Digital Commons Network^™

The Body After Representation: Figuring Posthumanist Corporealities In Contemporary Art, Devon Ma

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis discusses the use of bodily matter in contemporary art, identifying an emergent tendency in which artists manipulate the materiality of the body, often via experimental media, as a means of uncovering new modes of racial and gendered embodiment.

Jay Chou’S Kuso Music: Cultural Fusion In The Age Of The Internet, Stz-Tsung (Stone) Han

Scripps Senior Theses

Jay Chou is one of the most significant singers in Chinese popular music history. One of Chou’s greatest achievements is his implementation of the Chinese “Egao” culture in his music, which originated from Japanese Kuso culture. Such an approach not only created his unique style but also allowed him to adopt various musical techniques together seamlessly. By doing so, Chou created a style that references multiple traditional musical conventions without being bound by any of them. This study aims to examine the evolution of the Kuso culture as well as Chou’s implementation of it. The development of Kuso is fostered …

The Comfort Watch: Psychology And Media Theory Perspectives On Nostalgia And Film, Sohni Kaur

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis explored the relationship between nostalgia, film, and coping mechanisms,

using both media theory and psychological lenses. Nostalgia, a concept with roots in both media theory and psychology, is best defined as homesickness for a time rather than a place. Nostalgia, when combined with film, leads to the concept of “comfort watches”, a scarcely researched topic. From a psychological standpoint, research suggests that nostalgia and media usage are commonly used coping mechanisms, yet there has been little to no research combining the two. The psychological study included in this thesis was conducted online in the United States using 83 …

What You Save: Cultures Of Collecting In The Digital Era, Sophia Davirro

Scripps Senior Theses

As children, we may have collected items around us such as a box of rocks, insects, stuffed animals, stolen items from a sibling’s room, or crayon drawings on sticky pieces of paper. As our curiosity grows, so do our collections, kept in the closet, soon forgotten but forever representative of a specific time in our life. While the types of objects we collect (and the way we collect them) may change, the desire to leave traces of ourselves behind doesn’t.

This project explores cultures of collecting through a digital media lens and examines how digital technology and our culture of …

‘Cadáveres Amados’: Martyrs, Memory, And Cuban National Symbols, Bethany M. Wade

Journal of Latino/Latin American Studies (JOLLAS)

On November 27th, 1871, eight young medical students were marched into a public plaza in Havana and shot by Spanish authorities. On the first anniversary of their death, the exiled José Martí used their execution to denounce Spanish rule in Cuba, and to legitimize the violent struggle for Cuban Independence. The executed students became martyrs to Cuban nationalism. Since then, their execution at the hands of tyrants has been repeatedly repurposed in revolutionary periods in Cuban history. This article engages with the work of Maurice Halbwachs, Jan Assmann, and Pierre Nora to reflect on the process of collective and cultural …

Postmemories Of Migration: Cuban Exile And Poetics Of Latinidad In Jennine Capó-Cruet’S Make Your Home Among Strangers, Aarón Aguilar-Ramírez

Journal of Latino/Latin American Studies (JOLLAS)

Taking Juan Flores’s premise of historical memory and lived experience to foundational to U.S. latinidad as a starting point, this article asks how twenty-first century second-generation Latina writing intervenes in contemporary understandings of U.S. latinidad as a pan-ethnic cultural field. It analyzes the narrative techniques, structures, and conventions through which contemporary Latinx writing engages ethnic memory and lived experience, considering how, and whether, those narrative conventions coalesce into a “poetics of latinidad.” Specifically, this article analyzes Jennine Capó Crucet’s Make Your Home Among Strangers (2015), a novel comprising two interlaced storylines that animate the categories “lived experience” and “historical memory.” …

The Impact Of A Plant-Based Diet On The Prevention And Management Of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Megan E. Ziola

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Background: In the United States, type 2 diabetes is on the rise. Through lifestyle modifications, adults can prevent, delay, or help manage diabetes. Consuming a plant-based diet means limiting or eliminating animal products while focusing on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. This dietary habit may be beneficial when it comes to diabetes prevention and treatment.

Objectives: A literature review was conducted to determine the effects of a plant-based diet on the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults.

