Digital Commons Network^™

Medical Knowledge As A Recalcitrant Epistemological System: An Application Of Standpoint Epistemology In The Analysis Of Marginalization Within U.S Healthcare, Abby Deshazo

CMC Senior Theses

Research on healthcare disparities outside the field of epistemology tend to miss the true origins of oppressions imposed on marginalized individuals by the U.S healthcare system. This happens because of the false belief that these oppressions are reducible to social or political oppressions. By employing the perspective of a standpoint epistemologist, we can better identify the origins of these oppressions and subsequently consider more appropriate solutions. The standpoint epistemologist’s perspective (1) provides an intuitive case for the role individuals’ schemas play in the evaluation of what healthcare professionals know; (2) situates medical knowledge within epistemology, leading us to …

Feature Investigation For Stock Returns Prediction Using Xgboost And Deep Learning Sentiment Classification, Seungho (Samuel) Lee

CMC Senior Theses

This paper attempts to quantify predictive power of social media sentiment and financial data in stock prediction by utilizing a comprehensive set of stock-related fundamental and technical variables and social media sentiments. For conducting sentiment analysis, this study employs a pretrained finBERT model that provides three different sentiment classifications and respective softmax scores. Hence, the significance of these variables is evaluated with XGBoost regression and Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) frameworks. Through investigating feature importance, this study finds that statistical properties of sentiment variables provide a stronger predictive power than a weighted sentiment score and that it is possible to quantify …

A Network Pandemic: Exploring The Effects Of Social Connectedness On The Spread Of Covid-19 In The United States, Mrinalini Bhushan

CMC Senior Theses

Social interactions influence the way we think and act. Recent literature on COVID-19 and social connectedness explores how social interactions influence people’s perceptions of the risk from COVID-19 and their behaviors. This paper seeks to investigate how social connectedness, political ideologies, and physical interaction are associated with local COVID-19 case and death rates at the US county level. Social connectedness, as defined by (Bailey et al, 2018) measures connectedness between US counties based on Facebook friendship links. I examine whether a county’s average social connectedness to other counties, as determined by the Facebook index, has an impact on its own …

The Joy Of Listening: Three Voices In The Poetry Of Wisława Szymborska, Mimi Thompson

CMC Senior Theses

One of the greatest feats that a poet may achieve in his or her lifetime is to develop a voice so characteristic of themself, it would be impossible to confuse it with that of any other poet. Polish-speaking and non-Polish-speaking scholars alike have agreed that the voice of 1996 Nobel Laureate Wisława Szymborska is utterly distinct, despite the fact that her poems explore a wide range of topics and are told from multiple narrative perspectives, rarely featuring herself through any personal details. How, then, is it possible for hundreds of poems, each with their own narrator, to still be “heard” …

The Self And Memory: How Theories Of Self Are Crucial In Aiding End-Of-Life Decision Making For Dementia Patients, Eric Oregel, Eric E. Bauer

CMC Senior Theses

This paper analyzes the source of what we consider to be the self and how such conclusions should inform whether Advance Euthanasia Directives (AEDs) are valid means of exacting end-of-life decisions for patients with dementia. The paper begins with a survey aimed at investigating various popular theories of self and ultimately arrives at John Locke’s memory-based theory of personal identity as the most promising of such arguments. I then address two important critiques of the theory, the branching problem, and the various issues that arise in cases concerning significant memory loss. Ultimately, I analyze the use of Alternative Euthanasia Directives …

Analyst Non-Gaap Reporting: When Do Equity Analysts Adjust Gaap Earnings – An Application Of Text Based Firm Complexity, Patrick Chen

CMC Senior Theses

Equity analysts adjust GAAP earnings to report non-GAAP figures that they believe better represent a firm’s current and future performance. The importance of such non-GAAP(street) figures has been determined and accepted by the literature, but the process in which analysts arrive at such figures is less understood. I apply a newly defined measure of firm complexity using text based analysis of firm annual reports and investigate its effect. When complexity increases, it becomes harder to individuate different components of a system. When that system is a firm, complexity then increases the difficulty in determining an accurate measure of performance. The …

