The Cultural and Social Effects of Religion on Queer1 People

Religion holds a heavy weight in our society; regardless if you are religious yourself, the underlying values of most mainstream religions permeate into our societal values. In this paper, the religions I will discuss as having negative perceptions of Queer people are Christian denominations and Orthodox Jewish denominations since it is what most of the studies looked to reach their conclusions. This is specifically problematic for those who identify as Queer (LGBT) who, under the values of these religions, are seen as going against all moral values. As said by Sherkat, “Americans are conflicted over their core values surrounding the perceived sanctity of family and marriage and their own rising individualism and efforts to tailor their life experiences to their personal choice”(2002:347). In this paper, I wish to cover three main points. First, to discuss how having a religious identity can be both potentially uplifting and cause a lot of grief for Queer people. They often struggle with their own feeling about their identities which are often times conflicting in values. Also, I will search for how the coming out process of Queer people may be more difficult for Queer people who hold more traditional religious values. Next, I will show how, in our society, religion has permeated through our culture and has potentially affected parents who are both religious and not religious; causing them to have trouble accepting their Queer child’s identity. Finally, I would like to look at how the politics of our society are being run by religious values and affecting society’s perceived identities of Queer people. In our society, Queer people have become the symbols of a culture heavily entrenched with religious values as religion has affected their identity, their self acceptance, and the acceptance or rejection from others

Flight Planning and Procedures

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was founded in 1958 by President Eisenhower as a civilian lead United States federal agency designed to advance the science of space. Over the years, NASA has grown with a vision to "reach for new heights and reveal the unknown for the benefit of humankind" (About NASA). Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle are just a few of the programs that NASA has led to advance our understanding of the universe. Each of the eleven main NASA space centers located across the United States plays a unique role in accomplishing that vision. Since 1961, Johnson Space Center (JSC) has led the effort for manned spaceflight missions. JSC has a mission to "provide and apply the preeminent capabilities to develop, operate, and integrate human exploration missions spanning commercial, academic, international, and US government partners" (Co-op Orientation). To do that, JSC is currently focused on two main programs, Orion and the International Space Station (ISS). Orion is the exploration vehicle that will take astronauts to Mars; a vessel comparable to the Apollo capsule. The International Space Station (ISS) is a space research facility designed to expand our knowledge of science in microgravity. The first piece of the ISS was launched in November of 1998 and has been in a continuous low earth orbit ever since. Recently, two sub-programs have been developed to resupply the ISS. The Commercial Cargo program is currently flying cargo and payloads to the ISS; the Commercial Crew program will begin flying astronauts to the ISS in a few years

A Qualitative Study of Letters to President Kennedy from Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families: Using the Research Poem in Policy Oriented Research

Using the research poem as a tool of data representation, this paper presentsfindingsfrom an analysis of letters sent to President John F. Kennedy regarding the formulation of mental health policy during the early 1960s. The article presents the experiences of consumers of mental health services and their families-shapers and receivers of mentalhealthprovisionsth atareinfrequentlygivenv oice. Traditional thematic analysis was conducted, and data subsequently were represented in three poetic forms:free verse, the pantoum, and the tanka

Meaning as a core principle in Social Work practice = El sentido como principio básico en la práctica del Trabajo Social

This paper explores the concept of meaning as a focus area for expanding core values and practice realities in social work. By focusing on helping clients develop a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, social workers can help clients maximize their personal and cultural strengths in the service of meeting their developmental and social aims. A case example is used, and concepts discussed are applied in the area of finding meaning in life.En este trabajo se explora el concepto de significado como un área de interés para la expansión de los valores fundamentales y las realidades de la práctica en el trabajo social. Al centrarse en ayudar a los clientes a desarrollar un sentido de significado y propósito en sus vidas, los trabajadores sociales pueden ayudar a los clientes a maximizar sus fortalezas personales y culturales al servicio del cumplimiento de sus objetivos sociales y de desarrollo. Se utiliza un ejemplo de caso, y conceptos tratados se aplican en el ámbito de la búsqueda de sentido de la vida

