Ecotourism has been credited with conserving biological and cultural diversity, alleviating rural poverty, increasing public awareness of environmental concerns and strengthening ties between tourism operators and local populations. For these reasons, ecotourism has grown in popularity with tourists as well as governmental development agencies and conservation organizations. Over twenty years after its inception, it now needs to be asked: Does ecotourism measure up to its environmental, social and economic ideals?Using detailed case studies, regional overviews and thematic analyses, "Ecotourism and Conservation in the Americas" evaluates the pros and cons of ecotourism for communities and ecosystems. Focusing particularly on the Americas, perspectives are drawn from private tour operators, non-governmental conservation and development organizations, local and indigenous communities and tourism researchers. Chapters discuss local benefits and conservation value through discussions of social impacts, the assessment of conservation potential, environmental education and the setting and maintaining of standards.


This research analyzes the standardized regimens of bodily training characteristic of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union and dance in general. Not only were the movements of daily life such as gesture choreographed within these contexts, but also the dance scene at large was highly designed to represent the political ideals of the government. Through analysis of gesture, marching parades and mass movement choirs in Nazi Germany combined with discussion of censorship and artistic repossession in Soviet ballet, themes of conformity and individuality are extrapolated to trends in movement culture in the United States today. This is a study of bodies, not much different than our own—these bodies once moved through contexts we never will fully get to embody ourselves, but through looking at what physical movements defined their experiences, we can begin to grasp a better understanding of the history they moved through. Looking at history from the lens of movement and dance opens up a wider knowledge of the world we live in today. Dance inherently puts meaning into motion, and this written research puts physical motion into meaning. Your body is a sponge, absorbing the geopolitical climate you move through, and as you dance through life, consider the context and how it is leaving its inevitable mark on you.


We study the effects of an extended light source on the calibration of an interference microscope, also referred to as an optical profiler. Theoretical and experimental numerical aperture (NA) factors for circular and linear light sources along with collimated laser illumination demonstrate that the shape of the light source or effective aperture cone is critical for a correct NA factor calculation. In practice, more-accurate results for the NA factor are obtained when a linear approximation to the filament light source shape is used in a geometric model. We show that previously measured and derived NA factors show some discrepancies because a circular rather than linear approximation to the filament source was used in the modeling.


This study presents a set of significant learning activities (here called ASA) in various subjects of engineering careers of the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, in the city of Guayaquil (academic period from May to September 2019) developed in the modality of face-to-face studies with the support of a virtual learning environment (Moodle platform) that adapts Kolb's instructional design. The application of an educational strategy that involves planning, integration, continuous evaluation and improvement of a set of significant learning activities (which respond to teaching, practical-experimental and autonomous work components) leads to generating real experiences to deepen learning, experimentation, dialogue and self-reflection for students, in a dynamic that integrates virtuality in a context of presence, making a solid contribution to the digital transformation of university education.


Abstract In this work, sensors based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) for creatinine and urea selective determination using solvent evaporation processing of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol), (EVAL) to form molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) were fabricated. The chemical behaviour of the thin film (MIP) were characterized using FTIR spectrophotometry. The carbonyl functions assigned on the spectra confirmed capture and removal (after rinsing with 20 mL of ethanol) of template molecule. Electrochemical impedance method was employed as transduction technique. The EIS (Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy) sensor response shows a limit of detection of 10 ng/mL with linear range from 0.02 μg/mL to 3 μg/mL for urea and 40 ng/mL of detection limit with linear range from 0.05 μg/mL to 2 μg/mL for creatinine with a good specificity of detection.


False positive detections account for a great part of the expense associated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) remediation. Presently fielded systems like pulsed electromagnetic induction systems and cesium-vapor magnetometers are able to distinguish between UXO and other metallic ground clutter only with difficulty. The discovery of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) has led to the development of a new generation of integrated-circuit magnetic sensors that are far more sensitive than previously available room-temperature-operation electronic devices. The small size of GMR sensors makes possible the construction of array detectors that can be used to image the flux emanating from a ferrous object or from a non-ferrous object with eddy currents imposed by an external coil. The purpose of a GMR-based imaging detector would be to allow the operator to easily distinguish between UXO and benign objects (like shrapnel or spent bullets) that litter formerly used defense sites (FUDS). In order to demonstrate the potential of a GMR-based imaging technology, a crude magnetic imaging system has been constructed using commercially available sensors. The ability to roughly determine the outline and disposition of magnetic objects has been demonstrated. Improvements to the system which are necessary to make it into a high-performance UXO detector are outlined.


High-energy astrophysics observations provide the best possibilities to detect a very small violation of Lorentz invariance, such as may be related to the structure of space-time near the Planck scale. I discuss the possible signatures of Lorentz invariance violation that can be manifested by observing the spectra, polarization, and timing of gamma-rays from active galactic nuclei and gamma-ray bursts. Other sensitive tests are provided by observations of the spectra of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays and very high-energy neutrinos. I also discuss a new time-of-flight analysis of observations of GRB 090510 by the Fermi gamma-ray Space Telescope. These results, based on high-energy astrophysical observations, have fundamental implications for space-time physics and quantum gravity models.


The article examines the links between digital literature and digital humanities, as well as various definitions and periodisation of digital literature. Digital literature is 'digitally born' literature, created and studied since the end of the 1980s and largely defined as a work with an important literary aspect that takes advantage of the capabilities and contexts provided by computer technology (e.g. hypertext literature, multimedia poetry, interactive literature, etc.). In the periodisation of digital literature, two generations have so far been differentiated (late 1980s until 1995 and from 1995 until today). The article adds a third generation to this periodisation, starting from2006–2007 and linked with the development and spread of social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr) and smart gadgets. The article defines the third generation of digital literature as literature created via social media (including so-called Alt Lit literature), characterised by its democracy, dialogue between participants, textual and narrative dynamics, and mixing of various forms of media. In addition, it is suggested that this type of literature can be associated with post-postmodernist literary trends. A closer look is taken at the work of Estonian authors Kaur Riismaa, Liina Tammiste and Keiti Vilms, who have all used social media platforms (Facebook,Twitter). The article discusses whether these authors can be associated with the term 'Alt Lit'. The conclusion reached is that several of the features of Alt Lit can be ascribed to the texts and activity of Riismaa, Tammiste and Vilms; Alt Lit features seem to correspond best to Vilms. The overall conclusion of the article is, however, that the content and essence of digital literature does not so much depend on the will of the authors, creative impulses or inner-literature movements, but instead on the development of computer technology. Thus the definitions of digital literature are dynamic in time and depend on the technological solutions that are emerging in a given period and the types and works of digital literature these new technologies can inspire. Keywords digital literature, digital humanities, Alt Lit, Facebook,Twitter, Estonian literature


This essay discusses the multivocal and interlingual referentiality in the prose poems (or sections) called the "Diario íntimo de la soledad" ("The Intimate Diary of Solitude") by Giannina Braschi in the final sections of El imperio de los sueños (1988), translated as Empire of Dreams (1994). The connections between globalization and postmodernism occur in the how and why of international cultural references. Braschi refers to the cultural world of the Spanish-American writer in New York in funny ventriloquisms voiced by barely sketched characters. The fractured, cosmopolitan cityscape of New York provides the context for postmodern parodic elegy and performance informed by the perspective of Puerto Ricans in a global context, a global South consisting of two islands within the same country. After the locus amoenus of imperial dreams, the poem in the "Diario" moves to contemplate New York, then an island (both Manhattan and Puerto Rico are islands) and the sea. The postmodern ways in which Braschi represents and refers to the megalopolis of New/eva York do not thematize a political message, but rather the complexity of Puerto Rico's political and cultural condition finds an echo as a "poetic egg." After reminding readers of the connections between globalization and Postmodernism, I show that Linda Hutcheon's theory of five "routes to reference" in Postmodernism occur in Braschi's work.


Violence is a growing psychosocial problem in the health care working environment. Literature shows that nurses are physically assaulted, threatened, and verbally abused more often than other professionals. However, some nurses are able to relate to clients in a way that produces positive resolution. This study explored the phenomenon of positive encounters with aggressive and violent clients. Guided by a phenomenological method, data were analyzed within a lifeworld perspective. The essential meaning of the phenomenon of caregivers' experiences of encountering violent clients is described as an ?embodied moment,? which is explicated by seven themes of meaning, ?respecting one's fear and respecting the client,? ?touch,? ?dialogue, ? ?situated knowledge,? ?stability,? ?mutual regard,? and ?pliability.? The authors discuss the meaning of the outcome and propose both theory and praxis-oriented activities toward decreasing aggression and violence in health care.


BACKGROUND
Physical inactivity is a leading risk factor for noncommunicable disease worldwide. Increasing physical activity requires large scale actions and relevant, supportive national policy across multiple sectors.

METHODS
The policy audit tool (PAT) was developed to provide a standardized instrument to assess national policy approaches to physical activity. A draft tool, based on earlier work, was developed and pilot-tested in 7 countries.

RESULTS
After several rounds of revisions, the final PAT comprises 27 items and collects information on 1) government structure, 2) development and content of identified key policies across multiple sectors, 3) the experience of policy implementation at both the national and local level, and 4) a summary of the PAT completion process.

