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Modeling the Effect of Human Behavior on Disease Transmission
Full text linkMany infectious disease models build upon the classical Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model. The SIR model is a compartmental model that is used to model disease transmission throughout a population. The SIR model and its variations often focus on the transmission of disease but rarely include behavioral or informational components that explore how the perception of a disease influences transmission. In this thesis we propose a six compartment SIR model that segments the classical SIR model based on knowledge of information to explore the sharing of information and its ability to increase and decrease transmission. We designate these two model states as aware and unaware based on whether the information is known by the population. We find that while good behavior is useful in decreasing community transmission, bad behavior is significantly more damaging for the community in terms of disease transmission. These preliminary results suggest that more research is needed on the effect of information and behavior on disease transmission
Sol-gel Synthesis and Spectroscopic Characterization of Titanium Dioxide Doped with Copper and Iron
Full text linkA source of bioavailable iron in open oceans stems from aerosols, increasing phytoplankton growth and the sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. These aerosols contain semiconductors, like titanium dioxide, which is known to increase the bioavailability and can trigger photoreduction of Fe3+. Recently, it is suspected that other metals in the aerosols also influence the release of iron. In this work, the effects of doping with iron and copper on the physical characteristics of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, since the photocatalytic potential of titanium dioxide depends on its structure and metal content (anatase vs. rutile), were explored. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles were prepared using a sol-gel synthesis with iron, copper, or both metals. These particles were characterized using x-ray diffraction, x-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Overall, the addition of the metal(s) before or after the condensation of titanium affected the crystallinity, metal uptake, and band gap energy and wavelength of the doped semiconductor. Co-doping after titanium was added produced porous semiconductor particles with more iron and copper incorporated, a smaller conversion into rutile structure, the smallest band gap, and the largest wavelength. These doped particles will be further used to better understand the mechanism of how iron becomes bioavailable in the atmosphere
Anthony, Mabel “Biddie”. 1999. “An Oral Narrative Recorded by Courtney Reid.” West Side Oral Narrative Project: Transcribing Discourse and Diversity in Saratoga Springs, New York, Annotated Transcript No. 5, April 28, 2021
Full text linkMable “Biddie” Anthony (1916-2015) moved from Pittsburgh to Saratoga Springs in 1940, when her husband, Marvin “Butch” Anthony began managing the Hill Top Inn on Congress Street. Biddie poignantly reflects on sweeping changes she saw in the city over her lifetime. She recounts her first impressions of Saratoga’s winters, the summer crowds, and how she learned about the city’s sporting district, which included musical entertainment, bars and restaurants, dancing, gambling, and brothels. From her experiences of living and working on Congress Street, Biddie creates a mental map of homes and businesses, including Hattie’s Chicken Shack, the Golden Grill, and Jack’s Harlem Club. She made many friends while holding numerous jobs, including writing numbers, bartending, waitressing, cooking, and housekeeping for different families. She maps out her family’s roots in Virginia and Pennsylvania and shares her views on identifying as a Black woman and a Blackfoot Indian. She also discusses her immediate family, including her daughters, Suzanne and Michelle. [Interview duration: 01:03:02
Beyond the Bars: Formerly Incarcerated Individuals as Workers and Giving Citizens
Full text linkFormerly incarcerated individuals face stigmatization at work because of their conviction history. Previous research focuses on the difficulty of finding a job once reintegrating into society. However, few studies speak on the actual treatment at work that these individuals experience and if it affects them from doing good deeds in the community. In doing so, the significance of social bonds, empathizing among co-workers, and motivation are outlined to suggest how these factors have an impact on formerly incarcerated individuals\u27 success in the work environment and giving. A regression analysis of the 2012 General Social Survey (N=654) supports the first hypothesized statement: Formerly incarcerated people will experience higher levels of workplace exclusion and negative treatment than people who have never been incarcerated. However, the results refute the second hypothesized statement: Ex-incarcerated people who are excluded at work, are less likely to be involved in charitable ways and engage in the community in ways that other people might expect of ex-incarcerated people. Consistent with Labeling theory and Social Control theory, the findings suggest support towards formerly incarcerated individuals being stigmatized which leads to the effect of how they give back to their community
Atrévete a Soñar: An Examination of How Citizenship Status Influences Immigrant’s Educational Expectations
No full textThe research reported here examines if one’s immigration status has an impact on what highest educational degree a student expects to receive. This study uses data from the Children of Longitudinal Study (CILS) with 1,443 respondents attending eighth and ninth grade in public and private schools at Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and San Diego, California. Respondents’ parents also participated in this study, in which they were asked about their highest completed educational degree and educational expectations for their child. I hypothesize that students who have a U.S. citizenship status will be more likely to expect higher educational attainment than students with non-U.S. citizenship status. Findings reveal that there is no statistically significant relationship between one’s citizenship status and a student’s educational expectations. Results also indicate that parent’s educational attainment and expectations for their child have a stronger impact on a student’s educational expectation than a student’s own immigration status
Know Better, Do Better? Do Higher Levels of Education Predict White Democrats’ Antiracist Attitudes Relative to Action?
