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The Woodchips That Flew: Trauma and Family Separation during the Stalinist Purges
Full text linkThis thesis examines the family separation that occurred in the Soviet Union during The Great Purge from 1934-1939 and asks how each member of the family reacted to their separation and trauma, and how they survived. The first chapter, “Fathers & Husbands,” analyzes the memoirs and letters of four men and finds that, while they prioritized work as a means to bolster their dignity, they also worked to be cultivators of culture for their children and emotional leaders for their wives. Chapter two, “Mothers & Wives,” analyzes three women’s memoirs and find that women were most likely to obsess over their identities as mother and wife, even if those identities (sole mother and wife) no longer existed for them (birth mother and widow). Chapter three, “Children,” argues that besides having to live with lifelong trauma and grief over missed out or traumatic childhoods, altered career paths, and murdered relatives, the subjects usually were also eventually responsible for caring for their severely traumatized parents. Nonetheless, they survived through written correspondence with parents, nurturance by extended family, or reliance on siblings
Machiya: Japan's Urban Townhouse
No full textMachiya (“townhouse”) was a wood and plaster shop-residence used by townspeople that were common features of Japanese cityscapes since the Edo period (1603-1868). However, studies today focus solely on Edo period Kyoto machiya. This thesis challenges this Kyoto-centric scholarship on three points: 1) machiya has a deeper and richer meaning, history, and use, 2) machiya existed beyond just Kyoto, and 3) machiya are not a static building stuck in the pre-modern past. To prove these points, this thesis first investigates the definition and recognizable aspects of machiya expanding on various points within both the Edo period and today. Next, investigations into the city of Edo and its successor Tokyo presents machiya outside Kyoto both in the pre-modern and modern times showing that these buildings continued to evolve. Finally, a study on Kyoto and Tokyo’s preservation and tourism efforts reveals why Kyoto has a strong presence in people’s minds today
Obstruction to Equivariant Ribbon Concordance from Equivariant Khovanov Homology
Full text linkIn the past decade, there has been renewed interest in studying ribbon concordances, a particular class of smoothly embedded surfaces in the 4-ball with boundary a link in 3-sphere. One reason is that information on these surfaces, provides deeper understanding of topology and geometry of 4 dimensional manifolds. Khovanov homology, a combinatorial link invariant, has proved to be an effective tool to study embedded surfaces in the 4-ball.
The main goal of this thesis is to study such cobordisms which also carry a group action. In particular, we study the equivariant Khovanov homology of links in that are invariant under the action of by rotation around the -axis. We prove that the equivariant Khovanov homology is functorial up to a sign. We use that result to derive an obstruction to equivariant ribbon concordances between -periodic knots
Filtering Falsehoods: An Analysis of the Regulation of False Information on Social Media
Full text link45 pagesThe rapid spread of false information on social media presents significant danger for modern society. This thesis examines the evolving landscape of the regulatory efforts aimed at curbing the spread of misinformation and disinformation on these platforms. It explores the evolution of the news media landscape, highlighting the ongoing tensions between First Amendment protections and the dangers of misleading and/or false speech. This paper considers the existing methods of regulation by social media companies, the United States Government, and the U.S. Court systems, as well as other proposed methods by these three bodies. By evaluating these policies and case studies, this project presents some possible solutions to be used moving forward
Show Me Groundwater : The Case for Proactive Groundwater Law Reform in Missouri
Full text link34 pagesThis Article begins with section one’s introduction to hydrology and examination of the Missouri Ozarks’ karst topography and hydrology. Section two will tell the story of groundwater pumping’s deleterious consequences in the karstic region north of Tampa Bay and explain why Missourians should pay heed to such stories. Section three will explain Missouri’s water law, from pure riparian law principles to state statutes. Section four will examine spring water bottling as an exploitative water use, explore how Michigan’s Nestlé case constitutes judicial recognition of holistic hydrological principles, and theorize how similar caselaw in Missouri could mitigate the failures of riparianism
Liabilities for Unknowingly Being Paid with Misappropriated Cryptocurrencies : Can U.S. and U.K. Laws Respond Properly?
