Theses and Research

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Applications of Environmental History on Bolivia’s Coca Trade
(2010-04-23T17:39:06Z) Baptista, Rafael
Bolivia’s coca trade offers one of the most compelling narratives of the complexity of environmental history in Latin American. This is indeed a case where economic instability, social power struggles, and neoliberal economic policies combined to pose not only a highly visible social and health threat (worldwide increase of drug consumption) but also a threat to long-term sustainability of both the environment and agricultural crops.
Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium Schedule, Spring 2012
(2012) Biology Department
This is the 2012 program for the Biology Department's Senior Symposium. The annual Biology Senior Symposium takes place each spring. The program lists the biology student's name, time of the presentation, title of their thesis, their adviser/mentor, and their abstract.
Can Virtue Make Us Happy? The Art of Living and Morality
(2010-05-12T18:56:17Z) Burns, Kathryn
Is happiness found through an external focus on accomplishing goals in the material world? Or is happiness fashioned through an internal focus on performing one’s duty according to the moral standards of one’s community (religious or secular)? Might happiness (eudaimonia) consist in taking personal responsibility for one’s creative capacity to accomplish things that nature cannot accomplish on its own? Might viewing virtue in terms of the origins of one’s creativity rather than the external consequences of one’s actions lead to an understanding of virtue that allows us to be human and happy?
Can Virtue Make Us Happy? The Art of Living and Morality: Otfried Höffe
(2010-05-11T18:47:31Z) Murphy, Eryn
Höffe’s first question is how to determine and define “the good.” He cites three habits, three interests, and three meanings that, together, form a recipe for an understanding of goodness. “Good” can apply to any one of the three meanings of ethos: Ethos 1, the habits associated with the relationship between an organism and its location; Ethos 2, moral habits that correspond to societal conventions; and/or Ethos 3, habits that form a personal course, independent of society’s influence. Habits can be evaluated through the lens of three interests. They can be examined empirically, through description of cultural moral habits and through explanations of origin and function. They can be examined with concern for the normative task, either in an effort to evaluate the validity and morality of the habit or to prescribe “should” imperatives that apply to both eudaimonistic and deontological views. Finally, they can be examined through attention to moral philosophy, seeking a meta-ethical standard for standards.
Changes in Anaerobic Work Output Following a Carbohydrate Loading Protocol
(2010-04-21T21:29:42Z) Schultz, Leslie; Cebron, James; Soma, Erica
Carbohydrate loading is a common pre competition method that aims to improve athletic performance. It has most commonly been used in endurance activities, however there is some evidence that it may also improve anaerobic performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of carbohydrate loading on anaerobic work, measured by an anaerobic treadmill test. Participants were college varsity athletes who performed two anaerobic treadmill tests, one with carbohydrate loading the evening prior to the test and the other after a normal diet. Anaerobic work was calculated and results were analyzed with a one tailed student’s t-test. Subjects generated an average of 22.90 ± 9.55 kJ of work under the loading condition, and only an average of 20.716 ± 8.39 kJ of work under the non-loading condition. The statistical analysis revealed a p value of .011. Given these results, the hypothesis that carbohydrate loading would cause a significant increase in anaerobic performance was accepted.
Comparative Phylogeography of a Coevolved Community: Concerted Population Expansions in Joshua Trees and Four Yucca Moths
(PLOS, 2011-10-18) Smith, Christopher Irwin; Tank, Shantel; Godsoe, William; Levenick, Jim; Strand, Eva; Esque, Todd; Pellmyr, Olle
Consistently large cosmic flows on scales of 100 h−1 Mpc: a challenge for the standard ΛCDM cosmology
(Oxford Academic, 2009-12-23) Watkins, Richard; Feldman, Hume A.; Hudson, Michael J.
The bulk flow, i.e. the dipole moment of the peculiar velocity field, is a sensitive probe of matter density fluctuations on very large scales. However, the peculiar velocity surveys for which the bulk flow has been calculated have non-uniform spatial distributions of tracers, so that the bulk flow estimated does not correspond to that of a simple volume such as a sphere. Thus bulk flow estimates are generally not strictly comparable between surveys, even those whose effective depths are similar. In addition, the sparseness of typical surveys can lead to aliasing of small-scale power into what is meant to be a probe of the largest scales. Here we introduce a new method of calculating bulk flow moments where velocities are weighted to give an optimal estimate of the bulk flow of an idealized survey, with the variance of the difference between the estimate and the actual flow being minimized. These ‘minimum variance’ estimates can be designed to estimate the bulk flow on a particular scale with minimal sensitivity to small-scale power, and are comparable between surveys. We compile all major peculiar velocity surveys and apply this new method to them. We find that most surveys we studied are highly consistent with each other. Taken together the data suggest that the bulk flow within a Gaussian window of radius 50 h−1 Mpc is 407 ± 81 km s−1 toward l= 287°± 9°, b= 8°± 6°. The large-scale bulk motion is consistent with predictions from the local density field. This indicates that there are significant density fluctuations on very large scales. A flow of this amplitude on such a large scale is not expected in the WMAP5 (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) normalized Λ cold dark matter cosmology, for which the predicted one-dimensional rms velocity is ∼110 km s−1. The large amplitude of the observed bulk flow favours the upper values of the WMAP5 Ωmh2–σ8 error-ellipse, but even the point at the top of the WMAP595 per cent confidence ellipse predicts a bulk flow which is too low compared to that observed at >98 per cent confidence level.
