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Remembering the Stasi on the Screen: Historical Film Analysis of the East German Ministry for State Security
Full text linkThe purpose of this thesis is to assess how the history and identity of the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (Ministry for State Security, Stasi) has been internalized by the German people through film media. Germans endured significant trauma and cultural manipulation at the hands of the Stasi and the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity Party, SED) that is personified in many ways. The trauma that the Stasi inflicted sits heavily on the reflective interpretations of the DDR, complicating retrospection on life in the DDR and its positive elements. The Stasi have come to represent the essential negativity of life in the DDR in the popular historical memory of film; however, appreciating the historical memory spawned by this shared experience as it is today requires an understanding of how it has changed over time. Therefore, this thesis will analyze film depictions of Stasi characters or characters that interact with the Stasi, separating out thematic groups of individuals based on their relationships to the Stasi and identifying similar narratives between the relationships. A list of films ranging from those produced in Deutsche Demokratische Republik (German Democratic Republic, DDR) to the most recent productions made for streaming platforms will be assessed to this end, covering to a varying degree of depth more than fifteen films and three television series in order to compile a substantially representative body of primary sources.
Core categories of relationships under review will be the outsiders, sub-categorized as prisoners, suspects, and Western interests; inoffizielle Mitarbeiter (unofficial collaborators, IMs), divided into informants and special agents; and official agents of the Stasi separated into low and high command positions when possible. These categories will be reviewed in the context of a continuous development over time with particular attention to shifts occurring before or after Germany’s Wende (Peaceful Revolution, directly translated as the Turning Point)
Engaging Future Engineers: Utilizing AI-Generated Video to Promote the Chemical Engineering Profession
Full text linkThe expected incline of the chemical engineering profession faces a growing need to attract the next generation of prospective students. This research explores the use of artificial intelligence (AI) software to create an innovative form of media fit for secondary school and early college outreach. The pre- and post-video questionnaires were taken by a voluntary population comprised of high school students, college students, and parents. Overall, the feedback received was generally positive but indicated that the AI avatars and the lip-sync discrepancies may disrupt the video more than enhance it. In the future, a larger population will be surveyed to draw a firm conclusion on the results. Once revised for higher engagement, the video will be used as a primary form of media for the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Arkansas whilst they conduct student outreach
Corporate Treasury Operations – Goldman Sachs
Full text linkThis thesis details the author\u27s internship experience at Goldman Sachs within the Corporate Treasury Operations (CTO) division during the summer of 2024, with a specific focus on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into financial services. The internship included exposure to the company\u27s operations in liquidity management, funding, and payment clearing, with particular emphasis on optimizing processes to enhance operational efficiency and risk mitigation. The thesis also explores three major projects: the Repair Tracking Uplift (RTU), which applied data analytics to reduce payment errors; the Payment Clearing Operations Coverage Dashboard (PCO CD), designed to streamline team coordination across global offices; and an AI-driven project aimed at automating payment exception processes and enhancing decision-making.
In addition, the research evaluates the risks associated with AI integration in financial services, particularly concerning customer service. It discusses the benefits and challenges of AI adoption, such as increased efficiency and personalization, while highlighting potential risks like data biases, security vulnerabilities, and the loss of human interaction. The thesis concludes with a reflection on the future of AI in financial services and the importance of balancing technological advancements with the preservation of customer trust and human oversight
A Statistical Investigation of the Parameters Influencing Rutting and Cracking Performance in Asphalt Mixtures
Full text linkDurable pavement is essential for modern transportation infrastructure, especially in the United States of America which boasts over 8.5 million lane miles of roads and highways. Despite advanced construction techniques, asphalt pavements are susceptible to rutting and cracking, significantly affecting their performance and maintenance costs. Current methods for analyzing rutting and cracking in asphalt mixtures rely on various parameters, leading to measurement variability. This highlights the need for more rigorous analysis to explore the relationship between mix design variables and pavement performance. This research explores the IDEAL-CT and APA data from 171 mix designs collected by the Arkansas Department of Transportation. Both mix designs had virgin and recycled asphalt mixtures to compare how the percent recycled asphalt affected the susceptibility of rutting and cracking along