Why Historical Emissions Should Count

This Article argues for three ways in which historical emissions should count for the fair distribution of the benefits and burdens of responding to climate change among currently living people. First, historical emissions should count as a matter of ideal distributive justice if and insofar as their consequences can be considered beneficial to currently living and future people. Second, it is difficult to justify compensatory measures for damages caused by historical emissions for three main reasons: the non-identity problem, past people\u27s limited knowledge of the long-term consequences of the emissions they caused, and the problem of attributing responsibility for past people\u27s actions to currently living people. Rather than regarding climate damages primarily as a reason for compensation for wrongdoing, we should view them primarily as a justification for redistribution due to undeserved benefits and harms. Third, historical emissions play an important role informing the expectation of people in the developed countries to be able to cause emissions at the current level. If we were in a position to implement a fair, effective and legitimately imposed global climate regime we should not unnecessarily frustrate that expectation

Historical Injustice and the Right to Return

Introduction Do present-day Palestinians living in refugee camps have a right to return to their homes and to have their property recovered namely in virtue of the history of having been forcefully and deliberately expelled from their homeland? This essay presents two comments on doubts one might have with respect to the validity of the Palestinian claims to reparation. These doubts reflect the two sets of questions that have defined, at least in part, the philosophical subject of Historical Injustice: First, the questions arising from the non-identity problem as introduced by Derek Parfit in his work Reasons and Persons, and, second, the questions arising from Jeremy Waldron’s supersession thesis as presented in his article “Superseding Historic Injustice”. My comments are meant to show that the non-identity problem is of little practical significance for assessing the validity of the right of return of the Palestinian refugees. And the same is true for the supersession thesis

Towards an optimal person-environment fit: A baseline study of student teachers’ personality traits

This research sets out to conduct a baseline study on personality traits of student teachers to assess the possible implications for an optimal person-environment fit or unfortunate misfit. A non-experimental quantitative research design was used and data were obtained by administering the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) to 835 student teachers at the North-West University in South Africa. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results indicated a much lower than expected score on agreeableness and a much higher than expected score on neuroticism. The only desirable personality trait presented in the specific sample was extraversion. The undesirable scores in the four personality traits are discussed in terms of the potential implications of a misfit between student teachers and the teaching environment; and of the sole desirable personality trait in terms of an optimal person-environment fit. Gender differences were noted in the personality domain agreeableness. Future research is indicated to determine the usefulness of personality assessment in the selection of student teachers in other teacher training contexts. The NEO-FFI shows promise in this regard.Keywords: Five-Factor Inventory; five-factor model of personality; NEO-FFI; personality; student teacher

Application possibilities of the Mesulam continuous performance test as a diagnostic screening device for attention-deficit&#8260hyperactivity disorder &#40adhd&#40

No Abstrac

Development of a low-cost method for quantifying microplastics in soils and compost using near-infrared spectroscopy

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a promising candidate for low-cost, nondestructive, and high-throughput mass quantification of microplastics in environmental samples. Widespread application of the technique is currently hampered mainly by the low sensitivity of NIR spectroscopy compared to thermoanalytical approaches commonly used for this type of analysis. This study shows how the application of NIR spectroscopy for mass quantification of microplastics can be extended to smaller analyte levels by combining it with a simple and rapid microplastic enrichment protocol. For this purpose, the widely used flotation of microplastics in a NaCl solution, accelerated by centrifugation, was chosen which allowed to remove up to 99% of the matrix at recovery rates of 83%–104%. The spectroscopic measurements took place directly on the stainless-steel filters used to collect the extracted particles to reduce sample handling to a minimum. Partial least squares regression models were used to identify and quantify the extracted microplastics in the mass range of 1–10 mg. The simple and fast extraction procedure was systematically optimized to meet the requirements for the quantification of microplastics from common polyethylene-, polypropylene-, and polystyrene-based packaging materials with a particle size 10% determined by loss on ignition). Microplastics could be detected in model samples at a mass fraction of 1 mg g−1. The detectable microplastic mass fraction is about an order of magnitude lower compared to previous studies using NIR spectroscopy without additional enrichment. To emphasize the cost-effectiveness of the method, it was implemented using some of the cheapest and most compact NIR spectrometers available.BMBFPeer Reviewe

Timing requires the right amount and type of light

The quantity of UVA/deep violet light varies seasonally and affects locomotor activity in a marine annelid, providing cues for phenology in addition to those provided by change in photoperiod