In this thesis diverse problems concerning inflation-linked products are dealt with. To start with, two models for inflation are presented, including a geometric Brownian motion for consumer price index itself and an extended Vasicek model for inflation rate. For both suggested models the pricing formulas of inflation-linked products are derived using the risk-neutral valuation techniques. As a result Black and Scholes type closed form solutions for a call option on inflation index for a Brownian motion model and inflation evolution for an extended Vasicek model as well as for an inflation-linked bond are calculated. These results have been already presented in Korn and Kruse (2004) [17]. In addition to these inflation-linked products, for the both inflation models the pricing formulas of a European put option on inflation, an inflation cap and floor, an inflation swap and an inflation swaption are derived. Consequently, basing on the derived pricing formulas and assuming the geometric Brownian motion process for an inflation index, different continuous-time portfolio problems as well as hedging problems are studied using the martingale techniques as well as stochastic optimal control methods. These utility optimization problems are continuous-time portfolio problems in different financial market setups and in addition with a positive lower bound constraint on the final wealth of the investor. When one summarizes all the optimization problems studied in this work, one will have the complete picture of the inflation-linked market and both counterparts of market-participants, sellers as well as buyers of inflation-linked financial products. One of the interesting results worth mentioning here is naturally the fact that a regular risk-averse investor would like to sell and not buy inflation-linked products due to the high price of inflation-linked bonds for example and an underperformance of inflation-linked bonds compared to the conventional risk-free bonds. The relevance of this observation is proved by investigating a simple optimization problem for the extended Vasicek process, where as a result we still have an underperforming inflation-linked bond compared to the conventional bond. This situation does not change, when one switches to an optimization of expected utility from the purchasing power, because in its nature it is only a change of measure, where we have a different deflator. The negativity of the optimal portfolio process for a normal investor is in itself an interesting aspect, but it does not affect the optimality of handling inflation-linked products compared to the situation not including these products into investment portfolio. In the following, hedging problems are considered as a modeling of the other half of inflation market that is inflation-linked products buyers. Natural buyers of these inflation-linked products are obviously institutions that have payment obligations in the future that are inflation connected. That is why we consider problems of hedging inflation-indexed payment obligations with different financial assets. The role of inflation-linked products in the hedging portfolio is shown to be very important by analyzing two alternative optimal hedging strategies, where in the first one an investor is allowed to trade as inflation-linked bond and in the second one he is not allowed to include an inflation-linked bond into his hedging portfolio. Technically this is done by restricting our original financial market, which is made of a conventional bond, inflation index and a stock correlated with inflation index, to the one, where an inflation index is excluded. As a whole, this thesis presents a wide view on inflation-linked products: inflation modeling, pricing aspects of inflation-linked products, various continuous-time portfolio problems with inflation-linked products as well as hedging of inflation-related payment obligations.


In the case of MP Finance Group CC (In Liquidation) v CSARS the High Court of Appeal ruled that income "received by" a taxpayer from illegal gains will be taxable in the hands of the taxpayer. This article explores whether or not the decision in the MP Finance- case (and preceding cases on the taxation of illegal receipts) can be applied to determine if illegal transactions are subject to VAT and moreover if a trader in illegal goods and services should register as a VAT vendor. Although strictly speaking no analogy can be drawn between the charging provisions for income tax and VAT, it is clear that in the determination of the taxability of illegal income, the courts applied the principle of tax neutrality. In terms of the principle of tax neutrality, taxes are not concerned with the legality or illegality of a transaction, but rather with whether the transaction complies with the requirements for it to be taxed or not.  That said, the European Court of Justice has a different approach in applying this principle. According to the European Court of Justice where the intrinsic nature of the goods excludes it from the commercial arena (like narcotic drugs) it should not be subject to VAT, but where the goods compete with a legal market it must be subject to VAT. Charging VAT on illegal transactions might give the impression that government benefits from criminal activities. However, if illegal transactions are not subject to VAT the trader in illegal goods will benefit as his products will be 14% cheaper than his rival's. Is this necessarily a moral dilemma? In conclusion three arguments can be deduced on the question if illegal transactions should be subject to VAT: 1. Illegal transactions should not be taxed at all. Illegal goods or services fall outside the sphere of the application of the charging provision in section 7(1) of the VAT Act. Moreover, taxing illegal transactions lends a quasi- validity to the contract and gives the impression that government benefits from crime. 2. The intrinsic nature of the goods concerned should determine the VAT-ability thereof. Where the nature of the goods excludes it from the commercial sphere, like narcotics, it should not be subject to VAT. Where the illegal goods compete with a legal market the goods should be subject to VAT to eliminate unjust competition. 3. The principle of tax neutrality makes it clear that the illegality of a transaction has no influence on its taxability. The charging provision in terms of section 7(1) of the VAT act is not concerned with the legality of the transaction. If the transaction complies with the requirements for it to be taxed, it should be subject to VAT.


Nanna Bonde's contribution to the conference Conceptual Type – Type led by ideas, Copenhagen, 19. November 2010. Where are the idealistic fonts, the artsy fonts, the non fonts, the political fonts, the funny fonts, the difficult fonts, the fonts that do not look like fonts, fonts that are frontiers of new belief? We would like to focus on the ideas and concepts behind type. Rather than talk about type by asking who made it and what does it look like, we will start a new decade by asking why do we make it and what does it mean? In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes art.'Sol LeWitt. 'Paragraph on Conceptual art', Artforum, 1967. We would like to borrow from Sol LeWitt's vision and replace 'art' with 'type', looking for the idea-type-machines of our time. [From the conference call]


We describe the hsp2.0 planning algorithm that entered the second planning contest held at the Fifth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Planning and Scheduling (AIPS'00). hsp2.0 is a domain-independent planning algorithm that implements the family of heuristic search planners that are characterized by the state space that is searched (either progression or regression space), the search algorithm used (variants of best-first search), and the heuristic function extracted from the problem representation. This general planner implements a scheduler that tries different variants concurrently with different (time) resource bounds. We also describe how hsp2.0 can be used as an optimal (and near-optimal) planning algorithm and compare its performance with two other optimal planners, stan and blackbox.


This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. Dozens of maps provide a clear geography of great events, while timelines give the reader an ongoing sense of the passage of years and cultural interconnection. This old-fashioned narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath"-literature, epic traditions, private letters and accounts-to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled. The result is an engrossing tapestry of human behavior from which we may draw conclusions about the direction of world events and the causes behind them.


There is no way to mistake the ubiquitous trademarked Coca-Cola bottle, or the stylish ads for Absolut Vodka with any of their competitors. How have these companies created this irresistible appeal for their brands? How have they sustained a competitive edge through aesthetics? Bernd Schmitt and Alex Simonson, two leading experts in the emerging field of identity management, offer clear guidelines for harnessing a company's total aesthetic output-- its "look and feel"-- to provide a vital competitive advantage. Going beyond standard traditional approaches on branding, this fascinating book is the first to combine branding, identity, and image and to show how aesthetics can be managed through logos, brochures, packages, and advertisements, as well as sounds, scents, and lighting, to sell "the memorable experience." The authors explore what makes a corporate or brand identity irresistible, what styles and themes are crucial for different contexts, and what meanings certain visual symbols convey. Any person in any organization in any industry can benefit from employing the tools of "marketing aesthetics". Schmitt and Simonson describe how a firm can use these tools strategically to create a variety of sensory experiences that will (1) ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty; (2) sustain lasting customer impressions about a brand's or organization's special personality; (3) permit premium pricing; (4) provide legal "trade dress" protection from competitive attacks; (5) lower costs and raise productivity; and (6) most importantly, create irresistible appeal. The authors show how to manage identity globally and how to develop aesthetically pleasing retail spaces and environments. They also address the newly emergent topic of how to manage corporate and brand identity on the Internet. Supporting their thesis with numerous real-world success stories such as Absolut Vodka, Nike, the Gap, Cathay Pacific Airlines, Starbucks, the New Beetle Website, and Lego, the authors explain how actual companies have developed, refined, and maintained distinct corporate identities that set them apart from competitors.


A review of:

Bonnevie-Nebelong, Ellen. "Methods for Journal Evaluation: Journal Citation Identity, Journal Citation Image, and Internationalisation." Scientometrics 66.2 (Jan. 2006): 411-24.

Objective – To conduct a number of citation analyses of the Journal of Documentation (JDOC), comparing the results with analyses of the Journal of Information Science (JIS), and the Journal of the American Society of Information Science and Technology (JASIST) to illustrate features of JDOC.
Design – Bibliometric study.

Setting – Library and information science journal literature.

Sample – Citations given by and given to the JDOC were analysed and compared to those from the JASIST and the JIS. Author affiliation data were analysed from articles published in JDOC and from articles citing JDOC. The data were drawn from three time periods: 1975-2003, 1980-2003, and 1990-2003.

