Many of the authors are presenting the advantages of fair value, but there are voices contesting this concept, because of its volatility and the tendency to subjectivism, to the manipulation of used models for evaluation. Among the advantages of fair value the following must be mentioned: utility, relevance, transparency and superior accuracy of the results and cash-flow of the company, more clearance to financial statements, total accounting of the comparable value and greater liability to the manager. However, those who criticize fair value accounting do not seem to provide any credible alternatives. Do we go back to historical cost accounting, wherein the financial assets are stated at outdated values and hence are not relevant or reliable? In the current crisis, one of the questions that were raised is: Should assets be marked down to their current throw away prices, as companies may not want to sell them at those values? This paper analyses the answer to this question, and also various controversial issues of the concept of fair value as it is presented in the current project of the IASB and FASB.


Full inclusion refers to educational practices where all students with disabilities are educated in regular classes along with nondisabled peers. Six elementary physical education specialists (5 females, 1 male) were studied to obtain their views of inclusion practices and perceived outcomes. Teacher interviews and observations revealed four main themes: (a) multiple teaching styles, (b) student outcomes, (c) teacher frustrations, and (d) differences in inclusion practices. Results indicated that schools provided little support, and teachers reported that they were inadequately prepared to teach effectively with inclusive classes. These teachers had strong feelings of guilt and inadequacy as they continued to try to be effective for all children.


Abstract Mediterranean regions have experienced significant soil degradation over the past decades. In this context, careful land observation using satellite data is crucial for understanding the long-term usage patterns of natural resources and facilitating their sustainable management to monitor and evaluate the potential degradation. Given the environmental and political interest on this problem, there is urgent need for a centralized repository and mechanism to share geospatial data, information and maps of land change. Geospatial data collecting is one of the most important task for many users because there are significant barriers in accessing and using data. This limit could be overcome by implementing a WebGIS through a combination of existing free and open source software for geographic information systems (FOSS4G). In this paper we preliminary discuss methods for collecting raster data in a geodatabase by processing open multi-temporal and multi-scale satellite data aimed at retrieving indicators for land degradation phenomenon (i.e. land cover/land use analysis, vegetation indices, trend analysis, etc.). Then we describe a methodology for designing a WebGIS framework in order to disseminate information through maps for territory monitoring. Basic WebGIS functions were extended with the help of POSTGIS database and OpenLayers libraries. Geoserver was customized to set up and enhance the website functions developing various advanced queries using PostgreSQL and innovative tools to carry out efficiently multi-layer overlay analysis. The end-product is a simple system that provides the opportunity not only to consult interactively but also download processed remote sensing data.


In the project SECMAN – SECurity MANual – a simple four-step procedure for the identification of critical road infrastructures, assessment of these infrastructures regarding various man-made threats and the determination of effective protection measures was developed. These methodologies are summarized and combined into a comprehensive best-practice manual which allows for a trans-national structured and holistic security-risk-management approach for owners and operators of road infrastructures in Europe. This paper presents the developed methodology starting from the assessment procedures of a network's criticality over an object's attractiveness and vulnerability to the selection process of appropriate protection measures.


An important part of crime investigation is the obtaining of evidence through the search and seizure of persons and things. The South African Constitution [1] recognises that state authorities should not be permitted untrammelled access to search and seize. It is a necessary incident to democracy that citizens must be protected from unjustified intrusions of privacy and property by agents of the state. Otherwise, arbitrary state actions could severely affect the personal freedom and associated fundamental rights that are intended to be a predominant feature of democratic society. In this article I consider whether or not certain provisions contained in the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 and the South African Police Service Act 68 of 1995 (hereafter the Criminal Procedure Act and the South African Police Service Act respectively) are in conflict with the Constitution. The provisions deal with search and seizure. I will also turn to the laws of foreign jurisdictions, specifically of the United States and Canada, for guidance and comparison. At the outset it should be pointed out that this article does not argue for the abolition of the search and seizure provisions contained in the Criminal Procedure Act and the South African Police Service Act . It is acknowledged albeit reluctantly, that there may still be a need for some of them. It is the investigative and enforcement measures provided for by these provisions, rather than the objectives, which are in issue here. It is submitted that there are search and seizure provisions contained in the Criminal Procedure Act and the South African Police Service Act , which are inconsistent with the spirit, purport and object of the Constitution.


You are free to share to copy, distribute and transmit the work, under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non-commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No derivative works: You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work, which can be found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode. Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author's moral rights. Persoonia 40, 2018: i– iii ISSN (Online) 1878-9080 www.ingentaconnect.com/content/nhn/pimj https://doi.org/10.3767/persoonia.2018.40.00 EDITORIAL


Our effectiveness as instructors lies ultimately in how well our students can understand and apply the concepts we teach. In response to the growing importance of accountability in the educational process and the abundance of social networking technology and communication tools available for possible classroom use, this paper will use The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to examine the adoption of established and emerging information technology in higher education classrooms. Hence, the goal of this paper is to test theoretical explanations from UTAUT in the context of higher education through the development of a set of hypotheses predicting the conditions under which classroom technology use is likely to emerge. Data collection occurred via an online survey. The instrument was sent to business faculty members teaching face-to-face classes at a southeastern university. Our findings suggest that in the context of instructors' use of technology for classroom purposes, the most important antecedents are performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and habit with more complex effects when gender is added as an interaction term. Results from this study will provide useful information on the frequency of use of technology, along with significant factors affecting its adoption in the classroom. Departmental leaders interested in the variations in individual faculty's level of inclination toward technological changes would find them particularly useful.


A GelSight sensor uses an elastomeric slab covered with a reflective membrane to measure tactile signals. It measures the 3D geometry and contact force information with high spacial resolution, and successfully helped many challenging robot tasks. A previous sensor [1], based on a semi-specular membrane, produces high resolution but with limited geometry accuracy. In this paper, we describe a new design of GelSight for robot gripper, using a Lambertian membrane and new illumination system, which gives greatly improved geometric accuracy while retaining the compact size. We demonstrate its use in measuring surface normals and reconstructing height maps using photometric stereo. We also use it for the task of slip detection, using a combination of information about relative motions on the membrane surface and the shear distortions. Using a robotic arm and a set of 37 everyday objects with varied properties, we find that the sensor can detect translational and rotational slip in general cases, and can be used to improve the stability of the grasp.


Prosecutors sometimes use what are known as "bad juror" lists to exclude particular citizens from jury service. Not only does this practice interfere with an open and fair jury-selection process, thus implicating a defendant's right to be tried by a jury of his or her peers, but it also violates potential jurors' rights to serve in this important capacity. But who is on these lists? And is a prosecutor required to disclose the lists to defense counsel? These questions have largely gone unnoticed by legal analysts. This Article addresses the prosecutor's duty to disclose bad-juror lists. It reviews the federal Freedom of Information Act, a variety of state open-records acts and their exemptions, the work-product doctrine, the fundamental-fairness doctrine, and the discriminatory use of peremptory challenges (particularly in death-penalty cases). The Article concludes by advancing recommendations for overcoming disclosure exemptions and preserving the integrity of jury selection in the face of the continued use of bad-juror lists. The judicial system in the United States is adversarial. Particularly in criminal cases, when prosecutors, who already hold enormous power, are permitted to put their thumbs on the scale of justice during jury selection, the entire system suffers — the rights of potential jurors, the rights of the defendant, the reliability of the outcome of the proceedings, and the appearance of justice.


Culverts often create barriers to the upstream migration of juvenile fish. Fish will not travel upstream under high water velocity conditions. It is hypothesized that low velocity regions exist near culvert boundaries. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine hydraulic characteristics of culverts with different flow conditions. Methods of predicting flow profiles were developed by both Chiu and Mountjoy. Two equations were compared to experimental results. The Mountjoy equation proved to yield better results for velocity profile predictions. An area of flow corresponding to a predetermined allowable velocity can be calculated using the Mountjoy equation. This can then be used in the design of culverts as fish passage guidelines. The following technical report contains a detailed description of background information, experimental methodology, the results of experimental tests, and an analysis of both the Chiu and Mountjoy equations.


"From the Industrial Revolution to the age of artificial intelligence, The Technology Trap takes a sweeping look at the history of technological progress and how it has radically shifted the distribution of economic and political power among society's members. As Carl Benedikt Frey shows, the Industrial Revolution created unprecedented wealth and prosperity over the long run, but the immediate consequences of mechanization were devastating for large swaths of the population. Middle-income jobs withered, wages stagnated, the labor share of income fell, profits surged, and economic inequality skyrocketed. These trends, Frey documents, broadly mirror those in our current age of automation, which began with the Computer Revolution. Just as the Industrial Revolution eventually brought about extraordinary benefits for society, artificial intelligence systems have the potential to do the same. But Frey argues that this depends on how the short term is managed. In the nineteenth century, workers violently expressed their concerns over machines taking their jobs. The Luddite uprisings joined a long wave of machinery riots that swept across Europe and China. Today's despairing middle class has not resorted to physical force, but their frustration has led to rising populism and the increasing fragmentation of society. As middle-class jobs continue to come under pressure, there's no assurance that positive attitudes to technology will persist. The Industrial Revolution was a defining moment in history, but few grasped its enormous consequences at the time. The Technology Trap demonstrates that in the midst of another technological revolution, the lessons of the past can help us to more effectively face the present."


