A Legislation Review: Bill C-14 “Euthanasia or Assisted Dying”

This article is a policy analysis that covers the request for an amendment for the doctor assisted suicide law introduced as BillC-14 on June 16, 2016, exploring the considerations to further expand the bill to better meet individual’s rights regarding end of life decisions. However, the purpose of legislation which has been achieved in this bill presented both ethical infractions and creates restrictive requirements that explicitly exclude a specific population that suffers from degenerative diseases. Attempts to improve the restrictions and requirements for Bill C-14 are outlined and discussed

Segmented Control of Electrostatically Actuated Bimorph Micromirrors

Electrostatic actuating bimorph beams are a MEMS device that can be used to control arrays of small micromirrors for optical beam scanning. Previous research has demonstrated that creating high-angle deflection using long repeating arms of bimorph beams is possible. The current devices lack precise control and measurement of the mirror deflection. A solution to improve control and measurement is by using segmented bias channels to control separate portions of the actuation arm. The amount of mirror deflection will vary depending on which segments of the arm are actuated. This thesis discusses the results of FEA modeling and testing

MMPI-2-RF UNDERREPORTING VALIDITY SCALES IN FIREFIGHTER APPLICANTS: A CROSS-VALIDATION STUDY

The identification of potential underreporting in employment evaluations is important to consider when examining a measure’s validity. This importance increases in personnel selection involving high-virtue positions (e.g., police officers and firefighters). The current study aimed to utilize an archival firefighter applicant sample to examine the construct validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form’s (MMPI-2-RF) underreporting scales (L-r and K-r). Results were analyzed using a correlation matrix comprised of a modified version of the Multi-Trait Multi-Method Matrix (MTMM), as well as multiple regression and partial correlation. The present study provides additional support for the construct validity of the MMPI-2-RF’s underreporting validity scales. Further research using outcome measures and alternate assessment methods would be able to provide further information on the efficacy of these scales

Optimization of wastewater stabilization ponds in Honduras

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2009.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-60).During the academic year of 2008-2009, three Master of Engineering students from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) conducted a study of wastewater treatment systems in Honduras. Building upon previous research, this study assessed the state of centralized wastewater treatment facilities. The project included travel to Honduras in January 2009 for a field survey of these facilities. In addition, the students undertook more focused individual work on various facets of sustainable wastewater treatment. Robert McLean examined options for enhancing performance of an existing Imhoff tank. Mahua Bhattacharya investigated sludge handling practices and alternatives including a study of sludge resource value and potential reuse. Lisa Kullen studied flow behavior in waste stabilization ponds focusing on benefits to effluent quality attainable through operational modifications. This thesis presents a summary of this investigation including a Honduran national and water sector background, and trends based upon site visits and observations. With the context of the sanitation sector thus defined, a detailed investigation of wastewater stabilization ponds follows. This study explores hydrodynamic changes and water quality improvements attainable through various modifications in maintenance and operation of these facilities. Extensive use of flow modeling is employed to demonstrate the quantifiable impact of the modifications discussed.(cont.) Analytical calculations of ideal pond performance are compared to computer numerical flow modeling results, computed using the INTROGLLVHT modeling software. This comparison examines the sensitivity of pond performance to a number of variable factors including sludge accumulation and distribution, pond outlet geometry, and inlet flow symmetry. The largest effect and greatest sensitivity was found for unbalanced, asymmetric flows, yielding greatly reduced pond efficiency. Sludge accumulation had a significant effect on final effluent quality due to reduced pond volume and residence time. However, the distribution of a given volume of sludge and the spacing of pond outlets both had minimal effect on effluent quality. Recommendations for pond maintenance developed from this analysis include a careful balance of pond flow and strict adherence to a scheduled desludging routine.by Lisa Kullen.M.Eng

MESSENGER observations of the dayside low‐latitude boundary layer in Mercury’s magnetosphere

Observations from MErcury Surface Space ENvironment GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER)’s Magnetometer and Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer instruments during the first orbital year have resulted in the identification of 25 magnetopause crossings in Mercury’s magnetosphere with significant low‐latitude boundary layers (LLBLs). Of these crossings 72% are observed dawnside and 65% for northward interplanetary magnetic field. The estimated LLBL thickness is 450 ± 56 km and increases with distance to noon. The Na+ group ion is sporadically present in 14 of the boundary layers, with an observed average number density of 22 ± 11% of the proton density. Furthermore, the average Na+ group gyroradii in the layers is 220 ± 34 km, the same order of magnitude as the LLBL thickness. Magnetic shear, plasma β and reconnection rates have been estimated for the LLBL crossings and compared to those of a control group (non‐LLBL) of 61 distinct magnetopause crossings which show signs of nearly no plasma inside the magnetopause. The results indicate that reconnection is significantly slower, or even suppressed, for the LLBL crossings compared to the non‐LLBL cases. Possible processes that form or impact the LLBL are discussed. Protons injected through the cusp or flank may be important for the formation of the LLBL. Furthermore, the opposite asymmetry in the Kelvin‐Helmholtz instability (KHI) as compared to the LLBL rules out the KHI as a dominant formation mechanism. However, the KHI and LLBL could be related to each other, either by the impact of sodium ions gyrating across the magnetopause or by the LLBL preventing the growth of KH waves on the dawnside.Key PointsInvestigation, characterization, and observation of the low‐latitude boundary layer of MercuryIs there a relation between the Kelvin‐Helmholtz instability and the low‐latitude boundary layerInvestigate for what surrounding conditions the low‐latitude boundary layer occursPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136336/1/jgra52122_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136336/2/jgra52122.pd

