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“it shur is grate been a cowboy”: The Cowboy as an Outsider in American Literature
Get PDFFrom its inception, the cowboy has served as a potent symbol of American westwardexpansion and rugged individualism. This study analyzes foundational texts of the Westerngenre, including Owen Wister’s The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains, Larry McMurtry’sLonesome Dove, Thomas Savage’s The Power of the Dog, and Annie Proulx’s Close Range:Wyoming Stories, to trace the evolution of the cowboy archetype in literature and examine itstransformation into a broad representation of the American zeitgeist. Wister, often credited withcodifying the Western, established a prototype reliant on toxic masculinity and reductivestereotypes, emerging as a literary response to the rising prominence of the cult of domesticity.As the genre matured, McMurtry and Savage complicated the figure of the cowboy, elevating itfrom formulaic dime novel to a subject of serious literary inquiry. Building on this foundation,Annie Proulx most effectively dismantles the traditional, hegemonic cowboy figure, offeringinstead a more nuanced, inclusive vision. Her collection, particularly “Brokeback Mountain”,represents a turning point in the genre’s history, challenging long standing assumptions andbroadening the scope of who can be considered a cowboy in American culture. Through acomparative analysis of these texts, this paper argues that the cowboy, while inherently flawed,endures as a literary and cultural figure precisely because of its capacity to embody the tensionbetween societal constraints and the desire for personal freedom; ultimately rendering it one ofthe most representative icons of the American experience.</p
Anne Boleyn: Remaking an Infamous Name in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Series
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Anne Boleyn is recognized as one of the most notorious figures in history and has captured the attention of both historians and authors alike. As a powerful personality in her own right, the plethora of literature surrounding Anne Boleyn allows us to examine shifting portrayals of women in artistic media. In this thesis I argue that Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall series pioneers a new subgenre of historical fiction that moves beyond the bounds of its traditional feminist function into the postfeminist. By this, I mean that historical fiction’s traditional mode of handing female characters agency and power is subverted by Hilary Mantel’s use of Anne Boleyn within her series. In order to explain this phenomenon, I will be examining the critically acclaimed, wildly popular first two books of the Wolf Hall series authored by Hilary Mantel alongside other works of historical fiction pertaining to Anne Boleyn, literary academia, and postfeminist theory. In observing these works, this thesis will consider how the unique narration and forms found within Wolf Hall inform this new historical fiction subgenre: postfeminist historical fiction. Ultimately, this thesis will ask how the stories written about Anne Boleyn throughout time reflect society’s perceptions of women in power, and will even go so far as to consider if such writings contribute to society’s ideals in a cyclical manner. </p
Algorithmic Censorship: The Linguistic Impact
Get PDFThe coming of the digital age has brought with it a new wave of possibilities for censorship. Digital censorship is faster and wider-spread than the censorship of physical media, making it quicker and more complete in its impact. One prominent subset of this is algorithmic censorship, which takes all the strength of digital censorship and adds on a social element, manipulating social perceptions and popularity. These aspects make it a more invisible form of censorship, therefore, making its compliance more unconscious and creating a hidden sort of influence. This development has already resulted in the linguistic phenomena of algospeak, which is language that stems from trying to get around an algorithm. Censorship has always been closely tied to language, as restrictions consistently cause words to fall out of favor and allow for others to develop in their place. This makes linguistic development a good indicator for the power of different types of censorship. This paper examines language in algorithmic spaces, comparing and contrasting the linguistic practices of TikTok, which has a strong algorithmic censorship culture, and Twitter, which has had oscillating levels of censorship over the years. The effects of this type of censorship are profound, but undefined in the fact that both good and bad has come from it. This paper comes to the conclusion that that the power to change language is already well within algorithmic censorship’s capabilities and, as the future of its use is uncertain, we must closely observe its impact in the coming years.</p
Modulation of Blood-Brain Barrier Integrity and Subsequent Changes in Behavior Following Various Stress Treatments
