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In The Union College Garnet

Type of Resource

Book

Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In ARL Publications

Abstract

The Adirondack Chronology is intended to be a useful resource for researchers and others interested in the Adirondacks and Adirondack history.

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

As omnivores, humans have a deeply engrained appetite for meat. The methods for which we obtain this meat have vastly changed throughout our history. Today, meat is “farmed” in order to meet the demand of the ever-growing population. While the meat industry provides food at a relatively cheap price, there are many underlying consequences and costs that are not as transparent. The methods by which meat is grown are often deployable and inhumane. The sustainability of these farms and the meat industry as a whole is in question. The UN reported that as high as 18% of greenhouse gas emissions are directly linked to the meat industry. They proposed to switch to more sustainable food options, especially to combat global hunger and malnutrition. One such option is insect farming. Insects occupy a vast majority of the world, and yet are often overlooked as a viable source of protein and vitamins. Certain insects, such as crickets, are edible and easy to mass-produce. Many believe that insect farming will use fewer resources than the meat industry and is a viable route for sustainability in food. Also, because insect farming is dually economically savvy and environmentally achievable, insect-farming kits could be produced and distributed to developing nations. By having another sustained food source outlet, these local insect farmers would experience newfound independence, and combat hunger within their areas. With a proper business plan in place, insect farming could effectively transform and become the solution for bettering the world.

Type of Resource

Thesis

Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

Using data from the Center for Mental Health Services Uniform Reporting System on state-wide mental health services from 2003 to 2007, this paper investigates the differences between states in the utilization of community mental health treatment and state psychiatric in-patient care. During the 1970s the United States undertook the policy of deinstitutionalization of mental institutions. The movement of patients from institutions into the community left a large gap in the amount and types of services available to patients needing psychiatric care. As a result, there was an increased demand for community mental health supports provided by states to compensate for the closing of mental institutions. This paper investigates who is more likely to receive community care for psychiatric illnesses and who is more likely to receive institutionalized care based on levels of supports available in each state. The gender, ethnicity, age, Medicaid funded treatment and employment status of patients served by each state are analyzed to compare the differences in utilization of mental health care services in each state. This study finds that as the amount of total psychiatric care increases, the utilization of community care increases as well. Additionally, as expected, utilization of community psychiatric care increase with increases in State Mental Health Agency (SMHA) per capita expenditures. Policy makers can use these results to further implement deinstitutionalization policies.

Type of Resource

Thesis

Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

The United States not only spends more per capita on health care than any other country but also has one of the fastest growth rates in health spending among developed countries. Despite this higher level of spending, one of the major problems with the U.S. health care system is access to care for individuals who lack health insurance. Prior studies (e.g. Canto et al. 2000; Hadley 2003) have suggested that payer status may be an important determinant of medical resource utilization and outcome. This study examines the impact of insurance type on healthcare utilization; a nationally representative sample of approximately 55,000 individuals from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was compared within 8 payer groups to ascertain the influence of payer status on ambulatory and hospital resource utilization in the United States. Our empirical analysis is based on OLS, Probit, and Tobit regression models of the impact of payer status on several utilization outcomes while controlling for health status and socioeconomic factors. Our study demonstrates that the insured population has a greater number of overnight hospitalizations annually and pays more visits to health care professionals than uninsured individuals. Our analysis by payer type indicates that only individuals with Medicare coverage and Private Health Insurance are more likely to have visited a health care professional at a doctor's office than the uninsured, even after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and health status; those with Medicare coverage exhibited the highest number of such visits. Individuals with Medicaid coverage were the most likely to have been hospitalized overnight in comparison to the uninsured and also exhibited the highest number of overnight hospitalizations in the past year. These findings are consistent with previous literature (Arndt et al. 1998), which reports that Medicaid patients experience delays in care, resulting in longer hospital stays. Finally, we analyzed the impact of payer status on utilization across cohorts of patients with chronic illnesses and found that health care utilization disparities do in fact vary by specific health conditions.

