Globalization creates a need for increased communication competence among Swedes working on the global arena. This study is based on reports of communication processes used by Swedes when interacting professionally with non-Swedes. The reports are derived from interviews.
 The study focuses on three areas.
The communication strategies developed by the respondents for intercultural communication.
The relationship beween the choice of communication strategies and the cultural backgrounds of the respondents - understood in terms of their personal and professional experiences.
The basic theoretical frameworks suitable for the analysis and interpretation of the intercultural communication processes in the described context and for the field more generally.
 The study also addresses questions concerning language use, cultural training, and gender aspects.Further, wih a point of departure in a review of relevant communication theories, ealier research within intercultural communication both in Sweden and abroad, two principal theoretical approaches are discussed. Social constructionism is used to critically analyse the traditional concepts of "national culture", "culture", and "Swedishness". The other approach is a return to mainstream communication theory as a conceptual cornerstone in studying intercultural communication.
 The empirical data consist of 30 qualitative interviews, including 10 international businessmen, 10 Swedish Red Cross delegates, and 10 researchers connected with universities in Sweden, all with wide international experience. Those respondents are all Swedish-born and Sweden-educated.
 The interviews reveal five basic communication strategies, a wide selection of tactics, and many insightful observations. All the strategies and tactics can be used in professional communication/negotiations with non-Swedes. The choice of strategies differs greatly according to the professional cultures of those interviewed, while Swedish identity only rarely plays a part in the choice of strategies and the attitudes expressed in regard to working with non-Swedes. While many of the respondents admitted they lack both a deeper knowledge and understanding of the English language as well as a background in intercultural communication, they deny the need for more support and traning in these areas. The women respondents discussed gender difficulties, and they gave a number of examples of prejudicial behaviour they had experienced or heard about when working abroad.
 It is clear that a mobilisation of selected traditions within mainstream communication theory would be fruitful for the analysis and theory-building of intercultural communication. In particular, the theoretical horizons of Erving Goffman and Jurgen Habemas serve as useful analytic tools in interpreting the experiences told by members of the different professional cultures. In this context, the conceptual foundation of "national cultures" associated with Geert Hofstede and other researchers are found inadequate. The thesis concludes with the proposal to replace this notion with a renewed approach to intercultural communication that builds upon a combination of social constructionism and mainstream communication theory.


We describe the design and the early results of a feasibility experiment for sodium-layer laser-guide-star adaptive optics. Copper-vapor-laser-pumped dye lasers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation program are used to create the guide star. The laser beam is projected upward from a beam director that is located ~5 m from a 0.5-m telescope and forms an irradiance spot ~2 m in diameter at the atmospheric-sodium layer (at an altitude of 95 km). The laser guide star is approximately fifth magnitude and is visible to the naked eye at the top of the Rayleigh-scattered laser beam. To date, we have made photometric measurements and open-loop wave-front-sensor measurements of the laser guide star. We give an overview of the experiment's design and the laser systems, describe the experimental setup, show preliminary photometric and open-loop wave-front-sensor data on the guide star, and present predictions of closed-loop adaptive-optics performance based on these experimental data. The long-term goal of this effort is to develop laser guide stars and adaptive optics for use with large astronomical telescopes.


We investigate Lyapunov exponents of Brownian motion in a nonnegative Poissonian potential $V$. The Lyapunov exponent depends on the potential $V$ and our interest lies in the decay rate of the Lyapunov exponent if the potential $V$ tends to zero. In our model the random potential $V$ is generated by locating at each point of a Poisson point process with intensity $\nu$ a bounded compactly supported nonnegative function $W$. We show that for sequences of potentials $V_n$ for which $\nu_n \|W_n\|_1 \sim D/n$ for some constant $D > 0$ ($n \to \infty$), the decay rates to zero of the quenched and annealed Lyapunov exponents coincide and equal $c n^{-1/2}$ where the constant $c$ is computed explicitly. Further we are able to estimate the quenched Lyapunov exponent norm from above by the corresponding norm for the averaged potential.


The fossil record of the human pelvis reveals the selective priorities acting on hominin anatomy at different points in our evolutionary history, during which mechanical requirements for locomotion, childbirth and thermoregulation often conflicted. In our earliest upright ancestors, fundamental alterations of the pelvis compared with non-human primates facilitated bipedal walking. Further changes early in hominin evolution produced a platypelloid birth canal in a pelvis that was wide overall, with flaring ilia. This pelvic form was maintained over 3–4 Myr with only moderate changes in response to greater habitat diversity, changes in locomotor behaviour and increases in brain size. It was not until Homo sapiens evolved in Africa and the Middle East 200 000 years ago that the narrow anatomically modern pelvis with a more circular birth canal emerged. This major change appears to reflect selective pressures for further increases in neonatal brain size and for a narrow body shape associated with heat dissipation in warm environments. The advent of the modern birth canal, the shape and alignment of which require fetal rotation during birth, allowed the earliest members of our species to deal obstetrically with increases in encephalization while maintaining a narrow body to meet thermoregulatory demands and enhance locomotor performance.


In the decade since the creation of wireless handheld devices, mobile commerce (m-commerce) has become a ubiquitous channel for accessing information and conducting business. Mobile users can now access information anytime and anywhere. Mobile advertising, retailing, and gambling are popular, and gradually the competition among mobile services providers turns fierce. Hence, some services providers adopt personalization technologies to customize content for their users. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of the use of personalization technologies in m-commerce. Although the effectiveness of personalization on the web is well-examined, there is little work on personalization in mobile services. The debates regarding the effectiveness of personalization and technological limitations and privacy concerns motivate us to conduct focus groups with mobile users, and explore the opportunities and challenges of personalized mobile services. The focus groups findings illustrate that mobile users are very concerned about their privacy and spam. We then extract a list of personal information from the focus groups findings. This list of personal information is highly related to mobile users' privacy concerns. We conduct an online survey to gain a better understanding of which piece of information mobile users are more willing to share with services providers and we perform a multi-dimensional scale analysis.


This article analyzes the context and content of a manuscript written by a Perugian nun overseeing the regularization of a group of Franciscan tertiaries into the second order convent of S. Sebastiano in Borgo San Sepolcro in 1500. This narrative allows the "other voice," the voice of the nun, to be heard, but this female voice has a strong agenda, and in its turn blocks the voices of the third-order women. Close reading of the manuscript provides the opportunity to examine the process of regularization by assessing not only the separate roles of the women from Perugia supervising the enclosure and the women, mainly from Borgo San Sepolcro, being newly enclosed, but also the different roles assigned to women and men in the multiple layers of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The account suggests that certain second-order nuns acted in conjunction with sections of the male ecclesiastical hierarchy and the secular authorities to carry out the regularization.


This paper presents a novel approximate dynamic programming technique for solving the pump schedule optimization of real-water distribution networks. The method is based on the significant decreasing of the search space by splitting the optimization problem into smaller units. In addition, the state space of the main distribution system was further reduced to the most important reservoirs. The capabilities of the proposed technique are demonstrated on a real-life problem, the water distribution system of the town of Sopron, Hungary. Nine test cases were defined which represent different initial water level scenarios, thus the new application was easy to compare to a former developed genetic algorithm and to some world-leading optimization solvers which are available on the NEOS Server. The benefits and drawbacks of these deterministic and heuristic methods are highlighted.


Close physical interaction between robots and humans is a particularly challenging aspect of robot development. For successful interaction and cooperation, the robot must have the ability to adapt its behavior to the human counterpart. Based on our earlier work, we present and evaluate a computationally efficient machine learning algorithm that is well suited for such close-contact interaction scenarios. We show that this algorithm helps to improve the quality of the interaction between a robot and a human caregiver. To this end, we present two human-in-the-loop learning scenarios that are inspired by human parenting behavior, namely, an assisted standing-up task and an assisted walking task.


In order to investigate the accuracy and reproducibility of the parameters SDI (silt density index) and MFI (modified fouling index), tests in diverse conditions were performed: with three different types of filter holder, two microfilter pore sizes, with and without permeate spacer and with two foulants (alginate as organic foulant and silica flour as the particulate). Additionally the effect of pressure on fouling indices was analysed. It was concluded, that there is a need to define more boundary conditions in the ASTM standard (exact type of filter holder, exact type of membrane, start conditions) for the SDI to achieve a parameter with reliable and comparable values. But in comparison to MFI, SDI seems to be a more robust parameter for a use in practice pertaining to the influence of a feed pressure level and the effective membrane area. The MFI gives more insights in acting mechanisms and offers advantages for research. It shows a correlation to a concentration of particulate or organic foulants. Like the SDI, it is necessary to define and standardize exact boundary conditions for the MFI tests (classified by the use of MF, UF or NF filter media).


In countries emerging from civil war with weak governments, bribery demands will be used opportunistically by officials operating under unclear rules that allow them to invent offences or simply to extort funds from ordinary people. Furthermore, many people may engage in illegal activities, such as smuggling or illicit trade in arms, and may need the protection of public authorities to continue to operate. Peacebuilding strategies must avoid triggering vicious spirals. An economy that is jumpstarted by giving monopoly powers to a few prominent people may produce a society that is both lacking in competition and unequal. Although it may be risky and difficult to counter corruption in post-conflict peacebuilding, if the problem is allowed to fester, it can undermine other efforts to create a stable, well-functioning state with popular legitimacy. Care must be taken in starting down the road to reform. Strong leadership from the top is needed that moves towards the goal of a more legitimate and better functioning government and sidelines those who have in the past been using the state as a tool for private gain through threats and intimidation. International assistance can, in principle, help, but it needs to be tailored to avoid exacerbating the underlying problem created by the mixture of corruption and threats of violence from those inside and outside the government.


