ABSTRACT Background The ability to efficiently select specific aspects of our semantic representations that are relevant for current goals or the context is supported by semantic control processes (controlled semantic cognition framework). This semantic control component is impaired in patients with semantic aphasia, who have multimodal semantic impairment following left hemisphere stroke and are highly sensitive to the control demands of semantic tasks. However, relatively little is known about how this control deficit interacts with aspects of semantic representation. Aims Here we tested whether the relevance of semantic features can influence the demands of control resources in the selection of information within the semantic store in patients with semantic aphasia. Methods & Procedure Participants performed a feature selection task, where they were asked to indicate which of three features was semantically related to a given concept. Outcomes & Results We found that patients with semantic aphasia had a greater impairment on low relevance features, suggesting that the selection of target features with low relevance requires greater semantic control than target features with high relevance. Conclusions Our results confirm the necessity of control processes for the selection of aspects of conceptual knowledge that are only weakly activated within semantic storage when these are task-relevant. The study therefore highlights that semantic cognition emerges from the interaction of control and representational systems.


A novel CuO nanoparticle-loaded TiO2 hollow nanofiber film (CuO/TiO2) was prepared by a simple and scalable electrospun nanofiber film template-assisted sol–gel method. In this facile method, the synthesis of TiO2 hollow nanofiber film and the loading of CuO nanoparticle were integrated into a single step. This porous and nanotubular CuO/TiO2 with well-dispersed CuO nanoparticles provides a well-defined hierarchical nanostructure for glucose oxidation. In application to glucose detection, CuO/TiO2 showed high electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of glucose in alkaline media, and a nonenzymatic glucose sensor was constructed. Under optimal experimental conditions, the designed sensor exhibited a wide linear range (0.02 to 19.26 mM, R = 0.996), which was wider than the precious CuO-based glucose biosensors. Additionally, the sensor showed high sensitivity, acceptable reproducibility and excellent selectivity. The novel textile formation, porous and hierarchically mesostructured nature of CuO/TiO2 with excellent analytical performances make it a superior platform for the construction of high-performance glucose biosensors.


Up to 50% of patients with the clinical syndrome of heart failure have preserved left ventricular systolic function (HF-PSF). Invasive studies utilising cardiac catheterisation have demonstrated that patients with HF-PSF have abnormalities of left ventricular (LV) relaxation and filling, or LV diastolic dysfunction. As a result, it has been proposed that LV diastolic dysfunction is the primary pathophysiological process in HF-PSF. However, population-based studies have shown that there is poor correlation between the presence of LV diastolic dysfunction and the presence of heart failure. This controversy has led to a search for alternative pathophysiological processes which could potentially cause HF-PSF. There are some data to suggest that patients with HF-PSF have a combination of LV diastolic dysfunction, or 'LV stiffness', and large artery stiffness, when compared with normal subjects and patients with systemic hypertension. This implies that the interaction between the left ventricle and the vasculature is dysfunctional and a potential cause of HF-PSF. Although there are limited data on arterial stiffness in HF-PSF, there have been no studies examining other parameters of vascular function in HF-PSF and vascular function has never been formally compared in cohorts of patients with HF-PSF and heart failure due to reduced LV systolic function (HF-RSF).
The studies presented in this thesis were designed to further characterise vascular function in HF-PSF and to compare vascular function between patients with HF-PSF, patients with HF-RSF and control subjects. I used non-invasive techniques to assess parameters of arterial function, such as arterial stiffness and arterial endothelial function. I also evaluated parameters of venous function, namely venous capacitance and venous endothelial function.
Arterial stiffness, measured by aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), was significantly elevated in HF-PSF compared to both HF-RSF and control groups, implying that HF-PSF is indeed associated with greater arterial stiffness. In contrast, arterial diastolic waveform analysis failed to show any significant differences in derived parameters of arterial compliance between the three study groups, which may be due to the fact that all three groups were matched for underlying coronary heart disease, reducing the ability of the technique to differentiate between groups.
Using Laser Doppler iontophoresis, I demonstrated that HF-PSF and HF-RSF subjects have impaired microvascular responses to both acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside. This suggests that, rather than being solely a primary disorder of endothelial function, impaired control of vascular tone in HF-PSF reflects significant vascular smooth muscle dysfunction. It is not certain if arterial smooth muscle and/or endothelial dysfunction is secondary to the inflammatory and neurohumoral activation associated with the heart failure syndrome, or a primary pathophysiological factor in the development of either form of heart failure.
As regards venous function, patients with HF-PSF had a lower venous capacitance than patients with HF-RSF (but similar venous capacitance to the controls). Increased venous capacitance may represent a compensatory response in heart failure that is less marked or absent in HF-PSF, compared to HF-RSF. Venous endothelial function was measured with the Aellig dorsal hand vein technique. It was not technically possible to complete an Aellig study in the whole patient cohort, resulting in fewer data being available for analysis. Despite this, both heart failure groups appeared to have impaired venodilatation in response to acetylcholine, compared to controls, although this apparent difference was not statistically significant.
While the studies of venous capacitance and endothelial function were not conclusive, they suggest that venous function may be abnormal in HF-PSF. The finding that endothelial and smooth muscle control of arterial tone was impaired in both HF-PSF and HF-RSF may indicate a similar primary pathophysiological process, or indeed a similar response to inflammatory and neurohumoral activation in heart failure. I conclude that the data presented in this thesis supports the hypothesis that HF-PSF is associated with increased arterial stiffness, which in combination with increased LV stiffness is likely to result in impaired ventriculo-vascular coupling. This process is likely to be an important pathophysiological factor in the development of HF-PSF.


Abstract In the mid-1990s a manuscript was discovered containing the poetry and prose of a previously unknown female author, Lady Hester Pulter. The poems, likely written during the 1640s–'50s, demonstrate Pulter's wide reading and her near-fanatical Royalism. The prose romance, The Unfortunate Florinda, however, displays a very different politics. Basing her fiction on the legends surrounding the Muslim conquest of Spain, I argue that Pulter adjusts her sources to present an alternative, Augustinian view of rape, one that blames the rapist, not the victim. The monarchs in Pulter's fiction use absolutist rhetoric to justify rape, and, contra her earlier poetic denunciations of Charles I's execution, rape now justifies regicide. I suggest that the sexual corruption of Charles II's court prompted Pulter to create a romance with distinctly republican overtones in which chastity is the highest value, sexual corruption the lowest vice, and rulers who commit such crimes forfeit both their right to rule and their right to live.


This paper not only addresses how linkages, direct and facilitating linkages, can benefit microfinance institutions – particularly in jurisdictions where the Savings Group Outreach involvement is particularly low – but also illustrates ways and means whereby group lending and other more recent innovative methods used by micro lenders to secure repayments, could increase the desired effects, efficiency and impact of microfinance in selected jurisdictions. In so doing, it addresses some of the existing and persisting problems of micro finance in rural areas. An innovative aspect of the paper is evidenced through its recommendation of the Micro-Savings Requirement Scheme – which offers numerous benefits – as will be highlighted in this paper.


This article proposes a novel framework for representing and measuring local coherence. Central to this approach is the entity-grid representation of discourse, which captures patterns of entity distribution in a text. The algorithm introduced in the article automatically abstracts a text into a set of entity transition sequences and records distributional, syntactic, and referential information about discourse entities. We re-conceptualize coherence assessment as a learning task and show that our entity-based representation is well-suited for ranking-based generation and text classification tasks. Using the proposed representation, we achieve good performance on text ordering, summary coherence evaluation, and readability assessment.


AIM
To evaluate the response of cells to boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) carrying fluorescent probes or drugs in their inner channel by assessment of the cellular localization of the fluorescent cargo, evaluation of the in vitro release and biological activity of a drug (curcumin) loaded in BNNTs.

METHODS
Cells treated with curcumin-loaded BNNTs and stimulated with lipopolysaccharide were assessed for nitric oxide release and stimulation of IL-6 and TNF-α. The cellular trafficking of two cell-permeant dyes and a non-cell-permeant dye loaded within BNNTs was imaged.

RESULTS
BNNTs loaded with up to 13 wt% fluorophores were internalized by cells and controlled release of curcumin triggered cellular pathways associated with the known anti-inflammatory effects of the drug.

CONCLUSION
The overall findings indicate that BNNTs can function as nanocarriers of biologically relevant probes/drugs allowing one to examine/control their local intracellular localization and biochemical effects, leading the way to applications as intracellular nanosensors.


This paper analyzes the change in the postal sector over the past 20 years and in particular the strategic drivers that are transforming the postal services industries such as institutional, market and technological developments. Taking the argument from here this paper defines the four major response strategies of postal operators all across the world to analyse how different firms and countries are reacting to the challenges of increased competition and changing consumer behaviour, also in preparation to impending liberalisation of postal markets. Finally the paper looks at the emerging and dominating influence of information technology on the postal services industry. The analysis indicates that while the past changes have been driven mainly by deregulation policies, future changes, are likely to be driven by the information and communication technologies (ICT). Moreover the paper explores the dual role of ICT both as a change driver and as an opportunity for historical postal operators to successfully transform into modern adaptive enterprises, thereby turning the threat of ICTs into an opportunity to become high-technology services firms.


