118 research outputs found
Pro Se: Speech & Debate Mentoring Program for Justice-Impacted Youth Community-Engaged Learning Experiences of Cornell University Students
The Pro Se Speech and Debate Program is a student-led engaged learning program at Cornell University, housed within the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR). In this initiative, Cornell undergraduate and graduate students engage with justice-impacted youth (ages 14-17) in Central New York to provide mentorship and educational offerings. Cornell students serve as âspeech and debate coachesâ and peer mentors to youth involved in the Central New York Health Home Networkâs (CNYHHN) âRestorative Integrated Youth Servicesâ (RIYS) diversion program in Utica, New York. The primary goal of the program is to empower youth by building self-advocacy skills tied to supplemental academic opportunities provided by peer-aged mentors. Youth who complete the program receive a certificate of completion in âSpeech and Debateâ from Cornell and are provided opportunities for campus visits. The program is student-led in several ways, including curriculum design, service delivery, research/evaluation, and continuous improvement efforts. The program just completed its second year. In the first year, twelve youth mentees and seven Cornell mentors participated in a three- to six-month long mentorshipâsome mentorships were extended beyond the initial three months based on youth benefit and mutual interest in continuing the mentorship. Evaluative data from the first year of the program suggested that over 80% of youth program participants either made progress in their individual goals, or successfully graduated from the program. In the programâs second year, an additional ten youth and six mentors participated in the program with comparable progress and completion rates. Despite the programâs successes, the experiences of mentors varied significantly, with some mentors experiencing challenges engaging youth. Evaluation data for the project comes from a mentee survey administered at the beginning and end of the program, a mentor âchecklistâ administered monthly, and administrative data from the community partner. In addition to evaluation data, this paper provides three Cornell students\u27 experiences as mentors, to offer an additional source of qualitative programmatic information in the form of case studies of mentor successes and challenges. By design, the paper presents case studies from mentors who experienced: (1) significant youth engagement; (2) mixed youth engagement; and (3) low youth engagement. The goal of providing these perspectives is to gain experiential insight into barriers, facilitators, and strategies for increasing engagement. As such, the case studies span much different experiences working with youth, which are typical of the program
The Impact of Linguistic Form of Labels on Desire for Social Distance in Mental Health
The American Psychological Association, among other influential bodies, make recommendations on language for describing people with mental health conditions. The present studies test the impact of the recommended language on stigma. In Study 1, participants (nâ=â294) were asked to complete measures of desire for social distance from individuals given a diagnostic label in either person-first possessive, identity-first noun, or identity-first adjective forms. Familiarity with the diagnoses was considered as a potential influence on the outcome. The 3*2 (linguistic form * experience) factorial design was repeated for three diagnoses - schizophrenia, anorexia and alcoholism. In Study 2, the research was replicated with a sample recruited from the UK population via social media (nâ=â230). Factorial ANOVA was used for analysis. In contrast with previous literature, the studies found neither an effect of linguistic form (hypothesis 1) nor an interaction effect with familiarity (hypothesis 2). Research on this topic is in an early stage and, above all, it remains important to use language, which shows respect when talking to or about others
The Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation ExperimentâA Plan for Integrated, Large FireâAtmosphere Field Campaigns
The Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation Experiment (FASMEE) is designed to collect integrated observations from large wildland fires and provide evaluation datasets for new models and operational systems. Wildland fire, smoke dispersion, and atmospheric chemistry models have become more sophisticated, and next-generation operational models will require evaluation datasets that are coordinated and comprehensive for their evaluation and advancement. Integrated measurements are required, including ground-based observations of fuels and fire behavior, estimates of fire-emitted heat and emissions fluxes, and observations of near-source micrometeorology, plume properties, smoke dispersion, and atmospheric chemistry. To address these requirements the FASMEE campaign design includes a study plan to guide the suite of required measurements in forested sites representative of many prescribed burning programs in the southeastern United States and increasingly common high-intensity fires in the western United States. Here we provide an overview of the proposed experiment and recommendations for key measurements. The FASMEE study provides a template for additional large-scale experimental campaigns to advance fire science and operational fire and smoke models
Molecular lines as tracers of Compton-thick AGN ?
Recently, Papadopoulos et al., 2010 using sub-mm CO molecular line
observations of nearby ultra-luminous IRAS galaxies, (U)LIRGs, have found that
exceptionally large gas column densities (N_H > 10^25 cm-2) can be present
across some of the very dense gaseous disks that are typically found in these
objects. They also proposed a diagnostic for finding such sources using CO and
HCN molecular lines. Given that such high column densities are expected to
absorb any X-ray luminous AGN, yielding Compton-thick sources, we set out
toexplore whether this can be discerned using X-ray observations. More
specifically we examine X-ray spectral observations of 14 sources in their
sample, using public Chandra observations (0.5-10 keV) for eleven sources as
well as BeppoSAX results (2-100 keV) from the literature for another three
sources. Our goal is to find candidate Compton-thick AGN and to check whether
the molecular line selection criterion is successful in selecting such systems.
