Honors Scholars
The Honors Scholar project is designed for Honors students who want to complete an advanced research project in addition to their other Honors Program requirements. Students collaborate with Temple faculty during their final semesters to develop, research, and present their findings at a Temple, regional or national conference or public forum.
Full text versions of past projects can be found in the Honors Program office in Tuttleman 204. For more information on how you can complete an Honors Scholars project, contact an Honors advisor.
Project Proposal Form
Honors Scholars Project Abstracts 2011
Donald Bermudez, History
Mentor: Rita Krueger
Title of Project: Keystone of the Keystone: The Falls of the Delaware and Bucks County 1609 - 1692
Abstract: This project investigates the process in which three nations influenced the development of the Delaware Valley during the 17th century. The Dutch, English and Lenape Indians encountered each throughout the 17th century, and together they developed the foundational settlements of the present day states of Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Specifically, this project focuses on the development of the settlements that later became parts of present day Bucks County. The establishment and development of these settlements, which later became towns and municipalities of Bucks County, was significant for three reasons; first, they all were foundational settlements of state of Pennsylvania that was established by William Penn in 1682, secondly, these Bucks County settlements were the last frontier of the Delaware Valley i.e. those which Europeans had not secured from the Lenape Indians, and third, these Bucks County settlement served as important links along a key transportation route to New Jersey. With the settling of Bucks County, a continuous land route from Virginia to Manhattan was established; specifically, the land at the Falls (present day Falls Township and Morrisville, both in Bucks County) was used as area for a ferry to Trenton, which was subsequently linked to a route that led to another ferry to Manhattan. As a subsidiary theme, the historiography of 17th century Delaware Valley is critically analyzed and assesed; research on the topic is noticeably lacking, especially studies focusing on Bucks County. Keystone of the Keystone provides a narrative about the land which became Bucks County, from the earliest time that Europeans discovered it until the close of the 17th century. No other project has ever provided a complete picture. Papers and books related to the topic have usually focused on a specific actor and, or a certain time period within the 17th century. And often, the role of the Lenape is downplayed or ignored; this is not the case for Keystone because the Lenape Indians played an essential and significant role in making the settling of Bucks County by developing a transportation route to Manhattan through that area. The Europeans learned of route from the Lenape. Overall, the project will provide a narrative of a time and place overlooked by other historians, and re-investigate a topic that has been ignored.
Taruja Deshmukh, International Business/Risk Management
Title of Project: Game Theory and Patent Litigation: Formulating More Effective Solutions
Abstract: The mathematical theory of games is an area of economics that has to do with the underlying strategy used in “games” and making decisions based on the decisions of other players in the game. Game theory is now applied to many areas, including war, biology, and digital media.
We are going to apply the ideas of game theory to develop a possible solution for patent litigation cases where the ownership of the patent is in question. We will use game theory to try and create an alternative solution to the typical “winner-take-all” scenario that usually occurs in these lawsuits. Our ultimate goal will be to formulate an allocation procedure used in the arbitration stage that would not just result in a total win or total loss for either party. Instead, the system would employ some proportion to divide settlements between the two.
Having this type of a system in place would also provide reassurance for companies to continue investing in research and development, knowing that a later patent dispute would not necessary end up in only a 0% or 100% gain. In terms of game theory, this means each party would still have a dominant strategy of investing into R&D for a patent because of the reduced risks, rather than avoiding investing into R&D for a patent because the risks of losing a possible lawsuit are too great.
Anna Dini, English/Italian
Mentor: Sue Wells
Title of Project: Reconciling Faith and Astrology in Early Modern Europe: Marsilio Ficino’s Influence on John Milton’s On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity
Abstract: The pre-reformation Catholic Church often condemned the discipline of astrology as a heretical practice. To counter these charges, Marsilio Ficino delivered the sermon De stella magorum (1482), defending the Magi’s use of astrology to find Christ at the nativity according to the gospel of Matthew. Ficino endured severe hostility from the Roman Curia; however, his defense of the “gentile” discipline of astrology remained in circulation after the reformation. John Milton adopted Ficino’s theories on astrology in his poem, On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity (1629). For Milton, the Magi are harbingers for the Protestant England, which is also not a part of the nation of Israel, God’s original chosen people. Since Milton directly addresses his audience in his “Nativity Ode,” he invites his contemporary audience to accept the new Messiah, just as the Magi had. By comparing the works of Ficino and Milton, we can understand how pre-Reformation commentary framed the Magi, the practice of astrology, and their significance in post-Reformation England.
