Intelligent and Distributed Data Warehouse for Student’s Academic Performance Analysis

In the academic world, a large amount of data is handled each day, ranging from student’s assessments to their socio-economic data. In order to analyze this historical information, an interesting alternative is to implement a Data Warehouse. However, Data Warehouses are not able to perform predictive analysis by themselves, so machine intelligence techniques can be used for sorting, grouping, and predicting based on historical information to improve the analysis quality. This work describes a Data Warehouse architecture to carry out an academic performance analysis of students

Germanane and butyl-functionalized germanane as visible-light photocatalysts for the degradation of water pollutants

Germanane, a two-dimensional Ge lattice in which each atom is hydrogen-terminated in the z-direction, possesses a remarkable combination of electronic and optical properties that are attractive for applications ranging from chemical sensing to electrocatalysis and photocatalysis. In this work, we studied germanane (GeH) and the novel butyl-functionalized germanane (GeBuxH(1−x)) as photocatalysts for water purification under visible light irradiation and utilizing challenging conditions in terms of photocatalyst loading (1 mg per g of aqueous solution containing 200 ppm of pollutant). The synthesized GeH and GeBuxH(1−x) have significantly higher specific surface area (121 m2 g−1 and 76 m2 g−1, respectively) than other germanane derivatives reported to date and display optical band gaps suitable for visible light absorption (1.40 eV and 1.55 eV, respectively). In terms of photocatalytic performance, GeH displayed the best activity in the degradation of rhodamine B (61% removal after 3 h under visible radiation), while GeBuxH(1−x) proved to be the best photocatalyst for the degradation of phenol (33% removal after 3 h under visible radiation). In both cases, the activity under visible radiation surpassed that of P25 TiO2 and could be enhanced significantly by sonication in water before interaction with the pollutants. Recycling tests showed that GeH could be reused with no or negligible loss of photocatalytic activity, whereas GeBuxH(1−x) showed a minor decrease in activity upon reuse

Risk and Protective Factors for Children of Adolescents: Maternal Depression and Parental Sense of Competence

We investigated the relationship between depression and parental sense of competence to child cognitive outcomes for a sample of 49 adolescent mothers and their young children (Mean age = 9 1/2 months) enrolled in a student parenting program. Cognitive development of the infants and toddlers was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Maternal depression was assessed with the CES-D and parental competence measured with the Parental Sense of Competence Scale. Results indicated that maternal depression and parental sense of competence alone did not predict children’s cognitive scores; the interaction of the variables significantly predicted children’s outcomes. Mothers reporting high levels of depression, who self-reported high levels of parental competence, had children who scored higher on the Bayley. Children of mothers with high levels of depression, and low reported levels of competence scored lower on the Bayley. The relationship was not significant for mothers reporting low levels of depression. Our findings suggest additional research needs to focus on the buffering effect of parental sense of competence for adolescent mothers experiencing depression

Taxation and political business cycles in EU economies

This paper examines whether incumbent national governments of 11 member states of the European Union manipulated the tax policy instruments at their disposal in order to create national political business cycles, opportunistic or partisan. The empirical evidence, based on data concerning the 1965 to 1997 period, does not support this hypothesis. Rather, it appears that governments have pursued stabilization policies.

Perceptions of Parental Support and Depressive Symptomatology Among Black and White Adolescent Mothers

Parental support and conflictual relationships in a sample of 48 Black and White adolescent mothers between the ages of 14 and 19 were examined. Adolescent mothers were interviewed when their babies were 3 months old. Most adolescent mothers reported close relationships with both their mothers and fathers before and after the births of their babies. The perception of a supportive relationship with the mother after the birth of a baby increased more than the perception of a supportive relationship with the father. Perceptions of conflict were much higher for mothers than for fathers, and less conflict with parents was reported by Black than by White adolescent mothers. Older White adolescent mothers rated their fathers as more supportive than did younger White mothers, but these differences did not exist among Black adolescent mothers. The effects of self-esteem and parental relationships on adolescent depressive symptomatology were also examined. Self-esteem and supportive relationships with fathers were both negatively associated with depressive symptomatology among adolescent mothers. These data highlight the need to consider multiple factors that contribute to the emotional adjustment and psychological well-being of adolescent mothers. Implications of findings for mental health service delivery are discussed in this article.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68272/2/10.1177_106342669700500305.pd