This article contributes to recent debates between supporters of the concept of hegemonic masculinity, as exemplified by R. W. Connell, and a new generation of gender scholars, as to how best explain the dynamic and fluid relationships between men, and men and women, in the early 21st century. Here, the author concurs with many of Connell's critics and proceeds by arguing that recent feminist extensions of Bourdieu's original conceptual schema—field, capital, habitus, and practice—may help reveal more nuanced conceptualizations of masculinities, and male gender reflexivity, in contemporary sport and physical culture. This author examines the potential of such an approach via an analysis of masculinities in the snowboarding field. In so doing, this article not only offers fresh insights into the masculine identities and interactions in the snowboarding field but also contributes to recent debates about how best to explain different generations and cultural experiences of masculinities.


This paper examines the impact of facial cues on leadership emergence. Using evolutionary social psychology, we expand upon implicit and contingent theories of leadership and propose that different types of intergroup relations elicit different implicit cognitive leadership prototypes. It is argued that a biologically based hormonal connection between behavior and corresponding facial characteristics interacts with evolutionarily consistent social dynamics to influence leadership emergence. We predict that masculine-looking leaders are selected during intergroup conflict (war) and feminine-looking leaders during intergroup cooperation (peace). Across two experiments we show that a general categorization of leader versus nonleader is an initial implicit requirement for emergence, and at a context-specific level facial cues of masculinity and femininity contingently affect war versus peace leadership emergence in the predicted direction. In addition, we replicate our findings in Experiment 1 across culture using Western and East Asian samples. In Experiment 2, we also show that masculine-feminine facial cues are better predictors of leadership than male-female cues. Collectively, our results indicate a multi-level classification of context-specific leadership based on visual cues imbedded in the human face and challenge traditional distinctions of male and female leadership.


Businesses are seeking biodiversity indicators to help assess performance for a variety of business applications to address a range of internal and external drivers. However, challenges exist to develop indicators that can cut through the complexity of natural systems, display clear and simple measures of biodiversity, and be relevant to different business applications. Whilst some businesses are seeking one indicator to be used across a variety of business  applications, the reality is that assessing biodiversity performance for different business applications at different temporal and spatial scales will often require different indicators. This paper introduces a spectrum of business  applications for biodiversity indicators. The process introduced in this paper offers a contribution to the current dialogue on biodiversity indicators for business. It is designed to help businesses seeking to integrate biodiversity into  their business know where to start, by asking the right questions upfront and to seek out existing indicators that could help measure and track their biodiversity performance.


In this paper, the statistical properties of tropical ice clouds (ice water content, visible extinction, effective radius, and total number concentration) derived from 3 yr of ground-based radar–lidar retrievals from the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility in Darwin, Australia, are compared with the same properties derived using the official CloudSat microphysical retrieval methods and from a simpler statistical method using radar reflectivity and air temperature. It is shown that the two official CloudSat microphysical products (2B-CWC-RO and 2B-CWC-RVOD) are statistically virtually identical. The comparison with the ground-based radar–lidar retrievals shows that all satellite methods produce ice water contents and extinctions in a much narrower range than the ground-based method and overestimate the mean vertical profiles of microphysical parameters below 10-km height by over a factor of 2. Better agreements are obtained above 10-km height. Ways to improve these estimates are suggested in this study. Effective radii retrievals from the standard CloudSat algorithms are characterized by a large positive bias of 8–12 mm. A sensitivity test shows that in response to such a bias the cloud longwave forcing is increased from 44.6 to 46.9 W m 22 (implying an error of about 5%), whereas the negative cloud shortwave forcing is increased from 281.6 to 282.8 W m 22 . Further analysis reveals that these modest effects (although not insignificant) can be much larger for optically thick clouds. The statistical method usingCloudSat reflectivities and air temperature was found to produce inaccurate mean vertical profiles and probability distribution functions of effective radius. This study also shows that the retrieval of the total number concentration needs to be improved in the official CloudSat microphysical methods prior to a quantitative use for the characterization of tropical ice clouds. Finally, the statistical relationship used to produce ice water content from extinction and air temperature obtained by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite is evaluated for tropical ice clouds. It is suggested that the CALIPSO ice water content retrieval is robust for tropical ice clouds, but that the temperature dependence of the statistical relationship used should be slightly refined to better reproduce the radar–lidar retrievals.


The advent of genetically modified organisms such as pathogens has raised ecological questions that need to be addressed in order to assess any risks involved in their use. The baculovirus Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcNPV), which infects a number of lepidopteran species, has been modified to express an insect-selective toxin. This genetic modification increases the speed with which it kills its host. However, in addition to this intended feature of the modified virus, there may be other consequences for the host-pathogen interaction. We report a field experiment in which transmission patterns of the wild-type and the genetically modified baculovirus are measured within and between a model target (susceptible) and nontarget (less susceptible) lepidopteran species. Two foliar feeders were chosen: Trichoplusia ni, the cabbage looper, is highly susceptible to this pathogen, while Mamestra brassicae, the cabbage moth, is semipermissive. These two species are used as both the source and the recipients of infection for both virus types. A series of models are fitted to determine the probabilities of infection (given survival from other sources of mortality) over a 7-d period within contained field cages. Fitting these models to data illustrates that a substantial fraction of the population escapes infection, and it is the size of the pathogen-free refuge that varies between treatments. When infected individuals from the less susceptible species die, the yield of virus is greater than from susceptible hosts, yet this does not significantly alter the risk of transmission to other hosts. In contrast, the genetically modified baculovirus always results in a lower risk of infection in the field compared to the wild type. This is because the recombinant virus causes paralysis, and as a result, the cadaver may fall from the plant before death and virus release. Hence the number of cadavers remaining on the foliage has a greater influence on transmission than the yield of virus from those cadavers.


The synchronization behavior of the networks of fast-spiking interneurons is investigated by using one of the phenomenological neural network models, the Izhikevich model. Since electrical and chemical synapses exist within the same networks of inhibitory cells, delayed inhibitory and fast electrical synapses are coupled in the simulations. The effects of hybrid synapses in promoting synchronous activity in neural networks are investigated with short and long time delays. The distinct frequency bands observed in electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography signals are determined using the raster plots of neural networks. For quantitative comparison of activities in networks, the degree of synchrony in the network is calculated. The influences of several network parameters such as inhibitory synaptic strength, electrical synaptic strength, synaptic time constant, and time delay on the network activity are investigated. It is observed that the coupling of electrical and chemical synapses promotes multiple synchronous behaviors in the network. Another important finding is that even though the synchronization measure is highly dependent on inhibitory synaptic strengths at low electrical synaptic strength and synaptic time constant, not much dependence on inhibitory synaptic strengths is observed at high electrical synaptic strength.


After the opening of the borders to formerly communist countries in Southeast Asia, new opportunities have emerged for transnational tourism, combining the highlights of the Southeast Asian countries into touristic programs. This has changed remarkably the situation in some remote areas that previously enjoyed little or no tourism. This disser-tation analyzes the transformations in two of these formerly remote areas: the north-eastern part of Thailand (I-san) and the southern part of Laos near the border to Cam-bodia, an area which had remained largely untouched by tourism until the borders be-tween the communist countries of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, and the more western-oriented Thailand began to become increasingly open. The study investigates develop-ments and possibilities for transnational tourism in the two chosen study areas and de-scribes how tourism development in these areas has taken different paths due to differ-ent socio-political circumstances in Thailand and Laos, in addition to the globalisation of both tourism destinations and tourists. The characteristics of the two studied areas and their respective tourism destinations are described, with a focus on the aspects of acces-sibility and connectivity before and after the opening of the borders. The results show that based on their similarities and differences, I-san and southern Laos attract different tourist groups. In particular, two distinct ways of "doing tourism" can be distinguished: one for Asian tourists (mostly Thais), and one for international tourists, who mainly come from Europe, North America and Australia. The development and structure of the two sub-segments of tourism are analyzed through a quantitative survey of perceptions and preferences of tourists on one hand and qualitative interviews with tourism stake-holders on the other. The empirical results show three different aspects: (1) the differ-ences in perceptions, expectations and demands in the main visitor groups, (2) the strategies of tourism stakeholders, which take different preferences of Thai and interna-tional tourists into account in planning their offers and (3) future scenarios of tourism development in northeastern Thailand and southern Laos and the possibilities for pri-vate and government agencies to improve sustainable forms of tourism that contribute to the prosperity of the region. Overall, this study illustrates an initial phase of transna-tional tourism and the development in the two similar regions, it presents the profile of tourists who have visited northeastern Thailand and southern Laos and suggests posibilities for further development of the respective tourism destinations based on prefer-ence, valuations and ratings from tourists.


