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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
Description
The yeast project studies the growth of yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae (S. Cerevisiae) in high and low sulfate environments and analyzes the potential for genetically mutated plasmids to facilitate sulfate uptake in gene deficient yeast medias. The goal of the project was to transform the Sul1 and Sul2 transporters into the nutrient deficient yeast strain BY4743 and observe growth in conditions that would otherwise prohibit growth in order to create a model that can be used to study the effect of sulfate concentration on the transporters. The experimental results showed that expressing the sulfate transporters in the BY4743 strain provided the potential for the yeast to grow in nutrient-poor media. The growth potential model allows for further analysis on the sulfate transporters and will be used for research projects going forward.
ContributorsDickieson, Maxim Park (Author) / Nannenga, Brent (Thesis director) / Pena, Fred (Committee member) / Dean, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Recent studies in traumatic brain injury (TBI) have found a temporal window where therapeutics on the nanometer scale can cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the parenchyma. Developing protein-based therapeutics is attractive for a number of reasons, yet, the production pipeline for high yield and consistent bioactive recombinant proteins remains a major obstacle. Previous studies for recombinant protein production has utilized gram-negative hosts such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) due to its well-established genetics and fast growth for recombinant protein production. However, using gram-negative hosts require lysis that calls for additional optimization and also introduces endotoxins and proteases that contribute to protein degradation. This project directly addressed this issue and evaluated the potential to use a gram-positive host such as Brevibacillus choshinensis (Brevi) which does not require lysis as the proteins are expressed directly into the supernatant. This host was utilized to produce variants of Stock 11 (S11) protein as a proof-of-concept towards this methodology. Variants of S11 were synthesized using different restriction enzymes which will alter the location of protein tags that may affect production or purification. Factors such as incubation time, incubation temperature, and media were optimized for each variant of S11 using a robust design of experiments. All variants of S11 were grown using optimized parameters prior to purification via affinity chromatography. Results showed the efficiency of using Brevi as a potential host for domain antibody production in the Stabenfeldt lab. Future aims will focus on troubleshooting the purification process to optimize the protein production pipeline.
ContributorsEmbrador, Glenna Bea Rebano (Author) / Stabenfeldt, Sarah (Thesis director) / Plaisier, Christopher (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Social media is explosively popular in discussing socio-political issues. This work provides a preliminary study on how polarization occurs online. Chapter I begins by introducing limitations of the internet in maintaining a free flow of information. Not only do users seek out groups of like-minded individuals and insulate themselves from opposing views, social media platforms algorithmically curate content such that it will be in line with a user’s preconceived notions of the world. The work then defines polarization and carefully discusses its most prominent causes. It then shifts focus to analyze a closely-related issue regarding political discourse: outrage, which is both a noticeable effect of and further cause of polarization. It is clearly prevalent in traditional media, but for completion, I provide a case study to measure its incidence in social media. In Chapter II, I scrutinize the language used in the #MeToo movement on Twitter and draw conclusions about the issues Twitter users focus on and how they express their views. This chapter details the method I used, the challenges I faced in designing the exploratory study, and the results I found. I benchmark patterns I find in the Twitterverse against those I find in The Wall Street Journal. The analysis relies upon the metric of word similarity, based on proximity of and frequency of words used together, to make distinctions about what users are most commonly saying with respect to given topics, or keywords. Chapter III closes the essay with conclusions of socio-political polarization, discourse, and outrage in social media. Finally, the essay outlines potential channels for future work.
ContributorsJain, Niharika (Author) / Simhony, Avital (Thesis director) / Lewis, Paul (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This creative piece aims to blend theatre writing with my father’s career of professional golf. Research was conducted through interviews, scholarly articles, and conversations between my thesis director and second reader. In the search for information and answers, I found the connection between my written style and personal experiences. This is important to me as a writer and any other aspiring writer, because it helps analyze strengths and create a more impactful story.
This entire creative piece is a testament to pursue writing in the film and theatre industry, and acts as a student’s own personal take on how creative writing can be developed, analyzed, and improved. The scope of this project was to better understand modern writing and playwrights by creating my own piece. The general findings in this project demonstrated the high difficulty that storytelling demands. Specifically, linking dialogue in plays to meaningful character development.
As such, a major conclusion indicates that masterful script writing falls on each character being fully developed so that they may move through scenes and the plot with the proper emotional stakes.
This entire creative piece is a testament to pursue writing in the film and theatre industry, and acts as a student’s own personal take on how creative writing can be developed, analyzed, and improved. The scope of this project was to better understand modern writing and playwrights by creating my own piece. The general findings in this project demonstrated the high difficulty that storytelling demands. Specifically, linking dialogue in plays to meaningful character development.
As such, a major conclusion indicates that masterful script writing falls on each character being fully developed so that they may move through scenes and the plot with the proper emotional stakes.
