nervous system partners in a relatively short amount of time. Although the peripheral nervous system in limb buds and their genetic regulations are well understood in grasshopper embryos, few studies have explored the developing nervous system in a cricket model. Therefore, the first goal of the current experiment is to characterize the normal peripheral nervous system development in cricket embryos. Previous studies in Drosophila have suggested Toll6 and Toll7 receptors could serve as important targets for the neurotrophic-like factors Spaetzle2 and 5. Malfunctioning neurotrophic pathways could lead to abnormal nervous system development. Therefore, the second goal of the current study is to explore the roles of Toll7 in the development of the cricket peripheral nervous system. Immunohistochemical staining using anti-horseradish peroxidase (Anti-HRP) was used to illustrate crickets' embryonic developing peripheral nervous system in the limb buds from developmental stage 7.0 to 11.0. Cricket eggs were injected with Toll7 double stranded RNA (dsRNA) and rhodamine dye to suppress the Toll7 mRNA level. The control eggs were injected with GFP dsRNA and rhodamine dye. The peripheral nervous system development in cricket embryos is largely homologous to that observed in grasshopper embryos. All later-emerged sensory neurons followed the pathway established by the first pioneer neuron Ti1. Ti1 made stereotypical turns following the steering signals on epithelial and guidepost cell surfaces and eventually fasciculate with lateral motor axons from the central nervous system. When examining the peripheral nervous system development with Toll7 knockdown, a decrease in limb bud volume was observed at stage 7.7 and stage 8.0, suggesting Toll7’s potential roles in aiding cell-cell intercalation processes in Orthoptera embryos. Furthermore, a delay in Ti1 pioneer neuron development was observed with Toll7 knockdown at early developmental stages, providing evidence for Toll-Spaetzle pathway’s neurotrophic-like functions. The results of the current experiment provide the first description of the peripheral nervous system development in the cricket limb buds and further evidence of Toll-Spaetzle pathway’s neurotrophic properties.
Virtual Reality Accessibility with Predictive Trails
Date: 2020-01-01
Creator: Dani Paul Hove
Access: Open access
- Comfortable locomotion in VR is an evolving problem. Given the high probability of vestibular-visual disconnect, and subsequent simulator sickness, new users face an uphill battle in adjusting to the technology. While natural locomotion offers the least chance of simulator sickness, the space, economic and accessibility barriers to it limit its effectiveness for a wider audience. Software-enabled locomotion circumvents much of these barriers, but has the greatest need for simulator sickness mitigation. This is especially true for standing VR experiences, where sex-biased differences in mitigation effectiveness are amplified (postural instability due to vection disproportionately affects women). Predictive trails were developed as a shareable Unity module in order to combat some of the gaps in current mitigation methods. Predictive trails use navigation meshes and path finding to plot the user’s available path according to their direction of vection. Some of the more prominent software methods each face distinct problems. Vignetting, while largely effective, restricts user field-of-vision (FoV), which in prolonged scenarios, has been shown to disproportionately lower women’s navigational ability. Virtual noses, while effective without introducing FoV restrictions, requires commercial licensing for use. Early testing of predictive trails proved effective on the principal investigator, but a wider user study - while approved - was unable to be carried out due to circumstances of the global health crisis. While the user study was planned around a seated experience, further study is required into the respective sex-biased effect on a standing VR experience. Additional investigation into performance is also required.
