Digital Commons Network^™

Stroke Clustering And Fitting In Vector Art, Khandokar Shakib

Senior Independent Study Theses

Vectorization of art involves turning free-hand drawings into vector graphics that can be further scaled and manipulated. In this paper, we explore the concept of vectorization of line drawings and study multiple approaches that attempt to achieve this in the most accurate way possible. We utilize a software called StrokeStrip to discuss the different mathematics behind the parameterization and fitting involved in the drawings.

Creating An Arcgis Dashboard For Climate Data Management And Visualization, Sydney Noel Case

Senior Independent Study Theses

The College of Wooster Department of Earth Sciences has collected over the past 12 years (and continues to collect) hourly local climate indicator data including stream level and temperature, air temperature and pressure, precipitation levels, and relative humidity. This data is collected at the College’s research station, Fern Valley, located in Holmes County, Ohio and serves as a storytelling component for regional climate change. Upon initial investigation, the extensive dataset revealed a fundamental data storage problem within Earth Sciences, as there lacked a singular location to store complex datasets. Several technological solutions were explored to create a long-term data storage, …

“What Does The Black Legend Have To Do With Cusco?”: Un Discurso De La Alteridad, La Evangelización, Y El Arte Religioso En El Cusco Colonial, Cammy Bly

Senior Independent Study Theses

Este trabajo considera las representaciones gráficas y artísticas de la conquista y la evangelización de las Américas en el contexto de la construcción del yo y del otro de Tzvetan Todorov y la reconceptualización de La Leyenda Negra de Walter Mignolo. Todorov propone que la conquista de las Américas es la conquista que “el yo hace del otro” (Todorov 13). Según Todorov, la construcción de la alteridad, u otherness, motivó las acciones de los conquistadores en las Américas y puso a los indígenas en una posición social inferior. Además de la teoría de Todorov, Walter Mignolo utiliza el …

Unearthing The Effects Of European-American Settlement On A Northeast Ohio Kettle Lake Through Diatom Stratigraphy, Justine Paul A. Berina

Senior Independent Study Theses

Recently, wetland conservation has highlighted the necessity for assessing limnological changes following European-American settlement. A prior study at Brown's Lake (northeast Ohio) identified a stratigraphic sequence that shows an abrupt transition from organic-rich muds to several centimeters of a bright loess layer, then a recovery to organic-rich sediments near the top. Based on ²¹⁰Pb dates, the loess deposition occurred before 1846 CE, when a growing population cleared trees and farmed intensively. Likewise, organics had recovered after 1950 CE, when people abandoned farmland and practiced conservation tillage. However, the effects of settlement on limnology are poorly known. Diatoms (microscopic algae; …

Backlog Burner: An Adventure Into Automated Scheduling, Anjolaoluwa J. Olubusi

Senior Independent Study Theses

The focus of this independent study is to explain the nurse scheduling problem (NSP) and use it as a basis to create an automated scheduling program. The nurse scheduling problem is an operational research problem that sets to find an optimal hospital schedule that fulfills the needs of the hospital and the personal requests of the nurses. The majority of solutions for the nurse scheduling problem are often designed within a hospital setting. The objective of this independent study is to use the solutions of the nurse scheduling problem to develop an automated scheduling program for the College of Wooster …

Puffins, The Charismatic Clowns Of The Sea: Examining The Relationship Between Community Identity And The Social Construction Of Animals, Megan Henry Tuennerman

Senior Independent Study Theses

This study analyzes the factors, internal and external, that affect the relationship between community identity and the social construction of animals, and the ways in which that social construction impacts the environment. Studied through the lens of the relationship between Atlantic Puffins and the human communities they live near, these questions situate our understanding of human societies as within, as opposed to above, the environment. Without this perspective, enacting environmental protections across the globe is ineffective. The study was conducted using ethnographic methods, including 11 formal interviews with community members and experts, along with observations in Iceland and Canada. Results …