CONCLUSIONS
PAT provides a standardized instrument for assessing progress of national policy on physical activity. Engaging a diverse international group of countries in the development helped ensure PAT has applicability across a wide range of countries and contexts. Experiences from the development of the PAT suggests that undertaking an audit of health enhancing physical activity (HEPA) policy can stimulate greater awareness of current policy opportunities and gaps, promote critical debate across sectors, and provide a catalyst for collaboration on policy level actions. The final tool is available online.


Virtually all engineering applications involve the use of piping, conduits, and channels. In the petroleum industry, piping systems are extensively used in upstream and downstream processes. These piping systems often carry fluids that are corrosive, which leads to wear, cavitation, and cracking. The replacement of damaged piping systems can be quite expensive, both in terms of capital costs and in operational downtime. This motivates the present research on noninvasive healing of cracked piping systems. In this investigation, we propose to develop computational models for characterizing noninvasive repair strategies involving electromagnetically guided particles. The objective is to heal industrial-piping systems noninvasively, from the exterior of the system, during operation, resulting in no downtime and minimal relative cost. The particle accumulation at a target location is controlled by external electromagnetic/ mechanical means. There are two primary effects that play a role for guiding the particles to the solid-fluid-interface/wall: mechanical shear caused by the fluid flow, and an electrical or magnetic force. In this work we develop and study a relationship that characterizes contributions of both, and ascertain how this relationship scales with characteristic physical parameters. Characteristic nondimensional parameters that describe system behavior are derived, and their role in design is illustrated. A detailed, fully 3D discreteelement-simulation framework is presented, and illustrated by use of a model problem of magnetically guided particles. The detailed particle behavior is considered to be regulated by three effects: the field strength, the mass-flow rate, and the wall interactions.


This interdisciplinary essay attempts to clarify the long running debates on copyright law in the United States by appealing to the philosophical roots of the notions of copyright and authorship, developed by the Western thinking. Relying on authors not often considered in the copyright debates (Foucault, Barthes, De Certeau), but also on authors that excellently deconstructed the historic notion of copyright (Rose, Patterson, Boyle), I argue that the current copyright impasse is caused by the functioning of two opposing notions of authorship within our discourse. One (belonging to the European modernity) regards the authors as extraordinary individuals with an access to objective truths, while the other considers authors more akin to seekers of wisdom, reaching outward for dialogue rather than postulation. I argue that the United States law favored the latter, but welcomed the former when trying to adapt to European and international standards, thus fueling the contemporary copyright struggles.


Exact and Approximate Modeling of Linear Systems: A Behavioral Approach elegantly introduces the behavioral approach to mathematical modeling, an approach that requires models to be viewed as sets of possible outcomes rather than to be a priori bound to particular representations. The authors discuss exact and approximate fitting of data by linear, bilinear, and quadratic static models and linear dynamic models, a formulation that enables readers to select the most suitable representation for a particular purpose. This book presents exact subspace-type and approximate optimization-based identification methods, as well as representation-free problem formulations, an overview of solution approaches, and software implementation. Readers will find an exposition of a wide variety of modeling problems starting from observed data. The presented theory leads to algorithms that are implemented in C language and in MATLAB.


This thesis describes research in to flood forecasting on rapid response catchments, using knowledge based principles. Extensive use was made of high resolution single site radar data from the radar site at Hameldon Hill in North West England. Actual storm events and synthetic precipitation data were used in an attempt to identify 'knowledge' of the rainfall - runoff process. Modelling was carried out with the use of transfer functions, and an analysis is presented of the problems in using this type of model in hydrological forecasting. A physically realisable' transfer function model is outlined, and storm characteristics were analysed to establish information about model tuning. The knowledge gained was built into a knowledge based system (KBS) to enable real-time optimisation of model parameters. A rainfall movement forecasting program was used to provide input to the system. Forecasts using the KBS tuned parameters proved better than those from a naive transfer function model in most cases. In order to further improve flow forecasts a simple catchment wetness procedure was developed and included in the system, based on antecedent precipitation index, using radar rainfall input. A new method of intensity - duration - frequency analysis was developed using distributed radar data at a 2Km by 2Km resolution. This allowed a new application of return periods in real time, in assessing storm severity as it occurs. A catchment transposition procedure was developed allowing subjective catchment placement infront of an approaching event, to assess rainfall `risk', in terms of catchment history, before the event reaches it. A knowledge based approach, to work in real time, was found to be successful. The main drawback is the initial procurement of knowledge, or information about thresholds, linkages and relationships.


Requirements completeness and correctness are perhaps the most difficult yet vital issues to identify during validation. If they are not properly identified and resolved early on, they become a serious threat to quality and cost, especially for large software development ventures. Conventional techniques for validation are generally inadequate for such issues. This paper reports an inspection technique named Traceability-based Requirements Inspection that helps identify and resolve these issues by addressing the pre-tracebility of requirements in the documented domain knowledge. The technique is supplemented with appropriate metrics, procedures and a tool named Pensieve to facilitate identification, reporting and resolution of completeness and correctness issues. The viability of the technique has been assessed through a case study, the results of which are also reported and discussed.


ABSTRACT Consumers want sustainability, but at what price? With growing demands for environmental and social sustainability, retailers aim to understand how consumers might react to adaptations in retail practices. This research examines consumers' perceptions towards retailers' environmental and social sustainability practices and the moderating effect of price in different cultural contexts. Quantitative research methodology using scenario-based experiments was employed. Two experiments were conducted using research participants from the US (a more individualist country) and Turkey (a more collectivist country) and measured one dimension of culture, individualism versus collectivism. The results reveal that high prices negatively moderate consumers' response to retailers' sustainability efforts. Even though there is no significant interaction between either type of sustainability and price on purchase intention, high sustainability along with a low-price strategy leads to an increase in consumers' commitment, satisfaction, and loyalty. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that high prices have a more negative effect on consumers' responses in a collectivist country. This study highlights the importance of price in both individualist and collectivist cultures and provides a better understanding of a neglected dimension of sustainability, social sustainability. Managers need to be aware of the increasing demand from consumers for environmentally and socially sustainable practices but need to recognize that consumers may not be willing to pay more for these products. Companies need to formulate business strategies based on low priced-sustainable products and the cultural context of the country in which they operate.


The research reported herein examined the emotional and behavioral characteristics of adolescent Hispanic students with and without learning disabilities from a middle school in north central Texas. The data were based on all students enrolled at the campus (N = 986), but focused on 55 students of Hispanic descent with learning disabilities and 55 students without. The data accrued for this study utilized a school discipline database. In addition, a 43-item behavioral rating scale was completed on each student of the more focused group. Methods of data analysis were derived from descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple regression measurements. The results indicate that Hispanic students with learning disabilities often exhibit more disruptive behaviors.


Abstract Thomson scattering diagnostics has been updated to allow measurements at two instants of time for either of two spatial points in plasma during a single plasma discharge. Laser produces now two 15J laser pulses with variable (0.2–100μs) delay between them. It was made possible by integration into previous laser system a second independent laser oscillator. Multichannel spectral measurements of scattered radiation can be accomplished at two spatial locations simultaneously, at z1 = 4m from the input of electron beam into plasma (old location) and at z2 = 2m (new location). Three geometries of measurement are possible: a single radial point at each of plasma cross-sections at z1 and z2 or two radial points at either cross-sections at z1 or z2. Number of radial points is limited by number of available detector channels (15ch) now. We present first experimental results with 90° detection of scattered radiation with upgraded system.


As is well known, the classic Black-Scholes option pricing model assumes that returns follow Brownian motion. It is widely recognized that return processes differ from this benchmark in at least three important ways. First, asset prices jump, leading to non-normal return innovations. Second, return volatilities vary stochastically over time. Third, returns and their volatilities are correlated, often negatively for equities. We propose that time-changed Ĺ evy processes be used to simultaneously address these three facets of the underlying asset return process. We show that our framework encompasses almost all of the models proposed in the option pricing literature. Despite the generality of our approach, we show that it is straightforward to select and test a particular option pricing model through the use of characteristic function technology. JEL Classification:G10, G12, G13.


A Driving Factor in Moving to Opportunity E V E LY N B L U M E N B E R G A N D G R E G O R Y P I E R C E I n 1992, the US Congress authorized the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) housing voucher program to operate in five large metropolitan areas: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. The MTO program represented a radical departure from standard housing assistance programs, which clustered participants in very poor neighborhoods that offered few opportunities. Running counter to previous policy, MTO used an experimental framework to assess how moving households on assistance to low-poverty neighborhoods can affect their employment, education, and household income. Under the program, residents were randomly assigned into three groups. The first group received housing vouchers that could be used only in neighborhoods with poverty rates under 10 percent. The second group received similar housing vouchers but with no neighborhood restrictions. The third group did not receive vouchers but remained eligible for public housing and other social programs. ➢ A C C E S S NUMBER 48, SPRING 2016


Background and purpose: Functional ovarian cysts are common in reproductive age female. According to high prevalence of functional ovarian cysts and costs for community-based diagnosis and treatment, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between fertility history and lifestyle factors with functional ovarian cysts. Materials and methods: This case-control study was done in 280 women of reproductive age attending Imam Reza, Qaem, and Omolbanin hospitals in Masshad, Iran, 2014. Inclusion criteria were Iranian nationality and being 13-49 years of age. The exclusion criteria were pregnancy, history of infertility, menopausal, and women with acute gynecologic, hormonal and neoplastic situations. Data collection was done using a questionnaire consisting of demographic information, medical condition, and fertility history. To analyze the data t-test, ANOVA, Chi-square, and logistic regression were applied in SPSS V16. Results: The results showed that cigarette and alcohol consumption (P=0.02) and body mass index (P<0.001) were associated with functional ovarian cysts. Frequency of ovarian functional cyst was higher in female with higher BMI and cigarette and alcohol consumption. The results of regression test showed women who used dietary supplements, had a lower risk of developing functional ovarian cysts (OR=1.19). Conclusion: This study proved a relationship between life style with ovarian cysts. According to this result, more training and lifestyle modification are recommended in women of reproductive age to prevent functional ovarian cysts formation.


