The 2010 regulations on golf groove design: impact on ball flight characteristics during a controlled shot.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in the amount of spin that can be generated during a controlled golf shot, as a result of the 2010 rule change regarding restrictions applied to the design of the grooves on the clubface implemented by the United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club. Ten experienced golfers (mean ± SD; age, 23.0 ± 0.67 yr; playing experience, 13.2 ± 1.6 yr; handicap, 1.6 ± 1.4) were required to play a total of 120 shots inside a state of the art golf simulator with 3 clubs consisting of ‘old’ pre 2010 U-groove design and ‘new’ post 2010 V-groove design. With the U and V grooved clubs, participants played 10 shots from a fairway mat and 10 shots from a rough mat using a 9 iron, PW and SW. Backspin (RPM) and, as a measure of accuracy, distance landed from the pin (yds) were recorded. Compared to the U-grooves, the newer V-groove design imparted significantly less backspin from both the fairway and rough surfaces (P < 0.05), additionally, shots with all clubs were consistently further away from the pin (P < 0.05). The newer groove design does not enable players to impart as much backspin on the ball as they previously could and our data suggest that the recent change in golf club design might therefore reward driving accuracy

Workplace Supports for LGBT Employees

What are workplace supports for LGBT employees? Workplace supports for LGBT employees are organizational policies and practices that are thought to improve the work experiences of LGBT employees and foster diversity within an organization. Although there isn’t one set of specific workplace supports for LGBT employees, one way of summarizing the contextual supports in the workplace is to categorize them as (a) formal LGBT-supportive policies and practices, (b) LGBT-supportive climates, and (c) supportive workplace relationships (Webster, Adams, Maranto, Sawyer, & Thoroughgood, 2017). Formal policies and practices that are supportive of LGBT employees include things like same-sex benefits coverage, LGBT resource groups, active recruitment of LGBT employees, and organizational commitment to the LGBT community (e.g., Button, 2001; Ragins & Cornwell, 2001). In general, climate refers to workers’ perceptions and interpretations about their work environment; an LGBT-supportive workplace climate indicates that employees perceive their work environment as accepting and affirming of LGBT employees (Liddle, Luzzo, Hauenstein, & Schuck, 2004). Supportive workplace relationships are thought to impact the experiences of LGBT workers by creating interpersonal resources that provide acceptance and support of LGBT workers (Webster et al., 2017). These relationships can be with a variety of coworkers, including subordinates, peers, supervisors, or top management (Webster et al., 2017). The existence of formal policies is measured through single or multiple items, completed by individual employees or organization representatives. Example items include, “Does your organization include sexual orientation in the definition of diversity?” and “Does your organizational welcome same-sex partners at company social events?” The most common way to measure LGBT climate is through the LGBT Climate Inventory (Liddle et al., 2004). Employees are asked to indicate how well each statement describes their workplace. Example items include, “LGBT people consider it a comfortable place to work” and “Coworkers make comments that seem to indicate a lack of awareness of LGBT issues.” Finally, LGBT-supportive relationships are assessed through a variety of measures that tap supportive relationships at various levels (Webster et al., 2017). Thus far, these measures are about support in general, rather than LGBT-specific support, and include items such as, “My coworkers are hostile towards me” (Griffith & Hebl, 2002) and “My supervisor takes pride in my accomplishments at work” (Rabelo & Cortina, 2014). July 22, 2020 Why are workplace supports for LGBT employees important? The most recent national data show that 4.5% of adults in the US identify as LGBT, 91% of whom are employed in the workforce (LGBT Demographic Data Interactive, 2019; Newport, 2018). Given recent population estimates, that is nearly 10.5 million people. Even that number is likely an underestimate, however, given the general stigma associated with identifying as LGBT and the risk of facing unfair treatment and discrimination at the workplace. Until the very recent decision by the Supreme Court to protect LGBT employees from discrimination based on sex, 30 states had no legislation protecting LGBT employees from discrimination. With the absence of legislation to protect LGBT workers from discrimination, workplace supports may offer other forms of protection. LGBT workplace supports are important because they are associated with LGBT employees’ (a) work attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction organizational commitment), (b) psychological strain (e.g., anxiety, depression, and burnout), (c) perceived discrimination, and (d) disclosure of their LGBT identity at work (Webster et al., 2017). The research does not allow for conclusions of causal connections, but any factors that have the potential to improve work attitudes, reduce psychological strain, and reduce perceived discrimination among LGBT employees are important to further examine. Though LGBT identity disclosure is not necessarily a goal for employers to pursue, it may be a behavioral indicator of psychological safety and comfort, which may be valuable in its own right. • Formal policies and practices are moderately associated with lower perceived discrimination and a higher likelihood of disclosure of LGBT identity. They are only modestly connected with job satisfaction and organizational commitment and very minimally associated with psychological strain. • An LGBT-supportive climate is strongly associated with lower perceived discrimination, a higher likelihood of disclosure, and higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It is moderately associated with lower strain. • Supportive workplace relationships are strongly associated with higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment and moderately associated with lower psychological strain. Note that these findings are already known to be generally true, independent of LGBT factors, but these findings indicate that they are also true of people who identify as LGBT. In terms of more LGBT-specific factors, supportive relationships are moderately associated with higher likelihood of disclosure and lower perceived discrimination. Having all three types of supports is better than fewer, but the strongest relationships are between (a) an LGBT-supportive climate and both disclosure and perceived discrimination and (b) workplace relationships and both work attitudes and psychological strain. Note that the more LGBT-specific supports (policies and climate) are most strongly connected to LGBTspecific outcomes (disclosure and perceived discrimination), whereas the more generic support type (workplace relationships) is most strongly related to more generic outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, burnout). More research is needed to explore other types of potential outcomes and to examine the effect of interventions that improve LGBT workplace supports. QIC-WD Takeaways ► Workplace supports for LGBT employees include (a) formal LGBT-supportive policies and practices, (b) an LGBT-supportive climate, and (c) supportive workplace relationships. ► Formal policies and practices are (a) moderately associated with lower perceived discrimination and a higher likelihood of disclosure of LGBT identity, (b) modestly connected with job satisfaction and organizational commitment and (c) very minimally associated with psychological strain. ► An LGBT-supportive climate is strongly associated with lower perceived discrimination, a higher likelihood of disclosure, and higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It is moderately associated with lower psychological strain. ► Supportive workplace relationships are (a) strongly associated with higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment (b) and moderately associated with lower psychological strain, higher likelihood of disclosure, and lower perceived discrimination. ► There are no meta-analyses assessing the connection between LGBT workplace supports and turnover. ► Research is needed to test the effects of interventions to improve LGBT workplace supports. ► The most common way to measure LGBT climate is the LGBT Climate Inventory

