The study focuses on comparing print and online advertising with reference to impact on buying behaviour of youth. The study attempts to explore which medium is effective in today's challenging times and stiff competition faced by small businesses. Each advertising medium has its own set of challenges and limitations. Many brands focus on both print and online medium to diversify their marketing mix. One of the important facts here is the growing usage of online medium by today's youth. A single online advertisement can potentially reach customers in a geographically diversified market. The circulation of newspapers limit the number of youths that print advertisements can reach. The complicated and massive media exposure of youth forces us to think its impact on youth's mind as consumers. Advertisements must aim to connect with customers and convince them to make a purchase decision. Online users often spend a few less time on a Web page which can make it difficult for an advertisement to grab their attention. Moreover, online users have option of installing ad-blocking software to prevent ads from appearing on websites. Readers may spend several minutes reading each page of a newspaper or magazine, which gives advertisements more time to connect with customers and influence decisions. The study will use survey methodology to find effectiveness of both forms of advertising to find impact on buying behaviour of youth.


Typical imitation skills that are integral to language and social learning do not readily develop in children with autism. Echolalia, an echoing or imitation of speech sounds, has historically been considered a non-meaningful form verbal imitation. Since music is intrinsically more meaningful than language for children with autism, musical echolalia may offer path to communication for non-verbal children with autism. This research study sought to identify a potential existence of musical echolalia among nonverbal children with autism. Twelve non-verbal children diagnosed with classic autism, six boys and six girls, aged four to eight, who had no formal musical training or music therapy experience participated in this study. Participants took part in a single, one-onone, videotaped music therapy session. For this study the term musical echolalia was defined as the demonstration of the immediate, relative, imitation of a pitch, melody or, rhythm sequence of a musical phrase performed through vocal, instrumental, or physical expression. Non-musical utterances or noises such as echoic or imitative speech sounds and unrelated motor movements were not included in this study as musical echolalia. Each child's immediate imitation of discrete musical elements was deemed musical echolalia; thus, elements of pitch, rhythm, voice, musical instrument, and physical expression were included in this study. Based on these criteria seven different sub-types of musical echolalia were identified. Inferential statistics and single factor ANOVA were used to compare the frequency of musical stimuli and musical echolalia, the social responses that occurred after musical echolalia, and the potential associations across gender and age. A statistically significant difference was found for the musical echolalia type RIO (rhythm with a musical instrument) when compared to the frequencies for the


The aim of this research to study the role of modern communication technologies in improving agricultural extension work in middle Iraqi governorates by providing infrastructure to use modern communication technologies in Agricultural extension work , support agricultural extension system to transform agricultural work to electronic government , electronic management of human resources , extension services introduced for the targeted people through internet  and the contribution of modern communication technologies in improving agricultural work .The population of the research includes the middle region governorates numbered (8) governorates .Anbar and Tikret were excluded because of the security conditions in the time of data collection .Thus, the research society becomes (6) governorates .A random sample was taken from  the governorates (67%) rate from (4) governorates  ( Baghdad, Karbala , Babel , Dyala) .A random  sample was taken in rate (40%) from agricultural extension agents distributed  on the above mentioned governorates who numbered ( 135) out of (335) agricultural extension agents .  In order to achieve the research objectives a questionnaire form designed to collect the data from agricultural extension agents .It includes (49) items in the field of modern communication technologies role .To analyses and introduce the results (SPSS) program used as well as the manual analyses .The following statistical methods were used : the frequencies , percentages , weighted average , weight percentage as well as (SPSS) program to measure Cronbach Coefficient .The results showed that if these technologies are available sufficiently it would lead to achieve the objectives .Also, the modern communication technologies are considered the widely applied methods in agricultural extension work .Also, there is agreement by the agricultural extension agents on the necessity of using modern communication technologies to develop agricultural extension work .Also, there is support from the agricultural extension system to transform agricultural  extension work from traditional work to electronic government . This research concludes the necessity of providing modern technologies in all extension directories , centers , offices and farms in order to improve agriculture extension work in Iraq .Also, it recommends to establish wide information base related to extension work  .Also, it recommends to invoke extension management to support the plans to modernize the communications methods that are used in extension work which fulfill the treatment of the huge amounts of available information for the agricultural extension product as well as making the necessary plans to rehabilitate and train the workers  in the agricultural extension system to transform the traditional extension work to electronic government .


In several places in the world, such as Petten and Delft in the Netherlands, investigations are in progress in the fight against certain types of cancer with Boron Neutron Capture Therapy. The basic idea is very simple: boron is loaded only into the cancer cells, using a special drug, after which the patient is irradiated with neutrons. Especially slow or low energy neutrons that collide with the boron have a high probability to induce a highly energetic reaction which can destroy the cancer cell nucleus, causing the death of the cancer cell. The research performed by the Delft University of Technology in cooperation with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Petten is focussed on finding the ideal velocity of the neutrons coming from the source before they slow down in the patient and arrive in the neighbourhood of the tumour. A mathematical algorithm is applied to calculate the neutron transport from the tumour to the neutron source, i.e. backwards. As a result, one can determine the optimal velocity of the neutrons at the source location. This method decreases significantly the time to obtain a treatment plan, for example, for a patient suffering from metastases of melanoma in the brain. In addition, work has also been performed to find the optimum set of source neutron velocities in order to obtain the same number of slow neutrons everywhere in a liver, full of metastases, that will be treated (irradiated) after having been temporarily removed form the patients body. Finally, it was investigated what the ideal velocity of the source neutrons is, when taking into account the different sensitivities of the overlying tissues during an irradiation. The result of the research is that the efficiency of BNCT can be increased by also having neutrons available, besides the neutrons already used, which move 200 times slower.


The formation of molecules in the interstellar medium (ISM) takes place both in the gas phase and on surfaces of cosmic dust grains. Gas phase reactions alone are found to be insufficient to account for the observed abundance of molecules such as molecular hydrogen, water, carbon dioxide, methanol as well as many other complex molecules; grain surfaces must be involved as catalysts to explain their formation. In this thesis we study the physical and chemical processes on surfaces of cosmic dust grain analogues in simulated ISM environments. Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe and is present in many astrobiologically important molecules. The desorption energy of atomic oxygen is a fundamental parameter that enters ISM models because it controls the residence time of this atom on a surface. However, it has not been measured in the laboratory. In this thesis, this parameter is measured by using both an indirect and a direct method. The measured value agrees with model predictions based on astronomical observations. The formation of two oxygen-containing molecules, water and hydroxylamine, is studied next. Water is the main component of ice mantles in dense clouds and is indispensable for the origin of life. Its formation via ozone hydrogenation on an analog of a warm dust grain is studied experimentally. The desorption energy of an important intermediate product in the reaction, the OH radical, is also inferred. Hydroxylamine is a precursor to the formation of glycine, which is the simplest amino acid. The formation of hydroxylamine via the oxidation of ammonia is studied by sequential deposition of ammonia and atomic oxygen and is followed by temperature programmed desorption experiments. The measured high reaction efficiency predicts that ammonia oxidation on grain surfaces could be an important route to hydroxylamine formation. The last chapter of this thesis introduces a rate equation model to simulate surface kinetics, including diffusion and desorption, of atoms and molecules on non-uniform surfaces. Laboratory Studies of Gas-Grain Processes on Cosmic Dust Analogues by Jiao He B.S., Nanjing University 2009 DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Physics in the Graduate School of Syracuse University


The phonon component of thermal diffusivity ( D ) was measured up to temperatures ( T ) of ~1000–1500 K from laser-flash analysis from four chemically distinct, gem quality single crystals and six cleavage flakes or mats of orthopyroxenes, plus synthetic protoenstatite. From electron microprobe analysis, Mg/(Mg + Fe) varies from 0.65 to 1.0 and Al, Mn, Cr, Ti, and Na occur as minor impurities. From visible spectroscopy, Fe 3+ content is small to negligible. From near-IR spectroscopy, hydroxyl contents range from ~ 0 to 600 ppm. Heating large crystals redistributes H + among various sites: thus, thermal history influences speciation. For Mg/(Mg + Fe) ~ 0.9, at 298 K, D is 1.8, 1.9, and 3.2 mm 2 s −1 along [010], [100], and [001]. For all samples, D decreases with increasing T. Roughly, anisotropy is independent of T , and unaffected by transition to the protoenstatite structure, which causes D to drop by ~10 %. Low-order polynomials describe D −1 ( T ) for orthopyroxenes. A second-order polynomial describes the dependence of D 298 on Mg content. Only 300 ppm OH suffices to lowers D by ~10 % whereas Fe 3+ makes D decrease more rapidly with T but coupled Al substitution has the opposite effect. Available heat capacity and volumetric data were used to calculate orthopyroxene and protoenstatite thermal conductivity.


© 2019 Journal of Economics Teaching. All rights reserved. †Michigan State University Two relatively simple techniques are described to incorporate both research and writing into introductory-level economics classes. In one, students are asked to investigate the degree of price variation for a single product or service in a local metropolitan area. For the other, students prepare an opinion editorial about some policy topic related to the course. Several completion and grading approaches permit these methods to be scaled feasibly for larger classes. These projects require students to examine the aspects of some material presented in class in greater detail, to develop some understanding of research approaches in economics, and to get practice in writing about economics issues, even in an initial course.