Methods – Journal Citation Identity was examined for the period 1990-2003. The analysis involved calculating the number of different journals represented by citations given by a journal in a publishing year. The resulting citation/citee ratio is indicative of diversity and extent of scholarly sources used by a journal. Journal Citation Identity was also examined by calculating the number of journal self-citations (in the period 1980 to 2003) as a proportion of the total number of citations given by the journal. A high rate of journal self-citations suggests introspection or isolation from other journals in its field. The content of the three journals was examined for the period 1973-2003 to determine the proportion of scientific content (i.e. articles, notes, reviews, and letters).
Journal Citation Image was examined by calculating journal self-citations as a proportion of the citations given by other journals to the sample journal. The result signifies the degree of a journal's visibility in its field. A second aspect of Journal Citation Image was investigated using the New Journal Diffusion Factor (N JDF). The N JDF was carried out for each year between 1975 and 2003 and calculated the average number of different journals that cite an article in a sample journal. A high number of different citing journals implies influence in the field. The N JDF for the sample journals was compared with their Journal Impact Factor (JIF) over the same period.

Two further analyses of data gathered from 1990 to 2003 were conducted for the Journal of Documentation. The first identified journals most frequently co-cited with JDOC, an analysis that can locate a journal within or outside its field. Lastly, Internationalisation analyses were carried out for JDOC. Internationalisation relates to the geographic affiliations of authors of JDOC articles and of authors citing JDOC. Geographic affiliation was analysed using three classifications: affiliation in North America, Western Europe, or other geographic locations.

Main results –
Journal Citation Identity: JASIST was found to have the highest citation/citee ratio at 1.88, while JDOC and JIS had similar ratios of 1.50 and 1.44 respectively. This finding suggests JASIST draws its citations from fewer journals than JDOC and JIS. The scientific content of JDOC ranged from 18% to 50% in the period analysed, the lowest proportion of the three journals. All journals had seen a reduction in the proportion of journal self-citations over 23 years. Average journal self-citations for the period were 4.3% for JASIST, 3.9% for JDOC, and 3.4% for JIS.

Journal Citation Image: The number of journal self-citations as a proportion of the total number of citations given to a journal was relatively stable for the three journals in the period 1991-2003. JASIST had a slightly higher rate at around 30%, the rate for JDOC was approximately 15%, and JIS showed the greatest variation ranging from 25% to 12%. In the years 1980 to 1990 JIS was found to have a much higher proportion of journal self-citations, spiking to over 85% in 1986. JDOC and JASIST self-cited at a rate that differed little over the full 1980 to 2003 period.
The average N JDF for JDOC increased from just over 0.3 in 1975 to almost 0.5 in 2003. JIS had a steady average N JDF around 0.2 and JASIST an average of just over 0.3 in the same period. A comparison of the journals' JIF in these years shows JIS is the only journal with an average JIF that is decreasing. The average JIF for JDOC and JASIST increased.
JASIST was the most frequently co-cited journal with JDOC, followed by Information Processing and Management and JIS.
Internationalisation: A large proportion of authors publishing in JDOC were affiliated with Western European institutions with a general trend showing decreasing numbers of authors from North America and other geographic areas. Authors citing JDOC were predominantly from North America in the 1990s, but by 2002 authors from Western Europe were citing JDOC in larger numbers. The proportion of citing authors from other regions remained steady at around 10% over the thirteen year period.

Conclusions – In comparison with JASIST, the Journal Citation Identity of JDOC shows a broader scientific base with less dependence upon articles from its previous issues. JDOC is cited by a larger number of other journals than JASIST and JIS, indicating a higher degree of visibility in the scholarly community. The journals most often cited alongside JDOC mark it as firmly grounded in the field of library and information science. JDOC is attractive to Western European authors both as a publishing channel and as a journal to which they make reference.


The events from the 2007–09 financial crisis have raised concerns that the failure of large financial institutions can lead to destabilizing fire sales of assets. The risk of fire sales is related to exemptions from bankruptcy's automatic stay provision enjoyed by a number of financial contracts, such as repo. An automatic stay prohibits collection actions by creditors against a bankrupt debtor or his property. It prevents a creditor from liquidating collateral of a defaulting debtor, since collateral is a lien on the debtor's property. In this paper, we construct a model of repo transactions, and consider the effects of changing the bankruptcy rule regarding the automatic stay on the activity in repo and real investment markets. We find that exempting repos from the automatic stay is beneficial for creditors who hold the borrowers' collateral. Although the exemption may increase the size of the repo market by enhancing the liquidity of collateral, it can also lead to subsequent damaging fire sales that are associated with reductions in real investment activity. Hence, policymakers face a trade-off between the benefits of investment activity and the benefits of liquid markets for collateral..


Payment systems are an integral component of banking that is undergoing material change. Industry trends and discussions with key banking personnel highlighted four issues that are top concerns for banks engaged in emerging payments: changing delivery channels and safeguards, fraud, vendor oversight, and operational risk measurement and reporting. While risk management practices are evolving to meet current and emerging risks, bank management should increase their effort to make sure the overall risk is reported to senior management and Directorates.


Non-conventional hydrocarbon resources become more and more challenging object for energy producing companies throughout the world. Being already known and long-explored method, the electromagnetically (EM) assisted recovery constitutes a promising idea of technology for deposits of such a kind. COMSOL has been used recently for modeling the thermal multiphase flow through porous media in the different frameworks [1], in-situ resistive heating field in a bitumen reservoir [2], etc. Although this experience demonstrated that some problems related to petroleum applications can be resolved successfully using fully-integrated models, the modeling of the real nonconventional fluids and their properties evolution requires considerable efforts and specific knowledge application. Nevertheless the multiphysics environment of COMSOL makes attractive to model phenomena of particular interest in parallel to petroleum related computations. The main advantage of this approach is to implement quasi-independent numerical models to different physical phenomena described each by its own equations and taking place in corresponding time and space regions [3]. In practice the total number of such models constituting a complex problem is limited by the computational power and the type of coupling between them may be a userdefined option. The main purpose of our current work is to develop an efficient COMSOL-based model for radio-frequency EM field distribution inside heterogeneous saturated porous media. Such a model can be a promising tool, for instance, in petroleum applications. As a successful example we can mention is the EM heating method for in-situ upgrading which can be found in [4]. Relatively simple geometrical configurations have been used to validate our models using comparison to available and developed analytical solutions. In particular for two different versions of the simulation, the accuracy and convergence rate of numerical EM field solutions for different grids and element orders have been checked. Then the models have been applied in more complex multidomain multiphysics framework of field-scale recovery problem. The examples of EM field computations are presented with detailed analysis of numerical solution accuracy and computational performance of the model. The advantages of the new model (where both elements choice and solver features have been explored) are demonstrated.


Objective: It has been shown that healthy subjects are able to rapidly establish an association between an arbitrary sensory cue and a given mass to be lifted. The aim of this study was to test the ability of stroke patients to scale the grip force output in a predictive manner to the mass of an object to be lifted based on learned associations between arbitrary colour cues (ACC) and object masses. Methods: A clinical evaluation of patients was performed including ARAT, sensibility, aphasia, apraxia and hemineglect tests, MMSE, NIHSS scale. Participants grasped a cylindrical object, mounted on top of a box. The total mass of the configuration was either 0.4 or 0.6kg. The object incorporated a force sensor for grip force registration and sensors for registration of acceleration signals in 3D. In a first experiment, patients performed 10 consecutive lifts of each weight with either hand to assess sensori-motor integration. In a second experiment the ability to use ACC to link them with object masses was tested. In a "no cue" experiment, a non-informative neutral visual stimulus was presented prior to each lift, thereby not allowing any judgement about which mass to be lifted. In a "cue" experiment, an ACC provided advance information about the mass patients would have to lift in the subsequent trial. The order of mass changes was pseudo-randomly predetermined and presented in a different order for each subpart of the second experiment. The results were compared with those obtained from healthy subjects. Results: 24 hemiparetic patients were included in the study with a mean age of 57 years. They had mild motor and sensibility deficit. None had clinical signs of higher cortical functions impairment. Sensori-motor integration was observed in the majority of patients during the first experiment. Patients were, however, unable to establish memory links between ACC and the mass to be lifted, regardless of whether the grip-lift task was performed with the affected or unaffected hand. In contrast, healthy controls were able to scale grip force in a predictive manner based on learned associations between ACC and object mass. Interestingly, we observed a negative correlation between age and the precision of predictive grip force scaling. Discussion: Stroke patients with mild motor and sensibility deficits are unable to establish a memory link between ACC and the mass of an object to be lifted. The reason for this remains unclear and further studies are needed.


The concept-oriented reading instruction (CORI) framework was designed to increase student reading motivation, strategy usage, and conceptual learning. Thus far, CORI has only been studied in regards to science education. This descriptive mixed method case study examined two classes of sixth grade students' responses to CORI in nutrition education that relied heavily on inquiry, reading, and performance-based tasks which was implemented to help students develop conceptual knowledge in nutrition and improve their abilities to analyze influences on eating behaviors and habits. Each sixth grade class participated in a six-day CORI nutrition unit (N=63). Pre and post nutrition concept and skill questionnaires, pre and post student interest surveys, observations and field notes, and student artifacts were used to answer the following questions: 1) To what extent do students acquire conceptual knowledge when CORI is used to teach nutrition education?; 2) To what extent can students apply a health skill (analyzing influences) when CORI is used to teach nutrition education?; 3) In what ways does the use of CORI in nutrition education engage students?; 4) What interests students about reading informational and narrative texts provided in a CORI health class? Students in case 1 experienced significant gains in concept acquisition after a CORI nutrition unit; however concept gains in case 2 were non significant. There was no statistically significant evidence to suggest that the CORI unit affected students' skill acquisition and application. Gender and ethnicity did not have a statistically significant affect on students' concept and skill acquisition following a CORI nutrition unit. Responses to student interest surveys suggest a high level of interest in the hands-on activities and qualitative data report specific interest in the reading activities that were a part of the health education instruction. Quantitative data indicate increases in students' interest in information texts and using texts to find new information; however, quantitative data also suggest there is no change after a CORI nutrition unit in students' self-reported persistence even though a text is difficult to read. Qualitative data suggest an increase in student engagement in the CORI hands-on activities, reading assignments, cognitive processing of the material, and application in authentic tasks. Limitations of this study and implications for future research are also discussed.


