Tempe Town Lake is the site of fifteen years’ worth of chemical data collection by ASU researchers. In 2018 the dataSONDE, an instrument capable of measuring different water quality parameters every thirty minutes for a month at a time was installed in the lake. The SONDE has the potential to completely reduce the need for sampling by hand. Before the SONDE becomes the sole means of gathering data, it is important to verify its accuracy. In this study, the measurements gathered by the SONDE (pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, conductivity and colored dissolved organic matter) were compared to measurements gathered using the verified methods from the past fifteen years.

Historians periodize the ancient past in order to better facilitate its study. From period to period, the ideas, figures and discussions that define as distinct become trapped within the walls that historians have artificially imposed. However, history is not nearly so clean, and that which we have selected to define each period may be carried forward beyond their period or retrojected into a past period. This thesis will explore how ideas and concepts travel backward and forward in time, through construction of memory and through cultural hybridity and intertextuality, by casting the royal ideology of the Hasmoneans as seen in I and II Maccabees in light of the legacy and memory of the Achaemenid Persian Dynasty. The first two chapters discuss the development of Achaemenid Royal Ideology, beginning with the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus II and his adoption of the ancient Near Eastern “Restorer of Order” literary paradigm to restructure the past for political legitimacy, and continues to the rise to power of Darius I, who in many ways built off of the Restorer of Order paradigm but innovated in establishing a new, more equal relationship between the divine and the royal receiver of the divine mandate to rule. The second two chapters begin with a discussion of II Maccabees and its use of the Restorer of Order paradigm, but goes more into detail on how it constructs an “idyllic past” that not only connects the Maccabees to mythic biblical figures but also reconstructs the Persian past of the Jewish people that mirrors and legitimizes Hasmonean royal ideology in sacred time, and ends with a discussion of how the innovations of Darius might have shaped the eventual conflict between the Hasmonean dynasty and their opponents over the correct responsibilities of the High Priest in Jerusalem.

Music both created and consumed by Soviet soldiers during the war in Afghanistan provides an insight into their opinions and criticisms of the war. Music allowed soldiers to vent, to give voice to their experiences, as well as to rationalize their participation in the conflict, enabling them to inject their personal opinions and perceptions of the war into memorable and poetic forms. Through analyzing the Soviet songs about the of Afghan war, we can create a chronological timeline charting the development of resentment and disillusionment among Soviet soldiers: the initial patriotic songs borrowed from prior conflicts soon declined in popularity, replaced with mournful songs reflecting soldiers’ nostalgia for home and fear of death in their daily lives. Their lyrics reveal feelings of anxiety, disenfranchisement and abandonment, all resulting from the Soviet state’s ineffective handling of the war. In addition to songs produced by soldiers themselves, bands within Soviet borders such as Kino also wrote songs about the conflict, using their star power to draw attention to the conflict in their own fashion. By tracking both the creation and spread of these songs about the Soviet-Afghan war (referred to in this essay as either the “Soviet-Afghan War” or, more simply, the “Afghan War” as it is known in Russian), we can find vital, overlooked expressions of if not protest then discontent - among the many bubbling to the surface during the last decade of the USSR. This thesis therefore presents a chronological analysis of representative songs from the Soviet-Afghan war that also takes their popularity and methods of propagation -- the material technologies that allowed for this music to be spread -- into account, plotted alongside the major turning points of the war. It uncovers an otherwise forgotten form of discourse between soldiers about both the war itself, as well as the Soviet government, exploring the political implications of the war’s musical memorialization.

Children whose parents are incarcerated face significate challenges that imped their education such as stigma and shame, family problems, and poverty associated with having an incarcerated parent. These problems may be exaggerated for Latina girls who must also contend with barriers related to their ethnic, classed, and gendered positions. This qualitative study focuses on four Latina daughters of incarcerated parents who have continued their education despite these barriers. The participants are currently attending college and/or university with the hopes of obtaining a better life for themselves and in three out of the four cases, for their children. This study adopts a socioecological theoretical framework to understand why some children of incarcerated parents are at risk for dropping out of school and how they overcome these risks. All four women interviewed had consistent average to high achieving grades throughout their parents’ incarceration. Most indicated that they had support by either their non-incarcerated parent or mentors. In addition, the four participants continued to have communication with the previously incarcerated parent. The research findings will be discussed throughout this paper to highlight key aspects that may have played a pivotal role in the participants’ positive educational outcomes.

Medieval Arthurian stories typically feature noble knights as their main characters, and follow these knights on various quests as they work to fulfill their destiny. Although women do not get to appear as the central characters in these stories, they are oftentimes afforded magical abilities that provide them with a great deal of power and influence. This thesis investigates the role of magical women, including fairies and sorceresses, in medieval Arthurian literature. I explore the conditions under which medieval authors permitted women characters to have power, magical or otherwise; for each of five different magical women appearing in Arthurian stories written between the 12th and 15th centuries, I discuss their different abilities, motivations, and major actions. Even when these fairies are fairly powerful and autonomous in their choices, their motivations are typically related to the interests of the male man character. Their relationship to the heroes of their respective stories determines their characterization. I argue that there are three major tropes that these characters fulfill: fairy caretakers, fairy lovers, or evil sorceresses.

