Sound Ideas

Bioaccumulative and Toxic Effects of Ingested Clean and PBT-Saturated Microplastics on Oryzias latipes (Japanese Medaka Fish): Method Development towards Physiological and Chemical Analysis

Kieran O'Neil — Tue, 23 May 2017 10:30:49 PDT

Microplastics are major and often overlooked components of this global accumulation of plastic debris. Recent marine surveys in Puget Sound have found microplastic contamination in benthic communities such as forage fish and mussel populations, indicating the prevalence of microplastics throughout the water column and marine environment. In light of rapid and increasing accumulation of plastic debris and chemical pollutants in marine environments, the transfer of toxic chemicals to biota via microplastic ingestion is of significant concern. Preliminary research on the toxic effects of pollutants on biotic systems has identified microplastics as a transport mechanism for persistent bioaccumulative toxins (such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs), which adsorb onto plastic via a chemical process called partitioning. These microplastics are then ingested by marine organisms, depositing high concentrations of toxic and bioaccumulative chemicals into biotic tissue and the larger food web. In spite of these findings, very few laboratory studies have been conducted assessing the specific bioavailability of absorbed chemicals to marine organisms via ingestion. This study was an attempt to assess the mechanism of PCB bioaccumulation and its metabolic effects on Japanese Medaka fish, using polyethylene (PE) as a possible transference vector. Notable differences in health and PCB bioaccumulation were observed in those fish exposed to control and PCB-saturated microplastic conditions. By comparing bioavailability and toxicity of chemical pollutants via this microplastic vector, we may improve our understanding of pollutant transfer and prioritize critical microplastics and toxins for reclassification and replacement.

Gravitational wave behavior at a vacuum-matter interface

Jake Litterer — Tue, 23 May 2017 10:30:46 PDT

In classical electrodynamics, boundary conditions of the E and B fields are derived from Maxwell's equations, which are used to derive the Fresnel equations describing the behavior of a wave at an interface between media with given indices of refraction. Though electrodynamics and gravity are in some instances strikingly analogous, boundary conditions in general relativity are somewhat more opaque. We will see that while while continuity of the metric must be true in general, discontinuity of the extrinsic curvature of spacetime, while allowed by the Einstein field equations, results in a singularity in the energy-momentum tensor. This singularity is interpreted as a surface mass density. Unlike in electrodynamics, there is an additional refractive effect of the spacetime metric. Its origin considered, a gravitational refractive index will be treated similarly to the electromagnetic refractive index. Attempts to derive gravitational "Fresnel equations" follow.

Pop-Culture Politics: How Cable News Created the Tea Party, Trump, and a Fake Populist Movement

Cole Souder — Tue, 23 May 2017 10:30:43 PDT

The populist tradition in the United States originated in the nineteenth century with the Populist Party. Since, political movements in the United States and across the globe have been declared populist for their anti-elite, nostalgic message. Most recently, the Donald Trump campaign for president was declared populist because of a perceived economic message that contradicted traditional conservative ideology. However, Trump's movement was not the grassroots sort that he presented it to be. Rather, his was an extension of a particular, socially and culturally motivated faction of the Tea Party. This faction was radicalized in the first decade of the 21st century by right-wing news outlets like Fox News. Polling data suggests both the Tea Party and Trump movement were not economically motivated—as populists are—but socially and culturally motivated instead. Further, their positions are ones that were push by Fox News in the decade prior to the rise of the Tea Party. Therefore, the Trump movement is not populist, but "cable conservative" instead.

Putting Care Back into "Health Care:" An Analysis of the Place of Community Health Workers within the U.S. Health Care System

Megan Schowalter — Tue, 23 May 2017 10:30:42 PDT

This paper explores who a Community Health Worker (CHW) is and contextualizes the social, political, and historical factors that allowed for the growth of CHWs within the primary health care sector in the U.S. It analyzes how CHWs perceive their own roles and responsibilities within the U.S. health system as a means of highlighting the gap within health care services and the influence of Social Determinants of Health (SDH) on well-being. The second part of this paper relates CHWs to scholarship by medical anthropologist Paul Farmer and public health scholar Alicia Yamin concerning pathologies of power and the need for national health care reform initiatives that prioritize health as a human right. I suggest how the concept of a CHW informs current perceptions of well-being and health in terms of SDH and embodies the action needed to shift health as a human right social movements from theory to reality.

