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2012 Senior Thesis Topics

Members of the Class of 2012 and their senior thesis topics, alphabetically by department.

 

Asian Studies

  • Mercedes Ferrer, In search of the feminine 'ideal' through anime in the 1990s
  • James Kamihachi, Godzilla and the Bomb: Fears Become Films
  • Zack Pintchik, Reclaiming Japan: Trauma and Narrative in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
  • Linda Yu, Receiving an Education in China: The Effects of Policy on Cultures of Learning

 

Biochemistry

  • Peter Benedict, Explorations of the Protective Qualities of Calcium Alginate Beads for Encapsulated Enzymes 
  • Chris Boisvert, Carbohydrate Functionalized Stable Protein-1 Metal Hybrids as Nanotheranostics
  • Harry Chan, Constructing phylogenetic trees with spliceosomal proteins as the genetic marker
  • Alex Dao, Cholesterol effects on Membrane-bound Piscidin 1: A Structure-Function Study
  • Erica Losito, Role of Neuraminidase Electrostatics in the Binding of Ligands
  • Andrew Scott, A Study of Pore Formation of Calcium-Alginate Beads in Polyacrylamide Gels
  • Matt Therkelsen, Molecular characterization of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis
  • Alex Wood, Investigating oxidative dehalogenation of p-halophenols by horseradish peroxidase immobilized in calcium alginate
  • Max Yelbi, Are Spliceosomal Proteins Good Indicators to Infer Phylogenetic Trees Among Eutherians? 

 

Biology

  • Sarah Andrus, Investigating the relationship between diet-induced insulin resistance and sporadic AD pathology in Drosophila melanogaster
  • Clare Browne, The effect of Garlic Mustard on oat plants: Examining mycorrhizal interactions
  • Daniel Bruzzese, Garlic Mustard and its effects on Nematode communities
  • Lyle Cleary, Assessing calbindin distribution in alligator pancreas
  • Emily Evans and Christine Roback; Lauren Brousseau and Megan Gibbons, Apoptosis: An investigation of cell death during cardiogenesis and amniotic fusion in early chick development
  • Daniel Feinberg, Does invasive Garlic Mustard have trophic effects on salamanders and their prey in the Hamilton College forests?
  • Jeannie Folan, Helen Madsen and Catherine Torcivia, An expansion upon the hygiene hypothesis: investigating the effects of H. bakeri infection on a Type I Diabetes mouse model
  • Krisitin Forgrave, Untangling the ecology, taxonomy, and evolution of the Chaetogaster limnaei (Oligochaeta: Annelida) species complex
  • Meghan Griesbach, Metagenomic analysis of the microbial biodiversity of Green Lake's chemocline using Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (T-RFLP)
  • Shahin Islam, Phylogenetic analysis of Nematodes using various molecular markers
  • Christopher Kline, Identifying cryptic species of Echinostoma spp. in Muskrats using molecular techniques
  • Chun Yee Lau, Further investigation of sexual reproduction in ectoparasite, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis
  • Erin McNally ,  Soil microbial communities of invasive plant species and associated plant-soil biota feedback relationships
  • Dilyana Mihaylova, Does the invasive shrub Amur Honeysuckle increase the human risk of exposure to Lyme Disease?
  • Elizabeth Myers, The effect of Garlic Mustard on the above- and below-ground growth of oat plants
  • Sumithra Nair, Expression, purification, and antibody production of Tyramine ß-hydroxylase related protein: An avenue towards function
  • Amanda Nelson, Gonadectomy and androgen replacement therapy in mice: A study of androgen depletion on various body systems
  • Kerry Nieman, Is apoptosis present in the late maturing mouse placenta?
  • Tani Leigh, Reconstructing the Eukaryotic Tree of Life using ribosomal proteins as molecular markers
  • Nicholas Richards, Analysis of Mirex in Salmon River, New York Salmon
  • Lucas Sadoff, Metagenomic analysis of fungal life in the marine sediment of Hughes Bay, Antarctica
  • Matthew Seaman and Kristen Pallen, Molecular genetic analysis of bacterial colonies extracted from hydrocarbon contaminated and pristine Antarctic environments: RFLP and clone libraries
  • Erica Skinner, The expression of glycogen synthase kinase-3ß, Tau, and amyloid precursor protein in Alzheimer's Disease
  • Jaclyn Specht, Description of a new nematode species Gammarinema orconecti sp. nov., an associate of the crayfish Orconectes obscurus
  • Max Vaickus, PTU-induced hypothyroidism in mice
  • Sarah Weatherall, Expression, purification, and analysis of Drosophila melanogaster Tyramine ß-hydroxylase

