How Hope And Motivation Lead To Self-Regulation Middle School Students

The goal of the study was to determine how hope, motivation and goal setting led to selfregulation in middle school students. The research methods used in the study were mixed methods, which enabled students to give voice to the provided data. On the basis of the research, it was concluded there was a relationship between goal setting and selfregulation in middle school students

Tetraeder Geometry

In the same way every circle is corresponding to an equal sided triangle the 3-sphere is corresponding to an inserted tetraeder. The latitude of the corners of the tetraeder on the 3-sphere is calculated here giving the result arcsin(1/3), while arcsin(1/2) is derived for the 2-dimensional sphere

Pentagram Geometry

The Natural Constant Phi is included in the geometrical figure of a Pentagram as many artists have found out. Michelangelo may be the most famous one, whose sketch was transported in the payload of the first sucessful mission to the moon. By deriving this natural constant from the geometrics of the Pentagram a new analytical expression is found for Phi

Effects of Sodium Azide on the Abundance of Prokaryotes and Viruses in Marine Samples

Flow cytometry is set to become the standard method for enumerating prokaryotes and viruses in marine samples. However, the samples need to be flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen directly after aldehyde fixation. Because liquid nitrogen may not always be available, we tested the potential of sodium azide as a preservative for prokaryotes and viruses in marine samples as a possible alternative. For that we conducted incubation experiments with untreated and sodium azide treated marine water samples at 4°C and room temperature. The data indicate that sodium azide cannot be used to maintain marine samples used for the enumeration of prokaryotes and viruses

Die UNESCO-Strategie zu Menschenrechten und Umsetzung ('Monitoring')

Ist von der Arbeit der UNESCO die Rede, werden ihre Aktivitäten zum Schutz der Menschenrechte häufig vernachlässigt. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es deshalb, durch die Beschreibung und Bewertung der menschenrechtlichen Verpflichtungen und Aktivitäten der UNESCO, den Zusammenhang zwischen Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur und den Menschenrechten aufzuzeigen und damit die Bedeutung der menschenrechtlichen Arbeit der UNESCO zu verdeutlichen. Dabei wird zunächst auf die, von der UNESCO entwickelten, Strategie zum Schutz der Menschenrechte Bezug genommen und deren Inhalt und Umsetzung kritisch betrachtet. Zudem werden die beiden Monitoring-Verfahren der UNESCO (Staatenberichtsverfahren und Individualbeschwerdeverfahren) vorgestellt und analysiert. Dabei werden vor allem vorhandene Defizite und Probleme der menschenrechtlichen Arbeit der UNESCO hervorgehoben und gezeigt, dass insbesondere im Bereich der Monitoring-Verfahren Reformbedarf besteht.:Abkürzungsverzeichnis II Literaturverzeichnis III 1. Einleitung 1 2. Die UNESCO und ihre Verantwortlichkeit für den Schutz der Menschenrechte 2 3. Die UNESCO-Strategie zum Schutz der Menschenrechte 4 3.1 Entstehung der UNESCO-Strategie zum Schutz der Menschenrechte und ihre rechtliche Einordnung 4 3.2 Inhalt der UNESCO-Strategie zum Schutz der Menschenrechte 4 a) Human Rights Mainstreaming 5 b) Förderung von Forschung und Wissensweitergabe 5 c) Menschenrechtsbildung 5 d) Stärkung von Partnerschaften 6 e) Standard-Setting und Monitoring 6 3.3 Zwischenergebnis 6 4. Umsetzung der UNESCO-Strategie zum Schutz der Menschenrechte 8 4.1 Beispiele für menschenrechtliche Aktivitäten der UNESCO 8 a) im Bereich Human Rights Mainstreaming 8 b) im Bereich der Förderung von Forschung und Wissensweitergabe 8 c) im Bereich Menschenrechtsbildung 9 d) im Bereich der Stärkung von Partnerschaften 9 e) im Bereich Standard-Setting und Monitoring 9 4.2 Zwischenergebnis 10 5. Monitoring-Verfahren der UNESCO 11 5.1 Der Ausschuss für Übereinkommen und Empfehlungen 11 5.2 Staatenberichtsverfahren 12 a) Grundlagen 12 b) Verfahrensablauf 12 c) Probleme und Kritik 12 5.3 Individualbeschwerdeverfahren 13 a) Grundlagen 13 b) Verfahrensablauf 15 c) Besonderheiten 15 d) Probleme und Kritik 16 5.4 Reformvorschläge für die Monitoring-Verfahren der UNESCO 17 5.5 Zwischenergebnis 18 6. Zusammenfassung und Ausblick 1