Recent scholarship on American federalism lacks case studies to inform that scholarship's trans-substantive insights and claims. This Article examines the last two decades of devolution brought about by the 1996 Welfare Reform Act (PRWORA). It details the history of PRWORA and how the funding mechanism built into Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) — the TANF block grant — guaranteed the program's deterioration. The Article documents the program's failure to respond to increased need among poor families after Hurricane Katrina and in the Great Recession, showing how the federal government's use of TANF in both crises teach us the limits of fiscally devolved programs. The Article then explores two potential paths forward for TANF as either a devolutionary outlier in social policy or as a harbinger of what is to come from recent Congressional proposals to block grant Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps). Public interest lawyers rightly fear that TANF could be the cutting edge of a newly devolved American safety net. The Article concludes by considering what the cautionary tale of TANF means for scholars of federalism and anti-poverty advocates.


It is well established that all humans today, wherever they live, belong to one single species. Yet even many people who claim to abhor racism take for granted that human "races" have a biological reality. In Troublesome Science, Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall provide a lucid and forceful critique of how scientific tools have been misused to uphold misguided racial categorizations.

 DeSalle and Tattersall argue that taxonomy, the scientific classification of organisms, provides an antidote to the myth of race's biological basis. They explain how taxonomists do their science—how to identify a species and to understand the relationships among different species and the variants within them. DeSalle and Tattersall also detail the use of genetic data to trace human origins and look at how scientists have attempted to recognize discrete populations within Homo sapiens. Troublesome Science demonstrates conclusively that modern genetic tools, when applied correctly to the study of human variety, fail to find genuine differences. While the diversity that exists within our species is a real phenomenon, it nevertheless defeats any systematic attempt to recognize discrete units within it. The stark lines that humans insist on drawing between their own groups and others are nothing but a mixture of imagination and ideology. Troublesome Science is an important call for researchers, journalists, and citizens to cast aside the belief that race has a biological meaning, for the sake of social justice and sound science alike.


: The paper aims to investigate the potential inherent in a FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) approach for the 4D BIM modelling using Freecad. In order to reach this goal it shows a comparison of Freecad features with those of commercial software, considering the evaluation of the effective application of this Open Source software in the professional environment, and highlighting the progress in the FOSS BIM area, that still represents an unexplored study field if compared to the vast publications related to BIM modelling that occurred in the last two decades. To this end, the study has been carried out on a singular case study, a steel canopy which has been designed for the urban renewal of a public space in Teramo. Despite its size, the canopy required the definition of complex details. Its structural system has addressed the study to compare Freecad with some software dedicated to steel structures or particularly suitable for the modelling of this specific structural typology: Tekla Structures and Sketchup. Starting from a concise historical reconstruction of the FOSS spread, the paper introduces a brief overview of the potential of Freecad in terms of BIM modelling - also proposing an operational modality to facilitate the drawing of BIM elements within the software - and finally reaching to the examination of three simulations which has been carried. This comparison can be useful to establish the current state of development of Freecad in the field of 4D BIM.


Purpose
Innovation is a fundamental element for developing countries' development. For instance, the innovation process should be integral to a country's development plan for it to achieve high standard socio-economic development. For this reason, the global development agenda in the contemporary era underline innovation as a crucial issue to be addressed within development assistance programs. The Global North as traditional donors predominantly contend that innovation should be supported by high private sector development (PSD), and therefore, emphasizes this agenda to be delivered through their foreign aid schemes. However, this character differs considerably as compared to new emerging donors with insufficient PSD capacity, such as Indonesia. This paper aims to examine Indonesia's technical assistance (TAC) to Timor-Leste and scrutinizes whether or not it supports the innovation development of the receiving country.

Design/methodology/approach
This study used a qualitative method by conducting a literature review, document tracing and depth interview with Indonesia's South–South Cooperation National Coordinating Team.

Findings
Based on this study, it can be proven that Indonesia's TAC has the ability to support innovation development in Timor-Leste as a least developed country. This is because Indonesia's TAC is directed toward knowledge sharing and technology transfer that are needed by Timor-Leste. Other supporting conditions, such as similarity in the process of development, shared principles and solidarity ties among developing countries, have also created a more decent environment for aid delivery. Thus, aid initiatives among developing countries must remain to be supported as key to attain mutual progress and collective self-reliance.

Originality/value
This study shows that Indonesia as an emerging economic has the capability to support innovation development of other developing countries. It was a new area of study but has a lot of potential to be explored such as effectiveness and interests.


Due to the need to interact with virtual objects, the hand-object interaction has become an important element in mixed reality (MR) applications. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to handle the occlusion of augmented 3D object manipulation with hands by exploiting the nature of hand poses combined with tracking-based and model-based methods, to achieve a complete mixed reality experience without necessities of heavy computations, complex manual segmentation processes or wearing special gloves. The experimental results show a frame rate faster than real-time and a great accuracy of rendered virtual appearances, and a user study verifies a more immersive experience compared to past approaches. We believe that the proposed method can improve a wide range of mixed reality applications that involve hand-object interactions.


Abstract Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) have been published by federal agencies such as the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Environmental Protection Agency, since the 1970s. These government documents can be an important source of environmental information. Some EISs are depository items, but most are not. Only a small number of each EIS is printed, and they are not always easy to identify and acquire. Their important content and fugitive nature makes it essential to catalog them to make their existence widely known. This article uses the timber sale EISs published by the Forest Service as examples of the benefits, problems, and techniques of cataloging this material.


Non-Invasive Intracranial Pressure Method and Monitor By: Tarun Sinha Virginia Commonwealth University Major Director: Dr. Martin Lenhardt The eyes are acoustically continuous with the brain and inner ear tissues in regard to matched impedances, based on tissue densities, thus, vibration of one site will be reflected in all sites. With this being the case, the vibrational energy response of the eye due to an external source can be used to determine a correlation or draw a conclusion concerning the vibrational energy response of the brain would be. And since there is a correlation between the vibrational energies, any changes in the acoustical energy in the eye can possibly be used to determine the changes in acoustical energy in the brain. Such an assertion was tested using the eye/balloon model, in which frequency specific tones can be used to analyze the vibrational response of the eye and the coupled brain. Changes in the intracranial pressure via the vibrational response induce changes in the intraocular pressure via the vibrational principle. Further, the model supports the observation that vibration delivered to the eye can be perceived as sound, if of sufficient intensity, resulting in an eye audiogram similar in degree to that obtained conventionally by bone conduction on the mastoid or forehead. The literature is suggestive that there is no positive correlation between IOP and ICP in terms of pressure, but there is a correlation when acoustical response is measured. This supports the possibility of measuring the changes in acoustical properties on the eye and within the cranium due to any external disruptions. The eye can therefore be considered an acoustical window to the brain and inner ear.


We live on a vast, underexplored planet that is largely ocean. Despite modern technology, Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation, and advanced engineering of ocean vessels, the ocean is unforgiving, especially in rough weather. Coastal ocean navigation, with risks of running aground and inconsistent weather and sea patterns, can also be challenging and hazardous. In 2012, more than 100 international incidents of ships sinking, foundering, grounding, or being lost at sea were reported (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shipwrecks_in_2012). Even a modern jetliner can disappear in the ocean with little or no trace [1], and the current costs and uncertainty associated with search and rescue make the prospects of finding an object in the middle of the ocean daunting [2].

Notwithstanding satellite constellations, autonomous vehicles, and more than 300 research vessels worldwide (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_research_vessels_by_country), we lack fundamental data relating to our oceans. These missing data hamper our ability to make basic predictions about ocean weather, narrow the trajectories of floating objects, or estimate the impact of ocean acidification and other physical, biological, and chemical characteristics of the world's oceans. To cope with this problem, scientists make probabilistic inferences by synthesizing models with incomplete data. Probabilistic modeling works well for certain questions of interest to the scientific community, but it is difficult to extract unambiguous policy recommendations from this approach. The models can answer important questions about trends and tendencies among large numbers of events but often cannot offer much insight into specific events. For example, probabilistic models can tell us with some precision the extent to which storm activity will be intensified by global climate change but cannot yet attribute the severity of a particular storm to climate change. Probabilistic modeling can provide important insights into the global traffic patterns of floating debris but is not of much help to search-and-rescue personnel struggling to learn the likely trajectory of a particular piece of debris left by a wreck.

Oceanographic data are incomplete because it is financially and logistically impractical to sample everywhere. Scientists typically sample over time, floating with the currents and observing their temporal evolution (the Langrangian approach), or they sample across space to cover a gradient of conditions—such as temperature or nutrients (the Eulerian approach). These observational paradigms have various strengths and weaknesses, but their fundamental weakness is cost. A modern ocean research vessel typically costs more than US$30,000 per day to operate—excluding the full cost of scientists, engineers, and the cost of the research itself. Even an aggressive expansion of oceanographic research budgets would not do much to improve the precision of our probabilistic models, let alone to quickly and more accurately locate missing objects in the huge, moving, three-dimensional seascape. Emerging autonomous technologies such as underwater gliders and in situ biological samplers (e.g., environmental sample processors) help fill gaps but are cost prohibitive to scale up. Similarly, drifters (e.g., the highly successful Argo floats program) have proven very useful for better defining currents, but unless retrieved after their operational lifetime, they become floating trash, adding to a growing problem.

