A study of the satisfactions of convalescent psychiatric patients

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Federal Road Charge Tax Administration Process

The gasoline tax is one of the primary sources of revenue for transportation infrastructure funding. However, recent revenue shortfalls due to a combination of inflation, fuel efficiency improvements, and vehicle electrification have led to discussions of alternative funding mechanisms such as the road user charge where drivers would pay fees by miles driven rather than gallons consumed. In this report, researchers investigate the institutional structure of the current gasoline tax at the federal level including historical changes, how the tax is collected, and how it is allocated and disbursed to fund infrastructure projects. In outlining the structure of the current gasoline tax, they identify key opportunities for a road user charge to be integrated into the current funding system. These include considerations for tax evasion, simplification of state level allocated disbursement formulas, re-allocation of funds, and designating spending for fuel-specific infrastructure.View the NCST Project Webpag

A validity study for the Adolescent and Adult Self-Concept Retrospective Scale and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale: 2

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the Adolescent and Adult Self-Concept Retrospective Scale (AASRS) by comparing it to the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale: 2 (TSCS: 2) on a population consisting of fifty-nine college students ranging in age from 18 to 20. The study also examined whether there is a significant correlation between male and female adolescents with regard to self-concept. Two trained examiners administered the AASRS and the TSCS:2. One examiner administered the AASRS and the other administered the TSCS:2. All fifty-nine students were tested on both tests over a two-week period. A Pearson Correlation produced supportive and relevant data suggesting that there is a relationship between the AASRS and the TSCS: 2. The relationship between gender and self-concept went unsupported

Functional diversity and life history traits of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in disturbed soils

Relative effectiveness of ten species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi native to a revegetated coal strip mine site was tested on red clover against a non-mycorrhizal control and against inocula of two commercial isolates. Most (70%) of the isolated species in a native fungal community were as effective at promoting growth as commercial isolates. The net benefit of native colonizing fungi likely was positive, since the majority of the fungi colonizing two-year-old apple and grape in the field also were effective symbionts. The relationship between colonization and sporulation was compared among one Acaulospora , two Glomus, one Gigaspora, and one Scutellospora species on red clover. Threshold levels of colonization at which sporulation was initiated ranged from 10% ( G. etunicatum) to a maximum of 30% (Gi. gigantea, S. heterogama )

Group Work Camp

The editorial to Vol. 26, No. 3 of Groupwork

Social Licence for Marine Conservation Science

Marine environments are complex and dynamic social-ecological systems, where social perceptions of ocean stewardship are diverse, resource use is potentially unsustainable, and conservation efforts rely strongly on public support or acceptance. Decreasing trust in science in recent years has led to weakened social acceptance and approval of marine conservation science. Social licence is a concept that reflects informal, unwritten public expectations about the impacts and benefits of industry and government practises, including research, on natural resources, including the ocean. Working toward improving social licence may provide opportunity to bolster support for marine conservation, by allowing communities to engage with marine issues and marine science, and voice their concerns and views. Here, we argue that marine conservation requires social licence and we highlight science advocacy, accomplished through outreach, as a means to achieve this. We identify a role for marine conservation science to engage with the public through advocacy to improve understanding and perceptions of conservation. Drawing from the literature, we describe how science advocacy can enhance social licence for marine conservation research and outline four steps that can advise marine conservation scientists to achieve and promote social licence for their research and the wider marine conservation community

Evaluation of the advanced artificial athlete and Hall effect sensors for measuring strain in multi-layer sports surfaces

Computer models are a useful means to explore the loading behaviour of third generation (3G) artificial turf sports surfaces; however, measuring the material stress–strain behaviour under realistic high loading rates is challenging. Therefore, the purpose of this study was two-fold: to evaluate the advanced artificial athlete (AAA) for measuring strain behaviour of polymeric sports surfaces under high loading rates typical of player interactions; and to evaluate Hall effect sensors (HES) for measuring strain behaviour of an individual layer within multi-layer sports surfaces. An independent optical measurement system (GOM) provided gold standard sample deformation and strain. Forty-five impacts onto three test samples were measured simultaneously using the three systems. Poor agreement was found between AAA and GOM peak sample deformations and strain (systematic bias 2.4 mm, 95% confidence intervals ± 1.3 mm, strain RMSD 29%), largely attributable to errors in the AAA time of initial contact. Using a regression equation to correct this time led to much better agreement in AAA peak deformations and strain (systematic bias 0.1 mm, 95% confidence intervals ± 0.7 mm, strain RMSD 8%). Good agreement was found between the HES and GOM (systematic bias 0.2 mm, 95% confidence intervals ± 0.4 mm, strain RMSD 11%). The corrected AAA and HES methods can measure deformation of polymeric sports surfaces under realistic loading rates to an accuracy of < 1 mm. In terms of strain, errors increase with decreasing peak sample deformation indicating that both systems should be used with caution for peak deformations < ~ 4–5 mm