Antitrust litigation often confronts situations where effects point in both directions. Judges sometimes describe the process of evaluating these factors as "balancing." In its e-Books decision the Second Circuit believed that the need to balance is what justifies application of the rule of reason. In Microsoft the D.C. Circuit stated that "courts routinely apply a…balancing approach" under which "the plaintiff must demonstrate that the anticompetitive harm…outweighs the procompetitive benefit." But then it decided the case without balancing anything. The term "balancing" is a very poor label for what courts actually do in these cases. Balancing requires that two offsetting effects can each be measured against each other by some common cardinal unit, such as dollars or tons or centimeters. The factors that courts consider under the rule of reason rarely lend themselves to such measurement. Instead, balancing approaches are usually "binary" rather than cardinal. They are more like off and on switches that go in one direction or the other. The Ninth Circuit's decision in O'Bannon v. NCAA understood these limitations and performed balancing the way it should be done. In defending its compensation rules the court observed both the NCAA's and the courts' longstanding recognition of amateurism in collegiate athletics as requiring uncompensated play. This created a binary rule that a court could readily follow. The district court's creation of a trust fund for deferred compensation and judicial determination of the payout was simply price regulation by another name. One place where a more cardinal form of balancing can work is merger analysis, particularly under the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines. The government's prima facie challenge to a merger is based on a prediction of increased prices. If the test is met then the burden shifts to the defendant to show merger specific efficiencies of sufficient magnitude to reduce the predicted price to no higher than premerger levels. Stating consumer price increases as the principal concern creates a unit of measure that makes balancing at least conceptually possible. Second, the consumer price test articulated in the Guidelines is easier to administer than a general welfare test. In order to estimate general welfare effects one must be able to quantify consumer harm, which includes not only higher prices but also deadweight loss. This requires information about the shape of the demand curve. In addition, offsetting efficiencies must always be assessed and netted out. This requires a court to look not only at per unit cost savings, but also at the output over which those costs will be spread. Whether the Merger Guidelines more cardinal approach to balancing can be migrated to general antitrust litigation under the rule of reason depends on the challenged practice. Joint ventures with efficiency potential but threatening higher prices from collusion are a likely candidate. Practices that threaten exclusion will be more difficult to evaluate. Practices whose consequences show up in the longer run will be particularly difficult, as well as practices for which the defense has little to do with measurable prices.


Fluidized bed bioreactors (FBRs) are frequently used for the treatment of gasoline contaminated groundwater. Due to changes in gasoline formulations in the last decade, gasoline contaminated groundwater may also contain significant quantities of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), a recalcitrant gasoline additive. It has been shown that MTBE is biodegradable and there is interest in determining if MTBE contaminated groundwater can be biologically treated using FBR technology. We examined the biodegradation of MTBE in FBRs treating contaminated groundwater and establish that there was an inverse correlation between total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) loading and MTBE treatment efficiency. Follow-up laboratory studies demonstrated that toluene, a component of TPH, is a strong Inhibitor of MTBE biotreatment in FBRs.


Private sector rehabilitation counsellors operate in a dynamic and complex environment in
which their decisions are influenced by several stakeholder interests including workers'
compensation authority regulators, scheme appointed agents, employers, and injured workers.
The potentially competing interests of all parties often challenge the values and professional
responsibilities of rehabilitation counsellors. The current study aimed to address the gap
identified in the literature concerning ethical dilemmas unique to private sector rehabilitation
counselling in Australia. A qualitative methodology was adopted to examine: a) the types of
ethical dilemmas most encountered by rehabilitation counsellors working in the context of
private sector settings; and b) rehabilitation counsellors' preferred methods for resolving
ethical dilemmas in this context. Findings revealed that rehabilitation counsellors interviewed
had experienced an array of ethical dilemmas in their practice, reflecting some of the inherent
challenges in Australia's private rehabilitation sector. The findings have implications for the
ethics education and professional development of rehabilitation counsellors, and provide a
foundation for future ethics research in rehabilitation counselling.


The surface environmental changes were reconstructed in the lower reaches of the Kizu River, Kyoto, Japan using numerous borehole data. Four fluvial channels formed by lacustrine delta progradation at ca. 0–10m depth in the lower reaches of the Kizu River were clarified based on a subsurface geological analysis. These channels flowed toward the paleo-Ogura Lake and diverged to the north with the gradient decreased. The lacustrine delta systems were formed from the post–glacial period to the end of the 16th century. The new bedload–dominated rivers with crevasse splay system developed by the reduction in the lake area of the Ogura Lake due to artificial changes such as bank construction and shifting of river channels since the end of 16th century.


RBMS-01, a quinoline derivative is a novel dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP4) inhibitor was reported. We have identified this DPP-IV inhibitor in silico as an anti-diabetic agent, the mechanism reveals that the quinoline derivative increases the DPP4 function by degrading GLP-1 activity. Further, the study revealed by replacing the quinoline substitution on the various compounds in a more polar group, these compound shows not only enhancing the binding and functional activity of DPP4, also significantly shows the hERG inhibitory activities. Here, it reveals that the library of compounds constructed based on heterocyclic ring and performed docking using GLIDE, in an order with inhibition scores and compared with already existing drugs. An active site of these compounds was determined termed as the lead molecule, the molecule formula is, 6,7,8,9-Tetrahydro-2H-11-oxa- 2,4,10-triaza-benzo(b)fluoren-1-one, (RBMS-01) emerged as a potent, DPP4 inhibitor that displayed. The pharmacophoric analysis also shows that the novel inhibitor have better activity than the other inhibitors.


A ytterbium-doped silica microcavity laser demonstrates stable laser emission while completely submerged in water. To our knowledge, it is the first solid-state laser whose cavity mode interacts with water. The device generates more than 2 microW of output power. The laser performance is presented, and low-concentration biosensing is discussed as a potential application.


This article catalogues and interprets an underexplored body of Greek and Roman narratives of animals who fall in love with humans. These narratives, unlike myths and fables, purport to tell of events which occur in the real world of their day; they are stories of desire ( eros ), but not of copulation; and their configurations of desire are characteristically Greco-Roman (the desiring animal is almost always male, and the human object of his desire is a woman or a young man explicitly or implicitly described as beautiful). With their anthropocentric and hierarchically configured models of desire, and their emphasis on the impossibility of fulfillment, these narratives illustrate some lasting Western perspectives on the relationship between animals and humans and on desire itself. Some Native American narratives of animal-human love, emphasizing relationship and kinship, stand in suggestive contrast.


Crystallization from solution and melt is increasingly important method for separation and purification process in wide varieties of industries such as pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical crystallization specifically involves drugs of a high degree of
chemical complexity. To date, sugar based-drug cocrystal produced either in melt or solution involving alpha-lactose monohydrate is yet to be reported. Thus, possibility of formation of alpha-lactose monohydrate-racemic ibuprofen cocrystal either in
solution or melt is not known. This study is conducted to analyze the formation of product crystals recovered from PEG 300 solutions containing alpha-lactose monohydrate, racemic ibuprofen; and the possibility of cocrystal formation of product
crystals from alpha-lactose monohydrate/racemic ibuprofen system in solution via polyethylene glycol 300 aqueous solution and in melt via physical mixtures. The objective of this thesis to determine the solid state properties and possible formation
of cocrystals on product crystals grown via trial and error method, melted physical mixtures and melted granules. Possible crystal morphology and formation of cocrystal is simulated using molecular modelling.The morphological prediction in vacuum
using suitable force fields and hence surface chemistry of alpha-lactose monohydrate and racemic ibuprofen was carried out first as preparation for cocrystal prediction. The cocrystal prediction or binding between alpha-lactose monohydrate and racemic ibuprofen was checked on its availability of mutual formation of hydrogen bond. The predicted lattice energy of alpha-lactose monohydrate and racemic ibuprofen was in agreement with the experimental lattice energy with percentage errors of 3.9 % and
0.02%, respectively. The morphology of alpha-lactose monohydrate is predicted to be elongated hexagonal, similarly found when alpha-lactose monohydrate was grown in PEG 300 solutions. However, the predicted morphology of racemic ibuprofen contradicted with the experimental ones. It was found that the lattice energy of alphalactose monohydrate was dominated by the weak van der Waals force, so did racemic
ibuprofen. All alpha-lactose monohydrate surfaces or facets were tested by modelling the binding of racemic ibuprofen onto the surfaces. Successful binding prediction of five facets by surface docking method proved that racemic ibuprofen was capable to
attach to certain facets of alpha-lactose monohydrate. This occurred by alpha-lactose monohydrate layers accepting hydrogen and oxygen atoms of racemic ibuprofen, thus forming co-crystal. Results of powder FTIR, DSC and XRD on melted granules, melted physical mixtures and crystals grown from PEG 300 solutions containing racemic ibuprofen and alpha-lactose monohydrate, respectively indicated that the substance was not co-crystal within this scope of experimental study


Contract law's liquidated damage rules prevent enforcement of contractual damage measures that require the promisor, if it breaches, to transfer to the promisee a sum that exceeds the net gain the promisee expected to make from performance; but these rules permit the promisor to transfer less than the promisee's expectation. We define a contractual damage multiplier as any number between zero and infinity by which the promisee's expected gain -- its expectation interest -- is multiplied. Multipliers of one or less thus comply with the liquidated damage rules while multipliers that exceed one do not; the high multipliers are unenforceable penalties. This paper shows that multipliers of any size can be efficient or inefficient, depending on the parties' purposes in creating them. For example, a multiplier that exceeds one will decrease welfare if used by a seller with market power to deter entry; but will increase welfare if used by parties to induce efficient relation specific investment. As a consequence, a court should inquire, not into the size of the multiplier, but into the purpose the multiplier serves for the parties. The practical implication of this view is that it no longer should be a sufficient defense to an action to enforce a contractual damage measure that the parties' multiplier exceeded one.


