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Anti-Heroics, Modesty, And Bad Taste, Philip Hinge Apr 2014

Anti-Heroics, Modesty, And Bad Taste, Philip Hinge

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis work revolves around investigating painting’s relationship with “bad taste” and heroism. By comparing my paintings to illustrative depictions of “heroism”, artists who turn bad art good, ideas concerning modesty, humor, and invention I will contextualize my stance towards “heroism” and bad taste. By establishing my relationship to the aforementioned examples I will trace the growth of my work over the past few years and discuss how its role within contemporary painting has changed as well as how it interacts with various cultural references.

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Delayed Reaction, Ashley Olsen-Potthast Apr 2014

Delayed Reaction, Ashley Olsen-Potthast

Theses and Dissertations

My work is a response to random happenings that provide me with opportunities for creativity. I intuitively handle my materials and media, and have developed a personally symbolic palette. I never know exactly how a piece of art will turn out. I begin my paintings by taking photographs of various places or by working on site. My imagery typically consists of landscapes from the mountains of Virginia to the coastlines of Italy. I am attracted to views that are visually soothing, such as sleepy towns, moonlit mountains, or commonplace activities. In referencing these views, I use bright, non-naturalistic and personally …

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Waveform Analogy, Experimentation, And Optimism, Aaron Storck Apr 2014

Waveform Analogy, Experimentation, And Optimism, Aaron Storck

Theses and Dissertations

This paper offers a contextualization of my art practice, within particular trends in contemporary art and its discourse. It traces an expressed interest in networked objects, and the indeterminacy of meaning in art; from researched examples and texts, through specific expressions of these ideas in my thesis art exhibition. The paper then outlines key areas of practical interest to the experimental viability of my art practice. The paper goes on to explore the relationships between indeterminacy, experimentation, and creativity in the arts; within the context of an original thought experiment that draws an analogy between topics in physics and the …

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Cytoprotective Versus Non-Protective Autophagy Induced By Radiation In Head And Neck Cancer Cells, Duaa Bakhshwin Apr 2014

Cytoprotective Versus Non-Protective Autophagy Induced By Radiation In Head And Neck Cancer Cells, Duaa Bakhshwin

Theses and Dissertations

The primary treatment options for head and neck cancer are radiation therapy or surgery, or both combined; chemotherapy is often used as an additional, or adjuvant, treatment. Patients treated with radiotherapy are exposed to a high cumulative dose of radiation over a period of time and there is a 17-33% chance of recurrence. High cumulative doses of radiation, a long time course of treatment, side effects and the possibility of recurrence provide the rationale for developing approaches for radiation sensitization, which could be helpful to patients in decreasing the dose, duration of radiation, side effects, or the chance of recurrence. …

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Dissociable Antidepressant-Like And Abuse-Related Effects Of The Noncompetitive Nmda Receptor Antagonists Ketamine And Mk-801 In Rats., Todd Hillhouse Apr 2014

Dissociable Antidepressant-Like And Abuse-Related Effects Of The Noncompetitive Nmda Receptor Antagonists Ketamine And Mk-801 In Rats., Todd Hillhouse

Theses and Dissertations

The noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine produces rapid and sustained antidepressant effects in patients suffering from major depressive disorder. However, abuse liability is a concern. To further evaluate the relationship between antidepressant-like and abuse-related effects of NMDA receptor antagonists, this study evaluated the effects of ketamine, MK-801, and phencyclidine in male Sprague-Dawley rats responding under two procedures that have been used to assess antidepressant-like effects [differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL) 72 s schedule of food reinforcement] and abuse-related drug effects [intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS)]. Under DRL 72 s, ketamine produced an antidepressant-like effect by increasing reinforcers, decreasing responses, and producing a rightward shift in …

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Comparing Tooth Enamel Disturbances In A Pediatric Population That Had Received Prior Chemotherapy Treatment To Age-Matched Controls From The Virginia Commonwealth University Pediatric Dentistry Clinic., Marcela Mujica Apr 2014

Comparing Tooth Enamel Disturbances In A Pediatric Population That Had Received Prior Chemotherapy Treatment To Age-Matched Controls From The Virginia Commonwealth University Pediatric Dentistry Clinic., Marcela Mujica

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test whether children who have undergone cancer chemotherapy have a higher prevalence of enamel abnormalities of the second mandibular premolars than age matched controls. Methods: This study was a case-control design where the case group involved 26 subjects that had received chemotherapy treatment between the ages of 2 to 6 and at the time of the study were between the ages of 9 to 18. The control group consisted of 26 subjects matched for age and sex to the case group that had not received chemotherapy. The second mandibular premolars were assessed …

