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From Cranes To Clinics: Genomic Epidemiology At The Human-Animal Interface, Sarah Shrum

Biology ETDs

Emerging infectious diseases represent a significant, increasing threat to human life, economic stability, and global security. The One Health framework, which promotes human health and wellness through the understanding that animal, environmental, and human health are interwoven, is critical to understanding pathogen emergence and transmission. This is underscored by the fact that roughly 60% of all human pathogens and 75% of emerging infectious disease are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted from animals to humans.

The work presented in this dissertation integrates genomic epidemiology, ecological analysis, and One Health Surveillance approaches to characterize cross-species circulation of opportunistic yeast pathogens (Candida …

Investigating Changes In The Stable Isotopic Composition Of Juniperus Osteosperma Over 34,000 Years Of Climatic Shifts, Lisa S. Garcia

Biology ETDs

Isotopic compositions of plants from the past provides empirical evidence for paleoclimatic shifts and plants physiologically response. This study used Neotoma paleomiddens (fossilized debris piles) collected from Death Valley National Park, which contained preserved abundant plant materials. These middens range from modern to >35,000 years and capture different climatic events in Earth history. Employing Juniperus osteosperma (Utah Juniper) leaves found in middens, I investigated variation in carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic composition. To help interpret paleomidden results, we used modern field and herbaria samples of Juniperus from a spatial gradient stretching across their geographic range. Results showed δ ¹³C …

Reassembling Riparian Ecosystems: Stream Restoration Effects On Vegetation, Arthropods, And Aquatic-Terrestrial Connectivity, Katelyn P. Driscoll

Biology ETDs

Riparian areas exist at the aquatic-terrestrial interface and provide disproportionate ecosystem services, yet multiple stressors have degraded these zones globally. Stream restoration seeks to reverse degradation, but rigorous evaluation of treatment effectiveness remains limited. I conducted a before-after-control-impact (BACI) study in the southern Rocky Mountains to evaluate two stream restoration treatments—beaver dam analogs (BDAs) and plug-and-ponds (P&Ps)—across three dimensions of riparian ecosystem response. Using Bayesian analysis, I quantified treatment effects on functional diversity and composition of riparian plant communities. Using generalized linear mixed models, I evaluated restoration effects on riparian arthropod abundance, richness and guild composition across lateral gradients and …

Sexual Violence By Government Security Forces: Leaders, Institutions, And Culture, Margaret Avera

Political Science ETDs

I assess how the interaction between leader preferences, regime type, and agent personal motives impacts patterns of sexual violence. I ask, “Why do some government security forces perpetrate sexual violence while others do not?” and “How does the interaction between leader motives and institutions impact victimization patterns?” I found that police corruption was correlated with sexual violence by government security forces, but military corruption was not. My findings indicate the importance of moving beyond a conflict scope and distinguishing between different types of state security actors. In addition, I use natural language processing methods to collect disaggregated allegation data to …

Continuous Polygenic Trait Evolution Under Brownian Motion With Gaussian Mixture Models, Mary S. Hopkins

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Gaussian mixed-models (GMMs) show promise as a tool for modeling polygenic trait evolution for multiple taxa with established phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs). When phenotypic traits are influenced by more than one gene, neither a gene tree nor a species tree may be completely adequate to model specific cross-taxa dependencies. In such cases common solutions include using trees inferred from concatenated DNA sequences [35, 95] and consensus gene trees [35]. The GMM-based model, first proposed by Jiang in 2017 [55] allows traits to evolve on more than one tree with distinct topologies. This approach provides a framework for trait evolutionary modeling …

Bayesian Designs For Two-Arm Clinical Trials With Time-To-Event Endpoints: Incorporating Historical Data Through Power Priors, Sara Hajraf H. Almutiri

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Bayesian methods provide a flexible framework for time-to-event analysis by incorporating prior information. The power prior offers a systematic way to borrow information from historical data. This approach is especially valuable in clinical research, where historical data can enhance inference in early-phase trials with limited sample sizes. This dissertation develops Bayesian approaches for two-arm survival studies using both closed-form and simulation-based methods. The closed-form inference is derived under exponential and Weibull survival models. Under the proportional hazards framework, the posterior is derived through a normal approximation to the log hazard ratio, allowing inference on the treatment effect when the variance …

Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (Hie): Outcomes Of Therapeutic Hypothermia, Gospodin Stefanov

Advocate GME

No abstract provided.