Get PDFPrevious studies have concluded that a breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) playsa causal role in the onset of stress-linked mood disorders. As the current theory stands,periphery-associated signals in the blood are allowed to invade neural tissue through a permeableBBB, which somehow produces behavioral symptomatology related to mood disorders. Thesereports have primarily found that decreased levels of the tight junction protein Claudin-5 isresponsible for the weakening of the BBB. Importantly, chronic stress models are solely used toelicit this breakdown of the BBB in this niche of research. The present study sought to furtherinvestigate BBB degradation as it relates to animal behavior, particularly in response to chronic-intermittent stress models. We examined heterotypic (variable) and homotypic (consistent)repeated stress models in rats, the latter model having been principally responsible for stresshabituation to occur. Stress habituation is a unique stress experience where the amplitude of thestress response is decreased with increasing stress exposures. In this study, the efficacy of stresshabituation was ascertained using body weight data collected throughout the experiment, as wellas blood-plasma corticosterone levels measured on the last day of stress exposure, in addition tothymus and adrenal glands weights collected upon euthanasia. After the stress paradigm, subjectswere also exposed to a battery of behavioral testing including the social interaction task withjuvenile subjects, the defensive withdrawal task, and the elevated plus maze. In these sameanimals, BBB integrity was observed in multiple regions, including the rostral portion of thePosterior Hypothalamic nuclei (rPH) and the Hippocampus. BBB integrity was quantified with afluorophore-associated dextran blood dye, and through a real-time RT-PCR for the gene thatencodes the tight junction protein Claudin-5. The primary findings of this experiment show thatrPH BBB degradation that is seen in subjects exposed to an intermittent-variable model of stress is not seen in those exposed to a homotypic stress regime, although the extent to which the lattersubjects habituated to the homotypic stressor is unclear. In either case, BBB integrity should notso exclusively be attributed to Claudin-5 levels as previously thought. Additionally, heterotypicstress regimes result in putative behavioral changes that trend towards higher defensivebehaviors and impaired social behaviors, while homotypic regimes elude this result. Theassociation of BBB permeability and behavioral changes is purely correlational in the presentstudy, although the protective effects of the homotypic regime show the importance ofconsidering the mechanisms of stress in studying the etiology of some of the symptomatologyassociated with mood disorders.</p
Apostasy: Exploring Religious Deconstruction Through Dance
Get PDFThis paper discusses the process and somatic research involved in the creation of the BFA dance work Apostasy. Gumieniak explores how religious deconstruction is experienced in the body and can be addressed through dance with a particular focus on the Catholic Church and the author's lived experiences. Methodologies of the work include adressing the impacts of deconstructing movements associated with the Church, connecting to queer theory and investigating the power of improvisation and Giordano technique as tools for somatic understanding and healing. </p
En Español, Por Favor: How Spanish Advertisements Shape House Campaigns and Candidate Success
Get PDFAs the Latino population grows within the United States, the community has begun to play a pivotal role in elections. In response, political candidates look to specifically target the community as part of their overall campaign strategies. This study focused on federal House candidates who utilized Spanish-language television advertisements to appeal to this demographic. The thesis investigated the conditions under which federal House candidates were more likely to employ Spanish-language advertisements and evaluated whether the utilization of this strategy led to improved electoral performance. Linear regression analysis, drawing from 2016, 2018, and 2020 election data, identified variables that contributed to a candidate’s decision to use Spanish-language ads. This methodology was also used to examine the relationship between Spanish-language ad use and overall candidate performance to determine the impact this strategy had on electoral success. Ultimately, the study found that candidates were more likely to use Spanish-language ads if they identified as Latino, were running in a Latino-majority district, or if their opponent was using the strategy as well. Contrary to existing literature, the study found a negative relationship between Spanish-language ad usage and candidate performance, suggesting the strategy may have hindered rather than helped electoral success. This finding contributes to the larger discourse surrounding campaign strategy and efforts to reach marginalized communities.</p
Analysis of Heimdall HA Archaeal Histone Tail Effects on Histone Dimerization and DNA Binding