Methods: The search process was limited to 2010-2020. The databases including Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, …

Standing Between The Past And The Future, How Defense Attorneys Use Stigma Management Techniques In Presenting Their Closing Arguments In Capital Sentencing Procedures: A Content Analysis, Abdulrahmane Abdul-Aziz

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In the penalty-phase of a capital case, defense attorneys face a difficult task in managing the identity of their now convicted client. They must present a coherent narrative that combats the prosecution’s case and engenders leniency from the jury. The closing argument given by the defense attorney(s) provides a unique opportunity to analyze and understand the general use of stigma management techniques and their applicability to capital cases. Using content analysis, 18 Transcripts from Texas capital cases from 2005 to 2015 were analyzed against the relevant techniques of neutralization (Sykes & Matza, 1957): appeal to a higher loyalty, appeal to …

Developmental Influences On The Initial Subjective Rewarding Effects Of Etoh, Madison Waldron

Master’s Theses

The present studies were aimed to better understand developmental contributions to the risk for disordered drinking, and facilitate the long-term goal of developing effective interventions for individuals at high risk for alcohol use disorders. Experiment 1 assessed the effect of adolescent pre-exposure to ethanol on adult place preference, as well as, sex- and beta-endorphin(bE)-related contributions. Adolescent C57BL/6J and bE deficient mice were injected with 1.5g/kg of ethanol or saline and put back into their home cages. At the time of adulthood, we employed a single-exposure conditioned place preference paradigm (SE-CPP) to investigate the impact of preexposure on the initial subjective …

Existential Reactions To Modernity: An Analysis Of Lovecraft's Nihilistic Cosmicism & Dostoevsky's Christian Existentialism, Olivia Maikisch

Master’s Theses

Literary representations of existentialism demonstrate the movement’s efficacy as a tool for ideological and personal exploration, particularly as it pertains to issues of identity-formation, the Other, and rising concerns about modernized life. Despite their differences in genre, location, and time period, both H.P. Lovecraft and Fyodor Dostoevsky in their fiction greatly emphasize facets of existentialism as a response to their cultural concerns about modernity. They highlight complex relationships between socio-political concerns, philosophy, and literature in their different uses of existentialist themes. This study places both Dostoevsky’s Christian existentialism and Lovecraft’s nihilistic cosmicism within the existing spectrum of existential thought. The …

Enter Invisible: Atavistic Dualism In Shakespeare, Donne, And Milton, Andrew Scott

Master’s Theses

This thesis explores the different ways in which either dualistic or monistic points of view are represented in select works of William Shakespeare, John Donne, and John Milton. I am relying principally on the broad definition of dualism Ioan Couliano utilizes in his book The Tree of Gnosis. Per Couliano, dualism is not necessarily a discrete tenet of a systematized belief; rather, he means by the word to indicate an intellectual tendency toward splitting certain complex ideas—body and soul, God and man, evil and its opposite, etc.—into separate, sometimes opposing parts. This in contrast to monism, which brings into …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 15. Wallace's Many "Hats": What Should We Call Him?, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) has been referred to by name through the aid of a variety of labels – some thirty or more, in fact – that link him to his emphases of attention. How many of these labels are/were justifiable? The assessment here is that he is probably best remembered as a ‘naturalist,’ ‘geographer,’ ‘evolutionist,’ and ‘social critic.’

Symphony Of Nature: "Fall", Davis Cooper

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This honors project is for an analysis paper based on one movement of an original music composition by the author in the realm of environmental sound art. The movement, entitled “Fall” from the Symphony of Nature, consists of hundreds of individual audio recordings of specific animals (such as an American Crow, Carolina Ground Cricket, and Gray Catbird), groups of animals (such as a choir of Ground Crickets, a murder of crows, and so forth), or geophonic sounds (such as a light rain on dry leaves, a several-miles-distant thunderstorm, or mid-to-high range audio spectrum wind). The analysis paper includes the rationale …

Adolescent Identity Development In An Art Classroom, Katherine Mcgormley

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Identity is an important construct in adolescent development. Adolescence can be a time for students to find the best versions of themselves or to get stuck and confused on who they truly are. This honors project paper explores how art education can be a positive influence in the development of adolescents and their journey to finding their identities. It discusses the psychology behind adolescent development; how identities form, the chances for identity confusion or negative identity formation, and the physical stressors present in an individual that age that may also affect how they develop mentally and emotionally. It also explores …

