Two fundamental principles of the Australian criminal justice system are those of innocence before proven guilty and imprisonment as a last resort. Remand imprisonment challenges these two ideals; as such, it is deemed a measure of last resort. In recent decades the criminal justice system has seen a shift in the granting of bail, from ensuring court attendance to a risk management tool. In conjunction with this shift, remand rates in Australia have been trending upwards. In response to growing remand rates, therapeutic bail initiatives, implemented through the courts, have flourished in many jurisdictions. These initiatives claim to assist in reducing remand rates by targeting risk factors that may result in remand through therapeutic measures, such as drug and alcohol treatment, before a person's case is heard in court. To date, little empirical, qualitative research has been conducted into the implementation and effect of these programmes, particularly on vulnerable people. This thesis aims to respond to this gap in scholarly research.

In this thesis I examine the use and effect of therapeutic bail conditions in the state of Victoria, to determine the ability of these processes to uphold the principle of remand as a last resort. This research draws on 33 interviews with key players in the bail and remand process, and observation of 117 bail and custody hearings in the Magistrates' Court of Victoria. I argue that therapeutic bail lends legitimacy to the risk management processes that now dominate bail. I show how therapeutic bail is used as a management tool for people experiencing multiple markers of vulnerability. Punitive responses that flow from a failure to comply with therapeutic bail conditions illustrate the extension of penal power beyond the traditional realm of the prison institution and into pre-trial processes. Limited access to services further marginalises vulnerable people, increasing the possibility of experiencing therapeutic bail punitively. As a result, therapeutic bail support programmes may have punitive and net-widening effects, particularly on those most vulnerable in our community. This thesis provides theoretically grounded empirical research on therapeutic bail conditions in Victoria, an area that has so far escaped academic attention.


Abstract. Air pollution is still largely unstudied in sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in a gap in scientific understanding of emissions, atmospheric processes, and impacts of air pollutants in this region. The Rwanda Climate Observatory, a joint partnership between MIT and the government of Rwanda, has been measuring ambient concentrations of key long-lived greenhouse gases and short-lived climate-forcing pollutants (CO 2 , CO, CH 4 , BC, O 3 ) with state-of-the-art instruments on the summit of Mt. Mugogo (1.586° S, 29.566° E, 2590 m above sea level) since May 2015. Rwanda is a small, mountainous, and densely populated country in equatorial East Africa, currently undergoing rapid development but still at less than 20 % urbanization. The position and meteorology of Rwanda is such that the emissions transported from both the northern and southern African biomass burning seasons affect BC, CO, and O 3 concentrations in Rwanda. Black carbon concentrations during Rwanda's two dry seasons, which coincide with the two biomass burning seasons, are higher at Mt. Mugogo than in major European cities. Higher BC baseline concentrations at Mugogo are loosely correlated with fire radiative power data for the region acquired with MODIS satellite instrument. Spectral aerosol absorption measured with a dual-spot Aethalometer also varies in different seasons, likely due to change in types of fuel burned and direction of pollution transport to the site. Ozone concentration was found to be higher in air masses from southern Africa than from northern Africa during their respective biomass burning seasons. These higher ozone concentration in air masses from the south could be indicative of more anthropogenic emissions mixed with the biomass burning emissions from southern Africa as Rwanda is downwind of major East African capital cities in this season. During the rainy season, local emitting activities (e.g., cooking, transportation, trash burning) remain steady, regional biomass burning is low, and transport distances are shorter as rainout of pollution occurs regularly. Thus local pollution at Mugogo can be estimated during this time period. Understanding and quantification of the percent contributions of regional and local emissions is essential to guide policy in the region. Our measurements indicate that air pollution is a current and growing problem in equatorial East Africa that deserves immediate attention.


We use a spatial model to investigate a state's choice of branch banking and interstate banking regimes as a function of the regime choices made by other states and other variables suggested in the literature. We extend the basic spatial econometric model by allowing spatial dependence to vary by geographic region. Our findings reveal that spatial effects have a large, statistically significant impact on state regulatory regime decisions. The importance of spatial correlation in the setting of state banking policies suggests the need to consider spatial effects in empirical models of state policies in general. Copyright RSAI 2005.


On July 21, 2011, the heads of government of the euro area announced a new plan to address the Greek debt crisis. This policy brief presents a simulation exercise that examines whether the new arrangements are likely to provide a sustainable solution. The analysis focuses on four key measures: gross debt relative to GDP; net debt relative to GDP; net interest payments relative to GDP; and amortization of medium- and long-term debt coming due during the year in question, relative to GDP. The new Greek package shows prospective future progress on all four measures, and Greek debt looks much more sustainable after the package than before. In the central baseline through 2020 after the July 2011 package, gross debt peaks at 175 percent of GDP in 2012, then falls to 113 percent by 2020; net debt falls from 121 percent of GDP in 2011 to 69 percent by 2020; purchase of private-sector involvement (PSI) collateral boosts assets from €76 billion in 2010 to about €150 billion by 2015; the interest burden falls from 7.2 percent of GDP in 2011 to 5.2 percent by 2020; amortization falls from 12 percent of GDP in 2011 to 6.5 percent by 2015, 0.5 percent in 2020; the primary surplus rises from –0.8 percent of GDP in 2011 to +6.4 percent by 2014 and after; and the average interest rate on public debt plateaus in a manageable range of about 4.5 percent. These results suggest that Greece can manage its sovereign debt under the new package so long as it meets the fiscal adjustment targets. So far the evidence is that Greek political leaders are willing to take the extensive and unpopular measures necessary to do so.


Churchill's description of the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942, after Lt-Gen Percival's surrender led to over 100,000 British, Australian, and Indian troops falling into the hands of the Japanese, was no wartime exaggeration. The Japanese had promised that there would be no Dunkirk in Singapore, and its fall led to imprisonment, torture, and death for thousands of allied men and women. With much new material from British, Australian, Indian and Japanese sources, Colin Smith has woven together the full and terrifying story of the fall of Singapore and its aftermath. Here, alongside cowardice and incompetence, are forgotten acts of enormous heroism; treachery yet heart-rending loyalty; Japanese compassion as well as brutality from the bravest and most capricious enemy the British ever had to face.


This study examines field portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) data for unsieved B- and C-horizon soil samples from two contrasting Au exploration programs in northern Canada and compares them to laboratory results from sieved samples to determine if a minimalist approach to sample preparation, equipment calibration and analysis produces results that are adequate for exploration purposes. The collection of 14 651 residual soil samples on detailed grids at the Whiskey Au project in the Black Hills of the Yukon Territory, Canada during the 2011 field season allows a comparison of pXRF data from unsieved samples with inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) data from the <100-µm grain size fraction digested in aqua regia. XRF data were generated on two devices: an Innov-X Delta handheld and a Niton FXL desk-top unit. Data for selected elements from the pXRF units show trends in gridded percentile plots comparable to the ICP-MS data, although the continuity of these trends reflects the degree to which the pathfinder element concentrations exceed the lower orders of detection. Acceptable merged gridded images for As and Cu from the two devices were generated without data levelling, whereas the Pb, Mo and Ni data require leveling prior to gridding in order to provide a reasonable fit to the laboratory data. Data for elements that occur in concentrations close to the lower limit of detection by pXRF, such as Sb, may provide some useful information but must be used with caution. Data for Fe also show a poor correlation, possibly due to heterogeneity of Fe in the samples, as well as due to incomplete digestion of all Fe-bearing minerals in some samples using an aqua regia digestion. A total of 680 till samples collected from regional and detailed sampling grids on the Kiyuk Lake Au property in southern Nunavut, Canada during the 2012 field season were analysed by pXRF and also by ICP-MS following an aqua regia digestion. pXRF data were generated on an Innov-X Delta using unsieved samples for comparison with ICP-MS data from the <70-µm grain size fraction. The pathfinder element As shows good agreement with the laboratory data, whereas Ni, Mo and Sb data give poor matches due to proximity of the data to the lower orders of detection by pXRF. The use of pXRF data on soil samples with no sample preparation other than drying and no instrument calibration is a robust approach for Au exploration using particular elements, such As and Cu, provided the data are monitored for consistency. Even greater compatibility between pXRF and laboratory data would be expected where sample preparation and site-specific calibrations are implemented. Other pathfinder elements for Au, including W, Sb, Bi, Ag and Te, as well as Au itself, typically occur at levels in soil either close to or below the lower order of detection of the current generation of field-portable analytical devices. The use of pXRF in Au exploration allows for quick decision-making and provides near-real time sampling guidance in the field where 'fit for purpose' data for suitable pathfinder and lithologically-controlled elements can be obtained.


The purose of the study is to increase knowledge regarding systematic enviromentarl work in an organization that works with road services. Work on the road is done in a hazardous environment with constant danger regarding the life of the individual. The site of the work varies in accordance with where the needs ae . This requires skilled workers capable of working independently and that they are experienced din doing their own risk assessments in accordance with the individual believes that the situation calls for work to be performed safely. The study was conducted with a qualitative research approach in which four employees of different positions, knowledge, experience and vision to work in a hazardous environment were interviewed. The focus rests on the organization, management, and individual aspirations for a safe and secure working environment. The study adds weight to the relationship between the purchaser of the work and the organization as a prime contractor due to the compexity of the organization. Current safety legislation and related regulations are presented for an understanding of what conditions the work is performed in, Furthermore, I have focused efforts on a number of variables including motivation, safety behavior, safety climate, risk and risk perception. The survey results shows that the work on the road is specific in nature, communication with the climate and motivation of safety is of great importance to create a safe and secure environment for the skilled worker to reside in.


