Global Liberal Arts and New Institutions for 21st Century Higher Education

The history of liberal arts both in Europe and Asia is presented, along with a description of the ways in which liberal arts can prepare students for a turbulent future, shaped by rapid change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Aspects of global liberal arts that arise from earlier traditions within Asia are highlighted, with examples of curricula and institutions from India and China. Then a review of emerging new liberal arts programs in China, Japan, Singapore and India is presented, with details of some of the new universities and colleges being created with new curricula in Asia. The emergence of new liberal arts institutions in Europe, Africa, Vietnam and Pakistan is also reviewed, and these programs are connected both to more ancient traditions and emerging societal needs within their countries. The global interest in liberal arts is connected to the demands of the 21st century economy, and a review of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its exponential technologies is provided and connected to new curriculum that can engage liberal arts to solve global challenges. The resulting emergence of liberal arts arises since the skills of articulate communication, deep reflection and collaboration across cultures are ever more vital in the 21st century, making global liberal arts and its deep cultural roots an ever-vital form of education to prepare students for the future

The Lyman alpha forest of the high-z quasar 0000-263

Medium-resolution (delta(v) = 45 km/s) optical spectra of the bright, high-redshift (z = 4.1) quasar 0000-263 taken at the ESO 3.5-m NTT telescope were analyzed to determine the distribution of column densities, velocities and line widths of the Lyman-alpha forest absorption components. The values of NH, b, and z were determined by fitting Voigt profiles to the lines, and convolving with a Gaussian instrumental response function. Over 350 components with log N(sub H) greater than 13.2 were identified. An analysis of the dependence of the number of components with z reveals that the number evolution of components obeys the power law dN/dz varies as (1+z)(sup gamma), where gamma = 0.5 +/- 0.4 for the sample of 182 lines with log N(sub H) greater than 14.0. The distribution of component strengths is found to obey f(N(sub H)) varies as N(sub h)(sup -beta), where beta = -1.55 for components with log(N(sub H)) is greater than 14.7, and beta = -0.68 for the components with log(N(sub H)) greater than 13.5. A distinct break in the f(N(sub H)) histogram is also observed, at log(N(sub H)) is approximately 14.7. The results are briefly considered in the context of theoretical models of quasar Lyman alpha clouds and their evolution

Neutral gas and diffuse interstellar bands in the LMC

Tracing the dynamics of the neutral gas and observing diffuse interstellar bands in the LMC (Large Magellanic Cloud) was the focus of this study. The S/N values, a Quartz lamp exposure, a T horium Argon Comparision lamp exposure, and spectral plots for each star observed were taken. The stars observed were selected to sample the 30 Dor vicinty. NaI absorption profiles are included

Keck Echellette Spectrograph and Imager Observations of Metal-poor Damped Lyα Systems

We present the first results from a survey of SDSS quasars selected for strong H I damped Lyα (DLA) absorption with corresponding low equivalent width absorption from strong low-ion transitions (e.g., C II λ1334 and Si II λ1260). These metal-poor DLA candidates were selected from the SDSS fifth release quasar spectroscopic database, and comprise a large new sample for probing low-metallicity galaxies. Medium-resolution echellette spectra from the Keck Echellette Spectrograph and Imager spectrograph for an initial sample of 35 systems were obtained to explore the metal-poor tail of the DLA distribution and to investigate the nucleosynthetic patterns at these metallicities. We have estimated saturation corrections for the moderately underresolved spectra, and systems with very narrow Doppler parameters (b ≤ 5 km s^(–1)) will likely have underestimated abundances. For those systems with Doppler parameters b > 5 km s^(–1), we have measured low-metallicity DLA gas with [X/H] < –2.4 for at least one of C, O, Si, or Fe. Assuming non-saturated components, we estimate that several DLA systems have [X/H] < –2.8, including five DLA systems with both low equivalent widths and low metallicity in transitions of both C II and O I. All of the measured DLA metallicities, however, exceed or are consistent with a metallicity of at least 1/1000 of solar, regardless of the effects of saturation in our spectra. Our results indicate that the metal-poor tail of galaxies at z ~ 3 drops exponentially at [X/H] ≾ –3. If the distribution of metallicity is Gaussian, the probability of identifying interstellar medium gas with lower abundance is extremely small, and our results suggest that DLA systems with [X/H] < –4.0 are extremely rare, and could comprise only 8 × 10^(–7) of DLA systems. The relative abundances of species within these low-metallicity DLA systems are compared with stellar nucleosynthesis models, and are consistent with stars having masses of 30 M_⊙ < M * < 100 M_⊙. The observed ratio of [C/O] for values of [O/H] < –2.5 exceeds values seen in moderate metallicity DLA systems, and also exceeds theoretical nucleosynthesis predictions for higher mass Population III stars. We also have observed a correlation between the column density N(C IV) with [Si/H] metallicity, suggestive of a trend between mass of the DLA system and its metallicity

