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From the Passage (Poster Presentation)
No full textDeveloping out of my work in the Humanities Fellows Program, From the Passage is a piece that uses migration novels as the foundation for exploring the effects of displacement on identity. I transformed my literary research and analysis into movement, discovering ways to physically embody motifs and themes such as voices, echoes, perspective, blending, and liminality.
Choreography by Karen Fleming, mentored by Professor Anne Van Gelder
Costume Design by Karen Fleming, mentored by Professors Johann Stegmeir and Heather Hogg
Light Design by Allison Martin, mentored by Professor Maja E. White
“Voices call to her in ragged words stitched together from many languages, like dissonant scraps of a quilt.” - Cristina García, from Dreaming in Cuban
Premiere 2020 University Dancers 35th Anniversary Concert, Alice Jepson Theatre, Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond
This work was also chosen to represent the “Outstanding Student Choreographer” selection for the 18th Annual Mid-Atlantic Choreographer’s Showcase hosted by Starr Foster Dance
Videography by John Hancock Production
Lifting Depression: The Impact of Contingency Training on Neurobiological Markers of Emotional Resilience
No full textMajor Depressive Disorder (MDD) has a huge impact on our society, being a leading cause of disability worldwide. The current study focuses on a preventative approach to MDD, in the form of effort-based reward (EBR) contingency training. Twenty animals were trained to associate physical effort with a food reward using this model, while twenty animals served as controls and were simply given the reward. Animals were then assessed on a hippocampal-dependent pattern separation task and an uncertainty task, as well as on endocrine and neurobiological markers of emotional resilience. Results showed that contingent trained animals performed better that non-contingent animals on the hippocampal-dependent pattern separation assessment when the task was hardest. EBR animals also exhibited a lower activation of the lateral habenula, a brain region that is overactive in MDD. Preliminary data also show a higher ratio of GRIN2B/2A, genes that code for NMDA receptor subtypes, in the dentate gyrus of the contingent trained group, a ratio that has been linked to flexible problem solving. Taken together, data from this study show that contingency training is associated with a shift from emotional vulnerability to emotional resilience, making it a potentially effective way to prevent disorders like MDD
Fascination in Antiquity: Understanding the Evil Eye as an Ancient Migratory, Multicultural Phenomenon
No full textThis project examines ancient migration through the phenomenon of the blue glass Evil Eye in the Mediterranean, whose image and meaning traveled throughout the region and have remained remarkably consistent since before the Bronze Age. Data was collected using archaeological records from the 1930s through the present day and modern compositional and historical analysis of Evil Eye artifact. Locations where artifacts were found, as well as periodization of artifacts, were entered into ArcGIS software to trace the spread and regional concentrations of the Evil Eye. This project highlights how the interaction between cultures, ideological and material diffusion, and cultural evolution in antiquity were achievements to be considered in discussion around modern migration
Liking and Listening: Impression Formation and Information Processing in Presidential Debates
Get PDFParticipants were asked to watch, listen to, or read a transcript of the opening statements from the first presidential debate of 1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Afterwards, participants were asked to recall three moments in the debate, both list and identify quotes from each candidate, and indicate impressions of each candidate’s personality. My research aimed to see if there is any connection between debate format, how participants process information, and how participants form impressions of a leader’s personality. I hypothesized that participants who listened to the debate would best process information. While there were few situations where format was statistically significant in participants’ information processing, some data suggest that my hypothesis is correct. Notable contributions of my research include findings on the relationship between debate format and personality impression formation. Debate format proved to be statistically significant in how participants formed opinions about Kennedy and Nixon’s personalities
A License to Kill: The Institutional Failure of the Legal System to Hold Police Accountable