Integrating Art History Into K-5 Social Studies Classrooms, Kate L. Schlegel

Senior Independent Study Theses

This independent study investigates the possibility for interaction between art and history in elementary school curriculum. An analysis of current education initiatives at the federal level establishes the need to create a more effective history—or, its counterpart at the elementary level, social studies--curriculum. Since other subjects–such as English, math, and science–are assessed at the national level, while history is not, this subject is often under-emphasized in order to meet learning targets in these other subjects. A study of educational theorists, such as Piaget and William Blake, establishes the potential for the study of history with students at lower stages of …

Sheltered: An Investigation Of Homelessness In The United States, Maya Renee Vasta

Senior Independent Study Theses

The purpose of this project is to investigate the connection between the social and statistical findings regarding the issue of homelessness in the United States. Because of the inconsistencies with how homelessness is tracked, two government-provided sources were used. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness provides general data of homelessness, while the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data shows the reported usage of homeless by the programs themselves. In addition, I also investigate the social impact and experiences of this issue to provide a more dynamic view of the problem of homelessness in the states. It was …

Visual Looming Cues Increases The Auditory Looming Bias, Maggie K. Mccracken

Senior Independent Study Theses

Looming objects have been environmentally relevant cues throughout human evolution due to potential danger. Observers integrate both auditory and visual signals emitted by moving objects. While visual arrival time estimates are relatively more accurate, auditory estimates are anticipatory as observers perceive a moving sound source as arriving before it actually does. In the present study, participants made loudness change judgments of sounds presented unimodally or with visual motion. The sounds consisted of two intensity ranges and conditions included both looming and receding motion. The results showed that listeners perceived looming sounds as changing more in loudness than equivalent receding sounds. …

Still Awaiting Justice: An Analysis On The Impact Of Anti-Immigrant Sentiment On The Reproductive Autonomy Of Migrant Women, Annays Esperanza Yacaman

Senior Independent Study Theses

My research aims to explain the impact of anti-immigrant sentiment on the reproductive autonomy of migrant women. Legislators typically act as their constituents feel on a certain issue, so I aimed to explore how legislators responded with legislation when their constituents held higher levels of anti-immigrant sentiment, hypothesizing that this would lead to more legislation limiting the reproductive autonomy of migrant women. I explore topics of eugenics and how anti-immigrant sentiment has led to modern day eugenics.

My hypothesis did not manifest itself in the expected way, but the results do provide evidence for a causal link between legislation meant …

"Not Liberating Women Means The Building Of A Socialist Society Is Only Half-Way Done": A Feminist Analysis Of Ho Chi Minh's Advocacy For The First Law On Marriage And Family In 1959 Vietnam, Hannah Nguyen

Senior Independent Study Theses

In October 1959, Ho Chi Minh attended and spoke before the North Vietnamese National Assembly at the “Meeting to Discuss the Draft of the Law on Marriage and Family.” The purpose of this study is to provide a feminist rhetorical analysis of this address to explicate the rhetorical strategies Ho employed to advocate for this law. I argue that Ho reframed the Marriage and Family Law into a policy that corresponded to the needs and demands of the National Assembly through methods of dissociation, association, and strategic repetition. I also found that Ho employed a dual leader/uncle first persona to …

Gaming The System: A Game Theoretic Approach To Risk Management And Cybersecurity, Abigail Breitenbucher

Senior Independent Study Theses

In this independent study, we detail two fields of game theory, traditional and evolutionary. After establishing foundational concepts in both, we explore risk management and cybersecurity through a game theoretic lens, focusing on some current applications in both fields. The research culminates in an application case of a game theoretic model for the 2017 Equifax data breach. To conclude, we discuss the implications of this model and future work involving evolutionary game theory in cybersecurity/risk management.

Setting The Stage For Representation: Women Candidates And Moderators' Impact On The Prevalence Of Women's Issues In Presidential Primary Debates, Hannah Groetsch

Senior Independent Study Theses

This Independent Study explores how women’s increased presence in presidential primary debates impacts the extent to which women’s issues are discussed in the debates. Prior research on political representation and critical mass theory indicates that women politicians can turn their identity as women (descriptive representation) into action that benefits their women constituents (substantive representation) by adding women’s voices and lived experiences into the political conversation. I capitalize on the 2020 election being the first where multiple women presidential candidates ran against each other, allowing me to see whether the increase in the number of women participating in the Democratic primary …

