An exploration of young people in care’s experiences of school belonging in secondary school

Young people in care continue to be at an educational disadvantage in comparison to their peers who are not in care, despite government initiatives (Education Committee, 2022; Sebba et al., 2015). School has been acknowledged in the literature as a protective factor for children and young people in care as it is suggested to provide opportunities for success facilitated through consistent and supportive relationships in a safe and predictable environment (Macleod et al., 2021). The importance of belonging for young people in care, adolescence and secondary education has been highlighted in the literature (Hyde & Atkinson, 2019), including the association between school belonging and educational success (Somers et al., 2020). However, a review of the school belonging literature highlighted that limited research has been conducted with young people in care in the UK that centred their individual school belonging experiences from their own perspectives. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore young people in care’s school belonging experiences in secondary school in the UK. Semistructured interviews were conducted with three young people in care and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The analysis generated four group experiential themes that were important to the participants’ school belonging experiences. These themes related to the importance of relationships with peers and staff, engagement in school activities, perception of support related to their care status and school being a safe place to escape to. Implications for professional practice include the emphasis on ensuring a stable school experience for young people in care and supporting the development of relationships with peers and a key adult in school. This study has highlighted that young people in care are not a homogenous group which emphasises the importance of professionals seeking to understand their individual experiences and listen to their views

Healthy Lakes and Vibrant Economies: Linking History, Sense of Place, and Watershed Protection in the Belgrade Lakes Region

Using interviews, targeted questionnaires, and histori­cal documents, James Fleming and Erin Love show how history and “sense of place” can help encourage individuals to support environmental protection. The project they describe focuses on watershed protection in the Belgrade Lakes region of Maine, and is part of a larger Sustainability Solutions Initiative project in that region. They argue that “connection to place leads to caring about it.

An exploration of young people in care’s experiences of school belonging in secondary school

Young people in care continue to be at an educational disadvantage in comparison to their peers who are not in care, despite government initiatives (Education Committee, 2022; Sebba et al., 2015). School has been acknowledged in the literature as a protective factor for children and young people in care as it is suggested to provide opportunities for success facilitated through consistent and supportive relationships in a safe and predictable environment (Macleod et al., 2021). The importance of belonging for young people in care, adolescence and secondary education has been highlighted in the literature (Hyde & Atkinson, 2019), including the association between school belonging and educational success (Somers et al., 2020). However, a review of the school belonging literature highlighted that limited research has been conducted with young people in care in the UK that centred their individual school belonging experiences from their own perspectives. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore young people in care’s school belonging experiences in secondary school in the UK. Semistructured interviews were conducted with three young people in care and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The analysis generated four group experiential themes that were important to the participants’ school belonging experiences. These themes related to the importance of relationships with peers and staff, engagement in school activities, perception of support related to their care status and school being a safe place to escape to. Implications for professional practice include the emphasis on ensuring a stable school experience for young people in care and supporting the development of relationships with peers and a key adult in school. This study has highlighted that young people in care are not a homogenous group which emphasises the importance of professionals seeking to understand their individual experiences and listen to their views

Temporal-spatial modeling of electron density enhancement due to successive lightning strokes

We report results on the temporal-spatial modeling of electron density enhancement due to successive lightning strokes. Stroke rates based on World-Wide Lightning Location Network measurements are used as input to an axisymmetric Finite Difference Time Domain model that describes the effect of lightning electromagnetic pulses (EMP) on the ionosphere. Each successive EMP pulse interacts with a modified background ionosphere due to the previous pulses, resulting in a nonlinear electron density perturbation over time that eventually reaches a limiting value. The qualitative ionospheric response to successive EMPs is presented in 2-D, axisymmetric space. Results from this study show that the nonlinear electron density perturbations due to successive lightning strokes must be taken into account and varies with altitude. The limiting maximum electron density is reached earlier in time for higher altitudes, and the most significant effect occurs at 88 km. The limiting modeled electron density profile in the 83–91 km altitude range does not depend on the initial electron density

Temporal-spatial modeling of electron density enhancement due to successive lightning strokes

We report results on the temporal-spatial modeling of electron density enhancement due to successive lightning strokes. Stroke rates based on World-Wide Lightning Location Network measurements are used as input to an axisymmetric Finite Difference Time Domain model that describes the effect of lightning electromagnetic pulses (EMP) on the ionosphere. Each successive EMP pulse interacts with a modified background ionosphere due to the previous pulses, resulting in a nonlinear electron density perturbation over time that eventually reaches a limiting value. The qualitative ionospheric response to successive EMPs is presented in 2-D, axisymmetric space. Results from this study show that the nonlinear electron density perturbations due to successive lightning strokes must be taken into account and varies with altitude. The limiting maximum electron density is reached earlier in time for higher altitudes, and the most significant effect occurs at 88 km. The limiting modeled electron density profile in the 83–91 km altitude range does not depend on the initial electron density

