“Learning How to See”: Faculty Members’ Use of Unnamed Contemplative Practices

As contemplative pedagogy on higher education campuses grows, so does interest in supporting additional faculty in using contemplative practices. At our small, liberal arts teaching university in the southeast USA, our faculty contemplative learning circle has steadily widened and worked to integrate mindfulness and other practices into our campus activities. We became interested in how contemplative practices are already happening in our classrooms without being named as such, and if finding out about them might elucidate opportunities to support faculty in deepening and expanding current efforts. This paper presents the findings from an interview study with 35 faculty members not formally participating in faculty activities involving contemplative pedagogy. Faculty spontaneously mentioned some activities that may be considered contemplative in their descriptions of effective teaching strategies, such as class discussions, experiential activities, and journaling. Among a provided list of contemplative activities, the most frequently used were discussions/debates, journaling/reflective writing, and beholding, though the ways in which faculty implemented the activities varied. Faculty offered many examples of activities that could be considered contemplative or introspective, and the ways they used the activities differed by discipline. When asked directly, 18 participants reported that they used contemplative practices or pedagogy in some way, nine reported that they were uncertain about the definition and/ or whether they used them, and eight responded that they do not use them. Many faculty members also indicated interest in learning more about how to incorporate contemplative practices in teaching, suggesting an opportunity for enhanced faculty development efforts

The dissolution of olivine added to soil: Implications for enhanced weathering

Chemical weathering of silicate minerals consumes atmospheric CO2 and is a fundamental component of geochemical cycles and of the climate system on long timescales. Artificial acceleration of such weathering (“enhanced weathering”) has recently been proposed as a method of mitigating anthropogenic climate change, by adding fine-grained silicate materials to continental surfaces. The efficacy of such intervention in the carbon cycle strongly depends on the mineral dissolution rates that occur, but these rates remain uncertain. Dissolution rates determined from catchment scale investigations are generally several orders of magnitude slower than those predicted from kinetic information derived from laboratory studies. Here we present results from laboratory flow-through dissolution experiments which seek to bridge this observational discrepancy by using columns of soil returned to the laboratory from a field site. We constrain the dissolution rate of olivine added to the top of one of these columns, while maintaining much of the complexity inherent in the soil environment. Continual addition of water to the top of the soil columns, and analysis of elemental composition of waters exiting at the base was conducted for a period of five months, and the solid and leachable composition of the soils was also assessed before and after the experiments. Chemical results indicate clear release of Mg2+ from the dissolution of olivine and, by comparison with a control case, allow the rate of olivine dissolution to be estimated between 10−16.4 and 10−15.5 moles(Mg) cm−2 s−1. Measurements also allow secondary mineral formation in the soil to be assessed, and suggest that no significant secondary uptake of Mg2+ has occurred. The olivine dissolution rates are intermediate between those of pure laboratory and field studies and provide a useful constraint on weathering processes in natural environments, such as during soil profile deepening or the addition of mineral dust or volcanic ash to soils surfaces. The dissolution rates also provide critical information for the assessment of enhanced weathering including the expected surface-area and energy requirements

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Working Memory and Cognitive Flexibility Training Reveals No Relationship to Fluid Intelligence in College Students

Recently, there has been an increased interest in cognitive training due to claims of widespread and transferable benefits of online brain training games. A growing body of literature supports the idea that working memory and cognitive flexibility are linked with fluid intelligence and academic success. The literature is less consistent on whether lasting improvements in cognition can be made through training these abilities. This study compared the effectiveness of cognitively challenging tasks, including Lumosity’s program, in building transferable abilities that contribute to improvements in fluid intelligence. To this end, cognitive performance by no- contact control participants was compared with that of two groups participating in either Flexibility-Focused Lumosity or Memory-Focused Lumosity trainings, and active control groups training in either Sudoku puzzles (alternate task control) or online trivia games (crystallized intelligence control). Measures of cognitive flexibility, memory and fluid intelligence were compared and showed significant improvements pre- and post-test, but not significantly greater improvement for any particular training group. These data suggest that the tested brain training programs are no more effective than any other cognitively engaging task in building transferable cognitive abilities

Feasibility and acceptability of online opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution: Study protocol and preliminary results from a randomized pilot clinical trial

Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, with over 70% of drug related fatalities resulting from the use of opioids. Federal agencies have responded to this crisis with various recommendations including enhancing harm reduction approaches such as training laypersons to administer naloxone through Opioid Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution (OEND) programs. Several studies have demonstrated that OEND programs effectively reduce opioid overdose mortality and are both safe and cost-effective, however, they are typically implemented in urban areas as part of large medical center research programs, needle exchanges, or drug treatment programs. Individuals living in areas without these programs or services lack access to critical and life-saving OEND. The current study examined the acceptability and feasibility of online recruitment, online opioid overdose education, and remote distribution of naloxone kits. Persons who illicitly use opioids and are at risk for overdose were recruited through online media and completed an opioid use questionnaire. If interested in receiving opioid overdose and naloxone administration training, participants completed pre- and post-intervention knowledge questionnaires, engaged in audiovisual training, and were randomized to either receive a naloxone kit or be given information on where they could obtain one. Preliminary results indicate feasibility and acceptability as evidenced by strong recruitment and retention, as well as high participant satisfaction ratings. Successful implementation of remote OEND through this project supports future employment of similar remote programs to expand this critical harm reduction strategy to high-risk individuals in areas lacking traditional OEND programs. Trial Registration #: Clinitaltrials.gov- NCT04303000