The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

It's About Time: The Dynamics of Information Processing in Political Campaigns

161 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008.In many U.S. elections, voters are exposed to relatively small amounts of information at any given time, but campaigns, and thus information exposure, unfold over the course of several weeks. It follows that one fruitful avenue in exploring candidate evaluation would involve focus on how voters respond to, combine and utilize information that is encountered over the course of a full electoral campaign. Although many theoretical frameworks for the study of candidate evaluation recognize the significance of dynamic depictions, no past research has combined control over the information environment with attention to information exposure over the course of a multi-week campaign. To enable improved study of the dynamic formation of candidate evaluation, I develop a series of panel experiments, with research conducted over a period of ten to twelve weeks. Empirical tests assess the temporal relationships between information exposure and information effects with respect to candidate evaluation. First, I test for the possibility that transient exposure to character and issue information produces transient effects. Second, I test for the impact of persistent exposure to one specific piece of information, partisanship. Third, and most critically, I test whether transient information exposure can produce enduring effects as represented in memory and via an on-line tally. Findings highlight the significance of partisanship and cognitive accessibility in candidate evaluation, and also reveal a limited role for on-line processes.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

It's About Time: The Dynamics of Information Processing in Political Campaigns

161 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008.In many U.S. elections, voters are exposed to relatively small amounts of information at any given time, but campaigns, and thus information exposure, unfold over the course of several weeks. It follows that one fruitful avenue in exploring candidate evaluation would involve focus on how voters respond to, combine and utilize information that is encountered over the course of a full electoral campaign. Although many theoretical frameworks for the study of candidate evaluation recognize the significance of dynamic depictions, no past research has combined control over the information environment with attention to information exposure over the course of a multi-week campaign. To enable improved study of the dynamic formation of candidate evaluation, I develop a series of panel experiments, with research conducted over a period of ten to twelve weeks. Empirical tests assess the temporal relationships between information exposure and information effects with respect to candidate evaluation. First, I test for the possibility that transient exposure to character and issue information produces transient effects. Second, I test for the impact of persistent exposure to one specific piece of information, partisanship. Third, and most critically, I test whether transient information exposure can produce enduring effects as represented in memory and via an on-line tally. Findings highlight the significance of partisanship and cognitive accessibility in candidate evaluation, and also reveal a limited role for on-line processes.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Does Familiarity Breed Contempt? The Impact Of Information On Mass Attitudes Toward Congress

Two features of citizen response to Congress can be taken as grounds for concern. First, Americans know relatively little about Congress, and especially about congressional procedures and policy output. Second, Congress typically emerges as the least respected political institution. Although these matters are troubling when viewed individually, more disturbing is the dilemma posed when knowledge and attitudes toward Congress are viewed in tandem. It appears that citizens who know Congress the best like Congress the least. Consequently, a sophisticated polity and a well-respected legislature seem fundamentally incompatible. This article seeks to resolve this dilemma, contending that there is nothing about knowledge per se that leads citizens to view Congress unfavorably. Rather, differences in knowledge levels alter the considerations citizens bring to bear when evaluating Congress, with the best-informed individuals constructing judgments on the basis of the most relevant Congress-specific criteria while less knowledgeable citizens employ readily available but more peripheral criteria. © 2007 Midwest Political Science Association

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least 4 m. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the 6.5 m James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 yr, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit