Improving Operational Readiness of Airport Emergency Response Crews: Utilization of Gaming Theory in Decision Making Simulations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential effects of simulation gaming technique on the decision-making skills of airport emergency response technicians. Through the use of descriptive research methods this study has examined the benefits of using simulation training to enhance operational readiness. A specialized questionnaire was developed using a Likert scale format to attain the opinion of 20 airport directors--or their representatives. Findings did support the research hypothesis that the introduction of simulation training (Table Top) exercises would increase the operational readiness of airport emergency response crews. Statistical analysis of survey responses found that no significant difference occurred between answers provided by large airport staff and those provided by small airports

Acceptor-like deep level defects in ion-implanted ZnO

N-type ZnO samples have been implanted with MeV Zn⁺ ions at room temperature to doses between 1×10⁸ and 2×10¹⁰cm⁻², and the defect evolution has been studied by capacitance-voltage and deep level transient spectroscopy measurements. The results show a dose dependent compensation by acceptor-like defects along the implantation depth profile, and at least four ion-induced deep-level defects arise, where two levels with energy positions of 1.06 and 1.2 eV below the conduction band increase linearly with ion dose and are attributed to intrinsic defects. Moreover, a re-distribution of defects as a function of depth is observed already at temperatures below 400 K.This work was supported by the Norwegian Research Council through the Frienergi program and the Australian Research Council through the Discovery projects program

Intimate partner violence in early adolescence : the role of gender, socio-economic factors and the school

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) among adolescents is common worldwide, but our understanding of perpetration, gender differences and the role of social-ecological factors remains limited. Objectives: To explore the prevalence of physical and sexual IPV perpetration and victimisation by gender, and associated risk and protective factors. Methods: Young adolescents (N=2 839) from 41 randomly selected public high schools in the Western Cape region of South Africa (SA), participating in the PREPARE study, completed a self-administered questionnaire. Results: The participants’ mean age was 13.65 years (standard deviation 1.01), with 19.1% (541/2 839) reporting being victims/survivors of IPV and 13.0% (370/2 839) reporting perpetrating IPV. Girls were less likely to report being a victim/survivor of physical IPV (odds ratio (OR) 0.72; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.57 - 0.92) and less likely to be a perpetrator of sexual IPV than boys (OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.21 - 0.52). Factors associated with perpetration of physical and sexual IPV were similar and included being a victim/survivor (physical IPV: OR 12.42; 95% CI 8.89 - 17.36, sexual IPV: OR 20.76; 95% CI 11.67 - 36.93), being older (physical IPV: OR 1.26; 95% CI 1.08 - 1.47, sexual IPV: OR 1.36; 95% CI 1.14 - 1.62 ), having lower scores on school connectedness (physical IPV: OR 0.59; 95% CI 0.46 - 0.75, sexual IPV: OR 0.56; 95% CI 0.42 - 0.76) and scoring lower on feelings of school safety (physical IPV: OR 0.66; 95% CI 0.57 - 0.77, sexual IPV: OR 0.50; 95% CI 0.40 - 0.62). Conclusions: Physical and sexual IPV was commonly reported among young adolescents in SA. Further qualitative exploration of the role of reciprocal violence by gender is needed, and the role of ‘school climate’-related factors should be taken into account when developing preventive interventions

Bandgap narrowing in Mn doped GaAs probed by room-temperature photoluminescence

The electronic band structure of the (Ga,Mn)As system has been one of the most intriguing problems in solid state physics over the past two decades. Determination of the band structure evolution with increasing Mn concentration is a key issue to understand the origin of ferromagnetism. Here we present room temperature photoluminescence and ellipsometry measurements of Ga_{100%-x}Mn_{x}As alloy. The up-shift of the valence-band is proven by the red shift of the room temperature near band gap emission from the Ga_{100%-x}Mn_{x}As alloy with increasing Mn content. It is shown that even a doping by 0.02 at.% of Mn affects the valence-band edge and it merges with the impurity band for a Mn concentration as low as 0.6 at.%. Both X-ray diffraction pattern and high resolution cross-sectional TEM images confirmed full recrystallization of the implanted layer and GaMnAs alloy formation.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, accepted at Phys. Rev. B 201

Spanish Language Use Across Generations and Depressive Symptoms Among US Latinos

Acculturation markers, such as language use, have been associated with Latino depression. Language use may change between generations; however, few studies have collected intergenerational data to assess how language differences between generations impact depression. Using the Niños Lifestyle and Diabetes Study (2013–2014), we assessed how changes in Spanish language use across two generations of Mexican-origin participants in Sacramento, California, influenced offspring depressive symptoms (N = 603). High depressive symptoms were defined as CESD-10 scores ≥ 10. We used log-binomial and linear-binomial models to calculate prevalence ratios and differences, respectively, for depressive symptoms by language use, adjusting for identified confounders and within-family clustering. Decreased Spanish use and stable-equal English/Spanish use across generations protected against depressive symptoms, compared to stable-high Spanish use. Stable-low Spanish use was not associated with fewer depressive symptoms compared to stable-high Spanish use. Exposure to multiple languages cross-generationally may improve resource access and social networks that protect against depression

EMIC Waves in the Outer Magnetosphere: Observations of an Off-Equator Source Region.