The present study addresses two questions: On a non-visual multimodal interface for textual information browsing, (1) how prevalent is input modality switching as an error handling strategy, and (2) how much does an input modality need to fail before input modality switching occurs. The results indicate that although switching input modalities to correct errors is an expected practice on multimodal GUIs, it is not the prevalent strategy for non-visual multimodal interfaces. We believe that users are more likely to diversify their error handling strategies within a modality, if different strategies are possible, but we have not found conclusive evidence for this belief. However, our analysis suggests that the failure to switch modalities when errors occur may, in part, be due to the prevalence of alternative error handling strategies in a particular input modality, that is, the user prefers to stay in the same modality rather than assume the cognitive load of a switch.


Does culture affect female labor supply? In this paper, we address this question using a recent approach to measuring the effects of culture on economic outcomes, i.e. the epidemiological approach. We focus on migrants, who come from different cultures, but who share a common economic and institutional set-up today. Controlling for various individual characteristics including parental human capital as well as for current economic and institutional setup, we find that female employment rates in 1970 in a female migrant's province of origin affects her labor supply behavior in 2008. We also show that it is the female employment rates and not male in the province of origin in 1970 that affects the current labor supply behavior. We also extend the epidemiological approach to analyze the effects of religion on female labor supply. More specifically, we use a proxy of parental religiosity, i.e. share of party votes in 1973 elections in Turkey to study female labor supply in 2008. Our findings indicate that female migrants from provinces that had larger (smaller) shares of the religious party votes in 1973 are less (more) likely to participate in the labor market in 2008. An extended model where both cultural and religiosity proxies are included shows that culture and religiosity have separately significant effects on female labor supply behavior.


The political science discipline has recently engaged in contentious debate about the value of "research transparency," particularly for research with human participants. The discipline is also holding vital conversations about research ethics and is rekindling dialogue about different ways of knowing. We offer an integrated account of how the actions that scholars who conduct human participant research take to respect ethical principles (which vary by research substance and settings), and their epistemological commitments (which vary across researchers), influence openness, a broader concept than "transparency." These principles and commitments shape scholars' openness practices simultaneously—both independently and in concert—serving as a prism through which multiple features of a research project are refracted, and resulting in a scholar's inclination and ability to pursue openness in different ways and to different degrees with the audiences of her work. We also show how ethical principles and epistemological commitments can not only constrain and prevent openness, but also animate and require it. We suggest that scholars pursuing openness ethically, and in ways that honor their epistemological commitments, represents good social science, and we offer strategies for doing so. To develop our argument, we focus primarily on two research methods, ethnography and interviews, and on openness toward two audiences, human participants and research communities. Our account illuminates how the heterogeneity of human participant research makes it inappropriate, indeed impossible, to develop blanket rules for pursuing openness. Throughout, we highlight the importance of reflexivity for the ethical conduct of, and for being ethically open about, political science research.


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Abstract This article analyses contemporary forms of extreme-right violence in Russia. The authors deal with the traditions and ideological background of the militant right-wing extremist scene as well as with its contemporary social and political background. The most important forms of right-wing extremist violence are identified as ad hoc hate crimes, local ethnically motivated conflicts, activities of organised gangs, the existence of paramilitary units and terrorist tendencies. Political reactions to this violence in Russia are described. The authors come to the conclusion that the threat of extreme-right violence will remain an important element of Russia's future security development.


Abstract The kaolinized granites of St. Austell, England, are worked to produce a range of china clay products, for some of which the kaolin has to meet stringent particle shape and size specifications. Systematic petrographic study indicates that kaolin occurs in the form of two textural types: (i) finely crystalline kaolin (typically <5 μm in average diameter), which infills dissolution porosity of granitic feldspars, and (ii) coarsely crystalline vermiform aggregates (up to 100 mm or more in length), which are closely associated with expanded micas. The vermiform aggregates are characterized by an intergrowth of mica and kaolin crystals, which can be observed at scales of resolution offered by TEM. Textural and chemical evidence suggest that the expanded mica texture is probably the result of preferential precipitation of kaolin along mica cleavage planes and is not simply a process of chemical replacement. Petrographic examination of kaolin slurries sampled at different points in a typical refinery circuit indicates that platy products with high aspect ratio are derived exclusively from raw materials rich in vermiform aggregates. The fine scale intergrowth of kaolin and mica within the aggregates results in circumstances where mica persists through to fine grained products. Furthermore, the absence of Fe or other chemical components in the kaolin structure suggests that any iron reported for the final products may be a consequence of the presence of Fe-bearing mica within a very fine grained intergrowth.


We consider the problem of learning structures and parameters of continuous-time Bayesian networks (CTBNs) from time-course data under minimal experimental resources. In practice, the cost of generating experimental data poses a bottleneck, especially in the natural and social sciences. A popular approach to overcome this is Bayesian optimal experimental design (BOED). However, BOED becomes infeasible in high-dimensional settings, as it involves integration over all possible experimental outcomes. We propose a novel criterion for experimental design based on a variational approximation of the expected information gain. We show that for CTBNs, a semi-analytical expression for this criterion can be calculated for structure and parameter learning. By doing so, we can replace sampling over experimental outcomes by solving the CTBNs master-equation, for which scalable approximations exist. This alleviates the computational burden of integrating over possible experimental outcomes in high-dimensions. We employ this framework in order to recommend interventional sequences. In this context, we extend the CTBN model to conditional CTBNs in order to incorporate interventions. We demonstrate the performance of our criterion on synthetic and real-world data.


Two experiments were carried out to determine ruminal degradability of sesame meal (SSM) and its effects on intake, digestibility, rumen parameters, chewing activity, and lamb performance when it replaced soybean meal (SBM). Degradability of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) were determined with the nylon bag technique using three fistulated Zel ewes. The quickly and potentially degradable DM of SSM was lower, but their degradation rates of DM were similar. The quickly degradable protein in the SSM was greater, but the slowly degradable protein of SSM was lower. Potential degradable protein of SBM was greater. The degradation rate of protein was greater in the SSM. Thirty Zel lambs were assigned to five treatments, namely 1) control diet that contained SBM, and 2), 3), 4) and 5) diets that contained 25, 50, 75, and 100% DM of SSM partially or entirely replacing SBM and part of barley grain. There was no difference in the intakes of DM, CP, ether extract (EE), and non-fibre carbohydrate (NFC) among treatments, but neutral detergent fibre (NDF) intake increased when the SSM inclusion rate was increased. Digestibility of DM and EE, passage rate, and total mean retention time differed, but the digestibility of NDF, CP, and NFC, rumen liquid pH and NH 3 -N, passage rate, rumen retention time, eating time, rumination, total chewing activity, DM intake, daily gain, feed conversation ratio, carcass yield and characteristics were not different between treatments. Replacing the SBM with SSM in lamb, improved intake, digestibility, and rumen condition, without reduction in performance and carcass composition. Keywords: Carcass characteristic, feedlotting, lamb, mean retention time, ruminal degradability, soybean meal


ABSTRACT Heritage tourism is a growing segment of the modern tourism industry, and several studies have been undertaken to identify the individuals who participate in this type of tourism. These have indicated that heritage tourists, generally, are middle class, middle age, and well educated. However, despite their iconic role, there has been relatively little attention paid to profile of visitors to World Heritage Sites. This study aims to better understand the demography of this specific tourism segment through the use of survey-based research at three geographically diverse World Heritage Sites: Independence Hall in the USA, Studenica Monastery in Serbia, and the Archaeological Site of Volubilis in Morocco. Through the use of descriptive statistics, several over-arching trends were noted among the three sites. World Heritage Site visitors were found to be very well educated, but they did not have any similarities in relation to age, income, or residence, which contrasts the "general" heritage tourist typology. However, there were several World Heritage specific trends. While this work is a snapshot of the three sites under study and thus is difficult to generalize, it provides the basis for more comprehensive demographic research on visitors to World Heritage Sites.


29 May 2013 is the sixtieth anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest. The allure of Everest remains undimmed, and the publication of this unique book celebrates this most majestic of mountains, with exclusive access to the photographic imagery and private archives of celebrated climber and photographer George Lowe, the last surviving member of that triumphant expedition. Not only the anniversary of the first ascent, 2013 sees other significant Everest anniversaries: 50 years since the first American ascent; 35 years since the first ascent without supplementary oxygen; and 25 years since the first ascent by a route up the South Buttress on the eastern Kangshung Face. An outstanding team of mountaineers and distinguished contributors associated with Everest provide their reflections and tributes, helping to create a remarkable visual and personal testimony to this historic event and to a mountain like no other.


Why should books drive the academic hierarchy? This controversial question posed by Lindsay Waters ignited fierce debate in the academy and its presses, as he warned that the "publish or perish" dictum was breaking down the academic system in the United States. Waters hones his argument in this pamphlet with a new set of questions that challenges the previously unassailable link between publishing and tenure. As one of the most important and innovative editors in the humanities and social sciences, Waters has witnessed the self-destruction occurring in the academic world because of the pressure to publish. Drawing upon his years of experience, he reveals how this principle is destroying the quality of educational institutions and the ideals of higher learning. It is time for scholars to rise up, Waters argues, and reclaim the governance of their institutions.


