The University of Alabama System is a public university system in Alabama that coordinates and oversees three research universities: The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (UAT), University of Alabama at Birmingham, and University of Alabama in Huntsville. These universities enroll more than 70,000 students. The system employs more than 45,000 employees at its three campuses and health system making it one of the largest employers in the state.
Women express statistically significantly greater climate change concern than men in a number of countries, but this gender gap is not universal around the world. We use multilevel models with cross-level interactions to analyze how the individual-level effects of gender on climate change concern and perceived seriousness are influenced by three macro-level contextual factors: national affluence, climate risk, and gender equality. We find that gender differences in climate change views are statistically significant only in relatively affluent countries, the differences are larger at higher levels of affluence, and greater climate risk amplifies the difference in concern but not perceived seriousness. The effect of gender on climate change views does not statistically significantly vary by level of gender equality.
The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission is poised to revolutionize our understanding of two of the most central issues in heliophysics today: the nature of the interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium (LISM), and the acceleration of energetic particles throughout the heliosphere. Here we focus on the anticipated contributions to this endeavor by measurement of hydrogen energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) that emanate from the solar wind–LISM interface region. ENA imaging allows us to remotely sense the structure and plasma characteristics of the heliosheath and the LISM just beyond the heliopause, and how these regions evolve in response to solar activity. These instruments, IMAP-Lo, IMAP-Hi, and IMAP-Ultra, cover energies from 10 eV to 300 keV with unprecedented angular resolution, energy resolution, and detection sensitivity. In this paper, we present the IMAP mission science specific to the study of the heliosphere/LISM interaction. We review what we have learned about the heliosphere interaction based on prior observations and theoretical studies. We then present the outstanding science questions that have consequently arisen and how IMAP plans to resolve them.
The payload of the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) includes sophisticated in situ instruments to measure solar wind plasma and magnetic fields, suprathermal and energetic particles at 1 au as well as unprecedented remote sensing instruments to observe the energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) in the outer heliosphere and the ultraviolet glow of the interstellar neutral H interacting with the three-dimensional solar wind. This unique combination of sensors on a single platform allows connections to be made between the inner and outer heliosphere to an extent never before possible. This article focuses on the scientific theme of connecting the physics of particle acceleration and transport throughout the heliosphere. Such studies enabled by IMAP are organized into three broad categories: i) fundamental particle acceleration and transport processes, ii) heliospheric variability that affects those processes, and iii) inner heliospheric science.
The main science goal of the PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) is to detect and characterize extrasolar planets, including terrestrial planets in the habitable zone (HZ) of their host stars. Detecting rocky planets in the HZ requires high photometric stability, which depends on the spacecraft’s pointing performance. PLATO’s pointing performance is managed by the Fine Guidance System (FGS), which utilizes a catalog of guide stars to determine the spacecraft’s attitude. The FGS compares the position of these guide stars within the telescope’s CCDs to their position in the sky to determine the spacecraft’s orientation. This is critical as PLATO’s science mission requires an extremely high level of pointing accuracy. High astrophysical variability in these guide stars can cause apparent shifts in their centroids in the presence of background stellar contaminants. If this happens during science operations, the apparent movement in the guide stars’ centroids will cause the spacecraft to move in an attempt to maintain pointing direction. This movement creates systematic bias in any photometric measurements taken by the spacecraft. The goal of this project is to quantify what, if any, effect astrophysical variability in guide stars will have on PLATO’s pointing stability. By correlating the impact on performance with variability indicators (like Flicker in the Power Domain), we find that the PLATO FGS is robust against stellar variability.
Purpose Connecting with consumers through religion risks alienating those without strong religious beliefs or those who view the affiliated religious group as discriminatory. This study aims to understand how marketing with religious cues influences religious and nonreligious consumers, why these effects occur and how appreciation for diversity modifies the effects. Design/methodology/approach A field study conducted using Google Ads manipulates religious stimuli in ads and the target market. The second study manipulates the presence or absence of branding with a religious stimulus to test the mediating effect of elaboration on ad stimulus and consumer attitude. The third experiment primes diversity appreciation to test its boundary effect on the interaction between religious cues and religiosity in connection to consumer attitude. Findings The results indicate that brands receive more favorable evaluations when religious cues are included, especially in states with high proportions of religious individuals. Religious consumers’ preference for brands with religious affiliations is enhanced through their elaboration of the message. The enhancement effect is evident when their diversity appreciation is low. Originality/value These results contribute to resolving the inconsistent findings in the literature on the effect of religious affiliation on brands, while offering a nuanced perspective vis-à-vis brand inclusivity. Companies should aim to connect with religious consumers who may feel marginalized, while considering consumers who appreciate diversity and may be alienated by religious messaging.
