Sewanee: The University of the South
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The Effect of Marital Status on Income for Women in the United States
Get PDFResearch has found that marital status has many impacts on quality of life including health and life expectancy (Lawrence 2019; Maselko et al., 2009). Married women pay a marriage penalty when it comes to their own income level, resulting in an economic loss (Madalozzo 2008). Using panel data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), we examine the effect of marital status on both women’s personal and total family income. We look at variables that might influence women’s income such as marital status, age, education, number of children in the family unit, and age of the youngest child. We find that women’s marital status affects their income with the average single woman earning more compared to the average married woman. This may be due to a larger percentage of single women having a full-time job or a college education compared to married women which could impact their earning potential
Portfolio Analysis Project: FINC 410
Get PDFAs our comprehensive project in Advanced Security Analysis, we construct and analyze a portfolio consisting of five publicly traded companies. Our investment strategy revolves around blue-chip stocks that have shown consistent, long-term growth with relatively low risk. With this in mind, we assemble a portfolio composed of J.P. Morgan & Co., Microsoft Corporation, Amazon.com Inc., BlackRock, Inc., and Lululemon Athletica Inc. We examine and utilize risk vs. reward analysis, the Portfolio Theory Model, the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), and the Fama-French Three-Factor Model as modes of analysis. From these methods, we gain insight into the optimal composition of our portfolio and an in-depth analysis of our portfolio’s performance. This paper presents macroeconomic conditions, the theories and algorithms that we used for our analysis and reallocation, and the performance of our portfolio
End the Payday Loan Scam
No full textPredatory payday, title, and flex loans are a growing affliction in low-income communities that lead people to pay hundreds in interest and fees every month yet never pay down their loans. Our non-profit partner BetterFi offers those borrowers a pathway out of debt traps and toward financial fitness by refinancing their loans at reasonable rates, as well as offering new loans to those who qualify. Using past client data, we will develop predictive models which will create a more efficient and scalable way for BetterFi to service the community and end the cycle of debt.Sam Shaw, Spike Hosch, Huarui Jing, BetterF
How do males choose a mate in the Mangrove Rivulus?
Get PDFFemales often use male coloration, courtship displays, body size and armaments in their mate choice decisions in order to choose the highest quality mate. Although less often studied, males also show mate choice and often prefer larger and more fecund females. In this study, we examined male mate choice in the mangrove rivulus fish. In this species the majority of individuals within a population are hermaphrodites and capable of self-fertilization, but males are also produced at a low rate and are capable of outcrossing with hermaphrodites. Hermaphrodites produce more unfertilized eggs as they age so older females might be more attractive to males in terms of mating potential. In this study, we examined whether males preferred older hermaphrodites over younger hermaphrodites. We used a standard dichotomous choice test where a young and an old hermaphrodite were at either end of the tank in containers that allowed both visual and chemical cues. Males could choose to freely associate with either partner and we recorded how much time the male spent with either hermaphrodite over a 10 minute trial. We further examined how this varied among distinct genetic lineages. Our study will help us understand the role that male mate choice plays in this unique mating system.Dr. McGhe
Measuring the Impact of Education on Happiness in OECD Countries
Get PDFEducation is understood to generate important financial and non-pecuniary benefits at the individual level (Cuñado, & de Gracia, 2012). This has led most countries to commit substantial resources towards the education of their people. However, it is unclear whether education contributes to happiness at a national level. Using a panel of data from OECD countries for 2006 to 2018, we use fixed effects regression to study the impact of education on national happiness. When controlling for other factors that affect happiness including average household income, life expectancy, and presence of social support networks, we find that education achievement is not a statistically significant predictor of happiness within OECD nations
Stop the Raves in the Caves
