Meletij Smotryc'kyj viewed his Homilary Gospel (Jevanhelije ucytelnoje, Vievis, 1616) as a crucial requirement for the "spiritual good" of the Ruthenian (Ukrainian-Belorussian) nation. In light of the fierce debate over the Union of Brest (1596) he saw the need for an Orthodox collection of Gospel pericopes and sermons in the vernacular to supplant reliance on Polish Catholic and Protestant postils. Thus, he translated into Ruthenian a Church Slavonic collection of sermons on the Gospels, while simultaneously introducing formal revisions that allowed the work to compete more successfully with similar Polish texts. As a result, the Homilary Gospel is important as a critical polemical text from the Catholic-Orthodox debate and also as a monument of early Ukrainian literature. This volume reproduces in facsimile the original printed edition along with three different versions of the Preface written by Smotryc'kyj. The Introduction sets the work in its literary and religious contexts and discusses Smotryc'kyj's methods of translation and adaptation.


This paper proposes several novel methods, based on machine learning, to detect malware in executable files without any need for preprocessing, such as unpacking or disassembling. The basic method (Mal-ID) is a new static (form-based) analysis methodology that uses common segment analysis in order to detect malware files. By using common segment analysis, Mal-ID is able to discard malware parts that originate from benign code. In addition, Mal-ID uses a new kind of feature, termed meta-feature, to better capture the properties of the analyzed segments. Rather than using the entire file, as is usually the case with machine learning based techniques, the new approach detects malware on the segment level. This study also introduces two Mal-ID extensions that improve the Mal-ID basic method in various aspects. We rigorously evaluated Mal-ID and its two extensions with more than ten performance measures, and compared them to the highly rated boosted decision tree method under identical settings. The evaluation demonstrated that Mal-ID and the two Mal-ID extensions outperformed the boosted decision tree method in almost all respects. In addition, the results indicated that by extracting meaningful features, it is sufficient to employ one simple detection rule for classifying executable files.


Future of Work debate has been more centered on robots than on workers. The excessive focus on automation and technology's potential displacement of jobs has neglected other trends that are also re-shaping the labor market as we know it. Digitalization and the gig economy, demographic changes and the associated care crisis, and the demand of new skills are equally important and will have a major impact on how we understand and carry out work. Critically, evidence suggests that these trends have specific implications for gender equality and women's empowerment. The contribution of this brief is to place a gender lens on the future of work debate, highlighting what is known – as well as remaining data gaps – and make firm policy proposals.


It is commonly argued that Japanese trade protection has enabled the nurturing and development internationally competitive firms. The results in our paper suggest that when it comes to TFP growth, this view of Japan is seriously erroneous. We find that lower tariffs and higher import volumes would have been particularly beneficial for Japan during the period 1964 to 1973. Our results also lead us to question whether Japanese exports were a particularly important source of productivity growth. Our findings on Japan suggest that the salutary impact of imports stems more from their contribution to competition than to intermediate inputs. Furthermore our results indicate a reason for why imports are important. Greater imports of competing products spur innovation. Our results suggest that competitive pressures and potentially learning from foreign rivals are important conduits for growth. These channels are even more important as industries converge with the market leader. This suggests that further liberalization by Japan and other East Asian countries may result in future dynamic gains. Our results thus call the views of both the World Bank and the revisionists into question and provide support for those who advocate more liberal trade policies.


Clinical notes in Electronic Health Records (EHR) present rich documented information of patients to inference phenotype for disease diagnosis and study patient characteristics for cohort selection. Unsupervised user embedding aims to encode patients into fixed-length vectors without human supervisions. Medical concepts extracted from the clinical notes contain rich connections between patients and their clinical categories. However, existing unsupervised approaches of user embeddings from clinical notes do not explicitly incorporate medical concepts. In this study, we propose a concept-aware unsupervised user embedding that jointly leverages text documents and medical concepts from two clinical corpora, MIMIC-III and Diabetes. We evaluate user embeddings on both extrinsic and intrinsic tasks, including phenotype classification, in-hospital mortality prediction, patient retrieval, and patient relatedness. Experiments on the two clinical corpora show our approach exceeds unsupervised baselines, and incorporating medical concepts can significantly improve the baseline performance.


Abstract. Seismology and geodesy are generally seen as the most reliable diagnostic tools for monitoring highly active or erupting volcanoes, like Mt. Etna. From the early 1980's, seismic activity was monitored at Mt. Etna by a permanent seismic network, progressively improved in the following years. This network has been considerably enhanced since 2005 by 24-bit digital stations equipped with broad-band (40 s) sensors. Today, thanks to a configuration of 33 broad-band and 12 short-period stations, we have a good coverage of the volcanic area as well as a high quality of the collected data. In the framework of the VULCAMED project a workgroup of Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia has taken on the task of developing the seismic monitoring system, through the installation of other seismic stations. The choice of optimal sites must be clearly made through a careful analysis of the geometry of the existing seismic network. In this paper, we applied the Seismic Network Evaluation through Simulation in order to evaluate the performance of the Etna Seismic Network before and after the addition of the stations in the candidate sites. The main advantage of the adopted method is that we can evaluate the improvement of the network before the actual installation of the stations. Our analysis has permitted to identify some critical issues of the current permanent seismic network related to the lack of stations in the southern sector of the volcano, which is nevertheless affected by a number of seismogenic structures. We have showed that the addition of stations at the candidate sites would greatly extend the coverage of the network to the south by significantly reducing the errors in the hypocenter parameters estimation.


High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) generally give rise to positive impacts on employees by increasing their commitments in workplaces. While some argued this actually have considerable negative impacts on employees with increasing possibilities of imposing strains caused by stress and intensity of such work places. Do stressful workplaces hamper employee commitment? The author has tried to find the answer by exploring linkages between HPWS practices and its impact on employees in Japanese organizations. How negative outcomes like job intensity and workplaces and job stressors can influence different forms of employees' commitments which can be a hindrance to their performance. Design: A close ended questionnaire survey was conducted amongst 16 large, medium and small sized Japanese companies from diverse industries around Chiba, Saitama, and Ibaraki Prefectures and in Tokyo from the month of October 2008 to February 2009. Questionnaires were aimed to the non managerial employees' perceptions of HPWS practices, their behavior, working life experiences in their work places. A total of 227 samples are used for analysis in the study. Methods: Correlations, MANCOVA, SEM Path analysis using AMOS software are used for data analysis in this study. Findings: Average non-managerial perception of HPWS adoption is significantly but negatively correlated to both work place Stressors and Continuous commitment, but positively correlated to job Intensity, Affective, Occupational and Normative commitments in different workplaces at Japan. The path analysis by SEM shows significant indirect relationship between Stressors and employee Affective organizational commitment and Normative organizational commitments. Intensity also has a significant indirect effect on Occupational commitments. HPWS has an additive effect on all the outcomes variables. Limitations: The sample size in this study cannot be a representative to the entire population of non-managerial employees in Japan. There were no respondents from automobile, pharmaceuticals, finance industries. The duration of the survey coincided in a period when Japan as most of the other countries is under going recession. Biases could not be ruled out completely. We must take cautions in interpreting the results of studies as they cannot be generalized. And the path analysis cannot provide the complete causality of the inter linkages between the variables used in the study. Originality: There have been limited studies on linkages in HPWS adoptions and their impacts on employees' behaviors and commitments in Japanese workplaces. This study may provide some ingredients for further research in the fields of HRM policies and Kaushik Chaudhuri is a PhD student at Chikuro Hiroike School of Graduate Studies, Reitaku University, Chiba Pref., Kashiwa City Hikarigaoka 2-1-1 Japan – 277 8686 (phone: + 81 – 4 – 7173 – 3636, fax: + 814 – 7173-3767; (e-mail: email@example.com, email@example.com). practices and their linkages on different forms of employees' commitments. Keywords—HPWS, Job Intensity, Job and workplace Stressors, Continuous commitment, Affective commitment, Occupational commitment, Japan.


This study, by using Teun Adrian van Dijk's critical discourse approach analyzes the news published in YeniŞafak newspaper between 20-21-22 December 2016 covering the assassination of Andrey Karlov, Russian Ambassador to Turkey who was shot dead on December 19, 2016 in Ankara. The reason for the choice of Yenişafak newspaper is that it stands close to the Justice and Development Party (AKP). It is possible to say that Karlov's assassination news was presented ideologically. As a result of the critical discourse analysis, it is seen that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan strongly condemned the murder and described it as a despicable and treacherous act. Erdoğan has done his duty and called Putin. Both leaders have come to an agreement: The assault is a clear provocative act against Turkey-Russia relations. This might be true. Nevertheless there are still issues that need to be clarified. Russian Ambassador lost his life. He could have been alive today. How did the murderer, an off-duty police officer, enter the exhibition hall? How did he kill him freely? These questions remain unanswered. The Republic of Turkey could not protect the ambassador. Ambassador's unwillingness for security guards cannot be the justification of this incident.


This paper studies the Newton stratification of a certain Shimura curve of Hodge type in characteristic p. The main results are the determination of the Newton polygons and a mass formula on the cardinality of the supersingular points. The underlying technical results are a direct-tensor decomposition of the associated filtered Dieudonné module to a universal abelian scheme over the formal neighborhood of a characteristic p closed point of the integral canonical model of the Shimura curve, and the construction of a socalled weak Hasse-Witt pair by using p-adic Hodge theory and relative p-adic Hodge theory.


