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Mechanism Of Nanogp8 In Glioblastoma Multiforme, Jonhoi Smith Jan 2019

Mechanism Of Nanogp8 In Glioblastoma Multiforme, Jonhoi Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an incurable brain tumor, with patients only expecting to live 15 to 16 months post-diagnosis with the most current treatments options including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. How GBM resist treatment is still not very well known. However, cancer stem cells (CSCs), a subset of cells in GBM tissue considered responsible for therapeutic resistance and the poor patient prognosis. NANOG, a homeobox gene, is responsible for maintaining pluripotency of embryonic stem cells and is observed in CSCs. NANOGP8, a retrogene in the NANOG family is expressed in CSCs and provides cells with stem-like characteristics previously observed in …

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Teachers' Perceptions Of Safety Regarding School Shootings, Megan Olive Jan 2019

Teachers' Perceptions Of Safety Regarding School Shootings, Megan Olive

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a result of high media attention surrounding school shootings in recent years, it may appear that American public schools are becoming dangerous places (Schildkraut & Elsass, 2016; Elsass, Schildkraut, & Stafford, 2016; Toppo, 2013). Though schools remain to be one of the safest locations for children, various safety measures are discussed and implemented in schools to combat this perceived problem and ensure the safety of school campuses. Discussions of best safety practices spikes directly following a school shooting event from relevant parties, such as school administration, law enforcement agencies, parents, and students, (Crawford & Burns, 2015; Chrusciel, Wolfe, Hansen, …

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Development Of A Functional Testing Platform For The Sensory Segment Of The Neuromuscular Reflex Arc, Alisha Colon Jan 2019

Development Of A Functional Testing Platform For The Sensory Segment Of The Neuromuscular Reflex Arc, Alisha Colon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Investigations of human biology and disease have been hindered by the use of animal models. The information obtained from such studies often results in clinically irrelevant results and drug trial failures. Additionally, several governing bodies have been formulating legislation to move away from animal models and toward more ethical and efficient testing platforms for drug discovery and cosmetic research. As an answer to these issues, "body-on-a-chip" systems have been a rapidly developing field which easily recapitulates in vivo functionality, providing a more relevant, repeatable, and ethical testing platform to better predict biology. These systems can be used as human-based testing …

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Stochastic Optimization And Applications With Endogenous Uncertainties Via Discrete Choice Models, Mengnan Chen Jan 2019

Stochastic Optimization And Applications With Endogenous Uncertainties Via Discrete Choice Models, Mengnan Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stochastic optimization is an optimization method that solves stochastic problems for minimizing or maximizing an objective function when there is randomness in the optimization process. In this dissertation, various stochastic optimization problems from the areas of Manufacturing, Health care, and Information Cascade are investigated in networks systems. These stochastic optimization problems aim to make plan for using existing resources to improve production efficiency, customer satisfaction, and information influence within limitation. Since the strategies are made for future planning, there are environmental uncertainties in the network systems. Sometimes, the environment may be changed due to the action of the decision maker. …

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Filling The Gaps: Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Population Dynamics, Structure, And Connectivity Within Florida Panhandle Bays, Sounds, And Estuaries, Christina Toms Jan 2019

Filling The Gaps: Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Population Dynamics, Structure, And Connectivity Within Florida Panhandle Bays, Sounds, And Estuaries, Christina Toms

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the time of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, very little was known about the inshore bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) populations hit hardest by the spill. Without previous population demographic data impacts were challenging to assess. My dissertation was designed to build research capacity moving forward by helping to fill data gaps in the western Florida Panhandle. The first study presented here resulted in the first system-wide assessment of seasonal abundance, survival, and site fidelity patterns of bottlenose dolphins that inhabit the Pensacola Bay system. In contrast to a previous study that reported only 33 dolphins, results from …

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Biomass Density Based Adjustment Of Lidar-Derived Digital Elevation Models: A Machine Learning Approach, Khalid Abdelwahab Jan 2019

Biomass Density Based Adjustment Of Lidar-Derived Digital Elevation Models: A Machine Learning Approach, Khalid Abdelwahab

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Salt marshes are valued for providing protective and non-protective ecosystem services. Accurate digital elevation models (DEMs) in salt marshes are crucial for modeling storm surges and determining the initial DEM elevations for modelling marsh evolution. Due to high biomass density, lidar DEMs in coastal wetlands are seldom reliable. In an aim to reduce lidar-derived DEM error, several multilinear regression and random forest models were developed and tested to estimate biomass density in the salt marshes near Saint Marks Lighthouse in Crawfordville, Florida. Between summer of 2017 and spring of 2018, two field trips were conducted to acquire true elevation and …

