Residential Energy Use Model for Austria (REUMA)

The residential energy use model is a computer simulation model, which calculates the annual end use energy demand for the residential sector. Any simulation period up to 50 years can be chosen. The model is structured around the housing stock and its components of change, which are annual construction, demolition and retrofitting. The model is linked to a population model which provides, as a major driving function, the number of households for each simulation year. Energy use for space and water heating is calculated for seven energy types by using parameters such as floorspace, heat loss, heating hours, hot water demand and appliance efficiency. Energy demand from fourteen other appliances is calculated from the fraction of households owning each appliance and the average energy use per appliance. The housing stock is broken down into twelve home types and the parameters mentioned above reflect the characteristics of each home type. Census data are used as an initial reference point. Alternative scenarios can be created with differing assumptions concerning future technological, economic, environmental and life-style changes so that a variety of alternative futures may be analysed

A Mentoring Model for Pastors Entering the Ministry in the Indiana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Problem. As Seventh-day Adventist conferences receive beginning pastors into the field from colleges and seminaries or those who have made a change in career, the ministerial secretary is charged with overseeing their paths toward ordination. But the conference ministerial secretary faces several challenges that must be addressed such as visiting all the pastors in the field, driving long distances to personally meet pastors, and arranging time with the pastors. If deliberate and intensive mentoring is not fostered, no support will be felt by beginning pastors. Furthermore, the pastors are accountable to several entities, including the conference administration, the local church, their spouses, and of course to God. The problem is likely to develop where the beginning pastor is experiencing solo ministry with minimal training in preparation for ordination. Additionally, a weak economy has restricted conference personnel from placing beginning pastors in mentoring, supervision, or intern positions. Furthermore, include the fact that many senior pastors have been unwilling to add the responsibility of training a beginning pastor to their agendas. The question then becomes, how will beginning pastors receive pastoral mentoring unless someone guides them? Attention needs to be given by a pastor of experience—who will walk beside the beginning pastor. Method. A group of eight beginning pastors in the Indiana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists volunteered as the candidates for this pilot project to participate in the formation of a model for nurturing beginning pastors. For six months beginning pastors participated in a one-hour monthly meeting for building a mentor relationship with the ministerial secretary. This was a time of sharing experiences, asking questions, reflective listening, addressing challenges, and praying together. Local church issues were addressed by the beginning pastor and the ministerial secretary. These six sessions provided a context for the beginning pastor to experience live application of the mentoring model. An exit interview was conducted after six months of relationship-building with each of the eight beginning pastors. This exit interview included starter questions that the ministerial secretary asked. Data from these interviews was used to determine if growth occurred during the mentoring process. The interview sessions with the eight beginning pastors was completed during September 2011. Results. The beginning pastors responded that the presence of a mentor to discuss “live” church situations provided the support they needed to empower their pastoral ministry. Face-to-face conversations developed trust as the beginning pastor and ministerial secretary identified with one another through their storytelling journeys. This identification factor became crucial to developing a trust throughout this mentoring relationship. The beginning pastors and ministerial secretary prayed together, studied mentoring together, and dialogued regarding church matters. Beginning pastors acknowledged that a mentoring relationship takes time to develop. However, as the dialog proceeded in the one-hour sessions, it was necessary to keep the time focused in order to meet the various individual schedules of the group. From this mentoring project the beginning pastors and ministerial secretary experienced a) accountability by their session attendance; b) empowerment from grasping the perspective of Clinton and Stanley’s Constellation model and their three mentoring functions (intensive/occasional/passive) continuum (See Appendices C and D); c) the necessity of evaluation after acknowledging the need for mid-course revisions during the six sessions; d) motivation and vision to transfer the mentoring model to themselves as well as lay church leadership, peer pastors, and youth; e) mentor and mentee initiative by acknowledging the benefit of pursuing partners with special competencies; f) mutual learning from discussions and storytelling; g) listening by the ministerial secretary as the beginning pastors shared their concerns; h) reflection by contemplating the application of mentoring principles in their context; i) an understanding of succession leadership by expressing a desire to implement mentoring training in local churches; j) the contribution of structure that kept the six sessions organized; and k) the incarnational model of faceto-face presence as mentoring partners for six monthly sessions. The eight beginning pastors and the ministerial secretary collected the above insights from their mentoring relationship by sharing experiences and discussing Connecting, the book by Clinton and Stanley (1992). Conclusions. When evaluating the six monthly sessions, this writer noted that a mentoring relationship flourishes with a) increasing trust levels, b) quality and quantity time investment, c) respect for one another’s competencies, d) partner accountability, e) reflection during and following the sessions, f) a mutual learning attitude, and g) intentional listening skills. These factors foster a successful mentoring relationship for the mentor-mentee covenant, usually six to 18 months. A mid-course evaluation might have improved the sessions with the beginning pastors. Additional communication, intentionality, reviews, and planning could have determined how much structure was necessary. However, the beginning pastors gave positive responses to a) the praying together, b) listening to family and church life stories, c) the book dialogue, and d) relationship building. By a) exploring OT and NT mentoring models, b) reviewing secular and religious authors’ mentoring models, and c) investing six monthly sessions with beginning pastors, it became evident that beginning pastors need an incarnational model, a presence with whom they can identify. That presence may include a) the Ministerial Secretary of the Indiana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, b) peer pastors in the Indiana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists with needed mentoring competencies, c) community mentors in Indiana Conference’s territory who can be contemporary “guides by the side,” or d) all of the preceding partners. The presence of such mentors willing to come along beside the mentees might be called paracletes who extend the Holy Spirit’s ministry