Cosmic flows in the nearby universe from Type Ia supernovae
(Oxford Academic, 2012-01-23) Turnbull, Stephen J.; Hudson, Michael J.; Feldman, Hume A.; Hicken, Malcolm; Kirshner, Robert P.; Watkins, Richard
Peculiar velocities are one of the only probes of very large scale mass density fluctuations in the nearby Universe. We present new ‘minimal variance’ bulk flow measurements based upon the ‘First Amendment’ compilation of 245 Type Ia supernovae (SNe) peculiar velocities and find a bulk flow of 249 ± 76 km s−1 in the direction l= 319°± 18°, b= 7°± 14°. The SNe bulk flow is consistent with the expectations of Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM). However, it is also marginally consistent with the bulk flow of a larger compilation of non-SNe peculiar velocities. By comparing the SNe peculiar velocities to predictions of the IRAS Point Source Catalogue Redshift Survey (PSCz) galaxy density field, we find Ω0.55mσ8,lin= 0.40 ± 0.07, which is in agreement with ΛCDM. However, we also show that the PSCz density field fails to account for 150 ± 43 km s−1 of the SNe bulk motion.
Cosmic flows on 100 h−1 Mpc scales: standardized minimum variance bulk flow, shear and octupole moments
(Oxford Academic, 2010-07-22) Feldman, Hume A.; Watkins, Richard; Hudson, Michael J.
The low-order moments, such as the bulk flow and shear, of the large-scale peculiar velocity field are sensitive probes of the matter density fluctuations on very large scales. In practice, however, peculiar velocity surveys are usually sparse and noisy, which can lead to the aliasing of small-scale power into what is meant to be a probe of the largest scales. Previously, we developed an optimal ‘minimum variance’ (MV) weighting scheme, designed to overcome this problem by minimizing the difference between the measured bulk flow (BF) and that which would be measured by an ideal survey. Here we extend this MV analysis to include the shear and octupole moments, which are designed to have almost no correlations between them so that they are virtually orthogonal. We apply this MV analysis to a compilation of all major peculiar velocity surveys, consisting of 4536 measurements. Our estimate of the BF on scales of ∼100 h−1 Mpc has a magnitude of |v| = 416 ± 78 km s −1 towards Galactic l= 282°± 11° and b= 6°± 6°. This result is in disagreement with Λ cold dark matter with Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 5 (WMAP5) cosmological parameters at a high confidence level, but is in good agreement with our previous MV result without an orthogonality constraint, showing that the shear and octupole moments did not contaminate the previous BF measurement. The shear and octupole moments are consistent with WMAP5 power spectrum, although the measurement noise is larger for these moments than for the BF. The relatively low shear moments suggest that the sources responsible for the BF are at large distances.
Deux Versions de I'esthetique Romantique Rossini vu par Stendhal et Berlioz
(2004) Lawson, Shelley
Â«Depuis la mort de Napoleon, il s'est trouve un autre homme duquel on parle tous jours [sic] ... La gloire de cet homme ne connait d'autres bornes que celles de la civilisationÂ» (Stendhal, La vie de Rossini, vol. L 1). Par ces mots elogieux, Stendhal (1783-1842)-un ecrivain celebre et un des chefs du mouvement romantique franyaisouvre sa biographie du compositeur d'opera italien, Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868). La Vie de Rossini (1823). Mais la verite est que la gloire meme de Rossini. telle qu'elle est imaginee par Stendhal, avait ses limites dans les cenacles romantiques. Pendant les annees 1820. la musique de Rossini divisait les Parisiens de I' epoque en deux factions: les Â« Rossinistes Â» et les detracteurs de ce compositeur. 1 Parmi ces derniers se trouvait un jeune compositeur franyais, Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), qui detestait la musique italienne. et dont la colere etait tellement extreme qu'il desirait meme bruler Ie Theatreltalien (Berl ioz, Memoires, vol. 1, 70-71). Dans ses Atemoires (1865), ecrites quelques annees avant sa mort, Berlioz attaque la biographie de Stendhal (decede depuis plus de vingt ans) avec les mots suivants : Â« M. Beyle, [... ] a ecrit une Vie de Rossini sous Ie pseudonyme de Stendhal et les plus irritantes stupidites sur la musique. dont il croyait avoir Ie sentimentÂ» (Berlioz, vol. L 215)?
