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Impacts of climate change on vector-borne disease burden in the United States: Exploring the epidemiological evidence
No full textClimate change models predict shifts in vector-borne diseases (VBDs) around the world, including in the United States. However, to my knowledge there has yet to be a comprehensive descriptive epidemiological study examining prevalence, geographic distribution, and trends for all tick- and mosquito-borne diseases in the United States. I compiled data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which publishes yearly case numbers for 17 vector-borne diseases. However, these publications depend on a scattered framework of state regulations regarding disease reporting. I compiled data from the CDC to determine the current geographic distribution, prevalence, and trends of tick- and mosquito-borne diseases in the United States. There has been a striking increase in tick-borne diseases, which are more prevalent than mosquito-borne diseases in the United States. Mosquito-borne diseases do not show a clear trend, and only West Nile virus is prevalent. However, recent incidents of local transmission of globally relevant mosquito-borne disease in the U.S. indicates potential for a future emergence of significant numbers of dengue virus or malaria. I identified many data gaps that prevent full characterization of VBD trends in the United States. The results underscore the importance of continuous and vigilant disease surveillance on the county, state, and federal levels
Measuring Nature’s Contributions to People Provided by Species in the Gulf of Maine Rocky Intertidal Ecosystem
No full textEcosystem services aim to quantify the value of nature provided to humans. However, Ecosystem services are typically measured at the level of the ecosystem as a whole and do not consider interactions between species in an ecosystem. Ultimately, the species in an ecosystem determine the services that are provided. Measuring ecosystem services at the landscape level misses the complex interactions and changing biodiversity of ecosystems. Currently, there is no accepted framework to link ecosystem services to species. In this thesis, I developed a framework to link Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP) to species. NCP includes 18 specific contributions (i.e. 18 NCPs) that link ecosystem contributions to people’s quality of life. I applied this framework to the Gulf of Maine (GOM) rocky intertidal ecosystem using data on trophic interactions in the food web and ecological survey data from the 1970s and 2010s. In this analysis, there are 91 species in the GOM providing NCPs and four species contributing to all NCPs that I measured. There is a significant increase in the percent of species providing NCPs through time and a significant decrease in the abundance of species providing NCPs in the GOM rocky intertidal in the 2010s. Linking NCPs to species creates an interdisciplinary measure to understand the importance of biodiversity in ecosystem service analyses
An Endangered Sport: Examining Sentiments of Climate Anxiety Through the Perspectives of Cross Country Skiers
Full text linkSince its emergence in the late nineteenth century, cross country skiing in the United States has grown in popularity and is a recreational and competitive outlet for millions of participants today. Given its dependence on snow, however, the sport is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, which have already taken place in the form of shortened seasons, canceled races, and an increased reliance on artificial snow making facilities. Recent research has begun to look at the psychological impacts of climate change, and this research assesses levels of climate anxiety among a nationwide sample of cross country skiers. 129 survey responses show that cross country skiers (1) tend to express having an intimate and valued relationship with nature and the outdoors in which cross country skiing plays a highly supportive role, (2) that many feel their participation in the sport has been negatively impacted by climate change, generally in the form of having less natural snow and/or having to increasingly rely on artificial snow, (3) that most cross country skiers are experiencing climate anxiety to at least some extent, (4) that their participation in cross country skiing tends to be related with these sentiments of climate anxiety, often because it heightens their awareness of climate change, and (5) that most are taking action to address climate change. There was also a strong association between awareness that the sport is being impacted by climate change and increased levels of climate anxiety. This demonstrates that climate anxiety is not only relevant to individuals who have experienced the impacts of climate change via catastrophic extreme weather events but is also relevant to individuals whose lives may be impacted more subtly but are still highly exposed to climate change. Therefore adequate adaptations to climate change must include measures to address its associated mental health impacts
The Effect of Postpartum Depression on New Mothers\u27 Return to Work Decisions
Full text linkPostpartum depression rates in the United States have doubled since 2010, with potentially significant economic consequences. In this study, I examine the relationship between postpartum depression and new mothers’ labor force participation using a national longitudinal dataset of 738 new mothers. I examine two labor force participation outcomes: whether or not a new mother returned to work postpartum, and the number of days it took for her to do so if she returned. I include a detailed set of demographic and social control factors. I find that conditional on these controls, having postpartum depression relates to a statistically insignificant 4.73 percentage point increase in the likelihood a new mother returns to work and a statistically significant 49.33 day increase in the number of days it takes for her to do so. Overall, this study demonstrates that while postpartum depression has a significant effect on the time it takes a new mother to return to work, it is likely demographic and social factors that determine whether a new mother returns to work. These findings indicate that reducing postpartum depression rates, whether through treatments, improved maternity leave policies, or other social interventions, may reduce the duration of time new mothers take off from work. However, such efforts are unlikely to significantly impact whether or not a new mother returns to work at all. These results can be a step in understanding the relationship between postpartum mental health and return to work decisions
