Browsing by Subject "Adaptation"
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Item Adaptation in a deep network(2011-05) Ruiz, Vito Manuel; Pillow, Jonathan W.; Miikkulainen, Risto; Fiete, Ila; Geisler, Wilson; Seidemann, EyalThough adaptational effects are found throughout the visual system, the underlying mechanisms and benefits of this phenomenon are not yet known. In this work, the visual system is modeled as a Deep Belief Network, with a novel “post-training” paradigm (i.e. training the network further on certain stimuli) used to simulate adaptation in vivo. An optional sparse variant of the DBN is used to help bring about meaningful and biologically relevant receptive fields, and to examine the effects of sparsification on adaptation in their own right. While results are inconclusive, there is some evidence of an attractive bias effect in the adapting network, whereby the network’s representations are drawn closer to the adapting stimulus. As a similar attractive bias is documented in human perception as a result of adaptation, there is thus evidence that the statistical properties underlying the adapting DBN also have a role in the adapting visual system, including efficient coding and optimal information transfer given limited resources. These results are irrespective of sparsification. As adaptation has never been tested directly in a neural network, to the author’s knowledge, this work sets a precedent for future experiments.Item Bildung and Bilder? : text, illustration, and adventure in popular German children’s books of the early nineteenth century(2020-03-26) Anderson, Matthew Owen; Belgum, Kirsten, 1959-; Hess, Peter; Fulk, Kirkland A; Winship, Michael BThis dissertation explores the impact of graphic innovation on the established book culture of nineteenth-century Germany through an often-overlooked medium: the illustrated youth adventure book. Despite their ubiquity during this time period, these works have received relatively little scholarly attention beyond identification in sweeping, literary historical surveys or presentation in archival exhibition catalogs. This dissertation approaches illustrated books for young readers in the same way that scholars in the fields of children’s literature and visual cultural studies treat picture books, comic books, and graphic novels: as cultural products that rely on the interplay of two distinct but intrinsically linked semiotic domains, the written word and visual image, to create meaning. Drawing on theoretical insights from the fields of children’s literature, art history, critical bibliography, and—visual cultural studies, it sees the illustrated youth book as a multimodal whole instead of a text that happens to have visuals attached to it. The case studies included in this dissertation highlight the following four, thematically and chronologically overlapping works of German youth adventure in their various guises: Joachim Heinrich Campe’s Robinson der Jüngere (1779/80, trans. Robinson the Younger), Frederick Marryat’s Masterman Ready (1841), James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales (trans. Lederstrumpf-Erzählungen, 1845), and Theodor Dielitz’s Land- und Seebilder (1841-1861, trans. Images of Land and Sea). Each chapter follows a similar structure—moving from pedagogical and historical contexts into textual, visual, and then multimodal analyses—but has a slightly different focus. By focusing on a genre, period, and medium defined by the tension between education (Bildung) and entertainment, this dissertation specifically seeks to understand the importance of illustration (Bilder) to the development of a central genre of intentional German youth literatureItem The changing climate of vulnerability, aid and governance in Malawi(2012-05) Malcomb, Dylan Wayne; Crews, Kelley A.; Young, Kenneth R.; Miller, Jennifer A.By year 2020, developed countries pledged to mobilize USD100 billion per year towards mitigation of greenhouse gases and strategies of adaptation. This redistribution from Annex I (developed) countries to developing countries represents a near doubling of current official development assistance levels, yet future strategies of adaptation remain nebulous. Definitions, opinions and agendas of adaptation have evolved into new global development strategy, but will externally-designed strategies threaten an adaptive process that should be community-led and environmentally-contextual? Little empirical research has been conducted on adaptation as an international development strategy that consists of massive earmarking of funds to institute and later demonstrate that projects are related to climate change. Through semi-structured interviews with international and development organizations, national and local governments, civil society and community focus groups, this research chronicles Malawi's polycentric response to climate change vulnerability. Using site-visits to numerous active adaptation projects in Malawi as case-studies, this research examines who the stakeholders are in this process, what adaptation looks like and how the overall concept of this new development strategy can be improved.Item Contextual modulation through space and time in sensory cortex(2021-11-01) Barbera, Dylan J.; Priebe, Nicholas; Lampl, Ilan; Nauhaus, Ian; Golding, Nace; Geisler, WilsonSensory networks in the nervous system are typified by their hierarchical organization. For example, transduction of photons by retinal photoreceptors begins a complex web of interactions throughout the visual pathway resulting in representations for features such as motion, depth and even faces. In each area of the network, information