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Reviving Caribbean Scleractinian Corals: Medication in Ex-Situ Care
No full textThe Caribbean basin is facing an unprecedented decline in coral reef health, with factors such as coral disease, climate change, and algal overgrowth contributing to the deterioration of these vital ecosystems. In response, land-based facilities have emerged to aid in coral conservation and restoration efforts. One aspect of these conservation efforts involves the treatment of coral ailments, which is still an emerging field within coral conservation. By medicating corals, researchers aim to combat diseases and alleviate stressors that threaten coral health. This practice holds promise for preserving genetic diversity and supporting future repopulation initiatives. This study evaluates the effectiveness of Two Little Fishies ReVive® and Lugol’s iodine solution in treating sickly Caribbean scleractinian corals and investigates the correlation between water chemistry parameters and coral health outcomes. Two hundred specimens from nine species were treated with either ReVive® or Lugol’s iodine solution and monitored for one and three months post-treatment. Health outcomes varied, with ReVive® showing mixed results, including 12% mortality after one month. Lugol’s iodine solution resulted in higher initial mortality (30%) but with signs of improvement over time. Additional analysis of water chemistry revealed significant correlations between suboptimal salinity levels and poor coral health outcomes. This study is one of the first of its kind to evaluate the efficacy of treatments on Caribbean scleractinian corals and provides valuable insights into the practical application of these treatments in managing coral stress and disease under real-world conditions. By bridging the gap between laboratory research and field application, this study contributes to the development of more effective coral conservation strategies and enhances our understanding of the challenges and opportunities inherent in medicating corals for long-term reef health and resilience
Interactional Queerscapes: Representations of Men Attracted to Men in South Korea
No full textThis thesis explores the representations of men attracted to men (MAM) in South Korean media through the theoretical lens of queerscapes. Queerscapes refer to the physical and metaphorical spaces alternative queer existences occupy amidst dominant heteronormative environments. By analyzing a queer independent film, a bestselling novel, and a subversive boys’ love (BL) drama, this study examines how characters in these media actively carve out alternative spaces of existence. The first chapter delves into the concept of queerscaping as a verb to articulate direct conflict with intolerant institutions and dominant ideologies that seek to suppress non-normative sexualities. This precarious balancing act of selectively revealing or concealing identities underscores the challenges inherent in asserting agency and identity. The second chapter reframes queerscapes as queer(multi)scapes, highlighting how different characters engage with queer spaces in distinct ways based on factors like generational divides, societal expectations, personal struggles, class, and health status. This framework underscores the diversity of queer experiences and the need to move beyond essentialist notions of queer identity. The final chapter explores how the BL drama To My Star 2 queerscapes the genre itself by challenging traditional representations of masculinity, emotions, domestic labor, and family structures. This demonstrates how even commercially driven media forms can be subverted to provide more progressive and diverse representations. This thesis contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved in depicting MAM experiences in South Korean media. It emphasizes the value of the queerscape framework in illuminating the nuanced strategies employed to assert identity and agency amidst sociocultural constraints. The findings can inform future scholarly endeavors and media productions toward more inclusive and representative portrayals of queer identities
Overture: Journal of International Affairs vol. 4
No full textFull issue of Overture: Journal of International Affairs vol. 4. Editor-in-Chief: Sydney Pascal \u2726. Sponsored by the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs
Publishing Power: A Historiographical Investigation Into Treatments of American Slave Narratives
No full textThe purpose of this project is to document and analyze the factors that contributed to periods of interest in, and literature/scholarship on, American slave narratives, with particular emphasis on the role of publishers and publication (or non-publication). The specific historiographical survey focuses on three distinct time periods: 1845 to 1929, the 1960s through the 1980s, and the 2000s through the 2020s, with the epilogue focusing on the most recent scholarship. I have chosen these time periods because they represent periods in which there were notable evolutions in the ways the narratives have been studied in America, many of which can be linked to changes in publication trends. Such evolutions involve changes in 1) whether the narratives were studied or disregarded (by whom) and why, 2) the capacity in which the narratives were read or trusted, 3) the disciplinary approaches or theoretical frameworks that were employed when studying the narratives, 4) the purposes or motivations behind studying the narratives, and 5) the way information from narratives was then applied to broader studies/understandings of concepts such as American slavery, the American South, or American history. Each change in the study of these narratives can be contextualized by the historical and intellectual moment in which these scholarly histories were written, and the publishing context in which they arose
Not in My Zoning Code: Understanding the Mechanisms of Policy Diffusion of Deregulatory Zoning Reform Across U.S. Cities
No full textDo we need local government? Cities maintain representative institutions of government, hold elections, and host public hearings, but does that mean they can tackle city-specific problems? This project seeks to understand how deregulatory zoning policies, a supply-side tool to increase housing supply of affordable homes, spread across the 300 largest U.S. cities, or not. Cities might implement a zoning reform because they learn from another city, desire to increase housing supply for economic conditions, imitate another city, are forced too by a higher level of government, or are ideologically motivated to do so. I test each hypothesis of diffusion through event history modeling, or survivor analysis, to untangle the reasons cities adopt deregulatory zoning policies, or not. The results suggest that ideologically liberal cities and cities within states that have passed the same zoning reforms are most likely to adopt such zoning policies. The lack of pure policy learning based on housing need in cities suggests local governments are not properly incentivized to innovate policies to respond to local problems
