This article highlights the potential spiritual effects of a popular anesthetic, ketamine, and how these spiritual effects can be used to help promote the reconciliation of spiritual and physical health. Ketamine, like the prominent psychedelic, psilocybin, has reportedly caused feelings of spiritual revelation and “out of body experiences” that many physicians may not feel qualified to discuss with their patients. This reluctance to address ketamine-induced spiritual experiences may affect the health outcomes of the patient. The primary goal of this project is to bring academic validity to considerations of the spiritual health of patients. This paper (1) investigates the extent that ketamine-induced, non-ordinary experiences can help bring awareness to the compatibility of spiritual and physical health and (2) compares the mechanisms of ketamine and psilocybin, as well as their value to the medical community due to the spiritual experiences that they catalyze. Thus, this research seeks to demonstrate that understanding the spiritual value of ketamine may encourage better communication between the physician and patient and promote more holistic healthcare approaches.
{"title":"Ketamine’s Role in Spirituality: How One Synthetic Drug Catalyzes a Natural Experience","authors":"Samiah Woods","doi":"10.25172/JOUR.6.1.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25172/JOUR.6.1.6","url":null,"abstract":"This article highlights the potential spiritual effects of a popular anesthetic, ketamine, and how these spiritual effects can be used to help promote the reconciliation of spiritual and physical health. Ketamine, like the prominent psychedelic, psilocybin, has reportedly caused feelings of spiritual revelation and “out of body experiences” that many physicians may not feel qualified to discuss with their patients. This reluctance to address ketamine-induced spiritual experiences may affect the health outcomes of the patient. The primary goal of this project is to bring academic validity to considerations of the spiritual health of patients. This paper (1) investigates the extent that ketamine-induced, non-ordinary experiences can help bring awareness to the compatibility of spiritual and physical health and (2) compares the mechanisms of ketamine and psilocybin, as well as their value to the medical community due to the spiritual experiences that they catalyze. Thus, this research seeks to demonstrate that understanding the spiritual value of ketamine may encourage better communication between the physician and patient and promote more holistic healthcare approaches.","PeriodicalId":221628,"journal":{"name":"SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126456695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been a major supplier of fossil fuel for the world economy for decades, which has allowed the country to thrive economically. But global concerns over ecological destruction and climate change is prompting the UAE’s leaders to pursue alternative sources of energy. From this ecological fear, Masdar City was born, an ambitious project that hopes to create the world’s first “zero-carbon” emission city. The project’s goal is to utilize energy in a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable system without sacrificing modern lifestyles. This case study will utilize theory on energy and infrastructures to analyze the implications of the project’s innovations, as well as to explore the rising intersection of neoliberalism and environmentalism to understand how a project like Masdar came to be. In 2016, ten years after its initial construction, the city still had not achieved net zero-carbon emissions, but a mere 50%. The project’s ambitions included the creation of a new energy-based currency to account for consumption, and the integration of a massive data vault that stores all consumption of energy.What is found is a complex and highly integrated information system that could lead to the selling of information and the corporate/governmental manipulation of data for control over populations.
{"title":"Masdar City: A Study of Energy, Infrastructure, and Technological Hope Hope","authors":"Aaron D'Eramo","doi":"10.25172/JOUR.6.1.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25172/JOUR.6.1.3","url":null,"abstract":"The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been a major supplier of fossil fuel for the world economy for decades, which has allowed the country to thrive economically. But global concerns over ecological destruction and climate change is prompting the UAE’s leaders to pursue alternative sources of energy. From this ecological fear, Masdar City was born, an ambitious project that hopes to create the world’s first “zero-carbon” emission city. The project’s goal is to utilize energy in a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable system without sacrificing modern lifestyles. This case study will utilize theory on energy and infrastructures to analyze the implications of the project’s innovations, as well as to explore the rising intersection of neoliberalism and environmentalism to understand how a project like Masdar came to be. In 2016, ten years after its initial construction, the city still had not achieved net zero-carbon emissions, but a mere 50%. The project’s ambitions included the creation of a new energy-based currency to account for consumption, and the integration of a massive data vault that stores all consumption of energy.What is found is a complex and highly integrated information system that could lead to the selling of information and the corporate/governmental manipulation of data for control over populations.","PeriodicalId":221628,"journal":{"name":"SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research","volume":"91 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131643743","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Corporate ownership of livestock operations for meat and animal by-products has had a dramatic effect on human-animal relationships in rural areas of the United States. This evolution mandates mass production of livestock in large concentrated animal feed organizations (CAFO’s). In contrast, animal breeding for sport, such as hunting which also produces food, has not generated the same adverse effect on these relationships. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with two rural Iowa women, one raising livestock to be sold for meat and by-products; the other raising livestock to be hunted. Ferdinand Tonnies’ social groupings, gesellschaft and gemeinschaft, were used as theoretical concepts applied using inductive analysis. Findings suggest that, with corporate ownership, the human-animal interaction in these two groups are now very different from one another. The meat industry objectifies animals; they are a means to a financial end, a “product.” Hunting, which remains culturally rooted, allows for a closer relationship; the animal is still thought of as a living individual. The world must be fed and as consumers of these products, it is important to understand how corporate ownership of animals is changing the relationship between human and animals while other relationships resulting in animal meat remain steeped in tradition.