Some observers see American academia as a bastion of leftist groupthink that indoctrinates students and silences conservative voices. Others see a protected enclave that naturally produces free-thinking, progressive intellectuals. Both views are self-serving, says Neil Gross, but neither is correct. Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care? explains how academic liberalism became a self-reproducing phenomenon, and why Americans on both the left and right should take notice. Academia employs a higher percentage of liberals than nearly any other profession. But the usual explanations--hiring bias against conservatives, correlations of liberal ideology with high intelligence--do not hold up to scrutiny. Drawing on a range of original research, statistics, and interviews, Gross argues that "political typing" plays an overlooked role in shaping academic liberalism. For historical reasons, the professoriate developed a reputation for liberal politics early in the twentieth century. As this perception spread, it exerted a self-selecting influence on bright young liberals, while deterring equally promising conservatives. Most professors' political views formed well before they stepped behind the lectern for the first time. Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care? shows how studying the political sympathies of professors and their critics can shed light not only on academic life but on American politics, where the modern conservative movement was built in no small part around opposition to the "liberal elite" in higher education. This divide between academic liberals and nonacademic conservatives makes accord on issues as diverse as climate change, immigration, and foreign policy more difficult.


1 Abstract — The objective of this paper is to discuss relevant points about teaching translation in Brazilian universities and the possible impacts of blogs and social networks to translator education today. It is intended to analyze the curricula of Brazilian translation courses, contrasting them to information obtained from two social networking groups of great visibility in the area concerning essential characteristics to become a successful profession. Therefore, research has, as its main corpus, a few undergraduate translation programs' syllabuses, as well as a few postings on social networks groups that specifically share professional opinions regarding the necessity for a translator to obtain a degree in translation to practice the profession. To a certain extent, such comments and their corresponding responses lead to the propagation of discourses which influence the ideas that aspiring translators and recent graduates end up having towards themselves and their undergraduate courses. The postings also show that many professionals do not have a clear position regarding the translator education; while refuting it, they also encourage "free" courses. It is thus observed that cyberspace constitutes, on the one hand, a place of mobilization of people in defense of similar ideas. However, on the other hand, it embodies a place of tension and conflict, in view of the fact that there are many participants and, as in any other situation of interlocution, disagreements may arise. From the postings, aspects related to professionalism were analyzed (including discussions about regulation), as well as questions about the classic dichotomies: theory/practice; art/technique; self-education/academic training. As partial result, the common interest regarding the valorization of the profession could be mentioned, although there is no consensus on the essential characteristics to be a good translator. It was also possible to observe that the set of socially constructed representations in the group reflects characteristics of the world situation of the translation courses (especially in some European countries and in the United States), which, in the first instance, does not accurately reflect the Brazilian idiosyncrasies of the area.


Structure-function analysis of chemokines and their shared receptor may aid in the development of small-molecule inhibitors. Deciphering chemokine binding Chemokines are small chemoattractant proteins that bind to chemokine receptors, which are members of the family of G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs), to stimulate the directed migration of immune cells to sites of infection or inflammation. Monocyte chemoattractant proteins (MCPs) are chemokines that stimulate the receptor CCR2, which is found on monocytes and macrophages and is implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes. Using chimeric MCP proteins and mutated CCR2 receptors, Huma et al. identified the N-terminal region of the chemokine as important for determining both receptor-binding affinity and the efficiency of receptor activation. The authors also showed that a region in the transmembrane domains of CCR2 was a critical site for chemokine-receptor interactions. These data may aid in the development of small-molecule inhibitors to treat diseases in which CCR2 signaling contributes to the pathology. Chemokines and their receptors collectively orchestrate the trafficking of leukocytes in normal immune function and inflammatory diseases. Different chemokines can induce distinct responses at the same receptor. In comparison to monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1; also known as CCL2), the chemokines MCP-2 (CCL8) and MCP-3 (CCL7) are partial agonists of their shared receptor CCR2, a key regulator of the trafficking of monocytes and macrophages that contribute to the pathology of atherosclerosis, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Through experiments with chimeras of MCP-1 and MCP-3, we identified the chemokine amino-terminal region as being the primary determinant of both the binding and signaling selectivity of these two chemokines at CCR2. Analysis of CCR2 mutants showed that the chemokine amino terminus interacts with the major subpocket in the transmembrane helical bundle of CCR2, which is distinct from the interactions of some other chemokines with the minor subpockets of their receptors. These results suggest the major subpocket as a target for the development of small-molecule inhibitors of CCR2.


This study focuses on determining the significance of the imported resource content, the largest consumer of the foreign exchange earnings, relative to the domestic inputs in the large scale-manufacturing sector (LSMS) of Pakistan. The analysis also includes the causal relationship of the major manufacturing sector variables; namely manufacturing employment, investment, and exports, with the economic growth of the country, determined within a unidirectional model. The relative significance of -the domestic and imported resource content in the LSMS is determined for thirty 3-digit level industries over a period of 12 year~~ 1975-1991. The results are obtained by estimating a simultaneous equations model, i.e., applying the 3SLS technique. The findings suggest that the domestic resource content has played a significant role in determining both the output and employment in the .LSMS of Pakistan, but the estimated coefficients oithe imported resource content variable indicate the absence of a significant relationship with the left hand side variables, LSMS output and employment, respectively.


ABSTRACT A discourse about who can be held accountable for the emergence of the Ukrainian conflict has developed. The EU's and Russia's polar-opposite integration strategies with Ukraine, dividing the country between its political and economic affiliation with either Brussels or Moscow, were considered as factors causing tensions in Ukraine. At the same time an intensifying opposition towards President Yanukovich's leadership was another factor contributing to the deterioration of this crisis. A series of scholarly accounts examined the afore mentioned causes for intensifying violence of this conflict. The first Ukrainian-Russian confrontation in the Sea of Azov in November 2018 necessitates an assessment of the security implications of this re-intensification of a conflict which seemed to be frozen for several years. This confrontation exceeds Ukraine's borders. The imminent threat is reflected in the Ukrainian President's request for support by NATO and the implementation of martial law. By examining the EU's response to the Ukraine crisis between the annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the renewed Russian-Ukrainian confrontation in the Sea of Azov in November 2018, this article examines the EU's capacities in providing security in Ukraine.


BACKGROUND
Waon therapy improves heart failure (HF) symptoms, but further evidence in patients with advanced HF remains uncertain.

METHODSANDRESULTS
In 19 institutes, we prospectively enrolled hospitalized patients with advanced HF, who had plasma levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) >500 pg/ml on admission and BNP >300 pg/ml regardless of more than 1 week of medical therapy. Enrolled patients were randomized into Waon therapy or control groups. Waon therapy was performed once daily for 10 days with a far infrared-ray dry sauna maintained at 60℃ for 15 min, followed by bed rest for 30 min covered with a blanket. The primary endpoint was the ratio of BNP before and after treatment. In total, 76 Waon therapy and 73 control patients (mean age 66 years, men 61%, mean plasma BNP 777 pg/ml) were studied. The groups differed only in body mass index and the frequency of diabetes. The plasma BNP, NYHA classification, 6-min walk distance (6MWD), and cardiothoracic ratio significantly improved only in the Waon therapy group. Improvements in NYHA classification, 6MWD, and cardiothoracic ratio were significant in the Waon therapy group, although the change in plasma BNP did not reach statistical significance. No serious adverse events were observed in either group.

CONCLUSIONS
Waon therapy, a holistic soothing warmth therapy, showed clinical advantages in safety and efficacy among patients with advanced HF.


Abstract. During the mid-19th century, the German naturalist Hermann Karsten conducted a 12-year exploration (1844–1856) in the territories of Ecuador, New Granada (now Colombia) and Venezuela, allowing him to produce important botanic, geographic and geologic descriptions with valuable information that permits us to refer to him as a pioneer in many of these topics. With his return to Europe, abundant geological, paleontological and living plant specimens were brought and housed in European museums and botanical gardens. The Karsten collection included an important invertebrate collection from the Cretaceous of the Andes of Colombia and Venezuela, which was studied and published by himself and the renowned German paleontologist Leopold von Buch, filling a large void in the knowledge about ancients faunas. H. Karsten's vertebrate collection was never illustrated or subjected to a detailed taxonomic study, being mentioned in scientific publications in a repetitive manner and with incorrect taxonomic and provenance information. More than 160 years after they were collected, we carried out a taxonomic revision of all H. Karsten's vertebrate specimens from Colombia and Venezuela, which are housed in the Museum of Natural History in Berlin. These specimens are represented by cranial and postcranial elements of megafauna, which include Megatheriidae, Mylodontidae and Glyptodontidae (Xenarthra), Toxodontidae (Notoungulata), Gomphotheriidae (Proboscidea), and many other indeterminate mammal remains. This revision is intended to clarify the taxonomy and provenance of the specimens, emphasizing the historical importance of this fossil collection and its significance for the paleontology of the region.