This paper addresses the detection of a stochastic process in noise from irregular samples. We consider two hypotheses. The \emph{noise only} hypothesis amounts to model the observations as a sample of a i.i.d. Gaussian random variables (noise only). The \emph{signal plus noise} hypothesis models the observations as the samples of a continuous time stationary Gaussian process (the signal) taken at known but random time-instants corrupted with an additive noise. Two binary tests are considered, depending on which assumptions is retained as the null hypothesis. Assuming that the signal is a linear combination of the solution of a multidimensional stochastic differential equation (SDE), it is shown that the minimum Type II error probability decreases exponentially in the number of samples when the False Alarm probability is fixed. This behavior is described by \emph{error exponents} that are completely characterized. It turns out that they are related with the asymptotic behavior of the Kalman Filter in random stationary environment, which is studied in this paper. Finally, numerical illustrations of our claims are provided in the context of sensor networks.


The design and fabrication of a novel microfluidic nanoprobe system are presented. The nanoprobe consists of cantilevered ultrasharp volcano-like tips, with microfluidic capabilities consisting of microchannels connected to an on-chip reservoir. The chip possesses additional connection capabilities to a remote reservoir. The fabrication uses standard surface micromachining techniques and materials. Bulk micromachining is employed for chip release. The microchannels are fabricated in silicon nitride by a new methodology, based on edge underetching of a sacrificial layer, bird's beak oxidation for mechanically closing the edges, and deposition of a sealing layer. The design and integration of various elements of the system and their fabrication are discussed. The system is conceived mainly to work as a "nanofountain pen", i.e., a continuously writing upgrade of the dip-pen nanolithography approach. Moreover, the new chip shows a much larger applicability area in fields such as electrochemical nanoprobes, nanoprobe-based etching, build-up tools for nanofabrication, or a probe for materials interactive analysis. Preliminary tests for writing and imaging with the new device were performed. These tests illustrate the capabilities of the new device and demonstrate possible directions for improvement.


The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of how SMEs retain critical knowledge. Against the background of the underdeveloped body of knowledge regarding knowledge retention, the authors selected an explorative (qualitative) research approach. More precisely, they conducted semi-structured interviews with organization members (i.e. executive and regular staff) of five Austrian SMEs operating in the building and construction industry. This study provides fresh insights into knowledge retention in SMEs. The findings advance the limited understanding of knowledge retention in general and regarding SMEs. They also contribute to the further development of the study of knowledge management in the building and construction sector. Based on the study's findings the authors derive suitable measures to better manage the process of knowledge retention in SMEs. These measures may be useful for SMEs operating in other industries as well.


This paper describes an algorithm for pose and illumination invariant face recognition from a single image under occlusions. The method iteratively estimates the parameters of a 3D morphable face model to approximate the appearance of a face in an image. Simultaneously, a visibility map is computed which segments the image into visible and occluded regions. The visibility map is incorporated into a probabilistic image formation model as a set of spatially correlated random variables. This leads to a Generalized Expectation-Maximization algorithm in which the estimation of the morphable model related parameters is interleaved with visibility computations. The validity of the algorithm is verified by a face recognition experiment using images from the publicly available AR Face Database.


Abstract: The affair Edward Snowden and his disclosures of the practices of the US National Security Agency have triggered a discussion on the relationship between security and freedom. The formula "as much security as possible and as much freedom as possible" obscures the problem. If we have to choose:  Do we want to restrict security in favor of freedom or do we want to restrict freedom in favor of security? Fortunately, we do not have to choose. Reconciliation of security and freedom must be possible because both are part of the common good. If there seems to be a conflict, it can result only from a misunderstanding. Nobody can enjoy freedom if he is dead. Therefore, no claim to freedom can be regarded reasonable that conflicts with necessary measures for the protection of security. It is inherent to freedom that it is limited by the necessary protection of security. Objections against collecting and storing personal data are nourished by the fear that collected data could be abused. But it would be unreasonable to stop the collecting and storing of data for the protection of security because no absolute guarantee against the abuse of such data can be given. If society, organized in the state, may require everyone to make his just contribution to the common efforts of militarily defending it when suffering from an unjust aggression by another state, and if it is therefore – at least in principle – the duty of everyone to risk life and limb in the course of such defence, it would be illogic to allege that there does not exist, again for everyone, the duty to risk his privacy for the protection of security. The collection and retention of personal data even before any particular person has become a suspect can be a useful means for the prevention of terrorist acts and other crimes. If the traditional rules for data collection and retention are outdated, they have to be changed. If courts should fail to react to these developments, adaptation of the law would become a matter for the legislature. Keywords: personal data, particular person, data collection and retention.


No longer only the domain of corporate public relations, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has now become a serious concern for many firms and a major sphere of academic research. However, most strikingly, by encouraging corporations to play a role in economic governance, particularly at the global level, CSR also raises issues for political science, public policy, and the world of politics as a whole.

In this volume, authors consider what defines a 'responsible' corporation, examining such debates as: the implications of corporations setting standards for such matters as products and labour conditions, and thus playing more than a market role in the global economy; how the concept of corporate citizenship has been applied to the role of firms in corporate responsibility initiatives and what this means in terms of rights and responsibilities, and for citizenship in general; and whether corporate responsibility is compatible with shareholder maximization, specifically in the context of the global economy

Bringing together academics and practitioners, this volume examines the increasingly important arena of global economic governance and the role played by major corporations from a diverse range of perspectives. It will be of particular interest to academics, researchers, and students of Business, Political Science, and other social sciences, as well as business practitioners interested in CSR.


Abstract We report here the complete genome sequences of seven Vibrio anguillarum strains isolated from multiple geographic locations, thus increasing the total number of genomes of finished quality to 11. The genomes were de novo assembled from long-sequence PacBio reads. Including draft genomes, a total of 44 V. anguillarum genomes are currently available in the genome databases. They represent an important resource in the study of, for example, genetic variations and for identifying virulence determinants. In this article, we present the genomes and basic genome comparisons of the 11 complete genomes, including a BRIG analysis, and pan genome calculation. We also describe some structural features of superintegrons on chromosome 2 s, and associated insertion sequence (IS) elements, including 18 new ISs (ISVa3 − ISVa20), both of importance in the complement of V. anguillarum genomes.


The peptide SKY disrupts the interaction between the peptide HNP1 and the chemokine CCL5 on platelets, thereby reducing inflammation. Inflammation aids the body's response to infection or injury but can cause damage if excessive or unresolved. Alard et al. examined how two early inflammatory mediators—neutrophils and platelets—cooperate to enhance inflammation. They found that human neutrophil peptide 1 (HNP1), which is secreted from neutrophils, forms a heteromer with the chemokine CCL5 on platelets, resulting in enhanced monocyte adhesion and an increase in inflammation. Disrupting this interaction with a peptide (SKY) decreased inflammation and blocked monocyte recruitment in a mouse model of myocardial infarction. If these results hold true in humans, they could form the basis for a new specific therapeutic in inflammation-associated diseases. J.-E. Alard, A. Ortega-Gomez, K. Wichapong, D. Bongiovanni, M. Horckmans, R. T. A. Megens, G. Leoni, B. Ferraro, J. Rossaint, N. Paulin, J. Ng, H. Ippel, D. Suylen, R. Hinkel, X. Blanchet, F. Gaillard, M. D'Amico, P. von Hundelshausen, A. Zarbock, C. Scheiermann, T. M. Hackeng, S. Steffens, C. Kupatt, G. A. F. Nicolaes, C. Weber, O. Soehnlein, Recruitment of classical monocytes can be inhibited by disturbing heteromers of neutrophil HNP1 and platelet CCL5. Sci. Transl. Med. 7, 317ra196 (2015). [Abstract]


While recent scholarship on Shakespeare's Richard III has greatly increased our understanding of the historicity and representation of the famous princes in the tower, it has also created the unfortunate habit of reducing all the play's children to simple tragic spectacles—infant victims that appall the audience and aver the 'unnaturalness' of Richard's challenge to Tudor power.  Yet children in Richard III do far more than simply die.  The play's children facilitate a staging of serious questions about legitimacy, natural affection and sovereign power.  This article argues that the juxtaposition of children and the sovereign figured prominently in Elizabethan pageantry, in courtly rhetoric and on the stage.  Such juxtaposition provided a metaphorical reminder to the sovereign to fulfill the role of a good parent and treat their subjects with tender, familial affections.  Furthermore, because these children could be understood as ciphers —the carriers of implanted narratives for which they stood in a forced metonymy—they became representatives of repressed narratives or taboo claims that refused to mold themselves to the contours of power.  In Richard III , which bombastically confronted its audience with the spectre of unnatural sovereignty, children became loaded symbols of legitimacy tasked with speaking truth to power and, by their deaths, demonstrating that the truth 'should live from age to age.'


The OER Hub researcher pack will be of interest to anyone conducting research into the impact of open educational resources (OER) or open education. Building on the earlier release of tools developed, used and released by the OER Hub, the researcher pack provides explanation and guidance on how to use these tools. All material and tools are CC BY licensed and are available for reuse.