ContributorsCarter, Race (Author) / Maday, Gregory (Thesis director) / Messersmith, Randy (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The British Empire began in the early seventeenth century and continued into the twentieth century. There have been many different answers to the question of what caused imperialism. One solution, proposed most famously by Vladimir Lenin, was that imperialism was a stage of capitalism, and as such developed from it. In this theory monopoly and finance play essential roles in controlling imperialism and are part of the developmental stages of capitalism which led to imperialism. Lenin’s work drew upon that of British economist John A. Hobson, who argued that sectional capitalist interests and under-consumption were what caused imperialism. These theories focus on new imperialism as an abrupt shift in the nature of imperialism. The goal of this thesis is to evaluate the accuracy of this theory of imperialism based on evidence from the British Empire. This thesis presents the details of Lenin’s and Hobson’s arguments to gain an understanding of the foundational ideas of the theory of imperialism as a stage of capitalism. Case studies of areas of the British Empire were done to find if there was evidence that expansion was directed by finance capital and if both political and social forces were controlled by economics in forwarding imperialism. From the data gathered, it was concluded that imperialism was not solely a consequence of capitalism, and imperialism was not a stage of capitalism.
ContributorsSlade, Lauren Nicole (Author) / Barth, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Harper, Tobias (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Environmental friendly, green, or sustainable practices are a growing concern in the international hospitality industry. This exploratory study seeks to assess the complex motives that drive hotels on becoming environmentally active by examining the benefits and barriers for hotels to adapt sustainable practices. With this assessment, the study strives to identify small measures the less environmentally active hotels can adapt to their daily operations. An initial study was first conducted in international hotels located in Beijing, China, as international hotels are considered more environmentally proactive and their standards are in keeping with the latest industry trends. The preliminary findings suggested that environmental participation may be affected by the age, size and management structure of the hotel. The actual study, which was conducted in three cities across Arizona, United States, took into account of the initial analysis and looked at both large chain hotels and smaller independents hotels located in urban areas. A quantitative and qualitative research methodology using a questionnaire along with an interview was used to collect the data. The findings show that the decision for hotels to implement environmental practices goes beyond the financial and operational sphere. The results point to the role played by political and upper management policies and how their decisions trickle down to the entire organization. Although unexpectedly, there seemed little influence linking customer satisfaction and the hotel’s environmental commitment. Instead, hotels tend to focus their efforts mainly on backroom operations as opposed to measures that directly impact the consumer experience. It is recommended that hotels increase employee and customer awareness of its environmental policies and reveal the statistic impact of each.
ContributorsLi, Hanjing (Author) / Lee, Woojin (Thesis director) / McWilliams, Claire (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This paper analyzes the correlation between unionization, corporate income taxes, and educational attainment with manufacturing firm locations at the state level across the USA. The paper analyzes the factors that influence firms per capita in a state using the Ordinary Least Squares regression model, with panel data, and fixed effects. The regression takes data from 2012 through 2016 and shows the correlation between unionization, educational attainment, and taxes on firm location. The paper cites Timothy Bartik’s findings (1985) and addresses reasons for changes in results for today’s economy.
ContributorsBernstein, Jacob M. (Author) / Bishop, Kelly (Thesis director) / Hill, Alexander (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This study attempts to reconcile the gap in literature between the abundant research in the social consequences of sanctions but a consistent lack of information regarding its economic effectiveness. I apply a modified neoclassical growth model to analyze the extent that sanctions imposed by the US and UN impact real per capita GDP growth rate. Using the original data, I modify the model employed in the Neuenkirch and Neumeier (2015) study by replacing a fixed effect model with time trends. The results are more aligned with previous economic research on sanctions where sanctions imposed by the US have a moderate but significant 1.5 percent decline effect on GDP growth rate. On the other hand, sanctions imposed by the UN are similarly negative, imposing about a .9 percent decline in GDP growth, however are not statistically significant. While I cannot reject the conclusion by the original authors, I feel that this model provides a more fitting analysis of the impact sanctions impose on GDP growth.
ContributorsHendricks-Costello, Caitlyn (Author) / Silverman, Daniel (Thesis director) / Mendez, Jose (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
An ever increasing number of university students partake in study abroad opportunities. Extant research has measured the effects of such experiences on the students who participate in them. Nonetheless, this research tends to rely on comparative analyses between study abroad participants and control groups of students who do not travel abroad. Furthermore, data are often retrospectively collected and are thus subject to individual retention, which may entail significant limitations. This research attempts to subvert these limitations by using a pre- and post-test methodology coupled with qualitative analysis. The study consists of in-depth qualitative interviews with nineteen participants who partook in a semester abroad at the Rothberg International School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In contrast to previous research which has attempted to ascertain general effects, the aim of this research is to measure the effects of study abroad on individuals’ conceptions and perspectives as they relate to the Israel-Palestine situation and the groups involved. The results indicate that the participant group which consisted of both Jewish and non-Jewish individuals did, in fact, demonstrate changes in their perceptions and perspectives at the conclusion of their study abroad experience. Specifically, the majority of individuals reported more critical views of the Israeli state and its governmental policies in addition to demonstrated increases in empathetic sentiment towards Palestinian individuals. The results are discussed in relation to future research which perhaps could be utilized to further promote perception change and subversion of dominant narratives by fostering intergroup openness and interaction.
