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Informal Education Experiences: Why STEM Camps Matter
Get PDFThis research brief details some of the positive impacts of student participation in after-school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) camps provided by universities and informal education centers as described in published literature. In addition, the authors reviewed 2,841 anonymous participant surveys of 1st-12th grade students involved in nineteen STEM camps held at Purdue University Fort Wayne from 2019-2024 for related findings. Findings indicate that providing an enjoyable and enriching learning environment for STEM camps can foster a mindset of curiosity and a love for learning. Students who attend STEM camps likewise often experience a range of positive impacts, both academically and personally
Public Relations and Marketing on Websites of Guide Dog Organizations
Get PDFThis study investigates websites of organizations that train and provide guide dogs to visually impaired people and present marketing methods as social welfare services. The study also makes suggestions for improving the websites. Among the members of the International Guide Dog Federation, 110 official websites of the organizations were analyzed. Websites were evaluated based on criteria including organizational basics, staff details, top page images, donation information, guide dog application guidance, user comments, and specific guide dog information. The websites play various roles, such as providing both general and visually impaired people with information on organizational activities, while calling for donations. The websites contained basic information on guide dogs and provided basic knowledge to people who were unfamiliar with guide dogs and organizations. As many of these are nonprofit organizations, they use their websites to seek donations. While over 80% of the organizations solicit donations, funding sources vary; some rely on government support, others on corporate sponsorship. Various types of donations are available including online transfers. Cultural preferences influence website content; for instance, Australia emphasizes donations, while France is less direct due to cultural donation hesitancy. Many organizations have provided guidance to those who wish to use guide dogs, though many lack comprehensive details, especially regarding the application process. Trust-building elements like staff introductions are often missing. Accessibility to the websites of guide dog organizations can be improved for both sighted and visually impaired people in terms of the appropriate volume of information, simple layout, and content that appeals to awareness of, sympathy with, and trust in the organizations
Trends in Wildlife Strikes to Aircraft in Brazil: Implications for Airport Operators
Get PDFPurpose. Brazilian airport operators face persistent challenges from wildlife hazards to aircraft operations, necessitating the development and implementation or review of existing wildlife hazard management plans. Enhancing airport operators’ ability to allocate resources effectively requires a deeper understanding of past wildlife strikes. This study aimed to provide empirical insights derived from the analyses of wildlife strike and aircraft operations data in Brazil to support accident prevention endeavors. Design/methodology. The researchers utilized two main datasets: the Brazilian National Wildlife Strike Database and the annual reports on aircraft traffic operations published by the Brazilian Department of Airspace Control. For this study, wildlife strike and aircraft operations data from the 30 busiest airports accommodating commercial operations in Brazil (from 2020 to 2022) were sampled. We performed an exploratory data analysis to identify wildlife strike trends and other characteristics that are of interest to airport and other aviation operators. Findings. Our findings revealed a significant surge in the number of wildlife strikes at and around the studied airports, showing a 287% increase during the study period. The majority of strikes (67%) and damaging strikes (57%) implicated medium-sized animals (251–750g). Commercial operators were involved in 73% of all strikes and 52% of all damaging strikes. A noteworthy discovery was that the airport environment witnessed the occurrence of the majority of wildlife strikes (93%) and damaging wildlife strikes (91%).
Originality/value. This study provides numerous managerial insights and safety implications that airport operators and other aviation stakeholders can utilize to enhance aviation safety. Moreover, the study may serve as a foundation for future research and other managerial initiatives aimed at addressing the safety management of wildlife hazards in Brazil and worldwide
From Prison to the World: A Comparative Reading of Naji’s \u3cem\u3eHirz Mikamkim\u3c/em\u3e (Rotten Evidence, 2020) and Abd el-Fattah’s \u3cem\u3eYou Have Not Yet Been Defeated\u3c/em\u3e (2021)
Get PDFThis article analyses Ahmed Naji’s Hirz Mikamkim (Rotten Evidence) and Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s You Have Not Yet Been Defeated through the lens of ‘prison literature’, that is “literary works produced in, about, or through the experience of political detention” (Taleghani 13). Comparing them to previous forms of prison literature from Egypt, it shows that both books depart from the social-realistic mode that has prevailed throughout the 20th century. Rather they renovate the genre with aesthetic traits drawn from postmodern and digital literature, exemplified by autofictional or anonymous modes of authorship and co-authorship, narrative fragmentation, and bodily exposures. These aesthetic features indicate a departure from the mainly documentary, testimonial nature that has characterized this type of literature in Egypt. It illuminates the author’s attempt to write about prison to mobilize and connect with transnational communities of leftist activists and persecuted writers. This link is established through the formal features of the books, the authors\u27 self-positioning in the narrative, and descriptions of the prisoner’s body as a site of vulnerability and dissent
Punish Yet Cannot Discipline: Two Iraqi Prison Novels
Get PDFAl-Munāḍil (The Militant) (1972) by ʿAzīz al-Sayyid Jāsim, and Iʿjām (Iʿjaam) (2004) by Sinan Antoon are two prison novels about the historical turning points which mark the rise and fall of the Baʿth regime in Iraq. While the first employs imprisonment as a lens through to expose the corruption and injustice exercised by the monarchy against the emergent revolutionary power, the second shows the Baʿthist government applying similar methods of surveillance, and of physical and psychological torture. Reading these texts by al-Sayyid Jāsim, who died in the Baʿth prisons, and by Antoon who wrote Iʿjaam from his diasporic memory, this article offers an examination of the incarcerated body across history, in various locations, and within the bounds of physical experience. The aesthetic and political analogy of the imprisoned body between these two novels illustrates three points: first, that the suffering body can act as a representation of what Elias Khoury calls “the massive human suffering of the Arab whose citizenship has been confiscated and who has been deprived of his/her right to liberty” (from Khoury’s introduction to Iʿjām 1); secondly, that the shift in perceiving the prisoner’s sexuality from a homophobic standpoint in the first novel, where homosexuality is depicted as a sign of corruption and moral decay, to resilience in the second, where the prisoner’s sexuality functions as a space for free self-expression; and finally that in line with the dialectical thinking of the Foucauldian statement that “the soul is the prison of the body” (Discipline and Punish 30), both novels reveal an understanding of the body as an empowering instrument of empowerment and protection. Similarly, the narrative of vulnerability allows the body to become the ultimate “prison bars,” locking out the torturer’s corruption and preventing him from infecting the soul’s hope for resilience