Full text link34 pagesInspired by recent incidents of crypto platforms allegedly misappropriating their clients’ investments, this Article explores the potential liabilities faced by a third-party payee of the misappropriated cryptos. This is a timely topic as more and more businesses (such as luxury goods retailers) accept crypto payment
Existing to be Reused: On-site concrete salvage and reuse to reduce embodied carbon and landfill waste
No full text51 pagesThis project examines on-site concrete salvage and reuse as a viable and valuable strategy for reducing embodied carbon and landfill waste in built landscapes. Although a handful of tools and guides for decarbonizing built landscapes have become available in recent years, there is a notable lack of tools specifically addressing site-scale reuse strategies. This project aims to help fill that gap, focusing on concrete, one of the landscape industry’s most heavily used and highest embodied carbon materials. The project involves three sequential components: precedent analysis, reuse guide development, and design application of the guide. Landscape precedents are analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively to understand the impacts of concrete reuse and factors motivating reuse within the industry. Findings point to different ways to advocate for reuse depending on site scale, as well as potential cost-savings opportunities for sites over 10 acres in size. Building upon findings from precedent analysis and additional research, a practical guide for on-site concrete reuse is developed. The guide presents specific reuse options for commonly found forms of concrete to serve a range of different design functions. Lastly, a comparison of speculative site design scenarios models how to use the guide in a site-specific context, in tandem with a design decision-making process centering reuse. Amidst a worsening climate crisis, this project responds to the growing imperative to do more with existing materials. It offers pragmatic guidance for concrete reuse, helping designers create built landscapes which are a net positive to both people and the environment
An Excision Theorem in Heegaard Floer Theory
Full text linkLet Y1 be a closed, oriented 3-manifold and Σ denote a non-separating closed,orientable surface in Y1 which consists of two connected components of the same genus.
By cutting Y1 along Σ and re-gluing it using an orientation-preserving diffeomorphism
of Σ we obtain another closed, oriented 3-manifold Y2. When the excision surface Σ
is of genus one, we show that twisted Heegaard Floer homology groups of Y1 and
Y2 (twisted with coefficients in the universal Novikov ring) are isomorphic. We use
this excision theorem to demonstrate that certain manifolds are not related by the
excision construction on a genus one surface. Additionally, we apply the excision
formula to compute twisted Heegaard Floer homology groups of surgery on certain
two-component links, including some families of 2-bridge links
Route Awakening
No full text40 pagesIn Idaho, The Treasure Valley’s rapid population growth has created car-dependent sprawl and traffic congestion, affecting public health and fragmenting pedestrian experiences. Despite Valley Regional Transit’s (VRT) goals to expand transit, current plans overlook critical human-scaled elements like pedestrian amenities, accessibility, street-life, and first- and last-mile connectivity.
This master’s project proposes a combined top-down and bottom-up approach, integrating regional-scale planning, district-level spatial analysis, and street-level tactical urbanism, to serve as an example of how to address gaps in the pedestrian experience at the beginning and end of every transit journey. Priority districts for action are based on a suitability analysis that includes transit dependency, population density, and key destinations. Within each district, further analysis identifies priority streets based on shortest-path functions to and from transit infrastructure, as well as site-specific environmental, social, and mobility factors.
At a street-scale, the bottom-up approach focuses on temporary, adaptable, dynamic, and cost-effective interventions that create safer, more engaging pedestrian environments on the way to transit stops, intended to reclaim public space from car-infrastructure, in places like parking spots, alleys, and wide roads. These tactical street-scaled design applications are organized into three categories of temporary infrastructure: mobility, natural, and social. ‘Mobility Infrastructure’ – refers to enhancements to the safety of people walking or rolling, like protected bike lanes, access ramps, and wayfinding. ‘Natural Infrastructure’ – refers to raised-bed structures full of soils and plants that provide connection, beauty, and ecosystem services like shade, transpiration, and pollinator habitat. ‘Social Infrastructure’ – refers to enhancements that cultivate interaction, like seating, games, and gathering space.
While this project does not include direct community engagement, it presents a planning and design framework that can guide future engagement efforts by helping planners, designers, decision makers, and community members work together to experiment, adapt, and build trust. This approach reduces the consequences of contested changes by lowering the stakes of reallocating space from cars to people.
By prioritizing immediate, affordable enhancements, this framework supports more livable, equitable, and pedestrian-friendly cities. It provides a replicable model for cities experiencing rapid sprawl, offering a flexible design process that aligns regional planning goals with community-driven, site-specific action