Type of Resource

Thesis

Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

Abortion has become an extremely divisive issue usually framed as a “cultural” or “moral” one. Espousing the sanctity of life and the legal rights of the fetus, pro-life adherents lobby for state laws restricting access to abortion with the ultimate goal of overturning Roe v. Wade. The pro-choice proponents argue for the right to privacy, respect for female autonomy, and not granting the fetus the status of personhood under the 14th Amendment to keep Roe as law and fight against state laws seeking to place restrictions on abortion. With both sides holding fast to the notion of autonomy and trapped within the language of life and choice, the debate has come to a linguistic stalemate. Although Hannah Arendt (1906 -1975) is best known for her theories on totalitarianism, violence and revolution, I turn to her works on the human condition, action and freedom for a new perspective. Posing the question ‘How might Arendt’s theory help us to re-conceptualize the abortion debate?’ I offer my view of how she would critique both sides’ arguments and actions. Embracing her call to consistently reexamine commonly used concepts to ensure they are applicable to our new experiences, I approached the abortion debate by questioning the relevance and usefulness of terminology such as ‘autonomy’, ‘privacy’ and ‘choice’. The ultimate goal of my thesis is to provide abortion rights feminists with new theoretical grounds, inspired by Arendt’s political theory, to argue for governmental defense of access to abortion for all women in America. Most important, using Arendt’s theory of politics, I argue that abortion is ultimately a political, rather than a moral, issue, one that requires an enhanced sense of democratic judgment.

Type of Resource

Thesis

Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is an important hormone in both male and female reproduction. By studying the mechanisms of action of this hormone, it is then possible to be able to come up with ways to disrupt these pathways, leading to advances in birth control. Specifically, FSH stimulates the ovarian follicles to grow in females and it stimulates spermatogenesis in males. This hormone transmits its signal by binding to G protein coupled receptors on the cell surface. In the cell membrane, there are specific domains called lipid rafts. These domains are often associated with being a central area for signal transduction in cells. The main goal of our research was to determine if the FSH receptor resides in a lipid raft. One way to identify lipid rafts is by the presence of a membrane sphingolipid called ganglioside GM1. By staining cells with antibodies that recognize the FSH receptor and an antibody that stains for GM1 we used fluorescence and confocal microscopy to try to determine if the two signals coincide. The two signals showed limited colocalization. This is consistent with our model which suggests that only some FSHR is in lipid rafts, and only some lipid rafts contain FSHR.