Online banking is one of the most sensitive tasks performed by general Internet users. Most traditional banks now offer online banking services, and strongly encourage customers to do online banking with 'peace of mind.' Although banks heavily advertise an apparent '100% online security guaran- tee,' typically the fine print makes this conditional on users fulfilling certain security requirements. We examine some of these requirements as set by major Canadian banks, in terms of security and usability. We opened personal check- ing accounts at the five largest Canadian banks, and one online-only bank. We found that many security require- ments are too difficult for regular users to follow, and be- lieve that some marketing-related messages about safety and security actually mislead users. We are also interested in what kind of computer systems people really use for online banking, and whether users satisfy common online bank- ing requirements. Our survey of 123 technically advanced users from a university environment strongly supports our view of an emerging gap between banks' expectations (or at least what their written customer policy agreements imply) and users' actions related to security requirements of online banking. Our participants, being more security-aware than the general population, arguably makes our results best-case regarding what can be expected from regular users. Yet most participants failed to satisfy common security require- ments, implying most online banking customers do not (or cannot) follow banks' stated end-user security requirements and guidelines. The survey also sheds light on the security settings of systems used for sensitive online transactions. This work is intended to spur a discussion on real-world sys- tem security and user responsibilities, in a scenario where everyday users are heavily encouraged to perform critical tasks over the Internet, despite the continuing absence of appropriate tools to do so.


Ruminants excrete most of their N intake, with most of the N excreted in urine. As a result, urine is the greatest contributor of N losses to the environment in dairy systems worldwide, due to the high use of N. While quantifying N excretion will assist in the development of improved N management practices, measurement of urinary N is difficult in grazing dairy systems. A urine sensor developed by AgResearch, New Zealand which allows the determination of N concentration (%) and volume of each individual excretion event performed by grazing cows was tested in Australian conditions. Twenty Friesian-cross lactating dairy cows were fitted with urine sensors and data were recorded over a 48 hour period in spring 2014 and late winter 2015. A total of 420 urination events were recorded in this study. Urine volume excreted by these grazing lactating cows ranged from 8.2 to 43 L/day while urinary N concentration varied between 1.2 and 15.7 g N/L, similar to previously reported results. The average urination frequency was 18 times per day and average volume per event was 8.2 L/event. These data also showed that N concentration varies between time of the day and showed higher concentration in the early morning and afternoon.


This paper estimates the implied cost of equity for Canadian and U.S. firms using a methodology based on the dividend discount model and utilizing firms' current stock price and analysts' forecasted earnings. We find that firm size and firm stock liquidity are negatively related to cost of equity, while greater firm financial leverage and greater dispersion in analysts' earnings forecasts are associated with a higher cost of equity. Moreover, longer-term sovereign bond yields also seem to play a role in a firm's cost of equity. After controlling for several factors, both at a firm-level and at an aggregate level, we find that the cost of equity for Canadian firms is 30-50 bps higher than that of U.S. firms during 1988-2006. Because our estimates may not fully account for factors such as currency risk, inflation uncertainty, degree of market integration, personal taxes, and differences in regulatory environments, we might shed further light on these results by incorporating proxies for these factors and perhaps extending our comparison to more countries.


Kinetic simulations are reported, where the ATRP equilibrium constant K(ATRP) is varied and the rates and degree of control in different ATRP systems are evaluated. The apparent rate constant k(app) increases with increasing K(ATRP), but a maximum is reached. The limit of control is passed before the maximum, i.e. when K(ATRP) is increased further, apparent first-order kinetics and well-controlled molecular weights will no longer be obtained. The equilibrium constant at which the limit of control is reached varies linearly with the propagation rate constant. This enables the design of well controlled ATRP systems. The influence of the conversion and chain length dependence of the termination rate constant on the simulation results is discussed.


Although special needs schools (schools for the blind and deaf) have existed in the MENA region since the 19th century, special needs education has only recently been introduced in the Gulf region due to the novelty of public education itself. Recently, GCC member nation Ministries of Education are embracing a broader policy view of 'inclusive education' which seeks to provide opportunities for all learners. Although fully inclusive classrooms, in which services for differently-abled pupils are integrated into the normative curricula and classroom, are not the norm internationally, many countries are grappling with attempts to achieve this ideal. The GCC represents a particularly interesting case, since, as M. Ghaly has argued, disability has only recently received adequate attention in Islamic theology. Therefore both the theoretical and philosophical framework of inclusive education, in addition to the practical considerations, remains a challenging arena for policy planners and educators in the GCC.


The diminishing extent of Arctic sea ice is a key indicator of climate change as well as an accelerant for future global warming. Since 1978, Arctic sea ice has been measured using satellite-based microwave sensing; however, different measures of Arctic sea ice extent have been made available based on differing algorithmic transformations of the raw satellite data. We propose and estimate a dynamic factor model that combines four of these measures in an optimal way that accounts for their differing volatility and cross-correlations. From this model, we extract an optimal combined measure of Arctic sea ice extent using the Kalman smoother.


'Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me...' After the death of his wife Emma, a grief-stricken Hardy wrote some of the best verse of his career. Moving and evocative, it ranks among the greatest elegiac poetry in the language. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). Hardy's works available in Penguin Classics are A Laodicean, A Pair of Blue Eyes, Desperate Remedies, Far from the Madding Crowd, Jude the Obscure, Selected Poems, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, The Distracted Preacher and Other Tales, The Fiddler of the Reels and Other Stories, The Hand of Ethelberta, The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Pursuit of the Well-beloved and The Well-beloved, The Return of the Native, The Trumpet-Major, The Withered Arm and Other Stories, The Woodlanders, Two on a Tower and Under the Greenwood Tree.


Often dismissed by scholars as an opportunistic politician whose ideas lacked historical import, Theodore Roosevelt has been underestimated as a thinker. But to disdain Roosevelt's politics is to overlook his important and lasting contributions to the shape of modern America, says the author of this compelling new study of the 26th president of the United States. Joshua Hawley examines Roosevelt's political thought more deeply than ever before to arrive at a fully revised understanding of his legacy: Roosevelt galvanized a twenty-year period of national reform that permanently altered American politics and Americans' expectations for government, social progress, and presidents. The book explores the historical context of Theodore Roosevelt's politics, its intellectual sources, its practice, and its effect on his era and our own. Hawley finds that Roosevelt developed a coherent political science centered on the theme of righteousness, and this "warrior republicanism" was what made the progressive era possible. The debates of Roosevelt's era were driven largely by his ideas, and from those debates emerged the grammar of our contemporary politics. Casting new light on the fertility and breadth of Roosevelt's thought, Hawley reveals the full extent of his achievement in twentieth-century intellectual history.


Lane's work on the Gospel of Mark is a contribution to The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Prepared by some of the world's leading scholars, the series provides an exposition of the New Testament books that is thorough and fully abreast of modern scholarship yet faithful to the Scriptures as the infallible Word of God.


A thermogravimetric technique for following lipase reaction kinetics has been developed. The relationships between the reaction rate and substrate have been determined for Candida Antarctica lipase B. At higher concentrations, evidence of substrate inhibition was found, due to the pH of the system decreasing as the concentration of acid increased. This has a dramatic adverse effect on the enzyme activity as it moves away from the optimum pH 7.0. Buffering the system closer to optimum pH increased the reaction rate. Also, it was found that as the hydrophobicity of the medium, expressed as C logP, increased the reaction rate became slower. The effect of substitution on the acid substrates was studied; it was found that the enzyme accepted substrates with substitution in the 3-position but not in the 2-position. As a result of modelling, this effect was explained by the disruption of hydrogen bonding, which stabilised the acyl enzyme tetrahedral intermediate.

The thermodynamic reaction parameters were determined using Isothermal Titration Calorimetry. The difference in reactivity of ester and acid carbonyls was determined together with the entropy and enthalpy of formation of the acyl intermediates. In the solvent free reaction low dispersity and high molecular weight polyesters are formed due to the limited solubility of the polyester in the diol, only limited transesterification occurring at the ends of the chain. Molecular modelling was used to map the surface hydrophobicity around the enzyme active site in an attempt to explain the observed hydrophobic effects. Modelling around and within the active site was carried out in order to explain the activity of different substrates. The information gained from these studies led to the synthesis of several novel polyesters and polyurethanes, which may have commercial utility in coatings and adhesives.

We have investigated the secondary structure of the Candida antarctica lipase B enzyme using conventional CD and synchrotron radiation CD in aqueous buffers and solvents. The secondary structure was determined under different conditions, using the CDSSTR and Selcon programs. Little difference was found between the structure in aqueous buffers and solvents such as hexane, however, really polar solvents like dioxane and THF unfolded the protein.

Novel Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopic methods were developed for the determination of the acid number and the hydroxyl number of polyesters. The effect of changes in the backbone structure of the polyester on the NIR spectrum of the polyester was determined and calibration curves developed for all the common types of linear aliphatic polyesters. The importance of the intra-molecular hydrogen bonding between the acid carbonyl and the hydroxyl groups has been established and the effect of temperature on the degree of association determined. It was found that even at a temperature of 120°C there was still substantial association between the two groups. Partial least squares analysis was developed for the simultaneous determination of both acid number and hydroxyl number. It has been shown that the principal difference between the conventionally synthesised polyesters and those synthesised using enzymatic catalysis is that the latter have little or no carboxyl termination at the ends of the polymer chain. This effect has been explained by the mechanism of the enzymatic polymerisation.


Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in utero might lead to microcephaly and other congenital defects. In adults, cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome and meningoencephalitis associated with ZIKV infection have been reported, and no specific therapy is available so far. There is urgency for the discovery of antiviral agents capable of inhibiting viral replication and its deleterious effects. Chloroquine is widely administered as an antimalarial drug, anti-inflammatory agent, and it also shows antiviral activity against several viruses. Here we show that chloroquine exhibits antiviral activity against ZIKV in VERO, human brain microvascular endothelial, and neural stem cells. We demonstrated in vitro that chloroquine reduces the number of ZIKV-infected cells, virus production and cell death promoted by ZIKV infection without cytotoxic effects. Our results suggest that chloroquine is a promising candidate for ZIKV clinical trials, since it is already approved for clinical use and can be safely administered to pregnant woman.


A high-power single-frequency laser at 671 and 1342 nm is designed and built. We find that for a high power Nd:YVO4 laser, the thermal load of gain medium at 1342 nm lasing is much more stronger than that without lasing, which results in a bistability-like phenomenon on the relation curve between the output power and pump power. Based on the consideration to this special phenomenon, in our design, the cavity parameters are optimized carefully to satisfy the laser stability condition for both cases before and after lasing, the thermal effect of the Nd:YVO4 crystal is mitigated by increasing appropriately the fundamental mode size. The maximal output powers of 2.8 W at 671 nm and 850 mW at 1342 nm are simultaneously achieved.


In this paper I will demonstrate that the South African vision of multiculturalism as it is expressed in the National Curriculum Statement is limited and that it is not preparing young South Africans for the twenty-first century. I will argue that to achieve a broader multiculturalism, the educational system needs to further French as a foreign language actively. Ten years ago, education was faced with the challenge of designing a curriculum that affirmed the diversity of South African cultures, religions, ethnic and racial groups while unifying people within this diversity. Policy was thus underpinned very firmly by the principles of multiculturalism. However, South African multiculturalism is inward-looking, it is "safrocentric". It does not prepare learners for the realities of a nation composed not only of a heterogeneous population of South Africans but which also comprises a growing number of immigrants. South African multiculturalism must be broadened to go beyond local cultural diversity to include world cultures. Education must open learners to the Other who is not only a South African of a different cultural group, but is of another nationality. I will argue that this discovery of the Other and of Otherness can best be made through the learning of foreign languages such as French.


Rehabilitation exoskeletons are becoming important elements of gait rehabilitation after spinal cord injury, neurological injury or traumatic brain injury. Current designs assume relatively confined movement that is almost exclusively in domain of sagittal plane. However, human gait is three dimensional movement that requires synchronized control of cyclical leg movement and forward progression in sagittal plane, weight transfer in frontal plane and turning in transversal plane. Therefore, rehabilitation exoskeletons inevitably impose kinematic constraints than prohibit training of more challenging movement maneuvers such as weight transfer or turning. We suggest novel mobile robotic gait rehabilitation system that tries to bridge this gap and offer complete three dimensional gait training. To optimize configuration of such system we reviewed kinematics of human movement in sagittal, frontal and transversal planes in terms of elementary walking mechanisms and identified those degrees of freedom that contribute most. Integrating these degrees of freedom suggest that such system aims at cognitively more fit subjects that have the capacity to deliver basic gait function but require further training to improve weight transfer, turning or balance.


This article describes a number of concrete initiatives taken in the De Meander in Melle (near Ghent, Belgium), a psychiatric ward for patients with a mental disability or an acquired brain injury, with the aim of introducing and safeguarding a psychoanalytic ethic. In the latter, the particularity of the patient plays a central role. De Meander tried to achieve this by abolishing many of the ward rules, allowing more space for the singular solution of the patient. Furthermore, the author describes how aggression is addressed differently, in order to learn how to read this rather than punish it. From an ethical perspective, the values and standards of mainstream society are no longer strictly adhered to, but the starting point is the suffering and the questioning of the patient as a unique subject. The author describes how patients of De Meander are given more responsibility for their lives and future. Hierarchical positions are lifted by creating the possibility of circulation between different team members and by using the therapeutic potential of patients. Finally, the author describes how, via volunteer work, an opening to the outside world is created for so-called chronic patients. These various concrete initiatives are illustrated using clinical vignettes.


The Turkish Straits System (TSS) regulates the transports of water, material and energy between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Amidst existing environmental threats to the region surrounding Istanbul, the environmental footprint of the proposed Canal Istanbul project needs to be evaluated through methods of natural science. We take the elementary step to answer the particular problem of coupled strait dynamics by adding the Canal to an existing hydrodynamic model and estimate changes in their common response. Compared to the virtually unmodified exchange flow in the Bosphorus, the flow in the Canal has a weak lower layer current component, contrasted with intense currents at the exit controls at its junction with the Marmara Sea. The net flux through this simplest hypothetical TSS configuration is considerably increased for a given sea level difference across the system. The modified regime is expected to have climatological consequences.


Given a system with $n > 3t + 1$ processes, where $t$ is the tolerated number of faulty ones, we present a fast asynchronous Byzantine agreement protocol that can reach agreement in $O(t)$ expected running time. This improves the $O(n^2)$ expected running time of Abraham, Dolev, and Halpern [PODC 2008]. Furthermore, if $n = (3 + \varepsilon) t$ for any $\varepsilon > 0$, our protocol can reach agreement in $O (1 / \varepsilon)$ expected running time. This improves the result of Feldman and Micali [STOC 1988] (with constant expected running time when $n > 4 t$).


How much electricity is going to be consumed for the next 24 hours? What will be the temperature for the next three days? What will be the number of sales of a certain product for the next few months? Answering these questions often requires forecasting several future observations from a given sequence of historical observations, called a time series. Historically, time series forecasting has been mainly studied in econometrics and statistics. In the last two decades, machine learning, a field that is concerned with the development of algorithms that can automatically learn from data, has become one of the most active areas of predictive modeling research. This success is largely due to the superior performance of machine learning prediction algorithms in many different applications as diverse as natural language processing, speech recognition and spam detection. However, there has been very little research at the intersection of time series forecasting and machine learning.The goal of this dissertation is to narrow this gap by addressing the problem of multi-step-ahead time series forecasting from the perspective of machine learning. To that end, we propose a series of forecasting strategies based on machine learning algorithms.Multi-step-ahead forecasts can be produced recursively by iterating a one-step-ahead model, or directly using a specific model for each horizon. As a first contribution, we conduct an in-depth study to compare recursive and direct forecasts generated with different learning algorithms for different data generating processes. More precisely, we decompose the multi-step mean squared forecast errors into the bias and variance components, and analyze their behavior over the forecast horizon for different time series lengths. The results and observations made in this study then guide us for the development of new forecasting strategies.In particular, we find that choosing between recursive and direct forecasts is not an easy task since it involves a trade-off between bias and estimation variance that depends on many interacting factors, including the learning model, the underlying data generating process, the time series length and the forecast horizon. As a second contribution, we develop multi-stage forecasting strategies that do not treat the recursive and direct strategies as competitors, but seek to combine their best properties. More precisely, the multi-stage strategies generate recursive linear forecasts, and then adjust these forecasts by modeling the multi-step forecast residuals with direct nonlinear models at each horizon, called rectification models. We propose a first multi-stage strategy, that we called the rectify strategy, which estimates the rectification models using the nearest neighbors model. However, because recursive linear forecasts often need small adjustments with real-world time series, we also consider a second multi-stage strategy, called the boost strategy, that estimates the rectification models using gradient boosting algorithms that use so-called weak learners.Generating multi-step forecasts using a different model at each horizon provides a large modeling flexibility. However, selecting these models independently can lead to irregularities in the forecasts that can contribute to increase the forecast variance. The problem is exacerbated with nonlinear machine learning models estimated from short time series. To address this issue, and as a third contribution, we introduce and analyze multi-horizon forecasting strategies that exploit the information contained in other horizons when learning the model for each horizon. In particular, to select the lag order and the hyperparameters of each model, multi-horizon strategies minimize forecast errors over multiple horizons rather than just the horizon of interest.We compare all the proposed strategies with both the recursive and direct strategies. We first apply a bias and variance study, then we evaluate the different strategies using real-world time series from two past forecasting competitions. For the rectify strategy, in addition to avoiding the choice between recursive and direct forecasts, the results demonstrate that it has better, or at least has close performance to, the best of the recursive and direct forecasts in different settings. For the multi-horizon strategies, the results emphasize the decrease in variance compared to single-horizon strategies, especially with linear or weakly nonlinear data generating processes. Overall, we found that the accuracy of multi-step-ahead forecasts based on machine learning algorithms can be significantly improved if an appropriate forecasting strategy is used to select the model parameters and to generate the forecasts.Lastly, as a fourth contribution, we have participated in the Load Forecasting track of the Global Energy Forecasting Competition 2012. The competition involved a hierarchical load forecasting problem where we were required to backcast and forecast hourly loads for a US utility with twenty geographical zones. Our team, TinTin, ranked fifth out of 105 participating teams, and we have been awarded an IEEE Power & Energy Society award.


