College of Social Work

: Assessing the Accuracy of ForDisc; This study analyzes the classification of Spaniard remains in ForDisc 3.1. This analysis is a broader comment on how anthropologists and the public define the term “Hispanic.” It was hypothesized that the Spaniard remains will classify primarily as white since they are European though culturally, they may align more with the term Hispanic. 31 females and 30 males from the Wamba Ossuary were analyzed in ForDisc 3.1. The primary classification outcome was White, followed by Hispanic with a relatively high rate of Black and Japanese classifications. Spaniards functioned as a parental population to Latin America, therefore they do not have the admixture seen in other Hispanic populations. The Japanese and Black misclassification rates of this study are comparable to those seen in other Hispanic populations, putting into question the current explanations behind these rates which are predicated on high admixture rates., ForDisc, Forensic anthropology, ethnicity, ancestry, Hispanic, Spain

: Echo Chambers of Gratification; The Web, through its extensive use and the creation of unique platforms, has created multiple unique ecologies for people to populate and inform. Some of these unique ecologies thrive on dissent and the stimulation of conversation, which cancel culture is an example of. In various instances of cancel culture, unique ecologies are further complicated through the inclusion of varying opinions and arguments to create a nuanced conversation online. In a discourse analysis of a case, with Jenna Mourey/Jenna Marbles the case, this thesis seeks to witness the ways these ecologies can be further complicated through non-human influence. Although traditional rhetorical analyses that focus on audiences are intended for human audiences, this thesis suggests such analyses should consider algorithms as an additional audience that can complicate and inform users on issues that are guided by specific agendas, i.e., perspectives on political correctness or alleged sensitivity to interpreted racist acts. Since platform algorithms are user-informed, it is reasonable to consider that biases that may either inform them or become reinforced by them, which is the central tenet guiding this study. By considering algorithms as an audience, and analyzing a case study of an instance of Internet “cancel culture,” this thesis offers insight into one way in which platform algorithms may direct users to accept or reject specific conclusions regarding Jenna Mourey and the verdict regarding her multiple examples of racist and misogynistic behavior. Over four chapters, I ask and answer the following principal question: What does one instance of “canceling” potentially reveal about how Internet cancel culture informs or directs the political perspectives of young social media users?, Discourse Analysis, Web, Internet Sphere, Audience, Platform Algorithms, Internet Studies, Media Literacy, Cancel Culture

: Efficient Computation of American-style Option Prices with Costly Short Selling; We study the problem of pricing American-style options. This paper attempts to price an American style put option with short selling costs by considering the related obstacle problem for a free boundary PDE. We then propose a deep neural network, by means of the Deep Galerkin Method (DGM), to calculate the expected option price utilizing market inputs in a fast and robust way., Black-Scholes, deep learning, neural networks, Deep Galerkin Method, quantitative finance, option pricing, short selling costs

: Impact of Female Financial Inclusion on Female Entrepreneurship; This thesis evaluates the statistical relationship between female financial inclusion (FINDEX) and female entrepreneurship (GEDI), controlling for a country’s level of gender inequality (GII), digital adoption (DAI), gross national income ratio of women to men (GNI Ratio), and economic development (GDP). Financial inclusion was calculated using the Global Financial Index (2017), which provides comprehensive data on individuals' access to financial services globally. For women to start their own businesses, they need to have access to safe and reliable financial services such as loans, bank accounts, savings, etc. This paper hypothesizes there exists a positive correlation between the level of a country’s female financial inclusion and female entrepreneurship. I found that females’ borrowing from a financial institution has the greatest positive association with female entrepreneurship. A one percentage point increase in female borrowing is statistically significant and expected to increase a country's female entrepreneurship index score by 0.35-points. Females saving at a financial institution is also statistically significant and suggests a positive effect of a 0.138-point increase in FEI scores. Having a bank account at a financial institution is the only financial inclusion variable that has no statistically significant association with female entrepreneurship. My findings show that increasing women’s access to loans is statistically associated with high potential female entrepreneurs and more favorable entrepreneurial ecosystems for women., Financial inclusion, Female entrepreneurship, FINDEX, Gender inequality, Gender gaps, Financial services, Entrepreneurship

: Mechanistic Insights Behind the Different Response of Pancreatic Cancer Cells to Various ECMs; Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer with an 8.5% survival rate, which is characterized by its high degree of fibrosis. Fibrosis or desmoplasia within tumor results in the formation of fibrous tissue around the disease, which is mainly composed of various extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Integrins are mediators between the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix interactions with each other. Some findings in our lab show that exposure of PDAC cell lines to various ECM proteins leads to the regulation of integrins expression levels. With new gene editing technology, this project will use the dCas9 CRISPRa/i system to modulate the different responses of deregulated integrins in different ECM within primary tumor MiaPaCa-2 cells. The observations will then be quantified to propose a mechanism for the different interactions of integrins with different ECMs and their significance to fibrosis. Currently, this project has not yet uncovered the role of the modulated integrins, but future works will modulate the integrins to propose an integrin signaling pathway that has been disturbed and/or deregulated in ECM response. The signaling pathway can become a source of information for targeted integrin therapies that can normalize signaling pathways that inhibit and or repressor cancer progression and chemoresistance., PDAC, integrin, fibrosis, integrin signaling, CRISPR, gene editing, MiaPaCa-2 cells, ECM

