Betting on Stability: Utilizing Historical Patterns to Leverage High-Cap Securities

This study examines the development and performance of an investment portfolio designed to capitalize on historical market trends following U.S. presidential transitions. By analyzing financial data from the first months of President Trump’s initial term (January–April 2017), this approach aimed to identify stable, high-cap securities capable of managing volatility and surpassing the S&P 500 during the corresponding time frame in 2025. The selected assets: Meta Platforms, Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon, were chosen based on sector performance, market dominance, and financial strength. Portfolio construction leveraged methodologies including Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT), the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), and comparative risk-return analysis. Findings revealed that, while the portfolio maintained a strong strategic foundation, it did not achieve its objective of outperforming the S&P 500. Factors contributing to this outcome included evolving macroeconomic conditions, shifts in monetary policies, and regulatory changes, all of which diverged from the market environment of 2017. Additionally, broader structural market transformations, such as increased corporate concentration, AI-driven market speculation, and fluctuations in global trade, introduced new variables that affected investment outcomes. Despite the results, this study highlights the significance of flexible investment strategies that incorporate historical context alongside contemporary financial trends. The insights presented here contribute to a deeper understanding of stock market behavior during political shifts, providing a foundation for refining future investment strategies. Future research may focus on incorporating real-time economic indicators and behavioral finance perspectives to improve predictive modeling and investment decision-making.Dr. Huarui Jin

Understanding the Apotheosis: Troilus's Love Transfigured

In this paper, I’ll argue against D.W. Robertson’s position that Troilus’s prayers to the God of Love are idolatrous to show that, through his love of Criseyde, Troilus begins to love the eternal goodness that is the Christian God. The epilogue of Troilus and Criseyde has been long divisive within study of the poem, but through understanding Troilus as finding God, or eternal goodness, we can explain his apotheosis in both narrative and religious terms. Troilus’s love is understood by Robertson, and many other scholars, as a selfish and objectifying love. But, this view fails to account for Troilus’s crucial decision to allow Criseyde to be taken away from Troy instead of violently reclaiming her from the Greeks, but risking her life in doing so. In this moment, Troilus allows Criseyde to be taken away instead of risking her safety so that they can be together. Through his love for Criseyde, Troilus transforms cupiditas into caritas and, in doing so, finds a love of God through his selfless love of the eternal good.Stephanie Batki

An Assessment of the Post-Fire Regeneration of Tapia Forests on Ibity Massif, Madagascar

Tapia forests are sclerophyllous ecosystems endemic to the central highlands of Madagascar. These forests are dominated by Uapaca bojeri, or tapia trees, which are adapted to be resistant to fire. Tapia forests are critically important to regional livelihoods and culture, providing fruit, firewood, wild silk moths, and medicinal plants. However, despite their resilience to and dependence on fire, tapia forests are endangered by too-frequent, uncontrolled fire and fragmentation. More information is needed to determine the most effective fire regime for promoting tapia regeneration. Nine 1600m2 plots were established around the Ibity Massif Protected Area in the Vakinankaratra region of Madagascar to survey patches of tapia forest across four size classes and three fire regimes. Forty interviews across four local communities were conducted to understand local dependence on the tapia forest and its products. This study determined that plots burned 3-5 years ago display a significantly higher rate of tapia sapling regeneration than plots burned a year ago or over 5 years ago. However, plots burned over 5 years ago display the highest level of stand evenness. These findings support the current medium-frequency fire regime at Ibity (4-5 years) and can help inform future management decisions of tapia forests at Ibity and other protected areas in the central highlands.Thomas Powell, The School for International Training, The Missouri Botanical Garden

Determining Population Dynamics and Quantifying Black Spot Disease in C. irroratus in Iceland’s Westfjords Region

The invasive rock crab (Cancer irroratus) has recently established populations in the Westfjords of Iceland, prompting investigations into its population dynamics, size distribution, and health. This study examines these characteristics across multiple sites, uncovering significant site-specific variations in carapace width, with crabs from Ísafjörður’s sailboat dock consistently larger, likely due to localized environmental factors. The population exhibited a notable prevalence of black spot disease across all sites, with severity varying by location and potential links to environmental stressors. Patterns in disease distribution, influenced by sex, size, and site conditions, suggest potential impacts on fitness, reproduction, and ecological roles. Comparisons with other regions reveal smaller average carapace widths in the Westfjords population, indicating habitat influences on growth. While mark-recapture rates were zero, the capture of 450 crabs provided robust data on population characteristics, emphasizing the need for continued monitoring. These findings highlight the ecological challenges posed by this invasive species and the importance of understanding disease dynamics, habitat interactions, and potential impacts on native biodiversity and fisheries. The study offers foundational insights to guide future research and management strategies

Building a Community-Focused State Park: Perspectives on Mental Health, Accessibility, and Conservation

The planned Head of the Crow (HoTC) State Park near Sewanee, TN offers a chance to promote student well-being, stewardship, and community connection. Natural spaces support mental health, place attachment, conservation behaviors, and community cohesion (Hunter et al., 2019; Liu et al., 2021; Mosimane et al., 2012; Wood et al., 2017). This study explores student perceptions of the park’s potential to advance these outcomes

To Be Conquered or Conformed: The Racial Construction of the Qing Dynasty and Meiji Japan in the Western Mind Mid-Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Century

During the mid-late nineteenth century Western constructions of the Chinese and Japanese races were based upon the country’s willingness to conform to Western epistemology. The Qing dynasty in China, through the Self-Strengthening Movement, sought to forge a hybrid path to modernity that combined Western and Chinese practices while resisting foreign intervention. The Qing’s unwillingness to conform to Euro-American norms led them to be constructed through a lens of Oriental despotism which dismissed them as stagnant and uncivilized in the Western mind. In contrast, the modernization of Japan during the Meiji Restoration (1868) and its subsequent confirmation to Western epistemology allowed it to be constructed through a paternalistic lens as a civilized nation capable of progress in Western discourse. However, in the early twentieth century the rising military power of Japan signaled a threat to the race-based epistemology of the West and the hegemony of white Western powers; thus the Japanese were constructed as the ‘modern despot’ in Western discourse

Episcopal Preaching in the Jazz Tradition: Improvisational Pedagogies

This Doctor of Ministry Project explores the dynamic intersection of Episcopal preaching and the jazz tradition, proposing improvisational pedagogy as both a lens and a methodology for homiletic formation. Drawing from the theological, cultural, and aesthetic frameworks of jazz, particularly its practices of imitation, assimilation and innovation, this study argues that preaching in the Episcopal Church can be revitalized through an embrace of improvisational principles. Through theological reflection, and Comparative analysis, the project examines how improvisation functions as a spiritual and pedagogical act that deepens the preacher's responsiveness to scripture, congregation, and the Holy Spirit. By engaging voices from homiletics, jazz studies, Black ecclesial traditions, and Episcopal liturgy, this work constructs a model of preaching formation that affirms embodiment, contextual awareness, and creative freedom. Ultimately, this project contends that improvisational pedagogies not only enrich Episcopal preaching but also contribute to the wider homiletical discourse by offering a model of proclamation that is adaptive, relational, and rooted in the transformative potential of sacred performance