AIMS
The provision of high-quality education allows the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) to achieve its mission of better cardiovascular practice and provides an essential component of translating new evidence to improve outcomes.

METHODS AND RESULTS
The 4th ESC Education Conference, held in Sophia Antipolis (December 2016), brought together ESC education leaders, National Directors of Training of 43 ESC countries, and representatives of the ESC Young Community. Integrating national descriptions of education and cardiology training, we discussed innovative pathways to further improve knowledge and skills across different training programmes and health care systems. We developed an ESC roadmap supporting better cardiology training and continued medical education (CME), noting: (i) The ESC provides an excellent framework for unbiased and up-to-date cardiovascular education in close cooperation with its National Societies. (ii) The ESC should support the harmonization of cardiology training, curriculum development, and professional dialogue and mentorship. (iii) ESC congresses are an essential forum to learn and discuss the latest developments in cardiovascular medicine. (iv) The ESC should create a unified, interactive educational platform for cardiology training and continued cardiovascular education combining Webinars, eLearning Courses, Clinical Cases, and other educational programmes, along with ESC Congress content, Practice Guidelines and the next ESC Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. (v) ESC-delivered online education should be integrated into National and regional cardiology training and CME programmes.

CONCLUSION
These recommendations support the ESC to deliver excellent and comprehensive cardiovascular education for the next generation of specialists. Teamwork between international, national and local partners is essential to achieve this objective.


This paper investigates the adequacy of various principal components (p.c.) approaches as data reduction schemes for processing contingent claim valuations on baskets of equities. As a general proposition we are interested in discovering possible features and rules-of-thumb for the applicability of p.c. techniques. In particular, what accuracy does one lose in valuation-hedging schemes as the dimensionality of the p.c. space is reduced? We also have an interest in validating the posted "stylized" facts of implied volatility as they apply to our data sets.


We describe the tadpoles of three species of Malagasy frogs, classified in the genus Spinomantis, based on specimens identified by DNA barcoding. The tadpole of Spinomantis aglavei is a typical Orton type IV larva. The oral disc is not emarginated laterally, but has two mid-ventral folds and a labial tooth row formula of 3(2- 3)/2(1). The tadpole of S. phantasticus is similar, the oral disc being laterally emarginated and having one medial fold; LTRF is 3/3(1). A third species, S. cf. fimbriatus is also similar to the other two species; the oral disc is not laterally emarginated but has three medial folds and LTRF is 3(2-3)/3(1). One shared character is a median fold or emargination in the lower part of the oral disc, although the shape of this fold is different in each of the three species. Only single specimens were available for examination in S. aglavei and S. phantasticus, preventing a further discussion of intraspecific morphological variation and of possibly diagnostic characters of larval morphology.


The present paper summarizes the consensus views of a group of 9 European clinicians and scientists on the current state of scientific knowledge on probiotics, covering those areas where there is substantial evidence for beneficial effects and those where the evidence base is poor or inconsistent. There was general agreement that probiotic effects were species and often strain specific. The experts agreed that some probiotics were effective in reducing the incidence and duration of rotavirus diarrhoea in infants, antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in adults and, for certain probiotics, Clostridium difficile infections. Some probiotics are associated with symptomatic improvements in irritable bowel syndrome and alleviation of digestive discomfort. Probiotics can reduce the frequency and severity of necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants and have been shown to regulate intestinal immunity. Several other clinical effects of probiotics, including their role in inflammatory bowel disease, atopic dermatitis, respiratory or genito-urinary infections or H.pylori adjuvant treatment were thought promising but inconsistent.


We show that the performance of existing fault localization algorithms differs markedly for different networks; and no algorithm simultaneously provides high localization accuracy and low computational overhead. We develop a framework to explain these behaviors by anatomizing the algorithms with respect to six important characteristics of real networks, such as uncertain dependencies, noise, and covering relationships. We use this analysis to develop Gestalt, a new algorithm that combines the best elements of existing ones and includes a new technique to explore the space of fault hypotheses. We run experiments on three real, diverse networks. For each, Gestalt has either significantly higher localization accuracy or an order of magnitude lower running time. For example, when applied to the Lync messaging system that is used widely within corporations, Gestalt localizes faults with the same accuracy as Sherlock, while reducing fault localization time from days to 23 seconds.


The increasingly dynamic environment in which accountants work has necessitated a reorientation of accounting education. In some countries this issue has raised great interest amongst accounting educators and practitioners. The ongoing debate has already resulted in the publication of several statements and research papers that have raised the question of the relevance of the role of vocational skills in accounting education. Examples of these vocational skills are communication skills, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving skills. This paper reports on the importance that the employers of management accountants gave to a specified set of vocational skills and capabilities and the level of ability of these skills exhibited by students. In order to prioritize future developments an integrated analysis of the two attributes, importance and exhibited level, is enabled by the use of strategic mapping. The results of this study suggest that the employers perceive deficiencies in several capabilities that they have identified as being quite important. These deficiencies exist, in the employers' opinion, both prior to recruitment and on professional qualification. The research also indicates that, in the opinion of these employers, the development of these skills should be a central concern for universities and professional bodies. The employers also indicated that vocational skills should be attained in an integrated way.


Abstract. The tumor mutational burden (TMB) is a genomic biomarker, which can help in identifying patients most likely to benefit from immunotherapy across a wide range of tumor types including bladder cancer. DNA sequencing, such as whole exome sequencing (WES) is typically used to determine the number of acquired mutations in the tumor. However, WES is expensive, time consuming and not applicable to all patients, and hence it is difficult to be incorporated into clinical practice. This study investigates the feasibility to predict bladder cancer patients TMB by using histological image features. We design an automated whole slide image analysis pipeline that predicts bladder cancer patient TMB via histological features extracted by using transfer learning on deep convolutional networks. The designed pipeline is evaluated to publicly available large histopathology image dataset for a cohort of 253 patients with bladder cancer obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. Experimental results show that our technique provides over 73% classification accuracy, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.75 in distinguishing low and high TMB patients. In addition, it is found that the predicted low and high TMB patients have statistically different survivals, with the p value of 0.047. Our results suggest that bladder cancer patient TMB is predictable by using histological image features derived from digitized H&E slides. Our method is extensible to histopathology images of other organs for predicting patient clinical outcomes.


