The Stellar Population of Stripped Cluster Spiral NGC 4522: A Local Analog to K+A Galaxies?

We present observations of the stripped Virgo Cluster spiral NGC 4522, a clear, nearby example of a galaxy currently undergoing ISM-ICM stripping. Utilizing SparsePak integral field spectroscopy on the WIYN 3.5m telescope and GALEX UV photometry, we present an analysis of the outer disk (r > 3 kpc) stellar population of this galaxy, beyond the HI and Halpha truncation radius. We find that the star formation in the gas-stripped outer disk ceased very recently, ~100 Myr ago, in agreement with previous claims that this galaxy is currently being stripped. At the time of this stripping, data and models suggest that the galaxy experienced a modest starburst. The stripping is occurring in a region of the cluster well outside the cluster core, likely because this galaxy is experiencing extreme conditions from a dynamic ICM due to an ongoing sub-cluster merger. The outer disk has a spectrum of a K+A galaxy, traditionally observed in high-redshift cluster galaxies. In the case of NGC 4522, a K+A spectrum is formed by simple stripping of the interstellar gas by the hot intracluster medium. These data show K+A spectra can be created by cluster processes and that these processes likely extend beyond the cluster core.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Sexual Risk: Contributing Factors to High-Risk Sexual Behaviors in a Transgender/Gender Non-Conforming Population

There are a variety of factors associated with the frequency of risky sexual behaviors. Whereas spirituality is a protective factor for certain populations, depression is correlated with higher rates of sexual risk behaviors. Until now, the relationship between access to healthcare and these risky sexual behaviors has not been studied. This study sought to determine the impact of spirituality, depression, and access to healthcare with risky sexual behaviors for individuals who identify as transgender/gender non-conforming (TGNC). Data was collected from TGNC adults over the age of 18 using an online survey method. This study did not find significant relationships involving depression and spirituality on risky sexual behaviors. However, there was evidence that TGNC individuals who have a primary care provider and were able to access them within the past year engaged in fewer risky sexual behaviors

Literacy, book publishing and civil society

[Introduction]:Despite batteries of tests given at intervals during schooling years, literacy rates among Pacific Islands populations are low, particularly in Melanesia. Low literacy rates are markers not only of inability to read but also of a lack of communication flows. Remedies are scattered and piecemeal at best, dramatically affecting book publishing, an under-rated area of importance for civil society. I use the term civil society here in three senses: • contractually, as in the rights of citizens within states; • representatively, as in peoples' participation in non-governmental activities (both formal associations and non-formal communities) to supplement or to balance states' actions; and • morally, as in the ability of people to discuss their differences (including digitally, electronically, in print and writing), rather than resorting to violence, to settle them. Some coordination exists among different sectors of the book chain -- writers, publishers, booksellers, librarians, teachers, readers -- but the scope for improvement is great. Although some publishers cooperate, by and large, they operate independently if not competitively -- be they governmental agencies, churches and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), individuals, or groups. Local, national, regional, and international attempts to address information needs through book publishing are often shortsighted and contradictory. The politics and economics of publishing are such that Oceanic peoples are often deprived of resources needed for informed, stable societies.AusAI

Land Rights Among Subsistence Farmers: An Examination of Madagascar’s Land Reform and Prevailing Systems of Land Tenure in Betafo

In Madagascar, legal systems of land tenure have been inaccessible for the vast majority of the rural population. This has stranded millions of subsistence farmers in a sense of insecurity, as they lack legal rights for the property that they have farmed for generations. Madagascar’s land reform, launched in 2005, attempted to change these exclusionary tenure practices. This reform —known as the Plan National Foncier—created land certificates and local land offices in an attempt to make legal land tenure financially, geographically, and logistically accessible to the local population. This study discusses the successes, failures, and unforeseen consequences of Madagascar’s land reform within the agrarian community of Betafo. Through an examination of theoretical contexts and various findings, this study concludes that land certificates are increasingly approachable to a rural population and provide a valuable form of tenure security. However, large swaths of land remain unclaimed, marginalized members of society continue to be excluded, “official” systems of tenure are encumbered by confusion, bureaucratic frailty plagues land institutions, and many “development” goals not been achieved

