Background:
 Over
 one
 half
 of
 all
 pregnancies
 in
 the
 United
 States
 are
 unintended. Nurses
 are
 on
 the
 frontlines
 of
 the
 health
 care
 work
 force
 and
 often
 encounter women
 with
 unintended
 pregnancies
 in
 the
 clinical
 setting.
 They
 may
 find themselves
 responsible
 for
 options
 counseling
 and
 helping
 these
 women
 to
 explore their
 options
 of
 pregnancy,
 adoption
 and
 abortion.
 Discussing
 these
 three
 options
 in a
 non-‐judgmental,
 well-‐informed
 manner
 allows
 the
 woman
 to
 consider
 all possibilities.
 Leading
 this
 type
 of
 conversation
 requires
 specific
 skills
 and knowledge
 as
 well
 as
 the
 ability
 to
 deliver
 this
 information
 in
 a
 therapeutic, nonbiased
 manner. Purpose:
 The
 intent
 of
 this
 study
 was
 to
 analyze
 data
 regarding
 the
 inclusion
 of options
 counseling
 and
 abortion
 education
 in
 undergraduate
 nursing
 programs
 in New
 England.
 Identification
 of
 gaps
 can
 provide
 opportunities
 for
 curriculum reform.
 Due
 to
 the
 enormous
 impact
 that
 nurses
 have
 with
 patients,
 institutions have
 a
 responsibility
 to
 provide
 their
 students
 with
 accurate,
 honest,
 factual,
 current knowledge
 about
 options
 counseling
 including
 abortion.
 Doing
 so
 is
 a
 public
 health issue
 with
 the
 incentive
 of
 not
 only
 providing
 women
 with
 optimal
 health
 care
 and better
 maternal-‐fetal
 outcomes,
 but
 also
 to
 reduce
 spending
 nationwide.
 This
 study can
 support
 efforts
 to
 accomplish
 these
 goals. Methods:
 A
 cross-‐sectional
 survey
 was
 sent
 out
 via
 email
 to
 the
 faculty
 members
 of accredited
 undergraduate
 nursing
 programs
 throughout
 New
 England.
 It
 was
 active for
 approximately
 three
 months
 between
 June
 2015
 and
 September
 2015
 with intermittent
 reminders
 sent
 during
 that
 time
 frame.
 The
 survey
 inquired
 about personal
 attitudes,
 inclusion/exclusion
 of
 options
 counseling
 and
 abortion education
 as
 well
 as
 methods
 used
 to
 include
 this
 material
 in
 the
 curricula. Results:
 All
 states
 in
 New
 England
 were
 included
 in
 this
 study.
 Fifty
 percent
 of responding
 institutions
 reported
 that
 they
 include
 options
 counseling
 and
 abortion education
 in
 the
 curricula,
 while
 the
 remaining
 50%
 reportedly
 do
 not.
 When
 asked to
 identify
 reasons
 that
 this
 content
 is
 not
 included
 in
 the
 current
 curricula,
 80%
 of respondents
 indicated
 that
 it
 is
 not
 a
 curriculum
 priority
 due
 to
 time
 constraints. The
 main
 identified
 methods
 that
 support
 inclusion
 of
 options
 counseling
 and abortion
 in
 the
 curricula
 include
 classroom
 sessions
 focused
 on
 technical/evidence-‐ based
 instruction,
 classroom
 sessions
 focused
 on
 ethical
 issues
 and
 assigned readings. Conclusions:
 Options
 counseling
 and
 abortion
 education
 is
 not
 adequately
 covered in
 undergraduate
 nursing
 curricula
 across
 New
 England.
 This
 data
 set
 is
 remarkably similar
 to
 a
 study
 done
 in
 1997,
 showing
 that
 in
 the
 course
 of
 nearly
 20
 years,
 there has
 been
 little
 advance
 in
 the
 inclusion
 of
 options
 counseling
 and
 abortion education.
 In
 many
 instances,
 this
 material
 is
 given
 equal
 or
 more
 attention
 in ethical
 discussions
 rather
 than
 focusing
 on
 technical
 evidence-‐based
 instruction. Personal
 attitudes
 about
 abortion
 have
 been
 correlated
 with
 the
 inclusions
 of options
 counseling
 and
 abortion
 education
 and
 likely
 affect
 the
 content
 that
 is incorporated
 in
 the
 curricula.


Very little research in software engineering has focused on the model of a programmer working alone. These so-called cowboys are disdained for not working in teams to build software. In reality many cowboys work by themselves due to the circumstances of their work environment, not because they are unable or unwilling to work with well with others. These solo programmers could benefit from a methodology to assist them in consistently developing reliable software on time and within budget while satisfying the customer's needs. Cowboy was designed to help fill this void. This agile-based system incorporates the benefits of agile methodologies into a lightweight, customer-centered approach to software development for the lone developer. This thesis describes Cowboy and its successful application in developing a prototype for a web application.


An Elastic Wireless Local-Area Network (WLAN) system provides a reliable, flexible, and efficient Internet access to users through installations of heterogeneous access points (APs) including dedicated APs (DAPs), virtual APs (VAPs), and mobile APs (MAPs). The number of APs should be carefully selected to optimize the network performance. Specifically, for heavy traffic, a large number of APs are required. However, the dense deployment of APs introduces the inter-AP interferences which may eventually degrade the communication quality when the number of users are few. In this paper, we propose an {\em active access-point configuration algorithm} that activates or deactivates APs according to the changes of network topologies and demands of users for the elastic WLAN system. The algorithm considers the bandwidth difference among heterogeneous AP devices and the total available bandwidth in the network. The number of active APs is minimized to ensure the minimum inter-AP interference subject to the constraints. The host locations can be the candidate positions for the MAPs, because host owners may use them for the Internet access. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated using the WIMNET simulator.


Tumour hypoxia is an important biological feature that is very close related to vasculature, and it has been proved to play a crucial role in the radiation response of solid tumours. In this paper we present a novel image analysis technique for simultaneous tumour hypoxia grading and blood vessel detection in dual-stained tissue sections, originated from the bladder region of patients treated by radiotherapy. The K-Nearest Neighbour classification scheme is employed initially in order to label the image colour pixels. Classification is based on a training set selected from manually drawn regions corresponding to the biological patterns being segmented. For tissue section images presenting a low quality staining, some further processing is required to reject misclassified pixels. A series of specific task-oriented routines have been developed (texture analysis, fuzzy c-means clustering and edge detection), in order to improve the final segmentation result. Validation experiments indicate that the algorithm can robustly detect these biological features, even in tissue sections with very inhomogeneous staining. This approach has also been combined with other image analysis procedures to objectively obtain quantitative measurements of potential clinical interest.


Although investments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are continuously increasing, the relationship between ICT and productivity has been very elusive. Indeed, despite the plethora of studies, research findings have always led to contradictory and/or questionable results. This has resulted in the development of a debate around the concept of the so called ICT productivity paradox. Recently, the issue regarding the productivity impact of ICT has been intensified due to the increasing role and penetration of ICT in the economy and their potential to create an equal competing field for all operators. However, it is widely recognised that there is a need to enhance our understanding of how ICT enhances productivity as well as to develop new techniques and methods for measuring, assessing and managing ICT for delivering organisational value. It is the aim of this study to investigate the impact of ICT on productivity by proposing and applying a robust methodology that is argued to overcome the limitations and problems of previous studies. By providing empirical evidence of the critical ICT issues that add organisational value, the research findings have also contributed in the development of a framework for managing ICT, which in turn raises more questions for further research and investigation. The hotel industry is not an exception in such developments. ICT investments are increasing, however research on their impact on hotel productivity is lacking. To that end, the empirical framework of the study is placed within the context of the hotel sector. In particular, a mail survey targeting hotel managers of three star hotels was conducted for gathering data regarding productivity and ICT metrics. The latter were developed after conducting a thorough and systematic review of the literature regarding three core fields: a) productivity; 2) ICT; and 3) Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The latter is a multivariate statistical technique that was employed for carrying out enhanced statistical analysis of the productivity metrics, which were in turn investigated in their relationship with three ICT metrics. These were; a) type and amount of ICT applications; b) integration of ICT systems; and c) sophistication of use of ICT applications. Overall, 93 usable questionnaires were obtained, which provided the following main findings. Although, a great variety of ICT has been adapted in three star hotel properties, operators are very limited in the way they exploit ICT tools and capabilities for enhancing their productivity. Specifically, very few hotel properties are deploying the networking/integration capabilities of ICT and so limit themselves to automating isolated work tasks and processes. Moreover, a great majority of respondents were found to be at the first stages of ICT implementation meaning that they mainly use ICT for automating their processing and not for exploiting the informational and transformational capabilities of ICT. On the contrary, findings provided evidence that productivity benefits are mainly attributed to ICT integration and sophistication of use rather than simple ICT availability. In this vein, in order to materialise ICT productivity benefits, an integrated approach for managing ICT should be adopted and implemented. Specifically, hotels need to manage and co-ordinate four components namely business processes, information, information systems and information infrastructure.


Organisational change is one of the most popular and interesting topics in business, among both academics and practitioners. However, from previous research development in organisational change, the limiting conditions that apply to the two competing paradigms call for more empirical investigations in different organisational contexts (Aldrich, 1979). Enough research has been conducted on organisational change to make it clear that both content and process dimensions of change should be evaluated, and their separate effects need to be distinguished (Barnett and Carroll, 1995). The previous theories and analyses often tend to only one dimension. Furthermore, previous researchers comment that the dynamic effect of change has been ignored in recent tests of structural inertia theory (Delacroix and Swaminathan, 1991; Haveman, 1992; Kelly and Amburgey, 1991). Very few empirical studies seek to link change action to organisational performance, and the destabilizing effects of change have been assumed more than tested in the previous organisational research studies (Barnett and Carroll, 1995, Carroll and Hannan, 2000).

