Social Justice in the EU – Index Report 2017 Social Inclusion Monitor Europe. Bertelsmann Stiftung Social Inclusion Monitor Europe 2017

1. Europe is recovering not only economically, but also in the domain of social justice After years of downward movement, an upward trend in the domain of social justice is evident in the broad majority of EU member states. Although far from all member states have regained their pre-crisis levels, the most recent EU Social Justice Index data give cause for hope that the worst is over not just in economic terms, but also from a social perspective. At the top of this year’s Social Justice Index are the northern European states of Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Rounding out the top group are the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, while Greece, despite again posting slight gains this year, remains clearly in last place

Foam management in distillation plants

Foam formation occurs for various substrates during distillation processes. A concrete prediction of the foam formation can only be approximated due to the physical, chemical, and biochemical complexity of the influencing factors. Foam formations affect both the design and the operation of distillation plants, due to various undesirable negative effects of foams on the process and the product. In this work, foam formations under boiling conditions in distillation plants of the spirit industry were investigated and different foam control methods for a holistic foam management system were developed. It was intended to make the distillation process more foam-resilient, and less subjected to foam-induced process disruption. To investigate foam formation in distillation processes lab-scale experiments and experiments on a column still were carried out. In the first step for a foam management system, the inhibition of foams by modification of substrate properties was investigated. In experiments various physical and rheological parameters of mashes as well as other foam-relevant parameters were determined. The aim was to derive a possible link with foam formation. It was shown that the viscosity and viscosity-determining compounds of the substrate have a significant influence on the foaming behavior of mashes. Rye mash was used as the demonstration medium in these experiments. In rye mash the compound pentosan was, in particular, influencing the viscosity. The experiments demonstrated, that the degradation of pentosans prior to distillation resulted in a decrease in viscosity and reduced foam accumulation. Next to foam-promoting substrate properties, foam-promoting operating conditions were investigated. The aim was to link passive process parameters to foam formations. On a laboratory scale, the foam formation in rye mashes was investigated as a function of passive process parameters and operating conditions, respectively, during distillation. It was demonstrated, that foam formations only occurred in a narrow temperature range of 89.5 98.2 °C. Additionally, foam formations were significantly lower with reduced energy input. The findings of the lab scale experiments were applied to develop foam-resilient heating profiles for distillations in the column still. In addition, it was focused on the separation effectiveness and economic efficiency of the new heating profiles, particularly with regard to process duration and the quality of the distillates obtained. Promising foam-resilient heating profiles were transferred to different substrates and their effectiveness was tested. Based on the findings, recommendations for distilleries for a foam-resilient distillation process could be derived, as well as predictions regarding effects on the product quality and process effectiveness. As the last step, active measures for foam destruction utilizing ultrasound were investigated. Ultrasound was introduced into the column at the level of the foam retention device of the distillation unit. The introduction of ultrasound into the column at the level of the foam retention device resulted in a reduction of foams. The observed decrease in foams was attributed to ultrasound-induced drainage of the liquid phase and subsequent destruction of the foam. However, also limitations of the method were found, e.g. limited area of effect. Further research is needed to validate the results and overcome these limitations. Overall, it was shown that foam management, which is not based on chemical defoamers, is possible in foam formation under boiling conditions in distillation processes. Several proposed measures, including inhibition, reduction, and destruction of foams were proposed. By combining them a holistic foam management is feasible.Bei Destillationsprozessen kommt es bei verschiedenen Substraten zur Schaumbildung. Eine konkrete Vorhersage des Schaumbildung kann aufgrund der physikalischen, chemischen und biochemischen Komplexität der Einflussfaktoren nur näherungsweise erfolgen. Schaumbildungen beeinflussen sowohl die Auslegung als auch den Betrieb von Destillationsanlagen, da Schäume verschiedene unerwünschte Auswirkungen auf den Prozess und das Produkt haben können. In dieser Arbeit wurde die Schaumbildung unter Siedebedingungen in Destillationsanlagen der Spirituosenindustrie untersucht und verschiedene Methoden zur Schaumkontrolle für ein ganzheitliches Schaummanagementsystem entwickelt. Ziel war es, den Destillationsprozess resistenter gegen schaumbedingte Prozessunterbrechungen zu machen. Zur Untersuchung der Schaumbildung in Destillationsprozessen wurden Experimente im Labormaßstab und an einem Brenngerät durchgeführt. Als erstes Element eines Schaummanagementsystem wurde die Inhibition von Schaumbildung durch Veränderung der Substrateigenschaften untersucht. In Versuchen wurden verschiedene physikalische und rheologische Parameter von Maischen sowie weitere schaumrelevante Parameter bestimmt. Ziel war es, einen möglichen Zusammenhang mit dem Schaumbildungsvermögen der Substrate herzustellen. Es zeigte sich, dass die Viskosität und viskositätsbestimmende Verbindungen im Substrat einen wesentlichen Einfluss auf das Schaumverhalten haben. Als Demonstrationsmedium für diese Versuche wurde Roggenmaische verwendet. In Roggenmaische war insbesondere die Verbindung Pentosan viskositätsbestimmend. In Versuchen konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Abbau von Pentosanen vor der Destillation zu einer Verringerung der Viskosität und einer geringeren Schaumbildung führte. Neben den schaumfördernden Substrateigenschaften wurden auch schaumfördernde Betriebsbedingungen untersucht. Ziel war es, passive Prozessparameter bzw. daraus resultierende Betriebsbedingungen mit Schaumbildung zu korrelieren. Im Labormaßstab wurde die Schaumbildung in Roggenmaischen in Abhängigkeit von passiven Prozessparametern bzw. Betriebsbedingungen während der Destillation untersucht. Es zeigte sich, dass Schaumbildung nur in einem engen Temperaturbereich von 89,5 - 98,2 °C auftrat. Außerdem war die Schaumbildung bei reduziertem Energieeintrag signifikant reduziert. Die Erkenntnisse aus den Laborversuchen wurden genutzt, um schaumresistente Heizprofile für Destillationen mit dem Brenngerät zu entwickeln. Darüber hinaus wurde die Trenneffektivität und die Wirtschaftlichkeit der neuen Heizprofile, insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Prozessdauer und die Qualität der gewonnenen Destillate, untersucht. Vielversprechende schaumresistente Heizprofile wurden auf unterschiedlichen Substraten angewendet um ihre allgemeine Wirksamkeit zu prüfen. Aus den Ergebnissen konnten Empfehlungen für Brennereien für einen schaumresistenten Destillationsprozess abgeleitet, sowie Vorhersagen über Auswirkungen auf die Produktqualität und Prozesseffektivität durch Änderung der passiven Prozessparameter gemacht werden. In einem letzten Schritt wurden aktive Maßnahmen zur Schaumzerstörung mit Hilfe von Ultraschall untersucht. Der Ultraschall wurde auf Höhe der Schaumrückhaltevorrichtung des brenngeräts in die Kolonne eingebracht. Die Einführung von Ultraschall in die Kolonne auf der Höhe der Schaumrückhaltevorrichtung führte zu einer Zerstörung von Schaumbildungen. Der beobachtete Rückgang der Schaumbildung wurde auf die durch den Ultraschall induzierte Entwässerung der flüssigen Phase und damit einhergehende Zerstörung des Schaums zurückgeführt. Es wurden jedoch auch Limitierungen der Methode festgestellt, z.B. ein begrenzter Wirkbereich. Weitere Forschungsarbeiten sind erforderlich, um die Ergebnisse zu validieren und diese Limitierungen zu überwinden. Insgesamt wurde durch diese Arbeit gezeigt, dass ein Schaummanagement, das nicht auf chemischen Entschäumern basiert, bei der Schaumbildung unter Siedebedingungen in Destillationsprozessen möglich ist. Es wurden mehrere Maßnahmen vorgeschlagen, darunter die Inhibierung, Reduzierung und Zerstörung von Schaum. Durch deren Kombination ist ein ganzheitliches Schaummanagement möglich