Long-term sampling efforts such as the continuous plankton recorder in the North Sea and North Atlantic [3] provide valuable data on decadal trends and leveraged English Channel ferries to accomplish much of the sampling. Modernizing and expanding this approach is a goal of citizen science initiatives. How do we leverage cost-effective technologies and economies of scale given shrinking federal research budgets?


Do current levels of bank capital in Europe suffice to support a swift recovery from the COVID-19 crisis? Recent research shows that a well-capitalized banking sector is a major factor driving the speed and breadth of recoveries from economic downturns. In particular, loan supply is negatively affected by low levels of capital. We estimate a capital shortfall in European banks of up to 600 billion euro in a severe scenario, and around 143 billion euro in a moderate scenario. We propose a precautionary recapitalization on the European level that puts the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) center stage. This proposal would cut through the sovereign-bank nexus, safeguard financial stability, and position the Eurozone for a quick recovery from the pandemic.


The essays featured in this collection highlight the gaps, as well as parallels, between mental illness and the human condition. In "Appearances," the narrator struggles with her own visual identity especially after reflecting on her Mom's own lengthy history with the mirror. In "Migrations," the lyrical voice of the narrator carries the reader through the typical day of a clinically depressed female character. Lastly, "Attempting the Fall," addresses the issues society has with mental illness by following the narrator from her suicide attempt to the mental ward.


The CSMA/CA algorithm proposed in the IEEE 802.11 standard does not exclude collisions between transmitted packets. Regardless of whether RTS/CTS packets are used or not, these collisions do always have a more or less negative effect on system performance, especially at high loads. In this letter a method of avoiding collisions by using busy energy bursts is proposed. The algorithm used is based on the 802.11 standard and depends only on the assumption that each node can hear the transmissions of all other nodes. Collisions are avoided by transmitting short sequences of energy bursts without the need of any further communication between nodes contending for the use of the channel. The proposed method provides better average packet delays also as higher maximum system loads than conventional CSMA/CA. In addition to this, it renders the use of acknowledgment packets unnecessary.


The structure of {a(+/-),a(+/-),b(+/-)}-type Coulombic systems is characterized by the effective ground-state density of the a-type particles, computed via nonrelativistic quantum mechanics without introduction of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. A structural transition is observed when varying the relative mass of the a- and b-type particles, e.g., between atomic H- and molecular H-2(+). The particle-density profile indicates a molecular-type behavior for the positronium ion, Ps(-).


Iron Carbonate is a novel carbon-negative sustainable binder that is made from metallic iron powder waste and utilizes the chemistry of iron carbonation. To produce the binder, usually landfilled iron powder and other constituents (fly ash, limestone powder, metakaolin, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, powdered organic reducing agent, and water) are mixed together and exposed to a pressurized CO2 regime that leads to slow external diffusion. The carbonation of iron particles results in the formation of complex iron carbonates that have binding capabilities and mechanical properties similar or better compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC)based binders. The metallic particulate phase incorporated in the novel binders' microstructure increases the toughness of Iron Carbonate because of the energy dissipation by plastic deformation of the unreacted and elongated iron particles which are strong and ductile. In addition, the matrix contains other additives including harder fly ash particles, softer limestone particles, and ductile clayey phases which significantly influence the overall fracture performance of the novel sustainable binder. Understanding the behavior of Iron Carbonate at high strain rates is important for a wide range of both military and civilian applications. The material behavior under highly dynamic conditions is significantly different from the material response under quasi-static conditions. The split Hopkinson (Kolsky) pressure bar (SHPB) system is used to test dynamic compressive mechanical response and failure behavior of Iron Carbonate under high strain rates to establish exceptional dynamic load mitigation characteristics for the carbon-negative sustainable binder under extreme combined environments. Dynamic tests are conducted on cylindrical Iron Carbonate specimens using a conventional SHPB set-up. The experimental arrangement includes a gas gun and three steel bars (a striker bar, an incident bar, and a transmitted bar), aligned along a single axis. The Iron Carbonate specimen is placed between the incident and transmitted bar and the striker projectile is fired toward the face of the incident bar. Due to the impact of the striker bar an incident pulse, a reflected pulse and a transmitted pulse are generated that build up the stress level in the specimen and compress it. Objective of the carried out dynamic compression tests on Iron Carbonate specimen is the determination of the stress equilibrium, true stress-strain plots and strain-rate. Analysis of the obtained pulses revealed that the transmitted pulses of the tested Iron Carbonate specimens were of much smaller magnitude than the incident and reflected pulses. As a result, achievement of stress equilibrium and homogeneous deformation of the Iron Carbonate samples was prevented. The small amplitude of the transmitted pulses is due to the possibly low mechanical impedance of Iron Carbonate. Testing specimens made of material with low mechanical impedance allows the incident bar-specimen interface to nearly move freely under stress wave loading, so that most of the incident pulse is reflected backward into the incident bar. Only a small portion of the loading pulse is transmitted through the specimen into the transmission bar. Therefore, the conventionally used experimental standard set-up of the SHPB system using steel bars has to be modified in order to determine accurate dynamic stress-strain responses for Iron Carbonate. To increase the magnitude of the transmitted pulses a softer material, such as aluminum, should be used as transmitted bar material instead of common steel. Furthermore, a hollow transmitted bar instead of a solid bar should be used. The lower Young's modulus of an aluminum alloy and the smaller cross-section of the hollow bar increase the amplitude of the transmitted strain signals by at least an order of magnitude as compared to a conventional steel bar.


The HCT boasts in its strategic plan that "Students study using the latest equipment, technology and modern teaching and learning methods." (Strategic plan Summary 2008 - 2012, p.4). Its first main goal is to "Enhance HCT's current offerings of programs and access" (Strategic plan Summary 2008 – 2012, p.3, emphasis added) As an educator within the HCT, I conducted an action research task within the college, sympathetic to the goals stated above, with the express purpose of assessing the viability of one such teaching and learning method, using existing infrastructure. The research centered around the use of mobile technology as a means of delivery of content to students within the Diploma Foundations year, as part of their computer literacy course. Three groups of students were compared - students using traditional paper methods of delivery, students using a Learning Management System (Blackboard Vista) for delivery and students getting some content through Mobile Technology - mobile phones.


The Carnatic and Tamil music scene in London is the result of the migration and diasporic formation of a displaced Sri Lankan Tamil demographic. From the 'scattering' of displaced people and culture to various localities around the world, diasporic 'regatherings' – understood as 'becoming one again' - are facilitated by musical learning, performance and transnational interactions. Through the process of 'becoming one again' and the on-going connections between South Asia and the diaspora, a musical scene has emerged, which relies on various transnational networks and constructions of collective identity.

The thesis examines the transnational networks and identities in the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, focusing on musicians, music students and audiences based in London, and their connections with South Asia and other parts of the world. Drawing on detailed ethnographic research in the UK, South India and Sri Lanka, it considers how music enables deep connections to be formed within a diasporic group, both in terms of physical networks and within the imaginations of musicians. The relevance of the terms 'diaspora' and 'transnationalism' are examined in relation to the musical networks and processes in the Carnatic music scene in chapter one, before considering the historical trajectory of cultural identity, migration and the emergence of the music scene in London in chapter two. Chapter three identifies the scope of transnational networks at three different levels – the macro-level transnational networks, mid-level local manifestations of these networks and finally the micro-level interactions between individuals and within a performance. These levels ground broader globalising processes in localised ethnography. Across the multiple levels explored in the third chapter it is clear that the connections with Chennai in South India create a cultural centre and alternative homeland for displaced Sri Lankan Tamil musicians. Chapter four positions Chennai as the centre of this musical network from where aesthetics are negotiated and projected outwards into diasporic localities. Chapter five considers the London locality and the performance contexts, conventions and audiences within the city. In London, there are two clear spheres of local engagement – the diasporic and multicultural mainstream, contrasting in contexts, publics and functions. Chapters six and seven reflect on connectivity through historically situated narratives and transnational synchrony. These issues are ethnographically explored through the arangetram music graduation ceremony and through embodied experiences of transnational musical learning and performance. It is argued that transnational connectivity - with the cultural centre, other diasporic sites and the transnational carnatic music world - is maintained through ritualised practices of musical learning and performance.

The thesis highlights the ways in which connectivity is maintained through the construction of an essentialised, yet empowered, transnational cultural identity in which South Indian classical music is a key component. It aims to contribute to the study of diasporas and musical transnationalism through shifting the focus from the 'homeland' to other cultural centres, and by emphasising the importance of ritualised musical practice in attaining diasporic connectivity.