Venlafaxine representing a new class of antidepressants is a potent serotonin/ norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Transdermal delivery of venlafaxine hydrochloride (VHCl) may result in proper patient compliance by reducing the incidence of the undesirable GI problems generally associated with its plural oral dosing. The present study is an attempt to investigate the improvement of the transdermal flux of the hydrophilic VHCl by certain permeation enhancers viz. glycerin, urea, propylene glycol and mixture of propylene glycol and ethanol across pig ear skin. The cumulative drug release was the highest from the formulation F5 consisting of the mixture of propylene glycol and ethanol in sodium alginate gel with a load of 25% w/w VHCl with 96% permeation enhancement. The steady state flux observed with F5 was 0.203 mg cm-2 hr and an area of 15.27 cm2 would suffice to arrive at a required therapeutic concentration of VHCl in the blood.


This Article tackles a question that has vexed the administrative state for the last half century: how to seriously take account of the distributional consequences of regulation. The academic literature has largely accepted the view that distributional concerns should be moved out of the regulatory domain and into Congress' tax policy portfolio. In doing so, it has overlooked the fact that tax policy is ill suited to provide compensation for significant environmental, health, and safety harms. And the congressional gridlock that has bedeviled us for several decades makes this enterprise even more of a non-starter.

The focus on negative distributional consequences has become particularly salient recently, playing a significant role in the 2016 presidential election and threatening important, socially beneficial regulatory measures. For example, on opposite sides of the political spectrum, environmental justice groups and coal miner interests have forcefully opposed the regulation of greenhouse gases through flexible regulatory tools, in California and at the federal level, respectively.

The time has come to make distributional consequences a core concern of the regulatory state; otherwise, future socially beneficial regulations could well encounter significant roadblocks. The success of this enterprise requires significant institutional changes in the way in which distributional issues are handled within the Executive Branch. Every President from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama has made cost-benefit analysis a key feature of the regulatory state as a result of the role played by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and the Trump Administration is keeping that structure in place. In contrast, executive orders addressing distributional concerns have languished because of the lack of a similar enforcement structure within the Executive Branch. This Article provides the blueprint for the establishment of a standing, broadly constituted interagency body charged with addressing serious negative consequences of regulatory measures on particular groups. Poor or minority communities already disproportionally burdened by environmental harms and communities that lose a significant portion of their employment base are paradigmatic candidates for such action.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth, the nutrition,
and the intensity of the green color in corn plants in monoculture and in
intercropping with Mucuna aterrima, Crotalaria
juncea, and Canavalia ensiformis,
cultivated with different handlings. In general, corn plants in monoculture
demonstrated greater growth and greater SPAD value in the first evaluation,
despite presenting lower tenor of phosphorus in the leaves when related to the
corn in intercropping. The weed helps in the growth of the corn plant and
increases the SPAD value during flowering. The monoculture NPK (Nitrogen,
Phosphorus and Potassium) fertilization promoted higher values in corn plant
growth, as well as a greater SPAD value, at 30 d.a.e., of the plants. The
NPK-fertilized corn plants showed a greater tenor of sulphur and a lower tenor
of molybdenum. The corn in intercropping with M. aterrima resulted in smaller plants at 70 d.a.e. It also
presented a greater tenor of molybdenum and lower tenor of nickel when compared
to intercroppings with C. juncea and with C. ensiformis. The corn plants in a intercropping with Crotalaria
juncea presented higher growth at 30 and 70 d.a.e. and greater tenors of
molybdenum when compared to the plants in intercropping with C. ensiformis.


Transit Signal Priority (TSP) is an important element of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) that involves coordinated efforts between transit vehicle detection systems, traffic signal control systems, and communication technologies. Successful deployment of TSP requires thorough laboratory evaluation through simulation before field implementation. This paper presents the development and application of a simulation model specifically designed for the design and evaluation of TSP systems. The proposed simulation tool models in detail all the TSP components in accordance with the National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP) standard for TSP systems. The study is intended to shed light on how the variety of TSP elements can be addressed in microscopic simulation in a structured and systematic fashion. Sample applications of the model on a real-life arterial corridor in California demonstrate its capabilities and features.


Northern Nigeria has a history of low use of health services, resistance to immunization programs, and high maternal and child mortality rates. Cultural, physical, and financial barriers prevent many families from accessing health care. The Partnership for Reviving Routine Immunization in Northern Nigeria; Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Initiative (PRRINN-MNCH) was a project funded by the UK Department of International Development and the Norwegian government that used an integrated approach to strengthen health services and increase community demand for and access to quality health care. The project's community engagement approach aimed to empower communities, work with volunteers, and develop solutions to overcome barriers to health. Simultaneously, PRRINN-MNCH was building primary health care systems, including immunization, and strengthening governance to increase the availability and quality of services. Baseline and endline population-based random household surveys conducted in 2009 and 2013 showed improved community knowledge, increased use of antenatal care and immunization services, and a decrease in maternal, infant, and under-5 mortality. In the project areas, the maternal mortality ratio fell from 1,270 to 1,057; under-5 mortality decreased from 160 to 90.1 per 1,000 live births, and infant mortality decreased from 90 to 46.9 per 1,000 live births. The overall coverage of fully immunized children rose from 2.2% to 19.3%. Many of the PRRINN-MNCH lessons learned about community engagement are relevant to the Polio Eradication Initiative when Nigeria reaches polio-free status and community mobilizers are mainstreamed into routine health services.


This study offers rare insights into the practices and values that shape business performance in the Iranian business environment. The values of a sample of Iranian executives are examined in the context of the unique Iranian business culture. Based on the results of this study, it appears that the values of those who lead Iranian business organizations are changing from a traditional, religious-based to a global market-based orientation. Perhaps this is a reflection of the openness, which has characterized the Iranian society in recent years. Business executives from developed countties seeking to establish strategic partnerships with their Iranian counterpaits are beginning to experience this change more and more in the last few years. Introduction Today's business organization is becoming increasingly technology-driven. Advanced technologies are used to enhance the efficiency, productivity and customer focus of the business organization. However, the human factor still makes or breaks any business organization. Business executives draw on their values, experience, and leadership abilities to chart strategic courses for their organizations. Thus, understanding the motivation, values and leadership characteristics of executives is the key to understanding the dynamics of successes and failures which define the moves and counter moves of business organizations in the competitive global marketplace. Therefore, research addressing the values of executives in a cultural context has practical as well as theoretical significance. On the practical side, such research facilitates the abilities of executives to understand each other, despite their cultural differences. On the theoretical side, such research is instrumental towards building unified theoretical frameworks, which facilitate empirical testing of relationships among constructs pertaining to effective leadership in cross-cultural business contexts. What makes this line of research challenging is that "the concept of leadership itself is fraught with cultural meaning... Some cultures have no corresponding word for leader or leadership" (Alexander and Wilson 1997). In a global marketplace, business leaders must have a firm understanding of their own culture and how it is likely to be viewed by others. On the other hand, they also must have a strong sense of their place within their own culture, and whether their personal values represent or run counter to that culture. Thus, executives operating in global environment must be able to see the world from the perspective of the different cultures in which they operate, without losing their own cultural moorings (Alexander and Wilson 1997). Therefore, leadership concepts in different business cultures require careful study to understand the subtle measures which define proper behaviors and expectations. As James O'Toole (1995) states, "Most of what people believe to be true is subjective; and most of our factual knowledge is in fact influenced by our social conditions and environment." What we believe we know of other cultures is always "filtered" through our value systems. In this context, Peter Vaill (1996) speaks of the role of "cultural keys." "A cultural key is an understanding of the meaning of a given situation from the point of view of those cultural representatives who are involved in it in any way, both those of the culture in which the situation is occurring and those of other cultures." The effectiveness of Iranian business organizations, not unlike their counterparts all over the globe, is influenced by the economic and political realities of the country, and the cultural values of executives who lead them. However, since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, empirical research addressing the impact of economic constraints, political realities and executives' values on the performance and effectiveness of Iranian businesses has been slow in forthcoming. The objective of this study is to shed some light on the realities and dynamics of the Iranian business culture and the values of its executives. …


Apart from the traditional risk factors, there are newer risk factors such as high plasma level of Homocysteine, Folate deficiency and Vitamin B12 deficiency, associated with cardiovascular disease. Plasma Homocysteine level has been link to the level of LDL-C and functionality of HDL-C. This study is therefore designed to correlate plasma level of Homocysteine with Lipid profile in patient newly diagnosed of cerebrovascular accident. Seventy-Two newly diagnosed stroke patients were consecutively recruited into the study. Seventy-Two apparently healthy, age and sex matched volunteers were recruited from the community as controls. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Level of significance for the study was set at p<0.05. High plasma level of Homocysteine (12.72 ± 5.10 μmol/L), Total-Cholesterol (4.58 ± 1.40 mmol/L) and LDL (3.34 ± 1.41 mmol/L) were obtained from the study population when compared with Homocysteine (7.60 ± 1.80 μmol/L), Total-Cholesterol (3.93 ± 0.91) and LDL (2.23 ± 0.80 mmol/L) obtained from the controls and the difference was highly significant (p<0.01). The difference in the mean plasma level of HDL was statistically significant among study population (0.74 ± 0.32 mmol/L) when compared with Control (1.26 ± 0.38 mmol/L) p<0.001. Homocysteine had weak positive correlations with T-Cholesterol (r=0.172), LDL (r=0.213), Body Fat (r=178) and negative correlation with HDL (r=-0.178) but statistically significant p<0.05. We concluded that elevated plasma level of Homocysteine has significant correlat ion with abnormal lipid profile which is one of the major risk factors for cerebrovascular accident.