Cross-shelf troughs, linked to the presence of fast-flowing ice streams, are a common feature of high-latitude shelves (Batchelor & Dowdeswell 2014). On the North Norwegian shelf (Fig. 1a–e), ice advanced westwards as the Scandinavian Ice Sheet expanded during full-glacial conditions on a number of occasions during the Quaternary (Rise et al. 2005). As ice flowed out from the crystalline bedrock of Norway, it eroded deep cross-shelf troughs in the shelf sediments beyond and left evidence of former rapid flow in the form of streamlined landforms such as mega-scale glacial lineations (Ottesen et al. 2005). Glacial sediment was delivered to a submarine fan on the continental slope that built out from the mouth of the trough. Malangsdjupet on the North Norwegian margin (Fig. 1e) provides an example of a well-developed cross-shelf trough where there is clear evidence of occupation by an ice stream that drained the interior of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet under full-glacial conditions.

 Fig. 1.
( a ) MAREANO swath-bathymetry shaded-relief map of the Malangsdjupet cross-shelf trough, North Norway. Acquisition systems Kongsberg EM710 (70–100 kHz), EM1002 (95 kHz) and EM3000 (300 kHz). Grid-cell size 50 m. TMF, trough-mouth fan; GZW, grounding-zone wedge. ( b ) Sub-bottom profile across the northern lateral …


Marshall McLuhan and Jean Baudrillard have claimed that Marx had nothing important to say on media, communication, and culture. The approach taken in this paper is different: It is argued that Marx should be considered as one of the founding figures of critical media and communication studies and that his works can be applied today to explain phenomena such as global communication, knowledge labour, media and globalization, media and social struggles, alternative media, media capital accumulation, media monopolies, media capital concentration, the dialectics of information, and media and war. The works of Karl Marx are systematically reconstructed to identify aspects of the media and communication. This reconstruction is based on Marx's circuit of capital. It is shown that Marx provided important insights for analyzing the role of the media in commodity and ideology production, circulation, and consumption and for discussing the role of alternative media production, circulation, and reception. Therefore, it is concluded that Marx provided important groundwork for media and communication theory that could be connected to the hypotheses of contemporary critical media and communication theories.


The economy of Imperial Rome relied heavily on agricultural production. Much of the grain, oil, and wine needed was supplied by the Roman provinces located in what are now Spain and North Africa. The prosperity of the provinces was reflected in the agricultural themes in the artwork of both public and private buildings in these areas. These works included many mosaics, dating from the second to the fifth centuries A.D., which portrayed vintaging motifs. Various aspects of wine production were illustrated on these mosaics: the harvest, the crushing of the grapes, and the tending of the wines. While vintaging mosaics have been included in catalogues and individual pavements have been studied, no detailed analysis of the iconography of the entire group has been undertaken. In this thesis the composition and context of these vintaging mosaics from Roman Spain and North Africa will be examined. Many of the vintaging mosaics were found in badly preserved structures. However, wherever possible, the function of both the building and room in which the mosaic was found will be examined. The majority seem to come from triclinia, and oeci within the living quarters and fromjrigidaria in both private and public baths. The vintaging mosaics, whether illustrating a realistic portrait of a vineyard or an abstract display of vintaging Erotes working among vine rinceaux, include realistic elements of agricultural practice. The tools and farming implements used, the method of viticulture employed, and the various stages of wine production


Acidic reactive flow in fractures is relevant in subsurface activities, such as CO2 geological storage and hydraulic fracturing. Understanding reaction-induced changes in fracture hydrodynamic properties is essential for predicting subsurface flows, such as leakage, injectability, and fluid production. In this study, X-ray computed tomography scans of a fractured carbonate caprock were used to create three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of the fracture before and after reaction with CO2-acidified brine (Ellis, B.; Peters, C.; Fitts, J.; Bromhal, G.; McIntyre, D.; Warzinski, R.; Rosenbaum, E. Deterioration of a fractured carbonate caprock exposed to CO2-acidified brine flow. Greenhouse Gases: Sci. Technol. 2011, 1, 248−260). As expected, mechanical apertures were found to increase substantially, doubling and even tripling in some places. However, the surface geometry evolved in complex ways, including "comb-tooth" structures created from preferential dissolution of calcite in transverse sedimentary bands and the creation of degraded zones, i.e., porous calcite-depleted areas on reacted fracture surfaces. These geometric alterations resulted in increased fracture roughness, as measured by surface Z2 parameters and fractal dimensions Df. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted to quantify the changes in hydraulic aperture, fracture transmissivity, and permeability. The results show that the effective hydraulic apertures are smaller than the mechanical apertures and the changes in hydraulic apertures are nonlinear. Overestimation of the flow rate by a factor of 2 or more would be introduced if fracture hydrodynamic properties were based on mechanical apertures or if hydraulic aperture is assumed to change proportionally with mechanical aperture. The differences can be attributed, in part, to the increase in roughness after reaction and is likely affected by contiguous transverse sedimentary features. Hydraulic apertures estimated by the one-dimensional (1D) statistical model and two-dimensional (2D) local cubic law (LCL) model are consistently larger than those calculated from the CFD simulations. In addition, a novel ternary segmentation method was devised to handle the degraded zones, allowing for a bounding analysis of the effects on hydraulic properties. We found that the degraded zones account for less than 15% of the fracture volume but cover 70−80% of the fracture surface. When the degraded zones are treated as part of the fracture, the fracture transmissivities are 2−4 times larger because the fracture surfaces after reaction are not as rough as they would be if one considers the degraded zone as part of the rock. Therefore, while degraded zones created during geochemical reactions may not significantly increase mechanical aperture, this type of feature cannot be ignored and should be treated with prudence when predicting fracture hydrodynamic properties.


Several recent studies demonstrated that higher order (non-linear) functionals can yield outstanding performances in the contexts of segmentation, co-segmentation and tracking. In general, higher order functionals result in difficult problems that are not amenable to standard optimizers, and most of the existing works investigated particular forms of such functionals. In this study, we derive general bounds for a broad class of higher order functionals. By introducing auxiliary variables and invoking the Jensen's inequality as well as some convexity arguments, we prove that these bounds are auxiliary functionals for various non-linear terms, which include but are not limited to several affinity measures on the distributions or moments of segment appearance and shape, as well as soft constraints on segment volume. From these general-form bounds, we state various non-linear problems as the optimization of auxiliary functionals by graph cuts. The proposed bound optimizers are derivative-free, and consistently yield very steep functional decreases, thereby converging within a few graph cuts. We report several experiments on color and medical data, along with quantitative comparisons to state of-the-art methods. The results demonstrate competitive performances of the proposed algorithms in regard to accuracy and convergence speed, and confirm their potential in various vision and medical applications.


Abstract This paper draws on perspectives from co-design as an integrative and collaborative design activity and co-simulation as a supporting information system to advance engineering design methods for problems of societal significance. Design and implementation of the Sustainable Infrastructure Planning Game provides a prototypical co-design artifact that leverages the High Level Architecture co-simulation standard. Three role players create a strategic infrastructure plan for agricultural, water and energy sectors to meet sustainability objectives for a growing and urbaninzing population in a fictional desert nation. An observational study conducts 15 co-design sessions to understand underlying dynamics between actors and how co-simulation capabilities influence design outcomes. Results characterize the dependencies and conflicts between player roles based on technical exchange of resource flows, identifying tension between agriculture and water roles based on water demands for irrigation. Analysis shows a correlation between data exchange, facilitated by synchronous co-simulation, and highly ranked achievement of joint sustainability outcomes. Conclusions reflect on the opportunities and challenges presented by co-simulation in co-design settings to address engineering systems problems.


Vacuum arc remelted (VAR) and electroslag remelted (ESR) 2-1/4Cr-1Mo tube-sheet forgings were produced for the steam generators of the now terminated Clinch River breeder reactor project. The forgings were produced to American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) SA336 Grade F22a, and test metal in the annealed and simulated postweld heat treated (PWHT) condition had to meet the minimum yield strength requirement of 207 MPa. All of the VAR forgings passed the yield strength requirement, while all of the ESR forgings marginally failed the yield strength requirement. The main difference between the two steels was the lower copper content of the ESR forgings (for example, 0.046 versus 0.13%). The yield strength increment in the annealed condition was accounted for by solid-solution strengthening due to copper, whereas in the PWHT condition, precipitation strengthening due to e-copper accounted for the difference. This additional strengthening increment would have been sufficient to ensure that all of the ESR forgings met the minimum yield strength requirement. Both strengthening increments were confirmed with laboratory-produced and heat treated 2-1/4Cr-1Mo steels with copper levels of 0, 0.16, and 0.32%, and were found to be compatible with the most recent iron-copper phase equilibria. Yield strength was also found to increase by increasing the cooling rate from the PWHT. This strengthening increment is attributed to solid-solution strengthening due to carbon, nitrogen, molybdenum, and chromium, and precipitation strengthening due to (M 2 X) carbides. The data presented in this paper provide an example of residual copper affecting the mechanical properties of a 2-1/4Cr-1Mo steel. Furthermore, much of the data base used to establish the mechanical property capabilities of 2-1/4Cr-1Mo steel was developed using steels that had relatively high copper levels (or were not analyzed for copper), and were air-cooled from the PWHT, thus producing a data base of yield strength values that are higher than can be achieved under the constraints of the specification.