The co-ordination of different business factors in the maritime company implies more detailed understanding of the concept of improving standards in business. In order to improve business of the company, it is necessary to continually increase the level of individual human resources standards related to human resource management. In this context, more detailed research into changes in standards related to the training of employees in maritime affairs, the new administrative rules in business and improvement of the convergence of education system, legal regulations and the actual state of affairs related to maritime companies will be explored. The aim of the paper is to explore the above-mentioned parameters in order to link the improvement of standards with changes in certain segments of the work related to the efficiency of work and the improvement of the quality of work processes. The purpose of the paper is to provide an insight into the state of affairs and changes that have occurred in the domain of standards improvement over the last 5 years and to discover their impact on mentioned parameters in a truly limited environment. Since these indicators are impossible to evaluate on the basis of measurable data, the survey is based on assessing seafarer's estimates. The research methodology is based on data collection through an on-line questionnaire fills by seafarers. The processing of collected data will be based on statistical analysis using correlation and various descriptive statistical methods. Since research is based on the period of the last 5 years, the analysis of the theoretical bases found that no similar research has been carried out so far. The aforesaid issues were explored solely on a theoretical basis, therefore practical research considers interesting to scientific and professional public. The conclusion of the paper gives a cross-section of the continuous process of standardization and explains its impact on the business in the domain of marine logistics.


Abstract. Seasonal predictions from climate models are increasingly invoked in various sectors like water management, energy and transport to cite a few. This study investigates the post-processing of the seasonal predictions of the EUROSIP multi-model system. The hindcasts comprise samples of 23 to 36 years and ensembles of 10 to 28 members depending on the 5 models included. Skill scores both deterministic and probabilistic are calculated in order to compare the impact of the post-processing and help selecting – if any – the multi- or single-model and the post-processing method best suited for a specific location, target season and lead-time. The presence of trends and the cross-validation setting add some complexity to the already heterogeneous database. This study focuses on six cases in Western Europe and the Mediterranean Region. The forecasts of three monthly averages of surface temperature and of sea mean sea level pressure are compared with the corresponding ERA Interim reanalysis data whereas the forecasts of precipitation are evaluated with the rain-gauge data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre. The skills of seasonal predictions in the extra-tropics are limited and our results are no exception. There is a significant skill for the spring temperature forecast with model initiation in March for all but one case studies and the skill is extending to the initiation begin of February for Belgium. There is is also a significant skill for the summer temperature for the case studies in the Mediterranean region. For these area, the skill comes in large part from the global warming so that after having de-trended the data, a null improvement cannot be excluded. Autumn temperature in UK and in the Turkey is forecast with some skill as well as winter temperature in UK and Greece. Precipitation is even more difficult to forecast: the two spots where skill scores are significantly positive are Sweden and Greece during winter with initialisation on the first December. It has been shown that multi-model ensemble improve the skills in many cases and that taking into account the longest common period of hindcasts results in better and less uncertain skill scores. For all these cases, the post-processing method and the model or model combination resulting in the best skill score have been selected.


Distributions of overwintering Calanus spp. in the upper 1000 m in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas were studied in relation to hydrography, invertebrate predators and acoustic scattering layers (38 kHz). C. finmarchicus was concentrated deepest in the Atlantic domain, inhabiting the Arctic Intermediate Water (AIW) below the Atlantic Water (AW). It was less deeply distributed in the Arctic domain, where AIW reached the surface. The temperature of the overwintering habitats was mainly between -0.5 and + 0.5°C, irrespective of region and overwintering depth. The distributions of invertebrate predators such as chaetognaths and the carnivorous copepods Euchaeta spp. and Chiridius sp. provided no explanation for the varying vertical distributions of C. finmarchicus. A conspicuous coupling between the level of acoustic backscattering (38 kHz) and the type of water mass (i.e. AW or AIW) was found. High acoustic backscattering, which we ascribe to planktivorous mesopelagic fishes, was confined to the relatively warm AW. The colder AIW was almost devoid of backscattering. Thus C. finmarchicus appear to overwinter in waters with a low abundance of planktivorous fish in all parts of the ocean. Since temperature and predator distribution as revealed by acoustics were closely coupled, predator avoidance is an alternative explanation to metabolically motivated temperature preference in Calanus' choice of overwintering depth.


The present study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence, academic achievement and schoolclimate among primary school students. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of social andemotional learning programs on the emotional intelligence and the academic achievement of 143 students in the 5thand 6th grade of primary school, who attended relevant programs compared with the corresponding number ofstudents (163) in the same grades, who did not attend such educational programs. Students completed theTEIQue-CSF and a questionnaire with demographic data; in addition, the scores they received in the last quarter(April-June) of the academic year 2011-2012 were taken into account. Combined with the above, a questionnaire wasconstructed based on the "Checklist for the assessment of the quality of classroom and school climate", in order toinvestigate the views of the respective teachers on the impact of school climate on the emotional competence ofstudents. The comparative results of the present study showed that there is a positive relationship among thevariances. The findings must be taken into account from the Ministry of Education in Greece when designing thecurricula in order to create caring, responsible, emotionally and psychosocially balanced students.


Abstract MATLAB is a software package used by engineers for design, optimisation, visualisation of data, and to simulate and control hardware. There are many important skills that engineering students develop through learning to use MATLAB – the most significant of which is the ability to distil a problem so that it can be solved using a computer algorithm quickly and efficiently. This research is presented as a short case study focusing on the process of transforming a course from a traditional lecture/tutorial-based format to a blended learning experience. Changes to the course structure, learning and teaching methods, and assessment are deconstructed and analysed. Consistent with dual coding and cognitive load theory of multimedia learning, new course materials were developed around a series of screencasts. The blended course design allowed the students to learn MATLAB in an interactive way, at their own pace, and through hands-on experience. Although student performance from before and after the move to blended learning has not yet been formally evaluated, comments made in end-of-course questionnaires and through conversations with academics indicate the new course has been very well received.


The article gives reason to say, that the key point of globalization in the field of human rights is the universalization of this area. The universalization of human rights is a key trend, but not the only, in their development. Human rights as universal moral principles specification are the rules on which peaceful coexistence of individuals and different cultures in terms of global problems is possible. Such an approach allows to solve the seemingly irreconcilable contradiction between the positions of the universalism of human rights and cultural identity pluralism: the right to cultural identity is a significant individual right. There should be a critical approach to the thesis of the insurmountable fundamentality of cultural differences between Eastern and Western cultures. It is necessary to distinguish between situations of imposing Western standards on other cultures and the real importance and universality of human rights for the modern world. Cultural diversity should never be used as an excuse for chauvinistic nationalism. It is intercultural dialogues that should facilitate fruitful exchanges of ideas on human rights issues in the perspective of cultural diversity and become the basis for the formation of a dialogical civilization. Contemporary human rights discourse has to take place in the context of a global world order emergence through the juxtaposition of concepts such as universality, cultural diversity and cultural dialogue.


RÉSUMÉ This paper assesses the 'treatment effect' of EITI on domestic tax revenue mobilization through two main channels. The first channel is direct and it works through optimal and transparent resource tax regime. The second channel is the indirect effect that EITI has on non-resource revenue once transparency enhances accountability and thus the task of resource allocation to productive expenditures. We use a variety of propensity score matching (PSM) methods developed in the treatment effect literature to address the self-selection problem associated with EITI membership. Our treatment variables are based on the three main steps of the EITI implementation process: the dates of countries' commitment, candidacy and compliance. The empirical analysis, conducted on a sample of 83 resource-rich developing countries (44 EITI and 39 non-EITI) for the period from 1995 to 2017. Our findings show that on average EITI implementation has had a large and significant positive effect on domestic revenue collection (around 1.1 to 1.12 percentage points). Even more important is that the magnitude of ATTs is greater if we controle governance quality. Our results are robust to non-resource and income tax revenues. The influence of heterogeneity factors on ATT effect are more or less important depending on the stage of EITI implementation and the type of tax revenue. This study therefore provides empirical evidence that implementing the EITI standard improves domestic revenue mobilization of countries that have adopted this transparency policy. And clearly, compliance with the rules and virtuous governance are a plus.


The developments in textile technology now enable the weaving of conductive wires into the fabrics. This allows the introduction of electronic components such as sensors, actuators and computational devices on the fabrics, creating electronic textiles (etextiles). E-textiles can be either wearable or non-wearable. However, regardless of their form, e-textiles are placed in a tightly constrained design space requiring high computational performance, limited power consumption, and fault tolerance. The purpose of this research is to create simulation models for power consumption and fault behavior of e-textile applications. For the power consumption model, the power profile of the computational elements must be tracked dynamically based upon the power states of the e-textile components. For the fault behavior model, the physical nature of the e-textile and the faults developed can adversely affect the accuracy of results from the e-textile. Open and short circuit faults can disconnect or drain the battery respectively, affecting both battery life and the performance of the e-textile. This thesis describes the development of both of these models and their interfaces. It then presents simulation results of the performance of an acoustic beamforming e-textile in the presence and absence of faults, using those results to explore the battery life and fault tolerance of several battery configurations.