This important work describes recent theoretical advances in the study of artificial neural networks. It explores probabilistic models of supervised learning problems, and addresses the key statistical and computational questions. Chapters survey research on pattern classification with binary-output networks, including a discussion of the relevance of the Vapnik Chervonenkis dimension, and of estimates of the dimension for several neural network models. In addition, Anthony and Bartlett develop a model of classification by real-output networks, and demonstrate the usefulness of classification with a "large margin." The authors explain the role of scale-sensitive versions of the Vapnik Chervonenkis dimension in large margin classification, and in real prediction. Key chapters also discuss the computational complexity of neural network learning, describing a variety of hardness results, and outlining two efficient, constructive learning algorithms. The book is self-contained and accessible to researchers and graduate students in computer science, engineering, and mathematics.


The 2.48 Ga, mafic, River Valley Intrusion hosts contact-style Cu-platinum group element (PGE) mineralization. Magmatic sulphides comprise pyrrhotite + chalcopyrite + pentlandite whereas hydrothermal sulphides comprise chalcopyrite + pyrite + marcasite. The latter are more widespread, forming a halo up to 150 m from the mineralized zone, and are intimately associated with replacement assemblages comprising 1) amphibole + chlorite + epidote + biotite + quartz + carbonate + sodic plagioclase, and 2) K-feldspar + chlorite + quartz + amphibole + muscovite + sodic plagioclase. Platinum group minerals (PGM) in magmatic sulphides are mostly moncheite and kotulskite. Most PGM, however, occur with hydrothermal silicates and sulphides and are dominated by kotulskite, isomertieite, sperrylite, and un-named Pd- and Pt-alloys. Fluid-rock interaction has caused widespread redistribution of base metals, sulphur and PGE. A lithogeochemical hydrothermal dispersion halo, best defined by Cu, extends well into the hanging wall of the mineralized zone.


Abstract—Global demand for oil and gas has resulted in increased seismic exploration for new resources in environmentally sensitive areas. Reports of damage to ecosystem function have been reported, but the environmental effects of seismic exploration are largely undocumented. Key impacts in mangroves include tree removal and trampling. This paper reports on their effects in southeast Tanzania, through assessments of tree density and species distribution, incidence of local harvesting and changes in environmental conditions that might influence the biota. Seismic survey-related gaps in the canopy have not resulted in increases in mangrove recruitment, or affected microhabitat temperatures or salinity. However, seismic lines may have become access routes, leading to increased mangrove harvesting. There were few signs of recovery in the immediate vicinity of seismic lines, which appeared to be related to trampling effects on soil stability and changes in hydrology attributable to the loss of trees. Future research should target seedling and sapling abundance and growth rates, and soil structure, composition and nutrient levels. Recommended mitigation measures would involve the promotion of mangrove regeneration and the prevention of secondary impacts such as the use of lines as access routes, with monitoring of forest recovery. Keywords: Mangrove, recovery, oil exploration, seismic survey, Mnazi Bay Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park, Tanzania, East Africa.


The process by which naïve T helper (TH) cells differentiate into the TH1 and TH2 subtypes has been well studied. However, there remain some unresolved issues pertaining to the requirements for the initial step of TH cell differentiation. Much debate exists about whether the roles of cytokines include the forcing of the initial steps of differentiation on naïve TH cells, termed "instruction," or whether cytokines act in a supportive role, termed "selection," whereby newly differentiating TH cells are given the proper signals for survival and proliferation. A recent paper by Mullen et al., which helps delineate the role of cytokines in TH1 cell development, is addressed by Nelson; it appears that cytokines act in the selection stage of TH cell maturation.


In many countries, the economic crisis has contributed to the increase of already-existing economic and social inequalities. These circumstances have contributed to the questioning of knowledge and conventional values, accelerating the need to rethink the roles of the different actors within the production system and to combine new forms of organization and interaction among the public sector, civil society organizations, private enterprises and citizens. In this context, researchers, politicians and society in the broader sense have focused on the role played by organizations, which by their nature mainly pursue social purposes and are characterized by systems of participative governance. The term "social economy" is often used to identify the universe of private organizations that pursue goals other than profit. This concept is increasingly supplanting other concepts that are used for the same purpose. While this sector has long constituted an important component of the economy in many European countries, the interest in quantifying its presence and importance is more recent, partly because of the lack of comprehensive data on all the different organizational forms it comprises. The Italian Institute of Statistics (Istat) sought to overcome this issue with its 9th Industry and Services Census. Given these premises, by analyzing the data of the Census, this study explores the size of the social economy in Italy in terms of organizations, employment and revenues, while taking into account the market/non-market orientation of the organizations.


This paper explores the concepts of modelling a software development project as a process that results in the creation of a continuous stream of data. In terms of the Jazz repository used in this research, one aspect of that stream of data would be developer communication. Such data can be used to create an evolving social network characterized by a range of metrics. This paper presents the application of data stream mining techniques to identify the most useful metrics for predicting build outcomes. Results are presented from applying the Hoeffding Tree classification method used in conjunction with the Adaptive Sliding Window (ADWIN) method for detecting concept drift. The results indicate that only a small number of the available metrics considered have any significance for predicting the outcome of a build.


Political Excursions to Brussels on EU matters can be a very effective and important methods and format of civic education. Based on experience from practice, this can be the case in particular if they are conceived of, organised and implemented as in-situ seminars, which has been practised in over 40 seminars since 2004. The format we advocate and demonstrate here, with an early qualitative evaluation based on the literature and contrast to other practices and models, is one of an exemplary (by policy field), multi-perspective (different key institutions, players, actors and preferable nationalities on inputting participants or at least experts) approach which is conducted in-situ. This is, however, resource and planning intensive, and requires quite a high degree of experience and expertise, and is not a model which can be taken to a mass-produced regular repeat delivery. The learning and engagement of voluntary participants in non-formal education, in addition to (though at times in partnership with) formal education institutions - such as secondary schools or universities – is very significant and has been shown and evaluated to be of a high level of quality with significant nation-wide appeal in Germany and of staying power in the market for civic education. We also reflect on how this approach may be a basis for genuinely trans-national non-formal civic education in Europe on EU matters.


Acidification of the natural environment by anthropogenic sources of sulphur and nitrogen in many parts of Europe is well documented (Last & Watling 1991). In Britain at present point sources account for approximately 70% of the total load (RGAR 1990). Acidification leads to a number of adverse impacts on the nature conservation resources of Britain (Woodin & Farmer 1993, Farmer 1995) and it is important that emissions are reduced to a level which is sustainable (DoE 1994).

There has, however, been little attempt to quantify the relative contribution of different sources of sulphur to impacts on nature conservation. Such information would be particularly important in formulating national pollution reduction strategies and inform individual regulatory decisions. This report presents results from one approach to this problem. The nature conservation impact is assessed by reference to Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). However, it is important to note that whilst these statutorily designation sites do contain the most important habitats and species of nature conservation importance in Britain, important conservation resources also occur in other areas. The analysis is based on assessments using the critical loads approach. The impact is quantified by an examination of sulphur deposition which is greater than the critical load for soils on each SSSI. The critical loads approach (Bull 1991, CLAG 1994) has been used extensively to define thresholds for effects and is a central component of the UK government's policy development for controlling acid emissions (DoE 1991, DoE 1994). In this study exceedence of a critical load leading to soil acidification on an SSSI is considered to constitute an adverse impact on that site.


Background The oesophagus is normally devoid of eosinophils. There are some disorders accompanying with eosinophil infiltration. Food allergy has been reported as a common reason, especially in children but some other studies have also indicated that aeroallergens might have a role in oesophageal eosinophil accumulation.


This paper investigates how business development takes place through grocery retailers' collaboration with suppliers. The private labels account for up to over 40 % of grocery retailing in Western countries. Grocery retailers have until recently mainly used private labels as cheaper versions of manufacturer brands, but now seem to use private labels in a proactive strategy competing with other grocery retailers and manufacturer brands on both quality and price. We claim this shift in strategic orientation for private labels demands changes in the pattern of collaboration between retailers and their private label suppliers. Departing from a strategic understanding of grocery retailers' collaboration with their suppliers this paper investigate and compare collaboration between two types of private label suppliers and grocery retailers. The paper contributes to supplier development theory with a new understanding of collaboration between grocery retailers and various types of private label suppliers. The relevant management implications are described for both retailers and private label suppliers.


The biomass and composition of the phytoplankton was studied at seven sampling stations located at different water bodies (open water, inner pond and canal) of a large, shallow turbid lake (Lake Fertő, Neusiedlersee). The open water was characterized by picocyanobacteria and meroplanktonic diatoms, the artificial canal by epiphytic diatoms, cryptophytes and chlorophytes. The inner ponds, based on the phytoplankton composition, were positioned between these water bodies. High picoplankton abundance (>10 6 cells.mL −1 ) and predominance (up to 80% contribution to the total phytoplankton biomass) were detected in the open water and the inner ponds, which was hypothesized to be the result of the turbid environment by the suppression of the top down control and by light-limitation. Information on the diversity of the picoplankton in the open water of the lake has been presented first time in this study. Based on molecular analysis (16S rRNA gene and cpcBA -IGS region) the dominant group of picocyanobacteria belonged to the Cyanobium gracile cluster (group A) of the picophytoplankton clade in April. Members of two other picocyanobacterial groups (group B and C) were also detected.