A linear periodically time-varying (LPTV) system is a linear time-varying system with the coefficients changing periodically, which is widely used in control, communications, signal processing, and even circuit modeling. This thesis concentrates on identification of LPTV systems. To this end, the representations of LPTV systems are thoroughly reviewed. Identification methods are developed accordingly. The usefulness of the proposed identification mehtods is verified by the simulation results. A periodic input signal is applied to a finite impulse response (FIR)-LPTV system and measure the noise-contaminated output. Using such periodic inputs, we show that we can formulate the problem of identification of LPTV systems in the frequency domain. With the help of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), the identification method reduces to finding the least-squares (LS) solution of a set of linear equations. A sufficient condition for the identifiability of LPTV systems is given, which can be used to find appropriate inputs for the purpose of identification. In the frequency domain, we show that the input and the output can be related by using the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and a least-squares method can be used to identify the alias components. A lower bound on the mean square error (MSE) of the estimated alias components is given for FIR-LPTV systems. The optimal training signal achieving this lower MSE bound is designed subsequently. The algorithm is extended to the identification of infinite impulse response (IIR)-LPTV systems as well. Simulation results show the accuracy of the estimation and the efficiency of the optimal training signal design.


Greta Magnusson Grossman (1906-1999) was a prolific designer working within the male-dominated world of mid-century modern design, whose status and influence has been largely ignored. Grossman was the ultimate polymath - an industrial designer, interior designer and architect working within two fascinating contexts: Scandinavia and North America. This book firstly details her background, education and the formative year of her career in Sweden, before describing how she and her husband, the British jazz musician and band-leader Billy Grossman, moved to Los Angeles in 1940. It then describes the studio they opened on Rodeo Drive and the creative, avant-garde LA community in which she operated. Her Swedish modernist approach to interior design was an instant hit in Los Angeles and soon she attracted celebrity clients, including Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman, Joan Fontaine, Gracie Allen and Frank Sinatra. While she is remembered for her work as a product and lighting designer, her work as an interior designer has been almost entirely overlooked. This book catalogues and emphasises the significance of her contribution to the canon of interior design: making the connections between ideas she tested at the scale of the product within the interior environment. It positions her contribution to interior design in relation to the canon of (i) the genre(s) to which she contributed (ii) her discipline and (iii) the emerging canon of women designers - who are only now being recognised, whilst considering her enduring legacy upon the world of design today. Magnusson Grossman's most enduring work came in the form of her architecture and interior commissions. Grossman designed at least fourteen homes in Los Angeles; one in San Francisco and one back in her native Sweden. Of these, at least ten are still standing - all of which are featured in this book making both the visuals and the content of this book unique. The book finally explores her contemporary impact, including the relaunch of her lighting and furniture and her influence on today's designers.


Current health care practices do not adequately meet the health needs of older adult war veterans. Increasingly, animal assisted interventions (AAIs) are being identified as potentially beneficial for this population. To explore this, this study, informed by a One Health framework, measured the outcomes of the
 St. John Ambulance
 (
 SJA
 )
 Therapy Dog Program
 on the wellbeing of older adults at a Veterans Affairs Canada residence in Saskatchewan, Canada. Over a 13 week period, two groups of veterans, of 8 and 10 in number respectively, who were living at the residence were purposively selected to participate in weekly individual and group therapy dog visits. The type of visit varied according to the level of cognition of the veteran, with lower level individuals visiting in a group format. A modified instrumental case study design was applied incorporating both quantitative and qualitative approaches, including questionnaires, focus groups, case history, and observation. Quantitative measures were analyzed descriptively, and qualitative measures were analyzed thematically. The findings revealed a positive influence of therapy dogs on memory recollection and reminiscence among veterans; positive health impacts on veteran wellbeing as understood through the significance of the therapy dog team encounter; and, perceived meaningful support from the therapy dog handlers and love and support from the therapy dogs. The analysis is contextualized within the growing literature on AAIs and contributes important insights to adequately meeting the needs of older adult war veterans, and potentially for the increasing population of recent war veterans. Additionally, key policy, practice, and research recommendations are proposed, including further investigation of therapy dog visits.


Laboratory mice display features of bona fide hosts for parasites such as Leishmania major and Leishmania donovani. Characterizing the amastigote population size fluctuations and the mouse transcript abundance accounting for these fluctuations demands the capacity to record in real time and integrate quantitative multiparametric datasets from the host tissues where these processes occur. To this end, two technologies, luciferase‐expressing Leishmania imaging and a very sensitive quantitative analysis of both Leishmania and mouse transcripts, were combined. After the inoculation of either L. major or L. donovani, the amastigote population size fluctuations – increase, plateau and reduction – were monitored by bioluminescence. It allowed a limited number of mice to be selected for further analysis of both mouse and amastigote transcripts using the real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay we set up. The illustrative examples displayed in the present analysis highlight a correlation between the transcriptional signatures displayed by mouse tissues with the amastigote burden fluctuations. We argue that these two combined technologies will have the potential to provide further insights on complex phenotypes driven by Leishmania developmental programs in the tissues of the mammal hosts.


OBJECTIVE
Echinococcus granulosus is the causative agent of cystic echinococcosis in humans and many domestic animals, and remains an important global health problem. The aim of this study was to genotype E. granulosus isolates obtained from humans and animals in the Thrace Region of Turkey.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A total of 58 isolates were obtained from patients who underwent surgery at several hospitals and from animals at a slaughterhouse in the province of Edirne. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 fragments, and polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) of the partial mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (ND1) gene, was used to characterize human and animal E. granulosus isolates. To investigate the genetic characteristics of isolates, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) and ND1 genes was performed.