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The Occurrence And Consequences Of Conspecific Brood Parasitism In The Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria Citrea), Anna Tucker Apr 2014

The Occurrence And Consequences Of Conspecific Brood Parasitism In The Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria Citrea), Anna Tucker

Theses and Dissertations

Brood parasites avoid costs associated with raising young by adding eggs to another individual’s clutch and providing no parental care. When conspecific brood parasitism occurs in species with high parental investment, we expect hosts to suffer costs for raising an enlarged brood. Here I describe conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) in the prothonotary warbler using maternal exclusion analyses of 333 family groups. I found that 23.4% of clutches contained at least one offspring that was not matched to the social mother and determined that parasitism seems to be an opportunistic tactic. Hosts had lower average annual reproductive success than non-hosts, but …

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The Role Of Adam10 In The Immune System: Maintenance Of Lymphoid Architecture, Mdsc Development And Function, B Cell Derived Exosomal Antigen Presentation, And B1 Cell Ige Production., Rebecca Martin Apr 2014

The Role Of Adam10 In The Immune System: Maintenance Of Lymphoid Architecture, Mdsc Development And Function, B Cell Derived Exosomal Antigen Presentation, And B1 Cell Ige Production., Rebecca Martin

Theses and Dissertations

ADAM10 is a zinc-dependent metalloprotease. ADAM10 has emerged as a key regulator of cellular processes by cleaving and shedding extracellular domains of multiple transmembrane receptors and ligands. In this study, we examined the role of ADAM10 in the immune system. Here, we show that knocking out ADAM10 on the mature B2 cell causes a defect in the development of secondary lymphoid architecture that becomes more severe post-immunization. We also show that overexpression of ADAM10 leads to a defect in hematopoiesis, which eliminates B2 lymphocyte development. This defect additionally induces accumulation of myeloid derived suppressor cells, MDSCs. ADAM10Tg MDSCs function synonymous …

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Lung Alveolar And Tissue Analysis Under Mechanical Ventilation, Trenicka Rolle Apr 2014

Lung Alveolar And Tissue Analysis Under Mechanical Ventilation, Trenicka Rolle

Theses and Dissertations

Mechanical ventilation has been a major therapy used by physicians in support of surgery as well as for treating patients with reduced lung function. Despite its many positive outcomes and ability to maintain life, in many cases, it has also led to increased injury of the lungs, further exacerbating the diseased state. Numerous studies have investigated the effects of long term ventilation with respect to lungs, however, the connection between the global deformation of the whole organ and the strains reaching the alveolar walls remains unclear. The walls of lung alveoli also called the alveolar septum are characterized as a …

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Forest Edges Enhance Mate-Finding In The European Gypsy Moth, Lymantria Dispar, Lily Thompson Apr 2014

Forest Edges Enhance Mate-Finding In The European Gypsy Moth, Lymantria Dispar, Lily Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding movement capabilities of individuals within a landscape is essential to identifying the effects of habitat boundaries on species abundances, ranges, and spread rates. Movement barriers due to habitat fragmentation may reduce mate-finding ability in some species, particularly in heterogeneous landscapes containing low-density populations. This study focuses on the effects of habitat type and edge on mate-finding in an invasive defoliator, the European gypsy moth. Adult European gypsy moth males locate mates by following pheromones released by flightless females. Reduced mate-finding was expected in fields and near forest edges based on geographic variation in invasion rates and pheromone plume dynamics. …

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Liaising Between Visible And Invisible Realities: A Ritual Gourd In The African Collection Of The Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts, Ashley Holdsworth Apr 2014

Liaising Between Visible And Invisible Realities: A Ritual Gourd In The African Collection Of The Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts, Ashley Holdsworth

Theses and Dissertations

In 2010, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts accessioned a ritual gourd from Mambila peoples of Nigeria and Cameroon into their collection. Although ritual containers with similar configurations abound in different parts of the Cameroon Grasslands in Central Africa, the VMFA gourd presents particular difficulties due to the nature of its accumulation and the lack of scholarship on the Mambila peoples. Therefore, in this thesis, all the aspects of its accumulation have been considered in relation to the culture and belief system of the Mambila and their neighbors. Special attention has been paid to the interconnectedness of form, function, and …