This brief discusses legislative developments during COVID-19 in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines that undermine sustainable human-environment interactions and IPs' and LCs' broader enjoyment of their rights over their customary territories. While India, Indonesia and the Philippines have yet to ratify the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) (ILO 169), all three countries have ratified the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Each of these countries has also promoted national-level tenure reforms over lands and forests, though their implementation has been weak.


Author(s): Slate, Dennis; Chipman, Richard B.; Rupprecht, Charles E.; DeLiberto, Thomas | Abstract: Persistence of unique rabies virus variants in a diverse array of terrestrial carnivores and insectivorous bats makes rabies control in the U.S. a complex task. The public health system in the U.S. is effective in keeping human deaths near zero each year in the face of enzootic wildlife rabies, but the annual cost of coexistence with the disease is high, exceeding $300 million. In addition, each year tens of thousands of people are impacted by anxiety, fear, and trauma associated with potential or actual rabies exposure to themselves and their domestic animals. Exclusion, proper storage and disposal of garbage, and removal of problem animals are often effective alternatives to address wildlife rabies threats at specific sites; however, oral rabies vaccination (ORV) is the only currently available technique that shows promise for wildlife rabies control on a broad geographic and species scale. In this paper, we discuss progress toward using ORV to contain specific terrestrial rabies virus variants in the U.S. and planning towards coordinated national efforts to explore the elimination of terrestrial variants of rabies virus in the U.S.


Most of the temperature reconstructions for the past two millennia are based on proxy data from various sites on land. Here we present a bidecadal resolution record of sea surface temperature (SST) in Southern Okinawa Trough for the past ca. 2700 years by analyzing tetraether lipids of planktonic archaea in the ODP Hole 1202B, a site under the strong influence of Kuroshio Current and East Asian monsoon. The reconstructed SST anomalies generally coincided with previously reported late Holocene climate events, including the Roman Warm Period, Sui‐Tang dynasty Warm Period, Medieval Warm Period, Current Warm Period, Dark Age Cold Period and Little Ice Age. However, the Medieval Warm Period usually thought to be a historical analogue for the Current Warm Period has a mean SST of 0.6–0.8°C lower than that of the Roman Warm Period and Sui‐Tang dynasty Warm Period. Despite an increase since 1850 AD, the mean SST in the 20th century is still within the range of natural variability during the past 2700 years. A close correlation of SST in Southern Okinawa Trough with air temperature in East China, intensity of East Asian monsoon and the El‐Niño Southern Oscillation index has been attributed to the fluctuations in solar output and oceanic‐atmospheric circulation.


ABSTRACT: In team sports, during the competitive season, peak performance in each game is of utmost importance to coaching staff and players. To enhance recovery from training and games a number of recovery modalities have been adopted across professional sporting teams. To date there is little evidence in the sport science literature identifying the benefit of modalities in promoting recovery between sporting competition games. This research evaluated hydrotherapy as a recovery strategy following a simulated game of rugby union and a week of recovery and training, with dependent variables between two simulated games of rugby union evaluated. Twenty-four male players were randomly divided into three groups: one group (n=8) received cold water immersion therapy (2 X 5min at 10oC, whilst one group (n=8) received contrast bath therapy (5 cycles of 10oC/38oC) and the control group (n=8) underwent passive recovery (15mins, thermo neutral environment). The two forms of hydrotherapy were administered following a simulated rugby union game (8 circuits x 11 stations) and after three training sessions. Dependent variables where generated from five physical stations replicating movement characteristics of rugby union and one skilled based station, as well as sessional RPE values between two simulated games of rugby union. No significant differences were identified between groups across simulated games, across dependent variables. Effect size analysis via Cohen's d and ηp2 did identify medium trends between groups. Overall trends indicated that both treatment groups had performance results in the second simulated game above those of the control group of between 2% and 6% across the physical work stations replicating movement characteristics of rugby union. In conclusion, trends in this study may indicate that ice baths and contrasts baths may be more advantageous to athlete's recovery from team sport than passive rest between successive games of rugby union We are pleased to resubmit our revised manuscript JSCR-08-1992 and have addressed the comments and suggestions raised by the reviewers. Please find below a list of changes or rebuttal against each point.


In this paper, we study the relationship between banking crises, external financial crises and gross international capital flows. First, we confirm that banking and external crises are correlated. Then, as we explore the role of gross capital flows, we find that declines of external liabilities in the balance of payments – a proxy for foreign capital repatriation we call gross foreign investment reversals (GIR) – predict banking as well as external crises. Finally, we estimate the effects of GIR-associated banking crises on the risk of currency and sudden stop crises in an instrumental-variables specification. In developing countries, GIR-associated banking crises increase the onset risk for currency and sudden stop crises by 39-50 and 28-30 percentage points per year respectively. For OECD countries, we show an increase in the currency crisis risk by 33-45 percentage points.


It was at the initiative of Jamshid, the greatest mythical Iranian king in shahnameh, that cosmic time acquired human and chronological dimensions. It was, however, in the reign of Fereydoon that Iranians were separated from the Turanians and thus formed a new entity. This separation ushered in Iran's mythical history with new its own specific characteristics and led to the embodiment of the idea of Iran as a geographic domain where peoples with deep and long-held bonds of common destiny had come to live together as one. With the advent of history, the land was no longer the mere site of geographic features, mountains, rivers and deserts. It went beyond a mere expanse of earth and turned into God's land and the home of an identifiable and distinct people.
Furthermore, it was only with the passage of time that common bonds of language, religion, and social behavior marked the destiny of the inhabitants of the land. It is with the creation of separate homelands, that time and space play a pivotal role in bringing into historical harmony the separate destinies of the members of the community. Thus, Iranians, have for millennia developed their own particular identity, ideals and social order.
In Iranian mythology, the bounded time, which has heralded the existence of good and evil and their constant confrontation, covers three successive millennia. At the end of each millennium, one of Zaratushtra's sons is destined to battle the forces of evil and save the world. In both mythology and religion time is endowed with similar characteristics. In religion, following the final victory and resurrection, the bounded time will transform into infinity and motion dissolves into inertia where man finally enjoys eternal and godly peace. In mythology, too, the bounded time arrived in Jamshid and Fereydoon's reigns when the idea of separation, confrontation and unity materialized.


Copying an element from a photo and pasting it into a painting is a challenging task. Applying photo compositing techniques in this context yields subpar results that look like a collage — and existing painterly stylization algorithms, which are global, perform poorly when applied locally. We address these issues with a dedicated algorithm that carefully determines the local statistics to be transferred. We ensure both spatial and inter‐scale statistical consistency and demonstrate that both aspects are key to generating quality results. To cope with the diversity of abstraction levels and types of paintings, we introduce a technique to adjust the parameters of the transfer depending on the painting. We show that our algorithm produces significantly better results than photo compositing or global stylization techniques and that it enables creative painterly edits that would be otherwise difficult to achieve.


The proliferation of mobile computing and communication devices are driving a revolutionary change in our information society. Among all the applications and services run by mobile devices, network connections and corresponding data services are without doubt the most demanded services by mobile users. A MANET is a continuously self-configuring, infrastructure-less network of mobile devices connected without wires, which makes it ideal for the present scenario. But, due to lack of any centralized infrastructure and access to trusted authorities, the security in MANET poses a huge threat. The prominent routing protocols we know are generally designed for environments where the nodes within a network are non-malicious. Due to the vulnerable nature of the mobile ad hoc network, there are numerous security threats that disturb its development. We propose a protocol for MANETs named "Administrator and Fidelity Based Secure Routing Protocol" (AFSR), which ensures secure routing through the network: by electing an Administrator node on the basis of Willingness and Fidelity, after which a node only communicates to that secure Admin node. This selection of secured admin nodes results in mitigation of various threats. We have evaluated our proposed protocol by simulating and comparing in GloMoSim. ACM CCS (2012) Classification : Networks→Network properties→Network security→Mobile and wireless security; Networks → Networks protocols → Network layer protocols→Routing protocols; Networks→Network types→Ad hoc Networks; Networks→Network performance evaluation→Network simulation *To cite this article: R. Singh et al. , "Administrator and Fidelity Based Secure Routing (AFSR) Protocol in MANET", CIT. Journal of Computing and Information Technology , vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 31-43, 2016.


The article looks critically at attempts to explain the rise of National Socialism in Germany by trying to identify a peculiarly German tradition of antimodernism or reactionary modernism (by, among others, Jeffrey Herf). By looking at different critiques of civilisation in imperial Germany, it tries to show that most of them accepted the necessity of modern technology. What was new about the so-called 'reactionary modernists' in the Weimar Republic was not their willingness to use modern technology, but the full acceptance of the fact that modern technology could only exist on the basis of large technological systems, industrial production and fundamental social and cultural changes. They demanded that Germans unreservedly embrace all aspects of modernity, though without giving up their conservative political ideals. While the 'reactionary modernists' tried to arrange the whole of society in accordance with an alleged technological functionality, National Socialism was politically more successful, exactly because its attitude towards technology and modernity was less coherent. As National Socialism had a purely pragmatic and open attitude towards technology, it could accept without hesitation that its goals were only achievable through the use of modern means, but that the cultural and private sphere should compensate for the deficits of a public life characterised by hardship and instrumental reason.