This thesis explores the interplay between internal migration and religion. Specifically, it examines internal migrants' reconfiguration of boundaries and spaces of belonging, as well as the impact that migration has on the religious lives of migrants and those who are left behind. These topics are investigated in relation to the historical and political environment in Turkey. The study focuses on migrants coming into the Gebze urban district from the provinces of Giresun and Erzurum, and it considers the experiences of both migrants and their family members who have remained in these provinces. A multi-sited ethnographic research model is used that incorporates a translocal analytical framework, which enables the relationship between internal migration and religion to be conceptualised. Using the 'everyday lived religion' approach and a translocal lens, life history interviews are analysed in order to elucidate the relationship between internal migration and religious life. The concept of 'everyday lived religion' permits a consideration of aspects of religion that are otherwise invisible, such as experiences and actions in migrants' lives that are not necessarily seen as religious in nature. Furthermore, the examination of life histories enables the structural, individual and local factors behind migrants' experiences (the continuation and reinvention of their religious lives, the remaking of homes, or the reconstruction of boundaries) to be revealed. In addition, the translocal lens facilitates scrutiny of the subjective experiences of both migrants and their relatives in the place of origin. The perceptions, emotions and practices of individuals and groups are studied here, with the importance of connections between and across spaces, places and locales being taken into account. The results demonstrate that migrants' home- and boundary-making ideas and practices are reconfigured via the interactions, relationships and connections that occur both in the place of settlement and the place of origin. Moreover, institutional factors shape – and, indeed, are shaped by – religion and migration. The thesis makes empirical and conceptual contributions to the field of internal-migration research by arguing that religion in both the hometown and the destination is created, formed and influenced by the migration experience. As such, this study challenges the mainstream view that Islam is a product of the local setting, as well as indicating that the dichotomy between the rural and the urban is insufficient to explicate the complexity of the migration context. Further still, religion, with its transcendent aspect, translocalises migrants' lives so that 'here' (the place of settlement), 'there' (the hometown) and 'elsewhere' (the spiritual world) become relevant to migrants' definitions of the self and others, as well as their reconfiguration of spaces. Ultimately, a fusion of the 'everyday lived religion' and translocal approaches enables us to see that religion is used, articulated and performed in everyday places, being negotiated and contested by migrants and those who are left behind.


Abstract Background: Radiotherapy is a valuable therapeutic option for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in the ageing population, in non-surgical candidates, or when the tumor is extensive or localized in a cosmetically sensitive area such as the lips. Objective: We report our 44-year experience in treating basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the vermilion lip using superficial radiotherapy. Methods: Forty-seven patients with biopsy-proven BCC or SCC of the lip were retrospectively reviewed. All patients had been treated with superficial radiotherapy in our unit, as a primary treatment or with adjuvant and salvage purposes. Lymph-node involvement at presentation was negative in all patients. Results: Local disease control was achieved in 91% of cases. Cure rates of 85% were obtained at 5 and 10 years. Four patients presented local tumor recurrence and only one patient developed lymphatic involvement. Cosmetic outcome was good in the majority of cases, and all patients, except for one, fully preserved the vermilion lip functionality. Conclusions: Our findings confirm that superficial radiotherapy is an effective treatment for early BCC or SCC of the vermilion lip, especially in the ageing population, in high-risk tumors, and even if poor cosmetic outcome is expected from surgical excision.


Edmund has escaped from his family into a lonely life. Returning for his mother's funeral he finds himself involved in the old, awful problems, together with some new ones. One by one his relatives reveal their secrets to a reluctant Edmund: illicit affairs, hidden passions, shameful scandals. And the heart of all, there is, as always, the family's loyal servant, the Italian girl.


The islands of Okinawa have a long history of people's protest. Much of this has been a manifestation in one way or another of Okinawa's enforced assimilation into Japan and their differential treatment thereafter. However, it is only in the contemporary period that we find interpretations among academic and popular writers of a collective political movement opposing marginalisation of, and discrimination against, Okinawans. This is most powerfully expressed in the idea of the three 'waves' of a post-war 'Okinawan struggle' against the US military bases. Yet, since Okinawa's annexation to Japan in 1879, differences have constantly existed among protest groups over the reasons for and the means by which to protest, and these have only intensified after the reversion to Japanese administration in 1972.

This dissertation examines the trajectory of Okinawan protest actors, focusing on the development and nature of internal differences, the origin and survival of the idea of a united 'Okinawan struggle', and the implications of these factors for political reform agendas in Okinawa. It explains the internal differences in organisation, strategies and collective identities among the groups in terms of three major priorities in their protest. There are those protesters principally preoccupied with opposing the US-Japan security treaty and for whom the preservation of pacifist clauses of the Constitution and the utilisation of formal legal and political processes are paramount as a modus operandi. There are also those primarily concerned to protect Okinawa's distinctive lifestyle and natural environment, as well as an assortment of feminist groups fundamentally opposed to the presence of US bases due to concerns about patriarchy and exploitation of women, fostered by militarism. In these last two perspectives, protest tends to be conducted much more via informal, network-oriented processes, and includes engagement with international civil society groups.

The increasing range of protest groups derived from the expansion of these last two perspectives, diversifying beyond the traditional workers' unions and political parties, is consistent with the 'new social movement' theory. This theory's emphasis on the importance of socio economic change for the emergence of groups with post-materialist reform agendas and a stronger predisposition towards informal political processes resonates with the Okinawan experiences. However, the impact of this has been, especially after the reversion in 1972, to hinder effective coalition building among the Okinawan protest groups and organisations, weakening their power to bring about political reforms, particularly towards the removal of the US military bases from the island.

Crucially, though, the idea of an 'Okinawan struggle' has endured in the community of protest throughout the post-war period. Ideas about marginalisation of, and discrimination against, Okinawans constitute a powerful myth of an 'Okinawan struggle', which has a long history of being redefined, used and exploited differently by a wide range of protest actors, adjusted to their particular and historically specific struggles. Indeed, in the event that the US military bases were withdrawn from Okinawa, the ability and appeal of the myth of an 'Okinawan struggle' would therefore not necessarily expire, even if it will increasingly be joined by other protest perspectives as a result of the flowering of new social movements.


In a transitional society like Northeastern Thailand, alternative and often competing therapeutic methods have been widely used by local people. Most illnesses are managed without recourse to the Government health care services. In Thailand there is a paucity of studies which explore and develop an understanding of how rural people regard illness in terms of causes and classification and how this knowledge influences what actions they take to deal with it. The impact of medical pluralism on illness management has rarely been studied in this country. The purpose of this study is to provide an understanding of the cultural meanings of illness for people in rural Northeast Thailand and their behaviour regarding health and illness care. An ethnographic approach, employing participant observation, interviews and ethnographic records, was selected as the research method, with fieldwork carried out in one rural village in Northeast Thailand where the researcher lived for 12 months. The findings suggest that what people do during an illness is guided by their healing knowledge which is experiential in nature. Mutual influences exist between people's beliefs about illness and their experiences of illness and healing methods. The experiential healing knowledge encompasses broad illness categories and beliefs in multiple causes of an illness. Multiple healing methods including both Western medicine and village curing methods are applied in any illness situation. Western medicine is believed to be effective to treat disease which is viewed as one part of illness, while village curing is believed to effectively treat other causes of illness as well as disease. Kin and neighbours actively participate in the articulation of illness situations, being involved in diagnosing the illness and identifying and prioritising multiple therapeutic management options. This description of people's perceptions of illness and its management, generated from the data, is crucial to increasing the knowledge base of members of nursing and other health professions. Such knowledge identifies critical aspects and possibilities for change in the practice of health professionals when working with rural people in Northeast Thailand. The study concludes with a discussion of strategies for practice and education which might be applied by nurses and other health professionals to improve the utilisation of available health care services. II


Abstract. The Aral Sea desiccation and related changes in hydroclimatic conditions on a
regional level is a hot topic for past decades. The key problem of scientific
research projects devoted to an investigation of modern Aral Sea basin
hydrological regime is its discontinuous nature – the only limited amount of
papers takes into account the complex runoff formation system entirely.
Addressing this challenge we have developed a continuous prediction system
for assessing freshwater inflow into the Small Aral Sea based on coupling
stack of hydrological and data-driven models. Results show a good prediction
skill and approve the possibility to develop a valuable water assessment tool
which utilizes the power of classical physically based and modern machine
learning models both for territories with complex water management system and
strong water-related data scarcity. The source code and data of the proposed
system is available on a Github page
(https://github.com/SMASHIproject/IWRM2018).


