1,574 research outputs found
Male and Female Juvenile Delinquency: An Assessment of Contextual Differences in Offending
This thesis examines data on gender and the incidence and prevalence of delinquent and criminal offending, as well as gender differences in the context of offending for a sample of high school students in Omaha, Nebraska. Context refers to the specific attributes of a particular offense, whose interrelationship describes both the features and the circumstances of the offense. A focus on gender differences in the context of offending highlights how gender impacts the structural and social conditions that are related to commission of delinquent and criminal acts, and the findings of this study underscore the importance of this research. Results indicate that females offend in fewer settings and in different manners than their male counterparts. For example, females in the study primarily committed theft offenses in department stores at shopping malls, and were much more likely than males to commit such offenses with other individuals rather than alone. Furthermore, the results indicate that for less serious forms of delinquent behavior, such as skipping school and running away from home, the incidence and prevalence of such offenses are very similar for both genders. Such findings impact not only the development of delinquency theory, but also play an important role in the evaluation of gender differences in juvenile justice processing
Zeptonewton force sensing with nanospheres in an optical lattice
Optically trapped nanospheres in high-vaccum experience little friction and
hence are promising for ultra-sensitive force detection. Here we demonstrate
measurement times exceeding seconds and zeptonewton force sensitivity
with laser-cooled silica nanospheres trapped in an optical lattice. The
sensitivity achieved exceeds that of conventional room-temperature solid-state
force sensors, and enables a variety of applications including electric field
sensing, inertial sensing, and gravimetry. The optical potential allows the
particle to be confined in a number of possible trapping sites, with precise
localization at the anti-nodes of the optical standing wave. By studying the
motion of a particle which has been moved to an adjacent trapping site, the
known spacing of the lattice anti-nodes can be used to calibrate the
displacement spectrum of the particle. Finally, we study the dependence of the
trap stability and lifetime on the laser intensity and gas pressure, and
examine the heating rate of the particle in high vacuum in the absence of
optical feedback cooling.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, minor changes, typos corrected, references adde
The association of resilience and physical activity in older adults: cross-sectional analyses from the NICOLA study
Aim: As more of the world’s population are living longer, supporting the mental and physical health of older adults is becoming increasingly important in public health. Resilience is a dynamic process encompassing positive adaptation in the face of adverse experiences that would otherwise lead to poor outcomes. The aim of the study is to explore the association between physical activity and resilience in older adults. Subject and methods: The data used in this study was taken from the results of the Self Completed Questionnaires and Computer Assisted Personal Interviews from the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing. A secondary analysis was conducted on a sample of 4040 participants to examine the association between resilience (Brief Resilience Scale) and on moderate/vigorous physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Short Form) through chi-square and Mann–Whitney U tests and an ordinal regression being conducted. Results: Data was included for 4040 participants, of whom 90% did not meet the recommended moderate physical activity guidelines. The findings of this study indicated that higher resilience levels are associated with higher levels of moderate and vigorous physical activity levels. Conclusion: Worryingly, a large percentage of the older adult population are not sufficiently active and this is something that needs to be addressed. The findings suggest that with these low levels of physical activity, interventions should be created to target this population.</p
Low Reproductive Success of Mallards in a Grassland-Dominated Landscape in The Sandhills of Nebraska
The Sandhills of Nebraska comprise approximately 5,000,000 ha of native grassland interspersed with numerous groundwater-fed wetlands. A substantial population of the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) nests in this region. Previous investigations of nest survival probability of ducks in the Sandhills have estimated surprisingly low rates of nest survival for a grassland-dominated landscape. These investigations were conducted on public lands and most nest searching took place near wetlands where activity of nest predators might be highest. We predicted that mallards would nest at varying distances from wetlands and that survival probability of a representative sample of duck nests would increase with distance from wetlands. We decoy-trapped and radio-marked 71 female mallards, 32 during the 2005 nesting season and 39 during the 2006 nesting season, and monitored their individual choice of nest habitats, their survival during the nesting season, and survival of their nests. Mallards nested in various habitats, both near and far from wetlands. Nest survival probability (Ă– = 0.03, SE = 0.02) was low relative to other studies regardless of distance to wetlands. Survival of females during the nesting season (Ă– = 0.84, SE = 0.08), however, was high relative to other studies. This pattern could have resulted from the combination of a diverse community of nest predators, few predators of nesting females, and a population of largely second year females that put little effort into nesting
Low Reproductive Success of Mallards in a Grassland-Dominated Landscape in The Sandhills of Nebraska
The Sandhills of Nebraska comprise approximately 5,000,000 ha of native grassland interspersed with numerous groundwater-fed wetlands. A substantial population of the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) nests in this region. Previous investigations of nest survival probability of ducks in the Sandhills have estimated surprisingly low rates of nest survival for a grassland-dominated landscape. These investigations were conducted on public lands and most nest searching took place near wetlands where activity of nest predators might be highest. We predicted that mallards would nest at varying distances from wetlands and that survival probability of a representative sample of duck nests would increase with distance from wetlands. We decoy-trapped and radio-marked 71 female mallards, 32 during the 2005 nesting season and 39 during the 2006 nesting season, and monitored their individual choice of nest habitats, their survival during the nesting season, and survival of their nests. Mallards nested in various habitats, both near and far from wetlands. Nest survival probability (Ă– = 0.03, SE = 0.02) was low relative to other studies regardless of distance to wetlands. Survival of females during the nesting season (Ă– = 0.84, SE = 0.08), however, was high relative to other studies. This pattern could have resulted from the combination of a diverse community of nest predators, few predators of nesting females, and a population of largely second year females that put little effort into nesting
Physical Science Day: Design, Implementation, and Assessment
Physical Science Day at The University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA), in collaboration with the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, has been designed, developed and implemented to address an identified fundamental shortcoming in our educational process within this primarily (90+%) Hispanic serving border region. Physical Science Day overcomes the lack of knowledge about what physics is by raising youth awareness of physics as the foundation of science, engineering and technology disciplines, through activities including hands-on laboratory experiments, career orientation, and higher educational student and graduated student testimonials. Thus, Physical Science Day encourages, attracts, and enables more Hispanic youth towards science, technology and engineering disciplines in higher education. Pre- and post-survey results showed that Physical Science Day is effective at increasing student knowledge about physics, physical science, and chemistry programs, raising awareness of broad career opportunities, as well as for stimulating youth interest towards studying such disciplines at UTPA
Responses of common diving petrel chicks (Pelecanoides urinatrix) to burrow and colony specific odours in a simple wind tunnel
Researchers have previously assumed that common diving petrels (Pelecanoides urinatrix) have a limited sense of smell since they have relatively small olfactory bulbs. A recent study, however, showed that adult diving petrels prefer the scent of their own burrow compared to burrows of other diving petrels, implying that personal scents contribute to the burrow’s odour signature. Because diving petrels appear to be adapted to use olfaction in social contexts, they could be a useful model for investigating how chemically mediated social recognition develops in birds. A first step is to determine whether diving petrel chicks can detect familiar and unfamiliar odours. We compared behavioural responses of chicks to three natural stimuli in a wind tunnel: soil collected from their burrow or colony, and a blank control. During portions of the experiment, chicks turned the least and walked the shortest distances in response to odours from the nest, which is consistent with their sedentary behaviour within the burrow. By contrast, behaviours linked to olfactory search increased when chicks were exposed to blank controls. These results suggest that common diving petrel chicks can detect natural olfactory stimuli before fledging, and lay the foundation for future studies on the role of olfaction in social contexts for this species
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