The IS-LM model has no greater prospect of being a viable analytical vehicle for macroeconomics in the 1990s than the Ford Pinto has of being a sporty, reliable car for the 1990s. Because of its treatment of expectations, the IS-LM model, as traditionally constructed and currently used, is a hazardous base on which to build positive theories of business fluctuations and to undertake policy analysis. To simplify economic reality sufficiently to use the IS-LM model as an analytical tool, economists must essentially ignore expectations; we now know that this simplification eliminates key determinants of aggregate demand. The last two decades of research have taught economists that the assumption of rational expectations is a powerful part of economic explanations of individual and market behavior, ranging from consumption and investment dynamics to pricing of stocks and bonds. The emphasis on expectations in the macro-model is the end result of a process of building microeconomic underpinnings that was initiated in the 1950s and 1960s, when the goal was to develop dynamic theoretical foundations for the IS and LM schedules; inevitably, consideration of dynamic choice pushed the question of expectations to the forefront. As a result, most of the equations of the IS-LM model are now viewed as summarizing purposeful economic behavior in which choices over time play a central role. However, as we will see, this finding means there is no way to maintain traditional uses of the IS-LM model.


Success can be yours with Denis Waitley's "The Psychology Of Winning" Become a total winner. The world's foremost producer of personal development and motivational audio programs now brings you a remarkable set of strategies that can change your life dramatically. There is often only a small difference between the top leaders in every field and those who merely "do well." In "The Psychology Of Winning, " Denis Waitley offers simple, yet profound principles of thought and healthy behavior that guide men and women to the top in every field of endeavor...principles that give you the winning edge in every situation. Being a winner is an attitude, a way of life, a self-concept. It's a heads-up, full-speed-ahead way of living and being. It's an expectation of success that you can master with your personal coach, Denis Waitley. With Denis Waitley's expert training, you will finally be able to:


Recently, respiratory aerosols with diameters smaller than 100 m have been con- firmed as important vectors for the spread of SARS-CoV-2. While cloth masks afford some protection for larger ballistic droplets, they are typically inefficient at filtering these aerosols and require specialized fabrication devices to produce. We describe a fabrication technique that makes use of a folding procedure (origami) to transform a filtration material into a mask. These origami masks can be fabricated by non-experts at minimal cost and effort, provide adequate filtration efficiencies, and are easily scaled to different facial sizes. Using a mannequin fit test simulator, we demonstrate that these masks can provide optimal filtration efficiency and ease of breathing with minimal leak- age. Because this mask provides greater comfort compared to commercial alternatives, it is likely to promote greater mask wearing tolerance and acceptance.


As demand for employees with a professional master's degree increases, and accountability to show both learning outcomes/graduate competencies and career outcomes for alumni of these programs increases, it is becoming more important to develop measures of these outcomes. The purpose of this surveybased research study was to develop a measure of self-reported competencies and career outcomes, in order to interpret the perceived value of these programs, determine if some programs meet alumni needs better than others, and to see if there are additional measures to be considered. Results indicate high construct validity, significant differences in human capital outcomes, career development skills, and personal agency between the three large programs at the college study, but no differences in goals to maintain careers, satisfaction, or course evaluation ratings. Validity of these measures could be important for future assessment, program evaluation, and mixed methods studies at the graduate level as it pertains to non-traditional students and professional master's degree programs.


The presence of a sample in the neutron field of a nuclear reactor creates a perturbation of the local neutron fluxes. In general, the interpretation of the sample activation due to thermal and epithermal neutrons requires the knowledge of two parameters: the thermal neutron self-shielding factor, Gth, and the resonance neutron self-shielding factor, Gres. In recent works, the authors established an universal curve of Gres for isolated resonances and various geometries. The present paper deals with the description of Gth in foils by means of an universal curve on the basis of a dimensionless variable which includes the physical, nuclear and geometrical properties of the sample. The universal curve is in very good agreement with experimental and calculated values obtained from the literature.The study of other geometries (spheres, wires and cylinders) is in progress.


Don't let WordPress intimidate you. WordPress 24-Hour Traineris a unique lesson-based book that walks you through the essential parts of WordPress. Each lesson is streamlined to teach a specific aspect of WordPress, helping you to focus on just what you need in order to get the task accomplished. If you learn better visually, this book provides you with a video to accompany each lesson. This book is the perfect guide to Planning and preparing your site for WordPress Installing WordPress Writing, tagging, and publishing a post Working with the text editor Styling paragraphs and creating lists Working with media files Linking, aligning, and sizing an image Working with image galleries Adding video and audio Naming, scheduling, and managing posts Making your site stand out Helping others connect to your site Becoming search engine friendly Optimizing your site Backing up your site Installing and activating plugins


Five Napier grass cultivars ( Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) were evaluated under cutting management on a Bayamon sandy loam soil on the northwestern coastal plains of Puerto Rico for a period of 2.05 years without irrigation. Grasses received a high input of fertilizer (4,484 kg/ha/yr) and were harvested every 5') days. Mean dry forage yield for cultivars PRPI 13079, 7350, Merker, 13078, and 532 were 46755, 45449, 39439, 38816, and 37581 kg/ha/yr, respectively. Cultivars 13079 and 7350 had similar dry forage yields, which were significantly (P < .05) higher than those of the remaining cultivars. Cultivar 7350 was the highest crude protein yielder, with 5413 kg/ ha/yr. Mean crude protein, P, K, Ca, and Mg contents for the 5 cultivars were 11.44, .37, 2.56, .31, and .34%, respectively. Leaf/stem ratios for all cultivars ranged from a maximum of 60 to a minimum of 52%. Cultivars 13079 and 7350 are the most outstanding grasses for this region of Puerto Rico. Cultivars 13078 and 532 are recommended as substitutes for the Merker cultivar. However, cultivar 13078 yields can be adversely affected by prolonged droughts.


A geochemical survey of the Altiplano Potosino, Mexico, was conducted at three different scales (i.e. sample density). A study representing a national-scale geochemical mapping programme sampled 16 sites at a density of 1 site per 1600 km2 within a 160 × 160 km cell. A second study representing regional-scale mapping sampled 100 sites at a density of 1 site per 16 km2 within a 40 × 40 km cell selected from within the larger cell. A third study representing local-scale mapping sampled 100 sites at a density of 1 site per km2 in a selected 10 × 10 km cell within the regional-scale 40 × 40 km cell. A comparison of four environmentally important elements (Ag, As, Cd and Hg) showed the widest range of concentrations at the local scale. This was attributed to the presence of soils developed on mineralized bedrock. The smallest range was observed for the low-density national-scale survey sampling. The extent of mineralized areas was very small with respect to this scale. Mercury showed a relatively large range of concentrations at the regional scale because the selected 40 × 40 km cell contained mercury-bearing mineral deposits. Geochemical mapping projects conducted at different scales generally complement each other. Very low sample density studies at a continental or national scale will outline the broad variations in the geochemistry of the sample medium caused by such factors as changes in rock type (soil parent material) or large-scale differences in climate. Studies at local scales are more likely to identify effects of human activity as well as natural processes affecting small areas of the Earth's surface. Based on data generated from such surveys, exploratory and spatial data analysis can be used to propose a range of values representing background concentrations of potentially toxic elements in soil.


During the summer 1998/99 detailed mapping and biological surveys were undertaken at locations on the northern Tasmanian coastline that had been nominated by commercial and recreational fishers as potential marine protected areas with propagation benefits, or that had been identified during previous studies as potential representative marine protected areas. The fishing industry proposals examined were at Low Head, Lillico Beach and the Three Sisters-Goat Island Nature Reserve on the northern coastline and at Binalong Bay in the north-east. The adequacy of these proposals to provide conservation benefits, including the protection of resident fish stocks was examined, and for some areas, recommendations made on alternative boundary positions to ensure the proposals are effective.
The potential representative areas surveyed were the section of coastline between Rocky Cape and Boat Harbour on the north-west coast, and in the vicinity of Waterhouse Point on the north-east coast. From the results, potential reserve boundaries are suggested that would include examples of the full range of marine habitats present at each of these locations.


Pressure ulcers are tissue damage, mainly over a bony prominence, occurring in critically ill, paraplegic, bedbound and elderly patients. They are classified from stage 1-4, and the most common sites are around the pelvic area (sacral, trochanteric and ischial). Stages 1 and 2 usually heal with non-surgical, conservative management, while stages 3 and 4 require a surgical approach. Preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative measures are paramount for the successful operative repair of pressure ulcers, together with proper patient selection and adequate support from the patient's circle of care. Surgical choice is based on principles, surgeon experience and preference, subject to individual and patient choice. Reconstructive options are based on the complexity of the repair, the type of tissue used to close the ulcer, and specific flap design chosen by the trained reconstructive surgeon. The procedures, in ascending level of complexity, are direct (primary) closure; skin grafts; and local, fasciocutaneous, muscular, myocutaneous, perforator and free flaps. A high recurrence rate, associated complications and costs remain a challenge with regard to the surgical management of these chronic wounds, and this remains common worldwide. Prevalence studies are lacking in South Africa, and preclude estimates of associated costs relating to the clinical and surgical treatment of pressure ulcers in the country. Prevention is still the best management strategy to avoid litigation and the elevated costs of pressure ulcer management.