Deux Histoires De Meurtres Et D’Intrigues : L’Étude Et L’Application Pratique Des Techniques Courantes De La Traduction Française, Joseph Kalmar

Senior Independent Study Theses

Cette thèse vise à examiner les techniques courantes de la traduction littéraire et leur application pratique dans les contextes du thème et de la version. Le chapitre méthodologique explique d’abord les concepts qui sous-tendent les cinq techniques principales que j’ai utilisées pendant mon travail : les unités de traduction, la modulation, la transposition, l’équivalence, et l’adaptation. Chaque partie de ce chapitre comprend des exemples concrets tirés de mes traductions afin de démontrer comment et pourquoi un traducteur choisirait de profiter de ces procédés dans certains contextes. Pour la version, j’ai traduit une vingtaine de pages de Seule en sa Demeure, …

Are We Defined By Our Adversity? Examining The Relationship Between Childhood Trauma And Well-Being In Adulthood, Karabella Rose Hernandez

Senior Independent Study Theses

Much research has laid bare the significant negative impacts that childhood trauma can have on individuals’ lives; however, its relationships with other variables, including substance use, attachment, and self-esteem, are often unclear. Thus, the current study investigates the relationship between childhood trauma and psychological well-being in conjunction with the variables listed above. I predicted that childhood trauma would have significant relationships with well-being, substance use, attachment style, and self-esteem and also predicted that self-esteem would mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and well-being. Fifty-eighty (58) total participants, who were either clients or staff members of the mental health and substance …

Adaptive Npc Behavior In Maze Chase Game Using Genetic Algorithms, Karen Suzue

Senior Independent Study Theses

Difficulty adjustment, although an important aspect of game development, is a tedious and costly process that produces uncertain results due to the wide range of skill among players. Most of the current approaches to difficulty adjustment in video games include fixed incremental difficulty curves, data generalization, and extensive manual playtesting. In this study, we explore genetic algorithms as an alternative approach to difficulty balancing with a focus on adjusting NPC behavior. A maze-chase game is built for demonstration purposes. Additionally, a genetic algorithm based on previous theoretical techniques is developed for the game.

Women Of Appalachia: Common Ground, Different Matriarch, Cecelia A. Bagnoli

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

From The Parks To The Polls: National Parks, Place Attachment, And Environmental Voting Behavior, Rebecca Larue

Senior Independent Study Theses

This study examines the relationship between National Park visitation, place attachment, and levels of support for pro-environmental ballot measures. The theoretical argument for this relationship is that increased visitation to National Parks will lead to increased place attachment, or connection, to the National Parks. This increased connection to a place of natural beauty could cause people to be more inclined to support ballot measures that protect the environment. A survey, administered through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, was used to collect the data, and a mediation analysis was used to analyze it. The results of this study show that visitation to National …

Dichotomous Logic And The Failings Of Girlboss Feminism: Multiplicity Beyond Man's Episteme, Grace Susan Robinson

Senior Independent Study Theses

My Independent Study thesis is divided into three chapters. In Chapter 1, I explore the manner in which our colonial and gendered order revolves around a universalized and fragmented episteme. Such an episteme manufactures a dichotomous logic, separating people into categories such as the colonizer/native and man/woman. These categorizations serve to center and uplift white, bourgeois, heterosexual men as embodying ideal humanity, and assigning deviance, irrationality, and bestiality to all of those who do not fit in. I will discuss the way that such a framework was constructed and perpetuated to support patriarchal and colonialist aims, exploring the way that …

Impacts Of The Securitization Of Development In Colombia, Libbie Depastino

Senior Independent Study Theses

In the past few decades, political scientists have noticed a trend of actors linking the issue of development to security in order to emphasize its importance and legitimize action. This discursive act, known as securitization, transforms a lack of development into an existential threat that actors must protect against at all costs. Though scholars agree that this process of framing certain topics as security issues occurs, there is little information on what impact it may have on policy creation or policy outcomes. This study examines how the securitization of development impacts actual development outcomes. I hypothesize that securitization will cause …

Analysis Of The Antimicrobial Activity Of The Novel Chemotherapeutic Drug, Tpp1, Against Pseudomonas Aeruginosa And The Hydrogel Delivery Of Water-Soluble Antimicrobial Compounds, Alex Gasper

