Three-dimensional (3D) silicon detectors offer advantages over standard planar devices as more radiation hard sensors. These detectors and their applications in the upgrades of the LHC experiments are discussed. 3D detectors with a double-sided geometry have been fabricated as very short strip detectors with similar inter-column spacing as proposed for the ATLAS pixel detector and LHCb vertex locator upgrades. The detectors have been irradiated up to a fluence of 2 × 1016 cm-2 1 MeV equivalent neutrons, which is twice the expected dose of the inner pixel layer of the ATLAS detector and of the upgraded LHCb vertex locator for LHC high luminosity upgrade (HL-LHC) operation. Electrical measurements show a lateral depletion voltage of only 4 V for the device before irradiation which increases to 200 V after an irradiation to a fluence of 1 × 1016 cm-2 1 MeV equivalent neutrons. The strip isolation of the p-type detectors was robust to the maximum fluence. Charge collection studies have been performed with analogue readout with 25 ns shaping time, as required for LHC experiments. The response of the detectors to high energy electrons from a 90Sr source and a collimated pulsed laser light source are shown and compared with planar devices. The 3D detector, operated at no more than 350 V, is shown to have superior charge collection characteristics to planar devices for all the fluence range expected at HL-LHC even when compared to planar devices operating at 1000 V. When operated at a bias voltage of 350 V the 3D detector collects 2.8 times more charge than a p-type planar device operated at 1000 V after a fluence of 1016 cm-2 1 MeV equivalent neutrons. Charge multiplication in 3D detectors is also reported, in both 90Sr and laser tests, which leads to further enhancement in the charge collection and signal-to-noise ratio of the detector. The effect is demonstrated, through laser tests, to occur close to the junction electrode.


A right-sided varicocele is a serious manifestation and is not discussed in this note. Left-sided varicocele is common and generally symptomless. Symptoms, if any, are eased by wearing a suspensory bandage. A varicocele (a) appearing late; (b) showing a rapid increase in size, or (c) one in which symptoms do not clear up with a suspensory bandage, may indicate an underlying inguinal hernia. These cases are benefited by left inguinal herniorrhaphy. If the hernia was the cause of the varicocele then varicocele would be as common on the right as on the left. One's impression in these cases is that the drag of the varicocele has initiated the hernia (the sac is small, wide-mouthed and funnel-shaped). Once present the hernia may then aggravate the varicocele and so cause a vicious circle. A plea is, therefore, made for the more careful examination of these cases. A hernia may be obvious or may be suspected from the above features. Merely telling the patient that the varicocele is harmless will not cure the hernia.


Cognitive biometric recognition systems, based on the exploitation of nervous tissues' responses as identifiers, have recently attracted an always-growing interest from the scientific community, thanks to the several advantages they could offer with respect to traditional biometric approaches based on physical or behavioral characteristics, such as fingerprint, face, signature, and so forth. Biosignals are in fact much more robust against presentation attacks, being hard, if not impossible, to covertly capture and then replicate them. Liveness detection is also inherently provided. Nevertheless, their usage could expose several sensitive information regarding people's health and capability, making the system prone to function creep issues. With the aim of guaranteeing proper privacy and security to the users of the such systems, different general cryptosystem architectures for cognitive biometric traits are therefore presented in this chapter. Their effectiveness is evaluated by applying the proposed approaches to brain signals sensed through electroencephalography (EEG). A multi-session EEG dataset comprising recordings taken in three distinct occasions from each of 50 subjects is employed to perform the reported experimental test.


Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals are challenged daily regarding the lack of emotional support from employers in acknowledging cultural differences. The LGB population is at high risk for heterosexist discrimination despite new employment laws that protect individuals from termination based on sexual orientation. Previously completed research indicated that LGB employees who felt supported emotionally in the workplace showed a higher rate of future employee recruitment, increased productivity, quick adjustment periods for new employees, decreased stress, and were committed to their agency. The purpose of this research study was to develop strategies to help the LGB population feel supported in the workplace. The strategies were identified from anonymous surveys completed by employees in the developmental disability support field. The study participants are members of the Advancing Strong Leadership program for North Carolina Developmental Disability (DD) Professionals. Participants shared their personal perceptions of how supportive their agency is for the LGB population. The results showed that 86.36% of the survey participants felt a change could be made to their agency to help increase support and acceptance for LGB employees. There were 16.6% of the employees that identified as LGB from public and non-profit agencies. The results suggest strategies for improving agency climate for LGB workers.


Conducting polymers are class of polymer that can be synthesized directly on conductive substrates and incorporate various functional molecules into it. Its conductivity and customizability make it an ideal interface material for neuronal network research. In the first phase of this thesis, the incorporation of laminin fragments into conducting polymer films is investigated. The laminin fragments are shown to produce low impedance surfaces for neuronal recording. Furthermore, it is shown that the incorporated laminin fragments promote the adhesion of neurons to the surface. These results could provide a means for promoting a stable interface for chronic recording devices.In the second phase of this thesis, In vitro multielectrode arrays provide a framework for studying polypyrrole-mediated controlled release of neurochemicals from microelectrodes, and neuronal network dynamics in a controlled setting. We have developed a technique to achieve transient and local inhibition of synaptic transmission in cultured networks. Conducting polymer films containing the glutamate receptor antagonist CNQX are synthesized directly on the microelectrodes in the recording array. Release of CNQX is achieved through a brief electrical pulse. Through single cell patch-clamp recording, the effectiveness of CNQX release on inhibiting excitatory post-synaptic currents (EPSC) is characterized as a function of distance and time from the releasing electrode, and evidence is shown supporting a diffusion-mediated process following release. At the network level, simultaneous patch-clamp and extracellular recordings are used to characterize stimulus-evoked responses from the network. Cross correlation and a model-based variable clustering technique identify functional connectivity in a neuronal network response to electrical stimuli. Use of the controlled release of CNQX in conjunction with these techniques will allow us to examine the functional clustering of neurons in response to a given stimulation, and how a functional cluster is affected by transient, local inhibition in the network.


Context Several studies show that communication errors in healthcare teams are frequent and can lead to adverse events. Team training has been suggested as a way to safer communication and has been implemented in healthcare as classroom-based or simulation-based team training or a combination of both. The objective of this paper is to systematically review studies evaluating the outcomes of classroom-based multiprofessional team training for hospital staff. Method The authors searched PubMed, EMBASE, ERIC, PsycInfo, Cinahl and the Cochrane Reviews database and selected 18 studies for description and comparison of learners and setting, objective, design, intervention, evaluation methods (reaction, learning, behaviour and results), intervention time before evaluation, outcomes and risk of bias. Results Participant reactions were positive. Learning and behaviour were positive in all studies, but for some only partially. The effect on clinical processes was in most instances positive. Results at patient level were limited. Only one study reported results at all four evaluation levels. Fifteen studies were uncontrolled, and 17 studies had a moderate or high risk of bias. More than half of the studies ended evaluation within 6 months. No studies reported qualitative measures that could have provided an insight as to why the interventions had the effect they had. Conclusion Classroom-based team training for multiprofessional hospital staff is recommended as a way to improve patient safety. This review shows mainly positive effects of the intervention on participant reaction, learning and behaviour. The results at clinical level are still very limited.


Radio Shrine ! Gan ! Gan ! This is a quiz for all members of our afrobeat family out there: Who is the kidnapped smiling lady with the crutch? Who is her smiling, hooded kidnapper? Where did the kidnapping take place? How was she rescued from her kidnappers? Can anyone identify the woman walking & carrying a child in the background? With a zoom can anyone identify the baby she was (...)


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Effectuation and causation are two contrasting approaches to new business development. We argue that these two approaches are generic decision-making mechanisms that can coexist with one another and that they are configured in specific ways during different phases in the process of new product creation. These decision-making mechanisms are influenced by internal and external market factors: the nature of activities of a phase and the interplay between the business model and tactics. Our research framework is a generic two-stage competitive process that separates business models from tactics. We conducted an in-depth case study of a console game creation project to examine these decision-making mechanisms and to explore how business models are formulated and how each mechanism influences subsequent tactics during the new product creation process. Our findings suggest the following four decision-making configurations with unique modes of interplay between business models and tactics: effectuation centric, discovery centric, causation centric, and tactic centric. The theoretical insights on the linkage between decision-making mechanisms and business models have important practical implications for new product creation.


Myocardial infarction (MI) is a clinical condition that develops associated with a sudden reduction or interruption of the blood flow of the vessels supplying the heart for various reasons. The electrocardiographic, echocardiographic and enzymatic diagnostic criteria of MI have been well defined in adults, in children there are some difficulties. Although seen more often in the presence of congenital heart disease (CHD), MI may also be seen in patients without CHD. Unlike atherosclerotic coronary artery disease in adult patients, ischaemia and infarct in children are often associated with coronary artery anomalies and CHD. In addition, congenital prothrombotic diseases, vasculitis, surgical or interventional procedures may also cause ischaemia and infarct. Subendocardial ischaemia, especially aortic stenosis characterised by hypertrophy in the left ventricle is often seen in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or hypertensive patients. The most important risk factors in neo - nates and infants are the presence of CHD, coronary artery anomalies and perinatal asfixia. The most frequently seen causes of pediatric myocardial infarction (PMI) are abnormal left coronary artery originating from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) and Kawasaki disease. Another often seen cause of PMI is patients who underwent arterial switch operations.


