A Study of the Catalytic Hydrogenation of Methoxybenzenes Over Platinum and Rhodium Catalysts

[From the Summary] The catalytic hydrogenation of methoxybenzenes and other aromatic methoxyl compounds has been studied. Hydrogenation of the aromatic ring was usually accompanied by some cleavage of the methoxyl groups. This cleavage occurred predominately upon the carbon-oxygen bond adjacent to the aromatic ring. The cleavage reaction was found to occur only as a part of the aromatic hydrogenation process. The amount of cleavage was found to be dependent upon the catalyst used. Platinum led to extensive methoxyl cleavage while rhodium catalyzed ring saturation with little cleavage. Also found to influence the extent of cleavage were reaction temperature and acid concentration. A mechanism for the cleavage has been proposed. This mechanism involves the formation of a methoxycyclohexene or equivalent in which the carbon-oxyggen bond of the ether is labilized by the β - δ carbon-­ carbon double bond. The utility of various rhodium compounds as catalysts for the hydrogenation of the benzene nucleus has been demonstrated. With respect to catalytic activity, supported catalysts have been shown to be superior to the pure metals when the two groups are compared on the basis of percentage of active constituent. The effect of substitution and number of substituents on the rate of hydrogenation was found to be about the same for the various methoxybenzenes as for the corresponding methyl compounds

A longitudinal study on students’ self-regulated listening during transition to an English-medium transnational university in China

Listening to academic content in English medium instruction (EMI) classrooms at university can be a demanding task for students who transition from first language (L1) instructed secondary schools. This longitudinal mixed methods study analyzes data from 316 students collected at the beginning, midterm, and the end of their first semester after entering an EMI transnational university in southeast China. The analysis of questionnaire responses revealed significant variations in students’ listening strategies over time, with a significant decrease in deep processing cognitive strategies at the midterm when content difficulty increased. Conversely, two types of metacognitive strategies (problem solving, plan evaluation) increased significantly during the second half of the semester. Informed by Zimmerman’s (2000) social cognitive self-regulated learning (SRL) model, thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 34 participants revealed that students generally developed a more top-down listening approach focusing on content learning over the semester and became more selective in their strategic and self-regulatory processes after the midterm “watershed” moment. Results highlight the importance of structured topic knowledge in EMI curriculum design and the necessity of strategy training in language support programs

Reevaluating the Test Specifications of an Oral Proficiency Test

論

What drives success in English medium taught courses? The interplay between language proficiency, academic skills, and motivation.

This article explores the relationship between course performance, English language proficiency, motivation, and academic language skills in an English medium instruction (EMI) university context. It analyses test and questionnaire data from 146 students from an EMI business program at a Japanese university, and follow-up interviews with seven students. Proficiency test and subject exam scores revealed that knowledge of English language and academic English skill were statistically significant predictors of success in EMI, suggesting that lower proficiency students require more targeted language support in order to increase their likelihood of success. A motivation measure did not correlate with higher grades, contradicting research in language learning contexts. Interview data uncovered the multi-faceted nature of ‘success in EMI’ suggesting that students see success as a combination of final grades, lecture comprehension, English language proficiency gains, and long-term career advancement

A comparison of content learning outcomes between Japanese and English medium instruction

In the growing body of English medium instruction (EMI) research, few studies have directly compared the effects of medium of instruction on subject learning. This study compares direct measures of content knowledge and perceptions of knowledge acquisition for students studying Chemistry via English (n = 27) and Japanese Medium Instruction (JMI) (n = 26). Data were collected at a university in Japan where Chemistry courses were taught in both Japanese and English as part of a parallel program offering the same undergraduate curriculum in either of the two languages of instruction. An analysis was undertaken of students’ learning outcomes measured by pre-post course content tests. These measurable test outcomes were triangulated with data from student interviews (n = 17) to identify differences in the learners’ perceived experiences according to the medium of instruction. While the quantitative results revealed no significant overall differences in the adjusted post-test scores between EMI and JMI students, the qualitative data offered more detailed insight into the participants’ perspectives of content learning, highlighting unique challenges faced only by the EMI group. Findings point to implications for educational provision in contexts where the global trend of EMI has largely been unaccompanied with research evidence on its cost-effectiveness

Operationalizing a People-First Strategy: Kant, Mission Command, and What It Means to Take Responsibility in a 21st Century Military

The purpose of this thesis is to argue for the adoption of Mission Command because it stands to promote the kind of functioning proper to the aims and conditions of the increasingly tech-enabled military. It does this because there are no mission, battle, or war conditions where good judgment and responsible action are not critical to the success of the military’s endeavors. In this, there is a moral basis to the proper functioning of a good military – trust and responsibility taking. While some argue that implementing Mission Command is infeasible, I argue that Kant, in fact, provides a model of moral education that suits Mission Command’s integration quite well. I turn to Kant because he is the thinker for whom responsibility is the key concept, so his thoughts on how to cultivate it are relevant to the successful integration of Mission Command. In order to support my argument for Mission Command, I first focus the thesis on the ethical debates of autonomous weapons systems (AWS), specifically, drones. In finding the literature too narrow, I argue the ethical discussion must be recast in terms of judgment, autonomy, and responsibility in order to locate a balanced path forward for the ethical research and development of technology that privileges the centrality of the human agent. Next, I turn from the machine to the human operators responsible for employing them. I argue that in the military’s quest to maintain an asymmetric advantage by potentially pursuing AWS which would offload many decisions from the operator, we have simultaneously placed too much trust in a machine that lacks any true ability to self-govern and exercise judgment, while removing conditions that support the operators being able to take responsibility for their own actions. In doing so, I utilize drones as a limit case to demonstrate that when we undermine operator’s autonomy and capacity to be responsible at some minimal level, we essentially treat them as mere means to an end and risk enacting even further harms on the individual. All of this, I argue, recommends a robust adoption of Mission Command

Concert recording 2018-01-21

[Track 1]. Une flȗte soupire (A Sighing Flute) / Mel Bonis -- [Track 2]. Suite en trio for Flute, Violin, and Piano, Op. 59. I. Sérénade [Track 3]. II. Pastorale [Track 4]. III. Scherzo / Mel Bonis -- [Track 5]. Sonata in C-sharp minor for Flute and Piano, Op. 64. I. Andantino con moto [Track 6]. II. Scherzo - Vivace [Track 7]. III. Adagio - Allegro ma non troppo - Adagio [Track 8]. IV. Finale - Moderato / Mel Bonis -- [Track 9]. Scherzo (Final) for Flute and Piano, Op. posth. 187 / Mel Bonis -- [Track 10]. Barcarolle in E-flat Major for Piano, Op. 71 / Mel Bonis -- [Track 11]. Scénes de la forêt (Forest Scenes) for Flute, Horn, and Piano, Op. 123. I. Nocturne [Track 12]. II. A l\u27aube (At Dawn) [Track 13]. III. Invocation [Track 14]. IV. Pour Artémis / Mel Bonis