The Impact of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on Ecuador\u27s Domestic Policy

In 1979, Ecuador became one of the first Latin American countries to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In this paper, I use Ecuador as a case study for analyzing the effectiveness of international human rights treaties on the countries that ratify them, looking specifically into the impact the CEDAW had on Ecuador’s domestic policies and action it has taken to expand women’s rights since 1979. I begin by giving a historical basis for the culture and political organization of the country due to colonization. I then articulate Ecuador as a leader in women’s rights for much of Latin America during the first half of the twentieth century, then examine the transition since the ratification of the CEDAW. I analyze not only the creation of the new Ecuadorian constitution in 2008 but also the strength of institutions intended to uphold the constitution and implement measures to protect women’s rights. I examine correspondence between the government of Ecuador and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. To further support my study, I analyze statistical data on women’s safety and ability to navigate society without barriers, such as education, employment, healthcare, ownership of property, economic stability, etc. Finally, I examine the role of political activism within Ecuador to determine if organizations and lobbying groups have progressed their political goals since 1979. [Poster not supplied by author.

Monitoring Air Quality Post-Environmental Disasters Using Remote Sensing

East Palestine Ohio, is a small town that recently suffered from a train derailment carrying a toxic chemical known as vincyl chloride. In addition to the release of this chemical, particulate matter was ejected into the atmosphere following a controlled explosion of the train. Air pollution a major envirnmental hazard that affects human and non-human life, and so the monitoring pollution is extremely important. Remote sensing may be a viable way to monitor, by using readily available satellite data

Parasite Communities in Sunfish (Centrarchidae) from the Olentangy River

Parasites are common in freshwater fishes, and sunfish (Family Centrarchidae) in particular have been found to have diverse parasite communities in North America. We have been studying parasite communities that are found in sunfish (Family Centrarchidae) in three different localities (Delaware Run, River Run Park, and William Street Bridge) along the Olentangy River in Delaware, Ohio. The presence of multiple species of sunfish in the Delaware Run and nearby Olentangy River has given us an opportunity to compare parasites among them. A total of 212 fish were collected August 2022 through April 2023 and examined for parasites. We found a total of seven species of parasites overall, with bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) having a larger abundance of parasites than green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus). Other species such as rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris), orange-spotted sunfish (Lepomis humilis), northern sunfish (Lepomis peltastes), white crappie (Pomoxis annularis), black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus), and redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) were also investigated and found to have fewer parasites. Metacercariae (flukes) and Spinitectus sp. (nematodes) were the most common parasites recovered. Preliminary results indicate that the parasite community was more diverse in the most rural collection site (River Run Park) than the more urban collection sites (Delaware Run and William Street Bridge). This calls for the need to investigate factors that are affecting parasites in the urban portion of the river

The Safavid Merger: Sufism, Popular Islam, and the Rise of the Safavids

The Safavid dynasty represented a major change in Iranian history, most notably for establishing Twelver Shi’ism as the majority and official religion, which continues to this day. The nature of their simultaneous transition from a Sufi religious order to a political movement and their rise to power is, however, a point of debate. Until the 21st century, the established historical narrative was one of a tyrannical, fanatical minority taking power and asserting its particular worldview on an unwilling majority. More recently, there have been increasingly diverse views among historians on the Safavid transition. This paper attempts to enter into the ongoing debate on the nature of the Safavid transition and rise to power, incorporating the perspectives of prominent voices in the debate into a new, holistic view that utilizes a Marxist, merger-based framework both to place the early Safavids in their material context and to work toward an explanation of their rise. The socio-economic situation in Iran under the Mongols and Timurids is briefly described, followed by descriptions of both Iranian Sufism and popular Islam in Iran. The Safavids were able to succeed and establish a stable state in Iran primarily through the merger of Sufi ideology and organizational structures with the Islam of the lower classes. This merger allowed for the creation of a mass base for the Safavids and the mobilization of that mass base toward political ends

Ohio Wesleyan Bacillus Collection Student Research

This semester students in BIOL 328 Bacterial Physiology lab worked in teams on a laboratory project that they devised, developed, and conducted. Each group met weekly with Dr. Tuhela-Reuning and Maddy Russell during the first third of the semester to develop a research project that involved the Bacillus culture collection at OWU. The Bacillus collection contains over 3000 isolates of Bacillus obtained from wild songbirds in Ohio, Arizona, and Washington, and many of these isolates degrade feathers. Student projects involved quantification of bird feather degradation by several Bacillus isolates, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of biofilms and feather, possible correlation of biofilm production with speed of feather degradation, ability of Bacillus isolates to produce antibiotics effective against Gram positive and negative bacteria, and the ability to transform Bacillus isolates with pigment-producing plasmids. Students experienced the actual research process by troubleshooting problems, coordinating their lab work schedules, analyzing complex results, and working as a team. The final results of the projects will be presented by each team in oral and written formats

