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This insightful book re-examines the concept of student voice through an exploration of children's implicit rights to silence and non-participation. By considering what remains unspoken but is voiced through silence, this book theorises silence through the lens of power. Responding to calls for more critical approaches to children's participation under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, this unique exposition of silence ventures beyond traditional notions of voice as a defining term for justice and participation, and traditional understandings of silence as powerlessness. Instead, this book presents young people's uses and understandings of silence at school as an instrument of power. Based on empirical research, the book reconceptualises children's participation rights through silence. Addressing an important gap in the literature on student voice and children's participation, this book is a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and postgraduate students in the fields of children's human rights, childhood studies, and educational philosophy.

This book addresses a wide range of issues situated in the core of theoreticians' and clinicians' work in the field of giftedness. It gathers practical issues, relevant for the lives of many gifted children, adolescents and adults, from a neuropsychological point of view. By studying the basic questions in gifted education through a neuropsychological lens, this book aims to establish a uniform new way for the treatment of gifted children with social or emotional difficulties, learning disabilities, physical limitations, or psychological and psychiatric disorders. This book helps educators and mental-health professionals to obtain a deeper understanding of the neurological system and its role in learning. This includes memory, knowledge-processing, making connections, and the implications on the cognitive, emotional, and physical aspects -- all of which play major roles in the life of each gifted child and adolescent. By acquiring this new knowledge, more teachers, counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists will be able to help individuals materialize their giftedness, while preserving their mental health and productivity.

The present volume collects papers from InnoConf18 [Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University Conference], which took place at the University of Liverpool in June 2018. The theme of the conference was "New trends in language teaching and learning at university." The contributions collected here aim to reflect on best practice in the sector while at the same time capturing state-of-the-art language teaching and learning methodologies. The short papers in this peer-reviewed selection display examples of active learning and student empowerment across all levels of learning and demonstrate the benefits of maximising engagement through a creative and inspiring learning environment. We believe this volume will be of use to language teachers and practitioners in higher education and beyond. [The University of Liverpool's School of Histories, Languages, and Cultures (HLC) and the Centre for Teaching Excellence in Language Learning (CTELL) financially contributed to the publication of this volume. Additional sponsors include Sanako, Hueber, and European Schoolbooks.]

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's (IEA) mission is to enhance knowledge about education systems worldwide, and to provide high-quality data that will support education reform and lead to better teaching and learning in schools. In pursuit of this aim, it conducts, and reports on, major studies of student achievement in literacy, mathematics, science, citizenship, and digital literacy. These studies, most notably Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS), and International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), are well established and have set the benchmark for international comparative studies in education. The studies have generated vast datasets encompassing student achievement, disaggregated in a variety of ways, along with a wealth of contextual information which contains considerable explanatory power. The numerous reports that have emerged from them are a valuable contribution to the corpus of educational research. Valuable though these detailed reports are, IEA's goal of supporting education reform needs something more: deep understanding of education systems and the many factors that bear on student learning advances through in-depth analysis of the global datasets. IEA has long championed such analysis and facilitates scholars and policymakers in conducting secondary analysis of our datasets.The IEA Research for Education series represents a further effort by IEA to capitalize on our unique datasets, so as to provide powerful information for policymakers and researchers. Each report focuses on a specific topic and is produced by a dedicated team of leading scholars on the theme in question. This seventh volume in the series is concerned with student motivation for learning mathematics. Student achievement in school depends on many school- and home-based factors, but also on individual motivation. Research into the motivational correlates of learning is not new, and it is clear that there is a positive relationship between motivation and learning. However, the links are generally found to be weak, and are imperfectly understood. This study has taken the novel approach of focusing on students rather than motivation variables and, by identifying clusters of students with distinctive profiles in terms of these variables, sheds light on how motivation patterns relate differentially to achievement. Besides being a valuable addition to the literature on motivation and student learning, this report highlights the central importance of reinforcing students' competence in mathematics as a central construct toward building confidence. While it helps if students enjoy mathematics and appreciate its significance, in the absence of a well-founded confidence in mathematics, these factors have a weaker association with achievement. [For volume 6, see ED599000.]

