JBC Commons (New College of Florida)
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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NOTIONS OF GENDER ROLES IN FLAMENCO PERFORMANCES: HOW ARE THESE ROLES DEFINED IN THE FLAMENCO CULTURE?
No full textFlamenco, as an art form, has developed a gender typecast in which the exhibition of physical movements, vocal interpretations, and the use of customary musical instruments have reflected long-established gender roles and hierarchy of a traditionally patriarchal society. This thesis analyzes how flamenco perpetuates traditional stereotypes of gender, the obstacles artists face within those roles, and how performers are challenging gender differentiation and integrate new gender imagery into modern-day flamenco. In its beginnings, flamenco was not a form of entertainment but instead a way of life where marginalized citizens expressed their fears, joys, and many other emotions via the art form (Cisneros-Kostic 2010). Eventually, the progression of flamenco into a performing art strengthened the significance of gender roles. A feminine allure was the conventional ideal of women, while masculine intensity is the stereotype of male performers. The influential part that gender play in the performances of modern-day flamenco exposes a departure from prevalent notions of masculinity or femininity as new artists like Rosalía, Lourdes Pastor, or Manuel Liñan emerged. The Nuevo Flamenco generation of artists defies the concept of gender roles which circumscribe the male/female person in flamenco by constructing new and atypical types of presentations. This new wave of artists deconstructs the conception of gender by creating general acceptance, even though their interpretations are differing from the long-established standards. During the process of my research, I traveled to Spain, thanks to the Student Research and Travel Grant from the New College of Florida. In Spain, I had the opportunity to participate in flamenco dance classes, observe first-hand the differences between performers, and attend a flamenco show. This thesis includes first-person narratives regarding the experience, observations, and my perspective on the gender dynamics in the flamenco culture. From a cultural viewpoint, the research will emphasize the need to reject gender constraints in all artistic genres and consider the impact of these societal changes in the achievement of gender equality
Kinetic Characterization of C. elegans Lactate Dehydrogenase I
No full textLactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) is an essential metabolic protein ubiquitous to most organisms. LDH catalyzes the interconversion of pyruvate to lactate. During the catalysis, NAD+/NADH are involved as a cofactor to the reaction, being reduced or oxidized. Human LDH is a tetrameric enzyme with two genes encoding two variations of subunit, subunit M and subunit H. There exist five isozymes of differing subunit composition. LDH-H4 is comprised of four H subunits, and is found mainly in blood cells, heart tissue, and brain tissue. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) was chosen as the model organism for the characterization of LDH-H4 as LDH-1 is native to the species and is orthologous to human LDH subunit H. This study aims to report on the purification of a soluble LDH-1 enzyme in addition to a kinetic characterization and optimization of reaction conditions. Previous studies on LDH-1 have reported unsuccessful attempts in purifying a soluble enzyme. The LDH-1 gene was first inserted into a pET303-His vector, transformed and overexpressed using E. coli, and purified using a Ni-affinity column. The resultant protein was found to be soluble. After purifying, the enzyme was subjected to kinetic assays. After baseline activity was established, optimum pH and temperature were determined. The optimum pH was found to be 8 and the optimum temperature was 40 oC. Finally, Michaelis-Menten kinetics curves were developed for varying pyruvate and NADH concentrations. After optimum conditions were determined, a kinetic curve following the Michaelis-Menten equation was determined for both pyruvate and NADH. The Vmax was found to be 0.134 ± 0.014 A340/min for pyruvate, and 0.196 ± 0.058 A340/min for NADH. The Km was determined to be 0.620 ± 0.164 mM for pyruvate and 62.1 ± 36.09303 µM for NADH. The specific activity of LDH-1 was determined to be 9.54 U/mg
PHOTOLUMINESCENT QUANTUM YIELD OF A EU2+-DOPED SR2+ BORATE SYSTEM
No full textDivalent europium has many modern uses as a phosphor in applications such as plasma displays and light-emitting diodes. In this work, the isostructural nature of Eu2+ and Sr2+ was utilized to synthesize Eu2+-doped strontium borates of the composition (Sr1-xEux)[B8O11(OH)4] where x ranged from 0.0198 to 1.0, and the luminescent properties of the resulting materials were measured. The stable divalent europium borate compounds were prepared via a reductive environment method using concentrated HI to generate H2 gas in situ. This method does not require anaerobic conditions, which allows for ease of synthesis on the benchtop and air- and water-stable product compounds. Elemental Analysis by Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy of several samples showed minor inconsistencies in the Eu(II)-doping levels, but the average Eu(II)% in the samples usually correlate with the quantum yield trend. A sample with 3.12% average Eu(II) composition showed the highest quantum yield (93%, nearing unity), which is outstanding for a Eu(II) complex
