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The Discourse of the Scalpel and the Limbo of Non-identity: Doing Justice to Herculine Barbin
Get PDFIn this essay I will make a comparative analysis of Butlers reading of Herculin Barbin in Gender Trouble and David Reimer in Undoing Gender. My reading of Undoing Gender will illustrate reflective moments in which Butler herself describes spaces outside of intelligibility. First, my analysis will consist of in reading Butlers earlier work against her more recent writings on gender. Utilizing the same critical lens that Butler incorporated to compare Foucault’s later work against his earlier writing will bring to the fore important tensions in Bulter’s gender theory and her relationship with Foucault. Second, I will describe the discourse of the scalpel that is found in the narratives of both Barbin and David. I find that Barbin’s framework foreshadows the discourse of the scalpel that Judith Bulter identifies within the life story of David Reimer. Then I will give an account of the discourse of the scalpel as a form of biopower. I will supplement my analysis of Bulter with Jemima Repo’s essay, Herculine Barbin and the Omission of Biopolitics from Judith Butler’s Gender Genealogy. Taken together my analysis will elucidate a lineage between Herculine Barbin and David Reimer that calls for a reexamination of Butler’s relationship with Foucault
An Ethos of Sustainability: Integrated Sustainability for Urban Development
Get PDFCuritiba, Brazil has become an international model for sustainable development and social regeneration. Its success has been despite a diminutive budget and rather has depended on creative, multi-dimensional solutions that solve multiple problems simultaneously. This paper analyzes Curitiba’s urban parks and public transportation policies in relation to a holistic definition of sustainable development. The purpose of this article is to highlight the manner by which Curitiba has created an ethos of sustainability so that other cities might learn to emulate this model while recognizing the ways in which many of these policies are specific to the place where they are implemented.Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Lauretta Frederkin
The Science of Romantic Love: Distinct Evolutionary, Neural, and Hormonal Characteristics
Get PDFRomantic love is a psychological state that encompasses extreme euphoria and feelings of passion and intimacy for another individual. It can be characterized using Dr. Helen Fisher’s system of evolutionary, neural, and hormonal profiles that are distinct from those of attraction and attachment, which are two additional love-related processes. A broad review of scientific articles, classic literature, and popular culture is employed to define romantic love, and to explore its distinct evolutionary, neural, and hormonal characteristics. The possibility of romantic love under special circumstances is then explored. The discussion is specifically focused on the prospect of love without physical contact as featured in Spike Jonze’s 2013 film, Her. Results of this literature and research review support the theory that romantic love is an inebriating condition that suppresses judgment, and thus romantic love under these specific conditions is, indeed, possible. Throughout this composition, socio-cultural, evolutionary, psychological, and physiological theoretical perspectives are presented in an informal dialogue to make this topic accessible to an interdisciplinary audience.Faculty Sponsor: Dr. James S. Ferrar
Embracing a Deweyan Approach to Punishment
Get PDFKant’s retributive theory of punishment, resting on the notion of desert, i.e., deserved reward or punishment, assumes responsibility of the moral agent. On the contrary, a Deweyan approach to punishment does not assume responsibility, but rather, aims to cultivate it. These two different approaches ground two very different theories of punishment. In this essay, I compare these two divergent approaches, emphasizing their conflicting notions of what it means to treat criminals as moral agents. Ultimately, I demonstrate that moral responsibility is not to be assumed, but rather, is something to be cultivated. The point of punishment should not be to punish merely because one deserves to be punished, for upon investigation, the notion of desert proves fruitless. The point of punishment should be to morally cultivate
Computational Modelling of a Spanning Drop in a Wedge with Variable Angle
Get PDFIn this work, mathematical and computational techniques were used to model the phenomenon of a bubble or liquid drop as it slides to the narrowest side between two tilted plates. Practical applications of this phenomenon, such as the adjustment of liquid propellant tanks, are also discussed. Computations involved the use of Surface Evolver—a fully open, interactive program that allows the simulation of physical experiments in a virtual environment.Faculty Sponsor: Valerio Ramos BatistaFaculty Sponsor: Valério Ramos Batist
A Mixed-Methods Exploration of the Relationship Between Crime and Community Gardens: A Case Study of Seattle’s P-Patches from 1996 to 2006
