Directional, identification, and orientation signage in eight southern New Jersey public libraries

The purpose of this study was to unobtrusively observe eight Southern New Jersey public libraries in eight different counties to discover if they were practicing the principles of good signage for the benefit of their patrons. A checklist of good signage criteria and ADA requirements was created and used to assess the libraries\u27 signs. Principles of good signage and ADA signage came from prior studies. Using SPSS, frequency tables were generated for each question to show the signage percentages for the libraries in the study. The eight public libraries in the study rated well in the areas of signage design (typeface, spacing of letters, contrast, use of symbols, and color combinations), sign size, sequence and self-service, lighting, readability, effective and positive text, flexibility, and non-glare. Most libraries had at least one directory and signs to announce events taking place in the library. The libraries have poor signage issues, especially in signage consistency and ADA signage requirements. There was a lack of directional and identification signage, which may cause some patrons to ask repetitive directional questions

The Effects of Fitness Level and Sex on EPOC Following High Intensity Interval and Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise

In the past few years, much attention has been directed toward shorter-duration vigorous intensity aerobic exercise as opposed to longer-duration moderate intensity exercise. There is conflicting evidence as to whether vigorous exercise can result in a greater excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) and thus more calories burned when compared to moderate continuous exercise performed for a longer duration. In addition, the literature contains a dearth of information isolating and investigating male and female response to these exercises, as well as fit and unfit subjects. The purpose of this study was to quantify EPOC following moderate intensity aerobic exercise (MOD) and high intensity aerobic intervals (HIAI) of equal energy expenditure. It was hypothesized that (1) EPOC following HIAI would be greater than following MOD, (2) EPOC of males and females would not differ, and (3) more fit subjects would have less of an increase in EPOC from MOD to HIAI than less fit subjects, predicted as a negative correlation between subjects’ VO2max and delta EPOC. Eleven subjects (5 male, 6 female; age 25.1 + 2.0 yr; height 169 + 3 cm; mass 67.6 + 3.0 kg; VO2max 41.0 + 1.9 mL.min-1.kg-1) participated in MOD and HIAI trials in a counterbalanced order separated by at least 48 hours. HIAI was ten 1-min intervals at 90% maximal aerobic power (Pmax), alternated with 1-min intervals at 60% Pmax. MOD was 30 min at 50% Pmax. Warm-ups and cool-downs were also matched for total work. All exercise was performed on a cycle ergometer. Data are reported as mean + SE. VO2 at rest was 4.0 + 0.3 mL·min-1·kg-1 preceding the MOD trial, and 4.1 + 0.4 mL·min-1·kg-1 for HIAI. Net VO2 during exercise (inclusive of warm-ups and cool-downs) was 52.7 + 3.6 L MOD, and 52.0 + 3.9 L HIAI. There was a weak trend (p = 0.164) for EPOC over 41 min of recovery to be greater in the HIAI trial (3.02 + 0.48 L) than the MOD trial (1.98 + 0.56 L). EPOC during minutes 0-10 post-exercise was significantly greater (p = 0.009) following HIAI (2.28 + 0.32 L) than MOD (1.37 + 0.43 L). Following a one-min water break, EPOC during minutes 11-41 post-exercise was 0.74 + 0.28 L HIAI, and 0.56 + 0.43 L MOD, which were statistically similar (p = 0.807). For EPOC expressed relative to body mass, males had a significantly greater (p = 0.035) EPOC over the entire 41-min recovery period than females (HIAI males: 58.0 + 8.7, females: 32.5 + 4.9 mL∙kg-1; MOD males: 44.9 + 14.0, females: 18.7 + 10.6 mL∙kg-1). For the separate time periods of 0-10 min and 11-41 min, there were trends for males to have higher EPOC than females (p = 0.086 and 0.053, respectively). When total EPOC was corrected for fat free mass there was no significant difference between male and female responses to either condition (p = 0.162).There was no correlation between VO2max and absolute ∆EPOC (L), whether using the total time frame (0-41 min, p = 0.958), or the early (0-10 min, p = 0.958) or late (11-41 min, p = 0.281) phases of EPOC. In conclusion, EPOC consisted of only 3.7% of the net oxygen consumption during the MOD exercise trial, and only 5.8% of the net oxygen consumption during the HIAI trial. While the HIAI EPOC was significantly greater than the MOD EPOC, neither EPOC contributes substantially to the overall energy cost of the exercise, and is thus unlikely to have significant effects on weight loss or other health outcomes. When prescribing exercise to those who are less fit or are new to exercising, it is important to consider the intensity and time that is most tolerable when the primary goal is weight loss

