Digital Commons Network^™

Complexities Of Community Consultation In Chile's Lithium Industry, Isabella R. Whelan

Honors Theses

Echoed by November’s COP27 in Egypt, the climate crisis has become an increasingly pressing and global issue, with the need to move away from fossil fuels more urgent than ever. In attempts to decarbonize the global economy, many countries and companies have turned to electrification –particularly within the transportation sector, one of today’s largest contributors of greenhouse gasses. A crucial component of energy storage and batteries is lithium, now considered a “critical mineral.” Demand for lithium has skyrocketed in recent years and is only expected to continue growing. More than fifty percent of the world’s lithium supply is found within …

Detecting High-Lying Rydberg States Using Two-Step Electromagnetically Induced Transparency And Frequency Modulation Spectroscopy Techniques, Kate Jensen

Honors Theses

Resonant optical excitation of high-lying Rydberg states in room temperature 85Rb was investigated using light from two homemade external cavity diode lasers (ECDL). This was done using a ladder schema of the Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) technique. The approximate EIT wavelengths used were 780 nm (the probe beam) to provide step-wise excitation of valence rubidium electrons from the 5S1/2 → 5P3/2 tran- sition, and then 482 nm (the coupling beam) to excite from the 5P3/2 state to a high-lying Rydberg nD state with an orbital angular momentum = 2. Successful excitation of the Rydberg states was observed using Frequency Modulation …

Trends In Cyanotoxin Production Potential In China Lake: An Edna Analysis Of Microcystis And Dolichospermum And The Environmental Drivers Of Cyanotoxin Production, Gennifer M. Rubin

Honors Theses

Episodes of cyano-harmful algal blooms (cyano-HABs) are hypothesized to be exacerbated by the effects of climate change. However, the dynamics of the interactions between elements of climate change and toxigenic cyanobacteria proliferation are not well defined. China Lake is the drinking water source for 7 municipalities in the Kennebec County and is one of many lakes in central Maine that has been subjected to high levels of cyano-HABs and microcystin toxin contamination in recent years. Monitoring the toxicity of these blooms in relation to various aspects of climate change may lead to identification of the major drivers of microcystin production …

A Close Analysis Into The Portrayal Of Female Protagonists Through The Lens Of Gendered Authorship: Specifically Looking Into The Works Of Jane Austen, Frances Burney, John Cleland, And Samuel Richardson, Isabella G. Beyloune

Honors Theses

I explore the difference in gendered authorship in 18th century English literature. Choosing to focus on authors such as Jane Austen, Frances Burney, John Cleland, and Samuel Richardson, I aim to see if gender of the author matters in giving a realistic portrayal of eighteenth century British female protagonists, and if there actually is a difference depending on that gender (male or female, specifically). To do this, I perform case study comparisons. All chapters include a close textual analysis of the authors’ use of dialogue and narrative style for depicting their characters. Chapter 1 focuses on the comparison between Austen’s …

Biomechanics Of Mantis Prey Capture, Danielle S. Taylor

Honors Theses

Mantis species have a variety of different morphologies, so do the extreme forms of mantis limbs trade prey catching capability for camouflage? We hypothesize that some extreme forms of mantis limbs that are associated with cryptic species may be associated with a tradeoff of the capability of those limbs. Previous research has developed 2D morphologies of several hundred species of mantises. We are creating a 3D morphology by using micro dissection, micro CT imaging to construct our 3D biomechanical model. We found the attachment points of the ligaments and muscles from a Tenodera forearm and have constructed a 2D biomechanical …

A Call Away: Investigating A Solution To Healthcare Access Barriers In Remote Communities, Tamsin Rogers

Honors Theses

This project focuses on the fact that there exist communities in the United States that are underserved in terms of healthcare. Whether this is due to the community’s geographical (remote) location, lack of education, or other factors, the members of these communities experience disproportionate levels of care. My focus with this project will be the idea that everyone deserves adequate healthcare, regardless of where they live. I focus specifically on one community: Jackman, Maine, which has recently implemented a telemedicine program called ‘FirstNet’ to aid its previously struggling clinic. The Jackman Community Health Center is the only health clinic in …

I Versus We: Social Regulations Exacerbated Tension Between Individualism And Collectivism During China’S Twenty-First Century Public Health Emergencies, Duan Wang

Honors Theses

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a global public health problem, which stimulated restrictions like lockdowns, public service closures, and strict border controls that disrupted individuals' life patterns to mitigate the potential transmission within communities. Intriguingly, with its adherence to the “zero-COVID tolerance” policy, China represented a unique case in the overall global reopening trend after three years of the pandemic. Such an unwavering, uncompromising stance reflected conflicts between individuals and the Chinese government regarding COVID regulations, which exposed the tension between individualism and government-proposed collectivism.