What Do Citicorp, UPS and Marriott have in common? They are "breakthrough" service providers, firms that changed the rules of the game in their respective industries by consistently meeting or exceeding customer needs and expectations. To find out how these companies do it, service management experts James Heskett, Earl Sasser, and Christopher Hart put the question to the chief executive officers of fifteen of America's leading service firms attending a workshop at the Harvard Business School. Breakthrough leaders, they discovered, think very differently about their businesses than do their competitors, in distinct and well-defined ways. Now, in Service Breakthroughs, based upon five years of exhaustive research in fourteen service industries, Heskett, Sasser, and Hart show exactly what enables one or two companies in each industry to constantly set new standards for quality and value that force competitors to adapt or fail. At the heart of breakthrough performance, the authors contend, is a sometimes intuitive but thorough understanding of the "self-reinforcing service cycle" that replaces traditional management of "trade-offs." The "cycle" is a paradigm derived from the research results suggesting direct links between heightened customer satisfaction, increased customer retention, augmented sales and profit, improved quality and productivity, greater service value per unit of cost, improved satisfaction of service providers, increased employee retention, and further heightened customer satisfaction. With detailed examples and dramatic case studies of Mark Twain Bancshares, American Airlines, Florida Power & Light, Federal Express, McDonald's and many other companies, Heskett, Sasser, and Hart show how this self-reinforcing cycle of behavior differentiates breakthrough leaders from their "merely good" competitors. The authors describe how breakthrough managers develop counterintuitive, even contrarian, strategic service visions. These companies define their "service concept" in terms of results achieved for customers rather than services performed. They target market segments by focusing on psychographics - how customers think and behave - instead of demographics. And instead of viewing a service delivery system as a facility where the service is producted and sold, breakthrough firms see it as an opportunity to enhance the quality of the service. These profound differences in thought and action have brought spectacular results. For managers who wish to set the pace in their service industries, Service Breakthroughs will be essential reading.


This article is a brief review of the convoluted history of what are known as the Oregon and California forest lands, federal lands that were once the subject of a 19th century federal railroad grant, then became the focus of widespread land fraud and official corruption, which led to the Supreme Court halting land sales and Congress taking back the lands, situated in eighteen Oregon counties. Federal management of the lands in the 20th century emphasized timber harvesting, and this dominant use of the lands led to environmental lawsuits and the Endangered Species Act listing of the northern spotted owl in the early 1990s. Since 1994, the lands have been governed by the Northwest Forest Plan, which drastically limited federal timber harvests and associated local county revenues, which were based on those harvests. Several counties in southern Oregon now face public service crises, as their local tax base is insufficient to provide emergency services like fire and police.In this short version of a larger study -- written for the local bar -- we propose a solution to the funding crisis in southern Oregon that does not involve scuttling the Northwest Forest Plan and returning the lands to dominant timber use. Increasing timber harvests to fund county governments is the subject of a bill co-sponsoring by several Oregon Congressmen, and we explain why this approach would be short-sighted and environmentally unsatisfactory.


Distributional semantics tries to characterize the meaning of words by the contexts in which they occur. Similarity of words hence can be derived from the similarity of contexts. Contexts of a word are usually vectors of words appearing near to that word in a corpus. It was observed in previous research that similarity measures for the context vectors of two words depend on the frequency of these words. In the present paper we investigate this dependency in more detail for one similarity measure, the Jensen-Shannon divergence. We give an empirical model of this dependency and propose the deviation of the observed Jensen-Shannon divergence from the divergence expected on the basis of the frequencies of the words as an alternative similarity measure. We show that this new similarity measure is superior to both the Jensen-Shannon divergence and the cosine similarity in a task, in which pairs of words, taken from Wordnet, have to be classied as being synonyms or not.


Abstract Nodular cast irons are used in a wide range of industrial applications, especially in the automotive industry. SiMo-type of nodular cast iron is suitable for high-temperature applications, for example the exhaust manifolds of the combustion engines; SiCu-type of nodular cast iron is used in various components of tribotechnical units. These automotive components often work in a corrosive environment. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to compare the corrosion resistance of two types of the nodular cast irons (SiMo-type and SiCu-type). Corrosion resistance was determined by the exposure immersion test at ambient temperature. Specimens of both types of nodular cast iron were immersed in 3.5 % NaCl solution (to simulate sea water) and gradually removed from the solution after 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks. Subsequently, the weight loss (g) and the average corrosion rate (g m−2 day−1) were calculated. Experimental results show that nodular cast iron alloyed by Si and Mo has higher corrosion resistance than the nodular cast iron alloyed with Si and Cu. Moreover, the mechanical properties (evaluated by tensile test, impact bending test and hardness test) and fatigue properties of both types of nodular cast iron has been compared in the paper.


Teaching Woodwinds: A Method and Resource Handbook for Music Educators, William Dietz, General Editor, with Jerry Kirkbride/Hal Ott/ Mark Weiger/Craig Whittaker. Firstly for my double reed audience, let me say that the chapters in this text relating to the bassoon could be of use to any bassoon teacher whether teaching beginners or college students. I am adopting the text for my woodwind methods class but will also be excerpting materials to supplement my university bassoon studio teaching. As stated several times below, the descriptions and illustrations are excellent. While I have some differences of opinion about some of his pedagogical approaches, for the vast majority of the text I feel that Dietz's descriptions are right on the money.


The wonders and advantages of modern age electronics and the World Wide Web have also, unfortunately, ushered in a new age of terrorism. The growing connectivity among secure and insecure networks has created new opportunities for unauthorized intrusions into sensitive or proprietary computer systems. Some of these vulnerabilities are waiting to be exploited, while numerous others already have. Everyday that a vulnerability or threat goes unchecked greatly increases an attack and the damage it can cause. Who knows what the prospects for a cascade of failures across US infrastructures could lead to. What type of group or individual would exploit this vulnerability, and why would they do it? "Inside the Mind of a Criminal Hacker" sets the stage and cast of characters for examples and scenarios such as this, providing the security specialist a window into the enemy's mind - necessary in order to develop a well configured defense. Written by leading security and counter-terrorism experts, whose experience include first-hand exposure in working with government branches and agencies (such as the FBI, US Army, Department of Homeland Security), this book sets a standard for the fight against the cyber-terrorist. Proving, that at the heart of the very best defense is knowing and understanding your enemy. This book will demonstrate the motives and motivations of criminal hackers through profiling attackers at post attack and forensic levels. This book is essential to those who need to truly 'know thy enemy' in order to prepare the best defense. The breadth of material in "Inside the Criminal Mind" will surprise every security specialist and cyber-terrorist buff of how much they do and (more importantly) don't know about the types of adversaries they stand to face.


Foundations of Learning provided training and in-class support to teachers to help guide children's behavior and emotional development. In Newark, NJ, the program improved teachers' classroom management and productivity, reduced children's conflict with peers, and increased children's engagement. A year later, few effects for children were sustained as they entered kindergarten, but teachers were still engaged in positive practices.


As the power of computing has grown over the past few decades, the field of machine learning has advanced rapidly in both theory and practice. Machine learning methods are usually based on the assumption that the data generation mechanism does not change over time. Yet real-world applications of machine learning, including image recognition, natural language processing, speech recognition, robot control, and bioinformatics, often violate this common assumption. Dealing with non-stationarity is one of modern machine learning's greatest challenges. This book focuses on a specific non-stationary environment known as covariate shift, in which the distributions of inputs (queries) change but the conditional distribution of outputs (answers) is unchanged, and presents machine learning theory, algorithms, and applications to overcome this variety of non-stationarity. After reviewing the state-of-the-art research in the field, the authors discuss topics that include learning under covariate shift, model selection, importance estimation, and active learning. They describe such real world applications of covariate shift adaption as brain-computer interface, speaker identification, and age prediction from facial images. With this book, they aim to encourage future research in machine learning, statistics, and engineering that strives to create truly autonomous learning machines able to learn under non-stationarity.


