Policymakers, public administrators, the media, and others are celebrating the "success" of the latest version of welfare reform, codified into law in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Most often, success is defined in terms of declining caseloads or in some other economic form – a practice that does not provide a true sense of the impact of policy changes such as welfare reform. Assessing the human impact of policy change requires more than the evaluation of economic outcomes; it requires knowing about the resources of beneficiaries of social services and their conditions of life from various perspectives. Thus, we have to strive for greater understanding about the socio-cultural aspects of people's lives that create the whole person, aspects such as health, family and friendship networks, housing situations, public and private support service and program use, conditions of work, and so forth (Erikson, 1993). This is how we come to understand one's quality of life. The present research creates a conceptual model called quality of life, and illustrates the model using data from a follow-up study of former welfare recipients in a county in northern Virginia. Evaluation activities premised on a quality of life model will assist policy actors in understanding policy impacts and how to strategically manage public institutions within their very complex contexts, especially in an era of welfare reform.


Time and cost overruns are one of the biggest issues facing the construction industry and affecting delivery in terms of time, cost and quality. Libyan construction projects experience these problems, often to a greater extent than most others. This can be attributed to both unexpected and expected risk factors that are not effectively dealt with. A focus on control is therefore vital in order to improve the performance of construction projects. The chief purpose of this study is to explore and understand the main characteristics of the Libyan construction industry (LCI) and its associated processes and operations, as well as to identify the major obstacles constraining its practices. It will also develop and validate a framework through which to manage risk factors that significantly affect a project's time and cost performance.The initial proposed framework for the design of project cost and time control is based on previous studies; other practices regarding control are derived from the findings in the literature. The framework was reviewed and refined through iterative processes. Semi-structured interviews with professionals in Libyan organisations were used to investigate how costs and schedules of construction projects are controlled in practice and to discover the reasons and related issues that affect the process of cost and time control in practice. Survey questionnaire I was conducted to identify the major risk factors causing time and cost overruns in Libyan projects. The framework for minimising cost and time overruns was subsequently validated by the perception of the professionals (contractors, consultants and owners) involved in the LCI who participated in questionnaires II and III. Both, theory and practice have been linked through the literature review and the involvement of practitioners to develop a framework by which cost and time overruns in Libyan construction projects can be minimised. It is envisaged that the developed framework will lead to changes in LCI projects, since practitioners can be more systematic in dealing with the factors leading to cost and time overruns. This will further provide improved current practices in delivering better quality construction projects that satisfy clients' requirements and in which cost and time overruns are minimised.


Will Rogers is not usually associated with questions of literary form or literary consciousness. Yet his relationship as a humorist to American regional literature poses some interesting questions for students of film and literature because almost all of Rogers' films were adapted from works of the regional genre. The first section of this paper will explore the "mind" of the Saturday Evening Post in order to determine why regional literature remained a staple for this popular weekly as late as the second and third decades of the twentieth century. Our study has led us to read the regional novels, the Post regional stories, and the screenplays written from these literary sources. We have then watched the Rogers films closely - with heartening results. Much of the basic setting, plot, and dialogue for Will Rogers' films were borrowed without modification from literary sources. These portraits of American life were nostalgic and politically conservative. Many included derogatory stereotypes of racial minorities. Yet when Rogers appeared on the set. he injected into these films messages about American life which were more relevant and humane than those to be found in either the original stories or the final shooting scripts. It is often said that Will Rogers paid little attention to the scripts for his films. It is more likely that he dropped lines out of his prepared parts and improvised from his journalism while the cameras rolled because he found the official lines to be repugnant. Whatever the reasons for changing the lines and developing scenes to suit his own taste, the result of Rogers' extemporaneous editing was to break the conservative mold prepared for him. For this reason, rather than being forced to relate the process by which literary classics have been vitiated by Hollywood, we are happy to report that the second section of this paper will describe an unusual case in which film redeems a literary form. 1 The "Mind" of the Saturday Evening Post and The Post School of Regional Fiction When Cyrus Curtis purchased the Saturday Evening Post in 1899. he installed an ambitious editor who vowed "to interpret America to itself."2 Indeed. George Horace Lorimer from 1899 to 1936 developed a magazine which one historian has said "had more influence on the cultural life of America" than any other periodical.3 Yet for all its claims to being "the dominant and representative American publication" of the 1920's and 1930's, the Post contained a highly selective portrait of American life.4 Most significantly, big business, big labor, and the immigrant were perceived by the Post as threats to "native," middle-class Americans whose roots were (supposedly) deeply planted in genuine cultural soil. 5 The Post was especially reactionary on the immigration issue, for Lorimer was a firm believer in the pseudo-scientific racial theories popularized during the twenties by Theodore Lothrop Stoddard, Madison Grant, and Max Nordau.6 For Lorimer. these proponents of Nordic superiority had supplied Americans with "a trustworthy key and codebook to the underlying mysteries of bolshevism. snydicalism, the Age of Jazz, the silly season of politics and the devastating epidemic of fool ideas" which had swept America after the European war.7 In Lorimer's eyes, only a few. select races could live up to the high standards of American citizenship. Through editorials and non-fiction articles, Lorimer's Post helped to sway public opinion in favor of the restrictive Immigration Act of 1924, a law which remained in force until the son of immigrants became President in 1961 . The Post worked hard to fight one ineluctable tide of political change. In May, 1936, Lorimer announced to his readers that "There is one issue and only one issue before the country today - the New Deal and all its works, public and private, and its threat to the fundamentals of government and society."8 Without encouragement from the candidate, the Post voluntarily mounted a campaign for the cause of Herbert Hoover. …


Studies have been carried out at Arequipa, Peru, of the seasonal variations in the thermospheric winds at moderate solar flux levels and low geomagnetic activity. Fabry-Perot interferometer measurements of the Doppler shifts in the 630.0 nm nightglow emission line from March to August 1983 and from April to October 1988 have yielded monthly-average meridional winds that are nearly zero (<50 m/s) and possibly fluctuating in direction through much of the night but develop a southward flow at 50–100 m/s in the early and the late night from May onward. The average zonal winds are eastward throughout the night, reaching peak velocities before local midnight and then decreasing. The peak velocities increase to a maximum around the June solstice. The winds are generally stronger in 1988 than in 1983, even though the solar EUV fluxes are comparable for both years. Comparison of the present results with earlier satellite measurements, as embodied in the Horizontal Wind Model of Hedin et al., reveals generally satisfactory agreement at the equinox and June solstice, except for the June 1988 period. Killeen et al.'s vector spherical harmonic form of the NCAR Thermospheric General Circulation Model, calculated for similar solar flux levels, yields meridional and zonal wind variations which exhibit the same temporal behaviors but generally smaller values than the present measurements. The present wind patterns are also compared with those measured during the same years at Arecibo, Puerto Rico; one finds oppositely directed meridional flows and similar, eastward zonal flows at the two locations, as expected from a consideration of solar EUV heating as the principal driving force.


The Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is a high‐resolution Earth imager of the United States National Polar‐orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). VIIRS has its heritage in three sensors currently collecting imagery of the Earth—the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, and the Operational Linescan Sensor. The first launch of the VIIRS sensor is on NASA's NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP). Data collected by VIIRS will provide products to a variety of users, supporting applications from real‐time to long‐term climate change timescales. VIIRS has been uniquely designed to satisfy this full range of requirements. Cloud masks derived from the automated analyses of VIIRS data are critical data products for the NPOESS program. In this paper, the VIIRS cloud mask (VCM) performance requirements are highlighted, along with the algorithm developed to satisfy these requirements. The expected performance of the VCM algorithm is established using global synthetic cloud simulations and manual cloud analyses of VIIRS proxy imagery. These results show the VCM analyses will satisfy the performance expectations of products created from it, including land and ocean surface products, cloud microphysical products, and automated cloud forecast products. Finally, minor deficiencies that remain in the VCM algorithm logic are identified along with a mitigation plan to resolve each prior to NPP launch or shortly thereafter.


The Empirical Wavelet Transform (EWT) is a novel method for analyzing the multi-component signals by constructing an adaptive filter bank. Though it is an effective tool to identify the signal components, it has drawback in dealing with some noisy and non-stationary signals due to its coarse spectrum segmentation. To target this problem, an enhanced EWT (EEWT) is proposed to decompose the signal into empirical modes with physical meanings. This method ameliorates the drawback of EWT by taking the spectrum shape of the processed signal into account. It improves the segmentation process by adopting the envelop approach based on the order statistics filter (OSF) and applying three criteria to pick out useful peaks. In this work, the envelope spectrums of extracted empirical modes are applied to the rolling bearing fault diagnosis. Because the EEWT can decompose vibration signal into a set of mono-components, fault features are found clearly in the envelop spectrum. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by a simulated signal and a real signal captured from a test rig.