X-ray spectroscopy reveals four candidate Compton-thick AGN of which half fall
within the high obscuration region in the molecular line ratio diagnostics. Of
the remaining five sources falling into the `high dust obscuration' box, one
(Mrk273) is highly obscured (N_H ~4x10^23 cm-2) while in the other four the
X-ray emission is most probably associated with star-forming processes rather
than an AGN on the basis of their X-ray and mid-infrared properties. Overall,
we argue that although this method as expected cannot recover all Compton-thick
AGN, there are no examples of X-ray luminous AGN inside that region that have
low obscuration, suggesting that this method is efficient in finding heavily
obscured AGN in dust-enshrouded star-forming galaxies. The above results bear
important implications for future joint ALMA and X-ray observations for the
detection of Compton-thick AGN.Comment: To appear in A&A Letter
XMM-Newton observation of PG 0844 + 349
In a ~ 20 ksec XMM-Newton observation the X-ray transient radio-quiet quasar
PG 0844+349 was found in a historically high state compared to previous X-ray
observations. The quasar showed a featureless spectrum with a strong soft
excess over the extrapolation of a hard power law. Comptonization models or a
broken power law with Gamma_{soft} ~ 2.75, Gamma_{hard} ~ 2.25 and a break
energy of E_{break} ~ 1.35 keV represent acceptable descriptions of the
spectral continuum. In the Comptonization models the temperature of the
Comptonizing gas is considerably lower than generally found in (broad line)
Seyfert galaxies whereas the optical depth is much higher. As a similar
behavior has been seen in NLSy1 galaxies, it might be an indicator of the
different physical conditions in these two classes of AGN. During the
XMM-Newton observation the flux of PG 0844+349 varied achromatically in a
smooth, nearly linear fashion, by ~ 25 % on time scales of a few thousand
seconds, which puts some constraints on current models of Comptonizing
accretion disk coronae.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. A&A accepte
Marine substratum and biotope maps of the Maidens/Klondyke bedrock outcrops, Northern Ireland
The Maidens (including the North and Outer Klondyke) are a group of bedrock extrusions about 14 km northeast of Larne, off the coast of Northern Ireland (central point for Maidens Complex: 54°57âČ50.0, â5°42âČ20.0). Multibeam echosounder data have been combined with extensive ground-truthing to produce broad-scale substratum and biotope maps for the site. The bathymetry was used to derive rasters of slope gradient, rugosity, aspect, and fine- and broad-scale benthic position index which were used for further analyses with Principal Components Analysis. Ground-truthing data were used to create sample signatures and a Maximum Likelihood Analysis performed to classify the surfaces according to that signature. The supervised classifications generated distributions for three broad-scale substrata and habitat biotopes (six level three biotopes, four level four and one level five biotope). The maps provide critical information and distributions that greatly facilitate the conservation, management and monitoring of a proposed Special Area of Conservation
Extragalactic H_2O masers and X-ray absorbing column densities
Having conducted a search for the 22 GHz water vapor line towards galaxies
with nuclear activity, large nuclear column densities or high infrared
luminosities, we present H_2O spectra for NGC2273, UGC5101 and NGC3393 with
isotropic luminosities of 7, 1500, and 400 L_sun. The H_2O maser in UGC5101 is
by far the most luminous yet found in an ultraluminous infrared galaxy. NGC3393
reveals the classic spectrum of a `disk maser', represented by three distinct
groups of Doppler components. As in all other known cases except NGC4258, the
rotation velocity of the putative masing disk is well below 1000 km/s. Based on
the literature and archive data, X-ray absorbing column densities are compiled
for the 64 galaxies with reported maser sources beyond the Magellanic Clouds.