Relationships between number skills and cognitive abilities in people with specific arithmetic difficulties and people with dyslexia

[Introduction]:Aims and rationale for the studiesThe overall aim of this thesis was to analyse the relationships between cognitive abilities and number skills in children and adults. Examining the links between number skills and cognitive abilities is important both to improve our theoretical knowledge and to inform practitioners who are assessing and teaching children who have number skills difficulties. One important theoretical debate that can be informed by this work is whether normally developing individuals solve problems involving numbers using distinct cognitive modules that are specialised for such work or whether they utilise more generalpurpose cognitive systems. If weaknesses in particular number skills are associated with particular cognitive deficits, it will support the hypothesis that people utilise their general cognitive architecture. Although research into the interactions between children's cognitive profiles and their responses to different teaching programmes is in the early stages, some studies have suggested that tailoring teaching to a child's cognitive profile can be effective. Therefore identifying groups of children with number skills difficulties that have homogeneous cognitive profiles may help in the design of future intervention strategies.ScopeThree main areas of investigation were conducted, all of which examined the links between cognitive abilities and number skills.• An examination of the relationships between three number skills (number fact recall, counting speed and place value understanding) and three cognitive abilities (non-verbal reasoning, auditory-verbal-sequential short-term memory and visual-spatial short-term memory) in normally developing children. • An examination of the cognitive and number skills profiles of children with specific arithmetic abilities (SAD). These children had poor arithmetic attainment, but much better reading attainment. The assessment of these children's cognitive and attainment profiles was comprehensive. The children's verbal, non-verbal and spatial abilities were assessed as well as their psychomotor, visual-spatial memory and auditory-verbal memory abilities. Particular attention was paid to the balance of verbal and spatial abilities in these children as previous research has indicated that children with specific arithmetic difficulties share a homogenous ability profile with poor spatial ability, but better verbal ability.• An examination of the number skills profiles of children and adults with dyslexia. A wealth of previous research has indicated that dyslexic individuals have working memory weaknesses (Hulme, 1981; Shankweiler, Liberman, Mark, Fowler & Fisher, 1979). Three number skills (number fact recall, counting speed and place value understanding) were assessed in dyslexic children, to determine whether a diagnosis of dyslexia was associated with a particular number skills profile. As children with dyslexia had a specific difficulty with number fact recall, the number fact recall of dyslexic adults was compared with non-dyslexic adults, to determine whether this difficulty persisted into adulthood.Structure of the thesisThe thesis is divided into nine chapters. Chapter 1 describes the aims of the thesis and gives an outline of its content. Chapter 2 describes and evaluates the two major models of normal adult numerical processing. Chapter 3 describes current knowledge about how children develop number skills; particular emphasis is placed on the interplay between conceptual understanding and procedural skills. Chapter 4 describes and evaluates previous research into the attainment, cognitive and psychosocial strengths and weaknesses of children with arithmetic difficulties. The limitations of the various research methodologies utilised in previous studies are examined. Chapter 5 provides an overview of how dyslexia is defined; current knowledge about the cognitive profiles of dyslexic individuals is also discussed. Research into the number skills of dyslexic children is described and evaluated. Chapter 6 describes and evaluates Study 1, which had three main aims: to produce norms for some new computerised tests of number skills; to examine how place value understanding, counting speed and number fact recall develop injunior age children; to examine the relationships between cognitive and number skills junior aged children. Chapter 7 reports the results of Studies 2 and 3. The aim of Study 2 was to examine the ability profiles of children with specific arithmetic abilities. The results indicated that children with large verbal/spatial ability discrepancies were over-represented in the group with specific arithmetic difficulties. The cognitive profiles of the children with specific arithmetic abilities were examined in Study 3. The children were divided into four groups: low general conceptual ability; non-verbal learning difficulty; low verbal reasoning; and specific memory weakness. An illustrative case study of a child in each group is provided. Chapter 8 describes and evaluates Study 4, in which the counting speed, number fact recall and place value understanding of children with SAD and children with dyslexia was compared to a randomly selected sample of children attending mainstream schools. The children with dyslexia showed weaknesses on the test of number fact recall and one test of counting speed, but they had unimpaired place value understanding. In contrast the children with specific arithmetic difficulties were impaired both on the tests of place value understanding and number fact recall. Chapter 9 describes and evaluates Study 5, in which the number fact recall of a group of dyslexic students was compared to a group of non-dyslexic students who were matched on intellectual ability. The adults with dyslexia were slower and less accurate at recalling number facts. Chapter 10 draws together the results of the five studies. The findings are discussed in reference to models of adult numerical processing and Rourke's non-verbal learning difficulty classification (Rourke & Del Dotto, 1994). A multiple-route model of arithmetic difficulties is proposed and methods that could be used to evaluate the model are described. Recommendations for the diagnostic assessment of children with arithmetic difficulties and for cognitively tailored teaching are made

