Green chemistry in United States science policy

Although optimizing each of the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry is necessary for achieving the greenest possible chemistry in the lab, there are additional creative ways to promote green chemistry not encompassed by these. Communicating to society the importance of green chemistry beyond the laboratory is essential. Of course, doing this effectively presents distinct challenges to those encountered when designing chemical syntheses. Here, I discuss several observations from my time working in federal science policy as an American Association for the Advancement of Science/American Chemical Society Congressional Science Fellow in the United States Senate. I suggest a practical science policy exercise that could be included as a companion to learning in the laboratory or classroom. This assignment provides an avenue to address broader applications of science to society while exposing students to meaningful ways to be involved in the democratic process beyond voting

Evaluating the Perceived Preparedness of Pre-Service Music Educators to Teach Students with Disabilities

This study evaluated the perceived preparedness of pre-service music educators to teach students with disabilities based on their university’s curriculum. Ten participants responded to a survey that asked questions on their feelings of preparedness in classroom management, teaching students with disabilities, university education, and personal perspectives. Overall, participants indicated they felt comfortable with teaching students with disabilities, but felt unprepared to teach specific components of disability education based on their program studies alone. Suggestions to improve university programs are based on implementing Universal Design Learning (UDL) practices

Computational Investigation of Mononuclear Iron Water Oxidation Catalyst Design

Hydrogen production from non-carbon sources is an essential component of clean and sustainable technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fuels. Water oxidation, which splits water molecules into hydrogen (protons) and molecular oxygen, is a thermodynamically challenging, multistep reaction achieved in photosynthetic organisms via photocatalysis by the Oxygen Evolving Complex (OEC) of Photosystem II. Mononuclear water oxidation catalysts that aim to mimic nature typically rely on heavy, rare metals such as ruthenium and iridium. Replacing these metals with iron is particularly appealing because it is abundant, benign, and inexpensive. We use density functional theory to characterize the catalytic ability of mononuclear iron photocatalysts compared with their ruthenium counterparts for 20 different ligand modifications with varying degrees of electron withdrawing behavior. We quantify the energetics, bond lengths, and charges in each of the steps leading to the highest oxidation state of the metal and necessary O-O bond formation in a mechanism determined experimentally for ruthenium catalysts and in many ways analogous to that followed by the OEC. Although many of the iron catalysts exhibited prohibitively high redox potentials in achieving the highest oxidation state required by this mechanism, a few display promising energetics and stability at each step explored. These results provide insights regarding the feasibility and performance of water oxidation catalysts using earth abundant metals as well as pinpointing mechanistic steps where catalytic ability degrades

The Language of Non-normative Sexuality and Genders

This project is about how asexual, intersex and transgender identities challenge normative ideas about what it means to be human. Our research primarily focused on how language used in the medical community influences societal perceptions of non-normative identities. Western culture is pervasively heteronormative, meaning that there is a narrow idea of what constitutes a “normal” human being, which is typically heterosexual and limited to a binary gender system. While society is making strides with accepting non-hetero sexual identities, there persists the notion that humans are inherently sexual beings. Asexuality, an orientation characterized by a lack of sexual attraction, challenges this sexual normative ideal. Gender within Western culture is strictly binary and is mapped onto physical sex. Intersex individuals are people who have some combination of both male and female characteristics or are neither male nor female. This challenges the notion that human beings are naturally categorized as either male or female. Transgender peoples, who are characterized by not having a gender identity that matches their gender assigned at birth, challenge the notion that physical sex and gender are one and the same. Through our work we have found that there is a startling and disappointing lack of research on these identities, rendering these people invisible. What research there is, shows a trend in the medical community of pathologizing and erasing the identities of people who are asexual, intersex or transgender

Isolating the electronic effects of systematic twist in highly substituted aromatic hydrocarbons using density functional theory

Density functional theory (DFT) was employed to investigate dodecaphenyltetracene as well as similar molecules containing differing backbone lengths and electron withdrawing groups with interest in manipulating the twist to lower the LUMO level for increased electron mobility. Optimization and frequency time-independent calculations followed by time-dependent (TD-DFT) energy calculations were performed at the B3LYP/G-311G level of theory to analyze electronic trends as a result of increased backbone length and consequently distorted end-to-end molecular twist. These calculations demonstrate a linear relationship with negative slope between the estimated HOMO-LUMO, fundamental, and optical gaps as a function of the number of fused rings along the polycyclic backbone. Contrasting these energy gaps with a separate series of identical molecules fixed into a planar configuration, the optimized twisted molecules display a pronounced red shift from steric hindrance due to phenyl substituents. In addition to the excitation energies, we applied a theoretical model for predicting exciton binding energy in planar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to our series of twisted analogs, demonstrating a negligible effect of intramolecular twist on exciton binding energy. Evaluating higher levels of theory that incorporate dispersion and solvation effects, we found that our original gas-phase calculations sufficiently capture trends in expected excitation energies

Mphahlele's Down Second Avenue in German : cultural transfer, norms and translation strategies in Kruger's Pretoria Zweite Avenue.