Get PDFUrban community gardens have been shown to have positive affects social capital, yet like many public spaces, are open to negative activities like crime. Contrary to this idea, most of the literature has indicated that urban green spaces are associated with a reduction in crime. This study utilized a mixed-methods research design to explore the hypothesis that areas around Seattle’s “P-Patch” community gardens are associated with a reduction in crime. We employed spatio-temporal GIS (Geographic Information Systems) analyses, statistical analyses, and qualitative interviews with gardeners. Yearly violent and property crime rates for 132 census tracts in Seattle, locations of 84 P-Patches were mapped, and changes in crime and garden establishment from 1996 to 2006 were observed. Correlations were conducted on socio-demographic, crime, and P-Patch variables. Interviews with four gardeners were conducted and qualitatively analyzed for common themes. Geographic visualization showed interesting patterns in crime and P-Patch establishment in South Seattle in particular, but outcomes of the correlation between P-Patch and crime variables were inconclusive. Qualitative interviews with gardeners provided a fuller account of the overall changes in Seattle crime, gardeners’ perceptions of neighborhood safety, and its relation to the development of urban community spaces such as P-Patches.Faculty Sponsor: Jin-Kyu Jun
Arabidopsis thaliana growth more than defense affects Myzus persicae populations
Get PDFAphids and other herbivorous insects are able to travel between plants in their environment. While plants cannot directly choose their consumers, they may stop or mitigate the harmful effects of herbivory using secondary metabolites. A salicylic acid (SA) pathway facilitates defense from biotrophic fungi and some necrotrophic pathogens, while a jasmonic acid (JA) pathway is associated with defense from other necrotrophic pathogens and chewing insects. We investigated the effect of deficiency in SA or JA in Arabidopsis thaliana on plant growth and on herbivory by green peach aphids (Myzus persicae). Three ascensions of A. thaliana were placed in two blocks with three aphids on each individual. The genotypes consisted of a SA-deficient ascension (Sid2), a JA-deficient ascension (Lox2), and a wild type (Col). Wild-type A. thaliana showed significantly greater growth relative to the other ascensions, suggesting better performance, as well as dramatically higher aphid count. Aphid count showed a significant positive correlation with plant growth, suggesting that M. persicae is attracted to signs of growth in A. thaliana, or reproduces more on growing plants. It appears that wild-type plants showed greater growth throughout the experiment, and were thus targeted by the highly responsive M. persicae. This behaviour may be exploited for agricultural purposes; herbivorous insects may be diverted to fast-growing trap crops lacking agricultural value in order to protect primary crops.Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Chad Harve
Fall 2023 Notes from the Stacks
Get PDFQuarterly newsletter from James E. Brooks Library at Central Washington University.https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/nfts_newsletters/1041/thumbnail.jp
The Prevalence of COVID-19 Misinformation among High School Students and its Influence on National Public Health Perception
Get PDFThe global COVID-19 pandemic brought attention to national public health perception and the detriments of medical misinformation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the extent to which susceptibility to common COVID-19 virus and vaccine misconceptions correlate with the high school students’ perception of public health. A survey was distributed to 61 high school students, and it was found that there is a weak negative correlation between acceptance of COVID-19 virus and vaccine misconceptions and national public health perception. The results, however, indicated a prevalence of misconceptions surrounding COVID-19 among participants. Overall, 52.5% of participants rate public health as poorly functioning regarding preventing health threats and illnesses such as COVID-19. Importantly, high school students are vulnerable to deceiving information on the internet and social media and do not have good/excellent opinions towards national public health regarding managing infectious diseases such as COVID-19, which could potentially be worsened by destructive misinformation on the media
Camus and Levinas: Embracing the Absurd While Finding Meaning
Get PDFAlbert Camus’ idea of the absurd lands one in nihilism and the danger of rationally justified suicide. His attempt to solve this problem fails because it requires that one make an arbitrary choice to live without having good reasons to do so. By using Levinas’ ethics of an infinite responsibility and distinguishing between two types of meaning (cosmic and terrestrial), I propose that one can accept the condition of the absurd—where no cosmic meaning exists—and escape the problem of suicide by finding terrestrial meaning in our relations to other