This thesis investigates strict social regulations and the exacerbated tension between individualism and …

Medical Emergency Preparedness Among Undergraduate Students, Savannah L. Finigan

Honors Theses

Knowing how to respond to a medical emergency is a valuable life skill that college students ought to have the opportunity to attain in order to save lives. This study aims to understand how prepared and confident local students are to respond to a medical emergency. Participants consisted of undergraduate students who had no healthcare or nursing school experience. A survey was distributed that asked students to rank and describe their own confidence to respond to medical emergencies. The survey also questioned how much former training or experience they had with medical emergencies. The results of the survey show that …

Redlining And Opioid Overdose Outcomes: Do Historical Housing Policies Still Impact Health Today?, Sahana Paravantavida

Honors Theses

This study examines the relationship between historical housing policies and current health outcomes, specifically the impact of redlining on opioid overdose rates. Using data collected from the state of New Jersey, neighborhoods with a history of redlining have higher rates of opioid overdose deaths. My findings suggest that historical housing policies, which systematically excluded certain populations from accessing affordable housing and resources, continue to impact health outcomes today.

Earnings Gap Between Urban And Rural Migrant Workers In Vietnam, Kristen Le

Honors Theses

This thesis studies whether there is an earnings disparity between urban and rural migrant workers in Vietnam’s urban areas and whether that earnings gap is due to individual characteristics and human capital levels or other unobserved factors. In this paper, urban workers, or urban residents, are workers who have household registration status in the urban cities where they work. On the other hand, rural migrant workers, or rural-to-urban migrants, are defined as workers who live and work in urban cities but have their registered household statuses in other rural areas. Using the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS) in 2008, …

Swimming Lessons: Exploring And Embracing The Graphic Memoir, Sophia Donati

Honors Theses

My thesis is both creative and analytical, delving into the graphic memoir genre and its components. My own graphic memoir is at the heart of this piece: Swimming Lessons, which I wrote and drew over the past four years. The first and main piece of my thesis is the 122-page completed draft of Swimming Lessons which details three significant parts of my life centering on my relationship with swimming. Following my graphic memoir is the analytical reflective essay which details the graphic memoir by situating Swimming Lessons in conversation with other prevalent texts in the genre. This piece centers on …

Heading For A Breakdown: Assessing Evolution Through The Hybridization Of Two Sexual Systems, Diamanda A. Zizis

Honors Theses

Hybridization is an important evolutionary pathway that has contributed to the world’s vast biodiversity. In plants, especially angiosperms, hybridization is known to be an important mechanism for speciation, phenotypic divergence, and changes in reproductive systems. Solanum species present an ideal system to investigate how hybridization between two different sexual systems impacts the reproductive and phenotypic biology of the hybrid progeny. Hybrid seeds were acquired from crosses between Australian Solanum species Solanum dioicum (dioecious) and S. ultraspinosum (andromonoecious) in order to track what happens when you cross two plants with different sexual systems. Vegetative and floral morphological measurements were conducted, and …

Women’S Bodies, Government’S Vessels: Control Of Women’S Reproductive Capacity In U.S. Policy, 1837 - 1924, Shana Clapp

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the changing boundaries of women’s property rights in the nineteenth and early twentieth century with a critical eye on the intentions of white male policymakers. I analyze the development of laws regarding married women’s property rights, homesteading, and workplace relations to understand how lawmakers and judges viewed white women's reproductive capacity as a state policy tool in varying ways. The expansion of women’s property rights in the U.S. revolved around women’s reproductive labor and funneled women into their assumed roles of wives and mothers. Weaving together historical moments across a century of great advancement for women, I …

Hygroscopic Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (Htdma) Design And Testing For Aerosol Hygroscopic Behavior Studies, Ziheng Zeng

Honors Theses

Most particles in the atmosphere take up water when exposed to increasing relative humidity (RH), and this behavior is described and quantized by a hygroscopicity parameter, kappa. Hygroscopic Tandem Differential Mobility Analysis (HTDMA) can be used to measure the physicochemical properties of aerosol particles and study phenomena that lead to size changes in submicron aerosol particles. Specifically, HTDMA measures how aerosol particles of different initial dry sizes grow or shrink when exposed to changing RH. HTDMA uses two differential mobility analyzers (DMAs) and a humidification system to make these measurements. One DMA selects a narrow size range of dry aerosol …

