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Queer Localities: A Challenge to Global Categories
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/6ebb439d-8580-42d1-8a4d-c285c15c56ed/thumb/128.jpgSynthesizing theoretical works by queer studies scholars, decolonial scholars, and scholars of religion, this thesis examines the term “queer” and its utility as a category both within the academy and in lived struggles for rights and liberation. Through this analysis, I argue that when used outside of “concrete utopian” struggles, the term “queer” flattens cross-cultural and cross-temporal differences in lived experience without a legible goal. This operation, I argue, is similar (but not analogous to) to the difference-flattening effects of racialization in that it erases the complexity and variability of experience on the level of persons and localities in favor of global legibility to state and academic actors. By homing in on differences across localities as a challenge to imperial-scale epistemic and hermeneutic ways of knowing, I propose that “queer,” as a category, is more distorting than clarifying both for scholars and theorists on the ground
We Don't Read About Dinosaurs: investigating the unique motivational struggles of students at Reed with ADHD
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/3c5f3994-70a6-4ab2-baec-2e4fe2a4257f/thumb/128.jpgAccording to Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT), students’ achievement-based choices and academic success are grounded in their expectancies for success and their task values. One specific aspect of task values is the perceived cost associated with task engagement – the effort required, the opportunities that must be given up, or the stressors involved. Cost may be especially useful for investigating the ways in which students with disabilities face increased difficulties in the school system compared to their typically-abled peers. My thesis research examined the motivational patterns of students at Reed College in order to locate the ways in which those with ADHD may be facing unique and increased struggles compared to those without. After exclusions, data from 284 Reed students (n= 115 ADHD; n =119 non-ADHD) showed that those with ADHD had significantly lower expectancies for their ability to master course content and stay organized, as well as significantly higher emotional and psychological costs compared to their peers without ADHD. The two groups were, however, the same in their experience of utility, attainment, and intrinsic value. This is the first demonstration of such differences based on ADHD status using SEVT with a college population
Controlling Regioselectivity in Nucleophilic Addition of 4-Methylindole Anions
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/056dbe85-52ba-4fdf-a5ca-5c9bb4cdfe51/thumb/128.jpgFunctionalization of the indole ring is a studied area of organic synthesis as indole compounds are some of the most important bioactive molecules known to man. The synthesis of 4-position substituted indole compounds can be achieved by a novel carbanion method via a strong base and a protected 4-methylindole species. Beginning from the work of the O’Brien lab in their pursuit of the total synthesis of clonorosin A, a large indole containing mycotoxin, the preparation of a 4-methylindole anion was found serendipitously. Experimentation with solvent conditions led to the discovery of distinct reaction site selectivity in the reaction of 4-methyl-N-tosylindole and benzaldehyde
Broken Chains, Broken Plough: On Mourning in Post-Revolutionary Ireland and Haiti
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/6ab5d382-edd9-4fb6-9b19-f5d41ad07120/thumb/128.jpgIn recent years, mourning and grief have emerged as central themes explored, articulated, and analyzed in the field of political theory. Loss and resulting grief have always informed politics, but this trend in analysis has given way to an important primacy of the bereaved subject and questions of how mourning responds to and informs political struggle. At once, political theory on the politics of mourning offers an intimate lens and critical distance, resulting in an uneasy tension between the two. With grief existing as an inherently ambiguous and subjective experience, while also being highly charged as a subject, writing on these experiences carries a particular weight and responsibility. Nonetheless, taking seriously these experiences and how they inform our understanding of political history, culture, and subsequent theory, this thesis offers an attempt at clarity and structure as to how we may begin to better undertake this task. In this study, I offer a theory of political mourning in the context of two post-revolutionary states: Ireland and Haiti. These countries’ respective histories contain rich material to better understand the notions of collective trauma, national identity, postcolonial subjectivity, and responses to violence. Furthermore, when compared, the differing expressions of mourning are better articulated, while also showing throughlines which can be used in a generalized study of other post-revolutionary and postcolonial countries. To better focus this discussion, I offer a series of definitions to terms often used in the field, grief and mourning central among them. Existing work often uses these terms interchangeably, and my aim is to provide more specified definitions in the interest of clarity on a subject which is inherently amorphous. As such, this work identifies a commonality between Ireland and Haiti – two seemingly very disparate cases – which serves as the central unit of analysis: the notion of an unfinished revolution. The Irish and Haitian revolutions represent world-historical successes in the campaign for national liberation and anti-imperialism. Yet, the historical reality, past and present, shows that the aims of these revolutions are left incomplete. These historical legacies, which inform the identities of people of these countries in ways large and small, are left in a liminal state, neither failed nor seen to full conclusion. Through this lens, I argue that the split stemming from the dissonance between revolutionary imagination and material incompleteness results in a fracturing of national identity and collective self-understanding. Subsequently, this disunion becomes the site of grief, and mourning is injected into this national consciousness. A frequent analogy I make in this study is that of the body wounded. Political mourning can be understood through this lens as a wound which has been left open, and until the necessary healing process can occur, will remain so
