1613 research outputs found
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Recruiting and Financial Factors Contributing to Success in NCAA Men’s Basketball
No full textThe NCAA cash machine has fueled a hypercompetitive and extravagant recruiting process as well as extensive conference rearrangement for college basketball in recent years. The purpose of this project is to gain an in-depth understanding of how financial and recruiting practices translate to wins. Using conference winning percentage, this analysis isolates the effects of financial and recruiting practices on team outcomes. Two conferences (the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 10) were examined using a fixed effects regression model. The results of this study offers guidance on how schools might recruit players and make budget allocations for future seasons
The Effects of Part-Set Cueing in Semantic Memory
No full textThis study explored the influence of part-set cues in semantic memory using tests of “free” recall, reconstruction of order, and serial recall. Nine distinct categories of information were used (e.g., zodiac signs, Harry Potter books, Star Wars films, planets). The results showed part-set cueing impairment for all three “free” recall sets, whereas part-set cueing facilitation was evident for five of the six ordered sets. A follow-up experiment explored the influence of part-set cues on semantic spatial memory. Results and implications will be discussed
The Impact of the Social Environment on Reproductive Plasticity: The Role of Male Harassment and Larval Competition in \u3cem\u3eCallosobruchus maculatus\u3c/em\u3e
Get PDFEffects of the social environment on reproductive behavior are widespread. How the social environment promotes or inhibits behavioral plasticity is less known. I examined the role of male harassment and larval competition on reproductive behaviors in Callosobruchus maculatus. For experiment one, I manipulated male harassment level during female oviposition. I measured oviposition substrate preference, clutch size, egg size, and the trade-off between egg and clutch size. For experiment two, I investigated the effect of the social environment during larval development inside the bean. Groups consisted of a control and sex-ratio-based competition treatments. I recorded the mating behavior of all emerged individuals and the clutch sizes of emerged females. My results demonstrated that male harassment, but not larval competition, impacted reproductive behavior. Specifically, male harassment decreased reproductive plasticity. The trade-off between egg and clutch size disappeared, clutch size decreased, and adaptive oviposition preferences were lost. Reproductive plasticity appears to be context-dependent
Division or Deliverance: Scripture in the Slavery Debates
No full textAntebellum American history often centers on regional divisions—North versus South. The slavery debate did more than pit American against American. It undermined the unity of the Christian community, creating a sectarian split between Protestants and Catholics. This project explores the pervasive influence of Christian thought in the nineteenth century, specifically examining educational patronage. From this, I analyze a diverse selection of texts to demonstrate how the abolitionists’ appeal to the religious sentiment of the nation was both a response to cultural norms as well as decisive in the movement’s success by using shared themes to win the public’s sympathy
Effect of Pollinator Availability on Reproductive Success in Claytonia Virginica
No full textVariation in flowering time can determine the difference between reproductive success and failure in plants that rely on pollinators to move their pollen. Individual plants that mismatch their flowering times with pollinator activity may not produce seeds and fruits. Understanding how variation in flowering time can alter reproductive success will allow us to understand the possible implications of early/late flowering due to climate shifts and how this can cause flower-pollinator mismatch. Claytonia virginica, one of the first forest perennials to flower in the spring, is ideal for testing factors relating to the match of flowering phenology pollinator emergence
The Reason for Desire
Get PDFIn our modern societies, we have built economic systems that rely on the principle that all objects have some value, and that this value comes from an inherent sense of desirability held by the object. While the continued functioning of modern capitalist economies would suggest this principle is correct, it gives little insight into what bestows this desirability onto the objects we buy and sell. In order to better understand the reasons for which we find objects desirable I will discuss René Girard’s theory of mimetic desire and how it can be applied to desires for things both physical and non-physical. After establishing the validity of the theory as an explanation for desire, I will furthermore discuss some possible consequences of accepting mimetic desire as a driving force behind behavior. I will first address the potential for individuals to become more aware of the reasons behind their desire for objects, being mimesis, and therefore more able to tailor their pursuits to better achieve their goals while ignoring unnecessary desires. Then, I will offer a potential consequence for society at large in the form of the ability to manipulate the behavior of the masses through the highlighting of specific models and the natural proliferation of those models’ traits. To conclude, I emphasize the importance of understanding the reasons behind our desires, as the limits of our understanding of behaviors so too limit our ability to change them