Zerschlagen: German Unification And Divided Identity, Harrison Quinn

Honors Theses

The Unification of East and West Germany ended one of the Cold War’s longest divides, but only on paper. After decades under a unified German state, former East Germans face lower standards of living, economic opportunities, and access to national utilities compared to their Western counterparts. This inequality stems from the bifurcated German identity, which remains largely unaddressed amid German state ambitions for a central role in international institutions. The failure to properly acknowledge East German identity and the suppression thereof demonstrates the failure of Unification to unite the German nation. Political ambitions outweighed a true reconciliation of German nationhood, …

Particle Swarm Optimization For High Rigidity Spectrometer, Yicheng Wang

Honors Theses

The goal of this project is to find reliable parameter settings for a multi-dimensional global optimizer to optimize the performance of a large acceptance ion optical system for the requirements of nuclear physics experiments. We develop and test the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), a global optimization algorithm designed for continuous multi-dimensional problems, on a large acceptance particle beam separator, the High Rigidity Spectrometer (HRS) at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), which is a laboratory specializing in the production and experimental study of short-lived nuclear matter. We split the HRS into two sections, the High-Transmission Beamline (HTBL) and the …

Environmental Policy Implementation And Electoral Institutions In Germany And Japan, Kaia Rendo

Honors Theses

In an era when attention to reconstruction and preservation of the environment is crucial, this thesis looks at the effect that electoral institutions have on attention paid to the environmental policy issue dimension. Specifically, it looks at party manifestos and policies in post-1980 Germany and Japan to determine if specific electoral structures, such as the number of parties in a system, correlates with a greater amount of either attention paid to environmental policy in party platforms or in the actual passing of policy. It finds that though both Germany and Japan employ multi-member proportional systems, the greater number of parties …

Deconstructing Campus Sexual Assault Among Black Students: An Assessment Of Campus Climate At Predominately White Institutions, Ariana A. Gambrell

Honors Theses

Interpersonal violence is a prominent issue on university and college campuses within the United States. Women attending college are a particularly vulnerable population to experiencing sexual violence. Many of the previous research studies have focused on white women in relation to campus sexual assault (CSA). The primary goal of the present study is to measure the prevalence of sexual assault within minority based populations on campus. Previous research studies have found members of minoritized groups to be at a higher risk of experiencing campus interpersonal violence than are White Women, people without disabilities, and cisgender individuals. In addition, being apart …

The Underrepresentation Of Women In Japanese Politics: Through The Lens Of Sekuhara, Sexism, And Media Rhetoric, Elizabeth L. Whitmer

Honors Theses

Despite being a democratic and economically successful country, women in Japanese politics are extremely underrepresented. Since institutional factors do not explicitly prohibit women from holding office, this project turns to cultural factors to analyze this problem. Issues such as strict gender roles, sexual harassment, and rhetoric surrounding women politicians are some factors contextualizing the lives of Japanese women. In order to better understand these cultural barriers, this project turns to content analysis of news media in Japan to consider the ways in which women politicians are framed to the electorate, which may thus explain the low rates of elected women.

The Implementation Of Augmented Reality And Low Latency Protocols In Musical Instrumental Collaborations, Qixiao Zhu

Honors Theses

Past projects involving musical software have been completely virtual, while these software do well in entertainment and education, there is the question of whether these software are playable to the same extent as physical musical instruments. The software presented in this paper, "AR Jam", utilizes various software and hardware tools to form a networked mixed reality system for the users to play music on. The intention of this project is to seek new ways to explore more playable musical instruments in the digital world. The paper presents the software's implementation, challenges such as optimization problems of the synthesizer, and the …

An Analysis Of Demand-Pull Inflation In The United States Post-Pandemic, Isabella A. Moynihan

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a global shutdown of the economy resulting from both demand and supply shocks. Also, the significant decline in output and employment in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic led to a fast reaction from the government in the form of large fiscal rescue packages. At the end of 2021, the acceleration of inflation, which had been dormant for more than four decades, became the main topic of macroeconomic debates. The debate has revolved around the influence of cost-push versus demand-pull causes of inflation. The dominant view in the United States has been that inflation resulted …

Cleaning The Variable Mess: A Population Genomics Approach To Understanding The Evolutionary History Of A Complicated Plant Group, Claire Marino

Honors Theses

The Solanum dioicum clade is a group of Australian bush tomatoes consisting primarily of species native to Western Australia and the Northern Territory whose species delimitations tend to be quite unclear. Since David Symon’s monograph A Revision of the Genus Solanum in Australia was published in 1981, little additional progress has been made in clarifying these relationships. In this project, a population genomics approach was used to analyze the relationships and delimitations between three species within the S. dioicum clade: Solanum dioicum, S. carduiforme, and S. ossicruentum. The use of population genomics methods is advantageous to understanding …

A Theoretical And Computational Model For Aquaponics Systems, Isabella M. Digiulio

