Leibniz, Acosmism, and Incompossibility

Leibniz claims that God acts in the best possible way, and that this includes creating exactly one world. But worlds are aggregates, and aggregates have a low degree of reality or metaphysical perfection, perhaps none at all. This is Leibniz’s tendency toward acosmism, or the view that there this no such thing as creation-as-a-whole. Many interpreters reconcile Leibniz’s acosmist tendency with the high value of worlds by proposing that God sums the value of each substance created, so that the best world is just the world with the most substances. I call this way of determining the value of a world the Additive Theory of Value (ATV), and argue that it leads to the current and insoluble form of the problem of incompossibility. To avoid the problem, I read “possible worlds” in “God chooses the best of all possible worlds” as referring to God’s ideas of worlds. These ideas, though built up from essences, are themselves unities and so well suited to be the value bearers that Leibniz’s theodicy requires. They have their own value, thanks to their unity, and that unity is not preserved when more essences are added

Researching the lived experiences of cancer patients with malignant fungating wounds

Background: Researching the experiences of terminally ill patients with disfiguring wounds is likely to be a challenge anywhere, and this investigation came face-to-face with different attitudes on the part of both patients and nurses and doctors in England (the South-East) and Italy (Tuscany). Aim: To highlight the complexity of researching sensitive subjects and the difficulties encountered from the perspective of the researcher(s). Methods: Fourteen patients were interviewed. In England access was relatively straightforward, with nurses linked to the hospice doing most of the recruitment. Access was more difficult in Italy, with some doctors expressing opposition. Discussion: How ethical is it to treat dying patients as subjects for research? How does research of this kind vary from one culture to another? Conclusions: Interviewees can find it therapeutic to talk about their experiences to a sympathetic listener—although the listening does pose a considerable strain on the researcher

Vocation, Belongingness, and Balance: A Qualitative Study of Veterinary Student Well-Being

An elevated risk for suicide among veterinarians has stimulated research into the mental health of the veterinary profession, and more recently attention has turned to the veterinary student population. This qualitative study sought to explore UK veterinary students' perceptions and experiences of university life, and to consider how these may affect well-being. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 students from a single UK school who were purposively selected to include perspectives from male, female, graduate-entry, standard-entry (straight from high school), and widening participation students across all 5 years of the program. Three main themes were identified: a deep-rooted vocation, navigating belongingness, and finding balance. Participants described a long-standing goal of becoming a veterinarian, with a determination reflected by often circuitous routes to veterinary school and little or no consideration of alternatives. Although some had been motivated by a love of animals, others were intrinsically interested in the scientific and problem-solving challenges of veterinary medicine. Most expressed strong feelings of empathy with animal owners. The issue of belongingness was central to participants' experiences, with accounts reflecting their efforts to negotiate a sense of belongingness both in student and professional communities. Participants also frequently expressed a degree of acceptance of poor balance between work and relaxation, with indications of a belief that this imbalance could be rectified later. This study helps highlight future avenues for research and supports initiatives aiming to nurture a sense of collegiality among veterinary students as they progress through training and into the profession

Pauli problem for a spin of arbitrary length: A simple method to determine its wave function

The problem of determining a pure state vector from measurements is investigated for a quantum spin of arbitrary length. Generically, only a finite number of wave functions is compatible with the intensities of the spin components in two different spatial directions, measured by a Stern-Gerlach apparatus. The remaining ambiguity can be resolved by one additional well-defined measurement. This method combines efficiency with simplicity: only a small number of quantities have to be measured and the experimental setup is elementary. Other approaches to determine state vectors from measurements, also known as the ‘‘Pauli problem,’’ are reviewed for both spin and particle systems

Incorporating patient partner scores into high stakes assessment : an observational study into opinions and attitudes

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Genetic testing can resolve diagnostic confusion in Alport syndrome

Alport syndrome (AS) is a familial glomerular disorder resulting from mutations in the genes encoding several members of the type IV collagen protein family. Despite advances in molecular genetics, renal biopsy remains an important initial diagnostic tool. Histological diagnosis is challenging as features may be non-specific, particularly early in the disease course and in females with X-linked disease. We present three families for whom there was difficulty in correctly diagnosing AS or thin basement membrane nephropathy as a result of misinterpretation of non-specific and incomplete histology. We highlight the importance of electron microscopy and immunofluorescence in improving diagnostic yield and also the hazard of interpreting a descriptive histological term as a diagnostic label. Molecular genetic testing allows a definitive diagnosis to be made in index patients and at-risk family members