{"title":"Raising Animals to Die for Profit: How Corporate America is Changing Human Animal Relationships in Rural America","authors":"Sabrina A. Brakke","doi":"10.25172/JOUR.6.1.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25172/JOUR.6.1.5","url":null,"abstract":"Corporate ownership of livestock operations for meat and animal by-products has had a dramatic effect on human-animal relationships in rural areas of the United States. This evolution mandates mass production of livestock in large concentrated animal feed organizations (CAFO’s). In contrast, animal breeding for sport, such as hunting which also produces food, has not generated the same adverse effect on these relationships. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with two rural Iowa women, one raising livestock to be sold for meat and by-products; the other raising livestock to be hunted. Ferdinand Tonnies’ social groupings, gesellschaft and gemeinschaft, were used as theoretical concepts applied using inductive analysis. Findings suggest that, with corporate ownership, the human-animal interaction in these two groups are now very different from one another. The meat industry objectifies animals; they are a means to a financial end, a “product.” Hunting, which remains culturally rooted, allows for a closer relationship; the animal is still thought of as a living individual. The world must be fed and as consumers of these products, it is important to understand how corporate ownership of animals is changing the relationship between human and animals while other relationships resulting in animal meat remain steeped in tradition.","PeriodicalId":221628,"journal":{"name":"SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research","volume":"202 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132499482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
With the recent launch of the Global Development Lab in the Hunter and Stephanie Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity, fellows, faculty, and industry professionals have been working to create meaningful solutions to promote a resilient humanity, addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and challenges. The Institute has taken on Dr. Ali Beskok’s project, the development of a low cost, portable, Point-of-Care-Device for humanitarian and health applications. This paper provides a systematic review of current Point-of-Care-Devices using antibody antigen reactions. Additionally, it provides aspects of a market analysis and a literature review. Its overarching goal is to make recommendations regarding a disease the developing device could test for through antibody antigen reactions that would most positively affect global health. Traditionally, biomedical engineers have developed technologies in response to the needs of the developed world’s medical community. These approaches often do not address the needs of the majority of the world’s peoples afflicted with both communicable and non-communicable diseases as the developments are far too costly and those with most need have, at best, limited access to supporting clinical laboratory infrastructure in developing countries. A gap in care has emerged as a result of these conditions. As a result, Drs. Beskok and Koklu have developed a Lab-on-a-Chip technology that can test for a chosen disease with a turnaround time of just a few seconds and a detection limit of 1 ng of antigen per 1 mL of sample fluid. In contrast to other commonly used PoCD’s, this technology can be adapted for detection of various diseases in various settings. This is a great improvement to current devices on the market in specificity, sensitivity, and ease of use, therefore making it particularly useful in high-throughput, low-skill staffing environments. In creating disease selection criteria for Dr. Beskok and his team’s device, several factors were taken into consideration. Generally, the selection criteria consists of diseases that result in a high DALY value, are communicable, identifiable with antibody-antigen reactions, and can be tested for using urine. The diseases that were identified with this criterion were Tuberculosis and Malaria. Various antibody-antigen recommendations for diagnosis, advantages, and limitations of the proposed Point-of-Care-Device are discussed in the Proposed Disease section. In addition, current funding for each disease is overviewed. In order to make the greatest impact, deployment of the PoCD in the Sub-Saharan region, most specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone are recommended. Furthermore, children under the age of 5 who suffer from malnutrition should be given special attention. Focusing in these locations and populations will best aid in accomplishing the third Sustainable Development Goal set out by the UN: to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing fo
{"title":"Analysis of Broadest Impact Implementation for a Developing Point of Care Device Using Antibody Antigen Reactions","authors":"Sienna Dugan, Gabriella Gonzales, K. Little","doi":"10.25172/JOUR.6.1.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25172/JOUR.6.1.2","url":null,"abstract":"With the recent launch of the Global Development Lab in the Hunter and Stephanie Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity, fellows, faculty, and industry professionals have been working to create meaningful solutions to promote a resilient humanity, addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and challenges. The Institute has taken on Dr. Ali Beskok’s project, the development of a low cost, portable, Point-of-Care-Device for humanitarian and health applications. This paper provides a systematic review of current Point-of-Care-Devices using antibody antigen reactions. Additionally, it provides aspects of a market analysis and a literature review. Its overarching goal is to make recommendations regarding a disease the developing device could test for through antibody antigen reactions that would most positively affect global health. Traditionally, biomedical engineers have developed technologies in response to the needs of the developed world’s