PERSONIFIED WISDOM: ISSUES OF GENDER, POWER, AND DIVINITY IN EARLY JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN WISDOM LITERATURE
No full textEarly Jewish and Christian texts speak about Wisdom, but not all texts treat Wisdom the same way. Wisdom begins as an abstract concept that evolves into a feminine personification and an aspect of God. Due to the breadth of biblical references to Wisdom, this study includes a brief overview of a number of Hebrew Bible sources in order to situate Wisdom in her earliest narratives. However, this study focuses on the apocryphal Greek text, the Wisdom of Solomon, as a primary source of information about Wisdom. The text presents a different picture of Wisdom than its Hebrew Bible predecessors and serves as a catalyst for the changes she undergoes in later Jewish, “Gnostic,” and Christian traditions. Though Wisdom, as she exists in the Hebrew Bible, seems to fall out of favor after the Wisdom of Solomon, she continues to exist in modern Jewish and Christian traditions with different names. Additionally, the presence of a powerful feminine divinity in ancient sources presents the possibility of reconceptualizing current understandings of God in relation to gender
URBANIZATION AND THE SPREAD OF HIV IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: A COMPARISON OF LAGOS, NIGERIA AND JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
No full textThe first documented infection of HIV was found in blood samples in the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa. Despite these origins, southern Africa is the region most affected by HIV in the world. The second most affected region in the world is west Africa. To build upon research about the spread of HIV across the sub continent, and to assess the impact of demographic change on the differences in HIV prevalence in west and southern Africa, this study investigates the role that urbanization in two regional metropoles—Lagos, Nigeria and Johannesburg, South Africa—plays in creating conditions conducive to the spread of HIV. By analyzing the origins of HIV, urbanization, migrant labor patterns, sex work, urban poverty, and urban policy of Nigeria and South Africa through a comparative lens, this study concludes that, while urbanization, and especially migration, are structural factors that account for an increase in conditions that create heightened risk for the spread of HIV, these factors alone cannot account for the differences in HIV prevalence between Lagos and Johannesburg. The specific timing and history of urbanization in Johannesburg, which was spurred by the city’s mining industry in the late 19th century and characterized by the development of segregated housing and patterns of circular migration, likely intensified the spread of infection before the first case of HIV was diagnosed in the country. More biological dating research should be conducted to determine the exact timing and prevalence of HIV in both Nigeria and South Africa, as well as sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, to help explain differences in regional prevalence rates and the spread of the virus across the sub continent
Bounce for Your Ward: A Grounded Theory Approach Investigating the Role Cultural Intermediation Plays in the Development of Local Sensibilities in New Orleans Bounce Music
No full textIn this project I consider what role cultural intermediation plays in the development of local sensibilities. I investigated the latent messages in New Orleans Bounce rap through a mixed methods approach of a content analysis and grounded theory. Using a playlist curated specifically for this project by a well-known Bounce DJ in New Orleans, I conducted interviews with him to substantiate my findings from the data analysis and provide a more holistic view of Bounce rap. By applying a mixed methods approach to a traditional content analysis, I triangulated interviews, journal notes, and lyrical data to make sense of messages communicated through New Orleans Bounce rap and how they were internalized by a local community of listeners. Three themes emerged from the data triangulation: “Spirit, Place, and Naming”. These three themes best encompassed the social, emotional, musical, and personal aspects of the musical and cultural sharing networks I was interested in. By evaluating my data findings through these three lenses, I understood more clearly how local art forms can present potential opportunities for consumers to make sense of their cultural and personal relationships to each other, their city, and the music. I found that Bounce artists and listeners both individually and through group means are actors who disseminate power and support; furthermore, the live performances, lyrics, and physical locations in New Orleans are all spots where community and belonging can be explored and practiced. The perspectives gleamed from my research revealed that the strong networks of support within the Bounce community allow listeners and artists to subvert traditional means of gatekeeping and use their cultural capital as a means of disseminating power and support to one another
FEVER AS ALCHEMICAL FIRE IN THE OPUS OF FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY, ARTIST OF THE NIGREDO
