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2019

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Robots ‘Я’ Us What Science Fiction Tells Us About Gender, Race, And Humanness, Bethany Wilson Jan 2019

Robots ‘Я’ Us What Science Fiction Tells Us About Gender, Race, And Humanness, Bethany Wilson

Theses & ETDs

Narratives centering on human contact with the “other”—aliens, monsters, and robots—are prevalent in science fiction. While these narratives encourage us to consider the physical and ethical boundaries of humanness, they also problematically recenter the experiences and perceptions of men—of White men—as those of a non-existent “neutral” human being. In this thesis, I analyze representations of robotic beings in science fiction to deconstruct Western logics of oppression and expose the constructed nature of the category “human.” In particular, I focus on the limitations of the binary logic of “self” as opposed to “other” in regard to race and gender. I begin …

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Capitalist Selves: Perfectionism And The Neoliberal Ideal, Brianna Luis Jan 2019

Capitalist Selves: Perfectionism And The Neoliberal Ideal, Brianna Luis

Theses & ETDs

This thesis asserts that Neoliberal capitalism fosters an overly demanding and competitive sociocultural environment that compels individuals to internalize self-enhancement values and to develop individualistic senses of agency and harshly meritocratic worldviews. In such an objectively demanding cultural atmosphere, individuals may develop perfectionistic tendencies to maintain a sense of belonging and worthiness. Given recent empirical evidence that has attributed a longitudinal rise in perfectionism to the increasing prevalence of Neoliberalism in the Western world, the current study sought to discern whether there are associations among trait levels of perfectionism (i.e., self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed dimensions), the endorsement of capitalistic …

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Rooting For The Riotous Life: An Ethnographic Analysis Of Agroforestry In The Delaware Valley, R. A. Pic Jan 2019

Rooting For The Riotous Life: An Ethnographic Analysis Of Agroforestry In The Delaware Valley, R. A. Pic

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines human implementation of agroforestry in the Delaware Valley and the potential of this agricultural and ecological process to influence natural disaster and climate event resilience as well as the preservation of community cohesion. I evaluate the role of agroforestry through combining research into historical agriculture and Delaware Valley ecology as well as five interviews conducted with three current agroforestry practitioners. Ecosystems that grow fruit and nut crops throughout urban, suburban, and rural communities of the Delaware Valley can address issues of crop diversity preservation, lack of community green spaces, food insecurity for community members, and natural disaster …

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Attempted Synthesis Of A Rubisco Model Complex Using Bis(3,5-Di-Tert-Butylpyrazol-1-Yl) Acetate And Magnesium Trifluoromethanesulfonate, Kevin D. Howlett Jan 2019

Attempted Synthesis Of A Rubisco Model Complex Using Bis(3,5-Di-Tert-Butylpyrazol-1-Yl) Acetate And Magnesium Trifluoromethanesulfonate, Kevin D. Howlett

Theses & ETDs

The crude ligand bis(3,5-di-tert-butylpyrazol-1-yl) acetate (previously synthesized in the Sherman lab) was purified by column chromatography and characterized using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, DEPT-135 NMR, and FTIR spectroscopy. Improved purity was supported by TLC and a narrower melting range. In attempts to synthesize a 1:1 complex of bdtbpza and Mg2+, the purified ligand was used to synthesize a magnesium complex by reaction with the magnesium salt, magnesium trifluormethanesulfonate. Complexation of the ligand by magnesium was indicated by chemical shift changes in the 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra and changes in the carbonyl region in the IR spectrum. Elemental analysis …

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Modeling Rubisco: The Synthesis Of A Novel, Oxygen Rich Scorpionate Ligand, Eleni Marianna Spanolios Jan 2019

Modeling Rubisco: The Synthesis Of A Novel, Oxygen Rich Scorpionate Ligand, Eleni Marianna Spanolios

