Environmental politics in a polarized America : public mood and policy consequences

This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Thesis: Ph. D. in Political Science and Urban and Regional Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2019"Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Department of Political Scinece in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science and Urban and Regional Planning." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages A-57 to A-82).As the American political parties have polarized and nationalized, what are the implications for environmental policy? This question is particularly important at the state and local levels, where many environmental policy decisions are made and implemented, but about which scholars have drawn mixed conclusions. This dissertation enters the debate to expand understanding of the parties' role in state-level regulatory enforcement; describe and assess changing public attitudes about environmental protection; and deeply explore local perceptions of an important type of environmental disruption: energy infrastructure. I begin by exploring the public basis for environmental protection. In paper one, I estimate state-level public opinion about environmental protection from the late 1970s through 2016. I show that regional differences in public views about environmental protection have declined, whereas state publics have sorted more cleanly into partisan camps in every state.I also find that economic tradeoffs have increased in their importance for shaping Americans' environmental views. These data provide a crucial foundation for assessing the evolution of the state and national parties' positions about environmental protection, and exploring the elite rhetoric that may explain the shifting drivers of public environmental preferences. In the second paper, I ask how party control of state government institutions influences regulatory enforcement in the U.S. Despite growing evidence for the parties' influence across the slate of policy issues, scholars have drawn divergent conclusions regarding the parties' impact on state environmental policy. I apply a regression discontinuity design to assess whether party control of state houses and governors' mansions causes a meaningful change in Clean Air Act enforcement between 2000 and 2017.The findings suggest that narrowly elected Republican governors and legislative majorities reduce enforcement effort, and that the two branches' influence differs according to their distinct mechanisms of political control over the bureaucracy. Paper three moves beyond public attitudes about environmental topics in the abstract to assess local views of one particularly salient environmental topic: energy. Public views of energy technologies are critical to the United States' energy future, but party and ideology do not contribute much explanatory power in explaining Americans' views of the energy system. I apply a framework rooted in social psychology to explain how sense of place shapes residents' interpretations and evaluations of large-scale energy transmission infrastructure as a threat or an opportunity.by Parrish Bergquist.Ph. D. in Political Science and Urban and Regional PlanningPh.D.inPoliticalScienceandUrbanandRegionalPlanning Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Plannin

A Quantitative Analysis of Digitized Archival Collections from Mississippi’s Public Universities

This study provides a quantitative analysis of the digitized archival collections made available online by public, 4-year universities in Mississippi to determine how many collections have been digitized and to reveal which topics are most represented in digitized archival materials

Anthropologies of fiber: Claire Zeisler, Ed Rossbach, Sheila Hicks

In the 1960s and 1970s, American artists Claire Zeisler, Ed Rossbach, and Sheila Hicks helped forge an international art movement that expanded the boundaries of fiber usage and, by extension, the boundaries of art itself. Often with only a loom, hook, or their own hands as tools, they crafted soft sculptures from thread, string, and rope. In contrast to recent formalist and feminist attempts to recover the overlooked genre of Fiber Art, this dissertation explores the ways in which artists employed fiber to register the ethnic and economic tensions of their era. Zeisler, Rossbach, and Hicks borrowed anthropological strategies to research the materials and processes associated with non-Western, Native American, and South American textile histories. Incorporating these principles into their own work, the artists in this project promote such art forms while simultaneously appropriating them as a ground for articulating their own responses to issues of industrialization and globalization. Chapter One contextualizes the dissertation’s three case studies by describing the Fiber Art movement, its contemporary reception, and its relationship to anthropology. Chapter Two highlights Chicagoan Claire Zeisler, who used her personal collection of African, Oceanic, and Native American art as source material for her thread-based sculptures. She therefore promoted diverse cultural traditions while also taking advantage of these art forms to establish her own artistic identity. Ed Rossbach, the subject of Chapter Three, studied international textile traditions as a teacher and theorist at the University of California, Berkeley. He repurposed ancient and foreign techniques using ephemeral, mass-produced materials, thereby challenging the romanticized distinction between the industrial present and preindustrial past. Finally, Chapter Four considers how Sheila Hicks engaged directly with fiber workshops in Mexico, Chile, India, Morocco, and France through travel and collaboration. By assimilating motifs and materials from these experiences into installations that were shown in corporate settings, her art alluded to the complex relationships between workers around the world. In their respective roles as collector, scholar, and traveler, these artists drew from anthropological discourses to provide critical perspective on United States society at a time when global communication and transportation technologies brought cultures into collision.2020-02-14T00:00:00