Joyce YunSun Kang, Political Science/Asian Studies
Mentor: Roselyn Hsueh
Title of Project: Changing US-ROK Relationship: Anti-Americanism and Rising China Limitations of Keohane’s Theory
Abstract: In the article “The Big Influence of Small Allies”, Robert Keohane argues that because “super loyal” small allies like South Korea have influence on American policy, the United States needs to be careful in picking and choosing battles. However, Keohane fails to address any potential changes in the U.S.-South Korea alliance. This paper will analyze limitations of Keohane’s theory regarding South Korea and their super loyalty strategy. Keohane fails to address two key factors: the rise of anti-Americanism and China. These two issues significantly affected the ROK-U.S. alliance during the Bush and Roh administrations. However, I conclude that though there are limitations to Keohane’s theory, it is not discounted. While anti-Americanism and the rise of China affected ROK-U.S. alliance, the Bush and Roh administrations acted in ways that worked to maintain the existing relationship because both states saw the significance of the relationship.
Rudolph Kraeher, English/Spanish
Mentor: Katherine Henry
Title of Project: Impossible Tones: Musical Renderings of the Unknown and the Unutterable
Abstract: The purpose of this paper was to do a reading of the H.P. Lovecraft short story “The Music of Erich Zann” (1922) paying particular intention to the role and use of music as a literary device. In my reading I argue that the music serves as a vehicle for creative exploration of knowledge that lies in the realm of the unknown and/or incommunicable. For a theoretical framework, I make use of musico-literary (melopoetic) sources that discuss comparisons between the two arts as well as a number of studies specific to Lovecraft. Furthermore, in my analysis of the story I contend that the music (as well as the space) in the story can be read as manifestations of Lacan’s concept of the Real. I conclude that Lovecraft’s consistent fascination with and treatment of the unfamiliar and unspeakable in his fiction represents a sort of Derridean celebration of infinite creative possibility.
Darryn Lee, International Business/Finance
Mentor: Stanley Ridgley
Title of Project: Chinese SEZ Tech Investment: An Environmental Scan of the Awakening Dragon
Abstract: This paper serves as a supplemental document for mid-sized U.S. technology firms looking to expand into the Chinese mainland through foreign direct investment. Through use of a popular analytical framework, a PEST analysis was conducted to provide an in-depth, environmental scan of China with respect to the topic in question. Specific highlighted areas include the Special Economic Zones (SEZ), such as: the Shantou, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Fujian, and Hainan provinces; areas that lack industrialized capabilities like their Beijing and Shanghai counterparts. Primary research was conducted by way of a business trip to China, in which local consultants, the General Manager of Cable & Wireless Worldwide, and the former General Manager/Piracy Czar of Microsoft China were interviewed. Extensive economic details, along with ample free market legislation, provide perspective into China’s complex, fast-growing economy. The title’s ending phrase, “Awakening Dragon,” exemplifies this expanding global positioning, while underscoring the fact that there is still much expansion left to be realized.
Aviva Lenoff, History
Mentor: Lila Berman
Title of Project: From Politics to Community: The Evolution of Jewish Socialism in Philadelphia, 1930-1960
Abstract: This thesis is a historical examination of the development of Jewish socialist involvement in Philadelphia from the years of 1930 to 1960. It is primarily concerned with an institutional shift in focus from direct political action to heritage, culture, and social justice during that span of time. Jews’ large-scale involvement in socialism in America began with the second major wave of immigration during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In addition to being heavily involved in the Socialist Party of America, Jews also created a network of community institutions that were able to serve their needs as a group often sidelined from mainstream involvement, which provided inroads for culture and politics to mesh. However, the decline of the Socialist Party during the late 1920s meant that the opportunity for widespread political action was also at an end. Nevertheless, there were a significant number of Jews who continued to support a socialist ideology, and many previously-formed Jewish socialist institutions continued to function within their respective communities. These groups, and the ways in which they developed in order to remain relevant, is the primary focus of the paper, which argues that in the absence of political possibilities, the groups began to focus instead on the preservation of immigrant Yiddish and general Jewish culture, as well as on addressing social justice issues within the community at large, in the spirit of a more universal socialist outlook. It also provides an analysis of how the trends shaping Jewish socialism during the time influenced the Jewish community as a whole, and the course of its development. Focusing on Philadelphia history allowed for the use of the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Collection, housed at Temple University, as well as other important local sources.
