Regression analysis of spatially autocorrelated data : a study of county-level turnout in Texas

Interest in spatially weighted regression analysis has increased due to corresponding increases in access to publicly available spatial data. Spatial autocorrelation occurs when the ordering of observations across space produces a relationship between pairs of individual observations. Instances of spatial autocorrelation necessitate the use of alternative approaches to parameter estimation other than ordinary least squares. With a focus on autocorrelation resulting from spatial dependence in the dependent variable or the error term, this report summarizes basic methodology for detecting spatial autocorrelation and spatial autoregressive model selection. The approaches outlined in this report are then applied to an analysis of county-level turnout in Texas.Statistic

Will the adoption of a more stringent attendance policy improve the attendance of students at Nehaunsey Middle School?

The purpose of this quasi-experimental research design was to discover whether, after implementing a more stringent attendance policy, would the attendance of students improve? A pattern of poor attendance was observed in an increasing number of students who were absent more than 10% of the school year, and this alarming trend prompted this study. The entire student body of 200 students was included in this study, in which attendance records were studied before and after the adoption of the new Attendance Policy. Although the intention was to compare data for the ten month school year period before and after the adoption of the policy, the new policy was not adopted until January, 2000. This was an insufficient time period for data collection and comparison and for a valid conclusion to be drawn. Additional study of this problem, with data collected over a minimum of six months, could provide an answer to this question

High-Throughput SNP Genotyping

Whole genome approaches using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers have the potential to transform complex disease genetics and expedite pharmacogenetics research. This has led to a requirement for high-throughput SNP genotyping platforms. Development of a successful high-throughput genotyping platform depends on coupling reliable assay chemistry with an appropriate detection system to maximise efficiency with respect to accuracy, speed and cost. Current technology platforms are able to deliver throughputs in excess of 100 000 genotypes per day, with an accuracy of >99%, at a cost of 20–30 cents per genotype. In order to meet the demands of the coming years, however, genotyping platforms need to deliver throughputs in the order of one million genotypes per day at a cost of only a few cents per genotype. In addition, DNA template requirements must be minimised such that hundreds of thousands of SNPs can be interrogated using a relatively small amount of genomic DNA. As such, it is predicted that the next generation of high-throughput genotyping platforms will exploit large-scale multiplex reactions and solid phase assay detection systems

Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy using KMOS

KMOS (K-Band Multi Object Spectrograph) is a novel integral field spectrograph installed in the VLT's ANTU unit. The instrument offers an ability to observe 24 2.8"$\times$2.8" sub-fields positionable within a 7.2' patrol field, each sub-field producing a spectrum with a 14$\times$14-pixel spatial resolution. The main science drivers for KMOS are the study of galaxies, star formation, and molecular clouds, but its ability to simultaneously measure spectra of multiple stars makes KMOS an interesting instrument for exoplanet atmosphere characterization via transmission spectroscopy. We set to test whether transmission spectroscopy is practical with KMOS, and what are the conditions required to achieve the photometric precision needed, based on observations of a partial transit of WASP-19b, and full transits of GJ 1214b and HD 209458b. Our analysis uses the simultaneously observed comparison stars to reduce the effects from instrumental and atmospheric sources, and Gaussian processes to model the residual systematics. We show that KMOS can, in theory, deliver the photometric precision required for transmission spectroscopy. However, this is shown to require a) pre-imaging to ensure accurate centering and b) a very stable night with optimal observing conditions (seeing $\sim$0.8"). Combining these two factors with the need to observe several transits, each with a sufficient out-of-transit baseline (and with the fact that similar or better precision can be reached with telescopes and instruments with smaller pressure,) we conclude that transmission spectroscopy is not the optimal science case to take advantage of the abilities offered by KMOS and VLT.Comment: 11 pages, accepted to MNRA