Inherited By “Merit”: What Caste Carries Across The Indian American Diaspora, Aarushi V. Jaiswal

English Undergraduate Distinction Projects

This project traces the rhetorical formation termed “meritocratic nationalism,” a political vocabulary that makes national belonging conditional on moralized merit, converting structural advantage into the language of individual character. Meritocratic nationalism is traced across three political figures whose rhetoric represents successive moments in a single ideological trajectory. Reading Narendra Modi’s 2014 and 2018 Independence Day addresses and his 2014 Madison Square Garden speech to the Indian American diaspora as the formation’s originating texts, this project argues that Modi’s recurring moral tetrad of conduct, values, traditions, and ability translated the structurally concentrated advantages of India’s upper-caste professional class into a universalist …

Rural Minds In Modern Politics: Kinship Networks And Voting Patterns: A Comparative Analysis Of Appalachia And Rural Spain, 1986–2024, Alyce Sarah Blow

Senior Theses

This paper examines how rural identity, kinship networks, and community relationships shape voting behavior through a comparative analysis of rural regions in the United States and Spain. With a base structure on sociological and political research on rural development and the rural–urban political divide, this study explores how social trust, family reputation, and community ties influence electoral support in rural communities. Using electoral data from national archives and the Global Elections Database, the analysis focuses on voting patterns from 1986 to 2024 in two rural U.S. congressional districts, West Virginia’s 2nd and Pennsylvania’s 9th, and two rural regions in Spain: …

How Regime Change In Syria Will Alter The Balance Of Power In The Middle East, Sebastian Victor Oprea

Senior Theses

Regime change often results in a state undergoing a drastic change of governance, largely due to dissatisfaction with the previous ruling government. It has been argued by international relations theorists like John Mearsheimer, that the motivation in a state’s action is derived from fear, power maximization, or self-interest. In the case of Syria, both the Ba’athist regime and the post-Assad governments are motivated by self-interest, which is reflected in their respective conduct of foreign policy. This thesis uses a cumulative methodological approach combined with ethnographic research to understand how the political and social changes in Syria influenced the change in …

Migrant Mobility Across Necropolitical Territories Of Violence: Los Zetas/Cartel Del Noreste, Alondra Danixa Gonzalez

Senior Theses

This thesis examines migrant mobility across northeastern Mexico as a process shaped by organized crime and necropolitical violence, with a focus on the evolution of Los Zetas and their successor, Cartel del Noreste [CDN]. Based on Achille Mbembe's concept of necropolitics, along with Sayak Valencia's theory of gore capitalism and Melissa W. Wright's notion of disposable bodies, this paper identifies cartel-controlled border regions as necropolitical spaces where migrants are exposed to death and exploitation. Using a qualitative, testimony-based methodology, this paper incorporates three first-person family narratives of border crossing alongside documented cases of mass violence in Tamaulipas and Coahuila, including …

Imperial Continuities Beneath A Post-Colonial Pretense: Uncovering The Economic Foundations And Covert Objectives Of Operation Ajax, Fatimah Waqas

Senior Theses

Economic self-determination, that is, the right of a state to protect its national resources and direct its own growth, remains a topic of contention and struggle for numerous countries in the Global South. These nations’ attempts at advancing their economic self-determination are often exploited and sabotaged by industrial Western powers, notably the United States, which frequently employs covert operations and media propaganda to disguise its economic and imperial pursuits in developing, resource-rich nations. The case of Iran during the early 1950s is especially exemplary, as the nationalization of oil under Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh presented a direct conflict with U.S. …

