One of the main characteristics of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a deficit in social communication. The effects of ASD on both verbal and non-verbal communication are widely researched in this respect. In this exploratory study, we investigate whether texts of Dutchspeaking adolescents with ASD (aged 12-18 years) are (automatically) distinguishable from texts written by typically developing peers. First, we want to reveal whether specific characteristics can be found in the writing style of adolescents with ASD, and secondly, we examine the possibility to use these features in an automated classification task. We look for surface features (word and character n-grams, and simple linguistic metrics), but also for deep linguistic features (namely syntactic, semantic and discourse features). The differences between the ASD group and control group are tested for statistical significance and we show that mainly syntactic features are different among the groups, possibly indicating a less dynamic writing style for adolescents with ASD. For the classification task, a Logistic Regression classifier is used. With a surface feature approach, we could reach an F-score of 72.15%, which is much higher than the random baseline of 50%. However, a pure n-gram-based approach very much relies on content and runs the risk of detecting topics instead of style, which argues the need of using deeper linguistic features. The best combination in the deep feature approach originally reached an F-score of just 62.14%, which could not be boosted by automatic feature selection. However, by taking into account the information from the statistical analysis and merely using the features that were significant or trending, we could equal the surface-feature performance and again reached an F-score of 72.15%. This suggests that a carefully composed set of deep features is as informative as surface-feature word and character n-grams. Moreover, combining surface and deep features resulted in a slight increase in F-score to 72.33%.


The tort of intrusion upon seclusion offers the best theory to target legitimate privacy harms in the information age. This Article introduces a new taxonomy that organizes privacy regulations across four key stages of information flow - observation, capture (the creation of a record), dissemination, and use. Privacy scholars typically propose placing constraints on the dissemination and re-use of personal information, and these dominant models are at the heart of President Obama's Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. But these restrictions conflict with the First Amendment and other important shared values. Instead, observation is the most promising stage for legal intervention.Intrusion imposes liability for conduct - offensive observations. The tort is theoretically coherent and constitutionally sound because an individual's interests in seclusion co-exist comfortably with society's interests in data dissemination. This puts intrusion in stark contrast with other privacy models, where the alleged harm is a direct consequence of an increase in knowledge. The classic intrusion tort can adapt sensibly to new technologies when it is reduced to two essential elements: (1) an observation, (2) that is offensive. This approach vindicates privacy law's historical roots in torts and offers a path to principled privacy regulation.


Problem Statement: The concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship must be understood and adopted to ensure such transformation in the university after "Entrepreneurial and Innovative University Index" publication. The basic problem of this research is an analysis of how entrepreneurs define the concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship. Purpose of Study: This research is focused on how innovation and entrepreneurship concepts are defined by company and project owners making innovation, the types of innovation they work on, the challenges they encounter during the process, and the coping strategies they use Method: This study used a qualitative research pattern and phenomenological research. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with the owners of five companies who voluntarily participated in the study. The frequency and categorical analysis of content analysis techniques were used in the analysis of the data. Attempts were made to provide reliability by coding the coincidentally selected ones of the voice-recorded interviews via two independent coders. Jury assessment was made for general and specific sub-areas created for categorical analysis within validity. Findings and Results: Six general areas and 39 specific sub-areas were created within the scope of categorical analysis. Among the most remarkable findings, it was clear that innovative entrepreneurs expressed opinions mostly within the general scope of "innovation process". Within the "definition of innovation", it can be seen that they most often refer to providing "added value" with the product. Within the "product features", they most often refer to the "inclusion of innovation." It was mentioned that "learning experiences" have positive effects on the innovation process. Conclusions and Recommendations: It may be suggested that researchers can study the competitiveness and innovation ability of entrepreneurs. It was observed that the participant companies did not have their own innovation models and strategies. It is necessary to develop a countryspecific innovation model and strategies based on it in order to develop innovation. Keywords: innovation description, innovation process, challenges in innovation process.


This paper presents the study of some liquefaction features occurred near the Fossa village due to the April 6, 2009, Mw 6.3 L'Aquila earthquake (Central Italy). Our investigation is based on trenching and coring campaigns as well as sedimentological analyses and datings. The geometrical elements of the sand volcanoes on the surface, of the dike used to rise up and of the probable sandy source at depth are presented. A sandy pockets level found at less than 1 m of depth, interpreted as possible evidence for a paleo-liquefaction event is discussed. Sedimentologic and morphoscopic analyses both provided the necessary elements and parameters to link the ca. 4 m deep sandy layers to the 2009 sand blows on the ground surface as well as to the paleo-liquefaction layer and defined the main characteristics of the deposits sealing the sands that experience liquefaction at depth.

Finally a tentative correlation between the paleo-liquefaction layer and the 1461 AD or the 1703 AD local earthquakes is suggested based on the available age constraints.


The preparation of high-quality, large-size cohesive soil deposits is possible using the slurry method and is practicable if a suitable soil material is used. The requirements for such a soil are discussed and the results of a survey of available ingredient materials presented. A testing program of six trial soil mixtures is described, including consolidation of slurry in a special apparatus. Each trial soil is evaluated, and detailed properties of the selected material, called Cornell clay, are presented. The results from a series of CIUC triaxial tests show that Cornell clay has normalized strength parameters similar to many naturally occurring cohesive soils. Supply sources for the ingredient materials are given.


Journals serve a centralizing role for many fields. They're often a venue for exchanging and archiving ideas, research, and knowledge, building on past studies, and advancing future ones. In this editorial introduction to Volume 3, the Editor-in-Chief of the Communication Center Journal ( CCJ ) suggests CCJ as a way forward for the communication center community.


Abstract This paper describes model calculations and nuclear data evaluations of photonuclear reactions on actinides such as 235U, 238U, 237Np, and 239Pu for incident photon energies from the reaction threshold up to 20 MeV. The calculations are done using the GNASH code, including the giant-dipole resonance for photoabsorption. The emission of secondary particles is computed using a preequilibrium theory, together with an open-ended sequence of the compound nucleus decay using the Hauser-Feschbach theory. The accuracy of the calculated and evaluated cross sections is assessed through extensive comparison with measured cross sections. This work also summarizes evaluation methods used to create actinide photonuclear files for the forthcoming ENDF/B-VII database, which will facilitate radiation transport studies related to photonuclear reactions in a number of technologies including production of photoneutrons and photofission fragments in electron accelerators, shielding studies, and nondestructive detection of nuclear material in particular.


Perturbations in skeletal development and bone degeneration may result in reduced bone mass and quality, leading to greater fracture risk. Bone loss is mitigated by bone protective therapies, but there is a clinical need for new bone-anabolic agents. Previous work has demonstrated that Ezh2 (enhancer of zeste homolog 2), a histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27) methyltransferase, suppressed differentiation of osteogenic progenitors. Here, we investigated whether inhibition of Ezh2 can be leveraged for bone stimulatory applications. Pharmacologic inhibition and siRNA knockdown of Ezh2 enhanced osteogenic commitment of MC3T3 preosteoblasts. Next generation RNA sequencing of mRNAs and real time quantitative PCR profiling established that Ezh2 inactivation promotes expression of bone-related gene regulators and extracellular matrix proteins. Mechanistically, enhanced gene expression was linked to decreased H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) near transcriptional start sites in genome-wide sequencing of chromatin immunoprecipitations assays. Administration of an Ezh2 inhibitor modestly increases bone density parameters of adult mice. Furthermore, Ezh2 inhibition also alleviated bone loss in an estrogen-deficient mammalian model for osteoporosis. Ezh2 inhibition enhanced expression of Wnt10b and Pth1r and increased the BMP-dependent phosphorylation of Smad1/5. Thus, these data suggest that inhibition of Ezh2 promotes paracrine signaling in osteoblasts and has bone-anabolic and osteoprotective potential in adults.


Merz is an environment which supports knowledge work, personal information management and collaboration on the WWW. As a user gathers information by browsing and querying, a local database of metadata is built, serving as a basis for creating Merzbaus: visual representations of documents and links. The user interface is characterised by filtering and semantic zooming. Instead of having to classify objects into hierarchies and folders, users can successively add keywords to the metadata records for objects and links and create multiple, filtered views of information. Categorised objects can be moved to parallel, more organised Merzbaus, e.g., corresponding to specific projects. Users can personalise Merzbaus by rearranging icons, creating links, and by entering hand-written marks. Collaboration is supported by means of publishing Merzbaus to a WWW-MOO server for other users to access. Merz is implemented in JAVA.


A finite element formulation for confined aquifer flow, which takes into account elevation changes of the aquifer is presented. The middle surface of the aquifer is assumed not as a horizontal plane but as a curved surface. The theory of isoparametric finite elements is applied to develop a general isoparametric surface element for the problem. The presented technique can, with little additional programming effort, be incorporated into any standard finite element computer program for solving the two-dimensional quasi-harmonic differential equation (i.e. equation governing heat conduction, electric potential, seepage through porous media etc.) A computer program using a four node quadrilateral surface element has been developed. Some results of two examples analyzed using this program are finally established.


