Developing thinking with four and five year old pupils: the impact of a cognitive acceleration programme through early science skill development

This thesis examines the extent to which a specific learning intervention programme, based on specific early science skill development may increase development in thinking in a particular early childhood sample. The background literature has focused on Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories of cognitive development as they relate to the intervention programme and the age group of the participants in this research study. The review discusses the need to teach thinking and the relevant literature on the intervention programme is critically reviewed. This research study, undertaken in and adapted for an Irish primary school, involved a sample of forty four participants aged between four and six years old. An intervention group of twenty pupils participated in the learning intervention Lets Think!-Early Years programme – based on the theory of cognitive acceleration. The learning intervention programme consisted of fifteen lessons based on the early science skills of classification, seriation and causality. The remainder of the group were the non-intervention group. All participants underwent three pre and post intervention tests and completed a pupil questionnaire. Local teachers completed a teacher questionnaire on questions relating to the research question and this combined with the researcher's observations recorded in a reflective journal provided the data to be analysed. A comparative analysis of responses obtained from the above tests, questionnaires and reflective journal, suggest that pupils from the intervention group displayed a greater improvement in their thinking ability in comparison to the nonintervention group, with the factors of gender and age of the pupils having a significant effect. This finding indicates that a cognitive intervention programme through science may have a significant immediate and positive effect on the rate of the early year's pupil's cognitive development

Investigating staff’s attitudes and willingness to support men and women with mild intellectual disabilities on matters relating to their sexuality

Background: This study explored residential support staff’s attitudes towards sexuality in men and women with an intellectual disability (ID), and whether their attitudes were linked to a willingness to support service users with sexual matters. Method: The Attitudes to Sexuality Questionnaire - Individuals with an Intellectual Disability was used to gather data on 34 support staff’s attitudes. This was supplemented with additional questions on risk issues developed by the author. A semi-structured interview examined staff’s experiences of supporting sexual matters. Result: Liberal attitudes were held, no statistically significant differences were found on attitudes to men and women. Nonetheless, trends were found with more liberal views expressed about men than women on sexual rights and non-reproductive sexual behaviour. Most staff were willing to support the sexuality of service users. A positive association was found between staff’s attitudes and their willingness to support sexuality. Willingness was not associated with feelings of confidence or comfort in dealing with sexual matters. Conclusions: Sexuality is an integral aspect of quality of life. Understanding staff’s values and attitudes towards the sexuality of people with ID is important, as this population of people rely on staff for support on this sensitive topic. Assisting the sexuality of people with ID is a complex and emotive subject worthy of further investigation

Mapping the mineralogy and lithology of Canyonlands, Utah with imaging spectrometer data and the multiple spectral feature mapping algorithm

The sedimentary sections exposed in the Canyonlands and Arches National Parks region of Utah (generally referred to as 'Canyonlands') consist of sandstones, shales, limestones, and conglomerates. Reflectance spectra of weathered surfaces of rocks from these areas show two components: (1) variations in spectrally detectable mineralogy, and (2) variations in the relative ratios of the absorption bands between minerals. Both types of information can be used together to map each major lithology and the Clark spectral features mapping algorithm is applied to do the job

An anthropometric model to estimate neonatal fat mass using air displacement plethysmography

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Current validated neonatal body composition methods are limited/impractical for use outside of a clinical setting because they are labor intensive, time consuming, and require expensive equipment. The purpose of this study was to develop an anthropometric model to estimate neonatal fat mass (kg) using an air displacement plethysmography (PEA POD^®Infant Body Composition System) as the criterion.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 128 healthy term infants, 60 females and 68 males, from a multiethnic cohort were included in the analyses. Gender, race/ethnicity, gestational age, age (in days), anthropometric measurements of weight, length, abdominal circumference, skin-fold thicknesses (triceps, biceps, sub scapular, and thigh), and body composition by PEA POD^®were collected within 1-3 days of birth. Backward stepwise linear regression was used to determine the model that best predicted neonatal fat mass.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The statistical model that best predicted neonatal fat mass (kg) was: -0.012 -0.064*gender + 0.024*day of measurement post-delivery -0.150*weight (kg) + 0.055*weight (kg)²+ 0.046*ethnicity + 0.020*sum of three skin-fold thicknesses (triceps, sub scapular, and thigh); R²= 0.81, MSE = 0.08 kg.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our anthropometric model explained 81% of the variance in neonatal fat mass. Future studies with a greater variety of neonatal anthropometric measurements may provide equations that explain more of the variance.</p

The Star Clusters in the Irregular Galaxy NGC 4449

We examine the star clusters in the irregular galaxy NGC 4449. We use a near-infrared spectrum and broad-band images taken with the HST to place a limit of 8--15 Myrs on the age of the bright central ojbect in NGC 4449. Its luminosity and size suggest that it is comparable to young super star clusters. However, there is a peculiar nucleated-bar structure at the center of this star cluster, and we suggest that this structure is debris from the interaction that has produced the counter-rotating gas systems and extended gas streamers in the galaxy. From the images we identify 60 other candidate compact star clusters in NGC 4449. Fourteen of these could be background elliptical galaxies or old globular star clusters. Of the star clusters, three, in addition to the central object, are potentially super star clusters, and many others are comparable to the populous clusters found in the LMC. The star clusters span a large range in ages with no obvious peak in cluster formation that might be attributed to the interaction that the galaxy has experienced.Comment: To be published in PASP, Feb. 2001; also attainable from ftp.lowell.edu, cd pub/dah/n4449pape