Virtual world technology platforms, which allow users from distant places to congregate virtually for entertainment or other purposes, are growing into useful tools for businesses and consumers. Besides other applications, the concept of same-time, different-place gatherings can also be used to organize virtual trade fairs that are complements or extensions of physical tradeshows.  This paper describes a design-science approach to the development of a virtual world technolo-gy platform specifically aimed at creating virtual tradeshow events that bring show attendees and exhibitors together.  After describing the design and development of the virtual world tech-nology platform and some of its applications, we report its implementation in a career fair setting organized to facilitate interaction between would-be employers and students at a university..  We also conducted a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of this virtual event by surveying employers and attendees.  Although the event effectiveness is rated average, this exploratory analysis reveals that the virtual events are quite efficient in terms of use of resources. The overall effort to develop the virtual events is minimal as compared to the number of additional attendees that can participate in the event, reducing the cost per new lead gener-ated.  As the technology evolves further to enhance richness of the interactions, these virtual events will become major applications of virtual worlds.


To estimate the emissions reductions and costs of a climate policy, analysts usually compare a policy scenario with a baseline scenario of future economic conditions without the policy. Both scenarios require assumptions about the future course of numerous factors such as population growth, technical change, and non-climate policies like taxes. The results are only reliable to the extent that the future turns out to be reasonably close to the assumptions that went into the model. In this paper we examine the effects of unanticipated macroeconomic shocks to growth in developing countries or a global financial crisis on the performance of three climate policy regimes: a globally-harmonized carbon tax; a global cap and trade system; and the McKibbin-Wilcoxen hybrid. We use the G-Cubed dynamic general equilibrium model to explore how the shocks would affect emissions, prices, incomes, and wealth under each regime. We consider how the different climate policies tend to increase or decrease the shock's effect in the global economy and draw inferences about which policy approaches might better withstand such shocks. We find that a global cap and trade regime significantly changes the way growth shocks would otherwise be transmitted between regions while price-based systems such as a global carbon tax or a hybrid policy do not. Moreover, in the case of a financial meltdown, a price based system enables significant emissions reductions at low economic cost whereas a quantity target base system loses the opportunity for low cost emission reduction reductions because the target is fixed.


This Evidence Report develops a deeper understanding of the nature and impact of occupational regulation in the UK. The term, occupational regulation, is a broad heading for various mechanisms (including licence to practice and voluntary forms) through which minimum skill standards are applied within occupations. As such, occupational regulation is one of a range of levers, or best market solutions, which are designed to encourage employers to train on a collective basis. The use of occupational regulation as a mechanism for increasing the demand for, and supply of, skills was considered alongside other measures, as part of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills' Review of Employer Collective Measures. However, that Review acknowledged the general topic of occupational regulation was under researched in the UK. This research, conducted by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, helps to address this and deepens our knowledge of the area by: providing a discussion on the existing theory on occupational regulation by examining existing economic literature; providing a detailed review of the existing evidence on occupational regulation in the UK, America, Canada and Europe (Germany, France and Italy), again via existing literature; providing a comprehensive map of occupational regulation in the UK, through the mapping of managerial, professional and non-professional occupations at the Unit Group level of the Standard Occupational Classification (2000); producing estimates of the labour market impact of occupational regulation in the UK. Its prevalence is estimated by comparing the mapping output with Unit Group data obtained from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). Further analysis, via cross-sectional analysis, produces estimates on levels of qualifications, wages and rates of job-related training between workers in regulated and unregulated occupations. This uses QLFS 2010 data. And a Difference-in-Differences analysis is employed to evaluate the impact of switches in regulation status on skill levels, job-related education and training, wages and employment. This uses QLFS data between 2001 and 2010.


In Sweden about 550 individuals die every year due to drug intoxication. A challenge for the forensic toxicologist is to determine whether or not the analytical results can explain intoxication as a cause of death. The most common drugs found among intoxication cases are psychiatric drugs and analgesics. Many of these drugs are metabolised by CYP-enzymes such as CYP2D6 and CYP2C19. Genetic variations, polymorphisms, in the genes coding for these enzymes can lead to an inactive enzyme resulting in poor metabolism, which can lead to adverse drug reactions, even with fatal outcome. The CYP2D6 gene can be multiplied, which can lead to an ultra-rapid metabolism if the alleles are active. Another polymorphism, in the CYP2C19 gene, can also lead to an ultra-rapid metabolism. This increased metabolism can result in insufficient drug plasma concentration and, with that, failed treatment. Alternately, if the drug is a pro-drug and has to be activated by these enzymes, it can lead to a high amount of active metabolites. There is a large inter-individual variation of these polymorphisms and also a large variation between different populations. Additional information about an individual's pharmacogenetics may possibly facilitate the interpretation of the postmortem result and contribute to solve the "toxicological puzzle".The general aim of this thesis was to study if genetic variation in the drug metabolising enzymes, CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 can contribute to fatal intoxication. Reliable and rapid SNP and CNV assays suitable for forensic samples using PCR and pyrosequencing were developed for CYP2D6 and genotype frequencies in a Swedish population were shown to be in concordance with earlier published data. SNP assays were established for polymorphisms in the CYP2C19 gene.Genotype distributions in fatal intoxication cases were compared with Swedish blood donors and significant difference between the materials were established. The allele CYP2D6*4 was found to be less frequent among the intoxication cases, as compared with the blood donors. No differences in CYP2C19 genotype frequencies were found between the materials. These findings are the opposite of our hypothesis that we expected to find an increased number of individuals carrying genetic variations, leading to poor metabolism among fatal intoxication cases. However, we are convinced that information concerning an individual's genotype can be of importance in specific intoxication cases. Further studies are required to illuminate this question. Two further autopsy materials were studied; suicide cases (intoxications excluded) and natural death cases. A significant increased number of individuals carrying more than two active CYP2D6 alleles among the suicide cases were found compared to natural death cases. Furthermore, we found some significant differences between the materials when the individuals in each material were grouped according to how many active CYP2D6 alleles they carry in combination with the CYP2C19 genotype, which was divided into six subgroups. We do not currently have any explanation for the differences between the materials.


Despite all the attention it receives from both its supporters and critics, universal jurisdiction remains one of the more confused doctrines of international law. Indeed, while commentary has focused largely and unevenly on policy and normative arguments either favoring or undercutting the desirability of its exercise, a straightforward legal analysis breaking down critical aspects of this extraordinary form of jurisdiction remains conspicuously missing. Yet universal jurisdiction's increased practice by states calls out for such a clear descriptive understanding. This Essay engages this under-treated area. It offers to explicate a basic, but overlooked, feature of the law of universal jurisdiction: If national courts prosecute on grounds of universal jurisdiction, they must use the international legal definitions - contained in customary international law - of the universal crimes they adjudicate; otherwise their exercise of universal jurisdiction contradicts the very international law upon which it purports to rely. The Essay argues that this legal feature derives from the distinctively symbiotic nature of universal prescriptive jurisdiction (the power to apply law to certain persons or things) and universal adjudicative jurisdiction (the power to subject certain persons or things to judicial process). Unlike other bases of jurisdiction in international law, the prescriptive substance of universal jurisdiction authorizes and circumscribes universal adjudicative jurisdiction; it defines not only the universal crimes themselves, but also the judicial competence for all courts wishing to exercise universal jurisdiction. The Essay looks to chart out some important implications of this thesis for the real-world practice of universal jurisdiction; it evaluates how most easily to determine the customary definitions of universal crimes, to detect breaches of international law by courts that manipulate subjectively those definitions, and to enforce against such illicit manipulation. The Essay contends that while some definitional aspects invariably remain to be ironed out by state practice, the provisions of widely-ratified and longstanding international treaties provide generally the best record of the core customary definitions of universal crimes, and accordingly supply not only a harmonized point of departure for courts wishing properly to exercise universal jurisdiction, but also a useful means for detecting breaches of international law by overzealous courts seeking only to exploit universal jurisdiction for purely political or sensationalist ends. The framework presented thus addresses concerns that universal jurisdiction hazards unbridled abuse. As the Essay argues, the law of universal jurisdiction does not; rather, it prescribes legal limits. And the Essay concludes that in the end these limits are enforced not by those states exercising universal jurisdiction, but rather by other jurisdictionally-interested states - that is, most often by those states whose national citizens are the subject of foreign universal jurisdiction proceedings.


The Chrysomelidae comprise an interesting family of phytophagous Coleoptera, some of which are known to be injurious to cultivated plants, while others may be potential pests. As considerable damage may be done to the food-plants due to the fact that the adults and the last larval stages are voracious feeders, some knowledge of the biology of such insects is essential if they are to be successfully controlled.