Criticism and Social Support in Intimate Relationships

Previous research has demonstrated the importance of intimate partner support and criticism to health, but less is known about how these behaviors are regulated and expressed in relationships. The present research examines individual differences and social cognitive processes that may shape support and criticism in romantic relationships. Chapter 1 describes a study designed to test gender differences in intimate partner support. Forty college couples engaged in recorded, laboratory interactions. Using videorecall methods, participants and independent observers rated each partner’s behavior at periodic intervals within interactions. Results indicated that, compared to men on average, women sought more support but received the same amount of support. According to participants’ ratings, women were also more responsive to partners’ varying support needs over the course of an interaction, whereas observers’ data indicated no gender differences in partners’ responsiveness. Findings are discussed in light of previous research on gender differences and methods for behavior measurement. Chapter 2 describes two studies designed to test a dual-process model of criticism and social support in young adults’ romantic relationships. Evidence indicates that intentions play a limited role in guiding social behavior, particularly for behaviors that are well-practiced in stable contexts. The studies hypothesized that individuals’ behavioral intentions would predict their future criticism and support of romantic partners, but that intentions would be a stronger predictor in newer (versus longer lasting) relationships. Study 1 employed daily diary methods to capture actions in everyday life (N = 79 individuals), whereas Study 2 used video recall procedures to measure actions during focused laboratory discussions (N = 50 couples). Results were consistent across studies. Individuals’ intentions predicted their subsequent behavior, but partners in newer (versus older) relationships were more likely to carry out their support intentions. Although the expected pattern of results was found for support, the intention-behavior relationship for criticism was not moderated by relationship length. Implications for intervention and directions for future research are discussed

Cross-modal associations in synaesthesia: vowel colours in the ear of the beholder

Human speech conveys many forms of information, but for some exceptional individuals (synaesthetes), listening to speech sounds can automatically induce visual percepts such as colours. In this experiment, grapheme–colour synaesthetes and controls were asked to assign colours, or shades of grey, to different vowel sounds. We then investigated whether the acoustic content of these vowel sounds influenced participants’ colour and grey-shade choices. We found that both colour and grey-shade associations varied systematically with vowel changes. The colour effect was significant for both participant groups, but significantly stronger and more consistent for synaesthetes. Because not all vowel sounds that we used are “translatable” into graphemes, we conclude that acoustic–phonetic influences co-exist with established graphemic influences in the cross-modal correspondences of both synaesthetes and non-synaesthetes

Cyber Borders: Exercising State Sovereignty Online

The internet brings challenges that threaten national identities and the foundations of what it means to be a state. Well-known challenges include difficulties maintaining important national values, competition threatening local economic plans, and even the inability to maintain a meaningful informational environment for self-governance. These influences are plausibly understood as challenges to some of the basic functions of a sovereign state. Despite these challenges, we identify the social practice of establishing control over mercurial mediums. States have responded by erecting cyberborders with a collection of laws, practices, and internet architecture designed to filter digital information within the territorial jurisdiction of the state. We contend that new digital bordering methods largely reflect and reproduce the territorial identity of the state. Border allusions, informed by concepts of geography, walls, and territoriality, are rife in states’ official internet rhetoric. In policy and practice, states are not only guided by vertical relations between state and society, but also have horizontal orientations for controlling cross-border flows. We define these preferences as a state’s border orientation or the underlying state preference for preserving national identity by filtering global forces. These preferences explain the rise of legal efforts to control the entry and exit of data and explain national approaches to sovereignty online across regime types