Thesis (M.A.-English)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.The aim of my study is to identify, describe and critique Es'kia Mphahlele's Down Second Avenue and its German translation, Pretoria Zweite Avenue. More specifically, the aim is to engage with the norms and constraints operative in the various translational relationships; also, to consider the impact - resulting from the shifts involved in cultural transfer - for a new readership in the 1960s in east Germany. Lambert and van Gorp's research model, "Hypothetical Scheme for Describing Translations", provides a framework for such a study that starts with an analysis ofpreliminary data, followed by a macro-level analysis and, finally, an analysis ofmicro-level data. Toury's over-arching theory of Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), and Even-Zohar's Polysystem Theory are used extensively, especially regarding the contextualisation of both source text (ST) and target text (TT). In considering - via a detailed analysis of shifts - how elements of South African culture have been transferred in translation, I also draw on Fairclough's theories regarding social power hierarchies, and the mutually constitutive nature of discourse. Given that norms and constraints are largely determined by cultural contexts, Fillmore's 'scenesand- frames semantics' is also invaluable to the ideological explanations necessary during the course ofthis project. Ideologically relevant extracts - representative of South African culture - from the ST, are compared with the corresponding German translations. This study makes extensive use of Baker's strategies for dealing with non-equivalence at various levels of the translation process. Based on all the above theoretical points of entry, ideological parallels between the imagined communities of east Germany and South Africa are drawn. My study proves the potential of translation projects, such as this one, of aiding in cultural dissemination between two countries that are culturally and geographically apart, but which share a profound understanding for the burdens of ideological over-determination

Is more data always better? A simulation study of benefits and limitations of integrated distribution models

Species distribution models are popular and widely applied ecological tools. Recent increases in data availability have led to opportunities and challenges for species distribution modelling. Each data source has different qualities, determined by how it was collected. As several data sources can inform on a single species, ecologists have often analysed just one of the data sources, but this loses information, as some data sources are discarded. Integrated distribution models (IDMs) were developed to enable inclusion of multiple datasets in a single model, whilst accounting for different data collection protocols. This is advantageous because it allows efficient use of all data available, can improve estimation and account for biases in data collection. What is not yet known is when integrating different data sources does not bring advantages. Here, for the first time, we explore the potential limits of IDMs using a simulation study integrating a spatially biased, opportunistic, presence‐only dataset with a structured, presence–absence dataset. We explore four scenarios based on real ecological problems; small sample sizes, low levels of detection probability, correlations between covariates and a lack of knowledge of the drivers of bias in data collection. For each scenario we ask; do we see improvements in parameter estimation or the accuracy of spatial pattern prediction in the IDM versus modelling either data source alone? We found integration alone was unable to correct for spatial bias in presence‐only data. Including a covariate to explain bias or adding a flexible spatial term improved IDM performance beyond single dataset models, with the models including a flexible spatial term producing the most accurate and robust estimates. Increasing the sample size of presence–absence data and having no correlated covariates also improved estimation. These results demonstrate under which conditions integrated models provide benefits over modelling single data sources

Impacts of Census Differential Privacy for Small-Area Disease Mapping to Monitor Health Inequities

The US Census Bureau will implement a new privacy-preserving disclosure avoidance system (DAS), which includes application of differential privacy, on publicly-released 2020 census data. There are concerns that the DAS may bias small-area and demographically-stratified population counts, which play a critical role in public health research, serving as denominators in estimation of disease/mortality rates. Employing three DAS demonstration products, we quantify errors attributable to reliance on DAS-protected denominators in standard small-area disease mapping models for characterizing health inequities. We conduct simulation studies and real data analyses of inequities in premature mortality at the census tract level in Massachusetts and Georgia. Results show that overall patterns of inequity by racialized group and economic deprivation level are not compromised by the DAS. While early versions of DAS induce errors in mortality rate estimation that are larger for Black than non-Hispanic white populations in Massachusetts, this issue is ameliorated in newer DAS versions

I need to make a choice between potential management actions

Managers are sometimes faced with choosing between alternative management actions. For example, selecting between alternative sites for restoration or between alternative conservation strategies