Rapid internationalization of European higher education has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of English-medium instruction (EMI) degree programs now implemented at all levels of instruction. While this change of medium provides increased academic opportunities for all university stakeholders, the use of English by non-native speakers for teaching and learning in non-Anglosphere countries necessitates consideration of the ramifications of EMI. This study was motivated by the growing discussion of the challenges of English-medium instruction confronting lecturers for whom English is a foreign language. This case study investigated how 10 experienced lecturers in the natural sciences at the University of Copenhagen define their own teacher identity, and, their perceptions of any effects on their identity when shifting from Danish-medium instruction to English-medium instruction. This study utilized a multi-method approach to allow fuller access into the teachers' cognitions, and to overcome the weaknesses that arise from the use of self-report surveys to collect thoughts and perceptions. This approach comprised classroom observation of graduate level lectures, stimulated recall of these teaching events, and individual semi-structured interviews with the lecturers. The observations and stimulated recall served as a scaffold on which the interviews were built. In addition to questions directly focused on identity, the interviews also included two card sorting activities as elicitation devices. The analysis drew on the lecturers' comments and concerns related specifically to their underlying teacher cognitions about professional expertise, professional authority, and professional identity when teaching outside one's mother tongue in a multicultural, multilingual graduate setting. The results provide: 1) a model of teacher identity for lecturers in the natural sciences, 2) evidence that experienced NNS lecturers of natural science EMI do not find that the identified challenges of teaching in a foreign language affect their personal sense of teacher identify, and 3) reflections on teacher cognition studies. The lecturers highlight teaching experience and pedagogic content knowledge as factors that are at the core of their teacher identity. While the findings here report that these lecturers express confidence and security in the EMI context, the results also confirm the instructional and linguistic challenges identified in previous EMI research. This suggests that university managementneed to acknowledge these challenges, and develop and implement both linguistic and pedagogic competence training programs to support the needs of less experienced EMI lecturers.


The article presents findings from a research study which examined organisational barriers to innovation and co-creation experienced during course of action formation processes in military operational planning. We investigated both classroom and practical experiences of courses of action brainstorm development when conducted as outlined in the NATO Comprehensive Operations Planning Directive. In-depth interviews were conducted and combined with one observational case study that involved continual dialogue with central actors involved. The findings indicate that there can be substantial differences between ideal types of brainstorming and the actual brainstorm processes that unfold during course of action development in teaching as well as in real planning situations. The article coins the term brickstorm to capture elements of this process.


The Japanese noh theater has enjoyed a rich, continuous history dating back to the Muromachi period (1336-1573), when virtually the entire repertoire was written. Some of the finest plays were inspired by the eleventh-century masterpiece of court literature, The Tale of Genji. In this detailed study of fifteen noh plays based upon the Genji, Janet Goff looks at how the novel was understood and appreciated by Muromachi audiences. A work steeped in the court poetry, or waka, tradition, the Genji in turn provided a source of inspiration and allusion for later poets, who produced a variety of handbooks and digests on the work as an aid in composing poetry. Drawing on such sources from the Muromachi period, Goff shows how playwrights reflected contemporary attitudes toward the Genji, even as they transformed its material to suit the demands of the noh as a theatrical form. This book includes annotated translations of the plays, many of them appearing in English for the first time. The translations are preceded by essays covering the history of each play and its use of Genji material. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


This essay argues that the most profound implications of the Supreme Court's decision in Boumediene v. Bush may lie not in what it says about the place of law in the war on terror, but in what it reflects about the Supreme Court's altered conceptions of sovereignty, territoriality, and rights in the globalized world. Boumediene was groundbreaking in at least three respects. For the first time in its history, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a law enacted by Congress and signed by the president on an issue of military policy in a time of armed conflict. Also for the first time, the Court extended constitutional protections to noncitizens outside U.S. territory during wartime. And for only the third time in its history, the Court declared unconstitutional a law restricting federal court jurisdiction. The Court has traditionally sought to avoid such confrontations through the application of statutory interpretation, bending over backward to interpret statutes to preserve judicial review where it might be unconstitutional to deny such review. But the real significance of the decision may lie in what it portends for modern-day conceptions of sovereignty, territoriality, and rights. The Bush administration relied on old-fashioned conceptions of sovereignty and rights in arguing that habeas corpus jurisdiction did not extend to Guantanamo, and that federal courts should have no constitutionally recognized role there. The Court's decision, by contrast, reflects new understandings of these traditional conceptions, understandings that pierce the veil of sovereignty, reject formalist fictions of territoriality where the state exercises authority beyond its borders, and insist on the need for judicial review to safeguard the human rights of citizens and noncitizens alike. And while Boumediene may appear unprecedented from a domestic standpoint, it fits quite comfortably within an important transnational trend of recent years, in which courts of last resort have played an increasingly aggressive role in reviewing (and invalidating) security measures that trench on individual rights.


It is generally recognized that Michigan's agricultural base is among the most diversified in the nation. Producing more than fifty varieties of commodities, the industry as a whole contributes more than $15 billion in value added to the state's economy. And in terms of employment, it is estimated that one out of every eight of the state's workers are engaged in agriculturally related activities. In recent years, however, the viability of farming as a contributor to the state's economy has been threatened by a variety of sources. The use of lands for non-farm developments such as shopping centers and condominiums led to a yearly loss of an estimated 20,000 acres of prime farmland between the years 1977 and 1982. While such a conversion can be considered a natural consequence of an expanding economy, the most productive and ecologically fragile lands are often turned over first. Since the supply of these lands is finite and irreplaceable, their transformation can lead to increasing pressure on lands which remain in farming. And beyond the obvious loss of food production caused by non-farm development of USDA classified prime and unique lands, there has also been concern over the loss of scenic open space and the deterioration of wooded areas and wildlife, as well as a potential increase in surface water runoff in the areas affected. Poorly planned development affects both the general landscape as well as the viability of farming. The land buffer which is added by development to allow the continuation of farming can further accentuate this loss of farmland. Haphazard development often transforms the landscape from open space to urban sprawl. As the area become more intensively settled, property taxes typically rise as greater revenues are required for the provision of services such as sewers and water, schools, and police and fire protection. In response to farmer and public concern over the related problems of farmland loss and high property taxes, the State of Michigan in 1974 enacted Public Act 116, the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Act, which was primarily designed to diminish the loss of prime farmland that occurs in conjunction with the growth of urban sprawl. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact which the program has had on individual land use decision making in a growing metropolitan area-greater Lansing. Toward this end, it documents the response of these landowners, enrollees and non-enrollees, to the objectives of the program. Behavior based on factors not related to program incentives such as the age of the landowner, location, and development expectations is also considered. Also the effectiveness of the program in encouraging delays in non-farm development among individual landowners is closely examined.


Many legal scholars have characterized the international community's "responsibility to protect" as a moral or political ideal without a well-established foundation in international law. In this chapter, I argue that the legal character of the responsibility to protect cannot be so easily dismissed. The idea that individual states and the broader international community share responsibility for guaranteeing the security and basic rights of human beings can be traced back to international law's colonial-era origins, a time when Western nations rationalized their subjugation of indigenous peoples by casting themselves as benevolent "guardians" or "trustees" for humanity. Although the historical record suggests that colonial powers abused fiduciary rhetoric as a pretext for subjugating, exploiting, and even destroying indigenous communities, over time the continuing penetration and diffusion of fiduciary concepts has subtly redefined sovereignty itself as a form of legal authority that is entrusted to states as fiduciaries for the benefit of humanity. Under this fiduciary model of sovereignty, international law and international institutions are necessary to mediate the relationship between states and their people, ensuring that this relationship is not corrupted by domination or instrumentalization. When states flagrantly neglect their responsibility to protect their people from abuse or affirmatively violate the human rights of their people, international law entrusts the international community as a whole — acting primarily through the U.N. Security Council — with responsibility to intercede for the protection of oppressed peoples. Although the international community's responsibility to protect requires further institutional development, it constitutes an essential feature of international legal order.


Text-based passwords are still one of the main techniques to authenticate the users. Although a variety of measures (e.g. awareness activities, password-strength checkers, password-composition policies, etc.) are taken to prevent users from selecting weak passwords, the problem remains. A main factor that leads to weak passwords is the lack of awareness on what constitutes a strong password. Organizations should assess the users' ability to construct a strong password through the assessment of their password's strength, and taking into consideration the users' practices that are typically applied when selecting a password. In this way, organizations can be aware of the situation, that is, if their users follow good or bad password construction practices. Depending on the practice utilized, the organization's security level can be affected. Bad password construction practices can lead to weak passwords which can increase the risk of unauthorized access. Therefore, organizations should target for good practices to be utilized by their users in an effort to decrease the possibility of unauthorized access. A typical way to assess a password's strength is by trying to crack it using password cracking tools. An assessor, e.g. system administrator, requires a fair amount of knowledge on how password cracking tools operate and need to be configured. Also, it is essential to be aware of the bad practices that users typically utilize. Such knowledge is not always present. Furthermore, these tools and their respective graphical user interface, have not been designed with the objective of assessing the users' awareness level against bad password construction practices. This paper proposes a conceptual architecture to assist in designing a situation-aware user interface to assess users' ability to construct a password that is not easily crackable. An initial mock prototype has been developed to realize the proposed architecture and identify the main features of the user interface.


