"Let Them Speak their Peace": A Retrospective Critical Race Exploration of Adolescent Black Male Social and Schooling Experiences, Identity Development, and Educational/Life Outcomes in Pittsburgh

How adolescent black males make meaning of their social and schooling experiences affects the development of identities that can serve as risk-factors for acedemic engagement, achievement, and life outcome. Although research on racial and ethnic identity among youth of color has flourished during the last two decades, little of that research has directly examined the relationship between identity, achievement, and life trajectory. There has been no research examining these relationships specifically in Pittsburgh, a city with historically deep racial educational and economic disparities. In order to better understand how identity influences academic engagement, educational outcomes, social choices, and life trajectories in Pitsburgh specifically and the U.S. more broadly, in-depth phenomenological interviews were conducted from a sample of 10 black men who attended Pittsburgh Public Schools. This exploratory study used the retrospective recollections of these men to examine the social and schooling experiences of adolescent black males in this context. Three respondents were selected from this sample and their respective interview data were crafted into narrative profiles. Critical race theory (CRT) was the primary paradigmatic lens through which these experiences were examined and the interview data analyzed and reported on. Findings showed four salient themes of respect, internalized racism, the power in words and names, and the CRT construct whiteness as property at work in their adolescent experiences. Two meta-themes of multiple interpretations of black masculinity, achievement, and race, and differend cut across all of the narratives. In a researcher reflection on the power of voice, the counter-story telling construct of CRT is discussed, revealing the positive affect and healing capacity it holds for black males. This discussion is a defense for maintaining the differend and is situated within an argument for the utility of CRT as an appropriate methodological and analytical tool to examine and disrupt the pervasive academic struggles of black males. Implications for the schooling of black males; why it is important to listen to what black men have to say about their schooling; new possibilities for educational policy and practice; and new ontological possibilites and ethical responsibilities for adults in schools are discussed as well

Folding kinetics of a polymer [corrigendum]

In our original article (Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 60446053) a convergence problem resulted in an averaging error in computing the entropy from a set of Wang-Landau Monte-Carlo simulations. Here we report corrected results for the freezing temperature of the homopolymer chain as a function of the range of the non-bonded interaction. We find that the previously reported forward-flux sampling (FFS) and brute-force (BF) simulation results are in agreement with the revised Wang-Landau (WL) calculations. This confirms the utility of FFS for computing crystallisation rates in systems of this kind.Comment: 2 pages, 4 figure

The Study of the Water Table and the Classification of the Overlying Strata

A study, based on ten holes on the University of North Dakota Campus, indicated that the water table in general is nine to ten feet below the surface and three distinct lithologic units lie above the water table

Optimal Rebuilding of Fish Stocks in Different Nations: Bioeconomic Lessons for Regulators

Under the rubric of sustainable fisheries, nations are mandated to rebuild overfished stocks. Although rebuilding strategies are almost universally directed by the available biological information, approaches vary depending on fishery laws, management objectives, and technical guidelines. For example, rebuilding schedules in the United States are primarily designed to achieve rapid rebuilding of biomass and spawning stocks consistent with the biological characteristics of the resource. In contrast, New Zealand has greater flexibility in rebuilding stocks in order to consider economic, social, and cultural needs. In this paper we investigate potential economic costs to the fishery that result by limiting the US manager’s flexibility in choosing a recovery trajectory. Using numerical models for moderate- and long-lived stocks, the analysis reveals that depending on productivity of the stock and the discount rate, extending the rebuilding timeframe can substantially increase annual harvests and economic benefits. The results underscore the importance of economic analysis in crafting flexible rebuilding schedules that account for the unique characteristics of the fisheries, including economic and social needs.Fisheries economics, fisheries management, K-selective species, rebuilding., Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q22, C61,

Change Blindness in Proximity-Aware Mobile Interfaces

Interface designs on both small and large displays can encourage people to alter their physical distance to the display. Mobile devices support this form of interaction naturally, as the user can move the device closer or further away as needed. The current generation of mobile devices can employ computer vision, depth sensing and other inference methods to determine the distance between the user and the display. Once this distance is known, a system can adapt the rendering of display content accordingly and enable proximity-aware mobile interfaces. The dominant method of exploiting proximity-aware interfaces is to remove or superimpose visual information. In this paper, we investigate change blindness in such interfaces. We present the results of two experiments. In our first experiment we show that a proximity-aware mobile interface results in significantly more change blindness errors than a non-moving interface. The absolute difference in error rates was 13.7%. In our second experiment we show that within a proximity-aware mobile interface, gradual changes induce significantly more change blindness errors than instant changes— confirming expected change blindness behavior. Based on our results we discuss the implications of either exploiting change blindness effects or mitigating them when designing mobile proximity-aware interfaces

