Testing Three Measures of Verbal–Visual Frame Interplay in German News Coverage of Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Drawing from framing theory, this article operationalizes and tests three ways to measure how verbal and visual modalities interplay in audiovisual messages to produce meaning. The measures include (a) a ratio of verbal to visual frames; (b) an association rules learning (ARL) procedure; and (c) in-depth analysis of the full audiovisual material. As a step toward validating the measures, they were applied to a sample of German television news stories (n = 98) about refugees and asylum seekers. Though the three measures produced varied results, verbal–visual frame redundancy and congruence were consistently more common than mismatches. Measures differed in the level of effort required to implement them, sample sizes they could handle, and the informative value of results. Future studies are advised to combine the ARL procedure with an in-depth analysis

Evaluating Metacognitive Self-reports: Systematic Reviews of the value of self-report in metacognitive research

Metacognitive skills have been shown to be strongly associated with academic achievement and serve as the basis of many therapeutic treatments for mental health conditions. Thus, it is likely that training metacognitive skills can lead to improved academic skills and health and well-being. Because metacognition is an awareness of one’s own thoughts, and as such is not directly observable, it is often measured by self-report. This study reviews and critiques the use of self-report in evaluating metacognition by conducting systematic reviews and a meta-analysis of studies assessing metacognitive skills. Keyword searches were performed in EbscoHost, ERIC, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Scopus, Web of Science, and WorldWideScience.org to locate all articles evaluating metacognition through self-report. 24,396 articles from 1982 through 2018 were screened for inclusion in the study. Firstly, a systematic review of twenty-two articles was conducted to review the ability of self-report measures to evaluate a proposed taxonomy of metacognition. Secondly, a systematic review and meta-analyses of 37 studies summarizes the ability of self-report to relate to metacognitive behavior and the possible effects of differences in research methods. Results suggest that self-reports provide a useful overview of two factors – metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive regulation. However, metacognitive processes as measured by self-report subscales are unclear. Conversely, the two factors of metacognition do not adequately relate to metacognitive behavior, but subscales strongly correlate across self-reports and metacognitive tasks. Future research should carefully consider the role of self-reports when designing research evaluating metacognition

Rapidly decaying supernova 2010X: A candidate ".Ia" explosion

We present the discovery, photometric, and spectroscopic follow-up observations of SN 2010X (PTF 10bhp). This supernova decays exponentially with τ_d = 5 days and rivals the current recordholder in speed, SN 2002bj. SN 2010X peaks at M_r = −17 mag and has mean velocities of 10,000 km s^(−1). Our light curve modeling suggests a radioactivity-powered event and an ejecta mass of 0.16M_⊙. If powered by Nickel, we show that the Nickel mass must be very small (≈0.02 M_⊙) and that the supernova quickly becomes optically thin to γ -rays. Our spectral modeling suggests that SN 2010X and SN 2002bj have similar chemical compositions and that one of aluminum or helium is present. If aluminum is present, we speculate that this may be an accretion-induced collapse of an O-Ne-Mg white dwarf. If helium is present, all observables of SN 2010X are consistent with being a thermonuclear helium shell detonation on a white dwarf, a “.Ia” explosion. With the 1 day dynamic-cadence experiment on the Palomar Transient Factory, we expect to annually discover a few such events

Core-collapse Supernovae from the Palomar Transient Factory: Indications for a Different Population in Dwarf Galaxies

We use the first compilation of 72 core-collapse supernovae (SNe) from the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) to study their observed subtype distribution in dwarf galaxies compared to giant galaxies. Our sample is the largest single-survey, untargeted, spectroscopically classified, homogeneous collection of core-collapse events ever assembled, spanning a wide host-galaxy luminosity range (down to M_r ≈ –14 mag) and including a substantial fraction (>20%) of dwarf (M_r ≥ –18 mag) hosts. We find more core-collapse SNe in dwarf galaxies than expected and several interesting trends emerge. We use detailed subclassifications of stripped-envelope core-collapse SNe and find that all Type I core-collapse events occurring in dwarf galaxies are either SNe Ib or broad-lined SNe Ic (SNe Ic-BL), while "normal" SNe Ic dominate in giant galaxies. We also see a significant excess of SNe IIb in dwarf hosts. We hypothesize that in lower metallicity hosts, metallicity-driven mass loss is reduced, allowing massive stars that would have appeared as "normal" SNe Ic in metal-rich galaxies to retain some He and H, exploding as Ib/IIb events. At the same time, another mechanism allows some stars to undergo extensive stripping and explode as SNe Ic-BL (and presumably also as long-duration gamma-ray bursts). Our results are still limited by small-number statistics, and our measurements of the observed N(Ib/c)/N(II) number ratio in dwarf and giant hosts (0.25^(+0.3)_(–0.15) and 0.23^(+0.11)_(–0.08), respectively; 1σ uncertainties) are consistent with previous studies and theoretical predictions. As additional PTF data accumulate, more robust statistical analyses will be possible, allowing the evolution of massive stars to be probed via the dwarf-galaxy SN population