Analysis and Application of Perfectly Matched Layer Absorbing Boundary Conditions for Computational Aeroacoustics

The Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) was originally proposed by Berenger as an absorbing boundary condition for Maxwell\u27s equations in 1994 and is still used extensively in the field of electromagnetics. The idea was extended to Computational Aeroacoustics in 1996, when Hu applied the method to Euler\u27s equations. Since that time much of the work done on PML in the field of acoustics has been specific to the case where mean flow is perpendicular to a boundary, with an emphasis on Cartesian coordinates. The goal of this work is to further extend the PML methodology in a two-fold manner: First, to handle the more general case of an oblique mean flow, where mean velocities strike the boundary at an arbitrary angle, and second, to adapt the equations for use in a cylindrical coordinate system. These extensions to the PML methodology are effectively carried out in this dissertation. Perfectly Matched Layer absorbing boundary conditions are presented for the linearized and nonlinear Euler equations in two dimensions. Such boundary conditions are presented in both Cartesian and cylindrical coordinates for the case of an oblique mean flow. In Cartesian coordinates, the PML equations for the side layers and corner layers of a rectangular domain will be derived independently. The approach used in the formation of side layer equations guarantees that the side layers will be perfectly matched at the interface between the interior and PML regions. Because of the perfect matching of the side layers, the equations are guaranteed to be stable. However, a somewhat different approach is used in the formation of the corner layer equations. Therefore, the stability of linear waves in the corner layer is analyzed. The results of the analysis indicate that the proposed corner equations are indeed stable. For the PML equations in cylindrical coordinates, there is no need for separate derivations of side and corner layers, and in this case, the stability of the equations is achieved through an appropriate space-time transformation. As is shown, such a transformation is needed for correcting the inconsistencies in phase and group velocities which can negatively affect the stability of the equations. After this correction has been made, the cylindrical PML can be implemented without risk of instability. In both Cartesian and cylindrical coordinates, the PML for the linearized Euler equations are presented in primitive variables, while conservation form is used for the nonlinear Euler equations. Numerical examples are also included to support the validity of the proposed equations. Specifically, the equations are tested for a combination of acoustic, vorticity and entropy waves. In each example, high-accuracy solutions are obtained, indicating that the PML conditions are effective in minimizing boundary reflections

"Is a picture of a bird a bird": Policy recommendations for dealing with ambiguity in machine vision models

Many questions that we ask about the world do not have a single clear answer, yet typical human annotation set-ups in machine learning assume there must be a single ground truth label for all examples in every task. The divergence between reality and practice is stark, especially in cases with inherent ambiguity and where the range of different subjective judgments is wide. Here, we examine the implications of subjective human judgments in the behavioral task of labeling images used to train machine vision models. We identify three primary sources of ambiguity arising from (i) depictions of labels in the images, (ii) raters' backgrounds, and (iii) the task definition. On the basis of the empirical results, we suggest best practices for handling label ambiguity in machine learning datasets