Sayyid Qutb: Political Philosophy And The Global Decline Of Jihadist Legitimacy, Jorge A. Ferrara

Senior Theses

Historically and culturally, the meaning behind political philosophies has been misappropriated to serve new ideological aims, and understanding how contexts have changed is essential to contemporary debates surrounding militant jihadist ideology. Sayyid Qutb, a political philosopher in Egypt during the mid-twentieth century, whose political philosophy, which sought moral, spiritual, and societal reform in Egypt under Gamal ‘Abd-Nasser’s regime, has been classified as the philosopher of Islamic terror. In this thesis, I argue that Sayyid Qutb’s political philosophy has been misappropriated into a politicized and militant jihad ideology through successive reinterpretations by militant jihadist leaders, and that this misappropriation is evidence …

Kenyan Foreign Policy In The Multipolar World, Maryclaire Mcadams

Senior Theses

In April 2025, in a speech to university students in Beijing, China, Kenyan President William Ruto announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, Kenya and China are not merely trade partners. We are co-architects of a new world order.” The speech was a bold departure from Ruto’s announcement just a year earlier that Kenya would officially achieve Major Non-NATO Ally status with the United States. The stark contrast in public statements from Kenya’s president within just a few months signals a shift in the international order. A system that once compelled states like Kenya to bandwagon with the United States now allows them …

Rewriting The Podium: An Evaluation Of The Court Of Arbitration For Sport’S Efficacy Through Olympic Medal Disputes, Sarah E. Smith

Senior Theses

International sport holds unique power and opportunity to unite the global population around a common entity. Large-scale international sporting events such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup maintain influence and importance across cultures and societies, and offer the world the opportunity to celebrate the tenacity, hard work and willpower of their fellow citizens. At the same time, they also provide the space for all of the world’s nations to engage with one another peacefully and constructively to build relations that extend far beyond the boundaries of a single competition. Therefore, an area of society which holds such clear …

An Exploration Of Oman’S Global Identity: Framework For Looking Beyond Colonial Narratives, Kailee G. Pierce

Senior Theses

This paper explores how Oman’s global identity has been historically constructed through religion and tribe rather than solely through modern state institutions or colonial encounters. Challenging eurocentric approaches to International relations, it argues that Oman’s global identity reflects long standing patterns of tribal, religious, and political authority that predates British, and even Portuguese involvement. Focusing on the Nabhani Dynasty, this paper demonstrates that political authority in Oman was never actually a rigid divide of a religious interior and secular coast; these geographical boundaries did not hinder these strong foundational identity forces that moved throughout different global ports and the Omani …

A De-Dollarizing World: How Sanctions Catalyze De-Dollarizing Efforts In Russia And China, Karina S. Amaach

Senior Theses

For nearly a century, the United States has occupied the title as the world’s leading superpower nation. Such power has granted the US great economic responsibility, particularly highlighting the dollar’s dominant role as the international reserve and trade currency. However, the rise of competing powers– most notably China and Russia– have posed great threats to this continued economic dominance of the United States. This thesis examines how U.S. economic sanctions– often described as America’s greatest financial tool– have inadvertently motivated de-dollarization efforts led by these two nations. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship in foreign affairs, international political economy, and intergovernmental financial …

Evangelical Influences On The Prevalence Of Homophobia In 21st Century Brazilian Politics, Griffin M. Bilello

Senior Theses

In recent decades, Brazil has seen a large influx of Evangelical identification among its population, and this religious group has become a prominent political group that has occupied different positions of power in government. This Evangelical prominence has led to the blocking of LGBTQ+ legislative protections, the protection of homophobic governmental policies, and the perpetuation of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric that has threatened the well-being of Brazil’s queer community. This thesis analyzes the social media presence of prominent political figures in Brazil to understand the ongoing discourse regarding homosexuality from different perspectives. Three representatives with varying influences and perspectives were chosen and …

The Rejection Of Ostpolitik: Was Germany’S Pragmatic Special Relationship With Russia A Missed Opportunity For European Stability?, Sebastian Friedrich Orth