Dreams in a Northern Landscape: The Reoccupation of Canada's North

The vision for this work first sprung from Farley Mowat’s book, Canada North Now, in which Mowat questions why Canada’s north has never been used for animal husbandry despite having the capacity for such a use. Harvey Payne’s study “A Feasibility Study of Northern Animal Husbandry a Land Use in Northern Manitoba,” written for the Department of Mines, Resource and Environmental Management, confirms northern Canada’s carrying capacity and consult with northern communities about the possibilities of introducing animal husbandry. The feedback provided in community meeting conducted by Payne, coupled with the initial success of reindeer husbandry in Alaska and the past success of reindeer husbandry has seen in Europe, has provided the backbone upon which this thesis is based. This work examines the natural feature and ecologies of the Northwest Territories and studies the history of the aboriginal people who call this region home. Inspired by Norval Morrisseau’s work, a series of paintings are created that explores the traditional meaning and cultural importance of life on the land. By taking a step back and looking at the principles of traditional knowledge, upon which satisfaction and pleasure are based on a close bond to ones family, and a close partnership with the land and other living beings, a proposal is made that offers an alternative lifestyle in Canada’s north. Through the introduction of reindeer husbandry it would be possible to live off the land in a manner that is more in tune with traditional values, while at the same time creating employment opportunities in northern communities. The proposal offers an alternative life style that is nomadic in nature, the design is a simple tent structure based on traditional vernacular architecture of the region, that can be manipulated to suit the users’ needs. A low-key meat industry would reshape the landscape in a positive manner through conscious consideration. The semi-permanent base of the structure would create new landmarks from which the cultural fabric can be hung. Unlike existing settlements that are based on outside ideologies, this design is intended to exist in harmony with traditional values and the existing landscape

A uniform analysis of HD209458b Spitzer/IRAC lightcurves with Gaussian process models

We present an analysis of Spitzer/IRAC primary transit and secondary eclipse lightcurves measured for HD209458b, using Gaussian process models to marginalise over the intrapixel sensitivity variations in the 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron channels and the ramp effect in the 5.8 micron and 8.0 micron channels. The main advantage of this approach is that we can account for a broad range of degeneracies between the planet signal and systematics without actually having to specify a deterministic functional form for the latter. Our results do not confirm a previous claim of water absorption in transmission. Instead, our results are more consistent with a featureless transmission spectrum, possibly due to a cloud deck obscuring molecular absorption bands. For the emission data, our values are not consistent with the thermal inversion in the dayside atmosphere that was originally inferred from these data. Instead, we agree with another re-analysis of these same data, which concluded a non-inverted atmosphere provides a better fit. We find that a solar-abundance clear-atmosphere model without a thermal inversion underpredicts the measured emission in the 4.5 micron channel, which may suggest the atmosphere is depleted in carbon monoxide. An acceptable fit to the emission data can be achieved by assuming that the planet radiates as an isothermal blackbody with a temperature of $1484\pm 18$ K.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, 6 tables. Accepted by MNRA

Exhausted without trust and inherent worth:A model of the suicide process based on experiential accounts

Rationale and Methods Suicides are related to diverse demographic, socio-economical, medical and behavioural ‘risk factors’. Theoretical work in suicidology attempts to construct models that explicate the mechanisms underlying these suicides; however, models taking first person perspectives as their primary evidential bases are scarce. Drawing on interviews carried out by researchers at a UK mental health charity during 2010–2012 with people bereaved by suicide (n = 25), suicidal individuals (n = 14) and their ‘significant others’ (n = 15), we present an explanatory model of the process of suicide derived from a Grounded Theory study. Results Suicide/attempt can be understood as the result of a complex interaction of three elements of experience: ‘lack of trust’, ‘lack of inherent worth’ and ‘suicidal exhaustion’. The first two may be seen as conditions from which the third emerges, but so that all the elements are related to each other reciprocally and the exhaustion and the suicidal thoughts, feelings and behaviours it gives rise to feed back into the initial conditions. Trust, understood as an aspect of experience that allows a person to accommodate uncertainty in relationships and in thinking about the future, is lacking in suicidal people, as is a self-determined sense of worth that is independent of external factors. Substituting inherent worth with self-worth gained from extrinsic factors, and trustful experiencing with strategies of self-reliance and withdrawal, a person begins to consume mental resources at a high rate. ‘Suicidal exhaustion’ is distinguished from other types of chronic mental exhaustion in that it is experienced as non-contingent (arises from living itself) and hopeless in that the exhausted person is unable to envisage a future in which demands on his/her mental resources are fewer, and their replenishment available. Conclusion The model has potential applications for public participation in suicide prevention, which should be mapped and assessed in further research

Preventing work-related stress among staff working in children's cancer Principal Treatment Centres in the UK: a brief survey of staff support systems and practices

