Ecology and the Common Good: Sustainability and Catholic Social Teaching

In recent years official Roman Catholic documents have addressed the ecological crisis from the perspective of Catholic social teaching. This expansion of Catholic social thought addresses the social and ecological question. This paper links environmental and human ecology with the concept of sustainability and proposes an interpretation of the common good and a definition of sustainability within Catholic social teaching. Our treatment of sustainability and Catholic social teaching includes: an analysis of the ecological processes that sustain nature; insights from human ecology, and an examination of models of sustainability as a foundation for re-structuring society to promote the common good. The paper provides a summary of the historical expansion of the common good within modern Catholic social thought, and concludes with an ecological interpretation of the common good and a definition of sustainability within the Catholic understanding of justice

Distinctive character of electronic and vibrational coherences in disordered molecular aggregates

Coherent dynamics of coupled molecules are effectively characterized by the two-dimensional (2D) electronic coherent spectroscopy. Depending on the coupling between electronic and vibrational states, oscillating signals of purely electronic, purely vibrational or mixed origin can be observed. Even in the "mixed" molecular systems two types of coherent beats having either electronic or vibrational character can be distinguished by analyzing oscillation Fourier maps, constructed from time-resolved 2D spectra. The amplitude of the beatings with the electronic character is heavily affected by the energetic disorder and consequently electronic coherences are quickly dephased. Beatings with the vibrational character depend weakly on the disorder, assuring their long-time survival. We show that detailed modeling of 2D spectroscopy signals of molecular aggregates providesdirect information on the origin of the coherent beatings.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Depression, Volition, and Death: The Effect of Depressive Disorders on the Autonomous Choice to Forgo Medical Treatment

Many contemporary models of medical ethics champion patient autonomy to counterbalance historically paternalistic decision-making processes. These models tend to suggest an autonomous agent free from cognitive bias and systematic distortion (e.g., Kantian or Cartesian rational agents). Evidence is emerging from the fields of cognitive psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience that fundamentally challenge this cognitive model, demonstrating the dependence of cognition on deeper, avolitional structures (e.g., backstage cognition, cognitive heuristics and biases, automaticity, emotionally-valenced memory, etc.), and hence, shifting the cognitive model towards reductionistic and deterministic philosophies and psychologies. Medical ethics models must adapt their sense of autonomy in light of these findings if the term is to have any meaning - absent this necessary adaptation, medical ethics centers around a cognitive agent that does not actually exist. In contrast to the homuncular models championed (i.e., overly rationalistic and lacking an account of empirically-validated cognitive phenomena), a cognitive model of autonomy is proposed, along with useful psychometrics and a case metric to assist clinicians in assessing the possibility of compromised autonomy in patients electing to forgo medical treatment

