In the past decade, a significant shift has emerged around immigration policy, as advocates and policymakers have made various efforts to pass state and local policies related to immigrant integration or restrictions. This thesis offers original insights into current dynamics in immigration federalism through interviews with lawmakers and community activists in Arizona, a leading state when it comes to restricting the lives of undocumented immigrants. Advancing a new framework that connects the lived experience of officials and activists to partisanship, policy, key events, demographics, and racializing events, this thesis bridges isolated bodies of scholarship on immigration and seeks to demonstrate how every person (not just immigrant) are part of America’s current challenges to become a more inclusive nation of immigrants.

Something Like Human explores corporate social responsibility through a triple lens, providing a content analysis using previous literature and history as the standards for evaluation. Section I reviews the history of corporate social responsibility and how it is currently understood and employed today. Section II turns its focus to a specific socially conscious corporation, Lush Cosmetics, examining its practices considering the concepts provided in Section I and performing a close analysis of its promotional materials. Section III consists of a mock marketing campaign designed for Lush in light of their social commitments. By the end of this thesis, the goal for the reader is to ask: Can major corporations be something like human?

Laminated composites are increasingly being used in various industries including <br/>automotive and aerospace. Under a variety of extreme loading conditions such as low and <br/>high-velocity impacts and crash, laminated composites delaminate. To understand how and<br/>when delamination occurs, two types of laboratory tests are conducted - End-notched <br/>Flexure (ENF) test and Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) test. The ENF test is designed to <br/>find the mode II interlaminar fracture toughness, and the DCB test, the mode I interlaminar <br/>fracture toughness. In this thesis, thermopressed Honeywell Spectra Shield® 5231 <br/>composite specimens made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), <br/>manufactured under two different pressures (3000 psi and 6000 psi), are tested in the <br/>laboratory to find its delamination properties. The test specimen preparation, experimental <br/>procedures, and data reduction to determine the mode I and mode II interlaminar fracture <br/>properties are discussed. The ENF test results show a 15.8% increase in strain energy <br/>release rate for the 6000 psi specimens when compared to the 3000 psi specimens. <br/>Conducting the DCB tests proved to be challenging due to the low compressive strength <br/>of the material and hence required modifications to the test specimens. An estimate of the <br/>mode I interlaminar fracture toughness was found for only two of the 6000 psi specimens.

Veterans are approximately 30% more likely than non-veterans to suffer from severe hearing impairment. Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, which is increasingly common among military service men and women, has been linked to significant cognitive and psychological impairment and can be worsened by the same sounds that trigger post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In fact, tinnitus and PTSD often present as comorbidities, and recent studies suggest these two disorders may share a common neurological pathway. Additional studies are required to better understand the connection between hearing loss and impaired cognitive function such as that observed in with PTSD. Here, we use the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to explore the relationship between hearing loss and cognitive function. Negative geotaxis climbing assays and courtship behavior analysis were used to examine neurobehavioral changes induced by prolonged, intense auditory stimulation. Preliminary results suggest that exposure to loud noise for an extended period of time significantly affected Drosophila behavior, with males being more sensitive than females. Based on our results, there appears to be a potential connection between noise exposure and behavior, further suggesting that Drosophila could be an effective model to study the link between hearing loss and PTSD.

Socioeconomic differences have driven society and laid the foundation for the types of opportunities and resources one is eligible to receive. Higher socioeconomic status provides individuals the chance of obtaining an overall better education, occupation, and income. We see this with particular clarity when we examine healthcare. The World Health Organization has regarded healthcare as a fundamental human right, except socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals not only do not have equal access to healthcare, but they also often receive a lower quality of care. These socioeconomic differences are often paired with racial differences, resulting in one group, or set of groups, having social advantage over the others. Although this problem has been discussed throughout the past century, it has not been properly addressed materially and practically. Unequal access to quality healthcare is especially highlighted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, where there has been evidence that minorities, in particular Black communities, have received inadequate care. Quality healthcare has become unaffordable and a luxury that only certain groups get the privilege of receiving. Not only that, but the ongoing inequalities in the healthcare system have gone so far that they have instilled hostility and mistrust towards the healthcare system.

Long distance travel around the globe can potentially be revolutionized with the use of an intercontinental rocket that uses low earth orbit as its medium. This transport system can increase growth in many new businesses like tourism travel between the continents. This research evaluates the technical and non-technical possibilities of using a double-stage reusable rocket, where the second stage is also a reusable, rocket-powered passenger vehicle using a low earth orbit space journey with a stabilized re-entry method that ensures passenger comfortability. A potential network of spaceports spanning the globe is postulated within a range of 4,000 km to 8,000 km(2,160 nm to 4,320 nm) of each other, and each located within an hour by any other means of ground transport to population hubs greater than four million. This will help further connect the world as the journey from one major city to another would take at most an hour, and no point on the habited continents would be more than 4,000 km(2,160 nm) from a spaceport. It is assumed that the costs of an international first class flight ticket are in the thousands of dollars range showing how there is a potential market for this type of travel network. The reasoning and analysis, through a literature review, for an intercontinental rocket vehicle is presented along with the various aspects of the possibility of this kind of travel network coming to fruition in the near future.