"The purpose of the current study was to examine three promotive parenting behaviors (communication/reasoning, behavioral control, and trust) as predictors of resourcefulness among African American children. Child gender was also examined as a potential moderator of the relations between African American mothers' parenting behaviors and child well-being. Using data from a larger longitudinal project (N = 404) examining the social relationships among parents and behavioral outcomes among children, the participants in the current study were 136 African American mothers and children (n = 76 girls; 60 boys). The focal children were in the 4th grade and part of the second wave of data collection. Both mothers and children completed questionnaires in home interviews conducted by trained graduate and undergraduate students. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the contribution of all predictor parenting variables (communication/reasoning, behavioral control, and trust) to child resourcefulness. Socioeconomic status, child gender and family structure (i.e., single- versus two-parent families) were control variables. Results of the current project indicate that African American mothers of boys versus mothers of girls did not vary in mean levels of parenting strategies for boys versus girls. Only communication/reasoning was associated with levels of resourcefulness among African American children. Child gender did not moderate associations between promotive parenting behaviors and child resourcefulness."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.


My PhD work focuses upon the Read Out Driver (ROD) of the ATLAS Muon Spectrometer. The ROD is a VME64x board, designed around two Xilinx Virtex-II FPGAs and an ARM7 microcontroller and it is located off-detector, in a counting room of the ATLAS cavern at the CERN. The readout data of the ATLAS' RPC Muon spectrometer are collected by the front-end electronics and transferred via optical fibres to the ROD boards in the counting room. The ROD arranges all the data fragments of a sector of the spectrometer in a unique event. This is made by the Event Builder Logic, a cluster of Finite State Machines that parses the fragments, checks their syntax and builds an event containing all the sector data. In the presentation I will describe the Builder Monitor, developed by me in order to analyze the Event Builder timing performance. It is designed around a 32-bit soft-core microprocessor, embedded in the same FPGA hosting the Builder logic. This approach makes it possible to track the algorithm execution in the field. The Monitor performs real time and statistical analysis of the state machine dynamics. The microprocessor is interfaced with custom peripherals which read out the state registers, fill histograms and transfer them via DMA to the processor memory. The Builder Monitor also measures the elapsed time for each event, its length and keeps track of the error status words.
In my thesis I will describe the hardware-software co-design of the Builder Monitor and the role played by the custom peripherals. I will also present experimental results and the procedure I developed to check out errors and to debug software.


East Asian Countries has developed the financial cooperation via CMIM, ABMI after the Asian currency crisis. Lee and Park (2014) and Rhee and Sumulong (2014) advocate the use of local currencies in trade settlements. The regional currency settlements will reduce the USD dependancy in the regional economy, so it will promote financial stability in the region. But they might induce risks for Korean economy. Korea's trade accounts are deficit with Middle East and Japan and surplus with other regions. Most USD settled trade surplus comes from trades with China and ASEAN. Therefore, if the regional currency settlement increases in East Asia, then USD settled surplus would be shrunk considerably since the trade deficit with Middle East still would be settled in USD. The increased interconnection of regional economy may speed up the spread of financial crisis if it happens in the region. And it is possible that currencies in East Asia are valued as a bloc regardless of Korean macroeconomy conditions. Traders may choose only Yuan for their settlement when the regional currency settlement is promoted since China promoted Yuan internationalization. The convertibility of local currencies should be guaranteed to avoid any problem caused by USD surplus reduction problem. The crisis prevention effort should be strengthened and local currencies' FX hedging tools should be provided to traders. We should make KRW more acceptable in the region in order to minimize potential risks associated with increased local currency settlements.


Abstract Observation of growth, synthesis, dynamics, and electrochemical reactions in the liquid state is an important yet largely unstudied aspect of nanotechnology. The only techniques that can potentially provide the insights necessary to advance our understanding of these mechanisms is simultaneous atomic-scale imaging and quantitative chemical analysis (through spectroscopy) under environmental conditions in the transmission electron microscope. In this study we describe the experimental and technical conditions necessary to obtain electron energy loss (EEL) spectra from a nanoparticle in colloidal suspension using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) combined with the environmental liquid stage. At a fluid path length below 400 nm, atomic resolution images can be obtained and simultaneous compositional analysis can be achieved. We show that EEL spectroscopy can be used to quantify the total fluid path length around the nanoparticle and demonstrate that characteristic core-loss signals from the suspended nanoparticles can be resolved and analyzed to provide information on the local interfacial chemistry with the surrounding environment. The combined approach using aberration-corrected STEM and EEL spectra with the in situ fluid stage demonstrates a plenary platform for detailed investigations of solution-based catalysis.


Traumatic stress caused as the result of a military career is a widely researched phenomenon. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can develop when traumatic stress in individuals is not moderated and managed well. A wider variety of psychological interventions for treating PTSD have been researched since PTSD became a clinical diagnosis. However, with new and emerging technologies, as well as an increasingly technical and digital world, more research is needed to establish if technology can be successfully utilized in treating PTSD. The aim of this PhD was to investigate the perception and effectiveness of a technology-enabled intervention to help treat PTSD in UK military veterans. This intervention would take into account veteran experiences with interventions they have already undertaken. To achieve this, four studies were conducted overall. The first was a systematic review of the literature relating to individual psychological intervention for PTSD; a total of 11 studies were included in the review. The interventions from the 11 studies were broken down into three categories. Interventions across all studies were found to be effective. Further analysis of studies using military personnel as participants was conducted and found the CPT was the intervention method used to successfully reduce PTSD symptoms for this population. Analysis of studies which utilised technology to deliver the intervention was also conducted, all of these studies used Computerized Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to successfully reduce PTSD symptoms in the participants. The second study was qualitative research comprising semi-structured interviews with 12 veterans, asking questions on their perception of psychological treatment they had received for PTSD. The results showed that there were more positive opinions than negative opinions relating to the interventions that participants had experienced. However, all participants stated that they would be willing to try a technology-enabled intervention if it was available. The third study was a longitudinal study with a total of 98 participants taking part over a 27 month period. The aim of this longitudinal study was to establish the effectiveness of the technology-enabled intervention in reducing PTSD symptoms. The technology-enabled intervention was found to be significantly effective in reducing both PTSD symptoms overall and at a PTSD criterion level. The fourth and final study was qualitative research consisting of semi-structured interviews with 17 veterans. The questions asked related to their perceptions of the technology-enabled intervention experienced as a part of study three. Results showed that, overall, participants were satisfied that the intervention reduced their PTSD symptoms. However, there were some aspects of the intervention that they felt could have been better designed, including increasing the number of images in the intervention sessions or creating more interactive sessions. Overall, conclusions of the studies found that even though technology-enabled intervention were found to be effective at reducing PTSD symptom scores, there are improvements that can be made to increase its usability and effectiveness. Further research is required to improve the technology-enabled intervention, develop additional functionality and test its effectiveness in a randomised controlled trial.


The human visual system is sensitive to differences in gloss and translucence, two optical properties which are found in conjunction in many natural materials. They are driven by similar underlying physical properties of light transport - the degree to which light is scattered from the surface of a material, or within the material. This thesis aimed to address some fundamental questions about how gloss and translucence are perceived. Two psychophysical methods (maximum likelihood difference scaling, and conjoint measurement) were used throughout, as they provided an appropriate way of investigating how perceptual experiences related to physical variables.

In the introduction, I review the literature on the perception of gloss and translucence. Study 1 investigated the relationship between variables controlling light transport in translucent volumes and percepts of translucence. The results show that translucence perception is not based on estimates of light transport properties per se, but probably uses spatially-related statistical pseudocues in conjunction with other cues. Study 2 examined a similar issue, but the translucent material was presented as a layer enveloping a solid object. Behavioural responses were similar for these translucent materials, which were perceived as glossy layers of coating. Study 3 further explored established findings that perceived translucence shows inconstancy under changes in viewing condition. Perceived translucence was dependent in a complex way on both light-scattering in the material and illumination direction in both volumes and layers of translucent materials. Study 4 used similar layers of subsurface light-scattering and -absorbing material and applied them to multiple base materials. Opacity and a lack of mirror-like reflections enabled observers to make the most accurate independent judgements of darkness and cloudiness.

Study 5 explored observers' sensitivity to spatial variation of scatter across a surface using similar layers of coating, and the way in which observers might weight cues differently to answer subtly different questions (judgements of 'shininess' vs. 'cleanliness'). Layer thickness and variation of scatter significantly affected perceived shine and cleanliness, with layer thickness influencing decisions more than variation. Scatter variation contributed to decisions significantly more for judgements of cleanliness than shine. Study 6 investigated how tactile surface roughness influenced perceived gloss. Previous findings have shown that tactile compliance and friction influence perceived gloss, and that friction interacts with visual gloss. Our results showed that surface roughness and visual gloss both affected perceived gloss, but there was no interaction, suggesting that different types of haptic information are combined with visual information differently. Finally, study 7 explored the potential cortical basis of perceived translucence. Through testing a neuropsychological patient, we showed that perceived translucence is dependent on cortical areas not responsible for colour or texture discrimination.

The thesis concludes with a discussion of additional recent findings, the implications of the research reported in this thesis, and proposals for future research.


