IDA Mount Holyoke College Institutional Digital Archive
Not a member yet
1794 research outputs found
Sort by
From Bench to Bedside: What They Don't Teach You in Pre-Health Classes
No full textIn a healthcare system that is as diverse as it is continuously diversifying, the need to understand our differences and the contexts in which the individual is formed and forming is more important than ever. From the conversation we have with a child on why he has been having trouble getting along with his classmates to perceiving the reason behind the violent outbursts of an elderly patient, communication, both verbal and nonverbal, play a role in piecing together the finer details of a person's history often lost in the bureaucratic operation. It is the growing need for cultural competency, health staff empowerment, and the destabilization of intellectual hegemony that presses us towards remodeling the current healthcare system in which patients face unrecognized social barriers that prevent their optimum care.There are countless subspecialties within the field of healthcare, and the five members of our panel each represent a different clinical focus. From research to direct patient care, our panel seeks to introduce viewers to the broad array of opportunities available in the healthcare industry. As we engaged with various facets in the field of medicine this summer, our experiences fostered our growth as undergraduates in ways classroom experiences alone could not. Through our internships, we learned the value of empowered compassion, retaining composure, openness to innovation, and adaptability. Our diverse experiences have reaffirmed the career paths that we hope to pursue after our time at Mount Holyoke
“Our Day Will Come”: The Armagh Dirty Protest and the Feminization of Sinn Féin
No full textWon the Phi Beta Kappa PrizeFrom 1976 to 1981 during the Northern Irish “Troubles,” the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Britain fought a proxy war within the Northern Irish prison system. The question was that of “political status,” or the right of prisoners to be treated as prisoners of war (POWS), as opposed to what the British termed “ordinary decent criminals.” Male and female prisoners went on a series of escalating protests to acquire political status. In 1980, women in Armagh Prison also protested in response to a profound escalation of British verbal, physical, and sexual violence against them. As the attacks on the women were gendered, so was their non-violent response. Nell McCafferty shocked the Irish public when she reported in the Irish Times that “There is menstrual blood on the walls of Armagh Prison.”
The so-called Armagh Dirty Protests combined nationalist and women’s political goals. Due to the consciousness-raising of Republican women inside and outside the prison, as well as the desire to become officially organized, the Sinn Féin’s Women Department was created. Central issues during the prison protest, bodily autonomy and women’s equality, became core tenets of Sinn Féin’s political platform. Progressive women’s policy and women rising through the ranks of Sinn Féin were most noticeable during the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in connection with the 1983 and 1992 Irish abortion referendums. Sinn Féin’s legacy of inclusivity towards women remains important today. Today the top two party leaders are women. During the 2018 Irish Abortion Referendum, Sinn Féin campaigned tirelessly. When the results were read that Ireland had legalized abortion, leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O'Neill held up a sign saying, “the North is next.” This is the same consciousness of nationalist and women’s interests boldly asserted during the Armagh Dirty Protests.
My project examines not only the political and cultural origins of the Armagh Dirty Protests but the aftermath and its effects on various actors in the Northern Irish Conflict, and more largely Irish society. These include the Irish Feminist Movement, the Church, and Republican men in both the IRA and Sinn Féin. Through press coverage, government and policy documents, art and photography, and oral history, I construct a narrative of Republican women’s changing views of themselves and their relationship to nationalism and the state. In doing so, I make an intervention in the male-dominated historiography of Northern Irish prison protest to understand the legacy of women bridging the personal and the political in Irish Republican politics.Histor
Designing Simulated Radio Frequency Ultrasound Traces for the Training of Machine Learning Algorithms
No full textIn the field of ultrasound imaging, it has been theorized that imaging noise, known as
speckle, is the product of microscopic scatterers and abnormalities within the imaged tissue.
This would result in certain speckling patterns revealing themselves over large datasets,
which could be utilized to identify minuscule lesions within tissues, potentially creating a
method to predict the early formation of tumors. Such a dataset would be difficult to analyze
by hand, but machine learning algorithms could be used to recognize patterns in a effective
manner. As of now, few attempts have been made to utilize machine learning in order to
predict scatterer placement from ultrasound scans.
In order to initiate machine learning, first a computational simulation must be constructed
to consistently and accurately reproduce experimental data. Using Field II, a
MATLAB-based program for ultrasound modelling, simulations were created to replicate
data produced from experimental phantoms made from glass beads and agarose gel. These
simulations were designed to account for bead placement and size, as well as experimental
conditions. Comparisons between simulations and experimental data using statistical analysis
show that ultrasound images can accurately be predicted using computational methods.
