Increasing Resiliency in Students Using Coaching Skills

Before you can begin building resiliency with your students, they need to have trust and buy in with the relationship. The Coaching strategies involving Conversational Intelligence and Motivational Interviewing are proven methods in developing strong partnerships. These strategies decrease the anxiety that occurs when faced with new information and open the brain to engagement which can lead into increased motivation towards developing the skills needed to build resiliency

Measuring postgraduates’ research experiences in an Australian university

This article reviews two instruments which have been used to measure postgraduates’ research experiences in an Australian university; (1) the UK Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES); and (2) the Australian Postgraduate Research Experience Questionnaire (PREQ). A comparative study of PRES and PREQ at an Australian university was carried out in 2011. The data collected by the university using PREQ were used as a reference base to compare the validity of the PRES data gathered by the researchers. The results were then benchmarked against the state of Victoria and Australian national standards

Comparing Star Formation on Large Scales in the c2d Legacy Clouds: Bolocam 1.1 mm Dust Continuum Surveys of Serpens, Perseus, and Ophiuchus

We have undertaken an unprecedentedly large 1.1 millimeter continuum survey of three nearby star forming clouds using Bolocam at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. We mapped the largest areas in each cloud at millimeter or submillimeter wavelengths to date: 7.5 sq. deg in Perseus (Paper I), 10.8 sq. deg in Ophiuchus (Paper II), and 1.5 sq. deg in Serpens with a resolution of 31", detecting 122, 44, and 35 cores, respectively. Here we report on results of the Serpens survey and compare the three clouds. Average measured angular core sizes and their dependence on resolution suggest that many of the observed sources are consistent with power-law density profiles. Tests of the effects of cloud distance reveal that linear resolution strongly affects measured source sizes and densities, but not the shape of the mass distribution. Core mass distribution slopes in Perseus and Ophiuchus (alpha=2.1+/-0.1 and alpha=2.1+/-0.3) are consistent with recent measurements of the stellar IMF, whereas the Serpens distribution is flatter (alpha=1.6+/-0.2). We also compare the relative mass distribution shapes to predictions from turbulent fragmentation simulations. Dense cores constitute less than 10% of the total cloud mass in all three clouds, consistent with other measurements of low star-formation efficiencies. Furthermore, most cores are found at high column densities; more than 75% of 1.1 mm cores are associated with Av>8 mag in Perseus, 15 mag in Serpens, and 20-23 mag in Ophiuchus.Comment: 32 pages, including 18 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

A Social Capital Perspective on the Mentoring of Undergraduate Life Science Researchers: An Empirical Study of Undergraduate–Postgraduate–Faculty Triads

Undergraduate researchers at research universities are often mentored by graduate students or postdoctoral researchers (referred to collectively as “postgraduates”) and faculty, creating a mentoring triad structure. Triads differ based on whether the undergraduate, postgraduate, and faculty member interact with one another about the undergraduate’s research. Using a social capital theory framework, we hypothesized that different triad structures provide undergraduates with varying resources (e.g., information, advice, psychosocial support) from the postgraduates and/or faculty, which would affect the undergraduates’ research outcomes. To test this, we collected data from a national sample of undergraduate life science researchers about their mentoring triad structure and a range of outcomes associated with research experiences, such as perceived gains in their abilities to think and work like scientists, science identity, and intentions to enroll in a PhD program. Undergraduates mentored by postgraduates alone reported positive outcomes, indicating that postgraduates can be effective mentors. However, undergraduates who interacted directly with faculty realized greater outcomes, suggesting that faculty interaction is important for undergraduates to realize the full benefits of research. The “closed triad,” in which undergraduates, postgraduates, and faculty all interact directly, appeared to be uniquely beneficial; these undergraduates reported the highest gains in thinking and working like a scientist

Bolocam Survey for 1.1 mm Dust Continuum Emission in the c2d Legacy Clouds. II. Ophiuchus

We present a large-scale millimeter continuum map of the Ophiuchus molecular cloud. Nearly 11 square degrees, including all of the area in the cloud with visual extinction more than 3 magnitudes, was mapped at 1.1 mm with Bolocam on the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). By design, the map also covers the region mapped in the infrared with the Spitzer Space Telescope. We detect 44 definite sources, and a few likely sources are also seen along a filament in the eastern streamer. The map indicates that dense cores in Ophiuchus are very clustered and often found in filaments within the cloud. Most sources are round, as measured at the half power point, but elongated when measured at lower contour levels, suggesting spherical sources lying within filaments. The masses, for an assumed dust temperature of 10 K, range from 0.24 to 3.9 solar masses, with a mean value of 0.96 solar masses. The total mass in distinct cores is 42 solar masses, 0.5 to 2% of the total cloud mass, and the total mass above 4 sigma is about 80 solar masses. The mean densities in the cores are quite high, with an average of 1.6 x 10^6 per cc, suggesting short free-fall times. The core mass distribution can be fitted with a power law with slope of 2.1 plus or minus 0.3 for M>0.5 solar masses, similar to that found in other regions, but slightly shallower than that of some determinations of the local IMF. In agreement with previous studies, our survey shows that dense cores account for a very small fraction of the cloud volume and total mass. They are nearly all confined to regions with visual extinction at least 9 mag, a lower threshold than found previously.Comment: 47 pages, 16 figures, accepted for Ap

