Aisthesis: The Interdisciplinary Honors Journal

they told us we could be weightless (they lied)

Jenna Riedl — 2023-05-17

2022 | Oil and acrylic on wood panel

Through abstract paintings, I attempt to convey a specific feeling without the more digestible communication of representational images or writing. I concentrate primarily on themes of the body, particularly the queer and female body, and how bodies struggle to simply exist in the world without being judged, edited, restricted, degraded, or demonized. This piece began as an examination of the ways gravity affects paint—the ways it splatters, rolls, and sinks into the wood panel. As layers built up, I began to imagine the space as weightless. Not only were the white circles floating through space, but it felt like a window into a truly weight-less plane—a place where the concept of weight and all its attendant standards did not apply or even exist. As we try to create a world where bodies are considered worthy of respect in their current state, not just in some future, unattainably perfect state, I think it is crucial for people to imagine the euphoric calm that comes from existing without the need for justification or apology.

The Not-So Livable Forest: An Environmental Autobiography

Ainsley Gill — 2023-05-17

Author and Artist Biographies

Author and Artist Biographies — 2023-05-17

Don't Fight the Power: Expressions of Nationalism and Patriotism in Chinese Hip-Hop Lyrics

Lily Nguyen — 2023-05-17

From the birth of hip-hop music in the Bronx, hip-hop lyrics have historically invoked messages of anti-establishment protest, but in 2016, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to sanitize and co-opt hip-hop music as a form of government propaganda. This research explores how contemporary Chinese hip-hop artists incorporate nationalist and patriotic ideology into the lyrics of hip-hop songs. Previous scholars have debated whether it is possible to empirically distinguish between nationalism (belief in the superiority of one’s country) and patriotism (love of one’s country). Though research on the prevalence of nationalism in Chinese hip-hop exists, there is little distinction between nationalism and patriotism. The project utilized thematic coding on pro-China lyrics for nationalist and patriotic elements on a purposeful selection of Chinese hip-hop songs’ lyrics. I then examined these codes for correlations between occurrences of a thematic code. This research reveals a tendency for nationalist Chinese hip-hop songs to emphasize divisions between Chinese citizens and foreign peoples, whereas patriotic songs focus on the nation’s own well-being and accomplishments. Given the dangerous consequences nationalism can lead to, such as war, distinguishing between nationalism and the less threatening patriotism holds significance when evaluating the Chinese government’s push for nationalism in Chinese hip-hop songs.

The Effects of Colostrum Quality on Health and Development of Dairy Calves

Madeline Kinsella — 2023-05-17

Understanding dairy calf growth and development is essential to ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality products to consumers throughout the nation. The antibody-rich milk—termed colostrum—administered to calves within their first 24 hours of life has become a key factor in increased calf health from birth through long-term development. This research analyzed the relationship between colostrum quality and passive immunity transfer proteins found in blood samples taken from calves between 48-72 hours after birth. Brix refractometry was utilized to measure protein content in these blood samples which were recorded as Brix scores. Another aspect of the project investigated new innovations for colostrum administration aimed at decreasing bacteria counts for higher-quality feeding to provide new data to farmers regarding more advantageous colostrum procedures. Blood samples were taken from 258 calves born over a seven-month period to find Brix scores, which were then compared with lab-tested total protein content and immunoglobulin levels from these blood samples, as well as recorded health events. Results expressed a significant positive correlation between Brix scores and lab-tested total protein content and immunoglobulin levels, as well as a significant correlation of higher Brix scores resulting in lower frequency of pneumonia contracted after 90 days of age. A newer colostrum procedure of administration through use of a single-use O-shaped bag resulted in a higher average Brix score than traditional methods of a reusable pitcher, suggesting that this innovation increases colostrum quality by decreasing the chances for bacteria replication. These results help provide dairy and beef farmers with essential information on the importance of good colostrum management and recommendations for procedures to improve their existing programs.

Architectural Site and Imagined Landscape: The Foundation Lore and Perpetuated Mythology of the Round City of Baghdad

Samantha Oleschuk — 2023-05-17

The eighth-century Abbasid capital, the Round City of Baghdad, existed in its perfect, circular form for a short period of time. However, even after its ruin, its physical shape and the reasons for its establishment were vehemently remembered in a manner unrivaled in the dense history of Islamic cities; this round city became storied. While the intertwined legends of the city’s site, foundation, and founding caliph established (and perhaps exaggerated) through historical descriptions and stories enable architectural reconstructions, this foundation lore opened a realm of continued glorifications, reflections, and lamentations of the early Abbasid capital in literature succeeding its construction and ruin. Research and writing by scholars across disciplines including history, literature, and art and architecture history delve into the city’s foundation and its mythology as separate entities. Diverging from this dichotomy, this research draws a connection between the legends of its foundation and its continued mythology to suggest that the Round City of Baghdad must be studied simultaneously as an architectural site and an imagined landscape.

