Does Information Lead to Household Electricity Conservation?

This paper estimates the effect of information on residential electricity consumption. Household reading expenditure, education level of the household head, and state “green” electricity pricing program participation rate represent the probability that a household has encountered information relating the carbon emission externalities of energy consumption and human-driven climate change. Reading expenditure has a significant negative effect on household electricity consumption. Initial increases in educational attainment increase electricity consumption, but education beyond high school reduces it. The predicted social norm effect of green pricing participation is insignificant

Exploring Children’s Self-Regulation for Learning within a Mindfulness-Based Social and Emotional Learning Program

A mixed-method, repeated measures research design was employed to explore (a) the psychometric properties of a shortened version of the Self -Regulation in School Inventory (SRISI), (b) young children’s development of SR/L within MindUP™, and the demographic and teacher factors implicated in opportunities provided for children to engage in SR/L. Data were gathered from 15 kindergarten teachers and eight ECEs (0 male) who provided teacher reports of children’s SR/L (N = 222 children, boys = 108, Junior Kindergarten = 109, Mean age = 4.57, SD = .57), and their teacher efficacy, burnout, and behavior attributions at Time A and Time B. Also, educators responded to focus group and short answer questions related to perceived changes in classroom functioning (e.g., educators supporting SR/L, social SR/L behaviours, solo SR/L behaviours). Results demonstrated that (a) the shortened 9-item SRISI yielded reliable and valid reports of kindergarten children’s social and solo SR/L, (b) children’s social and solo SR/L increased over implementation of the MindUP™ program, (c), boys and junior kindergarten children received lower ratings of social and solo SR/L at Time A and Time B, and, d) educators’ behavior attributions and feelings of personal accomplishment predicted children’s social SR/L at Time A and Time B, respectively. Finally, educators’ attributed changes to classroom functioning, and changes in children’s SR/L to the implementation of the MindUP program TM. Findings are interpreted as providing preliminary evidence that teachers can provide psychometrically sound ratings of kindergarten children’s SR/L using the SRISI. Also, that MindUPTM may support children’s social and solo SR/L in kindergarten classrooms. Overall, findings from this study highlight the need for teacher training geared towards teaching towards SR/L and supporting teachers’ efficacy

Evidence for Information Avoidance as a Barrier to HIV Testing: A Two Study Test of Theory and Intervention

Despite the United States being home to the most advanced HIV treatments, as well as substantial funding for outreach and testing efforts, new domestic HIV infections are still reaching epidemic proportions throughout the country. One proposed contributor to the epidemic is at-risk individuals not engaging in routine HIV testing and unintentionally spreading an undiagnosed infection to others. Although alleviating structural barriers remains crucial to increasing HIV testing among those at-risk for HIV, psychosocial barriers also perpetuate HIV testing disparities in the United States. The current study sought to both understand which psychosocial barriers predict engagement with HIV testing and to subsequently intervene on the major psychosocial barrier discovered in the first study. Study 1 tested several previously studied psychosocial barriers, and one novel predicted barrier, HIV status information avoidance in relation to the decision to engage in HIV testing with a mobile testing van. Results of Study 1 indicated that HIV status information avoidance was the only significant predictor of whether someone had engaged in HIV testing recently or not. The second study then sought to intervene on the underlying psychosocial barrier to HIV testing by testing two previously studied social psychological health behavior change interventions to reduce avoidance of testing and increase HIV testing engagement among at-risk men who have sex with men (MSM). Study 2 indicated that the two social psychological interventions employed to reduce avoidance of testing did not increase HIV testing numbers in an at-risk sample. Implications for these findings are discussed

Inclusion of classified staff in the implementation of positive behavior Interventions and supports: a district case study.

This qualitative case study examined the current use of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) within a large school district and how that district includes classified staff within the implementation process. This study utilized information from interviews and focus groups of district leaders, school leaders, and classified staff to evaluate their perspectives on the daily use of PBIS, specifically how classified staff are included in all aspects of the initiative. Using the Normalization Process Theory (NPT) as a theoretical framework, this study sought to make sense of how complex organizational initiatives are intertwined and become embedded into the normal practices of everyday work within an organization. This case study focused on the voices of the staff whom are responsible for implementation of complex initiatives and provides perspectives that can inform policy and practice for other school districts that use PBIS and whom wish to ensure that all staff members have access to training and support that will lead to successful implementation district-wide. Through thick narrative descriptions of the work in action, this study provides evidence of the potential impact on practice that is timely and informative. Study findings revealed the need for explicit training for classified staff to ensure that all staff members have appropriate training and support to implement PBIS effectively. Additionally, study findings revealed that an emphasis on building relationships with students supports PBIS implementation and improves overall school climate and culture. The findings of this study provide recommendations at both the local level and in a broader context for other school districts that plan to use this program