RESULTS
Fifty-eight E. granulosus isolates, including 42 from human, 13 from cattle and 3 from sheep were, analyzed. The results indicated two distinct genotypes: the G1 (sheep strain) and G7 (pig strain) genotypes. The sheep strain was shown to be the most common genotype of E. granulosus affecting humans, sheep and cattle. Among the concatenated partial CO1 and ND1 sequence data, eight haplotypes of Echinococcus species were identified in the present study.

CONCLUSION
This is the first report indicating that the E. granulosus pig strain is present in humans in this region. We suggest that new strategies be designed for E. granulosus control programs in Turkey.


This research applies the stochastic frontier analysis benchmarking method to measure the performance of the water sector in Portugal. It estimates a multiproduct translog cost function in order to study the efficiency of the water and sewerage services, using an unbalanced panel comprising 68 Portuguese water utilities for the biennium 2004–2005. The sample is formed by concessionaire companies, municipal companies and semi-autonomous utilities which represent approximately 61% of the Portuguese population, around 6.4 million inhabitants. The water utilities studied have a satisfactory level of efficiency (89% on average). The study points to the assumption that private utilities are, on average, more efficient than public utilities and that there are benefits if the companies specialize in providing a single activity. It also leads to the conclusion that there are increasing economies of scale and decreasing economies of scope associated with the Portuguese water sector.


According to practice theory, our actions produce and maintain social reality (Schatzki 1996). Through practice we are trained as researchers, teachers and debaters. Within practices in the education system, students are trained by us and by our practices. Because of this we are accountable for how the concepts we teach maintain social differences. Every time we use the concept of intercultural communication in its classic definition, as communication between people with different cultural backgrounds, we perpetuate the notion that national differences influence communication more than other differences. These could be social categories such as gender, class, age, or e.g. differences in relations between a teacher and her student. When cultural and national differences are granted status as the most important differences – ethnic minorities in multicultural societies are silently/verbally excluded from national communities.


Monthly rainfall data in Burkina-Faso, West Africa, over a period of 77 years are extracted from three different gridded data sets, available either on the web : CRU (Climatic Research Unit, Norwich, UK), SIEREM (HydroSciences Montpellier, France), or from the National Meteorological Center of Burkina-Faso. With a view to modelling the runoff-rainfall relationship at the monthly time step, these data are used at the 0.5°*0.5° scale. Despite mean, minimum, standard deviation and inter-annual variability being very similar for the period 1922 to 1998, the three gridded data sets used show an important spatial variability of values with time, and some differences are observed which lead to significantly different runoff-rainfall simulations. Comparison of the rainfall grids has shown that differences between the precipitation grids are more pronounced during years when the rainfall is lower; this also applies to areas where the rainfall is lower. The three different rainfall grids produce differences in mean rainfall of 4 to 11%, depending on the grids that are compared. While these results are obviously specific to the station networks and interpolation method used, they provide an indication of the differences that can arise.
It is recommended that as many stations as possible are used to better assess areal rainfall. These biases have a strong influence on the results of the runoff-rainfall modelling (using the GR2M conceptual model) : the Nash criteria show differences of about 20% and calculated flow of 30% to 40%. This study illustrates the levels of uncertainty when using available rainfall gridded data sets, for rainfall-runoff studies in West African developing countries, which is important in the context of predicting water resources for the future from the GCM outputs for the 21st century.


Among the contemporary philosophers using the concept of the Anthropocene, Bruno Latour and Isabelle Stengers are prominent examples. The way they use this concept, however, diverts from the most common understanding of the Anthropocene. In fact, their use of this notion is a continuation of their earlier work around the concept of a 'parliament of things.' Although mainly seen as a sociology or philosophy of science, their work can be read as philosophy of technology as well. Similar to Latour's claim that science is Janus-headed, technology has two faces. Faced with the Anthropocene, we need to shift from technologies of control to technologies of negotiations, i.e., a parliament of things. What, however, does a 'parliament of things' mean? This paper wants to clarify what is conceptually at stake by framing Latour's work within the philosophy of Michel Serres and Isabelle Stengers. Their philosophy implies a 'postlinguistic turn,' where one can 'let things speak in their own name,' without claiming knowledge of the thing in itself. The distinction between object and subject is abolished to go back to the world of 'quasiobjects' (Serres). Based on the philosophy of science of Latour and Stengers the possibility for a politics of quasiobjects or a 'cosmopolitics' (Stengers) is opened. It is in this framework that their use of the notion of the Anthropocene must be understood and a different view of technology can be conceptualized.


We propose a new approach for describing the geometry information of multiview image representations. Rather than transmitting the raw geometry of the scene, under the form of depth information, we build a graph that represents the connections between corresponding pixels in different views in a multiview image set. The graph starts with the reference image and recursively represents the next levels (i.e., images) by storing the new pixels (those that cannot be derived from the previous image) and their connections to the lower level. The decoder uses these connections to recover the multiple images. In addition to being natural and more easily controlled, the proposed graph-based representation can be compressed more efficiently than depth images. This new representation offers promising perspectives for effective and flexible coding in multiview imaging.