medical community. These approaches often do not address the needs of the majority of the world’s peoples afflicted with both communicable and non-communicable diseases as the developments are far too costly and those with most need have, at best, limited access to supporting clinical laboratory infrastructure in developing countries. A gap in care has emerged as a result of these conditions. As a result, Drs. Beskok and Koklu have developed a Lab-on-a-Chip technology that can test for a chosen disease with a turnaround time of just a few seconds and a detection limit of 1 ng of antigen per 1 mL of sample fluid. In contrast to other commonly used PoCD’s, this technology can be adapted for detection of various diseases in various settings. This is a great improvement to current devices on the market in specificity, sensitivity, and ease of use, therefore making it particularly useful in high-throughput, low-skill staffing environments. In creating disease selection criteria for Dr. Beskok and his team’s device, several factors were taken into consideration. Generally, the selection criteria consists of diseases that result in a high DALY value, are communicable, identifiable with antibody-antigen reactions, and can be tested for using urine. The diseases that were identified with this criterion were Tuberculosis and Malaria. Various antibody-antigen recommendations for diagnosis, advantages, and limitations of the proposed Point-of-Care-Device are discussed in the Proposed Disease section. In addition, current funding for each disease is overviewed. In order to make the greatest impact, deployment of the PoCD in the Sub-Saharan region, most specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone are recommended. Furthermore, children under the age of 5 who suffer from malnutrition should be given special attention. Focusing in these locations and populations will best aid in accomplishing the third Sustainable Development Goal set out by the UN: to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing fo","PeriodicalId":221628,"journal":{"name":"SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133919464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-01DOI: 10.1130/abs/2020sc-343603
Yasmin Jackson
The volcanic rocks of the Catoca Diamond Mine, northeastern Angola, were formed in an eruption ~118 million years ago. Above these rocks, researchers discovered Early Cretaceous mammalian, crocodilian, and sauropod dinosaur footprints in crater lake sediments. These footprints are among the relatively few vertebrate fossils from the Cretaceous Period (145-66 million years ago) found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The ~118 million-year-old age, which is the maximum age of the footprints, is provided by the uranium and lead isotope ratios in the zircon crystals from these volcanic rocks. The presence of dinosaur footprints limits the minimum age to 66 million years ago. Detrital zircons from the sediments were collected for uranium-lead dating because these lake sediments may contain not only the ~118 million-year-old zircons but also zircons from younger eruptions, which could more precisely constrain the maximum age of these sediments. Forty zircons have been analyzed from this sediment sample, yielding an age range of 2.9 billion years ago to 150 million years ago. None of these zircons was ~118 million years old. Work is currently underway to find more zircons and to determine why no ~118 million-year-old zircons have been found in the lake bed sample.
{"title":"When Dinosaurs Walked Through Diamonds: Constraining the Age of Early Cretaceous Footprints in Volcanic Crater Sediments","authors":"Yasmin Jackson","doi":"10.1130/abs/2020sc-343603","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/abs/2020sc-343603","url":null,"abstract":"The volcanic rocks of the Catoca Diamond Mine, northeastern Angola, were formed in an eruption ~118 million years ago. Above these rocks, researchers discovered Early Cretaceous mammalian, crocodilian, and sauropod dinosaur footprints in crater lake sediments. These footprints are among the relatively few vertebrate fossils from the Cretaceous Period (145-66 million years ago) found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The ~118 million-year-old age, which is the maximum age of the footprints, is provided by the uranium and lead isotope ratios in the zircon crystals from these volcanic rocks. The presence of dinosaur footprints limits the minimum age to 66 million years ago. Detrital zircons from the sediments were collected for uranium-lead dating because these lake sediments may contain not only the ~118 million-year-old zircons but also zircons from younger eruptions, which could more precisely constrain the maximum age of these sediments. Forty zircons have been analyzed from this sediment sample, yielding an age range of 2.9 billion years ago to 150 million years ago. None of these zircons was ~118 million years old. Work is currently underway to find more zircons and to determine why no ~118 million-year-old zircons have been found in the lake bed sample.","PeriodicalId":221628,"journal":{"name":"SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research","volume":"47 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133272468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Multi-dimensional distributions of discrete data that resemble ellipsoids arise in numerous areas of science, statistics, and computational geometry. We describe a complete algebraic algorithm to determine the quadratic form specifying the equation of ellipsoid for the boundary of such multi-dimensional discrete distribution. In this approach, the equation of an ellipsoid is reconstructed using a set of matrix equations from low-dimensional projections of the input data. We provide a Mathematica program realizing the full implementation of the ellipsoid reconstruction algorithm in an arbitrary number of dimensions. To demonstrate its many potential uses, the direct reconstruction method is applied to quasi-Gaussian statistical distributions arising in elementary particle production at the Large Hadron Collider.
