The Disability-Diversity Disconnect: Redefining the Role of Student Disability within the Postsecondary Environment

The current understanding of student disability continues to be misperceived as a form of impairment, rather than as a part of student diversity within the higher education environment. Although nearly one in ten college students have a documented disability affecting cognitive, physical, or psychological functioning, stigmatization of students with disabilities continues to occur in the postsecondary environment. The purpose of this study is to examine if there is a perceived difference in academic and social inclusion within the postsecondary environment for students with and without disabilities. Guided by the theory of intersectionality, minority group model, and social model of disability, this study also contributes the Disability-Diversity (Dis)Connect Model (DDDM), a new conceptual framework which establishes that student disability is an integrated, non-limiting identity within a student’s college experience. Data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09) was used to investigate academic and social integration of students with and without disabilities enrolled in four-year institutions. Descriptive and inferential analyses, including independent samples t-tests and multiple regressions, were conducted to examine the following: (1) the difference, if any, in socio-academic integration for students with and without disabilities in higher education, (2) the predictive influence of demographic characteristics including disability, race/ ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status on socio-academic integration in higher education, and (3) the predictive influence of disability type, race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status on socio-academic integration among students with disabilities in higher education. The findings of this study indicate that disability type and gender negatively contribute to students’ ability to socially integrate. Overall, findings suggest that students with non-apparent disabilities are more likely to struggle with social integration and have a potentially impaired sense of membership in the social sphere of campus

Classical properties of algebras using a new graph association

We study the relation between algebraic structures and Graph Theory. We have defined five different weighted digraphs associated to a finite dimensional algebra over a field in order to tackle important properties of the associated algebras, mainly the nilpotency and solvability in the case of Leibniz algebras

Contraceptive use and sexual function: a comparison of Italian female medical students and women attending family planning services

Objectives: The aims of the study were to understand how education relates to contraceptive choice and how sexual function can vary in relation to the use of a contraceptive method. Methods: We surveyed female medical students and women attending a family planning service (FPS) in Italy. Participants completed an online questionnaire which asked for information on sociodemographics, lifestyle, sexuality and contraceptive use and also included items of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Results: The questionnaire was completed by 413 women (362 students and 51 women attending the FPS) between the ages of 18 and 30 years. FSFI scores revealed a lower risk of sexual dysfunction among women in the control group who did not use oral hormonal contraception. The differences in FSFI total scores between the two study groups, when subdivided by the primary contraceptive method used, was statistically significant (p < 0.005). Women using the vaginal ring had the lowest risk of sexual dysfunction, compared with all other women, and had a positive sexual function profile. In particular, the highest FSFI domain scores were lubrication, orgasm and satisfaction, also among the control group. Expensive contraception, such as long-acting reversible contraception, was not preferred by this young population, even though such methods are more contemporary and manageable. Compared with controls, students had lower compliance with contraception and a negative attitude towards voluntary termination of pregnancy. Conclusion: Despite their scientific knowledge, Italian female medical students were found to need sexual and contraceptive assistance. A woman's sexual function responds to her awareness of her body and varies in relation to how she is guided in her contraceptive choice. Contraceptive counselling is an excellent means to improve female sexuality

Thermal treatment of superconductor thin film of the BSCCO system using domestic microwave oven

In this work, we report the preparation of a superconductor thin film of the BSCCO system using a good quality powder with nominal composition Bi_{1.8}Pb_{0.4}Sr_2CaCu_2O_x which was thermally treated using a domestic microwave oven (2.45 GHz, 800 W). This film was grew on a single crystal of LaAlO_3(100) substrate and exhibited a crystalline structure with the c-axis perpendicular to the plane of the substrate. An onset superconducting transition temperature was measured at 80 K.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

The spectroscopic evolution of the γ\gamma-ray emitting classical nova Nova Mon 2012. I. Implications for the ONe subclass of classical novae

Nova Mon 2012 was the first classical nova to be detected as a high energy $\gamma$-ray transient, by Fermi-LAT, before its optical discovery. We study a time sequence of high resolution optical echelle spectra (Nordic Optical Telescope) and contemporaneous NOT, STIS UV, and CHIRON echelle spectra (Nov 20/21/22). We use [O III] and H$\beta$ line fluxs to constrain the properties of the ejecta. We derive the structure from the optical and UV line profiles and compare our measured line fluxes for with predictions using Cloudy with abundances from other ONe novae. Mon 2012 is confirmed as an ONe nova. We find E(B-V)=0.85$\pm$0.05 and hydrogen column density $\approx 5\times 10^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$. The corrected continuum luminosity is nearly the same in the entire observed energy range as V1974 Cyg, V382 Mon, and Nova LMC 2000 at the same epoch after outburst. The distance, about 3.6 kpc, is quite similar to V1974 Cyg. The line profiles can be modeled using an axisymmetric bipolar geometry for the ejecta with various inclinations of the axis to the line of sight, 60 \le i \le 80 degrees, an opening angle of \approx$70 deg, inner radius$\Delta R/R(t)\approx 0.4$for permitted lines and less filled for forbidden lines. The filling factor$f\approx 0.1-0.3$implying M(ejecta)$\leq 6\times 10^{-5}$M$_\odot$. The ONe novae appear to comprise a single physical class with bipolar high mass ejecta, similarly enhanced abundances, and a common spectroscopic evolution within a narrow range of luminosities. The detected$\gamma$-ray emission may be a generic phenomenon, common to all ONe novae, possibly to all classical novae, and connected with acceleration and emission processes within the ejecta (abstract severely truncated).Comment: Submitted to A&A 9/1/2013; Accepted 27/2/2013 (in press

Structural Changes in Data Communication in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks are an important technology for making distributed autonomous measures in hostile or inaccessible environments. Among the challenges they pose, the way data travel among them is a relevant issue since their structure is quite dynamic. The operational topology of such devices can often be described by complex networks. In this work, we assess the variation of measures commonly employed in the complex networks literature applied to wireless sensor networks. Four data communication strategies were considered: geometric, random, small-world, and scale-free models, along with the shortest path length measure. The sensitivity of this measure was analyzed with respect to the following perturbations: insertion and removal of nodes in the geometric strategy; and insertion, removal and rewiring of links in the other models. The assessment was performed using the normalized Kullback-Leibler divergence and Hellinger distance quantifiers, both deriving from the Information Theory framework. The results reveal that the shortest path length is sensitive to perturbations.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, Central European Journal of Physic