This thesis is one of the first studies to investigate the effects of both organisational change content and organisational change process outside Western countries. It seeks to escape from the binary distinction of adaption versus selection embraced by opposing theoretical camps, and looks for a more balanced stance. Drawing on the literature on organisational change in organisational ecology and associates the claims of managerial scholars, considers the above research suggestions, it directly examines the broader implications of inertia theory and recent developments in niche expansion theory relating with the measurement to dynamic performance consequences of organisational change. It integrates a number of important theoretical variables to address a variety of distinct theory fragments. These include expectation of firms' on the survival threshold of change, regression toward the mean, time variance of the change effect, cascading change and the effect of organisational characteristics of opacity, asperity, intricacy and viscosity (Hannan, Polos and Carroll, 2007). It separately examines the effect of the change process on performance (Barrett and Carroll, 1995), empirically tests the effects of organisational characteristics on the change length and on the change process. Both the lack of studies outside Western countries and the lack of studies on the process of organisational change make this study a path-finding study.

This thesis is applied to a case organisation in the safety and filtration industry in China. It aims to test the generalizability of organisational change theories in this specific context and the predictability of change theories. In order to achieve these aims, this thesis adopts an in-depth qualitative research strategy and a detailed operational design. The qualitative methods it used were interviews, observation and documentation. The findings were consistent with the theoretical predications. There was a positive relationship between the experience of previous change types and the likelihood to adopt the same type of change in the future. It also demonstrated that there was a significant relationship between the extent of niche expansion and the change effect on performance. The more extensive the organisational change, the more unrelated the niche expansion move, and the more organisational performance is likely to be negative. The results also gave support to the predication of this study that the instant effects of organisational changes were harmful, but declined over time; organisational change might improve performance in the long run in the context of environmental transformation in the safety and filtration industry of China. However, the role of the pre-change condition to initiation change and the relations of the pre-change condition and change consequences were not obviously observed from the results of the empirical data collected in this study, the measurement model was re-estimated and further study to verify the results was suggested. Moreover, the organisational characteristics of intricacy, viscosity, opacity and asperity extended the length of the organisational change process, and the length of the change process negatively affected performance. However, the result showed that opacity not only led to an under-estimation of the change length but also an over-estimation. It only happened in the change cases in which a similar type of change was previously implemented and the managers had relevant change experience with that change type. In order to demonstrate that the theories from the adaptation and selection camps are not mutually exclusively, this study examined the possibility of ambidexterity which is in the centre of the organisational adaptation camp (O'Reilly and Tushman, 2008). The results showed that a limited number of change cases conditionally supported the proposition's predication in this study: it was possible to simultaneously achieve flexibility and efficiency in the organisational change process, with the condition that only if a similar type of change was implemented previously and the managers had previous experience.

Finally, this thesis proposed that the theories of organisational adaptation and selection were complementary; some effects of change processes were interpreted better by one view than the other, and it suggested a possible way of disentangling the propositions to directly examine the elements influencing the change process and the consequences on performance functions by considering both theories. The findings of this paper have strong implications for future research into organisational change studies by several dimensions, and they shed light on several important practical issues in business.


Tropical soils range from nutrient-depleted lateritic soils rich in halloysite or kaolinite to Inceptisols rich in interstratified kaolinite-smectite (K-S), smectite, or related 2:1 clays. Given the strong influence of clay minerals on tropical soil quality, better understanding of factors influencing their occurrence is important for modeling and managing tropical environments. This study examines the alteration of smectite to kaolinite by way of intermediate K-S and halloysite in a 120 ka moist tropical chronosequence. Iron-rich smectite (11.6 ± 2.2% Fe2O3) is the dominant mineral in Holocene soils (1–8 ka) originating from sediments rich in plagioclase and clinopyroxene. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) of smectite is 54–84 cmolc/kg and pH is 6.1 to 7.4. Within 50 ka, smectite fixes Al-hydroxy complexes into interlayers, K+ is retained preferentially over Ca2+, and 2:1 layers are stripped of tetrahedral sheets; the resulting K-S inherits flaky smectite crystal habit and the 2:1 layers — which only expand partially — include Al-hydroxy smectite and some illite-like layers. After 50 ka, the dominant mineral is K-S, the CEC is 18–28 cmolc/kg, and the pH is 5.3. Flaky Fe-kaolinite with ~10% residual smectite layers and halloysite (7.4% Fe2O3) also occur in 50 ka soil. The 120 ka soils are dominated by flaky Fe-kaolinite (<10% residual smectite layers) and halloysite (4.9% Fe2O3), and Fe-poor hexagonal kaolinite also occurs (5–10% of soil). The CEC is 11–16 cmolc/kg and the pH is 4.7–5.3.Changes in crystal chemistry of the soil clays (decreasing Fe, Mg, Ca, and K; increasing Al) over time reflects two reaction mechanisms: (1) cell-preserved transformation of smectite layers to kaolinite layers that accompanies conversion of smectite to K-S and eventually kaolinite; this results in the formation of flaky Fe-rich kaolinites after 50 ka; and (2) dissolution of K-S followed by crystallization of halloysite. Neoformation of hexagonal kaolinite and/or halloysite with low Fe (<3% Fe2O3) follows dissolution of Fe-kaolinite or halloysite after 100 ka. This sequence is probably common in moist tropical soils and these findings may inform modeling of soil composition in tropical landscapes where tectonic, volcanic, or geomorphic activity periodically exposes unweathered parent material, producing a range of soil ages.


Because we do not know what deadly microorganisms might be lurking inside samples returned from Mars, the samples will either have to be sterilized before release or kept in isolation until biological studies declare them safe. One way to execute microorganisms is with radiation, such as gamma rays. Although quite effective in snuffing out bacteria and viruses, gamma rays might also affect the mineralogical, chemical, and isotopic compositions of the zapped rocks and soils. Carl Allen (Lockheed Martin Space Operations, Houston) and a team of 18 other analysts tested the effect of gamma rays on rock and mineral samples like those we expect on Mars. Except for some darkening of some minerals, high doses of gamma rays had no significant effect on the rocks, making gamma radiation a feasible option for sterilizing samples returned from Mars.


Abstract Background: Reported rates of depression in schizophrenia vary considerably. Objective: To measure the prevalence of depression in a first episode sample of people with schizophrenia. Methods: All referrals with a first episode of schizophrenia diagnosed using SCID interviews were assessed pre-discharge and again six months later. We used the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) to assess the severity of symptoms. Results: Pre-discharge, 10.4% of the sample met CDSS criteria for depression. According to the PANSS depression (PANSS -D) subscale, 3% of patients were depressed, with a mean score of 7.48 (SD = 2.97). Only 3% of patients pre-discharge were found to be depressed on both the CDSS and the PANSS-D. Six months later 6.5% were depressed according to the CDSS. However none reached depression criteria according to the PANSS-D. The CDSS correlated with PANSS-D both pre-discharge and at follow-up. Feelings of depression and self-deprecation were the most common symptoms at baseline and follow-up. The CDSS was unrelated to negative symptoms at both stages. A lifetime history of alcohol abuse increased the risk for depression. Conclusion: Rates of depression in this sample were low. The CDSS appears to discriminate between depression and negative symptoms. Like the general population, alcohol misuse is a risk factor for depression in first episode schizophrenia.


An honest discussion of free trade and how nations can sensibly chart a path forward in today's global economy

 Not so long ago the nation-state seemed to be on its deathbed, condemned to irrelevance by the forces of globalization and technology. Now it is back with a vengeance, propelled by a groundswell of populists around the world. In Straight Talk on Trade, Dani Rodrik, an early and outspoken critic of economic globalization taken too far, goes beyond the populist backlash and offers a more reasoned explanation for why our elites' and technocrats' obsession with hyper-globalization made it more difficult for nations to achieve legitimate economic and social objectives at home: economic prosperity, financial stability, and equity.

 Rodrik takes globalization's cheerleaders to task, not for emphasizing economics over other values, but for practicing bad economics and ignoring the discipline's own nuances that should have called for caution. He makes a case for a pluralist world economy where nation-states retain sufficient autonomy to fashion their own social contracts and develop economic strategies tailored to their needs. Rather than calling for closed borders or defending protectionists, Rodrik shows how we can restore a sensible balance between national and global governance. Ranging over the recent experiences of advanced countries, the eurozone, and developing nations, Rodrik charts a way forward with new ideas about how to reconcile today's inequitable economic and technological trends with liberal democracy and social inclusion.

 Deftly navigating the tensions among globalization, national sovereignty, and democracy, Straight Talk on Trade presents an indispensable commentary on today's world economy and its dilemmas, and offers a visionary framework at a critical time when we need it most.