: Molecular Analysis of Hybridization in Two North Florida Cricket Frogs, Acris creptians and Acris gryllus; Hybridization is the process in which evolutionarily distinct individuals come into contact with each other and interbreed. Hybridization can be evaluated using phenotypic traits from each species. Levels of gene transfer can also be utilized. Hybridization is a universal process and most commonly occurs between closely related species. Cricket frogs (genus: Acris) are an anuran species distributed throughout the southeastern U.S. This genus is split into three individual species, Acris crepitans, Acris gryllus, and Acris blanchardi. We aimed to test the levels of hybridization between A. gryllus and A. crepitans within the Big Bend region of northern Florida where the two species interact in sympatry. We sampled frogs from 10 different sites with 67 samples total. To assess hybridization, we extracted and sequenced DNA for thousands of loci and conducted several population generic and hybridization analyses. We hypothesized that there can be one of three possible outcomes: 1) there are strong species boundaries between Acris crepitans and Acris gryllus, 2) that there is unidirectional gene flow between Acris crepitans to Acris gryllus or vice versa, and that the other species has little to no gene flow, or 3) there is equal gene flow between the two species. Overall, we found little support for hybridization where the two species cooccur, suggesting strong reproductive boundaries between A. crepitans and A. gryllus., Hybridization, Cricket frogs, hybrid zones, speciation

: Rapping Politics; Literature concerning the interconnectedness of politics and popular media has rapidly gained traction over the past few years as popular media scholars like John Street and Regina Lawrence interpret, contextualize, and define the theoretical Venn diagram between politics and media. This thesis answers the question: Is Marshal Mathers, or, as he is most famously known, Eminem, a political figure? Eminem has been a familiar face in the rap industry for over two decades; his success and longevity as a White man in a Black-dominated enterprise have been the locus of multiple analyses. Indeed, the implications of his race on popular hip-hop music comprise a majority of the discourse surrounding Eminem's career. However, scarce, if any, research is committed to analyzing the extent of Eminem’s active participation in American politics. The literature dedicated to Eminem hyper-focused on his race and the constructs of whiteness in African American music, often failing to examine Eminem’s engagement in contemporary politics. On the contrary, I examine him as a political actor, not despite his celebrity status but through it, concluding that Eminem fulfills all the characteristics of a politicized celebrity. Thus, my thesis not only supplements the scholarship on political entertainment but, arguably, provides novel evidence for the affair between politics and popular media., Eminem, politics, popular media

: Sexual Socialization Through Modern Forms of Media; sex education, sexuality, gender, social media, fanfiction, sexual behavior, digital media, reproductive rights

: Structural Determination of Kvβ by Cryogenic Electron Microscopy; Voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels are tetrameric assemblies with cytosolic N- and C- termini. By attaching to a portion of the N terminus of channel polypeptides, auxiliary Kvβ subunits form complexes with Kv channels (Yang, 2001). Kvβ subunits have a 4:4 stoichiometry with Kv channels, but structural analyses of Kv proteins without Kv channels have revealed more than one oligomeric assembly: a tetrameric or octameric complex (Spear, 2015). Here we seek to discover a complete and coherent picture of the Kvβ subunit in hopes to develop a greater understanding of how the different molecular architectures of Kvβ are used to modulate Kv channel trafficking and potassium transport activities. In the present investigation, we have cloned, expressed, and purified Kvβ for biochemical characterization. Additionally, the Kvβ proteins have been imaged by cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine the structure of the complex and characterize the tetramer/octamer equilibrium. The latter studies are ongoing. We hypothesize that the equilibrium between the octamer and tetrameric forms of Kvβ and the subsequent binding to Kv channels in vivo, represents a new mechanism for the regulation of Kv channel activity by Kvβ., Voltage-gated potassium channels, Octameric, Tetrameric, Kvβ, Cryogenic Electron Microscopy,

: War Against Black Males and The Law; Thomas Jefferson once said, “we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal”. Shortly after this statement America soon discovered that “all men” pertained to the average white male. After years of developments, the U.S. begin to slowly accept minorities as equals in society. However, research displays that there is still a racial disparity between White and Black men. This paper will observe the racial imbalance in society by closely examining the data collected of those individuals in the U.S prison system. It will also illustrate how drug laws play a major role in the incarceration of Black men. Finally, this paper will focus on how improving drug laws to be more equal could lessen the racial imbalance in the U.S. prison system., Incarceration Rates, Cocaine, War on drugs, Whites, Blacks,

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