Empowering Diversity: Unveiling the Impact of Affirmative Action Policies on Intersectional Identities in Indian Village Councils
Full text linkThis study investigates the intersectional effects of affirmative action policies within the con- text of rural local councils in India. Utilizing the natural experiment provided by the randomized implementation of reservation policies in Uttar Pradesh’s gram panchayats, this research exam- ines how the intersectionality of marginalized identities—specifically gender and caste—affects policy outcomes. Employing data from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guar- antee Act (MGNREGA) and gram panchayat elections from 2015 and 2021, the impact on job demand and public asset creation is evaluated. The findings reveal that while female leaders gen- erally improve job demand and public asset creation, female leaders from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) do not achieve similar outcomes. This research highlights a hierarchy in policy effectiveness, with intersectionally marginalized leaders (SC and OBC women) often at the bottom. These insights are crucial for informing future affirmative action policies, par- ticularly in the context of expanding women’s reservations in higher legislative bodies
Modification of Marine Snail Microhabitats by Canopy-Forming Algae
Full text linkBrown algae, including the canopy-forming macroalgae Fucus distichus, are declining in abundance around the world due to stressors associated with climate change. Local extinction of Fucus impacts the intertidal community through cascading effects as the ecosystem loses a dominant primary producer at the base of the food web. However, Fucus is not only a resource species; it is also an ecosystem engineer. This thesis investigates the effect of Fucus extinction on the abundance of two herbivorous marine snails, L. saxatilis and L. obtusata, with a focus on the role of Fucus as a habitat- modifier. Specifically, I explored: 1) how the removal of Fucus impacts snail abundance, 2) how Fucus affects the temperature and humidity of snail microhabitats, and 3) how the temperature and humidity of snail microhabitats influence snail abundance. Using species count data from the Barner Lab and microhabitat temperature and humidity data that I collected on Colby’s Island Campus in the Gulf of Maine, I found that: 1) the removal of Fucus canopy decreases L. obstusata abundance but increases L. saxatilis abundance, 2) the presence of Fucus increases microhabitat air temperature, decreases substrate temperature, and increases humidity, and 3) the temperature and humidity of snail microhabitats have a weak effect on snail abundance compared to the presence of canopy itself. Overall, the biotic effects of Fucus are stronger drivers of snail abundance in this system than the abiotic effects of Fucus
Creating Community Through Architecture: Designing Interventions in Underprivileged Communities
No full textThis thesis adopts a multidisciplinary approach, integrating insights from architecture, urban planning, and psychology, to unravel the intricacies of the built environments within underprivileged communities worldwide. Recognizing architecture’s influence on human behavior, this study explores the unique challenges posed by urban slums, where the built environment plays a pivotal role in shaping residents’ psychosocial experiences. Through case studies of three prominent yet contrasting global slums—Dharavi, Rocinha, and Mathare Valley—this research identifies recurring prevalent architectural patterns across diverse slum contexts. These vernacular components serve as entry points for further analysis to expose the psychosocial consequences of the slum built environment. Consequently, the combination of these insights lays the foundation for developing targeted redevelopment strategies tailored to the unique needs of underprivileged communities. By leveraging a nuanced understanding of slum architecture that considers an understanding of the inter dynamics between the built environment, psychology, and sociology, this research seeks to foster successful urban development initiatives that prioritize the well-being of marginalized populations
The Effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 Expansion of the Child Tax Credit on the Distribution of Household Chores
No full textThis paper investigates the effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) on time spent doing household work in married or cohabiting households with children. Using American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data from before and after the implementation of the TCJA, I conduct a difference-in-differences analysis to determine the effect of the CTC expansion on time spent on all household chores, on historically female household chores, on historically male household chores, and on childcare. Then, using an adapted version of Bargain’s (2008) collective utility model, I simulate the TCJA expansion of the CTC and I calibrate the model for the household bargaining power of men and women. While my model predicts that an expansion of the CTC would cause women in the phase-in region of the CTC to slightly decrease their time on household chores and men in the phase-in region of the CTC to slightly increase their time on household chores, my difference-in-differences analysis does not indicate a significant change in time spent on household chores as a result of the TCJA expansion of the CTC and the calibrations of my model do not indicate a significant change in bargaining power as a result of the TCJA expansion of the CTC
Odiar es proteger: La respuesta inevitable al origen de una pandemia
Full text linkEsta tesis analiza la causa del odio hacia los asiáticos durante la pandemia de COVID-19, enfocándose específicamente en los casos que tuvieron lugar en España. La prevalencia de discriminación dirigida al origen de una pandemia identificado por la narrativa del brote es cultivada por la persistencia de estereotipos. En el caso de COVID-19, la xenofobia hacia los asiáticos fue el resultado de una construcción histórica que ha estigmatizado su identidad persistentemente, la repetición de la cual es definida en esta tesis como racismo pandémico. La imagen de los asiáticos enfermos fue establecida injustificadamente por la medicina occidental en el siglo XIX para construir su otredad. Esta estigmatización es capaz de provocar emociones de odio y miedo en las comunidades donde los asiáticos son considerados como extranjeros. Los incidentes resultantes de violencia, física y social, fueron exacerbados por el crecimiento del transporte fácil y el uso de las redes sociales, que han enfatizado la presencia de la otredad asiática globalmente. Considerando que la identificación del origen de una pandemia es integral para el sistema médico, es necesario eliminar la estigmatización de las comunidades asociadas con la pandemia, además de su contexto histórico, como se presenta en esta tesis