Abstract:Gustavo Giovannoni was a key figure in architecture, urbanism, and conservation during the first half of the twentieth century in Italy. Neglected after the Second World War, his work and ideas are now being reevaluated for their timely insights on contested questions related to new construction in historic settings. Giovannoni opposed the introduction of alien materials and forms into historic settings, but also discouraged literal replication of historic features. Rather, he promoted new designs as inventions within a stylistic and constructive tradition, obeying principles of "minimum work," "simple forms," respect for vernacular traditions, typological and constructive continuities, and a holistic conception of the preexisting context. His own design work offers valuable case studies, and a detailed examination of his contribution suggests approaches for contemporary interventions that move beyond superficial debates about style. Some key passages from his writings are offered here in English translation for the first time.


In anInternet of Things (IoT) environment, IoT devicesare normallyused to transmit signal messages through unreliable wireless networks. However, because of the mobile nature of IoT devices, they end up losing connection to the network, thus leading to the loss of valuable signals at the monitoring end.Standard mobility management protocols like MIPv6 and its extensions may not besuitable to cope with this problem in an IoT environment, because they do not consider the constrained processing and power limitation of IoT devices. In this article we presenta system architecture for IoT mobility management using IETF Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP). Utilizing the inherent property of CoAP such as low signaling overhead, simple architecture, and reliable data transmission mechanism, the IP connectivity of resourceconstrained IoT devices can be efficiently maintained during handover operation. Detailed architecture and algorithm for the proposed mechanism are presented. Finally, a testbed has been constructed to evaluate the performance of the proposed architecture. KeywordsInternet of Things, Mobility Management, Handover for IoT Networks, CoAP Mobility


Despite considerable effort to develop mechanistic dry particle deposition parameterizations for atmospheric transport models, current knowledge has been inadequate to propose quantitative measures of the relative performance of available parameterizations. In this study, we evaluated the performance of five dry particle deposition parameterizations developed by Zhang et al. (2001) ( Z01 ), Petroff and Zhang (2010) ( PZ10 ), Kouznetsov and Sofiev (2012) ( KS12 ), Zhang and He (2014) ( ZH14 ), and Zhang and Sao (2014) ( ZS14 ), respectively. The evaluation was performed in three dimensions: model ability to reproduce observed deposition velocities, V d (accuracy), the influence of imprecision in input parameter values on the modeled V d (uncertainty), and identification of the most influential parameter(s) (sensitivity). The accuracy of the modeled V d was evaluated using observations obtained from five land use categories (LUCs): grass, coniferous and deciduous forests, natural water, and ice/snow. To ascertain the uncertainty in modeled V d , and quantify the influence of imprecision in key model input parameters, a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis was performed. The Sobol' sensitivity analysis was conducted with the objective to determine the parameter ranking, from the most to the least influential. Comparing the normalized mean bias factors (indicator of accuracy), we find that the ZH14 parameterization is the most accurate for all LUCs except for coniferous forest, for which it is second most accurate (B NMBF  = −2.31). From Monte Carlo simulations, the estimated mean normalized uncertainties in the modeled Vd obtained for seven particle sizes (ranging from 0.005 to 2.5 μm) for the five LUCs are 17 %, 12 %, 13 %, 16 %, and 27 % for the Z01 , PZ10 , KS12 , ZH14 , and ZS14 parameterizations, respectively. From the Sobol' sensitivity results, we suggest that the parameter rankings vary by particle size and LUC for a given parameterization. Overall, for d p  = 0.001 to 1.0 μm, friction velocity was one of the three most influential parameters in all parameterizations. For giant particles ( d p  = 10 μm), relative humidity was the most influential parameter. Because it is the least complex of the five parameterizations, and it has the greatest accuracy and least uncertainty, we propose that the ZH14 parameterization is currently superior for incorporation into atmospheric transport models.


Differences in regional unemployment are still pronounced in Germany, especially between eastern and western Germany. Although the skill level seems important for the relationship between regional disparities and labor migration, corresponding empirical evidence is scarce. Applying dynamic panel models, we investigate the impact of labor mobility differentiated by educational attainment of the workers on regional unemployment disparities between 2000 and 2008. The impact of low- and medium-skilled migration is consistent with traditional neoclassical reasoning, suggesting that labor mobility reduces differences in regional unemployment rates. In contrast, the migration of high-skilled workers tends to reinforce disparities.


With increasing pressure on retirement-aged individuals to provide informal care while remaining in the work-force, it is important to understand the impact of informal care demands on individuals' retirement decisions. This paper explores whether different intensities of informal caregiving can lead to retirement for women in the United States. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, we control for time-invariant heterogeneity and for time-varying sources of bias with a two-stage least squares model with fixed effects. We find that there is no significant effect on retirement for all informal caregivers, but there are important incremental effects of caregiving intensity. Women who provide at least 20 hours of informal care per week are 3 percentage points more likely to retire relative to other women. We also find that when unobserved heterogeneity is controlled for with fixed effects, we cannot reject exogeneity. These findings suggest that policies encouraging both informal care and later retirement may not be feasible without allowances for flexible scheduling or other supports for working caregivers. JEL Classification: J22; J1; I11


The Cauchy–Riemann equations of holomorphy are extended to fields in higher‐dimensional spaces in a framework of Clifford algebras. The equations of holomorphy in Minkowski spacetime turn out to be the Maxwell equations in vacuum. The Lorentz gauge condition is a result of the holomorphy. Sources can be included in an extension of the residue theorem, where charges correspond to the residues.


A careful analysis of the magneto-transport properties of epitaxial nanostructured Nb thin films in the normal and the mixed state is performed. The nanopatterns were prepared by focused ion beam (FIB) milling. They provide a washboard-like pinning potential landscape for vortices in the mixed state and simultaneously cause a resistivity anisotropy in the normal state. Two matching magnetic fields for the vortex lattice with the underlying nanostructures have been observed. By applying these fields, the most likely pinning sites along which the flux lines move through the samples have been selected. By this, either the background isotropic pinning of the pristine film or the enhanced isotropic pinning originating from the nanoprocessing have been probed. Via an Arrhenius analysis of the resistivity data the pinning activation energies for three vortex lattice parameters have been quantified. The changes in the electrical transport and the pinning properties have been correlated with the results of the microstructural and topographical characterization of the FIB-patterned samples. Accordingly, along with the surface processing, FIB milling has been found to alter the material composition and the degree of disorder in as-grown films. The obtained results provide further insight into the pinning mechanisms at work in FIB-nanopatterned superconductors, e.g. for fluxonic applications.


In Italy more than 90,000 patients are admitted every year for surgical treatment of hip fracture. In these elderly patients frailty and the presence of 2 or more comorbidities are associated with a prognosis both a 30 days and at 1 year. Heart failure and myocardial infarction are the more threatened cardiac complications and the more frequent causes of death in first 30 days after surgery for hip fracture. High risk patients may be identified by careful and rapid preoperative evaluation in order to decrease preventable in-hospital death in subjects patients candidate to narrow time-dependent surgery. In our review we tried to evaluate whether the ACC/AHA and ESC/ ESA guideline are effectively suitable for adequate cardiovascular assessment in this particular high risk population.


The importance of seed size and density in determining individual plant performance and plant population dynamics in experimental populations of the halophyte Atriplex triangularis was studied. Two distinct seed morphs-large, light seeds and small, dark seeds-are produced by individual A. triangularis plants. Experimental populations consisting of seed size monocultures (large or small seeds) and seed size mixtures were established at three different densities, and the time of germination, plant size, plant survivorship, and plant fecundity were monitored. Marked variation in time of germination was observed among treatments and between seed sizes, but germination within any given treatment occurred over a fiveto ten-day period. Large seeds produced larger plants than small seeds did, and this dichotomy was maintained over the course of the entire experiment. Germination date and seed size interacted such that larger plants grew from seeds which germinated earlier than those which germinated later, regardless of seed size. Germination date had a more pronounced effect than seed size did on plant mortality in high density populations. At high density, large seed monocultures experienced greater mortality than small seed monocultures did, but in seed size mixtures, the mortality was evenly distributed between plants from the two seed sizes. Regardless of density conditions and parentage, large and small seeds were produced in equal proportion by the plants. Total seed production, however, was dramatically affected by plant density, and to a lesser degree by germination date. Although seed size effects alone did not appear to affect directly final plant biomass and fecundity, effects of seed size early in ontogeny may have contributed to differences


The author discusses the balance and mutual influence of the language of instruction and mathematics in the context of CLIL, Content and Language Integrated Learning. Different aspects of the relationship of language and Mathematics teaching and learning are discussed: the benefits of using a foreign language of instruction, as well as the advantages of using Mathematics as a tool to teach a foreign language. Based on research among pre-service teacher trainees, the author presents different approaches to CLIL-lesson planning, pointing out the focus of the teacher trainees on content and/or language and the development throughout the ongoing course of CLIL at the University, with respect to the different specializations of the teacher trainees.


Ancillary services for distributed generation (DG) systems become a challenging issue to smartly integrate renewable-energy sources into the grid. Voltage control is one of these ancillary services which can ride through and support the voltage under grid faults. Grid codes from the transmission system operators describe the behavior of the energy source, regulating voltage limits and reactive power injection to remain connected and support the grid under fault. On the basis that different kinds of voltage sags require different voltage support strategies, a flexible control scheme for three-phase grid-connected inverters is proposed. In three-phase balanced voltage sags, the inverter should inject reactive power in order to raise the voltage in all phases. In one- or two-phase faults, the main concern of the DG inverter is to equalize voltages by reducing the negative symmetric sequence and clear the phase jump. Due to system limitations, a balance between these two extreme policies is mandatory. Thus, over- and undervoltage can be avoided, and the proposed control scheme prevents disconnection while achieving the desired voltage support service. The main contribution of this work is the introduction of a control algorithm for reference current generation that provides flexible voltage support under grid faults. Two different voltage sags have been experimentally tested to illustrate the behavior of the proposed voltage support control scheme.


