No description available.

Materials such as asphalt, polymers or the Earth's crust tend to behave in a way that can be described neither with a model of viscous fluid, nor a model from solid mechanics. There are indeed models capable of capturing these so called viscoelastic phenomena far better, but they are based on the presumption of constant temperature. In many cases, e.g. in the glass industry or in geophysics, the properties of a viscoelastic material strongly depend on temperature. That is why it is precisely these changes that need to be described. There are viscoelastic models used in practice that take into account the material parameters' dependence on temperature, however, they do not consider the viscoelastic nature of the material when describing the temperature evolution. The objective of this thesis is to derive thermodynamically consistent viscoelastic models with temperature dependent parameters and the appropriate evolution equation for temperature, implementation of the models and computing simple test simulations. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Bibliographic note KULESZA, Izabela A. PATH DEPENDENCE IN AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION . Mater thesis. Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Sociological Studies. Supervisor Prof. PhDr. Arnošt Veselý, Ph.D. Abstract This thesis is concerned with the study of public education in the United States as a path-dependent phenomenon. By reviewing the historical background of the institution of education, several key sequences emerge that are foundational principles. They are: a decentralized system, secular education, universal access, decreasing the achievement gap and global competition. Testing these sequences against school choice theories shows the foundational principles behind traditional public schooling in America are being challenged. The institutional reproduction of this pathway is likely to be interrupted in the utilitarian, functional, power and legitimation explanations of path dependence theory. Keywords public education, school choice, path dependence theory Range of thesis: 66

Using 12 years of monthly sweep-net data from 9-12 permanent sampling stations, we evaluated the variability and stability of the dragonfly assemblage in Bays Mountain Lake (northeastern Tennessee, USA). To do this, we adopted the view that a stable assemblage (i.e. one capable of recovering quickly from disturbances) should have low variability (i.e. high persistence of taxa, relatively constant densities, and high rank concordance), except with disturbances more intense and frequent than those in this system. Moreover, a stable assemblage should contain populations that exhibit density dependence and should tend to remain within a restricted range of densities (boundedness), shifting toward a narrow density interval between generations (attraction). To test some specific predictions derived from these views, we analyzed 12-year sequences of larval population sizes just before the onset of emergence for the 13 dominant dragonfly taxa in the lake. Most but not all of the 13 dominant taxa persisted during the 12-year period. Variabilities of taxon densities, measured as standard deviations across generations of log-transformed population sizes, were representative of the broad range for other invertebrates but somewhat higher than those of terrestrial vertebrates. There were fewer than three significant abundance trends over the 12-year period, and rank concordance between generations was high (W=0.716). Density dependence was detected among some of the dragonfly density sequences by five different methods. Using techniques presented in the companion paper, we found strong indications of both boundedness and attraction in the whole assemblage. We conclude tentatively that an assemblage consisting of at least 11 of the 13 dominant dragonfly taxa at Bays Mountain Lake has low-to-moderate variability and is stable, but that the complete 29-species assemblage is probably not stable at the scale of this single lake. We emphasize the need for coupling such long-term descriptive analyses with studies of responses to experimental disturbances.

Opioids are powerful pain relievers, but also potent inducers of dependence and tolerance. Chronic morphine administration (via subcutaneous pellet) induces morphine dependence in the nucleus accumbens, an important dependence region in the brain, yet the cellular mechanisms are mostly unknown. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) plays an essential function in controlling innate and inflammatory responses. Using a knockout mouse lacking TLR2, we assessed the contribution of TLR2 to microglia activation and development of morphine dependence. We report here that mice deficient in TLR2 inhibit morphine-induced the levels of microglia activation and proinflammatory cytokines. Moreover, in TLR2 knockout mice the main symptoms of morphine withdrawal were significantly attenuated. Our data reveal that TLR2 plays a critical role in morphine-induced microglia activation and dependence.

The University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA) is a widely used measure of readiness to change. To evaluate the URICA's ability to discriminate among alcohol abusers with and without co-occurring major depression, the authors administered it to 193 outpatients court-referred for alcohol treatment. Estimates of internal consistency suggest that scoring the URICA using its traditional factors, as well as using the newer Readiness to Change index, produced variable yet adequately reliable scores. Further, the URICA detected statistically significant differences in motivation to change an alcohol problem between an alcohol use disorder group (AD; n = 131) and an alcohol use disorder with co-occurring depression group (AD/D; n = 62) with the AD/D group showing greater readiness to change. For the AD/D group, separate URICAs were given for alcohol use and depressed mood. Confirming previous findings, results suggest the URICA may lack sensitivity to discriminate among two simultaneously occurring psychological disorders.

A consideration of the physical principles involved in evaporative drying of soil indicates that several physical processes might possibly limit the rate of evaporation. These include the rate of supply of energy to the site of evaporation, the rate of transfer of water vapor through the sample or through the atmosphere above the sample, and the rate of unsaturated flow of water to the soil surface or to the site of evaporation.