Long distance travel around the globe can potentially be revolutionized with the use of an intercontinental rocket that uses low earth orbit as its medium. This transport system can increase growth in many new businesses like tourism travel between the continents. This research evaluates the technical and non-technical possibilities of using a double-stage reusable rocket, where the second stage is also a reusable, rocket-powered passenger vehicle using a low earth orbit space journey with a stabilized re-entry method that ensures passenger comfortability. A potential network of spaceports spanning the globe is postulated within a range of 4,000 km to 8,000 km(2,160 nm to 4,320 nm) of each other, and each located within an hour by any other means of ground transport to population hubs greater than four million. This will help further connect the world as the journey from one major city to another would take at most an hour, and no point on the habited continents would be more than 4,000 km(2,160 nm) from a spaceport. It is assumed that the costs of an international first class flight ticket are in the thousands of dollars range showing how there is a potential market for this type of travel network. The reasoning and analysis, through a literature review, for an intercontinental rocket vehicle is presented along with the various aspects of the possibility of this kind of travel network coming to fruition in the near future.

A novel concept for integration of flame-assisted fuel cells (FFC) with a gas turbine is analyzed in this paper. Six different fuels (CH4, C3H8, JP-4, JP-5, JP-10(L), and H2) are investigated for the analytical model of the FFC integrated gas turbine hybrid system. As equivalence ratio increases, the efficiency of the hybrid system increases initially then decreases because the decreasing flow rate of air begins to outweigh the increasing hydrogen concentration. This occurs at an equivalence ratio of 2 for CH4. The thermodynamic cycle is analyzed using a temperature entropy diagram and a pressure volume diagram. These thermodynamic diagrams show as equivalence ratio increases, the power generated by the turbine in the hybrid setup decreases. Thermodynamic analysis was performed to verify that energy is conserved and the total chemical energy going into the system was equal to the heat rejected by the system plus the power generated by the system. Of the six fuels, the hybrid system performs best with H2 as the fuel. The electrical efficiency with H2 is predicted to be 27%, CH4 is 24%, C3H8 is 22%, JP-4 is 21%, JP-5 is 20%, and JP-10(L) is 20%. When H2 fuel is used, the overall integrated system is predicted to be 24.5% more efficient than the standard gas turbine system. The integrated system is predicted to be 23.0% more efficient with CH4, 21.9% more efficient with C3H8, 22.7% more efficient with JP-4, 21.3% more efficient with JP-5, and 20.8% more efficient with JP-10(L). The sensitivity of the model is investigated using various fuel utilizations. When CH4 fuel is used, the integrated system is predicted to be 22.7% more efficient with a fuel utilization efficiency of 90% compared to that of 30%.

While many 3D printed structures are rigid and stationary, the potential for complex geometries offers a chance for creative and useful motion. Printing structures larger than the print bed, reducing the need for support materials, maintaining multiple states without actuation, and mimicking origami folding are some of the opportunities offered by 3D printed hinges. Current efforts frequently employ advanced materials and equipment that are not available to all users. The purpose of this project was to develop a parametric, print-in-place, self-locking hinge that could be printed using very basic materials and equipment. Six main designs were developed, printed, and tested for their strength in maintaining a locked position. Two general design types were used: 1) sliding hinges and 2) removable pin hinges. The test results were analyzed to identify and explain the causes of observed trends. The amount of interference between the pin vertex and knuckle hole edge was identified as the main factor in hinge strength. After initial testing, the designs were modified and applied to several structures, with successful results for a collapsible hexagon and a folding table. While the initial goal was to have one CAD model as a final product, the need to evaluate tradeoffs depending on the exact application made this impossible. Instead, a set of design guidelines was created to help users make strategic decisions and create their own design. Future work could explore additional scaling effects, printing factors, or other design types.

Increasing reliable produce farming and clean energy generation in the southwestern United States will be important for increasing the food supply for a growing population and reducing reliance on fossil fuels to generate energy. Combining greenhouses with photovoltaic (PV) films can allow both food and electric power to be produced simultaneously. This study tests if the combination of semi-transparent PV films and a transmission control layer can generate energy and spectrally control the transmission of light into a greenhouse. Testing the layer combinations in a variety of real-world conditions, it was shown that light can be spectrally controlled in a greenhouse. The transmission was overall able to be controlled by an average of 11.8% across the spectrum of sunlight, with each semi-transparent PV film able to spectrally select transmission of light in both the visible and near-infrared light wavelength. The combination of layers was also able to generate energy at an average efficiency of 8.71% across all panels and testing conditions. The most efficient PV film was the blue dyed, at 9.12%. This study also suggests additional improvements for this project, including the removal of the red PV film due to inefficiencies in spectral selection and additional tests with new materials to optimize plant growth and energy generation in a variety of light conditions.