Following the selection of Special Protection Areas (SPA) and Sites of Community Importance (SCI) according to the Birds and the Habitats Directives, most European Member States are now in process of formally designating SPAs and SCIs as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) or Natura2000 sites. These protected areas collectively form the European Union's Natura2000 network. Member States are also selecting and implementing adequate management approaches and instruments to maintain and restore the favourable conservation status of protected species and habitat types and to prevent damage to the integrity of the sites. Both actions follow Articles 6.1 and 6.2 of the Habitats Directive.

To help the Member States, the European Commission wishes to improve the knowledge and exchange of information and good practice both on the designation process of SPAs and SACs and on the establishment of conservation measures and instruments for these areas. Furthermore, the Commission wants to stress the importance of the sites and their management by involving a wider group of stakeholders in the development of so-called integrated management, in accordance with Article 2 of the Habitats Directive.

The project 'PREPARATORY ACTIONS- Lot 2: Information and communication on the designation and management of sites' (tender ENV.B.2/SER/2007/0076) is intended to help the Commission to achieve these objectives. In this summary the main results regarding the designation process of SACs will be described. A full description of this part of the project can be found in Van Apeldoorn et al. (2009).


The purpose of this handbook is to provide guidance for implementing the Risk Management (RM) requirements of NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) document NPR 8000.4A, Agency Risk Management Procedural Requirements [1], with a specific focus on programs and projects, and applying to each level of the NASA organizational hierarchy as requirements flow down. This handbook supports RM application within the NASA systems engineering process, and is a complement to the guidance contained in NASA/SP-2007-6105, NASA Systems Engineering Handbook [2]. Specifically, this handbook provides guidance that is applicable to the common technical processes of Technical Risk Management and Decision Analysis established by NPR 7123.1A, NASA Systems Engineering Process and Requirements [3]. These processes are part of the \Systems Engineering Engine. (Figure 1) that is used to drive the development of the system and associated work products to satisfy stakeholder expectations in all mission execution domains, including safety, technical, cost, and schedule. Like NPR 7123.1A, NPR 8000.4A is a discipline-oriented NPR that intersects with product-oriented NPRs such as NPR 7120.5D, NASA Space Flight Program and Project Management Requirements [4]; NPR 7120.7, NASA Information Technology and Institutional Infrastructure Program and Project Management Requirements [5]; and NPR 7120.8, NASA Research and Technology Program and Project Management Requirements [6]. In much the same way that the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook is intended to provide guidance on the implementation of NPR 7123.1A, this handbook is intended to provide guidance on the implementation of NPR 8000.4A. 1.2 Scope and Depth This handbook provides guidance for conducting RM in the context of NASA program and project life cycles, which produce derived requirements in accordance with existing systems engineering practices that flow down through the NASA organizational hierarchy. The guidance in this handbook is not meant to be prescriptive. Instead, it is meant to be general enough, and contain a sufficient diversity of examples, to enable the reader to adapt the methods as needed to the particular risk management issues that he or she faces. The handbook highlights major issues to consider when managing programs and projects in the presence of potentially significant uncertainty, so that the user is better able to recognize and avoid pitfalls that might otherwise be experienced.


State support remains a leading cause of tension in international commercial relations. Governments can see trade distortions that look like they were caused by industrial subsidies, but they lack the data to illuminate that state support. In the 1980s at the height of the farm wars the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) developed an index that helped countries to see the overall incidence of agricultural subsidies, initially called the Producer Subsidy Equivalent (PSE) and the Consumer Subsidy Equivalent (CSE). Are there lessons for today in the PSE approach? In this paper I try to answer that question from the standpoint of economics: how did the PSE evolve, what is it, is the concept relevant to industrial subsidies? And of politics: how was OECD able to create the tool, and do present conditions permit something similar? The brief answer is that the PSE was a response to a shared perception of crisis, but it was pushed by finance, not trade or agriculture ministers. It drew on well-established concepts in the agricultural economics and trade literatures. And it works best in a context where market power is sufficiently diffuse that a price gap between domestic and world prices can be calculated. Only some of those conditions can be met when applying the approach to concentrated industries dominated by large firms that operate in multi-country supply chains.


An investigation into the effect of indentation on the fatigue behaviour of an aluminium alloy (A1 - 2.5wt% Cu - 1.2wt% Mg) has been carried out. Room-temperature aged (RTA) and high-temperature aged (HTA) specimens were cycled in tension-compression under conditions of constant plastic strain in the range epsilonp = 1.0 x 10 -4 to 1.4x10-3 in a 20 kN Mand servohydrolic machine. The fatigue behaviour was cyclic hardening in the RTA state and cyclic softening in the HTA state. During fatigue, the RTA specimen surfaces were quickly covered with coarse slip lines, which after prolonged cycling developed into PSBs. Unlike the slip lines, the PSBs did not always traverse the entire grain, but started off in patches which steadily grew larger and more intense. Dislocation structures were studied using TEM and were found to develop from a structure consisting of quenched-in loops and helices into slip bands concentrated on groups of {111} planes, often dominated by dislocations of a single Burgers' vector. Further cycling resulted in more concentrated slip in localized bands leading to a misorientation of these bands relative to the matrix. The development of surface relief in HTA specimens was much slower than in the case of the RTA specimens and took place over thousands of cycles. The slip lines were shorter and broader, and in late stages more wavy in appearance, both features typical of cross-slip. The dislocation structure consisted of some loop formation but mostly dislocations tangled with the S precipitates and were densely packed at the precipitate-matrix boundary. There was no evidence for the break-up of S precipitates during cyclic deformation. Surface damage was introduced in the form of Vickers micro-hardness indentations. The indentations were made in the middle of the grains in order to obtain a single-crystal response. Optical microscope studies of the surface were carried out using Nomarski contrast and scanning laser microscopy, and the dislocation configurations were studied by TEM. Analytical models were used to see whether a correlation could be found between the observations of slip and calculations of resolved shear stresses. A reasonable correlation was found, which prompted the extension of the modelling to fatigue slip near indentations. The development of fatigue damage was studied both before and after various stages of fatigue, and it was found that the presence of indentations had a significant effect on the fatigue behaviour of the indented grain. During the initial fatigue cycles, slip lines were observed near indentations in the RTA specimens, and modelling indicated that the effect could be due to the residual stresses surrounding the indentation. In all cases the slip appeared in trace directions of planes containing slip systems with high Schmidt factors, but in many cases on planes not containing the active slip system in fatigue. In the HTA specimens a similar effect was noted at the stage when surface slip started to appear, but only associated with slip on the slip plane containing the active slip system. Cracking was initiated near most indentations, but none were found to lead to the ultimate failure of the specimens. This could be mainly due to stress concentrations at the specimen shoulders. Cracks initiated along the ridge of the indentations oriented approximately perpendicular to the stress axis and appeared at the corresponding corners of the indentations approximately half-way into the fatigue life. In the case of the RTA specimens, the cracks propagated along traces of {111} slip planes, whereas in the HTA specimens the cracks were more irregular and sometimes followed the traces of {100} planes. Modelling suggested that the preferred path for crack propagation was associated with a concentration of shear stress on highly stressed slip planes. The cracks were never observed to stop propagating, and some cracks propagated into neighbouring grains, and it is thought that the condition for damage to lead to failure is the size of the indentation in combination with the magnitude of the applied stress/strain.


Research is about discovering new knowledge that could lead to changes in treatment, policies or care. Hence, participating in research allows clinicians to evaluate their practice more objectively and to be involved in advancing their discipline. Moreover, by appraising the evidence and thinking critically about a situation makes one a better clinician.
In this article, we have a rare opportunity to interview our Editor-In-Chief of our journal at to what actually sparkled his initial interest in research and how his passion in research blossom over the years.
Prof. Dr. Goh is the Head and Senior Consultant Nephrologist in Serdang Hospital. He became a member of the Royal College of Physicians in United Kingdom MRCP(UK) in 1996 and obtained his further training as Renal Fellow at Monash Medical School, Melbourne, Australia. He was awarded the Fellowship of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2002 and Fellowship of Academy of Medicine of Malaysia in 2012.
Prof. Dr. Goh has published numerous original articles in international peer-reviewed journals in the field of general nephrology, dialysis and transplantation. He has special interests in peritoneal dialysis (PD) and CKD-MBD and has numerous publications in PD-related articles in Seminars in Dialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis International. Being an ardent speaker in his expertise, he is a frequently sought-after invited speaker and has presented numerous scientific papers in international meetings and congresses. He is also involved in many Registries and Clinical Practice Guidelines and sits in many panels / committees / advisory boards as well as professional societies at both national and international levels. Currently, he is the Past President of the Malaysian Society of Nephrology (MSN), a member of International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis (ISPD) Working Party on PD Access Guidelines and Asia Pacific Renal Advisory Board member. He is also the Editor of National Renal Registry and was appointed as an Adjunct Professor. He is a member of Asia Pacific Congress of Nephrology 2018 & 2020, 23rd International Conference on AKI CRRT 2018, and International Society of Nephrology Global Health Summit.


