Charles RAGIN's work, especially his development of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), offers social scientists a way of bringing together the strengths of the qualitative and quantitative traditions. QCA takes a case-based rather than a variable-based analytic approach to cross-case analysis. One problem that arises in attempting to use QCA to explore causation in larger datasets, especially survey datasets, is that the detailed case knowledge available to those working in the qualitative tradition is usually unavailable. In the same way therefore that it can be difficult to establish causation from correlational analyses, the derivation of causal claims from QCA analyses can also be problematic. We discuss these problems in detail and then argue that they can be addressed by using QCA to identify particular types of cases for detailed within-case analysis focusing on causal processes. More specifically, we show how such in-depth, within-case analysis can identify factors that can be used to improve QCA models, including those used to select these cases for analysis. We illustrate this particular mode of combining methods by drawing on our work on educational transitions in Germany, drawing on both the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) dataset and 43 individual interviews with German 17-year olds. URN:  http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs120247


"Low-barrier-to-entry (LBE) research" is a term derived from Northwestern University's Denise Rousseau's efforts (1987) to describe research methods that rely on inexpensive or free-to-the-researcher techniques. Examples of LBE approaches for entrepreneurship research have been outlined before (Katz 1989); but more details on LBE methods are commonly needed because many of the approaches are not easy to use. This article focuses on one of the most daunting of these approaches: secondary analysis. There are two major reasons why secondary analysis can be difficult: 1. There is a knowledge explosion and growing unfamiliarity with existing holdings. For example, the 1989 listing of the archives of the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) is more than 500 pages long and grows by about 15 percent per year. Also, many studies of potential utility to entrepreneurship researchers are not readily apparent from the archive listing description. As the ICPSR develops better cross-referencing methods, these problems may lessen, but they will still remain substantial. 2. Secondary analysis poses problems that are different from those experienced by researchers accustomed to gathering their own data. For example, the self-employed have not been looked at as a separate group in many national studies. Often, the low error rates associated with these national surveys are based on years of detection and corrections of errors in the data set. However, since the self-employed are not studied as often as those who earn wages or salaries, the error rates for the data on the self-employed are usually higher. Another unique problem is researcher unfamiliarity with the "feel" of the population, survey, or data set. In doing original research, the researcher usually has detailed first-hand knowledge about the people, the questions, and the results of the study. Such information i s invaluable for intuitively identifying errors, anomalies, and paradoxes in the data. To be maximally effective when using secondary data, researchers must develop techniques for improving their "feel" for the study and develop supplementary techniques for error detection and correction of their "big picture" perspective. This article will introduce the process of secondary analysis, paying particular attention to databases that are potentially useful for the individual-level analysis of entrepreneurship issues.(1) It also will introduce types of data archives, identify 10 relevant data sets available from one of the largest archives, and explain the fundamentals of data management for archival data sets and the typical problems in secondary analyses. An evaluation of the potential of secondary analysis for the field of entrepreneurship will also be offered. THE NATURE AND AVAILABILITY OF ARCHIVAL HOLDINGS The underlying theory for this article comes from a number of sources. The philosophy behind LBE research comes from Katz (1989). The specific model for data preparation comes from Geda (1987), while the problem identification and resolution approach comes from Katz (in press). Overall, the underlying approach reflects the methods for secondary analysis pioneered at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. There are three major sources for secondary analysis data sets: noncommercial archives, commercial sources, and other researchers. Noncommercial archives are the major source used by academic researchers. Kiecolt and Nathan (1985) list 12 noncommercial archives in the United States, all of which are located on college campuses or in government agencies. Data costs range from free, for ICPSR holdings sought by member schools, to $460 per tape from the National Technical Information Service. …


Arid environments represent 30% of the global terrestrial surface, but are largely under‐represented in studies of ecosystem carbon flux. Less than 2% of all FLUXNET eddy covariance sites exist in a hot desert climate. Long‐term datasets of these regions are vital for capturing the seasonal and interannual variability that occur due to episodic precipitation events and climate change, which drive fluctuations in soil moisture and temperature patterns. The objectives of this study were to determine the meteorological variables that drive carbon flux on diel, seasonal, and annual scales and to determine how precipitation events control annual net ecosystem exchange (NEE). Patterns of NEE from 2002 to 2008 were investigated, providing a record with multiple replicates of seasons and conditions. Precipitation was extremely variable (55–339 mm) during the study period, and reduced precipitation in later years (2004–2008) appears to have resulted in annual moderate to large carbon sources (62–258 g C m−2 yr−1) in contrast to the previously reported sink (2002–2003). Variations in photosynthetically active radiation were found to principally drive variations in carbon uptake during the wet growing season while increased soil temperatures at a 5 cm depth stimulated carbon loss during the dry dormant season. Monthly NEE was primarily driven by soil moisture at a 5 cm depth, and years with a higher magnitude of precipitation events showed a longer growing season with annual net carbon uptake, whereas years with lower magnitude had drier soils and displayed short growing seasons with annual net carbon loss. Increased precipitation frequency was associated with increased annual NEE, which may be a function of increased microbial respiration to more small precipitation events. Annual precipitation frequency and magnitude were found to have effects on the interannual variability of NEE for up to 2 years.


The Community-based Fish Culture in Seasonal Floodplains and Irrigation Systems (CBFC) project is a five year research project supported by the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF), with the aim of increasing productivity of seasonally occurring water bodies through aquaculture. The project has been implemented in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Mali and Vietnam, where technical and institutional options for community based aquaculture have been tested. The project began in 2005 and was completed in March 2010. The objective of the study was to determine the impacts of technological interventions in the floodplains on fish yield and biodiversity benefiting the poor fisher folk and other community people. Technological interventions for fish culture in the floodplains included (a) the installation of low-cost large meshed bamboo fencing at water inlet and outlet points, and setting of ring culverts for maintaining suitable levels of water for fish culture without hampering the production of rice in the upland areas of the floodplains (b) stocking of larger fingerlings at suitable stocking densities of endemic (rohu, catla, mrigal) and exotic (silver carp, bighead carp, common carp/mirror carp) species at 31-48 kg/ha (c) post stocking management; use of extra fencing during over flooding and mobile guarding using boats (d) harvesting management; regulations in harvest for certain period, use of multiple harvesting techniques. These interventions were carried out through CB participation with initial technological and financial support from the Challenge Program Project (CP35).


The dairy landscape in the Republic of Ireland is characterized by pastoral spring-calving systems and a bell-shaped milk production curve. This seasonality at producer level initiates various implications at processor level, such as poor utilization of plant capacity off-peak season, a requirement for seasonal labour management and limited product options in autumn and winter months due to the properties of late-lactation milk. An optimization model was developed to analyze the impact of production seasonality and quota removal on the Irish dairy processing industry in terms of maximum processor gross surplus, the optimum product mix and the marginal values of the milk solids fat, protein and lactose. Processor gross surplus was specified as a function of product sales revenue, less variable costs of collecting and processing raw milk and general overhead (fixed) costs. 5 scenarios with differing milk intake curves were examined whereby a flatter intake curve incurred less monthly variation in the marginal producer milk price, capacity utilization and product mix as well as a higher surplus as compared to more seasonal patterns. However, an isolated consideration of financial indicators at processor level disregards key characteristics of Irish grass-based seasonal milk production and producer-processor interdependencies. It was therefore concluded that a broader modelling approach integrating both the producer and the processor perspectives is desirable for more holistic analysis of sector-wide implications.


These remarks are a transcript of a talk that was given on October 14, 2016, at the Kernochan Center Annual Symposium at Columbia Law School.
Session IV focused on efforts to incorporate exceptions into international copyright treaties and trade agreements, including for example, a flexible "fair use"-type exception.
Session Panelists:
Jonathan Band, Jonathan Band PLLC
David Carson, Senior Counsel and Head of Copyright Policy Team, Office for Policy & International Affairs, U.S. Patent and Trademark OfficeU.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Lital Helman, Professor, Ono Academic College Faculty of Law
Stan McCoy, President and Managing Director of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) EMEA


Kernel methods yield state-of-the-art performance in certain applications such as image classification and object detection. However, large scale problems require machine learning techniques of at most linear complexity and these are usually limited to linear kernels. This unfortunately rules out gold-standard kernels such as the generalized RBF kernels (e.g. exponential-c 2 ). Recently, Maji and Berg [13] and Vedaldi and Zisserman [20] proposed explicit feature maps to approximate the additive kernels (intersection, c 2 , etc.) by linear ones, thus enabling the use of fast machine learning technique in a non-linear context. An analogous technique was proposed by Rahimi and Recht [14] for the translation invariant RBF kernels. In this paper, we complete the construction and combine the two techniques to obtain explicit feature maps for the generalized RBF kernels. Furthermore, we investigate a learning method using l 1 regularization to encourage sparsity in the final vector representation, and thus reduce its dimension. We evaluate this technique on the VOC 2007 detection challenge, showing when it can improve on fast additive kernels, and the trade-offs in complexity and accuracy.


We report a lung transplant recipient who developed BK polyoma virus (BKPyV) DNAemia and BKPyV nephropathy. With careful management of his immunosuppression he achieved significant reduction in BKPyV DNAemia and stabilization of his kidney function. He later developed a high‐grade bladder cancer and shortly thereafter he experienced a major upsurge in the level of BKPyV DNAemia that coincided with the discovery of hepatic metastasis. Retrospectively, the bladder cancer and the hepatic secondary tumor stained uniformly for SV40 large T antigen, and the BKPyV DNA sequences identified in plasma corresponded to BKPyV DNA within hepatic tissue, indicating that the spike in BKPyV load was likely derived from the circulating tumor cells or cell‐free tumor DNA following metastases of a BKV‐associated cancer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of a surge in BKPyV load in a patient with controlled BKPyVN that heralded the appearance of a metastatic urothelial malignancy. This report discusses the literature on BKPyV‐associated malignancies and the possibility that unexplained increases in BKPyV DNAemia may be a biomarker for metastatic BKPyV‐related urothelial cancer.