Preventing Unintentional Drug Overdose in North Carolina by Advocating for Policies that Support Overdose Prevention

The main purpose of this Capstone project was to develop and promote a policy, which became the 911 Good Samaritan and Naloxone Access bill, to reduce unintentional drug overdose deaths in North Carolina (NC). The team's partner organization, North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition (NCHRC), solicited the Capstone team's help in raising awareness about NC's overdose problem, developing a policy solution, and advocating for state-level policy change. The Capstone project increased NCHRC's capacity to advocate for the 911 Good Samaritan and Naloxone Access bill, strengthened NCHRC's relationship with the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) and community stakeholders, raised awareness of the problem of drug overdose, and resulted in the passage of the policy into law. In 2010, unintentional poisoning, which typically involves drugs, became the second leading cause of injury death for all ages in the United States. Between 1997 and 2001, drug overdose deaths more than doubled in NC. Opioid pain relievers (OPR) accounted for 88% of the increase in drug-related deaths. Many overdose prevention efforts have focused on the supply side, with policies dictating prescribing practice or drug abuse screening and prevention. Although these efforts can prevent an overdose from happening, overdoses will still occur even with the best prevention efforts. Achieving a broader reduction in fatal overdose requires a more targeted policy-level intervention. For this Capstone project, the team produced five deliverables. Deliverable 1 was a literature review of the impact of drug overdose in NC and a fact sheet for distribution to stakeholders. Deliverable 2 consisted of policy recommendations, based on the literature review, intended to guide legislative sponsors in drafting a bill. Deliverable 3 was a presentation to the John Locke Foundation (JLF), a policy think tank, to educate their members and elicit support for the policy. Deliverable 4 was a drug overdose prevention summit in Raleigh to raise awareness and support among various stakeholders, including legislators, for the 911 Good Samaritan and Naloxone Access bill. Lastly, Deliverable 5 included the development of educational materials to raise awareness about the new law.Master of Public Healt

Human Lipoxygenase Pathway Gene Variation and Association with Markers of Subclinical Atherosclerosis in the Diabetes Heart Study

Aims. Genes of the 5-lipoxygenase pathway are compelling candidates for atherosclerosis. We hypothesize that polymorphisms in ALOX12, ALOX15, ALOX5, and ALOX5AP genes are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in multiple vascular beds. Methods. Families with two or more siblings with type 2 diabetes and their nondiabetic siblings were studied as part of the Diabetes Heart Study (DHS). European American diabetic (n = 828) and nondiabetic (n = 170) siblings were genotyped for SNPs in the ALOX12, ALOX15, ALOX5, and ALOX5AP genes. Subclinical measures of atherosclerosis (IMT, coronary (CorCP), carotid (CarCP) and aortic (AorCP) calcified plaque) were obtained. Results. Associations were observed between ALOX12 with CorCP, ALOX5 with CorCP, AorCP, and IMT, and ALOX5AP with CorCP and CarCP, independent of known epidemiologic risk factors. Further, lipoxygenase pathway SNPs that were associated with measures of atherosclerosis were associated with markers of inflammation (CRP, ICAM-1) and calcification (MGP). Conclusions. Polymorphisms within ALOX12, ALOX5, and ALOX5AP are genetically associated with subclinical atherosclerosis and with biomarkers of disease in families with type 2 diabetes. These results suggest that variants in lipoxygenase pathway genes may have pleiotropic effects on multiple components that determine risk of cardiovascular disease

Obesity Discrimination in the Recruitment Process: "You're Not Hired!".