Theses & ETDs

Synthetic enzyme modeling is an important method in understanding and harnessing biologically complex, catalytic processes. Scorpionate ligands are stable and customizable making them applicable to modeling a wide variety of active sites. One such active site is RuBisCO, a magnesium activated enzyme responsible for carbon fixation in plants. The motivations of creating its model include a possible method for atmospheric carbon dioxide reduction, in addition to a greater understanding of how the enzyme functions. Multiple attempts have been made to synthetically model RuBisCO with scorpionate ligands but have yielded an undesired bis ligand coordination with magnesium. Herein, the attempted synthesis …

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Menstruating And Doing Masc: Trans Experiences Of Menstruation, Emily Via Jan 2019

Menstruating And Doing Masc: Trans Experiences Of Menstruation, Emily Via

Theses & ETDs

This thesis explores menstruation as a gendered, embodied act looking specifically at transgender people who menstruate. Though scholars have studied women’s experiences of menstruation as gendered, little has been written on the experiences of transgender people who menstruate and the attitudes they have toward menstruation. In this project, I asked how trans people navigate menstruation, which is socially coded as feminine, alongside their non-female gender identities. I conducted loosely-structured, in-depth interviews with seven assigned-female-at-birth trans people asking about their lifelong experience with and narratives of menstruation. I found that my participants expressed discomfort with narratives of womanhood associated with menarche, …

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A Morally Schizophrenic Relationship: The Politics Of Humans And Nonhumans In America, Erika Thompson Jan 2019

A Morally Schizophrenic Relationship: The Politics Of Humans And Nonhumans In America, Erika Thompson

Theses & ETDs

Often ignored in animal rights and welfare literature is the political context that shapes and influences our relationship with non-humans. Different species in America experience vastly different lifestyles and treatment, partly due to their legal classifications. This quantitative research project analyzes different demographic markers of a human, their level of meat consumption, if are a farmer, their degree, biological sex, age, income, race and political ideology to predict whether or not they serve as indicators of support for animal rights claims. The data, gathered from the 1993 and 1994 GSS, includes 2,771 participants and was analyzed using bivariate and multivariate …

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Units Of Consciousness: Translating Multimodal Synesthesia Eperience Into Specialized Aural Resolution, Zulfiia O. Tursunova Jan 2019

Units Of Consciousness: Translating Multimodal Synesthesia Eperience Into Specialized Aural Resolution, Zulfiia O. Tursunova

Theses & ETDs

I present a chamber music composition Units of Consciousness written for violin, cello, double bass, and piano. It consists of three movements: “Units of Consciousness”, “Dissonant Coherence”, and “Intrusions”. The piece employs various modern music composition techniques and focuses on concept of consciousness as an integral part of existence and interaction between all elements of the environment. This work raises questions about the conflicting role of humanity in the current evolutionary and revolutionary processes of the planet. Units of Consciousness is based on multimodal synesthetic experience of the composer; on my own perceptions of time, consciousness, and music. Rather than …

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Feminist Visions Of Rural Development: Methods Of Finding Local Well-Being And Global Sustainability, Carolyn Beer Jan 2019

Feminist Visions Of Rural Development: Methods Of Finding Local Well-Being And Global Sustainability, Carolyn Beer

Theses & ETDs

No abstract attached to PDF.

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A Test For Vocal Suppression In Male X. Borealis Aquatic Frogs, Susan A. Hajmohammad Jan 2019

A Test For Vocal Suppression In Male X. Borealis Aquatic Frogs, Susan A. Hajmohammad

Theses & ETDs

This study explores male – male acoustic signaling behavior in Xenopus borealis, a species of the Xenopus South African clawed frogs. Vocal suppression had been observed in another species of Xenopus, Xenopus laevis. Because X. borealis males have a much more simplified call type than X. laevis, X. borealis males were tested to see if they respond suppressively to the advertisement callings of conspecifics, sexually receptive experimental males were recorded from while given playback of conspecific advertisement calls, heterospecific advertisement calls (X. muelleri) and white noise as a control. On average, males suppressed to any playback, regardless of type. There …

