This article offers an in-depth analysis of the frequency and quality of LGBTQ+ representation in fictional podcasts. Specifically, I examine how frequently and with what intent LGBTQ+ characters are included in fictional podcast series. Though scholars have studied LGBTQ+ representation in different media, there has been almost no research on representation in fictional podcast series. However, as observed in other studies, cable and network television, streaming, and even blockbuster cinema have been slowly increasing in LGBTQ+ diversity (Stokes 2019, Cook 2018). Nevertheless, LGBTQ+ media consumers, especially LGBTQ+ youth, still find themselves underrepresented and look to other sources for validation of their identities (Stokes 2019). We might expect that many LGBTQ+ people may look to fictional podcasts as a possible source of quality representation, especially because podcasts are small-scale and heavily rely on the funding, and thus the opinion, of listeners (Bottomley, 2015). This is a case study in which four fictional podcast series are analyzed for LGBTQ+ inclusivity by first taking into account how many, and in what proportion, LGBTQ+ characters are included in the selected podcasts. The quality of their representation was then evaluated by a number of factors, including diversity, depth, and the frequency and type of stereotypical LGBTQ+ tropes. My findings show a higher frequency of LGBTQ+ characters than in more mainstream media. Further, the studied fictional podcasts series featured LGBTQ+ characters with diverse personalities and backgrounds, LGBTQ+ trope subversions, opportunities to express their sexual and/or gender identities, and long story arcs that do not end in their misfortune. Therefore, we see that fictional podcasts, as a medium that sustains itself primarily on listeners’ patronage, trend towards presenting stories that their audience can relate to (Bottomley, 2015). As a result, fictional podcasts tend to create more niche stories with the intention of making a connection with a smaller demographic of media consumers.

There is a dramatic lack of quality resources for navigating the Arizona State University campus. These resources are particularly lacking for mobile devices, as many ASU buildings and paths are not found on typical navigation apps. As a result, the only comprehensive resource for the Tempe campus is the school’s “Interactive Map”. The website is poorly optimized for mobile, to the extent of being unusable. As a result, this project sets out to create a navigation app for iOS devices, specifically targeting the ASU Tempe campus and students attempting to traverse it. This app will thus make navigating the Tempe campus much more accessible and convenient for anyone.

Campus sustainability and the goal of reaching carbon neutrality have become a major trend among many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) globally, and many of them have taken public pledges to reach carbon neutrality as early as 2025. Despite this push and apparent eagerness to make campuses greener, the simple fact remains that HEIs account for very little of the global carbon footprint, and achieving carbon neutrality does very little to combat climate change in the grand scheme of things. It is widely held that HEIs seek to use carbon neutrality goals to demonstrate their strong commitment to sustainability and also to educate the next generation of thinkers and leaders in the hopes that graduates from these institutions apply these methods to higher levels of society thereby decarbonizing communities’ level by level. However, since carbon neutrality took center stage in campus sustainability goals, it is imperative to scrutinize and audit the past and current energy portfolio and analyze any meaningful changes to see their year-by-year progress and what methods have been most successful in reaching carbon neutrality. Not only that, but carbon neutrality seemingly means different things to different institutions. This research asks what is the role of a campus energy portfolio in terms of achieving carbon neutrality? Using the Institutional Analysis and Development framework, this research utilizes a case study analysis of Arizona State University which was one of the first universities in the United States to achieve carbon neutrality. The results of this study suggest that a campus energy portfolio is integral in understanding the role of carbon neutrality and that becoming carbon neutral is not always the “green standard” indicator many HEIs want others to think it is.