This paper reports on an investigation of the potential for a shared-L1 advantage on an academic English listening test featuring speakers with L2 accents. Two hundred and twelve second-language listeners (including 70 Mandarin Chinese L1 listeners and 60 Japanese L1 listeners) completed three versions of the University Test of English as a Second Language (UTESL) listening sub-test which featured an Australian English-accented speaker, a Japanese-accented speaker and a Mandarin Chinese-accented speaker. Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses were conducted on data from the tests which featured L2-accented speakers using two methods of DIF detection – the standardization procedure and the Mantel-Haenszel procedure – with candidates matched for ability on the test featuring the Australian English-accented speaker. Findings showed that Japanese L1 listeners were advantaged on a small number of items on the test featuring the Japanese-accented speaker, but these were balanced by items which favoured non-Japanese L1 listeners. By contrast, Mandarin Chinese L1 listeners were clearly advantaged across several items on the test featuring a Mandarin Chinese L1 speaker. The implications of these findings for claims of bias are discussed with reference to the role of speaker accent in the listening construct.


Space communication systems as employed in satellite to satellite links are traditionally performed using microwaves. Since, the future of satellite systems will permit more efficient and more reliable operation these (Inter Satellite Links) ISLs will be optical links. This paper proposes a link model between satellites in free space over Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in order to recognize maximum bit rate. The performance of such a link is affected by various parameters, as in depending on the propagating wavelength. Moreover, the maximum bit rate is calculated and analyzed employing Avalanche Photodiode (APD) and Non Return to Zero (NRZ) modulation at different wavelengths improving the quality of the system.


"Financial Technology (FinTech) has brought a revolution in the financial sector including incremental technological innovations in financial services. FinTech has triggered significant changes in the way financial sector is designed and it operates in the digital era. By increasing speed and reducing costs, FinTech has strongly influenced consumers to move towards digitalization. This has had as result the development of more tailored financial services addressed to individuals. For this purpose, a minimum level of financial literacy is considered a key driver of consumer behaviour. The main objective of this study is to analyse the impact of FinTech revolution on the labour market. In this paper, we have performed the statistical analysis of secondary data for EU-28 Member States (including United Kingdom) within the interval comprised between 2017 and 2019 with the aim to identify which is the level of labour substitution triggered by FinTech and its short-and medium-term effects on the labour market in the financial sector. Conclusions of this study revealed that although a higher level of digitalization is associated with a lower number of individuals employed in the financial sector, especially in the countries with the highest degree of digitalisation in the EU-28 (Digital Frontrunners), there are still a number of IT professionals performing operational tasks."


Citizen science projects can collect a wealth of scientific data, but that data is only helpful if it is actually used. While previous citizen science research has mostly focused on designing effective capture interfaces and incentive mechanisms, in this paper we explore the application of HCI methods to ensure that the data itself is useful. To provide a focus for this exploration we designed and implemented Creek Watch, an iPhone application and website that allow volunteers to report information about waterways in order to aid water management programs. Working with state and local officials and private groups involved in water monitoring, we conducted a series of contextual inquiries to uncover what data they wanted, what data they could immediately use, and how to most effectively deliver that data to them. We iteratively developed the Creek Watch application and website based on our findings and conducted evaluations of it with both contributors and consumers of water data, including scientists at the city water resources department. Our study reveals that the data collected is indeed useful for their existing practices and is already in use in water and trash management programs. Our results suggest the application of HCI methods to design the data for the end users is just as important as their use in designing the user interface.


In previous research (ThEriault et al., 2005 & 2007), we developed a novel approach for assessing centrality and accessibility to urban amenities distinguishing among city centre, labour market and other types of services, like schools, shopping centres, groceries and health facilities. Complementary indices for each type of amenity derived from suitable opportunity sets (based on willingness to travel thresholds) are integrated within a hedonic model of housing markets. Results are highly significant and permit in-depth comparison (and ordering) of the marginal value of accessibility (by car, bus and walking) to several types of amenity within an integrated hedonic framework, while controlling for multicollinearity related to urban form and transportation networks, using principal component analysis. However, there is remaining significant spatial autocorrelation among the model residuals. Thus, spatial drift is eventually harming the robustness of estimates of the coefficients and of their standard errors. The purpose of this paper is to explore ways to get rid of this spatial autocorrelation or, at least, to handle the spatial drift which could be present in the perception of accessibility (and its valuation) among buyers. Building on a comprehensive hedonic model using thousands of single-family house transactions made during the 1993-2004 period in the Quebec Metropolitan Area, this paper compares the efficiency of OLS (ordinary least square), SAR (spatial autoregression) and Quantile regression techniques for handling spatial autocorrelation in the hedonic model and, eventually, for identifying factors behind the spatial drift that could influence buyeris valuation of urban centrality and accessibility to amenities. Moreover, assessment of the marginal effects of market segmentation on the valuation of accessibility to specific amenities (e.g. schools versus labour market, schools versus shopping centres) provides bases for discussing spatial drift estimations in-line with urban economic theory.


Abstract. Three updating schemes using artificial neural network (ANN) in flow forecasting are compared in terms of model efficiency. The first is the ANN model in the simulation mode plus an autoregressive (AR) model. For the ANN model in the simulation model, the input includes the observed rainfall and the previously estimated discharges, while the AR model is used to forecast the flow simulation errors of the ANN model. The second one is the ANN model in the updating mode, i.e. the ANN model uses the observed discharge directly together with the observed rainfall as the input. In this scheme, the weights of the ANN model are obtained by optimisation and then kept fixed in the procedure of flow forecasting. The third one is also the ANN model in the updating mode; however, the weights of the ANN model are no longer fixed but updated at each time step by the backpropagation method using the latest forecast error of the ANN model. These three updating schemes are tested for flow forecasting on ten catchments and it is found that the third updating scheme is more effective than the other two in terms of their efficiency in flow forecasting. Moreover, compared to the first updating scheme, the third scheme is more parsimonious in terms of the number of parameters, since the latter does not need any additional correction model. In conclusion, this paper recommends the ANN model with the backpropagation method, which updates the weights of ANN at each time step according to the latest forecast error, for use in real-time flow forecasting. Keywords: artificial neural network (ANN), updating, flow forecasting, backpropagation method


Objective We sought to understand ethics and education needs of emergency nurses and physicians in paediatric and adult emergency departments (EDs) in order to build ethics capacity and provide a foundation for the development of an ethics education programme. Methods This was a prospective cross-sectional survey of all staff nurses and physicians in three tertiary care EDs. The survey tool, called Clinical Ethics Needs Assessment Survey, was pilot tested on a similar target audience for question content and clarity. Results Of the 123 participants surveyed, 72% and 84% of nurses and physicians fully/somewhat agreed with an overall positive ethical climate, respectively. 69% of participants reported encountering daily or weekly ethical challenges. Participants expressed the greatest need for additional support to address moral distress (16%), conflict management with patients or families (16%) and resource issues (15%). Of the 23 reported occurrences of moral distress, 61% were associated with paediatric mental health cases. When asked how the ethics consultation service could be used in the ED, providing education to teams (42%) was the most desired method. Conclusions Nurses report a greater need for ethics education and resources compared with their physician colleagues. Ethical challenges in paediatric EDs are more prevalent than adult EDs and nurses voice specific moral distress that are different than adult EDs. These results highlight the need for a suitable educational strategy, which can be developed in collaboration with the leadership of each ED and team of hospital ethicists.


ABSTRACT The sub-family Conocephalinae constitutes one of the richest groups of katydids in terms of diversity and distribution. Tropical katydids especially in India have largely escaped academic attention. Here, we record and describe call patterns for six conehead katydids from India: Conocephalus melanus, Conocephalus sp X, Euconocephalus indicus, Euconocephalus mucro, and Euconocephalus sp Y from North-Eastern Himalayas and Euconocephalus pallidus from the Western Ghats. All the species showed broadband frequency spectra (10.5–42.4 kHz), and three of the six species showed high rates of calling (289–453 syllables/s). We observed that the co-occurring call types never called at the same time or from the same location. We hypothesized this partitioning between call types is due to similarity in their calls; we used non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (NMDS) to investigate patterns of temporal or habitat-partitioning that some of the co-occurring call types exhibited during the course of study. The co-occurring Euconocephalus sp Y and E. mucro with high degree of overlap and similarity in their calls exhibited partitioning on a spatial scale. Conocephalus sp. X and C. melanus with distinct calling activity peaks formed separate clusters based on temporal call structures. As females rely heavily on spectral qualities, we speculate partitioning on temporal scale to avoid heterospecific interference due to similar spectral properties between the two call types.