Diversifying Investment Portfolios With Collectible Sneakers: Expected Returns And Benefits Of Diversification, Samuel Soo

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to identify if collectible sneakers can provide diversification benefits to an investor’s portfolio. Using data from a global collectible sneaker marketplace, StockX, I constructed an index to compare it with other traditional assets, including the S&P 500 index and 5-year US Treasury Bills. By calculating key metrics including expected returns, volatility, and correlation, I analyzed the risk-return characteristics of the collectible sneaker asset class compared to other traditional asset classes. From the data analysis I performed, I found that collectible sneakers did not outperform returns significantly compared to traditional asset classes, but had low correlations, which provides …

So, You Want To Be An Entrepreneur: Potential Factors That Lead To Founder And Startup Success, Joshua Robert Tatum

CMC Senior Theses

Throughout the last two decades, entrepreneurship and startup companies have skyrocketed. Adding significant value to the economy, entrepreneurialism has immense power to spark technological and social change in the world. Given the importance of entrepreneurialism, this paper will use a data-driven approach to discover significant factors that influence founder and startup company success. Founding startups is growing easier and becoming more prominent, yet the failure rates of these companies continue to settle around 90%, leaving many companies without the chance to reach their potential and have their full impact. Using a new dataset I have collected, I analyze company and …

Sleep Consistency And Its Relation To Inflammation: Identifying The Role Of Emotional Regulation, Caitlyn Louzado

CMC Senior Theses

Sleep duration, quality, and consistency are associated with well-being and productivity. College students struggle to achieve the right balance of sleep and research demonstrates how this has severe repercussions on their physical health academic performance. The effects of sleep consistency interact with emotional regulation (ER). This observational study investigates the relationship between all three sleep characteristics and inflammation, while exploring the mediating and moderating role of ER. Participants included 138 undergraduate students (Females= 81 Males= 57). ER and sleep quality were measured through self-reported questionnaires and inflammation through blood spot analysis. Sleep consistency and duration were assessed using an Acti-Watch. …

Agro-Environmental Approaches To The Moderation Of Outmigration From Northeast Thailand, Megan Perron

CMC Senior Theses

Thailand’s increasing migration rates out of the country’s poorest region over the past few decades have resulted in a range of issues for both migrants and relatives of the migrants who choose to remain at home. A combination of rapid urban growth in Bangkok and a declining agricultural sector in the Northeast, driven by climate change and unsustainable farming practices, is driving rural-to-urban migration that subjects them to harsh working conditions and social marginalization. To attract migration back to Isaan, the implementation of Climate-Smart Agriculture in the near term and eventually, Regenerative Agriculture, will likely build climate resilience in the …

The Socioeconomic Impact And Allocative Discrepancies Of Fema Disaster Declarations And Aid, Emma Ranheim

CMC Senior Theses

In my thesis I examine the impact of natural disaster declarations on socioeconomic outcomes. I use counties that requested, but did not receive, a natural disaster declaration as controls for treatment counties that received the requested declaration. I construct a county-by-year panel dataset covering 2005 to 2016. I estimate a difference-in-differences model to estimate socioeconomic outcomes resulting from the disaster declaration decision. I find that receiving a declaration was associated with a 0.8 percentage point poverty reduction in 2010, but no other years or changes in socioeconomic outcomes were causally and significantly established by my model.