In projects like waterpower, transportation and mining, etc., proving up the rock-mass structure and hidden tectonic to estimate the geological body's activity is very important. Integrating the seismic results, drilling and trenching data, CSAMT method was carried out at a planning dame site in southwest China to evaluate the stability of a deformation. 2D and imitated 3D inversion resistivity results of CSAMT method were analyzed. The results indicated that CSAMT was an effective method for defining an outline of deformation body to several hundred meters deep; the Lung Pan Deformation was stable in natural conditions; but uncertain after the future reservoir was impounded. This research presents a good case study of the fine surveying and research on complex geological structure and hidden tectonic in engineering project. Keywords—CSAMT Surveying, Deformation Stability.


Background This study investigates patterns of qat use among 207 Somalis living in London. Method Subjects were recruited using privileged access interviewing. Somalian interviewers were recruited who shared the same culture as the subjects. Data were collected by means of a structured interview. Results One hundred and sixty-two subjects (78%) had used qat. The majority (76%) used more qat than in Somalia. Some users reported moderate dependence; a minority reported severe problems. Adverse psychological effects included sleep problems, anxiety and depression. Medical problems associated with qat use were rare. Conclusions Qat users who continue to use this drug when it is transplanted from a traditional context may experience difficulties. Qat use can also be seen as playing a positive role in supporting the cultural identity of the Somalian community. Severe problems were rarely reported. Qat consumption should be considered when addressing health-related topics with patients from those communities in which qat use is common.


The no. 1 bestselling author of Collapse and Guns, Germs and Steel explores the profound lessons that traditional societies offer us today. Over the past 500 years, the West achieved global dominance, but do Westerners necessarily have better ideas about how to raise children, care for the elderly, or simply live well? In this epic journey into our past, Jared Diamond reveals that traditional societies around the world offer an extraordinary window into how our ancestors lived for the majority of human history - until virtually yesterday, in evolutionary terms. Drawing on decades of his own fieldwork, Diamond explores how tribal people approach essential human problems, from health and diet to conflict resolution and language, and discovers they have much to teach us. Jared Diamond is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the seminal million-copy-bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel, which was named one of Time's best non-fiction books of all time, and Collapse, a number 1 international bestseller. A professor of geography at UCLA and noted polymath, Diamond's work has been influential in the fields of anthropology, biology, ornithology, ecology and history, among others.


A two-well tracer test carried out in fractured chalk was analyzed using a three-dimensional finite-difference model for flow and transport which, was constructed on the basis of the geological and hydraulic information collected at the field site. The model was developed as a dual-porosity continuum model, in which advection was assumed to occur only in the fractures, and the water in the porous matrix was assumed to be static. The exchange of solute between the fractures (mobile phase) and the porous matrix (immobile phase) was assumed to occur as a diffusion process in response to the local concentration difference of solute between the two phases. Simulations from the dual-porosity model reproduced the shape of the observed breakthrough curves, although some portions of the tail were not accurately represented. The model was also applied as a single-porosity model for advection and dispersion in the fractures with no solute exchange with the porous matrix. The simulations from the single-porosity model greatly overestimated the observed lithium concentrations, and showed very little tailing effect in the falling limb. The study shows that, based on the given tracer test, solute transport in a fractured chalk cannot be represented by a single-porosity approach and hence when dealing with contaminant transport in such systems, both a fractured and a porous domain need to be considered.


Mining periodic patterns in time series databases is an important data mining problem with many applications. Previous studies have considered synchronous periodic patterns where misaligned occurrences are not allowed. However, asynchronous periodic pattern mining has received less attention and only been discussed for a sequence of symbols where each time point contains one event. In this paper, we propose a more general model of asynchronous periodic patterns from a sequence of symbol sets where a time slot can contain multiple events. Three parameters min/spl I.bar/rep, max/spl I.bar/dis, and global/spl I.bar/rep are employed to specify the minimum number of repetitions required for a valid segment of nondisrupted pattern occurrences, the maximum allowed disturbance between two successive valid segments, and the total repetitions required for a valid sequence. A 4-phase algorithm is devised to discover periodic patterns from a time series database presented in vertical format. The experiments demonstrate good performance and scalability with large frequent patterns.


The nanosecond optical-limiting characteristics (at 532 nm) of some rare-earth metallo-phthalocyanines (Sm(Pc)2,Eu(Pc)2, and LaPc) doped in a copolymer matrix of poly(methyl methacrylate) and methyl-2-cyanoacrylate have been studied for the first time to our knowledge. The optical-limiting response is attributed to reverse saturable absorption due to excited-state absorption. The performance of LaPc in a copolymer host is studied at different linear transmissions. The laser damage thresholds of all the samples are also reported.


The EPA's proposed test plan for the validation testing of pesticide spray drift reduction technologies DRTs for row and field crops, focusing on the evaluation of ground application systems using the low-speed wind tunnel measurements and dispersion modeling, was evaluated. Relative drift reduction potential for a given DRT tested in a low-speed wind tunnel is derived from airborne droplet size measure- ments and airborne and deposited liquid volume measurements downwind from the spray nozzle. Mea- surements of droplet size and deposition data were made in a low-speed wind tunnel using standard reference nozzles. A blank emulsifiable concentration spray was applied at two different wind speeds. The wind tunnel dispersion WTDISP model was used to evaluate the drift potentials of each spray using the droplet size and spray flux measured in the wind tunnel. The specific objectives were 1 the evaluation of model accuracy by comparison of modeled downwind deposition to that measured in the wind tunnel, 2 the evaluation of drift reduction potential of the spray nozzles relative to a reference nozzle, and 3 the determination of low-speed wind tunnel data collection requirements for model input to optimize the evalu- ation process. The modeled deposition data did not compare well to the measured deposition data, but this was expected as the model was not meant to be used for this purpose. The tested nozzles were rated using the International Standards Organization drift classification standard. The drift ratings generally showed trends of larger droplet producing nozzles having greater drift reduction ratings. An examination of several scenarios using reduced model input requirements, which would decrease the low-speed wind tunnel data collection time, did not show any conclusive results. They suggest that further testing and refinement of the data collection process and the WTDISP model may support wider use of this system for the assessment of DRTs.


While many companies are experimenting with digital transformation, recent studies of success stories have shown that the enhanced competitive positioning of successful firms does not depend solely on the technologies they adopt, but, more importantly, builds on the strategies that their leaders deploy. Nonetheless, there is still a wide gap between executives' intentions and the realization of successful digital transformation initiatives and the consequent need to demonstrate the embedded strategic considerations. To help managers through the formulation and implementation of their firms' digital transformation strategies, this article 1) consolidates the current state of the literature regarding business-level digital transformation to understand its origins and roots; 2) synthesizes findings regarding the context, content and strategy process of digital business transformation; 3) adds novel insights regarding the positioning of digital transformation; and 4) reveals the key characteristics that distinguish it from previous technology-enabled transformations.


This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate governance and executives' compensation. This is semi-empirical study and statistical sample of research was 95 companies listed in Tehran stock exchange from 2010 to 2014. Variables ratio of non-executive board members, dichotomy of managing director responsibility, ownership of institutional shareholders and managerial ownership were considered as independent variables. Factors influencing executives' compensation were considered and the relationship between these variables was studied using multivariate regression. Findings show that there is significant relationship between duty of managing director, ownership of institutional investors and managerial ownership. However, there was no evidence for significant relationship between ratios of non-executive board members with executives' compensation.


This collection of extraordinary images from beneath London's streets will fascinate anyone interested in what lies under the surface of one of the world's greatest cities. Peel back the layers under a London street and you'll discover a haunting, dreamlike world of hand-laid brick sewers, forgotten tube stations, World War II evacuation shelters, secret government bunkers, and tunnel boring machines laying new sewer, communication, and transport grids. Bradley L.Garrett has worked with explorers of subterranean London to collect an astonishing array of images documenting forbidden infiltrations into the secret bowels of the city. This book takes readers through progressively deeper levels of historical London architecture below the streets. Beautifully designed to allow for detailed viewing and featuring bespoke map illustrations by artist Stephen Walter, this unique book takes readers to locations few dare to go, and even fewer succeed in accessing.


