STAGE: The Middle Schooler\u27s Guide to Success

For some, the thought of middle school brings back happy memories of JV sports, fine arts competitions, and lunch with friends. For others, thoughts of homework struggles, drama, and other adolescent woes come to mind. Whatever the words middle school bring back, it can be agreed by all that middle school is a time of change: biological changes, mental changes, and environmental changes. Amidst all of that, a middle school student\u27s academic world changes as well. Grades K-2 were new and exciting adventures. In grades 3-5, most students settled into a comfortable academic routine. Suddenly they enter grades 6-8 and while there are new adventures, not many students would call them exciting. In fact, they would probably call them overwhelming. I know I did. In order to fully explain the significance and intent behind what I am writing, I feel as though I should offer a brief background explanation of my middle school experience. Until 6th grade, I was able to tread water, so to speak. Once I journeyed into 6th grade, I began to sink fast. Most major events of my middle school career occurred in the 6th grade, both years of 6th grade. I switched to a private college-preparatory school mid-way through the year, effectively plopping me into the dreaded role of new kid. Just when I thought I had finally outgrown such status, I learned that I was to repeat the 6th grade earning me the moniker once again. I was socially awkward-more than your average pre-teen. I always managed to get myself involved with the drama cliques, which did absolutely nothing for my self-esteem and perceived social status (as much social status as one has as an 11-year-old). At this time, I also learned that I showed signs of Dysgraphia, a learning disability in the brain that causes me to struggle with reading comprehension and writing skills. At this age, all I saw was yet another label added to my name. Lastly, the typical pre-teen changes were beginning to affect me as well. This, of course, meant that my hormones soaring which, in tum, meant that I could cry or scream at the drop of a hat. On top of all of those struggles, I was expected to exceed in my academics. In this sink-or-swim moment, I felt like I was sinking. I was, but not in the way that I thought. Looking back, it is clear that there were many moments where my parents, teachers, and tutor all attempted to correct me and instruct me, but I would not receive it, not for lack of caring, but because I did not understand that it all mattered. Because of my attitude, those that supported me agreed to have me placed in a new class that my school was offering: Study Skills. This class was created for students, like me, who needed specific instruction in organization skills and time-management. At first, this class was something I was forced to be in; therefore, it was something I didn\u27t like. By the end of the semester, I realized that I had enjoyed my time in that class. I learned about something that I could be good at, that would make my life easier, and that I had total control over: three elements that will make any middle schooler interested. As I got older, I realized that I had developed a passion for helping students like me with these skills as well. We have often heard the phrase give a man fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. In a sense the same can be said about middle school students: give them guidance, and they do it once; teach them how to do it, and they can apply it for a lifetime. Middle school life can be summed up in four words: change, responsibility, motivation, and structure. Students either have these things or they don\u27t. One way teachers can ensure all of these goals are achieved is through giving students a universal skill that will be used their entire life: organization

Galileo Galilei: A Christian Mathematician

Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564 to a famous music theorist. Galileo quickly made his own name known across Europe. He worked tirelessly to not only improve his own mind but, in his eyes, that of the Church’s as well. He made many significant discoveries and contributions to Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, and Christianity. Even though his work was continually rebutted by the Church, he persevered to defend findings until his death in 1642. This paper examines Galileo’s life and his life’s work. It also looks at how Galileo’s Christian faith encouraged his work, and how his work encouraged his faith

Virtual EQ – the talent differentiator in 2020?

In an increasingly competitive, globalised world, knowledge-intensive industries/ services are seen as engines for success. Key to this marketplace is a growing army of ‘talent’ i.e. skilled and dedicated knowledge workers. These knowledge workers engage in non-routine problem solving through combining convergent, divergent and creative thinking across organizational and company boundaries - a process often facilitated though the internet and social media, consequently forming networks of expertise. For knowledge workers, sharing their learning with others through communities of practice embedded in new information media becomes an important element of their personal identity and the creation of their individual brand or e-social reputation. Part of the new knowledge/skills needed for this process becomes not only emotional intelligence (being attuned to the emotional needs of others) but being able to do this within and through new media, thus the emergence of virtual emotional intelligence (EQ). Our views of current research found that HRD practitioners in 2020 might need to consider Virtual EQ as part of their talent portfolio. However it seems that new technology has created strategies for capturing and managing knowledge that are readily duplicated and that a talent differentiator in 2020 might simply be the ability and willingness to learn

Age-related differences in exercise and quality of life among breast cancer survivors

Purpose: Physical activity has become a focus of cancer recovery research as it has the potential to reduce treatment-related burden and optimize health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, the potential for physical activity to influence recovery may be age-dependent. This paper describes physical activity levels and HRQoL among younger and older women after surgery for breast cancer and explores the correlates of physical inactivity. Methods: A population-based sample of breast cancer patients diagnosed in South-East Queensland, Australia, (n=287) were assessed once every three months, from 6 to 18 months post-surgery. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast questionnaire (FACTB+4) and items from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) questionnaire were used to measure HRQoL and physical activity, respectively. Physical activity was assigned metabolic equivalent task (MET) values, and categorized as 3, p<0.05). Conclusions: Age influences the potential to observe HRQoL benefits related to physical activity participation. These results also provide relevant information for the design of exercise interventions for breast cancer survivors and highlights that some groups of women are at greater risk of long-term sedentary behavior