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An Exploration Of Joint Attention And Emotional State In A Dir/Floortime Based Intervention For Autism, Alberta Momenthy Jan 2019

An Exploration Of Joint Attention And Emotional State In A Dir/Floortime Based Intervention For Autism, Alberta Momenthy

Theses & ETDs

Children diagnosed with autism are known to have deficits in both social communication and emotional abilities. Recently, DIR/Floortime, a developmental social pragmatic approach to interventions, has targeted these deficits by using naturalistic, child-led sessions, while keeping in mind the child’s affective and emotional capacities. Surprisingly, little research has explored the relationship between a child’s emotional state during therapy and the effectiveness of therapy. Children partaking in DIR/Floortime based intervention at a speech therapy center were assessed for joint attention abilities and emotional state. Although joint attention occurred frequently throughout the session, no significant relationship was found between joint attention and …

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Breaking The Bee’S Knees: An Overview Of Global Pollinator Decline And Conservation Efforts On The New College Of Florida Campus, Jackie Lebouitz Jan 2019

Breaking The Bee’S Knees: An Overview Of Global Pollinator Decline And Conservation Efforts On The New College Of Florida Campus, Jackie Lebouitz

Theses & ETDs

We live in a world where anthropogenic activity and its consequences (pollution, habitat destruction, climate change, etc.) have led to the loss of pollinator biodiversity. Both agricultural operations and general ecosystems require pollination for stability. Biodiversity provides an excellent ecological buffer for compromised species that may disappear due to environmental stressors, disease, and genetic bottlenecks. In fact, bats, birds, butterflies, beetles, and even some species of lizards can provide pollination services to plants. Some flowering plants rely on specialist pollinators for their continued persistence in an ecological community, and the vulnerability of these species can lead to disruptions in the …

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The Effect Of Anthropogenic Noise Pollution On The Foraging Efficiency Of Corn Snakes (Pantherophis Guttatus), Margaret Hoffswell Jan 2019

The Effect Of Anthropogenic Noise Pollution On The Foraging Efficiency Of Corn Snakes (Pantherophis Guttatus), Margaret Hoffswell

Theses & ETDs

Travel by car produces many types of pollution and one of the most disregarded of these types is noise pollution. Sadly, the vast majority of populations that may be affected by noise pollution remain unstudied. This research aims to investigate the effects of such traffic noise on the widespread and charming corn snake. Snakes rely on highly sensitive mechanoreception to hunt, including an acute articulation of their ear bone directly to their jaw. Because noise pollution may interfere with these senses, it may hinder their ability to forage effectively. To study this relationship, I subjected eight snakes to artificial traffic …

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Affliction As Insight: Disability And Empathy In Dostoevsky’S The Idiot, Alyson Hart Jan 2019

Affliction As Insight: Disability And Empathy In Dostoevsky’S The Idiot, Alyson Hart

Theses & ETDs

This thesis is an exploration of how the characters Ippolit and Prince Myshkin in Dostoevsky’s The Idiot are affected by their disabling conditions in regards to their capacity for empathy towards others, as well as how others empathize with them. Drawing on the theories of various critics, this thesis outlines the characteristics of each characters’ illness, and the unique ways that these illnesses influence each character’s life. Each chapter focuses on one character, examining different episodes that illustrate how each character gives and receives empathy throughout the novel. The first chapter focuses on Prince Myshkin, the protagonist of the novel …

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A Novel Approach To In Situ Microbiome Surveys Of Fungi In Mosquitoes, Evan Towers Teal Jan 2019

A Novel Approach To In Situ Microbiome Surveys Of Fungi In Mosquitoes, Evan Towers Teal

Theses & ETDs

Millions of people are affected by mosquito-borne diseases, causing problems for people specifically in Sub-Saharan Africa. Scientists have started looking at control methods using microbes to better manage mosquitoes, primarily looking at organisms in the bacterial kingdom. In this project, I attempted to survey the fungal microbiome of three mosquito genera using ITS1 and ITS4 primers. Results from this experiment showed mostly mosquito DNA was amplified using these methods, however, this data has uncovered important information about biases which occur in the process of amplifying multiple genomes using ITS1 and ITS4 primers.