Previous literature reports that obese persons are discriminated in the workplace. Evidence suggests that obese people are perceived as having less leadership potential, and in comparison to normal weight peers, are expected to be less successful. This study examined whether obese people are discriminated against when applying for employment. Three hypotheses were offered in line with previous research: (1) obese people are less likely to be assessed positively on personnel suitability than normal weight people; (2) obese people in active employment are more likely to be discriminated against than people in non-active employment; and (3) obese women are more likely to be discriminated against than obese men. 181 Participants were sampled from sedentary, standing, manual and heavy manual occupations. Participants rated hypothetical candidates on their suitability for employment. Employees also completed measures of implicit and explicit attitudes toward obesity. MANOVA was conducted to examine if obese candidates were discriminated against during the recruitment procedure. Results demonstrated that participants rated obese candidates as less suitable compared with normal weight candidates and when the weight status of the candidate was not revealed for work across the four workplace groups. Participant gender and weight status also impacted perceptions of candidates' suitability for work and discrimination toward obese candidates was higher in participants from more physically demanding occupations. The study findings contribute to evidence that obese people are discriminated against in the hiring process and support calls for policy development

Oscillations of neutrinos and mesons in quantum field theory

This report deals with the quantum field theory of particle oscillations in vacuum. We first review the various controversies regarding quantum-mechanical derivations of the oscillation formula, as well as the different field-theoretical approaches proposed to settle them. We then clear up the contradictions between the existing field-theoretical treatments by a thorough study of the external wave packet model. In particular, we show that the latter includes stationary models as a subcase. In addition, we explicitly compute decoherence terms, which destroy interferences, in order to prove that the coherence length can be increased without bound by more accurate energy measurements. We show that decoherence originates not only in the width and in the separation of wave packets, but also in their spreading through space-time. In this review, we neither assume the relativistic limit nor the stability of oscillating particles, so that the oscillation formula derived with field-theoretical methods can be applied not only to neutrinos but also to neutral K and B mesons. Finally, we discuss oscillations of correlated particles in the same framework.Comment: v2, 124 pages, 10 figures (7 more); updated review of the literature; complete derivation of the oscillation probability at short and large distance; more details on the influence of the spreading of the amplitude on decoherence; submitted to Physics Report

Exceptionally well-preserved vegetal remains from the Upper Cretaceous of "Lo Hueco", Cuenca, Spain

Vegetal remains are considered labile structures that quickly become decayed in ecosystems. However, certain lignified tissues (woody plants) can largely resist decomposition, becoming sometimes exceptionally well preserved. At the Upper Cretaceous site of ?Lo Hueco? (Cuenca, Spain), those woody remains (trunks and branches) with resinous material in the inner tracheids and parenchyma cells that were buried rapidly under anoxic conditions experienced a low degree of maturation, becoming exceptionally well preserved. Those woody remains deposited under oxic conditions (subaerial or sub-aquatic exposure) were more intensely biodegraded and subsequently carbonified, partially or completely mineralized in gypsum and covered by a ferruginous crust. These two modes of preservation are scarce, with silicification or carbonification processes much more common, and both can be considered as ?exceptional preservation?. Other vegetal remains, such as carbonified leaves, stems and roots, were collected in the site. The different modes of preservation depend directly on: depositional micro-environment (sandy distributary channel, muddy flood plain); and type (trunk, branch, stem, leave, root) and state (presence or absence of resinous material) of the material. The great abundance and diversity of fossils in ?Lo Hueco? identify it as Konzentrat-Lagersta¿tten, sequentially formed by alternated events of flooding and drying depositional events, but the exceptional quality and rarity of determinate vegetal macroremains preservation suggest that certain deposits of this site can be considered as conservation deposits

Quantum critical dynamics in a 5000-qubit programmable spin glass

Experiments on disordered alloys suggest that spin glasses can be brought into low-energy states faster by annealing quantum fluctuations than by conventional thermal annealing. Due to the importance of spin glasses as a paradigmatic computational testbed, reproducing this phenomenon in a programmable system has remained a central challenge in quantum optimization. Here we achieve this goal by realizing quantum critical spin-glass dynamics on thousands of qubits with a superconducting quantum annealer. We first demonstrate quantitative agreement between quantum annealing and time-evolution of the Schr\"odinger equation in small spin glasses. We then measure dynamics in 3D spin glasses on thousands of qubits, where simulation of many-body quantum dynamics is intractable. We extract critical exponents that clearly distinguish quantum annealing from the slower stochastic dynamics of analogous Monte Carlo algorithms, providing both theoretical and experimental support for a scaling advantage in reducing energy as a function of annealing time