Aurora in the Polar Cap: A Review

This paper reviews our current understanding of auroral features that appear poleward of the main auroral oval within the polar cap, especially those that are known as Sun-aligned arcs, transpolar arcs, or theta auroras. They tend to appear predominantly during periods of quiet geomagnetic activity or northwards directed interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). We also introduce polar rain aurora which has been considered as a phenomenon on open field lines. We describe the morphology of such auroras, their development and dynamics in response to solar wind-magnetosphere coupling processes, and the models that have been developed to explain them

Subsidence of Ionospheric Flows Triggered by Magnetotail Magnetic Reconnection During Transpolar Arc Brightening

A transpolar arc (TPA), which extended from postmidnight to prenoon, was seen on 16 September 2001 in the Northern Hemisphere under northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)‐Bz and weakly dawnward IMF‐By conditions. Super Dual Auroral Radar Network detected significant westward plasma flows just equatorward of the poleward edge of the midnight sector auroral oval. These plasma flows were confined to closed field lines and are identified as the ionospheric plasma flow signature of tail reconnection during IMF northward nonsubstorm intervals (TRINNIs). These TRINNI flows persisted for 53 min from prior to the TPA appearance to the cessation of TPA growth. They are usually observed before (and during) intervals when TPAs are present, but in this case, subsided after the TPA was completely connected to the dayside. Additional slower flows across the open/closed polar cap boundary were seen at the TPA onset time in the same magnetic local time sector as the nightside end of the TPA. These ionospheric flows suggest that magnetotail reconnection significantly contributed to the TPA formation, as proposed by Milan et al. (2005, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JA010835). We propose a possible scenario for an absence of the TRINNI flows during the TPA brightening by considering the relation between the extent of the magnetotail reconnection line mapped onto nightside auroral oval and the TPA width; TRINNI flows would subside when the extent of X‐line is comparable to the TPA width. Therefore, our results suggest that the fate (absence or presence) of TRINNI flows on closed field lines during the TPA formation would be closely related with magnetotail reconnection extent

Ungeperspektiver på læringsfællesskaber i FGU

ResuméFGU er en relativt ny uddannelse skabt for at understøtte, at unge i udsatte positioner kommer videre fra folkeskole til uddannelse eller arbejde. FGU modtager elever med forskellige negative erfaringer for deltagelse i skole eller uddannelse. Der er knyttet store uddannelsespolitiske ambitioner til FGU-uddannelsen om at skabe læringsfællesskaber, der kan rumme elever med mange forskellige forudsætninger. Artiklen tager afsæt i et teoretisk begreb om læring gennem social deltagelse og sætter gennem analyser af unges perspektiver på deres deltagelse i en FGU-uddannelse fokus på, hvordan unge (igen) kommer i ’position som lærende sociale deltagere’. Der tages udgangspunkt i en forståelse af social udsathed som situeret i komplekse sociale sammenhænge, hvor ikke mindst uddannelsesmæssige deltagelsesbetingelser spiller ind. Dermed anlægges et syn på social udsathed som en livssituation i stadig forandring afhængig af skiftende sociale betingelser. Artiklen analyserer, hvordan unge tillægger skolelivets fællesskaber, læringsaktiviteter og egen indflydelse betydning. En kontekstuel tilgang knytter udsathed til positioner i social praksis og det skærper et blik for, hvordan unge overskrider oplevelser af personlig usikkerhed og sårbarhed gennem aktiv medskabelse af de uddannelsesmæssige læringsfællesskaber, de er en del af. AbstractLearning Communities seen from the Perspectives of Young AdultsFGU is a relatively new education which was created for the purpose of supporting young people in exposed positions in their further path – from lower secondary school to education or work. FGU receives students with various negative experiences from school or educational participation. The FGU education is linked with considerable education-policy ambitions with respect to the creation of learning communities capable of embracing students of many different educational backgrounds. The article takes a theoretical concept on learning through social participation as its point of departure and, by way of analyses of young people’s perspectives on their participation in the FGU education, it focuses on how young people can (once again) be brought into ‘position as learning social participants’. The point of departure is an understanding of social vulnerability as situated in complex social contexts in which not least educational participation relations come into play. From a theoretical perspective on learning through social participation, the article analyses how young people will attach meaning to school-life communities, learning activities and their own influence. A contextual understanding of vulnerability which, linked with positions within social practice, offers a prospect of how young people have the possibilities of exceeding personal experiences of insecurity and vulnerability through contributing to the communities of school life