Persistence

Changes in the U.S. economy have made the attainment of a higher education credential more important than ever to ensure self-sufficiency. Therefore, it is critical that the child welfare, K-12, and higher education systems encourage and support the postsecondary educational aspirations of court wards. When the state makes the decision to remove a child from his/her biological home, it bears the responsibility to provide the educational guidance as well as assistance otherwise provided by families during the transition from high school to college. This dissertation explores the educational outcomes of older youth in care by first looking at the perceptions of high school aged foster youth in identifying the barriers and pathways they face in graduating from high school and accessing college and then will investigate persistence in post-secondary education for a sample of foster care alumni who are enrolled at a four-year college. The first study investigates the barriers and pathways high school and college-aged foster care youth face in completing high school and in transitioning from high school to college using action research strategies, which are based on an empowerment theoretical framework. The second study follows a cohort of students who were able to successfully enroll in a four-year university and tracks i\ t%. f r-" e-v-~c-6 ^ re ^~S\ A i |\| \<w I

Using the notion of relentless consistency, we are exploring an approach for providing advice to teachers on characteristics and structure of tasks and lessons, the creation of sequences of learning experiences and the classroom culture that supports this approach. An extract from an illustrative sequence is presented to exemplify the associated classroom practice. Some implications for initial and continuing teacher professional learning are suggested.

Task performance is the responsibility and duty carried out by each teacher in carrying out his work which contributes to administrative tasks. This study aims to provide information about the influence of instructional leadership and persistence on task performance. The causal survey involved 120 teachers, selected using Simple Random Sampling (SRS). There are three instruments developed to measure task performance (25 items, reliability 0.952), instructional leadership (30 items, reliability 0.948) and persistence (24 items, reliability 0.940). Data were analyzed using regression, correlation, and path analysis. The results of the analysis show that the instructional leadership and persistence have a direct and significant influence on the teacher&#39;s performance tasks. Therefore, to improve teacher performance tasks, factors such as instructional leadership and persistence need to be considered.

We examine the level of persistence in the unemployment gap across both race and gender in the United States. The empirical evidence suggests that all unemployment gaps exhibit low levels of persistence. While the gender unemployment gap has disappeared and stabilized in the post-1980 period, there continues to be a substantial gap between the unemployment rates of blacks and whites.

An identical two-sector productivity shock causes Rybczynski (1955) and Stolper and Samuelson (1941) effects that release leisure time and initially raise the relative price of human capital investment so as to favor it over goods production. Modified by having the household sector produce human capital investment sector, the RBC model follows the international approach of Maffezzoli (2000) and so adds a second sector relative to Jones et al. (2005). This captures key major US RBC data: output growth persistence, with hump-shaped impulse responses; hump-shaped physical capital investment impulse responses; Gali&#39;s (1999) negative impulse response of labour supply; and hours volatility.

It is possible to wholly exist at multiple spatial locations at the same time. At least, if time travel is possible and objects endure, then such must be the case. To accommodate this possibility requires the introduction of a spatial analog of either relativising properties to times — relativising properties to spatial locations — or of relativising the manner of instantiation to times — relativising the manner of instantiation to spatial locations. It has been suggested, however, that introducing irreducibly spatially relativised or spatially adverbialised properties presents some difficulties for the endurantist. I will consider an objection according to which embracing such spatially relativised properties could lead us to reject mereology altogether in favour of a metaphysics according to which objects are wholly present at every space-time point at which they exist. I argue that although such a view is coherent, there are some good reasons to reject it. Moreover, I argue that ...

The currently popular distributed, n-tiered, object-oriented application architecture provokes many design debates. Designs of such applications are often divided into logical 'tiers'-usually user interface, business logic and domain object, or data, tiers, each with their own design issues. In particular, the latter contains data that needs to be stored and retrieved from permanent storage. Decisions need to be made as to the most appropriate way of doing this-the choices are usually whether to use an object database, to communicate directly with a relational database, or to use objectrelational mapping (ORM) tools to allow objects to be translated to and from relational form. Most often, depending on the perceived profile of the application, architects make these decisions using rules of thumb derived from particular experience or the design patterns literature. Examples include: object-oriented databases ease programming, relational databases ease report generation and data mining; object-oriented databases are good for navigation around an object model, relational databases are good for sequential processing and complex queries; if you are writing an application from scratch, use an object database, if you need to integrate to various sources of legacy data, use an ORM tool. Although helpful, these rules are often highly context-dependent and are often misapplied. Research into the nature and magnitude of 'design forces' in this area has resulted in a series of benchmarks, intended to allow architects to more clearly understand the implications of design decisions concerning object persistence. In this paper, the performance of selected open source object persistence tools is investigated, to attempt to clarify the myths surrounding the performance of the different options. In particular, we compare Hibernate, representative of the ORM stable, and db4o, representative of object-oriented databases. The OO7 benchmark is used to compare the speed of execution of a suite of typical persistence-related operations in both candidates. We then propose some preliminary explanations of the sometimes surprising results.