Thermal management of power electronics continues to be one of the limiting factors in the peak power capability of the traction inverter system and overall efficiency of the e-drive. Successful design and implementation of Embedded Microchannels with a 3D-Manifold Cooler, or EMMC, could enable higher power density that allows increase in the inverter peak power output. In the present work, we have conducted a parametric study on geometric dimensions of the EMMCs to analyze thermofluidic performance by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The study was conducted for a 5 mm × 5 mm cold-plate foot print, heat flux 800 W/cm2, and single-phase water as working fluid at inlet temperature of 25 °C. We implemented strategies such as i) symmetric distribution of manifold inlet/outlet conduits, ii) reducing the thickness of cold-plate substrate, iii) increasing fluid-solid interfacial area in cold-plate microchannels that resulted in reduction in thermal resistance of the baseline EMMC design from 0.1 to 0.04 cm2-K/W with pressure drop from 8 to 37 kPa.


The prime requirements for the spin transfer torque based ferromagnetic (FM)/nonmagnetic (NM) bilayer spin devices are (i) the absence of two-magnon scattering (TMS) noise, (ii) minimum energy dissipation and (iii) fast switching. To realize these objectives we have studied the thickness, Py (permalloy) thicknesses (tPy) and b-Ta thicknesses (tTa), dependent magnetization dynamics behaviour of the epitaxial Py (tPy 1⁄4 3–20 nm)/b-Ta (tTa 1⁄4 1.5–15 nm) system. The tPy dependence of TMS in epitaxial Py nanolayers (tPy 1⁄4 3–20 nm) grown on a Si(400)/TiN(200) (8 nm) substrate is explored in terms of uniform and non-uniform magnetization precession regimes by employing ferromagnetic resonance field (Hr), linewidth (DH), and Gilbert damping constant (a) behaviour. It is found that in Py, tPy < 10 nm, layers TMS is dominating due to non-uniform precession of the magnetization. However in Py, tPy $ 10 nm, layers the uniform magnetization precession dominates, therefore Py layers, tPy $ 10 nm, are almost free from TMS. Furthermore, a nearly TMS free 12 nm epitaxial Py(200) layer is capped with b-Ta (tTa 1⁄4 1.5–15 nm) layers to explore the tTa dependent magnetization precession of epitaxial Py (12 nm) in terms of change in effective Gilbert damping constant (aeff). An anomalous decrease in aeff from 0.0087 at tTa 1⁄4 0 to a minimum value of 0.0077 at tTa 1⁄4 6 nm, and its subsequent increase for tTa > 6 nm are observed in the epitaxial Py (12 nm)/b-Ta(tTa) system. Therefore the Si(400)/TiN(200) (8 nm)/Py(200) (12 nm)/b-Ta(200) (6 nm) epitaxial system with nearly uniform magnetic precession and minimum effective Gilbert damping is suitable for low energy loss and ultrafast switching applications in spin transfer torque devices.


This paper presents a comparison between algorithms (Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF (ORB) and Aruco) for the detection of fiducial markers placed throughout a smart environment. A series of activities of daily living (ADL) were conducted while monitoring a first‐person perspective of the situation; this was achieved through the usage of the Google Glass platform. Fiducial markers were employed, as a means to assist with the detection of specific objects of interest, within the environment. Each marker was assigned unique Identification (ID) and was used to identify the object. Three activities were performed by a participant within the environment. On subsequent trials of the solution, lighting conditions were modified to assess fiducial marker detection rates on a frame‐by‐frame basis. This paper presents the results from this investigation, detailing performance measure for each object detected under various lighting conditions, motion blur and distance from the objects. An intelligent system was developed to specifically consider distance estimation in order to aid with the filtering out of false interactions. A linear filtering method was applied along with a fuzzy membership function to estimate the degree of user interaction, which assists in removing false positives generated by the occupant. The intelligent system returns an average precision, recall and an F‐Measure of 0.99, 0.62 and 0.49, respectively. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between estimated residential exposure to agricultural chemical application and premature mortality from Parkinson's disease (PD) in Washington State. Washington State mortality records for 2011–2015 were geocoded using residential addresses, and classified as having exposure to agricultural land-use within 1000 meters. Generalized linear models were used to explore the association between land-use associated with agricultural chemical application and premature mortality from PD. Individuals exposed to land-use associated with glyphosate had 33% higher odds of premature mortality than those that were not exposed (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.33, 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) = 1.06–1.67). Exposure to cropland associated with all pesticide application (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 0.98–1.44) or Paraquat application (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.99–1.51) was not significantly associated with premature mortality from PD, but the effect size was in the hypothesized direction. No significant associations were observed between exposure to Atrazine (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 0.84–1.74) or Diazinon (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.85–1.34), and premature mortality from PD. The relationship between pesticide exposure and premature mortality aligns with previous biological, toxicological, and epidemiological findings. Glyphosate, the world's most heavily applied herbicide, and an active ingredient in Roundup® and Paraquat, a toxic herbicide, has shown to be associated with the odds of premature mortality from PD.


Sustainable development became an important paradigm in new EU countries. In new member countries can be seen the development of tools for measuring sustainable development. Sustainable development can be measured on many ways. In the paper we will show the evaluation of main determinants of sustainable development. Normally more developed countries have a higher sustainability readiness. In the paper the next hypothesis will be tested: First hypothesis: we need a wider set of sustainable development indicators, if we want to measure synergies among different parts of sustainable development. Second hypothesis: land used policies have an important influence on sustainable development. Third hypothesis: by analysing the indexes of sustainable development we can find the main development steps for improving our position. In the paper it will be shown why we must analyse different parts of sustainable development. Sustainable development is usually measured by the system of indicators. We must take into account also the paradigm of the knowledge based economy. The creation of a knowledge-based economy and society, and the preparation of respective action plans presuppose that the situation of the developed economies be analysed and give deeper insights into the current basis of economic development gained. Only this basis can serve the planning of future in a way that would guarantee rapid economic development and the harmonisation of the average wage level with that of the European Union. This entails both economic and social objectives, according to which Europe seeks to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs, and a better social cohesion.


Abstract:A composite theory of populism needs to answer three key questions: What causes populism to emerge? How do populists rule once in power? And how can populism be defeated? Perhaps the best country case we have available for the empirical study of, and theoretical insights about, populism is that of Greece, which in recent decades has undergone the full populist experience from rise to fall. The story of Greece's experience with illiberal-democratic politics, and of how populism was eventually defeated at the polls, holds new lessons for countries around the world that are grappling with these forces.


An experiment was carried out to determine the comparative growth study of Vietnam koi (Anabus testudineus) and Thai koi (Anabus testudineus) for a period of 90 days in eight experimental ponds in the northern side of the Faculty of Fisheries, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. Four treatments were considered having two replicates. For Vietnam koi treatments were named VT1 and VT2 and for Thai koi were TT1 and TT2. All the fish were of same age group having mean body weight of 0.30 g. Feeding frequency in all the treatments were two times a day. Fish were fed quality fish feed at a rate of 60% of their body weight for the first thirty days that was gradually reduced to 25% for the next thirty days and 10% till the termination of the experiment. The mean value of water temperature were 29.78 in VT1, 30.42 in VT2, 30.50 in TT1 and 29.99°C in TT2, dissolved oxygen were 7.21, 7.42 , 7.14 and 7.34 mg/l in VT1, VT2, TT1 and TT2, respectively, mean pH values were 7.42 in VT1, 7.29 in VT2, 7.50 in TT1 and 7.45 in TT2, ammonia were 0.21, 0.24, 0.28 and 0.23 mg/l in VT1, VT2, TT1 and TT2 , respectively and alkalinity were 200.00, 205.00, 210.00 and 205.00 ppm in VT1, VT2, TT1 and TT2 , respectively. The result of the present study showed that the best weight gain of 80.00 g was observed in VT1 after 90 days of culture period. Average weight gain (g) were 0.83, 0.88, 0.51 and 0.61; SGR (per day) were 3.93, 3.95, 3.65 and 3.71%; FCR were 1.50, 1.67, 1.70 and 1.90; survival rate were 78.50, 76.50, 90.00 and 82.00% and fish production were 7,839, 15,923, 5,519 and 11,820 kg/ha/3 months in VT1, VT2, TT1 and TT2, respectively. Growth of both the species was higher in lower stocking densities, whereas, production was increased in higher stocking densities. The present research findings suggested that Vietnam koi has high growth potential in comparison to Thai koi under mini pond culture condition.


