Institutional Repository
The UDSpace Institutional Repository collects and disseminates research material from the University of Delaware.
- Faculty, staff, and graduate students can deposit their research material directly into UDSpace. Faculty may use UDSpace to fulfill the University of Delaware Faculty Senate Open Access Resolution, and in many cases may use it to fulfill open access requirements from grant funding agencies.
- Departments can use UDSpace to publish or distribute their working papers, technical reports, or other research material.
- UDSpace also includes all doctoral dissertations from winter 2014 forward, and all master's theses from fall 2009 forward.
To learn more about UDSpace, and how you can make your research openly accessible to the public, visit our UDSpace Policies website.
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Recent Submissions
Thracians in the Eyes of Others: A Critical Analysis of Data and Biases within Ancient and Modern Sources
(University of Delaware, 2025-05) Damian Dumchus
Archaeology plays an important role in constructing, developing, and
modifying identities from both the past and present and is often cited in geopolitical or
ethnonationalist disputes around the globe. The Thracians were an ancient Indo European speaking people living in what is now Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, and
were mentioned extensively in Ancient Greek mythology and literature. Today,
Bulgarian identity traces its ultimate origins to the Thracians, a result of an identity
construction necessitated by over seven hundred years of foreign occupation.
Archaeology plays a significant role in this process and is heavily promoted by the
Bulgarian government. Archaeology, as a discipline, is often undermined by the
preconceptions and biases that may influence interpretations, often in ways that are
wildly inaccurate. This thesis examines textual and archaeological data pertaining to
Thrace from both classical antiquity and the present, as well as providing an outline of
the social contexts and biases of specific societies that often influence the
interpretations. Consisting of three main parts, each with several chapters, this thesis
begins with an ‘ethnohistory’ of the Thracians, a project commonly found within
archaeology. The second part analyzes influences and contacts the Thracians had with
their neighbors, and the third part contains an outline of the social contexts, biases,
trends, and geopolitical situations of the relevant societies, relating them to the data
and interpretations that have been compiled. This structure mirrors that of
archaeological textbooks and journals, albeit with greater emphasis on critique and
postprocessual theory.
AUTOMATIC ANALYSIS OF TIMING AND SYNCHRONY IN ROWING
(University of Delaware, 2025-05) Cornelia Meiss
Synchrony and Timing are key components of the sport of rowing. This thesis
investigated different ways of determining the synchrony between two athletes on
rowing ergometers in a video. First, human pose estimation techniques were used to
extract body key points and compare the synchrony of one or multiple body parts across
the length of the video. Second, a video classification model based on either the R3D or
I3D model were trained to classify rowing videos as synchronized or unsynchronized
and their performance was compared.
The pose estimation approach could detect and highlight small asynchronies
between rowers that are hard to detect for humans and could provide valuable additions
to rowing training. For the video classification approaches, the R3D-based model
reliably classified rowing videos and generalized well to unseen and slightly different
data. It outperformed the I3D-based approach, which performed well on the training
data but generalized poorly to different data.
DIVERSITY, MOVEMENT AND SURVIVAL OF JUVENILE FISHES AROUND AQUACULTURE GEAR IN NEARSHORE ENVIRONMENTS OF DELAWARE BAY, USA
(University of Delaware, 2025-05) Clare McLaughlin
As aquaculture continues to expand in coastal systems worldwide, evaluating
ecological impacts on wild fish communities is essential for sustainable marine
resource management. This study examined the influence of rack-and-bag (RB) oyster
aquaculture structures on the diversity, movement, and apparent survival of juvenile
fishes in nearshore environments of Delaware Bay, USA. Using a mark-recapture
framework, Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tagging, and environmental
monitoring, we investigated the habitat use of two focal species—American Eel
(Anguilla rostrata) and Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata)—across two
ecologically distinct sites: Port Mahon and Lewes.
Over a 12-week sampling period, eel traps were deployed at fixed distances (0,
3.5, 7, and 14 meters) from aquaculture gear to detect spatial gradients in fish
distribution. Biodiversity metrics revealed higher species richness and abundance at
Port Mahon, while Lewes exhibited greater species evenness. A pronounced halo
effect was observed at both sites, characterized by elevated capture rates and species
richness nearest to RB structures, suggesting that aquaculture installations enhance
localized habitat complexity and biological activity. Cormack-Jolly-Seber models
estimated an apparent survival rate (Φ) of 64.6% for American Eels, with a detection
probability (p) of 15% at Port Mahon. In Lewes, Black Sea Bass exhibited a higher
survival estimate under a time-variant detection model (Φ = 90.6%), though with wide
uncertainty. For comparison, a time-invariant model for Black Sea Bass yielded a
lower survival estimate (Φ = 43.88%; 95% CI: 19.98–70.99%) and a detection
probability of 13.42% (95% CI: 3.52–39.68%). These results reflect the episodic use
of aquaculture gear by American Eel and Black Sea Bass. My findings indicate that
RB oyster aquaculture provides valuable refuge and foraging habitat for juvenile
fishes and may function as a habitat enhancement tool in estuarine systems. The
spatial patterns observed underscore the ecological role of aquaculture gear in shaping
fish community structure and movement, with implications for the design and
management of sustainable aquaculture operations.
Latvia’s Russophone Dilemma: The Correlation Between Language Ideology and Populism In Post-Soviet Latvia
(University of Delaware, 2025-05) Carly Brant
In the last decade, Europe has witnessed a significant rise of populist parties, a trend
mirrored globally with the re-election of Donald Trump in the United States. This thesis
examines the reasons behind the success of these populist movements, focusing on the interplay
between language ideologies, populism, and democratic state-building specifically in post-Soviet
Latvia. It explores how the legacies of Russian-language occupation contribute to present-day
societal tensions between the Russophone minority and the “ethnic Latvian” majority,
reinforcing the success of Latvian populist parties. Drawing on Jan Werner Muller’s theories on
populism, the study argues that Latvian language policies contribute greatly to the
marginalization of the Russophone population, ultimately resulting in moralized anti-pluralism
that erodes Latvian democracy. The research finds a positive correlation between heightened
sociolinguistic tension and increased support for populist parties like National Alliance
(Nacionālā apvienība) and Latvia First (Latvija pirmajā vietā). This thesis explores the tension
between the ethnic-Latvian and Russophone populations that has heightened within the context
of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Rather than sympathizing with or excusing in any capacity
the current actions of the Russian government, this thesis offers possible explanations for the
infiltration of Latvian’s democracy by populist actors that capitalize on a powerful
sociolinguistic division present in Latvian society that was formed out of remnants of its colonial
past and has re-emerged in light of the current regional conflict.
“FROM COP CITY TO PALESTINE”: DIGITAL PLACEMAKING AS TRANSNATIONAL SOLIDARITY
(University of Delaware, 2025-05) Cadence Roy
The Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE), a program
facilitating exchanges of policing techniques and technologies between the Atlanta
Police Department and the Israeli Defense Forces, has initiated the construction of a
militarized police training center called Cop City. The violent policing tactics Israel
weaponizes against Palestinians are now exported to the United States. Atlanta’s
activists in the Stop Cop City movement and Palestinians resisting occupation note the
formal connections between the two sites and employ digital placemaking tactics to
collaboratively contest dominant narratives of place. I argue that these transgressive
digital placemaking practices are a form of transnational solidarity, bringing together
geographically disparate actors in a common political struggle.