Dictyostelium Myosin Bipolar Thick Filament Formation: Importance of Charge and Specific Domains of the Myosin Rod
(Public Library of Science, 2004-11) Altman, David; Hostetter, Daniel; Rice, Sarah; Dean, Sara; McMahon, Peggy M.; Sutton, Shirley; Tripathy, Ashutosh; Spudich, James A.
Myosin-II thick filament formation in Dictyostelium is an excellent system for investigating the phenomenon of self-assembly, as the myosin molecule itself contains all the information required to form a structure of defined size. Phosphorylation of only three threonine residues can dramatically change the assembly state of myosin-II. We show here that the C-terminal 68 kDa of the myosin-II tail (termed AD-Cterm) assembles in a regulated manner similar to full-length myosin-II and forms bipolar thick filament (BTF) structures when a green fluorescent protein (GFP) "head" is added to the N terminus. The localization of this GFP-AD-Cterm to the cleavage furrow of dividing Dictyostelium cells depends on assembly state, similar to full-length myosin-II. This tail fragment therefore represents a good model system for the regulated formation and localization of BTFs. By reducing regulated BTF assembly to a more manageable model system, we were able to explore determinants of myosin-II self-assembly. Our data support a model in which a globular head limits the size of a BTF, and the large-scale charge character of the AD-Cterm region is important for BTF formation. Truncation analysis of AD-Cterm tail fragments shows that assembly is delicately balanced, resulting in assembled myosin-II molecules that are poised to disassemble due to the phosphorylation of only three threonines.
Differences in Couple Representation Between Men’s and Women’s Magazines
(2010-07-13T17:24:31Z) Stewart, Shannon; Geck, Amanda
This study was a content analysis on ten mainstream men’s and ten mainstream women’s magazines. Researchers looked for depictions of a couple within articles, advertisements, and in any images within the magazine. Every item was coded for what kind of couple was shown, the tone towards being a couple, and what the genders of the individuals within the couple were. A tally of how many articles and images mentioned couples, and how many articles or advertisements featured birth control was made in addition to the coded items. It was hypothesized that couples would be mentioned more in women’s magazines and would be portrayed more positively compared to the men’s magazines. Results supported this hypothesis through chi-square analysis. Furthermore, the hypothesis that most couples represented would be heterosexual couples was also supported. All of our results were statistically significant.
“Do Not Trust Too Much to Your Eyes”: Female Epistemologies in Robin McKinley’s Rose Daughter
(2010-05-14T18:29:51Z) Miller, Barratt
This paper examines the way Robin McKinley's Rose Daughter uses female epistemologies. By destabilizing the visual and emphasizing the use of touch as a means of knowing, this retelling of Beauty and the Beast challenges traditional gender roles presented in earlier versions of the tale.
Dreamscapes
(2012-07-12) Hill, Cameron
This project is the third video in a series of videos which captures my artistic development at Willamette University through music and photography. This project continues work originally for a Carson Grant. The video is titled Dreamscapes and is divided into two sections. The thematic issues concern emptiness, nature, space, and people. The entire video is in monochrome with original music compositions designed to guide the viewer through the experience.
Easily Interpretable Bulk Flows: Continuing Tension with the Standard Cosmological Model
(Oxford Academic, 2018-08-24) Watkins, Richard; Peery, Sarah; Feldman, Hume A.
We present an improved Minimal Variance (MV) method for using a radial peculiar velocity sample to estimate the average of the three-dimensional velocity field over a spherical volume, which leads to an easily interpretable bulk flow measurement. The only assumption required is that the velocity field is irrotational. The resulting bulk flow estimate is particularly insensitive to smaller scale flows. We also introduce a new constraint into the MV method that ensures that bulk flow estimates are independent of the value of the Hubble constant Ho; this is important given the tension between the locally measured Ho and that obtained from the cosmic background radiation observations. We apply our method to the \textit{CosmicFlows-3} catalogue and find that, while the bulk flows for shallower spheres are consistent with the standard cosmological model, there is some tension between the bulk flow in a spherical volume with radius 150\hmpc\ and its expectations; we find only a ∼2% chance of obtaining a bulk flow as large or larger in the standard cosmological model with \textit{Planck} parameters.
Ethical Challenges for Pandemic Influenza Preparedness
(2009-05-20T16:10:15Z) Mix, Samantha
This project addresses several ethical issues related to pandemic influenza preparedness planning. In a pandemic emergency, medical and public health energies would likely be most focused upon preventing further spread of the disease and keeping people alive rather than responding to ethical quandaries that emerge in the pandemic’s wake. It is therefore critical to examine such quandaries and develop ethical guidelines before the pandemic occurs. Ethical issues considered in this project include quarantine, distribution and use of medical supplies, and the obligations and responsibilities of medical professionals and the government vis-à-vis patients and the public. This project also examines the position of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations who tend to suffer disproportionately in epidemic emergencies.
