Climate communication through a community perspective

This project utilized psychology and science communication strategies to develop creative, locally framed climate change messaging. Through an online survey of 300 Gloucester County, VA residents, community themes of place attachment, environmental connection, risk assessment and climate change acceptance were recorded. Using the results from the survey I created a website, https://guidinggloucester.wixsite.com/home, which serves as an avenue for communicating with Gloucester residents. The website displays the results of the survey, explains climate change information that is relevant to Gloucester County, and gives examples of local actions to help increase engagement in climate solutions. In addition to the website, I propose using signs modeled after the Gloucester symbol, the beehive, to display information about environmental concerns is areas that citizens reported being highly attached to. Using place attachment and addressing community specific concerns can serve as a guide for framing climate change through a community perspective in rural, coastal communities

Characterizing the Influence of the MoC Support for the Pt Single Atom Catalyst for the Water Gas Shift Reaction

In this report, we looked at characterizing the effect of the support (MoC) for the water gas shift (WGS) environment. The single-atom catalyst analyzed was platinum supported in molybdenum carbide. The primary focus of this report was CO* because of the strong interest in using the WGS reaction to convert CO* contamination. All calculations were performed using the density functional theory (DFT) method. We analyzed the binding energies for the different adsorbates, with a special emphasis on CO and charges of the support. We compared our results to Pt/Al2O3 support. We observed that the support, specifically MoC participates in the WGS reaction

Notes from the Existential Underground: The Universe as a Complex Emergent System

As academics navigate the existential tangle between speculation and experimental fact, the prospect of synergy between complex emergent systems wisdom and useful aspects of physics has never been better. One way to stimulate a new phase is to look outside of academia. The complementarity and contributions of two underground theories, one cosmological and one metaphysical, are discussed herein, with a focus on conceptual barriers to their comprehensive assessment and adoption

An examination of School Transition on Value-Added Growth in Arkansas

In this brief, we examine grade-level value-added growth scores during the years that students transition upward to a new building. We used five years of publicly available growth data to compare and make predictions about a grade’s value-added growth for mathematics and ELA during a transition year. We find that transitioning schools in 6th and 7th grade continually has an impact on value-added growth scores

Local Norms and Gifted/Talented Identification in Arkansas

In this brief, we summarize recent research from OEP examining if using school- or district-level norms from state assessments would increase the racial and programmatic diversity of Arkansas students identified as Gifted and Talented (G/T). Using ten years of administrative data to analyze the outcomes of a local norms approach compared to the current G/T identification strategies, we find no consistent evidence that using a local norms approach for G/T identification would improve racial or programmatic diversity

Prevention of smoking in Middle School Students: Psychometric assessment of the Temptations to Try Smoking Scale

Establishment of psychometrically sound measures is critical to the development of effective interventions. The current study examined the psychometric properties, including factorial invariance, of a six item Temptations to Try Smoking Scale on a sample of middle school students. The sample of 6th grade students (N = 3527) was from 20 Rhode Island middle schools and was 52% male and 84% white. The Temptations to Try Smoking Scale consisted of two correlated subscales: Positive Social and Curiosity/Stress. Structural equation modeling was implemented to evaluate the factorial invariance across four different subgroups defined by gender (male/female), race (white/black), ethnicity (Hispanic/Non-Hispanic), and school size (\u3c 200/ \u3e 200 6th graders). A model is factorially invariant when the measurement model is the same in each of the subgroups. Three levels of invariance were examined in sequential order: 1) Configural Invariance (unconstrained nonzero factor loadings); 2) Pattern Identity Invariance (equal factor loadings); and 3) Strong Factorial Invariance (equal factor loadings and measurement errors). Strong Factorial Invariance provided a good fit to the model across gender (CFI = .96), race (CFI = .96), ethnicity (CFI = .94), and school size (CFI = .97). Coefficient Alphas for the two subscales, Positive Social and Curiosity/Stress, were .87 and .86, respectively. These findings provide empirical support for the construct validity of the Temptations to Try Smoking Scale in middle school students

