JBC Commons (New College of Florida)
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CASE STUDY OF DOMOIC ACID TOXICOSIS IN A CALIFORNIA SEA LION: DIFFUSION IMAGING ANALYSIS OF ANTERIOR THALAMUS AND CONNECTIVITY
No full textPopulations of wild California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) are an opportunistic disease model for study of the effects of the algal toxin domoic acid. Common symptomology of chronic domoic acid toxicosis in these animals includes hippocampal atrophy and seizures. Distributed neural pathology is less well understood. The thalamus shares dense connections with the hippocampus, and there has been some evidence of thalamus lesioning in exposed sea lions and human cases, but these findings have been anecdotal. Relatedly, temporal lobe epilepsy in humans can lead to thalamus atrophy. In the present study, high resolution diffusion tensor imaging data obtained postmortem was compared between two animals: one with and one without clinical signs of domoic acid toxicosis. Anterior thalamus and hippocampus were segmented and white matter connections were traced to compare volumetry and diffusion measures respectively between specimens for each region. Anterior thalamus did not display clear mean trends in diffusion measures, but mean diffusivity maps provided anecdotal evidence of bilateral differences
DECONSTRUCTING THE VIKING ARCHETYPE: THE ERASURE OF MARGINALIZED GROUPS FROM VIKING HISTORY
No full textIn the most authoritative early works on Viking history, there is a notable lack of discussion about Vikings that were nonwhite, queer, or gender nonconforming. These texts, nineteenth and early twentieth century creations of European/American men, instead focused on the interests of their authors: other Anglo-European men. The erasure of marginalized groups from the literature ensured that these groups were not a part of the Viking revival that introduced physical stereotypes to the public consciousness, and as a result Victorian popular culture crystallized the image of Vikings as blonde-haired, blue- eyed, cisgender-heterosexual, and white. This same image remains in modern popular culture, and is used by white supremacists to assert a perceived Viking heritage they use to legitimize their hateful ideology. However, this thesis aims to unravel the popular characterization of Vikings, using recent scholarship and current archaeological research to prove the likely existence of nonwhite, gender nonconforming, and queer individuals in Viking society
CLOUD 10: AN EXPLORATION OF IMMERSIVE THEATRE’S MANY BENEFITS AND THE PROCESS OF CREATING MY OWN CAFE
No full textImmersive theatre, at its core, prioritizes bodies and the human experience. Theatre goers are typically acclimated to a passive experience that encourages distancing between the audience and the imagined world. So, by utilizing immersive theatre as a tool, I will be bridging that gap and exploring how the benefits of this genre help to integrate non- traditional theatre goers into the world of theatre. I do this by examining immersive theatre\u27s use of sensory stimulation, audience engagement and agency, interactivity, connectivity, and more. With this in mind, I’ve created my own immersive theatre piece, Cloud 10: an immersive and interactive cafe, from the ground up. I will be providing the process, documentation, and execution of Cloud 10, demonstrating the application of this theoretical research as well as analyzing how this piece served the purpose of its community
THE EFFECT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON AGGREGATE CORPORATE PROFITS IN AMERICA
No full textThe purpose of this thesis is to provide an empirical examination of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on aggregate corporate profits in the United States, as well as to elucidate avenues for future research related to the topic. The null hypothesis is that the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a significant effect on aggregate corporate profits. Aggregate corporate profits are considered in an autoregression distributed lag model and estimated using Ordinary Least Squares. The initial determinants of the model include private consumer expenditure, private investment, government expenditure, net exports, net worth of businesses, research & development expenditures, and the federal funds rate. Final results show that aggregate corporate profits are not significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but are affected by consumption, investment, government expenditures, and research & development expenditures
LET’S LEAP! : DYNAMIC MUSEUM EXPERIENCES FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM
No full textThis thesis combines concepts from art and science museum education to create an accessible education program titled “Let’s Leap!”. The program is designed to meet the needs of all learners with special attention to the Autism Spectrum Disorder community. I have selected three major methodologies as vehicles for teaching. The methodologies are the universal design for learning by Anne Meyer and David Gordon, visual thinking strategies formulated by Phillip Yenawine and Abigail Housen, and the 5Es designed by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study
PRESIDENTS, POLITICAL EFFICACY, AND SEMI-PRESIDENTIALISM: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT AND THEIR EFFECT ON EXTERNAL POLITICAL EFFICACY WITHIN SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS
No full textSemi-presidential systems are democracies where a popularly elected president and a prime minister who is supported by an elected parliament share the executive portfolio of the government. These systems have been one of the most popular choices for new democracies since the 1950s. While many countries have a semi-presidential framework, they vary substantially in the constitutional powers afforded to the president. The president, being a strong political actor, can either exert more or less influence through these powers. My thesis investigates how the strength of the presidency affects citizens\u27 external political efficacy, the feeling of being represented by the government. I hypothesize that stronger constitutional powers for the president will bring stronger feelings of external political efficacy to citizens. I selected four countries to study to illuminate how differences in these constitutional powers might influence political efficacy: Austria, Romania, Portugal, and Peru. I then use an external political efficacy variable from the joint World Values Survey-European Values Survey wave of 2017 to 2021 and average it to get the average level of political efficacy within each of my cases. The average political efficacy levels for each country did not follow my first hypothesis but rather followed my alternative hypothesis that the interaction with external efficacy would be based on the strength of democracy as measured by the Varieties of Democracy designations of liberal democracy and electoral democracy. More consolidated democracies had higher average external political efficacy rates. The qualitative section illuminated why each country did not follow my initial hypothesis, while the quantitative analyses tried to find what explains political efficacy with standard variables which also ended up not having very much explanatory power. It seems that political efficacy is related more to the country’s history and depth of democratic development than to institutional balances of powers and social factors
