There is currently a lack of tractable data on what was published in England in the early 20th century. However, this information exists in printed volumes of The English Catalogue of Books, which have been digitized through the HathiTrust digital library. The English Catalogue of Books, released in the UK by the trade publication Publishers’ Circular, provides a yearly record of books published from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. Each catalog has been converted to plain text automatically through optical character recognition (OCR). Our aim was to parse this plain text into user-friendly data on books published each year in the UK. However, the OCR-generated text often contained errors and inconsistencies that prevented the effective extraction of data on books listed in the catalogs. Thus, we aimed to gauge the accuracy of existing methods for parsing the catalogs and to tailor processes for gathering data from catalogs published between 1908 to 1922. By writing regular expressions to capture, split, and match the patterns of bibliographic entries, we were able to improve the accuracy of processes for extracting data. Our solutions increased the number of publications for which information was accurately being captured by on average 28%, and we were able to record information on over 21,500 books that previously had not been captured. We also created a summary dataset from the catalogs with information on the overall output of the publishing industry during these years. By analyzing and visualizing this publishing data, we were able to show that fiction was the most frequently published genre during the period. We anticipate this project to be the foundation of more work towards efficiently parsing The English Catalogue of Books in order to offer insights into the British publishing industry in the 19th and 20th centuries.

As computers have progressively gotten smaller and more powerful, we approach a physical barrier to further progress. Due to this, expanding resources have been devoted to developing quantum computing where the obstacles to progression are not physical. This technological advancement would have significant implications for various technological fields. Entities with access to this new technology would not only be able to benefit from it but would be capable of abusing it. These misuses could pose significant ethical risks, such as undermining the security and privacy of data and creating new forms of financial inequality. This literature review reveals the incoming disruption from quantum computing and the dissension between government, the public, and industry to ensure the responsible and beneficial use of quantum computing. Industry wants to develop and commercialize quantum computing as quickly as possible to gain an advantage in applicable industries. Government wants to balance the opportunities and risks that quantum computing poses for national and global security, but at the cost of expedited development. Though regulation and policy usually lag behind technical development, quantum computing's significant force will compel government and industry to adjust policy. The key future implications of this research are to develop and implement cross-disciplinary ethical principles and standards for designing and adopting quantum computing technologies. Achieving this by anticipating the possible impacts of quantum computing on existing systems and infrastructures, and developing strategies and policies to mitigate the risks and maximize the benefits. To ultimately support and promote research and innovation in quantum computing that defines a common good, and seeks to fulfill it.

The relationship between genius and mental illness has long fascinated scholars and captured the public imagination. While early notions of this connection can be traced to ancient Greek philosophers, modern scientific research explores possible psychological and neurological explanations. This literature review provides an overview of past studies, both historical and recent, that offer explanations for this connection. Various causes for the creativity-mental illness connection were investigated, including influence from stereotypical representations of successful artists and genetics that correlate with both artistry and psychosis. Additional citations were gathered through an interdisciplinary lens, including and posthumous assessments of artists who exemplify this connection. Drawing inspiration from researchers such as KR Jamison, this research references iconic figures in the arts and sciences, such as Van Gogh and Isaac Newton. These case studies exemplify various manifestations of the link between creativity and mental illness. While early research anticipated a direct correlation between creativity and mental illness, modern results do not show a definitive connection. Rather, many sources indicate a strong connection with varying explanations. The differences in existing theories have led to gaps in our understanding of the nuances of this topic. By synthesizing many viewpoints and evidence from prior studies, more definite theories regarding associations’ validity and complexities can be created. Additionally, this knowledge could inform progress in domains from cognitive science to therapeutic interventions and art therapy. Future research should aim to bridge the gaps between past studies, potentially by combining past research methods and utilizing more diverse subject populations.The implications of any associations identified could pave the way for future research in this area, as well as revisions to treatments for people struggling with mental illness.
 

My research analyzes the portrayal of curses as symbolic literary devices reflecting socioeconomic anxieties in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo. These texts serve as a lens to explore contemporary institutional failings, the rise of capitalism, and the impact of empire on resource-rich communities. Spanning nearly three centuries, this comparison highlights the persistent tragedy in human struggles with power and belief systems. Macbeth depicts a literal curse, under the cover of prophecy, leading to a relentless and bloody pursuit of power, and the central character's eventual downfall. Nostromo, in contrast, adopts a metaphorical stance on curses, with characters seeking absolution from their imported belief systems. The connection between these works lies in the evolution of cursed institutions – from the early belief systems in governance depicted in Macbeth to their manifestation as global capitalist structures in Nostromo. This study explores how these literary curses symbolize the tragic, cyclical nature of power and societal upheaval, mirroring modern global anxieties and the pursuit of institutional absolution. Employing a tragic thematic analysis, I integrate contemporary studies of current systems and institutions with historical source examination. Alongside a close reading of both texts, this method enables a nuanced understanding of the characters’ actions and their broader impact. My research aims to provide fresh perspectives on Macbeth and Nostromo, highlighting how magical language in both texts serves as a tool for understanding and navigating complex global challenges. It seeks to uncover insights into how literary curses and prophecies may mirror, and potentially forecast, power dynamics, societal disruptions, and ecological issues, offering novel interpretations of our current socioeconomic and political landscape.

We live in an age of ever-pressing environmental crises. Scientists have determined that the cumulative impact of human activity on Earth in the last 300 years reaches a scale equal to that of a geological epoch—carving marks in the planet that will last longer than our species has existed. Practices of extraction—mining for coal, drilling for oil—are one collection of activities integral to that impact, prompting scholars to investigate the complex of cultural factors that drive and ultimately constitute these practices. Regarding these practices, scholars in the environmental humanities have raised an important question: how, in the first place, does nature get figured as a resource? How has Western humanity’s relation towards the natural world developed into one predominantly of exploitation? In this paper, I investigate the metaphysical basis of this relationship through Martin Heidegger’s ‘method’ of reflection [Besinnung]. My investigation begins with the thought of Descartes and Bacon, two philosophers who, at the commencement of modernity, interpreted the human as the relational center of being as such. This early-modern, anthropocentric philosophy prefigures an event Heidegger calls gestell—the disclosure of all beings exclusively as resources—which I argue is the underlying metaphysical basis of practices of extraction. I go on to argue that the very proliferation of extractive thinking reveals the crucial importance of poetry and philosophy today, both of which embody a kind of thinking that is antithetical to extraction and instrumentalization, a thinking that—rather than dominating, organizing, utilizing—lets things show themselves as they are. I conclude that art and philosophy both counter the ubiquitous logic of extraction and are therefore invaluable to any attempt at figuring a fuller, healthier mode of humanity’s relating to itself and the natural world.