Galaxy Assembly Bias on the Red Sequence

Using samples drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we study the relationship between local galaxy density and the properties of galaxies on the red sequence. After removing the mean dependence of average overdensity (or "environment") on color and luminosity, we find that there remains a strong residual trend between luminosity-weighted mean stellar age and environment, such that galaxies with older stellar populations favor regions of higher overdensity relative to galaxies of like color and luminosity (and hence of like stellar mass). Even when excluding galaxies with recent star-formation activity (i.e., younger mean stellar ages) from the sample, we still find a highly significant correlation between stellar age and environment at fixed stellar mass. This residual age-density relation provides direct evidence for an assembly bias on the red sequence such that galaxies in higher-density regions formed earlier than galaxies of similar mass in lower-density environments. We discuss these results in the context of the age-metallicity degeneracy and in comparison to previous studies at low and intermediate redshift. Finally, we consider the potential role of assembly bias in explaining recent results regarding the evolution of post-starburst (or post-quenching) galaxies and the environmental dependence of the type Ia supernova rate.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to Information Quality

Building upon a process-and context-oriented information quality framework, this paper seeks to map and explore what we know about the ways in which young users of age 18 and under search for information online, how they evaluate information, and how their related practices of content creation, levels of new literacies, general digital media usage, and social patterns affect these activities. A review of selected literature at the intersection of digital media, youth, and information quality -- primarily works from library and information science, sociology, education, and selected ethnographic studies -- reveals patterns in youth's information-seeking behavior, but also highlights the importance of contextual and demographic factors both for search and evaluation. Looking at the phenomenon from an information-learning and educational perspective, the literature shows that youth develop competencies for personal goals that sometimes do not transfer to school, and are sometimes not appropriate for school. Thus far, educational initiatives to educate youth about search, evaluation, or creation have depended greatly on the local circumstances for their success or failure

Exploring the Relevant Skills Needed for the Digital Age Employees

The aim of this study is to explore the relevant skills needed for the digital age employees in business. After reviewing prior studies and literature, it was recognized that technology changed the requirements of employment. Digital technology stimulated an effect on employment in a wide range of business industries, changing the labor-force requirements. A qualitative approach was used to provide deeper insights into the studies presented in the literature. The aim of the exploration was to validate the research variables and develop a proposed conceptual framework of the vital skills relevant in the digital age labor-market. Three focus groups were steered in this study. Each focus group contained seven participants who were managers in various companies in different business sectors in Cairo or Alexandria. The participants in each focus group were homogeneous. The managers were into groups according to their company’s classification (local, multinational, and non-profit organization). The organizations were chosen based on a purposive sample and only organizations with a human resource department were invited to take part. According to the thematic analysis results, managers recruit graduates not only with technical skills, as represented by the degree obtained or the subjects that they took in college, but also with their employability skills: personal skills in business practices and digital media and information literacy. This study offered practical and academic contributions. The empirical evidences supported that technology has changed the requirements of employment, developing a proposed conceptual framework that recognizes the main skills needed in the digital age workforce. Keywords: Digital Age, Employability, Hard Skills, Media Literacy, Soft Skills, Workforce. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-2-07 Publication date: January 31st 202

The Value of Proximity: Examining the Willingness to Pay for Online Local News

The exploration of new business models based on paid content strategies in the digital environment has generated an important discussion regarding the willingness to pay for online news. Previous studies have neglected local newspapers, although several analyses have clearly identified the local (news) as a fundamental asset to convince readers to pay for information. Based on a national survey of 1,637 U.S. adults, the research presented here systematically evaluates factors that influence the willingness to pay for online local news. Results of the logistic regression analysis reveals relationships between paying intent and predictor variables such as demographics (age and gender), media use (print and online newspapers), news interest, and traditional newspaper subscription. Finally, managerial and theoretical implications are discussed

Emotion work via digital visual communication: A comparative study between China and Japan

Through the smartphone, the production and circulation of digital visual media have become as costless and accessible as audio and text-based communication. It would be challenging to be a contemporary ethnographer without engaging with digital practices which in Japan and China at least, tend towards being highly visual. Digital visual communication is recognised in literature as an effective and accessible form of communication, with an increasing number of studies in the field of digital anthropology, media studies and Internet studies exploring the consequences of digital images on social media. There is a pressing need to understand local forms of visual communication in the digital age, where the visual has become an essential part of daily communication. This article deals particularly with the rise of visual digital communication among older adults in China and Japan. Drawing on 16-month ethnographies conducted simultaneously between 2018 and 2019 in China and Japan, this article contributes to the discussion of visual communication in light of this semiotic shift happening online, which is then contextualised within people’s offline lives. The ethnographies in both China and Japan find that, first of all, visual communication via digital media enables more effective and efficient phatic communication and emotion work. In addition, the ethnographies point to a question about ‘authenticity’ in interpersonal communication. The ethnographies show that in some cases, the deployment of visual communication via the smartphone is not so much about being able to express ‘authentic’ personal feelings but rather, in being able to effectively establish a digital public façade according to social norms