John Masterson, International Business/Finance
Mentor: Gary Witt
Title of Project: The Evolution of the Credit Rating Industry
Abstract: Credit ratings provide investors, both individual and institutional, with information to help them assess the credit risk of issuers of debt obligations or, more recently, of collateralized fixed-income securities. These ratings are provided by credit rating agencies (CRAs), private or public institutions that claim to provide objective credit opinions based on analysis of companies, countries and other issuers of debt (Segal 2009). The credit rating industry has evolved over time in response to a variety of interests. In the United States, early legislation, beginning in the 1930s, put credit rating agencies into a position of power and made them a tool of the government, while more recent legislation aims to reign in or mitigate that power. This essay chronicles the history of the credit rating industry from its inception to its role in the 2007-2009 sub-prime credit crisis highlighting major turning points in the use and regulation of credit ratings in the financial sector. The focus of this history is on three crucial developments in the credit rating industry: the issuer-pay business model of CRAs, the widespread use of ratings in financial regulations and the twenty-first century explosion of lending financed by securitization (Becker 2009). This focus was chosen because these three factors interacted to create a fragile environment where the rapid loss of confidence in previously AAA rated securities fueled the financial conflagration that followed the default of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.
Emily Perri, Anthropology
Mentors: Paul Garrett and Michael Hesson
Title of Project: Navigating by Text Message: Daily Journeys Through Technologically Mediated Lifeworlds
Abstract: This project examines the interactive, socioculturally grounded, technologically mediated construction of shared notions of space and time through close analysis of a corpus of cellular telephone text-message conversations. Specifically, I examine the ways in which pairs of individuals use conversation via text-messaging as a means of navigating through their complex everyday environments with the shared goal of meeting—that is, ending up physically together at the same place and at the same time. My data are text-message conversations from four pairs of texters, collected over the course of one month (July 2010). Drawing on research in linguistic anthropology and related fields, I consider first why text-message conversations present a particularly interesting and revealing focal point for understanding how individuals achieve shared context-specific understandings of space and time. I then demonstrate that these understandings, although mostly taken for granted in the course of day-to-day activities, are by no means static; they are fundamentally emergent and intersubjectively dynamic, and they must be finely calibrated and recalibrated on a cyclical basis (sometimes moment to moment) in order for many kinds of collaborative social action to be possible. Finally, I propose that micro-level analysis of text-messaging and other technologically mediated forms of interaction can yield important insights into a variety of macro-level issues concerning the ways in which historically, culturally, and contextually variable conceptualizations of space and time relate to other key aspects of contemporary social life.
Joe Pitts, Philosophy
Mentor: Joan Jasak
Title of Project: The Art of the Video Game Medium
Abstract: Interactive media as a topic of discussion in academic circles is increasing at a fast pace; In First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game, Espen Aarseth, a prominent figure in video game studies, explains, “After forty years of quiet evolution, the cultural genre of computer games is finally recognized as a large-scale social and aesthetic phenomenon to be taken seriously. In the last few years, games have gone frommedia non gratato a recognized field of great scholarly potential, a place for academic expansion and recognition”.
While academic discourse on video games seems to be ever-increasing, there still exists central problems within the gaming industry as a result of a lack of a philosophical insight into the capabilities of the medium, and it is my belief that it would be beneficiary for designers, publishers, and players alike to consider my paper on the concept that video games are an art form—particularly an art form significantly different than other mediums that are most influential to game designers such as film and literature. Designers are too quick to adopt the standard narrative form (particularly from film) in creating a video game, but this narrative form is critically opposed to gaming’s interactive nature. A philosophical approach to the medium will hopefully shed light on the possibilities that video games posses as a newly emerging art independent from other forms of media. Central areas of focus in my paper include game mechanics as a tool to allow for interpreted meaning as well as the philosophy of virtual representation via the player’s avatar and the impact of this representation as it relates to significant meaning for the player.