Empowerment of Home Health Care Case Managers

Background: Job satisfaction and feelings of empowerment positively impact home health care nurses by improving patient safety and patient outcomes. The project objective determined whether an empowerment educational module improved the feelings of empowerment and job satisfaction of registered nurses at a home health care agency. Methods: A quantitative, pre-test/post-test research study was conducted to measure the success of an empowerment educational module. Laschinger’s (2008) Nursing Worklife questionnaire was administered to 92 participating nurses, 46 were assigned to an experimental group and 46 were assigned to a control group. Participants in the experimental group were queried about their perceptions towards empowerment in home health care environments and their reactions towards the teaching module. Results: The educational module did not significantly impact the participants’ sense of empowerment and seemed to weaken the empowerment at times, albeit in statistically insignificant numbers. Six themes emerged from this discussion

Optical polarimetry and high-resolution spectroscopy of the Chamaeleon I dark cloud

Magnitudes of linear polarization in the UBVRI bands have been measured for about 30 background stars in the direction of the Chamaeleon I dark cloud. In addition, high-resolution spectroscopic observations in the wavelength ranges of the atomic species Ca II and Ca I and of the molecular species CH and CH+ have been performed towards the highly reddened and early-type stars selected fromthe polarimetry sample. The data have been used to study the magnetic-field structure, the relation between polarization and extinction, and the relation between molecular abundances and polarization properties in the cloud. In this contribution we present some of the results

CAMERA: a compact, automated, laser adaptive optics system for small aperture telescopes

CAMERA is an autonomous laser guide star adaptive optics system designed for small aperture telescopes. This system is intended to be mounted permanently on such a telescope to provide large amounts of flexibly scheduled observing time, delivering high angular resolution imagery in the visible and near infrared. The design employs a Shack Hartmann wavefront sensor, a 12x12 actuator MEMS device for high order wavefront compensation, and a solid state 355nm ND:YAG laser to generate a guide star. Commercial CCD and InGaAs detectors provide coverage in the visible and near infrared. CAMERA operates by selecting targets from a queue populated by users and executing these observations autonomously. This robotic system is targeted towards applications that are diffcult to address using classical observing strategies: surveys of very large target lists, recurrently scheduled observations, and rapid response followup of transient objects. This system has been designed and costed, and a lab testbed has been developed to evaluate key components and validate autonomous operations

Optical Polarimetry, High–Resolution Spectroscopy and IR Analysis of the Chamaeleon I Dark Cloud

We present optical polarimetry and high resolution spectroscopy of a sample of stars toward the Chamaeleon I dark cloud. We use our polarimetry which includes 33 stars to study the wavelength dependence of the degree and position angle of polarization.From our data we found, by interpretation of the various correlations between the polarimetry, photometry and IRAS fluxes, the following:the probable presence of shocked molecular gas; a warm molecular CH component; small dust grains at the edges of the cloud, and larger grains in the central parts, which are causing the polarization.Our results provide a consistent picture of the gas and dust content in the Cha I region, where larger grains, responsible of the starlight polarization, exist in the center of the cloud, surrounded by envelopes of warmer molecular and atomic material

Lambda Boo stars with composite spectra

We examine the large sample of lambda Boo candidates collected in Table 1 of Gerbaldi et al. (2003) to see how many of them show composite spectra. Of the 132 lambda Boo candidates we identify 22 which definitely show composite spectra and 15 more for which there are good reasons to suspect a composite spectrum. The percentage of lambda Boo candidates with composite spectra is therefore > 17 and possibly considerably higher. For such stars the lambda Boo classification should be reconsidered taking into account the fact that their spectra are composite. We argue that some of the underabundances reported in the literature may simply be the result of the failure to consider the composite nature of the spectra. This leads to the legitimate suspicion that some, if not all, the lambda Boo candidates are not chemically peculiar at all. A thorough analysis of even a single one of the lambda Boo candidates with composite spectra, in which the composite nature of the spectrum is duly considered, which would demonstrate that the chemical peculiarities persist, would clear the doubt we presently have that the stars with composite spectra may not be lambda Boo at all.Comment: Accepted for publication by A&A on June 3rd 200