Type of Resource

Thesis

Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

The thesis covers the growing role of entertainment and celebrity-style news in the domain of hard presidential campaign television news coverage. Having done prior research on such entertainment news outlets as <em>E! News</em>, <em>Entertainment Tonight</em>, <em>Access Hollywood</em>, among others, I found that I was seeing the same treatment of celebrities as hard news programs were giving to presidential candidates. In light of this thought, the study covers what has been written about the evolution of presidential campaigns and the integration of celebrity news elements into campaigns. This study also performs a media analysis on the network news programs in order to establish the presence of, what I have called, "celebritized" campaign coverage. The thesis concludes with a reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of this study, future improvements, and the broader implications of the results from the media analysis. The literature analysis is split into two chapters of the thesis. The first chapter pertains to the evolution of presidential campaigns. Within this chapter, the two sub-sections are: how the campaigns have changed their presentation and strategy; and how the media has changed its coverage of the campaign. The literature that pertains to the change in campaign strategy recognizes a number of patterns. The foremost, as it pertains to this study, is the growth in image creation and image consciousness. The literature largely cites the Reagan campaigns as the first to fully capitalize on creating a candidate's image. Reagan's campaign focused its advertisements on pictures and emotional appeals within a small time frame. Before this time the campaign advertisement focused on policy and where the candidates stood on issues. These advertisements were played out over longer periods of time with an emphasis on minutes rather than seconds. After Reagan, the literature almost universally notes the change in presidential campaigns as being a shift towards personalization and carefully planned social functions and rallies. In terms of supporting my thesis one can see that image creation, public relations, personalization, and planned social functions are all elements that are transferrable to celebrities and how they present themselves. With few exceptions, the literature does not make this connection. In terms of how the media has changed its coverage, the literature largely points at the rise of television as a turning point. With the rise of television came a bombardment of images and the ability to cover aspects of the campaign unseen to that point. From there the literature documents the growing role of video, still-shots, and multimedia in the presentation of the news. In terms of campaign coverage, the television media is noted as increasing its emphasis on scandal, personal story lines, the presentation of the campaign, and the appearance of the candidate. In reviewing the literature on the change in media coverage one finds an emphasis on an increase in soft news, as well as a path that parallels the changes in campaign strategy. The second chapter deals with the effect that celebrity and entertainment news has had on campaigns and campaign coverage. The goal of this portion of the literature review is to lay down characteristics of celebrity coverage. This chapter documents the rise celebrity news and the growing importance of image that corresponds almost directly with the growing emphasis on celebrities. This chapter also offers examples of instances where celebrity-style news and campaigns inadvertently or advertently cross paths. These examples act as foundations for the set of guidelines that I lay out as representative of the celebritization of presidential campaigns. Most of the literature that does connect celebrity to the presidential candidate does so in passing and as an aside from a larger point. Because of this I grew in confidence that the concept of celebritization is one unique to research already completed about campaigns and campaign coverage. The media analysis is the original contribution that my thesis makes to the study of presidential campaigns. In this chapter I offer a series of tenets in which one can code whether or not hard news programs are covering campaigns in a celebrity style. These qualities are based on the literature review and prior research into the properties of celebrity news programs. The qualities are as follows: • Stressing personality traits/image, such as clothing, likability, how they are living their private lives • Who celebrities are hanging out with/ befriending • Where they are hanging out • What talk shows they are on, their upcoming game/album/movie • Showing trailers or previews of said game/album/movie • Personal lives, especially if it involves scandal or affairs • The back story- where they came from, growing up • How they carry themselves- their style and modus operandi • Showing clips of signature lines and catch-phrases • Gossip- what rumors are there on the street about these people • Feuding- who they are not friendly with and what the celebrities are saying about each other's personal lives and personalities I also use this chapter to clarify the difference between soft news and celebritization. Soft news is a broad category refers to a number of content and presentation strategies associated with all aspects of news programs. These strategies include dramatization, personalization, the influx of images and multimedia, and shorter segments. Soft news also refers to how the news presents the content, no matter the content. Celebritization isolates the individual, specifically presidential campaigns. Celebritization occurs when not only is the news seeking to change the presentation, but the individual is also presenting a crafted image and presentation. Unlike with soft news, the defining and differing feature celebrity-style news coverage offers a considerable give and take between subject and reporting entity. This concept isolates the individual- how that individual presents him/herself and is then presented on television. However celebritization does not exclusively imply an absence of useful policy debate or information. Just as Brad Pitt or Britney Spears can be asked a political question, so too, can candidates be asked an informative question with a celebrity-style interview. The fact is that the context is different. The general rule that I used in governing whether or not there was celebrity-style news involved was to ask myself the question- "Could I substitute Celebrity A for the name John McCain or PR Firm for Campaign and still have a segment or statement that made sense?" The actual analysis studied the transcripts of <em>NBC Nightly News</em>,<em> ABC World News</em>, and <em>CBS Evening News</em> from October 1, 2008 to November 3, 2008. This period allowed me to read over 140,000 words in 245 campaign segments over 86 shows. The study coded for whether or not a broadcast contained any celebrity statements, the number of segments with celebrity statements, the number of segments dedicated entirely to celebrity coverage, the number of celebrity-style words spoken in a segment, and the number segments containing promotional videos. This material was used both in compiling both comparative and summation results. The comparative results were used largely to show that all three programs contained aspects of celebritization. The summation results showed that, based on the aforementioned coding criteria, almost 98% of the broadcasts contained some celebritization. Almost 69% of the campaign segments contained some celebrity-style statement. Almost 16% of the campaign segments were dedicated entirely to celebrity-style coverage. Almost 16% of all campaign segments contained some sort of promotional video. About 20% of words spoken about the campaign were within the context of celebritization. The conclusion covers what these numbers mean in broader terms. I believe that these numbers exemplify the real presence of celebritization. The campaigns and the news media are aware of what is being presented and shown on television. The question remains as to whether or not this is good for the American public and democracy in this country. I find that, although these numbers are significant, these are safe values for hard campaign news coverage. The news media is still responsibly exercising its role in informing the public. The information is just being disseminated in a different manner. If, as the literature suggests, celebritization draws in a larger audience, one cannot be displeased with greater voter participation. Additionally, since celebritization does not imply an absence of substance, the current percentages show that there is still plenty of information within news broadcasts. However, I warn that celebritization is inherently tied to a watered-down form of policy and informative content. Thus, if the percentages grow much higher than this one has to worry about the capacity of television news to maintain its role informing society, and society's ability to make educated decisions regarding politics (If there major source of information in television news). What that can lead to is an American Idol effect. Everyone at home has some grasp of what singers sound good, but are not experts in the field. When voting on American Idol, the public does so with a little music knowledge, but mostly based on looks, performance, personality, and what other people think. If celebritization grows to the point that there is still general policy knowledge passed on, but overwhelmed in a context of personality, looks, attacks, image-creation, it cannot bode well for American democracy.