In addition to internal R&D, external knowledge is widely considered as an essential lever for innovative performance. This paper analyzes knowledge spillovers in supply chain networks. Specifically, we investigate how supplier innovation is impacted by buyer innovation. Financial accounting data is combined with supply chain relationship data and patent data for U.S. firms in high tech industries. Our econometric analysis shows that buyer innovation has a positive and significant impact on supplier innovation. We find that the duration of the buyer–supplier relationship positively moderates this effect, but that the technological proximity between the two firms does not have a significant effect on spillovers.


OBJECTIVES.: To determine a set of perinatal characteristics that predict school difficulties in inner-city children by comparing first graders requiring remediation with first graders progressing normally. METHODS.: In a case-control study, maternal surveys about perinatal characteristics were completed for 74 of 90 remedial pre-first and 62 of 90 randomly selected first graders in the Rochester, NY, City School District. RESULTS.: Pre-first graders, as compared with first graders, were more likely to have had birth weights <2,500 g (27% versus 6%). During pregnancy, their mothers were more likely to have been unemployed (73% versus 50%), to have received WIC (68% versus 50%), to have been covered by Medicaid (58% versus 37%), and to have received late or no prenatal care (9% versus 2%). Of these factors, only low birth weight was independently associated with remedial kindergarten placement. CONCLUSION.: Potential risk factors, unfortunately, were fairly prevalent in both groups of inner-city children. While the remedial group was shown to be at greater risk, these findings have little utility in identifying subsets most likely to require remediation at school entry. Because resources aimed at preventing the long-term consequences of early school failure are limited, better means of identifying educational risk at an early age are urgently needed.


How does neural population process sensory information? Optimal coding theories assume that neural tuning curves are adapted to the prior distribution of the stimulus variable. Most of the previous work has discussed optimal solutions for only one-dimensional stimulus variables. Here, we expand some of these ideas and present new solutions that define optimal tuning curves for high-dimensional stimulus variables. We consider solutions for a minimal case where the number of neurons in the population is equal to the number of stimulus dimensions (diffeomorphic). In the case of two-dimensional stimulus variables, we analytically derive optimal solutions for different optimal criteria such as minimal L2 reconstruction error or maximal mutual information. For higher dimensional case, the learning rule to improve the population code is provided.


Self-clocking of binary information involves a coding constraint whereby the maximum length of zero strings is limited to a predetermined number. For reasons of operational stability it is desirable to keep this number low. The price of such constraint is a degradation in code density. The class of serial recording which includes the well-known frequency modulation and phase encoding represents one extreme where every other symbol is mandatory, making the code density one bit for every two symbols. This paper describes a coding method which improves code efficiency while maintaining the constraint on the length of zero strings. It will be shown that adaptive coding, which is an extension of the block code concept known from information theory, offers a significant improvement. The concept is illustrated by describing a practical application in which the code density is improved from two symbols per bit to three symbols per bit pair, while keeping the maximum length of zero strings to one. It is shown that while this technique represents an improvement by one third over phase encoding, it approaches the theoretical limit for this class of codes to within 4 percent.


The transformation from an industrial economy to a knowledge-based, 'creative'- or 'new' economy has a huge impact on strategic partnerships. As more and more organisations make use of (virtual) networks to innovate, the question rises about the future of mergers, joint ventures, alliances and other kinds of multi-polar networks. Two expert panels were used to explore pitfalls for strategic collaboration in an old and new-economy context. Results indicate that pitfalls will especially differ for the pre-merger phase in a new-economy context when compared to the post-merger phase. Based on the results, it can also be concluded that traditional forms of collaboration such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances will remain important ways for external growth. Both arguments for a relative increase of mergers, as well as for joint ventures or alliances were offered by panel participants.


Despite a substantial decline in poverty, a persistent increase in inequality in favour of the top 1 per cent of the population over the decades has been a global phenomenon. Like many other countries, it is an area of concern also for India. The problem can be addressed through initiatives of proper taxation and expenditure policies domestically; complemented by concerted effort of countries to check some transnational problems, viz. tax havens, tax dodging and tax avoidance. This would turn help create an economy whose primary purpose is to benefit the 99 per cent of humanity. Taxation policies can reduce inequality and simultaneously augment revenues to the government, which can further be invested on health and education to create equal opportunity for all.


The 2002/2003 Arctic stratospheric vortex reached temperatures low enough for PSC existence already in the middle of November. Restricted by tropospheric cloud coverage, stratospheric aerosol lidar measurements in Ny-Alesund [78.9oN, 12.0oE] have been performed from December 7 onwards. Since then, PSC signals have been detected almost throughout the whole December, vanishing with the stratospheric warming in January and not showing up again even when the recovering cold pool reached the Spitsbergen region again in late January and February. During these weeks of almost constant PSC occurrence, changes both in the altitude range and particle characteristics were observed. While in the beginning of December strong type I a PSCs were found from 22 to 27 km, cloud layers with very small backscatter ratio and a shifted color ratio were observed from 16 to 22 km at the end of December. The steady descent of the clouds and the described change in backscatter characteristics suggest particle growth and sedimentation with consequent denitrification during December 2002. Here we present the PSC lidar observations in combination with results of the DLAPSE denitrification model (Univ. Leeds) which confirms the suggested NAT-rock sized particles and denitrification above Ny-Alesund.


My research has shown that most people spend less than 20% of their working lives feeling energised, engaged and innovative. But each one of us deserves to live a fulfilling work life and, to do this, we need to create a great environment for ourselves and for our colleagues. We need to glow to radiate positive energy that fosters a great working experience that excites and ignites others through our own inspiration and delivers superior value through our work.


How can we understand health-seeking behaviour, if the space in which this behaviour takes place stretches across borders? Is there more happening than just the increase in options? Based on examples from research on reproductive travels, medical remittances, the circulation of medicines in migrants' personal networks, and the revitalisation of local healing traditions through globally active NGOs, in this working paper we attempt to elaborate upon medical practices and therapeutic itineraries in a transnational framework. By looking at how people take advantage of different regulations and procedures in different national frameworks, we propose to think along the lines of therapeutic opportunity structures in order to bring in spatial theory as well as draw attention to new forms of exclusion and agency.


In the short, turbulent history of AIDS research and treatment, the boundaries between scientist insiders and lay outsiders have been crisscrossed to a degree never before seen in medical history. Steven Epstein's astute and readable investigation focuses on the critical question of 'how certainty is constructed or deconstructed', leading us through the views of medical researchers, activists, policy makers, and others to discover how knowledge about AIDS emerges out of what he calls 'credibility struggles'. Epstein shows the extent to which AIDS research has been a social and political phenomenon and how the AIDS movement has transformed biomedical research practices through its capacity to garner credibility by novel strategies. Epstein finds that non scientist AIDS activists have gained enough of a voice in the scientific world to shape NIH-sponsored research to a remarkable extent. Because of the blurring of roles and responsibilities, the production of biomedical knowledge about AIDS does not, he says, follow the pathways common to science; indeed, AIDS research can only be understood as a field that is unusually broad, public, and contested. He concludes by analyzing recent moves to democratize biomedicine, arguing that although AIDS activists have set the stage for new challenges to scientific authority, all social movements that seek to democratize expertise face unusual difficulties. Avoiding polemics and accusations, Epstein provides a benchmark account of the AIDS epidemic to date, one that will be as useful to activists, policy makers, and general readers as to sociologists, physicians, and scientists.


The West Bank and Gaza have been occupied by Israel since 1967. As a result, it experienced a deep integration of its factor and goods markets with the richer economy of Israel. However, such an integration did not bring significant "dynamic" gains. Time series analysis indeed suggest that productivity growth hardly contributed to Palestinian GDP. Besides, the decomposition of income convergence patterns with Israel implies a rather unusual phenomenon of divergence in productivity. Economies of adaptation and scale that could have been encouraged by greater integration with Israel remained scarce, or were offset by opposite forces.


The research explores the ways in which individuals within a diverse urban society perceive and interact with the regenerated urban canal-scape examining the process and dynamics by which individuals construct personal meanings relating to the canal landscape with emphasis on the central canal area (Brindleyplace) of Birmingham, UK.

Specific phenomenological and performative methodologies are developed to elicit qualitative, self-reflexive landscape responses focussing on the use of walking in the landscape, combined with narrative-representational approaches, both vision and language-based. Data are collected using a series of in-situ and ex-situ studies including: collaborative 'Walking-and-Talking' exercises; semistructured interviews, or 'Conversations'; self-reflexive exercises such as diaries and a remote postcard study and participant-observation exercises based on group activities in the canal-scape.

Findings suggest that individuals' landscape perceptions are constructed through experiences and memories of other landscapes, both physically known and those only imagined. Participants display congruencies and divergences regarding notions of iconic landscape components and perceptual themes which may be contrary to the established norms of canal-scape meaning. The study stresses the use and importance of individual narratives as indicators of how participants think about and use the landscape as part of their life activities, how they perceive it, how they project themselves onto it, construct meanings around it. Results indicate that the locomotive-narrative methodologies developed in response to the research parameters are highly conducive to the evocation and expression of multi-modal landscape perceptions, including references to memories and associations.

Research was carried out in collaboration with British Waterways and funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council under a Collaborative Doctoral Award.