Gablik, S. (1995). Conversations before the end of time: Dialogues on art life & spiritual renewal. London: Thames & Hudson. 477 pages, (ISBN 0-500-01673-9). Neperud, R. W. (Ed.). (1995). Context, content and community in art education: Beyond postmodernism. New York: Teachers College Press. 260 pages, (ISBN 0-8077-3444-6). Two recent books addressing changes in the way art is being viewed, thought about, and taught, are Conversations Before the End of Time and Context, Content and Community in Art Education. Suzi Gablik's Conversations Before the End of Time is a collection of interviews between Gablik and 19 artists, writers, philosophers and critics. Context, Content and Community in Art Education is a collection of essays by art educators, philosophers, and researchers. First, these two texts will be described and then they will be compared and examined for their implications for art education. Gablik's book addresses questions concerning the meaning and purpose of art in an age of postmodernism, social change, technological advances, and ecological disintegration. One of the central questions she poses is "How do you live in a time of decline, and what role does art have in such a time?" One of the strongest themes to emerge is that the locus of art has shifted from culturally sanctioned spaces, such as museums and galleries to social, natural, and community spaces. Gablik discusses the complexities of this paradigm shift with Carol Becker, art administrator and author, Leo Castelli, gallery owner; Coco Fusco, artist; Arthur Danto, critic; Ellen Dissanayake, philosopher; Rachel Dutton and Rob Olds; artists, Barbara Kirschenblatt-Gimblett, academician; Guerilla Girls, art activists; James Hillman, post Jungian psychological theorist; Mary Jane Jacob, curator; Hilton Kramer, critic; Satish Kumar, philosopher; Christopher Manes, author; Carolyn Merchant, environmental historian; Thomas Moore, philosopher and author; David Plante, author; Theodore Roszak, author; Richard Shusterman, professor of philosophy; and Laurie Zuckerman, artist. All of the viewpoints presented, except Kramer's, are postmodern and express beliefs that there is an interconnectedness between art, culture, and the environment. One belief frequently expressed in many of the interviews is that the artworld is too closed off and isolated from everyday life, communities, and audiences. Jacob speaks about distancing her curatorial projects from museums and using other contexts, such as festivals and communities so that artists can interact and dialogue more with audiences. Seeing museums as being non-accessible to most people, Jacob suggests that art institutions have strong agendas and mandates that intervene between artists and their audiences. Becker, along with many others in the book, feels that mainstream museums and galleries have regarded artists as mere producers of commodities, and suggests that artists need to think more politically and globally. Others in the book recognize a separation of art from life causing the aesthetic impoverishment of daily living and of the environment. Dutton and Olds, for example, explain how they gave up making art to learn survival skills so they can live more intimately with the earth. Shusterman contends that we need to move away from the notion of art on a wall to seeing our concrete and natural environments as spaces for aesthetic improvement. Like Shusterman, Kirschenblatt-Gimlett's interest in bringing aesthetics into daily living leads her to curate "vernacular practices"such as parades, gardening, banquets. Similarly, Kumar and Hillman claim that the arts belong to all of us and need to be returned, along with beauty, to our everyday world. One of the more well-known contemporary philosophers, Moore, espouses a return to the arts in everyday life so that the soul can be nurtured. Another view of connected or interactive aesthetics is exemplified in the work of Fusco, who deals with the theme of "natives as other" and stages performances in non-art museum settings. …


The search for new sources of regional development is important due to the slowdown in economic growth and the need to shift the emphasis of industrial policy from the macro level to the level of regions and individual companies. In this regard, we consider the participation of companies in reputation ratings as a new source for increasing the investment attractiveness of regions. Additionally, we examine the relationship between corporate and regional ratings: corporate ratings demonstrate a company's compliance with the sustainable development goals, which, in turn, improves the socio-economic performance of regions. We revealed the positive influence of high corporate ratings on the socio-economic development of regions, opening a new area for interdisciplinary research combining corporate finance and regional economics. On the example of 130 biggest Russian public non-financial companies, we obtained several significant results that allow determining the impact of corporate ratings on the socio-economic situation of regions and corporate financial performance. The ratings include Sustainable development Index of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE), Environmental responsibility rating of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Russia, and Corporate social responsibility rating of the Association of Managers of Russia (AMR). The calculations showed that the participation of companies in the ratings of WWF Russia and RUIE positively affects the indicators sustainable development of regions where these companies are located. Simultaneously, the influence of companies' participation in the rating of WWF Russia is higher than the influence of participation in the RUIE rating. In addition, reputation ratings have a positive impact on the return on assets and market capitalisation of Russian companies. Thus, we proved that participation in corporate ratings leads to an increase in performance. However, the effects of participation in various ratings differ. For example, to increase its conditions and performance, a company should be a leader of the rating of RUIE and just participate in the rating of WWF Russia. The rating of AMR influences the market capitalisation the most. The obtained findings indicate the need for expanding the participation of Russian companies in corporate ratings and enable research in the field of sustainable development of companies.


This article explores constructions of teacher identities at a time of significant changes to public service professionalism. The article draws on different discourses of professionalism, contrasting 'organisational' and 'occupational' professionalism, with discourses of 'personal' and 'critical' professionalism, to explore changing meanings and enactments of teacher professionalism in the 2000s. Narratives of three novice teachers, followed over eight years, are used to consider the impact of dominant discourses of 'organisational' professionalism in English further education, resulting in inbound, outbound and peripheral trajectories. In response, the article considers how practitioners might engage critically with current changes, arguing that it is necessary to work with what matters to teachers, such as their relations with students, teaching and learning and subject specialism. Such work might create, at least temporarily and locally, spaces in which more favourable conditions towards socially just and enabling educational practices can be worked towards.


Literal acts of de-presentation and percepticidio , the forced disappearance of people during the last Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983) challenges aesthetic boundaries. The situation as experienced by the children of the desaparecidos is more complicated as a result of historical distance. In the mid-1990s, these children emerged as the so-called "Generacion HIJOS"; they were, as poet Martin Gambarotta puts it, a "camada cadaver," a phrase referring to Nestor Perlongher's "Cadaveres," a paradigmatic poem written under the dictatorship but only published in 1987. Part of the post-dictatorial generation that faces the uncanny fact of the "presencia de la ausencia" in Argentina, Gambarotta's Punctum is both a reecriture and a new, highly mediatized poetic ecriture of Perlongher's neo-baroque opus. Punctum offers an accelerated stream of poetic images, where the discovery of the corpses—"produced" by the political regime and made possible by social and perceptive conditions—occurs despite extensive interference, which in turn creates a large—"zapping"—horizon of metonymic displacements. This interferences also causes the protagonist, Cadaver, to lose his mnemonic and moral orientation. Punctum thus becomes both a trashy allegorical post-dictatorial epos and one of the most significant poems of the Argentine "poesia de los noventa." This article focuses mainly on the importance of poetic discourse an imagination after enforced disappearance and biblioclasm; on a comparative analysis of Perlongher's and Gambarotta's text; and on an interpretation of Punctum as a post-traumatic "chambre Claire," one that follows Roland Barthes's concepts as well as the notion of "punctum."


Mobile cellular networks are becoming increasingly complex to manage while classical deployment/optimization techniques and current solutions (i.e., cell densification, acquiring more spectrum, etc.) are cost-ineffective and thus seen as stopgaps. This calls for development of novel approaches that leverage recent advances in storage/memory, context-awareness, edge/cloud computing, and falls into framework of big data. However, the big data by itself is yet another complex phenomena to handle and comes with its notorious 4V: Velocity, voracity, volume, and variety. In this work, we address these issues in optimization of 5G wireless networks via the notion of proactive caching at the base stations. In particular, we investigate the gains of proactive caching in terms of backhaul of-floadings and request satisfactions, while tackling the large-amount of available data for content popularity estimation. In order to estimate the content popularity, we first collect users' mobile traffic data from a Turkish telecom operator from several base stations in hours of time interval. Then, an analysis is carried out locally on a big data platform and the gains of proactive caching at the base stations are investigated via numerical simulations. It turns out that several gains are possible depending on the level of available information and storage size. For instance, with 10% of content ratings and 15.4 Gbyte of storage size (87% of total catalog size), proactive caching achieves 100% of request satisfaction and offloads 98% of the backhaul when considering 16 base stations.


Background:Bowel ultrasonography (US) is considered a useful technique for assessing mural inflammation and complications in Crohn's disease (CD). The aim of this review is to appraise the evidence on the accuracy of bowel US for CD. In addition, we aim to provide recommendations for its optimal use. Methods:Publications were identified by literature search from 1992 to 2014 and selected based on predefined criteria: 15 or more patients; bowel US for diagnosing CD, complications, postoperative recurrence, activity; adequate reference standards; prospective study design; data reported to allow calculation of sensitivity, specificity, agreement, or correlation values; articles published in English. Results:The search yielded 655 articles, of which 63 were found to be eligible and retrieved as full-text articles for analysis. Bowel US showed 79.7% sensitivity and 96.7% specificity for the diagnosis of suspected CD, and 89% sensitivity and 94.3% specificity for initial assessment in established patients with CD. Bowel US identified ileal CD with 92.7% sensitivity, 88.2% specificity, and colon CD with 81.8% sensitivity, 95.3% specificity, with lower accuracy for detecting proximal lesions. The oral contrast agent improves the sensitivity and specificity in determining CD lesions and in assessing sites and extent. Conclusions:Bowel US is a tool for evaluation of CD lesions in terms of complications, postoperative recurrence, and monitoring response to medical therapy; it reliably detects postoperative recurrence and complications, as well as offers the possibility of monitoring disease progression.


