Discovery of the 2010 Eruption and the Pre-Eruption Light Curve for Recurrent Nova U Scorpii

We report the discovery by B. G. Harris and S. Dvorak on JD 2455224.9385 (2010 Jan 28.4385 UT) of the predicted eruption of the recurrent nova U Scorpii (U Sco). We also report on 815 magnitudes (and 16 useful limits) on the pre-eruption light curve in the UBVRI and Sloan r' and i' bands from 2000.4 up to 9 hours before the peak of the January 2010 eruption. We found no significant long-term variations, though we did find frequent fast variations (flickering) with amplitudes up to 0.4 mag. We show that U Sco did not have any rises or dips with amplitude greater than 0.2 mag on timescales from one day to one year before the eruption. We find that the peak of this eruption occurred at JD 2455224.69+-0.07 and the start of the rise was at JD 2455224.32+-0.12. From our analysis of the average B-band flux between eruptions, we find that the total mass accreted between eruptions is consistent with being a constant, in agreement with a strong prediction of nova trigger theory. The date of the next eruption can be anticipated with an accuracy of +-5 months by following the average B-band magnitudes for the next ~10 years, although at this time we can only predict that the next eruption will be in the year 2020+-2.Comment: Astronomical Journal submitted, 36 pages, 3 figures, full table

Artist's Statement: Finestra del Oro

Artist's Statement for the cover art of IJPS volume4, issue 1: Finestra del Oro, 2017. Acrylic on canvas

Artist's Statement: Finestra del Oro

Artist's Statement for the cover art of IJPS volume4, issue 1: Finestra del Oro, 2017. Acrylic on canvas

NASA Ground and Launch Systems Processing Technology Area Roadmap

In 2010, NASA developed a set of 14 draft roadmaps to guide the development of space technologies under the leadership of the NASA Office of the Chief Technologist. Each of these roadmaps focused on a particular technology area. The roadmaps are intended to foster the development of advanced technologies and concepts that address NASA’s needs and contribute to other aerospace and national needs. NASA contracted with the National Research Council (NRC) to perform an independent critique of the draft roadmaps. NASA assessed the NRC’s prioritizations and recommendations and developed the Strategic Space Technology Investment Plan (SSTIP) to outline the future investment strategy. The Ground and Launch Systems Processing (GLSP) Technology Area Roadmap was developed to identify ground, launch and mission technologies that would dramatically transform future space operations, with significant improvement in life-cycle costs and the quality of life on earth, increasing reliability and mission availability, and enhancing methods to assess safety and mission risk posture. Since operations costs can constitute roughly 40% of the total mission costs, by realizing savings in this technology area, NASA could redirect significant investments toward supporting a broader customer base with robust exploration missions

“You have to be Proactive with Your Child’s Health”: Learning and Health Literacy among Caregivers of Children with ADHD

This paper uses focus group data to examine health literacy among 26 low-socioeconomic status, minority caregivers of school-age children with ADHD. To cope with their child’s ADHD symptoms or diagnosis, caregivers used observation, gathered information from multiple sources, and discerned how to obtain services within confusing system healthcare and education systems

Editorial: Participatory Evaluation and Impact Assessment in Citizen Science

Editorial to the fteval Journal's special issue #5

Transforming identities and co-constructing careers of career counselors

New theories for practice, which take account of contextual shifts such as labor market volatility, are essential for maintaining the professional status of career counseling. Career construction theory (CCT), as an exemplar of an innovative, contextually sensitive approach not only provides a way of making sense of the turbulent landscapes in which career transitions are taking place, but also provides practical tools to facilitate individual adaptation to change. However, development and evaluation of new theories and related tools have tended to overlook the career development and support needs of career counselors in the adoption and integration of these approaches into their practice with clients, as well as into their own career development. Here, the focus is on supporting the continuing professional development of career counselors as crucial for the enhancement of practice, through the provision in 2017 of an open access online learning program relating to the changing world of work, with facilitation of dialogue and reflection. The adaptive responses of an international group of participants facing challenges of identity transformation in the workplace, which emerged as they worked through the online learning resource, are examined. Four hundred and two international participants registered, with 86 actively engaging in the course, which was made available over three months, with content analysis of their online dialogue providing insights into the processes of psycho-social adaptation to the career-related challenges they faced. The learning design and course delivery were underpinned by the theory of professional identity transformation (PIT), with a commitment to supporting participants both individually collectively to shape their evolving roles and identities in ways compatible with their life themes. In order to progress toward that goal, processes of co-construction, also central to career construction theory, emerged strongly from the content analysis of data

Anspruch und Wirklichkeit: Kann das Pariser Klimaabkommen funktionieren?