Effectively query and modify data using Transact-SQL Master T-SQL fundamentals and write robust code for Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL Database. Itzik Ben-Gan explains key T-SQL concepts and helps you apply your knowledge with hands-on exercises. The book first introduces T-SQLs roots and underlying logic. Next, it walks you through core topics such as single-table queries, joins, subqueries, table expressions, and set operators. Then the book covers more-advanced data-query topics such as window functions, pivoting, and grouping sets. The book also explains how to modify data, work with temporal tables, and handle transactions, and provides an overview of programmable objects. Microsoft Data Platform MVP Itzik Ben-Gan shows you how to: Review core SQL concepts and its mathematical roots Create tables and enforce data integrity Perform effective single-table queries by using the SELECT statement Query multiple tables by using joins, subqueries, table expressions, and set operators Use advanced query techniques such as window functions, pivoting, and grouping sets Insert, update, delete, and merge data Use transactions in a concurrent environment Get started with programmable objectsfrom variables and batches to user-defined functions, stored procedures, triggers, and dynamic SQL


Success in free elections held after the "Arab Spring" protests in Tunisia and Egypt has brought Islamists to power through democratic means, and Islamist influence is on the rise throughout the Arab world. Much of the debate about liberal democracy's future in Arab countries focuses on the extent to which the Islamists might be moderated by their inclusion in the democratic process. There is no doubt that the prospect of gaining a share of power through elections is a strong incentive that favors the tempering of extremist positions. But until the major Islamist movements give up their core ideology, their pursuit of an Islamic state is likely to impede their ability to be full and permanent participants in democratization. The real test of the Islamists' commitment to democracy will come not while they are in power for the first time, but when they lose subsequent elections.


List of Abbreviations. Preface. Acknowledgments. 1. Challenges to the Design of Clinical Study. Development of Clinical SOPs. Selection of Study Patients, Investigators, and Study Sites. Definition of Enrolled Subjects in a Clinical Study. Definition of the Investigational Device System. Research Contract Challenges. Review of Literature. Challenges to the Design of the Study Protocol, Statistical Analysis Plan (SAP), and Selection of Study Endpoints. Masking or Blinding. Primary and Secondary Outcomes. Selection of Study Endpoints. Differences between the Primary Endpoint in FDA and CE Mark Studies. SAP and Study Endpoints. Components of the SAP for Clinical Trials. Roles and Responsibilities of the Clinical Personnel in Completing the Study Protocol. Changing the Primary Outcome during the Conduct of the Study. Definition of Primary and Secondary Endpoints. Combined "Composite" Endpoints. Surrogate Endpoints. Reducing the Study s Sample Size. Statistical Terms to Define Endpoint Measurements. Reporting Results of Clinical Trials. Superiority and Equivalence Trials. Subgroup Analysis. Challenges to ICF. Risk/Benefit Analysis. 2. Challenges to Managing the Study. Enhancing Patient Enrollment by Relaxation of Study Criteria. Compliance with the Study Protocol. Challenges Associated with Data Accuracy and Completeness. Data Analysis. Data Integrity. Criteria for Using Meta-Analysis Studies. Who Should have Access to Clinical Trial Records. Managing Study Data and Quality Assurance. Missing Data Analysis. Examination of Data across Study Sites. Challenges to Adverse Event Reporting. Adverse Event Coding Systems. Protocol Deviation Report. Adverse Event Reporting in Final Study Clinical Report. Difference between the US and EU Definitions and Reporting of Adverse Events. Adverse Event Reporting Challenges. Minimization of Bias in Clinical Trials. 3. Selection of Historic Controls. Types of Control Group in Medical Device Clinical Trials. Purpose of Control Group. Use of Placebo Control. Advantages of Randomized Control Clinical Trials. Disadvantages of Randomized Control Clinical Trials. Commonly Used Pivotal Designs. Definition of Historic Control. Objective Performance Criteria (OPC). Examples of Clinical Studies with Historic Controls. LACI Clinical Study. Left Ventricular Assist Devices. Summary of Clinical Studies. Summary of Recommendations for Historic Control. 4. Fraud and Misconduct in Clinical Trials. Fraud and Misconduct in Clinical Trials. Warning Signs of Fraud. Tips for Detecting Serious Misconduct. False Claims Act. Fraud Prevention. Policy on Handling Complaints of Misconduct. Reporting Research Misconduct. Bioresearch Monitoring Information System (BMIS). 5. Challenges to the Regulation of Medical Device. Determination of 510(K) Devices. 510(K) "Substantial Equivalence Decision Making Process". Determination of Nonsignificant Risk Devices (NSR). Similarities and Differences between Medical Device and Drug Regulations in Clinical Trials. Definitions of Drugs and Devices. Combination Products. FDA Sponsor Meetings. BIMO Inspection. Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials. 6. Challenges of Global Clinical Studies and the CE Mark Process. Global Trial Considerations. Global Harmonization Task Force Challenges. FDA Recommendations on Acceptance of Foreign Clinical Sites. Operational Tips on Conductance of Global Clinical Trials. CE Mark Process and Challenges. International Standard ISO 14155. Differences between FDA and CE Mark Clinical Trials. Challenges to CE Mark Studies. 7. Challenging FDA PMA Cases. PMA P970029 (TMR 2000 Holmium Laser System). PMA P040012 Carotid Stenting for Treating Carotid Disease. Historic Control Assumptions. Use of Angiographic Late Loss as Primary Endpoint in Drug-Eluting Stent PMA P070015 (Xience V DES). 8. Bioethics in Clinical Research. Bioethical Challenges in Clinical Studies. Good Clinical Practice for the Investigator. WHO Principles of GCP. Guidelines and Ethical Principles. IRB Review Process. Glossary of Clinical, CE Mark, and Statistical Terms. References. Index.


Evidence-Based Herbal Medicine state that clinicians are inundated with data from patients, the media, and the internet and that this material is often confusing because it is based on incomplete or biased knowledge. They maintain that few high quality evidence resources tackle this topic. Rotblatt and Ziment have attempted to meet this need by providing a synopsis of evidence in the field of herbal medicine and offering clinicians "more confident answers to patients' questions about self-administered herbal remedies". Most of the book addresses the use of 65 herbal medications, most of which are well known to clinicians (and patients), including glucosamine, chondroitin, and melatonin. For each herbal remedy, the authors extensively searched the literature for clinical trials using Medline, the Cochrane Library, and bibliographies in herbal textbooks. Unpublished and non-English language studies were included in their searches. Available evidence was analysed and assessed using the authors' "own judgment as practicing clinicians". The authors state that they primarily emphasised identifying and appraising randomised clinical trials and systematic reviews of randomised trials. No mention was made of how the authors hope to update the information. The contents are divided into 4 sections: introduction to herbal medicine, herbal evaluations, special topics, and essays and commentaries. The first section includes an introduction to evidence-based herbal medicine, herbal practices in the US, quality assurance, understanding herbal dosage forms, chemistry of herbal medicine, and herb–drug interactions. The challenges to evidence-based herbal medicine are highlighted, including the poor designs used in many studies, trials that are often done by manufacturers (not unlike many pharmaceutical trials), and the use of nonstandardised herbal preparations. Indeed, the authors mention that laboratory analysis of different brands shows that the amounts of important ingredients can vary by up to 40-fold, some samples may contain no labeled product, and some may contain unsafe contaminants. The chapter on herb–drug interactions is useful and highlights a list of herbs, medications that might interact with the herbs, and the type of evidence supporting the putative interaction. The second section of the book includes evaluations of various herbal medicines. The benefit of each medicine is rated using a scale of 1–3 leaves. One leaf indicates minimal or no evidence of clinical benefit from controlled clinical trials. Two leaves indicate that clinical benefit is suggested by controlled clinical trials, but results conflict or the evidence is not convincing. If convincing evidence of clinical benefit has been shown in several randomised controlled trials, the herbal medication rates 3 leaves. Each medication is also rated for safety: a "+" indicates that the herb is safe and well tolerated with minimal or no adverse effects based on controlled clinical trials and widespread experience, and a "−" safety rating suggests that the medicine causes significant adverse effects or interactions. Each evaluation outlines use of the herbal medicine, its pharmacology, clinical trials of the herbal medicine (including randomised controlled trials and systematic reviews), adverse events (summarising information from clinical trials and from herbal pharmacopoeias), a summary evaluation, and a list of references. A table at the end of this section provides a list of the herbal medicines categorised by levels of evidence (using the authors' "leaf" rating scale) and indications for use. The third section of the book includes a discussion of such special topics as Chinese and Mexican herbs. The final section includes discussions about the placebo effect, aromatherapy, and what the authors have learned. In the last chapter of this section, the authors address problems with the herbal medication literature and provide a list of questions that clinicians might find useful in reviewing literature in this field. Evidence-Based Herbal Medicine is clear and easy to read. Information on herbal medications can be identified and read quickly. For example, each evaluation begins with a textbox summarising the evidence. Chapters on herb–drug interactions, herb dosages, and herb evaluations are particularly useful for clinicians. I believe that the authors have achieved their goal of creating a useful resource to familiarise clinicians with the evidence in the field of herbal medicine.


This study focused on presenting a secondary source academic analysis on the nature of the architectural design processes used in the creation of post-disaster housing. The specific focus was on sustainability and the extent to which architects have managed to develop sustainable designs, both in terms of economic factors and longevity (including possible experience of future disasters). This study was necessary due to the rise in natural disasters globally over the past two decades as well as the realization that those individuals most affected by the disasters tended to be those poorest in society. The secondary data analysis found that the existing data supported the hypotheses. The current sustainable architectural designs in disaster-hit areas are linked to high economic expenditure. It is clear though that no current cheap and affordable method of sustainable housing exists apart from one example in Sri Lanka and this needs to be highlighted in the literature. It should also be noted that there are specific political and economic factors that prevent the sustainable development of post-disaster housing. Recommendations are made as to how future studies can use primary data to help discover methods of design that could be used by the wider population in regions hit frequently by natural disaster. By drawing attention to the inequality in housing in these regions through this current study, it is felt that the work has been a success and should lead to further debate and action in the near future.


