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Does Pulling the Goalie Lead to a Playoff Appearance?
Get PDFThe analytics movement took over the sports world in the last five to ten years. The movement originated in baseball and moved to football and basketball with great success. Hockey has yet to undergo an analytical decision-making boom like the other “Big Four” North American sports leagues. The closest decision within hockey that can be examined analytically is pulling the goalie late in games. Pulling the goalie is one of the most researched topics related to hockey. The results of this research have evolved since the 1980’s, but the focus has been on what is the best time to pull the goalie to maximize win percentage. There is little research on if the strategy is worthwhile in the long run. This study uses six years of historical game summary data from the National Hockey League to evaluate if the strategy can help teams improve their place in the standings and their likelihood to make the playoffs. A panel regression with team fixed effects was used to evaluate the effect of optimal pull percent on standing points; a logit panel regression was utilized to evaluate the likelihood to make the playoffs. This study found that the optimal pull percentage of a team is not significant in both models. The team quality effects of goals for average and goals against average were significant in the improving the number of standing points while only goals for average was significant in the likelihood of making the playoffs. What this means for the future is discussed within the discussion section of this study
‘I am Very Devoted to our Lady’: Creolization in Enslaved Afro-Mexican Blasphemy Trials
No full textMany historians have viewed Afro-Mexican blasphemy as an opportunity for resistance against an oppressive system in which enslaved Black people committed sacrilege to appeal to the Mexican Inquisition for reprieve and to verbally rebuke the culture of the masters and overseers who punished them. Recent historians such as Frank Proctor III have countered these assumptions and denounced the ascription of resistance to every action taken by Afro-Mexicans. This study pushes beyond these prior analyses by focusing on creolization evident in Afro-Mexican blasphemy trials by analyzing seven Inquisition cases with defendants from central Mexico. Enslaved Afro-Mexicans’ responses to the circumstances surrounding their imprisonment and subjugation under the absolutist state reveal insight into the process of cultural and social change surrounding their status in colonial Mexico. Given numerous opportunities to present their view of the circumstances, these enslaved men, women, and young adults pleaded to the Inquisition for mercy and performed distinct rituals appealing to the ethos, logos, and pathos of the judges by professing their love of God, their firm belief in Catholic doctrine, and their status as victims of un-Christian-like behavior by masters who failed as virtuous exemplars. Presenting the testimonies of Black, mixed-race, African, and Creole peoples, this study contributes to the wider body of Afro-Mexican religious and sociocultural history. It portrays each case with nuance and will aid future researchers who seek to push beyond discovering agency
LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC IN THE WIND BAND REPERTOIRE: HISTORICAL CONTEXT, LATIN AMERICAN RHYTHMS, AND INTERPRETATIVE STRATEGIES
Get PDFThe rich and diverse musical heritage of Latin America offers an attractive repertoire for wind bands that deserves greater recognition in the United States. Despite proximity and cultural exchange, many exemplary works from Latin America remain unknown to conductors, music teachers, and audiences. This dissertation identifies four exemplary works, provides historical and cultural background of the Latin American music, and offers practical guidance for music teachers and directors to successfully perform this repertoire. Based on these four works by composers from Argentina (Valeria Pelka), Colombia (Oscar Trujillo), Costa Rica (Vinicio Meza), and Mexico (Estrella Cabildo), the research demonstrates the history of these genres, focusing pedagogically on the assimilation of rhythmic styles that evolve from the interaction of Amerindian, African, and European musical practices.