Refining the Meaning and Application of Dating Relationship Language in Domestic Violence Statutes

Many young people date in high school, and Lisa Santoro was no exception.\u27 Her father Tom tells her story: In January, 1994, Lisa started to date a guy [named Dan ].... In the five months Lisa dated this guy, I never really understood why she was attracted to him.... Around June, when Lisa started to work at the swimming pool, she met another guy who was in charge of the pool .... Shortly after, Lisa [broke] up with Dan. Dan tried to get Lisa to go back to him, but Lisa had her mind made up.... On July 27th, Dan called Lisa and asked her to go out to exchange letters they had written to each other when they were dating. Lisa agreed to meet Dan on the 28th.... About 1 a.m. that evening, I got a call from my wife. Lisa wasn\u27t home and she was supposed to be home at midnight. I came home from the firehouse, tried calling the house where Lisa was supposed to be, and got a satanic recording. I told my wife that I was going to take a ride to the house to look for Lisa. When I got to the house, I saw the police car and the ambulance in front. I knew my Lisa was dead. That night, Lisa\u27s ex-boyfriend beat her to death with a baseball bat. Unfortunately, Lisa is not alone in suffering a violent-and in her case, deadly-fate from dating abuse. But not all high school dating violence escalates to the same brutal heights. Battered victims often escape from violent relationships in time. One high school survivor anonymously submitted her story, in her own words, to a local newspaper: I don\u27t remember what I told him that made him so mad that he did what he did. I spoke to him. He got mad and stood up. He got off his chair and yanked me out of my seat. He lifted me up and sat me on his lap. His hands were covering my face and I couldn\u27t breathe because he was squeezing me so hard. I could not see.... Then he started to watch me more closely at school. He also had his friends watching me .... He would hit me sometimes, but not so hard that I would get bruises or any open cuts. Another girl, Cheryl, fell in love at the age of fifteen, after her new boyfriend showered her with affection.6 Eventually, her boyfriend grew more aggressive, forbidding her from seeing friends and hiding her keys so she could not leave; the abuse culminated in an altercation during which Cheryl was left bloodied and crying, her head having been slammed into a towel rack. Sometimes victims suffer from verbal and emotional abuse. One teenager made his girlfriend sleep with the phone on her pillow, just so he could hear her breathing and know she wasn\u27t out with other guys. Another teen stalked his ex-girlfriend, leaving his name in the dust on her car so she knew that he was watching her every move

The Preliminary Injunction Standard: Understanding the Public Interest Factor

Under Winter v. NRDC, federal courts considering a preliminary injunction motion look to four factors, including the public interest impact of the injunction. But courts do not agree on what the public interest is and how much it should matter. This Note describes the confusion over the public interest factor and characterizes the post-Winter circuit split as a result of this confusion. By analyzing the case law surrounding the public interest factor, this Note identifies three aspects of a case that consistently implicate the direction and magnitude of this factor: the identity of the parties, the underlying cause of action, and the scope of injunctive relief. By centering the public interest factor on these three aspects, courts and litigants will achieve a unified conception of the public interest factor

Incorporation of Functionalized Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane Nanomaterials as Reinforcing Agents for Impact Ice Mitigating Coatings

In-flight, aircraft are exposed to a wide range of environments. One commonly exposed environment are clouds containing super-cooled water droplets. These water drop- lets exist in a metastable state below the freezing point of water, in the range of 0 to -20C. As the vehicle impacts the droplets, latent heat is released and within milliseconds the droplets convert to ice. This process is referred to as impact icing or in-flight icing.1 Impact icing is a major concern for aircraft since it can lead to degraded aerodynamic performance and, if left un- treated, can lead to loss of the vehicle. Active approaches (i.e., pneumatic boots, heated air ducts) typically utilized in mitigating in-flight ice accretion significantly increases vehicle weight and cannot be applied to all aircraft.1-3 A passive approach based on coatings is desired, but durability issues are a concern, especially on the wing leading edge.3 Nanomaterials have been shown to afford significant improvement in coating and composite physical properties at low loading levels.4 In this study, Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS) nanomaterials have been shown to increase coating durability. Also, with wide variety of functionalities present on the arm structure, POSS nanomaterials have been shown to readily alter coating surface chemistry to mitigate impact ice adhesion from -16 to -8C in a simulated in-flight icing environment