The Cauchy problem for a fourth order parabolic equation by difference methods

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityThis paper deals with the solution of parabolic partial differential equations by difference methods. It is first concerned with obtaining certain basic results for the nth order equation... This enables one to exhibit a stable difference equation compatible with (5). Once assured of the existence of such an equation, it is employed in proving an existence theorem for a solution of the differential equation. The theorem states that if the coefficients a;(x,t) and the function d(x, t) in (5), and the function f(x) in:(2) possess a sufficient number of uniformly continuous and bounded derivatives in R, and a0(x,t) is negative and bounded away from zero, then there exists a solution of (5), (2) possessing a certain number of uniformly continuous and bounded derivatives. [TRUNCATED

Time and value at Bath Abbey: Erosion, fragmentation and the role of the replica

Bath Abbey is undergoing a substantial programme of conservation and change; including the removal and reinstatement/replacement of the 847 ledger stones comprising its floor. The floor is, in fact, almost entirely comprised of these burial markers. These ledgers, however, were removed and repositioned in the 1860s, and no longer mark the remains of those buried directly beneath them. Present works will result in further repositioning, while those that are already damaged and/or eroded (or become damaged during the removal process) may not be reinstated at all. My work, presently the subject of a public exhibition at the Abbey, addresses issues of time, erasure, authenticity and value. My study involves the use of photogrammetry to capture ledger stones which will likely not be reinstated. The digital and CNC-routed models of these stones record their present state as an authentic expression of their place in time; I argue that it is important to consider the status of the replica, especially one of an eroded and fragmented artefact, as something of value. Digital techniques have already enabled partial replications of sensitive heritage sites; might they play a useful role in cultivating a response to time which, referencing Michael Shanks, considers the past as a “resource” subject to “creative process”? Can the replica, which captures (even ossifies) the present (itself the result of processes over deep time) become a useful object to serve the future? Which artefacts are deserving of such special attention and re-making? How is “pastness” or memory preserved or generated here: through form, or “aura”? This work draws on the thinking of academics including Siân Jones, Cornelius Holtorf, Rodney Harrison, and Emma Waterton & Steve Watson who address heritage as an emergent product of a dynamic set of social relationships

A Community Conversation on Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting Services: Networks of Support, Gatekeepers to Care, and Non-Compulsory Fathering in a Black Urban Community

This study employed Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods to document needs and capacity around adolescent pregnancy and parenting in one predominately Black, low-income urban community. Using an iterative focus group method, we engaged 60 participants in a two-day community conversation. Quantitative data from an enrollment questionnaire and qualitative transcripts of the discussions are analyzed. Our results indicate that the community’s greatest capacity lies in a network of women. Men tend to participate in parenting more holistically once formal paternity is established. Neighborhood women typically introduce adolescents to prenatal care, so delays in revealing the pregnancy to them serves as a barrier to accessing prenatal care. Overall, participants want health agencies to uphold their formal social contracts with the community, but to entrust informal services to community members who have the necessary insight and expertise to deliver support and information that is usable in their social context

Do changes in drinking motives mediate the relation between personality change and maturing out of problem drinking?

Recent research has indicated that developmental changes in the personality traits of neuroticism and impulsivity correlate with changes in problem drinking during emerging and young adulthood. However, it remains unclear what potential mechanisms, or mediators, could account for these associations. Drinking motives, particularly drinking to regulate negative affect (drinking to cope) and to get “high” or “drunk” (drinking for enhancement) have been posited to mediate the relationship between personality and drinking problems. Recent work indicates changes in drinking motives parallel changes in alcohol involvement from adolescence to young adulthood. The current study examined changes in drinking motives (i.e., coping and enhancement) as potential mediators of the relation between changes in personality (impulsivity and neuroticism) with changes in alcohol problems in emerging and young adulthood. Analyses were based on data collected from a cohort of college students (N=489) at varying risk for AUDs from ages 18–35. Parallel process latent growth modeling indicated that change in coping (but not enhancement) motives specifically mediated the relation between changes in neuroticism and alcohol problems as well as the relation between changes in impulsivity and alcohol problems. Findings suggest that change in coping motives is an important mechanism in the relation between personality change and the “maturing out” of problematic alcohol involvement

Archon Corp., vs. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 101 (December 21, 2017)

The Nevada Supreme Court denied Archon Corporation’s petition for a writ of mandamus or prohibition challenging the denial of a motion to dismiss based on tolling of the statute of limitations. The court declined relief for the following three reasons; the statute-based argument that petitioners made to this court was not considered by the lower court, the court’s clarification of the law would alter the district court’s disposition because the district court made its decision on alternative grounds, and finally, because the district court denied the motion to dismiss without prejudice