With these software programs, it becomes possible to train a machine learning algorithm
to recognize speckling pattern, which may allow for the resolution of previously unresovable
scatterers.Physic
To Our Internships and Beyond: Our Futures in Biology and Chemistry
No full textDuring my internship at Mount Holyoke College, granted by the Lynk Program, I immersed myself in an environment that further developed my chemical background. Working under the mentorship of Kyle Broaders, I explored chemical techniques and advanced my skills by operating analytical equipment in the laboratory. The synthesis of biodegradable polymers was a daunting task, but my efforts yielded results due to the dedicated time put into the research. These polymers have a wide range of applications, including materials for drug delivery, but one must learn various methods of synthesis in order to understand polymer properties. Organic chemistry is a very complex discipline but if true passion crosses paths with nature’s puzzles, then the pursuit of mastery can be witnessed like no other. The internship reinforced my goals of getting into a graduate program in organic chemistry. Moreover, this experience fortified my enthusiasm and independence as a young scientist.Learning does not end with academia, and the world of science is so much larger than the classroom. This summer we pushed the boundaries of the research we were familiar with and learned how it can have practical applications. Chemistry helps us develop drug delivery methods and improves industrial agriculture. Biology allows us to understand disease and design new medications. Our internships helped us understand what we love about science and what we want to focus on in the future. Some of us realized our love for pure academic research, and want to pursue graduate school immediately. Some of us want to go into the industry and continue applying our knowledge. Regardless, our internships honed our scientific interests and increased our confidence. We are not the same people we were at the start of the summer. We’ve come far, and we aren’t stopping here
Design Across Borders
No full textMy internship was divided into two parts to explore both the construction and design aspect of the architecture field. First I interned at Space4 Architecture, a firm based in New York. There I created scaled foam models, 3-D renderings and an installation piece. This expanded my skill set that I gained from my studios at Mount Holyoke. I worked on two major projects while interning there. The first was a competition piece for a contemporary art museum in Lima, Peru. The second project was a Dolce and Gabbana store in Soho, New York. This project carried over to the second part of my internship, a general contracting firm hired by Space4 Architecture. There I hired subcontractors, attended site meetings and assisted managing the worksite. Both of these firms were run by an Italian office. It was interesting to see the crossover of Italian style into an American setting.“Design Across Borders” presents cross-continental perspectives in the interdisciplinary field of architectural design. The panel encompasses the thought processes, research and design principles that different cultures, traditions and geographies learn and influence. It offers four worldly perspectives, as the students come from Ethiopia, Nepal, Malaysia, and the United States. The panelists utilized their knowledge and experience gained in Mount Holyoke studios, courses and seminars and applied it to develop projects in fields related to architecture. The design experiences range from residential, commercial and ecological to sustainability metrics and general contracting for simple to complex spaces. The panelists brought their knowledge and perspectives to small private firms and international non-profits. These internships allowed the panelists to gain practical skills in a wide range of fields within architecture and encouraged them to address key issues within the building design and construction industry
Sailing the Sargasso Sea for a floating golden forest: the application of genetic markers to investigating Sargassum diversity and distribution in the field
No full textBiodiversity and life in the oligotrophic Sargasso Sea are sustained by the free-floating macroalgae, Sargassum. Consisting of two species, S. fluitans and S. natans, pelagic Sargassum provides food, nutrients, and habitat to a diverse array of marine organisms. These two species are classified further into genetically distinct morphological forms, with S. fluitans III, S. natans I, and S. natans VIII being the most common in the Western North Atlantic. Since 2011, pelagic Sargassum populations have been shifting, delivering the previously rare morphotype, S. natans VIII, to Caribbean beaches in unprecedented quantities. These inundation events are detrimental to local fisheries, tourism, and coastal ecosystems. Developing efficient and cost-effective genetic tools to differentiate the three forms is imperative for studying morphotype distribution and the forces driving Caribbean inundation events. In our field-based study, we designed novel genetic primers to target two regions of the Sargassum mitochondrial genome, the cytochrome oxidase subunit 3 (Cox3) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6 (Nad6) to assess their efficacy to function as genetic markers. Both primers successfully differentiated the three morphotypes with varying accuracies (~89% for Cox3 and ~69% for Nad6) but have limitations in their applications. We also examined morphotype distribution patterns and found the highest concentrations of Sargassum in the Antilles Current and South Sargasso Sea, and overall density in both regions was comprised primarily of S. natans I and S. fluitans III. An examination of algal growth data indicated that S. natans VIII was older than other forms, which supports the hypothesis of a new Sargassum growth region in the tropics fueling inundation events.Biological Science
Spirocyclic Acetal-Modified Dextran as a pH-Sensitive Solubility Switching Material
No full textThe development of tools used to control the administration and localization of therapeutic agents has enabled advancement of healthcare and disease therapeutics. Drug delivery systems use biocompatible tools to control timing, location and conditions for releasing therapeutic agents throughout the body. A previously synthesized biopolymer – acetalated dextran (Ac-Dex) – is a biopolymer known for its solubility switching properties as it is modified using acetal groups on a watersoluble dextran polymer to make the molecule insoluble in aqueous material. Upon acid hydrolysis the modification groups detach from the molecule causing it to revert to its preliminary soluble state. Ac-Dex has shown good qualities for a drug delivery polymer but is limited by the high hydroxyl coverage which upon degradation releases potentially undesirable quantities of byproducts, in addition to the faster degrading variations of the polymer that have limited solubility and shelf life.