Spatially Resolved Galaxy Star Formation and its Environmental Dependence I

We use the photometric information contained in individual pixels of 44,964 (0.019<z<0.125 and -23.5<M_r<-20.5) galaxies in the Fourth Data Release (DR4) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to investigate the effects of environment on galaxy star formation (SF). We use the pixel-z technique, which combines stellar population synthesis models with photometric redshift template fitting on the scale of individual pixels in galaxy images. Spectral energy distributions are constructed, sampling a wide range of properties such as age, star formation rate (SFR), dust obscuration and metallicity. By summing the SFRs in the pixels, we demonstrate that the distribution of total galaxy SFR shifts to lower values as the local density of surrounding galaxies increases, as found in other studies. The effect is most prominent in the galaxies with the highest star formation, and we see the break in the SFR-density relation at a local galaxy density of $\approx 0.05$(Mpc/h)$^{-3}$. Since our method allows us to spatially resolve the SF distribution within galaxies, we can calculate the mean SFR of each galaxy as a function of radius. We find that on average the mean SFR is dominated by SF in the central regions of galaxies, and that the trend for suppression of SFR in high density environments is driven by a reduction in this nuclear SF. We also find that the mean SFR in the outskirts is largely independent of environmental effects. This trend in the mean SFR is shared by galaxies which are highly star forming, while those which are weakly star forming show no statistically significant correlation between their environment and the mean SFR at any radius.Comment: 37 pages, 11 figures. Referee's comments included and matches version accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. For high resolution figures, see http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/~welikala/pixelz/paper1

Sources of Information for Social Studies Teachers and their Level of usage in Abeokuta, Ogun State Nigeria

The study examined sources of information for teachers in social studies and their level of usage in secondary schools. The design of this study was descriptive of survey type. Data was collected from twentyfour (24) secondary schools and was randomly selected from Abeokuta north local government and Abeokuta south local government area of Ogun state, Nigeria. Ninety-seven (97) secondary schools female and male teachers of different age- grades, qualifications and experience were used as sample. Questionnaire was made use of for data collection. The questionnaire was the close-ended likert- type technique that expresses degree of agreement or disagreement with he supplied statement. Data was analyzed using standard deviation, students- t-test statistics, mean and rank order. The findings of the study revealed that, teachers’ sources of information for social studies include reference materials, newspapers, journals, literary materials, historical monuments and artefacts, television, textbooks, resource person, magazines, pamphlet, bulletins and radio. Computer component, such as e-mail, file transfer protocol, World Wide Web (www) rarely used by social studies teachers. Recommendations were made which includes computer training be provided for social studies teachers at all level of education in Nigeria and modern information centers with integrated circuits and digital communication to link schools should be provided at local levels for the use of teachers, particularly for social studies teachers

Analysis of Disaster Mitigation in IPAS Subject of High School Phases under Merdeka Belajar Concepts

Indonesia’s geographical condition is vulnerable to geological changes and prone to natural disasters. The Indonesian Government has made various efforts to reduce disaster risk by developing disaster-safe education units. Disaster education will be effective if it is integrated into the curriculum in the school subjects such as social studies from an early age. This study aims to provide ideas for implementing disaster mitigation learning for high school students based on the concept of Merdeka belajar in the digital age. To better understand disaster preparedness under the concepts of Merdeka belajar, we thoroughly examined the relevant databases. It was carried out within the education framework put out by Ki Hadjar Dewantara (1889–1959), Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776–1841), and Jan Komensky (1592-1670). Given that Indonesia has at least 13 disaster threats whose risks vary depending on the region, it is crucial to understand the local wisdom in disaster mitigation. This content is available in high school phases’ natural and social sciences subjects (ilmu pengetahuan alam dan sosial, IPAS). This research is crucial to successfully improve the teaching-learning quality to meet the needs of the Pancasila student profile. Keywords: disaster mitigation, IPAS, high school, merdeka belajar, digital learnin

Açık ve Uzaktan Öğrenme Kapsamında Dijital Bölünme

The main objective of this study is to describe the digital divide in the digital information age and to examine the efforts to close the digital divide in Turkey and all around the world. Within the scope of the study, digital divide is discussed in the context of individual differences and the relationship between open and distance learning system, and digital divide is explained in a global and local context. In the last part of the study, research findings were synthesized and recommendations were made to researchers, educational institutions and policy makers for further studies

Migrants face Barriers to Obtaining Electronic Identification : A population-based Study Among Older Russian-speakers in Finland

As digital technologies continue to transform health care and health systems, they will continue to have a lasting impact on health services. Many health and social care services have rapidly become ‘digital by default’. The electronic identification (e-ID) technology is needed for secure authentication to digital services. Recent studies have shown that the ‘digital divide’ is prominent between ethnic minorities and the majority populations and between older and younger adults. Inequalities related to not having an e-ID, which is in many countries required to access digital health services, remain under-researched. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledge of the use of digital services among older migrants. This study analyses general socio-demographic as well as migration specific factors that may be associated with not having an e-ID among older migrants. We used the Care, Health and Ageing of Russian-speaking Minority in Finland (CHARM) study, which is a nationally representative survey of community-dwelling Russian-speaking adults aged ≥ 50 years living in Finland (N = 1082, 57% men, mean age 63.2 years, standard deviation 8.4 years, response rate 36%). Our results showed that 21% of older Russian-speakers did not have an e-ID. Our regression analysis showed that older age and poorer economic situation were associated with a lower probability of having an e-ID. In addition, we found an association between not speaking local languages and not having an e-ID. This may relate to private banks regulating the requirements for obtaining the most common e-ID method, online banking ID. We argue that for individuals who are already in vulnerable positions, current e-ID practices might pose yet another obstacle to obtaining the health services they need and are entitled to.Peer reviewe