By now, the frequently cited statistics on health care spending and its growth have contributed to an all too familiar litany of fiscal and public policy concerns. U.S. health care spending represents 17.6% of the gross domestic product (GDP); it is projected to grow to a fifth of the GDP by 2020, and for the last three decades, its annual increase has exceeded that of the GDP by nearly three percentage points. The growth of U.S. health care spending and its per capita levels are considerably higher than those of other developed countries and do not appear to yield an advantage in terms of standard measures of health or system quality and performance. Characterizations of U.S. medical care as ''flat of the curve,'' wasteful and uncoordinated, and prone to costly medical errors have become commonplace in policy discussions, leading to calls for evidence-based practice guidelines, improved information flows among providers, and changes in the incentives that drive our health care system. Finally, a large aging population spurred by a generation of baby boomers and accompanying the implementation of health reform threaten to place new demands on our health care system that will sorely test its current capabilities, as well as our ability to maintain future commitments to provide essential services to our most vulnerable citizens. The fiscal imperative to control health care spending and to obtain ''value'' for our health care dollar is a pervasive concern within both the public and private sectors of our economy. In the public sector, federal spending on the Medicare and Medicaid programs alone represents over a fifth of the federal budget and the growth in these programs is frequently cited as a primary contributor to our large budget deficit. While public health care spending continues to compromise our ability to secure resources for other social needs, proposals to gain control of such spending have become the perennial political football. Growing Medicaid costs continue to plague the fiscal health of states and have contributed to cuts in other pressing social obligations such as educational funding. In the private sector, rising health care costs have fueled the increase in health insurance premiums, leading to sustained increases in employee premium contributions and cost-sharing, thus compromising the affordability and value of health coverage during a period of stagnant earnings and mounting income inequality. Arguably, such cost increases have contributed to the rise in the uninsured population and, along with the costs of other non-pecuniary benefits, have helped to make the use of short-term and tenuous employment contracts common, which has added to our worries about job insecurity. With the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) to be close to full implementation in 2014, concern over health care spending has reached a critical juncture. Coverage expansions are expected to affect some 32 million people over the next decade; they will be accompanied by new spending in the form of federal tax credits and subsidies to defray premium costs and out-of-pocket spending incurred by people with moderate incomes. Additionally, public funding will be required to support the ACA's Medicaid expansions for those with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty line. Unless health care spending is reined in over this period, the ACA's promised contribution to deficit reduction may be compromised. Federal policymakers are well aware of this implication. In devising the ACA, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has noted that


"The Law on Age Discrimination in the EU" is edited by Malcolm Sargeant. The EC Directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation covers a number of grounds of discrimination including age. The EU's population is ageing, but there is much evidence that age discrimination is widespread. The Directive is a reaction to that and the consequent desire to encourage greater participation in the labour market by older workers. This is the first time that age discrimination has been made unlawful by the EU and, as a result, there are now laws in every Member State making such discrimination unlawful. The Directive, and much of the national legislation, however, treats age discrimination differently to the other grounds for unlawful discrimination. It is the only area which permits direct discrimination. Age discrimination generally may still be objectively justified by a legitimate aim if the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary. Such aims include legitimate employment policy, labour market, and vocational training objectives. This insightful book, written by national experts in eight Member States and at the EU level, considers the ways in which the Directive has been implemented in some of the Member States and the extent to which they have taken advantage of the exceptions that are inherent in the Directive. Particular issues that are covered are: what legislation has been adopted in each country; the development of the case law that exists in some States; the demographic imperative existing in each country; measures taken to improve the position of young people; retirement and the exit from the workforce of older workers; and, the approach and case law of the European Court of Justice. As an important contribution towards an understanding of age discrimination within the European Union, this book opens a field of law that has heretofore not been considered in all its seriousness. It will be of real value to lawyers, human resource management professionals, and those with an interest in discrimination and EU issues. It is an important contribution to what will be a developing field of study.


In this thesis, the relevance and practical value of discourses about reproductive rights to women living in a rural area of Zimbabwe are examined. Policy documents indicate that the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council's (ZNFPC's) community based distribution service is based on principles of respect for particular definitions of reproductive rights and, concomitantly, a degree of women's reproductive self determination. In contrast, recent analyses of post Independence government action suggest that, as citizens of Zimbabwe, women are generally defined as dependants of men. This raises questions about the impact of the context of women's citizenship on the interpretation and realisation of reproductive rights through the family planning programme. Field work data focuses on the interpretation of policy and the consequent practices of local level health workers as well as women's interactions with health workers and their implications for reproductive self determination within household relations. It is suggested that health workers' actions result in the differential realisation of reproductive rights for particular social groups. Health worker relations with clients, in turn, reinforce differences between women in terms of the extent to which they are able to exercise reproductive self-determination within household relations. State employed health workers, in effect, act as policemen of private reproductive decision making. The use of an analytical framework of rights and citizenship highlights the relatively neglected issue of the political system in which family planning programmes are embedded. It is argued that health worker accountability to village populations is as important as the content of policy in determining the realisation and practical value of discourses about reproductive rights to rural women.


The development of surface-attached biofilm bacterial communities is considered an important source of nosocomial infections. Recently, bacterial interference via signaling molecules and surface active compounds was shown to antagonize biofilm formation, suggesting that nonantibiotic molecules produced during competitive interactions between bacteria could be used for biofilm reduction. Hence, a better understanding of commensal/pathogen interactions within bacterial community could lead to an improved control of exogenous pathogens. To reveal adhesion or growth-related bacterial interference, we investigated interactions between uropathogenic and commensal Escherichia coli in mixed in vitro biofilms. We demonstrate here that the uropathogenic strain CFT073 and all E. coli expressing group II capsules release into their environment a soluble polysaccharide that induces physicochemical surface alterations, which prevent biofilm formation by a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. We show that the treatment of abiotic surfaces with group II capsular polysaccharides drastically reduces both initial adhesion and biofilm development by important nosocomial pathogens. These findings identify capsular polymers as antiadhesion bacterial interference molecules, which may prove to be of significance in the design of new strategies to limit biofilm formation on medical in dwelling devices.


A study of forage plants in Nsukka rural communities was conducted between February and March 2005. Interview schedules were administered to farmers in four communities in Nsukka Local Government Area. Forage collection is done twice in all the sampled communities. The source of forage in the area is generally close to the farmers' residence, being 800 metres away. Most of the species are available and utilized all the year round. Leaves of all the species are consumed while twigs and tubers/roots constitute additional feed sources, comprising 26.1%, and 2.2% of all the species, respectively. Generally, most plant families are very palatable with a mean score of 4.0. Fairly palatable and palatable species (with mean scores of 2.0 and 3.0, respectively) constitute 32.0% while two families, Icancinaceae and Malvaceae, contain poorly palatable or avoided species and these constitute 8.0% of all the families. The following species: Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Moraceae, and Poaceae, had very large number of palatable and very palatable species. Keywords : seasonality of availability, preference rating. Agro-Science Vol. 5 (2) 2006: pp. 33-39


The authors find that the share of the labor force that is medium-term unemployed (five to 26 weeks unemployed) and the share working part time (less than 35 hours per week) involuntarily are strongly correlated with real wage growth. Moreover, they estimate that average real wage growth would have been between one-half of a percentage point and a full percentage point higher in June 2014 if 2005–07 labor market conditions had been restored, indicating that the slack in the jobs market still weighs heavily on the real wage prospects of U.S. workers.


Spectrophotometric and gravimetric methods of analyses were used to quantitatively compare the biomass compositions of three predominant perennial grass species; Eleusine indica(Ei), Pernnisetum purpureum (Pp), and Panicum maximum (Pm) that are found in the study area. The range of values for the percentage composition of the biomass components; cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin were 26.10±0.85 ̶ 34.04±0.24, 32.51±1.85 ̶ 42.57±1.17 and 3.09±0.09 ̶ 5.62±0.17 respectively. The sample with the highest amount of cellulose showed a promising raw material for the establishment of an ethanol fuel biorefinery in the region while that with the highest amount of hemicellulose which was different from the former showed that optimum production of the desired product could be obtained if advanced technologies are put in place to successfully ferment the pentoses fraction of the hemicellulose that may be present in the pretreatment hydrolysate. Eleusine indica with the highest amount of ash and metal (Mn) contents; 89,500±40.37ppm and 240.01±3.04ppm respectively was found to be likely that which will produce the list amount of the desired product as these substances may cause inhibitory effects to enzymatic activities in the reaction pathway and this specie was observed to have the lowest amount of the necessary biomass feedstock: cellulose and hemicelluloses, it also had the second highest amount of total extractable polyphenolics (TEPs); which is a potential inhibitor to enzymatic activities.


This chapter examines the process related to policy-making as well as potential determinants of policy choices. It begins with a discussion of conceptual models of policy-making, namely the institutional, rational, incremental, group, elite, and process models. It then considers the policy cycle, which models the policy process as a series of political activities, consisting of agenda setting, policy formulation, policy sadoption, implementation, and evaluation. It also analyses the role of institutions, frames, and policy styles in policy-making and concludes with an assessment of the most crucial domestic and international factors shaping the design of policies, focusing in particular on theories of policy diffusion, policy transfer, and cross-national policy convergence, along with international sources that affect domestic policy-making.