Web graphs have been very useful in the structural and statistical analysis of the web. Various models have been proposed to simulate web graphs that generate degree distributions similar to the web. Real world blog networks resemble many properties of web graphs. But the dynamic nature of the blogosphere and the link structure evolving due to blog readership and social interactions is not well expressed by the existing models. In this research we propose a model for a blogger to construct blog graphs. We combine the existing preferential attachment and random attachment model to generate blog graphs which are type of scale-free networks. The blogger is modeled using read, write, idle states and finite read memory. The combination of these techniques helps in evolution of time stamped blog-blog and post-post network through citations within the blog-blog network. Other parameters like the growth function and the randomness in reading and writing posts help in the formation of graphs with different structural properties. We empirically show that these simulated blog graph exhibits properties similar to the real world blog networks in their degree distributions, degree correlations and clustering coefficient. We believe that this model will help researchers to evaluate and analyze the properties of the blogosphere and facilitate the testing of new algorithms.


Physical unclonable functions (PUFs) are physical components that translate an input challenge into a unique response that cannot be predicted without access to the component itself. PUFs can integrated into devices to ensure trust in everyday interactions and to act as a defence; guarding against the counterfeiting of goods by providing robust identities. In the past these functions have relied on classical phenomena, including signal speed through a 'race' wire (Arbiter PUFs [1]) or probabilistic switching of electronic latches. Many PUFs have been found to be vulnerable to response modelling [2] or direct cloning [3] attacks, and have limitations on minimum size. These vulnerabilities and constraints prompt turning away from classical PUF methodologies and towards architectures exploiting quantum phenomena, such as quantum confinement. We propose a PUF concept that operates on the principles on quantum confinement through the fluctuation of the first energy level of a resonant tunnelling diode (RTD) [4]. These fluctuations derive from intrinsic atomic scale variations in the manufacture of each RTD, and cause macroscopic changes in the specific electronic characteristics of the device [5]. In the simplest form, uniqueness in the RTDs would be derived from the current and voltage of the maximum tunnelling current position (see figure 1a) of each device. To be used as the constituent of a PUF, each resonant tunnel diode should be unique from one another, and stable after repeated readings. We compared the current and voltage of this peak current position of 26 RTDs that could constitute the PUF. It was found that the peaks of each RTD do not overlap to a certainty of 99.997% (see figure 1b). The stability of repeat measurements of a single device was also examined, finding a deviation upon repeat readings of two standard deviations (95%) compared to the average current and voltage values (figure 1c). This analysis suggests that the resonant tunnelling diode is a strong candidate for use in the next generation of more secure, quantum derived security hardware.


In this study external bacterial contamination of local anaesthetic cartridges from newly opened and open containers was examined. Colonies of mainly Gram-positive cocci and Gram-positive rods were grown from cartridges from both the freshly opened and open containers. However, the total number of colonies grown from open containers was significantly higher than that from freshly opened ones. It was concluded that where local anaesthetic cartridges are bulk-packed in containers, strict infection control measures are to be instituted in clinical practice. We suggest that these include keeping containers tightly capped, removing cartridges only when needed, using forceps to handle cartridges and swabbing cartridges with alcohol prior to loading into syringes.


This thesis investigates the design and use of communication technologies to support long distance dating relationships (LDDRs). We focus on using co-located behaviours that hold special relational meaning as the metaphor behind the design of devices to mediate between separated partners. Social Presence is used as the main theoretical construct through which support for LDDRs is addressed. Social Presence is a phenomenological concept which refers to "the degree of salience of the other person in the interaction and the consequent salience of the interpersonal relationship" [Short et al., 1976, p. 65]. An additional concept, Closeness, is also brought in to the design problem to account for the supportive role of communication technologies between moments of synchronous contact. This thesis proposes three main arguments. The first is that individual acts of communication, through feelings of Social Presence, have an impact on a couple's feelings of Closeness towards one another. We explore possible connections between Social Presence and Closeness through a diary study. The results of the diary study also establish that the selection of communication media impacts feelings of Social Presence. Our second argument is that a number of design facets, explored throughout the thesis, could enhance the design of communication technologies for LDDRs by increasing feelings of Social Presence. An analysis of current literature informs the development of seven prototype devices based on hand-holding, hugging, sharing notes and pillow talk. Two interview studies explore people's reactions to these devices. The findings from these studies are integrated into a design space which describes some of the design decisions that should be considered when creating behaviour-based devices which aim to support LDDRs. Our third argument is that devices based on co-located behaviours support LDDRs through engendering high levels of SP. This is investigated through five case studies using the devices we previously developed, showing that three of our devices are associated with particularly high levels of SP. They also provide insights about the design space facets, as realised in the devices, through using the devices within couples' existing communication routines. The thesis concludes with a discussion of how the results of these studies are of relevance to researchers interested in supporting long distance dating relationships. Our investigation into Social Presence provides two main contributions; firstly it offers an understanding of how various factors (including relationship type and distance) affect feelings of SP. Secondly, it demonstrates that increasing feelings of Social Presence can have a longer-term impact on LDDRs through increasing their feelings of Closeness towards one another. This suggests that SP is suitable concept to try and support through the design of communication technologies. In addition to informing our discussion of our design space, the case studies within this thesis highlight that devices based on co-located behaviours can help support LDDRs. Given the dearth of devices based on this metaphor, we suggest that other researchers may be interested in extending these findings by exploring other behavioural metaphors. The design space proposed within this thesis offers two main contributions. Firstly, designers can use the design space to foster innovation when creating new designs. Design spaces result in a descriptive and exploratory tool for designers creating new innovations. Secondly, the comprehensive consideration of the various dimensions, especially regarding our consideration of existing communication technologies, provides researchers with a novel design-centric view over the state of the art.


Should our punishment, policing, and military institutions be public, private, or both? Is there a special link between the project of government and the exercise of force? These two questions have vexed philosophers for several centuries, and lately, they have begun to present more practical problems as well. In the past three decades, private punishment, policing, and military markets have blossomed and boomed in liberal states. Private prisons, police, and armies have been popping up around the world, punishing criminals, fighting crimes, keeping peace, and waging war. The use of force has generated unprecedented profits, and the boundaries between public and private uses of force have become increasingly blurred. Observers of these trends expect them to continue and accelerate. This Article brings these three trends together under one rubric: the privatization of force. By bringing together fundamental categories of economic and political analysis, it develops a theory of the relationship between government and force in liberal states.


The kingdom of God was a central theme in Jesus' vision. Was it meant to be understood as utopian as Mary Ann Beavis views it, or existential? In 1st century CE Palestine, kingdom of God was a political term meaning theocracy suggesting God's patronage. Jesus used the term metaphorically to construct a new symbolic universe to legitimate a radical new way of living with God in opposition to the temple ideology of exclusivist covenantal nomism. The analogies of father and king served as the root metaphors for this symbolic universe. They are existential root metaphors underpinning the contextual symbolic universe of God's patronage in reaction to the collapse of the patronage system which left peasants destitute. Jesus' paradoxical use of the metaphor kingdom of God had a therapeutic value and gave the concept new meaning. The initial motivation for proclaiming God's patronage originated in Jesus' primary identity formation by Mary as single parent and was reinforced in his secondary identity formation by John the Baptist. From these results can be concluded that kingdom of God was not meant to be understood as utopian, but existential. In order to clarify the meaning of kingdom of God and God's patronage for the 21st century, emythologisation and deconstruction can be helpful especially by highlighting the existential meaning of the kingdom of God.


In the current environment, regulatory capital demands on community banks have grown commonplace. Although capital can be raised through debt (trust preferred is much harder to come by for a small transaction) or equity, i.e., the sale of common stock to existing shareholders or rich and smart investors, the most tax-effective way to raise capital and provide an employee benefit at the same time may be through a leveraged Employee Stock Ownership Plan. If your community bank or holding company wants to raise capital through a tax-effective method that will also have employees thinking like owners, then consider a leveraged ESOP or KSOP. Plans can be established quickly, leveraged quickly (provided a lender can be found), and capital injected expeditiously. Mechanics of ESOPs An ESOP is simply a trust established to hold the stock of the bank or holding company for the benefit of employees. If the ESOP is combined with an existing or newly created 401(k) plan, then it is generally referred to as a KSOP, i.e., a 401(k) ESOP. For banks under $500 million in assets, the most tax-effective means to raise capital for the bank is through leveraging a KSOP or an ESOP. ESOPs and KSOPs can be established quickly. Capital can thus be injected quickly and relatively inexpensively compared to the other equity-raising alternatives. From a mechanical standpoint, the bank holding company creates an ESOP, which is a trust, to hold holding company stock for the benefit of the bank's employees. This plan requires the creation of plan documents; the consideration of plan terms and conditions; and filing for a determination letter with the Internal Revenue Service. If the establishment of a KSOP is desired, then the bank holding company will generally start with the existing 401(k) plan in which the employees participate, and amend it to provide ESOP features. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To raise capital through a leveraged ESOP or KSOP, the ESOP would find a lender; borrow the money from the lender; take the cash generated through the loan into the ESOP; and buy stock from the holding company. This generates cash in the holding company. The cash is then contributed by the holding company to the subsidiary bank as new capital. Because of the relatively new, expanded small bank holding company guidelines--which do not provide for consolidated capital requirements unless the consolidated assets of the company come to over $500 million--the ESOP leverage works extraordinarily well. Cash received by the bank from the holding company increases the bank's capital. The debt generated by the ESOP is reflected on the balance sheet of the holding company for regulatory accounting purposes, but since the holding company's capital is not tested on a consolidated basis, the ESOP debt on the holding company balance sheet is immaterial, provided it is within the tolerance levels of the small bank holding company guidelines. (These guidelines, a discussion of which is beyond the scope of this article, can be found at 12 CFR Part 225. See www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/6000-2100.html# 6000appendixc) The primary tax advantages of increasing the bank's capital in this manner arise because the funding for the ESOP results from tax-deductible compensation expense by the bank. The bank makes contributions to the ESOP (within statutory limits) which it then deducts on its consolidated tax return for the holding company. The ESOP uses the cash to repay the ESOP loan, effectively allowing the consolidated organization to deduct principal and interest on the ESOP loan. Focus on the leverage As a practical matter, most loan transactions with ESOPs (particularly where the lender is sophisticated or specializes in ESOP loans) are structured as a simultaneous loan from lender to bank holding company, and then as a loan from the bank holding company to the ESOP. This is primarily because if a lender lends directly to the ESOP, the only collateral the lender can obtain from it is the stock purchased by the ESOP with the proceeds of the loan; employer contributions to the ESOP to meet its obligations; earnings attributable to such collateral; and the investment of the contributions. …