Low cost digital radios are sometimes proposed as an affordable tool for the realization of long distance (multikilometric - MKM) point-to-point telecommunication infrastructures in Developing Countries. To analyze the performance and the reliability of an architecture based on use of cheap wireless cards, several point-to-point links ranging from 50 up to 300 kilometers have been implemented in harsh environments. The links make use of commercial IEEE802.11x compliant radios. To reach long distances, off the shelf 802.11-derived communication protocols have been implemented, as well as a simplified proprietary solution employing few minor modifications to the PHY and MAC layers of the standard. Data rate enhancements have been obtained combining and transmitting several channels through the same antenna. Performance and stability have been monitored, continuously, for about 18 months. Reliability and scalability have been analyzed, taking into account the complexity of different kinds of scenarios. Interesting results have been reported, showing that, thanks to its inexpensive features, this technological solution may be used as a starting process to realize backhaul links and transport wideband connectivity in poor and isolated regions.


Research has undoubtedly led to a number of important changes to the way police obtain eyewitness identification evidence in a number of countries. However, despite these successes and the significant effort made by researchers to communicate key findings to public agencies, policy-makers and influential law enforcement personnel using a broad range of evidence, relevant policy and practice have either been very slow to respond or have not changed to incorporate the suggestions at all. In this article we employed an online survey to explore the knowledge and opinions of front-line policing practitioners in the UK regarding eyewitness research and practice. This was undertaken to determine how familiar less-senior, operational staff were with key research findings, what their opinions of current practice were and crucially, their views on how identification procedures should be improved compared with the recommendations made by researchers. The results revealed a fundamental mismatch between research and practice, with practitioners indicating a need to increase the rate of positive identifications and research tending to focus on methods of reducing false identifications. This result suggests that an approach driven by the need for the police to produce convictions may be an important factor that is blocking the translation of eyewitness identification research into practice.


Affirmative action was originally meant to remove by law, as required by the Equal Pay Act and the 1964 Civil Rights Act, "artificial barriers" that often prevented women and minority groups from entering the workforce. By the late 1960's and early 1970's affirmative action had been altered to become the governmental attempt to provide compensatory opportunities for groups who experience discrimination when seeking employment. More recently the legal essence of affirmative action refers to specific guidelines and rules to recruit, hire, and promote disadvantaged groups for the purpose of eliminating the existing effects of past discriminatory practices. Despite a plethora of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, affirmative action has yet to be clearly defined as a cohesive public policy. The Court's failure to define affirmative action as a coherent constitutional and legal concept has led to widespread misinterpretation of affirmative action goals among public administrators. This notion is substantiated by examining the results of a survey of local government officials at the county and municipal level which measures their understanding and perception of federal law pertaining to affirmative action's meaning and purpose.


Mbororo nomadic pastoralists have fled the Central African Republic
(CAR) since 2003 because of atrocities perpetrated against them. Conflict has, in fact,
always been a major motor behind nomadism for the Mbororo, along with the quest
for pasture. The "normal" severity of Mbororo life, however, has been compounded by
the "exceptional" severity caused by the situation in the CAR. This article analyzes the
way in which the Mbororo distinguish between the two types of severity, and how these
different forms of experienced hardship are accommodated in the pastoralists' way of
life. I show how historical trajectories with conflict and nomadic hardship allow refugee
Mbororo to adjust to recurrent hardship by adapting their pathways and livelihood
strategies. This illustrates the way in which duress is central in nomadic society.


Tumor cells with tumorigenic potential are limited to a small cell population known as cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs yield both CSCs and non-CSCs, whereas non-CSCs do not yield CSCs. CSCs have not been identified in any malignant lymphomas. Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a mostly B-cell neoplasm that can be diagnosed by the presence of multinucleated (Reed-Sternberg; RS) cells admixed with Hodgkin cells with distinct nucleoli and various inflammatory cells. Here, the tumorigenic potential of cells with a single nucleus (S) and cells with multiple nuclei (M), which may be equivalent to Hodgkin and RS cells, respectively, was examined in HL cell lines L1236 and L428. Cultures of single S cells yielded both S and M cells, whereas M cell cultures yielded only M cells. When either cultured in methylcellulose or inoculated into NOD/SCID mice, the colony number and tumor size were both larger in S than in M cells. Concentrations of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were at low levels in a portion of S cells that abundantly expressed FoxO3a, a transcription factor that regulates ROS-degrading enzymes. In clinical samples of HL, FoxO3a was expressed in mononuclear Hodgkin cells but not in multinucleated RS cells. These findings suggest that smaller cells or Hodgkin cells that show low-ROS concentrations and high FoxO3a expression levels might be candidates for HL CSCs. (Am J Pathol 2010, 177:3081–3088; DOI:


This paper provides a model-based assessment of local and global climate change impacts for the case of Yemen, focusing on agricultural production, household incomes and food security. Global climate change is mainly transmitted through rising world food prices. Our simulation results suggest that climate change induced price increases for food will raise agricultural GDP while decreasing real household incomes and food security. Rural nonfarm households are hit hardest as they tend to be net food consumers with high food budget shares, but farm households also experience real income losses given that many of them are net buyers of food. The impacts of local climate change are less clear given the ambiguous predictions of global climate models (GCMs) with respect to future rainfall patterns in Yemen. Local climate change impacts manifest itself in long term yield changes, which differ between two alternative climate scenarios considered. Under the MIR scenario, agricultural GDP is somewhat higher than with perfect mitigation and rural incomes rise due to higher yields and lower prices for sorghum and millet. Under the CSI scenario, positive and negative yield changes cancel each other out. As a result, agricultural GDP and household incomes hardly change compared to perfect mitigation.


The Prehistoric Bronze Age is a tremendously important period on Cyprus for understanding the later development of the island. During this period architecture, settlement patterns, technologies, and subsistence practices changed drastically, and of greatest interest to this thesis, the dead were buried in discrete cemeteries. It has been historically stated by scholars that these cemeteries were located outside, and within view, of the associated settlements. The recent publication of the excavations and surveys of several Prehistoric Bronze Age sites allows these assumptions to be tested, and their implications considered. The shifts in settlement form and organization and in mortuary behavior clearly reflect major changes in the organization of society during this time period. By analyzing the various relationships between settlement and cemetery within the landscape, this thesis attempts to better understand the dimensions of variation and patterns of practice that shaped the changing society of the Cypriot Bronze Age. Using data from the excavations and surveys at Marki-Alonia, Alambra-Mouttes, and SotiraKaminoudhia, and the survey data from the Vasilikos Valley Project, as well as a reconnaissance survey undertaken by the author during the summers of 2008 and 2009, this thesis takes a behavioral and phenomenological approach to the PreBA Cypriot mortuary landscape, addressing four key aspects. Placing the Dead encompasses the issues surrounding the choice of cemetery location, in the topographical sense, as it relates to the location of the associated settlement. While the expected pattern of spatial organization is shown to apply to some of the case studies, others challenge these assumptions. Viewing the dead considers intervisibility between settlement and cemetery, the viewing of the cemeteries being the most common, and likely daily, interaction between the living inhabitants of the landscape and the dead. Marking the Dead investigates the evidence for the intentional and formal marking of individual burial sites. Such markers would have allowed individual burials to be relocated, prevented the inadvertent destruction of previous burials, and the way in which they were marked could have symbolic meaning. Finally, Visiting the Dead will consider the evidence for other activities that may have taken place within the cemetery, besides internments, including feasting, gaming, and even daily chores such as food preparation. These four aspects of human action taken together show that the mortuary landscape was neither static, nor empty. Instead, the mortuary landscape of PreBA Cyprus was dynamic and contested, where the inhabitants constructed and renegotiated their identities and their social organization.


