A Comment on Tectonics and the Future of Life on Terrestrial Planets

It is argued that the tight interconnection between biological, climatological, and geophysical factors in the history of the terrestrial biosphere can teach us something of wider importance regarding the general astrobiological evolution of planets in the Galactic habitable zone of the Milky Way. Motivated by a recent debate on the future of Earth's biosphere, we suggest an additional reason why the impact of plate tectonics on the biological evolution is significant on the global Galactic level.Comment: 5 pages, no figures; Precambrian Research, submitte

The use of quality management to address the problem of wastage from the Australian Army\u27s recruit training process

In late 1994 there was great enthusiasm within Army that the introduction of Total Quality Management would, at last, lead to dramatic improvements in many of its cumbersome practices. It was also at this time that the very real problem of excessive wastage from the Army\u27s recruit training process was given to my work area. To say the very least, this significant issue presented me with a rare and exciting opportunity to study the application of Quality Management theory within Army. It was immediately recognised that a high proportion of recruit wastage was due to injuries received in training. Accordingly, the project was given the name of a figure whose concern for the individual soldier was legend, the renowned Australian Army Medical Officer, Sir Edward \u27Weary\u27 Dunlop. As a result of attention generated, Project DUNLOP, and the trainee wastage issue in general, received front page national media coverage and attracted attention at ministerial level. Having being DUNLOP\u27s initial project officer, I was most fortunate to have had continuous involvement with it until its official end on 1st December 1996. It is, however, only in early 1998, that the true outcome of the Project can really be assessed. At the time of writing Quality Management has been quietly forgotten within Army. Nevertheless, both the Army, and the Defence Force as a whole, are in the midst of a massive number of sweeping changes. Quality Management or not, this thesis will provide valuable insights to all those who would seek to successfully implement change within Defence. Lastly, this thesis reflects the facts as I observed them. If I have made any errors of interpretation, these errors are mine alone and I apologise for them in advance

Neoliberalism, Communal Learning and Entrepreneurism Their Effect Educational Systems - For Nititham SOC 333

Jon Adams, Adrian Beeler, Nathaniel Connell, Brianna Lindsay Dr. Nititham Sociology of Education: SOC 333 March 28, 2019 Neoliberalism, Communal Learning and Entrepreneurism Their Effect Educational Systems In “Learning to Share: Pedagogy, open learning, and the sharing economy”, Carfagna ( 2018) discusses class conflict, consciousness and consumption through open learning and pedagogic discourse. Carfagna rejects common beliefs held of how an educational experience holds value and how one should be administered. In our poster and presentation, our group will examine some of the main points of Carfagna’s article in the context of neoliberal approaches to education in the sharing economy, how students learn entrepreneurial and communal approaches through non-traditional education, and finally, how pedagogic discourse effects educational settings. We will discuss the scholarship in the field, decisions made in teaching the material, and directions for future research. 10 keywords for the presentation Pedagogy: The method or type of teaching. Curriculum: multiple topics or subjects that are brought together to create an outline for education Sociology of Education: The study of how both macro level factors (such as institutions) and micro level factors (such as individuals in the system) affect education outcomes and effectiveness Neoliberalism: a frame which favors free market and capitalism Communalism: A form of self-segregation where people come together by race, religion, or some other separator for the purpose of education Shared learning: a practice that utilizes free or low cost resources for learning that entail some combination of open-access, peer-driven, share-able, and digitally mediated Sharing Economy: an economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either free or for a fee, typically by means of the Internet. Entrepreneurism: Frame that encourages individual success through the means of business operations. In the article it is described as a skill which can help a person “accomplish anything” Conflict Theory: Made Famous by Karl Marx, it is the idea that society is in a constant state of conflict as a result of limited resources. This then forces society into two major groups, the property owners (bourgeoisie), and the exploited workers (proletariat) Capitalism: A form of political system which is dependent on the idea of wage and labor. Furthering this point, the country\u27s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state

“She Posted It on Facebook”: Mexican American Adolescents’ Experiences With Technology and Romantic Relationship Conflict

We examined experiences with technology and dating conflict among Mexican American (MA) adolescents (ages 15-17 years) using mixed qualitative methodologies. Focus groups, divided by three levels of acculturation and gender (N = 20), and videotaped observations of couples (N = 34), found that technology (i.e., cell phones, social media) afforded adolescents increased visibility of their partners’ day-to-day peer interactions. Feelings of romantic jealousy resulted in text message harassment and the expectation of immediate technology-facilitated contact. Females were more flirtatious as well as emotionally affected by jealousy resulting from social media sites, and males set rules regarding other-sex texting. Social media was particularly salient among more highly acculturated youth. Online spaces offered an opportunity for outside parties to observe unhealthy relationships and to offer support

Morphological investigation of AFR-PEPA-N imide oligomers and their cured polyimides and the remodification of AFR-PEPA-N to achieve liquid-crystalline behavior