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Assessing Pedestrian Safety Conditions On Campus, Morgan Morris Jan 2019

Assessing Pedestrian Safety Conditions On Campus, Morgan Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pedestrian-related crashes are a significant safety issue in the United States and cause considerable amounts of deaths and economic cost. Pedestrian safety is an issue that must be uniquely evaluated in a college campus, where pedestrian volumes are dense. The objective of this research is to identify issues at specific locations around UCF and suggest solutions for improvement. To address this problem, a survey that identifies pedestrian safety issues and locations is distributed to UCF students and staff, and an evaluation of drivers reactions to pedestrian to vehicle (P2V) warning systems is studied through the use of a NADS MiniSim …

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Optimization Algorithms For Deep Learning Based Medical Image Segmentations, Aliasghar Mortazi Jan 2019

Optimization Algorithms For Deep Learning Based Medical Image Segmentations, Aliasghar Mortazi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Medical image segmentation is one of the fundamental processes to understand and assess the functionality of different organs and tissues as well as quantifying diseases and helping treatment planning. With ever increasing number of medical scans, the automated, accurate, and efficient medical image segmentation is as unmet need for improving healthcare. Recently, deep learning has emerged as one the most powerful methods for almost all image analysis tasks such as segmentation, detection, and classification and so in medical imaging. In this regard, this dissertation introduces new algorithms to perform medical image segmentation for different (a) imaging modalities, (b) number of …

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A Multi-Species Single-Led Hazardous Gas Sensor For Commercial Space Applications, Akshita Parupalli Jan 2019

A Multi-Species Single-Led Hazardous Gas Sensor For Commercial Space Applications, Akshita Parupalli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the interest of furthering both commercial and government-funded opportunities for deep space exploration, the safety of life and equipment onboard must be absolutely certain. In this regard, the presence of any hazardous gases or combustion events onboard space vehicles must be quickly characterized and detected. Several hazardous gases of interest have absorption features in the mid-infrared range and can be detected with an infrared light source, via the principles of absorption spectroscopy. A non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor that follows these principles has been developed to utilize light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for gas detection and quantification. LEDs contain a particular advantage …

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An Assessment Of Biosorption Activated Media For The Removal Of Pollutants In Up-Flow Stormwater Treatment Systems, Andrew Hood Jan 2019

An Assessment Of Biosorption Activated Media For The Removal Of Pollutants In Up-Flow Stormwater Treatment Systems, Andrew Hood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen and phosphorus are often the limiting nutrients for marine and freshwater systems respectively. Additionally, stormwater often contains elevated levels of pathogens which can pollute the receiving water body and impact reuse applications [1-4]. The reduction of limiting nutrients and pathogens is a common primary target for stormwater best management practices (BMPs) [5]. Traditional BMPs, such as retention/detention treatment ponds require large footprints and may not be practical in ultra-urban environments where above ground space is limited. Upflow filters utilizing biosorption activated media (BAM) that can be placed underground offer a small footprint alternative. Additionally, BAM upflow filters can be …

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Probabilistic Spatio-Magnitude Sinkhole Hazard Analysis For East Central Flrodia, Yong Je Kim Jan 2019

Probabilistic Spatio-Magnitude Sinkhole Hazard Analysis For East Central Flrodia, Yong Je Kim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Karst areas, sinkholes are a major geohazard that creates damage and economic loss to building and civil infrastructure. The main goal of the proposed study is to develop a probabilistic spatio-magnitude sinkhole susceptibility model that predicts the potential of sinkhole occurrence on a regional scale. The dissertation presents statistical techniques such as frequency ratio (FR) and logistic regression (LR), and a machine learning technique such as artificial neural network (ANN) to develop the sinkhole hazard models. The study area was limited to the East Central Floria (ECF) region. Seven hydrogeological factors were identified as key contributing factors to sinkhole …

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Development Of In Vitro Point Of Care Diagnostics (Ivpcd) Based On Aptamers Integrated Biosensors, Nileshi Saraf Jan 2019

