Survey of HIV Awareness

Undergraduate Applie

Changing Hearts: The Future of the Environmental Movement

For many, the environmental movement is a consumer fad with very little intellectual or emotional investment. Generally, sustainability is deemed a “good thing” but given low priority at both the personal level and the public policy level. In this paper, I argue that environmentalism must be modified to meet the needs of the general populace in order to gain momentum as a contemporary political movement. In other words, I examine how the environmental movement can attract the massive number of active members necessary to change public policy and conclude that this movement will need to adapt to the public in two ways. First, I suggest that it should transition to an anthropocentric, or human-oriented, angle when introducing people to the merits of sustainability. While biocentric ethics, or the recognition of the intrinsic value of all life forms, is an essential component of sustainability, I maintain that a clear emphasis on human life will be more compelling for potential new members. In support of this claim, I emphasize that the human impact of the BP oil spill has roused recent public interest in environmentalism. Second, I explore the unique capacity of faith communities in the United States to change hearts and unite believers into political action. I demonstrate that Christian communities have changed public policy by relentlessly decrying human rights violations in the past, namely during the civil rights movement. Similarly, I hold that Christian communities should champion the cause of sustainability and environmental justice as part of a larger concern for human rights

Waist-Deep in Nuclear Waste: How the NRC Can Rebuild Confidence in a Stalled Waste Management Program

This comment will explain why the federal nuclear waste management program is at a standstill and will suggest a course of action for the NRC to help revive the program. Part II describes the environmental hazards of spent nuclear fuel and the federal government’s effort to site and build a geologic repository for this nuclear waste. Part III explains the role of the NRC in the nuclear regulatory scheme and how safety and environmental regulations are promulgated and enforced. Part IV narrows in on the NRC rulemakings called the “Waste Confidence Decision” and “Temporary Storage Rule,” and the reasons why they were defeated in New York v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In Part V, I propose that the NRC make significant changes to these “waste confidence” rulings to ensure compliance with NEPA

Going the Extra Mile: Expanding the Promoting Affordable Housing Near Transit Act

The Promoting Affordable Housing Near Transit Act (“Act”), introduced in Congress in June 2021 and signed into law six months later, proposes a goal of balancing the disproportionately-high costs of housing and transportation felt by lower-income families by combining these resources in one project: transit-oriented housing developments. Middle-income and wealthy suburbanites have ready access to cities by car, but lower-income urbanites lack access to the suburbs without a private vehicle. While the goal of the Act recognizes this disparate outcome, the Act’s failure to include expansion of mass transit into the suburbs will continue to restrict low-income minorities to urban centers, failing to do more than place a band-aid on a decades-long issue. As jobs increasingly move to the suburbs, placing affordable housing in those areas and creating a transit option for urban dwellers offers a more equitable choice in housing for low-income households. The Act should be amended to require expansion of mass transportation into the suburbs, creating an interconnected system between cities, the suburbs, and suburban neighborhoods. The goal of this Comment is to take the techniques employed in two of the nation’s best transit cities and combine them with the affordability focus of the Act, leading to positive economic development that includes low-income households. The issue of limited affordable housing is multidimensional, requiring a correspondingly complex solution for this historic problem. Thus, the focus of this Comment touches on just one problematic environment and one potential solution. This Comment uses major metropolitan cities and their surrounding suburbs as the basis of analysis, not to the exclusion of other localities but in recognition of the unsuitability of a one-size-fits-all solution. It is also important to note here that while the focus of the divide in this Comment is on socioeconomic status and not race, the two are inextricably linked. The history of racial segregation in the United States contributes to the disparity between the racial makeup of the country and of its socioeconomic classes. As you will see, many of the facially socioeconomic decisions made in the last century act as a mask for racially motivated animus. While the examples and solutions provided in this Comment do not focus on the racial disparity in these developments, it must be understood that these implications always lurk beneath the surface. Part I of this Comment will give a brief overview of the history of residential segregation in the United States and how transportation policies contributed to the concentration of poverty in one area, namely urban city centers. This historical overview focuses on mid-twentieth century America, specifically during the post-World War II era where housing subsidies became more abundant and, increasingly, a covert form of discrimination. This Part concludes by discussing why public transportation has failed to make its way to the suburbs and why its expansion into these areas is necessary for the Act’s success. Part II expounds upon the particulars of the Act and its proposed implementation in the current transportation and housing framework. Finally, Part III offers examples of successful transit-oriented development projects and suggestions of how expansion into the suburbs and multimodal transportation options can cement the Act’s success. This Part proposes amending the Act to mandate that federal transit projects affected by the Act include transportation expansion into the suburbs. While the Act in its current form does not exclude the suburbs from transit development, neither does it set forth an objective to promote it. Because most mass transit exists in major metropolitan areas, the Act should demand inclusion of the suburbs in these new developments to help bridge the divide between urban and suburban communities. Lastly, this Part addresses critiques of current approaches to the housing shortage, such as mixed-income communities, and articulates why the proposals in. this Comment can mitigate some of these concerns

Going the Extra Mile: Expanding the Promoting Affordable Housing Near Transit Act