The dynamism of Korean Christianity today has become a significant element in Korean society. Korean Protestant Christianity can be characterized by rapid church growth and the emergence of mega-churches, and these attract the focus of scholarly investigation. (1) The Protestant population in Korean society has grown significantly since the 1960s. The Protestant population increased enormously from 623,072 in 1960 to 6,489,282 in 1985, and to 8,760,000 in 1995. In 1995, with Korean Protestants (19.7%) and Catholics (6.6%) combined, Korean Christians represented about 26 percent of the total population. (2) Grayson (3) argues that Korean Protestant Christianity has become fully implanted in the cultural soil of Korea. Christianity, in spite of its short history in the country, now ranks alongside Buddhism as a major religion in Korean society. The phenomenon of Korean mega-churches The phenomenon that attracts scholarly attention, along with the growth of the Korean Protestant population, is the fact that there are many large and mega-churches in Korea. In 1999, it was estimated that there were nearly 400 large churches and 15 mega-churches. (4) The exceptional characteristic of Korean mega-churches, namely, that it is not easy to build such a huge church organization which thousands of people voluntarily attend, has been the object of academic interest, regardless of any value judgement about the phenomenon. Table 1 shows the profile of 15 Korean Protestant mega-churches in 2002. Most large churches and mega-churches are in the centre of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, or the surrounding metropolitan areas. Most mega-churches have many other sanctuaries where people can attend services by closed-circuit television, and have five to seven services on Sunday. Most members of the congregations attend once each Sunday, although some attend twice. All the mega-churches have many sections , such as departments of mission, education, social work, home-cell meetings, parish systems, etc. All of these churches own their buildings. Most mega-churches operate church buses to provide transportation to services. Studies of the phenomenon of the Korean mega-churches have so far been at the descriptive level. (6) However, given the coplexity of explaining a religious movement, to understand the development of the Korean mega-churches in the global context will be an intriguing study. A key aspect is to examine the impact the modernity has had on the Korean mega-churches and their responses to that modernity. Modernity and Korean mega-churches Modernity is a complex term. It may be defined as a mode of social life and moral understanding characterized by the universal claims of reason and instrumental rationality, the differentiation of spheres of lifer-experience into public and private, and the pluralization and competition of truth claims. (7) Hence , the belief in progress and the faith placed in science can both be seen as characteristic of modern thinking. Capitalism, urbanization, the modern state, and the knowledge sector (e.g. universities and mass communication) are regarded as major carriers of modernity. Modernity has a close relation-sip with modernization, secularization (theory) and instrumental rationality are an inseparable trinity. (8) Sociologists, such as Weber and Durkheim, in thinking about Europe, used to argue that the carriers of modernity, viz, industrialization and urbanization, would bring about the decline and perhaps even the disappearance of religion. Traditional sociological orthodoxy says that the secularization that often accompanies modernization will triumph over religion and will cause the latter's disappearance. This has now been called into question simply because of the persistence of religion in the face of modern secularism. Of late, many sociologists (9) suggest that secularization theory based on modernity is essentially mistaken. …


BACKGROUND
Research is essential to generate the scientific evidence for critical care nursing practice, but it is challenging to conduct research in the busy critical care environment. The challenges are even greater in a setting with limited resources for research and where nurses have not typically conducted independent clinical studies.

OBJECTIVES
To detail a successful research trajectory for studying the ABCs of patient care in the critically ill: airway, breathing, and circulation.

METHODS
After initial studies on circulation were conducted, the research was narrowed to focus on airway management. Airway management may be a key factor in preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia because aspiration of colonized oral, gastric, and tracheal secretions is the primary cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Multiple descriptive, pilot, and interventional studies have been conducted; findings from each have contributed to future studies.

RESULTS
Other ABCs were critical to this research success: action, back to basics, collaboration, and discovery. It is important for researchers to be self-motivated and to take initiative to develop skills and resources for conducting clinical studies. Several guiding principles help to promote success in research: (1) generate research ideas grounded in observation and clinical practice, (2) collaborate with others, and (3) establish affiliations and partnerships. Discovery occurs in many ways: new findings to guide practice and research, resources to conduct the study, and self-discovery.

CONCLUSIONS
Nursing research is not easy. However, determination and resources help nursing researchers achieve success.


We describe a machine learning method for predicting the value of a real-valued function, given the values of multiple input variables. The method induces solutions from samples in the form of ordered disjunctive normal form (DNF) decision rules. A central objective of the method and representation is the induction of compact, easily interpretable solutions. This rule-based decision model can be extended to search efficiently for similar cases prior to approximating function values. Experimental results on real-world data demonstrate that the new techniques are competitive with existing machine learning and statistical methods and can sometimes yield superior regression performance.


andbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan spans the beginning of the Kamakura period in 1185 through the end of the Edo (Tokugawa) period in 1868. The medieval and early modern eras in Japan were largely shaped by the rise of the warrior class. After 1603, with the founding of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japanese culture changed dramatically, but as cities grew and merchants thrived, the warrior class became less dominant. By the end of the Edo period, Japan's insular feudal society and military government became irrelevant in an increasingly consumer-oriented economy and thriving urban culture. The contribution of military rulers, celebrated warriors, and cultural innovators to medieval and early modern Japanese culture are well documented. However, life at the village level also had a strong impact on the culture. Covering both levels of society, this comprehensive guide provides insightful information on well-known people and peasants, artisans, shopkeepers, and others outside the periphery of power. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan introduces the reader to the significant people and events-cultural, social, political, and historical-and the everyday experiences and elements of material culture during this time. Organized thematically, the text covers: History; Land, Environment, and Population; Government; Society and Economy; Warriors and Warfare; Religion; Philosophy, Education, and Science; Language and Literature; Performing Arts; Art and Architecture; Travel and Communication; Daily Life. Each chapter includes an extensive bibliography, and photographs and maps complement the text. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan provides all the essential information for anyone interested in Japanese history, society, or culture.


Few fields of academic research are surrounded by so many misunderstandings and misconceptions as the study of Western esotericism. For twenty years now, the Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (University of Amsterdam) has been at the forefront of international scholarship in this domain. This anniversary volume seeks to make the modern study of Western esotericism known beyond specialist circles, while addressing a range of misconceptions, biases, and prejudices that still tend to surround it. Thirty major scholars in the field respond to questions about a wide range of unfamiliar ideas, traditions, practices, problems, and personalities that are central to this area of research. By challenging many taken-for-granted assumptions about religion, science, philosophy, and the arts, this volume demonstrates why the academic study of esotericism leads us to reconsider much that we thought we knew about the story of Western culture.


I. INTRODUCTION William H. Rehnquist became Chief Justice in 1986. Those of us old enough to recall the constitutional landscape before that time look back on a Court dominated by questions of equal protection, substantive due process, and free speech (as well as criminal procedure, recently spun off into a separate discipline). Cases involving federalism were virtually nonexistent, and questions of separation of powers arose infrequently. Religion cases were few and far between; the Takings Clause was invisible. What a difference two decades make. Some of the changes can be traced to Justice Rehnquist's earliest years on the bench, when he was often a lone dissenter. In those days, he sought three primary objectives: to tear down the wall between church and state, to un-handcuff the police, and to reinvigorate John Calhoun's views on state sovereignty. All three have largely been accomplished. But what has happened in the areas on which the pre-Rehnquist Court focused? Equal protection has gone in circles, with the Court last term reaffirming the thirtyyear-old Bakke. Substantive due process has gone nowhere: The Court adheres to old precedent but seems reluctant to protect any new rights. And free speech? Once it became clear-no later than the mid-1970s-that outright government censorship of ideas was impermissible, free speech doctrine proliferated into increasingly arcane sub-areas as legislatures confronted multi-faceted and often insoluble problems, presenting the Court with complex and difficult decisions on the margins of free speech law. Since the Rehnquist Court came into its own in 1994-what has been called the second Rehnquist Court1-the Court has not had a single pure political censorship case along the lines of Brandenburg, Tinker, or the communist cases of the 1950s. Nor has it touched its established obscenity doctrines or faced many questions about the First Amendment rights of schoolchildren, prisoners, protesters, or soldiers-the stuff of earlier Courts. Instead, this Court has ruled on a dizzying array of allegedly speech-infringing government activities, including regulation of cable TV and the Internet; attempts to make elections fairer and less dependent on money; advertising restrictions that do everything from limiting advertising to compelling contributions to advertising; punishing the disclosure of information obtained from wiretapping; and time-place-and-manner restrictions on speech from political solicitation to anti-abortion protests. Given this breadth, it would be foolish to attempt a synthesis. Each of the topics has its own extensive scholarly literature, to which I have little of substance to add. Instead, I suggest that the Court's method of approaching these questions is exactly what one would expect under the circumstances: Having long since established first (and second and third) principles, a Court working out the mundane, detailed implications of those principles is likely to be a quintessentially pragmatist Court. The decision in each case is therefore likely to depend on context, and generalizations will be hard to find. But those same decisions are also more likely to be viable compromises that do not tend to reinforce cultural schisms. In this Article, I will focus on three areas that illustrate this pragmatist approach: commercial speech and advertising, election regulations (other than campaign finance), and restrictions on pornography (that is, material that is sexually graphic but not legally obscene). I will argue that in each area, pragmatic considerations rather than grand principles often determine the outcome, producing some unpredictability but a just regime overall. II. COMMERCIAL SPEECH AND ADVERTISING A. Background Since 1976, when the Supreme Court first held that commercial speech is constitutionally protected but subject to greater regulation than noncommercial speech,2 it has straggled to define the boundaries of permissible regulation. …


An oral history of television comedy from the early 1950s through the mid 1970s as told by the writers Sydney Zelinka, Larry Rhine, Milt Josefsberg, and the team of Seaman Jacobs and Fred S. Fox. The shows they wrote for included " The Honeymooners, " 'The Phil Silvers Show, " " The Red Skelton Hour, " Bob Hope specials, " Here's Lucy, " " All in the Family, " and " Maude. " These five writers were working in the earliest days of the medium and spent years writing for the personalities—from performers to producers—who pioneered and defined it. Most of them also wrote scripts during one of broadcast television's greatest periods of transformation, when comedy took a decidedly topical turn that continued to have a significant impact on television comedy in the decades that followed.