1924 m. gruodžio 1 d. komunistinis pučas Taline ir diplomatinė jo maskuotė

This article, based on the archives stored in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia and some recently published documents, investigates the coup attempted by the Soviets on December 1, 1924 in Tallinn and evaluates its consequences within the broad context of international relations. During the research, it was established that an attempt to stage a coup in Estonia had been undertaken both by the Estonian communists and the USSR leadership, which had the highest political body – the Politburo – and the Comintern, a self-crafted tool set up for spreading the communist movement around the world, at its disposal. Thus, the revolution was masterminded by the Soviet authorities, whereas the Estonian communists were mainly responsible for its implementation. The task of the coup leadership was to seize power and hold on to it for some time, long enough to request that the USSR “renders support.” Preparations were underway for such support. This is evidenced by military preparations in the northern regions of the USSR and the territory near the Estonian border as well as by the deployment of Soviet ships in the vicinity of Tallinn and the activities of the Soviet embassy located in the capital. The attempted coup turned into a putsch due to the maximum conspiracy of their organizers. The conspiracy was brought about by the then-public awareness that the revolutionary events in Germany in 1923 had been instigated by the Soviets. The attempted coup in Estonia failed due to the extraordinary defensive operations put up by the Estonian authorities and power structures as well as due to the failure to involve the workers and the other strata of society in the coup. Latvia, Estonia’s only ally, was the first country to stand by Estonia’s side after the country withstood the attempted coup. The lessons were learnt not only by these two countries but by Lithuania as well. They began taking adequate measures to stifle communist activities. Neither France nor England or any other Western state made plans to deploy their fleets to the Baltic Sea to support the Estonians or at least show, in a demonstrative way, their support in such a trying time. They also failed to hold any diplomatic démarches against the Soviets opposing the export of revolution practiced by the Soviets. Due to diplomatic pressure imposed by the USSR, Estonia could not publicly and officially name the actual organizers of the putsch. As a result, only the local communists were indiscriminately accused. Such forced tactics, if only indirectly, had at least partially been influencing the area of historical research as well. However, the sudden and unequivocal liquidation of the putsch in Tallinn could have prompted the USSR to no longer expand its revolutionary export to the West, and the “abstinence” of such kind had lasted until the Second World War. The war itself and the previous collusion with Adolf Hitler made it possible for Stalin to cherish even greater ambitions to renew the spread of communism in other countries.Straipsnyje, tiriant komunistinį 1924 m. gruodžio 1 d. pučą, aiškinamasi, kokį vaidmenį jį organizuojant suvaidino Estijos komunistai ir kokį faktiškai aukščiausioji SSRS valdžia – politbiuras ir nuo jo priklausomas Kominternas, kaip į šį pučą reagavo gretimos Baltijos šalys, kaip jis paveikė šių šalių tarptautinę padėtį, jų santykius su Sovietais bei Vakarų valstybėmis. Estams pučą operatyviai likvidavus, pasaulinės revoliucijos eksportas Vakarų kryptimi iš esmės sustojo, sustojo ligi pat Antrojo pasaulinio karo pradžios. Siekiama nustatyti, kaipgi estams tada pavyko ir apginti savąjį valstybingumą, ir sustiprinti gretimų šalių saugumą, taip pat kaip pučas vertintas diplomatijoje bei viešajame diskurse

Process to Develop Rewarding Natural Resources Internships

A successful natural resources internship experience is a result of good planning, execution, and follow-up. The internship can be beneficial to the student involved, the employing entity, and the sponsoring university or college. This presentation will focus on a process designed to produce rewarding internship experiences for students in natural resources disciplines. The College of Natural Resources (CNR) at Utah State University is made up of three departments: Department of Environment and Society with majors in Environmental Studies, Human Geography, Geography Teaching, and Recreation Resources Management. Department of Watershed Sciences with majors in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Physical Geography, and Watershed and Earth Systems. Department of Wildland Resources with majors in Conservation and Restoration Ecology, Forestry, Rangeland Resources, and Wildlife Science. Each of these disciplines lends itself to producing a valuable, hands-on learning, internship experience. Actual internship opportunities in several of these disciplines will be used to illustrate the process developed in the CNR. The process involves developing objectives for the internship experience based on, for example, the job description provided by the employer, deciding on the number of university credit hours to be awarded for the internship, the monitoring system to be used to ensure the students is doing the work agreed upon or changes in the duties do fit the internship expectations, and deciding upon the product of the internship

Annette Kellerman

Annette Kellerman’s entrée into silent film began in the middle of an acrimonious battle to control the terms of her vaudeville career. Australian-born, she had established herself as a powerful draw on the American vaudeville circuit by promoting her “Perfect Woman” physique and presenting spectacular high diving and underwater exhibitions. Caught in a firestorm between theatre magnates B. F. Keith and William Morris after Morris offered Kellerman $1,500 per week, she astutely used her commercial popularity to get an agreement to appear in several silent kinetoscope shorts. She was ordered by court decree to fulfill the rest of her contract with Keith before beginning with Morris (Gibson and Firth 2005, 79–82)