A Conceptual Proposal For The Epigenetically Causal Relationship Between Parental Ptsd And Inflammatory Disease In Post Hoc Offspring., Emma Griffith

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Could a combat veteran's horrific experiences in early-2000s Afghanistan have a direct, biological impact his now-adult daughter's risk of a heart attack later in her life? This concept would have been unapologetically mocked a mere twenty years ago, and it has only been in the past decade that the new field of epigenetics has revealed a distinct possibility for this event to actually take place—for parents' experiences to profoundly influence the biology of their children. The major objective of this research project is to argue for the legitimacy of this theoretical phenomenon by discussing the latest data regarding PTSD's interaction …

Effects Of E-Cigarette Vapor On Zebrafish Cell Regeneration And Wound Healing, Alyssa A. Grismer, Jenna E. Pumneo, Brian Bagatto

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In regards to wound healing, smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes is known to have negative effects on wound healing (Akoz, 2002). An increased risk of skin necrosis has been observed in patients who smoke throughout the surgical process (Akoz, 2002). It is known that nicotine, whether introduced through inhalation or intravenously, leads to peripheral skin vasoconstriction (Akoz, 2002). The full physiological effects of e-cigarettes are not known and research is being done to improve our understanding on the effects that these products may have on our bodies. This research is intended for that purpose. Zebrafish have recently been used as a …

Protocadherin-17 Expression And Function In Vertebrate Brain: A Literature Review, Mathea Mcguire

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For this project, I will be doing a systematic review on protocadherin-17 function in vertebrate brain development and function in the last 10 years. Protocadherins are members of cadherin superfamily. Cadherins are calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecules that are implicated to play crucial roles in the information and maintenance of tissues and organs in vertebrate animals. This review will summarize major findings regarding protocadherin-17 expression and function in major model organisms such as zebrafish and mice, as well as results from human studies. It is hoped that this work will be a valuable source for background knowledge of protocadherin-17 function in …

A Field Study Of Mimulus Alatus And Its Visitors, Joshua Stefan, Nathan Stefan

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this field study was to determine the flower characteristics of Mimulus alatus and observe the behaviors of visitors to the plant. Members of M. alatus were observed in their natural habitat to ascertain the flowering period for the plants and the lifespan of a single bloom; nectar and pollen levels were also periodically measured. Behavioral patterns of visitors to the flowers were recorded and the species identified. Statistical analysis was performed to deduce the relationships between time of day and nectar and pollen levels, as well as visitor behavior. The blooming period occurred from early July to …

Determining Environmental Changes Using Time Lapse Photography, Emily Lemasters

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper aims to use photographs throughout several years to observe, examine, and make conclusions on changes occurring at different areas of the Bath Nature Preserve. Throughout the years 2013-2021, photographs have been captured at roughly the same angle at multiple locations in the preserve. These photographs will be placed into a time lapse video and examined to physically see how the environment is changing. Changes to the environment could be natural or as a result of outside factors. By examining these changes, it can be determined if alterations need to be made to help the environment thrive. Two specific …

Identifying Molecular Pathways Underlying Noise-Induced Tinnitus, Mckenzie Rice

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Tinnitus is a serious neurological condition effecting 10-15% of adults, and can lead to other symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and sleeping, anxiety, and depression. Currently there are no FDA approved drugs to prevent or treat tinnitus, mainly due to a lack of understanding of its cellular and molecular pathways. T- and L- type calcium channels have been implicated in the modulation of tinnitus, as well as the dysfunction of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons. This study used the sound-based avoidance detection (SBAD) method in order to detect tinnitus and determine whether pharmacological treatments had an effect in mediating tinnitus. T-type …

Creative Fiction Piece, Grace Maier

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

My proposal for my senior honors project is to produce a completed work of fiction. Specifically, this will be a short story consisting of around twenty double spaced pages, minimum six thousand words, of original writing accompanied by an eight to ten page critical essay exploring my literary influences as well as a five to seven page self analysis of my individual writing process. It is my intention to produce a work within the gothic-thriller genre, deriving inspiration from authors such as Joyce Carol Oates and Flannery O’Connor.