Senior Theses

Although the German government under Chancellors Gerhard Schroeder and Angela Merkel had success in improving relations with Russia in the 2000s through mutually beneficial trade initiatives, the leaders’ plans were foiled by the persistent pressure from the United States to support NATO expansion. In revisiting this period, one can discern the beginning of a phase of Germany’s attempts to take a more active role in European leadership, which has been fraught with difficulties due to the country’s own postwar traditions of restraint and promotion of peace. Twenty-five years later, as negotiations to end the war in Ukraine are ongoing, the …

Narrating Conflict And Producing Identity: The Institutional Roots Of Youth Division In Kosovo And Serbia, Adelina Makovic

Senior Theses

This thesis examines how education and media shape the ethnic and national identities of postwar youth in Kosovo and Serbia, and how these identities influence the narratives these youth form of the war and of each other. Although born after the war, youth in both countries inherit divergent narratives of the war through school, traditional media, and social media. Using a qualitative, multi-source methodology, this thesis conducts a comparative analysis of textbooks, reporting and regional survey data on institutional trust. The findings reveal that textbooks in Kosovo and Serbia present accounts of the war that are ethnically biased and selective, …

Beyond Authorization: United Nations Institutional Reform And Humanitarian Intervention, Basma Laassel

Senior Theses

The United Nations’ failures to prevent mass atrocities in Rwanda (1994), Srebrenica (1995), and Syria (2011) have sparked persistent calls for institutional reforms to overcome P5 veto gridlock and bureaucratic paralysis. This thesis asks the question: “what United Nations reforms could realistically enhance the UN’s ability to effectively intervene in cases of humanitarian crises?” To answer this question, this thesis employs rigorous counterfactual analysis to test whether three specific institutional reforms would have realistically prevented these humanitarian catastrophes: (1) providing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) with limited binding authority under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, (2) the UN …

Erinnerungskultur And Pathways Of Division, Christopher C. Wacker

Senior Theses

This paper aims to explain the current political divide between East and West Germany and to investigate whether Erinerungskultur (memory culture) plays a role in this divide. This paper argues that Erinerungskultur played a crucial role in perpetuating the divide. After many years have passed since the reunification, several notable differences between the regions have persisted, particularly in politics. One such difference is the politics of both regions, especially after the most recent election demonstrated a clear blue sweep in the East. This paper will examine the history of both the Federal Republic of Germany (the Western and current state) …

A Study Of Lifestyle Migration In Buenos, Aires Argentina, Sofia Inés Repetto

Senior Theses

Migration is a worldwide phenomenon driven largely by economic, political and social factors. A migrant’s personal aspirations and capabilities play a large role on his/her decision to migration. In my thesis, I aimed to find how the aforementioned fit into lifestyle migration, particularly in lifestyle migration to Argentina. In order to do this, I compared current lifestyle migration to Buenos Aires to the waves of immigration that the nation received during the Age of Mass Migration and in the post-World War II era. I also compared lifestyle migration to the immigration from other Global South nations to Argentina. In this …

Symbolists Beyond The Magic: Appropriation In The Art Of Elihu Vedder And Gustave Moreau, Rebecca B. Shalliker

Art & Art History ETDs

This thesis examines the paintings of Elihu Vedder and Gustave Moreau as examples of how the late nineteenth-century Symbolist movement drew on Eastern regions as aesthetic sources for representing the spiritual. Considering the iconographic and conceptual overlap with the Spiritualist movement, it explores how these groups contributed to constructing an image of the “East” as inherently mystical. While existing scholarship analyzes the Symbolist movement’s engagement with psychoanalytical concepts such as the subconscious and dream state, the role of cultural appropriation in shaping the Symbolist aesthetic has been largely overlooked.