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Contextualizing Anthony Van Dyck's Iconography Within The Emerging Traditions Of Portraiture And Artists' Biography In The Early Modern Period, Casey Nye Apr 2014

Contextualizing Anthony Van Dyck's Iconography Within The Emerging Traditions Of Portraiture And Artists' Biography In The Early Modern Period, Casey Nye

Theses and Dissertations

The Flemish painter Anthony Van Dyck extended his preoccupation with portraiture into the printed medium by designing a body of portrait prints, posthumously compiled into a book entitled, the Iconography. This suite of images, organized and designed by Van Dyck and printed by workshop assistants between 1632 and 1644, is comprised of engraved and etched half-length portraits of contemporary European men and women of various professions and backgrounds, including artists, scholars, diplomats, and religious leaders. This thesis examines the artistic and literary context for Van Dyck’s Iconography, with a focus on the changing social and intellectual status of artists in …

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Increased Circulatory Lipopolysaccharide From A High Fat Diet Aggravates Inflammation And Exacerbates Renal Failure, Samuel Righi Apr 2014

Increased Circulatory Lipopolysaccharide From A High Fat Diet Aggravates Inflammation And Exacerbates Renal Failure, Samuel Righi

Theses and Dissertations

Kidney failure is frequently associated with the risk factors linked to metabolic syndrome. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a potent inflammatory molecule, which has increased absorption from the gut into blood circulation following a high fat and high-energy diet. We hypothesized that LPS from a high fat diet can amplify inflammation, thereby exacerbating chronic kidney disease and associated disorders. We have found that adding a high fat diet to renal insufficient mice significantly progressed their kidney disease as well as associated disorders, compared to both a high fat diet and renal insufficiency alone. Additionally, we were able to demonstrate in vitro that …

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The History And Educational Legacy Of The Manchester Art Museum, 1886-1898, Angela Parker Apr 2014

The History And Educational Legacy Of The Manchester Art Museum, 1886-1898, Angela Parker

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the history of the Manchester Art Museum (Manchester, England), which was founded by Thomas Coglan Horsfall (1841-1932) in 1886. It considers the museum’s permanent collections and its programming from 1886 to 1898 with brief notes on the later years of the institution. While, like previous work on the Manchester Art Museum, the thesis contextualizes the museum within Victorian arts and community institutions, it breaks new ground by highlighting the ways in which it diverged from these institutions. The analysis of the museum’s collections and programming emphasizes the contributions that Horsfall and the Art Museum Committee made to …

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Commonwealth Times 2014-04-21 Apr 2014

Commonwealth Times 2014-04-21

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

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Ampk Activators Regulate Contractile Function Of Mesenteric Arteries, Victoria Locke Apr 2014

Ampk Activators Regulate Contractile Function Of Mesenteric Arteries, Victoria Locke

Theses and Dissertations

Vasoconstrictor tone in the splanchnic circulation redistributes blood flow during hemorrhage and resuscitation. A metabolic sensor, 5’adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), has been proposed to relax arteries by inhibiting myosin light chain (MLC) kinase (MLCK) and rho kinase (ROCK) activities. Because AMPK activation might be beneficial in re-establishing splanchnic blood flow during resuscitation, we sought to explore the relative ability of AMPK activators (AICAR, A769662, berberine (BBR) and simvastatin (SIMV)) to relax mesenteric artery (MA) contraction. Our data revealed that these drugs caused vasorelaxation when tissues were stimulated either with KCl (producing primarily a Ca2+ dependent contraction) or phenylephrine (PE; …

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Senses In Synthesis: Imaginative Sensing In The 19th Century, Jesse Hernandez Apr 2014

Senses In Synthesis: Imaginative Sensing In The 19th Century, Jesse Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

During the late 19th century, arts and literature had a surge of sensory awareness, made manifest through sensory analogy, intersensory metaphor, and synaesthesia. This dissertation explores this phenomenon through a study of five poets and artists: Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Barlas, and Julia Margaret Cameron. Using imaginative sensing, these artists transformed the relationship between artist and observer, assigning greater responsibility to their audience while simultaneously asserting artistic control of their work. Their fascination with sensory mixing and multisensory awareness demonstrates unique ideas about perception and embodiment, ideas that have sparked both controversy and imitation. I begin …

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Glial Cell Modulators And Associated Anti-Inflammatory Activity: Implications In Reducing Methamphetamine Abuse-Related Behaviors In Rodents, Sarah Snider Apr 2014

