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A CASE STUDY OF QUEER LATIN* STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCE AT A HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTION
No full textQueer Latin* college students can thrive in colleges that provide supportive environments with resources that lead to education and development. Queer resources exist to support Queer students and educate the college population on queer topics; as student services spaces, the space enriches students\u27 lives (Sanlo, 2000). However, Queer Latin* students experiences do not feel represented in queer resource spaces (Pryor, 2018). As such, the purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine the experiences of Queer Latin* college students and to explore how queer resources for Latin* Queer students promote success at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). The study was approached through criterion purposeful-based sampling of ten Queer Latin* students and three college administrators through interviews, observations, and multiple documents to understand the experiences of Queer Resources for Latin* Queer students.
Three findings emerged from the data analysis: Student-Centered, Supportive, and Inclusive Spaces; Creation of An Inclusive and Supportive Campus Environment that engages Queer Latin* Students is Vital for Their Well-Being, Success, and Visibility; and Affirmation, Institutional Support, and College Student Leadership Roles. Queer Latin* college student experience consisted of a welcoming environment, created in and out of the classroom that was inclusive and supportive towards the exploration of academic and lifelong pursuits.
Queer Latin* students defined queer resource effectiveness through having environments that engaged their community in their well-being, visibility, engagement, and continued amplification of resources. Queer Resources for Latin* Queer students promoted success through support and affirmation of their unique campus involvement journeys. Through acts of validation, Queer Latin* students and their unique experiences with in and out-of-class agents at a Hispanic-Serving Institution environment through this study affirmed success. Recommendations to scholars, institutions, and practitioners are included, as well as proposed policies, enhancement of resources, and standardization of campus environments. The word Latin* in this study includes all racial and ethnic gender identities of Latin American descent, including Latin, Latina, Latino, Latinx, Latine, Latini, and Latinu (Salinas, 2020)
MATERIA NON MEDICA: READING DISABILITY AND MEDICAL NARRATIVES IN THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU
Full text linkThis thesis presents a close reading of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, engaging Indigenous studies and disability studies to illuminate how the novel interrogates embodiment, medical authority, and human difference. By situating the text within historical frameworks of medicine and corporeality in Mexico, and alongside speculative modes that seek to recuperate non-Western epistemologies, the analysis reveals how Moreno-Garcia reimagines the body as mutable, relational, and politically charged. The narrative’s hybrid characters and transgressive identities offer a generative lens through which to explore bodily variance, not as deviation, but as a site of possibility. Ultimately, this thesis argues that Moreno-Garcia’s work contributes to emerging discourses that destabilize normative conceptions of the human and open space for pluralistic, embodied knowledge
Tripping Over Trips ; International Inequities in Critical Phamaceutical Access
Full text linkDirected by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Right (TRIPS) of 1995 is the most comprehensive international policy on the creation, protection, definition, and transfer of International Property Rights (IPR). This policy was particularly damaging for underdeveloped countries when it came to the trade and importation of name-brand drugs, as TRIPS inherently expedited the unethical process of evergreening drug patents. As a result, the agreement forced many vulnerable regions— such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC)— to become dangerously dependent on foreign generic drug imports, predominantly from India. This paper analyzes the pharmaceutical access barriers that Least Developed Countries (LDCs) face when responding to public health emergencies, the flaws in the current policy changes undertaken by world leaders, and the best way forward in amending TRIPS. Thus, the central argument of this paper posits that, to ensure positive long-term economic and medical development in LDCs, process patents ought to no longer be protected by TRIPS, specifically by excluding Article 28.1(b) of the agreement, while simultaneously emphasizing the policy already stated in Article 66.2
Brazil and the United States: The Historical Evolution of Civil Vs. Common Law Systems
Full text linkThe legal systems of Brazil and the United States have developed from unique historical and cultural backgrounds. Brazil’s legal framework is rooted in civil law principles brought by its Portuguese colonizers, focusing on codification and legal certainty. In comparison, the U.S. system emerged from English common law, prioritizing precedent and judicial interpretation. This paper explores how colonial influences, independence movements, and constitutional reforms specifically shaped the civil and common law frameworks in both countries. By drawing on primary legal texts, historical records, and scholarly analyses, this research examines how these events influenced the evolution of each system. Additionally, this paper highlights the key differences between these two systems and how historical events influenced each country’s approach
Vaccination Mandates and Civil Liberties
Full text linkVaccination mandates in the United States sit at the crossroads of public health and individual freedoms, a complex and often controversial intersection. The enforcement of immunization policies has a long history of legal and ethical scrutiny, balancing the state\u27s responsibility to protect its citizens with the constitutional rights individuals hold dear. The COVID-19 pandemic reignited this debate, amplifying existing tensions and presenting new challenges. This analysis argues that while vaccination mandates are constitutionally valid and essential for safeguarding public health, they must be designed with care to respect individual liberties and address modern challenges such as misinformation, inequities, and public resistance. This paper analyzes the constitutional justification of historical and modern vaccine mandates, evaluating legal precedents and the ongoing tension between public health authority and individual liberties
TINY-PHYSICS: A COMPACT LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL FOR PHYSICS WORD PROBLEMS ON MOBILE DEVICES
Full text linkThis thesis offers Tiny-Physics, a compact large language model optimized for solving physics word problems on mobile devices. While Small Language Models (SLMs) offer potential for on-device learning, there is a lack of domain-specialized models for physics. This research fine-tunes smolLM2-360M, a state-of-the-art SLM, using a combination of publicly available datasets (e.g., camel-ai/physics) and a novel synthetic dataset generated through a multi-agent system based on GPT-4o and 1000 Solved Problems in Classical Physics.