It may seem odd to offer an essay on liturgical change in honor of James Griffiss. In The Anglica Vision, he described himself as a "conservative person" who missed "some of the comforts and security of the Episcopal Church I once knew."1 For Jim, worship was a place that offered some of that comfort and security. As a visiting professor at Seabury-Westem Theological Seminary, he worshiped regularly with the community, and during his last years, after suffering a stroke, the Sacrament (as he referred to it) was an important source of sustenance. When I brought him the Sacrament, the responses that came most naturally to him were the more traditional forms, the Rite I language familiar to him from his formation with the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. But Jim also understood well that worship is about far more than comfort and security. At the conclusion of his chapter on Anglican worship, he described his own journey in the Episcopal Church: I began by being attracted to the ritual of worship-"the smells and bells" as we used to say. As I have gone on I have found much more. I have found the sacramental life of worship in which my personal life has been shaped by entering into the Christian story and having God transform my life.2 Moreover, Jim realized that the sacramental life was not only about personal transformation, but also about the formation of a sacramental community. In that community, we are drawn into relationship with God who lias been made known to us in Christ, and we participate in God's redemptive love. Thus worship, particularly the sacraments oi baptism and eucharist, enables us to experience and understand more deeply the reality of the Incarnation as God present with us now. Not only did Jim understand the power of worship to transform us as individuals and as community, he also recognized the significance of liturgical change. In The Anglican Vision, he asserted, "I think it would be true to say that we in the Episcopal Church are becoming better able to understand ourselves as a sacramental and incamational community through our worship because of the 1979 Book of Commom Prayer."3 While not himself at the forefront of liturgical renewal, he could appreciate the results oi the twentieth-century liturgical movement, which drew upon the riches of ti-adition while also responding to the situation of the church in the modem world. Furthermore, Jim recognized that a tension between continuity and change is characteristic of Anglicanism. From our origins in sixteenth-century England, he explained, we have claimed "continuity with the past, even while making changes in response to a new theological, political, and cultural situation."4 This essay explores both the power of liturgy to shape worshiping communities and the interplay between continuity and change in congregations whose worship is pushing beyond the bounds of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. It is offered in gratitude for the life and witness of James E. Griffiss, who knew well the transformative power of liturgy. The Liturgical Movement and the 1979 Prayer BooA: In a number of ways, the fruits of the liturgical movement are evident in the worship patterns and practices of many congregations. "Active participation of all the faithful" was a catch phrase of the liturgical movement. In the Episcopal Church we talked a lot about worship its "the work of the people," and we changed our practices, and eventually our ritual texts in the Book of Common Prayer, to embody that reality more fully. The centrality of the eucharist was another key principle of the liturgical movement, and this, too, is part of the 1979 Prayer Book and more oi a lived reality in the Episcopal Church. However, other aspects of the liturgical movement have not been as fully realized. At its best, the liturgical movement was concerned not so much with the technical details of doing liturgy the right way, but with the vital connection between liturgy and life, liturgy and justice. …


Market orientation has been cited as a source of competitive advantage that allows the firm to construct offerings superior to those of competitors by the effective collection and dissemination of and reaction to market intelligence. Previous work on market orientation has focused on the effort firms devote to market intelligence and the importance that firms assign to market oriented capabilities. However, there has been little attention to the sources from which firms draw market intelligence. This oversight bears particular importance in a world of global trade, where the ability to gather useful information relies on the ability of firms to establish and maintain relationships with trade partners who can provide accurate and relevant information on the customers the firm seeks to serve, the competitors against which it must contend, and various environmental conditions in which it must compete. Developed specifically for the inaugural issue of the International Journal of Transitions and Innovation Systems as a guide for authors, this conceptual paper suggests topic areas, streams of research, and specific research questions for leveraging information towards firm competitive advantage in global, emerging, and domestic markets.


In this paper, we propose an un-timed C/C++ level verification methodology that integrates key technologies for truly high-level VLSI modelling to keep pace with the explosive complexity of SoC designs in the 3G and beyond wireless communications. A Catapult C/C++ based architecture scheduler transfers the major workload to the algorithmic C/C++ fixed-point design. Case study is given to explore the VLSI design space extensively for various types of computational intensive algorithms in MIMO-CDMA systems, such as a MIMO equalizer to avoid the Direct-Matrix-Inverse. Extensive time/area tradeoff study is enabled with different architecture and resource constraints in a short design cycle. Architecture efficiency and productivity are improved significantly, enabling truly rapid prototyping for the 3G and beyond wireless systems.


One of the aspects of the merging of microwave and optical technologies is the use of optical signals to switch electronic circuits in general and microwave circuits in particular. It is shown in this paper how a thin-film M(etamorpic) HEMT can be used as a photosensitive component. The advantage of this novel approach is the possibility of illuminating the backside of the thin (2-3 Pm) device. The contact metal (of gate, source and drain) is not hindering the light, penetrating into the semiconductor. The thin-film device has a much larger responsivity than a regular, frontside illuminated device. A test set-up, consisting of a 1550 nm laser and a large signal network analyser, enables us not only to do DC and S-parameter measurements, but also time-domain measurements with a modulated telecom laser source.


We present high quality image synthesis results using diffusion probabilistic models, a class of latent variable models inspired by considerations from nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Our best results are obtained by training on a weighted variational bound designed according to a novel connection between diffusion probabilistic models and denoising score matching with Langevin dynamics, and our models naturally admit a progressive lossy decompression scheme that can be interpreted as a generalization of autoregressive decoding. On the unconditional CIFAR10 dataset, we obtain an Inception score of 9.46 and a state-of-the-art FID score of 3.17. On 256x256 LSUN, we obtain sample quality similar to ProgressiveGAN. Our implementation is available at this https URL


We design controllers from formal specifications for positive discrete-time monotone systems that are subject to bounded disturbances. Such systems are widely used to model the dynamics of transportation and biological networks. The specifications are described using signal temporal logic (STL), which can express a broad range of temporal properties. We formulate the problem as a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) and show that under the assumptions made in this paper, which are not restrictive for traffic applications, the existence of open-loop control policies is sufficient and almost necessary to ensure the satisfaction of STL formulas. We establish a relation between satisfaction of STL formulas in infinite time and set-invariance theories and provide an efficient method to compute robust control invariant sets in high dimensions. We also develop a robust model predictive framework to plan controls optimally while ensuring the satisfaction of the specification. Illustrative examples and a traffic management case study are included.


