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Scandal-ridden campaigns: the relationship between cognitive load and candidate evaluation
No full textScandal has been shown to affect politicians’ fortunes in inconsistent ways, with some suffering severe consequences from the voters while others are able to weather multiple scandals with seemingly few adverse effects. We look to cognitive load theory to explain how voters react to politicians with varying levels of scandal. While we generally expect a single scandal to resonate with voters, as candidates become embroiled in additional scandals, the cognitive load required to process such information becomes greater and learning is inhibited. As a result, cognitive load theory would lead to the expectation that a politician facing many scandals will not necessarily be held in a lower standing by voters than a candidate facing a single scandal. We test our hypotheses in an experiment chronicling a fictitious congressional campaign on social media and varying the amount of scandal surrounding a candidate, as well as their party affiliation. We find support for our expectations. While participants are less likely to vote for a candidate facing scandal than a non-scandalized candidate, there does not appear to be any further electoral or evaluative penalty for candidates involved in many scandals. This finding is troubling from a perspective of democratic accountability, as it suggests voters are rather poor at incorporating additional information into their evaluations and, as a result, candidates are generally not further sanctioned by additional controversies
College of Business Dean\u27s Report: 2020-2021
Get PDFoai:digitalcommons.lewisu.edu:cobdeansreports-100
Ecological Impacts of Apiaries
Get PDFThe Come Clean, Go Green competition is a program dedicated to making Lewis a more sustainable campus with ideas from Lewis Students across all disciplines. The program is sponsored by the Lewis University Sustainability Council and supported by, the sustainability fee, which was approved last year. The fee will fund the implementation of sustainability projects on campus that are chosen by students
Role of Molecular Structure on Modulating the Interfacial Dynamics for Shallow Trench Isolation (STI) Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) Applications
Get PDFAs feature sizes continue to shrink well beyond the 7 nm node, understanding the delicate balance present in the chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process is of utmost importance. In order to achieve high through-put and defect-free CMP processes it is critical to develop predictive analytical techniques that directly correlate to macroscopic STI CMP performance metrics (i.e. oxide/nitride removal, defectivity, and dishing/erosion). This work employed a suite of techniques to monitor the CeO2 nanoparticle interfacial redox processes in the presence of structurally diverse rate modulating additives. Specifically, utilizing a UV–vis spectroscopic technique, the Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio in the presence of different slurry additives was monitored and proved to directly correlate to removal rate performance (i.e. an increase in Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio shows an increase in rate). This finding coupled with the rate of dissolved O2 evacuation and a modified QCM technique determined the mode of interaction/adsorption which validates that the mechanism of oxide removal does not strictly depend on redox capacity, but also depends on the dynamic O2 equilibrium at the CeO2 nanoparticle surface. It was determined that the modulation of oxide removal was directly related to the distribution of interactions (i.e. steric vs redox) and was highly dependent on the slurry additive functionality
Evaluation of a Photosensitizer Redox Couple for Oxide Removal Rate Tunability in Shallow Trench Isolation Chemical Mechanical Planarization
Get PDFAs technology continues to expand beyond that predicted by Moore\u27s Law the need to alter chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) processes to meet consumer demands is critical. To achieve higher oxide material removal rates (MRR), slurry formulations have become more complex by implementing rate enhancing additives to increase the slurry\u27s chemical activity. However, the modulation of MRR in situ requires changes in mechanical parameters, such as downforce, platen speed, and flow rate. These parameters effectively increase the chemical activity of the slurry; however, they can result in greater defectivity due to increased shear force. Therefore, this work employs the use of a photosensitizer redox couple to tune MRR using an external stimulus (i.e., light). Specifically, Rose Bengal (RB) is used to disrupt the adsorbed O2 equilibrium at the CeO2 surface via 1O2 generation. A secondary redox additive is employed to trap the 1O2 thereby preventing readsorption and increasing the number of active surface sites necessary for enhanced MRR. This photosensitized mechanism is supported through the correlation of CMP performance (i.e., MRR) to analytical measurements (i.e., 1O2 generation, contact angle, and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM)) with and without the presence of irradiation
Fighting a losing battle? Countering terrorism financing in Nigeria and Somalia
Get PDFIn the past decade, terrorist attacks in Africa have increased in frequency and lethality. Cutting off funding to terrorist groups is one important way to reduce these attacks. This research focuses on Boko Haram in Nigeria and al-Shabaab in Somalia. A historical overview of terrorist financing and a current outlook of the methods used by both groups are followed by a review of the literature on countering the financing of terrorism (CFT). This provides a lens through which specific government responses to financing terrorism in Nigeria and Somalia are examined. The research found that although Nigeria has made strides toward targeting terrorist funding, it is still far from cutting Boko Haram’s revenue streams. In Somalia, a ‘failed state’, until an effective government can be put in place it seems that al-Shabaab will operate relatively unaffected. The study concludes with recommendations to improve current CFT measures in Nigeria and Somalia
Interactions of copper and copper chelate compounds with the amyloid beta peptide: An investigation into electrochemistry, reactive oxygen species and peptide aggregation
No full textAlzheimer’s disease is a fatal neurological disorder affecting millions of people worldwide with an increasing patient population as average life expectancy increases. Accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques is characteristic of the disease and has been the target of numerous failed clinical trials. In light of this, therapeutics that target mechanisms of neuronal death beyond Aβ aggregation are needed. One potential target is the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are created during an interaction between Aβ and copper ions. This work shows that ROS production can be slowed by disrupting the interaction between Aβ and copper using copper chelating compounds. We demonstrated that ROS are produced in the presence of Aβ and copper in solution by monitoring H2O2 production using a fluorescence-based assay, which increased when Cu2+ interacted with Aβ. In addition, we were able to show reduced ROS production, without exacerbating the aggregation of Aβ and in some cases alleviating it, by adding copper chelating ligands to the solution. Using cyclic voltammetry, we investigated how these different ligands influenced the electrochemical behavior of copper in solution revealing important insights into the mechanisms of ROS production and chemical interactions that result in decreased ROS rates
International Lasallian Advisory Research Group as Pathway to Promote Autonomy and Self-Evaluation in Undergraduates from La Salle University-Bogota and Lewis University, USA
Get PDFThe initiative, International Lasallian Advisory Research Group (ILARG), establishes research collaborations among Lasallian institutions of higher education. La Salle University (Colombia) and Lewis University (USA) developed an approach, never attempted in Colombia, to determine the impact of the herbicide glyphosate. In this venture, the research faculty involved undergraduates in Environmental Science, Biology, and Environmental & Sanitary programs. The approach improved the students’ technical skills better than what would be expected from a standard laboratory course. Apart from the multiple research products (international publications and conferences) generated by the students, the experiences improved their time management and planning skills, their conceptual knowledge, and their application of the scientific method. This included changes in the students’ behaviors, such as becoming open to different cultures and assuming the roles of scholars. There was also remarkable improvement in their analytical skills. This collaboration is an example of building research communities among Lasallian institutions
