4,879 research outputs found
Black Male Buoyant Believers in Engineering and Engineering-Related Fields
Strategies for improving student success are particularly important in high-demand fields like science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). As the U.S. experiences a decline in skilled STEM workers and a growing number of racial/ethnic minorities, it is critical that more attention be paid to the college success of underrepresented populations majoring in STEM. While some strategies for increasing STEM student success have focused on social-psychological factors such as academic self-efficacy and resilience, little attention has been given to these factors among specific minority groups in STEM such as Black men. To extend the current literature, interviews with 27 Black male collegians majoring in engineering or engineering-related fields were analyzed through the lens of the âbuoyant believersâ framework. Based on the model, individuals can be described across four typologies as: (a) students who are confident and resilient, (b) students who are confident but lack resilience, (c) students who lack confidence but exhibit resilience, and (d) students who are neither resilient nor confident. Using the âbuoyant believersâ framework, we highlight excerpts from interviews to depict students who fit in each category of the matrix. We describe the framework as a useful identification tool to assist college educators looking for clues when identifying strategies to build confident and resilient Black male students in engineering and engineering-related fields. This paper includes strategies related to mentoring, modeling, enrichment activities, and curriculum mastery recommended for the success of each respective student âtypeâ that will prove useful to faculty, staff, and practitioners who work with Black male students in STEM
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program Dramatically Increases Knowledge Retention And Student Skills
In academia, faculty have the challenge of developing programs that will instill in the students the core competencies and skills defined by the accounting profession as the benchmark for successful entry into the accounting profession by college graduates. By integrating participation in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program with the teaching of concepts in the classroom at Utah Valley State College, faculty have been able to increase the retention of knowledge and the development of practical skills that benefit students, potential employers, and the community
Curvature Dependence of Surface Free Energy of Liquid Drops and Bubbles: A Simulation Study
We study the excess free energy due to phase coexistence of fluids by Monte
Carlo simulations using successive umbrella sampling in finite LxLxL boxes with
periodic boundary conditions. Both the vapor-liquid phase coexistence of a
simple Lennard-Jones fluid and the coexistence between A-rich and B-rich phases
of a symmetric binary (AB) Lennard-Jones mixture are studied, varying the
density rho in the simple fluid or the relative concentration x_A of A in the
binary mixture, respectively. The character of phase coexistence changes from a
spherical droplet (or bubble) of the minority phase (near the coexistence
curve) to a cylindrical droplet (or bubble) and finally (in the center of the
miscibility gap) to a slab-like configuration of two parallel flat interfaces.
Extending the analysis of M. Schrader, P. Virnau, and K. Binder [Phys. Rev. E
79, 061104 (2009)], we extract the surface free energy gamma (R) of both
spherical and cylindrical droplets and bubbles in the vapor-liquid case, and
present evidence that for R -> Infinity the leading order (Tolman) correction
for droplets has sign opposite to the case of bubbles, consistent with the
Tolman length being independent on the sign of curvature. For the symmetric
binary mixture the expected non-existence of the Tolman length is confirmed. In
all cases {and for a range of radii} R relevant for nucleation theory, gamma(R)
deviates strongly from gamma (Infinity) which can be accounted for by a term of
order gamma(Infinity)/gamma(R)-1 ~ 1/R^2. Our results for the simple
Lennard-Jones fluid are also compared to results from density functional theory
and we find qualitative agreement in the behavior of gamma(R) as well as in the
sign and magnitude of the Tolman length.Comment: 25 pages, submitted to J. Chem. Phy
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Nearshore sandbar migration predicted by an eddy-diffusive boundary layer model
We simulated the erosion and accretion of a natural beach using a wave-resolving
eddy-diffusive model of water and suspended sediment motion in the bottom boundary
layer. Nonlinear advection was included in this one-dimensional (vertical profile) model
by assuming that waves propagated almost without change of form. Flows were forced by
fluctuating pressure gradients chosen to reproduce the velocity time series measured
during the Duck94 field experiment. The cross-shore flux of suspended sediment beneath
each field-deployed current meter was estimated, and beach erosion (accretion) was
calculated from the divergence (convergence) of this flux. Horizontal pressure forces on
sediment particles were neglected. The model successfully predicted two bar migration
events (one shoreward bar migration and one seaward) but failed to predict a third
(seaward migration) event. Simulated seaward sediment transport was due to seaward
mean currents. Simulated shoreward sediment transport was due to covariance between
wave-frequency fluctuations in velocity and sediment concentration and was mostly
confined to the wave boundary layer. Predicted seaward (shoreward) bar migration was