Exploring the NRO Opportunity for a Hubble-sized Wide-field Near-IR Space Telescope -- NEW WFIRST

We discuss scientific, technical and programmatic issues related to the use of an NRO 2.4m telescope for the WFIRST initiative of the 2010 Decadal Survey. We show that this implementation of WFIRST, which we call "NEW WFIRST," would achieve the goals of the NWNH Decadal Survey for the WFIRST core programs of Dark Energy and Microlensing Planet Finding, with the crucial benefit of deeper and/or wider near-IR surveys for GO science and a potentially Hubble-like Guest Observer program. NEW WFIRST could also include a coronagraphic imager for direct detection of dust disks and planets around neighboring stars, a high-priority science and technology precursor for future ambitious programs to image Earth-like planets around neighboring stars.Comment: 76 pages, 26 figures -- associated with the Princeton "New Telescope Meeting

Inclusionary Housing Initiatives in North Carolina: A Case Studies Approach

While no statewide policies mandate that municipalities must develop housing at every income level, some cities and towns in North Carolina are determined to do so. They employ a number of different strategies and planning tools to see that a fair proportion of new housing stock is affordable to low and middle income households. A group of planners collaborate here to showcase successful outcomes in four places: Chapel Hill, Davidson, Manteo and Greensboro

Ring test evaluation of the detection of influenza A virus in swine oral fluids by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and virus isolation

The probability of detecting influenza A virus (IAV) in oral fluid (OF) specimens was calculated for each of 13 assays based on real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) and 7 assays based on virus isolation (VI). The OF specimens were inoculated with H1N1 or H3N2 IAV and serially diluted 10-fold (10(-1) to 10(-8)). Eight participating laboratories received 180 randomized OF samples (10 replicates × 8 dilutions × 2 IAV subtypes plus 20 IAV-negative samples) and performed the rRT-PCR and VI procedure(s) of their choice. Analysis of the results with a mixed-effect logistic-regression model identified dilution and assay as variables significant (P \u3c 0.0001) for IAV detection in OF by rRT-PCR or VI. Virus subtype was not significant for IAV detection by either rRT-PCR (P = 0.457) or VI (P = 0.101). For rRT-PCR the cycle threshold (Ct) values increased consistently with dilution but varied widely. Therefore, it was not possible to predict VI success on the basis of Ct values. The success of VI was inversely related to the dilution of the sample; the assay was generally unsuccessful at lower virus concentrations. Successful swine health monitoring and disease surveillance require assays with consistent performance, but significant differences in reproducibility were observed among the assays evaluated

Commentaries on viewpoint : physiology and fast marathons

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Health comorbidities and cognitive abilities across the lifespan in Down syndrome

Abstract: Background: Down syndrome (DS) is associated with variable intellectual disability and multiple health and psychiatric comorbidities. The impact of such comorbidities on cognitive outcomes is unknown. We aimed to describe patterns of physical health and psychiatric comorbidity prevalence, and receptive language ability, in DS across the lifespan, and determine relationships with cognitive outcomes. Methods: Detailed medical histories were collected and cognitive abilities measured using standardised tests for 602 individuals with DS from England and Wales (age range 3 months to 73 years). Differences in prevalence rates between age groups and between males and females were determined using chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests. In adults, rates for psychiatric comorbidities were compared to expected population rates using standardised morbidity ratios (SMRs). Adapted ANCOVA functions were constructed to explore age and sex associations with receptive language ability across the lifespan, and regression analyses were performed to determine whether the presence of health comorbidities or physical phenotypes predicted cognitive abilities. Results: Multiple comorbidities showed prevalence differences across the lifespan, though there were few sex differences. In adults, SMRs were increased in males and decreased in females with DS for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and anxiety. Further, SMRs were increased in both males and females with DS for dementia, autism, ADHD, and depression, with differences more pronounced in females for dementia and autism, and in males for depression. Across the lifespan, receptive language abilities increasingly deviated from age-typical levels, and males scored poorer than females. Only autism and epilepsy were associated with poorer cognitive ability in those aged 16–35 years, with no relationships for physical health comorbidities, including congenital heart defects. Conclusions: Our results indicate the prevalence of multiple comorbidities varies across the lifespan in DS, and in adults, rates for psychiatric comorbidities show different patterns for males and females relative to expected population rates. Further, most health comorbidities are not associated with poorer cognitive outcomes in DS, apart from autism and epilepsy. It is essential for clinicians to consider such differences to provide appropriate care and treatment for those with DS and to provide prognostic information relating to cognitive outcomes in those with comorbidities