I argue that a straightforward account of empty names can be given which allows them to
contribute to the expression of thoughts, as seems to be the case. But that we can offer such
an account does not mean that we should, as it should be conceded on all sides that what is
happening in the case of empty names is radically different from what is happening in the
case of non-empty names. Moreover, in the case of non-conniving uses of empty names, the
subject is under a misapprehension, and so could be under the misapprehension that they are
expressing a thought. Nevertheless, if we want to hold on to the truth of some singular
negative existential claims, which is recognized as a desiderata even by those hostile to the
intelligibility of empty names, we are forced to recognize that empty names can contribute to
the expression of thoughts. But once we make this admission we then open the door to empty
names being used to express other thoughts too.
But that we can give a coherent account of empty names and singular negative existentials
does not mean that we should be irrealists wherever we think we see empty names and true
singular negative existentials. And I argue that this is the case with fictional names. There are
good reasons to be realists about fictional characters, even though there are good reasons to
accept that fictional names sometimes fail to refer and that as a result claims such as Sherlock
Holmes does not exist are true. The solution is to accept that fictional names are ambiguous
having a non-referring use and referring use. Such a position is well-motivated and plausible,
and allows the realist to capture the truth of singular negative existentials in a straightforward
manner. Moreover, since there are no metaphysical problems with this realism, we should
embrace it.


Title of dissertation: A VISUAL ANALYTICS APPROACH TO COMPARING COHORTS OF EVENT SEQUENCES Sana Malik, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Professor Ben Shneiderman Department of Computer Science Sequences of timestamped events are currently being generated across nearly every domain of data analytics, from e-commerce web logging to electronic health records used by doctors and medical researchers. Every day, this data type is reviewed by humans who apply statistical tests, hoping to learn everything they can about how these processes work, why they break, and how they can be improved upon. To further uncover how these processes work the way they do, researchers often compare two groups, or cohorts, of event sequences to find the differences and similarities between outcomes and processes. With temporal event sequence data, this task is complex because of the variety of ways single events and sequences of events can differ between the two cohorts of records: the structure of the event sequences (e.g., event order, co-occurring events, or frequencies of events), the attributes about the events and records (e.g., gender of a patient), or metrics about the timestamps themselves (e.g., duration of an event). Running statistical tests to cover all these cases and determining which results are significant becomes cumbersome. Current visual analytics tools for comparing groups of event sequences emphasize a purely statistical or purely visual approach for comparison. Visual analytics tools leverage humans' ability to easily see patterns and anomalies that they were not expecting, but is limited by uncertainty in findings. Statistical tools emphasize finding significant differences in the data, but often requires researchers have a concrete question and doesn't facilitate more general exploration of the data. Combining visual analytics tools with statistical methods leverages the benefits of both approaches for quicker and easier insight discovery. Integrating statistics into a visualization tool presents many challenges on the frontend (e.g., displaying the results of many different metrics concisely) and in the backend (e.g., scalability challenges with running various metrics on multi-dimensional data at once). I begin by exploring the problem of comparing cohorts of event sequences and understanding the questions that analysts commonly ask in this task. From there, I demonstrate that combining automated statistics with an interactive user interface amplifies the benefits of both types of tools, thereby enabling analysts to conduct quicker and easier data exploration, hypothesis generation, and insight discovery. The direct contributions of this dissertation are: (1) a taxonomy of metrics for comparing cohorts of temporal event sequences, (2) a statistical framework for exploratory data analysis with a method I refer to as high-volume hypothesis testing (HVHT), (3) a family of visualizations and guidelines for interaction techniques that are useful for understanding and parsing the results, and (4) a user study, five long-term case studies, and five short-term case studies which demonstrate the utility and impact of these methods in various domains: four in the medical domain, one in web log analysis, two in education, and one each in social networks, sports analytics, and security. My dissertation contributes an understanding of how cohorts of temporal event sequences are commonly compared and the difficulties associated with applying and parsing the results of these metrics. It also contributes a set of visualizations, algorithms, and design guidelines for balancing automated statistics with user-driven analysis to guide users to significant, distinguishing features between cohorts. This work opens avenues for future research in comparing two or more groups of temporal event sequences, opening traditional machine learning and data mining techniques to user interaction, and extending the principles found in this dissertation to data types beyond temporal event sequences. A VISUAL ANALYTICS APPROACH TO COMPARING COHORTS OF EVENT SEQUENCES


Abstract. An idealized baroclinic instability case is simulated using a  ∼  10 km resolution global model to investigate the characteristics of gravity waves generated in the baroclinic life cycle. Three groups of gravity waves appear around the high-latitude surface trough at the mature stage of the baroclinic wave. They have horizontal and vertical wavelengths of 40–400 and 2.9–9.8 km, respectively, in the upper troposphere. The two-dimensional phase-velocity spectrum of the waves is arc shaped with a peak at 17 m s−1 eastward. These waves have difficulty in propagating upward through the tropospheric westerly jet. At the breaking stage of the baroclinic wave, a midlatitude surface low is isolated from the higher-latitude trough, and two groups of quasi-stationary gravity waves appear near the surface low. These waves have horizontal and vertical wavelengths of 60–400 and 4.9–14 km, respectively, and are able to propagate vertically for long distances. The simulated gravity waves seem to be generated by surface fronts, given that the structures and speeds of wave phases are coherent with those of the fronts.


According to the Third-Party Doctrine, a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in information that has been shared with others – including a bank, a phone company, or a credit card company. The doctrine got its start through an appeal to a locatable observer who corresponds, in literary terms, to a narrator with a limited perspective. This is the kind of perspective that courts have traditionally emphasized when explaining how to assess probable cause. The Third-Party Doctrine turns the limited perspective into an omniscient one. The doctrine takes apparently private conduct and classifies it as public, effectively treating the perspective of the "arresting officer" as if it could encompass large quantities of information, widely distributed in space and time. The discussion here examines a recent defense of the Third-Party Doctrine that similarly collapses the limited and omniscient viewpoints. Then, after exploring the narrative analogy by reference to literary analyses of the omniscient narrator in Victorian fiction, the discussion ends by considering the analogy in relation to contemporary modes of omniscient narration.


In their 2016 article, Sammons et al summarise the recommendations of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics report, Children and Clinical Research: the Ethical Issues .1 We welcome the article's important message that researchers look beyond age when considering ethical and participatory issues and respond as critical friends (more friends rather than critical) to the six issues they identify. We provide additional material on the history and wider context, including child public health, education and social care research, bearing in mind that the service context for children has tended to be more multiprofessional than for adults. Social science and social care have a sustained history to offer on participation and how to research with and not on children and young people.

1.  Clinical research and its context.  The Nuffield report considered clinical research to include ' any encounter with children and young people that holds out the prospect of improving healthcare including preventative healthcare. ' The National Cancer Institute defines clinical research as an endeavour 'in which people, or data or samples of tissue from people, are studied to understand health and disease,' while the ever useful Wikipedia describes clinical research as ' a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens.'

The wider context:  Are research encounters with children and young people clinical when they include education, social care and research with mothers, who after all provide the lionesses' share of healthcare in its widest sense? Probably not, though we acknowledge that extending the medicalisation of everyday life has positive as well as problematic effects. On the plus side, clinical studies bring the benefit of an authority rare in other disciplines. Less positively, the lack of attention to the much longer tradition of exploring the ethics of inclusive research …


Between 1993 and 2000, breeding success of Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus was monitored at two fishpond localities, Vrbje in central and Race in north-eastern Slovenia. During the study 50 and 23 nests with eggs were found, respectively. On average, 1.3 chicks per territorial pair survived until fledged in September. Between the two localities, there was no difference in number of fledged chicks per pair in September but a difference existed in number of hatched chicks per territorial pair (Mann-Whitney U test = 13.5; P<0.05). At both localities, the number of fledglings per nest was positively density-dependent. Young mortality was low, only 12%, in no year above 33%, and did not differ between the localities. Correlation between number of pairs and number of pairs known to have hatched chicks, and correlation between number of pairs and number of fledglings per pair in September varied between localities. In comparison with other studies nest losses were very low (4.3%, all predation, at Vrbje, and 18% by all causes, 4,0% by predation, at Race).


This article is devoted to investigation of problems of implementation of article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. On the basis of the social research carried out by the author a presumption has been made that the legislative endows certain social privileges, marks officers of statutory institutions out of other social groups, however, does not give enough attention as to their human and civil rights. The article comprehensively analyses officers' right to defence, moral support during disciplinary proceedings, in when imposing of statutory reprimands (sanctions). A distinguishing feature of the 21st century is united and democratic Europe where fundamental democratic values, supremacy of law and human rights, are respected. Due to peculiarities of institution activities officers inevitably encounter restrictions of their civil rights, although provisions of the Convention are supposed to be fully applied towards them and problems of their implementation are to be solved on the basis of legal acts and recommendations of the community law. Thus, when implementing human rights in internal administration of statutory institutions, it is needed to solve controversial questions where unified powers of scientists and experts of public administration are necessary.


Shifts from productive kelp beds to impoverished sea urchin barrens occur globally and represent a wholesale change to the ecology of sub-tidal temperate reefs. Although the theory of shifts between alternative stable states is well advanced, there are few field studies detailing the dynamics of these kinds of transitions. In this study, sea urchin herbivory (a 'top-down' driver of ecosystems) was manipulated over 12 months to estimate (1) the sea urchin density at which kelp beds collapse to sea urchin barrens, and (2) the minimum sea urchin density required to maintain urchin barrens on experimental reefs in the urbanised Port Phillip Bay, Australia. In parallel, the role of one of the 'bottom-up' drivers of ecosystem structure was examined by (3) manipulating local nutrient levels and thus attempting to alter primary production on the experimental reefs. It was found that densities of 8 or more urchins m-2 (≥ 427 g m-2 biomass) lead to complete overgrazing of kelp beds while kelp bed recovery occurred when densities were reduced to ≤ 4 urchins m-2 (≤ 213 g m-2 biomass). This experiment provided further insight into the dynamics of transition between urchin barrens and kelp beds by exploring possible tipping-points which in this system can be found between 4 and 8 urchins m-2 (213 and 427 g m-2 respectively). Local enhancement of nutrient loading did not change the urchin density required for overgrazing or kelp bed recovery, as algal growth was not affected by nutrient enhancement.


