Collective security in the Pacific with particular reference to SEATO

Few terms are more popular today than “collective security,” and few are used with such diverse meanings. Former Secretary of State Dean Acheson used the term no fewer than fourteen times in his address at the opening meeting of the Sixth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on September 20, 1950. And, of course, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles had as the main purpose in negotiating the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty “to establish a collective security arrangement for Southeast Asia and the Eastern pacific.” To assess the true significance and possibilities of collective security in international affairs, the question must first be answered: What does “collective security” mean? The concept appears to be simple and self-explanatory. It has been defined by Georg Schwarzenberger as “machinery for joint action in order to prevent or counter any attack against an established international order.” It clearly implies collective measures for dealing with threats to peace. In a sense Ernest A. Gross, United States Deputy Representative to the United Nations, stated a truism when he declared: “There is no alternative to collective action for the achievement of security. The opposite of collective security is complete insecurity.” There are some who hold that regional security pacts add to international tensions, and may even hasten the catastrophe that are designed to prevent. It does not follow, however, that failure to take such steps may increase the prospects of peace. In fact, failure to provide regional security may add to the dangers and, in addition, may gravely jeopardize the security or even the national existence of the states which are so foolhardy as to trust altogether to the devices of peaceful settlement ina world where even the faintest sign of morality and decency are cast aside by nations who are not scrupulous as to the methods by which their materialistic ands are attained. The signatories to SEATO regard their organization as a necessity. In the face of present dangers in Southeast Asia they see no alternative

Adoption decisions and perceptions of college personnel concerning diffusion of Second Life in higher education

Virtual world technology in higher education captured the popular imagination with promises of engagement and economy. This work considers a large public institution which did not mandate the adoption of Second Life or other virtual worlds. A qualitative case study primarily focused on in-depth elite interviews and archival documents is used to describe individual decision making processes, the state of the innovation within the institution, and the institution\u27s influence on the broader debate on virtual worlds in the collegiate setting. Using Rogers\u27 assertion that relative advantage is the most important factor in organizational adoption, three pedagogical motives of richness of content, complexity of student response, and cost savings are identified in literature, conversations with university personnel, and by their subsequent discussion at presentations, panels, and symposia. Each of the three motives has an alternative understanding. Graphical richness is balanced against the difficulty of creating the environments. Student response is balanced against technical hurdles, and cost is balanced against the potential for institutional legal liability. Of key importance to the diffusion process was the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, whose graduate students and alumni work in many departments around campus and have helped them adapt the technology to educational contexts. The thesis contains descriptions of those contexts as well as directions for future research

Continuous enhancement of science teachers' knowledge and skills through scientific lecturing

Due to their importance in transmitting knowledge, teachers can play a crucial role in students' scientific literacy acquisition and motivation to respond to ongoing and future economic and societal challenges. However, to conduct this task effectively, teachers need to continuously improve their knowledge, and for that, a periodic update is mandatory for actualization of scientific knowledge and skills. This work is based on the outcomes of an educational study implemented with science teachers from Portuguese Basic and Secondary schools. We evaluated the effectiveness of a training activity consisting of lectures covering environmental and health sciences conducted by scientists/academic teachers.City Council of V.N. Famalicao. Financial support granted by the FCT to S. Duarte (SFRH/BPD/109842/2015) is also gratefully acknowledged

Breastfeeding Experience of Women of High Socioeconomic Status: A Phenomenological Study

Studies on the implications brought about socioeconomic and breastfeeding practices is not sufficiently explored in the Philippines. The aim of the study is to explore the breastfeeding experiences among Filipino women with high socioeconomic status, as well as their needs in order to initiate and continue breastfeeding. The study utilized qualitative research methods. Six respondents participated in the study and were selected using snowball sampling. A semi-structured interview was done to obtain relevant information about the study. Colaizzi’s method was used to analyze the collected data. The emergent themes developed as follows: (1) perceptions of mothers about breastfeeding, (2) breastfeeding experience of mothers, and (3) needs of the mothers in order to breastfeed successfully. All mothers found breastfeeding to be difficult, most thought that it is best for infants and mothers. All mothers planned to breastfed antenatally and had to balance employment and breastfeeding. Most of them received support from their families, others from breastfeeding support groups, and workplaces. All mothers highlighted the importance of breastfeeding education for mothers, families, and health workers. They all found that determination and family support are significant for mothers to accomplish her desired breastfeeding goals.  The researchers recommended that future studies should look into the specific knowledge deficiency of mothers, particularly those of high socioeconomic status regarding breastfeeding; development an extensive breastfeeding education program for health care professionals, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and family members

reastfeeding Experience of Women of High Socioeconomic Status: A Phenomenological Study

Studies on the implications brought about socioeconomic and breastfeeding practices is not sufficiently explored in the Philippines. The aim of the study is to explore the breastfeeding experiences among Filipino women with high socioeconomic status, as well as their needs in order to initiate and continue breastfeeding. The study utilized qualitative research methods. Six respondents participated in the study and were selected using snowball sampling. A semi-structured interview was done to obtain relevant information about the study. Colaizzi’s method was used to analyze the collected data. The emergent themes developed as follows: (1) perceptions of mothers about breastfeeding, (2) breastfeeding experience of mothers, and (3) needs of the mothers in order to breastfeed successfully. All mothers found breastfeeding to be difficult, most thought that it is best for infants and mothers. All mothers planned to breastfed antenatally and had to balance employment and breastfeeding. Most of them received support from their families, others from breastfeeding support groups, and workplaces. All mothers highlighted the importance of breastfeeding education for mothers, families, and health workers. They all found that determination and family support are significant for mothers to accomplish her desired breastfeeding goals.  The researchers recommended that future studies should look into the specific knowledge deficiency of mothers, particularly those of high socioeconomic status regarding breastfeeding; development an extensive breastfeeding education program for health care professionals, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and family members

