Gay-marriage in 2004 U.S. presidential election

This thesis looks at the factors that affected individual turnout and vote choice in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Regarding the outcome of the election, a point of dispute among scholars pertains to whether evangelical Christians played a meaningful role in helping re-elect then-President Bush to a second term in 2004. The gay-marriage issue played a prominent role in the presidential campaign, due in part to a ruling the Massachusetts Supreme Court rendered in November 2003 that legalized the marrying of same-sex couples within the state’s borders. The Court’s decision had a reverberating effect, particularly among evangelicals, and subsequently, it affected the presidential campaign as well. Christian conservatives were successful in organizing efforts to get initiatives and referenda designed to constitutionally ban recognition of same-sex marriages on the ballot in 11 states, all of which passed easily in November. Using a large and previously untapped dataset, I develop a research design that builds on work by Campbell and Monson (2008), which shows that evangelicals who lived in a state with a marriage amendment on the ballot in November had a higher level of mobilization for Bush than other evangelicals. Contrary to those findings, I find that the marriage amendments in 2004 had no substantive impact on turnout or vote choice. Moreover, evangelicals living in marriage states were not more likely to turn out or vote for Bush in 2004, controlling for other relevant characteristics of the voters. Factors that influenced turnout in the 2004 election include: party identification strength, education, income, age, gender, region, and residence in a battleground state. Party identification, ideology, and race were predictors of vote choice in the 2004 election

TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION BASED ANGLE FILTER FOR SIDE IMAGE MITIGATION IN A CURVED LIGHTGUIDE

A system is provided for removing extraneous side images produced by light emitted at high angles from a display in a head mounted display (HMD), which results in light rays traveling along undesired paths that bounce one or three times from a worldside surface of a lightguide in the HMD, instead of the two bounces along the path taken by the light that forms the primary image. The system includes an optical element that couples the display to a prism to provide light to a lightguide in the HMD. The optical element is fabricated to include a V-shaped groove. Light incident upon the V-shaped groove at relatively high angles, e.g., light traveling along paths that would bounce one or three times in the lightguide, is totally internally reflected out of the path that couples the light into the HMD lightguide

TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION IN A FILTER STACK FOR SIDE IMAGE MITIGATION IN A CURVED LIGHTGUIDE

A system is provided for removing extraneous side images produced by light emitted at high angles from a display in a head mounted display (HMD), which results in light rays traveling along undesired paths that bounce one or three times from a worldside surface of a lightguide in the HMD, instead of the two bounces along the path taken by the light that forms the primary image. The system includes an optical element that couples the display to a prism to provide light to a lightguide in the HMD. The optical element is fabricated using a stack of prisms having surfaces at different angles relative to a surface of a prism used to couple the light rays into a lightguide of the HMD. Light incident upon the prism stack at relatively high angles, e.g., light traveling along paths that would bounce one or three times in the lightguide, is totally internally reflected at the interfaces between the prisms so that the high angle light rays are directed out of the path that couples the light into the HMD lightguide

Invisible design: exploring insights and ideas through ambiguous film scenarios

Invisible Design is a technique for generating insights and ideas with workshop participants in the early stages of concept development. It involves the creation of ambiguous films in which characters discuss a technology that is not directly shown. The technique builds on previous work in HCI on scenarios, persona, theatre, film and ambiguity. The Invisible Design approach is illustrated with three examples from unrelated projects; Biometric Daemon, Panini and Smart Money. The paper presents a qualitative analysis of data from a series of workshops where these Invisible Designs were discussed. The analysis outlines responses to the films in terms of; existing problems, concerns with imagined technologies and design speculation. It is argued that Invisible Design can help to create a space for critical and creative dialogue during participatory concept development

Cultural Education Platform for Tewa Speakers

We worked with a Pueblo in Northern New Mexico that has witnessed a gradual decline in the usage of their Native language and customs. Our Sponsors fear their language and traditions are on the brink of extinction. Our project aimed to assist our sponsors, Honor Our Pueblo Existence and Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute, in supplementing the existing Tewa curriculum by developing a platform through which the people of Hopeville can learn Tewa vocabulary and begin to connect with their heritage. Our team developed a private website containing culturally relevant videos narrated in Tewa. To fully utilize the platform and increase the number of fluent Tewa speakers, the Pueblo might have to consider adapting how language is taught in the community

A Method for Adding Ophthalmic Prescription to Augmented Reality Heads-Up Displays

A method for adding ophthalmic prescription to a heads-up display is described. The method incorporates Chiolite layers on opposing sides of a lightguide to generate an optical path from an input coupler to an output coupler. The Chiolite has an index of refraction that is less than the material forming the lightguide so that light may propagate within the lightguide under total internal reflection principles. The method further includes placement of a customized prescription lens surface on an eye-facing side of the lightguide, where one Chiolite layer is between the lightguide and the prescription