Graph-level anomaly detection (GLAD) aims to identify graphs that exhibit notable dissimilarity compared to the majority in a collection. However, current works primarily focus on evaluating graph-level abnormality while failing to provide meaningful explanations for the predictions, which largely limits their reliability and application scope. In this paper, we investigate a new challenging problem, explainable GLAD, where the learning objective is to predict the abnormality of each graph sample with corresponding explanations, i.e., the vital subgraph that leads to the predictions. To address this challenging problem, we propose a Self-Interpretable Graph aNomaly dETection model (SIGNET for short) that detects anomalous graphs as well as generates informative explanations simultaneously. Specifically, we first introduce the multi-view subgraph information bottleneck (MSIB) framework, serving as the design basis of our self-interpretable GLAD approach. This way SIGNET is able to not only measure the abnormality of each graph based on cross-view mutual information but also provide informative graph rationales by extracting bottleneck subgraphs from the input graph and its dual hypergraph in a self-supervised way. Extensive experiments on 16 datasets demonstrate the anomaly detection capability and self-interpretability of SIGNET.


The primary impulse for this dissertation was the striking disparity
between the initial critical reaction to Doderer's works in the 1950s
and early 1960s, and the long-term evaluation of his literary stature •
.In the Introduction, an outline of the theoretical foundations of
the study is followed by a brief survey of the academic criticism devoted
to Doderer. This survey attempts to establish whether the 'new beginning'
in Doderer criticism inspired in the mid-1970s by Anton Reininger
and Hans Joachim Schroder has succeeded in clearing the way for a more
balanced approach to Doderer's work. The survey reveals, however, that
recent Doderer criticism has seen an alarming increase of interest in
Doderer the man, as opposed to Doderer the writer.
Chapter One is devoted to the reception accorded to Doderer's Ein
Mord den jeder begeht. The critical reaction to Doderer's novel can be
directly linked to suggestions made by his publishers in their 'Verlags- . prospekt' as to how the novel ought to be read, namely as anything but
a detective novel. A detailed examination of Doderer's use of motifs
familiar from detective fiction indicates that the author so consistently
'breaks the rules' of classical detective story writing that Ein Mord
den jeder begeht might justifiably be regarded as a forerunner of the
parodies of the detective novel so common in modern literature. An
examination of Doderer's novel in the context of its first publication
in 1938 reveals how uncannily closely the detective element in Ein Mord
den jeder begeht resembles the official Nazi line on detective fiction,
and this throws up the vexed question of whether Doderer's 'anti-detective
novel' was an attempt to placate the Nazi censor. However, a comparison
with Friedrich DUrrenmatt's anti-detective stories shows that the ideology
of the irrational which informs Doderer's novel is not necessarily
fascistic in nature, as some of Doderer's critics imply.
A brief 'Excursus' on Claus Hubalek's television adaptation of Ein
Mord den jeder begeht is intended to illustrate the difficulties involved
in transferring Doderer's work to a visual medium. The critics' reactions
to Hubalek's play provide a useful up-to-date picture ofoDoderer's
current literary standing.
In Chapter Two, the focus is turneq on the critical response provoked
by Doderer's most controversial work, Die Merowinger. The outrageous
plot and 'scurrilous' style of this novel present the reviewer with an
unenviable dilemma, for he is confronted with a new work by a major
titerary figure which does not conform with the pattern of the author's
past successes. The survey of the reception of Die Merowinger is intended
to illuminate how the reviewers were so prejudiced by their familiarity
with what many regard as a 'Viennese trilogy', Die strudlhofstiege, Die
erleuchteten Fenster and Die D~onen, that they were unable to arrive at
a reasonably open-minded evaluation of Die Merowinger. The key problem
in Doderer reception is the identification of the author with the image
of an amiable Viennese raconteur. An examination of the reception of
Doderer's works in America reveals that the author's very conscious
'Vienneseness' presents a major obstacle for many non-Austrian readers,
and accounts to a large extent for the accusations of parochialism not
infrequently levelled at Doderer. Yet, paradOXically, it is undoubtedly
to his realistic depictions of Vienna, allied to an apparently apolitical
ideology, that Doderer's success in the 19506 must be attributed.
In view of the grossly oversimplified identification of Doderer with
the image of the chronicler of Vienna, and the increasing politicization
of literature in the 1960s, it is perhaps understandable that Doderer
has gradually become little more than a peripheral figure in German
literature today.
The dissertation is supplemented by a Doderer-bibliography of some
1,955 titles. Although it makes no claims to be comprehensive, ·the bibliography
is nevertheless a first attempt to collate the diverse material
on Doderer which can be found in the archives in Munich and Vienna.


During the past three decades, the tide in religious affiliation has rapidly shifted in Latin America. The predominance of Catholicism in the region has been challenged by the expansion of Evangelicalism and the number of individuals with no religious affiliation. Changes in Brazil's religious landscape are explained in part by the opportunities and restrictions that government regulations place on religious organizations. Regulation shapes religious competition by changing the incentives and opportunities for religious producers (churches, preachers, revivalists, etc.) and the viable options available to religious consumers (church members). Importantly, as our description of Brazilian regulations shows, the incentives defined by regulation affect religious denominations differently, creating winners and losers. Moreover, established religious groups are often able to reshape religious regulation, reinforcing the degree to which it favors them.


A widely-cited proposition in boundary theory states that it is difficult for individuals to transition between roles, especially when these roles are highly segmented. Surprisingly, this hypothesis has not been directly tested. We provide an empirical test of these propositions and draw from the self-regulation literature to expand boundary theory in exploring how episodes of cognitive role transitions impact job performance. We propose that cognitive role transitioning is cognitively demanding, which consumes the limited executive control resources that facilitate effective job performance. In a multilevel study of 619 employees providing 4371 episodes, we observed that work-to-family cognitive role transitioning was negatively related to job performance, and this effect was mediated by self-regulatory depletion. Although individuals with greater role integration were somewhat more likely to experience cognitive role transitions than those with segmented roles, these individuals were also buffered from the self-regulatory depletion that impairs effective job performance. Overall, these findings suggest that integration, rather than segmentation, may be a better long-term boundary management strategy for minimizing self-regulatory depletion and maintaining higher levels of job performance during inevitable work–family role transitions.


: Today, coastal areas are among the most densely populated and busiest places in the world, with an extremely important economic and social value. With those areas being very intensely exploited, there is a strong possibility of different accidents and catastrophes occurring. Therefore, it is a matter of great importance to implement timely and quality measures to minimize the risk of negative consequences. This research explores the theories of coastal area management and risk management, while focusing on the synthesis of both of them on FSRU terminals. Given the fact that this special type of LNG terminals is becoming more and more present in the coastal areas of the world, this paper implements analysed theories and proposes risk minimising and safety measures for reducing the catastrophe risk with FSFRU terminals and thus contributing to the preservation of the coastal area.


1. General Concepts. Dual Hypergraphs. Degrees. Intersecting Families. The Coloured Edge Property and Chvatal's Conjecture. The Helly Property. Section of a Hypergraph and the Kruskal-Katona Theorem. Conformal Hypergraphs. Representative Graphs. 2. Transversal Sets and Matchings. Transversal Hypergraphs. The Coefficients r and r'. r-Critical Hypergraphs. The Konig Property. 3. Fractional Transversals. Fractional Transversal Number. Fractional Matching of a Graph. Fractional Transversal Number of a Regularisable Hypergraph. Greedy Transversal Number. Ryser's Conjecture. Transversal Number of Product Hypergraphs. 4. Colourings. Chromatic Number. Particular Kinds of Colourings. Uniform Colourings. Extremal Problems Related to the Chromatic Number. Good Edge-Colourings of a Complete Hypergraph. An Application to an Extremal Problem. Kneser's Problem. 5. Hypergraphs Generalising Bipartite Graphs. Hypergraphs without Odd Cycles. Unimodular Hypergraphs. Balanced Hypergraphs. Arboreal Hypergraphs. Normal Hypergraphs. Mengerian Hypergraphs. Paranormal Hypergraphs. Appendix: Matchings and Colourings in Matroids. References.


We consider the problem of tactile discrimination, with the goal of estimating an underlying state parameter in a sequential setting. If the data is continuous and highdimensional, collecting enough representative data samples becomes difficult. We present a framework that uses active learning to help with the sequential gathering of data samples, using information-theoretic criteria to find optimal actions at each time step. We consider two approaches to recursively update the state parameter belief: an analytical Gaussian approximation and a Monte Carlo sampling method. We show how both active frameworks improve convergence, demonstrating results on a real robotic hand-arm system that estimates the viscosity of liquids from tactile feedback data.


We present a molecular dynamics (MD) study on a series of helical arylamide oligomers with systematically varying building blocks and linkage types. This study showcases a computational approach for the prediction of secondary structure properties of arylamide foldamers and their solution dynamics. We demonstrate that the conformational characteristics of foldamers, such as the number of units per turn, helical pitch, and pore diameter, can be predicted by MD simulations of small oligomers significantly shorter than the foldamers in question. Importantly, the curvature angle, the key geometrical parameter in helical arylamide structures, can be accurately determined by MD simulation of tetramers, entities with often less than one helical turn. The curvature angle is found to be a local property associated with one single residue/unit, which enables highly accurate predictive power for designing oligomers with various scaffolds and sizes. In addition, MD simulations with the improved force field parameters capture solvent effects in terms of both protic solvent competition with intramolecular H-bonds and solvophobic effects. The computational approach can provide useful insight into dynamical, mechanistic and functional properties of the arylamide oligomer class, which will facilitate rational design of foldamers.