This paper presents a novel real-time scale adaptive visual tracking framework and its use in smart traffic monitoring where the framework robustly detects and tracks vehicles from a stationary camera. Existing visual tracking methods often employ a semi-supervised appearance modeling where a set of samples are continuously extracted around the vehicle to train a discriminant classifier between the vehicles and the background. While proving their advantage, many issues are still to be addressed. One is a tradeoff between high adaptability (prone to drift) and preserving original vehicle appearance (susceptible to tracking loss with significant appearance variations). Another issue is vehicle scale changes due to perspective camera effect which increases the potential for an inaccurate update and subsequently visual drifting. Still, scale adaptability has received little attention in vision-based discriminant trackers. In this paper we propose a three-step Scale Adaptive Object Tracking (SAOT) framework that adapts to scale and appearance changes. The framework is divided into three phases: (1) vehicle localization using a diverse ensemble, (2) scale estimation, and (3) data association where detected and tracked vehicles are correlated. The first step computes vehicle position by using an ensemble based on a compressed low-dimensional feature subsets projected from high-dimension feature space by random projections. This provides the diversity needed to accommodate for individual classifiers errors and different adaptability rates. The scale estimation step, applied after vehicle localization, is computed based on matched points between a pre-stored template and the localized vehicle. This doesn't only estimate the new scale of the vehicle but also serves as a correction step to prevent drifting by estimating the displacements between correspondences. The data association step is subsequently applied to link detected vehicle of current frame with the tracked vehicles. Data association must consider factors like the absence of detected target, false detections and ambiguity. Figure 1 illustrates the framework in operation. While the vehicle detection phase is executed per frame, the continuous tracking procedure ensures that all vehicles in the scene, no matter how complex it is, are correctly accounted for. The performance of the proposed Scale Adaptive Object Tracking (SAOT) algorithm is further evaluated with a different set of sequences with scale and appearance changes, blurring, moving camera and illumination. SAOT was compared to three established trackers in the literature: Compressive Tracking , Incremental Learning for Visual Tracking and Random Project with Diverse Ensemble Tracker using standard visual tracking evaluation datasets [4]. The initial target position for all sequences was initialized using manual ground truth. Centre Location Error (CLE) and Recall are calculated to evaluate the methods. Table 1 presents the CLE errors and recall in parentheses measured on a set of 2 sequences with different challenges. It clearly demonstrates that SAOT performs better than the other trackers.


It has recently been shown that ReLU networks produce arbitrarily over-confident predictions far away from the training data. Thus, ReLU networks do not know when they don't know. However, this is a highly important property in safety critical applications. In the context of out-of-distribution detection (OOD) there have been a number of proposals to mitigate this problem but none of them are able to make any mathematical guarantees. In this paper we propose a new approach to OOD which overcomes both problems. Our approach can be used with ReLU networks and provides provably low confidence predictions far away from the training data as well as the first certificates for low confidence predictions in a neighborhood of an out-distribution point. In the experiments we show that state-of-the-art methods fail in this worst-case setting whereas our model can guarantee its performance while retaining state-of-the-art OOD performance.


Antitrust in the United States today is caught between its pursuit of technical rules designed to define and implement defensible economic goals, and increasing calls for a new antitrust "movement." The goals of this movement have been variously defined as combating industrial concentration, limiting the economic or political power of large firms, correcting the maldistribution of wealth, control of high profits, increasing wages, or protection of small business. High output and low consumer prices are typically unmentioned.

In the 1960s the great policy historian Richard Hofstadter lamented the passing of the antitrust "movement" as one of the "faded passions of American reform." In its early history, he observed, antitrust had a powerful movement quality but very little success in the courts. Later, it ceased to be a movement just as it was attaining litigation success. As a movement, antitrust often succeeds at capturing political attention, but it fails at making effective – or even coherent – policy. The coherence problem shows up in goals that are both unmeasurable and fundamentally inconsistent, but with their contradictions rarely exposed. Among the most problematic contradictions is the one between small business protection and consumer welfare. Consumers benefit from low prices, high output and high quality and variety of products and services. But when a firm is able to offer these things it invariably injures rivals -- typically smaller firms or those dedicated to older technologies. Although movement antitrust rhetoric is often opaque about specifics, its general effect is invariably to encourage higher prices or reduced output or innovation, mainly for the protection of small business or firms dedicated to older technologies. Indeed, some spokespersons for movement antitrust write as if low prices are the evil that antitrust law should be combating.

This piece sets out to do three things. First it describes so-called "movement" antitrust, focusing on recent writings disparaging consumer welfare in favor of alternatives that seek to protect small business welfare, redistribute wealth, or pursue other goals. Then it describes the fundamental contours of technical antitrust, whose stated goal is the protection of high output and low prices, and explains why this approach is much more consistent with concerns about economic rationality, due process, administrability, and federalism. Finally, it examines several areas where technical antitrust rules could be improved, focusing mainly on merger policy and one particularly problematic area, which is antitrust's historical failure to deal adequately with monopsony power in labor markets.


The Linguistic Annotation Framework (LAF) provides a general, extensible stand-off markup system for corpora. This paper discusses LAF-Fabric, a new tool to analyse LAF resources in general with an extension to process the Hebrew Bible in particular. We first walk through the history of the Hebrew Bible as text database in decennium-wide steps. Then we describe how LAF-Fabric may serve as an analysis tool for this corpus. Finally, we describe three analytic projects/workflows that benefit from the new LAF representation: 1) the study of linguistic variation: extract cooccurrence data of common nouns between the books of the Bible (Martijn Naaijer); 2) the study of the grammar of Hebrew poetry in the Psalms: extract clause typology (Gino Kalkman); 3) construction of a parser of classical Hebrew by Data Oriented Parsing: generate tree structures from the database (Andreas van Cranenburgh).


As outward migration and brain drain reach record numbers in Romania, we explore the pull factors that might contribute to a reversal. This paper presents the findings of the first large scale survey on the entrepreneurial intentions of the Romanian Diaspora. We have specifically targeted the category of graduates and young professionals as having the highest flexibility to relocate. The findings of our survey show a large inclination to start a business venture in the home country (79%). The main field in which the young Romanian Diaspora would be interested to develop an entrepreneurial project is IT&C (35.67%). We compare those findings with those from a domestic survey targeting the same age group, and find little differences in preferences, suggesting that country of residence is not a significant differentiating factor in the decision to start a business. The main perceived impediment for entrepreneurship in Romania is still excessive bureaucracy (76.03%). The reverse migration patterns are important for any developing economy in the world, as the case of Romania shows, where the return of the 200,000 Romanians (5%) could (gradually) contribute on the medium term with more than 11.5 billion euro to the country's GDP.


This paper evaluates the early impact of introducing a performance component into Jakarta's school grant program on learning outcomes. Using administrative data, it applies difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity approaches to identify the impact of the grant by exploiting differences in program coverage over time, as well as by comparing changes in test scores between schools that received the additional performance award with schools that did not. The paper finds that the introduction of the performance component had different impacts on government primary and junior secondary schools. The program improved learning outcomes for primary schools at the bottom of the performance distribution and narrowed performance gaps across schools. However, improvements in equity were also driven by negative impacts of the program on better performing primary schools. Overall, the program reduced primary examination scores albeit by a small amount. In contrast to the results at the primary level, the performance component improved examination scores in government junior secondary schools. However, the impact seemed to be greatest among better performing schools and has therefore widened performance gaps. The findings also suggest that program impact was largely through competition between schools to receive the performance component. There is little evidence that the additional resources schools received from the award had any additional impact. The evaluation utilized preexisting administrative data and the paper offers some suggestions on how education information systems can be strengthened to create more robust feedback loops between research and policy.


