Author: Matthew

Florence As It Was: A Digital Reconstruction of a Renaissance City (Prof. George Bent)

3 students are sought for a project on “Florence As It Was: A Digital Reconstruction of a Renaissance City” with Prof. George Bent that will begin on 6/15/2024 and last for 10 weeks

Project Description:

Florence As It Was combines three-dimensional models of fifteen buildings, digitized documents, photogrammetric models of 180 art works, translations of early modern descriptions, and original interpretative essays in an academic, not-for-profit, web-based platform that aims to recreate major monuments of the Tuscan city as they appeared in the year 1500. Complete with a geo-referenced database of nearly 2000 images (searchable by artist name, title, date of installation, subject, patron, and iconography), users may use a high-resolution map of the city produced in 1584 locate and see artworks in their original locations as they appeared to audiences in the fifteenth century.

Prerequisites

Students should be familiar spreadsheets and have some experience working with data. Students should also have taken at least one course in art history at W&L.

Special Comments

It would be wise to take ARTH 383 in Spring Term. But it’s not mandatory.

Project Information

Estimated Start Date: 6/15/2024

Estimated End Date: 8/23/2024

Maximum number of students sought: 3

Contact Information: Prof. George Bent (bentg@wlu.edu)

Software Development for Shenandoah Literary Magazine (Prof. Jeff Barry)

1 student is sought for a project on “Software Development for Shenandoah Literary Magazine” with Prof. Jeff Barry that will begin on 6/3/2024 and last for 10 weeks

Project Description:

The Software Development for Shenandoah Literary Magazine project is a comprehensive initiative to enhance the magazine’s digital presence. Central to this project is the refactoring of the existing technical infrastructure, aimed at improving maintainability of the online platform. This process involves optimizing code and ensuring efficient functionality. The project focuses on developing a custom WordPress plugin, specifically tailored to the unique needs of a literary magazine. This plugin will introduce features to streamline content management, improve user engagement, and provide a more intuitive experience for readers. The WordPress plugin developed as part of this initiative will be made available as an open-source project, enabling other literary magazines to benefit from these efforts. This project advances research into the needs and challenges faced by online literary magazines. These insights can provide a roadmap for enhancements in online literary publishing.

Prerequisites

Experience in coding PHP and WordPress themes/plugins.

Special Comments

n/a

Project Information

Estimated Start Date: 6/3/2024

Estimated End Date: 8/9/2024

Maximum number of students sought: 1

Contact Information: Prof. Jeff Barry (barryj@wlu.edu)

The Gravity of Homicide: Personal Violence and International Trade (Prof. Michael Anderson)

1 student is sought for a project on “The Gravity of Homicide: Personal Violence and International Trade” with Prof. Michael Anderson that will begin on 6/3/2024 and last for 10 weeks

Project Description:

The Gravity of Homicide project explores our hypothesis that interpersonal violence (murder) diminishes international trade, and we find substantial evidence to support the claim. In brief, high levels of interpersonal violence act as a cost, a tax of sorts, on trading firms, with resulting declines in a country’s overall level of international trade. We estimate the relationship with a sample of over 160 countries over 17 years. To our knowledge we are the first to offer this finding. This summer’s work will advance the project, with data work, regression analysis, and literature reading. A second project will be looking at poverty and trade liberalization in India. This project (with co-authors Stephen Smith and Judith Dean (Brandeis)) has been revitalized over the last year, and we hope to continue the progress this summer.

Prerequisites

A statistics course (e.g. Econ 202 or other) and preferably also econometrics (Econ 203). Programming ability in Stata strongly desired.

Special Comments

Project Information

Estimated Start Date: 6/3/2024

Estimated End Date: 8/9/2024

Maximum number of students sought: 1

Contact Information: Prof. Michael Anderson (andersonm@wlu.edu)

Indecent Estimates: Democracies, GDP Announcements, And Their Roles In Sovereign Debt Pricing (Prof. Camilo Alvarez)

1 student is sought for a project on “Indecent Estimates: Democracies, GDP Announcements, And Their Roles In Sovereign Debt Pricing ” with Prof. Camilo Alvarez that will begin on 6/3/2024 and last for 10 weeks

Project Description:

Since autocracies seem to report higher estimates of GDP than external factors seem to validate, do international financial markets believe them? And when less democratic governments are in times they have high incentives to lie, do financial markets take them at face value? These are the two main questions we will tackle in the summer project. We will start by doing some basic regression to see if financial spreads react differently to GDP growth estimates for democracies or autocracies. Then we would move to focus only on periods where reporting a higher GDP growth might be more beneficial (when asking for new loans, or IMF reviews) and seeing how markets respond.

Prerequisites

They should have some familiarity with coding (language doesn’t matter) and basic regressions.

Special Comments

Project Information

Estimated Start Date: 6/3/2024

Estimated End Date: 8/9/2024

Maximum number of students sought: 1

Contact Information: Prof. Camilo Alvarez (calvarez@wlu.edu)

Exploring the Role of Matrices in Analyzing Neural Networks and their Connectivity (Prof. Sima Ahsani)

2 students are sought for a project on “Exploring the Role of Matrices in Analyzing Neural Networks and their Connectivity” with Prof. Sima Ahsani that will begin on 6/1/2024 and last for 10 weeks

Project Description:

This is an interdisciplinary field that merges mathematics, computer science, and neuroscience, providing a comprehensive understanding of mathematical concepts and their practical applications in studying neural networks and connectivity among brain regions. It offers valuable insights into brain function and analysis methodologies. This study is structured into three phases. Phase 1 includes mathematics for machine learning, Phase 2, simultaneously with Phase 1, encompasses programming, preferably using Python, and Phase 3 integrates the knowledge gained from Phases 1 and 2 to analyze real-world fMRI data. The latter phase seeks to enhance our understanding of brain function and cognitive processes through empirical analysis.

Prerequisites

Calculus I and II, basic Linear Algebra knowledge, and basic programming skills.

Special Comments

If students don’t have linear algebra knowledge or programming skills, they will be required to learn during the Winter semester as a directed study officially or unofficially.

Project Information

Estimated Start Date: 6/1/2024

Estimated End Date: 8/9/2024

Maximum number of students sought: 2

Contact Information: Prof. Sima Ahsani (sahsani@wlu.edu)