Plant kingdom provides us abundance of plant with various medicinal properties. Which can be used as Remedial agents for various health issues. Mesua ferrae Linn. (Clusiaceae) is a rare plant which is being used for its properties and effects like anti-septic, anti-inflammatory, blood purifier, expectorant, purgative, antiasthmatic etc. Mesua ferrae Linn. (Nagakesara), cobra's saffron, is named after the heaviness of its timber and is mostly cultivated in tropical climates, consists foliage and fragrant flowers. It is highly used in the ayurveda for the treatment of pain, inflammation and rheumatic conditions. It is observed and proved that the presence of Phenylcoumarins, Xanthones, Triterpenoids, Fats and Flavanoids are presence in this plant which is responsible for its biological as well as medicinal properties. It is also known to be called Sri lankan ironwood, India rose chestnut. The tree can grow over 30 meters tall. Mesua Ferrae is cultivated as an ornamental plant due to its graceful shape, Pink to Red drooping leaves and large beautiful, fragrant white flowers. The present review summarizes various important, essential and medicinal properties of this Indian medicinal herb.


This study reveals the function and characteristics of a restaurant CEO. Based on 85 CEOs' responses, including 37 from the quick-service segment and 25 from the midscale (family) segment, the CEOs exhibited some fairly consistent attributes and traits: a reliance on a reasonably short-term planning horizon, an entrepreneurial rather than "rational" or hierarchical management style, and an operationsor field-management-based perspective of the critical skills necessary for success. When asked what are the most important issues facing them, they most frequently mentioned hiring quality people, rising to the challenge of greater competition, meeting government mandates, and identifying changing consumer needs. When they focused on the competitive nature of the restaurant business, they enlisted such terms as market saturation, risk aversion by their boards of directors and owners, and the changing market environment. Only three out of four thought that they would be as successful in the future given the changes they foresee in the critical skills required of restaurant CEOs.


OF THE DISSERTATION Understanding the Role of Dynamics in Brain Networks: Methods, Theory and Application by MohammadMehdi Kafashan Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering Washington University in St. Louis, December 2016 Research Advisor: Professor ShiNung Ching The brain is inherently a dynamical system whose networks interact at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Understanding the functional role of these dynamic interactions is a fundamental question in neuroscience. In this research, we approach this question through the development of new methods for characterizing brain dynamics from real data and new theories for linking dynamics to function. We perform our study at two scales: macro (at the level of brain regions) and micro (at the level of individual neurons). In the first part of this dissertation, we develop methods to identify the underlying dynamics at macro-scale that govern brain networks during states of health and disease in humans. First, we establish an optimization framework to actively probe connections in brain networks when the underlying network dynamics are changing over time. Then, we extend this framework to develop a data-driven approach for analyzing neurophysiological recordings without active stimulation, to describe the spatiotemporal structure of neural activity at different timescales. The overall goal is to detect how the dynamics of brain networks may change within and between particular cognitive states. We present the efficacy of this xviii approach in characterizing spatiotemporal motifs of correlated neural activity during the transition from wakefulness to general anesthesia in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Moreover, we demonstrate how such an approach can be utilized to construct an automatic classifier for detecting different levels of coma in electroencephalogram (EEG) data. In the second part, we study how ongoing function can constraint dynamics at micro-scale in recurrent neural networks, with particular application to sensory systems. Specifically, we develop theoretical conditions in a linear recurrent network in the presence of both disturbance and noise for exact and stable recovery of dynamic sparse stimuli applied to the network. We show how network dynamics can affect the decoding performance in such systems. Moreover, we formulate the problem of efficient encoding of an afferent input and its history in a nonlinear recurrent network. We show that a linear neural network architecture with a thresholding activation function is emergent if we assume that neurons optimize their activity based on a particular cost function. Such an architecture can enable the production of lightweight, history-sensitive encoding schemes.


A theoretical analysis is given for the stresses and deflections of a square plate with clamped edges under normal pressure producing large deflections. Values of the bending stress and membrane stress at the center of the plate and at the midpoint of the edge are given for center deflections up to 1.9 times the plate thickness. The shape of the deflected surface is given for low pressures and for the highest pressure considered. Convergence of the solution is considered and it is estimated that the possible error is less than 2 percent. The results are compared with the only previous approximate analysis known to the author and agree within 5 percent. They are also shown to compare favorably with the known exact solutions for the long rectangular plate and the circular plate.


The sky is a major component of the appearance of a photograph, and its color and tone can strongly influence the mood of a picture. In nighttime photography, the sky can also suffer from noise and color artifacts. For this reason, there is a strong desire to process the sky in isolation from the rest of the scene to achieve an optimal look. In this work, we propose an automated method, which can run as a part of a camera pipeline, for creating accurate sky alpha-masks and using them to improve the appearance of the sky. Our method performs end-to-end sky optimization in less than half a second per image on a mobile device. We introduce a method for creating an accurate sky-mask dataset that is based on partially annotated images that are inpainted and refined by our modified weighted guided filter. We use this dataset to train a neural network for semantic sky segmentation. Due to the compute and power constraints of mobile devices, sky segmentation is performed at a low image resolution. Our modified weighted guided filter is used for edge-aware upsampling to resize the alpha-mask to a higher resolution. With this detailed mask we automatically apply post-processing steps to the sky in isolation, such as automatic spatially varying white-balance, brightness adjustments, contrast enhancement, and noise reduction.


This research emerged from a partnership developed between one pre-school setting and myself as a university tutor, and from my commitment to participatory ways of working. Within the pre-school, Early Years practitioners were eager to develop their offsite 'Forest School' provision further, and to engage in research, so participatory action research (PAR), which inclusively encourages participants to contribute to all aspects of the research process (Kemmis et al., 2014), was adopted. A Research Circle (Persson, 2009) was formed to create an arena for planning, development of the research questions, reflection and later analysis.

The main aim of the research project was identified and developed within the Research Circle where it was agreed that we would investigate the inclusion of older adults in the lives of young children within the urban Forest School environment. This mutual decision was inspired by recent practice within pre-school, by literature and current research. It also resonated with my prior experiences when working with young children. Six Early Years practitioners became my co-researchers and engaged in each stage of the research, to varying degrees. We worked in partnership to recruit, interview and welcome the older adults while the practitioners managed the Forest School activity as part of their usual practice. They also took responsibility for preparing the twelve children for research and supported them to participate and to make sense of their experiences. This thesis, submitted for examination for Doctor of Education (EdD), therefore examines the experiences of a newly formed company of participants, of varied ages from three to seventy-four, having a shared interest in working together and setting out on a journey to create new knowledge.

Societal changes and increasing lifespan reported by Vanderven(2011) and Yasunaga et al. (2016), among others, reveal examples of a growing amount of both familial and non-familial intergenerational practice, together with potential benefits and causes for concern. Our literature review considered how people of different generations interact and how they can learn from each other. Age-friendly environments (Steels, 2015) were then explored together with literature about 'Forest School' (Doyle and Milchem, 2012) and Place-Based Education (Mannion et al., 2010; Mannion and Adey, 2011). This literature identified a number of gaps in knowledge, including a focus on how the benefits associated with intergenerational practice occur (Park, 2015). A need for more qualitative data in respect of intergenerational interactions (Yasunaga et al., 2016) was evident. The research questions which emerged from the literature review sought to determine what occurs when older adults and young children are brought together in an urban forest school environment, with a particular focus upon interactions, knowledge exchange and benefits.

Data was analysed thematically resulting in four main findings, relating to the different forms of participation which emerged and their value for those involved: affective participation, collaborative participation, learning through intergenerational participation and challenging participation. The research indicates that investment in well-planned intergenerational relationships, where older adults and young children choose to engage with each other, is key to subsequent learning for both age groups. Furthermore, non-formal places afford a relaxed atmosphere and it is there where trust, essential for reciprocity in opportunities for challenge, can grow.

This collaborative research project is proving to be impactful. A case example has been included within a book for researchers, concerning research methods for social justice and equity in education (Atkins and Duckworth, 2019). In addition, the pre-school where the research took place is now engaged in another successful intergenerational project and members of the research team have attended Oslo Metropolitan University in order to share with academic and practitioners HOW participatory research can be embedded in partnerships between kindergartens and universities.


We studied the electrophysiological parameters of motor performance in eight patients with multiple sclerosis and troublesome fatigue, before and after treatment with 3,4-diaminopyridine. Symptomatic fatigue was evaluated by the Krupp Fatigue Severity Score and motor performance of adductor pollicis by transcranial magnetic stimulation, rapid voluntary movements and a fatiguing exercise test of a sustained 45-s isometric contraction. The motor tests revealed baseline abnormal motor function and substantial central fatigue. After a 3-week course of 3,4-diaminopyridine (25-60 mg/day), six out of the eight patients reported substantial improvement in fatigue and the group showed slightly less fatigue on the exercise test. Other electrophysiological tests of motor function were unchanged. The findings suggest that 3,4-diaminopyridine may play a role in the symptomatic treatment of fatigue in multiple sclerosis. However, the mechanism behind such a benefit in fatigue remains unclear and the discrepancy between subjective and more objective responses underlines the probable multifactorial nature of the pathogenesis of this symptom in multiple sclerosis.