Murine 2B4 (CD244) is a cell surface receptor expressed on all NK cells, γδ-T cells, a subset of CD8+ T cells, and all CD14+ monocytes. 2B4 binds to CD48 with high affinity, and cross-linking 2B4 with anti-2B4 Ab in vitro causes activation of NK cells. To study its physiological role, we have generated, by gene targeting, mice deficient in the expression of this cell surface molecule. The expression of lymphoid cell surface markers on PBMC and splenocytes of mice homozygous for the mutation in 2B4 (2B4−/−) is identical to that in wild-type mice. However, thymocytes from female 2B4−/− mice, but not male 2B4−/− mice, have an increase in the immature CD4−/CD8− population. To investigate the in vivo role of 2B4, wild-type and 2B4−/− mice were injected with CD48+ and CD48− metastatic B16 melanoma cells. Wild-type mice rejected CD48+ melanoma poorly compared with CD48− tumor cells, suggesting that ligation of 2B4 by CD48 on melanoma cells is inhibitory. In keeping with this, male 2B4−/− mice showed enhanced ability to reject CD48+ melanoma cells. However, female 2B4−/− mice poorly rejected both CD48+ and CD48− melanoma cells, revealing a gender-specific and CD48-independent defect in mice lacking 2B4. In vitro and in vivo experiments reveal a complex role of NK cells in gender specificity.


The ratio of women's and men's median annual earnings was 79.6 percent for full-time/year-round workers in 2015. This means the gender wage gap for full-time/year-round workers is 20.4 percent. The ratio of women's and men's median annual earnings did not improve significantly during the last year, and has not seen a statistically significant annual increase since 2007. If the pace of change in the annual earnings ratio continues at the same rate as it has since 1960, it will take another 45 years, until 2059, for men and women to reach parity. Women's median annual earnings in 2015 were $40,742 compared with $51,212 for men; both women's and men's full-time year-round earnings increased significantly between 2014 and 2015 (by 2.7 and 1.5 percent respectively).


This unique study considers the exegetical and hermeneutical possibilities of analyzing the entire letter of 1 Thessalonians as letter of consolation. Abraham Smith maintains that Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians with a full knowledge of the tradition of Greco-Roman letters of consolation and chose the genre to sustain members of the Thessalonian church. Showing how Paul's letter of consolation was understood in Paul's world and by subsequent generations, Smith demonstrates the usefulness of Paul's rhetoric of comfort for modern society. The Literary Currents in Biblical Interpretation series explores current trends within the discipline of biblical interpretation by dealing with the literary qualities of the Bible: the play of its language, the coherence of its final form, and the relationships between text and readers. Biblical interpreters are being challenged to take responsibility for the theological, social, and ethical implications of their readings. This series encourages original readings that breach the confines of traditional biblical criticism.


This thesis is concerned with three-dimensional vortex dynamics, in particular the modelling of vortex structures in an inviscid context. We are motivated by the open problem of regularity of the inviscid equations, i.e. whether or not these equations possess solutions. This problem is manifest in small scales, where vortex filaments are stretched and intensify as they are drawn into increasingly thin tendrils. This creates great difficulty in the investigation of such flows. Our only means of experimentation is to perform numerical simulations, which require exceptionally high resolution to capture the small scale vortex structures. A new numerical method to solve the inviscid Euler equations for threedimensional, incompressible fluids is presented, with special emphasis on spatial adaptivity to resolve as broad a range of scales as possible in a completely selfsimilar fashion. We present a hybrid vortex method whereby we discretise the vorticity in Lagrangian filaments and perform and inversion to compute velocity on an arbitrary unstructured finite-volume grid. This allows for a two-fold adaptivity strategy. First, although naturally spatially adaptive by definition, the vorticity filaments undergo 'renoding'. We redistribute nodes along the filament to concentrate their density in regions of high curvature. Secondly the Eulerian mesh is adapted to follow high strain by increasing resolution based on local filament dimensions. These features allow vortex stretching and folding to be resolved in a completely automatic and self-similar way. The method is validated via well known vortex rings and newly discovered helical vortex equilibria i are also used to test the method. We begin by presenting this new class of three-dimensional vortex equilibria which possess helical symmetry. Such vortices are observed in propeller and wind turbine wakes, and their equilibria shapes have until now been unknown. These vortices are described by contours bounding regions of uniform axial vorticity. Material conservation of axial vorticity enables equilibria to be calculated simply by a restriction on the helical stream function. The states are parameterised by their mean radius and centroid position. In the case of a single vortex, the parameter space cannot be fully filled by our numerical approach. We conjecture that multiply connected contours will characterise equilibria where the algorithm fails. We also consider multiple vortices, evenly azimuthally spaced about the origin. In such cases instabilities often lead to a single helical vortex.


In this paper, we propose conducting Robust Graph Dimensionality Reduction (RGDR) by learning a transformation matrix to map original high-dimensional data into their low-dimensional intrinsic space without the influence of outliers. To do this, we propose simultaneously 1) adaptively learning three variables, \ie a reverse graph embedding of original data, a transformation matrix, and a graph matrix preserving the local similarity of original data in their low-dimensional intrinsic space; and 2) employing robust estimators to  avoid outliers involving the processes of optimizing these three matrices. As a result, original data are cleaned by two strategies, \ie a prediction of original data based on three resulting variables and robust estimators, so that the transformation matrix can be learnt from accurately estimated intrinsic space with the helping of the reverse graph embedding and the graph matrix. Moreover, we propose a new optimization algorithm to the resulting objective function as well as theoretically prove the convergence of our optimization algorithm. Experimental results indicated that our proposed method outperformed all the comparison methods in terms of different classification tasks.


Leptoglossus zonatus and L. phyllopus are important polyphagous pests, and both species have been well-studied but generally without regard to their dependance on a bacterial symbiont. Our results indicate that the central role of Burkholderia in the biology of these insects, as well as in other leaf-footed bugs, should be considered in future studies of coreid life history, ecology, and pest management. ABSTRACT Many beneficial symbioses between bacteria and their terrestrial arthropod hosts are vertically transmitted from mother to offspring, ensuring that the progeny acquire necessary partners. Unusually, in several families of coreoid and lygaeoid bugs (Hemiptera), nymphs must instead ingest the beneficial symbiont, Burkholderia (sensu lato), from the environment early in development. We studied the effects of Burkholderia on development of two species of leaf-footed bug (Coreidae) in the genus Leptoglossus, Leptoglossus zonatus and Leptoglossus phyllopus. We found no evidence for vertical transmission of the symbiont but found stark differences in performance between symbiotic and aposymbiotic individuals. Symbiotic nymphs grew more rapidly, were approximately four times more likely to survive to adulthood than aposymbiotic bugs, and were two times larger. These findings suggest that Burkholderia is an obligate symbiont for the Leptoglossus species. We also tested for variation in fitness effects conferred by four symbiont isolates representing different species within the Burkholderia insect-associated stinkbug beneficial and environmental (SBE) clade. While three isolates conferred similar benefits to hosts, nymphs associated with the fourth isolate grew more slowly and weighed significantly less as adults. The effects of the four isolates were similar for both Leptoglossus species. This work indicates that both Burkholderia acquisition and isolate identity play critical roles in the growth and development of Leptoglossus. IMPORTANCE Leptoglossus zonatus and L. phyllopus are important polyphagous pests, and both species have been well-studied but generally without regard to their dependance on a bacterial symbiont. Our results indicate that the central role of Burkholderia in the biology of these insects, as well as in other leaf-footed bugs, should be considered in future studies of coreid life history, ecology, and pest management. Our work suggests that acquisition of Burkholderia is critical for the growth and development of Leptoglossus species. Further, we found that there was variation in performance outcomes according to symbiont identity, even among members of the stinkbug beneficial and environmental clade. This suggests that although environmental acquisition of a symbiont can provide extraordinary flexibility in partner associations, it also carries a risk if the partner is suboptimal.


Abstract:The article discusses strategies the Central-East European EU member states have applied to protect their populations against the social risks stemming from transformation, foreign-led development and the current economic crisis, and asks how they came about. Some governments spend relatively little on social protection, but employ a high share of their workforce in the public sector. Others offer the most generous support for pensioners and other underemployed groups. As shown in detail in the Hungarian and Latvian case, divergent welfare strategies can be traced back to different socialist legacies and perceptions of the past.


The work contained in this thesis is divided into four sections detailing the formation of (diethoxyphosphinyl)difluoromethylene substituted cycloalkanes and alkenes and their chemistry, as well as the syntheses of purine and pyrimidine substituted polyfluoroethers:(i) The methodology for the introduction of the (diethoxyphosphinyl)difluoromethylene group was studied and extended, with specific reference to cyclic systems. The group was successfully introduced into cyclic alkenes with (diethoxyphosphinyl)difluoro- methylene zinc bromide and saturated systems with (diethoxyphosphinyl)difluoromethyl lithium. The organolithium reagent was also shown to be capable of ring opening epoxides to yield alcohols ;(ii) The (diethoxyphosphinyl)difluoromethylene substituted cyclohexene derivative was further functionalised in a four step process to a new class of adenine and guanine based nucleotide analogues. Model studies were carried out on the (diethoxyphosphinyl)- difluoromethylene substituted cyclohexene derivative with a variety of reagents to introduce functionality at the double bond;(iii) The radical addition of (diethoxyphosphinyl)bromodifluoromethane and (diethoxyphosphinyl)difluoroiodomethane to cycloalkenes using ultraviolet photolysis and gamma-ray initiation were successfully carried out, thus opening up a new route into (diethoxyphosphinyl)difluoromethylene substituted cycloalkanes;(iv) The synthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleoside analogues is described via the coupling of 2-amino-6-chloropurine, 6-chloropurine, silylated 5-fluorouracil and silylated uracil to various α-haloethers. The α-haloethers having previously been synthesised by radical chlorination of both cyclic and acyclic polyfluoroethers.