By myself but not alone:Agency, creativity, and extended musical historicity

In this paper we offer a preliminary framework that highlights the relational nature of solo music-making, and its associated capacity to influence the constellation of habits and experiences one develops through acts of musicking. To do so, we introduce the notion of extended musical historicity and suggest that when novice and expert performers engage in individual musical practices, they often rely on an extended sense of agency which permeates their musical experience and shapes their creative outcomes. To support this view, we report on an exploratory, qualitative study conducted with novice and expert music performers. This was designed to elicit a range of responses, beliefs, experiences and meanings concerning the main categories of agency and creativity. Our data provide rich descriptions of solitary musical practices by both novice and expert performers, and reveal ways in which these experiences involve social contingencies that appear to generate or transform creative musical activity. We argue that recognition of the interactive components of individual musicking may shed new light on the cognition of solo and joint music performance, and should inspire the development of novel conceptual and empirical tools for future research and theory

Ground-truthing AVIRIS mineral mapping at Cuprite, Nevada

Mineral abundance maps of 18 minerals were made of the Cuprite Mining District using 1990 AVIRIS data and the Multiple Spectral Feature Mapping Algorithm (MSFMA) as discussed in Clark et al. This technique uses least-squares fitting between a scaled laboratory reference spectrum and ground calibrated AVIRIS data for each pixel. Multiple spectral features can be fitted for each mineral and an unlimited number of minerals can be mapped simultaneously. Quality of fit and depth from continuum numbers for each mineral are calculated for each pixel and the results displayed as a multicolor image

Senior nurse manager perceptions of nurse practitioner integration : a quantitative study

Aim. To determine Senior Nurse Managers' perceptions of integration of Nurse Practitioner roles in Healthcare Organisations across Ireland and Australia. Background. Introduction of the Nurse Practitioner role in both countries is well established with national policies aimed at developing a critical mass in the health workforce. Current policy requires Senior Nurse Managers to be actively involved in the introduction of and oversight of the integration of Nurse Practitioners across healthcare settings. This is integral in the context of the success and sustainability of the services provided by the Nurse Practitioner. Methods. A quantitative, cross-sectional cloud-based survey of senior nurse managers across Ireland and Australia from April to September 2022. Results. Of 300 responses received, 122 were eligible for analysis. Of these, 77% expressed that there should be a specific role to support the integration of Nurse Practitioner roles at local level, and 61% recommended that this should occur at a national level, whilst 48% reported the absence of a standardised governance structure. Three reporting structures were identified: professional, clinical, and operational. Autonomous clinical decision making and prescribing were two Nurse Practitioner functions most identified. Fifty-five percent reported having performance indicators for Nurse Practitioner roles, with 24% agreeing that performance indicators captured the quality of care provided. Thirty-five percent of senior nurse managers indicated that there were agreed reporting timelines for performance indicators and a requirement for the provision of an annual report. Conclusion. Whilst some participants reported structure to guide and evaluate the work and value of Nurse Practitioners, the approach was inconsistent across organisations and countries. This paper demonstrates that integration is not broadly established across both countries. Implications for the Profession. The main findings were that Nurse Practitioners were misunderstood and the development of a structured framework to support the integration of Nurse Practitioners would provide long-term benefits. © 2024 M. Ryder et al

The Tec kinase ITK differentially optimizes NFAT, NF-κB, and MAPK signaling during early T cell activation to regulate graded gene induction [preprint]

The strength of peptide:MHC interactions with the T cell receptor (TCR) is correlated with the time to first cell division, the relative scale of the effector cell response, and the graded expression of activation-associated proteins like IRF4. To regulate T cell activation programming, the TCR and the TCR proximal kinase ITK simultaneously trigger many biochemically separate TCR signaling cascades. T cells lacking ITK exhibit selective impairments in effector T cell responses after activation, but under the strongest signaling conditions ITK activity is dispensable. To gain insight into whether TCR signal strength and ITK activity tune observed graded gene expression through unequal activation of disparate signaling pathways, we examined Erk1/2 activation and NFAT, NF-κB translocation in naive OT-I CD8+ cell nuclei. We observed consistent digital activation of NFAT1 and Erk-MAPK, but NF-κB displayed dynamic, graded activation in response to variation in TCR signal strength and was tunable by treatment with an ITK inhibitor. Inhibitor-treated cells showed dampened induction of AP-1 factors Fos and Fosb, NF-κB response gene transcripts, and survival factor Il2 transcripts. ATAC-seq analysis also revealed genomic regions most sensitive to ITK inhibition were enriched for NF-κB and AP-1 motifs. Specific inhibition of NF-κB during peptide stimulation tuned expression of early gene products like c-Fos. Together, these data indicate a key role for ITK in orchestrating optimal activation of separate TCR downstream pathways, specifically aiding NF-κB activation. More broadly, we revealed a mechanism by which variation in TCR signal strength can produce patterns of graded gene expression in activated T cells

Long-lived space observatories for astronomy and astrophysics

NASA's plan to build and launch a fleet of long-lived space observatories that include the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO), the Advanced X Ray Astrophysics Observatory (AXAF), and the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) are discussed. These facilities are expected to have a profound impact on the sciences of astronomy and astrophysics. The long-lived observatories will provide new insights about astronomical and astrophysical problems that range from the presence of planets orbiting nearby stars to the large-scale distribution and evolution of matter in the universe. An important concern to NASA and the scientific community is the operation and maintenance cost of the four observatories described above. The HST cost about $1.3 billion (1984 dollars) to build and is estimated to require$160 million (1986 dollars) a year to operate and maintain. If HST is operated for 20 years, the accumulated costs will be considerably more than those required for its construction. Therefore, it is essential to plan carefully for observatory operations and maintenance before a long-lived facility is constructed. The primary goal of this report is to help NASA develop guidelines for the operations and management of these future observatories so as to achieve the best possible scientific results for the resources available. Eight recommendations are given