Does Age, Masculinity and Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Impact Covid-19 Vaccination Status?

The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted numerous aspects of daily life. The CDC states that one of the best ways to combat the virus to end the pandemic is high vaccination rates. However, despite this knowledge numerous US citizens remain vaccine hesitant resulting in lower vaccination rates across the country. Two possible variables that may explain the gap in vaccination rates is the adherence to traditional gender norms and vaccine conspiracy beliefs. To measure the effects of both these variables on vaccination rates two survey scales were used: The Male Role Norm - Revised Scale, (Brannon & Junni, 1984) and the Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (Shapiro et al., 2016). The results did not show a significant relationship between males’ levels of masculinity and their likelihood of being vaccinated. However, the results did show that women with lower scores of masculinity had increased voluntary vaccination rates. Further, the results demonstrated that both older individuals (50-60 years old) with higher levels of masculinity as well as those with high vaccine conspiracy beliefs had significantly lower odds of being vaccinated. Future research should investigate masculinity levels using more modern scales of masculinity and see if they are better predictors of vaccination status. Moreover, it is important to investigate effective methods to deter the spread of vaccine conspiracy theories, as well as identify ways to decrease a person\u27s belief in the validity of vaccine conspiracy theories

Quantifying the contribution of glacier runoff to streamflow in the upper Columbia River Basin, Canada

Glacier melt provides important contributions to streamflow in many mountainous regions. Hydrologic model calibration in glacier-fed catchments is difficult because errors in modelling snow accumulation can be offset by compensating errors in glacier melt. This problem is particularly severe in catchments with modest glacier cover, where goodness-of-fit statistics such as the Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency may not be highly sensitive to the streamflow variance associated with glacier melt. While glacier mass balance measurements can be used to aid model calibration, they are absent for most catchments. We introduce the use of glacier volume change determined from repeated glacier mapping in a guided GLUE (generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation) procedure to calibrate a hydrologic model. This approach is applied to the Mica basin in the Canadian portion of the Columbia River Basin using the HBV-EC hydrologic model. Use of glacier volume change in the calibration procedure effectively reduced parameter uncertainty and helped to ensure that the model was accurately predicting glacier mass balance as well as streamflow. The seasonal and interannual variations in glacier melt contributions were assessed by running the calibrated model with historic glacier cover and also after converting all glacierized areas to alpine land cover in the model setup. Sensitivity of modelled streamflow to historic changes in glacier cover and to projected glacier changes for a climate warming scenario was assessed by comparing simulations using static glacier cover to simulations that accommodated dynamic changes in glacier area. Although glaciers in the Mica basin only cover 5% of the watershed, glacier ice melt contributes up to 25% and 35% of streamflow in August and September, respectively. The mean annual contribution of ice melt to total streamflow varied between 3 and 9% and averaged 6%. Glacier ice melt is particularly important during warm, dry summers following winters with low snow accumulation and early snowpack depletion. Although the sensitivity of streamflow to historic glacier area changes is small and within parameter uncertainties, our results suggest that glacier area changes have to be accounted for in future projections of late summer streamflow. Our approach provides an effective and widely applicable method to calibrate hydrologic models in glacier fed catchments, as well as to quantify the magnitude and timing of glacier melt contributions to streamflow

The Role of Leisure in Coping with the Death of a Spouse among Women Participating in Bereavement Support Groups

ABSTRACT Over the life course, most people will have multiple encounters with bereavement, one of which is the death of a spouse. Ongoing research on issues associated with bereavement indicates that such a loss is generally the most highly stressful encounter in an adult’s life across the population as a whole. In view of the fact that our population is growing older and most women outlive their husbands, many women find themselves having to learn how to adapt effectively with their loss. This thesis presents the findings of a qualitative study, the purpose of which was to explore the role of leisure and social support in dealing with bereavement among eleven women who had been involved in bereavement support groups following the deaths of their spouses. Data were collected using in-depth interviews. The women described their intense experiences of loss, their involvement in bereavement support groups, the factors that led them to become involved and the ways in which this involvement assisted them in dealing with the loss and in reconstructing their lives. Also, they described the role of leisure in their lives after their loss and the ways in which their involvement in the bereavement support group helped them become re-involved in social leisure. The impact of the support these women received from the professionals and their peers in the bereavement support groups as well as the ways in which their adaptation to their loss was assisted were major themes that emerged from their personal stories. An attempt was made to develop grounded theory or at least a framework that would aid in understanding the relationship between the participants’ involvement in a bereavement support group and their gradual re-involvement in social leisure. It appears that participation in a bereavement support group contributes to a process whereby widows come to accept the loss and adapt or re-construct their lives as single individuals. Throughout the bereavement process, the meaning of leisure for the women in this study shifted from a means of keeping busy and distraction from the stress and anxiety associated with the death of a spouse to one of shared leisure engaged in for pleasure, enjoyment and social connectedness. A need for establishing partnerships between bereavement support groups and community leisure service organizations was identified. These types of links would further facilitate widowed women becoming re-involved in social leisure outside of the support groups in which they participate and help them become more involved in community life in general