This paper presents an alternate approach to the problem of delayed-input circuit realization of any fundamental mode asynchronous flow table. This approach is based on partition theory. It is shown that an equivalent normal primitive flow table of any reduced flow table has n binary partitions with substitutioh property such that their product is a 2nblock partition with substitution property, where n is the number of binary inputs. Such a property leads directly to a circuit which realizes the flow table and is a serial connection of two smaller subcircuits. The first subcircuit is again decomposable into n smaller circuits connected in parallel. It is shown that these n circuits always correspond to trivial delays in the input lines, thus leading to the delayed-input circuit realization of the fundamental mode flow table.


The most recent version of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of gastric cancer (GC) was published in 2016, and covered the management and treatment of local, locoregional, locally advanced and metastatic disease. At the ESMO Asia Meeting in November 2017 it was decided by both ESMO and The Japanese Society of Medical Oncology (JSMO) to convene a special guidelines meeting immediately after the JSMO Annual Meeting in 2018. The aim was to adapt the ESMO 2016 guidelines to take into account the ethnic differences associated with the treatment of metastatic GC in Asian patients. These guidelines represent the consensus opinions reached by experts in the treatment of patients with metastatic GC representing the oncological societies of Japan (JSMO), China (CSCO), Korea (KSMO), Malaysia (MOS), Singapore (SSO) and Taiwan (TOS). The voting was based on scientific evidence and was independent of both the current treatment practices and the drug availability and reimbursement situations in the individual participating Asian countries.


Humanity is facing its greatest challenge. To produce 70% more food by 2050 without destroying the environment means doing much more with less. Partly due to the abundant food and record-low food prices achieved by the Green Revolution, overseas development assistance for agriculture dropped from over $20 billion in the 1980s to as little as $3 billion in 2006. Stagnation in the yields of major crops such as rice, wheat and maize followed, and the status quo finally crumbled with the food prices and price spikes of 2008, 2010 and 2011. Today large segments of the global population are threatened by the depletion or degradation of natural resources. Making a bad situation worse, climate change further threatens agriculture by increasing the risk of droughts and floods, affecting temperatures and crop growing seasons and altering the distribution of pests and diseases. Agriculture holds enormous potential to reduce poverty in the developing world, strengthen the sustainability of our global food system, and rebuild and revitalise fragile communities so they can move from dependency to self-sufficiency. A holistic approach is now needed to take scientific innovations and move them along the chain into farmers' hands and people's stomachs. No one organisation can achieve that alone. This paper highlights how science has helped in the past, and outlines what it is going to take to boost agriculture in the future. Science is and always will be the backbone of CGIAR work, but now CGIAR is geared up for 'science plus'. CGIAR is aggregating resources and disciplines as it works side by side with partners to reduce rural poverty, improve food security, nutrition and health while sustainably managing natural resources.


We applied molecular methods using a DNA probe and fluorescently tagged lectins to discriminate toxic Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries from the Chinhae Bay for a Korean harmfulalgae monitoring program. From the binding activity of lectins, P. multistriata, P. subfraudulenta, P. pungens, P. multiseries and P. cuspidata bound ConA, whereas P. subpacifica and P. delicatissima did not. Ribosomal RNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes (muD1, puD1 and deD1) specifically reacted to P. multiseries, P. pungens and P. delicatissima, respectively, whereas auD1, frD1 and amD1 probes did not bind to P. multiseries, P. pungens, P. cuspidata, P. multistriata, P. subpacifica, P. subfraudulenta and P. delicatissima. In particular, fluorescent FITC-conjugated WGA specifically bound to P. multiseries but not to P. pungens, indicating that this is a desirable method for their rapid and easy discrimination. In addition, we tested a species-specific oligonucleotide DNA probe (muD1) using the whole cell hybridization filter tube system, and the WGA lectin probe to discriminate P. multiseries in the field. The oligonucleotide probe and fluorescent WGA bound specifically to P. multiseries and these labelled cells were correlated to label cell abundance. These results imply that DNA and lectin probes are apporopriate tools for counting P. multiseries and distinguishing morphologically similar Pseudo-nitzschia species in natural samples, therefore, these methods are especially pertinent since rapid separation and quantitative estimation of cell abundance of P. multiseries are now important for a routine harmful algae monitoring program in Korean waters.


This paper notes certain key landmarks in the modern history of Western sociology of law. Taken together, these map developments that have given socio-legal studies some of its most influential and powerful theoretical ideas. But the paper asks how far such inherited ideas – and the research traditions they represent – are still useful in confronting the pluralistic, globalised and fragmented regulatory systems that proliferate today. How far can sociology of law maintain continuity with its past? This paper argues that it can maintain a strong continuity, but also that it must discard (or radically rework) some of its central inherited ideas that are coming to seem anachronistic in the face of contemporary socio-legal developments: especially developments relating to cultural pluralism, legal pluralism and transnational law.


The underlying physics of intermediate-depth earthquakes have been an enigmatic topic; several studies support either thermal runaway or dehydration reactions as viable mechanisms for their generation. Here we present fully coupled thermomechanical models that investigate the impact of grain size evolution and energy feedbacks on shear zone and pseudotachylite formation. Our results indicate that grain size reduction weakens the rock prior to thermal runaway and significantly decreases the critical stress needed for thermal runaway, making it more likely to result in intermediate-depth earthquakes at shallower depths. Furthermore, grain size is reduced in and around the shear zone, which agrees with field and laboratory observations where pseudotachylites are embedded in a simultaneously formed mylonite matrix. The decrease in critical stress to initialize localization has important implications for large-scale geodynamics, as this mechanism might induce lithosphere-scale shear zones and subduction initiation. We suggest that the combination of grain size reduction and shear heating explains both the occurrence of intermediate-depth earthquakes and the formation of large-scale shear zones.


Volatile secondary lipid oxidation products can be identified and quantified by GC-FID or GC-MS. An extraction step is, however, needed before GC analysis. A range of different extraction methods are available such as static headspace, dynamic headspace and SPME. Each of these methods has its advantages and drawbacks. Among the advantages of the SPME method are its high sensitivity compared to static headspace and that it is less laborious than the dynamic headspace method. For these reasons, the use of SPME has increased in both academia and industry during the last decade. The extraction efficiency obtained with the SPME method can be affected by different factors such as fiber type, stirring of sample versus not stirring, extraction temperature and time. These factors can easily be controlled and optimized to obtain the highest possible extraction efficiency. However, extraction efficiency can also be affected by uncontrollable factors such as batch to batch variation between fibers of the same type and presence of compounds in the sample matrix, which competes with the compounds of interest for adsorption to the SPME fiber. The latter factor is particularly a problem when SPME is used for analysis of lipid oxidation during storage of complex food matrices. Examples on how uncontrollable factors have affected results obtained with the SPME method in the authors' lab will be given and the appropriateness of the SPME method for the analysis of volatile oxidation products in selected food systems will be discussed.


In deep learning, embeddings are widely used to represent categorical entities such as words, apps, and movies. An embedding layer maps each entity to a unique vector, causing the layer's memory requirement to be proportional to the number of entities. In the recommendation domain, a given category can have hundreds of thousands of entities, and its embedding layer can take gigabytes of memory. The scale of these networks makes them difficult to deploy in resource constrained environments. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for reducing the size of an embedding table while still mapping each entity to its own unique embedding. Rather than maintaining the full embedding table, we construct each entity's embedding"on the fly"using two separate embedding tables. The first table employs hashing to force multiple entities to share an embedding. The second table contains one trainable weight per entity, allowing the model to distinguish between entities sharing the same embedding. Since these two tables are trained jointly, the network is able to learn a unique embedding per entity, helping it maintain a discriminative capability similar to a model with an uncompressed embedding table. We call this approach MEmCom (Multi-Embedding Compression). We compare with state-of-the-art model compression techniques for multiple problem classes including classification and ranking. On four popular recommender system datasets, MEmCom had a 4% relative loss in nDCG while compressing the input embedding sizes of our recommendation models by 16x, 4x, 12x, and 40x. MEmCom outperforms the state-of-the-art techniques, which achieved 16%, 6%, 10%, and 8% relative loss in nDCG at the respective compression ratios. Additionally, MEmCom is able to compress the RankNet ranking model by 32x on a dataset with millions of users' interactions with games while incurring only a 1% relative loss in nDCG.