Dishonesty is ubiquitous in our world. The news is frequently filled with high-profile cases of corporate fraud, large-scale corruption, lying politicians, and the hypocrisy of public figures. On a smaller scale, ordinary people often cheat, lie, misreport their taxes, and mislead others in their daily life. Despite such prevalence of cheating, corruption, and concealment, people typically consider themselves to be honest, and often believe themselves to be more moral than most others. This book aims to resolve this paradox by addressing the question of why people are dishonest all too often. What motivates dishonesty, and how are people able to perceive themselves as moral despite their dishonest behaviour? What personality and interpersonal factors make dishonesty more likely? And what can be done to recognize and reduce dishonesty? This is a fascinating overview of state-of-the-art research on dishonesty, with prominent scholars offering their views to clarify the roots of dishonesty.


Sexually selected traits can reach high degrees of expression and variation under directional selection. A growing number of studies suggest that such selection can vary in space, time and form within and between populations. However, the impact of these fluctuations on sexual trait expression is poorly understood. The water strider Microvelia longipes displays a striking case of exaggeration and phenotypic variation where males display extreme differences in the size of their rear legs. To study the origin and maintenance of this exaggerated trait, we conducted comparative behavioral and morphometric experiments in a sample of Microvelia species. We uncovered differences both in the mating behavior and the degree of sexual dimorphism across these species. Interestingly, M. longipes evolved a specific mating behavior where males compete for egg-laying sites, consisting of small floating objects, to intercept and copulate with gravid females. Field observations revealed rapid fluctuation in M. longipes habitat stability and the abundance of egg-laying sites. Through male-male competition assays, we demonstrated that male rear legs are used as weapons to dominate egg-laying sites and that intense competition is associated with the evolution of rear leg length exaggeration. Paternity tests using genetic markers demonstrated that small males could only fertilize about 5% of the eggs when egg-laying sites are limiting, whereas this proportion increased to about 20% when egg-laying sites become abundant. Furthermore, diet manipulation and artificial selection experiments also showed that the exaggerated leg length in M. longipes males is influenced by both genetic and nutritional factors. Collectively, our results highlight how fluctuation in the strength of directional sexual selection, through changes in the intensity of male competition, can drive the exaggeration and phenotypic variation in this weapon trait.


Digital technology is transforming the musical score as a broad array of innovative score systems have become available to musicians. From attempts to mimic the print score, to animated and graphical scores, to artificial intelligence-based options, digital scoring affects the musical process by opening up new possibilities for dynamic interaction between the performer and the music, changing how we understand the boundaries between composition, score, improvisation and performance. The Digital Score: Musicianship, Creativity and Innovation offers a guide into this new landscape, reflecting on what these changes mean for music-making from both theoretical and applied perspectives.

Drawing on findings from over a decade's worth of practice-based experimentation in the field, author Craig Vear builds a framework for understanding how digital scores create meaning. He considers the interactions between affect, embodiment and digital scores, offering the first comprehensive and critical consideration of an exciting field with no agreed-upon borders. Featuring insights from interviews with over fifty musicians and composers from across four continents, this book is a valuable resource for music researchers and practitioners alike.


Naidinae is a group of tiny oligochaetous clitellates, common all over the world, primarily in freshwater. The taxon includes about 180 nominal species. In this thesis it is shown (using molecular data) that Naidinae (sensu Erseus and Gustavsson, 2002) is non-monophyletic, since one genus, Pristina, formerly regarded as part of Naidinae, is well-separated from the remaining naidines by some genera of another clitellate subfamily, Rhyacodrilinae. The ultrastructure of coelomocytes from several naidine and rhyacodriline species are described and compared with each other and with coelomocytes previously studied, from other clitellate taxa. The naidine and rhyacodriline coelomocytes are similar, differing from those of other groups, which corroborates the hypothesis of a close relationship between Rhyacodrilinae and Naidinae. Features of the chaetae are important taxonomic characters of Naidinae. However, the significance of chaetotaxy has been questioned. The correlation between genetic variation and chaetal morphology within the genus Nais is investigated. Principally, chaetal character patterns are congruent with the evolutionary lineages revealed by genetic data, but at least nine lineages correspond to at most six nominal species. The species complex Nais communis/variabilis appears to be a gathering of at least five separately evolving lineages. That is, cryptic speciation is revealed. Finally, six molecular markers are used to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships within the group, and the resulting tree is used to track the evolution of morphological characters commonly used in naidine taxonomy. The tropical genera Dero, Branchiodrilus, and Allonais branch off from the base of the naidine tree of life, suggesting that Naidinae originally evolved in the tropics. Chaetal characters are shown to be homoplastic to a great extent within the group, most certainly contributing to the overall confusion in naidine systematics.


In the current debate on creating value for organizations and society to consider the outlook of sustainability in terms of good business governance, three aspects have been constantly brought up: the results from the action of different actors measured in economic, social, environmental and cultural perspectives; the influence of the action of these actors in promoting human rights; and the quality of their contribution, individual and collectively, for sustainable development. This case study takes into consideration the aforementioned aspects as guidelines in a preliminary study to the contribution of a forest venture program to rural sustainable development. The study was based on data of 33 representatives of 13 interest groups involved in the program in eight selected municipalities in a universe of 23 in which the program has been implemented. Furthermore, secondary sources were used to obtain an even deeper understanding of the perspectives of the actors. A case study methodology was used in accordance with Yin (Estudo de caso. 3 ed. 2005, p.212), and the results were analyzed based on Bauer and Gaskell (Pesquisa qualitativa com texto, imagem e som: un manual practico. 2 ed. 2002, p516.).


The experimental performance of beam smoothing by combined one-dimensional (1D) spectral dispersion and lens array (LA) technology is presented, as applied in the ninth beam of SG-II. Using 3\omega spectral dispersion with a bandwidth of 270 GHz and a line dispersion that is 24.9 times the beam's diffraction-limited width decreases the focal spot non-uniformity of 80% energy concentration from 46% to 17%. The multiple-beam interference properties of the LA are theoretically and experimentally validated by spatial power spectral density analysis. Peak-spectra suppression ratios of 20 and 10 dB are achieved in the dispersion and orthogonal directions, respectively.


The issue relating to contempt of court has caught the attention of people from all walks of life in Malaysia, particularly, after the controversial incidents of the removal of Tun Salleh Abbas, the then Lord President, in 1988 and the dismissal of the former Deputy Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in 1998. The judiciary is attacked and its independence is questioned. The lawyers are placed under the threat of contempt proceedings when they tried to exercise their right to freedom of speech and expression and to exercise their duty to act for their clients without fear or favour. The Bar feels that the right to freedom of speech and expression is infringed. The Bar perceives that the contempt power was being misused by the judges.

The Malaysian law of contempt of court is derived from the English common law tradition and is characterised by substantial flexibility. This flexibility results in variable approaches and perceptions by judges that leave uncertainties in this area of law. Consequently, a draft of Contempt of Court Act 1999 has been proposed to the Malaysian government with the main intention of overcoming uncertainties in the law. Placing the comprehensive rules in a statute will allow easier access to and greater clarity of the law because all the rules and procedures would be found in one piece of legislation.

This thesis aims to state and explain the law and the practice of contempt of court in Malaysia. This study will examine the anomalies that derived from the substantial flexibility approaches by the judges in this area of law. Thorough examination and analysis would help identifying the problems and dilemma and the way that the draft Contempt of Court Act 1999 could provide remedies for the predicaments. To illuminate the understanding of the actual practical problem, this study incorporates in-depth interviews together with questionnaire surveys. A total of 15 in-depth interviews have been conducted among the Malaysian judicial officers, advocates and prosecutors. This is further complemented by postal questionnaires sent to these selected legal actors chosen at random in accordance with their seniority, aiming at eliciting their knowledge and opinion on the subject matter at hand. The combinations of theoretical discussion on contempt of court, together with the empirical study, have proved to yield a valuable insight into the re-evaluation of the Malaysian law and practice of contempt of court.

This research reveals that the uncertainties in the law of contempt of court in Malaysia were 'caused' by the inconsistencies in the application and approaches by the judges. The judges have unfettered discretion in determining contempt cases. The majority of the Malaysian legal actors support the idea of placing the law of contempt in a piece of legislation in order to overcome these arbitrariness and uncertainties. They hold that to have credence, the law of contempt would have to be well-defined, as in the absence of any clear guidelines it would be unmerited to imprison anyone for contempt.


This study presents mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP) approach for determining optimal location and number of distributed generators in hybrid electricity market. For optimal location of distributed generation (DG), first the most appropriate zone has been identified based on real power nodal price and real power loss sensitivity index as an economic and operational criterion. After identifying the suitable zone, mixed integer non-linear programming approach has been applied to locate optimal place and number of distributed generators in the obtained zone. The non-linear optimisation approach consists of minimisation of total fuel cost of conventional and DG sources as well as minimisation of line losses in the network. The pattern of nodal real and reactive power prices, line loss reduction and fuel cost saving has been obtained. The results have also been obtained for pool electricity market model for comparison. The impact of demand variation on the results has also been obtained for both the market models. The proposed MINLP-based optimisation approach has been applied for IEEE 24 bus reliability test system.