The field of knowledge for development now occupies a top position on the agenda of all Asian governments as well as large development organizations. This book reflects this mega-trend of development towards KBEs (Knowledge Based Economies). For this 2nd edition all chapters have been thoroughly edited and data, tables and graphs have been updated to reflect the latest available statistics. Trends have been re-evaluated and adjusted to reflect recent developments in the fast-moving scene of knowledge governance and knowledge management.


Pundits and scholars warned that the personalization of the web and in particular of online social networks fosters interaction between likeminded users and amplifies the polarization of political opinions. We criticize, however, that this warning is based on one particular polarization model and that an alternative and equally prominent theory implies the exact opposite effect, predicting that personalization fosters consensus rather than polarization. We develop a general modeling framework to compare the predictions of the competing models. Using agent-based modeling, we formally demonstrate that the two theories make contradicting predictions and study the conditions of polarization. In conclusion, we call for empirical research on the competing assumptions of the two models, discussing major roadblocks and novel methods to overcome them.


Empirical research is understood as the search for knowledge-based empirical data. The best-known data-based research strategy is survey research. In practical theology, survey research is probably one of the most used research strategies. In the exploration of congregational life, a broader (quantitative) lens is required in order to investigate congregations. The aim is to explore the use of survey research in practical theology and congregational studies. First, we shall describe survey research as a methodology, in order to explain its relevance as an empirical method for doing practical theology. Secondly, we shall explain the relevance of survey research for congregational life. Surveys make a valuable contribution to congregational studies, as they provide a quantitative perspective on congregational life and its context. National and local demographics are an important part of the positioning and ecology of a congregation. Thirdly, we shall evaluate the relevance and contribution of the survey research methodology for congregational studies.


Media and Crime is an accessible text with a strong pedagogic purpose, making it an ideal introduction to the study of crime and the mass media for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The author interrogates the most important literature in the field as well as moving the debates forward with new ideas and values.
Substantive topics of current interest are covered, including:
• news reporting of crime
• media constructions of children and women as victims and offenders
• moral panics over paedophiles
• the relationship between the media and the police
• 'reality' crime shows
• surveillance and social control
• new media.
Chapter overviews, key terms, study questions and suggestions for further reading map the key issues in this vital and topical area of debate. The book is essential reading for students in a wide range of academic fields including criminology, media studies, sociology, gender studies and psychology.


A key advantage for the use of a domain-specific language (DSL) is the leverage that can be captured from a concise representation of a programmer's intention. This paper reports on three different DSLs that were developed for two different projects. Two of the DSLs assisted in the specification of various modeling tool ontologies, and the integration of models across these tools. On another project, a different DSL has been applied as a language to assist in aspect-oriented modeling. Each of these three languages was converted to C++ using different code generators. These DSLs were concerned with issues of traversing a model and performing transformations. The paper also provides quantitative data on the relative sizes of the intention (as expressed in the DSL) and the generated C++ code. Observations are made regarding the nature of the benefits and the manner in which the conciseness of the DSL is best leveraged.


Abstract Context The burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be a public health concern. Workplace interventions that focus on modifying lifestyle habits may reduce CVD risk factors in people at risk. Objective To determine the effectiveness of a comprehensive lifestyle intervention program that integrated dietary modification, physical activity, stress management, and behavior modification counseling to reduce the risk of CVD in at-risk adults. Methods Twelve 1-year cohorts who participated in a comprehensive employer-sponsored lifestyle intervention program targeting diet, exercise, behavior modification, and stress management between 2006 and 2010 at a rural university in Appalachian Ohio were studied. Body composition, fasting glucose and lipid levels, and maximal oxygen consumption were measured at baseline, after 100 days, and at 1 year. Repeated-measures analyses of variance were conducted to compare measures at baseline with measures at 100 days and at 1 year. Results Seventy-four participants (57 women [77.1%], 17 men [22.9%]) of 97 completed the program (76.3% completion rate). Body weight (P<.001); percentage of body fat (P<.001); fat mass (P<.001); body mass index (P<.001); waist circumference (P<.001); blood levels of high-density lipoprotein (P=.035), low-density lipoprotein (P=.011), and glucose (P=.008); serum triglyceride levels (P=.019); blood pressure (systolic P=.028; diastolic, P=.001); and maximal oxygen consumption (P<.001) improved from baseline to 1 year after the intervention. Lean body mass (P=.111) and total cholesterol (P=.053) did not improve. Conclusions This employer-based lifestyle intervention program was effective in reducing CVD risk factors after 1 year of treatment. Future studies should examine the effects of the intervention at 2 and 5 years to further assess long-term adoption of the lifestyle changes and maintenance of health promoted by this program.


Abstract Temporal variation in sampling intensity and geologically controlled rates of fossil preservation distort macroevolutionary patterns in the fossil record. Here, we use a comprehensive, list-based compilation of taxonomically and stratigraphically vetted global crinoid genus occurrences to evaluate and correct for the effects of variable and incomplete sampling from the Ordovician through Early Silurian. After standardizing the number of occurrences or the number of biofacies used to estimate the stratigraphic ranges of genera and after adjusting rates of turnover to account for the incomplete preservation of true extinction and origination pulses, we find support for several important revisions to the macroevolutionary history of crinoids. First, in contrast to the uncorrected data, sample-standardized genus richness does not appear to increase by more than 20% after an abrupt Middle Ordovician (Harnagian) diversification. Second, the only significant short-term change in genus richness following the Harnagian increase is a ≥24% decline from the Rawtheyan to the Hirnantian. Third, volatility in rates of genus extinction is increased after adjusting for preservation and there remain significant peaks of extinction in the Rawtheyan, which marks the end-Ordovician extinction, and in the middle of the Early Silurian. Finally, significant increases in origination rates occur in the Early Silurian. These results reaffirm the importance of the end-Ordovician extinction for crinoids, but they also highlight the comparatively poorly sampled Early Silurian as a time of turnover among crinoids. Crinoid genus extinction rates are positively correlated with area-weighted rates of sedimentary package truncation, suggesting that extinction may have been controlled by physical environmental changes, such as the contraction of unique epicontinental sea habitats. The lack of a correlation between genus origination and sedimentary package initiation reinforces this hypothesis and suggests that other factors, such as evolutionary innovations and biotic interactions during the Ordovician radiation, may have been more important in controlling the diversification of crinoids.


Perhaps the most fundamental challenge implied by advanced applications of big data sets is how to perform the vast amount of required computations sufficiently efficiently. Efficient algorithms are at the heart of this question. But how can we obtain innovative algorithmic solutions for demanding application problems with exploding input sizes using complex modern hardware and advanced algorithmic techniques? This tutorial gives examples how the methodology of algorithm engineering can be applied here. Examples include sorting, main memory based data bases, communication efficient algorithms, particle tracking at CERN LHC, 4D image processing, parallel graph algorithms, and full text indexing. Compared to a previous tutorial in Koblenz 2013 with the same title, this tutorial talks less about methodology and more about actual algorithms and applications. For further reading refer to [San13] and, for selected individual results to [DS03, KS07, SSP07, MS08, San09, RSS10, SS12, DS13].


As the problems that engineers are framing and solving are becoming more complex, it is becoming critical to develop amore nuanced understanding of learning that encompasses more than separate knowing and includes connected knowing.To better understand connected knowing within engineering students, we explore the role of emotion in engineeringeducation. In particular, we attend to the primary research question, how do emotions underpin the narratives ofengineering students? This narrative research project involved conducting interviews with 21 undergraduate engineeringstudents from year one to five in their engineering program and from a diversity of engineering disciplines. Our findingssuggest a trajectory of emotions including enjoyment of pre-engineering activities, nervousness about core classes,frustration and discouragement with core classes, and finally an overall satisfaction with the educational experience. Twoconstructed narratives are included to provide the reader with an individualized, contextual, and complex view of the livedreality of emotional trajectories. As engineering educators, the emotions of our engineering students may prove critical aswe are preparing engineering graduates to make decisions and to contribute to some of the world's most pressing problems.


The Uster ® High Volume Instrument (HVI) is used to class U.S. cotton for fiber color, yielding the cotton-specific color parameters Rd and +b. The HVI examines a nine-square-inch fiber sample, such as the large AMS standard cotton "biscuits" or rectangles. Much interest has been shown in measuring cotton color on modern color spectrophotometers and on relating the HVI Rd and +b color parameters to more globally recognized, three-dimensional color space systems obtained from spectrophotometers, such as L*a*b*. Recent research established the relationships of Rd and +b to L* and b*. However, concerns have been expressed on the consistency of fiber measurements on large area cotton fibers with spectrophotometers. When fiber is measured on color spectrophotometers, hand pressure by an operator is often used to hold the fiber against the spectrophotometer sampling port for the measurement, but the pressure applied varies from operator to operator and from sample to sample. The need exists for a spectrophotometer fiber sampling system for large area fiber samples that allows for the application of uniform pressure to large cotton fiber samples. A program was implemented to develop a pressurized fiber sampling system for color measurements with large cotton fiber samples (e.g., AMS standard cotton biscuits). A sampling system for large cotton fiber samples was developed for spectrophotometers in which a uniform pressure is applied across the entire sample surface area. The color parameter most impacted by fiber pressure was L*. Protocols were developed for pressurized cotton fiber color measurements on spectrophotometers.