Ist das Klimaabkommen, das auf der Weltklimakonferenz in Paris im Dezember 2015 beschlossen wurde, ein wichtiger Schritt für den weltweiten Klimaschutz? Joachim Weimann, Universität Magdeburg, sieht zwar in der Tatsache, dass es überhaupt ein Abkommen gibt und dass sich Länder verpflichten, Klimaschutz zu betreiben, einen gewissen Fortschritt. Ein erfolgreicher Klimaschutz kann aber seiner Ansicht nach nur gelingen, wenn eine internationale Klimapolitik betrieben wird. In Paris wurde das genaue Gegenteil festgeschrieben, nämlich eine nationale Politik, bei der jedes einzelne Land seine eigenen Reduktionsziele definiere und selbstständig umsetze. Für Rüdiger Pethig, Universität Siegen, stellt das Pariser Abkommen trotz vielen Schwachstellen einen Meilenstein gegenüber dem davor Erreichten dar. Es sei zwar keineswegs die Lösung des Klimaproblems, aber habe die Hoffnung auf eine zukünftige Lösung ein wenig erhöht. Barbara Hendricks, Bundesministerin für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit, sieht in dem Paris-Abkommen die Chance, den Klimawandel in den Griff zu bekommen, denn mit dem Pariser Abkommen sei das Fundament für erfolgreichen internationalen Klimaschutz gelegt worden. Zentraler Bezugspunkt für die nationalen Planungen bleibe die europäische Klimaschutzpolitik. Für Ottmar Edenhofer, Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung, Christian Flachsland und Ulrike Kornek, MCC, Berlin, ist das Abkommen noch kein klimapolitischer Durchbruch. Jetzt komme es darauf an, die Diskussion über koordinierte CO2-Mindestpreise und konditionale Klimafinanzierung so voranzutreiben, dass die Chancen internationaler Kooperation steigen. Zentral ist für Thomas Puls und Thilo Schae­fer, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln e.V., dass die großen CO2-Emittenten eine koordinierte Klimapolitik verfolgen und dass sich die Verweigerung von Klimaschutz nicht mehr ökonomisch rechnet. Das gehe am besten, wenn »die Schwergewichte« ein Preissystem für CO2 vereinbarten. Sven Schulze,

Emerging Processes Within Peer-Support Hearing Voices Groups: A Qualitative Study in the Dutch Context

Purpose/Aims: This study aimed to gain insight into the value of Hearing Voices Groups (HVGs) in the Dutch context. Specifically, we aimed to learn more about the meaning of HVG participation, as well as the aspects that contribute to that meaning, from the perspective of participants' experiences. Method: The study used a qualitative design with in-depth interviews to explore the experiences of 30 members within seven HVGs in the Netherlands. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using interpretative analysis inspired by the Grounded Theory method. Findings: The individual-level analysis revealed four different group processes that appear to determine the value that HVGs have for their participants: (i) peer-to-peer validation, (ii) exchanging information and sharing self-accumulated knowledge, (iii) connection and social support, and (iv) engaging in mutual self-reflection. We found that specific characteristics of HVGs facilitate these group processes and lead to specific personal outcomes. Combining the interview data from people who joined the same HVG reveals that, although all four described group processes occur in all groups, each group's emphasis differs. Three related factors are described: (i) the composition of the group, (ii) the style of the facilitators, and (iii) the interaction between group processes and individual processes. Implications: Unique processes, for which there is little to no place within regular mental health care (MHC), occur within HVGs. MHC professionals should be more aware of the opportunities HVG can offer voice-hearers. Essential matters regarding the implementation of HVGs are discussed