OBJECTIVES
Integrative medicine (IM) is an emerging model of health care in Australia. However, little is known about the contribution that IM makes to the quality of health care. The aim of the research was to understand the contribution IM can make to the quality of primary care practices from the perspectives of consumers and providers of IM.

DESIGN
This interpretive research used hermeneutic phenomenology to understand meanings and significance that patients and practitioners attach to their experiences of IM. Various qualitative research techniques were used: case studies; focus groups; and key informant interviews. Data sets were generated from interview transcripts and field notes. Data analysis consisted of repeatedly reading and examining the data sets for what they revealed about experiences of health care and health outcomes, and constantly comparing these to allow themes and patterns to emerge.

SETTING
The setting for this research was Australian IM clinics where general medical practitioners and CAM practitioners were co-located.

RESULTS
From the perspective of patients and practitioners, IM: (1) provided authentically patient-centered care; (2) filled gaps in treatment effectiveness, particularly for certain patient populations (those with complex, chronic health conditions, those seeking an alternative to pharmaceutical health care, and those seeking health promotion and illness prevention); and (3) enhanced the safety of primary health care (because IM retained a general medical practitioner as the primary contact practitioner and because IM used strategies to increase disclosure of treatments between practitioners).

CONCLUSIONS
According to patients and practitioners, IM enhanced the quality of primary health care through its provision of health care that was patient-centered, effective (particularly for chronic health conditions, nonpharmaceutical treatments, and health promotion) and safe.


In this work new Raman spectroscopic experiments on rare earth metal-rare earth trihalide melts (Ln-LnX3 and LnX2-LnX3: Ln=Ce, Nd; X=Cl, I) and their mixtures in alkali halide eutectic solvents ((LiX-KX)eu; X=Cl, I) are presented.

The main results can be summarized as follows:
- The Raman spectra of following trihalide systems have been measured for the first time: CeCl3, CeI3, NdI3 and their mixtures in the respective alkali halide eutectic solvent. The structure of the LnX3 in the solvent can be characterized by octahedral complexes. The force constants decrease from the chlorides to the iodides.
- The Raman spectra of the following dihalides have been observed in this work: NdCl2, CeI2 and their mixtures in the alkali halide solvent. Interestingly, CeCl2 might form as intermediate species on doping CeCl3 with Ce. It is not a stable compound in the Ce-CeCl3 phase diagram.
- With respect to the above mentioned main objective the following conclusions can be drawn:
(i) On mixing of NdCl2 with NdCl3 in (LiCl-KCl)eu the undisturbed spectra of both components can be observed simultaneously. This is in agreement with the suggested intervalence charge transfer hopping mechanism if one assumes a hopping rate below 1012.
(ii) Even though CeCl2 might form as intermediate, in the equilibrium spectra of liquid Ce-CeCl3-(LiCl-KCl)eu only the typical - 36 CeCl -octahedra can be identified. This supports the assumption that in these systems the electronic defect states are probably mobile Drude-like electrons which do not lead to new Raman detectable species. A qualitatively similar observation was made for CeI2-CeI3-(LiI-KI)eu melts.


A question driving many studies is whether the thousands of exoplanets known today typically formed where we observe them or formed further out in the disk and migrated in. Early discoveries of giant exoplanets orbiting near their host stars and exoplanets in or near mean motion resonances were interpreted as evidence for migration and its crucial role in the beginnings of planetary systems. Long-scale migration has been invoked to explain systems of planets in mean motion resonant chains consisting of three or more planets linked by integer period ratios. However, recent studies have reproduced specific resonant chains in systems via short-scale migration, and eccentricity damping has been shown to capture planets into resonant chains. We investigate whether the observed resonant chains in Kepler-80, Kepler-223, Kepler-60, and TRAPPIST-1 can be established through long-scale migration, short-scale migration, and/or only eccentricity damping by running suites of N-body simulations. We find that, for each system, all three mechanisms are able to reproduce the observed resonant chains. Long-scale migration is not the only plausible explanation for resonant chains in these systems, and resonant chains are potentially compatible with in situ formation.


Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the disaster management of the Malaka Regency Government in flood disaster management. Research methodology: The research method used in this study is a qualitative research method. The informants in this study were elements of the government as well as elements of society consisting of the Flood Victims Community. The analysis technique in this study uses data analysis developed by Miles and Huberman (2014: 10) as follows; (a) data reduction (b) data display and (c) concluding. Finding: The result of this research is that the Malaka Regency Government's disaster management in flood disaster management has implemented the best management even though it is still not optimal. Limitations: This study's limitation is that this study only discusses the disaster management of the Malaka district government in overcoming the floods that occurred there. Contribution: This research becomes scientific information for public administration and disaster management. Keywords: Management, Disaster, Government


The quest for precise and rapid phenotyping of germplasm is increasing the interest of breeders and physiologists in the application of remote sensing techniques in maize breeding. Twenty-four drought-tolerant maize inbred lines were crossed using a modified North Carolina II mating scheme to generate 96 single-cross hybrids. The parents and the hybrids were evaluated under full irrigation and drought stress conditions in the dry seasons of 2010 and 2011 at Ikenne, southwest Nigeria. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was recorded at 3- and 8-leaf growth stages. Hybrids differed significantly for NDVI. Both general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining ability effects were significant for NDVI measured at 8-leaf stage under both irrigation regimes, with GCA accounting for 53% of the total variation under full irrigation. Both additive and non-additive genetic effects played significant roles in the inheritance of NDVI. The females GCA effects for grain yield was positively correlated with females ...


Abstract. Too often, credible scientific early warning information of increased disaster risk does not result in humanitarian action. With financial resources tilted heavily towards response after a disaster, disaster managers have limited incentive and ability to process complex scientific data, including uncertainties. These incentives are beginning to change, with the advent of several new forecast-based financing systems that provide funding based on a forecast of an extreme event. Given the changing landscape, here we demonstrate a method to select and use appropriate forecasts for specific humanitarian disaster prevention actions, even in a data-scarce location. This action-based forecasting methodology takes into account the parameters of each action, such as action lifetime, when verifying a forecast. Forecasts are linked with action based on an understanding of (1) the magnitude of previous flooding events and (2) the willingness to act "in vain" for specific actions. This is applied in the context of the Uganda Red Cross Society forecast-based financing pilot project, with forecasts from the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS). Using this method, we define the "danger level" of flooding, and we select the probabilistic forecast triggers that are appropriate for specific actions. Results from this methodology can be applied globally across hazards and fed into a financing system that ensures that automatic, pre-funded early action will be triggered by forecasts.


Eye contact requires attention both when we send and receive gaze signals. Previous research suggests that when one is attending to something their perception of time is altered, such that time passes by more slowly while watching a pot boil. The disruption of time perception has been shown to happen during face-to-face eye contact but has also been observed (albeit to a lesser extent) if one person is looking at another or being looked at by another [Jarick et al., 2016]. Here, we aimed to tease apart whether eye contact is more attention-capturing when we are sending signals during mutual gaze or receiving the gaze signal, or both. This will be investigated by having pairs of participants (sitting side-by-side) make subjective time estimates of 40, 60, and 80 seconds during the participation of four gaze trials: looking away from one another (baseline), looking at the profile of their partner, being looked at by their partner and making eye contact. If attention is equally attributed to sending and receiving signals, we predict that the degree to which time estimation is disrupted during the profile and looked at trials will sum to the disruption found during eye contact trials. Alternatively, if attention is captured more by sending or receiving gaze signals, then we should see time estimation more disrupted in either the profile or looked at trials. This research will allow us to further understand how attention is allocated during face-to-face eye contact in the wild.
Discipline: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michelle Jarick


Granite weathering and clay mineral formation impart distinct and interpretable stable Si isotope (δ 30 Si) signatures to their solid and aqueous products. Within a saprolite, clay minerals have δ 30 Si values ∼2.0‰ more negative than their parent mineral and the δ 30 Si signature of the bulk solid is determined by the ratio of primary to secondary minerals. Mineral-specific weathering reactions predominate at different depths, driving changes in differing δ 30 Si pore water values. At the bedrock-saprolite interface, dissolution of plagioclase and hornblende creates δ 30 Si pore water signatures more positive than granite by up to 1.2‰; these reactions are the main contributor of Si to stream water and determine its δ 30 Si value. Throughout the saprolite, biotite weathering releases Si to pore waters but kaolinite overgrowth formation modulates its contribution to pore-water Si. The influence of biotite on δ 30 Si pore water is greatest near the bedrock where biotite-derived Si mixes with bulk pore water prior to kaolinite formation. Higher in the saprolite, biotite grains have become more isolated by kaolinite overgrowth, which consumes biotite-derived Si that would otherwise influence δ 30 Si pore water . Because of this isolation, which shifts the dominant source of pore-water Si from biotite to quartz, δ 30 Si pore water values are more negative than granite by up to 1.3‰ near the top of the saprolite.


Abstract A part of the recent scoping studies for a European DEMO reactor deals with the design of the in-vessel components and their integration inside the reactor. The main in-vessel components are the Breeding Blankets (Helium Cooled Lithium Lead and Helium Cooled Pebble Bed), the helium supply units called Manifolds (MF) and the Neutron Shields. Alternative concepts for the integration of these components have been developed in parallel by different Europe an associations (FZK, CEA, and EFET). Nevertheless these concepts are all based on the vertical segmentation concept called "Multi Module Segment" (MMS). The big advantage of the MMS concept dwells in the fact that blankets and MF constitute a vertical non-permanent segment to be installed and dismantled by Remote Handling (RH) tools through the upper ports of the reactor. The dimensions, geometry and materials are strictly dependent on the harsh conditions of the in-vessel environment: high temperatures, high neutron fluxes, and high thermo-mechanical loads during normal operations and disruptive events. In addition, suitable systems of attachment able to withstand thermal expansion and the expected loads have been developed to provide reliability and easy in-vessel maintenance. The general aspects of the MMS system and the common RH procedures foreseen are presented and the different specific options for solving attachment and in-vessel assembly issues are discussed.