{"title":"Direct Ellipsoidal Fitting of Discrete Multi-Dimensional Data","authors":"Rafey Anwar, M. Hamilton, P. Nadolsky","doi":"10.25172/JOUR.5.1.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25172/JOUR.5.1.4","url":null,"abstract":"Multi-dimensional distributions of discrete data that resemble ellipsoids arise in numerous areas of science, statistics, and computational geometry. We describe a complete algebraic algorithm to determine the quadratic form specifying the equation of ellipsoid for the boundary of such multi-dimensional discrete distribution. In this approach, the equation of an ellipsoid is reconstructed using a set of matrix equations from low-dimensional projections of the input data. We provide a Mathematica program realizing the full implementation of the ellipsoid reconstruction algorithm in an arbitrary number of dimensions. To demonstrate its many potential uses, the direct reconstruction method is applied to quasi-Gaussian statistical distributions arising in elementary particle production at the Large Hadron Collider.","PeriodicalId":221628,"journal":{"name":"SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"120975759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Volume 6, Issue 2 Digital Front Matter","authors":"","doi":"10.25172/jour.6.2.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25172/jour.6.2.5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":221628,"journal":{"name":"SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126335661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this paper, I argue that the propagandized use of comic books during World War II promoted views among Americans which contributed to antipathy towards Americans of Japanese and German descent. More generally, the goal of the essay is to highlight the importance of comic books as a reflection of the times – they simultaneously influence and are influenced by society’s dominant ideas – and promote the further study of such material. I examine the text and art from three comic book covers dated from 1942-1943. An analysis of these selections suggests that comic books depicted Axis soldiers as savage and animalistic, while Americans are portrayed as trustworthy heroes with whom the reader may easily identify. These conclusions are confirmed by various government sources, which claimed to have been teaching citizens about the war and the enemy, which in reality meant teaching citizens how to hate the enemy. Even more disturbing, comic books were read primarily by children, so these hateful ideas were spread to the most impressionable of all Americans. These very depictions, I argue, reflected and contributed to the general American sentiment towards the war, specifically in relation to the treatment of Japanese-Americans in internment camps and the use of atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Further, the proliferation of comic books and the sole fact that they were used as a propaganda arm by the U.S. Government demonstrates their importance during the period and suggests that they be studied more to further understand their importance to American society.
{"title":"Comics in Action: A Reflection of the Dominant Narrative in World War II","authors":"S. Gutierrez","doi":"10.25172/JOUR.4.1.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25172/JOUR.4.1.10","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, I argue that the propagandized use of comic books during World War II promoted views among Americans which contributed to antipathy towards Americans of Japanese and German descent. More generally, the goal of the essay is to highlight the importance of comic books as a reflection of the times – they simultaneously influence and are influenced by society’s dominant ideas – and promote the further study of such material. I examine the text and art from three comic book covers dated from 1942-1943. An analysis of these selections suggests that comic books depicted Axis soldiers as savage and animalistic, while Americans are portrayed as trustworthy heroes with whom the reader may easily identify. These conclusions are confirmed by various government sources, which claimed to have been teaching citizens about the war and the enemy, which in reality meant teaching citizens how to hate the enemy. Even more disturbing, comic books were read primarily by children, so these hateful ideas were spread to the most impressionable of all Americans. These very depictions, I argue, reflected and contributed to the general American sentiment towards the war, specifically in relation to the treatment of Japanese-Americans in internment camps and the use of atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Further, the proliferation of comic books and the sole fact that they were used as a propaganda arm by the U.S. Government demonstrates their importance during the period and suggests that they be studied more to further understand their importance to American society.","PeriodicalId":221628,"journal":{"name":"SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121866188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Norris lab recently identified two RNA binding proteins required for proper neuron-specific splicing. The lab conducted touch- response behavioral assays to assess the function of these proteins in touch-sensing neurons. After isolating C. elegans worms with specific phenotypes, the lab used automated computer tracking and video analysis to record the worms’ behavior. The behavior of mutant worms differed from that of wild-type worms. The Norris lab also discovered two possible RNA binding protein sites in SAD-1, a neuronal gene implicated in the neuronal development of C. elegans1. These two binding sites may control the splicing of SAD-1. The lab transferred mutated DNA into the genome of wild-type worms by injecting a mutated plasmid. The newly transformed worms fluoresced green, indicating that the two binding sites control SAD-1 splicing.