Defending ESG Fiduciary Duty

Katherine Held — 2023-05-17

This paper defends the validity of ESG Investing (Environmental, Social, Governance Investing) as an advisor’s fiduciary responsibility. The financial industry is increasingly including ESG considerations when calculating the intrinsic value of a stock. In opposition to this valuation trend, nineteen state attorney generals (the Nineteen) have attacked ESG, challenging its legality by claiming that it violates state and federal law and the fiduciary responsibilities that hold investment advisors accountable to their clients. After identifying key elements of fiduciary responsibility that are being ignored by the Nineteen’s position, several key and relevant United States statutes are reviewed and applied to their argument. In doing so, it becomes evident that the Nineteen do not have the best interest of investors in mind, not only because they violate key fiduciary elements, but also because their position would prevent investors the opportunity to benefit from higher yielding Return on Equity portfolios.

Cross-Cultural Comparison of Climate Change Opinions, Beliefs, and Risk Perceptions in Morocco and the United States

Isaac Conrad — 2023-05-17

As the climate crisis grows more severe, social science has emerged as a necessary tool to respond to climate change. More specifically, understanding human opinion and behavior is crucial for governments and institutions to adapt to climate change effectively. To better understand opinions, researchers have deployed various survey, audience segmentation, and qualitative typology strategies; however, much scholarly attention has been focused on industrialized, Western nations. Morocco has emerged as a leader on the international climate-policy stage, but the climate change opinions and beliefs of Moroccan citizens are unknown. In this article, I use the same survey, audience segmentation, and qualitative typology techniques to develop a greater understanding of Moroccan climate change opinions and subsequently compare them to American opinions. Findings indicate that Moroccans are more likely to believe in climate change, perceive risk from climate change, support bold climate policy, and discuss climate change with their immediate social circles. Double the percentage of Moroccans fall within the audience segment most concerned about climate change, and cultural differences likely play a large role in pro-climate motivations.

Analysis of Novel Unknown D. melanogaster Mutation trex

Sallianne Roher — 2023-05-17

In this study, a mutation of unknown identity with suspected association with the D. melanogaster gene vestigial was examined in order to determine its characteristics, mode of inheritance, and molecular nature and function. Flies of this mutation, appropriately named trex, display wings smaller in size with a crumpled appearance. Wild type mutant crosses (WTM1 and WTM2) were performed first to determine if the trex phenotype is dominant or recessive by crossing wild-type females with trex males, and then to determine whether it is inherited in an autosomal or sex-linked manner. Mapping crosses were performed using three marker genes (purple, black, and brown) in order to estimate trex’s location within the genome from the resulting recombination frequencies. The association of trex with the given marker genes by genetic linkage was analyzed using chi-square analysis and a p-value test of significance. After extracting DNA from wild type, trex, and reciprocal cross progeny flies, polymerase chain reactions and gel electrophoresis were performed in order to deduce characteristics of the mutation of trex. Further, using BLAST bioinformatic analyses, wild-type and trex gene sequences and protein products were compared to analyze the molecular nature of trex. trex was found to be inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern as evidenced by the results of WTM1 and WTM2, both of which produced an F1 generation that displayed only the wild-type presentation of wing morphology. From the mapping crosses’ recombination frequencies and statistical analysis, it was estimated that trex is located at 2:68 within the genome. Analysis by PCR and gel electrophoresis revealed that the trex mutation is apparent as the addition of genomic material in comparison to the wild-type molecular presentation. These findings were further supported by BLAST analysis, which revealed that the trex mutation was due to the insertion of retrotransposon 412 within the coding sequence. BLAST also revealed trex to be allelic to vestigial, which interacts with a protein produced by scalloped (sd), completing a transcription factor complex regulating wing development. When mutated, as in trex flies, vestigial is unable to perform its normal function and we see phenotypically abnormal wing formation.

Alternate Arbitrios: Status, Justice, and Decline in Chapters I-XVIII of The Second Part of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha

Petra Ellerby — 2023-05-17

J.H. Elliott's seminal essay on "Self-Perception and Decline in Early Seventeenth-Century Spain" opens with a letter from the Count-Duke of Olivares, an impassioned rejoinder to the accusation by an elderly countryman that "se va todo a fonda—'the ship is going down.'" Enumerating a list of national successes to counter his compatriot's dire vision, Olivares seeks to frame Spain's foundering fortunes within actionable terms, serving as a proxy for the countless arbitristas (reformers) who composed "tracts and treatises, published and unpublished, which [aimed] to analyse and prescribe remedies for Castile's many woes." But as Elliott argues, Olivares' efforts were for naught. While the reformers' reactions to an approaching catastrophe can be considered both expected and understandable, they now function as a sort of intellectual archive for the circumscribed worldview that presaged Spain's progressive fall.

