This chapter provides a framework for examining extant issues and evidence concerning labeling and stigma as it pertains to mental illnesses. The issues addressed are framed as responses to major questions about stigma: (1) What is stigma? How do we define it and how can we know it is applicable in a given situation? (2) Given that circumstances that are stigmatized are very different from one another, what concepts can we use to help identify those differences? (3) Why do people stigmatize other people? Why do people stigmatize mental illnesses? (4) How does stigma affect the stigmatized? We consider interpersonal discrimination, the internalization of stigma, what we call “symbolic interaction” stigma, and structural stigma, conceptualizing all of them as “minority stress.” (5) How do people cope with or resist stigma? (6) How can we think about stigma cross-culturally? By addressing these key questions and introducing key concepts and evidence concerning them, we hope to illuminate critical aspects of this important human phenomenon in a way that allows it to be more deeply understood and addressed.

This chapter gives a brief overview of observational astronomy, using optical instruments and other wavelengths. We present a general formula for the increase in the limiting magnitude resulting from an increased telescope aperture. For light of particular wavelength, the diffraction from a telescope with a specific diameter sets a fundamental limit to the smallest possible angular separation that can be resolved.

The tendency for conservation of angular momentum of a gravitationally collapsing cloud to form a disk gives rise to the disk in our own galaxy, the Milky Way. We explore the main components, including the disk, bulge and halo. Studies of galaxy rotation curves lead us to the existence of "dark matter," the nature of which is unknown but is detectable through its gravitational interactions with normal, baryonic matter. We finish by exploring the super-massive black hole at the Milky Way’s center.

Immigrants experience social, cultural, economic, and political barriers when they arrive and live in the United States. They bring their own personal, family, and community resources as they adapt and adjust to their new living conditions and situations. This chapter provides an overview of the mental health of immigrants and how the perception of their mental health has changed over time. As the number of immigrants continues to increase in the United States, so must the complexity by which we label and engage in identifying key demographic identities that shape differences in mental health outcomes, policies, and services that directly impact the well-being of immigrant communities. Research in recent years has aimed to better understand the mechanisms that shape and protect immigrant mental health. The radical demographic transformation in the United States has strong implications for how social and health care services are delivered to people who may be unaccustomed to Western ideas of mental health and methods of intervention. This chapter discusses culture in understanding some of the issues associated with mental health, access to care, and treatment of people who experience mental health challenges. The chapter provides some examples of how culture has been considered at the provider, agency, and community levels. Why is it important to consider the diverse cultural expectations that immigrants face? How can community-based approaches work to prevent mental health problems and enhance mental health care?

In reality stars are not perfect blackbodies, and so their emitted spectra don’t depend solely on temperature, but instead contain detailed signatures of key physical properties like elemental composition. For atoms in a gas, the ability to absorb, scatter and emit light can likewise depend on the wavelength, sometimes quite sharply. We find that the discrete energies levels associated with atoms of different elements are quite distinct. We introduce the stellar spectral classes (OBAFGKM).

This chapter reviews responses to stigma, focusing specifically on resistance strategies that individuals with mental illness use to deflect and challenge perceived devaluation and discrimination. Deflection represents a cognitive approach to resisting mental illness stereotypes, primarily by distancing oneself from the stereotype itself or by suggesting that mental illness is only one (and often small) part of how individuals define themselves. Alternatively, challenging strategies focus on behavioral approaches to resisting stigma, ranging from educating others about the myths and truths about mental illness to engaging in activism that seeks to change public perceptions and policy. Both strategies help individuals avoid the internalization of stigma, or self-stigma. Reducing self-stigma plays a central role in mental health recovery models that endorse empowerment, hope, and independence. As such, stigma resistance strategies and recovery are intertwined. Identity perspectives rooted in social psychology provide an ideal foundation for integrating research on stigma and recovery. These theories offer explanations and predictions about the development, implementation, and consequences of stigma resistance in the context of social and personal identities. Using these frameworks to organize the communal relationships (and literatures) between stigma and identity promotes theoretical development and methodological consistency, both of which increase the ability to interpret, replicate, and combine insights across studies and disciplines. Expanding our understanding of the social and personal factors that motivate and support stigma resistance is critical for mental health care workers seeking to translate social research into practice and policy. Drawing on identity theories, students might consider which stigma resistance strategies are likely to be most effective for addressing self-stigma and public stigma, and how these strategies can be measured and applied by mental health care providers and policymakers.

This chapter explores what is known as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), what it is, how it was discovered and our recent efforts to measure and map it. In general, the analysis finds remarkably good overall agreement with predictions of the now-standard "Lambda CDM" model of a universe, in which there is both cold dark matter (CDM) to spur structure formation, as well as dark energy acceleration that is well-represented by a cosmological constant, Lambda. From this we can infer 13.8 Gyr for the age of the universe

Stars generally form in clusters from the gravitational contraction of a dense, cold giant molecular cloud. We explore the critical requirement for such a contraction, known as the Jeans criterion, and the factors that affect the star formation rates and the initial mass function in star clusters and galaxies. We finish by looking at how the conservation of angular momentum can lead to proto-stellar disks, with important implications for forming planets.

The disk formation process of the previous chapter forms the basis for the "Nebular Model" for the formation of planetary systems, including our own solar system. As a proto-stellar cloud collapses under the pull of its own gravity, conservation of its initial angular momentum leads naturally to formation of an orbiting disk, which surrounds the central core mass that forms the developing star. We then explore the "ice line" between inner rocky dwarf planets and outer gas giants.

This chapter explores observations and properties of quasars, which were first observed in the 1960s as point-like sources that emit over a wide range of energies from the radio through the IR, visible, UV and even extending to the X-ray and gamma-rays. They are now known to be a type of active galactic nucleus thought to be the result of matter accreting onto a super-massive black hole (SMBH) at the center of the host galaxy.

It turns out that stellar binary (and even triple and quadruple) systems are quite common. In Chapter 10 we show how we can infer the masses of stars through the study of stellar binary systems. For some systems, where the inclination of orbits can be determined unambiguously, we can infer the masses of the stellar components, as well as the distance to the system. Together with the observed apparent magnitudes, this also gives the associated luminosities of their component stars.

In this chapter, Fred Markowitz first provides a brief background on the trends, prevalence, and demographic characteristics of homeless persons in the United States. Next, drawing on sociological theories of social selection and causation processes, he discusses how mental illness is both a cause and consequence of homelessness. He then reviews research on how homelessness is related to criminal offending and incarceration, and how stigma exacerbates these relationships. Finally, he discusses research on programs designed to reduce homelessness, highlighting advances in reducing homelessness in a country with universal health care and “housing first” as a guiding principle. Throughout, he emphasizes the need for more elaborate data for better understanding of processes involved in homelessness. This chapter raises several questions for discussion. First, while mental illness is a significant risk factor for homelessness, in what ways does homelessness exacerbate mental illness and inhibit recovery? Second, Finland has dramatically reduced homelessness over the last several decades. Is it possible to do the same in other countries, such as the United States? Finally, in what ways does lack of a universal health care system create limitations for research on the trajectories of or relationship between mental illness and homelessness?