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The Effects of Chain Length and Functional Groups on the Acid Dissociation Constants and Water Solubility of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
No full textTowards an equal Landscape of Understanding: Dialogue in an Age of Political Closure
No full textThis project explores how political vocabularies and interpretive frameworks shape our capacity for genuine democratic dialogue. Through the lens of philosophical hermeneutics, I examine how institutions maintain hermeneutical injustice by privileging certain interpretations while marginalizing others. Beginning with Gadamer\u27s insights on prejudice and tradition, I develop the concept of constitutional determinism to describe how dominant narratives about American history close off political possibilities and prevent meaningful engagement with our shared past. I argue that healthy democratic politics requires viewing hermeneutics as an ecosystem that needs active maintenance and equitable distribution of interpretive resources. Drawing on thinkers like Miranda Fricker and Hannah Arendt, I demonstrate how the degradation of this ecosystem creates conditions where fascist tendencies can flourish, while showing that renewed dialogical engagement with tradition offers a path toward more open and just political understanding
Augmented Translation of Spanglish Adjectival Phrases through Fine-Tuning of mBART50 & Helsinki Machine Translation Models
No full textThis project modifies existing machine translation models for the purpose of translating code-mixed English and Spanish language (Spanglish) into monolingual Spanish. Firstly, this project summarizes the cultural and linguistic factors that define Spanglish as a form of oral and written communication distinctive from its English and Spanish constituents, referencing particularly the radically bilingual adjectival structures of the memoir Killer Crónicas by Susana Chávez-Silverman. Secondly, this work provides background information of machine learning concepts as a foundation to then analyze the Helsinki and mBART50 machine translation models, highlighting the architectural and training paradigms that enable them to perform machine translation. Thirdly, this project outlines the strategies and GPT concepts implemented to generate a synthetic parallel corpus used to fine-tune Helsinki and mBART50 for the purpose of translating Spanglish adjectival phrases from the selected literature. Finally, this work analyzes the results of the fine-tuned models, contextualizing their performance from both a linguistic and machine intelligence standpoint
Remediation of Heavy Metal Ions Using Ferritin Immobilized in Swellable Organically Modified Silica
No full textHow Do Monetized Content Creators on Social Media Determine Their Labor Supply, and What Effects It?
No full textThis study analyzes how monetized content creators determine their labor supply from the effects of a viral video. I compared two competing theories of labor supply choices under transitory increases daily earnings, comparing the neoclassical labor supply model to the prospect theory when content creators have an increase in daily income from a video going viral. I used the income effect and substitution effect to analyze the relationship that the content creators have with their labor supply if there were an increase in daily earnings from a viral video. I then used the prospect theory and probability weighting function model to determine what potential labor supply influences content creators face after going viral. This is accomplished by using multiple theories, models, and formulas
“El Menen Jer Kendiktesh”: How Resource Nationalism Rose in the Kyrgyz Republic
No full textWith the nationalization of the Kumtor mine in Kyrgyzstan on 17 May 2021, actions against transnational corporations have moved from discussion to reality. This study analyzes the cultural, spiritual, governmental, and historical reasons driving such nationalizations, framing this within the concept of ‘Resource Nationalism’. Resource Nationalism is defined as the belief that resource extraction should be controlled by the people of Kyrgyzstan, rather than external, colonial forces. The two key questions used in this study are “What factors have contributed to the rise of resource nationalism under the current Kyrgyz Government” alongside “How is this resource nationalism expressed in the post-Soviet context of Kyrgyzstan?” This study draws on politician’s memoirs, fine arts, historical writings, and translations of previously untranslated works, employing close readings and meta-analysis within a rentierist framework to understand how resource wealth influences political and national identity. The findings show that mining nationalism existed in Kyrgyzstan prior to independence, but gained momentum as environmental issues were strategically leveraged by Kyrgyz presidents, including the disasters caused by them. Future studies should investigate the role of environmentalism under the Soviet Union, particularly in uranium mining, and local attitudes toward foreign investment, both in person and over social media. iv