Higher education plays a vital role in society and the quality, accessibility, and form of higher education is highly dependent on financing. Financing of higher education is conceived to be of central importance for the future creation and dissemination of knowledge and research. Therefore, the financing of higher education is a topic that has been always at the core of the work of student organisations, even more so in the times of economic and financial crisis. This is why the European Students' Union decided in 2009 to apply for a grant for a project whose purpose was to increase the knowledge of the effects of financing systems in Europe on students and to enhance the capacity of its member national unions of students with regard to active involvement on higher education funding reforms. The Compendium is the culmination of the research process carried out during the project, the rationale being that it neatly brings together the various different research components. The project began with the formulation of a series of hypotheses, with data gathered in order to test them. Certain topics that were of particular interest to the research team were then investigated in more depth through research articles. The Compendium begins with a short overview of higher education funding systems, which should give the reader a basic picture about the current situation in Europe, based on some selected indicators from the "Financing the Students' Future" (FinSt) mapping process. The second part presents a series of hypotheses that have been set to analyse the differences among funding systems and their effects on the student population. The third part consists of several articles on issues that are related to the overall topic of financing of higher education and that provide various insights into the matter. The last part tries to formulate some overall conclusions from the research and policy processes that have been reviewed. In summary, the Compendium should give the reader a fairly adequate picture of the most important issues in connection with higher education financing from a student perspective. The authors hope it will help to encourage a deeper discussion about funding that will encompass views of different stakeholders and that it will encourage building an agreement about the basics of what the financing systems should look like.

This document contains excerpts from Team Up for 21st Century Teaching & Learning. This document includes the excerpts of five articles that provide a substantial evidence-based argument for the power of collaborative communities to improve teaching and learning. These articles are: (1) Professional Communities and the Artisan Model of Teaching (Joan E. Talbert and Milbrey McLaughlin); (2) Professional Learning Communities: A Review of the Literature (Louise Stoll, Ray Bolam; Agnes McMahon, Mike Wallace, and Sally Thomas); (3) A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation of Teacher Collaboration for School Improvement and Student Achievement in Public Elementary Schools (Yvonne L. Goddard, Roger D. Goddard, and Megan Tschannen-Moran); (4) Moving the Learning of Teaching Closer to Practice: Teacher Education Implications of School-Based Inquiry Teams (Ronald Gallimore, Bradley A. Ermeling, William M. Saunders, and Claude Goldenberg); and (5) Tracing the Effects of Teacher Inquiry on Classroom Practice (Bradley A. Ermeling). Case studies written by skilled practitioners who are working today in PLCs in schools around the country are also presented. The teachers in each of these schools have redefined their roles as they have become members of a professional community composed of accomplished teachers, novice and student teachers, and teacher coaches. Each case study tells the story of the process of developing learning teams, overcoming obstacles, and ultimately changing teaching to improve learning and student achievement through collaborative work. Individual excerpts contain resources. [Support for this paper was provided by the Pearson Foundation.]

While issues of higher education access, opportunity, and impact are hotly debated on the floors of Congress and in state legislatures, it is the state's higher education executive officer (SHEEO) who is expected to be an innovative policymaker, an astute political actor, an all-seeing fortune-teller, and a rapid problem-solver. These professionals must achieve a balancing act between political agendas and academic freedom while ensuring that the institutions they represent are maximizing their contribution to the larger public good and preparing students to become contributing citizens. In this volume, scholars and practitioners come together to explore the position of the SHEEO. Chapters present historical investigations, original research, and reflections and advice for current and aspiring SHEEOs, their agency staff and boards, state policy leaders, and students of state policymaking and higher education. Each chapter ends with recommendations for the continuing study of, and attention to, the important role of the SHEEO. Book features include: (1) an entire volume solely dedicated to SHEEOs--the individuals responsible for state higher education policy coordination and leadership; (2) contributions from renowned scholars from higher education, public policy, political science, and public administration, as well as seasoned SHEEOs; (3) practical advice, high quality and original empirical investigations, and theoretical considerations related to state higher education leadership and governance; and (4) a new research agenda with ideas for potential projects outlined at the end of each chapter. Following an introduction by the editors, this book contains the following chapters: (1) The Origins and Evolving Roles of State Higher Education Executives in American Higher Education (Paul E. Lingenfelter); (2) The SHEEO and the Public Good (Neal Holly); (3) State Leadership for Student Success (Richard G. Rhoda and Kristen C. Linthicum); (4) Letter to a New SHEEO (Thomas D. Layzell); (5) The State Higher Education Executive Officer and Higher Education Finance and Policy (Alicia Kinne-Clawson and William M. Zumeta); (6) The Role of the SHEEO and the Board in Changes in Higher Education Governance (Randall W. Hanna and Jason P. Guilbeau); (7) The SHEEO and Intermediary Organizations (Erik C. Ness, James C. Hearn, and Paul G. Rubin); (8) Politics and Presidents (Tracey Bark and Alisa Hicklin Fryar); (9) Modern Era Trends in State Higher Education Coordination, Governance, and Alternatives for the Future (Brian A. Sponsler and Mary Fulton); (10) Theoretical Perspectives on the SHEEO (David A. Tandberg and Jacob T. Fowles); and (11) Data, Measures, Methods, and the Study of the SHEEO (T. Austin Lacy and David A. Tandberg). The book concludes with final thoughts by David A. Tandberg, Brian A. Sponsler, Randall W. Hanna, and Jason P. Guilbeau. Includes a section about the editors and contributors. Contains an index. [Foreword by Robert E. Anderson.]