 

Chemistry

  • Shawon Akanda, Enhancing the Selectivity of β-L-Rhamnosidic Linkages Using Sulfonate Directing Groups
  • Connor Brown, Progress on the Synthesis of a Repeating Unit of Pneumococcal Serotype 31
  • Eric Kuenster, Progress on the Synthesis of Tri-, Tetra- and Pentasaccharide Derivatives of Trehalose for Preservation Studies
  • Jason McGavin, How do the Molecular Features of Neuropeptide Y and Lipid Bilayers Affect Each Other?
  • Sara Miller, Synthesis and Luminescent Properties of Eu(TTA)3Ÿ3H2O Nanocrystallites in Sol-gel Derived Materials
  • Kate Otley, Radical Expansion to Seven-Membered Bicyclic Systems
  • Rachel Rothbarth, Progress on the Synthesis of Carbohydrate-Porphyrin Conjugates Using Click Chemistry
  • Talia Steiman, Formation of Tricyclic Systems via Radical Cascade Reactions
  • Cara Vennari, Competitive Ring Opening of Diaryl Substituted Cyclopropylcarbinyl Radicals
  • Max Williams, Synthesis of P-Stereogenic Water-Soluble Phosphines for Enantioselective Liquid-Liquid Extraction
  • Todd Woodworth, Synthesis of the Serinol Portion of Dichlorobouillonaminde

 

Chinese

  • Andrew Libin, Reflections upon Westernization and Commercialization in Chinese Contemporary Art
  • Alexander Snow, Gender Identity and Status in the Chinese Language
  • Laura Barth, The Online Cultural Identity of China's Ethnic Minorities: Manchu and Uighur Case Studies

 

Communication

  • Frank Campagnano, Hegemony in Sports: How Football Dominates the Media While Soccer Struggles for Attention
  • Lamarana Diallo, Generational Perceptions of Romantic Relationships
  • Jordan Eck, Twitter's Impact on the Celebrity-to-Fan Relationship
  • Josie Jones, Social Media and Consumer Behavior: The Effects of Engagement on Purchasing Behavior
  • Leah Koren, Mobile Advertising's Effects on Consumer Attitudes and Purchase Intentions
  • Perry Ryan, Child Kidnappings: Society's Chance to Solve a Mystery
  • Pat Sullivan, Expectancies of a Financial Advisor-to-Client Relationship

 

Comparative Literature

  • Foxfire Buck, Gone With the Wind and the Contemporary Romance Genre: Quality Literature and the Redefinition of a Classic
  • Allison Eck, Literary Listening: The Rhetorical Function of Music Criticism in Fiction
  • Rachel Freire, There is No Revolutionary Art Without Revolutionary Form
  • Maeve Gately, One Art: Bridging the Ekphrastic Divide
  • Nora Grenfell, Literary Theorems: Spatial Narrative in Borges and Stoppard
  • Kate Harloe, Secularisms, Gandhi, & Society
  • Haley Riemer-Peltz, Ma'am on the Run: Exploring the Sung Narrative of the Classic Blues Women

 