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Growth And Nutrient Dynamics Of A Tank Forming Bromeliad ( Tillandsia Utriculata), Elizabeth White Jan 2019

Growth And Nutrient Dynamics Of A Tank Forming Bromeliad ( Tillandsia Utriculata), Elizabeth White

Theses & ETDs

Tillandsia utriculata is an ecologically important epiphytic bromeliad that is native to Florida. These plants have unique ways of absorbing nutrients and responding to the stressors that come along with occupying a particularly stressful niche (growing on the bark of trees). A major adaptation that this study focused on is the growth form of these plants’ leaves, referred to as “tanking”. Tanking allows for the collection of detritus and water in the base of these plants leaves to be stored and used in times of drought. From a pilot study, there is reason to believe that there is some kind …

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Stars, Dinosaurs, And You: A Prehistoric Podcast, Eliza Bychek Jan 2019

Stars, Dinosaurs, And You: A Prehistoric Podcast, Eliza Bychek

Theses & ETDs

This audio podcast surveys the breadth of natural history, starting with the Big Bang and progressing through the formation of stars and planets to our own Earth, from there on serving as an overview of the history of life through its various eras, and culminating in a look at the hominin family tree and the evolution of humankind. The podcast is intended to be accessible to listeners of all levels, requiring only an understanding of English and a willingness to learn. It should leave its audience with a solid scientific foundation for understanding how we and our world evolved to …

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To Float Above Water: Mapping Modernity And Identity In Recent Chinese Ecocinema, Derek Harootune Otis Jan 2019

To Float Above Water: Mapping Modernity And Identity In Recent Chinese Ecocinema, Derek Harootune Otis

Theses & ETDs

Recent Chinese filmmaking demonstrates a unique spatial and ecological consciousness. Two films produced in the last three decades, Zhang Ming’s Wushan Yunyu and Jia Zhangke’s Still Life, focus this consciousness towards the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. Narratives focusing on the transient and unstable lives lived in the shadow of the Dam are deepened by unique cinematographic technique and intertextual reference to China’s tradition of landscape aesthetics, suggesting a deep connection between Chinese artistic and poetic history, physical Chinese landscapes, and the inner lives of these films’ characters. In order to access and discuss that connection, I adapt Fredric …

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“Idle Hands Make Fretful Minds:” The Relationship Between Selftouch Gestures And Nicotine Use, Benjamin Cook Jan 2019

“Idle Hands Make Fretful Minds:” The Relationship Between Selftouch Gestures And Nicotine Use, Benjamin Cook

Theses & ETDs

Self-touch gestures occur every day in nearly every human, though not much information is known about why they occur. One hypothesis that has been echoed throughout psychological literature is that these behaviors allow an individual to regulate the amount of sensory information they receive, and thus act as a tool for regulating negative affect. Nicotine use, and substance use more generally, is considered an example of expressive suppression, an emotional regulation strategy that ultimately leads to more negative affect. The connection between self-touch gestures and nicotine use has been understudied despite both variables being connected to emotional regulation. The current …

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Rough And Tumble Play In The Domestic Dog (Canis Familiaris), Aren Hendrickson Jan 2019

Rough And Tumble Play In The Domestic Dog (Canis Familiaris), Aren Hendrickson

Theses & ETDs

Rough-and-tumble play is a type of social play characterized by both competition and cooperation. The experience of rough-and-tumble play may allow juveniles to calibrate their emotional response and improve motor, neural, and social development. Playing as adults has been shown to reduce current stress levels. In the animal kingdom, rough-and-tumble play typically happens between familiar individuals. At off-leash dog parks, familiar and unfamiliar individuals play, which requires intricate social coordination. How do they do it? Here we observed naturally occurring playful behaviors of domestic dogs in 14 dyadic play bouts at an off-leash dog park in Bradenton, Florida. We video-recorded …