From its Magic Kingdom theme parks to its udderless cows, the Walt Disney Company has successfully maintained itself as the brand name of conservative American family values. But the Walt Disney Company has also had a long and complex relationship to the gay and lesbian community that is only now becoming visible. In Tinker Belles and Evil Queens, Sean Griffin traces the evolution of this interaction between the company and gay communities, from the 1930s use of Mickey Mouse as a code phrase for gay to the 1990s "Gay Nights" at the Magic Kingdom. Armed with first-person accounts from Disney audiences, Griffin demonstrates how Disney animation, live-action films, television series, theme parks, and merchandise provide varied motifs and characteristics that readily lend themselves to use by gay culture. But Griffin delves further to explore the role of gays and lesbians within the company, through an examination of the background of early studio personnel, an account of sexual activism within the firm, and the story of the company's own concrete efforts to give recognition to gay voices and desires. The first book to address the history of the gay community and Disney, Tinker Belles and Evil Queens broadly examines the ambiguous legacy of how modern consumerism and advertising have affected the ways lesbians and gay men have expressed their sexuality. Disney itself is shown as sensitive to gay and lesbian audiences, while exploiting those same audiences as a niche market with strong buying power. Finally, Griffin demonstrates how queer audiences have co-opted Disney products for themselves-and in turn how Disney's corporate strategies have influenced our very definitions of sexuality.


The article describes the results of the investigation work carried out by Mosvodokanal Public Enterprise on improving the reliability of the water distribution pipelines in the city of Moscow. In recent years in Moscow there has been serious concern with regard to the reliability of its water supply network. This was caused by insufficient attention paid during the time of the former USSR to reliability and the operating conditions while designing and constructing the system as well as a period of increased rate of wear to the water pipes and insufficient financial resources for repairing the systems. The decrease in average daily supply, increasing capacities of the water pipelines, pumping stations and the cleanwells caused a whole series of technical problems. These included a reduction in water velocity, the formation of stagnant sections, slowdown of water renewal, and deterioration of water quality in the distribution system. This caused considerable difficulties and led to higher costs for the operation of the city water supply system. This article describes practical methods for preventing the unsatisfactory situation brought on by the decreased water consumption in Moscow. It describes the software used to evaluate water pipeline reliability and to plan the rehabilitation and renewal of the water supply system.


Neural progenitor cells (NPC) of foetal origin or derived from human embryonic stem cells (HESC) have the potential to differentiate into mature neurons after transplantation into the central nervous system, opening the possibility of cell therapy for neurodegenerative disorders. In most cases, the transplanted NPC are genetically unrelated to the recipient, leading to potential rejection of the transplanted cells. Very few data provide reliable information as to the potential immune response of allogeneic neural progenitors derived from HESC. In this study, we analyzed in vitro the allogeneic immune response of T lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cells to NPC derived from HESC or of foetal origin. We demonstrate that NPC induce T‐cell stimulation and a strong NK cytotoxic response. NK‐cell activity is unrelated to MHC‐I expression but driven by the activating NKG2D receptor. Cyclosporine and dexamethasone previously used in clinical studies with foetal NPC did not only fail to prevent NK alloreactivity but strongly inhibited the terminal maturation from NPC into mature neurons. We conclude that allogenic transplantation of NPC in the central nervous system will most likely require an immunosuppressive regimen targeting allogenic T and NK cells, whereas possible interference with the differentiation of NPC needs to be carefully evaluated.


Lack of affordable transport is a major constraint on access to emergency healthcare in rural areas of Sub Saharan Africa and one of the main barriers to achieving Milennium Development Goals 4 and 5 in these countries. Conventional ambulances are expensive to acquire and operate and this paper argues that there is a strong case for introducing lower-cost versions. The paper describes the successful trials of a motorcycleambulance trailer (MAT) in Zambia and discusses the implications of the findings in regard to setting up an emergency transport service based on low-cost ambulances.


With rapid development of web 2.0 technology and e-business, bloggers play significant roles in the blogosphere as well as the external world. In particular, influential bloggers can bring great business values to modern enterprise. Despite that several systems for mining influential bloggers are available, they measure the influence of bloggers in general rather than domain specific, which is not applicable for real application requirements, such as business advertisement, personalized recommendation and so on. In this paper, we propose an effective model to mine the top-k influential bloggers according to their interest domains, the impact and attitude of the comments to their posts, as well as their authority in the network of page links. In this demonstration, we present MASS, an effective system for mining influential bloggers. We will present the techniques in MASS, its experimental evaluation, as well as its applications.


The novel technique of mass cytometry opens a new chapter in single-cell biology. In multicellular organisms, cells carry out a diverse array of complex, specialized functions. This specialization occurs mostly through the expression of cell type—specific genes and proteins that generate the appropriate structures and molecular networks. A central challenge in the biomedical sciences, however, has been to identify the distinct lineages and phenotypes of the specialized cells in organ systems, and track their molecular evolution during differentiation. On page 687 of this issue, Bendall et al. (1) offer a brilliant proof of principle for a novel technology—mass cytometry—and provide a uniquely detailed view of cell differentiation in the human hematopoietic system. They used this technology to simultaneously examine 34 attributes of human bone marrow cells and then create a superimposed map showing the complex interactions of cell signaling molecules, all at an unprecedented level of resolution. This opens a new chapter in single-cell biology.


Organisational leadership play a vital role on the organizational effectiveness. A number of leadership theories thatreflectto Western model may inappropriate to Indonesian culture. Paternalistic leadership is a leadership model that originates from Eastern culture (Taiwan). Looking at the culture similarities between Taiwan and Indonesia culture, itis predicted that paternalistic leadership will workeffectively in Indonesian context. A combination of benevolent leadership, moral leadership and authoritarianism leadership may be applicable to Indonesian culture in which emphasizing high degree of social harmony. This study done at East lava province on 50 respondents and can be concluded that paternalistic leadership concept is applicable to Indonesians' and having moral leadership as a preferable leadership style by subordinates. Key words : Paternalistic, Leadership, Benevolent. Moral, Authoritarianism, Culture, Organization


Prediction models help healthcare professionals and patients make clinical decisions. The goal of an accurate prediction model is to provide patient risk stratification to support tailored clinical decision-making with the hope of improving patient outcomes and quality of care. Clinical prediction models use variables selected because they are thought to be associated (either negatively or positively) with the outcome of interest. Building a model requires data that are computer-interpretable and reliably recorded within the time frame of interest for the prediction. Such models are generally defined as either diagnostic, likelihood of disease or disease group classification, or prognostic, likelihood of response or risk of recurrence. We describe a set of guidelines and heuristics for clinicians to use to develop a logistic regression-based prediction model for binary outcomes that is intended to augment clinical decision-making.


The aim of this study is to clarify the behaviour of citizens towards e-voting by studying their representation systems, which can be considered to be explanatory factors for individual behaviour. We conducted a study on a June 2002 e-voting experiment in the town of Vandoeuvre, one of the most advanced French towns in terms of e-democracy. Using group interviews, we built mean-end chains which formed the basis of a questionnaire that was administered to 143 people who voted electronically. We then performed statistical and factorial analyses. Based upon the results, we built three cognitive maps representing the following tendencies: interest in the practical aspects of e-voting, pessimism towards e-voting, and generally critical of the political system.The analysis of these three maps shows that the values of Tradition, Power, Security, Conformity and Auto-orientation led to resistance to vote electronically. On the other hand, the values of Hedonism, Stimulation and Altruism led to acceptance of e-voting. These results can support the formulation of proposals on developing e-voting in France in such a way that respects diverse citizen values and encourages broad participation.


Adaptive Capacity and Endogenous Development of Kuna Yala, an Indigenous Biocultural System by Jane Marina Apgar This thesis presents collaborative research undertaken with the Kuna indigenous peoples in Kuna Yala, a semi-autonomous indigenous territory in Panama. The Kuna experience of ongoing governance through traditional practices was chosen as an informative example through which to build understanding of the underlying processes that support endogenous development with the objective of contributing to a reframing of development and supporting self-determination of indigenous peoples. Complexity theory and a complex adaptive systems (CASs) analytical framework provide the theoretical grounding for a reframing of development as an endogenous process interacting across scales. The CASs framework guides a multi-scale analysis of Kuna Yala described as an indigenous biocultural system (IBCS) through merging complexity and biocultural approaches to working with indigenous territories. Through this framing, Kuna adaptive capacity which supports self-organisation becomes the central focus of the study. Participatory action research methodology facilitated iterations of learning cycles with a reflection group of Kuna leaders, through which conceptual clarity of adaptive capacity as an emergent phenomenon was sought. Three key groups of practices where simultaneously analysed through in-depth qualitative inquiry at multiple levels of collectivity: (i) leadership development, (ii) personhood development, and (iii) networking. Findings from analysis of key practices enable holistic interpretations of Kuna adaptive capacity and governance processes and understanding of how they support endogenous development. A key finding is that two levels of adaptive change support endogenous development. One level is consistent with adaptive management models, and I term the deeper level transformative change. Both operate through ongoing processes of reflection and interaction creating relational spaces, while transformation requires deeper levels of reflection which are facilitated through rituals. Findings on Kuna governance inform reflexive governance models by highlighting processes for linking between knowledge systems and scales for transdisciplinarity. Further, the Kuna case illustrates a fundamental role for ritual in supporting well-being across levels and scales of sustainability goals. The analysis also highlights key areas of challenges the Kuna and indigenous peoples in general face in supporting their self-determination within the current context of an interconnected global system. The last chapters of the thesis discuss reflections on the findings which lead to highlighting leverage points for Kuna practice and supporting indigenous self-determination. Finally, some reflections are offered on the challenges and opportunities that complexity provides for re-conceptualising the role of development agencies and projects in supporting endogenous development locally.