For NGC2782 and NGC5728, we present Chandra archive data that indicate the
presence of an active galactic nucleus in both galaxies. The correlation
between absorbing column and H_2O emission is analyzed. There is a striking
difference between kilo- and megamasers with megamasers being associated with
higher column densities. All kilomasers (L_H_2O < 10 L_sun) except NGC2273 and
NGC5194 are Compton-thin, i.e. their absorbing columns are < 10^24 cm^-2. Among
the H_2O megamasers, 50% arise from Compton-thick and 85% from heavily obscured
(> 10^23 cm^-2) active galactic nuclei. These values are not larger but
consistent with those from samples of Seyfert 2 galaxies not selected on the
basis of maser emission. The similarity in column densities can be explained by
small deviations in position between maser spots and nuclear X-ray source and a
high degree of clumpiness in the circumnuclear interstellar medium.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in A&
Pitt Political Review: GSPIA Edition (Spring 2011, Volume 3)
This volume of the Pitt Political Review: GSPIA Edition includes "Legal and Societal Injustice: Gender Inequality and Land Rights in Tanzania" and "The Transformation of Philanthropy in Sub-Saharan Africa: from Traditional Practices to the Establishment of Grantmaking Foundations." The aim of "Legal and Societal Injustice: Gender Inequality and Land Rights in Tanzania" is to increase awareness of the problems surrounding land rights and gender inequality in Tanzania's Karagwe District. "The Transformation of Philanthropy in Sub-Saharan Africa: from Traditional Practices to the Establishment of Grantmaking Foundations" discusses the effectiveness of African foundations in development over the long-term
Parsec-Scale Images of Flat-Spectrum Radio Sources in Seyfert Galaxies
We present high angular resolution (~2 mas) radio continuum observations of
five Seyfert galaxies with flat-spectrum radio nuclei, using the VLBA at 8.4
GHz. The goal of the project is to test whether these flat-spectrum cores
represent thermal emission from the accretion disk, as inferred previously by
Gallimore et al. for NGC 1068, or non-thermal, synchrotron self-absorbed
emission, which is believed to be responsible for more powerful, flat-spectrum
nuclear sources in radio galaxies and quasars. In four sources (T0109-383, NGC
2110, NGC 5252, Mrk 926), the nuclear source is detected but unresolved by the
VLBA, indicating brightness temperatures in excess of 10^8 K and sizes, on
average, less than 1 pc. We argue that the radio emission is non-thermal and
synchrotron self-absorbed in these galaxies, but Doppler boosting by
relativistic outflows is not required. Synchrotron self-absorption brightness
temperatures suggest intrinsic source sizes smaller than ~0.05-0.2 pc, for
these four galaxies, the smallest of which corresponds to a light-crossing time
of ~60 light days or 10^4 gravitational radii for a 10^8 M_sun black hole.
We also present MERLIN and VLA observations of NGC 4388, which was undetected
by the VLBA, and argue that the observed, flat-spectrum, nuclear radio emission
in this galaxy represents optically thin, free-free radiation from dense
thermal gas on scales ~0.4 to a few pc. It is notable that the two Seyfert
galaxies with detected thermal nuclear radio emission (NGC 1068 and NGC 4388)
both have large X-ray absorbing columns, suggesting that columns in excess of
\~10^{24} cm^{-2} are needed for such disks to be detectable. (Abridged)Comment: 36 pages including 5 tables and 4 figures; accepted for publication
in Ap
A comprehensive view of a strongly lensed planck-associated submillimeter galaxy
Fu, Hai et al.We present high-resolution maps of stars, dust, and molecular gas in a strongly lensed submillimeter galaxy (SMG) at z = 3.259. HATLAS J114637.9â001132 is selected from the Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) as a strong lens candidate mainly based on its unusually high 500 ÎŒm flux density (~300 mJy). It is the only high-redshift Planck detection in the 130 deg2 H-ATLAS Phase-I area. Keck Adaptive Optics images reveal a quadruply imaged galaxy in the K band while the Submillimeter Array and the Jansky Very Large Array show doubly imaged 880 ÎŒm and CO(1â0) sources, indicating differentiated distributions of the various components in the galaxy. In the source plane, the stars reside in three major kpc-scale clumps extended over ~1.6 kpc, the dust in a compact (~1 kpc) region ~3 kpc north of the stars, and the cold molecular gas in an extended (~7 kpc) disk ~5 kpc northeast of the stars. The emissions from the stars, dust, and gas are magnified by ~17, ~8, and ~7 times, respectively, by four lensing galaxies at z ~ 1. Intrinsically, the lensed galaxy is a warm (T dust ~ 40-65 K), hyper-luminous (L IR ~ 1.7 Ă 1013 L â; star formation rate (SFR) ~2000 M â yrâ1), gas-rich (M gas/M baryon ~ 70%), young (M stellar/SFR ~ 20 Myr), and short-lived (M gas/SFR ~ 40 Myr) starburst. With physical properties similar to unlensed z > 2 SMGs, HATLAS J114637.9â001132 offers a detailed view of a typical SMG through a powerful cosmic microscope.H.F., A.C., J.L.W., and S.K. acknowledge support from NSF CAREER AST-0645427. I.P.F. is supported by the Spanish grants ESP2007-65812-C02-02 and AYA2010-21697-C05-04. S.G.D. acknowledges partial support from the NSF grant AST-0909182. G.D.Z. and M.N. acknowledge support from ASI/INAF agreement I/072/09/0 (âPlanck LFI Activity of Phase E2â) and from MIUR through the PRIN 2009.Peer Reviewe
- âŠ