“Forward Out of Error, Forward into Light:” Hunger Striking, Force-Feeding, and Historiographical Oversight in Three Women's Suffrage Movements, 1909-1918
(2010-05-11T18:39:49Z) McCartan, Alison
“Cracking Eggs:” Introduction Yesterday afternoon at about four or five, Mrs. Lewis and I were asked to go to the operating room. Went there and found our clothes. Told we were to go to Washington. No reason as usual. When we were dressed, Dr. Gannon appeared, and said he wished to examine us. Both refused. Were dragged through the halls by force, our clothing partly removed by force, and we were examined, heart tested, blood pressure, and pulse taken. Of course such data was of no value after such a struggle. Dr. Gannon told me I must be fed. Was stretched on bed, two doctors, matron, four colored prisoners present, Whittaker in hall. I was held down by five people at the legs, arms, and head. I refused to open my mouth. Gannon pushed tube up left nostril. I turned and twisted my head all I could, but he managed to push it up. It hurts nose and throat very much and makes nose bleed freely. Tube drawn out covered with blood. Operation leaves one very sick. Food dumped directly into stomach feels like a ball of lead. Left nostril, throat and muscles of neck very sore all night. After this I was brought into the hospital in an ambulance. Mrs. Lewis and I placed in same room. Slept hardly at all. This morning Dr. Ladd appeared with his tube. Mrs. Lewis and I said we would not be forcibly fed. Said he would call in men guards and force us to submit. Went away and we were not fed at all this morning. We hear them outside now cracking eggs.1 In this passage, Lucy Burns describes the experience of being force-fed at Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia in 1917, where she had been imprisoned after her arrest for militant suffrage activities. As had become standard practice among suffrage prisoners at the time, Burns went on hunger strike to protest her imprisonment as a common criminal and not as a political prisoner. Since 1909, hunger striking had been employed in the women’s suffrage campaigns of Britain, Ireland, and the United States, and hunger strikers in all three countries underwent the harrowing process of being forcibly fed. Considering the shock value of an account like Burns’, one might imagine the issue of suffragette hunger striking and force-feeding to have generated significant historical interest. However, this aspect of the movements appears in only a very small portion of works pertaining to women’s suffrage.
Hybridization of Home: Development of Diasporic Domesticity in the Contemporary Literature of Britain’s Bangladeshi Diaspora
(2010-05-12T19:55:10Z) Donaldson, Emily
I want to break tradition—unlock this room where women dress in the dark Discover the lies my mother told me. The lies that we are small an powerless that our possibilities must be compressed to the size of pearls, displayed only as passive chokers, charms around our neck. Break tradition. –Janice Mirikitani1 Corsets. Drawing rooms. Parties. Family. Letter writing. Marriage. These motifs are the features of traditional domestic fiction. At its height in the Victorian era, domestic fiction allowed women writers and female protagonists to find their literary voice for the first time. The genre affirmed the self-realization of women in the space of their home. And although novels like Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch, and Mrs. Dalloway are still beloved today, novels that celebrate an idealized domestic space are scarcely written in modernity. With suffrage, access to education, the feminist movement, and overall female empowerment, women writers seem increasingly to “find their voice” outside of the domestic tradition. When domestic novels are written today the traditional notions of female identity, family, and home are deconstructed and defined anew.
Improving Subjective Quality of Life for Individuals Diagnosed with Schizophrenia: Urban vs. Rural Environments
(2010-05-14T17:07:52Z) Saccomanno, Olivia
It is argued that individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia have more opportunities to increase their subjective quality of life in urban vs. rural areas due to increased mental health resources and decreased social stigma. There is greater resource availability in urban vs. rural areas; individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia meet their identified needs and increase their subjective quality of life through mental health resources. Additionally, there is less stigmatization in urban vs. rural areas and when stigma is reduced, health care service utilization increases. Increased levels of diversity in urban areas lead to intergroup contact which decreases prejudice and consequently stigma. Implications include the need for rural mental health services to be attentive to clients who are struggling with poor quality of life and consider whether the clients would function more effectively in an urban environment.
In A Theory of Justice
(2010-04-23T16:52:51Z) Tirrell, Cari
In A Theory of Justice, Rawls claims that his two‐principle society will be the best society for forming self‐respect among its citizens. He thinks that the two principles will cause people to realize that society is working towards their best interests, and that this will make them feel that they are worthwhile to society, which will foster a sense of self‐respect. In this paper, I will argue that Rawls’s notion of self‐respect is incoherent given the context of the rest of his theory.

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