Aim of this paper is to study whether and how the firm's decision to outsource production activities affects its technological performance. In particular, we look at how the alignment between the firm's governance strategy and the underlying attributes of the transactions affects the capacity of the firm to introduce new products and processes. Using microeconomic data on a repeated cross-section of Italian manufacturing firms for the period 1998-2003, we develop a two-stage approach: first, we estimate the determinants of the firm's organizational governance (production outsourcing); second, we incorporate a measure of governance misalignment into a technological performance relation. We find (i) that firms not aligned with the optimal organizational governance perform less well in terms of process innovation than more aligned competitors, but (ii) that misalignment has a positive effect on product innovation. However, this counterintuitive result is strongly characterized by non-linear effects that reverse the latter correlation for high values of governance misfit.


The project associated with this master thesis was performed in collaboration with Water Technological Centre CETAQUA1, located in Cornella de Llobregat. The aim of this thesis is to implement the use of data analytics and machine learning models for demand monitoring in water networks using data collected from Automatic Meter Reading (AMR). With this, the scope of the project intends to analyze the influence of external variables on the consumption pattern. Starting from the knowledge of the state of the art in the existing Big Data techniques and tools, the most adequate for water distribution networks monitoring will be chosen. Three different datasets were processed for the purpose of the study, two of these corresponding to the city of Tarragona, and the remainder to the city of Torremolinos; databases including the variables linked to the consumer account associated to the meters were also used. All of the datasets and databases were provided by the company. The study consisted of two stages, in the first one the datasets were split by season and analyzed separately to evaluate the features presented in each one. To evaluate the representative behavior for each city, the clustering labels were analyzed to find the groups of sensors who share the same pattern in behavior. In the second stage three different models were applied to the data to find the relation between the demand patterns and the meter account variables. The results reveal a symbolic number of groups of sensors that follow the same behavior in the seasonal analysis; outlier activity associated to high consumer and non-domestic use was also detected. The results obtained in the second stage suggest a forced input-output relation among the meter account variables and the clustered patterns; these results improve when combining these variables with features associated with the demand pattern. Some of the drawbacks during the execution of the project were the untrustworthiness of some predictors, as well as the loss of information due to outlier extraction or missing data.


Childhood obesity is a public health crisis, and globally, at least 170 million young people are overweight or obese. Research identifies food marketing as a key risk factor for childhood weight gain, yet there is significant debate over how food marketing to children should be regulated. This paper analyzes regulatory controls on food marketing in six jurisdictions—the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Canada, and Quebec— with the aim of evaluating whether regulation in each jurisdiction exhibits the features of an effective, transparent, and accountable regulatory regime. These jurisdictions use different forms of regulation to restrict food marketing to children (e.g. self-regulation, co-regulation and statutory regulation), yet research suggests that none have been entirely successful in protecting children from exposure to marketing of unhealthy food. Drawing on the disciplines of public health and regulatory studies, we present a theoretical framework for the design of effective food advertising regulation. We use this framework to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of regulation in each jurisdiction, and to explain why both public and private regulation has been less than successful in improving the food marketing environment. Our analysis reveals significant loopholes in the substantive provisions of regulatory instruments used to restrict food marketing to children, as well as limitations in the processes of monitoring, review, and enforcement established by each scheme. Our paper concludes by pointing to ways in which food advertising regulatory schemes could be progressively strengthened, including through the use of regulatory "scaffolds" to improve the transparency, accountability and performance of regulatory instruments.


Many kilometer-scale crustal shear zones with thrust shear sense exhibit a similar nonlinear decrease of the finite shear strain (γ) with increasing distance ( z ) from the shear zone's base. To explain this strain gradient, we use a one-dimensional (1-D) thermo-mechanical shear zone model which considers a dislocation creep flow law with temperature-dependent viscosity. The model predicts a linear finite strain gradient in ln(γ)- z space, which is quantified by the single dimensionless parameter β. β depends on the activation energy ( Q ), the temperature at the shear zone's base ( T 0 ), and the temperature difference across it (Δ T ), which are often well-constrained parameters. We apply our model to several shear zones worldwide. Our model is based on physics and fits the strain data as well as previously published empirical functions. The estimates of β resulting from fitting the finite strain gradient agree with other independent estimates of β using realistic values for Q , T 0 , and Δ T reported for the considered shear zones. This agreement of independent β estimates indicates that the model is physically feasible and that the dominant cause for the nonlinear strain gradient in kilometer-scale shear zones can be the temperature increase toward the shear zone's base and the related decrease in viscosity. The model, however, often underestimates the strain gradient in the lowermost part of natural shear zones. This underestimation indicates that additional processes such as grain-size reduction or viscous heating, not considered in the model, play an important role close to the base of the shear zone.


The existence of heavy metals from industrial effluents can have serious effects in the aqueous system. Most of these metals cannot be effectively removed from the effluents using conventional methods because of various factors. Therefore, alternative methods are required. This paper presents a study for the removal of cobalt (Co2+), vanadium (V3+) and chromium (Cr3+) ions from synthetic wastewater using untreated and acid treated cassava waste biomass. Cassava waste biomass is a cellulosic material which possesses hydroxyl groups when untreated and sulfhydryl groups (or thiol groups) when treated with thioglycollic acid. Both these functional groups can act as binding sites for metal ions. The effects of various parameters (e.g., pH, temperature, agitation, metal ion concentration, etc.) on the removal of metal ions from the solutions were investigated in a batch process. Adsorption of metal ions was observed to increase with pH. The maximum metal ion adsorption was obtained at pH of 3 for V3+, 6 for Co2+ and 3 for Cr3+. Metal adsorption increased with an increase in temperature from 30 to 40°C at an initial metal concentration of 100mg/L. However, there was a reduction in adsorption beyond 40°C for all the metal ions. It was found that treated biomass had higher adsorption rates. Furthermore, the results showed that an increase in the concentration of thioglycollic acid improved the adsorptivity of the cassava waste biomass. The work also showed that the cassava biomass could be regenerated and reused up to six adsorption-desorption cycles. Amongst the two widely used isotherms tested (i.e., Langmuir and Freundlich models), the experimental data was found to fit the Freundlich isotherm better.


Objective: Gait provides a sensitive measurement for signs of aging and neurodegenerative conditions. Measurement of gait is transitioning from the laboratory environment to the clinic with the use of inertial measurement units, providing a simple and cost-effective assessment tool. However, such assessments first need validation against reference systems. The aim of this study was to validate the APDM Mobility Lab (ML) system (version 2) against a pressure sensor walkway in younger adults (n  =  18), older adults (n  =  18) and people with mild Parkinson's disease (n  =  21) in the laboratory. Approach: Participants completed a two-minute walk over a pressure sensor walkway whilst wearing three sensors (strapped to the lumbar spine and both feet). Comparison of output from the systems was then performed. Main results: Overall, we identified that ML provided good to excellent agreement (ICC  >  0.75) for gait velocity, stride length, stride length SD, cadence, stride time and stride time SD. Measures of double support time, single support time and swing time had moderate to poor agreement (ICC 0.213–0.725), particularly for younger adults and PD. Significance: Overall, Mobility Lab provides a valid system for gait data collection for clinical and research application.


Calling Samuel Johnson the greatest literary critic since Aristotle, Richard B. Schwartz assumes the perspective of that quintessential eighteenth-century man of letters to examine the critical and theoretical literary developments that gained momentum in the 1970s and stimulated the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s. Schwartz speculates that Johnson - who revered hard facts, a wide cultural base, and common sense - would have exhibited scant patience with the heavily academic approaches currently favored in the study of literature. He considers it probable that the combatants in the early struggles of the culture wars are losing energy and that, in the wake of Alvin Kernan's declaration of the death of literature, new battlegrounds are developing. Ironically admiring the orchestration and staging of battles old and new - "superb" he calls them - he characterizes the entire culture war as a "battle between straw men, carefully constructed by the combatants to sustain a pattern of polarization that could be exploited to provide continuing professional advancement." In seven diverse essays, Schwartz calls for both the broad cultural vision and the sanity of a Samuel Johnson from those who make pronouncements about literature. Running through and unifying these essays is the conviction that the cultural elite is clearly detached from life. Like Johnson, Schwartz would terminate the divorce between literature and life, make allies of literature and criticism, and remove poetry from the province of the university and return it to the domain of readers. Texts would carry meaning, embody values, and have a serious impact on life.