A new method of system evaluation that focuses on the impact the system has on a data series that served as the rationale for systems implementation was designed and modeled by the authors. Called outcome-based evaluation, this method is founded on the concept of intervention analysis and employs interrupted time series designs to determine the impact of an information system on specific organizational goals. Based on a review of the literature on the evolution of systems evaluation methods from focusing on user goals to user satisfaction and system usage, we conclude that user satisfaction and system usage are necessary but not sufficient criteria to establish system effectiveness or success. Thus, we establish a need for the proposed new method of system evaluation. Three business case studies are presented in this article that demonstrate and validate an evaluation method using ARIMA models for the analysis. The value of this tool for managers is its means of assessing IT effectiveness and payoff contextually, thereby enabling businesses to clarify both their IT needs and their outcome expectations a priori.


Spatial analyses of distribution patterns of selected termite taxa surveyed during the National Survey of Isoptera were used to compare various procedures for determining priority conservation areas for termites. Species richness and endemism hotspots are spatially separated. Selecting species-rich areas is shown to be inefficient while the use of complementarity-based procedures requires less land for achieving species representativeness. In addition, different complementarity-based procedures (equal species weighting, endemicity, taxonomic distinctiveness and a combination of endemism and taxonomic distinctiveness) vary in their land-use efficiency and in the extent to which they are congruent with areas containing formally protected areas as well as richness and endemism hotspots. As ecosystem engineers, termites are required for the maintenance of ecosystem functions in both conservation and production landscapes. Thus, the use of traditional protection strategies for termites appear insufficient and strategies that pursue production objectives within conservation constraints through adaptive management are required. We consequently propose a dual strategy. The first is aimed at the conservation of termite taxa in a core representative network. Second, we propose the establishment of a supplementary network of sites, comprising multiple representations of each species, for the experimental monitoring of termite persistence under different land-uses (indicator taxa).


A more complex racial climate has emerged at historically White colleges and universities (HWCUs). Assessing and understanding students' racial ideologies and beliefs about affirmative action diversity policies and programs are important in pursuing racial and gender justice and equity. This article examined explanations for opposition to curriculum diversity initiatives and race-targeted programs in higher education across a multi-racial/ethnic student cohort (N = 293). Analyses from a regression model of junior-year student data found the greatest predictor of differences in curriculum diversity initiatives or race-targeted programs were students' race and reactionary racism ideology, which is a negative, reactionary sentiment that social changes to Blacks ' demands have "gone too far." Generally, Whites and Asians were least supportive of curriculum diviersity initiatives or programs. Implications of students ' racial ideologies are discussed. A hopeful note in this first decade of the 21st century is the unprecedented racial and ethnic diversity among U.S. college students. Both African American and Latina/o high school students are graduating and attending college in greater numbers than previous generations (Harvey & Anderson, 2005). In this article, African American and Blacks are used interchangeably. Additionally, any form of the reference to people or students of color refers to Asian Pacific American, Native American, Black, and Latina/o people as a collective group. Latina/o youth are the second largest racial/ethnic group in their age cohort in the nation, and they continue to expand their presence on campus (Hurtado, 2002). Postsecondary institutions are also witnessing a growing number of Asian American students who are achieving greater representation in a broader range of academic majors and occupations than ever before (Harvey & Anderson, 2005). This representation of racial and ethnic diversity brings many new challenges, conversations, expectations, and demands to traditional ways of thinking, engaging, or viewing the educational process. Despite growing opposition to affirmative action efforts, numerous studies (e.g., Chang, 1999; Hurtado, 2002; Villalpando, 2002) refute the racial polarization propagandists who argue that diversity planning and race-targeted policies in the curricula and campus infrastructure are an "illiberal education" (D'Souza, 1991). These propagandists maintain that Blacks' demands have "gone too far" and are now "disuniting" America (Schlesinger, 1992). According to Sander (2004), faulty affirmative action attempts in admissions are adversely affecting African American students, who are being admitted to schools more challenging academically than they are prepared for, and where they compete against "better qualified" White students. In the midst of these debates, a complex racial ideology has emerged on college campuses that has produced a growing ambivalence about affirmative action efforts. Forman (2004) maintained that White students and a small but growing number of students of color are placing an emphasis on "color-blindness," which allows Whites to be comforted by the idea that all races are now on a level playing field. According to Forman, Whites with this ideology do not recognize the advantages they have reaped from years of inequality. Consequently, they tend to respond apathetically toward others who "erroneously" support affirmative action and social justice demands. Therefore, the current campus climate includes both cynicism toward race-targeted efforts and a growing emphasis on the positive influence that a multicultural environment offers for student interaction and their post-college experiences (Smith, 1998; Villalpando, 2002). Villalpando (2002) proposed that when proactive diversity planning is made a top priority all students benefit. In a longitudinal study, he examined the differential impact of college diversity initiatives on African American, Asian American, Latina/o, and European American college students. …


Friction stir welding is the new-fangled and cuttingedge technique in welding applications; it is widely used in the fields of transportation, aerospace, defense, etc. For thriving significant welding joints and properties of friction stir welded components, it is essential to carry out this advanced process in a prescribed systematic procedure. At this moment, Underwater Friction Stir Welding (UFSW) Process is the field of interest to do research work. In the continuous assessment, the study of UFSW process is to comprehend problems occurred in the past and the structure through which the mechanical properties of the welded joints can be value-added and contributes to conclude results an acceptable and resourceful joint. A meticulous criticism is given on how to modify the experimental setup from NFSW to UFSW. It can discern the influence of tool materials, feeds, spindle angle, load, rotational speeds and mechanical properties. By expending the DEFORM-3D simulation software, the achieved outcomes are validated. Keywords—Underwater friction stir welding, al alloys, mechanical properties, normal friction stir welding.