Tidal flats provide habitat for biodiversity, protection from storm surges and sea level rise, and a range of other ecosystem services. However, no simple method exists for mapping tidal flats over large (>1,000 km) extents, and consequently their global status and distribution remain poorly understood. Existing mapping methods are restricted to small areas with known tidal regimes because tidal flats are only fully exposed for a brief period around low tide. Here we present a method for mapping tidal flats over very large areas and demonstrate its utility by mapping the tidal flats of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. We (i) generated tide height predictions at the acquisition time of all Landsat Archive images of our study area using a validated regional tide model, (ii) selected suitable images acquired in the upper and lower 10% of the tidal range, (iii) converted high and low tide images to a land and water class image derived from the Normalized Differenced Water Index (NDWI) and, (iv) subtracted the high tide classified image from the low tide classified image, resulting in delineation of the tidal flat. Using this method, we mapped the tidal flats for 86.8% of the study area coastline (13,800 km). A confusion matrix for error assessment indicated an accuracy of >85% for the resulting tidal flat map. Our method enables coastal morphology to be


We derive results of the following flavor: If a combinatorial optimization problem can be formulated via a dynamic program of a certain structure and if the invoked cost and transition functions satisfy certain arithmetical conditions, then the optimization problem automatically possesses a fully polynomial time approximation scheme (FPT.4S). Our characterizations provide a natural and uniform approach to fully polynomial time approximation schemes. LVe illustrate their strength and generality by deducing from them the existence of FPTASs for a multitude of scheduling problems. Many known approximability results follow as corollaries from our main result.


Isohydric and anisohydric regulation of plant water status has been observed over several decades of field , glasshouse and laboratory studies, yet the functional significance and mechanism of both remain obscure. We studied the seasonal trends in plant water status and hydraulic properties in a natural stand of Ei1ca�vptus gomphocephala through cycles of varying environmental moisture (rainfall, f:,>TOundwater depth , evaporative demand) in order to test for isohydry and to provide physiological infonnation for the mechanistic interpretation of seasonal trends in plant water status . Over a 16-month period of monitoring, spanning two summers, midday leaf water potential correlated with pre-dawn leaf water potential, which was correlated with water table depth below f:,>rnund level, which in tum was correlated with total monthly rainfall. Euca�vptus gomphocephala was therefore not isohydric. Despite strong stomatal down regulation of transpiration rate in response to increasing evaporative demand, this was insufficient to prevent midday leaf water potential from falling to l evels below -2. 0 MPa in the driest month, well into the region likely to induce significant xylem air embolisms. However, even though midday leaf water potential varied by over 1 .2 MPa across seasons, the hydrodynamic plant water potential f:,>radient (L'i '--11 plant), inferred as the difference between pre-dawn and midday leaf water potential, was relatively constant across seasons, averaging about 0 .6 MPa. This unusual pattern of hydraulic regulation, referred to here as isohydrodynamic, is predicted by a hydromechanical stomata! control model, but only when plant hydraulic conductance is dependent on transpiration rate. We observed a correlation between midday trans piration rate and whole-plant hydraulic conductance that was consistent with this requirement, although conditions did not allow dependence of one on the other to be established . The accuracy of the model is improved slightly with the addition of a root-shoot signal allowing guard cell osmotic pressure to decline in response to soil water potential. The implications of the observed pattern of hyd raulic regulation are discussed in the context of mechanistic requirements in the stomata! control system, and its possible function in related physiological processes .


In this paper we report on a new improved free-hand haptic interface based on magnetorheological fluids (MRFs). MRFs are smart materials which change their rheology according to an external magnetic field. The new architecture here proposed results from the development and improvement of earlier prototypes. The innovative idea behind this device is to allow subjects interacting directly with an object, whose rheology is rapidly and easily changeable, freely moving their hands without rigid mechanical linkages. Numerical advanced simulation tests using algorithms based on finite element methods have been implemented, in order to analyze and predict the spatial distribution of the magnetic field. A special focus was laid on investigating on how the magnetic filed profile is altered by the introduction of the hand. Possible solutions were proposed to overcome this perturbation. Finally some preliminary psychophysical tests in order to assess the performance of the device are reported and discussed


Summary
History educators often use popular films in the classroom to teach critical thinking through an exercise that involves identifying historical inaccuracies in the films. We investigated how this exercise affects the acquisition of true and false historical knowledge. In two experiments, subjects studied texts about historical topics and watched clips from corresponding films. Each film contained one piece of information that contradicted the text (i.e. misinformation). Some subjects received instructions to monitor for inaccuracies in the films. After a delay, they were tested on the texts. Monitoring instructions did not reduce subjects' acquisition of misinformation, and even when subjects successfully detected the inaccuracies, they sometimes still reproduced the misinformation. However, when they received feedback about the inaccuracies, the production of misinformation was substantially reduced. Overall, these findings indicate that educators should provide feedback when using popular films for this critical thinking exercise so that students do not acquire false knowledge. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A confirmed Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) outbreak in Bundibugyo, Uganda, November 2007–February 2008, was caused by a putative new species (Bundibugyo ebolavirus). It included 93 putative cases, 56 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 37 deaths (CFR = 25%). Study objectives are to describe clinical manifestations and case management for 26 hospitalised laboratory-confirmed EHF patients. Clinical findings are congruous with previously reported EHF infections. The most frequently experienced symptoms were non-bloody diarrhoea (81%), severe headache (81%), and asthenia (77%). Seven patients reported or were observed with haemorrhagic symptoms, six of whom died. Ebola care remains difficult due to the resource-poor setting of outbreaks and the infection-control procedures required. However, quality data collection is essential to evaluate case definitions and therapeutic interventions, and needs improvement in future epidemics. Organizations usually involved in EHF case management have a particular responsibility in this respect.


Introduction: The Significance of Crime Creation (1) In America's one-sided class war, employers have taken to monitoring employees workplace behavior right down to the single computer keystroke or bathroom break (Ehrenreich, 2000: 88). Time theft steals money as sure as someone picking your pocket.... It is America's biggest crime, and until its victims -- the owners and managers of American industry -- decide to do something about it, we'll continue to be stolen blind (Half, 1983: 80). THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE GENEALOGY OF CRIME CREATION THROUGH AN investigation of the discovery and management of a new type of Crime against capital. Theft of time, defined as the misuse of the employer's time and property by an employee, is rooted in 19th-century Taylorist discourses on time management and productivity. However, it has come into its own in the workplaces of the 21st century, spurred by a combination of ideological and technological developments. The purpose of this article is to document and explain this phenomenon. My interest in this subject comes out of earlier work (by myself and others) on the disappearance of corporate crime, crimes committed by business, as statute and fact. As readers of this journal are well aware, in countries all over the world, right-wing champions of neoliberalism have persuaded or coerced national governments to repeal legislation aimed at controlling or censuring the antisocial acts of capital (Snider, 1999; 2000). The most ardent evangelists of this point of view come out of the United States, not coincidentally the central nation with the lion's share of the world's power and wealth. This article will focus on the United States because it sets the tone for the rest of the world. By persuasion, coercion, or example, through its all-powerful media, its market force, government, military, or "international" associations such as the World Bank or the World Trade Organization, what happens in the United States is pivotal. As Braithwaite (1994) has explained, periphery apes center and, whether appropriate to its own history and culture or not, ideas and structures embraced by the United States are copied or modeled everywhere else. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, as the gospel of neoliberalism gained strength, virtually every developed nation retreated from its historic obligations to assure the welfare of citizens through disciplining and sanctioning capital and began dismantling the welfare state. State law, it was argued, was expensive, unnecessary, inappropriate, and draconian. Corporations were depicted as complex organizations run by well-intentioned, well-educated management teams. Harmful acts in which they might -- accidentally -- engage were better handled by gentle persuasion or education, or by market mechanisms such as competition and licensing. Thus, pollution permits could replace laws against environmental crime, those who would fix or defraud markets would be automatically disciplined by free trade and globalization, and "voluntary compliance" or "self-regulation" would deliver better worker protection than state law, enforced as it necessarily was by bloated, bureaucratic government and fat-cat unions. (In this discour se, government was always represented as fat, soft, or inefficient, while business was the polar opposite - lean, mean, and "forced to survive in the real world.") Such arguments fit well with downsizing, with deficit-cutting agendas in the nation-state, and with the newly discovered "need" to cut corporate taxes to allow business to compete in the "global marketplace." Thus, laws against false advertising and hazardous products, laws stipulating minimum wage levels, maximum hours of work, or overtime pay, and laws setting quality standards and punishing business for poisoning air or water were systematically repealed, reformed, and/or obliterated through downsizing. Through deregulation, decriminalization, and downsizing, corporate crime vanished. …


Metals are prevalent in the environment. They are derived from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Certain metals are essential for plant growth and for animal and human health. However, if present in excessive concentrations they become toxic. Metals undergo an array of biogeochemical processes at reactive natural surfaces, including surfaces of clay minerals, metal oxides and oxyhydroxides, humic substances, plant roots, and microbes. These processes control the solubility, mobility, bioavailability, and toxicity of metals in the environment. The use of advanced analytical techniques has furthered our understanding of the reactivity and mobility of metals in the near-surface environment.


Salivary gland anlage tumour, also known as congenital pleomorphic adenoma, is a rare salivary hamartoma that presents in the nasopharynx of neonates. It is important to distinguish this lesion from other causes of neonatal respiratory distress. Treatment usually involves simple excision, and recurrence is rare. No cases of malignant progression have been reported in the literature. We report an interesting case referred to our unit a day after birth with respiratory distress.