Geochemical Reconstruction of Late Holocene Drainage and Mixing in Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory

The level of Kluane Lake in southwest Yukon Territory, Canada, has fluctuated tens of metres during the late Holocene. Contributions of sediment from different watersheds in the basin over the past 5,000 years were inferred from the elemental geochemistry of Kluane Lake sediment cores. Elements associated with organic material and oxyhydroxides were used to reconstruct redox fluctuations in the hypolimnion of the lake. The data reveal complex relationships between climate and river discharge during the late Holocene. A period of influx of Duke River sediment coincides with a relatively warm climate around 1,300 years BP. Discharge of Slims River into Kluane Lake occurred when Kaskawulsh Glacier advanced to the present drainage divide separating flow to the Pacific Ocean via Kaskawulsh and Alsek rivers from flow to Bering Sea via tributaries of Yukon River. During periods when neither Duke nor Slims river discharged into Kluane Lake, the level of the lake was low and stable thermal stratification developed, with anoxic and eventually euxinic conditions in the hypolimnion

Environmental Change in Garibaldi Provincial Park, Southern Coast Mountains, British Columbia

We are reconstructing Holocene environments in Garibaldi Provincial Park, in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, by examining a diverse set of paleoenvironmental records, including tree-rings, lake sediments, glacial landforms, and photographs. This integrated study, in combination with previous research in adjacent areas, is providing a more detailed picture of past climate, vegetation, and glacier extent in Garibaldi Park than has heretofore been available. The data suggest recurrent, complex, and successively more extensive glacier advances during the last half of the Holocene, followed by dramatic warming, snow and ice loss, and a rise in treeline in the twentieth century. The multi-proxy approach used in this study is broadly applicable to other mountain areas. It yields more reliable and robust paleoenvironmental reconstructions than approaches based on only one or two types of data. RÉSUMÉ Nous travaillons à reconstituer les conditions environnementales holocènes dans le parc provincial Garibaldi, dans la région sud des montagnes côtières de la Colombie-Britannique, en étudiant divers ensembles de variables représentatives du paléoenvironnement, dont les anneaux de croissance des arbres, les sédiments lacustres, les formes des paysages glaciaires, et des photographies. La présente étude synoptique, combinée aux résultats des recherches sur des régions adjacentes, nous fournit une image plus détaillée du climat, de la végétation et de l'étendue glaciaire d'alors dans le parc Garibaldi. Les données permettent de penser que durant la dernière moitié de l'Holocène, les avancées glaciaires ont été récurrentes, complexes et de plus en plus étendues. Par la suite, il y a eu réchauffement spectaculaire, déperdition de neige et glace, ainsi qu'une élévation de latitude de la limite forestière au cours du XXe siècle. L'approche par combinaisons de variables représentatives utilisées dans la présente recherche peut être employée tel quel pour l'étude d'autres régions montagneuses. Les reconstitutions paléo-environnementales sont plus fiables et plus sûres que celles reposant sur un ou deux types de données

Timing and Cause of Water Level Fluctuations in Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory, Over the Past 5000 Years

We reconstructed late Holocene fluctuations of Kluane Lake in Yukon Territory from variations in bulk physical properties and carbon and nitrogen elemental and isotopic abundances in nine sediment cores. Fluctuations of Kluane Lake in the past were controlled by changes in climate and glaciers, which affected inflow of Slims and Duke rivers, the two largest sources of water flowing into the lake. Kluane Lake fluctuated within a narrow range, at levels about 25 m below the present datum, from about 5000 to 1300 cal yr BP. Low lake levels during this interval are probably due to southerly drainage of Kluane Lake to the Pacific Ocean, opposite the present northerly drainage to Bering Sea. Slims River, which today is the largest contributor of water to Kluane Lake, only rarely flowed into the lake during the period 5000 to 1300 cal yr BP. The lake rose 7–12 m between 1300 and 900 cal yr BP, reached its present level around AD 1650, and within a few decades had risen an additional 12 m. Shortly thereafter, the lake established a northern outlet and fell to near its present level

Kinematic Analysis of the 2020 Elliot Creek Landslide, British Columbia, Using Remote Sensing Data

The 2020 Elliot Creek landslide-tsunami-flood cascade originated from an 18.3 Mm3 rock slope failure in quartz diorite bedrock in a valley undergoing rapid glacial retreat. We used airborne LiDAR and optical imagery to characterize the slope and its surroundings. Using the LiDAR, we determined that two rockslides (2020 and an older undated one) occurred on this slope and shared a common basal rupture surface. We mapped two main sets of lineaments that represent structures that controlled the orientation of the lateral and rear release surfaces. Analysis of the topographic profile indicates a wedge-shaped failure block and a stepped rupture surface. Further topographic profile analysis indicates the possibility of a structurally controlled geomorphic step in the valley that corresponds with a change in the orientation of the valley. The rapid retreat of the West Grenville Glacier and the positions of the rupture surfaces suggest glacial retreat played a role in the landslides