In Indonesia, successful democratisation from military authoritarian rule has pushed the military 'back to the barracks' and restored the rule of law. This process of moving from authoritarian-military to civil-juridical authority has taken place in multiple ways across the political system, however most notably in the rise of the police as an institutional actor, the restoration of their authority over domestic and national security and law enforcement.
Scholarship shows how criminality and the criminal contingent have been crucial in every way to state formation in Indonesia. Throughout history, the security institutions have mediated those forms of criminality and the state's overarching relationship with the illicit. One of the ways the relationship between the state and criminal practices has manifested itself has been in the mechanisms of illicit extraction and accumulation broadly known as "corruption". Despite the regularizing effects of democratisation, the security sector continues to be resourced primarily by a vast illicit economy, called the off-budget economy. I show how Polri's new authoritative role in security and law enforcement has opened up the spoils of this economy to the police in two important criminal economies; the gift economy of indigenous Chinese traders and the illegal gambling economy in Jakarta.
This thesis demonstrates how the transformation from military-coercive to civil juridical modalities of power has not improved the quality of Indonesia's democracy or rule of law. Rather, democratisation has caused a restructuring in the political economy of security and facilitated the rise of Polri as a perverse political actor within the Indonesian state and society. The intimacy of the Indonesian state with illicit practices has been reconfigured anew.


For as long as I can recall, I have been fascinated by the
history and development of cities as well as the actual
construction and physicality of architecture. Since
commencing visual art studies, a further investigation of these
fields has led to an increasing interest in the manner in which
buildings and cities have been represented: for example,
medieval plans and maps where conventions of perspective
differed from those considered "correct" today. In particular,
though, it has been the architectural model and miniature that
have come to hold a specific interest; an interest which has
had a significant and lasting influence on my ceramic practice.
These forms served as a starting point for much of my
previous work, and they continue to do so in this project. The research undertaken during my candidature is of a twofold
nature. Firstly, it deals with notions concerning the actual
experience of the city, and more specifically, the complex and
contradictory role that representations play in the perception
of that experience. The city is itself a representation - of its
"historically and geographically specific institutions ...
practices of government ... [and its] forms and media of
communication" .
1 The city is also the object of representation
- as in plans and maps. We use both in everyday practice in
order to rationalise and to project experience. In doing so we
come to treat these abstractions as natural entities rather than
the cultural constructions that they are. This project reflects on
the ideological positions we take in respect to the city and its
representations and, importantly, the paradoxical interrelationship of those positions in lived experience. Our
perception is conditioned by culture to recognise an image or
representation, which is then understood and interpreted
through our personal experience.
The second aim of the research involves an investigation of
the ceramic medium itself. Aside from the pleasure I take in
working with clay, it is an entirely appropriate medium for
this project. Clay has a strong historical connection to both
building and architecture and, as well, an established use as a
medium of architectural design. For several years now I have
been slip-casting various elements which are assembled into
architectural forms before being fired. The task of this
research is to test how far it is practical and possible to extend
the techniques that have developed in my work over this time.
These two areas of research have necessarily evolved in
tandem, one impacting on the other, so that initial ideas
changed and transformed. While it was always the intention
for the work to be exclusively ceramic and placed directly on
the floor and walls, the final arrangement did not resolve itself
until approximately half-way through the course. This
allowed time to be spent on the actual construction of the
pieces, a process that remains a particularly satisfying part of
my practice. It also left time for reassessing and questioning
which, on occasions, proved to be quite disconcerting. The
aim of this paper is to give an account of the theoretical and
practical considerations of the research as they evolved
throughout this exercise. While the project is based on, and exploits, notions of utopian
architecture and the ideal city, it is not meant to be seen as
either utopian or nostalgic. Rather, it intentionally operates
between these poles so that the work's identity and meaning
become unstable with the hope that the viewer comes to
question their relationship to it. As I hope to illustrate in this
paper, ambiguity is used in a number of guises throughout
the work in order to address the ideological nature of abstract representations of the city and the conventional positions we
take in relation to them.
Central to this project is the consideration of the paradox we
find in everyday experience where ideological, and therefore
partial, representations of both the self and the world come to
mutually define and delimit each other - a situation which is
reflected, in an exaggerated manner, in the particular
experience of the miniature world. The models used in my
work have been manipulated, distorted and displaced in such
a way as to serve as a metaphor, rather than a representation,
of this paradox.
The aim of the project, then, is to question our perception of,
and position within, the increasingly mediated contemporary
world.
In my research, I have been particularly interested in how
issues of the imaginary and of space have reasserted
themselves in postmodern analysis. Paul Patton in
Postmodern Cities and Spaces states that images of the city
play a crucial role in accounts of the postmodern condition.
While acknowledging that these accounts remain surprisingly
consistent with the city-experience of modernity, he goes on
to suggest that what they in fact present us with is imaginary
cities. These [cities] are not simply the products of memory or
desire .... but rather complex objects which include both
realities and their description: cities confused with the
words that describe them.2
Benjamin Genocchio, in a chapter of the same book, looks at
the spatial transformations in our everyday lives, and states
that it is now evident that there has been a marked opening up
in post-industrial societies to forms of spatial analysis. He divides the position of postmodern discourse into two
categories, saying:
On the one hand, theorists of the Jean Baudrillard genus
continue to chant their millenarian credo of doom and
gloom, convinced that the bastard child of Cartesian
space threatens to eclipse all semblance of the 'real' in a
series of simulated orgies in Disney-style dystopias.
Variations on this theme(park) can also be found within
the work of Paul Virilio, an ambivalent David Harvey
and a nostalgic Fredric Jameson. On the other hand,
theorists such as Foucault, Bourdieu, de Certeau,
Deleuze and Guattari have insisted upon hidden but
unmistakably clear possibilities for both active and
constructive intervention. Yet despite subtle or obvious
differences of opinions, what all these theorists have in
common is a collective desire to promote new forms of
conceiving social space in an attempt to account for an
eclectic occupation and engagement with an
increasingly segregated, oppressively functionalist and
electronically monitored everyday reality. 3
For a number of years, I have been attempting to engage with
the ideas of these theorists, as well as the critiques of them.
Common to all is the loss of faith in our ability to represent or
even experience the "real". The analyses that have been of
specific interest are those which are concerned with dualities
such as real/hyperreal, official/unofficial, public/private,
near/far, inside/outside - but these analyses present
interpretations of the city which do not deny either term of the
dualities nor do they claim a finality of meaning. A
discussion of this particular aspect of these analyses forms a
substantial component of this paper. It is out of many ideas and concepts then, that this project
emerges and operates, and it is here that the model plays a
significant role. These forms exist, like the city, as both real
objects and simulations, and, as such, they have a particular
effect on the mind and body.
In Susan Stewart's discussion of miniatures (of which the
model is a related subset) she suggests that because of their
intimate scale, miniatures represents closure, interiority, the
overly cultural; whereas the gigantic represents infinity, exteriority, the public, and the overly natural. The balanced,
harmonious world of the miniature is one of arrested time, its
stillness emphasises the activity that is outside its borders.
This effect is reciprocal, for once we attend to the miniature
the outside world stops and is lost to us. In this, miniatures
display a contradiction comparable to that of imagining the
self in the world as place, object and agent at once. It is this
contradiction I have sought to exploit in my work. Stewart
states that:
The miniature world remains perfect and uncontaminated
by the grotesque so long as its absolute boundaries are
maintained. Consider, for example, the Victorian taste
for art (usually transformed relics of nature) under glass
or Joseph Cornell's glass bells. The glass eliminates the
possibility of contagion, indeed of lived experience, at
the same time it maximises the possibilities of
transcendent vision.4
The miniatures (models) I have constructed are in fact
contaminated by the manipulations, distortions and
displacement of them, and by references to other forms of
symbolic representations and technology. By taking apart and
reconstructing elements of conventional representation and by
mixing the real with the imaginary, the factual with the fictive,
I attempt to highlight the biases and limitations of partial
representations, and by extension, question our perception of
reality. In chapters two and three I will explore in more detail the
issues outlined here. However, as this project is very much a
continuation of previous ideas, I believe it is helpful to begin
with a description of my early work, the techniques that were
used, and how these have influenced the current project.
The final chapter of this paper charts the course of my latest
research culminating with its installation in the gallery.


