Digital Commons Network^™

All Hands On Deck: The Role Of Ship Burial Reentry In The Maintenance And Construction Of Narrative In The Vendel And Viking Periods, Gina Malfatti

Senior Independent Study Theses

Reentry of ship and boat burials was a widespread practice during the Vendel, Viking, and Medieval periods. Historically this phenomenon has been attributed to looting for economic gain, but that perception has recently been challenged. Using data from ship and boat burials from across Scandinavia, I suggest trends in reentry and the most likely motivation for reentry at each burial. I use GIS maps to display these trends and motivations across different regions and statistically analyze where there are hot spots of different practices. Using Neil Price’s (2010) model for mortuary drama in Viking Age burial practices, I explore the …

On Degree Bound For Syzygies Of Polynomial Invariants, Zhao Gao

Senior Independent Study Theses

Suppose G is a finite linearly reductive group. The degree bound for the syzygy ideal of the invariant ring of G is given in [2]. We develop the theory of commutative algebra and give the proof from [2] that the ideal of relations of the minimal set of generators of invariant ring of a finite linearly reductive group G is generated in degree at most 2|G|.

Grasping The Void: Immersion Tactics Using Gesture Controlled Physics Interaction Systems In Virtual Reality, Avery Rapson

Senior Independent Study Theses

This thesis uses the HTC Vive in Unity to compare two different types of object interaction systems in order to determine the effectiveness of physics based interaction systems in a virtual environment. The research problem that motivates this project is the fact that there is no standardized method for defining successful object interaction techniques in VR. There are numerous interaction techniques in VR that fall short of simulating realistic object interaction. This project explores a physics based interaction system and examines how effective it is by comparing it to a non-physics based system. A model house with various interactable objects …

An 'Answer To Hopes And Dreams': Utopianism, Progressivism, And The American Spatial Tradition In The New Deal Resettlement Community Of Greenhills, Ohio, Jared M. Berg

Senior Independent Study Theses

The purpose of this project is to explain what historical forces led to the construction of Greenhills, Ohio. The goal is to show that Greenhills is one example in a very long line of planned residential communities in American history which have been designed in order to solve contemporary societal issues. This has been done by examining how Americans have constructed space in preceding planned communities. Upon examining these examples, it is clear that Greenhills is very much part of what I identify as an American spatial tradition, a community which especially borrows from the utopian and progressive elements of …

Immigration Policy Demanders: The Influence Of U.S. Interests Groups And The American Electorate On Major Political Party Platforms, Scott D. Sears

Senior Independent Study Theses

This Independent Study seeks to understand how political parties create their platforms. Specifically, this study examines how, when, and why political parties cater to the interests of interest groups and the electorate regarding immigration policy. Three qualitative case studies are examined: 1984, 2004, and 2016 party platforms and the corresponding policy preferences of interest groups and the electorate. Bawn et. al’s theory on political parties forms the theoretical framework of this study, which claims that parties are likely to cater to interest groups when political salience is low and parties are likely to cater to the electorate when political salience …

“Marching Mothers”: The Battle For Desegregation In Cleveland Public Schools, 1957-1976, Theresa Dunne

Senior Independent Study Theses

In 1957, the Cleveland Municipal School District’s (CMSD) Board of Education implemented a relay program to address issues of overcrowding in Cleveland public schools. Solely affecting schools that served a predominately black student body on Cleveland’s rigidly segregated East Side, this program split the school day into two three-and-a-half hour sessions to accommodate increasing student body sizes, shortening the school day for African American pupils by an hour-and-a-half compared to the five hours in the classroom given to white peers. As mothers of children on the relay program realized that this was the Board of Education’s permanent solution to overcrowding, …

Liebe, Leid Und Rache: Die Wiederentdeckung Des Mittelalters Im 19. Jahrhundert Und Der Daraus Resultierende Einfluss Auf Den Anstieg Des Nationalismus Im Laufe Des Jahrhunderts., Adrienne Reding

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Self-Esteem, Ambivalence, And Relationship Outcomes Within Romantic Partnerships, Victoria J. Schriber