Chamber investigation and evaluation of acoustic properties of materials

Traffic‐generated noise accounts for 60–80% of the noise prevailing in towns. With the aim of reducing the impact of noise on humans, measures and methods of fighting noise in towns and residential areas should be developed. In the majority of cases, noise suppression walls (barriers) are one of the most suitable means in tows to reduce the dispersion of noise to residential territories. Acoustic properties of materials to be used for noise walls were investigated and, on the basis of the obtained findings, the most suitable materials with regard to noise reduction were proposed. A noise‐suppression chamber was designed and installed for the experimental investigation into acoustic properties. Separate materials (fibreglass, wood chipboard, gypsum cardboard, foam polystyrene) were used for the experiment by composing various structures of different modifications. With the aim of evaluating the capacity of different materials to suppress noise, a coefficient was used to evaluate noise suppression in a material thickness measuring unit. Efficiency of the noise reduction structures used in the experiment is described by a separate index. Different materials differently suppress the dispersion of noise of various frequencies, whereas the structures of wood chipboards (10 mm) filled with fibreglass or rock wool are the most efficient in all frequency ranges compared with acoustic properties of other structures used during the experiment. Kameriniai medžiagų akustinių savybių tyrimai ir vertinimas Santrauka. 60–80 % miestuose vyraujančio triukšmo kelia transportas. Kad triukšmo poveikis žmogui būtų mažesnis, būtina ieškoti priemonių ir būdų triukšmui miestuose ir gyvenvietėse mažinti. Daugeliu atvejų miestuose vienas iš tinkamiausių metodų tam yra triukšmo slopinimo sienelės (barjerai). Tiriant nustatyta triukšmo sienelėms naudotinų medžiagų akustinės savybės bei, atsižvelgiant į gautus rezultatus, siūlomos triukšmo slopinimo požiūriu tinkamiausios medžiagos. Akustinių savybių eksperimentiniams tyrimams buvo sukonstruota ir įrengta triukšmo slopinimo kamera. Tirta skirtingos medžiagos (stiklo vata, medžio drožlių plokštės, gipso kartono plokštės, putų polistirolas) bei iš jų sudarytos konstrukcijos, panaudojant įvairias modifikacijas. Skirtingų medžiagų geba slopinti triukšmą vertinta nustačius koeficientą. Jį taikant gaunamas garso slopinimas medžiagos storio mato vienete. Bandymuose naudojamų konstrukcijų, skirtų triukšmui mažinti, efektyvumas apibūdinamas tam tikru rodikliu. Įvairios medžiagos skirtingai slopina įvairių dažnių garso sklidimą, o medžio drožlių plokštės (10 mm) konstrukcijos su stiklo arba akmens vatos užpildu tam tinka geriausiai. Palyginti su kitomis bandymuose panaudotomis konstrukcijomis efektyviausiai slopinamas beveik visų dažnių diapazonų garsas. Reikšminiai žodžiai: medžiagų akustiniai tyrimai, triukšmo slopinimo sienelė, triukšmo slopinimo kamera. Камерные исследования и оценка акустических свойств материалов Резюме. Основным источником шума в городах, составляющим 60–80% общего шума, является транспорт. В целях снижения шумового воздействия на человека необходимо найти пути и средства уменьшения шума в городах и населенных пунктах. Во многих случаях одним из наиболее приемлемых методов уменьшения распространения шума в городах и жилых районах являются звукоизоляционные экраны. Объектом исследования настоящей статьи были акустические свойства материалов, из которых конструируются звукоизоляционные экраны. Полученные результаты показали, какие из проанализированных материалов наиболее применимы для поглощения шума. Для экспериментального исследования акустических свойств материалов была построена шумопоглощающая камера. Исследовались различные виды материалов (стекловата, прессованные древесные плиты, гипсокартон, пенополистирол), а также их конструкции разной модификации. Акустические свойства материалов эффективно поглощать шум характеризуются определенными индикаторами. Наиболее эффективно поглощающими шум всех диапазонов частот по сравнению с другими материалами оказались конструкции, в которых применялись прессованные древесные плиты. Ключевые слова: исследование акустических материалов, шумопоглощающая стенка, шумопоглощающая камера. First Published Online: 14 Oct 201