The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that affect the performance of auditors. Factors tested were motivation, experience, and commitment as, and knowledge of regulations (the Public Accountant Act/Undang-Undang Akuntansi Publik).The study was conducted using 213 auditors from various accounting firms in Indonesia. Surveys were done by sending emails to public accounting firms and auditors directly. Data analysis was conduted using Covariance Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM).The results showed that motivation, experience, and commitment have a positive effect on performance. In addition, knowledge of regulations is able to strengthen the relationship between motivation, experience, and commitment to performance. This research contributes both on the practical and theoretical perspectives.


Background Gathering data on the life of enigmatic animals remains a challenge, despite its important role in biodiversity conservation and management. For many species, biogeographic investigations are largely the result of information that is generated from multiple sources, often over long time-scales, because measuring biogeographic and biological data over large geographic areas is simply not feasible by a single team of researchers. But in the current age of a well-educated public and accessible and mobile digital technology, scientists are now able to harness the observations of many, thus infinitely increasing their power of observation. Despite its status as the world's largest fish, there remains a paucity of information on the biology and ecology of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus). This species is however a prime target for 'citizen science' monitoring because of its charismatic nature, presence at many coastal aggregation sites and the growth of ecotourism around this species. Approach Information on whale shark sightings worldwide can be gathered by various stakeholders and stored in the Wildbook for Whale Sharks (www.whaleshark.org) database. Whale shark identification images are collected when a swimmer photographs the individual's unique spot pattern immediately behind the gill slits, which is distinct and long-lasting, and this image (with associated sighting data and information on shark size and sex) is then submitted to the online database. Computer-assisted scanning technology is then employed to determine whether the individual whale shark in question is a 'new' shark or a 'resight' of a previously reported whale shark within the database. Wildbook can then be queried to gain insights on various aspects of whale shark biology and ecology from data available at the various global hotspots. Results Members of the public and researchers alike contributed in this collaborative citizen science project enabling (as of 31 December 2014) almost 30000 whale shark encounter reports, comprising 6300+ individuals from 54 countries, to be identified. The number of recognized global aggregation sites (constellations) has increased from 13 to 20. The majority of these (14 out of 20) show a marked sex-ratio bias towards males (>66%). Site fidelity is relatively high, with an overall mean percentage of sharks returning to the 20 hotspots in two or more years of 35.7% (to a maximum of 21 years). Despite photo-identification revealing movements of sharks between a number of neighbouring countries/regions, there are no records confirming large, ocean basin-scale migrations. Strong seasonality in sightings is evident at many locations, suggesting that in general, that these aggregations are frequently exploiting known coastal feeding opportunities. Conclusions This study demonstrates the utility of citizen science in amassing large datasets and their utility in elucidating key aspects of whale shark life-history and demographics.


The sequential structure of some side-channel attacks makes them subject to error propagation, i.e. when an error occurs during the recovery of some part of a secret key, all the following guesses might as well be chosen randomly. We propose a methodology that strengthens sequential attacks by automatically identifying and correcting errors. The core ingredient of our methodology is a change-detection test that monitors the distribution of the distinguisher values used to reconstruct the secret key. Our methodology includes an error-correction procedure that can cope both with false positives of the change-detection test, and inaccuracies of the estimated location of the wrong key guess. The proposed methodology is general and can be included in several attacks. As meaningful examples, we conduct two different side-channel attacks against RSA-2048: an horizontal power-analysis attack based on correlation and a vertical timing attack. Our experiments show that, in all the considered cases, strengthened attacks outperforms their original counterparts and alternative solutions that are based on thresholds. In particular, strengthened attacks achieve high success rates even when the side-channel measurements are noisy or limited in number, without prohibitively increasing the computing time.