In the 17th century, Descartes put forth the metaphor of the machine to explain the functioning of living beings. In the 18th century, La Mettrie extended the metaphor to man. The clock was then used as the paradigm of the machine. In the 20th century, this metaphor still held but the clock was replaced by a computer. Nowadays, the organism is viewed as a robot obeying signals emanating from a computer program controlled by genetic information. This book shows that such a conception leads to contradictions not only in the theory of biology but also in its experimental research program, thereby impeding its development. The analysis of this problem is based on the most recent experimental data obtained in molecular biology as well as the history and philosophy of biology. It shows that the machine theory did not succeed in breaking with Aristotle's finalism. The book presents a new approach to biological systems based on cellular Darwinism. Genes are ruled by probabilistic mechanisms allowing cells to differentiate stochastically. Embryo development is not governed by a determinist genetic program but by natural selection occurring among cell populations inside the organism. This theory has considerable philosophical consequences. Man may be a machine but he is a random one.


Neuroeconomics uses knowledge about brain mechanisms to inform economic analysis, and roots economics in biology. It opens up the "black box" of the brain, much as organizational economics adds detail to the theory of the firm. Neuroscientists use many tools— including brain imaging, behavior of patients with localized brain lesions, animal behavior, and recording single neuron activity. The key insight for economics is that the brain is composed of multiple systems which interact. Controlled systems ("executive function") interrupt automatic ones. Emotions and cognition both guide decisions. Just as prices and allocations emerge from the interaction of two processes—supply and demand— individual decisions can be modeled as the result of two (or more) processes interacting. Indeed, "dual-process" models of this sort are better rooted in neuroscientific fact, and more empirically accurate, than single-process models (such as utility-maximization). We discuss how brain evidence complicates standard assumptions about basic preference, to include homeostasis and other kinds of state-dependence. We also discuss applications to intertemporal choice, risk and decision making, and game theory. Intertemporal choice appears to be domain-specific and heavily influenced by emotion. The simplified s-d of quasi-hyperbolic discounting is supported by activation in distinct regions of limbic and cortical systems. In risky decision, imaging data tentatively support the idea that gains and losses are coded separately, and that ambiguity is distinct from risk, because it activates fear and discomfort regions. (Ironically, lesion patients who do not receive fear signals in prefrontal cortex are "rationally" neutral toward ambiguity.) Game theory studies show the effect of brain regions implicated in "theory of mind", correlates of strategic skill, and effects of hormones and other biological variables. Finally, economics can contribute to neuroscience because simple rational-choice models are useful for understanding highly-evolved behavior like motor actions that earn rewards, and Bayesian integration of sensorimotor information.


Preface. List of Contributors. 1 Direct Methanol Fuel Cells: History, Status and Perspectives ( Antonino Salvatore Arico, Vincenzo Baglio, and Vincenzo Antonucci). 1.1 Introduction. 1.2 Concept of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells. 1.3 Historical Aspects of Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Development and State-of-the-Art. 1.4 Current Status of DMFC Technology for Different Fields of Application. References. 2 Nanostructured Electrocatalyst Synthesis: Fundamental and Methods ( Nitin C. Bagkar, Hao Ming Chen, Harshala Parab, and Ru-Shi Liu). 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Fundamental Understanding of the Structure-Activity Relationship. 2.3 Synthetic Methods of Conventional Carbon-Supported Catalysts. 2.4 Synthetic Methods of Novel Unsupported Pt Nanostructures. 2.5 Conclusions. References. 3 Electrocatalyst Characterization and Activity Validation - Fundamentals and Methods ( Loka Subramanyam Sarma, Fadlilatul Taufany, and Bing-Joe Hwang). 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Direct Methanol Fuel Cells - Role of Electrocatalysts. 3.3 Characterization Techniques for Anode and Cathode Catalysts. 3.4 Evaluation of Electrocatalyst Activity, Electrochemical Active Surface Area, Catalyst - Adsorbate Interactions, and Activity Validation Techniques. 3.5 Conclusions and Outlook. References. 4 Combinatorial and High Throughput Screening of DMFC Electrocatalysts ( Rongzhong Jiang and Deryn Chu). 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Common Procedures for the Development of DMFC Catalysts. 4.3 General Methods for Combinatorial and High Throughput Screening. 4.4 Methods of Combinatorial Synthesis. 4.5 Electrode Arrays for High Throughput Screening. 4.6 Other Screening Methods for Catalyst Discovery. 4.7 Combinatorial Methods for DMFC Evaluation and Data Analysis. 4.8 Challenge and Perspective. References. 5 State-of-the-Art Electrocatalysts for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ( Hanwei Lei, Paolina Atanassova, Yipeng Sun, and Berislav Blizanac). 5.1 Introduction. 5.2 Electrocatalysis and Electrocatalysts for DMFC. 5.3 DMFC Electrocatalyst Characterization and Evaluation. 5.4 DMFC Performance Advancement via MEA Design. 5.5 Prospects for DMFC. 5.6 Conclusions. References. 6 Platinum Alloys as Anode Catalysts for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ( Ermete Antolini). 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Phase Diagram vs. Activity: New Chances for DMFC Anodes. 6.3 Preparation Methods of Pt Alloys. 6.4 Activity Evaluation of Pt Alloys. 6.5 Stability of Pt-Ru Catalysts in DMFC Environment. 6.6 Conclusions. References. 7 Methanol-Tolerant Cathode Catalysts for DMFC ( Claude Lamy, Christophe Coutanceau, and Nicolas Alonso-Vante). 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Thermodynamics and Kinetics of the Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR). 7.3 Experimental Details. 7.4 Synthesis and Characterizations of Nanostructured Catalysts for the ORR. 7.5 Catalyst Tolerance in the Presence of Methanol. 7.6 Summary and Outlook. References. 8 Carbon Nanotube-Supported Catalysts for the Direct Methanol Fuel Cell ( Chen-Hao Wang, Li-Chyong Chen, and Kuei-Hsien Chen). 8.1 Introduction. 8.2 Preparation of Carbon Nanotube-Supported Catalysts. 8.3 Characteristics of the Carbon Nanotube Electrode. 8.4 Electrochemical Behavior of Carbon Nanotube-Supported Catalysts. 8.5 Direct Growth of Carbon Nanotubes as Catalyst Supports. 8.6 Conclusion. References. 9 Mesoporous Carbon-Supported Catalysts for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ( Chanho Pak, Ji Man Kim, and Hyuk Chang). 9.1 Introduction. 9.2 Mesoporous Carbon. 9.3 Mesoporous Carbon-Supported Catalyst. 9.4 Fuel Cell Performance of Mesoporous Carbon-Supported Catalyst. 9.5 Summary and Prospect. References. 10 Proton Exchange Membranes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ( Dae Sik Kim, Michael D. Guiver, and Yu Seung Kim). 10.1 Introduction. 10.2 Synthesis of Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for DMFC. 10.3 Conclusions. References. 11 Fabrication and Optimization of DMFC Catalyst Layers and Membrane Electrode Assemblies ( Liang Ma, Yunjie Huang, Ligang Feng, Wei Xing, and Jiujun Zhang). 11.1 Introduction. 11.2 Components for DMFC Catalyst Layer Optimization. 11.3 Catalyzed DMFC Electrode Structure and Fabrication Process. 11.4 Other Electrode Fabrication Methods for DMFCs. 11.5 Summary. References. 12 Local Current Distribution in Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ( Andrei A. Kulikovsky and Klaus Wippermann). 12.1 Introduction. 12.2 Model. 12.3 The Bifunctional Regime of DMFC Operation. 12.4 Direct Methanol-Hydrogen Fuel Cells (DMHFCs). 12.5 Bifunctional Activation of DMFC. 12.6 Conclusions. 12.7 List of symbols. References. 13 Electrocatalysis in the Direct Methanol Alkaline Fuel Cell ( Keith Scott and Eileen Yu). 13.1 Introduction. 13.2 History of Alkaline Methanol Fuel Cells. 13.3 Electrocatalysis of Methanol Oxidation in Alkaline Media. 13.4 Oxygen Reduction and Methanol Tolerant Electrocatalysts. 13.5 Direct Methanol Fuel Cells in Alkaline Media. 13.6 Direct Alkaline Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells. 13.7 Alkaline Fuel Cells with other Direct Liquid Fuels. 13.8 Conclusions. References. 14 Electrocatalysis in Other Direct Liquid Fuel Cells ( Sharon L. Blair and Wai Lung (Simon) Law). 14.1 Introduction. 14.2 Electrocatalysis of Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells. 14.3 Electrocatalysis of Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells. 14.4 Electrocatalysis of Direct Hydrazine Fuel Cells. 14.5 Other Direct Liquid Fueled Fuel Cells. 14.6 Summary. References. Index.


Abstract. Mineral dust is the most abundant aerosol, having a profound impact on the global energy budget. This research continues our previous studies performed on surface soils in the Arabian Peninsula, focusing on the mineralogical, physical and chemical composition of dust deposits from the atmosphere at the Arabian Red Sea coast. For this purpose, aerosols deposited from the atmosphere are collected during 2015 at six sites on the campus of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) situated on the Red Sea coastal plain of Saudi Arabia and subjected to the same chemical and mineralogical analysis we conducted on soil samples. Frisbee deposition samplers with foam inserts were used to collect dust and other deposits, for the period December 2014 to December 2015. The average deposition rate measured at KAUST for this period was 14 g m−2 per month, with lowest values in winter and increased deposition rates in August to October. The particle size distributions provide assessments of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of a subset of samples confirms variable amounts of quartz, feldspars, micas, and halite, with lesser amounts of gypsum, calcite, dolomite, hematite, and amphibole. Freeze-dried samples were re-suspended onto the Teflon ® filters for elemental analysis by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), while splits from each sample were analyzed for water-soluble cations and anions by ion chromatography. The dust deposits along the Red Sea coast are considered to be a mixture of dust emissions from local soils and soils imported from distal dust sources. Airborne mineral concentrations are greatest at or close to dust sources, compared to those through medium- and long-range transport. It is not possible to identify the exact origin of deposition samples from the mineralogical and chemical results alone. These aerosol data are the first of their kind from the Red Sea region. They will help assess their potential nutrient input into the Red Sea, as well the impact on human health, industry, and solar panel efficiency. These data will also support dust modeling in this important dust belt source area by better quantifying dust mass balance and optical properties of airborne dust particles.