This book sheds light on the consumption of spiritual products, services, experiences, and places through state-of-the-art studies by leading and emerging scholars in interpretive consumer research, marketing, sociology, anthropology, cultural, and religious studies. The collection brings together fresh views and scholarship on a cultural tension that is at the centre of the lives of countless individuals living in postmodern societies: the relationship between the material and the spiritual, the sacred and the profane.

The book examines how a variety of agents – religious institutions, spiritual leaders, marketers and consumers – interact and co-create spiritual meanings in a post-disenchanted society that has been defined as a 'supermarket of the soul.' Consumption and Spirituality examines not only religious organizations, but also brands and marketers and the way they infuse their products, services and experiences with spiritual meanings that flow freely in the circuit of culture and can be appropriated by consumers even without purchase acts. From a consumer perspective, the book investigates how spiritual beliefs, practices, and experiences are now embedded into a global consumer culture. Rather than condemning consumption, the chapters in this book highlight consumers' agency and the creative processes through which authentic spiritual meanings are co-created from a variety of sources, local and global, and sacred and profane alike.


While the usual 1-D fuzzy logic has many successful applications, in some practical cases, it is desirable to come up with a more subtle way of representing expert uncertainty. A natural idea is to add additional information, i.e., to go from 1-D to 2-D (and multi-D) fuzzy logic. At present, there are two main approaches to 2-D fuzzy logic: interval-valued and complex-valued. At first glance, it may seem that many other options are potentially possible. We show, however, that, under certain reasonable conditions, interval-valued and complex-valued are the only two possible options.


On 29 November 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its ruling in the National Grid Indus case regarding the compatibility of exit taxes and the freedom of establishment. In this ruling, the ECJ ruled that levying an exit tax as such is not an infringement on the freedom of establishment, but it is not proportional to collect the exit tax immediately. Upon request of the taxpayer, collection has to be deferred until the built-in gains in the assets/liabilities are realized. Although the decision leaves some questions unanswered, the principal issue regarding the compatibility of exit taxes with European Union (EU) law is now resolved. In the past, the European Commission had started infringement cases regarding exit taxation against Member States whose exit tax legislation allegedly was not in line with EU law. Now that the ECJ has ruled in the National Grid Indus case, those Member States should start to amend their legislation to bring it in line with the requirements set out by the ECJ.


The total thermal budget of the wafer fabrication process for structures with multilevel Cu/low-k interconnects has been increasing, and its effect on the electromigration (EM) reliability of the lower-level interconnects has become a concern. The annealing of packaged samples including two-level interconnects for EM tests was shown here to be an effective method of evaluating the effect of the thermal budget on interconnects. EM lifetime was reduced by postannealing at the maximum process temperature (350 °C), and its failure mode was a slitlike void generated at the interface between the via and the Cu line. It was shown that the degradation mechanism was related to the contact between the via and the Cu line and that postannealing may affect the stress at this contact by changing the stress in the dielectric interlayer film.


The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can operate autonomously in dynamic and dangerous operational environments are becoming increasingly common. In such operations, object detection, classification and tracking can often be one of the main goals. In recent years there has been an increased focus on embedded hardware that is both small and powerful, making UAV on-board data processing more viable. Being able to process the video feed on-board the UAV calls for fast and robust real-time algorithms for object identification and tracking. This paper discusses the development and implementation of a machine vision system for a low-cost fixed-wing UAV with a total flying weight of less than 4kg. The machine vision system incorporates the use of a thermal imaging camera and on-board processing power to perform real-time object detection, classification and tracking of objects in the ocean surface. The system is tested on thermal video data from a test flight, and is found to be able to detect 99;6% of objects of interest located in the ocean surface. Of the detected objects, only 5% were false positives. Furthermore, it classifies 93; 3% of the object types it is trained to classify correctly. The classifier is highly agile, allowing the user to quickly define which object characteristics that should be considered during classification, and what types of objects to classify. Finally, the system is found to successfully track 85% of the object types it is actively searching for in a real-time simulation test.


In this paper it is argued that physicians' restrictive attitudes in offering abortions during 1946–1965 in Sweden were due to their private values. The values, however, were rarely presented openly. Instead physicians' values influenced their assessment of the facts presented—that is, the women9s' trustworthiness. In this manner the physicians were able to conceal their private values and impede the women from getting what they wanted and needed. The practice was concealed from both patients and physicians and never publicly discussed. It is also argued that a similar tacit practice could currently be applied by palliative care physicians. Such practice might allow palliative care physicians to be restrictive when offering sedation therapy without appearing paternalistic or declaring conscientious objections. However, the practice runs counter to patients' right to participate in making decisions. The women seeking abortion began to oppose the situation and eventually a new abortion law was introduced 1975. Patients at the end of life will never be able to protest against palliative care physicians' restrictive attitudes. This is a vulnerable and weak group, unable to lodge complaints after the treatment. In order to respect patients' autonomy, even suffering patients at the end of their lives, it is suggested that physicians should openly declare their values when it comes to providing treatments that might shorten life. Such transparency might facilitate more genuine shared decision-making and accordingly less suboptimal end-of-life care.


A recent human-usage survey of the Ningaloo Marine Park identified a significant percentage of repeat usage (55%) among visitors. Given the considerable time and effort required to get to this remote Park, why do these visitors continually return? One theory explored through this study was the concept of place attachment - the forming of bonds with a physical setting. Given the complex nature of this concept, the qualitative research method of photo-elicitation was employed. Visitors across three study sites along the southern section of the Ningaloo coast were asked to take photographs to indicate why they liked to visit the area. In subsequent interviews these were then used as a basis to help explain and explore their attachment. During a four week period, coinciding with peak visitation, 30 participants took greater than 200 photographs and provided over 15 hours of interview recordings. Documentation of photographic content as well as thematic analysis of the interview transcripts identified a number of key factors contributing to visitors' place attachment. These included enjoyment of the physical environment, especially the unique land and seascapes, the warm climate and that the environment facilitated participation in desired recreational activities. There were also opportunities for social interactions among families, friends and acquaintances specific to the study sites. It was also found to be an emotionally complete experience as the challenges of planning for, and getting to, the remote location rewarded with enjoyable holidays. This study provides information to managers about the relationships visitors have with the Ningaloo environment. Specifically it is not just the biophysical aspects of the Park, but social interactions and rewards are also important to visitors.


For national economy, it is very important to have a reliable infrastructure. Because of this, all over the world, new roads are constantly being built and old roads are being maintained and, if necessary, expanded and/or repaired. Building a good quality road is very expensive, it costs several million dollars per kilometer. It is therefore crucial to make sure that the newly built and newly repaired roads are sufficiently stiff – so that they can withstand the predicted volume of traffic for a sufficient number of years. Current methods of estimating the stiffness are time-consuming and labor-consuming. The most accurate technique is to take a sample from the compacted subgrade or base, bring it to the lab, and measure the mechanical parameters that characterize the corresponding stiffness – this takes days. Another possibility is to measure the road stiffness on-site. There are several different measuring techniques for such measurements, but they are all very labor-intensive and often take days to acquire and process the data. The main idea of intelligent compaction is to measure the road's mechanical properties while the road is being compacted, by placing accelerometers on the rollers and/or geophones (sensors for detecting ground movement) at different depths at several locations. The main challenge that prevents intelligent compaction from being a widely accepted road building technique is that the relation between the mechanical properties of the soil and the resulting accelerations is very complex, it is described by a system of dynamic non-linear partial differential equations. It is therefore desirable to determine the desired characteristic in real time, without the need to solve the corresponding system of partial differential equations. This is the main task that we perform in this study. In the process of implementing this task, we also solve several auxiliary tasks which can be used in a more general data processing setting.


The estrogen receptor-α (ERα) acts as a nuclear transcription factor to promote estrogen-induced transcription and plays a central role in the progression of ER-positive tumors. ERα binds to the consensus DNA elements referred to as Estrogen Response Elements (EREs) which act as enhancers mostly occupying distal regions. In our study, we show that Bromodomain-containing protein, BRD4 depletion/inhibition regulates estrogen-induced transcription by affecting RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) and histone monoubiquitination in ER-positive MCF7 cells. Furthermore, BRD4 controls the proliferation of breast and endometrial cancer cell lines in vitro and estrogen-dependent uterine growth in vivo. Genome-wide studies demonstrate the increased occupancy of BRD4 near transcriptional start sites (TSS) upon estrogen stimulation and BRD4 inhibition decreases estrogen-stimulated H2B monoubiquitination across gene bodies substantially on the genes which display estrogen-induced de novo polymerase recruitment. Consistently, BRD4 binding correlates with active transcriptional marks on the promoters. Moreover, BRD4 also occupies ERα and FOXA1-bound distal elements after the appearance of ERα, H3K27ac and Cohesin. Interestingly, BRD4 inhibition regulates the RNAPII recruitment as well as phosphorylation on distal regions and inhibits the production of enhancer RNAs (eRNAs). Altogether these findings establish a specific coactivator function of BRD4 in estrogen-dependent transcription (Nagarajan et al., 2014).
BRD4 binds to the acetylated chromatin preferentially on histone H4 at Lys 5, 8, 12 and 16 residues. In our study, we also show that the presence of H4K12ac correlates with BRD4 occupancy during estrogen-driven transcription. Consistent with BRD4 binding, H4K12ac occupancy increases adjacent to estrogen-induced gene promoters and distal ERα-bound regions. H4K12ac is correlated with eRNA transcription and RNAPII occupancy on enhancers. Surprisingly, H4K12ac occupancy is increased in ER-positive cell lines compared to ER-negative cell lines and estrogen promotes global acetylation of H4K12ac in ER-positive cells. Notably, estrogen-induced H4K12ac occupancy is highly dependent on ERα expression and activity. Altogether these findings confirm the importance of H4K12ac and BRD4 in ERα-induced transcription and provide a strong rationale for the development of
Summary
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potential therapeutic approaches for targeting histone acetylation and BRD4 in ERα-positive breast tumors (Nagarajan et al., 2015).