Get PDFIn recent years, police shootings of unarmed African American men have become nationally visible. With few exceptions, the police officers involved in those shootings have escaped any criminal penalties. This paper addresses the question: Why is it that so few police officers are convicted after shooting unarmed African Americans? This paper takes an interdisciplinary approach in answering this question. First, prosecutorial power and lack of accountability allow prosecutors to advocate for accused police officers to further their own career prospects. Second, the Supreme Court has adapted the qualified immunity and excessive force doctrines to become nearly all-encompassing legal shields for police misconduct. Third, the jury selection process creates mostly homogeneous juries susceptible to implicit racial biases that favor police officers in excessive force cases. The legal system is structured to protect police officers from liability, making it unable to deliver justice after incidents such as Tamir Rice’s tragic and unnecessary death
Systematic
Get PDFMy capstone choreographic work, Systematic, investigates the biological and physiological foundations of memory. The concept for my work evolved from both my desire to merge my interests, and degrees, in dance and biology. I utilized scientific and physiological journals as a foundation for my movement research. The movement in my work focused on three main aspects of the process of memory: the binding and releasing of chemicals, the rippling effect of an action potential traveling down the axon of a neuron, and the speed of the mechanisms overall. My choreographic work premiered in the University Dancers 35th Anniversary Concert on February 28, 2020 in the Modlin Center for the Arts Alice Jepson Theatre
Stream Restoration as a Method of Improving Local Water Quality
Get PDFProjects of stream restoration are a known Best Management Practice (BMP) to approach stormwater management, and have been adopted globally as a means of improving local hydrology. Urbanization has led to an increase in impervious surfaces, resulting in deteriorated streams, many of which are subject to stream restoration. Stormwater control measures (SCM), such as stream restoration, are considered to be a subset of green infrastructure as a method to reconnect streams with surrounding riparian areas, revitalize original hydrology, and support the local ecosystems. This paper looks into the viability of stream restoration as a way of improving water quality, focusing on Little Westham Creek (LWC) in Richmond, VA. LWC is a tributary into the James River, and part of the greater Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Four metrics were used to analyze the outcome of this restoration: nutrient level measurements, Bank Erosion Hazard Index (BEHI), and fish and benthic macroinvertebrate sampling. The Before-After Control-Impact (BACI) method was used to evaluate data pre- and post-restoration. It was found that concentrations of nutrients may decrease along the reach of the stream, and there is substantial variation in organism populations comparing pre- and post-restoration. It is estimated that the BEHI will produce indices indicating lower risk of erosion post-restoration. While not completely conclusive, these data support the idea that improved water quality is one of many outcomes of stream restoration.
Paper prepared for the Environmental Studies Senior Seminar.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Todd Lookingbil
Tree Removal Analysis of the 2018-2019 Gambles Mill Eco-Corridor Restoration
Get PDFTrees have been extensively researched, and it has been concluded that they are useful not only useful tools in enhancing biofiltration, as well as managing stormwater and retaining sediment, but they also benefit the health of the ecosystem as a whole. But as the University of Richmond’s Gambles Mill Eco-corridor was restored between 2018 and 2019 in order limit to the amount of phosphorus, nitrogen, and other sediment flowing into the Little Westham Creek; many of the trees that combat these problems were removed. The following research intends to analyze the number of trees actually removed throughout the restoration, as well as explore the future of Gambles Mill Eco-corridor in regard it’s plant life, and opportunities surrounding it. In order to complete this analysis, drone imagery from before and after the restoration as well as blue prints of the restoration were utilized. These images were used combination with ARCGIS software to complete a visual analysis of the number of trees removed. Through this analysis, it was concluded that 14-16% of the total trees in the Gambles Mill Eco-corridor polygon were removed throughout this restoration and that within roughly 35-40 years, those trees will be replenished with mature native trees. This analysis is especially important, not only given the importance of trees in an ecosystem, but also highlights the disturbance that the restoration entailed, shedding light on the emphasis for the university to maintain the restored eco-corridor and ensure its wellbeing in the future.
Paper prepared for the Environmental Studies Senior Seminar.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Todd Lookingbil
Initial Convening of Flash Mob at Visitor Parking Lot by New Fraternity Row
No full texthttps://scholarship.richmond.edu/feministflashmobintervention-photographs/1001/thumbnail.jp
2020 Faculty Accomplishments Reception
No full texthttps://scholarship.richmond.edu/far-photos-2020/1012/thumbnail.jp