Ayuba Suleiman Diallo’s 1731 journey from a trader of enslaved people, to enslaved, and back a trader of enslaved people is both remarkable and seemingly contradictory. However, his involvement in the West African trading networks bridged the goods-centered market and the ensuing one centered around enslaved people. Thus, his actions reflect the economic insecurity that permeated Senegambia, and his return to trading enslaved people illustrates the need for a competitive edge in these newmarkets. Foundational to his return were his manipulation of race, color, and religion in response to an increasing demand for enslaved people. Diallo established himself as different than the enslaved people around him, positing that he was instead more similar to his white captors. Through his royal mannerisms and devout practice of Islam, Diallo befriended Thomas Bluett, James Oglethorpe, the Duke of Montagu, and even King George II and Queen Caroline. He was branded “the Fortunate Slave” and frequently described as a white man with black skin. Diallo’s actions allowed him to regain enough social capital to travel to England and eventually return home to Bondu in present-day Senegal. Once home, he participated in the trade of enslaved people far more zealously than before his capture, which emphasizes how the Senegambian markets had transitioned away from being goods-centered during his absence in response to British demand. Diallo’s story illustrates the changing nature of Trans-Atlantic slave trade as well as eighteenth-century attitudes towards race and slavery.

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is an organization promoting itself as "The National Voice of American Agriculture." However, small independent family farmers are losing their livlihoods, having their rural communities destroyed, and are suffering from mental illness due to the covert actions of the AFBF. In reality, the AFBF is a national advocate for agricultural conglomerates and industrial agriculture practice. The AFBF drives the American agribusiness sector and demobilizes small farmer mobilization for any iteration of a modern and sustainable agricultural revolution. This thesis seeks to evaluate the ways in which the Farm Bureau demobilizes farmers in their ideology, education, and activism and seeks to recommend effective ways challenge the American Farm Bureau in pursuit of an agriculturally just Green New Deal (GND). A GND for agriculture emphasizes the need for independent family farmers and ensuing components of sustainability, regenerative practice, and an integrated, healthy food system.

Fairy tales have been around for centuries, always changing and adapting along with the cultures in which they're recreated. And yet, when Disney fairy tales are brought into the conversation, the response from critics and scholars is almost always a negative one. Through analysis of famous fairy tale collectors Giambattista Basile, Charles Perrault, and the Brothers Grimm, I highlight how sociopolitical conditions affect the way fairy tales change over time. I then dive into Walt Disney and The Walt Disney Company© to explore the influences that helped to shape their versions of the tales. To show these effects more specifically, I analyze each of the above-mentioned collectors' versions of Cinderella and how the different themes in each version of the tale were reflective of the societal and personal beliefs of the collector who wrote it. Through this, I hope to argue that the Disney versions of the tales have gone through the same "sanitization" process as every other version of the tale and that the changes they made were necessary for the preservation and continued popularity of the genre.

The phenomenon known as startReact is the fast, involuntary execution of a planned movement triggered by a startling acoustic stimulus. StartReact has previously been analyzed in simple motor movements such as finger abduction tasks, hand grasp tasks, and elbow extension tasks. More complex movements have also been analyzed, but there have been limited studies that look into functional complex tasks that require end-point accuracy. The objective of this project was to assess the ability to elicit startReact in tasks that simulate activities of daily living like feeding or picking up a glass of water. We hypothesized that a startReact response would be present in complex functional tasks, but the response would not be as accurate due to the increase in speed. Five subjects performed a simulated feeding task by moving kidney beans from one target to another where the end target changed in diameter as well as, a simulated drinking task where the subject moved a cup full of beads from one target to another. The hypothesis was supported due to a significant difference between no stimulus and stimulus trials for tricep muscle onset time, duration time, and the accuracy parameters of amount of beans dropped and weight in beads dropped. The results coincided with previous studies where subjects compensated for the change in diameter by increasing reaction time as the target diameter size decreased. The data obtained contradicted a previous study in relation to the duration time between the tasks due to our smallest diameter size having a faster duration time in comparison to the other diameter sizes. This study provides preliminary data that could assist researchers and clinicians in improving physical therapy methods for patients with impaired upper extremity motor movements.