Senior Independent Study Theses

The current study analyzes self-esteem and the apparent mood of one’s partner as predictors of perceived responsibility, level of felt rejection, and relationship satisfaction in romantic relationships. The study hypothesizes that ambivalence will act as a moderating variable between self-esteem and romantic relationship outcomes. Previous research on the topic suggests that self-esteem is associated with how participants react to their romantic partner when they are in a specific mood. The current study will be one of the first to examine how ambivalence affects self-esteem’s effect on romantic relationships. The results replicate previous research, showing that self-esteem interacts with partner’s mood …

What Is Privacy? The Threat Of Surveillance And Blackmail In The 21st Century, Harrison S. Ruprecht

Senior Independent Study Theses

In an interview published in Wired magazine on November 12, 2013, Steven Levy asked Bill Gates, in virtue of recent NSA revelations, “What is the proper balance of surveillance and security, and where do we go from here?”[1] Gates responded, “Historically, privacy was almost implicit, because it was hard to find and gather information. But in the digital world, whether it's digital cameras or satellites or just what you click on, we need to have more explicit rules - not just for governments but for private companies.”[2] In many ways Gates’ thought anticipates my project. In the pages …

"Orange Is The New Black": The Skin-Tanning Phenomenon And Its Influence On Perceptions Of Race, Class, And Gender, Madeleine Polovick

Senior Independent Study Theses

This research paper examines how skin tanning attitudes and behaviors influence our perceptions of race, class, and gender. I also focus on White people and the possible relationship between racial bias and favorable opinions of tanned skin among this population; there is currently no research on this. This study is pertinent because within the last century tanned skin has become a beauty standard in Western society and People of Color continue to face discrimination on the basis of skin color. Additionally, various populations in Western society are pressured to engage in this behavior and to conform to standards, such as …

Show Me The Money: A Study Of Interrelationships Between A Regional Theatre's Revenue And Location, Rebecca Snedeker-Meier

Senior Independent Study Theses

Regional theatres are non-profit organizations that survive off earned and contributed income. In particular, contributed, or donated, income can change depending on the community a theatre is located in. However, there is no consensus whether there is a relationship between the two. This study compares Arena Stage, Guthrie Theater, Cleveland Play House and Alley Theatre to answer the question; how does geographic location relate to the ratios of revenue sources? The income ratios were based off numbers derived from 990 tax forms and the theatres’ operating budgets. Those numbers were then analyzed and compared to the other theatres’ income ratios. …

Building A Course Recommender System For The College Of Wooster, Nan Jiang

Senior Independent Study Theses

The goal of this project is to investigate the approaches for building recommender systems and to apply them to implement a course recommender system for the College of Wooster. There are three main objectives of this project. The first is to understand the mathematics and computer science aspects behind it. The mathematic concepts built into this project include probability, statistics and linear algebra. The final product is consist of two components: a collection of Python scripts containing the implementation code of the course recommender system, and a simple user interface allowing people to use the recommender system without typing commands. …

The Soul's Response To Surveillance: A Foucaldian Investigation Into The Economy Of Power Created By Contemporary Surveillance Techniques And The Conditioning Of The Post 9/11 Subject, Jack Johanning

Senior Independent Study Theses

This work examines the effects of the contemporary American surveillance apparatus and situates these effects within the classical negative liberal tradition. Using Michele Foucault’s analysis of disciplinary power, I demonstrate how surveillance techniques, particularly those established post 9/11, affect American subjects. Further, I situate the mechanisms of power operating as a consequence of contemporary American surveillance within the classical liberal tradition. For this analysis, I draw upon negative notions of liberty such as the harm principle established by John Stuart Mill. This entire work reveals what type of power, in a Foucaldian sense, is presently functioning in America as a …

"A New Weapon - A New Monster - The Walkout": The East Los Angeles Student Walkouts Of 1968, Camille G. Christenson

Senior Independent Study Theses

In March of 1968, East Los Angeles witnessed thousands of Mexican American students walk out of Belmont, Garfield, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Wilson High Schools. In what became known as the East Los Angeles Blowouts, the protests sparked a series of walkouts from high schoolers nationwide. The students protested what I call “educational racism.” This term refers to different ways the education system in East Los Angeles discriminated against Mexican Americans students on the basis of their race. This Independent Study analyzes how the students in East Los Angeles embraced their identity as both students and Mexican Americans to protest against …