Prevention of alcohol use in middle school students: Psychometric assessment of the decisional balance inventory

A measurement model should be equivalent across the different subgroups of a target population. The Decisional Balance Inventory for the Prevention of Alcohol Use is a 2-factor correlated model with 3 items for Pros of alcohol use and 3 items for Cons. The measure is part of a tailored intervention for middle school students. This study evaluated the important psychometric assumptions of factorial invariance and scale reliability with a large sample of sixth grade students (N = 3565) from 20 schools. A measure is factorially invariant when the model is the same across subgroups. Three levels of invariance were assessed, from least restrictive to most restrictive: 1) Configural Invariance (unconstrained nonzero factor loadings); 2) Pattern Identity Invariance (equal factor loadings); and 3) Strong Factorial Invariance (equal factor loadings and measurement errors). Structural equation modeling was used to assess invariance over two levels of gender (male and female), race (white and black), ethnicity (Hispanic and non-Hispanic), and school size (large, indicating \u3e 200 students per grade, or small). The strongest level of invariance, Strong Factorial Invariance, was a good fit for the model across all of the subgroups: gender (CFI: 0.94), race (CFI: 0.96), ethnicity (CFI: 0.93), and school size (CFI: 0.97). Coefficient alpha was 0.61 for the Pros and 0.67 for Cons. Together, invariance and reliability provide strong empirical support for the validity of the measure

Infrared Dark Clouds in the Small Magellanic Cloud?

We have applied the unsharp-masking technique to the 24 $\mu$m image of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope, to search for high-extinction regions. This technique has been used to locate very dense and cold interstellar clouds in the Galaxy, particularly infrared dark clouds (IRDCs). Fifty five candidate regions of high-extinction, namely high-contrast regions (HCRs), have been identified from the generated decremental contrast image of the SMC. Most HCRs are located in the southern bar region and mainly distributed in the outskirts of CO clouds, but most likely contain a significant amount of H2. HCRs have a peak-contrast at 24 $\mu$m of 2 - 2.5 % and a size of 8 - 14 pc. This corresponds to the size of typical and large Galactic IRDCs, but Galactic IRDCs are 2 - 3 times darker at 24 $\mu$m than our HCRs. To constrain the physical properties of the HCRs, we have performed NH3, N2H+, HNC, HCO+, and HCN observations toward one of the HCRs, HCR LIRS36-EAST, using the Australia Telescope Compact Array and the Mopra single-dish radio telescope. We did not detect any molecular line emission, however, our upper limits to the column densities of molecular species suggest that HCRs are most likely moderately dense with n ~ 10^{3} cm-3. This volume density is in agreement with predictions for the cool atomic phase in low metallicity environments. We suggest that HCRs may be tracing clouds at the transition from atomic to molecule-dominated medium, and could be a powerful way to study early stages of gas condensation in low metallicity galaxies. Alternatively, if made up of dense molecular clumps < 0.5 pc in size, HCRs could be counterparts of Galactic IRDCs, and/or regions with highly unusual abundance of very small dust grains.Comment: accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

Documenting ---- in Bloomington-Normal: A Community Report on Intolerance, Segregation, Accessibility, Inclusion, and Progress, and Improvement

For the local chapter of Not In Our Town, we document intolerance, discrimination, segregation, disparities of access, and disparities in the criminal justice system in Bloomington-Normal, IL. Using archival material, secondary data, and primary data, we examine these issues from the mid-1990s to the present. We also assess the position of the organization in the community and provide strategies for future success. In sum, Bloomington-Normal was and is intolerant; discrimination did and does take place in this community; there are disparities of access and in the criminal justice system; we are segregated. The community is also less of these things than it used to be and is less of these things than other places. Fifteen undergraduate students in Sociology 300, twelve graduate students in Sociology 477, a teaching assistant, and an instructor conducted this study in spring 2017