Death By Religion? Individual Differences in Attitudes About Capital Punishment

There is evidence that a relationship between religiosity (intrinsic, extrinsic, indiscriminately pro-religious or indiscriminately anti-religious orientation toward one’s religious beliefs) and differences in attitudes about life and death social issues exists. Mainstream religions (e.g., Catholic and Protestant) have officially stated opposition to capital punishment while most individuals who are part of these mainstream religions favor capital punishment. In this study, 150 college students completed two different measures of religiosity and one measure of attitudes about capital punishment. Participant’s scores on two measures of religiosity were predictive of attitudes toward capital punishment. Intrinsically oriented individuals indicated more than extrinsically oriented individuals unfavorable attitudes toward capital punishment. Conversely, extrinsically oriented individuals indicated more than intrinsically oriented individuals favorable attitudes toward capital punishment. We found no significant differences with indiscriminately pro-religious individuals, anti-religious or extrinsically oriented individuals. We discuss limitations and implications

Perinatal Opiates and the Sexual Differentiation of the Rodent Central Nervous System

Abstract Not Provided

Reading and re-reading young adult memoirs : a narrative study with pre-service and in-service teachers

In this dissertation, I describe a narrative study in which five pre-service and in-service teachers read and re-read three young adult memoirs and discussed their responses in a series of book group meetings. The purpose was to examine how teachers discuss young adult memoirs, what they might learn about themselves in the process of reading and reflecting in book discussions and in a Commonplace Book they kept, and how they might use young adult memoirs in classrooms including, but not limited to English language arts (ELA) classrooms. Data was collected through transcribing a series of book group meetings, as well as collecting a set of books into which the participants logged their responses. Following the completion of the book group meetings, I conducted individual interviews with each participant. I found that the participants were willing to make personal and pedagogical connections to each text, but that including the texts in their curricula presented several obstacles. Nevertheless, I found that using a book group in teacher education research to be an efficient and effective way to answer multiple complex, qualitative research questions at one time in a semi-structured setting, low-risk settin

Statistical considerations in a systematic review of proxy measures of clinical behaviour

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Formation of giant planets around intermediate-mass stars

To understand giant planet formation, we need to focus on host stars close to $1.7\ \rm M_{\odot}$, where the occurrence rate of these planets is the highest. In this initial study, we carry out pebble-driven core accretion planet formation modelling to investigate the trends and optimal conditions for the formation of giant planets around host stars in the range of $1{-}2.4\ \rm M_{\odot}$. We find that giant planets are more likely to form in systems with a larger initial disk radius; higher disk gas accretion rate; pebbles of $\sim$ millimeter in size; and birth location of the embryo at a moderate radial distance of $\sim 10$ AU. We also conduct a population synthesis study of our model and find that the frequency of giant planets and super-Earths decreases with increasing stellar mass. This contrasts the observational peak at $1.7\ \rm M_{\odot}$, stressing the need for strong assumptions on stellar mass dependencies in this range. Investigating the combined effect of stellar mass dependent disk masses, sizes, and lifetimes in the context of planet population synthesis studies is a promising avenue to alleviate this discrepancy. The hot-Jupiter occurrence rate in our models is$\sim 0.7{-}0.8\%$around$1\ \rm M_{\odot}$ - similar to RV observations around Sun-like stars, but drastically decreases for higher mass stars.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figure

The Effects of Taping versus Bracing on Postural Stability of the Ankle

External ankle supports, such as athletic tape and braces, used prophylactically and postinjury, have enabled athletes to participate, when their absence would have either limited participation or possibly allowed an injury. These supports offer an extrinsic mechanical source of support for the ankle. The ankle, however, is also dependent on the proprioception system, including visual input, to maintain balance through motor involvement of regional ankle musculature. It would appear that the addition of external support would enhance the overall integrity of the ankle; however, does that support exert an influence, positive or negative, on the proprioception system at the joint? The purpose of this study was to determine the effect external support on the proprioception system via balance assessment and to determine if that effect is different when comparing athletic tape to an ankle brace. Thirty-three healthy male and female subjects (mean age 24.3 years) participated. The Balance Master 8.2, a computerized balance assessment device, was used to test and compare the effects of bracing, taping, and control on the ankle while performing the Unilateral Stance test with eyes open and closed, and the Step/Quick Turn test. Each subject randomly selected a face-down card to determine which ankle would be tested, which test they would begin with, and the order of control, tape, and a brace. There was a statistically significant difference in the Unilateral Stance with eyes closed test. There was no statistical difference between the supported conditions; however, significance was demonstrated when unsupported and supported were compared, with increased postural sway exhibited in supported conditions. There were no other statistically significant differences among the other tests and conditions. These results support previous findings in which external suppOli coincided with increased postural sway. Our study also showed that no difference in postural sway occurred between different forms of support, whether they involved an extensive contact area such as athletic tape or reduced contact area such as a low profile brace. These findings suggest that the proprioceptive system is less involved in maintaining balance when an external ankle support is applied