La (Re)Presentación De Las Mujeres En La Sociedad Puertorriqueña: Un Análisis Comparativo De Las Obras De Rosario Ferré Y Ana Lydia Vega, Gina B. Williamson

Senior Independent Study Theses

Esta investigación detalla la representación de los personajes femeninos en las obras de escritoras puertorriqueñas. Escribo un análisis comparativo de los cuentos de Rosario Ferré y Ana Lydia Vega. En el primer capítulo, los personajes femeninos fingen cumplir con los modelos tradicionales del “ángel del hogar” y “la perfecta casada.” Los cuentos proponen la capacidad de cualquiera persona para usar su poder y transformar su situación de vida, pero también advierten de las complejidades de usar la violencia contra sus opresores. En el segundo capítulo, los personajes femeninos no son capaces de romper con sus papeles tradicionales. Estos cuentos complican …

"The Least Of These": Towards An Integrated Queer Of Color Critique Of The Prison Industrial Complex, Jahqwahn J. Watson

Senior Independent Study Theses

The prison is a site of social death and death-making. the technology of social death originates in the American institution of chattel slavery and has reemerged in the prison industrial complex. The text Prison and Social Death approaches social death in prisons through the lens of reproductive justice, but the author does so in a way that neglects the influence of race in one’s prison experience. Using the lens of necropolitics, I seek to understand how the markers of race, gender, and sexuality compound to produce experiences unique to the black woman/queer/and trans folk in the prison. Necropolitics contend that …

Projection Of Groundwater Pumping Sustainability In Volta Wildlife Refuge, Merced County, Ca, Helen Siegel

Senior Independent Study Theses

In 2014, California passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) the state’s first groundwater management legislation. Under SGMA, local agencies have the ability to form their own groundwater basins and establish plans for the sustainable use of groundwater. It is vital to have a thorough understanding of aquifer conditions and processes when drafting management practices for sustainable groundwater use. Thus, to aid in the creation of groundwater management plans for agencies within California’s Central Valley, we developed a preliminary groundwater model of Volta Wildlife Refuge using a finite element flow and transport model known as FEFLOW. Volta Wildlife Refuge (VWR) …

Beyond An Uncertain Future: Vietnamese Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders And Their Needs For Social Support, Khue M. Hoang

Senior Independent Study Theses

While Vietnamese parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) experience great uncertainty and stress about their children’s development and adjustment to adult life, they have not received sufficient support. This study aims to identify the specific needs for social support of Vietnamese parents of children with autism. To carry out the study, I conducted ten ethnographic interviews with parents of children with ASD who lived in urban areas within Vietnam. The findings of this study led to four main conclusions. First, the parents’ needs for informational, instrumental, and emotional support varied according to their children’s age and level of …

Saint Or Politician: A Gendered Analysis Of Catherine Benincasa’S Letters, Jacob Hailperin-Lausch

Senior Independent Study Theses

Over the nearly seven hundred years since Catherine Benincasa’s death there has been a flow of almost continuous scholarly and spiritual work that has been written about her. Catherine is one of the few well documented women, of her historical period, in history. However, there is a large gap in the historiography of Catherine, and that is looking at the effect of her letters on her audience and possible implications of her letters on the political and spiritual landscape of her time and beyond. An important piece of looking at Catherine’s spiritual and political career is using a feminist or …

Politics Of The Apolitical: A Study Of Operational Autonomy And International Non-Governmental Oganizations (Ingos), Rachel Wilson

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

The Search For Gto: Determining Optimal Poker Strategy Using Linear Programming, Stuart Young

Senior Independent Study Theses

This project applies techniques from game theory and linear programming to find the optimal strategies of two variants of poker. A set of optimal poker strategies describe a Nash equilibrium, where no player can improve their outcome by changing their own strategy, given the strategies of their opponent(s). We first consider Kuhn Poker as a simple application of our methodology. We then turn our attention to 2-7 Draw Poker, a modern variant onto which little previous research is focused. However, the techniques that we use are incapable of solving large, full-scale variants of poker such as 2-7 Draw. Therefore, we …