The Promoting Affordable Housing Near Transit Act (“Act”), introduced in Congress in June 2021 and signed into law six months later, proposes a goal of balancing the disproportionately-high costs of housing and transportation felt by lower-income families by combining these resources in one project: transit-oriented housing developments. Middle-income and wealthy suburbanites have ready access to cities by car, but lower-income urbanites lack access to the suburbs without a private vehicle. While the goal of the Act recognizes this disparate outcome, the Act’s failure to include expansion of mass transit into the suburbs will continue to restrict low-income minorities to urban centers, failing to do more than place a band-aid on a decades-long issue. As jobs increasingly move to the suburbs, placing affordable housing in those areas and creating a transit option for urban dwellers offers a more equitable choice in housing for low-income households. The Act should be amended to require expansion of mass transportation into the suburbs, creating an interconnected system between cities, the suburbs, and suburban neighborhoods. The goal of this Comment is to take the techniques employed in two of the nation’s best transit cities and combine them with the affordability focus of the Act, leading to positive economic development that includes low-income households. The issue of limited affordable housing is multidimensional, requiring a correspondingly complex solution for this historic problem. Thus, the focus of this Comment touches on just one problematic environment and one potential solution. This Comment uses major metropolitan cities and their surrounding suburbs as the basis of analysis, not to the exclusion of other localities but in recognition of the unsuitability of a one-size-fits-all solution. It is also important to note here that while the focus of the divide in this Comment is on socioeconomic status and not race, the two are inextricably linked. The history of racial segregation in the United States contributes to the disparity between the racial makeup of the country and of its socioeconomic classes. As you will see, many of the facially socioeconomic decisions made in the last century act as a mask for racially motivated animus. While the examples and solutions provided in this Comment do not focus on the racial disparity in these developments, it must be understood that these implications always lurk beneath the surface. Part I of this Comment will give a brief overview of the history of residential segregation in the United States and how transportation policies contributed to the concentration of poverty in one area, namely urban city centers. This historical overview focuses on mid-twentieth century America, specifically during the post-World War II era where housing subsidies became more abundant and, increasingly, a covert form of discrimination. This Part concludes by discussing why public transportation has failed to make its way to the suburbs and why its expansion into these areas is necessary for the Act’s success. Part II expounds upon the particulars of the Act and its proposed implementation in the current transportation and housing framework. Finally, Part III offers examples of successful transit-oriented development projects and suggestions of how expansion into the suburbs and multimodal transportation options can cement the Act’s success. This Part proposes amending the Act to mandate that federal transit projects affected by the Act include transportation expansion into the suburbs. While the Act in its current form does not exclude the suburbs from transit development, neither does it set forth an objective to promote it. Because most mass transit exists in major metropolitan areas, the Act should demand inclusion of the suburbs in these new developments to help bridge the divide between urban and suburban communities. Lastly, this Part addresses critiques of current approaches to the housing shortage, such as mixed-income communities, and articulates why the proposals in. this Comment can mitigate some of these concerns

Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud: Defensive Pessimism in Legal Education

This Article presents the results of the first empirical research project to investigate law students’ use of defensive pessimism. Previous researchers have suggested that defensive pessimism may benefit law students academically. Defensive pessimism is a strategy that involves setting low expectations and reflecting extensively on what could go wrong in connection with a future event in order to manage anxiety and improve performance. However, up until now, law students’ use of defensive pessimism has not been empirically studied. We investigated law students’ use of defensive pessimism. Contrary to the suggestions of other scholars, we did not find statistically significant relationships between defensive pessimism and law school academic performance. However, we did find positive relationships between defensive pessimism and neuroticism, and defensive pessimism and perceived stress. These results suggest that legal educators cannot rely exclusively on academic performance to identify students who are in distress. Students may be in distress in law school but that distress may not be manifested in lower academic performance. Moreover, legal educators should be mindful of the different strategies that students’ use in performance situations in order to more constructively interact with law students and better prepare students to work effectively with others who may not necessarily use the same strategies

Utilizing the Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance Approach For Improved Performance and Executive Functioning

The Outreach Program (TOP) in the Kent School District assists young adults in their transition from high school to adulthood. The research team and Dr. Abbott, an occupational therapist at TOP, sought to address whether better outcomes when teaching instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) to adolescents with intellectual disabilities occur when addressing underlying performance skills and client factors through the Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach or when addressing them through traditional occupational therapy practices. There is strong evidence to support CO-OP as an effective strategy to improve performance and moderate evidence indicating that it improves executive functioning and cognitive flexibility for a variety of diagnoses. We recommend CO-OP be integrated into traditional therapy practices and that additional research is conducted to explore group implementation and include more diagnoses. Student researchers developed and presented an inservice presentation on the use and implementation of CO-OP in the school setting. An opportunity to receive Competency Assessment Units for NBCOT certification renewal through participation in a study group was provided during the inservice presentation to occupational therapists in Kent School District. Outcomes of this presentation were monitored through a survey to gain an understanding of whether the occupational therapists present would consider implementing CO-OP in their everyday practice. The findings suggest that the majority of people who attended the inservice presentation were interested in seeking more information regarding CO-OP without participating in the NBCOT study group. Additional research in the form of a scoping review is recommended in order to investigate what approaches best support developing autonomy and independent problem-solving in adolescents with intellectual disabilities

Does Surprisal Predict Code Comprehension Difficulty?

Recognition of the similarities between programming and nat-ural languages has led to a boom in the adoption of languagemodeling techniques in tools that assist developers. However,language model surprisal, which guides the training and eval-uation in many of these methods, has not been validated asa measure of cognitive difficulty for programming languagecomprehension as it has for natural language. We perform acontrolled experiment to evaluate human comprehension onfragments of source code that are meaning-equivalent but withdifferent surprisal. We find that more surprising versions ofcode take humans longer to finish answering correctly. Wealso provide practical guidelines to design future studies forcode comprehension and surprisal