On Emmanuel Levinas' instructive readings, Martin Buber's writings sketch the ambiguity of the other whose approach presses for an ethics as first philosophy. They concur that the other, approaching on the horizon of a world I experience, amidst the objects I use, breaks through the world's horizon with a differential force that alters the same. Yet Levinas writes of Buber that although his thought "prompted me to engage in a phenomenology of sociality" which uncovers in the face of a given other an infinite command to "answer for its life," this logic demonstrates "where all ambiguity of the relation to the other lies."1 Simply put, the "alter" denotes at once a finite difference and the infinitely differentiated, an interruption of the self and a reconfiguration of the same. Due to such ambiguity a call of ethics induces the work of philosophy, or so, I show, runs a theme Buber and Levinas purport to adopt from Jewish tradition and adapt to European thought. I contend that Levinas plumbs a Buberian line at the crux of the other who gives the self its responsibility, as though an ethically Jewish difference would incite a philosophically Greek, or, modern identity. More, the other breaking apart the identity of the same signifies an irreducible distance from the self that in turn elicits a mediated reconnection in the network of signified relations with many others who cannot be experienced or used but only answered and supplicated. So an ethics as first philosophy that proceeds from a finite other and its infinite otherness ambivalently implies the interruption of sameness and the instigation of selfhood, a situation evident in how it seems Jewish religion opposes but needs a Greek, or modern, wisdom. Not surprisingly, decades of references and allusions to Buber in Levinas' Jewish and Greek writings often achieve a distance from Buber's theses only to relate to them closely elsewhere. I suspect the contortions are less likely to result from Levinas' incautiousness, or Buber's inconsistencies, than the very ethics of alterity for which the other at once destroys and deploys the identity of a first philosophy. The ambiguity appears in Buber's 1923 opus / and Thou which begins with a self who may adopt "two stances towards the [same] world"-I-It, "subject-object relation" and IThou, "interpersonal relation"-and reaches a conclusion of these stances' supposed reunification in another other, the "Eternal Thou." In Buberian terms the question is how the other, in breaking apart the unified subject-object relation, bears not just any meaning, a negativity broaching nihilism, but the command to bear an ethical responsibility for it or, rather, Thou, indeed, Thou who makes It possible, i.e. God.2 Buber, fretting over a distance separating selves, what he calls Vergegnung or mismeeting, treats it as a lack which gets filled by the fullness of "meeting" (Begegnung)', Levinas worries that relations filled as plenitude with content-full items of experience and use ("totality"), could absorb the distinction of separation ("infinity"), so he looks to an absence which exposes but does not remedy the self's lacking connection. For each author, one's self immersed in essence, interest, commerce, and war would aspire to cross over, transcend with the other into responsibility, glory, substitution, and peace. How, then, may one move "beyond essence" while remaining nevertheless "essential"? Where the history of philosophy brims over with efforts to reconcile a contradiction, Levinas, following Buber, suggests one's "passing over to being's otherwise... does not resist [one's] interest" but ironically works through it. They claim a finite, relative differentiation of one from another (Levinas' "autrui," Buber's "thou") makes concrete the infinite, absolute difference of sameness from otherness (Levinas' "the most high," Buber's "eternal thou"). As to Levinas "the other is not reducible to the same" but commands it, so to Buber "the Eternal Thou can never become it" but conditions it. …


Interpretation of gravity and magnetic data in southeastern Tasmania indicates that blanketing post-Carboniferous rocks
generally lie unconformably on late Precambrian rocks. Supporting evidence is provided by clasts of basement within
overlying pyroclastics and till, and three boreholes.
Near Hobart, west of the Huon River and south of Bruny Island, deep troughs were filled with (?) Cambrian sequences
with a significant volcanic component. Some ultramafics are present along the western margins. Relatively thin wedges
of Ordovician-Devonian rocks are also implied, especially west of the Huon River. All rock-units are comparable with
those exposed in western Tasmania.
The boundary between eastern and western Tasmania terranes occurs near Sorell and granitoids are dominant east of it.
Jurassic dolerite feeder locations have been controlled by basement structure, and doming at Cygnet is related to a thick
syenite intrusion. Many modem topographic, or Tertiary structural patterns may be recognised in deep structures.


Since the withdrawal of the proposed Common European Sales Law (CESL) presented by the European Commission in late 2014, there has been much talk in commercial quarters as to whether an opportunity had been lost in providing an effective sales law applicable in the EU or whether its withdrawal paves the way for a wider and more effective regime. A regime that will enhance the European Commission's Digital Single Market Strategy. The Commission explained that 'In 2015, as part of the Digital Single Market Strategy, the Commission will aim to conclude ongoing inter-institutional negotiations on proposals such as the common European data protection reform and the Regulation on a Connected Continent. It will also propose new initiatives, legislative and non-legislative, to bring the Digital Single Market to the level of ambition needed to respond to the existing challenges. In this context, the Commission will notably complement the regulatory telecommunications environment, modernise EU legislation on copyright and on audiovisual media services, simplify the rules for consumers making online and digital purchases, facilitate e-commerce, enhance cyber-security and mainstream digitisation across policy areas.' Although the exact nature of the new proposals remains to be seen, it is believed that the new rules will make online purchases by consumers easier.


: High levels of inflexible bilateral trade in southern Africa have limited the participation in the competitive short-term markets, leading to inefficient use of energy infrastructure and blocking the Southern African Power Pool's long-term goal of transitioning from a cooperative to competitive market. Under the current supply and investment climate, governments and market participants are unlikely to forego their preference for long-term contracts owing to concerns about security of supply and risk mitigation. In this paper, we demonstrate that the current method for integrating bilateral and market trading introduces inefficiencies in the use of generation and transmission infrastructure, reduces total trade, and increases system costs. We propose and test an alternative method based on contracts for differences and implicit auctions to ensure the same level of security of supply for contract holders while minimising market distortions.


How to finance the infrastructure and service of bulk water supply, and how to use pricing to achieve efficient allocation and use of water as a resource are the central issues that emerge from discussions about bulk water pricing. Efficiency will lead to allocating water resources better, reducing water losses caused by poor maintenance of the supply systems, and increased monitoring of water quality. At first glance, Brazil may not appear to be a relevant country from which to draw lessons in distributing scarce water resources, since it contains 12 percent of the world's fresh water supply. However, with its vast territory and issues of regional drought and population explosion, Brazil provides a unique environment in which to demonstrate how adequate pricing of bulk water on a regional level can help allocate water efficiently. This paper offers a framework for bulk water pricing reform and examines the lessons from recent analytical work and practice in Brazil, as well as relevant international experience. It then offers recommendations for the development of both water pricing and allocation policies to facilitate continued implementation of bulk water pricing in Brazil.


Effectively addressing the issue of duplication in Europe's defence systems will require a considerable amount of political will and, more importantly, a far-sighted vision of the way to go. Difficult choices will have to be made, and EU member states will have to invest in a complex exercise of coordination of defence and industrial policies and planning. However, the efficient management of EU defence budgets and the maintenance of a viable industrial base demand such efforts. After all, what is at stake is the EU's ability to guarantee its own security. The author makes a series of proposals to address this issue ahead of the European Council of December 2013, which will be devoted to matters of security and defence.


Summary Organisational and human issues have been highlighted, among other issues (ICT infrastruc-tures, legal and contractual, etc.), as key elements in enhancing the competitiveness of the construction sector. More specifically, the importance of human resources has been recognised, especially training and professional development, in order to cultivate a stable workforce. The paper provides a review of the key training needs for the construction sector with particular reference to the uptake and exploitation of new technologies and working practices, presents an action plan to address learning and training needs, and proposes an eight-stage iterative learning and training methodology. The results will be of particular interest to managers in stakeholder organisations of all sizes throughout the sector, plus academic and research bodies intending to continue construction ICT research.


The year 2008 marked the 50th anniversary of the Great Leap Forward, which led to the greatest famine in world history. According to Western and Chinese scholars, 15-43 million peasants starved to death between 1959 and 1961. (1) It would be surprising if this anniversary received much attention in Chinese society or in the Western world. By comparison, the Ukrainian famine caused 3-3.5 million deaths by starvation in 1933, (2) based on conservative estimates, or up to 10 million deaths according to Ukrainian official sources. (3) Yet the Ukrainian famine has become an international topic since the mid-1980s as well as part of the new national identity of independent Ukraine. In the official narrative of Ukraine, the famine (Holodomor) is seen as genocide or even a holocaust against the Ukrainian people, committed by the "Russian" government under the leadership of Stalin. Even though the communist movement promised to abolish hunger, famines have occurred in many socialist states, including the Soviet Union in 1919-21, Ukraine in 1932-33 and 1946-47, China in 1959-61, Cambodia in 1979, and North Korea in the 1990s. The central cause of the famines remains controversial. Scholars disagree about the relative importance of factors such as radical government policies, unrealistic plan targets, high grain-procurement rates, bad weather, or the interaction between the state and the peasants. (4) Furthermore, there is no consensus on whether the socialist governments were able to organize effective famine relief to stop the suffering at the time. There is no doubt that the Chinese and Soviet governments exported grain to foreign countries and rejected international aid while millions of peasants starved. (5) The establishment of new collectives (the kolkhoz and the people's commune) resulted in chaos and a rapid decline of agricultural production in China and the Soviet Union. In China, the policy that ended the famine, which included the legalization of private plots and rural markets and the lowering of grain quotas and exports, was introduced in 1961 but came too late. Alongside these commonalities between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China (PRC), it is significant that the Chinese famine was a result of the Great Leap Forward, which had placed the direct transition to communism on the agenda, whereas in the Soviet Union, Stalin had proclaimed only a new stage in the socialist revolution. In 1958, the Chinese Communists started a radical social revolution in Chinese villages with the establishment of public mess halls. With the militarization of the rural workforce in 1958 and the newly founded public mess halls, the Chinese state took over management of the food supply and left the peasants without their own supply base. Some scholars consider the establishment of the public mess halls the most important reason for the famine. (6) In 1984, Thomas Bernstein attempted to compare the Soviet and the Chinese famines. He argued that the Soviet famine should be understood as punishment for the peasants in a context of conflicts between them and the Communist Party. By contrast, bureaucratic mismanagement based on false reports caused the famine in China. (7) Bernstein believed that the Chinese Communists held no bias against the peasants owing to their experience of a rurally based revolution. Based on recent research, it should be emphasized that the Chinese government had known that peasants were starving since early 1959. In his latest research, Bernstein shows that when famine really broke out in 1959, Mao Zedong could not believe that it was a nationwide disaster as opposed to merely a breakdown at the local level. (8) This article compares the memories of the Ukrainian and Chinese famines. Since the author is a Sinologist, the article uses English and German sources to discuss the Ukrainian case. The analysis of the Chinese famine is based on field studies and oral-history interviews that the author conducted in China. …


