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Shrefler, Claudia

Redefining Food Access in Rural Counties of Pennsylvania The U.S. Department of Agriculture narrowly defines food access as the percent of individuals in urban census blocks living more than one mile from a major supermarket or grocery store, and the percent in rural census blocks living more than ten miles from a major supermarket or grocery store. A comprehensive review of the literature suggests that there are many other variables that better model food access than just physical proximity to a grocery store.  The goal of my research was to perform statistical analyses on a multitude of variables in order […]

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MacKay, Catherine

Building a Theatrical Performance from the Ground Up Devised theatre is the product of a collaborative process in which an ensemble of writers, actors, and designers create a theatrical performance from scratch. This process stems from themes the ensemble would like to explore and how they translate onto the stage. The ensemble then finds a way to break the themes down into smaller scenes that are later pieced together into full-scale production. In the fall of 2019, the Department of Theatre and Dance produced a devised performance piece in which I served as the Assistant Director/Dramaturg. As an Assistant Director/Dramaturg, […]

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Appiah-Padi, Nana Atakora; Cabrera, Liv; Jennings, James; Mills, Rashid

Revisiting August Wilson in the 21st Century: Blackness qua Queerness August Wilson, born Frederick August Kittel, was a Black poet and playwright raised in the predominantly African American Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born to a German immigrant baker and Black housemaid, Wilson, one of five children, experienced racial harassment endemic of 1940s Jim Crow America. Inspired by Harlem Renaissance writers Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes, and Ralph Ellison, Wilson sought to expand the theatrical literary canon to include the lived experiences of Black Americans – both the spectacular and mundane. His plays have been performed all over the world, garnering […]

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Booker, Ariel

Gender Differences in Exonerations Wrongful convictions are a gross miscarriage of justice and leave innocent people in prison for countless years. Wrongful convictions undermine the integrity and legitimacy of the legal system.  Wrongful convictions can be traced as far back as the Salem Witch trials and there is a great deal of scholarship on the issue. However, as much as we currently know about wrongful convictions little is known about the gender disparities that exist between the wrongful convictions of men and women.  Since 1989, there have been 2,471 individuals exonerated and only 217 of those are women. There is […]

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Henk, Leah

Algae culturing using different forms of inorganic carbon. The cultivation of algae for fuel offers an alternative to fossil fuel. A research project by Pittman and colleagues found the cultivation of algae is promising for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs. What’s more, is algae cultivation produces large amounts of biomass and are some of the quickest growing photosynthetic organisms, which is ideal for biofuel synthesizing. Algae can grow on most mediums such as sewage or seawater. The goal of this project was to measure the effects of total inorganic carbon concentration (delivered as “house air” and solid HCO3) […]

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