Clay minerals in shallow fault rocks are increasingly recognized as key to the mechanical and seismogenic behavior of faults and fluid flow circulation within the fault core and the surrounding damage zone. We therefore studied fault-gouge mineralogy from samples derived from the ENE-trending Arkitsa fault zone, in east-central Greece, in order to testify if the fault is acting as a channel for fluid flow and whether the conditions that characterize the flow can be identified.
Clay-gouge samples were collected within the fault core zone, as well as in the broader fault damage area. Consequently, the samples were analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction, SEM and Electron microprobe analyses. The minerals that were identified within the centre of the fault zone are: Montmorillonite, corrensite, illite, micro-calcite, dolomite, quartz, plagioclase and K-feldspars. The absence of corrensite, a clay mineral usually formed in hydrothermal conditions, in the samples from the broader fault damage area indicates that the circulation of hydrothermal fluids is mostly confined within and around the fault core zone. The assemblages within the fault gouge zone and especially the presence of corrensite, combined with the absence of laumontite, indicate hydrothermal alteration at neutral to alkaline conditions and a temperature range at about 100-150 oC.


The leadership capacity of resident assistants can be impacted by many experiences, including involvement in mentoring relationships. The purpose of this study was to examine if and how resident assistants' leadership capacities are influenced by participating in mentoring relationships. Additionally, mentor-protégé race and gender pairings were explored. An adapted version of Astin's Inputs-Environments-Outcomes college impact model was used as the conceptual framework; the Social Change Model of Leadership was used as the theoretical framework. Overall findings included that resident assistants with a race match or gender match did not exhibit significantly higher leadership capacities than those who did not. I also included implications for practice and future recommendations.


Heirs of Abraham: The Future of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Relations, edited by Bradford R. Hinze and Irfan A. Omar. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2005. 158 pp. $20.00. The essays in Heirs of Abraham were written after 9/11 with the realization that conflicts among the children of Abraham, that is, Jews, Christians, and Muslims, are the most threatening conflicts in the twenty-first century. The aim of professors Hinze and Omar, the editors of this important work, is to advance respect and friendship among the Abrahamic faiths. The editors believe that the aim of the three monotheistic religions, who view Abraham as a model of faith, is to repair the world, not to cause hate and war. Now more than ever the time has arrived for authentic dialogue among the children of Abraham. The book is based on a lecture series entitled "The Collaboration of Civilizations: The Future of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Relations presented at Marquette University in 2004. The major part of this work consists of essays by three of the outstanding contemporary scholars of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The participants also respond to each others talks followed by a response from the presenter. What makes this work unique is that the presenters are also experts in each others' traditions. In the first essay, "A Problem with Monotheism: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in Dialogue and Dissent," Rabbi Reuven Firestone helps us understand why the Abrahamic faiths have so often been a force for violence rather than for love. He argues that the emphasis within monotheism on right belief and on the notion of an afterlife in heaven or hell are major factors that have contributed to the violence. In reading his essay and his responses to the others, it becomes clear that Rabbi Firestone is committed to Judaism not because Judaism is superior to Christianity or Islam but because Judaism is his path. He believes that the Abrahamic faiths must now move beyond the "exclusivist form of monotheism" to an inclusivist form. He writes, We rightly strive for a postpolemical age when we can agree to disagree without feeling so threatened that we lash out in violence. Peace and fullness are and should be our grand aspiration, but these will never be achieved by attempting to reduce our particularities. The end of religious diversity is neither desirable nor possible, for it is a part of our createdness. (37-38) Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald's essay "Relations among the Abrahamic Religions: A Catholic Point of View" presents clearly the official Catholic view on Judaism and Islam. For Archbishop Fitzgerald clarity is essential to genuine dialogue because he is convinced that we must make our view clear to our dialogue partners, that in spite of our differences we can live and work together to heal the world. …


Energy efficiency is of the utmost importance in wireless sensor networks. The family of Low-Power-Listening MAC protocols was proposed to reduce one form of energy dissipation-idle listening, a radio state for which the energy consumption cannot be neglected. Low-Power-Listening MAC protocols are characterized by a duty cycle: a node probes the channel every t_i {\rm s} of sleep. A low duty cycle favors receiving nodes because they may sleep for longer periods of time, but at the same time, contention may increase locally, thereby reducing the number of packets that can be sent. We propose two new approaches to control the duty cycle so that the target rate of transmitted packets is reached, while the consumed energy is minimized. The first approach, called asymmetric additive duty cycle control (AADCC), employs a linear increase/linear decrease in the t_i value based on the number of successfully received packets. This approach is easy to implement, but it cannot provide an ideal solution. The second approach, called dynamic duty cycle control (DDCC) utilizes control theory to strike a near-optimal balance between energy consumption and packet delivery successes. We generalize both approaches to multihop networks. Results show that both approaches can appropriately adjust t_i to the current network conditions, although the dynamic controller (DDCC) yields results closer to the ideal solution. Thus, the network can use an energy saving low duty cycle, while delivering up to four times more packets in a timely manner when the offered load increases.


Objectives
Inadequate fruit and vegetable intake contributes to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and the impacts of fruits and vegetables on CVD risk worldwide has not been well established by country, age, and sex. Our objective was to derive comprehensive and accurate estimates of the burdens of CVD attributable to fruit and vegetable consumption using the largest standardized global dietary database currently available.

Methods
National intakes of fruit and vegetables (including legumes) were estimated using a Bayesian hierarchical model using individual-level intake data from nationally and sub-nationally representative diet surveys and country-level availability data (266 surveys representing 1,630,069 individuals from 113 of 187 countries─82% of the world's population). The effects of fruits and vegetables on coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke mortality, collectively referred to as CVD mortality, were derived from the most recent meta-analyses of prospective cohorts. Disease specific mortality data were obtained from the Global Burden of Diseases study. A comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate the proportional attributable fraction (PAF) and number of disease-specific deaths.

Results
In 2010, suboptimal intakes of fruit were estimated to result in 521,395 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 498,254-542,808) CHD deaths (PAF: 7.5%; 7.2-7.8%) and 1,255,978 (1187,716-1325,879) stroke deaths (PAF: 21.7%; 20.5-22.9%) globally per year. Suboptimal intakes of vegetables were estimated to result in 809,425 (783,362-836,687) CHD deaths (PAF: 11.6%; 11.3-12.0%) and 210,849 (196,297-226,577) stroke deaths (PAF: 3.6%; 3.4-3.9%). The proportion of CVD deaths from suboptimal fruit and vegetable intake was higher in males and younger adults. Among the 20 most populous countries, China (541,564; 482,709-608,314; PAF: 20.3%) had the largest absolute CVD deaths from suboptimal fruit intake and India (199,364; 176,961-222,688; PAF: 11.6%) from vegetables. Results for the global burden of fruits and vegetables on CVD in 1990 and 2015 will be presented at the meeting.

Conclusions
Suboptimal fruit and vegetable intake each contribute to significant CVD mortality, demonstrating a pressing need for public health and policy priorities to increase intake.

Funding Sources
Gates Foundation.

Supporting Tables Images and/or Graphs


Business incubators have a 25-year history in the US. Today, they number more than 800. Most are non-profit entities, many associated with universities. This article provides a general overview of business incubation in the US and provides a case study of the award-winning Austin Technology Incubator whose companies have generated over $1.4 billion in revenues and created some 3,000 jobs. The authors conclude that business incubators must accomplish five tasks well in order to succeed: establish clear metrics for success; provide entrepreneurial leadership; develop and deliver value-added services to member companies; develop a rational new-company selection process; and ensure that member companies gain access to necessary human and financial resources.


ABSTRACT This article analyses how, in the last half-century, scholars have differed over the nature of Italian foreign policy under the fascist regime. It examines the debate between orthodox and revisionist historians over Mussolini's foreign policy in general, and also over three specific areas of Italian policy in the interwar years: Franco-Italian relations, Italian participation in the Spanish Civil War, and the alliance with nazi Germany. The author concludes that much of the debate has arisen because of conceptual befuddlement; writers have been primarily concerned with questions of coherence and continuity, and not with understanding Italian foreign relations. Historians have also disagreed over whether Mussolini had a 'programme', but a closer look shows that many of them were engaging in a semantic debate, and did not differ over the nature of fascist policy.


