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A Symphony of Lessons from Classroom to the Real-World
No full text12 p.Embarking on this written reflection marks the culmination of a journey that began with a transformative experiential internship during the summer months. My role as an Account Executive Intern with Detroit Marketing Company, collaborating closely with Verizon, unveiled a dynamic intersection between theoretical knowledge gleaned from marketing and management courses and the gritty realities of door-to-door and business-to-business sales. In the pages that follow, I delve into the symbiotic relationship between marketing, management, and sales, exploring how principles learned in the classroom seamlessly translated into real-world scenarios. However, as this narrative unfolds, it becomes evident that the journey was not without its challenges and moments of introspection. The exciting notion of sales revealed its emotional challenges during my foray into door-to-door and business-to-business sales. In the pages ahead, I invite you to accompany me on this reflective journey, where classroom lessons manifest in the reality of the professional world, and where the pursuit of success intertwines with the inherent challenges that left an indelible mark on my evolving professional identity
The Development of Treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis
No full textiii, 13p.Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that affects millions of individuals worldwide. One main factor is the inability for the HPA axis to produce enough endogenous glucocorticoids to quell an overactive inflammatory response, resulting in damage to joint tissue. The first discovery of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis arrived in 1950 with the synthesis of cortisone which was used to reduce inflammation in patients with the disease. However, it was not until years later that the inflammatory nature of glucocorticoids was more accurately understood. The mechanisms behind the anti-inflammatory nature of glucocorticoids were found afterwards with the discovery of the glucocorticoid receptor. As quickly as new and more effective glucocorticoids were synthesized, so were the adverse effects of hypercortisolism discovered. Overtime, inflammatory pathways became more well defined, allowing for non-steroidal drugs to be used to target those newly understood mechanisms to reduce inflammation. However, along with glucocorticoids, these drugs are only able to reduce symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. The discovery of the ability to reduce the inflammatory response more upstream resulted in a new wave of disease modifying drugs able to prevent or reduce overall tissue destruction. Currently, these drugs are the first choice in treatment before glucocorticoids or non-steroidal non-disease altering drugs. Future research is invested in finding cheaper, more effective ways to predict who will develop rheumatoid arthritis in an attempt to treat them with disease modifying drugs before the onset of symptoms
how to recover an ancestor : collected poems
No full textxxii, 36 p.The poet begins her introductory essay stating “To understand the story of my SIP, one must first understand the story of me. The story of me is the story of my parents, the story of their parents, their parents before them… and this story cannot be told without speaking of Mexico. I am very conscious of the fact that the path that I have walked has been paved by the hands of everyone who has come before me. This fact has only gained relevance during this year of my life; as a senior at this institution, I am transitioning into a new chapter, whether I’m ready for it or not. In order to make this transition, I’ve felt I had to pay homage to those that ushered me into this world, specifically those who witnessed me come into being and did not make it this far down the path with me. After all, our paths must diverge at some point. My hope is that others can take something from this work but, most of all, that I can revisit these words in the future and remember who I was at this exact moment in time; someone who is a product of paths from the past, present, and future, coming together and coming apart.” She continues to summarize her family history, her experience in Mexico as a college student, and the process of creating and revising this collection of poems
The Invisible Hands That Shape People’s Moral Decisions and Behaviors : A Review of the Influences of Religiosity, Visceral States, and Self-Esteem on Morality
No full text40 p.Many religious rituals, like fasting, cause religious people to enter visceral states (in this case hunger), and it is important to understand how these two influences on moral behavior coexist and associate with each other. The current research is a literature review of visceral states, religiosity, and self-esteem’s relationship with moral behavior. Peer-reviewed articles about visceral states, religiosity, and self-esteem were reviewed to understand the different relationships between these variables and morality. There was no specific age range, religion, or visceral state that was specifically used, but all were considered to find a general relationship between these variables. The conjecture of this analysis was that religion motivates people to hold a moral standard/guideline until the power of a visceral influence becomes stronger than the influence provided from religion. Visceral states cause people to justify any behavior, even if considered immoral, to achieve visceral gratification from a reward related to their visceral need. Religion encourages its followers to be moral, and higher religious orientation is associated with higher rates of moral behavior. The mechanism between religiosity and moral behavior was reward seeking, internal motivation, and moral guidelines that direct behavior in unsure circumstances. The strength of all these relationships were altered by the level of someone’s self esteem. Additionally, someone’s overall self-esteem was directly related to morality, and inversely related to morality by short-term heightening of self-esteem. Taken together, individuals and professionals can develop strategies to steer people toward moral behavior and personal goals, while accounting for these unseen influences
Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing : The Illuminati’s Impact on the Rise of Conservatism in Late Eighteenth Century Britain
No full text31 p.The Illuminati conspiracy emerged in the United Kingdom towards the end of the French Revolution. For the British, the shock of the uprising had largely subsided, leaving them only to ask how such a thing had occurred. A number of reactionary figures would pop up in the wake of the revolution, looking for any and every possible explanation for the revolution. France had long been a paragon of conservative values with its strong centralized monarchy; to have seen it fall naturally would have called into question the entire ideology of British conservatism. For the conservatives to accept that the French Revolution was caused by anything less than an inauthentic and demonic conspiracy was to accept that their worldview was a deeply flawed one, that they were beholden to a dogmatic ideology that could not resolve the structural issues that were the true cause of the revolution. To the great fortune of pseudo-historic television show hosts everywhere, John Robison, professor of the natural sciences at Edinburgh University, decided he had deduced the origin of what he saw as a nonsensical revolution. He concluded that the defunct Bavarian Illuminati had infiltrated French intellectual culture and high society to organize a revolt against all that is good and godly in Europe. Robison would publish these thoughts in 1797 with his book Proofs of a Conspiracy Against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, Carried on in the Secret Meetings of Freemasons, Illuminati, and Reading Society Collected from Good Authority. The book would discuss his theory in a nature that would be nearly as long winded as his title, as Robison would meander his way through over 400 pages of paranoid ramblings