This Article is about deferred action and transparency in related immigration cases falling under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). While scholars from other genres have written extensively on the topic of prosecutorial discretion, the subject is largely absent from immigration scholarship, with the exception of early research conducted by Leon Wildes in the late 1970s and early 2000s, and a law review article I published in 2010 outlining the origins of prosecutorial discretion in immigration law and related lessons that can be drawn from administrative law and criminal law. That article ends with specific recommendations for the agency that include both codifying deferred action into a regulation and recognizing it as a formal benefit as opposed to a matter of "administrative convenience," streamlining the array of existing memoranda of prosecutorial discretion floating within each DHS agency, and increasing oversight of prosecutorial discretion to ensure that officers and agencies that fail to exercise prosecutorial discretion by targeting and enforcing the laws against low-priority individuals are held accountable. In this Article, and building upon recommendations published in The Role of Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Law, I describe the state of prosecutorial discretion and deferred action in particular by surveying the political climate, public reaction, and advocacy efforts in the last two years. I also chronicle my repeated Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to DHS for information about deferred action, and the stumbling blocks I encountered during this 19-month journey. The Article will show that while deferred action is one of the very few discretionary remedies available for noncitizens with compelling equities, it currently operates as a secret program accessible only to elite lawyers and advocates. Moreover, the secrecy of the program has created the (mis)perception by some that deferred action can be used as a tool to legalize the undocumented immigrant population or ignore congressional will. This article explains why transparency about deferred action is important and makes related recommendations that include, but are not limited to, subjecting the program to rulemaking under the Administrative Procedures Act, issuing written decisions when deferred action is denied, posting information about the application process, and maintaining statistics about deferred action decisions. Without these remedies, noncitizens that possess similarly relevant equities will face unequal hardships. Background: The Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet-level agency with jurisdiction over many immigration functions. The Department has jurisdiction over immigration "services" such as asylum, citizenship, and green card applications; border-related enforcement actions such as border patrol and inspections; and interior enforcement activities, such as the detention and removal of noncitizens. The immigration court system is called the Executive Office for Immigration Review and rests within the Department of Justice. Removal proceedings are initiated by DHS and operate as adversarial hearings at which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys represent the DHS. On the other hand, noncitizens are entitled to find their own lawyers at no expense to the government. Many noncitizens in removal proceedings are unrepresented because the proceeding itself is considered "civil" and without guaranteed safeguards like court-appointed counsel. At a removal proceeding, an Immigration Judge reviews allegations and charges with the noncitizen defendant, enters pleas, and if appropriate presides over applications for relief from removal such as asylum, adjustment of status, and cancellation of removal. The noncitizen bears the burden of proving that she is eligible for such relief. Decisions by the Immigration Judge may be appealed with the Board of Immigration Appeals. Not every noncitizen residing or entering the United States without legal authority is placed in removal proceedings. Some are removed expeditiously by the Department through other means, while others are considered for prosecutorial discretion. A favorable exercise of "prosecutorial discretion" identifies the Department of Homeland Security's authority to not assert the full scope of the agency's enforcement authority in each and every case. The Department's motivations for exercising prosecutorial discretion are largely economic and humanitarian. According to the agency's own statistics, ICE has the resources to remove less than 4% of the total undocumented population. Moreover, many individuals and groups who present redeeming qualities such as lengthy residence, employment or family ties in the U.S., and/or intellectual, military, or professional promise are living in the U.S. vulnerable to immigration enforcement and without a statutory vehicle for legal status. In the first two years of the Obama Administration, such humanitarian cases have swelled in the wake of congressional stalemates over even discrete immigration reforms. At one time prosecutorial discretion was called "nonpriority" and later "deferred action," but today, prosecutorial discretion is associated with many different actions by the government. For example, a DHS officer can exercise favorable discretion by granting a temporary stay of removal, joining in a motion to terminate removal proceedings, granting an order of supervision, cancelling a Notice to Appear, or granting deferred action. Prosecutorial discretion can also be exercised during different points in the enforcement process, including, but not limited to, interrogation, arrest, charging, detention, trial, and removal.


Background With England netball announcing that for the first time in its history it will be offering full time, professional contracts there is an increased need to be able to understand why players are getting injured in top level competition. Objective To undertake a prospective epidemiological study of injuries sustained in elite netball. Design A cohort design was used to collect descriptive injury data using superleague netball players. Setting 2016 British Netball Superleague season. Patients (or Participants) 103 players across 8 superleague netball teams were used in the study. Main Outcome Measurements Date of injury, age of player, playing position, activity at time of injury, mechanism of injury, classification of injury at two levels (body location and injury type), predicted time loss and identification of injury being acute, gradual on set or recurrent was recorded. Injuries were recorded by physiotherapists at each netball franchise using a specific injury audit questionnaire designed to suit the characteristics of netball. Results 59 injuries we recorded during one season with an injury incidence rate of 9.08 injuries per 1000 hours exposure. Injuries were more common in competitive match play (71.2%) than in training (28.8%). The ankle was injured most frequently (35.6%). Data revealed a significant association between match quarter and occurrence of injuries χ2 (3)=9.91, p=0.019. A tendency for injuries to increase throughout the time in match and a peak reached at the third quarter was observed. No significant association was observed between playing position and injury incidence χ2 (2)=0.917, p=0.632. Overall injury frequency was highest in the first half of the regular 14 week season with 57.6% of all injuries occurring in this time frame. Conclusions Pre-season preparation, half time match strategies and overall physiological conditioning should be considered when addressing injury prevention within elite netball.


The tumor suppressor Merlin interacts with cell junction–associated proteins and with the proapoptotic protein ASPP2. The Merlin interactome identifies cell junction proteins Merlin (also called NF2) is a tumor suppressor that associates with lipid rafts and cell junctions. To identify potential Merlin binding partners, Hennigan et al. performed proximity biotinylation assays in murine Schwann cells with wild-type and various mutant forms of Merlin that could not associate with the plasma membrane or were locked in different conformations. Fewer proteins interacted with the form of Merlin that could not associate with the plasma membrane, and some proteins interacted specifically with the closed conformation. Most of the Merlin-proximal proteins were components of or associated with cell junctions and focal adhesions. Among the previously unidentified Merlin-interacting proteins was the tumor suppressor ASPP2 (also called Tp53bp2), which bound directly to the closed conformation. This dataset confirms cell junctions as important sites for Merlin activity and reveals additional binding partners. Neurofibromatosis type 2 is an inherited, neoplastic disease associated with schwannomas, meningiomas, and ependymomas and that is caused by inactivation of the tumor suppressor gene NF2. The NF2 gene product, Merlin, has no intrinsic catalytic activity; its tumor suppressor function is mediated through the proteins with which it interacts. We used proximity biotinylation followed by mass spectrometry and direct binding assays to identify proteins that associated with wild-type and various mutant forms of Merlin in immortalized Schwann cells. We defined a set of 52 proteins in close proximity to wild-type Merlin. Most of the Merlin-proximal proteins were components of cell junctional signaling complexes, suggesting that additional potential interaction partners may exist in adherens junctions, tight junctions, and focal adhesions. With mutant forms of Merlin that cannot bind to phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) or that constitutively adopt a closed conformation, we confirmed a critical role for PIP2 binding in Merlin function and identified a large cohort of proteins that specifically interacted with Merlin in the closed conformation. Among these proteins, we identified a previously unreported Merlin-binding protein, apoptosis-stimulated p53 protein 2 (ASPP2, also called Tp53bp2), that bound to closed-conformation Merlin predominately through the FERM domain. Our results demonstrate that Merlin is a component of cell junctional mechanosensing complexes and defines a specific set of proteins through which it acts.


Objectives. To describe blood pressure and its relationship to weight and height in healthy newly enrolled school entrants in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Methods. We measured the blood pressures of 650 healthy, randomly selected pupils after a complete physical examination at the start of school in the morning, using standard procedures. Results. There were 301 male and 349 female children (male/female ratio 0.9:1). Their ages ranged from 5 to 12 years, with a mean of 6.6 (standard deviation (SD) 1.3) years. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 102.5 (SD 9.43) and 73.0 (SD 10.0) mmHg, respectively, and were significantly higher in private school pupils compared with public school pupils (97.1 (SD 9.17) and 70.1 (SD 9.65) mmHg, respectively, p <0.05). Blood pressure did not differ significantly between the genders. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures increased with age, weight and height in both genders. Anthropometric indices had a positive correlation with systolic and diastolic blood pressures ( r =0.26 - 1.22, p <0.05). Two children (0.3%) had persistently elevated blood pressure. Conclusion. Blood pressures were higher in private school pupils compared with public school pupils of the same age, while height and weight had a direct relationship to the systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Routine blood pressure monitoring of schoolchildren should be encouraged, starting at school entry to serve as a baseline assessment, with follow-up when indicated. In addition, blood pressure measurement should be a part of the routine clinical examination of children.


In October 2004 the European Union and the MERCOSUR tried to reach an agreement for creating what would be the world's largest free-trade area accounting for 650 millions people. But despite five years of bilateral work to strike a deal, the two parties stayed on ropes at their meeting in Portugal the 18th of October 2004. The stumbling blocks are the MERCOSUR's demand for a greater access to EU's agricultural markets and the EU's demand for expanded access for industrial goods, services and investments. Though, both partners made great efforts to comply with each other requests, it wasn't enough. In this paper we are interested in the possible last EU's offer to enlarge access to its market through the allocation of bilateral tariff-rate quotas for some MERCOSUR's agricultural products namely corn, wheat, beef, poultry, swine and dairy products. Following the methodology of Elbehri and Pearson (Elbehri and R. 2000) we model bilateral tariff-rate quotas in GTAP using GEMPACK. We then, carry out our simulation to estimate the potential effects of expanding the MERCOSUR's access to these EU's markets.


A vacuum-evaporated Chromel and constantan thin-film thermocouple is developed and used to measure the deposition temperature of evaporated Permalloy films. The maximum Permalloy film temperature is 128°C higher than the glass substrate temperature during deposition for low-evaporation rates (15 A/sec) due to radiation energy from the tungsten boat and condensation energy from the Permalloy films. In all cases the temperature change due to radiation energy greatly exceeds that due to condensation energy. The heat loss through glass substrate is negligible during deposition; under this condition the temperature change during deposition is predicted by theory.