Billiards and Brains: Cognitive Ability and Behavior in a p-Beauty Contest

"Beauty contests" are well-studied, dominance-solvable games that generate two interesting results. First, most behavior does not conform to the unique Nash equilibrium. Second, there is considerable unexplained heterogeneity in behavior. In this work, we evaluate the relationship between beauty contest behavior and cognitive ability. We find that subjects with high cognitive ability exhibit behavior that is closer to the Nash equlibrium. We examine this finding through the prism of economic and biological theory.beauty contest; rationality; cognitive ability; Nash equlibrium

The new food-tech city : adapting Chicago's post-stockyard urbanism

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2012.Pages 85 and 86 blank. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-84).This thesis examines the latent potential of Chicago's former Union Stock Yard, which consequentially draws attention to the polarities of industrial food production. The Union Stock Yard was once symbolic of an era where urban progress was equated with efficiency and growth. Today, the site is facing an identity crisis: it is characterized predominantly by underutilized warehousing, however, innovative closed-loop food producers (such as The Plant and the Iron Street Farm) are indicative of an emerging narrative that focuses on sustainability, health, and taste. This thesis offers a design proposal for a new food technologies cluster that includes multifunctional programmatic components for: research, production, and marketing (as well as new residential communities.) The goal is to formulate a design solution that selectively packages existing elements (river, warehouses, workforce) with new buildings, infrastructure, and public spaces - to build a flexible urban network that will reconnect to the larger square-mile Chicago grid. To do so the study draws upon original analytical studies and numerous precedents that convert decommissioned industrial land. The design product will provide reflection upon the past as it presents a scenario for the future.by Justin Burnham.S.M