Development and Modern Industrial Policy in Practice provides an up-to-date analysis of industrial policy. Modern industrial policy refers to the set of actions and strategies used to favor the more dynamic sectors of the economy. A key aspect of modern industrial policy is embedding private initiative in a framework of public action to encourage diversification, upgrading, and technological dynamism to achieve development in the twenty-first century. The book reviews key questions that policymakers ask about industrial policy, such as: who selects sectors; what is the rationale for sector selection; what are the main tools to promote sectors; what is the role of human capital; and what are the mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation? Expert contributors discuss how to undertake industrial policy effectively and examine the experiences of Australia, the EU, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, and the US.


Discover the process of e-discovery and put good practices in place. Electronic information involved in a lawsuit requires a completely different process for management and archiving than paper information. With the recent change to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure making all lawsuits subject to e-discovery as soon as they are filed, it is more important than ever to make sure that good e-discovery practices are in place. e-Discovery For Dummies is an ideal beginner resource for anyone looking to understand the rules and implications of e-discovery policy and procedures. This helpful guide introduces you to all the most important information for incorporating legal, technical, and judicial issues when dealing with the e-discovery process. You'll learn the various risks and best practices for a company that is facing litigation and you'll see how to develop an e-discovery strategy if a company does not already have one in place. E-discovery is the process by which electronically stored information sought, located, secured, preserved, searched, filtered, authenticated, and produced with the intent of using it as evidence Addresses the rules and process of e-discovery and the implications of not having good e-discovery practices in place Explains how to develop an e-discovery strategy if a company does not have one in place e-Discovery For Dummies will help you discover the process and best practices of managing electronic information for lawsuits.


In this article, the authors explore the methodological and epistemological tensions between breadth and depth with reference to a study into the experience of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease. They consider the benefits and limitations of each of two phases of the study: a generic qualitative study of narrative breadth and a descriptive phenomenological study of lifeworld depth into selected phenomena. The article concludes with a reflection on the kinds of distinctive knowledge generated by each of these two phases and the benefits of their complementary relationship with one another.


Conservation requires that species are monitored to ensure the persistence of species and ecosystem processes. In areas with large numbers of threatened species, this can be a major challenge. Here we explore prioritising species of special concern on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, conserved primarily in the Table Mountain National Park. With 307 terrestrial plant and animal species listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List (plus 208 as non-least concern) and 332 endemic to the Peninsula, it is impossible to monitor and manage all species with current resources. At a workshop of conservation managers and ecosystem and taxonomical specialists, 14 variables were incorporated into a simple scoring scheme to develop a priority listing of these species. Despite care to ensure that variables were independent, there was strong autocorrelation amongst biotic versus management variables. There was concern that biotic variables would be masked by management criteria, but this was not the case. We propose that monitoring should focus on as many top-scoring species as resources allow (including volunteers) and that setting a cut-off value for delimiting sensitive species should be eschewed. A major challenge is that many species are typical of lowland ecosystems, which are poorly represented in the national park. Although priority species for monitoring have been identified, this will need to be tempered with the monitoring costs and logistics of implementing the programme. Conservation implications: Owing to the large number of threatened and endemic species in the Cape Peninsula, it is impossible to monitor all species with current resources. Management must focus on ecosystem maintenance as species-focused management will inevitably result in conflict with other threatened species. Monitoring should focus on as many top-scoring species as resources allow. The costs and logistics of a monitoring programme still need to be worked out.


This paper considers the implications of the 2010 cancellation of the Canada mandatory long-form census in terms of citizenship and the citizen-state relation. Inspecting census questions, Statistics Canada publications, and the arguments of ethnocultural groups pushing for reinstatement of the census, we find a version of citizenship rooted in ethnocultural group membership and the mosaic metaphor. The second part of this paper seeks an historical explanation for the cultural shift away from this version of citizenship that allowed for the cancellation of the census. Here we discuss the state monopolization of gambling. Inspecting advertising and government policy we find a rhetoric of counting that encourages a risk-assessing, individualized, neoliberal, and utilitarian citizen.


[1] This study analyzes the daytime variation of aerosol with seasonal distinction by using multiyear measurements from 54 of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites over North America, South America, and islands in surrounding oceans. The analysis shows a wide range of daytime variability of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and Angstrom exponent depending on location and season. Possible reasons for daytime variations are given. The largest AOD daytime variation range at 440 nm, up to 75%, occurs in Mexico City, with maximum AOD in the afternoon. Large AOD daytime variations are also observed in the polluted mid-Atlantic United States and West Coast with maximum AOD occurring in the afternoon in the mid-Atlantic United States, but in the morning in the West Coast. In South American sites during the biomass burning season (August to October), maximum AOD generally occurs in the afternoon. But the daytime variation becomes smaller when sites are influenced more by long-range transported smoke than by local burning. Islands show minimum AOD in the morning and maximum AOD in the afternoon. The diverse patterns of aerosol daytime variation suggest that geostationary satellite measurements would be invaluable for characterizing aerosol temporal variations on regional and continental scales. In particular, simultaneous measurements of aerosols and aerosol precursors from a geostationary satellite would greatly aid in understanding the evolution of aerosol as determined by emissions, chemical transformations, and transport processes.


With the burgeoning computing power available, multiscale modelling and simulation has these days become increasingly capable of capturing the details of physical processes on different scales. The mechanical behavior of solids is oftentimes the result of interaction between multiple spatial and temporal scales at different levels and hence it is a typical phenomena of interest exhibiting multiscale characteristic. At the most basic level, properties of solids can be attributed to atomic interactions and crystal structure that can be described on nano scale. Mechanical properties at the macro scale are modeled using continuum mechanics for which we mention stresses and strains. Continuum models, however they offer an efficient way of studying material properties they are not accurate enough and lack microstructural information behind the microscopic mechanics that cause the material to behave in a way it does. Atomistic models are concerned with phenomenon at the level of lattice thereby allowing investigation of detailed crystalline and defect structures, and yet the length scales of interest are inevitably far beyond the reach of full atomistic computation and is rohibitively expensive. This makes it necessary the need for multiscale models. The bottom line and a possible avenue to this end is, coupling different length scales, the continuum and the atomistics in accordance with standard procedures. This is done by recourse to the Cauchy-Born rule and in so doing, we aim at a model that is efficient and reasonably accurate in mimicking physical behaviors observed in nature or laboratory. In this work, we focus on concurrent coupling based on energetic formulations that links the continuum to atomistics. At the atomic scale, we describe deformation of the solid by the displaced positions of atoms that make up the solid and at the continuum level deformation of the solid is described by the displacement field that minimize the total energy. In the coupled model, continuum-atomistic, a continuum formulation is retained as the overall framework of the problem and the atomistic feature is introduced by way of constitutive description, with the Cauchy-Born rule establishing the point of contact. The entire formulation is made in the framework of nonlinear elasticity and all the simulations are carried out within the confines of quasistatic settings. The model gives direct account to measurable features of microstructures developed by crystals through sequential lamination.


Conventional corrective feedback has been widely practiced but has been said to be tedious, stressful and time consuming. As such, the focus of this study is to investigate the use of an alternative method to giving corrective feedback namely, an online corrective feedback through e-mail. In order to examine if this innovative form of corrective feedback can be applied to the teaching and learning of academic writing, an experimental design was used with a control group and an experimental group of L1 Malay learners who were pursuing an academic writing course at the tertiary level. Interviews were also conducted on selected individuals to determine whether the use of online corrective feedback was practical in assisting learners improve their writing from the first draft to the final product. The statistical analysis applied to this research indicated that online corrective feedback may be an effective way to improve writing skills of learners and save time. Thus, the results showed that online corrective feedback should be potentially useful when integrated into the teaching and learning of academic writing.


The identification of performance-optimizing parameter settings is an important part of the development and application of algorithms. We describe an automatic framework for this algorithm configuration problem. More formally, we provide methods for optimizing a target algorithm's performance on a given class of problem instances by varying a set of ordinal and/or categorical parameters. We review a family of local-search-based algorithm configuration procedures and present novel techniques for accelerating them by adaptively limiting the time spent for evaluating individual configurations. We describe the results of a comprehensive experimental evaluation of our methods, based on the configuration of prominent complete and incomplete algorithms for SAT. We also present what is, to our knowledge, the first published work on automatically configuring the CPLEX mixed integer programming solver. All the algorithms we considered had default parameter settings that were manually identified with considerable effort. Nevertheless, using our automated algorithm configuration procedures, we achieved substantial and consistent performance improvements.