Post-transcriptional processing of mRNA subsequently determines its longevity, transport, and gene expression. Alternative polyadenylation (APA), one form of posttranscriptional processing, is the use of a variant polyadenylation signal and polyA-site for transcript cleavage and addition of adenine residues. The occurrence of this phenomenon in the 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) can lead to transcript isoforms differing in 3'UTR length and as a result, alter the downstream cis-regulatory elements in use. Transcript modification at the 3'-end in alternative polyadenylation has been shown to foster a number of diseases in altering what would otherwise be normal protein expression and is furthermore emerging as a driver of spermatogenesis. To date, the global mechanisms that control the post-transcriptional processing in male germ cells remain unknown. PolyA-seq is a strand-specific, quantitative method for the high-throughput sequencing of 3'-ends of transcripts post-transcriptionally modified in polyadenylation. It has the ability to accurately and globally map polyAsites. To study the molecular regulation of sperm production, an in-depth bioinformatics analysis was performed on available PolyA-seq data to identify male germ cell transcripts that uniquely use alternative polyadenylation, a novel method was developed to isolate and purify male germ cells from testicular tissue, and libraries were prepared for PolyA-seq from isolated male germ cells. Findings show no significant global difference in polyadenylation signal use between testicular and liver tissues when the same polyadenylation site is compared for human PolyA-seq data. Further annotation suggests a conservation in polyadenylation signal and polyA-site use across tissue types in the same species. Transcripts in the liver were more likely to use the canonical polyadenylation signal in comparison to those in the testis, lending further evidence of increased variant polyadenylation signal use in male germ cells attributed to alternative polyadenylation. Moreover, manual identification of known alternatively polyadenylated transcripts in testis from mice suggests that PolyA-seq is a reliable method for transcriptome characterization. Isolation and purification of male germ cells was successful using DRAQ5 nuclear stain. Using the verified isolated male germ cells, PolyA-seq libraries were generated. Comparison of different polyadenylation sites for the same transcripts between testis and liver PolyA-Seq still needs to be conducted. Also, increasing yields of polyA+ RNA for PolyA-Seq library prep will facilitate successful sequencing of 3'-ends. Further investigation of male germ cell-specific transcripts associated with alternative polyadenylation will lead to an improved understanding of molecular regulation involved in spermatogenesis and factors that cause male infertility.


The dependencies among the components of service-oriented software applications hosted in a mobile ad hoc network (MANET) are difficult to determine due to the inherent loose coupling of the services and the transient communication topologies of the network. Yet understanding these dependencies is critical to making good management decisions, since dependence data underlie important analyses such as fault localization and impact analysis. Current methods for discovering dependencies, developed primarily for fixed networks, assume that dependencies change only slowly and require relatively long monitoring periods as well as substantial memory and communication resources, all of which are impractical in the MANET environment. We describe a new dynamic dependence discovery method designed specifically for this environment, yielding dynamic snapshots of dependence relationships discovered through observations of service interactions. We evaluate the performance of our method in terms of the accuracy of the discovered dependencies, and draw insights on the selection of critical parameters under various operational conditions. Although operated under more stringent conditions, our method is shown to provide results comparable to or better than existing methods.


In the present study, the Welding Institute of Canada (WIC) restraint test was used to simulate the restraint conditions of full-scale girth welds on energy pipelines to ascertain the influence of welding process parameters on welding stresses. Finite element models are developed, and validated with neutron diffraction measurements, to evaluate the welding stresses for under-matched, matched and over-matched welds. The effects of heat input, wall thickness and variable restraint lengths of WIC sample are systematically investigated. As a practical outcome, this work can help in selection of the appropriate restraint length for WIC tests to simulate the specified stress conditions in the pipeline, and, ultimately, reduce the risk of Hydrogen Assisted Cold Cracking (HACC) in high strength low alloy. This paper is part of a Themed Issue on Measurement, modelling and mitigation of residual stress.


Abstract. MODIS consists of a cross-track, two-sided scan mirror, whose reflectance is not uniform but is a function of angle of incidence (AOI). This feature, known as response versus scan-angle (RVS), was characterized for all reflective solar bands of both MODIS instruments prior to launch. The RVS characteristic has changed on orbit, which must be tracked precisely over time to ensure the quality of MODIS products. The MODIS characterization support team utilizes the onboard calibrators and the earth view responses from multiple pseudoinvariant desert sites to track the RVS changes at different AOIs. The drawback of using deserts is the assumption that these sites are radiometrically stable during the monitoring period. In addition, the 16-day orbit repeat cycle of MODIS allows for only a limited set of AOIs over a given desert. We propose a novel and robust approach of characterizing the MODIS RVS using tropical deep convective clouds (DCC). The method tracks the monthly DCC response at specified sets of AOIs to compute the temporal RVS changes. Initial results have shown that the Aqua-MODIS collection 6 band 1 level 1B radiances show considerable residual RVS dependencies, with long-term drifts up to 2.3% at certain AOIs.


Value Added Tax (VAT) is a consumption tax that is being charged and embraced by many developed and developing countries, which is relatively easy to administer and very difficult to evade. The economic development and growth of any nation depends on government ability to generate adequate revenue in order to effectively provide various infrastructural facilities to satisfy the needs of the population and takes its position among the nations in the global village. The global oil glut has adversely affected the revenue position of Nigeria. The over 60% drop in oil price to below $40per barrel was unanticipated by the government. This has resulted to over 80% fall in the yield(spread) per barrel of oil produced in Nigeria, steep decline in the country's revenue,2016 budget deficit of over N 2trillion,continuing devaluation of the Naira, slowing Gross Domestic Product( GDP) growth, reduced inflow of foreign direct investment, rising inflation and growing unemployment. The government at the federal level has put a stop on capital projects, while allocation to the states of the federation has reduced resulting in the inability of many states provide relevant infrastructural facilities and pay workers' salaries ranging from five months to eight months. It is therefore very clear that there is the need to diversify the revenue base of the nation, and Value Added Tax (VAT) is a major revenue source of advanced nations of the world, which much attention is not focused on this area by the federal government of Nigeria. The main focus of this work was to evaluate the impact of VAT on Nigerian economy between its introduction to date to discover the imperativeness of its reform. Ex-post-factor, descriptive and analytical research approach were adopted for the work. Data of VAT and GDP were obtained from 1994-2015, and analyzed to determine the relationship that has been existing between them. It was discovered that VAT has a positive relationship with GDP. The coefficient of the model indicate that a 1% increase in VAT will lead to a 0.88% increase in GDP . This shows a perfect positive correlation between VAT and GDP.It therefore becomes imperative for a reform in VAT.In conclusion,VAT is due for a total reform in rate and clear definition of exempted goods and services.We recommend that the curent 5% should be review upward to a minimum of 10%,Integrated Tax Offices should be stenghtened to increase efficiency and effectiveness,Federal Inland Revenue Service should address tax evasion,government should use VAT revenue judiciously to encourage tax payers and government should clearly define excempted goods and services so as to charge vatable goods that are currently not vatable.


Dynamic Architecture and Frequency Scaling (DAFS) is shown to realize superlinear power scaling in high-speed analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). To achieve both high-speed operation and low power consumption, the ADC architecture is reconfigured between binary search and flash every clock cycle, relying on the conversion delay. The proposed binary search/flash architecture reconfigurable ADC can be implemented with only a small modification to conventional binary search ADCs. By live configuring, the flash operation is adaptively performed when an excess delay is detected. DAFS not only significantly improves the power scaling but also compensates for transistor speed shifts due to process, voltage and temperature (PVT) variations. Therefore, DAFS can be used to improve the design margin of high-speed ADCs. A prototype subranging ADC fabricated in 65 nm CMOS technology operates up to 1220 MS/s and achieves an SNDR of 36.2 dB with a Nyquist input frequency. DAFS is active between 820-1220 MS/s and achieves peak power reduction of 30%, when compared with the power scaling when DAFS is disabled. A peak FoM of 85 fJ/conv. was obtained at 820 MS/s, which is nearly a twofold improvement over that of previously reported subranging ADCs.


The procedure and the results of realizing a low-level photometric scale down to 1 × 10−6 lx with standardized detectors are described. The detectors are two photomultipliers (one of them operated in the photon counting mode) and two operational amplifier/photodiode combinations. The relative spectral sensitivity of these detectors was modified to closely approximate the V(λ) curve, and the absolute monochromatic irradiance sensitivity at 633 nm was determined using self-calibrated Si photodiodes. The estimated uncertainty of the measurement of illuminance using these standardized detectors is about ±1%. A low-level photometric source that can provide illuminance of 1.5 × 10−1 lx−5 × 10−7 lx or luminance of 3 × 102 cd/m2−2 × 10−3 cd/m2 has been developed. The repeatability of calibrations of the low-level photometers was ±0.3%.


A thought-provoking analysis of remedies for breach of contract, this book examines the commitment of English law to the protection of contractual performance. It considers specific remedies, termination, compensatory damages, gain-based monetary awards, punitive damages, and contractually negotiated remedies. It also looks forward by considering how the protection of performance could be strengthened in the future.

The book approaches English law remedies for breach of contract through the comparative study of French law, which offers significant scope for informative contrast. It sheds new light on contractual remedies in both jurisdictions and challenges fundamental aspects of English law in this area.

With coverage of lively academic debates and recent developments in the case law on both sides of the Channel, the book discusses topical issues. There is also commentary on aspects of two recent far-reaching reform projects relating to the French Civil code and of the Draft Common Frame of Reference.

Indispensable reading for private lawyers from common and civil law backgrounds with an interest in remedies for breach of contract, whether comparatists or not, the book should prove to be an invaluable resource for students, academics and practitioners on the current state and future reform of the law in this area.