Among the many models of school reform that have emerged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, one has endured for more than 50 years: the School Development Program (SDP). Established in 1968 by renowned child psychiatrist James P. Comer and the Yale Child Study Center, the SDP is grounded in the belief that successful schooling--particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds--must focus on the whole child. With that in mind, the SDP encompasses both academics and social-emotional development, and it is founded on positive and productive relationships among students, teachers, school leaders, and parents. "With the Whole Child in Mind" describes the SDP's six developmental pathways (cognitive, social, psychological, physical, linguistic, and ethical) and explains how the program's nine key components (in the form of mechanisms, operations, and guiding principles) create a comprehensive approach to educating children for successful outcomes. Firsthand recollections by Comer, school leaders and teachers, and SDP staff members provide an inside look at the challenges and successes that eventually transformed severely underperforming schools into models of excellence. Linda Darling-Hammond, one of the country's foremost experts on K-12 education, and her colleagues argue persuasively for the continuing relevance of the SDP. Far too many schools still operate in a high-pressure environment that emphasizes testing and standardized curricula while ignoring the fundamental importance of personal connections that make a profound difference for students. Fifty years on, the SDP is still just as powerful as ever. [Foreword by Hugh B. Price.]

These qualitative case studies give the prospective superintendent a real-life look at life on the other side of the district CEO's desk. Two dozen superintendents reflect upon their first challenges and growth opportunities that arose during that all-important first year. They tell it like it is, no sugar-coating. The experiences they listed, in each of the 13 chapters, are invaluable to new or beginning superintendents. This book is also helpful for the superintendent mentor as they assist new superintendents in being successful. The following chapters are contained in this book: (1) What Kind of People Become Superintendents? (2) What the "Moving In" Day Was Like; (3) What Kinds of People Visit Superintendents Right Away? (4) Discovery: The Real State of the Fiscal Union; (5) That First Board Meeting; (6) First Meeting with Supervisory Staff; (7) What Was the First Encounter with an Angry Parent or Patron Like? (8) School Property and the "Proprietary Role"; (9) School Bond Elections; (10) First Significant Legal Challenge; (11) First Evaluation of Supervisory/Administrative Staff; (12) Trends in Academic Achievement the First Year(s); and (13) Knowing When It is Time to Move.

This book provides a framework for viewing technology, especially the new digital technologies, as an agent of positive change within universities. The goal is to assist the reader in developing a more complete understanding of how teaching and learning, knowledge generation and preservation, organizational design and evaluation, and leadership can function together to produce a new responsiveness and diversity within higher education. The chapters are: (1) "Higher Education in an Era of Digital Competition: Global Consequences" (Donald E. Hanna); (2) "Emerging Approaches to Learning in Collegiate Classrooms" (Donald E. Hanna); (3) "Advanced Technologies and Distributed Learning in Higher Education" (Chris Dede); (4) "Emerging Organizational Models: The Extended Traditional University" (Donald E. Hanna); (5) "The Distance Education/Technology-Based Universities" (Donald E. Hanna); (6) "New Players on the Block: For-profit, Corporate, and Competency-based Learning Universities" (Donald E. Hanna); (7) Leadership in the Age of Knowledge" (Janet Poley); (8) "Who Owns Knowledge in a Networked World?" (John Tallman); (9) "Ethics and Technology: Challenging Issues, Enlightened Choices in a Technoethnic Society" (Donald Olcott, Jr.); (10) "Global Access to Learning: Gender, Poverty, and Race" (Janet Poley); (11) "Redefining Faculty Policies and Practices for the Knowledge Age" (Donald Olcott, Jr. and Kathy Schmidt); (12) "Integrated Technology Systems Design: A Model for Aligning Pedagogical Quality with Learning Technology" (Kathy Schmidt and Donald Olcott, Jr.); (13) "Learning and the Web: Reflections on Assessment" (Gary Brown); and (14) "A Vision for the Future: Choices and Challenges for Colleges and Universities" (Donald E. Hanna). Each chapter contains references. (SLD)