A method is presented for estimating the transfer efficiency of laser pumping cavities that have diffusely reflecting walls. The method is based on the assumption that the light inside the cavity is approximately isotropic. It is demonstrated that such a simplification leads to estimates of transfer efficiency that agree well with estimates obtained by Monte Carlo methods. Curves are given for the proportion of isotropic light absorbed by a cylindrical absorbing crystal as a function of the product of radius and absorption coefficient. This proportion is an important parameter in the transfer efficiency estimation.


Expert system dynamicists are those who have developed the skills to perceive structure - that is, they have ability to recognise that dynamics appearing to be very different on the surface are actually caused by fundamentally similar mechanisms. They then use these skills very effectively to build models of complex problems. Desire to exploit knowledge of fundamental structures in system dynamics models has led to the formulation of molecules of system dynamics structure. But there is more we can do to facilitate learning about, and recognition of, structure as well as improve system dynamics modelling methodology. This paper argues that aspects of systems engineering practice can be integrated with system dynamics to produce a methodology which exploits knowledge of structures, utilises top-down model formulation and bottom-up construction of models, thereby enabling management of the complexity encountered during model building. The proffered methodology enables all modellers, even the least experienced, to quickly and reliably build robust models of complex problems. How this is achieved is explained and demonstrated.


When software is modified, during development and maintenance, it is <i>regression tested</i> to provide confidence that the changes did not introduce unexpected errors and that new features behave as expected. One important problem in regression testing is how to select a subset of test cases, from the test suite used for the original version of the software, when testing a modified version of the software. Regression-test-selection techniques address this problem. Safe regression-test-selection techniques select every test case in the test suite that may behave differently in the original and modified versions of the software. Among existing safe regression testing techniques, efficient techniques are often too imprecise and achieve little savings in testing effort, whereas precise techniques are too expensive when used on large systems. This paper presents a new regression-test-selection technique for Java programs that is safe, precise, and yet scales to large systems. It also presents a tool that implements the technique and studies performed on a set of subjects ranging from 70 to over 500 KLOC. The studies show that our technique can efficiently reduce the regression testing effort and, thus, achieve considerable savings.


A notable feature of post-World War II civil wars is their very long average duration. We provide a theory of the persistence of civil wars. The civilian government can successfully defeat rebellious factions only by creating a relatively strong army. In weakly-institutionalized polities this opens the way for excessive influence or coups by the military. Civilian governments whose rents are largely unaffected by civil wars then choose small and weak armies that are incapable of ending insurrections. Our framework also shows that when civilian governments need to take more decisive action against rebels, they may be forced to build over-sized armies, beyond the size necessary for fighting the insurrection, as a commitment to not reforming the military in the future.


In this study the forward and reverse primers were designated to amplify the segments (~250 bps and ~650 bps) of the gene coding domains 1 and 4 of aerolysin of Aeromonas hydrophila. These two domains are involved in pathogenesis of the aerolysin gene. Sequences for two restriction enzymes, Pst I and Hind III, were included in the forward and reverse primers respectively. These restriction enzyme sites were used because they are not present within the genes of interest but are available in the multiple cloning sites of plasmid pNZ8048. Amplified PCR products were analyzed with 1% agarose gel electrophoresis and results showed that amplifications were very specific. In comparison with the DNA marker, the sizes of the amplified PCR products were determined to be approximately ~250 bps and ~650 bps respectively. PCR products were then purified by the DNA purification kit, digested with REs and ligated with linearised pNZ8048 plasmid using T4 DNA ligase. Transformation of Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 cells was performed by the electroporation method. Verification for cloning of virulent genes was performed by REs digestion and also DNA sequencing. Since several antigens (bacterial and viral) and cytokines have been efficiently produced in L. lactis, constructing and expression and utilization of recombinant L. lactis harboring the aerolysin domains (virulent) genes from A. hydrophila may induce production of antibodies in fish against this pathogen.


At the time of his death in September 2008, David Foster Wallace had published nine books. Three were story collections (Girl with Curious Hair, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, and Oblivion) and four were works of nonfiction, either in the form of collections of journalism and reviews (A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again and Consider the Lobster) or book-length works focusing on a single topic (Signifying Rappers, which he co-wrote with his friend Mark Costello, and Everything and More, a study of Georg Cantor and infinity). The remaining two books were novels. Wallace's posthumous publishing record is very similar, with the 2011 publication of his unfinished novel The Pale King flanked on one end by the chapbook edition of his Kenyon Commencement Address, This is Water, and, on the other, by a forthcoming book of thus-far uncollected essays titled Both Flesh and Not (due out in November 2012). All told, he published as many story collections, essay collections, and works of nonfiction as he did novels, which constitute merely one-fourth of his published output. So why devote not one but two issues of Studies in the Novel solely to Wallace as novelist? Given these numbers--as well as the fact that he never finished The Pale King--it is reasonable to wonder why critics and readers don't regard Wallace as primarily a short story writer, or perhaps a journalist and story writer who also published novels, similar to the way one might view, say, his contemporary Lorrie Moore, whose ratio of story collections to novels matches Wallace's exactly. The obvious explanation is because one of those two-and-a-half novels is the 1079-page encyclopedic behemoth Infinite Jest, the bulwark atop which so much of his burgeoning reputation rests. But the centrality of Infinite Jest in Wallace's published oeuvre also obscures the degree to which Wallace thought of himself as primarily a novelist, and not a jack-of-all-trades who happened to have produced one big, generation-defining classic, though he was certainly haunted by this latter possibility. Unlike the vast majority of his contemporaries, most of whom honed their craft by subjecting streams of apprentice short fiction to nitpicking critique in undergraduate and graduate writing workshops, Wallace started out as a novelist. He wrote his sprawling debut novel, The Broom of the System, in more or less total isolation while still an undergraduate at Amherst College. In 1985, at the age of 23, he submitted the five-hundred-page manuscript as one of his two undergraduate honors theses, resulting in a double summa cum laude. Only then did he turn to short fiction. Most of the stories that make up Girl with Curious Hair he produced while pursuing his MFA at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he earned both the ire of his professors owing to his refusal to kowtow to the then prevailing ethos of Raymond-Carver realism and the envy of his classmates due to his having secured a publisher for his undergraduate creative-writing thesis before completing his first year at the program (see Max 39-71, which covers this crucial period in Wallace's life). While his peers were still gearing up for the arduous task of producing a competent debut novel, Wallace was merely taking a breather before his next big book. From 1989, when Girl with Curious Hair first appeared, to his final days, Wallace was buried in a novel project. The stories he produced during those tumultuous two decades were either diversions from the novel-in-progress, exercises undertaken to overcome writer's block, or test runs for themes and techniques that he was developing for the novel project occupying him at the time. In a private letter to me dated May 2002, (1) he explains that he began writing Infinite Jest, "or something like it," as early as 1986, and returned to it again in 1988 and 1989. "None of it worked, or was alive," he explains. But then "in '91-'92 all of a sudden it did." Similarly, Michael Pietsch, Wallace's long time editor at Little, Brown, explains in his "Editor's Note" to The Pale King that Wallace began work on that novel almost immediately after finishing Infinite Jest in 1994 (see Wallace v). …


This article is based on the exciting discovery of a never before printed Law Commonplace, written by the 18th-century lawyer and patriot, Josiah Quincy, Junior. Quincy was co-counsel with Adams in the famous Boston Massacre Trial, a leader of Committee on Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty, and author of the first American law reports. His Law Commonplace provides an exceptional window into the political, racial and gender controversies of the evolving American legal system, and profoundly challenges our conventional views on the origin of American legal education. In certain areas, particularly jury trial, it also has present constitutional significance, as compelling evidence of the state of the law referenced by the Seventh Amendment.


With the help of Rec. ITU-R P.1546 and geography information system, the interference analysis for the fixed wireless system and radar is presented based upon the frequencydistance rules with minimum coupling loss. To obtain the computational results, real geography information on the map was taken for the given area of 80x60[km] 2 , and field strength and path profile were illustrated for radar and fixed wireless system operating at 2.7 GHz, for convenience. In addition the interference effect of receiver has been also examined as function of radar beam direction including protection ratio and frequency dependent rejection. The developed interference analysis can be actually applied to assess interoperability for wireless systems in the VHF and UHF bands.


In Ex parte Merryman, Chief Justice Taney famously rejected President Lincoln's power to unilaterally suspend the writ of habeas corpus in and around Baltimore at the outset of the U.S. Civil War. According to Taney, only Congress can provide for suspension of the writ, and Congress had not so provided. Just one year later, though, the Vermont federal circuit court held, in Ex parte Field, that the suspension of habeas corpus is necessarily coincident to the imposition of martial law. Because President Lincoln had the statutory authority to impose martial law by virtue of the so-called Militia Acts, Field concluded, Congress had effectively, if not explicitly, given sanction to Lincoln's suspension of habeas in those areas where martial law was validly in force. This Article attempts a thorough reconstruction of the Field theory, beginning with the facts of Merryman itself before moving to the pre-Civil War precedents on which the decision in Field relied. As it concludes, the President's authority to impose martial law in crisis situations does in fact derive from the Militia Acts, and there is at least a colorable argument that Baltimore was under martial law at the time Merryman was decided. More importantly for present purposes, though, the Article analyzes the deep and profound questions as to the substantive preconditions for the imposition of martial law through the lens of the modern-day Insurrection Act, concluding that the statutory framework, in current form, does not adequately demarcate the point past which martial law is appropriate. Because Congress has the power to provide for the calling forth of the military to respond to domestic crises, Congress can provide for greater accountability - especially at the end of the next emergency - and, the Article concludes, Congress should do so.