Bckground Hemophagocytic syndrome (HS) is an hyperinflammatory syndrome caused by severe hypercytokinemia with excessive activation of macrophages and lymphocytes. HS can be primary, or secondary, as a response to infection, malignacy or autoimmune disease. Aim The description of a case of HS as the first manifection of systemic lupus erythematosus diagnosed at our paediatric department. and arise the awareness of the hospital and general paediatrician for the clinical and laboratory presentation of this rare disease. Method A nine year girl was admitted, due to fever and fatigue. During her hospitalisation, she developed anaemia and leukocytopenia, elevated liver enzymes and renal function worsening (Urea: 59 mg/dl, microscopic hematuria, albuminuria). Prolonged fever, splenomegaly, bicytopenia, hyperferritinemia (Fer: 38 450 ng/ml) and hypertriglyceridemia (TRGs: 468 mg/dl) put the suspicion of HS diagnosis. Immunology tests revealed the presence of positive anti-nuclear antibodies and low C3 and C4 levels. She was transferred to a tetriary paediatric hospital for further investigation and treatment. Results At the tertiary paediatric hospital, secondary hemophagocytic syndrome was confirmed -hemophagocytosis was found at a bone marrow puncture-biopsy that was performed- and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus proved to be the primary cause. The duration of hospitalisation was 15 days, and the treatment included methylprednisone, ivig, hydroxychlroroquine and cyclophosphamide. Conclusion Hemophagocytic syndrome is a rare life threatening entity, that should be taken into concideration when prolonged fever is investigated. Being connected to bad prognosis and risk of permanent tissue damage, prompt diagnosis and treatment are required.


Abstract. Increasing land use land cover changes, especially urban growth has put a negative impact on biodiversity and ecological process. As a consequences, they are creating a major impact on the global climate change. There is a recent concern on the necessity of exploring the cause of urban growth with its prediction in future and consequences caused by this for sustainable development. This can be achieved by using multitemporal remote sensing imagery analysis, spatial metrics, and modeling. In this study, spatio-temporal urban change analysis and modeling were performed for Biratnagar City and its surrounding area in Nepal. Land use land cover map of 2004, 2010, and 2016 were prepared using Landsat TM imagery using supervised classification based on support vector machine classifier. Urban change dynamics, in term of quantity, and pattern was measured and analyzed using selected spatial metrics and using Shannon's entropy index. The result showed that there is increasing trend of urban sprawl and showed infill characteristics of urban expansion. Projected land use land cover map of 2020 was modeled using cellular automata-based approach. The predictive power of the model was validated using kappa statistics. Spatial distribution of urban expansion in projected land use land cover map showed that there is increasing threat of urban expansion on agricultural land.


This paper presents staff perceptions of higher education science and engineering learning communities derived from a cross‐case analysis of four case studies across the New Zealand university and polytechnic sectors. First we report staff expectations and experiences in terms of infrastructure and resources, and their own careers. Staff perceptions of the diversity and differences in learning styles of their students are next, followed by the importance of practical skill development, pedagogies employed and their rationale, along with scaffolding and supporting of learning. The paper concludes by considering the nature of science (NoS) and engineering, and what messages about the NoS are presented by higher education staff. The research findings suggest that staff face conflicting demands on their time, with requirements for research and administration affecting their teaching roles. Lecturers report considerable diversity and students often ill‐prepared for higher education study, and consider that students are required to learn a huge amount of information. While some staff attended courses in teaching, they feel unable to apply their learning in order to enhance student learning because of concerns that time spent doing so would reduce the amount of time available to deliver content. Class sizes were identified as having considerable impact on student learning and lectures offer little opportunity for active student engagement. Practical classes are highly valued, being seen as crucial for learning practical techniques and problem‐solving. Small classes and practical classes provide opportunities to develop good working relationships with students. Lecturers felt that students need to become more independent and self‐reliant in their learning, and that they needed to be supported in this process at the institutional level.


Home visiting can play a key role in the early childhood system of services. For home visiting to achieve its potential, decision-makers must make informed choices regarding adoption, adaptation, coordination, scale-up, and sustainment. We need a coordinated, focused, and theory-based home visiting research infrastructure to inform such decisions. The transdisciplinary Home Visiting Research Network (HVRN) was established in July 2012 with funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration. Its goal is to promote the translation of research findings into policy and practice. Its objectives are to (1) develop a national home visiting research agenda, (2) advance the use of innovative research methods; and (3) provide a research environment that is supportive of the professional development of emerging researchers interested in home visiting. A Management Team designs and directs activities to achieve these objectives through Work Teams. A Steering Committee of national leaders representing stakeholder groups oversees progress. HVRN's Coordinating Center supports the Work Teams and HVRN's Home visiting Applied Research Collaborative, a practice-based research network of home visiting programs. This article describes HVRN's rationale, approach, and anticipated products. We use home visiting–primary care coordination as an illustration, noting potential roles for pediatric practices and pediatric researchers and research educators in HVRN activities. HVRN creates the infrastructure for a rigorous program of research to inform policy and practice on home visiting as part of the system of services to improve family functioning, parenting, and child outcomes.


As one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emission, agricultural production is responsible for climate change. In the most industrial countries, agricultural production has built a great dependency on fossil energy consumption by replacing most human labour with agro-technologies on the farm. This is unsustainable in the context of climate change and resource depletion. Therefore, in order to mitigate climate change, the transition to sustainable food production is necessary and urgent. Rising in the 1970s, organic agriculture is believed to be a sustainable approach for agricultural production. It has been proved to use less fossil energy due to a commitment not to use any synthetic substances, but at the same time it uses more labour. When labour and fossil energy are regarded as two basic resource inputs on a farm, it seems that organic farms use more labour to compensate for the reduced fossil energy consumption. However, it is still unknown how the input balance of fossil energy and labour on organic farms is different from that on conventional farms, and how the different input balance would influence the sustainability of agricultural production. It is valuable to explore these questions against the backdrop of climate change. As the issue of fossil energy and labour input balance on farms has not been studied thoroughly, this thesis is written based on an exploratory research. The main objective is to explore the balance of fossil energy and labour input at farm level by comparing conventional and organic farming systems, and to explore the possibility to optimise sustainability of resource use in agricultural production. By conducting comparative case studies in both the Netherlands and China, this thesis first calculated the energy and labour input balance separately in the two countries, and it concluded organic farming uses less energy and more labour compared with conventional farming in both countries, but there is great variation among all the farms in the size and farming activity of this gap. When comparing the results from the two countries, the thesis concluded that Dutch farms use more energy while Chinese farms use more labour due to their different resource endowments. However, the situation is changing in both countries, and the changes show that the so-called industrial agriculture – which consumes much more energy – is not the only nor the best trajectory for agricultural development. Requiring more labour use on farm, how organic farming can deal with the labour constrains is then answered: organic farmers should be encouraged to explore their diverse local solutions to increase the resilience of their farm when dealing with the constraints. In further, using the theory of farming mode and farming style, this thesis discussed farmers' input strategies by clarifying the heterogeneity within organic farms, and highlighting the trend of conventionalisation in the development of organic agriculture, and it supports the hypothesis that organic agriculture with peasant qualities shows better potential in applying organic principles to optimise the sustainability of an organic farm. At last, the thesis discussed the theoretical concept of organic peasant agriculture, and tries to distinguish it from conventional agriculture and conventionalised organic agriculture. It concludes that organic peasant agriculture is valuable in the transition to sustainable food production.


Liquid crystals (LCs) are ordered soft materials formed by self-assembling molecules, which combine anisotropic properties with the fluidity of a liquid. They can potentially be used as functional materials for electron, ion or molecular transport, which can be applied in opto-electronic devices, aligned electrolytes and biological systems. In particular, the calamitic LCs have been promising candidates from the very beginning of liquid crystal research, are applied successfully in various optical devices and are recently rediscovered in the field of organic semiconductors. New LCs with low viscosity, adapted mesophase range and structure, and high reliability were necessary to achieve the rapid transformation from flat computer monitors to large displays for television. This review highlights remarkable mesophase stability and physical properties, and potential applications of various heterocyclic calamitic LCs in modern devices.


Eucalyptus nitens is widely planted for pulpwood, and increasingly also for
solid-wood timber products, in cool-temperate climates. This thesis
investigated the potential of tree breeding to improve the properties of
E. nitens grown for sawn boards, pulpwood and veneer products.
Two studies were undertaken using a 14 -15 year old E. nitens provenanceprogeny
trial established in Tasmania and comprising 420 open-pollinated
families collected from three native races. In the first study, methods were
developed to track the identities of 560 pedigreed trees through harvesting,
transportation and sawmill processing. A second study tracked 548 trees
from the same trial through a rotary peeled veneer production system.
Genetic parameters were estimated for a total of 20 tree, log and wood traits
relevant to sawn board, veneer and pulpwood products.
Genetic differences among races of E. nitens were significant in wood
stiffness, growth, stem form and pulpwood traits, but not significant for log
end-splitting and sawn board checking traits. The Southern race had the
most favourable mean values. Significant additive genetic variation within
races was observed in all traits except log-taper, demonstrating that the
quality of plantation-grown E. nitens wood products could be improved
through breeding.
Strongly positive genetic correlations among diameter at breast height (DBH)
at ages 4, 9 and 14 years and between DBH all ages and the traits survival,
log volume and stem straightness, demonstrated that early-age selection for
DBH would not compromise stem straightness and would improve product
volume recovery. Log end-splitting was under moderate genetic control but
there was a negative genetic correlation between end-splitting and solidwood
product volume.Sawn board and veneer sheet stiffness was highly heritable, and strongly
correlated with acoustic wave velocity (AWV), measured in standing trees
and logs. Consistent with previous studies in E. nitens, wood basic density,
near infra red-(NIR) predicted kraft pulp yield (KPY) and cellulose content
(CC) had moderate-to-high heritabilities, although coefficients of additive
genetic variation for these traits were small.
Estimated genetic correlations between standing tree AWV and each of the
traits veneer sheet modulus of elasticity (MOE), sawn-board MOE, KPY, CC
and basic density were highly significant and strongly positive, suggesting
that standing tree AWV could be adopted as an indirect non-destructive
selection criterion for improving solid-wood product stiffness, while
simultaneously improving wood chemical traits favoured by the pulpwood
industry. Basic density had no significant genetic relationship with KPY and
CC, although other studies have reported moderate to strong significant
values.
Surface and internal checking in sawn boards, which are important defects
leading to value downgrade, were shown to be under moderate levels of
additive genetic control. Internal checking in wedges cut from log disks and in
wafer sections cross-cut from processed boards were strongly and positively
genetically correlated. However, the genetic correlation of checking traits with
density and AWV were generally not significant.
Work presented in this thesis clearly demonstrates the potential for genetic
improvement of E. nitens for pulpwood, sawn-boards and veneer production.
A new method of tracking trees in processing studies has been established.
Methods for assessing checking have been developed, and the utility of nondestructive
AWV and NIR techniques has been confirmed for use in E. nitens
breeding programs, aiming to simultaneously improve the quality and
recovered volume of pulpwood and solid-wood products.


