210 research outputs found
Designing a Summer Transition Program for Incoming and Current College Students on the Autism Spectrum: A Participatory Approach
Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face unique challenges transitioning from high school to college and receive insufficient support to help them navigate this transition. Through a participatory collaboration with incoming and current autistic college students, we developed, implemented, and evaluated two intensive week-long summer programs to help autistic students transition into and succeed in college. This process included: (1) developing an initial summer transition program curriculum guided by recommendations from autistic college students in our ongoing mentorship program, (2) conducting an initial feasibility assessment of the curriculum [Summer Transition Program 1 (STP1)], (3) revising our initial curriculum, guided by feedback from autistic students, to develop a curriculum manual, and (4) pilot-testing the manualized curriculum through a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test assessment of a second summer program [Summer Transition Program 2 (STP2)]. In STP2, two autistic college students assumed a leadership role and acted as âmentorsâ and ten incoming and current autistic college students participated in the program as âmentees.â Results from the STP2 pilot-test suggested benefits of participatory transition programming for fostering self-advocacy and social skills among mentees. Autistic and non-autistic mentors (but not mentees) described practicing advanced forms of self-advocacy, specifically leadership, through their mentorship roles. Autistic and non-autistic mentors also described shared (e.g., empathy) and unique (an intuitive understanding of autism vs. an intuitive understanding of social interaction) skills that they contributed to the program. This research provides preliminary support for the feasibility and utility of a participatory approach in which autistic college students are integral to the development and implementation of programming to help less experienced autistic students develop the self-advocacy skills they will need to succeed in college
The Morphological Butcher-Oemler effect in the SDSS Cut&Enhance Galaxy Cluster Catalog
We investigate the evolution of the fractions of late type cluster galaxies
as a function of redshift, using one of the largest, most uniform cluster
samples available. The sample consists of 514 clusters of galaxies in the range
0.02<z<0.3 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Cut & Enhance galaxy cluster
catalog. This catalog was created using a single automated cluster finding
algorithm on uniform data from a single telescope, with accurate CCD
photometry, thus, minimizing selection biases. We use four independent methods
to analyze the evolution of the late type galaxy fraction. Specifically, we
select late type galaxies based on: restframe g-r color, u-r color, galaxy
profile fitting and concentration index. The first criterion corresponds to the
one used in the classical Butcher-Oemler analyses. The last three criteria are
more sensitive to the morphological type of the galaxies. In all four cases, we
find an increase in the fraction of late type galaxies with increasing
redshift, significant at the 99.9% level. The results confirm that cluster
galaxies do change colors with redshift (the Butcher-Oemler effect) and, in
addition, they change their morphology to later-type toward higher redshift --
indicating a morphological equivalent of the Butcher-Oemler effect. We also
find a tendency of richer clusters to have lower fractions of late type
galaxies. The trend is consistent with a ram pressure stripping model, where
richer clusters have more effective ram pressure due to their higher
temperature.Comment: 44 pages, 15 figures, accepted for PAS
The Angular Correlation Function of Galaxies from Early SDSS Data
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is one of the first multicolor photometric and
spectroscopic surveys designed to measure the statistical properties of
galaxies within the local Universe. In this Letter we present some of the
initial results on the angular 2-point correlation function measured from the
early SDSS galaxy data. The form of the correlation function, over the
magnitude interval 18<r*<22, is shown to be consistent with results from
existing wide-field, photographic-based surveys and narrower CCD galaxy
surveys. On scales between 1 arcminute and 1 degree the correlation function is
well described by a power-law with an exponent of ~ -0.7. The amplitude of the
correlation function, within this angular interval, decreases with fainter
magnitudes in good agreement with analyses from existing galaxy surveys. There
is a characteristic break in the correlation function on scales of
approximately 1-2 degrees. On small scales, < 1', the SDSS correlation function
does not appear to be consistent with the power-law form fitted to the 1'<
theta <0.5 deg data. With a data set that is less than 2% of the full SDSS
survey area, we have obtained high precision measurements of the power-law
angular correlation function on angular scales 1' < theta < 1 deg, which are
robust to systematic uncertainties. Because of the limited area and the highly
correlated nature of the error covariance matrix, these initial results do not
yet provide a definitive characterization of departures from the power-law form
at smaller and larger angles. In the near future, however, the area of the SDSS
imaging survey will be sufficient to allow detailed analysis of the small and
large scale regimes, measurements of higher-order correlations, and studies of
angular clustering as a function of redshift and galaxy type
Rethinking energy, climate and security: a critical analysis of energy security in the US
Understanding the complicated relationship between energy, climate and security is vital both to the study of international relations and to ensure the continued survival of a world increasingly threatened by environmental change. Climate change is largely caused by burning fossil fuels for energy, but while discussions on the climate consider the role of energy, energy security debates largely overlook climate concerns. This article traces the separation between energy and climate through an analysis of US energy security discourse and policy. It shows that energy security is continually constructed as national security, which enables very particular policy choices and prioritises it above climate concerns. Thus, in many cases, policies undertaken in the name of energy security contribute directly to climate insecurity. The article argues that the failure to consider securing the climate as inherently linked to energy security is not just problematic, but, given global warming, potentially harmful. Consequently, any approach to dealing with climate change has to begin by rethinking energy security and security more broadly, as national (energy) security politics no longer provides security in any meaningful sense