David H. Price, Anthropological Intelligence: The Deployment and Neglect of American Anthropology in the Second World War. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008. 352 pp. Approximately half of all anthropologists in the United States contributed their expertise to the World War II effort. This timely book explores the wide range of roles they played through dozens of accounts profiling their work. The book's methodology is innovative and eclectic. It relies upon an array of sources including declassified documents requested through the Freedom of Information Act, anthropologists' letters and obituaries, government reports, and interviews, among others. Price begins by providing a historical framework, specifically an analysis of anthropologists' roles in the "war to end all wars," WWI. During this time, Franz Boas developed a " radical ethical critique" in response to American archaeologists who worked as spies in Central America (p.12). According to Price, "Boas's belief in the existence of pure science independent of the corrupting influence of a militarized and politicized nation-state fueled this attack more than his disapproval of American participation in the war" (p. 12). It also set the stage for ethical struggles that would erupt throughout the course of the century. Subsequent chapters thoroughly cover a wide range of topics. For example, Price examines the role of professional associations (notably the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Applied Anthropology), and finds that " few anthropologists had second thoughts about the ethics of applying anthropology to warfare" (p. 49), as the needs of the war effort were assigned high priority by most members of the organizations. Laura Thompson was among the few concerned that some anthropologists had become " social engineers" and " technicians for hire to the highest bidder" (pp. 34, 35). The book includes a fascinating chapter that analyzes "Allied and Axis Anthropologies," and reveals that Japanese and German anthropologists' "silence was remarkably similar to that which emerged in the writings of the postwar Allied anthropologist victors" (p.71). Another chapter documents the ways in which WWII transformed college campuses, most notably through the creation of foreign language and area studies programs, and, after the war, the creation of the GI Bill. Yet another explores the work of institutions that together functioned as a kind of "brain trust." These included the Human Relations Area Files, the Smithsonian Institution and its Ethnogeographic Board (created to generate information about potential theaters of war), and the Institute of Social Anthropology, among others. Academics were not always able to see the risks that such projects might entail: "The war's needs shone so brightly that they seemed to blind anthropologists to the possiblity that America's interests and those of the cultures they were studying might diverge" (p. 89). Among the most shocking sections is a description of "social engineers" such as Henry Field (p. 127). Field and several other anthropologists were deeply involved in the "M Project" initiated by President Roosevelt in 1942. The goal was to search the globe for regions where millions of wartime refugees could be resettled. (Ales Hrdlicka, a physical anthropologist, who was an informal advisor to Roosevelt, also gave suggestions on relocating refugees.) Declassified documents reveal that "library bound bureaucrats [were] designing contingency plans to move tens of millions of people thousands of miles away from their native lands. Field and his staff appear[ed] comfortable planning to move inventoried people about the globe like fungible commodities" (p. 126). Even more disconcerting is that fact that "in almost every case, the peoples identified for relocation were victims of the aggression of others (e.g., the Roma, Jews, etc.), as if the reward of being victimized was being moved so that the aggressor could live in peace" (p. …


Precise spectroscopic measurements of muonic hydrogen reveal a proton radius appreciably different from the currently accepted value. [Also see Research Article by Antognini et al.] As the simplest possible atom, comprising a single proton and a single electron, hydrogen has played a central role in the development of modern physics. For example, the observation in 1947 of the 2S-2P1/2 energy level splitting, now termed the Lamb shift, stimulated the development of the theory of quantum electrodynamics (QED). Hydrogen and other, more exotic two-body atomic systems continue to provide fertile testing grounds for fundamental physical theories and are still yielding surprises, as demonstrated by the experiments reported by Antognini et al. on page 417 of this issue (1). By using laser spectroscopy to study two transitions in muonic hydrogen (in which the electron is replaced by its heavier cousin, the muon), they determine a value for the root-mean-square charge radius of the proton that differs appreciably from the latest (2010) CODATA recommended value (2).


The Web is an invaluable source of parallel data, but in recent years it has become polluted with increasing amounts of machine-translated content. Using such data to train an MT system can introduce error and decrease the resulting quality of the system. In this paper, we present an algorithm for filtering ma-chine-translated content from Web-scraped parallel corpora, and discuss its application in cleaning such corpora for use in training statistical machine translation systems. We demonstrate that our algorithm is capable of identifying ma-chine-translated content in parallel corpora for a variety of language pairs, and that in some cases it can be very effective in improving the quality of an MT system. Trained on our filtered corpus, our most successful MT system outper-formed one trained on the full, unfiltered corpus, thus challenging the conventional wisdom in natural language processing that "more data is better data" 1 .


A presumption is usually defined as using a known fact to infer another fact. However, presumptions could be defined more broadly, as including several types of logical leaps, shortcuts, automatisms, burden-shifting mechanisms and predispositions. Using more than 30 such "presumptions" as examples, this paper tries to:
(a) provide a description and a classification of presumptions in EU competition law;
(b) explore to what extent these presumptions are compatible with fundamental rights and general principles of EU law; and
(c) explain the rationales for presumptions in EU competition law.


Government subsidies to higher education have recently become a hot button political issue. But what if the federal government doesn't actually subsidize higher education, but rather, taxes it? This article gauges efficient investment levels based on marginal rates of return relative to other investments. Labor economists struggle to explain why the rates of return to higher education have remained much higher than the rates of return to other investments. This article proposes a novel explanation: distortionary taxation. Economic theory suggests that when investments that are substitutes for one another are taxed inconsistently, investors are less likely to choose the investment option that is taxed more heavily. Unfavorable tax treatment of higher education relative to other forms of investment could create an undersupply of educated labor. This distortion would increase pretax returns to education and reduce economic growth and social welfare.Part I of this article reviews empirical evidence linking higher education to increased earnings and economic growth, and considers student responsiveness to financial incentives. Part II explains why the unusually high rates of return to higher education may indicate underinvestment. Part III presents a mathematical model illustrating the link between tax rates and rates of return. Part IV reviews optimal tax theory and the distortion problem. Part V contrasts taxation of favored investments with taxation of higher education. Part VI considers policy implications.


We consider the problem of robust inference in which inputs may be maliciously corrupted by a powerful adversary, and the learner's goal is to accurately predict the original, uncorrupted input's true label given only the adversarially corrupted version of the input. We specifically focus on the multiclass version of this problem in which more than two labels are possible. We substantially extend and generalize previous work which had only considered the binary case, thus uncovering stark differences between the two cases. We show how robust inference can be modeled as a zero-sum game between a learner who maximizes the expected accuracy, and an adversary. The value of this game is the best-attainable accuracy rate of any algorithm. We then show how the optimal policy for both the learner and adversary can be exactly characterized in terms of a particular hypergraph, specifically, as the hypergraph's maximum fractional independent set and minimum fractional set cover, respectively. This characterization yields efficient algorithms in the size of the domain (number of possible inputs). For the typical setting that the domain is huge, we also design efficient local computation algorithms for approximating maximum fractional independent set in hypergraphs. This leads to a near optimal algorithm for the learner whose complexity is independent of the domain size, instead depending only on the rank and maximum degree of the underlying hypergraph, and on the desired approximation ratio.


Peer Groups and Cliques Unless an anchorite, individuals form various relationships and friendships with those sharing common interests, views, and backgrounds. Children, adolescents, and adults form peer groups, i.e., smaller clusters of similarly aged friends sharing the above traits. Groups are of varied sizes and permanence; for example, students banding together to support a candidate in a school election will likely disband after voting, while cheerleading squad members may form strong friendships and remain viable for years. Groups, specifically those composed of peers, are especially important to children and adolescents, as during maturation they increasingly seek distance and difference from family by forming friendships with those their age sharing various interests and similarities. Peer groups offer youth opportunities to develop various social skills necessary to personal and professional interactions as well as those for forming romantic relationships and additional friendships with individuals of varying ages. They also allow experimentation with new roles and interactions, such as directing a group task or assisting individuals of varying ages. Educationally, Lev Zygotsky asserts that learners of all ages, with assistance from educators and peers, will achieve far more with others than alone; likewise, individuals gain knowledge from personal interpretations and perceptions of their environment and through social interactions with peers and adults. (1) Essentially, peer groups assist in developing or refining individual self-confidence and sense of self, i.e., personal identity, and they also mimic adult relationships and interactions with others in societal, educational, family, and work settings. (2) Naturally, as children and adolescents age and social interactions increase friendships and groups expand, divide, and separate to include more members of varying ages and more groups, as groupings will form among coworkers, community volunteers, or religious congregations. Zygotsky also declares individuals of all ages socialize one another by responding, both positively and negatively, to others' actions. (3) For example, Iannaccone states that educators, regardless of previous training and experience, upon employment will adopt their colleagues' teaching methodologies, management styles, and ways of interacting with students. (4) Such mimicking stems from group influence and presumably affects, in varying degrees, other professional and personal clusters. Peer groups are natural and beneficial, but this appears to be an inclusive term that should be separated as although the terms "peer groups" and "cliques" are used interchangeably, the two are not the same. A smaller group that splinters from a peer group and forms a separate smaller cluster for power and/or popularity purposes is more precisely termed a clique. For example, a middle school's gymnastic team is a peer group, but if several members band together within it for the exclusion of other members, it is a clique. Essentially, any discrete group with fifty percent or more of its members using their composition to elevate themselves and/or denigrate others may be defined as a clique. Cliques and Status Cliques resemble peer groups by being natural formations, but unlike them provide largely negative experiences for members and non-members. All cliques attain and maintain social domination through their power, authority, and coercion of those subordinate with such power held by its most popular members and the highest status cliques predominant. Cliques define what is acceptable regarding views, behaviors, and attitudes, resulting in providing informal social control for both those inside and outside the group by dictating dress, friendships, activities, and more. They also assert dominance and exclusion to those inside and outside of their group, which such power held by its most popular members. …


This article is written as part of the FORUM project (FOR Unaccompanied Minors: transfer of knowledge for professionals to increase foster care), an EU funded project which sought to enhance the capacity of professionals to provide quality foster care for unaccompanied migrant children, primarily through the transfer of knowledge. The article aims to contribute to this transfer of knowledge by bringing together literature which is of relevance to professionals developing or enhancing foster care services for unaccompanied migrant children (such as social workers), other professionals working with unaccompanied migrant children (such as staff of reception centres, cultural mediators, guardians, legal representatives, youth workers and teachers) and foster carers themselves. It explores some of the pertinent issues that need to be addressed when training is being provided for individuals and couples who wish to foster unaccompanied migrant children, specifically, the experiences of unaccompanied migrant children prior to migration, during their journey and transit and upon arrival in a host country; the 'matching' of children to carers; and the need to value diversity and be culturally competent particularly within the context of crosscultural placements. The article draws on international research in relation to foster care generally as well as research in relation to foster care for unaccompanied migrant children specifically.


