Stanford University Student Journals
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Cripping Captions: MYSELF AS MOTHER BEAR; THE STUTTER AS UNRULY CHILD
Full text linkIn this creative access project, I aimed to “crip” captioning by incorporating dysfluency into closed captioning. Stuttering is often erased from audio transcription with the goal of eliminating errors and rendering captioning “clean.” However, for people who stutter, stuttering isn’t a vocal blunder—rather, it’s our natural way of speaking and communicating with the world around us. I experimented with bringing my unique stuttering blocks and repetitions to the forefront by captioning and transcribing a reading I did of my prose poem “MYSELF AS MOTHER BEAR; THE STUTTER AS UNRULY CHILD.” I was inspired by the works of disability scholars like JJJJJerome Ellis and Sean Zdenek and, in line with their work, intended to bridge the gap between captioning that erases dysfluency and dysfluent art that lacks modes of accessibility.
I first wrote the poem while visiting my family in Morocco. During my time in a primarily Arabic-speaking environment, my relative unfamiliarity with the language heightened my stutter, making it impossible to be covertly dysfluent. “MYSELF AS MOTHER BEAR” was a reflective attempt at honesty and self-protective disabled joy. I personified my stutter as a wayward child, confident and immune to social norms in the way so many children are. By positioning myself as a protective figure, I accessed a view of stuttering that escapes the medical model of disability and leans into hopeful familiarity.
Communicating Climate Science in an Era of Misinformation
Full text link Whereas the scientific consensus for climate change was once the greatest barrier to climate action, 97 percent of climatologists agree climate change is happening and is human-caused. Now, climate misinformation is the modern barrier to climate action. Climate misinformation has adverse impacts on public perception of and support for climate science. Mastering climate communication is integral for counteracting climate misinformation and relaying modern climate science comprehensibly to the public and policymakers. This review synthesizes current research surrounding climate misinformation, discusses identified strategies to combat misinformation, and highlights methods for effective climate communication appropriately adapted for an era of climate misinformation. It concludes with a critical analysis of the methods used throughout the literature and provides suggestions to improve the credibility of future research. The review emphasizes that the future of climate communication must remain fluid to climate misinformation tactics because the increasing prevalence of climate change compels disseminators of climate misinformation to adapt their strategies to remain effective
Using Machine Learning to Predict Classical Composers from Audio
Full text linkThis research paper explores the application of machine learning techniques to predict classical composers from audio recordings. Classical music, with its rich history and diverse styles, poses a challenge in identifying composers solely based on musical characteristics. The study utilizes a dataset of 2000 Western classical tracks from different eras and employs artificial neural networks for feature engineering. The goal was to develop an accurate predictive model that lists potential composers for a given piece. The results indicate that the LSTM model achieves moderate accuracy, correctly identifying the true composer within the top three predictions. This research is an important contribution to the field as it will further demonstrate the utility of using machine learning to predict the composer of a piece of classical music. It displays the possibilities of using machine learning for other music-related data. It also contributes to the development of future tools that are helpful for both passive music enjoyers as well as professional musicians.