This book offers information and insights for university dance educators and their students, administrators, policy makers, parents, dance instructors, dancers, and dance enthusiasts. Part 1, "Understanding Dance Education," explains key features of the discipline of dance and how it is a performing, liberal, physical, and applied art. Its four chapters include (1) "Is Dance a Distinct Body of Knowledge?" (2) "The Power of Dance Well Taught," (3) "Survival of Dance Education," and (4) "Who Should Teach Dance?" Part 2, "Learning In, About, and Through Dance," describes how to teach social, academic, and career skills through dance. Its chapters include (5) "Teaching Academic, Citizenship, and Workplace Skills Through Dance," (6) "Dance Education for At-Risk Youth," (7) "Children's Dance at Play as a Teaching Tool," (8) "National Identity and Cultural Diversity in Dance Education," (9) "Dance Education and Gender," and (10) "Dance Education and Stress." A finale, "Overcoming Obstacles and Moving Forward," discusses hurdles to dance education's success and notes promising pathways to overcome these obstacles. The three appendixes include discussion questions, an outline of National Dance Education Standards, and dance education resources. (SM)

This book is intended to guide the reader in the process of designing his or her career and achieving it. Chapter 1 begins with a look at self: developing areas of self, personality type, self-concept, and self-efficacy, making positive personality changes, sharpening basic skills, and evaluating career potential. Chapter 2 explores developing positive interactions and relationships with others through: open-mindedness, assertiveness, and communication. Chapter 3 examines getting what one wants: seeking career and job satisfaction, achieving goals, researching careers, jobs, and employers, and planning and conducting a job search. Chapter 4 covers career writing: developing a resume, writing a cover letter, writing other letters, and filling out a job application. Chapter 5 focuses on the job interview: preparing for an interview and selling oneself during the interview. Chapter 6 addresses one's career path: rejecting of an offer, negotiating and accepting of an offer, beginning a new job, making contacts, handling evaluations, continuing to learn, advancing in one's career, changing careers and jobs, owning one's own business, and ending one's career. Chapter 7 explores relationships in the work environment: promoting positive relations, managing conflict effectively, dealing with difficult people, and forgiving and moving on. Chapter 8 discusses challenges in the workplace: discrimination, sexual harassment, family issues, time management, burnout, and stress. Each chapter concludes with lists of key points and recommended reading. (Contains 151 references, activities for each chapter, and an index.) (YLB)

Intended for teachers of severely and profoundly retarded children, the book presents principles of management and education used at a special day care center in Warsaw, Poland. It is stressed that the educational goal is to give the retarded child a chance to develop personally and to play a positive social role in the home and family structure with emphasis on socialization skills. Individual chapters focus on the following topics: guidelines for educational work in the day center, pupil characteristics, an individual therapeutic approach, teaching purposeful motor behavior (including socialization through rhythmics), education for socially oriented behavior, and developing verbal communication. Case studies, photographs, and actual dialogue are used to illustrate main points. (DB)

Begun as a study of the impact of participation on the abilities and practices in Literacy Volunteers of New York City (LVNYC), this book is a snapshot in time of the lives of five adults. It describes their participation in a literacy program and contains their tales of change, courage, shame, struggle, and triumph. Section I presents profiles of five program participants and the instructional program at LVNYC. Each student tells a unique story and helps readers understand different facets of change. The LVNYC instructional program is the subject of the final profile in the section, helping readers understand more details of students' experiences in the program. Section II proposes a framework for how adults move through a profound transformation of identity and world-view as they move further into the literate culture. It proposes that culture and literacy practices are interwoven; it is not possible to change one without an impact on the other. The framework draws heavily on a model proposed by Lofland and Stark (1965) for identity change. Section III explores the implications of this framework for literacy students, educators, and others interested in personal change in the complex social world. This includes asking practitioners to become more reflective about their philosophy of education and their values and to view literacy education as a partnership with their students. An appendix details the study methodology, which included open-ended focus group interviews, individual interviews, and observations. Contains 74 references and an index. (YLB)

