The role of ADA inclusive policies in the recruiting of applicants with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a set of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in social interactions and interpersonal communication, repetitive behaviors, and narrow focus or interests. The severity of ASD is variable, but the symptoms span the entire lifespan of the individuals with ASD and few effective treatments for these symptoms have been identified. Each year in the United States, there are approximately 50,000 people with ASD who turn 18 years old in the United States (Shattuck et al., 2012). Where most 18 year olds are likely to go out and get a job, the employment prospect of individuals with ASD is not very bright. High school graduates with autism are underemployed when compared to their peers and less employed than high school graduates with other developmental or intellectual disorders (Roux, Shattuck, Rast, & Anderson, 2017). Despite this, some reports suggest that gainful employment can benefit individuals with ASD by providing them with desirable social interactions (Hendricks, 2010), and it is the focus of many service providers for individuals with ASD (Migliore et al., 2014). Like most adults, individuals with ASD benefit from the social status that comes with having a job and the degree of financial independence that employment affords them (Gerhardt & Lainer, 2011). Research has also found that employment is associated with an increase in personal dignity, improved self-esteem, increased adaptive abilities, better mental health, and improved cognitive performance for individuals with ASD (Hurlbutt & Chalmers 2004; Mawhood & Howlin 1999; Stephens et al. 2005). The principle means for addressing the underemployment and unemployment for individuals with ASD is to assist them with gaining the skills and training needed to apply for and get a job. Yet even with these efforts, the employment prospects of individuals with ASD has not significantly improved (Bennett & Dukes 2013; Taylor & Seltzer 2011). The present study will investigate the role that organizational communications about hiring and employment policies regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act may have on the potential recruitment of those with ASD as well as the degree to which potential applicants who do not have ASD view these inclusive statements as favorable

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Chloroplast genomes as a tool to resolve red algal phylogenies: a case study in the Nemaliales

Obtaining strongly supported phylogenies that permit confident taxonomic and evolutionary interpretations has been a challenge in algal biology. High-throughput sequencing has improved the capacity to generate data and yields more informative datasets. We sequenced and analysed the chloroplast genomes of 22 species of the order Nemaliales as a case study in the use of phylogenomics as an approach to achieve well-supported phylogenies of red algae.Australian Research Council/[FT110100585]/ARC/AustraliaAustralian Biological Resources Study/[RFL213-08]/ABRS/AustraliaMillennium Scientific Initiative/[NC120030]/MSI/Nueva JerseyUniversity of Melbourne///AustraliaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR

Characterization of the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR) Neutron Radiography System Imaging Plane

The Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR) at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is an epithermal pool-type research reactor licensed up to a thermal power of 2.4 MW. The ACRR facility has a neutron radiography facility that is used for imaging a wide range of items including reactor fuel and neutron generators. The ACRR neutron radiography system has four apertures (65:1, 125:1, 250:1, and 500:1) available to experimenters. The neutron flux and spectrum as well as the gamma dose rate were characterized at the imaging plane for the ACRR's neutron radiography system for the 65:1, 125:1 and 250:1 apertures

Development of a Neutron Spectroscopic System Utilizing Compressed Sensing Measurements

A new approach to neutron detection capable of gathering spectroscopic information has been demonstrated. The approach relies on an asymmetrical arrangement of materials, geometry, and an ability to change the orientation of the detector with respect to the neutron field. Measurements are used to unfold the energy characteristics of the neutron field using a new theoretical framework of compressed sensing. Recent theoretical results show that the number of multiplexed samples can be lower than the full number of traditional samples while providing the ability to have some super-resolution. Furthermore, the solution approach does not require a priori information or inclusion of physics models. Utilizing the MCNP code, a number of candidate detector geometries and materials were modeled. Simulations were carried out for a number of neutron energies and distributions with preselected orientations for the detector. The resulting matrix (A) consists of n rows associated with orientation and m columns associated with energy and distribution where n < m. The library of known responses is used for new measurements Y (n × 1) and the solver is able to determine the system, Y = Ax where x is a sparse vector. Therefore, energy spectrum measurements are a combination of the energy distribution information of the identified elements of A. This approach allows for determination of neutron spectroscopic information using a single detector system with analog multiplexing. The analog multiplexing allows the use of a compressed sensing solution similar to approaches used in other areas of imaging. A single detector assembly provides improved flexibility and is expected to reduce uncertainty associated with current neutron spectroscopy measurement

Development of a Neutron Spectroscopic System Utilizing Compressed Sensing Measurements

A new approach to neutron detection capable of gathering spectroscopic information has been demonstrated. The approach relies on an asymmetrical arrangement of materials, geometry, and an ability to change the orientation of the detector with respect to the neutron field. Measurements are used to unfold the energy characteristics of the neutron field using a new theoretical framework of compressed sensing. Recent theoretical results show that the number of multiplexed samples can be lower than the full number of traditional samples while providing the ability to have some super-resolution. Furthermore, the solution approach does not require a priori information or inclusion of physics models. Utilizing the MCNP code, a number of candidate detector geometries and materials were modeled. Simulations were carried out for a number of neutron energies and distributions with preselected orientations for the detector. The resulting matrix (A) consists of n rows associated with orientation and m columns associated with energy and distribution where n < m. The library of known responses is used for new measurements Y (n × 1) and the solver is able to determine the system, Y = Ax where x is a sparse vector. Therefore, energy spectrum measurements are a combination of the energy distribution information of the identified elements of A. This approach allows for determination of neutron spectroscopic information using a single detector system with analog multiplexing. The analog multiplexing allows the use of a compressed sensing solution similar to approaches used in other areas of imaging. A single detector assembly provides improved flexibility and is expected to reduce uncertainty associated with current neutron spectroscopy measurement