This thesis collates a research programme of published papers completed by the candidate during the registration period of study, that are relevant to various aspects of feeding, eating and drinking difficulties (referred to as dysphagia) within a paediatric population from a speech and language therapy (SLT) perspective.

Very few studies examine current SLT practice with this population. In the absence of research specific to the needs of children with congenital disorders, there are approaches being used by SLTs without a full rationale for their use and there is persistence in using therapy approaches that might not be beneficial for a child (Harding & Cockerill, 2014). Key themes present throughout this work include understanding the neurological and physiological underpinnings to an approach; being clear about a therapy rationale; creating therapy methods that consider the capacity of children who are neurologically and learning disabled and their caregivers and integrating communication more clearly into the management of dysphagia.

The studies presented include: i) small case studies describing observations and analysis of communication during typical mealtimes; collaborative therapy programmes specifying strategies and sessions for use of Alternative and Augmentative communication (AAC); evaluation of a therapy programme to reduce aversion to tube feeding; ii) data on use of a straw to evaluate and record changes over age and gender; iii)evaluation of an SLT intervention to train staff within a special school ; iv)a pilot study and RCT investigating the use of non-nutritive sucking (NNS) to wean premature infants off tube feeding onto full oral feeding, and iv) case reports on use of NNS with infants with congenital disorders and the relationship between feeding difficulties and speech development. The studies presented contribute to the evidence base for SLT in a number of ways including describing and evaluating current practice and techniques through case studies and measuring the effectiveness of a SLT protocol through an RCT. The case studies highlight: the importance of checking the knowledge, skills and training of significant others in delivering therapy interventions, the importance of working collaboratively, specifying components of therapy programmes and time needed to implement them, and the importance of communication in its broadest sense within a meal time context. The non–nutritive sucking (NNS) RCT found that children in the intervention groups were able to leave hospital significantly sooner than in the control groups. However, unlike many other studies there was no difference in the time taken to be able to feed orally.

There are a number of methodological issues to consider in evaluating the studies. The issues arising from conducting research within a complex clinical environment are discussed in Chapter 5. These complexities include using significant others to deliver therapy programmes, accurate understanding and descriptions of the premature population, the inclusion and exclusion criteria for studies, and consideration of infants with congenital and neurodevelopmental needs. The needs of and difference between parents are also considered. Evaluation of results also needs to take into account the paucity of tools to measure infants' skills both by SLTs and parents and other professionals. Recommendations are made for future research. These include more studies to investigate accurate interpretation of infant states, improved descriptions and subsequent stratifications of infant participants; repetition of the RCT with larger sample and in range of settings, inclusion of follow up to 24 months with added measurements of feeding and language skills. The thesis papers also suggest more focus in future studies on the role of communication as a tool to manage risk within mealtimes.


The Recursive Auto-Associative Memory (RAAM) has come to dominate connectionist investigations into representing compositional structure. Although an adequate model when dealing with limited data, the capacity of RAAM to scale-up to real-world tasks has been frequently questioned. RAAM networks are difficult to train (due to the moving target effect) and as such training times can be lengthy. Investigations into RAAM have produced many variants in an attempt to overcome such limitations. We outline how one such model ((S)RAAM) is able to quickly produce context-sensitive representations that may be used to aid a deterministic parsing process. By substituting a symbolic stack in an existing hybrid parser, we show that (S)RAAM is more than capable of encoding the real-world data sets employed. We conclude by suggesting that models such as (S)RAAM offer valuable insights into the features of connectionist compositional representations.


Objective: Social support is an important element of family medicine within a primary care setting, delivered by general practitioners and practice nurses in addition to usual clinical care. The aim of the study was to explore general practitioner's, practice nurse's and people with type 2 diabetes' views, experiences and perspectives of the importance of social support in caring for people with type 2 diabetes and their role in providing social support. Methods: Interviews with general practitioners (n=10) and focus groups with practice nurses (n=10) and people with diabetes (n=9). All data were audio-recorded, fully transcribed and thematically analysed using qualitative content analysis by Mayring. Results: All participants emphasized the importance of the concept of social support and its impacts on well-being of people with type 2 diabetes. Social support is perceived helpful for people with diabetes in order to improve diabetes control and give support for changes in lifestyle habits (physical activity and dietary changes). General practitioners identified a lack of information about facilities in the community like sports or self-help groups. Practice nurses emphasized that they need more training, such as in dietary counselling. Conclusions: Social support given by general practitioners and practice nurses plays a crucial role for people with type 2 diabetes and is an additional component of social care. However there is a need for an increased awareness by general practitioners and practice nurses about the influence social support could have on the individual's diabetes management.


Over the last decade or so, wavelets have had a growing impact on signal processing theory and practice, both because of the unifying role and their successes in applications. Filter banks, which lie at the heart of wavelet-based algorithms, have become standard signal processing operators, used routinely in applications ranging from compression to modems. The contributions of wavelets have often been in the subtle interplay between discrete-time and continuous-time signal processing. The purpose of this article is to look at wavelet advances from a signal processing perspective. In particular, approximation results are reviewed, and the implication on compression algorithms is discussed. New constructions and open problems are also addressed.


Filaments are very common physical phenomena on the Sun and are often taken as important proxies of solar magnetic activities. The study of filaments has become a hot topic in the space weather research. For a more comprehensive understanding of filaments, especially for an understanding of solar activities of multiple solar cycles, it is necessary to perform a combined multifeature analysis by constructing a data set of multiple solar cycle data. To achieve this goal, we constructed a centennial data set that covers the Hα data from five observatories around the world. During the data set construction, we encountered varieties of problems, such as data fusion, accurate determination of the solar edge, classifying data by quality, dynamic threshold, and so on, which arose mainly due to multiple sources and a large time span of data. But fortunately, these problems were well solved. The data set includes seven types of data products and eight types of feature parameters with which we can implement the functions of data searching and statistical analyses. It has the characteristics of better continuity and highly complementary to space observation data, especially in the wavelengths not covered by space observations, and covers many solar cycles (including more than 60 yr of high-cadence data). We expect that this new comprehensive data set as well as the tools will help researchers to significantly speed up their search for features or events of interest, for either statistical or case study purposes, and possibly help them get a better and more comprehensive understanding of solar filament mechanisms.


The key technical contribution of this chapter is in proposing a fair identification protocol for reading the IDs of all tags in an RFID tag population such that the number of transmissions per tag are equal. The key technical depth of this chapter is in the mathematical development of the theory that FRIP is based upon. The solid theoretical underpinning of FRIP ensures that the actual fairness that it achieves is greater than or equal to the required fairness. We have developed a novel technique that FRIP uses to execute large frame sizes to ensure compliance with the C1G2 standard. We have presented a comprehensive evaluation of FRIP and its side-by-side comparisons with nine major prior tag identification protocols. Our experimental results show that FRIP significantly outperforms all prior identification protocols, even those that are not C1G2 compliant, for not only the fairness but also the metrics such as number of transmissions per tag and power consumption.


Although retribution for past human rights violations has its place in post-conflict processes of transition and reconciliation, there are many present and foreseeable circumstances in which the case for immunity, amnesty, or sheer forbearance is significantly stronger than Juan E. Méndez' approach to this question can admit. Disagreement about justice is an ineradicable part of political life and a leading cause of violent conflict. Reconciliation cannot always presuppose or await a shared moral understanding; frequently enough, it requires an agreement to disagree, even about fundamental principles – at least with respect to their retrospective application. Where the parties to violent conflict have seen fit to set aside issues of retrospective justice in the service of peace and reconciliation, outsiders, who do not bear the costs of conflict and instability, should second-guess that decision only with the greatest reluctance. They should not look to international human rights standards and mechanisms for a universal solution.


Occupational and environmental health is the public health and multidisciplinary approach to the recognition, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control of disease, injuries, and other adverse health conditions resulting from hazardous environmental exposures in the workplace, the home, or the community. These are essential elements of public health practice and a core of the curriculum in the schools of public health. Thoroughly updated and expanded upon, the sixth edition of Occupational and Environmental Health provides comprehensive coverage and a clear understanding of occupational and environmental health and its relationships to public health, environmental science, and governmental policy. New chapters include Toxicology; The Roles of Government and International Organizations; and Risk Communication in Workplaces and Communities. The authors also expand on chapters included in previous chapters, and the book features practical case studies, numerous tables, graphs, and photos, and annotated bibliographies. Reviews for previous editions: "This text goes a long way in meeting the need for a brief overview of the entire field. The quality of writing is in general excellent, and this is a physically attractive book. Chapters are concise and to the point. The use of illustrative cases in many of the chapters is a definite plus. This an excellent book and a mainstay for introductory courses in the field."-The American Journal of Industrial Medicine "It achieves a good blend of practical application, together with the elements of the supporting sciences, such as toxicology and epidemiology, as well the social context. It is a useful text to inform and support day-to-day practice, to educate students, and to help with examinations. If I had not received a reviewer's copy, i would have bought the book out of my own pocket."-Occupational and Environmental Medicine "The book is geared primarily to medical personnel and professionals, but it contains many chapters that would be of use to nearly everyone. It is a delight to read."-Journal of Community Health


Static stability in strategic games differs from dynamic stability in only considering the players' incentives to change their strategies. It does not rely on any assumptions about the players' reactions to these incentives and it is thus not linked with any particular dynamics. This paper presents a general notion of static stability of strategies in symmetric N-player games and population games, of which evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) and continuously stable strategy (CSS) are essentially special cases. Unlike them, the proposed stability concept does not depend on the existence of special structures in the game such as multilinear payoff functions or unidimensional strategy spaces. JEL Classification: C72.