Mass extinction at the Triassic-Jurassic (Tr-J) boundary occurred about the same time (200 Ma) as one of the largest volcanic eruptive events known, that which characterized the Central Atlantic magmatic province. Organic carbon isotope data from the UK and Greenland demonstrate that changes in flora and fauna from terrestrial and marine environments occurred synchronously with a light carbon isotope excursion, and that this happened earlier than the Tr-J boundary marked by ammonites in the UK. The results also point toward synchronicity between extinctions and eruption of the first Central Atlantic magmatic province lavas, suggesting a causal link between loss of taxa and the very earliest eruptive phases. The initial isotopic excursion potentially provides a widely correlatable marker for the base of the Jurassic. A temporary return to heavier values followed, but relatively light carbon dominated the shallow oceanic and atmospheric reservoirs for at least 600 k.y.


We report the use of palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) immobilized on m-aminophenol/formaldehyde resin (APF)-derived porous carbon spheres (Pd@PCS) as heterogeneous catalysts for the reduction of organic dyes. The morphology, structure, surface compositions, and textural properties of PCS and the Pd@PCS catalyst were characterized fully to document the excellent catalytic efficiency of Pd@PCS composites. Pd NPs of mean particle size ca. 12 ± 0.8 nm were highly dispersed on the surface of PCSs, and possessed surface area and pore volume as high as 896.3 m2 g−1 and 0.934 cm3 g−1, respectively. Prepared catalysts were applied to the reduction of various organic dyes; high catalytic activity towards crystal violet, eosin yellow and sunset yellow was observed. More importantly, the catalysts could be recovered readily, and reused many times with good stability. Therefore, the robust material utilized for the treatment of containing organic dyes could be used widely for environmental applications.


By 2015, half the world's poor will live in fragile states. Their prospects for peace and development depend not only on building accountable governments, but also a vibrant civil society – that can raise the voices of all citizens, particularly the most vulnerable, and hold the state to account for its performance in reducing poverty and upholding all human rights. This note is about how external governments and international institutions must do more to build that civil society – through aid and technical assistance, and diplomatic influence, particularly where civil society space is threatened by repressive legislation or other restrictions. They should: 1. Help influence the state to: •  Build and protect the 'space' for civil society; •  Genuinely engage civil society organisations (CSOs). 2. Strengthen CSOs' relationship with citizens and with the state, in order to: •  Genuinely represent communities and constituencies, including women and women's rights organisations and all vulnerable groups; •  Help make the state both more effective and accountable, in delivering pro-poor development and all human rights.


The regulatory overhaul of the global OTC derivatives markets, originating from the G20, is transforming what used to be a relatively harmonised private and transnational legal regime into a public regulatory space fragmented by diverse territorial jurisdictions. In this regulatory space jurisdictional borders are elusive. Especially the United States and the European Union are applying what seems to be a novel type of regulatory strategy designed to protect their market share and curb regulatory arbitrage. The strategy, dubbed here the Regulate Thy Neighbour strategy, builds on unilateralist application of extraterritoriality, forms of direct and indirect protectionism, and conditional deference. Deference strategies such as the US substituted compliance and the EU equivalence regime should be regarded as carrots, applied together with the sticks of extraterritoriality and protectionism to drive regulatory convergence towards the strongest. However, the EU and US have failed to fill the leadership void in the global financial governance system, which remains soft at its core, and instead locked themselves in a regulatory turf war which has prevented them from recognising each other's regulatory frameworks or finalising their own. Meanwhile, looming risks of costly regulatory retaliation are increasing market fragmentation and deglobalisation. The emerging "titanic model" of systemic risk management, where risk is concentrated in presumably watertight national compartments rather than mutualised globally, is not the way towards a more stable global financial system. In the short term, a successful completion of the transatlantic partnership is needed in order to reach the derivative reform's ultimate goals and to counter financial fragmentation. But acknowledging the many practical and political problems involved in the exportation of rules through the Regulate Thy Neighbour strategy, which can also be manifested in a bilateral form, this paper joins the increasing number of scholars calling for more global and multilateral forms of financial governance.


ABSTRACT
The neonatal risks of late-preterm and early-term births are well established, and the potential neonatal complications associated with elective delivery at less than 39 0/7 weeks of gestation are well described. However, there are a number of maternal, fetal, and placental complications in which either a late-preterm or early-term delivery is warranted. The timing of delivery in such cases must balance the maternal and newborn risks of late-preterm and early-term delivery with the risks associated with further continuation of pregnancy. Deferring delivery to the 39th week is not recommended if there is a medical or obstetric indication for earlier delivery. If there is a clear indication for a late-preterm or early-term delivery for either maternal or newborn benefit, then delivery should occur regardless of the results of lung maturity testing. Conversely, if delivery could be delayed safely in the context of an immature lung profile result, then no clear indication for a late-preterm or early-term delivery exists. Also, there remain several conditions for which data to guide delivery timing are not available. Some examples of these conditions include uterine dehiscence or chronic placental abruption. Delivery timing in these circumstances should be individualized and based on the current clinical situation.


The electrochemical behaviour of a pyridinic compound, as corrosion inhibitor, on a system of AISI 1018 carbon steel in a synthetic corrosive medium (brine type NACE 1D196), in the absence and presence of hydrocarbon (kerosene), was investigated in this work. Electrochemical techniques used were polarisation curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In the polarization curves, it is observed that the presence of the corrosion inhibitor in the system affects both the anodic and the cathodic branches, showing that currents obtained are lower with the presence of the inhibitor. On the other hand, the inhibitor efficiency decreases with the presence of hydrocarbon in the system evaluated. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy shows that steel has great activity in the system studied being more noticeable at low frequencies and in the presence of hydrocarbon. This shows the interaction of ions present in the solution with metal, favoured by the presence of hydrocarbon. The analysis with x-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) showed that the presence of hydrocarbon in the system allows the deposition of several Cl crystals on the metal surface. Also, there is an increase in Ca, Mg and C with a strong signal of iron, suggesting the presence of iron carbonate and iron hydroxides.


Vitamin K was discovered in 1929 as a substance essential for blood coagulation and had been clinically utilized before the precise mechanism of action became aware in 1970s. The function as a cofactor of γ-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) was the mechanism firstly discovered with the identification of several substrate proteins including blood coagulation factors and osteocalcin. Recently, we and others have shown that vitamin K has other modes of function, such as ligand of nuclear receptor SXR (steroid and xenobiotic receptor) and its murine ortholog PXR (pregnane X receptor) and modulator of protein kinase A (PKA) activity. Besides its importance in blood coagulation, involvement of vitamin K has been shown in two major aging-related diseases, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Based on clinical and epidemiological studies, vitamin K is shown to have protective roles for both of them. Interestingly, clinical studies concerning single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of GGCX and γ-carboxylated status of osteocalcin suggested relationship between GGCX activity and bone-protective effect, while recent findings from basic research indicated that vitamin K functions mediated by SXR/PXR as well as GGCX are important in the bone metabolism. We also suggested that cartilage-protective effect is mediated by SXR/PXR signaling by animal experiments using Pxr knockout mice.


According to the effects of cyclophosphamide (CP) as a current
chemotherapeutic drug on the structure of testis, this study was aimed to evaluate the protective effects
of crocin on histological structure of seminiferous tubules, superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde
and testosterone in CP treated adult mice.
Material & Methods: In this experimental study, 15 adult male mice were treated in 3 groups: control,
sham control, and experimental group. The control group received normal saline (0.2ml/day), control
sham group received cyclophosphamide (15 mg/kg/week, IP) and experimental group received crocin
(200 mg/kg/day.IP) along with cyclophosphamide, respectively. Superoxidedismutase (SOD) and
testosterone were measured in blood serum. Testicular samples also were used for histomorphometric
studies and malondialdehyde (MDA) measurement.
Results: It was revealed that Tubular Differentiation Index (TDI), Republication Index (RI), thickness
of capsule, the numbers of active Sertoli cells, amount of SOD and testosterone were increased
significantly in control and experimental groups compared to sham control (p<0.05), and
Spermiogenesis Index (SI) in control and experimental groups were increased in compare with sham
control group,but that was not significant in experimental group. Also MDA was increased
significantly in sham control group compared to other groups (p<0.05).
Conclusion: This study showed that crocin increases antioxidant enzymes and testosterone. However,
it reduced testicular histopathological changes in CP treated mice.


BACKGROUND
This article is the fifth in a series of publications providing formal method validation for biospecimen processing. We report the optimization and validation of methodology to obtain nucleic acids of sufficient quantity and quality from blood.

METHODS
DNA was extracted using the Chemagic DNA Blood Kit on an MSM I. Extraction was optimized in terms of blood volume, elution buffer volume, and lysis conditions. The optimal protocol was validated for reproducibility, robustness (delay to buffy coat extraction, blood vs. buffy coat, and use of a magnetic rack), and performance (yield, purity, and concentration). RNA was extracted using a PAXgene Blood miRNA kit with a QiaCube. The protocol was validated for reproducibility, robustness (elution buffer, delay, and temperature before extraction), and performance (yield, purity, integrity, and miRNA content). Two platforms (QiaCube, Biorobot Universal) were further compared.