The Aid Effectiveness Literature has recently investigated the effects of foreign aid on economic growth through country policies. Different results have been reached across different studies mainly due to their sensitivity to policy measures and data samples. The internal political setting of LDCs may influence the effect of aid over policy distortions and represent a rea- son for this ambiguity. I present a model in which the government has complete control over the policy implementation. The interaction with a domestic special interest group which benefits from distortions and a benevolent donor agency affects its decisions. I show that, while the government is always better off when foreign aid is present, the economy may be characterized by a more or less distorted equilibrium depending on the way aid modifies the policy effect on economic welfare. When aid is more effective (it reduces the negative effect of the distortion on welfare) the government has an incentive to pursue higher levels of distortion in order to extract a larger contribution from the lobby. Aid and the policy distortion become substitutes in the governments utility. Hence the distortion in equilibrium is larger than the "natural" level it would occur in the absence of aid. In such a case, the ability of the lobby to extract gains from aid non trivially leads to a less distorted equilibrium. The same result generally yields when aid is conditional on the policy implemented. Anyway I show that the possibility for more-distorted equilibria to arise does not completely disappear. When the "natural" distortion of the economy is large, a benevolent donor might still have an incentive in not properly addressing conditionality issues.


Cloud computing is a dynamic, scalable and payper-use distributed computing model empowering designers to convey applications amid job designation and storage distribution. Cloud computing encourages to impart a pool of virtualized computer resource empowering designers to convey applications amid job designation and storage distribution. The cloud computing mainly aims to give proficient access to remote and geographically distributed resources. As cloud technology is evolving day by day and confronts numerous challenges, one of them being uncovered is scheduling. Scheduling is basically a set of constructs constructed to have a controlling hand over the order of work to be performed by a computer system. Algorithms are vital to schedule the jobs for execution. Job scheduling algorithms is one of the most challenging hypothetical problems in the cloud computing domain area. Numerous deep investigations have been carried out in the domain of job scheduling of cloud computing. This paper intends to present the performance comparison analysis of various pre-existing job scheduling algorithms considering various parameters. This paper discusses about cloud computing and its constructs in section (i). In section (ii) job scheduling concept in cloud computing has been elaborated. In section (iii) existing algorithms for job scheduling are discussed, and are compared in a tabulated form with respect to various parameters and lastly section (iv) concludes the paper giving brief summary of the work.


Higher education institutions (HEIs) are knowledge intensive environments by nature. However, the management of organisational knowledge and the promotion of staff knowledge sharing is largely neglected in these institutions. This study examines how enterprise social networks can enable staff knowledge sharing in communities of practice in that context. The study is framed as an Action Research project, covering three cycles over a 12 month period. A conceptual model was developed for empirical testing and data was collected through focus groups and interviews, supplemented by reflective journaling and content analysis. The findings support the conceptual model and provide insight into the antecedents necessary for the creation of an enterprise social network enabled knowledge sharing environment, the motivators for and barriers to participation, and the perceived organisational and individual benefits of increased staff knowledge sharing activity. The findings indicate that the barriers to participation are influenced by the prevalent organisation structure and culture, and a divide between faculty and other staff. However, individual benefits that accrue from participation may influence greater participation, and organisational benefits that accrue may influence organisational strategies that drive change in structure and culture to promote the development of the knowledge sharing environment. A number of findings have practical implications for the management of higher education institutions, such as the evidence of a divide between faculty and other staff, and the perceived existence of an organisational culture that inhibits staff communication, interaction and collaboration. In general, the study findings provide an opportunity for educationalists to better understand the scope and impact of employing social media platforms for knowledge sharing. This study adds to the growing body of work on organisational implementations of social media, and should be of interest to practitioners and researchers undertaking similar projects.


In recent years, there has been increased interest in involving the public to enhance the quality of care and improve the "patient experience" with a view to increasing their trust in the health system.1–3 Beyond giving their feedback on in-hospital experiences, several articles and reviews have considered how patients could play an active participant role in the safety of their own care processes.3–7 Examples of this role include researchers asking patients to verify with staff that they have washed their hands, or patients complying with instructions to mark the "non-surgical site" before surgery.6–8

However, based on experience of safety in other industries, it could be argued that relying on this type of patient participation should not be a solution worthy of long-term investment at the governmental level, but should rather be an unexpected source of help in its sporadic occurrence.

Although this issue has been discussed previously in health policy literature,9,10 there has as yet been no application of the knowledge of safety engineering from high-reliability industries to this issue.

For predominantly human-based systems in such industries, the field of "human factors" uses human reliability analysis (HRA) techniques such as HEART or THERP to define the attributes of a task, system or environment that would make it vulnerable to human error.

The HEART technique11 lists error-producing conditions (EPCs) such as the "familiarity of the task and the user's experience with it", "levels of supervision" and the "complexity of the task".

The THERP technique12 identifies performance-shaping factors (PSFs) such as quality of the physical environment (noise, temperature and cleanliness); any presence of written procedures, team structure and communication. THERP also uses a large selection of "stressor PSFs" which may be psychological (presence of distractions) or physiological (fatigue, pain, discomfort, suffering from …


Membrane lipids of Archaea are unique and distinct from those found in Eukarya and Bacteria. The polar lipids consist of isoprenoid chains, 20–40 carbons in length and usually saturated, which are attached via stable ether bonds to the glycerol carbons at the sn-2,3 positions. Polar head groups differ at the genus level of diversity and consist of mixtures of glyco groups (mainly disaccharides), and/or phospho groups primarily phosphoglycerol, phosphoserine, phosphoethanolamine or phosphoinositol. Phosphocholine headgroups are rarely found. Extremely halophilic archaea are characterised by headgroups consisting of phosphoglycerolphosphate-O-methyl, and sulfated-sugars. Some of these archaea synthesise cardiolipin analogues. The inherent stability and unique features of archaeal lipids makes them a useful biomarker for Archaea within environmental samples, including ocean sediments. The polar lipids of Archaea can be used to make liposomes (closed vesicles referred to as archaeosomes) with characteristics that are useful for applications in biotechnology. Archaeal-like polar lipids are being synthesised to optimise the properties of archaeosomes to serve as next-generation adjuvants and drug delivery systems.

Key Concepts:

Archaeol (2,3-diphytanyl-sn-glycerol), and variations thereof, define the polar lipids of the domain of life, Archaea.

The structures of polar lipids biosynthesised provide a useful taxonomic feature to assign an isolate to the Genus level of classification.

New polar lipid structures are being reported as the field expands to encompass novel isolates.

These unique polar and neutral isoprenyl lipids can be used as biomarkers of archaea in environmental samples.

Archaeal lipids can serve as a rich source for novel molecules not commonly found in nature, such as β-l-gulose.

Archaeal polar lipid mixtures hydrate to form lipid membrane vesicles (archaeosomes) with bilayer, unilayer or a combination of uni and bilayer structure.

Archaeosomes are generally nonfusogenic in vitro, but fusion can be dramatic for certain compositions by exposure to the combination of acidic pH, calcium and glycosidase.

Archaeosomes function as safe vaccine adjuvants in mammals imparting long-lasting CD8+ T-cell immunity and antibody responses.

Isoprenoid lipids that retain the key archaeal-lipid features are being synthesised to optimise their properties as vaccine adjuvants and delivery systems.

Keywords:

archaea;
membrane lipids;
archaeol;
caldarchaeol;
biomarkers;
archaeosomes;
adjuvants;
drug delivery


This article extends the unilateral accident standard model to allow for Cournot competition. Assuming risk-neutrality for the regulator and injurers, it analyzes three liability regimes: strict liability, negligence rule, and strict liability with administrative authorization or permits systems. Under competition the equivalence between negligence rule and strict liability no longer holds, and negligence insures a better level of social care. However, enforcing both a permit system and strict liability restores equivalence between liability regimes. However, whatever the current regime, competition leads to lower the global safety level of industry. Indeed, the stronger firm may benefit from safety rents, which they may use to increase production rather that maintaining a high level of safety.


We analyze the degree of entanglement measurable from a quantum dot via the biexciton-exciton cascade as a function of the exciton fine-structure splitting and the detection time resolution. We show that the time-energy uncertainty relation provides means to measure a high entanglement even in presence of a finite fine-structure splitting when a detection system with high temporal resolution is employed. Still, in many applications it would be beneficial if the fine-structure splitting could be compensated to zero. To solve this problem, we propose an all-optical approach with rotating waveplates to erase this fine-structure splitting completely which should allow obtaining a high degree of entanglement with near-unity efficiency. Our optical approach is possible with current technology and is also compatible with any quantum dot showing fine-structure splitting. This bears the advantage that for example the fine-structure splitting of quantum dots in nanowires and micropillars can be directly compensated without the need for further sample processing. © 2018 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement


This study assesses the potential cost-effectiveness of incentive payment programs relative to traditional top-down regulatory programs for biological conservation. We develop site-level estimates of the opportunity cost and the nonmonetized biological benefits of protecting biodiversity hotspots in Finnish nonindustrial private forests. We then use these estimates to compare and contrast the cost-effectiveness of alternative conservation programs. Our results suggest that incentive payment programs, which tacitly capitalize on landowners' private knowledge about the opportunity costs of conservation, may be considerably more cost-effective than traditional top-down regulatory programs.