By showcasing the richness and variety of Latin American wind band music, this study encourages its inclusion in the programming and curriculum of wind ensembles in the United States, fostering appreciation for cultural practices that were once alien, but now are part of the broad demographic spectrum of this country. Through exposure to these works, music educators can find new inspiration while modeling an inclusive curriculum, which is critical to progress as a society
Fantastic Herbals and Where to Find Them: Contextualizing and Expanding the Alchemical Herbal Tradition
Get PDFA collection of 38 herbal manuscripts have remained all but hidden to scholars in the shadow of the Italian Alps. Despite several texts analyzing specific texts (Leporace, 1952, Lupo 1982, Ragazzini 1983, Toresella 1985, Pezzella 2007 and Bruzzone 2015, 2019) and one pioneering work which synthesizes a large portion of them as united in the corpus (Segre 2000), the “alchemical herbal tradition” has so far escaped examination through methodologies employed in the history of science, medicine and magic. The 98 alchemical herbs described in the tradition demonstrate a complex and nuanced medieval approach to astrology, natural and vernacular magic, botanical medicine, religion and alchemy. However, there is far less of this final category than one might expect to find in a manuscript tradition named after the discipline. The present work adds 14 alchemical herbals to the 24 manuscripts examined by Vera Segre’s foundational census of the tradition in an effort to improve the body of evidence available for analysis and comparison. In addition to using existing frameworks and methodologies from the history of medical botany, we find that these manuscripts can be better understood by applying terms such as magiferous and natural magic, placing them squarely within their cultural and intellectual contexts of the Italian Quattrocento. By analyzing individual plants across the full collection of manuscripts, changes in their medical uses, occult properties, and fantastic illustrations can be traced to provide better understanding of the lived histories of their manuscripts and owners. This is a preliminary study examining the theoretical foundations underpinning this large and varied collection of herbals, with the aim of one day understanding who the supposed alchemists were that created these enigmatic codices
Examining Preservation of Pathological Lesions in Cremated Human Skeletal Remains from the Archaic Period Site of Phaleron, Greece
No full textThis thesis explores preservation of pathological lesions in primary cremations from the Archaic Period (ca. 750-480 BCE), archaeological site of Phaleron, Greece. The main research questions include: 1) How can paleopathological analysis be modified to study cremated remains? 2) What areas of the body are well preserved and more reflective of pathologies after thermal alternation? 3) Which pathologies are observable after thermal alteration? I conducted standard data collection on a subset sample of the cremations at Phaleron, creating the biological profile including inventory and estimation of sex/age modified for cremated human skeletal remains. Pathological data was recorded both macro and microscopically. Elements that were thick, dense, and/or encased in flesh were amongst the most well-preserved elements. Preservation of the skeletal elements allowed for the observation of pathologies consistent with non-specific stress, occupational stress, and osteoarthritis in areas of the body spared by fire. One or more pathological lesions were identified in 71.1% of individuals. Moreover, the identification of pathological lesions was more dependent upon fragment size of elements as opposed to higher frequency of fragments. This project emphasizes the importance of a standardized, meticulous approach to studying cremated human skeletal remains
Activation of Interferon Through Glycated Chitosan Administration
Get PDFN-dihydrogalactochitosan (GC) is a novel immunoadjuvant with unique physiochemical properties that poses significant improvements upon its parent molecule, chitosan. Its potent immune stimulation properties make it promising in the world of vaccinations, with already proven reduction of morbidity in COVID studies. The key to generating immunity against intracellular pathogens is to generate a type I/II interferon (IFN) response. GC stimulates the desired IFN responses while other currently used adjuvants such as MF-59 often fail to do so. For comparison purposes, the immune response specific to GC stimulation needs to be understood. It has been previously demonstrated that application of GC in combination with photothermal therapy reduces mortality in cancer treatment studies. Furthermore, intranasal application of GC in combination with recombinant viral proteins has reduced COVID-19 mortality in mice. The fundamental question remains: Is GC acting as a physical barrier, or is GC stimulating a local type I IFN response which in turn activates antiviral pathways in the respiratory epithelium? Building on previously found GC immune activations, now presented are the results of gene activation and interferon activation in in vivo studies over time. This provides insight into the specific mechanisms by which GC succeeds at inducing anti-tumor and anti-viral immunological responses
ECHOES OF HERITAGE: CO-CREATING A CULTURAL HERITAGE CURRICULUM WITH THE CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA’S HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE USING ARCHAEOLOGY AS A TOOL
Get PDFCollaborative archaeology fosters relationships between communities and archaeologists