{"title":"Investigating the Roles of RNA Binding Protein Combinations in Neuronal Function and Organismal Behavior","authors":"Alexa Vandenburg","doi":"10.25172/JOUR.4.1.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25172/JOUR.4.1.7","url":null,"abstract":"The Norris lab recently identified two RNA binding proteins required for proper neuron-specific splicing. The lab conducted touch- response behavioral assays to assess the function of these proteins in touch-sensing neurons. After isolating C. elegans worms with specific phenotypes, the lab used automated computer tracking and video analysis to record the worms’ behavior. The behavior of mutant worms differed from that of wild-type worms.\u0000\u0000The Norris lab also discovered two possible RNA binding protein sites in SAD-1, a neuronal gene implicated in the neuronal development of C. elegans1. These two binding sites may control the splicing of SAD-1. The lab transferred mutated DNA into the genome of wild-type worms by injecting a mutated plasmid. The newly transformed worms fluoresced green, indicating that the two binding sites control SAD-1 splicing.","PeriodicalId":221628,"journal":{"name":"SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research","volume":"359 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115884635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Professional development in its most traditional form is a classroom setting with a lecturer and an overwhelming amount of information. It is no surprise, then, that informal professional development away from institutions and on the teacher's own terms is a growing phenomenon due to an increased presence of educators on social media. These communities of educators use hashtags to broadcast to each other, with general hashtags such as #edchat having the broadest audience. However, many math educators use the hashtags #ITeachMath and #MTBoS, communities I was interested in learning more about. I built a Python script that used Tweepy to connect to Twitter's API, using try/except blocks to catch HTTP status codes that Twitter occasionally passes through the API. When it was finally completed, a sample of such tweets was collected and then processed using Python to determine polarity, objectivity, and word frequency, first as a group and then by choice of hashtag. Additional analysis included Latent Dirichlet Allocation and hierarchical clustering, and conversations between individuals were analyzed for topic and complexity to understand the extent of interactions. This information will be used to determine the extent of professional development (PD) that teachers do on Twitter simply by actively participating in such communities and ways to improve informal PD. It was determined that there is a significant amount of professional development opportunities on Twitter, but they are muddled by a lot of other content. Further research into the types and the frequency of collaborations on top of the existing latent topics could provide insight into the applications of informal professional development.
{"title":"Informal Professional Development on Twitter: Exploring the Online Communities of Mathematics Educators","authors":"Jaymie Ruddock","doi":"10.25172/JOUR5.1.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25172/JOUR5.1.3","url":null,"abstract":"Professional development in its most traditional form is a classroom setting with a lecturer and an overwhelming amount of information. It is no surprise, then, that informal professional development away from institutions and on the teacher's own terms is a growing phenomenon due to an increased presence of educators on social media. These communities of educators use hashtags to broadcast to each other, with general hashtags such as #edchat having the broadest audience. However, many math educators use the hashtags #ITeachMath and #MTBoS, communities I was interested in learning more about. I built a Python script that used Tweepy to connect to Twitter's API, using try/except blocks to catch HTTP status codes that Twitter occasionally passes through the API. When it was finally completed, a sample of such tweets was collected and then processed using Python to determine polarity, objectivity, and word frequency, first as a group and then by choice of hashtag. Additional analysis included Latent Dirichlet Allocation and hierarchical clustering, and conversations between individuals were analyzed for topic and complexity to understand the extent of interactions. This information will be used to determine the extent of professional development (PD) that teachers do on Twitter simply by actively participating in such communities and ways to improve informal PD. It was determined that there is a significant amount of professional development opportunities on Twitter, but they are muddled by a lot of other content. Further research into the types and the frequency of collaborations on top of the existing latent topics could provide insight into the applications of informal professional development.","PeriodicalId":221628,"journal":{"name":"SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132618122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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