Philosophy a Frill?

Because philosophy of education courses are viewed by mlny as being impractical, an academic frill, they are vulnerable to elimination from teacher preparation programs as faculties of education struggle with current fiscal pressures. Philosophy of education courses, as I conceive them, deal with the question of overriding aims, and consequent key features, of education. Such courses are indeed impractical along many dimensions. However, the sense in which they are practical is of such overwhelming import to the welfare of the school system as to reduce to triviality the senses in which they are not. Intelligent student teachers insist on questioning the aims and key features of education. They should not be denied courses which not only provide a forum for such questioning, but which actively inform and challenge the questioner. A teacher\u27s attitude to life, to school, to children, is a reflection of the philosophy (pattern of values with attendant assumptions) acquired through childhood and adolescence. Rather than being the object of conSciousness, this pattern structures consciousness, and thus attitude. To engage in philosophical activity is to bring values, and attendant assumptions, into clear view for scrutiny; it is to be discomfited as much as it is to be liberated as all is subjected to challenge. Such engagement is a maturing, humbling process

Interplay between the ionic and electronic density profiles in liquid metal surfaces

First principles molecular dynamics simulations have been performed for the liquid-vapor interfaces of liquid Li, Mg, Al and Si. We analize the oscillatory ionic and valence electronic density profiles obtained, their wavelengths and the mechanisms behind their relative phase-shift.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Chemical Physic

The evolutionary sequence of post-starburst galaxies

© 2017 The Authors. There are multiple ways in which to select post-starburst galaxies in the literature. In this work, we present a study into how two well-used selection techniques have consequences on observable post-starburst galaxy parameters, such as colour, morphology and environment, and how this affects interpretations of their role in the galaxy duty cycle. We identify a master sample of Hδ strong (EWHδ> 3Å) post-starburst galaxies from the value-added catalogue in the seventh data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS DR7) over a redshift range 0.01 -2.5Å) but one having an additional cut onEWHα (> -3Å).We examine the differences in observables and AGN fractions to see what effect the Hα cut has on the properties of post-starburst galaxies and what these differing samples can tell us about the duty cycle of post-starburst galaxies. We find that Hδ strong galaxies peak in the 'blue cloud', E+As in the 'green valley' and pure E+As in the 'red sequence'.We also find that pure E+As have a more early-type morphology and a higher fraction in denser environments compared with the Hδ strong and E+A galaxies. These results suggest that there is an evolutionary sequence in the post-starburst phase from blue discy galaxies with residual star formation to passive red early-types

An Ethics of Care Approach to Managing the Burden of Alzheimer\u27s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease for which there is currently no cure or effective treatments. The disease has devastating effects on the individuals whom it strikes and because its prevalence continues to rise, it significantly threatens the public good. Throughout its lengthy duration from diagnosis to death there are numerous ethical issues concerning patients individually as well as society generally. The management of the burdens of Alzheimer’s disease presents a formidable ethical challenge from the perspective of patients and society. The ethics of care is adopted to address this problem because of its flexibility to integrate personal care needs with public good. An ethics of care approach can facilitate effective management of the burden of Alzheimer’s disease when its two components, relational autonomy and social responsibility, are integrated and analyzed. From the earliest stages to the most severe stages of Alzheimer’s disease the ethics of care can help to incorporate personal care and the public good, providing high-quality care while enhancing public wellbeing. The ethics of care is attentive to the need to engage clinical ethics with organizational ethics for the proper management of the disease. From the perspective of clinical ethics, relational autonomy and social responsibility can address the ethical issues related to diagnosis in early stages to management in severe stages. From the perspective of organizational ethics, the focus upon relational autonomy highlights the organizational components underlying quality of care, and the focus on social responsibility highlights the need to control costs and improve access to care. The ethics of care approach combines clinical and organizational ethics to manage the burden of Alzheimer’s disease in a manner that unites personal care and the public good in a sustainable and effective manner

An inclusive approach to partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Using a relationship lens to explore the potential for transformational collaboration