Economic crisis makes for compelling stories: coming back from lunch to find the office emptied out, planting backyard vegetable gardens, walking away from their foreclosed homes. The crisis thus becomes a series of tales of individual suffering, resilience, hard luck and fresh starts. Such narratives of crisis permit certain kinds of discourse to become normalized: discourses about the need for wholesale change, for desperate measures, for painful adjustment, for facing reality. As their plots reveal conventional ideas about the roots of the crisis, they also become stories about particular forms of recovery. Such stories help to justify, frame, and naturalize arguments about what the future holds and what responses are necessary. As a planner, I find myself wondering which pieces of this conventional wisdom will be quoted in urban plans and development pitches. How will these stories shape discourse about what's necessary for American cities to "win"?


We examine the impact of identity preferences on the interrelation between incentives and performance measurement. In our model, a manager identifies with an organization and loses utility to the extent that his actions conflict with effort-standards issued by the principal. Contrary to prior arguments in the literature, we find conditions under which a manager who identifies strongly with the organization receives stronger incentives and faces more performance evaluation reports than a manager who does not identify with the organization. Our theory predicts that managers who experience events that boost their identification with the firm can decrease their effort in short-term value creation. We also find that firms are more likely to employ less precise but more congruent performance measures, such as stock prices, when contracting with managers who identify little with the organization. In contrast, they use more precise but less congruent measures, such as accounting earnings, when contracting with managers who identify strongly with the firm.


This chapter presents a generic `ambient assisted living as a service'/`enhanced living environment as a service' platform. Multiple platform elements are described by taking into account layered hierarchical models, horizontally and vertically planning models as well as models with planes. The main goal of the work is to identify the important platform parts, classify the existing models, and create a framework that will allow further protocols and services classification. The chapter starts with a presentation of the end-user requirements, continues with the analysis and design phases, and ends with a possible implementation of the platform as a cloud-based one, aiming to aggregate data from multiple different access and edge technological solutions and islands, and allowing data analysis and mining at the abstract level. This is considered as a driving force for further development of possible business solutions. The work is based on a real-life experience gained within living labs and conducted surveys on the topic.


An Aspergillus parasiticus gene, designated apa-2, was identified as a regulatory gene associated with aflatoxin biosynthesis. The apa-2 gene was cloned on the basis of overproduction of pathway intermediates following transformation of fungal strains with cosmid DNA containing the aflatoxin biosynthetic genes nor-1 and ver-1. Transformation of an O-methylsterigmatocystin-accumulating strain, A. parasiticus SRRC 2043, with a 5.5-kb HindIII-XbaI DNA fragment containing apa-2 resulted in overproduction of all aflatoxin pathway intermediates analyzed. Specific enzyme activities associated with the conversion of norsolorinic acid and sterigmatocystin were increased approximately twofold. The apa-2 gene was found to complement an A. flavus afl-2 mutant strain for aflatoxin production, suggesting that apa-2 is functionally homologous to afl-2. Comparison of the A. parasiticus apa-2 gene DNA sequence with that of the A. flavus afl-2 gene (G. A. Payne, G. J. Nystorm, D. Bhatnagar, T. E. Cleveland, and C. P. Woloshuk, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 59:156-162, 1993) showed that they shared > 95% DNA homology. Physical mapping of cosmid subclones placed apa-2 approximately 8 kb from ver-1.


The extremely radioresistant eubacterium Deinococcus radiodurans and the phenotyp‐ ically related prokaryotes, whose genomes have been completely sequenced, are presently used as model species in several laboratories to study the lethal effects of DNA-damaging and protein-oxidizing agents, particularly the effects of ionizing radiation (IR). Unfortunately, providing relevant information about radioresistant prokaryotes (RP) in a neatly centralized and organized manner still remains a need. In this study, we designed RadioP1 Web resource (www.radiop.org.tn) to gather information about RP defined by the published literature with specific emphasis on (i) predicted genes that produce and protect against oxidative stress, (ii) predicted proteins involved in DNA repair mechanisms and (iii) potential uses of RP in biotechnology. RadioP1 allows the complete RP proteogenomes to be queried using various patterns in a user-friendly and interactive manner. The output data can be saved in plain text, Excel or HyperText Markup Language (HTML) formats for subsequent analyses. Moreover, RadioP1 provides for users a tool "START ANALY‐ SIS", including the previously described R-packages "drc" and "lethal", to generate exponential or sigmoid survival curves with D10 and D50 values. Furthermore, when accessible, links to external databases are provided. Supplementary data will be included in the future when the sequences of other RP genomes will become available.


A three-dimensional, turbulent
flow in a channel with a sudden expansion
was studied by direct numerical simulation of the incompressible Navier-Stokes
equations. The objective of this study was to provide statistical data of backwardfacing
step
flow for turbulence modelling. Additionally, analysis of the statistical
and dynamical properties of the
flow is performed.
The Reynolds number of the main simulation was Reh = 9000, based on the
step height and mean inlet velocity, with the expansion ratio ER = 2:0. The discretisation
is performed using the spectral/hp element method with stiffly-stable
velocity correction scheme for time integration. The inlet boundary condition is
a fully turbulent velocity and pressure field regenerated from a plane downstream
of the inlet. A constant
flowrate was ensured by applying Stokes
flow correction
in the inlet regeneration area.
Time and spanwise averaged results revealed, apart from the primary recirculation
bubble, secondary and tertiary corner eddies. Streamlines show an additional
small eddy at the downstream tip of the secondary corner eddy, with the
same circulation direction as the secondary vortex. The analysis of the 3D, timeonly
average shows the wavy spanwise structure of both primary and secondary
recirculation bubble, that results in spanwise variations of the mean reattachment
location. The visualisation of spanwise averaged pressure
uctuations and
streamwise velocity showed that the interaction of vortices with the recirculation
bubble is responsible for the
apping of the reattachment position. The
characteristic frequency St = 0:078 was found.
The analysis of small-scale energy transfer was performed to reveal large
backscatter regions in strong Reynolds stress areas in the mixing layer. High
correlation of small-scale transfer with non-linear interaction of large-scale velocity
and small-scale vorticity was found.
The data of the
flow fields was archived. It contains the averages for velocities,
pressure and Reynolds stress tensor, as well as 3D instantaneous pressure and
velocity history.


Many cell types release nano-sized vesicles, which can be found in body fluids as well as in cell culture-conditioned medium. These extracellular vesicles (EV) have been identified as vehicles for intercellular communication and are thought to be involved in many (patho)physiological processes. They have also gained interest due to their potential clinical application as biomarkers for disease and as therapeutic agents. However, the exact mechanisms through which EV exert their functions are largely unknown. EV carry a selective set of proteins, lipids and RNA. The molecular composition of EV and the dynamics of their release depends on the status of the producing cell. The released EV are heterogeneous in size and composition. Knowledge on how the molecular composition and number of released EV is regulated upon different triggers is needed to gain more insight in the physiological role of EV in intercellular communication. In her thesis, Els van der Vlist focused on EV that are released by dendritic cells (DC) and T cells, in order to unravel the role of these EV in immune cell communication. Her thesis describes a newly developed high-resolution flow cytometric method enabling simultaneous quantitative and qualitative analysis of individual EV. With this method, large numbers of nano-sized EV can be analyzed, which is needed to reveal phenotypic heterogeneity within EV populations. The method was used to analyze the quantity and quality of dendritic cell (DC) and T cell-derived EV subsets that were released upon different activation triggers. Using this approach, it was demonstrated that DC release more EV, with altered molecular compositions, in response to activation with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Furthermore, it was observed that when DC were cultured together with CD4+ T cells, these T cells selectively recruited a subset of DC-derived EV. CD4+ T cells also increased their release of EV when activated via their T cell receptor, and additional co-stimulatory signals potentiated this process further. Interestingly, using the flow cytometric analysis method it was found that the population of EV released by CD4+ T cells was composed of different vesicle subsets. The release of these subsets was differentially regulated in response to the level of T cell activation. Finally, the function of vesicles released during cognate DC-T cell interactions was investigated in an in vitro model system. EV released during strong stimulatory DC-T cell interactions are targeted to neighboring DC and T cells and can influence the phenotype of these cells. Thus, EV that are released during strong stimulatory DC-T cell interactions might be involved in the modulation of neighboring DC-T cell interactions. The novel individual EV-based flow cytometric method has increased our insights in the regulated release of different vesicle subsets by DC and T cells and will greatly facilitate further research to unravel the function of EV in intercellular communication. For clinical settings this method holds great promise for the definition and analysis of EV-based biomarkers and therapeutics


Because nearly all existing glare equations depend on source size, relative position, and luminance, predicting glare in daylighting software generally requires the pixel-processing of a rendered image meant to reproduce a human's view. When considering multiple positions, views, and times of day and year, making an annual assessment of glare becomes prohibitively time consuming using traditional methods. Using the recently developed metric Daylight Glare Probability as a reference, this paper builds upon an existing approximation method for DGP based on vertical illuminance. The existing method performs well for glare situations based on high vertical illuminance but is less accurate for luminance contrast-based glare. The approach that is presented here suggests a way to overcome these weaknesses by using geometric information and illuminance data generated from the computer model.


