The Impact of Extracurricular Activities on Children\u27s School Performance and Mental Health

The relationship between the amount of extracurricular activities and the school performance and mental health of children and adolescents was examined. One hundred thirty-three parents completed measures on extracurricular activity participation, academic performance, and mental health for their children in Grades 3-12. Results indicated one significant linear and one significant curvilinear relationship between extracurricular activity participation and school performance of adolescents. As adolescents were involved in additional extracurricular activities, their school performance improved (in a linear relationship), while median amounts of activity were related to the best grades (in a curvilinear relationship). Although these results were significant, their practical meaningfulness is limited due to a weak linear relationship and moderate curvilinear relationship. Significant relationships were not found between extracurricular activity participation and school performance of children or between extracurricular activity participation and the mental health of children or adolescents (52)

Flexible Multi-Shock Shield

Flexible multi-shock shield system and method are disclosed for defending against hypervelocity particles. The flexible multi-shock shield system and method may include a number of flexible bumpers or shield layers spaced apart by one or more resilient support layers, all of which may be encapsulated in a protective cover. Fasteners associated with the protective cover allow the flexible multi-shock shield to be secured to the surface of a structure to be protected

A Phenomenological Study of The Lived Experiences of High School Seniors in Mathematics Classrooms: Analyzing Methodologies That Increase Engagement

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the methods high school seniors found engaging in mathematics classrooms at a private high school in Northern Florida. This study focused on engagement theory, which explains processes that help students learn based on attentiveness to presented content. Data collection for the phenomenological study consisted of interviews, focus groups, and journal entries as students shared their perspectives on engagement in their mathematics courses throughout upper school at a private Florida high school. Data collection took place by interviewing 15 students with the intention of students following into the other phases allowing individual thoughts (interview), group thoughts (focus group), and concluding thoughts (journal entry) to support the triangulation of the data. A larger sample size in the initial phase increased the probability of participants completing all three data-collection phases. Data triangulation occurred by creating a virtual code book and developing themes subject to adjustments throughout collection and analysis. The purpose centered on understanding the importance of engagement in learning from the student’s perspective. All stages of data collection occurred on a private high school campus containing students with similar experiences in their last four years of mathematics education. Three major themes developed from data analysis centered around variability in classroom set-up, positive emotional responses, and the creation of a learning community

RISK AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: A TARGET-MOTAD ANALYSIS OF THE 92-YEAR "OLD ROTATION"

Target-MOTAD was used to assess the risks and returns of sustainable cotton crop rotations from Auburn University's 92-year "Old Rotation." Study results analyze rotations of continuous cotton, with and without winter legumes; two years of cotton-winter legumes-corn, with and without nitrogen fertilization; and three years of cotton-winter legumes-corn and rye-soybeans double-cropped. Ten years of observations on deviations from target income were used to identify optimal sustainable rotation(s). Study results suggest that diversification in rotations, as well as in crops, results in the least risk for a given level of target income.Risk and Uncertainty,

Debond propagation in composite reinforced metals

Strain energy release rates were used to correlate cyclic debonding between metal sheets and composite reinforcement. An expression for the strain energy release rate was derived and applied to fatigue test results for three material systems: graphite bonded to aluminum with both a room temperature and an elevated temperature curing adhesive, and S-glass bonded to aluminum with an elevated temperature curing adhesive. For each material system, several thicknesses were tested with a range of fatigue loads. Cyclic debonding was monitored using a photoelastic technique. A close correlation was found between the observed debond rates and the calculated strain energy release rates for each material system

Cyclic debonding of unidirectional composite bonded to aluminum sheet for constant-amplitude loading

Cyclic debonding rates were measured during constant-amplitude loading of specimens made of graphite/epoxy bonded to aluminum and S-glass/epoxy bonded to aluminum. Both room-temperature and elevated-temperature curing adhesives were used. Debonding was monitored with a photoelastic coating technique. The debonding rates were compared with three expressions for strain-energy release rate calculated in terms of the maximum stress, stress range, or a combination of the two. The debonding rates were influenced by both adherent thickness and the cyclic stress ratio. For a given value of maximum stress, lower stress ratios and thicker specimens produced faster debonding. Microscopic examination of the debonded surfaces showed different failure mechanisms both for identical adherends bonded with different adhesive and, indeed, even for different adherends bonded with identical adhesives. The expressions for strain-energy release rate correlated the data for different specimen thicknesses and stress ratios quite well for each material system, but the form of the best correlating expression varied among material systems. Empirical correlating expressions applicable to one material system may not be appropriate for another system

The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Depression and Anxiety Symptoms during COVID-19

The rise of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a global surge in exposure to disaster and crisis-related media. Increases in poor mental health outcomes such as anxiety and depression, are associated with increased exposure to such media content (Abbas et al., 2021; Riehm et al., 2020; Zhao & Zhou, 2020). In recent years, social media has become one of the most widely used sources for news; approximately 48% of adult Americans receive their news from social media (Pew Research Center, 2021). During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in social media use due to social distancing and isolation resulting from pandemic-related safety measures (Abbas et al., 2021; Riehm et al., 2020). Further research is needed on the interplay of increased social media use and the associated exposure to crisis-related content, with anxiety and depression symptoms. The current project will investigate these associations by presenting results from an ongoing, longitudinal study, Spit for Science, a yearly series of surveys assessing behavioral health and, more recently, the COVID-19 experiences of undergraduate students. This survey was conducted in May of 2020 on the current active cohort of students shortly after safety precautions were taken to halt on-campus activities (N=897). Participants completed measures assessing COVID-19-related stressors and behaviors and questionnaires assessing anxiety and depression symptoms. Social media use was measured using multiple-item questions assessing the frequency of exposure to COVID-19 related content. Data analysis will be conducted using linear regressions to understand the relationship between the variables of interest. Analyses are currently ongoing. The significance of this study is to contribute to the scientific literature regarding the impact of COVID-19 and social media use on mental health outcomes.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1403/thumbnail.jp

Flexible Shields for Protecting Spacecraft Against Debris

A report presents the concept of Flexshield a class of versatile, lightweight, flexible shields for protecting spacecraft against impacts by small meteors and orbiting debris. The Flexshield concept incorporates elements of, but goes beyond, prior spacecraft-shielding concepts, including those of Whipple shields and, more recently, multi-shock shields and multi-shock blankets. A shield of the Flexshield type includes multiple outer layers (called bumpers in the art) made, variously, of advanced ceramic and/or polymeric fibers spaced apart from each other by a lightweight foam. As in prior such shields, the bumpers serve to shock an impinging hypervelocity particle, causing it to disintegrate vaporize, and spread out over a larger area so that it can be stopped by an innermost layer (back sheet). The flexibility of the fabric layers and compressibility of the foam make it possible to compress and fold the shield for transport, then deploy the shield for use. The shield can be attached to a spacecraft by use of snaps, hook-and-pile patches, or other devices. The shield can also contain multilayer insulation material, so that it provides some thermal protection in addition to mechanical protection