Michael Ramirez, Neuroscience CST
Mentor: Sara Ward
Title of Project: Cannabidiol prevents the development of allodynia in paclitaxel-treated female C57Bl6 mice
Abstract: Paclitaxel (PAC) is associated with a chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain (CINP) state that can lead to the cessation of treatment in late stage breast cancer patients, even in the absence of alternate therapies. Rodent models of CINP-associated allodynia following systemic dosing of PAC are used to investigate underlying mechanisms and potential treatments, but studies are largely restricted to male rats, while well-characterized effects of CINP in female mice are lacking. In the present set of experiments, we investigated the effect of a wide range of repeated PAC doses (1.0 – 8.0 x 4 inj IP) on cold (acetone drop test) and mechanical (Von Frey test) allodynia in male and female C57Bl/6 mice. Because the non-psychoactive Cannabis constituent cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown to attenuate other forms of neuropathic pain, we also assessed the effect of CBD (5.0-10.0 mg/kg IP) on PAC-induced allodynia in the female mice. Treatment with PAC produced both cold and mechanical allodynia in male and female mice. These effects were largely dose-independent, with some effects larger in females versus males. Both doses of CBD prevented the development of PAC-induced cold and mechanical allodynia, and these effects were statistically significant from PAC alone. Therefore, adjunct treatment with CBD during chemotherapy treatment with PAC may be effective in the prevention or attenuation of CINP. (Supported by R01 CA129092).
Reena Shanker, Actuarial Science
Title of Project: The First Year of Disability
Abstract: This paper explores non-occupational disability, which is disability that is not covered on the job. This research uses five of the sixteen Recommendations and Observations published by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) in 2006 as a significant contributor for our research. However, the research process is not affiliated with ACOEM. The primary purpose of this research is to analyze intervention effectiveness during the First Year of Disability (FYoD). This research looks for solutions to enhance Stay at Work (SAW) and Return to Work (RTW) programs during the First Year of Disability. Given the same diagnoses and treatment plans, patients still have great variance in outcomes for SAW and RTW programs. The main hypothesis is that in the whole infrastructure there is something missing, since it works for some people, and not for others. The problem is hypothesized to be not from the medical aspect, but rather all the people involved in the process and their communication. In order to determine factors or activities that will be effective, we have created a survey of relevant stakeholders. The target audience for our survey is both experienced stakeholders in non-occupational and occupational disability management. This encompasses treating physicians, nurse case managers, rehabilitation specialists, claims administrators, and employer managers among others. This research does not expect that the initial survey results will bring overwhelming support one way or another in our hypotheses. However, there is belief that a multi-year survey process will bring greater clarity to these issues.
Cory Smith, Film and Media Arts
Mentors: Rebecca Michaels and Mark Winicov
Title of Project: The Dream
Abstract: Having spent the greater majority of my life in Pennsylvanian suburbs, The Dream is first and foremost an attempt to come to terms with these spaces as I get older and spend less time at home. This coming-to-terms is hardly a negative experience—these places hold a close spot in my heart, but as my childhood experiences recede further into the past, I find myself realizing that these spaces carry a truly beautiful aesthetic weight. While there is of course a critique at hand—a sort of dismantling of the suburban myth—my intents are not so much to make apparent what is often problematic, but to elevate mundane, everyday experience into the artistic realm. In short, my aim is transformation, not documentation. The Dream is thus used as a title to bracket what could be read as both social criticism and artistic reevaluation.