The depiction of Eastern iconography as fantastical will be explored through …

From Body Positivity To Body Power: How Music Therapy And Body Liberation Intersect To Address Body Oppression In The Therapeutic Space–A Literature Review, Katherine M. Perkoski

Expressive Therapies Theses

With the rise of overt fascism, anti–fat bias, anti–intellectualism, anti–multiculturalism, anti–diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the persistence of white, capitalist, cisheteropatriarchy narratives around bodies, music therapists need to recognize how client and therapist bodies show up in practice. In this critical literature review, bodies will be sociopolitically and culturally contextualized, and the intersections of music therapy, body liberation, and body power will be discussed. Music therapists need to address the body oppression faced by sociopolitical identities such as race, gender, disability, age, body size, sexuality, neurodiversity, class, ethnicity, nationality, housing status, and immigration status. The music therapy field needs to …

Thoughts From The Pit: Can Raving Change The World? A Literature Review Exploring Rave Culture As Expressive Arts Healing, Marissa Rose Renella

Expressive Therapies Theses

This literature review examines the structural and philosophical commonalities between expressive arts therapy (EXA) and rave culture. Drawing on scholarship from anthropology, cultural studies, health sciences, transpersonal psychology, neuroscience, and expressive arts therapy, this review identifies five core principles shared between the two fields: transformational experiences, multimodality, entrainment and flow, containment and ritual, and community and social action values. Across each principle, the literature reveals not surface-level similarity but deep convergence — two fields that have, independently and through different lineages, arrived at the same understanding of what human beings need in order to heal, grow, and connect. To the …

But Did You Die? An Exploration Of How Humor Can Influence Grief And The Grieving Process: A Literature Review, Sophia Manzi

Expressive Therapies Theses

This literature review examines the power of humor as a defense mechanism amidst death loss grief. The intersection of grief, humor, and expressive arts therapy is under-researched, despite the natural overlap. This work connects concepts of humor with core principles of expressive arts therapy and highlights areas for further research. It contextualizes grief within common Western world frameworks such as the five stages of grief, the dual processing model, and defense mechanisms. Humor presents a nuanced coping skill that has many functions within grief. It can be contradictory in nature, as it can be utilized to resist and combat feelings …

How Can Dramatic Play Address Masking In Autistic Adolescents?: A Literature Review, Victoria Sebastian

Expressive Therapies Theses

This literature review investigated the current research available on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in adolescents aged 13-18, and the prevalence of masking within this population. It examines the impact current interventions and social standards have on the stigma that leads to masking behaviors, and the significant effects this has on adolescents' mental health. This study uses an integrative review, as described by Torraco (2016), to draw on empirical studies, systematic reviews, and theoretical frameworks. Connecting the growing research in the dramatic play- one of the drama therapy core processes- with the current therapeutic frameworks. From this research, dramatic play was …

All Together Now! Synchrony As A Pathway For Music Therapy To Improve The Social Strengths Of Individuals Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Literature Review, Jason Scolnick

Expressive Therapies Theses

Abstract

Music therapy is commonly used to address the social challenges of people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as it is widely believed to be helpful. Just as the cause and ontology of ASD are not well understood, the mechanisms underlying its social benefits remain unclear. Developmental Music Therapy theorizes that developing sociability is a matter of expanding consciousness. In this literature review, I examined the plausibility that music therapy uses synchrony (individuals’ behavioral, neural, and/or physiological systems acting together in time) as a pathway that enhances the sociability of autistic people. The literature indicated that a wide variety …

Bridging The Gap - Integrating Dance/Movement Therapy (Dmt) Into Support Frameworks For Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Literature Review, Anjelica R. Espinoza-Flores

Expressive Therapies Theses

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affects approximately 5% to 6% of school-age children globally. While the primary symptoms involve challenges with motor coordination, the impact often extends to a child’s social and emotional well-being, leading to increased anxiety and social isolation. Current interventions, such as occupational and physical therapy, focus largely on functional skill-building. However, these methods may not fully address the emotional and psychological experiences of the child. This thesis explores how Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) can serve as a vital link between physical rehabilitation and emotional support. By examining research on neurobiology and therapeutic movement, this paper argues that DMT …