We define a higher spin alternating sign matrix to be an integer-entry square matrix in which, for a nonnegative integer $r$, all complete row and column sums are $r$, and all partial row and column sums extending from each end of the row or column are nonnegative. Such matrices correspond to configurations of spin $r/2$ statistical mechanical vertex models with domain-wall boundary conditions. The case $r=1$ gives standard alternating sign matrices, while the case in which all matrix entries are nonnegative gives semimagic squares. We show that the higher spin alternating sign matrices of size $n$ are the integer points of the $r$-th dilate of an integral convex polytope of dimension $(n{-}1)^2$ whose vertices are the standard alternating sign matrices of size $n$. It then follows that, for fixed $n$, these matrices are enumerated by an Ehrhart polynomial in $r$.


Modern legal scholars frequently and increasingly base their analyses on the assumption, grounded largely in the extensive experimental literature, that individuals are subject to a number of systematic behavioral biases. Within the legal literature, behavioral economic analysis has been relied upon to generate a significant number of proposals for paternalistic regulation. These proposals are frequently accompanied by claims that neoclassical economics is insufficiently flexible to deal with these empirical observations, and that behavioral law and economics is as a superior guide for policy analysis. These claims must ultimately be resolved empirically and turn on whether incorporating insights from behavioral economics improves our ability to explain the law, understand the behavior of economic agents, or predict the consequences of legal change. This paper focuses on the shared interest of both neoclassical and behavioral economists in empiricism and explanatory power. It asks whether behavioral economic analysis of law has increased our knowledge in an area of "consumer contracts." Specifically, the paper surveys the available empirical evidence to assess claims from the behavioral law and economics literature involving exploitation of consumer biases with credit cards, standard form contracts, and shelf space contracts. I find that the empirical studies of firm and consumer behavior in these examples do not support the claims that behavioral law and economics generates greater predictive power than conventional price theory.


Background and Purpose— Despite previous investigations, substantial uncertainty remains about the relation between body mass index (BMI) and stroke, especially in populations with a relatively low BMI but a high stroke rate. Methods— A nationally representative prospective study of mortality included 212 000 Chinese men 40 to 79 years old without known cardiovascular disease in 1990 to 1991 who were followed up for 10 years. Standardized hazard ratios were calculated for stroke mortality by baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) and BMI. Results— Mean SBP and BMI were 124 mm Hg and 21.7 kg/m2, respectively. During 10 years of follow-up, 5766 stroke deaths were recorded. There were strong, positive relations between BMI and SBP and between SBP and stroke mortality, with a 3-mm Hg higher baseline SBP associated with a 5.6% (95% CI, 5.3% to 6.0%; P<0.00001) higher stroke mortality. The association between BMI and stroke mortality was, however, not linear, with the hazard increasing substantially only for BMI >25 kg/m2 (P<0.001 for nonlinearity). Approximately 90% of men had a baseline BMI <25 kg/m2, and among them, BMI was not associated with stroke mortality despite its strong association with BP (which continued to a BMI <18 kg/m2). The relation with BMI was similar for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke but appeared to be steeper among lifelong nonsmokers than among current smokers (P=0.01 for difference between slopes) despite similarly positive relations between BMI and SBP and between SBP and stroke risk in both smoking categories. Conclusions— High BMI was strongly associated with increased stroke mortality only among men who were overweight or obese.


The federal government recently placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-chartered, privately owned mortgage finance companies, in conservatorship. These two massive companies are profit-driven, but as government-sponsored enterprises they also have a government-mandated mission to provide liquidity and stability to the United States mortgage market and to achieve certain affordable housing goals. How the two companies should exit their conservatorship has implications that reach throughout the global financial markets and are of key importance to the future of American housing finance policy. While the American taxpayer will be required to fund a bailout of the two companies that will be measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars, the current state of affairs presents an opportunity to reform the two companies and the manner in which the residential mortgage market is structured. Few scholars, however, have provided a framework in which to conceptualize the possibilities for reform. This Article employs regulatory theory to construct such a framework. A critical insight of this body of literature is that regulatory privilege should be presumed to be inconsistent with a competitive market, unless proven otherwise. The federal government's special treatment of Fannie and Freddie is an extraordinary regulatory privilege in terms of its absolute value, its impact on its competitors and its cost to the federal government. Regulatory theory thereby clarifies how Fannie and Freddie have relied upon their hybrid public/private structure to obtain and protect economic rents at the expense of taxpayers as well as Fannie and Freddie's competitors. Once analyzed in the context of regulatory theory, Fannie and Freddie's future seems clear. They should be privatized so that they can compete on an even playing field with other financial institutions and their public functions should be assumed by pure government actors. While this is a radical solution and one that would have been considered politically na?ve until the recent credit crisis, it is now a serious option that should garner additional attention once its rationale is set forth.


Let $H$ be a hypergraph and let $L_v : v \in V(H)$ be sets; we refer to these sets as lists and their elements as colors. A list coloring of $H$ is an assignment of a color from $L_v$ to each $v \in V(H)$ in such a way that every edge of $H$ contains a pair of vertices of different colors. The hypergraph $H$ is $k$-list-colorable if it has a list coloring from any collection of lists of size $k$. The list chromatic number of $H$ is the minimum $k$ such that $H$ is $k$-list-colorable. In this paper we prove that every $d$-regular three-uniform linear hypergraph has list chromatic number at least $(\frac{\log d}{5\log \log d})^{1/2}$ provided $d$ is large enough. On the other hand there exist $d$-regular three-uniform linear hypergraphs with list chromatic number at most $\log_3 d+3$. This leaves the question open as to the existence of such hypergraphs with list chromatic number $o(\log d)$ as $d \rightarrow \infty$.


Chemical plant protection is an essential element in integrated pest management and hence, in current crop production. The use of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) potentially involves ecological risk. This risk has to be characterised, assessed and managed.

For the coming years, an increasing need for agricultural products is expected. At the same time, preserving our natural resources and biodiversity per se is of equally fundamental importance. The relationship of our economic success and cultural progress to protecting the environment has been made plain in the Ecosystem Service concept. These distinct 'services' provide the foundation for defining ecological protection goals (Specific Protection Goals, SPGs) which can serve in the development of methods for ecological risk characterisation, assessment and management.

Ecological risk management (RM) of PPPs is a comprehensive process that includes different aspects and levels. RM is an implicit part of tiered risk assessment (RA) schemes and scenarios, yet RM also explicitly occurs as risk mitigation measures. At higher decision levels, RM takes further risks, besides ecological risk, into account (e.g., economic). Therefore, ecological risk characterisation can include RM (mitigation measures) and can be part of higher level RM decision-making in a broader Ecosystem Service context.

The aim of this thesis is to contribute to improved quantification of ecological risk as a basis for RA and RM. The initial general objective had been entitled as "… to estimate the spatial and temporal extent of exposure and effects…" and was found to be closely related to forthcoming SPGs with their defined 'Risk Dimension'.

An initial exploration of the regulatory framework of ecological RA and RM of PPPs and their use, carried out in the present thesis, emphasised the value of risk characterisation at landscape-scale. The landscape-scale provides the necessary and sufficient context, including abiotic and biotic processes, their interaction at different scales, as well as human activities. In particular, spatially (and temporally) explicit landscape-scale risk characterisation and RA can provide a direct basis for PPP-specific or generic RM. From the general need for tiered landscape-scale context in risk characterisation, specific requirements relevant to a landscape-scale model were developed in the present thesis, guided by the key objective of improved ecological risk quantification. In principle, for an adverse effect (Impact) to happen requires a sensitive species and life stage to co-occur with a significant exposure extent in space and time. Therefore, the quantification of the Probability of an Impact occurring is the basic requirement of the model. In a landscape-scale context, this means assessing the spatiotemporal distribution of species sensitivity and their potential exposure to the chemical.

The core functionality of the model should reflect the main problem structures in ecological risk characterisation, RA and RM, with particular relationship to SPGs, while being adaptable to specific RA problems. This resulted in the development of a modelling framework (Xplicit-Framework), realised in the present thesis. The Xplicit-Framework provides the core functionality for spatiotemporally explicit and probabilistic risk characterisation, together with interfaces to external models and services which are linked to the framework using specific adaptors (Associated-Models, e.g., exposure, eFate and effect models, or geodata services). From the Xplicit-Framework, and using Associated-Models, specific models are derived, adapted to RA problems (Xplicit-Models).

Xplicit-Models are capable of propagating variability (and uncertainty) of real-world agricultural and environmental conditions to exposure and effects using Monte Carlo methods and, hence, to introduce landscape-scale context to risk characterisation. Scale-dependencies play a key role in landscape-scale processes and were taken into account, e.g., in defining and sampling Probability Density Functions (PDFs). Likewise, evaluation of model outcome for risk characterisation is done at ecologically meaningful scales.

Xplicit-Models can be designed to explicitly address risk dimensions of SPGs. Their definition depends on the RA problem and tier. Thus, the Xplicit approach allows for stepwise introduction of landscape-scale context (factors and processes), e.g., starting at the definitions of current standard RA (lower-tier) levels by centring on a specific PPP use, while introducing real-world landscape factors driving risk. With its generic and modular design, the Xplicit-Framework can also be employed by taking an ecological entity-centric perspective. As the predictive power of landscape-scale risk characterisation increases, it is possible that Xplicit-Models become part of an explicit Ecosystem Services-oriented RM (e.g., cost/benefit level).