A pattern discovered from a collection of data is usually considered potentially interesting if its information content can assist the user in their decision making process. To that end, we have defined the potential interestingness of a pattern based on whether it provides statistical knowledge that is able to affect one's belief system. In previous work, we proposed two novel algorithms, Discovering All Potentially Interesting Patterns (DAPIP) and All-Confidence Discovery of Potentially Interesting Patterns (ACDPIP), designed to discover potentially interesting patterns from a collection of data. Results of experimental investigations show that the application of these two algorithms is limited to non-dense datasets. In response, we propose a new algorithm, referred to as ACDPIP-Closed, designed to discover potential interesting patterns from dense datasets. We show empirically that ACDPIP-Closed is able to effectively and efficiently discover potentially interesting patterns from dense datasets. Additional contributions provided by the paper include a definition of a frequent closed itemset based on an all-confidence threshold and a theorem stating that, under the assumption of a particular ordering of items, an itemset is support based closed if and only if it is all-confidence based closed.


Within the overall framework of research into properties common to poetic forms around the world, we concentrate here on the properties of symmetry and binarity. These two aspects of structure are general enough in nature to allow us to extend poetic analysis to Sign Languages (SLs), which are distinguished by their use of the visual-gestural modality. We show, via an analysis of children's poetry in five SLs (Blondel, 2000) and a fable in Quebec Sign Language (LSQ) (Blondel, Miller a Parisot, 2006) that the structure of poetic signed discourse is based on principles of binary rhythm and spatial symmetry. Studying these structures demonstrates the utility of the syllabic-moraic model of movement in LSQ proposed in Miller (1997) and allows us to compare the relation between the poetic text and rhythm in oral nursery rhymes on one hand and, on the other, the relation between spatial and rhythmic properties in signed performances of children's literature.


The American class action is a procedural tool that advances substantive law values such as deterrence, compensation, and fairness. Opt-out class actions in particular achieve these goals by aggregating claims not only of active participants but also passive plaintiffs. Full faith and credit then extends the preclusive effect of class judgments to other U.S. courts. But there is no international full faith and credit obligation, and many foreign courts will not treat U.S. class judgments as binding on passive plaintiffs. Therefore, some plaintiffs may be able to wait until the U.S. class action is resolved before either joining the U.S. suit (and reaping its rewards) or relitigating the case abroad. Transnational class actions thus give some plaintiffs "litigation options." The few courts and scholars that have recognized this phenomenon have proposed methods to identify litigation option holders and exclude them from opt-out treatment. Some U.S. judges, for example, have refused to certify classes that include citizens of foreign countries that may not recognize U.S. class judgments. This Article shows that this conventional wisdom is misdirected: citizenship is the wrong measure; courts are poorly positioned to identify relitigation risk; and the social costs of excluding option holders may well outweigh the benefits. Instead, courts should certify classes of foreign and domestic plaintiffs in service of policy goals such as deterrence and intraclass fairness regardless of foreign preclusion law. At the same time, this Article suggests innovative approaches to achieve some preclusion previously unremarked upon in transnational cases. Prior approaches are insufficient, in part, because they rely on courts without acknowledging the informational asymmetries between courts and parties or the limited tools available for judicial resolution. This Article explains how private incentives and private information may fill the gap in interjurisdictional preclusion law. Parties should be encouraged to negotiate private preclusion agreements in cases in which preclusion matters. In addition, courts can coordinate informally to curb costly relitigation. In summary, this Article uses values derived from lawmaking choices and a practical assessment of the litigation environment to respond to litigation options in transnational class actions not by excluding option holders but instead by permitting aggregation and seeking alternatives to preclusion law. This Article applies these lessons to transnational class actions filed in a single jurisdiction (e.g., a U.S. court), as well as to dueling class actions filed in two countries simultaneously and to U.S. recognition of foreign aggregate judgments whatever their form.The appendices for this paper are available at the following URL: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2609339


Several studies have shown that income inequality has risen in Germany until 2005. Less focus was put on the rise of earnings inequality which continued to rise until 2010. We distinguish different groups in the labour market with respect to working-time, gender and region by exploiting data from the German Socio-Economic panel (SOEP) for the years 1995 till 2014. Using the decomposition of the Theil1-index we demonstrate that the increase in earnings inequality is primarily the result of diverging average earnings of the various groups in the labour market (between-group inequality) and to some extent due to increasing earnings heterogeneity within groups (within-group inequality). The former effect is larger than the latter. Without the inequality reducing effect on earnings inequality due to the continuous decrease in the share of full-time working employees and the increase in the female labour participation rate (compositional effect) earnings inequality would have actually further increased after 2010. Independent of the policy target, policy measures to reduce inequality need always to be designed in such a way that they take the whole work force into account in order to achieve measurable effects.


Partial deoxygenation of bio-oil by catalytic fast pyrolysis with subsequent coupling and hydrotreating can lead to improved economics and will aid commercial deployment of pyrolytic conversion of biomass technologies. Biomass pyrolysis efficiently depolymerizes and deconstructs solid plant matter into carbonaceous molecules that, upon catalytic upgrading, can be used for fuels and chemicals. Upgrading strategies include catalytic deoxygenation of the vapors before they are condensed (in situ and ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis), or hydrotreating following condensation of the bio-oil. In general, deoxygenation carbon efficiencies, one of the most important cost drivers, are typically higher for hydrotreating when compared to catalytic fast pyrolysis alone. However, using catalytic fast pyrolysis as the primary conversion step can benefit the entire process chain by: (1) reducing the reactivity of the bio-oil, thereby mitigating issues with aging and transport and eliminating need for multi-stage hydroprocessing configurations; (2) producing a bio-oil that can be fractionated through distillation, which could lead to more efficient use of hydrogen during hydrotreating and facilitate integration in existing petroleum refineries; and (3) allowing for the separation of the aqueous phase. In this perspective, we investigate in detail a combination of these approaches, where some oxygen is removed during catalytic fast pyrolysis and the remainder removed by downstream hydrotreating, accompanied by carbon–carbon coupling reactions in either the vapor or liquid phase to maximize carbon efficiency toward value-driven products (e.g. fuels or chemicals). The economic impact of partial deoxygenation by catalytic fast pyrolysis will be explored in the context of an integrated two-stage process. Finally, improving the overall pyrolysis-based biorefinery economics by inclusion of production of high-value co-products will be examined.


Part I. Stochastic Calculus and Optimal Control Theory: 1. Foundations of stochastic calculus 2. Stochastic differential equations: weak formulation 3. Dynamic programming 4. Viscosity solutions of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations 5. Classical solutions of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations Part II. Applications to Mathematical Models in Economics: 6. Production planning and inventory 7. Optimal consumption/investment models 8. Optimal exploitation of renewable resources 9. Optimal consumption models in economic growth 10. Optimal pollution control with long-run average criteria 11. Optimal stopping problems 12. Investment and exit decisions Part III. Appendices: A. Dini's theorem B. The Stone-Weierstrass theorem C. The Riesz representation theorem D. Rademacher's theorem E. Vitali's covering theorem F. The area formula G. The Brouwer fixed point theorem H. The Ascoli-Arzela theorem.


This paper examines the late Neoplatonic evidence for the text at the crucial point of the Alcibiades I, 133c, finding that Olympiodorus' important evidence is not in the lexis, which strangely has nothing to say. Perhaps it was dangerous in Christian Alexandria to record one's views here too precisely. Rather, they are found primarily in the prologue and secondarily in the relevant theoria. Olympiodorus believes that he is quoting from the work or paraphrasing closely, but offers nothing that can be paralleled in either the manuscripts or the Eusebian (or Stobaean) versions. Since both the manuscript text and the Eusebian text fail to satisfy, the evidence deserves consideration. Even if he were not in possession of a text that was wholly correct, Olympiodorus does at least offer an overall interpretation of the passage which neatly unites the daemonic and erotic aspects of Socrates' activities, and offers a real reason for Alcibiades to return Socrates' love. He is encouraged to reflect upon the nature of the divine being (not just a daemo but a theos in this work) controlling Socrates, so that he may behold the likeness of his own, woefully obscured, inner self, and so acquire the self-knowledge necessary for true political success.The anonymous Prolegomena (unsurprisingly) are compatible with Olympiodorus, while Proclus' prologue again largely agrees with Olympiodorus' interpretation. For Proclus, Alcibiades must become an observer of Socrates knowledge and indeed of Socrates' whole life. 'For to desire to know the reason for Socrates' actions is to become the lover of the knowledge which is pre-established within him.' So the path towards a total understanding of his own inner intellective self lies via the contemplation of that being that is rooted within Socrates.I also examine earlier Platonist evidence for the text and find little that is not in harmony with late Neoplatonism.