Opponent modeling is a critical mechanism in repeated games. It allows a player to adapt its strategy in order to better respond to the presumed preferences of its opponents. We introduce a modeling technique that adaptively balances safety and exploitability. The opponent's strategy is modeled with a set of possible strategies that contains the actual one with high probability. The algorithm is safe as the expected payoff is above the minimax payoff with high probability, and can exploit the opponent's preferences when sufficient observations are obtained. We apply the algorithm to a robot table-tennis setting where the robot player learns to prepare to return a served ball. By modeling the human players, the robot chooses a forehand, backhand or middle preparation pose before they serve. The learned strategies can exploit the opponent's preferences, leading to a higher rate of successful returns.


Dynamics of dead wood, a key component of forest structure, are not well described for mixed-severity fire regimes with widely varying fire intervals. A prominent form of such variation is when two stand-replacing fires occur in rapid succession, commonly termed an early-seral "reburn." These events are thought to strongly influence dead wood abundance in a regenerating forest, but this hypothesis has scarcely been tested. We measured dead wood following two overlapping wildfires in conifer-dominated forests of the Klamath Mountains, Oregon (USA), to assess whether reburning (15-yr interval, with >90% vegetation mortality) resulted in lower dead wood abundance and altered character relative to once-burned stands, and how any differences may project through succession. Total dead wood mass (standing + down) following the reburn (169 ± 83 Mg/ha [95%CI]) was 45% lower than after a single fire (309 ± 87 Mg/ha). Lower levels in reburn stands were due to, in roughly equal parts, additional combustion and greater time for decay. Although a single fire in mature forest both consumed and created dead wood (by killing large live trees), a reburn only consumed dead wood (few large live trees to kill). Charred biomass (black carbon generation) was higher in reburned stands by a factor of 2 for logs and 8 for snags. Projecting these stands forward (notwithstanding future disturbances) suggests: (1) the near-halving of dead-wood mass in reburn stands will persist for ~50 yr until the recruitment of new material begins, and (2) the reburn signature on dead wood abundance will remain apparent for over a century. These findings demonstrate how a single stochastic variation in disturbance interval can impart lasting influence on dead-wood succession, reinforcing the notion that many temperate forests exist in a state of dead-wood disequilibrium governed by site-specific disturbance history. Accounting for such variation in disturbance impacts is crucial to better understanding forests with complex mixed-severity disturbance regimes and with increasing stochasticity under climatic change.


The USA Patriot Act One is of the most controversial and possibly one of the most misunderstood laws Congress has ever enacted. For many Americans, it is synonymous with an egregious and unjustifiable suspension of the Bill of Rights. Others, troubled but more cautious, identify the Patriot Act with the grant of unprecedented powers that put civil liberties at some risk. Many who reject these concerns nonetheless accept their underlying assumption --that the Patriot Act does indeed give the federal government a package of powerful new search and surveillance tools. In Rethinking the Patriot Act, Stephen J. Schulhofer explains the act's most important provisions and reviews the best information currently available to gauge their usefulness and their effects in practice. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Schulhofer argues that much of the Patriot Act was essential, and some of it, if not essential, was reasonably defensible. In fact, the act includes provisions --seldom noticed --that add new protections for certain civil liberties, extend new benefits to certain immigrant groups, and provide new remedies for violations of individual rights. Nonetheless, Schulhofer concludes, many of the act's new powers are far too broad, and even where the case for broad powers is strong, they were typically conferred with little effort to assure transparency and accountability.


This dissertation explores the potential of theatre studies to develop a pragmatic and relevant pedagogy for South African students and adults. The contention is that the dominant paradigm as conceptualized in the discipline 'Speech and Drama' is outdated. Section One offers a critique of this paradigm and an analysis of the premises that supported its foundation and consolidation in English-language South African Universities. Following this a search is instituted for a methodology of theatre studies which is both appropriate to present circumstances and which could encompass all South Africans. In Section Two, a survey of theories of performance is undertaken because a methodology of theatre studies is, of necessity, linked to performance theory. The pioneering contributions of some South African scholars are explained and evaluated as part of a larger body of theoretical analysis in both the humanities and the social sciences. In Section Three, the search for a methodology is approached from a different angle. The researcher offers a detailed descriptive analysis of her own work in the Department of Speech and Drama at the University of Zululand both among students and in a nearby rural community. This serves to explore the kinds of learning that occur through practical involvement in drama, theatre and specifically playmaking. These learning processes are related to the distinctive functions in drama and theatre, namely the heuristic, communicative and interpretative functions. The work is connected to progressivist trends in education and participatory research in the field of adult education. One of the intentions behind the work was, indeed, to challenge commonsense perceptions and discover the extent to which individuals are 'victims of their own biography'. This challenge is specifically related to anti-feminist, racist and class perceptions. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for a learner-centred approach to theatre studies that is rooted in personal experience and consciously mediated through refined and extended conceptual categories. The tension between the development of students' analytical powers and communicative skills is explored and a semiotic approach to analysis is posited. The importance of extending university work into the wider community is discussed and related to a. rural development project involving playmaking, undertaken to research the potential of learning through drama for adults.


The European Union Strategy for the Danube Region is a recent initiative that aims to enhance sub-regional co-operation through collaboration on a series of crossborder projects. In this paper, I present an analysis of the strategy's preparation and consultation stages in order to assess the extent to which it incorporates an effective external dimension, capable of enhancing regional stability and cooperation. In order to identify a set of common indicators that are indicative of successful sub-regional policy, I begin my research with an analysis of three existing sub-regional frameworks: the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, the Northern Dimension and the Black Sea Economic Co-operation. On the basis of this analysis, I identify indicators of successful sub-regional policy as: equal partnership, joint ownership, diverse stakeholder involvement, adequate funding and
institutional capacity, strong level of commitment and common interests and objectives. When applied to the external dimension of the European Union Strategy
for the Danube Region, the indicators reveal several weaknesses that may serve to reduce the strategy's overall effectiveness. By identifying areas for improvement,
this research aims to make a contribution to progressive sub-regional policy, while providing a comprehensive case study that may be subject to analysis within a broader theoretical framework.


Abstract This article sheds light on the exclusionary dynamics that emerge when the construction of commons-based alternative political ecologies does not take political economy considerations into account. It analyses the relationship between Tamera – Healing Biotope I, and the ecosystem, population and institutions of the region of southwestern Alentejo, Portugal, where this ecovillage is located. Tamera is based on a prefigurative process of "commoning", transplanted from Central European counter-culture, which created a "borderland" that spatially segregates and at the same time creates a point of contact between two contrasting cultural, ecological and socio-economic realities. However, maintaining the "borderland" granted the community access to the resources needed to develop its vision, while countering existing regulations, although eventually involving the state in the development of a new regulatory framework. Since the mid- 2000s, Tamera has been engaging in cultural dialogue with the local population, with the support of the municipality. The analysis raises the question of how to develop regulatory and financial instruments that support ecovillages in promoting inclusive strategies of economic sustainability, integrating them in placebased dynamics of regional development. The specificities of their biophysical and social processes must be taken into account, as well as their vocation as "testfields" for sustainability. Keywords: Regional political ecology, ecovillages, regional development, social exclusion, cultural dialogue, regulatory innovation, Portugal


Many nation states on the periphery of the dominant socio‐economic sphere continue to work with variants of education models introduced by colonial players. This paper argues that whilst historical factors contributed to the development of an educational approach underpinned by a techno‐rational ideology in Fiji, the actual details of educational practice suggest a more complex scenario. The resonance of the debate this establishes is explored through a case study of teacher education in Fiji. The study finds that despite the dominance of a "routinised", mechanistic practice that was seen to define local culture/s of teacher education, there are indications that imply a sense of "possibilities" and hope. However, dominant techno‐rational and personalistic cultures of practice need to be frameworked by a socially located paradigm that places the issue of transformation more visibly in its remit, and that works from the understandings and perceptions that educators have about their own practice.


Abstract Scholarship on social policy has recently emphasised the importance of gradual processes of institutional change. However, conceptual work on the identification of processes such as drift, conversion and layering has not produced clear empirical indicators that distinguish these processes from one another, posing major problems for empirical research. We argue that, in order to improve the validity of its empirical findings, scholarship on gradual change should – and can – pay more attention to issues of measurement and detection. We then contribute to this goal by clearly articulating observable indicators for several mechanisms of gradual institutional change and validating them against extant empirical work on political economy.


There is nothing more ethically repulsive than the idea that, beneath the surface of differences, we all share the same kernel of humanity, of human weaknesses, hopes and pleasures. Against this fake humanist notion of 'solidarity', one should ruthlessly assert the Platonic core of ethical violence articulated in a most pointed way, as one may expect, by Brecht in one of his stories about Herr Keuner: 'Herr K. was asked: "What do you do when you love another man?" "I make myself a sketch of him," said Herr K., "and I take care about the likeness." "Of the sketch?" "No," said Herr K., "of the man".' (Brecht 1995, p. 24).