An important leverage in reducing the cost of photovoltaic energy generation is increasing the power output of the individual solar modules in an installation. Optimizing the efficiency of the individual cells assembled into the modules is often the main focus. However, additional large optimization potential is present at module level. In this study, we investigate the influence of different design parameters like cell spacing and solder ribbon type on the encapsulation losses of a solar module using single-cell modules as well as large 60-cell modules. Combined with a model for series resistance losses encountered during encapsulation this allows for the prediction of the power output of different module designs and thus for simultaneous optimization of different design parameters. The findings were directly introduced in the design of the latest generation of Q-Cells solar modules. These optimized modules were installed on Q-Cells' test field in order to generate yield data. The data show that the optimized design increases not only the modules' performance under standard test conditions but also translates into an equivalent gain in energy yield in the field.


This report covers the work of the Cranfield CRM Research Forum for the first year
of its operation. Directed and funded by a group of organisations across many
sectors, the goals of the Forum are to enable excellence in Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) by defining and understanding this important management
process.
The work of the Forum is based upon a research programme that includes both
primary and secondary research. The secondary research was used to synthesise a
generic model of CRM which broadly but accurately describes the management
process better than previous models. This model allows practitioners to understand
and create the necessary preconditions for successful CRM in any organisation. It
also makes explicit the inputs, outputs and connectivity of the four sub-processes of
CRM.
The primary research involved the in-depth, qualitative study of eight exemplar
companies in B2B and B2C sectors, in both products and services. This phase
revealed that effective CRM operates within a CRM eco-system defined by both
market and organisationally based factors. Awareness of this eco-system allows
organisations to avoid wasteful investment in CRM when it is not appropriate to their
business situation. The primary research further revealed the evolution of the basic
CRM process into five sub-species, each of which was optimally adapted to its
particular place in the CRM eco-system. Understanding of this differentiation allows
practitioners to define the optimal CRM process for their own situation.
This report is in two parts: Firstly, a management report summarising the results of
the research; secondly a manual based upon the work. The manual, including
software tools, facilitates the development of a CRM process optimised for the
particular market and organisational conditions of the reader.


This article investigates the relationship between inflation and output, in the data and in standard models. The article reports that empirical cross-country studies generally find a nonlinear, negative relationship between inflation and output, a relationship that standard models cannot come close to reproducing. The article demonstrates that the models' problem may be due to their standard narrow assumption that all money is held by the public for making transactions. When the models are adjusted to also assume that banks are required to hold money, the models do a much better job. The article concludes that researchers interested in studying the effects of monetary policy on growth should shift their attention away from printing money and toward the study of banking and financial regulations.


What are facts? More precisely, what are facts within the contemplation of law? We might sensibly seek an answer to this question in the law of evidence, where we find a distinction that seems to furnish the key to understanding just what the law means by a fact - the distinction between direct and circumstantial evidence. For the promise of direct evidence is that it brings the fact-finder in direct contact with crucial facts about the instant dispute. By contrast, circumstantial evidence is said to give clues that require inferences to connect them to the critical facts of the case. And so, if we can understand how direct evidence enables us to apprehend facts in an unmediated way, then we should be able to understand facticity itself. The problem with the direct-circumstantial distinction is not just that common beliefs about its significance turn out to be false. (For example, circumstantial evidence is not generally less reliable than direct evidence.) A more fundamental problem is that the distinction makes no logical sense. There simply is no category of evidence that brings us into direct contact with crucial facts, because no such contact is possible. Fortunately, it turns out that understanding the illusory nature of the direct-circumstantial distinction gives us just the purchase we need to understand what facts are in the context of legal decision-making - and, by extension, what facts are generally. All facts are a function of interpretation. This unavoidability of interpretation makes all facts a matter of inference, and consequently all evidence - direct or circumstantial - nothing more or less than a contribution to that inferential process. This essay explores how the interpretations that constitute facts arise within the trial setting, and by so doing, develops the broad thesis that our determination of facts, which in trials is structured by the rules of evidence, involves both an attempt to accurately reproduce the past and, at the same time, a projection of the kind of social world we yearn for. This fact about facts - that they have a forward-looking, aspirational dimension - has surprising and important implications. We think about evidentiary facts as anchored in the past; accordingly, we think about the trial as a device for reconstructing the past. It turns out, however, that recapturing the past always implicates the future and always expresses a moral perspective. When fact-finders determine what happened, they simultaneously pronounce how the world should be. Understanding why this is so and that this is so changes how we understand facts, the law of evidence, and the function of the trial.


Broadcasting high dynamic range (HDR) video has been demonstrated as largely preferred when compared to standard dynamic range (SDR), mainly due to its capability of representing more details in dark and bright regions. Additionally, progress over the last decades on creation, compression, transmission and rendering of HDR content signals a forthcoming deployment of HDR broadcasting services. Lack of a widely supported recommendation regarding bandwidth allocation for HDR compressed streams or a unique compression approach, prevent faster deployment of such services. This paper investigates the performance of a dual-layer backward-compatible compression codec, when compared to state-of-the-art HDR compression strategies, in terms of perceived quality. The evaluated system is a dual-layer compression scheme enabling the transmission of a backward-compatible SDR stream along with an HDR stream, reconstructed from the residual-based enhancement layer and SDR mapping (i.e., prediction). Comparison is made to two compression strategies realizing uncompromised SDR or HDR through the use of single-layer systems multiplexed with metadata. Metadata contains information necessary to map HDR into SDR or SDR into HDR streams. Our conclusion provides guidance regarding the compression strategy to use as well as bandwidth allocation for HDR delivery, ensuring both SDR and HDR contents with perceptually acceptable quality.


When reducing the cost of residential buildings, decreasing operational costs along with the construction costs will prove beneficial not only for the owner and/or user of the residence but also for national economy. In the design phase, decisions regarding building shape have a considerable effect on both construction costs and building heating energy costs. Therefore, this study will analyse the extent to which changes in building shape affect construction costs and building heating energy costs, and thereby provide pre-design information for future reference for residential buildings with less energy consumption and less environmental pollution. To this end, residential buildings with the same characteristics have been used by differentiating only building shapes, orientations and envelope alternatives to assess the changes they cause in construction, energy and life cycle costs.


Since the start of the modern civil rights era, the notably harsh laws of citizenship and immigration in the United States have experienced some mitigation in the critical distinctions between citizens and aliens. Societies became "soft" on the "inside" while grappling with questions of how "hard" to be toward the "outside," the border. The retrograde effects of globalization together with our security and imperial obsessions since 9/11, however, have led to a hardening of distinctions both on the inside and toward the outside. Immigration and citizenship have become more Schmittian affairs where the worthy "us" is confronted by the enemy "other." The power of exclusion and especially of deportation has again grown more important (as it was during the Red Scares of the post-WWI and Cold War periods), making citizenship more important. As the government seeks to undermine constitutional protections in three ways — making it irrelevant who you are, where you are, or whose custody you are in — the benefits of the legal status of "citizen" seem to be in play. At the same time, we know the importance of citizenship as a mechanism for the defense of rights, perhaps especially of minority rights. Indeed, liberal immigration scholars have spent most of the past generation fretting over the discriminatory "bonus" offered by citizenship and have worked "human rights" and "due process" discourses to undermine that bonus. Since 9/11, however, a series of important Supreme Court cases has left us with only a murky sense of what rights apply to whom and where and how much of a guarantee "citizenship" offers. In this essay, we review the salient cases and seek to identify some current baselines around these "who, where, and whom" questions.


This paper empirically evaluates the price effects of the merger of two major book retail chains in the UK: Waterstone's and Ottakar's. We employ differences-in-differences techniques and use a rich dataset containing monthly scanner data information on a sample of 200 books sold in 60 stores in 50 different local markets for a period of four years around the merger. Since retail mergers may have either local or national effects (or both) according to the level at which retail chains set prices, we undertake an ex-post assessment of the impact of the merger at both levels. At the local level, we compare the changes in the average price charged before and after the merger in the shops located in overlap areas –i.e. areas where both chains were present before the merger– and in non-overlap areas –i.e. areas where only one chain was present before the merger. At the national level, we employ two distinct control groups to evaluate the merger, namely the competitors and the top-selling titles. We find that the merger did not result in an increase in prices either at the local or at the national level. We also perform heterogeneous treatment effects estimations in order to assess whether the effect of the merger differs along various dimensions of heterogeneity that are present in our data.


Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) prevalence is growing to pandemic proportions worldwide. The link between genotype, environment and β-cell function is still being investigated. I have devoted the work presented in this thesis to attempt to elucidate the coupling of β-cell metabolism to insulin secretion and to look for casual mechanisms underlying metabolic alterations disturbing insulin secretion.
In paper I, we showed that tight coupling between glycolysis and mitochondrial metabolism is required for robust insulin secretion from β-cells by comparing two insulin secreting β-cell lines with good and poor glucose responsiveness, respectably. The cell line with poor glucose responsiveness showed increased lactate production and glycolytic flux but decreased ATP production, suggesting a disturbed coupling between glycolytic flux and mitochondrial glucose metabolism. Several metabolic genes that differed between the cell lines were found to correlate with HbA1c in human islets, reflecting long term glucose control.
In paper II, a metabolic profiling analysis showed that a metabolic shift towards less glucose responsiveness and more anaerobic metabolism was characteristic for cells with poor glucosestimulated insulin secretion. Also, the hypoxia-induced transcription factor HIF-1α was found to be more stabilized in poorly responsive cells. A comparison between healthy and
T2D human islets showed that this mechanism may be occurring in T2D humans as well.
In paper III, we examined palmitate-induced lipotoxicity in β-cells and found that cellular stress introduced by lipotoxicity directs metabolism more towards metabolism of lipids than of glucose. Together with this, the cells exhibited poor glucose responsiveness in intracellular metabolic flux and insulin secretion. Changes in metabolic flux were accompanied by changes in gene expression and increased expression of genes in the pathways of steroid biosynthesis, cell cycle, fatty acid metabolism, DNA replication, and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids. Histone-modifying enzyme activity and histone modifications on the genes Insig1, Lss, Peci, Idi1, Hmgcs1 and Casr were found to be altered in a manner consistent with gene expression. This suggests the involvement of epigenetic regulations.
In conclusion, this thesis suggests that the coupling between glycolytic and mitochondrial flux is essential for the glucose sensitivity of the β-cell. Alterations in transcription factors or gene expression could be underlying disturbances of this coupling. It also shows that a diabetogenic environment with increased concentrations of fatty acids affects metabolic flux in these cells, something that is paralleled by an altered expression of metabolic genes. Finally, it suggests that epigenetic mechanisms could be involved in the regulation of these alterations.


Previous investigations into the validity of acceptability judgment data have focused almost exclusively on type I errors (or false positives) because of the consequences of such errors for syntactic theories (Sprouse & Almeida 2012; Sprouse et al. 2013). The current study complements these previous studies by systematically investigating the type II error rate (false negatives), or equivalently, the statistical power , of a wide cross-section of possible acceptability judgment experiments. Though type II errors have historically been assumed to be less costly than type I errors, the dynamics of scientific publishing mean that high type II error rates (i.e., studies with low statistical power) can lead to increases in type I error rates in a given field of study. We present a set of experiments and resampling simulations to estimate statistical power for four tasks (forced-choice, Likert scale, magnitude estimation, and yes-no), 50 effect sizes instantiated by real phenomena, sample sizes from 5 to 100 participants, and two approaches to statistical analysis (null hypothesis and Bayesian). Our goals are twofold (i) to provide a fuller picture of the status of acceptability judgment data in syntax, and (ii) to provide detailed information that syntacticians can use to design and evaluate the sensitivity of acceptability judgment experiments in their own research.


We consider a simple model for the assembly of chiral molecules in two dimensions driven by maximization of the contact area. We derive a macroscopic model described by a parameter taking nine possible values corresponding to the possible minimal microscopic patterns and modulated phases of the chiral molecules. We describe the overall behaviour by means of an interaction energy of perimeter type between such phases. This energy is a crystalline perimeter energy, highlighting preferred directions for the interfaces between ensembles of molecules labelled by different values of the parameter.


Combined cycles are inherently modular, since they are composed of one or several gas turbines cycles coupled with a steam cycle. Thus, it is often possible to consider repowering of conventional steam power plants by replacing the boiler with a gas turbine and a heat recovery steam generator. It constitutes an interesting option to increase power outputs and efficiencies and reduce specific emissions at moderate costs due to the reuse of existing parts and plant infrastructure. The goal of this study was to determine the best options for such a conversion in the case of one of the two independent 150 MWe turbo-groups of the steam power plant in Chavalon, Switzerland. For this purpose, models of heat recovery steam generators with simple and double evaporating pressure levels and models of steam turbines were developed and associated to a catalog of gas turbines available in the present market. These submodels were grouped into a superconfiguration of possible combined cycles in order to perform a simultaneous optimization of configuration, design and operating parameters. This is a mixed integer non-linear problem (MINL) that was solved with a genetic algorithm. For the real design variables such as power ratings of the main components, the algorithm uses real variables genes instead of a binary mapping to increase accuracy. In order to reduce the optimization time, a pre-assessment applying pinch methodology was completed, in order to reduce the number of alternatives in the superconfiguration.


Human Rights and Comparative Foreign Policy is the first book in English to examine the place of human rights in the foreign policies of a wide range of states during contemporary times. The book is also unique in utilizing a common framework of analysis for all 10 of the country or regional studies covered. This framework treats foreign policy as the result of a two-level game in which both domestic and foreign factors have to be considered. Leading experts from around the world analyze both liberal democratic and other foreign policies on human rights. A general introduction and a systematic conclusion add to the coherence of the project. The authors note the increasing attention given to human rights issues in contemporary foreign policy. At the same time, they argue that most states, including liberal democratic states that identify with human rights, are reluctant most of the time to elevate human rights concerns to a level equal to that of traditional security and economic concerns. When states do seek to integrate human rights with these and other concerns, the result is usually great inconsistency in patterns of foreign policy. The book further argues that different states bring different emphasis to their human rights diplomacy, because of such factors as national political culture and perceived national interests. In the last analysis states can be compared along two dimensions pertaining to human rights: extent to which they are oriented toward an international rather than national conception of rights; and extent to which they are oriented toward international rather than national action to protect human rights.


Abstract Objectives Group consultations are used for chronic conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, but evidence of efficacy for treatment to target or achieving tight control is lacking. Our aim was to establish whether group consultation is a sustainable, co-designed routine care option and to explore factors supporting spread. Methods The study used mixed methods, observational process/outcome data, plus qualitative exploration of enabling themes. It was set in two community hospitals, in 2008–19, with a third hospital from 2016, and was triangulated with primary care qualitative data. There was a total of 3363 arthritis patient attendances at 183 clinics during 2008–19. The early arthritis cohort comprised 46 patients, followed monthly until the treatment target was achieved, during 2016–19. Focus groups included 15 arthritis and 11 osteoporosis group attendees. Intervention was a 2 h group consultation, attended monthly for early/active disease and annually for stable disease. Measurements included attendance, DAS, satisfaction and enabling themes. Results There was a mean number of 18.4 patients per clinic (n = 16, 2010–15; n = 18, 2016; n = 20, 2017; n = 23, 2018–19). Forty per cent (1161/2874) of patients with DAS data reached low disease activity (DAS < 3.2) or remission (DAS < 2.6). Forty-six early arthritis patients followed monthly until they achieved remission responded even better: 50% remission; and 89% low disease activity/remission by 6 months. Qualitative analysis derived five main enabling themes (efficiency, empathy, education, engagement and empowerment) and five promotors to translate these themes into practice (prioritization, personalization, participation, personality and pedagogy). Limitations included the prospectively collected observational data and pragmatic design susceptible to bias. Conclusion Co-designed group consultations can be sustainable, clinically effective and efficient for monthly review of early active disease and annual review of stable disease. Promoting factors may support effective training for chronic disease group consultations.


This paper proposes a novel communication protocol, called Many-to-One Sensors-to-Sink (MOSS), tailored to wireless sensor networks (WSNs). It exploits the unique sensors-to-sink traffic pattern to realize low-overhead medium access and lowlatency sensors-to-sink routing paths. In conventional schedule-based MAC protocols such as S-MAC, sensor nodes in the proximity of the event generate reports simultaneously, causing unreliable and unpredictable performance during a brief but critical period of time when an event of interest occurs. MOSS is based on time division multiple access (TDMA) that avoids energy waste due to collisions, idle listening and overhearing and avoids unreliable behavior mentioned above. A small test-bed consisting of 12 TelosB motes as well as extensive simulation study based on ns-2 have shown that MOSS reduces the sensor-to-sink latency by as much as energy compared to conventional TDMA algorithms. collision-free schedule; channel capture. 50.5% while consuming only 12.8∼19.2% of


In This Thing Called the World Debjani Ganguly theorizes the contemporary global novel and the social and historical conditions that shaped it. Ganguly contends that global literature coalesced into its current form in 1989, an event marked by the convergence of three major trends: the consolidation of the information age, the arrival of a perpetual state of global war, and the expanding focus on humanitarianism. Ganguly analyzes a trove of novels from authors including Salman Rushdie, Don DeLillo, Michael Ondaatje, and Art Spiegelman, who address wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, the Palestinian and Kashmiri crises, the Rwandan genocide, and post9/11 terrorism. These novels exist in a context in which suffering's presence in everyday life is mediated through digital images and where authors integrate visual forms into their storytelling. In showing how the evolution of the contemporary global novel is analogous to the European novel's emergence in the eighteenth century, when society and the development of capitalism faced similar monumental ruptures, Ganguly provides both a theory of the contemporary moment and a reminder of the novel's power.


