Changing Attitudes About Spanking Among Conservative Christians Using Interventions that Focus on Empirical Research Evidence and Alternative Biblical Interpretations

To determine how brief interventions that include either empirical research evidence about spanking, alternative biblical interpretations related to spanking, or both, affect college students’ attitudes and intentions about spanking. A sample of 129 college students (70% female; 30% male; Mage = 19) attending a private, Christian, liberal arts, university were randomly assigned to one of three intervention conditions: 1) Research Only, 2) Religion Only, or Research and Religion. Four weeks prior to the intervention sessions, students completed a Demographic Form, the Religious Fundamentalism Scale, and the Attitudes Toward Spanking (ATS) scale. Following the intervention, students completed the ATS scale a second time. A two-way ANOVA indicated a significant main effect for the intervention condition and an interaction effect between intervention condition and religious fundamentalism, indicating that ATS change scores were impacted most significantly by the Research and Religion intervention condition (F (2, 123)=4.05, p=.02) with ATS scores demonstrating the greatest change within the Religious Fundamentalism Group in that condition (F (2, 123)=4.50, p=.01). A second two-way ANOVA indicated a significant main effect for conservative Protestantism (F (2, 123) =4.39, p=.04) but not for conservative Protestantism and their interaction. A brief intervention focusing on both empirical research on the effects of spanking as well as alternative biblical interpretations to scripture can reduce positive attitudes toward, and intentions to use, spanking. This study has implications for decreasing spanking use among Conservative Christians and for the development of training programs to reduce parents’ use of spanking as a disciplinary strategy

Colorblind Attitudes and Religious Fundamentalism as Predictors of Racial and General Campus Climate Perceptions

The present study aimed to understand the racial differences in perception of general and racial campus climate in college students, and investigate if colorblind attitudes and religious fundamentalism help explain these differences. A sample of 2,101 undergraduate students (MAGE=19.59, SDAGE= 2.33) attending a private, Christian college in Southern California served as participants in this correlational survey research. The sample consisted of 37.9% male (n=796), 62% female (n=1303), and 0.1% other (n= 2). The following racial/ethnic groups were represented in the sample: 3.4% Black (n= 72), 18.7% Asian (n= 392), 8.1% Latino/Hispanic (n= 171), 1.2% Middle Eastern (n= 25), 0.3% Native American (n= 6), 0.6% Pacific Islander (n= 12), 50.9% White (n= 1069), 1.4% Other (n= 30), 13.5% Biracial (n= 283), and 2% chose not to respond (n= 41). Results demonstrated significant differences in perceptions of general and racial climate between Whites and minorities. Colorblind attitudes were found to predict perceptions of general and racial campus climate (including racial experiences and university perceptions) (p\u3c .001), but religious fundamentalism only predicted general campus climate perceptions and perceptions of the university (p\u3c .001). The implications of this research are that some racial differences in perceptions of campus climate may be rooted in colorblind attitudes and religious fundamentalism. These implications may be relevant to higher education administrators seeking to find points of intervention to improve college campus climates. Key words: Campus Climate, Colorblind Attitudes, Religious Fundamentalism, Higher Educatio

A systematic investigation on the manoeuvring performance of a ship performing low-speed manoeuvres in adverse weather conditions using CFD

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) requirements for the control of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of shipping have raised interest in ship manoeuvrability in adverse weather conditions when compliance is accomplished simply by reducing the main engine power. In response, the IMO has adopted the guidelines for determining minimum propulsion power to maintain the manoeuvrability of ships in adverse conditions. In the present paper, a systematic investigation on the manoeuvrability of a ship with different low advance speeds in adverse weather conditions was conducted by means of an unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes solver. The numerical results demonstrated the contribution of low advance speeds to the course-keeping and turning circle manoeuvre, providing a practical insight into the manoeuvring performance of a ship with minimum propulsion power in adverse weather conditions. For the course-keeping control, the ship experienced more aggressive steering as the propeller revolution decreased in the oblique waves, while it appeared that the difference in the rudder deflection according to the change in the propeller speed in the head, beam, and following waves is negligible. The difficulty of the low speed turning manoeuvre was clearly noted when the direction of the incident wave was opposite to the direction towards which the ship intended to turn. It is believed that this paper can also be impactful in improving the guidelines of minimum powering of ships for safe navigation in adverse weather conditions

Path-following control problem for maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) in adverse weather conditions at low speeds

With the increasing popularity of autonomous vehicles, the maritime industry has focused on the development of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). An essential aspect of autonomous ships is their ability to follow a predetermined path at sea, as deviations from this path can jeopardize navigational safety, leading to accidents like collisions and grounding incidents. Therefore, ensuring that autonomous ships can safely navigate by following predefined routes is of utmost importance. Simultaneously, the implementation of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has raised interest in a ship's manoeuvring performance in adverse sea conditions, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has provided guidelines to determine the minimum propulsion power required to maintain ship manoeuvrability in adverse conditions. This study investigates the path-following performance of a ship operating at low forward speeds in adverse weather conditions using a free-running Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model, enabling accurate prediction of manoeuvring behaviour. The numerical results emphasise the significance of low forward speeds in enabling a ship to follow a predetermined route, offering valuable insights into path-following performance with minimum propulsion power in adverse weather. The study reveals that increasing propulsive power reduces deviations from the predetermined route when the ship encounters bow and beam waves. However, the impact of propulsion power on deviation is negligible in quartering waves during path-following control. This research contributes to improving guidelines for minimum ship powering, ensuring safe autonomous navigation in adverse weather conditions

Glutathione S-Transferase Omega 1 Activity Is Sufficient to Suppress Neurodegeneration in a Drosophila Model of Parkinson Disease*

Background: Glutathione S-transferase Omega has been shown to be associated with Parkinson disease