Risk factors for incident falls in older men and women:The English longitudinal study of ageing

Background: falls are a major cause of disability and death in older people, particularly women. Cross-sectional surveys suggest that some risk factors associated with a history of falls may be sex-specific, but whether risk factors for incident falls differ between the sexes is unclear. We investigated whether risk factors for incident falls differ between men and women.Methods: participants were 3298 people aged ≥60 who took part in the Waves 4-6 surveys of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. At Wave 4, they provided information about sociodemographic, lifestyle, behavioural and medical factors and had their physical and cognitive function assessed. Data on incident falls during the four-year follow-up period was collected from them at Waves 5 and 6. Poisson regression with robust variance estimation was used to derive relative risks (RR) for the association between baseline characteristics and incident falls.Results: in multivariable-adjusted models that also controlled for history of falls, older age was the only factor associated with increased risk of incident falls in both sexes. Some factors were only predictive of falls in one sex, namely more depressive symptoms (RR (95% CI) 1.03 (1.01,1.06)), incontinence (1.12 (1.00,1.24)) and never having married in women (1.26 (1.03,1.53)), and greater comorbidity (1.04 (1.00,1.08)), higher levels of pain (1.10 (1.04,1.17) and poorer balance, as indicated by inability to attempt a full-tandem stand, (1.23 (1.04,1.47)) in men. Of these, only the relationships between pain, balance and comorbidity and falls risk differed significantly by sex.Conclusions: there were some differences between the sexes in risk factors for incident falls. Our observation that associations between pain, balance and comorbidity and incident falls risk varied by sex needs further investigation in other cohorts. <br/

Positive and negative well-being and objectively measured sedentary behaviour in older adults: evidence from three cohorts

Background: Sedentary behaviour is related to poorer health independently of time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether wellbeing or symptoms of anxiety or depression predict sedentary behaviour in older adults. Method: Participants were drawn from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (LBC1936) (n = 271), and the West of Scotland Twenty-07 1950s (n = 309) and 1930s (n = 118) cohorts. Sedentary outcomes, sedentary time, and number of sit-to-stand transitions, were measured with a three-dimensional accelerometer (activPAL activity monitor) worn for 7 days. In the Twenty-07 cohorts, symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed in 2008 and sedentary outcomes were assessed ~ 8 years later in 2015 and 2016. In the LBC1936 cohort, wellbeing and symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed concurrently with sedentary behaviour in 2015 and 2016. We tested for an association between wellbeing, anxiety or depression and the sedentary outcomes using multivariate regression analysis. Results: We observed no association between wellbeing or symptoms of anxiety and the sedentary outcomes. Symptoms of depression were positively associated with sedentary time in the LBC1936 and Twenty-07 1950s cohort, and negatively associated with number of sit-to-stand transitions in the LBC1936. Meta-analytic estimates of the association between depressive symptoms and sedentary time or number of sit-to-stand transitions, adjusted for age, sex, BMI, long-standing illness, and education, were β = 0.11 (95% CI = 0.03, 0.18) and β = − 0.11 (95% CI = − 0.19, −0.03) respectively. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that depressive symptoms are positively associated with sedentary behavior. Future studies should investigate the causal direction of this association

Cumulate causes for the low contents of sulfide-loving elements in the continental crust

Despite the economic importance of chalcophile (sulfide-loving) and siderophile (metal-loving) elements (CSEs), it is unclear how they become enriched or depleted in the continental crust, compared with the oceanic crust. This is due in part to our limited understanding of the partitioning behaviour of the CSEs. Here I compile compositional data for mid-ocean ridge basalts and subduction-related volcanic rocks. I show that the mantle-derived melts that contribute to oceanic and continental crust formation rarely avoid sulfide saturation during cooling in the crust and, on average, subduction-zone magmas fractionate sulfide at the base of the continental crust prior to ascent. Differentiation of mantle-derived melts enriches lower crustal sulfide- and silicate-bearing cumulates in some CSEs compared with the upper crust. This storage predisposes the cumulate-hosted compatible CSEs (such as Cu and Au) to be recycled back into the mantle during subduction and delamination, resulting in their low contents in the bulk continental crust and potentially contributing to the scarcity of ore deposits in the upper continental crust. By contrast, differentiation causes the upper oceanic and continental crust to become enriched in incompatible CSEs (such as W) compared with the lower oceanic and continental crust. Consequently, incompatible CSEs are predisposed to become enriched in subduction-zone magmas that contribute to continental crust formation and are less susceptible to removal from the continental crust via delamination compared with the compatible CSEs