driven by a maximum in the current-generated (wave-generated) flux over the sandbar. A
wave-generated downward flux of shoreward momentum into the wave boundary layer
contributed to shoreward sediment transport and often had a local maximum over the bar
crest. Second-order nonlinear advection of sediment, mostly representing shoreward
advection by the Stokes drift, also often had a local maximum over the bar crest. Together,
wave-generated momentum fluxes and the Stokes drift substantially increased shoreward
transport and were essential to predictions of shoreward bar migration
Young people today: news media, policy and youth justice
The new sociology of childhood sees children as competent social agents with important contributions to make. And yet the phase of childhood is fraught with tensions and contradictions. Public policies are required, not only to protect children, but also to control them and regulate their behaviour. For children and young people in the UK, youth justice has become increasingly punitive. At the same time, social policies have focused more on children's inclusion and participation. In this interplay of conflict and contradictions, the role the media play is critical in contributing to the moral panic about childhood and youth. In this article, we consider media representations of âantisocialâ children and young people and how this belies a moral response to the nature of contemporary childhood. We conclude by considering how a rights-based approach might help redress the moralised politics of childhood representations in the media
Obtaining high resolution excitation functions with an active thick-target approach and validating them with mirror nuclei
Measurement of fusion excitation functions for stable nuclei has largely been
restricted to nuclei with significant natural abundance. Typically, to
investigate neighboring nuclei with low natural abundance has required
obtaining isotopically enriched material. This restriction often limits the
ability to perform such measurements. We report the measurement of a high
quality fusion excitation function for a O beam produced from unenriched
material with 0.038\% natural abundance. The measurement is enabled by using an
active thick-target approach and the accuracy of the result is validated using
its mirror nucleus F and resonances. The result provides important
information about the average fusion cross-section for the oxygen isotopic
chain as a function of neutron excess.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Gradual diffusion and punctuated phase space density enhancements of highly relativistic electrons: Van Allen Probes observations
Abstract The dual-spacecraft Van Allen Probes mission has provided a new window into mega electron volt (MeV) particle dynamics in the Earth\u27s radiation belts. Observations (up to E ~10 MeV) show clearly the behavior of the outer electron radiation belt at different timescales: months-long periods of gradual inward radial diffusive transport and weak loss being punctuated by dramatic flux changes driven by strong solar wind transient events. We present analysis of multi-MeV electron flux and phase space density (PSD) changes during March 2013 in the context of the first year of Van Allen Probes operation. This March period demonstrates the classic signatures both of inward radial diffusive energization and abrupt localized acceleration deep within the outer Van Allen zone (L ~4.0 ± 0.5). This reveals graphically that both competing mechanisms of multi-MeV electron energization are at play in the radiation belts, often acting almost concurrently or at least in rapid succession. Key Points Clear observations to higher energy than ever before Precise detection of where and how acceleration takes place Provides new eyes on megaelectron Volt
Model Channel Ion Currents in NaCl - SPC/E Solution with Applied-Field Molecular Dynamics
Using periodic boundary conditions and a constant applied field, we have
simulated current flow through an 8.125 Angstrom internal diameter, rigid,
atomistic channel with polar walls in a rigid membrane using explicit ions and
SPC/E water. Channel and bath currents were computed from ten 10-ns
trajectories for each of 10 different conditions of concentration and applied
voltage. An electric field was applied uniformly throughout the system to all
mobile atoms. On average, the resultant net electric field falls primarily
across the membrane channel, as expected for two conductive baths separated by
a membrane capacitance. The channel is rarely occupied by more than one ion.
Current-voltage relations are concentration-dependent and superlinear at high
concentrations.Comment: Accepted for publication in Biophysical Journa
Studies of Vibrational Properties in Ga Stabilized d-Pu by Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure
Temperature dependent extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS)
spectra were measured for a 3.3 at% Ga stabilized Pu alloy over the range T= 20
- 300 K at both the Ga K-edge and the Pu L_III-edge. The temperature dependence
of the pair-distance distribution widths, \sigma(T) was accurately modeled
using a correlated-Debye model for the lattice vibrational properties,
suggesting Debye-like behavior in this material. We obtain pair- specific
correlated-Debye temperatures, \Theta_cD, of 110.7 +/- 1.7 K and 202.6 +/- 3.7
K, for the Pu-Pu and Ga-Pu pairs, respectively. These results represent the
first unambiguous determination of Ga-specific vibrational properties in PuGa
alloys, and indicate the Ga-Pu bonds are significantly stronger than the Pu-Pu
bonds. This effect has important implications for lattice stabilization
mechanisms in these alloys.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, Phys. Rev. B in pres
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