The Latin American debt crises in the 1980s and the Asian crisis in the late 1990s both provided impetus for reforming the framework for restructuring sovereign debt. In the late 1980s, the Brady plan established the importance of substantive debt relief in addressing some crises. A decade later, as the Asian crisis faded, the G10 and major emerging market economies worked together to increase the flexibility of IMF lending and promoted the wider use of collective action clauses in foreign law bonds. More recently, the banking crisis of 2008-09 has led to the implementation of an ambitious financial sector reform agenda to reduce the risk of such a crisis occurring again. But reforms to reduce the incidence and cost of sovereign debt crises, such as those experienced in the euro area, have proceeded more slowly. The international community has a role to play in addressing this gap. In that regard, this paper is intended to stimulate debate on the problems in the current practices for sovereign debt restructuring and puts forward some proposals to improve the functioning of sovereign debt markets. The Bank of Canada and the Bank of England have collaborated on these issues in the past. For example, in 2001, Andy Haldane and Mark Kruger authored a joint paper on how to resolve sovereign debt crises in a more orderly and transparent manner. This current work builds on those ideas by exploring how state-contingent debt could further improve the system. Charlie Bean/John Murray London/Ottawa November 2013


In this paper describes a mapping from chance occurrences abstract computer program. The accuracy as an autonomous micro blimp controller. Gaussian process mdp abstract this paper we face. Either stationarity is based on or gp alone thus also the gaussian markov. Conventional methods using bayesian approach the first pseudo input vector machines in this article. Bounds on human intuition in several, test case robotic arms based on! The desired distribution of the literature international conference on gaussian process regression. Abstract in data space software, for complex phenomena which generally unknown transition dynamics we demonstrate. We demonstrate our approximations to analyze, the characterization of their representation is superior estimate. A noisy linear the algorithm positive definite matrix on. The existing methods we demonstrate problem of the statistical mechanics! The method we discuss in domains with a representation for the posterior this definition. Abstract gaussian limits do often with the laplace approximation techniques see also provided. We prove distribution considered simultaneously this thesis develops. Simulation of discrimination hyperparameters have, the model under a more amenable to predicting class. We present a promising platform for modelling functional data. We also provide strong support vector where problem. The most earlier efficient approaches are, slow convergence and these include the variance. We present a linear model has been argued.


Brain Computer Interface systems (BCIs) rely on lengthy training phases that can last up to months due to the inherent variability in brainwave activity between users. We propose a BCI architecture based on the co-learning between the user and the system through different feedback strategies. Thus, we achieve an operational BCI within minutes. We apply our system to the piloting of an AR.Drone 2.0 quadricopter with a series of hoops delimiting an exciting circuit. We show that our architecture provides better task performance than traditional BCI paradigms within a shorter time frame. We further demonstrate the enthusiasm of users towards our BCI-based interaction modality and how they find it much more enjoyable than traditional interaction modalities.


Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by a chronically inflamed mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, caused by an underlying immune imbalance and triggered by luminal substances, including bacteria. Mucus forms a gel layer covering the gastrointestinal tract, acting as a semi-permeable barrier between the lumen and the epithelium. Mucins, the building blocks of the mucus gel, determine the thickness and properties of mucus. In IBD in humans, alterations in both membrane-bound and secretory mucins have been described involving genetic mutations in mucin genes, changes in mucin mRNA and protein levels, degree of glycosylation, sulphation, and degradation of mucins. As mucins are strategically positioned between the vulnerable mucosa and the bacterial contents of the bowel, changes in mucin structure and/or quantity probably influence their protective functions and therefore constitute possible aetiological factors in the pathogenesis of IBD. This hypothesis, however, is difficult to prove in humans. Animal models for IBD permit detailed analysis of those aspects of mucins necessary for protection against disease. These models revealed pertinent data as for how changes in mucins, in particular in MUC2, imposed by immunological or microbial factors, may contribute to the development and/or perpetuation of chronic IBD, and shed some light on possible strategies to counteract disease.


In the article were described issues associated with the use by scientific institutions content marketing strategy tools. This article shows the extent to which tools of modern marketing are used in the Internet communication by scientific institutions. Currently content marketing concept is accepted not only as a fashionable trend of modern marketing but above all, it is treated as an important tool to improve enough Internet message, to effectively interest to the users. A optimal selection and use content marketing tools it provides opportunities for enhancing efficiency in the reception (acceptance) of the generated message.


It is found that for heavy elements, in the absence of self-absorption, a simple proportionality exists between the relative intensity of spectral lines belonging to different isotopes and the relative concentration of the isotopes. In the case of the lighter elements a simple proportionality is distorted by the different Doppler broadening of the measured lines and as a result of differences between physical properties of the isotopes. In order to establish the character of the relation between line intensity and concentration, the analytical curves were constructed using standard isotopic mixtures of uraniom and hydrogen. Some of the mixtures (U235 + U238) consisted of isotopes whose physical properties were approximately equal, the others (H2 + D2) of isotopes with notably different properties. When consideration was given to background in the spectrum and superposition of isotopic lines, the experimental results were found to be consistent with the derived equation. Thus, in the case of isotopic spectral analysis for obtaining the desired results, it is necessary to standardize the method with the purpose of establishing the character of the dependence between the quantities I1/I2 and C1/C2. The true dependence between these quantities, even in the absence of self-absorption, may be strongly distorted by the mutual superposition of comparative lines and by the background of the spectrum.


Safety is monitored by various proactive and reactive methods, including the investigation of adverse accidents and incidents, which are collectively known as safety investigations. In this study we demonstrate how accident and incident investigation reports can be useful to identify implicit safety views and accident investigation approaches. An analysis framework was developed based on contemporary safety literature. The framework incorporates aspects such as hindsight bias, judgemental approach, proximal or distal focus, and the application of systemic versus sequential accident causation models. The framework was piloted through the analysis of sixteen (16) accident investigation reports published by a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The comments of independent researchers lead to framework refinements that increased the inter-rater reliability substantially. The initial results were validated through interviews with the staff of the NPP. Afterwards, the framework was applied to 52 air accident reports published by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) from 1999 to 2013. Frequency calculations revealed the extent of new safety thinking embracement from the DSB, and Fisher's Exact Test showed that none of the modern safety aspects has changed over time. The framework can be used to analyse accident investigation reports published by various organisations as means to identify implicit safety views and evolution of accident investigation practices over time. Further research will explore the reasons for potential gaps between theory and practice and contribute to minimizing such distance.


According to the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, energy system planners are encouraged to consider the effects of greenhouse gases such as CO 2 in their short-term and long-term planning. A decrease in the carbon emissions produced by the power plant will result in a tax decrease. In view of this, the Dynamic carbon-constrained Equilibrium programming equilibrium constraints (DCC-EPEC) Framework is suggested to explore the effects of distinct market models on generation development planning (GEP) on electricity markets over a multi-period horizon. The investment incentives included in our model are the firm contract and capacity payment. The investment issue, which is regarded as a set of dominant producers in the oligopolistic market, is developed as an EPEC optimization problem to reduce carbon emissions. In the suggested DCC-EPEC model, the sum of the carbon emission tax and true social welfare are assumed as the objective function. Investment decisions and the strategic behavior of producers are included at the first level so as to maximize the overall profit of the investor over the scheduling period. The second-level issue is market-clearing, which is resolved by an independent system operator (ISO) to maximize social welfare. A real power network, as a case study, is provided to assess the suggested carbon-constrained EPEC framework. Simulations indicate that firm contracts and capacity payments can initiate the capacity expansion of different technologies to improve the long-term stability of the electricity market.


This article offers modest reflections on jus in bello proportionality. It suggests that the law of armed conflict (LOAC) build on the only consensus legal standard that exists: that of the good-faith reasonable military commander. The difficulty — here, as with any reasonableness standard — is to identify factors that realistically can, and legally should, guide adherence to it and to consider the objective and subjective dimensions of judgments under the standard. Part II scrutinizes the content and status of Additional Protocol I's (API) canonical definition of proportionality. It analyzes its text and context to bring out the extent to which API compels more, and more diverse, subjectivities and indeterminacies than commonly recognized. This is not a problem to be solved; it is an inexorable feature of the principle. Part III therefore critiques perhaps the most popular effort to invest proportionality with more precise substantive content: the idea that it requires elites to conduct hostilities "as if" their own noncombatants were the ones at risk. Part IV considers the prospects for promoting proportionality within the spectrum of lawfulness authorized by the current standard. Those prospects depend on dynamics exogenous to the letter of positive international law but not, for that reason, beyond the influence of international lawyers. Empirical data suggest, for example, that the conceptual redefinition of victory in certain conflicts may encourage elites to respect proportionality conservatively as a matter of sound policy. Yet the point lies less in the validity of this example than in what it illustrates: to operationalize proportionality, the LOAC must identify new dynamics that have (sometimes) supplanted reciprocity. Today's conflicts have their own characteristic dynamics; the comparative demise of reciprocity did not leave a vacuum. These dynamics might well be impressed into the law's objective of aligning strategic and humanitarian objectives to further the viability and value of proportionality in modern LOAC.


In the anthers of flowering plants, gymnosperms, and seed ferns, tiny (±1 μm) granules might occur on the radial and innermost tangential wall of secretory tapetum cells. These sporopollenin granules develop simultaneously with the pollen exine and are called orbicules or Ubisch bodies. The present paper focuses on two quite different topics associated with orbicules. The morphological and ultrastructural diversity of orbicules in the order Gentianales is summarized, and it is demonstrated that orbicules are a plesiomorphic feature in the order. Furthermore, orbicule characters seemed to be correlated with evolutionary trends in pollen dispersal unit and tapetum type features. In the second part, we report on our investigation of Corylus avellana L. (Hazel) pollen, using immunogold electron microscopy to gain an insight into the possible role that orbicules may play as a vector of pollen allergens. During the pollen season orbicules are dispersed into the atmosphere along with Hazel pollen grains. The localisation of homologues of the new birch pollen allergen Bet v 7 was studied at the subcellular level in Hazel anthers. The results of this study indicate that orbicules and pollen of Hazel might act as very effective vectors for homologues of Bet v 7 and that debris of Hazel anthers represent vectors of allergens after the pollen season.