To address these limitations of Ac-Dex, the acetal modifying group can be analyzed to understand its effect on the function of the biodegradable polymer. Spirocyclic acetal modified dextran (SpAc – Dex) is a new polymer for drug delivery purposes that models previously synthesized acetal-dextran pathways, but with variations on the acetal modification group. Three enol ethers with a 5-, 6- and 7-member ring were attached to a dextran polymer and samples were collected at timepoints over 24 h to form a library of nine testable materials. Each sample has a variation on its degree of modification of either an acyclic acetal attachment with only one bond to dextran, or cyclic acetal attachment, with two bonds to dextran. Each polymer was comprehensively characterized using NMR to find cyclic vs acyclic acetal modification ratio and understand the properties of each polymer. The degradation rate, and cell viability of each material was tested to determine SpAc-Dex’s quality as a biomaterial. The 5-member and 6-member ring acetal modifications proved to be able to switch solubility with few modifications and degrade under acidic conditions, while the 7-membered ring showed little degradation under biologically acidic conditions and high cyclic modifications.Chemistr
To Our Internships and Beyond: Our Futures in Biology and Chemistry
No full textA defining characteristic of eusocial insect species is division of labor. Castes as well as task specialization are genetically influenced in many eusocial species, though environmental cues and other factors also play a role. One intriguing task specialization that may function to enhance the survival of the colony is rescue behavior, where individual ants place themselves at risk in the process of aiding a trapped nestmate. The common pavement ant Tetramorium caespitum exhibits this behavior; however, the mechanism underlying this task specialization is not known. The present project aims to test two hypotheses: first, that rescue behavior is genetically influenced in T. caespitum. Other common tasks are genetically influenced, such as foraging, so it is possible that rescue behavior is similarly genetically coded. Second, we hypothesize that T. caespitum are more likely to rescue individuals to which they are more closely related. Behavioral assays were conducted to quantify rescue behavior and individuals showed different propensities to rescue victims. Genetic analyses were used to determine relatedness between individuals and infer paternity. If the hypotheses are true, we expect that the propensity to engage in rescue behavior will be correlated with genetic relatedness and that rescuers are more closely related to victims than non-rescuers in the same behavioral trials.Learning does not end with academia, and the world of science is so much larger than the classroom. This summer we pushed the boundaries of the research we were familiar with and learned how it can have practical applications. Chemistry helps us develop drug delivery methods and improves industrial agriculture. Biology allows us to understand disease and design new medications. Our internships helped us understand what we love about science and what we want to focus on in the future. Some of us realized our love for pure academic research, and want to pursue graduate school immediately. Some of us want to go into the industry and continue applying our knowledge. Regardless, our internships honed our scientific interests and increased our confidence. We are not the same people we were at the start of the summer. We’ve come far, and we aren’t stopping here
Alleviating Harm Within International Development
No full textAnthropology DepartmentThis thesis examines the relationship between cultural values and international development policies in Samoa to discern the uneven distribution of harm within the development apparatus. In so doing, I analyze the a) anthropological literature of development; b) creation of policy within the headquarters of an international development agency; c) negotiations of development policy when it lands in Samoa; and d) effects of international development on families and individuals. This examination highlights how harm and development are characterized differently within different cultural and social contexts, which then influences how a country like Samoa is affected by the Eurocentric notion of international development.
International development, as championed by organizations such as the United Nations, promotes a particular method of development that encourages capitalistic ideals of economic growth, individuality, and increased production. The promotion of such development goals within Samoa, however, can result in a failure to recognize what Samoans prioritize for development, and what they characterize as harmful and exploitative practices. I argue that in order to alleviate harm within international development there must be an acknowledgement of what constitutes harm and development in a particular country such as Samoa. In doing so, I assess how development goals are negotiated between various development actors (Samoan community members, scholars, government officials, and international development agencies) to become contextual to the fa’asamoa, or Samoan way of life, and the ways in which these negotiations highlight the diverse understandings of development in Samoa. By way of acknowledging diversity within development goals, I call into question the relevance of a linear trajectory of international development, in which Eurocentric notions of development are imposed on a globally diverse population. Moreover, I analyze how the linear trajectory of international development can enforce harm, and how Samoans work to alleviate harm within their community.Other or Special Majo
THE ART OF LOOKING: ART, SCIENCE, AND OBSERVATION IN LATE ENLIGHTENMENT BRITAIN
No full textThis project will examine the artistic and visual culture of the late Enlightenment (roughly 1750-1830) with a focus on Great Britain. Specifically, I will be examining how the New Science of the Enlightenment, with its focus on learning from observable natural phenomena, gave rise to a new, active relationship between artwork and spectator/observer. While there is a great deal of writing on both the art and science history of the Enlightenment, this project is rare in its focus on the connection between the two and its focus on British art in particular. This connection manifests in the art of science, representations of science in art, and institutional crossover between the worlds of art and science in late Enlightenment Britain.Art Histor