The Case for Harm Reduction: Explaining America's Reluctance for Harm Reduction Policy Implementation
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/87865a6f-2dfb-4f46-893b-3997d0895e92/thumb/128.jpgThe opioid crisis has been devastating America for the last two decades, with the overdose death rate consistently rising each year. Though many focus solely on rehabilitation and abstinence from drugs, another solution is harm reduction services which focus more on making sure the person doing drugs is safe and not at risk of an unintentional overdose or infection. However, this remains controversial in America, leading to the research question of this thesis: why are lawmakers so reluctant to implement pro-harm reduction policies? I argue that this reluctance is due to fear-based emotions about drug use that stem from the War on Drugs and legislation passed under Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan’s administrations, particularly during the crack epidemic of the 1980s. This is then followed by a content analysis of how supervised injection sites are perceived by the public, law enforcement and legislators in two major cities – New York City and Philadelphia, with the analysis showing that many opponents of harm reduction rely on sentimental arguments centred around fears about communal safety rather than factual ones. With this thesis, I hope to bring more awareness to the benefits of harm reduction and how it can be used to help combat the current opioid epidemic in America
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/f4c726a6-1468-44f0-995a-c720cebece24/thumb/128.jpg"The African clawed frog, or Xenopus laevis, is a sexually dimorphic species that has been frequently used in studies on hormones and their involvement in behavior and physiology. It has been previously found that the larynx of Xenopus laevis is highly sensitive to androgens and can be transformed in response to testosterone exposure. The male larynx differs from the female larynx in its structure and vocal capabilities. The male can produce rapid calls at frequencies of 70 Hz, while the female is only capable of producing slow calls at frequencies below 20 Hz. The capability of the male larynx to produce these fast calls has been attributed to physical differences in the male larynx, brought on during post-metamorphosis stages by the release of gonadal testosterone. The female larynx is incapable of producing these fast calls unless the larynx is masculinized by exposure to testosterone. Previous studies have found that by removing the ovaries (ovariectomy) of female Xenopus laevis frogs and treated them with testosterone over several weeks, the vocal pathway becomes partially masculinized. A testosterone-treated ovariectomized female is capable of producing calls at a rate faster than a typical female, but slower than a typical male, suggesting partial masculinization. Another study found that the ovaries of Xenopus laevis primarily produce androgens, which goes against the previous belief that progesterone was the primary ovarian steroid. Since the ovaries are not producing large amounts of hormones that are typically associated with female reproductive function (progesterone, estrogen, estradiol), it is possible that leaving the ovaries intact will not prevent masculinization of the vocal pathway. This thesis addresses the question of whether or not ovariectomy is necessary for the masculinization of the female Xenopus laevis vocal pathway. This question was tested by comparing the vocalization rates of ovariectomized testosterone-treated frogs to intact testosterone-treated frogs that have undergone a “sham” procedure (fat body removal). Following 10 weeks of exposure to testosterone, the extent of masculinization in each treatment group was measured by examining electrophysiology recordings of fictive vocalizations, recorded from the nerve IX-X. It was found that both treatment types resulted in partial masculinization of the vocal pathway. Frogs in either group produced fictive vocalizations at rates faster than a typical female, but slower than a typical male, suggesting partial masculinization. Based on this preliminary data, it appears that the extent of masculinization in each group is approximately the same, with minimal differences between the two groups. The preliminary data suggests that the sham procedure is sufficient to partially masculinize the adult female frog, with a similar effectiveness to the ovariectomy procedure. Further experimentation is necessary to confirm this effect of masculinization, and to determine if there is any significant difference between the ovariectomy and sham procedures. If the effect is confirmed and the sham procedure is equally effective at masculinization, the findings of this thesis point to the potential viability of a minimally invasive implantation procedure. The next logical step in future research would be to test the proposed minimally invasive procedure, in which the frog only receives the testosterone implant and does not have the ovaries or fat bodies removed. This new procedure would make the masculinization of Xenopus laevis easier on both the frog and the researcher by decreasing the time spent in surgery and recovery.