Cyanobacteria are the only prokaryotes with the ability to conduct oxygenic photosynthesis,
therefore having major influence on the evolution of life on earth. Their diverse morphology
was traditionally the basis for taxonomy and classification. For example, the genus
Chroococcidiopsis has been classified within the order Pleurocapsales, based on a unique
reproduction modus by baeocytes. Recent phylogenetic results suggested a closer
relationship of this genus to the order Nostocales. However, these studies were based
mostly on the highly conserved 16S rRNA and a small selection of Chroococcidiopsis
strains. One aim of this present thesis was to investigate the evolutionary relationships of
the genus Chroococcidiopsis, the Pleurocapsales and remaining cyanobacteria using
16S rRNA, rpoC1 and gyrB gene. Including the single gene, as the multigene analyses of
97 strains clearly showed a separation of the genus Chroococcidiopsis from the
Pleurocapsales. Furthermore, a sister relationship between the genus Chroococcidiopsis
and the order Nostocales was confirmed. Consequently, the monogeneric family
Chroococcidiopsidaceae Geitler ex. Budel, Donner & Kauff familia nova is justified. The
phylogenetic analyses also revealed the polyphyly of the remaining Pleurocapsales, due to
the fact that the strain Pleurocapsa PCC 7327 was always separated from other strains.
This is supported by differences in their metabolism, ecology and physiology.
A second aim of this study was to investigate the thylakoid arrangement of
Chroococcidiopsis and a selection of cyanobacterial strains. The investigation of 13 strains
with Low Temperature Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed two unknown thylakoidal
arrangements within Chroococcidiopsis (parietal and stacked). This result revised the
knowledge of the thylakoid arrangement in this genus. Previously, only a coiled
arrangement was known for three strains. Based on the data of 66 strains, the feature
thylakoid arrangement was tested as a potential feature for morphological identification of
cyanobacteria. The results showed a strong relationship between the group assignment of
cyanobacteria and their thylakoid arrangements. Hence, it is in general possible to
conclude from this certain phenotypic character the affiliation to a particular family, order
or genus.
The third aim of this study was to investigate biogeographical patterns of the worldwide
distributed genus Chroococcidiopsis. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that the genus do not have biogeographical patterns, which is in contrast with a recent study on hypolithic
living Chroococcidiopsis strains and the majority of phylogeographic analysis of
microorganisms. Further analysis showed no separation of different life-strategies within
the genus. These results could be related to the genetic markers utilized, which may not
contain biogeographical information. Hence the present study can neither exclude nor
prove the possibility of biogeographic and life-strategy patterns in the genus
Chroococcidiopsis.
Future research should be focused on finding appropriate genetic markers investigate of
evolutionary relationships and biogeographical patterns within Chroococcidiopsis.


This paper attempts to illuminate some of the ethical dilemmas of a clinician/researcher interviewing women about a sensitive topic- their experience of having witnessed domestic violence in the family they grew up in, as part of a grounded theory study. Vignettes are presented to illustrate the self-reflexive process of the researcher and how she understood the effects of the interview process on her and the participants. The authors argue that doing in-depth qualitative research interviewing is an intervention in the life of the participants, especially, but not only, when the researchers are clinically-trained. However, this clinical training may also be an important resource from which to draw from, to act ethically and understand some of the complexity of the interaction between researcher and participants.


Global declines in insects have sparked wide interest among scientists, politicians, and the general public. Loss of insect diversity and abundance is expected to provoke cascading effects on food webs and to jeopardize ecosystem services. Our understanding of the extent and underlying causes of this decline is based on the abundance of single species or taxonomic groups only, rather than changes in insect biomass which is more relevant for ecological functioning. Here, we used a standardized protocol to measure total insect biomass using Malaise traps, deployed over 27 years in 63 nature protection areas in Germany (96 unique location-year combinations) to infer on the status and trend of local entomofauna. Our analysis estimates a seasonal decline of 76%, and mid-summer decline of 82% in flying insect biomass over the 27 years of study. We show that this decline is apparent regardless of habitat type, while changes in weather, land use, and habitat characteristics cannot explain this overall decline. This yet unrecognized loss of insect biomass must be taken into account in evaluating declines in abundance of species depending on insects as a food source, and ecosystem functioning in the European landscape.


This paper describes a case study undertaken at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of KwaZulu-Natal to determine the leaving rates from the faculty both by a cohort analysis (over the existence of the university from 2005 to 2010) and by a 1-year population balance over the whole faculty in 2009. Students who had left the faculty who could have continued were identified from the population balance and interviewed to determine the common reasons for leaving. The cohort analysis showed that from 2005 through to 2008, the leaving rate from first-year cohorts was reduced year on year (from over 22% to below 14%). This reduction coincided with stabilisation of the faculty after a merger process and increased academic support. In 2009, however, an increase in the proportion of first-year students who left (to over 17%) was identified, which may be linked to the entry of students who had taken the new National Senior Certificate in South African high schools. The population balance over the year 2009 showed an academic exclusion rate of approximately 6% of the total undergraduate student body, and, more significantly, an academic leaving rate of about 14% of the total student body. The exclusion rate remained fairly static across three semesters whilst voluntary leavers increased over the same period. An analysis and interviews with a sample of the students who left showed that financial reasons played a significant role in these rates, with 49% of non-academically excluded students having financial difficulties, and that a significant proportion of students continue their studies at universities of technology. Although this is a case study within one institution, it is hoped that the findings can inform the current debate surrounding increasing throughput in Science and Engineering within the country.


This paper explores the risks and benefits of holding company stock in employer-sponsored defined contribution (DC) retirement plans. We address three questions: (1) What is the role and function of company stock in such plans? (2) Who might be affected by enhanced portfolio diversification in such plans? and (3) What mechanisms exist, or might be developed, to enhance portfolio diversification if more diversification were deemed useful? Firms offer company stock within DC plans in an effort to enhance economic performance, though evidence is mixed on productivity gains from stock ownership. We demonstrate that concentrated stock positions arise most often in larger firms' DC plans where sponsors direct employer contributions and restrict diversification. Stock concentration also arises because participants systematically underestimate the risk of employer stock and over-rely on its past performance in making investment decisions. In a retirement system with concentrated stock positions, there will always be some participants who forfeit DC plan savings to firm bankruptcy. Encouraging plan diversification mitigates this risk, but it could also induce some companies to redirect plan contributions to other forms of stock compensation or to replace stock contributions with cash compensation. We conclude by describing policy tools that might be used to encourage diversification and discuss conditions for their effective implementation.


Over the past two semesters I have explored the medium of drawing through a
series of large-scale charcoal and graphite drawings of feathers. What started as small,
delicate pencil drawings of feathers have evolved into large drawings adapted from
photographs that I have taken. My artwork has become an exploration in a number of
drawing elements. The feather serves as a vehicle to explore charcoal and pencil
interacting with the paper, the paper interacting with the image, and the image interacting
with its shadow. I was drawn to the feather because the more I observed the object, the
more complex and interesting it became. I am interested in creating an appearance of
layers and complexity with a simple medium, format, and object. The direction I am
continuing my exploration in is the play between the paper being the background in some
parts of the image, and the foreground in others. The relationship between these elements
is subtle and delicate. It has captured my attention and I am working to deeply explore
these elements and their interactions to create a viewing experience that reflects my own
curiosity.
I want to create art that is interesting and captivating to experience viewing. This
is an exploration in visual elements for me, and I want it to be a unique visual experience
for my audience as well. I want the viewer to feel an interaction with the feather and its
complex visual nature, like I have. The size of the work is important, as it takes the
viewer out of their normal frame of reference and allows them to notice more about the
objects and the elements of drawing. Charcoal and graphite is a medium that is easily
changed, smudged, or erased. This characteristic of the medium reflects a temporary feel
of the image and adds an element of delicacy, which reflects the delicate nature of the
feather itself.
Through my artistic practice I have learned that making art requires discipline and
structure along with creativity and intuitive decision-making. I most often allow my
intuitive nature to discover and explore a new image, process, or idea aristically. I cannot
rely completely on my intuitive nature and must incorporate reflective writing,
conversation, review of artists, and most importantly, a decision for the direction the
work needs to go. I personally have to battle my indecisive nature and consider the
strongest direction for the work. During the process of these drawings I have decided that
focusing on the visual nature and elements of these drawings was most important to my
growth as an artist and the strongest part of the drawings.
Much like my drawings are an exploration in the creative process and an
exploration in the relationship of a number of elements, there is a similar connection to
my teaching practice. I have heard teaching described as "an art," or a career that only
certain people are born to do. I have to disagree with that attitude as I now understand
teaching to contain creative developments along with structured techniques to be the most
successful. During my undergraduate practice and student teaching experiences I was told
that I was a "natural in front of a classroom." Though I did not decide to go into
education until it was time to choose a major, and I never thought of myself as a typical
teacher, I did immediately love being in front of a classroom and working with individual
students. I knew very quickly that teaching art was enjoyable, fulfilling, creative,
challenging, and a career in which I would be successful. This intuitive connection and
success in teaching is similar to my intuitive attraction towards art and towards visual
elements and images.
Though I was initially comfortable with teaching, I always viewed it as a practice
that should be open for continuous learning, understanding, and improvement. In order to
have a successful classroom, a teacher cannot rely entirely on a strong classroom
presence. Over my four years of teaching practice and my current graduate study in art
education, I have worked to gain knowledge and understanding of many elements of
education, teaching, and art education. I now understand that my role in the school
community, my understanding of the outside community, my relationship with students,
my relationship with fellow teachers and staff, my curriculum, my classroom
management, my personal content knowledge, my assessment practices, my
understanding of child development, my presence and leadership in the class and in the
school, my expectations of students, and my personal reflection are all integral parts of a
successful classroom and that there is always room to grow in each of the elements.
For my thesis I will continue to develop my current drawings and create new ones
to complete the series. These new drawings will stem from the same process and interest
as the current ones, but will be completed with more direction and a place in the body of
work. I will also continue to develop my relationship between my teaching practice and
artistic practice. I hope to gain understanding of the areas in both practices so that I can
continue to learn and develop as I move from beginner teacher and artist to a more
experienced and successful art educator.


