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Political Messaging in Imperial Chinese Art: Developments from the Northern to Southern Song Dynasty
No full textNuclear Fusion: Always Twenty Years Away? Or Closer Than We Think?
No full textHarnessing power from nuclear fusion has been a goal for physicists and engineers alike over the last eighty years and remains one of the major scientific challenges of the 21st century. As our planet is continually endangered due to man-made climate change, it is important – now more than ever – to develop alternative forms of energy. Currently, researchers have concluded that the most consistent and efficient way to perform nuclear fusion is by heating a Deuterium and Tritium (isotopes of Hydrogen) fuel source to extreme temperatures (millions of degrees Kelvin). To maintain these conditions, the fuel, which at this temperature would be classified as an ionized gas – or a plasma – must be confined. The motion of a plasma is modeled using magnetohydrodynamics, a method that combines fluid mechanics and Maxwell’s equations. Using magnetohydrodynamics, we can create a reactor that confines the plasma and ultimately results in a fully functioning nuclear fusion reactor. These reactors, including the tokamak, the stellarator, the spherical tokamak, and more, offer glimpses into a brighter future, one where the dream of fusion power may become a reality
Considering Classical Psychedelics in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders
No full textMillions of patients receive a substance use disorder (SUD) diagnosis every year, with over 20 million in the United States in 2019 alone (NIDA, 2021). However, current methods of treatment for substance use disorders are faulty in terms of retention and relapse rates. Further, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) estimates that only 13% of SUD patients have access to treatment options. Classical psychedelics, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, ayahuasca, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), are promising novel treatment options for SUDs, with emerging clinical evidence for effective treatment regimens. Research on the efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) began in the 1950s. Due to Schedule 1 restriction, the field of psychedelic research slowed throughout the rest of the 1900s, but is resurging in the 2000s. Modern psychedelic research initiatives are focused on clinical trials, and understanding the neurobiology of psychedelics. With literature spanning over 70 years, psychedelic research must be continually synthesized. This review seeks to accomplish this, by examining up-to-date research to create a coherent and critical narrative questioning if classical psychedelics are efficacious enough to become integrated into accepted SUD treatment. Indeed, there is compelling evidence that psychedelic-assisted therapy holds promise to be at the forefront of SUD treatment. However, past studies utilize weak research methods which undermine the ability to draw trustworthy conclusions from them
Fluttering and Falling
No full textI am physically here, in this body and in this place. When my stomach drops or I hear my heart pump in my chest I am reminded that I am tangible and real. Printmaking is a way to index and share some truth or proof of that realness. Like the print of a hand on a stone wall, I want to log a message of my physical existence and the lived experience that comes along with it. Through this act, I reach out with a reminder that we are all here, in this body and in this world, leaving and communicating prints of our own realness
Cultivating Healing Within: Spirituality, Self-Love, and Personal Empowerment for Black Women, Femmes, and Non-Binary Folks
No full textThis senior thesis project explores the relationship between Black spirituality, self- love, and empowerment, specifically focusing on the healing and well-being of Black women, femmes and non-binary folk. Spirituality is defined as an awareness of one\u27s connection to self, others, nature, those who came before and etc. My work focuses on Black feminist forms of spirituality and aims to create spaces for vulnerability and self-expression, drawing strength from ancestral wisdom and promoting holistic well-being. It serves to affirm the importance of prioritizing spiritual health and personal healing, especially for individuals who have intersectional identities and face centuries of generational trauma. It also calls attention to the intersectionality of gender and sexuality in Black spirituality, shedding some light on alternative expressions and the unique challenges faced by marginalized genders and sexualities
Orienting, Disorienting, Reorienting: Revisiting Queerness in Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla” and Bram Stoker’s Dracula
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Breaking the Populist Spell: The Impact of Education and Popular Psychologies on Reception of Populist Appeals in the United States
No full textConventional wisdom suggests that education fosters cultural understanding, critical thinking, and socioeconomic mobility in ways which inform voting behavior. However, this paper investigates whether popular psychological characteristics like distrust, anxiety, and anger can take precedence over education in key political decisions, particularly in elections which feature a populist candidate. To determine which has a stronger impact on voting behavior in the 2016 United States presidential election, I develop regression models which test for the relative impact of level of education compared to the psychologies of group identity, nostalgia, agreeability, relative deprivation, societal pessimism, and trust. Urban/rural residency, age, and income are included in the analysis as control variables. I find that psychological appeals are a stronger force in pulling citizens towards populist candidates than education is in deterring citizens from voting for populists. However, while education did not have a strong independent impact on voting behavior, supplementary regression models with psychological variables as dependent variables suggest education directly influences political psychologies. This is consistent with the assumption that education develops the critical thinking skills necessary to build and develop the political psychologies which inform attraction to populist messaging. Not only do these results contribute to a more complete understanding of Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, they matter for individuals who worry about the consequences of the recent ascendance of populism on democratic values
Sustainable Agriculture as Resistance against a Market Society
No full textThis paper gives an overview of how America went from a society and economy of family farms to the industrial monoculture agribusiness we see today. I explore theories discussed in Karl Polanyi’s book The Great Transformation such as embeddedness, fictitious commodities, social dislocation, and the double movement in connection to society’s reaction to the rise of corporate agriculture. Building from Polanyi’s theories and employing Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development framework, I use a survey of Northfield, MN residents’ food shopping habits and opinions to discern their motivations for buying locally grown food. To expand upon this analysis, I bring in case studies from agricultural organizations around the country to illustrate a push within the sustainable agriculture movement for a larger shift to a post-industrial economy and society. I conclude that both the survey and case studies support the idea that sustainable agriculture supports social relocation by re-integrating economic interaction within community relationships