Honors Theses

Aquaponics, a sustainable farming technique combining the principles of aquaculture and hydroponics, suffers from uncertainty in its optimal operating conditions, preventing large-scale adoption of this technology. Relying on experimentation or full-scale testing to address these uncertainties is an approach that is material, labor, time, and cost intensive. As a result, aquaponics would benefit from a complete computational model of the system. This would allow for information to be gained without long and expensive experiments, but rather with knowledge of system operations and a modeling software package. In this study, the Activated Sludge Model 1 (ASM1) matrix framework, traditionally used in …

Test Optional Admissions: Pre And Post Enrollment, Mackenzie M. Turner

Honors Theses

This phenomenological qualitative study explores students’ experiences navigating test-optional admissions when applying to post-secondary education. This thesis examines how test-optional admissions influence students' admissions decisions. The recent policy changes in college admissions practices raise questions about student experiences when making decisions when regarding test-optional admissions. First, this study explores the factors that go into a student’s decision on whether to submit test scores in their college application. Second, this thesis investigates college admission administrators’ perspectives on test-optional policies at their respective universities. Third, this study analyzes where the views of college admissions and student applicants are dissimilar. One important insight …

Graphs, Adjacency Matrices, And Corresponding Functions, Yang Hong

Honors Theses

Stable polynomials, in the context of this research, are two-variable polynomials like $p(z_1,z_2) = 2 - z_1 - z_2$ that are guaranteed to be non-zero if both input variables have an absolute value less than one in the complex plane. Stable polynomials are used in a variety of mathematical fields, thus finding ways to construct stable polynomials is valuable. An important property of these polynomials is whether they have boundary zeros, which are points in the complex plane where the polynomial equals zero and both variables have an absolute value of 1. Overall, it is challenging to find stable polynomials …

Deposited Cigarette Smoke As A Driver Of Oxidation And Partitioning Processes On Indoor Surfaces, April Hurlock

Honors Theses

Despite the large amount of time that individuals spend indoors during their lives, very little attention was paid to the chemistry that occurs on indoor surfaces until recently. Although not visible to the naked eye, physical and chemical processes, such as partitioning and oxidation, are occurring on virtually every indoor surface in a typical household. Indoor pollutants, ranging from skin oils to environmental cigarette smoke, drive a lot of these processes. The transformation of indoor surfaces by indoor pollutants can increase chemical exposure risks as new irritants or carcinogens can be introduced to the surfaces. In this thesis, I describe …

Development Of A Solution Synthesis Of Poly(Sebacic Anhydride) With The Activating Agent 4-Toluenesulfonyl Chloride: Understanding The Effect Of Different Bases On The Reaction Products, Patricia Poley

Honors Theses

The overall goal of this honors thesis was to develop a solution synthesis of Poly(Sebacic Anhydride) with the activating agent 4-toluenesulfonyl chloride and understand the effects of varying temperature, bases, and the addition order of reagents on the reaction.

Polyanhydrides are a class of hydrophobic, degradable polymers used in controlled drug delivery for 30 years. They are synthesized through three general methods: melt polycondensation, solution polycondensation, and ring-opening polymerization. Of these three methods, solution polycondensation typically results in products with lower molecular weight. Previous work in the Vogel lab identified two new ways to synthesize anhydrides using solution polycondensation reactions …

An Investigation Into Aluminum’S Torsional Behavior Of Circular, Rectangular, And Square Cross-Sections, Marly Mcclintock

Honors Theses

The Specifications for Aluminum Structures (2020) provides the standards that structural engineers follow for aluminum design. Included in these specifications are limit state equations that use strength properties to calculate a member’s initial yield, full yield, and rupture values. One limit state that the standards currently neglect is the torsional failure of solid bars. Torsion is the act of rotation caused by a twisting force, otherwise known as torque. Future installments of the specifications hope to include torsional yielding and rupture equations, so this study investigates the validity of these proposed equations.

Two different aluminum alloys were investigated for this …

Last Week I Had A Dream That Everything Went According To Plan, Nabeel Jan

Honors Theses

Last Week I Had A Dream That Everything Went According To Plan is a murder mystery I wrote and directed over the past year. It discusses a seminal part of my body of work: my experience as a person of color within predominantly white spaces.

Is Children's Literature Really Meant For Children? Global Political Commentary In Children's Literature, Jenny Scott

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the way children’s literature is a productive form for political commentary. I analyze how the genre of children’s literature allows authors the unexpected freedom to express the moral complexity of contemporary political problems. This form provides authors a space to comment upon complicated and sometimes controversial political discourse in a way they might not have the freedom to do otherwise writing explicitly for an adult audience. Amidst the argument that children’s literature as a form allows for authors to include political discourse, I also incorporate an examination of the audience of children’s literature to demonstrate the complexity …