Development Of In Vitro Point Of Care Diagnostics (Ivpcd) Based On Aptamers Integrated Biosensors, Nileshi Saraf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The global market for the medical diagnostic industry is worth 25 billion dollars in the United States and is expected to grow exponentially each year. Presently available methods for biodetection, such as immunoassays, chemiluminescence and fluorescent based assays are expensive, time consuming and require skilled labor with high-end instruments. Therefore, development of novel, passive colorimetric sensors and diagnostic technologies for detection and surveillance is of utmost importance especially in resource constrained communities. The present work focusses on developing novel and advanced in vitro biodiagnostic tools based on aptamer integrated biosensors for an early detection of specific viral proteins or small …

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Enhanced Concrete Bridge Assessment Using Artificial Intelligence And Mixed Reality, Enes Karaaslan Jan 2019

Enhanced Concrete Bridge Assessment Using Artificial Intelligence And Mixed Reality, Enes Karaaslan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conventional methods for visual assessment of civil infrastructures have certain limitations, such as subjectivity of the collected data, long inspection time, and high cost of labor. Although some new technologies (i.e. robotic techniques) that are currently in practice can collect objective, quantified data, the inspector's own expertise is still critical in many instances since these technologies are not designed to work interactively with human inspector. This study aims to create a smart, human-centered method that offers significant contributions to infrastructure inspection, maintenance, management practice, and safety for the bridge owners. By developing a smart Mixed Reality (MR) framework, which can …

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Investigation Of Coastal Vegetation Dynamics And Persistence In Response To Hydrologic And Climatic Events Using Remote Sensing, Subrina Tahsin Jan 2019

Investigation Of Coastal Vegetation Dynamics And Persistence In Response To Hydrologic And Climatic Events Using Remote Sensing, Subrina Tahsin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastal Wetlands (CW) provide numerous imperative functions and provide an economic base for human societies. Therefore, it is imperative to track and quantify both short and long-term changes in these systems. In this dissertation, CW dynamics related to hydro-meteorological signals were investigated using a series of LANDSAT-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data and hydro-meteorological time-series data in Apalachicola Bay, Florida, from 1984 to 2015. NDVI in forested wetlands exhibited more persistence compared to that for scrub and emergent wetlands. NDVI fluctuations generally lagged temperature by approximately three months, and water level by approximately two months. This analysis provided insight …

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A Study Of Perceptions On Incident Response Exercises, Information Sharing, Situational Awareness, And Incident Response Planning In Power Grid Utilities, Joseph Garmon Jan 2019

A Study Of Perceptions On Incident Response Exercises, Information Sharing, Situational Awareness, And Incident Response Planning In Power Grid Utilities, Joseph Garmon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The power grid is facing increasing risks from a cybersecurity attack. Attacks that shut off electricity in Ukraine have already occurred, and successful compromises of the power grid that did not shut off electricity to customers have been privately disclosed in North America. The objective of this study is to identify how perceptions of various factors emphasized in the electric sector affect incident response planning. Methods used include a survey of 229 power grid personnel and the use of partial least squares structural equation modeling to identify causal relationships. This study reveals the relationships between perceptions by personnel responsible for …

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Sintering Behavior, Structural, And Catalytic Properties Of Ytterbium Oxide (Yb2o3), Alina Aftab Jan 2019

Sintering Behavior, Structural, And Catalytic Properties Of Ytterbium Oxide (Yb2o3), Alina Aftab

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Ytterbia (Yb2O3) is an oxide ceramic, whose magnetic properties and crystal structure were studied to some extent in the past. However, the information on Yb2O3's catalytic properties is lacking. Therefore, in this work, the sintering behavior and catalytic properties of Yb2O3 were examined. Yb2O3 ceramic samples were made using pressureless sintering of the commercially available Yb2O3 with 99.99% purity powder. The powder was first uniaxially pressed at 20 MPa in a steel die followed by pressureless sintering at different temperatures of 900 ⁰C …

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The Path Of A Stressed Temporary Worker To Cwb, Jamie Striler Jan 2019

The Path Of A Stressed Temporary Worker To Cwb, Jamie Striler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Temporary workers may experience unique and oftentimes stressful work situations that can precipitate negative outcomes for these workers, their coworkers, and their organizations. The current study considered broader implications of the various work experiences among temporary workers by testing the relationships of workplace stressors to temporary workers' behaviors. The workplace stressors examined were chosen based on their salience to temporary workers as shown throughout the current temporary worker literature, and included economic stressors, interpersonal mistreatment, and organizational constraints. It was hypothesized that these stressors would predict temporary workers' behaviors via emotional exhaustion and moral disengagement pathways, predicting the performance of …

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Probing The Influence Of Cx43 And Glucose On Endothelial Biomechanics, Md Mydul Islam Jan 2019