A group of men stand in front of the St. Nicholas Hotel. A colophon at the lower right designates this picture as a photographic souvenir from Minerals Wells, taken by Dan W. Evans. The building had a varied history. It was first (in 1904) an unnamed two-and-one-half-story sanitarium, then re-named the St. Nicholas Hotel, and then later it became the Delaware Hotel. It was located at N. Oak and NE 3rd Street. The building was eventually consumed by fire on October of 1907. The back of photograph has a T and P Railway logotype and this information about the Jericho Fine Photo Company: "Mountain and Donkey Groups, View Souvenirs and Scenery of Min-Wells, Kodak Supplies and Finishing, Button and Stamp Photos a Specialty. Dan W. Evans Prop. Min Wells, Tex."


The aim of this thesis is to analyse how the implementation of electronic patient records (EPR) may affect cross-disciplinary clinical practice in a particular hospital department. The thesis presents a modified discourse analysis, a technology analysis, and some reflections on power. Using nineteen interviews of doctors and nurses in the Paediatric Department of Hvidovre Hospital, it emphasizes those actions in relation to the implementation of EPR that may either hinder or foster cross-disciplinary co-operation between doctors and nurses. The general pattern is that EPR fosters mono-disciplinarity, even though the management's ambitions in regard to EPR had been to foster crossdisciplinarity. The overall conclusion of the thesis is that EPR has the capacity to open a space for cross-disciplinarity. The changes in the documentation practices of the doctors and the nurses that follow from the implementation of EPR have also brought changes in their communication and decision-making processes. This can be seen especially when they prepare for regular rounds, during rounds, and in the subsequent documentation of rounds. Also, the changes in both the structures of communication and the processes of decision-making do not seem to result in fundamental task slippage between the doctors and the nurses because the doctor maintains ultimate authority and responsibility in regard to diagnosis, prescriptions, and treatment plans, while the nurses remain responsible for patient care (nursing) and keeping the doctors informed. Like the paper-based patient record, EPR expresses the rationality of medical science but, unlike the paper-based patient record, the doctors no longer hold a monopoly on the expression of this rationality. The thesis focuses on the spaces of conduct that arise as a result of the managing doctor's political intention to use the transformation of patient record technology as an occasion for managers and professionals to reconsider how they have hitherto organized the routines and tasks in the department.


Climate change is causing significant mass loss of glaciers in high mountains worldwide. Although glacier systems show a great amount of inherent complexity and variation, there are clear overall trends indicating global glacier recession, which is likely to accelerate in coming decades. Large gaps remain in our understanding and ability to model accurately the key processes and cause-effect relationships driving glacier response to climate change. In addition, a lot of data on glacier mass changes are not available to the public due to national interests concerning water supply.


"The purpose of the study was to examine factors influencing achievement motivation among nine seventh grade African American male students attending middle schools in the Southeastern region of the United States. The focal question of the study was how peer influence, perceptions of educational experiences, feelings of alienation (cultural discontinuity), cultural context of learning; and elements of Black masculinity influenced achievement motivation among African American seventh grade males. The relationships between these factors were also explored. An instrumental case study methodology was used to collect data. Data was derived from individual interviews with students, interviews with parent(s)/caregiver(s), focus group interviews, observations in the schools and communities as well as field notes taken in the researcher's journal. A content level of analysis was conducted. The results of the study indicated that achievement motivation was demonstrated in the lives of the participants through three contexts of learning. Within the personal context, participants described their self-concept as learner, self-efficacy as learner, and perceptions of Black masculinity. In the sociocultural context, family structure and influence as well as the significance of peer relationships were cited. For the academic context of learning, pedagogical influences and learner self-regulation were noted. Through these contexts, an individual type and a collectivist type of achievement motivation emerged. Implications for classroom practice and research are recommended."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.


Create dynamic dashboards and put your data on display with For DummiesNo matter what business youre in, reports have become a staple of the workplace, but what good is a report if no reads it, or even worse, understands it? This all new edition of Excel Dashboards & Reports For Dummies is here to help you make meaning of all your data and turn it into clear and actionable visualizations. Fully updated for the latest business intelligence and spreadsheet tools in Excel 2013, this book shows you how to analyze large amounts of data, quickly slice data into various views on the fly, automate redundant reporting, create eye-catching visualizations, and more.Helps you move beyond reporting data with simple tables, rows, and columns to designing high-impact reports, dashboards, and visualsWalks you through a wide array of technical and analytical concepts to give you the background you need to select the right tool for interpreting and displaying dataCovers how to build a chart, work with pivot tables, group and bucket your data, represent trends, create What-If analyses, and increase the value of your reportsExcel Dashboards & Reports For Dummies, 2nd Edition is the business analysis tool you need to transform your raw data into a powerful and effective presentation that is accessible to everyone.


A number of current planners make use of automatic domain analysis techniques to extract information such as state invariants or necessary goal orderings from a planning domain. There are also planners that allow the user to explicitly specify additional information intended to improve performance. One such planner is TALplanner, which allows the use of domain-dependent temporal control formulas for pruning a forward-chaining search tree. This leads to the question of how these two approaches can be combined. In this paper we show how to make use of automatically generated state invariants to improve the performance of testing control formulas. We also develop a new technique for analyzing control rules relative to control formulas and show how this often allows the planner to automatically strengthen the preconditions of the operators, thereby reducing time complexity and improving the performance of TALplanner by a factor of up to 400 for the largest problems from the AIPS-2000 competition.


Background: India has the third largest HIV epidemic in the world. The Indian epidemic is characterized by low levels in the general population and elevated concentrations among high-risk groups. The present study was planned to determine the awareness of HIV among students from Mumbai University.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among students from Mumbai University, India during May–June 2017. Two hundred and fifty students were approached to participate in the study of which 199 agreed to participate (males: 132; females: 67). Pretested questionnaire was distributed and collected data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23.Results: Study participants had high knowledge (86%) and attitude score (87%). There was no significant difference between males and female participants for attitude and knowledge, except for one question regarding knowledge about HIV transmission via breastfeeding to child.Conclusions: Present study showed that there are no misconceptions or negative attitudes regarding HIV among students. A longitudinal study with a larger sample size across India is recommended for further investigation.


Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) - understood as the formalised analytical activities initiated or carried out by central government administrations when designing specific policy instruments - is currently receiving high levels of political attention. It is seen as a tool to improve regulatory quality and to promote cross-cutting objectives such as sustainable development. Often conceived as an economic analysis of costs and benefits, RIA tends to be depicted as 'neutral' assessment process that informs decision makers about 'facts'. This does not explain, of course, why RIA often becomes an arena for political conflict involving both government departments and stakeholders. Based on empirical research on the design and practical application of RIA across the European Union, this paper explores the relationship between RIA, policy-making and politics. The aim is to shed light on what knowledge is produced, how it is used by different actors and what role it plays in decision-making. Based on this analysis, we explore to what extent and under what conditions RIA can serve as a tool for more evidence-based and sustainability-oriented policy-making processes.


We define Dumont's statistic on the symmetric group $S_n$ to be the function dmc: $S_n \rightarrow {\bf N}$ which maps a permutation $\sigma$ to the number of distinct nonzero letters in code$( \sigma )$. Dumont showed that this statistic is Eulerian. Naturally extending Dumont's statistic to the rearrangement classes of arbitrary words, we create a generalized statistic which is again Eulerian. As a consequence, we show that for each distributive lattice $J(P)$ which is a product of chains, there is a poset $Q$ such that the $f$-vector of $Q$ is the $h$-vector of $J(P)$. This strengthens for products of chains a result of Stanley concerning the flag $h$-vectors of Cohen-Macaulay complexes. We conjecture that the result holds for all finite distributive lattices.


Topic fatigue is a potential reaction to news topics that the media covers intensively. Recipients experiencing topic fatigue are annoyed and state that they do not want to hear or see anything about such topics anymore. As potential outcome, they strive to avoid such topics during their future news exposure. In this essay, we discuss the question of whether topic fatigue is an international problem. Based on initial empirical insights obtained via qualitative interviews, we establish four theses that underline the international meaning of the phenomenon. First, we argue that the level of press freedom can shape the intensity of topic fatigue and that fatigue experiences can be extreme in countries with low press freedom. Second, we discuss topic fatigue as a potential threat to political transitions and democratization processes. Third, we propose that topic fatigue may reinforce resentments against western societies. Regarding this point, the role of the international media in particular for English-peaking, non-western countries is addressed. Finally, we introduce the argument that topic fatigue may erode the deliberative potential of social media, which can be particularly problematic for countries in which the traditional news media is (politically) dependent. Ultimately, the key elements of these theses are used to propose a comparative research design for an international study on topic fatigue.