The development of human society, the increasing intensity of industrial production and transport activities associated with it have led to serious environmental impacts, especially air pollution. In addition to the common sources of emissions, various accidents also increasingly occur, including chemical leaks from production or transport facilities or large-scale industrial fires. Therefore, over the last thirty years, great efforts have been made to prevent chemical accidents. The key concern here is to understand the processes that affect the emergence and course of accidents as deeply as possible. One of the topics intensively studied in this context is the diffusion of heavy gas in a real atmosphere. This is a phenomenon with potentially very serious consequences; however, it is not easy to describe it physically and chemically. The dispersion of gas heavier than air is a complex process, determined by a number of various factors. Therefore, experts make efforts to understand this problem better, to gain new knowledge and to gradually refine existing dispersion models. One of such models is SLAB-DEGAS, which is a verified modification of the original SLAB model, created under Czech conditions.


Abstract Purpose: To explore the experiences of using an electric wheelchair in daily living. Methods: Fifteen participants, eight women and seven men, living in different parts of a Nordic country were interviewed. The interviews were conducted in the home or at the workplace. Open-ended questions were used. The data were collected and analyzed according to the grounded theory. Results: Analysis resulted in one core category: "Integrating the electric wheelchair – a manifold process", describing a process commencing from initial resistance against use of an electric wheelchair, to acceptance with various extent of integration. Six categories emerged that represent this core process: incorporating the electric wheelchair into the self-identity process, calculating functional consequences, encountering the reactions of others, facing duality in movability, using proactive strategies, and being at the mercy of the system. Findings indicate that the integration process is complex and manifold. Practical, personal, and social dimensions were intertwined and significantly involved. Conclusions: Integrating an electric wheelchair is a process closely connected to symbolic value, usability, community mobility and identity. These aspects should be considered in the production, prescription, and adaptation processes. Implications for Rehabilitation Integrating an electric wheelchair is a process closely connected to symbolic value, usability, community mobility, and identity. These aspects should be considered in the wheelchair production, prescription, and adaptation processes.


Close relationships are a source of meaning in life. Interpersonal offenses can disrupt one's sense of meaning within close relationships. To restore a sense of meaning, people may employ relational repair strategies such as forgiveness. We hypothesized that forgiveness is a meaning-making mechanism because it helps repair relationships, thus restoring the positive effects of relationships on meaning. Study 1 (N = 491) revealed that dispositional forgiveness and the degree of forgiveness following an offense were positively related to meaning in life. Study 2 (N = 210), a 6-month longitudinal study of romantic couples, revealed that participants who regularly forgave their partner reported increased meaning in life over time. In addition, forgiveness helped recover lost meaning among those participants reporting more frequent partner offenses. These results provide initial evidence that forgiveness recovers a sense of meaning in life after interpersonal offenses.


Care of spinal conditions has become increasingly complex and confusing. Classification systems can help in understanding the subject matter at hand, but have exploded in numbers and complexity. Attempts at extracting classifications of spinal disorders are cumbersome and require careful study of numerous reference books without achieving a comprehensive overview in the end. This one of a kind reference text summarizes over 185 spine classification or severity easures with standardized art work, provides ratings and critical evaluations of pertinent strengths and weaknesses in a concise and systematic fashion and provides help in: * Studying spinal disease conditions * Preparing informed treatment decisions * Communicating individual patient disease severity * Evaluating publications regarding treatment results and success * Formulating spinal research projects * Providing a scientific reference tool The book is divided into two major systems Disease severity: * General disease severity * Instability * Osteoporosis * Stenosis * Spinal deformity * Degenerative disorders * Infection * Tumor * Heterotopic ossification Trauma severity: * General trauma scores * Spinal cord injury * Fracture classifications All identified measures within each category are formally reviewed and displayed in a unique visually friendly manner containing: * A one of a kind compendium of high quality diagrams for each severity measure or classification system with unrivaled specificity and detail * The content of each measure and whether it incorporates the critically important ABCDs of disease severity including: an anatomical component, a biomechanical component, a clinical component, and the degree of severity component * A summary of the measures validity, reliability, and predictive ability with corresponding patient populations * An evaluation of each measure using our scoring criteria focusing on methodological rigor and clinical utility * An overall score for each measure rating the instrument's strength with respect to methodology and clinical utility


Simple, Label-Free and Non-Instrumented Analyte Quantitation by Flow Distance Measurement in Microfluidic Devices Debolina Chatterjee Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, BYU Doctor of Philosophy Rapid determination of the concentrations of molecules related to diseases can provide timely information for treatment options. However, most biomarker quantitation methods require costly and complex equipment. On the other hand, point-of-care systems have less complex instrumentation needs than laboratory-based equipment, but often provide less information; for example, biomarker presence or absence instead of concentration. A complete analysis setup addressing key limitations of both laboratory-based and portable systems is highly desirable. I developed microfluidic devices with visual inspection readout of a target's concentration from microliter volumes of solution flowed into a microchannel. Microchannels are formed within polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and the surfaces are coated with receptors. Capillary flow of target solution in the channel crosslinks the top and bottom surfaces, which constricts the channel and stops flow. The flow distance of the target solution in the channel before flow stops indicates the target's concentration, enabling simple visual inspection readout without complex detection instrumentation. Because of its easy readout and portability, my system has great potential for use in point-of-care diagnostics. I initially demonstrated a proof-of-concept assay using biotin-streptavidin. Solution capillary flow distances scaled linearly with the negative logarithm of streptavidin concentration over a 100,000-fold range. I measured streptavidin concentrations as low as 1 ng/mL using these microsystems, demonstrating low detection limits. I also characterized the mechanism wherein time-dependent channel constriction in the first few millimeters leads to concentration-dependent flow distances. I demonstrated the visual detection and quantification capability of my system to determine an antigen target, thymidine kinase 1 (TK1). I developed surface modification methods for carrying out flow assays and verified receptor attachment on channel surfaces using fluorescence imaging. I obtained a 1 ng/mL TK1 detection limit in flow assays. I also demonstrated nucleic acid quantitation in my flow devices. I detected specific DNA targets in buffer and synthetic urine at 10 pg/mL levels. A dynamic range of 106 was obtained with single-base mismatch specificity. DNA analogues of two miRNA biomarkers were measured near clinically significant levels, showing great promise for future medical application. The promising results demonstrate that this diagnostic tool offers a simple route to analyte quantitation in microliter volumes, with excellent potential for point-of-care application.


ALONG WITH THE distinctions of being chosen by Oprah's Book Club and made into a sexually explicit movie with an Academy Award-winning performance by Kate Winslet, Bernhard Schlink's novel Der Vorleser [The Reader] has received a great deal of attention from literary critics. Numerous writers interpret the novel as an apologia for Nazi Germany. They stress Schlink's callous dismissal of the sufferings of the Jews of Hitler's Europe, culminating in The Holocaust, as in scholarly critiques by Alison, Brockmann, and Donahue. Though not noted by those critics, it is highly likely that the protagonist's father, a philosophy professor dismissed by the German Ministry of Education for recommending the works of the famous seventeenth-century Dutch Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza, is a surrogate for the famous German Existentialist philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). Michael's father was perhaps a composite of Schlink's father and Heidegger, although William C. Donahue, all expert on The Reader, asserts that the best literary critics avoid assuming a literal identity between Schlink and Michael Berg, or between any authors of fiction as their protagonists' alter egos. This essay argues that, in melding the figures of Michael's fictional father, Sehlink's own father, the Rev. Doctor Edmund Schlink, and Heidegger, Bernhard Schlink imbues them with an undeserved aura of innocence, as Michael does to the character of Hanna (previous critics have amply demonstrated the latter). And, since The Reader as a work of historical fiction tends toward "Holocaust denial" or at least "Holocaust exoneration" for the mass of Germans, future generations of readers, less well-educated, erudite and creative than Heidegger and Schlink, could similarly trivialize mass murder. The inclusion of sex, soap-opera type moralizing, and a veneer of historical realism, leads the reader to assume that popular novels like The Reader have no philosophical or political agenda: in this case, Heidegger's tendency (which Schlink follows) to downplay the horrors of the Holocaust as one of many inevitable atrocities that take place during war, exaggerated by the media and Jewish pressure groups. Consequently, the unsuspecting masses are fed facts in the guise of fiction, or, perhaps more often, fiction in the guise of facts. It appears that Michael's father formed a composite of Schlink's own father, Edmund the theologian, and the great German philosopher Martin Heidegger. By creating "Michael's father," a "good" man who admired Spinoza and was mistreated by the Nazis, Bernhard Schlink perhaps justified in his own mind the passivity of his father, Heidegger, and the entire German people in the face of Nazi tyranny, World War II, and the Holocaust. And neither Oprah nor the millions of casual readers of The Reader were the wiser. Akin to Heidegger's apathy on the Jews and the Holocaust, Michael's father's characteristic attitude toward his family's well-being and other matters apart from his daily task of being a philosophy professor is aloofness. We never learn how he felt about the Nazi regime and the Holocaust, except that he was fired from his job as a university lecturer for planning a lecture about the Jewish philosopher Spinoza, which he likely did because of his philosophical importance rather than because he wished to champion the Jews or publicly oppose Nazism. We are given no reason to suppose him a political activist. From the brief physical description Michael gives of his father, he appears similar to Heidegger, with "his graying hair, his face, carelessly shaven as always, the deep lines between his eyes and from his nostrils to the corners of his mouth" (141). In The Beader, Michael's relationship with his father is conflicted. Michael finds him distant and preoccupied: a cold, Heidegger-like philosophy professor, who never has time for his wife and children. Michael respects his intelligence, dedication to his work, and sober judgment. …