This branching programmed instructional workbook focuses on how people behave when they hear messages. Included are materials on audience/receiver behavior and a self-instructional supplement to materials that are a part of other communication studies. Drawings and diagrams illustrate the discussions of self-analysis, selection of audiences and audience situations, time analysis, and all major audience analysis considerations that help to determine how people behave when they receive messages. If wrong answers are given, the book directs the learner to alternative selections for instruction designed to eliminate the reason for the errors. The book includes objectives at the beginning of each chapter. (RB)

This book stresses that the social studies curriculum in U.S. elementary and secondary schools is the basic core for conveying to new generations the concepts, values, and abilities that will allow the society to survive and prosper. In the 1950s, the concern was over the adequacy of courses being taught and the lack of a cohesive structure that would inspire the values of a democratic nation. This book contains reprints of articles by Paul Hanna written from 1957 to 1965, presenting his ideas on such a curriculum and stating his recognition of the potential dangers of a federally dictated school curriculum. Sections of the book include: (1) Introduction; (2) "Society-Child-Curriculum"; (3) "Design for a National Curriculum"; and (4) "Educating Today's Youth--Tomorrow's Citizens." (EH)

Business schools provide an interesting context for studies from cultural perspectives. Both outsiders and insiders to these universities maintain distinctive stereotypes that are supposed to describe business students' and teachers' orientations and values. This chapter looks back and reflects on a narrative study on businessschool culture (Leppälä and Päiviö 2001). In the end, the study in question became an intervention into the local culture of a business school.2 My account of the project will present an example of how university studying, and more particularly, business studying, can be approached both culturally and in the spirit of participative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A problem of cyclic movement of measurement field (artery segment) occurs in the approaches focused on coronary flow measurement based on densitometric analysis of coronarographic images. The realized algorithm of automatic artery segment tracking based on template matching method makes possible to trace the results of automatic detection of characteristic points within the structure of arteries, correction of fault matching and incorporation of received movement trajectories for analysis of both the sequence range, where there occurs the lack of X-ray indicator within the tested artery fragment (so its not visible on the screen) and the part of myocardium, close to the characteristic point, what makes possible to the myocardium perfusion estimation on the basis of coronarographic images. Estimated error of the automatic analysis is less than 11%. Introduced system is acceptable for routine clinical testing due to short time for sequence analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operation of Water Condensation Particle Counters (WCPCs) was verified under laboratory conditions. Variation in the detection efficiency as a function of supersaturation is addressed to differences in heterogeneous nucleation rate and critical cluster size. Experimental results were reproduced with a fluid dynamics simulation, when the heterogeneous nucleation process was applied to the activation and growth to detectable sizes. The sensitivity of the WCPC to chemical composition was utilized in a Condensation Particle Counter Battery in field conditions. Keywords Condensation Particle Counters, heterogeneous nucleation, atmospheric aerosols [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulse height analysis of white light scattered from the droplets formed in the CPC condenser was applied to distinguish between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation with high butanol supersaturation. With this method the activation of calibration aerosol particles down to ca. 1.5 nm was clearly observable. Experimental results show that the instrument described here is a powerful tool in atmospheric sub-3 nm aerosol particle measurements. Keywords Condensation particle counter, pulse height analysis, detection efficiency, clusters [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thermodynamically consistent formalism is applied to calculate the reversible work needed to form an embryo of a new phase on a charged insoluble conducting sphere within a uniform macroscopic mother phase. An approximate procedure for the calculation of formation free energy of a spherical cap like embryo is described. Keywords Heterogeneous nucleation, ion-induced nucleation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed a two-component heterogeneous nucleation model which includes the exact calculation of the kinetic pre-factor using the correct heterogeneous Zeldovich factor for a two-component system. The model is tested by comparing its predictions with a simplified model and with experimental data for water-n-propanol nucleating on silver particles. Keywords Heterogeneous nucleation, cluster [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have performed Monte Carlo simulations of homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleations of Lennard-Jones argon clusters. We interpreted the simulation results using the major concept posing a difference between the homogeneous and heterogeneous classical nucleation theories, the contact parameter. Our results show that the concept describes the cluster-substrate interaction surprisingly well, even for very small molecular clusters. The use of the classical theory concept results in an underestimation of the heterogeneous nucleation rate by 2-3 orders of magnitude. The main contribution is induced by the failure of the classical theory of homogeneous nucleation to predict the energy involved in bringing one molecule from the vapor to the cluster for clusters containing less than approximately 15 molecules. Keywords Heterogeneous nucleation, Monte Carlo simulations, argon [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have been modeling binary nucleation in the Martian atmosphere, which has not been investigated before. The properties of the nucleating water- carbon dioxide system are unknown, which brings up the need for assumptions. The binary nucleation model shows interesting results for binary nucleation at the initial stages of unary water nucleation, but only when assuming ideal mixture. The nonideal mixture is less favorable for the process. Keywords Heterogeneous nucleation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have interpreted the results of molecular Monte Carlo simulations from the perspective of line tension in heterogeneous nucleation. Our method enables a numerical estimate of the line tension from