JBC Commons (New College of Florida)
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DIRECTIONAL DISCRIMINATION OF GOLDFISH CONDITIONED UNDER PURE BLUE TO PURE GREEN LIGHT SPECTRUM
No full textThe visual sensory ability of comet goldfish (Carassius auratus) was investigated using operant conditioning for discrimination between gradients of pure blue and pure green light. This study was conducted to further investigate their ability to differentiate between different saturation and hues of color, adding to previous works investigating the color vision from researchers such as Neumeyer and Arnold. The vision of goldfish can be used as a model for other aquatic species, especially teleost fish. Their ability to detect differences in color saturation in a controlled laboratory environment, based on conditioning, can predict how fish in the wild are able to perceive desaturation of their environment from pollution. The results indicate that goldfish are able to differentiate above the chance level of 50% between pure blue and pure green light, with a correctness of 70-80%. In the gradient testing, the colors that are less saturated than the pure colors, the goldfish have less accuracy in their discrimination, at or just below chance level. From this study, evidence can be added to the argument that goldfish can use color to navigate their environment, though they have less ability as the colors become less saturated
An Assessment of the Minnesota DNR 2001 Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) Management Plan
No full textFederal and state agencies are frequently faced with numerous challenges when drafting wildlife management policies for species of concern. There are often several stakeholder groups with differing management objectives, and a limited amount of funding, resources and available biological data make it challenging for these agencies to balance public, private and scientific concerns. One useful tool for providing a more informed picture of a species’ population status is to perform a population viability analysis (PVA), where aggregated life-history data is input into a simulation to model the projected population dynamics and evaluate the risk of extinction for the species. The grey wolf (Canis lupus) is a species endemic to the northern half of Minnesota state. While the MN Department of Natural Resources proposed a managment plan in 2001 in anticipation of federal delisting, it did not include extensive planning for population modeling and extinction evaluation. In light of this, I performed a PVA of the MN population using available historical data. While the resulting simulation model did not predict any impending risk of extirpation for the MN population, it highlighted a relative lack of available life history data for MN wolves that should receive directed scientific inquiry in the future, in addition to adjacent areas of conservation research that would benefit wolf management in Minnesota, such as the vulnerability of the population to climate change
Globalized Wedding Traditions of Contemporary Istanbul’s Urban Elite
No full textWeddings are a microcosm for which larger sociocultural forces can be studied. Factors that influence society will influence culture, which consequently will affect a major cultural affair such as a wedding. In Turkey where the fall of the Ottoman Empire gave rise to the Turkish Republic, the political, economic, and societal changes that developed during this transition and beyond profoundly affected the Turkish culture and its traditions, especially among secular urban elites. In this thesis, I will discuss and analyze how Turkish wedding traditions among the urban elites of Istanbul have been transformed, from the late Ottoman Empire to contemporary times, by globalization born out of Turkey’s modernization efforts and neoliberal governmental policies. Globalization-driven cultural transformation of traditions has occurred relatively faster and more easily among urban elites given their wealth and access to globalized products, ideas, and education, making them participants in the globalized reproduction of cultural traditions. Indeed, many wedding traditions have been continued from the Ottoman past, but secular urban elites have distanced themselves far enough from Ottoman identity, and its corresponding associations with religiosity and rigid social conservatism, that reproducing the Ottoman wedding aesthetic does not bring the globalized elite identity of its participants into question. Engaging in traditions that have been commercialized and commodified by globalization does still consolidate Turkish cultural identity among urban elites but does not diminish the inevitable effects of globalization on culture, which launches a quest for authenticity in a globalized culture
BETWEEN WORLDS: A DISSECTION OF THE MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL TROPE THROUGH THE LENS OF THE LATE-19TH AND EARLY-20TH CENTURY NEW WOMAN
No full textThe Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope in recent cinematic history as well as Young Adult novels of the past couple decades features a young bubbly, girl who steps in to save her depressed, lost-in-the-world male counterpart and shows him the excitement of life. This trope often borrows traits from the late-19th and early-20th century New Woman in literature, which culminates in a pseudo-profound classic-like literature that is easier to metabolize than actual classic literature. John Green is among the more known Manic Pixie Dream Girl writers and is known for his novels Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns. Common critiques of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl include her lack of agency and psychological inner workings. She generally exists to help the corresponding male character along in his journey or to learn an important lesson
A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS: DIRECTING AND REFLECTING IN A PANDEMIC
No full textIn Spring of 2020, I half-directed my first ever solo directing project, entitled Milk Milk Lemonade, meant to mainstage as a part of the official [performance @ New College] season. This performance was postponed a month before it was due to open due to COVID-19, and five months later, I made the ultimate decision to cancel the show. This thesis aims to recount my full process, from concept to cancellation, in all of the gory details, and examine my methods and methodologies, how I failed and succeeded, regardless of the lack of show in the end - and also, perhaps, why that ended up being a good thing. Furthermore, my ultimate objective became to investigate what it is to make theatre in the midst of an event of collective trauma as large as a pandemic, and to come upon what I truly need to move forward into the rest of my career
ALTERED NATURAL DYES AS ALTERNATIVES TO EXPENSIVE RUTHENIUM-COMPLEX SENSITIZERS IN DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS
