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The Gift of Gab: An Investigation of the Influence of Toy Type on Preverbal Infant Volubility
No full textThe purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between toy type and volubility in preverbal infants. More specifically, this research examined whether electronic or traditional toys were associated with a greater number of prelinguistic vocalizations in infants between 8 and 12 months of age. This study extended existing research on the influence of toy type on infant volubility and expanded our understanding of the impact of toys on typically developing children’s spoken language. In this investigation, I used an experimental research design where I altered toy type (traditional or electronic) and tallied each infant’s vocalizations. The major conclusion of this study was that the type of toy (traditional or electronic) could influence the number of vocalizations a child made, due to specific features of the toy, suggesting that the impact of toy type on infant volubility was more complex than prior studies indicated. Individuals (early intervention specialists and guardians) who are seeking to increase the number of vocalizations preverbal children make need to thoughtfully consider the features of the toys they employ
That’s No Moon: An Analysis of How Developments in Military Space Weaponry Influence United States’ Security Strategies
No full textThis study explores how advancements in military space weaponry by U.S. adversaries have influenced United States national security strategies. Grounded in realism, the research hypothesizes that military developments by adversarial states lead to reactive adjustments in U.S. security strategies. The study employs a process-tracing methodological approach, focusing on Russia’s November 15, 2021 anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test as a pivotal case. By analyzing the rhetorical elements of government documents before, during, and after the event, the research identifies a clear shift in U.S. strategic posture—from general competitive rhetoric to direct condemnation and expanded military planning in space. The findings reinforce the realist view that security dilemmas extend into the space domain, where power balancing and strategic competition shape state behavior. The research underscores the growing importance of proactive space security strategies and international cooperation to prevent escalation and maintain strategic stability in an increasingly contested domain
Tools of the Trade: Exploring the Possibility of Autistic Experience Representation through Dance and Stage Combat
No full textAs autism becomes more accepted among the general population, the idea of representation in media comes into question, not only the quantity and spread across different media, but also the accuracy. While digital media is beginning to explore the many aspects of autism, the live performance field is lacking in autistic representation, especially in dance. This lack of representation not only keeps non-autistic individuals from being able to understand their autistic peers but can create a mindset amongst autistic individuals that they do not matter in society. In the world of dance, autistic representation is severely lacking, both regarding pieces created by autistic choreographers and pieces about autism, hence why more pieces about autism, including ones that cover the more nuanced issues related to autism, are so important. Aspects like autistic masking, gender presentation, and timing of diagnosis are only now being studied and accounted for but are nevertheless very important to accurate autistic representation. This dance project, titled \u27Tools of the Trade\u27, explores the idea of representing autism and its relationship to the non-autistic world through modern dance and stage combat to help create more awareness of these nuanced issues related to autism. The element of sword-based stage combat is added as an integral component to the dance piece in portraying the difficulties of social interactions, learning social skills, and discrimination against autistic individuals. While combining the disciplines of stage combat and modern dance is not common, it creates a visually unique movement that can carry the narrative of autistic struggles while breaking the status quo of existing representation and dance expectations
Somewhat Effective and a Little Bit Shameful: The Impact of Identity on Perceptions and Uses of Location-Based Social Technologies
No full textVerification of Programs Written in a Simple Language using Placeholder Values
No full textIt is self-evident that correctness is desirable in computer programs. This project experiments with one approach of ensuring program correctness — formally proving the desired properties of programs by simulating its execution using value placeholders. A new programming language with restricted features is designed and two interpreters for it are implemented. The first performs regular execution on concrete values and the second computes in terms of placeholders to deduce relationships between all possible values and thus proves properties about program state
Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Tie Between Negative Media and Fear of Coyotes
No full textThe discussion around coyotes, both online and in person, can often include some mention of fear. Although conflict with coyotes is rare, it seems to be an active concern for some. To understand why this may be, I examined 100 articles from the Google news tab, and the imagery and language they used, to determine how negatively coyotes are portrayed, how the media may be impacting the public perception of coyotes, and what this may mean on a larger scale of coyote management. Results show that news coverage on coyotes is often centered around negative interactions and fear of harm rather than neutral reporting. Further examination into online discussions on coyotes also suggests that many people are not only afraid of coyotes, but are operating under inaccurate assumptions that may be exacerbated by the focus of media coverage. This persistence of negative portrayals has greater implications for how we manage coyote populations in the United States, and indicates that more nuance is required in article coverage of coyote incidents to encourage better coexistence
Fandom Contextualized: Fan Culture, Consumerism, and Community
No full textIn this paper I determine that culturally significant fandoms are created when fans and media producers harness technological innovations effectively to develop their means of communication and means of community. I perform an analysis on historical context of culturally significant fandoms, mainly Star Trek and 90s boy bands, to reveal the impact of social, cultural, and technological factors on the fandom’s development over time. Each chapter in this paper focuses on establishing the historical context of the chosen fandom through both primary and secondary sources specific to the topic. I prioritized primary sources produced by fans, the media consumers, or by the media producers. These first-hand accounts by fans are needed to really understand the sense of community that the fans created through new technology and media. I wanted to get a glimpse at how these groups interacted in the moment to understand how and why fans formed and expressed their identities. I utilize old online forum posts where fans communicated in earnest, as well as fan produced content for other fans like fanzines
Money Over Medicine? The Impact of Financialization on Health
No full textOne of the economic trends that characterized the 21st century is financialization. Even the use of credit cards can be an example of financialization being widespread among us. The other historical event in the century is the COVID-19 pandemic. It left us with a powerful implication for balancing economic activities and health. In this research, I investigate the relationship between financialization and health. I use the share of finance and insurance GDP to the total GDP (F&I GDP), the number of commercial banks, and the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) as independent variables measuring financialization, and the proportion of people who report good health, excellent health, and the death rate as dependent variables. With the fixed-effects model by state and year, I found no significant effect of F&I GDP on any health indicators, a significant positive effect of commercial banks on the death rate, and a significant negative effect of DTI on the population reporting good health and excellent health
High Wages, Low Logic: How Wage Misperceptions Cloud Rational Decision Making
No full textThis study analyzes the impact of misconceptions regarding wages, specifically the discrepancy between perceived gross earnings and actual net income. This study is grounded in the traditional labor-leisure tradeoff model and enhanced through insights drawn from labor economics; this research investigates the extent to which incorrect wage perceptions shape motivation, work hours, and work effort. The theoretical framework illustrates rational decision-making processes within the context of wage misperceptions by employing a Cobb-Douglas utility function and constrained optimization techniques. A survey was also conducted with college community participants, integrating hypothetical job scenarios alongside effort-based tasks. A Rational Actor Index was developed to assess the rationality of the decision-making process. Through cross-tabulations and logistic regression analyses, this study examines the implications of variables such as age, gender, financial literacy, and wage preferences on labor choices. The findings reveal that wage misconceptions lead to less optimal behavior, significantly affecting productivity and job selection. This research contributes to labor economics by merging theoretical models with empirical insights on how perception gaps influence real-world decision-making