4210 research outputs found
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The Relationship Between Lifestyle and Eating Behaviors in College Students
Get PDFA Research Methods Project supervised by Dr. Laura Wilson (Fall 2021)
The Effect of Social Media Use on Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating Behaviors
Get PDFA Research Methods Project supervised by Dr. Laura Wilson (Fall 2021)
Induced Emotions and Moral Judgement
Get PDFA Research Methods Project supervised by Dr. David Stahlman (Fall 2021
The Effects of Peer Pressure and Classroom Motivation on Cheating and Academic Dishonesty
No full textA Research Seminar Project supervised by Dr. David Rettinger (Fall 2021)
The Effect of Narcissism and Academic Dishonesty on the Feelings of Guilt and Shame
No full textA Research Seminar Project supervised by Dr. David Rettinger (Fall 2021)
A Complete Analysis of Thomas Reid and Common Sense Realism
Get PDFHistory is often unkind to great thinkers. Often those with brilliant minds are misunderstood in later years by others. This may be the case with the Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid. Reid is the founder of Scottish common sense realism, a school of thought that aims to counter Enlightenment skepticism. However, Reid’s common sense realism was the subject of philosophical debate for years after his death. Many philosophers struggled to understand Reid’s arguments, and others discredited him altogether. While there has been an increase in research on Reid since the 1990s, the contemporary research on Reid is still lacking. Since critical research on Reid’s work is lacking, it is hard to understand the true meaning of his philosophical work. This paper will serve as a complete synthesis of Reid and common sense realism The analysis of Reid will be broken into four sections. The first section sets the stage for Reid’s work by discussing Enlightenment empiricism and rationalism, which Reid’s work was a direct reaction to. The second section will analyze Reid’s major work, An Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense, which contains the bulk of his philosophical theory. The third section will discuss the initial reaction to this work from Kant and Hume, two philosophers more famous than Reid that dismissed his work entirely. The fourth section will analyze four Scottish philosophers who lived after Reid and will use their commentaries on Reid to better understand his work, as well as the development of common sense realism as a whole. The goal of this research will be to create a better understanding of Reid’s work and common sense realism
Using BLAST to Detect Horizontal Gene Transfer in Pathogenic Fungi
Get PDFSimilarly to antibiotic resistance, antifungal resistance is a growing challenge for clinicians. Mechanistically, one method of antibiotic resistance acquisition is through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Although associated more with prokaryotes, past studies show limited evidence of HGT in Candida yeast, warranting additional comparative, genomic and proteomic research on the evolutionary forces behind fungal virulence. This honors capstone project used the NCBI’s Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) to quickly and statistically compare existing biological sequence data in conjunction with EMBL Multiple Sequence Comparison by Log-Expectation (MUSCLE) alignment and Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) to visualize likely evolutionary relationships. Thus, the objective of this project was to use bioinformatics tools to identify potential instances of Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) between pathogenic yeast and viruses, specifically HGT as an evolutionary mechanism for antifungal resistance gene (ARG) acquisition. Of the subset of ARGs searched, BLAST showed more support for ERG3 (C-5 sterol desaturase) HGT between edafosvirus and C. glabrata and between orpheovirus and C. albicans and C. californica, respectively. However, the ML phylogeny contradicts these BLAST results and shows more support for ERG3 HGT between both viruses and Hypopichia burtonii. Thus, while BLAST showed limited evidence for ERG3 HGT between three Candida species and two viruses, the ML phylogeny fails to support these evolutionary events. For the purposes of HGT, BLAST might be better suited to certain organisms (i.e., prokaryotes) and its use should be reinforced as a non-definitive predictor of such evolutionary events. Furthermore, increased understanding of the numerous uncharacterized Candida genes could reveal new evidence of fungal HGT and guide treatment options. Word Count: 26
The presence, distribution, and concentration of trace metals in the James River near a coal-burning repository
Get PDFThe Chesapeake Bay, one of the largest estuary systems on the east coast of the United States, has numerous coal-burning power stations located along its waterways. Coal ash, or fly ash, is a form of industrial waste that is mainly produced by coal-burning power stations and is known to be enriched with trace metals that are at high risk for leaching into waterways, resulting in the presence of these contaminants within aquatic environments. Few studies have examined the distribution of trace metals in the James River watershed, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, and the implication of a coal-burning power station located in its upper reaches. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate the spatial and temporal distribution of trace metals in both water and sediments within the James River in the vicinity of the Chesterfield power station (Richmond, VA). Water and sediment samples (grab and core) were collected upstream, midstream, and downstream from the Chesterfield power station. The samples were analyzed using ICP-OES (a spectrometer used for analyzing environmental samples for trace metals) for the concentration of twelve trace metals including Al, As, Cd, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg, Mn, Se, and Zn. The preliminary results of water and grab samples show high concentrations of trace metals downstream as well as behind the power station near Dutch Gap Conservation Area. Cadmium concentrations in the water (0.005-0.017 ppm) exceeded the EPA’s MCL’s for drinking water. Complete water and sediment cores samples analyses will provide a clearer picture of trace metals spatial as well as temporal variability and loading at the study site. This study will provide vital information regarding the potential impacts of coal-burning repositories on the presence and mobilization of trace contaminants within aquatic ecosystems and their future impacts on terrestrial and aquatic organisms
Researching & Creating Children\u27s Literature for the Frederickburg StoryWalk Project
No full textAt the beginning of the 2021 Spring semester, we decided as students in EDUC311 that we wanted to author and illustrate a book featured at the Fredericksburg StoryWalk on the River Heritage Trail. Though COVID-19 was a barrier to the way this had been done for this course in the past, we took a series of steps to accomplish what we needed to in order to produce our book, “Alex’s Day on the Rappahannock.” In one of the first weeks of the course we met with the Outdoor Recreational Supervisor for Fredericksburg Parks, Recreation, and Events, Callie Brown, to discuss what the book would need to look like in terms of length, content, page dimensions, and time frame for finishing. Once that information was known, we spent several weeks researching children’s literature and the Virginia Standards of Learning (VSOL’s) to decide what the book would be about. Callie had mentioned that river safety was a topic that is always important to teach children, so our aim was also to incorporate that if possible. Once we decided what to teach with the book, we delegated duties so that each of the ten students in our class took care of two of the pages. Everyone spent time planning the writing and illustrations for their pages, and this culminated in in-class illustration work. Eric Carle, a well-known children’s book author, uses a collage style for all of his illustrations that we emulated for our book. We spent three class periods painting, cutting, and pasting together illustrations, which were later scanned in order to preserve the artwork for the StoryWalk. Finally, once all of the pages were completed and ordered, we edited and revised the book as a class to make sure everything was exactly as we wanted it. Steps: brainstorming, research, delegation of duties (writing), painting day, cutting/pasting day, revising and editing, finished product
Senior Seminar: Artist Talk
No full textIn this artist talk I walk through the body of work that I have created during my time at UMW. I include both modern and contemporary artists that have influenced my work in technique and in concept. I describe the progression of themes in my work over the last four years in the context of my experiences, with a focus on the most recent oil paintings from my senior seminar class.
Part Two Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6tMQu5nQu