Because of the substantive role played by livestock in the income and asset portfolios of the poor, livestock diseases can be an important threat to livelihoods. Yet for a variety of reasons, there are few applicable methods and consequently scant literature to assess the impacts of livestock diseases on livelihood outcomes. Existing literature comprises small-area studies and computable models with wider geographic focus, both of which have limitations in this specific context. We propose an alternative approach for estimating the impacts of livestock diseases on livelihoods. This proposed approach is an adaptation of a quasi-experimental impact evaluation method, namely propensity score matching, which uses features available in large-scale datasets with wide geographic coverage to create counterfactual scenarios that could mimic outcomes of a disease outbreak. By its construction the method is well suited for ex ante impact assessment. As an illustration we apply the method to the hypothetical case of an avian flu outbreak in Kenya.


"We feel it is a good law. When a person takes advantage of a child, I don't worry about their constitutional rights." North Carolina state Sen. David Hoyle, Dem., sponsor of the North Carolina law that resulted in a registered sex offender being arrested for attending a chuch worship service. The law, enacted as part of the nationwide response to the death of Jessica Lunsford, created zones into which offenders could not travel knowingly. These zones included such vague locations as places "where children gather." The offender, James Nichols, challenged the constitutionality of the law, and a superior court judge dismissed the charges against him, finding the law to be unconstitutional on several grounds. The State of North Carolina is currently appealing the decision of Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour, and are seeking to continue to enforce the law against church-going offenders. This paper examines the evolution of contemporary sex offender regulations in general over the past several decades, beginning with the first registration requirements and covering the latest restrictions on travel, satellite based monitoring, and residency restrictions. The paper addresses the challenges that have been brought in each stage of this evolution, and culminates with an analysis of the constitutionality of North Carolina's attempt to banish sexual offenders from their communities, and prevent them from meaningfully participating in society. The case of James Nichols is discussed as an example of the arbitrary and "knee-jerk" nature of legislative responses to sex offenders. The paper also addresses several myths surrounding sexual crime, and exposes the error in basing legislation affecting fundamental rights on such myths as "stranger danger," and the threat of sex offender recidivism. The paper discusses the impact that public opinion and the electoral process have on legislative responses to crimes against children and the media attention that those crimes receive. The paper concludes with recommendations to the North Carolina General Assembly and North Carolina Courts that the legislature and courts of any state would be well served to consider in seeking to protect its children while safeguarding its constitution.


This expanded edition of the highly acclaimed investigation of Zen teaching in America, by the founder and editor of America's first Buddhist magazine, lays bare the issues at the heart of the Zen mission. Through in-depth portraits of five American Zen masters, Tworkov creates a trenchant sociological picture of an important strand of American spiritual life. 27 photos.


Abstract From the technical analyses of wide ranges of scholars to the public discourse backlashes against globalization, there is a huge volume of work historicizing, quantifying, and problematizing the complex role of multinational corporations (MNCs) in international trade. The body of literature is so large that most readers rely on disciplinary boundaries to narrow the catalog, causing them to miss out on important synergies across fields. By bringing the work of historians, lawyers, and political scientists working on MNCs and international trade into conversation, we offer an expanded perspective. Our collective contribution highlights the political dimensions of MNCs within the frameworks of global economic governance, in which corporations seek to influence trade policies amid rising protectionism and coordinate their activities within industry associations while regulators struggle to hold MNC parent companies accountable to international human rights violations across their value chains. Especially in this moment of re-evaluation — and possible de-globalization following the shock of COVID-19 — our multidisciplinary analysis explains how MNCs exerted political power over trade regimes in the past, by what means they seek to shape regulatory frameworks in the present, and what the possible futures might be for big business operations in a more or less global economy.


The thermal properties of the lithium ceramics pebble beds have a significant impact on the temperature profile of the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed blanket and the extraction of heat from the pebble beds to the coolant. The literature review showed a lack of experimental data on the interface thermal conductance (h) of lithium metatitanate pebble beds, therefore the objective of this study is to present experimental values of h. The measuring technique is based on the principles of steady state and axial heat flow methods. The lithium metatitanate pebble bed is single size (˜O1.7-2.0mm pebbles) with a packing fraction of 61%. The values of h were measured at the interface of the pebbles with their container's wall (made of stainless steel 316). The results showed that h increased from 1800 to 5300W/m2.K with the increase of the wall temperature from 24 to 570°C. The theoretical values of h, calculated by three models, were compared with the experimental values. The theoretical and experimental values of h showed similar behavior with the increase of temperature. The present values of h will help to create a reliable database of the thermal properties of the lithium ceramics pebble beds.


Balancing small objects such as a normal pencil on its tip requires rapid feedback control with latencies on the order of milliseconds. Here we describe how a pair of spike-based silicon retina dynamic vision sensors (DVS) is used to provide fast visual feedback for controlling an actuated table to balance an ordinary pencil on its tip. Two DVSs view the pencil from right angles. Movements of the pencil cause spike address-events (AEs) to be emitted from the DVSs. These AEs are processed by a 32-bit fixed-point ARM7 microcontroller (64MHz, 200mW) on the back side of each embedded DVS board (eDVS). Each eDVS updates its estimate of the pencil's location and angle in 2d space for each received spike (typically at a rate of 100kHz) by applying a continuous tracking method based on spike-driven fitting to a model of the vertical rod-like shape of the pencil. Every 2ms, each eDVS sends the pencil's tracked position to a third ARM7-based controller, which computes pencil location in 3d space and runs a linear PD-controller to adjust X-Y-position and velocity of the table to maintain the pencil balanced upright. The actuated table is built using ordinary high-speed hobby servos. Our system can balance any small, thin object such as a pencil, pen, chop-stick, or rod for minutes, in a wide range of light conditions.


The subject of this two part work is the acquisition of language structure in which the development of syntax and morphology is examined by investigations on children without language problems and on children with developmental dysphasia. The author uses a comparative acquisition study to provide insights into the structure and development of the language acquisition device, which cannot be obtained by isolated analysis of only one type of learning. The theoretical framework used for the investigations is the learnability theory , in which acquisition models are proposed which are heavily influenced by theoretical linguistics. Part I shows how child grammar acquisition can be explained in the framework of learnability theory and Part II deals with deficiencies in normal grammar acquisition using the learnability theory.


We report a simple synthetic method to prepare amorphous molybdenum oxide (p-MoO3) using a favorably stable peroxomolybdic acid organosol as the precursor solution prepared by an ultrasonic reaction for the first time. The favorably smooth and dense surface morphology of the p-MoO3 layers are obtained under 150 °C thermal treatment with good optical properties and a high work function (WF) of 5.26 eV. During the annealing treatment two different oxidation states of Mo ions are observed with increasing the annealing temperature to 150 °C and 200 °C. The best performance of the P3HT:PC71BM devices with p-MoO3 anode buffer layers has been achieved under 150 °C treatment with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.02%, a VOC of 0.59 V, a JSC of 10.70 mA cm−2, and a FF of 63.7%, superior to the corresponding PEDOT:PSS modified devices. Furthermore, the performance of the PTB7:PC71BM devices with the annealed p-MoO3 buffer layers has also been dramatically improved with the best performance parameters of a PCE of 8.46%, a VOC of 0.73, a JSC of 17.02 mA cm−2, a FF of 68.1% for 150 °C. The improved performance of the devices originates from the following factors; (i) the favorable and compact surface morphology of the annealed p-MoO3 films leading to a higher rectification ratio and lower leakage current. (ii) The formation of oxygen vacancies and the growing Mo5+ cation leading to the change of WF under the annealing treatment. The highest WF of 5.26 eV for 150 °C treatment influences the built-in electric field of the devices with the photocurrent being extracted efficiently at a short-circuit.


The prognosis for patients with malignant mesothelioma is very poor with patient response to therapy highly variable. This project was aimed at investigating the degree of heterogeneity in the responses to treatment amongst mesothelioma cell lines which have all arisen due to asbestos exposure. Despite the use of the same carcinogen, a number of variabilities amongst these cancers are still present. Avenues of investigation initially tried to determine if the variability in response was due to heterogeneity in the proliferation of malignant mesothelioma cells. Different growth rates were observed for cell lines grown in culture and in vivo. Cells showed different degrees of response to treatment with different chemotherapeutic agents. An attempt was made to determine the mode of cell death undergone by cells in their response to the treatments. Further investigation is warranted into the validity of these results because if the differences found in the phenotype of the cells were accurate, it could direct individualised therapeutic strategies to target the uniqueness of malignant mesothelioma.


