Berkeley on Evil

This essay consists of two parts. Part I offers an explanation of Berkeley's understanding of the relationship between materialism and evil. Berkeley regards materialism as the chief instrumental cause of evil in the world. It is the belief in matter that encourages us to believe that God is not immediately, intimately present in every aspect of our life. Immaterialism, by contrast, makes God's immediate presence vivid and thereby serves to undermine the motivation to vice. Part II locates Berkeley's view on matter and evil within the Christian Neoplatonic tradition. I compare Plotinus' minimalist approach to matter and his identification of matter with evil to Berkeley's eliminitivism about matter and his corresponding identification of materialism as the chief source of evil

Hydrogen film cooling of a small hydrogen-oxygen thrust chamber and its effect on erosion rates of various ablative materials

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine what arrangement of film-coolant-injection orifices should be used to decrease the erosion rates of small, high temperature, high pressure ablative thrust chambers without incurring a large penalty in combustion performance. All of the film cooling was supplied through holes in a ring between the outer row of injector elements and the chamber wall. The best arrangement, which had twice the number of holes as there were outer row injection elements, was also the simplest. The performance penalties, presented as a reduction in characteristic exhaust velocity efficiency, were 0.8 and 2.8 percentage points for the 10 and 20 percent cooling flows, respectively, The best film-coolant injector was then used to obtain erosion rates for 19 ablative materials. The throat erosion rate was reduced by a factor of 2.5 with a 10 percent coolant flow. Only the more expensive silica phenolic materials had low enough erosion rates to be considered for use in the nozzle throat. However, some of the cheaper materials might qualify for use in other areas of small nozzles with large throat diameters where the higher erosion rates are more acceptable

Two-dimensional photonic band-gap structures as quasi-metals

By considering waves that propagate out of the transverse plane, we show that common high index materials (eg GaAs) with a 2D array of air holes can act in some ways like a 3D photonic band-gap structure. In particular, we describe a dielectric "quasi-metal" that reflects all propagating light incident from free space

The Art of Polyfoam Puppetry

The construction of polyfoam puppets for theatrical productions is a highly specialized art form and requires a process that is often learned via mentorships and apprenticeships. Limited learning materials and resources presently exist or are publicly available on the techniques for producing these complex and genre specific puppets. This project investigated and visually documented the creative process and craftsmanship in the creation of polyfoam puppets. Working collaboratively with an undergraduate student of film and digital media, theatre Faculty Designers created an instructional video presentation of the step by step stages of polyfoam puppetry construction. The resulting video documents the creative process in sequential chapters to use as a resource for theatre professionals, artisans, educators, and as a virtual learning tool for students.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2014/1031/thumbnail.jp

STEM: country comparisons: international comparisons of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Final report.

From 22 studies of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) policies and practices around the world the STEM: country comparisons report makes 24 key findings which highlight a number of challenges for Australia with STEM participation and provides a basis of ideas to tackle these

Using Telehealth to Adapt Service Delivery for Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Staff from the Institute for Human Development (IHD) at Northern Arizona University have provided evaluations for children with developmental disabilities (DD) in Arizona communities for over 20 years. These evaluations include Developmental Evaluations, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) evaluations, and evaluations for eligibility for Part C of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act) early intervention services. Following the evaluations, IHD staff may provide interventions that consist of training, coaching, and direct services. Evaluations and follow-up interventions have historically been provided in homes, the community, or a clinic setting by interdisciplinary teams that consist of two or more of the following: Occupational Therapists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, Educational Psychologists, or Developmental Specialists. During the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent need for physical distancing, three IHD programs modified the standard in-person evaluation process. Staff from the Growing in Beauty Partnership Program (GIBPP, the Navajo Part C program), the Interdisciplinary Training Clinic, and the Augmentative Communication Evaluation and Training Program conducted evaluations through televisits that consisted of parent interviews and observations of the child performing specific tasks. GIBPP staff modified intervention methods for children birth to three years old already on caseload at the time of the pandemic outbreak, providing coaching to families through telepractice. For AAC evaluations, AAC equipment was delivered to the family before the evaluation. In reporting the adaptation of our processes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we used the expanded Framework for Modifications and Adaptations (FRAME) developed by Stirman et al. (2019). Using the eight components of the FRAME, we described the processes developed and undertaken to implement telepractice in these three programs at IHD during COVID-19. The article includes a summary of the decision-making processes used to determine which clients to include or exclude. The decision- making process included such criteria as the child’s characteristics and capabilities, technology access of the parents, and equipment needs. The outbreak of COVID-19 provided opportunities for practical experiences in the utilization of telepractice in a variety of settings and with a diverse clientele with developmental disabilities. These experiences informed diagnostic and intervention telepractice efforts that are potentially efficient, beneficial, and sustainable over the long-term. Steps to guide the criteria for inclusion of families in telepractice, the operational procedures for evaluation and intervention, and the contextual factors that influence quality and fidelity are further explained. The role of telepractice in reducing and accentuating health disparities are discussed based on our experiences in rural and tribal communities. This information will help to guide other practitioners working in similar settings with similar populations