Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationIn this dissertation, I present the results of large-scale three-dimensional magnetotelluric (MT) inversion, based on the nonlinear conjugate gradient algorithm and the contraction integral equation forward modeling method, applied to data collected in Northwestern United States for part of the EarthScope project. It is shown that the most noteworthy anomalies within the inverse geo-electrical model are resistive structures associated with oceanic lithosphere and cratons, and conductive features associated with mantle upwelling. Density estimations from seismic data analysis show upwelling phenomena in the upper mantle where Yellowstone is the present-day surface expression of the deep heat source. Comparison of MT results to approximately 400 km depth have reasonable correlation with P-wave and S-wave velocity models obtained from seismic tomography. The MT inversion demonstrates that strong resistive zones line up along the northwest coast correlating to recent seismic interpretations of old oceanic slabs at 100 km depth believed to be remnants of the Farrallon oceanic plate. This dissertation shows that access to multiple physical properties within the subsurface increases our ability to understand complexities in geological interpretations resulting from the interplay of transforming quanta at differing pressure and temperature regimes with depth. Therefore, EarthScope is proving true to the founding philosophy that the bold, new experiment will fundamentally change our view of the planet

At the End of Life: Conceptualizing Human Dignity and Assisted Suicide Debates in Contemporary Germany

As medicine improves and breakthroughs on cures for illnesses formerly thought deadly continue to develop, the global population continues to age. This has introduced new concerns about aging and end-of-life health care. One proposed end-of-life healthcare solution is assisted suicide, although the practice is not without its controversies. The case of assisted suicide in Germany is of particular interest for a variety of reasons, and the practice has not had an easy path there. A series of debates in 2015 led to the practice being banned, but that ban was overturned in 2020 by Germany’s Constitutional Court. While assisted suicide is a bioethical issue, in Germany the debates that led to the 2015 ban centered around the constitutionality of the practice, with a special focus on the Basic Law’s principles of human dignity and the right to personality. As the Basic Law was ratified in 1949, directly following the Nazi period, these principles are a reflection of an attempt to prioritize human dignity following a period of human rights violations. The Constitutional Court’s decision to overturn the ban in 2020 heavily rested upon human dignity as well. In this work, I use minutes of 2015 Bundestag debates, Constitutional Court headnotes, and scholarly literature surrounding constitutionalism under the Basic Law to examine the intersection of assisted suicide with human dignity and the Basic Law. This work also serves as one of the first comprehensive analyses of the debates and the court’s decision, due to the relative recentness of the decision and the debates stalling throughout the pandemic. I posit that the assisted suicide debates in Germany demonstrate a transformation of interpretations of the Basic Law by the Constitutional Court as it relates to human dignity

Rurality Across the World: An Exploration of Access to Physicians in the Rural United States and Potential Applications Abroad

A sixth of the U.S. population lives in a rural area. Those in rural areas face a disproportionate lack of access to physicians and acute emergency care, along with preventive medicine; one can make the reasonable assumption that those living in rural areas in other countries face similar conditions. This paper is centered around access to medical facilities, rurality, and place of death and utilizes data from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study. Stratified analyses were conducted based on age groups and cause of death. While the measured association between death in a medical facility and rurality in this study is somewhat weak, there is evidence that the association is stronger for older age groups. This links to issues within the eldercare system in the U.S. that have been exposed due to the ongoing pandemic and are augmented in rural areas, especially when medical issues such as strokes and heart attacks are considered. Follow-up research is being conducted in the international context, with an emphasis on Germany as a country of interest due to its rapidly aging population and national debates in recent years around palliative care, hospice, and physician-assisted death.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_posters/1002/thumbnail.jp