This study examined how diet, foraging location and diving behaviour of female New Zealand fur seals Arctocephalus forsteri at Otago Peninsula, New Zealand (45° 52' S, 170° 44' E), var- ied in relation to prey abundance among seasons in 1994 and 1995. Time-depth recorders measured the diving behaviour of 24 lactating female fur seals, during summer, autumn or winter of 1994 and summer and autumn of 1995. Foraging locations were obtained by deploying satellite transmitters in summer, autumn and winter of 1994 only. Estimated biomass of prey items was determined from 690 scats and 166 regurgitates collected over summer, autumn and winter of both years, and compared with abundance data from research trawls in the same area. Foraging trip duration increased during the cooler seasons. Female fur seals showed a clear bout structure in dive behaviour, with the rela- tive proportion of 3 main bout types (Long, Shallow, Deep) varying with season. Time between bouts (IBI) and bout duration varied with season, suggesting that prey distribution and prey encounter rate also varied. Linear discriminant analysis of the dive and foraging trip characteristics of individual females demonstrated clear seasonal differences. Females foraged on or near the continental slope in summer and farther offshore in autumn. Satellite telemetry locations and diet suggest principally inshore foraging during winter. Fur seals ate predominantly arrow squid Nototodarus sloanii during summer and autumn of both years, although fish, particularly myctophids, were persistent in the diet. Arrow squid were less common in winter when diet was more varied, and an inshore, benthic fish, ahuru Auchenoceros punctatus was dominant. There was no relationship between the annual changes in abundance of major prey species as measured by research trawls and their occurrence in seal diet. Overall, changes in dive behaviour may reflect changes in prey selection as prey abun- dance and availability change among seasons.


Compared to general population emerging adults, youth who are transitioning out of foster care into independent living tend to experience a higher percentage of long-term negative outcomes including disorganized relationships, chemical dependency, and insecure housing and employment. The researcher identified fifteen articles that explored programs' and practitioners' work with foster care youth transitioning to independence. This exploratory study evaluated the programs' intervention modalities and philosophies through a systematic review. The findings identified three common interventions: Resource coordination, Social connections, and Indendent living skills instruction; and four primary program philosophies: Relationship-based model, Youth development model, Integrative model, and Systems of care approach. These themes relate to the findings in the literature in an analogous 'parts to a whole' relationship. The literature identifies contributing factors to resilience in emancipating foster care youth, while the findings of the research signify the effectiveness of modalities and philosophies that utilize a whole-person approach to working with this vulnerable population. Implications to social work practice, policy, and continuing research are discussed. Fostering Resilience in Emancipating Foster Care Youth 3 Table of


J. B. McLeod was a brilliant solver of problems in mathematical analysis, primarily differential equations. He received his FRS in 1992, and the citation reads in part: 'Distinguished for many significant contributions to applied analysis, particularly to the theory of partial differential equations with applications to practical problems. … By the exemplary precision and power of his publications and his lectures, he has become internationally recognized as the leading British authority on the useful applications of functional analysis.' In addition, in 2011 McLeod was awarded the Naylor Prize and Lectureship of the London Mathematical Society 'in recognition of his important and versatile achievements in the analysis of nonlinear equations arising in applications to mechanics, physics, and biology.' He collaborated widely, and was a resource for many applied mathematicians who wanted to have a more rigorous foundation for their work. He leaves a hole that will be hard to fill.


This study provides evidence of countergradient variations in life-history traits among coastal cod Gadus morhua off the Norwegian coast, suggesting the existence of sub-populations. One-yr-old wild-caught individuals from 70° N were smaller, grew slower, weighed less, and had a lower condition factor (CF) than southern cod from 60° N during the sampling period from June to February. In contrast, both a higher growth potential and an increase in CF were found in northern cod when offspring of northern and southern cod from the same area and of the same age as the wild cod were housed together in a 'common-garden' experiment. The rapid growth in northern cod was achieved by higher success in food competition when given a restricted amount of food. Active feed- ing behaviour and larger energy allocation to storage tissues, as suggested by the higher increase in condition, represents adaptations to the high-latitude environment for northern cod and counter- gradient variation. These differences suggest the existence of genetically distinct sub-populations along the Norwegian coast. Development of sub-populations that differ in behaviour and life-history strategies are discussed in relation to mechanisms for local retention of early life stages and local adaptation of older stages. Sub-populations with different life histories may respond differently to fisheries, and attention to this could be beneficial for improving fisheries management.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the prevalence of preterm birth among low birthweight babies in low and middle-income countries.

METHODS
Major databases (PubMed, LILACS, Google Scholar) were searched for studies on the prevalence of term and preterm LBW babies with field work carried out after 1990 in low- and middle-income countries. Regression methods were used to model this proportion according to LBW prevalence levels.

RESULTS
According to 47 studies from 27 low- and middle-income countries, approximately half of all LBW babies are preterm rather than one in three as assumed in studies previous to the 1990s.

CONCLUSIONS
The estimate of a substantially higher number of LBW preterm babies has important policy implications in view of special health care needs of these infants. As for earlier projections, our findings are limited by the relative lack of population-based studies.


Offering a new values perspective, Elizabeth Segal's SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY AND SOCIAL PROGRAMS, Second Edition takes the student beyond identifying, describing, and analyzing social welfare policies. Segal demonstrates how the myriad values of diverse groups in America have influenced current policies, and helps students recognize that analysis takes place through the lens of these often opposing values. The dual themes of critical thinking and critical evaluation provide the framework of the book, and Segal's unique attention to international perspectives on values around social welfare policies and social programs heightens students' awareness of the global implications of social work around the world.


The escalation of complexity is a commonly cited benefit of coevolutionary systems, but computational simulations generally fail to demonstrate this capacity to a satisfactory degree. We draw on a macroevolutionary theory of escalation to develop a set of criteria for coevolutionary systems to exhibit escalation of strategic complexity. By expanding on a previously developed model of the evolution of memory length for cooperative strategies by Kristian Lindgren, we resolve previously observed limitations to the escalation of memory length. We present long-term coevolutionary simulations showing that larger population sizes tend to support greater escalation of complexity than smaller population sizes. Additionally, escalation is sensitive to perturbation during transitions of complexity. In whole, a long-standing counter-argument to the ubiquitous nature of coevolution is resolved, suggesting that the escalation of coevolutionary arms races can be harnessed by computational simulations.


Abstract Based on classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with teachers, parents and students, this comparative study looks at how social cohesion is promoted in Islamic Religious Education (IRE) lessons in Muslim schools in Ireland and non-faith schools in Finland. The study analyses teaching in the following areas: intra-religious cohesion; inter-religious cohesion and commitment to society. The findings reveal that despite differences in the governance of IRE as a subject taught in both types of schools, the IRE classroom emerges as a space, whereby teachers use power as agents for internal governance of religion. The authors conclude with some implications and offer some considerations for future research and practice.


Tables and Figures. Glossary. 1. Introduction. 1.1 Overview. 1.2 Examples of Surveys with Nonresponse. 1.3 Properly Handling Nonresponse. 1.4 Single Imputation. 1.5 Multiple Imputation. 1.6 Numerical Example Using Multiple Imputation. 1.7 Guidance for the Reader. 2. Statistical Background. 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Variables in the Finite Population. 2.3 Probability Distributions and Related Calculations. 2.4 Probability Specifications for Indicator Variables. 2.5 Probability Specifications for (X,Y). 2.6 Bayesian Inference for a Population Quality. 2.7 Interval Estimation. 2.8 Bayesian Procedures for Constructing Interval Estimates, Including Significance Levels and Point Estimates. 2.9 Evaluating the Performance of Procedures. 2.10 Similarity of Bayesian and Randomization--Based Inferences in Many Practical Cases. 3. Underlying Bayesian Theory. 3.1 Introduction and Summary of Repeated--Imputation Inferences. 3.2 Key Results for Analysis When the Multiple Imputations are Repeated Draws from the Posterior Distribution of the Missing Values. 3.3 Inference for Scalar Estimands from a Modest Number of Repeated Completed--Data Means and Variances. 3.4 Significance Levels for Multicomponent Estimands from a Modest Number of Repeated Completed--Data Means and Variance--Covariance Matrices. 3.5 Significance Levels from Repeated Completed--Data Significance Levels. 3.6 Relating the Completed--Data and Completed--Data Posterior Distributions When the Sampling Mechanism is Ignorable. 4. Randomization--Based Evaluations. 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 General Conditions for the Randomization--Validity of Infinite--m Repeated--Imputation Inferences. 4.3Examples of Proper and Improper Imputation Methods in a Simple Case with Ignorable Nonresponse. 4.4 Further Discussion of Proper Imputation Methods. 4.5 The Asymptotic Distibution of (Qm,Um,Bm) for Proper Imputation Methods. 4.6 Evaluations of Finite--m Inferences with Scalar Estimands. 4.7 Evaluation of Significance Levels from the Moment--Based Statistics Dm and Dm with Multicomponent Estimands. 4.8 Evaluation of Significance Levels Based on Repeated Significance Levels. 5. Procedures with Ignorable Nonresponse. 5.1 Introduction. 5.2 Creating Imputed Values under an Explicit Model. 5.3 Some Explicit Imputation Models with Univariate YI and Covariates. 5.4 Monotone Patterns of Missingness in Multivariate YI. 5.5 Missing Social Security Benefits in the Current Population Survey. 5.6 Beyond Monotone Missingness. 6. Procedures with Nonignorable Nonresponse. 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Nonignorable Nonresponse with Univariate YI and No XI. 6.3 Formal Tasks with Nonignorable Nonresponse. 6.4 Illustrating Mixture Modeling Using Educational Testing Service Data. 6.5 Illustrating Selection Modeling Using CPS Data. 6.6 Extensions to Surveys with Follow--Ups. 6.7 Follow--Up Response in a Survey of Drinking Behavior Among Men of Retirement Age. References. Author Index. Subject Index. Appendix I. Report Written for the Social Security Administration in 1977. Appendix II. Report Written for the Census Bureau in 1983.