the Monte Carlo data. For our test case, Lennard-Jones argon nucleating on platinum substrate the obtained line tension value is t = 1.2 × 10−12 N, which is in the range of earlier reported line tension values for other substances. Keywords Heterogeneous nucleation, Monte Carlo simulations, line tension [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new form of the nucleation theorems applicable to heterogeneous nucleation. The heterogeneous nucleation theorems allow direct determination of properties of nanoclusters formed on pre-existing particles from measured heterogeneous nucleation probabilities. The theorems can be used to analyse the size (first theorem) and the energetics (second theorem) of heterogeneous clusters independent of any specific nucleation model. Keywords Heterogeneous nucleation, critical cluster, nucleation theorems [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have incorporated the concept of line tension in the derivation of the first nucleation theorem in the case of a one-component system. The derivative of the critical cluster formation energy still gives the total number of the molecules in the cluster: the sum of the number of molecules in the bulk liquid and the number of molecules along the three-phase contact line. Keywords Heterogeneous nucleation, critical cluster, line tension [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use quantum chemical calculations to attempt to explain why sulfuric acid produced in situ via the reaction of OH radicals with SO2 in the presence of water vapor nucleates so much better than sulfuric acid taking from liquid phase. We test whether or not selected formation reaction intermediates or alternative reaction products could take part in nucleation. We have calculated binding energies for the (H2SO4)2, HOSO2•H2SO4and HSO4•H2SO4dimers at the RI-MP2/QZVPP level. Our calculations indicate that the binding between H2SO4and either of these radicals is weaker than the binding between two H2SO4molecules. The binding of these intermediates to sulfuric acid is therefore not likely to explain the observations. Keywords Homogeneous nucleation, sulfuric acid, quantum chemistry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied sulfuric acid-water clusters using molecular dynamics method. We have first simulated clusters containing water and undissociated sulfuric acid molecules. To explore the influence of molecular dissociation on cluster structure, we have also studied clusters containing water and bisulfate-hydronium ion pairs. Simulations show that sulfuric acid tends to lie on the cluster surface whereas bisulfate is inside. Keywords Homogeneous nucleation, sulfuric acid, cluster structure [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied the reactions of sulfuric acid with stabilized Criegee Intermediates (sCIs) and secondary ozonides formed in the ozonolysis of biogenic mono- and sesquiterpenes. Activation energy calculations on model species show that the reaction between sulfuric acid and sCIs is almost barrierless. If the lifetime of biogenic sCIs in the atmosphere is sufficiently long for them to undergo bimolecular reactions, then the sCI plus sulfuric acid reaction could account some part of the organically assisted new-particle formation events observed in the atmosphere. If, on the other hand, unimolecular formation of secondary ozonides is the main sink reaction of sCIs, then the reactions between sulfuric acid and the secondary ozonides could be of atmospheric importance. For the secondary ozonide formed from a-pinene, we have found a strongly exothermic reaction which results in the formation of a sulfuric acid monoester plus a water molecule. However, this reaction may have high activation energy. Keywords Nucleation, sulfuric acid, Criegee intermediate, secondary ozonide, quantum chemistry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas-liquid nucleation of 1,000 Lennard-Jones atoms is simulated to evaluate temperature regulation methods and methods to obtain nucleation rate. The thermostats compared are the Berendsen and Andersen thermostats, of which the Andersen thermostat yields nucleation rates about two times higher than the Berendsen thermostat. The nucleation rates are obtained both through direct observation of times of nucleation onset and by the method of Yasuoka and Matsumoto. The nucleation rates obtained with the latter method are about three times higher than those obtained with direct observation. Keywords Nucleation, molecular dynamics, thermostat [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have calculated the work of formation of Lennard-Jones (LJ) and water clusters with Monte Carlo simulations. A comparison to classical nucleation theory shows that down to very small cluster sizes, the liquid drop model accurately describes the work required to add a monomer to the cluster. The liquid drop model only fails in its description of the smallest of clusters. This results in an erroneous absolute value for the cluster work of formation throughout the whole size range. Keywords Nucleation theory, cluster [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent quantum chemical studies indicate that ammonia significantly enhances the formation of sulfuric acid-water clusters containing multiple sulfuric acid molecules. Our calculations on clusters containing up to three sulfuric acid molecules indicate a lower limit of 1:3 for the NH3:H2SO4mole ratio of nucleating clusters in atmospheric conditions. However, computations on NH3-H2SO4cluster cores also indicate an upper limit of 1:1, which is unlikely to be exceeded in any atmospheric conditions. Ammonia is also predicted to be only weakly bound to the HSO4− ion, and should thus not play a significant role in ion-induced nucleation of the sulfuric acid-water system. Keywords Nucleation, sulfuric acid, ammonia, quantum chemistry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of retirement savings can be considered from a prescriptive (normative) approach, for which the primary question is how much should a household accumulate for retirement. The topic can also be considered from a descriptive (positive) approach, for which the most important question is whether households are saving enough for retirement. Because analyses using the descriptive approach depend on assumptions about whether households are saving enough for retirement, the two approaches are related. In this chapter we review concepts and literature related to both approaches. We conclude with a discussion of whether households in the United States are saving enough for retirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution of goods based on road services in urban areas, usually known as City Logistics, contributes to traffic congestion and is affected by traffic congestion, generates environmental impacts and incurs in high logistics costs. Therefore a holistic approach to the design and evaluation of City Logistics applications requires an integrated framework in which all components could work together that