Glial Cell Modulators And Associated Anti-Inflammatory Activity: Implications In Reducing Methamphetamine Abuse-Related Behaviors In Rodents, Sarah Snider

Theses and Dissertations

Methamphetamine is a psychomotor stimulant that produces hyperactivity and euphoria and can lead to drug-seeking and abuse. An estimate from 2005 put the cost of methamphetamine abuse to society at an estimated 23.4 billion dollars. One of methamphetamine's effects is activation of glial cells and associated neuroinflammatory activity in the periphery and CNS. Glia are responsible for maintaining calcium homeostasis, neuroplasticity, immune activity, and cell signaling. Activation of glia and neuroinflammation are becoming recognized as links in drug abuse-related behavior. The goal of the present work was to assess the ability of ibudilast, AV1013, and minocycline, three glial cell modulating …

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Printing The Past To Engage The Public, Vivian Hite Apr 2014

Printing The Past To Engage The Public, Vivian Hite

UROP Posters

Public involvement and engagement is a key aspect of George Washington’s Boyhood Home at Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Ferry Farm is a public archaeology site that allows volunteers and the public to participate in the actual field research. Three dimensional printed artifacts provided through a partnership with the Virtual Curation Lab at VCU help non-archaeologists understand the kind of artifacts found previously at the site. The ability for physical models to be used in the field allows the public to connect with the past inhabitants of the landscape. Creating this connection and involving the public in the history of …

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A Study Of The Journal Of Elisha P. Hurlbut, American Social Reformer, 1858-1887, Jeffrey Dunnington Apr 2014

A Study Of The Journal Of Elisha P. Hurlbut, American Social Reformer, 1858-1887, Jeffrey Dunnington

Theses and Dissertations

The life of Elisha P. Hurlbut (1807-1889) has been mostly forgotten since his death. This examination of his personal journal, which he wrote from 1858 to 1887, brings back to the forefront an influential figure that lived most of his life in and around Albany, New York. Prior to beginning the journal, Hurlbut was a lawyer and then a Supreme Court justice in New York. Seven years after retiring from public life in 1851, he commenced work on the journal that provided a detailed social and political commentary on New York, the United States, and the world as a whole. …

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Characterization Of The Discriminative Stimulus Effects Of Nitrous Oxide, Kellianne J. Richardson Apr 2014

Characterization Of The Discriminative Stimulus Effects Of Nitrous Oxide, Kellianne J. Richardson

Theses and Dissertations

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a widely used anesthetic adjunct in dentistry and medicine that is also commonly abused. N2O alters the function of several receptors in vitro and ex vivo, however, the receptors systems underlying its abuse-related intoxicating effects are poorly understood. The goals of this dissertation were to (1) establish N2O as a discriminative stimulus, (2) characterize the temporal properties of the discriminative stimulus, (3) determine the degree of similarity between N2O and other inhalants and (4) explore the neurochemical effects responsible for the stimulus properties of N2O. Twenty-four mice were trained to discriminate 10 minutes exposure to 60% …

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Redox Triggering Of Podocyte Nlrp3 Inflammasomes And Glomerular Injury In Hyperhomocysteinemia, Justine M. Abais Apr 2014

Redox Triggering Of Podocyte Nlrp3 Inflammasomes And Glomerular Injury In Hyperhomocysteinemia, Justine M. Abais

Theses and Dissertations

Hyperhomocysteinemia (hHcys), an important pathogenic factor contributing to the progression of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), has been shown to activate NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasomes and cause podocyte dysfunction and glomerular sclerosis. hHcys induces aggregation of the three inflammasome components – NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), and caspase-1 – and its activation is indicated by increased caspase-1 activity and secretion of interleukin-1β (IL-1β). The aims of the present study sought to elucidate the role of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase-mediated redox signaling in hHcys-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation, to dissect the contribution of common endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) …

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Poiesthetic Play In Generative Music, John Priestley Apr 2014

Poiesthetic Play In Generative Music, John Priestley

Theses and Dissertations

Generative music creates indeterminate systems from which music can emerge. It provides a particularly instructive field for problems of ontology, semiotics, aesthetics, and ethics addressed in poststructuralist literary theory. I outline how repetition is the ultimate basis of musical intelligibility and of memory in general. The extension of these abstractions beyond tonal music to sound in general is afforded by the concrete iterability of audio recording media. Generative systems delineate a music that is repeatable in principle and in certain qualities, though not in specific forms; a music that produces emergent complexities from novel combinations, retaining the potential to surprise. …