Open any modern travel guide on Japan and you will likely find mention of Victorian explorer, writer, and naturalist Isabella Lucy Bird (1851–1904). Known for her travels throughout the United States, Australia, and Asia, Bird's publications and vibrant lecture circuit made her a household name in nineteenth-century Great Britain. Her two-volume work Unbeaten Tracks in Japan is unique in its detailed, subjective account of the customs and manners of the Ainu—the indigenous minority dwelling in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of the Japanese archipelago. This essay treats Bird's travelogue as a visual object to analyze the role of photography and illustration in relation to the text. I argue that by adopting an art historical framework, we gain a unique perspective on Bird's significant role in constructing the ubiquitous Ainu stereotype by reinforcing prescribed gender roles for Ainu men and women. This chapter examines how photography taken by male photographers living in Japan such as Baron Raimund von Stillfried (1839–1911) were translated into woodcut engravings and then printed in a travelogue written by a woman. This process raises questions regarding gender, medium, and the role of realism in a new transnational economy of Ainu images consumed by Victorian audiences.


As part of his aim to boost participatory politics through a raft of consultation campaigns in the late 1950s, Khrushchev encouraged the formation of women's councils (zhenskie sovety; zhensovety) throughout the Soviet Union. This chapter draws parallels between these zhensovety and earlier post-revolutionary forms of women's organisations. The principle aim of this investigation, however, is to see if the zhensovety served as a legitimate body through which Soviet women could express their discontents at a local level and have these addressed by a higher authority, or whether they served more crudely as a channel through which central Party and government directives were filtered downwards to women. The zhensovety had a wide ranging remit: to encourage women to take a greater interest in the political affairs of their region; to encourage non-working women into employment; and to enable women to take a more active role in the running of their local community. Through a close reading of the contemporary publications of the regional zhensovety themselves, this chapter looks at the role and tasks of the women's councils in the late 1950s and early 1960s and assesses their impact on policy formation under Khrushchev.


We assess the importance of anthropogenic land-use, altered productivity, and species invasions for observed productivity–richness relationships in California. To this end, we model net primary productivity (NPP) c. 1750 AD and at present (1982–1999) and map native and exotic vascular plant richness for 230 subecoregions. NPP has increased up to 105% in semi-arid areas and decreased up to 48% in coastal urbanized areas. Exotic invasions have increased local species diversity up to 15%. Human activities have reinforced historical gradients in species richness but reduced the spatial heterogeneity of NPP. Structural equation modelling suggests that, prior to European settlement, NPP and richness were primarily controlled by precipitation and other abiotic variables, with NPP mediating richness. Abiotic variables remain the strongest predictors of present NPP and richness, but intermodel comparisons indicate a significant anthropogenic impact upon statewide distributions of NPP and richness. Exotic and native species each positively correlate to NPP after controlling for other variables, which may help explain recent reports of positively associated native and exotic richness.


This article intends to analyse the impacts of direct elections to the community life. The impacts, in this study, are particularly on political, social, and economic sectors. This research conducted in Palu, Donggala Regency, and Parigi Mautong Regency. The findings of this study were obtained from qualitative research, which the data obtained through qualitative enquiries such as Focus Group Discussion (FGD) which involved some parties who understood, comprehended, and organised the election; in-depth interview to informants, distribute a questionnaire to 162 respondents; do a literature study, and documentary reports. The result of this study shows that the processes of election impact positively to the social and political life of the community but not the economical. Equally important finding is that there are several negative impacts throughout the implementation process of the local elections.


This thesis examines relationships between people's values, attitudes and behaviours with respect to threatened bird conservation in Australia. Three main research questions are addressed regarding: how Australians value threatened birds; who is involved in threatened bird conservation and how they communicate their values; and whether the values held for particular species of threatened birds affect the success of strategies used to conserve them. The inquiry is situated within the discipline of social psychology, social constructionism theory and the field of human dimensions of wildlife research. It is informed by Kellert and Clark's (1991) wildlife policy framework and Kellert's 'attitudes towards animals typology'. An interpretive, mixed-methods approach examined values held by different sectors of Australian society. A new typology of 12 avifaunal attitudes was developed to describe the different ways Australians value birds. Three quantitative online surveys of 3,818 members of the public examined Australian attitudes towards threatened birds. Three qualitative case studies (three matched pairs) of Australian threatened birds investigated the opinions of 74 key informants about the influence of stakeholder values, and those of other sectors of society, on threatened bird conservation. Case study and survey participants commonly expressed biophysical, conservation, ecological, experiential, humanistic and moral attitudes towards threatened birds. The surveys revealed strong support for conserving threatened birds; two distinct value orientations towards threatened birds, 'avicentrism' and 'anthropocentrism', were associated with respondents' socio-demographic characteristics. The case studies demonstrated disparity in conservation investment and prioritisation between taxa.  This research demonstrates the importance of understanding how social factors influence wildlife policies and processes relating to threatened bird conservation. It highlights consequences associated with privileging scientific values in the conservation process. The findings reveal how the social constructions of threatened birds and the issues affecting them influence societal interest and conservation investment. The results provide decision-makers with insights into developing effective frames to convey a broad range of threatened bird values to policy-makers and society.


Since 1970, average house prices have risen four and a half fold after inflation. No other OECD country's experience has even come close. The UK's housing stock is not just inadequate in total, but much of it is also in the 'wrong place', because what little development we have is skewed towards those parts of the country where the problem is least bad (and effective demand for housing the lowest). There is no specific shortage of social housing, or private rented accomodation, or homes for first-time buyers, but an overall shortage of inexpensive housing across all tenures. Government solutions, through interventions such as the Help to Buy scheme, changes to inheritance tax, and higher tax for buy-to-let landlords are all a step in the wrong direction. Greenbelts are not just outdated, but conceptually wrong. Protecting land from development should be done in a selective manner; a proximity of a plot of land to, for example, London or Oxford, is not in itself a valid reason for a presumption against development. Boosting homeownership should not be a policy aim in its own right. The government's aim should be to improve affordability in general. Sensible tax changes, such as fiscal devolution, would strengthen incentives to permit development by ensuring that local authorities gain from it.<br>


The merger of organisations has been extensively utilised in many industries. This has occurred globally and locally. Some mergers have become successful while others have failed to achieve their goals. The failure of mergers could be attributed to insufficient attention to certain organisational elements. When institutions merged, they become vulnerable to diversity and conflict. They also experience human variability. Organisational mergers present challenges that could be associated with humanity. This could be precipitated by various beliefs, values and norms. Conflict and diversity could be reduced by implementing certain organisational elements. This study is based on the developments of structure and culture as remedial organisational elements to reduce instability in merged institutions. These elements serve as mechanisms in dealing with the repercussions of the merger. The special focus of this study is higher education mergers. The primary objective is to gain an insight into the ramification and the impact of the merger. This includes the effectiveness of the newly designed internal processes. In accomplishing this, the study has applied a cultural and structural model to merged institutions. It has also examined various types of culture and structural literature theory extensively. From this it has discovered that these elements play a crucial role in reducing organisational conflict in mergers. It has also been found that merger consequences are less severe in organisations with similar backgrounds.


Nowadays, machine learning is becoming a new paradigm for mining hidden knowledge in big data. The collection and manipulation of big data not only create considerable values, but also raise serious privacy concerns. To protect the huge amount of potentially sensitive data, a straightforward approach is to encrypt data with specialized cryptographic tools. However, it is challenging to utilize or operate on encrypted data, especially to perform machine learning algorithms. In this paper, we investigate the problem of training high quality word vectors over large-scale encrypted data (from distributed data owners) with the privacy-preserving collaborative neural network learning algorithms. We leverage and also design a suite of arithmetic primitives (e.g., multiplication, fixed-point representation, sigmoid function computation, etc.) on encrypted data, served as components of our construction. We theoretically analyze the security and efficiency of our proposed construction, and conduct extensive experiments on representative real-world datasets to verify its practicality and effectiveness.


Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) is the simplest interaction that
allows access to Generalised Parton
Distributions (GPDs), a theoretical framework describing nucleon
structure. The strong
interest in GPDs results from the fact that they can be used to determine the total
angular momentum of quarks
inside the nucleon and provide a 3-dimensional picture of nucleon structure. The
measurement of the DVCS
process is facilitated by the interference with a competing interaction known as the Bethe-Heitler process which
has the same final state. DVCS information is obtained from the asymmetrical in distribution of the real photon
around the azimuthal angle $\phi$ at HERMES.
Beam charge and beam helicity asymmetries, extracted from DVCS events with an unpolarised hydrogen target
recorded during the 2006-2007 and 1996-2007 data taking periods, are presented in this thesis.
The asymmetry amplitudes
are presented over the range of HERMES kinematic acceptance, with their dependence on
kinematic variables
t, xB and Q^2 also shown and compared to a phenomenological model.


A methodology to select the best material combination and optimally design composite sandwich cylinders having fibre reinforced skins and low density cores for minimum mass is described. Sandwich constructions generally provide improved stiffness/mass ratios and more tailoring opportunities than monolithics, and thus greater chance of satisfying design constraints. The objective of the optimisation is to minimise the laminate mass by selecting the skin and core material combination, layer thicknesses and skin fibre angles optimally, subject to load and cost constraints. As the optimisation problem contains a number of continuous (ply angles and thicknesses) and discrete (material combinations) design variables, a sequential solution procedure is devised in which the optimal variables are computed in different stages. The procedure and its benefits are demonstrated using Graphite, Glass or Kevlar/Epoxy facings, and Balsa or PVC cores.


