The Value of Teaching Preparation During Doctoral Studies: An Example of a Teaching Practicum

For doctoral students who seek faculty appointments in academic settings upon graduation, it is imperative those students have access to quality mentoring, direct instruction, and experiential opportunities to apply effective teaching methods during their training. Currently, some doctoral programs are beginning to develop teaching practicums which provide essential skills and experiences for doctoral students. The purpose of this paper is to describe best practices in the field of education and provide examples of post-graduate programs that are providing training and teaching opportunities to graduate assistants. One existing teaching practicum course offered at a public university in the southeast is described in detail. In addition, to support the value of a teaching practicum during doctoral training, narrative accounts from two doctoral students and a faculty mentor who participated in a teaching practicum is provided

Juvenile psychopathy and traumatic events among incarcerated adolescents

This dissertation addresses three topics related to juvenile psychopathy in order to improve social and mental health services for youth with this challenging disorder. Chapter 2 provides an overview for practitioners who encounter youth with psychopathy in various service settings. Chapters 3 and 4 are empirical studies that use data collected from 723 youth in the Missouri Division of Youth Services treatment system in 2004. Chapter 2 is an attempt to address the current lack of translation from research to practice in the psychopathy area. The overview is intended to provide practitioners with an up-to-date, succinct account of juvenile psychopathy. As practitioners encounter youth with psychopathy, their job becomes exponentially more difficult with the current lack of access to practice-related information regarding treatment of this subgroup of youth offenders. The overview examines research published in the past decade and addresses several topics that are currently debated in the literature: biological and social risk factors for psychopathy, assessment of psychopathy, and treatment of juvenile psychopathy. Our hope is that practitioners, armed with this knowledge, can act earlier and more effectively with youth who have psychopathy. A topic of debate among researchers and practitioners alike is the questionability of reliable and valid assessment of psychopathy in youth. While some observers feel that labeling psychopathic youth may be damaging, others believe that assessing youth with psychometrically sound measurement tools may provide valuable assistance in helping this subgroup of disordered youth. Chapter 3 examines the concurrent validity of a widely used tool for the assessment of psychopathy in youth: the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). Results demonstrate that the APSD adequately captures antisocial behaviors characteristic of psychopathic youth, but that it may not adequately measure the affective deficits known to characterize psychopathy. Contemporary discussions of youth psychopathy often focus on putative biological and sociological risk factors for psychopathy. The study described in Chapter 4 examines the relationship of traumatic experiences to psychopathy. More specifically, the study examines how traumatic events may lead to the maintenance of psychopathic tendencies and how features of psychopathy lead the disordered individual to experience a higher number of traumatic events. Results indicate that APSD scores and traumatic experiences are not significantly associated, whereas APSD scores and victimization experiences are significantly positively associated. The chapter then discusses these findings in more detail. The information in this dissertation contributes to psychopathy literature by providing practitioners with information on psychopathic youth, testing the concurrent validity of a widely used assessment tool, and by examining potential risk factors for psychopathy in youth.Doctor of Philosoph

Non-equilibrium two-phase coexistence in a confined granular layer

We report the observation of the homogenous nucleation of crystals in a dense layer of steel spheres confined between two horizontal plates vibrated vertically. Above a critical vibration amplitude, two-layer crystals with square symmetry were found to coexist in steady state with a surrounding granular liquid. By analogy to equilibrium hard sphere systems, the phase behavior can be explained through entropy maximization. However, dramatic non-equilibrium effects are present, including a significant difference in the granular temperatures of the two phases.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTex4 forma

Heroic Helping: The Effects of Priming Superhero Images on Prosociality

Two experiments examined how exposure to superhero images influences both prosociality and meaning in life. In Experiment 1 (N = 246) exposed individuals to scenes with superhero images or neutral images. Individuals primed with superhero images reported greater helping intentions relative to the control group, which, in turn, were associated with increased meaning in life (indirect effect only; no direct effect). In Experiment 2 (N = 123), individuals exposed to a superhero poster helped an experimenter in a tedious task more than those exposed to a bicycle poster, though no differences were found for meaning in life. These results suggest that subtle activation of superhero stimuli increases prosocial intentions and behavior