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Ailments Of The Soul: Blood Transfusions And The Treatment Of Melancholy In Seventeenth-Century England, Emily Bowlus Apr 2014

Ailments Of The Soul: Blood Transfusions And The Treatment Of Melancholy In Seventeenth-Century England, Emily Bowlus

Theses and Dissertations

The first animal-to-human blood transfusions performed in seventeenth-century England focused on patients suffering from mental diseases such as melancholy. Many physicians diagnosed melancholy as a disease of the body, mind, and soul in which blood played a key role. Philosophy, religion, and folklore helped formulate blood as an elusive yet powerful substance with access to immaterial mind and soul in addition to the body. English physician Richard Lower conducted these first transfusions yet recorded little about his personal theories regarding how melancholy and blood affected the body, mind, and soul. The philosophies of Lower’s colleagues, Thomas Willis and Robert Boyle, …

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Heteronormative Stereotypes In Children's Animated Television, Nora Kavaldjian Apr 2014

Heteronormative Stereotypes In Children's Animated Television, Nora Kavaldjian

UROP Posters

The socializing effect that television has on child viewers is incredibly important to childhood development – research shows that children can model roles and behaviors that they observe on television – and this power to condition children’s minds to a television-based view of reality can influence children’s conceptions of gender, stereotype, and diversity. Children exposed to television media will base their conceptions of the world on what they’ve seen, usually animated cartoon shows with highly stereotyped characters in fairly set roles (Barcus 1983, Bandura, 2002). The purpose of this paper is to review research on the subject of gender roles …

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The Role Of Television On Early Onset Puberty, Salman Salman Apr 2014

The Role Of Television On Early Onset Puberty, Salman Salman

UROP Posters

The trend of early onset puberty has been increasing in recent years. As several studies have shown, a strong link between diet and puberty has been established in animals as well as in humans. However, not much attention has been paid to the cultural influences that have emerged recently such as television, computers, and gaming devices. Several different aspects of this trend were carefully studied and analyzed such as television and diet habits, children with early onset puberty, hormonal changes in children with early onset puberty, as well as the methodology of administering treatment. By connecting television to early onset …

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Determination Of The Factors That Affect The Gas-Phase Reactivity Of Metal-Centered Cyclopropanation Catalysts And Examination Of The Properties Of Their Reaction Products, Jamal Aldajaei Apr 2014

Determination Of The Factors That Affect The Gas-Phase Reactivity Of Metal-Centered Cyclopropanation Catalysts And Examination Of The Properties Of Their Reaction Products, Jamal Aldajaei

Theses and Dissertations

Gas phase studies of organometallic systems have provided deep insight into reaction mechanisms and reaction intermediates. In this thesis, several metal/ligand systems were examined in an effort to form metal carbenes in the gas phase. With cobalt and iron porphyrins, the carbene undergoes metal-ligand insertion. With copper bis-oxazolines, metal carbenes tend to undergo metal-ligand insertion and a Wolff rearrangement. To avoid insertions, we turned to a rigid ligand, 1, 10-phenanthroline. Under ESI conditions, a copper (I) complex with phenanthroline can be formed. When treated with diazoacetate esters, the dominant product results from addition with loss of nitrogen followed by loss …

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Commonwealth Times 2014-04-14 Apr 2014

Commonwealth Times 2014-04-14

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

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The Inspiration Of Imogene Coca: A Biography And Original Musical, Marisa Guida Apr 2014

The Inspiration Of Imogene Coca: A Biography And Original Musical, Marisa Guida

Theses and Dissertations

Imogene Coca was a pioneer of comedy for women on stage and television. Her career in performance spanned the twentieth century. In the 1950s she was known as America’s funnyfaced little imp and “Imogene Coca” was a household name. Today that name is getting lost amidst a sea of male clowns and her funny faces are nearly forgotten. Imogene’s contributions to theatre, television, and comedy are too important to forget. This thesis includes a biography of her work in vaudeville, Broadway, television, and film, and an original musical inspired by that body of work. Coca’s comedy is timeless and the …

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Comparative Analysis Of Ancient Ritual Sacrifice, Alexandra Price Apr 2014

Comparative Analysis Of Ancient Ritual Sacrifice, Alexandra Price

UROP Posters

I am studying ritual human and animal sacrifice using Winkleman’s 1998 Standard Cross Cultural Sample method because I want to analyze similarities between cultures with sacrifice in order to help my reader understand why ritual sacrifice developed in civilization’s that had little to no contact with each other.

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