is transformed by a combination of local, feedforward and feedback circuits. One major influence on thissensory representation is the sensory context. What constitutes the sensory context is broad, and includes stimulus history, behavioral state and the statistics of the sensory environment. Understanding these contextual modulations is critical to developing an overall picture of the sensory representation. In the following chapters, I examine contextual modulation in early sensory cortex. In the first section (Chapter 2), I investigate the mechanisms responsible for the diverse effects of masking in mouse primary visual cortex. Using a combination of electrophysiology, imaging and modeling, I demonstrate that the effects of masking emerge from the spatial organization of the feedforward inputs to V1. In the second section (Chapter 3), I compare adaptation in three primary sensory areas (visual, somatosensory and auditory) using a common stimulus paradigm. I find that the major adaptive features between these areas are generally conserved, suggesting that elements of adaptation are shared between stimulus modalities and across neocortex.Item A digital truce line between South and North Korea? : an analysis of North Koreans' digital access, media use, and adaptation(2015-08) Min, Bumgi; Strover, Sharon; Straubhaar, JosephThe number of North Korean refugees moving to South Korea as exiles has gradually increased over the past few decades. Therefore, North Korean refugees' adaptation to South Korean society is perceived as one of the most significant issues in South Korea. Instead of using face-to-face communication, North Korean refugees tend to use diverse media channels such as newspapers, television, and Internet to learn about South Korea's value system, social norms, and even how to form relationships. In other words, media has played a crucial role in North Korean refugees' adaptation. Based on this social phenomenon, this paper provides not only the current status of digital access and literacy among North Korean refugees but also the relationship between North Korean refugees' media use and their adaptation by using social trust, social capital, and political participation. This paper takes a quantitative approach as well as a qualitative approach. For a quantitative approach, this study employs a survey of 43 North Korean refugees. Qualitatively, this study conducted in-depth interviews with a total of 12 North Korean refugees. In terms of digital access, both statistical results and interview findings demonstrate that North Korean refugees' digital access is high. However, the refugees' digital literacy and media use are divided according to their occupation and age. Not only do the statistical results but also the interview findings show that digital media plays a significant role in North Korean refugees' social trust and social networking. However, the quantitative findings as well as the qualitative findings do not explain the relationship between digital media and political participation. The results of this research will have significant implications on current telecommunication policies for narrowing the digital divide between South Korean and North Korean refugees.Item Entre dos culturas (between two cultures) : Mexican American university students’ perceptions of pressures experienced and their adaptive strategies among white and same-ethnicity peers.(2013-05) Olivarri, Roger Joseph; Valencia, Richard R.Individuals of Mexican descent have resided in the United States for more than a century and a half and during that time have experienced varying degrees of acceptance. As American society has generally adopted the view that "foreigners" should assimilate to mainstream American culture, many individuals of Mexican descent have faced demands to distance themselves from their culture in order to adopt the behaviors and values consistent with White American culture. While many ethnic groups may have faced similar circumstances, the experiences of individuals of Mexican descent may differ from those of others due to the close proximity of Mexico to the United States and the constant flow of Mexican immigrants, which together may contribute to their retention of their native culture. As individuals of Mexican descent experience greater contact with their native and White American culture, particularly while in pursuit in success, it becomes necessary to understand what pressures individuals experience when among their White American and same-ethnicity peers. Furthermore, it is necessary to examine how they negotiate their bicultural contexts in response to the pressures they face. Using a sample of university student who were of Mexican descent, this study employed qualitative methods and select measures to explore their perceptions of pressures faced and adaptive strategies utilized when among their White American and same-ethnicity peers. The results from the present study indicated that the participants believed their culture continues to be seen as inferior and is unaccepted by White Americans. As a result of their beliefs, which were reinforced by their minority status, stereotypes, and intergroup experiences, many reported experiencing distress when among their White peers. Among their same-ethnicity peers, many reported experiencing pressure to remain connected to their culture. Despite different definitions of what remaining connected meant, the most commonly referenced criterion included being fluent in Spanish and having to overcome struggles. In order to negotiate their bicultural settings, the majority of the participants utilized an adaptive approach to their