Collisions with other Universes: the Optimal Analysis of the WMAP data

An appealing theory is that our current patch of universe was born as a nucleation bubble from a phase of false vacuum eternal inflation. We search for evidence for this theory by looking for the signal imprinted on the CMB that is generated when another bubble "universe" collides with our own. We create an efficient and optimal estimator for the signal in the WMAP 7-year data. We find no detectable signal, and constrain the amplitude, a, of the initial curvature perturbation that would be generated by a collision: -4.66 \times 10^{-8} < a (\sin{\thetabubble})^{4/3} < 4.73 \times 10^{-8} [Mpc^{-1}] at 95% confidence where \thetabubble is the angular radius of the bubble signal.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Optimal analysis of azimuthal features in the CMB

We present algorithms for searching for azimuthally symmetric features in CMB data. Our algorithms are fully optimal for masked all-sky data with inhomogeneous noise, computationally fast, simple to implement, and make no approximations. We show how to implement the optimal analysis in both Bayesian and frequentist cases. In the Bayesian case, our algorithm for evaluating the posterior likelihood is so fast that we can do a brute-force search over parameter space, rather than using a Monte Carlo Markov chain. Our motivating example is searching for bubble collisions, a pre-inflationary signal which can be generated if multiple tunneling events occur in an eternally inflating spacetime, but our algorithms are general and should be useful in other contexts.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figure

Mental Health Risk Factors and Protective Mechanisms for Post-Secondary Educational Attainment Among Young Adult Veterans

The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.Session 4. Presenter: Alexa Smith-Osborne, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore (2006) - "Mental Health Risk Factors and Protective Mechanisms for Post-Secondary Educational Attainment Among Young Adult Veterans".The Ohio State University College of Social Wor

A study of the weekday church kindergarten

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/2290/thumbnail.jp

Does the GI Bill Support Educational Attainment for Veterans with Disabilities? Implications for Current Veterans in Resuming Civilian Life

A secondary data analysis of the 2001 National Survey of Veterans (NSV) for 2075 Gulf War-era veterans was conducted to investigate whether the GI Bill (the Servicemen\u27s Readjustment Act of 1944, most recent provisions of which have been entitled the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post 9/11 GI Bill), considered as a social welfare policy, demonstrated protective effects for veterans with disabilities in terms of successful re-entry and sustained enrollment in higher education. Regression analyses to test the mediation effects of use of the GI Bill, use of non-Veterans\u27 Administration (VA)financial aid, and use of VA health services suggested mediation effects; however, post hoc testing did not yield significant results. Analysis of this and an alternative multiple mediator model using bootstrapping strategies for assessing indirect effects suggested that total and non-labor income and social support, not the GI Bill, mediate the effects of disability on educational attainment among this population. Implications for social welfare policies and programs to support this population\u27s access to and success in post-secondary institutions are highlighted

The Administrator Effect: How EL Education Principals Influence Teachers’ Ability to Overcome Challenge

Teacher attrition and movement are difficulties facing school systems today. A variety of concerns contribute to teacher attrition and movement including dissatisfaction, school staffing actions, classroom factors, lack of administrative support, lack of resources, and student performance factors. As a result, educators are prone to burnout due to the stresses of teaching, which in turn leads to attrition and movement. School principals can stem the tide of teacher dissatisfaction and attrition by providing technical and adaptive scaffolds for teachers. Leaders can begin to provide these supports by examining their own beliefs and actions around mindset, grittiness, and resistance to change. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to understand how EL Education principals used growth mindset and grittiness to help teachers to overcome dissatisfaction and the stressors of school. The study focused on the experiences of administrators in EL Education schools and how their beliefs around grittiness and mindset helped to foster a stronger growth mindset and grittiness in teachers so that teachers would willingly change practice. Participants in the study reported that teachers in EL Education schools felt stress in three areas: reporting student achievement, lack of student grit, and revising / implementing learning expeditions. In response to these stressors, the EL Education principals shared that they focused efforts to nurture a culture of revision, a common definition of grittiness, and stronger instructional practices across the school. The participants also shared that they used storytelling and structures for honoring teachers’ struggles to alleviate teacher dissatisfaction

How to Choose a Good Trail Horse

Trail riding has long been a popular use for the recreational horse, providing outdoor enjoyment for riders of all abilities. Good trail horses come in all shapes, sizes, breeds, and ages making it hard to make a final choice on which horse will carry you safely through your upcoming outdoor adventures. This information is meant as a recommendation to a potential buyer and the buyer must keep in mind their riding and handling capabilities as well as what they’re expecting of the equine

On the importance of cumulus penetration on the microphysical and optical properties of stratocumulus clouds

International audienceOwing to their extensive spatial coverage, stratocumulus clouds play a crucial role in the radiation budget of the earth. Climate models need an accurate characterisation of stratocumulus in order to provide an accurate forecast. However, remote sensing as well as in-situ observations reveal that on several occasions, cumulus clouds present below the stratocumulus, often have a significant impact on the main stratocumulus microphysical properties. This was observed during the ACE-2 (Aerosol Characterisation Experiment-2) campaign designed to study the impact of polluted continental air on stratocumulus formation. In this paper we used a detailed micro-physical chemical parcel model to quantify the extent of this cumulus-stratocumuls coupling. In addition, we made extensive use of microphysical observations from the C-130 aircraft that was operated during ACE-2. For the ACE-2 case studies considered in this paper, our analysis revealed that the chemical, microphysical and optical characteristics of the main stratocumulus cloud deck had significant contributions from cumulus clouds that often penetrated the stratocumulus deck. The amount of fine mode ionic species, the average droplet number concentrations, the effective radii and the optical depths during the flight A562 (when cumulus clouds interacted with the main stratocumulus) were estimated and model runs that included this effect yielded microphysical and optical properties which compared more favourably with the observations than the runs which did not. This study highlights the importance of including these cumulus effects in stratocumulus related modelling studies

Systematic Review of Veterans\u27 Coping Strategies: How Can Rural Veterans Improve Their Quality of Life?

This systematic review examines the empirical literature on an emerging body of coping strategies (CS), both civilian readjustment and health-risk related, experienced by United States military veterans exposed to combat stress and other military lifestyle stressors. Studies that met inclusion criteria were selected among quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies published in peer-reviewed journals. Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) criteria and Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) were applied to all studies. Seventeen reports meeting a priori inclusion criteria were extracted from 107 studies accessed through 9 electronic databases. Data were synthesized to investigate two research questions informing evidence-based practice. What coping strategies do veterans use to deal with past military experience(s)? What are the health-risk coping strategies that veterans employ to adjust to past military life? There were five types of coping strategies (CS) that occurred most frequently including cognitive, religious/spiritual methods, drug and alcohol sedation, avoidance, and behavioral approaches. Veterans learn multiple coping strategies and techniques for overcoming and adapting to the demands of war during their military service. However, some behavioral coping strategies are associated with negative health-risks and some may not be as effective in the civilian world as they once were during active duty. Thus, these findings may assist social workers in collaborating with rurally located veterans in selecting optimal strategies to protect their health and advance their post-military service life goals