Study of the 15N(p,n)15O reaction as a monoenergetic neutron source for the measurement of differential scattering cross sections

The 15N(p,n) reaction is a promising candidate for the production of monoenergetic neutrons with energies of up to 5.7 MeV at the facilities where the T(p,n)3He reaction cannot be used. The characteristic properties of this reaction were studied focusing on its suitability as a source of monoenergetic neutrons for the measurement of differential scattering cross sections in the neutron energy range of 2 MeV to 5 MeV. For this purpose differential and integral cross sections were measured and the choice of optimum target conditions was investigated. The reaction has already been used successfully to measure of elastic and inelastic neutron scattering cross sections for natPb in the energy range from 2 MeV to 4 MeV and for 209Bi and 181Ta at 4 MeV

Trajectory of the recognition of basic emotions in the neurodevelopment of children and its evaluation through the “recognition of Basic Emotions in Childhood” Test (REBEC)

The neurodevelopment of emotion recognition is critical to achieving an adequate Social Cognition. This ability is developed during the first years through primary social referents, and later peers are a source of training that facilitates insertion in social groups. Most of the emotion recognition tests used are based on reagents that use adult faces, which can be a problem when evaluating the ability to recognize basic emotions in children. The objective of the research was to study this ability in children, analyzing its incremental validity on the variables age, valence, gender and emotional category. The Recognition of Basic Emotions in Childhood Test (REBEC) was designed using 30 reagents based on faces of children expressing five basic emotions of different intensity (low, medium and high). The REBEC was administered to 214 children, between 6 and 12 years old. The maximum score was 30. The average (M) of correct answers was 19.86; with a standard deviation (SD) of ± 4.12. The study sample was divided into seven groups according to the level of schooling. The group of 12 years-old obtained the highest yield (M) 22.18 ± 4.12. The 6-years olds’ group obtained the lowest yield (M) of 17.78 ± 4.41. The (M) of hits in girls was 20.61 ± 3.91; being of (M) 19.24 ± 4.21 for children. The Emotion Happiness was the most recognized (M) 93.8%, followed by Anger (M) 75.1%, Sadness (M) 58.6%, Disgust (M) 56.3%, and Fear (M) 47, 4%, We analyzed the level of success according to age, configuring the trajectory of Neurodevelopment for each emotion, taking incorrect categorization of emotions into account: disgust, tended to be confused with Anger or Sadness. After obtaining the normative data of the REBEC Test and observing its psychometric properties and the sensitivity for the detection of the differences between groups, it is postulated as a valid and reliable instrument for the measurement of the facial expression abilities of the basic emotions in childhood

Simultaneous evaluation of interrelated cross sections by generalized least-squares and related data file requirements

Though several cross sections have been designated as standards, they are not basic units and are interrelated by ratio measurements. Moreover, as such interactions as /sup 6/Li + n and /sup 10/B + n involve only two and three cross sections respectively, total cross section data become useful for the evaluation process. The problem can be resolved by a simultaneous evaluation of the available absolute and shape data for cross sections, ratios, sums, and average cross sections by generalized least-squares. A data file is required for such evaluation which contains the originally measured quantities and their uncertainty components. Establishing such a file is a substantial task because data were frequently reported as absolute cross sections where ratios were measured without sufficient information on which reference cross section and which normalization were utilized. Reporting of uncertainties is often missing or incomplete. The requirements for data reporting will be discussed