The 18th World Conference of Lung Cancer (WCLC), hosted by International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), was held from October 15th–18th in Yokohama, Japan. Being a success, this conference attracted numerous of experts and researchers in the field of lung cancer from all around the world to attend. Participants shared their new findings and made profound discussions on up-to-date issues of lung cancer. Dr. Tetsuya Mitsudomi from Kinki University was invited to share his insights on present issues of lung cancer. We are honored to have an interview with him ( Figure 1 ) and learn more about his views on the recent advances of molecular diagnosis in targeted therapy of lung cancer.


As DNA sequencing gets cheaper, more and more organizations, companies, and countries are amassing computer server–busting amounts of human DNA data, typically for studies of the links between genes, lifestyle factors and disease risk. Science9s informal survey found at least 17 biobanks that hold—or plan to hold—genomic data on 75,000 or more people who have volunteered to share their health information for research. The data range from scans of common mutations known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to the protein-coding portions (exomes) to whole genome sequences. Here we have highlighted many of these efforts taking shape across the globe.


We have investigated an inductively coupled plasma etching recipe using SiCl4 and SF6 with a resulting selectivity >10 for GaN in respect to InAlN. The formation of an etch-resistant layer of AlF3 on InAlN required about 1 min and was noticed by a 4-times-higher initial etch rate on bare InAlN barrier high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). Comparing devices with and without plasma-treatment below the gate showed no degradation in drain current and gate leakage current for plasma exposure durations shorter than 30 s, indicating no plasma-induced damage of the InAlN barrier. Devices etched longer than the required time for the formation of the etch-resistant barrier exhibited a slight decrease in drain current and an increase in gate leakage current which saturated for longer etching-time durations. Finally, we could prove the quality of the recipe by recessing the highly doped 6 nm GaN cap layer of a GaN/InAlN/AlN/GaN heterostructure down to the 2 nm thin InAlN/AlN barrier layer.


Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting represents a promising route for renewable production of hydrogen, but trade-offs between stability and efficiency have limited the performance of PEC devices. I will describe a new approach using a Si MIS diode with catalyst metal contacts that combines stability with high performance.


From a media industries, fan studies, and emerging socio-cultural public relations perspective, this project pulls back the Hollywood curtain to explore two questions: 1) How do TV public relations practitioners and key tastemaker/gatekeeper media define, create, build, and maintain fandom?; and 2) How do they make meaning of fandom and their agency/role in fan creation from their position of industrial producers, cultural intermediaries, members of the audience, and as fans themselves? This project brings five influential, working public relations and media professionals into a conversation about two case studies from the 2010-2011 television season – broadcast network CBS' Hawaii Five-0 and basic cable network AMC's The Walking Dead. Each of these shows speaks to fandom in particular ways and are representative of the industry's current approaches in luring specific audiences to TV. This study shows that the relationship between entertainment publicists and media is dynamic, intertwined, complex, and historically


A dominant theme in histories of twentieth century women's
politics is the argument that there have been two 'waves' of high
profile activity and unity: the pre 1914 suffrage Movement and
the post 1960s Women's Liberation Movement. As a result of this
historical temporality, the years 1918-68 have generally been
presented as a period of longterm decline in women's politics.
Since the late 1980s, research on women's politics in the interwar
years has begun to challenge this consensus. However, there
has been limited re-evaluation of women's political organisation
in the 1940s and 1950s. Existing research presents this period
primarily in terms of decline, and offers an interpretation of
1940s and l950s feminism through the unsympathetic lens of a
'second wave' definition of feminism based on opposition to
women's traditional domestic roles.
Using recently released archival material which has yet to be
incorporated into analysis of women's politics in this period,
and drawing on shifts in feminist thinking since the 1980s, the
thesis offers a re-evaluation of self identified feminism in the
period 1939-64.
Taking as its primary focus, the Married Women's Association, a
feminist organisation concerned with the legal economic rights
of married women, the thesis argues that a new strand of feminism
emerged in the late 1930s. Although the key themes of this 'new'
feminism - economic equality and independence of the full-time
housewife - were distinctive to the l940s and 1950s, they also
revealed intimations of ideas and issues taken up by the Women's
Liberation Movement from the late l960s.
By arguing for equality in difference, 'new' feminists applied
the language of equal rights to women's position in the private
sphere. In the process they argued that full-time housewives,
as workers and marital partners, were entitled to economic
independence in the form of a legal right to half the male wage.
From the late 1950s however, growing feminist recognition of
married women's dual role led to the beginnings of a discussion
about the effects of women's domesticity on their status in the
workplace; this was to develop into a critique of the role of
full-time housewife for women.


An experimental study of active control of fully separated flow over a symmetrical circular-arc airfoil at high angles of attack was performed. The experiments were carried out in a low-speed, open circuit wind tunnel. Angles of attack from 10 to 40 degrees were tested. Low-power input, unsteady excitation was applied to the leading or trailing edge shear layers. The actuation was provided by the periodic oscillation of a 4-percent-chord flap placed on the suction side of the airfoil and facing the sharp edge. Vortex-shedding frequencies were measured and harmonic combinations selected as the applied actuator frequencies. Pressure measurements over the airfoil show that the control increased the normal force coefficient by up to 70%. This supports the idea of vortex capture in the time-averaged sense, enhancing the lift on the airfoil by managing the shear layer roll up. The results indicate the viability of the control of large-scale flow fields by exploiting the natural amplification of disturbances triggered by small-scale actuators. The application of flow control on sharp-edged aircraft wings could lead to improved maneuverability, innovative flight control and weight reduction. These can be achieved by inexpensive, low-power, rugged actuators. iii Dedication To my fiancé Carolina. You did this with me...even from so far away...Te amo~~~!!! and my parents, who always encouraged and supported me to achieve my dreams.


Systems Architecture, Sixth Edition, is the most comprehensive introduction to information systems hardware and software in business. This new edition remains an indispensable tool for IS students, emphasizing a managerial, broad systems perspective for a holistic approach to systems architecture. Each chapter has been updated thoroughly to reflect the changing nature of new technologies, and all end-of-chapter material has been enhanced and expanded.


Internet display advertising industry follows two main business models. One model is based on direct deals between publishers and advertisers where they sign legal contracts containing terms of fulfillment for a future inventory. The second model is a spot market based on auctioning page views in real-time on advertising exchange (AdX) platforms such as DoubleClick's Ad Exchange, RightMedia, or AppNexus. These exchanges play the role of intermediaries who sell items (e.g. page-views) on behalf of a seller (e.g. a publisher) to buyers (e.g., advertisers) on the opposite side of the market. The computational and economics issues arising in this second model have been extensively investigated in recent times.

In this work, we consider a third emerging model called reservation exchange market. A reservation exchange is a two-sided market between buyer orders for blocks of advertisers' impressions and seller orders for blocks of publishers' page views. The goal is to match seller orders to buyer orders while providing the right incentives to both sides. In this work we first describe the important features of mechanisms for efficient reservation exchange markets. We then address the algorithmic problems of designing revenue sharing schemes to provide a fair division between sellers of the revenue collected from buyers.

A major conceptual contribution of this work is in showing that even though both clinching ascending auctions and VCG mechanisms achieve the same outcome from a buyer perspective, however, from the perspective of revenue sharing among sellers, clinching ascending auctions are much more informative than VCG auctions.


Indigenous peoples interrupt commodity flows by asserting jurisdiction and sovereignty over their lands and resources in places that form choke points to the circulation of capital. In today's economy, the state has begun to redefine its "resilience" in terms of its relative success in the protection and expansion of critical infrastructure. We find that there has been a political re-organization of governing authority over Indigenous peoples in Canada as a result, which is driven by greater integration of the private sector as national security "partners." The securitization of "critical infrastructure"—essentially, supply chains of capital, such as private pipelines and public transport routes—has become the priority in mitigating the potential threat of Indigenous jurisdiction. New political and socio-temporal imperatives have led to shifts in risk evaluation, management, and mitigation practices of state administration, in cooperation with the private sector, to neutralize Indigenous disruption to supply chain infrastructure. In this paper, we examine two forms of risk mitigation: first, the configuration of Indigenous jurisdiction as a "legal risk" by the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada; and second, the configuration of Indigenous jurisdiction as a source of potential "emergency." Built on the literal ground of historical patterns of land grabs and migration, logistical space configures new networks of infrastructure into circuitries of production that cast into vivid relief the imperfections of settler sovereignty and the vital systems of Indigenous law.


In the current view of Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) phenomena, an emission component extending up to the very-high energy (VHE, E > 30 GeV) domain is though to be a relatively common feature at least in the brightest events. This leads to an unexpected richness of possible theoretical models able to describe such phenomenology. Hints of emission at tens of GeV are indeed known since the EGRET observations during the '90s and confirmed in the Fermi-LAT data. However, our comprehension of these phenomena is still far to be satisfactory. In this respect, the VHE characterization of GRBs may constitute a breakthrough for understanding their physics and, possibly, for providing decisive clues for the discrimination among different proposed emission mechanisms, which are barely distinguishable at lower energies. The current generation of Cherenkov observatories, such as the MAGIC telescopes, have opened the possibility to extend the measurement of GRB emission, and in general to any short time-scale transient phenomena, fromfew tens of GeV up to the TeV energy range, with a higher sensitivity with respect to gamma-ray space-based instruments. In the near future, a crucial role for the VHE observations of GRBs will be played by the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), thanks to its about one order of magnitude better sensitivity and lower energy threshold with respect to current instruments. In this contribution, we present a method aimed at providing VHE detection prospects for observations of GRB-like transient events with Cherenkov telescopes. In particular, we consider the observation of the transient event GRB 090102 as a test case for the method and show the achieved detection prospects under different observational conditions for the MAGIC telescopes and CTA.