Online political participation has been presented as a possible solution to declining levels of trust in traditional politics. However, the most marginalised communities are often the least connected and participate least in digital citizenship programmes. Much existing literature rests on a binary understanding of citizens as being either connected or unconnected. Progress is therefore often understood simply as a process of "connecting the unconnected." This paper presents primary empirical research from the Philippines, which suggests that such binary understandings disguise more than they reveal. We argue that it is descriptively more accurate and more analytically useful to recognise that multiple classes of technology access exist, which limit digital citizenship in multiple ways. Qualitative methods were used to learn from non‐users and the least connected about the barriers to online civic participation that they experience. The 5'A's of Technology Access was employed as a framework to analyse those barriers and reveal the social and economic factors that they reflect, reproduce, and amplify. Findings suggest that nonbinary and nontechnical understandings of the barriers to digital inclusion are essential to any effective attempt to remove the remaining obstacles to genuinely inclusive digital citizenship.


Asthma is a complex disease characterized by variable airflow limitation, hyperresponsiveness, and airways inflammation. Despite valuable therapeutic advances to control asthma symptoms in the last decade, a quantifiable proportion of patients with moderate to severe asthma continue to experience inadequate disease control, highlighting an important unmet need. In animal models of asthma, interleukin (IL)-9 regulates the development of airway inflammation, mucus production, airway hyperresponsiveness, and airway fibrosis largely by increasing mast cell numbers and activity in the airways. Mast cells are involved in the pathogenesis of eosinophilic and noneosinophilic asthma. Thus, targeting the IL-9 pathway may provide a new therapeutic modality for asthma. The purpose of this review is to summarize the IL-9-mast cell axis in the pathogenesis of asthma and discuss clinical studies with a humanized anti-IL-9 monoclonal antibody, MEDI-528, in subjects with asthma.


The application of stochastic models and analysis techniques to large datasets is now commonplace. Unfortunately, in practice this usually means extracting data from a database system into an external tool (such as SAS, R, Arena, or Matlab), and then running the analysis there. This extract-and-model paradigm is typically error-prone, slow, does not support fine-grained modeling, and discourages what-if and sensitivity analyses.
 In this article we describe MCDB, a database system that permits a wide spectrum of stochastic models to be used in conjunction with the data stored in a large database, without ever extracting the data. MCDB facilitates in-database execution of tasks such as risk assessment, prediction, and imputation of missing data, as well as management of errors due to data integration, information extraction, and privacy-preserving data anonymization. MCDB allows a user to define "random" relations whose contents are determined by stochastic models. The models can then be queried using standard SQL. Monte Carlo techniques are used to analyze the probability distribution of the result of an SQL query over random relations. Novel "tuple-bundle" processing techniques can effectively control the Monte Carlo overhead, as shown in our experiments.


The Real Time System Operations (RTSO) 2006-2007 project focused on two parallel technical tasks: (1) Real-Time Applications of Phasors for Monitoring, Alarming and Control; and (2) Real-Time Voltage Security Assessment (RTVSA) Prototype Tool. The overall goal of the phasor applications project was to accelerate adoption and foster greater use of new, more accurate, time-synchronized phasor measurements by conducting research and prototyping applications on California ISO's phasor platform - Real-Time Dynamics Monitoring System (RTDMS) -- that provide previously unavailable information on the dynamic stability of the grid. Feasibility assessment studies were conducted on potential application of this technology for small-signal stability monitoring, validating/improving existing stability nomograms, conducting frequency response analysis, and obtaining real-time sensitivity information on key metrics to assess grid stress. Based on study findings, prototype applications for real-time visualization and alarming, small-signal stability monitoring, measurement based sensitivity analysis and frequency response assessment were developed, factory- and field-tested at the California ISO and at BPA. The goal of the RTVSA project was to provide California ISO with a prototype voltage security assessment tool that runs in real time within California ISO?s new reliability and congestion management system. CERTS conducted a technical assessment of appropriate algorithms, developed a prototype incorporating state-of-art algorithms (such as the continuation power flow, direct method, boundary orbiting method, and hyperplanes) into a framework most suitable for an operations environment. Based on study findings, a functional specification was prepared, which the California ISO has since used to procure a production-quality tool that is now a part of a suite of advanced computational tools that is used by California ISO for reliability and congestion management.


We introduce a simpler alternative to existing automatic language identification technology and quantitatively compare its performance to that of a state-of-the-art architecture on the recognised OGI Telephone Speech (OGI TS) multilingual corpus. The comparison is performed on ten two-language tasks spanning five languages. Although the system that we propose exhibits inferior performance (65% versus 81% on a 40s utterance), such an alternative may potentially provide adequate performance where cost and complexity of current technology is prohibitive. In addition, it may serve as an avenue of investigation for improving scalability of automatic language identification systems.


This is the second edition of Wil van der Aalsts seminal book on process mining, which now discusses the field also in the broader context of data science and big data approaches. It includes several additions and updates, e.g. on inductive mining techniques, the notion of alignments, a considerably expanded section on software tools and a completely new chapter of process mining in the large. It is self-contained, while at the same time covering the entire process-mining spectrum from process discovery to predictive analytics. After a general introduction to data science and process mining in Part I, Part II provides the basics of business process modeling and data mining necessary to understand the remainder of the book. Next, Part III focuses on process discovery as the most important process mining task, while Part IV moves beyond discovering the control flow of processes, highlighting conformance checking, and organizational and time perspectives. Part V offers a guide to successfully applying process mining in practice, including an introduction to the widely used open-source tool ProM and several commercial products. Lastly, Part VI takes a step back, reflecting on the material presented and the key open challenges. Overall, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in process mining. It is intended for business process analysts, business consultants, process managers, graduate students, and BPM researchers.


ABSTRACT We have investigated petrogenetic characteristics of detrital opaque Fe-Ti oxide minerals (DOPQ) in sand samples collected from Holocene streams draining exclusively igneous and metamorphic source rocks in the Rocky Mountain region under a semi-arid climate, and from the Appalachian Mountains under a humid climate. Our sampling strategy allows us to compare and contrast the properties of detrital mineral grains not only from igneous and metamorphic source rocks, but also those from dissected-arc and recycled-orogen provenances. Reflected-light petrography including extensive modal analysis and electron probe microanalysis of polished grain mounts were the two principal methods of data gathering. Between 25% and 50% of all DOPQ show oxidation exsolution and/or other lamellar intergrowth textures, i.e., they are polymineralic grains. Lamellar intergrowth texture is present in about twice as many grains derived from igneous source rocks as from metamorphic source rocks. Lamellae thinner than 2 µm are predominant in grains derived from dissected-arc provenance, whereas lamellae thicker than 10 µm are predominant in grains derived from recycled-orogen provenance. Exsolution lamellae along {111} planes of magnetite (three directions) and presumably along {0001} planes of ilmenite (one direction) characterize dissected-are and recycled-orogen provenance, respectively. Detrital ilmenites derived from the igneous source rocks studied show a wide range of TiO2 co tent with a mode around 47%, whereas those from the metamorphic source rocks show a tight cluster around 52% TiO2 content. DOPQ derived from metamorphic source rocks contain < 0.5% MgO, whereas those from igneous rocks may contain up to 1.2% MgO. Both MgO and MnO are low, 0.3% and 2.5%, respectively, in DOPQ derived from dissected-arc provenance, but may be relatively high, up to 1.2% and 8.0%, respectively, in grains derived from recycled-orogen provenance. Whereas no single character of DOPQ may be diagnostic of provenance, discriminant function analysis of the complete set of data show that collectively they are diagnostic in 95% to 100% of cases. We recommend the use of 1) presence of exsolution texture, 2) minimum lamellae widths and the number of crystallographic orientation of the lamellae, and 3) chemical composition including minor elements of DOPQ as important properties for provenance identification. This should supplement and refine existing criteria for provenance determination.


March 19, 2012: The CUNY Graduate Center
A discussion on the past, present and future of uprisings and occupy movements in Athens and New York City.
With Special Guests:
Dimitris Dalakoglou is co-editor of the book Revolt and Crisis in Greece, and a member of the Occupied London Collective. He works as a Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Sussex (UK).
Manissa McCleave Maharawal is a writer, activist and a doctoral student in the anthropology department at the CUNY Graduate Center. She has been involved with and written extensively about the Occupy movement since it started.
Isham Christie is a student at the CUNY Graduate Center studying critical social theory, philosophy, and film. He has been involved with Occupy Wall Street since before the occupation began, in a range of working groups.


In recent years, basic income – sometimes referred to as universal basic income, or, guaranteed annual income – has resurfaced as a mainstream policy proposal. Basic income, in its simplest form, is an unconditional cash transfer from government to individuals or families that provides more dignity to recipients when compared to existing social assistance programs.

There is a growing appetite in Canada to develop more effective poverty reduction strategies, and Ontario has recently taken the lead with a newly deployed Basic Income Pilot Project. This pilot, and others alike, are testing how recipients will use basic income, and whether such a policy would be an innovative replacement for the complicated, contentious, and costly systems currently in place.

