Fire synthesis

The novel ‘solution combustion method’ or ‘fire synthesis’ has been used to make high temperature synthesised ceramic materials. The process, which can be initiated at low temperature, is self-propagating and gas producing. Fine particle alumina and its related oxides can be easily prepared in bulk by the redox mixture method.     

Developing strong transition-focused IEPS using labour market data

Employment rates and post-school transition outcomes for individuals with disabilities remain alarmingly low compared to peers without disabilities. Transition-Focused Individualized Education Plans (TF-IEPs) often centre on skills associated with employment experience opportunities that are immediately available to the individual with a disability. While the transition plans focus on the student's strengths and areas of interest, less attention is paid to the guidance and support a student might need in choosing a sustainable career. We contend that teams must develop transition plans with specific attention to projected labour market data. Using this information will ensure that we are preparing students with disabilities for long-term success. This article describes how school teams can use an in-depth labour market analysis to develop robust transition plans. These plans will prepare students for careers that will last far into the future.     

A Second-Order Conditionally Linear Mixed Effects Model With Observed and Latent Variable Covariates

A conditionally linear mixed effects model is an appropriate framework for investigating nonlinear change in a continuous latent variable that is repeatedly measured over time. The efficacy of the model is that it allows parameters that enter the specified nonlinear time-response function to be stochastic, whereas those parameters that enter in a nonlinear manner are common to all subjects. In this article we describe how a variant of the Michaelis–Menten (M–M) function can be fit within this modeling framework using Mplus 6.0. We demonstrate how observed and latent covariates can be incorporated to help explain individual differences in growth characteristics. Features of the model including an explication of key analytic decision points are illustrated using longitudinal reading data. To aid in making this class of models accessible, annotated Mplus code is provided.     

Geben und Nehmen

Zusammenfassung Lange haben alltagsweltliche überzeugungen und sozialwissenschaftliche Theorien darin übereingestimmt, die Beziehung zwischen den erwachsenen Generationen in der Familie habe sich im Zuge der gesellschaftlichen Modernisierung und der Entwicklung des Wohlfahrtsstaates zunehmend aufgel?st. Die neuere empirische Forschung weist jedoch nach, dass diese Beziehung überwiegend nach wie vor eng ist und dass darin auch betr?chtliche Versorgungsleistungen erbracht werden. Wir vertiefen diesen Nachweis auf einem bisher vernachl?ssigten Gebiet, n?mlich den materiellen Transfers zwischen den Generationen, und verbinden diese familialen Austauschprozesse mit dem wohlfahrtsstaatlichen „Generationenvertrag“. Es zeigt sich, dass die familialen Transferleistungen — sowohl zu Lebzeiten als auch über Erbschaften — erheblich sind und dass auch die Transfers zu Lebzeiten haupts?chlich von den ?lteren zu den jüngeren Generationen gehen. Die Familie als Solidarsystem wird also durch den Wohlfahrtsstaat nicht geschw?cht, sondern im Gegenteil zu neuen Leistungen bef?higt.

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Summary Giving and Getting: The elderly between the generations Everyday popular convictions and social science theories have long agreed that the link between adult generations in the family has disintegrated due to societal modernization and the development of the welfare state. Recent empirical research has, however, shown that the ties between generations are in most cases still strong and that mutual support of considerable value is very common. In this paper we add further evidence by focusing on an area which has largely been neglected so far — material transfers between generations — and relate this exchange within the family to the “generational contract” of the welfare state. We show that private intergenerational transfers — both inter vivos and through inheritance — are substantial and that they usually flow downwards, from the older to the younger generations. We conclude that the family as a system of solidarity is not weakened but to the contrary reinforced by the welfare state.

     

Piecewise Random-Effects Modeling Software Programs

In this software review, we provide a brief overview of four different functions to fit a piecewise random-effects model with unknown changepoints (knots). Specifically, the four functions are: FitPMM from the R routine developed by (Zopluoglu, Harring, & Kohli, 2014), PROC NLMIXED from SAS, BayesPGM from the BayesianPGMM package in R developed by (Lock, Kohli, and Bose, 2018), and stancode_randomchangecorr function developed by (Brilleman, Howe, Wolfe, & Tilling, 2017) implemented to interface with Stan from R using the rstan package. We illustrate the estimation of the piecewise random-effects model using each of these functions by using a sample dataset. We provide appropriate commented code for the four functions, and briefly discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each function.