"Beowulf", the primary epic of the English language, is a powerful heroic poem eloquently expressive of the Anglo-Saxon culture that produced it. In this book a designer, a poet, and a specialist in Anglo-Saxon literature recreate "Beowulf" for a modern audience interweaving evocative images, a new interpretation in verse, and a running commentary that helps clarify the action and setting of the poem as well as the imagery. Randolph Swearer's images create an archaic, mysterious atmosphere by depicting in forms and shadows the world of Germanic antiquity - Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon art, artefacts, and scenery. At the same time, Raymond Oliver gives "Beowulf" a world in which to live, filling in the cultural gaps not with a thick matrix of footnotes but with poetry itself. Unlike many translations of "Beowulf" in existence, Oliver's retelling of the epic uses modern verse forms for poetic effect and includes historically authentic descriptions, characterizations, and explanations necessary for modern readers. Marijane Osborn completes the process of restoring context to the poem by supplying a commentary to clarify the historical and geographical dimensions of the story as well as the imagery that accompanies it. All three work together to bring a likeness of an old and elusive tale to today's reader.


A pulse–pulse interaction that leads to rogue wave (RW) generation in lasers was previously attributed either to soliton–soliton or soliton–dispersive-wave interaction. The beating between polarization modes in the absence of a saturable absorber causes similar effects. Accounting for these polarization modes in a laser resonator is the purpose of the distributed vector model of laser resonators. Furthermore, high pump power, high amplitude, and short pulse duration are not necessary conditions to observe pulse attraction, repulsion, and collisions and the resonance exchange of energy between among them. The regimes of interest can be tuned just by changing the birefringence in the cavity with the pump power slightly higher than the laser threshold. This allows the observation of a wide range of RW patterns in the same experiment, as well as to classify them. The dynamics of the interaction between pulses leads us to the conclusion that all of these effects occur due to nonlinearity induced by the inverse population in the active fiber as well as an intrinsic nonlinearity in the passive part of the cavity. Most of the mechanisms of pulse–pulse interaction were found to be mutually exclusive. This means that all the observed RW patterns, namely, the "lonely," "twins," "three sisters," and "cross," are probably different cases of the same process.


The face and gesture recognition network (FG-NET) ageing database was released in 2004 in an attempt to support research activities aimed at understanding the changes in facial appearance caused by ageing. Since then the database was used for carrying out research in various disciplines including age estimation, age-invariant face recognition and age progression. On the basis of the analysis of published work where the FG-NET ageing database was used, conclusions related to the type of research carried out in relation to the impact of the dataset in shaping up the research topic of facial ageing are presented. This study also includes a review of key articles from different thematic areas, where the FG-NET ageing database was used and the presentation of benchmark results. The ultimate aims of this study are to present concrete facts related to research activities in facial ageing during the past decade, provide an indication of the main methodologies adopted, present a comprehensive list of benchmark results and most importantly provide roadmaps for future trends, requirements and research directions in facial ageing.


Mechanisms of Enhanced Thermoelectricity in Chalcogenides Najebah Mohammad Alsaleh Thermoelectric materials can provide solutions to power generation and refrigeration challenges. Layered chalchogenides are of particular interest, with bismuth telluride and lead telluride being the most common compounds. Bismuth telluride is often used for room temperature applications, while its solid solutions with antimony or selenium as well as lead tellurides show better thermoelectric properties at elevated temperatures. Regrettably, the efficiency of the known thermoelectric materials is still low. Evidently, bringing thermoelectric energy harvesting to commercial viability is a materials challenge: How can we obtain materials with figure of merit above 3? This question drives the research community since the successes of nanoengineering in the 1990s. Nowadays, high-pressure technology is a promising frontier for making further advances in thermoelectric material performance. The main goal of this thesis is to understand the electronic and thermoelectric properties of selected materials using density functional theory and semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory. Bulk and monolayer CuSbS2 and CuSbSe2 are studied to clarify the role of the interlayer coupling for the thermoelectric properties. The calculated band gaps of the bulk compounds turn out to be in agreement with experiments and significantly higher than those of the monolayers, which thus show lower Seebeck coefficients. Since also the electrical conductivity is lower, the monolayers are characterised by lower power factors. Therefore, the interlayer coupling, even though it is weak, is found to be essential for the thermoelectric response. We study Cu(Sb,Bi)(S,Se)2 under hydrostatic pressure up to 8 GPa, considering the van 5 der Waals interaction, as these compounds have layered structures. We find an indirect band gap that decreases monotonically with increasing hydrostatic pressure. Only CuBiS2 shows an indirect-indirect band gap transition around 3 GPa, leading to conduction band convergence with a concomitant 20% increase in the Seebeck coefficient. This enhancement results from a complex interplay between multivalley and multiband effects as well as changes of the band effective masses. The variation of the electronic band structure of AB2Te4 (A = Pb, Sn and B = Bi, Sb) under hydrostatic pressure up to 8 GPa is analyzed in detail and its consequences for the material properties are explained.


In several states across the globe, the relationship between the state and its cultural, religious, ethnic, and tribal components is still an issue of fierce constitutional and political debate, both at formal and informal levels. A nation's inability to properly deal with this sensitive question, through adherence to certain constitutional principles, makes it susceptible to instability and insecurity, and probably dichotomy and fragmentation. This article argues that the general recognition of diversity in a specific state is not, by itself, enough to guarantee peace and stability for that state. An impartial state which treats its diverse components equally is a conditio sine qua non for the stability and peace of heterogeneous societies. The idea that modern states are not nation states reflects the need to draw a clear line of distinction between identities and the state as an institution which should occupy itself with the interest of all its components, rather than the interests of one or some of its components only, and promote the peaceful co-existence of its diverse groups and elements, on the one hand, and lay down the rules that are essential to its advancement, on the other. The post-colonial history of Sudan unequivocally demonstrates that the country's successive national governments have failed to do so. If the post-9 July 2011 Sudan is to avoid wars, conflicts and further fragmentation, then it is necessary for the state to treat Sudan's different ethnic and religious groups equally and to reflect such equal treatment in its policies.


Cosmopolitan democracy is one of the most debated models of transnational democracy. As a result of his prominence in this field, David Held has attracted much of the criticism and approval of this position. The critique and comment aimed at cosmopolitanism in general, and Held's work in particular, has provoked cosmopolitan advocates to respond, restate and develop their arguments. However, despite its considerable merit, this debate remains largely theoretical, and little has been done in terms of studying the realisation of cosmopolitanism in real-world settings. This article contributes towards the debate concerning the possibility of its actual application by mapping the principles of cosmopolitan democracy in relation to the EU polity and the issue of gender equality. It argues that the EU articulates certain cosmopolitan-comparable principles, and by studying areas where they are clearly exhibited, such as the issue of gender, that this helps us to critically evaluate their practicability and enables a response to criticisms levelled at cosmopolitan democracy. This article addresses two specific criticisms. Firstly, in view of the justiciable qualities of EU law, and its ability to give rise to formal individual rights, it is argued that claims regarding the inherently fictitious nature of cosmopolitan rights are unfounded. Secondly, while acknowledging that civic engagement takes a principally legal mode in relation to the issue of gender, this article rejects the claim that cosmopolitan democracy neglects the political aspects of citizenship. However, cosmopolitan scholars must extend their understanding of the relation between rights and the wider aspects of citizenship engagement, if they hope to realise the vision of an active citizenry that remains central to the cosmopolitan project.


Micromorphological characters of the fruiting bodies, such as ascus-type and hymenial amyloidity, and secondary chemistry have been widely employed as key characters in Ascomycota classification. However, the evolution of these characters has yet not been studied using molecular phylogenies. We have used a combined Bayesian and maximum likelihood based approach to trace character evolution on a tree inferred from a combined analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial ribosomal DNA sequences. The maximum likelihood aspect overcomes simplifications inherent in maximum parsimony methods, whereas the Markov chain Monte Carlo aspect renders results independent of any particular phylogenetic tree. The results indicate that the evolution of the two chemical characters is quite different, being stable once developed for the medullary lecanoric acid, whereas the cortical chlorinated xanthones appear to have been lost several times. The current ascus-types and the amyloidity of the hymenial gel in Pertusariaceae appear to have been developed within the family. The basal ascus-type of pertusarialean fungi remains unknown. (c) 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2006, 89, 615-626.


Except on tourist brochures, the indigenous peoples of Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and southern China (Yunnan) are the least visible, and most excluded, of citizens. All these countries have used similar strategies to classify, include, or exclude minority peoples from the project of nationalism. Understanding the cultural and economic trajectories of key minorities such as the Dai, Hmong, Lahu, Akha, and Karen is critical to apprehending the construction, workings, and future of each of these nation-states, indeed of the Mekong region as a whole. Conversely, as vividly demonstrated here, the minority peoples--many spanning more than one country--have adapted and accommodated to, or actively resisted, majority culture and state policy alike. There continues to be undeniable impoverishment, cultural loss, and "social suffering" in some communities, particularly among ex-swidden based upland groups in Vietnam and laos; the rearranging or reconstituting of trading and social networks; the over-commodification of aspects of culture, often for domestic tourism; and struggles to maintain language, rituals, and belief systems. The studies here bring alive these communities in transformation, pointing out those in near dissolution, such as some Akha villages in Laos affected by overzealous opium-eradication programs, as well as those reclaiming and expanding their cultural space, such as the Dai in Sipsongpanna/Xishuangbanna engaged in a cross-border revival of Theravada Buddhism and Dai culture. This is essential reading for anyone who wishes to uncover the nuances and interplay of ethnicity, nationalism, and change in the Mekong region, and serves as a companion volume to Living in a Globalized World: Ethnic Minorities in the Greater Mekong Subregion.