The research question in this Major Research Project (MRP) investigates the potential behavioural differences between short-term basic income pilot projects, and permanent policies. With a permanent basic income yet to be implemented, an experimental method was developed to better understand these potential differences.

Using 'Structured Scenario Interviews', the research found significant differences in the ways participants allocated basic income across two hypothetical time-based scenarios: a one-year basic income pilot; and a permanent policy. This method can be used as a complementary tool to adjust policies in existing pilot projects, allowing research teams to better understand expected behaviours under shorter time horizons. The method is applicable to basic income pilot projects in any jurisdiction.


This note discusses the connection between generalised geometry and flux compactifications of string theory. Firstly, we explain in a pedestrian manner how the supersymmetry constraints of type II flux compactifications can be restated as integrability constraints on certain generalised complex structures. This reformulation uses generalised complex geometry, a mathematical framework that geometrizes the B‐field. Secondly, we discuss how exceptional generalised geometry may provide a similar geometrization of the RR fields. Thirdly, we examine the connection between generalised geometry and non‐geometry, and finally we present recent developments where generalised geometry is used to construct explicit examples of flux compactifications to flat space.


In this groundbreaking study of Puerto Rican and Dominican migration to the United States, Wendy D. Roth explores the influence of migration on changing cultural conceptions of race-for the newcomers, for their host society, and for those who remain in the countries left behind. Just as migrants can gain new language proficiencies, they can pick up new understandings of race. But adopting an American idea about race does not mean abandoning earlier ideas. New racial schemas transfer across borders and cultures spread between sending and host countries. Behind many current debates on immigration is the question of how Latinos will integrate and where they fit into the U.S. racial structure. Race Migrations shows that these migrants increasingly see themselves as a Latino racial group. Although U.S. race relations are becoming more "Latin Americanized" by the presence of Latinos and their views about race, race in the home countries is also becoming more "Americanized" through the cultural influence of those who go abroad. Ultimately, Roth shows that several systems of racial classification and stratification co-exist in each place, in the minds of individuals and in their shared cultural understandings of "how race works."


We constructed a new free-air gravity anomaly map of the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) using ship-tracked gravity data from the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC). Our results show that the isogals trend correlates well with the tectonic structures in the PSP. After removing the gravity induced by sea water from the free-air gravity data, we obtained the regional Bouguer gravity anomaly, which is later used to compute the Moho geometry in the PSP by applying the Parker-Oldenburg iterative method. Our results indicate that in the southern part of the West Philippine Basin (WPB) the crustal thickness is nearly homogeneous with a value of about 5 km, which implies that the WPB is quite stable. The low-amplitude and near-zero free-air gravity anomalies clearly indicate that the whole WPB, except at trenches and island arcs, is nearly in a state of isostatic equilibrium. The average crustal thickness of the Palau Kyushu Ridge (PKR) is more than 10 km. In the eastern PSP the crustal thickness gradually increases eastward. Our results also imply that a relatively thin and low density mantle exists beneath the Parece Vela Basin (PVB) as a consequence of back-arc spreading and serpentinized upwells of the thin crustal thickness.


Commercialization model of intellectual property products in a coordinated and integral unity with socio-economic mechanisms based on the best global achievements in this field is considered. A social, economic, and historical substantiation of general civilizational and unique features of the formation and development of venture management mechanisms for intellectual property is given. It is shown that formation of socio-economic foundations for innovative development of the country has been very difficult, painful, and contradictory. In the process of education and science system reforming, goals are sometimes replaced by means, reforms appear to be self-sufficient values; market economy levers, while being a way of the most complete satisfaction of individual creative needs, turn into their opposite. Traditional methods of managing scientific activity in the context of social instability do not contribute to creation of a climate and a space that would be conducive to scientific and technical work and based on the freedom of enterprise, which includes such components as creativity, risk appetite, independent choice of alternatives, self-initiative, business culture, and others. A scientifically based and technologized concept of transferring intellectual products is presented. It is proved that only by adequately comprehending the nature of venture business, having reliably determined its social, economic, and psychological parameters, its role in the socio-political and economic self-organization of society, one can possibly speak with some degree of predictability and foreseeability about effectively mainstreaming positive factors of an innovative breakthrough in Russia.


'An authoritative analysis of the role of communication in contemporary capitalism and an important contribution to debates about the forms of domination and potentials for liberation in today's capitalist society.' — Professor Michael Hardt, Duke University, co-author of the tetralogy Empire, Commonwealth, Multitude, and Assembly 'A comprehensive approach to understanding and transcending the deepening crisis of communicative capitalism. It is a major work of synthesis and essential reading for anyone wanting to know what critical analysis is and why we need it now more than ever.' — Professor Graham Murdock, Emeritus Professor, University of Loughborough and co-editor of The Handbook of Political Economy of Communications Communication and Capitalism outlines foundations of a critical theory of communication. Going beyond Jurgen Habermas' theory of communicative action, Christian Fuchs outlines a communicative materialism that is a critical, dialectical, humanist approach to theorising communication in society and in capitalism. The book renews Marxist Humanism as a critical theory perspective on communication and society. The author theorises communication and society by engaging with the dialectic, materialism, society, work, labour, technology, the means of communication as means of production, capitalism, class, the public sphere, alienation, ideology, nationalism, racism, authoritarianism, fascism, patriarchy, globalisation, the new imperialism, the commons, love, death, metaphysics, religion, critique, social and class struggles, praxis, and socialism. Fuchs renews the engagement with the questions of what it means to be a human and a humanist today and what dangers humanity faces today.


In the present research we discuss the results of analysis of coherent light beams carrying optical vortex and reflecting from the surface with a complex microrelief. It was shown, that phase analysis of singular beam with single charged centered optical vortex allow to calculate data about sample roughness and retrieve the surface relief with high resolution exceeding optical diffraction limit. Vertical resolution of vortex roughness probing can be achieved down to 5,27 nm for He-Ne laser source.


OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the knowledge and approach of men applying to a primary health care center about IUD by adopting qualitative research methods. METHODS: This study was qualitative research realized using an in-depth interview method. The interview was carried with 15 married men in a primary health care center in Umraniye, using 15 semi-structured interview questions. RESULTS: Knowledge of the men in this study about IUD and family planning was inadequate. Participants generally determined the advantages of IUD with its superiority over other methods. Adverse effects of IUD on women and men during intercourse were stated. Knowledge of men about IUD, its side effects and disadvantages were generally composed of misinformation and rumours about the subject. CONCLUSION: Men do not have adequate information and knowledge on family planning and IUD. Training provided by the health personnel might have a considerable role in demolishing misinformation and rumors and may augment the level of knowledge about IUD.


In this paper, we provide new empirical evidence on order submission activity and price impacts of limit orders at NASDAQ. Employing NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH data, we find that market participants dominantly submit limit orders with sizes equal to a round lot. Most limit orders are canceled almost immediately after submission if not getting executed. Moreover, only very few market orders walk through the book, i.e., directly move the best ask or bid quote. Estimates of impulse-response functions on the basis of a cointegrated VAR model for quotes and market depth allow us to quantify the market impact of incoming limit orders. We propose a method to predict the optimal size of a limit order conditional on its position in the book and a given fixed level of expected market impact.


Although parent involvement is fundamental for school functioning, the nature and extent of such involvement is debatable and contested amongst stakeholders. A qualitative based study underpinned by the interpretive paradigm was undertaken to explore the voices of educators regarding parent non-involvement and its implications for learner experiences and performance in a disadvantaged community in South Africa. Data was gathered through individual and focus group interviews, involving 3 principals and 12 teachers respectively. The paper is buttressed by Epstein's model of school-family-community partnerships that advocates for genuine collaboration between stakeholders. The findings show that educators' perceptions concerning parent non-involvement do not take into consideration the contextual realities that restrict involvement, and this serves to alienate parents further. The paper also reveals the gap that exist between policy and practice in terms of school-parent relationships. Existing relations, especially in disadvantaged communities emphasizes the need for schools to initiate and implement strategies that are context friendly, taking into consideration challenges experienced by parents. In this regard, empowering teachers on school-parent relationships is a vital ingredient to ensure the initiation and implementation strategies towards a sustainable parent involvement.