Daniel Suraci, Strategic and Organizational Communication/Geography and Urban Studies
Mentor: Scott Gratson
Title of Project: Redefining Sustainability: Cycling in New York City
Abstract: As part of a global trend toward sustainability in urban environments, cycling has become a much more prevalent means of transportation. Many cities around the world have implemented different programs to encourage this newfound effort. It is a completely human powered mode of transportation which requires no fuel of any kind, effectively reducing its carbon footprint to zero. For this reason alone, cycling is an undeniably sustainable form of transportation. The bicycle is also a very cost-effective means of transportation. Aside from the initial cost of purchasing a bicycle, cycling is extremely inexpensive, requiring few, if any ongoing costs. The term sustainability, however, has a number of implications. Aside from the afore mentioned environmental and economic concerns, cycling adds another dimension to sustainability in that it changes the way people interact with each other and their environment. In the last several years there has been a stark increase in the number of bicyclists in New York City. This case study examines New York in the global context of cycling and its effect on urban sustainability. All over the city, new lanes and bike paths are being created. Cycling specific road signs and signals are being strategically placed all around the city. This gave me the opportunity to study the implementation of cycling infrastructure, and the subsequent changes it creates, first hand. It is this transition which provides valuable insight into the nature of cycling and how it changes the landscape and peoples’ perceptions of it. The unparalleled physical, cultural, and ethnographic make up of New York contributes further to the unique experience of urban cycling.
Korin Tangtrakul, Environmental Studies/GUS
Mentor: Robert Mason
Title of Project: Improving Food Environments Through Urban Agriculture
Abstract: Philadelphia’s history of civic agricultural engagement, reaching back to the Liberty Gardens of World War I, has been reinvigorated with the current local food movement. Though many of today’s neighborhoods are food deserts, or regions of little or no access to affordable, nutritious food, community gardens and other forms of urban agriculture and food distribution services are widespread throughout the city.
Through 30 interviews at farmers’ markets and with non-profit organization leaders,a Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis, and a comprehensive literature review, this study examines the spread of urban forms of agriculture, such as community gardens and farmers markets, and how these initiatives act as a potential replacement for some of the foodways prominent in low-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia. I ask, for the areas of Philadelphia categorized as “food deserts”, what is the prevalence of urban agriculture, and how has it impacted the urban food environment? The study finds that that individual choice plays an important role in improving a food environment. The collaborative work of these organizations has been instrumental in improving food access so that individuals can make the choice to progress towards healthier eating and growing lifestyles. However, results reveal that more work in education and awareness needs to happen to truly improve Philadelphia’s food environments.
Heather Wehr, Spanish/LAS
Mentor: Michael Hesson
Title of Project: Para que sepan que las mujeres valemos mucho: Transgressing Traditional Gender Roles in the Kaqchikel Maya Community
Abstract: This paper explores the case of the Kaqchikel Maya, and the ways in which women in this society have transgressed gender roles to gain power. Through each instance in which Kaqchikel women gain power, the importance of public action and voice for these women can be seen. By manipulating the traditional role of the woman in their society, Kaqchikel women have been able to move from the traditionally female private to the traditionally male public realm, gaining power and respect by working in such positions as midwives, community radio station volunteers and more recently, as vendors in the tourism industry. Thus traditional Maya gender roles assume a new importance in contemporary Kaqchikel society, because they provide a foundation for women to exercise power in the public sphere of a continually globalizing society. Moreover, resistance efforts such as the Pan-Maya movement often employ these traditional gender ideals and depend on women as reproducers of social norms and culture, therefore isolating Kaqchikel Maya women from the movement’s work when their actions transgress gender norms. This research frames field work I conducted in the Guatemalan highlands during the summer of 2010 investigating the role of young women working at community radio stations.
Fallon Williams, Criminal Justice
Mentor: Matthew Hiller
Title of Project: Predicting the Factors of Success in Juvenile Drug Courts
Abstract: The purpose of this research is to add literature to a small but growing field, Juvenile Drug Courts, a fairly new program within the criminal justice system. The current study investigates what predicts if a client will graduate of dropout of the program such as background characteristics, prior substance abuse and program behavior and a secondary analysis considered if race/ethnicity and gender plays a large role. The current study used 38 participants from two juvenile drug courts in Kentucky who were predominantly White and male. The data used was collected as a secondary analysis from the clients’ files. Findings showed that background characteristics really didn’t affect the clients’ outcome but the clients’ behavior during the program seemed to be a factor in whether or not a client would graduate or dropout. Also, female clients were more likely to not finish the program and African-Americans were least likely to abuse substances 30 days prior to entering the program but were least likely to be advance in the program.
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