is must be modelled not only in terms of the core models for vehicle routing and fleet management, but also in terms of models able of including the dynamic aspects of traffic on the underlying road network, namely if Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) applications are taken into account. This paper reports on the modelling framework developed in the national projects SADERYL-I and II, sponsored by the Spanish "Dirección General de Ciencia y Tecnología" (DGCYT) and tested in the European Project MEROPE of the INTERREG IIIB Programme. The modelling framework consists of a Decision Support System whose core architecture is composed by a Data Base, to store all the data required by the implied models: location of logistic centres and customers, capacities of warehouses and depots, transportation costs, operational costs, fleet data, etc.; a Database Management System, for the updating of the information stored in the data base; a Model Base, containing the family of models and algorithms to solve the related problems, discrete location, network location, street vehicle routing and scheduling; a Model Base Management System, to update, modify, add or delete models from the Model Base; a GIS based Graphic User Interface supporting the dialogues to define and update data, select the model suitable to the intended problem, generate automatically from the digital map of the road network the input graph for the Network Location and Vehicle Routing models, apply the corresponding algorithm, visualize the problem and the results, etc. To account for the dynamics of urban traffic flows the system includes an underlying dynamic traffic simulation model (AIMSUN in this case) which is able to track individually the fleet vehicles, emulating in this way the monitoring of fleet vehicles in a real time fleet management system, gathering dynamic data (i.e. current position, previous position, current speed, previous speed, etc.) while following the vehicle, in a similar way as the data that in real life an equipped vehicle could provide. This is the information required by a "Dynamic Router and Scheduler" to determine which vehicle will be assigned to the new service and which will be the new route for the selected vehicle [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a simple parametric system to generate an almost complete set of ruled surfaces that may be used to describe building geometry. The major classes of regular, named ruled surfaces can be generated from a limited set of curves. Each of these is shown to be reducible to a transformation of a single standard curve, a helix, and therefore represented by a limited set of six parameters. Six extra parameters can position each surface on a global coordinate system. The representation is designed to be flexible enough to represent both planar and curvilinear forms, producing a description of form from minimal data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently more than 800 laboratories perform nucleic acid-based tests of human samples for the identification of genetic diseases, malignancies, infectious organisms, patient or sample identification, and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing.1 The operation of a clinical molecular pathology laboratory requires integration of expertise in medical, scientific, and clinical molecular pathology, resources including facilities, equipment, and personnel, and skills in organization, administration, management, and communication. Quality service is achieved by adherence to clinical laboratory regulations, from specimen collection and processing to reporting of patient results. This chapter reviews fundamental knowledge important for the management and operation of a clinical molecular pathology laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the complementary roles of modelling and proof. The two are inseparably linked, and the authors argue that this should be reflected in teaching. Two examples are discussed. The first describes a teaching unit using arguments from statics to prove geometrical theorems, the second discusses the role of thought experiments in general and a specific thought experiment for deriving Pick's formula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In both industrialized and developing countries, childhood immunization has become one of the most important and cost-effective public health interventions. National immunization programs have prevented millions of deaths since WHO initiated the ‘Expanded Program on Immunization' in 1974. Smallpox was eradicated in 1979, poliomyelitis is on the verge of eradication, and two thirds of developing countries have eliminated neonatal tetanus. Global immunization coverage was at 78% in 2005. Through their impact on childhood morbidity and mortality, immunization programs are contributing to reaching the ‘Millennium Development Goal 4' — a two-thirds reduction of under-five mortality by 2015. However, the failure to reach more than 20% of the world's children with existing vaccines was responsible for at least 2.5 million of an estimated 10.5 million deaths of children under 5 years, mainly in developing countries. Of these deaths, 1.4 million could have been prevented by vaccines currently recommended by WHO. Rapid progress in our understanding of the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, immunology, and biotechnology has increased the number of candidate vaccine antigens available. Pressures are growing on public health decision makers to establish evidence-based ways to decide which new vaccines should be introduced on a large scale into national immunization programs. The gap in access to new vaccines between the developing and industrialized worlds is still wide, and wealthy countries are still the first to introduce and use new vaccines. Interest from countries and partner agencies in vaccination, as one of the most cost-effective public health interventions, continues to be strong, also due to rapid progress in biotechnology and vaccine development and the emergence of global infectious disease threats, including HIV/AIDS, SARS, and influenza. The establishment of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization has focused global activities to support vaccination programs through raising considerable funds, and to assist especially poorer countries in improving and expanding their vaccination programs. Global efforts concentrate on further reducing the gap in the access to all existing vaccines between industrialized and developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors consider the opposite homecomings of Odysseus and of Agamemnon, two main characters of the Homeric poem "Odyssey." The authors describe how the Muse, the daughter of Zeus narrates the struggles of Odysseus on Calypso's island in his effort to return to his family in Ithaca. The return of Greek leader Agamemnon, and its consequences in the next generation, then, become the narrative warp upon which the return of Odysseus is woven, the authors argued.