Re-formando cuerpos: Las identidades femeninas en escritoras cubanas durante el Período Especial
Date: 2014-01-01
Creator: Amanda M Montenegro
Access: Open access
- Esta tesis explora cómo una variedad de autoras cubanas representan el cuerpo, las identidades femeninas y la relación entre las mujeres y la nación. Las autoras estudiadas incluyen Marilyn Bobes, Karla Suárez y Daína Chaviano. Sus narrativas ilustran y desarrollan una variedad de personajes –desde las mujeres blancas prerrevolucionarias hasta las “hijas de la revolución” afrocubanas—que representan diferentes maneras en que las mujeres construyen y reconstruyen sus identidades en la Cuba revolucionaria y hasta el comienzo del “Período especial”. Ilustran además cómo las mujeres vivieron fenómenos propios de ese período como la migración, la dolarización y el jineterismo. Así, revelan los fracasos en cuanto a la igualdad de género de la revolución, que no transformó la estructura patriarcal de la sociedad. Sin embargo, las autoras presentan una nación cubana polifacética compuesta de más que el Estado, donde las escritoras y las mujeres luchan por definirse a sí mismas. This paper explores how various female Cuban authors represent the body, female identities and the relationship between women and the nation. The authors studied include Marilyn Bobes, Karla Suárez and Daína Chaviano. Their narratives illustrate and develop a variety of characters—ranging from white prerevolutionary women to afro-Cuban “daughters of the Revolution”—which represent different ways in which women construct and reconstruct their identities during revolutionary Cuba and at the beginning of the “Special Period.” The characters also illustrate how women in particular experienced and dealt with the effects of the Special Period such as migration, dollarization and jineterismo. Thus, they reveal the failures of the Cuban Revolution regarding gender equality of the Revolution, which did not transform the patriarchal structure of society. However, the authors present a multifaceted Cuban nation comprised of more than just the State, where writers and women struggle to define themselves.
Torture under the Regime of Bashar al-Assad: Two Decades of Failed Human Rights Campaigns and Foreign Interference in Syria
Date: 2020-01-01
Creator: Olivia Giles
Access: Open access
- This honors thesis analyzes human rights campaigns to end the practice of state-sponsored torture in Syria during the presidency of Bashar al-Assad. It compares the 2000 Damascus Spring and the 2011 Arab Spring using the concept of the “contentious spiral model.” The model is based on the elements of the original “spiral model” introduced in The Power of Human Rights (1999) and the factors of contentious politics discussed in Dynamics of Contention (2001). It suggests that human rights movements that emerge from uprisings need effective mobilization by domestic and international actors. Sustained pressure from both sources should gradually force the state to make concessions until there is an absence of human rights violations. The study uses research on social movements and international politics in Syria, in addition to data on the practice of torture, to suggest that human rights campaigns to end state-sponsored torture in Syria have been unsuccessful because of the interference of Assad’s foreign alliances. These countries have helped the regime backlash against the opposition during uprisings, which has led to the fracturing of the movement. During the Damascus Spring, this interference took the form of shifting the world’s focus to other regional issues, and during the Arab Spring, Syria’s allies directly supported the Assad regime militarily, financially, and legally.
Convexity Properties of the Diestel-Leader Group Γ_3(2)
Date: 2014-05-01
Creator: Peter J Davids
Access: Open access
- The Diestel-Leader groups are a family of groups first introduced in 2001 by Diestel and Leader in [7]. In this paper, we demonstrate that the Diestel-Leader group Γ3(2) is not almost convex with respect to a particular generating set S. Almost convexity is a geometric property that has been shown by Cannon [3] to guarantee a solvable word problem (that is, in any almost convex group there is a finite-step algorithm to determine if two strings of generators, or “words”, represent the same group element). Our proof relies on the word length formula given by Stein and Taback in [10], and we construct a family of group elements X that contradicts the almost convexity condition. We then go on to show that Γ3(2) is minimally almost convex with respect to S.
Unraveling Paradise: Colonialism and Disguise in German Language Literature
Date: 2022-01-01
Creator: Brigita Kant
Access: Open access
- For centuries, the Pacific Islands have been disguised by Europeans through the trope of “island paradise." Despite Europe’s role in bringing colonization and racial oppression to Oceania, the dominant narrative has been that Pacific Islanders lead simple lives, untouched from the complicated aspects of the “modern world.” This narrative has enabled White outsiders to fantasize about the Pacific Islands as a place for personal denial of Western social conventions, simultaneously allowing White European men to fetishize and possess Pacific Island culture and identity. My honors project will closely examine three fictional German language texts- Haimotochare (1819), Der Papalagi (1920), and Imperium (2012)- centered around the exploration German colonial involvement in Pacific Islands. My analysis of these texts will allow for the understanding of how the false narrative of “island paradise” came to be, how it has been embraced and weaponized, and what it means for both German and Pacific Islander post-colonial identity.