This paper discusses road damage caused by heavy commercial vehicles. Chapter 1 presents some important terminology and a brief historical review of road construction and vehicle-road interaction, from ancient times to the present day. The main types of vehicle-generated road damage, and the methods that are used by pavement engineers to analyze them are discussed in Chapter 2. Attention is also given to the main features of the response of road surfaces to vehicle loads and mathematical models that have been developed to predict road response. Chapter 3 reviews the effects on road damage of vehicle features which can be studied without consideration of vehicle dynamics. These include gross vehicle weight, axle and tire configurations, tire contact conditions and static load sharing in axle group suspensions. The dynamic tire forces generated by heavy vehicles are examined in Chapter 4. The discussion includes their simulation and measurement, their principal characteristics, the effects of tires and suspension design on dynamic forces, and the potential benefits of using advanced suspensions for minimizing dynamic tire forces. Chapter 5 discusses methods for estimating the effects of dynamic tire forces on road damage. The two main approaches are either to examine the statistics of the forces themselves; or to calculate the response of a pavement model to the forces, and to calculate the resulting wear using a material damage model. The issues involved in assessing vehicles for 'road friendliness' are discussed in Chapter 6. Possible assessment methods include measuring strains in an instrumented pavement traversed by the vehicle, measuring dynamic tire forces, or measuring vehicle parameters such as the 'natural frequency' and' damping ratio'. Each of these measurements involves different assumptions and analysis methods for converting the results into some measure of road damage. Chapter 7 includes a summary of the main conclusions of the paper and recommendations for tire and suspension design, road design and construction, and for vehicle regulations. (A)


This thesis outlines a series of six studies that examine the potential cognitive and physiological mechanisms that underpin the association between loneliness and health. The current theoretical model (Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2009) proposes that loneliness is linked to poor health through hypervigilance to social threat (HSTH), resulting in increased activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The first two studies address gaps in the adult literature for loneliness and health and examine HSTH and the HPA axis stress response in real life social contexts: public speaking and meeting strangers.
In adulthood, long term loneliness has been linked to poor health (Shioitz-Ezra & Ayalon, 2010); within childhood literature loneliness and health has only been examined in cross-sectional studies (Mahon & Yarcheski, 2003; Mahon et al., 1993). Thus, the fourth and fifth studies use a longitudinal design to examine loneliness and health in childhood. Cacioppo and Hawkley (2009) also propose that the HSTH in lonely people results in cognitive biases in processing of social information, which affect behavioural responses in social situations. Although cognitive biases have been examined in adulthood, this is yet to be examined in children, so the sixth study addresses this gap in the literature. The final study examines relationships between loneliness and perception of social threat in a real life social context for children: the transition from primary to secondary school.
Findings demonstrate, similar to adult literature, that long-term loneliness in childhood is linked to poor health. Further, evidence for HSTH in lonely adults and children in real life social contexts was demonstrated, offering ecological validity for the current theoretical model (Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2009). The results also implicate chronic stress and a lack of cortisol flexibility as functional mechanisms linking loneliness to poor health. Unlike research with adults, memory biases for social information were not found in lonely children, indicating that lonely children may process social information different to lonely adults. Lonely children also found it harder to ignore irrelevant distractors in cognitive tasks than non-lonely children, when the distracting information involved speech, but not when it was a visual distraction, indicating that speech information is processed differently than other distractors in lonely children.
It is argued that Cacioppo and Hawkley's (2009) model should be re-examined in light of the findings. Key areas for examination of the current theoretical model (Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2009) are highlighted and discussed: the adoption of chronic stress as a functional mechanism linking loneliness to poor health, investigation of mechanisms that result in a reduction of loneliness levels, and an introduction of a developmental perspective to understanding processes involved in the maintenance of loneliness.


The importance of the modular structure 'fluor-spacer-amine 'is pointed out for the design of fluorescent molecular sensors for pH according to the principle of photoinduced electron transfer (PET). Anthracen-9-yl methylamines (24) and some azacrown ether analogues (15 and 23) are examined in this context. They show pH-dependent fluorescence quantum yields describable by eqn. (5) while all other electronic spectral parameters remain essentially pH-invariant. The range of pKa values of these sensors are understandable in terms of macrocyclic effects and the transmission of electric fields across the anthracene short axis. Phase-shift fluorometric determination of the fluorescence lifetimes of these sensors allows the calculation of the rate constant of PET in their proton-free form to be 1010–1011 s–1, with the diamines 23 and 24b exhibiting the faster rates.


Compositional grading of spherules in the ~3.24 Ga spherule bed S3, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa, provides constraints on the evolution of the impact-generated rock vapor plume within which the spherules formed. Two fall-deposited sections of S3, 40 km apart, are both about 30 cm thick and composed almost entirely of spherules. These spherules are diverse in size, composition and texture. Although they have been chemically altered, primary textures and some mineralogy is preserved. Both sections show a similar compositional grading, which includes five stratigraphic zones, each composed of a distinctive assemblage of spherule types. Petrographic and geochemical data suggest that this stratigraphic layering is the same in both sections. This regionally consistent grading suggests large-scale compositional and thermal layering in the impact plume. REE data indicate that the basal part of S3 in these sections contains the most refractory material and that the upper part contains the most basaltic components. Overall, the beds show a temporal evolution consistent with the condensation sequence predicted for a fractionation-modified mixing of chondritic and basaltic materials.


The study investigated the influence of drug abuse on school attendance among senior secondary school students in Uromi metropolis. One research question and hypothesis was raised and formulated respectively to guide the study. Descriptive based on survey method was used as the research design of the study. Research participants were 589 public senior secondary school students drawn by simple random sampled technique from a population of eleven thousand, seven hundred and seventy (11,770) student in Uromi metropolis. The instruments used include a School Attendance Checklist (SAC) and an adapted questionnaire titled: Drug Abuse Screening Test Questionnaire (DASTQ) with a reliability alpha (α) of 0.86. Percentages and t-test statistical analysis were used to analyse the research question and test the hypothesis respectively at 0.05 alpha level. The result showed that there is no significant difference between victims and non-victims of drug abuse on their school attendance (p>0.05). The study recommended that continued collaboration between the school and family should be intensified through Parents Teacher Association (PTA) meetings to sustain the support needed by children to grow into well-adjusted individuals.


Synopsis-When elongated particles such as fibres are dispersed in water, they form a continuous network, provided the fibre concentration is above a certain level. A measuring technique utilising a concentric cylinder elasto-viscometer has been developed and used for studies of the mechanical properties of such networks . Networks generally exhibited the same characteristic properties as solid visco-elastic bodies, hence should be characterised by methods used for such materials rather than by hydrodynamic methods . Nevertheless, a close connection was found between the mechanical properties of fibre networks as measured by quasi-static methods and the hydrodynamic behaviour of the same material, then considered as a fibre suspension. A mechanism for the formation of fibre networks is proposed, in which the network is considered to derive its strength from the energy stored in the fibres when, after being bent in a turbulent shear field-such as is produced during agitation of the fibre suspension-they are prevented from straightening out by their interaction . A mathematical model of random three-dimensional fibre networks of low concentration has been evolved . The fibre concentration, the length-to-radius ratio and the modulus ofelasticity on bending are shown to be the most significant of the parameters determining the rigidity of the network . Experimental study of the shear modulus of model fibre networks substantiated the qualitative validity of the fibre network model.


libitum access to a complete diet in either a pelleted or chaff-based form DTU Orbit (27/10/2019) Adaptive changes in the appetite, growth and feeding behaviour of pony mares offered ad libitum access to a complete diet in either a pelleted or chaff-based form Seven, 3-year-old pony mares (similar to230 kg) were used in a cross-over study to compare the appetite, energy and nutrient digestibilities, growth rate and feeding behaviour, when a complete diet was offered ad libitum in either the original loose-chaff mix (C), or as a more convenient, milled and pelleted preparation (P). Ad libitum access to the study diet (gross energy 17.2 MJ/kg dry matter (DM)) was attained over 2 weeks. In the following 4 weeks, groups 1 (no. = 3) and 2 (no. 4) received pelleted and chaff-based diets respectively. Dietary forms were exchanged during week 5 and ad libitum provision continued for a further 4 weeks. Behaviour and apparent nutrient digestibilities were assessed in weeks 3 and 4 of each period. Pelleted food had a lower proportion of water (P, 0.12; C, 0.22), but relative proportions of oil (0.04), crude protein (0.08), crude fibre (0.29), neutral-detergent fibre (NDF, 0.53) and gross energy (GE) were neither altered by food processing nor time. Apparent digestibilities (DM, 0.49; GE, 0.50; NDF, 0.40 in period 1) of the pelleted and chaffbased diets were similar within periods but decreased (P <0.01) to a similar extent for both diet types (proportional changes: DM, -0.14; GE, -0.16; NDF, -0.28) in period 2. Overall, mean intakes of digestible energy (DE) for chaff-fed animals during period 1 were 0.73 (P <0.001) cl pellet DE intake (DEI). Mean DEI of pellets increased (P <0.001) during period 1 to attain 1.76 (s.e. 0.25) MJ/kg M-0.75 on day 25. Following transfer from pellets to chaff, DEI decreased (P <0.001) to 0.68 (s.e. 0.07) MJ/kg M-0.75 by the end of period 2. In contrast, DEI of animals which progressed from chaff to pellets remained relatively constant between periods. Oestrous behaviour caused no detectable change in the appetite of individual mares. Irrespective of differences in DEI, average daily gain (ADG) in body weight and condition score (CS) did not differ between groups. Overall, mean ADG decreased (P <0.01) from 1.54 (s.e. 0.17) kg/day in period 1 to 0.26 (s.e. 0.08) kg/day in period 2. Changes in body weight were associated with CS (R-2 = 0.72). Each CS point represented a 53.4 (s.e. 4.8) kg gain in body weight. Chaff meals were longer (30.6 (s.e. 1.6) min, P <0.001), less frequent (23.8 (s.e. 1.4) per day, P <0.001) and associated with a lower bite rate (3.8 (s.e. 0.2) per min, P <0.001) and increased chewing requirement (23 (s.e. 1.2) per bite, P <0.001), which decreased the rate of DM intake (17.0 (s.e. 0.9) g/min, P <0.001). Overall, chaff-fed animals spent more time feeding (0.50 (s.e. 1.3) of the time, P <0.001), primarily at the expense of non-feeding activity and rest. The ad libitum feeding regime enabled stabled ponies to re-establish natural feeding patterns and offers a viable alternative to meal and forage feeding. The more slowly ingested chaff form maximized time spent feeding and limited changes in DEI during the introductory period. Although CS and ADG increased over the first 4 weeks, growth and appetite returned to near maintenance values within 9 weeks in association with a decrease in dietary energy intake and nutrient digestibility


This article provides an overview of the U.S. estate tax rules that apply to nonresidents who are not U.S.citizens. The long arm of the U.S. federal estate tax extends to individuals who have assets located in the United States even if the individual is neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States. The statutory framework of subchapter B of chapter 11 of the Internal Revenue Code ode is not well understood, even by specialists. Those Code sections are not taught in most law school courses in federal estate and gift taxation. In light of the staggering staggering amount of foreign investment — $1,245.7 billion of financial assets (excluding derivatives) in 2010 — the estate tax rules governing nonresident noncitizens deserve attention.


