Do Oil and Gas Lease Stipulations in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Need Expansion to Better Protect Vulnerable Coral Communities? How Low Relief Habitats Support High Coral Biodiversity

The continental shelf of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico harbors extensive reefs and banks that support diverse coral reefs and mesophotic communities. Mesophotic communities range in depth from 40 to 200 m and, in this region, foster some of the densest coral forests [aggregations of mesophotic octocoral, antipatharian, and branching stony coral communities] reported in published literature (10.23 ± 9.31 col/m2). The geologic features underlying the exposed substrates that harbor mesophotic communities are targeted for extensive hydrocarbon exploration and extraction, as they often contain oil and/or natural gas. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management regulates offshore energy development in the United States and is tasked with protecting sensitive biological communities from impacts related to oil and gas activities. This study analyzed alpha and beta diversity of mesophotic coral forests on fourteen topographic banks in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. The objective of the study was to examine differences in structure and community in relation to lease stipulations established by the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management. It was determined that dense and diverse mesophotic coral forests and carbonate producers exist in present regulatory zones that prohibit oil and gas activities; however, the coral communities exist in higher densities, diversity, and richness in low relief substrates outside of these regulatory zones. Our findings suggest low relief hard substrates serve as important habitat for mesophotic coral forests; thus, we suggest the expansion of current stipulations should be considered to provide better protection to vulnerable coral communities on low relief features. Furthermore, additional studies to refine the relationship between low relief structures and biodiversity are needed to develop more meaningful habitat definitions to support resource management and improve resource protection in the future.

PRISM 2.0: A Technology System to Support Resource Access and Social and Cognitive Engagement

Social isolation and lack of engagement are common among older adults and present a risk for emotional, physical and cognitive decline. Technology offers the potential of remediating these risks and enhancing opportunities for connectivity. In this paper we present an overview of the PRISM 2.0 multi-site RCT, which evaluated a simple to use Personalized Reminder Information and Social Management System (PRISM) among a sample of two hundred and forty-eight adults age 65+ in diverse contexts (Rural Locations, Assisted Living Communities and Senior Housing). PRISM 2.0 is a tablet-based system, intended to provide support for access to resources and information, new learning, social and cognitive engagement, and memory. We describe the goals and content of PRISM, the user-centered design process, and measurement strategies. We also discuss the challenges of conducting the trial during the COVID-19 pandemic and the strategies used to adapt the trial protocol within the three contexts.

Becoming an Open Author! A Reference for Writing and Self-Publishing an Open Textbook

Becoming an Open Author Guide is a support resource is designed to help you become an open author. Open Textbooks and Open educational resources (OER) are defined as teaching, learning, and research resources that, through permissions granted by the copyright holder, allow others to use, distribute, keep, or make changes to them. We consider this publication as a type of OER that trains faculty, staff, and students how to build, customize, and use open textbooks.

Telegram como um Recurso de Apoio Metodológico no Curso de Ciências Contábeis: Relato de Experiência