Dust and gas emission from cometary nuclei: the case of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Comets display with decreasing solar distance an increased emission of gas and dust particles, leading to the formation of the coma and tail. Spacecraft missions provide insight in the temporal and spatial variations of the dust and gas sources located on the cometary nucleus. For the case of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G), the long-term observations from the Rosetta mission point to a homogeneous dust emission across the entire illuminated surface. Despite the homogeneous initial distribution, a collimation in jet-like structures becomes visible. We propose that this observation is linked directly to the complex shape of the nucleus and projects concave topographical features into the dust coma. To test this hypothesis, we put forward a gas-dust description of 67P/C-G, where gravitational and gas forces are accurately determined from the surface mesh and the rotation of the nucleus is fully incorporated. The emerging jet-like structures persist for a wide range of gas-dust interactions and show a dust velocity dependent bending.Comment: 17 pages, with 7 figures. To appear in Advances in Physics X (2018

Having a strong calling can help you make challenging careerdecisions

One approach to career pursuit encourages people to prioritize doing what they love and to pursue their passions, as exemplified by Steve Jobs’ statement that “the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.” A second approach prioritizes achieving outcomes such as salary and job security, as exemplified by Alison Green’s article in U.S. News & World Report: “‘Do what you love,’ for most people, is not a reliable way to find the right career – and can lead to anxiety, job-hopping and dissatisfaction…

Follow your heart or your head? A longitudinal study of the facilitating role of calling and ability in the pursuit of a challenging career