bicultural contexts that allowed them the flexibility to draw from both cultures in a manner that was consistent with their values, beliefs, and cultural identity.Item Evasion from predation : the perilous life of planktonic copepods throughout development(2011-05) Gemmell, Bradford James; Buskey, Edward Joseph, 1952-; Strickler, J. Rudi; Holt, G. Joan; Lenz, Petra; Shank, G. ChristopherAs one of the most abundant metazoan groups on the planet, copepods are found in virtually all marine environments. They provide a key link in marine food webs between photosynthetic algae and higher trophic levels. Subsequently, copepods are preyed upon by a wide variety of organisms throughout their life history. As a result copepods have evolved a powerful escape behavior at all stages of development, in response to hydrodynamic stimuli created by an approaching predator. Typically copepods exhibit 6 naupliar stages and 5 copepodite stages before becoming adults. This work focuses on quantifying the effectiveness of the escape behavior during key periods of development. The earliest developmental stage of copepod (nauplius N1) experiences the greatest amount of viscous forces and may be at a disadvantage when exposed to larger predators at cold temperatures. The results show that the nauplius exhibits a compensatory mechanism to maximize escape performance across its thermal range. Later in development, the nauplius (N6 stage) molts into a copepodite (C1 stage) which resembles the body form of an adult copepod. Here, there is a significant morphological change with little change in mass. Escape capabilities are investigated for key stages in response to feeding strikes from natural fish predators. The results demonstrate that the improvement in escape capability of the C1 stage is effective only against certain modes of predation. Finally, successfully escaping from predation has evolutionary fitness implications and adults (post C5) are the only reproductive stage. Some species have developed unique mechanisms to avoid predation such as breaking the water surface and making aerial escapes to avoid predators while in other cases, the predator has developed unique morphology in order to reduce the amount of hydrodynamic disturbance in the water which improves capture success of copepods. By investigating copepod behavior and their ability to avoid predation at various stages of development, we can begin to understand which stages copepods are most susceptible to different types of predators and how the escape response changes as development progresses. This can help in understanding localized abundances or deficiencies of both predator and prey in the marine food web.Item Expansion, adaptation, and exclusion : Texas and the eastern North American borderlands, 1763-1845(2023-12) Cox, Sheena Lee; Buenger, Walter L., 1951-; Smith, Foster T; Bsumek, Erika; Zamora, EmilioThis dissertation examines the process of American Indian removal across eastern North America and into Texas from 1763-1845. I examine treaties, personal letters, diaries, legislation, and government documentation to show how American Indian removal was an essential component of American expansion in the 18th and 19th centuries. After the first Treaty of Paris, American Indians, and native Mexicans, like all groups who encountered chaotic circumstances, resisted, or adapted to the changing nature of relationships in their regions as the borders and power dynamics fluctuated. I argue that the theft and sale of American Indian land contributed to the rapid economic development of the United States and became more aggressively violent after the 1815 Creek War, which eliminated significant Indigenous resistance in the Old Northwest and the South at the same time the European competition became severely weakened and removed from much of North America. Furthermore, I show how the theory of Indigenous incorporation into American society was never meaningfully attempted, and methods of exclusion were supported and more common practice by the time Americans first settled in Texas.Item Genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of adaptation in stony corals(2017-07-26) Dixon, Groves Bayne; Matz, Mikhail V.; Bolnick, Daniel I; Hofmann, Hans A; Iyer, Vishy; Kirkpatrick, MarkIn this dissertation, I used genomic techniques to examine interrelationships between genotype, gene expression, DNA methylation and environmental conditions in the model coral Acropora millepora. I present three major findings: 1) populations in the Great Barrier Reef have the potential for rapid genetic adaptation to climate change 2) patterns of DNA methylation predict gene expression plasticity 3) patterns of DNA methylation can predict fitness under environmental change.Item Genetic architecture of trait divergence in Panicum hallii ecotypes(2021-04-19) Khasanova, Albina Rifovna; Juenger, Thomas; Linder, Craig R; Fay, Philip A; Dinneny, Jose R; Farrior, Caroline E; Roux, Stanley JEnvironmental heterogeneity across a species range can drive functional trait variation and lead to the formation of locally adapted ecotypes. Plant ecotypes are often differentiated by suites of correlated root and shoot traits that share common genetic, developmental, and physiological relationships. This divergence requires coordination between multiple plant organ systems. This research predominantly examines the genetic architecture underlying root-shoot trait relationships and their interaction with the environment in order to develops a more complete picture of the adaptive differences that arise between ecotypes. We used a recombinant inbred line population derived from upland and lowland ecotypes of the diploid C4 perennial bunch grass Panicum hallii to examine the following: 1. The quantitative genetics of root and shoot trait coordination. 