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Exploring Balanced Partitions in Triangular Lattices
No full textThis thesis investigates balanced partitions of spanning trees in triangular lattice graphs, extending previous work on grid graphs. The study of spanning tree partitions has applications in randomized algorithms and graph-based sampling techniques. First, we review foundational results on spanning trees in grid graphs, including probability bounds for obtaining balanced partitions when dividing a graph into two components. Then, we extend these methods to triangular lattices. Specifically, for a hexagonal region of a triangular lattice graph with a partition, we seek to establish a minimum probability that a randomly selected spanning tree can be divided into two balanced components. By adapting spanning tree distribution techniques, using a careful study of random walks, and employing combinatorial probability bounds, we provide theoretical guarantees for balanced partitions in triangular lattices. These results contribute to both theoretical graph analysis and practical applications in randomized algorithms and partition-based sampling methods. This research holds potential applications in redistricting electoral districts in the United States, equipping statisticians and political scientists with a framework for evaluating electoral boundary fairness
Fractured Simulacra: How Media Echo Chambers Shape Divergent Realities in Public Opinion
Get PDFThis thesis empirically investigates the relationship between exposure to time-varying partisan news content and individual policy attitudes. Combining individual-level Cooperative Election Study data (2020–2023, N≈68,000 for seven policy outcomes) with daily Fox News and MSNBC transcripts, I analyze how fluctuations in media narratives associate with public opinion. Leveraging large language models, I classify all relevant news segments by topic and ideological stance (liberal/conservative), generating daily time series of content volume and slant for each channel and policy issue. These series construct respondent-specific exposure measures based on self-reported viewership and 7-day rolling aggregates of media content preceding the survey interview date. OLS regression models predict standardized policy attitudes using interaction terms between viewership and media aggregates (Net Tone; or Volume and Slant simultaneously), controlling for demographics, ideology, party identification, and county and year fixed effects. The analysis finds a robust association between the ideological slant of recent media exposure and policy attitudes. Controlling for content volume and fixed effects, exposure to more liberal-slanted coverage in the preceding week significantly associates with holding more liberal views across nearly all policy domains (most p\u3c0.001). For instance, a one-unit increase in the normalized liberal slant (-1 to +1) of Fox News\u27 coverage of assault weapons over a week correlates with a 0.146 (SE=0.012) point increase in viewer support for a ban. This slant effect generally dominates the smaller and less consistent associations found for content volume. These findings demonstrate a strong correlation between how partisan outlets frame issues and viewer opinions, distinct from channel selection, highlighting the value of granular content analysis for understanding media\u27s role in shaping policy views
Priming Effects of Grammatical Gender on Gender Conceptualization in French
No full textSeveral Indo-European languages have grammatical gender constructs in which nouns are assigned to a gendered noun class, typically masculine or feminine. Speakers of such languages must categorize inanimate nouns as masculine or feminine, despite these objects lacking biological sex. Some research has been conducted on whether grammatical gender affects the gender conceptualizations of inanimate objects: for example, do individuals perceive grammatically feminine objects as having more feminine qualities? The question of the effects of grammatical gender on cognition is rooted in the theory of linguistic relativity, first coined by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf in the 1950s (Sera et al., 1994). This theory claims that cross-linguistic differences affect how speakers of different languages perceive reality. Research on linguistic relativity has explored several language constructs, including how different languages encode concepts of time, spatial orientation, color discrimination, number representations, and object categorization (Samuel et al., 2019). However, studies examining the effects of grammatical gender have yielded conflicting results, and often only focus on native speakers. This study examined the potential effects of priming with grammatical gender on conceptual gender associations in intermediate L2 French speakers. Participants were primed with images of inanimate nouns that were either grammatically masculine or feminine in French, then completed a lexical decision task in which target words represented culturally masculine or feminine activities. Results indicated little to no impact of grammatical gender on gender conceptualization. The findings of this study imply that grammatical gender may not affect gender concepts in non-fluent speakers of a gendered language, but the conflicting nature of the literature in this field calls for further research
Protecting California’s Oak Forests: An Evaluation of the Prevalence of the Gold Spotted Oak Borer in Bearpaw Reserve
No full textThis report summarizes my EA190 capstone project which analyzes the prevalence of an invasive oak-boring beetle, the Gold Spotted Oak Borer, at Bearpaw Reserve, in collaboration with the Wildlands Conservancy. Over the course of the semester our team of four students surveyed 636 black oaks using Survey123 to document the signs of the GSOB, including exit holes, epicormic sprouting and bark staining. We then used ArcGIS Pro and R Studio to synthesize our collected data. Our findings revealed an 8.33% infestation rate among surveyed trees, the general trend being that older trees were targeted, but with some young trees also showing signs of GSOB damage. Our final deliverables included an annotated bibliography summarizing existing literature on the GSOB and a web map made in ArcGIS Pro with our data points and added visual analysis. We presented our work, findings, and maps on May 1st, 2025 to the Wildlands Conservancy and the Claremont Colleges
Verification of Real-Time Smoke Simulations: A Case Study on Early Summer North American Wildfire Events