While making early career decisions in which pursuing what one loves and earning a secure living are at odds with one another, when and why will the intrinsic considerations prevail over the extrinsic considerations? We posit that a key factor in resolving this dilemma in favor of the intrinsic side of the career is the sense of calling, a consuming, meaningful passion people experience toward the domain. We test the connection between early callings (in adolescence) and later career pursuit (in adulthood) and the mediating role of perceived and actual abilities (in young adulthood) in a career context in which the intrinsic and extrinsic sides of a career can clash: the path to become a professional musician. In an 11-year 5-wave longitudinal study of 450 amateur high school musicians progressing from adolescence to adulthood, we found that regardless of their actual musical ability, people with stronger early callings were likely to perceive their abilities more favorably, which led them to pursue music professionally. Our findings thus indicate an intriguing pattern in which the experience of stronger early callings led to greater perceived ability that was not reflected in greater actual ability. Perceived ability, rather than objective ability as assessed by awards won in music competitions, led to subsequent career pursuit. We discuss implications for theory and research on the nature and consequences of calling, as well as for career decision making, both in general and in challenging career contexts in particular

A Siren song? A longitudinal study of the role of calling and perceived ability in career pursuit

In a seven-year, four-wave longitudinal study of 450 musicians, we found that people with stronger early callings perceived their abilities especially favorably and pursued music professionally, whereas those with weaker early callings perceived their abilities less favorably and did not pursue music professionally—regardless of their objective musical ability

Social Ecology of Supervised Communal Facilities for Mentally Disabled Adults: VI. Initial Social Adaption

The social adaptation of mentally disabled adults introduced to two new vocational rehabilitation settings was investigated. Client behavior was observed for 8 weeks in subsequent workshop settings. During the evaluation period, clients\u27 sociability increased with time in the program. In the later workshop placements, the social milieu rather than time in the program influenced the degree of client sociability. Specifically, in the first 2 weeks of workshop placement, clients placed in Workshop A, which had more sociable milieu, remained at the high levels of sociability, similar to the last weeks in the evaluation phase. In contrast, clients placed in Workshop B showed a decline in sociability, which was related to environmental variables. Clients initially affiliated more with other clients they knew during evaluation, but this tendency decreased as they became integrated into the workshop program

Additively manufactured MEMS multiplexed coaxial electrospray sources for high-throughput, uniform generation of core–shell microparticles

his study reports the first MEMS multiplexed coaxial electrospray sources in the literature. Coaxial electrospraying is a microencapsulation technology based on electrohydrodynamic jetting of two immiscible liquids, which allows precise control with low size variation of the geometry of the core–shell particles it generates, which is of great importance in numerous biomedical and engineering applications, e.g., drug delivery and self-healing composites. By implementing monolithic planar arrays of miniaturized coaxial electrospray emitters that work uniformly in parallel, the throughput of the compound microdroplet source is greatly increased, making the microencapsulation technology compatible with low-cost commercial applications. Miniaturized core–shell particle generators with up to 25 coaxial electrospray emitters (25 emitters cm−2) were fabricated via stereolithography, which is an additive manufacturing process that can create complex microfluidic devices at a small fraction of the cost per device and fabrication time associated with silicon-based counterparts. The characterization of devices with the same emitter structure but different array sizes demonstrates uniform array operation. Moreover, the data demonstrate that the per-emitter current is approximately proportional to the square root of the flow rate of the driving liquid, and it is independent of the flow rate of the driven liquid, as predicted by the theory. The core/shell diameters and the size distribution of the generated compound microparticles can be modulated by controlling the flow rates fed to the emitters.Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterre

The legal framework for private sector development in a transitional economy : the case of Poland

The economies of Central and Eastern Europe are in the midst of a historic transition from central planning and state ownership to development of a market-driven private sector. This transition requires comprehensive changes in"rules of the game"- including the legal framework for economic activity. A market economy presupposes a set of property rights and a system of laws or customs that allow the exchange of those rights. The legal framework in a market economy has at least three basic functions: defining the universe of property rights; setting the rules for entry into and exit from productive activities; and setting the rules of market exchange. These legal tasks are accomplished by areas of law such as: company, foreign investment, bankruptcy, contract and competition law. Poland has a rich legal tradition dating from pre-socialist times, which was suppressed but not eliminated during its forty years of socialism. This tradition is being revised as the country moves toward a private market economy. The current legal framework in Poland closely follows other continental jurisdictions and has a clear and reasonable internal logic. Many of the laws are old, but most are flexible enough to permit a wide range of modern, market-oriented activity. Property law, however, remains a"jungle". The wide discretion and general lack of precedent create tremendous legal uncertainty that is sure to hamper private sector development.Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Housing and Land,Legal Products,Land and Real Estate Development