The diversity of learners in South African schools implies that learners in the Physical Education class may show different levels of gross- and perceptual-motor proficiency, although no research has been reported on gender and ethnical differences in this regard. The purpose of this study was therefore to examine gender and ethnical differences in motor proficiency among Senior Phase learners in a South African city. A total of 239 13- to 14-year-old learners, from eight schools of different socioeconomic backgrounds in Potchefstroom, were assessed using the Bruininks- Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, independent t-tests and effect sizes. The results show that boys performed better than girls regarding the BOT-2 total and in the BOT-2 components of body coordination, manipulation coordination, strength and agility, while the girls obtained better scores in the fine motor coordination component. White learners performed better than Black learners in the BOT-2 total and the BOT-2 components of fine motor control, body coordination, strength and agility, whereas the Black learners performed better in the manipulation coordination component. These results imply that the Physical Education teacher should especially pay attention to the manipulation coordination of girls, and the body coordination, strength and agility of Black learners and girls in the Senior Phase Physical Education class. Keywords : Motor proficiency, adolescents, gender, ethnic groups.


Approximately 400,000 people die outside US hospitals or chronic care facilities each year. While there has been some recent movement towards initiating procedures for prehospital Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders, the most common situation in the US is that emergency medical systems (EMS) personnel are not authorized to pronounce patients dead, but are required to attempt resuscitation with all of the modalities at their disposal in virtually all patients. It is unfair and probably unrealistic for EMS personnel to have to make a determination of the validity of a non-standard prehospital DNR order (for example, a living will or a durable power of attorney for health care). Existing prehospital DNR protocols range from being very restrictive in the scope of patients allowed to participate and in their implementation, to those that are more liberal. Potential benefits of prehospital DNR orders include freeing up vital personnel and material for use by those who would more fully benefit, and alleviating the enormous emotional strain on patients, families, EMS personnel, and hospital medical staffs involved in unwanted resuscitations that only prolong the dying process. Given this, prehospital DNR orders present several legal and moral problems. These include proper patient identification, the nature of the document itself, precautions incorporated into a DNR system to prevent misuse, potential liability for EMS and hospital personnel, and potential errors in implementation. Functioning prehospital DNR systems need to include: 1) specific legislation detailing the circumstances in which such a document could be used, the wording of such a document, and protection from liability for those implementing the document's directives; 2) having the currently valid document immediately available to the EMS personnel or base station doctors; and 3) acceptable means of identifying the patient. Relatively few US jurisdictions as yet have a prehospital DNR order system, although it is an idea whose time is overdue. Society's imperative to use available technology has pushed us into a situation where a technique to save those with a potential to continue a meaningful and wanted existence is being used indiscriminately to prolong the agony of death.


Present concerns for sustainable development have led to a revival of traditional building practices using natural or recycled resources. There is a perception that buildings constructed from such materials are environmentally benign. This perception is questionable, as often no evaluation is undertaken to assess the associated environmental impacts. Rammed earth is one such construction technology that has seen renewed interest in recent years. The energy required to manufacture materials (i.e. embodied energy) is a significant component of the life cycle energy associated with buildings. This paper assesses the embodied energy of rammed earth construction relative to brick veneer and cavity brick construction. Rammed earth was found to have significantly less embodied energy than cavity brick construction (to which it is closer in thermal performance), but was approximately equivalent to brick veneer construction. Topics of further research identified include thermal performance and strategies for reducing the embodied energy of cement used for earth stabilisation.


Bringing to bear 60 years of research, travel, and teaching, Fairbank weaves a detailed history that reaches from China's neolithic days to its troubled present. He depicts a country ever-changing and yet constant in its effort to achieve a cohesive identity, an enormous and enormously complex nation perpetually balancing between the imperatives of force and the power of ideas. Here are the Chinese autocrats in their various times and guises, maintaining Confucian civility and order through - paradoxically - the perpetual threat of irrational imperial violence. Here is the intellectual class, revered for its wisdom and counsel and yet - as events from the Cultural Revolution to the massacre in Tiananmen Square demonstrate - eminently expendable. And here are China's farmers engaged in a never-ending attempt to tame their countryside only to face repeated famine as China's agrarian-based economy fails to develop. At the centre of all stands the Chinese family, until recently the model for both obedience and tyranny in society at large. Fairbank traces the growth of a civilization that could embrace so many contradictions and disruptions and yet retain a strong sense of its identity. Following China's ambivalent relations with the West and with the forces of modernization, he identifies, even in the great leap forward signaled by the Communist Revolution, the assumptions that have informed Chinese society for thousands of years. From the influences of Buddhism through the flowering of Song China to the reforms of Deng Xiaoping, this illustrated history unfolds.


The Kosovo crisis and the dissolution of the SFR of Yugoslavia provoked the scholarly community to respond in many and varied ways. This paper seeks to show how difficult it was for many to 'navigate' between the 'rocks' of hard fact and pure propaganda, and in what ways that open-ended situation echoes in the present. A more important goal, however, is to put forward the results of my research regarding the reliability of the Yugoslav census data of 1931 which may shed clarifying light on the vastly discrepant demographic figures that are currently in use. The 1931 census data for non-Slav minorities were highly classified and intended only for internal government use in response to the needs of external defense or internal order. Migrations of the ethnic Albanians and other ethnic groups in the Kosovo region during the first half of the twentieth century led to significant shifts in ethnic proportions. It is almost impossible to form a clear fact-based picture of what had happened during the First World War and why the Orthodox Christian Serbian population dropped to 21.1% in 1921, almost twice as low as their number in 1911. On the other hand, it is debatable how many ethnic Albanians or Turks permanently emigrated or went in exile in 1918-21. According to various Yugoslav data sources, some 65,000 settlers and state officials came to Kosovo, while some 24,000 Muslims from all parts of Yugoslavia emigrated to Turkey or Albania. The Second World War brought about another significant population shift. Some 10,000 Serbs were killed in 1941, while almost all Christian Orthodox settler families (about 60,000 people) were expelled. The expulsion was followed by an inflow of Albanians from Albania proper. Only two thirds of the expelled were permitted to return after 1945. The provisional Yugoslav census of 1948 registered a significant increase for Albanians and a decrease for Serbs and Montenegrins or, expressed in percentage terms, Serbs dropped from 33.1% to 27.5% and Albanians rose from 54.4% to 68.5% of the total population in the region. The Tito-Stalin split in 1948 and strained relations with Albania led to another wave of immigrants from that country Yugoslav historians had evidence for at least 30,000 and indications, yet to be proven, for some 75,000.


Pregnancy is a dynamic physiological stressor requiring numerous tightly choreographed alterations to the maternal physiological state. In addition to homeostatic regulation of maternal energy, fluid, and electrolyte balance, the needs of a rapidly developing fetus must also be satisfied. Indeed, contemporary literature is replete with evidence from clinical and experimental studies showing that alterations in the intrauterine environment have considerable impacts on fetal development and long-term health outcomes (1–7). Considering Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the crude prevalence of diabetes has increased by 176% over the last three decades, the need for clinical and experimental interest in this particular health problem is increasing.

Gestational diabetes mellitus is widely recognized as a serious concern for expectant mothers and is routinely screened for in midpregnancy. However, the potential for undiagnosed or poorly controlled diabetes before pregnancy to generate significant embryonic and early fetal stress may be less obvious. Indeed, it is not standard clinical practice to evaluate women for glucose intolerance prior to 24 weeks of pregnancy unless obvious risk factors are present. While increased awareness and screening may provide some help in the early identification of diabetes in pregnancies, these will not capture a significant portion of potentially high-risk, diabetic pregnancies in which the pregnancy is not confirmed until a much later time, such as at 8–12 weeks of pregnancy. Thus, improved screening at the primary care level prior to pregnancy is needed to meet the needs of this diabetic patient population.

Despite …


In this paper, we propose to learn cross-view binary identities (CBI) for fast person re-identification. To achieve this, two sets of discriminative hash functions for two different views are learned by simultaneously minimising their distance in the Hamming space, and maximising the cross-covariance and margin. Thus, similar binary codes can be found for images of a same person captured at different views by embedding the images into the Hamming space. Therefore, person re-identification can be solved by efficiently computing and ranking the Hamming distances between the images. Extensive experiments are conducted on two public datasets and CBI produces comparable results as state-of-the-art re-identification approaches but is at least 2200 times faster.


Abstract The CO2 emissions from a building's power system will change over the life time of the building, and this need to be taken into account to verify whether a building is Zero Emission (ZEB) or not. This paper describes how conversion factors between electricity demand and emissions can be calculated for the European power system in a long term perspective through the application of a large scale electricity market model (EMPS). Examples of two types of factors are given: a conversion factor for average emissions per kWh for the whole European power system as well as a marginal factor for a specific region.