History of the Geology and Geography Department, Ohio Wesleyan University

Author Institution: Department of Geology and Geography, Ohio Wesleyan Universit

Use of LiDAR in Automated Aerial Refueling To Improve Stereo Vision Systems

The United States Air Force (USAF) executes five Core Missions, four of which depend on increased aircraft range. To better achieve global strike and reconnaissance, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) require aerial refueling for extended missions. However, current aerial refueling capabilities are limited to manned aircraft due to technical difficulties to refuel UAVs mid-flight. The latency between a UAV operator and the UAV is too large to adequately respond for such an operation. To overcome this limitation, the USAF wants to create a capability to guide the refueling boom into the refueling receptacle. This research explores the use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to create a relative pose estimation of the UAV and compares it to previous stereo vision results. Researchers at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) developed an algorithm to automate the refueling operation based on a stereo-vision system. While the system works, it requires a large amount of processing; it must detect an aircraft, compose an image between the two cameras\u27 points of view, create a point cloud of the image, and run a point cloud alignment algorithm to match the point cloud to a reference model. These complex steps require a large amount of processing power and are subject to noise and processing artifacts

Politics and book publishing in the Pacific Islands

This dissertation discusses interactions between politics and book publishing by missions and colonial governments in areas of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia over approximately 200 years. It argues that book publishing has played a fundamental role in shaping politics and that politics has, in turn, shaped book publishing in the Pacific Islands. As a new means of communication in Oceania, book publishing shifted the nature of power by convincing people who did not previously read and write with alphabetic script to value literacy and books, to participate in publishing, and to spread text culture. From its inception, book publishing in the Pacific Islands has been a significant instrument of ideological power: power that can rest on customs, habits, interests, and loyalties; power whose causes and effects might be indistinguishable from each other; power that creates identities and forms societies although the participants themselves might be unaware of that power and how it effects political change. Participants might not distinguish between types of power, and even if they do recognize power and consent to it, they might still resent its existence and effects. Far from portraying a unidirectional flow, wherein only foreigners have published information and instructed Pacific Islanders, this dissertation argues that some islanders have sought to participate in book publishing so as to express their views and/or those of their associates or communities, and this in turn has contributed to persuading and influencing other people, sometimes even across the Pacific. The organization of mission societies around publications, for example in biblical material, schoolbooks, or laws, often reinforced indigenous power, but it also eased the imposition of colonial rule. Ironically, command of text culture assisted islanders to negotiate with new and sometimes stronger political forces. The colonial era has reinforced the role of text culture in the organization of society, and published reiteration of particular languages, customs, and geographical boundaries has helped to shape and reshape polities that have endured well into the age of independent nation-states. Although not all interactions between book publishing and politics were intended or even predictable, books and their publishing in Oceania merit investigation as forms, symbols, rituals, and exchangeable media of ideological power and political change. In reaction to political events, advocates of different viewpoints have, with varying degrees of consciousness, participated in publishing and text culture. In doing so, Pacific Islanders have participated in altering traditional political structures, and they have acted as agents of change in bringing new associations among people, who have melded imported ideas and practices with their own. This dissertation shows that books and their publishing have been catalysts, means, and products of political change in the Pacific Islands

Analysis of LID Implementation to Combat Flooding and Erosion at the University of Arkansas Campus

The city of Fayetteville, Arkansas has experienced rapid urbanization throughout recent years as it continues to grow. Within the city, the University of Arkansas has been constantly expanding, with increased impervious surfaces as more parking lots and facilities are built. This has caused issues including flooding and stream bank erosion, specifically in Mullins Creek, which receives runoff from a large part of campus. A portion of the creek was restored, but there are still downstream issues. Low Impact Development (LID) is a type of green infrastructure that has been shown to decrease runoff and increase infiltration. EPA SWMM, a hydrologic modeling software, was used to analyze the effectiveness of implementing LID at Lot 56, adjacent to Mullins Creek. Two layouts were developed: the condensed layout with 5 bioretention cells, and the dispersed layout with 29 cells. The results for both layouts showed significant decrease in runoff and increase in infiltration. With the ideology of Volume Based Hydrology, it can be assumed that the decrease in runoff will also cause a decrease in pollutant loads, and a decrease in erosion and flooding downstream. The implementation of LID at Lot 56, combined with LID implementation throughout the drainage area, can be an effective way to combat downstream erosion and flooding issues at Mullins Creek