Environmental education: creative place-making in Papua New Guinea

This paper addresses how experience of environment may be an important stimulant in the creative process through which appropriate architectural place may be made. We will argue that with a better understanding of their own reactions in and to environments architectural students may be more sensitive to the effects of their architectural gestures on others. Accepting that such depth experiences are mirrored in archetypal forms and patterns in indigenous architectures, we will use as a case study the education of architects and the creation of architecture in Papua New Guinea [PNG]. We argue that an appropriate architecture, responsive to the locale of PNG, offers the antithesis of the often inappropriate internationalised architecture

Halve the Gap by 2030: Youth Disconnection in America's Cities

One in every seven Americans between the ages of 16 and 24—5.8 million young people in all—are neither working nor in school. These vulnerable teens and young adults are unmoored from institutions that provide knowledge, networks, skills, identity, and direction. Most young people never recover from long spells of disconnection. They carry scars of their lost years for the rest of their lives in the form of lower wages and marriage rates, and higher incarceration and unemployment rates. Early spells of disconnection rain serious blows on long-term health, happiness, and job satisfaction" (p.5-6). This report uses updated data to build on a previous report that ranked the country's 25 largest metropolitan areas as well as the nation's largest racial and ethnic groups in terms of youth disconnection. The report also maps the landscape of youth disconnection and presents the data disaggregated by neighborhood cluster for twenty-five US metro areas

A Century Apart: New Measures of Well-Being for U.S. Racial and Ethnic Groups

Our national conversation about race tends to take place in black and white, yet the greatest disparities in human well-being to be found in the U.S. are between Asian Americans in New Jersey and Native Americans in South Dakota. An entire century of human progress separates the worst-off from the best-off groups within the U.S., according to the latest update of the American Human Development (HD) Index. What's new in this report?American HD Index scores for racial and ethnic group in each state, using the most recent government data to create a composite measure of progress on health, education, and income indicators. Previous reports have presented scores for racial and ethnic groups for the entire country and within specific states. This is the first time that American HD Index scores have been computed for racial and ethnic groups in each state. Rankings by state, for each major racial and ethnic group, on the American HD Index. The index reveals that the starkest disparities in well-being fall not between blacks and whites, but between Native Americans and Asian Americans. Asian Americans as a group top the rankings, with Asian Americans in New Jersey coming in at number one. If current trends continue, it will take Native Americans in South Dakota an entire century to catch up with where New Jersey Asian Americans are now in terms of life expectancy, educational enrollment and attainment, and median earnings.Analysis of what's driving the differences in human development outcomes for different groups.Disaggregated data on life expectancy, educational enrollment, educational degree attainment, and median personal earnings, all from the latest official government releases. Although the numbers tell a sobering tale, this data can be the start of a conversation about where in the country different groups of Americans are thriving -- and where others are falling behind -- and why. A holistic approach using official statistics paints a picture of today and helps us monitor change for a better tomorrow; as such, the American HD Index can serve as a tool for action

An Online Customer Service Survey to Determine Current Levels of Customer Satisfaction at a CrossFit Gym

A study was conducted by researchers from Utah State University at Northland Strength and Conditioning/Combat CrossFit to determine the customer satisfaction levels at a CrossFit gym in Liberty, Missouri. A survey was created and sent to current and previous members and responses were analyzed for trends and areas of strengths and weaknesses in the business. Of 194 surveys sent, 67 (35%) were returned. Data was analyzed using the survey administration platform provided by Constant Contact and also by Excel spreadsheet and statistical analyses. Several areas of improvement were identified, including advertising opportunities with exterior signage, offering more classes or different class times, and enhancing the customer experience to improvement regular attendance rates among members. After analyzing data for age and gender trends using ANOVA, there was found to be a small but statistically significant difference between male and female customer satisfaction, with males being slightly less satisfied with service than females. There was no difference in satisfaction rates among members based on age. Further considerations for research at this location would include analyzing the customers’ likelihood of referring others to the business and what specific scheduling changes would be most likely to result in increased satisfaction with the gym’s class offerings and business hours

Limits on Clouds and Hazes for the TRAPPIST-1 Planets

The TRAPPIST-1 planetary system is an excellent candidate for study of the evolution and habitability of M-dwarf planets. Transmission spectroscopy observations performed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) suggest the innermost five planets do not possess clear hydrogen atmospheres. Here we reassess these conclusions with recently updated mass constraints and expand the analysis to include limits on metallicity, cloud top pressure, and the strength of haze scattering. We connect recent laboratory results of particle size and production rate for exoplanet hazes to a one-dimensional atmospheric model for TRAPPIST-1 transmission spectra. Doing so, we obtain a physically-based estimate of haze scattering cross sections. We find haze scattering cross sections on the order of 1e-26 to 1e-19 cm squared are needed in hydrogen-rich atmospheres for TRAPPIST-1 d, e, and f to match the HST data. For TRAPPIST-1 g, we cannot rule out a clear hydrogen-rich atmosphere. We also modeled the effects an opaque cloud deck and substantial heavy element content have on the transmission spectra. We determine that hydrogen-rich atmospheres with high altitude clouds, at pressures of 12mbar and lower, are consistent with the HST observations for TRAPPIST-1 d and e. For TRAPPIST-1 f and g, we cannot rule out clear hydrogen-rich cases to high confidence. We demonstrate that metallicities of at least 60xsolar with tropospheric (0.1 bar) clouds agree with observations. Additionally, we provide estimates of the precision necessary for future observations to disentangle degeneracies in cloud top pressure and metallicity. Our results suggest secondary, volatile-rich atmospheres for the outer TRAPPIST-1 planets d, e, and f.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted in the Astronomical Journa

Maternal smoking and the risk of still birth: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Smoking in pregnancy is known to be associated with a range of adverse pregnancy outcomes, yet there is a high prevalence of smoking among pregnant women in many countries, and it remains a major public health concern. We have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to provide contemporary estimates of the association between maternal smoking in pregnancy and the risk of stillbirth. METHODS: We searched four databases namely MEDLINE, EMBASE, Psych Info and Web of Science for all relevant original studies published until 31(st) December 2012. We included observational studies that measured the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and the risk of stillbirth. RESULTS: 1766 studies were screened for title analysis, of which 34 papers (21 cohorts, 8 case controls and 5 cross sectional studies) met the inclusion criteria. In meta-analysis smoking during pregnancy was significantly associated with a 47% increase in the odds of stillbirth (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.37, 1.57, p  <  0.0001). In subgroup analysis, smoking 1-9 cig/day and ≥10 cig/day was associated with an 9% and 52% increase in the odds of stillbirth respectively. Subsequently, studies defining stillbirth at ≥ 20 weeks demonstrated a 43% increase in odds for smoking mothers compared to mothers who do not smoke, (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.32, 1.54, p  <  0.0001), whereas studies with stillbirth defined at ≥ 24 weeks and ≥ 28 weeks showed 58% and 33% increase in the odds of stillbirth respectively. CONCLUSION: Our review confirms a dose-response effect of maternal smoking in pregnancy on risk of stillbirth. To minimise the risk of stillbirth, reducing current smoking prevalence in pregnancy should continue to be a key public health high priority