The influence of life transition statuses on sibling intimacy and contact in early adulthood

The current project investigated the influence of three life transitions on the intimacy and contact siblings share in early adulthood. Using a web-based survey, 260 young adults from two large state universities and community members from the Portland, Oregon area were surveyed about their relationships with a single biological sibling. Participants were asked a series of questions concerning three life transitions (transition out of the parental home, transition to marriage or intimate partnership, and the transition to parenthood), contact (e-mail, phone, and personal), and sibling intimacy. Participants were also asked open-ended questions based on their responses to quantitative questions. A series of hierarchical linear regressions identified that sister-sister pairs were associated with the greatest levels of e-mail, phone, and personal contact, followed by the sister-brother, brother-sister, and brother-brother pairs. The gender of sibling pairs was not found to have an influence on the intimacy siblings shared. Coresidential status showed little to no influence on the intimacy and e-mail contact siblings shared, indicating that intimacy and e-mail contact did not appear to be influenced by the transition away from home for siblings. The phone and personal contact was however, significant with the transition away from home. The intimate relationship status of sibling pairs had little to no influence on the intimacy and phone contact shared by siblings. As predicted, those pairs in which both the participant and the sibling were single showed the greatest e-mail and personal contact. When looking at the transition to parenthood, e-mail contact was not influenced by the transition to parenthood, but childless sibling pairs identified the greatest levels of sibling intimacy and personal contact compared to all other pairs. Phone contact was the lowest for sibling pairs in which both the siblings were parents. Open-ended data offered a different explanation of the intimacy and contact between siblings. Feedback from participants indicated that intimacy was something that possibly remained consistent across gender and life transitions, even with a drop in personal, phone, and email contact. Implications and future directions were also explored

The Motivation for and Developmental Benefits of Youth Participation in County 4-H Fairs: A Pilot Study

The county 4-H fair is a way for 4-H youth to showcase their project work and receive recognition for their efforts, but it can also provide important opportunities for positive youth development. The study reported here sought to determine motivation for participating in county fair and the impact of fair on development outcomes. Results revealed that having fun was the biggest participation motivator. There were few significant differences in motivation for fair participation that were found between youth who participated in the market animal projects and those who did not. Analysis revealed that fair participation contributes to youth development outcomes

Directed Energy Interstellar Propulsion of WaferSats

In the nearly 60 years of spaceflight we have accomplished wonderful feats of exploration and shown the incredible spirit of the human drive to explore and understand our universe. Yet in those 60 years we have barely left our solar system with the Voyager 1 spacecraft launched in 1977 finally leaving the solar system after 37 years of flight at a speed of 17 km/s or less than 0.006% the speed of light. As remarkable as this is, we will never reach even the nearest stars with our current propulsion technology in even 10 millennium. We have to radically rethink our strategy or give up our dreams of reaching the stars, or wait for technology that does not exist. While we all dream of human spaceflight to the stars in a way romanticized in books and movies, it is not within our power to do so, nor it is clear that this is the path we should choose. We posit a technological path forward, that while not simple; it is within our technological reach. We propose a roadmap to a program that will lead to sending relativistic probes to the nearest stars and will open up a vast array of possibilities of flight both within our solar system and far beyond. Spacecraft from gram level complete spacecraft on a wafer (“wafer sats”) that reach more than ¼ c and reach the nearest star in 15 years to spacecraft with masses more than 105 kg (100 tons) that can reach speeds of near 1000 km/s such systems can be propelled to speeds currently unimaginable with our existing propulsion technologies. To do so requires a fundamental change in our thinking of both propulsion and in many cases what a spacecraft is. In addition to larger spacecraft, some capable of transporting humans, we consider functional spacecraft on a wafer, including integrated optical communications, optical systems and sensors combined with directed energy propulsion. Since “at home” the costs can be amortized over a very large number of missions. The human factor of exploring the nearest stars and exo-planets would be a profound voyage for humanity, one whose non-scientific implications would be enormous. It is time to begin this inevitable journey beyond our home

Arts for All Experience: Examining the experiences of individuals who receive SNAP benefits as they access arts through the Arts for All Program

Status symbols, are behaviors that individuals use to communicate their place in society (Goffman, 1950). A commonly noted status symbol is participation in the high arts. A recent study described types of music in categories ranging from high-brow, to middle-brow, and low-brow. It was found that consumers of music, particularly the high-brow, were motivated to attend concerts for reasons relating to social capital (Roose & Stichele, 2010). Arts for All is a program in Portland Oregon that offers access to high art performances by making five dollar tickets available to those who qualify for SNAP (Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program). The number of tickets purchased through the program is tracked by participating organizations, but little is known about the experiences of those who are accessing Art for All. The mixed method approach of surveying and one-on-one interviewing will be utilized to answer two questions 1) Are individuals receiving SNAP benefits aware of the Arts for All Program and why or why not have they used it? 2) What is the experience of individuals using the Arts for All Program, and what does it mean to them? A survey will ask SNAP recipients about their access to the program, and interviews will provide insight into the identity issues that arise when individuals who are low-income enter a space historically reserved the higher classes

Adolescent Environmental Behaviors: Can Knowledge, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy Make a Difference?

This article examines the relationships among adolescent environmental behaviors and self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitudes. It was hypothesized that adolescents who demonstrate more proenvironmental attitudes are more likely to demonstrate proenvironmental behaviors. It was further hypothesized that perceived self-efficacy would have a moderating effect on the environmental attitude-behavior relationship in that the relationship between proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors would be stronger among adolescents with high levels of self-efficacy. Participants were 848 students from three academically achieving high schools on the West coast. Hierarchical regression analyses were used for all subsequent analyses. Results indicated that proenvironmental attitudes significantly predicted proenvironmental behaviors and that environmental knowledge was a significant moderator for the relationship between environmental attitudes and environmental behaviors. This was especially true for males

Social Inclusion at the Neighborhood Level: The Community Partnership for Health and Equity

This presentation will discuss the central role of social inclusion in promoting social sustainability and present our experiences with a university-community partnership focused on eliminating health disparities