This paper introduces AIPlanner, a financial planner based upon deep reinforcement learning. AIPlanner provides an investment and consumption strategy intended to optimize lifetime well-being. The results of AIPlanner are very close to the precise analytical solution, as well as to the precise solution computed using stochastic dynamic programming. Deep reinforcement learning is additionally capable of delivering results for far more complicated and realistic financial models that other approaches can't handle. As an example of this capability, a bond model that includes both a yield curve and time varying interest rates is employed. Compared to other popular approaches, in one reasonable scenario, AIPlanner was found to effectively deliver approximately $1,000 to $8,000 of additional consumption per year.


The article reviews studies concerning the Akan (Ghana) residential system with particular reference to Fortes's Time and Social Structure. Fortes's work is criticized for its lack of historical perspective, for assuming the structural identity of kin groups, and for ignoring the political and economic importance of the father-child relationship. The author presents a survey of the Sefwi residential system in which domestic units are differentiated according to their historical role. The economic and political importance of the father-child relationship is acknowledged in the transmission of and rights and in the dynamics of household foundation. (Matrilineal kinship, residential system, history, Akan, Ghana) The above title, a paraphrase of Fortes's famous Time and Social Structure: An Ashanti Case Study, was chosen because it expresses the main purposes of this article. The aim is twofold: to review the literature concerning the residential pattern of the Akan, centered on Fortes's (1949) work and assumptions, and to propose a different framework through the introduction of a historical perspective. An analysis of Fortes's kinship studies of the Akan, with particular reference to their residential system, enables one to point out certain theoretical shortfalls common to British social anthropology in the 1940s and early 1950s. This is important for several reasons. The accepted theoretical framework in Time and Social Structure is particularly clear and its consequences are symptomatic. Moreover, this article may also be relevant to students of the Akan area since the theoretical assumptions and results of Fortes's work (particularly Time and Social Structure) have often been accepted uncritically in many of the studies which followed. Finally, the principal aim here is to propose a different theoretical framework and offer insights which will shed new light on the residential pattern of the Akan. The first two parts of this essay analyze Fortes's theoretical framework and his publications on the Asante. In the third section, Fortes's theoretical framework is criticized and a different methodological and theoretical procedure is proposed. Finally, the revised approach will be applied to the study of the residential pattern of the Sefwi. FORTES'S ASSUMPTIONS Fortes's theoretical assumptions and methodology have been clearly and repeatedly specified in his work and have been applied in his fieldwork among the Asante. It is therefore essential to examine briefly some of the main features of his kinship theory and methodology to understand his description of the Asante residential system. Fortes's fundamental assumption is that there are a few simple norms on which society is forged. These rules create a structure, a "social structure." The rules derive from the one law which gives society its structure: the principle of descent. Rights regulating access to land, the criterion of political citizenship, the system of inheritance, and everyday social relations all derive from the descent principle (Fortes 1953, 1958, 1959). The residential pattern is not a direct product of the descent principle. Fortes admits the importance of affinity and time in determining the "form" and "structure" of the residential system. [T]ies of kinship, marriage, and affinity regulate the structure of domestic and family groups, which have no permanent existence in time. Each domestic group comes into being, grows and expands, and finally dissolves. But the institutions it embodies, and the mode of organization it exhibits, are essential features of the social structure. Domestic organization has two aspects. Its form derives from a paradigm or cultural "norm" sanctioned by law, religion and moral values. Its structure is governed by internal changes as well as by changing relations, from year to year, with society at large. (Fortes 1949:7, cf. 1950:261, 1953:91) The descent principle also determines the unit of study of the social structure: the lineage. …


This paper was written for a Festschrift honoring Guy Haarscher of the Free University of Brussels. It addresses Haarscher's analysis of the rhetorical efforts by religious fundamentalists to limit the scope of rhetorical exchanges, and particularly their use of psuedo-argument. I commend Haarscher's analysis, but question his conclusions about the famous Scopes trial. William Jennings Bryan was justifiably offended by the racist eugenics in the biology book being used by Scopes, and so we should not be too quick to brand the Christian perspective as unsuitable to contemporary rhetorical exchange. Haarscher is correct that rhetorical argumentation must have integrity and rise above sophism, a thesis that he demonstrates clearly in challenging the politically correct rhetoric of some on the left. I conclude that Haarscher's balanced and thoughtful approach to public discourse is precisely what contemporary society requires.


On 19 and 20 October 2006, the Research Centre on Enterprise and Work Organisation (IET) organised the first international conference on "Foresight Studies on Work in the Knowledge Society". It took place at the auditorium of the new Library of FCT-UNL and had the support of the research project "CodeWork@VO" (financed by FCT-MCTES and co-ordinated by INESC, Porto). The conference related to the European research project "Work Organisation and Restructuring in the Knowledge Society" (WORKS), which is financed by the European Commission. The main objective of the conference was to analyse and discuss research findings on the trends of work structures in the knowledge society, and to debate on new work organisation models and new forms of work supported by ICT.


Community aged care services in Australia are undergoing major change. With the introduction of Consumer Directed Care (CDC), older adults who are eligible for assistance have control over spending their individual budget on services and can choose a service provider in an open, competitive market. One important question is whether a marketised service system might pose a risk to the collaborative and cooperative relationships among providers. This pilot research project used network mapping to gain understanding of the utility and value of social capital, in the form of networks and links, to community aged care service provision. Our study suggests that such links bring important benefits to staff and through them to service users.


The liquid-phase processes occurring during fuel droplet combustion are important in deciding the behaviour of the overall combustion process, especially, for the multicomponent fuel droplets. Hence, understanding these processes is essential for explaining the combustion of the multicomponent fuel droplet. However, the very fast combustion of the too small fuel droplet makes experimental investigation of these processes uneasily affordable.
In the present work, a high speed backlighting, and shadowgraph imaging and subsequent image processing leading to quantitative analysis of the multicomponent fuel droplet combustion including liquid-phase dynamics are performed. Two categories of multicomponent fuels – in which diesel is the base fuel – are prepared and utilized. The first category is biodiesel/diesel and bioethanol/diesel blends, while the second category is the water-in-diesel and diesel-in-water emulsions. The portion of the added components is set to 10%, 20%, and 30% of the total mixture volume for all the multicomponent fuel mixtures (blends and emulsions).
Specific optical setups are developed in-lab and used for tracking droplet combustion. The first setup is associated with the backlighting imaging with the resulting magnification of the droplet images being 30 times the real size. The second optical setup is used for Schlieren and shadowgraph imaging, with the resulting magnification being 10 times the real size for both techniques. Those magnifications made it possible to visualize the droplet interior at high imaging rates (250, 1000, 10000, and 40000 fps) so that tracking of the droplet liquid-phase processes is easily performed.
Using the aforementioned optical setups, spatial and temporal tracking of nucleation, bubble generation, internal circulation, puffing, microexplosion, and secondary atomization during the combustion of the isolated multicomponent fuel droplets are performed. This offered the privilege of full sequential tracking of droplet secondary atomization from initiation to sub-droplet generation.
Emulsion fuel droplet fragmentation has also been tracked and visualized using Schlieren imaging. The effect of water content of the emulsion on the intensity of the resulting droplet explosion wave has also been evaluated.
Spatial and temporal tracking of the sub-droplets generated by secondary atomization, and their subsequent combustion, in addition to their overall lifetimes have also been performed. Accordingly, a comparison of the burning rate constant between the parent droplet and the resulting sub-droplets is carried out.
Specifically written and developed algorithms are used for image processing and feature extraction purposes. These algorithms are executed using Matlab. Using these algorithms, droplet projected area, perimeter, equivalent diameter, flame height and width, and sub-droplet generation rate have been temporally evaluated.
The high speed magnified imaging and subsequent image processing revealed that the rate of droplet secondary atomization is higher than those obtained by relatively low imaging rate. Additionally, it is shown that during a large portion of its entire lifetime, the droplet geometry has been affected by combustion significantly.
The combustion of two-interacting multicomponent fuel droplets at different spacing distances has also been investigated. The liquid-phase processes inside both droplets have been conceived. The effect of secondary atomization from one droplet on the other neighbouring droplet has also been studied.
The burning rate constants evaluated for the interacting fuel droplets are found to have the same trends as the isolated droplet combustion. However, the ratio of the droplet burning rate constant of the interactive droplet combustion to that of the isolated droplet combustion is higher than unity. The nucleation rate within the interacting fuel droplets is also found to be higher than that within the corresponding isolated fuel droplets.


The principal aim of this thesis is to explore the future of Asian city tourism. Cities have become popular tourism destinations and have been gaining ground in scholarly research. Limited theoretical grounding about tourism functions in cities sparked this investigation. The aims are two-fold: identifying the major drivers shaping the tourism future of Asian cities; and building a conceptual model steering the future of Asian cities. The pragmatism paradigm best suits this investigation due to the complex nature of cities and the flexibility in research techniques that the paradigm provides.