This study explores the value added contribution of informal investors in the entrepreneurial process, something that up to date has received very limited attention. By analyzing the life experience and career background of four informal investors the study examines the personal resources these individuals build up and develop during their careers and how these experientially acquired resources facilitate the recognition and exploitation of entrepreneurial investment opportunities. The overall results suggest that their careers can be described as an experiential learning process that has facilitated the development of valuable skills and knowledge that is of critical importance for the entrepreneurial projects they later become engaged in as informal investors. The case analysis also identifies two types of personal resources: skill-specific resources (know-how) and network resources (know-who) that have a significant influence on their ability to contribute with value added in the entrepreneurial process.


From the Publisher:
In recent years, intelligent control has emerged as one of the most active and fruitful areas of research and development. Until now, however, there has been no comprehensive text that explores the subject with focus on the design and analysis of biological and industrial applications. Intelligent Control Systems Using Soft Computing Methodologies does all that and more. Beginning with an overview of intelligent control methodologies, the contributors present the fundamentals of neural networks, supervised and unsupervised learning, and recurrent networks. They address various implementation issues, then explore design and verification of neural networks for a variety of applications, including medicine, biology, digital signal processing, object recognition, computer networking, desalination technology, and oil refinery and chemical processes.The focus then shifts to fuzzy logic, with a review of the fundamental and theoretical aspects, discussion of implementation issues, and examples of applications, including control of autonomous underwater vehicles, navigation of space vehicles, image processing, robotics, and energy management systems. The book concludes with the integration of genetic algorithms into the paradigm of soft computing methodologies, including several more industrial examples, implementation issues, and open problems and open problems related to intelligent control technology.Suited as both a textbook and a reference, Intelligent Control Systems explores recent advances in the field from both the theoretical and the practical viewpoints. It also integrates intelligent control design methodologies to give designers a set of flexible, robust controllers and providestudents with a tool for solving the examples and exercises within the book.

http://cdn.preterhuman.net/texts/science_and_technology/artificial_intelligence/Intelligent Control Systems Using Soft Computing Methodologies - Ali Zilouchian.pdf


Presenting a historical overview of female stage directors in the United States, this valuable reference tool focuses on fifty women who have made significant contributions to professional directing during the twentieth century. Anne Fliotsos and Wendy Vierow collect biographical details and important directing data on each woman, including information on training and career path, notable productions, critical reception, directing style, major awards, and bibliographic materials. Insightful commentary from the directors themselves also provides rich details on the theatre business and working process. This collection recognizes the much overlooked contributions of women directors and is an essential introductory tool for students and researchers of American theatre.


We recently developed a local description of the energy, momentum and angular momentum carried by the linearized gravitational field, wherein the gravitational energy-momentum tensor displays positive energy-density and causal energy-flux, and the gravitational spin-tensor describes purely spatial spin. We now investigate the role these tensors play in a broader theoretical context, demonstrating for the first time that (a) they do indeed constitute Noether currents associated with the symmetry of the linearized gravitational field under translation and rotation, and (b) they are themselves a source of gravity, analogous to the energy-momentum and spin of matter. To prove (a) we construct a Lagrangian for linearized gravity (a covariantized Fierz-Pauli Lagrangian for a massless spin-2 field) and show that our tensors can be obtained from this Lagrangian using a standard variational technique for calculating Noether currents. This approach generates formulae that uniquely generalize our gravitational energy-momentum tensor and spin tensor beyond harmonic gauge: we show that no other generalization can be obtained from a covariantized Fierz-Pauli Lagrangian without introducing second derivatives in the energy-momentum tensor. We then construct the Belinfante energy-momentum tensor associated with our framework (combining spin and energy-momentum into a single object) and as our first demonstration of (b) we establish that this Belinfante tensor appears as the second-order contribution to a perturbative expansion of the Einstein field equations. By considering a perturbative expansion of the Einstein-Cartan field equations, we then demonstrate that (b) can be realized without forming the Belinfante tensor: our energy-momentum tensor and spin tensor appear as the quadratic terms in separate field equations, generating gravity as distinct entities. Finally, we examine the role of...


This article examines how the international competition to attract and retain foreign direct investment shapes the governance of business and employment systems. Through an examination of global production networks and the changing role of the state in economic governance, it highlights the sub-national regional space as an important level of institutional adaptation. Specifically, it explores how regions organise themselves to compete for inward investment, and the potential role of industrial relations actors within this. It argues that both research into multinational companies, and of the governance of employment systems more generally, need to incorporate an analysis of regional competition for productive investment more fully into their analysis.


We propose an approximate analytical solution of the boundary value problem (BVP) for the nonlinear shallow waters equations. Our work, based on the Carrier and Greenspan [ 1 ] hodograph transformation, focuses on the propagation of nonlinear nonbreaking waves over a uniformly plane beach. Available results are briefly discussed with specific emphasis on the comparison between the Initial Value Problem and the BVP; the latter more completely representing the physical phenomenon of wave propagation on a beach. The solution of the BVP is achieved through a perturbation approach solely using the assumption of small waves incoming at the seaward boundary of the domain. The most significant results, i.e., the shoreline position estimation, the actual wave height and velocity at the seaward boundary, the reflected wave height and velocity at the seaward boundary are given for three specific input waves and compared with available solutions.


The only capital city in the world without a traffic light, Thimphu is currently in the throes of major building projects as Bhutan modernizes with a new parliamentary monarchy and an increasingly open economy. The Thimphu Structural Plan adopted in 2002 provides a blueprint to guide the city in its transition from isolation to global participant. This analysis utilizes recent data from the first accurate census, updated GIS maps, and observations from several trips to assess Thimphu?s development stage and strategy. The urban landscape and plans being implemented reflect Bhutan?s commitment to combine traditional elements such as sacred and secular architecture and community-promoting village clusters along with adequate public transportation and price-supported housing, internet cafes and e-governance. The "Four Pillars of Gross National Happiness" (preserving culture and the environment, sustainable economy, and clean government) shape the urban setting. Thimphu serves as the capital city, site of political and economic power, and indicator of future directions for a strategically located Himalayan country.


Mandates are policy tools that are becoming increasingly popular to promote renewable energy use. In addition to mitigating the pollution externality of conventional energy, mandates have the potential to promote R&D investments in renewable energy technology. But how well do mandates perform as innovation incentives? To address this question, we develop a partial equilibrium model with endogenous innovation to examine the R&D incentives induced by a mandate, and compare this policy to two benchmark situations: laissez-faire and a carbon tax. Innovation is stochastic and the model permits an endogenous number of multiple innovators. We find that mandates can improve upon laissez faire, and that the prospect of innovation is essential for their desirability. However, mandates suffer from several limitations. A mandate creates relatively strong incentives for investment in R&D in low-quality innovations, but relatively weak incentives to invest in high-quality innovations, so that the dispersion of realized innovation quality is comparatively low. Moreover, a mandate achieves lower welfare than a carbon tax, and its optimal level is more sensitive to the structure of the innovation process.


The Snowden revelations of mass online surveillance have provided unprecedented information on state-based surveillance mechanisms. However they have also directed our attention to the role of commercial actors and private intermediaries. Commercial social media platforms are engaged in large-scale data collection and have been at the core of several NSA/GCHQ programmes—sometimes unknowingly, sometimes reluctantly, sometimes willingly.

This article will discuss the role of private actors in surveillance strategies within the wider context of the privatisation of communication policy. It will demonstrate how intermediaries have not only been assigned a greater role in implementing laws and regulations, but have moved towards actively formulating and setting policy that deeply affects freedom of expression and data protection. I will discuss the implications for both legal and democratic processes, highlighting the problem of outsourcing control over key civic rights.

I will situate this emerging authority of commercial actors in broader trends of communication policy that include networked multi-stakeholder processes, standard-setting by technical developers, and civil society practices of developing model laws and regulatory proposals as a form of 'DIY policy-making'.


Young Voices Unheard: Children's Views from Scotland and Greece on Education is a compelling exploration of the perspectives of five to six-year-old children in Greece and Scotland regarding various aspects of their school experiences and their awareness of children's rights. This enlightening book aims to uncover which rights children prioritize and value most in their educational environment, shedding light on critical issues related to their schooling.

