Digital Commons Network^™

Freedom Now!: The Function Of Jazz In The Civil Rights Movement, Christa R. Gammage

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College

Cedar Hill: A Case Study In Preservation And Education In A Digital World, Lin Barnett

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Visit Cedar Hill (now Annandale-on-Hudson) as it stood over a century ago, reconstructed in virtual reality. This interactive project retells an important aspect of Hudson Valley History, its mill communities, which do not get preserved in the archeological record and are not as closely maintained as its neighboring communities of Bard College and Montgomery Place. The project analyzes the structures' changing purposes, as well as their changing architectural qualities, to trace the story of the hamlet's decline.

Programming Proletarian Literature: Kobayashi Takiji’S "Kani Kôsen" And Gaming As Reading, Jacob Philip Fisher

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Abstract

This project translates a novel, Kobayashi Takiji’s, Kani Kôsen (The Crab Cannery Ship, 1929) into a video game. As a joint project between Computer Science and Japanese, its focus is to develop a game for the original Game Boy (1989) narratively based on a work of Japanese proletarian literature. Specific tools used in development were the Game Boy emulator: bgb, the Game Boy Developers Kit (gbdk), the Game Boy CPU manual, as well as a foundation in the C programming language, and some lower level systems experience. Being based on a novel, the play style utilizes text …

Simul., Julie Marie Roberts

Senior Projects Spring 2019

My work stems from a process-heavy and researched-based art practice. Many of the sculptures I create are biomorphic forms that invoke a sense of physicality and a body, while slipping in and out of renderings of natural and post-natural environmental landscapes. In this space of elusive identification, I aim to find merging points for the personal and political, as well as for feminism and environmentalism. My interest in the narrative histories, as well as emotional references of objects, drives my selection of materials. Often pulling from deposited trash, altered through natural processes as well as my own hand, I aim …

Thawra, Olivia Snow Smith

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College.

New York Citadel: A Future History Of Hudson Yards, Pansy D. Schulman

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.

Exploring The Acculturation Preferences Of Bangladeshi-Muslim Second-Generation American Immigrants In New York City., Jakir Hossain

Senior Projects Fall 2019

The purpose of this study is to apply previous frameworks of acculturation to evaluate the acculturation preferences of the Bangladeshi-Muslim second-generation American immigrant population in New York City. This thesis attempts to understand the acculturation preferences of the aforementioned population by analyzing how they view their Bangladeshi ethnic identity and their Islamic religious identity in relation to their American immigrant upbringing. To do this, participants have been organized into acculturation preference tracks based on John Berry’s acculturation preference model. This thesis will then explore possible explanations for why differences between these acculturation preferences exist and why certain individuals found themselves …

Tulpa, William Charles Squier

Senior Projects Fall 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College.

Qipao And Female Fashion In Republican China And Shanghai (1912-1937): The Discovery And Expression Of Individuality, Qingxuan Han

Senior Projects Fall 2019

This project is an attempt to understand the Chinese dress qipao in Republican China, with a primary concentration in Shanghai, and its associations with body politics, urbanscape, modernity, personal and national identity, and sociocultural practices. In particular, I argue that qipao, amongst other fashions of Republican China, had been one of the earliest examples of the modern expression of individuality through fashion in China; I strive to discover how this practice was enabled by its contemporary social environment as well as technological advancements.

What If I Don't: Episodes From Her Life., Emmanuella Okoli

Senior Projects Fall 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College.

The Role Of Money Market Mutual Funds In The Shadow Banking Sector Since The 2010 & 2014 Sec Reforms, George Kiss

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

The analysis undertaken within this thesis questions the role of money market mutual funds (MMFs) in the shadow-banking sector since the 2010 and 2014 SEC reforms. In order to conduct such an analysis we provide a comprehensive history of the rise of these funds and how they contributed to the 2007-2009 Financial Crisis. A brief explanation of the 2010 and 2014 reforms is then given and we show that neither of these regulations have made these funds safer, but have increased the risk they pose to the overall financial system. We evaluate how the maturity distribution of securities held within …

Evolution Of Us-Dollar-Centric International Money Markets And Pro-Cyclicality Of Basel Iii Liquidity Framework, Oleksandr Valchyshen

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

This thesis presents research on the evolution of the US-dollar-centric international money markets. The timeline starts from late nineteenth century US, where the New York call money market already featured a number of sophisticated techniques such as margin investing, over-certification, and re-hypothecation. Next, I explore the evolution of the market leading up to and after the Great Depression, through the regulatory period of the New Deal, and functional finance of the late 1930s and greater part of the 1940s. In the postwar period, I highlight the Federal Reserve’s push for free markets, the sudden rise of the euro-dollar market in …

