The Economics of Education in Lebanon: Implications for a Brighter Future for Lebanese Students

Choosing to enrol in a university and earn a degree is a decision that all high school graduates have to face. The options and opportunities available in the work field are too diverse and each student has to make a decision, whether to enrol in a university or not. The decision is based on a cost-benefit method, which transforms the pursuance of higher education into an economic matter. Therefore, after finishing high school, a student will utilize a cost-benefit procedure to arrive at the right decision. This leads to the serious question; do the benefits of university education outweigh the costs for Lebanese students? To answer this question a survey comprised of 1000 questionnaires along with ten hypotheses to be tested and analysed was adopted. Responses were divided into two groups. Some believed that, university education is a necessity and considered it as important as school itself for the growth, maturity, and the bright future of each person. Others, however, thought that it is a disadvantage not to enrol in a university and pursue higher education. Based on the results of this paper, a high percentage of Lebanese believe that the university offers an added value, and it is important for employment in the country. However, 53% believe that a non-graduate can perform the same job as a graduate, and finally, 60% believe that skills are more important than a degree when recruiting a new employee. Therefore, it is quite clear that university education is a necessary condition but not a sufficient one to guarantee a successful career. Hence, university education is as important as job experience and skills that add to the person’s assets

パラジウム炭素を触媒とした檜山クロスカップリング反応

檜山クロスカップリング反応は、フッ化物塩や塩基により活性化された有機ケイ素化合物と有機ハライド、あるいは有機ハライド等価体とのパラジウム（Pd）を触媒とした交差縮合反応である。本反応の基質である有機ケイ素化合物は毒性が低く、またグリニャール試薬などの求核剤と異なり空気中安定で取り扱いやすい。また、反応後に副生するケイ素化合物は、燃焼により無害な二酸化ケイ素に変換・処理されるため、檜山カップリングは医薬品を始めとした機能性物質の量産化反応に適している。従来法では均一系Pd 触媒を使用し、ゼロ価Pd の安定・活性化のためにリガンドが添加されるが、生成物中への残存や混入は避けることができず除去工程が別途必要となる。一方、不均一系Pd 触媒はPd が担体に保持されており化学的に安定であることから、均一系Pd 触媒を使用した際に生じる処理工程の回避が期待される。我々は接触水素化反応における汎用不均一系触媒であるパラジウム炭素（Pd/C）に着目し「Pd/C による檜山クロスカップリング反応」の開発並びにPd/C を触媒とした「リガンドを全く使用しない檜山クロスカップリング反応」の開発に成功した。特に後者はリガンドの添加を全く必要とせず、汎用されているPd/C を極微量使用するだけで効率良く進行する点で、操作性とコストに優れておりプロセス化学的適用が期待される。The Hiyama cross-coupling reaction, a palladium-catalyzed carbon–carbon bond formation between organosilanes andorganohalides or their equivalents, has been popularized as a useful synthetic method to construct unsymmetrical biphenyls asstructural components of various functional materials. The use of organosilanes as organometallic compounds, which was initiallyexplored by Hiyama, is one of the most attractive approaches, since organosilanes are easy to handle and environmentally friendlydue to their air-stability and low toxicity. Hiyama coupling has generally been achieved by the combined use of a homogeneouspalladium catalyst and a phosphine ligand. Recently, the development of heterogeneously palladium-catalyzed cross-couplingreactions has attracted significant attention from both environmental and economical points of view, since the catalysts can be readilyrecovered from the reaction mixture. Efficient methods are demonstrated for the palladium on carbon (Pd/C)-catalyzed Hiyamacross-coupling reactions and the first ligand-free Pd/C-catalyzed Hiyama cross-coupling reaction between a variety of aryl halidesand aryltriethoxysilanes