Community Support Organizations in Gay Neighborhoods: Assessing Engagement During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Volunteerism, grassroots activism, and mutual aid have been critical to the advancement of rights and opportunities for LGBTQ+ people. These activities are institutionally anchored within supportive organizations embedded in LGBTQ+ communities. But these supportive organizations can be stressed by external crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, limiting the capacity for providing routine services. This article provides a typology of community support organizations - including healthcare providers, business improvement districts, neighborhood planning organizations, and social groups and clubs - to better understand how non-governmental organizations and non-profit entities provide services not traditionally provided by government agencies for LGBTQ+ people. We characterize how community support organizations continued to provide critical services to the LGBTQ+ community - consistent with the missions and aims of these organizations - while also providing services and information related to health and safety during the Covid-19 pandemic. The article concludes with takeaway messages that synthesize the functions and services of community support organizations and explain how various types of supportive organizations in gay neighborhoods responded to the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract concept learning in a simple neural network inspired by the insect brain

The capacity to learn abstract concepts such as 'sameness' and 'difference' is considered a higher-order cognitive function, typically thought to be dependent on top-down neocortical processing. It is therefore surprising that honey bees apparantly have this capacity. Here we report a model of the structures of the honey bee brain that can learn sameness and difference, as well as a range of complex and simple associative learning tasks. Our model is constrained by the known connections and properties of the mushroom body, including the protocerebral tract, and provides a good fit to the learning rates and performances of real bees in all tasks, including learning sameness and difference. The model proposes a novel mechanism for learning the abstract concepts of 'sameness' and 'difference' that is compatible with the insect brain, and is not dependent on top-down or executive control processing

Bus Rapid Transit Identity: An Overview of Current “Branding” Practice

The emergence of new bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in recent years has prompted transit agencies across North America to establish new and unique identity programs that communicate various benefits of improved bus service. These identities and brands, however, rely largely on perception and emotional reaction, which are difficult to quantify. This lack of “hard data” makes the efficacy of identity systems and expenditures on them difficult to assess. This evaluation of 22 BRT identity programs examines the typical constructs used to establish BRT identity: visual identifiers, nominal identifiers, and color palette. Through analysis of these constructs, we find that when deployed consistently across a range of media, BRT identity may help to further build and reinforce a positive perception of BRT service and, by extension, a positive public image for public transit in general. We conclude that BRT identity must be flexible in design to accommodate future needs, plans for expansion, and technological evolution

Bus Rapid Transit Identity: An Overview of Current “Branding” Practice

The emergence of new bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in recent years has prompted transit agencies across North America to establish new and unique identity programs that communicate various benefits of improved bus service. These identities and brands, however, rely largely on perception and emotional reaction, which are difficult to quantify. This lack of “hard data” makes the efficacy of identity systems and expenditures on them difficult to assess. This evaluation of 22 BRT identity programs examines the typical constructs used to establish BRT identity: visual identifiers, nominal identifiers, and color palette. Through analysis of these constructs, we find that when deployed consistently across a range of media, BRT identity may help to further build and reinforce a positive perception of BRT service and, by extension, a positive public image for public transit in general. We conclude that BRT identity must be flexible in design to accommodate future needs, plans for expansion, and technological evolution

Bigfoot Inspires Youth: Leave No Trace in Urban Afterschool Programs

Currently, youth especially urban youth, are being disconnected from nature (Dawes, Pollack & Sada, 2017; Deutsch, Blyth, Kelley, Tolan & Lerner, 2017). Recent studies show that youth only spend about 15-25 minutes outdoors recreating (Atchley, Strayer & Atchley, 2012). Youth are now exposed to high-arousing stimuli from social media, video games, and videos on mobile devices (Larson, Szczytko, Bowers, Stephens, Stevenson & Floyd, 2018). Nature-based programs have short-term and long-term effects on youth (Asah, Bengston, Westphal & Gowan, 2018). Youth who are involved in nature-based programming have demonstrated improved test scores, self-discipline (Seltenrich, 2015) and have become more environmentally aware when they mature (Liddicoat & Krasny, 2013). Out of school time (OST) programs can provide an effective setting for nature-based programs. The Leave No Trace for Every Kid educational initiative focuses on educating youth about environmental stewardship based on values and asset development (Leave No Trace for Every Kid, 2019). These values help build youth’s affinity for nature through outdoor camps and OST programs that provide opportunities for youth to spend time in the outdoors and learn skills that can be related to everyday life (What Is Leave No Trace for Every Kid, 2019). Thus, the purpose of this study is to measure the impact of an OST program using the Leave No Trace Bigfoot\u27s Playbook help connect urban youth to the environment