Type of Resource

Thesis

Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

This thesis investigates the physical and mental factors extremist religious organizations, such as the Westboro Baptist Church, Church of Scientology and Fundamentalist Mormonism use to decrease the chance of members' departure from their institutions. These factors include familial relationships, physical and mental limitations, and restricted exposure to society outside of the religious organization. The following memoirs illustrate and expose these difficulties and how the female authors overcome these limitations: <em>Educated</em> by Tara Westover,<em> Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape</em> by Jenna Miscavige Hill and <em>Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church</em> by Megan Phelps-Roper. All three books detail their authors' various journeys as they persevere through self-liberation in order to find peace. All three female memoirists have to fight for the opportunity to pursue higher education and integrate into the outside world that they had been sheltered from for a majority of their lives. Westover narrates her childhood in the mountains of Idaho and her ultimate decision to leave her tyrannical household run by her radical-thinking father, Gene Westover. Hill reveals the history behind being born and raised in the Sea Organization of Scientology; and the tight-knit community of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, is detailed by Megan Phelps-Roper's memoir. Each author faces different battles concerning life outside of their respective communities, but their pursuit of the knowledge that their religion shelters them from motivates all of their desires for more. There are often connotations imparted on memoirs, with the expectation of a revelation for the author or even the reader, as they compare their life story to that of the author. These memoirs in particular are not predictable and do not shy away from the harsh realities the women were faced with in their communities as well as when they left. Even after traumatic events and dialogue are described, somehow the authors are all able to rise above the backlash they have faced and have the confidence that remains in their decision to leave. The Westboro Baptist Church continues to protest, Scientologists still practice invasive auditing sessions, and the Westover family is still adamant in their radical Mormon beliefs; life continues as before. Though Westover, Hill and Phelps-Roper may not be able to alter the beliefs of their institutions as whole, each of their departures caused a stir that cannot be undone, no matter what the authorities attempt. They are strong, independent and confident women who fought for what they wanted from the world and went on to educate that world through their narrative voices.

Type of Resource

Thesis

Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

Refugee populations are exposed to an unusually high number of traumatic events in their lifetimes that have the potential to cause long-lasting psychological harm. Millions of people are forcibly displaced by international conflicts, ethnic genocide, targeting of political dissidents, climate disasters, and countless other traumatic events. For the small fraction of refugees who are resettled in wealthy nations such as the United States, they are fortunate to leave behind the harmful and often violent places which they are fleeing from, but they are also leaving behind their families, friends, homes, and traditions. During and following resettlement, refugees continue to face potentially traumatic experiences and are offered minimal resources to assist with coping or access clinical interventions. The goals of the U.S. resettlement system are to provide protection for these vulnerable populations and to enable integration into America's society and economy. These goals are—by some accounts—achieved, but services to refugees reflect an understanding that social services, including medical and mental health assistance, are a low priority. While the Unites States seeks to re-evaluate the social obligations of the government and we grapple with the toxicity of immigration and humanitarian responsibility, now is the moment to address the shortcomings in services to refugees and how addressing trauma can benefit refugees and America.