Comparative Analysis Of Racist Implications Of The Welfare State In The U.S. Vs. U.K. Through Child Benefits, Furaha Njoroge

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores America’s narratives surrounding safety net, varying history of child benefits and welfare between the U.S and U.K., newfound research regarding England’s programs, implicit bias, and interviews and scholarly reports of relevant experts. By comparing the welfare states of both the U.S and the U.K, it is proven how racism is both deeply rooted in how citizens of both countries perceive safety nets, and has thus led to the exclusion of racial minorities in both welfare systems. Specifically, looking at child benefits, we can determine these negative impacts and policies erected which further oppress Black Americans, the Black …

The Jigsaw Model: A Key To A Loving Romantic Relationship, Stz-Tsung (Stone) Han

CMC Senior Theses

Using a simple “jigsaw” analogy to explain love and its objectives, comedian Daniel Sloss had triggered 50,000 break-ups, 34 engagement cancelations, and 42 divorces. This goes to show that many people do not have a clear understanding of what is romantic love and loving relationships. This study aims to examine romantic relationships and their transformative nature. Combining the work of Professor Simon Keller and Niko Kolodny, I developed a new model that helps to address the questions raised above. I conclude that, in the short term, people are motivated by the attractive qualities of others, which contribute to the formulation …

Gambling Autonomy: The Impact Of Latin American Central Bank Independence On Risk Aversion Within Monetary Policy Implementation, Julia Duarte Schulman

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the effect of Latin American central bank independence (CBI) on risk-averse behaviors in monetary policy. Using a fixed effects panel regression, I document how multiple forms of monetary policy are influenced by different macroeconomic variables, conflicting policy targets and central bank independence benchmarks. The results show that increasing CBI has a positive impact on risk aversion, especially in policies targeting inflation and money supply. Additionally, the results show that interest rates and reserve requirements were especially susceptible to changes in independence, while the monetary base and volume of domestic credit were less influenced. Finally, as time and …

Organized Labour’S Impact On The 2020 Election, Cooper Pryde

CMC Senior Theses

Against all odds, Donald Trump won the 2016 election. A critical reason why this happened was his support amongst union members. Specifically, this helped him with the crucial Rust Belt swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Joe Biden learned from this and ran on the most pro-labour platform in recent history. This platform ingratiated him with union leadership who donated generously to his campaign. Unions also spent considerable resources politically organizing for the campaign. Organized labour’s support was a vital reason why Biden won all three swing Rust Belt states and ultimately the presidency. Organized labour did not only …

On The Total Communicative Efficacy Of Music And Its Synthesis To Written Word Through Bob Dylan And Kendrick Lamar, Skyler Addison

CMC Senior Theses

In a social conversation, words spoken carry less than 35% of the interaction’s social meeting, with 65% conveyed by the non-verbal. While poetry relies on the word and it's subtext, songwriting may also weld the other 65%. By dissecting the dynamic communicative aspects of song, modern poets may find useful ways in which they can make their lines have more staying power with the listener, encompassing both the rhythmic catchiness of their lines to an all-encompassing emotive transfer. We may isolate the interwoven components of a song that dictate how a story is told in order to better understand how …

Didactic Democracy: Rethinking The Roles Of Individuality, Political Freedoms And “Cultural Values” In The Process Of Development, Sabrina Hartono

CMC Senior Theses

Working off of Amartya Sen’s “Development as Freedom,” this paper challenges the conception of political freedoms and their instrumental, constructive and intrinsic roles in the development of society. I explore how identity formation is not as individualistic as Sen implicitly assumes in his framework. Using Elizabeth Anderson’s work on the importance of community in developing an individual identity, as well as incorporating ideas from Marx and Somers, I argue that there is strong reason to believe that Sen’s emphasis on the instrumental and constructive roles of political freedoms is exaggerated. I challenged Sen’s conception of the intrinsic value of political …

Multifractional Brownian Motion And Its Applications To Factor Analysis On Consumer Confidence Index, Christopher Box

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis aims at introducing a new way to model time series objects in statistics using multifractional processes. It provides a detailed review of Brownian motion, fractional Brownian motion and extends the above 2 models to multifractional processes. To demonstrate a successful application to the real world, we perform pattern analysis on consumer confidence and household spending behavior. The analysis is conducted through investigating the local Holder regularity of the consumer confidence index and household expenditure. In the analysis, we first model consumer confidence index and household expenditure with a multifractional stochastic processes. We then use the index, pointwise Holder …

