Protecting the Castle: Applying Protection Motivation Theory to Explain the Use of Home Guardianship

Home guardianship measures provide individuals with a means to enhance and ensure the safety of themselves, their family, and their property inside their homes. However, research regarding the factors considered in the decision to employ home guardianship measures as well as the means by which individuals assess this information regarding potential threats and protective responses is limited and varied in its implementation. This study attempts to provide a theoretical framework for understanding the use of home guardianship measures with the application of a modified version of Ronald Rogers’ (1983) Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) model. This model assesses factors that directly contribute to the motivation to engage in protective measures as well as cognitive processes through which an individual assesses these factors. This study finds support both for the direct relationships between sources of information about potential threats or protective responses and the use of home guardianship measures, as well as support for mediating effects of these relationships. In conclusion, this study provides suggestions for future research to further examine the application of PMT to understand the use of guardianship measures

On the Progenitor System of the Type Iax Supernova 2014dt in M61

We present pre-explosion and post-explosion Hubble Space Telescope images of the Type Iax supernova (SN Iax) 2014dt in M61. After astrometrically aligning these images, we do not detect any stellar sources at the position of the SN in the pre-explosion images to relatively deep limits (3 sigma limits of M_F438W > -5.0 mag and M_F814W > -5.9 mag). These limits are similar to the luminosity of SN 2012Z's progenitor system (M_F435W = -5.43 +/- 0.15 and M_F814W = -5.24 +/- 0.16 mag), the only probable detected progenitor system in pre-explosion images of a SN Iax, and indeed, of any white dwarf supernova. SN 2014dt is consistent with having a C/O white-dwarf primary/helium-star companion progenitor system, as was suggested for SN 2012Z, although perhaps with a slightly smaller or hotter donor. The data are also consistent with SN 2014dt having a low-mass red giant or main-sequence star companion. The data rule out main-sequence stars with M_init > 16 M_sun and most evolved stars with M_init > 8 M_sun as being the progenitor of SN 2014dt. Hot Wolf-Rayet stars are also allowed, but the lack of nearby bright sources makes this scenario unlikely. Because of its proximity (D = 12 Mpc), SN 2014dt is ideal for long-term monitoring, where images in ~2 years may detect the companion star or the luminous bound remnant of the progenitor white dwarf.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJ

SN Hunt 248: a super-Eddington outburst from a massive cool hypergiant

We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN Hunt 248, a new supernova (SN) impostor in NGC 5806, which began a multi-stage outburst in 2014 May. The initial '2014a' discovery brightening exhibited an absolute magnitude of M~-12 and the spectral characteristics of a cool dense outflow, including P-Cygni lines of Fe II, H I, Na I, and strong line blanketing from metals. The source rapidly climbed and peaked near M~-15 mag after two additional weeks. During this bright '2014b' phase the spectrum became dominated by Balmer emission and a stronger blue continuum, similar to the SN impostor SN 1997bs. Archival images from the Hubble Space Telescope between 1997 and 2005 reveal a luminous (4e5 Lsun) variable precursor star. Its location on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is consistent with a massive (M_init~30 Msun) cool hypergiant having an extremely dense wind and an Eddington ratio just below unity. At the onset of the recent 2014a brightening, however, the object became super-Eddington. The subsequent boost in luminosity during the 2014b phase probably resulted from circumstellar interaction. SN Hunt 248 provides the first case of a cool hypergiant undergoing a giant eruption reminiscent of outbursts from luminous blue variable (LBV) stars. This lends support to the hypothesis that some cool hypergiants, such as Rho Cas, could be LBVs masquerading under a pseudo-photosphere created by their extremely dense winds. Moreover, SN Hunt 248 demonstrates that eruptions stemming from such stars can rival in peak luminosity the giant outbursts of much more massive systems like Eta Car.Comment: Accepted to MNRAS on 2014 Dec 1. Post-proof version. 14 pages, 9 figure

The Radio Properties and Magnetic Field Configuration in the Crab-like Pulsar Wind Nebula G54.1+0.3

We present a multifrequency radio investigation of the Crab-like pulsar wind nebula (PWN) G54.1+0.3 using the Very Large Array. The high resolution of the observations reveals that G54.1+0.3 has a complex radio structure which includes filamentary and loop-like structures that are magnetized, a diffuse extent similar to the associated diffuse X-ray emission. But the radio and X-ray structures in the central region differ strikingly, indicating that they trace very different forms of particle injection from the pulsar and/or particle acceleration in the nebula. No spectral index gradient is detected in the radio emission across the PWN, whereas the X-ray emission softens outward in the nebula. The extensive radio polarization allows us to image in detail the intrinsic magnetic field, which is well-ordered and reveals that a number of loop-like filaments are strongly magnetized. In addition, we determine that there are both radial and toroidal components to the magnetic field structure of the pulsar wind nebula. Strong mid-IR emission detected in Spitzer Space Telescope data is closely correlated with the radio emission arising from the southern edge of G54.1+0.3. In particular, the distributions of radio and X-ray emission compared with the mid-IR emission suggest that the PWN may be interacting with this interstellar cloud. This may be the first PWN where we are directly detecting its interplay with an interstellar cloud that has survived the impact of the supernova explosion associated with the pulsar's progenitor.Comment: 35 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Compromised survivorship in zoo elephants

Keeping elephants in zoos is extremely costly, yet does not yield self-sustaining 16 populations. In Europe, which holds c. half the global zoo elephant population, a long17 term decline of c.10% per year is expected in both species, if reliant on zoo-bred animals 18 under historically prevailing conditions. Fitness in zoos is compromised in several ways. 19 Compared with protected in situ populations (Burmese working Asians; Kenyan free20 living Africans), zoo elephants show premature reproductive senescence and -- despite 21 improving adult survivorship for Africans -- die earlier in adulthood than expected. In 22 Asian elephants, infant survivorship in zoos is also greatly reduced relative to Burmese 23 elephants, and furthermore, zoo-born animals die earlier in adulthood than wild-caught 24 conspecifics kept in zoos, via effects ‘programmed’ peri-natally. In this species, being 25 transferred between zoos also increases mortality rates. Both survival and fecundity 26 would need to improve to attain self-sustaining zoo populations. Our findings 27 demonstrate deficits in zoo elephant management, particularly for Asians, and implicate 28 stress and obesity as likely problems