The morphological investigation of AFR-PEPA-N and the development of a new polyimide have been established herein. AFR-PEPA-N is an imide oligomer that was created out of the need to attain a high temperature polyimide that is also resistant to hygrothermal and thermooxidative degradation. Previously, AFR700B was implemented in aerospace applications, but it was found to be hygrothermally unstable. It experienced a severe drop in its glass transition temperature and composite blistering. AFR700B was improved upon, by altering the chemical structure of the polyimide. The nadic end-cap was removed and replaced by a more hydrolytically stable end-cap. However this phenylethynyl-terminated end-group could possibly create semi-crystallinity or liquid-crystalline characteristics within the polymer. Previous research suggests further study of the relationships between AFR-PEPA-N's oligomer crystallinity and the properties of phenylethynyl-terminated polyimides. This understanding is valuable in processing AFR-PEPA-N by resin transfer molding (RTM) to obtain its optimum properties. The investigation included the identification of a processing window, temperature overlap between the melting of residual crystals and crosslinking reactions, and liquid crystallinity behavior. These reactions were investigated primarily through birefringence. The residual crystals were found to be innate in the oligomer powder and not created by preliminary thermal processing. Therefore a reasonable processing window was found based upon the reduction of crystal size by appropriate dissolution techniques. Possible nematic liquid-crystalline characteristics were found to be present at 360oC. A new imide oligomer, which was based upon AFR-PEPA-N's original structure, was synthesized. The non-linear, flourinated backbone of AFR-PEPA-N was replaced with a co-linear backbone, pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA). These modifications were made in hopes to improve upon the network structure by it becoming more regular and resistance to nano-sized defects in the final crosslinked structure. The initial characterization found that the new polyimide, AFR-P3, displayed a cure temperature at 350oC. The degree of cure reaches about 80 to 90 percent complete based upon the consumption of the carbon-triple bond. AFR-P3 did not show signs of liquid-crystalline behavior. However, there will be future work in creating a more rigid-rod, self-assembling oligomer that can attain optimum thermal and mechanical properties

Technology and Dating Among Pregnant and Parenting Youth in Residential Foster Care: A Mixed Qualitative Approach Comparing Staff and Adolescent Perspectives

The aim of this study was to explore the role of technology in the dating and sexual experiences of pregnant and parenting adolescent girls placed in residential foster care. Interviews with program staff (N = 12; 50% Hispanic) and focus groups with adolescent foster youth (N = 13; 46% Hispanic) were conducted to understand how technologies (e.g., cell phone, texting, and social media) influence youth’s dating lives, including how youth navigate conflict with a dating partner in technology spaces and their experiences with cyber abuse. Both staff and youth emphasized technology as providing an outlet from the home and forum through which to meet, interact, and sustain intimate relationships, the latter including the father of (a) child(ren). Youth creatively collaborated to access technology and became involved in each other’s relationships. Staff and youth discussed divergent risk contexts, staff emphasizing the risks posed to children (e.g., taken on online dates) and youth discussing online sexual solicitations, conflict with the child(ren)’s father in public and peer-involved online spaces, and cyber abuse. Helping professionals should be trained on the centrality of technology to youth dating and provide dating health education that includes attention to technology mediums

Twittering on about mental health: is it worth the effort?

The medical community disseminates information increasingly using social media. Randomised controlled trials are being conducted in this area to evaluate effectiveness of social media with mixed results so far, but more trials are likely to be published in the coming years. One recent twitter randomised control trial using Cochrane Schizophrenia Group reviews suggests that tweets increase the hits to the target web page by about threefold and time spent on the web page is also increased threefold when referrals come in via twitter. These are early findings and need further replication. Twitter appeals to professionals, entertainers and politicians among others as a means of networking with peers and connecting with the wider public. Twitter, in particular, seems to be well placed for use by the medical community and is effective in promoting messages, updating information, interacting with each other locally and internationally and more so during conferences. Twitter is also increasingly used to disseminate evidence in addition to traditional media such as academic peer-reviewed journals. Caution is required using twitter as inadvertent tweets can lead to censure. Overall, the use of twitter responsibly by the medical community will increase visibility of research findings and ensure up to date evidence is readily accessible. This should open the door for further trials of different social media platforms to evaluate their effectiveness in disseminating accurate high-quality information instantaneously to a global audience

4-H Southern Swines Feral Hog Challenge

Estimates indicate that the population of feral hogs may exceed 500,000 in Florida. They have proven difficult to manage. Land managers in Florida reported that feral hogs were a significant problem that needed to be addressed. The UF/IFAS St. Lucie County Cooperative Extension conducted the 4-H Southern Swines Feral Hog Challenge to help land managers reduce feral hog populations in a cost-effective manner. This activity was conducted in 2013 and 2014 and resulted in the removal of one hundred and twenty three feral hogs weighing 18, 393 lbs. from the Florida environment

2010 Ruby Yearbook

A digitized copy of the 2010 Ruby, the Ursinus College yearbook.https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/ruby/1113/thumbnail.jp