Introduction: We investigated changes in the energy state of the skeletal muscle cells in rats under physical load (15 days). Materials and Methods: The experiments were performed on nonlinear white rats. On the 15th day of the experiment, the rats were loaded with running at a speed of 42 m/min and slope angle 10°. The test substance sodium 2-(tetrazol[1,5-c]quinazolin-5-ylthio)acetate (compound КВ-28) at a dose of 1.7 mg/kg and reference compound 2-ethylthiobenzimidazole hydrobromide (32.0 mg/kg) were administered to animals intraperitoneally 60 min before treadmill training. Concentration of adenine nucleotides (ATP, ADP, and AMP) was determined in skeletal muscles by thin layer chromatography test. Results and Discussion: It was first found that a course of intraperitoneal injection of sodium 2-(tetrazol[1,5-c]quinazolin-5-ylthio)acetate (compound KB-28) contributed to 88.5% (P < 0.05) growth of physical endurance. We proved, that unlike the trained control, administration of compound KB-28 prevented imbalance in the system of adenine nucleotides. It was indicated by a significantly important increase of the level of ATP by 54.8% while parallel reducing concentration of ADP and AMP by 16.8 and 43.4%, respectively. Conclusions: Restoration of balance in the adenine nucleotides system may be one of the components of sodium 2-(tetrazol[1,5-c]quinazolin-5-ylthio)acetate (compound KB-28) actoprotective effect.


Providing service guarantees requires strict admission control to ensure that the resources are not over-allocated. On another hand, limiting the core nodes' role has been recognized as a key aspect in providing scalable Quality of Service (QoS) solutions. This paper presents a scalable multiple-token mechanism that ensures a distributed and coordinated resource allocation along the logical ring of the ingress/edge nodes. The proposed mechanism alleviates the scalability problem by keeping all the admission control operations in the ingress/edge nodes while preserving guaranteed service semantics. By distributing the available bandwidth of the links over multiple tokens, increased robustness and low latency under light load conditions are achieved, while the zero-false positives property is maintained. The erroneous connection denials, which could be due to the distribution of available bandwidth information, are avoided by an accumulation procedure that concentrates the available bandwidth information whenever necessary.


Stbd1 is a protein of previously unknown function that is most prevalent in liver and muscle, the major sites for storage of the energy reserve glycogen. The protein is predicted to contain a hydrophobic N terminus and a C-terminal CBM20 glycan binding domain. Here, we show that Stbd1 binds to glycogen in vitro and that endogenous Stbd1 locates to perinuclear compartments in cultured mouse FL83B or Rat1 cells. When overexpressed in COSM9 cells, Stbd1 concentrated at enlarged perinuclear structures, co-localized with glycogen, the late endosomal/lysosomal marker LAMP1 and the autophagy protein GABARAPL1. Mutant Stbd1 lacking the N-terminal hydrophobic segment had a diffuse distribution throughout the cell. Point mutations in the CBM20 domain did not change the perinuclear localization of Stbd1, but glycogen was no longer concentrated in this compartment. Stable overexpression of glycogen synthase in Rat1WT4 cells resulted in accumulation of glycogen as massive perinuclear deposits, where a large fraction of the detectable Stbd1 co-localized. Starvation of Rat1WT4 cells for glucose resulted in dissipation of the massive glycogen stores into numerous and much smaller glycogen deposits that retained Stbd1. In vitro, in cells, and in animal models, Stbd1 consistently tracked with glycogen. We conclude that Stbd1 is involved in glycogen metabolism by binding to glycogen and anchoring it to membranes, thereby affecting its cellular localization and its intracellular trafficking to lysosomes.


Effects of Social Support on Cardiac Recurrence among African Americans by Yolanda Denise Phillips MS, Capella University, 2006 BS, Meredith College, 1992 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Health Walden University August 2016 Abstract Heart disease is the leading cause of death among African Americans. Despite advances in treatment modalities, based on better understanding of the disease's pathology and access to health care, African Americans continue to die from heart disease at rates significantly higher than other races. The available literature on cardiovascular disease among African Americans does not adequately explore how social support affects heart health in this group. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of social support on cardiac recurrence among African American adults. Cohen's ISEL support system variables: tangible, appraisal, belonging, and self-esteem; and five demographic variables: age, marital status, educational level, household income, and gender provided the conceptual/methodological base for data collection and analysis. The sample consisted of 83 African American men and women ages 22 to 84 that had experienced at least one cardiac event. Chi-square analysis showed a positive correlation between marital status and cardiac recurrence. Results suggest that living alone may increase an individual's chances of having a second cardiac event. Social change implications include (a) identification of essential social support elements and tailored treatment plans forHeart disease is the leading cause of death among African Americans. Despite advances in treatment modalities, based on better understanding of the disease's pathology and access to health care, African Americans continue to die from heart disease at rates significantly higher than other races. The available literature on cardiovascular disease among African Americans does not adequately explore how social support affects heart health in this group. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of social support on cardiac recurrence among African American adults. Cohen's ISEL support system variables: tangible, appraisal, belonging, and self-esteem; and five demographic variables: age, marital status, educational level, household income, and gender provided the conceptual/methodological base for data collection and analysis. The sample consisted of 83 African American men and women ages 22 to 84 that had experienced at least one cardiac event. Chi-square analysis showed a positive correlation between marital status and cardiac recurrence. Results suggest that living alone may increase an individual's chances of having a second cardiac event. Social change implications include (a) identification of essential social support elements and tailored treatment plans for heart patient and caregiver in order to promote better heart health outcomes for African Americans living with someone or alone; and (b) policy change that fosters effective prevention and treatment.


Recently, a method to determine the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) attenuation coefficient, based on normalization on the retinal pigment epithelium, was introduced. In contrast to conventional RNFL thickness measures, this novel measure represents a scattering property of the RNFL tissue. In this paper, we compare the RNFL thickness and the RNFL attenuation coefficient on 10 normal and 8 glaucomatous eyes by analyzing the correlation coefficient and the receiver operator curves (ROCs). The thickness and attenuation coefficient showed moderate correlation (r=0.82). Smaller correlation coefficients were found within normal (r=0.55) and glaucomatous (r=0.48) eyes. The full separation between normal and glaucomatous eyes based on the RNFL attenuation coefficient yielded an area under the ROC (AROC) of 1.0. The AROC for the RNFL thickness was 0.9875. No statistically significant difference between the two measures was found by comparing the AROC. RNFL attenuation coefficients may thus replace current RNFL thickness measurements or be combined with it to improve glaucoma diagnosis.


Abstract: This paper discusses different forms of open access publishing and argues that small independent journals that are funded though subsidies provide an important niche in scholarly publishing. One such journal, Medical Education Online (MEO) is used as a case study characterizing the dilemma these journals can face in maintaining their operations as they become successful and their need for resources grows. The paper discusses several strategies for addressing this problem and how they have been implemented for MEO.


ABSTRACT There exist no materials and/or structures of technical importance without residual stresses. The residual stress management concept has gained importance in industrial applications aiming to improve service performance and useful life of the product. Thus, the industry requests rapid, reliable, and nondestructive methods to determine residual stress state. The aim of this article is to investigate the applicability of the Magnetic Barkhausen Noise (MBN) method to measurement of surface residual stresses in the carburized steels. To comprehend the differences in the surface residual stress state, 19CrNi5H steel samples were carburized at 900°C for 8 and 13 hours, and then, tempered in the range of 180°C and 600°C. The MBN measurement results were correlated with those obtained by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Microstructural investigations and hardness measurements were also conducted. For this particular study, it was concluded that both techniques give similar qualitative results for monitoring of the residual stress variations in the carburized and tempered steels. Since the MBN method is much faster than the XRD method, from the industrial point of view it is a very strong candidate for qualitative monitoring of residual stress variations. With an appropriate pre-calibration by considering the effect of microstructure, the MBN method may give reliable quantitative results for residual stress.


A major challenge for real-time streaming overlays is to distribute high bit-rate streams with uninterrupted playback. Hosts usually have sufficient inbound bandwidth to support streaming, but due to the prevalence of asymmetric links in broadband networks, the bottleneck is the aggregate, overlay-wide outbound bandwidth. If this bandwidth is less than what is required to forward the stream to the overlay members, then a large number of users potentially experience poor playback. We argue that for successful streaming in bandwidth constrained situations overlays need to be able to adapt to the aggregate available bandwidth. We present four bandwidth adaptation policies for tree-based streaming overlays and evaluate their efficiency using a large-scale emulation testbed with realistic broadband link characteristics.