Probing The Influence Of Cx43 And Glucose On Endothelial Biomechanics, Md Mydul Islam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Endothelial cells (ECs) form the innermost layer of all vasculature and constantly receive both biochemical and biomechanical signals, yielding a plethora of biomechanical responses. In response to various biochemical or biomechanical cues, ECs have been documented to generate biomechanical responses such as tractions and intercellular stresses between the cell and substrate and between adjacent cells in a confluent monolayer, respectively. Thus far, the ability of endothelial tight junctions and adherens junctions to transmit intercellular stresses has been actively investigated, but the role of gap junctions is currently unknown. In addition, there is no report of the independent influence of hyperglycemia …

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Integration Of Computational Fluid Dynamics And Machine Learning For Modeling Scaffold Pore Structure For Tissue Engineering, Amir Rouhollahi Jan 2019

Integration Of Computational Fluid Dynamics And Machine Learning For Modeling Scaffold Pore Structure For Tissue Engineering, Amir Rouhollahi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Freeze-casting is a popular method to produce biomaterial scaffolds with highly porous structures. Three approaches are developed to predict the scaffold pore structure as function of experimental conditions including mold geometry, material and thermal boundary conditions. First, a mathematical model integrating Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with Population Balance Model is developed to predict average pore size (APS) of 3D porous chitosan alginate scaffolds and to assess the influence of the geometrical parameters of mold on scaffold pore structure. The model predicted the crystallization pattern and APS for scaffolds cast in different diameter molds and filled to different heights. The predicted …

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The Exploration Of A Nonbinary Gender Identity In The Visual Work Of Claude Cahun, Miranda Debrine Jan 2019

The Exploration Of A Nonbinary Gender Identity In The Visual Work Of Claude Cahun, Miranda Debrine

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Claude Cahun, born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob, was an author, playwright, surrealist photographer and anti-fascist activist who spent most of their lives in France and the Isle of Jersey from their birth in 1894 to their early death in 1954. Throughout their career they went by various aliases and pennames, settling on Claude Cahun in 1917, a gender-ambiguous name in French. While they considered themselves a writer before a photographer it is their photography that they are probably best known for today, becoming popular for their "modern" content that explores gender identity and its presentation. These self-portraits, along with their …

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La Sufrida: An Analysis Of The Social And Literary Archetype, Meleena Gil Jan 2019

La Sufrida: An Analysis Of The Social And Literary Archetype, Meleena Gil

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Latina women have been made to believe that their lives and desires are always secondary to the needs of men and children. As a result, many women have developed a martyr complex wherein the measure of their value is how much suffering they can endure in service to their family. There is subsequently a culture of self-sacrifice best exemplified by the archetype known as "la sufrida." This thesis explores the sufrida role in literature while using the history of the author's mother—a woman whose life can be "read" as that of a real sufrida— as a bridge between literature and …

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"Worse Than Guards:" Ordinary Criminals And Political Prisoners In The Gulag (1918-1950), Elizabeth T. Klements Jan 2019

"Worse Than Guards:" Ordinary Criminals And Political Prisoners In The Gulag (1918-1950), Elizabeth T. Klements

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This paper explores the volatile relationship between the political prisoners and the common criminals in the Soviet GULAG. Lenin's theories on crime and punishment shaped the early Soviet penal system; he implemented policies which favored the common criminals and repressed the political prisoners. He deemed that the criminals, as "social allies" of the working class, were more likely to become good Soviet citizens than the political prisoners, considered "counterrevolutionaries" and "enemies of the state." In the decade after the Bolshevik revolution, the prison administration empowered the criminals in the GULAG by giving them access to the life-saving jobs and goods …

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Collective Nobility: Spinoza And The Politics Of Emotion, Ethan K. Uhlig Jan 2019

Collective Nobility: Spinoza And The Politics Of Emotion, Ethan K. Uhlig

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to examine Spinoza's philosophy of emotion as it relates to groups of individuals, or collectives. These groups, especially political collectives such as nation-states, are evaluated through Spinozist understandings of virtue, nobility, and blessedness. From this analysis, a novel concept of "collective nobility" is used to create philosophical guidance for the emotional dimensions of politics and state action. Drug policy is used as a case study to understand how emotion influences policymaking and vice versa, both negatively (as in the United States) and positively (as in Portugal).