Shark-like batoids are a group of elasmobranchs with a body form similar to that of sharks (i.e. elongate body, well developed caudal and dorsal fins, and head, gill and mouth mor- phology similar to that of skates and sting rays). Despite a poor understanding of their biology, ecology and resilience to fishing, shark-like batoids are known to have been heavily exploited throughout the Indo-Pacific. Between 2007 and 2009, we recorded the occurrence of shark-like batoid species in the inshore gillnet fishery of Queensland (Australia) across 2 habitat types. Glau- costegus typus and Anoxypristis cuspidata were most frequently caught in intertidal habitats, whereas Rhynchobatus spp. dominated the catch in inshore coastal habitats. Comparison of gill- net catches to research longline sampling showed that not all size classes of shark-like batoids are captured by the gillnet fishery. Given that home-range size and habitat use by elasmobanchs can change between ontogenetic stages and species, vulnerability to fisheries may vary depending on overlap of preferred habitats and fishing activity and whether each size class is susceptible to the gear. Gillnets are highly selective for certain sizes classes; therefore, knowledge of which sizes and thus which life-history stages are susceptible is necessary to effectively regulate the use of this type of fishing gear. Understanding the occurrence and availability of shark-like batoid spe- cies to fishing activities and their contribution as bycatch/by-products in fisheries is critical to management and conservation of these species.


The impact EU (European Union) policies have at the local level is little understood and explored, especially in the field of urban transport. Yet the EU has a growing influence in the urban transport sphere. This thesis examines the EU's impact on urban transport policies throughout Europe and assesses whether the EU has contributed to generate sustainable mobility at the local level. It argues that certain EU regulatory policies and funding programmes have had an impact on urban transport policies and have contributed to fostering sustainable mobility policies. Three methods were used for this study: content analysis of interviews with key stakeholders, comparative analysis of key documents in different countries and cities, in particular France and the UK, and surveys of a wide sample of policy makers in European cities. The findings of this study illustrate that the role played by the EU in the field of urban transport is increasingly important. The main EU influence in this field emanates from its environmental policies in a strong yet indirect way, as well as from its funding programmes in a more direct way but with less effect. EU climate change policies' impact on urban transport is limited but increasing. Finally this study finds that the EU plays an important role in the field of urban transport and that local policy makers generally welcome initiatives and funding emanating from the European Commission. Discussion and recommendations are formulated highlighting the increasing importance supranational institutions such as the EU play in fostering sustainable urban mobility in collaboration with actors across different levels.


Background Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is a common type of nutritional anemia in low-income countries, including Ethiopia. However, there is limited data on iron deficiency anemia prevalence and associated factors in Ethiopia, particularly for children aged 2 to 5 years. Objectives To establish the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia and associated risk factors, focusing on iron-rich food consumption among children aged 2 to 5 years in southern Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in southern Ethiopia in 2017, involving 331 randomly selected children aged 2 to 5 years old. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information about the children and the households. Venous blood was collected from each child in a test tube to measure hemoglobin, ferritin, and C-reactive protein (CRP). Hemoglobin levels were determined using Hemocue®301 and adjusted for altitude. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin levels <11 g/dl. Ferritin was adjusted for inflammation based on CRP concentration and low ferritin concentration defined as adjusted ferritin concentration <12 µg/L. IDA was considered when a child had both hemoglobin level <11g/dl and low ferritin concentration. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression models were performed to identify factors associated with IDA and iron-rich food consumption. Results The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia was 25%, and the total anemia prevalence was 32%. Only 15% of children consumed iron-rich foods in the preceding 24 h, and 30% of children consumed iron-rich foods at least once in the preceding week. IDA decreased as the height for age z-score increased (Adjusted Odds Ratio 0.7; 95% CI [0.5–0.9]). Mothers with increased educational level (AOR 1.1; 1.0–1.2) and households with increased dietary diversity (AOR 1.4; 1.2–1.6) consumed more iron-rich foods. Conclusions Iron deficiency anaemia was a moderate public health problem in southern Ethiopia, and the iron-rich food consumption was low. Interventions should focus on food supplementation and fortification, food diversification and nutritional education, and promoting women's education.


This paper explores keywords, key part-of-speech categories and key semantic categories and their role in text analysis. The first part of the paper addresses a set of issues relating to the definition of keywords and their history, the settings used in deriving keywords, the choice of reference corpora, the different kinds of keyword that emerge in one's results and the dispersion of keywords in one's data. It argues, amongst other things, that keywords are the same as style markers, and that three types of keyword can be identified: interpersonal, textual and ideational. The second part of the paper addresses the question of what precisely is to be gained from analysing key part-of-speech or key semantic domains in addition to keywords. It shows that whilst in general they add little to a keyword analysis, which is in any case methodologically more robust, there are some significant specific benefits. Answers to many of the questions posed in this paper are illustrated by a study of character-talk from Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, and in this way this paper also makes a contribution to the fledging field of corpus stylistics.


Fish production on Malawian smallholdings is generally limited by the quantity and quality of inputs to the pond (Brummett and Noble 1995). The timing of labor availability and other farm activities limit the amount farmers put into their ponds resulting in lower growth rates and yields. There is potential for improving production and yields through modifications of production schedules to accommodate other farming activities. Limited material and labor inputs among farming system enterprises can be better allocated by considering seasonal availability of inputs and adapting the pond and fish farming technology to the farming system. This case from Malawi demonstrates that aquaculture technology that neglects the annual cycle of events and constraints on the farm will not be easily integrated into the farming system. Focusing on technology that maximizes fish production rather than facilitation of adoption and integration has been a feature of the majority of African smallholder agriculture/aquaculture projects. Farming Systems Research (FSR) must identify niches and opportunities for system improvement for it to be worth supporting as a development intervention.