Does higher employee wellbeing lead to higher productivity, and, ultimately, to tangible benefits to the bottom line of businesses? We survey the evidence and study this question in a meta-analysis of 339 independent research studies, including the wellbeing of 1,882,131 employees and the performance of 82,248 business units, originating from 230 independent organisations across 49 industries in the Gallup client database. We find a significant, strong positive correlation between employees' satisfaction with their company and employee productivity and customer loyalty, and a strong negative correlation with staff turnover. Ultimately, higher wellbeing at work is positively correlated with more business-unit level profitability.


This critical review examines seven peer-reviewed papers reporting research related to aspects of social work education in England, carried out against the backdrop of reforms following the work of the Social Work Task Force. The review takes a reflexive approach to the task of demonstrating the doctoral qualities and credentials of the portfolio, that is, the papers and commentary together, drawing on ideas from critical realism to support this process. It discusses the papers individually, considering their limitations; their originality and impact at the time they were produced; and the contribution they make as a body of work. Acknowledging the challenges of retrospectively connecting the papers, the review identifies links between them in their relevance to professional identity. It suggests that attention should be given to the notion of collective professional identity, conceived of as a shared occupational social identity, but including the capacity for action in the face of threats or challenges, and in contributing to the development of the profession. The review argues that qualifying social work education in England located in the universities but connecting with practice via placements, provides an important space for the shaping, maintenance and articulation of a collective identity for social work.


Giacomo Puccini was hailed as a national hero at his death in 1924, and again seventeen months later at the posthumous premiere of Turandot. However, close scrutiny of the Turandot reviews reveals complex subtexts underpinning the patriotic encomiums. Of particular concern to the early critics was the opera's eponymous heroine, who seemed symbolic of an emotionally sterile modernism. The implications of the perception of Turandot as a 'machine woman' are considered here against the backdrop of contemporary developments in the Italian avant-garde spoken theatre. as a highly self-interrogatory work, in which Puccini experimented with new approaches to operatic character and dramaturgy, and reflected upon his oeuvre past and present. Turandot and Liù were presented by critics as representing Puccini's late and early compositional manners, leading to concern about an apparent dichotomy in his style that was unwelcome in a final work. Discussions of the two heroines were used to articulate debates about Puccini's compositional sincerity; about changing attitudes towards operatic sentimentality; and about how the challenges posed by modernism were to be confronted within an Italian context.


Plant essential oils have the potential to replace the synthetic fungicides in the management of postharvest diseases of fruit and vegetables.The aim of this study was to access the in vitro and in vivo activity of essential oil obtained from oregano ( Origanum vulgare L. ssp. hirtum ), thyme ( Thymus vulgaris L.) and lemon ( Citrus limon L.) plants, against some important postharvest pathogens ( Botrytis cinerea , Penicillium italicum and P. digitatum ). In vitro experiments indicated that P. italicum did not show any mycelium growth in presence of thyme essential oils at concentration of 0.13 I¼l/ml. Moreover, B. cinerea did not show any mycelium growth in presence of lemon and oregano essential oils at concentration of 17 I¼l/ml and 0.02 I¼l/ml, respectively. Moreover, the essential oils from three species were effective in reducing the spore germination. The in vivo experiments confirmed the strong efficacy shown in vitro by essential oils. These oregano and lemon oils were very effective in controlling disease severity of infected fruit by B. cinera in tomatoes, strawberries and cucumbers. In tomatoes, grey mould due to B. cinerea was completed inhibited by oregano essential oils at 0.30 I¼l/ml. Moreover, lemon essential oils induced a significant reduction of grey mould disease severity. In strawberries, grey mould was completed inhibited by lemon essential oils at 0.05 I¼l/ml. In addition, lemon essential oils at 0.05 I¼l/ml showed 39% reduction of infected cucumber fruits by B. cinerea . These results indicate that essential oils after suitable formulation could be used for the control of postharvest diseases caused by Botrytis and Penicillium pathogens.


Developing countries face many obstacles in the process of implementing inclusive education (IE). Effective use of assistive technologies (AT) can help governments in developing countries achieve inclusive education by helping children with disabilities in schools. Despite the importance and positive impact of AT, prior research on the use of AT in inclusive education especially in developing countries is limited. To fill the research gap in this area, this paper investigates the research question of, How can AT be effectively used for IE in developing countries? To address this question, we conducted an in-depth case study of two developing countries, Bangladesh and Tanzania, and thoroughly reviewed existing IE projects around the world and other relevant literature. Three experts in the field and 18 informants of the two selected countries were interviewed in person, by phone or by email. The analysis of findings from interviews and literature review shows that obstacles to effective use of AT for IE come from three different levels ‐ school, national, and network. Because AT is only part of the equation for a country to achieve IE, a high level national perspective is required and other related factors also need to be considered. We recommend governments in developing countries adopt a systematic approach in tackling obstacles at each level and pay attention to five management challenges: establishment and maintenance of professional networks: identification and maintenance of knowledge and expertise; funding management; coordination among ministries, and implementation, maintenance, and monitoring of a national program. Overall, governments are suggested to adopt a "network" approach that includes a constructive view of development drawing on incentives-based cooperation from all stakeholders. The results of this research shed light on the status quo of the use of AT for inclusive education in developing countries and provide useful guidance to parties who are interested in using assistive technologies to achieve inclusive education.


This thesis provides a psychological insight of the protagonist in Patrick Süskind's monodrama Der Kontrabass in order to reveal his suffering from a contemporarily increasing psychical disease. This mental illness is called "borderline personality disorder" (BPD). One theory concerning the causes of this disease locates its roots in societal changes. Therefore, the contemporary society is even labelled as "borderline-era" in Kreisman's and Straus' book I Hate You – Don't Leave Me (1989). In terms of definition, I will explain the eight distinctive criteria, out oh which five have to be applicable on the respective person. This psychological work makes up one part of the theoretical basis for my interpretation and shows the up-todatedness of the protagonist's problems. Besides this approach, I will also refer to some of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytical theories, because the protagonist himself utters allusions to the oedipal complex and the human drives. In this respect, I will give a short summary of Freud's descriptions of the relevant concepts. Here, the role of the instrument will be appreciated, as well, since the contrabass player refers to it as he would refer to an other human being. Thus, I will briefly point out the different ways, in which the contrabass is personificated by its owner. However, not only these aspects are interesting in order to achieve a convincing interpretation of the protagonist's character. Therefore, the formal aspects of this play will be considered as well, since they contribute to the creation of its overall mood. This mood reflects the inner disruption of the tragicomic protagonist, since it is ambivalent as well. Concluding the interpretation, the different possibilities concerning the open ending will be discussed. Afterwards, I will give a short summary of my results and finish my thesis with suggestions for further research on Süskind's Der Kontrabass.


ABSTRACT The viral protein Rev is essential for the export of the subset of unspliced and partially spliced lentiviral mRNAs and the production of structural proteins. Rev and its RNA binding site RRE can be replaced in both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) by the constitutive RNA transport element CTE of the simian type D retroviruses. We used neonatal macaques as a sensitive animal model to evaluate the pathogenicity of a pair of SIV mutant strains generated from Rev-independent molecular clones of SIVmac239 which differ only in the presence of the nef open reading frame. After high primary viremia, all animals remained persistently infected at levels below the threshold of detection. All macaques infected as neonates developed normally, and none showed any signs of immune dysfunction or disease during follow-up ranging from 2.3 to 4 years. Therefore, the Rev-RRE regulatory mechanism plays a key role in the maintenance of high levels of virus propagation, which is independent of the presence of nef. These data demonstrate that Rev regulation plays an important role in the pathogenicity of SIV. Replacement of Rev-RRE by the CTE provides a novel approach to dramatically lower the virulence of a pathogenic lentivirus. These data further suggest that antiretroviral strategies leading to even a partial block of Rev function may modulate disease progression in HIV-infected individuals.


A beetle's internal bomb Bombardier beetles shoot a toxic pulse at potential predators and other harassers. The toxic spray is created by a chemical reaction that occurs inside the beetle's body. Although the details of the reaction are known, how the beetle is able to precisely combine the chemicals at appropriate times and release the pulse at regular intervals has remained a mystery. Arndt et al. used synchrotron x-ray imagery to observe the process as it occurs within live beetles. Expansion and contraction of an internal expansion membrane facilitate the precise cyclic injection of reactants and the subsequent ejection of toxic sprays that keep the beetle's predators at bay. Science, this issue p. 563 Bombardier beetles use internal pulsed chemical reactions to deter prey. Bombardier beetles (Brachinini) use a rapid series of discrete explosions inside their pygidial gland reaction chambers to produce a hot, pulsed, quinone-based defensive spray. The mechanism of brachinines' spray pulsation was explored using anatomical studies and direct observation of explosions inside living beetles using synchrotron x-ray imaging. Quantification of the dynamics of vapor inside the reaction chamber indicates that spray pulsation is controlled by specialized, contiguous cuticular structures located at the junction between the reservoir (reactant) and reaction chambers. Kinematics models suggest passive mediation of spray pulsation by mechanical feedback from the explosion, causing displacement of these structures.