ContributorsRawls, Ariel (Author) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis director) / Fontinha de Alcantara, Christiane (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Drilling in Section 1002 has been an ongoing debate since the region was designated as a potential area for drilling projects, pending congressional approval in 1980. In 2017, the area was officially opened up for oil and gas development through its passage in the GOP Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. This act requires 2 lease sales of 400,000 acres, with an allowed 2,000 acre physical footprint (not including pipelines, ice roads, or gravel mines). Using Social-Life Cycle Assessment methodology to assess the process of oil extraction in Section 1002, significant benefits and drawbacks of drilling in this region, with economic, cultural, and social impacts ranging from the local level to the state level to the national level were identified.
Stakeholders impacted by oil development in the Section 1002 region include the Kaktovik community who lives within the Program Area, the Gwich’in people who live south of ANWR, the corporations who will be leasing the land, as well as the employees who will be working on the projects. These stakeholders share similar values and interests, however, when it comes down to the attainment of these values, there are significant differences in opinion. This debate comes down specifically to the desire to ensure stability for one’s family and community, as this means 2 different things to the majority stakeholders on this issue: The Inupiaq and the Gwich’in. The Inupiaq ,who live in Kaktovik specifically ,are particularly keen on the idea of drilling in the Section 1002 region, because the revenues and opportunities that come with the oil and gas development provide access to better standards of living and a more westernized way of life. The Gwich’in, however, value their relationship to the land and the caribou that are at risk of significant change. These 2 groups are critical to the debate, but the state and federal governments have the final say, and a financial incentive to move forward with the lease sales.
Utilizing the S-LCA framework, life cycle impacts of drilling on society are found using indicators that are identified and assessed using both qualitative and quantitative means. Although some conclusions are uncertain due to the forward-looking nature of this S-LCA, the Increasing/Decreasing trends can be identified and confidently attributed to the specific indicators.
Significant Results:
Significant issues this study has highlighted include the resulting impacts, both positive and negative, on the communities affected by oil and gas development in Section 1002. Significant stakeholders include the Kaktovik community, the Gwich’in people, the oil and gas workers in the state of Alaska, and the oil and gas companies themselves. The local residents are the most affected by the impacts of development, with significant issues pertaining to potential for significant lifestyle change, the increased risk of impact on subsistence species, the risks associated with pollution, and the effect on the economy through revenues and job availability.
Stakeholders impacted by oil development in the Section 1002 region include the Kaktovik community who lives within the Program Area, the Gwich’in people who live south of ANWR, the corporations who will be leasing the land, as well as the employees who will be working on the projects. These stakeholders share similar values and interests, however, when it comes down to the attainment of these values, there are significant differences in opinion. This debate comes down specifically to the desire to ensure stability for one’s family and community, as this means 2 different things to the majority stakeholders on this issue: The Inupiaq and the Gwich’in. The Inupiaq ,who live in Kaktovik specifically ,are particularly keen on the idea of drilling in the Section 1002 region, because the revenues and opportunities that come with the oil and gas development provide access to better standards of living and a more westernized way of life. The Gwich’in, however, value their relationship to the land and the caribou that are at risk of significant change. These 2 groups are critical to the debate, but the state and federal governments have the final say, and a financial incentive to move forward with the lease sales.
Utilizing the S-LCA framework, life cycle impacts of drilling on society are found using indicators that are identified and assessed using both qualitative and quantitative means. Although some conclusions are uncertain due to the forward-looking nature of this S-LCA, the Increasing/Decreasing trends can be identified and confidently attributed to the specific indicators.
Significant Results:
Significant issues this study has highlighted include the resulting impacts, both positive and negative, on the communities affected by oil and gas development in Section 1002. Significant stakeholders include the Kaktovik community, the Gwich’in people, the oil and gas workers in the state of Alaska, and the oil and gas companies themselves. The local residents are the most affected by the impacts of development, with significant issues pertaining to potential for significant lifestyle change, the increased risk of impact on subsistence species, the risks associated with pollution, and the effect on the economy through revenues and job availability.
ContributorsJunglas, Hillary L (Author) / Pasqualetti, Martin (Thesis director) / Breetz, Hanna (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05