Wikipedia, Past and Present

Presents survey findings on trends in the use of Wikipedia by gender, age, race/ethnicity, income, education, and home Internet connection type and compared with other online activities

Coral Reef Electronic Chart Initiative, Protecting Corals, Saving Ships

The Office of Coast Survey, NOAA is conducting a pilot project in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to convert existing coral, marine protected areas (MPA) and other marine GIS information into a format suitable for use with shipboard Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS). Specifically, existing data will be converted into Marine Information Objects (MIOs) conforming to IHO S-57 data standards that become a supplemental information layer to be used with Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC) in ECDIS. The project goal is to strengthen marine resource conservation by bringing critical coral, MPA, and other environmental protection-related information to the marine r. This effort will also contribute to an initiative by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) to incorporate nautical chart symbology for coral reefs and MPAs. In particular, designated areas will be symbolized as Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs). This project involves a number of stakeholders (e.g., mariners, hydrographers, conservationists, scientists, and resource managers) who are interested in both safety of navigation and marine environmental conservation

Illness perceptions in irritable bowel syndrome: change over time and relationship with self-reported quality of life

Background: Pathways in an ‘extended’ common-sense model of illness representations (CSM) were examined in those affected by Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) over time. As complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is extensive in IBS, participants were grouped according to CAM use (CAM-users and non-users). Methods: An online survey examined 197 participant responses (125 CAM-users, 72 non-users) at baseline and again after a minimum of six months. Illness perceptions, conventional treatment beliefs (captured by the IPQ-R and BMQ-General scale respectively), coping (Brief COPE) and domain specific quality of life (IBS-QOL) were measured at both time-points. Related t-tests were used to examine changes over time within each group and regression analyses were used to assess theorised pathways proposed by the CSM. Findings: Both groups showed improved quality of life ratings (CAM-users: t(124)= -5.97, p<.001; non-users: t(71)= -3.31, p<.01) and significantly lower emotional representations at time-two (CAM-users: t(117)= 3.33, p<.01; non-users: t(68)= 2.60, p<.05). Stronger perceptions of illness consequences CAM-users: Beta=-.67, p<.001; non-users: Beta=-.62, p<.001) and emotional representations at time-one (CAM-users: Beta=-.58; non-users: Beta=-.51, p<.001) predicted reduced quality of life at time-two in both groups. Mediation tests revealed that self-blame and behavioural disengagement mediated the pathway from illness perceptions to quality of life in the CAM-user group only. Discussion: Findings suggest some consistency with CSM theory and addressing components of illness perceptions early in the health care process may improve quality of life in those affected by IBS. CAM-users (and those intending to use CAM) may receive greater benefit from such intervention

Explaining use of complementary and alternative medicine in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: a common-sense model approach

Background: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a prevalent chronic functional gastrointestinal condition. Conventional medical treatment can be unsuccessful and many of those affected use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for symptom relief, despite concerns over CAM treatment efficacy. An ‘extended’ common-sense model of illness representations (CSM) was used to examine psychological influences on CAM use. Methods: 653 participants with IBS completed an online survey which included the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), the (general) Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ), the Complementary and Alternative Medicines Beliefs Inventory (CAMBI) and questions regarding CAM use. Unrelated t-tests compared the illness and treatment perceptions of CAM-users to those not using CAM. A binary logistic regression analysis examined which factors predicted CAM use. Findings: 57% of participants reported using CAM to relieve IBS symptoms. CAM-users reported significantly stronger illness identity, illness consequences, medication harm beliefs and stronger emotional representations. CAM-users had more positive beliefs about CAM in terms of feelings towards natural treatments, client participation in treatment and beliefs in holistic treatments. Logistic regression analysis revealed 3-4 years (Odds ratio = 3.62) or over 5 years (3.19) since diagnosis, having A’ levels (1.89) or postgraduate qualifications (2.34), and stronger illness identity (1.10), consequences (1.07), cyclical timeline beliefs (1.08) and medication harm beliefs (1.10) predicted CAM use. Discussion: Findings suggest CAM use is influenced by certain illness and treatment perceptions. Health psychology interventions which address these components may have potential to improve IBS symptom management and support patient’s informed decision making regarding treatment

Writing as a Worthless Pursuit : An Interrogation of Writing under Capitalism

Writing is often branded as a “worthless pursuit” because of its supposed lack of social impact and profitability. Throughout the writing process, including the stages of idea conception, construction, and sale, writers must contend with economic considerations that not only reinforce the capitalist evaluation of writing as a futile activity whose success is contingent upon being able to recoup “lost time” but also erode the writer’s self-agency in dictating their ideas. Capitalist publishing forces, including the corporations involved in traditional print forms of publishing as well as pioneers of digital self-publishing such as Amazon, intentionally set conditions for publication that prevent writers from earning a living compensation. A lack of funding for libraries and for writing grants further contributes to a wider issue of cultural degeneracy and monolithic cultural consumption. I seek to prove that conditions set by publishing entities as well as the various capitalist considerations under which an author works constitute a lack of self-determination and an eventual subsumption of writing products into a wider profit-oriented system. I evaluate the efficacy of certain solutions, including a universal basic income (UBI) and an increase in patronage of independent non-profit presses. Greater awareness of the exploitative methods used by the publishing industry as well as a greater appreciation for the cultural impact of writing is critical to support present and future writers.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2022/1082/thumbnail.jp

Kathryn Lee in a Senior Flute Recital

This is the program for the senior flute recital of Kathryn Lee. Ms. Lee was accompanied by Susan Monroe on the piano. This recital took place on April 12, 2013, in the McBeth Recital Hall in the Mabee Fine Arts Center

Reconstructing the Accretion History of the Galactic Stellar Halo from Chemical Abundance Ratio Distributions

Observational studies of halo stars during the last two decades have placed some limits on the quantity and nature of accreted dwarf galaxy contributions to the Milky Way stellar halo by typically utilizing stellar phase-space information to identify the most recent halo accretion events. In this study we tested the prospects of using 2-D chemical abundance ratio distributions (CARDs) found in stars of the stellar halo to determine its formation history. First, we used simulated data from eleven "MW-like" halos to generate satellite template sets of 2-D CARDs of accreted dwarf satellites which are comprised of accreted dwarfs from various mass regimes and epochs of accretion. Next, we randomly drew samples of $\sim10^{3-4}$ mock observations of stellar chemical abundance ratios ([$\alpha$/Fe], [Fe/H]) from those eleven halos to generate samples of the underlying densities for our CARDs to be compared to our templates in our analysis. Finally, we used the expectation-maximization algorithm to derive accretion histories in relation to the satellite template set (STS) used and the sample size. For certain STS used we typically can identify the relative mass contributions of all accreted satellites to within a factor of 2. We also find that this method is particularly sensitive to older accretion events involving low-luminous dwarfs e.g. ultra-faint dwarfs - precisely those events that are too ancient to be seen by phase-space studies of stars and too faint to be seen by high-z studies of the early Universe. Since our results only exploit two chemical dimensions and near-future surveys promise to provide $\sim6-9$ dimensions, we conclude that these new high-resolution spectroscopic surveys of the stellar halo will allow us to recover its accretion history - and the luminosity function of infalling dwarf galaxies - across cosmic time.Comment: Article contains 18 pages total (16 pages of main text + 2 pages of Appendix) with 12 figures; accepted for publication in Ap