Though designing a data warehouse requires techniques completely different from those adopted for operational systems, no significant effort has been made so far to develop a complete and consistent design methodology for data warehouses. In this paper we outline a general methodological framework for DW design discussing the relationships between the different steps and the difficulties in carrying them out. Within this framework, conceptual design is based on the Dimensional Fact Model, while logical design exploits multiple cost functions at increasing levels of detail in order to improve both the efficiency and efficacy of the algorithms. A workload is characterized in terms of data volumes and expected queries, to be used as the input of the logical and physical design phases whose output is the final scheme for the data warehouse. In particular, drill-across queries are explicitly taken into account throughout the design steps.


Offshore wind farms are proposed around the coast of the UK and elsewhere in Europe. These sites tend to be located in shallow coastal waters that often coincide with areas used by over-wintering Common Scoter Melanitta nigra. A large-scale study was undertaken to ascertain the relationship of the spatial distribution of Common Scoter in Liverpool Bay with prey abundance and environmental and anthropogenic variables that may affect foraging efficiency. The highest numbers of Common Scoter coincided with sites that had a high abundance and biomass of bivalve prey species. There was strong evidence that the maximum observed biomass of bivalves occurred at a mean depth of c. 14 m off the Lancashire coast and at c. 8 m off the north Wales coast. This coincided well with the distribution of Common Scoter at Shell Flat, but less well with the distribution of birds off North Wales. Common Scoters were observed in lowest numbers or were absent from areas in which anthropogenic disturbance (shipping activity) was relatively intense, even when these areas held a high prey biomass. Commercial fishing activities did not appear to contribute to this disturbance.


Reflections in Black, the first comprehensive history of black photographers, is a groundbreaking pictorial collection of African American life. Featuring the work of undisputed masters such as James VanDerZee, Gordon Parks, and Carrie Mae Weems among dozens of others, this book is a refutation of the gross caricature of black life that many mainstream photographers have manifested by continually emphasizing poverty over family, despair over hope. Nearly 600 images offer rich, moving glimpses of everyday black life, from slavery to the Great Migration to contemporary suburban life, including rare antebellum daguerrotypes, photojournalism of the civil rights era, and multimedia portraits of middle-class families. A work so significant that it has the power to reconfigure our conception of American history itself, Reflections in Black demands to be included in every American family's library as an essential part of our heritage. A Los Angeles Times and Washington Post Book World Best Book of 2000, and a Good Morning, America best gift book of 2000.


Using a large panel of administrative records this study confirms the predictions of the ranking model of Blanchard and Diamond (1994) that an individual's probability of leaving unemployment decreases with unemployment duration and increases with economic growth. However, the ranking model of Blanchard and Diamond (1994) makes the further prediction that negative genuine duration dependence will be stronger the more depressed the labour market. In conflict with this prediction this study provides persuasive empirical evidence that the pattern of negative genuine duration dependence does not change over the business cycle. Moreover it is shown that the finding in previous studies that negative genuine duration dependence becomes stronger the more depressed the labour market arises from failure to control for cyclical fluctuations in the composition of the newly unemployed. This finding carries a strong warning for policy assessment: unless controlled for cyclical fluctuations in the composition of the newly unemployed an evaluation of a policy designed to get the long-term unemployed into work will be biased towards a success in times of high economic growth and towards a failure in times of low economic growth.


One of the biggest dificulties in human action analysis is the temporal complexity and structure of actions. By breaking actions down into smaller temporal pieces, it may be possible to enhance action recognition, or allow unsupervised temporal action clustering. We propose a temporal segmentation system for human action recognition based on person tracking and a novel segmentation algorithm. We apply optical flow, PCA, and linear regression error estimation to human action videos to get a metric, L', that can be used to split an action into several more easily recognised subactions. The L' metric can be effectively calculated and is robust. To validate the semantic coherence of the sub-actions, we represent the sub-actions as features using a variant of the Motion History Image and perform action recognition experiments on two popular datasets, the KTH and the MSR2. Our results demonstrate that the algorithm performs well, showing promise for future application in action clustering and action retrieval tasks.


The paper has dual aim: to analyse the structure of negligence, and to use it to offer an explanation of responsibility (for actions, omissions, consequences) in terms of the relations which must exist between the action (omission, etc.) and the agents powers of rational agency if the agent is responsible for the action. The discussion involves reflections on the relations between the law and the morality of negligence, the difference between negligence and strict liability, the role of excuses and the grounds of duties to pay damages.


Clinical and experimental data support the concept that type I diabetes mellitus results from autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells. Although both proteins and glycolipids are targets of anti-islet cell antibodies, the Ag have not been purified or characterized. Previously, we observed that rat insulinoma (RIN) cell lines varied in their reactivity with both human antibodies and murine mAb A2B5, which binds to polysialo gangliosides. To determine the chemical basis of the varied immunoreactivity, we analyzed the glycosphingolipids of 5 RIN lines. Glycolipids bound by two mAb and by antibodies in the sera of type I diabetics were identified. The more immunoreactive RIN lines contained a much higher content of gangliosides and a higher proportion of complex gangliosides. The major gangliosides were GM3, GD3, and GT3. By high performance TLC immunostaining, we demonstrated that A2B5 and R2D6, an anti-beta cell murine mAb, bound most strongly to ganglioside GT3. The binding of human sera to gangliosides was analyzed by an ELISA assay. Although both normal and diabetic sera contained antibodies to various glycolipids, binding to GT3 was significantly elevated in 31 new-onset type I diabetics (p less than 0.001). The presence of the GT3 trisialosyl epitope on human islet cells was shown by immunofluorescent staining by both R2D6 and A2B5. These findings support previous suggestions that gangliosides play an important role in the immunopathology of type I diabetes, and identify for the first time a specific ganglioside Ag that is the target for autoantibodies in a subset of diabetic patients.


The most mobile and biological and chemically active fractions of trace metals in sediments are the dissolved components present in pore waters. Measuring metals in pore waters is complicated by the requirement for anoxic handling procedures. Due to the dynamic nature of sediment, steep concentration gradients extending over as little as 1 mm may develop at the sediment-water interface. New procedures for measuring metals in pore waters using polyacrylamide gels as in-situ probes are described. The gel can be used to establish a diffusive equilibration in a thin-film (DET). Because the film is typically less than 1 mm thick, equilibration is achieved within five minutes and insertion of the gel assembly causes minimal disturbance of sediment. An alternative procedure is to use a diffusive gradient in a thin-film (DGT), whereby a monolayer of chelating resin is incorporated at one side of the gel. Such a technique provides a kinetic measurement of labile species in solution. If the supply of metal from solid phase sediment to pore waters is fast enough, DGT provides a quantitative estimate of labile metal concentration. Alternatively, it measures directly the rate of supply of metal from solid phase to pore waters. As both DET and DGT are simple procedures capable of submillimetre spatial resolution, they provide previously unobtainable information on trace metal concentrations and fluxes. Furthermore, DGT has the potential to be used as a long-term monitor, providing mean concentrations of metals in sediment pore waters over periods of days, weeks, or even months.


In this exploration of crisis in Counter-Reformation Spain, Mary Elizabeth Perry reveals the significance of gender for social order by portraying the lives of women who lived on the margins of respectability--prostitutes, healers, visionaries, and other deviants who provoked the concern of a growing central government linked closely to the church. Focusing on Seville, the commercial capital of Habsburg Spain, Perry uses rich archival sources to document the economic and spiritual activity of women, and efforts made by civil and church authorities to control this activity, during a period of local economic change and religious turmoil.In analyzing such sources as art and literature from the period, women's writings, Inquisition records, and laws and regulations, Perry finds that social definitions of what it meant to be a woman or a man persisted due to their sanctification by religious ideas and their adaptation into political order. She describes the tension between gender ideals and actual conditions in women's lives, and shows how some women subverted the gender order by using a surprisingly wide variety of intellectual and physical strategies.


In this article, we use hybrid density functional (HSE06) to study the crystal and electronic structures and optical properties of well known phase change memory material Ge2Sb2Te5. We calculate the structural parameters, band gaps, and dielectric functions of three stable structures of this material. We also analyze the electron charge distribution using the Bader's theory of charge analysis. We find that hybrid density functional slightly overestimates the value of "c" parameter. However, overall, our results calculated with the use of hybrid density functional (HSE06) are very close to available experimental values than calculated with the use of Perdew Burke-Ernzerhof functional. Specifically, the electronic band gap values of this material calculated with HSE06 are in good agreement with the available experimental data in the literature. Furthermore, we perform the charge analysis and find that naive ionic model fails to explain the charge distribution between the constituent atoms, showing the compl...


Background: Sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnoses are increasing and efforts to reduce transmission have failed. There are major uncertainties in the evidence base surrounding the delivery of STI care for men.

Aim: To improve the sexual health of young men in the UK by determining optimal strategies for STI testing and care

Objectives: To develop an evidence-based clinical algorithm for STI testing in asymptomatic men; model mathematically the epidemiological and economic impact of removing microscopy from routine STI testing in asymptomatic men; conduct a pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) of accelerated partner therapy (APT; new models of partner notification to rapidly treat male sex partners of people with STIs) in primary care; explore the acceptability of diverse venues for STI screening in men; and determine optimal models for the delivery of screening.