In my master's thesis, I have focused on radon gas in 43 buildings used for different purposes (23 schools, 3 kindergartens, 16 offices and a residential house) in which preliminary measurements had shown higher concentrations of radon gas. I carried out measurements of radon and short-lived radon products whilst simultaneously employing different measurement techniques. In all 43 buildings, I measured the instantaneous concentration of radon by using scintillation cells; in 18 buildings, I additionally measured the average concentration of radon by using solid state nuclear track detectors and in 10 buildings, I measured concentration retrospectively with solid state nuclear track detectors. In four selected buildings (a school, a kindergarten, an office and a residential house), I carried out the measurements by using all of the available equipment. I monitored the daily fluctuations of concentration of radon and short-lived radon products by using continuous monitors in 14 buildings. This is how I obtained the factor of radioactive equilibrium between radon and its short-lived products. Based on the results obtained, I calculated the effective doses. As the basis for calculating the doses, I used the instantaneous and average concentrations of radon and the equilibrium factor taken from literature (0.40) or own measurements. I compared the doses and critically evaluated them.
In contrast to the previous research, I researched radon exclusively in areas with increased risk for radon. I studied the influence of the working regime on the concentration of radon in different working environments (i.e. a school, a kindergarten and an office).


Second century documents such as the Epistle to Diognetus can give us an insight into the creation of identity when Christianity was just starting to flourish. This study uses definitions of identity from the perspective of several scholars such as Jonathan Z. Smith and Denise Kimber Buell, as well as others. The aim of this work is to understand how identity was imagined in one important early Christian document.


Painstakingly restored from Tolkien's manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of The Children of Hurin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, eagles and Orcs, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien. There are tales of Middle-earth from times long before The Lord of the Rings, and the story told in this book is set in the great country that lay beyond the Grey Havens in the West: lands where Treebeard once walked, but which were drowned in the great cataclysm that ended the First Age of the World. In that remote time Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in the vast fortress of Angband, the Hells of Iron, in the North; and the tragedy of Turin and his sister Nienor unfolded within the shadow of the fear of Angband and the war waged by Morgoth against the lands and secret cities of the Elves. Their brief and passionate lives were dominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bore them as the children of Hurin, the man who had dared to defy and to scorn him to his face. Against them he sent his most formidable servant, Glaurung, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragon of fire. Into this story of brutal conquest and flight, of forest hiding-places and pursuit, of resistance with lessening hope, the Dark Lord and the Dragon enter in direly articulate form. Sardonic and mocking, Glaurung manipulated the fates of Turin and Nienor by lies of diabolic cunning and guile, and the curse of Morgoth was fulfilled. The earliest versions of this story by J.R.R. Tolkien go back to the end of the First World War and the years that followed; but long afterwards, when The Lord of the Rings was finished, he wrote it anew and greatly enlarged it in complexities of motive and character: it became the dominant story in his later work on Middle-earth. But he could not bring it to a final and finished form. In this book Christopher Tolkien has constructed, after long study of the manuscripts, a coherent narrative without any editorial invention.


In the early 1960s, West German intellectuals began to discuss the role and importance of Mao Zedong. Recognition of Mao as a political icon soon spread into subcultural left-wing networks and publics. Driven by a desire to change the social and political conditions of West German society, artists and members of the growing student movement adopted the idea of Mao's Cultural Revolution and reconfigured it for the West German context. At the same time, iconic images of Mao also entered popular culture. After the decline of the student movement, left-wing intellectuals' accounts of Mao became trendsetting texts for a broad subcultural milieu. During the 1970s, an estimated 100,000-150,000 extra-parliamentary activists turned into adherents of Maoist cadre parties. Living directly at the European frontline of the Cold War, the appeal of Maoist ideology for West German activists derived from its promise to open up a "third way" beyond US capitalism and Soviet communism. The Chinese example inspired hopes for social liberalization, fundamental political change, and, for some, even national reunification. This paper traces how Mao acquired his iconic status among different West German networks and publics throughout the 1960s and 1970s and attempts to identify key agents in this process as well as their acts of trendsetting and gatekeeping.


The natural variability of Holocene climate defi nes the baseline to assess ongoing climate change. Greenland ice-core records indicate warming superimposed by abrupt climate oscillations in the early Holocene, followed by a general cooling trend throughout the middle and late Holocene that culminated during the Little Ice Age (LIA). Tropical precipitation changes correlate with these patterns throughout the Holocene. Here we use mountain glaciers in the European Alps to reconstruct the regional Holocene climate evolution and to test for a link between mid-latitude, North Atlantic, and tropical climate. Our precise 10 Be chronology from Tsidjiore Nouve Glacier, western Swiss Alps, indicates a glacier culmination during the earliest Holocene ~11.4 k.y. ago, likely related to the Preboreal Oscillation. Based on our data, no Holocene glacier advance of similar amplitude occurred until ~3.8 k.y. ago, when the glacier reached LIA limits. The 10 Be ages between 500 and 170 yr correspond to the LIA, while the youngest 10 Be ages overlap with the historically recorded post-LIA glacier positions. Integrating our data with existing records, we propose a hemispheric climate link between the Alps, North Atlantic temperature, and tropical precipitation patterns for the Holocene, supporting the concept of a pervasive climate driver. These fi ndings from northern mid-latitudes are consistent with the hypothesis formulated for the tropics that the Earth's thermal equator, responding to North Atlantic temperature changes, might have migrated southward throughout the Holocene, reaching the southern turning point toward the end of the LIA.


The chapters of this e-book comprise the pedagogical and research endeavours of a team of academics in higher education who worked with mobile learning devices over two years on a project entitled New Technologies: New Pedagogies project: Using mobile technologies to develop new ways of teaching and learning. The project endeavoured to take an innovative approach not only in the creation of new, authentic pedagogies for mobile devices but also in the action learning approach adopted for the professional development of participants. The project involved 15 people including teachers, IT and PD personnel. It was a large and ambitious project that resulted not only in a range of innovative pedagogies, but in the creation of more knowledgeable and confident users of mobile technologies among teachers and students.


Lesotho has plenty of water resources which could be used to improve the livelihoods of Basotho as a nation in many aspects. However, this seems not to be the case as Lesotho suffers from food security mostly during severe droughts, to an extent of seeking support from international communities. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the very important role extension support should play in the practising of sustainable irrigation farming by smallholders. A structural questionnaire was administered amongst 153 irrigation farmers and 31 extension officers randomly in the four southern districts of Lesotho, namely Maseru, Mafeteng, Mohale's Hoek and Quthing. Extension credibility is highly questionable as 70% of irrigation farmers do not regard extension as important for irrigation management decisions. Although extension workers are generally well qualified, no in-service training is offered to help with the skilling of extensionists regarding irrigation management. Consequently the extension workers consider them not competent to provide support for irrigation farming. These results suggest the need for greater political and institutional input in irrigation farming; in particular there is a need to revisit institutional policy instruments and institution for extension, technical assistance, training and credit services that will facilitate performance of irrigation farming in Lesotho.


In the closed-circuit installation «Live/Taped Video Corridor», a study from the Performance Corridor work group, Nauman set two monitors above one another at the end of a corridor almost ten meters long and only 50 cm wide. The lower monitor features a videotape of the corridor. The uppermost monitor shows a closed-circuit tape recording of a camera at the entrance to the corridor, positioned at a height of about three meters. On entering the corridor and approaching the monitors, you quickly come under the area surveyed by the camera. But the closer you get to the monitor, the further you are from the camera, with the result that your image on the monitor becomes increasingly smaller. Another cause of irritation: you see yourself from behind. Moreover, the feeling of alienation induced by walking away from yourself is heightened by your being enclosed in a narrow corridor. Here, rational orientation and emotional insecurity clash with each other. A person thus monitored suddenly slips into the role of someone monitoring their own activities.

(source: Dorte Zbikowski, in: Thomas Y. Levin (ed.), CTRL[SPACE]. rhetorics of surveillance from Bentham to big brother, ZKM | Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe 2001)


Medical devices are health care products distinguished from drugs for regulatory purposes in most countries based on mechanism of action. Unlike drugs, medical devices operate via physical or mechanical means and are not dependent on metabolism to accomplish their primary intended effect. Developing new medical devices requires clinical investigations and approval process goes through similar process like drugs. Medical device approvals in the period of 2010 to 2014 were searched from USFDA website. Disease burden data in the similar period was searched from centers for disease control and prevention website. Collected data was analyzed to know number of approved devices, top therapy areas, and mechanism of action of these devices. Out of a total of 200 medical devices approvals in the time period of 2010 to 2014, maximum number of devices (51; 25.5%) were approved in the year 2011, cardiovascular (78; 39%) was the top therapy area. Highest number (180; 90%) of approved medical devices belonged to the category III and maximum number (73; 36.5%) of approved medical devices had "mechanical" mechanism of action. The top 3 causes of deaths in USA during 2010 to 2014 were heart disease, cancer and followed by respiratory infection. There was a match between the top diseases and the medical device approvals for top 2 diseases in USA i.e. heart disease, and cancer. With respect to respiratory infections and ailments which was the 3rd leading cause of death only one device was approved out of 200 approvals in total.