5 Minute Meditation Breath Awareness Video

KORU Mindfulness practitioner and Law Librarian Heather Simmons created multiple mindfulness and wellness resources for law students throughout the pandemic. A law library strike team on mindfulness was formed to promote these resources, including expanding a research guide for sharing resources and delivering live and pre-recorded content to better serve our students in Fall 2020. This video was one of two created in collaboration between Rachel Evans and Heather Simmons. Heather authored the script and guided the look and feel of the videos while Rachel provided technical support including narration recording

3 Minute Grounding Video

KORU Mindfulness practitioner and Law Librarian Heather Simmons created multiple mindfulness and wellness resources for law students throughout the pandemic. A law library strike team on mindfulness was formed to promote these resources, including expanding a research guide for sharing resources and delivering live and pre-recorded content to better serve our students in Fall 2020. This video was one of two created in collaboration between Rachel Evans and Heather Simmons. Heather authored the script and guided the look and feel of the videos while Rachel provided technical support including narration recording

Employment Assistance and Offender Desistance: An Evaluation of Recidivism in a Faith-based Re-entry Program

Recently released criminal offenders are generally subjected to heavy stigma as they reenter society which is compounded by the general isolation that many feel upon release. Because of these difficulties, re-entry programs can be an effective and prosocial way for ex-offenders to reintegrate back into the community and workforce. This project was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a local faith-based, non-profit re-entry program in Duval County between the years 2015 and 2019. Prisoners of Christ (POC) services both low and high-risk offenders through their employment assistance and residential housing programs. We conducted quantitative research on POC participants utilizing rearrest data from the Florida Department of Corrections and Duval County Jail databases (N = 546). Our quantitative methods included a Chi-Square Test of Independence to determine if there was a significant difference between the employed and unemployed groups on the outcome of rearrest. Our findings supported a statistically significant difference between groups (p = 0.0496), therefore we continued to evaluate the strength of the correlation between employment and rearrest through the Phi test. Our results indicated a weak correlation ( supporting our theoretical framework of employment as a desistance signal. Subsequently, we conducted qualitative interviews with “successful desisters” to better understand the phenomenology of the desistance process through Prisoners of Christ participants. Results indicated an importance of internal change, prosocial ties, and stable employment. Future research is recommended to determine if there are specific aspects of employment that increase a person\u27s likelihood of desisting from crime such as type of work and pay scale

Employment and Recidivism: An Analysis of a Faith-based Reentry Program

Project of Merit Winner Recently released criminal offenders are generally subjected to heavy stigma as they reenter society which is compounded by the general isolation that many feel upon release. Because of these difficulties, re-entry programs can be an effective, prosocial way for ex-offenders to reintegrate back into the community and workforce. This project was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a local faith-based, non-profit re-entry program in Duval County between 2015 and 2019. Prisoners of Christ (POC) services both low and high-risk offenders through their employment assistance and residential housing programs. We conducted quantitative research on POC participants utilizing rearrest data from the Florida Department of Corrections and Duval County Jail databases (N = 546). Our quantitative methods included a Chi-Square Test of Independence to determine if there was a significant difference between the employed and unemployed groups on the outcome of rearrest. Our findings supported a statistically significant difference between groups (p = 0.0496), therefore we continued to evaluate the strength of the correlation between employment and rearrest through the Phi test. Our results indicated a weak correlation (φ=0.0839) supporting our theoretical framework of employment as a desistance signal. Subsequently, we conducted qualitative interviews with “successful desisters” to better understand the phenomenology of the desistance process through POC participants. Results indicated an importance of internal change, prosocial ties, and stable employment. Future research is recommended to determine if there are specific aspects of employment that increase a person’s likelihood of desisting from crime such as type of work and pay scale