Evidence for an FU Orionis-like Outburst from a Classical T Tauri Star

We present pre- and post-outburst observations of the new FU Orionis-like young stellar object PTF 10qpf (also known as LkHα 188-G4 and HBC 722). Prior to this outburst, LkHα 188-G4 was classified as a classical T Tauri star (CTTS) on the basis of its optical emission-line spectrum superposed on a K8-type photosphere and its photometric variability. The mid-infrared spectral index of LkHα 188-G4 indicates a Class II-type object. LkHα 188-G4 exhibited a steady rise by ~1 mag over ~11 months starting in August 2009, before a subsequent more abrupt rise of >3 mag on a timescale of ~2 months. Observations taken during the eruption exhibit the defining characteristics of FU Orionis variables: (1) an increase in brightness by ≳ 4 mag, (2) a bright optical/near-infrared reflection nebula appeared, (3) optical spectra are consistent with a G supergiant and dominated by absorption lines, the only exception being Hα which is characterized by a P Cygni profile, (4) near-infrared spectra resemble those of late K-M giants/supergiants with enhanced absorption seen in the molecular bands of CO and H_(2)O, and (5) outflow signatures in H and He are seen in the form of blueshifted absorption profiles. LkHα 188-G4 is the first member of the FU Orionis-like class with a well-sampled optical to mid-infrared spectral energy distribution in the pre-outburst phase. The association of the PTF 10qpf outburst with the previously identified CTTS LkHα 188-G4 (HBC 722) provides strong evidence that FU Orionis-like eruptions represent periods of enhanced disk accretion and outflow, likely triggered by instabilities in the disk. The early identification of PTF 10qpf as an FU Orionis-like variable will enable detailed photometric and spectroscopic observations during its post-outburst evolution for comparison with other known outbursting objects

Spectrally-resolved Imaging of the Transverse Modes in Multimode VCSELs

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) enable a range of applications such as data transmission, trace sensing, atomic clocks, and optical mice. For many of these applications, the output power and beam quality are both critical (i.e. high output power with good beam quality is desired). Multi-mode VCSELs offer much higher power than single-mode devices, but this comes at the expense of lower beam quality. Directly observing the resolved mode structure of multi-mode VCSELs would enable engineers to better understand the underlying physics and help them to develop multi-mode devices with improved beam quality. In this work, a low-cost, high-resolution (\u3c3 \u3epm) Echelle grating spectrometer system is used to map the two-dimensional VCSEL near-field emission profile. The system spectrally disperses the VCSEL beam and images it with high magnification onto a CMOS camera. The narrow spectral content of each LP mode allows direct observation of the modal content of the VCSEL

Rapidly Decaying Supernova 2010X: A Candidate ".Ia" Explosion

We present the discovery, photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations of SN 2010X (PTF 10bhp). This supernova decays exponentially with tau_d=5 days, and rivals the current recordholder in speed, SN 2002bj. SN 2010X peaks at M_r=-17mag and has mean velocities of 10,000 km/s. Our light curve modeling suggests a radioactivity powered event and an ejecta mass of 0.16 Msun. If powered by Nickel, we show that the Nickel mass must be very small (0.02 Msun) and that the supernova quickly becomes optically thin to gamma-rays. Our spectral modeling suggests that SN 2010X and SN 2002bj have similar chemical compositions and that one of Aluminum or Helium is present. If Aluminum is present, we speculate that this may be an accretion induced collapse of an O-Ne-Mg white dwarf. If Helium is present, all observables of SN 2010X are consistent with being a thermonuclear Helium shell detonation on a white dwarf, a ".Ia" explosion. With the 1-day dynamic-cadence experiment on the Palomar Transient Factory, we expect to annually discover a few such events.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures; Minor Changes; Note correction in Fig 4 caption; published by ApJ