Adaina ipomoeae Bigot and Etienne, 2009, new records for Florida and the West Indies (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae)

Specimens of a recently described pterophorid, Adaina ipomoeae Bigot and Etienne, 2009 (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae), were identified from Grenada, Dominican Republic, and Florida. All are new country records

The U.S. Science and Technology Workforce

[Excerpt] In the 21st century, global competition and rapid advances in science and technology will challenge the scientific and technical proficiency of the U.S. workforce. Policymakers often discuss policy actions that could enhance the nation’s science and technology (S&T) workforce— deemed by some as essential to both meet U.S. workforce demands as well as to generate the new ideas that lead to improved and new industries that create jobs. The America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) addresses concerns regarding the S&T workforce and STEM education, and the 111th Congress is debating funding for the programs authorized within it. Policymaker discussions tend to focus on three issues: demographic trends and the future S&T talent pool, the current S&T workforce and changing workforce needs, and the influence of foreign S&T students and workers on the U.S. S&T workforce. Many perspectives exist, however, on the supply and demand of scientists and engineers. Some question the fundamental premise that any action is necessary at all regarding U.S. competitiveness. They question whether or not the S&T workforce and STEM education are problems at all. The first issue of demographic trends and the future S&T talent pool revolves around whether the quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education received by all Americans at the pre-college level is of sufficient quality that workers are available to satisfy current and future workforce needs. In response, some policymakers propose taking actions to increase the number of Americans interested in the S&T workforce. These policies are motivated by demographic trends that indicate the pool of future workers will be far more diverse than the current STEM workforce. Proposed policies would take actions to enhance the quality of STEM education these Americans receive so they are able to consider S&T careers, and to recruit them into the S&T workforce. The second issue regarding the current S&T workforce and changing workforce needs tend to focus on whether or not the number of Americans pursuing post-secondary STEM degrees is sufficient to meet future workforce needs compared to students in countries considered to be U.S. competitors. The goal of proposed policies responding to this concern to reinvigorate and retrain Americans currently trained in science and engineering who voluntarily or involuntarily are no longer part of the current STEM workforce. The third issue focuses on whether or not the presence of foreign S&T students and workers is necessary to meet the nation’s workforce needs and attract the best and brightest to bring their ideas to the United States, or if the presence of such individuals adversely affects the U.S. S&T students and workers. Policy discussions focus on immigration policy, primarily increasing the ability of foreign STEM students currently in U.S. universities to more easily obtain permanent admission, and increasing the number of temporary worker visas available so more talent from abroad can be recruited to the United States. The challenge facing policymakers when making decisions regarding the S&T workforce is that science, engineering, and economic conditions are constantly changing, both in terms of workforce needs as well as the skills the STEM workforce needs to be marketable relative to demand

Immigration and the Future of Canada’s Population

This paper considers the effect of immigration on the size and demographic structure of Canada. Following a brief overview of the history of immigration in this country, we evaluate the effects of migration on population growth, age composition and geographic distribution. Immigration has a very limited impact on the age structure, and thus has very limited value as a tool to decrease the dependency ratio. However, given that fertility has stabilized well below the replacement rate for the past twenty years, immigration will play an increasingly important role in population growth and can be an effective tool to avoid population decline. However, because the vast majority of immigrants move to the largest cities, and below-replacement fertility rates are a country-wide phenomenon, immigration will do little to ameliorate population decline in all but the very largest metropolitan areas. Demographic arguments alone cannot be used to justify the level of Canadian immigration and there is nothing magical about the orientation to maintain population growth or avoid population decline. While one can argue that significant declines or particularly high growth may be problematic, it is not clear where the optimum may lie and this probably changes over time

Can research ethics codes be a conduit for justice? An examination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander guidelines in Australia

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, have historically experienced research as another means of colonialization and oppression. Although there are existing frameworks, guidelines and policies in place that respond to this history, the risk of exploitation and oppression arising from research still raises challenging ethical questions. Since the 1990s the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia has developed specific sets of guidelines that govern research with these populations in an attempt to redress injustices of the past. The current guidelines: Ethical Conduct in Research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Communities: Guidelines for Researchers and Stakeholders, 2018, emphasis six core values which are bound together by “spirit and integrity.” The values are reflected through respect for cultural inheritance, and genuine negotiation of partnerships between researchers, other stakeholders, and communities. We examine whether these guidelines can lead to research and research practices that redress some of the ongoing traumas of colonialization and racism. We draw upon Margaret Urban Walker’s formulation of restorative justice, based upon her “pragmatics of repair” which relies upon “voice, validation and vindication” and at its core, the restoration of relationships

Writing themselves in: a national report on the sexuality, health and well-being of same-sex attracted young people

This 1998 report is about young people who are attracted to their own sex. The need for accurate baseline figures about young people of non-heterosexual orientation has developed as part of a general concern about the spread of the HIV virus into the adolescent population and a specific concern around these young people’s emotional well-being. In the past three years, Australian adolescent research conducted by the National Centre in HIV Social Research, La Trobe University, has revealed that a significant minority of young people are not unequivocally heterosexual, with numbers ranging between 8 and 11% in recent research. Research which specifically targets this population has, until now, been conducted retrospectively and/or with people who identify as gay or lesbian recruited through gay and lesbian youth groups or the gay press. As researchers we know little about young people at pre-identity or pre-disclosure stages because their need for anonymity means they cannot be contacted through the usual channels. The young people represented in this project were accessed through an advertising campaign in National magazines, via radio and the Internet. A survey was available on a website and from the Centre for the Study of Sexually Transmissible Diseases. Surveys were also inserted in the gay and street press. These surveys sought information regarding sexual feelings and experiences as well as sexual and drug-taking practices in regard to STDs (including HIV) and related diseases. The source and adequacy of sexual health information for this group and their levels of support and experiences of abuse and discrimination were also elicited. The survey also charted young people’s perceptions of their quality of life and emotional well-being. In addition, participants were also asked to write stories about their experiences, including when they first knew about their sexual feelings, their relationships with family and friends, and their hopes for the future. &nbsp