Senior Independent Study Theses

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, and it is commonly linked with bacterial infections that often complicate treatments. Recently, chemotherapeutics have been developed that are able to act as anti-cancer agents using delocalized lipophilic cations (DLCs) that are able to specifically target mitochondrial membranes of cancer cells. TPP1 is a newly developed chemotherapeutic drug that has activity against bladder cancer and melanoma cell lines in vitro. In order to determine if TPP1 has antimicrobial activity, TPP1 was tested against a common bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to determine if antimicrobial activity was present. This testing was …

Once An Enemy, Always An Enemy? The Role Of Political Leaders' Rhetoric In Intractable Conflicts, Alexandra Manopoulou Ms

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Venlafaxine And Voluntary Exercise On Chronic Unpredictable Stress Induced Anxiety, Marly Mcgowan

Senior Independent Study Theses

Anxiety disorders can impair cognition and emotional control, particularly in the face of novel situations, which is concerning due to the high prevalence of such diagnoses. Exposure to unpredictable chronic stress can provide a way to induce anxiety-like behaviors in rodents by disrupting the stress response systems, including the HPA axis and autonomic nervous system. Pharmacological treatments, including SNRIs like venlafaxine, and voluntary exercise are both anxiolytic treatments that can alleviate the impacts of chronic stress. Using unpredictable chronic stress to mimic the human condition, and exposure to venlafaxine and exercise to mitigate the stress, the open field and elevated …

Drift, Pilar Randolph

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

A Strange Object That Breaks Your Heart: Short Stories, Annie Sheneman

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Diversity And Inclusion Policies On Business Performance, Eraj Sikandar

Senior Independent Study Theses

In the United States, social justice and equality have become a centralized concern over the past couple of years resulting from widespread incidents of racialized violence, and the passing of multiple anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Consequently, people have started demanding greater accountability and initiatives to protect minority communities. Many businesses, to stay competitive and support the needs of their employees and customers, have strengthened their commitments to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion at work. With increasing attention being given to such policies, it is important to ask how diversity and inclusion efforts can impact organizations through employee wellbeing and firm …

Time Flies: An Analysis Of Circadian Impact Upon Cell Cycle Regulation Using Boolean Modeling And A Developmental Drosophila Model, Emma Elizabeth Davidson

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

The Infinity Conundrum: Understanding Topics In Set Theory And The Continuum Hypothesis, Sabrina Grace Helck

Senior Independent Study Theses

This project is concerned with articulating the necessary background in order to understand the famous result of the undecidability of the continuum hypothesis. The first chapter of this independent study discusses the foundations of set theory, stating fundamental definitions and theorems that will be used throughout the remainder of the project. The second chapter focuses on ordinal and cardinal numbers which will directly relate to the final chapter. First, there is a clear explanation of the notion of order and what it means for a set to be well-ordered. Then ordinal numbers are defined and some properties are listed and …

Highlights Generation For Tennis Matches Using Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing And Audio Analysis, Alon Liberman

Senior Independent Study Theses

This project uses computer vision, natural language processing and audio analysis to automatize the highlights generation task for tennis matches. Computer vision techniques such as camera shot detection, hough transform and neural networks are used to extract the time intervals of the points. To detect the best points, three approaches are used. Point length suggests which points correspond to rallies and aces. The audio waves are analyzed to search for the highest audio peaks, which indicate the moments where the crowd cheers the most. Sentiment analysis, a natural language processing technique, is used to look for points where the commentators …

Environmental Socialization In College: A Survey Research And Network Analysis Of Changes In Climate-Conscious Concerns And Behaviors, Bijeta Lamichhane

Senior Independent Study Theses

Studies have established that socialization takes place in different stages of life. This study explores how political socialization occurs at The College of Wooster by examining changes in students' political identities as well as their perceptions towards a politicized issue, that is, climate change. These shifts in beliefs and concerns among students were evaluated by implementing quantitative research tools present in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and constructing a similarity network using Gephi to explore similarities across students at this institution. The results revealed that students have become more liberal after joining this college. The study also found …