The book divides its content into two main parts. The theoretical section offers a comprehensive overview of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its implications for children's education, emphasizing the importance of respecting children's rights. The author also provides an overview of schooling models for young children.

The empirical research section employs a meticulous methodology, involving focus group sessions with 56 children from both Greece and Scotland. Through these sessions, the book captures children's views on three distinct school models, each representing a different degree of adherence to children's rights. The data analysis reveals that young children prioritize rights such as the right to play, safety, consultation, and education.

In essence, Young Voices Unheard offers a unique and valuable perspective on children's rights in education. By giving voice to young children and considering their views on educational practices and provisions, this book contributes to the ongoing dialogue about creating more inclusive and rights-respecting educational environments around the world. It serves as a valuable resource for educators, policymakers, and researchers seeking to better understand and enhance the educational experiences of young children.


Abstract Most retirees take payouts from their defined contribution pensions as lump sums, but the US Treasury recently moved to encourage firms and individuals to convert some of the $15 trillion in plan balances into longevity income annuities paying lifetime benefits from age 85 onward. We evaluate the welfare implications of this reform using a calibrated lifecycle consumption and portfolio choice model embodying realistic institutional considerations. We show that defaulting a fixed fraction of workers' 401(k) assets over a dollar threshold is a cost-effective and appealing way to enhance retirement security, enhancing welfare by up to 20% of retiree plan accruals.


European earwigs, Forficula auricularia L., are important predators of diaspidid scale insects in New Zealand kiwifruit. As European earwigs readily hide during the day in shelter traps made of corrugated cardboard strips rolled into cylinders, it may be possible to manipulate the level of scale predation. The effect of trapping duration on aggregation of earwigs and whether the addition of shelter traps to kiwifruit vine canopies led to increased numbers of earwigs and predation of scale insects were investigated. More earwigs were found in cardboard shelter traps exposed for up to 8 weeks than shorter periods. However, shelter traps were not associated with increased numbers of earwigs in vine canopies or with increased predation of scale insects. Predation of scale insects was 73-82% and on individual canes depended on the initial density of scale. Further study is needed to realise the potential of earwigs as predators of scale insects and other pests.


While classical planning has been an active branch of AI, its applicability is limited to the tasks precisely modeled by humans. Fully automated high-level agents should be instead able to find a symbolic representation of an unknown environment without supervision, otherwise it exhibits the knowledge acquisition bottleneck. Meanwhile, Latplan (Asai and Fukunaga 2018) partially resolves the bottleneck with a neural network called State AutoEncoder (SAE). SAE obtains the propositional representation of the image-based puzzle domains with unsupervised learning, generates a state space and performs classical planning. In this paper, we identify the problematic, stochastic behavior of the SAE-produced propositions as a new sub-problem of symbol grounding problem, the symbol stability problem. Informally, symbols are stable when their referents (e.g. propositional values) do not change against small perturbation of the observation, and unstable symbols are harmful for symbolic reasoning. We analyze the problem in Latplan both formally and empirically, and propose "Zero-Suppressed SAE", an enhancement that stabilizes the propositions using the idea of closed-world assumption as a prior for NN optimization. We show that it finds the more stable propositions and the more compact representations, resulting in an improved success rate of Latplan. It is robust against various hyperparameters and eases the tuning effort, and also provides a weight pruning capability as a side effect.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the claw characteristics contributing to the shape and balance of the foot in growing steers. The evaluated parameters included dorsal wall growth, abrasion, length and sole surface area. After animal harvest, the sole horn thickness was measured. Seventy-two yearling Angus-crossbred steers (mean body weight 378±6.2 kg) were allotted for the finishing period (133 days) to two systems (feedlot, pasture). The feedlot steers were fed a corn-grain/corn silage diet and were housed in pens with concrete floors. Steers assigned to the pasture were rotationally stocked on mixed grass-legume pastures. The claw measurements were obtained from medial and lateral claws of the left rear foot on days 0, 56 and 133. Sole thickness measurements were performed on both front feet. Data were analyzed with repeated measures analysis of variance using a mixed effects model. The horn growth of the dorsal wall was greater (P<0.01) in the feedlot steers (29.5±0.7 mm/finishing period) compared to the steers on pasture (21.28±0.8 mm/ finishing period). Claw horn abrasion was also greater (P<0.001) in feed lot steers (24.50±0.92 mm/ finishing period) than in steers on pasture (9.3±0.9 mm/ finishing period). Lateral and medial claws grew (P<0.001) and wore (P<0.001) at different rates in feedlot steers. In the pasture steers the lateral and medial claws did not differ in growth or abrasion. The change in length of the dorsal wall was different (P<0.05) between feedlot and pasture steers. The difference between lateral and medial claw was significant only in the feedlot steers (P<0.001). The final dorsal wall length, as a result of horn growth and abrasion, was different (P<0.05) between finishing systems. Lateral and medial claw (P<0.001) was different in the feedlot steers only. The change in the sole surface area was different (P<0.05) between feedlot and pasture steers and between lateral and medial claw in both finishing systems. In both finishing systems, medial claws exhibited a smaller surface area than lateral claws. The feedlot steers had significantly thicker soles in all locations than steers on pasture. The


Agricultural mechanics is a top career choice among secondary students enrolled in agricultural programs. Secondary agricultural mechanics teachers provide hands-on skill instruction with shielded metal arc welders, oxyfuel torches, and various hand tools in their agricultural mechanics laboratories. Preservice agriculture teachers have reported lack of preparation to adequately teach in this potentially dangerous environment. This qualitative case study explored the concerns of preservice teachers about teaching secondary students in the agricultural mechanics laboratory and how those concerns evolved over time. Researchers used a constructivist epistemology and open coding to identify and explore emergent themes. Three themes emerged from the data: 1) issues of trust and control in supervising laboratory students manifest themselves as a professional threat, 2) mechanics skill and supervisory skill development coincided with a change in focus toward student safety and learning, and 3) the agricultural mechanics laboratory provides unique instructional challenges and opportunities. Although each preservice teacher differed in their development, the authors identified persistent issues with agricultural mechanics skill knowledge and student trust.


Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs), as an alternative hardware-based security method, have been challenged by some modeling attacks. As is known to all, samples are significant in modeling attacks on PUFs, and thus, some efforts have been made to expand sample sets therein to improve modeling attacks. A closer examination, however, reveals that not all samples contribute to modeling attacks equally. Therefore, in this article, we introduce the concept of sample essentiality for describing the contribution of a sample in modeling attacks and point out that any sample without sample essentiality cannot enhance some modeling attacks on PUFs. As a by-product, we find theoretically and empirically that the samples expanded by the procedures proposed by Chatterjee et al. do not satisfy our sample essentiality. Furthermore, we propose the notion of essential sample sets for datasets and discuss its basic properties. Finally, we demonstrate that our results about sample essentiality can be used to reduce samples efficiently and benefit sample selection in modeling attacks on arbiter PUFs.


Complement to the list of the birds of New Caledonia. Over the last five years, ten species of birds not previously known on the island have been seen, increasing the number of species/subspecies recorded in New Caledonia to about 192 taxa. Two of these new species bred: the Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo apparently colonised over the last one or two years and the Little Bittern, presumably the Australian sub-species Ixobrychus minutus dubius, which may have be present for a longer period. Migrants form the bulk of these new records, most of them being waders: Greenshank Tringa nebularia, Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus, Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris and Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus finschi. Other coastal and wetland birds include Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus and Little Tern Sterna albifrons. Terrestrial migrants or vagrants are more rare: an old record of a Channel-billed Cuckoo Scythrops novaehollandiae must be added to the list as well as recent observations of the White-throated Needle tail Hirundapus caudacutus, and a Tree Martin Hirundo nigricans. Data are also provided on other rare birds recorded over the past five years. (Resume d'auteur)


The main purpose of the study was to develop a new zero-tension lysimeter (ZTL) as a leachate sampler in a greywater irrigation plot. Greywater is known as a wastewater that is generated from baths, showers, washing machines, laundry troughs, dishwashers and kitchen sinks; but excludes toilet wastes. The use of greywater is becoming increasingly acceptable to supply non-potable irrigation needs. However, some questions have been raised about the pollution risk of soil and receiving waters due to the content of different pollutants from the household washing activities. In this study, the new ZTLNs were trialled to compare the quantity and quality of leachate collected with the conventional pan lysimeter (ZTLP) in the pilot scale study. The calculated leachate volume incorporated a water balance using the Penman-Monteigh model. The results indicate that the new lysimeter designated as ZTL (N1), produced the lowest mean percentage deviation from the calculated volume (CV), 3.90 %. ZTL (N1) was also cost effective and required limited effort to install using an auger, which also minimises soil disturbance.to install at household sites. Consequently, the lysimeter was established to facilitate the monitoring of greywater irrigation.


