17504 research outputs found
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Short- and Long-term Impacts of the Birthing Process on Infants and Mothers: an Investigation into Local and Global Trends
No full textTesting the Accuracy of GALFIT Bulge-Disk Decomposition on Realistic Python Based Simulations of Distant Disk Galaxies
No full textWooster Magazine: Summer 2024
No full textIn the summer 2024 issue of Wooster magazine students and alumni share what inspired their capstone scholarship at Wooster and where it led them. The Class of 2024 drew from their own interests to design scholarly research and creative expression unique to them; students featured include Athena Tharenos, Levi Gainer, Briana Mosley, Corey Knauf, and Tyara Thompson. For some students, I.S. uncovers a wonder and eagerness to further their study in the area. This issue also shares the stories of alumni who built upon the foundation of their I.S. for ongoing research, professional work, and everyday inspiration including John Trainor ’16, Jennifer Shepheard ’18, Peter Jeffy ’14, and Kyle Cunningham-Rhoads ’12. The Oak Grove section includes coverage of how the campus experienced the total solar eclipse, congratulations and thanks to faculty and staff retiring in the 2023-2024 academic year, the story behind the Reimer Endowed Scholarship established by Don Kohn ’64, “Mentoring Matchup” with Désirée Weber, associate professor and chair of political science and her sophomore research assistant Abhishek Manhas ’26, a double major in mathematics and computer science, and the latest College news and achievements of faculty, staff, and students. Tartan Ties features photos from the Wooster on the Move event series with President Anne McCall, “Scot Volunteer” with Betsy O’Brien Anderson ’94, an author profile with Michael Bernstein ’11 who wrote an article for TIME magazine in April introducing audiences to his book’s topic, the “nocebo effect,” and alumni profiles of Douglas Buchanan ’06 and Kennedy Schultz ’91.https://openworks.wooster.edu/wooalumnimag_2021-2030/1010/thumbnail.jp
How Distance from “Home” Affects an NBA Teams Overall Win Percentage
No full textThe aim of this research is to analyze the impact of travel distance on teams in the NBA and explore the differences on the significance of travel distance across multiple seasons. Some of our goals are to analyze the average distance traveled by a team and how it affects their overall win percentage, the impact of changes in time zones and how it affects their overall win percentage, the significance of whether or not there is a difference in win percentage for games played at home and games played away, and the impacts of changes of distance traveled on a team’s overall winning percentage over multiple seasons. Our two main hypotheses are that teams that travel from time zones with a significant time difference are more likely to see a significant effect on their winning percentage and that teams that travel a smaller average distance are less likely to see a significant effect on their winning percentage. Using this dataset, we find only weak evidence to support my hypotheses, however, further exploration could result in stronger evidence
Public Health and Propaganda: How the PRC Mobilized the Masses for Preventative Healthcare During the Maoist Period, 1949-1976
No full textWithin the Maoist era, how did the People’s Republic of China utilize different types of propaganda to enact public health? More broadly, this connects to the development of the three-tiered health system in China. Identifying the local efforts to quell waves of infectious disease in China is invaluable to scholars of medical history as well as public health officials seeking to better communicate and implement context-specific community health measures. While the successful reduction of diseases required a nuanced understanding of infectious vectors for the illiterate populace, an analysis of these sources with a clear understanding of biology is still lacking. Particularly the role of state propaganda in mobilizing grassroots science and public health awareness from the 1950s to the late 70s. Dissemination of propaganda drew on nationalistic, socialist, and revolutionary themes such as war, traditional culture, and women’s liberation, invoking a shared sense of bodily and national identity. Therefore, a visual analysis of propaganda materials detailing the prevalence of infectious disease and valorization of Chinese medicine may reveal the devices used to mobilize the public. Investigating archives from the National Library of Medicine provides a window into the individual motivations of the artist and the overarching policy direction of state propaganda organs. Although there is no causal link, we can conclude that the use of propaganda in this period served to transform the role of healthcare in the eyes of the masses
Cosmopolitanism, Commercialism, or Confessionalism? Beirut’s Privatized Heritage Management and its Effects on the Local Identity
No full textIn 1992, to address the devastation that the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1992) inflicted on Beirut, the Lebanese state appointed Solidere, a private real estate firm, to reconstruct the Beirut Central District (BCD), granting it nearly absolute control over the project. Although Solidere’s main goal was to redevelop infrastructure, it had to contend with historic architecture and archaeological ruins spanning millennia of occupation. Archaeologists and heritage experts widely consider Solidere’s cultural heritage management a failure, citing its rampant destruction of archaeological and historic material, and its inability to reorient cultural identities within Lebanon productively. Specifically, Solidere failed to address religious tensions or construct a strong sense of national unity to help Lebanon move past the war. I frame my discussion of Solidere as an example of the dangers of privatized heritage management and how cultural arbiters can manipulate processes of identity-formation to support their interests.
This thesis examines Solidere’s branding of Beirut as the “Ancient City of the Future” and how it sold itself as a champion of the city’s cultural heritage while doing little to support it. I explore the architecture and archaeological past of the souks and Martyr’s Square and contrast their historical and pre-war functions and appearances with their current iterations. I find that Solidere manipulated Beirut’s cultural heritage to advance a Lebanese identity based on economic prowess, which it used to promote economic engagement with the BCD and thus promote its profits at the detriment of national unity. Solidere’s treatment of archaeological remains and pre-war heritage in the souks and Martyr’s Square was a direct result of its economic priorities, and ultimately had dangerous consequences for the Lebanese people in their vulnerable post-war state
The Musée du Quai Branly: Applying Decolonial Practice in a Modern Ethnographic Museum
No full textMy research questions how a decolonial approach to ethnographic museum practice can address ethical dilemmas rooted in the problematic colonial history of museums. . Using a case study approach, I apply core tenets of decoloniality to the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, France, and make recommendations for change in practice. I explore how collaboration, informed curation, and restitution or repatriation, museums can progress towards becoming a more ethical institution. These elements of decolonial practice are significant, but not the only methods of decolonial practice in museums. Based on existing research and real-world examples I identified elements of practice at the Musée du Quai Branly that could be improved with a decolonial approach. I argue that a decolonial approach to museum practice is the most effective way address ethical dilemmas originating from the implications of colonialism and to help rectify some of the consequences of colonialism
Redeeming Disability Representation in the Horror Genre: Can Horror Be Saved From Itself?
No full textBetwixt and Between: The Role of Mediumship in Contemporary United States Society
No full textThis research examines the role of mediumship in contemporary United States society through the lens of Victor Turner’s theories of liminality and rites of passage. It aims to highlight the experiences of mediums throughout the ritual of spirit communication, their occupation, and how they obtained their abilities, underscoring how mediums are always liminal. I use Turner’s theories to argue that mediums transcend the conditions of liminality and can remain liminal after a reading ritual is complete. I pull out themes of gender, religion, and spirituality that arise from the three formal interviews I conducted with mediums as well as from previous scholarship on mediumship. These themes highlight a relationship between perceptions of gender, religion, and spirituality within the U.S. and their significance in mediumship. Previous scholarship illuminated that the discipline of anthropology has just started to scratch the surface of mediumship practices in the U.S. as there is a shift away from emphasizing exoticism in research. The goal of this research is to emphasize the experiences and significance of mediums within the U.S