RESULTS
For DNA extraction, a 4 mL blood sample, manual lysis, and 300 μL elution buffer were found to be reproducible (CV <10% for DNA yield and A260 nm/A280 nm ratio) and robust (buffy coat vs. whole blood; immediate processing of buffy coat after lysis vs. storage for 1 week at 2-8°C; and magnetic rack use). There was no difference between automated and manual lysis. RNA extracted with the PAXgene Blood miRNA kit on a QiaCube gave high yields and optimal reproducibility (low CV for RNA yield and integrity) with BR5 elution buffer (vs. water and TE). PAXgene tubes could be stored for up to 2 weeks at 2-8°C. The Biorobot Universal System gave similar mean RNA yields with Qiacube and slightly lower but acceptable purity.

CONCLUSIONS
We validated automated isolation of DNA with a Chemagic DNA Blood Kit on a magnetic bead-based MSM I, and of RNA with a PAXgene Blood miRNA kit on a silica membrane-based QiaCube or Biorobot (for low and high throughput, respectively).


Servlets and JavaServer Pages™ is the first complete guide to building dynamic Java-based Web applications using the new JavaServer Pages 2.0 and Servlets 2.4. Servlets and JavaServer Pages (JSP) provide a robust solution to developing large, complex Web applications, including multiserver projects. In addition to built-in security, portability, and a Web server, they offer developers the freedom to work with any operating system that supports Java-be it Linux, Windows, OSX, or Solaris.This authoritative book begins by explaining how to set up a Servlet and JSP development environment, including a discussion of containers, Java support, and installing and configuring Tomcat. The authors then thoroughly explore servlets and JSP, including significant coverage of custom tag libraries, newly available filters, and popular servlet and JSP design patterns. Readers can then test-drive the knowledge gained by constructing a book-support Web site.Among the topics covered in-depth are: Exception handling JavaBeans and the new JSP Expression Language (JSP EL) The JavaServer Pages Standard Tag Library (JSTL) and coding custom tag libraries Filters Error handling Session and state management Security Design patterns, including Struts Internationalization Multiclient support Database connectivityThe actual book-support site (www.jspbook.com) features frequently asked questions, working code examples, and references.With Servlets and JavaServer Pages™ as their guide, readers will learn how to fully harness the power of these flexible Java technologies. 0321136497B05082003


In this paper we are going to reflect on the position of women with functional diversity. It is essential that a new line of research/action be established that we can call:  feminism of and from the perspective of functional diversity . Feminism needs to open up new horizons which include the diversity in women that exists, and the feminism proposed by women with functional diversity can be very enriching and necessary. The approach to women and LGTBQI + people, all with functional diversity, must be carried out from an intersectional stance which also analyzes the multiple discriminations that they suffer. Functional diversity together with sexual and/or gender diversity, as well as other factors such as social class, race, ethnicity, age..., determine the identity and development of a person within society. Feminisms from the standpoint of functional diversity or queer-crip theories can become important references in dismantling these multiple discriminations. Keywords :  functional diversity, feminism of functional diversity, feminist theory, intersectionality, queer- crip  theories .


Abstract Morphometric characteristics combined with genetic markers are powerful tools used for determining honey bee subspecies. Bees samples collected from 94 established apiaries distributed throughout all of the Republic of Benin were morphometricaly characterized using seven parameters and the COI-COII regions of mitochondrial DNA were sequenced. Based on the morphometric data the native honey bees could be divided into three distinct ecotypes - the Benino-dry-tropical-ecotype in the north, the Benino-Sudanian-ecotype in the central part and the Benino-Sudano-Guinean-ecotype in the south. The DNA COI-COII regions sequence analyses confirmed that the honey bee population of the Republic of Benin belongs to different mitotypes but do not correspond with the determined ecotypes. We could determine three new haplotypes which missed the P0 segment but the Q region was duplicated or triplicated. Phylogenetic analyses clustered them together in the A evolutionary lineage. In conclusion, morphometric and genetic analysis of the native West African honey bees indicated that each of the different mitotypes was able to adapt to the different ecological conditions in the country by morphometric adjustments.


The speech acts of apology are very important for English language learning and speech acts should be included in the teaching material of English to help learners develop pragmatic competence. Pakistani English language learners lack knowledge of the sociolinguistic rules of speaking English. Successful communication is possible when English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners have pragmatic competence which exhibits the ability to use language forms suitable to socio-cultural context. The use of the speech act of apology of university students of English in Pakistan was investigated in this study based on Holmes' (1990) and Blum-Kulka's (1989) apology speech act sets. The results of the study reveal that out of 106 almost all the respondents (105) used "explanation or account" (there was terrible traffic) and (97) used "explicit apology" (sorry). "Expressing self-deficiency" (I forgot; I was confused) and "intensifiers of apology" (I'm very sorry; I'm really sorry) are two other apology strategies which majority of the respondents (76 and 64) also used. Interestingly, none of the respondents reports using "recognizing H as deserving apology" (you are right!) and "acknowledgment of responsibility" (oh, I made a mistake). There is no statistically significant difference in use of apology strategies between male and female respondents. The results of this study might be of pedagogical help and important for teachers, policy makers, curriculum developers, material designers, students, and researchers. Keywords : sociolinguistic rules of speaking, pragmatic competence, Pakistani EFL learners, pedagogical help, Pakistan.


BACKGROUND
Many weight-loss interventions are delivered in groups but evidence on their effectiveness, and characteristics associated with effectiveness, is limited. We synthesised evidence on (1) design and delivery of group-based weight-loss interventions; (2) effectiveness; and (3) associations between intervention characteristics, change techniques, and effectiveness.

METHODS
Five online databases were searched to May 2017 for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of group-based diet and/or physical activity interventions for overweight/obese adults (BMI ≥ 25). Intervention characteristics were synthesised narratively. Mean differences (MD) in weight loss were calculated using a random-effects meta-analysis, and sub-group analyses were conducted to identify moderators of effectiveness.

RESULTS
Forty-seven RCTs reporting 60 evaluations of group-based interventions were included. MD in weight loss between intervention and control groups was -3.49 [95% CI -4.15, -2.84], -3.44 [-4.23, -2.85], and -2.56 kg [-3.79, -1.33] at follow-ups closest to 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. Explicitly targeting weight loss, men-only groups providing feedback and dietary goals were significantly associated with greater effectiveness (p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS
Diet and physical activity interventions delivered in groups are effective in promoting clinically meaningful weight loss at 12 months. Intervention design and effectiveness vary considerably between studies, and evidence on what optimises the effectiveness of group-based weight-loss interventions remains limited.


Quercetin is known to possess antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The activity of this flavonoid against phytoplasmas, non-cultivable plant pathogenic bacteria that cause numerous plant diseases, has never been examined before. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of different concentrations of quercetin (10 mM, 100 mM and 1 mM) on 'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris' and on phytoplasma- nfected periwinkle shoots grown in vitro. The addition of quercetin neither supported the growth of the shoots nor induced the remission of symptoms in the infected plants. On the contrary, addition of quercetin induced browning of leaves and the appearance of black spots on the leaves of treated infected and non-infected shoots. It also had no curative effect against the pathogen. Phytoplasma presence was confirmed by nested PCR in infected shoots treated with quercetin through three subcultures.


The processing of reggaeton songs demands an active engagement from the listener due to the high level of fragmentation in the lyrics, which stems from the variability in word stress and prosodic segmentation. Changes in word stress challenge the listener's ability to parse the lyrics and often render the passage semantically and grammatically opaque. Long, deliberate pauses and rhythmic variations within grammatical units can be a hindrance to the perception of certain passages, and hence, to the overall comprehension of the text. However, the prosodic disjointedness is compensated by semantic and grammatical links between the parts of separated structures.


This paper analyses the impact of farmed shrimp on the economy of ten municipalities in the Northeast of Brazil. A model of the municipal economy is developed and input-output tables are used to estimate indirect and induced impacts on job, income and municipal finances. It is concluded that farmed shrimp has a sizable contribution to job increases, in particular formal employment. Indirect and induced impacts are reduced because of spillovers to larger municipalities and other states. Income impacts can be sizable in particular in small counties. In general, the generated income represents a large share of total municipal product. In relation to municipal finance, direct contribution is rather small but indirect, through product increases and mainly transferences from State and Country taxes may be substantial. In conclusion, shrimp farms in the selected municipalities, contributes to expand and stabilize employment, to expand income and product, to increase municipal finances and to improve life conditions.


This article tackles the issue of the transitory effects on growth of prices and the main methods for the calculation of monetary policy relevant inflation in inflation targeting countries. In order to have an indicator which would capture the medium term inflation pressures, several measures of core inflation are considered. Besides that this article mentions the main advantages and disadvantages of the different measures of medium term inflation pressures. Most of the central banks which are implementing the inflation targeting regime are using core inflation indicators based on the exclusion of certain components, however there are several central banks which are using statistical measures of core inflation such as the trimmed mean and weighted median. This article also describes the existing core inflation indicators as well as the main features of the trimmed mean and weighted median for the Republic of Moldova. Even though the obtained indicators of core inflation have different values, they have similar trajectories.


A new in vitro method for investigating transdermal flux is described. The method, called Automated In Vitro Dermal Absorption (AIVDA), employed small autosampler vial inserts (Moody cells) to hold human skin (0.07cm2) in a standard autosampler carousel. HPLC was used to monitor the permeation rate of test compounds. Analysis was fully automated and remotely monitored and controlled via a modem. A modified Hank's balanced salt solution was used to minimise HPLC background interference. Permeation assays conducted with Deep Woods®, a commercial N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET)-based mosquito repellent, showed no significant difference in DEET absorption between fresh and frozen human abdominal skin (Student's t test [p ≤ 0.05] 56 ± 9.1% [n = 4] and 48 ± 6.3% [n = 4], respectively). No significant difference was obtained for DEET absorption in human skin pretreated with barrier cream. Preliminary tests conducted to validate AIVDA versus the standard Bronaugh procedure demonstrated excellent agreement for DEET permeation in rat skin (62 ± 12.8% [n = 4] Moody cells; 59 ± 8.1% [n = 3] Bronaugh cells). AIVDA has many advantages over other in vitro permeation tests, including automation, higher analytical sensitivity, rapid sample processing and the ability to use small (5mm outside diameter) skin specimens.