Modelling vertical migration of 137Cs in Lithuanian soils

137Cs vertical migration in soil was evaluated using two methods: evaluating migration parameters using the quasi‐diffusion model, and modelling vertical migration using VS2DI software package, which is intended for simulating transport of pollution in different types of soil. 137Cs distribution in soil was compared in elevated contamination “spots” in 1992 and 1999–2000. It was determined that 137Cs vertical distribution in soil has two maxima caused by the 137Cs global fallout due to nuclear weapon tests and by the fallout due to the ChNPP accident. 137Cs concentration simulated by VS2DI software package is close to the measured 137Cs concentration, especially to values measured in 1992. This shows that the software is able to simulate 137Cs vertical migration due to a single fallout. The quasi‐diffusion model is adequate for description of long‐term 137Cs vertical migration, and the results of measurements and calculations agreed within error limits. Parameters of long‐term vertical migration of 137Cs in soil, the transfer rate w and the diffusion coefficient Dwere found for each region: in the western region of Lithuania (mainly sandy loam) D = 0.12 cm2/year−1, w =0,26 cm/year−1, in the southern region of Lithuania (mainly loam) D = 0.13 cm2/year−1, w = 0.29 cm/year−1, and on the Curonian Spit (mainly fine sand) D = 0.1 cm2/year−1, w = 0.22 cm/year−1. 137Cs vertikaliosios migracijos Lietuvos dirvožemiuose modeliavimas Santrauka. 137Cs vertikalioji migracija dirvožemyje buvo įvertinta, matuojant jo savitąjį aktyvumą dirvožemyje ir taikant du metodus: radionuklido vertikaliosios migracijos įvertinimas pagal kvazidifuzinį modelį ir jos modeliavimas, naudojant VS2DI kompiuterinę programą, kuri skirta taršos sklidimui įvairių tipų dirvose modeliuoti. 137Cs pasiskirstymas dirvožemyje buvo pa-lygintas su 137Cs didelės užtaršos plotuose („karštose dėmėse“) 1992 ir 1999–2000 m. Buvo nustatyta, kad 137Cs vertikalusis pasiskirstymas turi dvi smailes, pirmoji atsirado dėl 137Cs globalios iškritos, sukeltos branduolinio ginklo bandymais, antroji – dėl Černobylio avarijos iškritos. 137Cs savitasis aktyvumas, sumodeliuotas naudojant VS2DI kompiuterinę programą, yra artimas išmatuotam 137Cs savitajam aktyvumui, ypač išmatuotam 1992 m. Tai rodo, kad ši programa tinka  vienkartinės taršos 137Cs vertikaliajai migracijai modeliuoti. Tačiau ilgalaikei 137Cs vertikaliajai migracijai aprašyti labiau tinka kvazidifuzinis modelis, ir jo rezultatai bei matavimo rezultatai sutampa neviršydami paklaidų ribų. Ilgalaikės 137Cs vertikaliosios migracijos dirvožemyje parametrai, kryptingos pernašos greitis w ir kvazidifuzinės pernašos koeficientas D buvo nustatyti kiekviename regione: Vakarų Lietuvos regione (vyrauja priesmėlis) D = 0,12 cm2/m–1, w = 0,26 cm/m–1, Pietų Lietuvos regione (vyrauja priemolis) D = 0,13 cm2/m–1, w = 0,29 cm/m–1, o Kuršių nerijoje, kur vyrauja smulkus smėlis, D = 0,1 cm2/m–1, w = 0,22 cm/m–1. Reikšminiai žodžiai: 137Cs, modeliavimas, vertikalioji migracija, ČAE avarija, dirvožemis, kryptingos pernašos greitis, kvazidifuzinės pernašos koeficientas. Моделирование вертикальной миграции 137Cs в почвах Литвы Резюме. Вертикальная миграция 137Cs в почве была исследована при измерении его концентрации в почве, а также при помощи двух методов: оценки параметров миграции с помощью квазидиффузионного метода и с использованием компьютерной программы VS2DI, предназначенной для моделирования переноса загрязнения в различных типах почв. Cравнивается распределение 137Cs в областях повышенной загрязненности („горячих пятнах“) в 1992 г. и 1999–2000 гг. Установлено, что вертикальное распределение 137Cs имеет два максимума, обусловленных глобальным выпадением 137Cs в результате ядерных испытаний и вследствие Чернобыльской аварии. Концентрация 137Cs, смоделированная с помощью программы VS2DI, близка к измеренной, особенно к значениям, измеренным в 1992 г. Это свидетельствует о том, что программа может быть использована для моделирования вертикальной миграции одиночного выпадения 137Cs. Квазидиффузионная модель приемлема для описания долгосрочной вертикальной миграции, причем результаты измерений и вычислений совпадают в пределах погрeшности. Были найдены параметры долгосрочной вертикальной миграции 137Cs, направленная скорость переноса w и коэффициент диффузии D для каждого из регионов: в Западной Литве (преобладает супесчаная почва) D = 0,12 см2 г–1, w = 0,26 см г–1, в Южной Литве (преобладает суглинок) D = 0,13 см2 г–1, w = 0,29 см г–1 и на Куршской косе (преобладает мелкий песок) D = 0,1 см2 г–1, w = 0,22 см г–1. Ключевые слова: 137Cs, моделирование, вертикальная миграция, авария на ЧАЭС, почва, направленная скорость переноса, коэффициент диффузии. First Published Online: 14 Oct 201