Colon cancer is curable by surgery, but frequently recurs despite apparently complete surgical resection. The risk of such recurrence is closely linked to pathological stage. The concept of adjuvant chemotherapy was conceived many years ago as a way of eradicating microscopic residual disease, and proven by randomized clinical trials in colon cancer in the 1980s. Since that time, many important trials have been completed, and both our understanding of and armamentarium against locoregionally confined colon cancer have improved as a result. Despite this, certain aspects of adjuvant therapy remain controversial, particularly the use of adjuvant therapy in patients with node-negative colon cancer. In this chapter we review the studies that proved adjuvant 5-FU-based therapy effective, discuss controversies in adjuvant therapy, review recent trials with additional agents, and finally discuss the potential for molecular markers to augment stage in determining risk and response to therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the estimation of time-varying Multi-Carrier Direct-Sequence Code DivisionMultiple Access (MC-DS-CDMA) fading channels using a training-aided scheme. Our approach consists in using an optimal filtering based on a linear state-space model of the fading channel system. In that case, two issues have to be investigated: 1) what kind of optimal filtering can be used? 2) how to estimate the state-space matrices? Thus, Kalman filtering can be considered. It is optimal in the H2 sense providing the underlying state-space model is Gaussian and accurate. However, as these assumptions may no longer be satisfied in real cases, we propose to study the relevance of H∞ filtering. More particularly, when an explicit AR model is used for the channel, our first solution consists in estimating the fading channel and its AR parameters by means of two-cross-coupled H∞ filters. Instead of AR model based-estimators, our second contribution is to view the channel estimation as a realization issue where the state-space matrices are estimated by using subspace methods for system identification without any a priori explicit model for the channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]