South African middle adolescents are exposed to environments riddled with potential adversities which are pervading into their lives, adding to their challenges inherent to their developmental stage. Resilient behaviour requires changes with each developmental phase and varies on a continuum of less optimum resilience to optimum resilience based on the middle adolescent’s developed modalities. Middle adolescents spend a significant time in school and therefore it is an appropriate context to foster, enhance and develop emotional-; social- and cognitive resilience competencies. There are limited psychological assessment instruments for the South African population that can be used to appraise the level of resilience modalities in middle adolescents as well as ways of enhancing and developing these resilience modalities in the school context. The aim of this ethnographic study is to describe and explore the process of how to appraise, develop and enhance the modalities of resilience of the South African middle adolescent in the school context. The research is conducted from a combined qualitative and quantitative approach which is seen as complementary to each other in a dominant-less-dominant model. The purposeful sampling consists of thirty 14-year old heterogeneous and multi-cultural participants in a private inner-city school. The data collecting strategies comprise of an open-ended question, observations and the newly developed Resilience Enhancement Kit and the Resiliency Scale. The gender specific results regarding the middle adolescents’ responses in the pre- and post tests (Resiliency Scale) after administering the Resilience Enhancement Kit indicated that there was an increase in their level of resilient functioning and therefore appears to be successful in enhancing resilience modalities. There is a discrepancy in the perception of teachers and middle adolescents’ regarding their resilient functioning. It is recommended that Educational Psychologists train teachers in administering the Resiliency Enhancement Kit and scale to incorporate it in the school curriculum. / Thesis (Phd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

We present the controlled creation of single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers via ion implantation at the center of a photonic crystal cavity which is fabricated in an ultrapure, single crystal diamond membrane. High-resolution placement of NV centers is achieved using collimation of a 5 keV-nitrogen ion beam through a pierced tip of an atomic force microscope. We demonstrate coupling of the implanted NV centers’ broad band fluorescence to a cavity mode and observe Purcell enhancement of the spontaneous emission. The results are in good agreement with a master equation model for the cavity coupling.

Compared to single-mode VCSELs, multimode VCSELs have not received much attention in models and characterizations for functional parameters, despite making up the majority of commercially available VCSELs [1]. In particular, the extraction of the linewidth enhancement factor for multimode VCSELs has been overlooked, likely due to difficulties in measurement. Additionally, multimode models for VCSELs have, until recently, omitted spectral characteristics such as linewidth [2]. This is the first work to report a measured linewidth enhancement factor value (lower bound) for a multimode VCSEL. A characterization for the functional parameters of a red multimode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is shown herein. The extracted values form a complete working set of parameters for the laser rate equations. The techniques employed for extracting values include frequency responses, power versus current fittings, and optical spectral measurements. From the frequency responses at various bias currents, the relaxation oscillation frequency and damping factor are found. The power versus current curve is fitted to find parameters including the modal spontaneous emission rate and carrier density at threshold. The spectral measurements are used for evaluating the linewidth enhancement factor (LEF) also known as the alpha factor or Henry factor. These 5 methods have been applied previously to characterizing single-mode VCSELs [3]–[5]. The experimentally extracted parameters herein are important for creating accurate models and simulations for multimode VCSELs. Improved multimode VCSEL models are necessary for improving optical communication, especially for short-range optical interconnects [2]. The measured parameters for the characterized VCSEL are comparable to similar single-mode VCSELs characterized in other works. This is promising because multi-mode VCSELs have higher output power than their single-mode counterparts, thus these results may aid in improving short-range optical interconnects.

Transhumanism is the name given to the cultural and philosophical movement which advocates radical human technological enhancement. In what follows, I use perspectives drawn from existential philosophy to problematize transhumanists' desire to recast human finitude as a series of technical problems with technical solutions. The ontological account of transhumanism offered here questions the assumed benefit and inevitability across six chapters. Following an introductory chapter, Chapter 2 introduces the key players, and present the philosophy of transhumanism and the opposing view of bioconservativism. Chapter 3 offers a narrative of transhumanism beginning with its mythical antecedents, and proceeds to describe the emergence of contemporary transhumanist institutions. Chapter 4 focuses on the challenge that transhumanists Aubrey de Grey and Ray Kurzweil present to mortality. The chapter asks whether human immortality is a coherent idea, and consider the consequences of achieving a data-driven amortality. Chapter 5 continues the analysis of transhumanism as it challenges limits to knowledge (ignorance), and limits to well-being (suffering). Ray Kurzweil is presented as a key figure of transhumanist thought, along with David Pearce, who desires to eradicate suffering through genetic engineering. The hubris of transhumanism is viewed through the lens of Friedrich Nietzsche in chapter 6. Nietzsche's critique of the "last human" is interpreted in terms of transhumanist thought, and a role for the philosopher in the context of transhumanism is presented. Finally, chapter 7 offers Buddhism as an alternative response to suffering. This chapter profiles "Buddhist Transhumanists," and consider what connection transhumanism has with Buddhism's philosophy of impermanence.