The subcosmopolitan genus Gentianella Moench (Gentianaceae, Swertiinae), with more than 170 currently accepted species in South America alone, is one of the emblematic examples of major and rapid radiations in the Andes. However, the taxonomy of South American Gentianella is far from being resolved. Over a century has passed since the publication of the last comprehensive treatment by Ernst Gilg in 1916. Using flow cytometry, the genome size of 115 accessions of 39 species, of which 37 were from South America, was measured, with the objective to assess the taxonomic utility of that trait. Also, the relationships of genome size with environmental factors such as mean annual temperature and precipitation, as well as the life history traits, habit, reproduction, habitat, and elevational belt were examined. The genome size values of the investigated South American accessions fell into two size classes, ranging from 2C = 7.60 pg to 11.30 pg and from 2C = 16.54 pg to 18.34 pg. The latter size class contained only accessions of G. briquetiana (Gilg) T. N. Ho & S. W. Liu. These accessions, and a further one of G. limoselloides (Kunth) Fabris with an intermediate value of 2C = 14.71 pg, were inferred to be octoploid. Genome size was not correlated with temperature, precipitation, habit, or elevational belt. By contrast, significant differences in genome size between groups were found regarding habitat and reproduction. Furthermore, genome size of one of the informal taxonomic groups of Gilg (Barbatae) differed from that of the remaining groups. However, this finding is of doubtful taxonomic relevance because of inconsistencies in the application of Gilg's defining criterion of Barbatae, i.e., the presence of trichomes inside the corolla tube. Based on the overall results, it is concluded that genome size is not a taxonomically useful trait in South American Gentianella. Still, the data offer a first view on genome size variation and evolution in this diverse but poorly studied group.


A new method of Monte Carlo simulation is developed to simulate the photon migration path in a scattering medium after an ultrashort-pulse laser beam comes into the medium. The most probable trajectory of photons at an instant can be obtained with this method. How the photon migration paths are affected by the optical parameters of the scattering medium is analyzed. It is also concluded that the absorption coefficient has no effect on the most probable trajectory of photons.


ACADEMIC) The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand, is an invasive pest of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriere and Carolina hemlock Tsuga caroliniana Englem. in the eastern United States. A newly reported beetle predator for HWA, Scymnus (Pullus) coniferarum Crotch (Coleoptera: Cocinellidae) preys on the pest in the western United States, and was approved for release in the eastern United States for the control of HWA. This research investigated the viability of S. coniferarum as a biological control agent of A. tsugae in the eastern United States, as well as the ecological dynamics between S. coniferarum and host prey species in its native range of western North America. In objective one, S. coniferarum predation, reproductive potential, and survival were evaluated in field-cages on adelgid infested T. canadensis in southwestern Virginia. Adult S. coniferarum fed on both generations and all life stages of A. tsugae at rates comparable to other adelgid-specific predators, and survived for extended periods of time in the field. In objective two, host-range tests for S. coniferarum were conducted in a series of no-choice and pairedchoice feeding, oviposition, and development studies. Scymnus coniferarum adults fed on all adelgid species, and completed development on HWA and Adelges piceae Ratz. Scymmnus coniferarum oviposition was extremely low. In the final objective, Douglas-fir, Pseudotusga menziesii Mirb., Shore pine, Pinus contorta Dougl., western white pine, Pinus monticola Dougl., and western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. host tree species were sampled in Tacoma, Washington to investigate the life history of S. coniferarum and associated adelgid prey species in the western United States. Scymnus coniferarum adults were found on both pine species, Douglas fir, and western hemlock, and seemed to move between host tree species seasonally. Each host tree supports a different adelgid species, and a limited diet of strictly HWA in host-range tests could have contributed to low oviposition rates. This study suggested that S. coniferarum is a voracious predator of HWA in the field and laboratory. However, S. coniferarum laid very few eggs in laboratory studies, and zero eggs were recovered in field-cage analyses. This suggested that S. coniferarum may rely on multiple adelgid species to reproduce and establish in the eastern United States. Biological studies and evaluation of Scymnus coniferarum Crotch, a predator of hemlock woolly adelgid from western North America


The microblogging platform Twitter allows users to read and deliver short pieces of information called tweets. With the growth of social networks and various new media technologies, both locally and internationally, websites like Twitter have become platforms for activist groups to disseminate their messages, gather support, and start policy-related petitions championing a specific cause. The Internet and digital technologies open the door for everyday citizens to rally support for an initiative, and in so doing create large networked communities of normal people with shared beliefs. This article presents observations about the use of Twitter during the 2013 #Iam4rhinos conservation campaign. The article draws on data generated from Twitter users who participated in the campaign, which will be studied through a qualitative content analysis. Using the 2013 #Iam4rhinos Twitter campaign as a case study, this article traces some of the trends that emerged over the course of the 10 day initiative. The article also examines the online environmental activism landscape in South Africa, determining the power of retweets in message diffusion and highlighting the importance of regular users who, through their ardent support of the initiative, emerged as prominent influencers.


[1] Combining sap flux and eddy covariance measurements provides a means to study plant stomatal conductance and the relationship between transpiration and photosynthesis. We measured sap flux using Granier-type sensors in a northern hardwood-dominated old growth forest in Michigan, upscaled to canopy transpiration, and calculated canopy conductance. We also measured carbon and water fluxes with the eddy covariance method and derived daytime gross primary production (GPP). The diurnal patterns of sap flux and canopy transpiration were mainly controlled by vapor pressure deficit (D) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Daily sums of sap flux and canopy transpiration had exponential relationships to D that saturated at higher D and had linear relationships to PAR. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniesis) had higher sap flux per unit of sapwood area than eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), while sugar maple and hemlock had higher canopy transpiration per unit of leaf area than yellow birch. Sugar maple dominated canopy transpiration per ground area. Canopy transpiration averaged 1.57 mm d−1, accounting for 65% of total evapotranspiration in the growing season. Canopy conductance was controlled by both D and PAR, but the day-to-day variation in canopy conductance mainly followed a negatively logarithmic relationship with D. By removing the influences of PAR, half-hourly canopy conductance was also negatively logarithmically correlated with D. Water use efficiency (WUE) had a strong exponential relationship with D on a daily basis and approached a minimum of 4.4 mg g−1. WUE provides an alternative to estimate GPP from measurements of sap flux.


Attention deficit–hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remains a controversial disorder, despite it now being a well validated clinical diagnosis. Ethical and legal issues are important in determining how doctors should behave in offering a diagnosis or treatment that may generate strong and unpredictable reactions from children, their families, or other agencies. A model for routine ethical practice was proposed, based on three sets of assumptions. Firstly, that ethical practice is consistent with the four principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and respect for autonomy. Secondly, ethical concerns lead to legal processes, whose task is to ensure ethical practice. Thirdly, that we are working in the interests of our patients. Current relevant literature was organised in terms of this model, and recommendations for practice derived from it. Though there is no general ethical problem regarding either the routine diagnosis or treatment of ADHD, ethical difficulties surround some special cases, especially when doctors are working in conjunction with other agencies or coping with non-medical frameworks. Particular care needs to be taken with confidentiality and consent, the limits of which are currently confused. The model worked well with everyday ethical problems, though more difficult cases required careful individual scrutiny.


Recent Ar–Ar and U–Pb zircon geochronology from across the British and Irish Caledonides has revealed a prolonged period of arc-ophiolite formation (c. 514–464 Ma) and accretion (c. 490–470 Ma) to the Laurentian margin during the Grampian orogeny. The Slieve Gallion Inlier of Northern Ireland, an isolated occurrence of the Tyrone Volcanic Group, records the development of a peri-Laurentian island arc–backarc and its obduction to an outboard microcontinental block. Although a previous biostratigraphic age constraint provides a firm correlation of at least part of the volcanic succession to the Ca1 Stage of the Arenig (c. 475–474 Ma), there is uncertainty on its exact statigraphic position in the Tyrone Volcanic Group. Earliest magmatism is characterized by light rare earth element (LREE) depleted island-arc tholeiite. Overlying deposits are dominated by large ion lithophile and LREE-enriched, hornblende-phyric and feldspathic calc-alkaline basaltic andesites and andesitic tuffs with strongly negative ϵNdt values. Previously published biostratigraphic age constraints, combined with recent U–Pb zircon geochronology and new petrochemical correlations, suggest that the Slieve Gallion Inlier is equivalent to the lower Tyrone Volcanic Group. Temporal and geochemical correlations between the Slieve Gallion Inlier and Charlestown Group of Ireland suggest that they may be part of the same arc system, which was accreted at a late stage (c. 470 Ma) in the Grampian orogeny. A switch from tholeiitic volcanism to calc-alkaline dominated activity within the Lough Nafooey Group of western Ireland occurred prior to c. 490 Ma, some 15–20 Myr earlier than at Tyrone and Charlestown. Supplementary materials: Sampling and geochemical results (major elements, loss on ignition, trace elements, REE and Nd isotopes) are available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18640.


In the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Confrontation Clause states that, "[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right . . . to be confronted with the witnesses against him." In recent years the Supreme Court of the United States's understanding of the meaning of this Clause may well be the single part of constitutional law - certainly of criminal procedure - that has undergone the most radical change.This Article is about this sharp turn in the law of the Confrontation Clause. After a brief discussion of the history of the Court's understanding of the Clause, the Article settles into a discussion of its new understanding, as found primarily in the Court's opinion in 2004's Crawford v. Washington and its 2009 opinion in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts - a discussion of where the Court's understanding sits today and where it may be headed. Throughout, the Article deals with the details of the coverage of the Confrontation Clause - when the right attaches and what the Clause requires when the right does attach.It begins with a brief history of the Court's treatment of the Confrontation Clause. It continues with a discussion of the following: Justice Thomas's understanding of the Clause, important because it supplies the fifth vote for the majority's new understanding; the elements foundational to the attachment of the confrontation right (testimonial statements, offered in a criminal prosecution, offered against the accused, and offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted; the importance of raising Confrontation Clause issues before the start of the trial; situations where the right attaches and might at first glance appear to be infringed, but on a closer look is not; inefficiencies created by the right to confront, how the inefficiencies are not as great as they may at first glance seem, and how, in any event, whether the right is inefficient or not is largely irrelevant; various ways to handle the traumatized victim who will be further traumatized if made to testify against the accused; forfeiture and waiver of the right to confront; and the harmless error rule as it applies to the confrontation right.