Full text linkConventional wisdom says that when you know better, you do better. Various theories of racism generally conform to this popular understanding, motivating colleges and businesses to invest in anti-bias trainings and other educational interventions. This study aims to make contestable the logic of ‘know better, do better’ as applied to racism through asking the question: does education predict white Democrats’ antiracist attitudes relative to their political action? Informed by Mueller’s (2020) Theory of Racial Ignorance and Hersh’s (2017) concept of ‘political hobbyism,’ I propose that white Democrats with higher levels of education will, on average, score higher on an ‘Antiracist Attitudes’ scale than white Democrats with lower levels of education. I also propose that white Democrats with higher levels of education will score lower on a ‘Political Action’ scale. Finally, I propose that white Democrats with higher levels of education will, on average, score higher on the ‘Antiracist Attitudes’ scale relative to the ’Political Action’ scale than white Democrats with lower levels of education. I test these hypotheses using the 2016 American National Election Studies (ANES) survey. The results show that education has a complicated and somewhat contradictory effect on white Democrats’ antiracist attitudes, political action, and antiracist attitudes relative to political action
Everyday Nationalism: Representations of the Falkland Islands/Malvinas Conflict in the United Kingdom and Argentina
Full text linkNational identity is malleable; it is shaped by events such as conflicts, disasters, and achievements. The following research paper details a study conducted to assess the influence of the Falkland Islands/ Malvinas War of 1982 on national identity among youth in Argentina and the United Kingdom. Differences between the representations of the conflict in the two countries were discovered through interviews with British citizens and Argentines. The experiences of those individuals, were used to discover the factors that led the war to play a big role in Argentine society and the reasoning behind the lack of mention of the war in contemporary British society. This research suggests that factors such as changes in regime, support of troops from the home front during the conflict, and large differences between socio-economic classes led to the reproduction of representations of the Falklands/ Malvinas islands and war in Argentina. Furthermore, British imperialism and the United Kingdom’s participation in two World Wars reduced the importance of the conflict within British society, therefore reducing its presence and representation in contemporary society
Tropics are Tropics Wherever Found : Performing Empire in the Travel Writings of Mary Kingsley and Mary Gaunt
Full text linkMuch of the scholarship regarding Mary Kingsley and Mary Gaunt has argued that these two women, in traveling to West Africa, disrupted patriarchal discourse and expanded opportunities for women. However, these arguments fail to grasp the ways in which their gender intersected with discourses of race, nationality, and empire. In reading that Mary Kingsley\u27s Travels in West Africa and Mary Gaunt\u27s Alone in West Africa were performances, rather than than statements of objective fact, one can better understand this intersectionality. Because readers do not know for sure whether anything these women said about West Africa was true, one must instead use these writings to consider what can be learned about the women themselves and the places from which they traveled. Such a consideration reveals that, rather than disrupting patriarchal discourse, Kingsley\u27s and Gaunt\u27s writings reinforced imperial epistemic violence and failed to question patriarchal assumptions
Is Smart Power Leading the Way Forward? Reassessing its Importance in the U.S. and China’s International Strategy
Full text linkSince the end of the cold war, the world of politics and international relations has seen China grow its power and influence tremendously. Much of this growth has been fueled by strategies and initiatives focused on smart power, a term coined by Joseph Nye in 2003,[1] through large economic projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Meanwhile, the backbone of the United States smart power is within institutions, most notably the United Nations (UN), which have begun to show their age and weaknesses. 1) Should smart power strategies be known as stronger power building initiatives than hard power strategies? 2) How much does the US and China\u27s current international strategies for power rely on smart power vs hard or soft power initiatives? This paper will address these questions with an increased focus and awareness on the legacy of the Trump administration and existence of the Belt and Road Initiative.
To properly answer these questions, this paper embarks on a multi-step process. First, critical theory is utilized to question academia’s accepted definitions of smart power and to better understand the real benefits of hard power in a contemporary world. From this questioning, this paper presents a new more detailed and, perhaps, de-mystified definition of smart power. Next, this paper explores the benefits of smart power compared to hard power. Analyzing how hard powers, especially more traditional ones, operate in a contemporary context is an important aspect of this section. Then this paper analyzes what types of power the US and China’s international power strategies have relied on. This section continues in its use of critical theory to question common narratives, most notably that surrounding which power is most important to the US.
[1] Nye, Joseph S. Get Smart: Combining Hard and Soft Power. Foreign Affairs, 88, no. 4 (2009) http://www.jstor.org/stable/20699631, 160
The Victorian Age Beyond Masterpiece Theater
No full textCatherine Golden, professor of English at Skidmore College, delves into the myths and realities.https://creativematter.skidmore.edu/academic_minute/1001/thumbnail.jp