The Log Cabin | Public Perception and Mediated Reality (1840 – 1980)

This capstone examines the evolution of the log cabin from 1840 to 1980. At its core, the project questions the legacy of the log cabin from its origins as simply being a traditional dwelling typology to its establishment as a cultural icon or rather, an enduring vessel that established the American Dream and ideals of self-reliance, freedom, and individualism deep within the heart of American culture. Chapter One situates the log cabin historically and architecturally, defining the popular frontier dwelling as being a single-pen horizontal log constructed cabin. It then explores the cabin’s emergence as a cultural image through political propaganda, focusing on the 1840 presidential election, Abraham Lincoln’s log cabin birthplace, and the lasting “humble beginnings” narrative. Chapter Two features a case study of Lincoln Logs, a toy introduced in 1916, to analyze how log cabin imagery was used to shape American childhood. By studying advertisements from 1922 to 1935, this chapter reveals how a log cabin toy reinforced traditional gender roles, national values, and historical narratives—embedding these ideologies within American youth through play. Chapter Three examines how literature and television sustained and exaggerated the log cabin myth, using Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series as a central case study. Focusing on Wilder’s early novels and their television adaptation, the chapter considers how the log cabin was not only portrayed with emotional and symbolic weight but also exported internationally—most notably to post–World War II Japan—as a representation of American democracy and history. In conclusion, each chapter works to prove that, yes, the log cabin, through various medias, has established itself and fundamental American myths in the nostalgic folder of the American brain

A Study of the Agricultural Industry in Belize and Associated Future Growth Opportunities

During the summer of 2025, I had the opportunity to complete an internship in Belize with Peacework. During my time there, I worked with the Ministry of Agriculture. This Thesis is a summary of my time there and a study of the agricultural industry in Belize. It explores topics like climate change, sustainable agriculture, and the economic impact of recent events and potential future events on Belize

Cross-Facility Reliable Deep Learning Based Beef Marbling Assessment Via Unsupervised Domain Adaptation Regression

Inconsistent quality grading in beef production leads to inefficiencies, economic disparity, and consumer mistrust. While USDA meat grading traditionally relies on skilled visual inspectors, these human evaluations suffer from cross-facility variability and subjectivity. This paper introduces the first known application of unsupervised domain adaptation regression for cross-facility beef marbling score prediction—an innovation that improves generalization across diverse environments in the beef supply chain. Utilizing numerical scores ranging from 100-900, the research employed convolutional neural networks (CNNs), including ResNet, VGG, and AlexNet architectures. The study specifically introduced and validated a unified unsupervised domain adaptation regression method using the ResNet-50 architecture to enhance model generalization across diverse environments, accounting for variations in lighting, equipment, and operational practices. Statistical analyses demonstrated that the deep learning approach significantly reduced grading variability compared to human graders, achieving greater consistency and accuracy across facilities. The proposed domain adaptation model notably outperformed conventional CNN approaches, offering a scalable, robust, and practical solution for widespread industry adoption. Beyond automating grading, this work lays a foundation for scalable machine vision systems in livestock and distribution logistics, with implications for robotics, food equity, and next-generation supply chain automation

Rekindling Hearth: An Investigation and Discussion of the Traditional and Evolving Roles of Hearth in Architecture

This research explores the evolving role of the hearth in domestic architecture, examining its historical significance and its continuing symbolic and architectural significance. Once essential for heat, cooking, and gathering, the hearth has shifted from necessity to nostalgic artifact due to technological advances and changing domestic patterns. This study reexamines the hearth’s spatial, social, and functional roles in architecture through a combination of literature review, theoretical analysis, and visual diagramming. Six case studies, spanning pre-modern to contemporary housing, are analyzed to identify patterns and transformations in hearth placement and significance. Through detailed diagrams, the paper offers a visual and theoretical framework to understand hearth as both a cultural artifact and architectural feature, encouraging readers to question the role of comfort, memory, and centeredness in modern homes. Interpretations suggest that the hearth remains a vital architectural and cultural element, offering insight into how we define comfort, community, and home. This study concludes by advocating for a renewed understanding of the hearth in contemporary architecture as a meaningful tool for fostering well-being, and long-lasting domestic design

Behavioral Bottlenecks in Belizean Smallholder Farming: An Action Plan

Behavioral Bottlenecks in Belizean Smallholder Farming: An Action Plan investigates why Belizean smallholders hesitate to adopt new practices informed by a two-month internship with the Ministry of Agriculture at the Stann Creek branch. During the internship, a seventeen-page bilingual farm plan outline integrating SMART goals, a standard business plan, and farming essentials relevant to the local culture and environment was designed and developed. The Farm Plan Outline is grounded in observations in goal-setting theory, risk aversion under price uncertainty, and knowledge gap literature (AKIS/AKAP) tailored by smallholder Belizean contexts. Farmers were assisted with the Sustainable & Inclusive Belize Program grant application, which subsidizes 85% of costs for smallholder farms. Qualitative data indicates that limited digital literacy coupled with psychological and knowledge barriers presents a significant behavioral bottleneck. This thesis recommends addressing this through workshops linked to current subsidization programs to improve and impact knowledge, profit, and yields. This thesis shows the potential to overcome such adoption barriers by weaving behavioral insight with existing social strata