In this study, the authors consider distributed orthogonal space–time block coding for relay-based channel state information-assisted amplify-and-forward networks. Specifically, they show that opportunistic relaying (OR) is an optimal solution in terms of instantaneous signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), that is, it provides the maximum instantaneous SNR under the constraint of fixed transmit power for the relays. In particular, instead of allocating the given transmit power to all relays, letting the best relay transmit with this power is an optimal solution for maximising the received SNR. To exhibit this benefit, Monte Carlo simulations are presented showing superior performance of the OR scheme compared to equal power allocation policy for the considered relay networks. For the considered optimal scenario, the authors further derive analytical expressions for the outage probability and symbol error rate (SER) over quasi-static independent, not necessarily identically distributed Nakagami-m fading channels. They further present asymptotically tight approximations for the outage probability and SER in the high SNR regime, rendering insights into the cooperative diversity behaviour. Finally, numerical results are provided to examine the effect of network parameters on the system performance of the considered network.


The "grand bargain" of workers' compensation, whereby workers relinquished the right to sue their employers in exchange for no-fault occupational injury insurance, was one of the great tort reforms of the Twentieth Century. However, there is one U.S. state that has always permitted employers to decline workers' compensation coverage, and in which many firms ("nonsubscribers") have chosen to do so: Texas. This study examines the impact of Texas nonsubscription on fifteen large, multistate nonsubscribers that provided their Texas employees with customized occupational injury insurance benefits ("private plans") in lieu of workers' compensation coverage between 1998 and 2010. As economic theory would lead one to expect, nonsubscription generated considerable cost savings. My preferred estimates suggest that costs per worker hour fell by about 44 percent. These savings were driven by a drop in the frequency of more serious claims involving replacement of lost wages, and by a decline in costs per claim. Both medical and wage-replacement costs fell substantially. Although the decline in wage-replacement costs was larger in percentage terms than the drop in medical costs, the latter was equally financially consequential since medical costs comprise a larger share of total costs. The second stage, which compares the effect of nonsubscription across different types of injuries, finds that non-traumatic injury claims were more responsive to nonsubscription than traumatic ones. In part, this disparity reflects the fact that private plans categorically exclude some non-traumatic injuries from the scope of coverage. Yet even those non-traumatic injuries that were not excluded from coverage declined more than traumatic injuries, consistent with aggressive claim screening by employers and/or a decline in over-claiming and over-utilization by employees in the nonsubscription environment. The third stage examines the effect of nonsubscription on severe, traumatic injuries, which are generally the least susceptible to reporting bias and moral hazard. The sizable and significant decline in such injuries is consistent with an improvement in real safety, although it could also be explained by aggressive claim screening. The final stage of the study probes whether four ubiquitous features of private plans – non-coverage of permanent partial disabilities, categorical exclusion of many diseases and some non-traumatic injuries, capped benefits, and lack of chiropractic care – explain the observed trends. Surprisingly, these features account for little of the estimated cost savings. Although many study participants describe limited provider choice and 24-hour reporting windows as major cost drivers, data limitations preclude me from identifying their respective impacts. Overall, my findings suggest an urgent need for policymakers to examine the economic and distributional effects of converting workers' compensation from a cornerstone of the social welfare state into an optional program that exists alongside privately-provided forms of occupational injury insurance.


We present a system for free-form surface modeling that allows a user to modify a shape by changing its rendered, shaded image using stroke-based drawing tools. User input is translated into a set of tangent and positional constraints on the surface. A new shape, whose rendered image closely approximates user input, is computed using an efficient and stable surface optimization procedure. We demonstrate how several types of free-form surface edits which may be difficult to cast in terms of standard deformation approaches can be easily performed using our system.


This paper presents the comprehensive analytical design and numerical performance evaluation of novel millimetre-wave (mm-wave) switched-beam networks, based on the Rotman lens (RL) array feeding concept. These passive array devices have been designed for operation in the 28GHz frequency band, covering the whole 18–38 GHz frequency range. The primary objective of the work is to conduct a thorough feasibility study of designing wideband mm-wave beamformers based on liquid-crystal polymer (LCP) substrates, to be potentially employed as low-cost and high-performance subsystems for the advanced transceiver units and large-scale antennas. The presented RLs exhibit significant output behaviours for electronic beam steering, in terms of the scattering (S) parameters, phase characteristics, and surface current distributions, as the feeding systems' primary functionality indicators.


Spatially resolved measurements of polarization properties of fiber optic link-such as birefringence, polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) and polarization dependent loss (PDL)-may be effectively performed using polarization sensitive reflectometric techniques. In particular, this paper focuses on polarization-OTDR and reviews its theory and applications. Special emphasis is given to the use of optical reflectometry as a tool to characterize fiber birefringence. This allows to inspect the fiber while cabled and, consequently, to test and improve the cabling process. In addition, it also allows to define reliable mathematical models, which are essential for the design of low polarization mode dispersion fibers. The application of polarization-OTDR to polarization mode dispersion and polarization dependent loss measurements is also discussed.


SCADA is the abbreviation of "Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition."SCADA system basically used in industry for process automation. Process automation is in the sense of data acquisition as well as controlling. Conventional SCADA system working with PC, and some older operating system based mobile phones as client. This paper representing an Android phone as supervisory controller and PC used as a base station to store the data as well as for further processing. The wireless communication between the mobile phone and the base station is performed by using Bluetooth application protocol. The test result have indicated that the mobile phone based SCADA integration using Bluetooth data transfer scheme could enhance the performance of Plant and Machinery in a day without causing an increase in the response time of SCADA function. The supervisor of the plant can see the status of parameter without visiting the site . Therefore this system reduces the maintenance cost and necessity of continuous monitoring. Therefore this system increases the productivity and performance of the Plant. General Terms Industrial Automation, SCADA.


Metal vessels made from precious materials are often noticeably absent from the archaeological record. This dearth of precious metal vessels is especially acute on Crete during the Middle Minoan period. Considering the vital role of metals in the socio-economic life of ancient societies, the loss of precious metal vessels represents a critical gap in our understanding of Minoan society during this period. Rather than relying on the fortuitous discovery of metal vessels in future excavations, this study offers an alternative method of "recovering" these "lost" vessels. Concentrating on the Middle Minoan ceramic assemblages from the palatial sites of Knossos and Phaistos on Crete, this dissertation demonstrates the feasibility of using ceramic skeuomorphs with "metallic" features to re-construct the appearance, function, and roles of metal vessels in Minoan society. The conclusions reached in this study represent only the first glimpses of the possibilities skeuomorphs may offer to the archaeological community. The study of ceramic surface treatments did, in fact, allow for the "reconstruction" of the appearance of certain metal vessels, even permitting the distinction between metallic decorative techniques that were likely first seen on foreign imports and those that were likely developed on Crete--including some that were previously unattested, such as inlay and enamel work, for the Middle Minoan period. The analysis of the origins of the shapes of these skeuomorphs suggest a possible trade in metal goods with the southwestern coast of Anatolia or northern Levantine coast--at a time when the first palaces were being built on Crete--and the analysis of the functional use of the skeuomorphs suggests that the majority of metal vessels were used as luxurious "drinking sets" for the socio-political elite, engendering, in turn, the emulation of ceramic copies to be used by the "sub-elite" as substitutes in competitive feasting ceremonies. In the end, the verdict falls squarely in favour of the skeuomorph; the study of these objects can only provide new avenues of research into the past. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Art & Archaeology of Mediterranean World First Advisor Thomas Tartaron


The role of implications in Australian constitutional law has long been debated. Jeffrey Goldsworthy has argued in a series of influential publications that legitimate constitutional implications must be derived in some way from authorial intentions. I call this the intentionalist model of constitutional implications. The intentionalist model has yielded a sceptical response to several recent High Court decisions, including the ruling in Roach v Electoral Commissioner that the Constitution enshrines an implied conditional guarantee of universal franchise. This article outlines an alternative way of thinking about constitutional implications, which I call the narrative model. I argue that at least some constitutional implications are best understood as arising from historically extended narratives about the relationship of the constitutional text to wider social practices and institutions. The article begins by discussing the limitations of the intentionalist model. It then considers the role of descriptive and normative implications in both factual and fictional narratives, before applying this analysis to the Australian Constitution. I argue that the narrative model offers a plausible basis for the High Court's reasoning in Roach v Electoral Commissioner.


These fifteen original essays address the core semantic concepts of reference and referring from both philosophical and linguistic perspectives. After an introductory essay that casts current trends in reference and referring in terms of an ongoing dialogue between Fregean and Russellian approaches, the book addresses specific topics, balancing breadth of coverage with thematic unity. The contributors, all leading or emerging scholars, address trenchant neo-Fregean challenges to the direct reference position; consider what positive claims can be made about the mechanism of reference; address the role of a theory of reference within broader theoretical context; and investigate other kinds of linguistic expressions used in referring activities that may themselves be referring expressions. The topical unity and accessibility of the essays, the stage-setting introductory essay, and the comprehensive index combine to make R eference and Referring, along with the other books in the Topics in Contemporary Philosophy series, appropriate for use in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses.


