Prior research using the Current Population Surveys (CPS) documents a dramatic equalization in U.S. college enrollments based on family income starting in 2014. However, the measurement of income for independent young adults is problematic; we correct for this by imputing their incomes. We complement our reanalysis of CPS data with data from the Panel Study for Income Dynamics-Transition into Adulthood (PSID-TA). Both data sets show moderate, nonsignificant reductions in the income gap in college enrollments for cohorts coming of age during and after the Recession. Extending the CPS analysis to examine inequalities during the COVID pandemic, we show more or less unchanged inequalities for the cohort coming of age in 2020. Using the PSID-TA to examine degree attainment, we again find stable income inequalities in obtaining any degree and a bachelor’s degree for pre-Recession and Recession-era cohorts.

Background: Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the proliferation of fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, overdose deaths have surged in the United States, making it important to understand how individuals who use drugs experience and perceive the risks of fentanyl use and how it has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Twenty clients from a Philadelphia syringe services program completed a questionnaire and in-depth interview about their fentanyl experiences from January to March 2021. These interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis methods. Results: Sixty percent of participants were female and racial/ethnic minority. Participants indicated they believed fentanyl use accounted for most Philadelphia opioid-related overdoses and understood that fentanyl was different from other opioids. Fentanyl use was characterized as “all-consuming” by taking over lives and inescapable. While most perceived their risk of fentanyl overdose as high, there was low interest in and reported use of harm reduction strategies such as fentanyl test strips. The COVID-19 pandemic was noted to have negative effects on fentanyl availability, use and overdose risk, as well as mental health effects that increase drug use. Conclusions: The divide between perceived risk and uptake of protective strategies could be driven by diminished self-efficacy as it relates to acting on and engaging with resources available at the syringe services program and represents a potential intervention target for harm reduction intervention uptake. But the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated risks due to fentanyl use, making an effective, accessible, and well-timed intervention important to address the disconnect between perceived overdose risk and use of preventive behaviors.

The state of the art of high-torque electric motors has been reviewed in this paper. This paper presents a literature review of high-torque density electric machines based on their airgap classifications, which brings a unique consideration to new design ideas to increase torque density. Electric machines are classified into three main groups based on their airgap configuration, i.e., (1) machines with a constant airgap, (2) machines with a variable airgap, and (3) machines with an eccentric airgap. This paper also presents the modeling of a high-torque airgap-less electric motor based on the concept of eccentric airgap. The torque density of this motor has been compared to motors available in the literature review. Among electrical motors with no permanent-magnet, airgap-less electric motors take the lead in terms of torque density, which is almost five times greater than the next motor, “in-wheel for electric vehicle”.

The cerebellum is one-third the size of the cerebrum yet holds twice the number of neurons. Historically, its sole function was thought to be in the calibration of smooth movements through the creation and ongoing modification of motor programs. This traditional viewpoint has been challenged by findings showing that cerebellar damage can lead to striking changes in non-motor behavior, including emotional changes. In this manuscript, we review the literature on clinical and subclinical affective disturbances observed in individuals with lesions to the cerebellum. Disorders include pathological laughing and crying, bipolar disorder, depression and mixed mood changes. We propose a theoretical model based on cerebellar connectivity to explain how the cerebellum calibrates affect. We conclude with actionable steps for future researchers to test this model and improve upon the limitations of past literature.

Over the past decade, multiple video games have been produced in the Middle East. Some are the product of political groups (Special Forces) or individual creators (The Stone Throwers) while others are produced by game development companies like Afkar Media (UnderAsh, UnderSeige). The few academic articles on the subject (Galloway, 2004; Machin & Suleiman, 2006; Sisler, 2006) focus on these games primarily in comparison to games produced in the United States. This paper seeks to shift that focus. By first analyzing how this dichotomy is constructed in both popular and academic discourses and then using interviews with Arab gamers and game designers, I look at how we might rethink the study of representation in video games by localizing our focus on game design, content and play.

With few exceptions, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals are generally ignored in the realm of digital games. This ethnography of members of an online gay gamer, or gaymer, community allowed me to better understand their thoughts on LGBTQ representation in games, as well as the construction of the gaymer community. How gaymer identities are constructed, how this community is formed, and how its members discuss the representation of LGBTQ individuals in video games are discussed here. Gaymer identity was found to be more complex than the simple ‘homosexual gamer’ defi nition often used implies. Finding a space to express this identity was much more important to members than the invisibility of LGBTQ individuals in video game texts. The relative importance of in-game representation was tied to the context of play. The political implications of these findings are discussed in the conclusion of this article.

Educational games have proliferated, but questions remain about the effectiveness at teaching both in the short- and long-term. Also unclear is whether particular game features have positive effects on learning. To examine these issues, this paper describes a controlled experiment using an educational game that was professionally developed to teach about cognitive biases in decision making (Fundamental Attribution Error, Confirmation Bias, and Bias Blind Spot). This experiment examined the effects of game art and narrative on learning and compared the game conditions to a training video. Effects were measured immediately after the stimuli were given and then again eight weeks later. Results indicate that the educational game outperforms the training video immediately after exposure and that there are significant retention effects. Art and narrative were not significantly related to learning with the exception that minimal art game had a significant positive relationship with mitigating Bias Blind Spot at immediate post-test.

Although human use of heuristics can result in ‘fast and frugal’ decision-making, those prepotent tendencies can also impair our ability to make optimal choices. Previous work had suggested such cognitive biases are resistant to mitigation training. Serious games offer a method to incorporate desirable elements into a training experience, and allow the use of mechanisms that enhance learning and retention. We developed a game to train recognition and mitigation of three forms of cognitive bias: anchoring, a tendency to be inordinately influenced by one piece of information; projection, an implicit assumption that others think or know what you do; and representativeness, judging the likelihood of a hypothesis by how much the available data resembles it. Participants were randomly assigned to play the training game once, twice spaced by 10 to 12 days, or a control condition that used a training video. External questionnaire-based assessments were given immediately post-training and 12 weeks later. Superior training was seen from the game. An independent group using our training game with their own novel bias assessment instruments (to which the researchers and game-developers had no access or content information) validated the key finding. These results demonstrate the viability and high value of using serious computer games to train mitigation of cognitive biases.