This paper describes the application of model-based predictive control (MPC) techniques to the flow management in large-scale drinking water networks including a telemetry/telecontrol system. MPC technique is used to generate flow control strategies from the sources to the consumer areas to meet future demands, optimizing performance indexes associated to operational goals such as economic cost, network safety volumes and flow control stability. The designed management strategies are applied to a real case study based on a representative model of the drinking water network of Barcelona (Spain).


There is a paucity of information on conditioning factors that hinder or promote adoption of multiple climate-smart practices and on the synergies among such practices in increasing household resilience by improving agricultural income. This study analyzes how heat, rainfall, and rainfall variability affect farmers' choices of a portfolio of potential climate smart practices — agricultural water management, improved crop seeds, and fertilizer — and the impact of these practices on farm income in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia. We apply a multinomial endogenous switching regression approach by modeling combinations of practices and net farm income for each combination as depending on household and farm characteristics and on a set of climatic variables based on geo-referenced historical precipitation and temperature data. A primary result of this study is that farmers are less likely to adopt fertilizer (either alone or in combination with improved varieties) in areas of greater rainfall variability. However, even when there is high variability in rainfall, farmers are more likely to adopt these two yield-increasing inputs when they choose to (and are able to) include the third part of the portfolio: agricultural water management. Net farm income responds positively to agricultural water management, improved crop variety or fertilizer when they are adopted in isolation as well as in combination. But this effect is greater when these practices are combined. Simulation results suggest that a warming temperature and decreased precipitation in future decades will make it less likely that farmers will adopt practices in isolation but more likely that they will adopt a combination of practices. Hence, a package approach rather than a piecemeal approach is needed to maximize the synergies implicit in various climate smart practices.


Petrochemical-based packaging materials represent a billion dollar industry that makes possible modern innovations in sustainable packaging design, but with severe footprint on the environment. Currently, polystyrene products take over 30% of worldwide landfill space which represents a real issue as sustainable disposal methods must be pursued, given the fact that polystyrene products are incredibly hard to recycle and biodegrade (approximately 500 years for styrofoam to organically degrade). The paper presents main biotechnological advances regarding mycelium based biomaterials used as sources of renewable protective packaging materials, structural bio-composites, thermal insulation materials, packaging materials, decorative objects etc. Biotechnological processes successfully explore the great potential of Basidiomycetes strains (E.g.: Pleurotus djamor, Pleurotus eryngii, Pleurotus ostreatus,Grifola frondosa, Ganoderma lucidum, Ganoderma oregonense, Lentinula edodes, Agrocybe aegerita, Coprinus comatus etc.) in obtaining mycelium-based novel bio-materials.


The petrogenesis of all the Mesozoic igneous rocks of south-eastern Africa is considered in relation to a single unifying thermotectonic event postulated as initiating the disruption of Gondwanaland. The cycle began with the rise of a body of potassium-rich picrific magma from a depth of at least 500 km. This is the predominating source material for most of the rocks in the northern part of the province (e.g. Rhodesia). Overlying and peripheral to the main magma body a zone of normal (sodic) magma was generated and gave rise to some of the northern rocks and most of the southern rocks (e.g. Karroo dolerites, basalts of Lesotho and Swaziland). Initial eruptive products were locally well fractionated but gave way rapidly to highly primitive picritic lavas representing what is termed the culminatory stage of the cycle. A subsequent stage in which the basalts emitted remained relatively uniform and moderately fractionated over a long period of time is referred to as the 'steady state' phase. A waning stage may be represented by more salic rocks such as the phonolites of Lupata (Mozambique) and the associated plutons of the Chilwa province (Malawi). The Cretaceous kimberlites of Southern Africa may represent the terminal igneous activity of the cycle. Superimposed on the cycle of mantle-derived rocks is a minor cycle of anatexis in the crust which gave rise to most of the acid rocks of the province, particularly the rhyolites of the Lebombo monocline. It is suggested that other provinces such as the Deccan Traps and the Tertiary of Greenland may show patterns of igneous activity which are similar to the Karroo cycle in important respects.


Although the shell-shocked British soldier of Word War I has been a favoured subject in both fiction and nonfiction, focus has been on the stories of officers, and the history of the rank and file servicemen who were psychiatric casualties has never been told. This profoundly moving book recounts the poignant, sometimes ribald histories of this neglected group for the first time. Peter Barham draws on reports from the front lines, case histories, personal letters, and war pensions files to trace the lives and fortunes of a large cast of ex-servicemen who suffered mental breakdowns. He describes the confines of their asylums, the reactions of families to their relatives' plight, the turmoil of the soldiers when they returned home - and the uphill struggle they faced trying to secure justice from the bureaucratic labyrinth that was the Minitstry of Pensions. His book gives a new perspective to the impact of the Great War and to current controversies about disputed postwar maladies.


This essay considers how different concepts of law are created for, and work within, different theories of law. It tackles two related problems. First, the quest to establish a concept of law in a narrow analytical manner becomes even more elusive when complications are introduced from encountering strains of legal and normative plurality which appear to have plausible claims to possess some of the key characteristics conventionally attributed to municipal law. Secondly, there is the deep problem of the mutual dependence of theoretical value and subject-matter identity. Evaluating theoretical work requires a reckoning of the value of the theory in illuminating the subject matter which the theory addresses, but the precise identification of the subject matter is standardly regarded as being produced by the theory. Section 1 of the essay introduces the basic point that a concept of law within a theory of law can be adjusted to fit the theory's aims in just the same way that the scope of a theory can be expanded or contracted by adding to or deleting from its fundamental axioms. Section 2 commences with some illustrations of this basic point. Once the basic point is established, section 3 reviews a selection of theoretical approaches to law, drawing out the particular aims of each theory and demonstrating how the component elements of a concept of law are constructed in each case to meet those aims. Section 4 expands the material surveyed thus far, and develops the commentary on the specific problem of confronting legal and normative plurality. Two pervasive issues running through the aims of the theories reviewed in section 3 are picked out for special mention here. One is the distinction between legal and non-legal normative orders; the other is the relationship between state law and non-state law. A principal thesis advanced in sections 3 and 4 is that concepts of law will be created not simply as an outcome of intellectual inquiry upon the variety of phenomena that call for clarification and illumination. Each concept will be shaped by the theoretical use to which it is put in advancing the particular agenda of the theory for which it is constructed. Section 5 broadens the discussion to consider a number of metatheoretical concerns, covering relations between analytical and empirical, philosophical and sociological; the use of theory to enhance understanding; the possibility of perverting theoretical inquiry through the use of concepts; and the recognition of multiform and multiple concepts. A concluding section then offers some provocative suggestions on the most fruitful theoretical course to take if legal theory, and our concepts of law, are to advance an understanding of legal and normative plurality.


The trend in silicon photonics, in the last few years has been to reduce waveguide size to obtain maximum gain in the real estate of devices as well as to increase the performance of active devices. Using different methods for the modulation, optical modulators in silicon have seen their bandwidth increased to reach multi GHz frequencies. In order to simplify fabrication, one requirement for a waveguide, as well as for a modulator, is to retain polarisation independence in any state of operation and to be as small as possible. In this paper we provide a way to obtain polarization independence and improve the efficiency of an optical modulator using a V-shaped pn junction base on the natural etch angle of silicon, 54.7 deg. This modulator is compared to a flat junction depletion type modulator of the same size and doping concentration.


Abstract Veterans of the 1990–1991 Gulf War have been reported to have an increased incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) compared to personnel who were not deployed. An excess of ALS cases was diagnosed in Gulf War veterans younger than 45 years of age. Increased ALS among Gulf War veterans appears to be an outbreak time-limited to the decade following the Gulf War. Seeking to identify biologically plausible environmental exposures, we have focused on inhalation of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins carried by dust in the Gulf region, particularly Qatar. Cyanobacterial crusts and mats are widespread in the deserts of Qatar, occupying up to 56% of the available area in some microhabitats. These cyanobacterial crusts, which help bind the desert sands, are dormant throughout most of the year, but during brief spring rains actively photosynthesize. When disturbed by vehicular traffic or other military activities, the dried crusts and mats can produce significant dust. Using HPLC/FD, an amino acid analyzer, UPLC/MS, and triple quadrupole LC/MS/MS we find that the dried crusts and mats contain neurotoxic cyanobacterial toxins, including β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) and 2,4 diaminobutyric acid (DAB). If dust containing cyanobacteria is inhaled, significant exposure to BMAA and other cyanotoxins may occur. We suggest that inhalation of BMAA, DAB, and other aerosolized cyanotoxins may constitute a significant risk factor for the development of ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases.


We established first-contact rates of schizophrenia in the defined area of Camberwell between 1965 and 1984. The rate of schizophrenia, whether defined by ICD, RDC, or DSM–III criteria, rose over the period under study. This finding is at odds with reports of an overall decline in first-admission rates for schizophrenia in England, over the same period. The discrepancy was largely accounted for by the influx into Camberwell of individuals of Afro-Caribbean origin, who showed rates of schizophrenia between four and eight times that of their Caucasian counterparts.