This study primarily investigates the role of children in regard to the plot as well as to the characterization of adults in six novels by Hans Fallada. Discussed is furthermore Fallada's position as an author within the literary epoch of the "Neue Sachlichkeit", especially regarding his narrative technique that includes a dominating use of dialogue and a covert narrator. Due to the fact that Fallada's first successful novels, written in the early thirties, reflect the contemporary German society not excluding its social problems, the critics for a long time regarded the author as a critical observer of society, thereby disregarding other aspects of his work, such as the characters and their individual conflicts. These aspects were not seriously taken into consideration by the critics until the sixties. The appointed texts are dealt with chronologically, thus facing the role of children from various angles and thereby concerning themes such as the marital relationship, the animosity between generations and conflicts aroused by the pubescent child. An unborn child as well as the longing for or the loss of children are all matters that noticeably influence the plot and the characterization of adults in these texts. By investigating the role of children in these novels I will show, that in Fallada's texts there is a power leading towards the sheltering family and also that this power is combined with heavy demands upon ethics.


Public education is the largest area of state and local government spending in the United States, accounting for almost one-fifth of direct state and local government expenditures in 1996 (Statistical Abstract of the United States 1999, table 504). Given the enormous resources involved and--more importantly--the critical private and societal benefits that education produces, the distribution of educational opportunities across communities has generated considerable interest among policy makers, the public, and the courts. This article takes advantage of national data sets to examine the equality of education funding across school districts in 49 states for fiscal years 1992 and 1995. (1) It presents rankings of each state's funding equality and explores factors that may be related to the level of equality within states and to changes across years. The focus of this article is the equality of revenues that are available to school districts within states, one of a number of broad goals of education financing systems. In recent years, policy initiatives and court cases in many states have focused on other goals, such as eliminating the relationship between local property wealth and education spending or achieving an adequate level of funding for all students. Still, ensuring equality of resources across school districts (often referred to as "horizontal equity") remains a fundamental benchmark in evaluating state education funding systems, and it continues to be an important concern of the public and the broad education community. Comparing the national averages of a number of intrastate equity measures, our results show that the equality of the distribution of education revenues improved slightly between 1992 and 1995. Relative equity rankings for most states changed little between 1992 and 1995, however. Our analysis of univariate equity measures suggests that states with fewer school districts relative to students tended to have a more equal distribution of education dollars than did states with more districts, although states with a greater number of districts had somewhat larger improvements across the two years. We also found a weak but significant relationship between intrastate equity and median revenues for education, with lower-revenue states tending to have a more equal distribution of resources. Finally, states with higher proportions of revenues provided by state governments generally showed a more equitable distribution of resources than did states that were more dependent on local revenues. The Role of Equity in School Finance Concerns over the equality of educational opportunity date back well over 40 years. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education (347 U.S. 483 [1954]) overturned the long-standing system of separate educational institutions for whites and African Americans, ruling that "separate but equal" schools are inherently unequal. The country's awakening to the perils of unequal access to employment and education helped bring about the enactment of three important pieces of federal legislation related to education: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The latter act created new federal funding (Title 1) for "at-risk" pupils, while the Civil Rights and Economic Opportunity acts more broadly addressed poverty and discrimination in society. The Civil Rights Act, in particular, is important for proponents of educational equity because it required a study of the factors leading to unequal educational opportunity. A team of researchers led by James Coleman conducted the study, which produced a long line of quantitative research examining the factors, including dollars and the resources they buy, that might affect student achievement (see Coleman et al. 1966; Hanushek 1972, 1981, 1989; Murnane 1975; Hedges, Laine, and Greenwald 1994). While the debate about whether (and how) money matters to educational achievement continues among researchers (Hanushek 1989; Hedges, Laine and Greenwald 1994), courts in virtually every state have addressed the constitutionality of funding disparities across districts within states. …


The world is becoming a place where the number of emergencies and humanitarian crises is increasing rapidly due to economic inequality and the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries, as well as climate changes leading to disruption of the natural balance and development of natural disasters. The most vulnerable groups of the population including women and children always are aff ected by disasters. The younger the child, the more vulnerable he/she is, especially if not naturally fed or having a mother or parents. Various humanitarian organizations have been involved in a number of crises, with the World Health Organization and UNICEF and other United Nations-related organizations leading the way. In the care of mothers, infants and young children, most important is to ensure appropriate nutrition because otherwise it can result in life-threatening health conditions. The lack of protection, support and promotion of natural nutrition (breastfeeding) and its disruption and undermining by uncritical and uncontrolled donations and distribution of infant formula are the biggest challenge due to the l ack of information of mothers, those who provide support in emergencies from both governmental and non-governmental sector, without cross-sectoral cooperation, thus causing uncoordinated and sometimes harmful interventions. Therefore, it is recommended that governments issue guidelines on infant and young child nutrition prior to the occurrence of an emergency, and crisis management regulations in which the issue of infant and young child nutrition will be given due consideration.


Abstract:  Anemia is a common finding in post‐liver transplant patients. Causes for the anemia include nutritional deficiencies, red cell aplasia as well as immune‐mediated hemolysis. One of the immunologic causes of hemolytic anemia is drug‐induced hemolysis. Tacrolimus is a common immunosuppressant used in post‐liver transplant patients to prevent graft rejection. There have been reports of tacrolimus‐associated hemolytic anemia secondary to hemolytic uremic syndrome as well as autoimmune hemolysis. There are also case‐reports of severe hemolytic anemia related to cold agglutinin production in post‐liver transplant patients. We described in this paper three cases of severe cold agglutinin hemolytic anemia in three pediatric liver transplant patients. Steroid therapy, plasmapheresis and withdrawal of tacrolimus led to resolution of the severe hemolytic process in each case. Whether the immune‐mediated hemolysis is related to tacrolimus is not clear and needs to be characterized further.


This diploma thesis sets out to analyse the applicability of the instrument 'European Grouping of
Territorial Cooperation (EGTC)' in the transnational and interregional non-contiguous cooperation.
EGTCs that are applied in spatially non-contiguous cooperations are called 'Network-EGTCs'. As
no scientific research about network-EGTCs has been made so far, this diploma thesis fills this
research gap.
As a basis for the analysis, a literature review on the instrument EGTC in general and its historic
background was conducted. In addition the scientific literature has been searched for characteristics
of non-contiguous cooperations and different stakeholders were interviewed for their
estimations about network-EGTCs. The so far existing and planned network-EGTCs have been
explored. Out of these network-EGTCs two case studies – the E.G.T.C. Amphictyony and the
planned CETC-EGTC – have been examined in depth. Their characteristics have further been
compared with the information about EGTCs and non contiguous-cooperations in general.
It was found out that network-EGTCs show advantages from ordinary non-contiguous cooperations.
Additionally, it was discovered that network-EGTCs do not differ in their character as much
as it had been expected from EGTCs established in the cross-border cooperation. This applies
also to the establishment process as well as to the fulfilment of the instrument's potentials. In
general all EGTCs show discrepancies between planning and practice. Only a few differences
have been discovered. Contrary to expectation network-EGTCs show only certain disadvantages
but also advantages compared to EGTCs in the cross-border cooperation.
This thesis delivers evidence that EGTCs are applicable in the transnational and interregional
cooperation when certain preconditions are fulfilled. Then they can contribute to a successful
transnational and interregional cooperation.
Recommendations were given to territorial non-contiguous cooperations that are considering to
establish an EGTC.
It is expected that more network-EGTCs will be established in the future due to the higher experience
and knowledge about network-EGTCs.


Multimedia is the technology that puts life into our computers. Developing multimedia systems is a task that engages professional groups not previously involved in the development of information systems. New technology, new developers and widening areas of applications combine to create an exciting scenario compared to traditional systems development. Can these two areas benefit from each other? In this chapter we will discuss special conditions and contents that apply to the development of multimedia products, and touch upon the multimedia concept; the product, technology, customer and communication inherent in the developing process. A parallel will be drawn with traditional systems development, and arguments for mutual exchange of knowledge will be presented. Developers, unite!