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The Metaphysics Of The Collective Unconscious, Oscar B. Jablon Jan 2019

The Metaphysics Of The Collective Unconscious, Oscar B. Jablon

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis shows how the metaphysical features of the Jungian collective unconscious can be demystified by viewing the collective unconscious through the lens of functionalism. The features of the collective unconscious that will be investigated in this thesis are the possibility of the collective unconscious being present in every person, the archetypes as being the formal feature of some of our modes of perception, psychic energy, and synchronicity. By admitting functionalism, Jung doesn't need to posit synchronicity to explain how it is possible for the archetypes to interact with the body. This is because functionalism can view mental states as …

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The Study Of Free Will In The East And The West, Nicholas J. Colecio Jan 2019

The Study Of Free Will In The East And The West, Nicholas J. Colecio

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to understand the origins of the enduring differences between the Eastern and Western interpretations of free will and determinism. In my piece, I work to determine the roots of these differences and to what degree these differences have been challenged and disrupted in the 20th century. In this pursuit, I analyze the different philosophies of free will in the East and West and then apply these philosophies to the literature of both regions. For the eastern scholarship, I am using Yukio Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea and Motojirō …

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Spiteful Houses, Sweet Homes: Analyzing Denver's Traumatic Space In Beloved, Tyler Dick Jan 2019

Spiteful Houses, Sweet Homes: Analyzing Denver's Traumatic Space In Beloved, Tyler Dick

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis aims to explore and evaluate the traumatic space of Denver in Toni Morrison's Beloved. Currently, a lack of critical discourse exists to link together Denver, trauma, and theories of spatiality. This thesis evaluates three types of trauma that inform and develop Denver's traumatic space: direct, indirect, and insidious trauma. Paired with spatial theories, the origins of Denver's trauma are mapped throughout the various places of the novel. The result of this analysis reveals a complex and layered traumatic space, with lasting ramifications on Denver's sense of safety, identity, and stability in a post-slavery United States.

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Latchkey: A Memoir In Essays, Nicole C. Pendleton Jan 2019

Latchkey: A Memoir In Essays, Nicole C. Pendleton

Honors Undergraduate Theses

"Latchkey: A Memoir in Essays" is an essay collection that follows the narrator through her childhood as it relates to being raised a latchkey kid in the 1980s. The lack of published academic studies that follow children through their experience as latchkey kids and into adulthood leaves personal exploration as the primary means through which a child, specifically a young girl, can seek understanding as to how her view of the world develops. Each of the five essays explores issues of autonomy, self-efficacy, sexuality, addiction, and familial bonds. It is through her reflection of specific events – the loss of …

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Farm Women As Producers & Consumers In The 20th Century U.S. South, Joseph J. Kaminski Jan 2019

Farm Women As Producers & Consumers In The 20th Century U.S. South, Joseph J. Kaminski

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to examine white, rural women of the South who were directly affected by home demonstration between 1920 - 1950 and to discuss their roles as producers and consumers in the expanding market economy. Home demonstration, a three-tiered bureaucratic agency that provided domestic education and production techniques to Southern women, played a major role in guiding women toward the expanding market economy. Agents often had to temper their programs in order to compromise with the women they served to accommodate rural restrictions on capital, capability, and confidence. By integrating rural women into a more modernized, …

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An Ecofeminist Analysis Of The Ready-Made Garment Industry In Bangladesh, Yasmin Fakhoury Jan 2019

An Ecofeminist Analysis Of The Ready-Made Garment Industry In Bangladesh, Yasmin Fakhoury

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry and its harsh working conditions have been the center of intense scrutiny for the past decade, especially following the massive death tolls of the Tazreen Fashions factory fire in 2012 and the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013. While lauded by many for its tremendous contributions to the Bangladeshi economy and its employment of primarily women, the garment industry is responsible for causing harm both to the women who work there and the local environment. Women workers are physically and verbally abused in the workplace for little pay, while the factories emit pollutants that contaminate the …

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Culture, Power, And Control: A Discussion Of Autonomy And Responsibility, Loren A. Alonso Jan 2019

Culture, Power, And Control: A Discussion Of Autonomy And Responsibility, Loren A. Alonso

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how power, control, autonomy, and responsibility are active participants in culture and daily human life. First, I discuss two understandings of power, structured and diffused. I examine some different techniques of power that help support and reproduce the current power systems in place and how historically, these systems have been predominantly unjust. I then discuss an alternative view of power that incorporates both structured and diffused forms of power. I explain why this new understanding of power could be more useful in actively shifting the current unjust power structures present in the …

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