Leader of the first tourist expedition into Yosemite in 1855, James Mason Hutchings became a tireless promoter of the valley and of himself. Seeking to create an alternative to California's Gold Rush social chaos, Hutchings whetted the public enthusiasm for this unspoiled land by mass producing a lithograph of Yosemite Falls, while his Hutchings' California Magazine beat the drum for tourism. But because of his later legal imbroglios over the park, Hutchings was effectively written out of its history, and today he is largely viewed as an opportunist who made a career out of exploiting Yosemite. Now Jen Huntley removes the tarnish from Hutchings's image. She portrays him instead as a "connector" who brought artists to Yosemite and Yosemite to Americans, and uses his career as a lens through which to view the contests and debates surrounding the creation of Yosemite, and, by extension, America's emerging ethic of land conservation. Blending environmental and cultural history, she tracks Hutchings's professional trajectory amidst significant changes in nineteenth-century America, from technological advances in printing to the growth of tourism, from the birth of modern environmental movements to battles over public lands. Huntley uses Hutchings's legal battles with the government over ownership of land in the Yosemite Valley to analyze larger battles over public land management and national identity. She also explores the role of urban San Francisco in designating Yosemite a public park, shows how the Civil War transformed Yosemite from a regional icon to a national symbol of post-war redemption, and takes a closer look at Hutchings's relationship with John Muir. Making Yosemite sheds light on the role of power, class dynamics, and the late-century ideal of individualism in the shaping of modern America's sacred landscapes. Hutchings emerges here as a visionary communicator who cleverly tapped into midcentury Americans' attitudes toward spectacular scenery to create a sense of place-based identity in the American Far West. Huntley's revisionist approach rediscovers Hutchings as a key player in the histories of American media, tourism, and environmentalism, and suggests new terrain for scholars to consider in writing the histories of our national parks, conservation, and land policy."


Effects of Increasing Power Electronics based Technology on Power System Stability The decarbonisation of electricity production through the increasing deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) is mainly achieved by power electronic (PE) converters which offer fundamentally different performance characteristics when compared to synchronous machines. Hence the traditionally synchronous generation rich power systems are transitioned towards being PE dominated. The expectation is that the dynamic behaviour of power systems will change with impact on the stability characteristics in terms of performance and operation.


Quasi type‐II PbSe/PbS quantum dots (QDs) are employed in a solid state high efficiency QD/TiO2 heterojunction solar cell. The QDs are deposited using layer‐by‐layer deposition on a half‐micrometer‐thick anatase TiO2 nanosheet film with (001) exposed facets. Theoretical calculations show that the carriers in PbSe/PbS quasi type‐II QDs are delocalized over the entire core/shell structure, which results in better QD film conductivity compared to PbSe QDs. Moreover, PbS shell permits better stability and facile electron injection from the QDs to the TiO2 nanosheets. To complete the electrical circuit of the solar cell, a Au film is evaporated as a back contact on top of the QDs. This PbSe/PbS QD/TiO2 heterojunction solar cell produces a light to electric power conversion efficiency (η) of 4% with short circuit photocurrent (Jsc) of 17.3 mA/cm2. This report demonstrates highly efficient core/shell near infrared QDs in a QD/TiO2 heterojunction solar cell.


Ebola virus (EBOV) is the causative agent of Ebola virus hemorrhagic fever and initiates sporadic outbreaks with very high mortality rates of up to 90%. The only viral surface protein on EBOV virions, the EBOV Glycoprotein (GP1,2), is a known antagonist of the intrinsic innate immune effector Tetherin, which prevents release of budded virions by "tethering" them to the cell. Unlike other Tetherin antagonists, GP1,2 does not degrade Tetherin, remove Tetherin from the cell surface, or sequester Tetherin in intracellular compartments. Thus, the mechanism of how GP1,2 counters Tetherin is not well understood. This study utilizes methods in molecular biology and microbiology to focus on the different domains of GP1,2 and understand their role in countering Tetherin. Using VP40 or HIV-1 Gag to produce virus-like particles (VLP), we show that the GP1,2 glycan cap and transmembrane domain are necessary for GP1,2 anti-Tetherin activity. Chimeric proteins containing alternative transmembrane domains in place of the GP1,2 transmembrane domain fail to counteract Tetherin and release VLP. Additionally, using widefield microscopy, alternative transmembrane domains do not change the surface localization of Tetherin and GP1,2, suggesting that surface interactions may not be important for understanding how GP1,2 counters Tetherin. Other observations and experiments suggest an active role for GP1,2 in the formation of viral particles. In conclusion, we propose a model where the GP1,2 transmembrane domain assists in a budding process that does not allow for incorporation of Tetherin into the budding virions. The model suggests that the GP1,2 transmembrane domain functions to avoid Tetherin mediated restriction and to form viral particles independent of VP40 budding. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Cell & Molecular Biology First Advisor Paul F. Bates


This dissertation addresses rank aggregation in context-aware database management systems (DBMSs). Given multiple orderings on a set of entities, the rank aggregation problem is to find an "enhanced" ordering on the same set. Besides being an important tool in information retrieval, providing for rank aggregation in context-aware DBMSs is indispensable.
Context-aware DBMSs account for various contexts to provide relevant information to the user. Contexts of the query issuers as well as the database objects determine the significance of the different pieces of information to be retrieved. Tailoring specialized DBMSs that manage data and answer queries related to one context type is not an easy task. We propose Chameleon, a context-aware DBMS that supports multiple contexts as well as user preferences. It has a generic interface to define and process context information. Chameleon not only eliminates the need to tailor specialized engines towards a certain context, but also enables instantiating systems that support user-defined complex and composite contexts. As a proof of concept, we present two instances of Chameleon. One instance treats identity as a context to realize a privacy-aware (Hippocratic) database server that limits the disclosure of data to authorized parties. The other instance treats space as a context to realize a spatial database server.
Since rank aggregation is at the core of context-aware DBMSs, we propose three methods for rank aggregation while composing contexts into a composite context; ordering, ranking, and skylining. We propose a new binary query operator, SkylineJoin, that not only joins two relations but also marks the skyline joined tuples. SkylineJoin is a pipelined operator designed to be incorporated in a traditional query evaluation pipeline model. It is a progressive operator that returns the initial results fast. SkylineJoin may be cascaded to compute the skyline of objects when the skyline dimensions span more than two relations. We modeled the execution of the SkylineJoin operator as a finite state machine that is built on top of an order-preserving join operator. We proved the correctness of SkylineJoin. Extensive experiments showed that SkylineJoin can exhibit an order of magnitude performance gain over the current state of the art.
As the surrounding environment changes, context-aware DBMSs should adjust when the contexts of the objects dynamically change. We illustrate this feature as it affects rank aggregation. We propose the adaptive processing of ranking queries when the data do not reside locally on the same node that computes the query, and hence experiences delays. When the query engine is notified that the currently executing plan is sub-optimal or a disconnection has occurred, a new execution plan is generated and the execution proceeds without reevaluating the ranking query. We propose an aggressive reuse of the old ranking state from the current plan in building the state of the new plan. The experimental evaluation shows significant performance gain by changing sub-optimal execution strategies in run-time.


Sergei Vasilenko has been perceived as a conformist and inconsequential Soviet composer in post-Soviet Russia. The recent discoveries of unpublished documents reveal Vasilenko to be a talented musician whose search for a niche within the culture of Soviet music forced him to keep his true musical writings secret from the public in a drawer of his desk.

The author of this thesis was fortunate to find a number of his unknown and unpublished compositions for viola and piano. In view of the paucity of music for stringed instruments in Russia in the first decades of the last century, Vasilenko's seven compositions for viola, which are all different in style, mode and technique, assume especial importance. The analysis of these works shows that Vasilenko equally combined the elements of many diverse and often contradictory musical conceptions of the time, including the Silver Age, Neoclassicism, Romanticism and the Avant-garde. His innovative style – expanding the technical and sonorous potential of the instrument, and the rhythmic and harmonic resources of Russian music – launched new standards in viola performance and expanded its repertoire. This thesis investigates the language, performing issues and the reasons for the neglect of his viola works as well as their stylistic roots that spanned from Vasilenko's interest in the Baroque to Russian liturgical music.

The aim of this study is to re-evaluate the role of Vasilenko in the enhancement of the viola as a solo instrument in the twentieth century and bring his works to a concert platform. The analysis and discussion of these subjects rely heavily on unpublished and little-explored materials on Vasilenko from the archives in Moscow. This PhD submission has practical and written components that consist of the written thesis, edited musical scores and the first complete recording of Vasilenko's compositions for viola and piano released by Toccata Classics.


…Until the Needle Dips was composed for the 2007 Right to Music, a year-long access-widening community music initiative in collaboration with the London Mozart Players conducted in schools and day centres in Surrey. The piece was created during the final phase of the Right to Music project. A 6-month-long series of composition and improvisation workshops was carried out by Adam Melvin and trainee animateurs from the Yehudi Menuhin school in three primary schools and an ALD day centre in Surrey. The long-term goal was to create a multi-movement piece based around the broad theme of 'the number 8', one that would incorporate music from all four centres combined with my own four-movement octet, for performance in a concert featuring Schubert's Octet. The theme that emerged from the workshops was that of the points of the compass.…Until the Needle Dips was performed in the Menuhin Hall in Nov 2007. The four movements of the Octet – named after the winds of the four cardinal points of the compass – were performed by an ensemble incorporating Menuhin school pupils (strings) and London Mozart players (winds)*. Each movement dovetailed and alternated with pieces created in the workshops in response to ideas prompted by the four intermediate points of the compass. The performance was as follows:NW – featuring musicians from Lockwood (ALD) centre, GuildfordN – Tramontane*NE – featuring pupils from St John's Community School, DorkingE – Levante*SE – featuring pupils from Chandler's Field School, MoleseyS – Ostro*SW – featuring pupils from St. Andrew's School, CobhamW - Ponente*