KUTANÖZ LE‹SHMAN‹AS‹S‹N NAD‹R VARYANTI: ER‹Z‹PELO‹D LE‹SHMAN‹AS‹S ABSTRACT Although cutaneous leishmaniasis was an important health problem in the Southeast Anatolia region of Turkey before the 1950s, it was effectively controlled by successful health policies thereafter. Classical clinical presantation of cutaneous leishmainasis is the painless erytemaotus papules or nodules developed in the areas of infected sandfly bite which are ulcerated and healed gradually with a scar formation. cutaneous leishmaniasis can be presented in its atypical forms as well, such as zosteriform, sporotrichoid, psoriasiform, chancriform, paronychial cutaneous leishmaniasis. In this case report, we present a 67 years old women with erysipeloid cutaneous leishmaniasis, a rare atypical form of cutaneous leishmaniasis, who was succesfully treated. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is an increasing health problem in Middle Eastarn countries and countries receiving refugees nowadays. Regional and international health organizations should be aware of this problem and support the fight against this disease accordingly.


The process of creation of document-centric XML documents often starts with a prepared textual content, into which the editor introduces markup. In such situations, intermediate XML is almost never valid with respect to the DTD/Schema used for the encoding. At the same time, it is important to ensure that at each moment of time, the editor is working with an XML document that can enriched with further markup to become valid. In this paper we introduce the notion of potential validity of XML documents, which allows us to distinguish between XML documents that are invalid because the encoding is simply incomplete and XML documents that are invalid because some of the DTD rules guiding the structure of the encoding were violated during the markup process. We give a linear-time algorithm for checking potential validity for documents.


Background There is a high prevalence of shoulder injuries in volleyball and their preventive management is still a challenge. Isokinetic assessment is largely used in sports injury prevention. Few studies investigate the correlation between the isokinetic profile and injuries story, furthermore these studies analyses the agonist/antagonist ratio and do not consider other parameters as fatigue. Objective to investigate the differences between injured and non injured dominant shoulder in the lateral/medial rotators ratio and fatigue index in volleyball male athletes. Setting all testing took place in the Sports Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Laboratory-LAPREV in elite volleyball. Participants 42 athletes (mean+SD age, 21.3+4.1; height, 196.8+0.06 and body mass, 89.9+8.8) were evaluated in this study (28 at injured group). Participants with upper-extremity surgery in the previous 6 months and pain during the isokinetic test were excluded. Assessment of risk factor: agonist and antagonist ratio at 60°/s and 360°/s and index fatigue at 360°/s in 90° of abduction at dominant shoulder. Main outcome measurement trauma and overuse shoulder injuries story provided by questionnaire. Results The results showed statistical differences between groups in lateral rotators (p=0.039) and medial rotators fatigue (p=0.024). The mean fatigue of lateral rotators in the injury group was 52.9 and 37.0 for non-injured group and 31.6 and 43.8 respectively for medial rotators. No differences were found in the ratio analysis between groups (p=0.403 for 60°/s and p=0.289 for 360°/s). The means were 71.6 and 67.4 for injured and non-injured groups at 60°/s and 56.9 and 63.9 respectively at 360°/s. Conclusion The results show that lateral rotators fatigue was greater in the injured group and no differences were found in the ratio parameters. The fatigue analysis must be incorporated in the athlete's assessment, because seems to be more informative about injury risk.


Inter-document similarity is used for clustering, classification, and other purposes within information retrieval. In this thesis, we investigate several aspects of document similarity. In particular, we investigate the quality of several measures of inter-document similarity, providing a framework suitable for measuring and comparing the effectiveness of inter-document similarity measures. We also explore areas of research related to novelty and diversity in information retrieval. The goal of diversity and novelty is to be able to satisfy as many users as possible while simultaneously minimizing or eliminating duplicate and redundant information from search results. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of diversity-aware retrieval functions, user query logs and other information captured from user interactions with commercial search engines are mined and analyzed in order to uncover various informational aspects underlying queries, which are known as subtopics. We investigate the suitability of implicit associations between document content as an alternative to subtopic mining. We also explore subtopic mining from document anchor text and anchor links. In addition, we investigate the suitability of inter-document similarity as a measure for diversity-aware retrieval models, with the aim of using measured inter-document similarity as a replacement for diversity-aware evaluation models that rely on subtopic mining. Finally, we investigate the suitability and application of document similarity for requirements traceability. We present a fast algorithm that uncovers associations between various versions of frequently edited documents, even in the face of substantial changes. Supervisor: Charles Clarke Examiners: Mark Smucker, Daniel Berry, Olga Vechtomova, and Vlado Keselj


Scheduling a large number of applications on a cluster computing environment is a serious obstacle to achieving good performance. This becomes more critical in real time systems. Due to the NP-completeness of the scheduling problem, most of the related work is based on heuristic techniques with the objective of finding high performance solutions.
A cluster scheduler without enough knowledge of the cluster and the scheduled tasks of given applications cannot adequately manage the cluster resources. Consequently, the cluster resources may not be utilized effectively. Much of current allocation and scheduling work dealing with real-time applications has not provided mechanisms to satisfy the application performance requirements while maximizing the processing power utilization.
In this thesis, we developed a set of new algorithms and heuristics to schedule real time applications on a cluster. We assumed that each application is represented as a task graph. The objective of these algorithms is to satisfy the deadlines of applications' tasks, to improve the processing power utilization, and to increase the throughput. Our scheduling approaches utilized the available processing power on each processor to accommodate as many different applications' tasks as possible while satisfying the required deadline of each task. The algorithms reduce the communication cost among tasks and the possibility of processing power fragmentation.
We proposed scheduling algorithms for different applications' structures: the sequential structures, the fork join structures, conditional structures, and loop structures. We combined the four techniques to schedule general structures. We proved that they produced a better acceptance rate compared to treating each application as one unit. The proposed scheduling techniques have been evaluated through extensive simulation studies and yielded better performance.


In spite of the efforts that have been made to increase awareness and understanding of environmental issues, there is little evidence of a general adoption of pro-environmental behaviours that might characterize environmental citizenship. This paper argues that awareness and understanding are necessary but not sufficient, and reports research which suggests that sufficiency might need to be understood in spiritual terms. An argument is developed in favour of a citizenship founded upon transformative spiritual values in preference to a morality founded upon imposed notions of duty or obligation to support a value system which is itself arguably part of the problem. The primary objection to such an approach is that it would seem to rely upon the preservation of childhood spirituality through the teenage years into adulthood, and this is seen to present many difficulties for researchers, policy-makers and practitioners.


We study the determinants of the firm-level choice to produce following an order placed by a downstream firm (production to order) or to produce in advance. We rationalize this choice through a simple theoretical model and apply it to a firm-level empirical analysis. Relying on a large dataset of Italian manufacturing firms, we show that two main variables affect this choice: the extent of spatial clustering of the industry, and the degree of product complexity and relationship-specificity of the goods that are traded. The sign of the impact of clustering on the choice of producing to order crucially depends on product complexity. If product complexity is high, production to order prevails when firms are clustered together. On the contrary, clustering is associated to production in advance for sectors where goods are standardized.


Ask about German food and most people think of beer and sausage, or pretzels and Limburger cheese. However, the 82 million inhabitants of modern-day Germany do not all live exclusively on Oktoberfest fare. In fact, Germans have a long tradition of taking outside influences into their cuisine, and there is a wide variety of food eaten within the various regions of the country. Beyond Bratwurst traces the many traditions that have combined to form German food today. From their earliest beginnings, food and cooking in Germany have been marked by geographic and climatic differences between north and south, as well as continuous cultural influences from bordering countries. The openness of Germans to these influences has resulted in the frequent reinvention of their cuisine. The regional variations of today are based as much on political, cultural and socioeconomic history as on geography: the story of German food includes the back-to-the-land movement of the late nineteenth century and the development of modern mass-market products by Justus von Liebig and Dr Oetker, as well as rationing and shortages under the Nazis, post-war hunger and divisions between East and West.& #8232; Beyond Bratwurst describes who eats what, how, where, when and why in Germany, telling the stories of many German specialities such as beer, stollen, rye bread and lebkuchen, as well as more surprising German favourites.


Stage B adenocarcinomas of colon (61 carcinomas) and rectum (44 carcinomas) were retrospectively reviewed in order to define prognostic indicators and to determine if they are different for tumors arising at the two sites. Parameters evaluated included the substage of the tumor, histologic grade, presence of vascular/lymphatic invasion, residual adenoma or extracellular mucin, and tumor cell DNA content as determined by flow cytometry of paraffin-embedded tissues. Five-year survival was 81.0% for patients with colonic and 87.5% for those with rectal tumors. DNA ploidy was a significant predictor of overall and disease-free survival in patients with rectal adenocarcinomas (improved survival for those with diploid tumors) but not in those with colonic tumors and not in the two groups combined. The degree of differentiation of the tumor was prognostically significant in the colonic group and for the groups combined but not in the rectal group. There was a trend toward better survival in substage B1 tumors, as compared with substages B2 and B3, particularly in rectal neoplasms. Other histologic parameters did not predict survival. We conclude that the prognostic indicators in colonic adenocarcinoma seem to differ from those of adenocarcinoma arising in the rectum and that DNA ploidy has a significant impact upon outcome in stage B rectal adenocarcinomas.


