The Crossroads of SHU SAACS

The student Chapter of the American Chemical Society at Sacred Heart University aims to bring science to the community and bring Sacred Heart closer to chemistry

Polymer-based treatments to control runoff, leachate and erosion from engineered slopes at Simfer Mine, Guinea, Africa

It is necessary to understand the erodibility and hydrological response of mine-site slope forming materials (SFMs), because of increasing awareness of the environmental impacts of mining. Steep engineered slopes in high intensity rainfall environments present a serious erosion risk. Temporary surface stabilisers, such as polyacrylamides (PAMs) and polyvinylacrylic latex (PVALs) are potentially cost effective erosion control solutions. In this study PAM and PVAL efficacy to reduce runoff, leachate and erosion was assessed at two application rates, with and without gypsum on SFMs from an iron ore mine in Guinea (West Africa). NSPASS (near-surface photogrammetry assessment of slope forming materials’ surface roughness) is a novel method that integrates digital image capture and GIS. It is shown to detect and quantify surface micro-relief changes of 2-3 mm, not visible to the naked eye. As expected, soil and non-soil SFMs were significantly different in terms of their physical and chemical properties. Phase I of the study investigated the erodibility of ten SFMs, including soil, ore and waste-rock. The results indicate that the hydrological response to rainfall of most SFMs is to generate leachate. Weathered phyllite (PHY-WEA) is the most erodible SFM by both runoff and leachate. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that magnetic susceptibility, mineralogy and dry aggregate distribution; parameters not commonly assessed in erosion studies, are important in explaining SFM erodibility and hydrological response. Phase II evaluated critically the effectiveness of three commercially available polymer solutions (two PAMs and one PVAL) at reducing runoff, leachate and erosion from four of the most erodible SFMs identified in Phase I. The results indicate that some PAM and PVAL treatments significantly reduce runoff, leachate and erosion. Polymer efficacy is highly dependent on the physical and chemical properties of the SFM, as well as the mechanism of polymer to SFM adsorption. Increasing the application rate of select treatments lowered leachate volumes, runoff and leachate total sediment loads. Contrary to previous studies, gypsum amendments did not significantly improve polymer efficiency. This research has added to our understanding of the erodibility and hydrological response of soil and non-soil SFMs. This is the first study to evaluate critically the efficacy of PVALs in controlling erosion from mine-site SFMs. Future studies should continue to optimise NSPASS performance in monitoring changes in surface micro-relief

Supporting community innovators: An evaluation of the Sexual Offender Program of Community Justice Initiatives, Kitchener, Ontario

This thesis is an utilization-focussed evaluation of the Sexual Offender Program of Community Justice Initiatives (CJI) of Kitchener, ON. The evaluation was guided by a steering committee consisting of program stakeholders. The main goals of the study were to examine whether the program offers services which correspond to the program’s three newly stated outcome objectives and to gain program participants’ and volunteers’ suggestions to improve the program services. The study is also aimed to examine how well participants achieved the three program objectives. Information for the evaluation was gained through focus group interviews with program participants, telephone interviews with support persons of the program participants, questionnaires completed by program participants, and questionnaires completed by volunteer group facilitators. The assessment of the program was very positive. The findings suggested that the program services match the newly-stated outcome objectives of the program. In addition, program participants and their support persons reported that the three objectives are outcomes of program for participants. An additional outcome of the program which was apparent in the data was the participants’ “sense of belonging” and feelings of empowerment. The recommendations of the evaluation for the program are: 1) to state “to increase participants’ sense of empowerment to cope with their lives” as a primary outcome-objective; 2) the program may wish to provide detailed descriptions on how it teaches specific Relapse Prevention (RP) skills. RP is a self-control program (that originated in the field of addictive disorders) designed to teach individuals who are trying to change their behaviour how to anticipate and cope with the problem of relapse, or as in the case of sex offenders, the problem of re-offending (George & Marlatt, 1989); 3) the program may wish to mandate that within each group term that the specific RP skills (e.g. recognizing high-risk situations, understanding their offence cycles) be addressed; 4) to develop or find in the research literature short and simple measures of specific RP skills to administer at the intake assessment and termination from group therapy to allow the program greater credibility in the view of funding sources; 5) to develop a council of program participants to consult on strategies to further involve participants in the program; 6) to improve SATP’s volunteer training in the area of the RP skill topics; and 7) to state as a program mandate, “to conduct research in the area of empowerment and sexual offender treatment.” The final conclusion of the evaluation was that the Sexual Offender program of SATP is an unique service that successfully combines the cognitive-behavioural principles of the Relapse Prevention model of sex offender treatment with a self-determining and empowering approach for its participants