Observations of a comprehensive suite of inor- ganic and organic trace gases, including non-methane hy- drocarbons (NMHCs), halogenated organics and oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs), obtained from the NASA DC-8 over Canada during the ARCTAS aircraft cam- paign in July 2008 illustrate that convection is important for redistributing both long- and short-lived species throughout the troposphere. Convective outflow events were identified by the elevated mixing ratios of organic species in the up- per troposphere relative to background conditions. Several dramatic events were observed in which isoprene and its ox- idation products were detected at hundreds of pptv at alti- tudes higher than 8 km. Two events are studied in detail us- ing detailed experimental data and the NASA Langley Re- search Center (LaRC) box model. One event had no light- ning NOx (NO + NO2) associated with it and the other had substantial lightning NOx (LNOx > 1 ppbv). When convec- tive storms transport isoprene from the boundary layer to the upper troposphere and no LNOx is present, OH is re- duced due to scavenging by isoprene, which serves to slow the chemistry, resulting in longer lifetimes for species that react with OH. Ozone and PAN production is minimal in this case. In the case where isoprene is convected and LNOx is present, there is a large effect on the expected ensuing chemistry: isoprene exerts a dominant impact on HOx and nitrogen-containing species; the relative contribution from other species to HOx, such as peroxides, is insignificant. The isoprene reacts quickly, resulting in primary and secondary products, including formaldehyde and methyl glyoxal. The model predicts enhanced production of alkyl nitrates (ANs) and peroxyacyl nitrate compounds (PANs). PANs persist be- cause of the cold temperatures of the upper troposphere re- sulting in a large change in the NOx mixing ratios which, in turn, has a large impact on the HOx chemistry. Ozone pro- duction is substantial during the first few hours following the convection to the UT, resulting in a net gain of approximately 10 ppbv compared to the modeled scenario in which LNOx is present but no isoprene is present aloft.


This study compares aerosol optical depths (AOD) products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model and their integrated products with ground measurements across the eastern U.S. from March 1, 2000 to December 31, 2001. The Terra MODIS Level‐3 (collection 4) AOD at 0.55 μm has better correlation, but consistently overestimates the values of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) measurements. GOCART has small biases for a 22‐month integration, and slight positive biases appeared for the cold season. These results are also supported by the comparison with the IMPROVE (Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments) light extinction index. The optimal interpolation improves the daily‐scale RMSE from either MODIS or GOCART alone. However, the regional biases in the aerosol products constitute a major constraint to the optimal estimate of AOD.


A two year investigation into the environmental impacts of a coal combustion waste spill at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston coal-fired power plant revealed several impacts. First, selenium concentrations were identified above criterion continuous concentration (CCC) set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in total available water samples, and sediment samples were elevated up to 21 times background concentrations for arsenic following the spill. Second, fish body burdens for arsenic and selenium were statistically elevated in the months following the spill, particularly in redear sunfish. Third, body burdens were found to be statistically different between fish species for many elements, which can be attributed to diet and trophic level. Forth, concentrations of selenium in fish tissues were above proposed biological effects concentrations. Furthermore, fish were identified with pathological abnormalities such as exopthalmus, histopathological changes in the gills, reduced condition index, bacterial infections, and fin erosion. However, following an analysis of young bluegill sunfish demonstrating exopthalmus, no direct correlation could be made between these individuals and highly elevated contaminant concentrations. Fish populations are showing sustained elevation of toxic elements two years following the spill but are also likely benefitting from immigration/ emigration of individuals from healthy source populations.


Spend your few moment to read a book even only few pages. Reading book is not obligation and force for everybody. When you don't want to read, you can get punishment from the publisher. Read a book becomes a choice of your different characteristics. Many people with reading habit will always be enjoyable to read, or on the contrary. For some reasons, this graven images tends to be the representative book in this website.


Adobe Business Catalyst is a hosted application for building and managing online businesses. Using this unified platform and without back-end coding, Web designers can build everything from amazing Websites to powerful online stores, beautiful brochure-ware sites to mini-sites. To work in BC, designers use Dreamweaver (CS4 or later) with the free Business Catalyst extension installed. The cost of hosting a site with BC ranges from a few dollars a month and up, depending on the size of the site and the level of traffic, and the designer can pass on the cost to their client. This is the first official book on using BC. In this comprehensive, hands-on, step-by-step guide, the reader will learn how to set up eCommerce on the hosted solution. As they work through the chapters, the readers can also follow along with the video tutorials linked in from AdobeTV (tv.adobe.com). This book covers how to set up a new site, work with web pages, organize the site hierarchy, upload assets via FTP, configure modules, and customize their appearance. It includes best practices to set up site navigation, forums, password-protected areas and web forms. By the end, the reader will have their own working online business. Once it is live, the designer or the client can use the robust reporting interface in Business Catalyst to review metrics and run custom reports in the customer database. By analyzing the data, the online store can be optimized to improve sales revenue and increase customer adoption.


Mobile apps are increasingly utilized to gather data for various healthcare aspects. Furthermore, mobile apps are used to administer interventions (e.g., breathing exercises) to individuals. In this context, mobile crowdsensing constitutes a technology, which is used to gather valuable medical data based on the power of the crowd and the offered computational capabilities of mobile devices. Notably, collecting data with mobile crowdsensing solutions has several advantages compared to traditional assessment methods when gathering data over time. For example, data is gathered with high ecological validity, since smartphones can be unobtrusively used in everyday life. Existing approaches have shown that based on these advantages new medical insights, for example, for the tinnitus disease, can be revealed. In the work at hand, data of a developed mHealth crowdsensing platform that assesses the stress level and fluctuations of the platform users in daily life was investigated. More specifically, data of 1797 daily measurements on GPS and stress-related data in 77 users were analyzed. Using this data source, machine learning algorithms have been applied with the goal to predict stress-related parameters based on the GPS data of the platform users. Results show that predictions become possible that (1) enable meaningful interpretations as well as (2) indicate the directions for further investigations. In essence, the findings revealed first insights into the stress situation of individuals over time in order to improve their quality of life. Altogether, the work at hand shows that mobile crowdsensing can be valuably utilized in the context of stress on one hand. On the other, machine learning algorithms are able to utilize geospatial data of stress measurements that was gathered by a crowdsensing platform with the goal to improve the quality of life of its participating crowd users.


The complete guide to Excel 2016, from Mr. Spreadsheet himself Whether you are just starting out or an Excel novice, the Excel 2016 Bible is your comprehensive, go-to guide for all your Excel 2016 needs. Whether you use Excel at work or at home, you will be guided through the powerful new features and capabilities by expert author and Excel Guru John Walkenbach to take full advantage of what the updated version offers. Learn to incorporate templates, implement formulas, create pivot tables, analyze data, and much more. Navigate this powerful tool for business, home management, technical work, and much more with the only resource you need, Excel 2016 Bible. Create functional spreadsheets that work Master formulas, formatting, pivot tables, and more Get acquainted with Excel 2016's new features and tools Customize downloadable templates and worksheets Whether you need a walkthrough tutorial or an easy-to-navigate desk reference, the Excel 2016 Bible has you covered with complete coverage and clear expert guidance.


This paper presents results from glacial geomorphology mapping in and adjacent to Velfjorden and Ursfjorden in the southern Nordland region of Norway. Submarine and terrestrial landforms were studied and mapped using high-resolution multibeam bathymetric and airborne LiDAR data, in addition to reconnaissance in the field. The work unites ice-marginal deposits related to the established Tautra and Tjøtta glacial events which took place during the Younger Dryas (YD) chronozone. In Ursfjorden, an outlet glacier deposited a c. 100 m-high terminal moraine, whereas moraine ridges and a large sedimentary wedge were deposited in the inner part of Velfjorden. Highly elongated subglacial bedforms located inside the ice-marginal landforms reveal that the fjords were occupied by fast-flowing ice streams during YD. Eighteen new radiocarbon dates from the region, along with twelve recalibrated dates from previous studies, provide time-constraints for ice-sheet configuration and dynamics during deglaciation. Radiocarbon dates suggest that the outer coastal islands became ice-free prior to 14 cal ka BP. Glacially overridden shell-rich units dated to the Allerød Interstadial indicate that the YD ice sheet readvanced at least 5 km before depositing the terminal moraine in Ursfjorden. The ages of shells found near the distinct, regionally correlative, YD raised shoreline indicate that the glacial readvance culminated around early to mid-YD.


Santiago Ramon y Cajal was a mythic figure in science. Hailed as the father of modern anatomy and neurobiology, he was largely responsible for the modern conception of the brain. His groundbreaking works were New Ideas on the Structure of the Nervous System and H istology of the Nervous System in Man and Vertebrates. In addition to leaving a legacy of unparalleled scientific research, Cajal sought to educate the novice scientist about how science was done and how he thought it should be done. This recently rediscovered classic, first published in 1897, is an anecdotal guide for the perplexed new investigator as well as a refreshing resource for the old pro. Cajal was a pragmatist, aware of the pitfalls of being too idealistic -- and he had a sense of humor, particularly evident in his diagnoses of various stereotypes of eccentric scientists. The book covers everything from valuable personality traits for an investigator to social factors conducive to scientific work.