Intimate partner violence (IPV) constitutes a hidden health risk for exposed mothers and children. In Sweden, screening for IPV in healthcare has only been routine during pregnancy, despite an increase in IPV following childbirth. The arguments against routine questions postpartum have concerned a lack of evidence of beneficial effects as well as fear of stigmatizing women or placing abused women at further risk. Increased understanding of women's attitudes to routine questions may allay these fears. In this study, 198 mothers in 12 child healthcare centres (CHCs) filled in a short questionnaire about their exposure and received information on IPV at a regular baby check-up visit. The mothers' lifetime prevalence of exposure to IPV was 16%. One hundred and twenty-eight mothers participated in a telephone interview, giving their opinion on the screening experience. The intervention was well-received by most of the mothers who reported that questions and information on IPV are essential for parents, considering the health risks for children, and that the CHC is a natural arena for this. Necessary prerequisites were that questioning be routine to avoid stigmatizing and be offered in privacy without the partner being present.


Summary The president reconstituted his cabinet in early December, focusing primarily on the economic team. The highly experienced Boediono was appointed as Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, while Sri Mulyani Indrawati was promoted from chair of the planning agency to become Minister of Finance. The former economics coordinating minister, Aburizal Bakrie, was made Coordinating Minister for Social Affairs—out of the economic limelight, but still with considerable influence. These changes overall have been well received by the markets, as indicated by a considerable strengthening of the rupiah. The challenges facing the new cabinet remain immense, however. On a range of macroeconomic variables, performance has fallen well short of the government's targets. Output growth declined to just 4.9% p.a. in the December quarter from 6.5% a year earlier. Investment growth has fallen to a very low level, giving rise to concern about the creation of job opportunities. In a booming global economy, exports grew by only 7.4% in the four quarters to December, despite Indonesia's wealth of natural resources. The inflation rate doubled from September to October to almost 18% p.a., although subsequent price increases have been much slower. The president's anti-corruption campaign continues to generate much attention. The number of corruption cases involving government officials and state enterprise managers brought to the courts continues to increase. Some high-profile cases have resulted in convictions, but others have not. The campaign seems likely also to be extended to judicial reforms, which are clearly crucial, but one urgent issue yet to be tackled directly is the widespread suspicion that funding of major political parties derives largely from abuse of power by government officials. Numerous floods and landslides early in 2006 resulted in deaths, injuries and considerable physical damage. The frequency of such natural disasters has risen significantly over time, suggesting that governments at all levels need to develop mechanisms to manage them and implement policies to mitigate or prevent them. Reconstruction progress in Aceh and Nias during 2005 was disappointingly slow. The reconstruction authority predicts dramatic improvement in 2006, but there appears to be a need to clarify the relationships among its three components, and to make some adjustments to its master plan, particularly in relation to land use planning. A reallocation of available funds among major activities, better coordination of implementing organisations, and a rethinking of conflicts between the authority's roles as implementation agency and coordinating agency may all be needed if the ambitious and urgent targets are to be met.


Due Process is one of the most interesting and conceptually challenging areas of the common law, and in recent years there has been a major revival of interest in the sheer range and applicability of the term. In this major new book, the author of the widely admired Discretionary Powers offers a study of the underlying principles of due process and fair procedures, and sets the discussion within a broad comparative and theoretical framework. In landmark decisions such as Ridge v. Baldwin (1968) the courts in Britain and other parts of the Commonwealth have begun to recognize the importance of procedural fairness across a broad spectrum of official powers and decisions. Principles have begun to emerge, and yet the courts have not yet developed an approach which is entirely adequate to the task. In this timely book, the author traces the development of these principles within a framework which includes analysis and critique of legal developments in the major common law jurisdictions, and which relates these developments to similar ideas under both the European Convention on Human Rights and the American Constitution. Original, scholarly and thought-provoking, this major new study will be required reading for lawyers with interests in public law, civil and criminal procedure, civil liberties, legal theory and comparative law.


OBJECTIVES
To determine seasonal trends in the number of deaths from violence in Bogotá, Colombia from 1997-2006 and to analyze any possible associations with the city's economic cycles.

METHODS
An ecologic study based on the official death toll from violence registered between January 1997 and September 2006 in Santa Fe de Bogotá, Colombia. Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) time-series trimester models were used to describe the behavior of violent deaths. The explanatory variables for the city's economic cycles were the trimester series of the consumer price index, the unemployment rate, and the total number of people employed; these were related to the death series through transfer function models.

RESULTS
Of the 36 575 total deaths from violence in Bogotá, 57.7% were homicides and 23.7% resulted from traffic accidents. The homicide, suicide, and traffic accident deaths showed downward trends, with a noteworthy seasonal pattern in the traffic accident and suicide deaths that peaked during the last two trimesters of each year. Significant associations were found between all the death series from all the different causes and at least one economic series, and in each case a respective transfer function model was identified.

CONCLUSIONS
Homicides constituted the largest portion of the violent deaths, and exposed a seasonal pattern to this death type. Significant associations were found between deaths from violence and some economic variables, revealing a cycle tied to the life of the city. The socioeconomic circumstances affecting a society were confirmed to influence the level of violence.


An ideal state of development, when viewed with fantasy, is nothing but a state or condition where light touches everybody without refraction. The diagonal line of the Lorenz Curve Framework represents such an ideal condition. In the presence of inequality, however, it deviates or refracts from the ideal condition. In this paper, I try to measure economic inequality from the index of refraction. First, I compute such an index for each stratum to evaluate condition in each and then add all to propose an overall measure of economic inequality, which appears to be a standardised measure of the length of the Lorenz Curve relative to that of the diagonal line. The exercise is done utilising data on distribution of income or consumption from the WDI 2014. Results are lively and remarkable. While an index value of less than 1.00 represents an `anomalous refraction' in Optics, such a condition of inequality is true and too common for many of us (60-80\%) in reality. In contrast to that, in some countries, the index of refraction of the richest group exceeds that of Diamond (2.42), where an index value of 1.00 depicts an ideal condition that is enviable. In regard to technicalities, it goes at par Gini Index and beyond. Additionally, it makes analysis of economic inequality more sensible. Presumably, the proposed index could be a good substitute of the Gini Index as it is found perfectly correlated with the latter by quadratic equation with an Adjusted R Square value of 1.00.


This thesis addresses the question of how business schoolsestablished as public privatepartnerships (PPPs) within a regional university in the English-speaking Caribbean survived for over twenty-one years and achieved legitimacy in their environment. The aim of the study was to examine how public and private sector actors contributed to the evolution of the PPPs. A social network perspective provided a broad relational focus from which to explore the phenomenon and engage disciplinary and middle-rangetheories to develop explanations. Legitimacy theory provided an appropriate performance dimension from which to assess PPP success. An embedded multiple-case research design, with three case sites analysed at three levels including the country and university environment, the PPP as a firm and the subgroup level constituted the methodological framing of the research process. The analysis techniques included four methods but relied primarily on discourse and social network analysis of interview data from 40 respondents across the three sites. A staged analysis of the evolution of the firm provided the 'time and effects' antecedents which formed the basis for sense-making to arrive at explanations of the public-private relationship-influenced change. A conceptual model guided the study and explanations from the cross-case analysis were used to refine the process model and develop a dynamic framework and set of theoretical propositions that would underpin explanations of PPP success and legitimacy in matched contexts through analytical generalisation. The study found that PPP success was based on different models of collaboration and partner resource contribution that arose from a confluence of variables including the development of shared purpose, private voluntary control in corporate governance mechanisms and boundary spanning leadership. The study contributes a contextual theory that explains how PPPs work and a research agenda of 'corporate governance as inspiration' from a sociological perspective of 'liquid modernity'. Recommendations for policy and management practice were developed.


This paper describes MEDUSA, an experimental algorithm synthesizer. MEDUSA is characterized by its top-down approach, its use of cost-constraints, and its restricted number of synthesis methods. Given this model, we discuss heuristics used to keep this process from being unbounded search through the solution space. The results indicate that the performance criteria can be used effectively to help avoid combinatorial explosion. The system has synthesized a number of algorithms in its test domain (geometric intersection problems) without operator intervention.


Recently, extensive vortex lattice metastability was reported in MgB2 in connection with a second-order rotational phase transition. However, the mechanism responsible for these well-ordered metastable vortex lattice phases is not well understood. Using small-angle neutron scattering, we studied the vortex lattice in MgB2 as it was driven from a metastable to the ground state through a series of small changes in the applied magnetic field. Our results show that metastable vortex lattice domains persist in the presence of substantial vortex motion and directly demonstrate that the metastability is not due to vortex pinning. Instead, we propose that it is due to the jamming of counterrotated vortex lattice domains which prevents a rotation to the ground state orientation.


We present and evaluate a framework and tool for combining multiple program analyses which allows the dynamic (on-line) adjustment of the precision of each analysis depending on the accumulated results. For example, the explicit tracking of the values of a variable may be switched off in favor of a predicate abstraction when and where the number of different variable values that have been encountered has exceeded a specified threshold. The method is evaluated on verifying the SSH client/server software and shows significant gains compared with predicate abstraction-based model checking.