New sources of climate finance must be found to curb the alarming shift in Official Development Assistance (ODA) to climate finance and to protect the development gains of recent decades. Climate change is an additional burden for poor countries, and requires additional resources to tackle it.
The outcomes of the UNFCCC Work Programme on Long-term Finance will determine whether the goals of reaching the target of $100bn per year by 2020 committed to at Copenhagen, and keeping global warming below 2oC, let alone the 1.5°C needed, will stay within reach. Oxfam believes that the UNFCCC Work Programme must lead to a breakthrough in delivery of scaled-up, new and additional, predictable finance for adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. This briefing examines financing needs, possible sources of finance and delivery mechanisms, and action needed at COP 18.


Abstract. A Kalman-filter based inverse emission estimation method for long-lived trace gases is presented for use in conjunction with a Lagrangian particle dispersion model like FLEXPART. The sequential nature of the approach allows tracing slow seasonal and interannual changes rather than estimating a single period-mean emission field. Other important features include the estimation of a slowly varying concentration background at each measurement station, the possibility to constrain the solution to non-negative emissions, the quantification of uncertainties, the consideration of temporal correlations in the residuals, and the applicability to potentially large inversion problems. The method is first demonstrated for a set of synthetic observations created from a prescribed emission field with different levels of (correlated) noise, which closely mimics true observations. It is then applied to real observations of the three halocarbons HFC-125, HFC-152a and HCFC-141b at the remote research stations Jungfraujoch and Mace Head for the quantification of emissions in Western European countries from 2006 to 2010. Estimated HFC-125 emissions are mostly consistent with national totals reported to UNFCCC in the framework of the Kyoto Protocol and show a generally increasing trend over the considered period. Results for HFC-152a are much more variable with estimated emissions being both higher and lower than reported emissions in different countries. The highest emissions of the order of 700–800 Mg yr−1 are estimated for Italy, which so far does not report HFC-152a emissions. Emissions of HCFC-141b show a continuing strong decrease as expected due to its controls in developed countries under the Montreal Protocol. Emissions from France, however, were still rather large, in the range of 700–1000 Mg yr−1 in the years 2006 and 2007 but strongly declined thereafter.


"Coarse woody debris is important in contemporary urban stream channel systems yet little is known about the dynamics and characteristics of CWD and its impact on streambed process and structure. Measurements of CWD pieces included length, diameter, volume, orientation to flow, and debris dam locations were surveyed. Wood sizes were a function of the frequency of debris dams, proportion of pools formed by wood, and variation of bankfull channel width. The frequency of debris dams increased downstream. The downstream increase of debris dams is a function of long-distance transport of CWD primarily by debris flow. Stream reaches intersecting partial wooded had longer woody debris pieces, more debris dams, and wood-formed pools compared to wooded and nonwooded reaches. The greater proportion of CWD pieces were parallel oriented to the stream channel. The proportion of pools formed by woody debris is low as compared to rural and forested streams. Changes in streambed processes and structure occurred in all debris dam locations and stable CWD sections. Channel widening associated with CWD was observed predominantly in the nonwooded site."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.


American style judicial review, until recently much celebrated for its rendering legislative and executive actions subject to judicial policing for violations of individual rights, is now subject to mounting attacks under the banner of popular sovereignty. Many who were for a long time quite sanguine about the so-called "countermajoritarian difficulty" have apparently now become convinced that it is a countermajoritarian nightmare. Larry Kramer wants to take constitutional interpretation in the United States away from the Supreme Court and put it in the hands of "the People," even in cases where individual rights are at stake. Mark Tushnet wants the U.S. Constitution to be "thinned," that is, reduced from its welter of specific provisions to the broad platitudes of its Preamble and the Declaration of Independence. On a more theoretical level, Jeremy Waldron has been consistently denouncing judicial review and the possibility of its invading other parts of the Anglophone world for its antidemocratic character, and particularly so when it purports to protect our rights against the government. And many other theorists have joined the piling on, on both positive and normative grounds. These attacks come, perhaps ironically, but perhaps unsurprisingly, as judicial review has taken hold in Europe and is poised to take hold elsewhere. My purpose here is to inquire whether these attacks have merit, and if so, just what that merit is. Is American style judicial review as a means of protecting our rights to be celebrated or condemned? Or is that a question that can even be answered independently of some partisan view of what our rights are and some empirical hunches regarding the best strategies for vindicating them? In what follows I shall not give a definitive answer to these questions, though I shall attempt to rule out some answers. What I will do is provide a framework for thinking about these questions and their possible answers.


The usability of two Web page layouts was directly compared: one with the main site navigation menu on the left of the page, and one with the main site navigation menu on the right. Sixty-four participants were divided equally into two groups and assigned to either the left- or the right-hand navigation test condition. Using a stopwatch, the time to complete each of five tasks was measured. The hypothesis that the left-hand navigation would perform significantly faster than the right-hand navigation was not supported. Instead, there was no significant difference in completion times between the two test conditions. This research questions the current leading Web design thought that the main navigation menu should be left justified.


Agro-ecology applies ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable agriculture. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that globally, more than 800 million people worldwide are undernourished. Shockingly, half of these are small-scale farmers and their families, for whom a failed harvest due to drought, or the loss of land caused by irresponsible large-scale land investments, can have a devastating effect on their livelihoods. Climate change and the injustice of hunger require urgent attention, and investment in a model of agriculture that is truly sustainable. This briefing makes the case for investment in agro-ecology to achieve food security for some of the poorest farmers in the world. It shows how an agro-ecological approach can provide a range of social, economic, and environmental benefits that, with the right policy support and associated investments, can be scaled up to enable smallholder farming communities to achieve sustainable livelihoods.


Due to the breath-taking growth of the World Wide Web (WWW), the need for fast and efficient web applications becomes more and more urgent. In this doctoral thesis, the emphasis will be on two concrete tasks for improving Internet applications. On the one hand, a major problem of many of today's Internet applications may be described as the performance of the Client/Server-communication: servers often take a long time to respond to a client's request. There are several strategies to overcome this problem of high user-perceived latencies; one of them is to predict future user-requests. This way, time-consuming calculations on the server's side can be performed even before the corresponding request is being made. Furthermore, in certain situations, also the pre-fetching or the pre-sending of data might be appropriate. Those ideas will be discussed in detail in the second part of this work. On the other hand, a focus will be placed on the problem of proposing hyperlinks to improve the quality of rapid written texts, at first glance, an entirely different problem to predicting client requests. Ultra-modern online authoring systems that provide possibilities to check link-consistencies and administrate link management should also propose links in order to improve the usefulness of the produced HTML-documents. In the third part of this elaboration, we will describe a possibility to build a hyperlink-proposal module based on statistical information retrieval from hypertexts. These two problem categories do not seem to have much in common. It is one aim of this work to show that there are certain, similar solution strategies to look after both problems. A closer comparison and an abstraction of both methodologies will lead to interesting synergetic effects. For example, advanced strategies to foresee future user-requests by modeling time and document aging can be used to improve the quality of hyperlink-proposals too.