2. The quantitative genetics of the impact of plant root microbiomes collected from natural environments on plant root and shoot traits. 3. How plant host genetics shape root microbiomes. Utilizing extensive phenotyping of plant traits and a quantitative genetic approach, we identified several genomic ‘hotspots’ which control suites of correlated root and shoot traits, thus indicating genetic coordination between plant organ systems in the process of ecotypic divergence. In addition, we found that genomic regions of colocalized quantitative trait loci (QTL) for the majority of shoot and root growth related traits were independent of colocalized QTL for shoot and root resource acquisition traits. The allelic effects of individual QTL underscore ecological specialization for drought adaptation between ecotypes and reveal possible hybrid breakdown through epistatic interactions. We show that the growth and development of ecotypes and their trait divergence depends on soil microbiomes and find that broad-sense heritability is modified by soil microbiomes, revealing important plant genotype-by-microbiome interactions for quantitative traits. We detected a number QTL interacting with the soil microbiome, including epistatic interactions dependent on soil microbiome context. We also show that microbial inocula habitat of origin changes the heritability for individual microbes (ASVs) and that different plant genomic regions are associated with abundance of individual microbes and community level structure. Our results highlight the genetic architecture underlying trait divergence and the importance of microbial interactions in C4 perennial grasses.Item Global change : projecting expansion of invasive species and climate change impacts at the tree-tundra ecotone in the Himalaya(2014-08) Mainali, Kumar Prasad; Parmesan, Camille, 1961-; Singer, Micheal; White, Joseph; Young, Kenneth; Simpson, BerylModeling the distribution of species, especially of invasive species in non-native ranges, has multiple challenges. We develop some novel approaches to species distribution modeling aimed at reducing the influences of these challenges and improve realism of projections. We estimated species-environment relationship with four modeling methods, viz., random forest (RF), boosted regression trees (BRT), generalized linear models (GLM), and generalized additive models (GAM), running each of them with multiple scenarios of (1) sources of occurrences and geographically isolated background ranges, (2) approaches of drawing background points, (3) alternate sets of predictor variables. When a species' distribution is in a non-equilibrium state, as is the case for most invasive species, model projections are very sensitive to the choice of training dataset. Contrary to previous studies, we found that model accuracy is much improved by using a global dataset for model training (both presences and background points from the world), rather than restricting data input to the species' native range. Projections outside the training region, especially in invaded regions, can be very different depending on the modeling method used. Globally projecting, we show that vast stretches of currently uninvaded geographic spaces in multiple continents harbor highly suitable habitats for Parthenium. Projections away from the sampled space (i.e. into areas of potential future invasion), can be very different with different modeling methods, raising questions about the reliability of ensemble projection. Data-driven models that efficiently fit the dominant pattern but exclude highly local features in dataset and model interactions as they appear in data (e.g., boosted regression trees) improve generalization of the species distribution modeling. Alpine treelines are responding to current climate change worldwide. To understand tree line dynamics and its potential drivers, we studied the primary two dominant tree species, Abies spectabilis (AS) and Rhododendron campanulatum (RC), on the north facing slope of two mountains in central Nepal. We determined spatial pattern of regeneration potential, mortality and abundance for various size/age classes, and we identified the most important drivers of such patterns. We also conducted a reciprocal transplant experiment on saplings of RC, moving them between species limit and treeline that were spaced apart by 150m. Young plants (<2m tall) of RC have higher density above treeline than below treeline. Mature plants (>2m tall) of RC, on the contrary, show insignificant trend towards higher density below treeline than above. Mortality of RC was always lower above treeline than below, independent of size class. AS saplings have extremely lower density above treeline than below, with mature plants being virtually absent above treeline. Elevation was identified as the only significant predictor of the decrease in density of both species above treeline. The saplings are progressively younger and shorter with distance above treeline. Both species are regenerating faster above treeline than below. These results are consistent with upward shift of the tree line of RC as a result of recent amelioration of temperature. Climatic extremes during spring affect mortality and leaf size whereas growth is affected by summer climate. Individuals from the species limit, if they survive, perform better when moved downhill than they do at home, and also out-perform the locals. Although the upper elevational boundary of RC is shifting upward, these results indicate