Extragalactic X-ray Surveys of ULXs and AGNs

Extragalactic X-ray studies provide unique opportunities for studying accreting black holes. In particular, they are necessary for studying phenomena not easily selected or observed in other wavelengths. Among these objects, ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) emit the vast majority of their luminosity in the X-ray band and are very faint or confused in other wavebands. Similarly, heavily obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) with absorbing columns > 10^{24} cm^{-2} are rarely detected in optical surveys, due to the extreme reddening. In my thesis, I study both phenomenon in the local universe. At ULX luminosities [L_X (0.3 - 10 keV) > 3 x 10^{39} erg s^{-1}], the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton satellite provides the spectral resolution and sensitivity necessary to study the population of local ULXs. Thus, we conducted an XMM-Newton archival study of a complete sample of the ULXs located within 8 Mpc. Our study confirmed key predictions of the intermediate mass black hole (IMBH) hypothesis for local ULXs. We then followed-up this study by investigating high signal-to-noise XMM-Newton observations of 14 ULX sources - studying their spectral shape, testing the validity of different accretion disk and power law models, and then using absorption of their spectra to measure the oxygen and iron abundances of the interstellar medium of their host galaxies. New breakthroughs are expected in the study of heavily obscured AGN from SWIFT. The SWIFT satellite, launched in 2004, has detected a sample of 153 AGN with the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) in the first 9-months of data. The BAT is sensitive in the 14 - 195 keV band and the selected sources have an average redshift of ~ 0.03. Thus, it detects local AGN without bias towards all but the most obscured sources (n_H > 10^24 atoms cm^-2). The BAT AGN sources are the result of an all-sky survey with a flux limit of F_BAT > 10^{-11} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2}. I analyze and present the results of X-ray data from XMM-Newton, ASCA, as well as SWIFT's XRT (0.3 - 10 keV) and BAT, in order to understand the properties of obscured and unobscured AGN in the local universe. Among our results, we show that the new class of ``hidden''/buried AGN are a significant population of local AGN (~ 20%). We also find that our data supports the need for a modified AGN unified model -- one which includes a luminosity dependence

Exploring Evidence-Informed Decision-Making in Applied Sport Psychology

Adopting a pragmatic approach to research, four studies were conducted to investigate how evidence-informed decisions are made in applied practice and provide training guidance for developing evidence-informed decision-making competence in trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologists. The first study found that although attitudes towards research utilisation were generally positive, differences existed between trainee and qualified Sport and Exercise Psychologists regarding research utilisation skills and behaviour. Building on the recognition that evidence in applied psychology must include more than just research (Drapeau & Hunsley, 2014), study two explored the processes involved in making evidence-informed decisions when designing a psychological intervention for performance enhancement. The study demonstrated the nuanced interactions between research-based and practice-based knowledge when designing interventions that suit the needs of the athlete, work pragmatically within the applied context, and have the desired effect on the proposed intervention goal. Study three then examined the career experiences of Sport and Exercise Psychologists to identify the factors that influenced the construction of these decision-making processes. This study found that supervision during training was a strongly influential factor in developing evidence-informed decision-making processes. Finally, study four interviewed Sport and Exercise Psychology trainees and training supervisors to establish the key evidence-informed decision-making competencies for trainees to develop and how supervision can support their development. The findings illustrated the essential role of one-to-one, group, and peer supervision in providing a safe learning environment for trainees to build awareness of how they make evidence-informed decisions through discussion, reflection, and practice. Future research can investigate constructivist and collaborative learning strategies to support the growth of evidence-informed decision-making processes and competence in the training and development of Sport and Exercise Psychologists

Minimizing Cumulative Batch Processing Time for an Industrial Oven Scheduling Problem

We introduce the Oven Scheduling Problem (OSP), a new parallel batch scheduling problem that arises in the area of electronic component manufacturing. Jobs need to be scheduled to one of several ovens and may be processed simultaneously in one batch if they have compatible requirements. The scheduling of jobs must respect several constraints concerning eligibility and availability of ovens, release dates of jobs, setup times between batches as well as oven capacities. Running the ovens is highly energy-intensive and thus the main objective, besides finishing jobs on time, is to minimize the cumulative batch processing time across all ovens. This objective distinguishes the OSP from other batch processing problems which typically minimize objectives related to makespan, tardiness or lateness. We propose to solve this NP-hard scheduling problem via constraint programming (CP) and integer linear programming (ILP) and present corresponding CP- and ILP-models. For an experimental evaluation, we introduce a multi-parameter random instance generator to provide a diverse set of problem instances. Using state-of-the-art solvers, we evaluate the quality and compare the performance of our CP- and ILP-models, which could find optimal solutions for many instances. Furthermore, using our models we are able to provide upper bounds for the whole benchmark set including large-scale instances

A non-pharmacological intervention to manage behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and reduce caregiver distress: Design and methods of project ACT3

Project ACT is a randomized controlled trial designed to test the effectiveness of a non-pharmacological home-based intervention to reduce behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and caregiver distress. The study targets 272 stressed racially diverse family caregivers providing in-home care to persons with moderate stage dementia with one or more behavioral disturbances. All participants are interviewed at baseline, 4-months (main trial endpoint), and 6-months (maintenance). The four-month intervention involves up to 13 visits from an occupational therapist who works with families to problem-solve potential triggers (communication style, environmental clutter) contributing to behaviors, and instruct in strategies to reduce caregiver stress and manage targeted behaviors. To rule out infection or other potential medical contributors to behaviors, a nurse obtains blood and urine samples from the dementia patient, and conducts a medication review. Participants in the no-treatment control group are offered the nurse arm and one in-home session following trial completion at 6-months. This paper describes the research methods, theoretical and clinical aspects of this multi-component, targeted psycho-social treatment approach, and the measures used to evaluate quality of life improvements for persons with dementia and their families