Transitioning a Marquee Orientation and Transition Program for Increased New Student Engagement and Retention Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

One mid-sized public flagship institution in the Mountain West was forced to abandon a brand-new marquee orientation and transition program, which had contributed to the first increase in first-time student retention numbers in a decade.  As educators around the world were faced with similar challenges, three main concerns arose for this school: cancellation of all in-person instruction and events indefinitely in March 2020, a long-term downward trend in enrollment and retention, and a lack of adequate space to host in-person orientation activities.  This paper seeks to discuss the ways in which these obstacles were overcome, and share the important lessons learned for consideration as colleges and universities continue to grapple with the uncertainty of onboarding our next cohort of students in fall 2021

Tuning the Solar Dynamics Observatory Onboard Kalman Filter

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) was launched in 2010. SDO is a sun pointing semi-autonomous spacecraft in a geosynchronous orbit that allows nearly continuous observations of the sun. SDO is equipped with coarse sun sensors, two star trackers, a digital sun sensor, and three two-axis inertial reference units (IRU). The IRUs are temperature sensitive and were designed to operate in a stable thermal environment. Due to battery degradation concerns the IRU heaters were not used on SDO and the onboard filter was tuned to accommodate the noisier IRU data. Since launch currents have increased on two IRUs, one had to eventually be powered off. Recent ground tests on a battery similar to SDO indicated the heaters would have negligible impact on battery degradation, so in 2016 a decision was made to turn the heaters on. This paper presents the analysis and results of updating the filter tuning parameters onboard SDO with the IRUs now operating in their intended thermal environment

SB04-22/23: Resolution Authorizing Approval of Staff Senate Signature of Bear Necessities Statement to University Administration

Passed during May 10, 2023 Staff Senate meeting. Documents from the May 10, 2023 meeting of the University of Montana S by University of Montana--Missoula. Staff Senate (umt.edu) Resolution authorizing approval of Staff Senate to sign support to the ASUM Bear Necessities statement to the University of Montana Administration. Resolution Authored by Kat Cowley. Additional Authors, including Cowley, listed for letter. Letter discusses concerns regarding the status of marginalized and vulnerable student populations and offers suggestions on some ways the University of Montana can support students at a basic human level. These include continued advocacy for increase support from the State of Montana, increased housing availability, meal plan affordability, open education resources, campus accessibility, and addressing staffing issues

Experiments in artificial theory of mind: From safety to story-telling

© 2018 Winfield. Theory of mind is the term given by philosophers and psychologists for the ability to form a predictive model of self and others. In this paper we focus on synthetic models of theory of mind. We contend firstly that such models-especially when tested experimentally-can provide useful insights into cognition, and secondly that artificial theory of mind can provide intelligent robots with powerful new capabilities, in particular social intelligence for human-robot interaction. This paper advances the hypothesis that simulation-based internal models offer a powerful and realisable, theory-driven basis for artificial theory of mind. Proposed as a computational model of the simulation theory of mind, our simulation-based internal model equips a robot with an internal model of itself and its environment, including other dynamic actors, which can test (i.e., simulate) the robot's next possible actions and hence anticipate the likely consequences of those actions both for itself and others. Although it falls far short of a full artificial theory of mind, our model does allow us to test several interesting scenarios: in some of these a robot equipped with the internal model interacts with other robots without an internal model, but acting as proxy humans; in others two robots each with a simulation-based internal model interact with each other. We outline a series of experiments which each demonstrate some aspect of artificial theory of mind

So Made That I Cannot Believe: The ICCPR and the Protection of Non-Religious Expression in Predominantly Religious Countries

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) protects minorities’ rights of conscience and expression. The related jurisprudence, however, has yet to fully develop protections for the expression of non-religious minorities in predominately religious countries. Especially in the context of a violent reaction to non-religious expression and the reaction’s relation to the ICCPR’s prohibition of incitement, the jurisprudence needs clarification. This Comment provides a framework to do just that, while strengthening protections for non-religious minorities and staying faithful to the ICCPR’s text and Human Rights Committee (HRC) precedent. It focuses on Articles 18 and 19, which guarantee the freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression, respectively, and Article 20, which prohibits the advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence. Specifically, it argues that the HRC’s jurisprudence related to these articles, read harmoniously with other articles, contains a nascent anti-heckler’s veto doctrine that should be made explicit in order to ensure the protection of non-religious minorities

Outcomes of State Targeted/Opioid Response grants and the Medication First approach: evidence of racial inequities in improved treatment access and retention

Since 2017, Missouri has used federal funds to increase access to medication for opioid use disorder (OUD) within the State’s publicly-funded substance use specialty treatment system through a ‘Medication First’ approach. Results from a statewide assessment of the first year of State Targeted Response implementation showed increases and improvements in overall treatment admissions, medication utilization, and treatment retention in the first year of funding. The current manuscript, which focuses on the St. Louis region, the epicenter of Missouri’s overdose crisis, examines whether improvements were experienced equally among Black and White clients. Results from negative binomial regressions indicate that White individuals in St. Louis experienced larger increases in treatment admissions and utilization of medications for OUD than Black individuals, and Black clients were retained in treatment for shorter lengths of time than White clients. In Missouri, rates of drug overdose deaths are more than three times higher for Black people than White people. Racial inequities in OUD treatment utilization and retention must be intentionally targeted and corrected as one component of reducing this sizable disparity in fatalities