Get PDFNo one has synthesized the available data on the conservation status of subterranean cave species in the past 20 years. Because of this, the Sewanee Datalab has partnered with Dr. Kirk Zigler, who is interested in researching cave species biodiversity across North America. Working with Datalab and Dr. Zigler, the goal of this project will be to obtain the available data on a specific list of subterranean cave species and analyze them to highlight trends among different species of varying endangerment in different locations of North America. The final product of this project will be an interactive dashboard with an undecided long-term use, along with an academic paper that will be written following the conclusion of the data lab and the results that came from it.Kirk Zigler, Matthew Rud
Purifying Wastewater for Rural Communities Posters
No full textPopulation growth and climate change continue to pose ever-increasing challenges to water treatment facilities. Constructed wetlands, designed and built to mimic natural wetlands, are a more sustainable and cost effective alternative to purify wastewater. The Sewanee Wetlands Project has been collecting data over the past several years to determine the effectiveness of its constructed wetlands, and we are analyzing this data to determine if constructed wetlands function efficiently on a small scale in rural communities. We are also creating a community accessible dashboard which will educate the public further on wetlands and climate change.In 2016, Dr. McGrath, Professor of Biology at Sewanee, lobbied for the construction of three wetland basins at the Sewanee Utility District (SUD) in order to research the efficacy of wetland treatment for a small community setting. For the past few years, water quality measurements have been taken at the SUD's wetlands to better determine the outcomes of wetland treatment in rural communities like Sewanee. Our team's goal was to set up visualizations that allow our community partner, Dr. McGrath, to understand the water quality trends of the wetlands over time to push for sustainable development in the community.Deborah McGrath, Kevin Fouts, Catherine Cavagnar
Characterization and Imaging by Transmission Spectroscopy
Get PDFI have constructed an array of LEDs of various wavelengths in order to measure the transmission spectra of materials. I used an Arduino to activate each LED individually to measure the transmittance of the particular wavelength through the sample. By taking pictures of the sample backlit by each LED and evaluating them in ImageJ, I obtained the transmittance of light relative to the background. By further analysis in
ImageJ, I was able to create these transmission spectra as a function of the distance across samples. This can be used to observe optical phenomena such as Poisson's spot, a bright spot in the middle of a shadow that occurs due to diffraction
Stop the Raves in the Caves
No full textNo one has synthesized the available data on the conservation status of subterranean cave species in the past 20 years. Because of this, the Sewanee Datalab has partnered with Dr. Kirk Zigler, who is interested in researching cave species biodiversity across North America. Working with Datalab and Dr. Zigler, the goal of this project will be to obtain the available data on a specific list of subterranean cave species and analyze them to highlight trends among different species of varying endangerment in different locations of North America. The final product of this project will be an interactive dashboard with an undecided long-term use, along with an academic paper that will be written following the conclusion of the data lab and the results that came from it.Kirk Zigler, Matthew Rud
A plasmid-launched, highly tractable coronavirus reverse genetics system
Get PDFCoronaviruses (CoVs) are a large family of single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses that infect a wide range of vertebrate hosts. Along with SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are six other characterized human CoVs (HCoVs). Infection by the four endemic HCoVs (e.g., -OC43, -NL63, -229E, -HKU1) are often associated with the common cold, while infection with epidemic HCoVs (e.g., SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV) can result in severe disease with high mortality. The generation of recombinant viruses is an important tool for understanding viral replication and for testing potential therapeutics; however, the systems used to engineer these viruses are often inefficient and labor intensive. Several systems to engineer recombinant CoVs have been developed over the past two decades, but none are suitable for the rapid generation of large panels of recombinant viruses due to technical constraints. Transformation-associated recombination (TAR) is a cloning technique which leverages the high rate and efficiency of homologous recombination in yeast to assemble large plasmids of foreign DNA. We leveraged TAR and recent reports of SARS-CoV-2 reverse genetics systems to engineer a plasmid-launched, TAR-assembled system. Herein, we demonstrate that a TAR-generated murine CoV (MHV-A59) has similar viral yield kinetics as wild-type MHV-A59 and provide proof-of-principle for the utility of this system to generate a panel of recombinant viruses in only a few weeks