Reed Digital Collections (Reed College)
Not a member yet
8045 research outputs found
Sort by
A Fish in the Hothouse: Trophic Interactions and Heatwave Response in a Freshwater Community
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/637d77df-c7a0-4312-9ac2-29a29641a5f2/thumb/128.jpgTheoretical and experimental studies have suggested that directional warming under climate change may reorganize predator-prey dynamics by shifting the metabolic rates of producers and herbivores; however, the effects of short-term extreme heat on predator-prey dynamics are less clear. As natural communities exhibit variation in food web structure, it is crucial to consider how systems with different food chain lengths may respond to heat differently. In this thesis, I ask how top-down trophic effects impact a freshwater planktonic community’s response to, and recovery from, an experimental heatwave. I used a food web model to formulate predictions about the effects of a heatwave on predator-prey dynamics. Then, I performed a mesocosm experiment to determine how zooplanktivorous fish, a simulated heatwave, and the combination of the two impacted phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance over time. Consistent with my predictions, fish negatively impacted large zooplankton but positively impacted phytoplankton. The effects of the heatwave were smaller in magnitude than the model predicted, likely owing to the unexpectedly broad thermal tolerances of the organisms studied. However, the combination of fish and a heatwave drove a large increase in rotifer abundance, demonstrating that top predators can modify a community’s heatwave response through size-selective predation. Contrary to the model predictions, the presence of fish increased the planktonic community’s resilience to extreme heat. Overall, these findings suggest that differences in food web structure can select for communities that respond differently to heat. A fuller appreciation of interspecies interactions is necessary to predict community-level responses to heatwaves
The Politics of Paperwork: Evaluating US Forest Service Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/18ee16af-589e-49d5-a04c-87b351973b20/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis draws on internal data from the US Forest Service’s (USFS) Planning, Appeals, and Litigation System and past research using this data by Fleischman et al. and by Morgan, Niccolucci, and Berg to evaluate how the Forest Service is fulfilling its environmental impact assessment obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). By coming up with new models for two key variables: NEPA analysis completion times and litigation rates, I further our understanding of the causal relationships that drive two of the main sources of NEPA’s resource costs to federal agencies. I use Ordinary Least Squares and Cox Proportional Hazard modeling to support Morgan, Niccolucci, and Berg’s findings that time to complete NEPA analyses has not declined significantly over 15 years, while different NEPA analysis types take statistically significantly different times to complete. Additionally, I find when analyses cover multiple activity types they take significantly longer to complete. Modeling did not support a relationship between the number of public comments received on NEPA analyses and completion time, supporting that NEPA practitioners don’t see public comment as a vote, prioritizing comment quality over quantity. Litigation models showed little decline in litigation over time for all analyses. Environmental impact statements and projects receiving greater numbers of public comments faced greater chances of litigation
Harmonies Bound in Markov Chains
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/f06dd421-492e-490b-859c-365cb0fcc5be/thumb/128.jpgHarmony is a vital part of music creation, and using Markov Chains it is possible to generate unique and pleasant sounding harmonies. This thesis took a database of over 3000 different chord progressions and then stored those in a hash table of probabilities. These were then used to dictate the outcome of the markov chain. Different depths could be used, so lengths of 3 or even 10 chords long. A few additional heuristics such as grouping and repeating chords were used in order to test how they impacted generation quality
A Parameterized Approach for Hedcut Rendering
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/59534c76-ade9-4999-9e50-2df6222b54f8/thumb/128.jpgIn this thesis I consider the automatic generation of hedcut style portraits using photographs of faces. These renderings mimic those that appear in the Wall Street Journal which are produced by hand with pen and ink. I begin this work by following Kim et al. who render hedcuts by placing stipples so they follow not only the outline of facial features but also isophotes (lines with constant illumination). I apply a variety of image processing techniques to extract facial components and inform stipple placement and size to illustrate tone and depth of the face. I then expand on the work of Kim et al. by introducing an interactive tool that allows for a fully parameterizable version of their approach. Finally I experiment with allowing for areas of negative space and areas of stipple density variation. In this thesis I report on this tool and assess the quality of these methods
The Beesis
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/8d8ba8ac-0ed9-42de-ab22-15f536ad30b6/thumb/128.jpgHoneybee nectar foraging is a complicated, decentralized process reliant on the social exchange of information between individual honeybees with limited information. In this thesis, we first simplify an established model of nonlinear differential equations modeling the distribution of the honeybee workforce among the different roles in nectar foraging to a more analytically tractable model. Next, we prove that a global attractor exists for the one nectar site case for all physically relevant parameter values, showing that the simplified model returns physically realistic solutions. Finally, we discuss the effects of parameter values on the predictions of the long and short term behavior of the simplified model for the two site case
No Space Exempt from Justice: Contradictions of Equal Opportunity and Family Autonomy in Rawls' A Theory of Justice and Political Liberalism