The older population is expected to increase globally both in terms of absolute and relative numbers and Bangladesh is no exception. In recent years, although Bangladesh has achieved considerable success in fertility reduction and gradual improvement in mortality, morbidity, human capital, and the economy, important questions remain: i) whether or not the debate on aging has really emerged as a demographic issue; ii) if so, what are the important issues that should be addressed? and iii) how should the country be prepared to face the challenges of aging in order to implement public policies? Therefore, the present article attempts to explore important issues of aging and their consequences in Bangladesh. The study uses data collected from a national representative primary source. The study provides some important findings. By now aging has emerged as a new demographic issue in Bangladesh as the absolute number of older people is very large and is expected to grow in the years to come. There will be more people widowed in old age. Despite recent socioeconomic changes, older people prefer to live with their loved ones, particularly married sons with grandchildren so they can spend time with them in later life. In turn, they also support families, both financially and voluntarily. The study also reveals that the traditional support system is gradually shifting downwards in Bangladesh and older people are seeking alternative financial and health care support from the government. Research is needed to understand the reality of older people, their well-being and security. People should be encouraged to support and accommodate their older parents or relatives as regular members of the family. The government should introduce an appropriate pension system and health insurance scheme to cover the vast majority of poor people who live in rural areas.


We identify the effects of the supply of mortgage credit on house prices, using the politicallydirected credit-targeting regime of Venezuela as quasi-natural experiment. We find a large effect of the supply of housing credit on time path of house prices (or housing Markups), with an elasticity of housing markups with respect to credit of about 0.23 under our baseline specification, and similar results under a set of alternative specifications. These estimates are close to previous panel estimates for the United States, which suggests that these estimates capture similar phenomena.


The constitutionality of federal legislation sometimes turns on the presence and sufficiency of Congressional findings of predicate facts, such as the effects of conduct on interstate commerce, state discrimination justifying the abrogation of sovereign immunity, or market failures justifying intrusions on free speech. Sometimes a Congressional committee makes these findings in legislative history. Other times, Congress recites its findings in a statutory preamble, thus enacting its findings as law. Surprisingly, the Supreme Court has not distinguished between enacted and unenacted findings in deciding how much deference to accord Congressional findings. This is striking because the difference between enactedness and unenactedness is so vigorously contested on questions of statutory interpretation, with textualists objecting to any reliance on legislative history and even purposivists conceding some risks. Both formal and functional considerations suggest that the enactedness line should be significant for constitutional questions as well. This is not because Congress has some comparative advantage in finding legislative facts more reliably than other governmental institutions, which is pervasively assumed but unrealistic. Rather, Congress's strongest claim for judicial deference is that legislative findings are highly normative and hence squarely within the legislative power. Recognizing this characteristic of modern factfinding clarifies and strengthens the claim for deference — but only as to findings satisfying the constitutional requirements of bicameralism and presentment.


The primary reason that I embarked on my career in environmental education was because I was becoming extremely frustrated by my perception that school children were being bombarded by bad news about the plight of the environment, yet were not being given the opportunity to better understand the environmental issues they were exposed to, or to take action on these issues. I believe that we need to create programs that deepen our students' ecological literacy, or put simply, an understanding of what is really going on in the world around them.


The fate of Chinese urban villages (chengzhongcun) has recently attracted both research and policy attention. Two important unaddressed questions are: what are the sources of informality in otherwise orderly Chinese cities; and, will village redevelopment policy eliminate informality in the Chinese city? Reflecting on the long-established study of informal settlements and recent research on informality, it is argued that the informality in China has been created by the dual urban–rural land market and land management system and by an underprovision of migrant housing. The redevelopment of chengzhongcun is an attempt to eliminate this informality and to create more governable spaces through formal land development; but since it fails to tackle the root demand for unregulated living and working space, village redevelopment only leads to the replication of informality in more remote rural villages, in other urban neighbourhoods and, to some extent, in the redeveloped neighbourhoods.


Introduction For many years political scientists have argued that campaigns have minimal effects on election outcomes. When campaign-related information flows activate latent predispositions, given balanced resources, election results are largely predetermined. (1) This perspective appears to be reinforced by the finding that election outcomes can be accurately forecast well before a campaign has run its course (Campbell 2000; Fair 1978; Lewis-Beck and Rice 1992; Rosenstone 1983). However, a consensus has emerged over the past decade among political scientists that campaigns have substantive persuasion effects (Franz and Ridout 2010; Hillygus and Jackman 2003; Huber and Arceneaux 2007; Shaw 1999a, 1999b; Vavreck 2009). Though there has been a great deal of work on campaigns' persuasion effects over the past decade, there has been relatively little on campaigns' activation effects (see Andersen, Tilley, and Heath [2005] for an important exception, and Huber and Arceneaux [2007] for a recent analysis of a campaign's reinforcement effect). A few of the more recent studies of campaign effects do distinguish between types of activities and their associated persuasion effects. For example, Holbrook (1996) attempts to parse the effects of presidential conventions and debates, and Shaw (1999a) distinguishes between the persuasion effect of presidential candidate TV advertising and presidential candidate visits by state. But much of the recent work on campaigns' persuasion effects often does not attempt to distinguish between persuasion effects and activation effects. For example, Franz and Ridout (2007, 467n.1) write: "We do not distinguish here between the different processes by which advertising might influence candidate preferences; that is, we do not distinguish between attitude change brought by conversion, the activation of predisposition or the reinforcement of prior preferences." In a similar manner, Hillygus and Jackman (2003) also categorize any movement toward a candidate as a manifestation of a persuasion effect. Here we consider only presidential general election campaigns, which are characterized by long lead times, high media exposure, only two major candidates (in most states in most years), and generally clear partisan and ideological separation between the candidates. These conditions combine to increase the predictability of votes and the stability of opinions, and to minimize feedback effects arising from polling and other sources of information that can affect expectations. We would expect multicandidate elections, primaries, low-salience elections, and nonpartisan contests to show much less stability and predictability. In a long campaign, such as a presidential election, the performance of these persuasion and activation models should depend on the time scale being considered, and it is these changes as a campaign progresses that we discuss. This article contributes to the existing literature conceptually and empirically. We offer clean definitions of campaigns' persuasion and activation effects, which clearly distinguish between the two types of campaign effects. These definitions permit us to estimate the extent of campaigns' activation effects. To do so, we deploy a relatively straightforward but new methodology to estimate how the effects of the "fundamentals" change over the course of the campaign. Our empirical analysis estimates the magnitude of the variance in vote choice that can be ascribed to campaigns' activation effects. Finally, based upon existing theory, we argue that activation effects should vary by partisanship and political context, and we deploy our methodology to parse the relative activation effects of the 2000, 2004, and 2008 campaigns by region and partisanship. In the end, we find that the 2000, 2004, and 2008 campaigns have substantive activation effects. In addition to our contribution to the political science literature, this article addresses a persistent confusion in the news media, where even the most sophisticated journalistic analysts tend to assume a random walk model as a matter of course (perhaps via a mistaken analogy to the efficient markets hypothesis in finance). …


This study explores possible futures for university-based library publishing services (LPS) and uses scenario planning as its research method. The study posits that the major force in developing LPS is the level of funding from the host university, with the most uncertain factor being whether faculty will adopt LPS. The study participants comprised university library directors, library managers responsible for publishing services, and library association personnel and consultants involved in publishing. Many participants saw collaborating with multiple libraries and other stakeholder organizations to establish publishing cooperatives as essential. Issues discussed include whether university libraries will embrace this role, faculties' level of satisfaction with existing services, divergent disciplinary experiences, opportunism as a mechanism to develop services, technology challenges, international dynamics, traditional vs. new forms of scholarly publishing, and publishing cost considerations.


Abstract In epistemology, fake-barn thought experiments are often taken to be intuitively clear cases in which a justified true belief does not qualify as knowledge. We report a study designed to determine whether members of the general public share this intuition. The data suggest that while participants are less inclined to attribute knowledge in fake-barn cases than in unproblematic cases of knowledge, they nonetheless do attribute knowledge to protagonists in fake-barn cases. Moreover, the intuition that fake-barn cases do count as knowledge is negatively correlated with age; older participants are less likely than younger participants to attribute knowledge in fake-barn cases. We also found that increasing the number of defeaters (fakes) does not decrease the inclination to attribute knowledge.