Nowadays, many people want to work overseas. Most of them have purpose to be a worker in foreign countries such as; Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Meanwhile to go
there, they must have skills. So, all of them register in PJTKI to make their work legally permited. PT Asri Cipta Tenaga Karya is one of PJTKI that have BLK-LN that gives training and educating not only about anything's which are relate to household bit also gives training some language, includes English as a second language that will be used as a basic communication in those intended countries. So, the workers going abroad should have an ability to speak English.
This study concerned with the problems faced by the workers going abroad in learning speaking English at BLK-LN Asri Cipta Tenaga Karya in Singosari Malang. The writer
conducted this study because she wanted to describe the problems faced by the workers going abroad in learning speaking English and the ways by them to solve their problems in learning speaking English.
In this study, the writer used descriptive research design. The subject of this study was the workers going abroad in class 3 of BLK-LN Asri Cipta Tenaga Karya that is consists of 25 learners. The instruments used to collect the data were structured questionnaires and observation.
The result of this study indicated that the problems are related to inhibition, nothing to say, low or uneven participation, mother - tongue use, and speech act, such as; pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, fluency and comprehension.
Furthermore, the solutions of the problems done by the workers going abroad are trying and learning to pronouncing certain words, making simple conversation with their friends or their teacher, practicing English everyday and growing self - confidence, and increasing their vocabulary mastery


The world is arguably returning to great power competition. However, emerging powers are noted as using grey zone and hybrid means short of war. These modes of conflict remain poorly defined, contradictory, and overlapping within the literature. Complicating efforts to understand these phenomena is an overreliance on examples from the 21st century. I partially address this shortcoming by applying Mazarr's concept of the grey zone and measured revisionism to French strategy 1774–1783, focusing on exploitation of the American Revolution. Building from Hoffman's understanding of hybrid warfare, I disentangle these overlapping concepts and demonstrate how they are best understood as separate but interrelated.  I conclude with comparisons to case of Russian hybrid aggression in Ukraine and provide implications for future grey zone and hybrid warfare research.


Abstract Prebiotic carbohydrates are added as functional ingredients to a variety of processed foods. Data on the stability of prebiotics during food processing in complex matrices remain limited. The objective of this project was to determine the stability of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), inulin, galactooligosaccharides (GOS), and resistant starch (RS2), when added as ingredients (1% w/w) to an extruded cereal and a low pH drink. The cereal was prepared using different screw speeds and barrel temperatures. GOS was not affected by any of the extrusion conditions, whereas inulin decreased significantly at 140 and 170°C. FOS levels decreased in all extrusion conditions, while resistant starch (RS) unexpectedly increased for each of the parameters. The low pH drink was prepared with different sucrose to corn syrup solids (S:CSS) ratios (1:2, 1:1, 2:1) at pH 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0. The 1:1 S:CSS drink at pH 3.0, negatively impacted FOS and inulin. Moreover, FOS levels decreased when exposed to 1:2 S:CSS (pH 3.5 and 4.0) and 1:1 S:CSS (pH 3.0). GOS and RS were unaffected by any drink formulations. As different conditions impact the stability of prebiotics differently, this study addresses the importance of developing product specific processes for each prebiotic when supplemented into a processed food.


Adopting a new teaching approach is often a daunting task especially if one is an early adopter in a limited-resource environment. This article describes the challenges encountered and the strategies used in pilot testing a blended instructional method in a large size class within the college of education at a medium-sized university. The main reasons for using the hybrid method were to improve student participation, preparation, and understanding as well as to encourage a more active rather than passive approach to learning which can be particularly difficult in large-sized, undergraduate courses. An action research study was used to document the adoption process and to measure the impact of the blended approach. The results of the action research study and the issues and barriers encountered when implementing a new instructional strategy are discussed as well as ideas for motivating and helping faculty when there is limited funding, training, and support available.


This paper reviews the current evidence on typologically specialized tools assigned to the Toalean tradition of the southwest Sulawesi peninsula. Bone points and a range of stone points appeared across the peninsula in the early Holocene; this probably occurred as part of the expansion of archery and improved spear technology in Island Southeast Asia at the time. The technologically most specialized Toalean tools, namely backed microliths and Maros points, were evidently confined to the southwest of the peninsula. Backed microliths occur in contexts spanning some six millennia, but Maros points were largely restricted to the immediately preceramic period, approximately 5500 to 3500 B.P. The distribution of these tool types closely matches the area where late Holocene pottery in the ornate "Sa Huynh-Kalanay" tradition has been recorded, and where Makasar languages are spoken today. Sulawesi's southwest peninsula may have effectively been an island throughout much of the Holocene, and its southwest fringe runs hard against a major cordillera. Thus, physiographic constraints laid the basis for the division of the peninsula into two "social landscapes" that display long-term continuity throughout the Holocene, notwithstanding fundamental changes in subsistence patterns and technology.


The transition to a low-carbon economy will entail sweeping transformations of energy and economic systems. To such an extent that a growing literature has been worrying about the effect of such strain on the stability of financial system. This "financial transition risk" literature has highlighted that the conjunction of climate policy, technological change and changing consumption patterns may propagate to financial markets. If too brutal or unexpected, such dynamics may result in a "Climate-Minsky" moment of systemic implications. Yet, recent historical developments have shown that financial markets can prove resilient to shocks onto transition-exposed industries such as fossil fuel producers. Should we thus fear transition risks? To answer this question, I propose a critical review of the relevant applied modelling and econometric literatures. Three sub-fields will be examined: the asset stranding literature, the financial econometrics of the low-carbon transition and the direct assessment of transition risks through prospective models. I will expound some key results of these literatures, and critically assess underlying methodologies.


Mastitis, an inflammation of mammary gland, is a serious disease that affects the health of dairy cows around the world. Myricetin, a flavonoid from Bayberry, has been reported to suppress various inflammatory response. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of myricetin on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced in vivo and in vitro mastitis model and clarify the underlying mechanism. In vivo experiments, myricetin attenuated the severity of inflammatory lesion and neutrophil infiltration. Moreover, myricetin pretreatment induced a significant decrease in the activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and the production of TNF‐α, IL‐6, and IL‐1β triggered by LPS. Myricetin pretreatment could also increase the integrity of the blood–milk barrier and upregulate the tight junction proteins in LPS‐induced mice mastitis. In vitro, myricetin inhibited LPS‐induced inflammatory response in mice mammary epithelial cells (mMECs). In the further mechanism studies, we found that the anti‐inflammatory effect of myricetin was mediated by inhibiting LPS‐induced phosphorylation of AKT, IKK‐α, IκB‐α, and P65 in vivo and in vitro. Collectively, these data suggested that myricetin effectively ameliorated the inflammatory response by inhibiting the AKT/IKK/NF‐κB signaling pathway and repairing the integrity of blood–milk barrier in LPS‐induced mice mastitis.


Nearly a century after gravitational waves were first predicted by general relativity, gravitational waves were directly observed in September 2014, marking the beginning of the field of gravitational-wave astronomy.
These travelling distortions of spacetime came from the collision of two black holes, the corpses of massive stars, over a billion light-years away.
In the five years since this initial discovery, we have observed dozens more collisions of these cosmic corpses.
In this thesis, I introduce theoretical models and computational methods to use this population of observations to learn how stars interact and explode, and probe the nature of spacetime.


Learning Disabilities affect individuals in all age groups and affect how one comprehends the information they receive. Individuals with learning disabilities are often distracted by their surroundings and face difficulties to follow paths in surroundings. Learning disabilities can be addressed with proper support, feedback, and assistive technology. Schools provide children a favorable environment to learn and can support overcoming such difficulties with the help of different activities. This paper discusses the design of a sensory exploration system for individuals with Autism Spectrum to help them learn how to follow paths and not get distracted. The sensory exploration system is called "MoonPads" and is designed for use in school environments to teach students and overcome their path following difficulties. MoonPads can be operated and controlled by an Android Mobile Application (App) for use in hallways, and classrooms to teach children how to go from one classroom to another. With the help of a pressure sensor, microcontroller, radio module, and colored LED's, the MoonPads serve as an effective learning tool for individuals with learning disabilities. The sensory exploration system discussed was prototyped on a breakout board and experimented with multiple MoonPads using the App.


We propose two different implementations of an asymmetric two-output probabilistic quantum processor. One of them is constructed by combining asymmetric telecloning with a quantum gate array. We analyze the efficiency of this processor by evaluating the fidelities between the desired operation and the ones generated by the processor and show that the two output states are the same as the ones produced by the optimal universal asymmetric Pauli cloning machine and have a success probability of 1/2. We show further that we can perform the same one-qubit operation with unity probability at the cost of using nonlocal operations. We finally generalize the two schemes for D-level systems and find that the local ones are successful with a probability of 1/D and the nonlocal generalized scheme is always successful.


The identification of body fluids is important in forensic science. This paper describes the application of mid-infrared and Raman spectroscopies in the non-destructive identification of human blood and semen, where other detailed information can also be obtained in one single measurement. Samples of human blood and semen were probed and characterized utilizing Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) and confocal Raman spectroscopies. The result shows their ability to identify an unknown substance to be human blood or semen without the use of chemical reagents. Age determination of dried blood and semen spots through their mid-infrared spectra was investigated, which could probably be used during forensic casework. Furthermore, the origin of the Raman scattering peaks of human semen at 2907 and 2968 cm−1 is detailedly analyzed, which has not been studied in previous literature. Overall, this optical detection and identification method exhibits advantages over conventional chemical methods in terms of non-destruction, high sensitivity, rapid detection and direct confirmation.


While the teacher shortage is a national crisis, the manifestations of the shortage are felt most acutely at the local district level. The diversity of these micro-contexts often leads to disparities in the ways local school systems are served by large-scale initiatives. District leaders provide an important lens for understanding the localized manifestation of teacher shortages. This research contributes to the existing macro-level literature on teacher shortages through investigation of the ways in which district leaders in West Virginia make sense of and respond to the teacher shortage. As part of a broader study, we share analyses of interviews with seven district leaders across five county school districts and highlight the ways in which leaders made sense of the phenomenon in paradoxical ways, both in terms of the most salient causes as well as the perceived locus of control in addressing the teacher shortage. Findings also highlight the way district leader sensemaking led to action, with responses differing based on relative affordances of metropolitan versus rural contexts. We conclude with implications for policy and research to further understand the local nature of teacher shortages and to address the problem, particularly in rural contexts underserved by current research and policy.