This paper explores the role that societal culture may play in terms of acting as an inhibitor or enabler when creating conditions conducive to innovative enterprise. To further understanding of this concept, the paper's authors explore different cultural influences and traditions of the country of Germany and the Canadian province of Ontario against the backdrop of the introduction of a government green energy policy and how local business reacts to new opportunities forthcoming from this shift in policy direction. The authors contend that the current Ontario psyche has contributed to an overall cultural drag on innovative activities. They demonstrate that in no place is this cultural impact more evident than the apparent lack of home-grown innovative activity surrounding green energy entrepreneurship; where, in spite of progressive and favourable provincial government policy, continued manufacturing growth is led by offshore companies The Ontario experience is in sharp contrast to current and historical German activity, when it comes to local innovation and advances in green energy. While Germany officially enacted their green energy act at the turn of the last century, experts agree that the German tenure with going green is in fact 35 to 40 years in the making. Although it has been contended that unique historical conditions such as postwar reconstruction and the reunification of the former East and West Germany have been significant contributing factors to Germany's embracing of sustainable energy, the authors of this paper contend that cultural factors such as the German sense of naturfreund; an overwhelming sense of being a nature-lover, may also play a significant role. In their exploration the authors build upon Hofstede's cultural dimension theory unpacking specific cultural components, as they compare actions and responses made by German and Ontarian policy-makers and business decisionmakers. SOCIETAL CULTURE IMPACTS INNOVATION


In this article we examine the mechanism by which the political opinions of Turkish citizens can be explained on the basis of attachments to Islam and the Turkish nation. Using insights from political psychology we review the dynamic role of these considerations as determinants of political judgements. We explore studies that question the appropriateness of a unidimensional scale of Islamism vs. Secularism in explaining citizens' political placements, and we argue that the two ideologies can influence concurrently the way citizens think about politics. We use data from our survey of 107 Turkish citizens conducted in 2009 to examine whether attachments to Islam and the nation function as co-determinants of public attitudes. We focus on the political orientations of supporters of the Republican People's Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP). We expect that Kemalist nationalism but not Islamist attachments dominate the considerations of these voters in line with their party's positions. We uncover significant evidence of Islamist considerations in their evaluation of political issues indicating that Islamist and nationalistic considerations co-shape citizens' attitudes.


This volume will offer the first book-length academic investigation of Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's Oscar-winning film The Lives of Others (2006). The aim of this edited collection is twofold. On the one hand, it will offer new insight into one of the most successful German films of the past two decades placing The Lives of Others within its wider historical, political, aesthetic and industrial context. On the other, it will offer this group of scholars, which includes many of the leading international figures in the field, opportunity to make a series of interventions on the state of contemporary German film and German film studies.


I love the term 'natural history' because it encapsulates the sentiment that nature's operations have evolutionary etiologies. Charles Darwin was a natural historian par excellence and his elucidation of natural selection, artificial selection, and sexual selection fundamentally changed how scientists interpret the origins of biological features previously ascribed to sentient craftsmanship by supernatural agents. Darwin's insights on evolutionary forces grew from his exceptional knowledge of natural history, yet two key topics steeped in natural history – sex and reproductive genetics – remained poorly understood (and probably even shunned) in Darwin's Victorian era. That situation changed dramatically in the latter half of the 20th century with societal awakenings about sexuality that also happened to coincide with the introduction of molecular parentage analyses that unveiled a plethora of formerly hidden 'sexcapades' throughout the biological world. Here I summarize some of the evolutionary revelations that have emerged from selection theory as applied to genetic and phylogenetic information on clonality, hermaphroditism, and pregnancy, three procreative phenomena that are relatively rare in vertebrate animals and thus offer alternative evolutionary perspectives on standard reproductive modes. Collectively, these three peculiarities of nature illustrate how the abnormal in biology can enlighten evolutionary thought about the norm.


Introduction Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is prevalent among young female adults, particularly in Asia. In Taiwan, features of end-of-life SLE patients remain unclear. Material and methods Data regarding SLE patients whose hospitalization ended up with death were collected and analyzed from the repository of the National Health Insurance Research Database, Taiwan, from 2005 to 2007. Results A total of 302 subjects were enrolled and the majority of these were young to middle-aged women (45.8 ±18.5 years); only one third of them were treated by rheumatologists. Eight patients (2.6%) with comorbid cancers received hospice care. Sepsis/bacteremia (42.1%) was the major acute comorbidity. Nephropathy/nephritis (35.1%) represented the major chronic comorbidity. Among 27 subjects with comorbid cancers, gynecological cancers were the most common (18%). Among the inpatient costs, the cost of prescriptions accounted for the majority (21.7 ±11.5%). Under a multivariate logistic regression, advanced age (≥ 65 years) correlated positively with acute lower respiratory conditions (ALRC) and diabetes mellitus (DM), and male gender correlated negatively with nephropathy/nephritis. The nephropathy/nephritis correlated positively with hospital stays > 14 days. The ALRC was closely associated with acute respiratory failure, but not with shock. However, shock was closely associated with hospital stays ≥ 14 days and sepsis/bacteremia. Cancer development was inversely correlated to nephropathy/nephritis, acute respiratory failure, and shock (all p < 0.05). Conclusions The end-of-life SLE patients revealed aforementioned characteristics and relationships. Sepsis/bacteremia, acute respiratory failure, and ALRC contributed most frequently to the ultimate death of acutely ill SLE patients.


Modern composers as diverse as Bela Bartok, Maurice Ravel, Benjamin Britten, and John Cage have confided some of their most personal and intense thoughts to the medium of the string quartet. The resulting repertoire has won the allegiance of string players-and of listeners in the concert hall and at home. Yet, until now, no book has addressed the language of these remarkable works, their interactions with the masterpieces of Beethoven and others, and their new approaches to musical expression. Intimate Voices, organized in rough chronological order, offers the observations and intuitions of twenty leading authorities on quartets by twenty-one composers from eleven countries. Its two volumes-available separately or together-comprise an indispensable guide to amateur and professional chamber musicians, scholars, students, and anyone seeking a deeper acquaintance with the great achievements of twentieth-century music. Edited by Evan Jones, associate professor of music theory, Florida State University College of Music. Contents and authors Volume 1: Debussy and Ravel (Marianne Wheeldon); Sibelius (Joseph Kraus); Bartok (Joseph N. Straus); Hindemith (David Neumeyer); Schoenberg (Matthew R. Shaftel); Berg (Dave Headlam); Webern (David Clampitt); Villa-Lobos (Eero Tarasti); Prokofiev (Neil Minturn) Volume 2: Shostakovich (Patrick McCreless); Britten (Christopher Mark); Ligeti (Jane Piper Clendinning); Berio (Richard Hermann); Xenakis (Evan Jones); Scelsi (Eric Drott); Cage (David W. Bernstein); Babbitt (Andrew Mead); Carter (Jonathan W. Bernard); Mel Powell (Jeffrey Perry); Shulamit Ran (Robert W. Peck)


Focusing on what actuaries need in practice, this introductory account provides readers with essential tools for handling complex problems and explains how simulation models can be created, used and re-used (with modifications) in related situations. The book begins by outlining the basic tools of modelling and simulation, including a discussion of the Monte Carlo method and its use. Part II deals with general insurance and Part III with life insurance and financial risk. Algorithms that can be implemented on any programming platform are spread throughout and a program library written in R is included. Numerous figures and experiments with R-code illustrate the text. The author's non-technical approach is ideal for graduate students, the only prerequisites being introductory courses in calculus and linear algebra, probability and statistics. The book will also be of value to actuaries and other analysts in the industry looking to update their skills.


In the present work, porous silicon (PS) based Bragg reflectors are fabricated, and the reactive PS surface is passivated by means of thermal carbonization (TC) by acetylene decomposition. The gas sensing properties of the reflectors are studied with different gas compositions and concentrations. Based on the results it can be concluded that thermally carbonized Bragg reflectors provide an easy and inexpensive means to produce chemically stable high quality PS reflectors with good gas sensing properties, which differ from those of unpassivated PS reflectors.


Abstract Background: Patients are using homeopathy in increasing numbers and not telling their doctors about it. It is important as family physicians that we understand the reasons why patients choose to consult homeopaths. It is important to know what our patients are looking for that they do not find in Western medicine. This information will provide valuable insights and enable us to engage with our patients in an informed and empathetic way such engagement being vital to maintaining an open relationship and providing the best possible care and advice. Methods: The aim of this study was to understand the reasons why patients choose to consult homeopaths. Eight free-attitude interviews were conducted with purposefully selected patients who consulted a particular homeopath in Gauteng province. The exploratory question was 'Why do you choose to consult a homeopath?'. The interviews were all conducted in English, transcribed verbatim, and analysed for categories and themes using the 'cut and paste' method. Member checks were done by verifying the transcribed data with the interviewees by e-mail. Triangulation of the data was done by audio-recording of the interviews, and using transcribed notes and field notes collected during the interviews. Results: All the participants initially consulted a homeopath after their health problems were not solved by mainstream medical treatment. Most were also concerned about the side effects of long-term mainstream medication. Many were frustrated with mainstream consultation or relationship factors, including rushed consultations, being asked too few questions and doctors being too quick to prescribe. Some participants said that doctors had a poor bedside manner, were difficult to talk to, and were judgemental or uncaring. The participants continued to consult homeopaths because they felt that the treatment was effective, natural and did not have side effects. They indicated that homeopathic treatment works with the body and health problems therefore are solved in the long term. This makes homeopathic treatment cheaper, because the same problem does not need to be treated repeatedly. Homeopathic consultations were longer, and homeopaths were easier to talk to and formed an equal partnership with them. In addition, problems were managed holistically mind, emotions and body, as well as work and family factors were considered. Homeopaths were considered competent and ethical and knew their limitations. Conclusion: From the reasons given for consulting homeopaths, we, as family physicians, can learn a lot about what patients consider important in their consultations and management. Frustration with some aspect of mainstream care has pushed them to look for solutions elsewhere Much of what the patients did not find with doctors but found with homeopaths can be found in the principles of family medicine. It will be important to validate the findings of this study by developing a hypothesis that can be tested using a quantitative paradigm.


