REPORT OF THE PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR THE NORTHEAST EXTENSION SEMINAR ON PUBLIC ISSUES INVOLVING LAND

Land Economics/Use,

The Importance of Cultural Knowledge in Counterinsurgency

This thesis discusses the importance and usefulness of cultural knowledge in counterinsurgency. When combatting insurgent groups, it can be difficult to identify insurgents and utilize conventional warfare. Insurgents use various tactics and strategies to promote their goals while living among the local population. These aspects require intervening countries and counterinsurgency to take the varying strategies into consideration when making their military decisions. The most important aspect needed for these counterinsurgency operations is cultural knowledge. Having an understanding of the intervening population and its dynamics with the insurgent group can be proven to be very beneficial. Specifically, in the cases of the US, their counterinsurgency tactics have varied across cases. This thesis will observe three cases of US intervention: Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. These cases show the need for cultural knowledge. The cases of Vietnam and Afghanistan have little utilization of cultural knowledge, and this can be a main explanation to why these wars ended with shortcomings and loss. It can be argued that cultural knowledge could have improved the US’s position in these interventions. Iraq shows that a switch to a population based military strategy that incorporated cultural knowledge can be successful. This paper argues the importance of cultural knowledge in the cases of counterinsurgency and intervention and how it could have influenced and changed the outcome of three US interventions. This thesis will present the significance of cultural knowledge in these specific three cases as well as counterinsurgency as a whole

On the Preservation of Principles: Determining the Adequacy of Historic Preservation Theories, Charters, and Guidelines for the Philadelphia Police Headquarters

Mid-twentieth-century architecture imposes unprecedented challenges onto the field of historic preservation. These problems are placing a strain on the theories, charters, and guidelines developed over the years to guide preservation efforts. As a result, there are collective calls for a reevaluation of the field’s principles. However, an in-depth understanding of why traditional preservation methodologies warrant retooling is missing from this overarching conversation. This thesis analyzes a select number of longstanding preservation doctrines to determine whether or not they are adequate for preserving post-war architecture. In order to assess the field’s traditional theories, charters, and guidelines, this thesis uses the Philadelphia Police Headquarters, also known as the Roundhouse, as a case study. This building presents a range of problems that similarly affect other mid-century buildings. Throughout the evaluation, each doctrine proved to be insufficient for resolving the challenges hindering the Roundhouse’s preservation. In response to these findings, this thesis offers a new methodology to help guide preservation efforts of post-war architecture, with flexibility as a fundamental attribute

Importance of including proper education on homework for pre-service educators

Homework is a tool that has the power to reap beneficial or negative effects. The variations of these effects stem from the techniques and homework content that teachers employ. This senior capstone examines the educational knowledge that pre-service educators attain on homework techniques and the effects while preparing to become educators. Through review of syllabi at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and credential levels at a university, the senior capstone research finding will reveal the knowledge of proper homework assignment and distribution and their training in preparation to become future teachers. This senior capstone research project discloses what is and what is not taught at the levels where pre-service teachers have been trained leading up to becoming teachers. This shed some light in strengthening the curriculum for future pre-service educators. The finding of this research may bridge the gap between the beneficial and negative effects of homework for students

Interpersonal conflict in the workplace: the role of self-awareness in constructive versus destructive approaches to conflict

Interpersonal conflict in the workplace is costly to employees, teams, and businesses. This study investigated the role of self-awareness in the effective handling of conflict and the efficacy of self-development training in raising self-awareness and conflict effectiveness. This mixed methods study utilized quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. Subjects reported their self-awareness and their conflict effectiveness via two self-assessment surveys. This study found a strong correlation between self-development training and conflict effectiveness, as well as a correlation between understanding the subjective construal of meaning and an ability to use that self-awareness during an interpersonal conflict at work. Given the enormous costs to businesses and individuals of interpersonal conflict at work, it would be advantageous to continue to research how the field of OD can contribute to mitigating these costs through effective personal-development training programs

The Study of NF-κB Peptide Mimics and How Proteins Bind DNA

The protein complex nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) is widely considered to be one of the most influential transcription factors when studying cellular functions. Peptide mimics of NF-κB aim to inhibit DNA binding in order to displace the natural transcription factor, therefore inhibiting transcription and translation. In theory, NF-κB is not the problem; the real problem lies in directing the synthesis and expression of harmful proteins. In conjunction with this, the project aims to study NF-κB and its structure and function to determine what criteria are important for the binding of DNA in order to design a peptide that comes closer to this goal of producing a mimic of NF-κB. To accomplish this, peptides were designed, synthesized, cleaved, dissolved, and purified in order to run mass spectrometry to determine whether the correct peptides were synthesized. Overall, if peptide mimics are more successful in binding DNA than NF-κB, then the research could potentially be used in clinical settings in order to prevent the overexpression of particular genes implicated in various diseases