A survey of the genome of the sea squirt Ciona intestinalis turned up an unusual molecule with sequence similarity to both ion channels and phosphatases, dubbed Ci-VSP, short for C. intestinalis voltage sensor-containing phosphatase. Murata et al. characterized the protein and showed that it is in fact a transmembrane phosphatase and that its enzymatic activity can be controlled by changes in voltage across the plasma membrane. The sequence similarity of Ci-VSP to channels includes similarity to the voltage-sensing portions of voltage-regulated potassium channels. The catalytic region of Ci-VSP resembles that of the lipid phosphatase PTEN, and the authors showed that Ci-VSP dephosphorylated phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate [PtdIns(3,4,5)P3] in vitro. Murata et al. expressed inwardly rectifying potassium channels [which are regulated by PtdIns(4,5)P2] as sensors for lipid phosphatase activity in Xenopus oocytes that also expressed Ci-VSP. These experiments revealed voltage-dependent regulation of Ci-VSP activity. A great deal of effort has gone into understanding how movements of the voltage sensor of potassium channels regulate channel opening. The results of Murata et al. open a new area for investigation into the mechanisms by which similar segments may be used to control enzymatic activity. Y. Murata, H. Iwasaki, M. Sasaki, K. Inaba, Y. Okamura, Phosphoinositide phosphatase activity coupled to an intrinsic voltage sensor. Nature 435, 1239-1243 (2005). [PubMed]


In his novel Neuromancer, first published in 1984, the US-american author William Gibson coined the term cyberspace for the virtual reality generated by computers. On the basis of an etymological analysis this term can be interpreted as the traditional relation between helmsman and space. In the medium of sci-filiterature and sci-fi-film this phenomenon of cyberspace changed rapidly between 1980 and today. In early examples, for instance in the film Tron produced in 1982, the virtual figures act in a disintegrated space without any destination or orientation. In later examples, for instance in the film Matrix produced in 1999, the cyberspace becomes a substitute world for a dark, chaotic or destructive vision of reality. Contemporary forms of cyberspace, as visualized in the 3D-online-city Second Life, are in contrast used for financial activities and symbolize the hard world of economic policy. This development of cyberspace can be seen either as an evolutionary process or a dichotomy primary defined by different facets of space simulation in virtual


The
  aim
  of
  the
  present
  study
  was
  to
  generate
  a
  set
  of
  therapy
  suggestions
  specifically
  for use
  in
  the
  treatment
  of
  creative
  individuals
  diagnosed
  with
  bipolar
  disorder.
  In
  order
  to achieve
  this
  end,
  the
  author
  collected
  information
  from
  bodies
  of
  literature
  that
  focused
  on three
  general
  research
  areas:
  (a)
  the
  relationship
  between
  bipolar
  illness
  and
  creativity,
  (b) the
  treatment
  of
  bipolar
  individuals,
  and
  (c)
  psychotherapy
  treatment
  of
  creative individuals.
  The
  information
  gleaned
  from
  these
  three
  areas
  was
  synthesized
  and
  used
  to inform
  the
  general
  treatment
  suggestions.
  This
  study
  examined
  several
  of
  the
  existing approaches
  to
  the
  treatment
  of
  bipolar
  disorder
  and
  provided
  suggestions
  for
  ways
  in which
  those
  treatments
  could
  be
  tailored
  for
  use
  with
  creative
  clients
  who
  are
  diagnosed with
  bipolar
  disorder.
  Effective
  psychiatric
  and
  psychological
  (i.e.,
  psychotherapeutic) interventions
  have
  been
  developed
  for
  the
  treatment
  of
  individuals
  diagnosed
  with
  bipolar disorder,
  though
  additional
  research
  can
  be
  conducted
  to
  better
  understand
  how
  these interventions
  can
  be
  adapted
  to
  improve
  outcomes
  with
  certain
  clinical
  subgroups. Creative
  individuals
  with
  bipolar
  disorder
  reflect
  one
  such
  subgroup,
  and
  it
  is
  hoped
  that the
  suggestions
  for
  therapeutic
  adaptations
  contained
  within
  this
  dissertation
  begin
  to draw
  more
  attention
  to
  an
  under-‐researched
  group.


Summary We present a revised Neogene geochronology based upon a best fit to selected high temperature radiometric dates on a number of identified magnetic polarity chrons (within the late Cretaceous, Paleogene, and Neogene) which minimizes apparent accelerations in sea-floor spreading. An assessment of first order correlations of calcareous plankton biostratigraphic datum events to magnetic polarity stratigraphy yields the following estimated magnetobiochronology of major chronostratigraphic boundaries: Oligocene/Miocene (Chron C6CN): 23.7 Ma; Miocene/Pliocene (slightly younger than Gilbert/Chron 5 boundary): 5.3 Ma; Pliocene/Pleistocene (slightly younger than Olduvai Subchron): 1.6 Ma. Changes to the marine time-scale are relatively minor in terms of recent and current usage except in the interval of the middle Miocene where new DSDP data reveal that previous correlations of magnetic anomalies 5 and 5A to magnetic polarity Chrons 9 and 11, respectively, are incorrect. Our revized magnetobiostratigraphic correlations result in a 1.5-2 m.y. shift towards younger magnetobiochronologic age estimate in the middle Miocene. Radiometric dates correlated to bio- and magnetostratigraphy in continental section generally support the revized marine magnetobiochronology presented here. Major changes, however, are made in marine-non-marine correlations in the Miocene in Eurasia which indicate African-Eurasian migrations through the Persian Gulf as early as 20 Ma. The 12.5 Ma estimate of the Hipparion datum is supported by recent taxonomic revisions of the hipparions and magnetobiostratigraphic correlations which show that primitive hipparions first arrived in Eurasia and North Africa at c. 12.5 Ma and a second wave in the tropics (i.e. Indian and central Africa) at c. 10 Ma.


The pathophysiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is very complex and still rather elusive but in recent years evidence of early involvement of the neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) has accumulated. We have recently reported that the human extraocular muscles (EOMs) are far less affected than limb muscles at the end-stage of ALS from the same donor. The present study aimed to compare the differences in synaptic protein composition at NMJ and in nerve fibers between EOM and limb muscles from ALS donors and controls. Neurofilament light subunit and synaptophysin decreased significantly at NMJs and in nerve fibers in limb muscles with ALS whereas they were maintained in ALS EOMs. S100B was significantly decreased at NMJs and in nerve fibers in both EOMs and limb muscles of ALS donors, but other markers confirmed the presence of terminal Schwann cells in these NMJs. p75 neurotrophin receptor was present in nerve fibers but absent at NMJs in ALS limb muscles. The EOMs were able to maintain the integrity of their NMJs to a very large extent until the end-stage of ALS, in contrast to the limb muscles. Changes in Ca2+ homeostasis, reflected by altered S100B distribution, might be involved in the breakdown of nerve-muscle contact at NMJs in ALS.


Abstract The synergistic stimulating effect of combined intake of carbohydrate and protein on plasma insulin concentration has been reported previously. However, it remains unclear whether the amount of protein ingested after exercise affects the concentrations of plasma insulin and amino acids. This study of trained men compared the effects of post-exercise co-ingestion of carbohydrate plus different amounts of whey protein hydrolysates (WPHs) with carbohydrate alone on (1) blood biochemical parameters of carbohydrate metabolism during the post-exercise phase, and (2) endurance performance. Eight trained men exercised continuously for 70 min. Immediately after exercise and 30, 60, 90, and 120 min later, the participants received supplements containing: (1) 17.5 g carbohydrate, (2) 3.0 g WPHs and 17.5 g carbohydrate (L-WPH), or (3) 8.0 g WPHs and 17.5 g carbohydrate (H-WPH). After a 2-h recovery period, the participants performed an endurance performance test. The concentrations of blood glucose were lower and plasma insulin significantly higher in the H-WPH trial compared with the carbohydrate trial. The concentrations of plasma amino acids were increased in a dose-dependent manner following ingestion of different amounts of WPHs with carbohydrate. Endurance performance was not significantly different between the three trials. Co-ingestion of carbohydrate and H-WPH was more effective than ingestion of carbohydrate alone for stimulating insulin secretion and increasing the availability of plasma amino acids. These results suggest that plasma concentrations of amino acids during the recovery period are determined by the amount of dietary protein ingested, and that it is necessary to increase the concentration of plasma amino acids above a certain level to stimulate insulin secretion.


Develop your own multiple-choice tests, score students, produce student rosters (in print form or Excel), and explore item response theory (IRT). Aimed at nonstatisticians working in education or training, Test Scoring and Analysis Using SAS describes item analysis and test reliability in easy-to-understand terms, and teaches you SAS programming to score tests, perform item analysis, and estimate reliability. Maximizing flexibility, the scoring and analysis programs enable you to analyze tests with multiple versions, define alternate correct responses for selected items, and repeat the scoring with selected items deleted. You will be guided step-by-step on how to design multiple-choice items, use analysis to improve your tests, and even detect cheating on students submitted multiple-choice tests. Other subjects addressed include reading in data from a variety of sources (text files and Excel workbooks, for example), detecting errors in the input data, and producing class rosters in printed form or Excel workbooks. Also included is a chapter on IRTwidely used in education to calibrate and evaluate items in tests in education such as the SAT and GREwith instructions for running the new SAS procedure PROC IRT. This book is part of the SAS Press program.