Decarbonising ceramic manufacturing : a techno-economic analysis of energy efficient sintering technologies in the functional materials sector

The rising cost of energy and concerns about the environmental impact of manufacturing processes have necessitated the need for more efficient and sustainable manufacturing. The ceramic industry is an energy intensive industrial sector and consequently the potential to improve energy efficiency is huge, particularly through the introduction of modern sintering technologies. Although several energy efficient sintering processes have been developed, there is no comprehensive techno-economic analysis which compares and contrasts these techniques. This paper presents a critical review and analysis of a number of sintering techniques and compares them with the recently developed cold sintering process (CSP), including mode of operation, sintering mechanism, typical heating rates, duration of sintering, energy consumption profile and energy saving potential, limitations, key challenges for further development and current research efforts. By using a figure of merit, pounds per tonne of CO2 saved (£/tCO2-eq), which links initial capital investment with energy savings, within a framework derived from ranking principles such as marginal abatement cost curves and Pareto optimisation, we have demonstrated that under the scenarios considered for 3 separate functional oxides ZnO, PZT and BaTiO3, CSP is the most economically attractive sintering option, indicating lower capital costs and best return on investment as well as considerable energy and emission savings. Although the current work establishes the viability of CSP as a competitive and sustainable alternative to other sintering techniques, the transition from laboratory to industry of CSP will require hugely different facilities and instrumentation as well as relevant property/performance validation to realise its full potential

Teaching Feedback to First-year Medical Students: Long-term Skill Retention and Accuracy of Student Self-assessment

Giving and receiving feedback are critical skills and should be taught early in the process of medical education, yet few studies discuss the effect of feedback curricula for first-year medical students. To study short-term and long-term skills and attitudes of first-year medical students after a multidisciplinary feedback curriculum. Prospective pre- vs. post-course evaluation using mixed-methods data analysis. First-year students at a public university medical school. We collected anonymous student feedback to faculty before, immediately after, and 8 months after the curriculum and classified comments by recommendation (reinforcing/corrective) and specificity (global/specific). Students also self-rated their comfort with and quality of feedback. We assessed changes in comments (skills) and self-rated abilities (attitudes) across the three time points. Across the three time points, students’ evaluation contained more corrective specific comments per evaluation [pre-curriculum mean (SD) 0.48 (0.99); post-curriculum 1.20 (1.7); year-end 0.95 (1.5); p = 0.006]. Students reported increased skill and comfort in giving and receiving feedback and at providing constructive feedback (p < 0.001). However, the number of specific comments on year-end evaluations declined [pre 3.35 (2.0); post 3.49 (2.3); year-end 2.8 (2.1)]; p = 0.008], as did students’ self-rated ability to give specific comments. Teaching feedback to early medical students resulted in improved skills of delivering corrective specific feedback and enhanced comfort with feedback. However, students’ overall ability to deliver specific feedback decreased over time

Adoption decisions and perceptions of college personnel concerning diffusion of "Second Life" in higher education

Virtual world technology in higher education captured the popular imagination with promises of engagement and economy. This work considers a large public institution which did not mandate the adoption of Second Life or other virtual worlds. A qualitative case study primarily focused on in-depth elite interviews and archival documents is used to describe individual decision making processes, the state of the innovation within the institution, and the institution's influence on the broader debate on virtual worlds in the collegiate setting. Using Rogers' assertion that relative advantage is the most important factor in organizational adoption, three pedagogical motives of richness of content, complexity of student response, and cost savings are identified in literature, conversations with university personnel, and by their subsequent discussion at presentations, panels, and symposia. Each of the three motives has an alternative understanding. Graphical richness is balanced against the difficulty of creating the environments. Student response is balanced against technical hurdles, and cost is balanced against the potential for institutional legal liability. Of key importance to the diffusion process was the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, whose graduate students and alumni work in many departments around campus and have helped them adapt the technology to educational contexts. The thesis contains descriptions of those contexts as well as directions for future research.</p

Laminar Flow/Proof of Concept

Laminar Flow Psychological and neurological studies have shown that the brain reacts differently while a person is under hyperfocus or an extreme state of concentration. Many people have described this state as one of pure bliss, a moment in which time has become completely absent. Laminar Flow is a snapshot of someone – who he is, we do not know, but he appears to be some sort of programmer or scientist -- in the deep stages of hyperfocus. Set to the theme of Gabrielle Aplin’s Power of Love, Laminar Flow is asks the audience what it means to work hard, what it means to be truly dedicated to something, whether love is different than obsession, whether love is only reserved as a concept between two people, and what it means to “go down the rabbit hole”. As well as drawing the fine line between dedication and filling a void, it asks the question of what love is, as well as how it is expressed and how it is embodied. Perhaps love cannot just be a feeling or a motivation, but must be a tangible attribute expressed through action and motion. Proof of Concept Vincent is a computer engineer who works in a small, insulated electronics lab during the day that has always had a broken clock. His time spent at the lab is relegated to completing mundane tasks handed down from middle management. He begins to notice however, that there is something strange in the assignments given to him: they all seem to be asking for the same task to be done but in different ways. As he meticulously traces through the company network where these files come from, he starts to unravel the unnerving truth that the company is not what it seems and appears to be controlled by more sinister forces. As the work days go on, Vincent does his best to complete his assignments while hiding his attempts at uncovering this massive secret. His attempts are thwarted when company officials realize what he is actually doing, and his life slowly becomes a nightmare. Luckily, Vincent wakes up from this nightmare, although he wakes up to a much more mundane world. At its core, Proof of Concept is about what we subconsciously wish to be true, as well as why we want the things we want