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The Perception Of Value: Affect, Physiology, And The Role Of Reenactment, Daniel Parr Jan 2019

The Perception Of Value: Affect, Physiology, And The Role Of Reenactment, Daniel Parr

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines the representations of stimulus value that guide goal-directed behavior. Evidence is reviewed regarding the process by which stimuli acquire valence, and the affective and physiological events that underlie this process. “Reenactment accounts” - which hold that the representation of the value of a stimulus relies on the reenactment of the affective states that have been associated with the stimulus in the past - are then discussed. Using neuroimaging studies on the role of ventral prefrontal cortex in evaluation, and other evidence, an argument is made against these accounts. Finally, a study designed to test the importance of …

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Examining Victim Blaming: An Analysis Of The Sexual Objectification Of Women In Media, Self-Objectification, And Rape Myth Acceptance, Nina Schmidt Jan 2019

Examining Victim Blaming: An Analysis Of The Sexual Objectification Of Women In Media, Self-Objectification, And Rape Myth Acceptance, Nina Schmidt

Theses & ETDs

This study examines the relationships between sexual objectification, self-objectification, rape myth acceptance, and victim blaming. Participants first completed a self-objectification and rape myth acceptance questionnaire and engaged in a short cognitive task to mitigate priming effects. They were then shown either sexualized images (experimental condition) or neutral images (control condition), read a vignette depicting a sexual assault, and answered questions to assess their victim blaming score. Contrary to previous literature, sexual objectification did not affect victim blaming. Additionally, self-objectification was not related to victim blaming, but rape myth acceptance was strongly, positively related to victim blaming such that higher rape …

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Art Of The Alien Timeline: Exploring How Nonlinear Narratives Achieve Brecht’S Theory Of Alienation In Run Lola Run And Memento, Connor Borden Jan 2019

Art Of The Alien Timeline: Exploring How Nonlinear Narratives Achieve Brecht’S Theory Of Alienation In Run Lola Run And Memento, Connor Borden

Theses & ETDs

Films that are structured with a nonlinear narrative are able to create a sense of unfamiliarity for the audience watching. This uncertainty can be used to create Bertolt Brecht’s Alienation Effect which is meant to create more critically observant audiences by creating an experience for the audience members that is separated from what is going on in the story. This thesis examines two films which are structured around unique nonlinear narratives and the way that they create the Alienation Effect with their narrative presentation. These films both contain some form of a puzzle in their plot so that audiences will …

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Performing The Possibility Of Difference: Analyzing Race, Movement, And Performance In The Work Of Pearl Primus And Ira Aldridge, Eugenia Hayley Titterington Jan 2019

Performing The Possibility Of Difference: Analyzing Race, Movement, And Performance In The Work Of Pearl Primus And Ira Aldridge, Eugenia Hayley Titterington

Theses & ETDs

The medium of performance is a valuable means for engaging racial dialogue since its liveness draws attention to the performing body, allowing us to negotiate what social meanings culture has invested in bodies. However, attention to topics of race and racism in Western theatre has historically avoided confronting intersubjective dialogues about race in favor of objectifying otherized racial identities, most notably performances of blackness, to reaffirm White racial dominance. Black artists have historically worked to resist this by reframing the performance as a site of opposition. This study uses this point of tension to study the ways physicality in dance …

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Influence Of Varying Sand Albedo On Sea Turtle Nest Depth Temperatures, Mackenna Louise Jensen Jan 2019

Influence Of Varying Sand Albedo On Sea Turtle Nest Depth Temperatures, Mackenna Louise Jensen

Theses & ETDs

Sea turtles, sexually determined by temperature, see higher ratios of females produced with warmer temperatures. Albedo—the reflection of radiation by a surface— plays an important role in sand temperatures of nesting beaches, however, the specific variation necessary to alter nest temperatures has not been well investigated. Individual sand samples, with the first 20 cm of sand varying in albedo with light and dark sand, were measured for temperature differences at the surface and varying depths. The surfaces, heated by solar radiation and convection, were significantly different, but sand depths heated through diffusion, left depths of 20 cm and 50 cm …