A multi-season investigation of glacier surface roughness lengths through in situ and remote observation

The roughness length values for momentum, temperature, and water vapour are key inputs to the bulk aerodynamic method for estimating turbulent heat flux. Measurements of site-specific roughness length are rare for glacier surfaces, and substantial uncertainty remains in the values and ratios commonly assumed when parameterising turbulence. Over three melt seasons, eddy covariance observations were implemented to derive the momentum and scalar roughness lengths at several locations on two mid-latitude mountain glaciers. In addition, two techniques were developed in this study for the remote estimation of momentum roughness length, utilising lidar-derived digital elevation models with a 1×1&thinsp;m resolution. Seasonal mean momentum roughness length values derived from eddy covariance observations at each location ranged from 0.7 to 4.5&thinsp;mm for ice surfaces and 0.5 to 2.4&thinsp;mm for snow surfaces. From one season to the next, mean momentum roughness length values over ice remained relatively consistent at a given location (0–1&thinsp;mm difference between seasonal mean values), while within a season, temporal variability in momentum roughness length over melting snow was found to be substantial (&gt; an order of magnitude). The two remote techniques were able to differentiate between ice and snow cover and return momentum roughness lengths that were within 1–2&thinsp;mm (≪ an order of magnitude) of the in situ eddy covariance values. Changes in wind direction affected the magnitude of the momentum roughness length due to the anisotropic nature of features on a melting glacier surface. Persistence in downslope wind direction on the glacier surfaces, however, reduced the influence of this variability. Scalar roughness length values showed considerable variation (up to 2.5 orders of magnitude) between locations and seasons and no evidence of a constant ratio with momentum roughness length or each other. Of the tested estimation methods, the Andreas (1987) surface renewal model returned scalar roughness lengths closest to those derived from eddy covariance observations. Combining this scalar method with the remote techniques developed here for estimating momentum roughness length may facilitate the distributed parameterisation of turbulent heat flux over glacier surfaces without in situ measurements.</p

Evidence for Large Holocene Earthquakes Along the Denali Fault in Southwest Yukon, Canada

The Yukon–Alaska Highway corridor in southern Yukon is subject to geohazards ranging from landslides to floods and earthquakes on faults in the St. Elias Mountains and Shakwak Valley. Here we discuss the late Holocene seismic history of the Denali fault, located at the eastern front of the St. Elias Mountains and one of only a few known seismically active terrestrial faults in Canada. Holocene faulting is indicated by scarps and mounds on late Pleistocene drift and by tectonically deformed Pleistocene and Holocene sediments. Previous work on trenches excavated against the fault scarp near the Duke River reveals paleoseismic sediment disturbance dated to ∼300–1,200, 1,200–1,900, and 3,000 years ago. Re-excavation of the trenches indicate a fourth event dated to 6,000 years ago. The trenches are interpreted as a negative flower structure produced by extension of sediments by dextral strike-slip fault movement. Nearby Crescent Lake is ponded against the fault scarp. Sediment cores reveal four abrupt sediment and diatom changes reflecting seismic shaking at ∼1,200–1,900, 1,900–5,900, 5,900–6,200, and 6,500–6,800 years ago. At the Duke River, the fault offsets sediments, including two White River tephra layers (∼1,900 and 1,200 years old). Late Pleistocene outwash gravel and overlying Holocene aeolian sediments show in cross section a positive flower structure indicative of post-glacial contraction of the sediments by dextral strike-slip movement. Based on the number of events reflecting ∼M6, we estimate the average recurrence of large earthquakes on the Yukon part of the Denali fault to be about 1,300 years in the past 6,500–6,800 years

The Emigrant\u27s Experience: Max Corvo, Fascism and World War II

Biagio “Max” Corvo immigrated to the United States in 1929 at just ten years old with his mother and sister. As an anti-fascist activist, his father had previously fled Sicily to the United States. The Corvo family settled in Middletown, CT where there was a burgeoning community of other immigrants from their hometown of Melilli, Sicily. When the U.S. entered WWII after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, many military age men volunteered or were drafted into the fight for their country. Relatively little attention has been hitherto paid to Italian Americans who contributed to the U.S. war effort and, in particular, to the military officers who helped turn the tide against the Axis powers. Max Corvo was one of these officers who made a difference in the struggle. He was a leading figure in the nascent intelligence movement (the OSS, a precursor of the CIA) and helped build the antifascist resistant in his native Sicily in preparation for the U.S. military landing there. Our research is based on the Max Corvo Archive (in the Watkinson Library, Trinity College). Besides learning about Corvo\u27s remarkable life and also about the early days of the American intelligence community, we seek to understand what Corvo\u27s journey and life story tells us about Italian Americans and their attitudes towards Italy during WWII, Italian nationalism both internal and external to the peninsula, as well as their motivations for fighting for the Allies in the war. Our study relies on primary archival sources, but also on the histories written about WWII in Italy and in particular about Sicily