The Politicization of Popular Culture: A Case Study in Reagan and Star Wars

This project examined the use of Ronald Reagan’s rhetoric, specifically the “Star Wars,” “Zero Option” and “Evil Empire” speeches. It answers the question: Why do we know SDI as Star Wars? It also The rationale for the study came from myriad sources, including the historical and political undertones of the Star Wars films and rhetorical criticism of other Reagan speeches. G. Thomas Goodnight’s analysis linked all three speeches together as a reformulation of wartime rhetoric, so that was the rationale for analyzing three speeches. After performing a rhetorical criticism using Burkean identification as the lens, there are several results: Reagan used narratives to build identification; evil empire as a connotation for the apocalypse; and most notably, Star Wars as an invention of Hollywood. Finally, this thesis prognosticates several conclusions, most notably how other politicians use popular culture as a method of identification

The Use of High School Paraprofessional Tutors With Programmed Tutorial Materials to Instruct Elementary Learners with Handicaps

This investigation focused on the examination of the effectiveness and costs of instructional delivery in using programmed tutorial materials by trained high school paraprofessionals to instruct learners attending the elementary self-contained and resource rooms. Forty tutees, divided equally into experimental and control groups, were administered two pre and posttest measures, the E-B Beginning Reading Placement Test and the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT) . Tutees in experimental groups received tutorial instruction from the paraprofessional tutors 25 minutes daily over the ten-week treatment period. An analysis of covariance was computed on the two measures to compare the academic performance between the experimental and control groups. Though no statistical differences were found between the groups on WRMT, statistical differences were indicated on the E-B Beginning Reading Placement Test for both School Districts A and B, favoring the groups receiving treatment. Significant increases in both Subtest A scores, one subtest of the E-B Placement Test, and the total reading scores of this measure were evidenced in the groups receiving treatment. Results also indicated that the percent of mastery for both School Districts A and B tutees that received treatment mastered at least 84% of all the skills taught by the high school paraprofessional tutors. These tutors mastered 77% of the instructional procedures used in the first part of the tutorial session and 47% in the second part of the session. The investigation of costs indicated that total cost expenditures in the Maximum Cost Model were $2,418.69, a per learner cost of$60.46, and continuing costs per learner of $13.72. Total purchases using the Moderate Cost Model were$1,298.69, a per learner cost of $32.46, and a continuing cost per learner of$13.72. The Minimum Cost Model indicated total expenditures of $163.69, a per learner cost of$4.09, and continuing costs per learner of $1.35. These cost models provided evidence that the costs of using high school paraprofessional tutors with programmed tutorial materials to instruct handicapped learners can be minimal in return for academic gains in beginning reading skills

Paper Session III-A - Space Shuttle Avionics Upgrade: Issues and Opportunities

The Space Shuttle uses a complex set of software and hardware to guide, navigate and control it through all phases of flight. Five IBM AP-101B flight computers host a set of highly critical and complex programs. The current man-machine interface consists of a series of dedicated electromechanical instruments and switches combined with specialized displays with limited function. The exponential growth of microprocessor technology combined with the approaching obsolescence of the Space Shuttle cockpit avionics have driven NASA to explore a Product Improvement Plan for the Space Shuttle which includes the cockpit displays and controls. The IBM Systems Integration Division (SID) in Houston is currently studying alternatives for upgrading the Shuttle\u27s cockpit. Some goals of the upgrade include: Offloading of the main computers by distributing some of the avionics display functions, reducing crew workload, reducing maintenance cost, and providing display reconfigurability and context sensitivity. These goals are being met by using a combination of offthe- shelf and newly-developed software and hardware. The software will be developed using Ada, and must meet the timing constraints imposed by existing Shuttle Systems. Advanced active matrix liquid crystal displays are being used to meet the tight space, weight and power consumption requirements. These displays are tied to commercially available 80386 microprocessors. On top of the challenges presented by the software and hardware development are programmatic constraints. These include: Transparency to existing Shuttle avionics and data processing systems, Integration into training facilities: avionics labs, simulators, aircraft, etc., Development of ground support systems: Software Development facilities, verification capabilities, systems integration environments, etc. and Installation into the operational Shuttle fleet without impacting current flight rates. Of course, this all has to be done within cost and timing constraints in a dynamic environment. This upgrade holds promise for future improvements to the onboard avionics systems. An example is online storage and display of crew checklists and procedures. This and other potential growth paths must be accounted for in the design of this upgrade. The opportunities for laying the groundwork of a cohesive strategy for avionics in the nation\u27s space fleet are many and the issues are complex but the technology has advanced far enough that significant benefits can be achieved by upgrading the current system making this a worthwhile if not mandatory task

