THE FUTURE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY: EVALUATING ITS VIABILITY AS A SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY AND ITS POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS ON SOCIETY

50 pagesCryptocurrencies are an extremely new and constantly changing technology that has been gaining tremendous amounts of popularity in the last several years. The underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies, blockchain, acts as a decentralized and distributed ledger for which it holds transaction information associated with the users of the network. This is beneficial to those who use these currencies because it allows for the network to be decentralized, transparent, and immutable. While for many, these benefits are very compelling, some argue that cryptocurrencies are simply a fad and do not possess a strong enough foundation to last into the future as our society changes. The aim of this thesis is to take this question head on, and assess the long-term viability of cryptocurrency, based on the underlying technology, the direction the industry is heading, public opinion, and many other factors. Additionally, this paper will explore the potential implications that would occur in our society as a result of a more widespread adoption of cryptocurrency. Based on all these factors, one outcome is certain for cryptocurrency; the future is unclear. Cryptocurrency is an extremely innovative and important technology with many undeniable benefits that come along with the technology, such as security, transparency, lack of centralized authority, and many more. However, it is simply too new of a technology with many uncertainties to be able to determine with absolute certainty whether it will last into the future or not, as the answer to this question is extremely nuanced with many factors that make it impossible to determine a straightforward answer

Exploring the Le Guin papers: Discovering how Ursula K. Le Guin's beliefs shaped her creative writing

Project files are comprised of 4 page pdf and presentation recording in mp4 format.Students in Dr. Stephen Rust’s course “Researching Oregon Writers” examined a digitized mini-archive of materials prepared during the Covid-19 crisis by the Knight Library Special Collections with the goal of better understanding how archival materials can shape and reshape our thinking about an author’s life and literary works. Items include personal correspondence between Ken Kesey and friend Ken Babbs composed while Kesey was writing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962), correspondence between Ursula K. Le Guin and literary agent Virginia Kidd while Le Guin was writing The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), and manuscript pages from each novel. Their posters will blend of select images from the digital mini-archive to and written elements of humanities research posters along with virtual audio presentations. We hope these poster presentations will inspire viewers to appreciate the value of archives for preserving literary and cultural history and open new perspectives into Le Guin and Kesey’s life and work. Xitali Torres, Carmen Reddick Bayley Burke, and Micah Woods are interested in how Kesey’s correspondence with Babbs can shed light on the development of particular characters in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Kesey’s relationship with the 1960s counterculture. Rose Kordahal, Elyria Kabasenche, and Jake Heinonen are researching Kesey’s correspondence and journal entries before and after the publication of Cuckoo’s Nest to explore his authorial intentions regarding the civil rights of patients in mental hospitals. Ethan Scott, Zoey Cantor, and Garret Simmer how Kesey’s personal view on conformity and freedom inform how those themes develop in his work and are particularly interested in archival materials that might shed light on his use of laughter as a metaphor for rebellion against social norms. Zoey Whittington, Jacob Smith, and Donovan Muniz hope to learn more about the impact of 1960s Sexual Revolution on Le Guin’s writing and her development of a genderless society in The Left Hand of Darkness. Lyla Balthazaar, Max Braker, and Eleanor Davis are studying Le Guin’s business correspondence with her agent Virginia Kidd to examine how they sought to position her work in the science fiction marketplace. Elliot Terner, Audra McNamee, and David Cynkin are curious to examine Le Guin’s writings about science and philosophy as well as her engagement with literary scholarship to consider how her personal beliefs and interests shaped the direction of her creative writing