Postpartum Depression Rates In Latine Birthing Parents During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Closer Look At Cultural Protective Factors And Acculturation, Perla Barajas

CMC Senior Theses

In the Latine community, the prioritization of social or familial support (familism) serves as a cultural protective factor that has typically guarded against unfavorable health outcomes. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, social interactions and familial support were substantially limited. A vulnerable population during this pandemic was Latine birthing parents because previous studies have shown that perception of social support directly impacts postpartum depression (PPD) in this group. This study will use data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System to compare PPD rates for Latine birthing parents from before the COVID-19 pandemic to the PPD rates during the pandemic. Moreover, …

A Proposal To Develop And Pilot-Test The Effects Of A Culturally Adapted Stigma Intervention For Latinos, Sandy Ahumada

CMC Senior Theses

The bulk of research examining barriers to mental health services (MHS) for Latinos focuses on financial obstacles such as socioeconomic status and insurance coverage. Unfortunately, less work has been done on cultural barriers such as stigma. The purpose of this proposed study is to develop and pilot-test a culturally adapted contact intervention for Latinos that reduces stigma and increases help-seeking intentions. This study will test the differential efficacy of utilizing psychoeducation with the newly developed interpersonal contact intervention (PIC) as opposed to psychoeducation (P) only. Participants (n=324) will fill out pre- (T1), post- (T2), and 1-week follow-up (T3) …

Regulating Rideshare In Progressive Era California Cities: Jitneys In San Francisco And Los Angeles 1914-1919, Nathaniel Huntington

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis looks at the regulatory responses to the jitney craze from San Francisco and Los Angeles municipal governments from 1914-1919. Beyond just looking at jitneys as a new form of public transportation, it seeks to understand discussions about the right to public space during the Progressive Era. In doing so, the burgeoning power of these city governments in shaping urban life becomes evident. Whether jitneys promoted or hurt the public good became a central question, often framed around how much space jitneys should be given. It argues that in regulating where the jitney could operate, municipalities sought to maintain …

‘It’S Like Baking A Cake’: An Analysis Of Conscience Voting In The New Zealand House Of Representatives Since The Introduction Of The Mixed-Member Proportional System In 1996, Harrison Hosking

CMC Senior Theses

Conscience voting in the New Zealand House of Representatives offers a unique opportunity to assess Sam Peltzman’s ‘Principal-Agent Theory’ as outlined in his 1984 paper, Constituent Interest and Congressional Voting.

This thesis begins with a brief assessment of the principal-agent model (and other literature regarding parliamentary representation) before looking at the New Zealand Parliamentary system and the phenomenon of private member’s bills and how they aid the legislative process. This is followed by an exploration of a constructed dataset of conscience votes that have occurred since the inception of the mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system in 1996. An analysis …

Donald Trump’S Authoritarianism: The Decline Of Democracy Under Trump, Gabe Fisher

CMC Senior Theses

Donald Trump was the most anti-democratic president in American history. During his 2016 campaign, he encouraged violence at his rallies. He also levied harsh attacks against his opponents and even called one a “devil.” When he assumed office as president, he demanded complete loyalty and levied attacks against the press that conjured up memories of notorious autocrats. And when he lost a free and fair election in 2020, he discontinued a 200-year-old tradition and a hallmark of American democracy: the peaceful transfer of power. He also incited an insurrection when he unsuccessfully overturned the election’s results. The GOP has continued …

Politics Of The Obesity Epidemic, Jacob Lyle

CMC Senior Theses

American society has long been obsessed with the issue of obesity. The turn of the 20th century broadly marked the beginning of America's current collective understanding of obesity. Throughout the century, the salience of the issue waxed and waned due to various factors. Around 2000, obesity became a major political issue. Media coverage of the issue exploded, and it became a hot topic for political debate. This paper looks to conduct a complete reckoning of the obesity epidemic that includes contextualizing the economic, cultural, and political factors that have shaped the issue throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