Of Mind and Men: Replications and Rejections of Hegemonic Masculinity at Colby and Beyond
No full textThis thesis examines what is at stake in the highly-racialized, -sexualized, and -gendered systems in which male Colby students craft self-concepts and how the college culture both rejects and replicates broader social notions of masculinity. I also analyze the theoretical threads that gave way to the field of masculinity studies and how such a discipline responds to contemporary claims of a “crisis of masculinity.” I then shift my focus to conduct a discourse analysis of “Sex Ed for Guys,” a TikTok account created by a group of male Colby students that offers a direct commentary on young men’s social and sexual subjectivity. My analysis of the TikTok is buttressed by primary source material from both student interviews and archival research, all of which help to frame my argument that the male-based forces fighting hegemonic masculinity can at the same time perpetuate it
Sustainable Frameworks & the Circular Economy within Digital Marketing & Advertising Agency Groups
No full textDigital marketing significantly contributes to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of marketing and advertising agencies. Despite efforts towards corporate sustainability, discrepancies in carbon accounting and sustainability practices persist across the industry. An increasingly relevant topic for many industries is the circular economy (CE). It is concerned with creating a structured and cyclical sustainable practice and/or operation. This research paper examines the intersection of the CE and environmental sustainability initiatives in global digital marketing, analyzing sustainability efforts and ordinances up to April 2024, alongside theories from Science and Technology Studies (STS). Then, CE principles are explored more in-depth and the sociotechnological imaginary of “smart cities” is developed into an original concept of “smart marketing cities.” Using eight literature and scholar-based points, a framework is created to examine agencies’ alignment with CE principles. This criterion guides the case studies on the three leading agency groups in the world: WPP Plc, Publicis Groupe, and Omnicom Group. Following this, a cumulative analysis is presented, assessing the commonalities, differences, and shortcomings in their abilities. Despite a lack of definitive firm-wide commitment to CE principles/initiatives, it reveals that potential exists for these companies to eventually adopt a CE structure. This research also aims to outline actionable strategies for integrating CE principles into digital marketing, proposing plausible solutions for implementing the CE into the industry
Comparing Generative AI, Keyword Searchers, and Hiring Committees in Selecting Semi-finalist Job Candidates in Academia
No full textTwo studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of AI tools and keyword searchers in candidate evaluation. The first study examined the use of ChatGPT-4 and a traditional hiring committee in selecting a semifinalist pool for an Assistant Professor of Economics position. It was found that ChatGPT-4\u27s selections were non-replicable, producing different semifinalist lists with each run, indicating significant variability and lack of reliability compared to human committees. The second study focused on predicting self-reported conscientiousness from resumes using both keyword searchers and ChatGPT-4. The results showed that neither method could accurately predict conscientiousness. Similarly, ChatGPT-4\u27s selections were non-replicable, producing different ratings of conscientiousness with each run. These findings suggest substantial limitations in the current use of AI and keyword searchers for academic hiring and personality trait assessment
Green Bonds, Green Returns: The Impact of Green Bond Issuances on Financial Performance in the U.S. Energy Sector
No full textThis paper investigates the impact of green bond issuances on the financial performance of U.S. energy firms, the largest greenhouse gas-emitting sector. To explore the incentives for adopting green projects among firms with the most significant margin for improvement, I focus on Gross Profit Margin (GPM) and the Tobin’s Q Ratio as key indicators of profitability and valuation. Using a dataset of 462 companies, I analyze green and conventional corporate bond issuances from 2010 onwards in the context of their financial reports. The findings reveal that green bonds positively influence long-term valuation, with Tobin’s Q showing significant increases from the second year post-issuance, reflecting growing investor confidence in sustainable practices. However, immediate profitability gains measured by GPM are not statistically significant raising concerns about the influence of the use of funds. By disaggregating the analysis by project types of the green bonds, I discover that solar projects yield short-term profitability gains in the year of issuance, while wind projects face long-term challenges, negatively affecting their valuation from the third year onwards. Energy storage projects demonstrate robust initial profitability in the year of issuance, and substantial long-term market valuation benefits. This study expands on current green bond literature, highlighting the importance of project identification in bond analysis and addressing the need for improvement in an industry crucial to the environmental effort
Analysis of Speech Recognition Systems and Error Correction Approaches
No full textDespite significant advances in automatic speech recognition (ASR) accuracy, challenges remain. Naturally occurring conversation often involves multiple overlapping speakers, of different ages, accents and genders, as well as noisy environments and suboptimal audio recording equipment, all of which reduce ASR accuracy. In this study, we evaluate the accuracy of state of the art open source ASR systems across diverse conversational speech datasets, examining the impact of audio and speaker characteristics on WER. We then explore the potential of ASR ensembling plus post-ASR correction methods to improve transcription accuracy. Our findings underscore the need for robust error correction techniques and of continuing to address demographic biases to enhance ASR performance and inclusivity