A persistent system is a system in which data structures and data itself persist through executions of any process, as shown in reference 1. Under an object-oriented paradigm, the entities we need to make persistent are classes and objects, as explained in reference 2, and even compiled functions in some systems such as Barbados. A class is probably going to be changed many times along the software life cycle, due to software maintenance. In a non-persistent system, the class would be changed and then the programmer would have to manually write procedures (for example, at load time, converting data in the old format to the new one), in order to adapt all existing stored data to the new class structure. In a persistent system programmers don't have to worry about data storage, therefore it's the system itself which has to cope with the problem of objects being out-of-sync with their class definition. To solve this problem, there are three major approaches described in literature (for example, in reference 3): (a) the system can convert stored objects to its new type immediately or in deferred way; (b) support different versions of the software for the different versions of a class, or (c) simply prevent programmers from changing any data type, compelling users to define new types when needed. This last possibility is unacceptable most of the time.

To investigate the persistence of use of heroin, cocaine and amphetamine drugs during imprisonment, and to identify factors associated with increased levels of persistence. Design The use of heroin, cocaine and amphetamine by current prison inmates has been examined and, in particular, the relationship between drug use within prison and the type of drug used prior to imprisonment, recency of use and severity of dependence. Setting and participants A randomly selected sample of 1009 adult male prisoners in 13 prisons in England and Wales during 1994/95; structured confidential interviews conducted by independent research staff. Enquiry about prior use of heroin, cocaine or amphetamine focused on three time-periods (ever, last year and last month pre-prison) and the use of these drugs during the first month of imprisonment. Findings A total of 557 ( 55%) of the 1009 prisoners had used previously one of the three drugs selected for study: 58% had used heroin, 69% cocaine and 75% amphetamine. More than half (59%; 327/ 557) had used these drugs in the month before the current imprisonment. Drug use in prisons was most likely to occur among those who had used in the month prior to imprisonment. The persistence of heroin use in prison occurred more frequently (70%) than use of cocaine (20%) or amphetamine (15%). Of those using heroin pre-imprisonment, 67% considered they were dependent, compared to 15% and 22%, respectively, for cocaine and amphetamine users. Conclusions Changes in the drug-taking behaviour of drug users after imprisonment vary according to the type of drug being taken. Prisoners were much more likely to continue to use heroin than either cocaine or amphetamines while in prison. Heroin was most likely to be used by those who had been using heroin during the immediate pre-imprisonment period, and particularly by the two-thirds of heroin users who considered themselves dependent. In view of the high prevalence of prior use of these drugs by individuals currently imprisoned, continuing attention is required to study of their behaviour and of the impact of interventions that may be introduced during or following their incarceration.

PURPOSE. To compare ocular component growth curves among four refractive error groups in children. METHODS Cycloplegic refractive error was categorized into four groups: persistent emmetropia between Ϫ0.25 and ϩ1.00 D (exclusive) in both the vertical and horizontal meridians on all study visits (n ϭ 194); myopia of at least Ϫ0.75 D in both meridians on at least one visit (n ϭ 247); persistent hyperopia of at least ϩ1.00 D in both meridians on all visits (n ϭ 43); and emmetropizing hyperopia of at least ϩ1.00 D in both meridians on at least the first but not at all visits (n ϭ 253). Subjects were seen for three visits or more between the ages of 6 and 14 years. Growth curves were modeled for the persistent emmetropes to describe the relation between age and the ocular components and were applied to the other three refractive error groups to determine significant differences. RESULTS At baseline, eyes of myopes and persistent emmetropes differed in vitreous chamber depth, anterior chamber depth, axial length, and corneal power and produced growth curves that showed differences in the same ocular components. Persistent hyperopes were significantly different from persistent emmetropes in most components at baseline, whereas growth curve shapes were not significantly different, with the exception of anterior chamber depth (slower growth in persistent hyperopes compared with emmetropes) and axial length (lesser annual growth per year in persistent hyperopes compared with emmetropes). The growth curve shape for corneal power was different between the emmetropizing hyperopes and persistent emmetropes (increasing corneal power compared with decreasing power in emmetropes). CONCLUSIONS Comparisons of growth curves between persistent emmetropes and three other refractive error groups showed that there are many similarities in the growth patterns for both the emmetropizing and persistent hyperopes, whereas the differences in growth lie mainly between the emmetropes and myopes.

The model under consideration is a catalytic branching model constructed in DF96], where the catalysts themselves su er a spatial branching mechanism. Main attention is paid to dimension d = 3: The key result is a convergence theorem towards a limit with full intensity (persistence), which in a sense is comparable with the situation for the \classical" continuous super-Brownian motion. As by-products, strong laws of large numbers are derived for the Brownian collision local time controlling the branching of reactants, and for the catalytic occupation time process. Also, the catalytic occupation measures are shown to be absolutely continuous (in space).

Background: Disinhibited attachment is an important sequel of an institutional rearing, but questions remain regarding its measurement, its persistence, the specificity of the association with institutional rearing and on whether or not it constitutes a meaningful disorder. Method: Children initially reared in profoundly depriving institutions in Romania and subsequently adopted into UK families were compared with respect to findings at 11 years with children who had not experienced institutional deprivation and who had been adopted within the UK before the age of 6 months. Measures included parental reports, a Strange Situation procedure modified for use in the home and systematic standardised investigator ratings of the children's behaviour. Results: Disinhibited attachment, as reported by parents, showed a high degree of persistence from 6 to 11, but also a reduction over time in its frequency. Investigator ratings validated the parental reports but suggested that much of the fall in rate of disinhibited attachment was a function of the parental measure being less developmentally appropriate at 11 than it had been at 6. Disinhibited attachment was strongly associated with institutional rearing but there was not a significant increase in relation to duration of institutional deprivation beyond the age of 6 months. Mild, but not marked, disinhibited attachment was quite frequent in noninstitutionalised adopted children but both the course and correlates indicated that its meaning was probably quite different. In the institution-reared children, disinhibited attachment was associated with a marked increase in service usage and associations with other forms of psychopathology. Conclusions: Disinhibited attachment constitutes a valid, and handicapping, clinical pattern that is strongly associated with an institutional rearing.

The purpose of this brief is to provide information to state, district, and school personnel seeking support to determine whether their students are on a path to postsecondary success. The College and Career Readiness and Success Center (CCRS Center) has received technical assistance requests from a number of states regarding factors that predict postsecondary success, and this brief summarizes and expands on the information shared with these states. Specifically, we summarize early childhood through early postsecondary education research that identifies student skills, behaviors, and other characteristics that predict future academic and workplace success. We have attempted to focus on a variety of measures drawn from readily available data that schools, districts, and states are likely to have. Through this information, policymakers and practitioners can begin to inform the development and validation of factors to identify students who are not on a path to postsecondary success as early as prekindergarten and as late as their senior year of high school. These factors can inform practice and can be integrated into a longitudinal tracking mechanism to identify and monitor individual students who may need additional resources or supports at any point during their schooling. In addition, tracking and measuring factors of success across prekindergarten to early postsecondary education offer a prime opportunity to develop and evaluate systemwide improvement efforts. For example, these data may help identify particular grades, schools, or subgroups of students (e.g., English language learners) that need additional support, enabling both school and district personnel to develop and monitor the impact of policies, programs, or interventions designed to improve outcomes for targeted groups or for the system in general. General Approach We began our review of the research looking for studies that identify measures of postsecondary success. Our goal was to identify factors at all levels of education that predict future academic attainment and economic security. Not surprisingly, we found very few studies that link early childhood, elementary, or middle school characteristics with postsecondary success. Even at the secondary level, the limited research linking secondary characteristics to postsecondary readiness and success focuses primarily on course taking, test scores, and early postsecondary outcomes, such as college enrollment and attainment of industry certification. The fact that state longitudinal data systems have not been in existence long enough to support such analyses is

Particle concentrations and size distributions have been measured from different heights inside and above a boreal forest during three BIOFOR campaigns (14 April–22 May 1998, 27 July–21 August 1998 and 20 March–24 April 1999) in Hyytiälä, Finland. Typically, the shape of the background distribution inside the forest exhibited 2 dominant modes: a fine or Aitken mode with a geometric number mean diameter of 44 nm and a mean concentration of 1160 cm−3 and an accumulation mode with mean diameter of 154 nm and a mean concentration of 830 cm−3. A coarse mode was also present, extending up to sizes of 20 μm having a number concentration of 1.2 cm−3, volume mean diameter of 2.0 μm and a geometric standard deviation of 1.9. Aerosol humidity was lower than 50% during the measurements. Particle production was observed on many days, typically occurring in the late morning. Under these periods of new particle production, a nucleation mode was observed to form at diameter of the order of 3 nm and, on most occasions, this mode was observed to grow into Aitken mode sizes over the course of a day. Total concentrations ranged from 410–45 000 cm−3, the highest concentrations occurring on particle production days. A clear gradient was observed between particle concentrations encountered below the forest canopy and those above, with significantly lower concentrations occurring within the canopy. Above the canopy, a slight gradient was observed between 18 m and 67 m, with at maximum 5% higher concentration observed at 67 m during the strongest concentration increases.

The main purpose of this work is to provide a broad assessment of the influence of the El Niño–southern oscillation (ENSO) on the frequency of extreme temperature events throughout the year in Argentina. The cold and warm events, defined by the persistence of significant anomalies arising from the maximum and minimum temperatures, are more intense in the subtropical latitudes, north of Argentina (northeast for cold events and northwest for warm events), during the coldest months, and in the south (higher latitudes) in the warmest months. The persistence of the air masses is always greater in the north. The warm (cold) events have a preferential region of dissipation in the northwest (northeast) of Argentina, close to the Andes. The effect of the ENSO phases on the probability of occurrences of these events has a large inter-monthly variability. The different La Niña episodes are more homogeneous in relation to their effects and feasibility for the prediction of extreme temperatures within the region, especially for cold events. During La Niña episodes, all 2 month periods (except August–September) present a higher occurrence probability of very persistent and intense cold events, compared with Neutral months in different regions of the country. Conversely, the different El Niño episodes are more heterogeneous and, therefore, their effects on temperature are more varied and so less predictable. However, El Niño episodes exhibit a stronger signal, which is associated with the tropical air incursions that generate extreme warm events, particularly in winter. These events have a higher occurrence probability in the north and a lower one in the south during the months of June to November. Cold events have a lower occurrence probability in different regions, during the El Niño phase, in the period April to September. In some cases, the ENSO signal is stronger in daily temperature values than in monthly ones over Argentina. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society

Sulfonamide antibiotics are persistent pollutants of aquatic bodies, known to induce high levels of bacterial resistance. We investigated the adsorption of sulfadiazine, sulfamethazine, and sulfachloropyridazine sulfonamides into a highly dealuminated faujasite zeolite (Y) with cage window sizes comparable to sulfonamide dimensions. At maximal solubility the antibiotics were almost completely (>90%) and quickly (t < 1 min) removed from the water by zeolite. The maximal amount of sulfonamides adsorbed was 18-26% DW of dry zeolite weight, as evidenced by thermogravimetric analyses and accounted for about one antibiotic molecule per zeolitic cage. The presence of this organic inside the cage was revealed by unit cell parameter variations and structural deformations obtained by X-ray structure analyses carried out using the Rietveld method on exhausted zeolite. The most evident deformation effects were the lowering of the Fd-3m real symmetry in the parent zeolite to Fd-3 and the remarkable deformations which occurred in the 12-membered ring cage window after sulfadiazine or sulfachloropyridazine adsorption. After sulfamethazine adsorption, zeolite deformation caused a lowering in symmetry up to the monoclinic P2/m space group. The effective and irreversible adsorption of sulfonamides into organophylic Y zeolite makes this cheap and environmentally friendly material a suitable candidate for removing sulfonamides from water.

BACKGROUND An 18-month persistence study reported nasolabial fold (NLF) improvements using a small gel-particle hyaluronic acid (SGP-HA) dermal filler lasted up to 18 months after one retreatment. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and persistence of SGP-HA for the correction of NLFs for up to 36 months. METHODS & MATERIALS Subjects completing the 18-month persistence study were permitted to enroll in an 18-month extension trial. Most required second retreatments to achieve optimal correction of their NLFs. Subjects were followed for up to 36 months after their initial treatment. The primary efficacy measure was a 1-point improvement from baseline Wrinkle Severity Rating Scale (WSRS) score as determined by a blinded evaluator at different time points. RESULTS The study enrolled 52 subjects. Forty subjects required a second retreatment for optimum NLF correction. Mean retreatment volume was less than 50% of the initial treatment volume. Twenty-six subjects completed the study. Blinded assessments revealed that 94% to 100% of subjects maintained WSRS scores of 1 point or more higher than baseline throughout the study. CONCLUSIONS Participants in the 18-month extension of an 18-month SGP-HA persistence study continued to demonstrate improvement of NLFs up to 36 months after a second retreatment. The mean volume of SGP-HA required for optimum NLF correction decreased substantially with each retreatment. Subjects reported no treatment-related adverse events after the second retreatment.

In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of a stochastic SIRS epidemic model with saturated incidence. When the noise is small, we obtain a threshold of the stochastic system which determines the extinction and persistence of the epidemic. Besides, we find that large noise will suppress the epidemic from prevailing.

This paper deals with a generalized prey-predator system where the prey population is infected by a microparasite. The model is described by a system of three autonomous ordinary differential equations. Conditions for persistence of all populations are given. Impermanence criteria are also derived.

A number of studies conducted in the past fifteen years have concluded that grit, the persistence and perseverance to achieve goals, and growth mindset, the belief that skills and intelligence can be developed, are positive predictors of achievement; however, little focus has been placed on the implications at institutions purposed to educate minorities, first generation college students, and learners from diminished socio-economic backgrounds. The purpose of this paper is to introduce, describe, and document the methods involved in the preparation of a mindset intervention built into a freshmen development course, and established after years of longitudinal research, that is designed to have a positive impact on the outlook, achievement, and persistence of first generation and under-prepared students. A series of models were created, custom self-assessment scales designed, and a lesson plan prepared purposed to deliver a mindset intervention to edify students about and change perce...

ln this paper, we study the boundedness, persistence, and the global asymptotic behavior of the positive solutions of the system of two difference equations Xn+l 1 + xr~ yr~ : --, Yn+l = 1 + --, n = O, 1,..., Yn-m Xn-m where xi, yi, i = -rn,-m + 1,... ,0 are positive numbers and m is a positive integer.

Using panel data from villages in rural Ethiopia, the paper studies the determinants of consumption growth , based on a microgrowth model, controlling for heterogeneity. Consumption grew substantially, but with diverse experiences across villages and individuals. A key focus is on whether shocks affect growth. Rainfall shocks have a substantial impact on consumption growth, and its impact presists for many years. There also appears to be a significant, persistent growth impact from the largescale famine in the 1980s, as well as substantial externalities from the presence of road infrastructure. The findings related to the persistent effects of rainfall shocks and the famine crisis imply that welfare losses due to the lack of insurance and protection measures are well beyond the welfare cost of short term consumption fluctuations.

Purpose: Persistent cloaca is a complex malformation that remains a difficult reconstructive challenge, and data on long-term outcome are scarce. Gynecological abnormalities are common with cloaca but may remain asymptomatic until puberty or adult life. We evaluate long-term gynecological sequelae in these patients with persistent cloaca. Materials and Methods: The records and radiographs of postpubertal patients (mean age 16.8 years, range 10 to 32) treated for cloacal malformation at 1 institution from 1970 to 2001 were retrospectively reviewed. Outcome data at puberty were available in 41 patients. Of the patients 24 are currently older than 16 years and outcome data for sexual activity were available in 21 with 3 lost to followup. Results: All 41 patients were evaluated at puberty, and 28 (68%) had uterine function, 13 (32%) were menstruating normally and 15 (36%) presented with hematometra/hematocolpos. All 15 girls with an obstructed uterus required surgery, which included hysterectomy in 2, partial hysterectomy with vaginoplasty in 3 and vaginoplasty in 9. There was 1 complex case of fistula. Etiology of the obstructed uterus was vaginal stenosis after reconstruction in 3 cases, stenosis of persistent urogenital sinus (no previous reconstruction) in 11 and cervical stenosis in 1. Ten patients experienced primary amenorrhoea, which was confirmed in 8 (20%) while 2 (5%) continue to be followed for possible cryptic obstruction. In 10 girls the diagnosis of absent/ vestigial uterus was made at early laparotomy but this was erroneous in 6 in whom uterine function developed at puberty. Of the 21 older girls (age at review 17 to 32 years, mean 24) 12 are or have been sexually active and 6 have been examined by a gynecologist and have an adequate vagina but are not sexually active. To date 4 patients have required revision vaginal surgery in adulthood to facilitate intercourse (re-do vaginoplasty in 3, introitoplasty in 1). One woman has postponed vaginal reconstructive procedures and 2 others are currently being followed. There have been no pregnancies in this series to date. Conclusions: Patients born with persistent cloaca have a high incidence of gynecological problems at the onset of menses and in early adult life. Therefore, it is necessary to reassess these girls at early puberty by ultrasound/magnetic resonance imaging and vaginoscopy. Additional surgery may then be necessary to create a vagina for menstruation and sexual intercourse.

It has been hypothesized that self-control is constrained by a limited energy resource that can be depleted through exertion. Once depleted, this resource can be replenished by the consumption or even the taste of glucose. For example, the need to inhibit reduces subsequent persistence at problem solving by humans and dogs, an effect that is not observed when a glucose drink (but not a placebo) is administered following initial inhibition. The mechanism for replenishment by glucose is currently unknown. Energy transfer is not necessary, although insulin secretion may be involved. This possibility was investigated in the current study by having dogs exert self-control (sit-stay) and subsequently giving them (1) glucose that causes the release of insulin, (2) fructose that does not result in the release of insulin nor does it affect glucose levels (but it is a carbohydrate), or (3) a calorie-free drink. Persistence measures indicated that both glucose and fructose replenished canine p...

Iron is an essential cofactor in a number of critical biochemical reactions, and as such, its acquisition, storage, and metabolism is highly regulated in most organisms. The obligate intracellular bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis experiences a developmental arrest when iron within the host is depleted. The nature of the iron starvation response in Chlamydia is relatively uncharacterized because of the likely inefficient method of iron depletion, which currently relies on the compound deferoxamine mesylate (DFO). Inefficient induction of the iron starvation response precludes the identification of iron-regulated genes. This report evaluated DFO with another iron chelator, 2,2′-bipyridyl (Bpdl) and presented a systematic comparison of the two across a range of criteria. We demonstrate that the membrane permeable Bpdl was superior to DFO in the inhibition of chlamydia development, the induction of aberrant morphology, and the induction of an iron starvation transcriptional response in both host and bacteria. Furthermore, iron starvation using Bpdl identified the periplasmic iron-binding protein-encoding ytgA gene as iron-responsive. Overall, the data present a compelling argument for the use of Bpdl, rather than DFO, in future iron starvation studies of chlamydia and other intracellular bacteria.

Cordula Brand, Personale Identität oder menschliche Persistenz? Ein naturalistisches Kriterium, Paderborn: Mentis 2010, 375 S., 978 -3 -89785 -708 -7. Schon häufiger ist der Verdacht geäußert worden, in der von John Locke angestoßenen und bis heute andauernden Debatte um Personen und ihre transtemporale Identität würden verschiedene Themen und Fragestellungen miteinander vermengt, die eigentlich gar nichts oder nur wenig miteinander zu tun hätten. 1 Cordula Brand teilt diesen Eindruck (vgl. z.B. 24 ff. u. 31 ff.) und möchte mit ihrem Buch Personale Identität oder menschliche Persistenz? Ein naturalistisches Kriterium Klarheit in die verworrene Diskussion bringen. Wie der Titel der Tübinger Dissertation bereits verrät, bedeutet dies für sie in erster Linie, zwischen ‚menschlicher Persistenz' und ‚personaler Identität' zu unterscheiden. Brands Entwurf eines ‚naturalistischen Kriteriums' reagiert nicht nur auf die, wie sie meint, aus ‚Expertensicht' unleugbare Extensionsdifferenz der Begriffe ‚Mensch' und ‚Person' (vgl. insbes. 27 f.), sondern stellt überdies den Versuch dar, mit der von ‚Laien' und ‚Experten' 2 gleichermaßen vernachlässigten fundamentalen Differenz zwischen deskriptiven und normativen Fragen ‚unserer' ‚Identität' philosophisch Ernst zu machen (vgl. z.B. 25 f., 245 u. 306). Wenn ‚Person' eigentlich "ein moralisches Konzept" ist (30; vgl. auch 211 u. 306), das bestimmten Wesen "auf der Basis des Vorhandenseins bestimmter Eigenschaften bzw. Fähigkeiten" einen bestimmten "moralische[n] Status" verleiht (353), dann kann eine widerspruchsfreie Rede von ‚personaler Identität' sich nur auf die Identität des mit Personalität verknüpften moralischen Status beziehen (vgl. 320 ff.). Dagegen bleibt es dem naturalistischen Kriterium vorbehalten, die Bedingungen der synchronen wie diachronen Identität desjenigen Wesens zu spezifizieren, dem wir diesen Status im Kontext unserer Lebenswelt zunächst und zumeist zuschreiben: die Individuations-und Persistenzbedingungen des Menschen (vgl. 31 ff. sowie zusammenfassend 304). Allein ein solcher doppelter Problemzugang stellt nach Ansicht der Autorin einen Theorierahmen bereit, innerhalb dessen philosophische ‚Experteneinsichten' zur Lösung konkreter bioethischer Probleme beitragen können (vgl. 41, 324 ff., 355 f. u. den Klappentext). Wer mit der jüngeren Entwicklung der ‚Personal-identity'-Debatte ein wenig vertraut ist, wird sich unweigerlich an den Theorieentwurf von Michael Quante erinnert fühlen: Auch Quante plädiert für eine strikte Trennung normativer und deskriptiver Fragen, 3 woraus vermittelt über die Annahme, der Begriff ‚Person' sei ein nichtkonstitutives Phasensortal (also 1 Vgl. v.a. Quante (2007), zuerst 6 ff., und (2002), 17 ff. 2 Brand übernimmt diese Unterscheidung von Putnam, vgl. 12 ff. 3 Vgl. Quante (2007), 18 ff.

The ozonation of caffeine in water was performed at different pH values, including acidic conditions. Kinetic experiments were conducted by adding pulses of a concentrated caffeine solution to ozone saturated water. The results showed a rapid decrease of ozone concentration during the first 15 s after injection, followed by a gradual decline at a much slower rate. The data were fitted to a second order kinetic model with rate constants increasing from 0.25 to 1.05 M -1 s -1 for pH in the 3-10 range. The initial ozone consumption per mole of ozonated caffeine was greater at high pH values, reflecting a higher ozone decomposition rate. The decomposition of ozone was positively affected by the concentration of caffeine, an effect that could be attributed to the presence of a reaction intermediate from the ozonation of caffeine that behaved as a strong promoter of ozone decomposition. A study of the transformation products identified by LC-TOF-MS was carried out, which permitted a tentative degradation pathway to be proposed persistent by-products to be identified at both pH 3 and 8. Most transformation products were the result of the opening of the imidazole ring after breaking caffeine's N7C8 double bond.

The methodology for evaluating the impacts and damage costs ('external costs') due to pollution from waste treatment is described and the results are presented, based on the ExternE project series of the European Commission. The damage costs of landfill and incineration of municipal solid waste are compared, with due account for energy and materials recovery, as well as possible differences in transport distance. We have not been able to quantify the total damage costs of leachates because of the complexity of the environmental pathways and of the long time horizon of some persistent pollutants, but we consider an extreme scenario to show that they are not worth worrying about in the sense that reducing the pollutants in leachates beyond current regulations would bring negligible benefit in comparison with the abatement of other sources of the same pollutants. The damage costs due to the construction of the waste treatment facility are negligible. The damage costs of waste transport, which are illustrated by an arbitrary choice of a 100 km round trip by a 16 tonne truck, are also negligible. The benefits of materials recovery make a small contribution to the total damage cost. The only significant contributions come from direct emissions (of the landfill or incinerator) and from avoided emissions due to energy recovery (from an incinerator). Damage costs for incineration range from about 4 to 21 € tonne waste -1 , and they are extremely dependent on the assumed scenario for energy recovery. For landfill the cost ranges from about 10 to 13 € tonne waste -1 ; it is dominated by greenhouse gas emissions because only a fraction of the CH 4 can be captured (here assumed to be 70%). Amenity costs (odour, visual impact, noise) are highly site-specific and we only cite results from a literature survey which indicates that such costs could make a significant contribution, very roughly on the order of 1 € tonne waste -1 .

Fipronil termiticide belongs to phenylpyrazole class of chemical compounds. It has broadspectrum activity particularly against house hold pests such as cockroaches, mosquitoes, locusts, ticks, and fleas at both larval and adult stages. At high dosage it can be used to control subterranean termites in building foundations. To evaluate long term efficacy against termites the persistence and vertical distribution of fipronil was studied under natural weather conditions of Dehradun, India. Fipronil was applied at four concentrations i.e. 0.05, 0.1, 0.25 and 0.5% a.i ha −1 by drenching 17×17 in. 2 plot prepared as per modified ground board test. Soil samples were collected after 22, 38 and 56 months of treatment up to the depth of 75 cm. The soil core was cut into five distinct sections i.e. 0-15, 15-30, 30-45, 45-60 and 60-75 cm depth. The residues were extracted by shaking 20 g soil sample with acetone. The acetone extract was concentrated and cleaned-up over florisil column. Fipronil residues were estimated on GLC at 220, 260, and 300°C oven, injector and detector temperature respectively. Fipronil was found to persist beyond 56 months after application. Two metabolites viz. desulfinyl and sulfide-fipronil were detected in sampling after 22 months of application that also dissipated with time. Fipronil residues were found up to 60 cm depth. The residues in deeper layers dissipate slowly with time and after 56 months of treatment residues were detected only up to 30 cm depth.