Non-Profit Foundation Boards: An Investigation into Best Practices using Fayetteville Public Library Foundation Board as a Test Case

Effective governance is critical for the success of non-profit organizations, with foundation boards playing a central role in ensuring accountability, strategic direction, and resource allocation for the organization. This thesis investigates best practices for non-profit foundation boards, using the Fayetteville Public Library Foundation Board as a case study to evaluate the efficiency of its governance practices. The research aims to identify whether the foundation board operates efficiently and adheres to established best practices for non-profit governance boards. To address this, a two-phase methodology was employed. The first phase involved an extensive review of scholarly journals, industry guidelines, and other resources to define criteria for best practices in non-profit board governance. In the second phase, interviews were conducted with board members and library executives with questions informed by the findings from the first phase designed to assess the efficiency of a non-profit board. The research supports the hypothesis that the Fayetteville Public Library Foundation Board operates efficiently and incorporates several recognized best practices, including strategic alignment with the organization’s mission and active engagement of board members. These results can contribute to the broader understanding of non-profit governance by highlighting how established best practices can be implemented and tailored within a specific organizational context to improve overall board effectiveness. By combining theoretical research with practical application, this study offers valuable insights for non-profit boards seeking to improve their governance practices and better fulfill their organizational missions

Diving Into Commercial Banking: Internship experience at Hilborn & Howell, LLC

This paper attempts to provide insight into the commercial banking industry through personal experience and the help of high-level lending professionals

The Determinants and Consequences of Rounded Estimated Annual Effective Tax Rates

I document a novel empirical observation: firms’ estimated annual effective tax rates (ETRs), which are used to record tax expense each quarter, occur unexpectedly often at rounded decimal values of .00% and .50%. I argue that these rounded values—which occur in 32% of firms—appear less consistent with the detailed tax estimation processes illustrated in accounting guidance. I assess the extent to which the tax information for these firms is less relevant or remains materially sufficient by examining whether rounded rates reflect management opportunism, the difficulty of the estimation process, and firm-specific resources and procedures. I do not find that these rounded rates are used opportunistically, but rather that they are used when tax calculations are relatively simpler and that they reflect a subgroup of firms that likely routinely rely on rounding heuristics or less detailed internal tax calculations. Consistent with this proposed simplicity, I also find that these firms’ estimated annual ETRs more accurately predict their year-end ETRs and that this predictability is reflected in analysts’ tax forecasts, which have lower dispersion and greater accuracy for these firms. While the frequency of rounded estimated annual ETRs is unexpected, I generally do not find that rounded rates are associated with adverse consequences, but rather reflect sufficient tax estimates for firms with relatively simpler tax situations

From Stem Cells to Smooth Muscle Cells: Characterizing Secretome Profiles and Evaluating Regenerative Potentials

This dissertation examines the role of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in vascular disease and the potential of stem cell-derived VSMCs (SC-SMCs) for regenerative medicine. VSMCs are crucial for maintaining function; however, their dysregulation contributes to the progression of diseases like atherosclerosis, vascular calcification, and aneurysms. Disease progression is influenced by various environmental factors, prompting VSMCs to switch phenotypes, leading to adverse vascular remodeling. This research focuses on adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) and adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) as sources for generating reparative VSMCs. Through comparative analysis, it investigates the effects of SC-SMCs on VSMC biomarker expression and ECM composition, considering different differentiation conditions and serum presence. The findings highlight distinct functional capacities and biomarker profiles of VSMCs derived from BM-MSCs versus ADSCs. The dissertation further explores molecular mechanisms behind VSMC phenotypic changes and the reparative properties of SC-SMC CM in ECM repair and anti-inflammatory actions. It discusses optimizing SC differentiation to improve VSMC functionality and standardizing protocols for vascular tissue engineering (VTE). The role of mechanobiology, miRNA, and epigenetics in SMC phenotype regulation is also analyzed, providing a holistic approach to vascular repair. The dissertation outlines the challenges of translating these cellular and molecular insights into clinical strategies for vascular pathologies. It highlights the need for advanced materials and scaffolds to support vascular tissue regeneration and repair. Future research directions include longitudinal studies to monitor VSMC phenotypes, non-invasive imaging for in vivo tracking, and systems biology to enhance VTE therapies. In conclusion, the dissertation contributes to the understanding of VSMCs in vascular health and disease, advocating for the use of stem cell technologies in developing novel vascular therapies. A multi-disciplinary approach is called for to address the challenges in the field and improve the treatment options for vascular diseases

A Novel Approach to Attention-Based Models in Image Completion: Weighted Spatial-Attention Using Radial Distance

Humans infer missing visual information by focusing on spatial relationships in the context of their surroundings. Machine learning aims to replicate this skill through image completion, a fundamental task in current computer vision research. While advances in self-attention layers have recently enhanced generative machine learning models for text, these mechanisms still currently lack the capability to handle sparse image completion efficiently. We introduce a distance-based attention mechanism that uses radial-based weights to efficiently reconstruct an image. We compare this attention mechanism with self-attention and a fully connected network on an image completion task using the MNIST dataset. Our results show that the weighted spatial-attention mechanism outperformed both models, producing more accurate reconstructions with greater efficiency