С национализацией Кумтора в Кыргызстане 17 мая 2021 года действия против транснациональных корпораций в Кыргызстане стали реальностью. В статье анализируются дискурсы о недавней национализации золотого рудника Кумтор. Статья посвящена феномену так называемого «ресурсного национализма», определённого как вера, что добычи ресурсов должны идти на пользу Кыргызскому населению, а не иностранным колонизаторам. Исследование отвечает два вопроса: «Какие факторы способствуют росту ресурсного национализма при нынешнем правительстве?» а «Как он проявляется в постсоветском контексте?» Используются мемуары политиков, картины и стихи, исторические тексты, а переводы ранее не переведенных материалов. При анализированные с использованием детального чтения и мета-анализа с использованием идей рентиеризм, чтобы понять, как ресурсы меняют политическую и национальную идентичность. Автор приходит к выводу, что ресурсный национализм был в Кыргызстане до обретения независимости, но он усилился, когда в Кыргызстане были раскрыты экологические проблемы, которые эксплуатировались президентами. Будущие исследования могут сосредоточиться на экологии в советский период, особенно в урановой промышленности и на восприятии иностранных инвестиций, в обществе и в соцсетя
Cultivating Connection: Why Solidarity Urban Farms Builds Solidarity to Address Food Insecurity in Lorain, OH
No full textSolidarity Urban Farms (SUF) is a nonprofit that addresses food insecurity in Lorain, OH, but what happens there is much more expansive and meaningful than simply providing food. This paper discusses the history and context that leads to food deserts and food insecurity and how SUF’s urban farming is a movement toward food justice. Then, it examines the multidimensional material-social-emotional approach SUF takes on much like some of its predecessors. Next, this project uses interviews with staff and community members to cover what SUF conceptualizes as solidarity, why it’s important to their approach, and how they aim to make solidarity happen. This paper complicates the Western definition of religion, rejects secularism, and offers the Native American concept of doings as a new lens to see more in-depth what happens at SUF. Finally, this paper discusses the value of acting locally in response to systemic, global injustices like capitalism, poverty, and food insecurity
The Growth of Groups: Formal Languages and Baumslag-Solitar Groups
No full textIn this Independent Study, we discuss established results in the growth of the Baumslag- Solitar groups, focusing on research published by Freden et al. in [14]. We begin by reviewing some concepts in geometric group theory, including Cayley graphs and growth series. Next, we review the theory of formal languages and its connection to geometric group theory. In Chapter 4, we discuss the geometry of Baumslag-Solitar groups in depth and discuss how [5] and [14] uses facts about formal languages to investigate their growth
Copper for Your Thoughts?: Examining the Role of Arginine Kinase in Effects of Copper Exposure on Myxococcus xanthus Growth and Sporulation
No full textThe bacterium Myxococcus xanthus provides a good platform to analyze the correlation between gene expression and phenotype. One gene that encapsulates how complex this interaction can be is M. xanthus’s arginine kinase gene. Arriving in the bacterium through horizontal gene transfer, this gene encodes an arginine kinase that plays a role in bacterial growth, stress response, development, and spore formation. However, the true extent of its involvement in these processes is not fully understood, nor is it known what level of arginine kinase expression is needed to produce a wild-type phenotype. As a result, a plasmid was designed to insert the cuoA promoter, which is inducible with copper sulfate, in front of arginine kinase. Several assays were then developed to test M. xanthus’s response to copper during growth and spore development. The performance of wild-type was then compared to an arginine kinase deletion mutant, a cuoAK candidate, and a separate knock-in of a horseshoe crab arginine kinase. While the cuoAK knock-in was unable to be created, the assays demonstrated a safe concentration of copper sulfate that could induce the cuoA promoter without causing cytotoxicity and demonstrated that a higher concentration inhibited numerous functions, reinforcing previous findings. Finally, these assays discovered trends suggesting arginine kinase may help moderate the effects of copper stress, and that the horseshoe crab knock-in had recovered a phenotype close to wild-type M. xanthus in response to copper stress. Should a cuoAK mutant be created in the future, these assays will be useful to test the mutant’s phenotype to find a minimum level of AK expression needed to mimic wild type
StudyConnect: A Collaborative Platform for Student Study Groups Using Artificial Intelligence
No full textThe emergence of collaborative learning has underscored the importance of meaningful student engagement beyond the classroom. However, many students struggle to find study groups that align with their schedules, academic interests, and learning preferences. To address this challenge, StudyConnect, a mobile application, was developed to streamline the process of creating and managing study groups. By leveraging a tailored algorithm and an intuitive interface, the platform connects students based on their courses, availability, and learning styles, fostering more effective collaboration. A user centered design approach guided the development process, incorporating insights from existing study group solutions to enhance usability, real time communication, and group formation efficiency. Technologies such as Flutter, FlutterFlow, and Firebase were integrated to ensure a seamless and responsive experience. Usability testing with college students demonstrated that StudyConnect significantly simplifies the process of forming and managing study groups. Feedback from users of alternative platforms highlighted key areas for improvement, including group size customization and academic calendar integration. This thesis concludes by exploring the broader role of technology in education and presenting recommendations for expanding the platform’s reach and impact