This paper narrates the changes in the Indian policy towards foreign investment and analyses them in the backdrop of overall changes in the field of international law and particularly within the framework of the international rule of law. The policy changes that have taken place in India can be categorised into three periods. The first period commences after independence from colonial rule. This period is intriguing. At the international level, India insisted on national treatment for foreign investment and supported the New International Economic Order. Domestically, however, nationalisation was not pursued, and even when pursued, was not applied to foreign investors. This period continued until the 1990s when India faced serious economic problems and this coincided with the high point of the Washington consensus, often seen as the rise of the international rule of law. During this time, national treatment was abandoned and innumerable investment treaties granting liberal protection were entered into. This process ended abruptly after India lost the first investment case. This turn of events comments the third period, where efforts were made towards balancing between investor protection and conserving regulatory freedom. Although this period may appear to be a decline of the international rule of law, a nuanced approach shows that it is rather a rise. India has not withdrawn from the system of investor protection, as has been done by some other States. This period is characterised by extensive and detailed treaties to replace the prior sketchy treaty provisions. This is a move towards a more rule based investment protection.


Ireland, Philadelphia and the Re-Invention of America, 1760-1800. By Maurice J. Brie. (Portland, OR: Four Courts Press, 2008. Pp. xix, 363. Cloth, $65.00.)John Wilkes: The Scandalous Father of Civil Liberty. By Arthur H. Cash. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006. Pp. xiii, 482. Illustrations. Cloth, $37.50.)Reviewed by Andrew ShankmanSome momentous developments occurred during the last third of the eighteenth century, and John Wilkes was certainly part of them. Arthur Cash has written an enjoyable biography of the libertine, civil libertarian, and popular symbol of protest. Cash's treatment seeks to remind those who might have forgotten that Wilkes was the eighteenth century's principal champion of free speech and a free press and the primary reason for the end of general warrants, warrants for arrest that did not need to name the parties charged. Cash's book, in part, seeks to explain how a Whig functionary became "In May 1763 . . . what in English history is called a radical" (118).Cash re-creates the bizarre, self-indulgent, and usually scatological circles in which Wilkes was happiest. These circles included leading lords, gentlemen, and cultural luminaries such as Diderot, Dr. Johnson and Boswell, Smollett, Garrick, and Hogarth. One of the pleasures of the book is to keep track of the household and near-household names Wilkes knew. Assuming that readers of the J ER know why Wilkes matters - and probably give a lecture about every other year in which liberty-loving colonists eat 45 dishes at public dinners and drink 45 toasts from bowls weighing 45 ounces - let me suggest some thoughts that will also lead to Maurice Bric's treatment of Irish immigrants and radical politics in late eighteenth-century Philadelphia.A bit too often, Cash presents Wilkes as the agent of Whiggish progress: "Since the time of Charles II," he writes, "the whole of political activity had been the contest for control of the state between the king and his ministers on the one side and the privileged gentlemen of Parliament on the other. Now the common folk had entered into the play" (162). And Cash quotes with full approval from a 1963 study: "The transference of political authority from government and law to the people and law may be dated from the cases revolving about North Briton" (133). In fact, it's more interesting to see Wilkes's escapades hearkening simultaneously forward and backward. To be sure, Wilkes became a symbol for radicals and reformers because subjects of Britain's limited constitutional monarchy expected a great deal more than pre- 1688 subjects did. In addition, eighteenth-century print culture and its robust public sphere provided Wilkes with the opportunity to act as something of an independent agent stirring the waters to better his position and challenge authority. Wilkes could be Wilkes in large part because of the modern opportunities available to private men to speak directly to the public and to chase popularity.But Wilkes was also a minor Whig and creature of Pitt/Chatham. Pitt and Wilkes's more immediate patrons, such as Earl Temple, could use him to say things in the North Briton that they wanted said, but that were inconvenient for them to say about the king and His Majesty's intimates. In starting the North Briton, Wilkes operated in a venerable tradition occupied by royal critics such as the Elizabethan pamphleteer John Stubbs, who protested the Anjou Match on behalf of leading privy councilors. How unique was Wilkes when as far back as the 1580s members of Parliament and Lords Mayor of London (a position Wilkes eventually occupied) led, at the secret behest of crown advisors, violent protests against the embassies of Catholic monarchies? Even Protector Somerset knew the advantages of popularity and appeals to angry crowds and tried to deploy some of the riots often called Kett's Rebellion to awe rivals at court. Pamphleteers and rowdy crowds were, in complex and not unambiguously edifying ways, part of nobles' and gentlemen's high politics for far longer than Cash allows. …


Before beginning my job as a tutor at Western Kentucky University's
Writing Center, I worried about issues that I would later learn were common
to first-time tutors: Would I have the ability and the knowledge to help students
with their writing? I knew that writing centers typically employed graduate
students, and being an undergraduate, I was reasonably uncertain of my
capabilities. I had minimal experience tutoring peers, let alone ESL students.
Despite my insecurities, I quickly found that students were generally willing to
take my advice and work with me. Clearly, by making a session a collaborative
effort, both the student and I experience mutual learning. Looking back, I've
realized that my co-workers had similar concerns and that we were learning
together. However, despite all of us being "in the same boat," there was one
dividing factor between us–gender.


The stream cipher FOUNTAIN was introduced in April 2019 as one of the candidates in the NIST lightweight crypto standardization process. In this paper we introduce a slide attack that leads to the construction of 32 relations on key bits, with time complexity around 17 × 2. The success of the attack is around 98%. We also present some properties of the internal state transitions that allow the identification of (key-iv-ad) input data that produce identical ciphertexts, with probability of 2.


Non-loadbearing masonry walls, have a considerable capacity, from the fire perspective, to isolate part of the building's interior from flames, heat and the effect of smoke. This research focuses on quantifying the fire resistance of non-loadbearing masonry walls subjected to elevated temperatures. Masonry walls constructed with different joint profiles, material properties as well as geometries have been considered. The fire resistance of the walls under each category has been analyzed using a finite element model and compared with experimental fire resistance tests. The numerical model correlates with the experimental tests results. In terms of concrete masonry, novel lightweight made of 45% recycled glass and 10% metakaolin produced the highest fire resistance of 172 minutes, approximately 27 and 50 minutes greater than conventional lightweight and normal weight concrete masonry respectively. Rock wool, used as an insert in conventional normal weight concrete masonry walls produced the highest fire resistance of 185 minutes


This study is about the continual stride between 1860 and 2010 amongst the various interest groups involved with what the city of The Hague should look like. The thesis of the study states that the fragmented image that people in the city have or experience is the result of the wide variety of urban ensembles and public buildings, whether or not they are crowded together or even completed, that were successively presented and implemented by the interest groups involved. Stakeholders such as national and local politicians, the royal family, banks, industrialists, housing corporations, developers, architects, urban planners, and organizations of critical citizens have always been in conflict about what public buildings or iconic urban compositions should look like. With the best of intentions each group wants to shape the city with public buildings and urban compositions in their own way and the urge to achieve this is always playing a role in the background. It is as if the city is being stripped of space, movement, and time and that only the image of the city is what counts, an image that is endlessly being reproduced in the media to influence the public opinion. The scramble over the Spuiforum is just the latest affair in a long series of incidents in The Hague. The hardhearted efforts of those involved to create one balanced townscape has only delivered more fragmented images, yet perhaps this is the city's greatest quality.

It seems like just about everyone has been occupied with the Spuiforum since 2009 to the present. The battle between supporters and opponents has been going on for years. The media critics are always there looking for the next scandal, finding fault with motives that may not always be clear. However, as intense as the conflict appears now, it will soon be forgotten. Who remembers the conflict over the Willemspark or the Peace Palace? The numerous conflicts around the sea resort Scheveningen? The battles over urban renewal, the haggling around the competition for the House of Representatives or the rivalry and troubles around the The Hague City Hall? The Eurojust (The European Union's Judicial Cooperation Unit)? The International Criminal Court? Such stormy conflicts arise and no sooner ebb away again, often into silent oblivion. And still, in most cases, the construction of the urban image is executed as planned, though often partially. Even more, the conflicts are of importance because they reveal how people experience the city and want to see it. Cracks in society are bluntly exposed this way. For example, the most monumental gateway in The Hague is that of the The Hague Police Precinct built in the 1950's, which faces the rear side of The Hague's progressive party's flagship (1986-1989), the residential complex designed by Ricardo Bofill with parking access, garbage containers, and other utilities. A good observer can see the many contradictions of society mirrored in this situation in the city.