Sturm, Ruger & Co and the U.S. Firearms Industry

Ruger is one of the largest domestic gun and ammunition manufacturers in the United States, and also one of the most successful. Ruger makes very high quality guns at reasonable prices. The company also emphasizes research and development. With no debt and high gross profit margins, one would expect Ruger to be an outstanding investment. However, the U.S. gun industry is extremely volatile and also very competitive. Due to mass shootings, terrorism, and other highly visible events, there is ever increasing pressure for new regulation and restrictions on gun ownership and use. However, the industry has a very powerful friend in the National Rifle Association

Facilitating Constructive Discussions of Difficult Socio-Scientific Issues

Discussion can be an important and powerful tool in efforts to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive future for STEM (i.e., science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). However, facilitating discussions on difficult, complex, and often uncomfortable issues, like racism and sexism, can feel daunting. We outline a series of steps that can be used by educators to facilitate productive discussions that empower everyone to listen, contribute, learn, and ultimately act to transform STEM

A maximum rupture model for the central and southern Cascadia subduction zone—reassessing ages for coastal evidence of megathrust earthquakes and tsunamis

A new history of great earthquakes (and their tsunamis) for the central and southern Cascadia subduction zone shows more frequent (17 in the past 6700 yr) megathrust ruptures than previous coastal chronologies. The history is based on along-strike correlations of Bayesian age models derived from evaluation of 554 radiocarbon ages that date earthquake evidence at 14 coastal sites. We reconstruct a history that accounts for all dated stratigraphic evidence with the fewest possible ruptures by evaluating the sequence of age models for earthquake or tsunami contacts at each site, comparing the degree of temporal overlap of correlated site age models, considering evidence for closely spaced earthquakes at four sites, and hypothesizing only maximum-length megathrust ruptures. For the past 6700 yr, recurrence for all earthquakes is 370–420 yr. But correlations suggest that ruptures at ∼1.5 ka and ∼1.1 ka were of limited extent (<400 km). If so, post-3-ka recurrence for ruptures extending throughout central and southern Cascadia is 510–540 yr. But the range in the times between earthquakes is large: two instances may be ∼50 yr, whereas the longest are ∼550 and ∼850 yr. The closely spaced ruptures about 1.6 ka may illustrate a pattern common at subduction zones of a long gap ending with a great earthquake rupturing much of the subduction zone, shortly followed by a rupture of more limited extent. The ruptures of limited extent support the continued inclusion of magnitude-8 earthquakes, with longer ruptures near magnitude 9, in assessments of seismic hazard in the region

Expression of sterile-α and armadillo motif in rheumatoid arthritis monocytes correlates with TLR2 induced IL-1β and disease activity

Objective Cartilage and bone damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are associated with elevated IL-1β. The effects of IL-1β can be reduced by biological therapies that target IL-1β or TNFα. However, the mechanisms responsible for increased IL-1β and the effect of anti-TNFα have not been fully elucidated. Recently, sterile-α and armadillo motif-containing protein (SARM) was identified as a negative regulator of toll-like receptor (TLR) induced IL-1β secretion through an interaction with the inflammasome. This study set out to investigate SARM during TLR induced IL-1β secretion in RA peripheral blood monocytes and in patients commencing anti-TNFα treatment. Methods Monocytes were isolated from RA patients and healthy controls; disease activity was measured by DAS28. IL-1β secretion was measured by ELISA following TLR1/2, TLR4 and TLR7/8 stimulation. The mRNA expression of SARM, IL-1β and the components of the NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome were measured by quantitative PCR. SARM protein expression was measured by western blotting. Results TLR1/2 activation induced elevated IL-1β in RA monocytes compared with heathy controls (p= 0.0009), which negatively correlated with SARM expression (p = 0.0086). Lower SARM expression also correlated with higher disease activity (p = 0.0246). Additionally, patients responding to anti-TNFα treatment demonstrated a rapid upregulation of SARM, which was not observed in non-responders. Conclusion Together, these data highlight a potential contribution from SARM to RA pathophysiology where decreased SARM may lead to elevated IL-1β associated with RA pathogenesis. Furthermore, the data additionally present a potential mechanism by which TNFα blockade can modify IL-1β secretion

Evidence for an excess of B -> D(*) Tau Nu decays

Based on the full BaBar data sample, we report improved measurements of the ratios R(D(*)) = B(B -> D(*) Tau Nu)/B(B -> D(*) l Nu), where l is either e or mu. These ratios are sensitive to new physics contributions in the form of a charged Higgs boson. We measure R(D) = 0.440 +- 0.058 +- 0.042 and R(D*) = 0.332 +- 0.024 +- 0.018, which exceed the Standard Model expectations by 2.0 sigma and 2.7 sigma, respectively. Taken together, our results disagree with these expectations at the 3.4 sigma level. This excess cannot be explained by a charged Higgs boson in the type II two-Higgs-doublet model. We also report the observation of the decay B -> D Tau Nu, with a significance of 6.8 sigma.Comment: Expanded section on systematics, text corrections, improved the format of Figure 2 and included the effect of the change of the Tau polarization due to the charged Higg