Scholars have devoted substantial attention to both the overrepresentation of black defendants on federal death row and the disproportionate number of federal defendants charged capitally for the murder of white victims. This attention has not explained (much less resolved) these disquieting racial disparities. Little research has addressed the unusual geography of the federal death penalty, in which a small number of jurisdictions are responsible for the vast majority of federal death sentences. By addressing the unique geography, we identify a possible explanation for the racial distortions in the federal death penalty: that federal death sentences are sought disproportionately where the expansion of the venire from the county to the district level has a dramatic demographic impact on the racial make-up of the jury. This inquiry demonstrates that the conversation concerning who should make up the jury of twelve neighbors and peers - a discussion begun well before the founding of our Constitution - continues to have relevance today. This Article documents the historical and racial relationships between place and the ability to seat an impartial jury. We then discuss the unique impact demographic shifts in the jury pool have on death penalty decision making. Finally, we propose three possible solutions: (1) a simple, democracyenhancing fix through a return to the historical conception of the county as the place of vicinage in federal capital trials; (2) a Batson-type three-step process for rooting out the influence of race on the decision to prosecute federally; and/or (3) voluntary measures by the Attorney General to mask demographic and location identifiers when deciding whether to provide federal death-authorization. We explain why a return to county-level jury pools in federal capital cases (whether through statutory construction, legislative change, or through the authority of a fair-minded Attorney General) prospectively limits the impact of race on the operation of the federal death penalty, without establishing the intractability of the federal death penalty as a whole. Finally, we observe that any effort to study the federal death penalty cannot merely address those federal cases in which the Attorney General has considered whether to approve an effort to seek the death penalty, but must also include an assessment of the cases prosecuted in state court that could be prosecuted federally and the prosecutorial decision concerning when and whether to prosecute in federal court.


In January of 1973 Richard Nixon announced the end of the Vietnam War and prepared for a triumphant second term-until televised Watergate hearings revealed his White House as little better than a mafia den. The next president declared upon Nixon's resignation "our long national nightmare is over"-but then congressional investigators exposed the CIA for assassinating foreign leaders. The collapse of the South Vietnamese government rendered moot the sacrifice of some 58,000 American lives. The economy was in tatters. And as Americans began thinking about their nation in a new way-as one more nation among nations, no more providential than any other-the pundits declared that from now on successful politicians would be the ones who honoured this chastened new national mood. Ronald Reagan never got the message. Which was why, when he announced his intention to challenge President Ford for the 1976 Republican nomination, those same pundits dismissed him-until, amazingly, it started to look like he just might win.He was inventing the new conservative political culture we know now, in which a vision of patriotism rooted in a sense of American limits was derailed in America's Bicentennial year by the rise of the smiling politician from Hollywood. Against a backdrop of melodramas from the Arab oil embargo to Patty Hearst to the near-bankruptcy of America's greatest city, The Invisible Bridge asks the question: what does it mean tobelieve in America? To wave a flag-or to reject the glibness of the flag wavers?


At long last, here is the thoroughly revised and updated third edition of the hugely successful The Art of Electronics. It is widely accepted as the best single authoritative book on electronic circuit design. In addition to new or enhanced coverage of many topics, the third edition includes 90 oscilloscope screenshots illustrating the behavior of working circuits, dozens of graphs giving highly useful measured data of the sort that is often buried or omitted in datasheets but which you need when designing circuits, and 80 tables (listing some 1650 active components), enabling intelligent choice of circuit components by listing essential characteristics (both specified and measured) of available parts. The new Art of Electronics retains the feeling of informality and easy access that helped make the earlier editions so successful and popular. It is an indispensable reference and the gold standard for anyone, student or researcher, professional or amateur, who works with electronic circuits.


The premier study Bible used by scholars, pastors, undergraduate and graduate students, The New Oxford Annotated Bible offers a vast range of information, including extensive notes by experts in their fields; in-text maps, charts, and diagrams; supplementary essays on translation, biblical interpretation, cultural and historical background, and other general topics. Extensively revised-half of the material is brand new-featuring a new design to enhance readability, and brand-new color maps, the Annotated Fourth Edition adds to the established reputation of this essential biblical studies resource. Many new and revised maps, charts, and diagrams further clarify information found in the Scripture text. In addition, section introductions have been expanded and the book introductions present their information in a standard format so that students can find what they need to know. Of course, the Fourth Edition retains the features prized by students, including single column annotations at the foot of the pages, in-text charts, and maps, a page number-keyed index of all the study materials in the volume, and Oxford's renowned Bible maps. This timely edition maintains and extends the excellence the Annotated's users have come to expect, bringing still more insights, information, and perspectives to bear upon the understanding of the biblical text. BL The renowned New Revised Standard Version Bible translation, the scholarly standard for study of the Bible BL Wholly revised, and greatly expanded book introductions and annotations. BL Annotations in a single column across the page bottom, paragraphed according to their boldface topical headings. BL In-text background essays on the major divisions of the biblical text. BL Essays on the history of the formation of the biblical canon for Jews and various Christian churches. BL More detailed explanations of the historical background of the text. BL More in-depth treatment of the history and varieties of biblical criticism. BL A timeline of major events in the ancient Near East. BL A full index to all of the study materials, keyed to the page numbers on which they occur. BL A full glossary of scholarly and critical terms. BL 36-page section of full color New Oxford Bible Maps, approximately 40 in-text line drawing maps and diagrams. Classic but not stodgy, up-to-date but not trendy, The New Oxford Annotated Bible: 4th Edition is ready to serve new generations of students, teachers, and general readers.


Publications on Old Testament ethics often use triadic constructs to explain the moral impact of Biblical passages. In Genesis 11:27-50:26, Ezra 9:6-15, Nehemiah 7:72b-10:40, Damascus Document (CD) V:1, 2-6 and Jubilees 8-9 and 23, constructs of three interrelated concepts are used, all related to the issue of marriage. This paper investigates the story of Dinah's ravishment in the book of Jubilees 30:1-25 and compares it to the original rendition in Genesis 33:18-34:31. The conclusion is drawn that both renditions use a construct of three interrelated concepts. Genesis uses a triad of progeny, marriage and land. The book of Jubilees uses an interrelated construction of Law, identity and marriage. In Jubilees the focus is shifted from the shame of Dinah's rape to the shame of intermarriage between different groups in Jubilees. Here a cultic-oriented person links the laws revealed to Moses with his particular view on intermarriage and purity/impurity. His purpose is to propagate a new purified identity for the Jews of his day.


This report assesses the prospects of the U.S. housing/mortgage sector over the next several years. Based on our analysis, we believe there are elements in place for the housing sector to continue to experience growth well above GDP. However, we believe there are risks that can materially distort the growth prospects of the sector. Specifically, it appears that a large portion of the housing sector's growth in the 1990's came from the easing of the credit underwriting process. Such easing includes:* The drastic reduction of minimum down payment levels from 20% to 0%* A focused effort to target the "low income" borrower* The reduction in private mortgage insurance requirements on high loan to value mortgages* The increasing use of software to streamline the origination process and modify/recast delinquent loans in order to keep them classified as "current"* Changes in the appraisal process which has led to widespread overappraisal/over-valuation problemsIf these trends remain in place, it is likely that the home purchase boom of the past decade will continue unabated. Despite the increasingly more difficult economic environment, it may be possible for lenders to further ease credit standards and more fully exploit less penetrated markets. Recently targeted populations that have historically been denied homeownership opportunities have offered the mortgage industry novel hurdles to overcome. Industry participants in combination with eased regulatory standards and the support of the GSEs (Government Sponsored Enterprises) have overcome many of them.If there is an economic disruption that causes a marked rise in unemployment, the negative impact on the housing market could be quite large. These impacts come in several forms. They include a reduction in the demand for homeownership, a decline in real estate prices and increased foreclosure expenses.These impacts would be exacerbated by the increasing debt burden of the U.S. consumer and the reduction of home equity available in the home. Although we have yet to see any materially negative consequences of the relaxation of credit standards, we believe the risk of credit relaxation and leverage can't be ignored. Importantly, a relatively new method of loan forgiveness can temporarily alter the perception of credit health in the housing sector. In an effort to keep homeowners in the home and reduce foreclosure expenses, holders of mortgage assets are currently recasting or modifying troubled loans. Such policy initiatives may for a time distort the relevancy of delinquency and foreclosure statistics. However, a protracted housing slowdown could eventually cause modifications to become uneconomic and, thus, credit quality statistics would likely become relevant once again. The virtuous circle of increasing homeownership due to greater leverage has the potential to become a vicious cycle of lower home prices due to an accelerating rate of foreclosures.Presented: 2002 Mid-Year Meeting American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association National Association of Home Builders Washington, DC May 28-29, 2002.


The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world: Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt. Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. Ultimately she dispensed with an ambitious sister as well; incest and assassination were family specialties. Cleopatra appears to have had sex with only two men. They happen, however, to have been Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, among the most prominent Romans of the day. Both were married to other women. Cleopatra had a child with Caesar and -- after his murder -- three more with his protege. Already she was the wealthiest ruler in the Mediterranean; the relationship with Antony confirmed her status as the most influential woman of the age. The two would together attempt to forge a new empire, in an alliance that spelled their ends. Cleopatra has lodged herself in our imaginations ever since. Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Shakespeare and Shaw put words in her mouth. Michelangelo, Tiepolo, and Elizabeth Taylor put a face to her name. Along the way, Cleopatra's supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff here boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order. Rich in detail, epic in scope, Schiff 's is a luminous, deeply original reconstruction of a dazzling life.