Lifelong learning and ontological security: blending of concerns and their expense

The aim of this paper is to find out how the content which is supposed to be transmitted within the framework of Lifelong Learning Programme of EU is defined in the conditions of reflexive and risk modernity, where the knowledge has quite an unstable nature. Other questions are: how this learning, the conditions in which it works, and the knowledge that it transmits are reflected at the level of individual everydayness, namely in relation to late modern necessity of individually formulated Self-identity; and what role lifelong learning plays or could play on this level and how it corresponds with the system needs. Some kind of loose discourse analysis of Memorandum on Lifelong Learning 2000 is used to answer these questions, therefore the paper works with numerous quotations from this document. Findings in the form of six notes suggest that the narrowest definition of this knowledge, which is possible to obtain from this policy paper and especially its “six messages,” is employability. The system tries to gain control over the individuals through the capturing of resources they use in order to ensure the meaning of the surrounding world and maintain the sense of ontological security, while the aim is to produce an individual that can be used to improve the system’s competitiveness and effectiveness. Nevertheless, an individual achieves ontological security by the very same means and there is a certain interfusion of individual identity and system interests.Straipsnio tikslas yra atskleisti, kaip refleksyviojoje ir rizikos modernybėje, kurioje žinioms būdingas kintamumas, apibūdinamas mokymosi visą gyvenimą turinys, perduodamas per ES Mokymosi visą gyvenimą programą. Kiti straipsnyje keliami klausimai yra: kaip mokymasis, sąlygos, kuriomis jis veikia, ir žinios, kurios yra perteikiamos, atsispindi individualios kasdienybės lygmeniu, kokį vaidmenį mokymasis visą gyvenimą atlieka arba galėtų atlikti šiuo lygmeniu ir kaip tai atitinka sistemos poreikius. Siekiant atsakyti į šiuos klausimus, pasitelkiami tam tikri Mokymosi visą gyvenimą memorandumo 2000 diskurso laisvosios analizės metodai, todėl straipsnyje gausu šio dokumento citatų. Išvados iš šešių pagrindinių teiginių rodo, kad siauriausias apibrėžimas žinojimo, kurį būtų galima gauti iš šio politikos dokumento, ir ypač iš jo „šešių teiginių“, yra tai, kad mokymasis visą gyvenimą siejamas su įsidarbinimo galimybėmis. Tokiu būdu žinios apibrėžiamos ne per jų turinį, bet per jų naudojimo ar įgijimo pageidaujamą poveikį. Sistema siekia kontroliuoti individus per išteklius, kuriuos jie naudoja suteikdami prasmes aplinkiniam pasauliui ir siekdami palaikyti ontologinio saugumo jausmą. To tikslas yra formuoti individą, tinkamą sistemos konkurencingumo ir veiksmingumo sustiprinimui. Nepaisant to, kad tomis pačiomis priemonėmis individas pasiekia ontologinį saugumą, atsiranda tam tikras individo tapatumo ir sistemos interesų susiliejimas

Modeling adsorption in metal-organic frameworks with open metal sites : propane/propylene separations

We present a new approach for modeling adsorption in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with unsaturated metal centers and apply it to the challenging propane/propylene separation in copper(II) benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate (CuBTC). We obtain information about the specific interactions between olefins and the open metal sites of the MOP using quantum mechanical density functional theory. A proper consideration of all the relevant contributions to the adsorption energy enables us to extract the component that is due to specific attractive interactions between the pi-orbitals of the alkene and the coordinatively unsaturated metal. This component is fitted using a combination of a Morse potential and a power law function and is then included into classical grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations of adsorption. Using this modified potential model, together with a standard Lennard-Jones model, we are able to predict the adsorption of not only propane (where no specific interactions are present), but also of propylene (where specific interactions are dominant). Binary adsorption isotherms for this mixture are in reasonable agreement with ideal adsorbed solution theory predictions. We compare our approach with previous attempts to predict adsorption in MOFs with open metal sites and suggest possible future routes for improving our model

EUNIS Habitat Classification: Expert system, characteristic species combinations and distribution maps of European habitats

Aim: The EUNIS Habitat Classification is a widely used reference framework for European habitat types (habitats), but it lacks formal definitions of individual habitats that would enable their unequivocal identification. Our goal was to develop a tool for assigning vegetation‐plot records to the habitats of the EUNIS system, use it to classify a European vegetation‐plot database, and compile statistically‐derived characteristic species combinations and distribution maps for these habitats. Location: Europe. Methods: We developed the classification expert system EUNIS‐ESy, which contains definitions of individual EUNIS habitats based on their species composition and geographic location. Each habitat was formally defined as a formula in a computer language combining algebraic and set‐theoretic concepts with formal logical operators. We applied this expert system to classify 1,261,373 vegetation plots from the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and other databases. Then we determined diagnostic, constant and dominant species for each habitat by calculating species‐to‐habitat fidelity and constancy (occurrence frequency) in the classified data set. Finally, we mapped the plot locations for each habitat. Results: Formal definitions were developed for 199 habitats at Level 3 of the EUNIS hierarchy, including 25 coastal, 18 wetland, 55 grassland, 43 shrubland, 46 forest and 12 man‐made habitats. The expert system classified 1,125,121 vegetation plots to these habitat groups and 73,188 to other habitats, while 63,064 plots remained unclassified or were classified to more than one habitat. Data on each habitat were summarized in factsheets containing habitat description, distribution map, corresponding syntaxa and characteristic species combination. Conclusions: EUNIS habitats were characterized for the first time in terms of their species composition and distribution, based on a classification of a European database of vegetation plots using the newly developed electronic expert system EUNIS‐ESy. The data provided and the expert system have considerable potential for future use in European nature conservation planning, monitoring and assessment