Clay minerals, both natural and synthetic, have a wide range of applications. Smectite clays are not true insulators, their slight conductivity has been utilized by the paper industry in the development of mildly conducting paper. In particular, the synthetic hectorite clay, laponite, is employed to produce paper which is used in automated drawing offices where electro graphic printing is common. The primary objective of this thesis was to modify smectite clays, particularly laponite, to achieve enhanced conductivity. The primary objective was more readily achieved if the subsidiary objective of understanding the mechanism of conductivity was defined. The cyclic voltammograms of some cobalt complexes were studied in free solution and as clay modified electrodes to investigate the origin of electroactivity in clay modified electrodes. The electroactivity of clay modified electrodes prepared using our method can be attributed to ion pairs sorbed to the surface of the electrode, in excess of the cationic exchange capacity. However, some new observations were made concerning the co-ordination chemistry of the tri-2-pyridylamine complexes used which needed clarification. The a.c. conductivity of pressed discs of laponite RD was studied over the frequency range 12Hz- 100kHz using three electrode systems namely silver-loaded epoxy resin (paste), stainless-steel and aluminium. The a. c. conductivity of laponite consists of two components, reactive (minor) and ionic (major) which can be observed almost independently by utilizing the different electrode systems. When the temperature is increased the conductivity of laponite increases and the activation energy for conductivity can be calculated. Measurement of the conductivity of thin films of laponite RD in two crystal planes shows a degree of anisotropy in the a.c. conductivity. Powder X-ray diffraction and 119Sn Mossbauer spectroscopy studies have shown that attempts to intercalate some phenyltin compounds into laponite RD under ambient conditions result in the formation of tin(IV) oxide pillars. 119Sn Mossbauer data indicate that the order of effectiveness of conversion to pillars is in the order: Ph3SnCl > (Ph3Sn)2O, Ph2SnCl2 The organic product of the pillaring process was identified by 13C m.a.s.n.m.r. spectroscopy as trapped in the pillared lattice. This pillaring reaction is much more rapid when carried out in Teflon containers in a simple domestic microwave oven. These pillared clays are novel materials since the pillaring is achieved via neutral precursors rather than sacrificial reaction of the exchangeable cation. The pillaring reaction depends on electrophilic attack on the aryl tin bond by Bronsted acid sites within the clay. Two methods of interlamellar modification were identified which lead to enhanced conductivity of laponite, namely ion exchange and tin(IV) oxide pillaring. A monoionic potassium exchanged laponite shows a four fold increase in a.c. conductivity compared to sodium exchanged laponite RD. The increased conductivity is due to the appearence of an ionic component. The conductivity is independent of relative humidity and increases with temperature. Tin(IV) oxide pillared laponite RD samples show a significant increase in conductivity. Samples prepared from Ph2SnCl2 show an increase in excess of an order of magnitude. The conductivity of tin(IV) oxide pillared laponite samples is dominated by an ionic component.


Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of antibodies in mediating immunity to malaria, but the relative contribution of the different immunoglobulin isotypes has not been assessed. In this study, hyperimmune plasma was generated against Plasmodium yoelii and separated by protein A-Sepharose chromatography into fractions containing immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1), IgG2a, IgG2b, or IgG3 antibodies and the remaining nonbinding plasma proteins, including IgM. Following concentration, the antimalarial titer of each isotypic fraction was approximately equivalent to the corresponding isotype in hyperimmune plasma. The isotypic fractions were passively transferred to BALB/c and outbred ICR mice prior to challenge with virulent P. yoelii 17XL and to CBA/CaJ mice challenged with avirulent P. yoelii 17XNL. Only mice receiving IgG2a antibodies experienced an altered course of infection. Immunoprecipitation studies showed that all four IgG isotypes appear to recognize a similar set of antigens. These results suggest that antimalarial antibodies of the IgG2a isotype play a dominant role in modulating P. yoelii parasitemias.


This thesis presents possible computational mechanisms by which a humanoid robot can develop a coherent representation of the space within its reach (its peripersonal space), and use it to control its movements. Those mechanisms are inspired by current theories of peripersonal space representation and motor control in humans, targeting a cross-fertilization between robotics on one side, and cognitive science on the other side. This research addresses the issue of adaptivity the sensorimotor level, at the control level and at the level of simple task learning. First, this work considers the concept of body schema and suggests a computational translation of this concept, appropriate for controlling a humanoid robot. This model of the body schema is adaptive and evolves as a result of the robot sensory experience. It suggests new avenues for understanding various psychophysical and neuropsychological phenomenons of human peripersonal space representation such as adaptation to distorted vision and tool use, fake limbs experiments, body-part centered receptive fields, and multimodal neurons. Second, it is shown how the motor modality can be added to the body schema. The suggested controller is inspired by the dynamical system theory of motor control and allows the robot to simultaneously and robustly control its limbs in joint angles space and in end-effector location space. This amounts to controlling the robot in both proprioceptive and visual modalities. This multimodal control can benefit from the advantages offered by each modality and is better than traditional robotic controllers in several respects. It offers a simple and elegant solution to the singularity and joint limit avoidance problems and can be seen as a generalization of the Damped Least Square approach to robot control. The controller exhibits several properties of human reaching movements, such as quasi-straight hand paths and bell-shaped velocity profiles and non-equifinality. In a third step, the motor modalities is endowed with a statistical learning mechanism, based on Gaussian Mixture Models, that enables the humanoid to learn motor primitives from demonstrations. The robot is thus able to learn simple manipulation tasks and generalize them to various context, in a way that is robust to perturbations occurring during task execution. In addition to simulation results, the whole model has been implemented and validated on two humanoid robots, the Hoap3 and the iCub, enabling them to learn their arm and head geometries, perform reaching movements, adapt to unknown tools, and visual distortions, and learn simple manipulation tasks in a smooth, robust and adaptive way. Finally, this work hints at possible computational interpretations of the concepts of body schema, motor perception and motor primitives.


Screening for the early detection of lung cancers should increase the percentage of operable tumours, thus improving cure rates. A large randomised US trial showed that CT screening moderate/heavy smokers is effective but expensive, with a high false-positive rate. We designed LungSEARCH in 2006 to target screening in higher-risk subjects. Because most tumours in the UK were of squamous-histology, we hypothesised that sputum cytology plus cytometry would be an effective initial screen, only offering more intensive/expensive tests to those with abnormal sputum. Eligibility criteria were: current/former smokers (≥20 pack-years and/or smoked ≥20 years), GOLD-defined COPD, no prior cancer. Subjects were randomised to surveillance or a control group, and each followed for 5 years. Screened subjects provided sputum for central assessment, and those with abnormal results (cytology: low/high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, and/or cytometry: abnormal ploidy) were referred for annual low-dose CT and autofluorescence bronchoscopy (AFB) for the remainder of the trial, with diagnostic investigations when cancer suspected by abnormal CT/AFB. Sputum-negatives provided annual sputum samples only. Control subjects had a chest X-ray when they reached 5 years. Primary objective: to show a higher proportion of early stage cancers using surveillance than controls. 1568 subjects were recruited (target 1300) from GPs or chest clinics around 10 UK centres (August 2007–March 2011): 785 screened, 783 controls. Mean age 63 years; males 52%; current (56%), former (44%) smokers; mild (25%), moderate (75%) COPD; from GPs (79%). >90% screened subjects provided sputum samples in their first year. After 5 years, the overall sputum-positive rate is 33%; 30% (236/785) had a CT scan and 25% (193/785) had an AFB at any time. Of those who had a CT scan 19% (45/236) were abnormal (lung nodule(s) ≥9 mm); and of those who had AFB 3% (5/193) had severe dysplasia or worse. 79 lung cancers have been identified to date via the centres/national registry: 43 surveillance and 36 control. But awaiting staging details for 6 surveillance and 14 control cases. Preliminary results are promising: 57% (surveillance) versus 41% (controls) of cancers were diagnosed with stage I/II non-small-cell-lung cancer or limited disease small-cell-lung cancer. Final data available later in 2016.


Climate change is here and will be with us for the long term. The challenge facing water professionals is how to make decisions in the face of this new uncertainty. This book outlines a new management approach that moves beyond technical quick fixes towards a more adaptive style that is inclusive and innovative. Only by thinking, working and learning together can we tackle the impacts on water resources and uncertainties induced by climate change.


Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is one of the most important bioceramics for medical and dental applications, as it possesses excellent biocompatibility and is osteoconductive. However, pure HAp is difficult to shape in the complex forms required for tissue engineering applications such as bone repair because of its hardness and brittleness. Therefore, we have developed novel nanocomposite hydrogels based on HAp and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels. The gel properties (soft, hydrated and moldable) allow the fabrication of 2Dpatterned substrates and 3D-structured scaffolds, which can be further biomineralized to exhibit increased bioactivity and functionality to support the growth of osteoblast cells.


This work investigates the bee pollination of fruit trees, especially apples and pears in the field. We first introduce research carried out into bee pollination of crops in China, and then our own pollination experiments with managed bees such as Apis mellifera in the field. We monitor the efficiency of bee pollination of fruit trees by regulating hive bees and tree arrangement. In addition, we develop some methods to attract bees to visit fruit trees. Our research shows that the number of beehives and the arrangement of trees greatly influence bee pollination. The results provide a comprehensive tutorial on the best practices of bee pollination of fruit trees.