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/3c01a820-b2a9-4279-9a95-ccba3fa304ae/thumb/128.jpgIn this thesis, I argue that there is a contradiction in John Rawls’ two central works, A Theory of Justice and Political Liberalism. Rawls advocated for a strong view of equal opportunity for citizens, while also granting permission for the existence of traditional gendered divisions of labor in the family. I argue he cannot have it both ways: by granting family autonomy, he prevents the realization of his hope for equal opportunity. In elaborating this view, I look to the main feminist theorists who have dealt with this problem in Rawls: Susan Moller Okin, Martha Nussbaum, Tamara Metz, Elizabeth Brake, Clare Chambers, and, most recently, Gina Schouten. I give an account of their interpretations, as well as their proposed solutions. To add to their work on this problem, I provide a case study of polygamy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, particularly focusing on how it is dealt with by the Supreme Court in Reynolds v. United States (1878). In looking at this case, I argue that we should shift the conversation of solving this contradiction in Rawls toward a discussion of the possibility, or impossibility, of applying the two principles of justice in a way that is neutral to worldview
Antitrust, the Second Gilded Age, and the Future of Technological Society
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/f685dc32-02e7-4fc0-9bbe-c15097aaacb3/thumb/128.jpgThe increasing entrenchment and concentration of unaccountable economic power is the defining problem of our time. This thesis seeks to comparatively analyze the legislative outcomes of two major antitrust bills that challenged tech monopolies’ commercial and technological hegemony: the successful passage of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA), which failed to even receive a vote in Congress. By analyzing various legal, political, and economic factors within American and European political economy, this work demonstrates how the dominance of the Chicago School in American antitrust law makes its political institutions more receptive to and dependent upon private interests, whereas the European ordoliberal tradition enables a stronger state less susceptible to corporate pressure and capture. To further explain this differential in receptivity to antitrust reform, it then examines the variation between tech firms’ attempts to capture significant American and European political institutions—political, regulatory, academic, judicial, and military bodies—to achieve favorable policymaking outcomes that legitimate their self-interest. The work concludes with reflections on the inherent tension between accumulations of private power and democratic governance, a dialectic further exacerbated by the American economy’s growing concentration
Hoping to Smash DNA with Rocks and Pickaxes
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/0f0e0fa0-964a-418a-aafb-c60303333917/thumb/128.jpgArchaeometry is a field that concerns itself with the excavation and analysis of material culture that is studied in Archaeology. A particular material that comes with unique challenges is ancient DNA (aDNA). DNA has a microscopic and organic structure that endows special properties that require excavators and analyzers to handle the properties with unique care. This thesis focuses on the dangers of physical damage to aDNA during excavation. The chemical modeling program, SPARTAN, was used to identify noticeably weak bonds. After identifying weak bonds, the process of aDNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and the subsequent sequencing was referenced to identify whether any bonds would result in flawed analysis of the aDNA code. The research ended with a brief foray into High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to develop a method to test DNA standards that have been subjected to physical pressures similar to dig sites
Anthropomorphic Language and Reasoning about Political Entities
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/d39b770d-da49-4cf5-a80a-dc1524f979a5/thumb/128.jpgIn many languages, anthropomorphism is widely used to represent political entities (e.g., "Mother India"). These personifications might influence reasoning about such entities via the psychological mechanisms of analogy, affective response, and pragmatic reasoning. The current research investigates whether framing a nation anthropomorphically influences people’s judgments of the nation. I investigated this question in two experiments. In Experiment 1, 299 online U.S. participants were randomly assigned to read an anthropomorphic or non-anthropomorphic news report about a war between two hypothetical nations (Batipo and Alaya). Judgments of the two nations did not differ significantly between conditions, possibly because anthropomorphism was instantiated using parental language (e.g., “Mother Batipo”) and because the report reminded participants of current events. In Experiment 2 (N = 290), the framing materials were revised to minimize the impact of these factors. The results provided some evidence, albeit weak, for the expected framing effect. Across both experiments, the mostly null results might be explained by U.S. participants’ relatively low familiarity with anthropomorphic language
Stanislav Grof’s Transpersonal Psychology: A Psychiatric Framework for Catalyzing Abundantly Healthy Personhood With the Aid of Higher Healing Agencies
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/f37e6b49-33b4-4720-b400-10de6b59a783/thumb/128.jpgStanislav Grof, A Czech psychiatrist residing in the USA, draws from historical figures in psychological sciences, including William James and Abraham Maslow, to develop a psychiatric framework oriented towards the healing of illness and for the betterment of already well people. He pulls from James in particular to propose that the means of catalyzing these movements towards health is with the aid of higher agencies (which Grof refers to as inner healing intelligences). Grof works to legitimizes these agencies’ existence and their healing efficacies with anecdotal evidence from his clinical experience, his readings of various religious and cultural writers, and with the scientific theory of holographia, which in particular provides a framework for legitimizing radical connections between the mind and the universe. Through holographia, Grof bridges the mind with the physical universe to establish a basis for considering mind like agencies on an extra-human scale. Grof then establishes a foundation for taking seriously the existence of higher agencies as well as the universal human potential to access them with transpersonal experiences. In time, he develops the field of Transpersonal Psychology in which he orients the psychiatrist’s role to be the catalyzation and the facilitation of transpersonal experiences in patients. After the catalyzation, the psychiatrist should allow the patient to actively or passively establish connections with higher agencies so that they can receive their aid in guiding their healing process. In the end, it is through Grof’s use of both scientific and religious rhetoric that he is able to generate a psychiatric framework oriented to radical human potential for health and for connection with higher healing agencies