Mobile small screen technology increasingly penetrates health care and medical applications. However, usability research regarding the ease of using these devices, as well as acceptance issues did mostly address aspects of IC-Technologies in younger and healthy users. This study investigates impacts of ageing, technological expertise and domain knowledge on user interaction using the example of diabetes. First, the software for the monitoring of diabetes had been developed and implemented on a PC. The simulated diabetes assistant was displayed on a small screen device as well as on a very large display, simulating an ambient assisted living environment. In a second step, the navigation behavior of younger and older diabetes patients as well as healthy users was assessed. Results show that age and display-size have a big impact on the device interaction, independently of domain knowledge. Furthermore, it was found that simple usage of a bigger screen could be helpful for tutoring patients in using a mobile electronic living assistant. In order to assess usability of the device acceptance was measured after the experiment and was found to be positivley correlated with effectiveness.


This report is part of a project to characterize cotton gin emissions using stack sampling. In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized and published a more stringent standard for particulate matter with nominal diameter less than or equal to 2.5 µm (PM2.5). This created an urgent need to collect additional cotton gin emissions data to address current regulatory issues. Current EPA AP-42 cotton gin PM2.5 emission factors did not exist prior to this point. The objective of this study is the development of PM2.5 emission factors for cotton gin firststage mote systems based on the EPA-approved stack sampling methodology, Method 201A. The project plan included sampling seven cotton gins across the Cotton Belt. Five of the seven gins were equipped with first-stage mote systems where the exhaust airstream was not combined with a second-stage mote system. In terms of capacity, the five gins were typical of the industry, averaging 27.5 bales/h during testing. Some test runs were excluded from the test averages because they failed to meet EPA Method 201A Test criteria. Also, other test runs, included in the analyses, had cotton lint fibers that collected in the ≤ 10 µm and/or ≤ 2.5 µm samples. This larger lint material can impact the reported emissions data, but EPA Method 201A does not suggest methods to account for these anomalies. Average measured first-stage mote system PM2.5 emission factor based on the five tests (14 total test runs) was 0.0041 kg/227-kg bale (0.0090 lb/500-lb bale). The first-stage mote system average emission factors for PM10 and total particulate were 0.023 kg/bale (0.051 lb/bale) and 0.032 kg/bale (0.071 lb/bale), respectively. The first-stage mote system PM 2.5 emission rate from test averages ranged from 0.026 to 0.19 kg/h (0.057-0.43 lb/h). System average PM10 and total particulate emission factors were lower than those currently published in EPA AP-42. The ratios of first-stage mote system PM 2.5 to total particulate, PM2.5 to PM10, and PM10 to total particulate were 12.7, 17.9, and 70.8%, respectively.


This work presents an analysis and a new control design of a voltage-source converter (VSC) transmission system operating under unbalanced network conditions. The system is analyzed in the positive and negative synchronous reference frames. The proposed control strategy contains a main controller and an auxiliary controller. The main controller is implemented in the positive d-q frame using decoupling control without involving positive/negative-sequence decomposition. The auxiliary controller is implemented in the negative-sequence d-q frame using cross-coupling control of negative-sequence current. Simulation results using the SIMULINK power system blockset show good performance of the proposed control strategy for a 300-MW 300-kV dc VSC transmission system during both balanced conditions and unbalanced conditions as may be caused by a solid single-phase-to-ground fault.


We investigate the properties of PT-symmetric tight-binding models by considering both bounded and unbounded models. For the bounded case, we obtain closed form expressions for the corresponding energy spectra and we analyze the structure of eigenstates as well as their dependence on the gain/loss contrast parameter. For unbounded PT-lattices, we explore their scattering properties through the development of analytical models. Based on our approach we identify a mechanism that is responsible to the emergence of localized states that are entirely due to the presence of gain and loss. The derived expressions for the transmission and reflection coefficients allow one to better understand the role of PT-symmetry in energy transport problems occurring in such PT-symmetric tight-binding settings. Our analytical results are further exemplified via pertinent examples.


Objectives
Avocados are rich in dietary fiber and monounsaturated fatty acids, nutrients that have been independently connected with metabolic health benefits and changes to the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota. However, little is known regarding the impact of avocado consumption on GI microbial community composition and microbially-derived metabolites, particularly among adults with overweight or obesity.

Methods
Adults (n = 160) between 25-45 years of age with BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2 were enrolled in an investigator-blinded, parallel arm, randomized, controlled trial. Participants consumed isocaloric meals with or without fresh Hass avocado once daily for 12-weeks. Compliance was evaluated with daily self-report records. Fecal microbially-derived metabolites, including acetate, propionate, butyrate, isovalerate, valerate, and isobutyrate were quantified using gas chromatography mass spectroscopy on a dry matter basis. Following fecal DNA extraction, microbial analyses were conducted by sequencing the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Sequence data were analyzed using DADA2 and QIIME version 2. Per protocol (PP; >80% meal consumption) and intent-to-treat (ITT) approaches were applied and generalized linear mixed models were assessed for treatment, time, and treatment by time interactions in SAS version 9.4.

Results
The intervention was completed by 88% (n = 140) of participants, average meal compliance among both groups was 90%, and 83% (n = 132) of participants met PP criteria. Microbiota analyses were completed for 156 ITT and 109 PP participants, respectively. ITT time by treatment analyses indicated that compared to control, avocado consumption increased acetate (P < 0.01) and total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA; P = 0.02) concentrations and increased the relative abundances of Faecalibacterium (P = 0.01). PP time by treatment analyses revealed that avocado consumption increased acetate concentrations (P < 0.01), increased the relative abundances of Lachnospira (P = 0.04), and trended to increase Faecalibacterium (P = 0.08).

Conclusions
Fresh Hass avocado intake increased the relative abundances of microbes capable of fiber fermentation and SCFA production among adults with overweight or obesity, providing valuable evidence for the impact of this nutrient dense food on the GI microbiota.

Funding Sources
Support for this research was provided by the Hass Avocado Board and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project 1009249.


The release of the Public Protector's final report on the allegations of maladministration against the chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission has put under the microscope the development of the principles of the rule of law within the context of the powers and functions of these institutions in furthering the objectives of the new constitutional dispensation. It generated debates on whether these institutions are fulfilling their duty of promoting constitutional democracy or are at each other's throats. These debates rests on the interrelationship that exist between the principle of accountability and the legitimate role that is played by the institutions themselves in ensuring the proper and effective strengthening of South Africa's democracy. The debates also focus on the government's commitment to the advancement of the rule of law in the regulation of state authority. Against this background, this paper examines the application of the principle of the rule of law within the framework of Chapter 9 institutions with particular reference to the Public Protector and the Independent Electoral Commission. Such undertaking is motivated by the recent release of the report as indicated above which reinforced the objective of having established the 'anti-corruption and ethical institutions in bringing about good governance' who subsequently became embroiled in a "cat-fight" over the legitimacy of their powers. The intention is not to analyse the constitutional status or history of these institutions but rather on the factors that have the potential to compromise their integrity and legitimacy in upholding the principles of the rule of law as foundational values of the new dispensation.


Buildings represent a major end use of energy throughout the world and are typically the dominant sector for electricity. The use of that energy is to provide buildings services, the most important of which is Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). Heating and air conditioning systems typically handle the thermal comfort aspects of IEQ; the energy impacts and economics of such systems is well studied. The most important remaining aspect of IEQ is Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). IAQ combines health aspects odour and moisture but is typically not represented by a health-based performance metric. As a result, ventilation rates are used as a surrogate for IAQ. Recent research has developed "Smart Ventilation" technologies that economically optimize ventilation by considering utility rate structures, exposure to outdoor contaminants, as well as peak loads and total energy demand. Enabling this optimization of Smart Ventilation requires IAQ performance metrics that can be monetized. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and others have used Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) to quantify health impacts of contaminant exposure, which shows IAQ may be a critical economic driver. This paper reviews these general concepts and presents some of the most recent work we have done on both Smart Ventilation and economic metrics for IAQ.


Simple roles for photoreception are likely to have preceded more demanding ones such as vision. The driving force behind this evolution is the improvement and elaboration of animal behaviors using photoreceptor input. Because the basic role for all senses aimed at the external world is to guide behavior, we argue here that understanding this "behavioral drive" is essential for unraveling the evolutionary past of the senses. Photoreception serves many different types of behavior, from simple shadow responses to visual communication. Based on minimum performance requirements for different types of tasks, photoreceptors have been argued to have evolved from non-directional receptors, via directional receptors, to low-resolution vision, and finally to high-resolution vision. Through this sequence, the performance requirements on the photoreceptors have gradually changed from broad to narrow angular sensitivity, from slow to fast response, and from low to high contrast sensitivity during the evolution from simple to more advanced and demanding behaviors. New behaviors would only evolve if their sensory performance requirements to some degree overlap with the requirements of already existing behaviors. This need for sensory "performance continuity" must have determined the order by which behaviors have evolved and thus been an important factor guiding animal evolution. Naturally, new behaviors are most likely to evolve from already existing behaviors with similar neural processing needs and similar motor responses, pointing to "neural continuity" as another guiding factor in sensory evolution. Here we use these principles to derive an evolutionary tree for behaviors driven by photoreceptor input.