Get PDFAs wildfire intensity and frequency escalate in times of unprecedented climate change and severe droughts, it is important to enhance forecasting models that accurately and efficiently predict wildfire smoke movement. NOAA’s experimental Rapid-Refresh Forecasting System with Smoke and Dust (RRFS-SD) aims to improve upon the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh- Smoke (HRRR-Smoke), by extending the domain to include all of North America and incorporating new developments in physics and wildfire parameterizations. Our work explores the process of adding satellite Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data, through AERONET, as an additional method of verification of the RRFS-SD experimental model. Using a case study on early-summer wildfires in Alaska and Canada, we analyzed observed AERONET (AOD) and AirNow (PM2.5) data alongside the experimental RRFS-SD model. Employing MELODIES-MONET, a tool incorporated into the real-time verification system, we assess and explain discrepancies between the experimental model, real observations, and their associated AQI-associated health risk notifications. Our findings provide insights into the strengths and limitations of RRFS-SD, contributing to the improvement of wildfire smoke forecasting
To Seek and Sustain: A Theoretical Exploration and Choreographic Analysis of Embodied Safety
Get PDFThe following project is a choreographic exploration framed by a literature review of the polyvagal theory, the BrainDance, and processes of regulation and co-regulation. Combined and interwoven, they demonstrate the potentiality of embodied safety. The performative work, “To Seek and Sustain”, celebrates a collective authorship of movement, emphasizes process over product, and centers dancers\u27 subjective experiences. The polyvagal theory and the BrainDance were the catalyst for this piece; their descriptions drove the choreographic intentions and the dance’s expressive nature. “To Seek and Sustain” demonstrates how to identify and embody physiological safety through choreographed movement
Beyond the Binary: Amazigh Ethnicity and Transformational Resistance
Get PDFThis article explores Amazigh activism in Algeria, focusing on the role of language, memory, and political mobilisation in reshaping national identity. It critically examines the reductive Arab/Berber binary, arguing that such oppositions, rooted in French colonial logic, provide the vocabulary through which Amazigh identity claims are confined within minority paradigms. The aim is to reconceptualise Amazigh ethnic identity as a form of transformational resistance that challenges dominant power structures rather than merely seeking accommodation within them. Drawing on a diverse range of primary and secondary sources—including memoirs of key figures in Algerian nationalism such as Hocine Aït Ahmed and Sadek Hadjerès, as well as literature from grassroots Amazigh movements like the Mouvement Culturel Berbère and the âarch, the analysis situates the notion of “Berberism,” which gained prominence in the 1940s, within a broader historical context. Through the examination of key historical moments, notably the Berberist Crisis of 1949, the Kabylia Insurrection of 1963, the Berber Spring of 1980, and the Black Spring of 2001-2002, this study investigates the connection between Amazigh identity and narratives of resistance and transformation, thereby challenging the minoritisation of ethnic identities in post-colonial contexts. Through this lens, the article seeks to affirm plural ways of being rather than categorise them and to amplify the voices of those who persevere in speaking and promoting their language and culture
DESIGNED TO RECALL: INVESTIGATING PROCESSING FLUENCY AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN CULTURALLY SENSITIVE USER INTERFACES AND LONG-TERM MEMORY
No full textThe study aims to explore how processing fluency mediates the relationship between culturally/non-culturally sensitive user interfaces (UI) and long-term memory recall. For this purpose, 786 Indian participants will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: interacting with a culturally or non-culturally sensitive UI. Participants will be asked to self-report their views on the design to determine the level of processing fluency experienced. Lastly, they will be asked to take a test to determine the number of items remembered, indicating an impact on long-term memory. The results are anticipated to demonstrate a significant main effect between the type of UI and the number of items recalled from long-term memory, such that participants in the non-culturally sensitive UI condition will experience an increase in the number of items recalled. Furthermore, the effect of the UI type on the number of items recalled will be fully mediated by processing fluency. In the non-culturally sensitive UI condition, participants will show a decreased level of processing fluency and an increase in the number of items recalled from long-term memory. Similarly, participants will show an increased level of processing fluency and a decrease in the number of items recalled from long-term memory in the culturally sensitive UI condition. Alongside adding to previous literature, this proposal hopes to contribute to future UI designs by highlighting the impacts of cultural congruency on materials and how that can inform education-based platforms, amongst other initiatives that require memory retention
From Crisis to Comeback: Investigating the Post-Catastrophe Performance of American Professional Sports Teams
No full textProfessional sports play a critical role in stimulating economic growth in both local and global markets by driving revenue through ticket sales, merchandise, sponsorships, and media rights. Building on this understanding of the economic significance of professional sports, this thesis examines whether major catastrophes—such as natural disasters or significant societal disruptions—influence team performance in American professional sports leagues beyond expected levels in the affected cities. Using panel data from 34 seasons of NFL and NBA teams, this research assesses variations in team performance relative to projected outcomes in the wake of catastrophes. A difference-in-difference regression model with fixed effects for team location and season and a dummy variable to indicate catastrophic events are employed to evaluate if these incidents influence a team\u27s actual win percentages beyond expectations. The findings show that catastrophes do not have a statistically significant impact on NFL or NBA team performance, as measured in the seasons between 1990 and 2023