Partnerships are positioned as critical for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations transformational agenda for 2030. The widespread use of terms such as ‘collaboration’, ‘partnership’ and ‘cooperation’ has, however, led to debates about the expectations of such relationships and calls have been made for more rigorous clarification and classification of these related concepts. Drawing upon a comprehensive literature review, we argue in this conceptual paper that the broad spectrum of personal and organizational interactions within, between and across different sectors, domains, disciplines and contexts makes the quest to delineate and categorize these diverse forms of collaboration a seemingly impossible task. We further suggest that such efforts advance a narrow view of partnership as little more than a means to an end, thus limiting understanding of the integrative and intrinsic value of working in this way. We believe that a more inclusive understanding of partnerships may be achieved by exploring them through a relationship lens that acknowledges the importance of inter-personal connections in partnerships more deeply. In doing so, the capacity of partnerships to generate the systemic change that is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development may be enhanced and ultimately realized

The smoothing and forecasting of discrete time series that occur at random review intervals of time

Implicit in the classical techniques of smoothing and forecasting of discrete time series is the restriction that the data spans equal intervals of time. There exists a need to make forecasts at unequal time intervals for the transactio or even oriented business activity

Risk factors for chest infection in acute stroke: a prospective cohort study

<p><b>Background and Purpose:</b> Pneumonia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after stroke. We aimed to determine key characteristics that would allow prediction of those patients who are at highest risk for poststroke pneumonia.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> We studied a series of consecutive patients with acute stroke who were admitted to hospital. Detailed evaluation included the modified National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; the Abbreviated Mental Test; and measures of swallow, respiratory, and oral health status. Pneumonia was diagnosed by set criteria. Patients were followed up at 3 months after stroke.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> We studied 412 patients, 391 (94.9%) with ischemic stroke and 21 (5.1%) with hemorrhagic stroke; 78 (18.9%) met the study criteria for pneumonia. Subjects who developed pneumonia were older (mean±SD age, 75.9±11.4 vs 64.9±13.9 years), had higher modified National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores, a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower Abbreviated Mental Test scores, and a higher oral cavity score, and a greater proportion tested positive for bacterial cultures from oral swabs. In binary logistic-regression analysis, independent predictors (P<0.05) of pneumonia were age >65 years, dysarthria or no speech due to aphasia, a modified Rankin Scale score ≥4, an Abbreviated Mental Test score <8, and failure on the water swallow test. The presence of 2 or more of these risk factors carried 90.9% sensitivity and 75.6% specificity for the development of pneumonia.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Pneumonia after stroke is associated with older age, dysarthria/no speech due to aphasia, severity of poststroke disability, cognitive impairment, and an abnormal water swallow test result. Simple assessment of these variables could be used to identify patients at high risk of developing pneumonia after stroke.</p&gt

Analytical modeling of micelle growth. 2. Molecular thermodynamics of mixed aggregates and scission energy in wormlike micelles

Hypotheses: Quantitative molecular-thermodynamic theory of the growth of giant wormlike micelles in mixed nonionic surfactant solutions can be developed on the basis of a generalized model, which includes the classical phase separation and mass action models as special cases. The generalized model describes spherocylindrical micelles, which are simultaneously multicomponent and polydisperse in size. Theory: The model is based on explicit analytical expressions for the four components of the free energy of mixed nonionic micelles: interfacial-tension, headgroup-steric, chain-conformation components and free energy of mixing. The radii of the cylindrical part and the spherical endcaps, as well as the chemical composition of the endcaps, are determined by minimization of the free energy. Findings: In the case of multicomponent micelles, an additional term appears in the expression for the micelle growth parameter (scission free energy), which takes into account the fact that the micelle endcaps and cylindrical part have different compositions. The model accurately predicts the mean mass aggregation number of wormlike micelles in mixed nonionic surfactant solutions without using any adjustable parameters. The endcaps are enriched in the surfactant with smaller packing parameter that is better accommodated in regions of higher mean surface curvature. The model can be further extended to mixed solutions of nonionic, ionic and zwitterionic surfactants used in personal-care and house-hold detergency