Program Evaluation: Diffusion from policy literature to improve assessment in information literacy instruction.

Assessment and program evaluation is a key aspect of the 21st-century academy and library, however, this critical service is often an afterthought or the responsibility of a librarian with little to no knowledge of data analysis or program evaluation. This brief lecture will cover the best practices in program evaluation through the framework of policy analysis. Diffusing best practices from outside disciplines will help build a more robust assessment program in information literacy instruction

Inverse Compton scattering on solar photons, heliospheric modulation, and neutrino astrophysics

We study the inverse Compton scattering of solar photons by Galactic cosmic-ray electrons. We show that the gamma-ray emission from this process is substantial with the maximum flux in the direction of the Sun; the angular distribution of the emission is broad. This previously-neglected foreground should be taken into account in studies of the diffuse Galactic and extragalactic gamma-ray emission. Furthermore, observations by GLAST can be used to monitor the heliosphere and determine the electron spectrum as a function of position from distances as large as Saturn's orbit to close proximity of the Sun, thus enabling unique studies of solar modulation. This paves the way for the determination of other Galactic cosmic-ray species, primarily protons, near the solar surface which will lead to accurate predictions of gamma rays from pp-interactions in the solar atmosphere. These albedo gamma rays will be observable by GLAST, allowing the study of deep atmospheric layers, magnetic field(s), and cosmic-ray cascade development. The latter is necessary to calculate the neutrino flux from pp-interactions at higher energies (>1 TeV). Although this flux is small, it is a "guaranteed flux" in contrast to other astrophysical sources of neutrinos, and may be detectable by km^3 neutrino telescopes of the near future, such as IceCube. Since the solar core is opaque for very high-energy neutrinos, directly studying the mass distribution of the solar core may thus be possible.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, emulateapj.cls, final version; published in ApJ Letters, added an erratum; conclusions unchange

Developing the Galactic diffuse emission model for the GLAST Large Area Telescope

Diffuse emission is produced in energetic cosmic ray (CR) interactions, mainly protons and electrons, with the interstellar gas and radiation field and contains the information about particle spectra in distant regions of the Galaxy. It may also contain information about exotic processes such as dark matter annihilation, black hole evaporation etc. A model of the diffuse emission is important for determination of the source positions and spectra. Calculation of the Galactic diffuse continuum gamma-ray emission requires a model for CR propagation as the first step. Such a model is based on theory of particle transport in the interstellar medium as well as on many kinds of data provided by different experiments in Astrophysics and Particle and Nuclear Physics. Such data include: secondary particle and isotopic production cross sections, total interaction nuclear cross sections and lifetimes of radioactive species, gas mass calibrations and gas distribution in the Galaxy (H_2, H I, H II), interstellar radiation field, CR source distribution and particle spectra at the sources, magnetic field, energy losses, gamma-ray and synchrotron production mechanisms, and many other issues. We are continuously improving the GALPROP model and the code to keep up with a flow of new data. Improvement in any field may affect the Galactic diffuse continuum gamma-ray emission model used as a background model by the GLAST LAT instrument. Here we report about the latest improvements of the GALPROP and the diffuse emission model.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures; to appear in the Proc. of the First Int. GLAST Symp. (Stanford, Feb. 5-8, 2007), eds. S.Ritz, P.F.Michelson, and C.Meegan, AIP Conf. Pro

Fighting Fake News and Biases with Cognitive Psychology

Fake news, faulty data, and questionable research outputs: how do we find the truth when so much information is uncertain? Part of this problem is cognitive biases in our decision-making process. The mind will create a durable narrative around knowns and ignore unknowns. Scholar Daniel Kahneman (2012) refers to this phenomenon as, What you see is all there is or WYSIATI. Another common heuristic, the availability cascade, causes the mind to prefer immediate examples that come to mind over more reliable information that is less easily recalled. These biases limit the accuracy of the information that people understand, as well as their own information-seeking behavior. While no one is immune to these cognitive processes, they are a significant issue to address in information literacy instruction. At Georgia Institute of Technology, we created a Fake News and Information Literacy program based on the current research from cognitive psychology, with the goal of equipping students to recognize fake news, faulty research, and personal biases. Rather than provide a list of safe resources, we teach students the skills to recognize authoritative work. Active learning techniques are a key part of each session, which is customizable to the needs of the individual class. Due to the high demand for these services from Georgia Tech faculty, we taught over 25 sections in the first semester this curriculum was offered

DEMONSTRATION OF A MULTIPLE DRIFT NET FOR AQUATIC ORGANISMS

Raspodjela kretanja ribljih jaja u rijeci korisna je za razumijevanje ekologije mrijesta pelagičnih riba. Vertikalni raspored jajašaca u vodenom stupcu važan je parametar koji opisuje transportne procese za istraživane vrste. Dizajnirana je mreža s više razina (pet pravokutnih mreža pričvršćenih na okvir) za vertikalno dijeljenje vodenog stupca u vodoravne slojeve za uzorkovanje tekućih uzgonskih čestica. Razmjestili smo višestruku mrežnu opremu za sakupljanje pored Moore-ovih sakupljača jaja u prohodni kanal kako bismo uzorkovali vertikalnu raspodjelu poluzračnih zrnaca poliakrilamidnog gela kao surogate za riblja jaja u vodenom stupcu. Vertikalna raspodjela zrnaca pretežno je pronađena u dubljim mrežama višestrukog zanosnog mrežnog zupčanika, dok su površinske mreže i sakupljači Mooreovih jaja imali manje zrnaca, što je slično s rezultatima drugih istraživanjima mrijesta riba, koji se prenosi pelagijom. Višestruka nanosna mreža je alat koji pokazuje sposobnost uzorkovanja vodenog stupca pod promjenjivim uvjetima protoka (dubina, brzina i turbulencija) za terenske podatke vertikalne raspodje jaja (ili surogata). Ovi empirijski podaci mogu kvantificirati vertikalne obrasce za modeliranje kretanja jajašca pelagijalom pri mrijestu riba.The distribution of drifting semi-buoyant fish eggs within a river is useful for understanding the ecology of pelagic-broadcast spawning fish. The vertical position of semi-buoyant eggs in the water column is an important parameter describing transport processes for these species. We designed a multiple drift net (five rectangular nets attached to a frame) to vertically divide the water column into stacked horizontal layers to sample drifting semi-buoyant particles. We deployed the multiple drift net gear beside Moore egg collectors in a wadeable channel to sample the vertical distribution of semi-buoyant polyacrylamide gel beads as surrogates for fish eggs in the water column. The vertical distribution of beads was predominantly found in the deeper nets of the multiple drift net gear while the surface nets and Moore egg collectors had fewer beads which is similar to the results in other studies of pelagic-broadcast spawning fish. The multiple drift net gear is a tool that demonstrates the capability to sample the water column under variable flow conditions (depth, velocity and turbulence) for field data on the vertical distribution of drifting eggs (or surrogates). These empirical data can quantify drift patterns of eggs for modeling transport and retention in pelagic-broadcast spawning species