239 research outputs found
A New MMPI-2 Measure Of Psychopathy: An Empirical Approach
The purpose of the current study was to develop a new scale on the MMPI-2 to identify
individuals with global psychopathy, as measured by the PCL-R. The study consisted of four
smaller studies, including 1) derivation of the scale 2) cross-validation 3) external validation, 4)
factor analysis. The derivation sample consisted of male prison inmates (N = 170) and a second
sample of male prison inmates (N = 126) was utilized for cross-validation. A third sample of
male and female college students (N = 308) was utilized for the purpose of correlating the
developed scale with existing measures of personality disorders and an emotion recognition task.
Using empirical keying methods, 32 items were identified for the resulting scale,
Psychopathic Attitudes and Behaviors (PAB). Results of study 1 demonstrated PAB to have
adequate internal consistency and the strongest correlation to PCL-R total scores when compared
to extant MMPI-2 scales. Further, PAB was found to adequately predict group membership.
These results were replicated in Study 2 and PAB appeared to successfully cross-validate in an
alternative sample.
Results of Study 3 examining the relationship between PAB elevations and errors on an
emotion recognition task indicated no significant relationship between scores on PAB and
deficits in the ability to recognize facial expressions of emotions. However, results examining
the relationship between mean scores for those above the cutoff and those below the cutoff on
PAB and the PDQ-4 narcissistic, antisocial, and conduct disorder scales were significant, providing some support for external validation. Finally, the exploratory factor analysis in Study
4 yielded a three-factor solution, which did not parallel the PCL-R factors.
Overall, the study was successful in developing a more efficient MMPI-2 scale to
measure psychopathic traits, as it outperformed the theoretically-related scales already existing
on the MMPI-2. However, the item content was not representative of the full range of
interpersonal and affective traits associated with primary psychopathy and the scale was more
significantly related to the social deviance factor of the PCL-R, which suggests PAB may be
more representative of the secondary variant of psychopathy
Fostering Socio-Ecological Resilience to Wildfire by Interconnecting Knowledge Systems at Cal Poly Humboldt
The wildfire-related challenges of Northern California and many other regions in the western United States are daunting in scope and magnitude. Ecologically and culturally salient solutions that limit the negative impacts of wildfire and promote resilience of human and ecological systems will require newer approaches. Through Cal Poly Humboldt and the Fire Resilience Institute, there is greater emphasis on the interconnection of knowledge systems across education, training, research, and management. Here we highlight several on-going efforts that seek to enhance the fire resilience workforce, promote socio-ecological resilience through interdisciplinary projects, and inform management through monitoring and research projects that intentionally incorporate multiple knowledge systems. Shifting to a more inclusive process has many potential benefits but will also pose challenges and require modification of approaches. Here we emphasize some on-going efforts at Cal Poly Humboldt to intentionally bridge knowledge systems to make advances on wildfire-related challenges. Socio-ecological resilience and coexistence with fire can be fostered but the long-term effectiveness will greatly benefit from approaches that are inclusive, equitable, and interconnected across the many stakeholders affected and disciplines involved
Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies as Extreme Star-forming Environments I: Mapping Star Formation in HI-Rich UDGs
Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies are both extreme products of galaxy evolution and
extreme environments in which to test our understanding of star formation. In
this work, we contrast the spatially resolved star formation activity of a
sample of 22 HI-selected UDGs and 35 low-mass galaxies from the NASA Sloan
Atlas (NSA) within 120 Mpc. We employ a new joint SED fitting method to compute
star formation rate and stellar mass surface density maps that leverage the
high spatial resolution optical imaging data of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru
Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) and the UV coverage of GALEX, along with HI radial
profiles estimated from a subset of galaxies that have spatially resolved HI
maps. We find that the UDGs have low star formation efficiencies as a function
of their atomic gas down to scales of 500 pc. We additionally find that the
stellar mass-weighted sizes of our UDG sample are unremarkable when considered
as a function of their HI mass -- their stellar sizes are comparable to the NSA
dwarfs at fixed HI mass. This is a natural result in the picture where UDGs are
forming stars normally, but at low efficiencies. We compare our results to
predictions from contemporary models of galaxy formation, and find in
particular that our observations are difficult to reproduce in models where
UDGs undergo stellar expansion due to vigorous star formation feedback should
bursty star formation be required down to .Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 27 pages, 18 figure
“Greening” Worcester: Municipal Best Practices for Sustainability
In response to the urgent threat posed by climate change, more and more cities, including Worcester, are attempting to become more environmentally responsible and sustainable. Worcester is attempting to develop ways to become more sustainable; both to strengthen their communities and to protect the planet. The Green Worcester Working Group (GWWG) tasked the Clark Capstone Team with researching best practices for municipal sustainability. The GWWG has set the following priorities: climate change mitigation, resilience, open spaces, sustainable resource management, education and awareness. Taking these into account, the Clark Capstone Team researched the sustainability practices of cities in New England, across the U.S., and around the world, gathering and synthesizing the information found. Through careful data evaluation, the team selected six cities to recommend: Portsmouth, NH; Cambridge, MA; Bridgeport, CT; Somerville, MA; Seattle, WA; and New York, NY
Core Stability and Athletic Performance in Male and Female Lacrosse Players
International Journal of Exercise Science 12(4): 1138-1148, 2019. This study determined the relationship of core stability with power production, agility, and dynamic stability of collegiate lacrosse players and whether core stability is more evident in these performance variables in either males or females. Twenty male and female collegiate lacrosse players (20.3 ± 1.0 years, 173.2 ± 11.8 cm, 72.6 ± 13.0 kg) performed the pro-agility shuttle, the countermovement jump (CMJ), the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), and prone, right lateral, and left lateral planks on two sessions- familiarization and testing. Independent T-tests were used to compare sexes. SPSS 24.0 was used; significance was accepted at p\u3c 0.05. Pearson correlations were used to compare the relationship of core stability to the performance variables in participants. There was a significant relationship found between the prone plank and pro-agility shuttle in all participants (r = -0.50). No significant relationships were found between core stability and performance variables. A significant difference was found in the pro-agility shuttle (p= 0.001) and the CMJ (p= 0.001) but not in core stability or dynamic stability. Agility, power production, and dynamic stability were not related to core stability in neither male or female lacrosse players. There were no significant differences in core stability and dynamic stability between males and females. A significant difference was found in dynamic stability in the SEBT right leg and left leg composite scores between sexes. From these results, it is suggested that core stability may not directly influence the performance variables in collegiate male and female lacrosse players
The Cosmic Ultraviolet Baryon Survey (CUBS) I. Overview and the diverse environments of Lyman limit systems at z<1
We present initial results from the Cosmic Ultraviolet Baryon Survey (CUBS).