with the other variables. To better understand which asphalt mixture properties impact cracking and rutting in the field, box-and-whisker plots, Pearson correlation, Spearman rank correlation, and Kendall’s Tau analysis methods were used. After running these analysis methods, the CTIndex for virgin mixtures had a correlation of 0.29 with the voids filled with asphalt, while the CTIndex for RAP mixtures had a correlation of 0.48 with the theoretical maximum specific gravity. The rut depth correlated heavily with the upper performance grade for both virgin and recycled mixtures. The virgin mixtures had a value of -0.62 while the recycled mixtures had an even higher value of -0.71. Interestingly, other variables that affected rutting and cracking were the bulk specific gravity and voids filled with mineral aggregate. The outcome of this research contributes valuable insight into the key factors affecting the asphalt mixture performance and allows other owners to examine how their asphalt mixture properties impact their own performance tests
A LabVIEW-Based Open-Source Data Acquisition Program for Acoustic Emission Sensing
Full text linkAcoustic emission sensing is a growing field of analysis and testing that benefits from its non-destructive nature, enabling operators to detect faults, the severity of impacts, the propagation of cracks, and much more without damaging the system being tested. However, the use of proprietary software to collect, analyze, and display data hinders the field, as access to this crucial information makes consistent and in-depth data analysis impossible. To this end, this paper details an open-source code made in the programming language LabVIEW for the express purpose of allowing the user to have full access to all data and fully customize the methods of data processing. A simple tapping test is conducted to demonstrate the different outcomes of data between an industry-standard data acquisition unit running a common software AEwin and a national instruments unit running this LabVIEW code
Simulation of Photochemical Effects on Air Quality
Full text linkNitrogen dioxide is an atmospheric pollutant with largely anthropogenic sources; it is a combustion side product often produced by automobiles and industrial activity. It has negative effects on the respiratory system. In addition to being a pollutant itself, nitrogen dioxide is also a contributor to tropospheric ozone through photochemical reactions, both of which are EPA criteria air pollutants. Nitrogen dioxide and ozone participate in a net-zero reaction cycle in which the formation of ozone is rate-limited by the photolysis rate of nitrogen dioxide. The destruction of ozone and reformation of nitrogen dioxide is a fast reaction unaffected by photochemistry, therefore it occurs at relatively stable rates, regardless of available radiation. It is necessary to quantify the rate of nitrogen dioxide photolysis, the first half of this cycle, under varying atmospheric conditions, due to its dependence on radiation.
FastJX is a software package which simulates the effects of atmospheric aerosols on radiation, which then affects photolysis rates. FastJX uses optical properties at a range of wavelengths to simulate the extent of radiation absorption or scattering for an aerosol layer at a specified elevation. This project specifically uses aerosol optical properties measured during the NASA Langley ACTIVATE campaign. The optical properties were most closely examined in the UV-A and UV-B wavelengths, as shorter wavelengths penetrate minimally to the troposphere and longer wavelengths do not carry enough energy to drive nitrogen dioxide photolysis.
This project aims to correlate photolysis rates simulated by FastJX, measured aerosol optical depths, and measured concentrations of nitrogen dioxide. The measured aerosol optical depths and nitrogen dioxide concentrations come from co-located NASA AERONET and EPA monitoring sites, respectively, which allows for direct comparison. The sites, in Pasadena, California, were chosen due to their location in an urban center with consistently high levels of sunlight.
It was found that FastJX simulation results are most closely correlated with measured changes in nitrogen dioxide levels during hours of peak sunlight, which is when photolysis is most active. This is consistent with the expectation that time of day plays a significant role in nitrogen dioxide levels, due to the combined factors of nitrogen dioxide production during rush hour traffic and nitrogen dioxide destruction via photolysis when UV radiation is present.
Utilizing simulation allows for knowledge of photolysis rates under a greater range of atmospheric conditions without the resource-intensive steps of measuring actinic flux in a field environment. Instead, aerosol optical depth monitors, which require less man hours, can be combined with existing optical property sets. FastJX is additionally equipped to simulate aerosol effects on other photolysis reactions, which means that the sensitivity analysis conducted here may be applied to other chemical species.https://scholarworks.uark.edu/hnrcsturpc25/1009/thumbnail.jp
Nests with Higher Thermal Variation Produce Fewer Fledglings with Larger Bills than Higher Temperature Nests
Full text linkWarmer temperatures and increased temperature variability are predicted in the future due to climate change. Phenotypic outcomes of avian nestlings are heavily impacted by nest temperature. We examined metabolic rates and growth of Eastern Bluebird nestlings subjected to increased mean temperature and increased temperature variability within the nest during development.https://scholarworks.uark.edu/hnrcsturpc25/1000/thumbnail.jp