EFEKTIVITAS DESENTRALISASI PENDIDIKAN DALAM MENINGKATKAN PROFESIONALISME GURU DI SMA NEGERI 1 LAKEA

Skripsi ini membahas tentang efektivitas desentralisasi pendidikan dalammeningkatkan profesionalisme guru di SMA Negeri 1 Lakea dengan pokok pembahasana bagaimana deskripsi desentralisasi pendidikan dalam meningkatkan profesionalisme guru di SMA Negeri 1 Lakea? dan bagaimana implikasi desentralisasi pendidikan dalam meningkatkan profesionalisme guru di SMA Negeri 1 Lakea. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahuideskripsi dan implikasi desentralisasi pendidikan dalam meningkatkan prodfesionalisme guru di sekolah tersebut.Untuk menjawab permsalahan tersebut, penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan teknik pengumpulan data melalui observasi, wawancara dan dokumentasi, serta menggunakan teknik analisis data melalui reduksi data, penyajian data, verifikasi data dan penarikan kesimpulan.Hasil penelitian skripsi ini yaitu: deskripsi Desentralisasi Pendidikan dalam Meningkatkan Profesionalisme Guru di SMA Negeri 1 Lakea: (1) Desentralisasi pendidikan merupakan pemberian kewenangan kepada daerah untuk mengelola pendidikannya, lalu daerah melimpahkan kepada masing-masing sekolah (2) Pemerintah pusat tetap mengontrol pendidikan yang diselenggarakan oleh pemerintah daerah dan masing-masing sekolah melalui akreditasi nasional yang dilaksanakan oleh BAN-SM (3) Aspek-aspek yang menjadi kewenangan sekolah dalam melaksanakan desentralisai pendidikan yakni: (a) Perencanaan dan evaluasi program sekolah dalam hal ini sekolah berupaya meningkatkan mutu pendidikan dengan cara merencanakan kegiatan-kegiatan yang dapat meningkatkan profesionalisme guru, misalnya mengutus guru untuk mengikuti Musyawarah Guru Mata Pelajaran (MGMP) dan merencanakan bimbingan teknis untuk meningkatkan keterampilan guru dan mengevaluasi berbagai perencaan kegiatan program sekolah (b) Aspek pengelolaan proses belajar, memberikan kewenangan kepada masing-masing guru untuk mengelola proses pembelajaran pada mata pelajaran yang dipegangnya dan kepala sekolah melukan supervisi kepada guru untuk mengevaluasi dan membimbing pelaksanaan proses pembelajaran guru tersebut (c) Aspek pengelolaan ketenagaan, SMA Negeri 1 Lakea mengelola 25 orang guru dan 3 orang tenaga administrasi, pengelolaan yang dilakukan misalnya memberikan guru mata pelajaran yang sesuai dengan keahliannya, dan mengutus guru sebagai perwakilannya dalam kegiatan seminar mapun workshop (d) Aspek pengelolaan keuangan, sekolah mengelola dana BOS dengan prosedur sesuai dengan aturan penggunaan dana tersebut yakni sebagai operasional sekolah, misalnya mengupayakan pembayaran honor guru honorer yang tidak pernah terlambat dibayarkan. Implikasi Desentralisasi Pendidikan dalam Meningkatkan Profesionalisme Guru di SMA Negeri 1 Lakea: (1) Program sekolah dalam meningkatkan profesionalisme dapat terlaksana dengan baik (2) Masing-masing guru berupaya meningkatkan pengelolaan proses belajarnya sebagai implikasi dari pelaksanaan supervisi (3) Sekolah memiliki tenaga pendidik sesuai dengan kebutuhan dan (4) Pengelolaan keuangan yang dilaksanakan oleh sekolah dapat memotivasi guru untuk melaksanakan tugasnya dengan baik.Kata Kunci        :    Desentralisasi pendidikan, profesionalisme gur