While the Chandlerian firm has come to dominate large sectors of advanced economies, recent studies have shown that the properties of knowledge used by firms, the dynamic nature of transaction costs, and the impact of information and communication technologies on organisations might reduce firm scale and scope. We present a contingent model of firm boundaries that explains why, as a result of technological change, firms might simultaneously outsource some activities that they had formerly preferred to produce in-house while increasing their vertical integration in other areas. We support our conclusions with evidence from different industries.


For decades, there was not much growth in the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation and application of the Eighth Amendment. In recent years, though, the Court has expanded the Amendment to prohibit executing intellectually disabled and juvenile offenders, to ban capital punishment for all non-homicide offenses against individuals, and to prohibit life-without-parole for juveniles when that punishment was mandatorily imposed or imposed on non-homicide offenders. With changing politics and a changing Court, any further expansion of Eighth Amendment protections will likely be difficult for years to come. With the recent nomination of Amy Coney Barrett as the newest Supreme Court Justice, the Court is becoming more conservative. Politics certainly influence law, even at the Supreme Court level, so future changes in politics even outside the Court could affect Eighth Amendment interpretations. When making Eighth Amendment arguments to the Court, framing is important.

This Article suggests that, in this political landscape, there may be some hope for the expansion of the constitutional requirement of individualized sentencing. While the Court has historically reserved this requirement for capital cases, its more recent cases have whittled away at the distinction between capital and non-capital cases under the Eighth Amendment. Further, the Court has already extended its constitutional requirement of individualized sentencing beyond the capital context, at least to some extent. While recent cases suggest that the Court is positioned to further expand the Eighth Amendment requirement of individualized sentencing, politics will likely have a role to play. If one carefully frames the argument, there is the potential that persons across the political spectrum may find enhancing individualized sentencing under the Eighth Amendment appealing. First, expanding this requirement could result in more progressive sentencing practices, including the prohibition of mandatory sentences and mandatory minimum sentences. It could also work to effect more humane prison conditions. Further emphasizing individualized sentencing, however, does come with the risk of weakening uniformity and equality in sentencing. On the other hand, individualized sentencing may also have appeal across the political aisle with religious conservatives—at least theoretically. Individualized sentencing is rooted in the notion of human dignity, which is central to Christian beliefs. Further, individualized sentencing allows greater room for reform and rehabilitation, which are often achieved through religious means. Finally, the increasing practice of individualization throughout our lives—from individualized medicine to individualized advertising—is conditioning Americans to expect enhanced individualization across disciplines. A heightened constitutional focus on individualized sentencing would be consistent with such expectations. Further, improved science and technology are regularly arming us with additional tools to better achieve individualized determinations related to sentencing considerations like culpability, deterrence, and rehabilitation. This provides a foundation for the Court to build on its precedents to increase the Eighth Amendment requirement of individualized sentencing.


The latest wildfires in California have claimed numerous lives and caused billions of dollars in damages. Inadequate alert systems during these natural disasters have resulted in millions of dollars of avoidable damages and deaths. Misinformed or unaware citizens are the most likely to be injured or die during a natural disaster. The traditional alert system in California consists of Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs), which lack location specificity, and sign-up-based technology which is limited by the number of sign ups. Those who do not have phones or have a silence option on their devices are most at risk from the current alert system. In the age of affordable computers, this study analyzes the potential viability of an Internet of Things approach to disaster alert. We developed cloud-enabled crisis connection for disaster alerts (CRISIS-CONNECT) to mitigate problems associated with the current alert system. Preliminary tests demonstrate that the novel CRISIS-CONNECT alert system can perform over high and low data speeds, whereas the existing WEA system does not. We further demonstrate that centralized CRISIS-CONNECT alerts can be sent with greater global positioning system (GPS) precision than WEA. Last, we report that the CRISIS-CONNECT device has a comparable battery life to the iPhone 6s, whether in active or standby mode. Taken together, our data positions CRISIS-CONNECT as a strong alternative to address the shortcomings of the current WEA system.


Wide Sargasso Sea: A Postcolonial Rewriting of Bronte's Jane Eyre Without doubt, the Victorian classic Jane Eyre has generated a number of intertexual references. Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea (WSS) has been regarded as the most famous rewriting of Jane Eyre and a paradigm of postcolonial literature. The novel, a prequel to Bronte's Jane Eyre, tells the story of Antoinette Cosway, a Creole heiress living in Jamaica. In remembering the representation of the character Bertha Mason/Rochester in Bronte's Jane Eyre, Jean Rhys as a postcolonial writer, re-writes Bronte's account of Bertha, Rochester's first wife first, the 'madwoman in the attic' who is denied to have a voice. Thus, Rhys makes use of various narrative devices and techniques, not only to capture the reader's attention, but also in order to present a different version of Bertha. The inquiry the present volume seeks to undertake is not new in the field of postcolonial studies but rather aims at throwing more light on the strategies Rhys uses to rewrite the Victorian classic Jane Eyre.


Researchers have identified the receptor that senses cold temperatures (also triggered by menthol, accounting for menthol's cooling sensation) and hot temperatures (also activated by capsaicin, the "heat" in chili peppers). Both are members of a family of ion channels called transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. Peier et al. now identify another family member, TRPV3, as a "warm" receptor. This cation-selective, outwardly rectifying channel is activated by temperatures between 33° and 42°C and is expressed in the keratinocytes and hair follicles of skin but not in neurons. Although it is not yet known how warm skin cells convey their response to temperature to the nervous system, the identification of this receptor accounts for our ability to discern pleasantly warm temperatures. A. M. Peier, A. J. Reeve, D. A. Andersson, A. Moqrich, T. J. Earley, A. C. Hergarden, G. M. Story, S. Colley, J. B. Hogenesch, P. McIntyre, S. Bevan, A. Patapoutian, A heat-sensitive TRP channel expressed in keratinocytes. Science 296, 2046-2049 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Several projects relating directly or indirectly to energy flow through the benthic community on a mud-flat in the Lynher estuary, Cornwall, U.K. have been integrated by using two methods, firstly a steady-state energy-flow diagram and secondly a dynamic simulation model, in order to provide a better understanding of ecosystem function and as an aid to research planning.

For each macrofauna species and meiofauna group an energy budget has been constructed in the form C = P + R + F + U (IBP terminology). This information, together with values for primary inputs of carbon, has enabled us to construct a quantitative diagram representing the flow of carbon between the faunal components of 1 m2 of mud over 1 year. The net annual production of macrofauna is 5.46 g C m-2, and of meiofauna 20•17 g C m-2. Of the meiofauna production, 3•34 g is utilized within the system, so that 16•83 g remains available to mobile carnivores. The macrofauna ingest 55•74 g of primary carbon annually, and the meiofauna 107•09 g. However, the meiofauna standing crop is only 0•49 times that of the macrofauna. Nematodes and copepods are energetically the most important meiofauna groups.

Having achieved realistic simulations of secondary production of deposit-feeders, filter-feeders, Nephtys and meiofauna, it has been possible to investigate the effect on the system as a whole of a variety of hypothetical trophic relationships which are poorly understood, particularly the interactions between meiofauna and macrofauna. The growth of Nephtys on different diets is given as an example.


Purpose of the Study: The term "Knowledge" is measured as the most significant asset in every educational Institution and managing the knowledge is considered tough to succeed in the Educational Institution status. If the professors or lecturers have to use the best insights of knowledge sharing, then they have to learn how the knowledge is gathered, transferred and used in the Educational Institution. Data/Methodology: The intention of this study is to represent the conditions in which the development of new knowledge arises across the academic organizational borders and the factors that influence this process. Primary data are collected for this study. 18 questions are designed to ascertain the views of the academic faculties on the significance of knowledge transfer, strategies to encourage knowledge transfer, strategies to identify the barriers in knowledge sharing. The t-test is engaged to find the need for knowledge sharing is better communicated in engineering Colleges or in arts & science colleges. Findings: The respondent's view was also examined to reveal the most agree as for the determining factors of knowledge sharing and its barriers. This result also provides the respondents feel that there is a scarcity of knowledge sharing approaches, a lack of knowledge archives, and also an inadequacy of awareness of the benefit of KS in their organizations. Originality: The key objective of the paper is to scrutinize the determinant factors of knowledge sharing amid academic faculties working in engineering and Arts & Science Colleges situated in the Chennai zone.


Generalized contract law is believed to be a distinctive feature of civil law elaborated by modern
legal scholars on the Continent. Sharia and common law lawyers were unwilling to transit from
casuistry to generalities without the influence of the Continental authors. Is this also true for Eastern
Europe with its specific legal tradition? The article examines the role of legal science in
modernizing Russian contract law through generalization of its casuistic provisions in a framework
of a general theory of contract during the long 19th century. On the basis of a variety of academic
publications of that period, revisited with the methods of comparative legal history, the author
reviews the initial and the advanced phases of this transformation, reveals its sources in German and
French legal scholarship, analyses multiple arguments in favor of such a generalization grouped
together around the scientific, the didactic and the practical goals, and uncovers the implicit
meaning of each of these goals with the help of deeper analysis against the cultural background, in
contrast to German and French jurisprudence of the same period.