A combined flash photolysis/shock-tube technique for the direct investigation of the rates of bimol. reactions of the OH radical at temps. between 1000-1500 K is described. In this technique shock heated mixts. of approx. 0.5% of H2O in Ar and contg. small amts. of a selected reactant are subjected to flash photolysis as an instantaneous source of OH. The shock wave only serves to heat the gas mixt.; thermal decompn. does not occur. Formation and subsequent decay of OH are monitored by time resolved UV resonance absorption. First results with this technique were obtained for the reactions (1) OH + CH4 -> CH3 + H2O and (2) OH + CF3H -> CF3 + H2O. Rate consts. were k1 (1300 K) = (2.5 +- 0.8)*1012 and k2 (1350 K) = (4.0 +- 1.0)*1011 cm3 mols. The result of reaction (1) is shown to confirm previously suggested non-Arrhenius behavior for this reaction, and in combination with low temp. data yields k1(T) = 106.19 (T/K)2.13 exp(-1234 K/T)cm3 mols. The dependence of k1 on temp. is described in terms of transition state theory.


This thesis analyses the political economy of the financial regulation of US investment banking, which is an under-researched topic within the IPE of finance. Various academics claim investment banks – or "Wall Street" – have significant influence on regulatory decision-making as well as policy making more generally so that they can shape the outcomes to suit their preferences. As this thesis will show, the vast majority of these claims are not rooted in empirics. The dissertation examines the factors and circumstances that led to a de-regulatory outcome in the area of financial regulation of investment banking. Five case studies are analysed in this regard: the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act, which is split into three case studies given the length of the period of observation and complexity involved, the Commodity Futures Modernisation Act, which legalised the non-regulation of OTC derivatives markets in the USA, and the Securities and Exchange Commission's alternative net capital rule regime and Consolidated Supervised Entities Programme. The author tests to what extent interest group based explanation, the role of ideas, the judiciary as well as regulators' statutory authority played a role in arriving at deregulation. The thesis's case studies span a period of fourty years.
 When analysing the cases, the thesis finds that investment banks' interest groups were important in providing regulators with information, however the role of the judiciary in interpreting existing laws and thereby given them a different meaning carried as much weight in deregulatory policy outcomes as the aspect of regulators' own regulatory amendments. Generally speaking, absent legislative change, regulators were successful in achieving their policy outcomes if they were largely aligned with the ideational consensus of the regulatory and market community and acted within their statutory authority. Regulators failed when they acted within their authority, but went against the ideational consensus of the entire regulatory and market community. The thesis shows that these episodes of de-regulation were in fact not driven by "Wall Street" and its lobbyists, but the result of complex chains of causalities in which the judiciary and regulators played major roles.


Amalgam, which has been in use in dentistry for 150 years, consists of 50 % elemental mercury and a mixture of silver, tin, copper and zinc. Minute amounts of mercury vapour are released continuously from amalgam. Amalgam contributes substantially to human mercury load. Mercury accumulates in some organs, particularly in the brain, where it can bind to protein more tightly than other heavy metals (e. g. lead, cadmium). Therefore, the elimination half time is assumed to be up to 1 - 18 years in the brain and bones. Mercury is assumed to be one of the most toxic non-radioactive elements. There are pointers to show that mercury vapour is more neurotoxic than methyl-mercury in fish. Review of recent literature suggests that mercury from dental amalgam may lead to nephrotoxicity, neurobehavioural changes, autoimmunity, oxidative stress, autism, skin and mucosa alterations or non-specific symptoms and complaints. The development of Alzheimer's disease or multiple sclerosis has also been linked to low-dose mercury exposure. There may be individual genetical or acquired susceptibilities for negative effects from dental amalgam. Mercury levels in the blood, urine or other biomarkers do not reflect the mercury load in critical organs. Some studies regarding dental amalgam reveal substantial methodical flaws. Removal of dental amalgam leads to permanent improvement of various chronic complaints in a relevant number of patients in various trials. Summing up, available data suggests that dental amalgam is an unsuitable material for medical, occupational and ecological reasons.


To get to work, employees need to commute. Across the globe, the average commute is 38 minutes each way per day. It is well known that longer commutes have negative effects on employees' well-being and job-related outcomes. Yet, commuting may not similarly affect all employees, since some of them may naturally engage in behaviors to offset the negative effects of longer commutes. Drawing on psychological research on self-control, we theorize how engaging in future-oriented thinking about the tasks to complete during the workday (i.e., goal-directed prospection) while commuting to work influences work outcomes. Across two field studies and one field experiment, we find that individuals higher in trait self-control are less likely to report negative effects of longer commutes. While commuting, individuals with higher trait self-control engage in goal-directed prospection, partially offsetting the strain of commuting. In a field experiment, individuals asked to engage in goal-directed prospecting during commuting reported higher levels of job satisfaction and lower levels of emotional exhaustion. Although commuting is typically seen as the least desirable part of an employee's day, our theory and results point to the benefits of viewing it as a useful time period to engage in goal-directed prospection.


Personnel of the Restorative Justice Centre (RJC) and the Institute for Criminological Sciences of the University of South Africa (Unisa) formed a research team in July 2001 to plan and execute a research survey; its objective was to assist in creating a greater awareness of restorative justice in general, as well as of its meaning and applications.
A questionnaire was developed to gather factual data and to determine the views (perceptions) of the judiciary with regard to general views of the criminal justice system as well as specific aspects of restorative justice.
The study was confined to the magisterial offices of Pretoria, Pretoria North, Soshanguve, Ga-Rankuwa, Themba and Mamelodi, which represent the main areas in which the RJC renders its services; this makes it reasonably representative of the context in which the RJC operates. Two hundred and five (205) questionnaires were distributed to all prosecutors and magistrates working at the aforementioned magisterial offices to be completed anonymously. Seventy-three (73) questionnaires were returned, which represented a response rate of 35,6%. The data of 69 (94,5%) of these questionnaires could be utilised and was therefore computerised. The actual response rate, therefore, decreased to 33,7%.
This article focuses on the extent of respondents' knowledge of and training received in restorative justice practices, respondents' general views on the criminal justice system, recidivism and the sentencing triad.


We generate a detailed ~30 Myr record of pCO2 spanning most of the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian-Rhaetian) to earliest Jurassic (Hettangian), based on stable carbon isotope ratios of soil carbonate and preserved organic matter from paleosols in the eastern North American Newark rift basin. Atmospheric pCO2 was near 4500 ppm in the late Carnian, decreasing to below ~2000 ppm by the late Rhaetian just before the earliest Jurassic eruption of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, which triggered measurable pulses of CO2 outgassing. These data are consistent with published modeling results using the GEOCLIM model, which predict a decrease in pCO2 over the Late Triassic as a result of the progressive increase in continental area subject to the intense weathering regime of the tropical humid belt due to Pangea's northward motion. The fi ner-scale pCO2 changes we observe may be dependent on the lithology introduced to the tropics, such as the dip to ~2000 ppm around 212 Ma and its rebound to ~4000 ppm at 209 Ma, which can be accomplished by introducing a more weatherable subaerial basaltic terrain. These observations indicate that the consumption of CO2 by continental silicate weathering can force long-term changes in pCO2 comparable to those driven by presumed changes in mantle degassing.


This paper explores the emergence of selective admission policies in Dutch university education. Such policies are being developed to promote excellence in a higher education system that is generally known to be "egalitarian" and increasingly criticized for a lack of differentiation. The changing policy context of admission in Dutch university education and its driving forces and rationales are discussed in the context of European-wide developments such as the Bologna Process. Especially the emergence of selective liberal arts colleges will be presented as a recent excellence initiative. A review of international trends, methods and criteria in selective admission (notably from systems with extensive experience in this field such as the USA), including historical pitfalls, provides an analytical framework for the discussion of the fostering of excellence in combination with the aim for diversity in the student population. The predictive value of selection methods and criteria used at Amsterdam University College (AUC) are evaluated against the study progress and performance of AUC students. This includes academic criteria such as GPA in secondary school, and AUC's use of interviews. Examining data from AUC's first entering class in 2009, the college has achieved enrolling students from different national and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is also achieving excellence in terms of study progress and academic performance, including an attrition rate of only 13 percent. The question is whether interviews generate sufficient added value, in particular with regard to the time and costs of this model and with a view to the risk of subjective interpretations of "soft variables" such as student motivation. The answer seems to be that interviews provide extra guidance to both the student and the institution as to whether the student is choosing the right study programme (and not so much as whether he or she is able to complete it successfully). Consequently, the combined model of selection on the basis of prior academic achievement at secondary school (GPA) and personal interviews will be continued. However, specific attention needs to be paid to the fact that the interviewer's estimate of academic performance seems to be less accurate to predict study success than the actual secondary school GPA (i.e. based on the former more students could have been wrongly rejected than on the basis of the latter).


Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) now comprise the main war victims, and are probably twice as numerous as refugees. Paradoxically, a legal framework and a special institution exist for the latter whereas neither exists for the former. This serious structural flaw in the international humanitarian system has been recognized with the appointment of a representative of the UN Secretary-General on internally displaced persons. Over the last half decade, international discourse has changed and guiding principles have been developed for dissemination. It is time for action to replace oratory. A review of the progress to date and gaps in the present coverage for IDPs provide the background for analyzing intergovernmental options currently under consideration.