The object of this study is to examine the image of the city and the conflicts pertaining to it. The image of the city, also referred to here as the city image, has become particularly popular in recent years. This is due in part to the new position of cities in the global urbanization process, whereby cities have become competitors and moreover, new opportunities for cities to present themselves worldwide result from the revolution in communication technology and digitization. The research shows that the city image, despite its elusiveness and fluidity, played an imperative role in the genesis of the city far earlier. Churchill's statement 'we formed our cities and the cities formed us' could be broadened to: 'we imagined our cities and that image formed us.'

Nancy Stieber (2006) gave in the book de STAD (2006) an insightful analysis on the relationship between images and the city. The city is conceptualized as a metaphor. According to her, that is one of the transformations of the urban fabric might undergo in our minds. She distinguishes three categories: the image of the city, the imagined city, and the imaginary city. The image of the city is the idea that is composed by individuals or groups: a creation that is triggered from experience of the city in the mind or a concept based on the actual city itself. The imagined city is the virtual arena conceived by artists, architects, city planners, marketers, and others through art, film, literature, music, advertising, architecture, and urban designs. This idea is certainly related to the first category, but here the focus is on the representation of the city by specialists that are making the presentations to convince people of the value and significance of an urban composition or public building. In this sense, the producers of the images are crucial since, after all, who needs to be convinced of which statement? Using a caricature on Berlage's Amsterdam South, Stieber demonstrated that the categories are inseparable and all three are about metaphors of the city. 'The city between the ears', as noted by the geographer and urban marketing specialist Gertjan Hosper (2010).

The goal of this study is to discover and describe consecutive city images of The Hague and the conflicts associated with them between 1860 and 2010, as well as to determine for whom, with what motive and background these city images were developed, where, in how far, and if these consecutive city images were realized, what the conflicts were about, and why the often unfinished images disappeared again, which resulted in the current fragmented image of the city. The human activities that take place in the buildings and surroundings, no matter how significant, were left out of the study for practical reasons. Every case study is of a dominant city image from a certain period. The central context is the relation between 'the city between the ears', the actual built city, and the many conflicts pertaining to that image. Each image will be analyzed in this study on the basis of iconic ensembles in the urban setting. The urban ensemble is iconic if it has been part of a public debate. It is unraveled by way of three aspects: the motives for and against of those involved, the shape of the urban space, and the architecture of the buildings.

This study inevitably comprises multi-disciplinary research. Results of research on the morphology, typology, imagery, and historical sources are associated to each other. Aspects like urban space, development, and motives of stakeholders concerning the appearance of the locations are compared and present a new light. It's not the knowledge acquired about the cause, a condition or situation from the past that is central to the study like in the research of a historian, but the knowledge gathered about the exchange between image and reality during a certain time frame. Throughout the case studies on particular urban ensembles, cross references are made between the histories of architecture, town planning, and politics and the social reality. The case studies chosen to prove the above mentioned thesis led to the following conclusions.

The fragmented look of The Hague was directly caused by debates on the image of the city. Images of a city are a kind of visual or esthetic category that cannot be sharply defined but rather have something intangible and are fluid. Only at the project level can images be bright and clear. All of the city images were found to run a certain course in time of no longer than a 20 to 30 year time span. The image of the city is not always visually homogenous or in one particular style, but can instead be diverse. It also tends to bind places together that are distant, such as typical Dutch cauliflower neighborhoods from the 70's, which can be found throughout the country. City images can also unite local and international aspects of the city and are more successful and domineering when there is a high development rate. In this respect, there are some large gaps in the historical context, blank areas where there was hardly any building development going on. There is always a motive behind the city image: the spontaneous city is fictitious. However, the motive is often forgotten whereby people wonder later on about the consistency between urban space, development, and the imagery that was used in the development process. As townscapes appear with new city images, they seem inadaptable. They are destructive and intolerant towards their predecessors, especially when those images rise within the existing city. It is normal to demolish an area to a build new ideal. The role of the stakeholders like architects, urban designers, and officials is highly overrated. It is the synergy between them and the context that is crucial. The city image plays a unifying and sometimes persistent role under these conditions, reminding us: the city, that's us.

On the basis of the study on the image of the city it is possible to draw the map of a city differently, precisely because that way the differences between cities become apparent.


The systematics of the enigmatic and rather uncommon species of Sea Hayward and Cybdelis Boisduval is assessed through morphological and molecular analyses. The aim of this paper is three‐fold: (i) to ascertain the phylogenetic position of Sea and Cybdelis in Biblidinae; (ii) to determine the evolutionary relationships among species of Sea and Cybdelis; and (iii) to review the taxonomy of Sea and Cybdelis. The result of the molecular analysis recovers Sea sister to Cybdelis, and this clade sister to Eubagina (sensu Lamas, ), rendering Epicaliina (sensu Lamas, ) paraphyletic. A new tribe, Cybdelini trib.n. is erected to include Sea and Cybdelis; the other genera formerly included in Epicaliina (sensu Lamas, ), Eunica Hübner and Sevenia Koçak are assigned to Eunicini trib.rest., and the remaining genera of Biblidinae to other previously recognized tribes, similar to those implicitly proposed by Wahlberg et al. ( ). The morphological analysis recovers similar results and the following relationships among species of Cybdelis: C. phaesyla (Hübner) (C. boliviana Salvin (C. mnasylus Doubleday (C. petronita Burmeister stat.rest. + C. thrasylla C. Felder & R. Felder stat.rest.))). Sea and Cybdelis are recognized as distinct genera; a new subspecies, S. sophronia jenkinsi Dias, Siewert & Freitas ssp.n., distributed from Venezuela to Bolivia along the Andes eastern foothills, is described; and C. petronita and C. thrasylla are accepted as valid species. Lectotypes for C. boliviana, C. peruviana Staudinger, C. mnasylus, C. thrasylla, C. petronita and C. mnasylus var. meridionalis Hall and a neotype for Vanessa sophronia Godart are designated. Additionally, dichotomous keys and distribution maps to all taxa are provided; male genitalia and hypandria are illustrated for all species; generic characters of the head, labial palpi and legs are illustrated; immature stages of some species also are figured.


Production costs and breakeven prices were calculated for four energy crops plus corn stover. The energy crop breakeven prices were calculated under two different scenarios regarding land costs and the opportunity costs of not utilizing the land for some other competing land use. One scenario is that the competing land use is pasture. The other is that the energy crops would compete with grain crops on more expensive land, and would need to provide a return over land costs equal to returns on the grain crops. Corn stover would be the cheapest of the energy biomass sources considered, at $50/ton to cover the additional machinery costs to shred, rake, bale, and transport 25 miles to a processing plant. Aside from stover, a grassland crop under high fertilization with a 4-ton yield has the lowest cost at $77/ton of dry matter. A grassland crop under low fertilization with a 2-ton yield but a longer stand life has the highest cost at $110/ton. Hybrid poplar comes in at $81/ton. Willow is at an early stage of development in Minnesota, but it would be the cheapest energy crop at $72/ton if it achieves a 5-ton yield with a 23-year stand life that has been reported in New York. These costs are based on the pasture land rental rate of $40/acre. The more expensive grain crop land translates directly into higher energy crop breakeven prices which are also presented in the paper.


Art and sport tend to be regarded as very dissimilar areas of human endeavour. Yet, the excellence of human achievement attained in both fields promotes a similarity of consideration that suggests a degree of commonality in the respective methodologies of scholars working on the history of art and the history of sport. A particular sensitivity for sport historians has involved wanting to appear to be doing more than telling stories about great sportspeople and sporting contests. While this is an understandable concern, sport historians risk engaging in something other than 'sport history' if they allow anxiety to compromise the discussion of their core subject matter. The history of the history of art reveals a related tension over the existence of a canon of great artists. This tension has not been, and need not be, resolved. Sport historians do well to consider its negotiation as they think through ways to enhance their own modi operandi.


The catastrophic economic, social and political crisis of our time calls for a new and original critique of political economy - a rethinking of Marx's project in the very different conditions of twenty-first century capitalism.

Stiegler argues that today the proletarian must be reconceptualized as the economic agent whose knowledge and memory are confiscated by machines. This new sense of the term 'proletarian' is best understood by reference to Plato's critique of exteriorized memory. By bringing together Plato and Marx, Stiegler can show how a generalized proletarianization now encompasses not only the muscular system, as Marx saw it, but also the nervous system of the so-called creative workers in the information industries. The proletarians of the former are deprived of their practical know-how, whereas the latter are shorn of their theoretical practice, and both suffer from a confiscation of the very possibility of a genuine art of living.

But the mechanisms at work in this new and accentuated form of proletarianization are the very mechanisms that may spur a reversal of the process. Such a reversal would imply a crucial distinction between one's life work, originating in otium (leisure devoted to the techniques of the self), and the job, consisting in a negotium (the negotiation and calculation, increasingly restricted to short-term expectations), leading to the necessity of a new conception of economic value.

This short text offers an excellent introduction to Stiegler's work while at the same time representing a political call to arms in the face of a deepening economic and social crisis.