Chapter 1 presents an introduction to the research domain. This chapter covers an overview of literature on cities and tourism, the significance of city tourism, shortcomings of existing scholarly literature, and definitions of key terminology. Taking a forward-looking perspective, the key drivers shaping the future of Asian city tourism and the research methods used for futurology study are reported. Research opportunities informed by the knowledge gaps conclude the chapter. Chapter 2 showcases the theoretical background of the thesis. A critical assessment of general tourism destination development models, and contemporary tourism thinking about cities and tourism, set the scene for theoretical discourse. Two conceptual schemes, the time-space theory and quadruple bottom line of sustainability, are adopted to make sense of the future of city tourism.

Research methodology is delineated in Chapter 3. Guided by the pragmatism paradigm, mixed methods were utilized to achieve the aims. Case study and grounded theory were chosen as the research strategies. A quantitative study was utilized to strategically select the case study cities. A tourism city similarity matrix was proposed, given the absence of readily available methods for comparing cities. Adopting an approach of building research-informed objective and comprehensive measures, the matrix incorporated five dimensions measuring the performance of key tourism and hospitality sectors in tourism cities. These dimensions included the tourism, hotels, aviation, MICE, and gaming sectors, with a total of 17 attributes. Multidimensional scaling analysis was performed to identify the overall degree of similarity of cities. The Asian cities, Bangkok and Hong Kong were chosen as case study locales after performing three-rounds of analysis.

The qualitative study is highlighted in Chapters 4 and 5. In-depth interview and document analysis were the data collection and analysis methods. Twenty-eight interviews with the key informants from public and private sectors across the three case study cities were performed. Document analysis was used to reveal the historical background of the contexts and offer supplementary information to the interviews. Scholarly and grey literatures were both considered as valid and useful information.

With reference to the time-space theory, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 considered Asian tourism cities' development from the past to the present, and from the present to the future respectively. Chapter 4 introduced the historical background, city evolution, urbanization and tourism development in the three case study locations. Interviewees' insights on the past drivers that shaped the present landscape of tourism cities were featured. Fifteen major drivers were identified. For the sake of logical presentation, the drivers were subsumed into the STEEP analysis, including social, technological, economic, environmental and political categories. Political and social drivers were seen as the two cardinal drivers according to interviewees. Research findings demonstrated a strong tie to the time-space theory. Following the footprint of time, tourism cities offered geographical centrality in terms of resources and activities. The historical past served as important building block for the development of tourism cities in the present and the future.

Chapter 5 explored the present drivers that may shape the future. The interview-informed drivers were framed under the quadruple bottom line of sustainability. Nativism and human resources are anticipated to drive a socially sustainable future. Infrastructure is vital for economic sustainability, while liveability is prominent in achieving environmental sustainability. The interviews also revealed that upholding legitimacy is profoundly important in ensuring governance sustainability. This research reveals a new pattern of tourism cities. Asian tourism cities have gradually emerged as strategic nodes for the new types of operations: the findings note the prominence of cross-border economic dynamics and cities gaining visibility as individual entities.

The concluding chapter, Chapter 6, provides a synthesis of the entire thesis. A conceptual model was built to showcase the interplay of the two conceptual schemes in Asian cities' tourism future. This model weaved together the research findings, the conceptual schemes, critical evaluation of destination development models and contemporary thinking on city and tourism. The chapter also underscores the theoretical significance and limitations of this research, and makes recommendations for future studies.


Composite soils have been widely used in civil engineering applications, especially in slopes, embankment dam and landfills. This paper aims to investigate effect of fiber inclusion on shear stress of composite soil (i.e. sand composite). A series of laboratory direct shear tests carried out to evaluate fiber effect on strength behavior of composite sand. Clayey sand was selected as soil part of the composite and glass fiber was used as reinforcement. The fiber parameters differed from one test to another, as fiber length were changed from 10 mm to 35 mm and fiber content were varied from 0.6% and 3%.Normal stress kept constant at 150 kpa. For each test, stress_ displacement graph derived and the results were compared. The results proved that inclusion of fiber affected strength behaviour of sand composite so that increasing in fiber content and length caused increasing in shear stress.


Performance management is an essential part of service delivery at local government level. For a municipality to be able to address the service delivery needs of the members of their community, they must put systems in place that will assist them to continuously meet these needs. One of these systems is performance management. This study looks at the intended outcomes of performance management agreements in relation to service delivery. Do performance management agreements for senior managers have any impact on service delivery? This is the question that this study asks, using the Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality as a case study. Its context is that many municipalities face the problem of poor performance and the slow delivery of services to citizens. Even with the use of performance management agreements, some of these municipalities still find it hard to meet their service delivery targets as outlined in their Integrated Development Plans. Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality, like any other municipality, is also faced with the problem. The study concentrates on how senior managers in the Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality use their performance agreements as aids in service delivery. The study will highlight the significance of having performance management agreements in improving service delivery.


Recently, natural language processing tasks are more frequently conducted over online content. This poses a special problem for applications over Arabic language. Online Arabic content is usually written in informal colloquial Arabic, which is characterized to be ill-structured and lacks specific linguistic standardization. In this paper, we investigate a preliminary step to conduct successful NLP processing which is the problem of sentence boundary detection. As informal Arabic lacks basic linguistic rules, we establish a list of commonly used punctuation marks after extensively studying a large amount of informal Arabic text. Moreover, we evaluated the correct usage of these punctuation marks as sentence delimiters; the result yielded a preliminary accuracy of 70%.


eBay is by far the world's largest online auction site. Millions of people are doing transactions through it. eBay offers the sellers several additional listing options ("ALO" for short) at certain prices for them to enhance the visibility or attractiveness of their auction listings. In this paper we tried to find out how much these ALO can help to improve the outcome of an online auction, focusing mainly on the multiunit auctions of a certain brand of diet pill. The 116 data records were collected within a period of one month from the eBay's "Diet and Weight loss" sub-category. In general, our idea can be applied to any other specific good sold on eBay. Our results provide important implications to eBay sellers in terms of deciding which ALO to use when listing his particular item for sale on eBay. Based on our findings, eBay or any auction sites could also apply our approach to estimate the optimal level of pricing of these ALO through computing the average value of the ALO for all transactions.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the cost of adding either pregabalin or gabapentin to the management of community-treated patients with peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP).

METHODS
A retrospective observational study was conducted using medical records from a Spanish health care provider claims database. Patients receiving health care for PNP, above 18 years and for which either pregabalin or gabapentin was initiated between 2006 and 2008 were included. Economic evaluation included health care resource utilization costs and costs due to sick leave.

RESULTS
A total of 1163 patients with PNP were eligible for analysis: 764 were prescribed pregabalin and 399 gabapentin in addition to current pain therapy. Mean age was 59.2 years and 62.2% were female. Concomitant use of analgesics was higher in the gabapentin cohort (3.2 vs. 2.7; P = 0.003), mainly due to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (74.9% vs. 69.5%; P = 0.018) and opioids (27.7% vs. 17.9%; P = 0.031). Adjusted total costs per patient was lower in pregabalin-treated patients (€2514 vs. €3241; P = 0.003), due to less sick leave (€1067 vs. €1633; P = 0.018) and lower health care costs (€1447 vs. €1609; P = 0.004). The higher acquisition cost of pregabalin (€351 vs. €191; P < 0.001) was largely compensated with lower costs in medical visits, physiotherapy, hospital stays and concomitant analgesics.

CONCLUSIONS
In community-treated patients with PNP, total costs were considerably less for those patients initiated with pregabalin therapy than for those patients starting gabapentin add-on therapy. The relatively higher treatment acquisition cost of pregabalin was largely compensated by the overall lower costs for the other components of health care resources and sick leave, thus reducing the economic impact on the health care provider's budget and society.


The purpose of this paper is to understand the institutional features of Chapter 11 from an empirical examination of thirty firms that have emerged from reorganization. We find the recontracting framework of Chapter 11 to be complex, lengthy, and costly. Violations of absolute priority in favor of stockholders are frequently encountered. These deviations may result from the bargaining process of Chapter 11 or from a recontracting process between creditors and stockholders which recognizes the ability of stockholder‐oriented management to preserve firm value. An example of such recontracting addresses Myers' underinvestment problem. An investigation of the effects of Chapter 11 on the pricing of risky debt is also provided.


Reaction cross sections were measured for protons at 65.5 MeV, for deuterons at 37.8, 65.5, 97.4 MeV, for 3He at 96.4, 137.8, 167.3 MeV, and for 4He at 69.6, 117.2, 163.9 and 192.4 MeV. Targets were 9Be, 12C, 16O, 28Si, 40,48Ca, 58,60Ni, 112,116,118,120,124Sn and 208Pb. 48Ca and 118Sn targets were used only for some of the measurements. Rest of the targets have been measured for all energies and projectiles but 4He at 69.6 MeV where reaction cross sections were measured for 9Be, 12C, 16O, 28Si, 40Ca targets. A modification of a standard attenuation technique was used. Details of the experimental design are presented.Experimental uncertainties were 2-3% for p, 3% for d and 3-10% for 3,4He. A strong forward peaking of the reaction products was observed for 3,4He. Therefore the standard reaction cross section measurement technique was not applicable for these projectiles. The forward peaking is also responsible for the increase of experimental uncertainties for these projectiles. The forward peaking of the reaction products is not known for other projectiles and has also not been observed with 3,4He at different - both higher and lower - energies. Possible explanations for this phenomenon are discussed.Optical model calculations of the reaction cross sections are in good agreement with the measured values.The measurements were performed with beams from the Gustav Werner cyclotron at the The Svedberg Laboratory, Uppsala.