The Modern Relationship Between Music and Political Preferences

Music and politics have been interconnected for centuries, and it is difficult to explain a political event without mentioning the contemporary music creation and vice versa; examples include anti-war music during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, a shift to country music with patriotic undertones after 9/11, and so on. Preliminary research suggests that there could be a connection between political ideologies and liking genres of music, but it is relatively outdated (Fox and Williams 1974). There is research surrounding how political polarization contributes to opposing attitudes and preferences (Sears and Valentino 1997, Prinz 2021), and how music has different origins and patterns (Moore 2001), but there is no concrete knowledge of a direct relationship between political polarization and musical genres that have stark sonic differences. This research intends to modernize the limited findings and discover trends between political parties, orientations, and genres of music. It is important to establish this relationship in order to DO NOT DISTRIBUTE better understand the emotionality behind politics and the effects they have on, in this case, average listeners and voters. [Full text available May 2033.

The Perennial March: Britain\u27s Road to Afghanistan

The Great Game describes British and Russian imperial expansion in Central Asia as the two powers competed to spread their influence in the region. Historians point to 1830 as the start of British paranoia regarding Russian advances towards India. This neglects to mention British actions during the Greek War of Independence, which saw the nation retreat from the Concert of Europe as well as the growth of anti-Russian sentiment. This paper examines the role of Britain in starting the Great Game, focusing on its self-fulfilling prophecy of Russian expansion in Central Asia, examining how Britain’s exit from the European Congress System limited its response to resist Russian expansion. I propose that this exit, and the inability to contain Russia with either European or Eurasian allies, prevented Britain from being effective at countering Russian influence. Unlike some interpretations, which place Britain as a grand architect of policy regarding Central Asia, British policy often disunited and countermanded from ministry to ministry. The main instance when Britain looked to expand – the First Anglo-Afghan War – the British were woefully unprepared and suffered from the aggressive foreign policy proposed by Lord Palmerston and Lord Auckland in the 1830s. When the British finally achieved their objective of placing Shah Shujah, they realized that they were woefully unprepared to control and maintain Afghanistan. This study is based on published materials and will include archival materials from the India Office Archives at the British Library

A Study of Safe Haven Baby Laws in the United States: One Life Saved or Too Many Unknowns to Evaluate?

Safe Haven laws allow parents or guardians to legally relinquish an infant without fear of prosecution at a designated safe site, where the infants are provided with temporary care until placed into the care of Child Service Professionals. This honors thesis project analyzes Safe Haven baby laws in their current form in the United States, finding that Safe Havens laws need to be a complement to other programs, as they alone cannot solve infant abandonment. My findings further recommend the need for policy modifications to Safe Haven laws to ensure data is being tracked to be analyzed and to build greater public awareness of the existence of Safe Havens. Establishing best practices for policy implementation requires data tracking from which to develop a strategy that ensures quality data collection and establishes processes by which to evaluate data regularly. Improving Safe Haven laws depends upon establishing better tracking systems to include accurate numbers of legally and illegally surrendered infants at either a statewide and/or federal level

Camera Traps Reveal Two Novel Predators of Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) Nests but Limited Support for the Nest Concealment Hypothesis

[Abstract and full-text available with all rights reserved on May 2043, with co-author permissions.

Peasants and the Powerful: Peasant Socio-Economic Organization in Early Medieval Iberia 400-1000 CE

The early medieval period in Europe (~400-1000 CE) was one of immense political, economic, and social change in Europe, following the collapse of the western Roman Empire and the rise of the post-Roman kingdoms that followed. A consistent question in this period has been the nature of peasant society during this time, and how the changes observed in Europe affected this section of society, which made up the largest portion of society across this period. The study focuses on the condition of peasants in the Iberian peninsula, and how the collapse of the Roman state apparatus, the rise of new political entities, the Arab conquest in the 8th century, and the rise of new monastic and aristocratic institutions all contributed to a dynamic peasant society, that eventually was subdued to the power of a new elite class. These findings are supported by textual and archaeological evidence, as well as through comparisons to findings in other parts of Europe to confirm these conclusions. These findings also contribute to the study of peasant economies more generally, as they conform in many ways to the theories produced by Alexander Chayanov regarding the nature of peasant agriculture and the motivations behind peasant labor