that strong differences still exist between individuals across a short elevational gradient, with individuals at the extreme limit of the species range being more tolerant to extreme climate conditions but less tolerant of competition compared to individuals only 150m lower in elevation.Item How theatre adapts : integrating art, commerce, and the adaptation industry(2021-05-10) Malafronte, Ashley; Rossen, Rebecca; Bonin-Rodriguez, PaulFrom the big-budget stages of Broadway to more experimental, independent theatre scenes, cross-medium adaptations dominate the landscape of U.S. theatre. The proliferation of adaptations into theatre— and the extreme concentration of budgetary resources, acclaim, and audience reach that attend them— is the observation that launched this research. This thesis converges scholarship from theatre studies, performance studies, and adaptation studies to position cross-medium adaptation as an effective strategy to maintain the economic viability of theatre without compromising the oft-lauded qualities of liveness and ephemerality. Through two case studies, I map relationships between the theatre, book, and film industries— and their stakeholders— to further an understanding of adaptation within a multi-industrial system of production that impacts both the artistic and business practices of cultural production. Participation in what Simone Murray calls the adaptation industry provides links to other, non-theatrical entertainment industries, and creating work in this system enables some aspects of contemporary theatrical production while constraining others. Adaptation therefore accelerates the commodification of theatre by linking a theatrical performance to the extant product of its non-theatrical source. Disney Theatrical Productions, Ltd. embraces this commodification as a way of enabling theatrical production through a multi-pronged set of business synergy strategies, which the company deploys by activating a network of cross-divisional relationships within the larger Walt Disney Company. This approach facilitates theatrical production, though sometimes at the expense of artistry. Elevator Repair Service, by contrast, utilizes adaptation as a set of formal constraints to be made visible through performance. Despite this oppositional approach, Elevator Repair Service’s Gatz retains the associational benefits of adaptation by trading on the prestige of its canonical source, The Great Gatsby. This thesis articulates the industrial forces at play in both of these cases while centering practitioners in an analysis of theatrical adaptation within a multi-industrial system. Ultimately, this research contributes to a growing body of scholarship on theatrical adaptations and argues for theatre makers’ agency to navigate the potential business benefits to working in adaptation while defraying potential artistic costs.Item Intraspecific variation in corals’ responses to environmental stressors(2017-05-03) Wright, Rachel Michelle; Matz, Mikhail V.; Hofmann, Hans; Moran, Nancy; Bolnick, Dan; Whiteley, MarvinClimate change threatens reef-building corals in various ways. Increasing temperatures disrupt coral–algal symbioses, acidification impacts calcification, and increasingly prevalent diseases cause tissue loss and mortality. This dissertation investigated coral responses to all of these stressors. First, I measured gene expression in response to natural disease in Acropora hyacinthus. I compared expression profiles of eight healthy colonies against eight colonies exhibiting symptoms commonly associated with white syndromes. Both visibly affected and apparently healthy tissues were collected from diseased colonies. Differences between healthy and diseased tissues indicated activation of innate immunity and tissue repair pathways accompanied by reduced calcification and metabolism of stored lipids. Expression profiles of unaffected tissues from diseased colonies were not significantly different from fully healthy samples, indicating weak systemic effects of white syndromes on A. hyacinthus. Next, I challenged eight A. millepora genotypes with a putative bacterial pathogen to assess intraspecific variation in disease susceptibility. Genotypes varied from zero to >90% mortality, with bacterial challenge increasing mortality rates 4–6 fold and shifting the microbiome in favor of stress-associated taxa. Immune and transcriptomic responses to the challenge were more prominent in high-mortality individuals, whereas low-mortality corals maintained expression signatures of a healthier condition. This study supports that intraspecific variation in disease susceptibility does exist; therefore, selection could promote disease resistance. My final dissertation project investigated the capacity for A. millepora to adapt to multiple environmental stressors: rising temperatures, ocean acidification, and infectious diseases. I measured growth rates, coral color (a proxy for algal symbiont density), survival, and a number of physiological estimates of coral and algal health in response to these three stressors and a combined treatment. Whereas treatments resulted in the predicted responses, I found no synergistic activity between stressors. A genetic variance–covariance matrix demonstrated within-trait variance and positive genetic covariances. Estimates for changes in trait means using the multivariate breeder’s equation showed that co-variances between these traits reinforce, rather than constrain, adaptation to environmental threats. These findings emphasize the importance of acknowledging adaptive capacity when predicting reef cover under future climate scenarios.Item Investigating local