“You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” : Exploring Faith, Community, and Gender Roles in the Heart of Appalachia
No full text52 p.This study is a strategic look at when and where religion injects itself into the lives of individuals in Harlan. It is here that I argue that religion does not live solely within the confines of a church, but in the everyday acts of cooking, the belief in the supernatural, paid labor, and much, much more. This study goes beyond statistics and general stories of the region, but is hopefully an immersive experience into a few of the lives of those who live in Harlan. Here I consider not only the existence of religion in the county, but the overall impact of those religious beliefs, how they might cause harm to those not only in minority positions, but in the majority as well, and how those could possibly work to reduce said harm while preserving their religious and cultural beliefs. In the first chapter, I will discuss the impact of community and how folks in Harlan are either included or excluded in the community depending on their current situation regarding financial, marital, parental, and church member status. In the second chapter I will introduce the other and explain how beliefs that would otherwise be rejected if introduced today are enveloped in everyday life and traditions in the region. Finally, my third chapter will discuss gender roles while mainly focusing on women and how they play an integral part in the history of mining strikes while also explaining how women’s worship differs from the roles they take in everyday life. I start many discussions with a story, a proclamation then explanation of something that occurred during my time in Harlan. These descriptions are vulnerable, intimate, and are something that I continue to feel beyond honored to have witnessed and taken part in. It is not every day that Appalachians welcome an outsider into their homes and spaces of worship, and for many, that is what I was. As someone who is not a member of many of the spaces that I spent time in, it is of the utmost importance that the individuals portrayed and discussed are represented authentically. This transparency is something I hold closely, and accepting this responsibility is not something I take lightly
Methods for the Separation of Acylated Surfactant Precursors from Fatty Acids
No full textviii, 18 p.A widely used commercial surfactant, linear alkyl-benzene sulfonate surfactant (LAS), is produced from fossil fuel molecules and requires the incorporation of chelating agents such as metal chelants, increasing complexity and cost. Bio-renewable and biomass-derived oleo-furan surfactants allow replacing current commercial surfactants. One of the major precursors for oleofuran surfactants is alkyl furan ketone (AFK), which is produced from the indirect acylation of anhydride and furanic substrate. Post-indirect acylation products of AFK and fatty acid (FA) byproducts form a eutectic homogenous mixture due to their similar physical properties. Multiple steps of cooling crystallization using 75 wt% methanol as a solvent is the current purification method for Sironix. This is not an ideal separation method due to its succession of steps and poor atom efficiency resulting environmentally unfriendly approach. There are many proposed ways of separating eutectic-forming mixtures such as controlling the nucleation and seeding the crystal, but an efficient, simple and eco-friendly separating approach is still in search for the industry-scale mixtures. Therefore, a better separating method for AFK and FA is needed. In this project, different methods to purify oleofuran surfactant precursor, alkyl furan ketone has experimented with using the information of binary-phase diagrams and Differential Scanning Calorimetry experiments. As a result of this project, a combination of esterification of fatty acid with cooling crystallization was proposed as a possible better separation method
Les politiques linguistiques de l’Algérie post-indépendante : Comment l’arabisation a semé la division
No full text45 p.After Algeria gained independence from France in 1963, the Algerian government implemented a hasty Arabization policy in the primary education system in hopes to unify the country through the standardization of a single language. The Arabization policy that banned schooling in other languages heavily resembled the Frenchification policies under the French rule; many, especially the native Berber population, saw the Arab elites as the ‘new colons.’ Many scholars have criticized Algeria’s post-independence language policies as they did not reflect the long and complex plurilingual character of Algeria. However, in this paper, I explore the shortcomings of Algeria’s linguistic policies on assumption that Arabization was the best option for the newly independent regime. I use language policy theory to justify the choice of Standard Arabic, a language spoken by slim elite religious minorities at the time, and detail what aspects of the Arabization policy led to its decline
Wildlife Conservation: Threats of and Solutions to Habitat Fragmentation, Dog Attack/Interactions, and Power Line Electrocutions on Howler Monkey Populations
No full textiii, 11p.Howler monkeys are experiencing population declines due to human development and urbanization of their habitats. Research on the anthropogenic factors and effects they are having on species is exceptionally limited. In this paper three main threats facing howler monkey populations were investigated, habitat fragmentation and the associated anthropogenic effects, power line electrocutions, and dog attack and negative interactions with howler monkeys. All three threats were reviewed, and prevention and mitigation methods were discussed. Results found that prevention methods include improved management and design of preservations containing howler monkey habitats, canopy bridges allowing crossing to and from habitat fragments, and improved ownership management and population control of stray and street dogs. It is recommended that more research go into the effects of these threats on the changes in howler monkey behaviors and physiological and psychological impact
Mathematics Education Foundations : Developing Math Materials for Students and a System for Peer-Educators
No full textiv, 151 p.Learning mathematics is hard, and learning college mathematics is made even harder by textbooks which are primarily used as vessels for homework exercises. These two facts motivated my Senior Integrated Project (SIP) or senior thesis, which consisted of 21 LATEX documents and 5 videos on introductory mathematics topics. The documents were made to be more personalized to the Kalamazoo College curriculum than the all-purpose textbooks often circulated, and with a much larger emphasis on reading comprehension, examples, and conceptual motivations. The thesis also included a system for the creation of more materials in the future, in the hopes that such materials will be made for other subjects and that they will grow as the college does. Following this, I developed a system for the materials’ online and in-person accessibility through the Kalamazoo College Math and Physics Center (MPC)