In this thesis work I analyze higher spin field theories from a first quantized perspective, finding in particular new equations describing complex higher spin fields on Kaehler manifolds. They are studied by means of worldline path integrals and canonical quantization, in the framework of supersymmetric spinning particle theories, in order to investigate their quantum properties both in flat and curved backgrounds. For instance, by quantizing a spinning particle with one complex extended supersymmetry, I describe quantum massless (p,0)-forms and find a worldline representation for their effective action on a Kaehler background, as well as exact duality relations. Interesting results are found also in the definition of the functional integral for the so called O(N) spinning particles, that will allow to study real higher spins on curved spaces.
In the second part, I study Weyl invariant field theories by using a particular mathematical framework known as tractor calculus, that enable to maintain at each step manifest Weyl covariance.


BACKGROUND
A knowledge gap exists between the list of required actions and the action plan for countering cancer misinformation on social media. Little attention has been paid to a social media strategy for disseminating factual information while also disrupting misinformation on social media networks.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to, first, identify the spread structure of cancer misinformation on YouTube. We asked the question, "How do YouTube videos play an important role in spreading information about the self-administration of anthelmintics for dogs as a cancer medicine for humans?" Second, the study aimed to suggest an action strategy for disrupting misinformation diffusion on YouTube by exploiting the network logic of YouTube information flow and the recommendation system. We asked the question, "What would be a feasible and effective strategy to block cancer misinformation diffusion on YouTube?"

METHODS
The study used the YouTube case of the self-administration of anthelmintics for dogs as an alternative cancer medicine in South Korea. We gathered Korean YouTube videos about the self-administration of fenbendazole. Using the YouTube application programming interface for the query "fenbendazole," 702 videos from 227 channels were compiled. Then, videos with at least 50,000 views, uploaded between September 2019 and September 2020, were selected from the collection, resulting in 90 videos. Finally, 10 recommended videos for each of the 90 videos were compiled, totaling 573 videos. Social network visualization for the recommended videos was used to identify three intervention strategies for disrupting the YouTube misinformation network.

RESULTS
The study found evidence of complex contagion by human and machine recommendation systems. By exposing stakeholders to multiple information sources on fenbendazole self-administration and by linking them through a recommendation algorithm, YouTube has become the perfect infrastructure for reinforcing the belief that fenbendazole can cure cancer, despite government warnings about the risks and dangers of self-administration.

CONCLUSIONS
Health authorities should upload pertinent information through multiple channels and should exploit the existing YouTube recommendation algorithm to disrupt the misinformation network. Considering the viewing habits of patients and caregivers, the direct use of YouTube hospital channels is more effective than the indirect use of YouTube news media channels or government channels that report public announcements and statements. Reinforcing through multiple channels is the key.


This paper participates in the formation of the history of public choice theory. In particular, it will focus on the role of Gordon Tullock and the analysis of the simple majority decision-making process promoted in the famous Calculus of Consent, written along with James M. Buchanan. This paper shows that Tullock has already think about the issue of majority voting prior to the writing of his common book with Buchanan. Between 1959 and 1961 in particular, while Tullock was a postdoctoral fellow at the Thomas Jefferson Center for Studies in Political Economy and Social Philosophy at the University of Virginia and later Assistant Professor in the Department of International Studies at the University of South Carolina, he had an interesting interaction with Anthony Downs about majority decision-making process in a democracy. This interaction that consists in a correspondence between Tullock, Downs and their editors can be found for a part in the Gordon Tullock papers of the Hoover Institution Archives. It gave birth to some major articles by the two authors such as The Problem of Majority Voting by Tullock in 1959, Why the Government Budget is Too Small in a Democracy by Downs in 1960, Problems of Majority Voting: In Defense of Majority Voting by Downs and Problems of Majority Voting: Reply to a Traditionalist by Tullock in 1961. Our purpose is to highlight the interaction that forms the basis of these publications and shows the way Tullock matured his view about the majoritarian rule – one of the cornerstones of the public choice theory – at this time.


The largest corporations in the world are increasingly adopting international corporate responsibility (CR) reporting standards from organizations such as the Global Reporting Initiative to meet stakeholder expectations for reliable and comparable social and environmental performance data. At the same time, significant geographic variations in reporting rates remain. The goal of this paper is to explain the diffusion of international CR reporting standards within the Americas. Reporting rates cannot be explained fully by a country's population size or level of economic development. Based on a unique statistical analysis of the relative impact of institutional environments, corporate resources and strategic orientation, stakeholder pressures, and transnational trade and learning networks, this research concludes that the diffusion of CR reporting throughout the Americas to date has been fueled by a rather narrow set of corporations with the capacities necessary to implement CR reporting and the strategic orientation to benefit from it. Moreover, corporations' internal capacities and the external demands for CR reporting have been enhanced in select countries by national and transnational CR advocacy and training organizations. This has led to an uneven development of CR reporting thus far, and this unevenness is expected to continue even as overall reporting rates increase.


Sequential changes in the development of ethylnitrosourea (ENU)‐induced rat brain tumors were examined histologically, immunohistochemically, electron microscopically and autoradiographically. In 47 Sprague‐Dawley rats transplacentally administrated with ENU, 95 brain tumors developed, including 76 microtumors less than lmm in diameter. Microtumors were found mainly in the paraventricular area, but some were found in the peripheral brain tissue. They were composed of small tumor cells which had round dark nuclei and scanty cytoplasm immunohistochemically negative for Leu 7 and glial Abrillary acidic protein (CFAP). The 19 macrotumors were mature gliomas, 3 of which histologically corresponded to oligodendrogliomas and 16 to mixed gliomas. The tumor cells of the former had small round nuclei with distinct perinuclear halos and a small amount of cytoplasm positive for Leu 7. The latter were chiefly composed of polygonal cells having large round nuclei and rich cytoplasm positive for CFAP. An autoradiographic study using 3H‐thymidine revealed that the labeling index of the tumor cells was high in mixed gliomas and microtumors, but low in oligodendrogliomas. It may be concluded that the constituent cells of microtumors correspond to glioblasts or migrating neuroglias, which gradually mature to form oligodendrogliomas or astrocytomas. ACTA PATHOL. JPN. 35 : 1385–1396, 1985.


Proxy advisors are information intermediaries that enable shareholders to exercise their voting rights. While proxy advisors' influence is documented in market-based corporate governance systems, we know little about the corporate governance role of proxy advice in relationship-based governance systems. Drawing on agency theory and the comparative corporate governance literature, we theorize that shareholders are sensitive to the costs and benefits of monitoring by considering internal monitoring capabilities. We also theorize that relative to market-based corporate governance systems, proxy advice is both less influential and has lower predictive quality in relationship-based governance systems. We test our multilevel model using 13,497 voting results from 613 firms in 16 Western European countries and generally find support for our predictions.


The potential health effects of cocoa flavanols are well described. Ranging from reducing risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease at population levels, moderating disease risk factors including endothelial function and lipid metabolism in clinical trials and mechanistic studies in laboratory studies highlighting target tissues and pathways. However, translating these benefits into public health messages is problematic, due to the high energy and sugar content of many cocoa products, including chocolate. This review considered the role of sugar in cocoa products, what are its physiological effects on bioavailability and bioactivity? Considering, then how cocoa products can be reformulated to reduce sugar intake, and the likely effects on beneficial effects of cocoa flavanols and consumer preferences. Ultimately, although interesting physiological effects are seen with cocoa flavanols, their use as a disease-modifying commodities may be limited the effect such products may have within an individual's and populations overall dietary patterns.


Youn et al. uncovered a pathway whereby Bcl-2 inhibits DNA mismatch repair by attenuating E2F activity, providing a novel mechanism for its role in oncogenesis. Bcl-2 overexpression has been implicated in the pathogenesis of follicular lymphoma and other forms of cancer, an effect that is often ascribed to its role in inhibiting apoptosis (see La Thangue). Using a human fibroblast cell line in which Bcl-2 expression was regulated through exposure to ponasterone A, Youn et al. showed that Bcl-2 overexpression enhanced spontaneous mutagenesis and mutagenesis induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and reduced mRNA and protein expression of the mismatch repair protein MSH2. Mismatch repair activity was reduced in nuclear extracts of Bcl-2-expressing cells. Mutational analysis indicated that the effects of Bcl-2 on mismatch repair were independent of its antiapoptotic effect. Bcl-2 promoted accumulation of hypophosphorylated retinoblastoma tumor-suppressor protein (Rb, which binds and inactivates the transcription factor E2F1) and association of E2F1 with pRb. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that Bcl-2 suppressed E2F association with the MSH2. Human B cell lymphoma cell lines that overexpressed Bcl-2 showed reduced expression of MSH2 and decreased mismatch repair compared with those in a line with little Bcl-2 expression. The Bcl-2-expression cells had enhanced sensitivity to MNNG-induced mutagenesis and reduced activity of E2F. Finally, the authors used immunoprecipitation to show that Bcl-2 associated with Cdk2 (which phosphorylates Rb) and reduced Cdk2's in vitro kinase activity. Thus, the authors propose that the mutagenic effects of Bcl-2 are mediated through suppression of mismatch repair, by way of E2F inhibition by hypophosphorylated Rb. C.-K. Youn, H.-Y. Cho, S.-H. Kim, H.-B. Kim, M.-H. Kim, I.-Y. Chang, J.-S. Lee, M.-Y. Chung, K.-S. Hahm, H. J. You, Bcl-2 expression suppresses mismatch repair activity through inhibition of E2F transcriptional activity. Nat. Cell Biol. 7, 137-147 (2005). [PubMed] N. B. La Thangue. A mismatched role for Bcl-2. Nat. Cell Biol. 7, 101-102 (2005). [PubMed]