Mathematical Modeling of Malaria: Theories of Malaria Elimination Geoffrey Louis Chi-Johnston This dissertation describes the development and application of a new mathematical model for simulating the progression of Plasmodium falciparum infections in individuals with no malarial acquired immunity. The model allows for stochastic simulation of asexual and sexual parasitemias as well as the onset of fever and human to mosquito infectivity on a daily time scale. The model components for the asexual and sexual stages were developed elsewhere but are here extended to allow for simulation of the full range of dynamics observed in a subset of malaria therapy patients. As a first application of the model, I calculate the human component of malarial R0, the basic reproductive number. I then compare this value to those from three other models and describe how this quantity can be used to model malaria transmission. The second application of the model incorporates the effects of drug treatment on progression of infection by utilizing modeled pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of a variety of antimalarials. I utilize a stage specific proportional killing model for sexual stages, informed from recent in vitro data. The relationship of effect sizes to treatment coverage and type of treatment in both early and late treatment seeking settings is calculated. In the third chapter, I consider the economic and epidemiological ramifications of antimalarial and rapid diagnostic subsidization for malaria control. For the epidemiological modeling I utilize a semi-mechanistic model of the spread of drug resistance parameterized from historical malaria mortality data; for the economic model I consider the effect of rapid diagnostics on the intensive and extensive margins of antibiotics and antimalarials, as well as the benefits to improved targeting of both. I find that rapid diagnostic testing is justified given our baseline assumptions for areas with low proportions of malarious individuals among all treatment-seekers, but that caution is necessary before deployment worldwide. For antimalarial subsidization, we find that this is a cost-effective method for reducing mortality in developing countries, though efforts to delay the onset and slow the spread of resistance are urgently needed.


The Nintendo Wii, introduced in 2006, helped usher in a moment of retro-reinvention in video game play. This hugely popular console system, codenamed Revolution during development, signaled a turn away from fully immersive, time-consuming MMORPGs or forty-hour FPS games and back toward family fun in the living room. Players using the wireless motion-sensitive controller (the Wii Remote, or "Wiimote") play with their whole bodies, waving, swinging, swaying. The mimetic interface shifts attention from what's on the screen to what's happening in physical space. This book describes the Wii's impact in technological, social, and cultural terms, examining the Wii as a system of interrelated hardware and software that was consciously designed to promote social play in physical space. Each chapter of Codename Revolution focuses on a major component of the Wii as a platform: the console itself, designed to be low-powered and nimble; the iconic Wii Remote; Wii Fit Plus, and its controller, the Wii Balance Board; the Wii Channels interface and Nintendo's distribution system; and the Wii as a social platform that not only affords multiplayer options but also encourages social interaction in shared physical space. Finally, the authors connect the Wii's revolution in mimetic interface gaming--which eventually led to the release of Sony's Move and Microsoft's Kinect--to some of the economic and technological conditions that influence the possibility of making something new in this arena of computing and culture.


Advanced API Security is a complete reference to the next wave of challenges in enterprise security--securing public and private APIs. API adoption in both consumer and enterprises has gone beyond predictions. It has become the coolest way of exposing business functionalities to the outside world. Both your public and private APIs, need to be protected, monitored and managed. Security is not an afterthought, but API security has evolved a lot in last five years. The growth of standards, out there, has been exponential. That's where Advanced API Security comes in--to wade through the weeds and help you keep the bad guys away while realizing the internal and external benefits of developing APIs for your services. Our expert author guides you through the maze of options and shares industry leading best practices in designing APIs for rock-solid security. The book will explain, in depth, securing APIs from quite traditional HTTP Basic Authentication to OAuth 2.0 and the standards built around it. Build APIs with rock-solid security today with Advanced API Security. Takes you through the best practices in designing APIs for rock-solid security. Provides an in depth tutorial of most widely adopted security standards for API security. Teaches you how to compare and contrast different security standards/protocols to find out what suits your business needs the best. What youll learn Build APIs with rock-solid security by understanding best practices and design guidelines. Get a thorough understanding about widely adopted security standards for API security. Compare and contrast different security standards/protocols to find out what suits your business needs, the best. Expand business APIs to partners and outsiders with Identity Federation. Get hands-on experience in developing clients against Facebook, Twitter, and Salesforce APIs. Understand and learn how to mitigate security threats. Who this book is for Advanced API Security is for enterprise security architects and developers who are designing, building and managing APIs. The book will provide guidelines, best practices in designing APIs and threat mitigation techniques for enterprise security architects while developers would be able to gain hands-on experience by developing API clients against Facebook, Twitter, Salesforce and many other cloud service providers.


Today two major technological forces drive the telecommunication era: the wireless cellular systems and the Internet. As these forces converge, the demand for new services, increasing bandwidth and ubiquitous connectivity continuously grows. The next-generation mobile systems will be based solely or in a large extent, on the Internet Protocol (IP). This thesis begins by addressing the problems and challenges faced in a multimedia, IP-based Wireless LAN environment. The ETSI HiperLAN/2 system has been mainly selected as the test wireless network for our theoretical and simulation experiments. Apart from the simulations, measurements have been taken from real life test scenarios, where the IEEE 802.11 system was used (UniS Test-bed). Furthermore, a brief overview of the All-IP network infrastructure is presented. An extension to the conventional wireless (cellular) architecture, which takes advantage of the IP network characteristics, is considered. Some of the trends driving the 3G and WLANs developments are explored, while the provision of quality of service on the latter for real-time and non-real-time multimedia services is investigated, simulated and evaluated. Finally, an efficient and catholic Q0S framework is proposed. At the same time, the multimedia services should be offered in a seamless and uninterrupted manner to users who access the all-IP infrastructure via a WLAN, meeting the demands of both enterprise and public environments anywhere and anytime. Thus providing support for mobile communications not only in terms of terminal mobility, as is currently the case, but also for session, service and personal mobility. Furthermore, this mobility should be available over heterogeneous networks, such as WLANs, IJMTS, as well as fixed networks. Therefore, this work investigates issues such as, multilayer and multi-protocol (SIP-Mobile IP-Cellular IP) mobility management in wireless LAN and 3G domains. Several local and global mobility protocols and architectures have been tested and evaluated and a complete mobility management framework is proposed. Moreover, integration of simple yet efficient authentication, accounting and authorisation mechanisms with the multimedia service architecture is an important issue of IP-based WLANs. Without such integration providers will not have the necessary means to control their provided services and make revenue from the users. The proposed AAA architecture should support a robust AAA infrastructure providing secure, fast and seamless access granting to multimedia services. On the other hand, a user wishing a service from the All-IP WLAN infrastructure needs to be authenticated twice, once to get access to the network and the other one should be granted for the required service. Hence, we provide insights into these issues by simulating and evaluating pre-authentication techniques and other network authentication scenarios based on the wellknown IEEE 802.lx protocol for multimedia IP-based WLANs.


In the mid 1980s education researchers began exploring the use of the Internet within teaching and learning practices, now commonly referred to as e-learning. At the same time, many e-learning researchers were discovering that the application of existing ethical guidelines for qualitative research was resulting in confusion and uncertainty among both researchers and ethics review board members. Two decades later we continue to be plagued by these same ethical issues. On reflection on our research practices and examination of the literature on ethical issues relating to qualitative Internet- and Web-based research, the authors conclude that there are three main areas of confusion and uncertainty among researchers in the field of e-learning: (a) participant consent, (b) public versus private ownership, and (c) confidentiality and anonymity.


This brief outlines the motivation for and key features of a tax designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The two most commonly discussed market-based instruments for reducing GHG emissions are a cap-andtrade system and a GHG (carbon) tax. These mechanisms function in a similar way by establishing a price for GHG emissions. They both correct the market failure that exists when the value of environmental damages is not included in the market price of fossil fuels and other activities that release GHGs. A GHG tax and cap-and-trade approach are compared, with consideration given to how effective each policy instrument may be at meeting key objectives. These objectives include environmental integrity, cost-effectiveness, and distributional equity, and will inevitably involve political considerations. Fundamental design issues of a GHG tax policy are explored, including who would pay the tax and how to set an appropriate tax rate. There are a number of options for determining the appropriate level for a tax, including setting it to equal some estimate of the social cost of carbon or pursuing the long-run goal of stabilizing the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere. A tax can be levied at various points throughout the energy supply chain, but most proposals call for an upstream tax on fuel suppliers in order to maximize the scope of coverage, which lowers costs, and for administrative simplicity. This brief also reviews existing GHG taxes in Europe and North America, along with several recent U.S. legislative carbon tax proposals. Finally, other pricing strategies to reduce GHG emissions in the transportation and electricity sectors are examined. Congressional Policy Brief


Front and center, America! Here comes action! Here comes adventure! Here comes "The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot" - a roller-coaster ride through the minds of Geof Darrow and Frank Miller, the tag team that set you reeling with their hard-hitting series, "Hard Boiled!" Everything you remember about being eight years old and watching monster movies is right here, but with all the magnified detail that you always wanted to see. Geof Darrow was awarded an Eisner for his spectacular artwork on the original hit miniseries, "The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot". For all the time and all the care he lavished on those pages, it's an award that was well-earned. When Geof first came into the Dark Horse offices with the finished pages for the series based on Frank Miller's script, we were all stunned by the detail...A gargantuan monster is tearing apart downtown Tokyo and turning its fair citizens into a menagerie of grotesques! Can anyone stop the carnage? Can anyone save the city? Enter Rusty, the Boy Robot, Japan's biggest big gun! If he can't atomize the atomic monstrosity, nobody can!


