Examining Visitor Beliefs, Concerns, and Priorities in Relation to Climate Change : An Audience Segmentation Analysis at Three Informal Education Facilities in Oregon

With over 175 million Americans visiting each year and the ability to create unique learning experiences, informal science institutions may play a greater role in climate change education in the coming years. As facilities in Oregon begin to incorporate climate science and solutions into their educational programming, effective communication across diverse audiences can be challenging. Based on a nationwide study conducted by researchers at Yale and George Mason Universities, this project examined visitor perceptions of climate change across six previously identified audience segments. Research took place at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, and both the Oregon Coast Aquarium and Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Segment types were found utilizing a condensed version of the national survey and provided statistical algorithm. Participant distributions among the segment types were compared across sites and with the national data to provide a better understanding of the unique beliefs, concerns, and priorities of each audience. The results of the survey indicated that a large majority of the 300 visitors who participated across all three sites fell into the two segments that held the highest degree of concern, interest and worry regarding climate change and were most likely to take action in their daily lives. This was a significantly larger percentage than the data from the national study. These findings suggest that informal educators at the three sites may benefit from understanding the attitudes and needs held by these audiences in particular. One reason for this high level of concern compared to the general American public may be due to the increased level of educational attainment among visitors at the sites. Differences in education across segment types were found to be significant, with the most alarmed visitors having a more extensive educational background than the unconcerned. Finally, it is apparent that even though the high level of concern among the sites is encouraging for educators who hope to inspire action-oriented behaviors, the audiences still vary widely in their attitudes toward climate change. Recommendations for engaging each audience are provided in this report

Performance of a cognitive load inventory during simulated handoffs: Evidence for validity.

BackgroundAdvancing patient safety during handoffs remains a public health priority. The application of cognitive load theory offers promise, but is currently limited by the inability to measure cognitive load types.ObjectiveTo develop and collect validity evidence for a revised self-report inventory that measures cognitive load types during a handoff.MethodsBased on prior published work, input from experts in cognitive load theory and handoffs, and a think-aloud exercise with residents, a revised Cognitive Load Inventory for Handoffs was developed. The Cognitive Load Inventory for Handoffs has items for intrinsic, extraneous, and germane load. Students who were second- and sixth-year students recruited from a Dutch medical school participated in four simulated handoffs (two simple and two complex cases). At the end of each handoff, study participants completed the Cognitive Load Inventory for Handoffs, Paas' Cognitive Load Scale, and one global rating item for intrinsic load, extraneous load, and germane load, respectively. Factor and correlational analyses were performed to collect evidence for validity.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis yielded a single factor that combined intrinsic and germane loads. The extraneous load items performed poorly and were removed from the model. The score from the combined intrinsic and germane load items associated, as predicted by cognitive load theory, with a commonly used measure of overall cognitive load (Pearson's r = 0.83, p < 0.001), case complexity (beta = 0.74, p < 0.001), level of experience (beta = -0.96, p < 0.001), and handoff accuracy (r = -0.34, p < 0.001).ConclusionThese results offer encouragement that intrinsic load during handoffs may be measured via a self-report measure. Additional work is required to develop an adequate measure of extraneous load

An Atlas of Warm AGN and Starbursts from the IRAS Deep Fields

We present 180 AGN candidates based on color selection from the IRAS slow-scan deep observations, with color criteria broadened from the initial Point-Source Catalog samples to include similar objects with redshifts up to z=1 and allowing for two-band detections. Spectroscopic identifications have been obtained for 80 (44%); some additional ones are secure based on radio detections or optical morphology, although yet unobserved spectroscopically. These spectroscopic identifications include 13 Sy 1 galaxies, 17 Sy 2 Seyferts, 29 starbursts, 7 LINER systems, and 13 emission-line galaxies so heavily reddened as to remain of ambiguous classification. The optical magnitudes range from R=12.0-20.5; counts suggest that incompleteness is important fainter than R=15.5. Redshifts extend to z=0.51, with a significant part of the sample at z>0.2. The sample includes slightly more AGN than star-forming systems among those where the spectra contain enough diagnostic feature to make the distinction. The active nuclei include several broad-line objects with strong Fe II emission, and composite objects with the absorption-line signatures of fading starbursts. These AGN with warm far-IR colors have little overlap with the "red AGN" identified with 2MASS; only a single Sy 1 was detected by 2MASS with J-K > 2. Some reliable IRAS detections have either very faint optical counterparts or only absorption-line galaxies, potentially being deeply obscured AGN. The IRAS detections include a newly identified symbiotic star, and several possible examples of the "Vega phenomenon", including dwarfs as cool as type K. Appendices detail these candidate stars, and the optical-identification content of a particularly deep set of high-latitude IRAS scans (probing the limits of optical identification from IRAS data alone).Comment: ApJ Suppl, in press. Figures converted to JPEG/GIF for better compression; PDF with full-resolution figures available before publication at http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/aoagn.pd

Picosecond Timing Resolution Detection of Gamma Photons Utilizing Microchannel-plate Detectors: Experimental Tests of Quantum Nonlocality and Photon Localization

The concept and subsequent experimental verification of the proportionality between pulse amplitude and detector transit time for microchannel plate detectors is presented. This discovery has led to considerable improvement in the overall timing resolution for detection of high energy gamma photons. Utilizing a 22Na positron source, a full width half maximum (FWHM) timing resolution of 138 ps has been achieved. This FWHM includes detector transit-time spread for both chevron-stack type detectors, timing spread due to uncertainties in annihilation location, all electronic uncertainty, and any remaining quantum mechanical uncertainty. The first measurement of the minimum quantum uncertainty in the time interval between detection of the two annihilation photons is reported. The experimental results give strong evidence against instantaneous spatial-localization of gamma photons due to measurement-induced nonlocal quantum wave-function collapse. The experimental results are also the first that imply momentum is conserved only after the quantum uncertainty in time has elapsed [H. Yukawa, Proc. Phys. -Math. Soc. Japan, 17, 48 (1935)].Comment: As published in Meas. Sci. Technol. 15 (2004) 1799-181