For the thin-film solar cells embedded with nanostructures at their rear dielectric layer, the shape and location of the nanostructures are crucial for higher conversion efficiency. A novel two-level hierarchical nanostructure (a sphere evenly covered with half truncated smaller spheres) can facilitate stronger intensity and wider scattering angles due to the coexistence of the merits of the nanospheres in two scales. We show in this article that the evolutionary algorithm allows for obtaining the optimal parameters of this two-scale nanostructure in terms of the maximization of the short circuit current density. In comparison with the thin-film solar cells with convex and flat metal back, whose parameters are optimized singly, the short circuit current density is improved by 7.48% and 10.23%, respectively. The exploration of such a two-level hierarchical nanostructure within an optimization framework signifies a new domain of study and allows to better identify the role of sophisticated shape in light trapping in the absorbing film, which is believed to be the main reason for the enhancement of short circuit current density.


The purpose of the present article is to consider the issue whether there is common ground between mathematics and linguistics. The idea of article was prompted by the relation to mathematics of the famous Russian linguist E.D. Polivanov. Methodologically we gave the floor to a large number of mathematicians and philosophers and came to a conclusion that many scientists recognize division of sciences into application-oriented ones and fundamental. This division concerns, generally mathematics; similar ambitiousness is not typical of linguists. The mathematics oversteps now the limits of separate sciences including humanitarian ones covering the whole amount of ideas concerning the world and it's transformation with it's own concepts and methods. The conclusion drawn in the article concerns complementarity of sciences: no matter whether any discoveries and achievements are fundamental or application-oriented. What really matters, the science shouldn't stand still and it's achievements are used for the benefit of the mankind.


Title of Dissertation: "CHILDREN SELECTING BOOKS IN A LIBRARY": EXTENDING MODELS OF INFORMATION BEHAVIOR TO A RECREATIONAL SETTING Kara Anne Reuter Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation directed by: Dr. M. Delia Neuman College of Information Studies Literacy researchers suggest that book-selection strategies are part of successful literacy development, and in several research studies children reported that finding books they like is the biggest barrier they face to reading. Despite much attention to particular aspects of children's reading habits, few studies have examined the processes children use to select books. Against this backdrop, this study undertook a qualitative investigation of primary-school children's selection of books for recreational reading in a public library over the summer. Book selection was examined from the perspective of library and information science (LIS) models of information behavior and relevance assessment. To expand LIS research into the recreational realm, the study also drew upon reader-response theory in education and uses-and-gratifications theory in communications. Using a multiple-case study design, the study collected questionnaire, interview, and observation data from 20 7to 9-year-old children and their parents during several sessions at their homes and at the public library. The data were analyzed with a grounded-theory approach. During the study, the children spoke in general of the gratifications—cognitive, emotional, and social—that reading provides. When embarking on book selection at the library, however, they did not mention specific needs they sought to fill. When browsing the library, the children exhibited successively more involvement with books, examining them externally and internally and focusing on a variety of elements. The central aspects influencing children's selection of books were contents and reading experience. Several differences emerged among the children: older children were more purposeful in their behaviors than younger children; girls were more independent than boys; some children had strong preferences that influenced their book-selection practices; and children exhibited distinct book-selection strategies. Finally, children rarely acknowledged receiving formal instruction in book selection and faced a number of obstacles related to library terminology and concepts. Within the LIS field, this research contributes to an expanded understanding of information behavior. The findings have implications for strategies to encourage effective book selection through library instruction and parental involvement as well as for approaches to improve library services and systems, such as readers' advisory, shelf arrangement, and digital libraries. "CHILDREN SELECTING BOOKS IN A LIBRARY": EXTENDING MODELS OF INFORMATION BEHAVIOR TO A RECREATIONAL SETTING


The volatility implied by observed market prices as a function of the strike and time to maturity form an Implied Volatility Surface (IV S). Practical applications require reducing the dimension and characterize its dynamics through a small number of factors. Such dimension reduction is summarized by a Dynamic Semiparametric Factor Model (DSFM) that characterizes the IV S itself and their movements across time by a multivariate time series of factor loadings. This paper focuses on investigating long range dependence in the factor loadings series. Our result reveals that shocks to volatility persist for a very long time, affecting significantly stock prices. For appropriate representation of the series dynamics and the possibility of improved forecasting, we model the long memory in levels and absolute returns using the class of fractional integrated volatility models that provide flexible structure to capture the slow decaying autocorrelation function reasonably well.


Background: Alterations in the sleep -wake cycle leads to decreased melatonin secretion and it may be associated with sleep disorders and cancer risk. Exposure of light at night and rotating night shift decrease the melatonin production due to acute suppression of pineal melatonin secretion during night work has been suggested to increases cancer risks. Aims & Objectives: The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effect of light exposure at night on circadian pattern of 6-Sulfatoxy melatonin levels in night shift nursing professionals. Material and Methods: 62 healthy nursing professionals of both genders performing day and night shifts (continuous 9 days night shift with alternate day shifts) were recruited. Urine samples were collected at around 8 hour intervals (afternoon sample: between 13:00 to 15:00, night samples between 22:00 to 01:00 and morning samples between 05:00 to 08:00) while they were performing night duties and repeated when they were assigned day duties. Night melatonin level was decreased as compared to morning melatonin. Results: Night melatonin level was found declined as compared to morning level and this pattern was significant when compared night melatonin between night (16.71 ± 11.98) vs day shift (22.71 ± 13.25) and morning melatonin level between night (20.07 ± 14.13) vs day shifts (28.26 ± 14.14) (p<0.001). Conclusion: Light exposure at night disrupts the circadian rhythm of melatonin secretion during night shift leads to internal desynchronization.


Objectives: To investigate the performance of HIV infected older adults resident in a rural area in Eastern Zambia with low education level on the motor skills and verbal fluency.Materials and Methods: A quantitative and cross sectional study consisting of 28 HIV positive and 22 HIV negative rural resident adults in Chipata with the age range of 40-65years with fewer than five years of education. The present sub study extended the generalisability of the Zambia Neurobehavioral Test Battery (ZNTB) findings with literate, urban adults in the main study to a sample of less formally educated, elderly, rural adults, using tests of motor skill and some verbal fluency tests translated into local language, that were not expected to depend on formal education. The main sample study included 41 participants with the education range of 5-7 years drawn from the main sample in the 6 clinics in Lusaka. Some aspects of the ZNTB were used to measure cognitive functioning. The Finger Tapping Test of the Developmental Neuropsychological Test Battery was also used.Results: Tests of motor skill were less sensitive to HIV infection (F (1, 48) = 1.134, p= .292) than verbal fluency tests-Hopkins Verbal Learning (F (1, 48) = 42.994, p=.000, Hopkins Verbal Learning Test- delay (F (1, 48) = 45.886, p= .000, Animal Naming (F(1, 48) = 14.772, p= .000 and Action Naming (F (1, 48) = 14.227, p= .000). Contrary to hypothesis, performance on the grooved pegboard test of motor skill was significantly higher by participants with full primary education (Z score= -0.90) than by less educated participants (Z score= 1.80).Conclusions: This study has brought to light what was not known about the effect of HIV and education on the performance of the motor tasks and verbal fluency among the low literate adults. It has shown that regardless of the HIV status individuals can perform tasks normally on the motor tasks more especially with the improved treatment of HIV.


Abstract Most asteroid and comet impacts cause localized destruction, not global-scale extinctions. The way in which the international community would respond to such events has not been defined. During the 10th European Science Foundation IMPACT workshop in 2003 a method of scientific response to an impact event was proposed. A Scientific Impact Response Team (SIRT) would achieve the rapid assembly of a scientific and logistics team to access and study a newly formed impact crater (or blast zone under an airburst). Its purpose would be to (1) provide scientific advice and information for disaster and emergency services if such an event occurs near to a populated area, (2) provide scientific advice to media and public information channels, (3) investigate immediate postimpact geological and biological effects in and around the crater, and (4) document geological and biological changes at the site of impact over time and the rate of recovery. The team would exist in a latent state. In order to ensure a coherent response to such an event, the team could be activated by international bodies such as the UN and would maintain links with other emergency response organizations.


In a democracy, political authority should be determined independently of religious, philosophical, and ethical ideals that often divide us. This idea, called liberal neutrality, challenges one of the oldest insights of the Western philosophical tradition in politics. At least since Plato, the concept of perfectionism has insisted that statecraft is akin to "soulcraft," and political questions about the justification of state power have followed from ethical questions about what is valuable in life and about how we should live if we are to live well. Against Perfectionism defends neutralist liberalism as the most appropriate political morality for democratic societies. Steven Lecce investigates the theoretical foundations of liberalism, bringing together classic and contemporary arguments about the implications of pluralism for liberal equality. He surveys three classic debates over the grounds and limits of tolerance, and investigates the limits of perfectionism as a guide to law and public policy in pluralist societies. Lecce ultimately suggests a version of neutrality that answers the critiques recently leveled against it as a political ideal. Presenting sophisticated and groundbreaking arguments, Against Perfectionism is a call to rethink current concepts of law and public policy in democratic societies.