Infrared observations of periodic comets

Selected comets are observed in the infrared with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) and other telescopes as appropriate. The scientific objectives are to characterize the thermal emission from the dust coma, derive dust productions rates, detect silicate features near 10 and 20 micrometer, derive average albedo of the grains, and detect changes in grain size or composition with heliocentric distance as well as differences among comets. Knowledge of the dust environment is essential to design and mission planning for NASA's CRAF mission

The nature of cometary grains from remote sensing

Physical property data of cometary grains are derived primarily from thermal emission measurement and optical scattering. Results consistent with the properties of micrometeorites collected in the stratosphere are described

Focus on the future

An assessment is made of what was learned from Halley and recommendations are made for future directions for infrared studies of comets and supporting lab investigations. The following issues are addressed: (1) What steps can be taken to achieve consistent interpretation of Halley infrared data; (2) How successful has the Halley Watch been for infrared studies; (3) What supporting lab research is needed; (4) What are the key infrared observations needed for future comets; and (5) How do current and future NASA programs relate to comet studies

Infrared observations of comets

Selected comets are observed in the near infrared (1 to 2.2 micron) and thermal infrared (3.5 to 20 micron) with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) and other telescopes as appropriate, in order to characterize the physical properties of the dust grains; their composition, size distribution, emissivity, and albedo. Systematic variations in these properties among comets are looked for, in order to understand the heterogeneity of comet nuclei. Spectrophotometry of the 10 micron silicate emission feature is particularly emphasized. The rate of dust production from the nucleus and its temporal variability are also determined. Knowledge of the dust environment is essential to S/C design and mission planning for NASA's CRAF mission

Increasing math talk in adult-child interactions through grocery store signs

There is a persistent gap in math abilities between children from low socioeconomic (SES) families compared to children from high-SES families. Interventions to reduce this gap are often expensive and not easily implemented. This study examined the efficacy of a cost-effective intervention in grocery stores in order to try and increase the number of math-related adult-child conversations to increase children’s school readiness. We created and placed signs about general language and math in grocery stores in a low-SES neighborhood and a high-SES neighborhood that encouraged conversations between adults and children while shopping. Researchers used observational coding methods to see how these signs naturally influenced conversations. When signs that contained prompts to engage in math conversations were present there was an overall increase in conversations about math compared to the general language signs or when no signs were posted. When signs were present in the low-SES location, there was an increase in conversations about math between adults and children, whereas the signs did not have this effect in the high-SES location. This study demonstrates the benefits of implementing a cost-effective intervention in a natural environment that could increase math conversations and school readiness in children, especially from low-SES families

Cometary dust composition

The earth based measurements and in situ sampling of Comet Halley have provided new data about the chemical composition of cometary grains. Recent progress in laboratory studies of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) complement the comet data, allowing inferences about the mineralogy and physical structure of the comet dust to be drawn from the observed elemental composition and infrared spectra. The in situ dust composition measurements at Halley, the composition of IDPs and their relation to comet dust, and the origin of the 3.4 micron hydrocarbon feature is discussed. Related discussion is also presented on aromatic components in comets and the 3.4 micron feature. These topics are briefly summarized

Recovering Food, Fighting Hunger: Feeding America’s National Program

It is staggering that nearly 40% of food produced in the US ultimately goes to waste while over 49 million Americans may go to bed hungry. Feeding America has partnered with all segments of the food industry for over 35 years to help capture more than 2.5 billion pounds annually of safe unsold food for 46 million hungry clients across the country. And now the nation’s largest hunger relief and waste diversion organization is working more aggressively with retailers, food service providers, manufacturers and the agriculture community to create new programs and processes to help ensure more food feeds communities and does not go to waste. Feeding America’s Store Donation Program nationally coordinates with over 16,000 Retail Grocery locations to rescue over 1.2 billion pounds of product, dairy, protein and bakery; newest focus is on empowering, training, and supporting agencies to expand capacity and reach as well as building infrastructure and partnering with donors in more cost effective models. Online Marketplace (OM) is Feeding America\u27s newest food rescue initiative for the Food Service sector, created to capture a portion of the 22 billion pounds of wasted food currently being generated locally via cafeterias, convenience stores, restaurants, hotels. The OM program provides access to food that has been economically challenging to recover for food banks using traditional food rescue models. Partnerships with Food Manufacturing companies enable over 800 million pounds of food to feed people and not animals or go to landfill. New work by Feeding America with USDA/FSIS has revised guidelines to enable more food to be donated that had previously been destroyed. Pilots are also now in place with food banks for on-site USDA inspection opening even more opportunities for donating protein items. New multi-partner programs led by Feeding America and food banks, have engaged growers, processors and distributors in the Agriculture segment to rescue produce from the field that would have otherwise been plowed under or left to rot, and convert it into a usable, shelf-stable format for food bank clients. These are just a few examples of Feeding America’s leadership and continued commitment to ending hunger while at the same time helping ensure that as much food as possible is used for its highest value: feeding people

In Search of Buddhist Virtue: A Case for a Pluralist-Gradualist Moral Philosophy

Classical presentations of the Buddhist path prescribe the cultivation of various good qualities that are necessary for spiritual progress, from mindfulness (sati) and loving-kindness (metta) to faith (saddhā) and wisdom (paññā). Examining the way in which such qualities are described and classified in early Buddhism—with special reference to their treatment in the Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification) by the fifth-century Buddhist thinker Buddhaghosa—the present article employs a comparative method in order to identify the Buddhist catalog of virtues. The first part sketches the characteristics of virtue as analyzed by neo-Aristotelian theories. Relying on these accounts, the second part considers three lists from early Buddhism as possible catalogs of virtue: (1) the components of ethical conduct (sīla), (2) the 37 factors that contribute to awakening (bodhipakkhiyā dhammā), and (3) the wholesome (kusala) or beautiful (sobhana) mental factors (cetasika). I then raise the question of why the Buddhist tradition developed several classifications of virtue, whereas the Western tradition of virtue ethics used a single category. Appealing to the connection between the virtues and living well (eudaimonia) in the eudaimonistic version of virtue ethics, I propose that one of the reasons why Buddhism developed multiple lists of virtues is its pluralistic acceptance of different modalities of living well and associated practices, in MacIntyre’s sense of the term. These modalities and practices are not equal, but are ordered hierarchically. Accordingly, I conclude that Buddhist ethics ought to be seen as a pluralist-gradualist system rather than a universalist theory

Using a BCI to Assess Attention During an Online Lecture

Previous research has identified a positive correlation between motivation and academic achievement (Bruinsma 2004). The ARCS Model of Instructional Design (Keller 1987) identifies four major conditions for motivation: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. Attention may be thought of as the precursor to learning; if a student is not paying attention to the material being presented, learning cannot take place. Getting attention can be trivial, but sustaining attention is difficult. WUtopia! is an online learning platform developed at Winthrop University designed to improve student learning outcomes. The platform delivers video lectures alongside questions addressing key concepts. The questions are tied to particular timestamps in the video. Previous research demonstrated that students who use the platform perform better on post-lecture quizzes than students who only view the lecture (Grossoehme et al). We hypothesize that the Wutopia! platform more effectively engages the student’s attention, thereby increasing motivation to learn and leading to better performance on the quiz. Past research on attention largely relies on participants’ selfreported measures of how attentive they perceived themselves to be during a task. A more reliable, objective measure is needed to enable researchers to compare the effectiveness of different approaches to instruction at engaging learners