Economics

  • Louis Boguchwal, Socially Optimal Vaccination Policies
  • Henry Burchenal, The Effects of Innovative Work Practices and Shared Capitalism on Worker Outcomes
  • Brandon Broad, The Effect of Cigarette Taxes on Healthy and Unhealthy Behaviors    
  • Yinghan Ding, Risk and Return: An Agent-Based Model Approach to Explain Bubbles and Crashes
  • Evan Feegans, The Effects of Operation Twist on Long-Term Interest Rates     
  • Mercedes Ferrer, On the Road to Happiness: Government Spending Breakdown, Trust and Happiness
  • Sarah Flisnik, The Earned Income Tax Credit and Childbearing: the Effect of Marginal Benefits on Low-Income Women
  • David Hibbard, Understanding the Nature of the Relationship Between Education and Health: Does Quality of Education Matter?
  • Mai-Linh Hoang, The Impact of Demographic and Economic Factors on Household Spending at Fast-Food and Full-Service Restaurant during the Great Recession
  • Sara Leshen, The Effect of the 2008 Recession on Spending Habits: Variation Across Demographic Groups
  • Hon Ng, The Effect of Credit Events and Bank Distress on Credit Constrained Firms: Evidence from the Financial Crisis
  • Matt Poterba, How Employment Responds to Changes in Assets at U.S. Banks and Credit Unions
  • Kristin Stenerson, Sovereign Default Risk: Fiscal Sustainability and Credit Default Swap Rates in the European Economic and Monetary Union
  • Will Thoreson-Green, A Cross-Country Analysis of Religion and Subjective Well-Being
  • Kendall Weir, Do Character Concerns Matter? The Effect of Criminal Records and Team Suspensions on NFL Draft Status and Subsequent Performance
  • Shichen Xu, Innovative Work Practices, Shared Capitalism, and Firm Outcomes
  • Hanbin Yang, The Credit Channel of Monetary Policy: Evidence From Stock Market Returns After the Financial Crisis in 2008
  • Sky Zhang, How do Education Loans Affect Household Saving and Spending Patterns?
  • Vic Zimmerman, Shared Ownership, Mutual Monitoring and the Effect of Team Composition

 

English

  • Laura Gilson, Jane Austen's Censure of Mercenary Marriage: Who Crosses the Line and How Do We Know?
  • Caitlin Hult, A Cultivated Wildness: How Emotive Animals Symbolize the Relationship between the Wilderness and Civilization in The Bear and The Jungle Books
  • Hayden Kiessling, The Male Fantasy of Female Beauty in the Works of John Keats and Mary Robinson
  • Patrick McNally, Modernism and Cultural Economies: Neo Marxian and Keynesian Anticipations in T.S. Eliot
  • Sarah Schultz, What's All the Hype About?: A Critical Exploration of Hypertext Theory and Authorship
  • Andrew Taub, Prison Writing and Beckett
  • Chelsea Wiggins, Once Upon a Time in Victorian England: Translating the Brothers Grimm for a British Audience

 

Environmental Studies

  • Sorina Seeley, Can Spinoza Help Us? Cultivating a New Ecological Consciousness Through Spinoza's Philosophy and Deep Ecology
  • Patrick Dunn, Making Mountains Out of Mountains and Molehills Out of Molehills: Language and its Implications in Environmental Perception
  • Beth O'Meara, The Distribution of Invasive Plants in Relation to Historic Land Use and Management in Hamilton College Forests
  • Mary Lehner, The Effects of Invasive Species on Forest Regeneration and the Ethics of Restoration
  • Lucas Harris, Garlic Mustard, Honeysuckle, Earthworms and Leaf Litter Dynamics in the Hamilton College Forests
  • Tory Grieves, For Peat's Sake! Finding the path to effective wetlands regulation in the United States
  • Glenn Watkins, The Politics of Pa-hay-okee: How Concepts of Place Shape Florida's Everglades
  • Ryn Steck, Know Thyself, Know Thy Waste: Understanding and Evaluating the Social Implications of Waste Management Strategies at Hamilton College
  • Katrina Rabeler, Methane in Domestic Wells in Otsego County, New York
  • Henry Edelson, The Smart Grid and Dynamic Pricing: Promoting a Sustainable Future
  • Emily Hodes, Distributive Justice and Global Climate Change Treaties
  • Laurie Horesta, The High Line: An Evaluation of Authenticity
  • Nick Constantino, Drinking Local: How Hops and Craft Beer Factor into Relocalization in Central New York

 

French

  • Kelsey Brow, Entre Aurore et Apollon : Monsieur et les masculinités sous l'absolutisme de Louis XIV
  • Alexandra "Lexi" Nisita, Frivolite eternelle: la mode, le temps et la cocotte chez Marcel Proust

 