The erosion of soil from steep slopes, bare soil, or construction sites can create gullies that adversely impact fish and wildlife in the surrounding environment and limit the ability of vegetation to become established. Mulches have been one means of mitigating the effects of erosion. Mulches that are commonly applied to disturbed soil or steep slopes with a hydro-mulcher are commonly known as hydro-mulches and are most often made from wood and paper. In this study, conventional wood and paper hydro-mulches were compared with cottonseed hulls and three types of processed cotton gin by-products. The mulches were applied at two rates, 2241 and 3362 kg/ha (2000 and 3000 lb/a). An unconsolidated sandy clay loam soil on a 9% slope was subjected to a 10.41-cm/h (4.1-in/h) rain event. The response variables investigated were mulch loss (as percentage of applied), soil loss, and mulch coverage factor (C-Factor). The initial C-Factors for the cotton-based mulches were lower than the wood or paper mulches, but the cotton-based mulches performed equal to or better than the conventional wood and paper mulches in reducing soil erosion. Overall, the cotton-based mulches showed promise in erosion control applications, but refinement of the product is needed in order to produce a hydro-mulch that provides soil coverage equal to conventional wood hydro-mulches.


Background Although vaccination can be a useful tool for control of avian influenza epidemics, it might engender emergence of a vaccine-resistant strain. Field and experimental studies show that some avian influenza strains acquire resistance ability against vaccination. We investigated, in the context of the emergence of a vaccine-resistant strain, whether a vaccination program can prevent the spread of infectious disease. We also investigated how losses from immunization by vaccination imposed by the resistant strain affect the spread of the disease. Methods and Findings We designed and analyzed a deterministic compartment model illustrating transmission of vaccine-sensitive and vaccine-resistant strains during a vaccination program. We investigated how the loss of protection effectiveness impacts the program. Results show that a vaccination to prevent the spread of disease can instead spread the disease when the resistant strain is less virulent than the sensitive strain. If the loss is high, the program does not prevent the spread of the resistant strain despite a large prevalence rate of the program. The epidemic's final size can be larger than that before the vaccination program. We propose how to use poor vaccines, which have a large loss, to maximize program effects and describe various program risks, which can be estimated using available epidemiological data. Conclusions We presented clear and simple concepts to elucidate vaccination program guidelines to avoid negative program effects. Using our theory, monitoring the virulence of the resistant strain and investigating the loss caused by the resistant strain better development of vaccination strategies is possible.


Recent development in miniaturized electronic devices has been boosting the demand for power sources that are sufficiently thin, flexible/bendable, and even tailorable and can potentially be integrated in a package with other electronic components. Reduced graphene oxide can be a promising electrode material for miniaturized microsuperca pacitors due to their excellent electrical conductivity, high surface-to-volume ratio, out - standing intrinsic electrochemical double-layer capacitance, and facile production in large scale and low cost. Therefore, the routes to produce high-quality reduced graphene oxide as electrode materials, along with the typical fabrication techniques for miniatur ized electrodes, are deliberately discussed in this chapter. Furthermore, breakthroughs in the area of the advanced packaging technology, deciding the electrochemical perfor mance and stability of these miniaturized microsupercapacitors, are highlighted. Lastly, a summary of the overall electrochemical properties and current development of the reported devices is presented progressively to provide insights into the development of novel miniaturized energy storage technologies.


This Article is based primarily on a survey of 89 foreign and China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) arbitral award enforcement cases in the PRC. The main finding of this survey is that enforcement is neither as hopeless as foreign investors and reporters are wont to suggest nor as unproblematic as official and semi-official sources would have us believe. Almost half of all foreign and CIETAC awards were enforced in the sense that the party recovered at least some amount. The enforcement rate for foreign awards was 52%, slightly higher than the 47% success rate for CIETAC awards. Furthermore, investors can expect to recover 75-50% of the award amount in 34% of the cases and half of the award at least 40% of the time. As for the factors that influence success and failure, the insolvency of the respondent was by far the biggest obstacle to collection, accounting for 43% of all non-enforcement cases and statistically significant by conventional standards when controlling for other factors. Awards were easier to enforce in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou than in other cities. And the size of award was negatively correlated with enforcement, with smaller awards more likely to be enforced and large awards less likely to be enforced. Surprisingly, the nationality of the applicant (PRC or foreign) did not turn out to be relevant, although the small sample size cautions against drawing too firm a conclusion. Equally surprising, local protectionism, although widely prevalent, did not significantly affect the likelihood that an award would be enforced, though it often contributed to difficulties and delays in enforcement. With respect to rule of law issues, the core findings are that while deficiencies in the regulatory framework contribute to enforcement difficulties, the main obstacles are institutional in nature. Consistent with the view that the Party is retreating from day to day governance, only rarely did Party members intervene in specific cases, and usually then only on the basis of a personal relationship with one of the parties or lawyers. Nor was the purpose or effect of Party intervention necessarily to obstruct enforcement. On balance, Party members played a positive role in promoting enforcement in the few cases where they did get involved. To be sure, the long term effects of Party intervention on the development of rule of law are likely to be negative. Moreover, whether the Party will give its stamp of approval to the deeper institutional reforms required to address the enforcement issue remains to be seen. The weakness of the courts was readily apparent and manifested itself in a variety of ways that made enforcement difficult, including the tendency to push applicants to settle rather than to rely on compulsory enforcement. In addition, the low level of judicial competence clearly hindered the efforts of investors to enforce awards in a number of cases. On the other hand, incompetence on the part of local counsel was rarely a factor. Guanxi continued to be important, although it is hard to generalize about its importance or even to assess its impact in specific cases because both sides usually invoked multiple layers and channels of connections. The survey also demonstrates that a rule of relationships is not an adequate alternative to the rule of law and courts that are able to enforce awards. However, to address the broader issue of whether a rule of relationships is sufficient to sustain economic growth requires an examination of factors that go beyond the narrow confines of arbitral award enforcement to other aspects of the economy.


Building Web Applications with UML is a guide to building robust, scalable, and feature-rich web applications using proven object-oriented techniques. Written for the project manager, architect, analyst, designer, and programmer of web applications, this book examines the unique aspects of modeling web applications with the Web Application Extension (WAE) for the Unified Modeling Language (UML). The UML has been widely accepted as the standard modeling language for software systems, and as a result is often the best option for modeling web application designs.The WAE extends the UML notation with semantics and constraints enabling developers to model web-specific architectural elements using the Rational Unified Process or an alternative methodology. Using UML allows developers to model their web applications as a part of the complete system and the business logic that must be reflected in the application. Readers will gain not only an understanding of the modeling process, but also the ability to map models directly into code.Key topics include: A basic introduction to web servers, browsers, HTTP, and HTML Gathering requirements and defining the system's use cases Transforming requirements into a model and then a design that maps directly into components of the system Defining the architecture of a web application with an examination of three architectural patterns describing architectures for thin web client, thick web client, and web delivery designs Modeling, at the appropriate level of abstraction and detail, the appropriate artifacts, including web application pages, page relationships, navigate routes, client-side scripts, and server-side generation Creating code from UML models using ASP and VBScript Client-side scripting using DHTML, Java Script, VBScript, Applets, ActiveX controls, and DOM Using client/server protocols including DCOM, CORBA/IIOP, and Java's RMI Securing a web application with SET, SSL, PGP, Certificates, and Certificate Authorities 0201615770B04062001


Current designs for inflatable or semi-rigidized structures for habitats and space applications use a multiple-layer construction, alternating thin layers with thicker, stronger layers, which produces a layered composite structure that is much better at resisting damage. Even though such composite structures or layered systems are robust, they can still be susceptible to penetration damage. The ability to detect damage to surfaces of inflatable or semi-rigid habitat structures is of great interest to NASA. Damage caused by impacts of foreign objects such as micrometeorites can rupture the shell of these structures, causing loss of critical hardware and/or the life of the crew. While not all impacts will have a catastrophic result, it will be very important to identify and locate areas of the exterior shell that have been damaged by impacts so that repairs (or other provisions) can be made to reduce the probability of shell wall rupture. This disclosure describes a system that will provide real-time data regarding the health of the inflatable shell or rigidized structures, and information related to the location and depth of impact damage. The innovation described here is a method of determining the size, location, and direction of damage in a multilayered structure. In the multi-dimensional damage detection system, layers of two-dimensional thin film detection layers are used to form a layered composite, with non-detection layers separating the detection layers. The non-detection layers may be either thicker or thinner than the detection layers. The thin-film damage detection layers are thin films of materials with a conductive grid or striped pattern. The conductive pattern may be applied by several methods, including printing, plating, sputtering, photolithography, and etching, and can include as many detection layers that are necessary for the structure construction or to afford the detection detail level required. The damage is detected using a detector or sensory system, which may include a time domain reflectometer, resistivity monitoring hardware, or other resistance-based systems. To begin, a layered composite consisting of thin-film damage detection layers separated by non-damage detection layers is fabricated. The damage detection layers are attached to a detector that provides details regarding the physical health of each detection layer individually. If damage occurs to any of the detection layers, a change in the electrical properties of the detection layers damaged occurs, and a response is generated. Real-time analysis of these responses will provide details regarding the depth, location, and size estimation of the damage. Multiple damages can be detected, and the extent (depth) of the damage can be used to generate prognostic information related to the expected lifetime of the layered composite system. The detection system can be fabricated very easily using off-the-shelf equipment, and the detection algorithms can be written and updated (as needed) to provide the level of detail needed based on the system being monitored. Connecting to the thin film detection layers is very easy as well. The truly unique feature of the system is its flexibility; the system can be designed to gather as much (or as little) information as the end user feels necessary. Individual detection layers can be turned on or off as necessary, and algorithms can be used to optimize performance. The system can be used to generate both diagnostic and prognostic information related to the health of layer composite structures, which will be essential if such systems are utilized for space exploration. The technology is also applicable to other in-situ health monitoring systems for structure integrity.