Estimating Survival Probabilities of Unmarked Dependent Young When Detection Is Imperfect

We present a capture-recapture modeling approach to the estimation of survival probability of dependent chicks when only the attending adult bird is marked. The model requires that the bird\u27s nest is found prior to hatching and that the number of eggs that hatch are counted. Subsequent data are sightings of the marked adult and a count of chicks with the adult. The model allows for imperfect detection of chicks, but the number of chicks can never exceed the number of eggs in the nest (i.e., adults cannot adopt chicks). We use data from radio-tagged adult Mountain Plovers (Charadrius montanus) and their unmarked chicks as an example. We present the model in terms of precocial bird species, but the method extends to many other taxa

Testing multiple environmental DNA substrates for detection of the cryptic and critically endangered burrowing freshwater crayfish engaewa pseudoreducta

Effective conservation of endangered species depends on knowledge of their distributions, but species detection can often be challenging. An example of this is provided by the Critically Endangered Margaret River burrowing crayfish (Engaewa pseudoreducta), which is highly cryptic. Due to the burrowing habit of this crayfish, detection of this species currently requires a great deal of effort, the results are often non-conclusive, and, as it involves manual excavation of their burrows, the habitat of this and other species is destroyed in the detection process. In response to these challenges, this study developed and optimized a species-specific probe-based qPCR assay targeting the 16S gene region to detect the target species from environmental samples. Three test substrates—chimney pellets (soil expelled by a crayfish as it digs its burrow), burrow scrapes (soil lining the inside of a burrow), and burrow water (water that is filling the burrow space)—were tested from 11 crayfish burrows thought to have been constructed by the target species to see if eDNA could be detected. DNA from the target species was successfully amplified from both chimney pellets (6/11 samples) and burrow scrapes (3/11 samples); however, E. pseudoreducta was not detected in any water samples. As previously stated, sampling techniques to confirm the presence of this species have relied on burrow excavation (resulting in habitat destruction) and were often not definitive; therefore, replacing the traditional survey method with a noninvasive eDNA-based technique could be of enormous benefit to the management and conservation of this (and similar) species

Downs, Stokes and the Dynamics of Electoral Choice

A six-wave 2005–09 national panel survey conducted in conjunction with the British Election Study provided data for an investigation of sources of stability and change in voters’ party preferences. The authors test competing spatial and valence theories of party choice and investigate the hypothesis that spatial calculations provide cues for making valence judgements. Analyses reveal that valence mechanisms – heuristics based on party leader images, party performance evaluations and mutable partisan attachments – outperform a spatial model in terms of strength of direct effects on party choice. However, spatial effects still have sizeable indirect effects on the vote via their influence on valence judgements. The results of exogeneity tests bolster claims about the flow of influence from spatial calculations to valence judgments to electoral choice.</jats:p

Deep uncertainty, public reason, the conservation of biodiversity and the regulation of markets for lion skeletons

Public reason is a formal concept in political theory. There is a need to better understand how public reason might be elicited in making public decisions that involve deep uncertainty, which arises from pernicious and gross ignorance about how a system works, the boundaries of a system, and the relative value (or disvalue) of various possible outcomes. This article is the third in a series to demonstrate how ethical argument analysis—a qualitative decision-making aid—may be used to elicit public reason in the presence of deep uncertainty. The first article demonstrated how argument analysis is capable of probing deep into a single argument. The second article demonstrated how argument analysis can analyze a broad set of arguments and how argument analysis can be operationalized for use as a decision-making aid. This article demonstrates (i) the relevance of argument analysis to public reasoning, (ii) the relevance of argument analysis for decision-making under deep uncertainty, an emerging direction in decision theory, and (iii) how deep uncertainty can arise when the boundary between facts and values is inescapably entangled. This article and the previous two make these demonstrations using, as an example, the conservation and sustainable use of lions