Oregon Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 10 No. 1 (2017)

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https://hdl.handle.net/1794/23464
Cover Art by Dorothy Rooney

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    Cover Art- "Bamiyan Valley and Buddha"
    (University of Oregon, 2017) Rooney, Dorothy; Jenkins, Barbara
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    Letter from the Editor
    (University of Oregon, 2017) Dorning, Sandra
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    Guest Editorial- "The Long Road to Knowledge"
    (University of Oregon, 2017) Hunt, Terry L.
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    A Radical Take on Zombie Apocalypse: Dominic Mitchell's In the Flesh
    (University of Oregon, 2017) Byrd, Finch
    Traditionally, the genre of zombie apocalypse has relied on a number of tropes: zombies’ inhumanity, mindlessness, decaying bodies, and capability to create new zombies with their bite. These tropes stem from societal opposition to disability, as well as from fear of non-heteronormative reproduction and the Freudian death drive. Most zombie literature is not outwardly critical of these tropes, but instead plays on them to portray zombies as an ultimate horror, a type of being that is other than and inferior to humans, that can—and should—be killed indiscriminately to prevent the destruction of western society as we know it. However, one zombie narrative, Dominic Mitchell’s BBC mini-series, In the Flesh, stands out above the rest as distinctly aware and radically critical of these tropes. In the series, the living majority’s medicalization and re-terming of undeath as “Partially Deceased Syndrome” creates an allegory for disability. “Zombies” are given agency in the series, and the series’ protagonist is a young, gay undead individual. Sentient and sympathetic zombies combined with notions of disability and queerness pose a radical challenge to the conventional (read: conservative) tropes of the zombie genre.
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    The Threshold of the Sublime: Standing in Awe and Fear in Jose Maria Heredia's "En el Teocalli de Cholula"
    (University of Oregon, 2017) Jones, Briauna
    My research explores the interactions between humans and nature as they appear in Cuban writer José María Heredia’s prose poem “En el Teocalli de Cholula.” I argue that María Heredia engages with the sublime by presenting a simultaneous awe and fear of nature. This analysis centers around a close reading of the selected poem and draws from Edmund Burke and Immanuel Kant’s conceptualizations of the sublime and contemporary, eco-critical approaches of Allen Carlson and Noël Carroll. Burke distinguishes between the beautiful and the sublime in A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, but Kant provides a more critical and complex definition of the sublime in Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime, a more acute definition I use in my reading of María Heredia’s poem. In “Appreciation and the Natural Environment” Carlson offers three, near-emotionless, ways of viewing the aesthetics of nature while Carroll adds the importance of emotion to Carlson’s preferred model of appreciation in Beyond Aesthetics: Philosophical Essays. From this paper, readers will come to recognize that if they were to stand and look onto el Teocalli de Cholula, they too would be in the presence of the sublime. This research is significant as it crosses temporal and geographical boundaries to better understand the unique human experience of the sublime.
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    Do You Know Where Your Research is Being Used? An Exploration of Scientific Literature Using Natural Language Processing
    (University of Oregon, 2017) LaGrow, Theodore J.; Bieker, Jacob; Norris, Boyana
    In a complex and dynamic field, such as computer science, it is of interest to understand what software resources are available and the usage and purpose of these resources. We demonstrate the feasibility of automatically identifying resource names from scientific literature in arXiv’s database and show that the generated data can be used for exploration of software and topics. While scholarly literature surveys can provide some insights on what is being used by researchers, large-scale computer-based approaches to identify methods and technology from primary literature is needed to enable systematic cataloguing. Further, these approaches will facilitate the monitoring of usage in a more effective method. We developed a software tool using Natural Language Processing to determine if articles relate to the technology and methods of question. We then evaluated a trend of technology and methods used in each specific area of science. As we continue to expand this software, we will also analyze the researchers’ sentiment about the technology and methods to quantify funded research.
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    Quantitative Analysis of Debris and Plastic Pollution on Beaches in Northern Madagascar
    (University of Oregon, 2017) Gjerdseth, Emma
    Marine pollution, with the majority originating from land based sources, poses a significant threat to species in marine and coastal ecosystems. By understanding the make-up of the beach debris, more effective and targeted education and awareness programs can be developed to reduce marine pollution originating from land based sources. In this study, beach debris was recorded, quantified and classified, from three mostly sandy beaches in the northern Diana Region of Madagascar. At the time of this study there were no published reports about debris on Malagasy beaches, thus this paper provides original insight into debris composition and distribution in the region. The debris was observed and classified using transect methods and charts developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) complimented by visual observations. CSIRO has performed similar studies before, therefore the use of their methods made for easier data collection and allowed for ease of comparison for future studies. The abundance of debris per square metre varied between the beaches, which shows a predicted increase with usage. The beaches that had a high number of observed visitors also had a higher quantity of debris. Plastic debris density remained relatively stable between the beaches. A total of 1216 pieces of debris was recorded, with 758 pieces being of plastic, distributed at an average of 0.158 pieces of debris per square metre and 0.109 pieces of plastic per square metre. The highest total quantity of debris and plastic litter was found at Ramena followed by Ampasindava and Baïe de Sakalava.