Cottonwood Creek Preliminary Assessment

Cottonwood Creek is located in Powell County, Montana and flows through the town of Deer Lodge. The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), will be working with ranch owners along Cottonwood Creek on restoration and conservation projects in the spring of 2001. In September and October of 2000, six graduate students from the University of Montana completed a baseline assessment of the lower Cottonwood Creek watershed, including the tributary Reese Anderson Creek. The assessment is the start of a more comprehensive assessment to be completed in the summer of 2001. The purpose of this baseline assessment is to characterize the current condition of Cottonwood Creek. The objectives of this study include: 1. To assess the current condition (“health”) of Cottonwood Creek’s riparian areas. 2. To provide baseline data needed to evaluate the benefits of conservation and restoration projects. 3. To gather information about the current and historical land-uses in the Cottonwood Creek Watershed. 4. To make recommendations on a landowner monitoring system. Study Approach The Fall 200 study synthesized existing data and conducted new field observations. Existing data includes maps, soil information, geology, climate, and historically and current land uses. The major component of the field research was the evaluation of the riparian corridor using University of Montana’s Riparian and Wetland Research Program’s (RWRP) Lotic Assessment Form. This method breaks up the riparian corridor into about ¼ mile to ¾ mile sections, called polygons, and evaluates each polygon’s vegetation, stream bank stability, and invasive species. Each polygon is then rated as “Properly Functioning”, “Functioning but at Risk”, or “Nonfunctioning”. Other field data collected included measurement of the stream cross section, photo documentation of the riparian area, and stream discharge. Summary of results The Fall 2000 assessment broke Cottonwood Creek into 11 polygons and Reese Anderson Creek into 4 polygons. The RWRP Lotic Health Assessment scored five polygons as Functioning but at Risk, and the remaining ten polygons, including all 4 on Reese Anderson Creek, were found to be Non-Functioning systems. A big factor in reduced functioning along Cottonwood Creek is over grazing which resulted in a streambank instability and lack of woody vegetation. This is most evident on Reese Anderson Creek and the downstream portion of Cottonwood Creek. Other concerns in the riparian corridor included dewatering, use of rip-rap and invasive species. Comparing the cross sections measurements made in each polygon showed a widening trend downstream. A likely cause for this trend is the lack of woody vegetation along the stream bank downstream. Also, the limited discharged data collected suggested that the stream loses water as it flows downstream. This is likely because of the amount of diversions along the stream. However, further measurements need to be taken in the spring of 2001 to gain a better understanding of how much of a loss there is

Biogeographic characterization of essential fish habitats affected by human activities in the coastal zone of Puerto Rico

The overall purpose of this project was to collect available information on the characteristics of essential fish habitats in protected and non-protected marine areas around the islands of Puerto Rico. Specifically, this project compiled historical information on benthic habitats and the status of marine resources into a Geographic Information System (GIS) by digitizing paper copies of existing marine geologic maps that were developed for the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC) for areas around the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In addition, information on benthic habitat types, Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) requirements, and fishing and non-fishing impacts to marine resources were compiled for two priority areas: La Parguera and Vieques. The information obtained will help to characterize and select habitats for future monitoring of impacts of fishing and non-fishing activities and to develop management recommendations for conservation of important marine habitats. The project focused specifically on areas identified as priorities for conservation by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) and the Local Action Strategy Overfishing Group

Trends in resources for neonatal intensive care at delivery hospitals for infants born younger than 30 weeks' gestation, 2009-2020

Importance: In an ideal regionalized system, all infants born very preterm would be delivered at a large tertiary hospital capable of providing all necessary care. Objective: To examine whether the distribution of extremely preterm births changed between 2009 and 2020 based on neonatal intensive care resources at the delivery hospital. Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at 822 Vermont Oxford Network (VON) centers in the US between 2009 and 2020. Participants included infants born at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation, delivered at or transferred to centers participating in the VON. Data were analyzed from February to December 2022. Exposures: Hospital of birth at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation. Main outcomes and measures: Birthplace neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) level was classified as A, restriction on assisted ventilation or no surgery; B, major surgery; or C, cardiac surgery requiring bypass. Level B centers were further divided into low-volume (<50 inborn infants at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation per year) and high-volume (≥50 inborn infants at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation per year) centers. High-volume level B and level C centers were combined, resulting in 3 distinct NICU categories: level A, low-volume B, and high-volume B and C NICUs. The main outcome was the change in the percentage of births at hospitals with level A, low-volume B, and high-volume B or C NICUs overall and by US Census region. Results: A total of 357 181 infants (mean [SD] gestational age, 26.4 [2.1] weeks; 188 761 [52.9%] male) were included in the analysis. Across regions, the Pacific (20 239 births [38.3%]) had the lowest while the South Atlantic (48 348 births [62.7%]) had the highest percentage of births at a hospital with a high-volume B- or C-level NICU. Births at hospitals with A-level NICUs increased by 5.6% (95% CI, 4.3% to 7.0%), and births at low-volume B-level NICUs increased by 3.6% (95% CI, 2.1% to 5.0%), while births at hospitals with high-volume B- or C-level NICUs decreased by 9.2% (95% CI, -10.3% to -8.1%). By 2020, less than half of the births for infants at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation occurred at hospitals with high-volume B- or C-level NICUs. Most US Census regions followed the nationwide trends; for example, births at hospitals with high-volume B- or C-level NICUs decreased by 10.9% [95% CI, -14.0% to -7.8%) in the East North Central region and by 21.1% (95% CI, -24.0% to -18.2%) in the West South Central region. Conclusions and relevance: This retrospective cohort study identified concerning deregionalization trends in birthplace hospital level of care for infants born at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation. These findings should serve to encourage policy makers to identify and enforce strategies to ensure that infants at the highest risk of adverse outcomes are born at the hospitals where they have the best chances to attain optimal outcomes