The Racialization Of The Pan-Ethnic Asian American Identity, Nina Tanujaya

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Does Aerobic Exercise Or Cardiovascular Exercise Facilitate Explicit Memory?, Nicole Paige Ellin

Senior Projects Spring 2019

This study examined whether cardiovascular or aerobic exercise aids in explicit memory. Five male and twenty-four females on the Bard College campus either engaged in cardiovascular or aerobic exercise (experimental condition) or watched a video (control condition). Before beginning these tasks, participants read a list of 15 words. After the task, participants recalled as many words as they could from the previous list. The participants’ test scores did not indicate that a specific condition aided in their received score, meaning memory did not differ across conditions, F(2,29)= .420, p>.05. Future directions would implement a longer period of time for …

Upper Bounds For The Number Of Lattice Edges Needed To Represent 4-Regular Graphs As Lattice Graphs, Shenze Li

Senior Projects Spring 2019

A lattice graph is a graph whose drawing, embedded in Euclidean space R2, has vertices that are the points with integer coecients, and has edges that are unit length and are parallel to the coordinate axes. A 4-regular graph is a graph where each vertex has four edges containing it; a loop containing a vertex counts as two edges. The goal for my senior project is to find upper bounds for the number of lattice edges needed to represent 4-regular graphs as lattice graphs.

Color X Line, Vittoria Ciaraldi

Senior Projects Spring 2019

COLOR x LINE

VITTORIA CIARALDI

The four main paintings that are 6x6 foot are my central concept of the Color by Line theme. In these paintings I chose to work from sketches I made two years ago. My past sketch paintings revolved around a self reflective human figure. As I was thinking about the bigger scale and what those paintings meant to me, I wanted to deconstruct the notion of the figure and really break it down to the basics that for me, revolve around: Color and Line.

My four central paintings are meant to emphasize colors and how lines …

Polygonal Analogues To The Topological Tverberg And Van Kampen-Flores Theorems, Leah Leiner

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Tverberg’s theorem states that any set of (q-1)(d+1)+1 points in d-dimensional Euclidean space can be partitioned into q subsets whose convex hulls intersect. This is topologically equivalent to saying any continuous map from a (q-1)(d+1)-dimensional simplex to d-dimensional Euclidean space has q disjoint faces whose images intersect, given that q is a prime power. These continuous functions have a Fourier decomposition, which admits a Tverberg partition when all of the Fourier coefficients, except the constant coefficient, are zero. We have been working with continuous functions where all of the Fourier coefficients except the constant and one other coefficient are zero. …

Affects Of Elimination: Foundations Of Collectivity, Oskar Coltrane Dye-Furstenberg

Senior Projects Spring 2019

This paper examines specific indigenous social movements in the United States. Two examples are considered: the occupation of the decommissioned Fort-Lawton, Seattle military base in 1970 and the contemporary movement for missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW). Both are examples of resistance to assimilation and ‘elimination’ in the form of collective action by indigenous persons. The paper explores the relation between coming together as a group and responding to the experience of violence, injury, or suffering. This dynamic between collective formation and shared affective experience constructs the foundation upon which these movements imagine and work to enact a social and …

Casualty Of Design: An Exploration Of The Zeniths And Nadirs Of American Public Diplomacy, Tonery Rose Rogers

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College. This thesis is an examination of various factors inhibiting effective American public diplomacy. A unique case study, American public diplomacy operationalized through educational and cultural exchanges, radio broadcasting and American cultural centers and libraries and implemented through American public diplomacy agencies such as the World War II era Office of War Information and the Cold War era United States Information Agency has been an effective tool for pursuing U.S. foreign policy objectives. Despite positive impacts, for example, helping to dismantle the Soviet Union, facilitating cross-cultural understanding and respect …

Primo Levi And Frantz Fanon: The Seizure Of Human Dignity, Reprisal, And Thereafter, Jake Cicero

Senior Projects Spring 2019

History has proven that memory, both collective and individual, can act as a trigger for revolution – the question at stake is the extent to which violence is appropriate, or furthermore beneficial, to the revolutionaries. There are limits to rational, ideological, and theological approaches to humanity amidst defining 20th century experiences for humanity. The path to modernity is a contested one. Primo Levi and Frantz Fanon give voice to the internalized debates of the oppressed and uncover historical truths to shed light on the reality of revolution in the 20th century. Fanon, the anti-colonial revolutionary and Levi, the survivor of …

