The Impact of Diversity Courses on Student Attitudes Toward Sexual Orientation and Racial Diversity.

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of enrollment in diversity courses on undergraduate students’ attitudes about race/ethnicity and sexual orientation, and to determine if influences on these attitudes are the same for two cohorts of students, one decade apart, at the same institution. Survey data come from two studies: The Undergraduate Experience at Michigan begun in 1990 and the Preparing College Students for a Diverse Democracy Project begun in 2000. Both surveys measure the impact of diversity-related experiences in the first and second years of respondents’ undergraduate education. Both samples were representative of Michigan’s student populations, and included 905 cases from the first cohort and 757 cases from the second cohort. The results show that enrollment in diversity courses had a significant effect on attitudes about race/ethnicity. Although enrolling in a diversity course did not have a direct effect on attitudes about sexual orientation, the course experience appears to work indirectly through the formation of racial attitudes during college. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) further indicates that students’ attitudes regarding sexual orientation at entry had a significant and positive influence on their belief that universities fulfill the real purpose of higher education by including a multicultural perspective in the curriculum. Student attitudes regarding race/ethnicity at entry did not influence this measure of campus mission, but were highly positive in the second year of study. SEM analyses of the source variable (comparing both cohorts) showed significant relationships for both attitude measures at entry but no direct relationship with either second-year measure. The study contributes to our understanding of how diversity-focused coursework promotes the development of an understanding and respect for difference. These findings suggest that student participation in diversity courses and the resulting development of positive changes in attitudes toward race/ethnicity and sexual orientation can influence their understanding of the campus commitment to diversity. The results thus offer important implications for educators concerned with cultivating positive attitudes toward diverse students and in preparing students to participate in a diverse democracy.PHDHigher EducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116651/1/hudgins_1.pd

MPP disk subsystem

A disk subsystem for the Massively Parallel processor (MPP) is designed to the block diagram level. The subsystem is capable of storing 4,992 megabytes of data, expandable to 39,936 megabytes. The subsystem is capable of transferring data to the MPP Staging Memory at a rate of 25 megabytes/second, expandable to 100 megabytes/second. A lower cost disk subsystem is also presented. This alternate subsystem is capable of storing 3,744 megabytes with a transfer rate of 10.6 megabyte/second

The 5.25 & 5.7 μ\mum Astronomical Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission Features

Astronomical mid-IR spectra show two minor PAH features at 5.25 and 5.7 $\mu$m (1905 and 1754 cm$^{\rm - 1}$) that hitherto have been little studied, but contain information about the astronomical PAH population that complements that of the major emission bands. Here we report a study involving both laboratory and theoretical analysis of the fundamentals of PAH spectroscopy that produce features in this region and use these to analyze the astronomical spectra. The ISO SWS spectra of fifteen objects showing these PAH features were considered for this study, of which four have sufficient S/N between 5 and 6 $\mu$m to allow for an in-depth analysis. All four astronomical spectra show similar peak positions and profiles. The 5.25 $\mu$m feature is peaked and asymmetric, while the 5.7 $\mu$m feature is broader and flatter. Detailed analysis of the laboratory spectra and quantum chemical calculations show that the astronomical 5.25 and 5.7 $\mu$m bands are a blend of combination, difference and overtone bands primarily involving CH stretching and CH in-plane and CH out-of-plane bending fundamental vibrations. The experimental and computational spectra show that, of all the hydrogen adjacency classes possible on PAHs, solo and duo hydrogens consistently produce prominent bands at the observed positions whereas quartet hydrogens do not. In all, this a study supports the picture that astronomical PAHs are large with compact, regular structures. From the coupling with primarily strong CH out-of-plane bending modes one might surmise that the 5.25 and 5.7 $\mu$m bands track the neutral PAH population. However, theory suggests the role of charge in these astronomical bands might also be important.Comment: Accepted ApJ, 40 pages in pre-print, 14 figures, two onlin