adaptation in a reef-building coral(2014-08) Kenkel, Carly Danielle; Matz, Mikhail V.Environmental variation is ubiquitous in natural systems. The genetic and physiological mechanisms governing population-level responses to this variation will impact the process of speciation and the capacity for populations to persist in a changing climate. Until recently, population-level responses to environmental selection remained largely unexplored in marine systems due to the historical assumption that the inherently dispersive nature of most marine taxa would preclude their ability to specialize to local environments. This dissertation represents the first investigation of population-level responses to environmental variation in a Caribbean reef-building coral. This research integrates ecological, physiological, genetic and genomic methods to (1) determine patterns of local adaptation in the Florida Keys, (2) identify stressors driving adaptive responses, (3) distinguish the physiological and genetic mechanisms underlying coral adaptation and (4) assess the potential for future adaptation in the common reef-building coral Porites astreoides. Results demonstrate that corals adapt and/or acclimatize to their local habitat and that this specialization incurs fitness costs. Temperature differences between reefs likely play a selective role in differentiating inshore and offshore coral populations. Genetic and gene expression differences indicate that coral hosts play a substantial role in driving these population-level differences. Inshore corals exhibit greater gene expression plasticity, which may be involved in stabilizing physiological responses to temperature fluctuations experienced at inshore reefs. In addition, naïve juvenile coral recruits from inshore reefs exhibit a growth rate advantage over offshore recruits under elevated temperature treatment, suggesting that thermotolerance differences observed in adult populations could continue to evolve in response to climate change. Taken together these results provide novel insight into the drivers of reef decline in the Florida Keys and the role of the host in coral adaptation capacity.Item Let's have a gay old time : how lesbians shaped early Hollywood(2021-07-30) Reinschmidt, Janet; Isenberg, Noah WilliamThis thesis puts forth Alla Nazimova, Kay Francis, and Greta Garbo as case studies for early Hollywood lesbian stardom and reception and unpacks how their star personas were constructed as well as the fan responses to their image and work. Through intersections of star studies, reception studies, classic literature, and queer historical texts, I discuss each star’s life and career with textual analysis of their films and primary sources such as fan letters, fan magazines, advertisements, and newspaper articles. I argue that each star represents a queer, and more specifically lesbian and bisexual, sensibility within the early Hollywood film industry that deserves more scholarly attention. The fan letters columns within old Hollywood fan magazines such as Photoplay and Modern Screen particularly illustrate the construction of queer star personas and the impact that they had on informed movie fans. Nazimova, Francis, and Garbo were all-powerful and influential figures in the film industry during significant periods of change such as the rise of the studio era, the arrival of sound, and the shift from pre-Code to the production Code era. Their star personas reflect how they were influenced by and went on to influence these critical transitions in Old Hollywood. There is a fundamental activist function to this work, to remind audiences that queer people have always existed, even without a framework to discuss identity, and this work endeavors to show a dedicated lesbian influence and audience of early Hollywood.Item Planning for climate change adaptation through Nature-Based Solutions(2020-08-17) Linhart, Jordan Skye; Lieberknecht, Katherine E.; Jiao, JunfengA changing climate has been of mounting concern for the last decades, leaving scientists, policy makers, planners, and everyday citizens scrambling for ways to adapt to a new normal. The impacts of climate change are vast and quickly altering the planet around us, and we must begin to adapt to these impending changes. The goals of this professional report are to inform about what Nature-Based Solutions are and how they can be integrated into planning concepts to combat climate change impacts, acknowledge successful case studies, recognize knowledge gaps, and create recommendations for implementation and future policies. This is done through an extensive and comprehensive literature review, as well as case study analysis of three different examples of Nature-Based Solutions and their impact on climate change adaptation. This report provides an overview of the history of Nature-Based Solutions, the different types of Nature-Based Solutions, and how they can help adapt to a changing climate. It also focuses on the impacts of a changing climate on urban areas, methods of adaptive planning for a changing climate, and the health and social impacts of Nature-Based Solutions. Three case studies are presented: stormwater management in Staten Island, New York; urban cooling and greening in Phoenix, Arizona; and coastal management on the Island of Barbados. Lastly, I include a section on policy recommendations and conclusions for greater implementation of Nature-Based Solutions in planning.Item The politics of film adaptation : a case study of Alfonso Cuarón's Children of men(2010-05) Nelson, Patricia Elise; Staiger, Janet; Fuller, JenniferThis thesis investigates the political and social contexts of the