Changes in Pharmacy Students After Experiencing Interprofessional Education Activities
Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) has become increasingly important among healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of IPE experiences on pharmacy studentsâ perceived level of comfort with and level of reliability regarding other healthcare professionals. Methods and Findings: A survey of third- and fourth-year pharmacy students (N = 190) was analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses to address the study objectives. Students experienced a significant increase in their level of comfort with questioning other professions after IPE (pre IPE: 5.45 ± 2.24 and post IPE: 7.22 ± 1.62, p<0.01) and being questioned by other professions (pre IPE: 5.39 ± 2.24 and post IPE: 7.04 ± 1.68, p<0.01). Students also experienced a significant increase in the perceived reliability and accuracy of information from nurses after IPE (pre IPE: 5.91 ± 1.82 and post IPE: 6.41 ± 1.62, p = 0.01). Conclusions: Pharmacy students who experienced any IPE perceived themselves as more comfortable with questioning and being questioned by other healthcare professionals than students without IPE. Additional research is needed to more clearly define the benefits of IPE and how it should be designed
Writing settlement after Idle No More: non-indigenous responses in Anglo-Canadian poetry
This article examines the representation of settlement in Canada in the wake of Idle No More in recent Anglo-Canadian literature. It argues that Idle No More engendered a new vocabulary for settler-invader citizens to position themselves in relation to this Indigenous movement, with non-Indigenous Canadians self-identifying as âsettlersâ and âalliesâ as a means of both orienting themselves with respect to Indigenous resistance to the settler-invader nation-state and signalling an attempted solidarity with Idle No More that would not lapse into appropriation. Four very different poetic texts by non-Indigenous authors demonstrate this reconsideration of settlement in the wake of Idle No More: Arleen ParĂ©âs Lake of Two Mountains (2014); Rachel Zolfâs Janeyâs Arcadia (2014); Rita Wongâs undercurrent (2015); and Shane Rhodesâs X (2013). Although only the latter two of these collections make explicit reference to Idle No More, all four of these texts engage with historical and current colonialisms, relationships to land and water, and relationships between Indigenous peoples and settler-invaders, providing examples of new understandings and representations of (neo)colonial settlement in post-Idle No More Canada
Psychometric properties of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) across cross-cultural subgroups, genders, and sexual orientations: Findings from the International Sex Survey (ISS)
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-nd/4.0/).INTRODUCTION: Despite being a widely used screening questionnaire, there is no consensus on the most appropriate measurement model for the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Furthermore, there have been limited studies on its measurement invariance across cross-cultural subgroups, genders, and sexual orientations. AIMS: The present study aimed to examine the fit of different measurement models for the AUDIT and its measurement invariance across a wide range of subgroups by country, language, gender, and sexual orientation. METHODS: Responses concerning past-year alcohol use from the participants of the cross-sectional International Sex Survey were considered (N = 62,943; M age: 32.73; SD = 12.59). Confirmatory factor analysis, as well as measurement invariance tests were performed for 21 countries, 14 languages, three genders, and four sexual-orientation subgroups that met the minimum sample size requirement for inclusion in these analyses. RESULTS: A two-factor model with factors describing 'alcohol use' (items 1-3) and 'alcohol problems' (items 4-10) showed the best model fit across countries, languages, genders, and sexual orientations. For the former two, scalar and latent mean levels of invariance were reached considering different criteria. For gender and sexual orientation, a latent mean level of invariance was reached. CONCLUSIONS: In line with the two-factor model, the calculation of separate alcohol-use and alcohol-problem scores is recommended when using the AUDIT. The high levels of measurement invariance achieved for the AUDIT support its use in cross-cultural research, capable also of meaningful comparisons among genders and sexual orientations.Peer reviewe
Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
Following the selection of The Gravitational Universe by ESA, and the
successful flight of LISA Pathfinder, the LISA Consortium now proposes a 4 year
mission in response to ESA's call for missions for L3. The observatory will be
based on three arms with six active laser links, between three identical
spacecraft in a triangular formation separated by 2.5 million km.
LISA is an all-sky monitor and will offer a wide view of a dynamic cosmos
using Gravitational Waves as new and unique messengers to unveil The
Gravitational Universe. It provides the closest ever view of the infant
Universe at TeV energy scales, has known sources in the form of verification
binaries in the Milky Way, and can probe the entire Universe, from its smallest
scales near the horizons of black holes, all the way to cosmological scales.
The LISA mission will scan the entire sky as it follows behind the Earth in its
orbit, obtaining both polarisations of the Gravitational Waves simultaneously,
and will measure source parameters with astrophysically relevant sensitivity in
a band from below Hz to above Hz.Comment: Submitted to ESA on January 13th in response to the call for missions
for the L3 slot in the Cosmic Vision Programm
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