Type of Resource

Thesis

Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

Human follicle stimulating hormone (hFSH) is a gonadotropin responsible for regulating reproductive systems by stimulation of Sertoli cells in males and granulosa cells in females. The hFSH receptor (hFSHR) is a seven transmembrane receptor that belongs to the G protein coupled receptor family. The receptor is functionally connected to a G protein on the inside of the cell. Once FSH activates its receptor, a cascade of signaling begins, resulting in the activation of adenylyl cyclase, which increases the intracellular levels of cAMP. In addition, hFSHR stimulation also activates the p44/42 MAP kinase. The spike in cAMP activates the enzyme protein kinase A (PKA), which triggers a series of downstream effectors resulting in follicular stimulation and gametogenesis.Previous work in the Cohen Lab has shown that hFSHR is located in cholesterol-­rich, detergent-­resistant microdomains known as lipid rafts. In an HEK293 cell line stably expressing hFSHR, disruption of lipid rafts by the cholesterol chelator methyl beta-­cyclodextrin (MCD) interferes with PKA activation. Current research is focused on the relevance of hFSHR lipid raft residency in the human granulosa cell line hGrC1; focusing in particular on the activation of signal transduction pathways by hFSHR. The goal was to develop an enzyme-­based, quantitative, non-­radioactive assay for cAMP stimulation that could be used to study the effects of lipid raft disruption by M?CD on hFSHR signaling in hGrC1 cells. The galactosidase assay showed quantitative dose-­dependent responses to hFSH, which indicated that it should be useful for testing M?CD to further determine lipid raft dependence of hFSHR signaling. Studying the regulation of signaling by hFSHR provides more insight into the receptor function and potentially represents new approaches to contraception or treatment of infertility.

Type of Resource

Thesis

Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

Following the surrender of Japan on September 2 of 1945, American forces occupied Japan in an attempt to remove Japan's ability to wage aggressive war. From 1945 to 1952, Occupation authorities in Tokyo under General Douglas MacArthur undertook a number of reforms intended to 'demilitarize' and 'democratize' Japan, some of which left major structural changes to the pre-war Japanese system. This thesis will focus on three reforms: the dissolution of Japan's zaibatsu (large industrial conglomerates such as Nissan), democratization of the education system, and Article IX of Japan's Constitution which bans Japan from possessing military forces. I analyze the success of each reform through the end of the Cold War by examining if their purpose and structure has remained in place. By 1947 events on the world stage, including the routing of U.S. ally Chiang Kai-Shek's forces in China, by Mao Zedong's communist forces, and the rapid emergence of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, became issues of immediate concern among American policymakers. In Japan, continuing economic troubles including inflation and high unemployment lead to the rise of powerful labor movements that were increasingly linked to communists. In light of these events, conservatives in the United States Government and conservatives in the Japanese government joined forces to reverse some of the early reforms hoping to create a stable country free from communist influence. Beginning in 1948, both the structure and purpose of the zaibatsu reforms were undermined as the U.S. withdrew support for the Occupation's economic reforms, after which the conglomerates again dominated the Japanese economy. While the Ministry of Education began to regain centralized control of the education system in the 1950s, many structural changes remained in place such as teachers Unions; in addition, pacifist curriculums continue to be an important legacy of the Occupation. Finally, Article IX of Japan's constitution has faced large challenges after independence, however, it has remained unamended 70 years later, and further, during this time Japan has not fought a war. I will argue that the education reforms and Article IX were successful because of widespread popular support while the zaibatsu reforms failed due to lack of popular support and Cold War Pressures to stabilize the economy.

Type of Resource

Thesis

Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument