Greater Input Research Articles

Geochemical characteristics of Jurassic coal and its paleoenvironmental implication in the eastern Junggar Basin, China

This study is the first to provide geochemical and paleoenvironmental information of Jurassic Xishanyao Formation coal in the eastern Junggar Basin, China. Twenty-seven coal core samples were collected from the zk0413 boreholes in Dajing area to determine the geochemical variability. Proximate analyses show that the Xishanyao Formation coal has the medium moisture content (average 13%), special low ash yield (average 6%) and high volatile matter (average 34%), which slightly fluctuate from bottom to top of coal seam. Organic matter in the coal are type III kerogen, with coalification degrees determined as subbituminous A or high volatile bituminous C. All coal samples have poor hydrocarbon generating potential with the yield between 31.93 and 72.36 (average of 43.57) mg HC/g.rock. The primary input of organic matter for coal-formation was higher terrestrial plants, with greater input from algae and micro-organisms and greater role of bacteria in plant degradation higher in the seam. The process of peatification in the lower section of the seam occurred under more acidic and oxic conditions. Coal accumulated in a lacustrine freshwater environment with the rise of the (ground) water table from bottom to top. There is evidence of higher salinity of water within the lower seam and decreased salinity (brackish to fresh water) within the middle of the seam, then an increase to moderate salinity (fresh water to brackish). The increasing stratified water column upward with reduced oxidation in the coal seams may result from the increased temperature in periods of a relatively hot and dry climate. The environment changes demonstrated in this study illustrate the importance of studying combined elemental and organic geochemistry to reconstruct paleoenvironment.

Getting started: Reply to Condon et al. (2017) and Rossiter (2017).

Condon, Weston, and Hill (2017) and Rossiter (2017) expressed concerns about the recommended panel of psychosocial vital signs that should be included in electronic health records (EHRs). Condon et al. (2017) would prefer a broader array of measures and Rossiter (2017) a set of optimal measures based on consensus. Our task was to identify a core set of measures to be used now in all EHRs based on usefulness and low burden. We anticipate that with new evidence, changing needs, and greater input from stakeholders, the recommended measures will be elaborated or modified. (PsycINFO Database Record

Energy feature of a multi-flow column flotation process

A cyclonic-static micro-bubble flotation column (FCSMC) has been widely used in mineral separation. FCSMC includes countercurrent, cyclone and jet flow mineralization zones in a single column. In this study, the energy feature of the three different zones was compared. The turbulent flow was evaluated in terms of the turbulent kinetic energy (k) and the turbulent dissipation rate (e). An appropriate computing model was determined by comparing the flow field value measured by PIV with the results of the Fluent numerical simulation. Jet flow separation exhibited the maximum k and e values among the three columns, whereas counter-current separation displayed the minimum values. The high circulating volumetric flowrate means great energy input and turbulent intensity. The higher turbulent dissipation rate, the smaller the bubble is. The better performance of the FCSMC was mainly attributed to the multiple mineralization steps. The floatability of mineral particles gradually decreases with an increase in flotation time, the mineralization energy gradually increased to overcome the decrease in mineral floatability. By contrast, the countercurrent was beneficial for recovering the coarse particles, and the jet flow was beneficial for recovering the fine particles.

Bioethics in the law.

The role of law in bioethics is clear. Laws are enforcement tools: they govern which conditions qualify an individual for disability benefits, or what oversight is necessary for clinical trial protocols, or how patent applications for medical devices should be regulated. I initially studied the law in order to enhance my work in bioethics, but in examining how the law works, I have become convinced that the converse opportunity also exists: there are many areas of law that would benefit from greater input from those in the bioethics community.

Voices from the Barrio: "Con Safos: Reflections of Life in the Barrio" by Maxine Borowsky Junge and Con Safos

Reviewed by: Voices from the Barrio: "Con Safos: Reflections of Life in the Barrio" by Maxine Borowsky Junge and Con Safos José Anguiano (bio) Voices from the Barrio: "Con Safos: Reflections of Life in the Barrio" By Maxine Borowsky Junge and Con Safos, foreword by Jesús Salvador Treviño. San Bernadino: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016. 406 pp. ISBN 13: 978-1534632004 Click for larger view View full resolution [End Page 170] In the late 1960s at the height of the flowering Chicano movement, an empowered sense of do-it-yourself, or rasquachismo in the barrio vernacular, brought forth an array of artistic and cultural visions, celebrating and disseminating once-suppressed voices and everyday realities. Two students at California State University, Los Angeles, Ralph López Grijalva-Urbina and Arturo Flores, decided to start a Chicano-oriented magazine where none existed, called Con Safos: Reflections of Life in the Barrio. Over a four-year period from 1968 to 1972, the highly influential and raucous self-published magazine Con Safos1 became one of the most important outlets of local Chicano literary works and social commentary. The magazine used barrio vernacular and humor to reach readers in its region, and attracted many young artists who would go on to be emblematic of the Chicano movement generation of artists and intellectuals, such as Oscar "Zeta" Acosta, Gilbert "Magú" Luján, and Oscar Castillo. Its popularity also meant other organizations and even the FBI took interest in the magazine. In 1972, the FBI raided the offices of Con Safos and confiscated the last known edition of the magazine. Now, Voices from the Barrio recounts the tumultuous history of the magazine, and by default the Chicano Movement in East Los Angeles, their participation in the Chicano Moratorium (against the war in Vietnam), and how it came to be in the FBI cross-hairs. Maxine Borowsky Junge, an artist and social worker with strong ties to East Los Angeles during the Chicano Movement who became close with many " Consafiados," members of the Con Safos collective, appears to be the organizing force behind the book, collecting the oral histories of the surviving original Con Safos members: Oscar Castillo, Arturo Flores, Antonio Solís Gómez, Sergio Hernández, Ralph F. López Grijalva-Urbina, and Diane Velarde Hernández. These accounts detail the magazine's history. Authorship for the book is itself testament to the idea of collectivity; a more conventional approach to publishing would have listed Borowsky Junge as editor and Con Safos authors as contributors. Instead, Con Safos members are listed as coauthors with greater input and responsibility in the final product. In the foreword, Jesus Salvador Treviño (who has created documentaries on the Chicano Movement) best summarizes the aim of Voices from the Barrio by describing the book as the definitive history, and "a fun, contemporary [sic] journey through the creative minds of a brash group of writers and artists whose writings and artwork are as relevant today as they were in the 1970s" (iii). As such, Voices from the Barrio introduces a new generation to the significance and contributions of the short-lived Con Safos magazine and showcases the current work of many of its founders. Overall the book is organized into thirteen chapters. The first six chapters offer a meandering assortment of oral histories, along with retrospective reflections in two chapters by Antonio Solís Gomez and Diane Velarde. These chapters establish the context of "Con Safos" and describe the founding of the magazine. Chapters seven, eight, and 12 focus on the content of Con Safos by reprinting and highlighting the magazine's most popular features, such as the comic "Arnie and Porfi." Such features also suggest the role of Con Safos as an important launching pad for a generation of Chicano artists. For example, chapter ten details the connection of famed Chicano writer, lawyer, and activist Oscar "Zeta" Acosta to Con Safos, and features creative writing inspired by Acosta. The book is rounded out with chapters of selected readings, a bilingual glossary, and a "where are they now" epilogue. Readers will...

A Hybrid Prediction Method of Thermal Extension Error for Boring Machine Based on PCA and LS-SVM

Thermal extension error of boring bar in z-axis is one of the key factors that have a bad influence on the machining accuracy of boring machine, so how to exactly establish the relationship between the thermal extension length and temperature and predict the changing rule of thermal error are the premise of thermal extension error compensation. In this paper, a prediction method of thermal extension length of boring bar in boring machine is proposed based on principal component analysis (PCA) and least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) model. In order to avoid the multiple correlation and coupling among the great amount temperature input variables, firstly, PCA is introduced to extract the principal components of temperature data samples. Then, LS-SVM is used to predict the changing tendency of the thermally induced thermal extension error of boring bar. Finally, experiments are conducted on a boring machine, the application results show that Boring bar axial thermal elongation error residual value dropped below 5 μm and minimum residual error is only 0.5 μm. This method not only effectively improve the efficiency of the temperature data acquisition and analysis, and improve the modeling accuracy and robustness.

Seasonal dynamics in shallow freshwater pond‐peatland hydrochemical interactions in a subarctic permafrost environment

AbstractTerrestrial and aquatic ecological productivity are often nutrient limited in subarctic permafrost environments. High latitude regions are experiencing significant climatic change, including rapid warming and changing precipitation patterns, which may result in changes in nutrient dynamics within terrestrial and aquatic systems and hydrochemical transport between them. The objective of this research was to characterize changes in runoff quantity and quality within, and between peatlands and ponds throughout the snow‐free summer season. Two ponds and their catchments were monitored over the snow‐free season to measure changes in hydrologic storage, and to determine how water chemistry changed with the evolution of the frost table depth. Thresholds in hydrologic storage combined with frost table position (which inhibited infiltration and storage) produced nonlinear responses for runoff generation through highly conductive shallow peat layers while deeper, less conductive layers retarded flow. Greater inputs were required to exceed hydrologic storage (fill and spill) as a deepening frost table increased the hydrologically active portion of the soil, leading to seasonal variability in runoff pathways between peatlands and ponds. Runoff contributions to ponds were an integral component of the snow‐free water balance during the study period, contributing up to 60% of all snow‐free inputs. Groundwater chemistry (and pond chemistry following runoff events when ponds were connected with peatlands) reflected the different depths of peat and mineral soil accessed throughout the season. This work has improved scientific understanding of the combined controls of hydrologic inputs and ground frost on runoff and nutrient transport between peatlands and ponds, and sheds insight into how nutrient dynamics in cold regions may evolve under a changing climate.

Additive Manufacturing of Poly(propylene) by Means of Melt Extrusion

Additive manufacturing (AM) processes can provide great input for solving recently encountered challenges of the global market such as mass customization, highly dynamic environments, and the decrease of time needed from a draft to final products. This study aims at contributing to the issue of material limitations typically present in AM by researching possibilities of directly using technically relevant and commercially available polymer granules in melt extrusion processes. In order to extend the knowledge on the processing of semicrystalline polymers in melt extrusion based processes, different temperature induced influences on mechanical and morphological properties are investigated for poly(propylene). Mechanical tests are conducted to evaluate the effects and interdependencies of substrate, extrusion, and cooling temperature. Finally, based on the identified mechanical and rheological behavior of the material, a process window for the used materials is suggested.image

Implementation of the affordable care act: a case study of a service line co-management company.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test and measure the outcome of a community hospital in implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through a co-management arrangement. RQ1: do the benefits of a co-management arrangement outweigh the costs? RQ2: does physician alignment aid in the effective implementation of the ACA directives set for hospitals? Design/methodology/approach A case study of a 350-bed non-profit community hospital co-management company. The quantitative data are eight quarters of quality metrics prior and eight quarters post establishment of the co-management company. The quality metrics are all based on standardized national requirements from the Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidelines. These measures directly impact the quality initiatives under the ACA that are applicable to all healthcare facilities. Qualitative data include survey results from hospital employees of the perceived effectiveness of the co-management company. A paired samples difference of means t-test was conducted to compare the timeframe before co-management and post co-management. Findings The findings indicate that the benefits of a co-management arrangement do outweigh the costs for both the physicians and the hospital ( RQ1). The physicians benefit through actual dollar payout, but also with improved communication and greater input in running the service line. The hospital benefits from reduced cost - or reduced penalties under the ACA - as well as better communication and greater physician involvement in administration of the service line. RQ2: does physician alignment aid in the effective implementation of the ACA directives set for hospitals? The hospital improved in every quality metric under the co-management company. A paired sample difference of means t-test showed a statistically significant improvement in five of the six quality metrics in the study. Originality/value Previous research indicates the potential effectiveness of co-management companies in improving healthcare delivery and hospital-physician relations (Sowers et al., 2013). The current research takes this a step further to show that the data do in fact support these concepts. The hospital and the physicians carrying out the day-to-day actions have shared goals, better communication, and improved quality metrics under the co-management company. As the number of co-management companies increases across the USA, more research can be directed at determining their overall impact on quality care.

Analysis of state and federal regulatory regimes potentially governing the extraction of water from carbon storage reservoirs in the United States

Extracted water—water brought to the surface of the ground during carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects to create additional room for carbon dioxide injection—exists in a murky legal environment. As part of a broader attempt to identify the complex interactions between water resource policies and CCS, an analysis was undertaken at both the state and the federal level to scope the policy environments surrounding extracted water policies and laws. Six states (California, Illinois, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, and Texas) were chosen for this analysis because either active CCS work is currently underway, or the potential exists for future work. Although regulation of extracted waters could potentially occur at many points along the CCS life cycle, this paper focuses on regulation that may apply when the water is withdrawn—that is, accessed and removed from the saline aquifer—and when it is re-injected in a close but unconnected aquifer. It was found that no regulations exist for this source specifically. In addition, greater input is needed from regulators and policy makers in terms of defining this resource. In particular, regulation of extracted waters (and CCS activities broadly) often overlaps with the management of fluids produced during oil and gas development. Many regulations would apply to extracted waters if they were classified as such. Therefore, correct categorization is key as the industry in this space continues to grow.

New Challenges of 3D Mechanisms Models in TMM Training

The paper presents new challenges in teaching of Theory of Mechanisms and Machines (TMM) discipline through the creation of motile 3D models. TMM started to be a worldwide educational discipline in 19th century at engineering universities and technical schools. But more than a century before that one of the possible ways of teaching and practical training for young engineers was connected with the use of mechanisms models. Modern technologies including digital photography, 3D modeling, CAD software, etc. brought a great input to the education process. Thus, the models from the Russian Mechanisms Collection of Bauman University got a new life by involving the students in research process through 3D reconstruction, 3D registration and 3D visualization.

2014 Gubernatorial Election in Ekiti: The Limit of Propaganda and Challenge of Performance

Democracy is a universally recognized ideal as well as a goal, which is based on common values shared by people throughout the world community irrespective of cultural, political, social and economic differences. It is thus a basic right of citizens to be exercised under conditions of freedom, equality, transparency and responsibility, with due respect to the plurality of views, and the interest of the polity. Therefore, election is a constitutional way that gives the people opportunities to vote to power those who will adequately represent their interests. Thus, political parties seek diverse means including ‘political propaganda’ to influence voter s decision and behaviour to its advantage in order to form government and administer the polity for a specific period on behalf of the electorates. The paper argues that election is periodic in a democracy and in between the periods governments are formed; measured by stakeholders and that these measurements have great input in the following period after the last election. Performance therefore becomes a key ingredient that any party willing to continue in government must exhibit in order to maintain control over the behaviour of the electorate at the election. Using ethnomethodological explanation, the paper revealed why and how Governor Fayemi lost the election in spite of his party propaganda machinery and his claim of performance as governor in the Ekiti governorship election in June 2014 where the people seem to be saying ‘don’t think for us’ ‘ask us’ what we want. The paper concludes that the reactions of the state governors of APC control states in Nigeria after the election in Ekiti confirms the people’s perception of performance and a limit to propaganda.

Voting turnout, equality, liberty and representation: epistemic versus procedural democracy

Some epistemic approaches to democracy evince an exclusivistic approach to voting participation whereby high turnout elections are thought to produce adverse outcomes. On this view, high turnout introduces greater input from less politically competent citizens which, in turn, leads to bad governance. I challenge these claims from both an empirical and normative perspective by defending procedural democracy against epistemic democracy. I argue that it is mistaken to privilege epistemic considerations over other values that democracy is meant to serve, in this case, political equality, liberty and representativeness. Further, it is not clear that high voter turnout leads to worse government. In sum, (electoral) epistemic democracy is hard to justify given that (a) even in theory it is unconvincing as a form of democracy and (b) even on its own terms it is not demonstrably better than procedural democracy at ‘performing’ democracy.

Offline: Brazil—the unexpected opportunity that Zika presents

Brazil is (understandably) upset. At WHO's Executive Board meeting last month, one Geneva official told me that the country's delegation was refusing to back resolutions it might otherwise have supported because the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs opposed the World Bank's country rankings. Brazil is classified by the Bank as an upper-middle-income country, along with its near neighbours Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru. Unfortunately for the Bank (and WHO), Brazil doesn't see itself as a middle-income nation. It has higher aspirations. Adding further insult, in 2015 the Bank promoted Brazil's rivals, Argentina and Venezuela, to high-income status. A high-income country is defined by a gross national income per person equal to or above US$12 736. Brazil falls just short at $11 530 (2014). Brazil has long been sensitive to the judgment of others. When WHO published its World Health Report in 2000, the government and country's health leadership were hurt and outraged. WHO ranked Brazil 125th out of 191 nations (Venezuela was placed 54th and Argentina 75th). Brazil can certainly be proud of its progress towards better health. But in his history of infectious diseases, Epidemics Laid Low (2006), Patrice Bourdelais argues that a high-income country is one that has succeeded in conquering epidemics—which is why Brazil's “public health emergency of international concern” is not only a national tragedy, but also an international humiliation. President Dilma Rousseff has issued statements of defiant resistance. But Zika arrives at a perilous moment for Brazil. The country's economy is shrinking, while unemployment and inflation are rising. These pressures have further threatened an already fragile health system. Writing in The Lancet in 2011, Mauricio Barreto and colleagues identified dengue as a major “failure” in Brazilian public health. The main vector of dengue, Aedes aegypti, is also the vector for Zika. Persistent past failed efforts to control dengue in Brazil mean that the likelihood of controlling Zika quickly today is low. But, with thoughtful leadership, Brazil can turn this epidemic into a force for advantage. At moments of epidemic danger, one naturally focuses on the actions of nations to control the outbreak. But turn that question around: what are the likely actions of an epidemic on a nation? Epidemics change governments. Political leaders could have no clearer signal that it is their responsibility to protect the health of their people (governments, not doctors, defeat epidemics). Those leaders understand that their nation's political, economic, and social stability depends on health. This realisation has consequences. Laws are enacted to protect health. New investments are made into medical science (political progress depends on scientific progress). New institutions are created to channel the best scientific advice to decision makers. Universal free and high-quality health care becomes a public priority. And leaders understand that securing and sustaining public trust is essential for public order. Epidemics change the relationship between doctors and the state. The number, income, status, and power of doctors (and their institutions) are enhanced. Doctors sharpen their demands—and they seek (and usually win) greater input into political decisions. Epidemics change the public conception of disease. Diseases are no longer seen as pathologies of the body. They also become pathologies of the environment. Health is no longer a quality within the pure control of the individual. It is something that depends on the organisation of society. Epidemics reshape knowledge. Reliable data assume supreme political importance. Politicians demand instant access to these data. Research becomes a vital tool to improve political judgment. New fields of knowledge are created. Rapid and transparent communication of new findings becomes a necessity. Epidemics change publics. Public expectations rise. People welcome strong government action, but they become wary of the state's coercive power. The public is less tolerant of those thought to harbour disease (or the risk of disease). Stigma flourishes. Health becomes a public obsession. People lobby governments to take health more seriously. Quacks and charlatans prosper. Epidemics change societies. Epidemic disease precipitates a political crisis. Society is restructured and reformed. The idea of progress is redefined (reversals are possible). A consensus builds around the right to health. In sum, epidemics can accelerate as well as destroy human development. Zika will only be one moment in the long struggle to advance the health of those nations currently affected. But that moment is an opportunity that should not be lost.

Fine Sediment Input and Benthic Fauna Interactions at the Confluence of Two Large Rivers

Several studies suggest that invertebrate abundance and richness are disrupted and reset at confluences. Thus, junctions contribute disproportionately to the overall aquatic biodiversity of the river. In general terms, authors have reported high abundance and diversity due to the major physical heterogeneity at junctions. However, data are still scarce and uncertainties are plentiful.The impact of a great input of fine sediments on the distribution patterns of benthic invertebrates at a river confluence was quantitatively analyzed herein. The junction of the subtropical Bermejo River (high suspended sediment load) with the large Paraguay River is the selected study area to achieve this aim.While diversity increased slightly downstream the junction (from 0.21 to 0.36), density and richness of the macroinvertebrate assemblage significantly diminished downstream the confluence (from 29050 to 410 ind/m2; p< 0.05) due to the input of fine sediment from the Bermejo River (mean fine sediment increased downstream from 6.3 to 10.2 mg/L), causing a negatively impact on invertebrate assemblage. This study highlights the ecological importance of the sediment input effects on benthic invertebrates, a topic still poorly explored in river ecology.It is speculated that the spatial extent of the impact would be dependent upon the hydrological and sedimentological context, highly unequal between both rivers. New hypotheses should be tested through new studies considering different hydrological stages.

The efficacy of metformin in the treatment of type 2 diabetes

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a serious medical and social problem. The prevalence of diabetes has been steadily increasing in all countries, where 95% are patients with type 2 diabetes. According to the International Diabetes Federation, in 2014, the number of patients with type 2 diabetes was 387 million, or every 12th inhabitant of the planet. By 2035, the number of patients with type 2 diabetes could increase to 592 million people [1]. Global trends in diabetes incidence rates are also observed in Russia. According to the national register, there are 8 million diabetic patients in Russia, or approximately 5% of the total population, whereas 90% of them are patients with type 2 diabetes. By 2025, the number of patients is expected to increase to 13 million people. The number of registered patients is usually 2-3 times less than the real number. [2, 3] The greatest input in the number of diabetic patients is made by the increase in the number of type 2 diabetes patients in older age groups.

A Euro Border Guard and Hybrid Warfare. An Art Theft Perspective: Human Dimensions and a Moral Imperative

Before 9/11, when Mohammed Atta was at Hamburg's Technical University, Atta made an attempt to sell stolen Afghan antiquities to subsidize the cost of his flying school training in the United States. The archaeologist at the University of Gottingen to whom he made his approach in 1999 declined it, but it is indicative of one Islamist fanatic's mindset.1 Atta was not alone in his thinking. Antiquities from the Middle East, North Africa and Central and South Asia are useful in the world of Islamist fanaticism as potential money earners and for iconoclasm.For centuries, in the art world has been of basically two types, stealing or looting in a conventional sense and by deception. In English law,2 theft itself is dishonestly appropriating the property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the owner of it; and the terms 'thief' and 'steal' are construed accordingly. Theft by deception includes fakes, forgeries, and frauds of all kinds, including through intentionally bogus provenance and wrongful attribution. This art fraud category of crime is where money is made by art crooks. However, there has been an upsurge in another kind of through the rise of international terrorism in recent decades - by destruction. (A development of cyber crime in the future may well develop art fraud and by algorithm as well.) But curiously, art also often presents an Achilles' heel for thieves in terrorist organizations, organized crime and for disorganized criminals.Theft by destruction is a relatively new expression for an old concept. It occurs when art objects are destroyed and objects of cultural history are extirpated by their destruction. In recent decades, the Bamiyan buddhas in Afghanistan were destroyed by the Taliban, many medieval Sufi shrines were smashed by Ansar Dine (an Al Qaeda franchise) in Timbuktu, Mali in 2012, and important buildings and objects in Palmyra, Syria were destroyed by Da'esh in 2015. The dismal list goes on and on, with religious shrines of many varieties in Pakistan, Iraq and elsewhere blown up in the past two decades, often with devotees, pilgrims and tourists around them massacred. The World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York on 9/11 can be viewed as by destruction of those examples of architectural art, whatever their value as shrines of mammon to the Al Qaeda fanatics who destroyed them, or to others who viewed them on the Manhattan skyline.In Western Judaeo-Christian civilization with its great input from medieval Islam, a human and moral basis for countering begins with the Book of Genesis concept of stewardship, and is explicit in one of the Ten Commandments, Thou shalt not steal (in the English words in the 1611 King James Version of the Bible). The concept of stewardship is a moral imperative rather than a morally relative matter, and extends to the worldly domain in which we live, in which our ancestors lived and our descendants will. It is a teaching among Koranic People of the Book, the monotheists of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and we influence one another and many who do not share it with us.Hybrid or multifaceted warfare is seen in the calculations of Sun Tzu's Art of War, Captain Basil Liddell Hart's Indirect Approach, and Captain Wass' Jedi Knight ideas. All provide insights into where we are today, and with them here in this article comes an added art crime perspective. The use of the word hybrid is convenient shorthand for multifaceted warfare. Multidimensional may be better.Sun Tzu was a Chinese warrior who wrote about military strategy roughly two and a half millennia ago. Of the many Art of War translations and commentaries in English, Samuel B. Griffith's translation with a foreword by B.H. Liddell Hart (Oxford, 1963) is comprehensive, especially about the crucial use of informants and information to develop war fighting intelligence.3 Reading Clausewitz is the alternative, for what it's worth in our era of warfare with terrorists that may last a long time. …

Perceptions and attitudes of students of mass communication toward mental illness in Nigerian Tertiary Institution

Background: The power of the modern mass media is not limited to its ability to communicate information and entertain but derives primarily from its ability to define situations, thereby enabling it to construct social reality. Stigma is related to negative stereotyping and prejudicial attitudes that in turn lead to discriminatory practices. Aims: The study sought to know the perceptions of and attitudes of mass communication students towards mental illness and the mentally ill. Settings and Design: The study population comprised of final year Diploma students of Mass Communication of a foremost tertiary institution in Nigeria. Methods and Material: The World Psychiatric Association questionnaire measuring attitudes towards Schizophrenia was modified and administered to the students. Results: Study also showed only one-fifth of all respondents had contact with either an advert or a promotion about mental illness. About three-quarter (74.1%) of those who had come in contact with information on mental illness had done so through audiovisuals including television and radio. More than half of the students ranked environmental factors foremost among causes of mental illness. Majority of the students (85.9%) would definitely not marry someone with mental illness. Conclusions: The enormous potential and influence the media has on mental health issues would require that mental health professionals provide great input into the enlightenment program for these young and mental health-naive potential image makers.

Eye Gaze Technology as a Form of Augmentative and Alternative Communication for Individuals with Rett Syndrome: Experiences of Families in The Netherlands.

This paper provides a brief report on families’ experiences of eye gaze technology as one form of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for individuals with Rett syndrome (RTT), and the advice, training and support they receive in relation to this. An online survey exploring communication and AAC was circulated to 190 Dutch families; of the 67 questionnaires that were returned, 63 had answered questions relating to eye gaze technology. These 63 were analysed according to parameters including: experiences during trial periods and longer-term use; expert knowledge, advice and support; funding; communicative progress; and family satisfaction. 20 respondents were using or had previous experience of using an eye gaze system at the time of the survey, 28 of those with no prior experience wanted to try a system in the future. Following a trial period, 11 systems had been funded through health insurance for long-term use and two families had decided a system was not appropriate for them. Levels of support during trials and following long-term provision varied. Despite frustrations with the technology, satisfaction with the systems was higher than satisfaction with the support. The majority of families reported progress in their child’s skills with longer term use. These findings suggest that although eye gaze technologies offer potential to individuals with RTT and their families, greater input from suppliers and knowledgeable AAC professionals is essential for individuals and families to benefit maximally. Higher levels of training and support should be part of the ‘package’ when an eye gaze system is provided.

ConfChem Conference on Flipped Classroom: Using a Blog To Flip a Classroom

This communication summarizes one of the invited papers to the Flipped Classroom ACS Division of Chemical Education Committee on Computers in Chemical Education online ConfChem held from May 18 to June 24, 2014. Just in Time Teaching is a technique in which students read the material before class and respond to a few questions. In a first-year seminar course, The Chemistry of Food, students were assigned to maintain blogs for the entire CentreTerm, a 16-day term. To create an online learning community, the instructor’s blog in lieu of a quiz was used as a forum to assign the readings and pose questions about the readings. The comments on the instructor blog, as well as individual student posts, were used to develop the classroom discussion; moreover, many of the readings were not discussed in class but entirely online. Many students who would not normally participate in class were more than willing to participate online, thus providing the class discussion with more variety and greater input from the stud...