Xenopus muelleri Vocalizations and their Social Contexts
No full textAnurans of the genus Xenopus provide us with an excellent model to study vocalization physiology and behavior. These frogs produce species and sex-specific vocalizations depending on their current social context. In this study, I look at the understudied species Xenopus muelleri in an attempt to elicit undiscovered vocalizations in this species as well as provide novel behavioral descriptions for each of their known vocalizations. To accomplish this, I primed male and female frogs with human chorionic gonadotropin to increase the likelihood of mating behaviors then paired males and females together both with and without a separation barrier. Temporal and behavioral characteristics were described for each of their vocalizations. Four types of calls were characterized in this study: the advertisement call, approach call, the approach ending to an advertisement call, and the female release call. Based on the behaviors that were observed, I confirm that a call that was speculated to be the Xenopus muelleri approach call is likely the approach call, though I find evidence that it may be the X. muelleri amplectic call which has never been described before. I conclude that future studies on X. muelleri are necessary to distinguish these two calls and corroborate my findings
GOOD DESIGN IS FEMINIST DESIGN: THE EVOLUTION OF INCLUSIVE GRAPHIC DESIGN IN THE WORK OF SHEILA LEVRANT DE BRETTEVILLE
No full textSheila Levrant de Bretteville is an underrecognized graphic designer, artist, educator, and activist. The thesis statement of this paper originally focused on the impact a graphic designer can have on their audience through an exploration of her work. It has expanded to include recognition that graphic design can not only have a positive influence on its viewers, but it can be art, as well. This thesis developed through copious amounts of reading and research, often utilizing primary sources and forays into parallel topics, including the literature of the mid-century women’s movement and early feminist art history. There is not an extensive amount of scholarship on the history of graphic design, nor on less prominent members of the 1970s women’s movement. Feminist celebrities like Judy Chicago, one of Levrant de Bretteville’s peers, were more often the focus of attention, attracting public recognition and scrutiny, while others worked in relative anonymity. Both play a key role in any activist movement. This thesis shines a light on the importance of those who work in supportive roles. From Levrant de Bretteville\u27 early life as the child of first-generation immigrans in Brooklyn, New York, through a major shift in her worldview, to her current position as the head of the graphic design graduate program at Yale University School of Art, this thesis traces the concepts and inspirations which, in combination with her formal training, led Levrant de Bretteville to develop her signature, post-modern style. This thesis focuses on the development period of that style, which she referred to at the time as feminist design, by exploring works from her portfolio from the late 1960s through the late 1970s. Levrant de Bretteville\u27s design are artistic, political, informative, and even commercial, all at the same time. She has proven that it is possible not only to advertise without pandering, but to create art and actively make a community better through graphic design
Ruining the Remake: An Investigation of Fan Expectations for Live-Action Adaptations
No full textThis thesis investigates fan dissatisfaction with live-action film adaptations. Fans show displeasure with live-action adaptations that stray too far from the source material and claim that “unfaithful” movies ruin the original text. Adapters and Adaptation Studies scholars attribute fan dissatisfaction to their engagement with fidelity criticism: the comparison between an adaptation and its source material, where one considers the source material to be the superior art form. I argue that filmmakers cause fan dissatisfaction with live-action adaptations through contradictory marketing practices. Filmmakers and scholars encourage fans to judge adaptations independently of the original texts, but film advertisements and movie trailers mislead fans into believing that adaptations are meant to be “remakes\u27\u27 of their source materials. These advertisements mislead fans and set up unrealistic expectations for live-action film adaptations. I propose that further clarification about the true purpose of adaptations, along with the production of honest advertisements can decrease fan dissatisfaction and improve the viewing experience for fans
THE SAVORY EXPERIENCE OF MY CULTURAL HYBRIDITY
No full textThe Savory Experience of Being a Cultural Hybrid is a series of paintings that illustrate how I perceive myself as a hybrid person that incorporates traits coming from my South American roots and the new seeds I am planting in the United States. By painting still lifes of food from Latin America and the American diet, I portray how it tastes to be from both places. As someone who emigrated from Argentina and has lived in Miami, Florida for almost ten years, I have experienced the multicultural effects that inmigration have on a city and its community. I have seen an American eat Colombian empanadas, and a Venezuelan drink Dr. Pepper. This mental picture of a tasteful diversity is what I depict within my works. Through The Savory Experience of Being a Cultural Hybrid I am able to raise awareness around cultural diversity and also share my own story of being a cultural hybrid. Facundo Cabral, an Argentinian artist said “no soy de aqui ni de alla” (I\u27m not from here nor there). While working on this project I decided to continue what Cabral said by adding that I am a heterogeneous mixture coming from both places