A data warehouse cannot materialize all possible views, hence we must estimate quickly, accurately, and reliably the size of views to determine the best candidates for materialization. Many available techniques for view-size estimation make particular statistical assumptions and their error can be large. Comparatively, unassuming probabilistic techniques are slower, but they estimate accurately and reliability very large view sizes using little memory. We compare five unassuming hashing-based view-size estimation techniques including Stochastic Probabilistic Counting and LogLog Probabilistic Counting. Our experiments show that only Generalized Counting, Gibbons-Tirthapura, and Adaptive Counting provide universally tight estimates irrespective of the sizeof the view; of those, only Adaptive Counting remains constantly fast as we increasethe memory budget.


Traditionally, transportation road networks have been designed for minimal congestion. Unfortunately, such approaches do not guarantee minimal vehicle emissions. Given the negative impacts of vehicle pollutants as well as tighter national air quality standards, it is critical for regions to be able to identify capacity modifications to road networks such that vehicle emissions are minimal. This ability combined with land use changes and opportunities for non-auto travel are paramount in helping regions improve air quality. However, network design research has yet to directly address this topic. To fill this apparent gap in network design research, an emissions network design problem and solution method are proposed in this report. Three air pollutants are considered: hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. The proposed model is applied to two road networks: Sioux Falls, ND and Anaheim, CA. The model is a bi-level optimization problem solved using a genetic algorithm and incorporates the influence of demand uncertainty. Findings indicate designing for minimal congestion tends to increase emissions of criteria air pollutants. However, not adding capacity to a road network also increases emissions of pollutants. Therefore, an optimization problem and solution method, such as the model presented here, is useful for identifying capacity additions that reduce vehicle emissions. It is also useful for understanding the tradeoffs between designing a network for minimal congestion versus minimal vehicle emissions.


Knowledge of the spatial variation of soil attributes is critical for precision agriculture. On-the-go soil sensors have been able to provide relatively high mapping density while assessing this variation. A new ion-selective electrode (ISE) based approach was developed and tested for simultaneous mapping of soil pH, residual nitrate (NO3-), and soluble potassium (K+) contents. In this article, results of laboratory experiments investigating the effects of key measurement factors on ISE performance are presented. In addition to four different soils, these factors included: soil/water ratio (SWR), quality of water used for electrode rinsing (QWR) and for ion extraction (QWE), presence of ionic strength adjuster (ISA), and solution agitation (stirring). After the targeted ion activity presented by different soils, SWR was the second most influential factor causing increased measurement variance, while the influence of QWE was only significant for pH measurements. Based on this study, the following measurement parameters were recommended: agitated purified water extraction without ISA, addition of a fixed amount of water (preferably 1:1 soil/water ratio), and use of regular (tap) water for electrode rinsing.


The Swiss National Competence Center for Research in mobile Information and Communication Systems (NCCR-MICS or MICS) is one of several research initiatives sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation to promote long term research projects in areas of vital strategic importance for the evolution of science in Switzerland, for the country's economy and for Swiss society. NCCR-MICS covers a wide spectrum of topics in the area of mobile information and communication systems ranging from information theory related to ad-hoc sensor networks to business models for pervasive computing, including network and routing issues, software and application development, and actual deployments of sensor networks (from architecture to geology). In this paper, we briefly present MICS as a whole and discuss in some detail two ambitious projects in the area of data management. The first project, XTream, addresses the whole life cycle of sensor based applications from the acquisition by sensors, aggregation and integration in gateways, storage in databases, generation of events that are relevant to users and applications, up to the subscription and consumption of events in a distributed architecture. The second project is Global Sensor Networks (GSN), which aims at enabling the rapid and efficient publication, sharing and interoperability of heterogeneous sensor data sources over large networks such as the Internet and P2P overlays.


The work comprises a critical commentary and a portfolio of ten published major texts by the author, presented in whole or part. It represents a set of related themes and approaches to the subject of culture, technology and being. The portfolio critiques and develops theories of technology in response to significant examples within cultural contexts, in order to address and interrogate contradictions and assumptions pertaining to technologically led readings of images, objects and environments. The publications range from critical approaches to major theorists of technology and culture, including Baudrillard, McLuhan and Heidegger; artists who have utilised technology within performative contexts (Warhol, Duchamp, Gorgerous): and phenomenological studies of network-based culture. The commentary focuses on dominant theoretical concepts in order to connect the texts. These include Baudrillard's principle of 'reversibility', McLuhan's reading of disembodiment, Heidegger's 'standing reserve' and Jarry's 'pataphysics'. The work concludes with a critical obituary of Jean Baudrillard, and shows how the portfolio of publications (1999-2011) has had an impact within academe and for a more general readership, and how it informs current research and future publications.


Those who live outside the world of disability culture may believe the words "disability" and "humor" do not belong in the same sentence. Disability is usually associated with tragedy and sadness, or maybe inspiration, as in coping with disability. However, not all humor can be seen in a positive light. In this essay, I discuss a controversy regarding humor directed at "Hammerin' Hank." Hank is ostensibly a person with an intellectual disability who cavorts with "shock jocks," as the object of humiliation, on a San Francisco radio morning show that trades in gross humor, sophomoric pranks, homophobia, misogyny and ableism. The audio portrayal raises questions about the line between self-mockery and mockery and between free speech and hate speech. When does insider humor turn into gawking and minstrelsy? When is free choice an informed choice? The complexity arises because as offensive and degrading as much of the banter directed at Hank is, he is still an independent adult who is allowed to make his own decisions. Even those who support choice and independence for people with disabilities, however, wonder if Hank understands the level of his exploitation by his fellow disc jockeys. In this saga, the forces of protection are pitted against the forces of advocacy.


Abstract. Cold-water corals are important habitat formers in deep-water ecosystems and at high latitudes. Ocean acidification and the resulting change in aragonite saturation are expected to affect these habitats and impact coral growth. Counter to expectations, the deep water coral Lophelia pertusa has been found to be able to sustain growth even in undersaturated conditions. However, it is important to know whether such undersaturation modifies the skeleton and thus its ecosystem functioning. Here we used Synchrotron X-Ray Tomography and Raman spectroscopy to examine changes in skeleton morphology and fibre orientation. We combined the morphological assessment with boron isotope analysis to determine if changes in growth are related to changes in control of calcification pH. We compared the isotopic composition and structure formed in their natural environment to material grown in culture at lower pH conditions. Skeletal morphology is highly variable but shows no distinctive differences between natural and low pH conditions. Raman investigations found no difference in macromorphological skeletal arrangement of early mineralization zones and secondary thickening between the treatments. The δ11B analyses show that L. pertusa up-regulates the internal calcifying fluid pH (pHcf) during calcification compared to ambient seawater pH and maintains a similar elevated pHcf at increased pCO2 conditions. We suggest that as long as the energy is available to sustain the up-regulation, i.e. individuals are well fed, there is no detrimental effect to the skeletal morphology.


The subject of this thesis is deformable object recognition. We concentrate on issues of articulations and of occlusions.
In order to find a target object (undergoing articulations) in an image we use the following procedures: (i) extracting key features in an image, (ii) detecting key points in the model, (iii) efficiently searching through possible image segmentations and (iv) comparing and grouping shapes. Together, they reconstruct the target object in the image. A Bayesian rational is presented to justify this strategy.
Our main focuses in this thesis are on (iii) and (iv). More precisely, we are interested in shape representation, shape similarity and combining shape similarity with image segmentation.
We consider two possible shape representations for an object. The first is given by its shape contour (SC), or silhouette, and the other is described by the structure of shape axis (SA), or skeleton, which has a unique free tree structure. For shape similarity, we review a string matching method based on the SC representation and then, we develop a tree matching scheme using the SA-tree representation. The advantage of this approach is that it becomes extremely simple to account for articulations and occlusions. As a novelty, the SA is obtained via a shape comparison between an SC and its mirror version. Finally, we study how to integrate the shape module, for both shape representations (SC and SA), with an active contour tracker to yield an image segmentation.
Our efforts through all these issues have been to provide methods that are guaranteed to find optimal solutions.
We also address the topic of occluded object recognition but from a different viewpoint. Our method is to treat it as a function approximation problem with an over-complete basis (a library of image templates), but also accounts for occlusions, where the basis superposition principle is no longer valid. Since the basis is over-complete, there are infinitely many ways to decompose the image. We are motivated to select a sparse/compact representation of the image and to account for occlusions and noise.