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves at large L shells were observed away from the magnetic equator by the Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission nearly continuously for over four hours on 28 October 2015. During this event, the wave Poynting vector direction systematically changed from parallel to the magnetic field (toward the equator), to bidirectional, to antiparallel (away from the equator). These changes coincide with the shift in the location of the minimum in the magnetic field in the southern hemisphere from poleward to equatorward of MMS. The local plasma conditions measured with the EMIC waves also suggest that the outer magnetospheric region sampled during this event was generally unstable to EMIC wave growth. Together, these observations indicate that the bidirectionally propagating wave packets were not a result of reflection at high latitudes but that MMS passed through an off-equator EMIC wave source region associated with the local minimum in the magnetic field

Opportunities for Competency Support of Virginia Cooperative Extension Professionals at the Colleague Stage

This study focused on the professional development needs of Cooperative Extension agents and specialists with between four and seven years of experience, placing them roughly within the colleague career stage. Data were collected through focus groups and validated through member checking and the use of a modified World Café approach. A research team collaborated, increasing the reliability of the findings through intentional reflection in the development of the findings. Areas of competency strength and weakness vary for agents and specialists, and specific topic areas within competencies vary. While many of the emergent competencies identified in this study fit within the competency framework of Harder et al. (2011) and previous competency studies, more specific topic areas were identified. However, the top priorities identified for professional development focus included communication, educational design, leadership, and budget and fiscal management. Attention to these areas can increase the ability of these professionals to work more effectively and productively. Providing professional development in areas of need for both agents and specialists can support the development of collegiality within the Extension organization. Supporting professionals in this stage of their career growth will position them well for advancing to additional career stages within Cooperative Extension

Defect formation and thermal stability of H in high dose H implanted ZnO

We studied the structural properties, defect formation, and thermal stability of H in hydrothermally grown ZnO single crystals implanted with H- dose ranging from 2.5×10¹⁶ to 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻². H implantation is found to create deformed layers with a uniaxial strain of 0.5–2.4% along the c-axis in ZnO, for the low and high dose, respectively. About 0.2–0.4% of the original implanted H concentration can still be detected in the samples by secondary ion mass spectrometry after annealing at a temperature up to 800 °C. The thermally stable H is tentatively attributed to H related defect complexes involving the substitutional H that are bound to O vacancies and/or the highly mobile interstitial H that are bound to substitutional Li occupying Zn vacancies as the samples are cooled slowly from high temperature annealing. H implantation to a dose of 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻² and followed by annealing at 800 °C, is found to result in the formation of vacancy clusters that evolved into faceted voids with diameter varying from 2 to 30 nm. The truncations around the voids form more favorably on the O-terminated surface than on the Zn-terminated surface, suggesting that O is a preferred surface polarity for the internal facets of the voids in the presence of H.Financial support from the Australian Research Council and the Norwegian Research Council (FRINATEK program) is acknowledged

Isolation of Single Donors in ZnO

The shallow donor in zinc oxide (ZnO) is a promising semiconductor spin qubit with optical access. Single indium donors are isolated in a commercial ZnO substrate using plasma focused ion beam (PFIB) milling. Quantum emitters are identified optically by spatial and frequency filtering. The indium donor assignment is based on the optical bound exciton transition energy and magnetic dependence. The single donor emission is intensity and frequency stable with a transition linewidth less than twice the lifetime limit. The isolation of optically stable single donors post-FIB fabrication is promising for optical device integration required for scalable quantum technologies based on single donors in direct band gap semiconductors.Comment: E. R. Hansen and V. Niaouris contributed equally to this work. 13 pages, 11 figure

The Dawn of Open Access to Phylogenetic Data

The scientific enterprise depends critically on the preservation of and open access to published data. This basic tenet applies acutely to phylogenies (estimates of evolutionary relationships among species). Increasingly, phylogenies are estimated from increasingly large, genome-scale datasets using increasingly complex statistical methods that require increasing levels of expertise and computational investment. Moreover, the resulting phylogenetic data provide an explicit historical perspective that critically informs research in a vast and growing number of scientific disciplines. One such use is the study of changes in rates of lineage diversification (speciation - extinction) through time. As part of a meta-analysis in this area, we sought to collect phylogenetic data (comprising nucleotide sequence alignment and tree files) from 217 studies published in 46 journals over a 13-year period. We document our attempts to procure those data (from online archives and by direct request to corresponding authors), and report results of analyses (using Bayesian logistic regression) to assess the impact of various factors on the success of our efforts. Overall, complete phylogenetic data for ~60% of these studies are effectively lost to science. Our study indicates that phylogenetic data are more likely to be deposited in online archives and/or shared upon request when: (1) the publishing journal has a strong data-sharing policy; (2) the publishing journal has a higher impact factor, and; (3) the data are requested from faculty rather than students. Although the situation appears dire, our analyses suggest that it is far from hopeless: recent initiatives by the scientific community -- including policy changes by journals and funding agencies -- are improving the state of affairs