"If you've been looking for one book on the .NET Compact Framework that will teach you everything you need to know, look no further-this is it! Jon and Dan do a wonderful job of covering this content, so that readers are sure to find much enlightenment within these pages."-Derek Ferguson, Chief Technology Evangelist, Expand Beyond Corporation"While many technical books focus on API details, this book covers architectures and best practices. It highlights the special concerns for .NET mobile development. It is an excellent book for experienced .NET developers who want to transfer their skills to the red-hot mobility arena."-Michael Yuan, University of Texas at Austin"Moving to the .NET Compact Framework is about to become much easier with the aid of this book. The samples and supplied utility code will help you get a running start on your own mobile development projects."-Kent Sharkey, Program Manager, MSDN"This book is the starting place for development on devices using the Microsoft Compact Framework. Whether you are doing business or commercial applications, this book is the resource to kick-start your journey into mobile development."-Stephen Forte, CTO, Corzen, Inc."The .NET Compact Framework brings the power of .NET programming to mobile devices. Dan and Jon's book is an excellent resource to help build your programming skills in the mobility area."-Kevin Lisota, Product Manager, Mobile Devices Division, Microsoft Corporation"Mobile applications are truly a new class of applications and having feature-rich development tools and infrastructures like VS .NET and the .NET Compact Framework is only half the battle of learning to build them. It's great to see Dan and Jon apply their in-depth knowledge of the .NET Compact Framework to cover the important topics that everybody learning to build mobile applications should understand."-Craig Neable, .NET Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation"Mobile solutions and their development present new challenges for enterprises, especially with disconnected/synchronization scenarios. Leveraging best practices and planning mobile development properly are essential to the successful implementation. Building Solutions with the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework provides a solid introduction to mobile development and best practices. It is a great resource for experienced architects and developers who are new to mobile solution development."-Steve Milroy, Solutions Director, Mobility and Emerging Technologies, Immedient CorporationWhether you are an architect, developer, or manager, Building Solutions with the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework is your guide to creating effective solutions for mobile devices with .NET. Authors Dan Fox and Jon Box walk you through four essential architectural concepts and programming techniques, using extensive examples and code listings to show you how to develop more robust mobile development projects.The book briefly describes the context, architecture, and features of both the Framework and Smart Device Programmability (SDP). The heart of the book is its in-depth coverage of key architectural concepts, including local data handling, remote data access (RDA) architectures, robust data caching with SQL Server 2000 Windows CE Edition 2.0 (SQL CE 2.0), and synchronization options. The focus then shifts to localization, security, and deployment, and the final chapter steers you away from potential pitfalls.You will find helpful pointers to further resources throughout, and a companion Web site includes the source code and links to more information.This book can be read cover to cover or the focus can be narrowed to key points of interest. It can also be used as a reference, with answers to questions such as: When should you architect and build your applications using the Compact Framework and SDP? Chapter 1 What factors besides cost should you consider when planning your company's first Smart Device application? Chapter 4 Can RDA allow SQL CE to interact with database products other than SQL Server? Chapter 7 How should you handle differences in time zone for users of a world-ready application? Chapter 8 How can you overcome the Compact Framework's inability to marshal complex objects within structures? Chapter 11Both comprehensive and concise, Building Solutions with the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework shows you how to bring the power of .NET to your mobile applications.


In recent years Nietzsche has emerged as a presiding genius of our intellectual epoch. Although scholars have noted the influence of Nietzsche's thought on Wallace Stevens, the publication of Early Stevens establishes, for the first time, the extent to which Nietzsche pervades Steven's early work. Concentrating on poems published between 1915 and 1935-but moving occasionally into later poems, as well as letters and essays-B. J. Leggett draws together texts of Stevens and Nietzsche to produce new and surprising readings of the poet's early work. This intertextual critique reveals previously undisclosed ideologies operating at the margins of Stevens's work, enabling Leggett to read aspects of the poetry that have until now been unreadable. Leggett's analysis demonstrates that the Nietzschean presence in Stevens brings with it certain assumptions that need to be made explicit if the form of the poetry is to be understood. Though many critics have discussed the concept of intertextuality, few have attempted a truly intertextual reading of a particular poet. Early Stevens not only develops an exemplary model of such a reading; it also provides crucial insights into Stevens's notions of femininity, virility, and poetry and elucidates the notions of art, untruth, fiction, and interpretation in both Stevens and Nietzsche.


Based on observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Subaru Telescope, we have discovered that Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are bright around 1.5 μm even when not directly lit by sunlight. The observations were conducted with non-sidereal tracking on Jupiter outside of the field of view to reduce the stray light subtraction uncertainty due to the close proximity of Jupiter. Their eclipsed luminosity was 10−6–10−7 of their uneclipsed brightness, which is low enough that this phenomenon has been undiscovered until now. In addition, Europa in eclipse was <1/10 of the others at 1.5 μm, a potential clue to the origin of the source of luminosity. Likewise, Ganymede observations were attempted at 3.6 μm by the Spitzer Space Telescope, but it was not detected, suggesting a significant wavelength dependence. It is still unknown why they are luminous even when in the Jovian shadow, but forward-scattered sunlight by hazes in the Jovian upper atmosphere is proposed as the most plausible candidate. If this is the case, observations of these Galilean satellites while eclipsed by the Jovian shadow provide us with a new technique to investigate the Jovian atmospheric composition. Investigating the transmission spectrum of Jupiter by this method is important for investigating the atmosphere of extrasolar giant planets by transit spectroscopy.


The characteristics, advantages, and potential applications of amalgam systems, which offer a promising alternative to traditional electronics solders for lower temperature (and hence lower cost) processes and components, without the environmental drawbacks of most solder systems, are described. Amalgams are nonequilibrium, mechanically alloyed materials formed at or near room temperature between a liquid metal and a powder. They offer exceptional thermal stability and superior joint strength and thermal cycle measurements. Gallium/nickel, gallium/copper, and gallium/copper/nickel amalgam alloys are discussed. The amalgamation methods, requirements for electronics amalgams, amalgam hardening mechanism, and amalgam wetting techniques are also discussed. Applications of amalgams to large die area attachments and flip chips are described.<<ETX>>


In Guatemala there are substantial and growing imbalances in the housing market; at the same time, financial markets remain shallow and underdeveloped. The analytical framework applied in this paper starts by identifying the types of market failures responsible for the underdevelopment of the housing finance system. The working hypothesis is that there is a correlation between the nature and scope of market failures, and the kind of public interventions actually implemented. Evidence collected points to a rejection of the policy adequacy hypothesis. Nevertheless, it is encouraging that solutions have begun to emerge as economic agents learn to overcome market failures; these experiences are reinterpreted as "natural experiments" showing what could happen if market failures could be fixed at a large scale through appropriate government policy. Building on this framework, the paper proposes guidelines for the design and implementation of housing finance policy in Guatemala.


How are Christians to think about the intellectual tasks that make up everyday life in the modern world? It is clear we are not to do so as the "world" does, but what does it look like to engage Christianly in our thinking? In the first part of the series, God's Gifts for the Christian Life, J. Alexander Rutherford shows how the Bible equips us to confidently engage in the interpretation of and engagement with the Word of God and the world he has created. In God's rich mercy, he has enabled us to know him, his word, and his world. In a world where it is preposterous and arrogant to claim to know anything certainly, we are in desperate need of renewed foundations. In God's Gifts for the Christian Life, see some of the ways that God through his limitless power has made available to us everything necessary for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Originally published in four single volume paperbacks (The Gift of Knowing, The Gift of Reading — Part 1, The Gift of Reading— Part 2, and The Gift of Seeing), The Gift of Knowledge brings the whole first part of "God's Gifts for the Christian Life" into a single, cohesive argument for that God has gifted us with the ability to know and attain knowledge through the Bible.


This paper examines how an individual's disaster experience affects his or her perceptions of sociotechnical safety factors (risk, information assurance, resilience) and perceived usefulness of hospital information systems (HIS). This paper consists of two studies focusing on different aspects: a quasi-field experiment conducted with employees in three hospitals affected by a severe snowstorm (labeled a federal disaster) (N = 103), where we compare the perceptual factors in the context of the disaster experience (with versus without recall), and a comparative study between a first sample group (with disaster experience) and a second, contrast sample group (with no disaster experience) of hospital employees (N= 179) from two similar hospitals. The results show that the disaster experience changes the relationships among the perceptual factors that affect perceived usefulness. Individuals tend to perceive negative factors (such as risk) as having greater effects when they actually have direct experience in a disaster situation than in a normal situation. Positive factors (such as information assurance and resilience) have a lesser impact among individuals who have disaster experience (with versus without recall).