A guarded pre-vet student seeks compensation against an unidentified driver who harmed a puppy she reluctantly took in.

This study investigates the formative period of the Ottoman Empire between 1301 and 1453, tracing its transformation from a frontier principality into a powerful imperial force. Centering on a critical reassessment of long-standing historical narratives, most notably Paul Wittek's "Ghaza Thesis," which casts early Ottoman expansion as primarily driven by Islamic holy war. The paper argues that the Ottomans operated within a dynamic, pragmatic spectrum of motivations. Drawing from recent scholarship by Cemal Kafadar, Rudi Lindner, Caroline Finkel, and others, it emphasizes the fluid and adaptive strategies that defined Ottoman political and military behavior. Rather than being exclusively ideological or religious, early Ottoman conquests were shaped by a blend of tribal politics, strategic alliances, economic incentives, and localized power struggles. This project analyzes primary inscriptions, diplomatic marriages, and military campaigns to reveal how the Ottomans balanced cooperation with Christian powers, warfare against fellow Muslims, and the symbolic use of Islamic identity to legitimize rule. The inclusion of Christians in court, interfaith marriages with Byzantine nobility, and the flexible use of terms like "ghazi" illustrate the performative nature of religious identity in the frontier context. The paper also examines the internal mechanisms that sustained imperial expansion, such as the dev?irme system, the rise of the Janissaries, and the construction of a hybrid legal-administrative model influenced by both Islamic and Byzantine traditions. The Ottoman approach to governance was marked by tolerance, and incorporation allowed for remarkable stability even in the face of civil war and external threats, such as the crisis following the Battle of Ankara in 1402. Ultimately, this study refutes monolithic explanations of the formation of the Ottoman State and argues that its imperial success was built on strategic pluralism, frontier adaptability, and an evolving sense of legitimacy that drew from, but was not bound by, religious ideology.

Theatre-makers use autobiographical theatre as a medium to pull their life experiences outside themselves and recontextualize them in an embodied realm, leaving it open for the artist and audience to prescribe meaning to the piece. Autobiographical theatre is a form of theatre where the playwright, director, or ensemble collect personal experiences and reconstruct them theatrically, creating an environment that invites an audience to observe. Retelling personal experiences theatrically enables the theatre maker to re-experience their past, providing the capacity for the artist to endow meaning onto their experiences. Phenomenologists aim to understand and explain how certain experiences show up to humans and how these experiences can create meaning for people. This essay examines two phenomenological theories of art and theatre by Alva Noë and Bert States, as well as analyzing two devised autobiographical theatre pieces: one by French theatre director Ariane Mnouchkine and the other by Theatre and Performance majors at SUNY Purchase, Maggie Anderson, Dana Freeman, and Judit Queral Perramon.

After a mysterious attack at a ball, a noble family in 1780's France struggles to climb the social ladder as they grow into their newfound lycanthropic urges.

Slot machines, a cornerstone of the gambling industry, utilize Pseudo-Random Number Generators to introduce an element of chance. This study explores the mathematical and computational underpinnings of PRNGs, specifically focusing on the Linear Congruential Generator and the Mersenne Twister, to understand their effectiveness in casino settings. While the Mersenne Twister has shown superior performance in statistical tests like the Die-Harder suite, the LCG, despite its shortcomings in these tests, still meets the functional requirements for slot machines. This highlights that for casino applications, the quality of randomness does not need to be strong. Instead, PRNGs are employed to balance unpredictability with the casino's need for profitability, demonstrating that even generators considered weak for other purposes can be highly effective in ensuring the house edge. This research explores the mechanisms of PRNGs in slot machines and how the casino industry leverages the balance between randomness and control to ensure profitability, providing insights into this complex balance. This research argues that casinos rely not on perfect randomness, but on controlled unpredictability to maintain profit.

U.S. television grants Indian women fewer than one percent of speaking roles, and those rare appearances typically recycle a narrow pair of tropes: the over-achieving, socially awkward professional or the exotic side character. Drawing on cultivation theory, self-perception theory, framing analysis, and Kimberlé – Crenshaw's intersectionality, this paper examines how such scarcity and stereotype translate into self-discrimination: a pattern of internalized doubt and narrowed career aspiration among Indian-American women. Findings show that symbolic annihilation on the screen fosters an identity crisis. It reduces interest in non-STEM careers, and reinforces colorist hierarchies by favoring light-skinned Indian actresses. The paper argues that these outcomes are not incidental but stem from industry gatekeeping that frames Indian-female narratives as commercially risky. Recommendations include diversifying decision-making roles, implementing intersectional inclusion audits, and embedding media-literacy curricula in K-12 education to disrupt the cycle whereby limited representation sustains both public bias and private self-limitation.

This paper explores the American art form, contemporary dance, and its continuous struggle for mainstream value and financial support. As audience attendance waivers due to shifting cultural consumption habits, contemporary dance companies and artists must innovate to remain relevant. Through the utilization of secondary research drawn from academic, trade, and industry sources, the research which follows reflects current and past audience trends/desires as well as analysis from scholars inside and outside of the dance field to inform and support programming strategies that will benefit contemporary dance companies and their diverse audiences. The findings inform a set of programming strategies and recommendations for professional dance companies aiming to reconnect audiences and revitalize live dance performances in the 21st century.

I have researched three women who left their impact on the American Revolution: Margaret Kemble Gage, Miss Jenny, and Anna Smith Strong. As much as my project is about espionage during the war, it is also about the role women played and how they used their limitations in 18th century society to their advantage.