Family members often provide significant support and care to their relative who has a mental illness. Nonetheless, how family members might be part of an individual's mental health recovery journey is rarely considered. The aim of this study was to investigate how those with a mental illness define 'family' and the role of family (if any) in their recovery journey. A qualitative approach was used. Purposive sampling and snowballing were used to recruit and conduct semi-structured interviews with 12 people who have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness. Participants defined family in various ways with some being very inclusive and others more selective. There was acknowledgement that family contributed to the individual's recovery in a myriad of ways, although the need for boundaries was stressed. While no participants suggested that their family might become active treatment facilitators, they did want clinicians to support them in talking to their family about their mental illness. A multifaceted approach is needed to promote family-focused recovery practice. The needs of different family members and the needs of the family as a group should be considered concurrently alongside the individual's needs in their recovery plan. Individual and relational components of recovery should be embedded in policy and clinical practice.


Performance of a pneumatic planter was studied in both laboratory and actual field conditions using
sorghum seeds in context to justify its use in dry land. Pneumatic planter consists of frame, aspirator
blower, seed hopper, metering unit, multi-groove metering plate, vacuum retaining plate, furrow opener,
pair of ground wheels with power transmission system. The multi groove metering plate having seed
hole of diameter 3 mm and vacuum pressure of 2 kPa were used throughout the experiments for picking
of single seed. Based on the results of laboratory tests the performance of the pneumatic planter was
carried out in field. Data on performance parameters of the pneumatic planter was collected, analyzed
and found that, average values of plant to plant spacing, miss index and multiple index, actual field
capacity and field efficiency were found to be 101 mm, 2.07%, 3.8%, 0.773 ha/h and 79.7%, respectively


This Article continues our project of applying new findings in the behavioral psychology of human happiness to some of the most deeply analyzed questions in law. When a state decides how to punish criminal offenders, at least one important consideration is the amount of harm any given punishment is likely to inflict. It would be undesirable , for example, to impose greater harm on those who commit less serious crimes or to impose harm that rises to the level of cruelty. Our penal system fits punishments to crimes primarily by adjusting the size of monetary fines and the length of prison terms, but new findings about human adaptability unsettle the assumptions upon which the system rests. Specifically, people adapt well to negative changes in wealth and even to many features of prison life, whereas they adapt poorly to typical conditions of post-prison life such as unemployment, disease, and loss of social ties. As a result, adjusting the size of a fine or the length of a prison term will not change in a linear fashion the amount of harm imposed. A large difference in the size of two punishments will not necessarily result in a large (or, in the case of some fines, any) difference in the harm felt by the respective offenders. This result is relevant to both retributive and utilitarian punishment theories, as well as to the practice of criminal justice. New approaches to punishment are necessary to achieve proportionality in light of the challenges posed by adaptation.


Recommender systems automate the process of recommending products and services to customers based on various types of data including customer demographics, product features, and, most importantly, previous interactions between customers and products (e.g., purchasing, rating, and catalog browsing). Despite significant research progress and growing acceptance in real-world applications, two major challenges remain to be addressed to implement effective e-commerce recommendation applications. The first challenge is concerned with making recommendations based on sparse transaction data. The second challenge is the lack of a unified framework to integrate multiple types of input data and recommendation approaches.
This dissertation investigates graph-based algorithms to address these two problems. The proposed approach is centered on consumer-product graphs that represent sales transactions as links connecting consumer and product nodes. In order to address the sparsity problem, I investigate the network spreading activation algorithms and a newly proposed link analysis algorithm motivated by ideas from Web graph analysis techniques. Experimental results with several e-commerce datasets indicated that both classes of algorithms outperform a wide range of existing collaborative filtering algorithms, especially under sparse data. Two graph-based models that enhance the simple consumer-product graph were proposed to provide unified recommendation frameworks. The first model, a two-layer graph model, enhances the consumer-product graph by incorporating the consumer/product attribute information as consumer and product similarity links. The second model is based on probabilistic relational models (PRMs) developed in the relational learning literature. It is demonstrated with e-commerce datasets that the proposed frameworks not only conceptually unify many of the existing recommendation approaches but also allow the exploitation of a wider range of data patterns in an integrated manner, leading to improved recommendation performance.
In addition to the recommendation algorithm design research, this dissertation also employs the random graph theory to study the topological characteristics of consumer-product graphs and the fundamental mechanisms that generate the sales transaction data. This research represents the early step towards a meta-level analysis framework for validating the fundamental assumptions made by different recommendation algorithms regarding the consumer-product interaction generation process and thus supporting systematic recommendation model/algorithm selection and evaluation.


The natural capacity of the terrestrial landscape to capture and store carbon from the atmosphere can be used in cultivated systems to maximize the climate change mitigation potential of agricultural regions. A combination of inherent soil carbon storage potential, conservation management, and rhizosphere inputs should be considered when making landscape‐level decisions about agriculture if climate change mitigation is an important goal. However, the ability to accurately predict soil organic carbon accumulation follow‐ ing management change in the tropics is currently limited by the commonly available tools developed in more temperate systems, a gap that must be addressed locally in order to facilitate these types of landscape‐level decisions. Here, we use a case study in Hawaii to demonstrate multiple approaches to measuring and simulating soil carbon changes after the implementation of zero‐tillage cultivation of perennial grasses following more than a century of intensive sugarcane cultivation. We identify advancements needed to overcome the barriers to potential monitoring and projection protocols for soil carbon storage at our site and other similar sites.


A direct "green" aqueous synthesis of mercapto acetate-stabilized copper indium sulfide (CIS) nanoparticles (NPs) and core/shell CIS@ZnS NPs of a varied composition under ambient conditions and a temperature lower than 100 °C is reported. The CIS@ZnS NPs can be anchored to the surface of nanocrystalline FTO/TiO2 films without additional purification or ligand exchange steps yielding visible-light-sensitive heterostructures ready for using as photoanodes in the liquid-junction solar cells. The highest photoelectrochemical activity in a three-electrode cell was demonstrated by a TiO2/CIS@ZnS heterostructure with atomic Cu : In : S and Zn : Cu ratios of 1 : 5 : 10 and 1 : 1. The optimized TiO2/CIS@ZnS photoanodes were tested in two-electrode solar cells with aqueous polysulfide electrolyte and TiO2/Cu2S heterostructures produced by a photo-assisted method as counter-electrodes. Under illumination by a 30 mW cm−2 xenon lamp, the optimized cells showed the average light conversion efficiency of 8.15%, the average open-circuit voltage of −0.6 V and the average fill factor of 0.42. The cells revealed excellent stability and reproducibility of photoelectrochemical parameters with around one percent variation of the light conversion efficiency around an average value for six identical solar cells.


Recently, the demand for scalable, efficient and accurate Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS) has seen a rising trend due to their utility in providing Location Based Services (LBS). Visible Light Communication (VLC) based IPS designs, VLC-IPS, leverage Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) in indoor environments for localization. Among VLC-based designs, Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) based techniques are shown to provide very low errors in the relative position of receivers. Our considered system consists of five LEDs that act as transmitters and a single receiver (photodiode or image sensor in smart phone) whose position coordinates in an indoor environment are to be determined. As a performance criterion, Cramer Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) is derived for range estimations and the impact of various factors, such as, LED transmission frequency, position of reference LED light, and the number of LED lights, on localization accuracy has been studied. Simulation results show that depending on the optimal values of these factors, location estimation on the order of few centimeters can be realistically achieved.


To obtain light-weight vehicles, which is one of the major solutions of the automotive industry to reduce CO2 emissions, the use of fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite material (FRTP) has attracted much attention. For molding methods of FRTP, there are press molding using continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastics and injection molding using short or long fiber reinforced thermoplastics. Although injection molding can mold complex shapes, its mechanical property is not enough for the use as a structural material. On the other hand, press molding using continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastics is excellent in strength and elastic modulus, however, it is difficult to mold three-dimensional complex shapes. The novel molding technology, introduced in this paper, has been developed to gain new perspectives in FRTP by combining press molding and injection molding. This novel hybrid molding technology is suited to mold structural components with high-strength and high-stiffness. Although the interfaces between rib structures with short or long fiber reinforced thermoplastics and the laminated outer shell with the continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic laminate, the interfacial properties has not been clarified yet. In this study, press and injection hybrid molding that can mold products of complex shapes was introduced, and demonstrator products were molded. To evaluate the bonding strength between rib structures and laminated outer shell of press and injection hybrid molding composites, tensile test of T-shape specimen were conducted.


Supranational executive power is mutating at the level of the EU political system through a growing array of institutions, (new) agencies and other actors who exercise in one way or another executive powers. One of the less visible though no less crucial executive powers is the management of access to official information. At the supranational level we have seen a growth in specific secrecy arrangements. An important way for building those secrecy arrangements is through the establishment of systems of classification of documents. These security rules have received little academic attention, both in terms of the legal framework and in terms of the empirical practice. This article aims to fill that gap in the existing literature by examining the intersection of internal institutional "security" rulemaking by the plural EU executive with legislative and Treaty requirements and in particular with parliamentary and public oversight mechanisms applied specifically to recent practice of negotiations on international agreements. Do the existing legal and political responses in the area of the negotiation of international agreements in particular indicate the existence of robust checks and balances by the EP to counteract the internal rulemaking power of the executive in the context of the EU? Is the EU executive "unbound" in a more general sense or adequately held in check by the EP in collaboration with other oversight institutions and the public?