Budgeting for the Moon: A Comparative Analysis of Public Support and Financial Performance in the Apollo and Artemis Eras

The Artemis program aims to land mankind on the lunar surface for the first time in over fifty years in a vastly changed social and economic climate. In this study, I examine existing literature to contextualize and compare the origins, Congressional authorization and appropriations processes, and public accountability mechanisms of the Apollo program (1961-1972) and the Artemis program (2017-present). I utilize multivariate regression models to examine Congressional responsiveness to public opinions of lunar exploration programs. I find that Congress appears to be responsive to constituent attitudes regarding space exploration, particularly during the Apollo era. I also examine the relationship between funding levels and program metrics and observe a pronounced correlation between underfunding and both cost delays and schedule overruns

A Reimagining of Popular Music Interpretation Through Barthes’s Third Meaning: Implications for General Music Teacher Education

Popular music is valuable in music teacher education because it can allow the considering of divergent and unique perspectives. However, viewing popular music making as a static process can constrain its values. Drawing on the work of Roland Barthes (1977), the purpose of this philosophical inquiry is to examine the limitations of current ways of interpreting popular music and to reimagine popular music interpretation in general music teacher education. After providing an overview of Barthes’s (1977) three levels of meaning—the information level of meaning, the symbolic level of meaning, and the third meaning—I problematize popular music interpretation at the first two levels because it reassures individuals’ current ways of being, reinforcing what is. In response to the closed ways of interpreting popular music that confine how popular music can be valued and engaged, I propose interpreting popular music through the third meaning during which individuals no longer passively receive what is, but actively explore what might be as well as whom they might connect with and become. Additionally, I offer practical applications on how one can relate, express, connect, and become through the third meaning in the context of general music teacher education

“I Have to Convince People I Am Worth Accommodating”: A Narrative Inquiry of A Blind Student in Undergraduate Music Education

This narrative inquiry aimed to re-story the experiences of Paulina, a blind music education major, as she navigated her degree program at a large university. While scholars have begun to document the experiences of students who are blind or visually impaired in both PK-12 settings and during student teaching, no known study has explored the experience of a blind preservice student during their music education coursework. Utilizing critical disability studies as a lens, this narrative inquiry utilized the three commonplaces of temporality, sociality, and place to highlight Paulina’s experience. Data included interviews, memos from all three researchers, emails and texts, conversations at a research conference, and informal conversations. Paulina’s story centered around three themes: sight is mandatory here; the hope, promise, and failure of support; and the emotional toll and physical consequences. Implications from this study may inform preservice preparation programs as well as offer insights regarding combating ableism in any musical space

Identifying Novel Upstream Regulators of the Hippo Pathway: Forward Genetic Screen in Drosophila Melanogaster

The Hippo pathway is an evolutionarily conserved developmental pathway that controls organ size and tissue homeostasis in all metazoan animals. Dysregulated Hippo pathway has been implicated in a wide range of human disorders, including cancer. The physiological function of the Hippo pathway is best understood in Drosophila, where inactivation of the Hippo pathway tumor suppressors, or overexpression of the Yorkie (Yki) oncoprotein, results in tissue overgrowth characterized by excessive cell proliferation and diminished apoptosis, and increased transcription of Hippo pathway target genes such as diap1 and expanded (ex). Despite the well-established Hippo pathway core signaling cascade, the upstream regulation of the Hippo pathway is less understood. This screening project attempts to identify novel upstream regulators of the Hippo pathway, specifically genes located on the X chromosome of Drosophila, through a forward genetic screen for overgrowth phenotypes. Random point mutations were induced through EMS treatment, and a merlin mutant background increased the sensitivity of the screen. After candidates were identified and validated, Diap1 levels were examined in third-instar larvae eye discs to determine the mutation’s impact on the Hippo pathway. A total of five overgrowth candidates were identified, and one was validated through reproducibility tests after establishing stocks. Diap1 staining suggests a role of the candidate mutation in regulating Hippo signaling. Future directions include mapping and characterizing the candidate mutations