The characteristics of avian wings that evolved for flying appear to show a distinct relationship to the shape of the pes and walking abilities as reflected in footprints. Wing area, wing span and body weight data of modern birds were collected and analysed in order to quantify the possible correlation, which was previously only inferred from empirical data. Discriminant analysis demonstrated that avian wings can be divided into three habitat groups, in a similar way to footprints. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the avian wing loading and aspect ratio were correlated with the parameters of footprint shape and can be expressed by a simple equation. The results may reflect the adaptation of avian locomotion to habitat. The relationships between wing area and wing span, and between wing area and footprint area, which are apparent in modern avians, were derived and used to estimate wing area and wing span from the footprints of extinct Cretaceous avian taxa. The estimated values of body weight, wing span and wing area suggest that the trackmakers of Archaeornithipus meijidei, Hwangsanipes choughi and Yacoraitichnus avis had bodies similar to herons (or cranes), large sandpipers (or small sea birds) and medium‐sized gull‐like birds, respectively.


Between 2008 and 2011 members of the Concrete Coalition completed numerous building inventories of California cities to assemble a database of California pre-1980 concrete buildings. Inventory collectors used a variety of data sources ranging from county assessors' files to Sanborn maps and satellite images. Sidewalk surveys were used to corroborate data collected from multiple sources, and a regression model was developed to extrapolate data to cities where detailed inventory collection was not possible. Lessons drawn from the inventories of three cities—Alameda, Los Angeles, and San Francisco—indicate that no single approach can be recommended, but instead, the approach depends on many things, including city size, building stock, available budget, available data, and the availability and experience of human resources. Regardless of approach, inventory data is a valuable resource for developing loss estimates and policy recommendations.


In Chapter 5, the approaches employed for the experimental determination of thermodynamic parameters related to ionic solvation are reviewed, and the results of investigations employing these methods are discussed in the restricted context of alkali and halide hydration in the infinitely-dilute regime. Closely related properties formally pertaining to the pure solvent (water), namely the absolute solvation parameters of the proton, the absolute potential of the reference hydrogen electrode and the air-liquid interfacial potential, are also considered in view of their central role in single-ion solvation thermodynamics, in both their real and intrinsic forms. The discussion proceeds roughly incrementally, from the most directly accessible quantities to the more elusive ones, namely: (i) molar thermodynamic parameters of the elements; (ii) structural and molar thermodynamic parameters of the salts (ionic crystals); (iii) gas-phase equilibrium ion-pair distances; (iv) effective ionic radii; (v) relative electrode (redox) potentials (anchored based on the reference hydrogen electrode); (vi) thermodynamic parameters of salt formation; (vii) thermodynamic parameters of dissolved salt formation; (viii) thermodynamic parameters of salt dissolution; (ix) thermodynamic parameters of atomization; (x) thermodynamic parameters of ionization; (xi) thermodynamic parameters of reticulation; (xii) thermodynamic parameters of salt solvation; (xiii) metal workfunctions; (xiv) real absolute potential of the reference hydrogen electrode; (xv) real single-ion solvation parameters; (xvi) conventional single-ion solvation parameters; (xvii) air-liquid interfacial potential of the pure solvent; (xviii) intrinsic proton solvation parameters. Three additional sections provide: (i) a summary of recommended data concerning alkali and halide hydration, along with relevant pure-solvent properties; (ii) a discussion of suggested intrinsic single-ion solvation parameters for the alkali and halide ions, in connection with the Hofmeister series; (iii) a brief discussion of the properties of the solvated electron. The recommended data is based on the careful investigation of experimental results from 221 literature sources over the past nearly hundred years. This data is presented in the form of a minimal (non-redundant) set of parameters concerning the gas-phase, salt and solution properties the alkali and halide ions, as well as of the proton, with reference to water as a solvent, converted to a unique standard-state convention (bbmeT convention).


Internet of Things (IoT) essentially demands smart connectivity and contextual awareness of current networks with low power and cost effective wireless solutions. Routing is the backbone of the system controlling the flow of transmission. This work demonstrates a collation between performance investigations of a location-based routing protocol Geocast Adaptive Mesh Environment for Routing with contextual information collected from Global Positioning System (GPS) and Framework for Internal Navigation and Discovery (FIND) respectively. The systems are evaluated based on various metrics i.e. Accuracy, Packet Delivery Ratio and Packet Overhead by means of Network Simulator (NS-2). FIND shows enhanced performance in most cases as compared to GPS for indoor and outdoor environments. The results of this research can be deployed in different areas such as in-building navigation, hospital patient tracking, Smart City context aware service provisioning and Industry 4.0 deployments.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on an exploratory study designed to illuminate the complexity of outsourcing extra-curricular activities (ECAs) in primary schools in a time of neoliberal influence and to examine the views of teaching professionals on the reasons, issues and considerations of outsourcing ECAs such as the dynamic relations between ECA coordinators and service providers, and between teachers and parents.

Design/methodology/approach

The qualitative research that informs this paper is conceptualized within the interpretive paradigm since it aims at understanding the thoughts of 20 teaching professionals including 16 teachers and four principals with regard to the outsourcing of ECRs in times of promoting other learning experiences in schools. This interpretive paradigm emphasizes naturalistic methods of inquiry.

Findings

Two major themes which demonstrated the driving forces for outsourcing educational activities as well as the dynamic relationship between teaching professionals and service providers arising in the process of outsourcing emerged from the interview data. This paper illustrates that the neoliberal impact on the implementation and quality of ECAs needs to be understood as a much more complicated process shaped by the local context.

Research limitations/implications

A major limitation is the small number of samples in primary schools in this qualitative study. Another area of possible investigation is the noticeable extension of the study area to the sectors of kindergartens and secondary schools.

Practical implications

From management perspectives the finding carries the implication that outsourcing must be carefully planned have explicit goals and systematically implemented.

Social implications

The finding enriches the understanding of how neoliberal thinking creeps into management of outsourcing ECAs in schools.

Originality/value

The study does not aim at generalization of the findings but it attempts to illuminate the phenomenon of outsourcing ECAs in primary schools in Hong Kong. To support the empirical findings of the present qualitative study, it is recommended that follow-up quantitative studies be conducted, with larger sample sizes and more diverse sample groups included in the population.


Background: Provision of relevant, evidence-based continuing education (CE) is an integral part of maintaining a highly competent rural nursing workforce. Numerous tangible and intangible barriers exist to nurses' participation in CE in rural settings. Major barriers to accessibility and participation in CE for rural nurses include: 1) Geographic isolation, 2) lack of perceived administrative, financial, and/or technological resources and support, 3) lack of time due to workload, inadequate staffing, and/or travel distance, 4) lack of relevance of continuing education topics, and 5) lack of a dedicated on-site nurse educator. Proactive development of academic-practice partnerships is important to support rural care providers regarding CE delivery. The purpose of this study was to assess perceptions of CE needs of nursing unit staff working in a group of health care facilities in a rural region of midwestern U.S. Methods: A cross-sectional CE needs assessment survey was conducted in winter of 2010 with rural health care providers (N=302/1107; response rate 27%) working in rural healthcare facilities (N=40), including rural hospitals (n=10) and long-term care (LTC) facilities (n=30). A well-validated 72-item Likert-type survey was distributed via a secure online university survey platform, and included assessment of 59 CE need areas. Internal consistency reliability was 0.87. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 16.0. Results: Descriptive statistics revealed a greater number of licensed practical nurses and nursing assistants working in rural LTC's (27.2% and 62.5%, respectively) compared to rural hospital setting (14% and 15%, respectively). There are a large number of associate degree-prepared nurses (63%) working in the participating rural hospitals compared to LTC setting (8.4%). Respondents' priority learning needs included: 1) Review aspects of medication administration/drug interactions; 2) improve skills in patient assessment (physical/mental); 3) increase knowledge of management of patients with comorbidities; 4) promotion of patient safety; 5) enhance communication skills/teamwork; 6) increase lifelong learning. Student's t tests revealed LTC nursing unit staff reported significantly higher priority learning needs in "manage aggressive behavior (verbal/physical)" ( t = 2.044, d f = 300,  α = .003), "family participation in care" ( t = 2.470, d f = 300, α = .036), and "maintain standards of care" ( t = 2.880, d f = 300, α = .042), whilst acute care nursing staff reported a significantly higher priority learning need in "manage a crisis"  ( t = 2.122, d f = 300, α = .050). Conclusions: Study results revealed key learning needs related to several aspects of patient care delivery for rural nursing unit staff who are primarily nursing assistants or nurses meeting minimum state educational requirements. Basic health- care workforce training does not typically emphasize continuous quality improvements, or how to recognize and develop an evidence-based practice at the entry level. The potential for nursing knowledge stagnation among entry level nursing unit staff in rural settings needs to be addressed to help break down isolation barriers impacting knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of health care providers practicing in rural health care facilities.


The interactions of ions, organics, and microorganisms at the aqueous interface with kaolin-group minerals control many important geochemical processes in the environment. Kaolinite has both hydrophilic and relatively hydrophobic external surfaces that exhibit different adsorption phenomena. Our understanding of kaolin minerals in the environment is advancing as a result of molecular simulation and field studies. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal the structure and behavior of adsorbed ions and water molecules at the interface. The presence of microorganisms affects the formation and surfaces of kaolinite and halloysite. Mechanisms by which kaolin-group minerals complex, adsorb, and desorb radioactive pollutants in the subsurface can be understood by combining theory with observation.