CUBS is designed to map diffuse baryonic structures at redshift z<~1 using
absorption-line spectroscopy of 15 UV-bright QSOs with matching deep galaxy
survey data. CUBS QSOs are selected based on their NUV brightness to avoid
biases against the presence of intervening Lyman Limit Systems (LLSs) at
zabs~ 17.2 over a total
redshift survey pathlength of dz=9.3, and a number density of n(z)=0.43 (-0.18,
+0.26). Considering all absorbers with log N(HI)/cm^-2 > 16.5 leads to
n(z)=1.08 (-0.25, +0.31) at z<1. All LLSs exhibit a multi-component structure
and associated metal transitions from multiple ionization states such as CII,
CIII, MgII, SiII, SiIII, and OVI absorption. Differential chemical enrichment
levels as well as ionization states are directly observed across individual
components in three LLSs. We present deep galaxy survey data obtained using the
VLT-MUSE integral field spectrograph and the Magellan Telescopes, reaching
sensitivities necessary for detecting galaxies fainter than 0.1L* at d<~300
physical kpc (pkpc) in all five fields. A diverse range of galaxy properties is
seen around these LLSs, from a low-mass dwarf galaxy pair, a co-rotating
gaseous halo/disk, a star-forming galaxy, a massive quiescent galaxy, to a
galaxy group. The closest galaxies have projected distances ranging from d=15
to 72 pkpc and intrinsic luminosities from ~0.01L* to ~3L*. Our study shows
that LLSs originate in a variety of galaxy environments and trace gaseous
structures with a broad range of metallicities.Comment: 26 pages, 14 figures, MNRAS in pres
The Intrinsic Shapes of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies (LSBGs):A Discriminant of LSBG Galaxy Formation Mechanisms
We use the low surface brightness galaxy (LSBG) samples created from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (781 galaxies), the Dark Energy Survey (20977 galaxies), and the Legacy Survey (selected via H I detection in the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey, 188 galaxies) to infer the intrinsic shape distribution of the LSBG population. To take into account the effect of the surface brightness cuts employed when constructing LSBG samples, we simultaneously model both the projected ellipticity and the apparent surface brightness in our shape inference. We find that the LSBG samples are well characterized by oblate spheroids, with no significant difference between red and blue LSBGs. This inferred shape distribution is in good agreement with similar inferences made for ultra-diffuse cluster galaxy samples, indicating that environment does not play a key role in determining the intrinsic shape of LSBGs. We also find some evidence that LSBGs are more thickened than similarly massive high surface brightness dwarfs. We compare our results to intrinsic shape measures from contemporary cosmological simulations, and find that the observed LSBG intrinsic shapes place considerable constraints on the formation path of such galaxies. In particular, LSBG production via the migration of star formation to large radii produces intrinsic shapes in good agreement with our observational findings
Beyond Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies I: Mass-Size Outliers Among the Satellites of Milky Way Analogs
Large diffuse galaxies are hard to find, but understanding the environments
where they live, their numbers, and ultimately their origins, is of intense
interest and importance for galaxy formation and evolution. Using Subaru's
Hyper Suprime-Cam Strategic Survey Program, we perform a systematic search for
low surface brightness galaxies and present novel and effective methods for
detecting and modeling them. As a case study, we surveyed 922 Milky Way analogs
in the nearby Universe () and build a large sample of
satellite galaxies that are outliers in the mass-size relation. These
``ultra-puffy'' galaxies (UPGs), defined to be above the average
mass-size relation, represent the tail of the satellite size distribution. We
find that each MW analog hosts ultra-puffy
galaxies on average, which is consistent with but slightly lower than the
observed abundance at this halo mass in the Local Volume. We also construct a
sample of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) in MW analogs and find an abundance of
per host. With literature results, we confirm that
the UDG abundance scales with the host halo mass following a sublinear power
law. We argue that our definition for ultra-puffy galaxies, which is based on
the mass-size relation, is more physically-motivated than the common definition
of ultra-diffuse galaxies, which depends on surface brightness and size cuts
and thus yields different surface mass density cuts for quenched and
star-forming galaxies.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Ap
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