The traditional approach of sharing data within silos seems to have reached its end with Web advancing to an era of opening data. From governments and international organizations to local cities and institutions, there is a widespread effort of opening up and interlinking data. Two important concepts have been coined in this context:

• Open Data, defined as "data that can be freely used, reused and redistributed by anyone – subject only, at most, to the requirement to attribute and share alike" ; and
• Linked Data, associated to the technical interoperability of data, which enables to connect data from a variety of sources (related to the Semantic Web architecture) .

While Open Data refers to data freely available without restrictions , Linked Data is refereeing to machine-readable data. Therefore data can be open but not linked or linked but not open, however if data is open and linked it then becomes Linked Open Data.

The main difference between the web of hypertext and the Semantic Web is that while the first links html pages or documents, the second goes beyond the concept of document and links structured data. In this context, Linked Data is the set of best practices for publishing and connecting structured data on the Web.

This particular scenario is beneficial for digital repositories, as a way to enhance the visibility and interoperability of data by linking their content into the wider Web of Data.


After birth, the development of hematopoietic cells occurs in the bone marrow. Hematopoietic differentiation is finely tuned by cell-intrinsic mechanisms and lineage-specific transcription factors. However, it is now clear that the bone marrow microenvironment plays an essential role in the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and their differentiation into more mature lineages. Mesenchymal and endothelial cells contribute to a protective microenvironment called hematopoietic niches that secrete specific factors and establish a direct contact with developing hematopoietic cells. A number of recent studies have addressed in mouse models the specific molecular events that are involved in the cellular crosstalk between hematopoietic subsets and their niches. This has led to the concept that hematopoietic differentiation and commitment towards a given hematopoietic pathway is a dynamic process controlled at least partially by the bone marrow microenvironment. In this review, we discuss the evolving view of murine hematopoietic–stromal cell crosstalk that is involved in HSC maintenance and commitment towards B cell differentiation.


Gasification of pyrolysis oil was studied in a fluidized bed over a wide temperature range (523-914 °C) with and without the use of nickel-based catalysts. Noncatalytically, a typical fuel gas was produced. Both a special designed fluid bed catalyst and a crushed commercial fixed bed catalyst showed an initial activity for syngas (H2 and CO) production at T >700 °C. However, these catalysts lost activity irreversibly and elutriation from the fluid bed occurred. The equilibrium catalytic activity suffered from incomplete reforming of hydrocarbons (CH4). In all the experiments the carbon to gas conversion was incomplete, which was mainly caused by the formation of deposits and the slip of microcarbonaceous particles. A two stage reactor concept, which consisted of a sand fluidized bed followed by a fixed catalytic bed, was proposed and tested. This system uncouples the atomization/cracking of the oil and the catalytic conditioning of the produced gases, enabling protection of the catalyst and creating opportunities for energy efficiency improvements. In a bench scale unit of this reactor (0.5 kg oil/h), methane and C2-C3 free syngas (2.1 Nm CO + H2/kg dry oil, H2/CO =2.6) with a low tar content (0.2 g/Nm; dry, N2 free gas) was produced in a long duration test (11 h). Adapted from: Van Rossum, G.; Kersten, S.R.A.; Van Swaaij, W.P.M. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2007, 45, 3959. Catalytic and Noncatalytic Gasification of Pyrolysis Oil


The indole alkaloid α-cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) is one of the few known inhibitors of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) besides thapsigargin and artemisinin. Inhibitors of SERCA hold promise as novel anticancer and antimalarial drugs. Since its structure elucidation three racemic syntheses of α-cyclopiazonic acid have been published.
The first part of this dissertation describes the enantioselective and high yielding synthesis of CPA by a modification of the Knight synthesis, currently the most efficient route to CPA. The synthesis of the enantiomerically pure key intermediate 38 is based on a diastereoselective 1,4-cuprate addition followed by an enolate azidation of an indolylacrylic acid modified with the Evans auxiliary. The main step, a cationic cascade cyclisation, is induced by triflic acid and builds up two fused rings. The tetramic acid moiety as the pharmacophoric unit is introduced in the last steps with acetyl Meldrum's acid.
The second part deals with a new approach towards CPA starting with (R)-carvone, a chiral pool reagent. The amino acid moiety is introduced by a C-C-coupling reaction of a glycine imine with a silyl ester enolate. This route provides an easy way to smaller CPA analogues.
The last part of this work consists of Molecular-Modelling studies and the analysis of biological data of CPA and their analogues. Two sets of analogues have been synthesised either by variation of the acyl Meldrum's acid and reaction with a CPA-precursor or by reacting CPA with different amines. All compounds were tested in a functional Heliothis virescens biochemical SERCA assay using a luciferin / luciferase-coupled assay. The obtained IC50 values show that only a slight variation of the tetramic acid moiety is tolerated without significant loss of activity.


Two iron deposits within the Precambrian mineral belt of Cameroon are described in detail for the first time: the Archean Metzimevin replacement iron deposit enclosed in Fe-enriched itabirite, and the Proterozoic granite-hosted, shear zone-related Mayo Binka magnetite deposit. In the Metzimevin deposit, quartz is corroded and microplaty hematite overprints martite-textured hematite. The Mayo Binka massive magnetite veins show evidence of deformation in magnetite (fracturing and microbrecciation) and in overgrowths of specular hematite (mechanical twinning and undulating extinction). The magnetite is partially replaced by hematite (martitization) and goethite. Ores from both deposits have >88% total Fe2O3 and low contents of contaminants such as SiO2, Al2O3, MgO, CaO, P2O5, and TiO2. They are also poor in Cu, Pb, Zn, V, Cr, and Ni. The Metzimevin massive hematite is characterized by an accentuated light rare earth element depletion relative to the Fe-enriched itabirite. It is suggested that the Metzimevin iron deposit is the result of hypogene leaching of gangue minerals from, and further hematitization of, an itabirite protore. Although the genesis of the Mayo Binka massive magnetite is unclear, it is spatially related to Neoproterozoic granitic rocks. The data allow some comparison of these little known, but potentially economic iron deposits, with some of the world's better investigated deposits, and are useful to the exploration efforts for iron ore currently underway in Cameroon and the Central African subregion.


I Introduction This paper concerns the emergence of an important, late twentieth-century construct, namely the discrediting of neo-mercantilism in favor of corporate and national competition in a global free market. Within North America, for example, the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Canada in 1988, and more recently, the conclusion of the North American Free Trade Agreement amongst Mexico, the United States, and Canada, both signal - though far from consistently - an endorsement of the goal of global economic laissez-faire. The contention here is that the global free market paradigm has not yet earned a full endorsement. This is because the paradigm is grounded in libertarian political theory and as such, cannot seriously address the pervasive fact of economic under-development and the lack of trading opportunity encountered by much of the world's population. In short, the model ignores too much. The critique of the free market paradigm is made seriatim. Part II considers the analysis of Professors Michael E. Porter and David Kennedy to illustrate that while liberal political theory tacitly governs domestic policy regarding international trade, libertarian political theory animates the international trading regime. Part III sets the stage for critiquing this incongruity by revisiting the economic reality faced by undeveloped and underdeveloped countries. Part IV directly challenges the global free market paradigm by showing how its libertarian foundations promote an anomic strategy of postponement, exaggerated meliorism and disregard for the likely trading prospects of much of the world. Part V provides a sociological account of why the libertarian analysis is accepted notwithstanding its deficiencies. The paper concludes with an argument against the zero-sum nationalism and laissez-faire cosmopolitanism mandated by libertarian political philosophy in favor of the positive economic nationalism espoused by the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich (1992). Definitions of important terms are given throughout. What is not offered here is an economic analysis of the global market nor a diagnosis as to why so much of the world's population is poor. What follows is an account of the political ideology which informs a standardized view of the global market and, through the work of Hans Kuhn, a sociological account for the prevalence of that view. II The Analysis of Michael E. Porter and David Kennedy The appeal of the global free market and its promise of enhanced national prosperity has been an important theme for, among others, Professor Michael E. Porter of the Harvard Business School. Porter's book, The Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990), offers a pivotal account of why countries are more or less successful in the international marketplace and how the main stakeholders (business, labor, and government) can contribute to a nation's overall competitive advantage. Porter's analysis assumes that domestic governments would lend a considerable measure of social and economic infrastructural support to their own players in the international marketplace. For example, indirect government subsidies "in areas such as education, research universities, and advanced infrastructure" (640) are successful routes to competitive advantage because they (628) constitute perhaps the single greatest long-term leverage point available to all levels of government in upgrading industry. Improving the general education system is an essential priority of government, and a matter of economic and not just social policy. Infrastructural development by government is critical and includes not just facilitating advanced transportation and telecommunications - "also important are cultural and recreational activities that attract talented individuals to a place to live and work" (638). The role of government policy in advancing national competitive advantage is at once refined and significant. …


This paper proposes the first attempt for semi-automatic screening and identification of red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) in Australia. As an exotic ant species to Australia, fire ants were imported from South America in 2001 and have since been regarded as dangerous pests that could severely damage the environment and many industries. We followed two of the three major identification keys defined by entomologists and proposed: 1) A fusion of two different image features (i.e., the perpendicular median intensity and the perpendicular width) for antenna segment detection; and 2) A weighted histogramming of micropattern features for petiole classification. Our experimental results show that automatic on-site fire ant screening is feasible and the proposed weighted histogramming of micropattern features performs better than the original micropattern representation.