This thesis examines the scope and intricacies of technical translation in
Oman, in general, and its Royal Air Force (RAFO), in particular. The
Study, which is the first of its kind in Oman, focuses on a specific
category of Omani translators: technical translators currently working in
RAFO with experience ranging from 3 to 10 years. To capture the
reality of translation in Oman and to provide a corpus for this study,
samples of translations rendered by the subject translators are examined
and analysed. To achieve such objectives, six chapters make up the
thesis:
Chapter 1 sets both the motivations and the assumptions which underly
the thesis.
Chapter 2 selectively reviews some translation approaches within the
sphere of translation studies.
Chapter 3 is devoted to the study of technical translation and explores
the scope of this type of translation.
Chapter 4 examines the development of translation in the Arab world
and focuses on the way it spread in the past and its current situation.
Chapter 5 specifically takes the translation movement in RAFO as the
case study. The chapter starts with a description of translation in Oman
and RAFO and then moves to data collection, processing and analysis.
Technical texts have been categorized, to our knowledge for the first
time in the literature of technical translation, to three main groups
according to the degree of their technicality: 1) Local Technical Texts
(LTT), 2) Common Technical Texts (CTT), and 3) Highly Technical
Texts (HTT).
Chapter 6 concludes the thesis and provides some recommendations as
well as suggestions for further research.

The results of data analysis indicate that although technical translation
plays a vital role in the development of the nation, there is still a lack of
an overall strategy towards the organization of this profession at various
levels. RAFO has endeavoured to introduce a programme that would
produce qualified translators capable of dealing with texts of different
degrees of technicality. Data analysis shows that the translators face
little problems in handling texts from a linguistic point of view.
However, the source of their problems is technical terminology for
which there are neither specialists translators nor adequate Arabic
dictionaries available.

The fact that Oman still lacks a body and special dictionaries devoted to
technico-scientific terms places obstacles for translating. It further
hinders the standardization of terminology and causes confusion for
translators as to which terms they may choose. It follows, therefore,
that these and other results can be interpreted as reflecting support for
the establishment of a body that would supervise and organize all
translation activities in Oman such as a language academy. There is also
a need for a nation-wide policy towards arabicisation, translation and
dissemination of scientific and technical terms. A pan-Arab policy
remains an ultimate goal.


A semi-probabilistic methodology for predicting the remaining strength of submarine pipelines subjected to internal corrosion based on Recommended Practice RP-F101 by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) is described in this paper. It is used to estimate the maximum allowable operating pressure of the corroding pipelines based on series of pigging data, which represents the corrosion pit location and dimension. The introduction of partial safety factors in the DNV code to minimise the effect of uncertainties due to the defect sizing has improved the reliability of pipeline assessment methodology. Nevertheless, the code is still regarded as a fully deterministic approach due to its incapability of predicting the remaining life of corroded pipeline. Thus, we have added prediction capabilities to the capacity equation by introducing a standard deviation model of future defect depth. By doing so, the variation of safety factors of the capacity equation can be fully manipulated where prediction of future pipeline remaining life-time becomes feasible. The paper demonstrates calculation and prediction of pipeline remaining lifetime subjects to internal corrosion. The results shows the standard deviation of corrosion parameter affected the value of partial safety factor as corrosion progressing, hence amplify the conservatism of time to failure. In general, the prediction of pipeline remaining lifetime can effectively assist pipeline operators to evaluate future safe operating strategies including re-inspection and appropriate maintenance schedule. As a result it can minimize the possibility of pipeline failures until it reaches its designed lifetime.


Using filing-level data, we compute the average marginal income tax rate for the State of Missouri. We have data from 2000 through 2015. We start with a simple experiment: consider the effect that a $10 change in federal adjusted gross income would have on each filer's tax payment. We find that with deductions, exemptions, and credits, the average marginal income tax rate has been remarkably steady over the years, ranging from 3.50 percent to 3.66 percent. This rate is much lower than the top marginal income tax rate, which has been 6 percent for taxable income greater than $9,000 for the entire sample period. In addition, we compute the average marginal income tax rate for different types of income in order to compare directly with the NBER's reported state rate.


JAMES M. DAWSEY (*) Introduction: Economic Disorder LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION theology has earned the world's admiration for its heroic stand on behalf of oppressed, marginalized people. But also, from its incipience around 1968, liberation theology has been surrounded by controversy because of its often-unabashed association with Marxist analysis. Today, twenty-five years of oversimplified economic rhetoric, especially concerning dependency theory, the recent disintegration of the Soviet bloc, and the loss of confidence in command economies, even in Cuba, have caused liberationists to re-evaluate the economic theories that underpin much of their thought (Ellis and Maduro 1990:10, 77-93, 209-210). In the following pages, I plan to address this small and, I think, fortuitous crisis by suggesting that the American economist Henry George has much to offer liberation theology. Liberation theology is rooted in commitment to the poor, not just in Latin America, but throughout the world. The greatest poverty in the world today is in Africa. Africa's share of the Gross World Product is a paltry 1.2 percent. Moreover, Africa's share of GWP has dropped since 1980, from 1.9 percent to 1.2 percent. In that time, Sub-Saharan Africa's external debt has tripled to $174 billion (Morrow 1992:42). This translates into devouring poverty for hundreds of millions of people and extreme hunger and malnutrition during periodic famines. Even the United States, which accounts for 25 percent of the Gross World Product, faces tremendous problems (Time, June 1, 1992: 42). (1) An uncrossable gulf separates those who are destitute from those who are rich in American society. While a few sports stars bring in millions of dollars each year, a survey shows that 27 percent of the dwellers of East Los Angeles go to bed hungry at night because they do not have enough to eat (Harter 1993). In fact, according to a 1991 study, approximately 20 percent of U.S. children went hungry sometime in 1991, the worst hunger rate being 34 percent, in Mississippi (Smith 1993:A-3). These are just a few of the massive problems that this generation faces. And with them in mind, we have a proper backdrop against which to trace the connection between the North American economist and social reformer Henry George and Latin American liberation theologians. Let me posit two similarities between Henry George and Latin American liberation theologians and argue for a third. They agree (1) that there is something basically wrong with the way that society is structured, and 2) that unjust institutions cause much suffering among people. They also have a similar view 3) that concentrated land ownership lies at the heart of social injustice. The Injustice of Social Structures BOTH HENRY GEORGE (in the late 1800s) and Latin American liberation theologians (since the late 1960s) have concluded that there is something unjust about the way that society is structured. Thus, much of people's poverty, George and liberationists have reasoned, results from an oppressive, dehumanizing, enslaving, evil economic system. The structures of injustice can be found in any society. They are most visible, however, in societies that are undergoing major transitions, especially on a new frontier where the rules are changing. As the following example shows, when the Brazilian government decided to develop the Amazon Basin, the result was not only ecological disruption, but the displacement of millions of people from their homes: Between 1967 and 1985, the Brazilian government's Superintendency for the Development of Amazonia (SUDAM) opened 8.4 million hectares for new development in the Amazon. "The most recent tally has 631 ranches, whose average size is 24,000 hectares, given the go-ahead by SUDAM. The biggest ones were Liquigas (678,000 hectares), Suia-Missu (560,000), Volkswagen A.G. (139,000), and the ArmourSwift/King Ranch (72,000). …


By dramatically enlarging the Americans with Disabilities Act's (ADA) protected class, the recent amendments to the ADA increase the opportunities for employers to replace one member of the ADA's protected class with another. Although disparities in the social stigma associated with different disabilities suggests that such employment decisions are not automatically free from disability-based animus, many courts historically regarded such decisions as immune from ADA scrutiny. They held that the ADA only prohibited discrimination between persons inside and outside the ADA's protected class. Today, this "no intraclass claims" approach persists in a modified form: Some courts limit intraclass claims to situations in which employers disfavor persons with more biologically severe disabilities vis-a-vis those with less biologically severe disabilities. Although this approach benefits individuals with more biologically severe disabilities, it compounds the disadvantage experienced by persons whose disabilities carry the most significant social stigma, a burden that does not directly correlate with the biological severity of a person's disability. This Article argues that just as courts' traditional refusal to permit intraclass disability discrimination claims inappropriately obscured the negative social responses to disabilities the ADA was designed to address, courts' current emphasis on the biological severity of disabilities departs from the ADA's core purpose: remedying the stigma and stereotypical assumptions experienced by individuals with disabilities.


From strenuous opposition to physician-assisted suicide to a conviction that sex-correction surgery for newborns is cruel and misguided, Dr. Paul R. McHugh's opinions are strong and often controversial. In this collection of essays, McHugh demonstrates why he is one of the most thought-provoking figures in the academic world. These pieces argue for a realistic appraisal of just what psychiatrists know and how they know it, with the aim of indicating how such knowledge can best be used not only for better patient care but also to reflect on and influence public issues and social movements. His essays will stimulate professional and popular discussion about the goals and effectiveness of current psychiatric practice. McHugh sorts through the layers of what he terms the "culturally driven misdirection of psychiatry and psychotherapy" to explain concepts often misunderstood by nonscholars and the intellectual community alike. America's leading psychiatrist may inspire you or offend you, but he will certainly make you think.