Macroeconomic Conditions and U.S. Household Wealth: Asset Diversification Insights from the Survey of Consumer Finances
Full text linkHousehold asset diversification reflects financial goals, investment horizons, and risk tolerance. Various factors influence the composition of U.S. household wealth. This study analyzed data from the Survey of Consumer Finances to establish a relationship between macroeconomic indicators and asset diversification among U.S. households. Household asset diversification was measured using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, and linear regression analysis was employed to determine the relationship between asset diversification and various macroeconomic factors. The study findings indicate that officially designated periods of economic recessions and changes in real gross domestic product had little effect on household asset diversification. Conversely, the federal funds rate and consumer price index were positively correlated with diversification, while the unemployment rate was negatively correlated with diversification. Additionally, higher education and income levels consistently correlated with higher portfolio diversification across financial and nonfinancial assets. The study findings indicate that household portfolio modification occurred in response to key variables underlying monetary policy such as inflation and the federal funds rate
Who Holds the Camera? Filmmaking Justice in the Era of Generative AI
Full text linkThis paper investigates the ethical, legal, and creative implications of generative AI in filmmaking, with a focus on how artists—particularly those from historically excluded communities—are navigating the rapid rise of machine-generated content. Using OpenAI’s GPT-4o "Ghibli-style" image controversy as a launch point, the paper traces the broader cultural and legal tensions surrounding generative AI’s use of copyrighted work without consent. Through historical parallels from photography and cinema to early AI storytelling systems, the paper explores how generative AI differs in its ambition to mechanize creativity itself. The authors examine recent industry flashpoints, including the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, alongside new legal precedents and copyright lawsuits challenging data scraping and authorship rights. Drawing on emerging scholarship and official reports, including the January 2025 U.S. Copyright Office statement reaffirming the necessity of human authorship, the paper proposes a framework for accountable fair use and ethical AI implementation in filmmaking. The authors advocate for transparency, licensing reform, cultural authenticity audits, and investment in human-AI collaboration that augments rather than replaces human artistry. The paper concludes that while generative AI may enhance efficiency and idea generation, it cannot replicate the depth of lived experience, emotion, and cultural understanding that human creators bring to film. Ultimately, the question of “Who holds the camera?” remains central to the future of cinematic storytelling in the age of machine generated art
Health on the Margins: A More Successful and Compassionate Model for Street Medicine
Full text linkStreet medicine is a promising initiative that centers unhoused patients, but there are undeniable caveats to what it cannot yet achieve without a more standardized backbone for success. This paper argues that a more compassionate and effective model of street medicine can be constructed by emphasizing three core principles: consistency among healthcare practitioners, the presence of a licensed physician on-site, and a streamlined system for resource management. By standardizing continuous practitioner involvement, embedding physicians into street medicine teams, and establishing proper medication procedures, the current model can more efficiently bridge the gap between unhoused individuals and healthcare institutions that often delay care. The suggested framework presents a feasible and scalable path toward delivering more thoughtful, grounded care to people experiencing homelessness.
Closing the Gender Education Gap: How Industrialization Improves the Position of Women in Rural China
Full text linkIn much of rural China, traditional neo-Confucian gender ideologies limit women to domestic work with less household decision-making power and financial independence than their male counterparts. Industrialization in China has transformed work in these rural households; the consequential evolution of the gendered division of labor significantly impacts female education rates. This paper examines the historical and contemporary effect of industrialization on the ability of women in rural China to attain an education and, consequently, the overall gender education gap in China. This paper concludes that the gender education gap will continue to close as the industrial sector expands in China. It proposes policies to minimize institutional bias, challenge the gendered division of labor, and improve rural families\u27 socioeconomic standings. As such, this paper contributes to a broader understanding of how technological development impacts gender equality in education
Scrolling vs. Smoking: Exploring the Complexities of Social Media and Nicotine Addictions
Full text linkAt this time in development, almost everyone around the world has a phone. On that phone, almost everyone has at least one social media platform downloaded. But what if that app was just as harmful as a smoking habit? In this project, the biochemical aspects of social media addiction will be explored and compared directly to the highly known nicotine addiction. Studies have proven that these addictions are on par with each other and that social media addiction is a more serious concern than would have been predicted. The biochemical pathways of the brain are similarly altered by chronic phone usage as they are by chronic nicotine consumption, and recent efforts to reduce this have been repeatedly failing. This project will provide an array of information about this topic that emphasizes its severity and potential actions that can be taken against it to protect society from this growing issue
Existentialism is a Corporatism: The Ethical Implications of Existential Freedom at the Individual and Corporate Level
Full text linkTraditionally, existential concepts have pertained only to the individual. This paper aims to integrate Sartre’s ideas on existential freedom to the corporate world. The paper begins by defining and outlining the limitations of Sartre’s main theory in “Existentialism is a Humanism” that existence precedes essence. The paper uses this foundation to consider how the same definitions and restrictions would apply to corporations using entertainment as an example with Blockbuster, Netflix, and the SAG strike. Ultimately, the paper aims to demonstrate the ways in which existential freedom can enable a company to grow and maintain its power in the face of change, while also highlighting where this freedom must be restricted to maximize not just the company’s but workers’ well-being