The goal of this project is to design and synthesize compounds that can potentially target breast cancer cells selectively, and can cause specific DNA-damage in these tumor cells. The molecules that will be synthesized will consist of 3 components: (a) a component known to selectively methylate the N3-position of adenine in A/T-rich regions of DNA, (b) a component known to target breast cancer cells due to its specific binding to the estrogen receptors (ER) that are over expressed in early stage breast cancer cells, and, (c) a variable linker component, that connects the above two functional components in such a way that the desired properties (DNA-methylation and cell-targeting) are optimized. The specific kind of DNA-damage, the N3-methyladenine adduct, is one that has been shown to cause only cell-death, and not cause mutations. The cell-targeting component chosen is estradiol, which has been often used to deliver agents to breast cancer cells. This thesis discusses the design of these compounds, and the synthetic strategy that has been developed for the preparation of these compounds. The progress towards the synthesis of one of these compounds is also described. Understanding how to target breast cancer cells preferentially, and how to cause only the kind of DNA-damage that results in cell-death, will aid in the design of new drugs that can destroy breast tumors while minimizing unwanted side-effects, and eliminating the incidence of secondary cancers.


BACKGROUND
The proportion of proposed new treatments that are 'successful' is of ethical, scientific, and public importance. We investigated how often new, experimental treatments evaluated in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are superior to established treatments.

OBJECTIVES
Our main question was: "On average how often are new treatments more effective, equally effective or less effective than established treatments?" Additionally, we wanted to explain the observed results, i.e. whether the observed distribution of outcomes is consistent with the 'uncertainty requirement' for enrollment in RCTs. We also investigated the effect of choice of comparator (active versus no treatment/placebo) on the observed results.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Methodology Register (CMR) 2010, Issue 1 in The Cochrane Library (searched 31 March 2010); MEDLINE Ovid 1950 to March Week 2 2010 (searched 24 March 2010); and EMBASE Ovid 1980 to 2010 Week 11 (searched 24 March 2010).

SELECTION CRITERIA
Cohorts of studies were eligible for the analysis if they met all of the following criteria: (i) consecutive series of RCTs, (ii) registered at or before study onset, and (iii) compared new against established treatments in humans.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
RCTs from four cohorts of RCTs met all inclusion criteria and provided data from 743 RCTs involving 297,744 patients. All four cohorts consisted of publicly funded trials. Two cohorts involved evaluations of new treatments in cancer, one in neurological disorders, and one for mixed types of diseases. We employed kernel density estimation, meta-analysis and meta-regression to assess the probability of new treatments being superior to established treatments in their effect on primary outcomes and overall survival.

MAIN RESULTS
The distribution of effects seen was generally symmetrical in the size of difference between new versus established treatments. Meta-analytic pooling indicated that, on average, new treatments were slightly more favorable both in terms of their effect on reducing the primary outcomes (hazard ratio (HR)/odds ratio (OR) 0.91, 99% confidence interval (CI) 0.88 to 0.95) and improving overall survival (HR 0.95, 99% CI 0.92 to 0.98). No heterogeneity was observed in the analysis based on primary outcomes or overall survival (I(2) = 0%). Kernel density analysis was consistent with the meta-analysis, but showed a fairly symmetrical distribution of new versus established treatments indicating unpredictability in the results. This was consistent with the interpretation that new treatments are only slightly superior to established treatments when tested in RCTs. Additionally, meta-regression demonstrated that results have remained stable over time and that the success rate of new treatments has not changed over the last half century of clinical trials. The results were not significantly affected by the choice of comparator (active versus placebo/no therapy).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Society can expect that slightly more than half of new experimental treatments will prove to be better than established treatments when tested in RCTs, but few will be substantially better. This is an important finding for patients (as they contemplate participation in RCTs), researchers (as they plan design of the new trials), and funders (as they assess the 'return on investment'). Although we provide the current best evidence on the question of expected 'success rate' of new versus established treatments consistent with a priori theoretical predictions reflective of 'uncertainty or equipoise hypothesis', it should be noted that our sample represents less than 1% of all available randomized trials; therefore, one should exercise the appropriate caution in interpretation of our findings. In addition, our conclusion applies to publicly funded trials only, as we did not include studies funded by commercial sponsors in our analysis.


This guide to playreading for students and practitioners of both theater and literature complements, rather then contradicts or repeats, traditional methods of literary analysis of scripts.Ball developed his method during his work as Literary Director at the Guthrie Theater, building his guide on the crafts playwrights of every period and style use to make their plays stageworthy. The text is full of tools for students and practitioners to use as they investigate plot, character, theme, exposition, imagery, motivation/obstacle/conflict, theatricality, and the other crucial parts of the superstructure of a play. He includes guides for discovering what the playwright considers the play s most important elements, thus permitting interpretation based on the foundation of the play rather than its details.Using "Hamlet" as illustration, Ball assures a familiar base for illustrating script-reading techniques as well as examples of the kinds of misinterpretation readers can fall prey to by ignoring the craft of the playwright. Of immense utility to those who want to put plays on the stage (actors, directors, designers, production specialists) "Backwards and Forwards" is also a fine playwriting manual because the structures it describes are the primary tools of the playwright."


Chinese industrial sector energy-efficiency policy has gone through a number of distinct phases since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. An initial period of energy supply growth in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s was followed by implementation of significant energy efficiency programs in the 1980s. Many of these programs were dismantled in the 1990s during the continuing move towards a market-based economy. In an effort to once again strengthen energy efficiency, the Chinese government passed the Energy Conservation Law in 1997 which provides broad guidance for the establishment of energy efficiency policies. Article 20 of the Energy Conservation Law requires substantial improvement in industrial energy efficiency in the key energy-consuming industrial facilities in China. This portion of the Law declares that "the State will enhance energy conservation management in key energy-consuming entities." In 1997, the industrial sector consumed nearly 30 EJ, or 76% of China's primary energy. Even though primary energy consumption has dropped dramatically in recent years, due mostly to a decline in coal consumption, the Chinese government is still actively developing an overall policy for energy efficiency in the industrial sector modeled after policies in a number of industrialized countries. This paper will describe recent Chinese government activities to develop industrial sector energyefficiency targets as a "market-based" mechanism for improving the energy efficiency of key industrial facilities.


This phenomenologically-based, action research study looked at themes across the interviews of college students after they participated in the Digital Reading Log (DRL); a literacy-based activity utilizing the Internet, word processing software and email. The purpose of this study was to investigate students' experiences in the basic skills reading classroom while engaged with the DRL.  Findings indicate that the DRL afforded the students various freedoms, such as freedom of language and choice.  The data suggested that the instructor was able to draw upon these freedoms to effectively create a Third Space that improved struggling young adult readers' understanding of text while increasing their motivation to read.


This paper is a reflective account of conducting ethnographic research in training institutions for alternative and complementary medical (CAM) practitioners. In it the author (a) seeks to extend the methodological literature in embodied sociology through reflection on conducting research in this context and discussion of particular events and processes and (b) offers an example of her attempt to strike the fine balance between respect and integration of previous scholarly work and her own emerging academic voice, while trying to avoid a sterility in the delivery that would belie her attempts to undertake an embodied sociology. By concentrating on three cross-cutting and nonlinear aspects of the research process—motivation, immersion, and expression—she draws out the conceptual links between theory, praxis, and ethics in ethnographic research as well as shedding light on the direction that the study took and the claims to validity of her findings.


Emissions from 15 agricultural fires in the southeastern U.S. were measured from the NASA DC‐8 research aircraft during the summer 2013 Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) campaign. This study reports a detailed set of emission factors (EFs) for 25 trace gases and 6 fine particle species. The chemical evolution of the primary emissions in seven plumes was examined in detail for ~1.2 h. A Lagrangian plume cross‐section model was used to simulate the evolution of ozone (O3), reactive nitrogen species, and organic aerosol (OA). Observed EFs are generally consistent with previous measurements of crop residue burning, but the fires studied here emitted high amounts of SO2 and fine particles, especially primary OA and chloride. Filter‐based measurements of aerosol light absorption implied that brown carbon (BrC) was ubiquitous in the plumes. In aged plumes, rapid production of O3, peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), and nitrate was observed with ΔO3/ΔCO, ΔPAN/ΔNOy, and Δnitrate/ΔNOy reaching ~0.1, ~0.3, and ~0.3. For five selected cases, the model reasonably simulated O3 formation but underestimated PAN formation. No significant evolution of OA mass or BrC absorption was observed. However, a consistent increase in oxygen‐to‐carbon (O/C) ratios of OA indicated that OA oxidation in the agricultural fire plumes was much faster than in urban and forest fire plumes. Finally, total annual SO2, NOx, and CO emissions from agricultural fires in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri were estimated (within a factor of ~2) to be equivalent to ~2% SO2 from coal combustion and ~1% NOx and ~9% CO from mobile sources.


Background: Pharmacovigilance (PV); also known as drug safety surveillance, is the science of enhancing patient care and patient safety regarding the use of medicines by collecting, monitoring, assessing, and evaluating information from healthcare providers and patients. Pharmacists are pivotal players in adverse drug event (ADE) monitoring and reporting. However, most pharmacists are unaware or not knowledgeable about the guidelines used by their respective countries' drug regulatory bodies. It is the need of the hour to train pharmacy students on the concept of pharmacovigilance.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among pharmacy students from Mumbai University, India during May-June 2017. On the basis of the eligibility criterion 352 students were selected for the present study. Four hundred students were approached to participate in the study of which 201 agreed to participate (males: 179; females: 173). Pretested questionnaire was distributed and collected data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23.Results: Overall pharmacovigilance knowledge (44%) and perception (58%) was low among the participants of the present study. Seventy four percent of the participants felt that adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting should be made compulsory for healthcare professionals. And only 21% agreed that the topic of Pharmacovigilance is well covered in pharmacy curriculum.Conclusions: Pharmacy council of India, pharmacy teacher's association and respective pharmacy college should take necessary steps to increase the knowledge and create awareness regarding pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reaction reporting among pharmacy students.