Growing evidence of the association between health professionals' well-being and patient and organisational outcomes points to the need for effective staff support. This paper reports a brief survey of the UK's children's cancer Principal Treatment Centres (PTCs) regarding staff support systems and practices. A short on-line questionnaire, administered in 2012–2013, collected information about the availability of staff support interventions which seek to prevent work-related stress among different members of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT). It was completed by a member of staff with, where required, assistance from colleagues. All PTCs (n = 19) participated. Debriefs following a patient death was the most frequently reported staff support practice. Support groups were infrequently mentioned. There was wide variability between PTCs, and between professional groups, regarding the number and type of interventions available. Doctors appear to be least likely to have access to support. A few Centres routinely addressed work-related stress in wider staff management strategies. Two Centres had developed a bespoke intervention. Very few Centres were reported to actively raise awareness of support available from their hospital's Occupational Health department. A minority of PTCs had expert input regarding staff support from clinical psychology/liaison psychiatry

Seasonal variations in the integumental histology of the newt, Taricha granulosa (Skilton)

The integumental histology of Taricha granulosa (Skilton) has been investigated with special attention being given to the seasonal variations associated with terrestrial and aquatic habitats. The epidermis consists of a stratified squamous epithelium, four to seven cell layers thick, with one to two layers being cornified. The dermis is composed of two layers. The outer stratum spongiosum contains chromatophores, capillaries, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts and skin glands. The inner stratum compactum is composed of horizontal bundles of collagenous fibers. The granular and mucous glands are simple alveolar glands possessing an intercalary region and a duct. The alveolar wall of the granular gland is comprised of a columnar epithelium, muscle layer, and connective tissue sheath. The mucous gland alveolar wall consists of two layers, a cuboidal to columnar epithelium and a connective tissue sheath. The roughness of the terrestrial skin is due to two types of tubercles. Major tubercles are caused by thickening of the epidermis over a dermal papilla, while minor tubercles are merely thickenings of the epidermis. The aquatic epidermis is less cornified than that of the terrestrial. It also shows a slight increase in height, which is particularly evident in the tail. The swelling of the body and the enlarged tail of the male in the aquatic stage are caused by an edema of the stratum spongiosum. This stage also shows an increase in sub-epidermal capillaries and an increase in the activity of the mucous glands. Both aquatic and terrestrial animals have granular glands of equal secretory activity. The aquatic phase possesses fewer glands per unit area of skin due to the increase in the size of the dermis. Terrestrial newts have the smallest granular glands and aquatic newts the largest, though there is a strong overlap of granular gland volume in the two stages. The aquatic phase has the largest mucous glands

The prevalence of dust on the exoplanet HD 189733b from Hubble and Spitzer observations

This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2013 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.The hot Jupiter HD 189733b is the most extensively observed exoplanet. Its atmosphere has been detected and characterized in transmission and eclipse spectroscopy, and its phase curve measured at several wavelengths. This paper brings together the results of our campaign to obtain the complete transmission spectrum of the atmosphere of this planet from UV to infrared with the Hubble Space Telescope, using the STIS, ACS and WFC3 instruments. We provide a new tabulation of the transmission spectrum across the entire visible and infrared range. The radius ratio in each wavelength band was re-derived, where necessary, to ensure a consistent treatment of the bulk transit parameters and stellar limb darkening. Special care was taken to correct for, and derive realistic estimates of the uncertainties due to, both occulted and unocculted star spots. The combined spectrum is very different from the predictions of cloud-free models for hot Jupiters: it is dominated by Rayleigh scattering over the whole visible and near-infrared range, the only detected features being narrow sodium and potassium lines. We interpret this as the signature of a haze of condensate grains extending over at least five scaleheights. We show that a dust-dominated atmosphere could also explain several puzzling features of the emission spectrum and phase curves, including the large amplitude of the phase curve at 3.6 μm, the small hotspot longitude shift and the hot mid-infrared emission spectrum. We discuss possible compositions and derive some first-order estimates for the properties of the putative condensate haze/clouds. We finish by speculating that the dichotomy between the two observationally defined classes of hot Jupiter atmospheres, of which HD 189733b and HD 209458b are the prototypes, might not be whether they possess a temperature inversion, but whether they are clear or dusty. We also consider the possibility of a continuum of cloud properties between hot Jupiters, young Jupiters and L-type brown dwarfs.Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)NASANSFTennessee State UniversityState of Tennesse