Investigating students’ perceptions of graduate learning outcomes in mathematics

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions mathematics students have of the knowledge and skills they develop throughout their programme of study. It addresses current concerns about the employability of mathematics graduates by contributing much needed insight into how degree programmes are developing broader learning outcomes for students majoring in mathematics. Specifically, the study asked students who were close to completing amathematics major (n=144) to indicate the extent to which opportunities to develop mathematical knowledge along with more transferable skills (communication to experts and non-experts, writing, working in teams and thinking ethically) were included and assessed in their major. Their perceptions were compared to the importance they assign to each of these outcomes, their own assessment of improvement during the programme and their confidence in applying these outcomes. Overall, the findings reveal a pattern of high levels of students'agreement that these outcomes are important, but evidence a startling gap when compared to students' perceptions of the extent to which many of these - communication, writing, teamwork and ethical thinking - are actually included and assessed in the curriculum, and their confidence in using such learning

Comparison of Patient Satisfaction between Telehealth and In-Clinic Post-Operative Visits

Introduction: Telehealth has the potential to be an efficient, affordable, and accessible means to give care. In the field of Urology, its use has large potential but has not been well studied. We hypothesize that the use of telehealth for post-op nephrectomy patients will maintain the same level of patient satisfaction. We also hypothesize that telehealth visits will take less time and save patients money by eliminating the need to travel. Methods: From May through July 2019, post-nephrectomy patients who consented to the study were given either a telehealth or in-clinic post-operative visit. Outcome metrics and demographics information were obtained through the Epic® EMR Platform. Results: There were a total of 6 telehealth patients and 15 in-clinic patients in the time frame. Due to issues with the Epic® survey system, the satisfaction data cannot be presented at this time. The telehealth patient saved a mean of 19 miles of travel (range 6.9-32.5 miles). The in-clinic patient traveled a mean of 30.4 miles (range 0.8-60.9). Discussion: Due to insufficient data, it is difficult to make any reliable comparisons. Telehealth visits provide some benefit for patients by eliminating the need to travel. With more data, we expect the telehealth patients to be equally satisfied with their visits compared to in-clinic patients. We also expect telehealth visits to take significantly less time for the patients compared to in-clinic visits. This is an ongoing study, and we hope our data will be more robust in the future

Comparison of Patient Satisfaction with Telehealth and In-Clinic Post-Operative Visits

Introduction: Telehealth has grown rapidly in the healthcare industry as a time efficient, affordable, and accessible means to provide care. Jefferson’s Department of Urology currently employs telehealth for post-operative visits but its efficacy in post-nephrectomy patients has not been well studied. We aim to demonstrate that patient satisfaction is the same for telehealth versus in-clinic post-operative visits in nephrectomy patients. Secondarily we will examine distance saved for telehealth patients. Methods: We will administer an IRB approved questionnaire to all nephrectomy patients via the EPIC® EMR platform after their post-operative visit. Each questionnaire will be specific to telehealth or in-clinic and asks the patients to rate their experiences on a 5-point Likert scale. The study time frame is from May 2019-November 2022. Time and distance data for secondary outcomes was extrapolated from the EPIC® EMR. Results: Thus far there have been 35 in-clinic and 9 telehealth post-operative appointments. Patient satisfaction data will be collected in the future. Each telehealth patient saved a mean of 19 miles (6.9-32.5 miles) while each in-clinic patient traveled a mean of 30 miles (0.8-60.9 miles). Discussion: Delays of the project have left us unable to determine patient satisfaction at present. Future establishment of equal satisfaction may lead to increased provider utilization of telehealth. Our secondary outcomes are positive, reporting that telehealth patients saved both time and travel distance on their appointments. If the questionnaire ultimately reveals satisfaction with telehealth, the combination with travel distance saved leads telehealth in a forward-looking direction

Three new species of \u3ci\u3eCautethia\u3c/i\u3e Grote (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) from the Lucayan Archipelago and keys to West Indies species

. Five species of Cautethia Grote (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) occur in the Lucayan (Bahamas) Archipelago, three of which are new to science. Cautethia simoni Miller, Matthews, and Gott, new species, is described and illustrated from Mayaguana Island, Bahamas, and Providenciales and Grand Turk of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Cautethia gossi Miller, Matthews, and Gott, new species, is described and illustrated from Great Inagua, Bahamas. Cautethia geraceorum Miller, Matthews, and Gott, new species, is described from San Salvador Island. Diagnoses are provided and new island records are reported for the two previously described Bahamas species, Cautethia grotei Edwards and Cautethia exuma McCabe. A taxonomic key based primarily on genitalia is provided for males and known females of the ten described species occurring in the West Indies. COI barcodes were obtained from representative Bahamas specimens and analyzed along with existing barcodes

Additions to the plume moth fauna of The Bahamas (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) with description of four new species

Records of Bahamas plume moths (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) collected since 2011 are summarized and four new species described: Michaelophorus salensis Matthews, new species, Oidaematophorus androsensis Matthews, new species, Hellinsia bahamensis Matthews, new species, and Hellinsia lucayana Matthews, new species. Species accounts including illustrations of adults and genitalia, diagnoses, larval hosts, habitats, and distributions are provided. Of the 23 species found, new larval host associations are reported for two species while the life histories remain unknown for seven species