“You Can’t Dispose of Mercedes Lightly”: Mercedes de Acosta, Queer Women, and Queer Female Desire in the Early Twentieth Century

Katy Stehr — Tue, 23 May 2017 10:30:39 PDT

This thesis is based off of the life of Mercedes de Acosta (1893-1968), an out lesbian who was very active in the literary, theatrical, and screenwriting spheres at different points in her life. While many could consider her a “failed” artist, given that none of her works were financial successes, she is notable in this time period for the noted quality of her work, her many interpersonal relationships (romantic or otherwise) with others in her trade, and her artistic exploits on both sides of the Atlantic. Being "out" was incredibly unusual for LGBT+ identified people in this time period, and the homophobia of the period paired with the lack of financial success of her works may have contributed to the fact that she died in poverty. This thesis looks at the life and the historiography of Mercedes de Acosta in an attempt to reconstruct what a lesbian identity meant in this period for women and how her lesbian identity affected both de Acosta's life and her relationships, as well as how she was remembered afterward.

Evolvability: What Is It and How Do We Get It?

Matthew Moreno — Tue, 23 May 2017 10:30:38 PDT

Biological organisms exhibit spectacular adaptation to their environments. However, another marvel of biology lurks behind the adaptive traits that organisms exhibit over the course of their lifespans: it is hypothesized that biological organisms also exhibit adaptation to the evolutionary process itself. That is, biological organisms are thought to possess traits that facilitate evolution. The term evolvability was coined to describe this type of adaptation. The question of evolvability has special practical relevance to computer science researchers engaged in longstanding efforts to harness evolution as an algorithm for automated design. It is hoped that a more nuanced understanding of biological evolution will translate to more powerful digital evolution techniques. This thesis presents a theoretical overview of evolvability, illustrated with examples from biology and evolutionary computing.

It's Complicated: A Literature Review of Happiness and the Big Five

Lilly Bengtson — Thu, 18 May 2017 11:55:35 PDT

Morphological and trophic differences between kelp crabs (Pugettia producta) inhabiting kelp and pilings”\

Sarah Mueller — Thu, 18 May 2017 11:55:30 PDT

Phuong's Caged Throne

Adam Braude — Thu, 18 May 2017 11:55:25 PDT

The Death of Nature and the Rebirth of Gaia: Organicism, the Mechanical Philosophy, and Feminized Nature

Kylie Young — Thu, 18 May 2017 11:55:21 PDT

White Gold: Tracing the Ilicit Elephant Ivory Trade

Holden Chen — Thu, 18 May 2017 11:55:16 PDT

Of Wives and Witches: The Duality of Female Deviance in Puritan Moral Theology

Cassandra McMurry — Thu, 18 May 2017 11:55:09 PDT

Subtle Irony in Personal Growth: Beethoven and Prokofiev's "Classical" Symphonies

Megan Reich — Thu, 18 May 2017 11:55:04 PDT

Microbial Fuel Cells: Mitochondria aren’t the Powerhouse of this Cell

Kyle Reinke — Thu, 18 May 2017 11:54:57 PDT

Voice of the Voiceless: The Project of Black Identity in Carrie Mae Weems's From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried

Emma Ferguson — Thu, 18 May 2017 11:54:51 PDT

Finding oneself while discovering others: An existential perspective on volunteer tourism in Thailand

Nick Kontogeorgopoulos — Wed, 17 May 2017 10:50:10 PDT

The purpose of this study is to explore the importance of existential authenticity in the motivations and activities of volunteer tourists in Thailand. Although studies of volunteer tourism have hinted at the importance of existential themes, few have explicitly utilized an existential framework to assess the authenticity of volunteer tourist experiences. The findings of this study illustrate that the volunteer tourism experience is driven by a desire for existential authenticity in both its intrapersonal and interpersonal varieties, and that working with children facilitates existentially authentic outcomes for volunteers. At the same time, while the perceived material authenticity of hosts enhances opportunities for existential authenticity, it simultaneously undermines it because cultural differences hinder prospects for deep levels of bonding and understanding.