A general bacterial defense mechanism suppresses the movement of horizontally transferred DNA in bacterial populations. Type VI secretion systems (T6SS) correspond to dynamic intracellular organelles that are functionally analogous to contractile bacteriophage tails. The T6SS of several bacteria species are responsible for antagonistic behavior that likely reflects the translocation of toxic proteins (effectors) between cells. Pseudomonas aeruginosa can sense exogenous T6SS attack and assemble its own T6SS apparatus to launch a retaliatory attack aimed directly at the attacker. Now, Ho et al. describe how exogenous attack is sensed in a process that involves membrane disruption and suggest that the T6SS provides a general cellular defense mechanism against not only T6SS but also conjugative DNA elements delivered via the type IV secretion system involved in mating pair formation. B. T. Ho, M. Basler, J. J. Mekalanos, Type 6 secretion system-mediated immunity to type 4 secretion system-mediated gene transfer. Science 342, 250–253 (2013).[Abstract] [Full Text]


This study determines the awareness of the Islamic home inance products compared with conventional home financing, as well as clients' perceptions of home financing, with the National Bank of Kuwait represented as a traditional Bank and the Kuwait Finance House as an example of an Islamic Bank. This comparison is important since it is new in this area and ives the clients an overview about available home finance. In addition, new students can benefit from this study to build on and start from where I finished.

The empirical research was conducted utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as a case study and interviews, which is a method known as the triangulation technique. Questionnaires were distributed to 200 clients who had applied for home financing from both banks, using 100 clients from each bank. To sum up, it can be argued that an examination of Islamic banking as symbolized by the Kuwait Finance House has revealed that this type of financial institution has experienced a boom and has been successful in establishing itself as a practical substitute to conventional banking, in spite of what have been seen as authoritarian and nonflexible rules and regulations governing the activities of this type of financial institution. Islamic banks have experienced a boom and have been successful in developing alternative methods for attracting and utilizing funds in money-making outlets, regardless of the fact that they are comparative beginners in the field. Future prospects for the banks are even more promising, as experience is likely to improve the capability of these institutions to compete and to improve their performance.


The purpose of this work is to verify the asymptotic order of the discretization error of two one-dimensional problems modeled by the advection-diffusion and Burgers equations. The problems are solved using first and second-order accurate spatial approximations, with and without mixing (hybrid scheme), by deferred correction. It was verified that the accuracy of hybrid schemes is equal to that of the lowest-order pure scheme.


Abstract This study sought to determine how several child-rearing behaviors within the Chinese parent-adolescent relationship were predictive of youthful self-esteem through either collectivistic or individualistic socialization approaches. Theoretically based relationships were tested with structural equation modeling to examine whether dimensions of parental behavior (i.e., support, reasoning, monitoring, and punitiveness) influenced the self-esteem of Chinese adolescents through the mediating influences of either conformity (i.e., collectivism) or autonomy (i.e., individualism) in reference to parents. The sample for this study consisted of 497 adolescents from Beijing, China, ranging in age from 12-19 years of age. Data were acquired with self-report questionnaires administered in school classrooms. Results provided support for parental behaviors as predictors of self-esteem development through individualistic patterns of socialization. Although collectivistic parent-adolescent patterns did not predict the self-esteem of Chinese adolescents, several results supported a collectivistic conception of socialization through significant relationships involving parental behaviors as predictors of adolescent conformity to parents. Some results of this study highlight the significance of parental support and dimensions of moderate parental control (e.g., reasoning and monitoring) within the Chinese parent-adolescent relationship, while identifying only a minimal role for punitive behavior.


The analysis of a reflector antenna system consisting of a feeder, a sub-reflector, and a main-reflector in microwave frequency bands, where the electrical dimensions of the antenna become prohibitively large for the use of a rigorous numerical method, has been performed by high-frequency asymptotic techniques (HFATs). As a result, the radiation patterns and input impedances of the antenna system were calculated based on an approximation: the radiation characteristics of the feed, sub-reflector and main-reflector are independent from each other. In this study, as an effort to alleviate the inaccuracy due to the exclusion of higher order mutual interactions existing among those subsystems, three different hybrid methods [finite-element method/method of moment (FEM/MOM) + physical optics (PO), FEM/MOM + geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD), and FEM/MOM + PO + physical theory of diffraction (PTD)] are introduced in the context of an iterative algorithm. The interactions between the feed and sub-reflector are accounted by a hybrid method which combines the FEM with the MOM; FEM/MOM. Whereas, the interactions between the objects in the FEM/MOM domain and the main-reflector are taken into account through the iteration: the fields and currents in the FEM/MOM domain are updated using the fields and currents obtained from the HFAT domain and vise-versa. These three methods are applied to two-dimensional reflector configurations, and corresponding results are compared in terms of accuracy and efficiency. The accuracy of the hybrid methods, especially those of FEM/MOM + GTD and FEM/MOM + PO + PTD, is found to be comparable to that of a rigorous numerical method. Furthermore, their computational costs are almost independent to the size of the main-reflector and to the distance from the feed point to the main-reflector.


The use of primary effects in planning is an effective approach for reducing search costs, closely related to abstraction planning. However, there has been little analysis of planning with primary effects and few experimental results. In this paper we demonstrate the connection between primary effects and abstraction hierarchies and provide analytical and empirical results on the efficiency of planning with primary effects. First, we show how the relationship between primary effects and abstraction can be used for automatically selecting primary effects and generating good abstraction hierarchies. Then we analytically demonstrate that the use of primary effects may lead to an exponential reduction of the running time and identify factors that influence the efficiency of planning with primary effects. Finally, we describe experiments that confirm our analysis and demonstrate the practical efficiency of using primary effects.


Coesite, the high-pressure polymorph of quartz has been identified for the first time in the Tso-Morari Crystalline Complex, Ladakh (India) in the Himalayan belt. The preservation of coesite grains as inclusions in garnet within eclogite boudins indicates the existence of UHP metamorphism in this continental collision setting. The coesite was identified optically and its presence confirmed by its characteristic Raman bands. Both coesite and polycrys-talline quartz inclusions exhibit prominent radial fractures in their host garnet. The silica inclusions (monomineralic coesite, monomineralic quartz and bimineralic quartz+coesite) are associated with various textural features and well-developed chemical zonation within the garnet, which show the prograde nature of the UHP metamorphism. Preliminary P-T estimates suggest that the coesite growth took place at pressure > 28 kbar (> 90 km depth) and temperatures > 640°C. Significantly, the coesite inclusions are interpreted as having suffered decompression during exhumation without changing to quartz, most likely due to the rapid uplift. This finding also indicates deep subduction of the Indian plate beneath the Asian continent. The occurrence of coesite and subduction of the Indian plate was essentially governed by a low geothermal gradient which occurred prior to rapid exhumation. This was vital for generating the coherent picture of metamorphism and exposure of UHP rocks.


The Ecosystem Services (ES) concept highlights the varied contributions the environment provides to humans and there are a wide range of methods/tools available to assess ES. However, in real-world decision contexts a single tool is rarely sufficient and methods must be combined to meet practitioner needs. Here, results from the OpenNESS project are presented to illustrate the methods selected to meet the needs of 24 real-world case studies and better understand why and how methods are combined to meet practical needs. Results showed that within the cases methods were combined to: i) address a range of ES; ii) assess both supply and demand of ES; iii) assess a range of value types; iv) reach different stakeholder groups v) cover weaknesses in other methods used and vi) to meet specific decision context needs. Methods were linked in a variety of ways: i) as input-output chains of methods; ii) through learning; iii) through method development and iv) through comparison/triangulation of results. The paper synthesises these case study-based experiences to provide insight to others working in practical contexts as to where, and in what contexts, different methods can be combined and how this can add value to case study analyses.


"Hooking up," a popular type of sexual behavior among college students, has become a pathway to dating relationships. Based on open-ended narratives written by 273 undergraduates, we analyze how students interpreted a vignette describing a heterosexual hookup followed by a sexless first date. In contrast to the sexual script which holds that women want relationships more than sex and men care about sex more than relationships, students generally accorded women sexual agency and desire in the hookup and validated men's post-hookup relationship interest. However, in explaining the sexless date, students typically reasoned the woman was being chaste and withholding sex to redeem her reputation whereas they often characterized the man's abstinence in terms of a pity date. The findings underscore the tenacity of gendered sexual scripts around heterosexual dates and hookups but also reveal fissures and contradictions that suggest some changes to the sexual double standard.


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BACKGROUND
Surgical care plays an important role in the acute hospital's delivery of safe, high-quality patient care. Although demands for effectiveness are high in surgical wards quality of care and patient safety must also be secured. It is therefore necessary to identify the challenges and barriers linked to quality of care and patient safety with a focus on this specific setting.

AIM
To explore situations and processes that support or hinder good safe patient care on the surgical ward.

METHOD
This qualitative study was based on a strategic sample of 10 department and ward leaders in three hospitals and six surgical wards in Sweden. Repeated reflective interviews were analysed using systematic text condensation.

FINDINGS
Four themes described the leaders' view of a complex healthcare setting that demands effectiveness and efficiency in moving patients quickly through the healthcare system. Quality of care and patient safety were often hampered factors such as a shift of care level, with critically ill patients cared for without reorganisation of nurses' competencies on the surgical ward.

CONCLUSIONS
There is a gap between what is described in written documents and what is or can be performed in clinical practice to achieve good care and safe care on the surgical ward. A shift in levels of care on the surgical ward without reallocation of the necessary competencies at the patient's bedside show consequences for quality of care and patient safety. This means that surgical wards should consider reviewing their organisation and implementing more advanced nursing roles in direct patient care on all shifts. The ethical issues and the moral stress on nurses who lack the resources and competence to deliver good care according to professional values need to be made more explicit as a part of the patient safety agenda in the surgical ward.