Interpretation of Illness and Covid-19

Both during and following the global pandemic of Covid-19, there appears to be an increased need to rediscover purpose and promote physical and emotional well-being. The philosophy of social constructionism presents the opportunity to explore the socially inherited interpretations of illness and increase awareness of their often unconscious influence on our attitudes and choices. This article explores how application of this philosophy in occupational therapy might assist in improving outcomes for well-being

The Life Purpose Questionnaire: a Factor-Analytic Investigation

Meaning in life has been a popular topic of philosophy and study, and the perceived presence of meaning in one\u27s life has been associated with many positive psychological variables (e.g., life satisfaction), while the perceived absence of meaning has been associated with negative variables (e.g., depression). The Purpose in Life test (PIL) was developed in order to assess the amount of perceived meaning in a person\u27s life. Despite good psychometric support, there have been questions about the structural validity of the measure (i.e., only one model has been replicated, consisting of two factors that reflect exciting life and purpose in life) as well as assertions that it is difficult to understand. The Life Purpose Questionnaire (LPQ) was derived from the PIL and addresses its shortcomings. Although it is easier to understand, there have been no previous investigations as to its factor structure. A final sample of 908 students at the University of Mississippi completed the LPQ, and its factorial structure was examined. Analyses revealed two distinct factors that seem to reflect similar concepts as those of the PIL (i.e., exciting life and purpose in life). Factor loadings ranged from .34 to .87, and the internal consistency coefficient ranged from acceptable to excellent (.79 for the total measure, .84 for factor one, .92 for factor two). Despite similarity in concepts, the factors were not comprised of the same items, although there was some overlap in items that loaded onto each factor for the PIL and the LPQ. Limitations of research include a homogeneous sample and speculation regarding what the LPQ factors actually measure. Future research will include replication of the factor structure as well as investigating associations between the factors and other constructs in order to better determine what each factor is assesses

Gabrielle Roy en anthologie. Corpus et inventaire

La première partie de ce document évoque brièvement quelques-unes des pistes de réflexion dégagées au cours de l’établissement d’un inventaire des textes de l’écrivaine Gabrielle Roy parus dans des anthologies de langue française et anglaise. L’inventaire lui-même est complété par des graphiques illustrant, au fil des ans, les « fortunes » anthologiques des textes les plus importants de Roy. Une bibliographie des oeuvres de la romancière et de leurs traductions anglaises vient clore le document.The first part of this document briefly evokes some of the areas of reflection that emerged in the course of the project whose outcome is here described: establishing an inventory of texts by Gabrielle Roy in French—and English—language anthologies. The inventory itself follows the introduction and is completed by graphs showing the anthological “fortunes” of Roy’s most important texts over the years. The document ends with a bibliography of the novelist’s works in the original French and in English translation.La primera parte de este documento evoca brevemente algunas de las pistas de reflexión extraídas durante la labor de repertoriado cuyos resultados se presentan aquí, esto es, un inventario de los textos de la escritora Gabrielle Roy publicados en antologías en lengua francesa e inglesa. El mismo inventario sigue a la introducción y se complementa con gráficas que ilustran las ‘fortunas’ antológicas, a lo largo de los años, de los textos más importantes de Roy. Una bibliografía de las obras de la novelista y sus traducciones al inglés viene a clausurar el documento

No Vertical Visual Field Asymmetry in Online Control: Evidence from Reaching in Depth

We sought to determine whether a putative lower-visual field (loVF) advantage for projections to the visuomotor networks of the dorsal visual pathway influences online reaching control. Participants reached to 3-dimensional depth targets presented in the loVF and upper-visual field (upVF) in binocular and monocular visual conditions, and when online vision was available (i.e., closed-loop) or unavailable (i.e., open-loop). To examine the degree to which responses were controlled online we computed the proportion of variance (R2) explained by the spatial position of the limb at distinct stages in the reaching trajectory relative to a response’s ultimate movement endpoint. Results showed that binocular and closed-loop reaches exhibited shorter movement times and more online corrections (i.e., smaller R2 values) than their monocular and open-loop counterparts. Notably, however, loVF and upper-visual field reaches exhibited equivalent performance metrics across all experimental conditions. Accordingly, results provide no evidence of a loVF advantage for online reaching control to 3-dimensional targets