Government

  • Henry Anreder, Statebuilding Without a State: Comparative Palestinian Statebuilding under Arafat and Abbas/Fayyad
  • Isaac Blasenstein, Two Sides of the Same Coin?  The Occupy Wall Street Protests and the Tea Party Movement
  • Rachel Boylan, Palestinian Nonviolence: Altering Asymmetric Power Relations
  • Woody Faugus, Corruption in Haïti: A Longitudinal and Policy-Prescriptive Analysis
  • Annie Hudson, Immigration Policy in Europe: A Return to Nationalism
  • Mikayla Irle, Power in the Policy-Making Process: A Case Study of NAFTA
  • Adam Minchew, U.S. Intelligence in Iraq and Afghanistan
  • Biff Parker-Magyar, Reform vs. Regime Change: The Durability of the Moroccan and Jordanian Monarchies in the Arab Spring
  • Tyler Roberts, What are the effects of Citizens United v. FEC?
  • Audrey Stano, Courting Justice? The Prosecution of Terrorism in Federal Court
     

Hispanic Studies

  • Rachel Ward, Música y melancolía: Un análisis de la música en los documentales políticos de Patricio Guzmán y Santiago Álvarez
  • Brynn Tomassone, Una ruptura con el ciclo de la negación: La reclamación y la celebración de la identidad afro-latina para mujeres afro-latinas en los Estados Unidos
  • Kendall (Sarah) Todd, El refuerzo de la identidad dictatorial franquista en la arquitectura española
  • Thea Spittle, Deslimitaciones en la poesía y el arte visual: poemas, objetos, instalaciones y esculturas de Joan Brossa y Cristina Iglesias
  • Emily Potter, La familia y la representación cinematográfica de los inmigrantes hispanos en los Estados Unidos
  • Rachel Grannis, La historia de Marcela y Grisóstomo: Una afirmación de la justicia femenina
  • Audrey Espey, La Ciudad de México y sus representaciones fragmentadas en Y tu mamá también, Amores Perros y El callejón de los milagros

 

History

  • Sam Gomez, The Decisive Battle for Central America: U.S. Intervention in Nicaragua and El Salvador During the Reagan Years
  • Eli Remillard, Tools of Change: A Critical Reexamination of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism

 

 Neuroscience

  • Rebecca Williams, The Effects of Buspirone and Nonreward on Frustration
  • Julia Litzky, Highways Through the Brain: Using Microfluidic Chips to Explore Brain Tumor Stem Cell Migration
  • Danielle Abatemarco, Sensorimotor Gating in the Post-pubescent Rat: The Double-Hit Model of Schizophrenia
  • Mary Meinke, The Neural Interaction of Verbal and Nonverbal Cues in Empathy Perception
  • Caitlin Burzynski, Long-term Effects of Maternal Separation and NMDA Receptor Antagonism in Early Life: A Rat Model of Schizophrenia
  • Peter Lauro, BPA, Sea Squirts, and You: Proposing Ciona Intestinalis as a Bioindicator Species for Bisphenol-a Accumulation in Marine Environments
  • Katie Peterson, Language Comprehension Networks for Proficient English-French Speakers as a Function of Immersion
  • Sarah Kane, Brain Networks for Discourse Content, Mouth Movements, and Gestures During Language Comprehension

 

