Peak into the Past - An Archaeo-Astronomy Summer School

Our landscape has been shaped by man throughout the millennia. It still contains many clues to how it was used in the past giving us insights into ancient cultures and their everyday life. Our summer school uses archaeology and astronomy as a focus for effective out-of-classroom learning experiences. It demonstrates how a field trip can be used to its full potential by utilising ancient monuments as outdoor classrooms. This article shows how such a summer school can be embedded into the secondary curriculum; giving advice, example activities, locations to visit, and outlines the impact this work has had.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for School Science Revie

A Global Citizen of the Skies

Global citizenship plays an important role in today's schools. Many subjects taught in schools have already incorporated such ideas. Science and physics have also followed suit. However, when dealing with astronomy - a topic so seemingly far removed from society - it becomes difficult to imagine any links with global citizenship. At Nottingham Trent University observatory we have developed an activity ideal to transport the idea of global citizenship and deal with common astronomical misconceptions. It incorporates role playing in the inspiring environment of an astronomical observatory. In this activity stellar constellations with their myths and history pose an ideal opportunity to explore global citizenship. Students not only place themselves in someone else's situation, but also compare their different reactions when faced with a common situation. This idea is extended to analyse the change in constellation culture throughout time and the affect politics has had on constellations. In this article we outline the details of this activity and how it deals with common astronomical misconceptions. We also demonstrate its implementation into astronomy taught at schools. First results showing the impact the activity had on the students will also be given.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figure

Associations between diurnal preference, sleep quality and externalizing behaviours: a behavioural genetic analysis

Background - Certain aspects of sleep co-occur with externalizing behaviours in youth, yet little is known about these associations in adults. The present study: (1) examines the associations between diurnal preference (morningness versus eveningness), sleep quality and externalizing behaviours; (2) explores the extent to which genetic and environmental influences are shared between or are unique to these phenotypes; (3) examines the extent to which genetic and environmental influences account for these associations. Method - Questionnaires assessing diurnal preference, sleep quality and externalizing behaviours were completed by 1556 young adult twins and siblings. Results - A preference for eveningness and poor sleep quality were associated with greater externalizing symptoms [r=0.28 (95% CI 0.23–0.33) and 0.34 (95% CI 0.28–0.39), respectively]. A total of 18% of the genetic influences on externalizing behaviours were shared with diurnal preference and sleep quality and an additional 14% were shared with sleep quality alone. Non-shared environmental influences common to the phenotypes were small (2%). The association between diurnal preference and externalizing behaviours was mostly explained by genetic influences [additive genetic influence (A)=80% (95% CI 0.56–1.01)], as was the association between sleep quality and externalizing behaviours [A=81% (95% CI 0.62–0.99)]. Non-shared environmental (E) influences accounted for the remaining variance for both associations [E=20% (95% CI −0.01 to 0.44) and 19% (95% CI 0.01–0.38), respectively]. Conclusions - A preference for eveningness and poor sleep quality are moderately associated with externalizing behaviours in young adults. There is a moderate amount of shared genetic influences between the phenotypes and genetic influences account for a large proportion of the association between sleep and externalizing behaviours. Further research could focus on identifying specific genetic polymorphisms common to both sleep and externalizing behaviours

Effects of drought on groundwater-fed lake areas in the Nebraska Sand Hills

Study region: The Nebraska Sand Hills (NSH) lies in the western part of Nebraska, United States. We chose the north-eastern, central, and western parts of NSH with distinct climate, topography, and hydrology. Study focus: The study assesses the response of hundreds of shallow groundwater-fed lakes to drought. Total lake area (TLA), determined by classifying Landsat satellite images from 1984 to 2018, was juxtaposed with published Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and detrended cumulative PDSI (DeCumPDSI) at monthly and annual timescales. The PDSI and DeCumPDSI were time lagged to incorporate the preceding climatic effect (groundwater time lag) and evaluated against TLA using Bayesian regression analysis. New hydrologic insight for the region: TLA in the NSH respond to the seasonal as well as long-term climatic effects moderated by topography, surface, and subsurface hydrology. A higher determination coefficient R2 and lower mean square error of TLA at annual PDSI and DeCumPDSI illustrate the effect of long-term climatic fluctuations and groundwater influence: the evaporative losses from lakes are modulated by the lake-groundwater exchange, but the groundwater recharge has a longer response time to the drought. The study provides a simple method of assessment of the climate impact that results from the satellite data, gridded climate observation, and statistics for sensitive landscape of the NSH