Two monotopic tridentate ligands, namely HLAB1 and HLAB2 have been synthesized which feature an acridone chromophore fused on a benzimidazolepyridine framework. They differ from each other by their connection points between a N-methylacridone and a N-methylbenzimidazole chromophoric moieties. Both ligands self-assemble with Ln(III) ions in neat acetonitrile to form thermodynamically stable neutral complexes of general formula [Ln(L-ABX)(3)] (log beta(13) in the range 22-25). Subsequent photophysical investigations conducted in the same solvent demonstrate that ligand HLAB1 sensitizes europium luminescence (Q(Eu)(L) = 10% and tau(Eu) = 0.93 ms) whereas ligand HLAB2 sensitizes the luminescence of NIR-emitting Ln(III) ions, in particular Yb-III (Q(Yb)(L) = 0.86 % and tau(Yb) = 29.3 mu s). The sensitization efficiencies eta(sens) of both ligands have been determined for these two complexes and found to be around 50-60%. The main advantage of these ligands is their excitation wavelength which lies in the visible range (410-430 nm).


After about four years of service, cracks appeared on the internal or process-side surfaces of four evaporator pans in a sugar concentrator. The pans consisted of a Mo stabilized austenitic stainless steel inner vessel surrounded by a mild steel steam jacket. Corrosion of the external surface had taken place in the form of confluent pitting over a band adjacent to the fillet weld which attached the pan to the blocking ring. Numerous cracks were present in this corroded zone. Microscopical examination of several specimens cut from the sample revealed that the internal cracks in the pan itself originated from the external side of the plate, i.e. from the region covered by the shrouding ring. They were predominantly of the transgranular type. Because the cracks were not of the intergranular type as usually found with weld decay, they were considered to be indicative of stress-corrosion cracking. Stresses responsible for the cracking resulted from weld contraction. The pans had been hosed down periodically with water from local boreholes to remove sugar from the external surfaces, which introduced the corrosive medium.


China's Approved Destination Status (ADS) policy governs foreign leisure travel by citizens to ADS-designated countries. To model the effects of ADS on Chinese visitor arrivals, we specify a model of demand for a representative Chinese consumer who values trips to n differentiated foreign destinations. Using panel data for Chinese visitor arrivals for 61 countries from 1985 to 2005, we estimate fixed effects models accounting for selection effects and a semiparametric matched difference-in-differences (DID) model. The semiparametric matched DID estimates indicate that ADS increased Chinese visitor arrivals annually by 10.5 to 15.7 percent in the three-year period following ADS designation.


Die openbare oproer en debat in Suid-Afrika oor Brett Murray se The Spear-kunswerk in 2012 het verskeie vraagstukke na vore gebring. Hiervan is een aspek, die verwikkelde rol van kuns en die media in die daarstelling van 'n openbare sfeer in 'n demokratiese samelewing, moontlik nog onderbeklemtoon. Eerstens bespreek en evalueer hierdie artikel teoretiese insigte van Levine (2007) en Bourdieu (1993) oor die verhouding tussen sogenaamde avant-garde kuns en die populere media. Vervolgens kom die eietydse rol van die populere media en avant-garde kuns in 'n postkoloniale konteks na aanleiding van die The Spear-geval aan bod. Die artikel werp lig op die belangrike plek en rol van gemedieerde kuns en kultuur in 'n ontwikkelende demokrasie - of soos uitgedruk deur die boektitel van Levine (2007), effe aangepas (my toevoeging is tussen hakies): Provoking democracy: Why we need the arts (and the media). Ten slotte word die argument gestel dat 'n inklusiewe en dinamiese openbare sfeer deur die vrye wisselwerking van avant-garde kuns en die populere media versterk word. In teenstelling met die algemeen-aanvaarde openbare-sfeer-teorie, waarvolgens slegs rasionele debat wat tot konsensus lei die demokrasie versterk, volg die insig dus dat konflik en onvoorspelbare uitkomste net so belangrik is.
The spear of the nation : the democratic role of the popular media and the avant-garde arts in South Africa
This article chronicles and critically analyses a controversial public incident involving the interplay between members of the so-called elitist arts fraternity, the popular media, and the political establishment and grassroots supporters in South Africa. A public debate and political furore was sparked in 2012 when a Johannesburg exhibition by prominent (white) artist Brett Murray caught the attention of members of the ruling ANC party. A popular (black) Sunday newspaper, City Press, first reported that one of Murray's paintings, The Spear, depicted President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed. Zuma is a controversial Zulu traditionalist and polygamist who was acquitted of raping a family friend in 2009. The painting represented the exposed Zuma in the pose of Soviet dictator Lenin, and seemingly expressed satirical comment on the state of the South African nation and the ANC under his leadership.
A reproduction of The Spear was displayed on the website of the City Press, and the ANC threatened the newspaper and the Goodman art gallery with legal action if calls for the removal of the original work of art and all its reproductions in the media were ignored. The ANC stated that it viewed The Spear as an example of persistent white racists' attitudes to the culture and values of the black majority.
This turn of events made news headlines and reached social media platforms all around the globe and catapulted a relatively unknown artist and relatively obscure gallery to international fame and notoriety. After a tense stand-off between different parties and interest groups, during which the painting was vandalised and a crowd of Zuma supporters staged a protest march, the gallery owners removed The Spear from public display and the editor of City Press apologised for publishing its image. To free speech advocates this represented a clear loss, and fears were expressed that the threats during Zuma's rule to media and artistic freedom in South African's hard-won constitutional democracy were gaining momentum. However, counter-arguments pointed to the fact that the Spear incident led to a serious and necessary national debate about racial and cultural views and sensitivities in a postcolonial and post-apartheid society. For days on end a public debate raged on various traditional and new media platforms as all and sundry voiced an opinion.
This article steps back from the intricacies of particular viewpoints to provide an overarching perspective. This arguably helps to take the debate past arguments over the merits and morality of the art work on the one hand and the rights and values of those involved on the other. It argues that one aspect, the complicated role of avant-garde art and artists and the popular media in the establishment of a dynamic and inclusive public sphere in a democratic society, still remains underdeveloped even after extensive discussions. Therefore, the article deals firstly with theoretical insights of Levine (2007) and Bourdieu (1993) about the relationship between avant-garde art and the popular media.


The interaction between the dye cis-bis(4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipyridine)-bis(isothiocyanato)-ruthenium(II), Ru(dcbpyH2)2(NCS)2, and nanostructured ZnO was investigated by photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) using synchrotron radiation. The results are compared with those of nanostructured TiO2 sensitized with the same dye, which to date is the most efficient system for dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical solar cells. When comparing the two metal oxides, differences in the surface molecular structure were observed both for low and high dye coverages, as seen by comparing the oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur signals. The origin of these differences is discussed in terms of substrate-induced dye aggregation and in variations in surface bonding geometries. The measurements also provide information concerning the energy matching between the orbitals of the dye and the ZnO valence band, which is of importance in photoinduced charge transfer.


Based on fieldwork with Iraqi women who married and then divorced Jordanian men and are now registered refugees in Jordan, this study explores the relationship between marriage and immigration laws and refugee status for Iraqis in the country. The legal systems effectively fence the divorced women in, with child custody laws preventing them from leaving and citizenship laws preventing them from securing long-term residency. Jordan's citizenship and immigration laws collude with family law traditions that assume women's dependence on their husbands to magnify divorced Iraqi women's social exclusion. As Iraqi refugees extend their stays in the country, Jordan's "guests" and their needs have become part of the domestic social landscape; structural refusal to acknowledge their presence contributes to their isolation and invisibility. This case suggests that citizenship laws that differentiate between men and women create gendered refugees as well as gendered citizens.


It has often been emphasised that Christianity is unlike any other religion, for it stands or falls by certain events which are alleged to have occurred during a short period of time some 20 centuries ago. Those stories are presented in the New Testament, and as new evidence is revealed it will become clear that they do not represent historical realities. The Church agrees, saying: "Our documentary sources of knowledge about the origins of Christianity and its earliest development are chiefly the New Testament Scriptures, the authenticity of which we must, to a great extent, take for granted." (Catholic Encyclopedia, Farley ed., vol. iii, p. 712)


While ribosomal proteins are generally considered to be essential genes, the existence of ribosomopathies suggests that a therapeutic window for exploiting ribosomal proteins as targets for cancer therapy may exist. We report distinct stress responses of tumor cells and normal cells upon knockdown of Rpl15, a ribosomal protein which was identified in a direct in vivo shRNA screen for new therapeutic targets in liver cancer. While normal cells undergo a reversible cell cycle arrest, we found that in tumor cells, the knockdown of Rpl15 triggers a ribosomal stress response followed by induction of cellular senescence, designated ribosomal checkpoint induced senescence (RCIS). Importantly, Rpl15 suppression triggered RCIS independent of any reduction in global protein translation. Using well established therapy resistant murine HCC models, we show that shRNAs targeting Rpl15 potently suppress tumor development in genetically diverse murine HCCs. Using Rpl15 shRNA transgenic mice, allowing for ubiquitous shRNA mediated suppression of Rpl15, we show that systemic Rpl15 suppression can be tolerated for up to 5 days, thus revealing a therapeutic window for metronomic Rpl15 inhibitory therapies. However, molecular modeling analyses revealed that Rpl15 is not druggable by small molecule inhibitors and we thus set out to explore whether RCIS can be induced via interference with other ribosomal proteins or other factors involved in ribosome biogenesis. We generated and screened a focused shRNA library targeting 41 ribosomal proteins and 19 ribosome biogenesis factors and found that apart from Rpl15, only a small subset of shRNAs scored. From a druggability point of view it was interesting, that shRNAs targeting components of the RNA polymerase I complex had scored, as recently a pharmacological RNA polymerase I inhibitor became available. Both genetic and pharmacological inhibition of RNA polymerase I induced RCIS and mediated an excellent prolongation of survival (far superior to the clinically used standard therapy Sorafenib), however in contrast to targeting Rpl15, targeting RNA polymerase I failed to achieve full long term tumor suppression. Mechanistically we found a less efficient immune mediated clearance of senescent cells as a possible explanation. In line with the idea that distinct secretory profiles underlie differences in immune mediated clearance of RCIS cells, cytokine arrays revealed distinct secretory profiles of RCIS induced by Rpl15 suppression and RCIS induced via shRNA or pharmacological RNA polymerase I inhibition. Citation Format: Katharina Wolter, Marina Pesic, Sabrina Klotz, Nicolas Herranz, Torsten Wuestefeld, Tae-Won Kang, Marco Seehawer, Rishabh Chawla, Stefan Zwirner, Jonathan Cotton, Benyuan Zhou, Marcel Kruger, Frank Klawonn, Thomas Longerich, Bence Sipos, Bernd Pichler, Jesus Gil, Martin Eilers, Prem K. Premsrirut, Antti Poso, Lars Zender. Induction of Ribosomal Checkpoint Induced Senescence (RCIS) for the treatment of liver cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-335. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-LB-335