Abstract. This paper presents estimates of the spectral solar absorption due to atmospheric aerosols during the 2006 MILAGRO/INTEX-B (Megacity Initiative-Local And Global Research Observations/Phase B of the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment) field campaign. The aerosol absorption was derived from measurements of the spectral solar radiation and the spectral aerosol optical depth made on the J31 aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico and over Mexico City. We present the spectral single scattering albedo (SSA) and aerosol absorption optical depth (AAOD) for two flights over the Gulf of Mexico and three flights over Mexico City for wavelengths from 350 to approximately 1650 nm. The spectral aerosol optical properties of each case are different and illustrate the variability of the aerosol optical properties in the Mexico City area. The results can be described in terms of three different wavelength regions: The 350–500 nm region where the aerosol absorption often falls off sharply presumably due to organic carbonaceous particles and windblown dust; the 500–1000 nm region where the decrease with wavelength is slower presumably due to black carbon; and the near infrared spectral region (1000 nm to 1650 nm) where it is difficult to obtain reliable results since the aerosol absorption is relatively small and the gas absorption dominates. However, there is an indication of a small and somewhat wavelength independent absorption in the region beyond 1000 nm. For one of the flights over the Gulf of Mexico near the coastline it appears that a cloud/fog formation and evaporation led to an increase of absorption possibly due to a water shell remaining on the particles after the cloud/fog had dissipated. For two of the Mexico City cases, the single scattering albedo is roughly constant between 350–500 nm consistent with other Mexico City results. In three of the cases a single absorption Angstrom exponent (AAE) fits the aerosol absorption optical depth over the entire wavelength range of 350 to 1650 nm relatively well (r2> 0.86).


In this paper, we present a design case describing the creation of a new online version of the Diffusion Simulation Game (DSG). The DSG is a serious game that teaches change management strategies aligned with Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovations theory. The goal of the game is to promote the understanding of strategies that result in the adoption of an instructional innovation by the staff members of a fictional junior high school. The original board version of the game was created in the 1970s (Molenda and Rice, 1979) and was played as part of a course in the School of Education of a large Midwestern university. With the opening of a distance master's program, the first online version of the game was developed in 2002 (Frick, Ludwig, Kim, & Huang, 2003). In order to overcome some of the limitations of the first online version, a new online version of the DSG was developed. This new version was rapidly prototyped first on paper and then in Flex Builder, ActionScript, PHP and MySQL. A rapid prototype approach (Tripp & Bichelmeyer, 1990) was utilized to iteratively design the user interface. In addition to describing the design process and rationale for design decisions, we also report results of play-tests and usability evaluations of seven recruited participants and how the information collected from these evaluations will help us to improve the current design.


We are what we eat, as the saying goes, but we are also how we eat, and when, and where. Our eating habits reveal as much about our society as the food on our plates, and our national identity is written in the eating schedules we follow and the customs we observe at the table and on the go. In Three Squares, food historian Abigail Carroll upends the popular understanding of our most cherished mealtime traditions, revealing that our eating habits have never been stable--far from it, in fact. The eating patterns and ideals we've inherited are relatively recent inventions, the products of complex social and economic forces, as well as the efforts of ambitious inventors, scientists and health gurus. Whether we're pouring ourselves a bowl of cereal, grabbing a quick sandwich, or congregating for a family dinner, our mealtime habits are living artifacts of our collective history--and represent only the latest stage in the evolution of the American meal. Our early meals, Carroll explains, were rustic affairs, often eaten hastily, without utensils, and standing up. Only in the nineteenth century, when the Industrial Revolution upset work schedules and drastically reduced the amount of time Americans could spend on the midday meal, did the shape of our modern "three squares" emerge: quick, simple, and cold breakfasts and lunches and larger, sit-down dinners. Since evening was the only part of the day when families could come together, dinner became a ritual--as American as apple pie. But with the rise of processed foods, snacking has become faster, cheaper, and easier than ever, and many fear for the fate of the cherished family meal as a result. The story of how the simple gruel of our forefathers gave way to snack fixes and fast food, Three Squares also explains how Americans' eating habits may change in the years to come. Only by understanding the history of the American meal can we can help determine its future.


The Nikolsky Lectureship is awarded to "an individual who has a highly distinguished career in vertical flight aircraft research and development and is skilled at communicating their technical knowledge and experience." In winning the award, Prof. Padfield joins the ranks of many previous distinguished Nikolsky recipients, including for example, Dr. David Peters, Dr. Ken Rosen, Troy Gaffey, Dr. Richard M. Carlson, Professor Howard C. Curtiss, Jr., Dr. Daniel P. Schrage, Rene Mouille, Professor Alfred Gessow, Bartram Kelley, Robert Huston, Bruno Lovera, Professor Barnes McCormick, Jr., Dr. Wayne Johnson and Bill Bousman. Dr. Padfield's long and distinguished career as a research scientist and professor has been instrumental in establishing and expanding the analytic boundaries in many rotorcraft areas, including flight handling qualities of helicopters and tilt rotor aircraft, simulator fidelity, helicopter/ship dynamic interface modeling, and analysis techniques to help define and explain the complexities of both helicopter and human pilot behavior measured in flight test. In his innovative approach to flight control, Padfield has drawn on the understandings of visual perception in the natural world to explain how pilots guide and stabilize aircraft. Dr. Padfield received his Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering at the University of London (Queen Mary College) in 1969. Padfield's eventual research focus was defined very early, with his prize winning final year project, "The Strongly Controlled Aircraft," published in the Aeronautical Quarterly in 1971. After graduating, Dr. Padfield took up a research post at QMC, modeling unsteady flow around airfoils using surface singularity and functional analysis techniques. In 1972, he accepted a post as a stability and control engineer at Westland Helicopters, developing computational methods for the design and development of new aircraft. Dr. Padfield joined the post-graduate College of Aeronautics at Cranfield in late 1973. He used the method of multiple scaling to develop prediction methods for bifurcation in nonlinear flight dynamics of fixed-wing aircraft. During his time at Cranfield, Dr. Padfield taught a class in helicopter dynamics and gained his private pilot's license; he completed his PhD in late 1976 and joined the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) Bedford in the Helicopter Division. During his 23-year career at the RAE (later the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, DERA), he specialized in helicopter flight research, engaged in flight test, modeling and flight simulation, handling qualities and flight control developments. Padfield also learned to fly helicopters (Bell 47), an experience which had a profound impact on his understanding of flight handling qualities. His final position in DERA was as Rotorcraft Chief Scientist for Air Systems Sector. During his time at RAE/DERA, Padfield was closely engaged in International collaboration, chairing GARTEUR H-AG06 and H-AG12 on simulation fidelity. He was a member of three AGARD Working Groups that led to follow-on Lecture Series, Helicopter Aeromechanics (LS139, 1985), Rotorcraft System Identification (LS178, 1991) and Operational Agility (WG19, 1994). He was the UK Focus Officer for TTCP (The Technical Cooperation Program) for flight simulation, handling qualities and flight control. In 1995 he received a TTCP achievement award, along with colleagues at the US Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate (AFDD) laboratory, Hoh Aeronautics and the Canadian Flight Research Laboratory for the development of Aeronautical Design Standard ADS-33 – Handling Qualities Requirement for Military Rotorcraft. Dr. Padfield took up the James Bibby Chair in Aerospace Engineering at The University of Liverpool in August 1999, creating the Flight Science and Technology Research Group. He was Aerospace Programme Director until 2006, more than doubling the undergraduate student intake in this period. In August 2004, he was appointed Head of the Department of Engineering, including the disciplines of Aerospace, Mechanical, Materials Science, Manufacturing, Design and Civil Engineering, where he exercised skills in balance and compromise. Dr. Padfield's research interests include flight handling qualities and control, modeling and simulation and the flight dynamics of fixed and rotary wing aircraft. They also include the more general theme of virtual engineering – the integrated use of product and process modeling in support of design and development. He has been Chief Scientific Officer for the Virtual Engineering Centre – a £5M ($7.5M) project to accelerate the exploitation of the outputs from basic research by industry. Other projects under Dr. Padfield's supervision have included developing the handling qualities and load alleviation functions for civil tilt rotor aircraft, visual perception in flight and the design of display and guidance concepts, simulation fidelity and validation, the aircraft-ship dynamic environment, aircraft/rotorcraft-pilot couplings and, more generally, handling qualities engineering. He has supervised nine successful PhD graduates and more than 80 undergraduate research projects. At Liverpool, he has taught Aircraft Performance and Rotorcraft Flight and introduced a new problem-based-learning module, Flight Handling Qualities, into the final year of the Aerospace Masters program at Liverpool. Gareth Padfield is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2008. He is an honorary member of the AHS Modeling and Simulation Technical Committee and a member of the Handling Qualities Technical Committee, Safety Committee and Education Committee. He is a member of the Editorial Board of The Royal Aeronautical Society's Aeronautical Journal.