Objectives & Background Trauma is a leading cause of death in children. Paediatric out-of-hospital traumatic cardiac arrest (POOHTCA) is a subsection of this. The Ps14 survival prediction model is used to predict survival in trauma patients on the Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN) database. TARN collects and audits data from all trauma receiving hospitals in the UK and many others internationally. It has been hypothesised that there is a difference between the Ps14 survival prediction for POOHTCA and actual survival for POOHTCA patients on the TARN database. Methods Data from the TARN database between 1989–2015 was analysed. A comparison between the Ps14 and actual survival was made. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted on the data using SPSS. A new model to predict survival after POOHTCA was constructed and a comparison between the Ps14 and the new model was made. Results There was a significant difference between the Ps14 prediction model and actual survival. For Known outcomes, predicted survival was 44.9% (95% CI 40.2–49.5%) compared with actual survival of 5.0% (95% CI 3.0%–7.0%). On univariate analysis, age, drowning, year of presentation and time from scene to Emergency Department were found to be significantly different between survivors and non-survivors. Further logistic regression showed only year of presentation and those who received care in the most recent time cohort, remained significant with the remaining variables losing significance. Three models of varying care and patient factors were constructed. The new models were not significantly different to the Ps14 model, C-statistic: 0.709 (95% CI 0.614–0804), 0.709 (0.614–0804) 0.798 (0.672–0.920) and 0.715 (0.603–0.827) for models 1,2,3 and Ps14 respectively. Conclusion The current Ps14 model is not a good predictor of survival for POOHTCA patients. This is most likely due to the small number of POOHTCA patients that survive to discharge. Although the model could be improved with a larger data set, it has been suggested that a traumatic arrest variable could be inserted into the Ps14 model which would reduce predicted survival to between 3% and 7% for this patient population. This would be much closer to actual survival rates and could improve the audit of paediatric trauma care. Figure 1 Figure 2


Heparan sulfate binds to a number of growth factors and morphogens and is highly expressed in the developing mammalian central nervous system (CNS). In order to elucidate heparan sulfate's role in brain development, Inatani et al. selectively knocked out heparan sulfate synthesis in the developing mouse CNS. Mutant mice exhibited malformations in specific regions of the brain that corresponded to disrupted distribution of fibroblast growth factor and decreased cell proliferation. Axon pathfinding in the brain and retina was also disrupted, pointing to additional regulatory functions of heparan sulfate. M. Inatani, F. Irie, A. S. Plump, M. Tessier-Lavigne, Y. Yamaguchi, Mammalian brain morphogenesis and midline axon guidance require heparan sulfate. Science 302, 1044-1046 (2003). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Context. Aims. We aim to present a detailed study of the magnesium-to-silicon and carbon-to-oxygen ratios (Mg/Si and C/O) and their importance in determining the mineralogy of planetary companions.
Methods. Using 499 solar-like stars from the HARPS sample, we determined C/O and Mg/Si elemental abundance ratios to study the nature of the possible planets formed. We separated the planetary population in low-mass planets (<30 M⊙) and high-mass planets (>30 M⊙) to test for a possible relation with the mass.
Results. We find a diversity of mineralogical ratios that reveal the different kinds of planetary systems that can be formed, most of them dissimilar to our solar system. The different values of the Mg/Si and C/O can determine different composition of planets formed. We found that 100% of our planetary sample present C/O < 0.8. 86% of stars with high-mass companions present 0.8 > C/O > 0.4, while 14% present C/O values lower than 0.4. Regarding Mg/Si, all stars with low-mass planetary companion showed values between one and two, while 85% of the high-mass companion sample does. The other 15% showed Mg/Si values below one. No stars with planets were found with Mg/Si > 2. Planet hosts with low-mass companions present C/O and Mg/Si similar to those found in the Sun, whereas stars with high-mass companions have lower C/O.


I. DEMOCRACY AND THE MARKET: THE DOUBLE TRANSITION IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE The literature on transition has pervasively pointed out that post-communist transition in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) constitutes in many ways a historically unique phenomenon, inter alia because it involves a double transition towards (and a consolidation of) first, a liberal democracy and second, a market economy.(2) Ralf Dahrendorf has pointed to the "incompatible time-scale of political and economic reform."(3) While political change can be effected in a period of a few months, economic recovery takes several years. In the intervening period, society must pass through a "valley of tears," during which the "losers" from transition might use the new democratic institutions to derail the economic reform process. One very influential approach for analysing the political dynamics of economic transition, is the theoretical model developed by Adam Przeworski, in Chapter 4 of his book Democracy and the Market (1991, henceforth referred to as DM).(4) In this ambitious book, Przeworski rejects the traditional macro-comparative studies of transition which correlate background institutions in individual countries with outcomes of the democratisation process, as having rather little merit: "I find surprisingly little evidence that the features of the "new republic" do in fact correspond either to traits of the ancien regime or to modalities of transition"(DM: 98). For instance, these traditional "preconditions" approaches(5) have proved incapable of explaining the timing of regime change.(6) Against this preconditions approach, Przeworski adopts a strategic choice approach, focusing on the choices made by the following three groups of actors: politicians in office, technocrats and the population. In his model, Przeworski unambiguously assumes that these actors shape outcomes through their choices in a way that is not especially influenced by historical legacy: they are assumed to make forward-looking choices outside of any context (such as the different economic and political legacies from the pre-transition period). The framework which Przeworski provides in Democracy and the Market for analysing the linkages between political and economic liberalisation has arguably been quite influential in the field of transition theory. Indeed, one reviewer dubs the book as: One of the most important volumes produced in comparative politics in recent years. This is because it not only provides us with a means by which to explain patterns of political and economic reform in recent years in two parts of the world. But it also sets a theoretical agenda for the field of comparative politics. In so doing, Democracy and the Market reminds us that our greatest intellectual challenge lies not in describing and cataloguing the experiences of countries but in developing and defending explanations for why these experiences are, in certain respects, similar and different" (Freeman, 1993: 285, my italics). Przeworski's approach towards analysing transition is indeed very original, in that it provides a marked break with, and seems to claim greater explanatory power than, the prevailing theories on the subject. At the same time, however, Przeworski remains very theoretical and abstract throughout the book, referring only occasionally to empirical data, and when so only selectively, in order to support his theoretical arguments. In fact, Przeworski's book presents a new approach towards theorising about post-socialist transition, full of empirically testable hypotheses. My aim is to select some(7) of Przeworski's proposals and critically check them against the empirical evidence ex post from Poland and Hungary. This will allow me to assess the explanatory value of Przeworski's early theory of transition, while at the same time going beyond the theory by looking at the actual experience of transition in these two countries. …


This thesis provides an analysis and critique of the U.K. conference sector during the post-war period, in response to five hypotheses and research objectives. A pre-tested and piloted postal questionnaire was distributed to 3,000 U.K. conference venues that were drawn from secondary data sources, such as the Venue Directory. A total of 438 (14.6%) usable responses were returned. The research findings used quantitative analysis, with descriptive, explanatory, comparative and predictive research approaches also adopted. Holts linear and exponential smoothing was used to predict future trends.

The literature review concerning the classification of the U.K. conference sector identifies that many of the typologies used over the last decade are often confusing and unnecessarily protracted due to sub divisions. This research forwards a typology comprising of four mutually exclusive classifications, namely purpose-built conference venues, hotels, educational establishments and visitor attractions all with conference facilities.

This research identified many similarities and differences between the four venue classifications. Purpose-built venues initiated the U.K. conference sector during the 1950s. Hotels followed then educational establishments and finally the most recent are visitor attractions with conference facilities. Although purpose-built venues were the originators of the modern U.K. conference sector, growth rates from the other three venue classifications have, at one time or another exceeded that of purpose-built venues during the post-war period.

Purpose-built venues were established in response to demand and were not initially economically focused, whereas the other three venue classifications added conference facilities to generate additional revenue sources and thus were economically motivated. The 1990s were the first decade in which over 37% of each venue classification opened their conference facilities, thus competition grew by over one third within the 1990s. The 1990s were also the most popular decade in which venues across the U.K. conference sector refurbished, with cosmetic changes such as upgrading furnishings and decor commonplace. Such refurbishments were undertaken to keep pace with customer's demands, offering higher standards along with the need to modernise. Overall such refurbishments are viewed as a response to increased competition, cited by all venue classifications as a key issue encountered.

Butler's Lifecycle Model was utilised to explain the development of the U.K. conference sector, identifying that each venue classification has passed through its lifecycle at differing rates, with purpose-built venues having the longest lifecycle, but progressing through its lifecycle the slowest. Visitor attractions have the shortest lifecycle of the four venue classifications.

Respondents perceive the future of the U.K. conference sector as positive, with increasing numbers of venues forecasted to open in the current and subsequent decade. Hotels conference venues still dominate the sector, although visitor attractions are predicted to experience the greatest levels of growth over the current and future decade. The majority of educational establishments and visitor attractions plan to refurbish in the future, whilst the majority of purpose-built venues and hotels do nWhere refurbishment is planned, cosmetic ch to furnishings and decor are commonplace, along wi iationdern conferquipnd hend safety i The majority ofe refurbiplannoccur wihe first half of the t . ll resps perceie fututerence sector totinued growth and increaseet----------------733b0988
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