Comparing Themes in Supernatural and Left Behind

Hattie McKay — Tue, 16 May 2017 09:49:09 PDT

In recent years, religious undertones have permeated American popular culture. Television, movies, and books are all drawn to religious themes such as Angels, The Rapture, and the battle between Heaven and Hell. While the fight between good and evil is a popular theme, many religious based mediums have very different goals. For example, the television show Supernatural was created to entertain people, specifically millenials. Supernatural portrays characters that face the same questions that many millennials face when it comes to religion, which allows the television series to remain entertaining while grappling with many religious themes. While Supernatural portrays many religious themes with the goal to entertain, the Left Behind book series is a guide for those who are preparing for The Rapture. This book series contains very prominent themes about evangelical Christianity. Even though each of these mediums have very different agendas, they also have some similarities. Both Supernatural and Left Behind have themes of violence that play to an overarching narrative between good and evil. Additionally, they both create a hierarchy of religions with Christianity at the top. Both simultaneously have a large amount of action-packed, violent scenes to draw in the consumer as well as religious imagery that makes Christianity seem to be good and all other religions seem to be evil. Even though the Left Behind series and the television show Supernatural seem completely different, with different audiences and different goals, they both have the two overarching themes towards violence and placing Christianity at the top of the hierarchy of religions by playing into the good versus evil narrative with Christianity being the good, and all other religions being the evil.

Religious Explorations of American Blackness by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Nation of Islam

Lauren Hall — Tue, 16 May 2017 09:49:06 PDT

Two different religious explorations of the meaning of being black in America are Martin Luther King’s use of Christianity in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and the prophecy of Yacub in the Nation of Islam’s doctrine. While King concludes that Christianity is part of the very fabric of America and will continue to be a source of liberation, the Nation of Islam believed that Christianity was embedded within America’s colonial and white supremacist history, and that salvation will come when blacks once again rule society.

The Sacred, The Profane, and The Spirit

Kristina Sinks — Tue, 16 May 2017 09:49:02 PDT

While we may like to think that they no longer exist in today’s United States, cultural tensions are still overwhelmingly present. One example of such tension in the recent history of the United States is beautifully illustrated in Anne Fadiman’s 1997 book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures.[1] Fadiman tells the true story of a young girl, Lia Lee, diagnosed with epilepsy, and the tensions between her parents’ traditional beliefs and her Western-educated doctors’ ideas about medical care. Though a variety of approaches may be helpful to use in interpreting this text, I found Mircea Eliade’s theories in The Sacred and the Profane especially so.[2] Eliade writes about “two modes of being in the world” (one being “the sacred” and the other “the profane”), and advocates for the merits of maintaining religious practice and belief in a secular world.[3] After introducing Eliade’s work more completely, I will summarize the important ideas brought up by Fadiman. I will then argue that Eliade’s theories provide a helpful framework through which to understand the case presented in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down.

[1] Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1997).

[2] Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion, trans. Willard Trask (New York: Harcourt, Inc., 1959).

[3] Ibid., 14.

Themes of Biopower in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

Jae Bates — Tue, 16 May 2017 09:48:59 PDT

From the Balkan Wars to the current displacement of Syrians, the United States has taken part in the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of refugees. Because of this, the U.S. is often coined as “the melting pot.” However, miscommunication is inevitable when attempting to weave so many cultures together. This cross-cultural miscommunication is a complicating factor when engaging with American institutions. These complications are especially severe when dealing with life-saving institutions such as the hospital. When the dominant culture has control over these life-saving institutions, they can often exert power over those who are outsiders. Michel Foucault famously coined the term “biopower,” the power over life and death, and also discussed the idea of “necropolitics,” the institutionalized ability to control the functions of death. He discusses both issues in his book The History of Sexuality: An Introduction in his last chapter “Right of Death and Power Over Life.” Issues of power over life are very prevalent in the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down and can be analyzed through Foucault’s understanding of power over life. Power over Lia’s life is institutionally held by doctors and social workers because they have been given institutional biopower over Lia’s parents due to the fact that American doctors have supposedly “superior” knowledge that is informed by the Western period of Enlightenment. This ideology is dogmatic rather than an embodiment of progress.