to create new perspectives of the past. This thesis examines the collaborative process between
archaeologists from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma’s Historic Preservation Office and myself,
aiming to develop a curriculum focusing on Choctaw cultural heritage utilizing archaeology as a
tool for Oklahoma history classes. While archaeology education seeks to educate the public
about the importance of cultural preservation, it often excludes voices of the descendant
communities being discussed. In Oklahoma history classrooms Indigenous voices are rarely
represented hindering students’ connection to the past. Through embracing Community-Based
Participatory Research (CBPR), this project outlines the collaborative process used to create a
curriculum focused on Choctaw cultural heritage. This thesis seeks to provide new insights into
collaborative archaeology and archaeology education, and to offer guidance to those interested in
pursuing similar projects
Teachers impacted by trauma and how district and school administration respond: a qualitative study
Get PDFTeachers, like all members of society, face instances of trauma, including but not limited to childhood, personal, secondary, collective, and institutional. Additionally, teachers face the most difficult working conditions the profession has ever seen. Districts routinely examine ways to support and retain teachers in the face of a massive teacher shortage. This study seeks to show how teachers’ trauma impacts their ability to do their job effectively and how district and school administrators can support their teachers in times of trauma and mental health concerns. Using a General Inductive Qualitative Model, this study used journal prompts and semi-structured interviews of 10 high school teachers from the Oklahoma City metro area to examine teachers’ responses to trauma, how it impacted their job performance, and how their district and school administration supported them. It covers current available resources and provides insight into what supports teachers feel would benefit them
Can a Single Lecture on Graph Literacy Improve General Decision Making Skills?
No full textAn emerging body of evidence suggests that brief debiasing training can make small but meaningful improvements in judgment and decision making. For example, recent studies have shown that training graph literacy (i.e., the ability to understand graphical representations) may reduce cognitive biases. However, it is unknown whether training graph literacy may also transfer to improve other aspects of decision making more generally. To test this hypothesis, I developed a 30-minute lecture-based graph literacy training program focused on icon arrays, using weather-related examples. I then conducted an experiment testing a cognitive model of the cascading benefits of training across graph literacy, cognitive biases, risk literacy, and informed decision making. Path analyses revealed that the training causally improved graph literacy, which reduced multiple cognitive biases (i.e., framing bias, ratio bias), appropriately boosted people’s confidence, improved people’s ability to understand risk communications without visual aids, and promoted more informed decision making about health. Although the decision benefits were modest, nearly everyone benefited from the training regardless of their cognitive abilities. Participants also reported that the training was easy to use and was as satisfying as an established training program on financial literacy. Discussion focuses on theoretical and practical implications, and potential limitations
Applying Anaerobic Microbial Cultivation, Molecular Techniques, and In-Silico Taxonomy to the Mammalian Microbiome
No full textThe mammalian gastrointestinal tract is an ecosystem home to a considerable number of bacteria, archaea, microeukaryotes, viruses, and their genomic components, collectively termed the "microbiome." This microbiome consists of many organisms that are "yet-to-be-cultured' representing a huge amount of uncharacterized bacterial biodiversity. In addition, the phylogeny of many groups of bacteria prevalent in the mammalian microbiome ecology is heterogeneous, with many taxa misclassified and needing revision. Furthermore, most studies of the non-human mammalian microbiome focus primarily on metagenomic inventories. However, cultivation-based studies should be undertaken to better characterize the broader gut microbial diversity within the class Mammalia. First, I restricted the historically heterogeneous Eubacterium genus to its type species, Eubacterium limosum, and its closest relatives. Additionally, two previously misclassified taxa, Eubacterium aggregans, and Eubacterium barkerii, were assigned to a novel genus, Paraeubacterium gen. nov., more accurately representing their phylogenetic placement. Using culture-dependent and independent approaches, I also explored the gut microbiomes of two understudied mammals, alpacas and bats. Further, two novel alpaca gut-associated anaerobes, Clostridium tanneri sp. nov. and Bacteroides vicugnae sp. nov., were isolated and characterized from the feces of two domesticated alpacas. Lastly, one novel genus, Aleya cavernae gen. nov., sp. nov., and one novel species, Lacrimispora spelaei sp. nov., were isolated and characterized from the bat gut microbiome. These studies represent a polyphasic approach using cultivation, chemotaxonomic, phenotypic, genomic, and in-silico methods, providing valuable insights into mammalian microbiomes, including the first step in the taxonomic revision of the genus Eubacterium and the description of novel taxa