Get PDFLike eukaryotes, many archaea also encode histone proteins to compact their genomes. Unlike the highly conserved nucleosome structure found in eukaryotes, archaeal histones wrap DNA in an extended slinky-like hypernucleosome. Members of the phylum Asgardarchaeota are predicted to be the closest evolutionary link to eukaryotes, and the histones they encode share features with both canonical archaeal histones and canonical eukaryotic histone proteins. Within this phylum, the group of Heimdall archaea notably encode a histone (HA) with an N-terminal tail -- an essential component of eukaryotic histones that is typically absent in archaea. Studying how the Heimdall histone HA tail affects its DNA binding affinity and dimerization potential may provide insights into the evolutionary emergence of the highly conserved eukaryotic system of genome compaction. Here, I cloned and purified two truncated Heimdall HA mutants with a partial and full tail deletion. Then, I performed gel and fluorescence-based assays which indicated that tail presence does not significantly affect DNA binding or wrapping. Finally, I refolded each HA construct with HB, a second histone encoded in the same genome, to analyze preferential histone dimerization.</p
Herbivorous Fish Assemblage and Coral Bleaching Across a Human Density Gradient in Guna Yala, Panama
Get PDFThis study examines the impact of human population density on the population assemblage of herbivorous reef fish (Families Acanthuridae and Scaridae) and the benthic composition of coral reefs in Guna Yala, Panama, during an active bleaching event. Surveys were conducted across five patch reefs, categorized as either close to (<0.6 km) or far from (>5.5 km) high human population densities. Three key findings emerged: (1) Reefs closer to human populations exhibited lower structural complexity, greater stony coral (Scleractinia) bleaching, and significantly reduced herbivore biomass, suggesting a compounded impact of local anthropogenic stressors and global bleaching events. (2) Despite these stressors, the total hard coral cover on Close reefs was higher than expected and comparable to historical values from the 1990s, possibly indicating localized reef recovery. However, this recovery was dominated by fire coral (Millepora), suggesting a shift in coral community structure. (3) Herbivorous fish assemblages were largely driven by the dominance of Sparisoma viride, whose biomass was significantly higher on Far reefs, highlighting the potential influence of bleaching-driven shifts in species composition. Given the small sample size of this study, further research is needed to clarify the long-term effects of human impact and bleaching on reef resilience, particularly regarding herbivore functional diversity and coral community shifts. These findings underscore the importance of monitoring local stressors in tandem with global climate pressures to better inform conservation strategies.</p
The Interaction Between Cannabis and Various Analgesic Medications on Pain Relief Experienced by Older Adults
Get PDF The current treatment options for chronic pain are limited, especially for adults over the age of 65 years. Cannabis has emerged as a promising new treatment, and older adults are increasingly contemplating its use. Given the common occurrence of polypharmacy in this population, it raises the question regarding cannabis’s interactions with their current pain medications when implemented as a treatment. Older adults who reported pain and desired to use an edible cannabis product to alleviate their pain were recruited through a convenience sample (n = 172). Participants completed a baseline assessment of pain intensity, provided demographic information, and purchased and consumed an edible product of their choice to use ad libitum for four weeks. Four weeks later, they completed an experimental mobile laboratory assessment, during which they reported their average pain intensity. Throughout the study, the participants continued using existing medications, which were classified into medication categories, and those including analgesics were analyzed as subgroups. A series of multilevel mixed-effect models were conducted to examine the relationship between cannabis use, analgesic medication subgroup use, and pain intensity. It was hypothesized that cannabis would interact with medications to produce varying effects on pain perception depending on the mechanism of action of the medication taken congruently. Findings revealed no significant interaction between any subgroup, suggesting cannabis did not interact with the analgesic medications; however, additional research is needed for the proper evaluation of cannabis for the treatment of older adults with chronic pain.</p
Coherent Laser Scattering From Magnetized Plasma
Get PDFMagnetized inertial confinement fusion utilize lasers for compressing and heating up of fuel and magnetic fields to provide additional confinement. The interaction between the lasers and the plasma is modified due to magnetization. In this research, we use the three-wave equations to analyze the interaction between a pump wave and two daughter waves resulting from the scattering. We perform linear stability analysis to elucidate how magnetic fields affect the scattering via different parameters in the three-wave equations. Additionally, we solve the initial and boundary value problems for the linearized three-wave equations. The linearized equations are valid when the pump wave is much stronger than the daughter waves. Analyzing the solutions will facilitate comparison between theories, simulations, and experiments in the future.
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