La Fiebra Telenovela: Audience Perceptions Of Telenovelas And Their Representation Of Economic Disparity, Brenda Khor

Senior Independent Study Theses

Telenovelas play an important role in communicating Latin American issues. Viewers watch and engage with this popular melodramatic medium on a daily basis. As a result, telenovelas are a valuable ritual for Latin Americans. Telenovelas affect how societies view themselves. They expose viewers to social and political issues with the aim of public discourse (Joyce 49; Pastina 165; Pastina et al. “The Centrality” 2). My research explores audience engagement with contemporary Mexican telenovelas, focusing on their views of economic disparity representation, and how those representations impact their understanding of self and society.

To carry out my study, I conducted ethnographic …

The Role Of Ethnic Enclaves On The Integration Process Of Modern Immigrants: Case Studies In Columbus, Ohio And France, Caitlin Ziegert Mccombs

Senior Independent Study Theses

Today's modern world is experiencing a great exchange of people, which has implications for the immigrant identity as well as the national identity of the countries to which they move. Ethnic enclaves are neighborhoods in urban areas that have a high ethnic population and/or a specific cultural identity. Enclaves are predominately composed of immigrant populations and can provide them with networks of social capital, knowledge, economics, and culture and may impact their integration process into a new host society. This research study explores the influence of ethnic enclaves on the immigrant integration process and immigrants' navigation of personal and national …

For Country, Liberty, And Money: Privateering And The Ideologies Of The American Revolution, Scott D. Wagner

Senior Independent Study Theses

Along with service in the Continental Army and Navy and the various state militias, American patriots during the Revolutionary War had the option of sailing aboard privateers, private ships authorized to attack British commerce during the war. Where studies analyzing other military forces during the Revolution have been more nuanced, scholars that have looked at privateering have either focused on its strategic effectiveness during the conflict or merely written it off as a profit-driven phenomenon of maritime plunder. Privateering played a role in the course of the Revolution to a degree, but more importantly the practice was influenced by the …

Laughing Against White Supremacy: Marginalized Performance Of Resistance Comedy, Caren Holmes

Senior Independent Study Theses

This study examines the political influence of charged standup comedy as a form of protest in resistance movements against white supremacy. It examines the experiences of seven marginalized comics who confront oppression through this non-traditional and humor based form of protest. Over the course of two months I conducted and filmed eight in-depth, semi-formal interviews with seven comics of color; six women and one trans-non-binary person, as well as an academic who specializes in studying the production of “charged humor.” I attended more than 30 standup shows and filmed several performances. In my analysis I explore four major themes, (1) …

Pretending To Be Human: An Automated Theorem Prover To Write Mathematical Proofs, Khoa Nguyen

Senior Independent Study Theses

This project explores the theories of automated theorem proving and lambda calculus, and seeks to improve upon a current implementation of an automated theorem prover that produces human-like output. This software component is based on a published article titled “A Fully Automatic Theorem Prover with Human-Style Output” by M. Ganesalingam and W.T. Gowers [7], which outlines a program called robotone containing a first-order logic system (with a few modifications) able to automatically write simple direct proofs. It is designed to mimic different strategies that a human mathematician would use when facing a problem, and to write human-style proofs. The current …

La Transgresora Fetichista: Los Efectos De La Dictadura Franquista En La Evolución Del Discurso Sexual Español, Marisa Lee Iola Yerkes

Senior Independent Study Theses

Para una perspectiva teórica del feminismo interseccional, analizo tres obras subversivas sobre la época franquista/posfranquista hacía la transición hacia la democracia en España. Este análisis interseccional toma en cuenta la variedad de factores que contribuyen a la discriminación que afronta una persona. Las obras analizadas son dos novelas (Las hogueras de Concha Álos y Las edades de Lulú de Almudena Grandes) y una película (El Calentito de Chus Gutiérrez). Estos tres trabajos revelan las expresiones de la sexualidad de las mujeres que vivieron durante estos períodos y demuestran un cambio significativo en el discurso sexual español.

La primera …

Paradojas De La Narrativa Colonial: Representaciones De La Gente Indígena En El Arte Indigenista Y La Obra Plástica De Enriquestuardo Álvarez, Erin Gass

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.