NASA Space Exploration Logistics Workshop Proceedings

As NASA has embarked on a new Vision for Space Exploration, there is new energy and focus around the area of manned space exploration. These activities encompass the design of new vehicles such as the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) and Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) and the identification of commercial opportunities for space transportation services, as well as continued operations of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. Reaching the Moon and eventually Mars with a mix of both robotic and human explorers for short term missions is a formidable challenge in itself. How to achieve this in a safe, efficient and long-term sustainable way is yet another question. The challenge is not only one of vehicle design, launch, and operations but also one of space logistics. Oftentimes, logistical issues are not given enough consideration upfront, in relation to the large share of operating budgets they consume. In this context, a group of 54 experts in space logistics met for a two-day workshop to discuss the following key questions: 1. What is the current state-of the art in space logistics, in terms of architectures, concepts, technologies as well as enabling processes? 2. What are the main challenges for space logistics for future human exploration of the Moon and Mars, at the intersection of engineering and space operations? 3. What lessons can be drawn from past successes and failures in human space flight logistics? 4. What lessons and connections do we see from terrestrial analogies as well as activities in other areas, such as U.S. military logistics? 5. What key advances are required to enable long-term success in the context of a future interplanetary supply chain? These proceedings summarize the outcomes of the workshop, reference particular presentations, panels and breakout sessions, and record specific observations that should help guide future efforts

Co-navigating the Complexities of School Reform: The Establishment and On-going Maintenance of Relational Trust in School Reform Efforts

The purpose of this research was to examine the ways in which the principal and literacy coach collectively developed and maintained relational trust in order to establish school literacy reform efforts. Drawing from a larger set of data, we employed qualitative methods to explore interviews and surveys from the principals and literacy coaches at two different schools who were able to implement literacy reform for several consecutive years. The relational trust established between the coach and principal enabled them to co-navigate issues that might have otherwise impeded literacy reform efforts in their school. Acting together, the principal and the coach were able to communicate a common vision for literacy reform, which resulted in increased implementation of the reform framework in their schools

Physics of Acoustic Radiation from Jet Engine Inlets

Numerical simulations of acoustic radiation from a jet engine inlet are performed using advanced computational aeroacoustics (CAA) algorithms and high-quality numerical boundary treatments. As a model of modern commercial jet engine inlets, the inlet geometry of the NASA Source Diagnostic Test (SDT) is used. Fan noise consists of tones and broadband sound. This investigation considers the radiation of tones associated with upstream propagating duct modes. The primary objective is to identify the dominant physical processes that determine the directivity of the radiated sound. Two such processes have been identified. They are acoustic diffraction and refraction. Diffraction is the natural tendency for an acoustic wave to follow a curved solid surface as it propagates. Refraction is the turning of the direction of propagation of sound waves by mean flow gradients. Parametric studies on the changes in the directivity of radiated sound due to variations in forward flight Mach number and duct mode frequency, azimuthal mode number, and radial mode number are carried out. It is found there is a significant difference in directivity for the radiation of the same duct mode from an engine inlet when operating in static condition and in forward flight. It will be shown that the large change in directivity is the result of the combined effects of diffraction and refraction

Differential Responding by Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and Humans (Homo sapiens) to Variable Outcomes in the Assurance Game

Behavioral flexibility in how one responds to variable partner play can be examined using economic coordination games in which subjects play against a variety of partners and therefore may need to alter their behavior to produce the highest payoff. But how do we study this behavioral flexibility once players have settled on a response? Here, we investigated how responding by rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and humans (Homo sapiens) playing a computerized single-player version of a coordination game, the Assurance game, changed as a function of the variable responses (Stag/Hare) generated by multiple simulations (SIMs). We were interested in whether individuals could track and differentially respond to changing frequencies of Stag and Hare play by the SIMs, especially with regard to the payoff dominant (Stag-Stag) outcome, something that could not be done with real partners as they quickly settled on the Stag response. For both monkeys and humans, there was a linear relationship between proportion of Stag play by the subject and the likelihood of the Stag choice by the SIM such that both species increased their use of Stag as the SIM increased its use of the Stag response. However, humans more closely matched their proportion of Stag responses to that of the SIM, whereas monkeys adopted a different, but equally effective, strategy of exploiting the higher-paying Stag alternative. These results suggest that monkeys and humans demonstrate sensitivity to a dynamic game environment in which they encounter variable contingencies for the same response options, although they may employ different strategies to maximize reward