The problem that this dissertation engages with is how the self achieves moral status or worth. I aim to show that recognition, beginning with Hegel’s dialectical treatment of recognition, is necessary to the modern conception of the value status of the individual, and therefore that the latter must be understood, first, as the value status of the self. That is to say, there is no normative standing of the individual without the self experiencing itself as a being of intrinsic worth. Second, this experience is fully dependent upon others’ acknowledgment of our intrinsic worth. In sum, recognition is constitutive of the value status of the self. To show this requires an exposition of the full significance of the Hegelian conception of recognition that includes a demonstration of the radical meaning of “dependence” in this concept. The basic premise of the dissertation is that there is a problem in how modern subjects have come to interpret their value in accordance with its codification in the reigning legal and political documents of our time, in which the value of the person is stated as a fact, an immediate possession of the self. The supposed validity of this premise is further evidenced in dominant philosophical conceptions of dignity that go back to Kant. The central problem is the commitment to the seemingly factual or given nature of the normative standing of the individual, whatever the vicissitudes in the fate of groups and individuals, which are viewed as secondary phenomena. In arguing against this premise, the dissertation is divided into two broad parts. First, because of the complexity of the ingredients of recognition in a Hegelian viewpoint—where the status of selfhood and the normative standing of the self are entwined, and where both are dependent upon experiences of recognition and misrecognition—the major part of the dissertation is a step-by-step elaboration of what is involved in the constitution of the modern value status of the individual through recognition. Second, this step-by-step elaboration will reveal the ethical meaning of recognition in Hegel. In this, we draw on recent work by J.M. Bernstein in Critical Theory, which emphasizes the ethics in Hegelian thought. The dissertation will then turn to a discussion of a phenomenon today that not only exemplifies the problem of recognition in the modern concept of intrinsic value but also fully reveals the depth and meaning of dependence in the constitution of the self’s value status. This will be a discussion of disability. Our argument is therefore that Hegel’s conception of recognition provides a critical perspective on the apparent assurances and securities of modern subjects by bringing into question and bringing to light: (1) our dependence on others in the “possession” of our individual value status; (2) the normative vulnerability that is central to the possibility of our normative standing; and (3) the need to ground philosophical ethics in experiences of vulnerability. The project will not only argue for these three theses in detailed elaborations of their conceptual components. It will also consider the phenomenon of disability as a contemporary exemplar that reveals their importance.

Research shows that friend/family opinions influence romantic relationships, with approval leading to positive outcomes (e.g, increased intimacy) and disapproval leading to negative outcomes (e.g., couple dissolution). The impact the network's opinion has on their relationship with the person is less examined. Balance theory suggests when their network disapproves, people try to change the network’s mind about the partner, their mind about their partner, or their mind about their network. If so, disapproval could lead to lowered network relationship quality, which may lead to increased romantic relationship dependence. Participants read one of four vignettes manipulating friend/parent opinion (approval/disapproval) and completed dependence/relationship quality scales. The study found that romantic and network relationship quality is hurt by network disapproval, but dependence was not affected. Any approval for the romantic relationship acted as a buffer to disapproval. Changing the source of the network listened to was another way found that people balance these relationships

Various models of density dependence predicted different evolutionary outcomes for Helicoverpa zea, Diabrotica virgifera, and Ostrinia nubilalis using simple and complex resistance evolution models, different dose assumptions and refuge proportions. Increasing available refuge increased durabilities of pyramided Plant-Incorporated-Protectants (PIPs), especially between 1-5%. For some models of density dependence and pests, additional refuge resulted in faster adaptation rates. Significant considerations should be given to a pest’s intra-specific competition in simple and complex theoretical models when designing insect resistance management plans. Life-history, refuge, and dose characteristics of a PIP had different effects on the adaptation rate of a generic pest of Bt, and unexpected outcomes occurred. Intrinsic growth rate ‘R0’ was the strongest evolutionary force, and large R0’s reduced time to resistance for a high dose PIP to similar levels as projected for a low dose PIP. This was caused by differential density dependent effects in refuge and Bt fields that elevated generational resistance increases beyond those from selection alone. Interactions between density dependence and R0 were always present and further affected the life-time of the PIPs. Varying ‘average dispersal distance’ did not affect evolutionary outcomes; however, increasing the proportion of the population engaging in dispersal often increased the durability of high dose PIPs. When resistance genes spread from a hypothetical hotspot, local resistance phenomena developed in the immediate surroundings. Higher growth rates lead resistance to spread faster through the landscape than lower rates. Increasing available refuges slowed adaptation rates to single PIPs and low dose pyramids, although non-linear trends were possible. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices at the onset of PIP commercialization slowed pest adaptation rates. For corn rootworm, interspersing non-selective periods with IPM+IRM delayed resistance evolution, yet crop rotation was the best strategy to delay resistance. For bollworm inclusion of isoline corn as an IPM tool did not increase the life-time of the PIP. A local resistance phenomenon for rootworm was maintained immediately surrounding the hotspot; random selection of mitigatory strategies in the landscape slowed adaptation rates while mitigation in the hotspot alone did not. Mitigation extended the life-time of the pyramid minimally for both corn rootworm and bollworm.