No full textBrain fever is a recurring event in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novels. It plays a major role in bringing his characters face to face with their buried inner conflicts, especially where an external attitude disguises or compensates for a deeper semi-conscious or unconscious truth which has been rejected. The occurrence of fever signals the insistent onset of a transformational process which will not abate until all self-deception has been burned away, bringing the light of consciousness to repressed and suppressed content and revealing a character’s essential personality. A close analysis of fever as a symptom of the psycho-physiological imperative of transformation in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov will be the focus of this thesis. It will operate through a psychodynamic lens which takes the theoretical writings of Carl Gustav Carus (1789-1869) as a starting point, traces corresponding themes in Dostoevsky’s novels, and then turns to the work of Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) to further describe the dark, far reaching psychological territory which Dostoevsky exposed in his creative realist fiction
FOOD FOR THE FUTURE: AN ANALYSIS OF FLORIDA FOREST GARDENS AND THEIR RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
No full textForest gardens mimic natural forest ecosystems in several ways, suggesting that research on forest ecosystems could be applied to forest gardens. The similarities of these systems could aid in closing the gap of knowledge that exists currently for forest gardens and their resilience to climate change, but more research is necessary. This thesis initiates a discussion on what makes Florida forest gardens resilient to climate change, focusing on factors that make forests resilient: the level of species diversity, perennials, natives, tolerance to extreme conditions, and the vertical layers or levels filled. With a focus on three forest garden sites located in the state of Florida — New College of Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Bay Haven School of Basics Plus — I analyze what resilience factors are present, the implications these have for ecological resilience, and if management practices influence the presence of these factors. By conducting in-person interviews with the managers at each of the sites, current management practices, goals, and history of the site were able to be assessed. By analyzing an updated species list for each of the forest garden sites, the presence of factors that contribute to system resilience were able to be understood more clearly. Each site was analyzed as a unique ecosystem, considering local climate change impacts, and the strengths and weaknesses of that site. The results were then compared with one another to understand similarities among the sites. The results showed several similarities in management practices and the presence of resilience factors. Each of the forest garden sites, which were managed as multi-functional ecosystems, had all of the resilience factors present! This suggests that all of the forest gardens are ecologically resilient. Further research is necessary to confirm the strength of the ecological resilience of each site to climate change. Luckily, this thesis created a data point that can be used for this type of future research. I suggest that future research on forest gardens continues to focus on the benefits provided to communities where forest gardens exist, especially those most at-risk to climate change impacts
An Observational and Spatial Analysis of Red Tide Events from Pinellas to Lee County Between 2000-2018
No full textKarenia brevis is a toxic dinoflagellate that naturally occurs in Florida’s west coast waters. When the populations of K. brevis bloom it is commonly called red tides, which is a type of Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) that causes many problems for Florida’s marine and human populations. This research focuses on an area of Florida from Pinellas to Lee county examining existing public databases of K. brevis density and water nutrient levels from 2000-2018. Spatial and temporal analyzes helped to examine the existing data and determine if any possible patterns or smaller areas of interest are present. Temporal methods revealed anomalous years of K. brevis concentration in 2001, 2005, and 2018 averaging as high as 3.75 million cells per Liter. Spatial examination revealed several clusters in the study area that had distribution ranges as high as 4 to 10 million cells per Liter. The highest density of K. brevis was a small patch in the range of 42+ million around Sanibel Island in Lee County. The nitrogen and phosphorus distributions showed a possible inverse correlation between their concentration levels such as, whenever there would be a high level of nitrogen in the water, the phosphorus level for that same geographic area would be in the lower levels. Overall, this study showed some possible relationships between the spatial distribution and densities of K. brevis densities and the concentration of some limiting nutrients. The analysis of the existing datasets also revealed that there is a need for more comprehensive and regional-wide standard sampling methods to fill important ancillary data gaps, including environmental variables such as water temperature and salinity