adaptation of the 1992 novel The Children of Men, written by prolific British mystery writer P.D. James, to a 2006 US film of the same title, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Both novel and film share the same premise, imagining a future world where human reproduction is no longer possible; however, each deals with drastically different ideological and political concerns. As a case study of the politics of adaptation, this project considers adaptation as both a product and a process, analyzing representation, medium specificity, genre and political contexts as well as issues of production and reception.Item Siteless substances : staging Black placelessness in Shakespeare adaptations(2022-08-01) Harris, Patrick Aaron; Mallin, Eric Scott; Loehlin, James N; Arjomand, Minou; Thompson, AyannaThis project analyzes the connections between race, place, and identity as articulated by Shakespeare’s modern-day Black adaptors. My research on race and placelessness makes a literal consideration of what Dr. Koritha Mitchell has termed “know-your-place aggression,” which considers how anti-Black racists deploy violence to keep Black people from achieving civic and social success. Centering land and locality, my research highlights how the prevailing focus on acts of racist aggression themselves has overshadowed the significance of landscape, geography, and geopolitics in race formation and how racist violence often intersects with a desire to prevent Black people’s access to certain places. My approach brings nation, region, migration, and other forms of “placehood” to the analysis of Black culture and anti-Black racism throughout the African diaspora, especially in USian, Canadian, and Caribbean contexts. In this multidisciplinary project, I assemble scholarship on medieval and early modern history, early modern literary and performance cultures, records of 19th-century European and American Shakespeare performances, and 20th an 21st-century critical interventions on the topics of race and identity in Shakespeare studies. From this array of primary and secondary sources, I argue that Black artists’ engagement with Shakespeare’s plays necessarily interrogate the notions of origin and originality as they pertain to diasporic identity and adaptation, respectively. I further argue that the literary and artistic output of Black diasporic people can be examined as a constellation of adaptive strategies that respond to Shakespeare and other Western canonical writers and thinkers. Doing so, these creators recuperate progressive potential in diasporic placelessness from the histories of colonialism, expropriation, and chattel slavery that obscure racial and cultural origins.Item Social forces and hedonic adaptation(2013-05) Chugani, Sunaina Kumar; Irwin, Julie R.Consumers acquire products to enhance their lives, but the happiness from these acquisitions generally decreases with the passage of time. This process of hedonic adaptation plays an integral role in post-acquisition consumer satisfaction, product disposal and replacement behavior, and the "hedonic treadmill" that partially drives the relationship between consumption and happiness. Humans are social animals, however, and we know little about the relationship between the social environment and hedonic adaptation. My dissertation addresses this gap by exploring the moderating role of social presence (Essay 1) and self-concepts (Essay 2) on hedonic adaptation to products. Essay 1 explores how social presence affects hedonic adaptation to products. Research on general happiness has shown that significantly positive life events tend to maintain their positivity for longer periods of time when they involve active social interactions. I examine a more common situation in the domain of product consumption, i.e., the presence of others during consumption, and test whether hedonic adaptation to products is moderated by public contexts. By tracking happiness with products over time, I show that a "social audience" (i.e., the presence of others and the perception that those others notice the consumer) moderates hedonic adaptation through a consumer's inference of the social audience perspective. Inferring that the social audience is admiring one's product slows down adaptation, and inferring that the social audience is negatively viewing one's product accelerates adaptation. Essay 2 explores the role the identity-relevance of a product plays in hedonic adaptation. Extant research illustrates that consumers avoid consuming identity-inconsistent products in order to avoid dissonance arising from product choices conflicting with important self-concepts. I show that dissonance can also arise from consuming identity-consistent products because of the force of hedonic adaptation. I provide evidence that consumers feel uncomfortable experiencing declining happiness with identity-consistent products and thus resist hedonic adaptation to such products in order to resolve the dissonance.Item The creeping disaster : sea level rise and environmental justice in Miami(2021-05-06) Christie, Cameron Gregor; Paterson, Robert G.This report examines the effects that Sea Level Rise (SLR) is projected to have on the coastal city of Miami, FL. This phenomenon will not only cause severe generalized disruption for the city, but its effects are likely to be borne worst by more vulnerable communities. After reviewing SLR projections and adaptive and mitigative infrastructure options, an extensive review of the current trends affecting the city is completed that forms the basis for the projection of several alternative future scenarios for the city of Miami in the year 2070.