Reconstruction Of Ancient Microbial Genomes From The Human Gut, M. C. Wibowo, Z. Yang, M. Borry, A. Hubner, K. D. Huang, B. T. Tierney, S. Zimmerman, F. Barajas-Olmos, C. Contreras-Cubas, H. Garcia-Ortiz, A. Martinez-Hernandez, J. M. Luber, K. Reinhard Et Al.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Time Is Now: Criminal Justice Reform In The Wake Of George Floyd’S Killing, Tung Yin

Lewis & Clark Law Review

On May 25, 2020, an encounter between George Floyd (Black) and Minneapolis police officers Derek Chauvin (white), Tou Thao (Asian), J. Alexander Keung (Black), and Thomas Lane (white)—most of which was recorded by numerous bystanders—turned deadly. After arresting Floyd for allegedly passing a counterfeit bill, Keung and Lane tried to put Floyd in the backseat of their police vehicle, but Floyd protested, saying that he was claustrophobic. Chauvin and Thao arrived on the scene, and Floyd eventually ended up lying on the ground, face down. At that point, Chauvin put his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck. Nine minutes …

Congress’S Commissioners: Former Hill Staffers At The S.E.C. And Other Independent Regulatory Commissions, Brian D. Feinstein, M. Todd Henderson

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

The expression “personnel is policy” has become a truism in Washington. Yet our understanding of how the political branches use appointments to project influence into the administrative state is incomplete. This Article leverages data on almost one-thousand commissioners serving on eleven major independent regulatory commissions to chart, for the first time, Congress’s growing practice of placing former legislative-branch personnel onto these entities. We then theorize that this phenomenon is rooted in fundamental changes in American politics in recent decades— and, in turn, that it has deeply affected administrative law and separation-of- powers dynamics.

Over the past several decades, the number …

Molecular Characterization And Phylogenetic Analysis Of Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (Ibdv) From Commercial Broiler Farms In Luzon, Philippines, Mark Lawrence G. Atienza

Undergraduate Theses

Decades after its discovery, the infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) still poses significant risks in poultry industry, due to its immunosuppressive effect on afflicted animals. This study aims to determine the different genotypes of IBDV that are present in the country, through molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the VP2 hypervariable domain of infectious bursal disease virus. Nested RT-PCR was used to confirm the presence of IBDV in samples collected from 10 farms. Subsequent genetic analysis through nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of three (3) variants in Luzon broiler farms. The variant IBDV was found to be …

Condition Factor Of Juvenile Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) Caged In Lakes Sampaloc, Calibato, And Mohicap In San Pablo, Laguna, Casey Joelle D. Detalo

Undergraduate Theses

This study was conducted to compare the condition factor of juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) caged in Lakes Sampaloc, Calibato, Mohicap, and Yambo in San Pablo, Laguna. The condition factor ranged from 1.50+ 0.10 to 1.96 +0.21. All values corresponded to good to excellent condition of fish. The CF from the UPLB Limnological Station and Yambo Lake was found to be significantly lower than those in Sampaloc, Calibato, and Mohicap. This may be attributed to the trophic conditions in Sampaloc, Calibato, and Mohicap. The nutrient levels in the eutrophic Calibato Lake and mesotrophic Sampaloc and Mohicap Lakes (Mendoza et al., …

Effects Of Dietary Supplementation Of Citric Acid And Mannanase On The Growth Performance Of Broilers, Maria Patricia T. Arellano

Undergraduate Theses

The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of citric acid and mannanase feed supplementation on the growth performance of broiler chickens. Three hundred twenty (320) day-old unsexed Cobb broiler chicks from a commercial hatchery plant were used in the study. The chicks were randomly assigned to four treatment groups following a completely randomized design. The following treatment groups were used: T1: Control, T2: 3% Citric Acid supplementation, T3: 80 ppm Beta-Mannanase supplementation, and T4: 3% Citric Acid and 80 ppm Beta-Mannanase supplementation. The production parameters for growth performance that were evaluated are body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, …