History-First Philosophy of Money
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/867edb0b-c8a3-4dd4-858a-17d1c5a34ce6/thumb/128.jpgMoney has been described as a commodity, as debt, as the exclusive creation of a state, as a kind of function, as a ledger, or as an abstract relation. These varying metaphysical theories are all accompanied by and grounded in a specific account of how money came to exist in history. These theories also have normative components: implications for, or fully fledged stances on, what money should be. In this thesis I cast doubt on the prospects for any such unified theory of money. The sheer variety of answers to the question of what money is—from concrete things to abstract relations to social obligations to historical records—as well as the violent incompatibility of most of the theories, already indicates general problems with the field. Furthermore, some of the histories paired with these theories of money have no evidence whatsoever, while others are overly selective. All of these unified theories of money have historical counterexamples or edge cases in the actual historical record, which is systematically distorted or ignored by theorists to serve their preferred metaphysics of money. Finally, these theories all deeply entangle metaphysical, historical, and normative positions, which pigeonhole potential theories. These flaws all result from methodological problems in the philosophy of money. To solve them, I argue for a new, history-first approach to theorizing about money, which treats metaphysics as secondary. Using this methodology, I describe a constructive, pluralistic metaphysical theory of money which grounds itself in money being a social technology. I treat common and informative money-traits as criteria for identifying money-ness and guiding inquiry, rejecting the tradition of selecting a few as necessary and sufficient conditions. Additionally, I separate the question of what money ought to be from money’s history and its ontology. What results from this process is not a complete, static theory of money, but a caution against the methodology which leads to such theories, and instead, the outline of a method and concomitant theory which are comparably modest, but epistemically preferable and more faithful to the full history of money
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Comparing Classic Parametric and Novel Machine-Learning Techniques to Analyze Survival Data: an Application to Historical Population-Based HIV Surveys in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/22ee8d1d-8ac7-473e-904c-d850472165cd/thumb/128.jpgIn applied statistical settings, like medicine, one is often interested in modeling re- sponse variables of the form time-to-event. As an example consider a study measuring the time until the occurrence of heart failure in patients. The statistical study of time- to-event responses is called survival analysis. This paper starts with an exposition of survival analysis methodology and landmark estimators from the 20th century. With a foundation in survival analysis established, Chapter 3 introduces a modern Bayesian nonparametric approach to survival data called Accelerated Failure Time Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (AFT BART). The final chapters evaluate the performance of AFT BART on survival data on HIV outcomes from the ALPHA Network—ten ongoing large-scale population-based demographic surveillance studies across sub-Saharan Africa, with HIV serosurveys collected at regular intervals. While ultimately results in Chapter 5 show that AFT BART and survival analysis itself may not be the best approach for modeling ALPHA, much is learned about further interesting methods to model the data. These methods are discussed in Section 5.3 and the Conclusion
Che Boludo, Lunfardo Language Influence on the Realisation of Argentine identity
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/0fd35604-cb6c-448b-9374-ef4e7a1f9695/thumb/128.jpgThis research looks at the development of Lunfardo in Buenos Aires and Argentina during the 19th and 20th century, and its influence on Argentine realities both in the domestic and international sphere with the influence of modern media through this particular speech style. First, I look at the birth of Lunfardo, what it is and how it developed into what it is today. Secondly, I investigate how it affects language ideologies of belonging and its use as a nation building tool. Lastly, I look at how the use of Lunfardo words in modern media have affected perspective of identity and exclusionary practices within Buenos Aires and Argentina