A complete 1.1mm survey of Perseus with Bolocam

We have completed a 7.5 square degree λ=1.1mm map of Perseus using Bolocam. Our map is the largest unbiased survey of Perseus at millimeter wavelengths to date, and covers the same area as the c2d Spitzer IRAC and MIPS maps of Perseus. We find that that the mass function shape is similar to that seen in other clouds and to the local IMF. Despite the large area surveyed, few new sources are found outside the known cluster regions

Method and Apparatus for Transferring a Person

A method and vehicle preferably a wheelchair (10) for transporting and transferring an invalid person is described. The wheelchair has first and second frames (12 and 48) with drive wheels (18) between which is provided a chair (82) or support (83). The first frame has top and bottom sliding mechanisms (34 and 36) which are mounted by I-beam extensions (38 and 40) to the bars (24 and 26) of the first frame. The second frame has top and bottom rails (54 and 56) which are slidably connected to the sliding mechanisms of the first frame. The rails have slots (78) through which extend the center portions (38C and 40C) of the extensions which allow the first frame to move along the length of the rails. The bottom rails have front wheels (60), intermediate wheels (68) and stabilizing wheels (70). The chair is connected to the second frame by belts (84) and ratchets (86) and has a lifting system (90). In use, the wheelchair is moved adjacent the open doorway (104) of the automotive vehicle (100) and the second frame with the chair and person are slid over the seat (102). As the second frame moves, the second frame tilts such that the intermediate wheels touch the ground surface (72). The seat is lowered using the ratchets and removed from the wheelchair

Crew Earth Observations: Twelve Years of Documenting Earth from the International Space Station

The Crew Earth Observations (CEO) payload was one of the initial experiments aboard the International Space Station, and has been continuously collecting data about the Earth since Expedition 1. The design of the experiment is simple: using state-of-the-art camera equipment, astronauts collect imagery of the Earth's surface over defined regions of scientific interest and also document dynamic events such as storms systems, floods, wild fires and volcanic eruptions. To date, CEO has provided roughly 600,000 images of Earth, capturing views of features and processes on land, the oceans, and the atmosphere. CEO data are less rigorously constrained than other remote sensing data, but the volume of data, and the unique attributes of the imagery provide a rich and understandable view of the Earth that is difficult to achieve from the classic remote sensing platforms. In addition, the length-of-record of the imagery dataset, especially when combined with astronaut photography from other NASA and Russian missions starting in the early 1960s, provides a valuable record of changes on the surface of the Earth over 50 years. This time period coincides with the rapid growth of human settlements and human infrastructure

Properties of the Youngest Protostars in Perseus, Serpens, and Ophiuchus

We present an unbiased census of deeply embedded protostars in Perseus, Serpens, and Ophiuchus, assembled by combining large-scale 1.1 mm Bolocam continuum and Spitzer Legacy surveys. We identify protostellar candidates based on their mid-infrared properties, correlate their positions with 1.1 mm core positions, and construct well-sampled SEDs using our extensive wavelength coverage (lam=1.25-1100 micron). Source classification based on the bolometric temperature yields a total of 39 Class 0 and 89 Class I sources in the three cloud sample. We compare to protostellar evolutionary models using the bolometric temperature-luminosity diagram, finding a population of low luminosity Class I sources that are inconsistent with constant or monotonically decreasing mass accretion rates. This result argues strongly for episodic accretion during the Class I phase, with more than 50% of sources in a ``sub-Shu'' (dM/dt < 1e-6 Msun/yr) accretion state. Average spectra are compared to protostellar radiative transfer models, which match the observed spectra fairly well in Stage 0, but predict too much near-IR and too little mid-IR flux in Stage I. Finally, the relative number of Class 0 and Class I sources are used to estimate the lifetime of the Class 0 phase; the three cloud average yields a Class 0 lifetime of 1.7e5 yr, ruling out an extremely rapid early accretion phase. Correcting photometry for extinction results in a somewhat shorter lifetime (1.1e5 yr). In Ophiuchus, however, we find very few Class 0 sources (N(Class0)/N(ClassI)=0.1-0.2), similar to previous studies of that cloud. The observations suggest a consistent picture of nearly constant average accretion rate through the entire embedded phase, with accretion becoming episodic by at least the Class I stage, and possibly earlier.Comment: 31 pages, 19 figures, 8 tables; accepted for publication in Ap