Psychology

  • Meredith Bitterman, Sports Anxiety, Motivation, and Performance
  • Hailey Bobin, Communication for All: Enabling Nonverbal Individuals with Autism
  • Samuel R. Briggs, Resinging in the Brain: Prior Experience with Music Helps the Brain to Predict Forthcoming Words
  • Elizabeth Chapin, Cracking the Stigma: The Impact of Pro/Antisocial Priming and Prior Knowledge on the Acceptance of Autism
  • Laura DiCarlo, First Year Transition To College: The Effects of Athletic Participation on Adjustment
  • Sarah E. Dryer-Oren, Discrepant Self-Esteem, Ego Threat, and Risk-Taking
  • Charlotte Breene Gendron, Contingent Self-Esteem, Ego Threat and Risk-Taking Behavior
  • Carly E. Hachey, College Students' Perceptions of a Mentally Ill Person with a Controllable versus Uncontrollable Stigma
  • Annie Hull, Exploring the Process of Intentional Forgetting with Explicit and Implicit Measures of Memory
  • Josephine Jones, Socialization Agents' Influence on Children's Consumer Behavior: The Power of Peers in the Digital Age
  • Hayden Kiessling, Predicting Successful Transition to College: Gender Differences in Academic and Social Adjustment
  • Thea-Jenel Moore, Race-Based Stigma Consciousness and Academic Disengagement: The Buffering Role of College Mentorship Programs
  • Lenni Marcus, Cyberbullying and Victimization in College Students: The Importance of Parental Relationships
  • Kate Moore, Witnesses' Responses to Cyberbullying: The Role of the Cyber-bystander
  • Jodi-Ann Osborne, The Effect of Suppressing a Neutral versus Relevant Thought on Self-Esteem: The Role of Individual Differences in Suppression Tendencies
  • Dominique Paiement, Predicting Differences in Self-Determined Motivation in the Athletic Context
  • Libby Schultz, The iVictim: The Relationship Between Cyber Victimization, Personality Types, and Depressive Symptoms
  • Hannah Schacter, "She Didn't Text Me Back!":  Intent Attributions in Cyber Interactions
  • Caroline R. Senft, "Mean Girls": Socially Intelligent and Powerful Adolescents as Social Agents of Relational Aggression
  • Lauren Weivoda, The Role of Defensive Self-Esteem in Risk Taking Following Ego Threat

 

Sociology

  • Ashley Allen, Women in Television News: A Mirage of Gained Power, Equality and Success
  • Holly Bailey, Fine Art World vs. Artisan-Craft Worlds: How they differ and why
  • Kate Bennert, Wear Pink. Have Fun. Fight Breast Cancer: Creating a Culture of Positivity in the American Breast Cancer Awareness Movement
  • Meghan Carter, Prioritizing the Health of the Students: How Schools and School Districts are Handling the Obesity Epidemic
  • Amy Dow, Oak or Cherry?: A Study of Rationalization and Emotion Management in the Funeral Home
  • Frederique C. Dupré, Institutional Variability in Higher Education Systems: The Transmission of Cultural Capital and Social Capital
  • Samantha Elie, Scores or Results: How schools in New York State are handling standardized education
  • Rachel Irizarry, Crime or Disease: The Treatment of the Mentally Ill from Court to Jail
  • Emma Leeds, The Effect of Social Networking Sites on Interpersonal Ties
  • Ephraim McDowell, Seeking Justice in a System of Mass Incarceration: Why American Prosecutors Plea Bargain Punitively
  • Jessica Rodriguez, Parental Mediation: Attitudes and Methods in Parental Influence of Preteen Television Consumption
  • Shelley Sauerhaft, Determinants and Effects of the Study Abroad Experience at Hamilton College
  • Virginia Slattery, Disabling the Disabled: Investigating the Relationship between the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Declining Rate of Employment for People with Disabilities
  • Chase Tucker, The Modern Alienated Worker: A Comparative Analysis of Wal-Mart and Whole Foods
  • Alison Turka, Planned Parenthood v. Protestors: A Study of the Challenges of Stigmatized Labor with Planned Parenthood Employees of Central New York
  • Jian F. Wang,  “ABC” vs “FOB”: Identity and Ethnic Labels among Chinese-American High School Students
  • Bryson Wilson,  Organizational Commitment among Veterans: A qualitative study on how Veterans’ interactions with the United States Department of Veteran Affairs affects Veterans’ views of the Department of Veteran Affairs

 

Theatre

  • Katherine Watson, Talking With…
  • Jordyn Taylor and Shayna Schmidt, Under Construction
  •  Kadahj Bennett,12/21
  • John Whitney and Jonathan Higginbotham, Heads

 

Women's Studies

  • Lizzy Buhl, Women and the Anti-HydroFracking Movement of the Southern Tier and Central New York
  • Danielle Burby, Hookup Culture: Empowerment or Imprisonment?
  • Maria Peralta, A Feminist Analysis of Commercial Surrogacy in the United States
  • Hannah Stubley, 211 Pine Street, Mayfield, USA: Space, Gender, and Class within the Cleaver's Home

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