thesis

In Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy depicts characters who are especially sensitive to the suffering of all living creatures and thus engages his novel in the topic of animal rights. In this project I examine the human-animal relationships in Hardy's novel in terms of the ideas of two different philosophers: Peter Singer and Cora Diamond. I argue that, while Singer at first seems to provide a useful model for understanding these relationships in Jude, Diamond's account of these relationships is ultimately a more helpful tool for understanding Hardy's ideas about animals. Diamond helps us see that Hardy believes people should help all living creatures in pain, no matter the cost to themselves, not because they recognize their suffering, but because they recognize a shared commonality with all sentient creatures.

Limestone Creek is an unincorporated community existing within the planning and zoning boundary lines of Jupiter, Florida. Contrasting the economically flush and rapidly developing surrounding municipality of Jupiter, Limestone Creek is a predominantly African American community with an apparent economic gap that leaves the community untouched by development. This thesis project attempts to capture the voices of Limestone Creek and Jupiter residents pertaining to their accounts with an unincorporated area surrounded by a much wealthier municipality. Interviews were conducted with the residents of the community, Palm Beach County and the Town of Jupiter residents and officials, in an effort to explore the existence of an isolated African American community. The research resulted in varied responses to the idea of incorporation because of lack of funds. Conclusions to this research reveal that, to the members of the community, while race underlies all discussions of incorporation the more immediate issue is about securing basic services and infrastructure.

The centrosome is a dynamic and highly active organelle within the cell. It plays a pivotal role in mitosis driving several of the physical changes that are taking place. The centrosome self-replicates before mitosis in order to set up two spindle poles on opposite sides of the cell. This leads to the creation of a mother and daughter centrosomes within a cell that have distinct components. This project will examine the recruitment of proteins to the centrosome as a cell progresses through the cell cycle. The proteins examined are (Sd(B-tubulin, (Sf(B-tubulin, Nek 2, Centrin2, p150Glued, EB-1, and dynein intermediate chain. In addition, chromosome arrangement was determined. By examining these proteins we hope to establish a logical order for the interactions of these proteins and their key contributions to cell cycle progression and completion, specifically dealing with the development of the mother and daughter centrosomes.

DNA profiling is a newly developed technique used by law enforcement agencies in the United States as a form of individual identification to prove whether a suspect is guilty. Due to the fact that it is a newly developed technology there is little legislation to regulate its proper uses and restrictions. Therefore restrictions are largely determined by court decisions as to whether DNA profiling violates constitutional rights. Current decisions in state and federal district courts tend to permit use of DNA profiling without a warrant. These decisions violate principles of privacy guaranteed by the US Constitution as interpreted in pre-DNA fourth amendment cases. By drawing on fourth amendment case law and commentaries, I shall argue that while in some cases no warrant is required for DNA profiling - when it is conducted upon people who have been convicted of a felony - or all other people, a warrant should be required.

In 1987, Florida passed a Right to Carry Law, allowing citizens to purchase a concealed weapons license. Bill proponents believe that an armed citizenry will deter crime. This study examines the relationship between gun control legislation and violent crime in Florida. By using multiple regression analysis, I conclude that gun control legislation has a significant effect on homicide rates, and the presence of national economic conditions is associated with violent crime in Florida.

Most tumors contain multiple karyotypes due to genomic instability gained through chromosomal segregational defects. The variability of genomic changes within a population makes it difficult to study specific processes without the existence of confounding mutations. My project is to create a model system for observation of mitotic defects, specifically multipolar spindles, in a normal cell line, where the genome is intact. Induction of centrosome amplification is required for formation of multipolar spindles. Treatments with colcemid showed a 10% increase in abnormal centrosome numbers over control. However, treatment with hydroxyurea and transfection of hMPSl showed little increase. Extra centrosomes are insufficient to drive multipolarity, therefore, I am using siRNA-mediated knockdown of Nek2 or HSET to decluster the extra centrosomes. Successful declustering will preferably show an increase in multipolar frequency, allowing us to study the formation and resolution of these structres to better understand how they contribute to aneuploidy and tumor progression.

There are several competing theoretical explanations for why Pentecostal Protestantism is growing rapidly in Latin America including affinities with the indigenous religions of the region, a recent increase in the supply of Pentecostalism due to missionary movements, a reduction in government regulation of religion, social anomie theory, and the pull of economic upward mobility through conversion. This study analyses the growth of Pentecostal Protestantism in the case of Mexico, utilizing state by state comparative data measuring these variables. While higher percentages of indigenous residents are correlated significantly with Pentecostal growth, government regulation and supply are less so. Social anomie and economic upward mobility are not conducive to studying in minute detail but on a larger scale seem to serve as broad explanations for Pentecostal growth. Theories explaining Pentecostal growth should be revised to reflect these convergent factors and focus on the reasons for the divergent growth patterns.

The progression of cancerous cells towards a more aggressive tumor can be linked to external elements called carcinogens. The goal of this project is to examine the correlation between exposure to specific carcinogens and an increase of mitotic defects. These defects can manifest as lagging chromosomes, multipolar spindles, and anaphase bridges. Some of these instabilities are associated with the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are known to damage DNA. The potential for damage to the genome can be averted via antioxidants. Using the oral cancer cell line UPCI:SCC103, we established a baseline for the mitotic defects in the absence and presence of various ROS-inducing carcinogens using DAPI-stained fixed cells examined by immunofluorescent microscopy, The cells were treated with varying concentrations of the antioxidants, Vitamin C, (Sb(B-Carotene, and Vitamin E. The reactive oxygen scavengers significantly reduced the number of mitotic defects. A possible link between the carcinogens and lagging chromosomes was established.

The Marvel character Captain America was created in 1941 as an unabashed, patriotic icon who was meant to inspire Americans in the face of war. At the end of World War II, however, American identity underwent a split between diplomatic "prophetic realism" and aggressive "zealous nationalism." The inherent dilemma for Captain America quickly became which side of the American psyche he was to represent. Marvel has dealt with the problem of representation by allowing the original Captain America to be a prophetic realist, while introducing "doubles" of Captain America who act as zealous nationalists. In each era of Captain America's publication, the conflict between the real Captain and his zealous doubles has provided a dialogue on the American spirit, while allowing for meaningful speculation on what the future holds for this country.

Democracy promotion is an important tenet of United States foreign policy. However, U.S. democracy promotion efforts are conditioned by geopolitical concerns, economic goals, and security interests. This thesis analyzes the impact of U.S. foreign policy in Chile, Colombia, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Evidence from these cases suggests that United States foreign policy has contributed to the growth of unhealthy or pseudo-democracies in Latin America because frequently the policy reinforces the political and economic power of entrenched elites or the military. These groups, whose interests more closely align with U.S interests, are often uncommitted to supporting policy that promotes human rights and equitable distribution of wealth and power or that demands universal political liberties. Democracy is promoted rhetorically rather than in practice, and consequently is unresponsive and illegitimate. Future democracy promotion efforts by the United States, if they are to be successful, must overcome this illegitimacy by compensating for the conflicts that conditioned democracy produces.