A similarly unsettling atmosphere of decay and disillusionment is introduced in the initial pages of Miguel de Cervantes' 1615 Second Part of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, although the novel's response to this disquieting shift does not conform to the historical choices catalogued within Elliott's study. On the part of several key characters, an awareness of decline is coupled with corresponding forays into cultural commentary, exercises in (more productive) argumentation which act to highlight critical questions involving status, stature, ethics and action. As is true of Quixote's first volume, the conduct of Don Quixote himself serves to structure these assorted explorations, though a number of incisive assessments also stem from each episode's more peripheral inhabitants.5 But while the text's core concerns are addressed via the words and deeds of disparate actors, introduced in a meandering, equivocal, and piecemeal manner, it is this essay's argument that there is a deep associative—and perhaps causal—relationship between decline/disenchantment, the re-evaluation of hierarchy/lineage/power, and a foregrounding of right behavior or just action on the part of Cervantes' cast.

In accordance with this overarching claim, close readings of a few critical passages will be combined with an inquiry into the opinions expressed by Cervantes (as narrator), Don Quixote, and the wife of Quixote's squire. Within each arena, an engagement with darkness or decline—via poverty/precarity for Cervantes and Teresa Panza, by means of Golden-Age desengaño for Quixote—engenders both a reckoning with extant status-systems and a corresponding re-articulation of personal integrity. These incidental efforts at ethical 'revision' cannot be directly tied with the work of "Self-Perception's" arbitristas, but their narrative effect does function to provide a modified mirror for Elliott's argument. In his dramatization of an alternate national reaction, an unchosen path of reform, Cervantes constructs an imaginary Spain that is made real within the lives and minds of Quixote's characters.

The Effects of Fiber Arts on Mental Health: Happiness, Self-Esteem, and Emotional Regulation

Greta Hermann — 2023-05-17

Fiber arts have been shown to have positive effects on mental health and are utilized in different types of therapies with different populations. In the current study, a survey was created and distributed on Facebook via snowball sampling to explore the different levels or types of mental health benefits that may exist across a variety of factors. The scales utilized within the survey were the Rosenburg Self-Esteem Scale, the Emotional Regulation Scale for Artistic and Creative Activities Scale, and the Subjective Happiness Scale. It was hypothesized that increased ability level, the reason why individuals craft, group membership, and the type of craft would increase perceived mental health benefits; in addition, it was hypothesized that the age of the fiber artist would not have an impact. There were 97 total participants. The age of the participants was a potential moderating variable in the perceived mental health benefits across the factors, as the survey compared across age-groups and could not account for various life stage differences. Community membership increased self-happiness ratings, happiness and self-esteem both increased with experience level and frequency, amateurs utilized more emotional regulation strategies, needlework and stress-relief as a reason for learning were correlated with poor self-esteem, and quilting and sewing were correlated with higher emotional regulation. The present study added to literature by addressing the mental health benefits of fiber arts and suggesting future uses in art therapy.

The Martyrdom of Carole Lombard and the Release of To Be or Not to Be (1942)

Sophia Podolsky — 2023-05-17

While Ernst Lubitsch’s Nazi satire To Be or Not to Be (1942) was not well-received at the time of its release, scholars and critics have embraced the film in the decades since its release for its erudite deconstruction of the performativity of fascism. This essay departs from the previous literature by examining how the death of star Carole Lombard shortly before the film’s release may have impacted the film’s reception. Evidence from archival documents, including fan magazine articles and the film’s pressbook, illuminates how advertisements for To Be obscured the film’s overt politicization in favor of an “apolitical” patriotism that Lombard exemplified through her participation in state-sponsored defense bond rallies. The incongruence between advertisements for To Be and the film’s content itself only serves to illuminate the film’s questions of what political entertainment should be, a debate that Hollywood industry executives hoped to suppress.

State Legislation’s Impact on LGBTQ+ Student Wellbeing in U.S. Schools

Sam Markley — 2023-05-17

This paper analyzes proposed bills from the 2023 legislative session. It focused on bills affecting LGBTQ+ youth in the school setting and identifies 46 bills relevant to this policy area. The paper categorizes these bills based on their relation to harming protective factors in schools that may aid LGBTQ+ students. Finally, this paper ends by relating these bills to the state of LGBTQ+ youth mental health and argues that a correlation is seen between the introduction of these bills and increased rates of depression and suicidality.

The Relationship between Cognitive Function and Bilingualism in Young Adults

Sierra S. Swenson — 2023-05-17

The study of bilingualism presents itself as a complex one. Within various disciplines, such as linguistics, the investigation of bilingualism has demonstrated societal benefits in academia, the workforce, and cultural relations. When identifying advantages in terms of cognitive function, a small body of research has been produced in the field of neuroscience. The current study aims to determine whether bilingual participants demonstrate higher cognitive functioning by result of their performance on neuropsychological working memory tasks. Thirty-two undergraduate students from the University of Minnesota-Duluth enrolled in the study. Participants were asked to complete various neuropsychological working memory tasks. In conjunction with the tasks, EEG technology was utilized to record the live neural activity of participants by use of facial electrodes and a specialized brain cap. Of the 32 participants enrolled in the study, 14 presented as bilingual and 18 as monolingual. Effectively, results indicate differences in cognitive performance and mental health variables between monolingual and bilingual participants.