This thesis examines the potential of a paths facility as an aid to navigating large hypermedia systems. The use of the navigational metaphor as applied to finding information is continued with the idea of following a path through information 'space'. This idea assumes that each node, or chunk of information, on the path can be considered a landmark that can be easily returned to when side-trips are taken off the path to explore the surrounding space. The idea of a guided path assumes the re-use of a path, and also assumes that there is extra information available about the path. This meta-information is very important for providing information to help path-followers make better sense of the path, both in terms of content and context, but also in making more effective use of the nodes on the path and in navigating the variety of interface conventions seen in the test environment HyperCard. A small pilot study has been carried out using two groups of users performing a directed information-seeking task. One group used HyperCard's navigational facilities to find information in a group of stacks, while the other group used a guided path as a base on which to explore the same group of stacks. Both groups had a time limit, at the end of which they completed a number of questionnaires to indicate task completion, as well as providing a subjective evaluation of the facilities they used. The guided path facility appears to be most effective for inexperienced users for a number of reasons. It presents a simplified view of the complex system the information available has already been filtered and selected, and a simple and consistent navigational interface reduces the cognitive overheads associated with learning a variety of mechanisms present in different stacks. An important feature of a path facility seems to be the provision of metainformation, especially scope information which can reduce the incidences of disorientation. Another feature is the provision of a history facility which provides a backtracking capability. It may also be used in the creation of paths using the length of visit as a criterion for node inclusion on a new path. I MAss:--r u1·.J1VERSITY \ LIBRARY


The potential contribution of kelp forests to blue carbon sinks is currently of great interest but interspecific variance has received no attention. In the temperate Northeast Atlantic, kelp forest composition is changing due to climate‐driven poleward range shifts of cold temperate Laminaria digitata and Laminaria hyperborea and warm temperate Laminaria ochroleuca. To understand how this might affect the carbon sequestration potential (CSP) of this ecosystem, we quantified interspecific differences in carbon export and decomposition alongside changes in detrital photosynthesis and biochemistry. We found that while warm temperate kelp exports up to 71% more carbon per plant, it decomposes up to 155% faster than its boreal congeners. Elemental stoichiometry and polyphenolic content cannot fully explain faster carbon turnover, which may be attributable to contrasting tissue toughness or unknown biochemical and structural defenses. Faster decomposition causes the detrital photosynthetic apparatus of L. ochroleuca to be overwhelmed 20 days after export and lose integrity after 36 days, while detritus of cold temperate species maintains carbon assimilation. Depending on the photoenvironment, detrital photosynthesis could further exacerbate interspecific differences in decomposition via a potential positive feedback loop. Through compositional change such as the predicted prevalence of L. ochroleuca, ocean warming may therefore reduce the CSP of such temperate marine forests.


The perspex machine arose from the unification of projective geometry with the Turing machine. It uses a total arithmetic, called transreal arithmetic, that contains real arithmetic and allows division by zero. Transreal arithmetic is redefined here. The new arithmetic has both a positive and a negative infinity which lie at the extremes of the number line, and a number nullity that lies off the number line. We prove that nullity, 0/0, is a number. Hence a number may have one of four signs: negative, zero, positive, or nullity. It is, therefore, impossible to encode the sign of a number in one bit, as floating-point arithmetic attempts to do, resulting in the difficulty of having both positive and negative zeros and NaNs. Transrational arithmetic is consistent with Cantor arithmetic. In an extension to real arithmetic, the product of zero, an infinity, or nullity with its reciprocal is nullity, not unity. This avoids the usual contradictions that follow from allowing division by zero. Transreal arithmetic has a fixed algebraic structure and does not admit options as IEEE, floating-point arithmetic does. Most significantly, nullity has a simple semantics that is related to zero. Zero means "no value" and nullity means "no information." We argue that nullity is as useful to a manufactured computer as zero is to a human computer. The perspex machine is intended to offer one solution to the mind-body problem by showing how the computable aspects of mind and, perhaps, the whole of mind relates to the geometrical aspects of body and, perhaps, the whole of body. We review some of Turing's writings and show that he held the view that his machine has spatial properties. In particular, that it has the property of being a 7D lattice of compact spaces. Thus, we read Turing as believing that his machine relates computation to geometrical bodies. We simplify the perspex machine by substituting an augmented Euclidean geometry for projective geometry. This leads to a general-linear perspex-machine which is very much easier to program than the original perspex-machine. We then show how to map the whole of perspex space into a unit cube. This allows us to construct a fractal of perspex machines with the cardinality of a real-numbered line or space. This fractal is the universal perspex machine. It can solve, in unit time, the halting problem for itself and for all perspex machines instantiated in real-numbered space, including all Turing machines. We cite an experiment that has been proposed to test the physical reality of the perspex machine's model of time, but we make no claim that the physical universe works this way or that it has the cardinality of the perspex machine. We leave it that the perspex machine provides an upper bound on the computational properties of physical things, including manufactured computers and biological organisms, that have a cardinality no greater than the real-number line.


In this paper, we present UbuntuWorld 1.0 LTS - a platform for developing automated technical support agents in the Ubuntu operating system. Specifically, we propose to use the Bash terminal as a simulator of the Ubuntu environment for a learning-based agent and demonstrate the usefulness of adopting reinforcement learning (RL) techniques for basic problem solving and troubleshooting in this environment. We provide a plug-and-play interface to the simulator as a python package where different types of agents can be plugged in and evaluated, and provide pathways for integrating data from online support forums like AskUbuntu into an automated agent's learning process. Finally, we show that the use of this data significantly improves the agent's learning efficiency. We believe that this platform can be adopted as a real-world test bed for research on automated technical support.


This thesis examines the household and court of King James VI from the household establishment of his infancy until his departure for London in 1603 and the resulting end of a court culture in Scotland. It depends substantially on manuscript material, in particular the treasurer's accounts and royal household accounts, which previously for this period have not been examined exhaustively. Chapter One provides an introduction to Scottish courts in the sixteenth century and contemporary European courts, presenting a context in which to place James VI's household and court. Chapter Two describes the royal household from its creation in 1567 at the coronation of the king through successive regencies, the beginning of James's personal rule, his marriage in 1589 to Anna of Denmark and the subsequent creation of her household and those of the royal children. A complete list of household offices and the people who served in them underlies the entire chapter. Furthermore, the importance of several courtiers, namely the king's childhood schoolmates, his Stewart relations and lifetime domestic servitors, contributes to the understanding of politics and factionalism within the household. Chapter Three focuses on the perceived image of the court including its choice of venue, such as the Palace of Holyroodhouse or Stirling Castle, conspicuous consumption of clothing and j ewellery, and royal artistic patronage. The royal itinerary and frequency in which the king, queen and court moved from one location to another acquaint the reader with the semi-peripatetic nature of a Scottish renaissance court not to mention James's love of the hunt. Further elements in the representation of court style were the ceremonial occasions celebrated by the court, such as royal entries, coronations, baptisms and entertainment of visiting ambassadors. Chapter Four focuses on the relations between the royal court and town of Edinburgh, Scotland's capital. The growth of the town, in size and influence, as well as the increasingly close connections between merchants, burgesses, councilmen and the royal court help to explain the expanding role accepted by the town in relation to financial support of court activities and the physical provision of a royal guard. Chapter Five synthesizes the above factors to establish a comprehensive view of the


In this paper, we analyze dynamics and frequency response of GaAs-based microring modulators at the 1.55 μm using the finite-difference time-domain method. Two types of modulation are investigated: pump-probe configuration and modulation of the coupling coefficient. The pump-probe signals are tuned at separate resonance wavelengths of the microring. Change of effective refractive index of the microring by two-photon absorption is used to modulate the probe beam. By applying probe beam in four timing configurations, it is shown that the wavelength shift of the probe depends not only on the pump intensity but also on the interaction length over which the pump and probe pulses overlap. It is also shown that free-carrier absorption increases when the temporal width of pump signal is wide enough. Modulation bandwidth of microring in the presence of nonlinear effects is investigated and it is shown that the bandwidth is in 10 GHz range. In order to increase the bandwidth of the intensity modulator, controlled coupling is used. It is shown that in this case, modulation bandwidth of waveguide-ring coupling strength becomes three times wider.