The objective of this final degree project is to carry out a complete study starting from the general sphere (what is a framework), to analysis of the characteristics of frameworks, arriving at the particulars of what persistence frameworks do.

This study assessed college men's (n = 85) and women's (n = 215) courtship persistence behaviors (approach, surveillance, intimidation, mild aggression), which have been linked to stalking, and examined their relations to initial courtship interest, relationship development, and future violence and persistence, while also exploring the role of gender in these relations. Findings showed individuals performed surveillance when initially more interested than the other. Whereas approach behaviors were positively associated with relationship establishment, surveillance and intimidation were negatively associated. As predicted, results showed continuity in persistence and violence over the course of dating relationships. For both genders, courtship mild aggression predicted relationship violence, and persistence behaviors predicted similar persistence at breakup. Early behaviors may foreshadow violence and stalking-related behaviors in both men and women.

According to expectancy-value theories, increasing the utility value of a learning activity should result in higher motivation and better learning. In contrast, self-determination theory posits that the content of the future goals (intrinsic vs. extrinsic) that enhance the utility value of the learning activity needs to be considered as well. Contrast-cell analyses of an experimental study showed that double goal framing (intrinsic plus extrinsic) facilitated a mastery orientation, performance, and persistence and decreased a performance-approach orientation compared with extrinsic goal framing. However, double goal framing resulted in a less optimal pattern of outcomes compared with intrinsic goal framing, suggesting that the content of the provided goals matters. Goal content effects on both performance and persistence were fully mediated by mastery orientation.

I argue that four-dimensionalism, especially when combined with mereological universalism, is incompatible with the desire satisfaction account of well-being, because it adds to the population of suffering individuals whose interests could plausibly be said to diverge from those of the persons in whom they are embedded as temporal parts, and that in doing what is ultimately good for persons we must do what is ultimately bad for subpersons. I call this 'the frustrating problem' for the four-dimensionalist. I examine six possible responses to the frustrating problem, the Parfit-inspired claim that identity is not what matter, the pronoun revisionism of Noonan, the indirect account of Hudson, the sensible stages view of David Lewis, a 'multiple concepts' account of desire satisfaction, and (vi) the no mental states view according to which temporal parts of persons possess no intrinsic mental states and, thus, have no desires to frustrate. I argue that none of these solutions is compelling. Thus the four-dimensionalist has reason to reject the desire satisfaction theory, while the adherents of the desire satisfaction view have at least some reason to reject four-dimensionalism.

Genetic diversity, within and among natural populations at 32 sites, of the long-lived temperate rainforest Huon pine tree Lagarostrobos franklinii was assessed using isozymes. Overall, genetic diversity, based on six enzyme loci, was low (A = 1.6, p=46%), both within and among populations ( Fst = 0.095). The most isolated sites ( Yellow Creek, Spero River, Newall Creek, Mt Read) deviated significantly from expected allelic frequencies and~or had the greatest genetic distances from other sites. Most of these isolated sites are currently unprotected. Genotype frequencies within most sites (20 out of 32) deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations (p < 0.0015) and had high fixation indexes indicative of effective inbreeding. The high levels of inbreeding observed by these measures at some sites did not reflect isolation from gene flow. The most similar pairs of populations were located in the headwaters of the three major habitat catchments, which originate within close geographic proximity of one another. Over 90% of individuals at Mt Read, the highest altitude site known, were genetically identical. This, combined with other evidence, suggests that the population at this site is principally vegetatively derived and may be exceptionally old. Inbreeding and low diversity does not appear to have affected the species' ability to persist for long periods. © 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

This paper provides an overview of the complex relations among history, education, political economy, and social change in Vietnam. Vietnam has a long history of education and a literate culture. The evolution of Vietnamese culture and society is characterized by both persistence and change. Social and political persistence and change have been profoundly affected by education in Vietnam. In this paper major external influences on Vietnamese education and social change are considered, including Chinese Confucian influences, French colonial influences, Soviet and US influences during the Cold War, and more contemporary international global influences as Vietnam has become part of the global economy and international regimes. The importance influence of the policy of "doi moi" (economic renovation) introduced in 1986 is seen as resulting in a major transformation in Vietnam. The paper concludes with a discussion of Vietnam's future and its goals of developing a modern economy through a priority on the development of human capital through a distinctive Vietnamese educational system, drawing eclectically and creatively on diverse external influences.