Design: Systematic review of the clinical consequences of asymptomatic non-chlamydial, non-gonococcal urethritis (NCNGU); case–control study of factors associated with NCNGU; mathematical modelling of the epidemiological and economic impact of removing microscopy from asymptomatic screening and cost-effectiveness analysis; pilot RCT of APT for male sex partners of women diagnosed with Chlamydia trachomatis infection in primary care; stratified random probability sample survey of UK young men; qualitative study of men's views on accessing STI testing; SPORTSMART pilot cluster RCT of two STI screening interventions in amateur football clubs; and anonymous questionnaire survey of STI risk and previous testing behaviour in men in football clubs.

Settings: General population, genitourinary medicine clinic attenders, general practice and community contraception and sexual health clinic attenders and amateur football clubs.

Participants: Men and women.

Interventions :Partner notification interventions: APTHotline [telephone assessment of partner(s)] and APTPharmacy [community pharmacist assessment of partner(s)]. SPORTSMART interventions: football captain-led and health adviser-led promotion of urine-based STI screening.

Main outcome measures: For the APT pilot RCT, the primary outcome, determined for each contactable partner, was whether or not they were considered to have been treated within 6 weeks of index diagnosis. For the SPORTSMART pilot RCT, the primary outcome was the proportion of eligible men accepting screening.

Results: Non-chlamydial, non-gonococcal urethritis is not associated with significant clinical consequences for men or their sexual partners but study quality is poor (systematic review). Men with symptomatic and asymptomatic NCNGU and healthy men share similar demographic, behavioural and clinical variables (case–control study). Removal of urethral microscopy from routine asymptomatic screening is likely to lead to a small rise in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) but could save > £5M over 20 years (mathematical modelling and health economics analysis). In the APT pilot RCT the proportion of partners treated by the APTHotline [39/111 (35%)], APTPharmacy [46/100 (46%)] and standard patient referral [46/102 (45%)] did not meet national standards but exceeded previously reported outcomes in community settings. Men's reported willingness to access self-sampling kits for STIs and human immunodeficiency virus infection was high. Traditional health-care settings were preferred but sports venues were acceptable to half of men who played sport (random probability sample survey). Men appear to prefer a 'straightforward' approach to STI screening, accessible as part of their daily activities (qualitative study). Uptake of STI screening in the SPORTSMART RCT was high, irrespective of arm [captain led 28/56 (50%); health-care professional led 31/46 (67%); poster only 31/51 (61%)], and costs were similar. Men were at risk of STIs but previous testing was common.

Conclusions: Men find traditional health-care settings the most acceptable places to access STI screening. Self-sampling kits in football clubs could widen access to screening and offer a public health impact for men with limited local sexual health services. Available evidence does not support an association between asymptomatic NCNGU and significant adverse clinical outcomes for men or their sexual partners but the literature is of poor quality. Similarities in characteristics of men with and without NCNGU precluded development of a meaningful clinical algorithm to guide STI testing in asymptomatic men. The mathematical modelling and cost-effectiveness analysis of removing all asymptomatic urethral microscopy screening suggests that this would result in a small rise in adverse outcomes such as PID but that it would be highly cost-effective. APT appears to improve outcomes of partner notification in community settings but outcomes still fail to meet national standards. Priorities for future work include improving understanding of men's collective behaviours and how these can be harnessed to improve health outcomes; exploring barriers to and facilitators of opportunistic STI screening for men attending general practice, with development of evidence-based interventions to increase the offer and uptake of screening; further development of APT for community settings; and studies to improve knowledge of factors specific to screening men who have sex with men (MSM) and, in particular, how, with the different epidemiology of STIs in MSM and the current narrow focus on chlamydia, this could negatively impact MSM's sexual health.

Funding: The National Institute for Health Research Programme Grants for Applied Research programme.


Diverging explanations of local multiparametric schemata are found in music of the common practice period (c. 1600–c. 1900). Associative statistical theories describe schemata as situated structures in particular times and places, whereas generative theories present these constructions as features formed through stability in universal and general rule systems. Associative-statistical theories of schemata elucidate the culturally conditioned relationships between features (distinctive attributes commonly used in grammars and schemata), but do not show the influence of universal psychological constraints; generative theories reveal the implicit structure of music, but do not formalise particular grammatical features and contexts. A synthesis of generative and associative-statistical approaches is necessary to model the interaction between universal and particular constraints of grammars and schemata. This dissertation focuses on a novel localised schema formed in the Classical instrumental grammar, termed the butterfly schema. It is posited that the butterfly schema is generated by a tendency for congruence that is manifest in and between the particular features of this grammar.

Computational musicology and psychology provide interdisciplinary insight on the formal possibilities and limitations of grammatical structure. Computational models of schemata and grammars show how the congruent features of musical structure can be represented and formalised. However, they also highlight the difficulties found in the automatic analyses of multiparametric relationships, and may be limited on account of their inductive frameworks. Psychological approaches are important for establishing universal laws of cognition, but are limited in their potential to account for the diversity of musical structuring in grammars. The synthesis of associative-statistical and generative approaches in the present dissertation permits modelling the combination of the universal and particular attributes of butterfly schemata. Butterfly schemata are dependent on the particular grammars of periods of history, but are constrained by the tendency for congruence, which is proposed to be a cognitive universal. The features of the butterfly schema and the Classical instrumental grammar are examined and compared against the features of the Baroque and Romantic grammars, showing how they are formed from diverse types of congruent structuring. The butterfly schema is a congruent grammatical category of the Classical instrumental grammar that comprises: chords that are close to the tonic in pitch space (with a chiastic tension curve starting and ending on the tonic); a textural and metrical structure that is regular and forms a regular duple hierarchy at the level of regular functional harmonic change and at two immediately higher levels; and simple harmonic-rhythm ratios (1:1 and 3:1).

A survey conducted using arbitrary corpora in European instrumental music, c. 1750–c.1850, shows the distribution of butterfly schemata. Butterfly schemata are more common in the Classical-period sample (c. 1750–c. 1800) than in the Romantic-period sample (c. 1800–c.1850), suggesting that the tendency for congruence manifest in and between the features common in the Classical grammar generates butterfly schemata. A second component to the statistical analysis concerns the type of schemata observed, since the tendency for congruence is presumed to also apply to the type of features that form in butterfly schemata. Maximally congruent features are generated more commonly than minimally congruent features, indicating the influence of the tendency for congruence. This dissertation presents a formulation of the Classical instrumental grammar as a multiparametrically congruent system, and a novel explanation and integration of the concepts of grammars and schemata. A final component to the dissertation poses that the features of the Classical instrumental grammar and butterfly schema follow a distinct order of dependency, governed by the mechanism of selection in culture. Although the tendency for congruence governs all features of a grammar, features are also formed by the top-down action of culture which selects those features. Thus, a top-down hierarchical selection model is presented which describes how the butterfly schema is formed through the order of selection of features in the Classical instrumental grammar.


This paper describes spectral stray light measurements of diode array spectrometers and, in particular, the dependence of stray light and bandpass properties on the illumination beam geometry. The effects of underfilling and overfilling the nominal field of view of the instrument are presented. Our measurements showed that the line spread function of a commercially available miniature spectrometer module having a fiber optic entrance with 0.22 nominal numerical aperture can depend on fiber illumination cone apex angle up to  $40^\circ$, which is well above the  $25^\circ$ nominal acceptance cone apex angle of the fiber. The bandpass width and amount of stray light inside the spectrometer increased proportionally with the illumination cone angle. Spectral stray light measurements with different setups gave consistent and repeatable results for similar illumination geometries. Care should be taken to ensure that illumination geometry during spectral stray light characterization of a spectrometer matches the conditions during target measurements for which the spectral stray light corrections are applied. The impact of illumination geometry during stray light characterization depends on the target signal and particular application. Photochemical reflectance index (PRI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of a hemiboreal birch forest are used as contrasting examples in this paper. Compared to natural variability, the relative impact on PRI exceeds that of NDVI by 10 times.


The paper presents a Supervision, Control, Data Acquisition and Simulation (SCADA & Simulator) system that allows for real-time training in the actual operation of a modular PEM fuel cell system. This SCADA & Simulator system consists of a free software tool that operates in real time and simulates real situations like failures and breakdowns in the system. This developed SCADA & Simulator system allows us to properly operate a fuel cell and helps us to understand how fuel cells operate and what devices are needed to configure and run the fuel cells, from the individual stack up to the whole fuel cell system. The SCADA & Simulator system governs a modular system integrated by three PEM fuel cells achieving power rates higher than tens of kilowatts.


Research has shown that young people are much better equipped to deal with online risks than adults assume and that young people themselves are the most valuable resource for adults concerned about the online safety of their children.

The research also reveals significant benefits to young people through social networking, which helps them to build relationships with the world around them and increases their sense of community and belonging.

This project aimed to investigate the intergenerational dynamics shaping attitudes towards and usage of social networking services (SNS) and cybersafety. The project entailed establishing a 'living lab' experiment in which four young people designed and delivered a 3 hour workshop on social networking and cybersafety for adult participants. Researchers observed the living lab in process in order to document and analyse the intergenerational conversations.