They See Me Scrolling, And I'M Hating: Instagram Usage And Its Effect On Self-Esteem And Body Image, Keva Brianna Natalie Chang

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Research has consistently shown that exposure to thin-ideal media images negatively influences self-perception. Given the escalation of reliance on social media and the heavy online presence of young adults, particularly women, it is essential to identify ways that social media can influence perceptions of body image and self-esteem. This research proposal presents an exploratory investigation into the impact that social media, specifically Instagram, has on women’s views of themselves and their bodies. The aim of the present study is to examine the potential effects of celebrity images, compared with equally attractive peer images and scenery (control) images, on body image …

Becoming Ourselves: Black Women’S Autobiographical Interrogation Of Tropes Of Identity, Christina L. Duncan

Senior Projects Spring 2019

A central premise of this project is that Black female identity has historically been seen as a fixed identity. Much of the imposed rigidity on Black female identity has been informed by conservative strategies for survival. Such conservative strategies include respectability politics, as racial leaders have found utility in upholding the principle that if they or others work hard, they can uphold the race. Only by maintaining these standards of respectability have Black women been deemed as worthy and able to uphold and reinforce positive images of Blackness. Many of the stories written by Black women generally fall into the …

Where Birds Chill: An Assessment Of The Habitat Preferences Of Birds Overwintering In Hudson Valley Forests, Elizabeth Claire Axley

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Many avian species overwinter in eastern North America; however, studies on bird populations are rarely undertaken during this critical survival time, and little is known as to their habitat preferences and foraging behavior. In this observational study, we performed a survey of birds overwintering in the Hudson Valley’s temperate, primarily-deciduous forests, assessing avian populations’ habitat preferences through the vegetative structural variables surrounding overwintering birds as they forage. Our results suggest that high canopy cover is critically important to predicting overwintering bird occupancy on a microhabitat scale. Moreover, overwintering birds preferentially occupy forest plots not dominated by sugar maples, in spite …

Body Dissatisfaction: Searching For A Link Between Depressive Symptoms, Body Image, And Eating Patterns, Lucy Sorrell

Senior Projects Spring 2019

The ideal body sizes for men and women in the United States have decreased significantly over the last 50+ years, while average body sizes increased. This discrepancy has been accompanied by elevated levels of body dissatisfaction in both women and men. In turn, body dissatisfaction can predict unhealthy eating habits and weight loss behaviors such as dieting. Body image research has found a relationship between body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms. The present cross-sectional study aimed to test if depressive symptoms moderated the relationship between body dissatisfaction and eating patterns. The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) measured depressive …

Dispatches From The Nest: Falconry And Pest Management In Semiotic Worlds, Finn Domingo West

Senior Projects Spring 2019

How did a line of ink become a line of crows? Read the project to find out.

Checking White, Feeling Brown: Iranian-American Racial Ambiguity In Relation To Whiteness And Blackness, Lily Yasmin Mojdehi

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Optimizing Glide-Flight Paths, Rory Cveta O'Daly Maglich

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Flight is no rare event in today's society, and aviation is a global industry that significantly contributes to carbon emissions and global warming. Thus, my project theorizes how aviation might be better optimized at a fundamental level to improve aerodynamic efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. This is done by analyzing two systems of flight: gliding and powered flight. In pursuit of an understanding of a hybrid of these flight systems, I first look to qualitatively analyze the benefit of gliding over powered aviation. Powering an aircraft involves an engine that generates thrust, while gliding only involves three forces: lift, drag, …

Myth Busting: Rethinking Social Contract Theory And Reorienting Sovereignty From John Locke To Georges Bataille, Mandalay Maelee Win

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

A Return To The Region: 
Reconstructing The Past In Jewett, Cather, And Hurston
 (1896-1935), Anna L. Russian

Senior Projects Spring 2019

My senior project focuses on three works of American literature, starting from 1896 and ending in 1935. During this time period, the United States was undergoing drastic cultural and industrial changes, both of which indefinitely reshaped the American landscape. My project seeks to understand these changes through Sarah Orne Jewett’s The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896), Willa Cather’s My Ántonia (1918), and Zora Neale Hurston’s Mules and Men (1935). All three works look beyond the city, and instead look inward toward small regional communities in Maine, Nebraska, and Florida. With the regional focus placed on the narratives, my project …

Black Market Baby Otters: An Investigation Into The Origins And Consequences Of The Otter Pet Trade, Summer Alexis Tuverson

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.