“Between the beginning of the New Deal era in 1932 and its end in 1968, the Democratic share of the presidential vote skidded from 90 per cent to 26 per cent in the Deep South and from 77 per cent to 32 per cent in the Outer South. ” In 1969, Kevin Phillips’ The Emerging Republican Majority, noted the South’s decreasing support of Democratic presidential candidates by the mid-20th century. It marked a significant transformation. Since the end of Reconstruction, the South had a key role in the Democratic Party. The South along with organized labor and African Americans composed Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal coalition.” Formed in 1932, the New Deal coalition formed the basis of the Democratic Party’s support up until the 1960s. However, the party’s focus on civil rights under John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson caused disaffected Southern conservatives to abandon the party. Many favored Barry Goldwater for president in 1964 and George Wallace in 1968. Recognizing the disaffection after his victory in 1968, Richard Nixon hoped to draw Wallace voters into the Republican Party’s fold. Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” for the 1970 midterm elections saw appeals made directly to Southern conservatives, hoping that the ensuing reactionary backlash translated into Republican midterm gains. In a final analysis, Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” had minimal effect on the 1970 midterm elections. Of all the various races that the Nixon administration involved itself in, the only Southern Democrat to lose their Senate seat was Albert Gore in Tennessee, losing to Nixon supported Bill Brock. While the 1970 election resulted in only a few Republican gains, it highlighted the Democratic Party’s growing irreconcilable differences between its Southern liberals and conservatives. Analysis of individual Senate campaigns during the midterm elections showcase the South’s ongoing political realignment, foreshadowing the region’s defection to the Republican Party during the Reagan era of the 1980s.

Ephrem the Syrian was a prominent Syriac theologian and poet of the fourth century. He was born in modern day Turkey where he was likely raised a Christian. In Ephrem’s time, the subordinationist heresy was prevalent. Ephrem’s historical and cultural background are important to understand Ephrem’s theology presented in his work. Ephrem wrote many theological works, being most known for his hymns. Ephrem used many symbols in his hymns including the one and the many, the divinity as fire, and the pearl. The pearl has Scriptural and historical significance to Ephrem. Ephrem uses the pearl as a polyvalent symbol that symbolizes, among other things, Mary, the kingdom of God, and Christ. In this paper, I explore how Ephrem’s Christology in his five hymns on the pearl contrast with that of the subordinationists by highlighting the mystery that is Christ’s nature, the incomprehensibility of Christ’s nature by the human mind, and the attempt to fully understand Christ’s nature as a manifestation of pride.

The Bachelor first aired on ABC in 2002, and its gender-swapped counterpart The Bachelorette aired a year later. The premise of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette is that one lead, the titular bachelor or bachelorette, pursues romantic connections with up to thirty contestants at a time, with an elimination ceremony every week where the lead decides who they would like to continue dating and who they would like to send home. This paper uses queer theory on non-monogamy to explore the role of non-monogamous practices in the franchise and their relationship to the monogamous goals of the shows. By exploring the tension between monogamy and non-monogamy, this paper illustrates how dissonance between monogamy and non-monogamy is not only present but essential to preserving the shows' goals.

The Irish Potato Famine, sometimes known as the Great Famine, is arguably one of the most infamous famines to occur in documented history. Between the years of 1845-1849, more than 1 million Irish people either died of starvation or were forced to flee the country because of this catastrophe. To truly understand how such a devastating event occurred, it is important to understand the political climate of the time period – particularly in regard to Ireland’s relationship with England. Although the famine was caused, in part, by the failure of Ireland’s potato crop due to a disease dubbed the “blight,” the death rate was exacerbated by the lack of English aid – as Ireland was, at the time, an English colony. The mass death and immigration from Ireland within such a short time period were largely caused by negligence and mismanagement of the crisis by the English rulers.

This essay outlines public art in District Six, Cape Town, South Africa and how public art can manifest itself to reconstruct cultural memory, provide a space for healing and processing collective trauma, and produce critical public pedagogy. Public art also has the power to provide symbolic reparations, an approach proposed by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee but one that I believe was not properly or effectively handled by the South African government. In this paper I will cover two specific public art projects and one established museum, all three framed within the context of both institutionalized and individual approaches to public art. Such projects extend to the District Six Museum, the Public Arts Festival of 1997, and the Black Arts Collective visual-media project, ‘Returning the Gaze.’ This paper proposes that the concept of public art should be reconsidered; I argue that its purpose is not to solely beautify urban landscapes, but rather to provide platforms for survivors of abuse to relay their experiences, influence popular discourse, and challenge hegemonic notions of race, identity, and culture.