The key findings addressed three main questions and can be summarised as follows:

•What is the nature and scope of adults' concerns about young people's use of social networking services?

•What is the nature and scope of young people's understanding about the risks and opportunities of SNS and related practices?

•What are potentially effective ways to overcome generational knowledge gaps about young people's social networking practices and their relationship to cybersafety?

The findings of this project demonstrate that a series of guiding principles should be applied in the development of future cybersafety education models. Future models must: be developed in partnership with young people and acknowledge their expertise; be experiential as opposed to didactic; combine online and face-to-face delivery; have scope to meet the specific technical skills needs of adults, as well as providing capacity for high level conversations about the socio-cultural dimensions of young people's technology use; and be flexible and iterative so that they can keep pace with the emergence of new online and networked media technologies and practices.


Bridget Riley is one of the most important British painters of our time. Since the early 1960s, when she first gained recognition with her powerful black and white paintings, the artist has continued to explore the principles of abstraction in startling and original ways. Through her systematic engagement with colour, tone, form and structure, Riley pushes the boundaries of perception, challenging us to look at the world anew. This landmark publication brings together for the first time all of Bridget Riley's known paintings, including well over 650 works ranging from the late 1940s to 2017. Each painting is illustrated with a full-page colour image, many of which have been sourced from the artist's extensive archive and rarely published. Drawing on archival research and expert knowledge, the publication includes an introductory essay, explanation of materials and methods, extended exhibition history, biographical information and explanatory notes. The publication benefits from the remarkable input of Bridget Riley herself, who has been present at every stage of the project and has provided first-hand information about her work and exhibition and sales history. Bridget Riley: The Complete Paintings is a seminal visual resource and provides the most comprehensive overview of the artist's paintings to date.


X-ray imaging enables the nondestructive investigation of interior structures in otherwise opaque samples. In particular the use of computed tomography (CT) allows for arbitrary virtual slices through the object and 3D information about intricate structures can be obtained. However, when it comes to image very small structures like single cells, the classical CT approach is limited by the weak absorption of soft-tissue. The use of phase information, encoded in measureable intensity images by free-space propagation of coherent x-rays, allows a huge increase in contrast, which enables 3D reconstructions at higher resolutions. In this work the application of propagation-based phase-contrast tomography to lung tissue samples is demonstrated in close to in vivo conditions. Reconstructions of the lung structure of whole mice at down to 5 μm resolution are obtained at a self-built CT setup, which is based on a liquid-metal jet x-ray source. To reach even higher resolutions, synchrotron radiation in combination with suitable holographic phase-retrieval algorithms is employed. Due to optimized cone-beam geometry, field of view and resolution can be varied over a wide range of parameters, so that information on different length scales can be achieved, covering several millimeters field of view down to a 3D resolution of 50 nm. Thus, the sub-cellular 3D imaging of single cells embedded in large pieces of tissue is enabled, which paves the way for future biomedical research.


The goal of this work is to provide a software platform that can seamlessly plug-in and plug-out software and hardware components to prototype robot navigation system with interactive path and motion planning capability. We designed and implemented a plug-in module in MeVisLab that exchanges data with external hardware device(s) over the TCP/IP network using the OpenIGTLink network protocol. This interface allows developers to define a desired workflow and dataflow in sending / receiving a wide variety of messages including commands and feedbacks to / from external hardware using MeVisLab's graphical programming environment. This information can include real-time communication among robotic devices, intraoperative imaging systems like ultrasound devices and sensor elements. This module interface can easily be used in different research and prototyping works.


River basin management can greatly benefit from short-term river discharge predictions. In order to improve model produced discharge forecasts, data assimilation allows for the integration of current observations of the hydrological system to produce improved forecasts and reduce prediction uncertainty. Data assimilation is widely used in operational applications to update hydrological models with in situ discharge or level measurements. In areas where timely access to in situ data is not possible, remote sensing data products can be used in assimilation schemes. While river discharge itself cannot be measured from space, radar altimetry can track surface water level variations at crossing locations between the satellite ground track and the river system called virtual stations (VS). Use of radar altimetry versus traditional monitoring in operational settings is complicated by the low temporal resolution of the data (between 10 and 35 days revisit time at a VS depending on the satellite) as well as the fact that the location of the measurements is not necessarily at the point of interest. However, combining radar altimetry from multiple VS with hydrological models can help overcome these limitations. In this study, a rainfall runoff model of the Zambezi River basin is built using remote sensing data sets and used to drive a routing scheme coupled to a simple floodplain model. The extended Kalman filter is used to update the states in the routing model with data from 9 Envisat VS. Model fit was improved through assimilation with the Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiencies increasing from 0.19 to 0.62 and from 0.82 to 0.88 at the outlets of two distinct watersheds, the initial NSE (Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency) being low at one outlet due to large errors in the precipitation data set. However, model reliability was poor in one watershed with only 58 and 44% of observations falling in the 90% confidence bounds, for the open loop and assimilation runs respectively, pointing to problems with the simple approach used to represent model error.


The role of religion in Latin American politics can no longer be interpreted with reductionist schemes. The faithful—citizens—are combining faith and politics in unprecedented ways, and churches and denominations are no longer factors of political identity. The reconfiguration of new social and political movements interweaves complex linkages with the religious. The transformations of the political field and especially of democratic processes have reshaped identities in a context of increasing religious and cultural diversity with relatively less Catholic presence and greater Evangelical presence. Institutional secularization and religious pluralism seem to go hand in hand with a new cleavage between religion and politics.


BACKGROUND
Learning from rewarded and punished choices is perturbed in depressed patients, suggesting that abnormal reinforcement learning may be a cognitive mechanism of the illness. However, previous studies have disagreed about whether this behavior is produced by alterations in the rate of learning or sensitivity to experienced outcomes. This previous work has generally assessed learning in response to binary outcomes of one valence, rather than to both rewarding and punishing continuous outcomes.

METHODS
A novel drifting reward and punishment magnitude reinforcement-learning task was administered to patients with current (n = 40) and remitted depression (n = 39), and healthy volunteers (n = 40) to capture potential differences in learning behavior. Standard questionnaires were administered to measure self-reported depressive symptom severity, trait and state anxiety and level of anhedonic symptoms.

RESULTS
Our findings demonstrate that patients with current depression adjust their learning behaviors to a lesser degree in response to trial-by-trial variations in reward and loss magnitudes than the other groups. Computational modeling revealed that this behavioral signature of current depressive state is better accounted for by reduced reward and punishment sensitivity (all p < 0.031), rather than a change in learning rate (p = 0.708). However, between-group differences were not related to self-reported symptom severity or comorbid anxiety disorders in the current depression group.

CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that current depression is associated with reduced outcome sensitivity rather than altered learning rate. Previous findings reported in this domain mainly from binary learning tasks seem to generalize to learning from continuous outcomes.


Introduction: Understanding the learning styles of students may help educational planning and improve the learning. This study aims to assess learning styles, and relevant determinants, of students who study in various disciplines of medical sciences at Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences (BUMS) in 2012. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 180 students from BUMS were selected randomly. Data were collected sing the Kolb learning style questionnaire during April/May 2012. One-way ANOVA, Student t-test, Chi-square or Fisher exact tests were used for analyzing the data. Results: The mean age of participants was 29.3±7.0, majority of them were males. The preferred learning styles were diverger (76.7%), accommodator (12.8%), assimilator (7.8%) and converger (2.8%) respectively. The results showed that the factors such as age, sex, marriage status, father and mother education, grade point average (GPA) and academic degree could be important to determine learning style characteristics of students. The findings also indicate that the preferred learning style among the students with different GPAs or academic degrees are not different considerably. Conclusion: Regarding the most preferred leaning style by the, proper planning to address proper teaching styles according to the preferred learning styles is necessary.


Ontologies have been criticized because they are not sufficiently flexible, and thus cannot capture the dynamism and complexity of reality. However, they have increasingly come into focus because of the need for knowledge management in both general and specialized knowledge domains. EcoLexicon is a frame-based visual thesaurus on the environment that is gradually evolving towards the status of a formal ontology. For this purpose, the information in its relational database is in the process of being linked to the ontological system of FunGramKB, a multipurpose knowledge base that has been specifically designed for natural language understanding with modules for lexical, grammatical, and conceptual knowledge. This enables the explicitation of specialized knowledge as an extension of general knowledge through its representation in the domain-specific satellite ontology of a main general ontology.


From late medieval reenactments of the Deposition from the Cross to Sol Lewitt's Buried Cube, Depositions is about taking down images and about images that anticipate being taken down. Foretelling their own depositions, as well as their re-elevations in contexts far from those in which they were made, the images studied in this book reveal themselves to be untimely--no truer to their first appearance than to their later reappearances. In Depositions, Amy Powell makes the case that late medieval paintings and ritual reenactments of the Deposition from the Cross not only picture the deposition of Christ (the Imago Dei) but also allegorize the deposition of the image as such and, in so doing, prefigure the lowering of "dead images" during the Protestant Reformation. Late medieval pre-figurations of Reformation iconoclasm anticipate, in turn, the repeated "deaths" of art since the advent of photography: that is the premise of the vignettes devoted to twentieth-century works of art that conclude each chapter of this book. In these vignettes, images that once stood in late medieval churches now find themselves among works of art from the more recent past with which they share certain formal characteristics. These surreal encounters compel us to reckon with affinities between images from different times and places. Turning pseudomorphosis--formal resemblance where there is no similarity of artistic intent -- on its head, Powell explores what happens to our understanding of historically and conceptually distant works of art when they look alike.