Navigating Legal Ethics and Law School Curricula: Attempting to Find Technology Competency Without a Compass

Comment 8 of Model Rule 1.1 of the Professional Rules of Conduct requires attorneys to be ethically accountable for technology competence. However, the drafting of the language of Rule 1.1 is vague. As a result, attorneys, law firms, and law schools apply Rule 1.1 differently and emphasize topics they deem most important. Per American Bar Association (ABA) Standard 301, law schools must maintain a rigorous program of legal education that prepares their students for effective, ethical, and responsible participation as members of the legal profession. Law schools have summarily responded to Rule 1.1 and Standard 301 by adding and offering courses in the technology space. Arguably, law schools perceive that they are aligning their course curricula with law firm expectations and hiring practices by offering courses that respond to law 0rm hiring trends. Unfortunately, job descriptions for attorney positions traditionally reflect only some of the technology skills required or mandated for those positions. Moreover, as new positions become available, or lateral positions open, job descriptions are equally vague about what is necessary for a successful candidate beyond already-existing knowledge in that field. This Article proposes that law schools and law firms must share a view of technology competence and its application in legal practice in the absence of a clear-cut standard for technology competence from the ABA and state courts. The authors draw their recommendations from their own empirical studies in legal technology course instruction and law firm job descriptions. The authors look to the Foundations of the Whole Lawyer Model and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (“IAALS”) Hiring Guide to advocate for a more holistic approach to lawyering that integrates technology and technology competence into all aspects of law practice. The authors recommend that law firms use the Whole Lawyer approach to draft their job descriptions with language that properly addresses the technology competencies necessary for those positions. Only then will law schools be able to properly align their course curricula to meet the current needs of technology competence in modern legal practice

Immunopathogenesis of Post-Infectious Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus is characterized by the abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the brain ventricles. In post-infectious hydrocephalus (PIH) cases, the condition presents challenges in understanding the immune response. PIH is a complex condition, often persisting after the initial infection is treated and thus requiring a deeper understanding of the immune mechanisms involved in its development. This thesis will explore the immunopathogenesis of PIH, elucidating the relationship between the immune response and neurological complications that would succeed infection. The immune response of PIH includes a series of events, beginning with the activation of immune cells and finishing with the release of inflammatory mediators and molecular signaling pathways. Resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), microglia and astrocytes, are important in producing neuroinflammation and contributing to the pathology of PIH. Invading immune cells (T-cells and B-cells), as well as cytokines and chemokines, contribute to inflammation within the brain, worsening impairment of CSF flow and disrupting the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Understanding the progression of infectious disease in a stem cell niche and the ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) is important for conceptualizing the regulatory components of the immune response and ventricular stability. By having a strong foundation of the immunopathogenesis of PIH, of not only its etiology but the importance of limiting neuroinflammation and improving immune responses to infection, allows for a deeper understanding of PIH development

Characterization of Platinum on Carbon Nanoparticles Selectively Coated with Titanium Nitride (TiN)

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are a promising low-carbon technology that still face problems including low durability during their normal operation cycles. At the cathode, the carbon supports of the catalysts may corrode. Atomic layer deposition of titanium nitride is performed on prepared catalyst layer samples. The purpose of the deposition is to create a thin film over the carbon supports to reduce carbon support corrosion and improve the lifespan of the fuel cell. Sheet resistances and contact angles are measured for the samples before and after the deposition, although some samples did not receive the deposition and post-deposition characterization for this work. The sheet resistance is converted to bulk electrical conductivity using the sample thickness. Electrical conductivities and contact angles are important predictors of how the fuel cell would manage the transport of electrons and water, respectively. Conductivity and contact angle values are compared before and after titanium nitride deposition. For the samples that were completed, titanium nitride deposition decreased the electrical conductivity and decreased the contact angle of the samples. Relations between these properties and performance in a fuel cell are discussed, including a recommendation on improving these properties