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Psychopathy And Head Injury: A Correlational Study Between Mild Traumatic Brain Injury And Psychopathic Traits, Eryn Mcintyre Jan 2019

Psychopathy And Head Injury: A Correlational Study Between Mild Traumatic Brain Injury And Psychopathic Traits, Eryn Mcintyre

Theses & ETDs

Psychologists and physicians have observed drastic changes in personality after significant head injuries. Psychopathy, when defined as a disorder distinct from antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), differs from the DSM criteria for ASPD through additional personality deficit criteria. This study sought to examine the potential relationship between mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and both primary and secondary psychopathic traits. It was hypothesized that (a) there would be a correlation between mTBI and psychopathic traits and that (b) the greater the number of head injuries, the more one would display psychopathic traits. The study consisted of undergraduate students who completed the Levenson …

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Exploring Effects Of Imagination On The Robotic Hand Illusion, Cannzana Stockwil Jan 2019

Exploring Effects Of Imagination On The Robotic Hand Illusion, Cannzana Stockwil

Theses & ETDs

Body ownership illusions provide novel insights into what the brain can process as one’s body. Since the classic Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI), much research has been done on developing similar hand illusions and exploring what factors are needed to induce them. In the Robotic Hand Illusion (RoHI), participants wear a glove on one of their hands, allowing them to control the movements of a robotic hand (when they move a finger, the robotic hand moves its corresponding finger). Then the participant rests their real hand (wearing the glove) under a table while they view the robotic hand on top of …

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Personality And Mental Illness: Do Emotional Stability And Emotional Well-Being Predict Psychopathology?, Sage Robert Jan 2019

Personality And Mental Illness: Do Emotional Stability And Emotional Well-Being Predict Psychopathology?, Sage Robert

Theses & ETDs

The present research tested the hypothesis that individuals who score high in emotional stability and high in emotional well-being (EWB) will have a lower probability of having a mental illness. Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) was used to collect 129 participants who completed a three-part survey measuring personality, emotional well-being, and psychopathology. Part 1 of the survey included the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) which asked questions pertaining to the Big Five personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to experience). In part 2, participants completed the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) to measure emotional well-being. In part 3, participants completed …

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Brain Functional Connectivity In Motor, Auditory, And Visual Cortices In Professional Pianists, Zulfiia O. Tursunova Jan 2019

Brain Functional Connectivity In Motor, Auditory, And Visual Cortices In Professional Pianists, Zulfiia O. Tursunova

Theses & ETDs

In the present case study heart rate (HR) and electroencephalography (EEG) data of 6 professional pianists (experts) and 6 non-musicians (non-experts) were recorded in order to explore the differences of heart rate variability (HRV) and brain functional connectivity in primary motor, visual, and auditory cortices related to music performance. All participants performed aural, visual, and combined aural/visual tasks that involved a short musical passage and written excerpt from a novel. Pianists additionally performed a mental practicing task that involved imaginary public performance of a familiar piece with all physical and aural aspects of live performance. The EEG data of two …

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Critiquing Environmental Rhetoric: An Exploration Of Ecocriticism And Its Value To Activism, Tristen Johns Jan 2019

Critiquing Environmental Rhetoric: An Exploration Of Ecocriticism And Its Value To Activism, Tristen Johns

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines the field of ecocriticism, tracing its conceptualization as a subgenre of literary critique and discussing its implications for the community of scholars and environmental activists. I explore commonly cited definitions of the field and examine ecocritics’ works. I also discuss the importance of the ecocritical approach and its value to the field of environmental study and activism. I advocate for the importance of the humanities to work in environmental studies, a perspective often missing in my experience from research related to the ecological crisis. Ecocritics do far more than contribute critiques of specific pieces of literature, but …

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