An ecotrophic model was constructed to assess energy flows in the pelagic food web off northern Chile (18o20'S - 24o00'S; from the coast to 60 nm west; encompassing 35,000 km 2 ) in 1989. Required input parameters were obtained from the literature and other models applied to upwelling ecosystems. The model considered 13 functional groups. Although the analysis emphasized fishery resources, it also included by-catch species from the pelagic fishery and other important groups such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, detritus, and top predators. The model was built using Ecopath with Ecosim software version 5.1. The results indicated that the total flow, an estimate of system size, was 38,674 ton·km -2 ·year -1 . System primary production was calculated at 13,452 ton·km -2 ·year -1 . The average trophic level of the catch in northern Chile is estimated to be 2.7, indicating that catches are sustained mainly by species from lower trophic levels, such as sardine (Sardinops sagax). The average transfer efficiency is estimated to be 9.8%, which is in the range reported for marine food webs. This ecosystem is far from maturity, has low-efficiency energy transfers, short trophic chains, and low levels of recycled matter, consistent with reports from the world's main upwelling ecosystems.


The events of 9-11 caused the US military to deploy across the globe in support of the Global War on Terror (GWoT) with the assurance it would receive the resources needed to fulfill those operations. As a subordinate arm of the government, the US military is entrusted to prosecute the policies of its civilian leadership provided they receive the required resources to do so. As this thesis demonstrates however, the military is struggling to reconcile how to deliver the goals of its civilian administration when it simultaneously fails to receive the resources needed to meet their demands.

 The Department of Defense (DoD) is experiencing a stark increase in its deployments and combat operations. Unprecedented 'peacetime' use of Reserve and Guard forces and remarkable DoD personnel policies have stretched the military thin. Despite substantial military budget increases, the military fails to receive adequate funding for combat operations. Meanwhile, soldiers fail to receive the appropriate equipment needed to fight the emerging threats of the GWoT. The military continues to thin many of its own operations, increase the stress on its members, and over-work its equipment in order to meet the needs of its civilian government.

 Three solutions exist: maintain the status quo, reduce the scope of the GWoT, or begin military funding on par with past wartime budgets. The status quo produced an overstretched/underfunded military. Threats to US security can not support a reduced GWoT. Therefore, the US should increase DoD end strength, increase GWoT funding, and accelerate weapons research and procurement.


Abstract The size and composition of the seed bank of a rare species (Erica ciliaris L.) was analysed. E. ciliaris hybridizes with a common relative in southern England (Erica tetralix). The seed banks of these co-occurring species were measured at a number of sites with a range of vegetation types and different management histories. Additional sets of samples were taken from forestry plantations on former heathland sites, where these species were known to occur. Relatively few hybrid seedlings were found in any of the seed-bank samples, even though their vegetative abundance within the sampling areas was equal to that of the pure plants. However, the abundance in the vegetation of the two pure species was reflected in the seed-bank size on each of the vegetation types, both with and without burning management. The seed banks from the forestry plantations show that the numbers of seeds of both E. tetralix and the hybrid were depleted, but that the seed bank of E. ciliaris was not significantly different from that of open heathland seed banks. The long-lived nature of the seed bank indicates that there are opportunities for habitat restoration on former heathland sites.


The paraxial wave theory is known to lead to inaccurate predictions in self-focusing of optical beams. The nonlinear Helmholtz equation describes more accurately wave propagation in dispersive, spatially local, Kerr-type media. We derive rigorous bright and dark solutions to the nonlinear Helmholtz equation in a full three-dimensional form. These expressions are new and unique. The solutions are obtained with a multidimensional extension of the (paraxial) nonlinear Schrodinger equation. We also establish energy conservation laws for both nonlinear wave equations in terms of spatial currents. Our results give insight, for example, into the diffraction and breakup of tightly confined nonlinear fields.


Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of low-volume high-intensity interval training and continuous low to moderate intensity training on quality of life, functional capacity and cardiovascular disease risk factors in cancer survivors. Methods Cancer survivors within 24 months post-diagnosis were randomly assigned into the low-volume high-intensity interval training group (n = 8) or the continuous low to moderate intensity training group (n = 8) group for 36 sessions (12 weeks) of supervised exercise. The low-volume high-intensity interval training (LVHIIT) group performed 7 × 30 s intervals (≥85% maximal heart rate) and the continuous low to moderate intensity training (CLMIT) group performed continuous aerobic training for 20 min (≤55% maximal heart rate) on a stationary bike or treadmill. Results Significant improvements (time) were observed for 13 of the 23 dependent variables (ES 0.05–0.61, p ≤ 0.05). An interaction effect was observed for six minute walk test (18.53% [32.43–4.63] ES 0.50, p ≤ 0.01) with the LVHIIT group demonstrating greater improvements. Conclusion These preliminary findings suggest that both interventions can induce improvements in quality of life, functional capacity and selected cardiovascular disease risk factors. The LVHIIT program was well tolerated by the participants and our results suggest that LVHIIT is the preferred modality to improve fitness (6MWT); it remains to be seen which intervention elicits the most clinically relevant outcomes for patients. A larger sample size with a control group is required to confirm the significance of these findings.


So much of what we know of the Ancient World comes from Herodotus (c.490 BC - c.420 BC) that he will always remain the greatest of historians. But, in addition, such a large part of the entertainment value of the Ancient World comes from his enormous, omnivorous, sometimes credulous appetite for stories of distant lands and strange creatures. "Great Journeys" allows readers to travel both around the planet and back through the centuries - but also back into ideas and worlds frightening, ruthless and cruel in different ways from our own. Few reading experiences can begin to match that of engaging with writers who saw astounding things: great civilisations, walls of ice, violent and implacable jungles, deserts and mountains, multitudes of birds and flowers new to science. Reading these books is to see the world afresh, to rediscover a time when many cultures were quite strange to each other, where legends and stories were treated as facts and in which so much was still to be discovered.


Objective: The present study assesses program efficacy of Growing Against Gangs and Violence (GAGV), a primary prevention partnership with the U.K. Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), delivered in London schools with the aim of reducing gang involvement, delinquency, and violent offending and improving young people's confidence in police. GAGV is partially derived from an American program, Gangs Resistance Education and Training (GREAT). Method: A qualitative process evaluation and randomized control trial (RCT) outcomes study were undertaken. Results: Findings indicate GAGV personnel were keen to enhance program fidelity and process implementation. The RCT did not demonstrate a statistically significant program effect. However, effect sizes (ESs) indicate the program was effective in reducing levels of gang membership and the frequency and variety of delinquency and violence in the short- and longer term. More robust evidence indicated GAGV also improved students' attitudes toward police and reduced their adherence toward street code. Conclusions: The use of cohort- (not individual-) level data and missing data in the 1-year follow-up make it difficult to draw reliable and robust conclusions. However, results are encouraging. Several recommendations are suggested for GAGV, including curriculum design, regular evaluations, and expanding to include more schools. Limitations of this and similar evaluations also are discussed.


Collective bargaining is closely related to social policy making to the extent that the outcomes of the former inform and influence social policy agenda. It is widely held, however, that trade unions in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) do not have a strong bargaining position and thus exert little impact on policy decisions. This paper challenges the view of CEE labour as a uniformly weak actor. It argues that CEE unions' ability to shape the bargaining agenda and social policies depends largely on the degree of privatization, which overlaps with sectoral divisions. We find that unions in exposed sectors are unable to oppose greater flexibility even when there are no considerable wage gains, whereas workers in protected sectors manage to maintain their status and at times even enhance their welfare, both in terms of higher wages and better working conditions.


Six hundred and twenty women who were currently practising self-induced vomiting to control their weight were identified with the help of a women's magazine. Nineteen women (3.1%) fulfilled diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa. Of the remainder, 499 (83.0%) fulfilled diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa, a recently described eating disorder. Of these, 56.1% practised self-induced vomiting at least once daily; the mean duration of vomiting was 4.5 years. Most women were of normal body weight. On standardised measures, 68.1% of women showed pronounced psychiatric morbidity and 89% had profoundly disturbed attitudes to food and eating. 56.4% thought they definitely needed medical help, though only 30.1% had ever discussed any aspect of their eating difficulties with a doctor. This study highlights the secrecy that surrounds bulimia nervosa and suggests that it is an important undetected source of psychiatric morbidity.


In this paper, the four-precision-point geometric design problem of serial-link robot manipulators with three revolute joints is solved using a polynomial continuation method. At each precision point, the end-effector spatial locations are defined. The dimensions of the geometric parameters of the 3R manipulator are computed so that the manipulator's end-effector will be able to reach these four pre-specified locations. Denavit and Hartenberg parameters and 4 × 4 homogeneous matrices are used to formulate the problem and obtain the design equations. Three of the design parameters are set as free choices and their values are selected arbitrarily. Two different cases for selecting the free choices are considered and their design equations are solved using polynomial homotopy continuation. In both cases for free choice selection, 36 distinct manipulators are found, the end-effectors of which can reach the four specified spatial positions and orientations.