No full textSolar energy is one of many forms of renewable energy which seeks to replace the use of harmful fossil fuels for the production of energy by humans worldwide. One of the ways to make this more viable is to decrease the production cost of solar technologies, without also decreasing their efficiency. Natural dyes extracted from plants can be used as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells in order to decrease their production cost compared to the commonly used and most efficient ruthenium-complex sensitizer, N719 dye. However, natural dyes have been held back from wide-scale commercial implementation due to the critical trade-off of their conversion efficiency, which is often less than 1%, compared to N719’s peak efficiency at 11%. Previous studies have shown natural dye efficiency to increase with the introduction of various alteration methods during the extraction process. This research seeks to improve conversion efficiency of natural dyes by combining alterations such as dye combination, solvent optimization, and absorption-desorption. Preliminary tests showed little improvement of UV-Visible absorption by dyes extracted in deionized water at varying pH levels. By combining dyes obtained from Calathea veitchiana (η=0.67%) and Delonix regia (η=0.61%) extracted into the optimized solvent methanol, absorbed onto titanium dioxide nanopowder, desorbed using chloroform and concentrated, the resulting efficiency was η=0.92%. This illustrates the opportunity for improvement of natural dye efficiency by combining alterations, which could prove useful for future implementation of dye-sensitized solar cells
CLIMATE CHANGE AND ARCHITECTURAL PRESERVATION IN THE CITIES OF SARASOTA, FL AND MIAMI BEACH, FL
No full textWhile a great deal of attention has been drawn towards the impacts that climate change will have on the Earth’s ecosystems and on humans overall, there is still a significant research gap extant regarding climate change and its impacts on the historic and cultural resources of the world. In this thesis, I look at the underlying evidence that supports an anthropogenic origin for current global climate change, examine how the effects of climate change will impact the historic architecture resources of the cities of Sarasota, FL and Miami Beach, FL, and discuss how preservation law at a federal and local level impacts how historic architecture in these two cities is preserved. I also analyze the particular shortcomings of local climate mitigation efforts, as well as the limitations of current preservation legislation and infrastructure, in order to illustrate the current state of architectural preservation in both Sarasota and Miami Beach
GASTON’S CHAIR: AN EXPLORATION OF DISNEY NOSTALGIA AND FALSIFIED MEMORIES THROUGH PROPS
No full textThis thesis is an investigation into my own creative process based on a case study of theatrical properties (props) manufacturing of one chair. This thesis is also a study into Disney’s ability to invoke nostalgia and to create an emotional attachment to fictitious worlds. For my prop design and creation, I began with research into nostalgia marketing, emotional branding, performance studies, Disney heritage, and prop development. Through my research I discovered what nostalgia is used for, what questions need to be asked when applying emotion and nostalgia to your work, and how Disney answers those questions in their own manner. With this knowledge, I utilized my prop and designer skills to recreate Gaston’s tavern chair from the 1991 film Beauty and the Beast and used it to create a scene for two different people to experience in hopes that I could invoke the Disney emotion and nostalgia for the animated film. To compare these falsified memories to real ones, I intentionally chose one person who is familiar with the film but not the parks, and one who is familiar with the parks but not the film. The latter would assumedly have real memories from the parks, while the first had the falsified ones from the movie. My argument is that even if the nostalgia is falsified, it carries the same emotional value as if those memories were real, particularly in terms of Disney, who has spent many years building up their name to ensure that they can invoke these feelings. The entire thesis is treated as a praxis documentation of my artistic process and case study in terms of having two different people discussing their experiences, but all this work is anecdotal. Human emotions are a grey area of study. There will never be a black and white answer for anything. The research and studies that I have done only apply to the two specific people I worked with as well as my own personal thoughts about prop making and on how the overall experience went
READING EMERSON TO SAVE THE WORLD: AMERICAN TRANSCENDENTALISM AND THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY AND VIRTUE IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
No full textThis thesis introduces a living lineage of Transcendentalist philosophy, one which has historically inspired the most influential cultural revolutions of the nation. I suggest that the ethical and ideological frameworks which blossomed during the Transcendentalism Movement directly paved the way for the revolutionary social movements of the mid-1950s through the 1970s. From the genesis of the movement in the 19th Century to the modern epoch, I trace the peak revivals of American Transcendentalism through historical and philosophical contexts, underscoring the causal influences from one emergence to the next. Concluding the paper, I include excerpts from interviews of a diverse array of citizens on their relationships to nature, personal identities, with the intentions of illuminating the real-life applications of philosophy, ethics, and morality on behavior and identity formation. I propose that by returning to this uniquely American genealogy, individuals gain the philosophical tools necessary to navigate their relationship to themselves, the natural environment, and society as a whole in the wake of the climate crisis
SPARRA’S DIPLOMAT: CREATING IMITATION-FREE DIPLOMACY A.I. WITH THE CROSS-ENTROPY METHOD AND DEEP-Q NETWORKS
No full textSince early A.I. research, board games such as checkers, chess, and go have been proving grounds for novel techniques. While A.I. has had great success with two-player competitive, deterministic games in recent years, little progress has been made in solving cooperativecompetitive games. This thesis explores one such game: Diplomacy. Set in pre-WWI Europe, the game forces players to negotiate with their 6 rivals as alliances and individuals vie for control of previous “supply center” cities. Prior work has produced rules-based A.I. that perform well but fall short of human-level play. More recent research has used machine learning to create A.I. that handily beat the rules-based A.I. but require a large dataset of human games for training. Over three iterations, this thesis develops Diplomacy machine learning A.I. that do not require a dataset, using the Cross-Entropy Method (CEM) and Deep-Q Networks (DQN). In Iteration 0, several hyperparameters and game state representations are rapidly tested to discover which hold the most potential for CEM and DQN in Diplomacy. Iteration 1 tests the improvement of basic CEM and DQN agents, using the hypermeters and representations discovered in Iteration 0, over 100 thousand games. Iteration 2 improves upon both A.I. techniques by “masking” invalid actions, preventing them from being chosen. By the end of Iteration 2, both CEM and DQN dominate in a simplified Diplomacy environment against a random A.I