Soils, and the microbial communities contained within them, are vital for most chemical, physical, and biological processes. This study investigated how microbial community structure responded to environmental changes, such as hydrology, across vertical space (depth) and time in an emergent fresh water wetland. Research was conducted in a non-tidal freshwater wetland along the James River (Charles City County, Virginia) by establishing plots in two areas that experienced different hydrologic regimes and plant communities. Soil cores (30 cm) were collected monthly from January 2008 to February 2009, and then every two to three months thereafter until October 2009, for a total of 17 sampling events. The soil cores were divided by depth (Top: 0 – 10 cm, Bottom: 20 – 30 cm) and analyzed for a variety of soil properties including: pH, organic matter (OM), water content (WC), C:N, redox, and root biomass. Additionally, above-ground plant communities were monitored during the growing seasons. Based on preliminary analysis, one date from each season (Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall) from both sampling years were selected for in depth analysis of the microbial community structure via Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) of 16S-rRNA. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) found significant differences were found between the environmental parameters in regards to site, depth, and season. Three physical-chemical variables (WC, OM, and redox) were different between sites, but the majority of environmental parameters were significantly different between depths and seasons. The dominant environmental effect on microbial communities was soil depth and, overall, no seasonal patterns were observed in the microbial communities. Further, archaeal communities were most strongly correlated to changes in water content, while redox was strongly correlated to changes across depth in the bacterial communities. Collectively, these results demonstrate that wetland microbial communities are not a product of one separate variable or spatial scale, but result from various factors interlinked to shape microbial communities. More long-term studies are needed to investigate interactions between microbial community structure and environmental variables in these dynamic ecosystems.


As networks of video cameras are installed in many applications like security and surveillance, environmental monitoring, disaster response, and assisted living facilities, among others, image understanding in camera networks is becoming an important area of research and technology development. There are many challenges that need to be addressed in the process. Some of them are listed below: - Traditional computer vision challenges in tracking and recognition, robustness to pose, illumination, occlusion, clutter, recognition of objects, and activities; - Aggregating local information for wide area scene understanding, like obtaining stable, long-term tracks of objects; - Positioning of the cameras and dynamic control of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras for optimal sensing; - Distributed processing and scene analysis algorithms; - Resource constraints imposed by different applications like security and surveillance, environmental monitoring, disaster response, assisted living facilities, etc. In this book, we focus on the basic research problems in camera networks, review the current state-of-the-art and present a detailed description of some of the recently developed methodologies. The major underlying theme in all the work presented is to take a network-centric view whereby the overall decisions are made at the network level. This is sometimes achieved by accumulating all the data at a central server, while at other times by exchanging decisions made by individual cameras based on their locally sensed data. Chapter One starts with an overview of the problems in camera networks and the major research directions. Some of the currently available experimental testbeds are also discussed here. One of the fundamental tasks in the analysis of dynamic scenes is to track objects. Since camera networks cover a large area, the systems need to be able to track over such wide areas where there could be both overlapping and non-overlapping fields of view of the cameras, as addressed in Chapter Two: Distributed processing is another challenge in camera networks and recent methods have shown how to do tracking, pose estimation and calibration in a distributed environment. Consensus algorithms that enable these tasks are described in Chapter Three. Chapter Four summarizes a few approaches on object and activity recognition in both distributed and centralized camera network environments. All these methods have focused primarily on the analysis side given that images are being obtained by the cameras. Efficient utilization of such networks often calls for active sensing, whereby the acquisition and analysis phases are closely linked. We discuss this issue in detail in Chapter Five and show how collaborative and opportunistic sensing in a camera network can be achieved. Finally, Chapter Six concludes the book by highlighting the major directions for future research. Table of Contents: An Introduction to Camera Networks / Wide-Area Tracking / Distributed Processing in Camera Networks / Object and Activity Recognition / Active Sensing / Future Research Directions


Variability in the SO42− and Cl− time series for the 1980s from 12 shallow snow pits across the Greenland ice sheet is used to evaluate the record of the 1982 El Chichon eruption and the potential for recording a moderate northern equatorial eruption in a single Greenland ice core. Composition of volcanic glass found in spring 1983 snow in one of the pits in the Summit region matches that from El Chichon glass, thereby verifying the deposition of material from the eruption. High Na+ and Cl− concentrations in this same layer probably represent deposition of the reaction products of halite and H2SO4 as observed in the stratosphere following the eruption. These findings and the presence of a Cl− signal in five of the other pits indicate that the Cl− aerosol component of some eruptions has the potential to remain aloft for at least 1 year after the eruption. Some of these aerosols may be adsorbed onto tephra particles. Distinct SO42− peaks that can be confidently linked to El Chichon were found in only 50% of the records developed through subseasonal sampling. However, in several other pits an elevated baseline, thought to represent more lengthy periods of El Chichon aerosol deposition as opposed to deposition from a single snowfall event, were observed. Smoothing of the original data by the calculation of annual SO42− flux resulted in the presence of high flux values between 1982 and 1984 (years thought to be affected by El Chichon aerosol deposition) in 9 of the 12 pits. These results suggest that a single ice core from anywhere in Greenland may record a signal from a northern equatorial eruption of magnitude similar to that of El Chichon about 75% of the time; this is despite the overall high levels of SO2−4 deposition from anthropogenic sources that now make identification and quantification of the volcanic SO2− portion of the record more difficult than obtaining the same data for preindustrial volcanism. Nevertheless, composite records from all the pits sampled yielded stratospheric loading (∼20 Mt) and optical depth (τ=0.13) estimates similar to stratospheric and satellite-based measurements following the eruption. Equally high SO42− concentration and flux values in snow from 1980 to 1982 reflect deposition from the series of middle to high northern latitude volcanic eruptions 1979–1981.


Based on the only interviews ever carried out with the two main conspirators of the 11th September attacks, MASTERMINDS OF TERROR is the incredible account of how Ramzi Binalshibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed plotted the assaults on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Capitol Hill in 2001. Using unique investigative material, the authors build a vivid picture of how the catastrophic acts of terrorism were devised over the course of two years and provide incredible material relating to the covert operations that preceded the disaster, the majority of which is previously unpublished. The book contains the full written justification for the attacks by Binalshibh, as well as the entire text of Fouda's interview with the terrorists, which was carried out in hiding as both men were being hunted down. Also included are interviews with close relatives of the hijackers, revelations of Mohammed's connections with the first attack on the Twin Towers in 1993, details of the role played by Binalshibh and Mohammed in the killing of WALL STREET JOURNAL reporter Daniel Pearl, how the two men built al-Qaeda's Far Eastern network, and an expose of the secret communications between Binalshibh and 11th September hijack leader Mohammed Atta. Ambitious and vast in scope, MASTERMINDS OF TERROR contains extensive original material on Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaede organisation and offers astonishing


The objective of this research was to study the variables affecting the consumer attitude to buy organic food that in turn affects the purchasing intention. Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used to explain this. The study variables include health consciousness, environmental consciousness, organic food price, attitude, subjective norm, intentions to purchase organic food and gender. Survey method was used, with the sample containing 200 respondents intending to purchase organic food in Surakarta City, Indonesia. The analysis method employed was structural equation model (SEM). The results of research showed that health consciousness and environmental consciousness were the determinants of an individual's positive attitude to buy organic food. The effect of gender difference on attitude, intention, and behavior of purchasing organic food confirmed the previous studies descriptively stating that gender affects the organic food purchasing behavior. The implication of study is that in the future, the marketers should expose the usefulness of organic food for health and environmental maintenance to make the target consumer more motivated to buy organic food. In addition, market segmenting should be carried out based on gender.


This article makes the case that: a) Rational/analytic methods for futures research, foresight and planning need to be complemented by "imaginal" visioning methods that are based on higher intuition-especially in times involving systemic disruptions and transformative change expected in the next decade and beyond; and b) "Prophetic" foresight, involving a moral or wisdom component, is similarly essential for the evolution of wise futures. After tracing the 40 year-long development of imaginal visioning methods by the author, foundational concepts are introduced that support the idea of personal, interpersonal and transpersonal co-creative partnerships in the use and communication of imaginal visioning for prophetic foresight.


Abstract Labor market outcomes such as turnover and earnings are correlated with employer characteristics, even after controlling for observable differences in worker characteristics. We argue that this systematic relationship constitutes strong evidence in favor of models where workers choose how much to invest in future productivity. Because employer characteristics are correlated with firm survival, returns to these investments vary across firm types. We describe a dynamic general equilibrium model where workers employed in firms more likely to survive choose to devote more time to productivity-enhancing activities, and therefore have a steeper earnings-tenure profile. Our model also predicts that quit rates should be lower in firms more likely to survive, and should tend to fall during slow times, while job destruction rates should rise. These predictions, we argue, are borne out by the existing empirical evidence.