ResumoEste trabalho tem como objetivo proceder um relato de experiência na disciplina de Contabilidade Tributária do Curso de Graduação presencial em Ciências Contábeis, tendo como recurso de apoio metodológico a utilização do Telegram, um aplicativo caracterizado como um serviço de mensagens instantâneas baseado na nuvem, em que é permitido ao usuário troca de mensagens, fotos, vídeos e arquivos de qualquer tipo, possibilitando a comunicação entre professor e aluno no compartilhamento de informações e materiais de aula. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, com o objetivo de retratar as características de utilização do Telegram como suporte de apoio metodológico, levado a campo com abordagem qualitativa e que se ancora nas intersecções entre metodologias ativas e ações didático-pedagógica. O instrumento de coleta de dados foi o registro das interações realizadas no Telegram. Utilizou-se de categorias de análises, sendo essas: descrever, informar, confrontar e reconstruir. O início desta pesquisa ocorreu com a criação de um canal dedicado ao compartilhamento de informações e materiais da disciplina. Os resultados deste estudo indicaram um avanço na socialização e interatividade, promovendo discussões sobre os temas da disciplina, ampliando as capacidades de retorno de informações e reflexões do professor e suas práticas, o que favorece amplamente as mudanças. Conclui-se que, o uso de metodologias ativas de ensino realizadas, por meio deste aplicativo, contribuem no campo de conhecimento, quanto às potencialidades do Telegram, na socialização, na comunicação, na mediação e ao estímulo para a continuidade dos estudos. Palavras-chave: Ensino. Ensino Híbrido. Contabilidade Tributária. Letramentos Digitais. AbstractThis work aims to provide an experience report in the Tax Accounting discipline of the on-site undergraduate course in Accounting Sciences, using Telegram as a methodological support resource, an application characterized as a cloud-based instant messaging service, where the user is allowed to exchange messages, photos, videos and files of any kind, enabling communication between the professor and the student in the sharing of information and class materials. This is a descriptive study, with the objective of portraying the characteristics of using Telegram as a support for methodological support, carried out in the field with a qualitative approach and anchored in the intersections between active methodologies and didactic-pedagogical actions. The data collection instrument was the recording of interactions carried out on the Telegram. Analysis categories were used, namely: describe, inform, confront and reconstruct. The beginning of this research took place with the creation of a channel dedicated to sharing the discipline's information and materials. The results of this study indicated an advance in socialization and interactivity, promoting discussions on the subjects of the discipline, expanding the professors’ ability to return information and reflections and their practices, which largely favors changes. It is concluded that the use of active teaching methodologies carried out, through this application, contributes to the field of knowledge, regarding the potential of Telegram, in socialization, communication, mediation and encouragement in the continuity of studies. Keywords: Teaching. Hybrid Teaching. Tax Accounting. Digital Literacies.

Evaluation of a Blockchain-Enabled Resource Management Mechanism for NGNs

A new era in ICT has begun with the evolution of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) and the development of human-centric applications. Ultra-low latency, high throughput, and high availability are a few of the main characteristics of modern networks. Network Providers (NPs) are responsible for the development and maintenance of network infrastructures ready to support the most demanding applications that should be available not only in urban areas but in every corner of the earth. The NP’s must collaborate to offer high- quality services and keep their overall cost low. The collaboration among competitive entities can in principle be regulated by a trusted 3rd party or by a distributed approach/technology which can guarantee integrity, security, and trust. This paper examines the use of blockchain technology for resource management and negotiation among NPs and presents the results of experiments conducted in a dedicated real testbed. The implementation of the resource management mechanism is described in a Smart Contract (SC) and the testbeds use the Raft and the IBFT consensus mechanisms respectively. The goal of this paper is two-fold: to assess its performance in terms of transaction throughput and latency so that we can assess the granularity at which this solution can operate (e.g. support resource re-allocation among NPs on micro-service level or not) and define implementation-specific parameters like the consensus mechanism that is the most suitable for this use case based on performance metrics.

Promising Strategies to Support COVID-19 Vaccination of Healthcare Personnel: Insights from the VHA National Implementation