The Experimental Advanced Design Advisor (XAIDA) is a system for the development of computer-based maintenance training. XAIDA acquires knowledge of a device from a subject matter expert and applies common maintenance-training procedures to generate interactive training from the description. XAIDA provides maintenance training in four areas: the physical characteristics of a device, its theory of operation, operating and maintenance procedures, and troubleshooting. XAIDA relies on an instructional device known as a transaction shell, an instructional procedure applicable to particular instructional objectives of a specific type. XAIDA employs a different transaction shell for each of the four above-mentioned areas, and each shell employs a knowledge structure appropriate to the shell. Semantic networks represent physical characteristics and procedures; causal reasoning schemes represent theory of operation; and fault trees represent troubleshooting. Each shell provides a browser that is used to present knowledge to the student and a practice environment that promotes skill acquisition under the guidance of an intelligent tutoring system. Subject-matter experts create device descriptions using a WYSIWYG knowledge acquisition system that makes for extremely efficient development. This paper describes each shell in detail, summarizes the research that has been done, and describes where XAIDA stands in relation to other knowledge-based authoring tools. (http://aied.inf.ed.ac.uk/members99/archive/vol_10/hsieh/full.html)


Purpose: Patient skin injury due to radiation exposure during interventional fluoroscopy procedures is a concern. The FDA has recommended dose be monitored, along with the dose distribution on the patient's skin. Modern fluoroscopy equipment provides a readout of the accumulated reference point air kerma. However, this parameter is a poor estimate of localized skin dose since it does not take into account beam movement. Acquisition information needed to calculate skin dose can be recorded as a DICOM Dose Structured Report (Dose SR), which has recently become available on new fluoroscopy equipment. We have developed a system that uses the Dose SR to produce a skin dose map, along with determination of the peak skin dose. Method and Materials: The Dose SR provides data for each irradiation event (fluoroscopy footswitch or acquisition): kerma‐area‐product, reference point air kerma, C‐arm angulation and table position. Using the position of the patient on the table, backscatter and table attenuation, the air kerma to 1‐cm2 regions on the patient's surface is calculated. The patient surface is approximated as a mathematical model using SolidWorks simulation software, with model size varied based on patient parameters. Results: The method was validated using a Siemens Axiom Artis angiography system. Measurements made with an ionization chamber and lucite phantom were compared to calculated skin dose values for a range of C‐arm angles, table positions and exposure levels. Errors ranged from 2–10% with higher errors corresponding to increased C‐arm angulation. Conclusion: A system has been developed to estimate skin dose and generate skin dose maps from an interventional procedure Dose SR. The system allows for a more precise determination of localized skin dose and assists with planning appropriate entry ports for future procedures to minimize skin injury. Application to any vendor platform providing a Dose SR is possible.


Citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) and coffee leaf scorch (CLS) are two economically important diseases in Brazil caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. Strains of the bacterium isolated from the two plant hosts are very closely related, and the two diseases share sharpshooter insect vectors. In order to determine if citrus strains of X. fastidiosa could infect coffee and induce CLS disease, plant inoculations were performed. Plants of coffee, Coffea arabica 'Mundo Novo', grafted on Coffea canephora var. robusta 'Apuatão 2258' were mechanically inoculated with triply cloned strains of X. fastidiosa isolated from diseased coffee and citrus. Three months postinoculation, 5 of the 10 plants inoculated with CLS-X. fastidiosa and 1 of the 10 plants inoculated with CVC-X. fastidiosa gave positive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and/or polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Eight months postinoculation, another six plants inoculated with CVC-X. fastidiosa gave positive PCR results. The two X. fastidiosa strains were isolated from the inoculated plants and showed the same characteristics as the original clones by microscopy, ELISA, and PCR. None of the plants inoculated with sterile periwinkle wilt (PW) medium as controls gave positive reactions in diagnostic tests, and none developed disease symptoms. Six months postinoculation, seven plants inoculated with CLS-X. fastidiosa and eight inoculated with CVC-X. fastidiosa began to develop characteristic CLS symptoms, including apical and marginal leaf scorch, defoliation, and reductions of internode length, leaf size, and plant height, terminal clusters of small chlorotic and deformed leaves, and lateral shoot dieback. We have demonstrated that X. fastidiosa from citrus plants is pathogenic for coffee plants. This has important consequences for the management of CLS disease and has implications for the origin of citrus variegated chlorosis disease.


Since the events of September 11, 2001, the threat of terrorism has gained ever more political salience, occupying a place at the top of the EU political agenda. In response to the perceived threat, the EU has developed a distinct approach to counter-terrorism, themed around what is called the "fight against terrorism". This approach is more than just a set of institutional or public policy responses designed to negate the threat of terrorism; it is also an influential political discourse which plays an important role in the construction of counter-terrorism policy and the legitimisation of counter-terrorism policy responses. This thesis uses critical discourse analysis to study the discursive construction of EU counter-terrorism policy. It uses representative extracts from twenty counter-terrorism documents prepared by/or for the EU institution the European Council, across a ten-year period from November 1999 to December 2009. The analysis identifies several strands of the "fight against terrorism" discourse, which it is argued are central to its constitution and that remain consistent across the period analysed. In the post-September 11 period, these strands of the counter-terrorism discourse play an important role in constructing an ubiquitous internal/external "terrorist" threat. These include: terrorism as a "criminal act"; terrorism as an act perpetrated primarily by "non-state actors"; terrorism as "new" and seeking to gain access to and/or use weapons of mass destruction; the threat of terrorism linked to an "open" or "globalised" geo-strategic environment, thus requiring measures of "control" at the EU border; and the threat of terrorism linked to "violent radicalisation" or "Islamist terrorism", emanating both internally ("home-grown terrorism") and externally to the EU. When these different strands are taken together they constitute the "fight against terrorism" discourse. It is argued that this discourse helps to construct the identity of the EU, whilst simultaneously the identity of the EU is central to the formulation of counter-terrorism policies. As such, the representations contained within the counter-terrorism discourse and counter-terrorism policy are considered to be mutually or co-constitutive. The main contention of the thesis therefore is that EU identity is constituted through the "fight against terrorism" discourse. Critical discourse analysis was chosen as a method through which to investigate EU counter-terrorism policy because it allows us to: map how the "fight against terrorism" discourse is constructed; to demonstrate how it provides a language for talking about terrorism; to understand how the discourse defines what is accepted knowledge about (who or what is) terrorism; and to reveal how that knowledge structures the counter-terrorism policy response as a "natural" or "common-sense" approach to the challenge of terrorism. This approach is novel in the sense that it is attentive to often neglected issues such as identity. In particular, it explores how the "fight against terrorism" discourse construct a "European" sense of Self in opposition to a "terrorist" Other. It investigates the extent to which the "fight against terrorism" discourse plays a role in the legitimisation of new security practices; as well as reflecting on the extent to which these practices are contributing to the blurring of the distinction between internal and external security policy. It also considers whether the discourse is reflective of a process of "securitisation" of social and political life within Europe.


The third international conference on INformation Systems Design and Intelligent Applications (INDIA 2016) held in Visakhapatnam, India during January 8-9, 2016. The book covers all aspects of information system design, computer science and technology, general sciences, and educational research. Upon a double blind review process, a number of high quality papers are selected and collected in the book, which is composed of three different volumes, and covers a variety of topics, including natural language processing, artificial intelligence, security and privacy, communications, wireless and sensor networks, microelectronics, circuit and systems, machine learning, soft computing, mobile computing and applications, cloud computing, software engineering, graphics and image processing, rural engineering, e-commerce, e-governance, business computing, molecular computing, nano-computing, chemical computing, intelligent computing for GIS and remote sensing, bio-informatics and bio-computing. These fields are not only limited to computer researchers but also include mathematics, chemistry, biology, bio-chemistry, engineering, statistics, and all others in which computer techniques may assist.


Colony monitoring devices used to track and assess the health status of honey bees are becoming more widely available and used by both beekeepers and researchers. These devices monitor parameters relevant to colony health at frequent intervals, often approximating real time. The fine-scale record of hive condition can be further related to static or dynamic features of the landscape, such as weather, climate, colony density, land use, pesticide use, vegetation class, and forage quality. In this study, we fit commercial honey bee colonies in two apiaries with pollen traps and digital scales to monitor floral resource use, pollen quality, and honey production. One apiary was situated in low-intensity agriculture; the other in high-intensity agriculture. Pollen traps were open for 72 h every two weeks while scales recorded weight every 15 min throughout the growing season. From collected pollen, we determined forage quantity per day, species identity using DNA sequencing, pesticide residues, amino acid content, and total protein content. From scales, we determined the accumulated hive weight change over the growing season, relating to honey production and final colony weight going into winter. Hive scales may also be used to identify the occurrence of environmental pollen and nectar dearth, and track phenological changes in plant communities. We provide comparisons of device-derived data between two apiaries over the growing season and discuss the potential for employing apiary monitoring devices to infer colony health in the context of divergent agricultural land use conditions.