‘Beyond the Scale’: A Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Weight Stigma Experienced by Patients With Obesity in General Practice

Objective: Obesity is a complex, chronic, relapsing disease that requires an individualised approach to treatment. However, weight stigma (WS) experienced in healthcare settings poses a significant barrier to achieving person-centred care for obesity. Understanding the experiences of people living with obesity (PwO) can inform interventions to reduce WS and optimise patient outcomes. This study explores how patients with obesity perceive WS in general practice settings; its impact on their psychological well-being and health behaviours, and the patients suggestions for mitigating it. Methods: In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 PwO who had experienced WS in general practice settings in Ireland. The interviews were conducted online via Zoom between May and August 2023; interviews lasted between 31 and 63 min (M = 34.36 min). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Three overarching themes specific to participants' experience of WS in general practice were generated: (1) shame, blame and ‘failure’; (2) eat less, move more—the go-to treatment; (3) worthiness tied to compliance. A fourth theme: (4) the desire for a considered approach, outlines the participants' suggestions for reducing WS by improving the quality of patient–provider interactions in general practice. Conclusion: The findings call for a paradigm shift in the management of obesity in general practice: emphasising training for GPs in weight-sensitive communication and promoting respectful, collaborative, and individualised care to reduce WS and improve outcomes for people with obesity. Patient or Public Contribution: PPI collaborators played an active and equal role in shaping the research, contributing to the development of the research questions, refining the interview schedule, identifying key themes in the data, and granting final approval to the submitted and published version of the study.</p

Solid–liquid interfacial free energy of ice Ih, ice Ic, and ice 0 within a mono-atomic model of water via the capillary wave method

We apply the capillarywave method, based on measurements of fluctuations in a ribbon-like interfacial geometry, to determine the solid–liquid interfacial free energy for both polytypes of ice I and the recently proposed ice 0 within a mono-atomic model of water. We discuss various choices for the molecular order parameter, which distinguishes solid from liquid, and demonstrate the influence of this choice on the interfacial stiffness. We quantify the influence of discretisation error when sampling the interfacial profile and the limits on accuracy imposed by the assumption of quasi onedimensional geometry. The interfacial free energies of the two ice I polytypes are indistinguishable to within achievable statistical error and the small ambiguity which arises from the choice of order parameter. In the case of ice 0, we find that the large surface unit cell for low index interfaces constrains the width of the interfacial ribbon such that the accuracy of results is reduced. Nevertheless, we establish that the interfacial free energy of ice 0 at its melting temperature is similar to that of ice I under the same conditions. The rationality of a core–shell model for the nucleation of ice I within ice 0 is questioned within the context of our results. © 2017 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4975776

"For Themselves and For Their Children": The Political Challenges, Nuances, and Triumphs of Eastern Kentucky's Schools

Thesis advisor: Marc K. LandyEducation - and rural education - was on LBJ’s mind when he declared “War on Poverty” from the front porch of a family cabin in Inez, Kentucky. In 2021, Lyndon Johnson would find his Great Society did not fully come to fruition. In this work, I explore how responsive federal, state, and local bodies of government are to the needs of underresourced schools in Eastern Kentucky’s rural, economically distressed coal counties. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP) scores demonstrate that Eastern Kentucky’s students are behind from the starting-line, thanks to economic, health, and developmental disparities. However, some school districts feature rates of improvement between fourth and eighth grade that exceed the national average, while others stay behind. This project’s central finding is that local investment is the variable most correlated with school improvement. Today, Appalachia remains a place where “working people, and those who wish there was work...battle for dignity and security, for themselves and for their children.” That battle for dignity and security, for better schools and better quality of life, has gone on for decades and continues today.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2020.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Departmental Honors.Discipline: Scholar of the College.Discipline: Political Science