At optical wavelengths, an exoplanet's signature is essentially reflected light from the host star - several orders of magnitude fainter. Since it is superimposed on the star spectrum its detection has been a difficult observational challenge. However, the development of a new generation of instruments like ESPRESSO and next generation telescopes like the E-ELT put us in a privileged position to detect these planets' reflected light as we will have access to extremely high signal-to-noise ratio spectra. With this work, we propose an alternative approach for the direct detection of the reflected light of an exoplanet. We simulated observations with ESPRESSO@VLT and HIRES@E-ELT of several star+planet systems, encompassing 10h of the most favourable orbital phases. To the simulated spectra we applied the Cross Correlation Function to operate in a much higher signal-to-noise ratio domain than when compared with the spectra. The use of the Cross-Correlation Function permitted us to recover the simulated the planet signals at a level above 3 \sigma_{noise} significance on several prototypical (e.g., Neptune type planet with a 2 days orbit with the VLT at 4.4 \sigma_{noise} significance) and real planetary systems (e.g., 55 Cnc e with the E-ELT at 4.9 \sigma_{noise} significance). Even by using a more pessimistic approach to the noise level estimation, where systematics in the spectra increase the noise 2-3 times, the detection of the reflected light from large close-orbit planets is possible. We have also shown that this kind of study is currently within reach of current instruments and telescopes (e.g., 51 Peg b with the VLT at 5.2 \sigma_{noise} significance), although at the limit of their capabilities.


This paper sets out to study the letters of Gaston B., a French prisoner of war held in captivity in the camp of Munster (Germany) from the beginning of the First World War until its end. These letters make possible a relativisation of linguistic macrohistory through microhistory, by focussing on the grassroots level and by using as sources the traces of people with no significant name or identity. They shed important light on how a member of a lower class acquired the prescriptive linguistic norm through his schooling at the end of the nineteenth century and how this affected his subsequent linguistic behaviour. An individual is exposed to the political and social dimension of language planning, and his language reflects its level of success, but also reveals what grammatical tools and rules have been focused on during his schooling.


The work presented here deals with studies on lipolytic enzymes and lipids of Cucumis melo seeds both in the resting and germinated states. Also some work was undertaken on the lipase activity and lipids of Hibiscus cannabinus seeds.

C melo seed lipase in the resting state showed two pH optima i.e. 4.0 and 6.0. On germination both these pH optima were maintained although level of activities at both the pH increased. Loss in activity of the lipase having optimum pH 4.0 was greater as compared-to the other when incubated at pH 6.0 for different periods. The enzyme extract showed two peaks on fractionating with Sephadex G-75. One fraction .was found to have optimum pH 4.0 and the other pH 6.0. C. melo seed lipase therefore contains two distinct lipases.

On germination of C. melo seeds upto a primary root length of 30 mm, activity of the lipase having pH optimum 6.0 increased more than three-fold. An optimum temperature of 31-40oC was observed at pH 6.0 under the assay conditions used. Both the Na+ and Ca2+ ions showed activating influence on the lipase activity. The lipase was shown to be more active against ricinoleic acid glycerides as compared to the others used, which seems due to a genuine affinity for the former. Using powder of C melo germinated seeds greatest lipase activity was observed in ethyl methyl ketone system and this was followed by activities in di-isopropyl ether, n-heptane, cyclohexane and cyclohexanol systems. The pattern of specific solvent effects on lipase activity of C. melo seems to be different from those of other lipases studied.

The primary root of 30mm length showed an activity of 49 I¼M fatty acids released per gram of the fresh roots at pH 6.0. Studies on distribution of lipase activity in different segments of primary root of 30mm length showed that the enzyme activity in apical portion of 6 mm length was most active releasing 91 I¼M fatty acids per gram of fresh sample.

Phospholipase activity showed only one optimum pH, i.e. 5.0, in the primary roots of the germinated seeds. Relative phospholipase activities in the ethyl methyl ketone, di-isopropyl ether and n-heptane systems were similar to those of lipase. In contrast to lipase, the phospholipase activity decreased with increase in the length of the primary root. 100 mg dry roots of 5mm released 210 I¼M fatty acids while only 80 pM were released when the length reached 30mm under the assay conditions used. The pattern of distribution of phospholipase activity in the various segments of the primary root of 30 mm length was reverse to. that of lipase. The portion attached to the cotyledon showed greatest activity and it reduced while moving towards the tip. On fractionating a concentrated extract of the primary root in a Sephadex G-75 column the phospholipase activity could be separated from the two lipases described above.

On germinating C melo seeds, lipid content in the cotyledons did not change much but in the primary roots there was a rapid decrease with increase in length. The growing tip of the primary roots contained greatest amount of lipids i.e. 17% on a dry weight basis which decreased to 2.7% in the segments attached to the cotyledons. Analysis of the lipids of the resting seeds and the cotyledons and the primary roots of the germinated seeds showed triglycerides as the major fraction. In the primary root quantities of triglycerides, partial glycerides and free fatty acids decreased whereas percentages of the various polar lipids and sterols and their esters increased alongwith increase in its length. Proportion between neutral and polar lipids in the resting seed was 24:1 whereas in the freshly germinated roots this proportion dropped to 4.92 am reduced further with increase in length of the primary root. Changes in the composition of lipids in the cotyledons during germination from that of the resting state were not as remarkable as in the case of primary roots. As compared to the lipids of the resting seeds percentages of 1-3 diglycerides and 2-monoglycerides decreased, whereas phosphatidyl ethanolamine was not detectable, in the cotyledons. Proportion between neutral and the polar lipids in the cotyledons was although reduced as compared to that of resting seeds but the change was not as remarkable as in the case of primary roots.

Studies on distribution of different lipid fractions in the various segments of the primary roots grown to )0 mm showed that there was a slight decrease in the percentages of free fatty acids, 1-3 diglycerides and phosphatidyl serine from tip towards the base of the root. Percentages of triglycerides, monogalactosyl diglycerides, phosphatidyl ethanolamine phosphatidyl choline and lysophospbatidyl choline increased slightly. However, quantities of sterol esters, 1-2 diglycerides, 6-O-acyl sterylglucoside, lysophosphatidyl ethanolamine and sterols were found to be nearly constant throughout the length of the root.

There seemed to be a relationship between the distribution of lipids and lipase and phospholipase activities in the various segments of the primary root. In the growing tip portion both the lipase activity and the total glycerides and free fatty acids existed in greater amount whereas phospholipase activity and the total phosphoglycerides were found to be present in greater amounts in the portions nearer to the cotyledons. lipids of the resting seeds contained C18:2 (48.5%) as the major fatty acid and this was followed by C18:1(20.3%), C16:0(9.8%), C22:1(6.1%), C18:0(6.2%), C20:1(5.4%) and small amounts of C12:0 and C14:0. C18:3 was not detectable. On germination C16:0 and C18:0 contents increased while that of C1S:2 decreased remarkably in the lipids of freshly germinated primary roots. Alongwith increase in the root length quantity of C16:0 decreased while those or C20:1 and C22:1 gradually increased. C18:3 which was not detectable in the lipids of primary root in initial stages of germination, also appeared in significant amounts later on. However, fatty acid composition in the cotyledons did not change much on germination although some amounts of C18:3 also appeared in the lipids of cotyledons. A study on the distribution of fatty acids in the various segments of the primary roots showed that amounts of C16:0 C18:0 and C20:1 deceased while moving from the portion attached to the cotyledons towards the growing tip while t his order was reverse in the case of C8:2 and C18:3 The results showed that the. dietr1bution pattern of fatty acids in various segments of the primary root did not change gradually from that of the cotyledons, rather there was an abrupt change in the fatty acid composition in the portion of the primary root immediately attached to the cotyledons.

Lipase activity of the H cannabinus seeds in the resting state showed only one pH optimum i.e. 5.0. The enzyme was found to be stable over a pH range 4.0 to 6.0 and lost the activity rapidly at pH values below 4.0 or above 6.0. An optimum temperature of 37°C was observed under the assay conditions employed. Above 40°C the enzyme was found to be rapidly inactivated. Mg2+and Ca2+ had an activating effect on tile lipase activity while EDTA. Ba2+ . Pb2+,Zn2+, K4Fe (CN)6 at concentration of 0.025 M inhibited activity. NaCl activated the enzyme at concentrations of 0.3-0.5 M. The enzyme was found to be specifically active against butyric acid glycerides. Amongst the solvent systems studied greatest lipase activity was found in the ethyl methyl ketone and n-heptane systems and this was followed by activities in cyclohexane. di-isopropyl ether and cyclohexanol systems.

Analysis of the lipids of g. cannabinus seeds showed that triglycerides was the major fraction. Some free fatty acids apart from sterols were also present in small amounts. Composition of the lipids of g. cannabinus seeds showed all those fractions which were found in cotton seed oil but the quantity of free fatty acid was greater in cotton seed oil as compared to H. cannabinus seed oil. Fatty acid composition of the lipids of g. cannabinus showed that C16:0, C18:1 and C18:2 were the major fatty acids and C14:0 C16:1, C18:0, C18:3 and C22:1 were present in small amounts in the oils of both H. cannabinus and cotton seed. However, H cannabinus contained cyclopropenoid and epoxy acids in amounts slightly higher than in cotton seed oil. Similarity of fie cannabinus oil with that of cotton seed warrant its possible use as an edible oil.


Equal opportunities policies and family-friendly practices are examined using data from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey in order to assess (i) their associations with union recognition and strategic human resource management and (ii) the outcomes of what has recently been described as ''tinkering around'' for women at work. We find that, controlling for various factors, equal opportunities policies and their monitoring, together with ''softer'' family-friendly policies are strongly associated with trade union recognition. On the other hand, we find that a number of both ''hard'' and ''soft'' Human Resource Management (HRM) policies are strongly associated with flexible working practices. Employees are least likely to have access to equal opportunities and family-friendly policies in workplaces which do not recognise a union or use HRM practices, and we present evidence to suggest that this is the worst option for the employer in terms of workplace performance, as well as for those with family responsibilities.