The Dilemma of Banned Books: Questioning the Ethics of Censoring Literature in Schools

Literature, specifically in the form of novels, has been a vital organ of the public education system within the United States. Not only does reading such works transform us into better close readers and strengthen our vocabulary, but the texts at hand can be very essential to analyze specific contexts or issues that might have existed either throughout history or even in the present day. In today’s country, the issue of banning certain books from school curricula has become as prevalent as ever, where mostly Southern Republican officials are calling for lists of books to be restricted from teaching due to controversies in their language, violence, and sexuality. This essay aims to reject such actions of banning and suppression on ethical political grounds while emphasizing the immense educational value controversial texts have in facilitating students’ developments during their adolescence. Through historical legal precedent, the importance of literature on the identity of certain sects of individuals, and previous research data on the relationship between challenged books and citizenship, this paper opposes the ongoing suppression of texts in school curricula

DashBoard

Modern gamers are always looking for new and exciting ways to play board games. Our senior project, DashBoard, is intended to capitalize on this interest and upgrade board games to have pre-programmed moves and easy piece moving. It is a proof-of-concept project for a programmable chess-style game board using an electromagnet array to move the pieces around the board. With an easily programmable interface with the Raspberry Pi 3, users can make their own programs or find ones others have made online to move pieces in creative ways

Punch Cards to Python: A Case Study of a CS0 Core Course

There is an immense interest in teaching computer science concepts - and programming specifically - to everyone. The United States Military Academy at West Point has required every student, regardless of major, to pass a computer science zero (CS0) course for the last 50 years: From punch cards to Python. We present a history of our CS0 course and the lessons learned from the most recent redesign of the course. We review the last decade of student assessments and how they influenced the latest iteration. We contrast the expectations of students in a CS0 course with those in a CS1 course. We discuss the national efforts to make CS accessible to all and explore the challenges unique to a CS0 course. We demonstrate similarities between our course and the Advance Placement CS Principles and show where differences are justified. We review the relevant pedagogical research for CS0 and present lessons learned over multiple iterations of the course. Based on our current course review and implementation, we believe that Computer Science for everyone is attainable and relevant to the needs of every student

Air Pollution in the Valparaiso Area

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) and particulate matter (PM) have been serious air pollution concerns around the world, particularly where industries and high volume traffic is present. These pollutants have been shown to have a negative effect on most living organisms, which is why they are regulated in many countries. To determine the air quality in the Valparaiso area, an experimental plan was conducted to determine the amount and type of these pollutants in the air. One of the project goals was to measure and compare indoor vs outdoor pollution. Another was to observe and assess weather effects on outdoor air pollution. Various locations around Valparaiso University campus and in the surrounding geographical area were chosen to analyze VOCs and PM. VOC testing was conducted using a solid phase microextraction fiber (SPME) to passively collect air pollutants. For PM, a MIE pDR-1500 active personal particulate monitor was used to actively draw in air and measure the concentration of particulate matter. A filter paper was used in the personal particulate monitor to collect the actual particulates. The instrument was run with both no filter, to determine total PM, and an adapter to select for PM 2.5 microns or lower. The SPME fibers were analyzed using a gas chromatographer - mass spectrometer (GCMS) to help determine the volatile or semi-volatile compounds present in the air. The collected data shows many differences between indoor and outdoor air

How ideas from ecological capture-recapture models may inform multiple systems estimation analyses

Abundance estimation, for both human and animal populations, informs policy decisions and population management. Capture-recapture and multiple sources data share a common structure; the population can be partially enumerated and individuals are identifiable. Consequently, the analytical methods were developed simultaneously. However, whilst ecological models have been developed to describe highly complex, biologically realistic scenarios, for example modeling population changes through time and combining different forms of data, multiple systems estimation has changed comparatively less so. In this paper we provide a brief description of the historical development of ecological and epidemiological capture-recapture and discuss the associated underlying differences that have led to model divergence. We identify three key areas where ecological modeling methods may inform and improve multiple systems estimation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Functionalizing Graphene Surfaces with Precise Dye Absorbed Oxygen Deposition

This thesis studies the properties found in graphene and combines them with the potential of increased responsivity due the addition of dyes which could allow for more efficient and effective optoelectronics. Here, we theorize the bonding between 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine (Cyanuric Chloride) and Graphene Oxide to allow the bonding of 1-amino-2-methylanthraquinone (Disperse Orange 11) to occur. With this bond occurrence, future studies can investigate the local bonding of such organic bonds onto graphene oxide for the use in micro and nanotechnology. The specific design is as follows. Cyanuric Chloride is covalently bonded to the oxygen of the Graphene Oxide sample. Disperse Orange 11 is then added to the mixture allowing for the covalent bonding of the dye. This sample is then tested with a series of spectroscopy instruments including a UV-Vis machine and an XPS machine as well as height testing with an AFM to determine the success of the dye bonding

Unlocking the Next Generation of Nano-Satellite Missions with 320 Mbps Ka-Band Downlink: On-Orbit Results

Relatively low downlink data rates have historically limited the scientific and commercial return from CubeSats and SmallSats. As the capability of payloads for these satellites continues to increase, high-speed downlink capability is required to realize the increasing potential from these systems. In this paper we present the on-orbit results of our high-speed Ka-band transmitter operating aboard the twin Corvus-BC3 and Corvus-BC4 6U CubeSats. The 1-U form factor Ka-band system enables the unprecedented data return from a multi-spectral imager in this class of spacecraft. We highlight the spacecraft design and operational challenges that have been overcome on these missions that will enable high-speed downlink on any CubeSat or SmallSat. While the pointing requirements for this Ka-band downlink are readily achievable by today’s small satellites, we discuss some of the hidden complexities on both the attitude determination and control system (ADCS) as well as on the ground segment. Currently in-place ground infrastructure, including a 2.8 m dish at a downlink station in Svalbard, Norway, has enabled rapid commissioning and on-demand downlink several times a day for these sun-synchronous spacecraft. This paper includes flight data from early commission to routine operation at high-data rates. We believe the lessons learned on these missions will be valuable for other CubeSat developers that plan on moving away from UHF, S-band, and X-band and into the realm of millimeter microwave frequencies (such as 27 GHz)

Ka-Band for CubeSats

As 3U and 6U CubeSat missions begin to play a fundamental role in space science, advanced applications and even commercial utilization, there is a strong corresponding demand for higher data rates from even smaller fractions of the volume of a Cubesat envelope. Based on a concept outlined at this conference in 2012, a Ka-Band transmitter for Earth Exploration applications has now been developed and tested and this RF technology is now in-orbit; flying as a major demonstration in a 6U spacecraft. Since this technology is capable of providing tens of GBytes per day of downlinked data from a single 3U, 6U or 12U cubesat system, the future is even brighter. We will review in this presentation what has been accomplished to date, the challenges associated with using Ka-Band and where this technology is headed in the immediate future. This paper also demonstrates the effectiveness of Ka-Band for satellite interlinks (space-to-space relay) and the ultimate advantage of mmW to deep space communications using very small systems. A less obvious advantage of Ka-Band: spectrum management via spot beam frequency reuse is also of prime importance to the community. This aspect of mmW technology will also be examined and a plan for future spectrum utilization will be outlined