The fine-tuning process incorporates both supervised and instruction-tuning methods, including LoRA for parameter-efficient training. The resulting model is converted to GGUF format for deployment on resource-constrained mobile devices. Evaluation on the MMLU College Physics benchmark shows that instruction-tuning improves performance, with the best model achieving an accuracy of 0.2451, surpassing the base model.
The proposed study presents a comprehensive, end-to-end framework for synthetic datasets, fine-tuning, evaluation using Lighteval, and deployment on quantized mobile systems. Results underscore the value of lightweight, domain-adapted models in delivering scalable and personalized physics education
SPOT (SMART POSITION AND TEMPERATURE) TAGGING REVEALS ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT SHAPE BLACKTIP SHARK (CARCHARHINUS LIMBATUS) ANNUAL MIGRATIONS.
Full text linkBlacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) in the Western Atlantic migrate annually to spend the winter in waters off the coast of southeastern Florida. In the spring, these sharks migrate north to waters ranging as far north as Long Island, New York. This study was based on spatial data collected by SPOT (Smart Position and Temperature) tags deployed on blacktip sharks from 2017 to 2024. The data from the tags were used to investigate the offshore extent of the migration, the thermal preferences of these sharks, and which environmental variables can be used to predict their latitudinal distribution. Most blacktip detections were confined to shallow waters over the continental shelf. Blacktip sharks spent the greatest percentage of their time in waters between 20°C and 25°C. Julian date, which was used to represent photoperiod, was the best predictor of shark latitudinal distribution, followed by sea-surface-temperature, and chlorophyll
PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL USING NOVEL CARBON ADSORBENTS DERIVED FROM WASTE ALGAE: AN INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY APPROACH TO MITIGATE ALGAL BLOOMS
Full text linkHigh phosphate levels and warm temperatures in surface waters can stimulate the overgrowth of certain alga types, causing harmful algal blooms (HABs). HABs may adversely affect public health and have negative economic impacts due to associated healthcare costs, required clean-up activities, and tourism revenue loss. The overarching objective of this study was to utilize an industrial ecology approach and convert algal biomass into chemically modified activated carbon adsorbent materials for phosphate removal. Cyanobacterial biomass was collected from Lake Okeechobee in Florida and processed before activation using fast and energy-efficient microwave heating. To improve phosphate removal, the surface of the adsorbents was modified using different mass ratios (0.5 to 2.0) of lanthanum chloride, zinc chloride, magnesium chloride, or magnesium oxide to precursor. The adsorbents were evaluated for phosphate uptake to identify performant materials for further assessment. Multiple materials modified with lanthanum chloride achieved near-complete phosphorus removal efficiency (greater than 99%) over a wide range of initial concentrations (5, 10, and 20 mg/L). The best-performing material which was prepared with a lanthanum chloride to precursor mass ratio of 1.5 and microwave heating duration of 3 minutes achieved greater than 90% phosphorus removal using a low adsorbent dosage of 0.2 g/L and a short contact time of 30 minutes. This final candidate was studied in the presence of natural organic matter (25-62 mg/L), and the results showed that phosphate removal performance was not adversely affected. The research findings showed the potential of lanthanum-modified algae-derived activated carbon materials to mitigate HABs through phosphate adsorption from surface waters. The superior performance of lanthanum-modified materials for phosphate removal is due to the formation of lanthanum phosphate (LaPO4.H2O; also known as rhabdophane), which precipitates in water and permanently sequesters phosphorus. A preliminary cost analysis estimated the total cost of treatment to be about $0.03 per gallon for an influent phosphorus concentration of 0.2 mg/L and 80% removal efficiency. The research findings have the potential to not only enhance air and water quality and public health in the impacted communities but also help maintain a thriving recreation and tourism industry
MAKING HOT CHOCOLATE: CONNECTING HYPERSEXUALITY AND VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK AMERICAN WOMEN IN 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE
Full text linkAfrican American literature in the early 20th and 21st centuries have been employed as a method of protest against the deleterious stereotyping of Ebonic (read: Black American) people in the United States, addressing and challenging the monolithic notions that define Ebonic people in life and media. In the process of expressing these protests, challengers to racist social norms utilize the Ebonic female body and image for the benefit of their personal interests through a combination of hypersexuality and violence. This thesis addresses the lack of accountability in these political lenses and assesses the ways in which authors objectify and abuse the Ebonic female body through a specific lens of Black feminism