Cleo’S Crown: An Original Illustrated Children’S Book, Rachael Mion

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

As children, our imagination is extremely vast and unpredictable, and the

books we read influence how we view the world. As we grow, many people slowly

lose the ability to get lost in their imagination. With Cleo’s Crown, I wanted to bring

back some of the magic that inspired me as a child, and the art is heavily influenced

by physical representations of magic and creativity. This project was created to spark

others imagination and remind them of their childhood. Even after the book and my

exhibition is completed, I am determined to share and hopefully publish Cleo’s

Crown. I …

Climate-Induced Human Displacement And Conservation Lands, Jessica Owley

Articles

As climate change leads to both internal displacement and mass migrations, we need not only new places for people to live but also new locations for infrastructure projects and other public needs. Some of the most attractive areas for these new land uses are currently unoccupied land, including land set aside for conservation. Numerous laws restrict the availability and possible uses of public conservation land. Individual agreements and property restrictions encumber private conservation land, varying in the ease with which the restrictions can be modified. For example, privately protected areas in the United States are often encumbered with perpetual conservation …

Government Speech And First Amendment Capture, Caroline Mala Corbin

Articles

Alarm regarding government speech is not new. In earlier decades, scholars worried that the government's speech might monopolize a marketplace and drown out opposing viewpoints. But today, using a move I term "First Amendment capture," the government need not be the loudest speaker because it can become the only speaker. First Amendment capture has been made possible by the Supreme Court's developing government speech doctrine, which holds that government speech is not subject to the Free Speech Clause. Consequently, once speech is declared governmental, the government may censor viewpoints it does not like. First Amendment capture categorizing contested speech as …

Examination Of Nurses’ Perceptions, Beliefs, And Conceptions Related To Rapid Bedside Implementation Of Prone Therapy During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alyssa Poghen, Emily La Riviere

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus created significant challenges for healthcare agencies and front-line healthcare workers. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has demonstrated a unique propensity to induce severe lung injury in the form of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). High rates of COVID-19 illness in the initial months of the pandemic in the United States led to a rapid influx of patients admitted to critical care units (CCUs) for ARDS. Prone positioning therapy (PPT) has shown substantial promise in treating refractory hypoxemia in people with severe ARDS but historically received poor acceptance as a first-line therapy. With the onset of …

Pandemics And International Law: The Need To Strengthen International Legal Frameworks After The Covid-19 Global Health Pandemic [Sierra Leone], Charles C. Jalloh

Articles

No abstract provided.

Meta Rules For Ordinary Meaning, Anita S. Krishnakumar

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

“Ordinary meaning” is a notoriously undefined concept in statutory interpretation theory. Courts and scholars sometimes describe ordinary meaning as the meaning that a “reasonable reader” would ascribe to the statutory language at issue, but it remains unclear how judges and lawyers should go about identifying such meaning. Over the past few decades, as textualism has come to dominate statutory interpretation, courts increasingly have employed dictionary definitions as (purportedly) neutral, and sometimes dispositive, evidence of ordinary meaning. And in the past few years especially, some judges and scholars have advocated using corpus linguistics — patterns of usage across various English …

Ethical Compass: Three Different Judicial Treatments For Settlement Fever, Elayne E. Greenberg

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

This is the first of a three-part series that examines different aspects of the settlement fever that has stricken our justice system. What can we learn from judicial decisions about how individual judges assess the settlement means that lawyers, in consultation with their clients, have chosen to resolve their case?

Co-Opting Coronavirus, Assailing Asylum, Ashley B. Armstrong

Faculty Publications

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued an Order on March 26, 2020, under Title 42, Section 265 of the Public Health Service Act, in the name of combatting the spread of coronavirus. The Order has been called the “Asylum Ban” because it effectively has sealed the southern border to protection-seekers, resulting in the pushback of nearly 400,000 asylees and unaccompanied children. This Article argues that the Trump administration has contravened the rule of law by using the coronavirus pandemic as a convenient pretext to end asylum in the U.S., and by violating the rights of protection-seekers. In doing so, …

Fluid Dynamics: Representations Of Water In Music, James E. Evans

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Water has remained a subject of all kinds of musical works since at least the middle ages. These musical works lack the concrete representational capacity of paintings, photographs, and films, relying instead on more abstract metaphorical constructs to convey water imagery. Current scholarship on water music typically centers on Romantic and Impressionist works and does not examine the process of signification by which musical signs portray water. The principal goal of this study is to determine how musical devices convey specific aspects of bodies of water and how such devices interact and contribute to musical depictions of streams, rivers, lakes, …