Background As of August 2021 up to 30% of Americans were uncertain about taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Some healthcare personnel (HCP) also delayed or declined vaccination. Objective Identify barriers and facilitators of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) HCP vaccination program Design: Key informant interviews with employee occupational health (EOH) providers Participants: 38 VHA EOH providers representing 26 of VHA’s regionally diverse healthcare systems. Approach: Thematic analysis elucidated 5 key themes, and specific strategies recommended by EOH Key Results: Implementation themes included: 1) Leverage diverse skillsets through multidisciplinary effort, specifically COVID-19 vaccination teams with clear goals/roles. 2) “Focus like a laser”: invest in processes and align resources with priorities, including specific strategies of: creating detailed processes, eg. logistics plan to prevent wastage and allocate excess vaccine doses; addressing time trade-offs for personnel involved in vaccine clinics by suspending everything non-essential; designating process/authority to shift personnel where needed; and proactively involving leaders to support resource allocation/alignment. 3) Expect and accommodate vaccine buy-in occurring over time, including specific strategies of: preparing for some HCP slow buy-in; aligning buy-in facilitation with identities and motivation; encouraging word-of-mouth and hyper-local testimonials. 4) Overcome misinformation through trustworthy communication, with specific strategies including: tailoring communication to individuals and addressing COVID vaccines “in every encounter”; leveraging proactive institutional messaging (e.g., townhalls, Q&As) to reinforce information; inviting bi-directional conversations about hesitancy. 5) Use existing and newly developed communication channels to foster sharing and learning across teams and sites, eg. a national VHA EOH listserv. Conclusions Expecting deliberation allows systems to prepare for complex distribution logistics, and conversations that are trustworthy, bi-directional, and identity-aligned - overall supporting mandate goals. Ideally, organizations 1) provide time for conversations about vaccines; those conversations would 2) address individual concerns and foster bi-directional shared decision-making, 3) be informed by identity-based motivation, and 4) delivered by identity-concordant individuals.

Women’s Preferences and Design Recommendations for a Postpartum Depression Psychoeducation Intervention: A Mixed-Methods Approach (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the leading causes of maternal morbidity, affecting up to 18% of Canadian new mothers. Yet, PPD often remains untreated due to numerous barriers in access to care, including location and cost. Development of eHealth interventions in collaboration with patient partners offers an exciting opportunity to fill this care gap and provide effective and affordable care to new parents across British Columbia (BC). OBJECTIVE Our aim was to determine the content and design preferences of women previously diagnosed with PPD to inform changes to the development of a web-enabled intervention for education and management of PPD. METHODS Webpage prototypes were created to mimic the web-enabled resource using findings from completed focus group research that assessed what women want in a web-enabled support resource for PPD. A convenience sample of women >18 years, previously diagnosed with PPD was recruited. Feedback was collected on the content and design of the prototypes via semi-structured interviews and online surveys. Qualitative, inductive analytic and quantitative methods were used. RESULTS A total of nine women (mean age 37.2 years, SD 4.8) completed the interview and a majority of the survey. A total of six themes were identified: inefficacy of text-heavy layouts; highlighting key information; clarity/understandability of the language; finding support groups; validation and immediate help for feelings of isolation; helpfulness and accessibility of the resource. Each theme identified elements of content or design that were either effective or may be improved upon. Most women (N=8, 89%) favored content relating to foundational knowledge of PPD, such as symptoms and management options. The layout, language, a¬nd content were found to be generally easy to understand, clear, trustworthy, and helpful. CONCLUSIONS Six key areas were identified by women previously diagnosed with PPD as requiring focus in a web-enabled psychoeducation program. Consistent with past research, this study also found support and enthusiasm for web-enabled programs to support PPD management as an adjunct to other evidence-based treatments.

Online Simulators for the Teaching of the Law of Conservation of Matter and Chemical Reactions in High School

It is imperative that a profound transformation be carried out in the traditional way in which we teach science subjects, so it is necessary that the role of student change from being a mere recipient of information to being the main player in the construction of his knowledge. One of the strategies to achieve this is to make use of ICT, within which are educational simulators, as a support resource to facilitate the teaching-learning processes taught in the classroom. The didactic strategy developed in this work was carried out with the PhET (https://phet.colorado.edu) simulator was used to improve the teaching of the Law of Conservation of the Matter and its relationship with chemical reactions. To evaluate the learning acquired by students, the Hake factor was determined. In terms of the implementation of this didactic strategy, students demonstrated greater recognition, understanding, and appropriation of the knowledge gained about the importance of this law in chemical reactions. This teaching strategy is useful for higher middle-level schools that do not have a school science lab.