The green seaweed Ulva is one of South Africa's most important aquaculture products, constituting an important feed source particularly for abalone (Haliotis midae L.), and utilized as a bioremediation tool and other benefits such as biomass for biofuel production and for integrated aquaculture. Besides Ulva spp, Gracilaria spp. are also cultivated. Wild seaweed harvest in South Africa totals 7,602 mt, compared to 2,015 mt of cultivated Ulva. To mitigate for the reliance on wild harvesting, the South African seaweed aquaculture industry has grown rapidly over the past few decades. On-land integrated culture units, with paddle-wheel raceways, are now widely viewed as the preferred method of production for the industry. The success of seaweed aquaculture in South Africa is due to a number of natural and human (industrial) factors. The development of the seaweed aquaculture industry has paralleled the growth of the abalone industry, and has been successful largely because of bilateral technology transfer and innovation between commercial abalone farms and research institutions. In South Africa seaweeds have been used commercially as feedstock for phycocolloid production, for the production of abalone feed, and the production of Kelpak® and Afrikelp®, which are plant-growth stimulants used in the agricultural sector. Additionally, Ulva is being investigated for large-scale biogas production. The South African seaweed industry provides a template that could be used by other coastal African nations to further their undeveloped aquaculture potential.

 Key words: Aquaculture, resources, seaweed, Ulva, South Africa.


Lane density and lane flow distribution are utilised in the current study as characteristics of traffic dynamics for control and planning purposes in freeways with ITS systems. As part of an on-going research, the Lane Flow Distribution Ratio (LFDR) and the Lane Density Distribution Ratio (LDDR) were introduced as main scalability factors for congestion evolution estimation. The preliminary exploratory analysis from LFDR, LDDR, traffic and spatiotemporal parameters along with link fundamental diagrams, indicated dependence between lane vehicle allocation and impending congestion emergence, in terms of traffic levels. This led to a partial parameterisation of driver's behaviour during peak hours, that was studied in several contexts, namely at mainline, on-ramp and off-ramp locations. The assessment of the developed model was conducted based on observations derived from a freeway site in California. The site is operating during peak hours with high congestion level. Further on this approach, decision thresholds for a number of ITS policies could be derived, to adapt accordingly to control policies (eg. hard shoulder operation, VSL, ramp metering).


This thesis presents novel work on how to improve exploration in reinforcement learning using domain knowledge and knowledge-based approaches to reinforcement learning. It also identifies novel relationships between the algorithms' and domains' parameters and the exploration efficiency.

The goal of solving reinforcement learning problems is to learn how to execute actions in order to maximise the long term reward. Solving this type of problems is a hard task when real domains of realistic size are considered because the state space grows exponentially with each state feature added to the representation of the problem.

In its basic form, reinforcement learning is tabula rasa, i.e. it starts learning with very limited knowledge about the domain. One of the ways of improving the performance of reinforcement learning is the principled use of domain knowledge. Knowledge is successful in related branches of artificial intelligence, and it is becoming increasingly important in the area of reinforcement learning as well. Reinforcement learning algorithms normally face the problem of deciding whether to execute explorative of exploitative actions, and the paramount goal is to limit the number of executions of suboptimal explorative actions. In this thesis, it is shown how domain knowledge and understanding of algorithms' and domains' properties can help to achieve this.

Exploration is an immensely complicated process in reinforcement learning and is influenced by numerous factors. This thesis presents a new range of methods for dealing more efficiently with the exploration-exploitation dilemma which is a crucial issue of applying reinforcement learning in practice. Reward shaping was used in this research as a well established framework for incorporating procedural knowledge into model-free reinforcement learning. Two new ways of obtaining heuristics for potential-based shaping were introduced and evaluated: high level symbolic knowledge and the application of different hypothesis spaces to learn the heuristic. These techniques open the way to improve reinforcement learning via reward shaping in situations when there is no information about the potential function. In the work on potential-based reward shaping, the actual shaping reward under different conditions was also specified and empirically evaluated. In the context of model-based reinforcement learning, a novel technique to incorporate knowledge into the initial MDP-models was proposed, evaluated, and proven to meet properties of PAC-MDP learning. One of the important factors which influence exploration in reinforcement learning is the concept of eligibility traces. The last part of this research focused on a detailed analysis of how eligibility traces influence exploration under a multitude of conditions.

The contribution of this thesis shows how to learn the potential function for reward shaping when it is not available, and also shows formal specification of the actual shaping reward under a multitude of conditions. It also shows how to use partial knowledge about effects of actions to create knowledge-based and theoretically correct implementations of PAC-MDP learning. Novel relationships between eligibility traces and exploration efficiency were also identified. Findings of this thesis extend current understanding and improve the exploration efficiency of reinforcement learning algorithms.


Systematic necropsies were performed on 63 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and data on organ mass, standard body length (SBL), body mass (BM), gender, sexual maturity, and age were measured and/or estimated. Animals were extremely fresh and recovered from along the Texas and Louisiana coastline in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Organ reference tables were established for this species to facilitate comparisons with other bottlenose dolphins and to provide a baseline for other cetacean species. Organs examined included lungs, adrenal glands, kidneys, testes, ovaries, heart, liver, pancreas, brain, pituitary, thyroid, thymus, and spleen. Individuals were separated into three size classes: 225 cm, based on SBL to further facilitate comparisons. Growth rates of length and mass were described using Gompertz nonlinear models as a function of gender. No sexual dimorphism was identified in BM or organ weights, and SBL was only significantly larger for older mature males. SBL and BM were strongly correlated with age when all animals were included in analyses, although this is not an accurate predictor of age, especially in older individuals. Organ weights were significantly correlated with both SBL (except thymus and spleen) and BM (except left ovary, spleen, and thymus). Age was significantly correlated with all organ weights (except thymus, thyroid, and ovaries). There were no significant differences in the weight of any paired organs (adrenal glands, kidneys, lungs, ovaries, testes), and all were significantly correlated with BM. These data on organ weights of bottlenose dolphins, when interpreted with SBL, BM, and age, are significant tools for pathologists and veterinarians interpreting animal health status.


Abstract Isotopic and stratigraphic ages of the ~ 80 km diameter Puchezh-Katunki (Russia; 220 ± 10 to 167 ± 3 Ma) and the ~ 20 km diameter Obolon (Ukraine; 215 ± 25 to 169 ± 7 Ma) impact structures are associated with significant age uncertainties. As a case study, reconstructions of the palaeogeography at the time of crater formation (Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic) based on recent palaeogeographic maps help further to constrain impact ages. Palaeogeographic studies suggest that Puchezh-Katunki is older than 170 Ma and that Obolon is younger than 185 Ma. This also rules out that Obolon formed during a ~ 214 Ma Late Triassic multiple impact event as recently discussed.


While the COVID-19 outbreak was reported to first originate from Wuhan, China, it has been declared as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020 by WHO, and it has spread to over 180 countries by the time of this paper was being composed. As the disease spreads around the globe, it has evolved into a worldwide pandemic, endangering the state of global public health and becoming a serious threat to the global community. To combat and prevent the spread of the disease, all individuals should be well-informed of the rapidly changing state of COVID-19. In the endeavor of accomplishing this objective, a COVID-19 real-time analytical tracker has been built to provide the latest status of the disease and relevant analytical insights. The real-time tracker is designed to cater to the general audience without advanced statistical aptitude. It aims to communicate insights through various straightforward and concise data visualizations that are supported by sound statistical foundations and reliable data sources. This paper aims to discuss the major methodologies which are utilized to generate the insights displayed on the real-time tracker, which include real-time data retrieval, normalization techniques, ARIMA time-series forecasting, and logistic regression models. In addition to introducing the details and motivations of the utilized methodologies, the paper additionally features some key discoveries that have been derived in regard to COVID-19 using the methodologies.


Paradigm of sustainable development has become a bigger challenge for university, which during the last years more and more include these contents into the educational process. Since the understanding of sustainable development is complex, many high educational (HE) programs will have to be modernized and instead of theoretical knowledge practical experiences will have to be included. Those will enable long-term knowledge, holistic understanding and will include not only technical point of view of environment protection, like is often nowadays, but practical as well. The higher education system (HEIs) lately demonstrates needs relevant in particular in the practical training, which is based on individual experience and direct inclusion of individuals during the educational process. A need to transform the higher education curriculum especially with the inclusion of innovative learning content and methods that allow direct individual experience, long-term process, holistic thinking and interdisciplinary cooperation will be therefore presented in a future. The modernization of HEIs should therefore base on the development of green competence which includes development of new ecoremediation (ERM) approaches which equally addressing ecosystemic, social and economic field, innovative ERM methodologies that implement practical work, international HEIs integration and cooperation with aims to strengthen student's competitiveness, employment and the involvement in the labor market through theirs experiences. In this way we include the youth into the current environmental problems to ensure sustainable development in future and also may contribute to solve the key socio-economic challenges in reducing unemployment of young people.