Artikelns syfte är att undersöka hur vi kan skapa en gestaltning som väcker tankar kring ‘Human Enhancement Technologies’ (Pariseau-Legault et al., 2018) genom kritisk design och VR-teknik. Detta har skett genom ett utforskande av våra fysiska händers beröring (Puig de la Bellacasa, 2009) i vardagliga aktiviteter samt spelarens beröring i en VR-upplevelse. Denna undersökning ledde till en gestaltning som vill förändra en spelares upplevda beröring i samband med en vardaglig aktivitet, där vi genom teknologiska modifikationer ger dina händer ny funktionalitet. / This article aims to research how we can design an experience that challenges our ideas about ‘Human Enhancement Technologies’ (Pariseau-Legault et al., 2018) through critical design and VR-technology. This through exploration of our hands physical touch (Puig de la Bellacasa, 2009) in everyday activities and exploring touch in Virtual Reality. This research helped to create a design that aims to change a player's touch in connection with an everyday activity where we through technological modifications give your hands new functionality.

This article is an account of how one small liberal arts university undertook a large scale curriculum integration and assessment project under the auspices of a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). After a review of relevant literature, the integration and assessment process is outlined, and the assessment data is analyzed and discussed. The integration used a tiered approach, attempting to engage students with significant IL experiences first at the lower general education level, then subsequently at the upper level in their disciplinary context. Assessment tools include widely used standardized tests and surveys as well as locally developed rubrics and surveys. While the plan satisfied the reaccreditation requirements, this is a case study and not a template; many factors would make it difficult to generalize the assessment results. More useful to IL advocates and other institutions may be the overall approach of this QEP, which aimed to be thorough enough to align with regional and national standards yet flexible enough to meet local needs.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Mental skills are critical to the development of a positive mind-set in the athlete in order to develop the ability to concentrate more, focus attention, manage arousal, develop self-esteem and thereby enhance self-confidence in competitive sport. This study was an exploratory study to investigate how well Zimbabwean inter-collegiate athletes were prepared mentally and how this was handled during their participation in inter-collegiate games. The study focused specifically on just one group of athletes, netballers.

In today's architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, building information modeling (BIM) technologies and practices are making a significant difference in how building projects are delivered. BIM models and tools let stakeholders visualize, simulate, and analyze how a building might behave, perform, or appear - with more precision than ever before. BIM technology and practices are not only improving design and construction processes by delivering projects faster, more cost effectively, and more sustainably, but are also helping BIM professionals by expanding career possibilities within the field. This paper identifies key personnel in AEC industry who are taking advantage of BIM technologies and practices and explains how BIM has enhanced their career paths. The study found that new processes of BIM enhance the careers of existing professionals and create new career paths for young professionals. Until recently, positions like BIM engineer/BIM manager did not exist, but now they are key positions in many companies. BIM is also opening up positions for young engineers in nontraditional industries like manufacturing, energy, media and entertainment, healthcare companies, and facility management.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of unilateral and bilateral plyometric exercise on peak power and jumping performance during different stages of a 12-week training and detraining in women. Forty-nine untrained but physically active female college students were randomly assigned to 1 of × groups: unilateral plyometric group (n = 16), bilateral plyometric group (BLE; n = 18), and a control group (n = 15). Peak power and jumping ability were assessed by means of the alternate leg tests (10-second Wingate test and 5 alternate leg bounds), bilateral leg test (countermovement jump [CMJ]) and unilateral leg test (unilateral CMJ). Performance indicators were measured pretraining, midtraining, posttraining, and detraining. Differences between dependent variables were assessed with a × × 4 (group × time) repeated analysis of variance with Tukey's post hoc test applied where appropriate. Effect size was calculated to determine the magnitude of significant differences between the researched parameters. Only the unilateral plyometric training produced significant (p < 0.05) improvement in all tests from pretraining to midtraining, but there was no significant (p < 0.05) increase in performance indicators from midtraining to posttraining. The BLE group significantly (p < 0.05) improved in all tests from pretraining to posttraining and did not significantly (p > 0.05) decrease power and jumping ability in all tests during detraining. These results suggest that unilateral plyometric exercises produce power and jumping performance during a shorter period when compared to bilateral plyometric exercises but achieved performance gains last longer after bilateral plyometric training. Practitioners should consider the inclusion of both unilateral and bilateral modes of plyometric exercise to elicit rapid improvements and guard against detraining.

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