Selected Artificial Intelligence Provisions in U.S. Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act
No full textThe 2025 Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act contains multiple provisions relating to artificial intelligence (AI). These congressionally mandated provisions direct various sections of the Department of Defense (DOD) and individual U.S. armed service branches to execute congressional intent for AI policymaking. Examples of such intent include identifying and planning DOD\u27s AI workforce, demonstrating AI biotechnology applications for national security, improving the human usability of AI systems, and establishing an AI security center. This presentation will note that reports on these initiatives must be prepared for relevant congressional oversight committees, and, in many cases, are in many cases, publicly released within specific time frames and that ongoing oversight of these programs will be engaged in by congressional committees and other federal agencies
Selective anti-tumor and normal tissue sparing effects of FLASH radiotherapy in a simple algebraic model of radiochemical kinetics
No full textBackground: This short paper presents the solution to an open problem in medical physics: how and when FLASH radiotherapy can have a selective anti-tumor effect. FLASH radiotherapy gives a single large dose of ionizing radiation to a cancer patient within a time span of a few milliseconds, unlike conventional radiotherapy which is divided into several dose fractions given weekly, each lasting about 10 minutes. In some animal models FLASH seems to improve tumor cell killing without damaging normal tissues. However, the mechanism of the selective anti-tumor effect remains elusive. Methods: To explore effects of tissue hypoxia in tumors, a model of relevant chemical kinetics is derived for both oxygen independent and oxygen dependent tissue damage to biomolecules, RH, from ionizing radiation. Such chemical damage is created respectively by local tissue concentrations of R• carbon centered free radicals and ROO• peroxyl radicals, each multiplied by treatment time. Peroxyl radical concentration is a function of known chemical rate constants and tissue oxygen concentration. The value of the constant of relating peroxyl radical concentration to tissue damage is derived from the familiar oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) for standard radiotherapy delivered in n fractions. A safe FLASH dose multiplier, M , is derived that produces the same radiation damage to normal tissues as in conventional, fractionated therapy. In turn, the biological treatment effect for one large single dose compared to n equal fractions is calculated for various tissue oxygen concentrations and OER values. Results: For tissue oxygen concentrations from 10 to 100 percent of normal, FLASH is 0.5 to 0.9 times less damaging than conventional therapy. However, for tissue oxygen concentrations less than 10 percent of normal FLASH is 1.1 to 1.4 times more damaging than conventional therapy. Estimated effects of vasodilator drugs such as hydralazine, which make tumors more hypoxic by diverting blood flow to normal tissues, produce further biologically meaningful improvements in selective tumor targeting. Conclusions: A compact algebraic model can synthesize concepts from several research fields to explain the mechanism of the FLASH effect (severe tumor hypoxia), the reason for mixed results (varying tumor oxygen concentrations), and the key to success in future research (selecting the most hypoxic tumors for FLASH therapy)
Unpacking Impediments to Digital Transitioning in the Built Environment: An Institutional Analysis Approach
No full textIn the rapidly evolving landscape of global development, the digital transition within the built environment holds significant promise for enhancing efficiency, sustainability, and innovation. However, this transition presents unique challenges, particularly in the context of developing countries. This study undertakes a comprehensive examination of the impediments to digital transitioning in the built environment of developing nations, employing an institutional analysis approach to uncover underlying factors shaping these challenges. These barriers can range from regulatory frameworks and governance structures to cultural norms and economic constraints. Understanding these complexities is crucial for designing tailored strategies that address the specific needs and contexts of developing nations. Utilizing semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from government, professional bodies, consultancy, and academia, we explore how market, corporate, and professional logic impede digital transitioning. Key findings indicate that traditional practices, risk aversion, policy misalignment, and inadequate digital solutions are significant hurdles. The research underscores the need for institutional reform to facilitate digital tools like BIM for sustainable, equitable infrastructure, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It calls for strategic policy and cultural shifts to enable a digitally transformed construction sector
Neo4j-Powered Workflow for Lifecycle Carbon Management: The NTU Campus Case Study
No full textThis research presents a groundbreaking automated workflow for lifecycle carbon emissions assessment, seamlessly integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Internet of Things (IoT) data into a unified framework. Addressing the complexities of carbon management in the construction sector, the workflow leverages Python to automate the Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) process and Neo4j for dynamic visualization and analysis. By streamlining data processing, the methodology achieves up to 80% reduction in processing time compared to traditional methods, significantly enhancing accuracy and efficiency. A case study at NTU campus validates the workflow\u27s robustness and practical utility, identifying critical emission hotspots and enabling targeted sustainability interventions. The system surpasses BS EN 15978 standard requirements by providing real-time, scalable insights into carbon management across embodied, operational, and end-of-life stages. Its adaptability and replicability make it a valuable tool for institutions seeking to enhance sustainability practices. This innovative automation integration and data-driven analysis establishes a new benchmark for lifecycle carbon assessment, contributing to global efforts toward carbon neutrality in the built environment