Looking Inwards for Sustainability: Nigerian Cities and Building Demolition-waste or wealth?

Cities could generally be described as sustainable before the replacement of manual labour with machines known as the industrial revolution of the 18th century in Europe. Nevertheless, the Industrial Revolution has been associated with environmental degradation and other negative impacts. The trend continued for two centuries until it was realised that there is a limit to the capacity of the earth to withstand such impacts. The damage to the earth needs to be halted by choice or forced by natural consequences. The idea of pursuing economic development with minimum negative socio-economic and environmental impacts comes to be known as Sustainability. The built environment becomes at the centre of the sustainability agenda due to the enormous negative impact to the environment. Moreover, it was reported that 90% of all materials resources ever extracted might be used in the built environment. Unfortunately, many of these materials, including 10% unused are discarded as wastes. In the UK example, 90-120 million tonnes of construction and demolition (C&D) waste is generated annually. This makes C&D wastes even more critical to the sustainability agenda; and in search for solution, in the words of Janine Benyus, it may even involve the urban westerners learning from the wisdom of the preindustrial societies that have been living in harmony with the nature. In the preindustrial community of Kano in Nigeria, there is virtually zero C&D waste; rather it is merchandise. The different categories of the stakeholders were interviewed to establish how the system works, the conditions that led to its emergence, and limitations. It was discovered that the end-of-life management of buildings in Kano is a naturally evolved industrial ecology analogous to the natural ecological system, whereby the bye-product of one process becomes the raw material for another with no waste. Furthermore, a conceptual model of the system was developed using the biomorphic adaptation of the shell of an African snail. It was therefore argued that sustainability practices are inherent within the African traditions rather than to be learnt from outside

Personality, Lifetime Earnings, and Retirement Wealth

Studies of adolescents and young adults have shown that schooling impacts economic outcomes beyond its impact on cognitive ability. Research has also shown that the personality trait of conscientiousness predicts health outcomes, academic outcomes, and divorce. Using the Big Five taxonomy of personality traits, this study examines whether non-cognitive traits are related to economic success over the life course. Examining Health and Retirement Study survey data linked to Social Security records on over 10,000 adults age 50 and over, we investigate the relationship of personality traits to economic outcomes. Controlling for cognitive ability and background variables, do more conscientious and emotionally stable adults have higher lifetime earnings, and is this due to higher annual earnings, longer work lives, or both? Do more conscientious adults save a higher proportion of their earnings for retirement, and does conscientiousness of each partner in a married couple matter? Do conscientiousness and emotional stability interact such that the effects of conscientiousness are greater among less emotionally stable adults?

Temperament in the Classroom

Variance in academic performance that persists when situational variables are held constant suggests that whether students fail or thrive depends not only on circumstance, but also on relatively stable individual differences in how children respond to circumstance. More academically talented children generally outperform their less able peers, but much less is known about how traits unrelated to general intelligence influence academic outcomes. This paper addresses several related questions: What insights can be gleaned from historical interest in the role of temperament in the classroom? What does recent empirical research say about the specific dimensions of temperament most important to successful academic performance? In particular, which aspects of temperament most strongly influence school readiness, academic achievement, and educational attainment? What factors mediate and moderate associations between temperament and academic outcomes? What progress has been made in deliberately cultivating aspects of temperament that matter most to success in school? And, finally, for researchers keenly interested in better understanding how and why temperament influences academic success, in which direction does future progress lie?

A validity study of the revised Joseph Pre-School and Primary Self-Concept Screening Test

In order to identify students with low self-concept accurately, a valid test must be developed and administered. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the revised Joseph Pre-School and Primary Self Concept Screening Test (JPPSST). The alternate hypothesis investigated in this study was that the revised JPPSST is a valid test when compared to the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale. Both tests were given to 34 African-American students at a Philadelphia elementary school. An additional research question was investigated to determine whether the test scores could be used to predict academic performance. The results of both tests were compared to the students\u27 academic grades for any evidence of a correlation. The independent variable was the students\u27 self-concept. The dependent variable was the scores. A Pearson correlation was performed providing results that lend support to accept the alternate hypothesis. There was also a high positive correlation between the Piers-Harris test and the academic grades. The correlation between the JPPSST and the academic grades was not as high

Statistcal Mechanics and the Past Hypothesis

Statistical mechanics is a time invariant explanation of thermodynamic phenomena at a microphysical level. However, given that the laws of thermodynamics are not time-reversal symmetric, it is unclear whether to introduce the asymmetry through boundary conditions (through the past hypothesis) or through the dynamic laws themselves. In this paper, I defend the need of a boundary condition for statistical mechanics against two main objections: that there is no independent knowledge of the past hypothesis, and that the dynamic laws in statistical mechanics should be time-reversal asymmetric. I first introduce core notions of statistical mechanics, explain the past hypothesis and its motivation. Then, I bring up the two main objections against the past hypothesis and my subsequent defense against them

An Evidence-Based Strategy for the Use of Simulation to Assess Situation Awareness in Applicants to Nurse Anesthesia Programs

Medical errors are considered one of the top causes of patient death. Closed claims analysis reveals an estimated 50% of claims are associated with preventable events by the anesthesia provider. Errors in anesthesia leading to critical incidents are associated with errors in situation awareness (SA). Identification of human factor variables, such as SA, provides an analysis of observable behavior and intuition necessary to guide crisis management, maintain clinical performance, and mitigate errors in patient safety. The human factor components of human error and SA play critical roles in patient safety and overall clinical anesthesia practice. The viability of simulation assessment delivers a consistent evaluation of learner progression and identifies areas of improvement to provide safe clinical practice and minimize adverse outcomes during patient interaction. Incorporating high-fidelity simulation into a multimodal admissions process for nurse anesthesia programs may provide a vital assessment of candidate SA in managing stressful scenarios and predict overall program progression and success. The evidence-based project serves to evaluate current literature for evidence-based strategies to provide a direct assessment of SA on prospective applicants during applicant interviews to nurse anesthesia programs

Nguyen v. Boynes, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 32 (June 22, 2017)

The Nevada Supreme Court held that granting joint legal and physical custody to the non-adoptive parent in a same-sex couple adoption does not violate the equitable adoption doctrine or the equal protection clauses of the United States and Nevada State Constitutions

Martinez-Hernandez v. The State of Nevada, 132 Nev. Adv. Op. 61 (Aug. 12, 2016)

The Nevada Supreme Court determined that (1) if collateral consequences of a criminal conviction exist, a post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenging the validity of a judgment of conviction, filed while imprisoned, is not moot once the petitioner is released, and (2) a criminal conviction creates a presumption that collateral consequences exist