Tubular carbonate concretions as hydrocarbon migration pathways? Examples from North Island, New Zealand

Cold seep carbonate deposits are associated with the development on the sea floor of distinctive chemosyn¬thetic animal communities and carbonate minerali¬sation as a consequence of microbially mediated anaerobic oxidation of methane. Several possible sources of the methane exist, identifiable from the carbon isotope values of the carbonate precipitates. In the modern, seep carbonates can occur on the sea floor above petroleum reservoirs where an important origin can be from ascending thermogenic hydrocar¬bons. The character of geological structures marking the ascent pathways from deep in the subsurface to shallow subsurface levels are poorly understood, but one such structure resulting from focused fluid flow may be tubular carbonate concretions. Several mudrock-dominated Cenozoic (especially Miocene) sedimentary formations in the North Island of New Zealand include carbonate concretions having a wide range of tubular morphologies. The concretions are typically oriented at high angles to bedding, and often have a central conduit that is either empty or filled with late stage cements. Stable isotope analyses (δ13C, δ18O) suggest that the carbonate cements in the concretions precipitated mainly from ascending methane, likely sourced from a mixture of deep thermogenic and shallow biogenic sources. A clear link between the tubular concretions and overlying paleo-sea floor seep-carbonate deposits exists at some sites. We suggest that the tubular carbonate concretions mark the subsurface plumbing network of cold seep systems. When exposed and accessible in outcrop, they afford an opportunity to investigate the geochemical evolution of cold seeps, and possibly also the nature of linkages between subsurface and surface portions of such a system. Seep field development has implications for the characterisation of fluid flow in sedimentary basins, for the global carbon cycle, for exerting a biogeochemical influence on the development of marine communities, and for the evaluation of future hydrocarbon resources, recovery, and drilling and production hazards. These matters remain to be fully assessed within a petroleum systems framework for New Zealand’s Cenozoic sedimentary basins

The efect of school summer holidays on inequalities in children and young people’s mental health and cognitive ability in the UK using data from the millennium cohort study

Background: Summer learning loss has been the subject of longstanding concern among researchers, the public and policy makers. The aim of the current research was to investigate inequality changes in children’s mental health and cognitive ability across the summer holidays. Methods: We conducted linear and logistic regression analysis of mental health (borderline-abnormal total difculty and prosocial scores on the strengths and difculties questionnaire (SDQ)) and verbal cognitive ability (reading, verbal reasoning or vocabulary) at ages 7, 11 and 14, comparing UK Millennium Cohort Study members who were interviewed before and after the school summer holidays. Inequalities were assessed by including interaction terms in the outcome models between a discrete binary variable with values representing time periods and maternal academic qualifcations. Coefcients of the interaction terms were interpreted as changes from the pre- to post-holiday period in the extent of inequality in the outcome between participants whose mothers had high or low educational qualifcations. Separate models were ftted for each age group and outcome. We used inverse probability weights to allow for diferences in the characteristics of cohort members assessed before and after the summer holidays. Results: Mental health (borderline/abnormal SDQ total and prosocial scores) at ages 7 and 14 worsened and verbal cognitive ability scores at age 7 were lower among those surveyed after the summer holidays. Mental health inequalities were larger after the holidays at age 7 ([OR=1.4; 95%CI (0.6, 3.2) and 14: [OR=1.5; 95%CI (0.7, 3.2)], but changed little at age 11 (OR=0.9; 95%CI (0.4, 2.6)]. There were diferences in pro-social behaviours among those surveyed before/after the school holidays at age 14 [OR=1.2; 95%CI (0.5, 3.5)] but not at age 7 or 11. There was little change in inequalities in verbal cognitive ability scores over the school holidays [Age 7: b=1.3; 95%CI (−3.3, 6.0); Age 11: b=−0.7; 95%CI (−4.3, 2.8); Age 14: b=−0.3; 95%CI (−1.0, 0.4)]. Conclusion: We found inequalities in mental health and cognitive ability according to maternal education, and some evidence or worsening mental health and mental health inequalities across school summer holidays. We found little evidence of widening inequalities in verbal cognitive ability. Widespread school closures during the COVID-1