Black hole accretion and host galaxies of obscured quasars in XMM-COSMOS

Aims. We explore the connection between black hole growth at the center of obscured quasars selected from the XMM-COSMOS survey and the physical properties of their host galaxies. We study a bolometric regime ( ⟨ L_(bol) ⟩ = 8 × 10^(45) erg s^(-1)) where several theoretical models invoke major galaxy mergers as the main fueling channel for black hole accretion. Methods. To derive robust estimates of the host galaxy properties, we use an SED fitting technique to distinguish the AGN and host galaxy emission. We evaluate the effect on galaxy properties estimates of being unable to remove the nuclear emission from the SED. The superb multi-wavelength coverage of the COSMOS field allows us to obtain reliable estimates of the total stellar masses and star formation rates (SFRs) of the hosts. We supplement this information with a morphological analysis of the ACS/HST images, optical spectroscopy, and an X-ray spectral analysis. Results. We confirm that obscured quasars mainly reside in massive galaxies (M_⋆ > 10^(10)M_⊙) and that the fraction of galaxies hosting such powerful quasars monotonically increases with the stellar mass. We stress the limitation of the use of rest-frame color − magnitude diagrams as a diagnostic tool for studying galaxy evolution and inferring the influence that AGN activity can have on such a process. We instead use the correlation between SFR and stellar mass found for star-forming galaxies to discuss the physical properties of the hosts. We find that at z ~ 1, ≈62% of Type-2 QSOs hosts are actively forming stars and that their rates are comparable to those measured for normal star-forming galaxies. The fraction of star-forming hosts increases with redshift: ≈ 71% at z ~ 2, and 100% at z ~ 3. We also find that the evolution from z ~ 1 to z ~ 3 of the specific SFR of the Type-2 QSO hosts is in excellent agreement with that measured for star-forming galaxies. From the morphological analysis, we conclude that most of the objects are bulge-dominated galaxies, and that only a few of them exhibit signs of recent mergers or disks. Finally, bulge-dominated galaxies tend to host Type-2 QSOs with low Eddington ratios (λ 0.1)

There was more out there than our street: Exploring a structured summer camp curriculum as an avenue to fostering civic engagement and social capital

Americans are less connected to society and each other than in the recent past. This disconnection has a variety of repercussions for quality of life, including decreased capabilities for local problem solving, decreased capacity for community youth development, higher levels of crime, and decreased indicators of community health. Research has indicated that if we are to address this growing disconnect, we need to foster civic skills, civic values, and commitment to civic engagement in youth to encourage lifelong civic participation. Summer camps may offer an arena within which to address these civic issues; however, summer camp remains largely underrepresented in the social capital and civic engagement literature. As a result, there is a need for further research on the potential role summer camp may play in fostering civic and social capital outcomes in youth. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate the Teens Leading & Connecting (TLC) program, a structured camp curriculum intentionally designed to impact campers\u27 civic skills, civic values, civic engagement and social capital, in order to provide insight into camp\u27s potential role as an avenue to increased civic engagement and social capital in campers\u27 home communities. The methods for this study consisted of an implementation evaluation, including direct observations and facilitator interviews, and an outcomes evaluation, including camper interviews, camper questionnaires, and parent interviews. Findings indicate that the TLC program was delivered with quality and high fidelity and resulted in a variety of skill related, community related, and social capital related outcomes in the short term. Many of these outcomes were sustained three months following camp; however, the social capital outcomes were the least retained of the three groups of outcomes at follow-up. This study represented one attempt to leverage the combined power of the summer camp environment, of structured curriculum, and of program evaluation to explore summer camp as a possible arena to foster youth civic engagement and social capital. This study demonstrated that summer camp has promise to achieve civic engagement and social capital outcomes beyond camp but more research and program development on these crucial societal topics is needed