New Therapeutic Window of Regenerative Opportunity in Diabetic Retinopathy by VESGEN Analysis

Vascular pattern may serve as a useful new biomarker principle of complex, multi-scale signaling in pathological, physiological angiogenesis and microvascular remodeling. Each angiogenesis stimulator or inhibitor we have analyzed, including VEGF, bFGF, TGF-beta1, angiostatin and triamcinolone acetonide, has induced a novel "fingerprint" or "signature" biomarker vascular pattern that is spatio-temporally unique. Remodeling vasculature thereby provides an informative read-out of dominant molecular signaling, when analyzed by innovative, fractal-based VESsel GENeration (VESGEN) Analysis software. Using VESGEN to analyze ophthalmic clinical vascular images, we recently introduced a potential paradigm shift to the understanding of early-stage progression that suggests new regenerative opportunities for human diabetic retinopathy (DR), the major blinding disease for working-aged adults. In a pilot study, we discovered that angiogenesis oscillates as a surprising, homeostatic-like regeneration of retinal vessels during early progression of DR (IOVS 51(1):498). Results suggest that the term non-proliferative DR may be a misnomer. In new studies, normalization of the vasculature will be determined from the response of vascular pattern to therapeutic monitoring and treatment. We have mapped and quantified in vivo experimental models of angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis and intravital blood flow from cellular/molecular to higher systems levels that include a murine model of infant retinopathy of prematurity (ROP); developing and pathological coronary and placental-like vessel models; progressive intestinal inflammation, growing murine tumors, and other pathological, physiological and therapeutically treated tissues of transgenic mice and avian embryos. Vascular Alterations, Visual Impairments (VIIP) & Increased Intracranial Pressure (ICP), Immunosuppression & Bone Loss: NASA-defined risk categories for human space exploration and ISS Utilizatio

Dissection of the Adult Zebrafish Kidney

Researchers working in the burgeoning field of adult stem cell biology seek to understand the signals that regulate the behavior and function of stem cells during normal homeostasis and disease states. The understanding of adult stem cells has broad reaching implications for the future of regenerative medicine1. For example, better knowledge about adult stem cell biology can facilitate the design of therapeutic strategies in which organs are triggered to heal themselves or even the creation of methods for growing organs in vitro that can be transplanted into humans1. The zebrafish has become a powerful animal model for the study of vertebrate cell biology2. There has been extensive documentation and analysis of embryonic development in the zebrafish3. Only recently have scientists sought to document adult anatomy and surgical dissection techniques4, as there has been a progressive movement within the zebrafish community to broaden the applications of this research organism to adult studies. For example, there are expanding interests in using zebrafish to investigate the biology of adult stem cell populations and make sophisticated adult models of diseases such as cancer5. Historically, isolation of the zebrafish adult kidney has been instrumental for studying hematopoiesis, as the kidney is the anatomical location of blood cell production in fish6,7. The kidney is composed of nephron functional units found in arborized arrangements, surrounded by hematopoietic tissue that is dispersed throughout the intervening spaces. The hematopoietic component consists of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and their progeny that inhabit the kidney until they terminally differentiate8. In addition, it is now appreciated that a group of renal stem/progenitor cells (RPCs) also inhabit the zebrafish kidney organ and enable both kidney regeneration and growth, as observed in other fish species9-11. In light of this new discovery, the zebrafish kidney is one organ that houses the location of two exciting opportunities for adult stem cell biology studies. It is clear that many outstanding questions could be well served with this experimental system. To encourage expansion of this field, it is beneficial to document detailed methods of visualizing and then isolating the adult zebrafish kidney organ. This protocol details our procedure for dissection of the adult kidney from both unfixed and fixed animals. Dissection of the kidney organ can be used to isolate and characterize hematopoietic and renal stem cells and their offspring using established techniques such as histology, fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS)11,12, expression profiling13,14, and transplantation11,15. We hope that dissemination of this protocol will provide researchers with the knowledge to implement broader use of zebrafish studies that ultimately can be translated for human application